The Carter Express. (Carter, Okla.), Vol. 12, No. 26, Ed. 1 Friday, September 16, 1921 Page: 3 of 10
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THE CARTER EXPRESS
The Mystery of
the Silver Dagger
By Randall
Parrish
*
Author of
“The Strange Case
of Cavendish”
Copyright, by Randall Parrlab
CHAPTER IX—Continued.
—13—
"It was from Waldron tlien. no
doubt. I’m glud you told me. Tbe
chances are they will both be where
we are going, unless they have al-
ready quarreled over that bunch of
eusy money you spoke ubout."
"But bus that been paid over* by
Krantz? Who has It?"
“The fellow who put a knife Into
Alva—whoever he nmy be.”
“And you don’t know who the as-
sassin was?"
“No. Only It must have been one
of certain men; perhaps two were In
the affair. At first I figured It out
to be Waldron alone; now I am not
so sure that Harris dldn‘t have some
hand In It. They may have had the
affair all planned-Mhe money was
passed over to Alva enrlj^ln ^he eve-
ning. I didn’t know It tlieti; I learned
this later. Krantz told me when we
were alone on the way back to New
York. Let’s move along; there Is a
policeman coming yonder.”
The officer passed us slowly, swing-
ing his club, and eyed us curiously as
he went by; I did not turn my head,
yet felt certain he stopped and looked
back as though wondering what our
business could be In thut neighbor-
hood. We turned down a still darker
side street before exchanging further
speech.
“I believe 1 know what you are,'
I said at last In low tones close to her
ear, “an agent of the Secret Service.
“Oh, no; the honor you offer me Is
far too great. I hove not attained
to any such official dignity.”
"I rather expected you to deny;
but you offer me no other explana-
tion.”
“And so you decide to believe that?
Very well, Mr. Severn, I shall let you
have It your own way. You deserve
reward; only, pray, never suggest this
theory to any one else. Let It remain
our secret, will you?"
“Your mockery does not change my
mind.”
“I had no expectation that It would;
neither does It bring me a salary. But,
seriously, forget all this raillery to-
night, and remember only that you
are with Mnrle Gessler. Whatever
her purpose may be, you are to be j
loyal only to her.”
“I am, absolutely," I replied with a
conviction my voice was unable to
disguise. She turned her face quick-
ly, and In the dim light our eyes met. i
"You said that very earnestly. You !
make me believe I judged you right,
Philip Severn. Here Is my hand.”
I clusped It tightly, the firm pres-
sure of the warm fingers sending an
Instant thrill through every nerve of
my body. It was not withdrawn, and I
we walked so closely together I could
feel the slight pressure of her form,
almost resting against mine.
"Where are you taking me?”
"To Perond’s French cafe—have
you ever heard of It?"
“No, I think not."
"I have been there with slumming
parties once or twice, with a plain-
clothes man along, of course, to show
us the sights. It Is not very respect-
able", I believe, although really I nev-
er saw anything particularly dan-
gerous. Interesting and unconven-
tional, of course, but I anticipate no
trouble, unless we care to make it
ourselves. You see the cluster of
lights at the next corner. That’s
Perond’s."
As I gazed forward, she drew her
hand from my grasp, und her form
straightened.
"What am I to do when we arrive?"
"Merely be the attentive escort—
but not too attentive, please. Have
you dined?"
“No. I was going to ask you.”
“You need not ask me—I am fam-
ished, and this plnc6 Is really famous
for Its meals.”
Perond’s was really underground; at
least you descended a broad pair of
steps to attain Its entrance, nnd the
glass In windows and doors fronting
the street was heavily draped, pre-
venting any view of the Interior from
without. What was overhead could
not be determined In the darkness,
my eyes merely discerning the out-
lines of a tall building, without a
gleam of light, showing anywhere
from top to bottom. The front of the
restaurant, however, was brilliantly
lit, and a colored man In uniform
promptly held open the door ns we
began descending the stairs.
Within the vestibule a maid re-
lieved us of outside wraps, and thus
unencumbered we advanced through
open doors directly Into the main
room. This was a surprisingly large
apartment, filled with tables of va-1 nessed at the Waldorf. The men are
rious sizes and shapes, the majority , not bud-looking, either, do you think?”
occupied by men und women, either
eating or drinking. Near the center
was a cleared space for dancing, but
at that momeut unoccupied, white
against the further wall, on a rather
high stage, two cabaret singers were
noisily entertaining the crowd. Alto-
gether it was a stirring and attractive
scene, bearing to my mind no re-
seiublunce of any pieconcelved notion
of the underworld. 1 could huve eas-
ily Imagined that we had entered,
rather, the restaurant of an ultra-
fnshionable hotel the other side of
Broadway.
