The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1914-11-06

INV. uOUOO WoO 10 CO0GBO
Of Ganset jim % caretaker. Prokss.
>1pr Kent had aetpaboVtrths saQe tina
the Blairs. t< Fl pcis 1gwick
- stuck to thS Nook Th bsA his
x1Ek prospered. tie woV9ler t2fh.nlsd.
A1gvind borne on the biAst 4 Md
ta6farch gale. Chester~ak emit dropUea
down at the door OF the Nook one Wild
afternoon without warning. Az a.
ways. he was tmpecca bly, clad. though
his Stput boots showed the usage Of
recent: hard wear. Throwing open the
.3o0g. IN called his .fIiNndsaA.0Amo~..s.s...
Instantly the artist came Looping
down the statrs and bad hthn.s ~ the,
shoulders.
GIVE got u caller UP above" he said
Sfter the usual greetings and ques-
tonings were over. .~
Yes? Have you gone in for local
society,""
mot exactly local. It's Alexander
Blair"
"Hei-Io!" said Kent in surprise.
what brings himY"
"Why. he csnes down to Hedeerow
house to look AFTER certain books and
papers and ran, sOxer, here to- unak8J1As
amende honorable In form. ..Cbet.;I
bate being apologixed to-" -. -.
t"Of| course. Every one does. Nav
ertheiess. it's good exercise for Mr.sA.
Blair. Esquire"
Hes the grim jawed. hard bittod
Blair Of old. just the same. he made
his apology as ha ndsomely 80 need be.
I'll bring him down here" /
The fabric magnate descended from
the studio and greeted Kent briefly.
then turned to his host. you willaex-
cuse me il I ask Mr.. Kent to step out
side. l have some business with him."
stay here said the artist. 'Ill 60
back to my studio" Which he did. ~
Il need your, assistance. Some one
has been tAmpering with my sons
grave" said Blair.
You mea the grave at Hedgerow
houseY"
Eyes. Gansett Jim reports that there
are signs Of recent digging. 1t looks
rs if ghouls had been at work there
with the idea Of getting the body and
holding it for ransom. They would
ha We had u fine surprise ii they had
got the coffin Out!' ~
Because they'd have found no body
in it. you mean?"
certainly. But suppose they discov-
cred that there were nc remains, moth
ing but a punctured sand bag? Do you
see the potentialities Of blackmail?
do You know Of an old lady named
circuit III Annalaka ?" asked Kent.
NO"
"She owns the house just next to
Annalaka eh~urchyard, where your son
was buried as Jane Doe. She is a very
worthy old lady. But she suffers Sc
7erely from asthma. In fact, 1t keeps
her awake most Of the night. So some
money and seat her south to a sanato-
rum. I'd like to get you interested in
her case"
"YOu wish me- to subscriber"
"Oh, more than that, I think it would
be a good idea II you were to assume
the entire expense Of the proceedings"
"You mea reimburse the subscrib-
ers?"
Exactly"
For a few seconds the millionaire
studied Kent's candid face. every
WE'LL" he agreed. "How muchY'
Sheriff Schlager can tell you. He
Is keeping the accounts. You see, it
was necessary to get her out Of the
way. Her windows overlook the
churchyard."
80 you took occasion to indicate be-
FORE" 49, q.
Repetition Of q really relevant point
is excusable. She left two weeks ago,
very much mystifed but pathetically
thankful. poor old girl! ,,~
when she was safely out Of the
way and no loager overlooking Anna
laka churchyard by night from her
window Schlager, Adam Balm and l
paid a visit to the place. What lay.
namelsss. in Annalaka churchyard now
rests In it's own place at HedgerOw
house. l wish that you might have
heard the little prayer made by that
simple country lawyer owe your sons
grave"
Alexander Blair's clinched hands
went to his temples In 4 singular ges-
ture and dropped again. What inter
est did Schlager and Balm have in the
matter?' be added In 2 low TONE.
why, Schlager had done some dirty
work for you and wanted to v e &C.
counts with his W conscience. As
for Balm. we needed q third man we
could trust. l asked him and got him.
1t was no small risk for him. II you
felt that his risk Is worth some reward
you might
Eyes, yes!" interrupted the other
eagerly. do you think q thousand
or perhaps more
Kent smiled. by thinking hard I
could think a thousand" he said, ''but
not more in this case. 1t wouldn't be
safe. Balm might not survive the
shock. Thank you very much. Mr..