Semi-weekly herald., 1911-10-02

iketohes. For days. hs Ka1 sougki
to learn who among Mrs. Missioner,
intimates was hrtist enough to make
suoA delicate draughts of the dia
monds as would be required BY nm ar
ttflcsr for the manufacture Of imita
tons. With that ob1sst, he had asoer
tanned Dorothy's intention to 60 to the
matinee In the Forrest and had gone
TO the theater to meet her under con.
ditions not likely to interfere with
such gentle Questioning of her as he
meant to do. His veiled Interrogation
Of the society girl had brought forth
the fact that Curtis Griswold could
sketch-that the clubman was sum
ciently master OF his pencil to have
his skill pretty generally known
among his acquaintances. Lorimer
and DaubiEny. the other society ar
lists she had mentioned. were not. he
knew. in Mrs. Missioner's circle
1t was fortunate for Lieutenant
Britz, as well as for Elinor Holcomh
and Doctor Fitch. and everybody
whose hopes hinged on the detectives s
success in solving the great Missioner
diamond mystery, that long custom
made him thread the traffic of the
city's throbbing artery automatically,
for 30 deeply did the sleutn ponder
the possibilities OF his newest infor.
nation that he had several close es-
capes from taxicabs, private automo'
biles and trolley cars as he crossed
broadway and bent his steps toward
Fifth avenue. The case had cleared a
palmer than 1t had been when he
dropped into the theater in quest OF
further knowledge.
1T won't do to call Miss March as
a Witness" he mused. walking north
In the carriage-crowded avenue, with
that briskness characteristic OF him
when his brain was most active. "She
can't absolutely prove anything" It
was necessary to obtain tangible evi.
dence of Griswolds ability as a
draughtsman. How to do so without
alarming the clubman was the present
problem.
Britz by no means was prepared to
realized thoroughly that Dorothy's in
formation was all he had to indicate
Griswold any more than Sands, or
two or three others He did not even
know whether Miss Holcomb could
draw, and 1t was no part of his pur-
pose to distress the imprisoned girl
with questions betraying the smallest
n no ha-
No; Br!tz always honest with himself.
could not say he suspected Griswold.
His method was the opposite OF Don
nelly's and Carson's Instead of sus-
pecting everybody. as they Invariably
did in cases at all mysterious, he
would not attach suspicion to anyone
without satisfactory proof That was
the secret of his success. He was
more than detective; he was prose
cutor, judge. jury and counsel to the
defense. 1t accounted for the fact
that he rarely made a mistaken ar
rest, and that when he caused man
or woman to be placed In the prison
er's dock. a conviction almost always
followed.
The names presented thems elves to
the sleuth's mind in that order as he
fastened along with no particular
place as an obJectiye-merely walking
to stimulate his mental process 1t
always frightened Britt to pass the
panorama of fashion in Fifth avenue,
1t was with an almost fatherly feel
ing he glanced at the rich, the debon-
air. the gay sauntering along the side
walks or rolling in automobiles and
carriages up and down the asphalt.
The safety OF their wealth, sometimes
of their very lives, depended on the
vigilance. courage and efficiency Of
himself, and of the few men like him
on the police force of New York So
far as the rank and file of the depart
ment we're concerned, those care-free
sons and daughters of opportunity
might be at the mercy OF the ablest
birds of prey In the human flock. 1t
was because Britz and his compeers
worked and watched and waited so
patiently, SO devotedly, so ceaselessly.
that fashion and finance. coQuetry and
commerce., could bask In the sunshine
of metropolitan prosperity.
A dark-blue limousine standing at the
corner of Forty-fourth street caught
his attention. For moment he