Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1915-11-18
CHAPTER 1
THE STAR

.rnoon, for it had been a trying day
the last Of the series of trying days
which had marked the progress of the
M1nturn case; and my feeling of de-
preston was increased by the fact that
bur victory had not been nearly so
Besides, there was the heat; always,
during the past 10 days, there had been
The heat, unprecedented for June, with
the thermometer climbing higher and
higher and breaking a new record every
Say.
dropped into the chair before my desk,
cou!d see the neat-waves quivering
up past the open windows from the
derry street below. l turned away n
closed my eyes and tried to evoke a
vision of white surf falling upon he
beach, of tan trees swaying IN the
, breeze, Of a brook dropping gently be-
tween green banks.
fountains that frisk and sprinkle
The moss they overspiH;
Pools that the breeZes icrinkle,' Z.
and then 1 stopped, for the door had
opened. 1 Enclosed my eyes to see the
office boy gazing at me in astonish-
nent. He was a we'll trained boy, and
recovered himself in an instant.
Your mail, sir" he said, laid it at
my elbow, and went out.
/ turned to the letters with an in
terest the reverse Of lively. The words
Of Henley's ballad were still running
through my head
"Vale-lily and p~eriwinkle;
Wet Stone-crop on the sill;
The loo of leaves a-twinkle
With windlets,"
Again 1 stopped, for again the door
opened. and again the office boy APP
peared.
Mr.. Godfrey, sir" he said. and close
nnNr. tho words Tim Cn1fray aptora5
tooktgsg as fresh and cool and invigor-
ating as the fountains and brooks and
pools 1 had been thinking of.
How do you do it. Godfrey" l
asked. as he sat down.
DO what?'
by getting a good sleep every night.
Do you?"
1 groaned as 1 thought OF the in
ferno l called my bedroom.
Il haven't really slept for a week."
I said.
We'll, you're going to sleep tonight.
That's the reason I'm here. l saw you
In u this afternoon-one glance was
enough"
Yes" 1 assented: lone glance would
be. But what's the propositions"
I'm staying at a little place I've
leased for the summer up on the far
edge of the Bronx. I'm going to take
JSo ap NANAi LIN AAS oltA IA ~
to keep you there till Monday. That
will give you five nights sleep and four
days rest. Don't o think you de-
serve it?"
YES" I agreed with conviction. Il
do" and l cast my mind rapidly owe
Minturn case ended. there was really
no eason why l should not take a few
days off.
you'll come, them" said Godfrey,
who had been following my thought.
Don't be afraid" he added. seeing
that | still hesitated. You Won't find
it dull"
l looked at him. for he was smiling
Slightly and his eyes were very bright.
Won't II"
mo" he said, "for I've discovered
certain phenomena in the neighborhood
which I think will interest YOU
When Godfrey spoke in that tone, he
could mean only one thing, and my
last vestige of hesitation vanished.
"All right" L said; I'll come"
Good. I'll call for you at the Mara
thon about 1890. That's the earliest I
can get away" and in another moment
he was gone.
So was my fatigue, and turned with
a zest to my letters and to the arrange
ments necessary for a three days
absence. Then I went up to my rooms,
put a few things into a suit case, got
into fresh clothes, mounted to the
Astor roo garden for dinner, and a
Marathon. I had Higgins bring my
luggage down and sat down in the
entrance porch to wait for Godfrey.
lust across the street cleaned the
lights of the police station where he
and / had had more than one adventure.
For Godfrey was the principal police
reporter Of the Record; it vas to him
that journal owed those brilliant and
glowing columns in which the latest
mystery was described and dissected in
a way which was a Joy alike to the In
tellect and to the artistic instinct. For
the editorial policy Of the Record. for
it's attitude toward politics. Wall street.
sion and disgust; but whenever the
town was shaken with a great criminal
mystery. l never missed an issue.
Godfrey and I had been thrown to-
gether first in the Holiday case, and
that was the beginning of a friend
ship which had strengthened with the
years. Then came his brilliant work
in solving the Marathon mystery, in
which 1 had also become involved. /
had appealed to him for help in con-
nection with that affair at Elizabeth;
and he had cleared up the remarkable
circumstances surrounding the death
Of my friend, Philip Vantine, in the
affair O1 Ill0 bOuiS CdDl1lSI. DO 1 ldO
ZONE to urn to him instinctively
whenever 1 found myself confronting
one Of those intricate problems which
every lawyer has sometimes to I'M
taEgle.
Reciprocally, Godfrey sometimes
sought my assistance; but. Of course,
it was only with a very few of his
cases hat ] had any personal con-
nection. The others I had to be con-
cent to follow. as the general public did,
in h columns Of the Record, certain
that it would be the first to reach the
goal. Godfrey had a peculiar advan-
tage over the other police reporters in
that he had himself, years before, been
a member Of the detective force, and
had very carefully fostered and ex-
tended the friendships made at that
time. He was looked on rather as an
insider. and he was always scrupu-
lously careful to give the members Of
the force every bit Of credit they de-
served-sometimes considerably more
b they deserved. In consequence,
he had the entree at times When other
reporters were vigorously barred.
1t was nearly IL o'clock before Cod
frey arrived that evening, but / was
neither surprised nor impatient. l
knew how many n unexpected were
the demands Upon his time; and l al
WAYS found a lively interest in watch