Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-07

knights advice we have arranged q lit
tie interview here tonight. II all has
gone as / planned. Mr.. Henry Pfnckney
Sullivan is by this time under arrest.
here"
Il wanted to talk to him before he was
locked up Richey explained. "Hes
clever enough to be worth knowing, and
besides, I'm not SO cocksure of his guilt
as our friend the Patch on the Seat OF
Government. No murderer worthy OF the
name needs six different motives for the
same crime, beginning with robbery and
ending with an unpleasant father-in-law."
We were all silent for while. Nc
Knight stationed himself at a window and
Hotchkiss paced the floor. expectantly.
Its q great day for modern detective
police have been guarding houses and
standing with their mouths open waiting
for clues to fall in and choke them. We
have pieced together. bit by bit, a
The door bell rang. followed immediate
ly by sounds Of footsteps in the hall.
Mcknight threw the door open. and
Hotchkiss. raised on his toes, flung out
his arm in q gesture of superb eloquence.
'BehOld-your man.! he acclaimed.
Through the open doorway came a tall.
blond fellow. clad In light gray. wearing
tan shoes and followed closely by an
officer.
II brought him here as you suggested.
Mr.. Mcknight" said the constable.
But Mcknight was doubled over the
library table I'm silent commissions OF
Hotchkiss stood up. his important atti-
tude finally changing to one Of chagrin,
while the blond man ceased to look angry
and became sheepish.
1t was Stuart, our confidential clerk
for the last half dozen years.
Mcknight sat up and wiped his eyes.
Stuart" he said. sternly, there are
two very serious things We have learned
T. =. Ew.ft,
into your cushion with your left hand.
which is most reprehensible: second. you
wear-er-night shirts, instead or pa
jamas. Worse than that. perhaps. We
find that one OF them has buttonhols
torn out at the neck.
Stuart was bewildered. He looked
from Mcknight to me, and then at the
crestfallen Hotchkiss.
Il haven't any idea what it's all about
he said. i was arrested as j reached
my boarding house tonight. after the
theater. and brought directly here. told
the officer 1t was mistake.
Poor Hotchkiss tried bravely to justify
the fiasco.
"You cannot deny" he contented. that
Mr.. Andrew Bronson followed you to your
rooms last Monday evening
Stuart looked at us and flushed
mo, / don't deny it." he said, but
there was nothing criminal about ii on
my part at least. MIR. Bronson has been
trying to induce me to secure the forged
notes for him. But did not even know
where they were"
"And you were not on the wrecked
Washington fiier?" persisted Hotchkiss.
But Mcknight interfered-
There is no use trying to put the
other mans identity on Stuart. Mr..
Hotchkiss." he protested. He has been
our confidential clerk for six years. and
has not been away from the Office a day
for year. ] am afraid that the beauti-
full fabric we have pieced out of all these
scraps is going to be a crazy quilt" His
tone was facetious, but l could detect
the undercurrent of real disappointment.
1 paid the constable for his trouble
and he departed Stuart, still indignant.
left to go back to Washington Circle.
He shook hands with Mcknight and my
self magnanimousiy. but he hurled look
Of utter hatred at Hotchkiss. sunk crest
fallen in his chair.
las far as I can see.' said Mcknight.
dryly, we're exactly as far along as we
were the day We met at the Carter
place. We're not a step nearer to finding
our man..
I'VE have one thing that may be or
value" l suggested. He Is the husband
of a bronze-haired woman at Van Kinks
hospital. and il is just possible we may
trace him through her. / hope we are
not going to lose your valuable co-opera-
ton, Mr.. Hotchkiss?"I asked.
ITO be continued t0morrow1