El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-01-12

I sent il only week ago.
The zephyr of admiration became 4
cyclone
! looked at the check again and then
at my wife. Little girl 1 said finally,
Il knew you would make good some
time I pushed aside the half dozen
friends who were crOwding her with
congratulations. Write your name on
the check and make it look prettier,' =
I told her.
She did so with my fountain pen.
| Then L picked it up and held it away
from her. She reached up for it. 1
held it still higher; lowered it and
raised it tantalizingly. Then we tus-
seized in mock war; broke away ana
ran with her at my heels.
| She succeeded in winding me- puff ed
as 1 ran back to the dining room. For
/ relief l threw the check to the back of
! the top of the sideboard; then smoth-
| cred Cora with caresses until the guests
| insisted on having something to eat.
So the check was forgotten for the
night. 1 had gone to business the next
day and arrived home late, having
office for an hour or two.
1t was when she met me at the door
that she told me her startling news
the check had been stolen
Cora, it seems, remembered that
check just as soon as I left the house
that morning. She climbed a chair and
looked where I had thrown it. The
check was not there,
She had looked back Of the sideboard
;l1,1 .or h. ol,o
having fallen down there-but she had
not seen it.
"And so it's gomez" I suggested.
Cora nodded her head.
But I'm going to find out who took
it," she said. I've started my investi-
cations. and Tn on the mans track
I'm sure of getting him.
wondered if she would prove is sue
cessful a detective as she had author,
1 became excited Then it was
man?"
Yes" she told me. at was a man;
tall man.
How in the world do you know
that?" I was amazed.
by deduction. When I stood on the
chair noticed that the top of the side
! board was covered with fine film of
dust which had collected since the room
was cleaned last Saturday There was
a space where the dust had been dis
turbed by the check, way back of the
top. In the dust I noticed marks of
fngertips dragging through it. followed
by marks made by the edges of the
check as it was pulled forward"
was keenly interested. But" ex-
postul&ted, 81 don't see how you can
make a tall man out of that little
facti'
'Oh, not that alone she replied the
, letter that came with the check was on
the floor right in front Of the sideboard.
1t must have blown off the table near
your plate. where YOU placed it. Now.
right in the middle of that letter was
the imprint Of a mans heel. plain as
day. This showed me more than one
thing:=First, I saw that the man was
tall because he had reached up to the
top of the sideboard instead of getting
on a chair. The finger marks shower
this. Then I knew he had stood on
tiptoe because the heelTnark in that let
ter was a moments pressure-the
quick strained falling back TO the floor
of heel raised"
fill in name and address on dotted
Wonderful" I applauded. eco on
The man must have been tall to do
this" Cora continued. "A short man
would have stood on chair
Naturally" Her logic dazen me-
"But-why not a woman?"
''Oh, look at the heelmark. That's
mans heel. And besides. he was no
ornament to a drawing room: He is a
man of careless habits
Sweetheart" I murmured. you have
figured it all out apparently so con-
cisely that 1 am waiting to hear his
name How do you account for his
habts?"
Having obtained the check" she
said triumphantly she wiped his dusty
fingers on my nice clean sideboard
scarf
I scraped my foot against the leg of
the table to which we had gone to eat
dinner while she told me her story.
scraped my foot and became wise. "a
burglar" I observed. would not be
expected to be careful in such mat
ters"
But it wasn't burglar. Billy" she !!
told me. IF it had been there'd have I
been signs of HOUSEKEEPING. There'i /
have been some sort Of noise in the |
night. There'd have been something |
Else disturbed"
Wasn't there-was nothing else
gomez I asked.
Nothing else. No. it wasn't a burg !
lar"
I suddenly sat up straight light |
OF what cora was mining at broke over +
my thinking apparatus "You don't /
mean TO say" 1 ventured, that you I
think some of our guests last night /
took that check?"
Cora nodded. 'Who else?" she de-
manded. There was telltaIe trade |
mark on that heel Three big nails
on one side, four on the other, with a
star nail right at the back. I looked
on the carpet; so many people walking
are more than likely to step dust out
of a carpet and heels are likely to be
seen at such a time. This was so last
night I found marks of that heel
quite readily. This told me another
thing"
'sWhat?" jerked out.
Whoever took that check was among
the last to leave this house last night
Those nails almost obliterated all other
footmarks.''
She paused and looked at me for ad-
miration. And she got It,
Say Coe." whispered. drinking tea
you're about the best ever. You ac-
tually do rival
Il thought you'd bring his name into
this or latero he said sFRuf IL i