The Poisoned Pen(Fiscle Part-3) - Arthur B. Reeve (best detective novels of all time TXT) 📗

City Vote? I Was Amazed Now To See

How Strongly The City Was Turning To Travis.

 

"Mcloughlin Has Kept His Word," Ejaculated Kennedy As District

After District Showed That The Boss's Pluralities Were Being

Seriously Cut Into.

 

"His Word? What Do You Mean?" We Asked Almost Together.

 

"I Mean That He Has Kept His Word Given To Me At A Conference

Which Mr. Jameson Saw But Did Not Hear. I Told Him I Would Publish

The Whole Thing,  Not Caring Whom Or Where Or When It Hit If He Did

Not Let Up On Travis. I Advised Him To Read His Revised Statutes

Again About Money In Elections,  And I Ended Up With The Threat,

'There Will Be No Dough Day,  Mcloughlin,  Or This Will Be

Prosecuted To The Limit.' There Was No Dough Day. You See The

Effect In The Returns."

 

"But How Did You Do It?" I Asked,  Not Comprehending. "The Faked

Photographs Did Not Move Him,  That I Could See."

 

The Words,  "Faked Photographs," Caused Miss Ashton To Glance Up

Quickly. I Saw That Kennedy Had Not Told Her Or Any One Yet,  Until

The Boss Had Made Good. He Had Simply Arranged One Of His Little

Dramas.

 

"Shall I Tell,  Miss Ashton?" He Asked,  Adding,  "Before I Complete

My Part Of The Compact And Blot Out The Whole Affair?"

 

"I Have No Right To Say No," She Answered Tremulously,  But With A

Look Of Happiness That I Had Not Seen Since Our First

Introduction.

 

Kennedy Laid Down A Print On A Table. It Was The Pinhole

Part 3 Chapter 12 (The Campaign Grafter) Pg 152

Photograph,  A Little Blurry,  But Quite Convincing. On A Desk In

The Picture Was A Pile Of Bills. Mcloughlin Was Shoving Them Away

From Him Toward Bennett. A Man Who Was Facing Forward In The

Picture Was Talking Earnestly To Some One Who Did Not Appear. I

Felt Intuitively,  Even Before Kennedy Said So,  That The Person Was

Miss Ashton Herself As She Stuck The Needle Into The Wall. The Man

Was Cadwalader Brown.

 

"Travis," Demanded Kennedy,  "Bring The Account Books Of Your

Campaign. I Want The Miscellaneous Account Particularly."

 

The Books Were Brought,  And He Continued,  Turning The Leaves,  "It

Seemed To Me To Show A Shortage Of Nearly Twenty Thousand Dollars

The Other Day. Why,  It Has Been Made Up. How Was That,  Bennett?"

 

Bennett Was Speechless. "I Will Tell You," Craig Proceeded

Inexorably. "Bennett,  You Embezzled That Money For Your Business.

Rather Than Be Found Out,  You Went To Billy Mcloughlin And Offered

To Sell Out The Reform Campaign For Money To Replace It. With The

Aid Of The Crook,  Hanford,  Mcloughlin's Tool,  You Worked Out The

Scheme To Extort Money From Travis By Forged Photographs. You Knew

Enough About Travis's House And Library To Frame Up A Robbery One

Night When You Were Staying There With Him. It Was Inside Work,  I

Found,  At A Glance. Travis,  I Am Sorry To Have To Tell You That

Your Confidence Was Misplaced. It Was Bennett Who Robbed You--And

Worse.

 

"But Cadwalader Brown,  Always Close To His Creature,  Billy

Mcloughlin,  Heard Of It. To Him It Presented Another Idea. To Him

It Offered A Chance To Overthrow A Political Enemy And A Hated

Rival For Miss Ashton's Hand. Perhaps Into The Bargain It Would

Disgust Her With Politics,  Disillusion Her,  And Shake Her Faith In

What He Believed To Be Some Of Her 'Radical' Notions. All Could Be

Gained At One Blow. They Say That A Check-Book Knows No Politics,

But Bennett Has Learned Some,  I Venture To Say,  And To Save His

Reputation He Will Pay Back What He Has Tried To Graft."

 

Travis Could Scarcely Believe It Yet. "How Did You Get Your First

Hint?" He Gasped.

 

Kennedy Was Digging Into The Wall With A Bill File At The Place

Where He Had Buried The Little Vulcanised Disc. I Had Already

Guessed That It Was A Dictograph,  Though I Could Not Tell How It

Was Used Or Who Used It. There It Was,  Set Squarely In The

Plaster. There Also Were The Wires Running Under The Carpet. As He

Lifted The Rug Under Miss Ashton's Desk There Also Lay The Huge

Circles Of Wire. That Was All.

 

At This Moment Miss Ashton Stepped Forward. "Last Friday," She

Said In A Low Tone,  "I Wore A Belt Which Concealed A Coil Of Wire

About My Waist. From It A Wire Ran Under My Coat,  Connecting With

A Small Dry Battery In A Pocket. Over My Head I Had An Arrangement

Such As The Telephone Girls Wear With A Receiver At One Ear

Connected With The Battery. No One Saw It,  For I Wore A Large Hat

Which Completely Hid It. If Any One Had Known,  And There Were

Plenty Of Eyes Watching,  The Whole Thing Would Have Fallen

Through. I Could Walk Around; No One Could Suspect Anything; But

When I Stood Or Sat At My Desk I Could Hear Everything That Was

Said In Mr. Bennett's Office."

 

"By Induction," Explained Kennedy. "The Impulses Set Up In The

Concealed Dictograph Set Up Currents In These Coils Of Wire

Concealed Under The Carpet. They Were Wirelessly Duplicated By

Induction In The Coil About Miss Ashton's Waist And So Affected

The Receiver Under Her Very Becoming Hat. Tell The Rest,  Miss

Ashton."

 

"I Heard The Deal Arranged With This Hanford," She Added,  Almost

As If She Were Confessing Something,  "But Not Understanding It As

Mr. Kennedy Did,  I Very Hastily Condemned Mr. Travis. I Heard Talk

Of Putting Back Twenty Thousand Into The Campaign Accounts,  Of

Part 3 Chapter 12 (The Campaign Grafter) Pg 153

Five Thousand Given To Hanford For His Photographic Work,  And Of

The Way Mr. Travis Was To Be Defeated Whether He Paid Or Not. I

Heard Them Say That One Condition Was That I Should Carry The

Purchase Money. I Heard Much That Must Have Confirmed Mr.

Kennedy's Suspicion In One Way,  And My Own In An Opposite Way,

Which I Know Now Was Wrong. And Then Cadwalader Brown In The

Studio Taunted Me Cynically And-And It Cut Me,  For He Seemed

Right. I Hope That Mr. Travis Will Forgive Me For Thinking That

Mr. Bennett's Treachery Was His----"

 

A Terrific Cheer Broke Out Among The Clerks In The Outer Office. A

Boy Rushed In With A Still Unblotted Report. Kennedy Seized It And

Read: "Mcloughlin Concedes The City By A Small Majority To Travis,

Fifteen Election Districts Estimated. This Clinches The Reform

League Victory In The State."

 

I Turned To Travis. He Was Paying No Attention Except To The

Pretty Apology Of Margaret Ashton.

 

Kennedy Drew Me To The Door. "We Might As Well Concede Miss Ashton

To Travis," He Said,  Adding Gaily,  "By Induction Of An Arm About

The Waist. Let's Go Out And Watch The Crowd."

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Publication Date: 05-17-2014

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