OCR Text |
Show I II he Lase and 1 lie Girl nil I By Randall Parrish Jj' .,,. Copyright 1922 by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. l A CHAPTERX-Cont.nu.d. porslu'.'".'...'! Il""1,lt"tt tl,, I West grasped the extendi,! hnr 44i, 7ou going?" 8..m an' tcr Vl 'T: T! t. T" of n snrprls icd endeavoring to keep beside li "Have you anything planned n ,'iit very much ; Milwaukee nvenue - There l sure to lie un iill-nlght o lurnnl somewhere In sight. Tele-ie Tele-ie fur n taxi, don't dnre to i-lBk n t car. we hoth lool: too tonsil." uimRe they will follow us?" Innlly; they will hnve no Iden Ii miy we went, or how long we'll si been cone. Once we turn off this si I, we'll he wife enough." n wnB considerably past midnight i i the two men finally reached the ci entity club; Ihey bud lunched nt ci ill-night rcsintir.mt, wnshed nml si themselves ns presentable ns r Me. yet were hnrdly recognizable u ie,v entered the club lobby. Nelth- tl isscsmmI a lint ; Sexton was In his pi sleeves, wb.le West's coat clung w in In rugs. Without walling to ex- n anything to the servnnt In It :e. except to state briefly that si m would be bis guest for the fr , the captain hurried Into the b; ns elevator, and nccoinpnnlcd by vi iiiapaulon, ascended to bis apart- p tibove. Si v reiicl Inn from the excitement ie evening left Sexton dull und m k.v once he felt secure from any 1) lile danger. Ills only desire was p r (pilet. nnd forget. Stretched w m ii comfortable lounge, he Tell ni ; almost Instantly, making no ef- yi ven to reiiioe his clothes. West n of a different temperament, his f far too nctlvc to flail sleep pns- m Ills only desire was to think. I.v decide upon some future course gi tlon. With tnltid busy, forgetful pi ; very presence of bis companion. 01 dulgcd In n bath, ugaln dressed hi If. and. lighting n cigar, settled n Into an easy chair to fight the w out nlone with himself. p 1 mystery confronting 'him np- Si il more difficult of solution than Y He was more thoroughly con- lit I than ever that I'erclval Coo- th ...... had heen murdered; that the w net had been committed cither by Ho- hi bnrt himself, or under his direction, dt He possessed no proof, however, nor ni could he tlguro out u motive for the nt crime. Who was this Jim IlnlmrtV pi Was he In any wny personally Inter- tli estorl In the fortune left by Stephen te Coolldge? Or did he hold any special ur ' relationship with the murdered mini? m ' More Important still, what perttllur us Influence did the fellow exert over rb Lithe girl? Here was by fur the deeper an " mystery, the one that troubled liliu most. The others seemed possible or fo explanation, but the sudden change In to Natalie t'nnlldge was beyond all un- tic derstniidliig. th Kxcept In fnce. form, dress, outward W uppenrauce. she no longer seemed to th West lis being the same woman be th liud formerly, known. His original In- pc terest In her hud vanished; he bad e? turned to distrust nnd doubt her sin- tl' cerlty' itinl truth. Itcynnd nil question fo iiw v.ns openly playing un Important Ie part In this trnt:edy under IlnbnrtV cl direction, but for the life of lilm he sr qniild imt llguie out to what end. Still ill the vcrv mystery of It hud Its fasclna ly tlon While he felt no longer any ape- sn chil desire to serve her, to further risk 1 bis life In her cause, yet he exer!- In eaced n tierce detennlnntlon to lenm m what oil this really meant; to un- ft - rover the object these conspirator?- In lnil In view. If Natnlle was Involved h It coi'iil not be helped, she would have hi to snrf.-r with the rest; his own duty st - was clear. di Yet how could he hegln action? w Wlint clew t'd he possess which could tl be Mln" oil? I'rnctlcnlly none. He- in fine tnnrnli g. that saloon nn Wray tt 1 Mice! would untptesttomihly he do- m Fcricd. evcem perbnps try Its protirl pi ctor. and Mll'e would s'nioly deny Ie cicrythliiK. Two possibilities re- e niiilui'd; the poi re' might have mine record of the fellow, tnb.'ht know hip favorite l iii'tits even lie nble to lo- ni cute his next probable billing place. II of not. the only hope reniillnlug would rim in 10 he Natalie Coolldge. She would iindoiihtrdly return to Kali- lun; was prohably there already, nnd hy rhnilowlng her. the where- el "limit" or Ilohart would surely be re- xciiled other sooner or late- n Hut pohy there was a quicker s wny to h-nrii their purpose tban by j ais see lag to Und