Newark leader. ([Newark, Ohio]) 1917-1946, 1925-09-11

pOllllSu llIuc'
"What will you tell him2" sneered
the hunchback
"Why, that his church isn't the only
place where dry-rot has set in. It's
prevalent amongst his pals as well.
Must you go? Straight down the
is only -plate-so you might
leave it."
With a great effort Mr.. Atkinson
pulled himself together.
"Can we come to an understanding,
Captain Drummond" he remarked
quietly 81 can assure you, Of course,
that you have made terrible mistake
in thinking that 1t was l who threw
that bomb at you last night"
"At meT' DrUmmond laughed short
". "Who said you'd thrown 1t at me?
That wasn't the game at all, Snooks
You threw it at the leader Of the Black
Gang"
Cant we put our cards on the
table?" returned the other with studied
moderation. II know that you are
that leader, you know it-thOugh 1t Is
possible that no one else would believe
it. l was wrong to threaten you-1
should have known better;-I apologize
But If l may say so 1 have had my
punishment. Now as man to man
can we come to termsW
IL am waiting" said Hugh briefly.
Kindly be as concise as possible"
"Those diamonds, Captain Drum
mond Rightly or wrongly I feel toll
erably certain that you either have
them in your possession, or that you
know where they are. Now, those dia-
monds were not mine-did you speak?
No. Well-to resume. The diamonds
were not mine; they had been de-
posted In the desk in my office un-
known to me. Then this fool-WhOm
you foolishly think was myself-threw
the bomb into the office to kill you. l
admit it. he told me all about it. He
did not kill you, for which fact, If l
may say so, am very glad. You're
sportsman, and you've fought like a
sportsman-but our fight, Captain
Drummond, has been over other mat
ters. The diamonds are side-show
and hardly concern you and me. I'll
be frank with you; they are the sole
wealth saved by a Russian nobleman
from the Bolshevist outrages. He de-
posted them in my office during my
absence with the idea of my selling
them for him-and now he and his
family must starve. And SO what l
propose is"
II don't think l want to hear your
proposal, SnoOks," said DrummOnd
kindly. Doubtless l look a fool
doubtless I am a fool, but l like to
think that I'm not a congenital idiot.
I'm glad you have discovered that it's
not much use threatening me; but to
tell you the strict truth, prefer
threats to nauseating hypocrisy. So
much so In fact that the thought of
that starving nobleman impels me to
take more exercise. Ever read alice
in Wonderland" Snooks? A charming
book-a masterpiece Of English litera-
ture. And there Is one singularly
touching, not to say fruity, bit which
concerns Father William-and a gen.
teel young man."
With a look of complete bewilder-
ment on his face Mr.. Atkinson felt
himself propelled through the door,
until he came to halt at the top Of
the stairs.
"It's little poem, Snooks, and some
day l will recite 1t to you. Just now
l can only remember the one singular
ly beautiful line which has suggested
my new form Of exercise"
Mr.. Atkinson became aware of
boot In the lower portion of his back,
and then the stairs seemed to rise up
and hit him. He finally came to rest
in the hall against an old oak chest of
the pointed-corner type, and for mo-
ment or two he lay there dazed. Then
he scrambled to his feet to find three
young men, who had emerged from
lower room during his flight, gazing at
him impassively; while standing at the
top Of the stairs down which he had
just descended and outlined against a
window was the huge, motionless fig
ure Of Drummond. Half cursing, half
sobbing, he staggered to the front door
and opened 1t. Once more he looked
back-not one of the four men had
moved. They were just staring at him
in absolute silence, and, with a sud
den feeling Of pure terror, Count
Zadowa, alias Mr.. Atkinson, shut the
door behind him and staggered into the
sunlit street.