The Bowbells tribune., 1900-01-19
CHAPTER XI.
The Steward Finds a Clue.

To Judge from the appalling number
Of letters which reached the office-to
say nothing Of steady stream of call
els-the $4,000 reward had sunk deep
into the minds of many persons pos
sessed of more leisure and imagination
than money. 1 opened these letters at
first hopefully. and finally despairing
ly. The so-called 'information' offer
ed for sale was usually of the vaguest
and most worthless description.
\ large number Of correspondents
promised under guarantee of strictest
secrecy on my part, and in considera-
ton of round sum in advance) to re-
veal the name and whereabouts Of a
man they suspected" of completely in
the crime. Many others simply pro-
pounded theories, which was invited
TEN. Several offered their services as
detectives. on reasonable terms. etc.
Out of several hundreds of letters.
but two proved worth the trouble of
perusal. Mr.. Gray (the steward. it
will be remembered, of the Wairoa)
wrote briefly. but to the point. He
hoped shortly to find reliable clue to
Mr.. Arnewood's movements for the
first hour or so. at all events. after
leaving the ship.
81 had intended this tip for the po-
lice" he explained. candidly; "but, of
course, Ill follow the big money. I've
wife and family to think of. If all
goes we'll you'll hear from ME again
within twenty-four hours" Remem-
bering the man, this sounded promis-
ingly.
The other letter was from a fellow
passenger. who. after expressing his
regret and horror, informed me that he
had been asked by deceased. just be-
fore the vessel entered the dock. if he
could recommend a quiet bachelors
hotel of good class; and that in reply,
he had suggested the "Beresford,"
Convent Garden. He remarked that
Arnewood made a memorandum of the
address, and certainly left him under
| the impression that he would follow
his advice. He trusted that this clue
| might be of some use. and signed HIM
self III. C. Burton giving his ad-
dress as the Union Club, Birmingham
| Clearly there were possibilities in this
communication, also.
| The callers. if not quite so numerous
as the letter-writers, were just as irrl-
| tatingly remarkable for vagueness of
| statement. They We're all brimful of
advice. opinions and theories. but not
che of them knew aught of the dead
man or of his movements. The only
| possible helpful outcome of some
scores of veXatious interviews was my
enga cement. at thirty shillings a
week. of a newsvendor who had known
Tom Webb we'll, and who, rightly or
wrongly, believed he had recently
caught glimpse of him in some slum
in Clerkenwell.
'Then. why on earth didn't you fol-
low him up?" 1 asked, incredulously.
"What for?' he retorted, drily. ITO
| give the bloomin' tees lift? Not
much. Tom must know he's wanted,
thinks L, and. if he's druv to hide his
self, 'tain't my business to split on i'm
an do myself no good.'
"Was the police reward out, then?"
I inquired.
NO" was the reply; lit warn't.'
| 1 guessed as much. The man really
believed he had seen Webb with
whom he must have been on intimate
terms to speak Of him as Tom)(, but
was too loyal to betray him to the po-
lice-gratis. Our big reward made all
the difference.
'Well," said, 'I may as we'll tell
you at once that I am sure you are
mistaken, and that the man you saw
was not Webb at all. But 1 will give
you a fair chance of verifying your
opinion. I'll give you thirty shillings
a week, with one shilling day extra
for expenses. so as to enable you to
give the whole Of your time to hunting
up Webb. How does that suit you?'
| "First-class," he answered, briskly.
"No harm, suppose, in carrying a
few papers about with me? The po-
lice might have mark on me, if they
saw me loafin' around empty handed"
"All right" responded. "Ply your
present calling enough to keep out or
trouble; but, for your own sake, don't
neglect the job I've intrusted to you.
Report yourself here every morning at
10 o'clock, and the cashier will give
you six shillings. Here's half sover-
eign to start you. And now, off with
your
'.Thankee, sir; I'll turn up reg'lar,
never fear!"
had very little doubt that he would
attend, with great pCnctuality, for his
daily ray, and could only hope that he
would do his utmost to earn it. If
Only poor lOm WeDD SlOulu De ulScOF-
cred, after all! What possible explain
alton (short of completely in the crime)
would he have to account for his dis
appearance? With my utmost effort
Of willpower thrust this maddening
and wholly unanswerable question
from my mind, and resolved to pay
Mr.. Gray a surprise visit.
1 made myself comfortable during
the cold drive this time. in a fur-lined
overcoat which, in addition to keeping
me warm, would be calculated, 1
thought. to impress the steward with
proper sense of my dignity and i'm
portance. drove straight to the
docks, not even calling at the White
Bear on the way. and was again fortu-
nate in finding Mr.. Gay on board the
Wairoa. He received me with all his
former civility. and, being off duty,
gladly accepted an invitation to ac-
company me ashore. At my request,
he piloted me to a quiet little hotel,
where. in a private room, we could