THE SUNDAY OREGONTA, POKTI,AlS1, FEBEUAET 5, 1922 t'TO 1 (O) (O) " (f TT t 3 Pk-t cteval Gibbon 7Ac Story of a Thrilling Night in -Paris and Its Bizarre Aftermath. AT THII BACK ef the room, be yond the marble-topped counter of ths American bar America Is to the bars of Perls what England la to her tallora b little tables were spaced widely; the clientele of the placa r of that kind which frequently need privacy Without, tha moderate trafflo of tha Rue Dia li on. tha leakage from tha apata of tha boulevard, oezad paat 11 door; within, twa or threa ornate lad It i aat ach a I cm at a table with her on touchy glass of liqueur before her, motionless, wordless, sunk In a seem lns of gentle melancholy, and In the farthest corner Mr. James Smith-held forth across his table for the enllght nmnt and profit of hie two young friends. "Neumann"" ha was saying in ac cents f surprise. "Pony Neumann! Mean to tell ma you don't know Pony Neumann? Well, yon certainly cught to know Pony. It'a an education for. any man!" He hlmaelf waa a man of about 30 years of age. bullet-headed and thick la tha neck. Ills clothes and linen bad a showy eumptuoslty; tha whole of hia aeooetminit waa choice and costly, and with It want that manner f sophistication, that are of gesture and attitude, which la only acquired to perfection by those to whom bars and race) courses and gaming houses are tha familiar landmarks of life. His blunt-featured face bad a sort of callous cheertness, but neither the grace of his manner nor the floss of his equipment avaUed to bide the feral and dangerous quality that In habited tha sue as a flame Inhabits av lantern. Of his two young com panions, en looked like a Jockey and the other Ilk a curate; neverthe less, neither waa a horseman nor an ecclesiastic "Wall, what about "lm?" queried tha counterpart curate, restlTely. "What la 'e, any "r "What la bar echoed James Smith. "Tie's everything that you'r not, me lad. and everything you'll never be. When you're talking about Pony you want to be careful; he's got mora friends than a pretty millionairess, and I don't know the man that can say he ever got tha better of him. Fellers like yon " "But what Is 'at" Interrupted the other. "What's e dot Us three well. Tim an roe. oy game la smash ing ttumera; you're a Jeweler; but what's this "era PonyT That's what 1 was eskln." - "O!" Mr. James Smith was mollified. "Well. I don't know Just what you'd call him. He's In a class by himself. January till March, you'll find him at Monte Carlo or Blarlts; then a month or two in Paris; then over to London for the season and back to Trouvllle r Oatand about August. Then he'll trot off to Carlsbad, maybe, and in the winter you'r likely to hear of him at Cairo or thereabouts. Wherever the wells are tha real swells and the real money there you'll find old Pony holding his own with the beat of 'em and not losing by it, you bet! Why. If that feller waa to write a book, there'd be scores of em scores, I tell you, from lords an' bishops an' birds o paradise o' that kind down to members o' parliament an' stock brok ers that 'ud never be able to show their faces again. Tsee, he's got the style for it Man of about 45, I should say. and plumplsh, with a kind of short spoken heartiness about him and a friendly look; you'd take blm to be a colonel In the army or a lively kind cf country square. And he's got that trick o draslng you know! The minute you aee It you know It's the right thing. I've seen him on the Promenade dee Anglais at Nice. Two or threa of "em coming along together. General This an Sir John That an" eld Pony all together Pony doln' the talk In', too an I give you my word that out o the bunch of them Pony was tha ona I could hav been afraid t an called alr when I was speakin' to blm, The youth who looked like a Jockey soughed consumptively, wiped his lips and glanced at his handkerchief ere he returned It to bis pocket. "Ye-es." be drawled. "Blackmail's his game, thenr Mr. Smith hesitated. "1 dunno." he aid thoughtfully. -You can hardly caU it bleckmeilin when Pony does It. And It Isn't his only game, any how; Pony never misses a chance. Why. talkin of Nice, there used to be a feller down there, the Honorable Samuel Barlelgh. Youns feller he was; son of a lord, but his family had kicked him out. and he spent his time busily and solemnly going to the devil. He was regularly tottering from side to side between delirium tremens and suicide; I never aaw such a beastly alght as that chap when ha really got going. Well. Pony