The Guy Ghost Returns
‘By Arthur Somcrs Roche '
Illustrated by w. B. King
“Wham—m FidefaGrayGlIostSeties.
Kw?" paying teller of the 0r.
.6 Metal.- National Bank. cast a last
W.” Mound his cage. The pay rolls
, . (limp-n roncerns were all neatly
‘ “rel “waiting the arrival of nice-
iacrrs with their firm checks.
K. .1” was a methodical young man.
1.“... mol and calm. he was clock-
.-,.. '1 w..- punctuality. Hls firm chin.
I, .yrnn‘ nose. his steady blue eyes.
“ the discerning. citadel-it in-
n: his integrity. Also. one
M w,” more could be no qu-tion
, w. .-.mrun. And his ability in his
I... .1 z‘nl'Pf‘r seemed proved by the
' mu at twenty-nine he had
Pvtnrmi so TFIDOHMD‘Q . position "I
M ,, ohe largest banks in the world.
“no saw the uniformed porter un-
5-. ”M open the huge steel doors of
t. h..rik_ and Turner. the young mes-
,._. - .r the Caraway Company en-
\'miisl simultaneously emis-
.n qr’ivcd from the Wilton Com-
w-u MitcBnany concern. and the
”1.”. w; t‘llt‘nts of the bank. Each
,.,. qu-lvr noted. was accompanied
. inky guard.
.. reachrd automatically for thel
of bills labeled “me11”
.an as automatically. his
mom below the counter and
.! the switch that dropped. with
“g r‘msh, lhl‘ steel grating
:lorlni‘ml bars would protect
. .. 'i‘V"l assault and robbery. His
' ..~..l gripped his ready pistol.
. . ‘l‘il the hars he aimed the
. , -. i'l-l‘ half a dosen men had
. ~ i Hm bank after the memenger
- Elspeth store.
hml heard a cry from the
«mi pnrtnr. lie had seen the
."liEEilnR with one of "18 late
He had acted with instant
g. - t‘w bank's money was pro-
, , ..:;i;nst the marauders. For‘
. ,. ' l'i only to dodge down behind
. .. 'rfrr to be out of range of any
tvrlir‘f, and the steel grating
. n- rule-0d only by the switch in-
.. ".IKP. No threat could make
. .‘nll- h that switch again.
r - Ln «lid not hide behind the
instead. he pointed his re-
‘ .1 man struggling with the
. .v :ird The man heard his
.— and immediately ceased his
» The uniformed porter had
i the man. whose attack upon
,. mend his outcry. into a cor-
(«-0
wt» 'Yl
,,
4’
1.
“—11...
IL".
ll.»r
. n
. i ‘. hit-w upon a shrill police
'. 4 , i h rm minutes after the
“v' : 'l i robbery had begun. the.
~ 2 .. tum lined up against one wall.
.,. v-mncri. and were penned in
. w n hank detectives and em-
. . . leor pressed the switch
- .wi the heavy steel grating
- min the ceiling. He laugh-
. vhd so. In a moment the
. mmoned by the porter's
. awuid arrive and take away
.Inus bandits.
.. "in police arrived sooner
, oi deemed possible. A whole
' them, sixteen in all. head-
nnrgr‘nnt. raced up “1. Milk
drawn revolvers and night-
- their hands. The sergeant
‘ - r ~mprehensive glance at the
“Mn ordered the massive
.1. . mi
. \
.~ inrer offices the president.
m’tfi'. the treasurer. and other
if the bank had come. The
my nmvmed to recognise the
:>- ”0 called him by name.
- . .i»V‘.iHH‘V in here. Mr. Dana."
"imiod brusquely. “Every-
i,.\..im like an inside Job to
v' e absurd," Enid Dana. Hll
«is shock with indignation.
- .an in this bank-every wom-
.«: ubeolutely trustworthy.
