Adventure Magazine Cover, October 1911 — page 106: what you’re looking at

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

1052 I glanced at the General in some apprehen- sion,and I couldsee that he was startled. ‘I told you so,” he muttered under his breath. Vokes alone was quite unconcerned. “Vou have exceeded your instructions,” he said quietly. ‘‘I asked for only one.”’ “T thought it best to bring both,” said Masten. There was a decided hardening of his tone and a certain defiance in his eye as he faced the detective. ‘“‘I suppose you have told them all, Mr. Vokes?” ‘““T have thought it best, McGregor—or Masten, if you prefer,’—for the other shrank back—‘“‘to inform General Warbury of one incident in your former career. You lack self-control and your alarm on seeing me was too evident to escape observation. I also informed the General that I had heard you had abandoned your former ways and so far as I knew had lived an honest life.” ‘‘And so I have!” cried the valet with sudden vehemence. ‘If you think I had anything to do with this dirty business you are wrong, smart as you think yourself, Mr. Detective Vokes, the bloodhound! A hun- dred times I could have robbed him, aye, and murdered him too, in the past seven years, if I had had a mind, and do you think there was no temptation to a man of my bringing up? A thief since I could walk and a burglar after I did my first bit! But I swore 1’d walk straight and I did. The old man was square with me, though every one hated him, and I played square with him. Now, you,” —he flung the pistols at Vokes’s feet—“‘if you want to arrest me, go ahead!” wig THE General and I stared at the Ee man, whose mean personality was transfigured by his emotion, and then we looked at each other. “Tf that’s acting, by Gad,” the General said in my ear, “‘the fellow ought to be on the boards!” Vokes, who had appeared quite unmoved by the valet’s burst of eloquence, stooped, picked up the pistols, and handed them to me. “I am not going to arrest you, Masten,”’ he said, “‘for two very good reasons. One is that I have not the power, and the other because there is absolutely nothing to con- nect you with the crime.” Again the General and I exchanged glances of bewilderment. ‘‘Sparring for time,’’ he whispered. Adventure The valet caught his breath and his hand went to his heart. “Thank you, sir,” he said. ‘It’s not be- cause I am afraid you could get anything against me, though I might be hard-put to it to prove where I was that afternoon, but ” he paused, ‘“‘it would have meant the raking up of old sins and exposure and maybe would have started me on the old road again.” “T told General Warbury something of your past,” continued Vokes, in the same even tones, ‘‘ because I considered it neces- sary, but there is no reason that it should go any farther. The General will, I am sure, respect your desire to continue in hon- est ways.” ‘Show me that you had nothing to do with this infernal business,’”’ said the Gen- eral, ‘and no one shall know of it from me.”’ “Thank you, sir,” said Masten, again the deferential servant. ‘‘I swear to you that I had nothing to do with it.” “Your oath is all very well,” replied the General, “‘but we shall require something 2 little more conclusive. Mr. Vokes, you said just now that you knew the murderer. Masten was the only person against whom your suspicions seemed to point, and now you acquit him. Honestly, I dislike mys- teries.”’ “There need be no further mystery,”’ re- plied Vokes. “I think I can make matters clear by a little exhibition which will not take many minutes. May I trouble you for those pieces of cord?”’ The General produced them without a word, and Vokes, with deft fingers, unfas- tened the knot and retied it, leaving the loose ends considerably shorter than before. ‘‘And now the pistol,’ he said, holding out his hand to me. ‘‘The army revolver. Is it loaded Masten? Yes, I see it is.. Now kindly follow me.”’ He led the way to the dead tree which stood in the center of the glade, and we stood around and watched him with the ex- pression of a crowd about a street-acrobat. About five feet from the ground the tree forked, and into this crutch Vokes forced the revolver, the butt pointing to the swamp. About ten feet away stood a strong, stiff sapling, and as Vokes laid his powerful hand on it and bent it down, I perceived for the first time that the top had been broken off about twelve feet from the ground, leaving a long prong. ‘The top of CO MICLOOOKS CO