Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1921-09-28

men you will probably have to kill. :"
| Her companion lit another cigarette.
"What is his particular worry?"
! First and foremost the brute wants
TO marry me-" replied the girl.
81 loathe being obvious said Hugh,
"but l am not surprised"
But it isn't that that matters" She
looked at Drummond quietly. Henry
| darlington is the second most danger
| Gus man in England"
"Only the second" murmured Hugh.
| '"Then hadn't l better start my career
| with the frst?"
F.! She looked at him in silence. 81
| suppose you think that I'm hysterical,"
| she remarked after a while. You're
probably even wondering whether I'm
all there"
Drummond fiicked the ash from his
cigarette, then he turned to her dis
! passionately. you must admit" he
remarked, that up to now our CONVEX
| satiOn has hardly proceeded along
! conventional lines. / am a complete
| stranger to you; another man who is
! a complete stranger to me speaks to
| you while we're at tea. You inform
me that l shall probably have to kill
| him in the near future. The state
ment is, think you will agree, a
trifle disconcerting."
| The girl threw back her head and
laughed merrily. "You poor young
man." she cried put that way it does
| sound alarming" Then she grew Sc
riOus again. There's plenty of time
for you to back out now if you like"
| She was looking at him gravely as
| she spoke, and it seemed to her COM
! panion that there was an appeal in
/ the big blue eyes. And they were very
! big: and the face they were set in was
very charming especially at the angle
| it was tilted at, in the half-light of the
| room. Altogether, Drummond reflect
ed, most adorable girl. And ador-
able girls had always been hobby of
his. Probably darlington possessed a
letter of hers or something, and she
| wanted him to get it back. Of course
/ he would, even if he had to thrash the
| swine to within an inch of his life.
/ "Well =" The girls voice cut into
his train of thought and he hurriedly
pulled himself together.
+ '"Fhe last thing / want is for the
! incident to finish,'' he said fervently.
"Why-it's only just begun"
"Then you'll help me?'
I, That's what I'm here for" With a
smile Drummond lit another cigarette.
'Tell me all about it,"
''The trouble" she began after mo-
ment, lis that there is not very much
to tell. At present it is largely guess
| work, and guess work without much of
| clue. However, to start with, had
better tell you what sort of men you
are up against. Firstly, Henry LAX
| ington-the man who spoke to me. He
was, believe, one of the most brilliant
! scientists who has ever been up at
| Oxford. There was nothing, in his
! own line, which would not have been
! open to him. had he run straight. But
! he didn't. He deliberately chose to
| turn his brain to crime. Not vulgar
| common sorts of crime-but the big
J things, calling for a master criminal
He has always had enough money to
| allow him to take his time over any
| coup-to perfect his details. And
! that's what he loves. He is quite UNI
! scrupulOuS; he is only concerned in
pitting himself against the world and
| winning"
! can engaging fellah," said Hugh.
'What particular form of crime does
he favor?"
Anything that calls for brain, iron
| nerve, and refinement of DETAIL" she
answered. principally, up to date
burglary on big scale, and murder"
my dear soul! !" said Hugh incredu
lousy. How can you be sure? And
why don't you tell the police?"
She smiled YEARLY. Because I've
got no proof, and even if had s. ;"
| She gave a little shudder, and left her
sentence unfinished. But one day, my
| father and / were in his house, and,
by accident, l got into room I'd new
er been in before. On a desk lay
| some miniatures and, without think
! ing, picked them up and looked at
; them. | happen to know something
about miniatures, and, to my horror, 1
recognized them. Do you remember
the theft of the celebrated Vatican
miniatures belonging to the duke of
Melbourne?"
Drummond nodded; he was begin
ming to feel interested.
"They were the ones I was holding
in my hand" she said quietly. "And
| just as was wondering what on earth
to do, the man himself walked into
the ROOM
Awkward deuced awkward"
| Drummond pressed out his cigarette
and leaned forward expectantly.
"What did he do?'
"'Admiring my treasures? he re-