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Show J pa on secretserviceI 'rtSt Truo Stories ok Etttonces In the Stt. Wr. TrMttry .- ty n4 Postoffloo Department. ,'ff By COU JASPER. EWINC BRADY i 4V, lists ttsiw l TtWriii Ckbl Sll OIHcir, U. S. A., StiiltK It Cit. ) I I THE MARKED STAMPS ) - ' " ' fc . t ', "TJhcnoy'B llftf moved on apace and ;,-. his career broadened with time. lie ' '' was ahvayH a student of human nature na-ture and paid closo nttentlon .to bust ' . , Bess. Ho was also a student of other things and a very well-read man. Naturally, ho was a detective; ho had ," a peculiarly strong Intuitive power and n keen senso o( deduction. I mean by this, natural deduction. Ho was not o Sherlock Holmes could not toll yo.ur wlfo was away becauso a button was oft your waistcoat, or that you had' lately moved your dressing glass because your faco was moro smoothly shaNcn'on ono sldo than on the other These things ho left for . tho realms of literature and romance. Ho studied crlmo as a theologian stud led theology and tho Holy Writ. First ho would find tho motive of a criminal crim-inal act thero was always n motlvo; then ho would find the person that had this motive. Cheney was esthetic In his taste, a lover of art, lltcraturo and music, and always n gentleman. His bacholor apartments In St, Louis wcro beautifully beauti-fully furnished and becamo a rendezvous rendez-vous for n cotcrlo of cholco spirits. While ho eaw a great 'deal of tho ' seamy sldo of life, thntgreat under world so closu to our very doors and yet always covered, his linturo never becamo hardened. Ho was ever ready to help, and many n man, and woman, too, for thnt matter, aro walking tho streets to-day, freo and honored by ' their fellow beings, because nt a cru- i clal point In their career Col. Jack ' ', Cheney had turned them up tho hill when their footsteps woro carrying tli cm down. His fa mo as a detective spread over tho country and many flattering offers woro mado him to tako chargo of special work for large corporations, but ho was moro content con-tent to work for tho government until un-til tho tlmo was rlpo for him to branch out for himself. Ho enjoyed tho acquaintance, conftdenco and hospitality hos-pitality of many persons of promt- , nenco from ono end of tho country to tho other. Women ho admired, but , . v that is all. Ills many and varied ex periences had taught him that women , woro not to bo trusted with great secrets. se-crets. A good woman was an angel I to bo rospectcd, nurtured and cared 1 for; avbad one, tho reverse. Dan jfag!L Cupid .nad as yet never modi him " .captive, but thero was 'always pros- ' cnt with Jack Cheney a mental pho tograph of a happy homo presided over by a woman ho could lovo and who would lovo and respect htm. But that was In tho Indqflnlto future, not now. Cheney novcr allowed his closo contact con-tact with crlmo to contaminate him. " When ho was on a, caso ho was all detective, n vcrltablo sleuth, every , "fiorvo strained to accomplish tho desired de-sired end; but when tho chnso was over and tho quarry run to earth Chonoy forgot It. Ho was sitting In his oftlco ono morning smoking his usual clga and allowing his mind to run bade to somo of tho stirring dnys of tho civil war in which ho played no small part when a knock Interrupted his reverie. "Como in," ho sharply said. . A young man about 30 years old, t well dressed and of good appearance, came In nnd stood before him. Ho was visibly perturbed and shifted from ono foot to tho other whlto ho nervously twirled hla hat In his hands. "Aro you Col. Cheney, Blr?" "I am." "Well, sir, my namo Is . Stanton, Fred C. Stanton." Chenoy recognized tho namo ns ono of a prominent family fam-ily living In