The Washington times., 1913-10-31

even lNdI oil SuCn a lOtaDle parsonage
as Mr.. Peter Lowndes, to he more mo-
mentous than life and deathi"y
Mr.. Rradfeld's choleric face. Redeemed,
and he started angrily from his chair.
In that case. Mr.. Yorke--'' he be-
| gan affrontedly, but the voice of the
secretary. speaking for the first time,
interrupted him.
Mr. Yorke is right. Mr.. Bradfield-'
he said, quietly.
His voice was sull-throated, but Curl
ously cold in quality, and his speech
measured
He cannot handle several cases at
once, as is your province. and bring his
very remarkable faculties to bear with
justice on each. Remember, We are in
his hands; there is no one else to whom
we can look for help or advice in our
Dredicament. no one We can trust. ln
an investigation Of the nature of that
on which Mr.. Yorke is now engaged.
there must be times when the inquiry
halts. and he will have an opportunity
to look into this matter for us, at least
I superficially. "
And If as he has suggested. he will
have solved his present problem in a
few DAYS he will be able to give his
undivided attention to the search Tor
the present holder of the bonds
| He smiled Slightly as he spoke, ana
although his words and manner were
courteous enough, Yorke received a
vague impression of subtle sarcasm-too
| vague to definitely place, yet distinct
| enough to convey an ineXplicable SEN
! sation of antagoniSm.
As If subconsciously aware of this the
secretary's voice took on a deeper note
of sincerity as he continued:
II should, of course: infinitely have
| matter Immediately. i have more at
stake than you, Mr.. Bradfield. The in
| tegrit,, of a man of your position and
/ undesirable reputation could never De
ral,,
! openly questioned, but L am mercy
| service in a position of confidence and
| trust would be quickly forgotten in the
| general desire to make a scapegoat OF
| some one We must accept what as
| surances of help Mr.. Yorke can give
MIR. Bradfield sat down again.
1T is a most extraordinary position
! to take, Mr.. Yorke,' he allowed hlm-
; self to remark Surely the police are
| murder: that is the sort of thing they
as a department, exist for 80
This is an affair which may. with
out any, stretch OF the imaghnati9a,i @
/ calamity. However, your method OF
procedure is, of course, your own. The
; remuneration for such service as we
ask of YOU, in Mr.. Lowndes' name, is,
| may say, proporuonate 10 the sred%
! issues at stake.
..The remuneration, returned Yorke,
lis a matter of secondary interest, l
assure YOU, Mr.. Bradfield, and can De
| arranged when the investigation is
completed Unlike my associates OF
! the bar. my fee is commensurate with
| the amount of work 1 have put into
| the development of a case, not the I'M
portance of the issue or the monetary
value of the funds involved. l nope
make myself clear.
Mr.. Bradfield wriggled slightly in his
chair. but said nothing. Yorke- glanced
at the secretary, and saw that ne was
watching the attorney with a CLINT OF
almost sardonic humor in his inscru-
table eyes.
. IF you will give me an outline of
the case" Yorke resumed, ''I will take
ii up at my earliest opportunity.
perhaps I had better do that" the
secretary interposed quietly. since II
was 1 who acquainted Mr.. Bradtleld
with the knowledge Of the loss OF the
bonds, l may be able to tel you more
fully and concisely the peculiar circum-
stances under which they have dlsap-
peared."
IF you will give me the general facts
then, Mr.. Courtney" 9orke repllen'
the details l can Obtain from you ia.et' AZ
! when I can go more fully into the mat
/ ter. When did you last see these bonds
; in the possession OF Mr.. LowndesT
when he placed them into the power
his library. after the departure of Mr..
: Bradfield on the occasion of which he
! has already told you. when Mr.. Lown-
! des informed him of his plans concern
I ing them.
! safe?"
Il have" The secretary smiled slight
! ~ again. so has MI Bradfleid. be
! lieve. We three are the only human
! beings To my knowledge, who can open
! it. 1t was especially made. and the man
| to whom was instructed the secret
| mechanism Of the combination has long
| been dead. Am not correct Mr. Brad
field?"
You are" replied Mr. Bradfield, with
a slight touch of impatience.
And when did you discover The loss
of the bonds?" continued YOrke
On the day after Mr.. LOwndes WAS
stricken In order that some instruc-
tions of his concerning certain securities
could be carried out as ne had arranged
IL was necessary that these securities
he placed in Mr. Bradiie1d'S hands on
that date | therefore opened the safe
to obtain them and take them to Mr..
Bradfield, as he and | had decided the
previous day after MI Lowndes seiz-
ure, and / discovered the absence OF
the bonds which had been III the same
COmpartmo Mt
The cold, measured voice of the pri-
ya1e secretary went on i'll curious,
even monotone. 1t was as II the rou-
fine of the. years had left him mere
rrethodical machine with all capdc.ty
fo- emotion eliminated from his nature;
Vet now and then one was conscious OF
curious and, as il seemed, long un-
sounded depths.
Did the safe bear any marks of nav
ing been tampered with" Yorke asked;
None ] examined ii most minutely.
You informed Mr.. Bradheld then of
what had occurred?
AT once. Had j considered ii best
to wait until Mr.. LowndeS recovery OF
conscious before disclosing their loss L
could not have done So AS events
could have transpired, their disappear
ance would inevitably have been dis
covered in d few days, for Mr. brad
neid b. previous arIt ISemrnt with -hr.
DIVIDES. Was TO open the safe himself
on the following Friday TO possess hlm-
self Of a certain mortgage TO foreciOse,
and he would have missed the bonds at
once.
Il am telling you everything quite
frankly. Mr. Yorke, stating the casS
win an absolute impartiality. | fully
alDrecIaie the very black position IN
which | am placed-the Circumstantial
evidence against me is damning.
Il have not the least hope but that
YOU yourself suspect me. That Mr.
Hradteld has not for moment done
50 is most gratifying to me But even
ne has known me through the years
has been / may say. associated with
1ne-and he can realize how my char-
acter will We gh aga INST any Sucn evil
6ence, no matter no" slsh.ncaht II ap'
pears"
The mans tone for the hrst time
seemed genuine and unmatched; his
voice rang cut with the evident sincerity
and fervor of his appeal.
Vnrka fclt drawn toward him for the