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Copyrighted. 1896. by 8mm um Anus.

 

 

    
    
   
  
    
   
    

 

'NO  Pubnlhodlnry QBeadle g?- fldams, @ablishers, ToncentsaCopy. V01 

w°‘“°'d‘" 93 WILLIAM STREET, NEW YORK. “'00 ‘ Y'“ '

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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lt.’» . ,

APTAINOB’SLEEK’ / a ' 7” THE

COOL STRIKE.

A BTOIY 0' TH]

MISSING WALL STREET BANKER. I

 

 
    
  

 

 

 

l
BY CAPT. HOWARD HOLMES, “I”
AUTHHR 0}“ "HIRAM HAWK, THE HARLEM / '
DETECTIVE," “mum; MULLION,” Ere.  {X I
v ) I “I §
(,IIAI TLR 1.  \\\_\‘\ N;
THE TRAIN sI'O'I'TER. I':§ ' 1 S?
A GREAT many pcnple who thought, they  ¥ T
kIIcw 'l‘mII Tracer pretty well did not know ‘  \ ~ ‘ _ _ ?
him at. all. I 741;}7‘ ‘ _ r \  * ,  ~ ‘77 
Not, that he was lIIII‘d 10 gm ut‘qIIuIIImd E   r _ \“:" 5‘,  
wnh, for he was II genial ft‘HHW uf thirty. g.   _  ., ’  7;. _,,H _, .___ an“; 1—- 
two and handsome, but. he never sought new BUT rpm; “AND ()F Tm; TRAIN “IiTIX-vl-IVE WAS TM) QHCK FOR CAPTAIX SL 33

 

    

2

The Train Detective.

 

 

friends, but had the faculty of keeping
all his old ones.

Some people believed that he had
nothing at all to do, but inhabited the
house in which he was often found when
not down town or out somewhere, but
this class of citizens knew the very least
about his business.

It was ten o’clock one night in the
middle of the summer, and Tom Tracer
was alone in the sumptuous little par-
lor to the right of the hall.

He was smoking as if in deep thought,
when the bell tinkled in the hall, and,
not having any servants that night, he
answered the ring in person.

He opened the door to stand face to
face with a young man wh0se counte-
nance was white and serious, as the gen-
tleman saw it in the light of his lamps.

Tom led the way to the parlor, and
motioned his visitor to a chair.

The youth hesitated and looked at the
other one as if he had perpetrated the
blunder of getting into the wrong house.

“You are Mr. Tracer, are you not?”
he asked.

“That’s my name.
me, I presume.”

“I do. The case is an urgent one,
and I have been directed to you by Mr.
Somerset.”

“Colonel Somerset?” smiled Tom.

“ Yes, the railroad official. He is just
quitting the city for the summer, and
I happened to catch him in his office
just as he was about to go to the train.”

“All right. What is it, Mr——”

“My name is Flint—Frank Flint. He
gave me this note to you, Colonel Som—
erset did.”

With this the young man handed
Tom Tracer a folded note, which he at
once took and carried over to the table
light.

“ I see. You want my professional as-
sistance,” said he, looking up and catch-
ing his caller's eye. “It seems to be a
complicated matter.”

“It is so, to us at least. It is a mys-
tery which seems to smack of the grav-
est crime imaginable. Shall I tell you
the particulars as we know them, though
they are few and very vague?”

“If you please, Mr. Flint. Do you
smoke?”

“ Not now,” and the young man pushed
back the cigars which Tom Tracer had
shoved toward him.

“ Mr. Abel Marks is a prominent gen-
tleman who is connected with one of
the foremost firms in Wall street. He
is about fifty-five years of age and is
quite wealthy. His household consists
of a daughter, he being a widower him-
self, having buried his wife within the
last three years.

“ I am well acquainted with him, hav-
ing been somewhat connected with his
firm, but not in a very important way.

You want to see

I am called in at odd times to go over-

the accounts of the house and to adjust
the books if they need adjusting. In
this manner I have become pretty well
acquainted with Abel Marks. I like the
man, as do all with whom he is con-
nected, both in a business way and so-
cially; but just now we don’t know
where he is."

A smile came to Tom Tracer’s face
and lingered there a little while.

“I infer from the note from Colonel
Somerset that it is a case of mysterious
disappearance, to say the least,” he said.

“ That is true. It is the deepest mys-
tery I ever had anything to do with, but
you may have seen deeper ones and may
be able to throw some light upon this
one. Four nights ago Mr. Marks went
to the Grand Central to take the train
for Albany on a matter of very import-
ant business. Indeed, from what I can
gather, this business involved many
thousands of dollars, and the transact-
ing of it successfully would increase his
wealth nearly half a million.”

“Quite an important mission."

“Certainly. Now, sir, from the time
Mr. Abel Marks entered the train all
trace of him has been lost.”

Frank Flint stopped as if he thought
he had visibly impressed the railroad de-

    

 

tective with the importance of the case
in hand.

Tom Tracer reached over and care-
fully selected another cigar from the
box and picked up a match.

“lie entered the train, did he?” he
asked.

“ Oh, yes. He was seen to do that, and
I may add that the train pulled out on
time with Mr. Marks on board.”

“ lie was unaccompanied, eh?”

“He always went alone, would not
take any one with him, though on sev-
eral occasions his daughter wanted to
accompany him, he having had for years
trouble with his heart. She did not
know that he was going to Albany and
was not aware of his absence from home
till the morning after his departure,
when a note left in the office for her in—
formed her of his trip.”

“ You seem deeply interested in this
matter, Mr. Flint? ”

The young man flushed and for a mo-
ment averted his gaze. '

“I am. Miss Nora and I are good
friends, and anything that concerns her
affects me.”

“I see,” said the train spotter, as he
blew a puff of smoke ceilingward.

“ believe I have gone fairly well over
the ground,” continued Flint. “ There is
little to tell. Mr. Marks has simply
dropped out of sight. I called on Colonel
Somerset, with whom I am slightly ac—
quainted, and he sent me to you with the
note I have delivered.”

Tracer looked away, and his gaze
seemed to rest on a certain spot on the
opposite wall.

“What else have you done, Mr.
Flint?” he asked, without looking' at
his caller. “Have you gone up to Al-
bany to see if Mr. Marks ever reached
that city,”

“I have not. It was not necessary.
We know he did not, sir."

“ Ha, you know, do you?”

“ Yes, sir—in this way: The firm with
which Mr. Marks intended to transact
the important business has telegraphed
asking what delayed him.”

“Oh, that way, eh?” -

“Those people do not know anything
about the missing man, having heard
nothing from him since the day before
his departure.”

“ Did he carry any money with him? ”

“ His junior partner does not know to
a certainty. He may have taken, five
hundred dollars, but that, you know,
would not tempt some men.”

“That is true, Mr. Flint, but it would
tempt a great many, on the other hand.”

“ Common robbers!”

“Dub them what you please, but it
would tempt a great many men," re-
iterated‘ the detective.

“I’ll admit that, but Mr. Marks must
have had enemies who were on the
watch.”

“Had he enemies? "

“ I cannot say. Miss Nora says not,
for he was a home body and never had
any suspicious visitors.”

“That’s in his favor.
this matter.”

“ When, please?”

Frank Flint was a little nervous and
he rose as 'he spoke.

“Right awaY-”

“ Thank you.
also.”

“Does she know of your call?”

“No, sir. I did not tell her, for she
is wrought up over the vanishment and
thinks that her father has been mur—
dered. I confess that it looks a little
that way to me, but we’ll hope it is not
that bad.”

“Where do you live, Mr. Flint? ”

“I have rooms fronting Madison
Square. Here‘s my card,” and the youth
placed a delicate card at the detective’s
elbow.

IVithout picking it up, but merely giv-
ing it a glance, the detective left his
chair and in another minute came back
alone once more, his caller having taken
his departure.

Then he noticed the card and picked
it up.

I’ll look into

I will say this for Nora

, ./

 

“Pretty good rooms for a man like
that,” was all the audible remark he
made as he placed the card in his
pocket.

Half an hour later a man who looked
somewhat like the train spotter in build
entered the Grand Central Depot.

He stood for a little while in the glare
of the thousand—and-one lights and
watched the sea of humanity which
ebbed and flowed under the mighty roof.

He walked forward and came upon a
man who sat in one of the seats with
his head on his hand.

“Shivers?” said the detective.

The man started at. sound of the name
and smiled when he saw who had ad-
dressed him.

“ You’re on duty yet, I see,” continued
Tom.

“ It’s endless duty, sir. It’s the work
I like, and it's better than the old, trac-
ing the streets in all sorts of weather,
with a chance to have your napper taken
in the most approved style."

“ It‘s a little better, Shivers, but these
hot nights—”

“ That’s the only drawback,” was the
reply. “But it’s to be cooler by and
by, sir.”

The Train Spotter drew the man into
the darkest corner of the waiting room
and they sat down.

“Where were you
Shivers? " he asked.

“ Here.”

“ When the 10:40 Express pulled out?”

four nights ago,

“Yes, sir. I was out there with my
eyes open."

“And saw nearly everybody, as
usual?”

“ I won’t say that, Mr. Tom, for that’s
what no one can do in this human bee-
hive, I saw a good many, though, who
took the Express. In fact, I helped a
gentleman on the train. I carried his
valise for him.”

“What sort of a man was he?”

“A tall man, as slim as a rail, with
bronzed face and a. squint in his left
eye.”

“ But you didn’t see a well-dressed
gentleman about fifty, with a small va-
lise, reddish in color?”

“With a soft hat which looked a little
odd on his head, eh?”

“ Perhaps, Shivers." '

“I saw that man. He looked like a
nabob, and when I accidentally'knocked
off his hat in helping the tall gentleman
on the train he lost his temper and
wanted to know why they kept such
blunderers as me round here.”

“ You saw that man get on the train,
did you, Shivers?”

“I did, and I saw him at the window
when the train moved off. But he was
not alone then.” '

“ Why not?”

“The tall man was in the seat with
him, and they were laughing about
something which they seemed to appre-
mate as a good joke.”

“You don’t want to make a mistake,
Shivers. This may be an important
case.”

"I can’t help that, Mr. Tom. I saw
them in the same seat and the tall man
was tickled nearly to death over some-
thing, and while they were laughing the
train pulled out.”

Tom Tracer seemed to drop his gaze
to the floor, and for a little while he
did not look back into Shivers’ face.

“Wait a minute, Mr. Tom!” cried
Shivers, breaking away from the rail-
road ferret. “ There’s a man I want to
see.”

Tom Tracer turned and looked after
the moving man and saw beyond him
another person who attracted him from
the first.

Shivers (lid not hail the stranger, but
stopped suddenly and gave him a close,
scrutinizing look.

In haste the
back.

“ That’s the tall man’s pard, Mr. Tom.
I saw him in the depot the night the
two went away, and he seemed to be
interested in them.”

Tom Tracer moved cautiously after

depot detective came

“I

    

 

   

the person thus designated by Shivers
and followed him from the depot.

Outside, the stranger stepped into a.
cab and closed the dd'or behind him.

As it moved off, Tom Tracer, always
on the alert, entered another cab, say-
ing to the driver:

“You see the cab yonder. Follow it,
but at a respectful distance; but follow
it! ”

Away he went.

CHAPTER II.
A GOLD BUG'S FLIGHT.

Jarold Jenks, the business partner of
Abel Marks, the missing man, was as
well known on ’Change as his associate.

He was a person not quite as old as
Marks, but with a better physique and a
stronger will.

He was a married man, whose only
child was a son past twenty-five and
somewhat of a blade.

Blair Jenks, or “Prince Bullion,” as
he was called in certain circles, was
a. good-looking fellow who affected a
great many rings and was lavish in his
expenditures for wines.

Jarold, the father, was aware of his
hopeful's escapades, but he thought best
to furnish him with all the funds he
wanted rather than try to stop the young
blade in his headlong course.

About the hour of Tom Tracer’s in-
terview with Shivers, the -depot detect-
ive, the parlor of the Jenks mansion
was occupied by father and son.

Prince -Bullion looked uncommonly
well, and his clothes of the latest cut
looked bright and new.

A magnificent lamp threw its light
over the crimson cloth that covered the
mahogany table, and a box of Havanas
stood near the old banker’s arm.

About the eyes of the elder Jenks
there was a faded look, and his lips ap-
peared to have lost a little color.

“ It’s not much, and look at the possi-
ble outcome,” said the young man.

“I look at everything. There is noth-
ing that escapes me in'a business .way.”

“I know that. HaVe I ever made a
bad investment?" ' - .

“ You’ve been pretty shrewd, boy, and
in that you take after your father; ha,
ha!"

“Thanks,” bowed Prince Bullion. “I
say this is the chance of a lifetime.
Think of it; there’s a gold mine, liter-
ally speaking, in our grasp.”

“ But ‘it’s beyond the Rockies."

“ Granted, and so is the unminedgold
which will surely come to your coffers
by and by.”

“ That's pretty good logic. But what
of this company that offers you all these
shares for a mere song? I What do you
know about it?" .

“ I know that I’ve investigated the
matter and I’m satisfied. 'I can take
twenty thousand and make a cool mil-
lion.”

“ But, look here. I can’t do anything
till Abel Marks comes back," said Jar-
old Jenks.”

“Oh, hang that partner of yours! Do
you want him to comeback and pluck
the plum himself?"

“ He won't do that.
firs .”

“But where is he and when will he
show up?" _

Young Jenks leaned back in his chair.
tipping it a little, and inserting his
thumbs into the armholes of his vest.

“ That’s pretty hard to tell,” said the
banker. “I know that it is believed that
he has vanished.”

“It is. I can tell you something,
father.”

“What’s that?”

\ “It’s become a matter for the detect-
ives. The mystery of Abel Marks’ dis-
appearance has been placed in their
hands for solution.”

Jarold Jenks started a little.

- “ Who did this?"

“ The daughter, perhaps: that keen-
eyed- but deuced pretty girl of Marks’.
tall; I know is that the case is in the

 

I must see him

s of, the" ferrets. and, that they’ e. m

 

 

“I had not heard of this, but I might
have inferred it from what she said the
last time she called at the omce."

“ Well, she’s done it, and here you
want me to wait till he comes back. What
if there’s a woman in the case? What
if some one has knocked him over be-
tween here and Albany, and what if he
never turns up at all? What will be—
come of the gold mine?”

Jenks senior said nothing for a mo-
ment, but his gaze wandered away, nor
did it return to his hopeful for a full
minute.

All this time-he was narrowly watched
by Prince Bullion, whose sensual lips
now and then curled with eagerness.

“ You don’t want me to wait now, do
you?” said Blair.

Jarold Jenks did not reply.

“ I’ve promised the gentlemen a reply
to-night.”

“Where are they?” ;

" At their rooms. I am to answer
them by a. certain hour, and it lacks

but twenty minutes of the time. I can
barely make it.”

“I don’t see how—”

“ You must, father,” broke in the

youth. “ You can’t afford to lose this
opportunity. Think of it! If I win, and
I will ‘strike it rich,’ to use a western
phrase, I will not come on to you again
for another dollar, and that is some-
thing.”

A faint smile came to the' banker’s
mouth.

It was more than
was a great deal. ,

“I guess I’ll let you make the vent-
ure,” said Jarold Jenks, drawing out
his check book and picking up a pen.

Blair’s eyes seemed to swell in his
head.

He did not breathe lest the faintest
breath would break the spell and shat-
ter the vaSe of fortune.

“ something ”; it

Slowly—for his hands trembled a little »

—Jarold Jenks drew up a check for twen-
ty thousand dollars, carefully crossing
his t’s and dotting the i’s as if on this
his life depended. .

When-he pushed the check over to his
son he said in a low voice:

“ You might show this to-night and

'bind the bargain, but don’t get it cashed;

don’t get the money on it till to-mor-
row afternoon. Can you manage this?”

“ I think I can. By Jove! father, since
{saws been so liberal with me, I’ll do
“ Thanks, boy. Don’t rush into a trap.
I’m glad you see a good thing ahead, and
now make sure of it."

“ I’ll catch the golden bird," laughed
Blair, as he folded the check and placed
it in his pocket-book. ‘

The eyes of Jarold Jenks followed his
only heir to the door in a longing man-
ner, and for some time after Blair van~
ished the banker continued to regard
the portal with eager looks.

All at once, however, he sprang up
and crossed the room to another door.

In the hall beyond this door a dim
light was burning, and here the banker,
looking haggard now, as if in that single
minute he had lived ten years, leaned
against the wall and breathed hard.

. Its come the awful hour,” said he
in undertones. “It must be done.”

He went up stairs and slipped down
a hall till he reached a door, which he
opened carefully. ‘

Into the room beyond he went and
approached a bed. upon which ‘lay the
figure of his sleeping wife.

Jarold Jenks stood beside'the couch a
moment and looked down upon the placid
face of the partner of his bosom.

She did not stir, and all at once he
bent over and kissed her.»

In another second he was out of the
room, his whole form in a strange trem-
or, and presently he was in the library
on the first floor. , ~

Flinging himself into a chair at the
desk, he seized pen and paper and wrote
fast'for a spell. ~, _ 
But whaéiwhe wrot he tore. up", and

t,”

 

v .. ‘- ‘., ..~ :e-w 1.; " ‘i 
. g»? h‘,!,v,r,'.‘.‘J-|{.‘,: )flf,llsffi. 5,_-.~- . f3? 5 «_

The. Train macaw;

  

 

:
f

“ I Won’t do it, for I cannot,” he cried.
“I will leave nothing behind. It came
at last. I must go.”

Jarold Jenks left the house and caught
a car far down town.

Something unseen seemed to accelerate
his movements, and he walked rapidly.

He entered the little Wall Street office
where more than one fortune had been
made.

He pulled the curtains down and
turned on the gas, but not very high.

“By this time Blair has found .the
vultures,” said he. “ Ere this he has
bargained for a fraud, but it's the last
pull he’ll ever get from Jarold Jenks’
pocket-book till the courts give him an-
other. What a fool I‘ve been! A fool?
Would to God that were all!”

\Vhen he came out of the building he
almost ran against a man who at that
moment passed along.

There was no apology,
Jenks turned into Broadway.

From there he took a conveyance to
the Grand Central Depot and alighted
at the main entrance.

In a little while he stood in the flash
of the many lights and looked about him.

“ Safel, They don’t know me here,
because our customers don’t take the late
trains.” ‘ .

He laughed a little while he spoke and
then turned pale once more.

With a quick, nervous movement he
dragged the, rim of his hat over his brow
and faced-the ticket agent.

“Where to, sir?”

The query startled him.

Jarold Jenks seemed at that moment /

to come to himself.

“ I guess I won’t go to-night,” he stam—
mered, turning back and walking away.

“ All right, sir,” replied the agent,
and then he paid no more attention do
the Wall Street banker.

Out into the open air once more, J arbld
Jenks stopped and gasped.

“It's got to be elsewhere,” said he.

“ I won't stay in New York another hour. '
I dare not. They've put the matter into-

the ferrets’ hands, and that means an
overhauling of matters and things. VVh}r
didn’t Blair tell me sooner. I wonder
into whose hands they've put the matter?
I might buy them off. Did the girl do i ?
Is it her doings? And did she tell Bia r
himself? ”

Jarold Jenks hailed a cab and sprang
into it.

The order he gave was heard only by
the Jehu, who jumped upon his hot,

“and the vehicle rattled away.

“ I wish I could hire the cabby to drive
me to the ends of the earth,” said the
banker, as he fell back-among the 
ions and took a long breath. “What
made me do it, anyhow? There was a
bright future before me: but now—noww

Some men are born fools, and I am one 

of that number:

For some minutes the cab carried Jars

old Jenks hither and thither over New
York. ‘ ' 1
He did not go toward home.

