Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1910-04-22
VII.
WHAT THE RED ENVELOPE HELD

MY dear Angel" wrote Jimmy, II
commend to you one Mr.. SPEEDING, an
ingenious man. II by chance you ever
wish to visit him, do so In business
hours. If you desire to examine his
most secret possession. effect an en-
trance into a dre~ary-looking house at
the corne of Cley's road. a stones
throw from High Holly Lodge It is
marked In plain letters To Let In
the basement you will find a coal cell
lar. Searching the coal cellar dill
gently, you will discover a flight of
stone steps leading to a s~ubterranean
passage, which burrows under the
ground until 1t arrives at friend
~Spedding's particular private vault. If
this reads Ike a leaf torn from Dumas
or lear Harrison Ainsworth 1t is not
my fault. / visited our legal adviser
last night, and had quite a thrilling
evening. That / am alive this morning
is q tribute to my caution and fore
seeing wisdom. The result OF my visit
is this: / nave the key of the safe
word In my hands. Come and get It,"
Angel found the message awaiting
him when he reached Scotland Yard
that morning. He too had spent sleep
less hours in a futile attempt to un-
ravel the mystery of old Reale's dog
gerel verse.
A telegram brought Kathleen Kent
to town. Angel met her at a quiet res
taurant In Rupert street, and was
struck by the delicate beauty Of this
slim girl. the calm. gray eyes
She greeted him with a sad little
smile.
Il was afraid you would never see
me again after my outburst of the
other night" she said. "This-this-
person is a friend of yours?"
Jimmy" asked the detective cheer
lily. "Oh, yes, Jimmy's by way of be-
ing a friend; but he deserved all you
said, and he knows II. Miss Kent"
The girls face darkened momentar-
lily as she thought of Jimmy.
Il shall never understand" she said
slowly, how a man of his gifts al
lowed himself to become
But protested the detective, che
told o he took no part in the decoy-
ing of your father"
The girl turned with open-eyed as
constituent.
Surely you do not expect me to be-
live his excuses she cried.
Angel Esquire looked grave.
That Is just what I should ask you
TO believe he said quietly. Jimmy
makes no excuses, and he would GER
tainly tell no lie in extenuation OF his
faults"
"But-but," said Kathleen, bewllder-
ed, "he is a thief by his own showing
Ia bad man"
not a bad man. Jimmy Is a puzzle to
most people. To me he Is prefectly
understandable; that Is because I have
too much of the criminal in my W
composition psrhapy"
faith In him! Then I could absolve
him from suspicion of having helped
ruin my poor father,
II think you can do that" said the
detective almost eagerly. Believe me,
Jimmy is not to be judged by copven
tionai standards. III you ask me to de-
scribe him. I would say that he Is q
genious who works In IN accentric cir
Gle that sometimes ~overlaps. some
times underreaches the rigid circle OF
the law. II you ask me as a policeman
and II ! was his bitterest enemy. what
| could do with Jimmy, / should say,
! Nothing. know of nc crime with
which I could charge him. save al
times with associating with doubtful
characters. AS a matter OF fact. that
/ equally applies to me. Listen. Miss
Kent. The first big international case
figured In was a gigantic fraud or
J the Egyptian bank. Some g4no, 0ot
/ were involved. and whilst from the
outsiders point OF view Jimmy was be-
yond suspicion. yet we who were work
/ ing at the case suspected him, and
pretty strongly. The men who owned
! the bank were rich Egyptians, ant
the head OF all was a SOmebody-or-
; other Pasha. as great q ~scoundrel al
, ever drew breath. 1t Is impossible To tel
q lady exactly how big a ~scoundrel hi
{ was, but you may guess. Well, the
Pasha knew II was Jimmy who hat
- AAuu thu efA A~I xuA knAxr h.sk vr
dare not say 20. The arrest of Jimm,
q would have automatically ruined tn
: banker. That was where I realized tn,
kind Of man I had TO deal with. and
: am always prepared when Jimmy
name ID mentioned In connection with
= q big crirne TO disCoyer that his victim
y deserved all he got. and q little more.
Ths girl ave 3 little shiver.
MI sounds dreadful. Cnnn0t such