The evening world. Newspaper, September 25, 1916, Page 11

Pee eR eh gcse oe 6 | _ T THE TREAS Science Meets Science By ARTHUR B. REEVE Super-Detective, Traile Wisard of Crime World— A Story of Clashing Wits and Cross Purposes. he Evenia URE VAULT When Craig Kennedy, (Cuprnat, 1018, by Coen & Gene) CHAPTER |. The Diltenaire. ‘T hed been « long and buoy aflerneon on the tar, and | wae hastily throwing into the wastebasket ae much of the lier of rejected copy em my deck a0 | dared. Giancing up, | caught cig of © face in the doorway, acoom- ee tt was Craig It took me oniy @ moment to understand why he summoned me in vie BPPreviated fashion, for the leat time lowe bat he had dropped into the oMee the fei got hold of him, and had kept him there « couple of hours, spinning Yarns of be detective exploit, | closed my desk, grabbed my hat, and hur- ied out tato the hall *% ese you've been very busy.” he vemarked, as we rode quickly down im the elevator. thought perhaps you might be Inter- ested. But you've had « hard day, not tired @ biti" I has. “At least, not eo tired that.” Craig laughed. “See the power of soney!" he exclaimed, “One rainute you are almost ready to bite my head off for disturbing your rest, the next you are as ready as—as I am to eet up in a caso involving what Star always calle ‘predatory wealth.’” “Naturally,” I rejoined. “What- ver may be my editorial views, my personal views are very easily ox- plained. Wherever there te big busl- nese there is something happening. ‘and, though I have no liking for, or desire to be part of, the machinery, till, as a newspaper man, | like to be on the inside in seeing the wheels go round. Do you get me? What's it all about, anyway?” “I can't tell you,” replied Craig, as we breasted the mob on Park Row, all pouring eagerly homeward in the direction of the Brooklyn Bridge “AN I know is that I have been asked by some one over the tele- phone to be at the office of Sheldon Smith at half past five to advise Mr. Hamilton about something.” “Phew! I whistied, “How noncha- lantly we bandy names! Here we are casually dropping into the office of the greatest corporation lawyer in the country to confer with the rich- est man in the world! Next you'll be calling them by their first names.” “Don't be filppant, Walter,” an- aweread Craig, with growing disap- proval of my tone. “It may prove & eertous matter—for us. When you get a big chance to make good, it calle for a big effort.” ‘The rush-hour crowd headed up- town is not the best place in the world tn which to carry on a conver. sation, especially if you are headed in the opposite direction to the crowd. Im apite of my bantering, I must confess to @ little feeling of awe, if not mervouaness, as we rode up in the elevator of one of the older buildings on lower Broadway and sent our cards In before the powers. Tt le one thing to have opinions about certain people but quite an- other to have dealings with them, Em the outside office of Smith, Macy ®& Hardwick we loked anout cu- riously, Here were records of great corporations and vast estates on every side—a veritable storeroom of these noted father confessors of busi- ness and society, From floor to cell- ing, in every available space, the walls wore lined with one of the most complete private law libraries tn the city, We were quickly ushered by ao deferential clerk into a large and substantially furnished office. Seated at a big mahogany desk was the lawyer—a siim, rather tallish man, who looked aa if he were in the late thirties, but was actually fast ap- proaching the fifties, In an easy chair was a large, thick-set man, clean-shaven and square-jawed, with keen, penetrating eyes, iron-gray hair and a manner that would have marked him a leader in anything from overalls to evening clothes. Both men would have been suff. ciently impressive, even if we had not already recognised them instantly from their portratts, which the new Papers and magasnes had made familiar in every pose, “Hamilton, this is Professor Ken- nedy, who solved that Stock Ex- change Trust Company case I was telling you about," remarked the lawyer, who had engineered more trusts through the mases of the Shenean law than the Bupreme ¢ ourt could ever shake a stick at, “And this other genileman is Mr, Jameson, who ndered him such material assistance. Gentlemen, let me pre- sent to you Mr. Hamilton I could not heip noticing that Kennedy had made a favorable im- pression already, though as yet he had done nothing. The first tmprea- elon with men like these, I felt, gounted for much, and, though I was quite confident of Kennedy's ability te ge to any occasion, it was still Pleervent to see that they begna by treating hia with the utmost reepect, “Mr. Kennedy,’ resumed the ipw- yor, when we were seated, “It la, of Course, Unnecessary to impress upon you peculiar need of absolute secrecy in the matter that we ere about to place in your hands.” “Absolutely,” replied