St, I xiu Is. "Well, Mr. Stanton, what can I do for you, sir? Sit down," repllod Cheney, waving his hand towards a chair. "Havo a smoke?" "Thank you, no, Col. Cheney. You seo I am In great troublo and Judge Treat, who is an Intlmato friend of mine, told mo you might help mo out If you would. Ho gavo mo this card to you." Chenoy read tho card and when ho had finished said: "Any friend of Judgo Treat's is a friend of mlno and If I can bo of serv-Ico serv-Ico I shall only bo too glad to do so. You aro In troublo; what Is ItT" "Yes, I am in troublo, and serious troublo at that. Last year I married Judgo Anderson's daughter and wo havo a beautiful homo out on Laclede avenue Wo aro very happy. Thero never has been a cloud to mar our domestic happiness. About two months ago anonymous letters began coming to Mrs, Stanton. Four bo far havo born received, and similar letters let-ters have reached saveral friends of mine saying they will jget t.o Mrs. 8tanton sooner or 'Inter. Theso letters let-ters all contain references to me, hint at an unsavory past nnd a coming rcvelntlon which will destroy mo so- dally and otherwlso In St. Louis. Mrs. Stanton Is not well and in a very nervous state and tho receipt of any such letters would, I am afraid, causo sorlous consquencos." Mr. Stanton Stan-ton paused for a moment to regain f his composure and then proceeded. 1 "Fortunately, the first letter ramo I to my hands, It wni addressed to I Mrs. Stanton. I do not open any of I her mall, but tho peculiarity of the H address of this letter attracted my K attention. Tho address wo not in ft handwriting nor was It printed, but hnd been composed by words and figures fig-ures cut out of a nowspnper nnd pasted on tho outsldo of an envelope. The letter lnsldo was similarly made. That dny, down-town, six of tho samo. kind of letters were handed mo by friends of mine. They had been received re-ceived at their rcspectlvo houses. Every letter was allko nnd contained tho threat to hurt mo with Mrs. Stanton." Stan-ton." Again thero was n short pause, and Stanton continued: "You see, I could havo all mall diverted di-verted from my liouso to tho office, but that would causa Mrs. Stanton to bo suspicious, so I havo watched tho mall over since, Intercepting tho postman post-man when possible, and havo so far succeeded In keeping thorn from her; hut sooner or later ono will get by mo and then thero will bo tho dovll to pay." Cheney was Interested; tho young man was so earnest In his manner, and Judgo Treat had sent him. s"You say theso letters begnn coming com-ing about two months .igo?" "Yes, sir, nnd they've- como about ten dnys npnrt over since" "Your frlcndr nlways rccolvo tholrs at tho samo time?" "Yes, Blr." "You say they refer to your past? Is thero anything in that past you would not want known7 Anything which might bo considered cr disgraceful? dis-graceful? You will pardon my questions, ques-tions, Mr. Stanton," said Chenoy, noting tho man's rising cholcr. "I do not'mcan to bo personal or Inquisitive, but it is essential thnt I know all. I want to help you; now help mo do It." Stanton had rjsen, but again seated himself and repilcd: "Well, colonel, I am no better and no worso than most young men. I was educated nt Yalo college; my father gave mo a liberal nllowanco and I sowed a fair crop of wild oats, but thero was nothing disgraceful, thero was no entanglements. After I left collego I camo here, went in business busi-ness with father. Last year, as I said, I was married. That's all." "You know ot no ono who would havo any motlvo in injuring you?" "No, sir; not a living soul." "Havo you any of tho letters with you?" - "Only two; tho rest I destroyed," replied Stanton, handing over tho let-tors. let-tors. Cheney