,, vi he pointed at the six cow-
n‘l against the wall——
’Lii outsiders."
they know all these psy-
,_ u were to be here at a cer-
with the cash ready for
.«t evcryone here; i want to
t‘ cm "
‘o‘v the justice of the ser-
uz mde, even though he could
'-"m"ti the police officer (ll-.1
r' v-n as to the time of sending
1:. could be easily picked up
ii‘nt of the bank who kept
lull He ordered an under»
a :rnmon the rest of the III-
,,
\n
ii 3 .l
.
" r
lv- 1
i
. .4
\ ‘lrv were coming the ser-
n‘i five or his men advanced
~ rlrfwnners. They slipped hand-
un‘h of them and hustled
chlv into the center of the
t. . » wt The sergeant looked at
r customers of the bank.
7 these mixed up in this?”
«wind of Keeler.
- ii'ving teller peered through
.: He pointed as he spoke:
.'4 Mr. Kelly. an old client:
" "" “'yhans. another old cul-
‘ut 1 Mr. Bennett. who's all
' “nut is Mr. Pelham. The?"
M m me, and i can vouch for
lie ‘. ' l'h'.” grunted the sergeant.
' i to the president. ‘m'
" demnnded the "wt
l‘W' telephone gll'll." M
" -‘ rm- of the sergeant spread
l'nmnm. the dapper young-
u iii the gray hair, 'ho had
‘ ‘nriicated by Kseler. seemed
H'vmt-thlnl odd in that grin.
. I, ’ ‘l “PD toward the sergeant;
y," ‘Wln standing beside him lift-
.1‘ .j‘,’ ”‘h'l‘llck. and Pelhals crash-
“ finnr.
'F
‘i‘nr‘q Mica out in mum‘-
Iry died in hil throat. m m
. thrust a revolver W M.
It'll.-.
‘7'»
' 'r‘ The banker was soddenb
'Al'.
Ii I
“'11 1.!
i .. ,
I g.
v2} ..
bro:
"‘ It;
He o.
u
,“Wh and don't movs, every
you." cried the ssrgmnt.
"”‘n DOIicemen wheeled end-
1;> n the armed M who had
“ "l the messengers. Night-
"W mi them down. and tbdr
H \.-v.- wort- taken as lb” mm
.’ ' " .‘iwnr
is
H s s;
an. .
In'n.
:-
‘1»
u .
ed the mechanism so that the grating
could be lowered and raised once.
After that had been done it was neces-
sary to adjust certain parts of the
machinery again. And. of course.
there had been no time to do this
newt
Sick with apprehension. he reached
for the revolver which. upon the ar-
rival of the police. he had placed
Ill-in upon the shelf below the coun-
ter. But before his fingers clnsed up-
on it a bullet from one of the police-
m-i's revolvers struck his shoulder
and whirled him dizzlly to the floor.
A tdp upon the head from one of
those heavy nightstk‘ks rendered the
teller hors do combat.
And almost before the dazed bank
employees could think of offering re-
sistance they were disarmod, beaten
unconscious. or shot.
Sacks appeared from beneath the
blouses of two of the invaders. These
two stepped into Kceler’s cage. Iiis
assistant. covered by a revoivcr. had
no opportunity to resist. More than
eight hundred thousand dollars in
bills were swept. in less than thirty
leconds. into the sacks carried by the
counterfeit policemen.
Seventeen of them, including their
leader. and reenforced by the six
hand-cuffed men in business clothes.
herded those of the bank employees
and customers who still were con-
scious into an inner room. the private
once of President Dana. A telephone
in the room was ripped from its fast-
enings. Dana was seized and search-
ed. hem his pockets were removed
keys; one of them fitted the lock of
his private office. and the door was
fastened upon them. From the uni-
formed porter the key to tho outer
door had been taken. The great doors
swung open on to Broadway.
