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these partsthat kin beat him. He drops onto
the coach like a ﬂash, goes through the passen:
gers for allithey’re worth, an’ then he’s ’03::
ag’in, quickor’nra streak of greased lightnin !
“Supper!” howled one of the ranchemen,
sto in the-story.
lel pgoceeded into the house to attack the

eatables, but thoughts of the road-agents were ‘

in every mind.

CHAPTER II.
THE SWOOP on THE HAWK.
THE m’eal was soon dispatched, and the pass
sengers again assembled around the coach. .
“ Is there any danger of Our meeting. this
Overland Kit between here and Spur City?’
Bonnet asked, just a little nervous at the
thought. ‘

“ Not much; never heered tell on the critter

' - ’ t The horseman ohe ed the order and took his warning. \ I w .  i, r  a  Talbot seated  atthetable  though; forgotteh  You’ll have to
the Other‘mdshOf :hekis‘mslggiedv?g:;. ’tvf'ISe: €17; station some hundredr paces down the road. And what had wrought this wondrous change to the bar, which hapl’fmed to be unpccupied. swear it complai, \ I lit  ' ( I themwattempt at
most upgnn e I 0,0 eat cos: he aiways swoop, ‘ Overland Kit rode up to the coac‘ h and peer.— in the manners of the patrons of the salooni- , “ Make me a hot whiskey, J mme, ’whe said, _znurder~and“get a warran‘ , ,, abeforewo cantake _ e‘
and Jaw VI 6’ S p ‘ ed in through the window. . ‘ , for the ' frwuenter’sgpf the “ Eldorado”""n0u' a peculiar look upon his pale features. ‘0 ‘ 1 

down, hawk-like, about ten miles from hyer.

Maybe you noticed whar the road runs through V

a. big canon?” r

“Yes, I did,” the lawyer said; “ but I Should
think that the troops stationed in Austen
would make quick work of _ this fellow and 111%
band.”
through Austen, that a company of United
States cavalry was stationed there. ’ > I

“ They’ve got to catch him ﬁrst, you know,"
Billsaid, with a laugh, “ an’ that ain’t easy to
do. He seems to smell out a sodjer jist as a
cat smells out a mice. I’ve druve the coach
overthe road twice, ﬁlled with sodjers, ex
pectin’ that he’d come down on the coach, an
then they’d go for him. But, he never put 11.
an appearance ary time. He’s a kind of e

' ' . ' ‘ ' ' ' ‘ ’ . ' i “. ldom drink any- leader of this an is no common man He
. h ever troubles an note busmess 1n Austen. If you hadn’t got mg 1t drilling abole through Juns elbow, apxapusly, you very so _ g g , I
$312? ﬁgﬁrﬁg‘rﬁggﬁﬁﬂeeﬁt aners goes f0}; a trap ﬁxed, you would have tried to smuggh therebyf‘throwing  shot out of hue. Th4 thing” .  . x}   . p _ was born in the midst of wealth, and received
th ex ress company’s plunder. I reckox the valuables in, so as to have kept me from mark of the stray bullet on thowall still re .39 Jinnie,_old_t1més.ane' coming back to me. a liberal education. Nature endowed him with , ,
thgy’vep swored a heap at him. He wen: knowing which coach they went by. You ﬁred mained, a touching remembrance of the ole Idorz’t‘ drink whisky generally, because my the form and bearing ofa gentleman, but he "

through you, Judge, onc’t, didn’t he?”
“Yes,” replied the merchant; ‘.‘ two thou

sand dollars’ worth of gold-dust. It has al ' Sir,” exclaimed the Judge. mirror that is ﬂanked by the bottles on th< want to forget if I can. I’m out of sorts to- —I cannot understand it,” he added, musing—
wa 5 been a puzzle to me how he learned that “ Because you’ve ﬂung it dOWn in the bush shelf,.a couple of pine branches are tastin are , night.” . . ,V ' 1y.
I hid that dust.” , es’here, somewhere. You can’t pull the W001 ranged. « j Pine branches also ornament thi ‘ . “What is it?” “Nor anybody else,” replied Frank Ray.

“ 0h, he’s sharp, he is!” chimed in the dri
ver. “I reckon, though, the sodjers will take
him into camp one of these days.

‘ Then, good-by, Sal, come ag‘in soon!

“ All aboard?”