He seemed to shun the house where he a

had been happy and where he had de-
serted his wife like a coward. - -
When the cab drew up he found hint?

self in the darkest and dingiest past of ‘ 

the city. a

and J arold '

I-Ie stepped out and for a meme t I

looked bewilderineg around, then'tarned:

and bestowed a smile upon the driver. ’
" This is the corner you spoke of, sir.

Maybe you’ve made a mistake," said cab,- I

‘.‘ A mistake?—-I guess not. Here, sir.

You’ve earned this,” and he placed ,a bill '

in the driver’s hands.

“ You’re not to wait, man,” said Jar- *

old. “I won't need
more.”

The other went back to the reins and

the vehicle rattled out of the vermin
nest. ‘ ' '
" I’m on the right track now,” said the

. banker, once more. dragging down his‘

,hat. “ I will

 

your services any:

\...

 

  
 

f§£.'4;:,5.{.'i’f V";“_‘ ‘7‘. “I; ~ 'I I :

    

’ The Train Detective.

1 ~ 1  t. ...v

 

 

plunged down a flight of steps and
knocked at a. door.

As it was opened he darted insideand
brought up in front of a man whose face
was a curiosity.

It was a. face that bore unmistakably
the brand of crime.

There Was the small, evil eye, the aqui—
line nose and the thin, criminal lip.

“ I’m here at last,” was all Jarold
Jenks said to this individual, who held
a lamp in his right hand.

“ So I see.”

“ Now I want you to do your best work.
I must be made another man before I
quit this place.” _ ‘

The stranger put down the lamp and
looked closely at the banker of Wall
Street. -

“I’ll change you. I’ll fix you up so
your wife won’t know you,” he grinned.
“You knew where to come, didn’t you,
Jarold Jenks? I don't ask any questions,
but I’ve got only one thing to say.”

“ What’s that?"

From this hour your fate is in the
hands of Ninepins.”

The banker did not speak; he only bit
his lip.

 

CHAPTER III.
THE DEAD BIRD IN THE NEST.
' For some time the Train Spotter was

"  carried through the streets of New York

behind the cab which had taken the man
seen in the Grand Central Depot.
He placed a good deal of reliance in his

. driver, and in time the man pulled up

and leaned toward his fare.
‘5 He's stopped, sir,” said he.
Tracer opened the door.
Looking out he saw that the tracked

' cab had come to a standstill a short dis-

tance up the street and that the man he

had followed was Just getting out. ,
-“ Drive on and pass him,” said Tom.
He shut the door again and was drivan

 " .forward.

“ Turn the first corner and stop,” ‘were
the orders which the detective gave, and

t _,he was obeyed.

When he alighted he went back to the
street where he had left his quarry and

 saw that he was gone.

The man had ‘entered one of the houses
in the immediate vicinity. but which one

1;; .he did not know.

'7 It was not the first time in his career

‘ that the Train Spotter had been served

in a similar manner..
' .While he stood among the shadows of

 the buildings he saw a door open and a

.. 3 man came from one of the houses.

He was a person past sixty, but his

[dress was neat, almost hobby, and he
, arried a cane like an old sport.

0n the step he lit a cigar and for a sec-

,pnd showed the detective his face.

>' “,Why, it’s the General!" cried Tom.
ILifetime old man himself. ‘I wonder

fith fetches him to this part. of the

 ,3 u . I _ .

 ‘ t‘1‘zrlnning lightly from the steps the
,party so closely watched by the Train
‘ came tow’srd him twirling his

  rare good humor.

‘sv

 
 

;, Tracer looked at him till he’ reached.
:him, when he threw out one hand and
[touched the man's arm, ,

' The’ old sport stopped, and looked at
«the detective. -

 ,u Well, well," exclaimed he. “ I didn't

 

‘ .
‘Perhaps not, General," smiled Tom.
’It’s your stamping ground new, is it? ”.
, "."Yes, been here a month. Did you
magma n the park?" ‘ ’ ‘ V
A“ Ldid ’2 see you on the old bench the
7 other nigh .f’ ‘ ' ‘

4 “ I don't go there, any more. V It’s" ali'
; ‘«;»because of th‘e.woman in the case," and

hel’Geheral- laughed; - -

“ She ‘trdubles you yet, does she? "
. 3" Yes, and. will tilione of us lies under
it a grass. But. come. Let me show you
wnest." ‘ '

‘ the Train Spotter.

‘ to see you in thiapart of GothL
’

 
 
 

.   w walrus
Whit: ‘80'9 °fvifl°lfihh° Mitt“ ‘ ‘9'"

 

 

“ But you see them at odd times, don’t
you? ”

“ Not much.”

Tom walked toward the house which
his friend had just left, and the other
opened the door and ushered him in—
side.

They passed into a snug parlor, plain-
ly furnished and rather a nice place.

" It’s queer to see you here,” said the
old man. “ I never expected to be
stopped by you in this part of town.”

“I came hither on business. I‘ve been
following one of your neighbors, Gen-
eral.”

“Indeed. Which one?’

“ That’s what puzzles me. He’s a
good-looking man of medium height and
well dressed. He wears a long black
mustache which he seems to take care
ot__ ))

“ It must be the chap across the street.
Strange man, that.”

“Across the street?
house, do you mean? ”

“Exactly. I’ve seen him twice and
that only for a moment as he stood on
the steps. I .call him Captain Sleek.”

“ A pretty good name, by the way, and
seems to fit him very well. I came up
here after him."

The old sport ran his hand through
his white beard and looked Over at the
Train Spotter.

“I say, Tom, what’s this case about
my old friend Marks? He’s vanished,
they say."

“ He’s gone, General.
was a friend of yours? ”

“ He used to 'be, at least. We were
friends before he struck it so rich in
Wall Street, and after that we drifted
apart socially, until I guess I would have
been Ordered out of his office if I had
ventured inside.”

“ Marks did get pretty stiff,” remarked
“It’s singular, this
disappearance. You’ve seen the papers,
for it’s been there. Went to Albany, or
at least started for the capital on 3. mon-
eyed mission, and vanished."

The old sport bowed. '

“ Ever had a case just like this before,
Tom? ” he asked.

“ Not exactly. This case contains some
features my others did not enjoy.”

“ I would think so. It's uncommon for
a gold bug like Abel Marks to board
a train in the Grand Central and never
be heard*of again.”

“It's out of the ordinary," said the
Train Spotter. “ But Marks seems to
have had a traveling companion."

" He did? The old rascal! So there’s
a woman in his case, eh 1'4"

“ You’re wrong for once, General. In
this case the banker's companion was a
man." i .

“‘ Then that man might solve the mys-
tery, if he would." .

, “I don’t know. Itylis,oertain that
Marks never reached Albany. He stopped
this side." ‘

“And there’s no clew for'you.,shsrp
as yen are, Tom? ” laughedthe sport.

“ It looks a little dark.” remarked the
detective. “ But let's comeback to your
neighbor across the street,"

“ Why'come back to him?‘

“ Heseems to know the man who went
off With Abel Marks."

‘th, that's the why, is it? That’s

Opposite this

By the way, he

what ,brousht, you to this part of the‘

city? «You're on the scent, I see.”
‘ “ Yes, that's why I’m here. What do
you ,know about your neighbor?"

" But little, as I’ve said. ‘Hej‘comes
and goes only after dark; Never saw
him in the daytime at all. He is a night-
hawk and flies only after sundown. I
call him Captain Sleek, as I’ve told you,
and that’s all the name he’s got. I guess.”

“Does be live alone? "

.i "I can’tvsay'about that. Once I saw

-another face at enact the front windows

-a‘woman’s face, I might almost say a
; hutzi saw it for aa'moment only}?
His-witcg'perhepssi a ' i a
 " «grammes {the General.
L n 

 
 

   

 

about this fellow, and as soon as pos-
sible.”

“Does he know you followed him?"

“I think not.”

“Then the introduction might be man—
aged. You want to meet him?”

“ Not exactly that,” hastened to put in
the detective. “ I don’t care to meet him
face to face, for that would give my little
scheme away if he is suspicious.”

“I see. You want to see him in an—
other light?”

“ Now you have it, General."

The General went to one of the win-
dows of the little parlor and pulled the
curtain aside.

He seemed to press his face against
the pane, and for some time he stood
there like a statue. .

“ This way, Tom," he suddenly called,
and the detective sprang up and came
forward. '

“There’s your bird 'now,” said the‘

General.

The detective looked and saw a man
on the steps of the house directly op—
posite.

In figure he was exactly like the per-
son he had followed from the Grand
Central in the cab, and for some time he
watlched him, saying nothing to the Gen—
era .

“ He’s as neat as a pin,” spoke the old
sport at Tom Tracer's elbow. '

“Yes, his plumage is fine, and he may
be a fine bird.”

“Will you go after him now? There

he goes. Look at the window next to
thet'door. There’s the beauty of the
use . ” ‘

N The detective’s keen eyes had already

made out the face between the parted
curtains, but owing to'the" light he could
not tell whether the owner was old or

young.  . x .

Meantime Captain Sleek had stepped
to the pavement and was putting on his
right glove.

“ The girl might give you some inform-
ation,” said the General. ‘

“ You are right.
We’ll try the bird left at home.”

They watched the man out of sight
and saw the face quit the window.

The curtains across the way came to-
gether and the two men in the General’s
house went back/to ,the ta le. , Iv

.“Do you think Abel - kp‘had any
enemies? ” asked the. TrainS’potter.

“ He had, but they’re dead.” - I

“ Fertune favored the banker'of Wall
Street, then? ” .

a " Yes. But I haven’t kept much track
of Marks'of late. I rarely saw’ him, and
I don’t do business with the firm. But
‘I knew he was getting rich and—" ‘

The old General was interrupted by a
shriek which Came from beyond the
house, and he ran to the window.

It was heard again, and he turned
upon the detective with a startled look.

“ It’s from across the way. The light’s
out in the houseover there and the girl
may be introuble." I ' _

It did not take the detective half a
second to reach. the door, and the old
sport followed him- - ~ ‘

The"lig_hts in fthe house ,across the
street were out, and the place looked
dark and'still. . , ,

Tom Tracer bounded up the steps and
tried the knob.

But the door was shut and would not
yield tbhis hands.

“Break it in!” cried the excited man

{at his heels.

Confident that the cries, had come from
beyond the stubborn door, the < stalwart
detective drew oi! . a pace and then
launched himself against it.

He would have broken in a door strong-
or than that one, and it yielded.

It fell' in on broken hinges as the young
ferret fell almost headlong into a hall-
way and then for a moment paused there.

“ It’s the. room to the right," said the
General. ' ‘ .

  

door and was there. 
3 168311" ' '

.7,’

W

1

Let the fellow go. '

 

 

Already the Train/Spotter had seen the

 

 

 

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.. she’s still warm.

   
 

l .

’ v1:  ‘j

v The Tram Detective.

 

 

 

 

W
threshold into a room dimly lighted by
a single jet overhead.

Tom Tracer turned on more light and
fell back from the scene that met his
gaze.

The body of a woman lay on the floor

' at his feet, and he saw that she had

fallen from a chair. ‘

“This is the girl,” said the old man,
who had entered after him. “ Don’t you
see what. a pretty face she has and what
small hands? I told you she was the
bird of this nest.”

Tom Tracer was on his knees beside
the girl and his hand had touched her
wrist. ‘

“ She’s dead," he cried, looking up at
his companion.

.“ I thought so from the first. But, see!
The shriek was hers.”

“I don't doubt that, but what killed
her? “

“ That’s for you to guess.”

Tracer carried the body to a sofa on
one side of the room and laid it thereon.

“There's no mark of violence," said
the General.

“Yes, there is. Look here,” and the
Train Spotter laid his finger on a drop
of blood on the fair white neck.

The old sport looked and nodded, but
he did not speak.

The‘ detective’s gaze wandered about
the room. ;“ t

; CHAPTER IV. '
_ .Tnn sporrnn's NOCTURNAL TRAIL.

“ It was not Captain Sleek,” said the
General suddenly, as he laid his hand
upon the detective‘s sleeve. “We didn’t
hear the cry till after he had gone.”

“That is right, General. But he may
have come back."

. " on, he might have done that; he had
time, I’ll admit; but Idon’t think he did,
because he seemed attached to her.”

“ From the observations you made from
over the way? ”

-“ That‘s it. I didn't see much of them,
you understand, but from what I did see
they seemed man and wife.’.’; .

Tracer, ,who had gone over to the
round table in the middle of the parlor,
came back and stooped overthe body on
‘the sofa. -

One of the pallid hands hung toward
the floor, and he noticed that» it was
tightly clinched.

Lifting it, he tried to unclasp it, but
it was something he could not do.

The General came to his assistance,
and together they opened the dead hand.

Something 'dropped out of it to the
floor, and lay at the detective's feet.

That something was a bit of paper

 

. carefullyl‘mmed and quite small.

“ lit??- eagerly asked the

‘ 4 General, as the«>detective opened the find.

‘ ' gallowed

“Not much," was the sententious ‘an-
swer, as Tom Tracer put the paper into
his pocket. '

“ This is something for the police,” reg
marked the General. “ It's a wonder no

‘ one else heard the cries.”
“ It’s better as it is,” said Tom. I “ You

can remain here~”
“ What, in this house with this girl? ”
cried the other, losing color as he re-‘

coiled. .“ I’d sooner go into the tomb at
. «lice. No, I can't do that.”

, f‘Not'lfor my sake?” asked Tom. “I
can't “remain.- , I must go. It's import-
an.’ m  ,2.
“Then 30: Ill stay tillthe officers
come. You’ll find the patrolman just
round the first corner to the left. It's
Dan Conners. and he's 'a. good, one in
[cases of this sort." ._ 1

- “ I know Connors.” »

‘With this the detective’ bolted off and
the old General shut'the‘ door. ,

Perhaps the latter wondered why Tom
did not icome back with the policeman
who hustled into the house and looked at
the dead body on the sofa.

- He might have wondered, too, what
was on the paper found in the death
clutch. and whether he would ever be
to  the rather by the

,the stars indicated midnight.‘

 

policeman, whom he startled on his beat
with the story of the ghastly find in the
house.

He kept on down town.

He did not stop till he reached the
Grand Central Depot, and there within a
few minutes he boarded a train and took
a quiet seat in one corner of the smoker.

As the train rumbled through the city
and across Harlem Bridge, the Train
Spotter seemed to have fallen into a
deep reverie, as if he was thinking out
the puzzle of crime which had just con-
fronted him. -

Once and only once he pulled a bit of
paper from an inner pocket and looked
at it in the light of the coach’s lamp.

Seemingly satisfied with the inspection,
he put it away again and leaned back
in the seat.

On, on went the train in its northward
course, till at last the city’s lights grew
fewer and fewer and at last had been
left. behind altogether. V

Then Tom Tracer came out of his rev—
one.

He leaned toward the glaSS and now
and then pressed his face against it, for
the night was dark and the stars few.

After a shrill whistle the train pulled
up along a narrow platform, and the
detective left his seat.

He had time to swing himself from the
steps before the train moved on once
more and left him stranded, as it were,
in the darkness. '

,In front of the detective rose the out-
lines of a little depot, and he seemed to
regard it in silence for a moment ere he
moved away.

Back of the building ran a narrow path
which meandered on to a suburban vil-
lage nestling among some hills, and not
far from the Hudson.

The houses were scattering, and here
and there the detective saw a struggling
light.

Woodsdale was not a metropolis, but a
little place where all the trains did not
stop, and the people had not the business
push of their larger neighbors.

Tom Tracer reached this station when

The sound 'of his feet on the gravelly
walk was the only one he heard, and he
at last walked on the grass alongside.

p He seemed to know where he was go-

ing, for he kept on almost to the end of
the narrow walk.

Five minutes " later he drew up in front
of a house the surroundin s of which
were clothed in darkness (1 silence.

The Train Spotter advanced to the
porch and stopped.  He heard no sounds
beyond the doors, and the windows Were
closely shuttered and the inner blinds
drawn. ~

The detective would have leaped upon
the porch if at that moment he had not
heard a noise behind him. '

He looked, but saw no one, forthére
were a number of cedar trees on‘ the
cramped lawn; .» "

Some one was coming up the gravelied
walk, some one whom he could not see.

. Tom Tracer stepped back into the dark-
er shadow of a tree and held his breath.

Perhaps the tenant of the house was
returning home. , v . e ,

Nearer and nearer. came the person on
the walk, and at last the Train Spotter
made out a figure darker than the faint
shadows thrown 'by the trees. ' ' '

This person sprangluppn the porch and
unlocked the front door. , x ‘

Beyond this door burned a hall light,
and this gave the detective an oppor-,
tunity to see a little of the‘person who
had gone into the house. i , .

If the detective of Gothamidid not start
at what he saw he certainly thought that,
he had not come to Woodsdale for noth-fi‘
ins. ‘ . ’ I " i/ ‘

Thelman whom he had‘traced through
the city by the cab stood beme him! I
The last man he (and the old General
Iliad seen come out- of the house where.

    
      

 
  
    
   
     
    
  
  
  
    
  
  
   
   
   
   
  
   
  
     
 
   
  
  
  
  
  
   
    
    
  
  
  
   
 
 
    
   
   
    
    
   
  
   
    
   
    
   
  
   
    
  
   
  
   
 
       
 

This discovery startled the cool detec-
tive, and perhaps at that moment he
asked himself what all this had to do
with the vanishment of Abel Marks, the
Wall Street banker.

The house now seemed hermetically
sealed against him, but Tom Tracer did
not despair.

He went round and round the place. 

He looked at it from all sides and 
from eaves to foundation. “

In the rear of the place was a small
back building which be carefully in—‘
spected and at the door of which he
stopped.

Suddenly the detective fell back, for
footsteps came toward the door and then
he heard some one say:

“ It’s bolted, I see."

“ I'told you so, but you wouldn’t be-
lieve,” said another voice in another part ’
of the house. . 

The detective waited till he could hear
no other noises and then he crept back
to the same door.

“ You came up without company, did
you? ” asked a voice in the house.

“ Why shouldn't I? You don’t suppose
I would bring a policeman with me? ”

“Of course not. I don’t care about
seeing them here. What’s the latest in
the city? ”

“Nothing. I haven’t inquired.” ' .

“ They haven’t found him yet? ”

“ No, and they don’t seem to care much
if they never find the old fellow.” ]

A light laugh followed this and then "
stillness came. '

This only served to whet the detec-
tive’s appetite for something else. 2

He wanted to look beyond the door.

He had a curiosity to see what Was» go-‘ . ,
ing on in the house, and he resolved to ' .
see. » é

Near the door stood a box, and above _ 
it a little window curiously placed in the ?
side of the house. ' I ~ "

It was a little window of but; four
small panesiand no sash. -

Tracer, the detective, mounted the box
and began to attack the window.

With his keen knife he removed the 
putty from the lower right-hand pane‘
and took it out with the skill of the
practised burglar. ,

Beyond the window .hung a thick curé"
tain which he attacked with the potato!
his knife, slitting it so he could look be-
yond it.

Tom Tracer’s movements were almost
noiseless, and when he had ripped the-
curtain_ he pulled the rent open and used 
his eyes. .  .

He looked into .a room and upon a’:
scene that satisfied him for his labors. 

He looked down into-s. small parlor.- .
like room whichat the time was coca-3‘
pied by twp men. . ‘ '

He saw first the handsome one called,
Captain Sleek by the “General,” and the
other a tall man of forty or thereabodts.

