Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1900-04-14
CHAPTER XXIII.

tried as | walked out of tie dining
room to put myself in the place of the
schemers and thus hew OUT through
an intricate mental process some idea
as to how the loose ends of the
mystery were TO be disposed Of.
IF were that fellow said to my.
self at last, IT should think it was
about time to disappear should feel
sure I'd come to the end of my tethep
and that somehow or other Harvey
Farnham, as represented by me, had
got TO be unostentatiously wiped out.
Farnham. however, was too rich and
important man in the Western States
of his own country TO disappear conve
mently and with impunity. There
would be hue and cry, and suspicf
Gus facts might somehow be brough
to light
The only way, 1 decided would be
for the alleged Harvey Farnham ia
Kill himself: but this il did not appeaI
very likely that the most dazzling bribi
could induce him to do. He meant to
find some more comfortable way OUT
of the hole into which he had so deli
berately crept than the way of suicide.
and 1t began to seem that the only
method by which I could prove nv
case would be by finding out wha
mat way was TO be.
At present, unless I could have thu
fellow arrested, and such disguise as
he might wear dragged off. l should
have great difficulty in obtaining cred
~ence of my story. The incidents were
all so remarkable that they must he
certified with the best of evidence. and
such evidence as I wanted could only
be forthcoming from Bennett. or some
one else in Denver who knew Farm
ham equally well.
What must do, thought, would be
TO keep on the mans track and never
for an hour lose sight of him. | must
do this without arousing any suspicion
on his part as to my motives until the
last moment, when 1 should be pre-.
pared to accuse him.
This conclusion naturally reminded
me that at the very moment ii was
reached l had virtually lost sight of
my quarry, and that already / might
have missed my chance. Accordingly
1 hurried back to the Santa Anna Ho.
tel. and though it was then too late ia
wire Bennett, / determined to do sq
early the next morning. 1 would re.
quest him TO come on to San Francisco
at once on a matter OF extreme import.
ance, and-his mind being already dis.
turbed concerning his employer-he
would lose no time In obeying. In Ben.
nett, IL could fairly corner the bogus
Farnham, 1 should have the most valu
able witness in the world.
My first question was as to whether
Mr.. Farnham were in the hotel. He
had not yet returned from call he
had gone to make after dinner. and |
sat down, therefore, in the corridor in
side the front doors, through which he
would have to pass on entering.
j pretended to be absorbed in n local
paper, but in reality my thoughts were
4 maelstrom, Suppose he mad already
escaped me.
At half-past seven, however. he came
in. did not seem to lift my eyes from
the pages before them. He would
have 10 so directly by me on his way
upstairs; time enough to appear ia
observe him then.
''Cablegram for you, Mr.. Earnham,'
said the clerk OF the hotel.
"Ah" The exclamation was one OF
surprise. He had not, then, been ex.
pecting the message.
l could not resist looking I'D, afte,
all, Co watch him In the act of reading
il, and as 1 did so my eyes caught a
CLEAN from his, under the green shade
as the turned to my face with an ex.
sression that was like q hunted AMI
naPS.
In the instant was as positive as
though he had told me in so many
words that the cablegram lie had re-
teived was from Carson Mildred, and
intimately concerned me. Very proba-
bly, it said: IF man named Noel
Btanton turns up, he is an enemy-be-
ware of him."
/ regretted Immediately that / had
given him my real name when we met
at dinner, for warned now by MILDRED
he would be ever on his guard.
He was seized with a very ,:reditable
nit OF coughing as he passed me, and
having growled ont something about
being "deuced tired, and sleeping like
a log" he went upstairs.
i followed him in time TO see him
enter his own room, which was only
half dozen doors from mine, and tC
hear him noisily lock the door 1t oc
CURED to me that he was DESTROYS to
have me know that he had locked it
and 1 wondered if already he had be
gun to suspect my motive.