The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1898-05-05
From Clue to Climax.
BY WILL N. HaRBtS.
tcOpyrish, ,sos. by }. D. Llpplneoa Col
CHAPTER xv.--covrrNuEp.

III was perfectly evident, said Hen
dr'eks. l could see indications of its
having been regummed and resealed. 1t
is almost impossible TO put paste on an
envelope as smoothly by hand as il is
done by machine"
$50 you thought" began WILDLY.
THAT when the individual who had
written my mother under- the name of
Frederick Champney had received the
letter coming on the heels of my tele-
gram, his first impulse was to return il
unopened. being afraid the reception of
it would tend to show his whereabouts.
But, being curious to know what had
to say, he first opened it, read it. and
then sealed and returned il. Not a bad
idea, eh?''
WILDLY nodded. "It failed. however,
to take you in."
"And, moreover, ii put me on to a sub
stantial clew. See, here are the two
envelopes side by side-the one ad-
dressed to my mother and the other to
Mr.. Strong. Now for points of re-
semblance. The handwriting, though
disguised, is the same; the ink under a
glass shows the same crystal forIna-
;ions; the two letters were sent from
the same postal station in New York;
and. though the color and quality of
each envelope are different, yet under
the flaps, in raised letters, are the names
of the same retail dealers in New York
See-Ramage e. Co., Stationers, East
Fourteenth street. The two envelopes
were purchased at the same shop"
But" said WILDLY, doesn't it strike
you that it is rather an unnatural thing
for man guilty of murder to do-to
openly write to the mother of detective
to get his address,"
people guilty of crime will do the
most foolish things in the world" Hen
bricks answered; but | have to resort
to my own vanity to account for his
having done as he did. i flatter myself
that he knew something of my skill in
in detecting crime. and once he found
himself guilty he regarded me as the
man he had the most to fear. He dis
covered, as his note TO my mother
shows, that L was ont of town. That
made him uneasy. The thought
troubled him so much that he simply had
to satisfy his mind on that point. He
supposed his little game with my
mother would succeed, and that she
plying to his note"
"Ah, yes" exclaimed Miss Delmar,
land when he got your letter and tele-
gram il must have frightened him to
find himself i'm direct correspondence
with the man, of all others, he was most
anxious to avoid"
Exactly" the detective agreed; "and
| shall lose nothing by what he has done,
for his letter shows me where to look
for him. He is in New York, and mas
been there ever since he committed the
murder ano scattered those notes about
town. They were designed to make us
think the murderer lived here
But" said Miss Delmar, 'surely you
have overlooked the fact that Mr..
Roundtree has received a warning since
then, and that Mrs. Walters has been
shot at by the man himself?"
Hendricks looked little embarrassed.
~ cant explain that now" he said;
but know whereof speak. He is in
New Xork. ! am going there tonight,
and shall do my best 10 lift the cloud
from over your two heads. q fail, it
won't be my fault. ] shal! not leave IA
stone unturned."
whether you succeed or not, we shall
never forget you for all you have done
and are trying to do" said Miss Delmar.
II really don't know what we shall do.
My father is threatening to disinhert
and disown ne, and if half the world
continues to believe Mr.. WILDLY guilty
we shall be miserable enough"
You are, indeed, in disagreeable
situation" said Hendricks, in kindly
tone. mo one knows better than [. To
be frank--though the bare fact may
pain you IA little Il must tell you now
that it has only been on mv earnest
assurance that had hopes of producing
the real criminal that / have kept Welsh
and his gang from arresting you, Mr..
WILDLY"
There was silence for moment. Miss
Delmar changed couptenance, though
she strove hard TO keep her self-posses-
sion.
Father mentioned something about
the probability of an immediate arrest"
she said, in a wavering tone. But
thought he did it. out of spite"
NO; l presume he must have got
il from something the police have set
afloat," Hendricks replied, land think
you ought to know what to expect. But
even if they should arrest you, Mr..
WILDLY, try to put brave face on the
matter, and hope for clear acquittal
at trial in court. / shall hurry up
matters in New York, promise you.
DR.. Lampkin has agreed TO join me, and
together we are going TO track the rep
tile"
DO you expect to find anything about
the man at that Brooklyn address?"
asked WILDLY, gloomily.
Perhaps so; but it may only be a
private letter box place, and those peo-
pie are very hard co get anything out
of. As rule, their business is a little
off color, you know, and they dread ex-
posure. The return of my letter shows
that the murderer is on his guard, and
he may steer clear of that address,
CHAPTER XVI.
T.. A.. ofl.-...< -. 49, H.