The Huttig news., 1910-06-25

surprised to find Hotchkiss. much out of breath. in the vestibule.
 Why. come in, Mr Hotchkiss," said. q thought you were going home to go to bed"
 80 I wa~. so I was" He dropped into chair beside my reading lamp and mopped his face. And here 1t is almost midnight and I'm wider awake than ever I've seen Sullivan, MT. Blakeley."
 You have,"
 "I have" he said impressively.
 You were following Bronson at eight o'clock. Was that when it hap pened?"
 Something of the sort When I left you at the door of the restaurant turned and almost ran into plain clothes man from the central office. I know him pretty we'll; once or twice he has taken me with him on interest. ing bits of work. He knows my hobby.
 "You know him, too. probably It was the man Arnold. the detective whom the states attorney has had watching Bronson
 Johnson being otherwise occupied, 1 had asked for Arnold myself.
 nodded.
 Well, he stopped me at once; said he'd been on the fellows tracks since early morning and had had no time for luncheon. Bronson. it seems. isn't eating much these days. I at once jotted down the fact. because it ar. gued that he was being bothered by the man with the notes"
 Tt might point to other things" I suggested. Indigestion, you know" Hotchkiss ignored me. Well Ar mold had some reason for thinking that Bronson would try to give him the slip that night, so he asked me to stay around the private entrance there while he ran across the street and get something to eat. It seemed a fair presumption that, as he had gone there with lady they would dine lei surely and Arnold would have plenty of time to get back"
 What about your own dinner?" asked. curiously.
 Sir" he said, pompously, q have given you wrong estimate of Wilson Budd Hotchkiss if you think that a question of dinner would even obtrude itself on his mind at such time as this"
 He was a frail little man and to- night he looked pale with heat and over-exertion.
 Did you have any luncheon?" asked.
 He was somewhat embarrassed at that.
 "I-really, Mir. Blakeley, the events of the day were so expressing"
 Well" I said. Pm not going to see you drop on the floor from exhaus. tion. Just wait a minute" l went back to the pantry, only to be confronted with rows of locked doors and empty dishes. Downstairs 1 in the basement kitchen. however, found two unattractive looking eolt chops. some dry bread and a piece o cake, wrapped in a napkin. and iron 1 its surreptftious and generally hang 1 dog appearance destined for the coach
 
 l there were none-everything but tn, chairs and tables seemed under loci and key and there was neither napkin knife nor fork to be found
 The luncheon was not attractive ir appearance, but Hotchkiss ate his cold chops and gnawed at his crusts as though he had been famished. while he told his story
 "I had been there only few min vtes,' he said, with a chop in one hand and the cake in the other, when Bronson rushed out :Ind cut across the street. He's g tall man, MT. Blake ley, and l had hard work keeping close. It was relief when he jumped on passing car, although being well behind. it was bard run for me to catch him. He had left Che lady
 Once on the ear, we simply rode from one end of the line to khe other and back again. I suppose he was passing the time. for he looked al his watch now and then and when did once get a lock at his face 1t made uncomfortable. He could hdFt CIusHcu H1e Uhe ny. SIT. I had brought MT. Hotchkiss a glass of wine and he was looking better He stopped to finish it, declining with a wave of his hand to have it refilled and continued:
 About nine o'clock or little later he got off somewhere near Washing ton circle. He went along one of tho residence streets there. turned to hi, left a square or two. and rang a bell He had been admitted when I go there, but I guessed from the. appear ance of the place that it was a board ing house.
 'i waited a few minutes and rans | the bell. When a maid answered 1t I asked for MT. Sullivan. Of course | there was no Mr. Sullivan there ''I said l was sorry; that the man was looking for was a new boarder She was sure there was no sucf boarder in the house; the only new ar rival was man on the third floor she thought his namc was Stuart
 My friend has a cousin by tha name,' l said. I'll go up and sec
 She wanted olshow me up, but