The Owosso times., 1908-10-16

seemed to recede into his head; ms
great body turned uneasily.
II ask you again." repeated Armi-
tage, whether you follow me. There
must be no mistake"
Oscar, anxious to take his own part
in the conversation, prodded Zmai in
the ribs with pistol barrel, and the
big fellow growled and nodded his
head.
"There Is house in the outskirts Of
Vienna where you have been employed
at times as gardener and another house
in Geneva where you wait for orders.
At this latter place it was my great
a boiling pot on a certain evening in
March"
The man scowled and calculated an
oath with so much venom that Armi-
tage laughed.
"Your conspirators are engaged upon
a succession Of murders, and when
they have removed the last obstacle
they will establish a new emperor
king in Vienna, and you will receive
substantial reward for what you
have DONE"
The blood suffused the mans dark
face, and he half rose, a great roar Of
angry denial breaking from him.
''That will do. You tried to kill me
on the King Edward, you tried your
knife on me again down there In Judge
Claiborne's garden, and you came up
here tonight with a plan to kill my
man and then take your time to me.
Give me the mail, Oscar"
He opened the letters which Oscar
had brought and scanned several that
bore Paris postmark, and when he
had pondered their contents a mo-
ment he laughed and jumped from the
table. He brought portfolio from his
bedroom and sat down to write.
Don't shoot the gentleman as long
as he is quiet. You may even give
him a glass of whisky to soothe his
feelings"
Armitage wrote:
Monsieur--Your assassin is clumsy
fellow. and you will do well to send him
back to the blacksmith shop at Toplica.
learn that NJ. Durand, distressed by the
delay in affairs In America, will soon join
you--is even now aboard the Tacoma.
bound for New York. am profoundly
grateful for this dear monsieur, as 1t
gives me an opportunity to conclude our
interesting business in republican terri
tory without prejudice to any Of the par
ties chiefly concerned.
You are a clever and daring rogue, yet
at times you strike me as immensely dull,
monsieur. Ponder this: Should 1t seem
eXpedient for me 10 establish my identity
which | am sure interests you greatly
before Baron Won Marhof and, we will
add, the American secretary of state, be
quite sure that ] shall not do so until
have taken precautions against your de-
parture in any unseemly haste. ! myself,
dear friend. am not without certain IA
cilitv in setting trans
Armitage threw down the pen and
Fead what he had written with care.
Then he wrote as signature the initials
+. A., inclosed the note in an envelope
and addressed 1t, pondered again,
laughed and slapped his knee and went
into his room, where he rummaged
about until he found small seal beau
tifully wrought in bronze and bit of
wax. Returning to the table, he light
ed a candle and deftly sealed the let
ter. He held the red scar on the back
Of the envelope to the lamp and ex-
amined it with interest. The lines of
the seal were deep cut, and the impress
sion was perfectly distinct of +. A. in
English script, linked together by the
bar of the +.
oscar, what do you recommend that
we do with the prisonerY
"He should be tied TO q tree and
shot, or perhaps. it would be better to