Mississippi Outlaws and the Detectives by Allan Pinkerton

Author:Allan Pinkerton [Pinkerton, Allan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781376938609
Google: VJKAswEACAAJ
Publisher: Creative Media Partners, LLC
Published: 2018-02-07T05:37:02+00:00

CHAPTER V.

The third Detective is made welcome at Don Pedro's.—The Señor is paid the first half-million dollars from the great Diamond Company.—How Don Pedro is "working" his Diamond Mines.—Very suspicious preparations.—The Don describes his proposed Fête Champêtre.

One evening, as the members of the Morito family were about to retire, Monsieur Lesparre noticed a nervousness and abstraction in Don Pedro such as he had never shown before. Thinking that something new might be learned by overhearing the conversation between the Don and Donna when they should be alone, Lesparre, instead of going to his own room, slipped into an unused closet adjoining the Don's dressing-room, and communicating therewith by a door, which was kept locked. There was a transom over this door, and, by climbing to one of the shelves, Lesparre could hear all that was said in either room of the Don's bedroom suite. He had hardly taken this position when the two entered their apartments.

"See what a handsome necklace that old fool Mather sent me to-day," said the Donna.

"Yes, it is very elegant and valuable," said Don Pedro, with a yawn; "but what we most need is money. However, I do not imagine we shall have any difficulty, for I expect a large sum in a few days from the stockholders in this Diamond Company. Still, you may as well get all you can out of Mather and the others, for we must keep up our present style of living to the end."

Just at this moment the shelf upon which Lesparre was sitting gave a loud creak, and he had only just time to slip down and regain his own room before the Don came out to see what was the matter. Fortunately, there was a large pet cat in the hall, and she received the credit of having made the noise.

The next day, on hearing Lesparre's report, I decided to place still another detective in the Morito mansion, and so I instructed Lesparre to recommend the employment of a young man to assist the butler and to do general work about the house. As I expected, Don Pedro acquiesced in the suggestion, and told Lesparre to engage such men-servants as he considered necessary. Accordingly, I at once telegraphed to Chicago to have a young fellow named George Salter sent to Gloster at once. He was a very intelligent French Canadian, and I chose him because of his slim build, his ingenuity, and his capacity as an eavesdropper. He could listen to a conversation with such a stolid expression that no one would imagine he had an idea in his head beyond the performance of his regular tasks, and even when caught in a place where he had no right to be, he could invent a plausible reason on the instant, which would divert all suspicion from him. On his arrival in Gloster, he was sent to ask employment of Monsieur Lesparre, and, of course, the latter was so pleased with him as to engage him at once. He made himself very useful in the house, and soon became popular with every inmate.

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