Craig, with Die eyes fixed on the lawyer's face, and apeaking for both of us, Sheldon Smith's next remark came like the explosion of a bomb: “The vault in the Insurance Trust Company, where Mr, Hamilton's e@- curities and his private papers are stored, has been entered in some way probably within the last day or two, Fortunately there te never much actual money there, Mr, Ham- fiton ia not a hoarder, What money there was, however, is, we believe, intact.” “And the securit.es,” added I ton, for the firat time breaking the silence he had maintained, “the se curities were, of course, all registered, and rather dangerous property to steal and to try to realise on, As far as wo know, none of them was| touched.” | “But,” put in Kennedy, somewhat | pussied, “what was taken? | “A file of letters to and from Mr. | Hamilton—letters relating to the for- | mation of the great Lito-Fire-Acct- | dent Insurance Trust a few years ago | letters which would, if published, | cause suits against Mr. Hamilton by the Government sand by tnd:viduals that would cost hundreds of thou- sands of dollars to defend, and in- Volve millions of doliars of capital, would derange the whole insurance business, affecting in some degreo every man, woman, and child In the country, and would also end the po- litical careers of a dozen or a score of the leading men in both 8 nd, nation, “Kennedy,” continued the lawyer, dropping his voice as he warmed up to his subject, a device which had been tested with the supreme tribunals of the land, and found efficient in many a tight pinch, “the interests Involved in the recovery of those letters are greater than would be the case if millions of dollars in actual money had been lost. Consider, If the pre- cautions which Mr. Hamilton and, I may aay, myself have adopted, includ~ ing the expert advice of the greatest men in their line in the world, if those precautions are not proof against this sort of thing, then the gold and silver and bank notes of the sub-treasury itself, of the National City and First National Banks, of any repository of ‘Jen ') the world, are no longer safe. We 4 wake up to-morrow to read in the papers that the entire stock of bullion in the treasury vaults at Wash- ington j# gone, that cracksmen have entered the Bank of England, or that the Rank of France has been looted of its last franc, There Is no telling where such a thing could end. A mere hint of such an kica would precipitace & panic on the stock exchanges and bourses of the World. And, mind, I do not exaggerate when I say it ts ae mystertous as if there had actually been spirit hands at work removing those letters invisibly through every barrier not built in the fourth dimen- sion, Not a word yet, air! 1 want you to see for yourself.” He pressed a button under his desk as he concluded this statement of his case in his famous manner, which *meant conviction or acquittal, accord- ing to which side he was retained by. A clerk noiselessly presented himself In an instant. “Carlton, will you call up Mr. Hard- ing and Mr, Latham, and tell them that Mr, Hamilton has juat come in and de- sires to open the safety-deposit vault directly.” ‘The clerk as noiselessly and rapidly disappeared as he had appeared “Now, sir,” continued the lawyer, as the sound-proof door of his office closed, “We must have some valid ¢: couse for taking Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Jameson down In the vault” “Were there any faintly jewels kept there sked Craig, who had been re- volving the thing over and over in his mind. “Yes; but they were untouched,” said Bmith, “The very thing! We arranging for an appraisal of the Hamilton jewels, That will be as good an excuse as any to give. Mr. Kennedy and Mr, Jameson can pose as confidential agente of the expert appraisers, We shall get the jewels, and then simply transfer them to the Brokers’ Safety Vaults for a few days, -It will sound all right, and, besides, it will remove the temptation of these negotiable pieces of property | ie — My! Your BAG I> HEAVY He F AIC 86 ad CRET from the intruder, whoever it may be, Shall I call up the Brokers’ Safety, sir, and have them give orders to receive them within an hour or sor" s, Smith," replied Hamilton, “I place the whole matter in your hands. Do as you think best, Within a day or so I shall scatter the stuff, under all sorts of precautions, which I have concentrated in what I thought was the strongest place of safe-keeping that had ever been de- vised, What money I have I shall piace in that vault of the National Insurance Company which was hewn out of solid rock during the war acare a few years ago. Moet of the sccurities I shall leave for the present. This is awful—awful! I would wil- Ungly have civen @ million dollars not to have lost thore letters. Who knows? Some one may be peddling them abcow the newspaper offices at this moment—may be preparing to Diackmail myself and a score ef others, with a Fresidential