Nor did our entrance create the
slightest interest, beyond awakening
the attention of the head waiter, who
met us smilingly.
“A table for two, M’sleur?"
"A booth, please; have you one
near the center?” and I slipped a bill
Into his hand, which closed It Instant-
ly out of sight.
“Ah, certainly; the very thing,
M’sleur. I will show you. Francois,
the central booth for the gentleman.
Ah, see, M’sleur—blen, tres bleu I”
It was Indeed a cozy spot, with the
heavy curtains held aside. A divan
of soft plush across the end, a table
covered with snowy linen, and already
glistening with silver nnd glass, In
the center, nnd three exceedingly com-
fortable chairs.
“It Is very fine, M’sleur,” I snld.
“Quite to my satisfaction. You might
lower one of those curtains, If you
Eyed Us Curiously as He Went By.
better. Is
will. Yes, that is much
Fruncols our waiter?”
“Oul, M’sleur; you would be served?
The table de holt, Francois. These
dishes are ready—but, M’sleur, we
serve quickly whatever you wish."
He spread his hands expressively,
glunced swiftly about to assure tiim-
self all was well, and backed out, still
politely bowing, leaving the attentive
Francois beside me, pad in baud. At
my suggestion the lady gave the or-
der, using discretion, I thought, while
I supplemented with a bottle of wine,
In spite of the energetic negative con-
veyed to me across the table. As the
waiter departed I surveyed my com-
panion, realizing us never before how
extremely attractive she was. She
must have read something of this In
my eyes, for her own smiled wist-
fully.
"What Is It you were thinking
about?”
“Perhaps I had better not tell."
“Another secret? Well, then, an-
swer this—what do you think of
Perond’s?”
“Actually I am unable to realize
where I am,” I answered honestly.
‘The contrast from those dark streets,
suggestive of crime, to tills brilliancy
is altogether too sudden^ It has left
me dazed; my mind refuses to func-
tion "
"It affected me that way the first
visit. I could not convince myself of
the true nature of the place; It
seemed—well, altogether too respect-
able. I always associate the under-
world with roughness and poverty, po-
lice surveillance, and all that. But
look out there; It is like a big hotel
dining-room after the play. Those
women—some of them, at least—are
really elegantly dressed, and In excel-
lent taste, and there is no more noise,
Well, there are all grades here,
now thnt I look about; yet, as you
say, the average is not bad. Prob-
ably they will grow' louder later In the
evening, when they take the lid off.”
“I don’t believe they ever do—that
Is, entirely. Mr. McLaughlin, the de-
tective who came with us, said this
was really the most dangerous place
in town from the police viewpoint. Its
very surface quiet made It a special
menace. Nothing wns ever permitted
to occur here which would give the
department nny excuse for a raid. If
there wns a fight, or even a murder,
It wns hushed up Instantly, and the
victim hidden away, before even the
patrolman on the block could hear
about it. He mentioned several cases;
and snld the waiters were especially
selected to take care of any rough
house."
“Perhaps thnt Is what makes It pop-
ular with the class they enter to.”
"Snfe, you mean. Yes; lie said they
could spot nny criminal of reputation
In the country at Perond’s, If they
only waited long enough; that half
the big Jobs In New York were plotted
at these tables.”
“I begin to comprehend," I snld
Jocularly. %why I was received ns n
distinguished guest. The hendwulter
must have recognized me as an old
pal—my face Is my fortune."
"He may have mistaken yo- for
Daly,” she admitted soberly, “but
more likely it was your tip which
made him so attentive. You are some
spender, Mr. Severn.”
"That depepds on who I am with;
this Is nn unusual occasion.”
She did not smile, or look at me,
but leaned slightly forward, drawing
back a fold of the curtnln with one
hand, so as to gain a wider glimpse
of the large room without. A mo-
ment she remained motionless; then
turned her face sideways toward me.
“Waldron Is already here," she whis-
pered warningly. “He is ulone at that
second table, against the pillar. Step
around this side und you can see;
the man with gray, bushy hair.”
