Williston graphic. (Williston, Williams County, N.D.) 1895-1919, 1900-11-08
II am not a man Of science now, but

[ II am not man Of science now, but
only a reporter
In that case" replied Murdoch, ''let
us talk of something else. Ishouh be
pleased to discuss my chemical re"
searches with Mr.. Sturgis, the scientist;
hut with Mr.. Sturgis, the reporter,
should prefer to talk about something
in his line of knowledge; let me see,
shall we say the Knickerbocker bank
mystery, for instance?"
The reporters ear detected the ven
omous sarcasm to which he was now
accustomed from this strange man.
He raised his eyes to those of the chem
list, and for the space of few seconds
the two men looked steadily into each
others souls.
Then a sudden light flashed across
Sturgis' brain, and he started percepti-
bly,. At the same time he thought he
saw a shadow cross Murdock's impas-
sivs features; but in this he might have
been mistaken, for when he looked
again the chemist was regarding him
with an air of milo curiosity.
is anything the matter, Mr.. Stur-
gis?" he asked.
"Only sudden thought" carelessly
replied Sturgis, who to all appearances
had completely recovered from the mo-
mentary shock produced by the sud
denness of the suspicion which had
crossed his mind. "Your mention of
-, 1orl-
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 SEN
sational account, with glaring head
lines, of the brilliant work of our dis
tinguished reporter, Mr.. Sturgis.'
Sturgis made no reply. His eyes were
fixed upon the typewriter which stood
near Murdock's desk.
up to the present time continued
Murdoch, 81 have not seen anything to
cause me to worry about my stakes"
Il have still IS days in which to COM
plete my case" said Sturgis.
"True," replied Murdoch. 'Well, I
wish you luck. If 1 can render you any
assistance in your Investigations l
hope you will call upon me. In the
cause of science I would willingly jeop-
ardize my stakes. For instance, if you
need to consult any works of reference,
my library is at your disposal. 1 am
told that, at least on the subjects in
which you are interested, it is quite
complete"
He observed the reporter narrowly.
as if to mark the effect of his words.
eft is replied Sturgis, after an al
most imperceptible hesitation; 81 have
already admired it,"
'Indeed?" said Murdoch, arching his
brows in mild surprise.
"Yes; | stepped into the library for
few minutes while l was waiting for
you"
"Ah! yes; see.'
Murdoch gave the reporter another
searching look. Then he leant back
in his easy chair with half-c.osed eyes
and silently puffed away at his cigar
for few minutes.
Had Sturgis been able to read the
sinister thoughts which were passing
through the mind of this impassive
man as he sat apparently in lazy en-
joyment of his fragrant Havana, it is
probable that lie might have lost some
of 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 to
Murdoch.
Presently the chemist spoke again:
son second thoughts, Mr.. Sturgis, if
you will step into my laboratory |
shall be pleased to show you those of
the results of my recent researches
which are ready for publications.
The reporter was surprised at this
sudden change of front, and perhaps