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Show SERIAL La STORY t J 1 ELUSIVE 1 ISABEL r By JACQUES FUTRELLE i E Illustrations by M. KETTNER Upyri(fht. bv Tilt) Aesoclated Bun'iay Maparlnea. Copyright 1909, Dy The Bobbo-ilerrlU Conip&nj. 7 SYNOPSIS. Count dl RosinI, the Italian ambassador, ambas-sador, is at dinner with diplomats in the national capital when a messenger brings a note directing him to come to the embassy at once. Here a beautiful young woman asks that she be given a ticKet to the embassy ball. The ticket tick-et Is made out in the name of Miss Is-abel Is-abel Thome. Chief Campbell of the secret service, and Mr. Grimm, his head detective, are warned that a plot of the L-atin races against the English speak- k ing races is brewing in Washington, and Grimm goes to the state ball for ; information. In a conservatory his at tention Is called to Miss Isabel Thorne, who with her companion, soon disappears. disap-pears. A revolver shot is heard and Campbell and Grimm hasten down the hall to find that Senor Alvarez of the Mexican legation, has been shot. A woman wo-man did- it, and Grimm is assured it was Miss Thorne. He visits , her, demanding knowledge of the affair, and there arrests a man named Pletro Petroztnni. Miss Thorne visits an old man, lAligi, apparently appar-ently a bomb maker, and they speak of a wonderful experiment. CHAPTER VIII. (Continued.) Simultaneously the front door of the house on the corner, where Hastings had been hiding, and the front door of the house near the corner, where Blair had been hiding, opened and two heads peered out. As the car approached approach-ed Hastings' hiding-place he withdrew into the hallway; but Blair came out and hurried past the legation in the direction of the rapidly disappearing motor. Hastings joined him; they spoke together, then turned the corner. cor-ner. It was about ten o'clock that night ' when Hastings reported to Mr. Camp- bell at his home. "We followed the car in a rented automobile from the time it turned the corner, out through Alexandria, and along the old Baltimore Road into the city of Baltimore," he explained. "It was dark by the time we reached Alexandria, but we stuck to the car ahead, running without lights until we came in sight of Druid Hill Park, and then we had to show lights or be held up. We covered those forty (uiles going in less than two hours. "After the car passed Druid Hill it slowed up a little, and ran off the 1 turnpike into North Avenue, then into North Charles Street, and slowly along that as if they were looking 'for a number. At last it stopped and Miss Thorne got out and entered a house. She was gone for more than half an. hour, leaving Mr. Cadwallader with the car. While she was gone I made some inquiries and learned that the house vas occupied by a Mr. Thomas Q. Grviwold. I don't know ' anything else tibout him; Blair may have leafned something. "Now comes the curious part of it," and Hastings looked a little sheepish. "When Miss TSjorne came out of the house she was ;iot Miss Thorne at all she was Senorita Inez Rodriguez, daughter of thti Venezuelan minister. She wore the same clothing Miss Thorne had worn going, but her veil 'was lifted. Veil&d and all muffled up one would have tken oath it was the same woman. She and Cadwallader are back in Washington now, or are coming. That's all, except Blair is still in Baltimore, awaiting orders. I caught the train from the Charles Street station and came back. Johnson, John-son, you know " "Yes, I've seen Johnson," inter rupted uampoeii. Are you absolutely positive that the woman you saw get into the automobile with Mr. Cadwal-lader Cadwal-lader was Miss Thorne?" "Absolutely," replied Hastings without with-out hesitation. "I saw her in her own room with her wraps on, then saw her come down and get into the car." "That's all," said the chief. "Goodnight." "Good-night." For an hour or more he sat in a .great, comfortable chair in the smoking-room of his own home, the guileless guile-less blue eyes vacant, staring, and spidery lines In Uul benevolent fore-bead. fore-bead. On the morning of the second daj following, Senor Rodriguez, the minister min-ister from Venezuela, reported to the Secret Service Bureau the disappearance disappear-ance of fifty-thousand dollars in gold from a safe in his private office at the legation. CHAPTER IX. k Fifty Thousand Dollars. Mr. Campbell was talking. "For several months past," he said, "the International Investment Company, Com-pany, through its representative. Mr. Cressy, has been secretly negotiating with