placed thorn In a dosk drawer and said: "Do you keep a butler. Mr. Stanton?" Stan-ton?" "I did keep one, but ho left yesterday yester-day and I haven't as yet secured another an-other ono." "That Is Indeed fortunnto. I'll send you a young man to-day. Illro him, trust him Implicitly, and go about your business ns If nothing had happened. hap-pened. Your butler will look after tho mull coming to your house, nnd 1m) nssured no undcslrnblo letter will reach Mrs. "Stanton. Tho caw does not look easy, but I think perhaps I can help you. One thing: Not a word of this to anyone, anil as soon as your friends give you any moro letters bring them to mo. Oootl morning, morn-ing, Mr. Stanton." As soon as Stanton had gone Chenoy Bent for Sid Outhrlo nnd explained ex-plained tho enso to htm, "Whoro do I como in, Chonoy?" asked Outhrlo when ho had finished. "You'ro 8tanton'H now butler. You go out thero and keep a watch on tho Incoming mall. Keop Mrs. Stanton from getting undcslrnblo letters. Any that nro addressed ns theso aro give to Stanton nnd let mo know It as soon as possible. You'ro grcnt on hunches remember tho ono you had In Smcd-berg, Smcd-berg, Nob., when wo woro on that 'paymnstor caso'? act somo moro on this mail buslnoss. You sabo?" "Suro thing; I'm on all right. Hut this butler business does not appeal to me. If I Bplll hot soup down Stanton's Stan-ton's back or wlno on hit wlfo's dress don't you blaniti mo," nnd with a laugh ho wnB gone, taking with him n card ot Introduction to Stanton. Cheney studied tho two letters carefully. care-fully. He recognized tho piper from which tho words woro cut as the Olobo-Democrat Olobo-Democrat from tho print, and they wero both sent from a substation out on Washington avenue. Thero was nothing obscene In their content', hut they breathed vrageanco and covertly covert-ly intimated that tho writer, or more properly "paster." was after Stanton with a sharp stick. Handwriting or typewriting might hnvo given a clew, hut tho paper pasted letter did not. Ordluary scratch paper had been used and tho envelope wns plain white. There was not even a water mark. "Puzzling, mused Cheney, "and damned Ingeniously done, but tho person per-son doing It must have hnd lots of time. To cut a paper and pasto six ot theso letters In one day was not a small Job." Cheney determined to wait for developments and at the samo tlmo find out what ho could about Stanton. (luthrlo wns duly Installed as butler but-ler in tlm Stanton homo and mado dally reports to Cheney. Nothing untoward un-toward happened. Mr. and Mrs. Stanton Stan-ton wcn apparently very happy: Stanton was all dnvotlon to his wife and she to him She won nervous anJ nigh strung to n degrco and her condition con-dition was Buch that any undue excitement ex-citement might kill her. Cheney's investigation in-vestigation of Stanton was not prolific of any information and Col. Jack was nonplussed. About ten days later lro received word from Outhrlo. Anothor pasted letter threatening In character had arrived. ar-rived. Simultaneously wlUi this nows camo Stanton and in his hand ho hold seven letters, ono that had como to his house and bIx that ho had secured from his friends. Stnnton was worked up to a high degree of excitement. "Horo's a bunch of them. Col. Cheney. My Godl Isn't thero somo way of stopping this nvnlancho ot threats?" "Leave them here," said Chenoy, quietly, "and como hero on your way homo from your offlco this evening. Then I may know something." Chtmoy now had nlno letters, all similar, nil threatening. A threat Is novcr mado except for a reason blackmail or rovenge. Thero was nothing to warrant a belief In black-mall black-mall becauso tboru was no request for money. Who, who could