Evening star., 1912-11-03

some business in the little town, and strobe
up the road attired in a glistening mackln-
tosh, legglngs, and cap, costume that
altered his appearance so completely that
no one would ever guess he was valet un
less they were told.
the damp out of his system. he entered the
hotel, and incidentally learned of the French
mans presence.
"Why, he was here minute ago." said
the proprietor, "I'd have liked you to meet
him, Mr.. Riches warrior, is Monseer
Brrn"
Rice, by reason of his travels, was an
authority on the French nation AS a whole,
one gathered he did not think much of it,
though there were exceptions, as everyone
knew.
He finished his beer, and trudged forth
refreshed 1t would have been interesting
to have learned his views if someone had
told him that Clancy, of the New York De
tective Bureau, had passed swiftly out of the
bar the moment before he entered 1t.
THAT evening the young woman who at
tended to kilograms at Saginaw was
somewhat puzzled by the text of a message
handed in by the valued guest of the local
hotel. The address was word registered
in New York; but the remainder was curl
ously simple, yet unmeaning, for it read:
The missing word was navajo.
She bent her brows in vain over the enig
ma, and might have been gratified had she
known that Inspector Steingall, enthroned
in his Center-st. Sanctum, was compelled to
smoke the best part of cigar before he re-
mernbered that Claude Waverton had hesi
tated, and finally baked altogether, over
i IL I1nI H., f|N
bring down the gallant looking Tearle SO
neatly that day on the promenade at Nara
gansett Pier 1t was the only missing
word he could think of in connection with
the Waverton case, and even now "navaja"
sounded more like one of Clancy's far
fetched Jokes than a sober explanation of
fact.
Once, however, Steingall had succeeded
in locating the incident to which his col
leagues telegram referred. his active brain
could not dismiss it. He expected letter
from Clancy on Sunday, and was sure that
the Little Fellow had despatched the tele
gram as an avant courier merely to perple2
the Big Fellow. The letter now in the
post would explain everything Meanwhile,
Steingall could not put that curious word
is the line of reasoning he adopted:
peculiarly Mexican custom; peculiarly
unpleasant one too, since an adept in the
art can kill man by this means at many
yards distance. The feat demands the
incest accuracy of hand and eye. If Wa
verton had acquired the requisite skill, he
must have lived in Mexico; SO Clancy had
evidently ferreted out particulars of the
mans earl er life. Oddly enough, on Stein
gals desk at that moment lay a letter from
ohm Stratton Tearle, in which the writer
informed the chief of the bureau that lowing
to certain facts that have come to my knowl-
edge recently" he would probably be able
within the next few days to give some start
ling information "as to the past history of
the person who claims to be Claude G.
Waverton."
Charles Scott had been in the Argentine
six years, and Tearle had come back from
Arizona, near the Mexican line, about the
time Scott first entered Santanders service.
poor devil" mused Steingall "Ihe net
is closing round him, and I'm dashed if |
don't feel sorry for him. He looks and acts
like a white man, all the time, and believe
that vindictive little imp Clancy has the
same opinion of him. Personally, shall
not be a bit surprised if he doesn't let him
slip through his fingers at the eleventh hour"
Whereupon Steingall amused himself by
writing brief analysis of Clancy's telegram,
and posting it to Monsieur Brun, at Sag
NAV inst TO prove that one head MIGHT he