The Washington times., 1913-04-04

money and with exceptional
| interest in a person recently
| dead is particularly good
game for one sort of crook. That crook
is the spiritualist. You haven't been in
the city the last few months. If you
had and had kept up your interest In
the doings Of the police, you would have
known there was a crusade on against
the spiritualists.
There are a number of very clever
ones in the city, and they have pulled
off some pretty big hauls. When they
picked old man Morse clean and left his
heirs holding the bag, they went little
too far and we got after them. Its
wonderful how much they know; how
carefully they watch people Inat
the whole thing in their game, OF
course. They're prepared to take ad-
vantage OF any opportunity tnat comes
| along
The lieutenant got up, walked across
the studio and threw open the door into
the reception room.
Come back?" said jeffrey. He
shouldn't have gone out. He ought to
be here now"
He slipped away just after he let me
| in" said Richards, land I've an idea
| you won't see him again unless you
| want him for something. And In that
| case you'll have to come to us to ma
J him for you. He's just the sort those
people try to get , hoid OF: ,hiney dnsy ia bs.
cause people talk before them as they
wouldn't before anyone Of their own
sort
II he'd been a plaster image. Goodness
knows what he may not have touno out
about me- But I'm beginning to get
the idea, think. My Jap tips It on 10
some spiritualist that !! am painung tne
portrait of a young lady who died a
short time ago: that the person VINO
commissioned me to paint 1t is weaithy,
and then by a lucky coincidence, tnas
l was closing my studio and gong OH
for a vacation A.,
comes up and borrows the portrait. with
tn. idea of getting II safely back IN
place before NV return. But before ne
gets throueh with 1t his place Is raided
and the ,ortrait seized. That's the Cham
of reasoning. isn't it
Richards nodded.
And when you'd thought it out as
far as that" Jeffrey went on. you
went In into some sort OF Lumber
room up there at police headquarters
and hauled il out from heap of other
junk vor'A confiscated when you raided
their place"
Right you are" said the lieutenant.
-. even possible Jeffrey went on.
that you remembered that that very
picture had been brought inf
What IL / did? said Richards. Il
had to figure 1t out that that picture
might be yours, didn't I?''
Yes" said Jeffrey, "and it's good
job.
II still don't see," said 1, what the
trait for
course" said the lieutenant.
Don't you see." said Jeffrey. with
the picture to work from. they'd be
able to produce naturalization that
would be mighty effective. They get
pretty good ones Just from hearsay re-
ports of what peonle looked like But
with a portrait that showed the color
of the hair and eyes and the type of
complexion, that even reproduced in
some detail. dress that had belonged
He broke off short and stood staring
at US for a minute Then. without an
other word, he rushed over to a big
wardrobe and began pulling out its
laneous All sorts OF costumes. dresses
bits Of drapery, old shawls One at a
time he flung them into a heap on the
floor. II was a simple but efficacious
way Of looking for something, and, TO
as unmethodical a man as Jeffrey, the
only one:
WELL" he said at last. turning 10
race us when the wardrobe stood empty.
They must have got that. too. They
gave me the girls own dress 10 paint
the portrait from" he went on. II
posed model In II for the figure They
evidently took that. too. BY jove, That's
almost as awkward as the loss OF the
picture"
oh! welI.'' said Richards. Il can
probably get II hack for you You will
k10N 90
identify II. But it's undoubtedly there
with the rest Of the junk. You can see
how slick the game is. With the gown
Itself. and the portrait to make up from
they could have made the old lady think
she was seeing ghosts. all right, once
they got their hooks into her.
Jeffrey paled little and spoke to me
with an uncertain little laugh.
More ghosts"" he said. ITS queer |
the way it all fits in, isn't It, Drew"
I nodded. For my own sake, as well !
as Jeffry's. ] was glad We had that ear !
ring-the one solitary. material assur- |
ance we possessed that We weren't |
dreaming or worse. For no mind not |
even a solid. prosaic mind like my own.
can resist a series OF condolences for
very long. The notion that this por-
trait of the ghost-girl that had so mys- /
teriously disappeared had been found
again in the parIors of splrituaist
gave me queer sense Of discomfort
The lieutenant was looking from JEFF
freys face to mine in puzzled, inter-
ested sort of way.
More ghosts?" he questioned "Wha.
do you mean by that? Have you been
Eeeing them. you two?" .
Neither of us had an answer ready fo-
him. and before we could think of ON
there came ring al the bell.
That's probably the portrait now.
said Jeffrey. :!
He had guessed right. For there in
,h1 Aoar~av sfnnd biC rplfcep,ap