had a look at him an put out feelers for information about him an' his people, and when he'd learned all he wanted to know he took charge of blm. The Honorable Sam had been in drink cure homes before till most of cm were sick of him: there didn't seem to be a blue ribbon doctor in the world that could handle him: but Pony was a new experience for the gay lad. Pony took him to some filthy bole on the top of a snowy old Alp where you needed wings for go In' up an where you were apt to get a harp and a halo, too. when you started to come down, and there he put him through It. He made him do winter sporta till be was black an' blue all over; he cut off his liquor, bis smokes, an' bis dope, and he ex ercised a friendly Influence over him till the Honorable Sam couldn't call his soul his own. "And In the spring he took him home an presented him to his fam ily. They'd never seen him before when he wasn't so aodden with boose tbat he squelched when he moved, and Pony handed 'em over a lean, leathery young athlete, with nothing wrong with him but an awful way of urslng whenever Pony was men tioned. Wer they grateful" They were grateful tha whan Pony wanted to get rid ' soma copper stock he'd managed to dig up they took it off his bands before he'd fin ished suggesting it. -Still,- Mr. Smith continued, -talking of blackmail. Td like to tell yen about a queer thing, I waa In with Pony. Y'see Tet's have soma drinks, than." stipulated the young man whs looked like a curate. Mr. Smith accepted tha condition and the drinks were duly served. When the waiter had departed ha re sumed. "The game began ona day when I was havln' my lunch In the Roches ter dowa the street here. I was alone an' I was Just about done and ready to pay my bill an' go when In strolls Pony an' another man that X only know by sight. Pony was like ha al ways is. cheery, masterful, and cer tain of himself: but the feller with him. a tall, drooping sort of chap, was lookln" sort of 111 and worried. I won't tell you his name, 'cos he's still on Pony's list; 'an' by the looks of him I thought for tha moment that Pony must have been mllkln him too hard. Pony nods to me and half slops. Don't go away for a minute, Jim.' he says; T might want you." "The other one gave me a sort of" thoughtful, gloomy look and Pony led him on. whispering to blm as they , went. They took a table at tha other end of tha room, and after talkin' together for a few minute they cava their order to the waiter and Pony looked up and beckoned me ever. " 'Sit down, Jim.' ha said to me. This la Jim Smith." he told the other feller. 'Jim, I want you to listen to a story that Lord So-and-ao has been ttllln' me and see what yon think of lt Soma of It doesn't sound right to me.' " I'm listening," I said. The lord heaved a dreamy kind of sigh. He'd got a great thin beak of a nose and no mora chin than a bird. He looked about aa atrong as piece of paper end as wise ae a sheep. And yet somehow he looked like a lord, as If he'd got more right than another man and air waa only made because be liked to breath It. -n.ro you a crooir ne said to me. "Yes,' I answered him. "What's the crooked thing you want done that you can't do yourself r "He lifted up his eyebrows and stared at me aa If I was a curiosity. Pony, sitting beside blm. laughed. "Vim's all right.' ha said. Ho knows all about rough work. Go ahead and tell him.' "So presently his lordship began to tell his symptoms to tha doctor. The first partj of 'em seemed natural enough for a sheep-faced village Idiot like him. About three weeks before, beln' out for tha evening lookin' for new worlds to conquer, he'd run Into four nice fellows he'd never seen be fore. Cheery, pleasant, sporting sort of chaps, three of 'em English and one an American. They'd had a cer tain amount o' drinks at the usual kind o' places, and at last they'd gone off to the American's flat to rest around a card table after the fatigues of the evening. Thle American was a middle-sized man. It seemed, actln' an' talkin' In the usual way; but what made blm noticeable and queer looking was his having rather longlsh black hair, cut French fashion, a black mustache end a pointed black beard. And in his flat was slathers of drink and the materials for poker. "It was over the poker, it seemed, that things began to go wrong. His long, lean lordship got the Idea et last that he wasn't getting a square deal, just as If It would ha' needed any funny business to milk a poor fool like him. At any rate, be began to watch things