Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1912-02-09

at would have been impossible to
assist that pig-headed old gentleman
said Crewe to me as we strolled
homeward. "The only thing to do is
to await developments"
"Do you think that the matter OF
the rug and the blanket are connect
ed?" l asked him.
Enthusiastically, and what the
Syrian wants is not the dog but the
blanket"
But he sold it to him." | cried
almost as exasperated as Sir Arnold
had been himself when uttering the
same protest.
"That makes it most improbable
that the man who sold the dog was
the same man that mutilated the rug
To be frank with you, Langton, my
sympathies are more than half with
the latter. But as for the scoundrelly
dog seller, who betrayed his friends
confidence, if we can find him and
have him lodged in Jail, we shall moi
only put an end to the persecution
but be enabled to restore the mutt
lated fragment to Sir Arnold"
do you suspect where it is?"
asked.
Il know where it is"
"Then why do you not restore it to
its owner?"
Crewe stopped short and regarded
me benignantly.
Because" he said, eff I did so his
life would not be worth three days
purchase. 1t is one of those cases
where l must sacrifice my reputation
as detective to save my client.
hope that his dog is stolen, that the
blanket is stolen and is never found
Unless we can find the dog seller
he added. THAT would be the most
satisfactory conclusion of all. Come
let US look for him"
Where? In the Syrian quarter %
"As far as possible from the Syrian
quarter" answered Crewe. "You re-
member him."
shook my head. 81 only caught a
glimpse of him through the window
protested.
"But you saw that he was dressed
H. blue, that he was freshly shaved
and that a pair of scissors bulged in
his coat pocket?" asked Crewe with
genuine eagerness.
"You may have seen these things
saw only a ragged, dirty Italian.
looking man. But sven if you can
thus picture him, how will you locate
him."
WELL" said Crewe, "since the
Syrian quarter lies far down town
and he naturally wishes to avoid
it"
"Why should he wish to avoid it?'
"He will not leave that Lexington
avenue car until it IS we'll uptown
Now, since it is almost a matter OF
existence to him to keep watch upon
Sir Arnold he will take the Licking.
ton avenue car downtown again this
evening. In consequence, all that we
need do is to watch the cars. And
the best way will be to take car
uptown and keep our eyes fixed upon
all cars that pass u.s."
I could make neither head nor tail
of Crewe's reasoning. But I knew
that he had his own ways of proceed
ure, and that, however unintelligible
they seemed to me, there was al
ways some motive in them deeper
than could fathom. Accordingly
went with him; we boarded the next
car that came along and rode uptown
to the terminus. But though we
passed many cars there was no Syr
ian on them.
We got off at the terminus and took
a car back. Crewe was plainly vexed
at the disappointment.
"He may, of course, have left the
car at some intermediate point" he
said "Well, sooner or later we will
have him. He will probably attempt
some disguise. The police will never
know Syrian from an Italian when
he puts on a soft felt hat and flow
ing tie. The matter is"
He broke off, for a newsboy had
sprung on the footboard of the cal
and showed an evening paper into our
faces. Confronting me, in big, star
ing headlines, were the words, car
menians in Duel. One Dead, One
Dying"
snatched the paper from the boy
flung him coin, and opened it. A
few lines told the story At One Hun.
dred and Second street an unknown
Armenian had been about to descend
from a Lexington avenue car wien
another of his nationality leaped for.
ward and plunged knife into his
throat. In his dying struggles the
man had wrested the knife from the
murderer and driven it home into his
side, inficting fatal wound. The
murdered man lived but a few mo.
ments; the murderer had been CON
veyed to the Unsectarian Hospital
where he lay dying. Ho had refused
to make an ante-mortem statement
and had quickly lapsed into condl.
ton of coma. from which there was
small probability of his awakening.
Crewe laid the paper down. "That
is the end of Sir Arnold's troubles,
he said. Come, let US go back to
him."
you think the murdered men were
the agents in all these happenings? %
] asked.
THE murderer was the man who
mutilated the rug" he answered