The Kenna record. (Kenna, Roosevelt County, N.M.) 190?-1924, 1921-07-29
The Mystery Of By ss saas''
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means, did he expect to get his hands
on such a fortune?
My mind reverted to the fragment
Of letter which had sent me on this
mad chase, to its mention of letter
Of credit to be deposited with the
banker, Krantz, to the credit Of the
recipient. The writer had stated that
the sum would be found ample for all
needs. But a million dollars Could
it be possible that so large an amount
would be thus advanced? If so, then
the result hoped for must be proper
tionately important. To whom had
this letter been sent-Alva, who mp
parently was the active leader here in
New York, or the revolutionary repre-
sentative in Washington, seemingly
known as Mendez2 Whichever II was,
that man evidently had the disposition
Of this vast sum entirely at his dis
posal; either 1t was already in his
hands or so deposited as to be quickly
available. In my judgment the fell
low would be Alva, for sundry rea-
sons; first, he had been one of the men
registered at the hotel when the lac
quered box was lost and second, the
expenditure Of this money was SEEM
ingly intended to be made in and a. out
the port of New York-if / read the
message right, In the purchase of arms
and munitions for shipment to South
America perhaps the enlistment Of
body of fighting men.
So far the matter was fairly clear
Alva as the local revolutionary agent
had been intrusted by the junta gith
this money to spend in a certain def
mite way; but he must work under
strict orders coming from the head
quarters at Washington. He dare not
assume the initiative without the 20.
X" of the man higher up-Mendez.
Something had occurred to delay ac-
ton; that made no difference, but now
the time had come. Mendez, unable to
be present in person, and even fearful
to permit any of his well-known junta
representatives to appear in this con-
nection, had chosen to send q woman,
who would be unsupported, to deliver
to the conspirators his definite plan Of
action. All this seemed reasonable
enough, and in no way surprised me.
But the appearance of the woman
did, and also the close intimacy Of this
man Harris She was not criminal, not
even Of the insurrectionary class to my
eyes, and / could not imagine what in
fiuence had ever induced her to accept
such commission. Something about
her personality, some underlined quality
Of wcmanhOOd, had made definite i'm
preston upon my mind, not to be eff
faced. Everything was against her
the saloon In which she waited alone;
her coming there secretly In the night;
the meeting with an unknown man
the accompanying him up that black
alley to this hidden rendezvous of con-
spiracy. Every act stamped her as I'M
worthy.
In spite of all this evidence as to the
truth of the matter, nothing harmO-
nized. She did not belong-the gulf
was too wide. Yet there was no other
explanation posslble-she was actually
here, In the den of conspiracy, alone
among all these men, unafrald, the
recognized representative of the
Chilean revolutionary junta, bringing
with her direct from Washington those
final Instructions for which they walt
ed--instructions, no doubt, involving
Immortality, destruction, death, fright
fulness, the extinction of a friendly
government; ali this that could be COM
passed by the expenditure of million
dollars in ruthless hands. 1t was I'M
thinkable, yet every evidence proved 1t
true.
There came TO me an insane desire
to overhear what she had to say; to
watch her once more, when free to
study->her unnoticed, and to see this
gang to whom she brought her mes
sage. Almost without realizing my ac-
ton / crept In the dark out into the
narrow passage and felt my way
along the rough board walls. AS ad-
vanced cautiously the full ingenuity
with which the place had been pre-
pared for just this foul purpose be-
came more apparent. The narrow
passage / followed, my hands touching
either wall, was not straight, but
curved to the right, and 1t dawned
upon me that it skirted the main apart
ment, where, in all probability, the
conference was being held. This ac-
counted for the fact that no CLEAN Of
light was visible, and that, in antlcipa-
tlon of their use, separate aud small
rooms had been constructed, connected
together yet so Isolated as to permit
i -.
Harris had left me In, and now