Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1907-11-05

The Letter was from Mr.. Abingdon.
Ii briefly acknowledged his telegram,
stated That Il man In the Athenaeum
who knew Sir Philip Morland had In
formed him in response to guarded In
uuirias that the baronet was exceed
ingly well OF and called attention to
some important leases inclosed which
required his signature.
The other note was from Evelyn. 1t
was tender and loving and contained
reference that added to the mystifica-
ton of her telegram.
In the hurry Of your departure yester-
day We forgot to mention Blue Atom.
What is yorr opirion? The price Is high,
certainly. but. then. picture the JOY OF 1t
the only one In the world!
And again came another message:
referred 10 Blue Atom. of course.
What did the postoflce make IT into?
EVELYN.
Blue Atom was assuming spectral
dimensions. He cursed the thing flu.
emily. 1t was high priced, joy. alone
in solitary glory. What could it be?
He strolled into the station and en-
tered into conversation with n plat
form inspector.
"By the way" he said casually.
shave you ever heard Of anything call
ed blue atom?"
The man grinned. as that another
name for d. T.'s, sir?"
Grenier gave it up and resolved to
postpone decision until the next
morning.
BY a late train Philips pOrtmanteau
arrived. 1t was locked, and the key
reposed In the safe. Green, 1t ulti-
mately transpired, solemnly opened the
safe in the presence Of the housekeeper
and butler. locked 1t again without
disturbing any Of the other contents
and handed the key to the butler, who
placed it in the silver pantry.
In the solitude of his room Grenier
burst the lock The rascal received
one of the greatest shocks of his life
when he examined the contents - Il
quantity of old clothing, some worn
boots, ball of twine, bed coverlet,
a big iron key, the tattered letters and
a variety Of odds and ends that would
have found no corner In respectable
ragshop.
He burst into fit Of hysterical
laughter.
"Ye gods and little fishes" he cried.
"What TREASURED! The Clerkenwell
suit, I suppose. and woman's skirt
and blouse Old timers, too. by their
style. His mothers. l expect. He
must have been fond Of his mother"
At that moment .Iocky Mason. beetle
browed and resentful, was reading a
letter which reached his lodgings two
bearing the ominous initials 30. II.
NJ. S."
1t was from the Southwark police
station.
Sir-Ki-dlr make 1t convenient to at
tend here tomorrow evening ut p. m.
Yours truly. T BRADLEY.
Inspector.
The following lay it was Mason's
irty to report himself under his ticket
1f-!eayc. hut 1t was quite unusual for
thc po,.ce to give a preliminary warm
ag III this respect. Failure Oh his part
meant :;r"cSt That was all the Off
.ials locked after.
what's M now?" he muttered.
"Anywa.'. Grencr was right. This
Gives ne Il cast iron alibi. I'll ac'
KNOWLEDGE it ut once"
His accompice. hoping to obtain
sleep FROM champagne, consumed the
contents CT Il small bottle in his bed
room, while he scanned the columns OF
the local evening papers for any ref
erence to Il seaside mystery" on the
Yorkshire coast.
There was none. Anson's body had
not been recovered yet.
Before going to bed he wound Phil
ip's watch. He examined 1t now with
greater interest than he had bestowed
on 1t hitherto.
Although silver, 1t appeared to be
good one. He opened the case to ex-
anime the works Inside there was an
inscription:
Presented to Philip Anson. aged fifteen
years. by the officers and men OF the
Whitechapel division of the metropolitan
police as a token Of their admiration for
his bravery in assisting to arrest no.
torious burglar.
Beneath was the date of Mason's
capture.
"Where was / ten years ago?' he
mused.
He looked back through the sOiled
leaves Of sordid record and found
that he was then acting in melo-
drama entitled "The Wages Of Sim"
And the wages Of sin Is death! The
drama insisted on the full measure OF
Biblical accuracy. Altogether Grenier
lay down to rest under unenyiable con-
ditions.
He dreamed that he was falling down
precipices and striking sheets Of blue
water with appalling splashes. Each
time he was awakened by the shock.
But he was a hardy rogue where
conscience was concerned, and he
swore himself to sleep again. Rest he
must have. He must arise with steady
head and clear brain.
He was early astir. His first act
was to send for the Yorkshire morn.
ing papers. They contained no news
Of Philip Anson dead, but the local
sheet chronicled his arrival at York.
This was excellent. The banker
would see 1t. A few printed lines car.
| ry great weight In such matters.
Then he signed the leases, dispatched
them in a typewriter envelope and
telegraphed:
Documents forwarded this morning
| Please meet wishes expressed in letter.
Surely" he reflected, Abingdon
will not give another thought to my
proceedings. Philip Anson Is not q
boy In leading strings"
He wired to Evelyn:
Sorry for misunderstanding. Blue Atom
must wait until my return.
Here was way out. Whatever thai
wretched speck Of color meant, 1t could
be dealt with subsequently.
But Evelyn's prompt reply only made
confusion worse confounded:
Delay is impossible. The man has put
of the duchess two days already.
So man and a duchess and a periot
of time were mixed up with blue
atom. He must do something desper
ate-begln his plan Of alienation soon
] er than he intended. He answered: