The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1902-01-10
How NARROW
Got His Thief
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Marrow. ana the Very day he Is charged
I'll give you n check for E500r'
The detectives Thin face flushed He
was young and unknown and so far had
never had chance Now il had come,
and he might not only make his reputa-
tion, but $500 as we'll and that last
would give him all that was best in the
world to him-the .ir he loved for wife
and without it it might he years before he
could afford to marry.
He turned eagerly and gathered up the
! papers and notebook.
I'm lose no time" he said "Tll do
my best" But all the same it seemed an
almost hopeless task Fred Emberson
the thief had had good II hours start
! He had gone at O'Clock the day before
| to the bank to pay money in and to cash
a check, as usual, ready for paying tie
mems wages on the morrow, and he had
never returned. The check had been
! cashed. the money never paid in, and
| Fred Emherson had vanished.
Mr.. Ritche was a hard and bitter man.
! He had been soured five years before by
| the disappearance of his only daughter.
She had met at the house of some friends
( she had been visiting a man with whom
| she had fallen in love He had been in
! eligible in every way-a poor man with
no prospects, with apparently nothing to
recommend him-but that made no differ
ence to her.
Mr.. Ritchie had stormed and raved.
had refused emphatically to see him and
had forbidden her ever to mention him
| again. She had refused. She had tried
for some months TO induce the two men to
meet. she had persisted in sticking to the
man she loved. and then she had rur
away and married him.
Mr.. Ritchie never forg9ve her-never
would. lie returned all her letters un-
opened He washed his hands of her and
settled down. bitter and soured, to live
out the remainder of his life in hard work.
Marlow sent his men to the station to
make INQUIRIES. and then made his way
toward the rooms in which Fred Ember-
son had lodged during the year he had
been with Mr. Ritchie He went up to
them. questioning the landlady as he
went and getting no Information except
that she had not seen Emberson since he
mad left for his Office the morning before.
He was almost giving up at last when
suddenly a tiny scrap Of cardboard fallen
between the mantclpiece and the wall
cduSht MS eye. ne LOOK MS poukhlle
uiiu began FORCING up. IT might he
ho'illnS' OF course Out ne hau turned
over every scrap OF paper ana every DOCK
III III Ine rooi, ana ne would miss no chahce'
The cardboard came up slowly. 1t was
WedEeu III hrihly between me hanteI-
piece ana the wall out ne loosened II al
last ana held II up TO the hght'
men ne saw IT, he gave lttle gesture
OF DISAPPOINTMENT IL was the photo
graph OF cnild. mat 1t belonged to
EmDerson seemed the last thng likely
lie caiIed up the Iahdlady ana held II
out 10 her' she shook her head over 1t.
She had never seen II Detore, but 1t must
nave belonged 10 Nr' hmberson, she sad
Tor her own daughter mad occupied the
room oefore ne had had IT, and the photo
graph was OF no chl.l they knew.
MARROW looked at II again and made a
note OF the photosrapners name, whlch
was printed on the bacR' 1t bore the ad-
dress OF small town. ana he frowned a
niue as ne looked at H. what had Fred
Emoerson' thief TO do with a little
chlld
lie smut up MS pocketbook with snap
and gave hnal look around.
lie was JUST turning away when ms
man came back from the station with the
information that Emperson had been seen
taxing ticket, not to London, as they
mad expected, but to little place called
Staybridge, half way down the line. 1t
was trick OF course. lie would go on
to Euston and pay excess fare and be lost
at once IN the London crowd.
stlll MARROW sent ms man TO telegraph
to the station at Staybridge and waited,
stlll lmpatiently searching the room, for
the reply.
II came promptly. only one person
had come by that tram on the day before
ana that was mechanic in working
SUIT apparently on the lookout for work.
Evidently It was not Emberson, and Mar
low decided that his only chance now was
TO go to topping, where the photograph
had been taken.
lie started Immediately sending ms
man on to London to try to get some IN
formation there and meaning to wat for
nm at Topping. lie got out at ittle'
quiet country station Inc town lay be-
hind lt-a sleepy market town full of
sheep ana cattle ana farmers gigs ana
bright with spring sunshine.
He found the photographer easily
enough, and there a copy of the photo
graph he had brought from Emberson's