Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1914-11-19
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FHE GOLD COUplER
ny AUGUST WHITFIELD.

fCopy Ffghtl
Carlock Biones was the star detec-
tIrs Of the Pole-to Pole railway. When
Iesepped into his suInpsuous apart
nents and found him intently seru-
sipizing coupling-pin. he gave me a
qs.ck glance, and said:
.Ah. Watchem. see you have lots
"a leisure; and as your wife has gone
aHay, feel that l can depend on you
10 join me In this casa"
j gasped
'Reinarkable." calculated. 1t
beats the timetable how you dednce
fkese things that none but myself am
aware Of.
dead easy" he-replied You have
81 bright red necktie. That fact
nfociaims to the world that your wife
has gone 10 the country. You general
II shave yourself; but, % you have q
8ean shave and your face IL free from
ashes. know that you have been to
the BARRIERS. That. and the fact that
yeo have been playing pool. Is evi-
sence that ron have time TO offer up
% the altar of ennli."
"But low 90 you linow have hesn
play ins pool!' asked in an awestruck
voice.
well" he replied, you have chalk
on the lapel and tail of your coat. and
also between the thumb and forefnger
Of your left hand. That can indicate
nothing but that you have been play
Inc pool" =
II might have been playing bill
liards." ! suggested.
Yes" he replied; but you don't
know how"
carleck" commented. you're q
wonder. Ehat is the case you are
wor'ihg on"
This" he replied. 'is the most per-
lie ing case hat has come to my no.
tice since rscovered my sanity. The
time Pushem lost forty minutes on his
run end was ASSIGNED 20 the task of
discovering and returning them, was q
kindergarten proposition to the prob
lem that confronts me now"
He paused. and. filing his pipe with
q piece of oily waste. he lit It. Then.
hariag his arm, he vaccinated himself
With en- ivory point.
Il am doing this" he said, TO make
Il difficult for me to catch anything
hate 10 work on an easy job"
-But what is this case that is baf-
tfing you?" I asked.
Natchen," he replied irritatedly,
how often have told you that you
shoslld be more perspicuous In your
remasksg ! am not bafEied I am
sfsves bafzed - perpiexed; but
not hailed. Perplexity Is what gives
zest 70 my art.
THE only time I was bafied was
when ] was run over and cut to pieces
by the night express: Then my skill
in putting jig-saw puzzles together
stood me in good stead, and ! was
quickly on my feet. What baffied me
was the fact that people thought me
a dead one when / was merely run
down.
Il received this coupling pin In @
letter this morning Even with my
wonderful power Of perception. which
I have cultivated with the latest ap-
proved patterns of cultivators. might
have overlooked it had il not dropped
from the envelope aud struck me on
the pedal extremity Had IL struck
me on the head. would not have
thought much, but | instantly rea.
soned that there was something on
foot"
He opened a sub-cellarette. and
pouring out a glas OF benzine, he
tossed IL off neatly. Then, striking
lucifer. he ignited his breath. and his
face was illumined
"what is it," gasped.
Just a light luncheon" he replied
When he had finished his naphtha
lunch, he picked up the coupling pin
and gnzed at II intently.
''watchem." he asked. do you no
tice anything unusual about this
coupling-pin
I gaZed at II quizzically.
Nothing" l replied. except that II
IL q coupling-pin."
"watchem." he said. Il cannot see
that the constant grind of domesticity
has sharpened your wits appreciably
Cannot you see that It Is made OF
gold?"
Wonderful" I calculated.
"But why should any one send you
q gold coupling-pin ?" asked
Let US reason this thing out by
deduction" he replied.
Had the sender wished me harm
he would have sent my a dynamite
bomb or q safety razoy The fact that
he sent me a coupling-pin can indicate
but one thing. and that is that he
wishes to couple up with me. You
don't have to be link's-eyed 10 detect
that. But the motive? We must
search that out What do you make
Of 1t, Watehem?
I'm afraid III have to give IL Ut"
I ventured.
Yes, but I don't propose to-" he
replied. It's not every day that some
one sends me a gold coupling-pin. and
I propose to keep t."
did the letter give no clue to the
sender" | asked.
"Ah, Watchem," he commented
you are improving; I had forgotten
to read H."
He rescued the letter from ths
waste basket. where he had thrown II,
and, shutting his eyes. he read it to
me.
II ran as follows:
Mr.. carloeF Bjones Sew York City.
N Y:
Dear Mr. Rtnuea-l ara Jnclss'ng yu1
sample 6f car nta -7a siig pin which