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Entered as Second Class Matter at the New York, N. Y . Post Office. Copyrighted 1893. by BEADLE AND ADAMS. June 2?, 151d.

1

 

$2.50 PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY BEADLE AND ADAMS. Price.
Not  a. Year. No. 98 WILLIAM STREET. NEW YORK. 5 cents-  

 

 

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Detective Skid’s Diamond Haul

AUTHOR OF “THE THIRD MAN,” “THE EYE or
HERCULES,” “THE CIPHER ‘F,’” ETC.

CHAPTER I.
A LATE CALL.

DETECTIVE FELIX SKIDMORE sat smoking in
his handsome bachelor apartments, and had be-
gun to think about retiring for the night, when
there was a brisk ring at the bell, and the an-
swering servant brought a note to his door,
with the book of a messenger boy in which to
sign a receipt for the same.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“ Ems OFF! I’LL MANAGE Hm!" 0mm DETECTIVE SKID.

 

' i I’m afraid of being robbed.”

 “333 Y0“ “'9 00m?” mantis. but don’t trv me

7“  to call here at Low Twelve; There’s the town

   
   
    

,5 there's no hardship in. their—rather the other

..

9 l i The Chicago Drummer’s Deal.

 

 

The message was from his old friend, Addi-
son Livingston, the wealthy banker, begging
him to call at once on business of the utmost
importance. The detective signed the receipt,
consulted his watch and lighted another cigar.

“ This must be important,” he mused, “ for
it is now a quarter to midnight. I should think
the matter would keep until morning, but he
asks me to call at ‘ Lew Twelve.’ He is Master
of our Masonic lodge and that expression is a
favorite with him. Wonder what’s up?”

While the officer was thinking, he was act-
ing. It was 8.0001 bright night in autumn, and
he donned his light overc0at and hot, draw on
his gloves, and swinging his slender cone in one
hand, was soon moving briskly along the main
avenue of Blutfton, on his way to the hand-
_ some residence of the banker, in the suburbs of
‘ the town.

That he was expected was proven not only by
the bright light burning in the front room up:
stairs, where Mr. Livingston had his fine
library, but by the appearance of that gentle-
man at the door, before the visitor could do
more than step upon the porch and extend his
hand to ring the bell.

The two grasped hands, and the instant the
caller stepped into the broad hall and dotted his
hat, the host shut the door, turned the key, slid].
the bolt in place and Secured the chain. The
observant officer was quick to note that his
friend was in a state of nervous agitation, that
he was striving hard to repress. r '

{will answer to his i'nquiring smile, the banker
sa : ' '

“ I am glad you came so promptly; we'll go
right upstairs to the library and ll explain
matters.”

The gentleman were [old friends, and. had

at many hours in intimate converse in the
l rary, so that the detective needed no direo.
tion as he receded his host, Into the large,
luxuriously- urnished library, with its glowiu
grate, its bright electric light, its wealth of ric
and rare volumes, brie-ammo and elegant fur-
niture: '

Skidmore drew off his gloves and overcoat
, tossing the former into the silk hat that he had
brought with him, and laid on a stand, at one
corner of the room, sunk down into the yielding
i lounge, flung one leg over the other, look
' kindly at his host, who had handed him a Per-
fecgo, and seated himself nearer the grate, and
sat : , ,

“ Well my old friend how are youi” '

Instead of answering a question, the banker
inq‘uired abruptly: _‘ ' '

‘ Are you armed, Felix?" V

“ I always carry a revolver.” ' .

“ Goodl You must stay with me all night.”

“What'su ? Are you frightened?” _

“ I‘confess am; my wife and niece are away,
and there are only two servants in the house,’
and I suspect one of them is absent. That does
not matter, however, since they are women, and
stupid as they can be.” ' ' , ,

What are you. afraid of?” asked the detec-
tive, still smiling, pumng his cigar, and looking
keenly at his friend, with a suspicion that he'
was ust a trifle oi! his base. -

“ here’s nothing the matter here, remarked
the tanker,” tapping his forehead si ficantly,
and managin to smile in return; “i there was
"I would send or the doctor instead of you. But

i

“ And murdered?"

“ Not so much that, though the greater might
well accompany the lesser crime. But I am in
danger of a visit from some desperate burglars,
who have come hither from the other side of the
' werld. Now don’t start with another dread,
that my mind is toppling. I am agitated, I‘ll
admit, but my head was never clearer than at
this minute.” »

. “You feel nervous because you are alone in
,. your bighouse; but you have a burglar-alarm
all through; and you can bring help if it should

be u .

“.But that help must be here, right on, the
spot! It would take several minutes, and per-
baps a considerable while, forithe police to get
here and, when they did so, they would be too
late. The. thieves must be bullied at the,be-;
ginnlng.” -' 3 ,

“ Well, Livingston. I am willing to concede“,

much further, before explaining,>or I will bring
a physician topresoribe for you. 4 You urged me

, clock booming now, so I am a little ah of
" time. You say I must stay with you all n ght:

 

3.
a

_ I’malg'reeablo. ' Now, having assured
mullet you belove you are in; peril of. being .

1

 

robbed, I’m entitled to an explanation. So out

' with it.” .

Detective Skidmore showed that he felt at
home by bitching about on the lounge, so that
his head lay a ainst the end cushion, one shapely
leg was exten ed at full length, with the foot of
the other resting on the floor, while, with both
bands clasped behind his head, he calmly looked
through the smoke of his cigar into the face of
his friend. The latter, in dressing- own and
slippers, sat bolt upright in his chair, egs cross-
ed close to the body, smoking with quick, nervous
puffs, fldgeting in his seat, and showing by his
restless manner that something unusual oppress-
ed him.

The contrast between the two men was mark-
ed. The banker was six years of age, thin,
somewhat stoop-shoulders ', with no hair on his
crown, and only a scant fringe of white around
his neck and temples. His face had been hand-
some in his youth, but was now wrinkled, seam-
ed and colorless andhis countenance was always
clean-shaver). Curiously, however, the mild
blue eyes, that twinkled like a boy’s beneath his
shaggy brows, had never yet known the need of
artificial aid. Doubtless they would have to
come to it before long, but not yet.

Addison Livingston, the rich banker, had lived
all his life in Blulfton, and was one of its fore~
most citizens. He was a leader in church move-
ments, publicapirited, liberal. liVing beyond re-
proach, and, had be chosen, could have held any
office in the gift of his townsmen. But be
shunned the pool of politics as though it‘was
poisoned, and continued along the even tenor of
his way, well satisfied to allow the honors to go
to those who craved them.

Two children, a son and daughter, had blessed
his married life, but both died in infancy and
the only one who could take their place, even in

a slight as, was his niece Muriel, the
den hter_of is widowed sister, who frequently
visi himself and wife, sometimes remaining

for weeks away from her home in Chicago.

Felix Skidmore’s a was less than two—thirds
of his friend’s. Rec . ingiu his indolent atti-
tude on the lounge, he was the picture of ath-
letic'gruce andtlrength. He was good-looking,
With no beard bowing, dark, hazel eyes, vi -
ous hair and a brightness of expression at
marked-him as a man of su rior intelligence.

Some years before, Ad isnn ’Liuivgston be.
came the victim of a series of during forgeries,
which would have wiped out his entire fortune,
had not Skidfmore appeared at the critical junc-
ture, and not only run down the rogues, but
saved the banker. :

The skill with which the detective did this,
not only won the gratitude of Livingston,but
stirred [him to admiration for the finess and
hrilliancy of that gentleman. .'

The following year the detective corall‘ed a
hand of counterfeiters, that were working
through the towns in the Mississippi Valley, and
for whose trail the Government ofiicers_had been
blindly groping; for months. In this affair,
Bkidmorepot only proved his wonderful alert.
ness and intelligence, but displayed a coolness
furl personal bravery which compelled the v1]-
ains themselves to vote him the ganiost indi-
vidual they badevcr runragalnst. '

This much stated, it w' beeasy to under-
stand how ,itiwas that the banker appealed to
him inthe embrgency which he was firmly acn-
vinced'was onhis threshold. ‘ ,

“ It'would be very strange,” he said, in reply A
tothe remark of his friend, “if I brought you
here at this hour of the night and was unable '
give an a reasonable explanation.
and. shall make it as (brief as I can.”

' ' . CHAPTER lI. ,
rwo m mos: ms KIMBERLEY DIAMOND
, MINES.
. “va3 years ago my two as hows, Dick and
Jo Hylsr, loft Kansas for the iamond fields of
Africa. heir parents were .dead. and they
were so impoverished, by the repeated failures
of their crops, that they would have suffered
for the necessities of life, had I not hel (1 them.
They were spirited lads, and when invited
them to make their home with me and to take
their own time in finding something suitable to

,do, they declined with thanks.

'f‘yTheg visited me for a few weeks, during
Which," , elr cousin Muriel was with me. When
abouttolesveythey were stricken down with
“"913 and I fully believe that, but for her
Pflflent and skillful nursing, they would have

'dil’d- .Thi'y were ver gratrful and formed the

deepest affection for, r. It was not what you

would call love, but genuine, tender and touch-
ing friendship, ,They assured her, when they

.by Express, and with

Here it s, ’

 

went away, that she ,should be remembered, and:

.‘:~

  

they intended to send her some present from the
other side of the world that would make her
bright eyes sparkle. She laughiugly assured
them that she wanted nothing but their brother-
ly lava and remembrance, but I knew Dick and J o
well enough to feel sure that they would never
forget their promise. They would toil and
struggle and deny themselves and suffer to
redeem their pledge.

“ Well, the boys made their way to the Kimber-
ley Diamond Mines of South Africa, where they
met rough times for several years. Good for-
tune came to them at last, and they struck it
rich. They secured a dozen stones of the finest
water, and, knowing that their fortune was
made, bade adieu to that inhospitable re ion,
and traveled ox-team, through the bun reds
of miles of waste land to Cape Town.

“ In that city, as you may know, are some .
of the most desperate criminals on the face of '
,tho earth. They are on the watch for return-
ing miners, and will hesitate at no crime to
rob them of their wealth. Despite the extreme
care used by my nephews, they became objects
of suspicion to several of these, who, in some;
inexplalnable way, learned that they had dis-i
monds with them worth a fabulous amount.
But Dick and Jo were well armed, alert and?
brave, and succeeded in takin ship for Europe“:
with their wealtti intact. ey made their,‘
way to Amsterdam, and ferried in that city;‘
until the dozen diamonds in their possessiom
were cut. a

“ All this time the know the miscreants wet
on their track, and t ey did not doubt that the
would follow them to America. with the ohan
of clamping and colliding with them abon

“a o 3
eq“ hen the stones were read l the on”
men found they owned diamon wort
hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

   

old home in
been obliged to sell, and spend the rest 0 the
days there. , . l

“ But by this, time they began to feel more
serious alarm than ever before. They were

"convinced that they had not only been fol

lowed from'Africa b two at least of the gum
that tried 1n vain entrap them at Q8 i
Town, but that the couple knew all about t 4‘
tan stones which the count to take toAmerica.
“It was‘ at this unoture that my napkier
made a woful mistake." Nothing would hav
been easier than for them. to forward the jewel
rfect safety.‘ It ma ,
have been that they h become nervous, fro
having been hunted so long and so far, and the ,
ideas of the powers of the villains became exag
iterated; they decided thatthe safest, if not the:
only safe way, was to bringlthsm to this coun
.tryfihemselves. and den"? them in person _.
MFBfitheir cops“). successes-y .' It ;
precaution wa . . .- was agreedfi
that Dick should takeIthe httleo‘asket-contain-g
ingjthe diamonds, while .10 hould tom one
other exactly resembling 1t. and they should
make their wa home by different routes, not.
meeting until they reached this town of 1311151,

ton.

‘ N 0, therefore took the empty casket and.
put himself} little out or. the way, to make it

appear he had the ston ‘ while Dick, wzthlatbe V
real treasure in his possession, left Liverpool it?

the steamer that sailed a‘wesk later than a

brother. ‘ . - " 

“.‘The artifice succeeded. butflv‘lt‘wuat a fear-
ful cost. -The wretches, bellow? .Jo had the
treasure, dogged him, and one .ark ht he!
wassandbagged on the Bowery, in New ork‘,
and the empty casket taken from him. He died
two days later in the hospital, without ever fully.

recoverin consciousness. He deceivodwtpa
wretches, at it was attheprioqothislife.‘ ;
“Meanwhile,* Dick‘. our Blulfton,

gushed” to,

'where he arrived  rday. When he took
red at the hotel, or he was too proud to come
straight here, he found a package awaiting him.
On opening. it, the empty casket was revealed,
with a note ‘ from the disappointed assassins,

saying that they had been fooled once but-they '

could not be fooled a second time. They knew
he had the diamonds in his noeseslion. and. he

never should take them to his Kansa- home. ‘

course they had no means of knowing he my
to present them to my niece. ! g 

‘ “ Perhaps you may imagine the. state ofle
nephew’s mind, when b9 read this lettel'. and
the cuttings from the New. York newspa‘ pets
which leftno doubt 0f the fate of his’,.bf°theh
He'had the diamonds with him and. Du
anemia the hotel safe, he wont to'bgd, 309 mu

Vl'f‘j‘.

    

   

 

 

diamonds in my

I 
:zbefore e

,; thebn lar-alarm.”

 9?“A

 'the'diamonds‘and  beyond pursuit.” ‘

The Chicago‘Drummer’s Deal.

    
 

,3-§

 

 

grieved over the death of Jo, and too much
disturbed as to what he ought to do, to reason
calmly.

“ He called here this morning and left both .
, caskets with me; one is empty and the other

contains ten diamonds, whose average value is
ten thousand dollars apiece. I saw from the
looks and manner of my nephew that he was
not himself. It would try the strongest nerves
to be heated more than half-way round the
globe, an be was a painful‘contrast to what
he should have been. He insisted on leaving
the casket with me—one valueless and the other
containing precious stones that are worth a for-
tune. I advised him to put them in the bank,where
they would certainly be safe for a. time, but he
would not consent. He said they Were intended
by him and Jo as a present for Muriel, and he
never could sleep until they were in her pose
session.

“ He said he knew his enemies were in Bluff-

ton, but he had eluded them in coming tomy.

house. The diamonds would be safer with me
than anywhere else, for the criminals! did not
know where they were. But they would be sure
to find out before long. He, therefore, exacted
a promise from me that I would not keep them
in my possession more than one night. before
gaispatlching them to Chicago to the address of

uric .

“Now, you will see all throu h this singular
business the impulse of a morbi and unbalanced
mind. I confess that I was. so much disturbed
over Dick’s mental condition that I thought
more about him than the gems, or the business
which they involved, and I did
as I ought to have done, before making the
solemn pledge, that, after one night had gassed
with the gems in my possession, I shoul send
them to my 01800, by the safest means at com-

mand.

“Dick pained me by refusing to stay oVer
night. He Said he was sure to be traced to my
door in time, and, if he remained, it would in-‘
vi'te a visit from the burg whom he feared
as if they were veritable Thugs from India. He
promised to call this afternoon, it the coast was
clear, but since he has not put in an ap ear-
'31108, I judge something has occurred to a In

m

“ You may be dis to smile, Skidmore, at
the story I have 1:01 and so, perhaps, would I,
but fer the death of one of my nephews and the
mental condition of the other. I placed no

N 'credenco in the personal danger/in which Dick
believed he was involvsd, and gave no thought,

to me own peril until this evening. ‘

“ was at church, and stayed behind to talk
with theparson, after which I walked part way
home with Undertaker Jones. I had left the

casket locked in the safe there and was not
thinking of them. when I became aware, just '

before reaching home, that two men were fol-
lowing me.” ' .
‘“ Are you certain of that?” quietlyaskedthe

V detective.

. “There is no doubt whatever. I was not
dreaming of anything of the‘kind, when it‘be-

came too apparent to be a mistake. One was a

on the other side of Lthe street, while the second

loitered about fifty yards behind me.

' “ It made me nervous, and I . quickened my
’pace. They did the same, but they did not
offer to molest me, because there were too many

ople in the street, and then they must have
Eian that nothing was to be gamed by doing
so, inasmuch as I was not likely to carry the
brilliant: around with me.

“I was atremble with alarm, when I entered

' . my own did not breathe freely until I

had. made sure, that the burglar-alarm was set,
and everything was‘assecure as possible. Then
I came up—stairs to the library. satdowu and
tried hard to thinkcalmlyorar'thegsituation.‘

“ The more I reflected the more alarmed’l he-
came. Here I was, without another man under

‘ the roof, my coacbman having gone away for

the evening. I have no wea n, for I never
carry one and,'if I did, I wenl ’t know how to
use it. 'I had one hundred thousand dollars in
safe: what was .to prevent
those‘fellows from getting them?” . I -

=2“ Don’t you keep your safe looked?” asked the

' . detective.

 ,"But, suppose they should rouse ms in the
night and give 'me the shows of opening it or

V I I having my throat cut!” '

ly as much as your own life. But

“13‘ tl ' the diamondsare worth a' 00d
 g
Rooting an entrance, they would set off

as I raids few minutes ago, before the
. that matched could reach me, they would

,1

not reflect, '

"This is a queer business,” remarked Skid-
more, assuming the upright position, leaning
forward with his elbows on his knees, and look-
ing thoughtfully into the glowing grate; “I
never met anything like it before. I did not
observe any suspicious characters on myiway
here, though doubtless they saw me enter, and
kept themselvss out of sight. Do you know
where your nephew Dick is?”

shau‘lgn’tgse surprised if I never do again.”

“ He is likely to be murdered.”

‘ see no reason for fearing that; these fol-
lows are after the diamonds, and the slaying of
a person is only incidental. They supposed the
other nephew had them about his _ rson or they
would not have harmed him. ow that they
know the stones have passed out of Dick’s oos—
session, and are in yours they have no reason to
molest your 'nephew. H’s ought to be safe.”

“ Possibly, but no man need envy either him
or me just n0w.” ‘

“ Well, I am here to stay with you, and I feel
no alarm.”

“ Because you are a brave man.”

“Not of necessity because of that, but I see
no reason for your misgiving.” ‘

“But I have not named the most important
service I am about to ask of you.”

“ What is that?” , A .

“ Show me how to get those diamonds safely
to Chicago.”

 

CHAPTER III.

A COMMITTEE or WAYS AND MEANS.
DURING the conversation between Banker
Livingston and Detective Skidmore, the latter
continued as cool and apparently unconcerned.
as if they were discussingamatter of trivial
importance. Nevertheless, the officer was doing
some hard thinking. for be was quick to see the
unique phases of the extraordinary problem
that his friend now laid before him.

Un recedented as it was in man respects, he
perce ved its gravity. A much ess sum than
one hundred thousand dollars will tom t un-
numbered men to commit every crime in the

decalogne, and he did not doubt that the Hyler

Brothershad been followed from South Africa
to Europe, and thence to America, where one of
them had lost his life, at the hands of miscreants,
in order to wrest the valuable diamonds from
them. The greatest wonder was that the
brothers had been able to retain them so' long,
for it would seem that that journey of many
thousand miles must have afforded c
portuuities without number to obtain them. It
mayhave been that theycounted on driving the
owners from their mental balance, beforestrik-
ing the final and decisive blow. I ‘
But, leaving those speculations until further
developments should come, he resolVed‘to solve
the problem not alone of protecting the diamonds

radians to justice. It was the kind of work he
liked; he would throw all his energy and soul into
the efforw ,

.“ You wish the stones to be transported safely
to Chicago and delivered to your niece?” he
asked, looking up, as he still leaned forward,
with his elbows on his knees.

“That’s the service I ask of you; for my

pledge is that they shall pass out of my posses-

sion to-morro w.”

“ {than you wish to shift the .danger that is
resting on the shoulders of your nephew Dick
and yourself to Miss Wetmore?” -

implied by this uestion, but he wanted to
probe his friend a ittle further.

“Far from any such thouglgt; I never would
consent to anything of. the nd, but I believe
that when the gems shallbe landed ,in Chicago:
51133?ng to Muriel, all danger will be over.” ,

,_ ‘.‘ Large as is the amount they represent, it
13 no larger nor as large as that of the jewels
owned by some actresses and scores of ladies
whom you can name as readily as I. You have
only to attend one of the balls of the Four Hun-
dred in New York. or go the opera or look at
fashionable gatherings in other cities, to see
women With welt far more valuable than
these. Many. ice in Chlong should be in-
cluded in the list; but, whenever they appear in
public, they are well-guarded and such" precau-
tions are taken as to render robbing almost im-
possible. When. therefore. my niece receives
the present. she has only to exercise ordinary
precautioa to keep it. In other I words.she nor
any other lady, with such a wealth. of some about

 

he!“ Person. would be secure in Blufl’ton- or

‘ hundredsof the small towns in our country.”

' l,’ '

“ I haven’t seen him since this morning, and I .

v but the gems themselves.”

from. theft, but of bringing the unspeakable,

Detective Skidmore did not mean what was

 

‘to correspond with the numbers, hedrswback

    
  
   
   
  
   
   
   
  
  
  
   
   
   
  
   
   
   
  
   
    
  
   
  
    
    
   
   
   
  
   
  
 
  
 

“ There is truth in what you say, for few ton

Eeople besides the owners of valuable diamonds I":
now what a score of anxiety they are and 5
how incessant must be the vigilance to prevent kg,
their loss. It would have been unfortunate had ml
Miss “getmore been here to receive the prec 11*
stones.

“Dick told me he would have insisted that 2::
she should return home without them, leaving out
itto him to get them thither. so as to preVeut , to
risk to her, though it is not likely she would have lad
been murdered for them.” ' for

9‘ Many of the actions of your no how are ex- ted
plainable only on the ground that IQ is mental- .
ly unbalanced. For instance, how much easier

it would have been for him to go (list to 3,93
Chicago, where your niece is’, before coming He
through that city to this place.’ he

“ He did not come through Chicago, but by
wagI of St. Louis. 'In that City, he tolegraphe r1
to - rs. Wetmore, and received a reply that her his
daughter was here. Such of course was the ;
fact, but Muriel left the next morning for home ml
and thus missed him.”

“But why did he not go to Chicago, deposit '0!
the diamonds with one of he numerous compn- '
nies whose vaults can defy a regiment of men, .he
and then await your niece’s return i” ‘

“ You gave the reason, when you said Dick is n’d
a little off. It was his wish to handlthe gems to , . m
Muriel in person, but when he learned of Jo’s
murder, he gave up. He became ea or for them he
to reach ,her without delay; the oath of his 3 0'"
brother convinced him that it was out of his ,3“,
power to do so personally; he therefore turned ix;
them over to me, which brings us back once, 7 h,
more to the problem I have submitted to you:

how shall they, be delivered in» Chicagot” ‘2:

“ You can travel from Blufl'ton by rail direct .ed

to St. Louis and thenceto Chicago, and one of the
most r nsible Express firms in the country
will guarantee the delivery of whatever is in-
trustedto them,.on the payment of an appro—
priate fee.” ' ‘

“ You speak of guarantee Skidmore, when .-
no man or corporation in this world can give ,
an absolute guarantee, in such a matter. They m
or he may bind themselvos to make thei'loss be
good, if the valuables arestolen. but that doesn’t he
guarantee that they won’t be stolen or lost. It «be
is not the worth of the gems we wish to secure, 5t.

