The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1905-09-29
WILLFUL
MURDER
No. 4 of the Series

---.-----1 hud, that VIII bear tell
fsrIiF]3s ing at any length. Not
s4s thar the others contained
details which even
would hesitate 10 recount. Il is rather
the very absence Of untowari Incident
which renders them useless for my
present purpose. I'm point Of fact our
plans were So craftily laid 10y Rafilcsl
that the chances Of a hitch were in
variably reduced tna minimum before
we went 10 wurh. We might be dis
appointed In the market value OF our
haul but Ii was quite the exception for
us 70 find ourselves confronted 10y IN
foreseen impediments or involved in
really dramatic dilemma. There was
a sameneSs even in our spoil, for, of
course, only the most precious stones
are worth the trouble we took and the
risks We ran. In short. our most sue
cessful eScapades would prove the
greatest WEAKNESS Of all in narrative
form. and none more SO than the dull
affair of the Ar3agh emeraldS. some
eight or nine weeks after the NIilches-
ter cricket week The former. how
ever had q sequel that ! would rather
forget than all our burgIarieS put to-
gethcr
1t was the evening after our return
from Ireland. and l was waiting at
my rooms for Ratlies, who had gone
OF, rs usual to dispose Of the PUN Ter.
Ratfies had his own method Of CON
ducting this very vital branch of our
business, which I was well content TO
leave entirely in bis hands lie drove
the bargains, ! believe, in a thin but
subtle disguise Of the flashy. seedy or
der and always in The cockney dia-
lect, Of which he had made himself a
master. Moreover, he invariably en-
ployed the same fence" who was os-
tensibly a money lender in a small
but Yet notorious way and in reality
a rascal as remarkable as Rallies him
self Only lately | also had been 10
the man, but ia my proper person.
We had needed capital for the getting
Of these very emer1lls. and ! had
raised 800 on the terms You would
expect from a soft spoken graybeard
with an Negotiating smile. an inces-
SAINT bow and the Shiftiest old eyes
that ever few from rim to rim OF a
pair Of spectacles 50 the original sin
ews and the final spells Of war came
in this case from the selfsame source
a circumstance which appealed 10 us
both
But these same final spoils ! was
still to see. and | waited and waited
with an impatience that grew upon me
with the growing dusk. At my open
window l had played Sister Ann until
the faces in the street below We're no
longer distinguishabe And now
was tearing to and fro in the grip of
horrible hypotheseS-a grip that tight
ened when at last the lift gates open
ed with a clatter outside-that held
me breathless until we'll known tat
too followed on my door
In the dark" said Rafiles as drag
ged him in why. Bunny, what's
wrong"
"Nothing-now you've come" said
]. shutting the door behind him in a
fever of relief and anxiety. "Welli
Well? What did they fetch?'
Five hundred"
Down"
"Got it in my pocket"
"Good man. ! cried. you don't
know what a stew I've been IN. I'll
switch on the light. I've been think
ing of you and nothing else for the
last hour. IL was ass enough to
think something had gone wrong
Raffies was smiling when the white
light filled the room, but for the
moment ! did not perceive the pecul-
iarity of his smile. | was fatuously
full Of my own late tremors and pres
ent relief. and my first idiotic act was
TO spill some whisky and squirt the
soda water all over. In my anxiety to
do instant justice to the occasion.
$50 you thought something had hap
pened?" said Raffles, leaning back
in my chair as he lit a cigarette and
looking much amused. what should
you say If something had? Sit tight,
my dear chap! 1t was nothing of the
slightest consequence. and it's all over
now A stern chase and a long one,
Bunny. but | think I'm well to wind
ward this time"
And suddenly saw that his collar
was limp. his hair matted his boots
thick with dust
"The policef' whispered aghast.
ooh, dear, no; only old Baird"
"Baird! But wasn't it Baird who
took the emeralds?"
ut was"
Then how came he to chase your
"My dear fellow, I'll tell you if you
give me a chance Its really nothing
to get In the least excited about. Old
Baird has at last spotted that I'm not
quite the common craftsman would
have him think me- So he's been doing
bis best to run me to my burrow."
"And you call that nothingr
at would be something if he had sue
ceeded, but he has still to do that.
admit, however. that he made me sit
up for the time being. 1t all comes of
going on the job so far from home.
There was the old brute with the whole
thing in his morning paper He knew
1t must have been done by some fellow
who could pass himself of for a gen
tleman, and ! saw his eyebrows 90 up
the moment | told him was the man.
with the same old twang that you
could cut with paper knife. ] did my