want ro-vengo ro-vengo on Stanton, and for what? Stnnton camo bnck nbout four o'clock. Cheney had a long talk with him and during tho conversation drew from him tho fact that prior to his marriage to Mrs. Stnnton ho had been engaged to a young lady living In Sodalla. "This lady's namo wns what?" asked Cheney. "Oraco Kllorton." "Urn, yes. And was sho much In lovo with you, Mr. Stanton?" "Well, now, Col. Chenoy, that er Is a leading question. Yes, I supposo sho was. Hut I wasn't with her, nnd wo quarreled nnd separated." "Yes, you separated, to bo sure. How long wcro you engaged to tho young lady, you say?" "About ono year." "And what becamo of her?" "Why, sho married an attornoy ot this city, Abney by namo, and Mrs. Stanton aud I havo met them occasionally occa-sionally In society. In fact Mrs. Abney nnd I hnvo Inughcd over our engagement moro tlinu once." "Whcro doos Mrs. Abney llvo?" i'Out on Washington boulevard. Ilut look here, colonel, good God! you don't think Grace Abney would do such n thing? Impossible, man, Impossible!" Im-possible!" oxclalmcd Stnnton, rising. "Mr. Stnnton," slowly replied Cheney, "I never think out loud, it hurts. I am merely asking questions to find a clow. Perhaps I havo found one. You will receive ono moro letter, let-ter, so will your friends, then they will stop nnd you can dlscbargo you butler." "All right," said 8tanton, "but don't, for God's sake, tnako n mistake." "Your Impetuous chivalry is running run-ning nway with your judgment. Thero will bo no mistake mado, bo assured of that.. Good evening. Mil Stanton." Stanton left with n cloud of uncertainty uncer-tainty In his mind. However, Judgo Treat had told him to trust Cheney nnd ho would. Ilut Oraco Abney tho culprit? No, never! As soon ns Stanton hnd gono Cheney lighted a fresh clgnr and, smilingly, murmured: "Hell hath no fury llko that of n woman scorned." Tho next morning Cheney mado n quiet Investigation In tho neighborhood neighbor-hood of thu Abney homo. Ho found thnt Mrs. Abney nbout two months ngo hnd purchased n couplo ot writing writ-ing pads and somo plain, envelope! nt u small stationery store Just around tho corner. At tho substation ho Interviewed In-terviewed tho man that sold stamps. He was n civil war veteran, Johnson by name, and after Cheney presented his credentials was willing to answer any questions. "Do you know Mrs. Abney?" asked Cheney. "Yes, I know her by sight," repllod Johnson. "Docs she over buy stamps hero?" "Ycb, that's tho way I know her." "How long since sho bought any?" "About two wcoks ago," "How mnuy stamps docs sho buy nt n tlmo?" "Generally nbout SO, half a shoot." "Now listen," said Cheney, sharply. "This afternoon I'll send you out n sheet of stamps. I'ut them away in some safe place and when Mrs. Abnoy buys nuy more stamps sell her from that sheet and send tho rest to me Immediately. Don't forget; it is Important," Im-portant," "All right, sir. I won't forget," said Johnson. Cheney was absolutely certain Mrs. Abney was tho letter "paster." In hla own mind ho knew It, hut ho wanted tho proof, proof that could bo used In a court of law If nLi-es'-ary. He went to the post olllce, interviewed tho poitmastcr, secured a sheet ot stamps and that afternoon sent them all to Johnson's substation. Then ho waited, waited llko an angler watching watch-ing n bobbing cork, waited for n nibble nib-ble which would tell him the fish was was playing with tho bait. Seven days later It happened. Johnson camo down with half a sheet of stamps and reported Mrs. Abney hnd purchased E0 that morning. The cork was bobbing bob-bing rather vigorously and the Indications Indi-cations wcro tho flih would soon swallow swal-low hook, lino and sinker. Two days later Stanton