 
   
         
        

“Then you are afraid to trust the Express 3;
company? ‘ ‘ ,d

   
   

“ I am; between great cities'further east, I
would not be, but reflect a moment. To reach ‘13,,
St. Louis from Blufllton, you must journey over
the Iron Mountain Razlwa , which extends
hundreds of miles through t a wild regionsof >
Arkansas; and a considerable portion of. Man 7 ‘
souri. There are stretches of pine forest in,  at
Arkansas, where there are no dwellings in; g
sight, except an occasional settler’s cabin, for! r 5,,
hours. Reflect further, that ther has been "
more than one tram robbery, with n the past
six months, and it is just as certain as that the ,
sun will rise to-morrow, that, if it were known ‘ 1 3
that a package of diamonds, worth a hundred " 

 
     
     
       
          
       
        
      
  
           
      
      
        
  

thousand‘dollars, wasto be sent through one.  a.“
certain train, that train would be held up.” . 2h
“ Why need it be known?" "f.

 
    

“ Seemingly there is no reason why it should  "n
be, but the men following my nephew have . ,1,
shown such marvelous cunning, that I don’t be-‘  it
lieve they would foil to find it out, if the pack- J v'
age was dispatched in the regular way.” 4 "‘*,_.
 “ Do you think it probable that these men, be- n.
lieved to be only two, have an connection with a
any of the outlaws of the Seat )westf”  ~ 
' “I would not have suspected such a thing. . , -
had not Dick told me that one of them, whom .. , .
he saw at pa 'I‘own.2 was an American; and,  ’
for some re son phich he  not give, he,
beligves he was from this section of the coupe"
try. ‘ . _
“ It seems incredible, though it_may be true.,:. ,5; -
We’ll admit for the sake of the discussion, that .-
such is the fact, and that it is necessary to use: as. 1;,
strategy to get the jewels to St. Louis, and on tow .,
Chicago. ' Where are the diamonds?" , |

“ In this room.” ,

 
        
     
       
   
    
   
   
    
       
     

       
     
     
    
   
 

     

“ Let me see them.” ‘ ' ‘ q
The banker glanced timidly around. as if
fearful that some one was listening or watch»,
ing, and than, observing the smile of thedetec
fivesaidr '* ‘~ ~.

“ You don’t know how nervous I feel; Iph;
got sl'eepa ,wink to-night; they are in my'sa
era. «»  - . ,
~, A small cacti safe had been one of Mix-Liv» _
ingston’s arti lens of library furniture ‘-for a long ‘
time. It was opened by the ordinary combinavi
tlon, and. after turning, the knob several time-s. ,

         
   

 
   
     
     
        

   

 
     
    
    
   
   

 
 

    

  

  

 

V

" fore be at great disadvantage.

, shame to disfigure it, but the situation we

4

The ChiCago Drummcr‘s Deal.

 

 

the short heavy door and took out two small
brown boxes, Sunblle inches long by two-thirds
of that width. They ware made ni‘ swine kind
of American Wood, with u (inc, close grain that
showed through the vnrnish, und Were fastened
by a diminutivo key, turning in a small lock.

Taking both out he laid them on the table by
the detective.

“ Which is the right one?" inquired the lat-
ter, surwyin;r them curiously. ,

“ 1 can’t tell until I try them.”

They were so precisely similar in appearance
that the closest scrutiny could detect no differ-
ence.

It happened that the first one tried by the
banker was the one Containing’ the gems. The
little key clicked in the look, and as he raised the
lid, the amazing display dazzled the eyes or
the spectators. There they Were, ten royal
diamonds that an empress might have coveted,

of the purest water, gleaming in their splendor I

and scintillating with way color of the rain-
‘bow, each seemingly as big as a i'ohin’s egg and
all of ovarwhelminu brilliancy. Tuey constitu-
ted a prize indeed for whic any man would
have been willing to risk his life.

i The interior of the box was lined with crimson
velvet, and the stones lay lease, so that when
the lid was raised, they movoi about freely as
the box was shifted. When closed, the pressure
held them fast.

' it was the most amazing sight on which Detec-
tive Skidmore had ever gazed, and he sat silent
for several minutes in rapt attention, holding
the casket in his left hand. and feasting his eyes.
Then he picked up one after the other with the
thumb and forefinger of his right hand,‘ and
round it between him and the light, that he
misfit more fully enjoy the sight. .-

_He could not express his admiration in wordS.
Finally, he put them carefully back in the box,
closm the l”, leaving the key projecting, and
passed it back to the banker. .

“ You want them to start for thcago to-
morrow and: to be delivered safely in that city
do mu 3”

“ That‘s my wish.”

“ I’ll do it for you,” said Skidmore, compress-
ing his lips, while a steel-like glitter in
his eyes.

CHAPTER IV.
or ran wucn.

“ How will you do it?” inquired the bunker of
his friend.

“iwill place that little box in my pocket,
buy a through ticket to Chicago, and deliver
thigoods there);I i u

ivinizston, w owns grow ng more so -pos-
loss-“d, shook his head.

“There on are again! How can on know
that you will arrive there? Are on pregna-
ble azainst knife-thrust and pisto -bulletf You
never have seen either of these villains to your
knowled s (and there maybe more of them),
but dou tless they know you; you will there-
f courage and
skill could insure success, I would have no doubt
of you, but, unfortunately, they do not, in the
aflairs of this world. No, sir' my dear man,
some better plan than that will have to be for-
mulated."

“ Have you thought of any?”

“ I have."' I

“ Let me hear it.”

“ You have admired that,” said the banker,

inting to the mantel, on which sata fine, mar-

le, life-uze bust of his beautiful niece; “i is a
agents

it, especially as it can be restored to its for or
urity I will ave it colored, so,tbat it will
ook ike a den person. Ahandsome wig, re-
sembling her natural wealth of golden hair can

. be adjusted: it will be dressed in clothes, suita-

1 bio for a deceased

7 after the box reaches the station.” I

person, placed in a coffin,
boxed up, with the death-certificate attached,
and dir to" a well-known firm of :under-
takers in Chicago; we will conceal, in the dress
of the dummy, the kage containing the
diamonds and send lit hrough by Express; you
may ride on the same train, though I doubt
whether you can ,get pe~inission to sit in the Ex-
press car_ with it. V

Detective Skidmore laughed, and, risiniz to his
feet, {good up and down the room for several
zninu V

“ Your scheme has the merit of originality at
least. but you seem to have forgotten that a
number of diflculties remain [to be overcame.”

“I have thought of all; my friend, Doctor
Kerwin. will give me the moose certificate,
that will insure no inquiries orrlnvestigation

 

l, "t ‘

 

w

“But you must get the coffin and box and
have them shipped irom this point.”

“I have another friend, in an undertaker,
who Will attend to all that for me. Indeed I
havo already spoken to him.”

“ You have no fear of trusting him?”

“Not with my life: he need not know any-
thing, except that, for lll‘J purpose of guarding
against crime, the officers of the law have
found it nece-SAary to resort to this artifice.”

“ Well,” hughecl Skidinore, “ try it, but, if
our friends from Africa are watching so close-
ly, won’t they be apt to suspect something
when the coffin leaves your house, and won’t it
make some embarrassing inquiries on the part
of our neighbors?”

‘ I will not forward it from here; I will send
the undertaker ar..und, let him take away the
bust, fix it up, ship the goods, and, in fact, do
everything.”

“ I begin to understand something in the
plan, now that you have explained it to me.

’11 do what I can to help, half-regretting that it
may prevent my meeting those fellows.”

“ Don’t be too sure of that. ' Very well then;
I will try to have everything arranged to
leave on the noon train to-morrow, if that will
suit on.” ‘

“ erfectlv, and now suppose we take a peep
outside. I don’t mean to go there ourselves, but
to try to find outwhether any one is paying the
house attention.”

The banker led the way into the adjoining
room which was his sleepingTapai-tment, and
closed the deor behind them. his left them in
darkness, and they approached the front‘
window without fear of being seen. The house
Was surmunded by spacious grounds, contain-
ing a number of trees and considerable
shrubbery. Had it been spring or summer they
would have obtained only partial glimpses of
the walk, with here and there an open space be-
tween the trees. ,But nearly-all the vegetation,
except the non-deciduous portion bad shed its
leaves and the bright moon, shining from an un-
clouded sky, helped them to a better view than
they anticipated. ,

Looking across the strnet, which was in fair
sight, they observed two houses, from which
came not the first glimmer of light nor could
they distinguish anything of that nature in any
direction, exoept from the street lamp in front
of the bankers gate. No wonder, for it was
near one o’clock. ‘ '

Adim figure glided along the street, ap ring
for a moment, and then Quickly vanis in , as
though the belated pedestrian was in a hurry

to reach his destination. There was nothing in
his appearance to cause question and neither of

the watchers ave him a thought. Men who
meditate m efare not apt to move in that
fashion. '

The two friends waited for fully a half-hour
longer. furtively watching from each side of the
house in turn; but, seeing nothing to cause sus-

icion decided to sleep, or rather the banker
ecided that he would ‘try to sleep, for undeclar-
ed that he was in that nervous state that he
wioualél no; close his geyes through the entire
n . V

5 MI make yen a little bet,” said the detective,
assuming an easy tion on the lounge,” that
you will be'sound asleep, long before the rising
of the sun.”

“This is no trifling matter, Skklmore,” w
turned his friend reprov1ngly; “ murder has
been already done, and something tells me that
more crime will soon he committed. I would he
a trange man, if at such a time, I could find
onusa for jest!

“ I am not jesting; but—goodnight!”

The detective quickly glided into the land of
dreams, and did not open his eyes until the sun
,was shining in the window. Without rising, be
turned his head and looked around. In the
glau- by the grate sat Banker Livingston, sound

esp.

 

CHAPTER V.
A STRANGE SHIPMENT.
Tunas: is nothing like sunlight to give a man
courage. Banker Livingston was able to join
Detective Skidmore in a laugh over his extreme

nervousness of the night before, though insist-

ink that be bad cause for misgiving—a
claim that his willingly admitted.
With the eofing of day, they addressed them-

selves totbe serious work before them. Skid-
more contended that the first thing to be done
was to have breakfast, with one or two cups 0f
steaming eofi'eo to help clear his brain. His
best 1:! . y complied, after which they bestirred
themselves. ‘

“ Now,” said the officer, “ since both of those

 

  

boxes are alike, we must muke sure of the right;
one: it would be odd it' we Sent the empty one to
your niece.”

“To make sure we will lock them in the safe
till I send the undertaker here.”

This was done, and, after a few minutes’ con-
sultation, the plan of procedure was arranged.

Fully convmced oi' the cunning and un-
scrupulousness of the unknown parties, against
whom they were working, Skidmore agreed to
stay in the library until the undertaker arrived
and took away the bust. ’l he explanation of the
affair to the undertaker was to he made by
Livingston.

The working of the lock of the safe having

een explained to the officer, he set himself by
the library window, with a cigar in his mouth
and the morning newspaper in his hand. It
looked as if nothing in the world could stir the
blond of this unimpressionable man.

Barely a half-hour elapsed, when thelbell

,tinkled, and, a few minutes. later, a servant

opened the library dom- and showed in the un-
dertaker. The detective‘s ~rofsission had not
brought him in contact wit those of his luguv
brious calling, but he hardly needed an intro-
duction to the visitor, whose services were sure
to be in demand, sooner or later, by all his
townsmen.

“ Good-morning!” he said, as the oflicer rose
to his feet, and speaking With that soothing,
sympathetic mice which the genuine under-
taker is not slow in acquiring.

“ I presume Mr. Livingston explained every»
thing to you,” said Skidmore, as soon as the
servant was beyond bearing.

“Yes; he said you would ive any aid I
needed; I presume that is it?" remarked, in-
dicating by a nod of his head the bust on the-
mantel.

“ Yes; do you need my help?”

The undertaker stepped forward and lifted
the bust from its pedestal.

“No; it is not very heavy' I
carry it: the carriage is at the gate. Now,
what about the caskets? I presume you will
bring them to the store. or rat-herltake charge
of them while you ride with me?” , ‘

It was on Skidmore‘s tongue to assent, but his
professional (auiion intervened. If he were
seen riding away in the company of the under-
taker, it was certain to be discovered by one of
their enemies, and, more than likely, would give
an inkling of thetruth. It was better that they
should not be observed together. ,.

“No; I will walk,” he replied.

“ And bring the diamonds with you?”

Here again was another important matter
that must be decided ofl-hand.

“ I Will bring them with me: how long heft re
you will be ready i”

“ Well, Mr. Livingston is in a hurry, and I
will try to he prepared for on at the end of an
hour or a little longer. on know whereour
establishth is?”

“ I am not sure.” - ,

“ Here is our card; it is which street: you
will have no trouble in finding it. Make sure,”
added the undertaker with asignificant smile,
“ that you bring the right one.”

“ Ha vs no fear of that.”

Infolding the bust in a black cloth that
efi’ectually concealed it, the undertaker walked
out of the library down the stairs, passiizc
through the front ( cor and along the graveltd
walk, to where his black-painted carriage
awaited him. Skidmcre followed him with tis-
eyes until‘ he had carefully placed his heavy
bundle inside, stepped after t, taken up the
reins and disappeared down the street.

Inasmuch as the officer had considerable time
at command, he decided to wait in the library,
fora little while, in the hope of catching sight;
of one or more of the suspicious parties: but if
they wan;I in the beighliborhood, they took care
0 avoi .scove y m.

He now openedy the safe door and book out the
two boxes. ‘

“What a joke if I should carry away the
wrong one,”. be reflected, “ but I won’t.”

The little key in the lock of the right casket
fitth both, and, to prevent the possibility of
mistake, happened them in turn. .

It was impossible to make an error. He re-
placed the smpty one, after which he again,
raised the lid of the other. There the ten
matchless stones lay, shining in all their splw'
dor and richness, and he could not resist the
tem tstion to feast his eyes again upon them.

“ 'arbon,” he muttered; “in another form.
you are charcoal; in another plumbago, neither.
of which possesses more than a trifling value,
but in this shape; you are amon the measures
of the earth. How many dent s have your

can readily

 

 

 

 

 

 

       
  
      

  

   

  

   
 
 
 
   

 
 
 

 
 

      
  

  

 
  
     

. -. .
......._...._.-\..-—.n _w._,..~..., A. H .. u .,

‘ icnl'pse.

....._.-. .....- _ —_ , ....,...‘__.,.y.....-,.. e w“
. .1“. v ‘ v,

35 A 

The Chicago Drummer. Deal-.- . . 

 

 

 

brothers caused! The Kohinoor, the Mountain
of Light, the Regent, the Pitt and others have
their history traced in blood. Even you have
already been the death of one person: are you
to bring down others, before you perish? You
shall last long after i, and the beauteous lady
who owns you, shall have crumbled into dust:
who dare cast your horoscope? Not I."

He carefully locked the box, placed the tiny
key in his vest pocket, and then shoved the
casket into an inner pocket of his coat. Its sine
made it a close squeeze, but he buttoned the
garment over his breast, and touched his hand to
his hip, where his Smith & Wesson rested.

“How easy to avoid all this bother! I have
only to board the next train northward, and
ride straight through to Chicago; I have ex-
ecuted errands more risky than this; but Liv-
iiigston’s wishes must be followed, and the dia-
monds are to take the ride in the company of a
pretended dead body, with me sitting back in
the cars, waiting for something to turn up.”

With that misgiving which comes over a per-

son at such times, he once more swung back the
short, heavy door of the safe, and assured him-
self that the remaining box was empty. Then,
leaving it there, be secured the combination,
took out the genuine casket,L peeped within, re-
iocked and restored it to his inner pocket, re-
buttoned his coat and came out on the street.
. With the suspicion that hostile eyes were
watching him, he assumed a careless manner,
puffing his cigar and sauntering ‘along, as
though nothing in _the world occupied his
thoughts, and made his way at the same leisurely
pace toward the undertaking establishment of
Jarvis Jones, whose business card was in his
custody, alongside the key of the casket.

But, while making this promenade, he was
never more on the alert. He scrutinized the
face of every man and woman whom he met,
glanced across the street,.and stopped several
times to 100k into the show-windows, in order to
gain the opportunityto look behind him. At
one corner he halted, and, facing the highway,
stood for fully fifteen minutes, with his eyes
roaming back and forth, hither and thither,
over his entire field of vision. The result was
the self-admission that he failed to observea
single individual, to whom he could attach the
slightest suspicion.

“ If he has passed me, or has his eyes on me at
this moment, I have no more idea who he is
than I have of the man in the moon: my foemen
are certainly worthy of my steel. This is going
to be the greatest fight in which I ever en~
gazed.” ,

No truer prophecy was ever made by man.

It was more than an hour after leaving the
banker’s residence that he turned into the gloomy
establishment of Jarvis Jones, where he found
the undertaker awaiting him, as cool, quiet and
solemnly aflable as ever. '

“ Is everythingreadyi” asked the detective.

“Yes; I have just finished. Step this way.

yeah‘d‘weili' close the door against interruption.”

“That‘is prudent,” remarked Skidmore, fol-

'lowing' the gentleman to the *rear'fiwhere, first
9

shuttin : the door and turning the
his visi, rasu rise indeed. ~ !

No artist con (1 have done better. There was
the coffin. inclosed in the ordinary pine box,
with the death certificate‘attacbed. and si ed

ey he gave

, by the' most widely known physician in B u!!-

ton. The lid of the inner receptacle being raised
disclosed the bust of Muriel Wetmore, so deli-
cately and skillfully tinted,.or rather with such a
life-like paleness, that the detective started, half-
,believing for the moment thatit was a genuine

What seemed to be. the hands were
crossed on the breast, and the shroud was taste-
ful and costly. , _ '

“ What do you think of it?” asked the nu.
dertaker.;»aftuar the ‘1 may hon continued
severalminutm-‘ins . nee. ', " ' - ’

“It is wonderful; “never saw anything like

it.” .
, “Stand by me until everything is fastened.

,Thgnnkeep me in sight, until my responsibility
on s. V '

The detective produced the casket, and passed
it to the undertaker, who gently shoved it be-v

‘neath the shoulders of the counterfeit body,

the officer closely watching him all the time.
Then he lifted the coffin lid in place and
screwed it down. The pins box was similarly
secured, and the detective never lost sight pf it

: until it reached the railway station.

 

_ CHAPTER VI.
m TRAGEDY AT THE INN.
ALL the arrangements were conducted with
such care that a gr t deal of time was con-_
named. The. pins bozhnclosing tho-comn, did

'\
' o

 

not reach the station until ten minutes before
the arrival of the north-bound train. The
undertaker stayed to See it placed on board,
the ticket having been bought by Banker
Livingston, who left it in the hands of the
agent to await the call of the detective.

Leaving the undertaker to keep his eye on
the box, Skidmore sauntered up and down the
platform, in and out of the station, on the
alert for any and all suspicious parties. There
were an old woman, two boys, a young lady
and her escort, and an A Irishman waiting to
take the train. A study of each in turn, and
several times over, convinced the officer that
they were as innocent as so many babes.

He was correct, but nevertheless, one of the
ruilians that had followed the Hyler brothers
all the way from South Africa was there and
had his eye on him 1

Five minutes passed, and Banker Livingston,
whom the detective had not seen since early
that morning, was descried coming down the
street on a rapid walk.

“ He wants to exchange a word with me be«
fore I leave; he has thought of some additional
precautions, but heavens! how white he looks!
Something is up!”

Catching sight of his friend, who walked
down the platform to meet him, the banker
broke into a run, and panting with excitement,
gasped:

“ Have you heard the news?”

“ No; what is it?” .

“ My nephew Dick was murdered last night!”

“ Great heavens!” exclaimed the startled de-
tective, catching the arm of his friend, and
walking toward the box, where it rested on a
truck, under the eye of the watchful undertaker;
“ tell me aboutiit.”

“ As nearly as I can find out, Dick went to
bed at the hotel about eleven o’clock last ni ht.
He did not rise asearly as was expected, ut
nothing was thought of it until near noon, when
repeated knocking by the chambermaid, having
failed to bring any reply, the landlord was cal -
ed and forced the door. There lay poor Dick on
the bed, with his clothing on, and a knife thrust
in his side. His body was cold and he must have
been dead for hours. Isn’t it frightful?” ‘

The banker was so overcome that he sat down
on the truck beside the pine box, while the. un-
dertaker, asif not wishing to listen to a, cen-
versation not intended for him, moved several

ces away. But the couple were too intensely
interested to pay any attention to him,

“ It is shooking indeed: it is like the Mafia of
the Italians; they do not hesitate to strike
wherever or whenever they choose.” ‘ s

“The police are atrthe hotel, and the coroner
has taken charge. Felix, you mustn’t take this
train.” ' i
“ Why not?” 2

“ I want you to go back to the hotel with me,
and help trace these murderers; our blundering
oflicers will accom lkh nothing; if any one can
succeed, it is you. i _ ' I , _

“But what about tins?” he asked indicating
the box. , ,

“ I don’t know: what shall we do?"

“ Since it is here, I‘advise that it go forward;
I can follow on the three o’clock train."

“Do you think everything is right?” asked
tag, sorely perplexed banker; “are they with
i
' “ They are; I saw the casket placed under the
shoulders, where it will not attract the eye of
any Xenon.” ' -

“ nd nobody knows anything about it?”

“ I can guarantee that.”

“Very well; let them go; they are not to be
compared with the lives of poor Dick and Jo,
who have gold a dear price for their love for
Muriel. ‘ ere comes the train," added‘ the
banker, as the whistle, a short way down the
road. struck their ear. - "'

“There is no need of our waiting; if I am to
follow on the next train, every moment is
precious and M17. Jones will attend to matters;
We be off.” , '

Without tarrying to speak to the undertaker,
the two stepped off the, latform, and walked
hurriedly p the street. ’ be banker had rested
long enough to recover breath, and he was al-
most on a run again, utteringexclamations of
horror, distress, and wonder, and expressing
vain regrets that his ne hows had ever been un-
fortunate enough td fln ‘ the acenrsed stones in
the mines ofiflouth Africa.

a Detective Skidmore made no answer, except
new and then to givs a guttural assent, to show
that he heard what his neighbor said but be was
thinking with might and main, over-ins strange
tragedy that had taken place, as = may be said,
under his very nose. '

 

Such an occurrenco naturally turned Blufl'ton
topsy turvy. Evidence of excitement was vis-
ible everywhere and, along the street, though
less than an hour had passed since the discovery
of the crime, a crowd of several hundred were
swarming around the hotel, all striving to push
their way in, and swayed by that inorbid curi-
osity that takes possession of the average man
and woman at such times. But half a dozen
policemen were on hand, and with their stout
Clubs, kept the swarm back, sum-ring no one to,
enter except for good cause. The house had
been closed and the landlord was thankful for
the rotection of the oflicers, which prevented
his p ace being literally overrun.

When the white-faced banker appeared, a
sturdy policeman made way for him, and nodded
toSkidmorc, who kept close at his heels. - He
knew the detective, and said in a low voice as he
passed: i. ' -

“ Here’s a job for you, Skid.” ‘ ' ,

The latter made no reply, but helped his
friend through the doorway, hull 'and upstairs,
where only, by continued exertion, and the aid
of the otlicers stationed there, were they able to
get inside and obtain a view of the body, of
which the coroner had taken charge.

The preliminary investigation brought out the
following facts: . - .

Richard Hyler occupied a room on the second

floor, at the rear, of the principal hotel in Blad-

ton. It was plainly furnished, after the style of
an ordinary inn, and was one of the best in the
house. The man had evidently thrown himself
on.the bed awhile, before retiring for the night.
Undoubtedly he had fallen asleep and while in
that condition had been stabbed to death. The
reason for this generally accepted theory was“
that there were no evidences of any struggle as
would have been the case, had he been attacked
ever so stealthily, while awake; ‘

The weapon with which the crime had been
committed was missing, taken away of course
by the assassin, and, so far, as would be ascer-
tained during the hasty examination, he had
left not the slightest clue that could point to his
identity. '

The ’open window, however, connecting with
a. sloping roof. over the kitchen, disclosed the
means by which he had entered, and left the
room. Slight abrasions on the sill and the
shingles, established this fact beyoad a doubt.
From the burst ed 0 of the root to the ground,
was barely eight set, and, directly below, was
abrick pavement, on which the assassin had
lan thus excluding what mi ht have been
vain: is evidence had he aligh upon the soft
cart .