I could not easily have mistaken the
fellow; his appearance was too em-
phatically that of the Russian Jew of
a certain type to enable him to con-
ceal his birthright. His bacr was to-
ward uS, yet as he occasionally cast
his eyes about over the faces of those
around him, I had a glimpse of a
beaked nose, and a sallow, dull com-
plexion, which seemed to blend natu-
rally into a scraggling beard of no
perceptible color. His hair though
was Iron-gray, apparently uncut for
weeks, and thrust* back from an un-
usually high forehead, so as to give
the man a ruffled, unkempt appear-
ance far from pieusing. He was big
all over, strangely burly for a Jew,
with broad shoulders and large hands,
thickly covered with hnlr.
I moved back around the table as
Francois appeared, and resumed my
seat, keeping silent until the waiter
again vanished, and left us alone.
And now that you have located the
fellow," I asked curiously, “what do
you propose doing—go out and talk
with him?”
She shook her head.
"1 huve reason to believe he expect*
to meet some one here,” she ex-
plained. “1 do not know who; that
Is one thing 1 desire to find out. From
whut you have told me tonight I rather
think now It mny be Harris.”
"To dlvvle up?"
“To talk it over, nt least; they’d
hnrdly bring the stuff In here. I’rob-
ably by this time thnt Is safely
planted."
Francois came back, and we devoted
ourselves to the meul, although I could
observe her glancing constantly
through the opening in the curtains to'
make sure of her man. Finally
Francois disappeared with the rem-
nants, while we nwijlted the. serving
of dessert. From my seat 1 could see
nothing of the Russian.
"No one arrived yet?” 1 Inquired.
“The Jew still there?"
“He remains alone eating. Ah! my
guess was right—isn’t that Harris,
who has just come In?"
It wns “Gentlemnn George" neyonfl
the shadow of a doubt. He had evi-
dently located Wuldron the moment
of entering the room, nnd with no
other thought In his mind headed
straight toward where the letter sat.
Tbe Jew glanced up, saw him ap-
proaching, nnd drew partially bnck
from the table, the knife he had been
using still gripped In his hand.
Uls posture was that of defense, of
one who anticipates possible attack.
Nor die! Harris’ expression and man-
ner render this Improbable. The lat-
ter pushed Ills way forward with an-
gry strides, until he reached the man
he sought, leaning over the table to
front him, his face black with' pas-
sion, Ills first words plulnly audible
to us above the din of a Jazz band.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
CRIMINALS USE THEIR BRAINS
“Profession” of Roguery Today Has
Risen to Dignity Almost Ap-
proaching a Fine Art.
The big robberies of Jewelry In the
south of France recently are a re-
minder of the ubiquity of the modern
crlinlnnl. The thieves mny have been
local men, but the probability Is that
they were Importations from England
or Australia or the United States.
Criminals engaged In the "big push”
are much-traveled men. The whole
world Is their hunting ground. A few
thousand miles are of little moment
with thousands of dolllars as the ulti-
mate goal.
Expert Jewel thieves, confidence
tricksters, card sharpers, exponents of
the “infallible’’ betting system—all
at one time or another make tours
of the world, if necessary, In order
to pick up wealthy victims and by
skillful nursing lull them Into u belief
that dishonesty Is a silly rumor In-
stead of an Irrefragable fact.
It does seem strange to the millions
of people who carefully guard their
pennies thnt men are to be found who
will hand over thousands of dollars to
comparative strangers only to find
when too late that they huve beeD
swindled.
A fool and his money, we are told,
soon part; yet, as a matter of fact,
It Is the man who regards himself as
shrewd and careful who Is most sought
after by these Ingenious Intriguers.
The fool is apt to be too suspicious;
and, anyway, he has not much money.
Every liner that leaves Great Brit-
ain has among Its first-class passen-
gers criminals who are making the
voyage for the pleasure of “working.”
—From Continental Edition of the
London Mall.
ALL HAVE SOME PROTECTION
Mother Nature Abandons None of Her
Progeny, In a Helpless State,
to Their Enemies.
Nature has provided for everything,
down to' frogs and little sticklebacks.
All the little animals that seem so
helpless have th?lr own ways of pro-
tecting themselves, says London An-
swers.
If he suspects thnt some larger and
stronger animal Is out to eat him, the
toad is able to swell himself out until
he looks very ferocious nnd Is far too
large to be swallowed.
The frog has longer legs than the
toad and therefore can jump better.
His eyes are at the top of his bend,
to enable him to see nil round, for
having no neck, he ennnot turn his
bend. He can change the color of his
coat If It should prove necessary. It
takes him about a quarter of an hour
to do this thoroughly and after It Is
accomplished It Is extremely difficult
to distinguish him from his surround-
ings.