Was the tall one the person whom
Shivers had seen with Abel Marks 
the cars? ' t  ' '

The fragrance. of prime ' cigars was
wafted to the detective as he gazed upo ‘1
the scene around him, and he saw on the
round table a bottle of champagne 
egg-shell glasses. v 

“ What does he say now?”.asked’
younger ,of the pair. ~

 

 

the.
6 What he hassai'd all the annuities;
yobdurate yet, and he won’t  term-9‘
thing now.” 1 ‘  ' . -'
“ Is he asleep? _”.
"(He was awhile
upon him." «I
“ ring him
him." ' . z ‘ ' " -
‘1 But you can't-change his mind. It? ; "
impossible, and we’ve got to play thegh “ ‘
cool hand if  want to reap
vest." . A ~  
“Fetoh him out anyhow. I'll  h . _
v The tall man rose and unlocked some " l’
mine right of the'table. ~ ~  * <

The other suddenly threw: niahahds

   

age, for it looked!
out. ‘I'wan‘t to 

     
      
          
 
     
   
   

 
 

 

 

     

    

  

  

 

 

they, subsequently .- found; 'th " d'eadgi i
new: cm“ ; ‘ sit

 
  
 

     
 

 ; lied/on . a: hasty mustache
‘ no. "

may, v,

 

 

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".K’ i ‘ 
{137. ...5  3 f,

  

 

eteCtive.

 

 

 

the chair with his head elevated in
grandiose style. ,

In a. few moments the door opened
again and the tall man emerged from the
room.

But this time he was not alone, for
there walked beside him a man at sight
of whom the watchful ferret took a quick
breath.

The moment the tenant of the bedroom
saw the man at the table he stopped and
appeared to shrink back, but the tall one
hustled him and pushed him into a
chair.

“ Well, I’ve found Abel Marks any-
hbw," said the detective to himself.

For a moment the man who had
changed his facial appearance leaned
toward the banker and looked him over
from head to foot.

“ You’re dead, Abel Marks,” said he.

The Wall Street nabob gave him a
strange, querulous look.

“You’re as dead to the world as you
ever will be!” he went on. " They’ve
given you up for dead in the city, and
your daughter has put on black.”

“ My God!” cried Marks. “ It is not
so terrible as all this? It cannot be."

“ But it is. They’ve ceased to look for
you. You’ve simply passed out of exist-
ence, and if you were in Greenwood,'or
buried in the East River, you wouldn’t
be more out of the world than you are
now.”

“ But where am I? ”- cried the banker.

“Haven’t I just told you? You're

,dead. But, come. Here’s the paper that
you must sign.” And a legal-looking doc-
ument was thrust under the banker‘s
nose. ‘

, He looked at it a moment and then
sprang up with a wild cry.

“Anything but that,” he gasped.
can't! I can’t!”

“ But you must,” and he was thrown

‘ back into the armchair. ‘

CHAPTER V.
THE RAILWAY TRAIL.

The position of the Train Spotter was
a dangerous one, but he resolved- to re—
main and see what was to follow in the
room of the house behind the cedars.

He had not undertaken the night jour-
ney from New York for nothing; he had
not followed needlessly the clew found
. in thedead girl’s hand, and he was not

the man to retrace his steps while there
, was something of importance to observe.
‘ orva'moment after the banker h (1
been thrust back into the chair by the
‘tall man he sat perfectly still, though
with the whitest of faces.

- ‘He was in the power ‘of the two ras-
~ ‘cals, and the Train Spot er wondered

\ what would come of the p y.

,“ You won’t sign the papers, eh? ”, cried
~Captain Sleek. “You mean by your re-
tinal that you don’t intend to keep your
warm”,

 “"VI never promised to sign such docu-
‘ments. It would ruin me for life.”

“ That's your way of looking at it."

y “ But if I am '. dead,’ as you say, what’s
-' ,- the use of my signing anything? "
The men exchanged looks, and Captaip

(II

 

    
   
 

ing nabob.

"‘ That settles it!’ said he. suddenly
‘5 ‘rising and waving his hand toward the
door. “ Take him back, Sammy.” ,

f In another moment the hand of the
retail man fell upon Marks" arm and the
banker started to his feet.
difffiack there! ” he cried, with a shiver.
mosa- God’s sake, don’t put me in that
- . again.”

 “It’s your {tomb till you come to your
‘ senses. It’s to be your last place till
then."

The banker held out his hand.

“ Let me see the paper," said he.

,, “No; it’s too late now,” teplied Cap-
lain Sleek. “I’ve made the offer and
you refused. You can’t see the paper
,  I

 

d Sleek leaned once more toward the miss-

” but;

 

Both men laughed, not boisterously but
coolly, and the banker seemed to increase
in stature as he listened.

“You played your hand out,” he ex-
claimed, turning to the tall one. “I’ll
admit that it was a sleek game, just the
kind men of your stamp would play. I
was a fool to be decoyed out of the city
by the story you coined. It was a well-
played job, but there’s a future, gentle—
men. Not only this, but there’s a day of
retribution.”

“ It will be a long while coming,”
laughed the. youngest of the pair.

“If it’s one, five or ten years, it will
come! Never mind,” was the response,
“you can’t have your accursed secret
kept forever. They may call Abel Marks
dead. My daughter may live on believ-
ing that‘I went off a guilty man, but the
time will come when the dark places
will be made light and when the hand of
vengeance will smite the guilty.”

“Take him back, Sammy,” cried the
handsome man. “Don’t let him preach
his homilies here.”

The banker of Wall Street was led
back into the room from which he had
been brought, and when he had been
pushed across, the threshold the portal
was shut and “ Sammy" turned back to
his companion.

“ You left her all 0. K., did you? ” said
he, dropping his voice almost to a whis—
per.

I“ Yes. I left her in the nest, but not
in the very best of humor. She’s in—
clined to give us a little trouble.”

“ I feared it. Life’s dull here. I can’t
afford to watch the old chap long.”

“ You don’t have to watch him. The
house is safe and there’s no prying eyes
about. You don’t have any trouble here,
eh?”

“ No, haven’t had any since I came up
with him. It was a tame ride, for he

“thought he was going to make half a mill-

ion, and I kept him in good humor till
I got him beyond the door.”

“ Things are coming our way,” smiled
Captain Sleek. “I came up to see how
you were coming on. Now, if the ferrets
get after him they won’t stop to look for
him here.”

“I don’t see why they should. This
is out of the world so far as publicity is
concerned, and———"

“ Wait! He’s knocking at the door,”
and the speaker rose and crossed the
room.

Tom Tracer watched him lean against
the portal as he. put his ear to it and list-
ened. ’

“ Let him knock. He means nothing,
and wants to get out, perhaps to give us
more of his gabble,” said the taller one.
“ Don't let him break in upon our busi-
ness any more to-night." ,

But Captain Sleek listened, and while
he did so a smile stole over his face.

“Yes, yes,” he said, speaking to the
prisoner beyond the door, and then he
came back to his companion.

‘f What did "he want? " asked that per-
son. ' I

-“ He asked me if I would see his daugh-
ter when I went back to the city.”

“ Well, what else? ” .

“ He wanted to know if his partner,
Jarold Jenks, believes him dead, and'I
told him yes.”

" That’s right. Make him believe that
he is dead to the world. That will break
his spirit quicker than anything else, and
we will get .at the treasure sooner.”

Captain Sleek sat down again and
picked up a cigar, but all at once he
threw it down and glanced at his watch.

“ I must go back. The train just
whistled.” ‘

“ It is at the bend, where it stops to
water. You’ve got plenty of time.”

.‘ " Take good care of him, and at the
first sign of discovery or danger spring
the trap.”

” I’ll do that, never fear. I don’t in-
tend to be caught with any of the spoil
in my hands."

“That’s it. Now I'm off. You’ll he r

._ _:me-  or'yet to-day, f r

4» '

t' 

 

 

Captain incck puriul L-.s hat over his
brow and bolted from the house.

The door locked itself behind him and
the tall one sat alone in the arm-chair.

For a little while after the sudden de-
parture Tom Tracer stood on the friendly
box and listened to his feet on the grav-
elly walk, and at last lost the sounds.

Captain Sleek was gone, and now what
should he do?

Should he storm the fort? 1.

He was Sammy’s equal; he had crossed ‘
arms with more than one man as tall
as he and as strong.

The Express sent forth a shrill whistle
as its headlight came into view, and at
last it pulled up in front of the depot.

He could not see the man who swung
himself upon the steps, but he heard the
train move on again, and the headlight
showed him for a second the suburbs of
Woodsdale. ,

The Train Spotter went back to the
house. I

He looked once more into the room
where he had witnessed the exciting
scenes, and then at the door which kept
Abel Marks, the missing banker, from
the world beyond.

What was all this terrible plot against
the nabob of Wall Street, and what was
the prize for which these two men were
striving?

And, then, there was the woman found
dead in the house on the little avenue.

He thought of her as he recalled the
clew which had brought him to Woods—
dale, a bit of paper upon which some one
had traced in a wriggling line the words:

“ Abel Marks is in Woodsdale in the
meshes of death.”

These were the words which had car-
ried him through the night to the sub-
urban village. .

They had sent him out upon this
strange mission, and he had seen the
missing banker.

Not only this, but he had obtained a
clew to the tall man and he had tracked
Captain Sleek from the scene of some-
body’s crime in the city to the village
near the Hudson.

“A-bel Marks is good for some days
here,” thought the detective. “I know
where he is and I can lay my hands on
him at any time. What‘ I' want to do'
now is to keep track of Captain Sleek.
Will he go back to “the New,York nest,
or will-he avoid it?" ,

He could catch no other train that
night, and he went back down the grav-
elly walk with the house behind him.

Once he looked back but saw no light
in the house, and at last he stood at the
edge of Woodsdale. . .

In the' early morning there would be f.
a train and it would take him to the city ,L;
with lightning speed.  '

He would have to wait for.this train, j > ,
but before that another train from the 1
city passing north, would pull up before
the platform. ~ I .

Tom Tracer heard the whistle of this 5;
train and remained where he Was on the a i
platform shaded from the head-light by ' 5;,
one end of the .lit 1e depot. : '

It barely stoppe , but in the shortest
space "of time a man swung himself
from the steps and stood for a moment , 
on the planks. ' g :7

The hidden ferret saw this man, and ‘ r»
for a moment he looked with wide-open
eyes. - 2‘
It was Captain Sleek! r 

>71 .J-fi‘

 

 

 

 

“I see how he could do it,” said he. i
“ He could leave his train at a certain H, j: 

place and come back on this one. Is I
he going to play a hand against Sammy,
or does he want to come back here to
finish the prisoner of the plot? " . 
Captain Sleek, with the soft hat still 1,; 
over his brow, made oi! toward the house *
behind the cedars, and in a little while
he had the Train Spotter at his heels.
Tom Tracer watched him with the .5,
eye of a, haWk and saw him cautiously .v f "
approach the house. ?
Everything was quiet there, and Cap- ‘
tain Sleek slipped upon the
opened the front dept 

1}

 

 

notch '94 *

  

 

 

 

.. 717x34: :-..:. , .1

 

 

 

  

 

  

'and. he could throw out an arm which

. .of’his_feilow~traveiers might reward him. ,
 tinned Madonna looked back.

   

 

e  ec‘tlve. .- ‘ " H

 

“He means mischief,” said the ferret
to himself. “This cunning fox is back
on dark business.”

Beyond the house still reigned the si-
lence of death, and the detective slipped
around to the box and mounted it once
more:

Once more he parted the rent in the
curtain and looked into the room beyond.

There stood in the middle of the parlor
a man whose face was now covered with
a. full beard, but the ferret knew the
figure.

Captain Sleek was the only person vis-
ible, and he had altered his appearance
for a purpose.

He did not turn on the light more than
he found it, but walked to the table and
shuffled a few papers there.

It was evident that he was looking for,
something that seemed to have eluded
him, for he looked up disappointed and
then at the door leading to the prisoner’s
room. .

A dark scowl crossed his face and
deepened the gleam in his eyes.

“I’ll get it later on. I thought it still
lay on the table, but I won’t disturb
Sammy for it,” said he in audible tones,
and the next moment he turned to the
front door again.

Sammy, the tall man, had not heard
him, neither had Abel Marks, for no
sound came from the other rooms, and the
erret saw him slip from the house as
hoiselessly as he had come in.

“ He will catch the early train now,
and so will I,” said the Train Spotter.

Tom Tracer made a hasty toilet in the
first streaks of gray that lit up the east.

He waited till Captain Sleek was al-
most to the depot and then he slipped
over to another gravcllcd street, down
which he moved.

Already there were early passengers
on the platform in the crisp, cool dawn,
and the moment the train whistled he
caught sight of Captain Sleek.

, The Train Spotter entered the car in
which the lights werestill burning, and
took a seat directly behind the quarry.

The train pulled out.

Captain Sleek, changed greatly by the
falsebeard, leaned back in his seat and
seemed to 'give himself up to reflections.

Apparently he was satisfied with what
he had done that night, for once or twice
he chuckled and drummed with his long
white fingers on the polished sill of the
window at his shoulder.

Behind him the man of many trails
watched him furtively like a falcon.

 

CHAPTER VI.
ma TUSSLE IN THE GRAY DAWN.
Though young,Captain Sleek had about
him thele of the desperado. ‘
His‘5body‘was well made andlagile,

seemed mailed with a giant‘s powers.

With his broad-brimmed hat and his
handkerchief about his throat, with the
short, open jacket-like coat in which he
made the trip to Woodsdaie, he did not
look much like a city gentleman, but, on
the contrary, more resembled the keen-
witted Westerner, ready to make or lose
a fortune.

Tom Tracer, in the seat behind this
man. wondered what desperate game he
was playing with the coolness of the
Turk. and he thought again of the dead
girl‘found by him and the old General
in the pretty parlor on the avenue.

For some time Captain Sleek did not
stir. but lay against the back of the
plush seat while the ,train rattled past
suburban towns or stopped long enough
to accommodate the early travelers to
the great city.

As yet the Captain had not inspected
the occupants of the coach he was in.

He had taken the seat immediately
upon entering the car, and did not see
the man behind him.

The train was nearing the outskirts of
New York before it seemed to flash
across Captain Sleek's mind that per-
haps‘a slight impaction of the personnel

 

 

At first he did not appear to see the de-
tective, though for the last thirty min-
utes he could have touched him at any
time.

He looked beyond Tom Tracer and saw
a lady and the other passengers.

Not till then did he see the man-
hunter.

Their eyes met as the detective raised
his head, and for the shortest space of
time they looked deep into each other’s
face.

In that look Captain Sleek seemed to
realize all. '

It seemed to rush across his brain that
he had been followed.

Not only this, but the detective was
within reach and perhaps ready to pounce
upon him like the man-hawk that he
was.

There are looks that speak, and Cap-
tain Sleek’s glance was one of these.

His eye flashed up their baleful light,
and he threw one hand toward his hip.

All in the twinkling of an eye was this
movement and the warning look, and the
man of trails understood it.

The quarry had seen his hunter. ‘

Captain Sleek had discovered that the
night trip to Woodsdale had had a spec-
tator, and that the back journey had
perhaps been watched to the minutest
particular.

“Keep your seat,” said the detective,
looking into the other‘s eye. “ Don't let
my presence give you any uneasiness.”

It was the match to the powder, the
spark to the magazine, for the next in-
stant Captain Sleek was on his feet.

There were passengers who saw the
quick move, but did not hear the detect-
ive's words.

Several of these sprang up in alarm as
the hand of Captain Sleek came from
concealment and was seen to grasp a
cooked revolver.

Tom Tracer, as quick as his quarry,
was also on his feet and his'hand went
up against the one Captain Sleek threw
forward. 0 ,

They stood face to face, these two linen,
and the ,people who looked on either
sprang up or sat still and held their
breath in fear. , .

The right hand of the hunted man flew
up and the revolver thrust forward
brought screams of terror from a wom-
an's throat behind the detective.

But the hand of the Train Spotter was
too quick for the man.

Tom Tracer caught the wrist below the
weapon and threw it down; at the same
time he struck out from the shoulder.
and sent Captain Sleek nearly over the
back of the seat before his.

But the blow, a glancing one, did not
more than stagger the city sport, and
he came back at the detective with an
oath which rang through the car.

v He met his match, however, in the per-

son of the .detective, for Tom Tracer
once more rendered the revolver useless
by a sweeping parry, and. the following
instant struck the bearded man a blow
full in the face.

As Captain Sleek fell out of the seat
the detective sprang after him, but with
the quickness of a eat his adversary re-
covered and plunged down the aisle.

The train was rushing through a vil-
lage where there was to be no stop, but
the madman reached upxand jerked the
bell-rope, only pausing in his plunge
long enough to do this.

At the door he turned and looked back
at the detective. '

There was vengeance in his eyes and
another curse parted his lips.

He reached the platform, and some
passengers threw up their windows, won-
dering if the fellow would have the cours
age to leap from the rattling train.

Would he dare death in a jump?

Tom Tracer, kept back for a moment
by a hysterical woman who had faliem
into the aisle, gained the open door in
time go ,see the form-of Captain Sleek
swing from :the steps and vanish as the
coach. swept, by.

The detective leaned
audl sea  

 
  
  

   
   

tram the_,,steps"

 

Among the tall grass which grew to
the rails he saw nothing at first, and
then he saw a hat roll from beneath the
train.

  
       
         
   
  
 
   
  
 
 
  
  
    
  
 
 
 
  
  
    
  
  
     
 
   
   
    
  
   
  
    
   
   
   
   
    
   
  
   
  
    
   
   
   
  
   
   
  
    
   
  
 
 
   
     
      
   
     
    
   
   
  
 

 

“It swept him under,” he cried, _ fig;
aghast. “The cool devil took the risk T 3:
and won." 

In another moment the train swung 

around a bend in the road and dashed 
through the little town, still asleep, un- ~ "
conscious of the thrilling scenes just
enacted within its limits.

The detective went back to his seat.

The white-faced passengers flocked
around him, but get little information
for their pains.

They could speculate as to the cause
of the startling encounter between the
two men, for Tom did not betray himself, .
and at last the train ran into the Grand '
Central.

The Train Spotter had had an exciting
night of it, and the moment he alighted.
'he looked around for Shivers.

The depot detective always on duty,
with the keenness of the lynx, spied the
detective first and came up with an ex-
clamatibn.

“Been watching you. I saw you 80'
up the road—”

“ Well, Shivers,
pened?”

The man drew the detective aside.

“ It was last night, sir, and the queer-
est thing I ever heard. I was on duty
when I saw Jarold Jenks, Abel Marks’s
partner, you know, come in here. He
looked as white as a sheet and didn’t
know just what to do.”

“ But he did something? ”

" Yes. He changed his mind.”

" How so, Shivers? "

" He walked over to the ticket office, ,
and then concluded he didn’t want to
go anywhere and left the depot.” '

“ That was last night? "

" Yes, sir.”

" Are you sure he left the depot? " ;
"I am. I followed him out and saw 
him get into a cab, and the directions 
he gave the driver surprised me more ,-
than anything else.” ‘- '

" What were they? " -‘

“ He wanted to be driven to the dark- ..
est spot in the city—-a spot absoluter
dangerous during the daytime, but after
night the shades of death! It’s where
we ran down the little Italian'last’sumi-J,
mer; you recollect, Tom?” " .

The detective nodded. ‘ x

"PM he want to be driven there, Shiv-.- 
ers. " -. . '7

" That’s what he did, and I guess he]
got accommodated. I intended to ask Jer- ‘
ry when he came back, but he hasn't,
come back, so he must have got a good,
fare from the old man." ~ ‘ .

