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Show ; ; ; . ' . . -d THE STRANGE Tk H h TkTf T7& J O m 9 f I MaTxITTENBERG I"' ' ! cases of MAijdNUM, oesionc LGesmtaiiy -7--! I- ? . : THE THREE ENDS OF THE THREAD. MMiXl'M had had no traiuing and his crude lines of drawing never juined properly; never-j never-j theless, his skeleton commanded ja higher prire per square inch than a niHterpuvo by Velasquez or Kcm-j Kcm-j lnandt. His client, an ordnance manufacturer, watched with absorbed attention wlnle Magnum sketched out in pencil what looked like the section of a. lionevcomb, showjng three, cells; peppered it with Xtl'Js, Oils, and N-N's and scribbled un-derneath un-derneath it a name like a coupled up I freight train, composed mostly of ami-I ami-I dos, hylroxys and diazos, with an on-J on-J phatic underlined iso ahout six inches j rrom the beginning and four and a halt inches from the end. The manufacturer j seemed to appreciate these ervptieisins, j and departed with the precious sketch, I for winch he, had paid J00 guineas, ful-j ful-j ly satisfied. I That same afternoon Magnum was I slamming down the slats of his rolltop desk preparatory to leaving for the day '.vln'ii a t elephone bell shri lied im pcr-iotisl pcr-iotisl v fur his attention. lie took up t he receh or and a hm cred in his !-ave-time manner. ' Magnum spcakinc. ' ' " You 're a eh em ist, a ren 't yon!" as.ked the voice with a percept i.hle twang in it. "If you mean a. chenii:-t's shop no. If you mean an analyst yes, ' 1 snapped Magnum. "If chemist's shop means drug storp not wanted. If analyst means chemist chem-ist von are wanted." "When I need to learn the American language," retorted Magnum, "I'll hire a professor. ! ' Magnum seldom ha it lied prospective clients with gloves and his sharp manner man-ner usually engendered respect. This case seemed to be no exception, for the voice through the wire took an apologetic, tone. "I want to consult you, and if yon ran f i ml the end of my skein of thread, I'll nay well." " My fees come in advance, ' ' mentioned men-tioned the consultant. "If I should happen to fail on an analysis highlv unlikely 1 should return you your money for the sake of my reputation. ' ' ' That 's agreeable to me. Can you come to mv hotel, the Savov? ' ' i "Tonight?" "Yes the matter's urgent." "I'll be with you after dinner." 1 ' Dine wi t h me. ' ' ' 4 Very well, but don 't expect me in evening dress. What name."' ' William I T. Cleveland. ' ' Half an hour later M agnum 's taxi drew up inside the courtyard of the Savoy hotel. ' i A page boy, curling his snub' noe at the scientist s tweed suit, led him to a seat in the lounpe, where Mr. Uee-land Uee-land was sipping at a Manhattan. ' ' Very pleased to make voiir acquaintance, ac-quaintance, ' ' said Mr. Cleveland, w looked twenty years of hard-hit bi ness experience. "Join me. in a cocktail." cock-tail." ' 'Thanks I never need appetizers. The American produced a check, tilled in except for the amount, and a fountain foun-tain pen. "What's your evening worth to you ? ' ' he asked. Magnum 's fees were elast ic, being reckoned at what he judged "the traffic traf-fic would bear." He replied: "Call it j a hundred. ' ' ' Pounds ? ; ' ! 1 1 No guineas. ' ' .Cleveland laughed lightly as he filled j in the sum. "You Britishers are verv j smart, with that guinea device. You use a coin that doesn 't exist in order I to tack an extra t per cent on to your price. 1" take it that ybiCU j return mv dieck if you don't solve my problem?" "Decidedly." "Then let's trickle along to the dining din-ing room and discuss the affair over dinner. ' ' A quiet tabic in a far corner had been reserved for them indeed, the head waiter preferred to pack these tweed-suit people as far. as possible out of sight of his well-dressed diners, and if he could have done so without offense would have enforested them with palms. ' (; Cleveland's story was a peculiar one. After asking for and obtaining a promise prom-ise that Magnum wonleV regard the matter mat-ter as absolutely confidential, the American Amer-ican proceeded to explain that he was a negotiator representing a syndicate of his fellow countrymen interested in the leather industry. A new method of tanning leather had been invented in England, and he had crossed the Atlantic At-lantic to buy the secret of it. After delicate and lengthy negotiations he had managed to come "to terms. "With the head of The firm?" interjected inter-jected Magnum, who had little faith in human nature. Cleveland's hard-bit features tightened. tight-ened. "If I had bought this informa- Kr--i fer i ' f r SI - 1 i '-f U 1 V5V - ZJZjV' iff I 'If you cure to pay me a hundred guineas, I'll tell you where that draft is." tion from an employee of the firm." he asked, "would you prefer to return my check and let it go at that ?" 