Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1910-04-15

trust have an especial prediction. Ny
| Spanish needs a little furnishing, anc
only the other day / vas practicins
with a man whose name, | believe, Il
Murrello. Do YOU know him
If you have completed your business
| viii ring for the servant" said tht
lawyer.
He told me-my ~Spaniard, I mean
a curious story. He m from Bar
celona, and by way of being a masor
or something of the sort, was brough,
TO England with some other of his fell
low countrymen TO make some curious
alterations to the house of a Seno
in-er-Clapham Of all places in the
world"
The lawyers breath came short ant
fast.
From what 1 am able to gather
Jimmy went on languidly, land my
Spanish is Andalusian rather than Ca
talonian, so that / missed some of his
interesting narrative, these alterations
partoOk of the nature of wonderfully
concealed strong-rooms-stee l doors
artfully covered with cheap wood cary
concealed strong-rooms-steel doors art.
fully covered with cheap wood carving
vaults cunningly constructed beneath in.
nocent basement kitchens, little stair
ways in apparently solid walls and the
like"
The levity went out of his voice, and
he Strengthened himself in his chair.
Il have no desire to search your Of
fce," he said quietly, "or perhaps
should say no further desire, for l have
already methodically examined every
hole and corner. No." he checked the
words on Spedding's lips, mo, it was
burglary you spoke of. You ley
found traces of me. I'll swear. You may
keep the keys of your strong-room, and
l shall not trouble your bankers"
What do you want?" demanded the
lawyer shortly.
Il want to see what you have got
downstairs" was the reply, and there
was no doubling its earnestness, land
more especially 10 l want to see the
red envelope"
The lawyer bent his brows In
thought. His Eyes were fixed unwaver-
ingly on Jimmy's.
"Suppose,' ne said slowly, suppose
that such an envelope did exist, sup
pose for the sake of argument these
mysterious vaults and secret chambers
are, as o suggest, in existence, what
right have you, more than any other
one of the beneficiaries under the will
to demand a private examination? Why
should l give you an unfair advantage
over them"
Jimmy rose to his feet and stretched
himself before replying.
There is only one legatee whom ]
recognize" he said briefly, that is the
girl. The money is hers. 1 do not want
a farthing. / am equally determined
that nobody else shall touch a penny
neither my young friend Connor"-
he stopped to give emphasis to the
next two words-"nor yourself"
nGirf1 said fhn nlItra Oa6 NY Snn1-
ding.
Nor yourself, Mr.. SPEEDING" re-
peated Jimmy with conviction. Let us
understand each other thoroughly.
You are. as I read, you, a fairly
respectable citizen. 1 would trust you
with ten or a hundred thousand pounds
without experiencing the slightest anx-
iety. / would not trust you with two
million in solid cash, nor would / trust
any man. The magnitude of the sum
Is calculated to overwhelm your moral
sense. The sooner the red envelope is
in the possession of Angel Esquire the
better for us ALL"
Speeding stood with bent head, his
fingers nervously stroking his jaw,
thinking.
IAN agile mind this" thought Jim
my; "if / am not careful there will be
trouble here"
ne WdtCHeu tine lawyer > lace dDO
noticed the lines suddenly disappear
from the troubled face, and the placid
smile returning.
Cancellation and partial confession"
judged Jimmy, and his diagnosis was
correct.
"WeIl. Mr.. Jimmy" said SPEEDING.
with some show of heartiness, 'since
you know so much, It may be well to
tell you more. AS you have so clev-
erly discovered, my house to a great
extent is q strong room. There are
many valuable documents that I could
not with any confidence leave deposit
ed at my office. They are safer here
under my eye, so to speak. The papers
Of the late Mr.. Reale are, L confess,
In this house; but-now mari me-
whether the red envelope you speak of
is amongst these / do not know. There
is a multitude OF documents In connec-
ton with the case, all of which I have
had no time to go through. The hour
is late, but"
He paused irresolutely.
If you would care to inspect the
mysteries Of the basement"-he smiled
be~nevolently, and was his old self-"I
shall be happy to have your assistance
In a cursory search"
Jimmy was alert and watchful and
to the point.
Lead the way" he said shortly, and
SPEEDING, after a moments hesitation,
opened the door and Jimmy followed
him into the hall.
Contrary to his expectations, the law
yer led him upstairs, and through a
plainly furnished bedroom to a small
dressing room hat opened off. There
was a conventional wardrobe against
the wall, and this SPEEDING opened.
A dozen suits hung from hooks and
stretchers, and the lawyer groped
amongst these for a moment. Then
there was a soft click. and the back
of the wardrobe swung back.
SPEEDING turned to his visitor with a
quizzical smile.
CONTINUED Next Weekly