The Washington times., 1912-05-20
CHAPTER u.-CContinued).

N
/ walked in with:
IL ''Mr. Haskins here?"
A mild-eyed man at a rude
desk looked up.
~ am Mr.. HaskRns''
"Then Straub sent me here to ask
you the present whereabouts Of Mr..
] John Seabright!" the millionaire an
nounced pointediy. Talk quick!'
sea - Sea - Seabrightv' The man
turned whittier than the ,proverbial sheet
I, and all but went over backward in his
chair.
IL don't-know anything about Sea-
bright" he lied palpably.
And you never heard of Straub?'
''Straub--well, Stra ub-you see, this
Straub is my-my wEte's step-brother-
, that is. you sec the small man
! licked his lips againAand came TO
| standstill.
z Mr.. Banks prepared for a single
grand bluff-an operation for which he
| was eminently qualified, He walked
! forward and brought down heavy
hand on the desk.
Young man!' he CRIED, "Straub put
me wise to the whole game. from one
ticuIars about Seabright, or you'll be
! In q cell within fifteen minutes"
, Sometimes bluffs fail to work. This
4 was one OF the times, Tor Banks gained
! nothing at all.
| The main reason for this was the
mild Mr.. Haskins seemed to see
! 6omething-or-other Extension
. a dive for it, too--straight through the
, unglazed window of the shanty. More
than that, he caught 1t; and before Mr..
| Banks thoroughly realized the situa-
| trestle with the car, and, further. he
was upon the front platform offering
I the motorman the last 81 bill Of his
weeks wages to make a recordIS<n to
Two minutes, and Banks knew that
| immediate hope from HaskifHs was dead
and buried. He turned from the shanty
! with a grpwl. He dragged from his
pocket a slip of paper and studied It,
He walked out and realized that the
I early winter twilight was descendins
I even at this hour and that in twilight,
/ what with dodging red lanterns and
avoiding bitches, it was to be extremely
eiow going to return to the city.
He cursed aloud as he approached the
chauffeur. just bending to light the
; lamps.
: ''William, do you see that address,"
! he demanded, as he held out the slip.
wei, get there as quickly MS you can
without wrecking the engine"
Yes, SIR"
The darkness deepened as the'machine
started downtown. Darkness had q
| way. In the upper part of the Bronx, or
becoming so deep that one yearns for a
few red lanterns and a fog siren. This
particular darkness lured the machine
| into a rut at the side of the road--an in
considerate rut, out of which seventy
estimated horsepower declined to drag
the machine, but from which IL was
finally extricated, after an hour, by two
. live horses owned by the company
which had employed Mr.. Haskins,
Further, the machine was held by an
insolent blue-coated man on bicycle
and that adventure consumed twenty
minutes and $50. and brought from Mr.
Banks remarks which no true gentle
. man could ever think up.
But after all of It the machine bowlsd
quietly down Fifth avenue and Banks
was allowed bit of time for medita-
ton.
Haskins he threw out of the affair al
together. He would have been valuable
perhaps; certainly he had given evidence
of some guilty knowledge. BuL he was
gone now and the innominate doctor
was the next man to be seen.
Banks was fairly settled on his course
He would enter. He would demand Sea-
bright. Failing, he would threaten to
summon aid from headquarters. That
failing also, he would actually summon
aid-before aid ever got there he would
know what had become of Seabright
and -
All! here was his home.
The chauffeur, at a word, stopped anc
footed five times and five times again
and Harris appeared
Word from Seabright?" asked Har
ris' employer.
mo, sr."
go ahead, William
The machine bowled rapidly on, Some
half dozen blocks and 1t turned east.
ward and again into Madison avenue
And stopped.
Bank bounced out and took a mo
mentary survey OF the premises. II
was a big brownstone affair. with nc
tnd nf 1
was the place, nevertheless. and hi
went up the steps rapidly.
He rang.
There was a pause. He rang again
There was another pause, broken only
! by queer, faint sound of closing doors
somewhere in the neighborhood.
He rang still again and kept his fin
ger on the button until it was fairly
tired.
! And one of the solid double door!
! opened very suddenly.
! And out of 1t, as he advanced, came
four extremely powerful hands, which
laid hold OF his exalted shoulders witt
scant respect and dragged him inward
He stumbled forward, snarling in hi
amazement. He raised his voice to cal
for help, from the machine or else
where.
And very abruptly a hand went owe
: h is mouth and a door slammed anC
shut out the street lights altogether
and the eminent and wealthy Mr.. Bank
was standing in the blackest black
ness he had ever known, held hard anC
fast, and altogether incapable of speech