People sometimes try to cntch the
lizard, but meet with no success, for
the only part of Its body one can get
at Is Its tail, and It can drop this at
a moment’s notice. The little stickle-
back, beloved of all small boys, ha*
little spiky spines sticking out to pro-
tect It from the other iuiiabltants
stickleback ends Its days In the Jam
Jar of some little fisherman.
of ponds and streams. But these ltt-
no more coarseness, than I have wit-1 tie spines are of no avail when tbe
Notice this delicious
flavor when you
smoke Lucky Strike
— it’s sealed in by ^
the toasting proces*
Jl yLic^sc~§
The
m an-
to All
keei
tlOD
the*—.
1 hares]
neplng, banking and amounting po*l- i
ie*e big-pay, big-opportunity positions!
hare spent'26 yearsof my life In training
oasands of ambitious boys and girls for
islnoss success. Hnterlng here r*green"
bnslnoss huccees. Untiring here 'green
and Inexperienced, 1 hare fitted them in
- *---DontT- *---* ---* " ■-—
ni
ai
___ _ ,'W
and mot.--------
in the Southwest.
_________ _ _iare flt-_
iths to get and IlOLI) fine
Then. In a few years. I ha
bese saftae grades
io of the highest
enttal
firs, I hare
lates hold-
salaried
a fee
posit
seen many <
lng down tvwv w. .m. — ------—
Llal executive positions
I hare helped them
make mure money - and I'll help YOU.
tfeod today for a free oopy of Hill's
BucceesBook. It tells all about this big,
busy business college - the largest In
Oklahoma. It tells what we can do for
YOU. Write now—TODAY.
John M. Hill. President
HILL’S BUSINESS COLLEGE
No. 9 South Hudson Oklahoma City
WRITS NOW'
1TWSI
HILLLf
BUSINESS COLLEGE
MAN’S
BEST AGE
A man is as old as his organs; ha
can be as vigorous and healthy at
70 as at 35 if he aids his organs in
performing their functions. Keep
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COLD MEDAL
Never the Same Again.
It was a perfect French night. In
other words, the rain was coming down
steadily und the mud was at Its stick-
iest. In “squab” formation—twos,
threes, fives and sixes—a regiment o!
Buffaloes was moving Into an alleged
rest camp. The accent was on the
camp.
The most forlorn of all the forlorn
crew staggered against li barracks
dooorwa.v, where he was accosted by
a white non-com.:
“Well, Sam, whaddye think of this
war now? Pretty good war?"
With a facial expression that said
he meant tt, Sam replied:
"Boss, <Jis yeah war never wns a
good war—and dls lasf day practically
done ruined it completely.”—American
Legion Weekly.
"Bottomry Bond.”
A bottomry bond Is a legal Instru-
ment known to people along the sea-
shore. being an agreement between
the owners of a bont and those from
whom money is borrowed, pledging
the ship or ItR enrgo or both as secur-
ity, the term arising from the use of
the word bottom, which Is taken to in-
clude the entire ship.
Th« world’s standard remedy for kidney,
liver, bladder and uric acid troubles since
1696; corrects disorders; stimulates vital
organs. All druggists, three sizes.
Look for the name Cold M.d.l on ovorr boa
and accept no imitation
GRANDMA PARK
KNEW NATURE
When anyone got sick, Grandma Park
knew how to help them. She gave hu-
manity a recipe for tea, which has made
her known all over the world. A com-
bination of roots and herbs mixed to-
gether In a box of 10 full doses Is the .
same original—
GRANDMA’S
LIVER and STOMACH
TEA
Beware of Imitations!
None genuine without the*
picture of Grandma Park
Tt gives Instant relief for old and young,
who are troubled with sick headaches,
bad breath, constipation, indigestion dys-
pepsia, heart-burn, or any of those awfuj
sicknesses coming from a disordered
stomach or liver. Look at your tongue!
It will be covered with a thick yellowish
coat If you need GRANDMA’S STOM*
ACH AND LIVER TEA. At all dru*
stores.
It’s hard for a man to pass money
that he sees lying on the stdewalk-e
especially If it is counterfeit.
Ladies LetCuticura
Keep Your Skin
Fresh and Young
Slip 25c, Oiatawat 25 sad 50c, Taka* 25c.
W. N. U., Oklahoma City, No. 38-1921,
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Cain, George W. The Carter Express. (Carter, Okla.), Vol. 12, No. 26, Ed. 1 Friday, September 16, 1921, newspaper, September 16, 1921; (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc956685/m1/3/: accessed April 24, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.