Show R THE berr tl t L CO SYNOPSIS mad dan maitland Malt land on reaching his new sorl bachelor club met an attract tl e so ng won an at the door jan tor 0 hagin assured 1 m no one had been ishm that day dan discovered a worn an s finger prints in dust on his desk along with a letter from his attorney ma fiand d ned w th bannerman his at torne dan set out for greenfields to get h s tarn ly jewels during his walk to the country seat he met the young i woman in gray whom he had seen leav ing his bachelors club her auto had broken down he fixed it by a ruse she lost him altland on reaching home surprised lady in gra cracking the safe containing h s gems she apparently took him for a well known crook dan el anasty half maitland Malt land opened I 1 Is safe took the jewels and gave them to her first form ng a part in crime the real dan anasty dougl t b police of horld appeared on the same miss on maitland Malt land overcame h m he met the g rl outside the house and they sped on to new york in her au to he had the jewels and she promised to meet h m that day maitland Malt land received a mr snaith CHAPTER V continued maitland accepted the card and ele bated his brows oh he said put ting it down his manner becoming per less cordial I 1 say 0 hagan I 1 hall be busy for will halt an horn satisfy you mr you are most kind the stranger bowed in halt an hour 0 hagan you may return very good sor and the hall door closed so said maitland Malt land turning to face the man squarely you are from police headquarters 9 AS ou see mr snaith motioned delicately toward his business card as he called it wella after a moments pause I 1 am a detective you understand maitland assented un moved his caller seemed partly amused partly but very slightly embar eissed I 1 have been assigned to caver the affair of last night he continued blandly I 1 presume you have no objection to giving me what information you n iy possess Credentials 9 the mans amusement was made visible in a fugitive smile halt hidden b his small and neatly trimmed mus tache mutely eloquent he turned back the lapel of his coat exposing a small shield at which maitland g alced casually very well he consented bored but resigned fire ahead but make it as brief as you can I 1 ve an engagement in glancing at the clock an hour and must dress I 1 II 11 detain you no longer than is es sentia of course you under stand how 1 een we are after thia man anasty what p me maitland inter ranted is how you got wind of the affa r so soon then you have not hearda mr snaith exhibited polite surprise I 1 am just out of bed anasty escaped shortly after you maitland manor ah mr snaith knitted brows ayi dently at a loss whether to ascribe maitland s exclamation as due to sur p ise regret or relief which pleased maitland Malt land who had been at pains to inal e his tone atal in po nt fact he was nether surprised nor r gratful tl i ader he continued slowly I 1 forgot to phone higgans that is why I 1 cal ed your butler did not 1 now baere you could be torn d ou had left in great haste promising irom ising to send constables failed to do higgins got no woid II 11 tte u of an 1 our or so his charge began to chol e or pretended to higgins became alarmed and re moved the gag anist lay qu et his face resumed its normal color and then began to abuse higgins tor a thickheaded idiot mr snaith interrupted himself to chuckle bigl aly you noticed a resemblances 9 he resumed maitland too was smiling some thing of the sort it is really lemarl able if you will permit me to sa so snaith ft as stud ing his hosts face intently hig gins poor fellow had his faith shaken to the foundations this anasty must b a clever actor as well as a master b inglar having cursed higgins root and branch he got his second w nd and explained that he was mr malt land conceive higgins position what could he doa what he did I 1 gather precisely and ai once loosed he knocked alg ns over with the butt of a le volver biumi ed it ol 01 the window and van dished by the time the butler got his senses back anist presumably was miles away mr malt land said snaith yesa responded maitland llevat ing his brows refusing ef using to be startled why crisply dian didn t you send the constables from greenfields ac cording to 5 our promised 7 ma fiand laughed unea sll and loot ed dawn visible embarrassed act tig with consummate address playing the same for all he was worth and enjoy ing it hugel win I 1 really mr snaith I 1 must confess A confession wottie aid us materi ally dryly fhe case Is perplexing you rou up a burglar sought by the police of two continents and listlessly permit his escape I 1 would rather not be pressel aid maitland with evident candor bi t since yo i sa it is