The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1922-09-06
The Lady of the Night Wind

man might appear on the veranda;
but when, after a reasonable time, he
did not do that, julius entered the
house at the rear, assembled to the
third floor, and deliberately tapped at
BeIknap's door, with an excuse ready
if the man we're there to answer.
There was no response, so julius
turned the knob and entered the room.
Belknap was not there; the bed
! had not been disturbed and Belknap's
evening clothes had been flung care
lessly across the back of a chair,
showing that he had changed before
he went out.
Julius searched further, then, by
the aid of a small flashlight that he
always Carried for emergency use
around an automobile; and because
he had been the one to direct the
slowing of Belknap's effects when
they came down from the city, he
soon found that a black leather hand
bag which should have been there
was missing.
Julius was gravely puzzled, and he
hurried down the stairs to inform his
master of his discovery. Mis- Kit
ty," he decided, mustn't be bothered
with such trifles."
But Harvard was not to be found
anywhere, and the black, after wait
ing around for a time, figured it out
that Belknap's interview with the
| stranger at the old mill that morn
ing had been for the purpose of per-
fecting plans for the robbery of My
quest that night, and he decided that
he would remain in the grounds and
watch-till daylight, if need be.
There is just one more thing OF
which cognizance must be taken if we
are thoroughly to understand the
events that followed.
Ex-Lieutenant Rodney Rushton
whose services Tom Clancy had re.
tanned for reasons already known tC
US, possessed one gift that had ia
ken him over many difficulties that
might have put a shrewder man al
fault: tenacity of purpose.
Having been directed to "Find out
who Belknap is" he had never haC
an idea of stopping investigation un
til he did find out. Having beer
baked in Arizona and in New Or
leans, he had sent a boy with a cam
era TO the n~eighborhood of inquest
and he had secured a snapshot Of Nh
Conrad Belknap (among others, t.
be sure) without arousing suspicion
He had had that one head of tn
group enlarged and hundreds of tn
engagements had been printed fo
him. He had sent them broadcas
over the country, accompanied b,
the simple request, please identif,
if possible"
1t was by the last mail that Nor
day evening that he received the frs
definite reply-that the first infol
! nation on the subject came to hir
:, that was worth consideration as
. possible clue.
! He realized the Importance of dis
cussing the matter with Clancy witt
= out delay, but a telephone call [
TOMS home informed him that M
If Clancy was staying at inquest fC
Il the entire week, so he called him u
at Harvard's home and announce
that he had something important
discuss and would drive down la
n in the evening.
a Unexpected duties detained him,
10 that it was late when he started, bl
he called Tom up again in the meal
IS time and asked that he should me
him at the lodge gate at IL, whit
was the earliest that he could G
re there, possibly.
he Truly, that forthcoming midnig
promised to be replete with incident
ID as it already was with appointment
and su~rveillances.
". Katherine was to seek Belknap b
meath the box-elder by the lake aft
ne midnight. Roberta and Carruthe
go had made the same appointment, a
nor the Night Wind was already on t
.af spot waiting. Black Julius was /
ST on the trail of Belknap. Betty h
planned to watch the senorita, a
vn Rushton and Clancy were also to
abroad that night.