The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1911-11-18

the need Of even greater haste than he
was making in pushing his pursuit of
the Missioner diamond to q close, But
Burlen, conscience-stricken though he
was, was loath to send the information
to the Headquarters man until he could
! have time to make further and more
exhaustive search Of his shop, as well
as of the courtyard in the rear of the
building on which its windows gave. It
was dark in the court and the imper-
feet light Of his candle made his
search SO slow that by the time he
was sure the note was gone beyond
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
4
| 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 Britz's Office the hundred
| facsimiles of the "Curtis dear" missive
his customer had ordered But 1t was
poor consolation when he recalled the
earnestness 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 it would have been well for
Britz to have that knowledge in re-
gard to the strange vanishment of the
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 cozy corner of the Forrest theater,
resolved to repair the mischief as rap
idly as possible. She, therefore, sent
a little note to the clubman, asking
that he make 1t 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 a distinct gain in parading
the wealthy widow before many Of
their acquaintances as a receptive re-
cipient 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 one
of his plans-the most important he
had formed in many months, although
he did not know its Importance at the
time. It had been his intention to go
from the Fifth Avenue ballroom to the
Hotel RenalSSances ana II ne naQ 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 short time with
her in the interval.
Dorothy's 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 dehu-
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
March was at an end, the hours had
passed beyond point to which even
his ingenuity could stretch conven-
tionality far enough to make it practi-
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