Attracted by the closing of the
doors, the porter's police whistle. and
the noise of the shots was a. great
crowd of excited people. They set up
a yell of exultant fury as the police-
men deecended the bank steps. hust-
ling the handcuffed men toward empty
taxicabs that happened to be stand—
ing at the curb. Tho spectators could
guess that a robbery had been an
tempted. and that the bandits had
been captured. After all that the
papers had been saying about the in-
competence of the police department.
it was good to see with your own eyts
proof of the falsity of the newspaper
charges.
That is. it was good until you hap-
pend to read the afternoon papers.
‘1 tell you, Jerry," said Jimmy Pel-
ham positively, "it's the Gray Ghost."
Jerry Tryson shook his round bald
head. Also. his shoulders moved with
mirth.
“Mr. Pelham. you’re as crazy as l
was ten years ago."
"Were you crazy. Jerry?“ asked Pel-
ham mildly.
The red face of the Px-pnlir‘l‘md‘h—~
now one of the most succcssrul pl‘L
vate detectives In New York~took on
a. deeper shade.
“You know what I mean: ever.\'~
thing that happened. i said '(irm
Ghost' and I got the raspberry from
Headquarters. the papers, the Dublin:
and everyone."
"Except me." insinuated Pelham.
Tryon's eyes lowered in embarrass-
” “Don't think I've ever tot-sot-
“; it. the way you encourand me.
nae—everything. 0111?. .Mr.
'And ten years aso mm ‘1‘
mg n. has never been alive.” smiled
mm blue chin of T1703 at
‘am; his lower lip prom“
pegnsoioi-Illy. “But. Mr. Palm "
cornered the Gray Ghost aboard your
He mm 0m-
" yacht ten years ago.
“I“ " "“ “‘-‘ WW. bears a couple of hundred nu- from
I M "r '7?"- sw‘itch that mould land. You can’t get behind that. m-
ire- lto. Kl‘.’ ii h m. .
:~.fl‘“."""“"’ [mg the stochast- ef ,. .1 sever saw his dead body. did
3" .P "2 had lot out of ‘ » . w mn‘wwm ,
I“ ‘ "'"vonrr sesjm was how eels he
.
Imam shrugged. “What 1“”-
ence does .that make: I couldn't an-
swer that‘offhand. But he might have
caught a rope hanging over the
Yacht's side. pulled himself aboard.
and stowed himself away. Or. what
is move probable. he might have kept
himself afloat. You know it's not. easy
for a boat's crew to find so small an
Object as a man‘s head in the waves.
Suppose that he was picked up by
some trading vessel?" .
“He'd have been turned over to the
authorities at the first port." said
'l‘ryon scornt‘ully. “The 'whole world
knew of him and of his leap from
your yacht."
"But you know. Jerry, the Gray
Ghost might have had in his pockets
Jowels worth thousands. All the loot
that he stole was not recovered. It
might not have been difficult for him
to bribe a whole ship's crew to keep
silent about his rescue."
Tryon suffered exquisite confusion.
Jimmy Pclham. by placing his for-
tune at the disposal of a discredited
police officer, by believing implicity
in the reasoning of that officer. ‘had
enabled Jerry Tryon to effect the cap-
ture of the Gray Ghost, 9. stroke that
immediately made Trybn internation-
ally famous
Ten years ago, in the great days
of the rounding up of the Gray Ghost
and his gang. Jimmy Pclham had been
a gay youth in his late twenties. a
favorite in society. a man of import-
apce in tho eyes of ccrtain banks and
trust companies. But shortly after
Jerry Tryon had achieved reputation
and fortune by the destruction of the
Gray Ghosi's gang. reverses had come
to the young millionaire.
The Great “far broke out just as
the young man was ruefully contem-
plating thc impossibility of living on
the bare tcn thousand a. your rt~main~
ing to him. No forgot his troubles for
the next four years, during which he
served with distinction in the French
army. (in this morning in Jerry
Tryon's office he was down to his last
thousand dollars.