Tom Tracer seemed to stare into "rm,
cancy while the spy talked, and, when!‘
Shivers had finished he touched his
arm:

“ If Jerry comes this morning get it,
out of him, but in a crafty way,” said’the _.
shadower. ‘

“I will.
man? " I

“ Nothing to report, Shivers,” Said the
ferret, and in another second Tom 
was on the pavement. \

From the Grand Central the detecting
made his way to police headquarters 
opened. a little doorthere. ,, _, ‘

Seated at a table, with his keeh eyes
watching as bright as ever, was the ear
liest man on duty, the indefatigable In.»
specter. - , . a ,‘

He greeted' the Train Spotter with
cheery smile, and his glance invited the
detective to take a chair. ‘ ‘ “

“What have you discovered?” askedL
the Inspector. ~ ' -

' “ About the death of the girl on'
ison avenule? " ' 

The Inspector nodded.

“But little. I'Ve been on arm, on
trail." * ' , x ' 

.“Oh! Your coat is torn. You’ve had
atussie, i see." , "j > . ,
. “A little tussle on the. train oon'u'
“m” ' V , A ~ 2 .

 

hey, what's hap-‘

But what about the missing

  
          
  
     
         
     
        
  

  

 
 
     
 
 
  
   

  
     
   

 

 

 

   

 

 

.. . ,,
1.43

1'

ye. "

 

 

 

    
   
 
   
 
    
   
  
 
  
   
   
    
     
   
    
   
     
  
  
  
  
   
   
   
  
    
   
  
 
  
  
   
   
  
 
   
   
   
   
  
   
   
  
    
    
   
  
   
   
   
  
  
    
   
   
  
    
   
  
   
 
    
  
  
    
   
  
  
  
  
   
   
   
 
   
   
    

“Yes.”
“ All right. The girl

there are suspicions that
in the blood."

“A poisoned blade?"
“ Yes. The girl is one

her brother, a young ma
Mayne. He is a gcod all-r

It is a singular case, for a

suggests one of those tiny

turned the case over to W

' . - Street banker, we did not
you while on that trail.”
“ What else have you do

“ He has.

' utes ago and in high glee.

he will reach the end of
short time.
The girl must have stoo

 "other woman and a lover, but Waters
will pull the mystery apart. Now, what
, news from the Marks matter?”

' “ It‘s pretty dark yet,” said the detect-

 iVe;
.' “He cannot be traced b
.T

tween here and Albany,

,, the last» three months,~an

of - the force.”

 

.InSpector’s face.

r

'I
I. ..

"w‘trafl in doing so.”
lab-answer. "‘ He is at wo
the door.

’ In. another moment it

"spector’s room.

 

he a;- boy of, fifteen, wit

a.

“ 4“easmici.
a boss. . He ' changes-
’t£.;’neople, you“ know.

a man called Jarold

. .k-MMM.
‘  tens

 

   

rushed ‘the Train » Spotter.“
The boy

y don‘t you ask me
- glancing at t 1161

 
  
 
  

There is a stab wound in the neck, and,
while the blade did not reach the heart,

She has been living for some time with

not of the kind that kill their sisters.

rooms across the street says that he has
never seen anything wrong with the pair.
But there may be another woman in the
“case, for the puncture is so small that it

the Italians sometimes carry.

we would not like to have you take it;
‘ but, as you have been looking up the
 ivanishment of Abel Marks,

searched the house, I suppose? ”
He left here but ten min-

He hints at a conspiracy.

here are a number of little town be-

-1. these he might have left the train while
laboring under some spell. He was a
-. strange man. His daughter admits this.
{‘Abel Marks seemingly Was happy, and
contented. This is the third disappear-
. ance we have had to deal with within

tion of the other two have already ren-
dered the people doubtful of the efllciency

' Tom Tracer rose and looked into the

_ “I am going to solve this mystery!"
 he, speaking with determination.
 f"I’m glad of that, Tracer."

.7,- _-“ I intend to bring to light that which
"iii; dark, and I may run across Waters’s'

“.‘*,":Waters won’t object, 1’1“

' " inks he will land his quarry shortly.”
, The. detective smiledand looked toward

apolice sergeant put his head into the In-
, .‘.' What is it, Logan"? " asked that ofli-

“There's a boy out here who says he
sate see the Inspector.
A’- y, eh?‘ Send him in.
em '. ;-I want to say another word."

‘ 'dborswung open once more. and in

 dressed in ragged clothes.
' He stopped short and looked from Tom
.racerzto the Inspectdr and back again.
’f Which is the boss? ” he asked.
‘ Tom pointed at 2 the Inspector, and the
’boy' went over to the desk
{.1 wanter tell you about Ninepins,"
“ It was last night.

last night. He made a new man
, That’s Marks’s partner.” interrupted
, ER VII. g

  dearer: ross's snavrcns.
Whereado'eb Ninepins live, boy-1'”,
H _ A looked at Tomr'and a smile
i 3 e to the corners of his dirty lips.

. i, the same. That gen le
' «knew; as“ i

was murdered.
it did its work

Diamond Dess.

n named Carlo
ound sport, but

gentleman who

daggers which
I have
aiers, not that

the Wall
like to disturb
ne? i ’aters has
He believes
the trail in a

d between anr

eyond the city.

and at one of

d the termina-

‘ sure,” was
rk now, and he

opened and a

N

Don’t go

h a bright eye

'\

n

Ninepins
people, makes
I seed g him at

.Jenks-J’ “

dot, boss? " he
sweeten; ; $ '1

  
 
 

. consisted‘of two small rooms below the

 “All at once Tom' Tracer” fell back, for?

’ The ' Train Detach

“ Ninepins has a secret den in de worst
part of de Tenderloin,” was the answer.
“ Ninepins is a good one when it comes
to changin‘ de people who get tired 0’
livin’ in dere ole skin an’———”

“ That’s all right. We understand
that. Could you Show this gentleman
where Ninepins lives?”

“ Yas, but de trap‘s shut up now.”

" Since when?”

“ Since he did de job for Jarold Jenks
last night.”

“ We don’t care about that. We want
to See where Ninepins lives," put in Tom
Tracer. “Will you show me, Jimmy?”

"Hey, Jimmy! Dat’s not my name.
I‘m Crapsy-—Crapsy Toss. Won't I show
you? Hit's all right, boss?"

" All right, Crapsy.” . v

The boy turned and strode from the
office. followed by Tracer, the ferret.

“ You see,” explained the boy, as they
moved off. “ I sometimes sleep in Nine-
pins's den, an’ last .night I had crept
in for my snooze, when dat man woke
me up. He came in like a thunderbolt.
an’ wanted Ninepins to ’tend to him at
once. But hit wasn’t Jes’ the changin’
w’at s’prised me. cap’n.”

“ No, Crapsy? "

“Hit was w'at Ninepins said."

“ What was that? ”

“ He told the man that from that mo-
ment his fate was in his hands. He said
that he was under Ninepins's thumb
from then on, and the man got white and
said he was.”

“ You saw and heard
house last night? ”

"I did.“ \ . ‘

Crapsy Toss, talking nearly Wall the
time, guided the detective into the dark
plague spot of the city.

“There's no need" of playing it fine,
for we won’t find Ninepins in,” said he.
“ We kin jes' take de front door, or, if
you wish. I kin show youaround to do
back door and let you in dat way.”

“ The back door, Crapsy.” ,

In a little while Tom Tracer stood in
a low-ceiled room, barely eight by ten,
with the walls darkened by smoke and
foul odors in the place.

“ Dis is Ninepin's den," said the boy,
with a. sweeping gesture. “ Hit's, not do
best in de city, but hit was good enough
for Ninepins till last night."

“Do you think he’s changed quar-
ters? ”

“ Why shouldn’t he, after such a strike
as that. Git agolden pigeon in you’r
hands, like bid Jenks, .de Wall Street
bloke. an' you kin sit down and pluck
’im all you want.” : ’ .\ -

"I see, and you think that is Nine.-
pins’s idea ofa fortune?” I , _  , , --

“Dat’s jes’ what it is. Do man. didn’t
know I was on do other side 0’. dat Wall
last night, and he hasn’t found it out
yet.” ’ ’ . 
. Tom Tracer searched the place, which

all this in the

level of the street, and just the place~
for a disreputable man like their late
occupant. . ,  .

The keen-eyed boy pointed out several
places ,where» little‘ things a'd been
moved,‘and' the ferret followed him into
the room where Ninepins slept.

“ Dere's_ another: place under this."
said Crapsy ‘Toss, V “the, cellar. - The
door’s in the corner and—you’ve found
it.’

A ring, i‘nthe floor, discovered by kick-
ing a bit of carpetto one side, revealed
a door, and the ferret lifted it.

A short flight of dark steps was seen.
and the detective looking sharply at; the

1

\

boy, asked: ' .
" What’s doWn here" " I
“Cap’n Kidd’s treadure, mobbe,” was

the reply, accompanied by av'grin. a ‘

The, Train Spotter descended, followed

by the equally curious lad, and a match

i‘llumined the little placeb'eneath the
001‘. ‘ . '

i

there, ay en «the

 

     

   

0

ground before  the

I
:5 .I

can do the same work,”

entire!

 

form, and had recoiled, with an exclama-
tion of terror.

“Bring the lamp down here, Crapsy,”
ordered the detective, and the nimble
street Arab did so.

This lamp Tom held close to the figure
on the ground.

“ He’s dead!” cried the boy.

“Dead drunk, perhaps,” smiled the
other, as he looked into the man’s face.

“ l-Iit’s Ninepins’s double. Hit's his
shadderl ” was the boy’s exclamation.

“ Has he a double? ” queried Tom.

“What hain't he got?” .

“ But this man? You called him Nine-
pins’s double. Is he Ninepins’s broth~
er. ”

The pale boy shook his head.

By this time Tom had dragged the
limp body to the lower steps.

What was then more fully revealed
was a large. brutal face, but in the little
eyes, now wide open, glittered beneath
midnight brows an evillook.

Crapsy slipped behind the ferret, as if
he did not care to have the fellow see
him.

“Take the light up-stairs,” and Crap~
sy darted up the steps before the man
could recognize him.

Crapsy out of the way, the Train Spot-
ter bent over the man and laid his hand
on his shoulder.

“We’re alone now," said he. “ What
were you doing, half senseless, on the
floor, Ninepins? ”

The man grinned, and then broke into
a coarse laugh.

“ They call me Ninepins, a good many
of them do," said he, “ butJI'm not that
person.” ‘ . J _, a _ '

“ Oh, come, ‘you can‘t ,hoodwink me.
I know Ninepins.” I

“ There, don’t call me that. I’m not to
blame because nature made both of us in

the same moulds. I'm Taspar Flinch, and

you—see here, man, what's it worth?"

The little eyes had a curious look
and the man breathed hard.

“ It’s worth a good deal, perhaps, but
you can’t hoodwink me. Taspar Flinch,
eh? That's pretty good, Ninepins.”

. The man’s hands closed on the detect-
ive's arm. \

“It’s no fake,” persisted be. "Don’t

D

call me Ninepins. . Don’t call me after the ~

man who.,choked modest nightébecause I
happened tp. see a littleoperation." ' .

" But, Ninepins, you‘re wantedby the
police." 7

Instantly the man sprang up, and his

stalwart figure seemed to rise a head
above the ferret.
’ “ I’m Taspar Flinch, as there’s a star
in heaVen! ” he cried, with uplifted hand.
“I’m- no angel, I’ll admit that, and I’ll
never sing the songs of paradise; but
with my last breath I’ll cling to the name
my father gave me—Taspar Flinch! ”

Tom, as if convinced, called out:

We’re coming up, boy; "and then he
ordered the man toascend.

“ So Ninepinschoked you?“ he said,
when Flinch had seated himself in a
chair in the main den.  ,

“‘Didn’t be? And what’s more, he
thought he had finished me, too. My eyes
were open,» last night, and that’s why I
felt his hands at my throat.”

" Why didn’t/he use a. knife?” asked
the detective.

“ He never will so long as his hands

was the reply.

“ You see, last night I came in upon him

as he finished a job. He had us
a man into another lookingJ digging:
had made him look like a diiferent new
son, and a pretty good—looking person
at that. But he failed to ‘deceivetme:
that's ‘What Ninepins. did.”. .

“ ,ou knew the nian he ’made new,

eh?’ , .
“Didn’t I? Ever been down on Wall
Street and seen there old Jaroid Jenks,

the father 'of the youn am e oat
can break a bank in agjifly'?”g
" I have seen him.” 
" Well, that’s
his arts 03 last

I who

 
     

ht.

  

I :‘ltnew

  

 

 

.111? I?

 

“the man Ninepins txscd."

 

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street. That roused Ninepins, and I
was down on the floor in a little while.
Jarold Jenks never left the operating
chair, but looked on, with a fiendish
grin, not caring if Ninepins did choke
the life out of me. I'm pretty strong, but
last night I was nothing in the hands of
Ninepins.

“When I came back to my senses I
was lying in darkness, an my face was
covered with a cold sweat. Whenever
I tried to rise my head whirled, and I re—
lapsed into unconsciousness. Never was
that way before in all my life, and I’ve
taken it pretty rough since I left the
cradle. It was swoon and counter-fit from
that time till now, and for the first time
since my terrible choking I feel myself
again.

“ Yes, it was Jarold Jenks that got
changed last night in this room,” con-
tinued Flinch. “He must have known
about Ninepins’s arts or he wouldn't
have come down here—a man in his
,walk of life. He’s tricky, the old gold
bug is, and that boy of his is the great—
est young rascal of the day. I didn’t see
the final finishing of the job, but I don't
believe Ninepins changed it much, for he
went off thinking that he had left me
dead in the cellar. Now let me tell you
what he made out of Jarold Jenks."

Taspar took a long breath and then ‘

proceeded.

“ He cut his hair and dyed it. You re-
member that he could brush it over his
ears, and that it was pretty gray. It
was as black as a raven’s wing when I
saw it met night. Then he robbed the
long face of the old banker of the beard,
which everybody on Wall Street knew,
and painted over the left eye a scar, with
some of his indeligble paint, so natural
that none but a doctor with his knife
could detect it. On the table where he
was operating lay a pair of green gog-

gles, and Jenks had just tried them on

when I came in and got it in the neck.”

“ It was a startling change,” remarked
the listening ferret, with a smile.

“ Why, sir, old Jenks could ride a hun-
dred miles alongside that swell blade of
his, and ‘ Prince Buliion’ wouldn’t take
him for his father! It actually startlec
'me, but I had to point out the one de-
feet in the make-up, and then I‘ had
Ninepins at my throat. -

“ I've told you who I am,” added Tas-
par. “ Now be as kind and tell me some-
thing‘ about yourself.”

Tom .lEaned toward the man and gent-
ly touched his arm.

“ You wen't give me away? ”

“I never betray a friend! My only
fault now is that I am called Nineplns’s
double, but that's really not my. fault.
Curiae nature for that'blunder."

The detective heard at this juncture
'a noise on the outside of the den and a
pair of glistening little, eyes looked in
,at the door.

It was Crapsy Toss. ,

“ Take the boy away!” cried Flinch.
“ He looks like one of Satan’s impel
And, by the way, didn’t he bring you
here? ” '

“ He did.” -

“ To let you help me, and to pump me,
too? You’re a spotter, aren’t you?"

Tom Tracer nodded, and the hands of

 

the big man were clenched.

,  CHAPTER VIII.
{A mama's TRAP AND WHAT IT CAUGHT.
The afternoon of the day- we are deal-
ing with was well advanced ' when a
young man, stalwart of figure and hand-
some, might have been seen approaching
the house (in . avenue, opposite the
General's quarters. ‘
 Perhaps, if he had known the reception
awaiting him in the house of ‘the mid-
night crime, he might not have ran up
the steps with the agility he displayed,
but certainly he did not imagine what
was in store for him. .
, The trap had been set for hours, and
the manacles were waiting for their
prey. ‘ ' ,
i As theyo‘ung man entered the house

he seemed to scent danger, for he

 

stopped in the hall and shot a swift
glance at the door to the right of the
main corridor. '

A deathlike quiet pervaded the place,
and in this he appeared to suspect peril.

But suddenly he sprang to the door,
wrenched the knob, and dashed into the
room.

“ Dess? ” he called, and then fell back
to the door, for he confronted a man
who stepped out from the shadows near
the closed windows and covered him
with a revolver.

It was Waters, the detective!

“ You’ve been caught! ” said the ferret,
with a flash of pride in his eyes. "Don‘t
give me any trouble, Carlo Mayne.”

The man’s face grew calm again.

“ You seem to know me,” said he.

“That’s my business,” answered Wat-
ers, a little haughtily. “You know who
I am.” .

“ An officer, Iisuspect; but I don’t know

why you should want me. Where’s
Dess?”

“She’s dead.” '

“ Dead? No! Why, last night—-—”

“ She was murdered last night—~"

“ Murdered? ”

The word died on the young man‘s
lips, and he gazed at the detective like
a man in a maze.

“ Who—~killed—her'.’ ” he gasped at
last. 1 -

“ You might answer, instead of ask-
ing It’li’at question."

“You, Carlo Mayne. I will: have.to
hold you, and in another place and at
another time you will answer the charge
of murder.” "\ .

The man who stood before the revolver
of Waters did not know what to do nor
how to act, but he finally spoke:

“You must tell me about this,” he
said. “I deny that her blood is on my
hands. You men make mistakes some-
times; you’re not infallible.”

The detective seemed to sneer.

“You don’t deny that you knew Dess
lived here? " he said. .

“ Heavens, no! I don’t deny anything
of the kind. She came here at my sug-
gestion. Dess is my sister.”

“Come; that won't do, Carlo Mayne.
We already know better than that. Don’t
think that we have played out our hand
blindly and merely set a trap for you.
Diamond Dess is not your sister.”

The young man raised his right hand,
but it dropped to his'side without speech.

“That’s better. Don’t try to seal a
false statement with a false oath,” said
the detective. “She was found on the
floor last night by one who knows that
you lived in this house.”

“ Name him." -‘

“ The old gentleman across the way—
the person nicknamed the General."

“ I remember. Well, how was the deed
done?”

“With .this dagger, found under one
of the carpeted steps \of the stair out
there.” . .

The young man held out his hand for
the knife Which the detective had pro-
duced. but it was yithdrawn.

“ I never owned a dagger like that,”
said Carlo.

“ That is far the courts to determine."

“ Then the sooner the better,” and he
held out his hands. “ Look you, detective.
There will come a time of revenge, and
the hands you shackle now will strike.”

Waters put up his revolver and ad-'
Vanced toward the outstretched hands,
but all at once the form of the youth
left the floor, and the startled detective
was pinned against the wall.

“ For a penny I’d kill you where I hold
you!”‘was the cry he heard.‘ “I have
you at my mercy. Where is she? ”

“ The body has been turned over 'to“

the police.”
“And cut uplby the surgeons? ”
" I—a-I can’t say.” ' ‘ I
“It’s all your fault. You found her,

did you? ” ’ ' ’ 3

“ I did not.” _‘ g

“ Who did? "’ , ' *.

“ Tom “Fifteen”. "   a

In.

    

‘tle you.

‘ might fly ‘to the uttermost parts cf the
, earth. but he would have Clarence 
'. on his trail, and eventually, he was“,

 

  

    
  
    
  
 
   
  
 
  
   
   
    
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
   
  
   
   
   
    
  
   
    
  
  
   
  
   
    
   
  
   
   
    
  
   
     
   
   
 
  
  
  
   
 
     
      
  
     
  
     

The other uttered a wild cry at men‘-
tion of the Train Spotter’s name, and
for a second his grip seemed to loosen at
the detective’s throat.

