Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-06-11

they didn't bring them to the olub.
That gave the keynote to the proceed.
ings.
81 can quite imagine it, said Lord
| Ancestor, significantly.
| After the previous meeting | felt
horrid next day; my head hurt me, my
conscience hurt me, felt had been
making beast of myself. But last
night was school feast compared to
the other one, and today feel like a
divinity student. Abdul gives you
your moneys worth
Yes" answered his friend, sadly,
| Il see he does
But I'm afraid it's all off with the
club" continued Yandraken, regret
fully ut was raided last night
pulled like any pub after hours"
Il didn't hear anything about it,
No" answered Vandraken, lower
ing his voice, and you won't /
squared the police and detectives.
Squared them?" said Lord Ancestor
incredulously. "Oh, come. This isn't
New York-this is London. Quite
different"
Quite" said vandraRen, drily. ..Tll
tell you all about it. Two of the de-
tectiyes had got in disguised as wait
ers, and they let in the others. Luck
lily, most of the members were still
half sober-but you should have heard
| the women scramble one in masks
when they heard they were under
| arrest. | saw 1t was up to me to do
something, SO l asked to see the
captain. AS you say, 1t was quite diff
ferent from New York Instead of q
big, genial Irishman, with twinkle
in eye and wink in the other, a
| solemn-faced chap came up to me. He
might have been a parson except
for his jerky voice. Ia been there be-
fore-New York so l knew what to
say. You are the captain?' l re-
marked. l am the inspector, he an
swered, as solmnly as If he was con
Tossing to being undertaken. Then
! suppose you will make deal for the
whole gang?"
81 don't know what you are driv-
ing at he said, but anything you say
will be used against you at the trial
"'There won't be any trial re-
piled, jauntily, bring out my roll of
notes. I've the stuff In my clothes
90 You will make a note,' he said,
turning to a brace of boobies who
We're contagious, that this gent has
tried to bride me- They all looked at
me as If l were curiosity, and made
notes in their books.
| saw 1T was going TO come high,
so made my first offer attractive.
This isn't any tipping business.
said. taking the band of the notes.
It's Ave hundred pounds a man.. and
two thousand for the captain.
thought they would nave walked
right up to the trough at that; but
not bit of 1t.
"'You ought to be ashamed of your
self" said one bobby, 'a-trying to
tempt honest men to go against their
principles
do you know, l think agree with
that bobby?' observed Lord An
cester
Luckily, there was one of the de-
tectives who didn't The minute he be-
gan to speak knew he had been on
the New York force.
We'll, I'll he durned!' he barked.
What's policeman got to do with
principles? / worked up this case,
and not because | had anything
against the club. thought knew
good graft when | see it, and this
gent is playing the game like a man,
and not getting any encouragement.
You are Mr.. Vandraken, the American
millionaire, amt you?"
Il owned right up to it. You're all
right as far as you've gone, but this
is London, where the police has prin-
ciples. Well, you have got to buy
those principles. Men lose their jobs
here for doing what you want EN- to
do. Well, you've got to buy those
jobs. That five hundred you offered
and amt saying anything against It
may buy our principles, but 1t won't
buy our jobs. You capitalize them at
four per cent--that's about two thous-
and a man, captain extra--then FIVE
hundred for leading us into tempta-
ton, and Eve hundred for yielding to
1t, and another thousand because a.
man who has done what we are going
to do can't look the world in the eye
as he did before-say four thousand
man and ten for the captain. There's
some Of us whose principles isn't
worth the price, but we must suffer
with the rest. What do you say?"'
II didn't say anything. | put the
banknotes In my pocket and t1shed out
some blank cheques. Then the Amer
lean detective went round and talked
over his accomplices. BY the way, his
name is Ben Duff, and I have taken
him into my service. They couldn't
resist, though some of them looked
broken-hearted. All the same, they
took their money and went their way"
Poor devils!" said Lord Ancestor.
Don't you realise what you have done
to them?"
II have made them into well-to-do
men. that's what l have done for
them
But can't you see No, l forgot
You are man without conscience.
The only thing those men had was
their self-respect. BY the sheer brute
force of money you have made them
part of it."
We'll, if bought UP their principles
didn't pay the full market price for
them?"
My dear man, there is no market
price for them. Pom my word. Van