campaign coming on, and business in far trom @ sound condition, Fool that I was not to take your advice years ago, and burn them, Smith,” he concluded bitterly. “We must do the best we can now, air," rejoined the lawyer, rising brusquely, “We are all ready? Very well. Then, gentlemen, remember you represont the expert appraisers, The safest rule is to keep quiet and look wise. Don't let anything escape you, ‘The smaliest thing may prove a clue, Come!" CHAPTER Ii. In the Cave of Aladdin. RAVING the lawyers oMfee, we walked a short distance Up Broadway and turned ‘nto maw 4 wile street, where we on- tered by a private entrance into the big Insurance Trust Com- pany Building. If any one was watching us, it was not evident, for we seemed to attract no attention, At last we found ourselves ia the mubbasement of the building, where tho genera! safe-deposit vaults of the company, rented to the public, were situated. Passing the door, muarded by @ man who bowed de- ferentiaily to Hamilton and Smith, we entered another eorridor, which led to the private and specially con- atructed treasure room of the great trust magnate, The long and closely kept secret as to where J, Sidney Hamilton pre- served his stacks of stocks and bonds was disclosed at last—at least, to us. Here the bulk of his immense treas- ure in collateral, estimated by some ap high as a billion, reposed in a specially constructed bomb-proof, durglar-proof and fire-proof vault, butlt under a corner of the Insur- ance Trust Building, Entrance to it was gained from Broadway, as well as by the private entrance through which we had come, scarcely 4 stone's throw from Mr, Hamilton's personal headquarter: Here we stood—the billionaire, the great trust attorney, Kennedy, and myself—in silence. The owner of these fabulous millions was as pow, erless to get at them as 1 was—with- out the ald of those trusted men whose duty it was to move the mighty bolts, “We should not have been able to get in at all,” explained the lawye: “if Mr. Hamilton had not given ordet to the depoait company, which controls, to keep the necessary out- aide doors open. We have atill to ait for Harding and Li.ham, who with myself must all be present be- fore we can get at one bond or stock. Frank Harding, as you ‘haps Mr. Hamilton's prt sec: @ has acted as his almon ‘Ke gifts to charity and ed- ucation which he ts be Realty, which holda ton's real property. head of the firm of Latham & Ford, the builders, who are putting up the eixty-story Hamilton Building across the atreet on the Hroadway side. Mr. Hamilton takes great pride tn the mn butldt: and when ‘t !s com- pleted his new private offices will o@- cupy a whole floor of the tower. Ah, T think I hear some one coming now * At last we heard footsteps in the corridor, Mr. Hamilton nodded at- fably aa the two mi approached, Smith shook diay, and tatreduced Kennedy aad myself in our roles as confidential agents. Neither Hamilton nor Smith betrayed by look or action that thing waa wrong inside the vault. Harding was 4 comparatively young man, and gaod-looking, somewhat of an athlete, and equally at home b fore & board of directors or at a fash- fopable “charity ball.” Latham was, on the other band, more of the self- made man, though not yet of the when he would put on weight. ‘pot were typical of the generation that is now succeeding the great trust orl- sinators, ‘With intense interest, I watched what would happen next. Yet so perverse are our associations of ideas At such moments that the thought that filled my mind was sort of resentment that I wit nessing what would make the news- paper sensation of the day, yet was Powerless to take advantage of my knowledge. Between the street outside and the actual Hasallton securities were ton mighty locks, varied in character. ‘The firat wag the bolt in the outside door at the sidewalk level. The sec- oad waa the lock in the door opening from the foot of the staira inte the | Public entrance of the safe-d company. pas leposit Roth of these he one open to reeslontty the other to the limit r of subseribere to the co: er and those having business with On one side we stood in front of the etee! vault, the larmeat of ite kiad in the world devoted to containing the propertion of @ single person. From the outside there was presented to view a t I unlike that deere until after the combin: {o Whten® Gate net at all unlike that foams, on released by Smith. Thus 1th know it that en- ager, bare. I did not it I learned later O, Pish Tsu | | LEFT My RAILROAD | NeKGTON The MR JOHN | MY ST PULLEO Or Riles TARRY MY BAG aNo | WiLL UR BACK ToYOUR HOUSE AND WAIT. Tre EVENING “TRAN circling it were steam pipes pierced by many jets, so that If riotere should attack the place they could not come within ten feet of the steel cage without finding themselves in acalding white cloud, The ate: concealed in a known only to a few men. As a still further prote Gon against mobs, a case of