Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1917-07-05


snooze.
l stood before him. and without
m1ncing matters, told him what l had
overheard, and all 1 knew.
The effect of my words was almost
electrical. He sat up, staring at me,
almost dazed at my statement.
1T is true, Heltzendorff. Alas!
True!" he replied. But he would even
then give me no inkling of the reason
Of his fear
IF this Herr Minckwitz means mis-
chief, then surely It would be easy
to secure his arrest for some offense
or other, and you need not appear in
it, [ suggested.
I've thought of all that. But if
the police lay hands upon him, then
he will revenge himself on me. He
will carry out his threat-and-and,
Heltzendorff, I could never hold up
my head again"
"Why?'
Il can't be more explicit. Tn In a
hold, and / cannot extricate myself"
l reflected for a moment. Then I
said:
"You appear to fear some action
of Minckwftz's. If that is so, / will
return to Hanover and watch. If there
is any hostile intent, I will endeavor
to prevent it. Fortunately, he does
not know me-"
Next night | was back again in Han
over, having stopped in Berlin to
pick up a friend of mine upon whose
discretion 1 could rely implicitly-a re-
tired member of the detective force,
named Hartwieg. Together we start
ed to watch the movements Of the myS-
ferrous Polish musician, and to our
surprise we found that he had three
friends, one a furrier living in the
Burgstrasse who visited him regular
ly each evening They always ar
rived at the same hour, and generally
left about eleven O'Clock. Through five
days we kept watch, alternately close
ly shadowing the man who called him.
self Sembach, and becoming acquaint-
ed with his friends, most of whom
seemed of a very queer set.
a Strange Purchase.
There was no doubt that Minckwitz
and the two young women were assO-
ciates Of some criminal gang, and,
further, I was staggered one evening
to watch the arrival at the house of
young man whom I recognized as
Brosch, an under-valet of the emperor
at the Neues Palais.
For what reason had he come from
Potsdam?
He remained there till noon on the
following day. When he emerged, &C.
companied by Minckwitz, the pair went
into the city, and we followed, when,
curiously enough, I came face to face
with Won Pappenheim's sister, who
was apparently there for the same
purpose as myself! Happily, she was
too intent in her conversation with
Minckwitz, whom she met as though
accidentally, to notice my presence.
Then, at last, the musician raised
his hat and left her, rejoining the
young man, BrOsch.
The pair went to q bookshop in the
Herschedstrasse, and presently, when
they came forth again, Brosch was car
rying a good-sized volume wrapped in
brown paper.
My curiosity was aroused. Therefore
went into the shop, made purchase,
and learned from the shopman that the
younger of the pair had purchased
well-knOwn German reference book,
Professor Nebendahl's Dictionary of
Classical Quotations"
Strange that such a book should be
purchased by an under-valet!
Leaving the detective, Hartwieg, to
dam, where I was fortunate enough to
find the emperor giving audience to
the imperial chancellor. At the cOnclu-
sion Of the audience, sought, and was
accorded, private interview, at which
recalled his majesty's anxiety to as
certain something regarding the man
Minckwitz.
"Well-and have you found him?"
asked the emperor, very eagerly.
The Emperor Showed Me Letter.
I replied in the affirmative. Then
he told me something which held me
breathless, for, unlocking a drawer, he
showed me an anonymous letter of
warning he had received, a letter
which, posted in Paris, stated that an
attempt was to be made upon his life,
and limiting that the crown prince
might be aware Of it.
"Of course" he laughed, ST do not
regard it seriously, but I thought we
ought to know the whereabouts of this
man Minckwitz, who is probably an
anarchist"
"Will your majesty leave the mat
ter entirely in my hands?" I suggested.
''The police must not be Informed"
"It shall be as you wish. give you
authority to act just as you deem
best, if you really anticipate danger"
81 do anticipate it," I replied, and
a few minutes later bowed myself out
of the imperial presence.
During that day I idled about the
palace gossiping with the officials and
danes du palais, awaiting the return
of the young man BrOsch. That night
he did not come back, but he arrived
at the palace about seven o'clock on
the following morning. The head valet
was furious at his absence, but the
young man made a very plausible ex-
cuse that his sister out at Lichtenberg
was very dangerously i'll.
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