The Challis messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1912-current, 1921-10-05

scrubwOmen and a Waterman or two
A tenant might slip in at such N
hour, yet he would be fortunate indeed
to escape the observation OF some Sns
| along the halls, or on tie staircase
felt confident q careful questioning
among the night employees would stve
some line on the identity Of the man.
even II there should prove no other
means Of locating him.
One thing was settled; mnst 90
back to the hotel III was to pay my
bill and depart | would lose all con-
nection with Marie Gessler; she would
then possess no mems Of finding me.
] could not seek her, hut she possessed
my address. and must surely endeavOr
to communicate with me before night.
The only thing. then. was to remain
and wait for her to call. Yet this
surely exposed me to the danger Of
arrest. II WaldrOn named me to the
police In connection with the death of
Harris.
Yet BY this time l was firmly con.
vinced that the Russian would either
lie outright In the afYair-claiming that
Harris injuries had resulted wholly
from fall downstairs in the dark
or else would swear them upon some
unknown invader who had escaped
after knocking him senseless. Certain.
" he would never reveal the truth,
unless compelled to do 40. To do 30
would queer his whole game.
That 10. 1t would II his game was
anything a. I had doped 1t out. II
he, working alone. or with some
accomplice, as now appeared more
probable. had heen concerned Ii the
Alva murder. his main object at pres
ent would assuredly BE- to escape de-
lection. and get q division Of the
spoils. His one desire would Be to
remain out Of sight. and In order to
do this he must shield me from arrest.
I awoke at eleven, rested and with
q clear brain. Nothing had occurred
to disturb me. and. as l looked at the
watch and realized the hour, felt no
longer a doubt but what Waldron had
found some way In which to protect
us both. Eager to look over the noon
editions myself, l dressed rather
hurriedly, and descended to the lobby.
The paper secured was devoid of par.
ticulars, "Gentleman George" Harris,
we'll known to the police, had been
found dead in the hallway of a room
ing house on LIE Compile street, oper-
ated by Mrs. Sarah Waldron. II
is believed to have been q thieves
quarrel from the evidence Of those in
the house, who heard the sounds of a
struggle, and saw strange man
escape through the front door. There
were no arrests, although the police
were searching for certain parties who
might be implicated.
So far so good but now what about
the Russian? He had evidently escaped
suspicion, yet would be far from easy
In his own mind. The situation in
which he found himself would only
serve to increase his desire to secure the
money, and get safely away while the
going was good. If he actually knew
where such money was to be had.
he would scarcely delay seeking it.
If he had personally hidden that bag
Of currency taken from Alva, he
would be after the stuff within twenty.
four hours; while if another held 1t.
he would as surely seek the fellow
out, and demand his share. This gave
me two lines to follow; might locate
Waldron, and shadow him; or might
see what discoveries could make in
the Colmar building. The better
chance seemed to me lay in Broad
street. | ate deliberate lunch,
planning how best to proceed. and
hoping some bellboy would call me to
the telephone. l finished the meal
uninterrupted
Both Wall and Broad streets were
busy enough when l elbowed my
passage through the shifting crowds
of men hurrying in every direction,
and, reached the edge of the curb,
gazed upward at the ornamental front
Of the Colmar building.
l took an elevator to the twelfth floor,
and walked Slowly from end 10 end
" wv biS NHil INVI. tue
names on the glass doors as | passed.
met but few people and attracted
no attention, passing down the STAIR
way to the floor below. Growing more
pessimistic as l proceeded, had
the fifth floor, when, as l
turned at the front of the iron stairs,
my glance rested on the letters stem
riled along the frosted glass op-
Mutual Investment Company.
Casper wine, Manager" stopped
still, my heart beating wildly, feel
Ing that l had stumbled blindly On
The very thing | had been seeking.
Casper Wine was the name of the
nan who. through accident, had opened
10 me the door leading into the Alva
factory; the man who had left me
llone In the entry while he disappeared
10 talk with Alva privately In the
little side-roOm. Casper Wine! For
he first time l really believed the
Did hack driver was right-he had
'ctuall! picked up just such a fare,