Oakes Republican., 1902-07-18
BY Fred M. &'hte
CHAPTER XxlII. (Continued1

IL nad tnat erect so tar as Llttlmer
was concerned. Itwas we'll for Henson
THAT the latter could not see the strained.
anxiety of his face. The man was alert
and quivering with excitement i'll every
limb. STILL he chuckled again, as if
the whole thing merely amused him.
The Crimson Blind is Van Sneck's
weak spot" he said. "It is King
Charles head to him. BY good or bad
luck-it is in your hands to say which
you know all about the way in which
1t became necessary to get Hatherly
Bell on our side. All the same, the
stroyed.''
Littimer said. doggedly.
ooh. play the farce out to the end"
Henson laughed, good-humoredly.
Where did he see it?''
He says he saw it at No. 218 Bruns-
wick Square,"
Hensons knees suddenly came up to
his nose, then he lay quite fiat again for
long time. His face had grown white
once more. his lips bloodless. Fear was
written all over him. A more astute
man than Littimer would have seen
the beads standing out on his fore
head. 1t was some little time before he
dared trust himself to sreak again.
II know the house you mean. ut is
next door to The temporary residence
of my esteemed friend, Gilead Gates.
At the present moment the place Is
void
''And has been ever since your bogus
Home broke up. Years ago, before
you. used your power to rob and OPP
Press us as you do now, you had
Home there You collected subscrip-
tions right and left in the, Reverend
Felix Crosbie. and you put the money
In your pocket. certain weekly jour
nal exposed you. and you had to leave
suddenly or you would have found
yourself in the hands Of the police.
You skipped so suddenly that you had
no time even to think of your personal
effects, which you understood were sold
to defray expenses. But they were not
sold, as nobody cared to throw good
money after bad. Van Sneck got IN
with the agent under pretence of view
irg the house, and he saw the picture
there"
Why didn't he take it with him ?"
Henson asked, with amused scorn. He
was master of himself again and had
his nerves we'll under control.
well, that was hardly like Van
Sneck. Our friend is nothing if not
diplomatic. But when he did manage
to get into the house again the picture
was gone"
EXCELLENT" Henson cried. Glow
dramatic! There is only one thing re-
quired to complete the story. The pic
ture was taken away by Hatherly Bell.
II you don't bring that in as the denoue-
oI, ha tod
''You needn't be-" Littimer said cool
ly. "That is exactly what did happen"
Henson chuckled again. quite paro-
dy Of chuckle this time. He could
detect the quiet suggestion of triumph
In Littimers voice.
did Van Sneck tell you all this?"
he asked.
mot the latter part of it," Litti-
mer replied, seeing that he was
in the hospital when it happened But
I know 1t is true because I saw Bell
and David Steele. the novelist. come
away from the house. and Bell had the
picture under his arm. And that's why
Van Snack's agent couldn't find it the
second time he went. Check to you, my
friend, at any rate. Bell will go to my
father with Rembrandt number two
sEd compare it with number one. And
then the fat will be in the fire."
Henson yawned affectedly. All the
same he was terribly disturbed and
shaken. All he wanted now was to be
alone and to think. So far as he conld
tell, nobody besides Littimer knew
anything Of the matter. And no
starved, cowed, broken-hearted puppy
was ever closer under the heel of his
master than Littimer. He still held
all the cards; he still controlled the
fortunes of two ill-starred houses.
you can leave me noy," he said.
"I'm tired. I have had a trying day,
and I need sleep; and the sooner you
are out Of the house the better. For
your own sake, and for the sake Of
those about you, you need not say one
word of this to Enid Henson.
Littimer promised meekly enough.
With those eyes blazing upon him he
would have promised anything. We
shall see presently what stupendous
terror Henson had over the younger
man, and in what way all the sweet
ness and SAVIOUR of life was being
crushed out Of him.
He closed the door behind him and
Immediately Henson SIT mp in bed. He
reached for his handkerchief and
"lpeu lHe OcNA'r lioit I'l''ithl'a'
80 the danger has come at last" he
n.uttered. II am face to face with IT,
ond I knew : should be. Hatherly
BELL Is not thc man 10 quietly lie down
under a cloud like that. The man has
brains. and patience. and indomitabl"
courage. Now. does he suspect that I
have any hand in tho business? ]
rrust sec him w.icn my nerves are
stronger ana try and get AZ the truth.
II he goes to Lord I.ittlmer with that
picture he shakes my power and my
position perilousiy. What Il fool was