The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1900-09-20

omous sarcasm to which he was now
accustomed from this strange man.
de raised his eyes &C those of the chem
st, and for the space of a few seconds
he two men looked steadily into each
others souls
Then sudden light flashed across
Sturgis' brain, and he started percepti-
ply. At the same time he thought he
saw a shadow cross Murdocks impas-
sive features; but in this he might have
been mistaken, for when he looked
again the chemist was regarding him
with an air of mild curiosity.
us anything the matter, Mr.. Stur-
gis?" he asked.
"Only sudden thought" carelessly
replied Sturgis, who to all appearances
had completely recovered from the mo-
mentaGy shock produced by the sud
denness of the suspicion which had
crossed his mind Your mention of
the Knickerbocker bank mystery re-
minded me of something, that is all
Ever since Sprague's dinner" said
Murdoch. Il have been devoting all my
spare time to the reading of the Tenn
pest, in the hope of finding there a SEN
sational account, with glazing head
lines, of the brilliant work of our dis
tinguished reporter Mr.. Sturg-is.
Sturgis made no reply. His eyes were
fixed upon the typewriter which stood
near Murdock's desk.
up to the resent time, continued
Murdoch, Il have not seen %nything to
cause me to worry about ~ stakes"
Il have still - days in ". h to COM
plete my ease" said Sturai..
True replied NurGock well, |
wish you luck. If can rlrGcr YOU any
assistance in yCur inv, Il rations l
hope you viii cal upon I.,, In the
cause of science | would ". llingly jeop
ardize my stakes. For instance, if you
need to consult any works of reference.
my library is at your disposal. | am
told that. at least on the subjects in
which YOU are interested, ii is quite
complete"
He observed the reporter narrowly,
as if to mark the effect of his words.
at is" replied Sturgis, after an al
most imperceptible hesitation; Il have
already admired it,"
"Indeed?" said Murdoch, arching his
brows in mild surprise.
"Yes; | stepped into the library for
a few minutes while was waiting for
YOU"
"Ah! yes; l see."
Murdoch gave the reporter another
searching look. Then he leant back
in his easy chair with half-closed eyes
and silently pulled away at his cigar
for few minutes.
Had Sturgis been able to read the
sinister thoughts which We're passing
through the mind of this impassive
man as he sat apparently in lazy en-
joyment of his fragrant Havana, it is
probable that he might have lost some
If the interest which he seemed sud
denly to have developed in the type
writer. But he was busy with his own
train of thought, and therefore was
not paying any particular attention tc
Murdock.
Presently the chemist spoke again:
YOU viii step into my laboratory
shall be pleased to show you those of
the results of my recent researches
which are ready for publication"
The reporter was surprised at this
sudden change of front, and perhaps a
rifle suspicious, for he was beginning
10 weld together many hitherto iso-
lated facts into a strong chain which
was leading him from the Enicker-
booker bank and Chatham. through the
Manhattan Chemical company, to the
tmotionless man in whose presence he
now stood. Some important links
were missing, however. and Sturgis
could not afford to lose any chance of
making the chain complete.
He therefore accepted Murdock' 5 in
vitation, in the hope of making some