The Washington herald., 1914-03-23
KING, THE DETECTIVE,
In THE MARINE MYSTERY

King, the detective, looked sharply al
the uncouth figure In sailors garb whom
two patrolmen had dragged into the po-
lice station.
He was actin queer" explained one
Of them. He's either drunk or daffy''
The man stared vacantly at the wall.
HIS bare arms and exposed chest showed
a heavy tan, and with his staring eyes.
rigid features. and tousled hair, he look
ed like an idiot.
Neither drunk nor crazy" observed
the detective, jerking the man to his feet
and fixing searching saxe on his eyes.
AT first I thought Il was aphasia, but
why, this man has been druggedr' He
released his hold and the man sank limp
ly into the chair. The detective exam
ined the tan on his arms He drew q lit
tie box from his pocket and applied q
powder to the skin. Hes been drug
ged," he repeated. 'Drugged-and tan
ned. This color comes on. Sect" A
little white spot showed where the pow
der had been applied. ---.. r..--r
King continued his examination. He's
accustomed to wearing glasses. too"
pointing to two calloused spots On the
sailors nose That's Queer-nrst time
I ever heard OF q sailor wearing giasseA
Let's try this
He held a newspaper before the mans
eyes. The sailor regarded II blankly for
ed its pages until he came to one that
seemed to attract his attention
Hes reading the market page" OBJ
served the detective.
The policemen stood dumfounded.
And he's in the habit of smoking good
cigars" continued King. He had hand
ed the sailor a Havana and observed him
as he smoked it with the calm content
of a connoiseur. Something confound-
edly queer about this case. Just one
more test
He took a checkbook from his pocket
and filed out blank with the exception |
OF the line for the signature. He hand |
ed the check and 3 pen to the sailor. |
The man stared at IL racantly, thenI
understanding crept into his eyes and |
he seized the pen and signed Edwin
Depugh.''
There exclaimed the detective tri-
umphantly. You have picked up q sail
who is interested in the stock mar
ket, wears glasses. smokes the best ci-
gars. and is accustomed to signingI
checks Queer. isn't It? 1 would sug-E
gest you take pretty good care OF him
and. in the meantime. am going to
find out who Edwin Depugh is
Some crooked business back OF this"
mumbled King as he walked into the :
Brokers' Bank. The cashier quickly
recognized the signature.
That name is good for almost any
amount" he said. Mr.. Depughs Offices
are in the Burbridge Building"
King walked to the Burbridge Buildingl
and inquired for Mr.. Edwin Depugh. A
clerk told him Mr.. Depugh was out, but
the manager would see him in a mo-
ment. The manager was a dapper lit
r16u -'-N shifty eyes and manners
80" L"'e-sf- did not like. He eI-
%. ...D .'-" dropped it with feign-
.G-z- .- the manager stopped
I.. %-lg snatched from the
.= 20 hich he had seen theI
2. ..s --'"--1l. - ar Edwin" After in
torInins sEG mans ger that his business
necessitated seeing Mr.. Depugh person.
ally, he took his leave with the assur-
ance that he would be back soon.
In the elevator he read the brief note:
Why have you changed SO? Do you
love another? I demand an explanation
"Eleanore Coughlin."
"Coughlin-Eleanors Coughlin." mur-
INJURED King. Il wonder if" But hel I
quickly decided that the Miss CoughIin
who had signed the note could be no
other than the beautiful society girl and :
heiress whose name he had frequently ,
seen in the society columns. II
The plot is thickening." he murmured
"A beautiful society girl in love with a .
sailor. Wonder il there isn't a mistake s
In
He returned to the police station and
held the note before the sailors eyes