pretty close, as far as the liquors he'd taken would let him. ""And I'll swear.' ha waa telling me, 'that the dealing was crooked. That American had the cards, and I distinctly saw him flick a card from PARIS BUILDS MUNICIPAL APARTMENTS TO HELP SOLVE BIG HOUSING PROBLEM Relief in Sight for Poor Flat Dweller and in Story of Project Representing Outlay of $14,000,000 Is Seen Lesson for American Cities to Leara. BY HERBERT M. AND T.TTJ.TANB R. DAVIDSON. PARIS, Feb. 4. "High rents! Too few houses!" Build a tower high as Jack's beanstalk In the mid dle of the Atlantic, climb to the top. and shout those words through a magically amplified megaphone. Everyhouseholder on two continents will respond with a groan of under standing. And turn, hopefully but In vain, toward another rental agency! In Paris, the groans would be aug mented, not only by Gallio fervor, but by genuine despair. A French family, house hunting, differs from an Amer ican family, ditto, enly by the addi tional degree to which money has de preciated, ths number of steps to climb through scarcity of elevators, and the universal absence of the by-us-unappreclated, family flivver. But. for the poorer flat dweller of Paris' relief is in sight, and In ,the story of that relief lies a lesson for American municipalities. "If there are not enough decent eco nomical dwellings for the people of Paris and if a large majority of those existing are in the hands of profiteers," argues logcially enough that municipality, "we'll Just build some, that's alL" Which Is exactly what Paris Is do ing. Reviving a pre-war project, the city has pushed it forward with re markable speed anl efficiency, and by the first of July will have completed and ready for occupancy 14 munici pally owned and operated apartment houses containing: nearly 2000 flats. Already the Parisian housewife of the laboring and clerical classes has descended in flocks upon the munic ipal rental agency In the Rue Talt bout. Parking her baby buggy on the sidewalk, she has come to Investigate and remained to rent, and practically all of the 2000 apartments already are assigned. As for the baby bug gies, the more of them the cheaper the rent, but of that more later, and American apartment house owners are invited to read. The municipal apartment house project In Paris was Inaugurated In 1913. when a bond Issue of 200.000,000 francs aw about tl4.0(NU0O) the bottom of the pack. I picked tip my cards and threw them Into the middle of the table. "-We'll have that deal again," I aid. "They all stared at me as If they were astonished and startled. It waa well done, but' he nodded at me like a sleepy horse 'I'm a close observer, don't you know, and I saw through It. "Why, what's the matter?" asked the American. "Are you drunk 7" ""No, I said, "Not nearly drunk, enough to stand that kind of deal." ""He laid the cards down before him and started to get up. I Jumped up. too, and so did the others. "'"If you're trying- to say Im not dealing straight." be shouted, and I pointed a finger at him. " ' "You dealt yourself a card from the bottom of the pack, you sharper," I answered. ""Why, you swine," he shouted. They were all around me and I stepped back against the buffet where the bottles were. And all at once I ut the bearded man with, a pistol In his band. ' I had my hand on a cham pagne bottle, and I stepped forward and swung it at him. I got him on the side of the head a clinking fine bang and the bottle flew to pieces In my hand and down he went." Mr. James Smith laughed. "It was funny to see him while he told about It," he said. "Like a little girl tellln' how she killed a nasty big wasp proud and horrifir.d, you know. But the rest of the atf.ry was queer. "The minute .he bearded fellow went down two of the English chaps got hold of his lordship and dragged him back, and the third knelt down above the fallen man. His lordship was still kicking and plunging In the hands of the fellows who were hold ing him when this third man got up and holds out his bands, dripping with blood. "You've killed him!' he says. "Let him go now," he tells the other two. "We've got to think whet to do and think quick! "It staggered his lordship. They let him go and stood, all three, conr suiting together In murmurs, while he, stepping slow and on tiptoe, edged forward to look. The body was lying beside the card table on Its back. He'd probably never seen a dead man before, or anyhow not one Just after he was killed, and one look was enough to turn him sick and faint. It