The Washington times., 1912-08-26
Copyright. 1912. Frank A. Munsey co.,
By J. S. FLETCHER


I not at all impressed by what he had
! found and he remembered Hollins'
| drunkenly grave remark of the previous
night, that it was "a big thing" and he
| believed that there was more to be
| found on Holins' body. And presently
| he found IL, and the discovery made his
| face grave and somber and set him
a-thinking in earnest aand steady fash
| ion.
| Accustomed to the tricks of men who
| had knocked about in the world, Finney
| great value upon him would be carried
| In belt worn next to his skin and
| round his waist. He felt for such belt
| when he had finished examining the
expected, and he quickly undid the
clasps which secured It and drew II
| away from the dead mans middle.
bnr @,S poush 81 sS f' to t over
the left hip--from the pouch F1nney
drew forth the necklace OF diamonds
He knew as he handled them that ne
Inns had contested with Lloyd, and that
their history, whatever It might be, was
mixed up with murder.
Finney was shrewd, sharp. cool and
| calculating Yorkshirernan. He had been
| q soldier and had earned a good record.
| He had been a policeman after leaving
the army, and had got on very well IN
the force until accident had relieved
him Of leg His SharSacteSr SscSaree Tor of his
n
duties and general trlAtworthiness mao
secured him his place as night watcns
man at the glassworks, where ne Was
much respected by his employers anu anu
their managers, who never had any
fault to find with him, and knew MN
after three and half years experiehce,
as conscientious servant VINO ne'to 81
drank and could be fully relied upon 10
discharge his duties in capable way
To them. who only knew him as
trusted servant. Finney showed no
vices; they were unaware, belng loin %
of faithful watch dog, that he had two
great Vices-aVarlce and cupidlty' III
point of fact. the night watchman was
one of those human octopus.es WIZ
stretch out innumerahle arms through
the sea OF life and catch at Whatever
they can. and who, furthermore, never
allow anything around which thelr ten Ten
tacles wind to escape, until sometnlnE'
however much, however little. has been
| squeezed from 1t.
And Ffnnev was a man who led some
thing Of double life; he was known
II watchman a the glass works TO every
body in the place. but nobody knew
that he was a money lender with the
rapacitv of shark and the relentless
ness of a tiger.
He employed a half-starved, badly
paid clerk as cover. whose manners
were so mild that the folk who dealt
with him wondered at at MS is narnmessdi soHnnzad
r money right and left out OF the sma,
' trades-folk who borrowed 1t and fell
into his clutches.
1 Such man 1t was into whose hands
e the diamonds now passed. He had
seen such things before, and was in IA
, better way to estimate their value
, than either Lloyd or Hollns. He knew
I that the necklace represented a large.
3 perhaps a vast, amount of money, and
: he would have given a fair percentage
{ of whatever it might be to know the
q necklaces history.
a He had read the newspaper account;
2 of the remarkable chain of murders II
t South Drvonshire. Of the disa ppe aranc'
| of the two Warders, and of the finding
:. | of Lloyd body. but there was no men
e ton OF diamonds in any of them, aLt
= he came TO the conclusion that the ex
= istcnce or the necklace was unknoW!
- to the authorities or the newspaper re
| porters.
k Finney was not the man to relin
d quish anything of value that fell int
/, his hands without making an effort Il
: retain Il. He knew that chance ha
8 there and then determined that I
should not easily be taken from him
d He had no fear whatever of a searcl
I. being made for Hollins on his premises
o he was certain beyond the shadow OF I
s doubt that no one had recognized tn
2, former warder at the station or in tn
g outskirts of the town by which he ha
guided him, or had seen him admitte
SO secure was Finney. of absolut
safety in this respect that he waste
no time in thinking of the matter. Their
:. were other and more important mat
D. ters to think of at that moment an
is he gave himself up to thinking of then
Ls The first was the immediate dispose
of the diamonds. Flnney, under anothe
name, kept banking account at Iced.
n ten miles away, with a firm who be
ueved him to be a respectable one
= legged gentleman possessed of house
property, and did not know that tn
e considerable sums he paid into his aC
le count were the proceeds of usury. Hi
h bankers Kept various little matters fo
him under lock and key; Finney dc
E. termined that the diamonds, hddC
r. from sight in a carefully sealed parce
,e should be deposited with them ne>
|; lay.
a For the present he wrapped them u
in an old flannel shirt and laid them
lie hiding place OF his own which
Y, was extremely unlikely that anybod
of but himself could find.
at SO far, so good-the diamonds wei
)f in a fair way to be his. But what
p the disposal OF Hollins' body? He lool
re ed at the poor house of clay as 1t la
d. on the bed and felt by no means we
er disposed toward its late tenant. An
then, with the GOODNESS charaCterist
uI OF him, he locked the door upon tn
r bedroom and it's contents and set
is work to prepare his breakfast.