'J 'in not a court of morals," rejoined re-joined Magnum. ' ' Well, in this case you 've no need to be. My dealings were with the head of the firm, and "if it were necessary I'd give you his name.'' Looking Magnum Mag-num straight in the eye, he paused to allow a request for the name. But the consultant was not greatly interested in the private business ethics of William H. Cleveland, except in so far as they affected himself, lie made a gesture expressive of cu riosity satisfied, satis-fied, and the American proceeded. "This man brought me the details of the process in a recipe occupying both sides of a sheet of the firm V letter-heading, letter-heading, too complicated to carry in one's head. I locked it away in the safe in my bedroom, and paid him the sum agreed upon in the form of a draft on Loudon. That was last night. This morning, when I opened the safe, the recipe had disappeared. ' ' My first impression was that I must have been mistaken as to locking lock-ing it in the safe, and 1 can assure you that T made a search through my effects which would have brought to light a missing cent. My next thought was that the safe must have been burgled during the night, though this seemed mighty unlikely. It stands in my bedroom and has a combination lock. However, I took a train to the country town where the firm have their tannery, and asked the man for a duplicate dupli-cate of the recipe. lie refused to give it declared that I was trying to trick him in some way. : ' "Under the circumstances, a not unreasonable un-reasonable attitude." ' ' I returned to London and tried to stop the draft. But it had already been cleared through the bank. That, combined com-bined with his refusal to give me a duplicate, dup-licate, roused my suspicions. Up to then T had taken him for an honest " "What's the point of all this?" asked M agnum brusquely. "Do you want mo to reproduce this recipe? If so, that's out of all practical question. I'm an analyst, not a clairvoyant." Cleveland laughed pleasantly. "It does sound as though 1 needed a clairvoyant. clair-voyant. ' ' "Or a Scotland Yard man." "Yes, it listens that way, but as a matter of cold fact, 1 need you." " How?" ' We 'II go to my room after this dinner's through, and I'M show you' The bedroom led out of a private sitting sit-ting room. Both were very ordinary hotel rooms, having no more individuality individual-ity than any other resting place for thousands of transients. The only unusual un-usual object was the small steel safe. "Your own?"' asked Magnum, pointing point-ing to it. ''No, I borrowed it from the hotel , people." .Magnum examined the combination lock. "It would take an expert to pick this," he remarked presently. "To my mind it would take a miracle-worker miracle-worker to do it. I'm a light sleeper and any unusual noise would awaken me at ouce. 1 'm positive that L locked the paper inside the safe last night. Now 1 wonder if you're reaching out for the same conclusion as I've come to? Personally, I don't know if it's possible, because I'm a plain business man and not a scientific expert." He paused suggestively. Ma gnu ui began to be irritated at these circumlocutory methods of a "plain business man," and he snapped j out: it wouiu save a eoupiu ui numa if you came to the point now." "The point is right? here: T believe that the fellow must have dipped the recipe in some chemical which would eat it up silently into vapor during the night. And what I want from you is tins: Is it possible, and how'" If Magnum had not been an excellent excel-lent business man as well as a scientific expert, he would have laughed aloud. By a most extraordinary coincidence, tlits compound lie had just been analyzing analyz-ing for the ordnance manufacturer had precisely this property. Never was a 100-puinea fee more easily earned, lie had only to say "yes" and reel off the railroad train name which began with tripvridylamidohydroxy-diazo, etc., and ended eventually with glycerate. But, ince he w;s a shrewd business man, Magnum decided instanter to give nothing noth-ing awav until he had cleared Cleveland Cleve-land 's check. So he knotted his brow, proceeded to stuff a pipe, and pretended to delve into a mental encyclopedia of chemical kn o wiedge. "Let me examine the inside of the safe-' he suggested presently. "Sure!" And the American unlocked the combination. Magnum sniffed inside. "I don't get anv srjiell, ' ' he remarked. ''Perhaps