imperata im e that ou must know snaith in dined his head affirmatively why to tell the truth I 1 was a bit under the weather last night out with a party of friends you know dare say ate all had a bit more than we ild carry the capture was purely accidental e had other plans for tt e night and well laughing shortly I 1 dian didn t give the matter too m ich thought beyond believing that higgins would hold the man t I 1 see it is unfortunate but you motored back to town it was not a question but maitland so considered it we did he admitted and came here directly 9 I 1 did mr maitland why not be frank with mea my sole object Is to capture a notorious burglar I 1 have no desire to meddle with your private affairs but you may trust in my dis who was the young ladya to conceal her identity said malt land undisturbed is precisely why I 1 have been lying to you you refuse us that 7 absolutely I 1 have no choice in the matter you must see that snaith shook his head baffled in finitely perturbed to maitland s hid den delight of course said he the policeman at the ferry recognized mea you are well known to him ad bitted snaith but that is a side is sie what puzzles me Is why you let anasty escape it is inconceivable from a police point of view from any point of view said snaith obstinately the man breaks into your house steals your jewels this is getting tiresome maitland so sa d ma fiand turning to face the man squarely you are frore police headquarters interrupted curtly Is it possible that ou suspect me of conniving at tl e theft of my on property 7 ees were keen upon him kj things have been known and vet the motive Is lacking ou are not financially embarrassed so fir as we cin det at least maitland pol belv interposed his fin gers betheen his sawn and the de t calve s intent regard you have ten minutes more I 1 m sorry to say ho said glancing at the clod and there is another i nt more significant yet aha yes snaith bent forward elbows 01 1 nees hat and cane swinging eyes implacable hard relentless anasty h said slowly left a tolerably corn p ete burglar s k t in our library well he s a burglar isn t hea not that 1 ind snaith shook his head but his departure was somewhat some whit birned I 1 can conceive that he might abandon his 1 it but it was not his not anasty sa anasty does not dei end on such n methods mr maitland save that in extreme instances w th a part sti aborn sate he cm ploys a high explosive that so far as we can find it is practically no se les its nature Is a mystery but s ich old fashioned strongboxes bo ours at Greenf lelda he opens bv ear so to speak listens to the combi nation he was once an expert reau table employed by a prominent firm of safe s in whose ser vice he gained the skill that has made him what he Is but la fiand cast about at ran dim feeling himself cornered may h not have had accomplices 7 H s no such fool unless he has gone mad he worked aloi I 1 presume ion discovered nr accomplice 7 ia the devil no snaith smiled im ly then fell pondering you are an enigma he said at length I 1 can pot understand why vou refuse us all information when I 1 consider that the jewels ve yours aie mine maitland corrected no longer 1 beg your pardon I 1 have them snaith shook his head smiling in creda bously maitland flushed with annoyance and resentment then on impulse lose and strode into the ad joining bedroom returning with a small canvas bag you shall see for he said depositing depo biting the bag on the desk and fumbling with drawstring it you will be kind enough to step over here mr snaith still unconvinced hesi bated then assented halting a brief distance from maitland and toying ab edly with his cane while the young man plucked at the drawstring deuced tight knot this corn dented maitland annoyed no matter don t trouble please I 1 m quite satisfied believe me oh you are maitland turned and in the act of t arning the loaded head of the cane landed with crushing force upon his temple for an instant he stood swaying eyes closed face robbed of every es tigel of color deep lines of agony graven in his forehead and about his mouth then tell like a lifeless thing limp and invertebrate the sol disant mr snaith caught him and let him gently and without sound to the floor poor fool he commented kneel ing to make a hasty examination hope I 1 haven t done tor him it would be the first time bad precedent so hes all right conscious within an hour too soon he added standing and looking down well turn about s fair play he swung on his heel and entered the hallway pausing at the door long enough to shoot the bolt then passed through the other chambers searching to judge by his manner in the end a closed door attracted him he jerked it open with