, 1915-04-22
~copyrlsh., 1918, by .bj k4. x. Fly 90 mpany.

the informality of long intimacy, per
mitted himself during pauses In a de
sultory conversation to glance over the
letters stacked beside his plate. Pres
emily he became so absorbed In one of
these as not to hear a question put to
him by the physician, who, mildly as
tonished by this lack OF attention on
the others part. looked up from his
omelet to learn the cause. At the
same momen Wainwright uttered an
ejaculation of disgust.
Now, this sort of thing has gone far
enoughr' he exclaimed wrRthfully. His
eyes flashed
whats the matter. Cortland?"
Forbes questioned sympathetically.
There was a professional soothing
quality in his voice. Somebody else
after your scalp, l suppose"
Wainwright nodded somberly.
YES" he admitted; IA new one, and
the worst yet. which is saying a good
deal. Just listen to this letter. doctor"
The district attorney Strengthened out
the sheet Of paper and proceeded to
read the following communication
aloud with indignant emphasis:
Cortland Wainwright. Esq. District At
torney. New York City:
Sir-In spite of my previous letters to
you. In spite OF all my arguments. my
prayers. my threats. you have chosen to
go ahead with your prosecution of Henry
Allen. in whose behalf I have SO tried to
intercede with you. You ave succeeded
in YOU efforts to destroy an Innocent boy.
He was right TO kill the man who came
by stealth into his home to betray his
honor In his Just age over the frat dis
covery of the shame put on him by such
black treachery he shot the villain and
killed him You might well nave done the
same in like case. And because he did
that. the natural. the human. manly
thing. he is to die at the hands of the
law-thanks to you.
Without your vicious bitterness In press
Ing the accusation against him. he would
have been acquitted in all probability. for
the men on 1uries. though they may be
stupid, are. after all, men, with the prim-
tive passions of men. with some regard
for the s~anctity OF the home. At least
he would have escaped with a term Of i'm
prisonment. But that would not content
You.
Your personal ambition demanded the
lads life as a blood sacrifice. Because
there has been much cutlery In the sensa-
ton mongerlng papers of the country
against some failures to punish murder
when the unwrltten law has been pleaded
in justification. you thought this a capital
opportunity TO put a feather In your cap
to fiaunt before the publlc-the votersi-
by securing the conviction Of Henry Allen
and c~ondemnIng him to the extreme pen
atty OF the law-death. Well. you have
had your will BE content of It while you
may. for you, too, must explate your
crime. l shall see to that. | nave the
leisure, the means, the mind. the win. to
Rtniah VO1-anh / ahaI1 Muka no mis-
take. sir. These are not the idle vapor-
ings Of some one with a grudge. l give
you the precise assurance that you will
be made to suffer with the suffering the
most dreadful to you. The signature l
put to the end OF this letter will be suf-
fcient evidence to you that I am compe-
tent to the task.
You ave torn my heart by your cruelty
toward one I love. In turn. | shall tear
yours and crush II under my feet. l shall
not hurry the work. Time Will be re-
quired TO make my vengeance complete.
But delay on my part must not lead you
to think that 1 have forgotten or swerved
one whit from my purpose. l lnclose In
this letter a white card. From time TO
time. wherever you may chance to be.
you will receive a like white card. When
my plans are matured you will have
warning of the fact given you In the form
of a red card in place of the former
white ones. And. at the end, a black
card will tell you that the hour OF your
punishment Ii at hand.
Such. Mr.. District Attorney. Is the mat
THE MASTER MIND
DR.. Forbes listened to the reading Of
this extraordinary missive with close
attention. which nevertheless did not
prevent a professional consideration OF