Time and again Trynn had offered
PPiilfln‘l a half interest in the prosper-
nus detective agency which the ex-
police ofiiccr contiuctcd. lint Jimmy
l‘elham was not in the list.) for char-
lty. Now, (mt-r- ngnin Trynn made an
effort to rciurn past favors.
"Of course, Mr. i‘r-lhnm. you may
be right. at that. Suppose you come
into my office and let me detail half
a dozen men to you, and you can start
an investigation. it would be worth
at least five hundred a week tu mo
to have you—"
l’tlham's roar
rupted the other.
hczirt. Jerry,"
of laughter inter-
“Bic-5:2 your good old
he cried. "You've tried
in so many ways: to put your hand
in lily pocket and luavv some money
thi‘re. . Thank you just tho Sillilv;
but if you think I'm crazy, I don't
wunt you to oppose your own judg-
ment. Not another word about it."
lie ratio and rubhul gingvrly the
plaster on the crown of his hood.
"I must run along now, .l~~rr_\'."
said. ‘LTliey want to question the
llcndqunrtcrs."
'I‘rl‘on smllcti
wouldn‘t mention tho
tlicm guys down thorn,
ho advised.
ruzz, and, holir‘st, the pol» rs will think
ynn‘rc a nut."
l‘elhitm rr-lurncd his smilc. “Much
nhligcd, Jerry. 1'” try to be cl.scrcet "
lir-
(Li
( :rzl ,\'
.\l 1'.
(Elms! in
l’i-lhum."
“'ith :L smile and n rind he loft
'I‘ryon's offices,
(‘ommon sensr- said that the Gray
Ghost was (lend. that he had pcrisliml
Mn years ago. liiit imagination ‘iliii
Mm that (mo might as well expect 1»
find two annlt-uns in tho same gin-
o-rniinn (is two (iruy Ghosts,
Such groutnrss could not rqmnt
wll' so shun. The Gz‘ny (ihimi
“v-lham rlunx: in tho thought. “v.1
:t Headquarters he did not mmtint
2's belief.
5: lm gave his little infurmutJon
Ill
dcprcl‘niinnly. "ii
“They‘ll Just givv yum lill‘ ,
m. l' '
. 1“,-
old days.” , . ‘
gretfully. as though he lamented the
passing of the police's great antag-.
onist. '
“Maybe he's come to life." laughed
Pclham. .
The officer returned his laugh.
"Nothing but part of the crime wave
that's been following the war. Much
obliged to you. Mr. Pelham." he said
briskly. terminating the conversation.
Outside. in the hallway, Pelham en-
countered Keeler, the paying teller of
the Ore and Metals Bank. lustre-
leased from an examination by a.
deputy commissioner. The teller car-
ried one arm in a sling; there was a
plaster upon his head. His face was
drawn and bloodless.
They shook hands and Pelham noted
that the other was weak. "Those
idiots shouldn't have let you come
down here. You ought to be in bed.
Let me take you home."
Keeler thanked him. “I do feel a
bit woozy." he admitted. "But what's
that at a time like this?" ‘
Pelham could but commend the
younger man's attitude. ,
“Do the policeiseem to have any
idea, any theory. about the robbery?"
he asked as they stepped into a. taxi-
cab.
Keeler's blue eyes were contemptu~
ous “l've heard a lot of loose talk
about inside jobs and outside jobs.
But common sense ought to tell them
it was an outside Job. Furthermore,
hold-ups aren't inside jobs."
“True enough." agreed Pelham. "Too
bad that grating didn't come down
the second time. The newspapers said
the machinery was out of order."
Keelcr groaned. "One of those un-
accountable carelessnesses that crop
up everywhere. The thing could have
been repaired, but who could have
foreseen that two attempts would be
made. one right after the other?"
A sudden thought flashed into 'Pel—
ham's mind. He asked calmly: ““‘hat
was the idea, do you suppose. of the
fake rubbery?"