‘,‘ Did he come here with the General? "
asked Carlo.

“ Yes.”

“Did he find the dagger under the
carpet? ”

ll N0.)’

“Who found it there?” . a

“I did.” .

“Who put it there? ”

“I don't know, unless you—”

“Liar!” almost ‘shrieked the young , 
man. “ I never owned the accursed blade; 
Did it find Dess’s heart? " .33”

“No, it’s a poisoned dagger, the doc-
tors say.”

“ And you set this trap for me?” he

laughed. “How long have you been
here?" 
“ Ever since morning,” confessed the {:93

detective. ‘2.

“Waiting for some one to come into "
the trap? " 1

‘f The person for whom I waited was
you.”

“Oh, I am the murderer in your eye,
am I? I am the person who took Dess's
life with a poisoned dagger?”

“ The trail led to you.”

“ Because I domiciled the girl here-—
because I visited her, because there was
no other victim wanted by you but my-
self. Confess, for I am going to [hold
you against this wall till I have finished
you. I come of a race of giants. I have
already had a'dVentures that would star-
I had one last night. Ha! It
was a risky one, but I came out of it
with a whole skin, to be trapped by you
in my own house! ” .

The young man laughed at his own
words, and the detective, who was
crushed against the wall with a pair of
hands at his throat, looked into the
merciless eyes. ‘

“I .don’t know,” said Carlo Mayne,
softening a little in tone. “ I don’t know *
that you’re so much to blame. You had
to make a record to keep up your old one,
for I’ve heard of you before now. But
I can’t afford to be dogged from this
place.”

Waters felt what was coming, but he .7‘
could not avoid it. ‘ 

The fingers of Carlo Mayne—long and. '
slender ones they were—suddenly got a
new hold on his windpipe, and then they ?
began to close with the 'mercilessness 0
death itself. j',

There was no breaking loose from their
infernal clutch‘. i ‘ :

He gasped in a little while, and at last, u
did not gasp at all, for he had slid w e
the floor and lay like onefdead at‘5 the. :-
feet of the‘ accused. - ‘

There were countless noises in the do;
tective's head when he came out of the
valley of darkness and his first 
were tottering ones. ° ‘

The room was a little darker, but he
could see that he was the only 

'2

 

and that Carlo Mayne was gone.
It is not worth while to chronicle
Waters’s thoughts as he moved across the
room, exasperated and chagrined.
Elite had broken his record for good
luc . ~
The quarry, trapped With so mnchrf ‘
tience and skill, had vanished, 
was the victim, not the victor, V ‘i  
Waters lost but little time getting nit,
of that house. '  ‘
The dagger which he had feund con-
cealed underneath the stair was gone;
another proof that he; had faced the 
derer of Diamond Dess, and nothing but
a sore neck and a lot of painful muscles-
told him that he had failed for once.-.;'
The chagrined detective ’Stopped ion:
enough on the scene of his‘disoomfltuns
to record a vow to the effect that; \
would not stop till he had paid’wCsrk;
Mayne back and avenged the death of
girl. ~  I}, ,. .
The man could not escape] him: he

  

   
     
  
    
    
  
  
 

    
   

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have to stand before the bar of justice
and hear the sentence of doom. ,

Waters’s first objective point after
quitting the house was the little room

where the body of the girl lay.

He was recognized bythe official in
charge, and his arm was eagerly clutched.

“ You should have been here five min—
ute: sooner! " cried that individual.

“What, was he here?” exclaimed
Waters; ,

“Yes; if you mean the young man
with the full beard."

“ But he haSn’t a full beard.”

“The one just here had,” was the re-
ply. “ He stood over there by the girl
'sOme time. He stooped and looked at
. the little wound in the neck, and even

seemed to measure it.”

“ Was he cool? ”

.‘ " As cool as one can be in the pres-
ence of death."

v “ How long did he stay? ”

“ Five minutes. I wanted you here, but
you couldn’t be found, so I had to let
him go.” '

a " That was the man! ”

,The little official fell back a pace.

, " You don’t mean that he was the mur-
derer?"

f'. UndOubtedly.”

" Great heavens! What a chance I
had.. Why, his back was turned to me
half the time, and I could have covered

_ him with a revolver and taken him in.”

_“ Never mind. It’s only a question of
a few hours' freedom with him anyhow.”
_ , Waters stood in the open, air with
, strange thoughts.

 'nge was but five minutes behind the
assassin.
’ L X'He had even: stood face to face with
 him and had felt his grasp at his throat;
1‘ he had looked into the deep, scintillating
, eyes, and had heard. his voice, a peculiar
' one; which he would easily recognize if
A” board again. ,

He did not go to the Inspector with his
report; he was too chagrined for that.
He wondered what‘ Tom Tracer would
say’when he (heard of the trap and the
escape; he would never let his rival
knowof his failure.

‘ ,Theday Waned and Waters saw the
shadows of night fall across street and
pavement. .
f He had gone home to nurse his failur
and to: plan for the future. , ~
‘:It was seven o'clock. when a m
 opped suddenly on Broadway und‘ -
' Sleuth the. electric lights and looked back
ata pedestrian whohad Just passed. , '
 He‘watched this individual a few mo-
meats and then followed him. _
N‘In‘ a‘ little while 'he caught up with
Jain, and allat once laid a soft hand
on'rlhis arm. V .  f
. There wasa quick start, but no Cry on
the arrested one’s part, and the other
id, quietly: , M '
gagind see you a little while, Mr.

-_

a

£19!!! beneath the arching brows of
 young man/thus stopped, for he was
an; 'and, ‘fault'iessly dressed,’ there
passe“ a sudden nth of“ resentment, but
the other chased it away in an instant.
‘ (fill/s , about a matter that concerns
 matter of life, death and for—
time.” '  I . 
, 1‘ Three things that form a \strange
trio)" 'was‘t’he laughing rejoinder. “ I’ll
" --you. This way.“ My rooms are,
t ,n ‘half a sonare’ from here,” and
filfihe’se Words 3er Jenks./«or '“ Prince
Iiiong’ escorted Tom Tracer, the Train
‘ orcsway. V 4 v I .  ,
’t  ~ charms IX. . -
, , [gunmen AND THE. nnrnmtvn:
{if regulate? said the echo! the
 .all’Streetbanker, as he ushered the
rain Spotter. intq‘ ta 2 Well furnished;

partment just *off"*Broadway and mos
tinned him to, mohair." “This is‘my
eat: as I call it. fittiswcmite a neat place
for egyoung , bachelOr . «like myself and.

  

   
   

  

  
    
 

. WW: locked

A)“,

are .1193: hard tossgtiftxxjfl / V .

So this young man was Prince Bul-
lion; he was the only child of a man to—
ward whom his trail seemed to be lead-
ing, and after his interview with Taspar
Flinch, the person found in a ‘state of
semi-consciousness in Ninepins’s cellar,
he was anxious to know a little more of
young Jenks. '

Having spoken about his room, Blair
turned suddenly upon the detective, and
said:

“You said you wanted to see me on
a matter of business and you now, find
me at your service.”

He crossed his legs in an easy, off-
hand manner, and seemed to wait for
Tom to proceed.

“ You are aware, I suppose, that Mr.
Marks, your father’s partner, is miss-
 n .

“That is the talk of the town,” an-
swered Blair. “Indeed, you find it dis-
cussed everywhere since it got into the
papers, but really I don’tvsee anything
so strange about it.”

“ No? And why not? ”

" There are not many people who knew
Abel Marks. Being my father‘s business
partner, I happened to see a good deal
of the man, and to me his vanishment is
not so remarkable.”

“ You think, then, that he went away
and‘will turn up all right in the course
of time? ” ‘

“I don’t see why he shouldn’t.”

“But you know, perhaps, that he was
to: transact business of importance in
Albany.”

“I know that, and that is one of the
reasons that causes me to look far his
return.”

“ Why so? " ‘

“I happen to know a little something
of the nature of that particular business.
Abel Marks was a man with few con-
fldants, and he seldom told his secrets
to' my father, but this was one that
leaked out despite his caution.”

“That is good,” said the Train Spotter,
who had watched the‘young’ man closely
while he spoke. “ I should tell you, per»
haps, Mr. Jenks, that I am a detective.”

“I thought so from the first, was the
reply, accompanied by a faint smile. “ I
happen to know that the matter has
fallen into the‘hands of the police, and
that men of your profession are ‘ on the
scént,‘ as you' call/it. That is what I
have heard, and "the vanishment of Abel
Marks so grieyes his daughter, I un-
derstand, that she is willing to offer‘ a
large rewardyfor information cencerning
him“. I trust she will not, however, for
if site will only wait her father will turn.
up all right, and that before long.

would, Mr. Jenks." , _ .
Blair started ‘a little,‘but did not reply.
‘ “ Since you have just intimated‘thfit
the business affair which calledthe misa-
ingman from the .ci-ty.,wasinot, nknown

‘ to You. Wduld you‘obiectv to tell as it? 7

“I don’t. know that; that would be
hardly. the proper thing", was the ‘quick
answer. “ You see, I'happened to dis-
cover it; itiwas enticement. "and I am
not at liberty to discloaefit.” 

The detective noticed a (little twitch
‘at the speaker’s lips and‘in another mo-
.ment Blair. Jenks'had left his chair and
was, crossing the room.

regarding. him like a hawk. " You’ve
heard of the'murder on M— avenue? ”
Prince Bullion stopped, and a trem‘or
swept his’ elegant figure. ‘ , a
" Thee-ethe murder, did you say?”
“Yes'pthe‘kiliing of the girl known

at Diamond Dess." I , , I

L, “I 'haven’t heard,”.3was the answer.
‘-But this,fI trust, hasrnothing, to do
with the disappearanceof Abel Marks.”
, “Nothing.- I. happened to recall the
i‘murder,lthat’s all. "You know, Mr. Jenks.
we; are none wntlyf~gthinking in the line
of our work?" ‘ * " * ‘
2" ,.i “ J‘ustv' .130, an

‘ ' ’= the...

, d Fit‘sj‘the. most. moral
ding .13 ‘ri

o. . dip-for; you. - to .do so,"
 V finnfitenrea:

     
     

     

     

   

f

 

as?

“ You might reassure the girlfif you},

“ By the wayfi said Tom Tracer, still _

   
  

 

4‘ A professional name, isn’t it? "-

“ Perhaps it is.” '

"A girl, too?"

" Yes; a young girl whose lines never
fell in pleasant places, but not an out-
cast, from what I have learned.”

“Oh, you’ve investigated that, too,
have you? ”

Blair Jenks was looking into the face
of the ferret with a breadth of flowered
carpet between them. ‘

“I have seen the girl and the place
where the crime was committed.”

For half a minute Blair Jenks contin-
ued his glare of astonishment, and then
he threw himself into a chair at the
table half way across the chamber.”

“It’s something for you ferrets," said
he, looking across the cloth at his com-
panion. “I mean that it is of more im-
port than the vanishment‘ of Abel
Marks.”

“ I have nothing to dolwith 'the crime
(tm M— avenue. I am on the-other mat~
er.)! .
“I thought so, and if I' can give you
any information destined to throw light

upon it, I will do so.”

“ But you have just refused to do so.”

“ How so? ” p

“ You have admitted, Mr. Jenks, that
you know something about the business
secret which called Abel Marks from
New York, but at the same time you,
refuse to disclose it.”

“Pardon me. I am quite sure Marks
would not like my disclosures. You
must know, detective as you confess
yourself to be, that there are skeleton
c10sets in every large city.”

“ And thousands-inNew York?” ‘ L .

“Exactly. I do not say that the one ‘
in Abel Mark’s closet'isa our]: one, but
it is there all the‘same, but if you give
the man timehe’llget rid of it and
come back.” ‘ I

“ Go and assure his child that; go and
tell the police, and let them givevup
looking for him.”

“.I can’t ‘say that it’s my duty,”
smiled the youth, twirling his mustache,
carefully waxed at the ends. “MY
father knows nothing of his partner's
eccentricities; he never inquired into
Abel Marks’s business, but lets his se-
crets severely alone, But there’s the mur-
der on M——, street That. affords 'em'ore ‘\
real werk for a‘man like you? than the
vanishing o‘f-zan‘ old man Who‘is all right
somewhere and who will come back ’to
his desk if you only give him time."

Blair Jenks looked at the window, and
forwa‘littlex while seemed to study' the,
lace curtains. ' ’ .

a ’ 'He'was a cool puzzle'to Tom Tracer.

The more‘the detective watched him
the deeper grew the puzzle, and at last
he said: a . .

.“Do you know a man named Nine-
pms, Mr. Jenks.?” , ~ . ~ I
. There was a quick, unmistakable start
on the listener’s part, and a little white-
nesscam‘e to the thin lips. '

" What’s .theynanae‘lzf‘ he asked, as he
caught his breath. “ ‘  v

l r, v‘
i

“ Ninepina”, '. ' ' i x. »

“ Queer, name; that; must be eaten?“
name of some kind. There are so many“
nowadays.” ', , W I , '

‘t This is a nickname. I am quite sure
of it. You don’t know such a person.”

“ I never had that pleasure, if such it

would be. to know the gentleman.”

{'I merely asked, as you are on the

street much or your time, and are liable 
to run across all sorts and conditions of ’

men.” ' -

 That’s well put. Mr. Transatlrkam. ‘
“liable to see the riffraflf' and the elite‘,

but not on an equal footing. I'm a gay

blade, that’s what they call me, and I‘ .\

havevreaped more than one harvest or
wild oats; but I never, in the sowing or
reaping met this Mr. Ninepins.”

“ Your father seems to know the man."-
' “Then .I’ll ask the governor the neat
timewameet what fsort of a man he isi”

“You might obtain some information 

   

there,” answered ‘the detective,  the“
' her 9 elonde away, and se ’ "
v Vulcan: ' = '

 

 
 

 

 

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 The Train ‘fleteotive. ”

L" ,‘l v ‘ "r‘

114

  
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“ Where did father first meet him—in
the office on Wall Street?” suddenly
asked Prince Bullion. ’

“I can’t say as to that. But he met
him not long ago and had him perform a
little work for him."

“I don’t know Ninepins, and if father
does it is probably in a way pertaining
, to business. Shall I ask him, and re-
,2' . port, Mr. Tracer? Nothing will give me
‘ more pleasure than to oblige you. Don’t
know much about the detective profes-
sion—wouldn't like it, I’m thinking——
still, there’s something in a mystery
,, that’s taking.”

 Once more the sleek hands twisted the
“ mustache, and Blair Jenks stood erect.

“You‘ll find me here when you care
to call," said he, looking at the Train
Spotter. " I'm generally in, for of late
I’ve been lazy and father hasn’t given
me many commissions.”

“ You transact business for the house,
do you? "

“ At times.”

'" How about the mine investment?"

Prince Bullion seemed to lift himself

from the floor and the following mo-
.m , ment he was close to the detective.
3.; " The mine?" he echoed. “What
-. l mine. please? " ‘-
j, “ Why. the one you were going to take
 stock in. ' You remember the miner‘s
i, ' from the West—the men who want to
 sell you the mine in the Gold Run dis-
trict?" ‘ ’ ‘

“I recall them now, but the deal’s off.”
’ Blair waved his hand in a gesture of
nonchalance and smiled.

_: “It’s astonishing what little things
i you men pick up," said he. “That was

a lame deal if I had made it. A good
4 angel whispered in my ear, and drew me

back‘from the brink.”

. ., > “That was very wise, Mr. Jenks.
»  ‘ let me bid you good-night.”

‘ Prince Bullion conducted his visitor to
the front door and dismissed him there.

“ In the name ,of Heaven, what does
that man mean? "he ’crie‘d,"as he turned
back tothe room with .a white face. “ Is
he on the trail, as he said, or is he on]
toying with me for a purpose?‘,’ ‘I. V 

He'sat'd'own but for a momentg‘for all
at once he sprang up and pressed an
electric button.

I There came a patter of feet on the
'2‘. stairs, and the door opened to show a.
i. ‘1 human face.

“Here, Simon, go out and find me a
newspaper. Pick up any one you can
get hold of., I haven’t seen one to-day."

The boy vanished, and the man, left
in the room, turned'once more to the
 t321§1.7;“3.itth.

 _ ’ ,, aspirin came, n o egame to-da

* j ’ 'did~;he.‘l‘.g.”«~=said Blair. “That mango};
 father. lastnigh‘t. What for? ,He does
but one thing, and father. must have
gone to him professionally."  ' v

B
‘newfipaper which he laid on the cloth
and went away. ‘ . V _

“It’s ten chances to one that I‘don’t

 

 

 

Now

 

 

 

 

Prince Bullion, as he settled back in‘his
chair. “ I’ll look, at a venture, though.”.
3 He ran his eyes up and down the col-
 umns. but did not see anything which
startled him. till he was about to throw
the Sheerhside. .
t ,_ I Theni‘he" as follower
« V‘ 5:: “ DISTRESSINGAGCIDENT.
_ . ~ L ‘ “‘ Last night, about’half-past twelve, 11
a .7.” 1 man was accidentaliythrown under the
wheel "of a car on Fulton‘Street and ter-
ribly. crushed. There was nothing about
him'to settle his identity. It is sup-
, liposed ., that he lately went through the
hands of;a tonsorial artist, for his hair,
which was gray, had been dyed, and his
'(.face cleanly shaved. Over one eye there
.was an artificial.gscar, discovered only
I», by the strictest scrutiny by the surgeons.
 He is a manpas’t- sixty. and was dressed
. in dark .cloth‘es,‘ not very how. He car-

 

 

 

   

  
      
  

‘n‘ and  l

  

nner'poatgpo t
his m

this time the: boy- was back with a I

get anything out of the paper,” remarked ,

let him see‘you'and
fedapairgofhew green go ies in his ’ I 
tl'e money, ~.

 

accident ward of the hespital, and very
few hopes are entertained of his recov-
ery.”

Blair Jenks, the young blade, threw
the paper down and sprang up.

“ That’s the governor, for a hundred,”
he cried. “I know now why he went to
Ninepins last night.”

In another minute the room was de-
serted, for the youth was on the street.

 

CHAPTER X.
THE MAN OF ,DEATH.

Tom Tracer had not forgotten his ad-
venture on the cars with the man known
as Captain Sleek. ‘

The last he saw of this individual was
his whirling form as he threw himself
from the car platform, and he wondered
if the wheels had really ground him to
pieces.

He thought of the house in Woodsdale,
and the scenes he had witnessed there,
and when he walked from Blair Jenks’s
quarters near Broadway these things
came back fresh to his mind.

The Train Spotter did not betray his
secrets or emotion to any one, but felt
that he had scored a hit in his brief in-
terview with the banker's son.

He went from the house to another
residence‘in another part of the city, and
Tang 8. bell.

The servant who ushered him into a
room told him that “Miss Nora ” would
soon come, and he sat down to wait.

Presently light, footsteps announced
the approach of some one, and in an-
other instant the door. opened and a
fair, but sad-faced girl, stood before him.

This, he knew, was Nora Marks, the
banker’s daughter, and he noticed that
her lips‘ were as white as her oval face.

It was their first meeting, and the de-
tective rose as she came forward.

“ You" are the detective,” cried the
young creature, clasping her hands in an
ecstasy of hope. "‘Mr. Flint told me
about you, and he said that you would
look ,into the mystery of father’s ab-
sence. I wish to tell you now, ‘Mr.
Tracer, that you need not do so."

