Page:The Master of Mysteries (1912).djvu/25

Rh "The body of an unknown man was found this morning floating in the East River near Thirtyeight Street. The corpse was that of a man of fifty-five or sixty years, and had evidently been in in the water some ten days. The lower part of the face was completely covered by a full beard. The body was dressed in a black diagonal cutaway coat and striped trousers, and was doubtless that of a gentleman in reduced circumstances. In the trousers pocket was found a bunch of keys, a small sum of money, and a two-hundred-year calendar. No marks indicating foul play were discovered on the body, which is awaiting identification at the morgue."

"That corresponds in a general way with the description of Hudson that his wife gave me," said Astro. "She had no photograph of him taken within the last twenty years. There's a chance that it may be he, in which case it looks to me like murder; but I'll have to go down to the morgue and see, anyway, on account of the calendar. I think you'd better let me do that alone, while you try to discover something about this 'Dentabella' girl. Come back here as soon as you have located her."

No one would have recognized in the smart, stylishly dressed man who emerged from the studio a half-hour later, the languid picturesque Master of Mysteries, Astro the Seer. He walked briskly along, his eyes eager and alert to every impression. At the morgue he had no difficulty in obtaining permission to view the remains of the man he sought, and to inspect the clothing and the articles that had been found in the pocket.

The body was that of a middle-aged man of benevo-