The Delta independent., 1911-10-13
Britt of =
Headquarters
By
MARGIN Barber
ILL STRAIT ONS BY
RAY WALTERS

hc iihec phubCu, II ahiCN' hiS
gers tip to tip. and looked between
them at the note as II peering into a
crystal gazer's globe.
81 am convinced the woman has the
necklace" he went on. Our men
have had time to search Griswold's
apartment from end to end, and the
other mems. too. II they found the
jewels in either place, we would know
1t by now. The whole question pre-
sents itself clearly enough to my
mind The old French proverb holds
good, cherchez la femme"
The Swami arose. AS he did so, Ali
ire-entered the room with more
salaams, and extended toward his
master a silver tray on which lay q
Tiny scroll. written in minute hero
glyphs of the Orient. The scholar
broke the seal and scanned the paper
swiftly. A slight exclamation be-
itrayed that the information contained
In the little scroll broke through even
his magnificent reserve. His hand
trembled a little as he handed the
paper to the Prince. hurried read.
ing suf1ced to destroy all OF that
young mans recently gained calm. He
fairly hurled himself into a sealskin
coat, and thrust his head into an
opera hat.
Quick" he said. we have not a mo
ment to losei"
1t would have been well for Britt II
the young photographer had acquaint
ed him promptly with the fact OF the
disappearance of the Millicent note
The detectives acute intelligence
would have argued from that incident
the need of even greater haste than he
was making in pushing his pursuit OF
the Missioner diamond to close But
Burlen. conscience-stricken though he
was, was loath to send the information
to the Headquarters man until he could
have time to make further and mora
exhaustive search of his shop, as well
as Of the courtyard In the rear of the
building on which its windows gave II
was dark in the court, and the imper.
feot light OF his candle made his
search 80 slow that by the time he
was sure the note was gone beyond
possibility Of its recovery, 1t was too
late for him to find Detective Britt at
Police Headquarters. When his mes
senger returned with the report that
the Central Office man had left his
room, and that no one In the Mulberry
street building knew where to find him,
Burlen became so alarmed that he
fastened to Headquarters to try to
take up the hunt for Britt from that
point. He was as unsuccessful as his
emissary. and he spent many anxious
hours in the waiting room hoping for
the detectives return. The photo en-
graver tried to console himself with
the thought that the negative had been
spared and he therefore had been able
to send to Britzs office the hundred
facsimiles of the Curtis dear" missive
his customer had ordered. But 1t was
poor consolation when he recalled the
earnestness with which the detective
had enjoined upon him not to let the
original leave his hands. Burlen was
an exceedingly uncomfortable young
man during all the time he awaited
the sleuth's return. His discomfort did
not decrease as the hours dragged by.
But it would have been well for
Britt to have that knowledge in re-
gard to the strange vanishment of the
Griswold note. 1t would have been bet
ter for Curtis Griswold If Dorothy
March had not become conscience
stricken in respect of him that same
evening. For little Miss March. being
of Puritan stock, as soon as she per.
suaded herself that she might have
made trouble for Mrs. Missioner's ad.
mirer by talking too freely to the
the coy corner of the Forrest theater
resolved to repair the mischief as rap.
idly as possible. She, therefore, sent
little note to the clubman, asking
that he make 1t point to see her IN
the course of the evening" and in the
note she gave him a list of the several
functions she intended to take in
The ball Mrs. Missioner attended, and
at which Griswold scored what he re-
garded as distinct gain in paradine
the wealthy widow before many oil
their acquaintances as a receptive re
cipient of his attentions, was only one
of the affairs on Dorothy's list Girls
void received the note too late tc
come up with Miss March before the
ball, SO he decided to meet her at g
later dance. That decision upset one
of his plans-the most important he
had formed In many months, although
he did not know its Importance at the
time. 1t had been his intention to &c
from the Fifth Avenue ballroom to the
Hotel Renaissance. and II he had not
received the note from Miss March, he
would have done SO even though he
might have escorted Mrs. Missioner tc
her home and passed short time with
her in the interval.
Dorothy's request fattered the club
mans vanity 30 greatly, however. that
he did not hesitate to defer his visit
to the Renaissance in order to keeI
tho interesting appointment the debu
1