Cresco plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1913-1945, 1920-12-24

nomeward. leaving nrm 70 drop grad.
ually behind.
BY degrees the various members OF
the crowd separated from each other.
every one going in his own direction.
On my part was careful not to allow
myself to be joined by any chance ao'
Quaintance. so that soon found NY.
self walking alone, though fancied !
could hear the cautious footsteps OF
Montalembert logging me from be.
hind. T.
Carefully refrainlng from any back
ward glance, l pul ,,ued my way till !.
came to a long and rather narrow
street which led directly into the one
In which my house was situated. As l
turned into it, saw something which
caused my heart to beat violently. Ad-
vancing towards me in the Obscurtty,
from the far end Of the street, was the
figure of a man. The next moment the
moon penetrated the clouds which had
mufied it, and perceived that the
approaching figure was my cripple Of
the night of the murder. -;
"Peering up into my face with the
one eye which was not hidden by the
bandage, the fellow commenced to de-
mand money in the usual whine of his
class. I affected to hesitate, stopped,
and put my hand into my pocket. At
the same moment my intent ears
caught . light, swift football on the
road behind me. II
Il can hardly describe how the rest
happened. I felt something strike mo
violently In the back. then came .
crash of'splinteped steel. an oath, and
q loud cry in Montalembert's voice -
he came running up from the rear.
Leaving him to deal with the ruhaan
behind me, sprang forward and
clutched the one In front.
AS had anticipated, his lameness
was . feint. Instead, found myself
engaged with an active, powerful man.
who let fall his clutches, and struggled
90 desperately in my grasp that It was
all could do to prevent his escape till
Montalembert came to my assistance.
1.-THE other man, it appears, had
,
to his heels the moment he heard Mon
talembert approaching, and being
good runner, had soon made pursuit
hopeless Nor did ever find out who
he really was, though l imagine him
to have been a mere subordinate in
strument a.u. r
with regard to his companion It
DIV "a -
we succeeded In securing him and
dragging him into the house prison
er. There, his bandages torn of and
some false hair removed, his identity
was quickly disclosed. 1t was the
chief of police himself! %
Il need not repeat the expressions
which addressed to him, and which
he received with obstinate silence. But
1t did not take me long to realize that
1t was useless to talk of furnishing him
for his crimes. The only advantage I
could gain from my victory was to- ex-
tort confession Of the real authors
and motives of this villainy.
Gas soon as had5exhausted myself
in reproaehe j. therefore, L said to him;
But it is not you with whom am
concerned, but those from whom you
received your instructions. Your fate
Is in your own hands. Tell me the
whole of the circumstances frankly,
and you shall go unframed; refuse,
and I will take you back to the spot
where you attempted my life and shoot
you down al might have done at the
time -
HE turned pale at this threat, which
he had evidently not expected. These
gentry who undertake to play fast and
loose with the lives Of others. always
attach an extraordinary value to their
own miserable existences.
IN. 10 Baron, swear to you that I
am speaking the truth when say that
know absolutely nothing Of this IT.
fair beyond the orders which 70.
ceived. Those orders were to waylay
N. starovitch and you, and II either Of
you should be wearing . white thread
on his back, to kill him. You know
yourself that the first time. two nights
ago, let you 30, because my agent
failed to sec the white thread: and I
have been severely blamed for 1t since.
The thread must have come off,
eyes, took It OF that night, b.
cause 1t was not convenient to me to
deal with you thsn.' said. seeking to
impress him with the idea that knew
everything. But now you have not
yet told me from whom you received
these orders you speak Of
Il took out my revolver and laid Il
on the table.
"Well. then. II must say it-from
Prince George himself
Thank you. that 10 enough. Now
20 soon % you have written that down
and signed It In the presence Of this
gentleman and myself. you may 90
home
Ten minutes later he had gone,
leaving mo in possession Of . docu.
ment which regarded as not less VAL
liable than the papers entrusted to me
by poor Starovitch. /
Afterwards, the affair passed out