camo In. A report from Guthrie had preceded his coming. "Hero's another batch of those, damnod letters," he said, throwing them on tho table. "Itlght on tlmo to tho mlnute,",sald Cheney, smiling. "Hut, Mr. Stantor., let mo assure you there won't bo nny more. These will be tho Inst." "You menn you know who Is sending send-ing them and ran stop It?" asked Stanton. "Yes, tlisl's Just what I men, nnd tomorrow or next dny you can dls- charge your buticr; I may need hlra hire." "All right," said Stnnton, "but I'd llko to keep him. Ho's a good ono." "'I know that," replied Cheney. "Guthrlo Is good at anything ho undertakes, un-dertakes, but. I don't bollovo ho fancies fan-cies this 'buttering' business. Como around to-morrow afternoon and I will tell you all." Now Cheney was ready to movo swiftly and surely In his work. Ho was suro before thnt Graco Abnsy had sent tho threatening letters; now ho know It. All thnt was left to do was to bring about tho denouement. Just off of Chcnoy's ofllco wns an atcovo room beforo tho door of which hung a curtain. In this nlcovo was his secretary's ofllco, and his secretary secre-tary was a very bright woman named May Wood. Cheney called her. "Miss Wood, to-morrow morning I want you to, bo In your offlco constantly. con-stantly. I expect a lady visitor, quite n society womnn In fact, and I want every word spoken while hIio Is horo 'tiken down.' " Chenoy ngnlu luturvlowod the post-n post-n aster nnd that gentloman promised ti) havo Mrs. Abnoy In his (Cheney's) 6lIco the noxt morning, Ho know her nnd would not hnvo nuy troublo In Inducing hor to como. Chonoy didn't want her husband to como not Just Jet, if at all. It depended on tho womnn. Tho noxt morning nbout 11 o'clock tho postmnstor nnd Mrs. Abnoy nr-rlvod. nr-rlvod. Sho wns a beautiful woman, stylishly gownod, nnd possessed n pair ot blue-black oyes. Tho Introduction was brief and tho postmnstor withdrew. with-drew. Mrs. Abney had herself under splendid control. Sho know nothing of what wns In Btoro for hor. Chonoy, too, was good to look upon that morning; morn-ing; ho was well dressed nnd decorated with a rod carnation. "Mrs. Abnoy," ho began nftor his guost wns comfoitnbly sentcd In nn easy chair, "I am connected with tho government service, nnd in process ot my work I hnvo formed nn Idea that something Is wrong wttli tho stamp department ot tho St. Louis post offlco." "And whnt has thnt to do with mo, pray?" asked Mrs. Abnoy In a rich contralto 'olco. Hor eyes woro looking look-ing straight nt Col. Chenoy. "Walt, please. It Is thought, thero aro a number of spurious stamps being be-ing sold In St. Louis. Tho sub sin-tlon sin-tlon near your rusldcuco Is suspected of being Implicated." "What? Mr. Johnson? Impossible, Col. Chenoy, imposslblo." "Mrs. Abnoy, nothing Is Imposslblo. I hnvo not said Mr. Johnson was Implicated. Im-plicated. I am merely Investigating. Ot courso Mr. Abnoy buys all his stamps downtown; but you, I pro-sumo, pro-sumo, purchase stumps for your correspondence cor-respondence nt tho sub station noar whoro you llvo." Chonoy spoko In n well modulatod llco. Ills manner wns thnt ot a gen-BciSnVhls gen-BciSnVhls oyes wero quiet, thero wns ngjr tho lonst sign of nn ulterior motlvo mo-tlvo in this talk. Thu hook wns baited bait-ed nnd dnngllng near tho llsh, and tho fish nibbled. "Yes," replied Mrs. Abnoy, "I buy stamps frequently from Mr. Johnson." "Just so. And when did you last buy nny from him?" "Why, lot mo sen thrco days ago, It I remember nrlght." Her memory wns good; that was tho day Johnson reported tho salo and returned tho remaining half sheet. Not a muscle of Cheney's face moved; tho snillo wns still there. 