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Show MUTTS s- jbjdMAMCIN BARBER , . y S-;'!' ' -t': Fourth Avenue as fast as tbe local can take us. Guesa we woiA welt fur a taxi" "Then you think." aald Fltcb eagerly, eager-ly, "there may be a clew In what I've told you?" "What's the use of thinking." almost al-most snapped Hrltx, "whon we can know? Thero'a Just one way to know, and that's to go. Come, let's go." As they walked briskly down tbe Headquarters building, Brltz paunod at Manning's ofllcu, poshed a button and, when tha door swung open, thrust his head In long enough to say: "See you luter. Chief; going up town for a little while." "Still fighting It out on that line, eh?" was Manning's return. "Yes," mild Hrltx calmly, "and It may not take all winter either." The detective and the doctor were so absorbed In the subject as they raced down the subway stairs that they did not notice a dark faced man who, after a keen glance at their faces, hastened east In Bleecker Street and sprang Into a waiting cab at the next corner. CHAPTER XIV. Old Friends. Hruxton Bands was as genuinely astonished as-tonished as a man of dellberateness could be when a clerk entered the private room of his office suite In a Howling Green skyscraper and told him a lady wished to see blra. He was about to Instruct the clerk to ask for the lady'a card when, glancing over the youth's head, he glimpsed a golden gol-den gleam under a big hat with sweeping sweep-ing plumes through the doorway and In an Instant was crossing the threshold thres-hold with both hands extended. "My dear Doris!" he said. "This Is really good of you. Things were getting get-ting a bit dull this morning." Mrs. Mlssloner smiled In that per- that she has broken any law of Uod or man!" "Are you sure this Is wise, Doris?" Inquired Sands gravely. As he stood bexlde her. It was difficult to control tho Impulse to pour out before ber the adoration he felt at sight of her Dew loveliness. She had never seemed more beautiful than when she was moved by sympathy for the girl who at that moment, doubtless, was wondering won-dering If she bad forsaken her. "Wise or not," returned the widow, "I shall do It Something tells me she Is In need of sympathy this very day. Why, Hruxton. how do we know what effect this dreadful Incarceration Incarcera-tion might have upon her? It may warp ber entire nature; It may wreck her health. Pleaae do not try to dissuade dis-suade me. I have made up my mind to see her, and I shall go there at once." It was a short dash for tbe auto up Itroadway, up Centre Streot to the Tombs, and tt was with little difficulty that Sands obtained for Mrs. Mlssloner Mlsslon-er permission to see the prisoner. Elinor came around tbe corner of the corridor with more animation In her step than It had shown In many a day. She had hardly been able to believe her eyes on reading Mrs. Missioned Mis-sioned name on the card thrust through the grstlng of her cell. Long ago lite had made up ber mind that the ialn of circumstances, or perhaps an enemy, had sown In her kind friend's mind suspicion that she was gul.'ty. As the days rolled on and she received re-ceived no word from Mrs. Mlssloner, the conviction grew upon her. Even this very day she had given up the hoe of rehabilitating herself In the eyes of ber employer. Not that It was an employer she mourned In loos of Mrs. Mlssloner' confidence. Tbe rich widow was her friend; had been her family's friend, and had been the first to offer her a refuge In the ter- after auothcr, patiently repeating persistent per-sistent Inquiries as to what bad become be-come of tbe veteran curio dealer. Wunk slares and equally blank answers an-swers were tbe result until Hrltz. In a tiny tobacco shop that was the center of all tbe old times places huddled together to-gether for protection against the encroachment en-croachment of progress, unearthed a memory Incarnate In a man, who, Fitch said, might have been tbe twin brother of the amateur alchemist. "Yea," snld the man, "I remember him. and It's a funnv thing to me that anybody who ever saw him could evet forget him. He was tbe queerest little old duck I ever ran across." Hrltz thought If anyone could be queerer than the ancient tobacconist he would have to step out of a page of Dickens. The Incarnate memory recalled that the curio dealer had been taken away a week or two before his shop was torn down to clear the ground for tbe foundation work of the great skyscraper. sky-scraper. No, he didn't go away. He was taken away. "Anything wrong with him?" asked Hrltx. "Well, not exactly what you might call wrong, so to speak," quavered the old tobacco merchant. "I wouldn't go so fur as to any there was anything you might exactly call wrong with hltn, but neither wivjld I undertake to tell you that he waa altogether what you might call right," and bo touched hla forehead significantly. "Oh!" said