The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1915-02-04

10 1t close lTlenG OF mine.
Inc city editor seemed to understand
for l vas switched on to him a mo-
ment later. But he was scarcely more
satisfactory.
we sent Godfrey up into westches-
ter to see a man" he said, "on a tip the
looked pretty good. He started lust as
soon as he got his Pigot story writ
ten, and he ought to be back almost any
time, Is there a message 1 car give
him2'
"Yes-teI him Pigot is at the TWEEN
ty-third street station, and that he'd
better come up as soon as he can"
Very good. I'll give him the mes
sage the moment he in"
THANK YOU" l said, but the disap-
pointment was a bitter one.
In the street again, I passed hest
tattngly at the curb, my eyes on the
red light, of the police station. WhRt
was about to happen there? What
was the sensation NJ. Pigot had up his
sleeve? Had l any excuse for being
present?
And then. remembering Grady's nod
and his wobbly less-remembering. TOO.
that, at the worst, he could only put
me Quit turned toward the light,
pushed open the door and entered,
There was no one in sight except the
sergeant at my desk.
My name is Lester I said. You
have a cabinet here belonging 70 the
estate of the late Philip Vantine"
We've got a cabinet, all right: but
1 don't know who it belong 5 to-"
1T belongs TO Mr., Vanune's estate
well. what about II? ne asked. look
ing at me to see if l was drunk. You
haven't come in here at uidlighc 10
tell me that, l hope?"
No; but I'd like to see the cabinet q
minute"
You can't see it tonight Come
around tomorrow. Besides, I dcn'I
know you"
Here's my card. Either Mr.. SIM
nonds or Mr.. Grady would know me.
And tomorrow won't do"
The sergeant o the card. looked az
it, and looked at me.
wait a minute" he said. Al lass. and
disappeared through & doc at far
Their side OF the room Ee was gone
three or four minutes. and the station
counted the sonorous- deliberate
strokes, and then, IL the silence thai
followed, my hands began 10 rre-ntla
with he suspense. Suppose Grady
should refuse TO see us2 But a. lss-
the sergeant came bach
Come along" he said. opening TIA
gate in the railing and m~otion5ng ne
through Straight on through that
door" he added and sat down again a
his desk
with a desperate esfor II careless
u~nco1csrn. / opened IEe door a-5
passed through Than iuvolun1a-z2y. ]
stopped For there. in lhe middle IF
the floor. was the Bcuie cabinet with
NJ Pigot standing beside H. and G-zEE
and SiEuEronds sitting opposite flung
carelsssly hack IN their chairs. and PM
ing al black cigars.
They all looked al me as / entered.
Pigot with an evident contraction az
the brows which showed how strongly
his unbanEty was strained; SImE-oaEs
with ar affection OF surprise. and Grady
with q bland and somewhat yacaaE
smile Ny heart rose when 1 saw the
smile
We'll. Mr.. Lester he said. sc ron
want 10 see this cabinetT
Yes" / answered 1T really belongs
TO the ysntine estate, you know: Tn
going to put in g claim for iI-that Is,
If you are not willing TO surrender il
without contest"
Did you just happen TO think OF
this In the middle OF the night" he
inquired qufzZfcally-
No" 1 said boldly. b I saw you
and Mr.. Simmonds and this gentle
man"-with 4 bow to II Pigot--turn
in here a moment age. and IT occurred
to me that the cabinet might have
something TO do with your visit. OF
course, we don't q the cabinet in
jured. It is very valuable"
Don't worry" said Grady, easily,
were not going to injure it And
think wen be ready to surrender ii
to you al any time after tonight
Moosseer Piggott here wants TO do a
few tricks with it first. / suppose you
have a certain right to be present-so
If o like sleight-of-hand, sit down"
/ hastily sought a chair, my hear
singing within me. Then 1 attempted
tn aQSI1pna a aGty nf fndffFnrar11t Pav
NJ. Pigot was obviously annoyed al
my presence, and I feared for a mo-
ment that his Gallo suavity would
be strained to breaking. But Grady
If he noticed his guests annoyance paid
no heed to it, and | began to suspect
that the ~Frenchman's courtesy and
good breeding had ended by rubbing
Grady the wrong way, they were In
such painful contrast to his own hob
nailed manners. Whatever the cause
there was g certain malice in the smile
he turned upon the Frenchman.
And now. Moosseer Piggott," he
said. settling back in his chat a lit
tie farther, we're ready for the show
What ! have to tell you, sir" be-
gan M. Pigot, in a voice as hard as
steel and as cold as ice, has, under
stand well, to be told in confidence. Il
must remain between ourselves unit
the criminal is secured"
M SAody . u .l1aI llC d little. 1GI.
haps he did not like the imperatiyes
At any rate, he ignored the hint.
Understand, Mr.. Lesterg' he asked
looking at me, and I nodded.
! saw Pigot's eyes Tame and his
face flush with anger, for Grady's tone
was almost insulting. For an instant
| thought that he would refuse to pro
coed; but he controlled himself.
Standing there facing me, in the full
light 1t was possible for me to ex.
anime him much more closely thar
had been possible on board the boat
and I looked at him with interest. HI
was typically French-smooth shaven
with a face scanned with little wrinkles
and very white, eyes Swallowed by
enormously. bushy lashes, and close
cropped hair as white as his face. Blu
what attracted me mott was the mouth
IA mouth at once delicate and humor
Gus, a little large and with the lips full
enough to betoken vigor, yet not tor
full for fineness. He was about 6,
years of age, I guessed, and there wa.
about him the air of a man who hae
passed through a hundred remarkabl,
experiences. without once losing hi.
aplomb. Certainly he was not going tt
los 1t now.
The story which I have to relate
he began In his careful English. clip.
H. nine his x,,nrao a 6fs<fro q