_ The ferret'started slightly, and gave
Nora a sharp look. » ,

" Then you must have news from him,”
he said.  . '

“ I have,fI am glad to say. -I have had
a letter from him, or at least a note
which indicates that we have been un-
duly frightened.” _

Her words did not tally with her white
and frightened look. when she entered
the room, and the detective waited for
her to proceed and explain. ' ' ‘

“ It came to-day," she went on. " The
mails brou ht it, and I will let. you see
for yoursel ." , ' ’

7 She went to the table and picked a
letterxfrOm a little basket there. .

“It is merely Just that you should see

this," she went on. .“It is but a scrawl

.which would indicate that father wrote

it in a hurry or perhaps while a little
unweusr ' - . f 
Tracer reached out and took the letter,
but first glanced at the envelope that
enclosed it. "

He saw that the postmark was quite ‘

dim, if I not altogether ' undecipherable,
but this, only": whetted his appetite for
more. ,. 2 v ' ’

He drew the ‘lettcrrforth and opened it. i ‘

Indeedit was brief and a mere scrawl.
It was unlike the writing of a business
man, and the more’_ the keen detective
studied it the more he became convinced
that he held in his hand a delusion- and
a snare. ‘ , " =
The girl watched him narrowly, and.
when he looked up he caught her eye. ‘
-“ That simplifies matters, doesnft it? "

I

she asked. ~ . _
1‘ It would 'seem' so.” ' “

(<1 thought .so from theflflrst, m ‘

waited tolshow it" to Frank inxorder to
communicate the

.11.

, ,

  
  

newéj! {I 0‘"
.Ouce. slam

 
 
 
  

ltion? ” said the girl.

' bachelor of means, and withal was one.

under his feet. a

: \ Thatmoment steps came 

 skill and rapidity, and
figures thevi:.nn.d

 
  
   

 

  
   
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
   
 
   
  
 
   
   
    
  
   
 
    
   
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
   
   
  
   
   
  
  
 
 
 
  
  
   
  
  
  
  
   
 
 
  
  
   
 
  
 
 
   
   
  
   
  
 
  
   
 
 
  
  
  
  
  
 
  
  
 
   
    
   
  
 
  
  
  
 
  
  
  

father was well, and would be at home in 
a few days, or after he had transacted 
the important business that had called
him from the city.

“ Have you any of your father’s writ-
ing, miss? ” asked the ferret.

“ There is some in the library.”

She led the way to the high-celled V 
room where the banker transacted his i. 
private business when at home, and un- 

locked the old—fashioned mahogany desk.

Putting in her hand she drew out a
lot of papers, which she handed to the
detective, who took them, and sat down.

“You can have the room to yourself
for some time,” said she, and stepping
from the library, she left the man of
trails to himself. ‘

Tracer went to work at once. ,

He laid the message and the pages side
by side, and scrutinized them carefully.

The deception was plain, enough,
though the imitation was not a bad .
one, and by the time he heard steps be-
hind him he was through.

Nora Marks stood looking over his
shoulder, and her face was now seamed
with satisfaction.

“ Isn’t this a nice way out of the vexa—

“ I will sleep now.”

“You have worried a great deal over
your father’s absence, haven’t you,
miss? ” . "

“More than the outside world will ever ‘
know. There seemed something dark,’
about it, but business is business With
men of his stamp, and I shallvforgive
him the suddenf'vanishment when he re— ,
turns and explains all.” 1

Tom Tracer rose and replaced the pa-
pers in the desk, but the letter he kept. . 

Nora divined his intentions, for she;  .
said, quickly: j ' . '~ '

“You may keep that. I have com- ,
mitted the wording of the briefpletter 
and can tell Mr. Flint all when he 
comes." , 

“I will keep it,” was the reply, and A? '
she saw: the letter folded and placed in =
the ferret’s pocket to recall the circum-
stance later on. “ I may want to use
your father’s letter.” , 

Tom Tracer seemed to breathe strange-.
1y when he found himself on the side-
walk a few moments after this inter- 
view, and in a little time he was home\
once more. ~ . .v i

The room where be lodged was small‘
and neat. ‘ ,. 

It was the typical apartment oils. 1;

 

of the easiest places in the city. , .‘

. The day had waned and once {note

the murky shadows of coming; night

stretched themselves on the pavement, 3 u

The day ,had been a busy one’ for, the

detective, and he «had letno 
 . ' ‘1

He could look from his window. upon
a street still crowded and see the’tide‘ot’
humanity which ebbed and iiowe’d all”
day and far into the night. ‘ "a  ‘

~He brought out the letter and studied
itagain. ‘ . ‘  ‘ ._

Once more his keen eyes went over” the?
scrawl, and when he folded it :he smiled}
the smile lingering at his lips hail “as
minute.   , .

Tom Tracer,seemed’to have founded if
other claw to the mystery of the ban 
vanishment. ', j M, I 
He looked up and pushed back

and the knob turned. ,
,.It was a door he seldom
save-When be occupied the
behind the curtain at
room. . . .
The, detective heard the steps stop
the knob. turned, and when they
opened hersaw the man who stepped
the rooms: ‘ ‘, ' ‘ 
Men? of Tom Tracer’s kind are
and always on the'alert,  ' 
NTliéy learn by experience the. value,

little 
one end iof- the;

 

 
  

 
 
 
 
      

   
   

at}:
in the;  cg:

       
  
   
  

 

c1333?

  

*1 ,o the mask, sho

 

 

 

 Train 

.nva

 

 

The tall, well—dressed figure with a»
swinging motion entered the room and
stopped just beyond the threshold.

At the same time a revolver leaped to
a level with the dark face, half masked,
and the ferret could look into the muzzle
without drooping a lash.

It was well done, and in the twinkling
of an eye.

As the newcomer braced himself, Tom
Tracer thought of the incident in the car
and recalled his tussle with Captain
Sleek, the agile Ajax, who had slipped
through his fingers.

’ " Don’t get up, Mr. Tracer,” said the
Unknown, as he eyed the detective com-v
ly. ,.

Tom sat. still.

“It’s a matter of business," continued
the man near the door, which a sweep
of his hand had shut. “It is a matter of
very important business, I say, and you
can meet it sitting as well as standing.’

The detective saw the lips tremble with
the words beneath the fringe of the
black mask. .

‘ " You have pens and ink before you,”
said the stranger. “That is good. You
have no objection to writing a little
letter, I presume? ”

Tracer did not speak.

“ You’ll please me, won’t you? By
the way, it’s the best thing for you to
do just now.”

“ What do you want done? ”

“I want a letter written. I want a
letter written to a friend of mine.”

It was an odd request, and the detec-
tive acknowledged it with a little smile.

“‘It's not hard to do,-. Tom Tracer.
You're a keen one, and you don't want to
lose the bird almost within your hand.
’ *Therefore, you will now proceed." '

The revolver did not drop a hair’s
breadth, nor did the eyes of the stranger
get a softer gleam. '

' “ This way,” said he. " Date your let—
' ter ‘ New York. June 10th.’ There, you’ve
‘done that, eh? Very well. You will

say: ‘ Dear Sammy—4 will see you and
the old gentleman to-morrow. Met with
a little accident coming down to 'the city
last night. Feu from the car and
sprained my right wrist—’ ”

TOm Tracer stopped and looked up at ‘

the man.

" -" l He seemed U see' everything now.

I , This was the cool head who had leaped

'from the train on the back Journey from
Woodsdale and the house among the ce-
dars, and, in all his experience he had

never seen so 9001 an act. _ I /
f." What’s the -matter?" queried the
stranger. 9

“ So you’re the man? " cried the ferret.
‘ I“ What man, Mr. Tracer?”
- ' “ Captain Sleek—emu fellow-passenger
 an the train.’ . ‘ ,
J , “ Never mind that. It was only a lit-
«"tle incident; nothing more. You know
:Lr‘ne.’ Very well. Behold me,” and with
r on sweep of the and the man pulled
ng him the handsome
.  face of the person he had seen throw
.himself from the express.
“ 1 - They faced one another for a moment,
' * and/then the ii ‘ era! the man near the
‘ door pointed at t e'half-flnlshed letter.
4 " Proceed,"‘he went on. “ We can talk
‘ about‘this matter later on.”
 ” 'ffWe’ll talk about it now or ’never! "
:.- Said the detective.
“ haughty head of the stranger
 seemed. to toss imperiousl'y, and the,re-
, velver, which had dropped a mite, rose

 min. '” ,

 “It is the Writing of the letter or
A Ideath, ’;said he. ;

Tom Tracer did not take up the pen.

"but looked across the table at his visitor.‘

"i am the man who jumped from the
train, and it was a risky jump, but Satan

 . protects his own. \Ha! ha! I alighted in

a lot of 'weeds, and on my feet, like a
 cat.’ You were, on the hunt " last night.
 You Were up at Woodsdale."

. " , ,“ You are right. I was up there.”
“,And you solved the mystery of the old

.goldzbug's vanishment,» I told. Being“);

. uld get. there if Malone 7'
Yo’ Wm ' ’ ,5.

 

off? Let me see. Please read what
you’ve written.”

Tom Tracer’s eyes went back to the
letter and rested there. He knew that
other eyes were riveted upon him, and
that he was watched by one of the most
merciless of men.

“What! You won’t do it?” cried the
other. “Very well. I don’t care.”

The last words seemed to be spoken
through clinched teeth, and the eyes
darkened. - -

“ You needn’t write any more. I am
going to end the letter myself, and with
a startling postscript.”

Tom Tracer knew what that meant.

He was to be shot down like a dog in
his chair.

The man called Captain Sleek, the
cool head whom he had tracked almost
to the city, was on the eve of touching
the deadly trigger and putting an end to
his career.

“This is the last trail of your life,
Tom Tracer. You can’t beat us this
time. There’s too much at stake.”

- The detectiVe, in a flash of time, meas-
ured the distance between him and the
man near the door. '

He had covered more space than that
before in one agile bound.

Could he do it again?’

The query barely formed in his brain
when there came a puff of smoke, but
no report, from the revolver, and the
figure of the Train Spotter plunged
across the table.

CHAPTER XI. -
NINEPINS TO THE FRONT AGAIN.

The big and burly, brutalyfaced' man
who stood within half a dozen squares
of Tom ,Tracer’s little oflicepwatching the
surging crowds under the lights was
Ninepins.

His broad shoulders betokened' the
strength for which he was famous, and
his moving eye seemed to see everything
which came within its scope.

He was not trying to‘ secrete himself,
for he stood against a building in an
easy, off-hand way, where many saw
him and inwardly wished for his figure
and powers.

Like a spider watching for a fly stood
Ninepins watching the people, old and
young, who passed and repassed his sta-

 

on.
None so old as to escape his scrutiny;
none too_young to get past him without
a look. .
What was this man watching for under

the lights of Broadway, and from a spot,

where he could look down into the nar-
row heart of Wall Street?

What had brought him to this spot.

where thousands surged like a‘ human
sea, and jostled him, drawing from him
now and then a frown, but, for the most
part, a laugh? . ‘ ‘

He kept his post for an hour, and at
last he crossed the street and dodged
into the gold avenue.

Ninepins in Wall Street was a differ-
ent-looking person from the Shylocks of
the daylight. "

There Was nothing very. suspicious
about the man, only his big faceand
deep-set eyes.

His hands he kept out of sight, and
as he shrugged along the pave with his
wits on the alert, he looked about him,
but now no one jostled him.

Broadway is not Wall Street after
dark. ' - ‘

At last Ninepins came to a door set in

a little vestibule, and into the space he'

darted“ ' r .

I did not look large enough to con-
oea his figure, but it did so-fairly well.
' Ninepins stood at the entrance of one
of those rmoneyed institutions which
cease business in the afternoon and rest
for the day. , , p .

The curtains, pulled , down almost to
the inner sills of the front windows bore
the firm name of “ Marks & Jenks,,,Pri-
vats Bankers? and it was into the door
opting house Ninepins coOlly fitted

cleverness of one used to entering banks
and closed it carefully behind him.

He found the inner door locked, but
mastered it without trouble, and stood
in the little banking house known all
over the city, but of late a mark forthe
curious, for it had been closed for
twenty-four hours, and neither of the
partners had shown up. V

Ninepins slipped to the curtains, and
lowered them below the sill; then he
turned on the gas till it showed him the
room, which was at his mercy.

He was quite alone in the place.

“ There’s nothing like it,” said he, with
a chuckle, as he looked round the room.
“I wouldn’t fit in here, but I can’t help
that. I wasn’t cut out for a nabob, but
there’s no telling what a man can ac-
quire.”

He laughed at the end of his sentence,
and sat down.

“I just fill it, though I’m a little larger
than the old man. I would make a fine

banker, but—”

 

(1'

He cut short his own sentence, and
crossed the room toward a steel safe
which filled one whole corner.

It was one of the queerest safes on
Wall Street, and Ninepins smiled when
he saw it.

“It’s the old treasure-house which
Marks’s father kept his wealth in, and
Abel thought he had to keep it for luck
It’s a wonder it was never cracked by
the later-day cracksmen, but perhaps
they thought no one would keep money
in such a safe.”

Ninepins knelt before the safe and
went to work. ’ ,

If he knew how to change a man, hs
also knew how to get behind the door
of a safe like that one. -

,It did not take him long to carry out
his scheme, and in a little while he
swung back the doors.

f‘ It’s child’s play to do a thing like
this,” he said to himself. “Nothing's
easier. Now I don’t intend to act the
fool, for I don’t want all that’s here——
just enough to tide me over a rainy day.
The goose lays gelden eggs for me, and
I mustn’t squeeze it too hard to start
with.”

In another moment he fell back from
before the old safe, and his face ha
blanched to a startling whiteness. . ‘

“ Not here? Who’s beat me to this
spoil? ” he cried, and then he went back
to the safe. I ' , .

“.It’s the emptiest nest I ever saw,” he
growled. “ The old chap’s been here. He
was afraid to let me keep the secret. He
wanted to play it fine on Ninepins, for-
getting that I can pick him out from
among a million. What a fool he is!
What a dunce!” -

But the safe was as bare of money as
the desert is of flowers. \

He dived his hand whereverit would
go, but nething struck to it.

He ransacked the, safe, and would have
carried off thesmallest coin, but it was
not for his taking, and he had to give
t up. I

“I’ll get even with him._ for this. I.

can find him. I’ll make life a burden to
Harold Jenks, and I'll show him that
once’. in Ninepins" clutches there’s no
getting out With a whole skin. Nothing
herew—not even a blank check- ”

The greed); eyes of Ninepins got a fe-

r0010|16 gleam, and he stood erect, glar- ‘

ing at the safe like a tiger.

“I wish I had my hand on his t roat ,

now. He’s only slipped out of sig t for
the present; he’s still in the city, and I’ll
find him and bleed him. He thinks I
don’t know anything. I know more than
he imagines. Don‘t ,I know why he
wanted me to make‘ a new man out of
him, furnish him with green goggles and
paint a scar over his eye? I never get

a customer thatl don’t investigate. I '

never paint a scar, but I know why it
had to be painted.” '

Ninepins threw a mad glance round the
little bank, and if the banker had re—

turned then he would have been pduncsd  f '.
.upfln “RS 3 maimed lamb.   I '
‘. ’ e  '

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Ninepins. “I’ve got to go away with
nothing for my trouble. And I’ve get
to depart without enough to get my sup-
per.”

He went out again, locking the door
carefully behind him, and as carefully
relocking the old safe.

He had left no momentoes of his visit
in the little room.

The chairs he left as he found them;
he had not touched the banker’s private
desks, and had not cared to look at the
correspondence that had accumulated
since Abel Marks’s disappearance.

Sullenly and sour Ninepins went home.

He raised the door set in the floor of
the rear room and threw a beam of light
into the dungeon below.

“'Not there, eh? Well, he’s crawled
off to keep out of my way from now on,"
he cried. “’i‘aspar knows what’s good
for him, and he’ll not interfere with me
and my customers any more.”

As he turned to the front room of the
den He heard a noise,. and some one
rapped on the door.

Ninepins set the light on a table and
let his caller in.

He gave vent to a little cry of aston-
ishment when he saw his visitor, but
held the door open, and let him enter.

“Well, my boy, how are you?” he
said, holding out his hand, which the

other touched with the tips of his gloved.

fingers.

“ rm all right, Ninepins.
alone? "

“ Never have a caller when I don’t
care about one. Youiwant to talk to
me, boy? ”

“ Yes.”

The man’s caller was Blair Jenks, and
he spurned the chair which Ninepins
pushed forward, and leaned against the
table and folded his arms.

“ “What became of father after he left
you last night? " asked Prince Bullion.

“ Your father, boy? ” '

“ Yes, the guv'nor.” ,

Ninepins shook his head.» ,

“ Are you sure he called on me. Per-
haps he intended to, but never did."~

The keen orbs of Blair looked search-
ingly at the transformer of men, and
settled on his rough face. I

“Pardon me. I don’t accuse you or
doing anything you shouldn’t-do, Nine-
pins. I know you, and on more than
one occasion you've made a new man of
me,” and Bfair laughed. " It’s all right,
but just now I'm a little anxious about
the guv’nor."

“ Isn’t he at home?” ‘

“ No. Mother is nearly distracted. See
here. ‘I saw something in a newspaper
to-sday‘wmch set‘me wild. I don't know
whatit means, but I thought— ”‘

“That he» met with some accident?”
broke in Ninepins, with a flush of fear.
“ What did the newspaper say? "

The young blade drew from his pocket
a clipping, which he handed to the ten-
ant of the den below the street, and
watched him while he read it. '

Ninepins kept his composure.

“ That’s not your father,” he said, hand-
ing back the paper. “A trip to the
hospital would prove lost time. I can
vouch for it not being your father.”

“ That’s something," replied Blair. " It
will relieve mother, who believes 'that
he entered her room while she slept and
kissed her good-bye.” .

“ Like a spoony lover," grinned Nine-
pins. “He wouldn’t» do that, I think,
boy.” '

“I don’t know. Father of late‘has
been in trouble. He looked t‘o'me like a
man who‘feared some disclosure or the
hand of some secret enemy." ‘

“ Why, he’s the very pink of honor.”

“I know that.” .

“ Hecould have no enemies.“

“ Perhaps not; But he was here.”

Ninepins .could not avoid the cold,

Are you

, keen glance of the man whom he faced.

“ Yes—on business," said he, at last.
_ “ And, you changed him. Merely a

 
  

», . .7.‘  Jim

 

of the poor, unconscious wretch in the
hospital.”

1‘ No.9!

Ninepins avoided those eyes as he
answered, but Blair Jenks did not seem
to notice.

“ That will relieve mother, I know; but
the mystery is why isn’t father at
home?"

“I suppose he wanted to go away for
a few hours, perhaps to take a trail of
his own selection after his partner, Abel
Marks.”

“He wouldn’t look for Marks, Nine-
pins. They weren’t on the best of terms.
He wouldn’t care ~,to hunt the lost banker
for the detectives are doing that, and
that would satisfy father.”

“ Well, he’ll turn up to-morrow, per-
haps,” said Ninepins, with cool assur-
ance, and this seemed to satisfy Prince
Bullion.

Just beyond the little door leading to
the den the young man paused and lis-
tened.

He heard inside a chuckle of glee, and
it died away like the laugh of a fiend.

“He’s lied to me,” cried Prince Bul-
lion. “‘ This brute knows why Jarold
Jenks came to him last night, and he is
hoodwinking me. He shan’t do this and
boast.of it.” I ‘

The young roysterer turned and
wrenched the knob of the door of the
transformer's den. ,

It opened while yet the laugh .lingered
on Ninepins’s lips. and the“ burly fellow
started back at sight of his visitor.

