The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-01-28
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CHAPTER I.
A Bolt from, the. Blue.


wind, snow, slush, and sleet as is to be
found nowhere save in mid-March New
York. and our tempers had suffered ac-
cordingly. I had found cab unoh-
tainable, and there was, Of course, the
inevitable jam on the elevated, with the
ule. I was some half hour late, in con-
sequence, and when I entered the inner
office, / was surprised to- find Mr.. Ora
ham, our senior, already at his desk.
He nodded good morning little curtly.
81 wish you'd look over these papers
In the Hurd case, Lester,' he said, and
pushed them toward me.
/ took them and sat down; and Just,
then the outer door slammed with a vio'
lence extremely unusual.
Tor, so deeply shaken, so visibly distract
ed, as he was when he burst in upon us
a moment later, a newspaper in: his
hand. Mr.. Graham, startled by the noise
Of his entrance, wheeled around from
his desk and stared at:him in astonish-
ment.
"Why,, upon my word, john, he be-
gan, ''you look all done up. What s
the matter?'
spread out the paper on the desk before
him. You haven't seen the morning
and he Indicated with trembling finger
the article which occupied the first: col
umn of the first page the place Of honor.
I saw our seniors face change as he
read the headlines, and he seemed posi-
lively horror-stricken as he ran rapidly
thru the story which followed. -
"Why,, this is the most remarkable
thing l ever readl' he burst out atSlast.
Remarkable cried the other.
"Why, it s a damnable outrage, sir!
The idea that a gentle, cultured girl
like Frances Holiday would deliber-
him down in cold blood--is too mon
strous, too absolutely preposterous, too
--too-' and he stopped, fairly choked
by his emotion.
The words brought me upright in my
chair. Frances Holiday accused Of
But Mr.. Graham was reading. thru the
article. again more carefully, and while
he" nodded alphabetically to show
that, he fully. assented TO the others
words, q straight, deep line Of perplex-
lrty, which :, | had come; to recognize,
"Plainly,'':: he :; said at: last, "the
whole case hinges on: the evidence of
this man. Rogers-Holladay' confden-
tial :.!ark-:and from what know of
Rogers, should say that he'd be the
last man in the world to- make :willful
laday entered her fathers office late
yesterday afternoon. stayed there 10
minutes, and then came out hurriedly.
A few: minutes later Rogers went into
the office and found his employer dead
That That s. the whole case, c;ase' but it'll be a
"Well, it must be broken!'' retorted
the other, pulling himself together with
!, supreme, effort "Of course, Ill take
"Of course!''
"Miss Holiday probably sent for me
YOU know, looking up that witness in
the Hurd affair. He II be all right, and
his evidence will give us the case
Our answer in the Brown in
junction can wait till tomorrow. That IS
all, [ think
"Yes--L see the inquest is to begin
at 10 O'Clock. You haven't much
"No-I'd like to have a good man
with me,' and he glanced in my direc
te Nv heart you spare "mn me Le Les it,
question was hoping he would ask.
chief readily: "In case like this, Ger
tainly.: Let me hear. from you in the
Mr.. Royce nodded as he started fo1
"I will; We'll find some flaw in thai
fellow s story, depend upon it: Come
on, Lester.'
I snatehed up pen, and paper and fol
lowed him to the elevator. In a mo
ment we were in the street; there wer
loads and starting back uptown again
we hailed one, and: in another momen
were rafting along toward our destina
tlon with such speed as the storm per
mltted. = There were many question
surging thru my brain to which L shoul'
no Hoo ArI e,A1
had cut off my paper that morning, an
| regretted now that [ had not made
more determined effort to get another
A GLANCE at my companion showed IN
the folly of attempting to secure an.
information from his, so I -contented my
of the history of the principals.
knew Hiram W; Holiday, the mu1
dered man, quite well; not only as ever
New Yorker knew that multi nillionair
as one of the most successful operator
since he had been a client Of *Graha1
& Royce for twenty years and more
He was at that time we'll on towar
seventy years Of age, I should say II
% NE carried 5s h hif years SaG rem remarkf da
dead, and he he had only one child, hi
about 25. She had been born: abroad
and spent the first years of her lif
there with her mother, who had LINGERIE
on the Riviera and among the hills Q
Italy and Switzerland in the hope Of n
gaining health, which had been fai
ing, SO I, understood, ever since he
daughter g birth. She had come: HON
at last, bringing the :black-eyed chill
with her, and within the year was dea,
Holladay's affections from that m,
ment seemed to grow and center .abol
his daughter, who developed into a ia
and DeautiIui g1rI-roo beautiful, as we
soon apparent, for our junior partner
peace Of mind. He had met her first
business way, and afterwards social.
and all of US who had eyes could sc
how he was eating his heart out at: tt
knowledge that she was far beyond h
reach; for it was evident that her fatht
deemed her worthy of brilliant ma
riage-as,. indeed, she was. sometime
thought. that she held herself at liz
value, for tho there was about her
constant crowd of suitors, none of Their
seemingly, could win an atom Of encou
Agement. She was waiting, I told m.
self, waiting; and had even picture
to myself the grim irony of a :situatio
in which our Junior might be called .upo
to arrange her marriage settlements.
The cab stopped with a jolt, and
looked up to see that we had reache
the criminal courts building. Mr.. Royt
sprang out, paid the driver, and ran u
the steps to the door, I after him: 4
~ turned down the corridor to the RICH
and entered tho room at the end Of j
which raoonpf1aS tho off Of IN