rifles nung oe wall near the entrance, ets of locks still confronted us. The first of these was turned in the door opening through the grilled cage which surrounded the next in- ide door to the vauit proper. These re time locks, which, of course, not set now, else we should have had to walt until they would open. Even the trusted guards themselves could not have opened this door when once the time locks were on. A wondertul piece of maghinery ta the time lock, too. It has to be the rection of the clockmaker's art, for if it should ever fall to work, and that great treasure room, with all its ould remaip naie business it might, at a criti time, pre tateea jc. It wan mo wonder, thea, that the great magnate dared not trust to one lock in that all-impor- tant door. There were four of t on intricate timepieces, so that even three of them should fail, the fourth would be sufficient to loose the boltg. In the space between the grilled cage and the next door of the vault were several small tables, the varnish all worn off as @ result of thelr long service carrying bonds during the operation of coupon cutting. tain periods of the year, five of the fayurence king'a employees came to t place and out coupons eight hours a day for a week at a time, The second barred door was, in- deed, the real thing—at least, from the standpoint of the safe-blowers art. It would have taken a cracka- man days of steady work even to drill 4 hole in this great circular door, which weighed aixteen tonsa and which clutched the surrounding wall with two dogen three-inch bolts, There were two combinations in thie door, and two persons knew them— Smith one, and Harding the other. There now remained six locks. ‘Three of them were @ sort of pad- lock, one upon each of the three com- bination locks which succeeded the doors inside the sixteen-ton door. These padiocks were opened by eee kept by Mr, Smith, By turning the keys, he merely released the dial of each of the combinations and per- ted it to be manipulated by the to whom the combination was catrusted, himaelf first, Harding the next, and Latham the third, Each had a different combination to work. There were six tumbiere on each &, and the numbers ran from on to one hundred, which made ac! to sume million through @ sing! we had to Uon—Smith——he had not the alightest knowledge of the number wig A the next combination, wor! by Harding. nor either of them of combination worked by Latham. Nor could any of them set his part of the bolts in the series of i three padlocks and three combin. tlons were needed to reduce the six Yocks to three. Moreover, as Kennedy Atcer- © September 25, NEXT WEEK'S € day Leads Her Into Yet he could not appear too curt ous for if euspicion ef bie purpose were aroused Ht might on bie gua! the beet of terme, were suspected. Bmith, Hardin Latham slowly and laboriously clos od the various jvoka and n the tmpragnable doors When It wae completed 1 waa mechanically tin. bie, It seemed, for an intrude me ene bolt without setting wt the mulity Thus, tt pon to “The severest earthquake no more than twist ite plates and bolte and locking mechaniam, [t would make It more impe we had reached (he main corri- dor of the building, having to discuss with Mr, Hamilton some of the aront- tect's plana for hia private offices in the new structure that was just ris. ing from the immense excavation cross the street. At last we four were alone in Smith's office, je table near Mr. Ham! “Well, what do you think of It, far as you have gone?" asked Bmith, with as much engerness as he was capable of showing Think?” repeated Kennedy, care- fully measuring hia words, and look- ing eearchingly from Hasuil! to Bmith. “I think that this ie a case | that will tax every ounce of ingenuity 1 possess, 1 do not know to think after such a marvellous exhibition as I have just witnessed, My frat advice would be to shadow beth Mr. Harding and Mr. Latham, Keep a watch on them to-night, and also keep a Watch on the safe de- posit company. Then let the detec- tives report to mo early to-morrow, Some time during the morni shall meet you here with a plan of campaign mapped out. I must have ime to think over the case before I can embark on a policy to carry out toa fintah em, 1 should lke to make certain Hamilton had already reached for the tolophone, and was calling up the letective agency which did his work. rangemen' bi to shadow Latham and Hartieg re quickly made, and the personal call of Mr. Hamilton in. sured extra vigilance, “Very well.” he replied, as he hung up the receiver, for the firat time so fterward, It wae with- of human possibility to pointed out out the ri pick then The doors of the vault we moved by hand, in apite of their weight, and fur taking action himself in thi Smith swung them open they “very well. Then I shall expeet yoo rned easily, because they uw in the morning—at my own office in what were technically known as mpound double goose-crane hinges, which