The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1914-08-21
The Secret
Lonesome Cove
r4r ~. 4
BY
Samuel Hopkins Adams
u.
Copyright, 1912, by the Bobbs>Merrill
Company

~ EGGY!" The artist had whirle1
at the name. 'NObOdy'S Ill
ed me that for ten years"
Just ten years 8 that
you graduated, wasn't it,"
YES. Then l knew you in college.
You must have been before my class
The bearded one nodded. Senior to
your freshman" said he.
The younger nan scrutinized him.
Chester Kentr' said he softly. What
on earth are you doing behind that
bush?"
Kent caressed the m%aligned whisk-
ers. Utility" he explained. Patent.
impenetrabIe mosquito screen. I've
been OF in the wilds and amor was
going back presently"
Not until you've stopped long
enough to get reacquainted," declared
Sedgwick. Just at present you're 60
ing to stay to dinner"
VERY good. Just now you happen
to be in my immediate line Of interest.
It Is a fortunate circumstance for me
to ind you here-possibly for you too"
Old interests sprang to life and
speech between them. Presently Fran
els Sedgwick was telling his friend
the story Of his feverish and thwarted
ten years in the world. Within a year
Of his graduation his only surviving
relative had died. willing to him a
considerable fortune. the income Of
which he used in furtherance Of 4
hitherto suppressed ambition to study
art Paris. his Mecca. was first q
taskmistress then a temptress. finally
a vampire. Before succumbing he had
gone far in a few years toward the
development Of a curious technique Of
his own. Followed then two years of
dissipation. a year OF travel to recu-
perate and the return to Paris. which
was to be once more the taskmistress.
But. to his terror and self loathing. he
found the power Of application gone.
The muscles Of his mind had become
flabby.
"All by virtue of 4 wOman's laugh;
the laugh Of a woman without virtue
uC lOiA AACuS. "uS az IuC NAoutAli
de Ia Galette-perhaps you know the
dance hall On the slope Of Montmartre
and she was one Of the dancers. the
wreck of what had once been beauty
and. one must suppose. innocence.
Probably she thought me too much
absinth soaked to hear or understand
as l sat half asleep at 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 Oi
him five years ago. Look at him nov
That Is what life does to us, mon ami.
I'm the woman of 1t. That's the man
Of it. staggered up. made her Il
bow and a promise and left her laugh,
ing. Last month ! redeemed the prom
ise; sent her the first thousand dol.
lars | made by my w 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." 70
tOrted his friend. Cant you expand
4 bit? l suppose you haven't any DARK
secret in yoir life7" ~%
No secret. dark or light sighed the
other. THE ne wspapers won't let NE
have"
Eth? Won't let you! Am 1 to infer
that you've become a famous person;
What are you. anyway"
What I told you. an expert in the
service Of the department Of Justice
l like to iatter myself that my pur
suit is scientific"
Pursuit? What do you pursue?"
Men and motives"
S~edgwick's intelligent eyes widened
wait" he said: something occurs t.
me, an article in a French iOurna
about a wonderful new American ex
pert in ~crimin0logy who knows I'll
there Is to know and takes only tn.
most abstruse cases. | recall now tina
the article called him lie Professor
Chetre Kennat.' That would be abou'
as near as they would come t,
your name. The Frenchman mad,
you out a most superior species o
highfalutin detective. working alon,
lines peculiarly your own
ROT" interjected Kent. The onI!
lines a detective can work along sue
cessfully are the lines laid down 70
him by the man he Is after"
Sounds more reasonab BILE than 70
mantic." admitted the artist. Com
now. Kent. open up and tell me some
thing about yourself"
You remember | got into troubl
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 neari.
cost me my diploma. but It helped m
too, later, for a scientist in the depart
ment of agriculture at Washingt0
learned Of 1t and sent for me afte
graduation. He mapped out Tor me
three years postgraduate course. whic