The Argosy, August 1905 — page 108: what you’re looking at

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

“Whats the matter, Blinkers ? ” asked Trenwyck. “s ier robhery,” stuttered Blinkers. Trenwyck turned up the light. The dark-lantern engaged his attenfion and then the packet. Where is the thief?” cried Tren- “ Te he got away,” answered Blink- ers, with a shiver. “ He was after those seeds. I reckon, Tren, but I interrupted his work before he could make off with them.” ; “Did he make off with anything else?” “J don’t know. You'd better look throuch your clothes and find out.” Trenwyek found that his pocketbook was missing. The night clerk was sum- moned and the house policeman was put on the trail. The loss of a few dollars was nothing to Trenwyck, who was more than thank- ful that the packet had been saved. | When he again sought his bed, after the | excitement, he had the packet under his } pillow. Blinkers, awed at his own temerity and bewildered by the result of it, thought best to keep his own counsel. “li Trenwyeck ever counts up and finds that one seed is missing,” thought Blinkers, “* he’ll think the thief got away with it. Well, he did—but, by Chris- topher, it was sudden! I reckon Tap- scott wasn’t so crazy as Byngs is trying to make out.” CHAPTER IV. SAD BUSINESS AT BURGOS. TreNwyck and Blinkers came into Spain by easy stages, lingering in the various capitals for a last taste of that “ glorious civilization ” which Tapscott was seeking to carry to the Middle Ages. The delights of London and Paris almost wooed Blinkers from their set- ted purpose, but Trenwyck’s per- suasions, fortified by an important tele- gram that reached him in the French metropolis, were sufficient, and Tren- wyck brought Blinkers away to Bayonne and thence into the Basque Provinces, : % lk 4. i. ae my a J & as a * ry . aw rv; - .s — THE ARGOSY. The telegram was from an old fri _ Major Wickers, who reais a Sap om, one of the Spanish ports. Fonda del Norte, Burgos, Imperative.” So ran the country at “Meet me Wednesday. message. The major was a bachelor, upward of fifty, and in his native Alabama was -known as a successful iron founder. What imperative business he could have with Trenwyck was more than the latter could imagine. This was not the only thing that both- ered Trenwyek. During the voyage across to Liverpool he had counted the time seeds and had found that there were but sixty-eight, leaving twenty-five unaccounted for. . What had become of the missing twenty-five? He questioned Blinkers, and Blinkers had evinced surprise, but nothing akin to guilt. He suggested that, as the seeds were small, they might have sifted out of the packet. Trenwyck did not think this possible, but immediately he took steps to keep the rest of the seeds secure be- yond all possibility of loss. Professor Byngs was on the boat with them. During the first day or two of the voyage he had importuned Tren- wyek to divide the packet with him, as- serting that he had taken passage for the sole purpose of securing some of the seeds and that he would persist at all hazards until he gained his end. After two days of ineffective threats and entreaties, Byngs apparently yielded to the inevitable and frequented the card-room, where Blinkers was passing most of his time. In Liverpool the professor succeeded in effacing himself. The contrast between Byngs’ behavior — at the beginning of the trip and at the end of it was so remarkable that Tren- wyck might have suspected that he had accomplished his purpose had not the difficulties in the way of it been so great. As it was, he merely wondered and re- frained from pressing any inquiries. At Irun, just over the Spanish boun- dary, the customs officials fell on Blink- ers’ luggage and confiscated two decks of playing-cards, a box of ¢ roulette wheel and a faro | have go1 comicbooks.com