were carefully balanced on ball and roller bearings made of the finest hardened tool steel, The vault to which w the old building down the street—at, say, eleven o'clock, after the stock market i open, [ must be prepared to pour in millions to support ¢ market if Rag ty! thoso letters should come out in the morning § will be there, Smith, f courser™ iti “Oh, certainly, air.” replied the ate torney, “Hy the way, hadn't Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Jameson better ac- company us to the Brokera’ Trust, just &s @ precaution? You know, there are more crooks active down here below the ‘dead line’ of Fulton Street than there ve been at any time aince Byrnes.” “Yon, indeed, if they don't mind.” A tew momenta later, having de- Doatted the joivela in their new place of safe-keeping and arranged for a “pecial watch of detectives to cover tee Rankers’ zee, aa well as the lamilton = vau’ we gravel: hands and parted, Ls Be Aa Kennedy and I turned from the narrow sidewalk of a narrow strent into Broadway, stopped instinct- ively to take a car uptown. Kennedy, however, had no such present inten- tion, Inatead, he continued to walk down past Trinity until we came to an old four or five-etory bullding, dark for the most er. but with tl top floors lighted. 'e rode up in the antiquated elevator, and entered an office, I started at the name on the door—"The Pinkertons,”* Here, tn a little anteroam, Ken- nedy wrote a line on the back of hig card and sent it tn to one of the managers. It was a curious sort of Place, but the thing that caught my eye was the double hail, Doors led from the outer roam not into offices, but inte a hall, whence other doors led to the oMfices—a device by which people in the offices might wive those in tha outside room the “double oreen.” wa It were, Ve were quickly ushered into the office of the enanager of that branch of the work which Kennedy wanted mitted was atill not the vault proper, & sort of little anteroom, but Inala of records t could never be duplicated, Another door, less for- midable than any so far, with two combinations—an upper nd lower worked reapectively by Hard! and Latham, admitted us to what was the verit Aladdin's cave. The interior was about fi wide, eight or nine fe twenty-five feet or 60 deep. Many separate locks yet remained, the laat of the series of ten, each sopar compartment ov receptacie having | 1 fogk. apecia ba! plained Smith, ap he saw us contemplat! the interior, “the wall of this vault has thick- ness of alxty inches, In the centre forty inches of concrete three inches ten Inches ate Inch alternate el and Beg f the con- toward the interior of the there were arranged upon aide numerous compartments or small safes. There were from fit- teen to twenty of them, varying {n A combination lock guarded ie lt gafes were . opened by One large of the bonds, with thelr datea of maturity, and the months when the coupons cam whole thing was @ perfe system and etrength. done, a former detective who had this holy of holies of plutocracy, we Qury, big ee ed under our friend, waned about In awe at the bristling Deputy O'Connor, of thatariieaCane wall partment, Grady by name. He shook anda with us cordially, for Ken. nedy had alwave made it a point of first importance to stand on the best d hardly have thought that ne- ceasary after 80 many walls, doors, and locks. “Now, if you will open the com partment oontaining the family je’ Mr, Latham,” remarked Ham hall hand them over to ¢ and then we ahall' shut up the vault again ang set the time locks for to-morrow.” Latham waa unlocking one of t compartmenta when Kennedy lean over and whispered to Mr. Hamilton: for Justice and order. “T have a little job [ wish you would have looked after very par tleularty, Grady,” remarked Kennedy, in amewer to & look of tnquiry, “tT want you to put one of your best men on it” “Sure, Kennedy.” he replied. “What fe 1t? Binge away.” “Where were the letters kept?” T caught my breath in astoniah- SiR tant isnt Gata avan tare by ment at the directions that Craig the wall.” y “Who has the combination? T want you to shadow Sheldon Smith, the corporation attorney.” CHAPTER II, Tho Stol n Letters, E dined downtown that eve- ning, and after dinner nedy left mo, saying that he wished to secure some books and scientific works om the construction of safes and vaults, time and combination locks, in order to refreab his memory on cer- taln pointe, "Oh, we all do, It's an easy one. 1 guess you could almost pick It. Any one that could get this far wouldn't be stopped by @ simple thing like that Ita just @ place to kee thinge—the firat safe [ ever ow! , and I keep it here from @ sort of sentiment. It te just a tal ° tory, that's all-—enerely an ad 1 precaution inat heat in a fire, not inet burlare.” Kennedy was keenly pacing up and down the long treasure room, caatin: quick glances at ry nook an cranny, as if in the very steel and @oncrete he were trying