When these facts had come to light, Detective
Skidmore managed to exchange a few words
with the landlord.

“Had you any strangers in the house last
night?” ‘ - . .

The man showed by his look that he did not.
fully com rehend the question. ‘ 

“ Only im and the one that come in the win-
dow ” he said. ‘ - ' ., ‘

“ I mean to ask whether you have had during",
the past day or two, any guests thatwere un-y
known to you rsonally.” . . ' - i‘

“ No, sir; I ave three r four, who stay with
me regularly. but all of ham. belong in Bluffs
ten. the only one that has asked for a room;
for a week past, that I didn’t know, was that
poor fellow in there, Richard Eyler, as he writ.
his name on the book, and I never remember
having set eyes on him afore, though Mr. Live
ingston tells me he is hi no how and wasin,
Biuflfton years ago, but then always stayed-
with his uncle.”- ‘ i - V 

Bkidmore said nothing further, but.worked-
his way back to the bedroom to learn whether
anything additional had, come to light ,‘that
could give the. most shadowy clue to the author
of the tragedy. ' .. 

The inquiry-wasof that vague, broken nature,
so generally 11- at such timds, but the keen;
perception of he professional detective saw that
nothing of moment had bee brought to ligh
and there was no likelihoo that there would;
be.. Mr. Livingston had announced his intone
tion of taking charge of the remains as soon. i
the authorities permitted. At the some t «.1 *
he quietly made know thatvhe should ofler a' 
ward of five thousand dollars for the de - . ‘
of the assassin. or «rather assassins. for he '. '
learned enough to satisfy him that two, if, u
more persons were concerned in the crime." 1 '

Drawing the banker aside, Skidmore ad
on undertone: _ ’ .." >‘

.“ It is nearly three o'clock and I must leave.“

v.“ Don’t you think you ought to stay here?” -‘; v":

“ Nag-nothing is to be, gained by doingoo I
can’t get fairlyto work‘until thefirst“

   

  

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
    
   
  

  
 
   
  
   
  
   
    
    
  
  
  
     
   
    
     
 
    
      
    
    
   

  

.“6

- ment is over and the way cleared, so as to give

v

 

The Chicago Drummer’s Deal.

 

me elbow room. That will take several days,
and, in the mean time, 1 must go elsewhere. If
you have an thing to sayto me, telegraph th
the Lindcll, r. Louis,lor the Palmer, at Chicago.
it} dispatch to either will reach me. Good-

yo -

He pressod the hand of his friend, bidding
him keep up his courage, and hastened to the
railway station, where he arrived just in time
to board the three o’clock train.

CHAPTER VII.
AT WILD CAT CREEK.

THE train boarded by Detective Skidmore
was a special, consisting of two palace cars,
whose sole passengers, until it reached Bluff-
ton, were the president and a number of di-
rectors of the road. Skidmore was permitted
to join them, when the engine halted to take
water, because he was an old‘ friend of the res-
ident, for whom he had done some exce lent
work. In fact, it may be said that he was re-
tained by the company and was subject to
their call at any time.

When, therefore, the officer appeared at the

 

station, and was observed by the head official

of the line, he was invited to come aboard and
make one of the party. Skidmore explained
that he had missed the regular noon train, and
would be glad of the accommodation, as he
was anxious to be in St. Louis at the earliest
possible hour.

“You won’t lose any time by going witbhus,”

.remarkogi the president, as the guest a 00k

hands With him and the directors, most of whom
were known to him.

“ How is that?"

“ We have received word that the engine of
the up train broke down at Wild Cat 1
have telegraphed to them to Wait for us, though

' they might get a locomotive from Little Rock.”

Then you propose to attach these cars and
lot them have your engine," remarked Skid-
more, ‘seatin himself among his friends, as the

special mov off

* “We could readily do that. if this were a

junkcting trip. and not one for business. We
are contemplating building an expensive bridge
across Wild Cat Creek, and our folks wish to
look into it; we shall, therefore, sidovtmck this

'spscial and stay there till some time to-mor-

row. We'll let the regular have our engine,
and it ought to make up most of the lost time
before crossing the line into Missouri.”

This having been explained, Skidmore in-

formed his friends of the largely of the night

before in Bluffton. It ran t e interest of
the gentleman, who made many inqui ries of the
detective. He could tell them no more than
the reader has alrssd learned. When rsssedfor
his theory, be said e knew too litte to war-
rant such expression. At the best, itcould be;
only guesswork, and they were as competent at
that as was he. '-

But, although Felix Skidmore chatted and
laughed with the gentleman around him, and
even seemed to forget the sad trinieddya to the
extent of’relating some amusing inci nts, his
thoughts were upon that strange crime and

‘ his busy brain was never busier than in cm-

ing explanations of the incidents, which, for a
magnesium. beyond , explanation.
? t Dick Hylsr had been killed by the same
parties who had brought about his brother’s
death; in New York City. he did not doubt.
Inasmuch as he could conjure up no necessit
why the former should have been slain ata ,
he was compelled to suspect that it was done
out of more wantonness, or in revenge for the
stud defeats the dcspsradoes had received
at his hands, in their attempt to steal the dis-

mantis.

- . i

 What was unaccountable to him was that
these wretched, coming all the way from the
other side of the world, could have any connec-
on or understdnding with any of the outlaws
the Southwest that were engaged in holding up
way trains. ‘ The supposition was increds
ibis. on the taco of it, but he could not quite

distill? the belief that something of that nature

"i !~Iaikc.the fearful Mafia of New Orleans, this

i, _ inflamed m be growing so during in their

‘ that they were likely to precipitate their
ruin from that cause. 1 - .
o magenta! that the criminals had already
"Blu ., since there was no reason for

Whining, after the commission 'of the
’ > and the . departure of- the diamonds.

had been several opportunities for them
at away, but, if. as was believed, their
were‘turned. toward stealing the pmicus
they were not likelytc leave until the

 

latter were taken away. It followed, therefore,
that if such were the fact, they must have
secured passage on the noon up-train which be
or' inally meant to take. .

he fact that he had not noticed any sus-
picious rsons while at the station signified
ittle. hey might, t have come up until the
last minute, irnmedi ely after he hastened off
with the banker. They could have kept out of
sight, and, if they chose, boarded the cars, be-
fore they had come to a halt, or after they were
under way again. lt-wes the belief that one or
more of them was on that train that lay broken
down at Wild Cat Creek, which made him feel
thankful for the kindness of the president of the
read, in inviting him to make one of the select
party in his charge.

There were many features about the matter
that were wholly inexpluinable to the officer, at
least until he gained more light on the incidents
that has already taken place; but, us he re-
flected and turned them over in his mind,
something in the nature of light broke upon,

1m.

The strangest fact of all was that, starting
from South Africa, these desperate criminals
has been obliged to go to England, thenceto
Holland, and then to New York, and finally to
this insignificant town in the Southwest, in
order to gain the opportunity to steal the
diamonds, which up to date had not been
stolen.

Were there no chances in London or Amster-
dam, or at any of the points_ between? It was
easy to see why the thieves might have hesitated
to array themselvos against the skilled officers
in the large cities, when they knew that, it the
brothers were molested, they would given much
better opening in the comparatively unsettled
portions of America.

The bad slain Jo Hyler in the metropolis of
the nion, and probably learned from the
papers taken from his body that his brother
expected tomcat him, in Bluifton. Not know-
ing the route he would take thither, and not
daring to linger. they made their way to that
town and simply awaited his coming. They
may thus after a 1 how bad time to establish an
understanding with some of the outlaws that
were trying to pick up a living by robbing
railway trains. ‘

This much seemed comparatively clear to the
thoughtful detective, who, in thinking ital]
over said to himself: ,

. “ I can’t see how they are going to silenced.
but there is a' possibility of .it for,.if they sus~
post that that supposed dea body is only a
screen for the diamonds, they will be on hand
before we leave the lowlands of Arkansas.”

Then he tell to ruminating over the events of
the morning. dissociated from the tragedy at
the inn; -, v

“ I took the stones from Mr. Livingston’s safe
-tbere is no doubt of that, for I examined them
after the safe. was locked, with the empty box
inside; I placed them A in an inner pocket, on
never laid hands on the box, until I arriv t
the undertaking establishment; there I saw r.
Jones place it beneath the bust of Miss Wet-
more, and the. lid was screWed down, and then
the lid of the box secured in place.. It'did not
pass out of sight, until it was at the railway
station. ready for shipment north. Mr. Jones
stood byit, and saw it placed on board, so it
must be there at this moment, and the chances
are a thousand to one that the diamonds, Within
the, next two days, will be in the hands of Miss
Muriel Wetmore, for whom they were intended
Ely-the poor fellows that gave up their lives for

31'. ' ‘
Repeated reasoning revealed- no flow in the
lngic 0f the oficer, who was correct in behevmg
that the box, was not disturbed, after being
secured, and that it was shipped intact from the
Blufi‘ton railway station and started northward
witgogt the first attempthcing mods to tamper
wit ' I, I. . ‘ ,1 Ir . . ’

And yet what ‘woful mistakes the sharpest
men sometimes make!

Having reached this conclusion, the specula- .

time of the detective were naturally projected

forward. ' . ,

“Should the criminals. : ,spect the truth, how
are they gain . to plac 'thcir hands on the
treasurei If he attempt is made it will be be-
tween here and the Missouri line. They may he
on that .u train that has broken down ashort
way. cheat of us, but how the will manage it, I
cannot guess. Possibly they ave agreed upon
some signal or cipher message, to be sent ahead

'frcm one of the stations, b which the train will

be held 'up at somelonelyrp ace and search made
for the diamond ‘- -

1
l

 

I. I .
‘ It isn’t’liksly that willtry it, until they are

a good deal further north and in the wilder
regions of the State. Let me see—we shall.
strike them, providing no accident happen
late to night. As nearly as I can 6 ure it wil
be about Low Twelve again, as r. Living-
ston, calls it, when we shall see what we shall
see.

_While the president and his directors were
discussing business, Skidmore excused himself,
and, taking a seat‘sbnie distance away, drew
out a timetable and made Some careful calcula-
tions. The conclusion reached was that the
danger to the train, if any really existed,
would assume shape late that night in the neigh-
borhood of Panther Hollow. .

This was one of the meet 1mier sections on
the entire run of the long line of the Iron Moun-
tain Railway, with vast pine woods, stretching
for many miles in every direction. These
solitudes offered inviting refuge to outlaws,
after the commission of such a crime, where
they might bid defiance to a regiment of officers
andthdetectives in their efforts to run them to
ear Q

Amid such reflections as these, the special
began slowing up for Wild Cat Creek Station,
vtvlhere the regular train northward was awaiting
t em. .

-.——.__.

CHAPTER VIII.

ar PANTHER HOLLOW.

THE run of the special from Blufi’tcn to Wild
,Cat Creek gnVe Detective Skirlmore time to de-
cide upon his course of action, so far as he
could, with precious little actual knowledge and
much speculation u nwbich to base: the deci-
sion. Since he was he only person on the train,
who was to continue his journey beyond the
mint named, he Was confident of boarding the
regular without attracting the attention of any
individual. . . -

He accepted It as a fact that one or more of
the parties, whose trail he was following, were
in those cars, and naturally they would he on
the lookout for him. They had the advantage
of having seen him before, while, on his part, it“
he had met them, it was Without any thought of
their identity. '

The special had not yet come ‘to a full halt,
when, bidding the president and directorsgood-
evening, the detective slipped from the rear
platform and turned into the woods, which
lin the truck on both sides. It would necos~
m y take some time for the locomotive to be
switchedn‘round to the head of the cars, so that
he knew he had full opportunity to complete his
preparations. ' . ‘ I 4

The moment he was out of Sight of every one,
he whipped off his new derby and flung it away.,
He. would have been glad to preserveit, but it
wasn’t prudent. His next proceeding was to
draw a pair of false whiskers and mustache
from his ocket, which he carefully adJusted

throu h sense of feeling. Such a disguise

woul have amounted to little in the sunlight, on ,
in a well-lit room, where he was subJect to a

close scrutiny, but it was justthc thing for the
present occssmn. . , .

Th derby was replaced by a slouch hat, of a
brown color, his cost! was buttoned close about
his neck, and, with his, hands shoved into his
side pockets, he was read for business. He
paused only long enough . make certain that
each of those ketscontained a loaded Smith
& Wesson. cy Were" there,. because they
could be drawn much more quicklyf-if‘ neces-
sary than it in his hip pockets, where a usually
carried them.

Since the north-bound train had been waiting“

for a good while at this lonely station, with the
knowledge that it could not resume its journey
until the arrival of the special, many of the pas-

sengers made use of the Opportunity to stretch _'
their legs, by countering here and there, gather— '-

ing in groups, discussing unimportant matters,
landloungin aimlessly about, after the‘manner
of those w 0 find time hanging heavfly upon
their hands.

These people watched the switching back and  I
forth of the engines, with an interest that wrench: .
0, '-> 0 -*

not have been theirs at any othert
until thscXChangc was completed, and 7.3119
whistle of the new engine echoedtgihro Eh the
surrounding solitude, did they son 19 e to the
cars,' each platform being crowded With them,
hurrying back to their old seats.

Among the three men who climbed upon the - I
rear lplatl’orm‘qwas Skidinore, who followed the ‘-

coup e thrcug the door,.cnd made his way at a
leisurely gait to‘Jthe water In front. This
journe wuswhatmlghtbecalleda respecting
tour. {Without seeming to do so, a scanned
every Iacef as he passed, .and, dropping into a

:1; W

 

 

 

 

.‘P‘ '

 

 

 

\

 

     
 
     
   

 
 

  
     
   
     

- 'eyes in the-full .

. L .011 (probabl

 i would

The Chicago Drummer’s Deal.

  

7

 

 

seat in the smoker, lit a cigar, still using his
eyes to the utmost.

The result was disappointing.

“ I haven’t been ab 6 to identify either one of
them. They are probably sitting apart, and
conducting themselves like strangers as they are
so far as i am concerned. There are a score of
men who, for alight 1 can tell, are in the plot,
but I can’t point them out. The only thing to
do is to await developments.”

Sitting at ease in the smoker, he devoted him-
self to studying his fellow passengers. A count
ShOWPd that there were thirteen in the car he-
sides liiniself, three of‘whom Were negrocs. These
be dismissed from consideration. Two others
were clearly out of the question, so that eight
were left among whom he deemed it possible
that one or more of the desperadoes were to be
found, but, speculate as much as he chose (and
he could not help doing 50,) he was unable to
decide upon whom to fix suspicion, not forgetting
that the ones he had in mind were as likely to be
in some other part of the train as in the smoker.

Studying his time-table, by the dim light
overhead, the detectivo figured out the time of
their arrival at Panther Hollow. He smiled
grimly, as he muttered to himself:

“ If no delay occurs it will be jdst about mid—
night. or as Worshipfui Master Livingston would
say ‘ Low Twelve.’ It is a fitting hour for deeds
that will not bear the light of day.”

A glanoe at his watch showed that it was not
yet nine o’clock. The train was far behind its
schedule time but was not likely to make up any
of it before the.morrow. It would do well in-
deed, if it held its own until then. For many
miles, the track was winding and not in the
best condition._ Cattle were roaming abroad
night and da , In that section, and occasionally
caused the. erailment of the trains, their stu-

idity. in clinging to the track, having resulted
n several serious accidents. True, they were
likely to be asleep at night, but they always con-
stituted a factor which the engineers feared.

Skidmore had journeyed the entire length of
the Iron Mountain from St. Louis to Texarkana
often enough to become familiar with the road;
but, when the brakemen of the Pulmans are
often unable to name the stations at which they
halt, even in the daytime, it is altogether too
much to expect a passenger to tell within a few
m' es of where‘ha is at night. i'

he detective’s way of deciding. the,question

was «by» fixing the‘m’oment, when, according to
his calculations, the train ought to make its halt '

at the station which be marked on his paper.
That done, he set down the next stop at eleven,
and, if that was carried out as he predicted,he
knew within five minutes of the time when they
wo strike Panther Hollow provided all went
smoothly. ‘

Almost any man can awake at whatever time

he chooses, by, resolving before closing his eyes '
‘to do so. Sk dmore decided to visit the Land of-

I’Nod and. to remain‘there until eleven. He did

30.0 .I I ' . '
All at once, ‘while he lay doubled up in his.

seat, which belied all to himself, happened his
scion of his. senses. ZWith-
out stir he raw out hiswatch and held it so
that the lig t m the lamp overhead rell‘upon'
it: it'was precisely eleven. ‘ '
. The train was standing still. and, peering
through the window at‘his- side, he saw the
plankin and small structure which showed
they had halted at a station. The conductor,
_, with his arm thrust through his lamp, was
standing on, the platform, talking with a man
probably was the agent in charge.
I immigrant his seat, Skidmore sloucbed to
eligible arm of the car, where a brakeman

nal or-theenzineerto oahead.

quirer had in mind.’- . ’ ’ “

“ Where next do we stop?” , .,. .

“ At Panther 50110". about twenty miles
ahead; that isn’t My Station, and we halt there

“ tor‘water only.” -

. “ Thanks,” murmured the other, walking
 backto his seat, and lighting snot er cigar,
'He was tempted

since it is a rule to have on or two/on all the

, h trains over this railway), but such a '

his part would be sure to subject him
. clon.udaspite the disguise behind‘which
1:9 It, ‘fied himself. x I
., 11$ you indicate that he was

searching for

someougand that, under the circumstances, ‘
. 1 lithe common parlance of the day, give;
y him away,\r-;WA/ccordingly, he resumed his seat

l -,-'.

 

   

 

the-act ofl~~pulling the hell cord, asa sigm pie .., i . '
’ . 'But for the, flurry of the moment. caused by

W "What" insomnia uth r.
. ’The em , senamsmthegstation hat tfig tin

 'to make ,' another, ‘lour.
 .lthrougb the train, which had nole attach-
through some unexpected dimculty, ;

in the smoker and gazed absently through the
window on his right.

Precious little was there to be seen. They
seemed to be traversing the regions of eternal
shade, where, for mile after a mile, nor the first
glimpse of a human habitation was obtained.
At intervals, the fireman on the engine drew
back the door of the furnace, and shoveled coal
into the insatinte maw of the iron home. At
such times, a crimson glare'was thrown out,
on both sides of the tracks, and those who were
looking through the windows saw the column-
like pines, as they shot into view from the gloom
in front, and were quickly swallowed up in the
darkness behind.

But never once did the watcher discern so
much as the cabin of a settler. There may have
been more than one passed; but, if so, it was
when no flare from the engine lit up the world
of night, through which the train was plunging,
on its winding way to its destination, far to the
northward.

Gloom, solitude and silence were on every
hand. Those vast tracts of pine woods con-
tained bears, deer and smaller animals, and
those that Were near the tracks must have
looked up in wonder at the fiery monster as it
thundered through the dismal region.

“There could be no more fitting place for a
crime,” mused the detective, again stealtbily
consulting his watch; “ the Wonder to me is that
the average man is as good as he is, and that he
resists so many temptations to do evil.”

By and by he peeped at his time-piece again.
It was “Low Twelve,” and the train had al-
ready begun slowing up for Panther Hollow.

CHAPTER IX.
LIVELY TIMES.

DETECTIVE Summons: kept his wits about
him, for, if ever they were li. ely to be needed,
it was at' that lonely spot, in the lowlands of
Arkansas, where the northernbound train halted
for the purpose of giving the iron horse a chance
to quench his thirst. -

Instead of waiting fortbe engine to come to a
full stop, he slipped off the platform of the
smoker, while the train was moving quite brisk-
ly. This was a wise Course, for, if the criminals
were waiting at the tank, he thus gained a
chance of escaping attention. , Their first act
would be to order every passenger, not only in
his car, but in elLthe others not to thrust his
head out of the window or through a dear; such
is etiquette among those gentry. If the officer
happened to be inside, when this order was pro~
mulgeted, it will be seen that it would have em-
barrassed his actions. 

True, by leaving the car and” takin to the
woods, as may be said, he placed him 1' in per-
sonal peril, but that was to be expected, and be
had become accustomed to it. ,

The instant his test touched the ground, he
' crouched down until the entire train had passed.
'It came to a halt so tarot! that the red light on
the rear-platform was a hundred .i’eet distant.
The moon was shining, . but it; was in' such a
quarter of the sky, that the - shadow of the
(encircling woods wrapped everything in dark-

 

The moment the wheels ceased to revolve, the
‘detective, still bending over, skurried among
the dense trees on, his right, and. despite his
care, came within a hair of lesing his life.
Before he dreamed of such a thing, he was
among a gang of train-robbers.
voices, caught the dim outlines of moving men,
and distinguised the whinny of a horse, 3110'!
ing that the fleet-footai animals were within
ready reach. and that the outlaws intended to
take rapid flight as soon as their jobwas camL

Abe, knowledge that the' crisis had come. .ha
y must have been. discovered. ’As it was, some
one addressed him an inquirymhich Shame-re
did not catch, but his failing to answer caused
no surprise. because of the reason named.
Meanwhile, the engine had paused at the

= exact spot, the fireman clambered over the coal
in the tender, swung around, the dangliiigl latter, he must succumb.
{gallium snout by means of a rope, and, adjustg'll

g the nozzle in the opening at the rear one

the tender, jerked an. iron rod, and the swas
and urgle of water showed that the receptacle
was pidly filling itself. .. . ,

The engineer had let, himselfadovm from the
cab, and. with his long-necked can in one hand
and a small smoking lamp in the ther, set
out to Oil the joints of his steed. fee ing of it
here and there, to learn whether ithad become
heated, when a gruff voice sounded from the
darkness behind him: '

 

l .u.Get back into that cab  quick as youknow‘

     

He heard l

 

  
  
 
 
   
   
   
  
   
  
    
  
  
  
  
   
  
  
   
  
   
 
  
 
   
   
  
  
    
   
   
  
   
 
  
    
 
  
   
    
    
  
   
   
   
   
  
   
 
 
     
    
   
 
  
    
    
    
 
    
  
    
   
  
   
   
  
  
    
   
  
  
   
  
  
    
   
   
   
    
 
  
 
  
   
   
 
   
         
   
 

lhow, and don’t you touch a lever till you’re
: ordered to.”
l The command was accompanied by several
i execrations and threats. The engineer turned
' his head and saw three men standing within ,
garm’s length. Their faces were mas 'ed and J
each had 8. Winchester rifl‘e, one of which was
pomted at him, and almost touched his face. "
He grasped the situation on the instant. '
“All right, gentlemen,"he said. without the :
’ least tremor in his voice; “I don’t see any use
of quarreling over the matter; if any of you '
want a. seat in the cab, we’ll make room for ‘
you, though I must tell you it’s against the rules ,
of the company.”
“ Company be hanged!” growled the speaker; ‘
“ u i there with you and no fading.”
he engineer climlwd into his quarters, blow- '
ing out the small lamp in his hand and setting ,
that and the oil can where they be onged. He 1
then took his seat in his usual place on the
right, shifting the steam gauge so as to allow ‘
the. boiler to relieve itself of the sur lus in
its treasury, after which he drew open t a door ,
of the furnace. .
“ it’s best to do that, to prevent blowing us ‘
all up,” he explained to theymasked guard, “ho
sat down on the fireman’s box, with the muzzle ':
of his rifle lowered, but‘with his hand resting on 
the butt of his revolver, in his hip-pocket. {
The blowing oil’ of the steam made such a. ‘
racket that it was hard to converse, and, since I
there was no call to do so, and the ruflian on
the other side of the cab showing no disposition
to be social, the engineer lit his pipe and smoked .
in silence. 'i
The fireman was frightened half to death, by :
the appearance of the masked men. Letting so i
the snout, through which the water from the
tank was rushing in a torrent, he came tum- ._
bling over the coal, as pale as a ghost. It was ‘
fortunate that in doing this, he released the rod ~
which hech the. valve open, else the cab of the
engine would. have been quickly fltioded from x:
the overflow. . ‘ ;
He meditated a leap from the tender, and .a .
wild plunge into the woods. but a. sight to the ‘ ‘_
spectral figuresin the gloom held him motionless, .‘v
, trembling in every limb and so weak that he
l was forced to sit down on a big lump of co , .
i where he stayed while matters quick y been a) ,-
, exceedingly ivst aroundbim. "  
. The moment itwas known through the train _,
"‘ that 'a party had held it up, consternation ,
l reigned. Mingled with the scenes ofterror,-.
l were many not lacking in ludicrous featurea'
I There being no regular sleeper, most of the gas-5.,
rangers had cramped themselves Into the 
postures possible, in the efl'ort to woo slumber,,
l and because of the hour being so late, thorns-U
l jority were unconscious. , .  ‘ i »'
,1 It was a startling awakening, whenthe 
, of the car was jerked open, and thefl ureot a
‘: man appeared, holding a loaded-2' .inchester:€§

! with the order for every one to keep his may;

7 under penalty of being shot (id-hand; - 1,
l panying this warning was the pledge thatmt-l
; one would be deprived of hisproperty. This
1 party were the friends of the poor. mama
l they intended to divide the funds inthe’Expie
1 car belonging. to bloated bondholders amen
l themselves: that marsh and the passage
' might as well gotosleep again. . ._   » v
“Go to sleep again’l" As though such a tea a,
waswithin-the reach of man, woman. or child“;
when such scenes were taking place further?
front. snd‘t‘pe train was surrounded bymaske
desperadocs. ‘ u .  
.' Many of the men made desperate sflorts, 
hide their personal property where it “mi Mess;
cape the eyes of the thieves, for-they;cou » t;
 credit the declaration the :had justuhmg.
I Some shoved their watc es and, purses in
. their shoes. under the seats. ' or in bundlesdni
racks overhead. Oneteri'ifled'individualofier 
up a fervant petition, in a loud' voice, {(15 proxy
, iection against the ungodly (lesxeili-rs, amino, ,5;
l ceased when peremptorin ordered to dose 1) 
l one of the guards, who naturally, dislikedl;
,1 hear an appeal to the Power wanton-scones pl

An elderly lady begun singingai u?
weak qnavering voice. No threatens ;
their. and she was finally left alone? to |
~ ate it. Which fortunately shedidlantern:1
l lcriais arrilved. ~ (‘1 she petitions"; 

 

Ha
{'would have suffered at the 11811350ch ,
creants,whol were-not in the mood to
melt-g? any One. W“ w . 
.xpresscar ,n‘ so ,  . ‘

l the assailants. the twosdefsnders;
l and Jeptlia Msrtqupsodlly foundtbemlfilv 
involved in the most:sulphnrous 

, their lives on an American “railway :- ijr »

'
~.i
'45.,“

  
     

   

 
 

 

m, a...” -1. n~y~ hqwupm-m- . - v

The Chicago Drummer’s Deal.

