The Washington times., 1920-09-26

agreed. ~ II seemed the only
thing to do. II was arranged that
J should stay In the house and not
70 out. And then Mr.. 6orran came
and found me and told me that my
sister Lucy was dead. II 10 all very
terrible, and I don't know what
shall say to my mother"
Inspector Dolan's attitude was
non n-committal.
"If you believe all that was told
you, Miss Wnding-by Wesm and
by Mr.. 6orrsn--you must have
reasoned that. your sister being
dead. NO harm could have come to
you had you been arrested. Why.
then. did you allow them to make
that elaborate subterfuge In order
to get you from the house!"
THAT was my doing. Inspector"
put In Sorran. II knew. Of course.
that you would be bound to arrest
her In the light OF your facts. And
I happen TO have made q promise
to Mrs. Wilding concerning thu
welfare OF her daughter which !
intended-and intend--to keep
Il see." said the other man cold
ly. "You considered yourself free
to conspire with men you knew to
be criminals In order to defeat the
police"
sorran had NO intention of let
ting that pass.
II consider that my position a. o
private detective gives me . FREQ
dom OF action which would be I'm
possible to one In an official posi-
tion,s he said impressively. Il
have always used that freedom-as
/ have used 1t In this case-to as
sist your department. II you are
dissatisfied with my methods, In.
spector. you can arrest Miss Wild
ing for the murder and myself for
being an accessory. Your depart
ment VIII thus be relieved OF the
embarrassment Of my eccentric
methods.
'"But I'm getting horribly hungry.
Miss Wilding has kindly consented
to dine with me tonight. WIN you
come along and join US and III tell
you the whole yarn"
Inwardly Inspector Dolan fumed.
Il was the most important case his
department had ever handled, and
here was the man who knew more
about It than anybody proposing
what amounted to sheer waste OF
time. He would have liked to re-
fuse, but he had already had fore
taste of the penalties for putting
Sorran in bad humor.
Thanks, I'd like to-" he said.
glancing apxiously at the clock
over his desk. Where did you
think OF going. may I ask"
"The Astorbilt." replied Sorran
promptly, "if you have the nerve to
face 1t in morning dress"
AS he spoke there was that In his
eye which made the Inspector an
swer:
"Sure, let's make 1t the Astor-
bilt,.
To Dolan's unconcealed annoy
ance Sorran refused to discuss the
case over dinner. After dinner
Sorran suggested that they sit a
while in the lobby.
To Inspector Dolan 1t seemed the
most unsuitable place In the world
for their discussion. He was only
prevented from protesting by an
instructive feeling that sorran had
chosen the place with a definite OBJ.
ject, Of which he would know the
reason later.
Sorran, as was his custom.
plunged into his account without
preliminary.
"The brilliant blackguards who
planned this stunt made one mis-
take only. They omitted to ascer-
tain at what time the houseman Of
the Lafayette is in the habit of
polishing the brass-work of the
outer door. But for that mistake
nothing short Of miracle would
have prevented your department
from carrying out their scheme for
them. namely, that you should
secure the arrest and ultimate con-
viction of Miss Rosemary Wilding
for the murder, of which even now
she knows considerably less than
you and I. As a result of that mis-
take was able to get from the
houseman, a fellow Of unusually
alert intelligence, description OF
the car to which Miss Wilding has
already referred, which, In spite On
q change of e-plate en- route,
eventually enabled me to find my
way to the curiosity shop in Chris
tOpher street.
Sorran paused. He had caught
himself in the act OF describing the
details of his detective work.
II am sorry" he said to Inspector
Dolan. II will give you a clean re-
port, and II you are interested in
the groundwork we can talk about
It later. think I have the whole