'Havo you used all you bought on that drty, Mrs. Cheney?" "Why, no. I havo somo of them hero now. Horo they nro," sho said, laying somo 35 stamps on tho tnblo. Col, Chonoy cnrelessly took them. Tho llsh hnd swnllowod tho bull, hook, lino nnd sinker. All thnt remained wns to lnnd tho prlxo. Mrs. Abnoy begnn to wonder what nil this questioning from thin quiet, masterful man meant. A slightly un-comfortnblo un-comfortnblo fooling began stealing over her. Miss Wood was seated In tho curtained alcovo, taking down ovory word. "I hnvo told you all I know, Col. Cheney. Now I beg you to excuse me; 1 havo an appointment nnd must go," Tho llsh was running out with tho lino; it must bo brought back. "Walt. Just a moment, plcaso," aald tho colonel. "You know Mr. Fred Stanton, do you not?" Mrs. Abnuy's heart began boating faster. The color faded from hor face, "Yob, I know him; whnt of It?" "You were engaged to him, woro you not?" "Col, Chonoy, your remarks aro becoming be-coming personal and, to sny tho least, Importlent. I did not como hero to bo Insulted. You hnvo un right to talk to mo llko that. I shall tell Mr. Abnry and ho can settlo with you," Sbs turned to lenvo, but Col. Chunoys who had risen again, said. "Walt!" nnd this tlmo thero was no mistaking the tono; it wns a command. , "Excuso mo, Mrs. Abnoy, hut I do not think you wilt tell Mr. Abney anything any-thing about it. You woro In loto with Fred Stanton, nnd you aro yet. Ho married another woman and you do-tonnlncd do-tonnlncd to get evuu with him. You couldn't attack him, you couldn't find u weak spot In his armor; but you know his wlfo, you know hor condition. condi-tion. You would strlko him through her. Then )ou used tho most damnable damn-able ot weapons, the uuoiomnus loiter. loi-ter. You sent them to Mrs. Stnnton, you sont thorn to his frlouds. Just ono falling in Mrs. Stanton's hand and your rovongo would havo been complete. You wouldn't write tho 1st tors, yi nut words out of tho newspaper news-paper nnd pastod ihom on a sheet. Similarly you piopnrod tho nddrupMia. You bought the pmor nt thu stationery station-ery storo near your house, tho stamp from lohnsou, and whllo y.ur hutband was it bin offlco ou di'l your desjdc- J ablo work. Do you deny tnls?" Col. Chonoy enlied by laying nlno lcttore on tho table. When Chenoy first begnn to ttfk Mrs. Abnoy stopped, looked at hlra half over her shoulder, nud. as his accusations ac-cusations wcro hurled forth at her, sho fully turned. Her color tcft her and hor eyes moved restlessly from sldo to sldi. Hut r'.io was n quickwitted quick-witted woman mid when ho hnd finished fin-ished bIio hnd pnitly rcgnlnod hor composure. "A likely story, Col, Chonoy, a very likely story, Indeed, you havo concocted. con-cocted. Clover detect Ivo work." Sho was sueorlng, "You havo found out 1 bought paper and envelopes, that I bought stamps. So might nny number of pcopto hnvo done tho samo. Ilut you detectives havo to acct t omo one, so you accuse mo. Y mo In your offlco nlono, und f "o nro-tenses. nro-tenses. There nro no witnesses to this Interview, and my word will go ni far as yours. You brutal And you call yourself n gcntlomnn." "1 expected nil this, Mrs. Cheney, unil I ndmlru you for thu light you nro making. You nccuso mo ot having you In my olltco ulouu." Three steps took Cheney to thu ulcovo. Ho throw bnck tho curtain. Thero sat dumuro little Miss Wood, her bright oyos sparkling with tho Intensity of tho scone. "You seo,' continued tho colonol, "wo nro not nlone." Mrs. Abney hnd not yot given up tho fight tho llsh wns still uulnndcd, but the hnnd net wns tendy. "Hut 1 tell you I did not send those lotters. You enn't piovo It," Bho Bald. "Thrco days ngo you bought CO stamps from Johnson; 35 of thorn nro on thu tnblo. You gao them to mo. Tho