New Britain herald., 1924-07-05
NOW COON WITH THE STORY

l
 dressed. then. with cigarettes on a
 stand beside me. pondered the
 strange relationship which l had seen
 evidenced tonight.
 What was the basis of the ae1uain-
 lance between the White Eagle. a
 notorious though unpunished crimi-
 nal, and Mir. and Mrs Josiah Higgins,
 Of Cincinnati. Ohio?
 I wondered that I had not rccog-
 nized the Higginscs at first glance. stiIl, the photographs Of them. which
 had appeared in the American and
 European press. had evidently been retouched 10 degree. And if T\had moi instantly recognized the faces, I
 paid proper tribute 10 the Higgins glory hy immediately identifying their names.
 Who in the newspaper reading
 world had not heard Of Josiah Hig. gins, who had been a rnultimillionaire 1 before the war, and who was now ropularly reputed to he worth at least billion? Statisticians had estimated how many times his for tune. if reduced to dollar bills. would | ' would rebuild the Pyramids If re- duced to silver coins. And other statisticians had solemnly affirmed that 1t cost thirty thousand dollars 10 dress Mrs. Higgins for breakfast. and at least a million and a quarter properly to clothe and ornament her for dinner.
 Their extravagances had become a matter of international awe. Also the queer parsimony that accom- panied their extravaganza was known 10 all the world. Higgins proudly boasted that he never gave a dollar to charity. and that he never lent money. They tipped outrageously, but Higgins haggled with his work men, and was probably the most cor dially hated employer in America.
 They had assailed the gates of fashion in New York, and their re- buffs had become historic. They had failed to impress Mayfair and the Faubourgs as well as Fifth avenue, but they were in a fair way toward creating a fashionable society of their own, if fashion be judged, as it fre-
 
 paper space accorded it.
 And this couple talked confidential ly with such person as the White Eagle! The thought of backmail entered my mind, but I dismissed it at once. If the White Eagle had been threatening the millionaire, the manner of each of them would have partaken of strain. No, they had been talking business.
 What business? What possible business could exist. between the White Eagle and Josiah Higgins? If Higgins had had son or daughter who could have become entangled in some underworld affair, I could un- derstand that the White Eagle had been called upon for aid. But the couple were childless.
 If Higgins were as foolish as he was charitable. I could have guessed at 8 solution of the problem that puzzled me. I could have imagined that the White Eagle was surrep- titiously disposing of stolen goods to the millionaire. But Higgins was too sane to indulge in that sort of shady IT
 I tossed upon the bed; I fumed and fretted and smoked a score of cigar cites. Somewhere in this relation between the criminal and the million aire lay an opportunity for me. if only I had eyes wherewith to see it.
 For whatever tho relation between and the White Eagle. it must | be something undcrhanded, even | though I could not guess. why the should descend to such 8 matter. The White Eagle was a crook; a crook does only crooked | business, whether his partner be | honest or otherwise. That is axio- | matic. But where in the axiom lay | a profit for me?
 I awoke with headache; I had | slept little. and that little had been l by dreams in which the | White Eagle took fortune from Josiah Higgins, while I looked on, powerless to abstract the fortune | from the so-called supercrook.
 l tried to cat breakfast; but the combination of too much wine and too little sleep had killed my appetite. ""o iitf 'oust ltotlts5, anu SO I "tHt for a walk. l crossed to the Left | Bank. wandering aimlessly, my mind intent on the puzzle, solution of which felt meant profit to me. and finally found myself in the neighborhood Of the Iuxerbourg. The walk had cleared my head, and appetite had come to me. walked on 10 Foyot's and ordered breakfast. Food put me in more philosophical frame of mind. After all, l might be deluding myself; Higgins might have made the acquaintance of notorious crook simply for the sake of the thrill that some people gain from such an ac- luaintance. At any rate, it did not oehoove me to wear out my nerves n imagining problems that. having 10 existence. could have no solution.
 And yet ] was ashamed of these re- 1ections; for after all, they were simply confessions of my own in- ability to meet situation and make t yield profit.
 Despite my resolutions. then. to mink no more of Higgins and the white Eagle. they were both in my mind as. turning corner into the Rue des Saints Peres, l collided with