The Irish standard., 1902-11-29
CHAPTER XXXIV.

spise me as l deserve" And with
that he was gone.
/, CHAPTER XXXIV.
DR.. Farnham, driving leisurely
home after his evening call in the
neighborhood of the iron works saw
Il thing that made him wonder if his
eyeglasses were not quite as we'll
fitted as they might be. In quiet
street he saw a man whom he made
sure was Griswold stumbling along
like a homing roysterer, and just
behind him, lodging from tree to
tree and shadow to shadow, another
man who was evidently following the
stumbler.
The doctor drove on, thinking he
must have been mistaken as to the
drunken mans identity. But he was
not. 1t was Griswold; and when he
reached the Office of the iron works
he let himself in and turned on the
incandescent light, did this and
wheeled quickly to confront his pur-
suer on the threshold of the open
door.
For a feeting half-second Girls
void was startled, as anyone might
be. Then he saw that the incomer
was Griffin. So he greeted him
guardedly and waited to know what
the late visit purported.
Griffin seemed in no hurry to ex-
plain. On the contrary, he closed the
door carefully behind him, swapping
the catch of the night-latch as he did
it, though this Griswold did not
know. Next he drew down the win
dow shade and, wheeling out the
chair from Griswold's desk, sat down
to clip the end from very large ci-
gar.
Griswold had watched his move
ments, first in wonder and then with
a chill frost of despair slowly freez-
ing him. For one brief instant he
glanced aside at the rifle hanging
upon the wall, but he quickly looked
away from it. and. to be the farther
from temptation, dropped into Ray
mer's pivot-chair and covered his
face with his hands. 1t had come.
81 guess you know what I'm here
for" said the detective, finally, when
the big cigar was we'll alight.
Griswold nodded.
Griffin smoked stolidly for full
minute before he added: "l've had
u devil of a time finding you; never
should have found you if you hadn't
gone off your head and got girl
crazy"
This time Griswold made no sign.
Once again his eyes were marking
the exact distance of the rifle on the
wall. A silence surcharged with the
electricity of possibilities settled
down upon the cramped little room;
and when it became unbearable the
detective broke it.
where's the swag?' he asked,
briefly.
Then Griswold spoke for the first
time. cts here in this plant; the
greater part of it."
"lIumph! 1 supposed So" And
then, after another silent intervals:
"Why the devil don't you say some
thing?"
Griswold spread his hands. "There
is nothing to say-nothing that
think of. You have run me down,
and that's the end of its But he
glanced once more at the rifle.
Griffin smiled. "rhe gun sort O.
tempts you, doesn't it? You're Won
dering in your mind if you could
jump quick enough to get the drop
on me. You can do it if you want
to. l left my arsenal at the hotel
and came here bare-handed."
Griswold's eyes began to grow
steely. Pardon me, but that was a
very foolish thing to do, Mr.. Griffin
Reckon SOP"
Every foolish. You lose sight of the
cost of this thing which you are here
to do; the cost, not to me, but to
others who are innocent"
Griffin smiled again. ''lIundred.
thousand-dollar hold-ups are pretty
likely to be costly for somebody
"Yes. There may have been a time
when l should have given you the
key to my safety deposit box, but
that time is in the past. The money
is no longer in the bank; it is here
in this plant, and my arrest and con
viction will bring ruin upon my
friend"
"Well?" said the detective.
81 was just thinking" said Girls
void, retiectively. perhaps you car
help me to decide n point-you've
} had a good bit of experience, I take
it. If a professional highwaymar
had robbed Mr.. Galbraith last spring
would any considerable portion OF
the--the swag, as you term it, be
; recoverable now?"
, The detective gave an ex parte
opinion. "Most likely not. It's easy
come, easy go, with that lot"
"Precisely. Then I'll make you {
proposal. Leave the recovery of the
money out of the question, and II
I 60 with you peaceably and plead
guilty"
, Griffin laughed outright. "You'rt
{ cool one," he said. "What do 70,
, take me for?"
| "For wise man or fool, as thu
event shall decide. Do you accept?'
I Not much l don't!"
: 'rhen die!" yelled the man at bay
launching himself like stone from
a catapult on the detective.
The struggle was short and sharu