Charlevoix county herald., 1918-07-19


among those Indian tribes descended
from the old Aztec stock-you have
heard Of the Image of Quetzal In
the mountains of the north, and d
the Eye of Quetzal. that great inta'
Clio emerald from the temple. which
had been taken away and must be re-
stored, according to their legend, be-
fore the children of Quetzal could be
free.
"And in your dream, senior, you
imagined that could you procure this
talismanic stone-could come back
among them and say: See, !. Prince
of Montezuma, whose forebears were
of the great kings blood. have
brought back the stone to assure your
final triumph Then they would rally
to your standard, and you should once
more ascend the throne from Which
the Spaniards thrust the final Monte
yuma ere they enslaved his people
and looted the splendors Of his realm.
Shall we not see now how closely
my theoretical story matches the
facts. You came here few days ago.
You learned that Wingarde had gone
north, taking the most available
guides, but would return shortly. You
waited. No doubt, you had learned
before you started that he had heard
of the gem.
1--WE may assume SO much to ac-
count for your presence at this time.
You waited then until he came back
and you questioned his guides. One
told you all that you wished to know.
Him you took into your plan and
bribed to lead Wingarde to you.
THAT you met him we know, for
the print of your foot is up there, a
record against you. ! knew when 1
saw the print at the first, for had
noticed your feet, and the imprint
was of a similar nature and made by
a similar brand of shoes.
Back in my present residence l
have a record of every civilized brand
of shoes-their imprints, the number
and ARRANGEMENT of their pegs ali
nails, the shape of their heels. And
so l knew that you wore shoes I'M
ported from France, the factory OF
Villet ct Gle.
And the imprint showed that
form of shoe. You yourself knew l
was correct, for after that, as l knelt
and you stood on the brink of the
canon, you shuffled your feet from
time to time in order, to blur their
marks.
"And the imprint of your hand is
there, too, senor-the hand with the
missing portion Of the little finger
pressed into the soil Of the canon's
lip to make the Identification sure.
so you took the image and used
it's dagger, and you took the emerald,
and you brought them back to the
hotel and hid them, and went down
to the billiard-room, and there you
were joined by Professor Wingarde's
daughter and Mr.. Dayton. What did
you say to them?'
Dayton" Dual demanded sharply.
Il suggest a game of pool, senor,"
said Laredo.
"Why-er-he told us he'd been
upstairs, writing letters all evening,
you know, and said he'd take us on
for game or two if it suited our
fancy"
Osborne shook his head. There's
your attempted alibi," he remarked.
God. it's all checking out!"
Heffy reached into pocket in a
manner entirely suggestive. / could
imagine what he was after. well,
/ reckon it's my cue, amt it?" he
questioned.
Dual glanced briefly in his direc-
ton. First search this room," he
said.
"Senor," Laredo protested, this is
an outrage! You accuse. You allow
no refutation. You order search of
my room. You transcend all bounds
of endurance. / shall appeal TO my
national representatives in this mat
ter"
GO on an appeal" snarled Heffy.
Il kin get done wild dis coop before
you git an answer" He rose heavily
from his seat and glanced slowly
about the apartment, as though seek
ing a point to begin. 1t was an ordi.
nary bedroom with bath. After
moment Heffy walked over and dis
appeared into the latter.
But say" broke out Dayton, you
wouldn't think chap would hide the
things in his bedroom. You'd think
-
What you were expected to think,
Mr.. Dayton-of every other place.
Therefore, the bedroom. Senior La
redo is a man of no mean intelligence
in material matters. He would have
been successful in this, save for un-
foreseen and unforeseeable conditions
which arose to confront him. You
must admit his remarkable finesse
and control, in that throughout our
entire association he aroused no sus-
picion in the minds of any of you.
Yet his position was one of the most
trying" said Dual.
Quite Unexpectedly Laredo rose.
He bowed. "Senor, l value the COM
pliment of your words" He laid