Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-09-08
CHAPTER XII

CHAPTER Mi
A Brain For Battle Ground
1t was a silent trio that descended
in the private elevator. Cotton had
curtly ordered Carl to lead the way
before the astounded captain of po-
lice and the gaping detective had had
time to recover from the shock OF
the blind mans last statements. Nor
did Cotton speak until they had step
ped from the elevator to the private
diningroom.
Where's the door that leads to the
restaurant" he asked abruptly, as
he stood before the car, cane tapping
his trouser leg.
Manager Carl shook himself as
dog shaking off cold water. Great
Heaven. Cotton. but your work is
startling" he laughed jerkily.
An absent nod answered the COM
pliment.
"A crow" muttered the district at
torney. And a feather"
And a door screwed shut" re-
minded the blind man.
Carl, with a murmured apology for
his delay, touched the blind man ell
bow, and guided him to the door Gol- S,.
TOMS fineers brushed the wood. The
Soor baS been screwed shut with
boaI.v brass hinges. There were TOUR
of tban above and below the door
Sandies ixing it closed so tightly that
a bsttering-ram would have been
needed to open II.
II put those hinges on SIX months
ago" Carl said. They held the door
tighter. and they looked a lot oetter
tban screws driven through the edge
When Rrscken wants a thing done he
wants il done we'll.
Colton's hand had gone to the other
side of the door, and was leellhs oI
the two original hinges.
"Ah. opens from the inside ne
said, with the satisfaction OF one VINO
has proved a theory.
screws with a glass;" put in the man
ager. They haven't been moved In
six months. The dust on the heaos
shows that absolutely"
quite right admitted the ollnd
man readily. But see!"
A quick grasp of his fingers, a turn
of his wrist, and the pin of the top
hinge pulled out A bending of his
| hack. and the lower pin was in his
fingers. The blind man stepped away.
The door swung silently on the hinges
that had been fixed to keep 1t smut.
! Good Lord" The manager star
ed his bewilderment.
| Cotton paid no attention: He could
hear the music of the orchestra as II
/ iingled it's lively air. A cabaret
singer was earning her salary with one
of the latest songs. He could see the
shielding palms that hid the door.
Through the thick branches he could
see the sprinkling of early diners in
the far end of the room
"Those palms have been arranged
differently" Carl hissed it. Look!
A single turn. and there is an open
ing TO the aisle that is hidden from
the dlninsroom and when the two
hat-check boys were away from the
door --"
There was no need of finishing. The
district attorney saw the clever ar
rangement of the big plants,
"Bracken again." The Official
gulped the words
ITS hardly the duty of waiter
to move palms." Cotton observed
Certainly mott" calculated the
manager, but there seemed no relief
in his tone.
The blind man detected it instant
| ly, and he shot out sudden question:
where did that assistant manager
go on his vacation? Winter seems a
strange time for a man to go away" /"
You don't think -" began Carl.
ut isn't what l think" cut off the
blind man sharply, its what l want
to know"
HE didn't tell me where he was
going, and / wouldn't give the police
any Satisfaction" Carl said agitatedIy.
HE said something about going up
to the North country, hunting. But
his folks would probably know. They
| live in Poughkeepsie."
Thank you" The blind man care
| fully closed he door and slipped the
pins back ino place. If you'll take
me to a taxi" he asked of the dis
l ri Oft 90 nd
little rest Tomorrow is going to
] be a strenuous day. You've got to
locate that waiter from whom the
Bracken recommendation was stolen,
attorney. Call me the minute you've
got him. 1 want him!"
They left Manager Carl at the priv
ate entrance in the court, staring after
them. In the officials mind as he
held tight to the sightless mans ell
bow to lead him from the quiet court
| to Broadway, and across the crowded
sidewalk to the curb, there were a
dozen questions. This new character
in the case - the assistant that had
never even been suspected by him -
seemed the one ray of long-sought
| light. But there was so much to ex-
plain. BY all the possible twisting and
turning the assistant manager could be
nothing but an accomplice. The guilt
seemed still to rest on the man who
| had borrowed the automobile, who
had told the false story to Carl, the
man who had acted as a waiter, so
that he could help the dead man in
his place at the table.
But Cotton forestdiled all queries,
all talk.
Nothing tonight" he declared.
go home and get your sleep. You'll
need it tomorrow. Keep your men
still on the trail of the missing waiter.
and send couple up 10 Poughkeepsie.
Good night"
A wave of his hand, the closing
of the taxi door. and the district at
torney was left on the curb alone. Al
the old-fashioned brownstone house
where Cotton had been born he ran
up the wide steps as though weari-
ness was thing that never came To
his well-kept body. But inside the
door, his shoulders dropped a trifle
and he braced them back with a long
deep breath.