Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1907-08-01

~ IoOtStOOi, 3utu 10 = e'i' a.
Libraries. was on the floor next to thu
shelves. AS the sound of buckingham
voice died out. the chief took a hurried
stride and walked up the three steps %.
! the stool. Before his companion realized
what he was doing, he reached up to the
fifth shelf and from between two volumes
of Macaulay's essays pulled out a thin
black, official looking document.
1t was Frank Lanes letter book.
Yes" said the chief tr%iumphantly, an
swering B~uckingham's query. You were
fool enough to keep 1t on the premises. For
a normally shrewd man you have COM
mitted all kinds of blunders. Why. you
even directed me to the hiding place of
this little book"
The eXpressionless eyes gave no sign OF
intelligence. Barnes continued:
You were looking at the book when /
came in the house. You might have de-
stroyed it and possibly ruined this young
man; but the same fatality which induced
you to send back the suit case and to
enclose the visiting car also prompted
you to hold on to this book and to gloat
over the mere possession of it. When
your servant came upstairs | followed
him. and l heard the scraping sound of
the foolstool when it was moved next to
the bookcase in order to permit you to
conceal this valuable bit of property on
the top shelf. The more haste the less
speed. I nave eyes. and when ! came
in the room ! used en-. and it didn't re-
q,ire any wonderful amount of brains
to know that a shabbily bound book OF
this kind was out Of place between two
aristocratic looking copies of Lord Ma
caulay."
Buckingham dropped his eyes. He was
nearing the end of his rope. He looked
up. presently. with the air of a man
about to plead for mercy. But those
eloquent hands told a different story.
They twitched ~nervously, opening and
closing repeatedly. Barnes was standing
by the side of the footstool. Buckingham
approached him with an air of great
humility. Suddenly the fat hands shot
out and the stubby fingers closed about
the neck of the customs official. Just
when Barnes was becoming purple in the
face the villain gave him n shove and
threw him head first over the footstool,
where he lay all in a heap on the floor.
Buckingham grabbed his hat. and hurried
down the stairway, two steps at a time.
In the hallway he met with an unex-
pected obstruction. Something glistened
ominously in the dim light, and some
thing cold, touching the tip of his nose,
sent a shiver down his spinal column.
The ever faithful Clancy was back of the
barrel. and when he spoke 1t was
through his closed teeth:
If you dare to move I'll shoot, and if
l do you'll be sorry"
There was a convincing carnestness
ABOUT these words. While Buckingham
was thinking them over Barnes, deeply
at having been caught una wares.
slipped downstairs and deity fastened a
pair of hanGcuffS upon the wrists of his
late antagonist
1t did not take long to prove the guilt
OF MI. John Buckingham. ..nen he first
the charges of the Consolidated
against Lane he was act,ated
solely by business motives; but when he
that the young consul gem
eral was engaged to his ward his aim
became vindictive as we'll as mercelary.
lie had gone to the wharf to get a clan
look at the maj who was his
and business rival. He noticed
the jealousy with which Lane guarded his
suit case, shrewdly guessed it's contents,
and when the young man rushed over to
greet Helen. Buckingham. on the spur of
moment. conceived the idea of stealing
the bag. 1t was a bold act, but he was
a bold MAI and succeeded. He Jumped
INTO a waiting cab, and for want of n
better direction ordered the man to drive
to the Grand Trunk railway station. On
the way there he broke the lock of the
suit case and abstracted the letter book.
the bag up again he deposited
in the package room of the station. I
His first idea on reaching home was to
destroy the book. but he became deeply
Interested in the letters and thus, fatally
for himself, postponed it's destruction. The
of the brass check suggested
sport at the expense of his victim.
put 1t in a typed envelope and, just
as Barnes had surmised. noting the John
Smith visiting card on his desk, slipped
that in the envelope also. :
B~uckingham's arrest proved to be a for
thing for Helen Thomson in more
|ng to lead the life of II retired merchant.
ne was secretly a confirmed stock mar
Set gamble He became heavily involved,
md in order to tide himself over a crisis
to use the money he held In trust
for the girl. His proposal of marriage
been made to Helen purely for the
of covering up his financial trans
The failure to ruin young Lane
md his own detection uncovered all OF
his other delinquencies. The guardianship,
foolishly arranged by her father with a
man he had only known in n business
way. was terminated Just in time to save
the remainder of Helen's little fortune. !.
Three weeks later, while Barnes sat In
his office indulging in day dreams, the
tive young woman and a stylishly dressed
young man. :
Let me speak to him. said the girl. two
pink spots glowing on her smooth cheeks.
NO. Helen" protested the young man.
II think l should do it," .
Barnes sree:ed his visitors warmly and
then raised his hand to silence,
He spoke like a man who has made a
decision.
You needn't speak. I nov what you're
going to say. l haven't done it for forty
years. but I'll make an exception in this
case. IN promise to dance at your we'd
q
INC he did.
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