The Man Who Knew

ch on its failure had claimed its fifty thousand victims. The ornate gold lettering on its great plate-glass window had long since been removed, and the big brass plate which

Arthu

on of file cabinets possessed by any three business houses in the City, he had an enormous post bag,

graphical, and meteorological conditions obtaining in those areas wherein the great Joint Stock Companies of

nd his brokers indicated his view upon the situation in that p

bers by a telegram describing storm havoc in the cotton belt of the United States of America. When a curious blight fell upon the coffee plantations of Ceylon, a six-hundred-word cablegram des

tocks, which were fairly high as a result of excellent crops and secure government. He "beared" them because he knew that Vassalaro was a dead shot, and that the inevitable duel would deprive Cacura of the best president

a secondary consideration. He had a marvelous memory, which was supplemented by his system of filing. He would go to work patiently for months, and spend sums of money out of all proportion to

nd his extraordinarily accurate information concerning the personality of all those who directe

had assisted the police times without number, and had been so fascinated by the success of this branch of his investigations that

and took a seat in a well-furnished waiting room. Five minutes later he was ushered into the presence of "The Man Who Knew." Mr. Mann, a comical little figure at a very

visitor. "I know he did, because he called me up this morning and asked me about three peo

s and thrust his hands defian

all you know ab

ed back to his big tab

much," he said breezily, "but

desk, opened a big index,

impressively to the clerk

y dossier with which the attendant returned,

self comfortably back in his chair,

d up t

friend; not a single, blessed name. N

big index af

ice it will be behind three depths of ste

onotonous, singsong voice, and John Minute slowly sat himself erect and listened with tens

d harshly. "Some of them are just com

closed the book a

. If I thought there was a single fact in there which was not true my raison d'être would be lost. That is the truth, the

e, "what price would you ask for that record and su

n his chair and clasped

think you are w

ow," said the ot

Mann incli

one million two hundred and seventy thousand pounds,"

" he reluctan

g all that money into my office and place it on that table in ten-thousand-po

umpe

am keeping yo

oughly. "Before I go I want to know what u

read out his hand

which I have put it. I have told you

m John Minute?" aske

re quite a prominent personage-one of the two hundred and four really rich men in England. I am not likely to mistake you for anybody else, and, more than thi

o," asked Minute. "Where is t

ed and inclined his h

olice or to any authorized person who wishes to get into touch with 'X.' I might add," he went on, "that the

ed. He drove to his club with one thought in his mind, and that thought revolved about th