lay with Its head on one side and all the face and hair and beard an the while shirt front was covered with blood and the carpet all around was a pool of it. "He reeled against the card table. and the next thing he knew he was sitting in a chair and somebody was feeding him with brandy. , voted to construct houses in Paris which would combine the three quali ties of sanitation, beauty and econ omy. A fair waa held to Investigate ma terials and methods of construction which would be at the same time cheap, durable, healthy and comfort able A contest waa held in which architectural plans for ths houses were selected. Five prizes were awarded and it Is according to the model which won first prize that the first group of 14 houses is being built. Next, large strips of land were set aside from the city's parks and promenades, chosen in such a way as not to interfere with the beauty or adequate size of any publio place. Of these a strip on Avenue Emlle Zola was chosen as the site for the first group. All this in 1913. The war. of course, interfered with the entire project, but the housing crisis which followed the war called for Its Immediate revival. Work was started in spite of the greatly changed financial conditions. Paris had to abandon her housing project, or swallow the loss. She chose the 'latter course. In spite of a slight additional sum raised and the scheduling of rents a trifle higher than was planned originally, Paris will havs to foot a large MIL Under present conditions It will take the houses from 100 to 125 years to pay for themselves. And they are only being constructed to last 100 years! In the group to be completed In July, 11 out of the 14 apartments are rented. They will house In 1476 flats, 7S00 persons, the entire population of an average size French village. Each house cost 6,000,000 francs. How are these apartments rented? First, preference Is given In renting to workmen and the small salaried clerical classes. Although It is be lieved that, in general, economic laws will operate in sending the small ln comed renter to these cheap houses. Inquiry Is made as to the status of the proposed tenant, and apartments rented only to those who could not otherwise afford such pleasant and hygienic lodgings. Secondly, these apartment houses Well, you've done ft." they told hint, when he was able to listen "You've killed Casey. "Well, you've done it," they told him. when he was aDle to listen, "You've killed Casey." ""He drew a pistol on me," he bab- bled. "But they wouldn't have It. "You're drunk," they said. "Casey didnt draw any pistol. If you ain't careful youll finish under the guillotine' "And the long and short of It Is that at last they got him scared to the point where they wanted him. I reckon he got hysterics, as far as I can Judge, because, though he didn't remember making them the offer, he found them presently accepting .his promise of a thousand pounds apiece to put the body out of sight. They'd find an Apache taxi driver and Lord knows they wouldn't have to look far for one in Paris and ride it down to the river and dump It In. And after that they'd! say nothing an' the lnci- dent 'ud be closed. An' he, poor fool, between the liquor and the scare, be- lleved that it would. "Two days later they'd sent him a messenger to draw the three thousand and he paid it over. And here's what struck me as the queerest thing yet: the messenger didn't come with a note to get the money in a sealed packet without knowing what it was all about. No, ho was a bald-headed bloke In spectacles who knew every- thing and had therefore got the right to snare in the loot. Though there was only three of them In It, and they sworn to keep their mouths shut, they'd taken In a fourth at the be ginning. And sines then he'd come again, as anybody might ha' known he would, and tho next day to this he was to ante-up another 3000. "I stared et him. To think of all that money with nobody to protect It but a chinless half-wit like him. It was it was tantalizing." "Well, what d'you think of It, Jim? asked Pony. " "Simple enough," I said. 'This feller Casey's no more dead than I am. And if he was, who's to prove It without any corpse? " 'Bnt there Is a corpse." said Pony. 