Mary Louise and the Liberty Girls
Page 12
that neither printed them," returned Josie,regarding the circulars with a frown.
"How do you know?"
"It's an old style of type, not much in use at present," explained theyouthful detective. "In one printing office the case that contains thistype face hasn't been used for months and months. I found all thecompartments covered with dust a quarter of an inch thick. There wasn'ta trace of the type having been disturbed. I proved this by picking outa piece of type, which scattered the dust and brought to light theshining bodies of the other type in that compartment. So the circularscould never have been printed from that case of type."
"But the other printing office?"
"Well, there they had a font of the same style of type, which isoccasionally used in job printing; but it's a small font and has onlytwenty-four small a's. I rummaged the whole shop, and found none of thetype standing, out of the case. Another thing, they had only threecapital G's, and one of those was jammed and damaged. In the lastcircular issued, no less than seven capital G's appear. In the firstone sent out I find fifty-eight small a's. All this convinces me thecirculars were issued from no regular printing office."
"Then how did it get printed?" asked Mary Louise.
"That's what puzzles me," confessed Josie. "Three of the four bigmanufacturing concerns here have outfits and do their own printing--orpart of it, anyhow--and I don't mind saying I expected to find my cluein one of those places, rather than in a regular printing office. ButI've made an exhaustive search, aided by the managers, and there's notype resembling that used in the circulars in any of the private printshops. In fact, I'm up a stump!"
"But why do you attach so much importance to this matter?" queried MaryLouise.
"It's the most direct route to the traitor. Find who printed thecirculars and you've got your hand on the man who wrote and mailedthem. But the printing baffles me, and so I've started another line ofinvestigation."
"What line is that, Josie?"
"The circular envelopes were addressed by hand, with pen and ink. Theink is a sort in common use. The envelopes are an ordinary commercialkind. The circulars are printed on half a sheet of letter-sizetypewriting paper, sold in several stationery store in largequantities. No clue there. But the handwriting is interesting. It'sdisguised, of course, and the addressing was done by two differentpeople--that's plain."
"You are wonderful, Josie!"
"I'm stupid as a clam, Mary Louise. See here!" she went to a closet andbrought out a large card-board box, which she placed upon the table. Itwas filled to the brim with envelopes, addressed to many business firmsin Dorfield, but all bearing the local postmark. "Now, I've been dayscollecting these envelopes," continued the girl, "and I've studied themnight after night. I'm something of a handwriting expert, you know, forthat is one of the things that Daddy has carefully taught me. Theseenvelopes came from all sorts of people--folks making inquiries, payingbills, ordering goods, and the like. I've had an idea from the firstthat some prominent person--no ordinary man--is responsible for thecirculars. They're well worded, grammatical, and the maliciousinsinuations are cleverly contrived to disconcert the loyal but weakbrethren. However, these envelopes haven't helped me a bit. Neither ofthe two persons who addressed the envelopes of the circulars addressedany of these business envelopes. Of that I'm positive."
"Dear me," said Mary Louise, surprised, "I'd no idea you'd taken somuch trouble, Josie."
"Well, I've undertaken a rather puzzling case, my dear, and it willmean more trouble than you can guess, before I've solved it. Thispro-German scoundrel is clever; he suspected that he'd be investigatedand has taken every precaution to prevent discovery. Nevertheless, thecleverest criminal always leaves some trace behind him, if one canmanage to find it, so I'm not going to despair at this stage of thegame."
"Do you know," said Mary Louise thoughtfully, "I've had an idea thatthere's some connection between the explosion at the airplane works andthe sender of these circulars."
Josie gave her a queer look.
"What connection do you suspect?" she asked quickly.
"Why, the man who wrote those circulars would not stop at any crime toharass the government and interfere with the promotion of the war."
"Is that as far as you've gone?"
"Have you gone any farther, Josie?"
"A step, Mary Louise. It looks to me as if there is an organized bandof traitors in Dorfield. No one person is responsible for it all.Didn't I say two different people addressed the circulars in disguisedhandwriting? Now, a bomb has to be constructed, and placed, and timed,and I don't credit any one person with handling such a job and at thesame time being aware that the utmost damage to the War Department'splans would be accomplished by blowing up the airplane works. Thatargues intelligent knowledge of national and local affairs. There maybe but two conspirators, and there may be more, but the more there are,the easier it will be for me to discover them."
"Naturally," agreed Mary Louise. "But, really, Josie, I don't see howyou're going to locate a clue that will guide you. Have you attendedthe trial of those suspected of the bomb outrage?"
"I've seen all the testimony. There isn't a culprit in the whole bunch.The real criminal is not even suspected, as yet," declared Josie. "Thefederal officers know this, and are just taking things easy and makingthe trials string out, to show they're wide awake. Also I've met twosecret service men here--Norman Addison and old Jim Crissey. I knownearly all of the boys. But they haven't learned anything important,either."
"Are these men experienced detectives?"
"They've done some pretty good work, but nothing remarkable. In thesetimes the government is forced to employ every man with any experienceat all, and Crissey and Addison are just ordinary boys, honest andhard-working, but not especially talented. Daddy would have discoveredsomething in twenty-four hours; but Daddy has been sent abroad, forsome reason, and there are many cases of espionage and sabotage fullyas important as this, in this spy-infested land. That's why poor JosieO'Gorman is trying to help the government, without assignment orauthority. If I succeed, however, I'll feel that I have done my bit."
"Don't you get discouraged, dear, at times?"
"Never! Why, Mary Louise, discouragement would prove me a dub. I'mpuzzled, though, just now, and feeling around blindly in the dark tograb a thread that may lead me to success. If I have luck, presentlyI'll find it."
She put away the envelopes, as she spoke, and resuming her seat drewout her tablets and examined the notes she had made thereon. Josie usedstrange characters in her memoranda, a sort of shorthand she hadherself originated and which could be deciphered only by her father orby herself.
"Here's a list of suspects," she said. "Not that they're necessarilyconnected with our case, but are known to indulge in disloyalsentiments. Hal Grober, the butcher, insists on selling meat onmeatless days and won't defer to the wishes of Mr. Hoover, whom hecondemns as a born American but a naturalized Englishmen. He's anotherJake Kasker, too noisy to be guilty of clever plotting."
"They're both un-American!" exclaimed Mary Louise. "There ought to be alaw to silence such people, Josie."
"Don't worry, my dear; they'll soon be silenced," predicted her friend."Either better judgment will come to their aid or the federal courtswill get after them. We shouldn't allow anyone to throw stones at thegovernment activities, just at this crisis. They may _think_ what theyplease, but must keep their mouths shut."
"I'm sorry they can even think disloyalty," said Mary Louise.
"Well, even that will be remedied in time," was the cheerful response."No war more just and righteous was ever waged than this upon which ourcountry has embarked, and gradually that fact will take possession ofthose minds, which, through prejudice, obstinacy or ignorance, have notyet grasped it. I'm mighty proud of my country, Mary Louise, and Ibelieve this war is going to give us Americans a distinction that willset us up in our own opinion and in the eyes of the world. But alwaysthere is a willful objection, on the part of some, toward any good andnoble action, and w
e must deal charitably with these deluded ones andstrive to win them to an appreciation of the truth."
"Isn't that carrying consideration too far?" asked Mary Louise.
"No. Our ministers are after the unregenerates, not after the godly.The noblest act of humanity is to uplift a fellow creature. Even in ourprisons we try to reform criminals, to make honest men of them ratherthan condemn them to a future of