The Dugdale Millions — page 32: what you’re looking at

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

22 THE DUGDALE MILLIONS. man employed in a minor capacity for a short time could be stirred. The chances of finding the son of Edmund, or of obtaining any knowledge of him, seemed to be small. Duty, however, demanded that he should proceed with his inquiry, but he felt it would be conducted without enthusiasm, because there must necessarily be an ab- sence of belief in a successful outcome. The final result of all his thoughts upon the subject was the determination to confer with a celebrated detective of the day, Captain Lawton, with whom he was upon friendly terms, with a view of obtaining suggestions as to the best method of proceeding. That shrewd and capable official listened to the tale with interest. ‘‘Your task is a difficult one,’’ he said at its conclusion. ‘‘You have very little to go upon in the beginning. ‘The first thing you should do, is to take steps to obtain knowledge of the surroundings of Edmund Dugdale while he was living here—the people he knew and associated with. You must begin with the lawyer Stanton. Go to the Law Library and get a list of the lawyers of the name of Stanton practicing in the city in 1855 and trace them down to 1883. Don’t bother with those who have come into practice after 1855. Insert an advertisement in all the papers, and keep it standing, for anyone who had knowledge of Edmund Dugdale in the years 1853 to 1857. Some- thing may come of it.”’ Dick acted upon this advice at once. He could find but one lawyer of the name of Stanton practicing in 1883 who was at the bar in 1855. His name was Andrew Stanton. On calling at his office in Wall Street he was told that Mr. Stanton was gradually retiring from business, and that he was away from the office for long periods of time, nor had anyone know- ledge as to when he would next make his appearance. To his surprise, he learned that the house of this law- Comicloee <S C@ 3