The Washington times., 1913-10-24

! fee or something?:' asked's Williams
No. nothing. And 1 shall want to b
UP very early in the morning. Goot
| night, Williams" -~--
After his man had retired York'
| newspapers, cleaning all the reports
I concerning the Van Rensselaer, tragedy
Now and then his eye wa seaught BY
Some extraneous heading: STOCKS drop
/ ping! Small panic on Bourse. accredited
tc rumor of Lowndes' Illness" Lowndes
| Peter Lowndes, the aged, avaricious
. wizard of the combined railroads, the
! shriveled, Eerve-ridden wreck of hu.
r'anity, who held within his wrinkle6
hand the fortunes Of countless Imam
ciers, --
Then a sub-heading riveted his atten.
! ton: "Lowndes' attorney, w. Starret,
Bradford, denies - Starrett Bradfield
Could his unheralded visit have any
connection with Peter Lowndes' condi.
ton?
Yorke's decision to telephone him
, strengthened. Although his every en-
deavor was consigned to the Van Rens'
selaer affair, there could be no harm In
! finding out the nature of the lawyer
errand.
Yorke's sleep that night was fitful and
broken. and he awoke weary and unre-
freshed. Throughout the dark hours he
had been possessed by the shadow OF a
face, which persisted in presenting itself
before his mental vision
1 1t was not the face of the poor dead
woman as she had stared up, at him In
when he had implored. him in anguish to
find her murderer. It was the face on
the blurred newspaper-cut, the sinister
face of the man on the church steps.
The next morning, after q hasty cup
of coffee, Yorke set out for the agency
from which the vanished maid, Mary
Kelly, had been engaged few days be-
fore. He found II on Sixth avenue, over
a small stationer's shop.
After mounting the narrow, rather
dark stairs he turned the handle Of a
neatly lettered door, and entered small
office. where, with her back set squarely
in the window, a poorly, sleek-haired.
hard-featured woman sat alone behind
a low oak desk. .f
Her smile of welcome at the appear
glare of antagonism when Yorke dis
closed his identity and errand.
Il don't know anything about the
GIRL" she snapped And / wish You
police would let me alone and keep
away from here-inJurfng my business!
/ told you all 1 knew yesterday"
Yes. madam; but IL you will just go
over it again-you see, I've only now
been assigned to the case" said Yorke
meekly. Il can promise that you won't
be annoyed again. 20
well, the lady said grudgingly, "this
girl came to me last week calling her
self Mary kelly-you can see, here's
where she signed her name in my reg
ister." presenting a huge, fiat grfmy-
looking volume for his inspection and
pointing TO the name. which was unrhis-
tagably written 1 nthe same childish,
Uniformed chirography as the tag on
the little trunk at her Lair.
"She told me she'd worked with Han
nah CarEoif= and Hanna1 had long ago
told her to come to me when she was
out of a place. Poor Hannah's dead
now. so 1 couldn't find out If il was
true or not; and anyway, she must
have known her somewhere. l didn't
think to ask her where they'd worked
together. This Mary brought fine ref
erences from good people, and put
her on my books.
I'VE always say We look up the girls
we send out-all of US agents say that
but where would We get the time? The
references are generally good enough
for me.
well, a telegram came for a girl to
go as housemaid and waitress to Mrs.
Van Rensselaer, in the mountains, and
Mary took the place and went. She
happened to be in the office when the
message came. SO / didn't have to send
for her. If I'had. she wouldn't have
gotten the place, for the address she
gave me was 236 Second avenue, and
the man the police sent UP here yester-
day came again last night and said it
was some kind of a charity institution
for children-I'ye forgotten the name
and nobody there knew anything of
Mary Kelly. y
Mrs. Van Rensselaer, has had her
help from me for years, and never
complaint. She keeps big staff of
servants in town. but she wants as few
as she can get along with in the Adiron-
HlH maid
with her this summer, though that's un!
usual for her.
she leaves all the rest of them in her
house in town, and a fine, easy time
man yesterday, that's all / know of
Mary Kelly. and hope you won't come
me any more.
Out on the avenue again, Yorke stop
ped in q drug store on the corner and
looked up the address Mrs. Kilmer had
given him in city directory.
1t proved to be charitable institu-
ton, as she had said, and to make GER
tain that the police detective had not
misled her when he told her that moth
ing was known OF Mary Kelly there
Yorke called the establishment up on
the telephone.
4 caustic German voice replied to him, !
ana soon dispelled any doubts he may !
have entertained on the matter in ques- |
ton.
UnceremoniousIy ringing off on the |
sputtering. angry voice of the matron, |
Serke LETT the drug store, hurried TO |.
the nearest subway station, and was |
soon 'run.bIing swiftly down town.
A quarter of an hour later he emerged |
In one of the narrow. tortuous, ravine- |
like streets which. dark and aswarm |
with humanity. intersect the financial |
district from river to river.
II was not often that Ffanklyn Yorke !
invaded this part of the metropolis, but |
he made his way speedily to a huge |
office building which lowered even |
above its Gargantuan fellows.
As he entered the elevator one of its !
occupants glanced at him casually. and !
after a brief scrutiny held out his hand |
with a hearty: .fr
"Yorkc. How are your |
Ynrke shook the nroffered hand of the !