Page:Looters of the Public Domain.djvu/104

 "The very thought of losing my money is bad enough," said she, "and now to ask me to leave the country for the sole purpose of protecting your attorney and yourself is more than I care to endure."

I could readily perceive the equities of her contentions, but the position she assumed made it extremely embarrassing all around. She was home with her mother for the Christmas holidays, and anticipated a season of peace and happiness instead of this rude disturbance of her plans. But with me the situation had assumed serious proportions, and something must be done to overcome her scruples in the matter. It was not a pleasant task by any means, but I finally succeeded in gaining her consent to leave the city, although she refused positively to do so until after the Christmas holidays, and no amount of coercion could induce her to do otherwise. I could not shake her determination in this matter, and being convinced that she had already been imposed upon beyond measure, I could not, under the circumstances, ask for any further concessions from her.

Having thus agreed to take her departure, it then became merely a question of locality, it being considered important that she should get far enough away from her present surroundings to throw all possible pursuers off the scent. With that idea in view, it was settled that she should visit points in Southern California, keeping me in constant touch with her movements.

After seeing Mrs. Watson safely off to San Diego, her destination—about December 27th or 28th, 1903—I returned to Portland, where I learned, through Mays, that the cases had been continued. I thereupon went East, during January, 1904, and while in Chicago received a letter from my old partner, McKinley, requesting me to come to La Crosse, Wis., and advising me that a Secret Service man was there, going under the name of Graham, but whose real name, McKinley had learned, was Albert L. Gallagher; that the Government agent was in La Crosse for the purpose of locating Mrs. Watson, which information, McKinley assured me, he had obtained through an employe of the local postoffice. He had also ascertained that there was a letter in the postoffice addressed to Mrs. Emma Porter, which he surmised had been written by some detective for the purpose of trapping Mrs. Watson.

That the reader may properly understand the methods employed by the Government agent in thus addressing the letter in question, I will direct attention to the fact of Mrs. Watson having previously located a homestead claim in Township 11-7 under the name of Emma Porter. The Secret Service Department therefore naturally presumed that Mrs. Watson, while traveling, would assume this cognomen for convenience sake. They were well aware that La Crosse was McKinley's old home, and that he was visiting his relatives at this particular time. They knew also that we were closely identified in fraudulent land transactions, and in constant communication with each other, and that, by making it possible for him to learn about the letter, it would only be a question of time when I became possessed of the same information, and would endeavor to impart it to Mrs. Watson in some way.

Upon receipt of McKinley's letter. I wired him that I would proceed to La Crosse at once, and suited this action by reaching there early the next morning, registering at the Cameron House. A few moments later I was joined by McKinley, and as may be imagined, the subject of Secret Service Agent Gallagher occupied the limelight of our conversation.

After giving me a comprehensive description of the man, whom Horace declared was likewise stopping at the Cameron, he regaled me with a description of the Padlock Holmes methods employed by the Government sleuth in keeping tab on his movements.

"It's a fright," said Horace. "I can't lose the fellow for a moment. He sticks to me like a poor relation, and this is the longest period I have been out of his sight for three days. I'm willing to gamble that he will show up inside of five minutes!"

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