'It was fished out and taken to the morgue and identified there. Those fellows sent my friend the official are designed boldly and unashamedly to favor families with children, and the more the merrier. Two-thirds of each house is reserved for families with four children .under 16 years old. And for every child under IS belong ing to a renter of one of the munici pal apartments the fortunate father Is allowed a rebate on his rent! Fam ilies without children must be content to pay a higher rent for smaller, less desirable apartments. Finally, the rents charged run at least one-third less than those de manded in privately owned houses of somewhat poorer grade The range probably will be from 300 to 800 francs (now equal to from $25 to 360) a year. The maximum charge per mitted under the law is IMS francs a year (about 375 at recent rates). The prize-winning plan from which the houses are being built Is an ad mirable piece of WTok. Every apart ment opens on a street, giving not only ventilation but a view to every tenant all of which is only another way of putting our familiar "all out side rooms." There are only two main entrances, making necessary only two concierges, which Is French for Jani tors. Halls, which customarily take up great quantities of room In France, are reduced to a minimum. Windows Two Sides. Every flat has windows on two sides, so that a current of air can be sent through the apartment. Anyone familiar with the odors of. French cooking will appreciate what a boon this Is to the househcld of the work man class, where kitchen and dining Joom often are one. One of the hardest tasks that fall to the lot of the French mother la doing the family wash. Everything Is being done in these new apartment houses to lighten that task. A large laun dry room, well lighted and well ven tilated, is provided on the ground floor. There are five types of apartments, varying from the largest, containing three bedrooms for children, one of them double; one parents bedroom, one kitchen and one dining room, to certificate of identification and a copy or tn police permit ior puriai. ""O!" I said. "But who was this Casey, anyhowT I've known two or three Caseys, but If you was to try hlttin' any one of them with a bottle after he'd drawn a gun you'd need Identifying and burying1 not him!" Old Pony nodded, -res, there's that, he said thoughtfully, " "And then," I went on. 'it doesn't sound real to me that three poker sharps would need' to foozle a deal so badUy as all that In order to' squeeze the Juice out of his lordship here, And which of the three Englishmen was a doctor to make sure the man was. dead so quick? And why have they taken In this messenger chap? And why are they so blamed modest and cheap to deal with? " "His lordship stared, but old Pony understood. 'I ought to ha' seen that for myself, he said to him. Tf my little er bit of Information Is worth a couple of hundred to you now an' again Just to save unpleasantness, this affair, with the guillotine or New Caledonia behind it. Is worth more than a paltry three thousand now and then. It's worth all you've got. What would you do about this business, Jim?" ". " 0, me!" I said. "I'm a rough, rude man. I"d get that messenger into room an' prevail on him to tails yes. even if I hadi to sit him on a stove till he did! Td want him to tell me which of those three fellows' slipped a knife into Casey when he pulled his gun. 'cos I've hit a man with a bottle myself In my time and he didn't bleed so lavish.' "Pony eat thinking for a while. "First thing Is to get a look at this bald headed messenger," he said. "One of us might know him by sight Where have you got to meet him and hand- over the money?" "It was to be in a certain big cafe on the boulevard at three in the afternoon. " "We'll be there,' said Pony. "And you pretend not to know us. Prob'ly we'll be able to fix things up for you. 'Cos Tm blowed if Vm goin' to have a lot of crooks like come trespassin' on ground that I discovered for myself. the smallest, contalnnlg only one room with kitchenette. "And how about bathrooms?" Any American would ask the ques tion, be he of the athletlo shower-every-mornlng kind or only of the Saturday night tub variety. But the workman of France is will ing to climb seven flights of stairs 'and have his bath In a washbowl, foregoing both elevator and bathroom to make expenses meet for the roof over his head. It will be hard' enough, architects say, to get him used to what modern plumbing there is In the new houses, and educating him to a bathtub must be the work of ths next generation. In addition to the group of apart ments to be completed In July, con struction will soon begin on a new group of five apartment houses con taining 400 flats each. These will cost from 17,000,000 to 25,000,000 francs each