either. If It was ,' Hie Conlidge fortune which was nt st '" uhy not endenvnr to learn In m mm. trust It wax being held, ami II wl'iit Hleps were being taken to safe in Bimnl (7 Hp ,.n(, ox,,ai ,,e nil. f lure of ,r,.,ist , un urtoriiey. , ,' ,"' "'Ivlseil bo v to iiroceed. Ueter- n inii. il p. tnip. ( ; t)iree M(,nH tne (lrj1, , '"" next day. Wost rested Lack com ci "'T. '1' I" the chair, already half tl s;f"' "ne hnnd rested In bl& pocket. It nn" as his tin gers fumbled some object lucre. Ii,. Ninblpnly recalled the knife tl aexton IH fmi() the ncyt n He drew- the article forth curiously, p V, " '""''l nt It under the glow -if "'! electrte lgh,-. U1IS M)1 In t 'K,,l''Ife. 8"'b as a b inlelit ntrry. u rather stranjie mllf 0 0 "vercil In a dirt nller b i ,lVr,l' r,,,i. The Inetttisrulu ck h, forclhly, ond be sat up. J "wake onro moru jjji jor otcd Hint the single slender blade did ot fit closely down Into Its place. Ie opened It Idly to learn the cause -beneath appeared the win to gluuin f tightly folded paper. CHAPTER XI What the Telephone Told. All West's Intlirrerenre vanished In-Inntly. In-Inntly. He had to pry the paper out. ii closely bad It been wedged In be-eath be-eath the closed blade, nnd It re-ulred re-ulred a moment In which to straight-n straight-n It out so that the writing was tils, ernlhle. Kven then the marks were faint, nnd minute, be could not nlly decipher them until be made so of a magnifying gtnss lying on ie tlesk. A woman's band, using a cncll. had hastily Inscribed the nrtls on a scrap of common paper, (ipnrcntly torn from some book lie isplrntlon of an Instant, perbnps n itldeti hope born of desperation. He ilrly had to d'g the words out. letter letter, copying them on un old en-I'lope en-I'lope until be hntl the message com-lete: com-lete: "Please notify police to search emlnolc quick." West rentl this over, word by word, rain nnd again. What did It mean? bl It mean nnvthlng? Had It any isslhle connection with the case In heb be wns Interested? There wnH signature, nothing to guide him: H In some wny the plea sounded al, was a cry of distress, an npieal ir help. It could be given no other ennlng. yet how long bad tt been Ing there In the nlley? Not any ent length of time surely, for the llslied silver was far too ronspleu-is ronspleu-is to escape notice. It must have ;en dropped during the night, within very short time of Its discovery, nut bnt ci If 1 the words signify? "Notify dice" wns clear enough, but "senrch Nttlnnlc" mennt absolutely nothing, 'hat was "Seminole" an apartment mse? A hotel? A saloon? Perhaps e police would know; evidently the rlter so believed, or she would never lve used the nnme with such conll ncc. A fnmU'nr name to her. she istimcd that the police would hnve i dirticulty In Instantly locating the ace mennt. The linte with which e tnessnge hnd apparently been writ-n. writ-n. Its short, sharp words, bespoke gent need, the consciousness of Im Incut peril. Plainly the writer had it'll the only means nt band In a hur-ptl hur-ptl desperate effort to gain ns3lst-ice. ns3lst-ice. "The police." The request bad been r the police; then why not npiienl the police? Why not take the note iw directly to bentlqunrters anil let em help solve Its mystery? At tlrsi est hesitated, yet a moinint's ought convinced b'm this would he e logical course to pursue. His np allng to the police need not nee-snrlly nee-snrlly Involve any disclosure rc'n-re rc'n-re to the Qinlldge mntter. He had itinl this note nce'dentally In an al-y al-y In the northwest section of the ty; bis belnic there need require no iccliil explanntlon; be did not un-Tftnnil un-Tftnnil Its menn'tig. nnd coiiHi'iutut- be placrtl It In their hands. That all mnded natural enough. He looked at Sexton, who wns sleep-g sleep-g soundly, and decided not to tvnken the man. He hntl no use ir bis services Just now; the City ill was only n few blocks nwny, nnd might not be out more tban nn mtr himself, lie would leave a no'e that If hy any chance be should lie ?ln.ved. Sexton would understand lint had occurred. He scratched lis off hnstlly. placed It In a mnsplc-, nits place, and swiftly departed, aT r extinguishing the llrht. lie wns it lower conscious of fatigue, or the tin of bruises, his itiltid cir.'cr n am the meaning of this new dls ivery. It had been a quiet night at the City all station, and Wen encotirteieil i d'tllculty In reaching the nre-ciice ' the