The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1907-10-18

LNsotoC tbC WttOCt GtCIO UUo Wv tVoCI tp-
ton.
thrice precious. He hurriedly scruti-
nized it and at once commenced to
practice the words.
"Devonshire" and Sharpe gave him
the capitals for Dear Sirs." He was
at loss for a capital &C." but he saw
that Philip used the simplest and bold
est outlines in his caligraphy, and he
must risk a &c" without the upper
loop. In Lady NJ" too, he had the
foundation of the "f" to precede the
requisite figures. Soon he framed
letter in the fewest words possible:
Yours of todays date received. Kindly
same to my credit.
He copied 1t again and again, until
it was written freely and carelessly,
and every letter available compared ia
vorably with the original in his posses
zion. Then he posted it, thus saving u
day, according to his calculations.
With this missive committed irrev-
ocably to the care of his majesty's
mails, Victor Grenier's spirits rose.
Now, indeed, he was in the whirlpool.
Would he emerge high and dry in the
Ell Dorado Of gilded vice which he
longed to enter, or would fortune con-
sign him to Portland again-perchance
to the scaffold? He could not say. He
would not feel safe until Philip Arson
was a myth and Victor Grenier
reality, with many thousands In the
bank.
Already he was planning plausible
lies to keep Mason out of his fair
share of the plumber. A few more
forged letters would easily establish
the fact that he was unable to obtain
a bigger haul than, say, $4,000.
And what did Mason want with EOS.
600? He was gnarled man, with
crude tastes. Twenty, fifteen, ten
thousand would be ample for his
wants. The sooner he drank himself to
death the better.
With each fresh cigar Mason's mole
ty shrank in dimensions. The murder
was mere affair of vengeful blow,
but this steady sucking Of the million
aires riches required fnesse, a dashing
adroitness, the superb impudence of
Cagliostro.
But If his confederate's interests suf-
fered, the total fixed In Greniers origi-
nal scheme In nowise became affected.
He meant to have a hundred thou
sand pounds, and he firmly decided
not to go beyond that amount. His
letter to the bankers named 100000,
and he calculated that by stopping
short at two-thirds of the available
sum he would not give any grounds
for suspicion or personal inquiry.
Yet he would shirk nothing. Mr.. Alb
ingdon and Miss Atherley must be
avoided at all events. Others he would
face blithely. He took care to have
ever on the table in his sitting room a
goodly supply of wines and spirits.
If any one sought an interview, 1t
might &c helpful to sham slight de-
gree of intoxication. The difference
between Philip drunk and Philip sober
would then be accounted for readily.
But rest-that was denied him. 1t
was one thing to harden himself
against surprise, quite another to for
get that disfigured corpse swirling
about In the North sea.
He wished now that Philip Arson
had not been cast forth naked. 1t was
4 blunder not to dress him, to provide
him with means Of Identification with
some unknown Smith or Jones.
When he closed his eyes he could see
| shadowy form wavering helplessly
N green depths. Never before were
lis hands smeared with blood. He had
'ouched every crime save murder.
Physically he was a coward. In
plotting the attack on Philip he had
axed his ingenuity for weeks to dis
over some means where he need not |
,ecome Mason's actual helper. He re-
ected project after project The thing
-''obt be bu-~aad. m ba must attend to