The passengers clambered into the coach.
Bill took a long pull at Kennedy’s; whisky-
ﬂask, climbed up to his seat, cracked his whi;
over the leaders’ ears, and the coach rolled on.

The read winding round to the right, follow
ing the course of the stream, the ranche was
soon lost to sight.

It was a glorious night. The bright beam:
of the moon made the way almost as light a:
by day. The swaying pines upon the hillsides,
nodding sleepily in the gentle breeze, ﬁlled the
mountain air with their strange balsamir
odor.

The conversation of the three in the ’ h

turned upon the subject of the daring road~ masses of red—gold 11*} ME  Dick,” the girl said, with asidelong glance into. “It wanna-selection at all,” said Chester,

agent. Judge Jones gave a brief account oil. 1“ Judge, 1’11 settle with you for this, soméf candle—light like mi, 21:18 face.  I “I took himon the mmnendation of his

his exploits. M . 4 .1 . ‘f  _ V ."j I __ ~ ' * 3 .tered around her   if: 4“ We all have our dull moments  chief. It was a more amide“ '-”  ’
“There are three in the band,” said the  p‘theroad dashed/the?me ‘   .xnasses dowﬁboher sho   L"  girl,” he repheda 3' 33d expreﬁdim inth “.Aylu'cky one for us, I’m thinking!” cried

Judge; “they have only been operating on 'l‘iLeave usa locket your, hair!” yelled Bill, large and full, ,‘ Vked outrﬂio "   . . ,  f - '  Peter Show.

this road for aboutvsa mouth- The expres“ as the two dashed him.  :/ ' “- , cheeks. The   r   ﬁwught the hquor “I’ll try to make it so,” responded Frank

company has offered a‘ large reward for theii
capture, but, as yet, they have eluded all at
tempts to arrest them. It is evident to me thai
these fellows belong to a regularly organizeo
band, having spies in the principal mining
camps, for their information regarding thl
coaches that carry. valuables, and those ithai
do not, is wonderful. They seldom attack. a
coach unless it has valuable. express matter in
it. The company are alreadyout about ten
thousand. dollars, and they are sparing no
pains to catch the rogues; but, as the driver
said, theyseem to scent the presence of the sol»

diers. It is a wonder that we have not been .

attacked, for We have some express matte:-
that is very valuable.”

“Why, I understood that» the valuable ex—
press matter came from the mines,” Rennet
said; ‘ '

9‘ Gold and silver? Exactly; but the valua~
bles we are carrying consist of Government
notes for my bank,” explained the Judge.

,5“ It’s arterrible risk to run,” the old lawyer
said, nervously.

“Yes, but if these fellows had attacked us,
it} might have cost them dearly. As usual,
though-,_’  suppose they have smelt out the
trap,” roplied the Judge, signiﬁcantly.

Hardly had he uttered the words, when the
coach came to a sudden halt, that almost pitch—
ed the passengers out of their seats.

The Judge and the lawyer_ stuck their heads

. out of the coach windows, one on each side.

The coach had stopped in a narrow deﬁle,
partially shaded from the moonlight by the
tall pines that grew on the sides of the ravine.

Some twenty paces up the road, just at the
further entrance to the ravine, were three
horsemen, ranged side by side, motionless as
statues.

The ﬂickering moonbeams, that stole through
the branches of the pines, played in rays of
silvery light upon the polished revolver-bar—
rels which the three horsemen leveled at the
coach. '

“ It’s the road—agents l” exclaimed the Judge,
withdrawing his head from the coach window
as he spoke.

Bernice gave a little scream of fright. Al—
most at the same instant, the bright ﬂash of
ignited gunpower broke upon the air by the
side of the coach, and the sharp crack of a pis-
tol rung out on the still night breeze.

The three in the coach looked at each other
in astonishment, for the shot was ﬁred close
by them, and the smoke had ﬂoated in through
the Window.

“Hallo! what do you mean by that shot?”
cried one of the masked men on horseback, ad—
vancing slowly toward the coach. His voice
was harsh and commanding.

The full, black heard that came from under
his mask, as well as the brown horse he rode,
marked with four white feet and a bright
blaze in the forehead, told that the speaker was
the notorious road-agent, Overland .Kit, in per—
son.

“ Dumed of I know,” re’plied Bill. “ I s’pect
one of the weapons inside went-off at half-cock.
’Twa’n’t ﬁred at you, anyWay.” .

