Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 123, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 May 1912 — The Grand Babylon Hotel [ARTICLE]

The Grand Babylon Hotel

(Copyright The Frank A. Munsey Co.) GEAFTEB XH. : Boeco and Boom No. 111. On the afternoon of the pome day—the Interview just described had occurred in the momng— Racksole was visited by another idea, and he said iq himself that he ought to have thought of it before. . The conversation with Mr. Sampson Levi had continued for a considerable lime and the two men bad exchanged vprlous notions and agreed to meet again, but the theory that Reginald DlTimock had probably been a traitor to his family—a traitor whose repentance had caused his death —had not been thoroughly discussed; the talk bad tended rather to continental politics, with a view to discovering what princely family might have an interest in the temporary, disappearance of Priflce Eugen. ' Now, as Racksole considered in detal the particular affair of Reginald Dimmock, deceased, he was struck by one point especially, towit: Why had Dimmock and Jules .maneuvered to turn Nella Jtacksole out of Room No. 11l on that first night? That they had so maneuvered, that the broken window pane was not amere accident, Racksole felt perfectly Bure. He had felt perfectly eure all along, but the significance erf the facts had not struck him. -a; •- - It was plain to him now that there must be something of extraordinary and peculiar importance about Room No. 111. ];- ■* 1. - After lunch he wandered quietly upstairs and looked at Jtooto No. Ill; that is to say, he looked at the outside ot it; it happened to be occupied, but the guest was leaving that evening. The thought crossed bis m4jd that there could be no object in gazing blankly at the outside of a room; yet] he gazed; then he wandered quickly down again to the next >floor, and in passing along the corridor of that floor he stopped and with an. in voluntary gesture stamped ; his foot. ‘‘Great Scott!” he exclaimed, “I’ve got hold of something—No. fill is exactly over the state apartmapts.” He went to the bureau and issued instructions that No. 11l was not to be rCibt to anyone until further orders At the bureau* they gave him Nella’s bote, which ran thus: • Dear Papa: I am going awpy for a day or two on the trail of a clue. If I’m not back in three days, begin to inquire for me at Ostehd. Till then leave me alone. Your sagaciou^daughThese few words in N'|spgHarge, scrawling hand, filled one auikit'of the paper. At the bottom was a-J’ISEt. O." He turned over, and rekd tffp sentence, underlined: “P. S.—Keep an eye on Rocco.” ‘ ft “I wonder what the little creature 4s up to?” Mr. Racksole murmured as he tore the letter into small fragments and threw them into the waste-paper basket Then, without any delay, he took the lift down to the basement with the object of making a preliminary inspection of Rocco in his lair. * He could scarcely bring bihisjslf to believe that this suave and s|ately gentleman, this enthusiast of gastronomy, was concerned in the machinations of Jules and other rascals unknown. Nevertheless, from habit he obeyed hia daughter, giving her credit for a certain amount of perspicuity and cleverness. Theodore Rscksole’s sudden and unusual appearance In the kitchen caused a .little stir. He nodded to some of toe chefs, but' said nothing to anyone, merely wandering about amid toe mace of copper utensils and White capped workers. At length he saw Rocco, surrounded by several admiring chefs. Rocco was bending over a freshly roasted partridge which lay on a blue di&b. He plunged a long fork into the back of the bird and raised it in the air with his left band. In his right he held a long, glittering carving knife. He was giving one of his world famous exhibitions of carving. In four swift, unerring, delicate strokes he cleanly severed the limbs of the partridge. It was a wondrous achievement, v The chefs emitted a ham of applause, and Rocco, long, lean and graceful, retired to his of® apart.ihlmfy' ' •<- •• Racksole followed him. Rocco sat in a chair, one hand over his eye#. He had Slot noticed Racksole. * o “What are you doing, Mr. Rocco r the millionaire asked, entiling. "Ah!” exclaimed Rocco. starting up with an apology. “Pardon! I was inventing a new mayonnaise;" “Do you' invent those things with-