Hrltx, "Ward'a or Randall's?" Ran-dall's?" "Huh," said tbe old tobacconist, "I don't know what you mean." "Why." said the detective, "what ! mean Is did they take him to tbe Asylum Asy-lum or to the Workhouse?" "I reckon It wouldn't have been any use to take him to the Workhouse." said the tobacco dealer, "because, so far as I know, be never done no work In all his life, and be was too old a dog to learn tbe habit by that time. No. I guess they took him to the other place; but what do you want to kuow for? Are you missing heirs?" Hrltx and Fitch laughed "No," ho said, "my friend here Just wants to brush up an old acquaintance." acquaint-ance." When the two had bought enough cigars to recall faintly the dreams of prosperity that had Inspired In-spired the old man's youth, they strolled to the Twenty-third street corner, where they Jumped aboard a crosstown car that took them to the Island ferry. (TO BE CONTINUED.) 8YNOPSIS. Tha atnry npuna with a Irrum from liiirnihy March In the opera mx of Mr. M'aaloner, a wealthy widow. It Ik occasioned oc-casioned when Mm MlKloner'a necklace hrcali. prut (itIiik t tip ill.i niuri'lH nil over tti Moor, ('uitia Orlxwold and Hruxton Humid, society men In love with Mr Mid. nlmiPT, KHthrr up ho enia. Orlawold ii 'pa on what la atippoaed t" Ui !-Iriled !-Iriled Mil liiirnnee it 1 1 ) iriialifa It. A 1 1 1 n -il'i ili'i lnna It waa not tha S''',"l", A" rxpert Inter pronounced all I lie atonea jeilmtltutea for the orlslnnl. One. of tha oillii illiinionila la found In tho room of Minor 1 1 ..!-. mi l. ronll't'iitliil companion compan-ion of Mrs. Mlasloncr, Hha la arreated, notwlthxttinilliiK Mra Mlnnloner's txlh'f In lnT limo pik'p. Mount line. In an up-I'imii up-I'imii mnnalon. two I (unions, who am in America to recover the Miiharn nee, dla- ur the HirrM. lu-tiM'tlvcs Hrlts titkea tip the ciiae. Ho aaka t tin co-op nil Ion of lr Mtch. I'llnor'a tliince. In running; town tl, real criminal. Hrlts Icarna that duplicate of Mra, Mlanloix r'a illnmonda wi'ia maila In I'aria on the. order of Llln.ir ll.ilcomh. Whllu walking Ilrtti la 'lxi', hound and KUKKed hy llltidooa. lln la hiiprlHMin-d In a iliwrtnl houae, but make hla eactipn He la convinced that the lllndooa at materially Intereated In ilia rna. (r-inill 11 ar to b a reporter, lirltt Intervh'wa tha Hwaml to th rur dlunionda of India. CHAPTER XIII. (Continued.) Hrltx frowned sightly as bo read the niesHnge, then with a heavy foun-lain foun-lain pen that fairly raced over the paper, pa-per, and, addressing his faraway as-slKtant as-slKtant by bis cable word, he wrote: "Logan. Paris. Was Maharanee made there, too?" Hrltx tapped a bell and looked up as a Headquarters putrolnian opened the door. "Hush this down to the Western I'nlon office," he said. "Take It yourself, your-self, and see that It goes at once." It was when bis thoughts were tan gled In the tightest of knots that a card was brought to him by the twin brother of the heavy footed bluecotit who even then was supposedly on his way to the Western Union office with the cuble to Logan. Show him In," said Hrltx after a glance at tbe name; and, as his visitor visi-tor entered, ho swung his feet from the desk, advancing halfway to the door, and extended bis hand cordially. "How do you do, doctor?" he said. "I hope I see you cheerful." A wan smile broke tho fixity of (he doctor's countenance for an instant, and he shook his head slightly. "I don't see how there can be any cheer for me," he said, "as long as that poor girl U a prisoner In the Ton:bs. When are we gol: g to get her out?" "I know Just how you feel about u. doctor," aald Hrltx sympathetically, "but you'll have to leave that In my bunds for the present. .Miss Holconib must stay where she Is awhile longer." lon-ger." "Hut surely," persisted the physl-Ulan, physl-Ulan, "It cannot be necessary to leave her there forever to establish her Innocence, In-nocence, You know she Is guiltless; I know tt; Mra. Mlssloner knows It, and It would not take much to bring all her acquaintances to tbe same view. Why must we wait?" "Now, let us talk." said Hrltx. "You and I have fenced long enough along Ibis line; let's get down to business. You know something about chemistry, that's certain. Do you know enough about It to tell me whether any progress prog-ress has been made In recent years In the manufacture of paste Jewels?" "Can't say I do! haven't been much Interested In that line until this outrageous out-rageous attempt to prove Miss Holconib Hol-conib a thief." "Well, Ifa about time you did," said Hrltx meaningly. "I don't see what good it Is to a girl to have an M. D for a lover If be can t be of any more use to her In a case of this sort than Hlnks of the Hardware Club, or Jenks of tbe Hetail Grocers' Association. Now, you know how these false gems are made, don't you?" "I know pretty well," and Fltcb gave him tbe formula