Graham guardian., 1911-11-10
CHAPTER vll,.
eritx Takes Action.


onicial grade was the same a. that Of
Donnelly and Carson. but by sheer
force Of his ability. he had lifted him
self 20 far above them that when
working on q case thoy accepted his
orders like subordinates. Britz was
one of the four or flve men of the
entire detective force who could not
be classed az "stoolpigeon man"
That Ia. he did not depend on the use
Of stool-pigeons for his results. He
needed no stan of thieves to inform
him Of the doings Of other thieves.
His detective ability was developed
to . high degree. combining an acute
analytic sense with remarkable indus
try. These talents were reinforced by
. rare detective instinct. which often
led him irresistibly to the goal of his
pursuit.
He was q bundle of twitching nerves
beneath a placid exterior. Nature had
endowed him with an inscrutable
oountenance. an iron will, and a rest
less energy that seemed to flow from
an inexhaustible inner fountain. He
matched bis resourcefulness against
the tricks of the criminals he pursued
and. having the keener mind, he In
wariably won.
Britz's enthusiasm never bubbled to
the surface. He carried himself with
an appearance Of mastery ease, as II
he held his impulses in complete sub
lection. There was nothing striking
In his stature, yet he left an impress
sion Of hidden strength as Of steel
framework behind light coating Of
plaster. His eyes, deep set beneath
the arched outline of his eyebrows.
seemed to emit a mysterious, inex-
plicable current that circled around
one and drew one closer within its
constantly narrowing circumference.
The shade Of melancholy that gloomed
his nature was not hidden by the
mask Of superb indifference that rest
Cd on his well-defined features, with
their crowning breadth Of lightly fur.
rowed forehead. It revealed itself
with the slightest twitch of his facial
muscles a well a. in the dropping
line Of his mouth. BY some peculi.
ar1ty Of the blood, his complexion ran
. yellow ivory, never varying It's color
under the stress of the strongest emo
tions. It required superhuman cour-
age to meet the steady gaze of his
eyes and lie to him. Though some
what abrupt of manner and speech.
there was something engaging about
him. some subtle magic of personality
that brought one under the thrall Of
his mind. Almost without the utter
ance of syllable. he could bend weak
natures to his will. Only the strong,
est persons were able to resist his
domination.
He was one Of those strange beings
who I've mostly within themselves.
yet there were times when he felt
desolation Of heart. a longing for
oompanionship. for intimate associa-
ton with his fellow beings. On such
occasions, his life seemed to lack
something Of the beauty Of other lives,
as II 1t had been cast In more SON.
ber shade. He could feel wave of
melancholy coming on him. and to
avoid its depressing influence, he turn
cd his mind resolutely to his work,
feasting on the crime at hand as on
some tempting dish. Without knowing
why. the Missioner diamond robbery
held for him fascination more pow
erful than that called up by any other
crime within his memory. He recog.
nized surface indications Of a deep
cunning In the conception and execu.
ton Of the theft. His experienced
eye saw that no ignorant or vulgar
mind had engineered the substitution
of those marvellous diamonds. The
pursuit Of the criminal fairly sparkled
with exciting possibilities. and Britz
felt the thrill of the chase even before
he started the pursuit.
Britz paced nervously up and down
his room. revolving the incidents sur,
rounding the discovery Of the theft
In his mind. but he was unable to pick
q clew on which to work. Nor did the
occurrences in which Donnelly and
Carson participated furnish any prom
Using material
I'm begin at the very bottom" he
murmured, land work gradually to the
top" He sauntered out of the house
walking with the air of one trying to
lengthen moments of reflection. In
front Of the Missioner home he
stopped, surveying the massive stone
walls. as II trying to figure the posi-