“ Tell“ them to throw their weapons out on
the road, or I’ll put a bullet through you!”
cried Overland Kit, sternly: ' v

“ Hold on your mule—team, now! don’t be in
a hurry,”_answered Bill, his natural coolness
neverdeserting him. Then be bent over and
addressed the two in the stage. “ Gents, if
you don’t want’ to attend a ﬁrst—class funeral
to—morrow, jest throw your we’pons out into
the road.”

‘ “ 1am not armed,” the Judge replied.
“Nor I,” said Bonnet. _
“ All co-rectl" exclaimed Bill; then he ad-

dressedthe highwayman, who had ridden up

. __ to smash. 1  -' . , : . Icon and, then administered a scientiﬁc rascals enter it to-night.” - .. ,.  “No, ,not, 19,me -. the “em to have been

,to: the head pf. the leaders. , ‘f The gents inside? The ‘hotelfkeeper retreated; a “bu’sted man,” threshing. The parties who  the ‘r‘ So many?” cried Ossian; «and there was a; nteiymihegunm‘mm on‘ ghe

say they ham tngot any we pone. as he lacomcally expressed it. , .l » aforesaid never needed‘asecond warning» . : perceptible tremor in his voice. night of the 27th of April last, several burglar
6 They . 1101 returned the road - agent, Two or three others assayed to show thef soahthe time of whichgwe writerﬁhe ,‘Eldm , . , , . . , . , .

promptly“ _. ,
, ’ “Maybe they do; I’ll never tell you,” Bill
said, calmly.

Rennet had noticed, as he, passed

“ Who have you got inside?”

“Judge Jones, of Spur City, and a fat cuss
from the ' East, are the he-males; one lady,”
replied the driver.  A

“ No. 1!” called thﬁ'higthymap.  I  

The horseman ,on the“ right of ,t’he'xoad 
loped up. _ ' _' 1 ‘u 3,  

“ Draw a head on the driver; if he offers to
stir, put a ball throughhim.” ‘ -- I r '

“"S’pose I want to scratch my head?” 811g—
gested Bill. .. _  , « "

“ If you “don’t keep your mouth shut, you’ll
catch cold,” cried Kit, sharply. ,“ No. 2!”

The other horseman galloped up.

' “Ride down the road a dozen paces, and
keep asharp looksout toward Kennedy’s. I’ve
an idea that that pistol—shot was ﬁred as a sig—
nal. ‘ There may be some nice little trap ready
to spring upon us. " _

- ‘ﬁ The slightest attempt at resistance 
cost all of you your lives,” he said, harshly.
“ Judge Jones, good-evening! Glad to see that
you’re‘looking so well. I fear I must trouble
you to hand out the leather bag full of bank—
notes that you’ve gotunder your seat. I think
that I’ll open albank myself in opposition to
yours, and I want some notes to start on.”

said the Judge, making a great effort to ap»
pear calm - a ,

“Oh, nol not much,” replied the robber.
“,Cor‘ne, hand; over the valuables. I, simpect
that you and the express company have got
some sort of a trap arranged for me. Y0]:
made altogether too much parade about thi:

that pistol—shot as a signal.” _
“ I give you my word, I haven’t a weapon,

over my eyes.” The robber put his head
still further into the window. As he did so, h:
caught sight of the pale face of the girl.

“ Bernice Gwyne!” he cried, in great aston—
ishment, while a violent shudder shook hie,
frame. ' '

All within the coach wondered at the know
ledge of the road-agent.

Crack!
report of a carbine-shot.

“ The soldiers, by heaven i” cried the rob-
ber, withdrawing his head from the window,
and gathering up the reins of his horse. . _

The man Whom Kit had designated as ,‘No;

ing from a wound in his cheek. ,

.hosses’ feet, I ’spect, for they were on me atom
I knew it!" he cried. " - ' i» ._ V

» ““Ride for your sew-m: exclaimed:

 

Around the turn in thewroad chines. dozen
cavalrymen in hpt  As 'thﬂfrobbm.’ had
suspected, the  the feet
of their horses  deadened
the sound of their  ,‘ 1 ,,  . __ _’

“Go fur ’emW-ghop 7 inhu’ge'dellght,
as‘the soldiers,  at, the»
road—agents, ro,  ' ‘

The passengmfinsidﬁg f  £24.85 of the dan-'
ger, looked eagerly outf:o£i'gthersvindows, anx~f
ions to  ,y I. ' ' . ,.