 

 

  
 

The moment Martin announced to his com-
panion that the train was held up, the latter
stepped hastily to his side and peered out in the
gloom. A glance at the masked faces, as dim—
ly shown by the glare from the open furnace-
door of the engine, left no doubt of the truth of
the words. Had any such doubt been lingering
in the mind of Budd Acres, it was dispelled the
next moment, when he observed the action of
the fellows toward the engineer. This was
follwed by the sight of two others, scrambling
over the coals of the tender, in their hurry to
anticipate the action of another couple in enter-
ing the Express car. These gentry, however.
made the mistake of supposing that when the
two men inside saw how largely they Were
outnumbered, they would make haste to sur-
render, for why should they be such idiots as to
imperil their lives to save the property of
others?

“Jep, I guess we had better try the Win-
chesters first,” remarked Budd, moving to one
side and picking up his rifle.

“ I agree with you,” replied his companion,
imitating his action; “and, while we are about
it, ’that light is likely to do them more good than
118.

cpl-542::

With which he reached up and blew out the
light fastened at the side of the car. This left
the interior in black darkness, so that what
shots were fired into it must of necessity be
blind Ones. Then the two placed themselves
back to back, one facing the front and the other
the rear door.

The glare from the furnace of the engine
still illuminated the tender, and threw a reflec-
tion against the front door of the Express car.
Budd Acres had no more than fairly taken his
station, when alsombrero and the head‘and
boulders of a man were thrown in relief
against the glass, a fierce kick followed and a
vows called:

“ Open the door quick or we’ll—”

At that instant, there wasa jingle of glass,
a screech followed, and the desperado rolled off
the platform of the car as dead as Julius Caesar.

“I don’t think it’s a good plan. Jep, to hold
any other kind of argument with those fellows,”
remarked Budd Acres to his companion.

‘74:“:1 «a signal".

CHAPTER X.
LIKE WAR TIMES.

SINGULAELY' enough, the incident just do-
fiigted was dn licated at the other end of the

press car, thin the next minute.

Martin did not so much as turn his head, on
hearing the report of his comrade’s Winchester,
the crash of glass and the cry of the miscreant,
as he toppled off the platform tothe ground.
‘ He knew what it meant, and was expecting
something of the same nature himself.

There was less light to favor him, the only
illumination coming through thefrout doorof
thesucceeding car; but that was sufficient to
renal the head and shoulders of a man, who
struck the glass with his fist, and had just
opened his mouth to commend the defenders to
let him in, when hi skull was bored clean
through by a bullet, t t shattered the glass in
 't the door behind him, and narrowly missed hit-
’, 3 tian a passenger in one of the seats. .

'-‘ ,i. " That’s right!” commented Acres' “if w
1 can’t. keep them out, we can make it lively for
 awhg’le. This begins to look like war times, eh,

s ' J's

- '   little,” replied his friend. ‘ *
5-1::- nTbe decisive check at both entrances to the
' . n'Exprms car dampened the srdor of the assail-
, guts for a few- minutes. They realized that
   were confronted by two cool, brave men,
 . j, that .whatever was won must bedone by
l“ , .1 hard fighting.
:' '1' re. was
 .zs'scrambling down from the platforms, while the
33  idcsperadoes gathered at the side of the track
. .1 for consultation. fl'he limp forms were drawn
, i from beneath the wheels, and left stretched on
1- - , .i the ground beside the rails. I
in :‘The council of’war was hot. The miscreants
,1»!an there were fifty thousand dollars within
i—tboh' reach, and they meant to have it. but thev
were impatient. True, there was no teleglraph of
. » which any of the employees could avai them-
selves, and, had therebeen, they were all too
borougth cowed, from the conductor to the
brakemen, to make use of it. No train was due
wither way for hours. but there had been so
' many robberies elsewhere like this of late, that
$9 authorities were sure to take the most vigor-
»moaus to r 1: them down, and although
. ,7 m0th ‘ in the attacking party had a
. horse within a’huudred yards of the.
‘ and although he was familiar with all the

mini-e .on a swan GNU-I 9RD 0-! I  1&6”? v 1.9.3:".

   
    
  
   
   
       
    
     
 
   
  
    
   

  

a ducking of heads and hasty-

 

xx

roads, paths and fastnesses of the surrounding
country, he was anxious to get the job over as
quickly as possible.

No bullet could bore its way through any
portion of the Express car, except the Windows,
and wherever a head showed itsclf to the de-
fenders, they made it a target for their nnerring
Winchesters. The only course, as it seemed,
was to bu tter down the door and overwhelm
them, for it was quite clear that with the en
trance open, the defenders could elude any and
ovary shot fired from the outside, while able to
make their return fire of the deadliest nature.

“ Get a hammer from the tender," conunundod
the leader, referring to the heavy long-handled
implement, with which the fire-man breaks the
huge lumps of coal; “ that’ll fetch ’eml”

Nothing was clearer than that a few vigorous
b10ws from such an object would break the door
inward, as if it were so much card-paper.

“ Look out!" suddenly called one of the group,

standing on the ground, at one side of the ten-
der. .
All his companions, excepting the leader him—
self, instantly ducked their hands, and dodged
aside with ape-like agility. The leader stood his
ground, and stared around, not knowing to
what his startled companion referred.

Glancng hither and thither, be fixed his gaze
on the front door of the Express car. In the
dim reflection, he saw indistinctly something,
resembling a small stick of wood, thrust through
the broken glass. Before he could decide what
it was, a tongue of flame spouted from the end,
a sharp report rung out, and, as for the wonder-
ing leader, “ the subse uent proceedings inter-
ested him no more.” .‘hat which looked like
unto a stick of wood, was the barrel of Budd
Acres’s- Winchester, who quietly remarked, as
he drew back the weapon and sprung aside, to
avoid any return shots:

: “J eptha, I surmise I plugged him; dost thy
opinion differ from mine?" '

“ Don’t stop to talk, Budd,” replied ‘his friend
reprovingly. ‘

“ If the court knows herself, and she thinks
she do, I am .not stopping, my dear boy; but if
my conversation is not agreeable to thy ears, I
will suspend it until the spirit moves me again.”

It looked for a moment, as if the fall of the
leader would precipitate a panic among the as-
sailants. No one had dreamed of such a recep-
tion as this. It was different from the manner
in which thegnwere usually treated and like a
general who do his plan of. battle disarranged,

t was necessary to form new combinations, be-
fore pushing matters toa conclusion.

The two men that had climbed upon the ten-
der, hung fast to the big hammer, but quickly
leaped to the ground, steeping and stealing
along, so as to interpose the main body of the
tender between themselves and that appalling
marksman, that never pulled trigger without
hitting something. They gathered with several
others at the side of the Express car, where
they were out of range, and considered the im-
portant question as to what next should be done.

Meanwhile, the guard on the engine quickly
found his situation anything 'but comfortable.
He stood aghast at the way things were going.
Then he uttered several cxecratious, and, stand-
ing in the cab, stared at the front door of the
Express car, wondering what was, coming next.
The engineer grimly smoked his pipe, and man-
aged to restrain his yearning to flip: his cap in
air and hurrah for Budd Acres and Jep Martin.

As if from the hollow of some underground
cavern, a voice sounded from the Express car:

“Jack, sit back a little further on your seat,
so i, can plug that gentleman standing near

ou. '

The terrified gentleman referred toflung him-
self like a flash behind the engineer, dropping
his gun and griping him like a drowning man.

“Don’t you stir/l” he commanded hoarsely.

“ I Won’t if ou’ll let me alone,” replied the
engineer, who, ad there been the least hope,
would have made as gallant a fight as his friends
just beyond the tender.

Budd Acres’s laugh sounded loud and clear,
for the engine had stopped “ b10wing off,” and a
peculiar hush had fallen over the remarkable
scene. , ' .

“ Can’t you sling him off of you, Jack, scan to
give me a chance? It’s getting dull in here.”

And then the ellow was heard to sneeze from
the smoke. can by the several discharges of
their weapoas. ,

Jack saw that he was in greater danger than
the desperado, who was panic-stricken.

“ He won’t shoot,” said the engineer, “ solong
as you keep, out of his range, but don’t give him
a chance.”

 

I Now,.it is no reflection on the bravery of the

assailants to say that they hesitated to ress
their attack on the Express car; for the do end-
ers possessed an immeasurable advantage over
them. They were armed to the highest point,
with repeating Winchcstors and revolvers; they
were cool, skillful and ooulniandcd the situation.
They were never in plain view, so that every
shot fired at them (and there were plenty), was
fired by guess, and it was impossible to reach or
overcome them without the certainty that still
others must first fall.

Suppose the doors Were smashed in simul-
taneously, and a rush “as made by the entire
party. he defenders were still in the impene-
trable darkness, their prcsmce being revealed
only by the fitful flashes of their Weapons, and,
like the Comanches of the plains, they were
wise enough to dart aside the instant after each
discharge. With their repeating Winchesters,
the two men would open fire upon the incoming
swarm like a couple of mitrailleuses, and, to use
an expression which does not do justice to the
situation, matters would become lively.

Standing, therefore, beside the track and in
such position that neither of the defenders could
harm them, the councxl of war became hotter
than ever.

“What can we do?” asked one in a furious
undertone.

“ Run the car off the track and keep it in
the woods till we starve them out,” was the
wild reply of another.

“Yes.” was the sarcastic comment .of the

feIIOW that had given the warning which saved .

all but their leader; “that would take about a
week, and I don’t suppose anybody would inter-
fere with us during that time.”

“ How long before another train is due?”

“ Not before daylight.”

“ Between n0w and then we can do a great
deal; I have itl we’ll build a fire under their
car.’ '

The strange proposition took on the instant.

“That’s it! that’s itl we’ll burn ’em out; then
riddle ’eml” .

“Be quick about it,” added the fellow who
seemed to have stepped into the shoes of the
leader; “ we’ve lost too much time already.”

Hither and thither, the dark figures began
running, taking good care to keep out of range
of the front and rear doors of the Express car.
There was a small supply of wood on the engine,
used for kindling purposes, while the forest at
the sides of the tracks yielded any quantity of
resinous pine that was the very thin for their
purpose. With a half dozen sku ng to and

fro, the supply of kindling wood! grew rapidly '

until it locked as if half a cord was collected
underneath the Express car.

All this required but the contact of a single
ignited match, to communicate with the heavy
structure which would soon become a blazing
furnace. The successor of the fallen leader
now crept under the car, for the purpose of ap-
plying the .lucifer which he held in his hand.

—‘"— v
CHAPTER XI. ’ '
‘ l A FAILURE.
Tin pile of wood and resinous pine under the
Express car almost touched the floor. A lighted
match would set this crackling and roaring,

and, in the open air, it was sure quickly to com- '

municate with the structure and reduce it to

ashes.

'The assailants draw back, not forgetting to
avoid all danger from the and doors of the car,
and’ watching their new leader, as be carefull
crept between the trucks and prepared to tone
ad the funeral ile. ' '

Meanwhile, udd Acres and J on Martin with-
in the car, were not long in comprehending what
was going on. .

“It will soon be warm hero,” remarked the
former, “ and we’ll have to make a fight of it on
the open ground." "

“ I don’t propose to
death,” said J ep, “ when we can do something.”

“We can pick off that fellow on the engine,
and when he drops, Jack can start ahead with
the train.”

“ But it will take him so long to get under
Bray.” that they will clamher up again and shoot

1m

“ And we can stand here and let fly at them as
they come in range.”

“ Suppose they finish J ack?”

“ There’s Tom left,” referrinx to the fireman.

“ He’s half dead now from fright; you can't
depend on him"

“Well.
way, and after we are fairly started, one of us
can climb over the tender and take charge.”

“ It’s a desperate hope, J'sp; I don’t think

Jack will pull the throttle open any n

.

 

0

stay and be roasted t6, '

  



V i  glanc

The Chicago Drummer’s Deal. ’

9,.

 

there’s one chance in a hundred of its succeed-

mg.”

“ Itls better than staying in here and burning
to death.” .

“ You’re ri ht, and We’ll try it.”
hBut the we] -nigh hopeless recourse was saved
t em.

The man under the Express car had reached
his position and spent a minute or two in adjust-
ing the fuel to suit him, before striking the
match. It did not take him long to do this,
when be extended one arm and drew the phos-
phorus along the rough edge of the rail. It in-
stantly broke into flame, but a nil' of wind
blew it out before he could apply it to the pitch-
pine.

Every one of the assailants, however, carried
matches, and there were plenty at command.
He struck a second one, and shaded it with his
curving hands, until the twist of flame should
become strong enough to withstand the light
breeze that was blowing.

Holding the tire comparatively close to his
face, the_ reflector showed his mask, the lower
part of his shaggy beard, and a part of the rim
of his sombrero.

He was in the act of reaching the little blaze
downward, still protecting it with his hands,
when he toppled forWard from the same cause
that had slam the leader. His lifeless body,
falling on the match, instantly extinguished it.

The amazing thing about the occurrence was
that the shot was fired by another person than
either of those that had done all the shooting in
the way of defense, up to this time. It came
from the darkness of the wood on the right, the
bullet almost grazmg the heads of two of the
ruflians who were breathlessly watching the
startingof the conflagration.

Who tired it? .w

Before any one of the astounded desperadoe
could think of an answer to the question, a voice
shoufied frgmthe wood:

, “ uu, oys, nick or ever one of our
horses will he stdieni’" y y

The wildest panic instantly followed. No
herd of cattle among which a pack of ravening
wolvos have dashed, was ever more hopelessly
stampeded than were the train-robbers. They
broke for the woods, as if a sheriff with a posse
of a hundred men were at their heels, and
tumbled andVBcrambled and,fought in their
fierce efforts to reach the spot where they had
left their animals. ‘

It was not so much the danger of losing the
principal means of escape, as it was that of losing
thein blooded steeds. The only capital crime, in
many sections of the Southfivest, is horse-steal-
ing. Many a man values, his horse more than
human life; and, lbd that party been given the
choice between capturing the treasure in the
safe of the Express car and parting with their
steeds. they would not have paused a moment,iu
their unreasoning mood, to secure the money.

Hardly had the furious rush been precipi-
tated, when from the darkness of the pine
forest 9. man rushed forth, and madeasif to
leap upon the engine; but checking himself, he
called upto the wondering engineer. .

“ Don t loses. minute! You’ve got the chance
now to get away, for they‘ll be bpck, when
may learn the trick played on them.”

, ' he engineer caught on at once. The man
was a stranger to him but his words were‘un-
mistakenly wise. The reversing rod was sli
vped far over, and the throttle lever sharpy
twitched. The engine responded with a heavy
puff, and the jar of the sudden start went
= through the entire train, as it began moving
slowly forward. The white sand was pouring
down oaths rails, in front of the drivers, in
tlviv: streamsaud the pouderous wheels did not
8 . v .
Faster and faster cause the, labored pufls, and
the speed rapidly rose, the veteran controlling
the throttle With consummate skill and cool-
ness. The fireman, rallying from his panic,
hastil shoveled 1n the coal and banged the fur-
nace cor shut, taking care, while doing so, to
‘b n l so low, that the tender intervened between
him and any rifle-shot that might be sent after.
; the en ine. ,
’. Sud en! , above the rumble of the tram,
\sounded t 9 reports of guns, and the glass at
the side of the engineer was shattered. Several
dark forms bounded from the wood, and the
flashes of their guns showed that all danger was
. not yet past. Had their position been at the
(Bushmassuredly they would have tumbled Jack
from his seat, but they Were at the rear and
though the track was curving, most of the bul-
' ' lets buried themselv in the woodwork or
03. the iron of he engine.

_ The latter Was'bending fiercely to itswork,

 

 

but its speed as yet was no faster than a moder-
ate troc. A number of the desperadoes that had
dashed out of the forest, started on a run after
the cars and gained fast.

"‘It takes a train a considerable time to acquire
headway, even when drawn by the most power-
ful of locomotives and ere this one rose to half
its regular speed the pursuers could reach the
rear platform.

But Budd Acres and Jeptha Martin had
emerged from the Express car and standing
on the platform, were leaning dangerously far
out, Winchesters at their shoulders, and peering
backward into the night. The men were dimly
discernible in the faint moonlight, as they ran
along the side of the track, converging between
the rails.

The next instant, their rifles flashed again and
again. They were pointed toward the outlaws,
who quickly learned the fact; and, though none
of their number was struck, for it was im-
possible, under the circumstances. to Secure any
kind of aim, they saw what would be the result,
if they boarded the train: a fierce tight with the
same 1110);! that had already made frightful
havoc in their ranks. The assailants had vainly
tried toforce the defenders to come from the
Express car, and now they had done so of their
own accord.

The pursuers paused when they discovered
that they were again the targets of those ter-
rible rifles.

That halt, brief as it was, settled the busi-
ness, for Jack Carter was improving every
second of the time. The speed of the train be-
came such that had the men resumed their pur-
suit, it was to late: they would have been
hopelessly lef t behind. ’

“ I guess there’s nothing more for us to do,”
remarked Budd Acres, turning about and re-
entering the car, whither he was followed by
his companion. \

The interior was in darkness, but did not long
remain so. Martin struck a match, remOVed
the chimney of the lamp at the side, carefully
lit it and replaced the chimney.

The interior was now fully Illuminated, and,
after setting their Winchesters in the corner, the
twoltook a survey of things

The glass in the doors had been shattered to‘

fragments, which lay on the floor and on the
latforrns outside. are an there, little holes
the sides and roof shows where the bullets
had buried themSelves, instead of reaching the
targets for which they were meant. Two had
struck the ins box, inclosing the coflin con-
taining the ummy, and appearances indicated
that Several had passad much higher the defen-
ders than they suspected at the time.

But no real harm was done. Budd and Jep had
not received a scratch, and it has already been
shown what they performed among the assail-
ants, The train, fora wonder, had run the gant-
let safely, and, as it wound its way northward,
it left these bodies stretched on the cold earth,
with their stark faces staring upward at the
stars. ’

It is rare that such an outcome follows the
holding up of a railway train, but so it was in

' this instanca.

“ Je ,” said Bud Acres, looking grimly
aroun the small compartment, “ do you know

‘ what I suspect?“
H Y )7

“ That this hold-up was a failure.”

CHAPTER XII.
PUSHING nonrnwnnn.‘

WHEN Detective Skidmore dodged into the
the woods, after dropping from the train, and
almost running against several of the robbers,
he was in quest of knowledge-rather than ad-
.venture, but, its-often happens in the affairs
,of on is life the result was anything but what he
nnticipa_ . ‘ 

Before one could fairly collect his faculties,
the battle was on and matters were as lively as
the could well be. The assailants gave their
exc usive attention to the work before them, and
naturally held no thought or suspicion of any
attack from the rear.

The officer would have been only too glad to
lend a hand to the defenders, but he was dis-
creet. A shot from his revolver would draw in-
stant attention to himself and was not likely to
do his friends an good. He must wait.

He was thrills by the defense of the Express
car.
shot after shot'came from the front and rear,
and the criminals were beaten back and baffled
at every point, he longed to fling his bat in air
and cheer the men, but he did not. ‘

At the moment. however, when he was confl-

 

dent of the triumph of Budd and J'ep,‘ the pro. 4

He'had never seen anything finer, and, a8".

 

‘

   
   
  
   
  
   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
   
  
  
  
 
  
 
    
   
  
  
   
  
   
  
  
 
   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
  
  
  
   
  
  
     
 
  
     
  
       
     
   
   
    
   
   
  
    
   

parations were made for setting fire to the car
and burning them out. This was something he
had not thought of, and its seriousvnature im-
pressed him at once. 1

He saw that the men were so caged that they :
could not help themselves,’and the passengers ,
and employees were so panic-stricken, that not
one of them could be induced to raise a hand in
aid of the imperiled heroes.

“ I guess I’ll have to do something,” was his
conclusion; “I can’t stand idly by while that
goes on.” ,

Advancing to the edce of the wood, where he
stood close to the track, he waited, revolver in
hand. He saw the leader, as he crawled be-
tween the trucks of the Express car, and was in
the act of leveling his was ,on, when the first
match was extinguished. The second speedilyY ,
flashed out and gave him the chance he wants . .
He sighted as carefully as he could in the gloom
and the rest has been told.

To insure success, the daring scheme must be
instantly followed up. He did so by calling out
that the horses of the rufiinns were in danger,
and then appealed to the engineer to pull out as
quickly as he could.

