Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1909-01-27

o%SNOn enter the mousse. They arrived
little after one o'clock
Il teIephoned for my friend, the
messenger boy, and when the house
Larty broke up and the mysterious
members began to stink away in the
night. followed the looking
foreigner, AMI set the messenger boy
on the trail of the gentleman of the
big evercoat.
My man gave me long chase. He
traversed many STR let's, cutting from
side to side and back again and acting
In every way like a criminal who
seemed to fear he was being followed.
for an export firm in Paris, but inquiry
among the cotton-men showed he
didn't buy much cotton. He main
tanned an Office uptown, but was rarely
in it. His aookkeeper, a young man
OF dark complexion, whom / instantly
recognized as the coachman, never
seemed to have anything to do but
smoke cigarettes and write letters he
never mailed. These matters made me
decide to sift the mystery OF the little
cottage to the bottom and see IL /
wouldn't find something OF conse-
quence in the ashes.
For three nights / Swallowed the
house without seeing any one enter or
leave 1T. although the continual out
pouring of smoke from the chimney
1t required all my skill in shadowing
to prevent him from discovering I was
watching him. On one occasion he al
most caught me. He turned a cor
ner and | had stopped to allow him
TO get some distance away / could
hear the ring of his footsteps for a
while, and then all noise ceased. He
had either stopped or entered a build
ing. was afraid to peer around the
corner lest he should see my head.
Something prompted me that he was
coming back. and 1 slipped into an
alley-way between two buildings. 1t
was well / had done so, for / had
scarcely concealed myself when the
man came sneaking around the corner
like vagrant cat, doubling on his
track. He passed almost in arms
length OF me and lodged into a stair
way that entered the builIing at the
side OF which | was hid. After making
sure that he did not leave the building
by some back stairway, 1 went to the
appointed place to receive the mes
senger boys report His man had gone
directly to one of the best hotels of
the city and had retired. He was reg
istered under the name OF James Whit
comb, New York city.
My mind was now made ND to find
out something about the mysterious
little cottage and the invisible persons
who lived in 1t.
That afternoon 1 looked over the
surroundings Of the cottage both
from the street and from the side win
dow OF my boarding house. The shanty
was raised on brick piers and the
space between them was incJosed with
trellis-work. 1t abutted directly or the
walk beside by boarding house. The
cottage serving az the dividing fence
for its length. This gave me an idea.
About midnight l removed a sec
ton OF the trellis-work ana crawled
under the cottage, armed with a sharp
chisel. 1t was the night for tAe queer
characters to assemble. with great
caution | cut tiny hole through the
floor under the back room, j.Ist large
enough to determine II the room was
carpeted, matter on which depended
the success Of my plan. OF this was
reasonably certain, for the house an.
peared to be well furnished. My sur
mise was correct, and / enlarged the
hole sufficiently to allow me to hear all
that transpired I'm the room. I could
hear each of the three men az they ar.
rived, but beyond "A curt word If greet
ing they did not talk They appeared
to be waiting for someone. y,lrmised
that II was Lefevre. He must be the
leader.
When the carriage arrived : fairly
held my breath, for / felt intiJtively
that I would now learn the secret OF
the little house and OF it's visitorS and
occupants.
"Lefeyre Acknowledged the greeting
OF tho others CURLY and then began.
In excellent French:
We are all here. Lot us get to
work
And to work they went with a will.
h:st one making reports and then an
other; one reading n letter, the others
commenting on II. Lefe-re dominating
the meeting as ~ the others we're chill
dren. AS / listened my heart began to
beat like force pump until I was
afraid 1t would De heard by the six
persons In the room 1t did not take
me long to hear enough, and / crawied
out and set of for the police station on
a run.