The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1915-01-21

| tyro," / said. dirty.
known will" Godfrey retorted, and babe
me good bye. d
Except for that chance meeting. saw
nothing OF him, and In this ] was dis
appointed, for there were many things
about the whole affair which / did not
understand. In fact, when I sat down
Of an evening, and lit my pipe and
understood nothing at all. Godfrey's
theory held together perfectly, so far
as l could see, but IL led nowhere.
How had Drouet and Vantipe been
| killed? Why had they been killed
What was the secret OF the cabinet? In
about? Not one OF these questions
could / answer; and the solutions !
guessed. II seemed so absurd dismissed
them in disgust. In the end, / found
that the affair was interfering with
my work. and banished IL from my
mind, turning my face resolutely away
from it whenever II tried to break into
my thoughts.
But though could shut 1t out OF my
waking hours successfully enough. l
could not control my sleeping ones, and
my dreams became more and more nor
rible. Always there was the serpent
with dripping fangs, sometimes with
Armand's head, sometimes with face
unknown to me, but hideous beyond de-
scription; it's Shiny body glittered with
inlay and arabesque; its scaly legs were
curved like those OF the Boule cabinet;
sometimes the golden sun gltttered on
its forehead like a great eye. over
and over again I saw this monster
STAY its three victims: and always.
when that was done. It raised its head
and glared at me. as though selecting
me for the fourth But l shall
not try to describe those dreams; even
yet cannot recall them without
| shudder.
1t was while was sitting moodily
in my room one night, debating
whether or not to go to bed; weary
| sign myself to a sleep from which
knew I should wake shrieking. that q
knock came at the door-a knock
recognized; and / arose Joyfully to
admit Godfrey.
could see by the way his eyes were
shining that he had something un-
usual to tell me; and then. as he looked
at me. his face changed.
What's the matter. LesterT he de-
manded. You're looking tagged out
Working too hard?"
It's not that" said. II can't sleep.
This thing has upset my nerves. God
frey 1 dream about tt-have regular
| nightmares
| He sat down opposite me. concern
and anxiety in his face.
| That won't do" he protested. You
must go away CONFERENCE.-The a rest,
and a good long one"
| "A rest wouldn't do me any good as
long as this mystery IL unsolved."
said. It's only by working that 1 can
keep my mind off Of It"
We'll" he smiled. "Just to oblige
you. we will solve it flrst. then"
| DO you mean you know"
Il know who the Great Unknown is,
and I'm going to tell you presently.
Day after tomorrow-Wednesd
know all the rest. The whole story
will be In Thursday mornings paper.
Suppose you arrange to start Thurs
day afternoon"
could only stare at him. He smiled
as he met my gaze.
You're looking better already" he
said. AS though you were taking a
little more interest in hfe." and he
helped himself to a cigar.
Godfrey" / protested, Il wish you
would pick out somebody else to prac-
tice on. You come up here and explode
a bomb just to see how high I'll jump.
| It's amusing to you, no doubt. and
perhaps a little instructive; but my
nerves won't stand It,"
MY dear Lester" he broke in. that
| "dSH u LLdL was q simple
| statement of fact"
Are you serious7"
Perfectly So"
But how do you know"
| Before / answer any questions.
want to ask you one. Did you, by any
chance. mention me to the gentleman
known to you as NJ. Felix Armand?"
Yes" I answered. after a moments
thought; II believe / did. I was tell
ing him about our trying to find the
| secret drawer-I mentioned your name
and he asked who you were. I told
him you were a genius at solving mys-
| teries.
Godfrey nodded.
That" he said, explains the one
thing 1 didn't understand. Now 20
ahead with your questions"
You said a while ago that you would
know all about this affair day after
tomorrow"
YES"
How do you know you will?'
| Because l have received letter
which sets the date" and he took from
his pocket a sheet OF paper and handed
1t. over to me. Read IT."
! The letter was written in pencil, in a
| delicate and somewhat feminine hand
! on a sheet Of plain, unruled paper
| With an establishment which Increased
with every word. read this extraor-
binary epistle
MY Dear Mr.. Godfrey: