The Huttig news., 1912-06-01

surprise.
 Yes continued Britz, addressing his chief. I've just been talking to Gordon. Had him out all day on special trail Turns out to he the right l lead We know where the e~ond hatch of thieves can be found after the next hour or so'
 "Where are they?" asked Manning eagerly.
 "I'll take you to them. Chief" Fritz replied 'If you don't mind. I'll ask you to wait little while until can i do so Meanwhile, let's gather up the loose ends"
 Do vou mean you have solved the Missioner mystery?" Fitch inquired. trembling slightly as he reflected what the answer might mean to the woman of his heart.
 There isn't any mystery now" Britz responded cheerilv There hasn't been any in my mind for sev. eral hours.
 Let's have it," exclaimed the Chief impatiently.
 Just for an instant Britz stifrened under his excellently controlled ex- terior. He believed in discipline He was known favorably to his supertors from the commissioner down for the l obedience and respect he always showed them. But there lirked be. meath his departmental sense of duty 1 the independence of man who felt he could always stand on his own two l i, ! H. f-sa need be- to accomplish the mog diff eult task. His impulse Of revoh last ed scarce seconds spsea however. and with a military salute that per haps was meant to remind him ot Manning's rank. he slid into his re volying chair and looked intently at first one and then tbe other Of the men. who waited tensely for his 1 words
 "The men Gordon has run. down, said the lieutenant. were the hardest to catch call them the second hatch of thieves because they are the fellows who stole Mrs Missioner l jewels long after the stones were stolen from her.
 Ana Who may they De atHf6s persisted
 They are the dark men-the Hin= doos whose connection with the case complicated it much more than was comfortable. and who gave sfurfhef l proof of their inconsMerate fEsTos. lions by making the doctor hese s1d me so uncomfortable just befoEe We l r@
 "Yeu mean they are the mers who robbed Mrs. Missioner Of her teRsels?'
 No. the men who stoae Mrs Mis- sioner's jewels after she was rltt'bed of them ''
 They robbed the thieves. thest7
 Not thieves-thief. said Etitz There was only one artist in she first job"
 "What's his nameo" the eChief sques toned again.
 His name?" returned tbe detec- tive nonch aianflv. "Qh. E haven't said it was he" Even Fitch, though fyp Ind worked Intimately with the sieuth in the lat ter part of the hunt for the jewels. was astonished. Manning concealed his surprise. He said:
 Well, suppose vca've got the goods on him-or herr.
 T have and haven't the. GRtec- tive answered. While g'Nv ope per son stole the diamonds, thAres been whole troop ot potential t1ieyes after the stones. They've been work ing at cross purposes. With the natural result that they played uncors bn usly into the hands of the one all of them trusted"
 Fitch and Manning eyed eTch other quizzeally. Britz had worked hard on the case and had suceee led when success seemed impossible 1T he wished to indulge in a slightly enig- matical preamble, surely Ii WAS not asking too much to huplor him.
 Britz gnawed black cis ar unlight, ed, ard whirled about tvo or tbnee times before he took up tie thread of his recital again.
 Its long story he resumed. Tt took lot of ptecing to put 1t to- gether. but it's as plain ra,w as a pie ture puzzle when all the eut-outs fit. In the first nlace, GriswcGd plarued to get the Jewels a long me ago-a couple of veal. I fancy He didn t content himself with mere planning He did a lot of work whi e he was waiting for his opportu Ity. He knew the value of the Missioner neck lace. of course, especially the value of the big Maharanee dian lond that was its central stone. As s1-ly as can make out his scheme, he hoped ta steal the collarette and dis ps Q of IL months before it should be ,nis sed by Mrs Missioner The only way to do that, of course, was to sutstitt te an imitation for the ganui ne rticle. Naturally. too the imitati on had to be made without Mrs. Miss toner's k knowl- edge, and the man he meant to have make 1t had to have either tle orig final as copy or very aocu rate drawing It was be yoy,d all poss oil ity that Griswold cf,uls get the neck. lace into his poss 1ssion long enough to have bogus .llare tie made. Mrs.