that's because I left the safe door open for a spell while I hunted hunt-ed through my grips the fumes may-have may-have escaped. ' "H'm," said the scientist non-com-mittally. " Ts the thing possible?" " H :m yes. ? ' "Then how was it done Could you bring me a sheet of letterhead written over in ink 'on both sides, luck it up in the safe and make it disappear during dur-ing the night ? ' ' "It will need considerable preparation prepara-tion on my part," replied Magnum i ttr-Dortantly. ttr-Dortantly. "In two days' time " "I'd like to be certain - of this as soon as possible." "I must have a clear two days," declared de-clared Magnum firmly, his inner eye fixed on the clearing of his check. "Very well. You'll be here the evening even-ing after next and demonstrate ? " The scientist nodded assent. The hundred-guinea check having been satisfactorily turned into cash, iVLagnum arrivea as promised wirn a j sheet of his professional letterheading j soaked in the railway train compound,; dried and written over with ink. This was placed in the safe and locked up The next morning they met again; the, safe was opened and the paper had completely disappeared, leaving no trace' but a faint odor of oxides and nitrogen. nitro-gen. "You're a marvel!'' declared the delighted de-lighted American. "Now I can pinch that fellow for sure. Thought he'd get mv money for nothing, did he? I'm going to make h im feel mighty sorry for himself! What's the nature of this stuff of yours?" "It's a new compound belonging to a client of mine, and 1 don't sell clients' secrets. However, I could give you an impressionist sketch of its composition, because that would be harmless without a knowledge" of the precise method of synthesis. ' ' "Well?" ' ' It 's a derivative of t ripyridyl-ami-do-hydroxy-diazo " bcuau M agnum, ami continued with gusto for some moments until he arrived at the caboose ca-boose of " gelatine." "Gosh!" . exclaimed the American. ; ' ' That 's a Marathon runner! Who s the trainer, if you can tell me without , break in g professional etiquet I e ? Yon i see. if this fellow f mine bought the i stuff from your client, T 'd luivc the proof all bound and indexed." Magnum took on a verv professional, air. "1 can't give vou his name wilh-J out his permission. "Of course. But you might ask him. " "I'll ask him if he wants to see yon. Tf he doesn 't, the matter must end there. ' ' ' ' Thanks that 's all T need. Tell him I might want to do business. ' ' Magnum ca rried out. his promise- put. the two men into touch with one another, and prom i illy dismissed the matter from his thoughts. Tn New York a few weeks later there happened an incident which has n direct di-rect beariiM on this store, although Mairnnm only came to know it at the verv fail of the case To preserve the sequence of events it is in-erted here. At 11 o'clock on Saturday morning a voung man with the r-ir of n clerk pir-hed a wad of yellowback-.- t hr'mli the cashier s wicket of the Man hat tan Trust f-nmpnny and demanded a l ra I t on London for SSiin.'l. "'You're too late fur the mail," mentioned men-tioned tho ciishier. "The f)vinid'- suite at 1 1 0 '.dock. Our advice note to the London ba nk won 't until next week. ' 1 That 's annnving. However, let s have the draft." ! The cashier scrutinized f; e w of j bi 1 is. and then m:i de out t lie j ra 1 1 in : duplicate, the one conv b(inr overprinted over-printed with the vr.rd ' M.-iL,jrrii 1 ! the nt her r-'iiv n .-r-ivi n red with the' word " Duplicate." It i the l-nne- i i-ii'-tom to '"Ti.i the one and l.ern I, i the other, iri c:ie of ;i ,n,.;i,;,. !,,-, iVl ship wreck. Kitl.rr is ,jr ;Ml, ! is rec k'K'e,', hv ;i Loiid'Hi ic-'nl; nil ' : re eit.t of t he ad e nut'- as ! a- eold.' The ynnnr man left t lie d rn ft , hrist ened to Battery Point, stepper on board a fa' motm-heat awaiting him, caucht up il h the Ol m pic ami posted a let- ter on board. Tiiat ended hi work. A week later .Magnum happened to he in telephone coin ersation with his clie-t, the ord r a n-e man u fact u rer. ' " ' one n ny i h ing f urt lier with the t ri py ridyl com pound ; " asked t lie con--uliant. 'l "ve niaile it the starting point for a whole set of new compounus. and I belie be-lie e I shall get out some t h ing grea t from it presently. 1 you want a good investment, buy up a few shares in my company. ' ' "Thanks for the tip' answered Magnum. Mag-num. " By the way. did you do any business with that Williaai B. Cleveland?