"l’rctiy obvious, wasn’t it?" retort-
ed Ker-lcr. “As soon as the first ban-
dits were disarmed we dropped all
precautions. \V’hoever planned the
crime counted on that very thing. \th
on earth Would think of questioning
the lmna tides of a platoon of uni-
formed pnlivc‘,‘ (‘m'tuinly no one in
the bank. And the people outside,
sci-in; a bunch of policcmnn dragging
ilan a dozvn bandits into taxicnlis,
would never suslmct that. the uniform-
ed man worn (‘fllli'i.‘d(‘l‘ll.les nf tlw
prisonvrs The first group were do—
coys to draw our fire."
"l'erhnps" sugzt-Mt-ri Pclhzim, trying
to kccp his \‘t-‘lt‘l si'utly, “their had-
Pr knew that iii“ mechanism that
:‘zilstd and lowwrtwl your grating was
out of nl‘lil‘l' 'i‘lmt would cxpldin tho
tun grumpy (if rnhivt‘l's.”
“l'ml'rc inflit‘liu an ‘nslcle job of if."
,x‘iili'chlvr. “Hilly lill‘lfi' [u-opic knew
that that mechanism was out of ordcr
l
"I suppose ‘y‘ou'd int-exec that her
home town should change its naime to
Venus. after Miss Grey." Suggested
Pelham.
‘Kecler blushed. "She is beautiful.
Too beautiful for Inc; too good for
me. And such a patient girl. She‘s
been the sole support of her mother
and sister, down there in Maine. ever
since she came to New York. two
years ago."
“That's fine of her," said Pelham.
slightly bored. “She works, then?"
"At Mason & Marsh's brokerage
But not
Mrs.
house. She's a stenographer.
she”: to be
after next month;
.. ”4.21.-
watois of Lake St:
and his guide was
in camp.
IHH‘illlI the all
the guide, one
name,
Slim
discussPd many things.
fostering his speech upon New York.
”The way I look at it." pronounced
Slim, "it don‘t take no more to be I
big guy in New York than it does to
. ‘V‘Mufi: obliged." answered and.
At noon next day Pelham left for
Maine. Two mornings later “he was
seated in the bow of an Oldtewb
canoe inriustriously whipping the
nnehago. By seven
U'Ciuck he had caught eight beauties.
propelling him back
cr-brcakfalt smoke
Dickenson by
anally
uMaybe i'm thinking of another Minnie Gm." said Peiiiam. shaking with
“CYVOUSHCSS.
Kr'r-lr-r then."
“My heartirst Cnntmt'ilntinpfi.‘
l‘eilium. Shortly tlicroziftcr in: m:.d
his (‘xcuscs ltnii his departure.
v F'!:
l‘nsltitnt Dam. know it. €leth r l‘t’lhnm walkcd in lifx spurtmcnl.
anri' know it. :chi i know it. And All tho v‘xr‘ilv‘lllt‘ni. that had honn in
ii ritwwx' told u stitli." lln touched liis.li's mil-d hzd toi‘l it. Crrtaipl)’ the
"~'v" ‘Ulliml 513"”:‘9‘1 "This isn‘t, l’rUlll. Illi‘iliili‘ll'. was in-ynml S'islwiiiml; Pl?-
inf my honest}, but it's t~\’id€-l:<‘e." ht hum lizlpprnvd to know that th.» cos"
Ei'umlird. hr was on.- of the chief stm‘khr.l.ivi‘.~:
FUN-“m. h£11311”? ”i" ”Her in line of lip» imnk, nmi could hardly 1w s‘is»
sidtwulk. Hriiil.t'.: “l grunts that it's pi‘i'tt‘d of (-mnpiivity in rabbinlr h
l’l‘i‘lll' 5‘0"” Prim?" h“ said. inwn institution. And as for l{”"1"!‘.
l‘p:<t:iirs, in K~vivr':< apartmcnt, hv ‘uzs lmnvsty was [00 putt-nt in
made {3.1. itilvr it» down. and prcparcd qurstionrd
"""lf' m-‘dirinc “~" 'TII tho. dl't‘ll‘rs ilfld The failure of tho mm‘hmi'::tti of the.