“ You know, and you must tell me the
truth!" cried Blair, as he braced him-
self against the door and flashed a re-
volver in the fellow’s face. “I am back
for the truth or for blood."

Ninepins seemed to rise in new stature
before the determined youth, and his
face darkened.

“You can’t get the first out 0' me,
boy, and the latter's at your service, but
it’ll be your own! ” he cried.

Blair Jenks threw out a foot, as he
raised the revolver, but the quick hand
of Ninepins dashed it down. and the next
moment he held the would-be slayer’s
wrist in a grip of steel. '

After this he laughed derisively in
PrinceBullion’s teeth.

_ CHAPTER XII.
THE TERRIBLE REVELATION.

" Remember, if blood is shed here it
is liable to be some of,your own, boy!”

Repeating his threat, Ninepins held
the hand, of Blair Jenks till the-cocked
revolver dropped from his b‘loodless fin-
gers and fell to the floor. .-

He leaned toward the. .discomflt
youth and leered into his face with all
the stage glare of a demon. u

“ Sit down,” and he suddenly flung
Blair half way across the room, and he
dropped into a. chair.

“ You don’t believe that I told you the
‘truth when you were in here a little
while ago, eh? ” . ‘ .

“ I heard you laugh derisively when I
went'out." ‘ ,

“I chuckled, did 1?. And you took it.
for a sign that Ninepins had lied? "'

Prince Bullion did not reply. '

“ You can’t afferd’ to doubt the word
of Ninepins,” continued the tenant of
the den. “I know encugh to wreck your
home and to fetch the gray hairs of
your mother in sorrow to the grave;
Come, boy; you don’t want to play don—-
ble with me.” . , , - *

Blair looked into the-man’s face and
saw it~darken in the sickly glare of his
one lamp. .' r

“ Your father came here and put him-
self and his family into my hands,” he
went on. v ‘ ’ '

“ And his family?” echoed Blair. '

“ And his family! That’s what I said.”

“Not if he were a wise"man; but
ahere’s no telling what an old'fooi will

o-ll , _ I h . t

Blair Jenke’sface nahed,:- \   g ' 

No man mam amend a: 

 

     

  
  

‘ sat bolt upright on the sofa. he 

     
   
  
  
   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
  
   
  
  
  
    
  
  
  
  
   
  
  
   
   
  
  
   
  
  
  
  
  
   
 
  
  
   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
   
   
  
  
   
   
  
   
  
  
   
   
  
   
    
 
   
  
    
   
  
    
  
      
  
   
  
    
 

dash in a lava current through his veins,
but he did not resent the insult.

He knew the man before him.

He had even, on former occasions,
when he was about to engage in some 
little trick not entirely straight, gone to 
him and had him transform him into 

another person, as it were, and in a
measure he was in the transformer’s 
hands. 

“You’re cooled off now, ain’t you?”
asked Ninepins.

“ Perhaps I was a little too fast." _ .

“That's better'than trying to plant ,1. 
me with lead. There’s the gun, boy.” 

Blair looked at his revolver on the"
table and at last put it away in silence.

“ Don't fool with a lion in his own
den," smiled the burly brute, showing
his teeth. “Remember that wherever
you go you are in the hands of Ninepins,
but that as long as you play fair with
him you’re safe. Break with me, boy:
betray me, and all is over. I close in on
my enemies and the hand of Ninepins
can crush! ”

Blair gave the man another look, and
once more he stood on the outside of the
den. 7

He heard the derisive laugh repeated,
but this time he did not challenge it,
but pulled his hat over his brow and
strode away.

Once he looked back and thought he
saw the well—known figure of Ninepins
on the sidewalk looking after him like .
a tiger keeps the moving prey in sight. .

“ I’ve got to go home and tell mother ‘v
something,” said Blair to himself. “Its ‘
a hard task; but she must hear some,
kind of story.”

He braced up once or twice at conve—
nient counters before he pulled up in _
front of the handsome house on the ave-’ r"
hue, and let himself inside. ,1

A tall and handsome woman with a
face inured to sadness met him in the ,,
parlor, and Blair Jenks stood before his‘ 
mother. I '

He told her a cunning story which he
had made up with consummate careto
the effect that he had learned that his
father had been called from the city  ,
urgent business and that he' would re-.
turn in a day-or two. ,

She had never questioned the veracity
of her only child, and Mrs. Jenks b‘e—
lieved him.

"That’s better than having her.all_
unnerved,” said Prince Bullion, as he’
turned to the library, while his mother
went up stairs. “ She’ll sleep like a top ,
'to—night, and that will restore her for, '.
vto-morrow. But I wished I had shot him '.
to—night! Why didn't I press thetrigg'e‘r
before he had time to seize my 
and hold me in his terrible grip? »Tho5
rman simply lied—dust what I’ve done to ~
mother. Once in the meshes of crime a!--'
ways there. That’s my fix. I’m deeper
in the toils to-night than ever. I wish—«j
No! wishes will do no good. I'mphunted
like a felon. 'Like a felon! Well, How”
much better than a felon am 1, any-
hoW?” I . ,  f

He stretched himself out on the 8015*.
at one side of the library to find 
in a doze, and in, a few minutes ]
fallen into a sound slumber. f1 ;

.The house grew still. ‘  '

All at once Blair Je s awoke,
that something, had t ken; place under“
thé family roof. , x   V

He was completely sobered, as if th
shock had accomplished this, and as 

 

 

 

toward the desk and at his father"
chair. .. -
He sprang up with a cry as he can:
sight of a bent figure in the/chair. ' .,
The body of a man was there,  its
was leaning on the desk with the 
buried "in the arms which framed’ihgil
with silence and a dim light for‘ 

orles. , . ,. r x 
Bullion stood like one meld;

- c

    
     
   
    
  

Prince
spellbound by the apparition ,befbr'e 
, He did nogeknowyhet: ’d (and 

      
 
  

    

  

 

 

  

i

 

L

 

flashed his revolver as he stepped for-
ward. ‘
’He stood beside the recumbent figure,
,, which had not stirred and then his hand
fell upon the man’s shoulder.
There was a start, not very quick,
but a start for all that. and the buried
head came out of its strange tomb.
The cry that started to the young
man’s lips never reached them, but per-
ished midway. '
He looked down into a haggard face,
terribly unlike that of his father, but
something told him that, despite the
change, his father it was. ‘
' Over one eye was the remnant of a
painted scar, and the hair, freshly dyed,
showed here and there threads of gray.
Jarold Jenks, the banker, had come
home. ~'
,After all the paragraph in the news-
paper referred to some one else, for the
. goggles were missing and the crushed
. (hat gone.
' But the next moment, as the man fell
back and looked up into the youth’s
face, a pair of green goggles fell from a
pocket and spun across the desk. ,
Blair uttered a cry.
Rel-darted across the room and looke
up the steps beyond. '
 , Not’for the World would he have his
, mother see this apparition of her hus-
, band. _
. ‘ He would have given his life to keep
.._.-baCk from her this terrible picture of
woe andecrime! .
- .‘ “Blair locked the door as he came back.
'IThe light burning over the desk
1 showed father and son each other’s faces,
v, and for a moment held them in silence
. bound. ’ ,
" In ’God’s name, where. have 'you
been?” cried the son. .
There was an attempt at reply, but
ith’e wo’rds died in a hoarse whisper on
Jarold Jenks’s lips. ' I '
His glance went to the ,door.’
 “She won’t hear us,” said Blair. “She
is sound asleep. She doesn’t know you’re
her'e‘.n .
‘ 7‘ Thank heaven for that!" was the
 response. " Don’t tell her." ‘
 ‘-'I told her you would .‘be at home
Rte-marrow." ‘
 You did?“ ,, ' ,
=,:‘7“."I‘hat‘sent her off to bed in good
' spirits, ‘but, father, you gave herheart
a‘ Wrench when you went off that, way."
 “There. I’m going off again. I‘ve
, at to go. You don’t know” cannot im-
a. erstand. but the time has come. I can’t
Slashers." v ,
 But you must.’ ‘
Never! The time has come, I say. I
i h the shadow of a great crime.
Ydu don’t know of it. but I can’t stay.”
He would have left the chair , but
Blair pushed him back. '
T”“;‘ on went down to Ninepins?"

    
   
 
  
  
    
   
  
  
   
     
  
   
   
   
  
  
  
   
 
   
 
 
  
   
   
   
   
 
  
   
  
   
 
 
  
   
   
 
 
 
 
   
  
  
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
  
   
  
 
 
  

. he
Said. . ,
""1, did». You see what he did, too.”

We a demon in looks out of you.
Your, jere struck by a. car, too, weren’t
WW". ' .. ' .r .
:“ Yes. andlay for hours in the hou-
pitai unconscious. I didn’t care whether

death if the choice had been left tome".
 hey: haven’t found“ him yet. have
thew”; ' ' '1' ‘ ‘-
“ Abel Marks? " I
ff’Yes." , ' ,' . _ v . .
“Not yet. but—J" , , »
“‘ ‘n’t say that they ‘will,” cried Jar~
peaks. “ I must go before they
‘ atman. Unlock the dooryo'n-
M be night is dark. , I hardly‘know
,, H scenic home, buts. I canf find the
enters-oblivion. You have the key’in
our , pocket, -_haven,"t you?“

‘f I. haven".  it will; stay where it is.
is is nonsense. You’re in. no shadow.
tonsil imagination: ,':I , have made" a
trade with the gold: men,;~and' I've got

5

 he ' is

imminent death. I would have chose“

QINGWO the lumen my possession.‘
’  PM”? “is, sheer , an m- _

Blair as he fell back. “In Satan’s name,
what’s happened? ”

" I’m as poor as the beggar in the
streets out there,” said Jarold Jenks.

“ Impossible!”

“ It is true. I am a criminal.
daughter is no more.”

“ Your daughter? Come. You have no
daughter, father. I am your only child.
I am your heir.”

Jaroid Jenks, with. his changed face
leaned back in the chair and laughed in
his heir’s face.

“You're no son of mine. There’s
none of my blood in your veins; he
cried. “ I hardly know whose blood you
carry. Yes, I do, but it’s not worth
while to answer it here."

“ Why, you’re Crazy; mad as a March
hare," exclaimed the young man, as he
caught his companion’s arm and nearly
jerked him out of the chair. " What
has come over you? ‘What spell has
Ninepins exerted to bring about this
terrible change? ”

“Ninepins?” and the old man shud-
dered. “That man knoWs all. He holds
in his dark hands the past and my fu-
ture. He knows all that I do. My
daughter is dead, I say, and I know that
the secret will out. Abel Marks's van-
ishment is but a side-play in this dark
game of crime and mystery. Does it
baffle the detectives? Have they found
the true clew yet? "

“ You need a. nerve tonic-a quieter.
Wait! There's a sedative in that little
case over there.” .

“None! Don‘t benumb -my senses
with anything,” cried .l‘arold Jenks,
springing up and pushing his'companion
away. " It is terribly true. You‘see
what time will accomplish. I’m a crim-
inal, I say. I’ have stripped the firm. I
have brOken the bank. I have robbed
Abel Marks and lived 'to see my daugh-
ter perish.” ‘ .. j .

Blair Jenks stood like one bereft of
reason in the presence of the trans-
formed man. , _  -

“ Your mother knew of the substitu-
tion, but she keeps the secret!" the old
banker went on. “ When‘our first child
,was born she was placed in a hospital
for a disease she had. She was sup~
posed by the:world to have died there,
but she did‘not. The nurse who went to
fetch her home brought off another wo-
man’s ofispring, but a male child. We
wanted a son. * The nurse, paid for her
work, came back’ with you, Blair. The
little girl vanished, but I: traced her.
My wife never heard of her from the
night, but if she reads the neWspaper

My

der on M——- Avenhe.
learned of the death'of that babel:  \

‘Jarold Jenks sunk limp and white:
faced into the depths of the chair, and
with a wild cry that blanched his face,
Blair recalled, to recover partially in
the middle of the room and gaze upon
the bent old figure witha shudder, of the
deepest horror. : ,~ , ‘ t

x

 

V CHAPTER XIII. 
, - 'THE DAZEI)" BANKER.
 Perhaps the ,man Who, had .so coolly
invaded Tom Tracer’s apartments and
left the detective for‘dead across his lit-

accomplished his. purpose.
At any rate he quietly adjusted his

stairs, ‘after ,whibh he walked , from‘the’
building upon‘ the street and
,His step was rapid and springy.‘ . ,
He seemed to feel that he had 'settled
with one Who had given him'agood deal
[of trouble, andxthathe would not, be
[bothered with a watch whenhe iiitted
between the city and Woodsdale.
_I.Captalnu. Sleek soon afterward turned
up in another part of the city, some dis—
tance‘fromv the! scene. of his latest es-
oapade.‘~and in a roamiflwhere he seemed

atlhome.

 

 ‘7, It residents nth and so alloy;
'1 he/éhpckl d

an oldish face, but a good one.

‘up the glass and , ’ _ :
, The ‘transformation lasted affull hour. ‘

to-day, if she reads the story of the mur- .
she may have}

tle table went awayfeeling that he had .

mask an'd’Wore it to the foot of the'

vanished.“ ‘

train and I had to make a leap for me.
Now the score’s settled—it’s wiped out;
between us and I’m ahead.” ‘

He laughed over his last words and
lit a cigar. '. '

Captain Sleek was engaged in smok—
ing when some one came to the door,
and when it opened he saw the head
and shoulders of Ninepins.

“‘ On time, are you?” cried the Cap-—
tain. “You got my message?”

“That’s why I’m here,” said the
changer of faces, as he placed on the
table a little box, which he took from
beneath his coat.

“I thought this would be the better-
place for the transformation. No one
will interrupt us here and, then, I will
be saving a jaunt to your den.”

Captain Sleep moved his chair closer
£0 the table and Ninepins opened the

ox.

“ What’ll you have?” he asked. 

“What sort of a phiz? Is that it?"

“I always gives my customers.their
choice. I neVer suggeét unless they
want a face that, doesn’t suit their
frame.”

“ You have an eye to business, I see.
Well, I want a face that will pass muster
anywhere. I want a countenance that
will deceive my best friends. Give me
You
know best.”

Ninepins went to work with a little
mirror on the table for his customer’s
use, and now and then, as the fuse un—
derwent a transformation beneath his
{skillful fingers, C ptain’SleekWould take
atch progress: - . 2 ‘

and when the magic face :12changer
stepped backit was with a look of pro-
fessionaipride in his eye. ’ '
Captain Sleek took a long look at his
new features, which added some years
to his life, and then he slowly put the;

.mirror down.

“I see you understand how to do it,”
he remarked, looking up into Ninepins’s
face. '

“That’s my business.
make my living.”

“You do a good deal. of it, don’t;
you?” ,I‘ , '- a ~

Ninepins nodded.

It’s the way 1

Captain Sleek counted out some ,t‘coin
on the: table andpushedritétoward’the
long eager fingers, of the face changer.

“That's-L11 right,” said Ninepins, as

hegathered up the “money’ and then (I

closed. the box of tools and pigments.:
X‘iOhe moment,” said Captain Sleek.
“Do you eVer take little trips out of
the. city to do your work?”,

“Sometimes, but,” with a grin, “they
generally live in the city whom I treat.”

‘ Yes, yes, but wouldyou go away if
paid well for the work? ” ‘

“I would.” ~ v- '

"I’ll let you know," and with zthiB
Captain Sleek pushedathe‘ box of Ha-
vanas toward Ninepins, who took two
and put them in his pocket: ‘ - ,

In another moment the’gsole‘occupant
of the apartment
the'trjanSformed face.

He h d heard the

last steps ' of " the?

face changer on the outside and knew 

that Ninepins: was gone.
, “It’s a capital job,” said he, with a
laughronce more. takings look at his
face in the little glass. "/1 wish [had v4
some, one.,to try it on. I couldm‘ol
Sammy with this face and——” r . H
V A little noise outside attracted; him,
and hecrossed the room to the door. '
A woman greeted himgat‘ the-pertal,
and she fell backs. step it sight of him._
“Please, Mr. Oarlo,” she “began, but
the rest of the seat nee died on. her lips.
I“ Mr. Carlo has ust stepped out, ma—
dam,” said'Captain Sleek and then he
shut the door in’ the -vmman’s face. ’
“ She didn‘t know. me at all." '  _
.Twenty‘ minutes later- he might'ha
"been seen in the Grand Central, audits.
a..t “ ' » vi

= “ It’s all right, Ninepins,” laughed, he.’  “ ;

 

. flaw

was the- mandxgwlth ‘ '

 

 

 

 

 

  
 

 

 

 

 

V‘ '» loome.‘ 1:0
. , ‘ near, stat-fl!“ ‘2‘“ 9””th  

   

 

 

of the luxurious coach, he opened a
paper and in a little while seemed ab-
sorbed in its contents.

He took but little notice of the scen-
ery and the passengers, but when the
train whistled for Woodsdale he moved
and got out on the platform, the only
passenger to alight there.

Captain Sleek walked toward the house
among the cedars and up the graveled
walk.

He slipped round the h0use to the
rear door and opened it with a key which
he took from his pocket.

“ How did you get in here? ” demanded
a voice, as he entered the room beyond,
and a tall man, whose face was strange-
ly white, confronted him with tigerish

mien.
Why,

It
door.”

“It's the height of insolence! You
must have picked the lock. You can
go out."

“I guess not,” and the transformed
man coolly took a chair while the other
towered above him in an ebullition of
rage. I -

“You don’t know me, Sammy," he
laughed, and the tall one nearly‘ lost his

balance.
"Who did that?” he asked. “Who
with a face like

sir, I came in by the

made you a new man
that?” ,

" Ninepins, the man .who. understand
his business.” , ,
‘ “He's a genius!” cried Sammy Slack.
"How did you fare on the down trip?”

“Nearly lost my life.” .

“How?”

" I had to jump from the train.”

“ Thunder! not from the fast line?”

" Yes. I went down on that, you
see.”

“I know, but—”

.“ It was ‘this way. I came face to
face with, the ferret.”

“ 0n the. train? " '

“In the sea't’behind me.”

" Come, you're joking now.”

“Not a bit of it._ I came i‘face to face

i with him. .He had been up [here on th

lobkoutl,’
“That accounts
curtain.”
“In what curtain?”
“And the nail prints on the box un
der the window.”’ _ . .
“ Oh, he saw a good deal, as his face
told me. He knew the secret, and I
saw at once that something had to be
done. We had it right and left in the
coach for a few seconds, but I had to
jump for it 'in the end.”
“ Why didn’t, _. yoh turn on the track-
, e ?”.' - ‘ . , . . .
 * “Vilaybé Ld-ld, but imore of this some
other time. How is our gold bi’rd‘? ”
,“ He's been very quiet since you went
away. He won't know you.’.’
. “ I'll risk that, Sammy. You can fetch

for the slit in the

‘, _ him in and let ‘me See.” ~

Tall Sammy quitted the room and tin-
locked the door of the missing bank.
er’s prison. . . I I V

In a moment he had called Abel" Marks
into the room and the following instant
the banker Was staring at the newcomer

-  at. the tablet
’8 .~_’f.This is a gentleman who wants to

sedition,“ said Sammy. “You wish to
see him alone, do you, Mr. Blazer?”
* captain-isms]: nodded and the banke
dropped into the opposite chair, whil
Sammy retireda ** “i .

For some‘littl [time‘ the‘ banker scru
Etinlzed the wet made—up 'face before
him and then leanediback with a sigh.
~ He did not know it. I ‘ r

"‘ How do you like it here?" asked
Captain Sleek. ‘

. “Not at all.
heard of my vanishing from my daugh
tor?” ~ *~ ' .