to build, 60,000 That's Needed. It is estimated that 50,000 flats will be needed In all to provide for the present shortage of houses in Paris, without taking Into account future growth in population. All of these the city cannot hope to provide, and for this reason the putting up of mu nicipal tenements In Paris In no way discourages private building enter prise. With this future building In mind, the city of Paris held In the zoological buildings in the Bois de Boulogne an other exhibition of methods and ma terials of construction, with a view to finding some means of erecting houses more economically still, and especially of finding some more eco nomical building material than brick and stone. Among the exhibitors at this "con cours," which waa concluded April ljO, was an American architect. Milton Dana Morrill, who urged the use in future municipal buildings of . an American system of concrete con struction, through which a 40 per cent saving may be effected In building costs Meanwhile, most places at home, city councils and state legislatures, appoint rent committees, realty boards ponder and some of them evade, rents continue to climb, or remain station ary; and the tenant continues to groan, and, apparently, will continue to do so long after the Parisian has resumed contented silence in the liv ing room of his economical municipal apartment. "His lordship looked e hit startled at that, but presently he gathered himself together and ambled off, leaving Pony an' me alone together. Pony sat chewing his cigar and look ing at the smoke of it- "Presently Pony nudged me with his elbow; he'd seen our man flinch where he sat; and In from behind us and dose past our table walks the blessed messenger. I glanced up sort of absent minded and got a good look at him. He certainly was a miscel laneous sort of creature. Young, you'd say; not more than 30, by the gait of him; but on his face was a pair of big, round spectacles and from his collar up there wasn't a hair on him. He took off his hat as he sat down opposite his lordship, and he showed a dome like a billiard ball or an egg. An ordinary bald man has got fringes or wisps somewhere, but this freak wasn't so much bald as naked; it waa downright indecent to sit there, beaming softly through his blinkers with his skull shining through his Bcalp like that. ""This is a nightmare." murmured Pony to me. There aren't really such people as that. If there are, there must be a reason for it. Think, Jim thing, manl Where does this hair less wonder come in? "But I'd get no answer and Pony went on. " This game's too queer not to mean something. Is this specimen the real, murderer turning an honest penny? But that wouldn't explain anything. There's been good, sound sense be hind every move in this business; they maneuvered his lordship Just where they wanted him; and there's some reason, some special reason, for this fellow's peeled head to appear in it Can't you make up a quick movie plot that'll fit the facts?" "Over at the other table the bald man was still smiling kindly as his lordship passed over a big envelope. " "He's got tha loot an' he'll be gone in a moment,' moaned Pony. Then suddenly he clapped his hand to his forehead and gave a sort of whispering shout. "'It's him,' he said. It must be it must be! Gosh, what a genius! Come on, Jim; we'll go over to them now.' "He got up, took his cane and gloves, and strolled across, me with him. I didn't understand at all. but I cleared for action In case a punob should be wanted and held my tongue Pony was fine smiling and lofty and more like a colonel than ever. The pair of "em looked up as we came alongside their table. " "Hullo r said Pony, affable and off handed. 'I didn't know you two knew each other.' He nodded to his lord- ship and then turned to the other. "You're lookin' very well, Casey!" "There was a moment or two of sllonce, broken only by the fall of his lordship's Jaw. The bald man stared up at Pony as If he -was the devil. Popy went on smiling. " "Who who are you callln' Casey?1 'demanded the bald man. " 'Why, you. o'oourse," said Pony. "Now, don't you start being silly with me, -'cos I haven't the' patience. Sit down, Jim!' "He pulled himself out a chair and we sat down, one on each side o' the bald man, where he'd have to turn his back on one of us if he wanted to start anything with the other. His lordship was still goggling at the lot of us. " "Well, said Pony, 'any complaints? You aren't goln' to call In a police man, are you, Casey? I wouldn't If I were you." " "My name's- not Casey,' snarled the other. The man named Casey is dead and buried, an' this man killed him. " T know, nodded Pony, "and If you don't want him brought to life in about ten seconds to explain where you got that other corpse you hand y .jf-'' if DOUBLE-DIPPED TO lil'vfl PROTECT FRAGILE CREAM! 