The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1907-12-27

CNONs iuuccu, NE was III tue Whirlpool
Would he emerge high and dry in Ii,
El Dorado Of gilded vice which Ii,
longed TO enter, or would fortune con
sign him to Portland again perchance
to the scatfold? He could not say. IT
would not feel safe until Philip Ansoa
was myth and Victor Grenier 2
reality, with many thousands IN III.
bank
Already he was planning plausible
iies to keep Mason out Of his fan
share of the plumber, A few more
forged letters would easily establish
the fact that he was unable to obtain
O bigger haul than. say. 100000
/ And what did Mason want with E25.
crude tastes Twenty, fifteen, ten
thousand would be ample for his
wants The sooner he drank himself to
death the better
With each fresh cigar Mason's mole
~ shrank In dimensions. The murder
was mere affair OF = vengeful blow,
but this steady sucking Of the million
aires riches required finesse, dashing
adroitness, the superb impudence of q
Cagliostro.
fered, the total fixed in Grenier's origi
nal scheme in nowise became affected
He meant to have hundred thou-
sand pounds, and he firmly decided
not TO go beyond that amount Ills
letter to the bankers named f150.et'G.
and he calculated that by stopping
short at two-thirds of .the ayailabls.
sum he would not give any gruru
for suspicion or personal inquiry.
Yet he would shirk nothing. Mr. AIS
ingdon and Miss Atherley must he
avoided at all events. Others be womb
face blithely. He took care to have
ever on the table In his sitting room 4
goodly supply OF wines and spirits.
If any one sought an interview, it
might Ne helpful to sham a slight de-
gree Of intoxication. The difference
between Philip drunk and Philip sober
would then be accounted for readily
But rest-that was denied him. |
was one thing to harden hin1sel
against surprise. quite another to for
get that disfigured corpse swirline
about in the North sea.
He wished now that Philip Arson
had not been cast forth naked. 1t was
! blunder not to dress him, to provide
him with means of identification with
some unknown Smith or Jones.
When he closed his eyes he could SEE
/ shadowy form waverlng helpless
n green depths. Never before wee
ais hands smeared with blood. He hati
ouched every crime save murder.
Physically he was coward L I
,lotting the attack on Philip he had
axed his ingenuity for weeks to dis
over some means where he need not 1
become Mason's actual helper. He re
scted project after project The thiar
night be bungled, so he must attend 20
ach part Of the undertaking himsc.
hort of using a bludgeon.
He slept again and dreamed OF Ion:
lights through space pursued by de
mons. How he longed for day! How
toWiy tns uours phSsSu hItof uhWh
ntil the newspapers were obtainable.
nth their columns Of emptiness for
i'm.
A letter came from Evelyn II was
tribe reserved, with an impulse to
bars concealed In 1t:
asked mother for go, 90 the Blue ,
tom incident has endsd, but I dsnf
link | Will ever understand the mood In
hich you wrote your last telegram
srhaps your latter now IN the pos | !
III expected II az naidday-wiN explain
sttsrs somewhat
He consigned Blue Atom to q snltry
lime and began to ask himself why
Ir. Abingdon had not written. Ths
k-magistrate's rsticence annoyed him.
letter even demonstrate ting with hIiu
ould he grateful. This silence was
ritating: II sayored OF doubt. and
'ubt was the one phase of thought III q
ished to keep out of Mr. Abingdons
ind at that moment. .
As for Evelyn, she instructed even {
: kilograms. while a bank had ac- r
pied his signature without reserva-
IN. He would punish her with zest.
nilip Anson'H memory would be pois- y
'ed In her hsart long before she real
ad that he was dead.