with which the J , minute men of the Jewel trade were lamlllar for purposes of self protee- , lion. , "Well, I'm quite free to tell you," i continued Hrltx. "that the whole ques , ion of Miss Holcorab's stay In the i Tombs depends on our success In find- Ing out who made the Maharanee dla- mond. I know who turned out the other stones had Logan over there i tor several weeks In Paris, you know." The detective then sketched rapidly i for Fitch the detailed Information sent i to him by bis assistant across tbe wa- ( ijr. "Hut I cannot get a line on the Maharanee diamond. I've been over every place In this neck of woods In fact, I've gone over tbe whole country I Itb a fine-tooth comb. I've bad every Important city In Europe canvassed, and the sum total of all these Inquiries I U that nobody knows any live man who could make an Imitation of the real Maharanee anything like good enough to deceive Simple Simon. Now. you Just get that scientific thinking think-ing apparatus of yours going, and help me puxx'e out the problem. We know there waa a fake Maharanee diamond. It waa ground to pieces under Otis wold's beel In Mrs. Mlsaloner's opera box. It waa picked up by a man from tbe Orient this Swaml whatever his name Is, tbe sort of combination priest aad scholar who ssys he's here to spread the propaganda of tbe Duddblst faith among tbe elect of New York society. Bands saw the diamond; Miss .March saw It; Oiiswold saw tt. ad. of course. Mra Mlssloner bemetf JuA it Id ber own band Tnere la bo doubt about Ita existence. In fact, bete is a piece of It now," and be showed Fitch a flake of the fulae diamond. dia-mond. "Hut you don't know, and I don't know what we have both got to know, and that la who made it, where It waa made, by whom was It made, why was it made, and for whom waa it made? Tho sooner we work out that end of the game, my dear young man, the better It will be for that little lit-tle girl up In Centre Street." The doctor's eyebrows began to contract. There was a pecullnrity In the facial gesture. Something was going on .In hla scientifically Inquiring mind. The brows drew together until their separate lines curved Into the form of a minute Interrogation point; little knobs of skin gnarled under the bristles; his eyes focuBed until they almost crossed. He clasped his handa behind bis bead and studied the celling. cell-ing. A rather long silence followed. Smoke splialed from the detective's cigar and eddied upward. Tbe detective's de-tective's keen glance was leveled at the doctor's Intellectually sharpening face. It was In a reminiscent tone that Fitch at last spoke. "When It comes to guessing, I'm im good," be said. "1 haven't been trained to guesa. The little I know Is the result of careful study and patient analysis; but there are a few things besides pharmacopoeia- In my mind and memory, and ono of them may help us a little." He shifted his position posi-tion until he turned a square front to the detective. "'Way back In my ambulance days," he said, "there was a case that your question reminds me of. It was one of the first I bad after I went to Helle-vue. Helle-vue. It was a call to a queer little old ahop In Fourth Avenue. You remember re-member that row of rookeries filled up with second hand furniture stores, art dene, old curio shops, and so on, on the west side of the avenue, somewhere some-where In the Twenties?" A nod from Hrltx was the only reply. "Well," continued con-tinued the doctor, "this call was to ono of those curiosity shops. It was kept by a queer little old chap who must have starved himself to death to carry out some object be had. He sold curios for a living, and played at alchemy for amusement cracked, you know. At any rate, be wasn't all there. His neighbors looked on blm as a harmless lunatic, and In spite of his solitary habits, be was pretty popular. pop-ular. It was owing to this popularity that he didn't die In the back part of bis own store with all the busy traffics traf-fics of a busy city Just a few rods out-able. out-able. A neighbor heard a noise like an explosion and, running In, found him on his back all covered with some chemical that waa turning hla clothes into porous plasters. The neighbor turned In an ambulance call, and I waa tho answer. I found the old man hatf suffocated and wholly unconscious, aud as I was pretty nervous from Inexperience, In-experience, It was about all I could do to bring blrn around. I wanted to take blm back with mo, but he wouldn't would-n't have It; said he was Just as well off where be was; didn't like the hospital hos-pital anyhow and wouldn't go, ao I fixed htm up where be was. Afterward, After-ward, In the exuberance of my youthful youth-ful t(!al, called on blm outside of working hours, and kind of looked after blm. He pulled through all right, but he waa a pretty badly charred old person for a long time after that. As soon aa be was well enough to take care of himself, I left off going there, and that Is tbe last I have seen of blm." "What caused tbe explosion?" asked Hrltx. "I believe he was experimenting with some chemical couldn't get blm to tell me anything about It; be got mad aa a hornet every time I touched upon It. I learned, however, from neighbors that be waa Interested In precloua stones, and In bis later years the Idea became firmly fixed In his mind that If he only tried long enough, pent money enough, mortified tbe flesh sufficiently, be would be able to make diamonds." i "What aort of stuff did be succeed I In making?" asked the detective. 