Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1916-02-09

thanks to De Morbihan's gasconade
in the hearing of the detective, and
also to that hint which the count had
dropped concerning a fatal blunder ir
the course of Lanyard's British cam
paign.
He fitted key to latch and quietly let
himself into his fiat by private en-
trance from the street, the possession
of which. in addition to the usual
door opening on the court and under
the eye OF the concierge, distinguished
this from the ordinary Partisan apart.
ment and rendered it doubly suited to
the adventurer' uses.
Then he turned on the lights and
moved quickly from room to room of
the three comprising his quarters,
with comprehensive glances reviewing
their condition.
But, indeed, he hadn't left the re-
ception hall for the salon without feel
ing assured that things were in 70 re-
spect as they ought to be-a hat he
had left on the hall-rack had been
moved to another peg; a chair had
been shifted six inches from it's or
dained position, and the door OF a
clothes closet, which he had locked on
leaving, now stood an inch ajar.
The state Of the salon, which he
had furnished as lounge and study,
and of the tiny dining room and the
bedchamber adjoining, bore out these
testimonies to the fact that alien
hands had thoroughly ransacked the
apartment, leaving no square inch un-
scrutinized.
Yet he missed nothing. His rooms
were a private gallery of valuable
paintings and antique furniture to
poison with envy the mind of any col.
lector, and housed into the bargain a
small museum of rare books, manu-
scripts, and minor articles of exquis-
tie workmanship whose individuality,
aside from intrinsic worth, rendered
them priceless. A burglar of discrimi-
nation could have carried away in enc
coat pocket loot enough to foot the
bill for twelve months of proligate
living. But nothing had been removed
nothing, at least that was apparent
in the first tour of inspection; which,
If sweeping, was in no way superficial.
He moved slowly from object to OBJ
ject, checking eff tens and noting
their condition, with the sole result of
justifying his first mpression-where.
as nothing had escaped handling, moth.
Ing had been removed.
AS last test he opened his desk
of which the lock proved to have been
deity picked-drew up a chair, and
went through its pigeonholes. His
scanty correspondence, composed
chiefly of letters exchanged with art
dealers, had been scrutinized and re-
placed carelessly, in disorder-and
here agein he missed nothing; but in
the end, removing small drawer and
inserting a hand in the recess, he
found and pressed a spring which re.
leased a rack of pigeonhcles and ex-
posed the secret cabinet which forms
an inevitable attribute Of such pieces
of period furniture
A shallow box, this secret space con.
tained one thing only, but that one of
value, being the leather
a store Of ready money against emer-
gencies.
It was mostly for this, indeed, that
he had come to his apartment; his
London campaign having demanded
an expenditure far beyond his calcula-
tons, SO that he had landed in Paris
with less than one hundred francs in
pocket. And Lanyard, for all his pride
If spirit, acknowledged one haunting
fear, that of finding himself strapped
in time Of stress.
The fold yielded up it's hoard to q
removed and counted
over five notes of one thousand francs
and ten of twenty pounds-their sum
approXimating two thousand dollars.
But if nothing had been taken away,
had been added-the back
If enc of the Bank of England notes
had been used as a blank for a mem
orandum.
Lanyard spread it out and studied it
attentively.
The handwriting had been traced
with no discernible attempt at dis
5uise, but was quite strange to him.
The pen employed had been one of
hose needle-pointed nibs so popular
IN France; the hand was that Of an
educated Frenchman. The substance /
If the memorandum translated as fol- |
ows:-
"To the Lone Wolf-The Pack sends
greetings and extends its invitation to
in the benefits of it's fra
;ernity. One awaits him always at
'A5baye Theleme."
A date was added, the date of that
same day.
Deliberately, when he had conned
his communication, Lanyard produced
lis cigarette case, twisted the note Of
twenty pounds into rude spill, set it
atire, lighted his cigarette therefrom
md, rising, conveyed the burning pa
per to a cold and empty fireplace,
where he permitted it to burn to a
crisp, black ash.
When this was done his smile broke
through his clouding scowl.
"Well, my friend!" he informed the
author of that document which now
could never prove ncriminating-"at
III events T have Won to thank for a