The Little River news., 1920-03-17


 saw you and recognized you?"
 Not chance" said the detective.
 "Wen. I'd like to find out to whom she telephoned. Can you find out for me?'
 Sure I can, but you got to get her out of here"
 "All right" replied. GAS soon as she returns to my table, I'll pay my check and we'll leave. I'll be back by and by and see if you've learned anything"
 Here she comes now" said the de- tective, hastily taking his departure, but I noticed that he had stationed himself behind some palms where he could watch the girl without being seen.
 "Who was the fellow talking to you as I came up?" asked Miss Kelly curiously.
 She was cool and collected now. Her telephone message-if she had been really phoning in some way to have fortified her.
 "Oh, that fellow" I replied with as sumed careessness, that was the manager of the place."
 "What'd he want?"
 Nothing in particular. He just asked if everything was all right Why"
 "He looked to me like bull-like a detective l used to know" she hastily corrected herself.
 Her slip in using the thieves slang phrase served to aid in convincing me that my informant had been correct in his Identification. 1 was as anxious now as the house detective to get her out of the restaurant, and Summoning the waiter hastened to pay my check.
 Let's stay for q couple of dances" she suggested.
 Sorry" I said, ''but I can't dance" mentally adding the words, with you
 Let's go then" she said disappoint- edly, and to my surprise on the way out she renewed the subject of MT. Gaston.
 "You were asking if the old gentle man left forwarding address. He didn't leave any with me. If you find out where he is. will you let me or MT. Wick know? Mir. Wick wants to get in touch with him."
 Something told me then it must have been Mr. Wick she had teephoned to- Probably she had informed him l had been asking about the GastOns' ad- dress and had consulted him as to what answer to give. Putting the girl into taxi I paid her driver to take her home and hurried back into the hotel. I found the house detective James German. l learned his name ! was-waitng for me in the lobby.
 "Was it to the Granddeck she tele phoned?" l asked eagerly.
 Ut was O9O9 Plaza. That's a pri- vate number. I called up information, and she wouldn't tell me where it was. I'll find out tomorrow, though. There's other ways besides through informa- tiOn.'"
 If you find out you'l phone me TlSnt away. WOb Jou' 'ShSu hiA'' giving him my card.
 And have Lefty Moore's wife lis tening in," he suggested. "NOthing doing, son. You'd better call me from a public pay station"
 You're right about that" I replied, "and say, look here. Why can't you meet me somewhere tomorrow after noon. There are lot of mysterious things happening in the Granddeck. Maybe you can help me in trying to clear them up."
 "Tt's date. I'll be in the back room of Jim Connor's place over on Third avenue at three o'clock waiting for you"
 ''I'll be there," said, as l oade him good night.
 Hold on minute" he said. Do you know where Lefty bIOore's wife lives now?"
 I recalled the number she had told me to give the taxi man and repeated 1t to him, an address way over on East Sixty-secOnd street near the river.
 "I like to know them sort of things" he explained. "In our business you never know when you'll be needing them."
 On my way home, after left him, l congratulated myself on having made James Germans acquaintance. In him had found man with police and detective experience. The fact that he held responsible position with a big hotel ought to be sufficient voucher | for his honesty. Of course Miss Brad :, ford must be consulted before l met l German the next afternoon. I could l hardly tell him my own almost unhe- l lievable experiences without bringing ] in the attempts to blackmail her sister. l Surely Miss Bradford would not ob- | jech to my plan. We were making ] suf Apoor headway in solving the mys- tG ourselves that was certain she 7 NNelcome Germans advice. ! would it not be surprise to | TT o