, 0n went'tﬁarhisllwe 
came tbeksoldiers.‘ ‘

The pursued and pursuers swept onward
through the dark and narrow deﬁle and out
into the rolling country‘beyond. -

The fugitives were far better ‘ amounted,
though, than were the soldiers, whose horses.
too, were in a measure hampered by the blan
ket stuff wrapped ground their hoofs.

Soon-the fugitives were out of range of ﬁre.
They reached the summit of a. hill; two of
them disappeared. Over the crest, but the third,
who was the leader of the band, Overland Kit,
,slackened the pace of his horse a little on the
crest of the hill, turned his head and looked
back, as if to laugh in deﬁance at his pur—
suers. A moment more, and he, too, disappear»
ed. ‘

‘ When the soldiers reached the summit of the
hill, and looked along the road winding down
in the «valley, no traces of therobbers could be .
seen. They evidently had turned aside from
‘ the road and sought-safety in some one of the
many canons that led into the hills beyond.

 

 

 

 

11,5 close behind

 

CHAPTER III.
THE “ HEART—WOMAN.”

SPUR CITY! a mining camp nestled by the
side ‘of the Reese river, numbering, perhaps,
some ﬁve hundred souls all told. A city built
of canvas and wood, and peopled by as motley
a crew as ever the sun shone upon. Men of
all nations and of all hues.

Every second house was a drinking or gam—
bling-saloon. Red-shirted, huge-bearded white
miners recklessly staked their gold-dust, side
by side, with the yellow Chinese and the
swarthy son of Africa.

The principal building in the city was a two—
story shanty, rudely constructed out of un—
planed boards. This was the hotel; the popu—
lar resort for all the idlers, when the shades of
night put an end to the eager search for mine—
ral wealth.

The hotel was known as the “ Eldorado Sa—
loon.” The ﬁrst ﬂoor was ﬁtted up as a bar—
room; probably to a majority of the inhabi-
tants of Spur City, this part of the stopping
place was decidedly more attractive than any
other. ,, i .

A long bar extended across the end of the.
room; behind the bar was shelving, displaying
bottles, glasses and cigar-boxes. A few com-
mon pine tables, with benches, were placed at
regular intervals along the sides of the room.
The ﬁrst proprietor of the. “Eldorado” had
provided chairs—“ tip—top Eastern style,” as
he claimed ;but the ﬁrst “ free discussion ” that
took place in the saloon—it happened on the
opening night, between the rival partisans of
“Paddy’s Flat ” and “ Gopher Gully ”—,-demol- /
ished all the chairs. By the time the “Flat ”
party had “ cleaned out_«”:the denizens of the-
“ Gully,” there wasn’t a. Whole chair left! .

The next morning, the enterprising New
Englander who had opened the “ Eldorado’”
looked over the battle-ﬁeld in dismay. He}
cleared away the remains of the chairs, and?
provided benches. , , , ,

But, atthe very next “ dscussion ” that took,
place, every bottle. and. glass in the saloon. went

Spur" Cityites that they understood “how to
keep a hotel,” but the rampant spirit of the
miners was too much for them.

 

 

\ ’ w

a

d of iron, but soft, white ﬁngers.

“You have been sadly misinformed, sir,”

2 came dashing up the road, the blood stream~ ‘ I

-. “The sodjers,«cap’; they’ve mufﬂed  x

- “The H Elderado ”. Went tram  was. A
tunes. A new band took». the helm; not a pa,
_. No longer was the,“ Eldorado Saloonf’liil‘er
lected as the battle—ggound offpposing cla ‘
Fiance reigned wi.hi‘ its . ﬁlls. ,Even t
reugh oaths of the bearded , 'iners were hush
ed into a low grdWl.-. If ignpydn

, ,

of the rules that gOVorncd’the 

self as disagreeable as possible, weuldi‘yell out
an offensive imprecation,isome stalwart neigh '
her would take it upon himsolf to inform the
stranger that he must behave, better, or be
speedily “ h’isted ” out.  _

Few men, after a glance around at the low»
ering faces, but had

.‘Were the same men‘awho  ‘9 bu’sted ” the
former. proprietors. ' 

Look around the saloon! If you are quick
at guessing, a glance will-tell you. V

It is just »midnight. .The placo is full of men
drinking and smoking; the. inhabitants of Spui
City do not retire early. ‘
‘ Every thing -within the saloon is neat as
Spur City can’t be excelled—«the whitewashed
walls show no sign of dirt, except above a oer—-
.tain tablaswhem.  pride of.» P ,
73'6th Jim—o‘flinﬁdli :G his?  _
Reed—in with a. knot-hole on the wall, bur
missed him, owingvto Dave’s quickness in ﬁring
his derringer through his pocket without draw.