lieutenant In charge. The o'llcer bo had opened the door to the Inner lice said rather doubtfully: "This guy wants to fcc you person-I.v, person-I.v, sir; he wouldn't talk to no one so." "All rlcht. Slavln; shut the door id I'll hear what ho has to say. What It. my man?" West explained swiftly and clearly, 's manner of speech, ns well n his ateiuent as to who he was evidently inking n favorable Impression on his stener. He 'look the note, spread It nt on the desk, und studied It cure-illy. cure-illy. "I.onks genuine eunuch." . he com-settled com-settled at last, "but not very cb-nr don't know any place In Ibis town idled Seni'mile. Wall a ut'n'iie. lough: perhaps one of the boys niny live an Iden." He pressed a button on top of the esk. nnd In response to the summon" side door opened, anil a man In Inln clothes entered. "You rang, slrt 'Yes. MeAilums; tins gentleman ere" "Cnptaln West, ns I nm a s'ntier!" e exclaimed, "dee! bet 1 am uiad t" ee yon npuln. old man! Say. P.) ind! you don't remetnlier me." "Oh, but I certainly do. Mae." anil linn n nn. rnw you nisi at iirest, II day you sailed for home. So this wr your Job. sergeant V "Heen with the department ev since I was a bid. Put me In plnl clothes since I enme back. I.leutenan this Is Captain West, ofllccr across tli pond with the engineers; we wei buddies Tor about two months. Win wns wanted, sir?" "Well, Cnptaln West bns Just be telling me n rather pecul'ar story, an wanted some Information I thnucl lierbnps you could give; you know tl old town right better than I do. Fin of all. do you recall any crook by tl mime or Hobnrt .llm Holiarf?" "Hobart? Hobnrt? No. not off linn I don't. How old n mnn Is be. Ca; tnln?" "Middle-need, anyway; an active ft low enough, but bis hair Is quite gray "Do you know where he bangs nut' 'The Inst I saw of lilm wns In saloon known ns Mike's place over ci Wray street." "Off Milwaukee; yes. I know. Mike I a big Pole, but has never bad any ser oits trouble so fni I now. Hov ever, being there spcrlnl re nmmendntlon to n v. but I don't h lleve this man Hobnrt bns been pullc since I've been on the force." "Look lilm up In the Index, Mac.' McAtlams drew out a thick vnlutr from ii nearby cabinet, and ran b fingers swiftly down a long colum of nnmes. Indexed under the lettt "II." Suddenly be stopped, with a exclnmntlon. "The lad Is here nil right goven ment offense, fifteen years ago. tblt arrest; mugged number 2S11.1. Let look him up. nnd see If he Is tl same mnn. Come over here. Cnptaln "Is that the fellow?" be asked. West stutled the face seriously. "Yes. I believe It Is, Mnc." be sal at length. "He looks much older no ' "The Lad Is Hore, All Rlcht." but tbo-e are his features alt rlgh What was his game?" "'Con' mostly, according to the rei onl; only one conviction tboucli. tw yen n In Detroit for using the mall to defraud. Oh, yes, hen- Is somethln liferent, Wutilt with Intent lo klll'-Itideterndnnte klll'-Itideterndnnte sentence to .lollet fti tlint. Nothing lien nl of ti'in since, s I e Is back, and at the old game iigaM Do you want him brought In, Cui tnln?" "No. not yet. I haven't anvthln ugalnst the man now but a sitsplclot I wanted to lenrn Ills record that' all. Th's luqu'ry wns onlv InHilen'ii Wbat I'm leally Interested In Just n present Is something I plcted up I the alley back of Mike'" place thre or four hour" ago. It'- a note In u onion's I nun 1 writ I ii lt and when found It. H was hidden In a suit sliver penknife, such n a lady mlgl carry." "There Is a woman It, It. then?" "Yes: but I haven't got thin; hitched up sulllcleiitlv to talk about I The note Itself I", blind." "In what respect?" "Well here It Is. Cnn yon make out? I'll read It for you "Please n tlfy police to search Seminole quirk "No signature?" "None " "Hut that Is plain enough. Isn't It "Yes. If you know what she ineni by Seminole: what Is It? A siree ,n apartment house? A saloon? I you know of iTnythlng under th; name?" .MeAilanis tood motionless tblnkln "No, by thunder. I don't. H he a niltted reluctantly. "There l "Me of that name In the city. There iii to lie a tdwidv hotel over on Onliir street mlled 'The Seminole,' Inn tin aiis torn down ton your eo. I nev heard of tiny other, did you lime "No." answered the llcutwn slowly, sucking uway at a elgnr. "Ma be It's tl ' nant 'if s Imiii- sei"n-. ine I've hcapd sinie sndi nnme liefoi but I ilon'i Jnst recollect where." Im un- onroor master's olllce