Evening star., 1924-01-20

the driver and walked to house on
Stuyvesant Square. He opened the
front door with latch key, so
figured that was where he lived and
I was safe to leave him. I got an
other taxi and beat it up here. Me
brother Dan is working for you.
Am II"
"You are" said Pelham. "At the
same salary. Now give me the num-
bers of those houses again.
The boy handed him a dirty piece
of paper on which he had written the
numbers. Pelham nodded commenda-
tion and went to the telephone. He
called up Mr.. Robert Bleakie, and a
moment later was talking to that
gentleman: Mr.. Bleakie, John Wilkie
lives on Gramercy Park. and Will
liam Smathers lives on Washington
square. Please tell me the names
and addresses OF four other friends
of your partner who are also col
lectors OF precious things"
"Tom Bartholomay lives at No. -
Fifth avenue. Sam Harding lives
two doors from him. Phil Riley lives
at No. East Thirty-ninth street,
and Ben Thompson at No. - Madi-
son avenue. What's the idea?"
Pelham's laugh was excited. I'm
not sure, but-your partner told me
that Wilkie and Smathers were SELL
ing their collections. Can you tell
me If the other four arc doing the
same thingT
"They are" replied Bleakie. "And
their business associates are as wor-
ried as I am. They refused to see
their friends, just as Tom Horton re-
fused to see me-
Tell them to quit worrying" said
Pelham. And then he hung up.
!; (: x
VENICE contributes exquisitely en-
over the telephone with Jerry
Tryon, and ten minutes after that
he was standing on a corner of
Stuyvesant Square remote from the
house that Ferry had entered. He
had hardly left his taxi when Jerry,
accompanied by half a dozen Of his
operatives, descended from big
limousine. Two other cars followed,
and in all there were twenty men in
the group which Pelham led across
the square.
A few doors from the house which
was their objective. Pelham paused.
Jerry he said, I'm acting on the
widest sort Of theory. Either there
are seven multimillionaires i'm
prisoned in that house, or there are
not. In the latter case, we may pay
an unwilling visit to the police court.
1t is no light offense to batter down
the doors of a respectable private
house. And if I'm mistaken, the
laugh that will go up-''
"We've been ,laughted at lot al
ready. ME. Pelham" replied Jerry
grirnly. Lets CO. -
Beneath their eyercoats four of the
operatives carried axes and crowbars.
The door of the house which Ferry
had entered gave way in thirty sec
onds. Pelham had been tricked be-
fore; this time there were men in
the yard behind and on the roofs of
the adjacent buildings. OF the
twenty-four men that were in the
building not one escaped. And seven
of them did not wish to escape.
Those seven were Tom Horton and
the other muItimilliopaire collectors,
who had suddenly decided to simplify
life by getting rid Of the treasures
which they had spent their lifetime
in collecting.
II said you could write your own
check, and I meant it, said Mr..
Robert Bleakie. He wrote his name
in the right-hand corner of a check,
and pushed the paper over to Pei
ham.
And I said that your words were
sweetly sympathetic. I find your ac-
tfons equally SO. I have already COL
lected ten thousand apiece from six
victims. Ten thousand more will just
about make it right" said Pelham.
Mr.. BIeakie lighted a cigar. And
if you care to tell me just how you
doped it all out, you may make it
eleven thousand" he remarked.
TIL do it for nothing" smiled Pei
ham.
"There was coincidence in seven
men deciding to sacrifice fabulously
valuable collections at the same time"
he began, ''but the coincidence did not
seem important to me until another
coincidence was brought to my atten-
tion. That was the strange disap-
pearancesof Of seven character actors.