Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-12-11

thing!" cried the disappointed youth. |
"And precious lot of friends I've dis
covered! l tell you everything, place !
myself unresewedly in your power,
and You not only let me drift into
stupid blunder but decline to share
your condolences With me-"
He rose to go, but Grenier firmly !!
pushed him back into chair.
Don't be Il bigger fool than you are,
Jimmie, and leave those who will help
you. ] told you the cab adventure was
mistake. 1t might go wrong in twen-
ty ways and right only in one. And
you must admit that never heard OF
Arson from you until tonight
Il may be to blame was the srllly
admission, "but who is your friend
Hunter, and why does he not be as
Outspoken as II"
There are reasons. Hunter was
cleaned out in Africa on account of
Anson's manipulation of diamond
mine. lie wants to get even with
him. That should be enough for YOU"
Mason smiled sourly at his leaders
ready explanation, and Langdon saw
only the venom in the mans face
HE ought to have said So" he nut
tered. II am in no mood to be denied
the confidence of those who act with
me in this matter. In any case, what
can we do?"
Grenier procured decanter of brandy
and passed his cigarette case.
1--WE can accomplish nothing with
out money"
money! What avail is money
against millonaire?"
None directly. You would be
swamped instantly. But we must
know more about Arson. He has
servants. They can be made to talk.
He has susceptible cooks and house
maids in Park lane and at whatever
| great with cooks and housemaids.
There is n mystery, an unfathomablc
mystery, about his supply of diamonds.
1t must be probed"-
mo mystery at all" snarled Jocky
Mason. HE found meteor in n
Stun called Johnson's News. 1t was
cram full of diamonds. l saw some
Of EN-"
"You saw them!'
His hearers allowed all other emo
tons to yield to the interest of this
astounding statement.
Eyes. don't say much; / act.
You'll get no more out of me. l want
none of your girls or property. want
Philip Anson's life and I'll have it If
swing for it,"
"My dear Hunter, you are talking
wildly. Have another drink"
Grenier, cool as an icicle, saw unex-
pected vistas opening before him. He
must be wary and collected Here was
the man who would pay and the man
who would dare all things.
NIason's truculent determination gave
hope even to Langdon. He, too, gifted
with certain power Of vicious rea-
soning, saw that this new ally might
prove useful. But he was afraid Of
such bold utterances and hoped to
achieve his purposes without binding
himself even tacitly to the commission
of u crime, for Mason not only looked,
but talked, murder.
81 think l had better CO." he said
suddenly. "Your brandy is too strong
for my head, Grenier. Call and see
me in the morning"
The astute rogue whom he address
ed raised no objection to his departure.
He instantly embraced I.angdon's atti-
tude in his wider horizon.
Eyes" he agreed. "let us sleep on it,
We will all be better able to discuss
matters more clearly tomorrow"
Thenceforth the fiat in Shaftesbury
avenue became Il spiders web into
which the flies that buZZed around
Philips life were drawn one by one,
squeezed dry of their store of informa-
ton and cast forth again unconscious
of the plot being woven against their
master.
Within q month Grenier knew An
sons habits, his comings and goings
his bankers, his brokers, many of his
investments, the names of his chief
employees, the members Of his yachts
crew, the topography of his Sussex cs-
tate. Nothing was too trivial, no &c
tail too unimportant. to escape Il note
undecipherable to others. and niche
in n retentive memory
He made Il friend of one of Phillips
footmcn by standing treat and listen
ins revercntly to his views on the next
days racing. He persuaded one kitch-
] en- maid in Park lane and another ut
4 Fairfax Hall that he had waited all hi,
life to discover Il woman he could love
devotedly. 1t WAS Il most important
discovery when he unearthed in Il din
gy hotel the man whom Philip had dis
missed for tampering with the locked
portmanteau. From this worthy he first
heard Of the quaint adjunct to the be-
lonsinSs OF the young millionaire, and
judicious inquiry soon revealed that
there was hardly Il servant in Philips
employ who did not credit the Glad
stone bag with being the repository OF
the millionaire's fortunes.
Ordinary people will credit any non
sense where diamonds are concerned.
Even an educated criminal like Victor
Grenier believed there might be some
foundation for the absurd theory which
found ready credence among the do
mestics.
He never made the error Of planning
Il burglary or adroit robbery whereby
the bag might come into his possession.
II 1t did contain diamonds, and espc-
cially If 1t contained unique specimens,
it was absolutely useless to him. But
his vitals yearned for Anson's gold,
and the question he asked himself in
every unoccupied moment was how he
might succeed in getting some portion
of it into his own pocket.
One Gay q quaint notion entered lis;
mind, and the more the thought OF II
the more it dominated him He was
tall and well made IL slim in figure,
and his face had never lost the plastici-
~ given it by his stage experience.
lie lad only heard Philips voice
once, but his features and general ap.
pcar@nce were now quite familiar to
lin, and he undertook n series of ex-
periments with clothing and makeup
to ascertain if he could personute An
son sufficiently well to deceive any one
WHO was not an intimate acquaintance