Before the passengers could comprehend what
was going on, Skidmore had climbed up the , '
steps of the smoker, but he kept his place on the
platform, until the flurry was over.

While standing here, he whipped off his false
beard and shoved it into his pocket. Then, see-_
ing that aJl danger was over, he walked through
the smoker to the Express car, where the con-
ductor and most of the employees had gathered
to discuss the startling occurrences.

When the detective knocked, the faces of those
inside Were turned inquiringly toward him, as
he stood plainly revealed, through the opening
left by the destroyed glass.

“ Who are you?” asked Budd Acres, advanc-
ing and pausing with his hand on the knob. .

“The man that shot that fellow under the 
Express car and called the engineer to go
ahead before theyreturned.”

“ You don’t say so!” exclaimed Budderaw-
ing the door wide open and grasping his hand;
“ come right in and stay a week.” , 1

The detective accepted the invitation, and,
as he shook hands with eachin turn, gave his
right name, fer there was no call for him to
mislead them as to his identity. ' , ;;

He did not say much, however,‘nbout him- 5
self, further than to make known by what
means he came to be in the rear of the at» f
tacking.- party and how he stampeded them. _
He was warmly thanked by all, but he insist- 53
ed that what he did was nothing, compared to‘ _
the defense of the expressmen, who had beaten 
of! a party, numbering at least a dozen, and all - ‘5.
of the most desperate character. The truth i
was, Skidmore was so stirred with admiration _‘ f
for the fellows that he meant to know more of v 
them. He, therefore, waited until the rest had, .
left, when he sat down on one of the trunks, 
passed a cigar to each, and made himself at '

ome.

There is a congenialit between brave, honest 
men like these three, an they are quick to read - '~,
each other’s character andfullyto res mi in. i
the way of mutual trust. As they ta ed and i
even indulged in jest, the detective put the quote “a
tion that had been in his mind from the first; ' g 'f,

“ Have you any “ensure in the car that could 
haver’tempted those fellows to ,make this at»
tack '

Ii
“ In there,” replied Budd": Acres, “is fiftv-‘v‘,
thousand dollars, which of course they knew all "I,
about. They have friends everywhere, it seems h.
to me, who let them know when we have any- 
thing like that in our charge.” , : a

“ You are aware of nothing more?” . , V 1-:

“ They might have found something in those?
trunks, but .-I don’t think it would have :
amounted to much. _I wonder that they didn’t.
go through the passengers.” ' r ,

“ You gave them little chance,” remarked the t
getgctive, with a smile, addressing his words. to ;}

0t 0 r . ' . w

“They had guards at the doors of the care
said Martin. and they could have done it wit, 6
out trouble.”

“But the plunder in the safe was ten tim
more than they could have gained .by deepening
the passengers. They have been taughta esaon,
bewevcr, which they wfll remember for a long
time. . l ' g

“ And so have we,”rlaughed Budd; “ when we ‘
get into St. Louis I‘m going to ask the company, J
to make our car fire-proof: than we shall, av
things as we want them. We would have been ,
in a bgd fix but for that shot ofryours, . Ski

more. , . ._
f‘ Well, I did happen to work it in at 

    

  

 
 

“IL drlhb-lhl ll

‘H~_

.“4ua-au.-34.4

.4 A 4‘50‘-

‘ time.

'10

 

a
u-d‘fl" -w...“

y - ‘\'l‘l .-:~.- or

. The Chicago Drummer’s Deal.

 

 

The match in the fellow’s hand gave llle
the chance I wanted, though a couple of the
others stood so near that I think 1 nipped one of
their ears.” -

“ I can’t understand,” continued Budd, “ how
it is that the boys when caught like we were,
throw up their hands at t..e first call. They
ought to he on the lookout and never taken otl?
their guard.”

" I don’t wonder that the unexpected appear-
ance of a lot of men in masks with W inchesters
and pistols, eager for a chance to shoot, frighten
people out of their wits. You have heard of
that case down in New Mexico, where six train
robbers compelled nine United soldiers to give
up their arms.”

“Yes,” replied Budd, with a sniff of disgust;
“ there’s only one thing that was lacking."

“ What was that?” ‘

“ They ought to have set those soldiers up
against the trees and riddled every one of them
for their cowardice. I don’t understand why
they didn’t.”

Conversation continued without anything be
ing said of special moment for fully an hour, at
the end of which time the train came to a halt
at one of the more important stations. There,
the conductor, brakemon, employees . and a
number of passengers (gathered near the engine
and Express car and talked ovor the incidents
and compared notes The conductor sent a long
dis tch to the oficers oi the campan‘y, de-
tai mg what had taken place, and did the same
to the sheriff o." the county that was the scene
of the outrage.

In each of these accounts, full justice was
done to the brave 03 Acres and Martin, to
which was unricnia ly due the saving of the
large treasure in the safe. \

Detective Skidmorc gave no hint of his inten-
tion, but it is appropriate to anticipate events
so far as one result is concerned. He impressed
upon the officials the exceptionally praiseworthy
conduct of th» couple, with the result that they
were not only handsomely complimented, but
each received" a reward of one thousand dollars
forrléigs behavitolili l'lghlus itti t(gs.gmeui‘idb0151.11: the]:o the
the con 1: iteco e p?! me
of BudacfAcrcs, was paid off within the follow-
ing three weelzspinstead. of waiting the three
years that he had counted upo .

The hour had grown so a , that, after the
train had started again, the detective returned
to his seat in the smoker, where adjusting his
muscular figure as best be con] , he soon sunk
into slumber, which was not disturbed, until
the sun was shining and they had halted at a

" a station for breakfast.

‘ ,, feet of the safe?

 

Bat

imp:

There remained many features about the busi-
ness which puzzled him exceedingly. He could

’ not make himself believe that the party that

had held up the train .knew of the diamonds

 within the pine box; they evidently learned of

the money which was their sole object in bring.
loathe tram to a halt in the lonely section. ..
us, the precious stones possessed double the
value of the bank-bills, but in what way could
they have learned of their presence within a few

There was every reason to believe that their

l, v. shipment was known to no one besides Banker
, ,‘Ifivingston, Datectichkidmore and Undertaker
:" , ones.
 confederate taken passage on the same train,

Had: others found it out, and, had a‘

he had plenty of chances to telegraph ahead to
some
lthls implied a lab rinth of connection
between the men from Af co and the rufflaus of
Arkansas that was belief. '

- Be that as it may, the oficer felt that he stood

f‘ only on the threshold of a great mystery, whose
: .- isolation threatened
‘ f 5  skill. I

to heme his every effort.

“—

CHAPTER XIII.

 I is rr a mambo out?!

:  0! teaching 8t. ‘Louls, Detective. Skidmorc
,~ ‘v.,would not start for. Chicago for about an hour.
iii-Housed the time to drive to the Lindcll Hotel,
 where he thought a dispatch from Mr. Living-
jfuon might be awaiting him.

that the pine box and its contents

He knew that by this time the bankcr‘had

V'lsorncd of the holding up of' the railway train, :

ndof course he was anxious, inasmuch as the
Glaser was the Only one that could give him th».
information he wanted. ' '

uSurc enough. a telegram was handed him on
the once of thc.famous hostelry, and

dim from the-gentch whom he had in»
mind.

,_ f It stated that he was much disturbed
 what‘bc'had ‘ heard,a'nd begged the dated!
   blmthe facts without delay, 1

int, where the fact cauld be revealed. .

  

 

“Strange that he says nothing about the
death or his nephew," thought the recipient, as
he tOOK up the pen to indite a roply; “l sup~
pose that nothing additional has been learnsd
and probably will not be for some time yet.”

Thus ran the telegram, which was handed to
the banker shortly after, in his office in far
away Bluffton:

“ Everything all right: box WHS not disturbed;
leave for Chicago shortly; telegraph me there
what news you have about the death of your
nephew."

This being Sent, the officer re-cntered the cab
and reached the station with plenty of time to
spare.

He was justified in felicitating himself over
the success that that had attended the venture
thus far. Not only had the criminals of the
Arkansas lowlands been beaten off, with Severe
loss, but it had fallen to his lot to give impor-
tant aid in repelling the assailants.

“ There is no reason to fear anything further,”
be mused, while waiting in the station with his
senses alert; “some of those fellows are won-
derfully clever, but the line must be drawn

somewhere; a man can’t learn and know every- '

thing; we took too many precautions in ship-
ping the diamonds for any one to discover the
scheme. And it was all useless, too,” he added;
“ for I cloatld qust as havdc cnrgieddthem 
my poo 'c as pro an no an wou
have been laid on me. l3ut then I wouldn’t
have dropped from the train at Panther Hol-
low, and harm might have come to the two Ex-
pressmen, so it isn’t well to quarrel with fate.”
It occurred to him, while waiting, that if
any one was on his trail, he would be there at
that very time.’ A cautious scrutiny of the
other passengers led him to fix upon three, who
looked as if they might be of that kind. He
studied them for several minutes, with the re-
sult of acquitting two, but the third, he be-

,lieved was the man, provided there was any

such present who was holding him under sur-
veillance, which he very much doubted.

This individual was of medium height, with
full, sandy whiskers, was Well’dressed, with a
silk hat, worn low on theforeheud and ap-
peared to be absorbed in reading a newspaper.

What first gave Skidniore athrill of suspi-
cion, was when he glanced quickly toward him,
and perceived that the man was watching him,
though he flashed his eyes upon the paper with
such suddenncss that- one might doubt whether
he was not mistaken. ,

The detective now fixed his gaze upon a
window just opposite, on which the lightgstruck
at such an angle that he Could seethe face of the
stranger. It was not a mirror, be it understood,
but tiers wasapeculiar reflection often seen,
which Servod him quite well. Had be shifted
his sition a few inches in either direction, he
won d haveli-rt the effect. At the same time,
he knew the other could not use the same

f .

means. ,

With this advantage, Skidmore was not long
in ending that when he was looking away from
the man the latter was engaged in icarefully
studying him. ‘ . l

“That’s odd,” be reflected; “he feels some-
thing more than a passing interest in me.”

But the most disturbing thought that came to
the officer was that this was not the first time
the two‘barl met. There was something familiar
ih these half- concealci features. He had an ex-
cellent memory of faces, and was impatient with
himself that he could not recall the time and
place of their previous meeting; He rocked his

rain, but it we uselesa, and 3 finally took re-
fuge in the“ natural belief that the resemblance
was one of those accidental ones that we are
liable to come upon at any time.

As quick as thought, he turned his head and

looked at the man. He instantly dropped his
eyes to the paper, held in both, hands, and rest-
ing on his lap. but, abrupt as was the slight act,
he must have known that it did not escape the
individual who thus turned toward him.
: Skidmore’s impulse was to walk oyer to him,
take a seat by hi side, and, despite the dis-
courtesy of the Ming, subject him to'a
close» scrutiny, at would have settled the
question. , v ; ,

But this writ! have been absurdly unpro-
fessional and . holly unworthy of an amateur at
359 business His true course was not to loathe
other see that he himself had become an object

, 0. interest to one of the men seated a short dis-

tance awayJIn fact. Skidmorc had been ex-

tremely careful, despite the one or two glances
that had been exchanged.

What he learned
was by the roundabout means described, and be
subjected several other people to the same direct

 

   
 

 

scrutiny, with the purpose of deceiving any sus-
picion in the mind of the stranger.

Allowing; his gaze to stray to the window
again, he saw that, though the other held his
paper closer to his face than before, be u as peer-
ing over the top of it and at llllll. At this in-
teresting point a lady sreppeil between the detec-
tive and the window that was serving him so
Well, and observation by that means was shut
off for the time.

Before it was restored, Skidniore rose and
sauntered to the outside, not looking dirvctly io-
ward the man, though he kept him in his field
of vision. The detective was in a suspicious
mood.

He recalled that the Hyler brothers had been
followed for thousands of miles, across ocean and
land, and both had fallen victims to the merciless
greed of those who coveted the treasure in their
poacession, The fact that one of the crimes was
dens in the metropolis of the country, and the
other in the town where he made his own home
was startling and showed a defiance of public
sentiment and law that stirred him with anger
and made him long to take up the task of run-
ning down the assassins.

“ I’ll do it, tool” he added, with a flash of his
eyes, “and they will receive no more mercy
from me than they have shown to the innocent.
Ere long, I shall deliver the casket into the
hands of Miss Wetmore, and then be free to turn
about and make all haste back to ‘Blufftmi,
where I’ll stir up things. Well, I’ll be hanged l”

The stranger that had caught his eye a few
minutes before, was lounging a short. distance
off, paper in hand, and apparently interested in
a dispute between a cabman and a passenger,

whom he had just brought tothe station and '

who believed the charge was too high.

The man might have drifted out of doors, the
same as the rest. _w1th no o‘n'ect in mind other
than that of ,w'hiling away t me, until he could
board the tram. Skidmore did not catch his
eye, but, for all that, he was certain that he had
come forth to watch him. '

Nothing in the manner of the detective reveal-
ed his feelings. He had a ticket entitling him to
a seat in one of the palace cars, and he sat down
like the professional traveler, who feels bored
over the prospect of a considerable journey be-
fore him. . .

As he did so, helglanced out at the people mov-
ing about the station. The man he had in mind
suddenl passed the Window and gave the best
view 0 his features that Skidmore had yet ob-
tained. The latterbroke into a .ulet laugh.

“ He bears a sing I: resemblance to Undertaker
J ones; it was that hich bothered me.”

And yet, somehow or othe , this conclusion '

failed to bring assuring peace

the mind of the
detective. -

7

CHAPTER XIV.
'a snarmsn.

No more unwelcome present can be sent to a
family than a large outer case such as contained
the casket of diamonds, which Detective Skid—
morc had set out to convey from Bluffton to the
city of Chicago, EVen thou h a telegram could
have bmreadélyhsent labs? ,- givéng necgssag
partiou , e can on ii an ‘car on
of a coma, a: the residence 0% the widgv Mrs.
Wet-more, would have occasioned renark and
looked: altogether too gruesome. Her brother—‘

 

in-law, therefore, avoided all this by having .

Jarvis Jones ship it to a well known firm of un-
dertaken in the Lake City. No message was

sent ahead, for the arrangement was that Skid- ,'

more should arrive at the establishment with the

aofidgnmcnt and make known all that need be

The detective saw personally to the shipment
of the box from‘the railway station, sat on the
seat beside the driver all the way, and 'stoodhy
while it was . carried into the. receivingjroom.
There he met one of the firm and explained the
case, so ing that he and Mr. lemgcton had.
taken is singular course, in order to secure
the safe delivery of a valuable package that was
within. The gentleman smiled and declined to

receive the money oflered, remindng him that,

they had been subjected to no expense, and the"
material which it was
them was of itself full compensation. At the
same time, he assured his caller that they had no

objection to receiving similar consignmentson:

m“,.

theaame terns. » I 2
Thus far all well. The detective stood

while the two inclocures were unscrewed.

gndertakgagrcedto dcbia best torestore'the
net to

 

   

r .
‘ .

to turn over to ,

ofifinal condition,and thought he " _’
I en through, itwould bemship- » -. l

\

clx

 

       

‘
‘4‘

 

 

A ' Spaniard.”

‘The Chicago Drummer’s IJeal.

., v-
: .ym. v.) _ 1

 

 

 

pad to Mr. Livingston, at Bluifton, with a bill of
expense.

‘he detective confessed to some misgiving,
while insinuating his hands among the fleecy
garments underneath the shoulders of the
marble; but all fears quickly vanished, when
he touched the well-remembered casket, the
key of which was in his vest pocket. Not wish-
ing to open it in the presence of others, he re-
marked that everything was right, and care-
fully pushed it down within his inner pocket,
over which he buttoned his coat. Then he bade
the gentleman good—day and passed out on the
street. I

“At last,” he murmured: “ the diamonds
have come through considerable danger, but, if
those fellows had succeeded in forcing the Ex-
press car, the gems would have been as safe as
they are this minute_in my possession, for who
except resurrectionists would disturb a dead
body?" .

The afternoon of a bright sunshin day in
autumn was well along, as he walke- briskly
toward the Palmer House, where he meant to
stay while in Chicago. Instead of going direct
to the residence of Mrs. Wetmorc, he prooeeded
tn the hotel, whither his trunk had been sent.
He was travel-stained and naturally was desir-
ous of making the best appearance possible,
when he presented himself before such a charm—
ing young lady as the destined recipient of the
present. .

Truth to tell, she occupied so much of his
thoughts that upon registering. he forgot all
about the telegram, which he expected to re-
ceive from  Livingston; and, going straight
to his room, lndulged in a bath, donned his very
best suit, and, when satisfied that art could not
improve his appearance, came down to the
office iu_thc elevator. ,

By this time it was dark and he took dinner.
Then, when he came out in the office once more,
he recalled the matter of the telegram.

Yes; there Was one awaiting him and its

, perusal caused him no little astonishment.

P‘Astrange discover has come to light. G0
at once to the underta ing firm of Williams 86
Brother Number --, —— street and find wether
they have recently had in their employs. man
named Edward Vallelo. It is of the utmost im-
portance; don’t delay, and wire me their reply
at once. Ascertain full. particulars an tele.

I graph at the earliest possible moment.”

“A pity I didn’t call here at first,” muttered
the detective, surveying the dispatch in his
hands; “ for it was to Williams &Brother that I
dehverei the coffin and its case. 'But this must
be attended to. I wonder what-the mischief it
all means.” ._ 7 .y ‘

Pressing his breast to. make sure the casket

 \was there, he summoned a cab Md was quickly

whirling toward the undertaking establishment

which he had. visited.-but a short time before, '

on that some afternoon.
Undertaken. like drussists ani doctors, must
be accessible at all hours, and, when the detec-

. tive arrived. at the establishment, he was.
‘ fortunate enough to find the member whom he

had seenbefore. He sat in his office, smokinfia
s.

 cigar while engaged in examining his boo
He‘looked up and milingl y greeted his caller.
' I ‘ Ah,” he said, “ have you brought another '

shipment? We are ready to receive it ifyou
have. B! the way, I think I shall make a'good
Job of fixmg up that bust. My friend Jones was
prudent enough to put on colors that canbe
readily washed off.” "

“I am in quest of information,” said Skid-
more, gravely. . ,

_  Inawait your pletiéslurefi”;1 i l ,

; eye on. recon y a n our cm 0 ya
man named Elwar‘d Vallelo?” ‘y ' p y

The *gentklm; repeated the name several
times and then shook,   i. , .

“No, Strive bave'not‘." ,' '  '. , ; .

“ You are sure of this, Mr. Wllllamsi There
must be no mistake about‘it.” '_

“ I am as certain as I am that you are sitting
there. I have hired and discharged every ne-
sistant we have had for a dozen years, and,
among them all, was none With the name you
have mentioned. It, sounds as if he was a

‘.‘ What do you know about him?” . i

V ' ‘3 “ Nothin "

i“ Whatlghave'you never seen him?”
.‘ “Never, to my knowledge; you are the first

.  but over pronounced his name in my pres-
.enéafi'v‘ v _ . .

Mr. Williams was too courteous to show any

_‘ .; 'cgfiosiw,;though he must have felt consider-

Tho'dotectlve thought hewns entitled to
what he could give, which amounted to little.
 ,“ I havercceivedpdispptch, urging me to ask

 

you these questions. Beyond that I know
nothing, and only see that some deception has
been used.”

“ That is quite evident: you are sure that our
firm is the one referred to?’

The caller drew the telegram from his ket.
. “There is no mistake on that point. t giVes
the name of your firm, your business, and the
number of the street; could anything be more
explicit?"

“ Not very well.”

“ Is there any other firm of undertakers of the
same name as yours in the city?”

“ There is none.”

“ Well, I am obliged for yourcourtesy,” said
the visitor, who then withdrew, and instructed
the driver to get him back to the Palmer House
as soon us he could. Arrived there, be wired
Banker Livingston to the following effect:

“ Williams & Brother have never heard of
suoh_a man as Edward Vallelo. Send me more
particulars, for I am working in the dark.”

Reflecting that it would probably be a full
hour, before he could receive a reply to this
message, Detective Skidmore determined to
postpone his call upon Miss Wctmore no longer.

A few minutes later. therefore, his cab was
rumbling swiftly along Wabash avonue, and set
him down in front of the handsome residence of

V the widow and her daughter.

“I ought to have sent word beforehand,” he
thought, as he pulled the bell; “for more than
likely she is out, or hascwmpany.”

But. when he inquired, the servant told him
she was at home, and, after Sending in his card,
he receiVed word that she would see him imme-
diately. I

Detective Skidmore and Miss Wetmore were
not strangers to each other.= It would have been
Singular that, when he was on such intimate
terms with her uncle, where she was a fre uent
VlSItOl‘, that they should never meet. hen,
therefore, the petite figure fairly danced into the
room, with her fluffy golden hair, her cheeks
tinted like a, sewshau, her lustrous blue eyes and
in all the wealth of her marvelous beauty, she
was aglow with pleasurable expectation, and
gur’rying right up to the caller warmly pressed

is sand. . ‘

“ I am as glad as I can be, Mr. Skidmnro, to see
You; any one from Bluffton is welcome and none
more so than you.” ’ a

“You quite overwhelm me,” he replied, feel-
ing the hot flush speeding to his temples; “I
ought to have sent you word."

“ Only to insure my being home; I did not see
you the last time I was in Bluffton.”

“No; because I way aWay. I am very sorry
on mv own account." 3 .
, “And I am sorry on my account,” she re-

but how is,my dear uncle?”

“ As well as ever I saw him, when I left Bluff-
ton, which was on Tuesday.” i

Thus, the conVersation rattled along for some
time longer. The caller knew he was welcome
in that hence, and he thought with a tbrlll of
pleasure, the surprise he had awaiting her,
though 5 of necessity it must be tinged with a
Certain sadness. . .

Miss Wetmore said that her mother was out

for th‘e'evening, and informed the detective that ;

he must 3 until she came home, which he was
very much uclined to do.

“I am sure,” aid be, after a time, “ that you
havle not forgotten your cousins Dick and Jo

er. - ~ - , l »

Y‘ No, indeed,” she replied, with a grave face;
“poor'fellowsl they went at to Africa years
agar-I received a number of letters from them,
buthaven’t heard anything for along time.
But whydogou ask?’".~ ‘ ‘ q. ‘ ‘2 ‘

-.‘.‘._l.have sad news totell-youzthe hadhard
time-there. though, after awhile,'go luck came
tothem’. but both are dead.” '

“ Oh,” and the handkerchief went to the fair

‘eyes, while her caller sympathetically held his

peace until the first shock was ever. He did

. not think it wise tdacquaint her with the man-

ner of their taking of; time enough for that

when the edge of her grief was worn away. '

“Tell me what you know about them,”sbe
said ently, when the flow of tear was stayed.
“ here is not much to tell, except to deliver
to you a present which reached your uncle a

short time ago with the request that he would
lose no time in placing it in our hands.”

' With this he produced t ecasket and placed
115 in her lap. '

“ What is this!” she asked, turningit over in

her band and curiously surveying it.
1‘; glare is the key; open and find out for your-
se . , I . I . ; , 4

pponded, , with a ripple of musical laughter;-

- be time enoush tolet him know when I

 

 
  
   
  
  
    
   
  
   
   
  
 
  
  
   
    
 
   
  
   
   
  
   
  
   
   
   
    
  
   
  
    
 
  
  
  
 
 
  

She took the tiny implement, inserted it in the
lock gave it a turn and raised the lid.

“ Vhy, Mr, Skidmore, there is nothing here
that I See.”

The detective leaned forward and peered into
the interior of the small box. To his consterna-
tion, there was not a single diamond in it.

