Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1916-02-24

tCOpYTlSAk, Dy 10
tressed, and was even talking or re
signing because of his inability to cope
with this gentleman, the Lone Wolf
And since he is my friend, I, too, was
distressed on his behalf, and badgered
my poor wits until they CHANGED upon
the idea which led us to the light"
you won't tell us?" the girl pro
tested, with little moue of disap-
pointment as the Frenchman paused
proVokingly.
Perhaps I should not And yet
why not? AS l say, it was elementary
reasoning-a mere matter Of logical
deduction and elimination. One made
up ones mind the Lone Wolf must be
a certain type of man; the rest was
simply sitting France for the man to
tit the theory and then watching him
until he gave himself away"
You're not going to stop there?"
the American demanded in an az
grieved tone.
No? | must continue? Very well;
| confess to some little pride. It was
feat. He is cunning, that one!"
~ NIL biuoh pouoCu anu SUlLI6u
sidewise in his chair, grinning like a
mischievous child.
By this maneuver, thanks to the ar
rangement of mirrors lining the walls,
he commanded an indirect view of
Lanyard, fact of which the latter
was not unaware, though his express
sion remained unchanged as he sat
with a corner of ais eye reserved for
Roddy-speculating whether De Nor
bihan were telling the truth or only
Boosting for his own glorifcation.
do go on-please!" the girl begged
pretti1y.
L can deny you nothing, mademoi-
selle. Well, then! From what little
was known of this mysterious crea-
ture, one readily inferred he must be
bachelor, with no close friends. That
is clear. I trust?''
''Too deep for me, my friend" the
elderly man confessed.
'1mpenetrable reticence," the count
expounded and enjoying himself
hugely-'isn't possible in the human
relations. Sooner or later one is
ever reluctantly, even unconsciously,
with a wife, a mistress, a child, or
with some trusted friend And a Sc
cret between two is-a prolific breeder
Of platitudes! Granted this line of
reasoning, the Lone Wolf is of neces-
stty not only unmarried, but practi-
cally friendless. Other attributes of
his will obviously comprise youth,
courage, imagination, rather high or
der OF intelligence, and social posi-
tion-let us say, rather, an ostensible
Understanding him to travel at
will hither and yon without exciting
comment. So far, goodi
my friend, the chief of the surete
forthwith commissioned his agents to
seek such a one, and by this means
several fine fish were enmeshed in the
net Of suspicion, carefully Scruunized,
aud one by one let go-all except one
the veritable man. Him they sedulous
ly watched, shadowing him across Eu.
rope and back again. He was in Ber
lin at the time of the famous Rhein.
hart robbery, though he compassed
that coup without detection; he was
in Vienna when the British embassy
there was looted, but escaped by a
clever ruse and managed to dispose
of his plumber before the agents of the
surete could lay hands on him; re-
Gently he has been in London, and
there he made love to and ran away
with the diamonds Of a certain lady
OF some eminence. You have heard
of Nine. Omber eh?"
Now by Roddy's expression it was
plain that, If Nine. Omber's name
wasn't strange In his hearing, at least
he found this news about her most
surprising. He was staring openly,
with q slackened jaw and stupefaction
in his blank, blue eyes.
Lanyard gently pinched the small
end of cigar, dipped it into his demi
tasse, and lighted 1t with not so much
IS suspicion of tremor His BRAIN
however, was working rapidly in the
effort to determine whether De Nor
bihan meant this for warning or was
simply narrating an amusing yarn
founded on advance information and
amplif1ed by an ingenious imagina
ton. For by now the news of the
Omber affair must have thrilled many
a continental telegraph wire.
Mime. Omber-of course!" the
American agreed thoughtfully. "Ev
eryone has heard of her wonderful
diamonds. The real marvel is that tbs
Lone Wolf neglected so shining a mark
as long as he did"
But truly so, monsieur!"
And they caught him at it, eh?"
"Not precisely; but he left a clue
and London as well-with such haste
as would seem to indicate he knew his
cunning hand had for once slipped
Then they'll nab rim s0Un?':
"Ah, monsieur one must say No
morei" De Morbihan protested. Rest
assured that the chief of the surete
has laid his plans-his web is spun,
and so artfuily that l think our I'M.
sociable outlaw will soon be making
friends in the prison of the Sante But
now we must adjourn. One is sorry
1t has been SO very pleasant"
A waiter conjured the bill from
some recess of his waistcoat and
served it on clean plate to the Amer
lean. Another ran bawliDg for the
cloakroom attendant. Roddy glued