Senor Rodriguez for certain asphalt as-phalt properties in Venezuela. Three niays ago these negotiations were successfully suc-cessfully concluded, and yesterday afternoon aft-ernoon Mr. Cressy, in secret, paid to Senor Rodriguez, fifty thousand dollars dol-lars in American gold, the first of lour payments of similar sums. This f gold was to have been shipped to Philadelphia Phil-adelphia by express to-day to catch a steamer for Venezuela." Mr. Grimm nodded. "The fact that this gold was in Senor Rodiguez's possession could not have been known to more than half a dozen persons, as the negotiations throughout have been in strict se-.crecy." se-.crecy." and Mr. Campbell Bmiled benignly. be-nignly. "So much! Now, Senor Rodriguez Rod-riguez has just telephoned asking that I send a man to the legation at once. The gold was kept there over night or perhaps I should say that the senor Intended to keep It there over night." Mr. Campbell stared at Mr. Grimm for a moment, then: "Miss Thorne, you know, is a guest at the legation, that is why I am referring the matter to you." "I understand," said Mr. Grimm. And ten minutes later Mr. Grimm presented himself to Senor Rodriguez. The minister from Venezuela, bubbling bub-bling with excitement, was pacing forth and back across his office, ruffling ruf-fling his gray-black hair with nervous, twining fingers. Mr. Grimm sat down. "Senor," he Inquired placidly, "fifty thousand dollars in gold would weigh nearly two hundred pounds, wouldn't it?" Senor Rodriguez stared at him blankly. "Si, Senor," he agreed absently. And then, in English: "Yes, I should imagine im-agine so." "Well, was all of it stolen, or only a part of it?" Mr. Grimm went on. The minister gazed into the listless eyes for a time, then, apparently bewildered, be-wildered, walked forth and back across the room again. Finally he sat .down. "All of it," he admitted. "I can't understand un-derstand it. No one, not a soul In this house, except myself, knew it was here." "In addition to this weight of, say two hundred pounds, fifty thousand dollars would make considerable bulk," mused Mr. Grimm. "Very well! Therefore it would appear that the person, or persons, who got it must have gone away from here heavily laden?" Senor Rodriguez nodded. "And now, Senor," Mr. Grimm continued, con-tinued, "if you will kindly state the circumstances immediately preceding and following the theft?" A slight frown which had been J 1 "No One, Not a Soul in This House, Except Myself, Knew It Was Here." growing upon the smooth brow of the diplomatist was instantly dissipated. "The money fifty thousand dollars in gold coin was paid to me yesterday yester-day afternoon about four o'clock," he began slowly, in explanation. "By Mr. Cressy of the International Investment Company," supplemented Mr. Grimm. "Yes. Go on." The diplomatist favored the young man with one sharp, inquiring glance, and continued: "The gentleman who paid the money remained here from four until nine o'clock while I, personally, counted it. As I counted it I placed it in canvas bags and when he had gone I took these bags from this room into that," he indicated a closed door to his right, "and personally stowed them away in the safe. I closed and locked the door of the safe myself; I .know that it was locked. And that's all, except this morning the money was gone every dollar of it." "Safe blown?" inquired Mr. Grimm. "No, Senor!" exclaimed the diplo matist with sudden violence. "No, the safe was not blown! It was closed and locked, exactly, as I had left it! 11 Mr. Grimm was idly twisting the seal ring on his little finger. "Just as I left it!" Senor Rodriguez repeated excitedly. "Last night after I locked the safe door I tried it to make certain that it was locked. I happened to notice then that the pointer on the dial had stopped precisely pre-cisely at number forty-five. This morning, when I unlocked the safe and, of course, I didn't know then that the money had been taken the pointer point-er was still at number forty-five." He paused with one hand in the air; Mr. Grimm continued to twist the seal ring. "It was all like like some trick on the stage," the minister went on, "like the magician's disappearing lady, or or ! It was as though I had not put the money into the safe at all!" "Did you?" inquired Mr. Grimm amiably. ami-ably. "Did I?" blazed Senor Rodriguez. "Why. Senor ! I did!" he concluded meekly. Mr. Grimm believed him. "Who else knows the combination of the safe?" he queried. "No one, Senor not a living soul." "Your secretary, for instance?" "Not