to read fin- Ger of footprints of the intruder 1916 SAM Wy Bd Fate Plays the Winning Hand in a Tangled Romance of the St. Lawrence When Burglar Suspect Woos Imperious Beauty—Society Debutante's Holi- With “One Cylinder Sam." BEGINS IN NEXT MONDAY'S EVENING juirlea of my own.” * of terms with every organized force °! OMPLETE NOVEL KATH Strange Adventures WORLD As for mynelt, under his 4 1 returned to the tar oMfee, pipe | moat of the evening going over the hund aper and magegine to Mr. Hamtites, tos, and the various enter> Prites he had been connected with Though | did not find anything that Ot present shed any light the cag , | learned @ good deal about the chief Sctore in It, The fact ie that in read~ Ing of events and persone from day t iy 487, aa I had of the formation of Great Ineurance Trust come ago, one gete an entirely diferent View from that when all the separate unte are placed together jater de 4nd gone through systematically a8 one Ume. The facts regarding @ eur- tain event, when epread out frem @ay to day aide by side with the thete sand and one other events, produse ho such impression on the ming ae they do when placed together, The perspective is different. Thus In the formation of the Inga ance Trust, I found that my view was conatderably modified when I loohe@as ‘tana whole, J learned very lictle that 1 had not already known, but my tee Pression was materially different. 5 was quite as much impressed by the unacrupulous dealings of Hamilten and hia attorney, Smith, as ever, and yet I felt that I must admit that the end they had brought about was dearaiie However, I did not speculate long en the ethics of the case. My search was for facts—ftacts, perhaps, which might shed light on atill a new twist of the Unacrupulous business. T particularly recall that at the time 1 was Impreased with the dealings with one inan named Evans, who had con- trotled a burglary-ineurance company, which had held out to the last against absorption in the great Hamilton merg- er, It seemed to me that Evans bed %; fecetved what I should call a very Tough deal, True, everything had been done by Smith with at least the color of law, but still it was an unsavory ow. rm © burglary-insurance compasy controlled by Evans had been gradu- ally forced to the wall by unfair com- petition. A lawsuit resulted which had dragged along for yeare Finally was dropped, and it had always been understood the correspondence on which wult was based had been des! in @ fire in 9 building occ! by Evans's attorney. At any rate, 1¢ had never been produced, Evans had disappeared, a broken man. I felt sure that Smith had resorted to some of hi ‘ell-known sharp tricks In the case in bringing tt te a eeanenatoh Ingue. mee @ome reason it interested me, and oa analyati feelings I found that ‘unconsciously T had been attracted by the fact that this correspondence had rela te burgtary insurance, and that a lary had been committed of some correepondence. It was net a definite or conclusive lead, and rag ae dwell on it very long at that me. Thad corgpleted my task of out the history of Smith, Latham Harding also, and was ebout ta leave the office when one of the editors. of the morning edition—Bryce, aa old friend of mine—surprised me by call- ing me on the office telephone. din’t know you were here, J he sal 10 to you al) ever sewa, | he boys. told me- QO ur desk still, You're the want to see. Can you drop inte my office In @ few minutes?” T assured him that I would, and, closing my desk for @ second time, went down the hal “Have you heard the latest?’ he asked, rather proudly, haading me the copy of an announcement whic! he war writing. “Don't say @ wor about \t yet, even In the offices, It'll a big thing {tf tt goes through. What do you thtak of ite T could only gasp my astontegment at the copy he handed me, fresh from his typewriter: READ THE "STAR'S" GREAT BX- POSE, Lettera Relating to the Formation ef the Great Insurance Trust, J. 8. Hamilton in a New Light, BEGINS TO-MORROW. This is J stay of chicanery in which. by da, mittions of doliare: “How did you get them?" T asked, as quietly as I could, fearing to be- tray the fact that | already had some Interest in the matter, “We haven't got them yet.” renlie* Bryce, “That was what I wished to see you about, They are te he de- livered to me personally to-night in Dolan'a Cafe, on Eleventh Avenue, I am to be altting in the back room in & certain corner, reading the Star, and a messenger ts to hand the let- tera to me. It's a tough district, and the more I think it over the less [ lke the assignment. I'd like to have @ome one I could call on for help in cane I need it. Will you accompany me?" T could not tell him of the case of Hamilton, which Kennedy and I had, nor could I consis! ally Be & party to eccuring vy ty re for publication, | ir If I played ith Bryce and th Star, I must es falee with Kennedy and hie clien amit Here was a fine dilemma. (To Be Continued)