Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1911-08-10

was sure the note was gone bevond
possibility Of its recovery, It 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 it was
poor consolation when he recalled the
earnestpess 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 II would have been well for
, Britt to have that knowledge in re-
gard to the strange vanishment of tho
Griswold note, It 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
bland man from Mulberry street in
the coy corner Of the Forrest thcater.
resolved to repair the mischief as rap
idly as possible. She, therefore, sent
a little note to the clubman, asking
that he make it point to see her in
the course Of the evening" and in the
note she gave him 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 paradiny
the wealthy widow before many OF
their acQuaintances as receptive re-
cpient of his attentions, was only one
of the affairs on Dorothy's list Girls.
void received the note too late to
come up with Miss March before the
ball so he decided to meet her at a
later dance That decision upset ono
OF his plans-the most important he
had formed In many months. although
l.
time. 1t had been his intention to go
from the Fifth Avenue ballroom to the
Hotel Renaissance, and If he had not
received the note from Miss March. he
would have done so even though he
might have escorted Mrs. Missioner to
her home and passed a short time with
her in the interval
Dorothys request fattered the club
mans vanity so greatly, however, that
he did not hesitate to defer his visit
to the Renaissance in order to keep
the interesting appointment the debu-
tante. with more conscience than dis
erection, made for him. The conse-
Quence was that by the time Girls
wold's interview with little Dorothy
passed beyond point to which even
his ingenuity could stretch conven-
tionality far enough to make it pracu-
cable for him to see Mrs. Delaroche
that night.
Dorothy was dancing abstractedly
when Griswold found her. She was so
impatient to adjust the harm she felt
she had done him that she saw him
from her partners shoulder before he
picked her out from a score of other
comely young women on the floor.
Miss March instantly wearied Of the
waltz, to the dismay of the youth
whose arm encircled her, and who
rather fancied himself as a dancer.
She lost no time In having herself es-
corted to a small conservatory. where
she dismissed her partner with scant
ceremony, and where, a few moments
afterward, she was joined by Girls
void
Even then the debutante's unwilling
tangling Of the threads OF Griswo!d's
fate might not have had such influence
upon his future If she had approached
her subject with directness Had she
told GrisWold at once what she had
said to the detective concerning his
skill as a draughtsman, the clubman's
suspicious would have been aroused.
and he might have taken steps thar
would have had a marked effect upon
the development Of the great Mission
er mystery. But Dorothy was too hut-
tered, too pretuly remorseful To 20
straight to the heart OF the subject
and in her innocent endeavor to most
Griswold In respect OF her chat with
Britt without making him think she
was a gossiping little busybody, she
protracted her interview with the club.
man through so many dances that
when 1t ended Griswold persuaded him
self the morning would be ample time
to do that which he felt must be done
/ to avert the probable con sequences Of
/ Dorothy's girlish frankness His van.
ity again played its part, too, for when
be had thanked little Miss March for
what he pleased to consider her inter
est Ia him. and when Dorothy, having
signaily failed to impress upon him the
lmpersonal nature of her conscience
stroke, found herself in a further lut.
ter OF bewilderment Curtis Grisvold
proceeded to parade her up and down
the dancing floor as effectively as he
had shown of the rich and beautiful
In n