The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1907-10-04

chase? Not me. Langdon has takeI
my advice at last. He has met this
charmer with whom he Is so infatuat
ed. She almost recognized him, but h(
pretended such complete ignorance OF
her and even Of London that her sus
picions were quoted"
What good is that to usr'
Little, but 1t gave him the oppor
tunity to try and ingratiate himself
He failed most completely, and why"
How do know? He is an ass any
way"
Exactly. More than that; the young
lady is in love with Philip Anson."
| 'Tm not"
| But he Is In love with her. At first
both Mrs. Atherley and the girl kept
him at arms length. She was too poor
he too rich. That difficulty was smooth
ed over quite recently, and they meet
now nearly every day. Langdon hasn't
dogs chance, and If all goes well
the happy pair will soon be of to Nor
way or Switzerland for their honey
moon"
| "Oh, indeed! Then where does al
your clever scheming come in? Why
have you held me back? He went to
| Sussex. You wouldn't let me follow
him. He was out late several nights
on his motor car along the North road
l would have met him and smashed
his face In with life preserver, but
| you held me back. What are you driv-
ing at? What's the gamer"
"You shall see."
out a small box. From this he pro-
duced q single check and several slips
Of paper on which were written names
and signatures.
THAT is an old check signed by Phil
ip Anson," he said coolly. Here is his
signature repeated several times for
amusement. 1t only needs a man of
action like you, an accomplished actor
like myself, to possess the necessary
nerve-the nerve that risks all on a
supreme coup-and we will be not only
rolling In money, but able to enjoy life
pleasantly in any part Of the world we
select, even in London when the wind
changes little"
you must talk plainly if you want
me to understand you," said Mason
doggedly.
Every well. You think l am some
what like Philip Arson at this mo-
ment?'
His image, confound him.
"No; not his image. l would not
humbug his friends. I might puzzle
them for a moment at q distance, but
let them speak with me, and 1 am
done. 1t is sufficient that l resemble
him. But the handwriting - that is
good?"
First class"
"There agree with you. My skill in
that direction has been admitted by
three bank clerks and an Old Bailey
Judge. And now for the coup. If you
intend to kill this young gentleman,
you may as well kill him to our mu-
tual advantage. There Is no gain in
being hanged for him unnecessarily,
ehY"
Mason glared at him in silence.
81 see l must keep to the point. We
must, by some means, inveigle him to
a place where you can work your
sweet pleasure on him. All, that in
terests you! 1t must be known that he
is going to that place. 1t must be
quite certain that he leaves it."
Leaves itr'
"Yes. 1, Philip Arson the second,
will leave it. will lay my plans
quite surely. l will even telegraph my
movements to his fiancee and to his
agent, Abingdon, who used to be sti-
pendiary magistrate at Clerkenwell.
Now, don't interrupt. You spoil my
train Of thought. Philip Arson will
live again for days after you have
er-disposed Of him. BY that time you
will have established such an alibi that
an archangel's testimony would not
shake it. Then Philip Arson will dis
appear, vanish into thin air, and with
him a hundred thousand or more of
his own money, some In gold, but
mostly in notes which will have been
changed so often as to defy any one
to trace them. AS precautionary
measure, he will go out of his way to
annoy or insult the young lady whom
he intends to make his wife, and that
alone will supple an explanation, of
sort, for his wish to conceal his move
ments. With proper management,
Philip Arson should leave the map
without exciting comment for weeks
after lie, is dead, and when the weeks
grow into months people will class his
with the other queer
mysteries familiar to every one who
reads the newspapers. Neat, isn't it?'
TOO neat. You can't do It,"
"Have you or / evolved the idea!
Who runs the greatest risk, the man
who strikes one blow and hides dis
figured corpse or he who calmly faces
hundreds of men and says he is Philip
Arson?
IL don't care about risk, but If 1t
comes to that l suppose you are the
more likely to be found out"
THANK you. You see my way at
last. In any event. you are safe. Even
suppose l am discovered, will split on
you? Will l add q charge of murder
to one Of forgery? Not much! l tell
you the scheme is workable, not by
timid bunglers, but by clever men. ]
admit / haven't the nerve to kill any
body, nor would / care TO suggest this