The Washington times., 1908-01-26
icoDyright. 1907. by the Frank :. MUssey Coz
CHAPTER Xi-fCont'd.i


THAT was .,,,J+e right I'm. -,
he seemed willing enough 10 80 W.
you and open the box. did ne
Perfectly so, after / had remlAueu
him OF a few obligations-or what you
We're pleased to call obligations"
"After that. he went readily enough,
and even used considerable moral
force on Dobbs?"
Exactly"
Burleigh scratched his head.
And yet at the very last moment.
when he had his hands on the letter
and was about to hand it over, he
stopped, refused absolutely TO let you
have it, and 4cted as II you were do
ing some sort OF wrong in asking for
itg''
Yes"
''Well-its devilish oddr' muttered
the detective. Its devilish odd!''
'Odd!" cried Grafton. '-Et's more
Than Odi!-it's downright lnexpiieas5-
Burleighr'
Not that, sir" the detective smiled.
Everything that occurs, does so foI
found, the thing Is explained. There
AO4S l.oAllii6 Is mex JllCaD4e-
''Frue-tnat's good logic, but"
But how TO apply il 10 this case,
Ell? Well. it's as tough a nut as the
original problem. sir. I'll admit that.
Brady gave no hint whatever for his
reasons2"
mot the slightest in the worldl'
And all the same he did have a
reasoni' said Burleigh. What the
deuce could II have Deen?"
lie studied the carpet for long
time in silence.
could Brady benefit by getting the
notes, Mr.. Grafton"
To save my life, cannot see how.
All he would accomplish would be my
absolute ruin, and l can't charge him
with desiring that"
1T looks hardly reasonable. l will
admit and still-Dshaw! The man
hasn't X-ray eyes; 1t would be a sheer
inpOssibility for him to see through
the paper of that envelope and read
the contents
so il seems TO me-
And having, for ali that we know
or can surmise. been in bed when the
internal things we're stolen and mailed,
lac could hardly have been aware or
the fact, unless the thief was working
directly with him. And were saying
such things about the honest poll
tician" " laughed Burleigh.
Il don't believe that he was con-
nected with the AFFAIR." can't"
Nor /. Neither the evidence nor
what we know of the man viii war
rant any such belief: and still WEE
morally bound to keep an eye on him
Tor a day or two, Mr.. Grafton"
You near 10 have him watched -
Yes. I'll put a man on the case
when business opens. Ii will lead 70
nothing, but at least it win DO uv
HARM
Burleigh arose with a smile.
.'Wen-this isn't exactly moving. is
it? Even now, you know, the papers
are not So very far away from as.
There may still be some slight chance
Of recovering them without fuss.
How
I'm eternaHy blest if ] know" said
Burleigh. I've got d big assortment
OF KEYS upstairs. for one thing. Wen
take them along and see if. BY any
possibility. one may Mt I'll be down
in a minute. sir"
He hurried away. and Grafton rested
his tired head against the pillows and
almost dozed as he waited. What this
new move was going 10 accomplish,
he could not guess. Nothing, prob
ably; but there was an infinitely
cheering quality in the detectives
presence
Reclining there, Grafton's optimism
came to the surface once more.
Things might have been worse. The
thief might have gone without leaving
q trace-wOuld have, indeed, but for
that visit with ElsfOrd. And Bur
January 20, 1908