Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1910-03-18
CHAPTER III.

ESQUIRE came TO occupy the position
he does at Scotland Yard. On his APP
pointment, AN Officer of Twenty
Years Standing" wrote to the Police
Review n characterized the whole
thing as "a job" Probably 1t was. For
Angel Esquire had been many things in
his short but useful career, but never a
policeman. He had been a big game
shot, a special correspondent, q
scratch magistrate, and his nearest
approach to occupying a responsible
position in any police force in the
world was when he was appointed a
j. p. of Rhodesia, and, serving on the
Tuli commission, he hanged M'Linchwe
and six of that black desperado's COM
panionS.
His circle of acquaintance extended
to the suburbs of London, and the SUI
burbanites, who love you to make their
flesh creep, would sit in shivering but
pleasurable horror whilst Angel Es-
quire elaborated the story of the Ike
cution.
In Mayfair Angel Esquire was best
known as a successful mediator.
who is that ~old-looking young man
with the wicked eyer" asked the Dow
ager Duchess of Hoeburn; and her
vis-a-vis at the Honorable Mrs. Car
Walkers Shutdown tea'-it was
in the days when Mayfair was aping
suburbia-put up his altogether unnec-
essary eyeglass.
"oh, that's Angel Esquire!" he said.
carelessly.
What is he?" asked the duchess.
"A policeman"
"India?"
"Oh, no, Scotland Yard"
Good Heavens!" said her grace in q
shocked voice. How very dreadful!
What Is he doing? Watching the
guests, or keeping a friendly eye on
the Carter woman's s%poons?"
The young man guffawed.
Don't despise Old Angel, Duchess"
he said. Hes a a to know. Great
fellow for putting things right. II you
have a row with your governor, or get
INTO the hands observation-disclosures, or
generally, If you're in g. mess of any
kind, Angels the chap to pull you out"
Her grace surveyed the admirable
man with a new interest.
Angel Esquire, with a cup of tea in
one hand n a thin grass sandwich in
the other, was the center of a group
of men, including the husband of the
hostess. He was talking with some
animation.
II held three aces pat, and opened
the pot light to let EN- in. Young Sa-
Vile raised the opening to a tenner, and
the dealer went 10 better. George Man
fred. who had passed, came in for q
POAiyy anu cDh otC NoLus l. " t"oy
and drew another ace. Saville took
one, and the dealer stood pat. I
thought 1t was my money, n bet a
pony, Saville raised it to so, the deal
err made 1t 100 and George Manfred
doubled the bet. 1t was up to me. /
had four aces; l put Saville with q
full" and the dealer with a flush I
had the beating Of that lot; but what
about Manfred? Manfred is a Teller
with all the sense going. He knew
what the others had. If he bet, he
had the goods, so / chucked my four
aces into the discard. George had a
straight flush"
A chorus of approval came from the
group.
If IAN Officer of Twenty Years
Standing" la been a listener he might
well have been further strengthened in
his opinion that of all persons Mr..
Angel was least fitted to fill the respon-
sible position he did.
If the truth be told, nobody quite
knew exactly what position Angel did
hold. If you turn into New Scotland
Yard and ask the janitor at the door
for FEr. Christopher Angel-Angel Es-
quire by the way was a nickname af-
fixed by a pert little girl-the consta-
BILE, having satisfied himself as to your
bona-fides, would take you up a flight
of stairs and hand you over to yet an
other officer, who would conduct you
through innumerable swing doors, and
along ~uncounted corridors till he
stopped before a portal inscribed "647."
Within, you would find Angel Esquire
sitting at his desk, doing nothing, with
the aid of a Sporting Life and a small
weekly guide to the Turf.
Once Mr.. Commissioner himself
walked into the room u~nannounced, and
found Angel so immersed In an elabo-
IA 4.
per closely filled with figures, and open
books on either hand, that he did not
heal his visitor.
What is the problem?" asked Mr..
Commissioner, and Angel looked up
with his sweetest smile, and ~recogniz-
ing his visitor, rose.
Whats the problem?" asked Mr..
Commissioner again.
"A serious flaw, sir" said Angel,
with all gravity. Here's Mimosa ham
.dicapped at seven stone nine in the
Friary Nursey, when, according to my
calculations, she can give the field a
stone, and beat any one Of EN-"
The commissioner gasped.
MY "a fellow" he expostulated,
Il thought you were working on the
Lagos bank business"
Angel had a far-away look in his
eyes when he answered.
"Oh, that is all finished. Old CARLY
vas poisoned by a man named-forget
his name now, but he was a Monrovian.
/ wired the Lagos police, and we caught
the chap this morning at Liverpool
o him off at Elder. Dempster boat"
The police commissioner beamed.
MY congratulations, Angel. BY Jove,
I thought we shouldn't have a chance
of helping the people in Africa. Is
there a white man in it?"