lr-t't will: lie “'(mzul'd mun. Tito Oiilf‘i‘ yizltin: was a coincitlontm, iii n, thal‘
mrm "I‘ll“! I’ll!” M May a \‘viiiit‘, fur a had been fortunate for the rubhcrsfié
drink, ’1 biiiiilw’. 'll 3 lillk- Add tho moment that Pt-llinm admit-
l’clhnm likr-tl 1" l-lctfi minim). his, pal this be rinsed to holit-ve in the
q“\lll',l2"l‘(‘::i] Stir-w lio “nu lmyishli xlsim‘mc nf lilo Gray (illnsf.
Z'lzl l; and mm rmm'x, l‘m'llups tlu- sui— Fur (‘oinv‘ulcnco nm’tr ‘dwl rim-
-t"r:l".i.' intiliu-xl h\- in: irlu-‘ws rrnr‘l.r- Ninth-rod iliut master of crime. (‘hancv
~<i ill“! a shulv-hnnw curifiriintfl) l.) :uvt-r onlcwid into his sch-mes: lil"f\"
quacmus than “as his “out. Any. united with mathematical (‘xut‘iiiudm‘
\\ i,\'. he l.-'w'l l'Il‘:.i.i Uf ins linylmwl
airtltzglcs, his mli'wtiur‘uiit-n. his am. .lcrl'y Trynn rallmi him up that
'i imn‘i, lillti, lil‘lifl}. «.i‘ l‘ < ;.lrl. il- m Ext to inform him that ic laid beg-on
\‘tfl pointed out haw llil’lwll \xiwrt iv 1‘ iinmi lv,\' lilo i'unk :iuthnfiiics in
Zing tin-n the wall "an linwn the (‘l‘iliiin.‘.is.
Sizw Jilin" Minn?" (:rr‘y. who was “Ami I didn‘t tell tlnm that l
i\'l'i4‘i'>’ iinm‘cv --wle it shmlw too 5- ‘tuught it was llxc Gravy (illnr‘i‘s work,"
l'ilLSilt‘let‘il in :zi-lw-utuncc. lint, i‘irn. buckled Jerry with gnod-nuturcd
I
More than eight hundred thousand dollars in bills were swept, in less than thirty seconds. into the sacks.
matter-of—fact fashion. embellished by
no speculations. Intending to leave
the previous afternoon on a. fishing
trip to Kaine he had stopped at the
bank to cash a check. So he had
been present at the robbery; somehow
or other he had suspected the alleged
sergeant of police. had taken a step
toward him. and that was all that he
remembered until he awoke with his
'head resting on the knee oban ambu-
lance surgeon. He had gone home as
soon as his injury had been attend-
ed to.
The captain of detectives who ques-
- ,°‘ monomers.
be told himself, nearly all girls wear
a look of sophistimtion nowadays.
“Black hair?" asked Pelham.
“Yea and black eyes too,"
Keeler.
“She's beautiful." admired Pelham.
"And lovely." supplemented the ten.
er. “We're going to be married soon.
Funny thing. I've always sworn that.
I‘d marry a small-town girl. The min-
ute 1 met Minnie I fell in love with
her. And I could hardly believe it-
when 1' discovered that she came from
a little town in Heine."
run.“ part qt‘llains does
our" asksdrrslham idly.
i”"'!bwn called» Juno." smiled
slid
. i
up
she costs]
malice. "If I had, they'd think I'd
gone cuckbo. and I'd lose a ten-thou-
sand-dollar retainer."
“All right for you, Jerry.” -Pelham
laughed back at him. "But if the
Gray Ghost does show up. don't say
I didn't warn you. The evening paper
says that the bank is offering a bun-
dred thousand dollars reward for the
recovery of its money and the arrest
"Ies. it'l‘mc'nlos
mark to shoot; at."
cinema
bi"51
-(- rt biz guy in
Mm), it :i frllcr
It hurl. tm'l'. s'n'c‘c
All '1 I 7' "hi. Mr.