this I of night r "Wlnthell. usually, autl he'll hat rccortl tliere." The detective Jiggled the rece Impatiently. "Yes. (Ms is police hendqunr culling. (Jive me flip harbor iiinsi onlce. please. Oh. Is this you, I Hob MeAilanm spenbliiR. Do know of nny hont on the lakes ci Hie Seminole? What's that? A tin schooner at Kscnnabn? Never mi () this port, you ray? And you t p knmv "f any other by that nn ie S".!V.' ' " l'n,', ,llp wlr: ,0,,h " u "Not a very promlHlng lead," said over his shoulder, "but Dan M hnve the dope for us In n mliiiiK I He suddenly straightened up. retelver nt Ids ear. 1D "I didn't quite get thnt. Dnn. A illum-sijietl yacht, you say? Whei a) It? Oh. at the Jackson Pnrli Inti I see. and who did you say ownet n Coolldge? What Coolldge? Uxnc ;. the fellow who killed himself )t south. Hold the wire." He swung about to fnce West. " mean nnythlng to you?" "It surely does." eagerly. "The I spoke of wns Nntnllc Coolldge, . all the gods, we arc on the i " track." 1" "All right. Dnn," resuming bli i( versatlon. "What's thnt? Coolldge the boat lip the river a few w y. ago trying to sell It. That's how n bapiiened to remember the nnni in m"' S"v' ""-'rc "ny one "IK J son park I could talk to nt this b , Who? Ob. yes, the life saving stu Sure: somebody will be on duty tl Thanks, old mnn good night." c Ho hung the receiver upon ' hook, antl reached for the telep' j directory. "Some luck, I pay. Jackson pn , oh, yes. here It Is. All right, Ceni )p nure. that la the proper number. I Is the City Hall police hendqum ,n apiln; bustle It up. plcnse. 11 L,r Jackson Pnrk llfe-snvlng still in Oood ; this Is McAdnms speaking I the city detective bureau. Is t n. n yacht out there In the Ingonn ci -,l the Seminole? belongs to n man mi 'g Coolldge; medlum-slrcd boat, with ie engine. Yes; wbnl's thnt? Not. t now; went out Into tbo lake about I'.ours ago. The h II It did! was aboard? do you know? Say Id ngaln; oh, you wasn't on wntch ,v. she sailed; your partner sattl w Three men nml n women. All r yes, I got It. Sny now, listen; th a police matter, bo keep your open. It will be daylight pretty i and If you get sight of that boat, up the City Hall station at once, you get me?" He wheeled about, smiling wh cnlly. "It's on again, off ngnln, Flnnn We bad It, and we have It not. I J I inn getting Interested; I feel the i of the chiisc. Can you spare me I day or two? You cnn? (Jood eno we'll comb the Inkes until we flntl who Is Hailing aboard the Sciiil You're with me, old mnn?" West extended his band silently, the lingers of the two clasped mutual ulcilire. L CHAPTER XII 3 The Yacht "Seminole." There was little to do but wait patiently for sonic further niessag guidance. Mr. Adams dlspatche ' few telegrams to nearby luke pi anil briefly outlined certain plain action for the morrow, provided n Ing further was heard from Hie n lug boat; these included u post visit to I'nlrhiwn, and n clty- "lurch for Hobnrt, who both men l cldeil could not be Included mining party of the yacht. West told tils assistant the entire story In detail. . Mac's Interest In ferreting out j mntter became Intense. It was , kind of case which fascinated with Its mystery, but no theory coiilil spin born from long police ,, perlence, seemed to exactly lit nil revealed facts, The great puw.le p volved nl'Oiil the strange iieMim the girl; Iter part In the affair ,,, "cntliig nn unsolvnhle riddle, 'I must liuve tulkcd for nn hour, tllst Ing the sllnatlon frankly from c il angle, yet arriving nt no dellnlte ,1 cIiinIoii. Tin1 sky In the east was In with dawn when both men fell ... asleep In their chairs, s'lll waltlii It was nine o'clock, and still I wont. The two bail eaten u b P breakfast In n restaurant across it "Meet. d'sciiMNliig the situation n thoroughly, hut to no more nl ImThc result. Il seemed lmtiO""lble lo re is clle certain facts. If the silver ki II. with Its iiill for belli, had Indeed I dropped by Nnlalle Coolldtre. and wns be'tii: held s prisoner In Hie hi It of villains tin bos'rd the Semli o why bail she nrted towanl Wesi " she did In that houe on Wray s'r To nil apttearatice" there he hntl I bund In glove with the couspirm tvllllng even lo connive al the i "' tain's murder If neces'iiry to the I'' ces" of their crime. Mnlv one th 1,1 wii possible; thai the girl was it 1,1 eoestralnt dilven to her streiiKe n liersi.nnl fear. She dare do not K else, terrorized by the threat of |