sole. . .... “Certainly. I do dim in my mind*! tink dem. Why should I want materials? I know all flavors. I tink, and tiflk, and It is done. I write down. I give de recipe to my beet chef, dere you are! *’ . - “fneed not even taste; I know how it will taste. It is like cmnppß music. De great composers do not compose at de piano.” “I see,” said Racksole. “It is because I work like dat dat yon pay me tree tonsagd a year,” Rocco added gravely. “Heard about Joles?” said Racksole abruptly. “Jules?” “Yes. He’s been arrested in Ostend,” the millionaire continued, lying cleverly at a venture. “They say that he and several others are implicated in a murder case—tbe murder of Reginald Dimmock.’’ “Trully?” drawled Rocco, scarcely biding a yawn. > His indifference was. so .superb, so gorgeous, that Racksole instantly divined that it was assumed for the cation. ’ . . ■-t.J:’ “It seems that, after all, toe police are good for something. But this is toe flret time I ever knew them to be worth their salt There is to be a thorough and systematic search of toe hotel tomorrow,” Racksole went on. “I hare mentioned it to you to warn you that so far as you are concerned the search is, of course, merely s matter of form. You Fill not object to the detectives looking through your rooms f’ “Certainly not” and Rocco shrugged his shoulders. “I shall ask you to say nothing about this to .anyone,” said Racksole. “The news of Jules’ arrest is quitq private to myself. The papers know nothing of it You comprehend?” Rocco smiled in his grand manner, and Roceo’a master thereupon went away. Racksole was very well satisfied with the Uttle conversation. It was perhaps dangerous to tell a series -of mere lies to a clever fellqV like Rocco; and Racksole wonderkd how he shonW ultimately explain them to his grant Auißter chef if hia lend Nella’s ■uipßinai should be unfounded and arliifßi come qf them. Nevertheless, Roc-cos manner, a straaf% elusive regaining In toe man’k eyer, had convinced Racksole that he was somehow implicated in Jules’ scheme —and probably in the death of Reginald Dimmock and the disappearance of Prince Eugen of

That night, or rather about 1:30 the Mrethwrning, when tbe last noses of life had died down. Racksola made his way to Room No. 111, on the second floor. He looked on the Inside find proceeded to examine the place carefully, square foot by square foot Every now and than some creak or other sound startled him, and he listened intently for a few seconds. \r.: f The bedroom was furnished in the ordinary splendid style ;of bedrooms at the Grand Babylon, and in that respect called for no remark. What most interested Racksole was the flooring. . He pulled up the thick Oriental carpet and peered along every plank bat could discover nothing unusual. Then he went to the dressing jroom and finally to the bathroom, both of Imch opened out of the main room. SEVEN. But in neither of these smaller chambers was he any more successful than in the bedroom itself. Finally he came to tbe bath, which was enclosed in a paneled casing of polished wood, after toe manner of baths. • Some baths have a cupboard beneath the taps with a door at the side, but this one appeared to have none. He tapped tbe panels, but not a single one of them gave forth that curious hollow sound that betokens a secret place. Jdly he turned the cold tap of the bath, and the water began to rush in. He turned off the cold tap and turned ■on toe waste tap, and as he did*so his knee, which was pressing against the paneling, slipped forward., The paneling gave way, and he saw that one large panel was hinged from toe inside and caught with a hasp, also on toe inside. A large space within the casing, at the end of tjie bath, was thus revealed. Before doing anything else Racksole tried to repeat the trick with the waste tap, but he failed; it would not work again, nor could he In any way perceive that there was any connection between the rod of the waste tap and the hasp of the pan&l. Racksole could not see into the cavity within the casing, and the electric light was fixed and could not be moved about like a candle. ' He felt in his pockets and, fortunately, discovered a box of matches. Aided by these, he looked into the cavity, and saw nothing l —nothing except a rather large hole at the far end—some three feet from the casing. ..With some difficulty he squeezed himself through tbe open panel and took a half kneeling, half sitting pos-

ture within. There he struck a match, and a- most fortunate thing, that in striking, the Ifox' being half open, he set fire to all the matches and was half smothered in the atrocious stink of phosporous, which resulted. One match burned deaf on the floor of the cavity, and, rubbing his eyes, Racksole picked if up and looked down the hole which he had previously described. It was a hole apparentlyJtottomless and about 18 inches square. The curious part about that hole was that a rope ladder hung down it. I When be saw that rope ladder Racksole smiled the smile of a happy man. The match went out. : j ‘ : f" Should he make a long journey, perhaps to some distant corner of the hotel, for a fresh box of matches, or should he attempt to negotiate that rope ladder in the dark? He decided on the latter course, and he was the more strongly moved thereto as he could now distinguish a faint light at the bottom of the hole. With infinite care he composed himself into the well-ltke hole and descended the ladder. At length he arrived on Arm ground, perspiring, but quite safe and quite excited. He saw" now that ths tinge of light came from a Small hole- in the wood. He put his eye to the wood and found that he had a fine view of the state bathroom, and, through the door of the stote bathroom, into the state bedfoom. At the massive marble-topped washstand in the state bedroom a man was visible, bending over some object which lay tfiereon. The man was Rocco. (To be continued