  

times, when the “ Eldorado ” was good “for om .
free ﬁght at least, per night.

whitewashed walls, their dark, cool green a

delightful contrast to the glaring white. ' ”
On each: rude table a tumbler is placed

containing a. little bunch of Wild ﬂowers, on“

circled by green sprays. 2 I

7 All gives evidence 'of woman’s carefu3

hand. I '

The secret is out! The magic power thai

Out on the still air rung the  had tamed the unruly miners, and that “ run "

the * Eldorado successfully, was
witchery.
Behind the bar, serving her patrons, assisted

feminine

: by a grave—faced Chinaman, was the woman

,whowkept‘ the Eldorado.
V 7A.. woman?
V ~ No, only a child;

, A girl, barely'sixteeﬁ; ﬁnger andﬁaml
fin‘form, with a graveendeamest 
"form of a girl, the  of a;

  

 

 

i‘

  
 

,ggIOWed with the z I V
soft andfresh as the  ‘  f ,
of the morning—«shut ever the little“,
teeth, and  lines about the  ‘
plainly revealeds—to one. gifted with the art or
naturdin the .thhat the girl had a;
willof  own, and a mind far beyond her"
 Ask one of the bearded miners her name
and he will reply, “Jinnie.”
“Jinnie what?”

“Why, ‘ Eldorado Jingle}?-

name; and yet it is  a year since Old
Tom Johnson—commonly known as drunken
Tom JohnsOn, to distinguish him from another
Tom Johnson, whose Spur City appellation
was Big—nosed Smith—had fallen into the
river and drowned in a foot of water. He
had fallen on his face, wandering to his tent in
the darkness, and was too much under the in—
ﬂuence of liquor to turn over and Lmakd an
effort for his life. ’ '   

The miners made up a little purse forjthe,
orphan girl, whom drunken Tom J ohn'sion had
always taken good care of in his rough way,
and three or four of them held a sort of a
council to decide what they had better ~ do for
the “ little gal,” as they termed Jinnie. These
few had been cronies of her father. ‘

Jinnie was consulted in regard to the sub-
ject; shethanked them for their kindness, but
said she had already decided what to do.

.All Spur City was astonished when it Was
announced, a week after. Johnson’s death,
that little Jinnie had leased. the Eldorado
saloon, and was going to run it as a ﬁrst-class
hotelmﬁrst—class for Spur City. .

The miners. wisely debated where the money
had come from, for drunken Tom. Johnson
never was known to save a cent. But one
thing was evident, J innie had plenty of money,
for she opened the place in good style.

It was a. great night for Spur City when
Jinnie opened the Eldorado. Everybody at-
tended for ten miles around. r : . T-

When the crowd surged into the saloon and
gazed about them in astonishment at the change
that the girlish brains had wrought, one of
the foremost of the rough crowd was Dick
Talbot—~“ Gentleman Dick,” as hewas called
by some; “Injun Dick,” as he was called by
others. The ﬁrst name given, because he
wore “storeclothes,” a white shirt, always
clean—he was the only man in Spur City that.
could boast such a luxury—polished boots and
kid gloves. _ The second, because he was as
cool as a bank of snow melting under the
shadows of the pines in a mountain canon,
wily as apanther, cunning as a fox, a man
who knew not what «fear was, who never
turned his back on a foe, or hesitated to‘back‘
a friend in a. fair ﬁght; quick as lightning on
the trigger, Spry as a cat with a bowie knife;
the best two—handed sparrer that ever set foot
in the Reese river valley, and the ﬁnest poker.
player that ever handled a deck of cards.

