Omaha daily bee., 1907-02-10

nile expect us to operate In that way.
lust a tribute we pay to the TRADITIONS OIL
the profession" :
'sFut the motive" said the young diplo-
mat curiously, "the motive must count
"Assuredly. Get the motive-if you can.
In YOUR case IL seems seh-evident. Mino
YOU. 1 don't say il is; but 1t seems sell
evident This corporation, which has ten
the weight Of your official hand, desires 10
get even with you. of course. they nave
sbrevd representatives in the Flora islands
through whom they are informed OF the
date of your sailing, the steamer you took .
and the fact that your valuable doeumen-
tary evidence was in your suit case.
Through your gross carelessness the suit
case ts stolen. Now assuming that some
one employed by the Consolidated Cocoanut
company got the valuable bit OF luggage,
what do you suppose the person would do
with Il? Carry Il to the once OF the ware
house of the company? Not at all II
would be taken as far away from these
places as possible. Hence the futility OF
searching about the premises Of the com
pany."
While they were talking Clancy hustled
into the room with a suit case in his hand.
The moment the young diplomat saw II he
gave shout of recognition and delight.
He grabbed It and quickly laid 1t open on
a nearby table. Everything in It seemed
just the same as 1t had been when II was
originally packed. Lane hurried through
It with feverish haste. AS he concluded
his task his face fell. One article was
missing
1t was the little black bound letter book.
Lane turned to Barnes but the Chief.
leaning back in his chair, was engaged In
his favorite recreation Of watching the ny
cross the ceiling This calmness irritated
the young man.
THE letter book Is missing" he snapped.
Barnes came out Of his reverie. He
looked at the speaker with a charitable
smile.
"Of course. it's missing II was a ques-
ton in my mind whether to send for the
suit case at all. Still II contains your be-
longings. and frequently a move. no
matter how aimless, leads to the suspicion
Of clue. But the fellow who has stolen
the black letter book wanted to taunt you
with the sight of your suit case. He must
be a vindictive cuss. He"
The speaker was interrupted by a faint
tap on the door,
Come in" he called
The door opened timidly and Helen
Thomson entered. The half veil did not
conceal the unwonted sparkle in her eyes.
nor could It entirely hide the fact that
she was blushing most charmingly. She
gave q cry Of delight at sight Of Lane and
exclaimed involuntarily:
st thought / should find you here"
The next moment she could have bitten
her tongue for speaking impulsively, and
she hung her head. her face scarlet. Lane.
overjoyed. but smarting from the treatment
of the morning. replied:
ct thought I'd find you at home, too, but
I was mistaken"
SrKRhaf 10 vOat NINA he criad porflz
recovering her self-possession.
THAT called on you and you refused to
see me-
She raised her ven and the eyes flashed
fire.
81 never refused to zee you'll never
knew that you called-I-"
"oh," cried Lane, grasping her meaning
instantly. ''Then my card was inter-
oeptedf'
She nodded her head.
The diplomat Involuntary clenched his
fist. The girl noted the movement and.
lowering her voice, said:
He proposed to me this morning"
Lane Jumped to her side as II he had
been catapulted across the room
"WhatP' he shrieked. "That old man
Buckingham"
Hes only IS" interjected Barnes
The Interruption dampened the young
mans powder. He did not finish his de-
nunciation Of the guardian. He turned To
her with a query.
''You-yop-' he began.
Il refused him. you silly goose" with a
happy SMILE
He felt like hugging her He contented
himself with fresh denunciations of Buck
ingham. Barnes interrupted the verbal
storm
give me forty-eight hours TO my own
devices"
An hour later the chief began exploring
the financial district. He spent the re-
mainder OF the afternoon there. The next
day he took a cab and started out 70 visit
the principal printing and engraving estab-
lishments Of the city. At dusk he returned
to his once and said to Clancy:
II want you to go out with me tonight
I'm going 20 make a call on one OF our
prominent citizens.