The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1906-03-09
A DANGEROUS,
SwiIldlle 1'
By LESLIE THRALE
Copyright. 1905, by Joseph B. Bowies.]

= -. $50 = z
= Copyright. 1905, by Joseph B. Bowies)
The Misses Clutterbuck, elderly and
somewhat sour-visaged spinsters, sat
In the drawing-room of their comfort
able suburban residence =; = ss.ssg, = = 4
. Their topic of conversation was an un>
known colonial nephew, who had signt-
fed his intention of taking tea with them
that afternoon. t,,5SL "a .s;;y7f.Ea<11 f..
Il must say Eliza" observed Miss
Maria Clutterbuck, the: younger (by az
ittle) Of the two sisters, "our nephew
announces, his intention of coming to-
See us in very unceremonious man
Fer" :.
Eyes, indeed" agreed Miss Eliza. che
never even takes the trouble to write,
but just sends a telegram to say that he
will be with us at tea-time: this after
noon" -:
eve must. make allowances for his
colonial upbringing," said Miss Maria;
II have always heard that in Australia
their manners are~very free and easy.
Still it is curious that we should hear
Of his arrival so unexpectedly"
John mentioned no dates in his last
letter." remarked Miss Eliza, che just
said he was sending. his eldest boy Dick
home on a visit to- England, and that he
had tolc him to be sure and look us up
directly ne came to- London"
AS she spoke servant entered.
If you please, ma'am," she said,
"there is a gentleman outside who
wishes to see you most particularly. He
says he won't detain you many minutes,
and asked me to give you this card"
"Police Detective Roderic Clay" read
Miss Eliza, adjusting her pince-nez,
"from Scotland Yard. Dear me, Maria,
what can a man from Scotland Yard
want to see us about? I suppose we
must have him in. Show the gentleman
in, Jane"
"Good afternoon, ladies'" said the
stranger, bowling to the sisters. Il be-
lieve have the pleasure of speaking to
the Miss Clutterbucks.'
pray sit down, Mr.. Clay" said Miss
Eliza; Il perceive by your card that you
are a detective from Scotland Yard"
YES" replied Mr.. Clay, RI feel must
apologize for intruding upon you in such
manner, Miss Clutterbuck, but am
paying number of visits in this district
this afternoon to put the householders
on their guard against very dangerous
swindler." $50. .'.' :~-7-.
,~ "What do, you mean" exclaimed the
sisters. anxiOusly, =, ... T..
II mean,' said Mr.. Clay, that without
wishing to alarm you unnecessarily.
feel it my duty to tell you that there has
been series of impudent robberies in
this neighborhood recently, and there
fore it is only right that you should be
warned"
''Housebreaking?" inquired Miss
Maria, nervously., - ."," :.
mo, nothing of the kind" said the de-
tective. >'This thief's method is Quieter
and quite as effective, A. good-looking
young man is in the habit of calling at
the houses Of well-to-do people, such as
this, and gaining admission on some
plausible pretext. Occasionally he
passes himself off as the piano-tuner,
or as a man connected with the rates,
but frequently he poses as a more aris-
tocratic visitor"
II do hope this dreadful man is not
| going to pay us visit" said Miss Maria.
"You must not worry yourself,
madam" said the police officer, sooth-
ingly, Every likely he won't come near
this particular house, only as said just
now felt it my duty to come and tell
you to be careful about admitting stran.
gers"
*tWhat does the man call himself?''
asked Miss Clutterbuck. 49,.
"A different name each time, fancy ii
replied the detective; I'VE call him Sun.
ny jack I believe his real name is
John Stunning. He is a >gentlemanly
young man of excellentmanners. Halls
from Australia or Whereabouts" &,
At the mention of the word tAus.
tralia," the sisters exchanged a signiA.
cant glance. The same dreadful idea
suddenly occurred to both of them.
supposing the telegram they had re-
ceived that afternoon was not genuine!
What if Sunny jack was about to pay
them a visit in the role of their nephew
Dick Clutterbuck! Possibly he knew
that their nephew was on his way home
and was going to try and turn his knowl
edge to profitable account. :. az
| -. At all events, after. a. little reflection
Miss Eliza thought it prudent to mentor
her suspicious to the detective. ~,
Detective Clay got up from his chair
in great excitement. "a
II believe you are right; he ex
claimed; II think the man who sent tina
telegram is none other than Sum,
jack himself. Somehow or other he hal
! found out that you are expecting an un
i. known nephew, Land. SO he. has resolve,
i to impersonate him. My visit here thi.
| afternoon is most providential." I
4 pray tell US what we must do, sal,
II