Therefore, a popular man in Spur City
“ Injun Dick.” ,

A brief speech he made to the crowd. He
told of the orphan girl, left alone and trying
to make an honest living—that Spur City- needed}
a hotel, and she could keep it———that the ﬁrst
man that kicked up a row in the Eldorado
would have to meet him and would, get wiped
out, if‘he was able to do it. The remarks-
were brief andquite to the.point; no blaster
or bravado, but delivered with a coolness that
was far more impressive than heat. ' s

The Eldorado became a “ﬁxed fact.” Of
course at ﬁrst there had been seine little from
.ble; some few skirmishes; but Injun Dick
ﬁrst run the oﬁending parties out of the so:

was

.rado had run a year as a saloon, restaurant
and hotel, under the supervision of J innie, as-

 

sisted by the grave and quiet Chinese, Ah

Then, suddenly,a change came over its for" r

ing that, as long hello paid his ecosystems
a right to do as heppleased, and make :himl,

sense enough tosobey the.

wax, The ﬂoor .is white—wand themud oi,-

Over the little ‘L

  
     
   
  
   
     

ht.

The” Eldorado was only miting for the

die to. come in to close up fog, the night.
Just as the clock, that was on the

 struck twelve, a man, Eugﬂeakdressed

,‘o differently from the oth -   " of the

use, enterédthesaloo   m 

, A"¥Single look“ at the  ,5“ weaken
ﬁgiiﬁfthat just reached medium highs;
the? 'springy step that‘tcld of the wohdrdus
power that dwelt Within the, muscles, of the
Tag; the  mammogram, with its close
cut‘black hair, its palates res, dark~blue eyes,

that, German fashion, admitted the, chin alone,
the, rest .of the face “beingjismoothly shaven,
told that the new-comer was ,‘9 Injun Dick.”

While the girl was preparing the drink, she
Watched his face narrowly. She saw that
something was the matter with the coolest head
that had‘e'vi‘ér sat‘on‘man‘s shoulder. \ i . .,

' Jinnie brought the steaming liquid, and
placing it before Talbot, sat down upon
other side of the table.

Injun Dick drained the glass at a}; draught.

_‘.f Make me another .one,,.you heathen!” he
said, addressing the Chinese.

He had

respect for Dick, who had ’oﬁde’th'ved

him from being ducked in the Reese by a party
of rough miners. « -

“ What’s the matter, Dick?” the girl asked,

business goods ‘a- cobl‘hand and a clear head;
drink interferes with. both.“ ‘But, just now 1

"1“! I can’t tell youl I don’t know myself!
But, J innie, I feel as if something was going to
happen to me. K I’ve been up to Gopher Gully
having a little game of poker, and, would you
believe it, J innie, every hand I’ve had to-night
I’ve held the queen of hearts—a heart-an
——as the fortune—tellers say."

“ And what does that mean?”

“ Why, that a heart-woman is going to cross
my track; and almost every time, Jinnie, the
ace of spades has been the next card to it.
That‘means bad lucHwth, perhaps. I ain’t
gen ally rmemng’s made
' “A'Wmomanr’ said Jinnie, thoughtfully;

' metal is a heartwoman like, Dick?”

“ Why, a woman about the same style as
yourself; blue eyes and brownish hair.”» .
“It’s strange that you should benervous,

 

  pm I ope, Dick, that irony danger threatens

Tentoone that he hasjorgottenher‘wholereﬁﬁl .   » , . _  7    ,
’ "  “You must think that I have  a bad
memory,” he said, quickly. “Do you 

    
  
 
 
  
  

en returhéd to his former position.
you, it will come openly,”.Jinnie_I§jd,thought-
- ';‘“‘Why so?” Talbot  in surprise. 7 .
“So that I can help you meet it, and so'pay
3,8. little debt I owe you,” she said, low and
earnestly. «
“ You owe-me}? heexclaimed, in surprise.
9‘ Yes.‘ 0h! you-mustn’t  that I for-

that I’va forgotten when the 
down. like a hungry panther, and'ahelpless

somebody dashed into lurwite of the, junk: or

,mine?‘ When I forget that, Jinnie, just con»
elude that Injun Dick has 11385641 in his cheeks,
 ‘chipin’ again naryatime.” ‘ _
i "A warm blush overspread the features of the
girl’s face '_as he spoke. A sweet feeling'of joy
ﬁlled all her young heart. . r- \
“No, Jinnie, I never yet forgot a friend or
a foe. I’ve always tried to pay my debts.
But, it’s strange, this queer feeling that has
come over me. I believe in luck, and a little
in presentiments; and, just now, I feel shaky
«about. what’seaheadpf’, « - '  » ~ A,
He raised the glass to his lips; just then the
door opened, wd-hGingerv Bill conducted Mr.
Rennet and Bernice into the galoon. r‘

tothe floor, Where it was shattered into a dozen
pieces“ i _ 7 , , 1..  7'
“ The heart-woman!” he murmured, as he
caught sight of Bernice’s‘ face.
(To be continued.)