1 There you have just ONE of the I ! llllxV I I secrets of Krause's STELLAR II I I llmirvV " i vA stlPeriority Otherwise the II 1 1 II I tlmS?. I vf & smooth rich cream, in its II I I I Iflhv'rlllm (w alnlos f lowing softness, II 1 llliV!tfll would be too delicate A 1 I il I nil ill an tender to reach k KRAUSE'S VALENTINE FAVORITES FOR 1922 : "STELLAR" Creams, in half to five-pound gift packages of white and gold. Pound size $1. "FRUITS AND NUTS" An ever-popular assortment of richly-coated tidbits in red and gold packages famous everywhere. Pound size $10. "FRENCHY CHOCOLATES" Fruited Stellar Creams of extra size, with cream caramels and nougats, double dipped in rich vanilla coating. $1, $2, $3. "LA VISTA CHOCOLATES" The finest Milk Choco lates money will buy. Extra large Stellars. $1 and $2. (From the Daylight Home of Tru-Blu Biscuits, Portland) over that envelope which his lord ship Just gave you." "He laid his open hand flat on the table and waited. Ths other glared at him, and Pony Just smiled at him. Me, I'd rather he'd pull a gun on me than smile at me like that; but then, you see. I know him. And after a bit It worked. The bald man let his breath go in a loud puff and fetched out the envelope and put It in Pony's hand. ""How did you know?" he said in a natural voice. "His lordship got his thoughts In order at that. 'Are you Casey?" he cried. "You you Infernal scoundrel. rn ni " "Pony turned on, him. "Now, now!' he said. "What's all this noise ? After all the trouble that Jim and I have taken to break out like this! I'm ashamed of you!" It was as if he'd been scolding a ' noisy child, and Casey It was him, all right grinned at It - "You see," Pony explained to him. "In my humble opinion you overdid It. You were knocked out with a bottle while you'd a gun in your hand, and there was that silly un necessary deal at poker, and the fact that your three friends, with a gold mine all to themselves, took in a fourth. But the thing that finally gave you away was pardon me that head of yours. ""You see. once Td got my brains to working. It was clear enough that a long-haired man with a beard couldn't choose a better disguise than a head like a bladder of lard, Ths only thing that still puzzles me Is your dead body." "Casey grinned again. "Well. he said, "maybe there's a better disguise for a man with the police after him than a 500 -Crajia funeral, but It's good enough for me. An that corpse if s only a question of biding your time and the Seine Is certain to eon-tribute an unknown. Frenchman with a black beard which a few obltgin' friends can go along and Identify. , '"But there's one thing that puzzles me,' I put In. "You ain't got a mark nor a soar on you. wnere'd all that blood came from, then'" " "BOoodr he says. 'O, that!" and. 7oe laughs. "He provided the blood," he says, nodding at hia lordship. It was not a champagne bottle he hit me with. It was bra-gundy and that was the blood." "His lordship gasped. Tve had enough of this," he snaps tt Pony. 'G've me that money and Pm off-" Pony stared at htm. 'Give you the money I' he said. "Why, It isn't yours; you gave It to Mr. Casey here. What the deuce should I give you the money for?" " " D" you wanit me to call a police man in?" he cried. " "Yes!" said Pony and Casey to gether. That was enough for htm and; he shambled off, M very back blasphem ing as he went. Pony and Casey and me sat and smiled at each other. "Well," said Casey, 1 suppose we split it 50-50" " " "I suppose not!" answered Pony sharply. There'll be no split In this. His lordship was my private property before you ever heard of htm and I'll have no poaching on my preserves, the late Mr. Casey. Remember that. If you please!" 'An' what about me? I chimed In. 'It was you that asked me to help In this; don't I get anything?"' "He had stood up while he was answering Casey and now he nodded down to me. " 'Yes, Jim,' he said, kindly. 'You've been useful; you certainly deserve something. Lemme seel Yes, Jim; I'll let you off that 200 francs you owe mel' " "He smiled and nods and off he goes swinging his cane. O It certainly Is an education for a man to know eld Pony Neumannl" tCcpy rigfat, 1922. tyy Chicago Tribune.)