Gunnison news-champion., 1924-03-28
tConti.ued from pae. six)


s,gns of scme change In their DE-
meanoe towards eoe another. The
cold prupriesy oe department which
had characterized her former attitude
towards her father. seemed - have
given place to something mcee uncer-
tain to snmeshins iess formal. some
thing which left room even for .
measure of ccrdlaiity. She looked a.
him differently. u was ~ though
some evil thought which lived In her
heart concerning him had perished.
you are busy over there. fatherY'
she asked
-ln . way be replied we are
lsspsrias ssr sosas fsssivissss -
Thuspday..
Her fAee Ssll
-AnothR partyP
-oss noes.- - rspaSed sresAaps
- lase-eoe ths prsssnt st sny rata"
n vaits1 - sheagA expscting hin
- RvlaiA He eAaiesa ~ ssAJoeG
howsves.
Z tAiak yss sss wiss q sua y y
town this nosnins." ~ said. siaocing
up at ths gray skisA sDy-theSye.
U 200 dine at Cas8oo serest tpaight.
= ask Hedges to serve 20 sssss q
the 70 Cliquot. A marvellous wine.
~ you doubtless know. Ledsam. bot
II should b drunk. -Au rsvoirr
Francis. after Q pleasant lunch at
Ranelagh. and having arranged With
Margaret 10 dine with her In Curxon
street. spent an hour or two that AFT
leaving. just before ave. he came face
to face with Shopland descending
from . taxi
-Are roo busy. Mr.. Ledsamr' the
latter inquired. Gan you spare me
half an hourr
IAN hour. II you Ike Francis a.
sented.
shopland gave the driver an ad-
dress and the two men seated them
selves In the taxicab.
ANY newsr Francis asked curl
ously.
.Not yet" wns the cautious reply.
TT will not be long. however"
before you discover Reggie wil.
morer'
The detective smiled In q superior
way.
4 am no longer particularly inter
ested In Mr.. Reginald wilmore." he
declared. Il have come to the con-
ciuslon that hi. disappearance Is not
serious affair"
ITS serious enough for his reia-
tivea." Francis objected.
-Not II they understood the situa-
tion." the detective rejolned. Assure
them from me that nothing Of conse-
quence has happened to that young
man. I have made inquiries At the
gymnasium In HOlborn, and In other
directions. am convinced that his
absence from home IL voluntary. and
that there II no cause for alarm o.
to his weIfare~
Then the sooner you make your
way down to Kensington and tell his
mother 20. the better" Francis said.
little severely. .Don't forget that
I put you. onto this."
quite right, sir" the detective &C
qulesced. ''and am grateful to you.
The fact Of II Il that In making my
preliminary investigations with re-
gard to the disappearance Of Mr.. VII
more. have stumbled upon Q bigger
thing. Before many weeks arc past.
hope to be able to unearth one Of
the greatest scandals Of modern
times.'
E The deviii' Francis muttered.
He looked thoughtfully, almost anx-
iously at his companion. Shopland's
face reflected to the full his usual
confidence. He had the air Of q man
buoyant with hope and with stiaed
self-satisfaction.
II am engaged" he continued.
upon Q study Of the methods and
habits Of one who I believe to be .
great criminal. ! think that when
place my prisoner in the bar, VAIN
wright and these other great arttsts
In crime WIN fade from the memory"
"Is Sir Timothy Brast your manr'
Francis asked quietly.
His companion frowned portsn-
tously.
No Names" he begged.
'Considering that II was who nrst
put you On 70 him." Francis expos-
tulated " don't think you need be 20
sparing Of your confidence"
.3fr. Ledsam." the detective assured
him. Il shall tell you everything that
b possible At the seme time. VIII
BE- frank with you. You are right
when you ny that Il was you who
1rst directed my attention towards
Sir Timothy Brast. Since that time.
however. your own relations with him.
to IN onlookes. have become . little
pushing"
II zee" Francis murmured. "You've
been spying on mer'
Shopland shook his head In deprs-
eating fashion.
"A study Of Sir Timothy during the
last month" he said, has brought you
many time into the f0cus."
Francis for the nrst time was con-
nrf0na NJ IN uffor1v s1ou ensSHs fe0n