:  False ,Faces: e R
THE, MAN WITEOUTI NAME.

A msmv as Inseam nauseous.

BY GEO. L. AIKEN,
AUTHOR or .“A LIVING Lin,” “SHARED 'ro
DEATH,” “BEBNAL cnvnu,” __“ELHA’S
CAPTIVITY,” “ STELLA, A swan.”

m

 

 

 

' CHAPTERXXIII.
AT MIDNIGHT. .

ous manner was dissipated upon discovering
that this pemonage was the young detective,
Frank Ray. . g ,

“Ah! you didn’t know me,” he continued,
when he had revealed himself to them.
“Pretty good get up this forthe occasion? not,
perhaps, that Ineeded any, butl always make
it a point never to work up a case in my own
proper person. When} go out for an airing,
I don’t want these rascals to point me out and
. whisper: ‘ There goes, a detective l’ I don’t care
for any such notoriety.” ‘ , _

“I suppose not,” Wered Chester Starks.
“Now, what successhave you met with?” __ _

During this conversation they walked along
Broomestreet. " l , , . V

“ The very best,” replied Ray. _

. H That’s good,” exclailrmd Rotor Shaw, heart-

“ Oh, I couldn’t very well go amiss with the
. information you furnished me, sir,” responded
Bay, in his modest manner. “ I’ve spotted the
house, .and have seen a dozen, at least, of, the

. “Y es, just about twelve, I should say,” re-
plied the detective, carelessly; “but that’s no-
thing, We fourcould go in and capture the
lot of them, if you say so.”

 

groom that he looked l‘ke :E‘the inha‘ - bitant of perate resistance?”
‘ soother ‘ I"

drooping. r mustache and little pointed board,

the - found it-—”

- “ Me do~allee same,” repliedrAhLing-,grins
L .71,  limgrfriendly manner at Talbot.

  heapee,”he said,‘ V grins

E

E

n l l

singular manner. I ;
'7 f:  1! I 
i

l

man was struggling in the icy waters, how 00
ice and tree-tnmks, and risked her life to save‘

A convulsive gain) came Talbot's‘lips, -
and the glass dropped from his nerveless hand;

_ THE surprise they all experienced in being,
approached and addressed in this unceremoni»

, them. .

 

, “There's no hurry, and I don’t care about
taking an unnecessary risk in the matter," an-
swered Peter Shaw, to Oasian’s great satisfac—
 V, 4‘ Lthink you  embell- numbers,
 BIO." ‘ if.    of them

 .3  l  v a -_

andsz 

  
        

perate men

~ served Ossian, dryly.x  ‘ , ,

_ ‘, V The detective .stared’in the/gaunt, itharp‘fea-
tured face with some" 311115 a for this Was his
ﬁrst ’enmmxteriwith the grim superintendent
loitho Bartyne'oilwells. - ” v t

j “ That’s so,” he responded; “and ﬁght like
the deuce, too. f Butsome men are more cow—
ardly“ than rats, and, I have an idea, if we
were to pull these fellows suddenly they’d all
cry peccavil We can’t do anything Ito-night,

4* v“ Rats will ﬁght  ob—

 

them.” . ‘ , ,_ \ .

These words were addressed to Peter Shaw,
who replied: -

“ Yes, I know. My only intention to—night
was to make sure of the house in which they
hold their nightly meetings; and if )you have

“ Oh, I’ve spotted
show it to you.”

They turned into Chrystie street.

“They’ve got it ﬁxed splendid,” continued ;
Bay, as they walked‘along. ' “There’s a doc- . l
tor’s ofﬁce on the ground ﬂoor, and  r» idea?
‘  life’sgohe of them. There mig tmoagill‘ 6f
strangers enter the house ashis patients, don’t
you see?” "

“A cunning device,” said Shaw; “but the

 

 

it, beyond a doubt. 1’11

has sadly abused her gifts. It is strange to
me that he should have become such a villain

 

“ All rascals always appear to me to be fools ,
—-to be deﬁcient in their mental capacities. ‘ 
The theory of the matter that I have formed, 3
sir, is this: there’s de'ormity of mind as well f
as body. Men are born with misshapen limbs, é
why not with misshapen brains, or without any 
reasoning power in their brains? It does not 
appear to me that any man would willfully do ’
wrong knowing the sure penalty that must at‘
tend that wrong doing.”

