The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1917-11-24

that he kept bad comjany-just now
worse than ever, for the two men with
him were as Misunderstanding fellows
rs / had ever seen. l followed them,
a new suspicion in my mind as they
were admitted to the very building ]
have described. I took up watch and
ward over the sombre pile of masonry
for several days. Twice 1 saw Webb
visit the place. Always his admission
was followed by the closing and lock
Ing of the outside door. Always the
door was kept carefully reclosed until
he had departed, after a brief stay. l
know not why, but somehow I assocl-
ated Webb with the offerings at the
engraving plant and the disappearance
Of Meserve. / had an irrepressible de-
sire to explore the old rookery, and
nov fate and circumstance had, l
hoped, granted my wish for admission
to the apparently im~pregnable struc-
ture.
/ got to my feet and proceeded to ex-
plore my surroundings. / came to an
opening like a doorway, traversed a
corridor which penetrated the cellar of
the building and faced a pair of stairs.
These l assembled, reached O vacant
room, crossed it, opened a door, as
cended q second flight of stairs and
charity felt my way along a narrow
passage way. L accidentally Numbered
against q swinging door. 1 landed in a
lighted room, tried to draw back as l
discovered that 1t held an inmate, and
was rooted to the spot as 1 recognized
in a woman standing staring at me
agape-the wife of Acton Meservel
All the bloom 1 had last seen vas de-
parted from that sweet face, the eyes
were sunken and haunted with the
horror of confinement and fear.
"Mr. Illsley!" she gasped, and
reeled.
"You--youl !" I breathed incoherent-
ly. "What does this mean? Where Is
Meserve?"
HE Is in there" she whispered, all
a tremble, and she pointed to an OPP
posite door. MONO! You risk your
life !"
But l had run at the door and
opened it and rushed towards a IA at
a bench bending over a leather plate
pad, a graver in his hand-Acton Me-
serve.
And then I understood the warning
just uttered. Two men, and m of
them was Webb, sprang at me. I re-
ceived a heavy blow on the head and
knew no more. 1 awoke, jolted about
in a cab and held up by the best
friends 1 had in the wofld-Acton Me-
serve and his wife. They were bab-
bling with the maddest of jo%yfulness,
like two children released from a ter
rible captivity. Then the vehicle halt
ed in front of the engraving plant.
1 was still dazed as l sat back in the
chair in the Office of the president. AS
in a dream 1 caught the echo of the
tones of MeServe, telling all the story
of his mysterious disappearance.
1t was Webb who had distracted the
missing property of the plant. 1t was
Webb and accomplices who had kid
mapped husband and wife, who hat
Threatened o.kil the latter if Meserv'
did not engrave a plate they forced
him to make. 1t was Just as I ap
peared hat the plate was finished, al
except one corner, and this Meservt
refused to complete unless immediate
liberty was promised. The scoundrelE
then abandoned the place with the
plate, Meserve agreeing to wait al
hour later.
81 believe your story, Mr.. Meserve,'
said the staid and dignifed president
"but do you not consider it very repre-
hensible to engage in such work undel
any circumstances"
"Not as l worked it out" dissentet
Meserve. Sir, when the law run
down these miscreants, as it must, you
will find the plate worthless"
"You mean-T
That the last rapid work l did wa
to engrave in hair-line tracery, Will
they were not looking, one word,
warning to all the world"
"And the word was-|
"'Counterfeit ="