remnludor of thu sheet Is in this drawer. Hcio they nrs" ho said, producing pro-ducing tho Wf sheet Johnson hnd sont him. "Every one of thoso stamps Is nmrked with Indelible Ink. I tnnrked them. On ovory other stamp I wroto your niimo, 'Grnco Abnoy, nnd on tho othors I marked my namo, 'John V. Chenoy.' Hero nro soven of tho letters you sont with thoso stamps on them. Now look." Mrs. Abnoy gazed with wldo staring oyes ns Col. Chenoy lighted n small alcohol lamp. Ho took up ono letter and held It so tho heat would warm tho stamp. Slowly hut surely tho namo "Grnco Abney" appenrod, coming com-ing nppnrently from nowhere. Then "John V. Cheney," nnd so on throughout through-out tho entire soven lottors (Uio first two totters did not hnvo innrkod stnmpB), nnd then tho unusod stamps woro treated to u similar process, thu names coming out with startling distinctness. dis-tinctness. For sovornt minutes Mrs. Abnoy stood irrosoluto; her composuro and self-possession loft hor; sobs shook hor framo as sho sank In n chair. Tho fish was landed aud tho strugglo wns civor. "What aro you going to do with mo?" sho sobbed. "Oh, my Ood, whnt an oxposurol What shall I do, what shall I do?" "Do?" said Col. Chenoy. Now tho harshness nnd lono of command hud gono from his volco; tho koon, nlort detcctlvo was gono; ho was Chonoy, tho man nnd geutlemnn. "Do? Why, you nro going homo, nnd bo truo to tho good man whoso namo you boar. From this day forth you'ro going to bo his wlfo In word, thought, net and deed; you'io going to 'riso and sin no moro.'" Gently ho took her hand and led hor to tho door. Cowed, beaten and broken, tho erring err-ing woman aurforcd horself to bo led. "Yob hut," sho faltered, "your secretary. sec-retary. Sho henrd, sho knows." "That's truo, Mrs. Abney, eho did boar, sho does know, but Miss Wood Is discretion itself Sho hears everything, every-thing, seos everything, nnd knows nothing. Good morning." And tho door closod. Tho poor little fish was onco mom swimming In untroubled wnffrs, sadder hut wiser. "Well." snld Stnnton nt four o'clock that afternoon, ns he hurst In upon Cheney, "did you find tho sender of thoso letters?" "Yes," tersely replied Chenoy, "1 found thu sender and you will be troubled no more." "Thank Ood!" tho young man muttered, mut-tered, "Who wan It, and what nro you going to do about It?" "Well, Stnnton," drawled Chenoy, "I'm not going to do anything about It. It's stoppod, that's nil you want." "Wns It Grace Abnoy?" slowly asked Stnnton. "No, It wasn't Oraco Abney," replied re-plied Cheney. "Well, ou beat me, colonel, Hut I suppose you know what you're doing Now nothing remains hut a settlement. settle-ment. Whnt' the fro?" he asked reaching for his check book. "That's so," said Cheney, smiling "I forgot tho fee. Tho fro will be your promise to say nothing more nbout this rase. You will alto extract ex-tract tho same promise from youi friends who received theso letters That's all. Stnnton, tho rasa is r p, Hemernber me to Judgo Trent when noxt you wo him. And don't forget to get a new butler. Good evening.' They shook hands and Stanton went out tho dour. At 6:30 MIm Wood had gono and Cheney was nlone. Ho opened the deiik drawer, took therefrom tho telltale tell-tale letters and stamps and Mlsi Wood's Monographic notes with tran swrlbsri mnort- I Is threw thorn all In tho grate, touched n llgbtod match tc them ami, ns tho flames mounted higher high-er nud hinder, destroying every evidence evi-dence of the woman's folly, ho murmured: mur-mured: "Well, nny nay. I htd my finger crossed when I told Ft union It wasn't Orseo A1hiv ' Ills eon science was rssy. anl win a nttig reimlned but antic he put on his hnt and went to dinner. , (Curorlstu, by W. n. C'arMuii.) |