1 "You can search me," said Fitch. "I i never got a look' at any of It Hla rrankleta would never make any aort ' of admission to me about tbe stuff he i waa making. All I know la that man who told me about tbe experiments waa quite positive that waa tbe crack i In the old chap's brain that be could i make diamonds, and could make them ' Just aa well In a few boura as nature' i could In a thousand years." I "So tbe explosion must bave 1 been?" I "Some fussing around with the Ingredients In-gredients be was going to convert I Into gleam and glitter. Tbat'a all I i know about It There you have It Now. what do you make of It?" i "Well." aald Hrltx as he put bis i beels to the floor with a click, "what i we'll make of It won't be made down ; here. I'm glad that memory of yours worked In tbe long run; but It might i have saved me an extra hazardous 'Joy ride' If It had worked sooner, i Come along!" and be moved toward tbe door. i "Where are you going?" asked the : physician. "To tbe Bleecker Street station." replied Brits, "and from there to dash wlis ber for the freedom beyond be-yond the great steel door. For an Instant In-stant that Impulse almost got the upper up-per hand of her common sense. Had not Sands been there, she might have done something so foolish aa to complicate com-plicate her young friend's position still further In tbe eyes of all the city's newspapers and their readers. As It was. she Increased the t'-nder-ticss of her caresses, and sought to aoothe Elinor's agitation with little leve words such aa had long been common In their dally Intercourse. Hut this tenderness only recalled to Elinor Eli-nor all the affection, safety, and shelter shel-ter ahe bad left behind her In Mrs. Mlsaloner's home, and at the thought she broke Into uncontrollable sobs. The millionaire's discomfort waa augmented a thousandfold by this scene between tho women. He shifted shift-ed hla weight from one foot to the other, crumpled the rim of his derby hat until It bent like tbe brim of an Alpine, and ir length, unable to view the girl's dlsL-ess with anything like equanimity, he walked to the other end of the reception room and stood looking through the giant latticework at the tide of trafTlc In Centre Street. It waa not until the widirw had restored re-stored Elinor's calmness, not until sho had aasured the trembling prisoner of her love, confidence, and full belief In her Innocence a hundred times, not until their emotion had affected even the matron long Inured to human woe, that the girl saw Sands. Hla sturdy bulk, tbe square set of his shoulders, tbe uncompromising fidelity In bla strong face, gave her a new sense of pleasure. Surely her case could not be desperate with two such loyal friends to defend her! For tbe space of a star-flash, she forgot even Fitch, although her lover at that momont waa hastening uptown with Hrltx In quest of the missing thread that should lead to her vindication. Still with her arm around Mrs. Mlssloner's waist, she extended her band to Sands, and thanked him In a way more effective than any mere girlish prettlness for the proof of hla faith in her that be had given In coming with Mra. Mlssloner to see her. "Not that it would take much persuasion per-suasion to make you accompany Doris anywhere," she said with a smile, and she was not at all remorseful when she noted tbe dark flush of pleasure that spread over his features. "Hut I cannot help taking comfort In tbe fact that you have come to see me, and that very evidently it had cost you no struggle to do so. If all of you could only know what these long weeks bnve been to me, you would understand how deeply the sight of old friends affects me. Here I have been in a world apart The poor creatures who share this dreadful home with me only make my situation situa-tion worse, for I can do nothing for them, and yet tbe sight of their misery mis-ery distresses me beyond words." Kllnor did not know bow much she had been spared by the considerate-ness considerate-ness of the warden In assigning her to a tier of cells In which tbe more brutal bru-tal Inmates of the Tombs never were confined. She had had only a glance of the nether deptha. Grave thotiRh the charge against her was, the good old man, whom an accident of politics