Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1911-11-24

place he wouldn't dream OF doing any
thing u~nderhand, even if he saw that
the other fellow was undoubtedly win
ming out. He always plays the game"
well, maybe he does" said Britt;
but, from what I've observed in my
journey through life, this love game
is one that is played without any
rules I've known men who would take
a million If it were handed to them on
a platter, yet who'd go pretty close to
a mix-up with the Grand Jury to cut
out a fellow who was after the same
girl"
You talk as If your experience in
the heart line were all secondhand"
said Fitch, smiling.
Never beer in love in my life and
never expect to be-" said Britt. But
l have eyes in my head and ears be-
hind them. also know what M
can do to a mans common sense even
when they don't know they're doing
it. The lady who gets the loot isn't
always a party to the crime"
well" responded Fitch, Il won't
undertake to pit my experience
against yours; but there's nothing of
JudJ SUI LII lhlo . oihNo '
Mrs. Missioner about as much as a
man can. He was fond Of her before her
marriage, and most of us thought ED
win her then. l don't know why ne
didn't, but l do kno that from the
day he learned of her husbands
death, he had been twice as
to her as before, and even in the days
when she was the star bud OF Auntle
Paran's beauty show, his fondness for
her was pretty noticeable. l remem-
Der particularly one Patriarchs Ball
when he grabbed every dance on her
card and got her to sit out o OF
them"
But he knows Griswold is trying
to win her, too" said Britz, and If he
has any reason to think the other fell
low has a good chance he might be
tempted to put him down and out,
even If he had to go to such lengths
as taking the Missioner diamonds, ana
then throwing suspicion on CTS
wold?"
Britt raised his glass and drank
slowly, m%editatively, until the Ice
chilled his nose. Then he sat the
tumbler firmly down on the bar, faced
Fitch, and said with an air of fnal1ty:
'If that's the case, Griswold's the
mani He may have had assistance
from Blodgett, but l doubt 1t. He's
too foxy to trust his neck to a serv-
ant. AS for ALI, l thought he might
have turned the trick, but he didn't
because If he had, he n all the rest
of that Calcutta bunch would be well
on their way toward their heather
temples by this time. There is now
only Mr.. Curtis Griswold to consider"
Fitch looked at him with a per-
picked air.
What causes you to suspect him?"
he asked.
"I've had my eyes on that young
man for some time," Britt said.
There were two or three things con-
nected with the arrest Of Miss Hol-
comb that didn't please me a little bit.
l didn't like the satisfaction he show
ward her"
Did he seem pleased?" inquired
Fitch.
more than pleased-he seemed re-
lieved," answered the detective.
Maybe Donnelly and Carson did
some real work, after all, without
knowing it. If they hadn't arrested
Miss Holcomb, Griswold mightn't have
shown his hand so easily"
Have you any other ~evidence?"
asked the doctor. He appeared to be
gratifed by the trend of the detect
ives thoughts.
Several things" said Britt. "One
of our Wall Street men tells me half
a dozen inquiries about Griswold have
been sent to the financial agencies
lately. l had that end worked up, and
1 found out Griswold had been bump
ed by a bear raid"
Hurt much?"
Pretty badly. He tried hard to
sell a block of suburban real estate
soon after that"
these things are only straws, how
ever" said the doctor. "Of course,
we'll have to have much more sub
~stantial evidence before We can do
anything"
well, for one thing" returned
Britt, II expect to know in a few
hours just where the diamonds are.
At my rate, how they were ken out
Of the city. if they are not In New
York. I've got a hundred men work
ing the hotels to find out, and If you'll
come down to Headquarters with me
In a little while you can see the re-
suit"
The detective stopped short in his
words as Curtis Griswold entered the
bar. The clubman rel to the cigar
counter, lighted a cigarette. and by
the impatient gesture with which he
snatched it from his lips and threw
it to the floor, he betrayed the fact
that he had applied the flame to the
cork tip. His vas nervous
his face slightly drawn, and his hand
trembled as he took another cigarette
from the case and once more pulled
at it in his staccato fashion. He did
not see Britt and Fitch, as they were
at the other end of the bar.
Get me a messenger" Gr1swold
said to the bartender, and as the man
pulled the crank of a call box, the
clubman took a card from his pocket
and wrote a few lines hastily upon It
to do heroic deeds, yet capable Of
cowardly lying in order to evade some