Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1898-09-17
A Grim Wager.
BY CECIL HAYTER
HCpEsHUL! spes.shull 'orrible
BY CECIL HAYTER.

murder in the Dalton road!
And then again another voice, pitched
In a higher key, took up the cry on
the farther side of the street
"Speshul speshul!"-and the rest was
lost in incoherency as the sound of
the voices, mingled and intertwined,
gradually faded away in the distance.
"What loathsome noise that isl"
said Peel, with n shudder. There is
something positively ghoulish about
It,"
ut always gives me the creeps, es-
pecially at night, 1t suggests all sorts
of horrible, morbid IDEAS" Joined in
Lelange, who was perched on the
model throne, smoking innumerable
cigarettes.
Kovno, the owner of the studio, said
nothing, but smiled in rather a supe-
rior way. He was a person of some
what unusual taste-his pictures be-
trayed him in that.
We were rather cosmopolitan lot
gathered in the big studio that night.
Lelange was merry, light-hearted
little Frenchman, clever to the tips of
his restless fingers, but quite incapa-
bic of serious work. Peel and myself
were EngEsh-painstaldn not who'll
ly unsuccessful, but without half Le-
lange's versatility Ferguson was
Scotch-serious and argumentativc,
and Kovno-the owner of the studio
was Pole by birth, though much of
his life had been lived in Paris and
London.
He was two or three years older than
the rest of us. AS far as his art was
concerned he was brilliant, original
and startlingly unpleasant. For him
self, he had a fine head-the head of
a dreamer. Usually a reticent man,
he would at rare intervals flash out
into a fiery, animated flood of talk,
accompanied by wild gesticulation
Only one other person was in the
Etudio-Dora Smith, our model -
pretty, nervous little person, at the
present moment toasting her toes at
the big stove and enjoying a cigarette
during her well-earned rest.
well there's only one good thing
about a murder" said Ferguson-"it
will out! And that, as rule, ends in
hanging"
Nonsense, my dear chap!" said
Kovno. ITS only the clumsy idiots
who are found out. Anyone who isn't
n fool could kill as many people as he
pleased, and never be even suspected
if you grant him an average amount
of luck"
Lelange began drumming sort of
"danse Macabre" on the model throne
with his heels, and struck tragic at
titude which made Dora laugh.
az wish you wouldn't all be so hor-
ribly gloomy" she said. 81 believe
this great big barn of a studio is haunt
ed. Do, for goodness sake, talk about
sorething cheerful"
"It's not gloomy at all; it's most
Interesting" persisted Kovno. 81 don't
mind owning that the possibilities of
undiscovered crime have great fasci-
nation for me-"
"The possibilities of an undiscov-
cred shilling in my trousers pocket |
would be more attractive to me per-
sonally," said Peel, ruefully surveying |
his worldly possessions. "Archie"-
turning to me-"we shall have to pad |
the hoof tonight. Cant afford an ON
nibus."
~ am willing to bet" Kovno contin-
red, without noticing the interruption,
Il am willing to bet that I could COM
init a murder without a possibility of |
detection" He was getting into one
OF his eXcitable moods and gesticulat-
ing freely.
Rubbish" said I, laughing "Any-
AL =, ! q |
place, it's absurd; and in the second,
don't suppose for minute that you'd |
be such an abject fool as to try"
Kovno himself laughed at that, for
by nature he is one of the mildest crea-
lures imaginable.
mo, no. l don't mean to say that / |
want to harm anyone in particular for
the mere satisfaction of proving to n
parcel of lunatics that / am talking
common sense; but still l maintain
/ could do so''
"Well, you prove it to me, and I'll
take your bet" said l. jeering.
"Will your" he asked.
"0f course will" replied. Frank,
We'll have dinner on the strength of
this"
"Done with you, then" said Kovno.
"I'll bet you five pounds to shilling,
I sold a couple of sketches to-day"
That's all very WELL" put in Fergu,
son. slowly, "but short of actually murs
dering the man, and then confessiug
to us-in which case we should in
evitably trot you off to the nearest
police station-how are you going to
I've us proof of your ability?"
Kovno thought for moment
"Look here" he said, speaking quick
ly "supposing l manage to spirit a
man away and cause him to vanish for
a week-ten days, if you like--without
any inquiries that may be made en-
abling anyone to connect me with the
matter; and supposing that obtain
written confession from that man,
acknowledging that it was in my pow
er to kill him; If ii SO pleased me will