Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1916-02-17

| consummated before noon. must have
| set the chancelleries OF at least three
| powers by the ears before Lanyard
was fairly entrained at Charing Cross.
Now his opinion OF Scotland Yard
was low; its emissaries must operate
| gingerly TO keep within the laws they
| serve. But the agents Of the various
| continental secret services have a way
of making their own laws as they go
| along-and for these Lanyard enter
| tanned a respect little short Of pro-
| found.
He would not have been surprised
had he run foul of trouble on the pier
| at Folkestone. Boulogne, as well, fig
ured in his imagination as a crucial
| points harbor lights. heaving I'D
| over the grim, gray waste, peered
| through the deepening violet dusk to
| find him on the packets deck, re
| spending to their curious stare with
| one no less insistently inquiring. But
| 1t wasn't until he reached the Care du
| Nord itself that he found anything
| to shy at.
Dropping from train to platform, he
surrendered his luggage to a ready
facteur and followed the fellow
! through the crush, elbowed and Shout
dered, offended by the pervasive reek
of chilled steam and coal gas and
! dazzled by the brilliant glare of the
| overhanging electric arcs.
Almost the first face he saw turned
| his way was that Of Roddy
The man from Scotland Yard was
stationed at one side Of the platform
gates. Opposite him stood another
decorative official from the prefecture
| de police. Both were scanning mar
rowly every face in the tide that
churned between them.
| Wondering if through some fatal
freak of fortuity these were acting
under late telegraphic advices from
London, Lanyard held himself we'll in
hand. The first indication of an in
| tent to hinder him would have proved
the signal for a spectacular demon
stration Of the ungentle art of not get
I ting caught with the goods.
And for twenty seconds, while the
crowd milled slowly through the mar
row exit, he was as near to betraying
| himself as he had ever been-nearer.
for he had marked down the point on
Roddy's jaw where his first blow
would fall and just where to plant a
coup de savate most surely to in
capacitate the minion of the prefec-
ture; and all the while he was look
ing the two over with a manner Of the
most calm and impersonal curiosity
| But beyond an almost imperceptible
narrowing Of Roddy's eyes when they
met his own, as if the Englishman
were struggling with a faulty memory
neither police agent betrayed sign
of recognition.
And then Lanyard was outside the
station, his porter introducing him to
a ramshack1e taxicab.
"Troyon's!" he told the cocher.
When at length mis- conveyance drew
up at the historic corner Lanyard,
alighting, could have rubbed his eyes
to see the windows of Troyons all
bright with electric light
| Somehow, and most unreasOnab1y,
he had always believed the place
would go to the hands of the house
wrecker unchanged.
A smart porter ducked out, seized
mis- luggage and held an umbrella.
Lanyard composed his features to i'm
mobility as he entered the hotel, of
no mind 20 let the least flicker Of rec
ognltion be detected in his eyes when
they should encounter familiar faces.
And this was quite as well-for
again the first he saw was Roddy's!
The man from Scotland Yard had
! just surrendered hat, coat and UNI
brella to the porter in the lobby, and
was turning through swinging doors
to the dining room. Again taking in
| Lanyard, his glance seemed devoid of
any sort Of ineligible expression;
and before quitting the lobby Roddy
paused long enough to order a fire
laid in his room.
So he was stopping at Troyon's-
and didn't care who knew it,
| His doubts altogether dissipated by
this discovery, Lanyard followed his
natural enemy into the dining room
| with an air as deviImay-care as one
could wish and so impressive that the
maitre d'hotel abandoned the detec-
tive to the mercies of one of his cap
tains and himself fastened to seat
Lanyard and take his order.
This last disposed of, Lanyard sur
rendered himself to new Impressions
of which the first proved a bit dis
heartening.
However impulsively, he hadn't
sought Troyon's without definite in
tent, to wit, to gain some clue, how
ever slender, to the mystery of that
| T17 7~7 7