CHAPTER XV.
Is IT ran SAME ONE?

DETECTIVE SKInMous was so astounded that
for a moment he sat speechless. Then he muter
extended his hand for the casket, which Miss
Wetmore passed to him without a word, but
with a wondering expression on her face that
showed she did not understand what it all
meant.

He turned the little box over sevpral times,
opened and closed it, as though dopbtiu his
own eyes, and then, leaning back in hisc air,
exclaimed :

i“(a:r,reat heavens! that passes my comprehen~
s on!

Recalling that no explanation had been iven
to the young ‘lady, he rallied, and, look ng in
her face, said: , ,

“Your amazement, Miss Wetmore isnot one-
half of mine. When that box was last opened '
before this time, it contained ten diamonds,
worth one hundred thousand dollars.” ,

‘f Where are they now?" i

“ I don’t know.”

The two gazed into each other’s faces in
silence, and then he added: ,

“That was the present which your dead couSa
ins brought from the other-side of the globe,
with the request that it should be placed in your
hands without delay. I no more dreamed that
I was not doing so than I do that I am in Bluff-
ton at [this moment. I took them from your-
uncle’s safe on Tuesday last; I myself placed
them in a box, and rode on the train With them
to Chicago, and now where are they i” he asked
in pitiful helplessness.

‘ They must have been stolen.”

“impossible!” and then reflecting on the ab-
surdity of the word, he added: “ I mean I can-
not imagine how it was done.” ‘

“ But you can find out."

“ And so I will i” he exclaimed fiercely, spring--
in to his feet. “ I never knew anything like 
it, at it shall be brought to light and. the dia-- ' '
mend? shall be yours, I hope you Will pardon
me— * -

“Pardon you for what?” I ‘

“ The disappointment I have cauted you."

“Did you arrange it?” she asked. . 

“No, ut—” ‘ ‘ , . 

,“That will do; you have no apologies to. 
offer me; I am sum-y, because , my 00mins *
meant them for me, and you are more put out
than I am: I beg you to be seated and Wait till,
mother comes home,"  .~ - .
' “I would be glad todosobut for this. I am,
too u t to content myself for an hour in idlof _ 
ness; m‘ust go back to Bluffton as soon as-pos-V. 5. -
sible and learn what all this means.” ' ‘

“ but you cannot go to-ni ht.” ‘ ‘ .. 

“ No, but I may be ab 0 to do something in 
Chicago that will help in the matter. Lam suw ; if,
you will excuseme, andhewulhed‘toward the] 7’:
hall, taking the empty box withhhn. , 

Observing his agitation Miss Wetmore did: 
not ti further todetain im. She urged‘him r?
.notto at the. matter trouble him.for, sofer - a
she was concerned, she would not give it a..."-
thought, but for the associations connected with. 1' 
the gems _ 1, f , ’ “

HeJmade the best adieu he could, and, a mill-,1, {'1‘
ute later, was striding furiously along the- 
avenue toward the hotel, his mind in such ._‘i;_i;:_,.
whirl that, for a time, he was unable tothink. :1?
coherently. ' ‘- l ‘ ' '  3 

APerEL there, he asked .for a‘ telegram: 
There was none and he chafcd with impatiencea,-_,
Looking at his'watch, he flaw that it was less
than an hour since he had sent his own message, 
but he was angryiebecuuso they'vrere not mor *
prompt at the at r and of the line. . g , I  2
While he was peeing restlessly back and 3'
forth, the dis tch came. It was not calculated... i

 

tosoothe his eelings: , , ,  3
“Come to‘Blufl‘ton at once; can explain no

thipigili I see you; you are needed at thismo-

nun ‘ I . , ‘ . i.-_- . _.

The detective teak u a to noti ; the
banker of the unaccougtablfioss of: 
monds, but flung it down again. '1 " ‘ ,' .

He doesn’t tellmeanyihing. and why, sh '
I trouble myself to give him the news! -It5w

Blufl‘ton and find whatfhe has to .11." '

It was uselessto attempt to sleep for

 

 

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The Chicago Drumm

er‘s Deal.

; I.-.‘..v.. .  . ’ -._ , ,. ,_._ V3,...“ ,..,.... a.“ ....~... I” .. A. .4..—

 

 

 

He went to his room, and paced to and fro, his
mind gradually grewing calmer, until, at last,
it began to assert itself with something of its
native power.

He went back to the beginning.

“ There was no mistake in the boxes, for I saw
the diamonds after the empty one was locked in
the safe; so it is established, beyond question,
that they started from Blutfton for Chicago. I
myself saw them placed in the clothing behind
the bust, and stood by while Undertaker Jones
screwed d0wn the coffin lid and then screwed
the lid of the pine box over that. We saw that
box token to the station in Bluifton, and I saw
it after it was placed in the Express car. I rode
part way in its company, and yet somewhere
along the road the diamonds were stolen.”

There were some facts about the strange busi—
ness, which, it may be said, were self-evident,
and the perplexed detective had touched upon
most of them. To repeat, he was sure the dia—
monds had started from Bluflfton for Chicago,
but had never reached there, at least by the
route in charge of Felix Skidmore.

One theory would obtrude itself. It was dis-

,agreeable beyond expression, but the officor

resolutely faced it: it was that the gems had
been removed from their place of concealment.
while in the Exnress car, and in care of Budd
Acres and Jep artin. Unto no one also came
the opportunity. Nothing could have been
easier than such action on their part.

Rigid reflection, however, cleared the couple
from suspicion. Although comparatively unac-
uquainted with them, the detective would not ad-
mit that he had made such a wooful mistake in
reading character. They could not have known
of the casket in the box (wi' bout building up a
theor too complicated and flimsy to stand),

' and. f there had been adozen such caskets, they

’ ' to Undertaker Jarvis

would have defendedthem with their lives, as

‘ they did the treasure in the safe.

“ Budd Acres and Jep Martin are not the stuff
from which thieves are made!" exclaimed the
detective, who never spoke truer words; “and
I hope they will never know I held any doubt
of them for a single minute.”

In his nervous state, Skhlmcre was annoyed
by the vagueness of the telegrams that had
reached him. They declared that momentous
discoveries had been made and he was urged to
hasten his return to Bluflgton, but of necessity
he must wait until his arrival there before learn-
ing what all these intimations meant.

Flickering, here and there like fireflies in the
darkness, appeared points of light, which gave
out a glow that vanished before he could fix its
nature. One incident caused great perplexity:
that was the man who undeniably held him an-
der surveillance, while waiting at the station in
St. Ilouis for the train to Chicago. ‘

The interest showed by that stranger in Skid-
more was significant, for, among all the others
present, there was not one that gave him more
than a passing glance. The partial resemblance
Jones may have been one
of those that all of us have seen in life, and be

 1 had dismissed it from further thought, until

pow when it forced itself upon him.

“ It is impassible to suspect him, for he i one
of the most staid and res table citizens of
Bluifton. Besides, had he n carried away
by a momentary temptation, such as sometimes
leads persons astray, he had abund cc of time

{ fo’r'refiection and could not have ailed to see
“the utter folly of the thing.

But, if he did de-
cide to bring ruin and disgrace upon himself, he
had not the chance; that settles, that." ~

And be firmly shut out that phase of the mat-

. ' fter from further consideration. ‘

_ Seating himself under the bright light, burn-
inz in his room, he took out the small box from
his pocket, and, subjected it to microscopic
scrutiny. I .

“Is it the same one?” he asked himself, as he
opened and closed it and turned it over again
and again, and scrutinized every visible portion:

‘9 there were two of them, so alike that no one

 V  could tell them apart. Under any other oil'-
' ~‘,oumstanoes, I would believe that, through some

bocusppOcus. I had unconsciously exchanged
them, but that was as impossible as it is that I
.myself stole them. I.wouder,” he added,.with

is. grim snide. “ whether Livingston will not sus-

. " mngne. Clearly the chance was mine, but
0 . V
' - It has been stated that the ten diamonds lay

   

00!er in the crimson lining of thevcasket, being
bad immovable only when the lid was locked in
'06. Such being the fact. the stonescould not

 all to leave a number of faint dents or impres-

as,
.

' a, both in the lining of the lid and in the bot-
, Examination failed to show
"the slightest mark of the kind. ‘ j ;.

 

“ By gracious!" exclaimed the detective; “ this
isn’t the genuine box, after all! They were
changed somewhere, after the right one was put
in lace.”

his was an important discovery, if it
should prove to be one. Until this moment all
his reasoning and speculation had been based on
the theory that the stones were simply ex-
tracted, and that this was the casket that
originally held them: now he was convinced
that such was not the fact.

Still, admitting that he was right, he saw him-
self no nearer the solution than at the iil'st,.for

the difficulty of «fifecring the exchange was as-

great as that of abstracting the diamonds.

The whole thing was in a muddle, when, at
last, he flung himsoli‘ in bed and w00ed sleep.
Two nights later he was in Blutl‘ton, sitting in
the library of Banker Livingston, and in earnest
conversation with that gentleman and a third
individual. .

 

CHAPTER XVI.
WHAT TEDDY DONOVAN SAW.

“ I AM sorry to have caused you annoyance,”
remarked Banker Livingston to Detective Skid-
more, “ by my failure to be more explicit in my
telegrams, but, truth to say, I was so upset by
the discoveries that came to light, that I was
afraid to do so.”

“ Why?” asked the officer, who had resumed
his old place on the lounge, and was smoking
one of his host’s Perfectos, while the third party
set respectfully back in one corner,/ waiting
until he should be asked to speak.

“There has been such cunning and subtlety
used by those ruflians that I feared they would
get hold of the telegrams.”

“ Nonsense! Such a thing is impossible, and
you might have given me the points without in-
terfering with matters, even if it became known
tothem; but that’s neither here nor there.
obeyed your request, and came to Blulfton as
quickly as the railway could bring me. Here I
am. as much in the dark as ever.”

The detective had gathered some information,

but he had not yet told about the loss of the dia— "

monds: that would come later on.

“Since your departure the authorities have
been busy investigating the murder of my
nephew Dick, ,whose body was buried day before
yesterday.” ‘ . '

“ Have they learned who did it?” ,

‘j Yes and no, but Teddy there has some in-
terestin information." ..

“Ah, eddy,” remarked the detective, look-
ing smilingly toward him, “you are going to
prove a usefu man, are you?’ ‘ ;

“ I dunno about that, sorr,” repliedthe fellow,
hitching uneasily in his chair; “that’s for: you
to say, sorr.”

Teddy Donovan was the Irish coachman of
Banker Livingston. He was a ther lively
young man, given to drinking-boa now and
then, but honest and warmly devoted to his em-
ployer’s interests. '

“ It may expedite matters,” said the banker,

‘ “if I should sum up some facts that have come

to light. Teddy kept in the background during
the investigation, through fear of incurring my
displeasure by. the confession that he would
have to make, if he revealed all he knew. But,
when he realized the value of his knowledge, he
came-ferWard like a man.” I r' -

“Or rather like himself, which is the. same
thing,” remarked the detective, at which Teddy
blushed and grinned.

“On that eventful night, when I gave him,
permission to visit his mother, at the other end
of the town, he didn’t go near her.”

The officer raised his forefinger and shook his
head at the Irishman, who grinned harder,
tigrned redder than’ before, and fidgeted in his
c air. ‘

" However, I will do him the justiceto say
that no mother ever had a more dutiful son, and
while he was 'bad enough to go out for a time
with his friends he left them comparatively
early and started back for his snug quarters, in
the carriage house. In doing so he passed near
the hotel where my nephew met his death. I
will let him tell the rest.”

‘ “Let's hear it, Teddy,” said the detective
kindly; “you know we are both your friends

and you mus’n’t held back anything.” I

Thus encouraged. the fellow was explimt.

“ I had had a ew drinks, but I was that me-
silf that I oouldwalk jas sti-ldy as at this blessed
moment. .It was so late that I met hardly a
person on thesstraat, and I was humming Little
Annie Rooney swaatly to meet-if, when I arrived
under the big chestnut which tends in the
corner. of the alloy, at the back of the hotel. It
was [just then, whin i had both hands in me

   

trowsers pockets, that I discovered that the
right one had a thundering big hole in the
bottom, and through that same hole slipped me
pocket knife, two silver dollars, a jewsharp
with which I’m accustomed to beguile the weary
hours, a couple bunches of keys. a toothpick, a
lead pencil, two or three love letters and breastr
pin that I mint to have repaired.”

“Are you sure you have remembered all f”
gravely asked the detective.

“No, I’m not, but they’ll come to me mind
after awhile. Will, I stopped right under the
shaddy of the iron, and was standing as stiff
and straight as u \\ nodon cigar sign, that over-
coom was I wid the knowledge, whin I heerd a
noise within the little yard at the back of the
hotel. Looking up, to obsarve what it mint, the
head and shoulders of a man come up to View,
on t'other side of the fence. He was climbing
over and wasn’t making any 11.019 noise than a.
leaf in falling from a true.

“ Will, sorr, I was that scared, knowing him
to be a robber, that had been in the house, that
I didn’t stir and stopped breathing. I was
standing so close to the trunk of the tree, that
he passed Within arm’s lingth of me without
obsarving the same. He must have worn
rubber shoes, for he walked along without any
more noise than a cat or a fairy.”

“Then you were not able ‘to gain sight of his
face?" asked the intensely interested detective.

“Howld on a bit," replied Teddy, with a
wave of his hand, enjoying the sensation he
had cansed on the part of his auditors, though
the elder had heard it all before. “ Ye moind
the lamp that is burning at the corner, just be—
low the alley. Will, whin the spalpcen raiched
that point, what did he do but stop and look
about him, as if expecting some one? The fule
turned round so that the lamp light shone onto
his face and it was as plain as is either of yours
this minute.” I

“This is important,” said Skidmore, Sitting
bolt upright looking fixedly at the speaker, and
forgetting the cigar in his_hand; “you would
know that face if you saw it'againl”

“ That I would, if it should be tin ears from
now and on the banks of the Ki rney. I
knew the spalpeen had been up to mischief, and
I tooka good squint at him, but I was think-
ing that he had been stealing something from
the hotel, instid of driving a knife into the
heart of an inuOCent slaaper, like Mister
Hyler.” ' ,

“Go on,"1‘eddy.” ’ ,

“If he was wait! for some one, that same
person did not show imsilf, and by and by the
spalpeen went off with the same stillness as
before.”

“ Do you know what time of the night it was,
Teddy?”

looking back toward me, the town clock begun
striking twelve.”

Detective Skidmore glanced across at the
banker and remarked in slow voice: ‘

“I suspected it—Low Twelve.”

“ I resoomed me promenade, after I was sure
he was out of the way, and let mesilf in through
the parlor door of the carriage-house. I ought
to have been asleep at the time, and 1 would
have been very soon, but for the loss of the
articles because of the hole in me pocket. Ye
will remimber,” Teddy hastened to explain, ob-
serving the smiles on the face of his listeners,
“ that all the time I was continually calling
something to moind that I hadn’t thought of

hole, and it was that which graived me heart.
I was that throubled that, after blowmg out
the lamp, Illt me pipe and took me seat by the
windy, and lainiug me elbow on the sill, looked

-. out over the yard of the risidence in sorrowful

contimplation. . _

“I was puffing sadly at me dudeen, win)! he
the powers! I saw something moving amongst
the trees. At first I thought it was a dog
walking on his hind legs, but whin he got
where there Wus a little more light, I obsarwd
that'it was a man."

" You «lid not see him clearly?" ,

“ No; there wasn’t light enough, but ye’ll re-
mimber thata man .onthe grounds .of Mr.
Livingston Is very different from walking log
the street. evan if he does wear rubbers. [e
hadn’t any right there, and I always has a
loaded gun and pistols riddy for such spa‘lpeens,
,especinlly since the watch-dog was p’isoued.
So I slips back and hunts the Wippons.” . .,

“Being as I had no light in the barn, and I
didn’t want to scare off the spalpeen by striking
one, it took me a little iwhile to git me hands‘on
the wippons. «Bimeby, howsnmiver, I had the

 

“While he stood und3r the lamp and was

whin me thraa fingers first slid through the .

gun and the pistol and I steals out of the dure.

 

 

 

 

 

   
 

 

 

 

 

‘ i It was the detective’s turn to be surp

The Chicago Drummer’s Deal. ' ‘ -

 

 

I hild the gun riddy to blaze away the minute
the chap showed himself, but he must have
heard me, for, though i wint to the very spot
where he was standing, he wasn‘t there.

“I called to him in a whisper loike, daring
him to come out and let me shoot him, but he
was too big a coward to do so or llse_ he had
gOne. Isneaked round the yard, peeping here
and there, but on giutlemen knows that there’s
a good many p aces among them trans where a
dozen men might hide at night.”

“Did you pass entirely around the house?”
asked the detective.

“I did that twice without observing him. I
saw the light in this room and knew that Mr.
Livingston was sitting up, but Ididn’t know
what company he had. At last I wint back to
me r-xciption room, and, bein as the spalpeen
was gOne, I sthruck a match $0 light mesili to
bid. Gintlemen,” added the narrator with a
scared look On his broad countenance, “whin
that. light was burning I made a dridful discov-
ery, ay, sorr, a dridful one.”

“What Was that?”

“ The? I had had the narrowest escape of ms
whole life.”

“ HOW was that?”

“ N ayther the gun nor the pistol was loaded!
If I had run ag’inst that spalpeeu in the grounds
he would have shot me for the big fule that I
was in not looking to me wippons beforehand.”

 

CHAPTER XVIL
run DAWN or LIGHT.

“YOU were justas safe with your unloaded
weapons,” said the detective, “as you would
have been. had they been charged to the muz-
zle.”

Teddy Donovan looked wonderineg at the
speaker. He failed to grasp such logic. '

“Had the rogue been where you supposed he
was, he could have shot you down an easily as
rolling of: a log. if you ever see any prowler in
the grounds after th s, challenge him from your
place at the window and then fire."

This now had never struck the coachman.
He was impressed by it.

“I’ll remimber the same, but with your per-
mission, I’ll fire at him first and challenge him
afterwards, being as it would be more convan-
ient for me.”

“But hardly for him. As you prefer, how-
ever, but please describe the man that you saw
under the gaslight.”

“ He was of the rig’lar height, were a soft
slouch hat, a snuff-colored overcoat, dark trows-
ers, had a smooth red face wid 'a big Roman
noss, and I think bright black eyesl, though' I
couldn’t make sart’in of the same. obsarved
enough of his hair to know that the same was as
block as night."’ .

Detective Skidmore started and looked at the
banker. He. had seen that man before. ' Both
recoxuized him. i
'The coachman was subjected to further ques-
tioning but these were all the facts elicited.

: “ We 1, Teddy,” remarked the emcer; “we
are much obliged for what you have told us. and
we won’t trouble you further just noise; we may
want you again. I presume Mr. Livingston Will
allow you to spend the rest of the evening with
your mother, if you wish'lt.” .

The banker smilineg nodded his head, and
Teddy, blushing likes. peony, rose to his feet,
bade the gentlemen good-mg t and left.

The time for serious consultation had come,
and the detective and his host wished no one

Prglent besides themselves

HQ described him minutely,” remarked Skid-
more. looking across the roam at his friend.
‘ Yes; it couldn't have been better; there is no
mistlake about 3:93] i
' TBOOBUiZG t a man- at once' 11
have thoughtitl” . ’ 1' _° mu.“
“I never did, till I heard his stery.”
“ Has Jones been arrested?”
“ J ones!” exclaimed the astonished banker;
“ why should he be arrested!" ' ,\ ,
“ Isn’t the proof clear against him?"
“ What are you driving at Skidmore? There.
is no ground for suspicion against Undertaker
Jarvis Jones.” “

“ What descri tion could have been closers
It Wflccht andpyou say you identified it im-

mediatelyl"
“ Hm yo lived so long in Bluflton, without
makan tho quaintance of Jarvis Jones, one of

our most!!- table citizens against whom not
the slightestfiarge has ever’boan made!”

“DI not. Your coachman describe the man
who boxed ughthe bust of your niece and dis-
patched it to ' icagoi”

 

 

The banker laughed more heartily than he had
done in several days: he saw the blunder into
which his friend had fallen.

“ Yes. but that was not Mr. Jones. He is
sixty years old, stoop-shouldered white-haired,
and with a fringe of scant whiskers under his
chin; I‘ll have to introduce you.”

“And who was that man that assisted me, or
ra'her did the whole thing under my eyes?”

The person whom Teddy saw undvr the lamp-
light: he gave the name of Edward Vallelo."

“ How long had he been in the employ of Mr.
Jonesif’

“ A single day only.”

“How came Mr. Jones to employ him?”

“ He Was in need of an as=istant. and the
fellow applied at the right moment. He brought
strong recommendations from the undertaking
firm of Williams & Brother, Chicago, and Mr.
Jones was glad to secure him. He seemed so
handy that he was pleased with him from, the
first. While he was engaged in preparing‘the
bust for shipment, Mr. Jones received an urgent
call to go to the afliivted family of an acquaian
anon, a couple of miles out in the country, and
he left Vallelo in charge. He supp08ed,of course,
23;; you would understand how / the matter

Detective Skidmore gave alow whistle. Light
was beginning to break upon him.

“ Where is Vallelo now?” '

“ That’s what we all want to know: he left on
the train that carried away the box and the
diamonds, and which you tell me you overtook
and boarded at Wild Cat Creek. You probably
had him as a fellow passenger for a part, if not
all of the way.”

" On what slight incidents great events turn!
If I had‘but known that that was not Jones,
all this might have been prevented.”

“It never occurred to me, but I don’t see
that it makes much difference after all. The
crime had been committed at the time you met
him. and-that is the only matter to be con-
sidered. since the diamonds went all right to
my niece, who must have been pleased with
the present, despite the sad association con-
nected With itJ’

“ But the diamonds did not go through all
right; they were stolen." .

“What?”

Thereufion, the detective gave a brief account
of his ca upon Miss Wetmore and what took
place at her home. The banker listened in
amazement, until he had finished.

“you must have exchanged the boxes you!"

self.

“ k into your safe and see whether I did.”

Mr. ivingston Sprung from his chair, and,
dOOping in front of the iron structure, Dick'y
swung buck the heavy door and broug t the
other casket to light. It was unlocked, so that
the lid was lifted at once. ’ i

It was empty. His friend had madenomil'
takewit least none such as the banker sup

_‘ . hen the box was opened in the store of
Williams & Brother, I took out thisicalketo”
said Skidmore: “it not only contained no
diamonds but never had contained any.”

“ How can you know that!”

‘You remember how loosely they were
placed, so that the lid pressed them tightly
when shut. The pressure would have pr _ need
a number of impressions that wouldshow 1n the
lining; you observe nothing of the kind. ”

“ You are right,” remar ed the banker, after
several minutes’ examination of the casket.
“There must then have been three boxes, so
alike in their structure, that no one could detect
the difference; but tell me did on not soothe
person who calls himself Valle on the train?”

“He must have been, there, but he was so
skillfully di sad and kept so well out of view
that I was eceived. I saw him, however, at
the station in St. Louis.”

“Why didn’t you arrest him?”

. “On what grounds? I knew nothing of
what you have Just told me. Besides his identity
was so well hidden by his fashionable suit of

:clothes and his false beard th tIdld -
, peatflwho he was.” I , a net m

' “ ow can you be assured of it now!” /

He studied me closelykand I was struck/by
his resemblance to some one, whom I could
not recall until after I had entered the «1'.
Then I remembered that he suggested Mr. Jor-
vis Jonesfior rather the individual whom i gup-
posed to him. That he knew me was comm“
for. I was not wearing any disguise at the time.

