The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1920-07-09


4 bent over the edge of the desk. and
1 Westcott knew him-Enright.
Desperately determined 10 learn
what was being said, the miner thrust
\ the heavy blade of his jackknife be
meath the Hitting window sash and
succeeded in noiselessly lifting it a
scant half inch. He bent lower. the
/ speakers voice clearly audible
through the narrow opening. There
was dead man back East. wasn't
there?"
what difference does that make p
"None. particularly, except 10 nat
urally increase the worth of my serv-
+ ices. I'm not squeamish about stiffs.
\ but I like TO know what l am doing.
/ What are you holding on 10 this other
I fellow for?"-
Enright walked nervouSly across
/ the room chewing at his cigar, only to
come hack and face his questioner.
Y "WeH. ] suppose I might as we'll tell
I YOU" he said almost savagely- You're
4 in TOO deep already TO wiggle out We
( made rather a mess Of ii in New York,
4 and only a bit of luck helped US
I through. We had the plans ready for
! three months. but nothing occurred to
/ give us a chance. Then all at once
+ Cavendish got his first telegram from
/ Westcott and decided to pull OFT, not
/ telling anyone where he was going. He
/ employed me to draw the Will, and told
| ME he planned TO leave the city for
some time. AS soon as 1 could told
the others over the phone and We got
| busy"
/ Lacy stared incredulOus.
"And there hasn't been no KILN 2"
/ Enright shook his head.
Not by any of us
s.Then how about that dead man in
/ New York-the one that was buried
+ for CavendiSh? Oh, I read about
thar. Beaton showed it to me in the
paper"
That's the whole trouble" Enright
/ answered cravely Il do not know
who he was. or how he came there.
/ All | know is. he was not Frederick
/ Cavendish. But his being found there
4 dead in Cavendish's apartments, and
/ identified, puts us in an awful hole,
\ if the rest of this affair should ever
\ become known. DO you see? The
\ charge would be murder and how ore
we going 70 hold the real Cavendish
alive. and not have it come out?'
THE other observation-disclosures
CavendiSh?"
certainly not; you know where
tavendish is"
Il never saw Fred Cavendish; I
wouldn't know him from Adams Off
OK. I've got the fellow Beaton turned
over to me-"
"WelI, he's the man; the dead one
isn't"
"HOw do you knOw?"
Because Frederick Cavendish
bought and signed a round-trip ticket
to Los Angeles. and boarded the~mid
night train My man reported that to
me, and BeatOn just had time to catch
the same train before 1t pulled out.
Isn't that true. Ned?"
eyes. it is. and l never left him"
But" insisted Lacy stubbornly.
"did YOU see the dead one?"
ayes kept away from the in
quest, hut attended the funeral TO get
glance at his face. 1t seemed too
strange to be true The fellow wasn't
Cavendish I'd swear TO that. but he
did look enough like him to fool any
body who had no suspicious aroused.
Dammit, it's spooky, the very thought
of it,"
"But you saw a difference"
Because ] looked for it: never
would have otherwise. But anyway,
1 was already convinced that he was
not the man. I am not sure what I
should have thought if had met him
alive upon the street"
Lacy appeared amused, crossing the
room. and expectorating into the open
stove.
''You fellows make me laugh" ne
said grimIy. 81 am hardly idiot
enough to be taken in by that sort
of old wives tale However. if that
is your story. stick to. it-but if you
were 70 ever tell 1t in court it would
take jury about five minutes to bring
i'm their verdict Let's get TO bust
ness You want me TO help out in a
sort of accident, presume fall
over a cliff, or the premature discharge
of blasting powder; these things are
quite common out here And TO pre-
vent any stir at this end before you
fellows get hold of the stuff, you want
me to call of my working gang and
let Westcott alone. Come. now, speak
up.
Yes" acknowledged Enright. Il
don't care so much for Westcott. but
want things kept quiet"
Lacy whistled few bars, his hands
thrust deep into his trouser pockets.
Then. after a few minutes cogitation,
he resumed:
''All right then: We'll take 1t as it
lies. The only question unsettled. En-
right. is-what is all this worth to
me?"
CHAPTER Vii