poli-tics had placed In control of the prison, pris-on, bad recognized from the first that she waa of finer mould than anyone who had been entrusted to his custody cus-tody In his whole term of office, and he had seen to It that her eyes and ears were not assaulted by the sights and scenes of the blacker deptha. Years passed, and Elinor was a woman of much graver maturity ere she knew how much of misery tbe had escaped. The visit of Mrs. Mlssloner and Bands did Elinor so much good that, when they went away. It was with a lighter heart she returned to her cell, with renewed courage she steeled herself her-self to await tbe effort of tbe good friends and tbe devoted lover she knew were working to clear her name of tbe frightful charge Donnelly and Carson had lodged against her. Her confidence in Dr. Fitch waa not misplaced, for In the short time when Mra. Mlssloner in ber limousine was peeding back to her home In Millionaires' Million-aires' Row, and Sands, In a brougham, was returning to hla office In the Howling Green building, Fltcb and Hrltx were standing on a Fourth Avenue Ave-nue corner a short distance north of , rwenty-thlrd Street, gating with dismay dis-may at a twenty-story skyscrajier that ' itood on tbe site of the little old curio ihop to which duty had called the roung ambulance surgeon years b- . fore. "You are sure tbla la the place?" , isked the detective. , "Absolutely." aald the doctor. "1 , areot over there to gel some brandy , 'or tbe old man when I waa working 11m out of bla stupor." ( "Well." said the sleuth, "so far as ( hat old curiosity ehop Is concernedl seYe up against It; or, whst la worse, sre are not up against It We are con- 'ronted by this steel and stone men-itroslty, men-itroslty, and I guess there's no use i s-astlng time making Inquiries there; ; tiut there may be a few old timers with memories along this block, and aeli see what we can End out. You ske that side of tbe street, and 1 11 , ake this." BrlU and Fitch went into one ahop i Drlti Frowned Slightly aa He Read the Message. vadlng way that long ago had penetrated pene-trated to tbe very core of the millionaire's million-aire's Inner consciousness. That smile Illuminated Sands' somewhat gloomy sanctuary. He welcomed Mrs. Mlssloner Mls-sloner to a comfortable chair beside his broad desk, swept aside the heap of formidable papers with great gold seals and fluttering legal ribbons, and leaned back In his chair quite content to wait a century for bis visitor to peak again, provided ber smile should continue to beam upon blm. "No, It la not about Investments," aid Mra. Mlssloner, noting tbe retrained re-trained Inquiry In her admirer's eyea. "I felt I bad to talk to somebody about Elinor; and Dorothy, you know, la too amiably responsive to be of any use. Hruxton, what am I to do about tbat glrir "I'm euro I don't know," he said at length. "I suppose something ought to be done." "I don't rare what the detective ayaP exclaimed Mrs Mlssloner, "I im cot going to let Elinor Holcomb thtak any longer that ber friend of years believes ber to be a thief. It la unbearable! Tbe man told me that I must not Interfere In the case If I expected blm to vindicate my secretary; sec-retary; but 1 am not going to be governed gov-erned by anyone to tbat extent I am going to aee Elinor today. I am going straight to tbat terrible place and assure ber that even though I permit her to be kept there, I refuse to entertain for a moment the idea rlble days following discovery of the 1 fact that ber kindly, gentle father, after aft-er a lifetime of high endeavor, had left ber without the provision she knew 1 be always Intended to make. 1 "Dear Mra. Mlssloner!" cried Elinor, hastening toward the widow as ahe i read affection and complete belief In ' ber countenance. "You bave done i many lovely things for me, but this la i quite the dearest! It seems hard even ' to picture you In aucb a place, and I tbe reality" I "You poor child!" exclaimed Mrs. i Mlssloner. hardly controlling her ' voice. "What about yourself? If it i Is distressing to me to come here. It i Is terrible for you to be here. How i can you stand It?" : "One learne to stand many thlnge," I she answered, "when fate commands; yet If anyone bad told me a few w eeks ago tbat I could so much as retain my reason In place like this! Now that ' you are here. It seems far eaa!r. Oh, I but It is good of ,-ou to come!" I The widow took tbe girl's bands In her own and patted them aoftly aa I she whispered words of encourage- t mcnt She could not trust ber voice ' to speak for tbe first few mo- I menta. Aa ahe looked at Elinor's slen- i der grace and tbe death! honesty In her soft, gray eyes, the horror of I tbe girl's situation came home to ber ' wltb redoubled force. It waa by a ' mighty effort, and by that alone, that I she prevented bereelf from sweeping t the girl into her arms aod making a |