Los Angeles herald., 1906-09-30

XXI ing the report of the detective. When
RzSyHN he had recovered his eomposure he
EzS&& again picked up the mssive, and con
tinued reading as follows;
"The firm had kept the secret till they were
forced to disclose It, knowing well that any ru-
NOR of their loss would involve them in ruin
But directly the truth was known, it was clear
to every one that the robbery had been com
mitted by Behag and Sterious and that the two
men had endeavored to make off with all the
negotiable securities on the Pajarito.
"At first it seemed probable that the two men
had rowed ashore in the dnghey and made good
their escape, but month after the failure OF
Hicks, Sterous & Company, the sea gave up its
dead. The body of man was washed ashore
forty miles north of Valparaiso, and though
scarcely shred of flesh was left on the bones,
and the clothes were SO worn as to scarcely
afford the means of identification, yet there was
no doubt that it was the body of Richard Behag,
for gold ring bearing his monogram was still
hanging on one of his fingers. The skull was
broken in, and the doctor who examined the body
gave it as his opinion that this was the result
OF foul play. The mark was long and clearly
defined, as though it had been inflicted by some
heavy instrument, and it was clearly not caused
by rocks or an accidental collision of the body
with anything in the sea.
lhls discovery put an entirely new complex
ion on affairs, and the police came to the rea.
sonabe conclusion that Sterious had murdered
behag and made good his escape with the lost
securities 'Ns'
This theory was subsequently confirmed by a
most unexpected occurrence, One morning about
SIX months after the day Sterious and Behag
bulky package from England. 1t was register.
ca and addressed in handwriting that he did
not recognize, On opening it he found that Il
epntainea the whole of the missing securities, and
ehat only the sum of two thousand pounds was
.rlssine. .,'a Inc surprise was as welcome as it
was ineXp1cable Nut Hicks, Sterious & Co. have
regalned nearly all the prestige they had lost
ahu tney are today of the most respected
nrms IN Valparaiso. / may say that the package
was posted IN the southwest district of London
for obvious reasons the firm made no en-.
9eaVors to trace the whereabouts of Arthur
-. iious' s'm' ana the police here have their hands
700 luil OF murder cases to take any trouble in
.ne case OF young man who had no friends to
stimulate their efforts with hard cash The
matter has been entirely dropped Richard Re-
nag Is dead and Arthur Sterious has disappeared
ana there the whole story seems to end.
.ereiui pefusal OF the evidence that send you
has lea me to the following simple conclusion:
'Behag and Sterious arranged to rob the hank
ana escape on the Pajarito, They subsequently
quarreed as thieves will do over the division
OF the spoil. Or, perhaps Sterious, who seems
TO nave been Thorough seoundrel thought it
"ooiu W pebb 10 put MS dccOmnllce ont of the
way At any rate, Arthur Sterous killed Behaa
threw him overheard and tried to sail the Yacht
himself. He probably found this too much for
hlm, got into difficulties, scutted the boat and
made OIL for shore in the dinghey, which he sub.
sequently left to the mercy of the waves and
WINDS. Eventually he managed to make his way
to Europe. Up to this point the theory seems
to present no difficulties, but the return of the
securities is absolutely inexplicable, and | have
as yet been unable to conceive why a man who
had rlsked 50 much to gain this end, and who
had even killed his accomplice in the course of
his crime, should give back the very thing for
which ne had committed both robbery and muir
der.
Il may say IN conclusion that I have made
strenuous efforts to secure photograph of Ar,
thur Sterious, and have even committed mild
burglary with this object in view. The Young
man has apparently only been photographed
once during the past seven years. and / have
been unable to lay my hands on single copy.
AS, however, my instructions do not extend be-
yond the confirmation of Mr.. Behags death.
dare say your client will be satisfied with what
l have accomplished.
UNLESS | receive a cable from you within
two months from date / shall return home. In
the mean time / will endeayor to obtain such
information about Mr., Sterious as may lead to
his ultimate capture. The case interests me-
and If any one else is sufficiently interested in
the detection of the murderer, and would nay
my expenses and a trihe fer myself / will guar
antee to track the fellow down. At present my
only clue is the fact that the securities were
posted from London, and that the fugitive is a
man Of great height and breadth of shoulder,
with fair hair and grey eyes. As you may i'm
agine, this description will fit large number
of men,
II am, dear sir, your obedient servant,
"EDWARD LAMPET"
Jordison laid the letter down, and stared into
the fire. 1t warmed his face with red glow
yet the tinge of color did not soften the hard
cold misery in his eyes. His son was dead; lit
tie Dcke, whom he only remembered as an in
nocent child, was dead-a thief murdered by his
accomplice.
ut is we'll" he murmured to himself; "it is
well that he is dead"
Yet that day he wired to Briggs & Warlock
and before evening the message had been flashed
across the broad Atlantic to Edward Lampet
The cable was short but expressed all that was
uppermost in the mans mind:
"Sterious must be found. Spare no expense"