an ex cla matlon of relief it gave upon a large bare room used by maitland Malt land as a trunk closet here were stout leath ei straps and cords in ample measure mr snaith selected one from them qu cl ly but with care choosing the strongest in two more minutes maitland Malt land trussed gagged still unconscious and b bathing heavily occupied a dhan in his smoking room while his assail ant in the bedroom ears 1 een to aitch the least sound aiom without was rai idly and cheerfully arraying 1 immelt in the maitland gray striped flannels and accessories even to the gray socks which had been specified the less cl ances one takes the better soliloquized mr snaith he stood erect in another man s shoes squaring bad his shoulders discarding the sing stoop an i confronted his image in a per glass good enough maitland Malt land he corn n anted with a little sa isfried nad to his counterfeit presentment presen ment but bu t e 11 make it better still A single kiick jeri denuded his up per lip he the mustache care fully away in his breast pocket the moistened corner of a towel make quick work of the crow s feet about his eyes and simultaneously robbed him of a dozen apparent years A pair of yellow chamois gloves placed conven on a dressing table covered hands that no art could make resemble maitlandt Mait lands and it was daniel malt land who studied himself in pier glaia contented the criminal returned to the smoking room A single glance assured him that his victim was still dead to the world he sat down at the desk drew off the gloves and opened the bag a peep within which wag enough with a deep and slow intake of breath he knotted the drawstring and dropped the bag into his pocket A jeweled cigarette case of unique des agn shared the same fate qu ck eyes roaming the desk observed the telegram tele giam form upon which maitland had written cressy s name and address momentarily perplexed the thief pondered this then with a laughing oath seized the pen and scribbled with no attempt to the other s handwriting a message regret unavoidable detention let ter of explanation follows to this maitland Malt land s name was signed that ought to clear him neatly it 1 understand the emergency the thief rose folding the telegraph blank and returned to the bedroom taking up his hat and the murderous cane as he went here he gathered together all the articles of clothing that he had discarded conveying the masa to the trun kroom where an empty and unlock ed kit bag received it all that I 1 think is about all he was very methodical this crim inal this anasty nothing essential e him he rejoiced in the ml nutice of detail that went to cover his tracks so thoroughly that his cam were as remarkable tor the clues he did leave with malicious de sign as for those that he dian didn t one final thing held his attention A bowl of hammered brass inverted beneath a ponderous book upon the desk why in a twinkling he had fremed both and was studying the impression of a comans womans hand in the dust and nodding over it that girl deduced anasty nov ie i e poor little fool or she I 1 ave wasted time searching here att the jewels good looker though from what little he with a glance at A altland gave me a chance to sea of her seems to have snared him all r if she did miss the haul little idiot what right has a woman in this b well here s one thing that will never land me in the pen As with nice caie he replaced both bowl and book a door slammed below stairs took him to the hall in an in stant maitland Malt land s panama was hang log on the hatrack maitland s callec dpn of walking sticks bristled in a stand beneath it anasty appropriated the former and chose one of the latter fair exchange he considered with a barsh laugh after all he loses nothing but the jewels he was out and at the foot of the stairs j as 0 hagan reached the ground floor from the basement ah 0 ilagan the assumption of maitland s ironic drawl was impei cable 0 hagan no maiore questioned it than he questioned his own here send this wire at once please and pressing a coin into the ready palm keep the change I 1 was hur lied and dian didn t bother to call you and I 1 say 0 hagan from the outer door bisor if that fellow snaith ever calls aga n I 1 m not at home very good sor anist permitted himself the slight est of smiles pausing on the stoop to on the chamois gloves As he J d eo his eye flickered disinterested ly over the personality of a man stand ir on the opi wall and at the apartment house he was a short man of stoutly stout lh habit sloppily d essed with a aurby pulled down over one rye cigar butt protruding ar lo gantly aiom beneath a heavy black m pistache beefy cheeks and thick boots dully polished TO CONTINUED |