Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1907-04-13
The Holiday Case
<. STEVENSON.
Copyright suu--saaazz.uH
Copyright BY Henry

Igny was buying paper OF news
boy. He shook II out and looked quick
ly UP and down its columns, like a
man who is searching for some special
item OF news. Perhaps he was spec
! ulator; perhaps, after all, / was deceiY-
! ing myself In imagining that he was
! following me. ] had no proof Of II, II
was the most natural thing In the world
that he should be in this part Of the
town. ! must test the theory before
accepting IL. 1t was time ! grew wary
OF theories.
l entered the store, and spent ten
minutes looking at some neCkties. When
l came out again Martigny was just
getting down from a bOotblaCk's chair
across the street. His back was toward
me, and ! watched him get out his lit
tie purse and drop a dime into the boot
| blacks hand ! went on up Broadway,
| lettering sometimes sometimes walk
ing straight ahead; always away be-
! hind me, lost I'm the crowd, was my
purSuer. 1t could no longer be doubted
He was really following me. though he
did il so adroitly with such Cousum-
mate cunning that l should never
have seen him, never have suspected
him, but for that fortunate intuition
at the start
hundred plans flashed through my
| brain. / had this advantage, he could
not know that suspected him. II / could
/ only overmaster him in cunning wrest
his secret from him-and then, as | re-
membered the strong face, the piercing
eyes, the perfect self~control. / realized
how little possible il was that / could
accomplish this. lie was my superior
in diplomacy and deceit, he would not
pause, now, at any means to assure
the success Of his plot
Yes, ! could doubt no longer that
there was plot, whose depths / had
not before even suspected and / drew
back from the thought with a little
shiver. What was the plot? What in
tricate, dreadful crime was this which
he was planning? The murder of the
father, then, had been only the first
step. The abduction of Frances Holla-
day was the seCOnd-what would the
third bc2 How could we prevent his
taking IT? Suppose we should be un-
cessful? And, Candidly, what chance
of success could we have, fighting In
the dark against this accomplished
scoundrel? He had the threads all IN
his fingers, he controlled the situation:
we were struggling blindly, snarled in
net Of mystery from which there
seemed no escaping. My Imagination
clothed him with Superhuman attrib-
utes. For a moment, a Wild desire pos
sessed me TO turn upon him, to confront
him, 10 accuse him to Coufouud him
v
edge TO surprise his secret, to trample
him down,
But the frenzy passed No, he must
not discover that / suspected him;
must not yield up that advantage. I
might yet surprise him, mislead him
set "a trap for him, get him 10 say more
than he wished to say That battle of
wits would come later on-this very
night, perhaps-but for the moment. /
could do nothing better than carry out
my first plan. Yet, he must not SuS-
pect the direction of my search-I must
throw him off tho track. Why. this
was for all the world. just like the
penny-dreadfuls Of my boyhood-and
smiled at the thought that / had be-
come an actor in drama fitted for a
red-and-yellow cover!
My plan was soon made l crossed
Broadway and turned up Courtlandt.
sauntering along it until the elevated
loomed just ahead: l heard the roar
of an approaching train, and stopped
TO purchase some fruit at the corner
stand My pursuer was some distance
behind, closely inspecting the bric-a-
brac in peddlers cart The train
rumhled into the station and. starting
as though l had just perceived it. l
bounded up the stair slammed my ticket
into the chopper and dived across the
the train held the gate open for me an
instant and then changed it shut We
were off with jerk; as | looked back, |
saw Martigny rush out upon the plat
form. He stood staring after me for
an instant; then, with a sudden grasp
ing at his breast, staggered and seemed
to fall A crowd closed about him the
tram whisked around a corner. and
could see no more.
But, at any rate. / was well free of
him, and / got off at Bleecker street,
walked on to the Square, and began
my search. My plan was very simple.
Beginning on the east side OF West
Broadway, it was my intention to stop
at every house and inquire whether
dodgers We're kept My experience at
the first place was pretty fair sam
pie OF all the rest
A frowsy-headed woman answered
my knock
You have rooms to let?'I asked
"Oh, yes. monsieur" she answered
with an expansive grin. step zis way
We mounted a dirty stair, and She
threw open the door with a flourish
meant to be impressive.
"Zese are re rooms, monsieur; zey
are YER fine
/ looked around them with simulated
interest, smothering my disgust as well
as | could.
Pow long have they been vacant?"
| asked
Since only two days, monsieur as
you see, zey are YER fine rooms"
That settled il. If they had been va
cant only two days, l had no further
interest in them, and with some ex-
cuse | made my way out, glad TO es-
cape from that fetid atmosphere of gar
lie and onions. So i went from
house to house; stumbling over
dirty children; climbing grimy
stairs, catching glimpses of
crowded sweat shops: peering
into all sorts of holes called rooms by
courtesy. inhaling a hundred stenches
in as many minutes: gaining an in
sight that sickened me into the squalid
life OF the quarter Sometimes | began
to hope that at last / was on the right
track but further inquiry would prove
my mistake. So the morning passed
and the afternoon. l had covered two
blocks TO no purpose and at least
turned eastward TO Broadway, and
took a car downtown TO the office. MY
assistants had reported again-they