Omaha daily bee., 1907-02-10

reputation ana the future ca
reer Of a promising young Ameri-
can diplomat depended upon the
'lttsE9I solution Of the sudden and mys-
- FERROUS disappearance Of his suit
case. The newspapers were fun Of IL at the
time; but none Of than ever learned the
inside facts. and they are now presented
in their entirety for the first time.
The incident upon which the story hinges
can be briefly summarized. Francis Lane.
consul general to the Flora islands. had
been summoned from his post TO appear az
Washington to answer charges OF gross
favorftism. IL not corruption, in the man
agement of his office. The charge had been
made by the powerful Consolidated Cocoa
nut company, and although Lane was abso-
lutely innocent of wrongdoing the corpora
ton had managed 70 make out a very
plausible case against him.
BY rare good fortue Lane got possession
of a black-covered letter book belonging
TO a rival company which furnished a COM
plete vindication OF his Official acts. He
packed II in his suit case with some per-
sonal belongings, and during the voyage
over never let II out OF his sight. He held
the suit case IN his hand when the Capri
corn reached its dock. When the gang
plank was lowered he hurried on to the
wharf, and the first person TO greet him
was Helen Thomson. his fiancee. The sight
of her bright brown eyes and blushing
cheeks threw the young diplomat into an
ecstacy Of delight Involuntary he dropped
the suit case and rushed over to greet the
girl. The next minute he turned to pick up
his valuable piece of property. It was gone
had disappeared as completely as If the
wharf had opened and swallowed it.
Lane. frantic at his loss, hurried to the
custom house and told his story to Barnes
the chief inspector. When he had con-
cluded Barnes set back I'm the revolving
chair In front of the fiat top desk in his
Office and carefully scrutinized a fly that
was slowly making its way across the dec
GRATED ceiling. From the intensity OF his
glance 1t might be supposed that the fate Of
nations depended upon the certainty with
which the insect made its journey. But al
though Barnes eyes were on the fly, his
thoughts were elsewhere. II was simply
one Of the methods he employed to concen-
trate his mind and to regulate and quicken
his mental processes Presently the chief
turned to Lane and said abruptly:
might I ask what passed between you
and Miss Thomson?'
ut was purely personal"
'But what was itY'
The diplomat hesitated for a moment,
then spoke unreservedly:
She said John Buckingham. her guar
dian, was opposed to my engagement with
her. She said he was a very positive man.
and I said could be very positive, too
where she was concerned"
Haven't you even slight clue TO the
theft?" asked Barnes. musingly.
Lane laughed ironically.
zone of the inspectors said he saw a man
leave the wharf with a suit case"
what was he like?'
He didn't know except that he had on
red cravat and wore a long rain coat"
After long silence the chief said, In
diligently:
Come see me this afternoon; there "a
7 nothing you can do Just now"
Once outside Lane started in the direc-
tion for the purpose OF calling on Miss
Thomson. Arriving at the brown stone
residence. he handed his card to the grave.
faced butler. Presently that functionary
returned with the reply that Mr.. Buck.
ingham. as the guardian OF Miss Thomson
was aware Of the fact that Mr.. Lane wal
at present under cloud. and in view OF
that fact would respectfully request thai
Mr.. Lane discontinue his visits and ac-
simultaneously with Mr.. Buckingham's
ward"
The unexpectedness Of this blow made
Lane gasp for breath. He was instantly
filled with resentment against John Buck
ingham. What right had that person e
treat him i'm such a scurvy mannerI He
would return and have Il out with hin
like a man. Sober second thought, how
ever. convinced him that he was under 9
cloud and that careful guardian had
perfect right to look after the interests OF
his ward.
Early in the afternoon Lane returned I,
Barnes office iourishing a letter.
I've Just received this at my hotel,
he said, excitedly. Possibly you can make
! something out OF It; can't"
= Barnes examined the letter carefully
The name and address were typewritteI
on a plain envelope. which was free from
any other printed or written matter. Til,
mark of the canoeing machine indicated
that it had been mailed at the main pos
Office at o'clock the night before. In
side the envelope was a round brass checI
and a plain bristol board visiting card
Tho metal check was numbered and ha,
the imprint of the package room OF tn
Grand Trunk Railroad station, The cart
had on it in old Gothic type these words:-