The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1917-10-06

tense curiosity and Impotence to
drop in upon him on my way to the
bank the next morning | found him
with a newspaper folded across his
knee and his eyes regarding it with
| a vexed expression.
Did you see it," he inquired.
| ! guessed what, and told him so,
and ran hurriedly over an item an
| nouncing that new 800 treasury
note counterfeit-the particulars con-
cerning which. even to the approx
mate serial numbers, were given
| had appeared on the market.
Some one has babbled.' scolded
my friend 1t may make a compli-
cation"
I did not see how, just then. l
knew better-later Marvel had moth
| ing to impart to me Of progress or
Importance in the case, but late that
| afternoon there came a hurry call for
ME from him. | closed my desk and
was soon in his company.
He handed me a card which he
took from an envelope. 1t read sim
ply, in pencil scrawl: 4 must see
! you.-A B.
Il may need you." observed my
friend. and after half hours spin
We arrived at the home of the mil
| lionaire.
The servant who answered the sum
mons at the door seemed to know
we were expected She led us down
the hall to a sort of library, saying
| that Mr. buckingham was engaged
but that she would announce our pres
ence shortly Then she left us alone
in the room, half darkened by the ap-
preaching shadows OF eventide.
/ caught some rapid words from a
room beyond the heavy draperies. ev-
identity smoking apartment of the
library. ! noted, however, that Mar
vel heard them quicker than I, for he
moved from his seat to chair closer
to the masked doorway. The words.
not In the tones OF Mr.. Buckingham,
were rapid, insistent, almost menac-
ing:
The plates-the plates!"
There was an utterance akin to
groan, and 1t proceeded from the lips
Of the millionaire, l readily traced.
Then the former voice, only clacking.
wheedling and menacing at the same
time, spoke again:
Mr.. Buckingham, am here in the
interests Of a client who has one
proposition to make to you. My prom
Use ends with distinct and final neg
alive or affirmative. 1t places me in
a regrettable and unfortunate posi-
ton to be the representative of men
who are dangerous criminals, but
am a lawyer. Shall l briefly state
the case?
There was no reply, at least none
audible to us. The speaker contin-
ued:
Some years ago, your son Percival
Buckingham, chief engraver for the
government, was taken i'll and re-
moved to a sanitarium while you
were absent in Europe. Too close ap-
plication to delicate expert work had
blighted his mind. He escaped from
the sanitarium, and three men I will
not name, but once known as the
most finished showers of the queer in
the world, got hold Of him. They saw
their opportunity and improved it.
They were shrewd, capable men and
made no blunders. What they did you
will now learn for the first time.
Those men secured the upper floor
of a lonely, secluded house. They
fitted it up as nearly as possible like
one of the work rooms in the treasury
department They took your deluded
son there, and made him believe that
he was producing new 1906 series
800 plates for the government. For
nearly a year that was his home.
His mind did not refuse to act me-
chanically along the line eye and skill
had directed for SO many years. In
brief. he made two plates, so perfect
that they were almost duplicates OF
the original government plates.
Twelve Impressions were made, and
two OF these were tested by being
somewhere in existence, their valid
ity never doubted Within that week
1t must have been, while unguarded
and alone, your son had fash Of his
old mentality. At all events, when
his three captors returned they found
him gone, and with him the two treas
ury plates and the ten printed 500
bills.
Now for your end OF the story, as
I understand it: Your son appeared
at this home, suddenly, Unexpectedly.
He must have brought the plates and
the notes. You believed him a coun-
terfeiter, for before he could explain
to you, his insane mood returned.
You at once removed him to private
asylum. Later you sent him with
relative, Alan Dean, to Paris. He re-
gained his reason. Today he occupies
a studio in the French capital, patron
ICED by devotees of high art. Happily
married, all that year Of mental dark
ness forgotten, restored to his right
mind, he is a wonderful producer of
art etchings, a man of fame. and mar