The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1911-03-15

thC iCeS lhlcHtiy' ne pOlnttT IeSu
ten, then nine, eight. seven, FIVE. Mr.
Grimm gazed at it thoughtfully, after
which he did it all over again, placidly
and without haste
Now. Wen look inside, please" he
requested, rising.
Senior Rodriguez unlocked the safe
the while Mr. Grimm respectfully
turned his eyes away, then pulled the
door wide open The books had been
piled one on top of another and thrust
into various pigeon holes at the top.
! Mr.. Grimm understood that this disor-
der was the result of making room at
the bottom for the bulk of gold. and
asked no questions. Instead, he sat
! down upon the floor again
"The lock on this private COM
| partment at the top is broken" he re-
marked after a moment.
Isl, Senior" the diplomatist agreed.
| Evidently the robbers were not con-
tent with only fifty thousand dollars
| In gold-they imagined that some
thing else of value was hidden there"
Was there?" asked Mr.. Grimm
naiyely. He didn't look around.
Nothing of monetary value" the
senior explained. There were some
important state papers in there-they
are there yet-but no money"
None of the papers was stolen?"
No, Senior There were only nine
packets-they are there yet"
Contents all right?"
Yes. | personally looked them
over"
Mr.. Grimm drew out the packets Of
papers, one by one. They were all
unsealed save the last When he
reached for that Senior Rodriguez
made a quick involuntary motion to-
ward 1t with his hand
This ones sealed" commented Mr..
Grimm. ut doesn't happen that you
opened 1t and sealed it again?"
Senior Rodriguez stood staring at
him blankly for moment, then some
sudden apprehension was aroused, for
startled look came into his eyes. and
again he reached for the packet.
"Dios mio!" he exclaimed, "let me
see, Senior"
Going 90 open it?" asked Mr.
Grimm
Yes, Senior had not thought of it
before"
Mr.. Grimm rose and walked over to
the window where the light was bet
ter. He scrutinized the sealed packet
closely. There were three red
splotches of wax upon it, each i'm
pressed with the legation seal; the ell
velope was without marks otherwise.
He turned and twisted it aimlessly,
and peered curously at the various
seals. after which he handed it to the
frankly impatient diplomatist.
Senior Rodriguez opened it, with |
nervous, twitching fingers. Mr.. Grimm
had turned toward the safe again. but |
he heard the crackle of parchment as |
some document was drawn out of the |
envelope, and then came a deep sigh |
Of relief. Having Satisfied his sudden
fears fer the safety of the paper, what |
ever it was, the senior placed 1t in an
other envelope and sealed it again |
with elaborate care. Mr.. Grimm
dropped into the swivel chair at the |
desk
"Seuor," he inquired pleasantly,
your daughter and Miss Thorne were
in this room yesterday afternoon"
Yes replied the diplomatist as II
at the question
What time, please?"
About three o'clock. They were
going out driving. Why?'
And just where, please, did you
find that handkerchief" continued
Mr.. Grimm.
Handkerchief" repeated the dip
lomatist. You mean Miss Thornes
handkerchief" He paused and re-
garded Mr.. Grimm keenly. "Senor,
what am | to understand from that
question:"
1T was plain enough" replied Mr..
Grimm. Where did you find that
handkerchief There was silence for
an instant. In this room?"
Yes replied Senior Rodriguez at
last.
Near the safer" Mr.. Grimm per-
sisted.
Yes" came the slow reply, again.
Just here" and he indicated a spot
a little to the left of the safe
And when did you find it? Yester-
day afternoon? Last night? This morn
ng?"
This morning" and without any
apparent reason the diplomatists face
.urned deathly white.
But, Senor-Senor. you are mis-
AIKEN! There can be nothing! A
Two hundred pounds Of
gold Sencr!"
Mr. Grimm was still pleasant about
t; his curiosity was absolutely imper-
onal; his eyes, grown listless again,
we're turned straight into the others
ace.
IF that handkerchief had been
here last night, Sepor." he resumed
Iuletly, wouldn't you have noticed
when you placed the gold in the
afe2"
Senior Rodriguez stared at him a
ong time.
Il don't know" he said, at last. He
rOpped back into a chair with his