Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-08-15
DAILY STOR Y
THE MAN WITH A HEEL.

copyright, 1907. by Mary McKeon.I
James Dodd had been an employee
of the house of Walfour 4 Co, the
Bond street diamond merchants. for
period of fourteen years before he
was made assistant manager and given
charge of the unset stones.
For two years after lie had been
given charge of the gems James DOdd
was simply waiting. He meant to fill
his pockets with plumber and skip. He
was methOdical and cold blooded. He
would not make the mistake so many
others had. He would make none ut
all. Step by step he prepared for the
coup. He must change his looks. his
gait and his voice. An actor taught
him the art of appearing to be ten
years older. Some one else taught
him that by holding Il peach stone in
his mouth he could alter the tones of
his voice. y shoemaker made him L
shoe for deformcd foot and for
more than 300 nights he walked
the streets with it. 1t gave him 4
limp and a lop shoulder. lie tested
| these things in the scvercst way. In
his disguise he went boldly into the
store as a stranger and made pur-
| chases of men who had known him for
| years and years.
Three months before the affair was
ripe James Dodd had his every plan
| laid. He would not flee abroad. as
others had done and been ovcrhaulcd
almost Mt once. He purchased Il book
| stand not five blocks away. He pur-
| chased an old house to live in. He Sc
cured q hoUSckeeper He had worn
his wig Il hundred times. The shoe
| for the defOrmed foot had cavity in
! the heel. The diamonds hidden away
there would always be at hand. At
closing time one day the event came
| off. Uncut and unset diamonds to the
| amount of 100000 We're carried home
in his pocket. An hour later he had
1 taken possession of his new quarters
| under another name.
i The diamond mystery" made {
Il great sensation. The house believed
in the honesty of its employee; the 20
lice believed he had skipped Three
or four days were lost in discussion
ana then Il reward was offered andstht
sleuths let loose. They teIegraphed t.
every port in the empire. They gave
notice to all the steamers that haze
sailed. They had every constable il
every village on the watch. If Dod(
had committed five cold bloOded muir
ders the hunt couldn't have been fierc
| tntn
and months. It was discussed Owe
and over in the press and in ever,
police station and barroOm in the land
A young man who had lived lif,
beyond reproach for fourteen year
walks out of the house where he ha
been employed and disappears from tn
ken of men. He was not even seen t
leave his boarding house that evening
No one saw him on the street. II
had not gone abroad by any sort o
craft. He had not taken n train 70
any point within the empire. Will
he was directly in charge of the gems
the manager or either one of the part
ners had access to them. The deteC
tives figured it out that Dodd mus
surely be the guilty party, but larg
element of the public shook their head
doubtfuily and made comments tina
put others in embarrassing positions.
After six months the hunt wa
. abandoned. 1t was the general opir
( ion that Dodd was dead by accident c
!, suicide. Meanwhile the bookstan
( flourished. Its only attendant day
= day was Mr.. Cooper, it's owner TIL
!. only one to penetrate the old house bt
3 hind 1t was the aged housekeeper an
); she went to her own home o. night!
5 The public had been buying books G
d a certain man for years. One day b