Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1924-06-03
TIE START OF TIE STORY

In lull of a Great war battle four
men are thrown together-a mysteri-
Gus Englishman, another who has been
a valet. polished Frenehma A. and an an
after he has heard the others discuss
their underwood careers and agree to
join forces after the war After the
armistice Captain Francis Newcombe
amateur criminologist, a series of UNI
canny robberies over which all London
is agog.
SHADOW" Varne
The eX-captain of territorials
stared. ..-
Good Lord, sir" he gasped out.
"You-you can't mean that"
lust that" A grim 'brusqueness
had crept into the old baronet's
voice. And one of these days /
propose to prove it,"
But. sir"-the ex-captain of ter
ritoriais in his amazement was still
apparently cropping out for his bear
ings-"in that case, the authorities
surely you-"
They Were very polite at Scot
land Yard-very." The old baronet
smiled dryly again.
The theory of the Yard is that the
man | believe to be guilty of these
crimes of today died somewhere
around the middle stages of the
war"
by Jove." Captain Francis New
combe leaned sharply forward on
the arms of his chair. You don't
say"
The old baronet wrinkled his
brows. and was silent for a moment.
It's quite extraordinary.". he
said at last, with a puzzled smile
Did you ever hear of a man called
Shadow Varne?''
Captain Francis Newcombe shook
his head.
Possibly. them said the old
'baronet, you may remember the
robbery at Lord Sections place? 1t
was during the war"
NO.. said the other thoughtfully.
Il can't say | do. We'll, perhaps
you wouldn't" nodded the old baro-
net.
THE point is that the robbery at
LORD Sections is amazingly like each
and every one of this series of rob-
berries that is taking place today.
There is only one difference. In the
case of Lord Section, the iewels-it
was principally a jewel robbery
were eventually recovered. They
We're found in Paris in the posses
sion of Shadow Varne. But"-the
old baronet smiled a little grimly
ogain-'the police We're not to blame
for that"
L do not know how Shadow Varne
got TO Paris; l simply know that,
had he not taken sick. neither he
nor the jewels would ever have
been found. But perhaps I am get
ting q little too far ahead. / think
ought to say that Shadow yarne.
though he had never actually UP to
this time been known in a physical
sense to the police, had established
Ior himself widespread and inter-
national reputation. His name hero
I0r instance, among the criminal
elements of our own East End was
2 sort OF talisman, something To
conJure with, as it were. though M
one could ever be found who had
seen or could tell how he got the
name Shadow. S
But II this is so. II no one knew
MIN. or had ever seen him." said the
eN-captain OF territorials in a pug
ZIed way, how was he recognized
as Shadow Varne in Paris?"
II am coming to that" said the
old baronet quietly. "As you knoH
very well. in those days they were
always poking into every rat hole in
Paris for draft evaders. sThat is
how they stumbled on Shadow
Varne. They dug him out of one of
those holes, a very filthy hole, like
a rat-like a very sick rat. The
man was raving in deIirium. That
is how they knew they had caught
Shadow Varne-because in his de-
lirium he disclosed his identity.
And that IS how they recovered
Lord Sections jewels"
However. Shadow varne was
even then too much for them-at
least temporarily. A few nights
later he escaped from the hospital:
but he was still too sick a man to
stand the pace. and they were too
close on his heels. The chase ended
somewhere on the bank of the Seine.
He was fired at here as he ran. and
though quite few yards in The
lead, he appeared to have been hit.
Tor he was seen to stagger. fall,
then recover himself and go on. He
refused to halt. They fired and hit
him again--or so they believed. He
fell to the ground--and rolled over
the edge into the water. And that
was the last that was ever seen OF
him."
my word" CALCULATED the ex-
captain of territorials again That's
a nice end, And I must cav WITH