Marble Hill press. (Marbel [sic] Hill, Mo.) 1881-1923, 1911-12-28
CHAPTER XIX.
The Mysterious MIIIIeent.

The Mysterious Miliieent.
Br1tz streaked from Sands apart
mcnt 70 n dlugy little den OF a shot
on the TOP floor OF downtown
business rookery-one Of the sky
wrappers OF quarter-century before
Il was much more tedious 10 clint
the FIVE flights Of stairs 10 the sixth
story than TO shoot in an express ele
vator 10 the summit OF the Singer
Building. But Britt was too hot on
the scent 20 pay much attention 10 his
fatigue. lie ran up the stairs lightly.
hunE open crazy outer door that
crcakcd an announcement Of his com.
ing. and pushed bit Of paper toward
q young man OF modern physique and
sncicnt yisage who was working at q
bench The paper was the note be-
ginning Curtis dear and ending with
the first name Of the mysterious Nil.
licert The anachrou!Suc young man
looked at It inquiringly through steel
trimmed snectacles.
Rush q hundred copies Of this. Bur.
len. said Britt III send for them in
couple Of hours"
The detective seated himself on
stool behind the bench. and for several
minutes watched the photo engraver
at bis work Ills mind was not behind
bis 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.
~ to accept any clew at its face val.
De, nevertheless. he felt he had at
last something which, II not direct
INK between his knowledge and his
Supposit!ons, would 20 far toward con
oecting them. That the note was ad-
dressed 10 Curtis GrIswold he had
little doubt. 1t required small effort
Of reasoning to conclude that the East
srners had gone TO Sands apartment
soon after visiting Griswold But this
time. Britt had learned enough to
convince him that the Brahmln scholar
was as eager TO get possession OF the
Missioner necklace as be was--to get
the Maharanee diamond, anyway. II
not all the other gems belonging TO
the famous string, By patient,
patchwork process, Brttz had pieced
together the tniest details OF the
Swami's movements. He knew all
about the scholars presence in the
Metropolitan Opera House on the
eight OF the Disappearance of the jew
els, and he had made himself &C.
suainted with the system of espionage
maintained by the sage and his sub
oT6inates ever since that time That
system. he was aware, covered every
3ne connected. however distantly,
With the mystery. 1t was apparent to
Britt that he was working against
men who, while not trained detectives
In 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.
srneTs which the detective had follow
ed llterestedly throughout their vari-
Gus manifestations. Britz was con
vfnced that he had the Erahmin priest
10 thank for his own kidnapping: and
he was equally certain that the same
little band Of brothers had searched
the homes of Bruyton Sands and Cur
Ills Grtswold. He was not given to at
tachfIg much weight to intuition. re-
gardiug that faculty as a pale and u.s.
ually ineffective feminine reflection of
masculine logic.
But something told him he must be-
stir himself even more vigorously than
he had done to date, II he was to trace
the Missioner diamonds before the
suayc. subtle men from the East could
find them and put them forever be-
yond the reach of any Westerner.
One thing was in his favor. Undoubt-
edly he had broken tho Swami's line
OF communication by selling the spies
before they could report the finding OF
the A!illicent note In Sands apartment.
He had vague sense that the scrap
OF paper would be Of immediate value
as Y clue to the Brahmin-that II he
bad not intercepted It. the scholar by
now would have been close upon the
discovery Of the diamonds. It remain
ed foY Britt himself to ascertain. the
identity ADD whereabouts of Millicent
befoye the Oriental prisoners could
communicate with their chief Those
Efssnsr. v@rs safe enough for the