"I unrss you ar
ml. “lull you say
"Not from my town." declared Slim Dickenson.
my hnm~ town of
has: git—up-and-git
~-l nnywi‘a-re at all.
I’vlhnin'.“
e." l‘e-lham conced-
thztt Juno was your
3. (Oi-n?"
"( i‘TliitlliY did." said Slim. "Rom
i‘ i', in i-z‘i lip iilt't‘”. Know every
-, -~. Amy in, hum“ :enri dog in the
.i " ‘.'\‘ii,\ 1' i: l‘l‘ brcn there?
K 7‘.
"er, 1 ti xii't." mim‘iied Pclham, "but
:\ {it ill .;‘ m no is (-ngaged to marry
tzlrl from Juno, ll~’r name's Minnie
'Czu}'. ilfl you know Err?"
i "Minn-o Grey? '(‘ourse I know her.
{I can rrmrmher. like it was yester-
da'; the any she put up her yellow
,nzzir. lived to hang in a pigtail down.
i'rer hac‘ yellow as corn." " '
l “'l‘l: . .. Lo (‘vrny I moan has black
'li:.'r zml inn-l: mes." said Pclham.
i “Don't know about. her hair now,"
Sizm said; “rill: may have got crazy
lilwas like the rest
5!!! Now Yard.
‘ ' i-liio.
inuy w'iy n.‘ chungi
tin-y?
“‘J‘nl'w-
Mhizzv-
“.L
{is
i .‘H‘P
I‘m
UN 3'."
s <l>c lg with
".\'oi. from Juno.’
l
i
decision.
But hr!‘ cyes was
And
thinking
suggested Pelhaln.
“fir.
:et‘.‘ mm lil" ‘
of the girls that go
as
iii: 3‘ ain't found
ng the color of eyes
of another
He
nfif‘VUllSnl‘SS.
' declared Slim with
\
"Perhaps you’re thinking of her Is-
tor."
argued Pelham.
“Minnie never had no sister," stated
the guide.
"She was an only child;
an orphan who lived with her aunt."
I’elham cross—examined the guide;
but the man stuck
stoutly to hlsrstory.
He vowed that he could not be mis-
taken .....
Twenty-four hours later Jimmy Pel-
ham landed in New York. He might
hear madman; whet Weathers
between the meet
i
i
the grating machinery. they, ’ ‘7
have learned it only. Pelham wfi" ‘
Vinced. through the dances of.“ .
lag teller. . _':
0n the assumption that m
toldthegirlandthatthegl!
told the gang. Pellnm them!“
11 he could reconcile the m
ancy between the two mania MI—
He took Slim Dittenson with NI,
the offices of llason & Ills-Ill. y”
gave the guide a hundred m "
“Go in.“ he told him, “and hey 3
Liberty Bond. I know the mm
stenographu-s are all in an A
room. See it Minnie Grey is III-s."~ .
A quarter of an hour later '
son reported that he hadn‘t nan ,y
nle Grey inside. .
“ e'll wait right here.” said”-
heat.
Inadoorwayacrossfromtbsbrob"
erage house they waited until the do _
flees closed for the evening. Pom ,;
recognised the original of the photo- .4
graph that he had seenin m .1
room. He indicated the girl to nn. ‘ ‘
enson and ordered him to follow ED.
0
Pelham went directly to Koch'-
apertment. The young teller was ‘18
in a weakened condition - and w”
wrapped in a dressing gown wk. h
received Pelhsm.
"Keeler." mid Pelham. "you a
Miss Grey about the trouble with m
grating that protects your cage.”
Keeler's face went dead white. ‘How , '
dare you say such a thing?" he and. '3
"Suppose I told you that your line
nie Grey doesn't come from Juno?
What would you say to that?"
