Argosy All-Story Weekly, February 5, 1921 — page 114: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

400 become even more interesting presently,” the Mercury reporter assured him. was about to say, Mrs. Underwood, this man Lestrade had saved himself from going to jail, many years ago, by turning State’s evidence against Wrigley and Gilder with whom ‘he was then associated ‘in a scheme for the promotion of fake oil stock. As a result of his testimony they were both con- victed and sentenced to the Atlanta Peni- tentiary. Naturally they were inclined to hold a grudge against him for that. During their sojourn in prison they meditated schemes of vengeance against him, no doubt. But when they came out into the world again they learned that their enemy had escaped beyond their vengeance--that ihe had. been drowned at sea.” ‘ Drowned at sea!”’ Moncrief put in. “I beg your pardon, but I understood you to say that he was the leader of the band of forgers whigse secrets those fellows were try- ing to’ pry into at the time of their demise. There appears to be a slight discrepancy there.” ‘There is no discrepancy, Mr. Moncrief. Those men were lec to believe that Lestrade was dead. ‘They shared that belief with the rest of the world for several years. But a few weeks ago they made a rather inter- esting discovery. It came in some way to their attention that an aristocratic looking gentleman, who bore a close enough resem- blance to their old enemy to have been his chost, was transacting business of a confi- dential nature with an accountant on the twentieth floor of a Nassau Street office building. And, not believing in ghosts, they decided that it might be worth their while to try to find out the nature of the business which took Mr. Alton Lestrade to that office so frequently. They had a suspicion that something crooked was going on there, and if they could get possession of the secret they might be able to tip off the police and thereby settle their score against the man who had double-crossed them,” He was interrupted again—this time by a cry of mingled alarm and inclignation from Underwood’s wife, ‘“Ethan, what does he mean?” she de- manded. ‘‘ How does he dare—what is he trying to make me believe?” “As I tightly around his neck. ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. ‘“ The fellow is raving,” the accountant declared, but his face had gone chalky-white to the roots of his hair. ‘ Yellow journal- ism must have its fling, I suppose,” he add- ed with a sneer. ‘“ But until—unless he is able to offer some proof to substantiate his preposterous insinuations, I don’t see why you should attach any importance to them, girly.” Hemment hesitated for a moment, deeply moved by -the girl’s distress. Then he steeled himself, and went right on with his story. ‘* The fact that the office of the account- ant was directly across the strect from their own, so that their window commanded a view of his, suggested to them the rather novel scheme of advertising for an expert lip-reader, with the idea of catching what passed between Lestrade and the man he visited so often. They were suecessful in engaging the services of a young lady who professed to be able to read lips; but, un- fortunately for them, she happened to bea very dear friend of one of the men they were trying to spy on, and as soon as she found out what their game was, she rushed over and put him and Lestrade wise to what Was going on.” The reporter smiled sardonically at the two scowling men on the red plush sofa. ‘“‘ And a few-hours later,” he exclaimed with dramatic emphasis, ‘“‘ poor Wrigley was found dead in his office, with a cord tied He had been drugged into insensibility with the fumes of nxetrite d’amyle, contained in a little hol- low glass globe which was crushed beneath his nostrils, and then he was strangled with the knotted cord. | “The knot in that cord was a peculiar one, gentlemen—so much out of the ordi-. nary that Deputy Police Commissioner Og- livie, when he came to investigate that first murder, was inclined to regard it as a very promising clue. And, having a great respect. _ for his judgment in such mattéts, I natur- ally was very much interested when, the’ following day I paid a visit to the office of : an accountant on the twentieth floor of the: Bannister Building, and observed a package : on his desk, the cord around which was | tied with exactly the same kind of a = (©) comicbhielks inn