Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-11-27


me all about him, and I'll make it
worth your while"
"There amt much to tell" he an.
swered. "Leastways. nothin' partic-
ular lie was no end of tof. great
coat with silk collar. neat browns,
gloves. and bowler at"
"Mustache?"
Yes, and waved. Got a sort of
broadsrrow on his cheek, and looked
at ye as If lis eyes was pimlete. and
he wanted to bore hole through
yer; called at seven, breakfast at
half-past, am and eggs and two cups
of corfee and roll, all took up to
i'm in is room. Ordered q cab to
catch the nine o'clock express to
Southampton. I puts i'm in with his
bag and blanket, and saws: Kindly
remember the boots, sir and he
says: I've done IT. said 'adn't
ad it, and he told me to 90 to.
well. the place as isn't mentioned in
perlite company. That's all know
about i'm"
He paused and shook his head In
the direction Of the bar, after which
he observed that he knew all about
it, and one or two other things be-
side.
I gave him a shilling for his infor-
nation and then left the house.
Once more | had missed Gideon
Hayle by few minutes, but / had
received some information that might
help me to find him again. Unfor-
! fiInnfplU bCuvavor he
on his way to Southampton, and in
few hours might be out of England.
My respect for that astute gentleman
was increasing hourly, but it did not
deter me, only made NE the more re-
solved to beat him in the end. Max
ing my way to Waterloo, / inquired
when the next train left for South
ampton. Finding that I had more
than an hour and half to wait, I
telegraphed to the man l had sent to
Southa mpton TO watch the docks,
and then took the electric railway to
the city, and made my way to my Of
fee, where pile OF correspondence
awaited me on nv table. Calling my
managing clerk to my assistance, I
set to work TO examine il. He
opened the letters while I psrused
them and dictated the various re-
plies. When ne came to the fifth he
uttered an exclamation Of surprise.
What is it?" I inquired. ANY
thing wrong2"
In reply he handed me letter
without an address, 1t ran as fol-
lows:
"Mr. Gideon Fayle returns thanks
for kind inquiries, and begs to in
form Mr.. Fairfax that he is leaving
England to day for Algiers."
IF he thinks he is going TO bluff
me with that sort of tale, he's very
much mistaken" l said. ~ happen
to be aware of the fact that he left
for Southampton by the nine o'clock
train this morning. If might
hazard guess as to where he was
going, l should say that his destina-
ton is the Cape. But let him go
where he will, I'll have him yet In
the meantime, send Williams to Char
ing Cross at once, Roberts TO Vic
toria, and Dickson to St. Pauls.
Furnish each with a description Of
the man they are to look after. be
particular about the scar upon his
left cheek, and if they see him tell
them that they are not to lose sight
of him, happen what NAV. Let them
telegraph should they discover any
thing definite, and then go in pur-
suit. In any case I shall return from
Southampton tonight, and shall ca II
here at once"
Half an hour later I arrived at
: Waterloo, took my ticket and board
ed the train for Southampton. When
I reached the port l was met at the
station by my representative, who
informed me that he had seen moth
ing of the man I had described, al
though he had carefully looked for
him.
: Wen try the various shipping
Offices first" I said. II feel positive
: ly certain that he came down here
by the nine o'clock train"
We drove from shipping Office to
shipping Office, and made the most
careful inquiries, but in every case
without success. once we thought
we Hdu NlStONtTfu our man, only 20
: find, after wasting a precious hour,
that the clerks description was alto
: eether a wrong one, and that he re-
sembled Hayle in no sort OF way.
: We boarded the South African mail
boat, but he was not among her pas
l sengers we overhaulcd the Ameri-
can liner, with an equally barren re-
suit. We paid cursory visits TO the
principal hotels, but could hear no
tidings OF him in any one OF them.
; As a matter Of fact. il the man had
journeyed to Southampton, as I had
every reason to suppose he had done,
he must have disappeared into thin
air when he got there. The whole
= affair was most hewildering. and I
scarcely knew what to think OF it.
That the boots at the hotel had not
been hoodwinking me | felt assured
r in my own mind. His anger against
= the man was too real TO allow any
. doubt upon that point. At last, hav-
r ing exhausted all our resources, and
I not seeing what l could do further,
I ] returned to my subordinate's lodg-
Il ings, where il had been arranged
I that kilograms should be addressed
'' to me. On my arrival there a yellow