Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-05
SIXTEENTH INsTALLMENT.

OHNSON returned to his hotel.
And when dinner was over, max
ing some excuse, he went down.
~ stairs, found q corner in the
smoking room, fenced himself In
it behind q table, and after ordering
cup of strong black coffee began TO
rummage in an outside pocket OF his
coat. The rummaging led to the pro-
duction of q small package Of brown
paper, carefully tied up with string.
This, unrolled, yielded a smaller pack
age of loaded paper; this, still more
carefully unrolled, proved to contain a
large, fat cigar, which Johnson smelled,
rubbed against his ear and otherwise
put to the test. He locked at 1t aftec-
tionately as he felt for his match box.
The gift Of Paunceford. K. c." muir
INJURED johnson. Might have well as
labeled it Not to be smoked in hurry
or Only to be smoked on very spe-
cial OCCASION for I've had it three
months! Reckon it'd cost old p. quite
5 bob, this cigar. Well, here's for it,
He put match to the cigar and,
after q pull or two at 1t, and sip OF
his coffee, folded his arms and proceed
ed to reflect. Men came and went IN
the smoking room but johnson took no
heed of their comings and goings. He
smoked his big cigar through, appre-
ciatively and leisurely, himself wrapped
in deep meditation. But when he laid
the final inch of it-regretfully-in the
ash tray before him he muttered five
short words to himself, as If this in
diligence in an unusual luxury had
brought an inspiring idea.
THAT must be it-thatE'
What that was did not then appear,
for johnson, without saying goodnight
to his associates upstairs, repaired to
I.I. - ~ fNRtr1 hnG after
reading q chapter of THE Compleat
Angler" pocket edition of which he
carried with him wherever he went, fell
fast asleep-and slept like a top until
half-paSt next morning, when he
woke suddenly, got out of bed on the
instant and began to dress. AS the town
clock struck he let himself out of the
hotel and walked across the market
place towards the ancient town hall.
There was scarcely soul about, IN
square or adjacent streets, at that hour,
and johnson, who, as an early riser by
habit, had been up and around the
town every morning since his arrival,
knew that he would have no difficulty
in carrying out plan he had formed
during his cogitations in the smoking
room. He had noticed in his prowllngS
before breakfast that just after 8 O'Clock
each morning q man, evidently care
taker of the town hall, opened its front
doors, threw them wide, and immediate
ly vanished through an inner door into
the basement, in which he, presumably,
had his own private quarters. john
sons notion was to get into the place
as soon as the man had done his Joo
and disappeared, and once in, to have
thorough examination of the interior,
For he had already got an idea. The
town hall q building of which you could
reckon the age in centuries, abutted on
an outer wall of the castle, and what
johnson wanted to know was whether
there as q door communicating between
the two edificeS. II there was -.
The caretaker appeared, opened his
doors with bang. shifted the morning air
in a careless glance around the market
place, and vaniShed-no doubt, in pur-
suit of his early breakfast. And john
son slipped inside, and within minute
had sped up the stairs from the en-
trance hall and was in the court, In
which he had spent so many hours the
previous day. listening to the evidence
against the two soldiers. 1t was big,
gloomy, cavernouS place, fl-lighted. but
Johnson knew exactly what he wanted
in 1t. and, with scarce glance at any