The pioneer press. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 1893-190?, 1902-09-25

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you did not see the cigar-case
again?"
mo. Van Sneck gave me a cigar
which he took from common sort OF
caselthat they give away with seven
cigars for shilling. / asked him II
he had seen Henson, and he said that
he had. He seemed pretty full up
against Henson, and said something
about the latter having played him a
scurvy trick, and he didn't like it, and
that he'd be even yet. l didn't take
any notice of that. because 1T wasn't
any new thing for Henson to play il
low down on his pals"
did anything else happen at that
interview" Chris asked. anxiously.
Think! The most trivial thing to
you would. perhaps, be Of the greatest
Importance TO u.s."
Merritt knitted his brows. thought.
fully.
1--WE had a rambling kind of talk. "
he said 1T was mostly Van Sneck
who talked. | left him at last be-
cause he got sulky over my refusal to
take letter for him to Kemp Town. "
Indeed! Do you recollect where
| that letter was addressed tor"
Well of course I've forgotten the
address; but 1t was to some writing
n,an-Stone, or Flint or"
steel, perhaps?"
That's the name! David Steel. Esq.
Van Sneck wanted me to take that let
ter, saying as it would put a spoke in
| Reginald Hens0n's wheel; but didn I
see it. A boy took the letter at last"
did you see an answer come back?'
Yes, some hour or so later. Van
! Sneck seemed 10 be greatly pleased
with it. He said he was going TO make
an evening call late that night that
would cook Henson's goose. And he
was what you call gassy about it: said
he had told Henson, plump and plain,
what he was going TO do, and that he
was not afraid of Henson or any man
breathing"
Chris asked no further questions for
the moment. The track was getting
clearer. She had, of course, heard by
this time, of the letter presumably
written by David Steel to the injured
man, Van Sneck, which had been dis
covered in his pocket by DIR. Cross
The latter had been written, most as
suredIy, in reply TO the note Merritt
had just alluded to, but certainly not
written by David Steel. Who, then,
seeing that 1t was Steel's private note
paper? The more Chris thought over
this, the more abe was puzzled. Hen
son could have told her, Of course, but
nobody else.
Doubtless, Henson had started on
his present campaign with dozen diff
ferent schemes. Probably one of them
called for supply of Steel's note pa
per. Somebody unknown had pro-
cured the paper, as David Steel had
testimony in the form of his last quar-
ter's account. The lad engaged by
Van Sneck to carry the letter from the
Continental to Is Downsend Terrace
must have been intercepted by Hen
son, or somebody in Henson's pay, and
given the forged reply, reply that act
ually brought Van Sneck to Steeps
house on the night of the great adven-
ture. Henson had been warned by the
somewhat intoxicated Van Sneck what
he was going to do, and he had pre-
pared accordingly.
A sudden light came 10 Chris. Hen
son had found out part of their
scheme. He knew that David Steel
would be probably away from home on
| the night in question. In that case,
having made certain of this, and hay-
ing gained pretty good knowledge of
Steel's household habits, what easier
than to enter Steel's house in his abb
sence, wait for Van Sneck, and murder
him then and there?
II was not pretty thought, and
Chris recoiled from 1t.
How could Van Sneck have got into
Steel's house?" she asked. For
| know, for fact, that Mr.. Steel was
not at home, and that he closed the
door carefully behind him when he
left the house that night"
Merritt grinned at the simplicity of
the question. 1t was not worthy Of
the brilliant lady who had so far got
the better of him.
"Latch-keys are very much alike"
he said. Give me three latch-keys,
and will open ninety doors out Of a
| hundred. Give me six latch-keys, of
various patterns, and l will guarantee
to open the other ten"
at had not thought OF that" Chris
admitted did Van Sneck happen.
by any chance, to tell you what he and
Henson had been quarreling about?"
HE was too excited to tell anything
properly. He was jabbering some
thing about ring all the time"
what sort of ring?"
"That can't tell you, miss. fancy
it was a ring that Van Sneck had
made"
'Made! Is Van Sneck working
jeweler, or anything of that kind?"
! Hes one of the cleverest fellows
with his fingers that you ever saw.
| Give him bit of old gold and few
stones, and he'll make you bracelet
that will pass for antique. Half the
so-called antiques picked up on the
| Continent have been faxed by Van
Sneck. There was that ring, for in
stance, that Henson had, supposed to
be the property OF some swell he called
Prince Rupert. Why. Van Sneck cop
led 1t for him in a couple Of days, till
you couldn't tell t'other from which"
Chris choked the cry that rose to her
lips. She glanced at Littimer, who
had dropped his glass. and was re-
garding Merritt with kind OF frozen.
pallid curiosity. Chris signalled Litti-
mer to speak. She had no wirds Of
her own for the present.
"How long ago was that! Littimer
asked, hoarsely.
"Abcut seven years. speaking from
| memory. There were two copies made