Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1922-10-13
The Mardi Gras Mystery
BY
Fl. BEDFORD JONES

By
BEDFORD-JONES

| dorsed under my signature? Who
taught you business, monkey"
"True," answered the teller suikily.
"Yet the amount"
"Oh, bah!' Chacherre snapped his
/ fingers. "Go and telephone joachim
Fell, you old woman Go and tell
him you do not know his Signature
well, who are you looking at? Am
a telephone, then? You are not hired
to look but to act Get about it."
The enraged and scandalized teller
beckoned confrere. joachim Fell was
telephone Presumably his response
was reass ring, for Chacherre was
presently handed thousand dollars
in small bills, as he requested. He
/ insisted upon counting over the money
at the window with insolent assiduity,
flung final compliment at the teller
and staggered across the lobby. He
was still standing by the entrance
/ when Henry Gramont left the private
Office of the president and passed him
/ by without look.
Toward noon Gramont arrived afOot
at his pension. Behind the garage, in
the alley, he discovered Hammond
busily at work cleaning and polishing
the engine of the car.
"Hello!' he exclaimed, cheerily.
'What luck?"
"Pretty good, cap'n." Hammond
glanced up, then paused
A stranger was strolling toward
them along the alleyway, a jaunty in
dividual who was gayly whistling and
who seemed entirely carefree and
happy. He appeared to have no in
terest whatever in them, and Ham
mond concluded that he was innocu-
Gus.
"They got them prints fine, cap'n.
What's more, they think they've locat-
ed the fellow that made 'em."
"Ah, good work!'' exclaimed Ora
mont "Some criminal?"
Hammond frowned. The stranger
had come to a halt a few feet distant,
flung them jerky, careless nod, and
was beginning to roll a cigarette. He
surveyed the car with a knowing and
appreciative eye. Hammond turned
his back on the man disdainfully.
sYep-a sneak thief they'd pinched
couple of years back; didn't know
where he was, but the prints seemed
to fit him. They'll come up and look
things over sometime today, then go
after him and land him."
Gramont gave the stranger a glance,
but the other was still surveying the
car with evident admiration. If he
heard their words he gave them no
attention.
"Who was the man, then?" asked
Gramont.
"A guy with queer name Ben
Chacherre." Hammond pronounced it
as he deemed correct-as the name
was spelled. "Only they didn't call
him that. Here, I wrote it down."
He fshed in his pocket and pro-
duced a paper. Ggamont glanced at
it and laughed.
ooh, Chacherre! I" He gave the
name the Creole pronunciation.
"Yep, Sasherry. l expect they'll
come any time now-said two bulls
would drop in"
"All right" Gramont nodded and
turned away, with another glance at
| the stranger. "Ill not want the car
today nor tonight that know of. I'm
not going to the Proteus ball. So your
times your own until tomorrow; make
the most of it"
He disappeared, and Hammond re-
turned to his work. Then he straight
ened up, for the jaunty stranger was
bearing down upon him with evident
intent to speak.
Some car you got there, brotherv'
Ben Chacherre, who had overheard
most of the foregoing conversation,
lighted his cigarette and grinned IA
miliarly "Some car, eh? All she
needs is some good tires, a new coat
of paint. good steel chassis, and a
new engine"
"Ruh?" snorted Hammond. "Say,
you 'bo, who sold you chips in this
game? Move along!'
Ben grinned anew and rested him
Sell dSd1nSI Il uSdl-Dg CCACIJllOl1S pO1S'
free country, amt itY he in
quired lazily. COR have you invested
your winnings and bought this here
alley?"
Hammond redeemed with anger and
took a step forward The next words
of Chacherre, however, jerked him
sharply into self-control.
'sSeen anything of an aviator's he'll
met around here?"
"Huh?" The chauffeur glared at
his tormentor, yet with sudden, sick
feeling inside his bosom. "Who you
kiddin' now?''
Nobody. / was asking question,
that's all. l was flynn along here last
night in my airplane, and lost my
helmet overheard. Thought maybe
you'd seen it. So long, brotherw
Ill UEn1., @nnoLe ia +ha NnuIn%ru III