Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-10-17

perate md the return to Paris. which
was To be once more the taskmistress.
But. TO his terror and self loathinS. he
found the power OF application gone.
The muscles OF his mind had become
dnbby.
"AI by virtue of woman's laugh:
the laugh OF n woman without virtue"
he told Kent lit was at the Moulin
de In Galette-perhaps you know the
dance hall on the slope of Montmartre
and she was one of the dancers. the
wreck of whnt had once been beauty
and. one must suppose. innocence
Probably she thought me too much
absinth soaked to hear or understand
as I sat half asleep Mt my table. At
all events she answered. full voiced.
her companions question. Who is the
drunken foreigner by saying: He
was an artist. The studios talked OF
| him five years ago. Look at him now.
That is what life does to us, mon ami.
I'm the woman OF It That's the man
| of it 1 staggered up. made her
bow and promise and left her laugh
ing Last month redeemed the prom
Use; sent her the first thousand dol
lars l mnde by my own work and de-
clared my debt discharged. How about
yourself?"
Postgraduate science. Agricultur-
al department job. Lectures. Inven-
ton. judiciary department expert
Signed. Chester Kent Ten words
| count them-ten."
Interesting. but unsatisfying." re-
| torted his friend. Cant you expand
bit? 1 suppose you haven't any dark
secret in your life?"
mo secret, dark or light" sighed the
other. THE newspapers won't let me
| have"
"Eh? Won't let you? Am to infer
that you've become a famous person?
What are you, anyway"
What / told you, an expert in the
service of the department Of justice.
1 like to fatter myself that my pur-
| suit Is scientific"
Pursuit? What do you pursue?"
Men and motives"
Sedgwick's intelligent eyes widened.
Wait" be said; something occurs to
me, an article in a French journal
about a wonderful new American ex-
pert in criminology who knows all
most abstruse cases. l recall now that
the article called him lie Professor
Chetre Kennat' That would be about
as near as they would come TO
your name The Frenchman made
you out a most superior species of
highfalutin detective, working along
lines peculiarly your own
Rot" interjected Kent. THE only
lines Il detective can work along sue
cessfully are the lines laid down for
him by the man he is after.
Sounds more reasonable than ro
mantle" admitted the artist. Come |
now. Kent. open up and tell me some
thing about yourself"
You remember / got into trouble |
my senior year with the college au-
thorities by proving the typhoid cpl |
demic direct against a forgotten de- !
feet in the sewer system. 1t nearly |
cost me my diploma. but il helped me |
too. later. for n scientist in the depart |
ment OF agriculture ut Washington !
learned OF it and sent for me after
graduation. He mapped out for me Il |
three years postgraduate course. which
| had Just about enough money to T
take. While l specialized on botany.
entomology and bacteriolOgy. ! picked |
up II working knowledge of other
branches-chemistry. toXicology. geo-
oGy. mineralogy. physiology and most
OF the natural sciences.
"Once in the department found my
self with Il sort of rowing commission.
worked under such men us Wiley. !
Howard and Merriam and learned
from them something of the infinite
and scrupulous patience that truly
original scientific achievement de
mandS. At first my duties were large
ly those OF minor research. Then. by
accident largely. / Glanced upon the
plot to bull the cotton market by in
Producing the boil weevil into the I'M
cotton area and checked that.
Soon afterward I was put on the de
meat enterprise and sue
ceeded ia discovering the scheme
re WIS Hoped 20 SELF spoiled
meat for good.
What spare time I had devoted
70 experimenting along mechanical
ines and patented an invention that
has been profitable. Sometime ago the
department. of justice borrowed me on
4 few cases with scientific bearing.
Ind more recently offered me inciden-
al work with them on such favorable
erms that | resigned my other posi-
ion. The terms include liberal vaca-
ions. one of which l am now taking.
And here ! am, Is that sufficient"
What about your forty horsepower
Kick? You don't practice that for
irawing room exhibitions. | take it,"
Sometimes" confessed the scientist
I have found myself at close quar-
ers with persons of dubious charac-
er. The fact is. that an ingenious
hot to get rid of very old friend. DIR. ,
4ucius Carter. the botanist. drew me
nto the criminal line. and since then !
hat phase of investigation has seemed
airly to obtrude itself on me. Off
tally and unofficinlly. Even up here. .
where hoped to enjoy n months rest ,
do you know" he said. breaking off. ,
Na L..