Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1907-04-12
The Holiday Case
BY BURTON e. STEVENSON.
Z -w1~zmmc Copyright 1903, by Henry Holt & Co


for her. My cheeks REDEEMED at the
thought of my indiscretness; yet he
was a man to command confidence.
Who would have suspected him.? And
an old proverb which he had repeated
one evening, flashed through my mind:
"Folle est la brebis qui au loup Sc
confesse."
silly is the sheep who to the wolf
herself confesses." l had translated 1t,
with hat painful. literalness character
istic of the beginner. Well, l had been
the sheep, and silly enough, heaven
knowsl
l had reached Broadway, and at the
corner paused to look at a display of
mems furnishings in a window. Far
down the street. on the other side, al
most lost in the hurrying crowd, Mar
tigny was buying a paper of a news
boy. He shook 1t out and looked quick
ly up and down it's columns, like a
man who Is searching for some special
item OF news. Perhaps he was a spec
ulator; perhaps, after all, l was deceiv-
ing myself in imagining that he was
following me. / had no proof Of 1t; 1t
was the most natural thing in the world
that he SHOULD be In this part of the
town. | must test the theory before
accepting it. 1t was time / grew wary
Of theories.
l entered the store, and spent ten
hiiilluleS lOohiIS DIT SOille HechIleS. w Heil
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. l went on up Broadway,
lettering sometimes, sometimes walk
ing straight ahead; always away be-
hind me, lost In the crowd, was my
pursuer. 1t could no longer be doubted.
Hn fxy0 q rnn1xy fnl1nyytnr ~ fAa,,rl Ha
did it so adroitly, with such consum-
mate cunning that l should never
have seen him, never have suspected
him, but for that fortunate intuition
at the start.
A hundred plans flashed through my
brain. l had this advantage, he could
not know thatI suspected him. If l 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, I realized
how little possible it was that I could
accomplish this. He was my superior
in diplomacy and deceit; he would not
pause, now, at any means to assure
the success of his plot.
Yes, l could doubt no longer that
there was a 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 be? How could we prevent his
taking 1t? Suppose we should be un-
cessful? And, candioly, 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
a net OF mystery from which there
seemed no escaping. My ina ination
clothed him with superhuman attrib-
utes, For a moment, a wild desire pos
sessed me to turn upon him, to confront
him, to accuse him, to confound him
with the very certainty OF my knowl-
edge, TO surprise his secret, to trample
him down.
But the frenzy passed. No, he must
not discover that / suspected him; 1
must not yield up that advantage. l
might yet surprise him., mislead him.
set a trap for him, get him to 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 must
throw him off the track. Why, this
was, for all the world. just like the
penny-dreadfuls of my b~oyhood-and |
smiled at the thought that / had be-
come ar actor in a drama fitted for a
red-and-yellow cover!
My plan was soon made. 1 crossed
Broadway and turned up Courtlandt,
sauntering along it until the elevated
loomed just ahead; / heard the roar
OF an approaching train, n stopped
TO purchase some fruit at the corner
stand. My pursuer was some distance
behind, closely inspecting the bric-a-
brac in a peddler's cart. The train
rumbled 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
platform, The guard at the rear OF
the train held the gate open for me an
instant, and then changed ii shut. We
| were off with a jerk, as / looked back, L
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
train whisked around a corner. and /
could see no more.
But, at any rate. I was well free of
him, and / got off at Blocker street,
walked on to the Square. and began
my search. My plan was very simple.
Beginning on the east side of West
Broadway, IL was my intention to stop
at every house and inquire whether
dodgers were kept. My experience at
the first place was q pretty fair SAM
Pile 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 q flourish
meant TO be impressive.
"Zese are re rooms. monsieur; zey
are YER fine
L looked around them with simulated
interest. smothering my disgust as wei
as / could.
How long have they been vacant?'
I asked.
"Since only two days, monsieur; as
you see, zey are YER fine rooms"
That settled 1t. III they had been va
can't only two days. / 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 / went from
house to house: stumbling over
dirty children; climbing grimy
stairs, sstT catching glimpses OF
crowded sweat : shops: peerine
into all sorts OF holes called rooms by
courtesy: inhaling a hundred stenches
In as many minutes; gaining an in
Sigh that sickened me into the squalid