Inasmuch as be secured
diamonds, how did he manage to enter the Ex-
press car and abstract theml’ ‘ '

“ He never was in the Express car for a min-

ute; he asked permission but was refused. ‘Dld

 

ion of the»

the real Mr. Jones direct him to accompany the
dummy to Chicago?”

“ No, but he thought nothing of it, when he
learned that you had arranged to do so, but was
prevented by being called away on the discovery
of the murder at the hotel.”

“ When he did learn it, why did he not [also
graph me?”

“Because there was no reason to do so. The
train, even with its delay, was in St. Louis be-
fore Teddy told his story. Then, when it was '
clearly established that the bogus undertaker
was the assassin, be was beyond reach, at any
rate for the , time. But, since he managed to
secure the diamonds, despite our precautions,
how did he do it?"

“ By a sleight of-hand worthy of Heller or
Hermann.”

“ Explain.”

“ When everything was ready for the casket
to be put in plaCe, 1 passed it to him,and stood
by and watched his movements. He sliple his
hand back of the shoulders of the bust, fumbled
for an instant, and yet in that brief time, be
exchanged the caskets. Ids slipped the genuine
one up his sleeve and shoved the false one in its
Blues, while I stood gaping at him like a country

um kin.” .

“ ow came he to have the false one ready i”

“ When he and his companion or companions
found-the empty one on Jo Hyler in New York,
it revealed the trick by which they had been (is-
ceived. They had one precisely similar made
and brought it with them to B Minor, with no
clear idea. of course, how they could make use
of it. Vallelo was present when you explained
your little scheme to Mr. Jones; he caught on at
once, and, with a coolness and fitting for which .
I cannot refuse my unboundedadmiratiou, he
executed his brilliant feat of juggling. Ah. he
is to” rare one. but I am not through withxhim'
3° ‘

 

CHAPTER XVIII.

FACT AND FICTION. I

“ You have an in onions way of explaining
things.” remarked anker Livingston. “on
While You have your hand in, I would like you
to do a little more in that line.’

“I don’t pretend to infullibllity in thatre-
s t; I have already shown on where l have
b undered; when a man rose the point of ‘
never making a mistake, he is ready to quit this
fmtggol; but let me hear what is on your

n

“ You will recall the night that you came here
in response to my urgent message.

Detective Skidmore inclined his head.

“At that meeting we perfected our plan for
shipping the diamonds to Chicago, by means of
a_ dummy dead body. You are satisfied that no
livg’pg pomp overheard what passed between
us

“ I am.”

“Ver well: on that same morning, thisman
Edwar Vallelo a plied to Mr. Jones, the under-
taker, .and was ken into his cm 10y. Now
what induced him to do that? but was his
motive, in hiring to an undertaker, when he could
not have. known of our design?” :

Detective Skidmore blew a uflof smoke to-
ward the boiling and watched it for a moment.
Then he said, as if addressing the wreath of
vapor: ‘ i
‘ “ l f I remember rightly, you died already for-
mulated your scheme when I «lied; you sent .
for me to keep you company. and, in the course
of the evening made known your plan.” '

“That is quite true.” - . ~~ »
1“];pw, when did you fix upon\ this some
p on ‘_ -

“M no hew called and left the diamonds
with ge. Apfter he had one. and Iunderstood the
situation, I fell lothi , in: over the matter and
hit upon the method which we followed.” -

“ When did you first speak of it to Undertaker
Jones?” . - . ,, *

“ That same evening. 2

“Where!” "

90:1 Main memes we walked together, quite 1‘,

rlv in the even! .” . ' ' 

“ Recall what you said to him.”

» “ I made no mention of the diamonds butsaid ,

: that I was thinking of sending a valuable pack-'
’, age to Chicago, in a coma which, while appear

in: to contain a dead body, would not.” .. ,

The detective brought his gaze down from the ‘ ‘ '

circling wreath 0! vs r overhead and with a A

“*h‘woli" looniiiedvliitii i. hm ’ " ‘ '
xa y; s e 0 or his com nlon‘ crew I 
heard that conversation and it was Ell-shadow.

 

He knew of the plan and checkmntsd it. .by'
entering the employ of Jones the next

l

 

 

 

 

 

s

I" v shadong

 so far as we can perceive, for their

 onl asingle rson.is o to

 "theylast knowpi: of him £31,... in St. Louis.
 g ‘ Now, if he had

' ,ldollars in money, by his crime, the case would.

14

The Chicago, Drummer’s Deal.

 

where he found the precise opportunity he was
seeking.”

“ Can that be possible?” said the banker; “ 1
never thought of any one listening to us, but
why did not the scamp come to my house that
evening when I was alone?”

“ You did not tell Jones that the ‘ valuable
package’ was already in your possession. The
miscreant, therefore, did not know whether you
had it or whether your nephew retained it.”

“ He learned that the next day, when I
exnlained fully my lan; but where then was
the necessity for his 3 aying poor Dick Hylerl”

“ The plea of necessity does not exist; it was
one of those cold-blooded crimes that has not
the slightest palliation. That which was done in
New York had an ap arent motivo, but there
was nothing of the kin ‘ here. The wretch who
stabbed Dick Hyler to death, did it probably to
show how little he cared for us and to empha-
size his contempt of all officers of the law. At
the same time there may have been a feeling of
resentment because he had been compelled to
follow his victim from the other side of the world
to obtained the pronerty he possessed.”

“Again, was the holding up of the railwa -
train, as it seems to on, for the purpose of o —
taining the money, t e diamonds or both?"

“ Until this evening, I suspected that the
diamonds constituted the rincipal motive, but
I cannot now. think they anything ‘to do
with it."

“ Then there was no communication between
these criminals and the outlaws who sought the
money?"

“It has always struck me as incredible that
there should be, but from what we now know,
no reason appears for believing it. Recall that,
if the train robbers had secured entrance into
the Express to, they would not have obtained
the diamon s, for they were not there, though
in one of the cars in the possession of another
par . This one, having been sharp enough to
stea them, what motive could he have, for ask-
ing others to run the risk they did in attacking
arailway~trainl Had there existed an under-.
standing between the parties, he would have

been likely to notify them that no reason existed
for such an attack.

“Then why was the attack made?” ‘ ,

“ For the fifty thousand dollarsin the safe.

' It was simply a coincidence that the diamonds

happened to be en‘. route on the same train.
Had those fellows, instead of wasting time in as-
sailing, the Express car with the loss of life
which accompanied it, simply held up the pas-
sengers and robbed them of all they possessed,
they would have obtained two or three times as
much booty as they hoped to gain. That is an-
other instance of seeming}; smart persons over-
reaching themselves. 6 threw away the
golden apple lying at their eat, and sought the
silver one beyond their reach.”

“ Do you think one or two persons were con-
cernedin the death of Dick!”

“ He said there were a couple, but we know of
only one, that is with certainty, though it seems
to me there must have been two, if not more.
The job was too great for a single person. Ye
it may be that the man who overheard your can

I ,versation with Undertaker Jones, whom we saw
,‘ Ikulkin

in front of the house, w face was
reveal to Teddy, your eoachman, when he
was shrinkiu under the shade of the tree, and
.. the prowler w orn‘ he afterward observed at the
rear of our ground were one and the same
person. ; e have no yet seen another of the
party, though you think two were engaged in
you the other night, but the posses-
sion of those diamonds would pmplv pay a half-
dozen-for circumnavigating the lobe.”

“ And ro rtionately enric ‘a single in-
dividual; f t at man or times men have suc-
ceededin reaching Chicago or St. Louis, it is

‘ t " useless to search for the others in this tawn.”

“ 80 it would seem, for no motive could exist,
here exec ting erhaps one.” prawn”
A “ What'is that?” ‘ ‘ ‘

“ You will see, as I have already shown, that
suspicion, and

secured one hundred thousand

‘~ ‘ fybe simple, for he would have'no difficulty in

».snohaco

' '   using it as he chose. It could not‘betraced,
. and all he would have

do would he to- be or-

r-dinarily careful, and. no ‘give himself-away '-

But it is different wit
There are ten of
of the first water and of unusual
flatten-thousand-
ouds are exle rare. Those

‘ u “I. ex“action of?

 are as yalneleas tothe Owner-slat to many

pebbles from the brook, until they can be turned
into cash, and it will be no easy task to do it.” ‘

“ They may ship a part of them to Europe.”

“ Very likely they will try it, while one or two
will be offered in St. Louis, Chicago, Phila-
delphia or New York, and perhaps larger cities.
But they must of necessity move with extreme
care, for this robbery will be kn0wn within fif-
teen hours tot e authorities in all parts of the
country; I wi I attend to that, and we have
some .mighty smart detectives in these United
States, that are likely to teach these ruflians a
thing or two." r ,

“You have not named the reason for one of
that; "staying in 'Bluffton, or visiting it after:
war .

“ The second or third party, knowing that no
possible suspicion attaches to him, will feel safe
in remaining here to watch our movements, and
to keep his pal or pals posted.”

“ can see no necessity ,for anything of that
kin . Those who stay ere cannot learn much,
and, whatever it is, will not be of much import-
ance to those further east. He will expect as a
matter of course, that every possible ei’c‘ort will
be made to recapture the diamonds and bring
the thief and murderer to punishment, but why
need he fear, when he is hundreds of miles
away? If he cannot take care of himself and
plunder, then he is not one of the men from
‘Aigriga, whose cunning has aroused your admira-

n. Y
“I agree with your view, and think the
chances are slight.“ any one or two of them
ever visiting luffton again, unless brought
hither on a requisition to answer for his or their
crimes; but. in searching for a motive, that was
all I could fix upon.”

d ‘g‘nMeanwhileh may I ask what you propose to
o ‘ ‘ ' a

“I shall communicate this evening with the
authorities in St. Lauis, and other cities, giving
them all the necessary particulars of the crimes,
and ask them to keep a particular lookout for
Edward Vallelo.” '

" He will not travel under that name?” ,

“ Of course not. nor is he likely to carry much
resemblance to Undertaker Jones’s eacistant,
but he ma continue to look. like the man I
noticed at t e railwa station. Even if be dis-
guisee‘ himself still urther, there will remain
tell-tale evidences that will awaken suspicion on
the part of a shrewd detective, who does not
need the spur of the big reward you have oflered
to do his best, for there is glory to be gained
here, and of the kind which is the best capital in ,
the world for a detective. . V -

CHAPTER XIX. .‘
WHAT THE DRUMMER saw. 0

IT was comparatively early in the evening
that Detective Skidmore oft the banker’s
house, and proceeded straight to tLe telegraph
pfl‘lce, whence_' he sent a number of messages
to the authorities‘of the rinclpal cities. While
thus. engaged, and wh' e passing along the
street, he opt his eyes 0 n, half hoping that
he might catch sight of t at mysterious party,
who was concerned in the different crimes.

He observed absolutely nothing. He was the
only tron 1n the telegraph oflice and he de-
tects no igns of any person’s surreillance of
him - while gain;' to and coming from the place.

“ here’s nothing to be gained here, . .was
his conclusion; “ they are hundreds of miles
may at this moment. As likel as not, they
have taken passage on one o the Atlantic
1 camera, and we shall never hear or . see them

a m .‘ . ‘ _ V .

“ Hello, Skid, when did you get back?” .

It was a pglioeman who hailed bim,'Watkins
by name. 9 was at the hotel immediately
after the discovery of the murder of Dick Hyler,
and had been active in the attempts to trace the
criminals.- He was a trustworthy man, but had
never attained any marked success as a detec-

tive. .

“I got back t s evening,” re lied the profes-
sional; "is therel‘i anything newpabout this busi-
ness I ~

“ Not much; we. picked - up a little news
awhile ago that mig t have served us, had we
got it sooner, but it’s too late now.” ,

“ What’s that?” asked the interested Skid-'
more, as he fell into step with his friend and
they paced slowly slang thestreet. ‘ l

“A ‘Chiosgoldrummer called at Headquar-
torl, and tel the chief that he believed'he saw
the second ' an that had a band in the ties
of the nephew of Mr. Livingston.” -

l‘v‘,Where is your informnnt?" . ‘.

“I left him talking with the chief, but I

 

has, gonehaek to the hotel by this

i lwnhej" ,I.

A

 

“ Do you know his name?”

“ Thoman, if I remember rightly.”

Repressing the interest caused by the words
of the policeman, Skidmore remarked that he
would drop in at the hotel and have a talk
with the genthman, if he was there. He walked
to the next corner with his friend, and, bid—
ding him good-night, strolled to the inn that
had been the scene of the stirring event several
days before. I

Examining the register, he saw the name,
“ Wash Thoman,” hailing from Chicago. Upon
inquiry of the landlord, he was told thatthe
guest finished his supper a short time before, and
gobs.ny was in his room, though he was uncer-

in.

Skidmore lost no time in goin thither and
knocking. A voice from wit in shouted,
“ Front!” and taking that as an invitation to
enter, he did so, and immediately stood in the
presence of the partywhom he was seeking.
A few words sufllced 'to explain matters, and
accepting the proffered cigar, the detective
took a seat. ;

Wash Thoman was a gentleman approach-
ing middle life, With a smooth face, a bright
eye, neat attire and an exceedingly wide-awake
appearance. After statin that he was looking
into the murder of a few aye before, the detec—
tice said he had been told by one of the police-
men that there was reason to believe that Mr.
Thoman, had seen the confederate of the assas-
sin observed by Mr. Livingston’s coachman, and
who appeared to have escaped the notice of all
others.

The drummer, who stated that he re resented
a large clothing firm in Chicago, and ad been
traveling as far south as San Antonio, Texas,
elevated his slippered feet on a chair in front,
and, leaning back with his hands shoyed into
his trowsers pockets, puffed away at his cigar,
after the manner of one'who takes things easy
in this life. ’

“ It’s a queer e once I had,”he said, “ and
I’m sorry that I d dn’t understand it sooner.
was in Bluflton that night—” a

“ But you did not stay here,” interrupted the

detPlcsfimi nipped t tb lod" .1. 7
‘ o; a e ng onse, near
the railway ation. Iwante to leave early
on the train, and, as I like to sleep all I can in
the morning, I could thus save a good deal of
time, as you know we are a considerable way
from the station while in this hotel. I left on
the first train, and, therefore, knew nothing
about the murder, until I reached Little Rock,
where I stayed a couple of days. There I read
the account in the pa ers, and, for the first
time, was struck with t .e thought that possibly
Ihad seen both the criminals. As soon as
could finish my business, I came back to Blufl-
ton and went to the chief of fpolice; that was
this afternoon. There I heard or the first time
the story of Mr. Livingston’s coachman, which
you know was not published in the papers.
i'hen I knew I had» seen the men." v ‘
The drummer paused .long enough to puff his
cigar into vigorous life, before resuming, while

the detective, with his gaze fixed upon his face, '
h

listened in silence:

“I had been out'on a quiet racket and was
returning, when I heard the town clock striking
midnight. I stopped under a lamp post to com-
pare my watch. I discovered that I had for-
gotten to wind it and it had run down. I
wound it, set the hands, slipped, it :into my
pocket, and was about starting 01! again, when

saw on the other side of the street, a man ad-
vancing with no more noise that if he was a
shadow. As there_ls a brick pavement there,
it struck me as suspicious, and I stepped up close

to the lamp-poet, where the glare passed ever ‘ \

my head, and the shadow hid me from the

sight of any one, not on the same side of the 1

street. a

9 As the man paused,he turned about andgave ' '

me a good view of his countenance. It answered
perfectly to the description of the - coaohman,

and, as it was near the hotel, he must have been V .

the same person: there can be no doubt or

hate ‘ I '
“ May I ask whether you observed the coach-
man?”

fl I did not. ‘ Tbe'actions of theatrnnser were

so curious that I tried to follow him. He was ‘ v
going in thesame direction with me—that is to-‘
ward the railway station. but he mted 03 so .

fast that he was gone before I-

pea-I‘ing around the next corner.” '
.“And that was the lastof him?” -‘ r
“Not by a large majority; I had given him

up, and sauntere along at my usual at, for

ew it, disap-

several blocks. When close to the... edging- .
house, I passed two men, standing near the 

 

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The Chicago Drummer’s Deal.‘

  

15

 

 

track and talking in low tones. I thought noth-
ing of it, until I recalled that one of them was
the fellow I had notmed, with the rubber shoes,
and who acted as if he expected some one to join
him. Since I had seen him, I gave the other a
.u’, sharp glance as I passed.” .
 “ Did you have a good View?”

5 “ It couldn’t have been better if he had posed
‘ for it. He was tall, thin, With a sandy heard

1 Roman nose, a derby hat, dark clothing an

{ carried a slender cane in his hand, with which
. he occasionally tapped the toe of his foot. I did
U ‘ not let him see that I felt any interest in him,
i though, from the actions of the other, I was a
little curious. He watched me sharply as I
walked by, and I pcted as though I was busy
thinking of something else. My interest, how-
ever, was not strong enough to lead me to put
myself to any inconvenience, for it was late and
I couldn’t forget that I had to rise early the next

. morning. So I went to the lodging-house and
L: got into bed with as little delay as possible.”
’3» 4, “Your description of the second arty is

’ .admirable and ought to cause his identi cation.”
: “I can give you a much better one. One of
,_ i his front teeth was missing; be was partly bald;
 ~‘ he wore dog-skin gloves and patent-leather
shoes,”and his heard is Just beginning to turn

, F ray. . « .
J l “ What 0 portunity had you for learning all
the astonished detective.

i this?" ask
2 =‘ H It came to me the followin day. The man
-1 sat in the smoker of the north- and train, two
seats ahead of me. I knew him the instant I
laid eyes on him, and had plenty of opportunities
to gatherall this information.”
‘ And you left the train at Little Rock. What
a pity you did not continue with him to St.
Louis 01‘ Chicago!” _
u But he didn't; go to either of those places, at
’ 1 any rate not on my train. He got off long be-
fore we arrived at Little Rock.” '
, “ Where?” ,

“That was the odd feature of it. I watched
111310103er 9110 h  868 that his ticket was for
Marshton, sever iniles be 0nd Panther'Hollow,
but, when the train strnc the latter place. it
was running slowly“ rom some cause, and he
glanced out of the Window to;- a minute or two,
as it trying to recognize the s ’ Then all at
'once, he sprung up, hurried out on the platform
and dropped tothe 'ound. I was that much
interested that I you ed up the window to see
how he made out. _

“He was evidently used tothe business, for
he ran but a few aces alongside the track, when
he checked himse f, and, as we began rounding
the curve, disappooi'ed in the woods.”

“ This is startling information.” remarked
Detective Bkidmore; “ I presume you have not
seen the men Since.” . _ ‘ _

” No, but for What reason do 30.11 Imagine he
left the fears at that lonely place. where a train
was holdup late that same night?"

“It 'IOOKS as if hehad some understandin
with the robbers that..de 5° badlS’.” 1'9 H
the detective, feeling. that the labyrint
speculation and u , W was opening out be-

* I153m him. and extending beyond the horizon of

3

id me may be the means of bringing the mis-
creant injustice, and incidentally of securing to
you the handsome reward that hasbeen :oflered
for the detection of the assassins.” ‘

CHAPTER XX.

. . - “ALL RIGHT.”
“ Ir guccess results from the information you
have given,” said Detective Skidmore, “the re-

m,. "a.
y

s—

r‘
I U

 

?

 

bonus.” .. . .
“  ~M.”.'raplied the drummer,.leisureiy
“film thus! was ‘im 
Bahamimm‘t'fsnmmlr 

._a

I can do.” . .

“ If you can gets few days :oif from your
business-J - ’ ‘ ~ '

“ I can‘ always manage that,” interrupted the
other, with a'signiflcantgrin: “ we drummers
understand that sort of thing and are allowed
con 'derable margin?“ ‘

“I will see at any rate that your expenses
8r6293id, whether ourrwork amount to any-
“? °’.“?'”- ‘ l td ' i t i”

‘ ts usinew: w is oyou propose .-
' ,we shall take the train tel—monow
"and get 013' at Panther Hollow. I will
with the conductor.”
looked wonderineg at the detec-

,f

. fcs“':b-—-n  _

" 

\

‘ : {Am  .

 

of.

knowledge. “"1 hope that what, you have

wardshallbe yours and it will be a handsome”

' ’3'

in to takesfurther-handiniinitf ou'sce- -‘*
“fag M it Y 887

the men, and a leader at that, left the car at that
point, We may be able to gather a few points that
will give us a clue.”

“ It’s a strange proposition, but since you
advise it, I’m with you. I have often thought I
was cut out for a detective and missed my call-
ing when 1 became a drummer.”

Detective Skidmore felt like remarking that
the majority of mankind are of the some opinion
and imagine that success in the detective line is
one of the easiest things in. the world. But he
kept his views to himself.

“ It will be necessary that I should telegraph
to the house that I will not be back for several
ldays, and they need semi me no message until
‘they hear from me again.”

“I must semi oti‘ some dispatches also,” re-
marked the oiiicer, feeling that no time was to
be lost in notif ing the authorities elsewhere of
the additional nformation he had gained.

“ All right; we’ll go to the office together.”

Mr. Thoman kicked off his slippers, put on
his shoes, donned alight overcoat and his cap,
and led the way down-stairs, Skidmore taking
his place by his Side, when they reached the
bottom of the stairs, while they continued chat-
ting and, smoking, until they arrived at the
telegraph office. ,

They stood close to each other while prepar-
ing their messages, and as the drummer evinced
some curiosity as to what his companion was
doing, Skidmore allowed him to see the one
directed to the authorities at St. Louis. This
was a request for them to use all possible effort
to arrest a person, whose description was given
and which was that of the man pictured by the
'drummer. '

“ That’s good," he remarked admiringly:
“you’ve hit it exactly.

“ There’s no telling whether he is in St. Louis
or some other city.” added Sklqure! “80 it’s
necessary to ,put the officers on their guard in
other laces. , '

While this little intorChaDgo was going on, the
detective caught a glimpse of the dispatch penned
by his companion, but, not wishin that his
curiosity should be seen
knew nonhin of what he had written.

“ We will a the first train In the morning,”
he added, as they came out on the street once
more, “ if that is agreeable to you. ” ,

“It will suit as well as any other plan.‘ I
intended to put in a’ good long sleep, but I see
the importance of improving our time and will
retire early to my ,v1rtuous couch.”

“ I will go home and meet you at the station;
good-night.”

“ Good-night; pleasant dreams,” and they

so arateda .

Eleanwbile, the authorities of the county in
which the attempted train robbery was made,
had not been idle. The outrage was one of the
most high-handed that had occurred in the
history of the State and they moved vigorously
and promptly. ‘

The outlaws, after their failure, mounted their
blooded horses and scattered among the soli-
tudes, stretching awe
tion from Panther ollow. Like the Apaches,
when hard pressed, they dissolved into couples
and the latter separated when the‘pursuit be-
camel 11:00 hot, so that capture was vvelldiigh 113'
poem 3 e. v , '

But a certain measureof succets was attained.
for the sheriff was a daring and 51011101 Officer
who called the right kind of men around him
and set about the business with a Vim and reso-
lution that: was discouraged by 110 “Stacie-
They succeeded in running down three of the
desperadoes, and in effectually breaking up the

as that had - Wrized that section for years.

 see three were tried'and sentenced to long

 in the Penitentiary. _

 {The rumws were less thoughtful of their
fallen comrades than the American Indians, for
they left them stretched on the ground near
the track, with their white faces upturned to
the One whom they had so grievously offended.

These were taken in charge by the authorities.
and, after excellent photographs were taken of
their faces, were buried. -

The two principal leaders were easily identi-
fied} by name, for they had been so defiant that
they frea‘uently showed themselves in" publio
places; he countenances of. the others were
familiar to many, who, although they knows
price was set upon their headspdsrcd not beat
traythem into the hands of the law. ' ‘

‘. he pictures of the slain ‘menwere sentto
diderent ints, with a view of, helping their
identifies an, Detective Skidmore was not
present at the inquest, the subpena not arriv-
ing at Bluffton until too late. But knowing
the part he had taken in the affair, copies 0

 

 

acted as t ough be.

for miles in every direc».

