The representative., 1901-05-16
EDGAR N()RETTE

the latter through even more potent
motives. He Is tho father Of beauti-
full girl, whom hs did not scruple to
use as a decoy. The price agreed upon
for the accountants assistance was tho
hand Of this daughter, for whom the
young man had doubtless conceived
passionate love. Whether or not the
leader would have had the power TO
carry out his part Of the contract mat
ters little; for it IL highly probable that
be never had the slightest Intention Of
20 doing. He evidently realized very
early in the game that the bookkeeper
could not long escape the clutches Of
the law. But as he had taken every
precaution to prevent him from know
Ing anything Of his very existence, the
fate Of the unfortunate bookkeeper
would have mattered little to thia
heartless villain, had not the probabil-
ity remained that, when brought to
bay, the bookkeeper would denouncs
the accountants connection with the
crime. This would have been extreme
ly awkward, since the accountant was
very likely in possession Of some dan.
gerous secrets. The safest way out OF
the difficulty was to quietly suppress
the now useless bookkeeper. This plan
was decided upon, and would doubtless
have been carried into execution, had
not fate otherwise decreed. After the
bookkeeper's death, under the circum-
stances which have related, 1t became
quite probable that the accountants
connection with the case would be dis
covered; for luck had been against
him from the start, and he became
more and more entangled in the chain
of circumstantial evidence Of whose
existence his leader was soon fully
aware. In the first place, the account
ant was wounded; and thus not only
partially disabled, but also-what Is
far worse-conspicuousl marked. A
man who carries his arm in a sling can
hardly fail to attract attention, espe-
cially when this distinguishing mark
is accompanied by another equally
glaring one in the form of head Of
brilliant red hair"
Hold on, Sturgis!" interrupted
Sprague, who had been listening with
growing interest; don't you know the
accountants nameT
"Yes," replied the reporter; "his
name is Thomas Chatham"
Thomas Chatham!" exclaimed
Sprague, as the image of the miserable
young man came to his mind.
"Yes." replied Sturgis. answering his
thought, ''the man you met only few
hours ago." So
There was brief silence, broken at
last by Sprague, who asked:
HAS he escaped?"
Sturgis hesitated.
THAT depends upon how we look at
it," he said, gravely, at length; "he has
paid the penalty of his crimes"
"What do you mean"
''He is Dead" answered the reporter.
"Dead? But tell you l saw him"
81 know; but he has died SINCE"
"Suicide?"
"No;" the reporters voice sank to
whisper; murder"
"Murder?" repeated the artist. star
tied. But how do you know that?"
''This lump of lead tells the story"
said Sturgis, holding up the shapeless
piece of metal which he had taken.out
of the vat.
"What is it? A bullet?'
"Yes; the bullet which Chatham car
ried in his arm from the time that he
was wounded by Arbogast, the bullet
which has enabled me to trace him step
by STEP from his fight from the over
turned cab to DR.. Thurston's and finally
to his death in this very room; the
bullet whose peculiar shape is record
ed in this shadow picture taken by
Thurston by means of the Roentgene
rays"
So saying, he handed Sprague tho
photograph. But the artist had ceased
to listen.
"In this very room ?" he mused aloud,
looking about him with awe.
"Yes. The story Is simple enough.
The man whose instrument Chatham
was is not one who would care to be
numbered up with tools, which become
positively dangerous as soon as they
cease to be useful. This man, totally
unhampered by pity. gratitude or fear.
determined to destroy the accountant,
whose discovery might have impefiled
his own welfare. What mattered
human life or two. when weighed
against the possible loss Of his own
life or liberty, or OF his high social
standing and his enormous wealth; for
this man is both renowned and rich,
and he appears to have brought whole
sale murder to . science"
do you mean to say that wholesale
murder can be INDUCED in with i'm.
punity In city like New York, at the
end OF the nineteenth century," asked
Sprague, aghast.
Eyes; when it is done In the system
attic and scientific manner that has been
employed here. For this murderer is
the most remarkable criminal of mod
ern times. He has not been satisfied
with killing his victims; he has sue
ceeded In completely wiping them out
Of existence. Criminals have often at
tempted to destroy the bodies Of their
victims, but they have never before sue
ceeded as this man has. He is chem
list Of remarkable talent, and he has
discovered compound in which bono
as well as human tissue is rapidly and
totally dissolved. There II Is in yon-
der tank. See how completely the
liquid has destroyed the bone handle
of this knife"
At the sound Of this name Sturgis
started visibly. and shadow crossed
his features.
"Miss Murdock ?" he echoed.
"Yes,", said Sprague. what 10 1T
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