Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1915-08-13


tel counter was for the directory. Run
ming an eager finger down the "F," he
came to the name. 1t was the only
Farnham in the list, and after it he
read: "Dr. Herbert c., office to TO-,
2 to 4, POI Main ST., res. 16 Lake
boulevard"
Then he registered for room and
prepared to draw the net which he
hoped would entangle the lost iden-
tity of the bank robber. After good
nights sleep in real bed, he awoke
refreshed and alert, breakfasted with
an open mind, and presently went
about the net drawing methodlcally
and with every contingency carefully
provided for.
The first step was to assure him.
self beyond question that Miss Farm
ham was the writer Of the unsigned
letter. This step he was able, by a
piece of great good fortune, to take
almost Immediately. A bit Of morn
ing gossip with the obliging clerk OF
fact that Doctor Farnhams daughter
had once taught in the free kinder
garten which was one OF the chari-
table outreachings Of the Wahaska
public library. Two blocks east and
one south; Broffin walked then
promptly, made himself known to the
librarian as a visitor interested in kim
dergarten work, and was cheerfully
shown the records. When he turned
to the pages signed Charlotte Farm
ham" the last doubt vanished and
assurance was made sure. The anony-
nous letter writer was found.
1t was just here that Matthew Brof-
fin fell under the limitations Of his
trade. Though the detective in real life
is as little as may be like the Inspector
Buckets and the Javerts Of fiction,
certain characteristics persist. When
he found himself face to face with the
straightforward expedient, the craft
limitations bound him. He thought Of
dozen good reasons why he should
make haste slowly; and he recognized
in none Of them the craftsman's slant
toward indirection-the tradition OF
the trade which discounts the straight
forward attack and puts a premium
upon the methods Of the deer-stalker.
Sooner or later, Of course, the at
tack must be made. But only an ap-
prentice, he told himself, would be
foolish enough to make it without
mapping out all the hazards Of the
ground over which it must be made.
In a word, he must place" Miss Farm
ham precisely; make a careful study
Of the young woman and her environ
ment, to the end that every thread Of
advantage should be in his hands when
he should finally force her to con-
fession. For by now the assumption
that she knew the mysterious bank
robber was no longer hypothetical in
Broffin's mind; it had grown to the di-
mensions of a conviction.
With the patient curiosity Of his
tribe he suffered no detail, however,
trivial, to escape it's jotting down. To
familiarize himself with the goings
and comings Of one young woman, he
made :he acquaintance of an entire
town. He knew Jasper Grierson's am
bition, and it's fruitage in the practical
ownership Of Wahaska. He knew that
Edward Raymer had borrowed money
from Grierson's bank-and was likely
to be unable to pay it when his notes
fell due. He had heard it whispered
that there had once been a love affair
between young Raymer and Miss
Farnham. and that ii had been broken
off by Raymer's infatuation for Marg-
cry Grierson. Also, last and least i'm
portant of all the gossiping details. as
it seemed at the time, he learned that
the bewitching Miss Grierson was a
creature Of fads; that within the past
month or two she had returned from n
Florida trip, bringing with her sick
man, total stranger, who had been
picked up on the train, taken to the
great house on the lake shore and
nursed back to life as Miss Grierson's
latest defiance Of the conventions.
1t should have been a memorable
day for Matthew Broffin when he had
this sick man pointed out to him as
Miss Grierson's companion in the high
trap. But Broffin was sufficiently hu-
man to see only very beautiful young
woman sitting correctly erect on the
slanting driving-seat. To he sure, he
saw man, as one sees a vanishing
figure in kaleidoscope. But there was
nothing in the clean-shaven face Of
the gaunt, and as yet rather haggard,
convalescent to evoke the faintest
thrill of interest-or of memory.
(To be continued.)