The Nevada County picayune., 1909-06-10


 garded almost as extravagant con- mendation. Your cousins fortune is made,' he pronounced, solemnly; 'he can get Atkins place, I make no doubt"
 Mrs. Winter thought that Mercer was very valuable man.
 Only always so melancholy; I've been afraid he had something serious the matter with his digestion. It's these abominable quick lunches that are running the health of all our steady young men. 1 don't know but they are almost as bad as chorus girls and late suppers. Well, Mrs Winter, I'm afraid we shall not have another chance at bridge until l see you in New York. But, anyhow, we stung the colonel once-and with Miss Smith playing her greatest game, too. Pity she cant induce Mr. Keatcham to play. but he never touches a card, hardly ever takes anything to drink, doesn't like smoking especially. takes a cigarette once in a while only, never plays the races or bets on the run of the vessel-positively such icy virtue gives an ordinary sinner the cramps. Very great man, though. Mrs. Winter, and man we are all proud to follow he may be overbearing; and he doesn't praise you too much, but somehow you always have the consciousness that he sees every bit of good work you do and is marking it up in your favor; and you won't be the loser. There is no question he has a hold on his associates; put he certainly is not what I call a genial man
 Only on the day of his departure did Warnebold, in young Arnold's lan- guage, loosen up" enough to tell Arnold and the colonel vital incident. The night of the attack telegram was sent to Warnebold in Keatcham's confidential cipher, directing the cam paign against Tracy to be pushed hard, ordering the dumping of some big blocks of stock on the market and arranging for their dummy purchasers. The naming of Atkins as the man in charge was plausible enough, presum- ing there had been no knowledge of the break in his relations with keatch- am. The message was couched in keatchams characteristic crisp phrase ology. But for the receivers knowl- edge of the break and but for the previous long-distance conversation, it had reached its mark. The associates of Keatcham were puzzled. The hands ha of E-So, hpt hn yninn was the voice of Jacob. There had been a hurried consultation into which the second long-distance telephone from San Francisco broke like thunderclap. It decided the hearers to keep to their instructions and disre- gard the cipher dispatch.
 And didn't you send any answer?' the colonel asked.
 "Oh, certainly; We had an address given, the Palace hotel, MT John G. Makers. We wired MT Makers-in cipher: Dispatch received Will at tend to it. 1 signed. And l wired to the manager of the hotel to notice the man who took the dispatch It wasn't man. it was lady"
 "A lady?"
 Yes, she had an order for MT. Makers telegrams. MT. Makers gave the order. Mir. Makers himself only stopped one night and went away in the morning and nobody seemed to re- member him particularly; he was nondescript sort of party
 But the lady?" The colonels mouth felt dry
 The lady? She was tall, fine figure, well dressed dark hair, the telegraph girl thought. but she didn't pay any special attention. She had a very pleasant musical voice"
 That doesn't seem to be very def nite." remarked the colonel. with crooked smile.
 It didn't look like a clew to Warne- bold, either; but he was convinced of one thing, namely: That it would pay to watch the eX-secretary
 And" chuckled he, there's a cheer full side to the affair. Atkins is loaded to the guards with short contracts; and the Midland is booming; if the rise continues. he cant cover without losing about all he has. By the way, we got another wire later in the day demanding what We were about, what it all meant that we hadn't obeyed in structions. Same address for answer. This time We thought We had laid nice trap. But you can't reckon on hotel somehow, before we got warn ing, Mr Makers had telephoned for his dispatch and got it.
 Where did he telephone from
 From his room in the Palace.
 "I thought he had given up his room?"
 He had. Bu.-somebody telephoned to the telegraph office from somewhere in the hotel and got MT Makers wire. You can get pretty much everything 0xoan+ o p,ndorota hill out of a hut pl v