even my secretary." I "Some servant some member of your family?" I "I tell you, Senor, not one person In ail the world knew that combina tion except myself," Senor Rodriguez Insisted. "Your secretary a servant some member of your family might have-seen have-seen you unlock the safe some time, and thus learned the combination?" Senor Rodriguez did not quite know whether to be annoyed at Mr. Grimm's persistence, or to admire the tenacity with which he held to this one point. "You must understand, Senor Grimm, that many state documents are kept in the safe," he said finally, "therefore it is not advisable that any one should know the combination. I have made it an absolute rule, as did my predecessors here, never to unlock un-lock the safe in the presence of another an-other person." "State documents!" Mr. Grimm's Hps silently repeated the words. Then aloud: "Perhaps there's a record of the combination somewhere? If you had died suddenly, for instance, how would the safe have been opened?" "There would have been only one way, Senor blow it open. There is no record." "Well, if we accept all that as true," observed Mr. Grimm musingly, "it would seem that you either didn't put the money Into the safe at all, or please sit down, there's nothing personal per-sonal in this or else the money was taken out of the safe without It being unlocked. This last would have been a miracle, and this is not the day of miracles, therefore !" Mr. Grimm's well modulated voice trailed off into silence. Senor Rodriguez Rodri-guez came .to his feet with a blaze of anger in his eyes; Mr. Grimm was watching him curiously. "I understand, Senor," said the minister min-ister deliberately, "that you believe that I!" "I believe that you have told the truth," interrupted Mr. Grimm placidly, placid-ly, "that is the truth sg far as you know it. But you have, stated one thing in error. Somebody besides yourself your-self does know the combination. Whether they knew it or not at this time yesterday I can't say, but somebody some-body knows it now." Senor Rodriguez drew a deep breath of relief. The implied accusation had been withdrawn as pleasantly and frankly as It had been put forward. "I ran across a chap In New York once, for instance," Mr. Grimm took the trouble to explain, "who could unlock un-lock any safe that is, any safe of the kind used at that time twelve or fourteen years ago. So you see. I doubt if he would be so successful with the new models, with ail their improvements, but then ! You know he would have made an ideal burglar, that chap. Now, Senor, who lives here in the legation with you?" "My secretary, Senor Diaz, my daughter Inez, and just at the moment, mo-ment, a Miss Thorne Miss Isabel Thorne," the senor informed him. "Also four servants two men and two women." "I've had the pleasure of qaeeting, your daughter and Miss Thorne," Mr: Grimm informed him. "Now, suppose we take a look at the safe?" "Certainly." Senor Rodriguez started toward the1 closed door just as there came a tim-1 id knock from the hall. He" glanced! at Mr. Grimm, who nodded, then hei called: "Come in!" The door opened, and Miss Thorne; entered. She was clad In some filmy,j gossamer-like morning gown with her! radiant hair caught upon her whitej neck. At sight of Mr. Grimm the blueJ gray eyes opened as if in surprise and she paused irresolutely. "I beg your pardon, Senor," she said, addressing the diplomatist. "I did not know" you were engaged. And Mr. Grimm!" She extended a slim, white hand, and the young man bowed low over it. "We are old friends," shei explained, smilingly, to the minister.! Then: "I think I must have dropped) my handkerchief when I was in here! yesterday with Inez. Perhaps you) found It?" ' ' "Si, Senorita," replied Senor Rod-! riguez gallantly. "It is on my desk-in desk-in here. -Just a moment." He opened the door and passed into the adjoining room. Mr. Grimm's eyes met those of Miss Isabel Thorne, and there was no listlessness In them now, only interest. She smiled at him tauntingly and lowered her lids. Senor Rodriguez appeared from the other rnnm with the handkerchief "Mil gracias, Senor," she thanked him. "No hay de que, Senorita," he returned, re-turned, as he opened the door for her: "Monsieur Grimm, au revoir!" She dropped a little curtsey, and still smiling, smil-ing, went out. "She is charming, Senor," the diplomatist diplo-matist assured him enthusiastically,' albeit Irrelevantly. "Such vivacity,, such personality, such such she is charming." "The safe, please," Mr. Grimm reminded re-minded him. (TO BE CONTINUED.) |