Gunnison news-champion., 1924-04-04
sir Ilnethr .nned

I-d uat left. be answered y want
yDu 10 be present q; this forthcoming
Interview. VOC are 10 CERTAIN extent
in the game I thoasht IL might amu~e
yDG--
Francis FOR the hrsr time was aware
thzf HE host Vas not alone The
room. with It's odd splashes Of light.
as fun Of shadows. and he saw now
that In an sasy-chzir = little distance
q gaay from Sir Timothy. a giri vas
s-ated Behind her. stiu standing.
Nth his hat n his hand was q man
Francis recognized them both with
sgTri>e-
Miss Hys,op,- he exclaimed.
She nodded little dehAntiy. Sir
Timothy smiled
"AhT- he sald You know the
Young lady. without q doubt; Mr.
>10piani. your coadjutor in various
a"rks Of philanthropy. you recognize.
Z c0urssf I do not mind confessins
o. you. Ledsarn. that I am very much
afrait Of Mr. Stapland am no, at
OIL sure that he has not warrant for
uy arrest In his packet
The detective came a llitI. further
info the light He was a,tlr.d In an
al ai;lns dinner suit. sof,-fronted
shirt Of unpleasinE design. a collar Of
the wrong shape. and badly arranged
ne. He seemed. nevertheless. very
r.eased with himself
4 came on here. Mr I,edsam, n, sir
TimOihy's DESIRE he said Il should
Ike you 10 understand he added
a IN a covert glance Of warning. THAT
I have been deyoiins every effort. dur
.us the last few days. TO the discovery
q your friends brother. Mr. Reginald
WIImore"
/ am very glad to hear IT. Francis
replied shortly. The boys brother
s one of my greatest friends
4 have come 10 the conclusion the
detective pronounced. thai the youns
man has been abducted. and is being
detained at The .WaS-d House against
his will for some Illegal purpose
In other respecis,- Sir Timothy
said, stretching out his hand toward
O cedar-wood box Of cigarettes and Sc
lcCt!ng one, this man seems quite
sane. have watched him very closely
IN the way here. but could see no
.,gns of mental alteration. | do not
think. at any rate, that he is danger
Gus"
Sir Timothy" Shopland explained.
Sith some anger In his tone. declines
to take me seriously. can of course
apply for search warrant. as I shall
10, hut II occurred to me to be one of
those cases which could be better dealt
with. up to a certain point. without
recourse To the extremi,ies OF the law
Sir Timothy. who had III his clga-
rette, presented wholly undlsturbed
front.
What ! cannot quite understand
he said. is the exact meaning OF that
word abduction Why should be
suspected Of forcibly removing a harm
less and worthy young man from his
regular ayocatlon. and. as you term Il.
abducting him. which I presume means
keeping him bound and gagged and I'M
pr.soned, | do not eat young men.
] do not even care for the society of
young men. ] am not naturally gre
curious person. but think would 20
80 far" he added. with bow toward
Miss HysIop, ''ss TO say that I prefer
the society Of young women. Satisfy
my curiosity. therefore. beg Of you.
For what reason do you suppose that
have been concerned in the disap-
pearance OF this Mr.. Reginald VII
more7'
Francis opened his lips. but Shop
land, with a warning glance. inter
yened
Il work sometimes as q private per
son. sir he said, but II Is not to be
forgotten that l am an officer Of the
law. II Is not for US TO state motives
or even to afford explanations for our
behavior. have watched your
house at Hatch End. Sir Timothy. and
| have come TO the conclusion that
unless you are willing to discuss this
matter with me in different spirit.
am justified In asking the magistrates
for q search warrant"
Sir Timothy sighed.
"Mr. Ledsam." he said, Il think,
after all. that yours Is the most inter
esting end Of this espionage business.
II II you who search for motives. Is II
not, and pass them on 10 our more au-
tomato friend. who does the rest. May
I ask. have you supplied the motive in
the present caseT'
Il have failed to discover any mo
tive at al for Reginald wilmore's dis
appearance" Francis admitted. nor
have I at any time been able to con-
meet you with II. Mr. Shopland's ef.
forts, ho&ever. although he has not
seen well to take me into his entlra
confdence. have my warmest approval
and sympathy. Although have &C.
cepted your very generous hospitality.
Sir Timothy. I think there has been no
misunderstanding between MS on this
matter"
"Most correct" Sir Timothy muir
INJURED The trouble seems to be. %