The fire died out of Keeler’s eyes:
Pelham was so patently in m
“I'd not indulge in heroics." said Keel-
er. "But I'd ask you to explain, and
if you couldn't I‘d throw you out sf ,
here. wounded shoulder or not.“
"Spoken like a. man. Keeler." mid
Pelham. "But I have a man in New
York who comes from Juno. who
knows Minnie Grey extremely well. He
says that she left Juno about two
years ago, and has never been heard
from since. He says that your Xin-
nie Grey is an impostor. Now, did you
tell your fiancee about the mishap to
the mechanism of your grating?"
Keeler had mentioned it to her! He
admitted it. white-faced. dazed at Pel-
ham's statement. yet believing, bo-
causc there was no reason for Polo
ham to lie.
“Pelham do you think they'll strut
her?" he asked.
"Nothing has been proved yet." said
Pelham. "But if proof follows—I’m
sorry. old man," he said.
Keeler. lying upon a couch. buried
his face in the wide sleeve of his
dressing gown Pelham got Jerry
Tryon on the phone. "I'm at the
apartment of Keeler, the teller of the
Ore and Metals Bank. Jen-y. Race up
here with at least twenty men.
Hustle."
No sooner had he hung up than the
phone rang. Slim Dickenson was on
the wire. “I followed thegirl to her
home; I waited outside a while. until
she came out. Then she took a taxi
to “'ashington Square. At least that's
where my chauffeur says I am. She
went into a house and she's there
now. “'hat'll I do?"
"Wait for me." cried Pelhsm.
He turned to Kceler. “Tr-yon will
be here in a. few minutes. Send him
right down to, Washington Sousa-a
It's tough, Keder." he said gently.
“You haven't proved anything yet.’
said Kceler defiantly.
"For your sake I could wish that
we wouldn't." replied Pelbam. . . .
He left the apartment. Presently be
had alighted from his taxi-cab and
was standing on the southside of
Washington Square with Dickenson,
watching the house into which Dick-
enson said the girl had disappeared.
As they stood there a man alighted
from a limousine and walked rapidly
across the sidewalk and up the m
of the house. He let himself in With
a latchkey and the door closed behind
him. Pelhaxn turned to Dickenson.
"That.'{ he said. “is one of the men
who staged the first attempt at ro
bery of the Ore and Metals Bank.”
“Let’s go in and clean them." sug-
gested Dickenson.
“Let's wait." said the canines- P‘-
ham.
Ten minutes later Tryon and a score
of his private detectives emerged from
taxis. A sentence informed him of
the situation. While one a": his men
ran to summon the police. Tryon sent
some of his men around to the back
of the house. With the others and
with Jimmy Pelham by his side. he
crashed in the front door.
Three hours later. in Pelham's
apartment. Tryon congratulated his
former patron. “As neat a piece 0!
detection as I ever heard of." be com:
mented. “Of course you had luck.
Running into your guide and hill
happening to know what the real mn-
nie Grey looked like didn‘t hurt non.
We split the reward. Mr. Pelham. And
if you'll only come in with me-—"
Pelham shook his head. "You don‘t
believe .in the Gray Ghost, Jury."
'h-yon laughed heartily. “Just be-
cause none of those prisoners that we
took to-nigbt will talk. you think
they're afraid of the Gray Gboct. I
don’t; I Just think that they‘re wise"
guys. waiting for their lawyers.” -
"How do you account, for their
llgalltheloot of the bank ,
in one box. at their house. undivl .
Doesn't tint look as though they
awaiting instructions from
chief?" demanded Peiham.
; .
1
“uh they'd .had a. chief. he'd n..." s
got is a couple of days ago.” ’ .
dared Tryon. - '7'4
”If that Chldf happened to b. the if
Gray Ghost, he'd have so
in the or. that he’d be u ‘ ’
a:
ecessarny de- ,
layed in removing some of them-m. ..;
Jected Pelham .
Vitae,
Norwalk Chronicler