Argosy, Vol. 118, No. 4 — page 68: what you’re looking at

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

538 stairs and get an evening paper,” he mut- tered. ‘“‘ Rather anxious to see how—er— -how the stock market is going.’ That last remark of his caused the thought to come to my mind that his mys- terious agitation might be due to some speculating he had been doing in Wall Street. But when he returned a little later with the latest editions of six different ‘evening papers I promptly discarded that ‘theory. Looking over his shoulder as he read, I discovered that the item of news ‘which seemed to hold his attention had nothing to do with the financial situation. It was the report of a tragedy that had occurred shortly before noon that day—the | murder of an insurance broker in an up- town office-building. His anxious gaze roved from paper to paper, scanning the report of the same case in each, as though he expected that one might give him a little more information than the othérs. I watched him furtively as he was thus occupied, and observed that his face was a mirror of conflicting emo- tions. Anxiety, hope, astonishment, con- sternation, and relief, each appeared there in turn, if I was any judge of facial ex- pressions. ; 3 Presently he turned to me. “ Heard about the shooting in the Brixton Build- ing?” he asked, abruptly. “TY heard two men talking about it in the elevator as I came up from lunch,” I told him. ‘ Anything particularly interest- ing about the case?” He handed me one of the papers, and I perused the headlines of the story carefully: BROKER SHOT DEAD IN OFFICE Justin R. Hollender, Wealthy Insurance Man, Slain at Own Desk, on Sixth Floor of Brixton Building Clerk Arrested, Charged With Murder Police Claim to have Conclusive Evidenée Against Seymour Nyles, Dead Man's Confidential Employee ‘ Anything particularly interesting about the case?” I asked my partner again, before I turned my attention to the half column or THE ARGOSY. ‘so of double-leaded, smaller type which fol- lowed. . “ Don’t happen to know either of the principals, do you?” “No; I don’t know either of them; but I think—I have a hunch that the police have got that clerk wrong. He didn’t do it.” ‘What makes you suppose that? Ac- cording to the paper, here, the evidence - against the fellow is conclusive.” “Bah! You can’t believe all you see in the papers,” he rejoined, irritably. “I tell you I know—er—I feel sure that he is innocent.” I tried to get him to explain his faith in the accused man, and the astonishing degree of interest he seemed to be taking in an affair which, so far as I could see, presented no features out of the ordinary, but he refused to take me into his confidence. In- stead he quickly changed the subject, and did not refer to the murder in the Brixton Building again, for the remainder of the day. At eleven o’clock the next morning, how- ever, he came into the office, a gleam of excitement in his eyes. ‘“'We’ve got a new client,’”’ he announced. “Good work, old man! Who is he, and how did we get him?” ‘“His name is Seymour Nyles,” he ex- plained. ‘‘ He—” | “Nyles!.’ I interrupted sharply. “‘ You ‘mean the fellow charged with the murder of that insurance broker? You've taken up his case, Marvin?” McIlvaine nodded. “Yes; we’re going to defend him,” he declared. “I’ve just come from.the Tombs, where I had an in- terview with him. He is poor and friend- less, and was mighty glad to avail himself of our offer to look out for his interests. “It’s a big opportunity for us, Bob,” he went on. ‘“ There’ll be no money in it, of course. The unfortunate chap can’t even pay a retaining fee. But it will Be the big- gest criminal case we have ever handled, and if we succeed in getting him off it will give us a reputation that ought to bring us a lot of business along those lines.” I frowned dubiously. I had been read- ing about the Brixton Building case in the morning paper, which contained a much AMICLOOO (S| QO) S (CCC)