Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1908-02-20
EFT running tomorrow. The man who
has sold you is Steggles."
HSto oo1oo Sv

"steggles it is. At the very first,
when Steggles rushed in to report
Sammy Crockett missing, l suspected
him. You didn't, l suppose?"
mo. He's always been considered a
straight man, and he looked as startled
as anybody"
eyes, l must say he acted it very
we'll. But there was something suspi-
cious in his story. What did he say?
Crockett had remarked a chilliness and
asked for a sweater, which Steggles
went to fetch. Now, just think. You
understand these things. Would any
trainer who knew his business Gas
Steggles does have gone to bring out a
sweater for his man to change for his
jersey in the open air, at the very time
the man was complaining Of chilliness?
OF course not. He would have taken
his man indoors again and let him
change there under shelter. Then sup
posing Steggles had really been sur
prised at missing Crockett, wouldn't
he have looked about, found the gate
open and told you it was open when
he first came in? He said nothing of
that-we found the gate open for our
selves"
"But, if Steggles was selling is, why
couldn't he have drugged the lad?
That would have been a deal simpler"
Because Steggles is a good trainer
and has a certain reputation to keep
up. 1t was much the safer thing to
connive at kidnapping. That put all
the active work into other hands and
left him safe even If the trick failed.
Now, you remember that we traced
the prints of Crockett's spiked shoes to
within a couple of yards Of the fence
and that there they ceased SUDDENLY
EYES," said Kentish.
"But I was sure that it was by that
gate that Crockett had left and by no
other. AS the footprints ceased where
they did and were not repeated any
where in the lane I knew that he had
taken his spiked shoes off-probably
changed them for something else, be.
cause a runner anxious as to his
chances would never risk walking OF
bare feet, with a chance Of cutting
them. Ordinary broad, smooth soled
slippers would leave no impression OIL
the coarse cinders bordering the track
and nothing short Of spiked shoes
would leave a mark on the hard patti
in the lane behind. The spike tracks
were leading not directly toward the
door, but in the direction of the fence
when they stopped. Somebody ha6
handed Or thrown the slippers over thu
fence, and he had changed them OF
the spot. The enemy had calculated
upon the spikes leaving q track III thu
lane that might lead us in our search
and had arranged accordingly.
$50 far so good. 1 could see no foot
prints near the gate in the lane. Yo,
will remember that 1 sent Steggles of
to watch at the Cop before l went GU
to the .~back-merely, of course, to ge
him out of the way. I went out int
the lane, leaving you behind, and walk
ed it's whole length, first toward thu
Old Kilns and then back toward tn
road. 1 found nothing to help me ex
cept these small pieces of paper
which are here in my pocketbook, b.
the bye. Of course this 'mmy' nigh
have meant Jimmy or Tommy a
possibly as Sammy but they wer,
not to be rejected on that account
Certainly Crockett had been decoyet
out Of your ground, not taken by force
or there would have been marks Of
scuf1e in the cinders. And as his re
quest for a sweater was probably al
excuse-because it was not at all
cold afternoon-he must have previous
ly designed going out. Inference,
letter received, and here were piece
Of a letter.
"Now, in the light Of what 1 havI
said, look at these pieces. First, Their
is the 'mtdy,' that / have dealt with
Then see this throw them ov'-clearl,
a part Of throw them over;;' exaetii
what had probably been done witt
the slippers. Then the poor T. som
ing just on the line before ana see1
by. joining up with this other piece
might easily be a reference to poo
feet But there is something else. TIVE
So4Cf plCSCS ONA0CdIlJ A1SdA lcll ulul,
and right away'-send Steggles 'righr
away perhaps. But there is another
containing almost all of the words
hate his with the word hate under
lined. Now, who writes hate witt
the emphasis Of underscoring-who bu1
a woman? Here was something more
Sammy had been enticed away by {
woman.
"Now, 1 remember that when we went
into the taproom IN Wednesday so1ne
Of his companions We're chatting Crock
EFT about a certain Nancy Webb, and The
chaff went home, as was plain to- see
The woman, then, who could most cas-
lily entice Sammy Crockett away was
Nancy Webb. I resolved to find who
Nancy Webb was and learn more OF
her.
Meantime I took a look at the road
at the end of the lane. 1t was dampel
than the lane, being lower and over
hung with trees. There We're many
wheel tracks, but only one set that
turned in the road and went back the
L 49, 1880 A. - -,