The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1899-01-26

4
Certainly" he replied: The head
cashier and the junior strongroom
clerk"
| 2 He pressed a bell, and a messenger in
Uniform appeared.
| BE good enough to send Mr.. Sydney
and Mr.. Wilson here ss '5
Mr.. Sydney proved to be q middle
aged, respectable looking man, whilst
Wilson was an ingenious boy of 10.
Both OF them were obviously nervous
when l addressed them.
| Which of you," ! asked, "saw the
! supposed messenger from Lady Pol
lock last Monday % SeEls 5t-*
II, did, sir" returned the elder man.
Il was standing at my desk when car
riage drove up, and tall .footman
alighted." : W.
"Describe him." said. ".Yy 49,
=! HE was about six feet high, clean
shaver, powdered wig, small hands, and
long, thin face-in fact, he was the
typical footman all over"
| "A clever disguise doubtless" I re.
marked. "What else?'' 4 F..
There was nothing else very notice
able, sir. He simply handed me the
letter, which ! at once took in to Mr..
Reeves here (the submanager). Mr.
Reeves. having examined the note care
fully, told me to instruct Wilson, the
young gentleman here, to fetch the
case. This he did, and I at once gave
i: to the man, who went off as briskly
as though he were the honestest chap
in the city of London" !
| "That will do," said I; "and now,
what has Mr.. Wilson to tell us?' He
had nothing TO say beyond confirming
his seniors words, and having thanked
the two officials for their information,
dismissed them.
Rising from my chair, told the sub
manager, in a few words, what con-
templated doing next. I intended go
ing straight to the Pollocks' house to
carry on my Investigations from that
emo.
you are quite right, am sure," Mr..
Reeves replied, land it will be vel! if
! ! give you note of introduction to his
| lordship.'
Sitting down, he hastily scrubbed a
brief note, which. I placed in my pocket,
and then having shaken hands and
promised to inform him if anything of
Importance transpired, l took my leave.
The hanson was waiting at the door,
mo. $50 Grosvenor Gate,' cried to
the cabby. The man touched up his
horse, which deposited the cab and me
20 minutes later at the house l required.
Lord and Lady Pollock were out, the
servant informed me, but they were
expected home shortly before lunch
con. Would l walk into the IL
Lrary and wait? l at once resolved to
do so, and was ushered into the apart
| ment, where 1 sat down and took out
the open letter of introduction.
It was very short, as such letter nat
urally would be. 1t simply stated that
was the official from Scotland Yard 10
whom the diamond robbery affair had
been intrusted, and that any Informal
ton which could be given me at Gros-
venor Gate might pro badly be of service
to me.
This was all that gathered on perus-
ing the note for the first time; but, as
my eyes wandered over it mechanically
a second time, noticed with curious
feeling of excitement in my brain,
something which had escaped me on
the first reading. Controlling
my agitation as best I could, l drew
from my pocket the forged letter to the
bank, and then an ejaculation escaped
me:
"By Jove; believe I'm right!"
I rushed to the door. There was little
time to lose, and if my theory were the
right one, my waiting to interview Lord
and Lady Pollock would be quite un-
necessary. Hailing cab, I drove quick
~ to Scotland Yard, and taking up d.
rectory found that Mr. Reeves, of the
London and Paris bank, resided at APPS
ley mansions, Regents Park. My next
step was abrupt. Invent straight to the
chi eff and asked for search warrant to
investigate the residence of John
Reeves, of Apsley mansions, NV =
He gave it to me at once, and once
more cab bore me away. This time
my way lay in the direction of Regents
Park.
Apsley mansions proved to be gor-
geous set of flats, and on inquiry Of the
hall porter, I discovered that Mr..
Reeves fiat was on the second floor.
"He is away just now," said the oblig-
ing functionary, Gin the city; but you
can leave a message with his man."
wont nnSfairS
the bell. A respectable man-servant ap-
peared almost instantly.
''You are Mr.. Reeves servant. I be-
lieve?" I asked, quickly.
eyes, sir. Do you wish to leave mes
sage?"
"No. I am Detective-Sergeant Wis
ney, of Scotland yard and L have a
warrant to search these rooms. Here
it is. You are at liberty to assist me or
not, as you choose, but there must be
nointerference-you understand that p
He did not appear to understand at
all, 4 but seemed s,.thunderstricken. It
was obvious that If Reeves were guilty,
this man was peri ectly innocent Of any
completely in the business. He col
lapsed into chair and sat motionless
unable to comprehend my visit.
However, there was no necessity for
his assistance, and did not trouble
him for It. Without further ado, 1
methodically searched the fiat, which
from the extravaganza Of its garnish-
ing, plainly showed that the owner
thereof was a man Of somewhat expen-
siye tastes The f7fnin..-rnom Revealed