-' ' ' No. T gave him a little of the stuff for testing, but I've heard nothing further fur-ther from him. ' ' " I '11 see my broker this morning about your shares." said Magnum, ana prudently went, to make inquiries. He was kept waiting in the broker's anteroom for a full half hour, and when he was finally ushered into the prirate office he did not hesitate to express hit opinion of this treatment. 4 ' Vou needn t pretend to me that you're occupied with affairs of state," sua pped Magnum, "even if you do ' strew Your office with papers. ' ' He waved Yi is hand satirically at the litter. ' ' .Sorry, 1 ' answered the worried- ' looking broker, "but as a matter of fact I 've .been searching all over the place for a missing paper." "I'oor system of filing!" "Nothing to do with filing." " What then?" "T thought I locked it up last nicht' ' "What?" h "A draft." "Well, if I were in vour place I shouldn't let a client know that I was so abominably careless, if yon can 't manage your own money, how can you expect them to believe that vou , can manage theirs?" chaffed Jfag-; Jfag-; num. The broker did not take kindly to this j pleasantry. "The money 's safo enough," he retorted. "The draft was an 'Original I've just phoned to my client, and he's cabling for the 'Duplicate' 'Dupli-cate' to be sent over. Get it next week." "Suppose the original has been stolen. If it's indorsed, it's cashable." "We brokers are not so innocent as vou .imagine. I phoned up the bank fit nn,-n onvrt tlmm full no rt i a,, Tfi ro and told them to hold anyone who might attempt to cash it. ' But as a mat ter of fact they haven 't yet re- cei ved the advice note from New .York. Get it next mail, I suppose. ' ' Well, the draft was for a largo a mount eighty thousand pounds and I was positive I placed it in tho safe last night. " "Why didn't you send it to the bank?"" "After closing liou rs. My client, ramn in with it at ti o 'clock, and paid it over in exchange for a hatch of Rio Tin to bonds. Most extraordinary where it could have got to. I could swear on oath I placed it in the safe last night." He pointed to a substantial-looking steel receptacle in the corner cor-ner of the room. A chord of memory quivered in Mag- . num "s mind. 1 1 Can I see inside the safe? ' ' he asked. "Certainly." The hroker unlocked it and threw open tho heavy steel door. Magnum sniffed inside. "If yon care to pay me a hundred guineas I'll tell you whero that draft, is." he remarked. The broker looked at him suspiciously suspi-ciously and then went to re-examine the inside of the safe. ' ' And for a further hundred guineas, ' ' pursued Magnum, " I '11 tell you the profession of your client. "Arc vou a Sherlock Holmes, or did you happen to overhear me telephoning to him?" "N'o, until a moment ago I had no , idea who your client was." 4 A stock broker is usually ready to taluv a sporting wager on any subject on earth. "Make them both bets, and I'll take you on," he challenged. "Bone!" chuckled Magnum. " Pirst, your client is engaged in the tanning business. The tannery is in a country town not very far from London." ' ' Wrong! ' ' "But " "You lose. My client has no tannery tan-nery in this country. He's an American", Ameri-can", and his name is William IL Cleveland. Cleve-land. ' ' "Cleveland?" A great light broke upon Magnum, and for a few moments his wrath overpowered him. Ho had been fooled as neatly as any man had . ever been fooled. The story of the leather tannery secret was the merest device to get "Magnum to give up, unsuspectingly, un-suspectingly, a piece of very valuable scientific knowledge. Xo paper had disappeared inside Cleveland's safo. He, only wanted to know if the thing were possible, and if so, how. And he had used this knowledge to make a draft for i'so.OUO disappear into thin air, after he had acquired in excha nge for it securities cashable in any of a dozeu Knropean bourses. Magnum 's racing mind saw that draft as a forgery. " Kighty thousand " pounds might have left New York as eight thousand. " ' 1 I'ntil the advice note reached the London Lon-don bank next week no one would suspect sus-pect a ' ' raising" of the draft. All trace of it had disappeared into vapor. And, meanwhile, with a week's gra-'e, he had sn.()t)0 worth of sound Kio Tin-to Tin-to bonds to turn into cash. "Well?" queried the broker. "You lose one bet, don 't vou? Now, where--a the draft?" M agn um slammed home the door of , the safe and caught at his arm. "I'll tell vou that in the taxi as we go along. Quick hurry! ' ' "Where to?" "Scotland Yard firt, and then to the Savoy. "We've got to catch Cleveland Cleve-land ' bef ore he gets off to the continent conti-nent with those Kio Tintos. " "Hut " "Don't nrjne hurry! Thought he con M ford me me, M a en urn ! Tho colossal co-lossal impertinence of the fellow!" |
