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Full Title
The Bradys and the Magic Box, or, The Mystery of the Magician / by a New York Detective, [Incomplete].
Author
New York Detective.
Contributor
Doughty, Francis W. (Francis Worcester), d. 1917. Garne, Gaston. Sherman, John. Appleton, Horace.
Date Added
9 January 2014
Format
Journal
Language
English
Publish Date
1911-10-06
Publisher
New York : F. Tousey
Series
Secret Service Old and Young King Brady, Detectives > no. 663
Source
Dime Novels and Popular Literature
Alternate Title
Secret Service Old and Young King Brady, Detectives, no. 663, October 6, 1911. Mystery of the Magician. The widow in black; or, The great diamond mystery / by Gaston Garne. Great diamond mystery His own lawyer; or, How Tom Hazen won fame and fortune / by John Sherman. How Tom Hazen won fame and fortune Wandering Will / by Horace Appleton. Who was the hero? / by John Sherman.
Topic
Detective and mystery stories, American > Periodicals. Dime novels > Specimens.
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Disclaimers
Disclaimer of Liability Disclaimer of Endorsement
OCR
~
20. SECRET SERVICE. (
Graybill exploded, and with him the two maids laughed
heartily.
“Miss, I would like to take lessons in French from you,”
he said, turning to Majorie. :
“Heavens! what should I do with such a big pupil?” she
exclaimed,
“Teach him how to speak French as sweetly as you do,” he
replied. :
sPah! Don’t go to making love, Graybill,” safd Wales.
. "You don’t know these girls as I do. I live here, and am
wide awake all the time.”
“You must have been asleep last night, monsieur, to let
us all be robbed,” retorted Annette.
Wales frowned, for he was sore on that point.
“Here, Graybill,” he said; “what do you think of this lock
on this door? Do you think a skeleton key could have opened
it?” :
“No, nor was it ever opened with one. It was opened by
a regular key, or one made from the original, What we want
is aclew. Without a clew we can do nothing.”:
CHAPTER It.
SEARCHING FOR A CLEW.
After two hours of ineffectual search, the two. detectives
went down-stairs as much mystified as ever. They had fcund
no clew, nor any evidence that any one of the rooms had been
entered save in the usual way.
In the office of the proprieor they both agreed that the dia-
monds had been stolen by one who had keys to the rooms.
“You are sure of that, are you?” the landlord asked.
“Yes,” they both replied. “It could not have been done
otherwise.” .
“Well, what-remains to be done, then?”
“We have to find out who has the keys. The skeleton key
won't. work in the Yale locks. Somebody has dexterously
gotten wax impressions of all the keys, and thus obtained the
means of entering the rooms. We are going to follow up
that theory and see where it will lead to.” ~
The proprietor was silent for a few moments, and then
said: -
“In following up your theory you must be careful in your
conduct toward the ladies in the house. Should your investi-
gaticns offend them my house would be the loser.”
“Yes,” said Graybill, “but you must also keep silent about
our doings, ”
_ “Of course.”
“You must not let any one know that we have evolved any
theory at all. Just say that we are puzzled.”
“Aal right}. and I think that would be telling the straight
truth, too.”
“No doubt about that. People have to tell the truth some-
times, you know.”
“Yes—yes, and it goes hard with them to do it, too, I
guess,” and the landlord seemed just a bit sarcastic as he made
the remark.
Graybill returned to the central office and reported to the
chief what his impressions were in regard to the great dia-
mond robbery.
“And your impressions are undoubtedly correct,” remarked
the chief. “The thief is either a guest or an employee of the
house. But whoever he or she is, the work shows skill of a
high order.” :
“Yes, that is my impression, too,” said Graybill. “It is the
first of the kind I ever saw where some kind of a clew, how-
ever slight, did not point in some direction. Here we have
none whatever.”.
“Yon. will have to exercise all your wits to find a clew,” re
marked the chief.
“Yes, of course. I am going to begin at once, if you will
detail me for that purpose.”
“That can be done in one minute.”
“Very well. I’ll go back to the hotel and set to work.”
t on reaching the hotel again he hunted up Wales, and said
o him:
“T am detailed by the chief to work up this case. We must
work together, and divide the reward offered by Mr. Beau-
mont.” .
“T am willing.”
“Of course. Now I am going to question the lady guests of
the house as to how they keep and carry their keys, and
whether or not they have ever let them get out of their pos-
session for a moment, and to whom. You-must interview the
maids and see what you can learn in the same direction, after
which we'll compare notes.”
“Very well. When do you begin?”
“At once.”
Graybill then sent up his name to one of the Indies with the
request that he be permitted to see her about the loss of her
diamonds.
Of course the request was granted and he was shown up to
the lady's private parlor.
“Madame, I have come for an accurate description of the
diamonds you lost last night,” he said, sitting down to a table
with note-book and pencil in hand. “Will you please be so
kind as to describe them so I could recognize them on sight?
We Have to have such things, you know?”
She then gave him an accurate description of her jewels,
which he wrote down in his book, tegether with the cost of
them
“Do you carry a key to your apartments with you, ma-
dame?” he asked.
“Yes, always, and so does my husband.”
_ “Will you let me look at it?”
She took the key from a pocket-book which she carried in
tne pocket of her dress, It was.a slender, flat key of the
spring lock species. .
“Now, madame, have you ever left this key lying about
your apartments, on the table, on mantel or bureau?”
“T might have done so,” she replied, “but I have no recollec-
tion of doing such a thing.”
“Did you ever detect the feeling of wax on it after picking
it up?”
“No, I think not.”
“Does your meid have a key?”
“ wy ’
“Does she ever remain in your apartments in your absence?”
“Oh, yes; every day.”
“How does she manage without a key?”
“Tf I go out, and she is not in at the time, I lock the door
and she has to wait till I return before she can get in. Some-
times, when J have occasion to. do so, I give her the key to go
after something for me.”
“Yes. I understand. Have you ever had any reason to
doubt the honesty of your maid? .
“No. She is perfectly honest. She has had many oppor-
tunities to steal where detection would be next to impossi-
bility, but I have never missed anything from my rooms since
she has been in my employ.”
“How long has she been in your service?”
“Two years or more.”
“Has she any lovers?” . ; j
“None that I am aware of.”
“Has she any relatives or friends who visit her at any time? ”
“I don’t think she has any relatives in this country. She
is French.”
“Ah! Nearly all the waiting-maids in the house are French,
are they not?”
“Yes. Mrs. Van Wingle’s maid is not, but’ she can speak
French as well as a true Parisian,”
“And you still do not recall that you ever. left your key
where, any one could have used it to get a wax. impression
of it?’
“No. I do not.”
“You have a personal acquaintance with all the guests in the
house, have you not?”
“And do you regard them all as being like Casar’s wife—
above reproach in the matter of integrity?”
The lady looked at him in a strange, half-fearful sort of
way and said nothing. The detective was a good-looking man,
well dressed, and full of confidence in himself.
“You see, we detectives have to ask some queer questions,
madame. It’s the only way we can get at the bottom of things
sometimes.”
“Have you asked all the other ladies in the house such
questions?” she asked in low, earnest tones.
“No, madame, but I am going to, unless I find out what I
am in search of before I get round to them all.”
“And you are going to ask cach one what she thinks of all
the other ladies in the house?”
“I may ask each the same questions I have asked you.”
“Well, I don’t mind answering your question provided you
will agree to tell me what answer each one makes to your last
question.”
Graybill was dumfounded. .
Here was a phase of woman nature which he had never
Pea at art apna niente tenet nnn ater tenn “tie ofrinenn tem
ig rene nte s0 kena
~