Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1915-01-21

tyre, L said. drlly.
It's long odds that the great I'M
known Will Godfrey retorted, and bade
me good bye.
Except for that chance meeting, I saw
nothing of him, n in this l vas dis
appointed. for there were N things
o the whole affair which l did not
understand. in fact, when I sat down
of an evening, and lit my pipe and
began to think it over. l found that I
theory held together perfectly, SO far
as l could see, but it led nowhere.
How had Drouet n Vantine been
killed? Why had they been killed?
What was the secret OF the cabinet? In
a word, what was all this mystery
about" Not one of these questions
could | answer; n the solutions
guessed, it seemed so absurd l dismissed
them in disgust. In the end, l found
that the affair was interfering with
my work. and l banished it from my
mind. turning my face resolutely away
from 1T whenever it tried to break into
thoughts.
But though l could shut it out Of my
waking hours successfully enough, |
could not control my sleeping ones, and
my dreams became more n more nor
rible. Always there was the serpent
with dripping fangs, sometimes with
Ar1nand's head. sometimes witt a face
ai1Ah W liS III Y wy IAN y
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 glittered on
its forehead like a great eye. Over
and over again / saw this monster
slay its three victims; and always.
when hat was done. 1t 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 a
shudder.
1t was while 1 was sitting moodily
in my room one night. debating
whether or not to go to bed; weary
to exhaustion and yet reluctant to re-
sign myself to a sleep from which l
knew l should wake shrieking, that a
knock came at the door-a knock l
recognized: and L arose joyfully to
admit Godfrey.
l could see by the way his eyes were
shining that he had something I'M
usual to tell me; and then. as he looked
at me, his face changed.
What's the matter. LESTER" he de-
manded. You're looking tagged out.
Working too hard?"
Its not that" l said. II can't sleep.
This thing has upset my nerves, God
frey. | dream about it-have regular
nightmares"
He sat down opposite me, concern
and anxiety in his face.
That Won't do" he protested. You
must go away somewhere--take a rest,
and a good long one"
long as his mystery is unsolved." l
said. It's only by working that l can
keep my mind off of it."
Well" he smiled. lust to oblige
you, we will solve it first, then"
DO you mean you know"
Il know who the Great Unknown is.
and I'm going to tell you presently.
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
rs he met my gaze.
You're looking better already" he
said. as though o We're taking a
little more interest in life." and he
helped himself to a cigar.
Godfrey" I protested, II 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: hut my
nerves won't stand it."
my dear Lester he broke in. that
wasn't a bomb; that was a simple
statement Of fact"
Are O serious?"
Perfectly So"
But how do you know"
Before | answer any questions. i
want to ask o one. Did you, by n
chance. mention me to the gentleman
known to you as M. Felix Armand?"
Yes answered. after Il moments
thought; Il believe / did. l was tell
ing him about our trying to fine the
secret drawerI mentioned your name
and he asked who you were. / told
him you We're a genius at solving mys-
teries.
Godfrey nodded.
That" he said, explains the one
thing I 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 / have received a letter
which sets the date" and he took from
his pocket a sheet Of pape and handed
1t over to me. Read 1T"
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: