The Washington times., 1911-03-02

he, merely listened, nodding, to the
That was my clients secretary" he
said. He has started two men on the
way up here from the city. and he
says that the third of their three
choicest investigators is staying some
where in Stedmore right now, and he's
trying to get him on the telephone"
These are independent investiga-
tors, you know-not from an agency
or a bureau or anything of that sort
wilkes. They are not known, l be-
neYe, to more than a dozen of the
wealthiest men in the country-as de-
tectives, that is. They are very rare,
Wilkes"
They came a little after o'clock.
Barker's efforts at persuading a little
| luncneOn into DeStOn had ended with
! nothing better than cup of black
| coffee the surviving brother was brood
ing over a blacker cigar when Pel en-
tered the library with two cards.
The lawyer glanced at them and be-
came suddenly animated.
Bring the gentlemen in here, Pelli"
he said briskly. And as the butler, sniff
ing, bobbed his head and departed, Bar
Brace up! Wen have an end to the
mystery business now, and it will be as
big relief for me as for you. Well
have everything cleared up now, Wilkes.
MS lIldil dg L We ItdIu dDOulI dIll
they say he's wonder. Burton l don't
know, but"
He broke off and Strengthened up.
| Within two or three seconds, he was
presenting the visitors to Deston, and,
that done. looking them over keeniy
for his edifiCatiOn.
The tall one was John Gray, and the
| hint of a satisfied smile came to Bar
ker lips as he surveyed him. Mr.. Gray
might have been nearer fifty than forty.
He stood, perhaps, a fraction over six
leet; he was broad-shouldered and lean
and somewhat military of carriage; his
hair, half gray, was dashed with white
at the temples, and, like his short, Stlft
mustaChe, was perfectly harbered. With
the rather arrogant and arisIoCratic
cast of features, the impeCcable tailor
ing, the rich, inconspicuOus elegance of
the ensemble stamped Mr. Gray the eX-
tremely prosperous man of big financial
affairs.
The other card had borne the name Of
P. +. Burton. Barker's sharp eye
noted the rather dingy and worn aspect
OF the little pastebOard, and he would
have been rather aStOnished had Bur-
ton not matched his card.
Burton might have been forty. His
shoes, the lawyer noted, were the kind
that gathered dust instinctively, just
as Gray's instinctively shed it. His
clothes bore all the tell-tale wrinkles
and bulges of the man who has neither
time nor patience to waste on the finer
points of personal appearance. He was
round and rather shorter than Gray,
preInSturely bald with fringe of sandy
hail His large, pale-blue eyes looked
at one through thick. god-rimmed spec
tacles. with the steady, searching stare
of man whose thoughts are penetrat-
ing far beyond mere surface indica-
tiOns.
Just now he seemed to be examining
Wilkes Deston most carefully; he look
ed up at Barker:
We'll, gentlemen, I'm glad that you
were able to get here so promptly
Yes" Burton turned the pale eyes
on the lawyer. In fact I had rather
expected a third man. You are-er-
both free from other engagements for
awhile?"
Il am"
Il never handle more than one case
at a time, Mr. Barker Gray smiled.
Good The lawyer glanced at Wilkes
( that we will lock up here and get down
to business in the shortest possible
time, gentlemen. /"
A tap at the door halted him. Frown-
ing, he took the card which Pel offered
and glanced at it questioningIy.
The gentleman came up in hack
from the inn, sir" Pell submitted. "He
said to tell you he just got a telephone
message from New York
"Oh! Very well. Ask him in here, too,
The four waited in silence. A few
seconds, and the newcomer entered and
looked around cuTiously. Gray and Bur-
ton nodded Familiarity. and the young
man returned the salutation with the
ease Of an old acquaintance.
There was nothing striking about him
one way or the other, Barker reflected
He was younger than the other two-he
could have been very little over thirty
and there was a sort of youthful. faint
ly apOlogetic uncertainty about him that
failed to give the lawyer that impress
sion Of a defined personality he had
noted on meeting Gray and Burton. But
he was distinctly a bright-looking chap,
and he must have a certain pretty cred
liable record or he wouldn't be here:
and Barker smiled as he said
Last. but not least, Mr.. Barrows."
L"
He stopped, for Wilkes Deston. hav-
ing regarded him intently since his en-
trance, interrupted with:
Haven't we met before, Mr.. Bar
rows?"
Continuation of This Story VIII be