The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1911-11-11
CHAPTER XIX.
The Mysterious MIIlicent.

The Mysterious MIlieent.
Britz streaked from Sands apart
rent to dingy little den of shop
on the top floor OF downtown
business rookery-one Of the sky
scrapers of quarter-century before.
it was much more tedious to climb
the FIVE flights of stairs to the sixth
story than to shoot in an express ele-
wator to the summit Of the Singer
Building. But Britz was too hot on
the scent to pay much attention to his
fatigue. He ran up the stairs lightly,
dung open a crazy outer door that
creaked an announcement of his COM
ang, and pushed a bit Of paper toward
O young man OF modern physique and
ancient visage who was working at
bench. The paper was the snote be-
ginning Curtis DEAR" and ending with
the first name Of the mysterious Mil
ficent The anachronistic young man
looked at it inquiringly through steel
simmed spectacles.
Rush hundred copies of this, Bur
ACA, Sdlu DALI. IL SCua LII SASAh Al
y couple Of hours"
The detective seated himself on a
stool behind the bench, and for several
minutes watched tho photo engraver
at his work. His mind was not behind
his eyes, however. He was busy with
the possibilities unfolded by the little
scrap of paper he had found In the
Hindoo burglars possession. The
Headquarters man never was in hur-
ey to accept any cleW at its face val
pe; nevertheless, he felt he had at
FAST something which, If not direct
Fink between his knowledge and his
suppositions, would go far toward con-
meeting them. That the note was adj
dressed to Curtis Griswold he had
little doubt. 1t required small effort
|of reasoning to conclude that the East
erners had gone to Sands apartment
soon after visiting Griswold. But this
time, Britz had learned enough to
convince him that the Brahmin scholar
was as eager to get possession of the
missioner necklace as he was-to get
Ehe Maharanee diamond, anyway, ii
mot all the other gems belonging to
the famous string. BY patient,
patchwork process, Britt had pieced
together the tiniest details OF the
Bwami's movements. He knew all
about the scholars presence in the
Metropolitan Opera House on the
night Of the disappearance of the jew
els, and he had made himself &C
4guainted with the system of espionage
maintained by the sage and his sub
ordinates ever since that time. That
system, he was aware, covered every
one connected, however distantly,
with the mystery. 1t was apparent to
Britz that he was working against
men who, while not trained detectives
I'm the Occidental sense, were fully as
persistent In their quest as himself.
There was no question the Swami had
directed all the energies of the East
erners which the detective had follow
ed interestedly throughout their vari-
GUS manifestations. Britz was con-
WINGED that he had the Brahmin priest
70 thank for his own kidnapping: and
NE was equally certain that the same
little band of brothers had searched
the homes Of Bruxton Sands and Cur
tbs GrisWold. He was not given to at
saching much weight to intuition. re-
gardtng that faculty as pale and US
ually ineffective feminine reflection of
logic.
But something told him liz must be-
stir himself even more vigorously than
he had done to date, II he was to trace
the Missioner diamonds before the
suave, subtle men from the East could
find them and put them forever be-
You'd the reach of any Westerner.
One thing was In his favor. Undoubt.
edly he had broken the Swamis line
OF communication by selling the spies
before they could report the finding of
the Millicent note In Sands apartment.
He had a vague sense that the scrap
of paper would be of immediate value
as clue to the Brahnin-that IL he
had not intercepted it, the scholar by
now would have been close upon the
discovery of the diamonds. 1t remain
ed for Britz himself to ascertain the
identity and whereabouts OF Millicent
before the Oriental prisoners could
with their chief. Those
prisoners were safe enough for the