Neither spoke, for they had no breath to s

 
    
    
   
    
  
  
    
  
  
  
  
   
 
 
  
    
    
  
  
   
 
 
   
   
  
 
  
   
 
 
 
  
   
 
   
    
   
    
   
  
 
  
   
   
  
   
 
   

the likenesses were sent to him, and, on his re-
turn from his interview with the drummer, he
found them awaiting him at his lodgings.

lie examined the batch with a curiosity that
can Well he understood, scrutinizing each vicious
countenance“ with the closeness of one search-
ing for an old acquaintance.

‘I have seen him and him and him," he
mused, as he took three of them in hand, and
held them so that the light produced the stron-
gest effect, “but the others are strangers. I
wonder which one it was I dropped, when he
was about to set fire to the Express car. I
guess it was this fellow, though I can’t to sure
and it is as well that I cannot.”

That for which he was hunting he did not
find; there was no face among the grou 3 that
answered the description given to him by ash
Thoman. the Chicago drummer.

The officer followed the example of his new
acquaintance, and retired at What was a cum-
paratively early hour for him. He was becom-
ing acoustomed, in a way, to the bewildering
phases of the business that was constantly open—
ing out before him, but‘ a light had broken in
upon him that meaning which kept him awake
for a 1« mg time. He had not given a hint of it
to Thoman, and did not intend to do so for some
time to come.

“The end is not far off,” was his thought
when, at last, .slei—p closed his eyelids and he fell
into a state of unconsciousness that was full of
disturbing dreams.

The morning dawned cloudy and lowering,
but no rain was falling; and the sky cleared up
and allowed the sun show itself soon after
it climbed above the horizon. .

He was at the station ten minutes before
train time. Had the cars arrived when due,
nothing could have saved the drummer from he-
' ing late. He was descried hurrying along the
main street, grip-sack in hand, like one who
knows he has not a second to spare. . He came
up panting and laughing. _

“ That confounded watch Will be the death of
me yet,” he said as be greeted his new acquaint-
ance; “I let it run down again and hadn’t
time to do more than swallow a cup of codes and
a roll; I. did my chewing on my way back here. ,
~ But where’s the train?” he abruptly asked; “it’s '
time for it.”

“ The a cut tells me it is a half-hour late”

“It I ad only known that, how much I
might have saved! I could have sic t longer
and had a square meal, but it is h. 11y worth ’
while to go back now,” he said, looking on ng- '
11y de‘wn the street, as if half-disposed to his a a

rea . - '

“ No, but you have time to finish your break—
fast in the restaurant across the railroad.” '

“ By George! I’ll do it!” he exclamw,strm1ng
over the tracks, and. disappearing throngh-tlie
door of the place, where a number of. others were
similarly improving thetime. ~  ' ‘

When he emerged fifteen minutes lster,ran
enormous cigar protruded from his month an
be was the picture of satisfaction. I '~

The two paced up and down the platform
while waiting. The detective could not repress
at little nervousness, and had visited tbejtele-v

raph office in the station several times. Just

fore the train‘rolled in, the telegraph boy,
whom he was watching through'the window,
signaled to him that his dispatch had arrived.

“ Excuse me,” be said to his companion“
hastening away; “ I’ll be with you in alminute.
' The message addressed to_tbe detective was __
without signature and, contained only the two
words: “All right.” .. I -r ;

'\ CHAPTER XXI. i
’ CONCLUSION. ~‘ I V _V 1,
Tan drummer took a step toward the plat. I.
form of the sinoki car. as the train came to; . . , . -
stop, and had plac one foot on the sup. when
detective Skidmore tonehed his shoulder. r
“ One moment, if you please—"- . ‘ i, ,
The next instant the two were struggling . 
like a couple of catamounts. They locked. 
arms. struck, pulled and pushed and nought 
fiercely, falling to the platform once an up '~ ‘
again, and at it again with indescribable fury;

re
but panted, glared ‘ and strove each with inplaghli
or maintomaeter theother. . l : ‘ f I

The _awed passengers gathered *a‘round
Wondering what it all meant. A couple of
brakemen were about to interfeI-e, when Ski
more called out: . -  '63

“ Hands ofl'l I’ll manage him i” ~ '

As he ire, a sharp click was heard, adj-the 
athletic ut exhausted drummer his
struggles. The handcuffs were. secured'l‘nnd

 

   

he was helpless. Even then is refused tofpeak

 

«.«s .. «var—v  ' "

except to utter a bitter execrutiOn, as he was
led inf-.0 the smoker anti giVen aseat with the
officer beside him.
these two men, who, a short time licfore, seenled
to been the most friendly terms—now scowling,
angry, and silent, as they rode mile after mile
over the lonely railway, with passengers con-
tinually entering aml leaving the car for the
purpose of getting a Inm at them.

All at once the captive seemed to thaw out
and show a wish to b ~cumu Confidential.

“ Well, Skid,” sail he, with a curious grin,
“ you played it on me line, that time.”

‘It was hard work," replied the officer, very
glad for a chance to exchange words with the
gello’w. “ You gave me the hardest tussle I ever

all.

“ Contouuded fool that I was,” muttered
Thomun. “but you’ve got me dead to rights
—no denying that. Come to think, Skin, I
made a mistake in the statement I gave ,ou
the other night.”

“ How?“

“ You remember I saw the second party
standing by the railroad t Bluffton shortly
after Dick Hyler got his qu , tus.”

it Yes.” i

“I gave you what you called a good de-
scription. It may have been good, but it was
wrong.”

“ In what respect?"

“ That second individual looked like anoth r
person altogether. In fact it was another -
son, tor, it was myself I”

“ I am not surprised,” coolly replied the de-
tective; “ i suspected it at be time, and I
think you’ll admit that the little flurry at the
railway station showed that I became sure of
1

t.

‘f It does have that look,” drily admitted the
prisoner.

“ And the man you telefiDraphed to at Marsh-
ton is the one who slew ick Hyler and stole
the diamonds, by hiring out to Undertaker
Jones, as an assistant, and who changed the
caskets, while seeming to place the right one
in the cofln.” , '

“ Whewl” exclaimed the manacled man,
“ you’ve pla ed it cleaner than I thought: but,’
he glanced urtively,'arronud, “ I’ll admit that
you’re right.”

It may sound strange to the reader that this
cunning desperado after bei entrapped in this
fashion, should havs talk so freely to the
officer, and made such aoontession as he did ; hut,
it must be borne in mind that the confession
was utterly valueless, since it was heard b no
one else. The scoundrel made sure of hat.
Under the circumstances. no court would admit
it, and besides the fellow had an object, which
appeared later on. ‘

“Of course you’re the partner of, the other
fellow.”

“ Yes, and have been for years. We followed
the Hylsrs from Cape Town: we separated at
Liverpool and I attended to Jo. It was a slip,
but the little box found on him in New York
told the scheme they had worked on us. I had
another made like it, shipped the right one by
Express to Dick at Bluffton, and me and my
pard followed.”

“ Your story is very straight,” said the detec-
tive, “and I would be much obliged it you will
repeat it in the court room, or sign a written
statement.”

The fellow turned and looked squarely in the
race of the oliicer. Then he grinned and closed

one eye.

“I rather think you would! It would be
worth considerable to you. But, see here, Skid.”
he added, lowering his voice, “ you would like
to make say ten thousand wouldn’t you?”

3‘0! course I would.”

“We’re a ranching Marshton; i’ll make a
rush; von’ll ollow; you'll tumble on the plat-
form; I’ll do the rest. Within a week you’ll re-
ceive a little hillet-doux—houor bright. See?”

. It was Skidlnore’s turn to look into the face
of his companion and make t{ireoiiiely the same
grimace and wink that he ha given. I-Ie add-
ed with a low laugh:

, ' ‘It won’t work, in bov—but here we are.”

The train began sowing up for Marshton,

 

'tagéik when it came to a halt a surprising thing,

. Don Barmore, one of the most,
noted detectives of St. Louis, walked into the
, smoker withia handculred prisoner. A light-
ningglance passed between him and Skidmnre’s
. man, and to the unsurpusable coolness

-0! the two, each uttered a low execution.

Barman-e and Skidmore were comrades and

" .had been working together in this business.
' They nodded pleasantly, and the former seated

 himself with his‘prisoner directly in front.-

The

1

They tornwd an odd picture, ‘

 

i ‘1‘; It is Low Twelve,” said the host; “ odd isn’t
t

v

» wrt 9‘. “ r-

C?.g(l DI‘

: 5%.». ill.

Chi

During the ride to Little Rock he told his story, i
which was short und to the point.

With a recklessness, born of his long 101- .
munity from detection, this fellow had openly ;
showu himself in Marahton immediately after '
the robbery. Burmnre suspected him, but did 3
no: 9chch the lil‘i‘esi. until alter the exchange of
telegram-i With Skiiiinorc. i

The arrest of the pretended Vallelo wasim- :
portant of itself, but the most astounding l'c- ;
sult was the discovery on his perwn of the 0215- i
ket witn the ten misusing diamonds! ‘

At Little Rock the prisoners were lodged in 
jail, until the next day. vs hen, still guarded by i

l
i

um

the two detectives, they were removed to Bluif-
ton and mumnitieii for trial.

The nuthoritiws were in no lI‘lI‘IU'l to ho hum—
pered by technizulities and ilue spun theories,
overthesc “operators.” ’l‘ucjury decided, alter
a, full and fair investigation, that both were
guilty of capital offenses and they were hanged,
as they richly deserved to be.

When the second criminal saw that all hope
was gone, he made a confissinn, which accorded
with that of his partner in crime. it was he "
who did poor Dick Hyler to death in the hotel
at Blnifton, and it was the sham drummer that
séruik down the other brother in the city of New

or .

It was late on the night of the capture that '
Detective Skidmore rung the hell of Banker Liv-
ingston’s home. The gentleman was sitting in
his library as usual, and soon learned the strange
story his trusty friend had to tell. He listened
with breathless interest, and when the casket
was :(pened, and the blazing treasures were re-
veal , he could hardly believe his senses. But
it was all real and not a dream. ,

“ You need not be afraid to keep them in your
safe to-night,” added the oflicer, “ and Miss Wet-
more shall have her present after all—”

“ Hark 2” interru ted the banker, suddenly.

They listened. he town clock was, striking
the hour at midnight. ‘

THE END.

 

Beadle's Half-Dime library.

BY J. 0. Cllfi'lllHCK.

. Broadway,l Billy Novas.
Billy. the Boothlaclt Bruvn. ~r
Billy's! Boodle; or, Clsmlng aStrmue Case.
Billy’s ‘lbllllklltyfl
Rillly’s Booth Racket.
Bll y's Burns-Inc Party.

Billy: or, Thr Buy Dehchva's Biz lnninv.
Billy’s florid Act: or, Th. lwaguv 0! Simon.
llllly Abroad: or, The Bouthiurk in Frisco.
Billy’s Best; «manning San Francisco's Finest.
Billy in (‘ over.

Billy in Texas; or, The River Hustlers.
llllly‘u Ill-null.
ly. at Snmu Fe; or, This Clever Deal.
Billy? Full “and: or, The Garnin Detective.
y 9 none.
Billy’s Curious Cane.
Billy in Denver.
Billy’n Bargain; or. Th.- Thm Detectives.
Billy, the Retriever Detective.
Billy‘s Shadow Chnnc.
llly‘s Beagles; or. The Trio’s Quest.
n’uy llllly’a ’l‘emn; or, Th.- Comhhm's Big Pull.
way Billy’s Brlu‘udc: or. The Dead Alive.
Billy‘s Queer Bequest.
. inure". .
I 9 Im coo .
way Billy's W’l‘pe out. p

“0 Silver-M‘s!“ the Sign of Mystery: or, The Golden Keys.
86” 5 mm. it.» Hold king: or, ForSavsn Ysars Dean.
480 he Iletective’s A [is-entice; or, A Day Without a Name.
M . ed<Hot Tunas at Auto Bar.

III.

3 Duds.
lit Ralph the Prince of the Road.

The swinger Detective: or. Redlight Ralph’s Resolve.
54S Mnrt. the Night Express Detective.
5?! Air-Lille Luke the Young Engineer; or. The Double Case.
59. Boy PI-kerton; or, Running the Rascals Out.
61 5 Fluhtlnu Horn-v the chief of Chained Cvclone.
“40 Bareback Both, the Centaur of the Circle.
847 glypewrlter Tilly, the Merrham’s Ward.
659 oonllglst Morgan, tho “ Plsenelt "Man al‘Ants Bu.

wu Bl
y ll

all»
“3::
cflbé

.37 user. A. K. sins. .’

539 Tom-Cat and Pn di or. The Dead Set at Silver City.
623 'l‘nm-(‘at’iv Trio : or. The Aflnlr ni Tombstone.
“81 Tons Cat’s Terrlblc Tusk; or. The Cowboy Detective.
688 Tons-Cat's Triumph or. Black Don’s Gmn Combine.
s- ths hspamil Omit: or, Josh’s Ten Strike.
608 he Bandy of llodle; or. Rustlluu l'or Millions.
'36 In Silver flnort; or. Josh Prppsvuilut‘s Jubilee.
53? am" Isl“. “2.”? whtll 31”.“er r Ron 4! U
II p Alla, v nlc ' nc : or, at imesnt n ’
611 3113.5 Barnacle, the Detectiv‘la Herculn. , p
Cowboy GI the Cattle-Range Defective.
65? Warm up William, the Mountain Mountean
065 Jolly Jeremiah the Plains Detective.
070 H l t e mlmnt out.
5'05"”: or, The Mysisrv of Two Lives.
rho Buster: or. For in Stakes.

i rt; or, The Mystlfled Detective.

find Prospector. _
s~Cut Dstscilvs.

madame. the Mustangs Demmo.

atlsr of Rolling Mme.

. I an Joe. the Committee of One.

80! Rent Kirby, the Rich-Kicker from Killhnck.

 

 

mer’s Deal.

._-.V, _-, c . .v..__..,. .W_._.-r .._cv____l_4,.

 

HY COLONEL I’REN'I‘ISS INGllAflAMu
2 Dick lfoom'u Vomit-Grill: "13111" Dl'li'rliw lu‘ T‘
? DIM. Dual-I'M ln-Mllny; or, 'l'lu- Iiivcr Ului'klm’u 'ch

DlI'k "00m: or. 1 hr Minty-s :md Shurks ul New York,
MN Hick Boom in Boston: or, A Mun oi Muny Nuukn.
7913 Dick "0qu ln (‘hlcnum
Tim lllt'k Doom In the, “ llll ‘sl'cni. I
Hm; "lei. Doom‘n (‘lenn H“ cop: nl‘, five Links in u ('l»,
MIN Hick lhmm’n “with ( luv. 1
rlli It'll-l. Ilumn'u Illsunuml IDs-ill. ;
74H? liuhlllng (“lulu-Ho; m, 'l l.» iii-murky 'l‘mllvri‘um‘s First 9
7.36 hut-Mug ('lun'lh ‘M Destiny: or. The erlrumlc's Cu
EU bushing: l linrlic‘n l’slwuce Paul.

6 "Helium: (film-lie, the Reseller.

7 Buck Taylor, Kin: oi llli' Cowboy].

2 Buck '1 u) lor. u..- l mmumlie’n (‘n itive.
ill Huck 'I‘uylur'u 12in) a; i r, The Hell Ride" oi’ihe Rio Gr
560 l’uwm-e “Ill, iln‘ l’ruirir SllnllOWl‘l‘.

:s l’uwnoe llill: or. (furl, llle Mini (.‘llwlmy.

..
t
~
l
s

019).)91

..
6
v.
t

l
, l,» l'muu-o “my. pledge: my“... ('Owboy‘QDooln.
~

.3 l’nwnec Hill; or,I)urii.ultick.
l2 li’cdiforn’u (‘nrlouu Clue: m, Th. Rlvul Sharpu,

b? limiter-n all lM-vll‘u Ilium-ls: nr, TIwSIWPl'Wln Tel .
P15 iii-illorn’n High Hand:' 0". lllu».luck.-t. 
l? lieili'crn‘u Lav-Ii 'l‘ruu; ul', Tim lied Somhrrro Range.
66" Ill-d liulph'l “II-so: or,'l‘hs Buruulcm Midsai unan. ‘
074 L’s-ii Ralph‘s Bold (hung; ur,’l‘he Wlumi . allur. a
(£79 Rul Ilsllph, the aluulmnr. or, The Freenooier’s Legucy».

644 Butterfly Billy's Ill-utilise. j
lift“ Butterfly Illlly, llu- l'nnv l-xpress Rldrr.
6m: Butterfly Billy‘s Mun Hunt.
662 lluitenlly Bllly’a Bonanza.
565 Kent Klnmlont or. The Owls of the Overland.
0 Rent Klnudon's flhnslnwcr or,the Card Queen.
{‘75 Kent Klumhm’u lllu‘ll H‘. ' he Slugs-on Si‘l'lil.
63"“ Kent Klugdou’n bonus; onle Buckskin Avenger.

“51

5'15 Iths- Run Down: M". The "mum"! of Bll'mtfl’lh 

(I60 l.ulltt4-'n Loews-y: or. The Avenglpd Son.
{:65 Lulltic’s Confer-Mon; ill, The Luck Corsair.

-’ x,“

w.

v. .-

520 lluckslkln Bill. the (‘nmunrlw Shadow.

6916 The lhu-kaltln "mills-rs In Texan. _
The Buckskin Bowers-z ur. The Cowh‘c)‘ ‘Pirstss.

gill; The Rus-lwldn Rover-u: or, The l’rulru- hunting.

0 The Ruck-kin l'urda’ Queat: 01'. Cfll'mn Ku-Kllx- -  '

508 The Rs)an Middyx or. The Shark and im- Sea Cat. . .
50? The Royal Mlslsly’n Luck: ur,’l‘he Huuicd )lidshlpmr.
511 ’l he Royal Middy’s Foe. ’5‘:
450 “Zilllrd \Vlll : or. The Boy Fem! oi New York.
451 “'lznrd “:lll’s Street Scout‘s.

4:71 “ Izul’d “ lll’n l‘nrd: nr. l-‘l- rn. the Flower Girl-
488 “' Ilurd “’lll'a Lust (Issue: 0!. The Ferrets Afloat.

Minoan Dare. the Tiny Refuges.

)unrnn lmre'a Plot; M. A Cabin Boy's Lnl'k.
)mwsm lhlrc'u l’rlzc: or, Tim Sun RlldI-r

lulu-nu Durc’n Secret: or. The Ocean l'irefll‘. 

408 lender. the "nuns? (‘onuplrntori or, The Fatal hum}.
40? lnodor'n Danish. (‘lmn-g m.’l‘lu- Buy lirrurwnr.
412 laoslur'ss Wur-(‘loud Cruise; m, The l‘. ild Yachunllll
2‘.“ "hum “ill. the Prince oi the Rains.

222 Ilium Bill’s Clue; 0'. Gr“: “1' 3""0 8P0"-

804 Dead Slant Randy’s Dilemma. '
808 I'l'llll Mini llnmly'u Double: mnKn-no K“- r
814 lleml Elliot Dundy‘s helium-e: or. The “W Butler.
602' Dead Slim. Bunny’s Clild‘; or, The River Detective.

245 Merle Monie'n Leap for Life.

250 Merle Mann-hi Mutiny: or. limndi,ihu Buccaneer.
20H Merle Monti-“u Treasure Island.

261‘ Mes-lo Monte the Condemned.
816 Mar e Munro's (ks-«Ines or. “The fluid Shin
£10 Merle Monty‘s 1?.th or. The l’irmc‘s Pride.
’84 Merle Maine’s Pledge; or, The Sea Marauder.

19? The Kid Glove Sport: or. Little Grit, the Wild Rider. t;
204 The Kid Glove Sport's Doom; or, Buflulo Bill, (2
Pony Express killer. .

‘s‘fll Ruth Redmond, the Girl shallower.
("'36 Orlando. the Ora-nu l“ es Plug.
81? Ralph, the Dead-Shot Scout.
802 The Vagabond ni'tllsc Misses.
bflfv’l‘he Texan Detect-Tet or. The Black BTW“!-
5’” Dulmonhe. the Young Sen Rover; or, The Avenzlng Selle
Mm The nun-nu Cutlets or. The False Demure.
495 Arizona Joe; Ar. The Buy Paul of Texas Jack.
432' Nevada Ned. the Revolver at
468 Neptune heal, the Boy Coaster: or, Pirate In Spite.
l Wanderer: Or. The Born Guide.
: or, The Sea Sea arses.
. 99 Hands; OT,Tlli: oy Lieutenant.
“'III. the Trulinr Guide.
l’llot; or, The Search for Pirate lsland. ,
Bouod'e . t e Buy Rover: or,The Finglus Schooner.
y Blue-Eye‘s 0f the lilo Granule. v
e flour. the Cowbov Ca itsln. ,
[moon Kate, tlu- Glrl miles; or.'l'lie Cowboy’s Tri
he llluaar Capt nln: or. The Hermit of Hell Gate.
to flea-Devil; or, The )lldshlpnisn’s Legacy. '4 ,
ck Bead-Eye, the Smuggiar; or, The Cruise of the V A ‘ -
he oy Dwell-ti or, The Cruise of the Sea-Wail.
Ie .hndow fihlpi nr,ThaRlvlelsutcna1-¢s. . .
inmond Dirk; or, The Mystery of the Yellowstone.
ulph Boy, the Boy Buccan—ér: or. The Fugitive Yacht

he Flying Yankee; or, The Ocean Outcast.

 

" ohm:

 

§'-%-!="i'-l?

 

#32

A0 , I! Is the Frisco Detective. By C. E. Tripp
Brgadifiafv Billy’s flunk Bucket; or, The City D
tlve’s ill: Hnul. ,liy J. C. andrirli. _ . ,
Deadwood hick, .lr.’a. lllvnl. By Edward L. “h '
“'lllenwako. the Trumvboy Deleclire. l’y (‘oL A: l"- .
The Hustler Refine-Catcher. liy Wm. ll. Lynn-r,
flick Doom’n Glr Man-oi. By Col.PrennulngM
N'obbv NM the Tenth-rim». Detective. (- P
ill-midway hilly's Bluff. By J- C.
ill-lulwofld ll'k, Jr.’n, 00m. Ry Ell.IAs
’okcr Jar-k the Detective Sport. By 0" Ciimiicn.
4 lower: Billv. Ihe Bum-o Bouncer. Bv Jo lll'l't‘f.“
#25 Marlo. the. (‘owboy Coaster. (Iv “'1- P- 1"er an
826 presifldwny Billy Among Jersey Thugs. By
‘nw r . ,

82f Eli‘s; Ignatius. sport; or, The Miner-Boss Fermi. ll
.. nr augh. i

82“ Deadwood Dick, Irma Fcoon. By Ed. 1.. Wheel

899 The Gentleman Crook In Chicagoior, Dick:

80 aando'éq I :5 (‘..l. PI. lngahsmku cum“
' lo I' m . on II n: 01 or,

881 arrhNthfir Sevenfiy Ben D.’Hn'l,lldulv. B;

8 c I can urnlncrs on. y

sea The Doetoiglbetccflve in Texas. By men

A New Issue Every Tuudflir

The llalf- Dime Library is {or rule by all mandala! 5
«nt- pcr copy, or cent by null on receipt of six cents each.

nEAnLn um Amuse. Publisher--
98 William Street, Row Y