This philosophy surprised Peter Show.

“You seem to have studied this subject, my
young friend," he replied.

“ I from a wide experience of human
kind,” rejoined the detective, in his modest
way. “ I have  much ofthe world in
many lands, and Ihave used my eyes.”

“ To same purpose, too. I think Chester
mode a @001 selection in you.”

 

 

 “I must make my reboinmendation 
godd, if nothing else. But don’t be surprised ‘
at anything that  In leoking for one
thingmen  ﬁnd another. I found some-
thing once that way myself, and in a most

Pray, *hbw was that?” inquired
Peter Shaw. _, “‘ 
“It’s $0610” 8st to tell you now, but
when we get through with this affair I’ll give 
you .,the‘ particulars, if your wish still holds i
good’to hear them.” .
' ‘9‘ It certainly  I aseureyou.”
 F‘They had paused, in imitation of Ray’s ac-
tion, nndhe was surprised to feel Ossian Plum—
' {3181‘   sdddenly by the arm, and peer
curiously in his face. He bore the scrutiny

mposedly. ,
“ What is it, my friend?” he asked.

,“ Nothing~only Ithought I’d like to take a
good look at you, so I’d know you again,” an-
swered Ossian, dryly.

“ Are you satisﬁed?” rejoined Frank Ray,
laughingly.

Oasian released his grasp, but Ray felt the
,  ﬁngers quiver in a manner that denoted a
strong emotion before he did so, and this cir-
cumstance, trivial as it was, bewildered him.

“Yes, I’m perfectly satisﬁed,” replied Ossian.
“ Peter, you can trust that man.”

“Thank you! An odd genius!" Ray Whisp
. feted. to Shawwhlm Ossian moved away a few

paces.

7“ Yes, chains v ,  as odd,” replied
BeterBBawg‘ 7“ ; ‘ “ ’t mindihini; it’s his way.”
 *Franki‘héymppeared tovgrfow thoughtful
over this little incident; but whatever his
thoughts werehe kept them to himself. This
young man could be very discreet when occa-
sion required.

,; ,“As you stop, I suppose we are near the '

house?” said Peter Shaw. .

' ‘.‘ Directly opposite,” answered Ray, rousing g
himself from a kind of reverie. “ That’s it, E
With the sign, gold letters on black—Doctor
Watervliet.” ~ - - I V

“ You think he is one of the gang?”

“ I do; though I have no doubt he is a bona
 doctor, and takes what patients he can
get. His profession is an excellent cloak. ‘ It
gives him a respectable occupation in the eyes
of the police. I have an idea that we shall
ﬁnd all of them following some calling.”

, “ Yes, there’s the lawyer with the odd name
9 -——what was it, Ossian?” '

“ Cobra Selkreg.”

” Oh, yes; I’ve spotted him; we can lay our
hands on him whenever we want him,” said
Ray. “ But it might be difﬁcult to prove his
connection with the gang, unless we catch him
with them.” I I _

f‘ We must. do so,” answered Peter Shaw.
“ We must capture the entire party while they
are engaged in their villainous mummery. We
will ﬁx on to-morrow nightfor that.”

“They may not be here then.”

“ What makes you think so?”

‘.‘ Let us walk on, and I’ll tell you,” said
Ray; “ we shall attractattention if -westand
any, longer here.” ’ ,

' anou,m right.”

They proceededin pairs up the street, Peter
Shaw and Ray ﬁrst, and. ,Ossian and Chester
following close behind, so as to hear what was
said. They passed numerous persons on the
sidewalk, but no one paid any attention , to

 

“ There’s been,va very daring robberies
committedlately, by a band of masked; men,”
continued Ray, ‘,‘ and Iharean ideathatthese
,feliows are thaparty thm; did them.”

 .1! Ishouldn’t be sulpﬁsed,” answered Peter
.Shaw. “ Wenethese robberies_iu the cityi”.

 

 

 

 

 

   
 
 
  

.ies were committed in Collinsville, Connecti-
out. The village post—ofﬁce and savingsrbank,
7 which are in the same building, were entered,

 

‘ and the former was robbed of some‘script; but  - I

     

     
    
 

  , , . . _ f. , . ._ J
r v 7 nip- «

 

  

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