The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-02-01

shess esenp th s' s aGs spsaE
sf ~ e. q IAs}gf e Ss 81 u's Sg
aid Of tho oonstable's lantern, we had
searched every nook and Granny.
Only one discovery Of note was made
and It was certainly a strange one.
Beneath a loose board near, the fires
place Jevons discovered the dead man'f
hoard. It consisted Of several papsr1
carefully folded together. We examined
them ana found them to consist Of Z
hawker's license, a receipt for the pay
nent for a barrow and donkey, a post
office savings bank book, showing ball
anoe OF twenty-six pounds four shillings,
and several letters from a correspondent
unsigned. They were typewritten In orr
der tnat the handwriting should not bS
betrayed. and upon that flimsy paper
were of the highest interest The first
read aloud by Amber, ran as follows:
Dear Lane,-r have known you q good
many years. and never thought you wer<
such fool as to neglect good thing
Surely you will reconsider the proposal
made to you the night before last In
the bar Of tho elephants and Castle YOU
once did mo very good turn long ago,
and now I am In a position to put a.
good remunerative bit OF business In.
your way. Yet you are tlrnid that all 4
may not turn out well. Apparently you
do not fully recognize the stake I hold
in the matter. and the fact that any. ex.ss
posure would mean ruin to me. Surely
i have far moro to loae than you have
Therefore that, In itself, should be suf.
ficlent guarantee to you, Reconsider
your reply. and give me your decision to-
morrow night. You will find me In thu 4
saloon bar OF the King Lud in Ludgatt
Hill at s o'clock. Do not speak to mo
there. but show yourself and then wait
outside until Join you. Have care
that you are not followed. That hawk
Amber Jevons has scent OF U.S. There
fore, remain dumb and watchful.-z.'
That's curious'1 remark ed. Who
ever wrote that letter was melting Lane
to conspiracy. and at the same time held.
you In fear. AMBER
My com panion laughed again-a q,tiat
self-satisfied laugh. Then he commenced
the second letter, typewriter like the
first, but evidently upon another ma
chine.
Dear Lane.-Your terms seem exorbi-
tant. I quite understand that at least
four or five OF you must be in the AFFAIR.
but the price asked Is ridiculous. Be-
sides. I didn't like Benefits tone whey
he spoke to me yesterday. He was all.
most threatening. What have you told
him? Recollect that each of us knows
something to the detrlment OF the others,
and even In these = days OF so-calledE
equality the man with money, Is always
the best man. You must contrive to shut
Benefits mouth Give him money, *
he wants it-up to ten pounds. But Of
You can. of course, pose as my friend.
as you have done before. I shall DO at
the usual plaza to-night-Z.
Looks as though there's been some
Matchmaking" one OF the constables res
marked. who's Bennett7'
II expect that's Bobby Bennett who
works In the Meat Market. replied the
Aldgate. He was q friend Of Lanky's
and q bad 'un. I've card say that Q
'ad a record at the OLD Bailey"
what for?''
"'Ousebreakln'.s
IFS he working now1" Amber inquired
Yes, I saw i'm IN Fnrrtndon Street
yesterday.
"Ah!' remarked tho constable. .rwo
shall probably want to have chat with
him. But tho chief mystery Is tho Iden-
| tity of the writer Of these letters Al
all events It Is evident that this poor
man Lane knew someth'8ia; to his detrt-
ment and was probably trying to make
something out Of that knowledge''
mot at all an unusual case" said.
Jevons grunted and appeared to view
tho letters with considerable satisfaction.
Any documentary evidence surrounding
a case OF mysterious death is always OF
Interest. In this case being OF suoh a
suspicious nature. 1t was doubly so. S
"Are you quite decided not to assist
mo? another letter ran. 1t was like
wise typewritten. and from the same
source. ''Recollect you did 30 once, and
| were we'll paid for It.. You had enough
to keep you In luxury for years had you
not so foolishly FILTERED It away on your
so-callod friends. Any OF the latter
| would give you away to the police to-
| morrow for fve-pound note. This. how
| ever, Is my last appeal to you II yove
| help me shall give you one hundrsa
| pounds which Is not bad payment for
an hours work. II you do not. then
you will not hear from me again,z, =
Seems a bit brief, and to the point"
was the elder constable's remark "r
wonder what Is the affair mentioned by
this mysterious correspondence? Evidently
the fellow Intended to bring OFT a rob-
berry, or something. and Lane refused to
give his aid.''
Apparently So replied Amber. FIN
gering the last letter remaining In his
hand "Rut this communication Is even
of greater interest" he added. turning
to mo and showing me writing In q well-
known hand.
~ know that writing!'' cried Why
that letter Is from poor Mrs. CourtenayI' 4
ut la he said quietly 'Did not
tell you that We We're on the eve OF az
discovery and that the dead man lying
there could have told w the trut'Na''