The Montgomery tribune. (Montgomery City, Mo.) 1892-1910, 1907-05-17
The Mystery
Carney-Croft
BY
JOSEPH BROWN o
Copyright. lpO7. by story-Press Corporstlon.)
CHAPTER v.-continued.

80 sN@ 49, ~
in my interview with either Carney or
marked, with equal brevity:
We'll, what of itT
That's the way with MacArdel!
He can be, and usually Is, the most
exasperating fellow that ever lived.
What of it," l exclaimed. There's
a deuced lot of it, l tell you! l want to
find out what this fellow Is doing and
get him to leave 1t alone. If you had
ever seen his sister and could under
stand, as | do, the desolateness of her
position, you'd be as anxious as | am
to reform him."
woman in the case, Of course"
murmured MacArdel softly, taking a
deep puff of smoke which he held in
his mouth for a moment and then
blew out slowly in a long thin cloud.
This is one of the most insulting
things that q man can do, and MacAr-
del knows 1t perfectly we'll. / was in
'clined to knock him down, but I think
too much of him for that, so l merely
said:
mo, Mac, don't be a fool, but try
to listen to reason, II you cant"
impossible when you're talking"
he observed softly.
I ignored this and continued: MY
only interest in Miss Carney is that of
lawyer to client and I'm not in love
with her or thinking of marrying her.
In the first place, I've only see her
once or twice in my life, and in the
npyt tho hifforonra In MI fnonnioJ a.
%sitions, to speak Of nothing else, is
quite enough to put out of the ques.
tion any such idea on my part"
"Cat-look-king,' said MacArdel, be.
tween puffs.
Il suppose you mean by that to in.
fer that a dog may look at a ~queen!"
4 replied testify, but l tell you, man,
it's all nonsense-utter nonsense"
Looks bad, thought" said MacAr.
del, especially when a fellow COM
pares himself to a dog, and the lady
to a queen" and he touched the bell
on the little table between U.S."
whats that fo-?" l asked. "I've
got plenty of cigars here in my
pocket"
yellow c%hatreuse," he replied. 81
think you need it,"
Now, seriously, Mac!" I resumed.
"What do you think of this man Car.
ney's virtual denial of any excesses?"
Lie" said MacArdel.
"Well," l went on, what do you
think of the servants behavior in
practically admitting the whole bust
ness and then turning about as he did
at the last moment"
Mother lie." he replied.
Then o think they are a pair of
prescious ~scoundrels?" l asked.
"No; damned scoundrels," he said
slowly. Il think they are unless the
matter can be explained in another
way. But I'm not at all sure of it.
That's merely the way things look
now"
Mac" l said, "you don't know as
much as | do"
THAT" he replied, lis the most I'M
kind thing you ever said to me. I
know things, my boy, that your philos-
ophy dreamed of. l have been
trying to think, while you have been
talking, and. in spite of YOU, l have
thought to some purpose.
In the first place. as ! said a min
Cse ago, / think the man is an ordi-
nary d%runkard and that this servant
of his is in league with him to keep
the facts from o and his family.
Now, / only think this because 1t is
the most plausible explanation that Of
fers; / am not sure Of 1t by n
means, and l want that distinctly un-
'derstood.
I'm the second place, you don't know
anything about 1t at all, and yet, in
your monumental assurance. you have
settled the whole thing with the ex-
'ception of one detail, and you have
come to me, as a physician, to supply
you with that necessary link In your
chain of evidence. You think he is
the victim of some drug habit and you
want ms to tell you, from his symp.
toms, what drug he is using. Isn't
that SOP" and he blew out another of
those insulting streamers of smoke.
was forced to admit sheepishly that
he was right, and my good opinion Of
myself faded away like the smoke Of
III cigars.
WELL" he continued, "the symp-
toms he presents could not DO caused
by opium, nor by cocaine. nor by hash
eesh. Whisky is the mostly likely
thing Of al. and you have nothing but
a couple Of vague expressions of aston
ishment from him and his servant to
make o search for any other solu.
ton of the problem.
There is, however, n other thing
that might be at the bottom of 1t all.
but he could not get 1t here, and 1t
would be pretty hard for him to get 1t
anywhere. Moreover, l am not at all
sure myself about 1t, and would have
to look 1t up before ! would ven
ture to saI' anything definite on the
subject"