"<1" have heard, but look here. It’
nearly worth my life to befriend you. I
know, that you are Abel Marks. 1 have
you with a proposition which

   
  
  

in

You know me. [You have .

dying here—dying by inches. They have
made an insolent proposition, one which
I will never consent to.”

" That’s not strange. I know some-
thing of the man who has just retired.
He’s liable to make a proposition which
would not commend itself to you.”

“He's not the man who made it. It
was the other one.”

“Oh, there is another one here?”

“He’s not here now. He’s younger
and the head of the plot. They want
my money and more, too. It is simply
infamous. I was telled out of New
York and the tall one brought me to
this house, while all the city wdnders
what has become of Abel Marks of Wall
Street."

Captain Sleek did not betray his iden-
tity; he listened to the prisoner of the
.ruflians, and then said:

“I am working for your good.”

“Thank- heaven! I will do anything
to help you carry out the plans you
may have formed. Of course, ‘I can't
imagine by what means you have de-
luded the man in the other room, but so
long as my safety is the objective point 1
won‘t ‘ask any questions.”

“That’s right. Let me carry out the
scheme to the letter. There's more than
one way of outwitting the devil." _

Abel Marks smiled and again looked
into the face of the man before him.

“ Now,”.00ntinuedCaptain Sleek, drop—
ping his voice to a whisper as he glanced
toward the closed door. “'I have this
proposition to make. Its acceptance
means freedom.”

“ Go on.” -

>“ If you will sign a document which
I drew up before coming up here it will
open the door of this house—~"

“Oh, he wanted me to sign a paper,
too.”

“Did he? The cool rascal!
here, Mn. Marks. You can't be too
careful what you sign. ere it is.”

Captain Sleek drew a folded paper
from his pocket and spread it out on
the table. . ' ‘ ‘2‘.

The eager banker took it up and be-
gan .to read. . I

It was simply an agreement to’pay

Look

. the holder,'of .the'paper five thousand

dollars and keep secret. when he went
back to ,New York the‘ adventures
through which he ‘had passed.
‘It was compromilsing with crime, but
what of that?--it was liberty. ,
It was ten times‘better than the docu—
ment'which the other had thrust at him.
“I'll. sign that,” cried the banker.
“It’s not a hard proposition, eh?”

“Not top‘lhard. I thank you, Mr.
Blazer.” . I 1 . g
Abel Marks signed the paper and

pushed it toward his companion. ’
“Now, when will release come?” he
inquired eagerly. ‘
‘f Within the next twenty—four hours.”
“ Must I inhabit this house that long? "
“Yes. But you will enjoy your lib-
erty the more when yo‘u'ye purchased it
with a little trouble." ‘

w The document was folded and put
aWay in the man’s pocket. ~ ' ,
1 “Say nothing to your jailer,” said he,
touching Marks on the amt. ~“I’ll- fix
that: '.The.money needn’t be paid till
you’re back in the office.
be able ‘to serve. you, 'Mr. Marks)!

, They shook hands, the banker effusive-
IY onihls'partt snid‘the other less‘so. ,

“It seems like a dream, to me,",c‘ried

Abel Marks. €21 am. to go home, and

alive!”  ,_ ‘  v . ,, I,
At that moment the door opened and

Sammy Slack came’back in thermal to
encounter ‘a meaningg glance from ,Cap‘.’
tain Sleek. ‘. ‘_ -. - ,
The new game had succeeded.

CHAPTER xn’m ~ 4 . .,

x A. Loysn‘ 0NTHE5RACK. .. 1

A short (time, before" these events. a
man entered “the  room ditherin-
speotor of Police?! where .

 

    
  

   

   

 

I’m proud to -

  

 

This person, when inside, shut the doom
behind him and came over to the In—
spector’s desk. 

As he halted there he pulled a white 71-1
beard from his face and a smile wreathed "
the Inspector’s lips.

The man'before him holding the mask ‘
in his hand was the Train Spotter. - 

He took a seat in a. chair near the A
desk and said: v 5’3

“I’m out of the world. That is, I’m iv]
dead, although there need be no fun- ‘9
eral over me.”

The Inspector leaned on the arms of _ 
his office chair and looked into Tracer’s ' 
face. ‘

“My office is locked up and there is
the effigy of a man dressed in my clothes
lying half across my table.”

“ I see.”

“I have stood face to face with the
sleekest‘scoundrel unhung," Tom went
on. “I have had a revolver fired at me
at ten feet, yet I am here to tell the
story of the ruflian’s trigger." ‘ . .

“ A revolver at ten feet, and you here-3"

   
  
    
  
   
  
   
  
 
 
  
  
   
   
   
    
  
   
  
  
  
 
   
    
  
   
  
  
   
  
  
   
   
   
    
    
   
     
   
  
   
   
   
    
    
       
      
  
   
  
       
  
  
    
  
  
   
 
  
  
     
   
     
 
  
    
  
  
   
     
   
   
 
  
 
 

That’s not speaking very well for the

man’s aim, Tracer.” ’ ‘
" Let‘s call lit luck.” ‘ "
“All right. You’ve had a good deal T

of that in your time.”

Once more the ferret smiled and the
Inspector waited for him to proceed.

“ How is Waters getting along?” he
asked. ‘ ‘

" He seems at his wit‘s end. Some- -~ 
thing has turned against the fellow: He
was here two hours ago and he looked ,
as if he had passed through a month’s '
sickness.” _, . ‘ x

“ Perhaps he has lost the trail.” I , l"

“ It‘s something. I didn't question him:-
I never do, for he never took kindly to ~
inquiries. 0n the contrary, I let him.’
have his way, but ‘poor Waters has losii-P
heart. , a ' 

“ I‘m so: ry for Waters,” said Tom with.
feeling “ It’s a deep mystery and would,.
be a creditable hunt for him if he could
end it successfully.” ;

“I don’t know where he is nor what -,
has come over the Spirit of his dreams,", 
said. the Inspector. . . ‘ i , 

“ My room is not to be visited-by any;
one of the force? resumed (Pom, Tracer.
“The efligy on the table is, to alljin- ! .
tents and purposes, my dead' body.‘ If I
am inquired for you think I am out} .
the city and you will create that impress
slon with the callers." f’" “

“ It shall be done." v . 

Tom Tracer rose and readjusted" '
white beard which transfermed ‘h‘imdnto
an entirely different lookingeperson- an 
the next moment he had left theao‘ifi”

In the little room near Broadway: ‘ 5
the effigy of the Train Spotter “vhf; ‘ "
Captain Sleek had seen hisvictim fa

Silence filled the place and those whose
duties! took them past the door did ’11
pause to..look~»beyond, nor did they‘t
the lock to see iflthe detectiVe was“
his lair. ' ., ' ‘  ,_

Tom went across the city“ I  
, ‘He‘ stopped ,at last at a door _‘ hick
he opened and vanished. . 1.1..

He was ‘ confronted by a; young
who threw down a newspaper and '
at him. i- ‘ ~,
‘f Good night, Mn. Flint,"‘saidz;'p
Frank Flint, Miss Nora Marks’sj
turned pale and then. gave his:
another 1001:, for the mu white
’st‘illicoyer'ed‘ the tracer’s few. 5 ’7 ~

'You sometimes do work for. the, V
of arks & Jenks’, don’t you?!”1quer‘
Tom. i = ‘ f ' ‘  

“ I used’to, but-.of late-.Ihaven’t a: '
over the books." ’ ' 

“‘ But when Yo
all right?” .2 " ., b

“ I never disclose :such maimed
side the firms for whom I}
wouldn’t be Jim right, you 5use
‘ “Very, well. You would};
crime? would you, provid '
abandons?” I x -  7

flushed.

.F‘rank‘Flint
" will  onfme

I

looked last 

   
  
  
     
  
  

    
      
  
 
     

 
    
 
  

 

    



 

  

 

 

’16 , c 

The  'betective. .-

 

  

 

    
  
  
  
   
  
    
   
   
  
   
  
   
  
   
   
  
   
  
   
   
 
    
    
 
 
   
  
   
  
  
    
 
    
     
 
 
 
 
    
  
   
   
  
   
  
   
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
  
 
 

“ Do just what you please, young man,”
returned the disguised detective. “You
are supposed to be a man of honor—”
“I try to be.”

"I thought so. You want to help your
employee, don’t you, and you want to
uncover the secret of Abel Marks’s dis-
appearance? "

There was no answer.

“Then I have been mistaken. I
thought I was about to deal with a gen-

prosper.”
“I don’t, sir. It's the last thing I
,want to see succeed.
“Then why don’t you tell me about
those books?" '
“ I don’t see why I should. I may have
been mistaken. There are times when
, -_ the best accountant makes blunders, and
,when,—” -

,He stopped and seemed to lose color.
“In these days of litttie speculations,
and by the best men in the city, there
isno telling what may be the motive for
the using of funds.”

“0h, some one has been using the
- funds of,the Wall Street house, eh? ”

' “A little.” _
“And you don’t know whether it was
.“ .done sby Jarold Jenks or by the missing
3 v ,banker.”

,_“-I confessthat I do neit.”

“I see,” said the detective. “If done
by Abel Marks you would shield him."
. “I would not like to be the one to
, , bring the matter into the light, for, after
" all, there may have been a mistake, and
” the money now missing will be replaced
"nor the matter explained ‘as soon as we
 ,find Mr. arks.” '

,Tom T acer gave the young man a
;. quick, but penetrating look, and Frank
winced. H -

“ You don’t want to injure your suit

I n
énylawi” he said severely. ‘
f, “Come, Mr. Flint, why not be honest
1 open and’let the bolt hit the guilty,
nduhatter who he is? ”
'- 'There was no response, and Frank
~F'lint seemed about to slide from his
chair. / x ,
jv “.You don't knew that Abel Marks is
the guilty one? ”
1‘ ,7“ I“ do not."
 “How much is missing, according to
the ’books.” i ’
‘ . " Enough to bankrupt'the house."
" 5‘80 bad as that? "
’--f‘Yes. It is simply terrible. I was
, ned ’w‘hhn I, came across ,the‘ false

 4 Does Mr. Marks speculate?"

. [can’t say.”

“Does Jarold Jenks?”

Frank shook his head.

.“Wh’o has'access to,the books?”

“The regular accountant."

.5‘ E is he?"

“Isvthat his first name?”

“Halo, sir, his last. He boards some-

are on the West Side. I don’t know
yth‘ingabout him, but I don’t believe
is the thief." /

 

“5,”,You clear him, do you? Whyso‘,
 .Flint‘? ’,’ ,
“,I don’t like to tell you. See here.rl

 know who you are and I can’t see
whygl‘mught, to tell you anything about
this mystery. Let us and Abel Marks.
' flititlll they discover him and, he may

«i the dark places light.” ' ‘
Wait till the guilty man escapes!
 t till it is everlastingiy too late,"
cried the disguised ferret. “You clear
. the googkteper. dYou give him a clean

. cor , 11 you on’t say .the same for
 J9er Marks

in" Heavens, no!” exclaimed the young
‘ _ “I would, not do that for the
" arld"' /1 ‘II- .‘
 ” She would not believe anything

~ against her father. a.

I» t

tleman who did not want to see crime‘

the eyes of your prospective father- a

young‘man of my age, named Jas- '

. of the with street clerk. -
I"-

“Don’t,” and Frank Flint put his
hands before his eyes to shut out the
detective’s face. “I went to a shrewd
detective at the outset of the mystery
and put the matter in his hands. Why
can’t you wait till he reports?”

“Who did you set on the trail?”

“Tom Tracer. The head officer of
the railroad that employs him in its
cases sent me to him. He is cool and
certain. They say he never fails.”

“ Did you tell him about the books? ”

Tom was looking the youth in the
face, and he rccoiled.

“I didn’t think it worth while.”

“You treated him as you have treat-
ed all concerned. You wanted to keep
the secret to shield the guilty provided
it turned out to be Mr. Marks, her father."

Frank Flint seemed to sink, crushed.
into the depths of the chair, and his
face grew ghastly.”

“Let's go to Miss Nora and see what
she says,” suggested the ferret, but with
a cry the other fell back.

“It would be my undoing,” cried he.
“I couldn‘t face her with the story.”

“Very well.” .

The ferret rose.

“Are you going to her?” asked the
young man.

“Not n'ow at any rate.”

“Thank you. I’m willing to lend all
the help I can, 'but the matter, as l
have said, is in the hands of Tom Tracer
and he may be nearing the end of the
trail now.”

“Perhaps. You can keep your
thoughts. Don't shield the guilty. Abe
Marks did’ not speculate on the firm’
money.” V _

A cry of thankfulness welled from
Frank Flint’s throat, and he sprung from
the chair. '

“Do you know that?” he cried.

“I do. But you will not take this
declaration td' Miss Norah”

“I will not. Now, sir, youhave in
your possession the exact amount of the
funds embezzled from" the firm? ”

“I have.”

“How much has been lost? "

“Almost half a million." '

“ Why, that wouldn’t bankrupt the
house of Marks & Jenks."

“I know, but that is not all.”

“ Not all? What else?"

“ Some one has impaired the credit of
the house. I‘know that, too.”

“Certainly the partners would not do
this?" .

“ I don’t know. I can’t tell you mor .
My head is in a whirl. .I am faint, 0 ,
this accursed secret! I wish I had
never met that man." .

He fell ba'ck .in the chair and hid his
face in his hands, whichrested on the
edge of the table. . ..

For a moment the detective looked
down upon the bowed figure and then
he stepped toward him. .

“ I’m going ‘n0w,” said: he,‘ bending
over the accountant. “You ,will tell
me one thing first. ‘- What have you
done with Diamond Dess’sopal ring? ’3

There wasat first a look of blank ath-
ttmi'shment on the face lifted suddenly to
the detective’s gaze, and thena cry came
from Frank Flint’s heart. '

“There, you nhedn’t answer that ques-
tion just new. I won’t press it.“ But
ygu will have to explain before long.
Y 11 can’t escape, and until you do an-
swer you can’t expect to play out the
game of'love with the missing banker's
daughter.” ‘ '

“ I’ll tell on. It. was a passing infat-
uation, thats all,” 'said the young man.
“I saw in the n wspapers that ‘the poor
girl was dead—t Vat she had been mur-
dered in henhousé on M-—— avenue.”

“And if the police should trace, her
opal ring to you, Mr. Flint,,it wduldn’t
be a pleasant thing forNorah to’ hear."
“I never thOught of that. My God! ”
and there fell at the feet of the'Train
Spotter the ,limp and 'unoOnscious figure

ha , -" minute.‘,'1‘

 

toithrow. some has» n-'
 shel‘kn’e 

 
 

 

“ It will teach him a lesson,” he said
under his breath.

 

CHAPTER XV.
TIIE HAND or A VILLAIN.

Captain Sleek, the man who had viset-
ed Abel Marks, the missing banker, in
the house behind the cedars at Woods—
daie, came back to the city with the
signed document in his possession.

Thanks to the make-up from the hands
of Ninepins, he was able to elude any
people who might have been looking
for him, and he fearlessly walked Broad-
way under the gas lights and appeared
to have scored a great victory. .

Swallowed up in the roar and rush of
New York, he vanished, to turn up again
within a shbrt time in a house where he
seemed to be at home, for he threw off
his coat and cast himself upon a“ sofa.

“Fool! Why didn’t I' look to’ see if
he’s there yet?” he suddenly exclaimed,
springing up and donning the cast-off
garment. “It won’t takelong. I can
go thither and steal a look. If the coast
isn’t very clear I won’t go up, but if it
is,,why I’ll look in upon the trailer at
the end of the trail.”

Once more he was on the street and
was making his way to a certain part of
the city where, as he believed, still
rested the victim of his swoop.

Captain Sleek did not pause till he
gained the building in which Tom Trac—
er had had his quarters, and finding
everything apparently safe, he slipped
upstairs and glided to the door.

No one saw him.

drew his body‘up so that he could look
down into the room through the transom.

One glance Seemed to satisfy his cur-
iosity, for, with a smile, he dropped, cat~
like, to the floor and made off. ,

“Safe yet.” said he under his breath.
“He may not be found for several days
yet. The room is cool—" ,

He said no more, for he was on the
sidewalk again, and in another moment
was hustling away.

. This cool head believed that the effigy
1n the detective’s room was Tom Tracer
himselfn \ , '

Perhaps he Would he suddenly and
terribly undeceived in the near future.

The hand ,of fate might’,fall"'upon his
shoulder .and‘ he might some day look
into the stern fees of his supposed vic-
tim. u -'

But he did not think of these things
as he hurried away; they-did not cross
his path to- disturb his dreams, and in a
short time he had reached a house differ-
ent from the one he had lately quitted.

He rung the bell and waited in the lit-
tle vestibule; ‘ ‘

He was in a good quarter of the city,
and the house where he had rung was as
good as its neighbors, and they were
well-to-do buildings.

As the door opened and the maid saw
t e well made-up figure of Captain Sleek

the step, she was in the not of'asking
hi3; fer his card when a voic’ein the hall
sa : - c l '

“ Admit the gentleman, Georgie," and
when the girl opened the door a little
more the Captain entered. -‘

He tramped straight to the parlor
where Nora Marks awaited him, and in
another second he occupied one of the
elegant chairs with plush-covered arms.

” My name is Blazer, Miss," said he
looking at the missing man’s daughter:

father.”
His hand vanished in his right hand

‘pocket for halfta second and ,WaS then

withdrawn.
Nora watched his movement with
eagerness and started slightly at sight
ofuthe paper which he handed her.
You are aware, I suppose, that fath-
er has not returned?” she said, return-
ing his gaze. r . , r ' -
“Quitezwell aware .of it., He" is in
need oi“ several things and. as you see.
he'has writteh for them.“ . -  ~ 
1' ire-15,10 theme ' '

 

om Tracer, looked
son is and

He did not open the portal,ybut merely '

“I have here a little order from your'

so. kits-A y s ~ .

.i

 

 

    

 

 

.
A  WQ’ *‘~

 
  
  
  
  
   

 .L:"~' ~;. ~

'away, I suppose? ” said he. '

and she didn’t question the letter. I was

, the package acquired by such infamous

t he wants them back it will cost him a

Broadway he hastened away and jostled

,Nine‘pins belonged to one of the coolest

 

   

  

'1

' The v Tram? esteem: ’

 

   

    

 

Nora had cast her eye over the pa-
per trembling in her hand and was read-
ing it once more.

“ You shall have the papers,” said she
to her visitor. “ 1 recognize father’s sig
nature.” ' V

“Oh, there's no doubt about its gen
uineness. A thousand peeple in the cit
could swear to it."

Nora rose and went to the door.

“The papers are in his desk I saw
them tied up the other day but did not
open them."

The man followed her and entered the
library with her.

The banker's daughter proceeded to
the desk in the middle of the room and
unlocked it.

" Here they are,” said she. “They
have not been disturbed since father
went away. i suppose he wants to see

them before his return."

" Exactly."

One glance at the package seemed to
tell Captain Sleek that his mission had
succeeded, for he transferred it to his
bosom and then looked at the girl.

“Would you mind taking a letter to
father?" she asked, with a flush of ex-
citement. I

“Not at all, miss.”

Nora seated herself in. her father’s
chair and took upthe pen.

With steady hand she penned a note
expressing her joy at hearing from her
father and telling him how willing she
was to‘beable to carry out. the wishes
expressed in the letter the stranger had]
brought, and then she signed her name!
with a little flourish which drew a smile
to Captain Sleek's face.

Nora, watched all the time ,by the
plotter, sealed the note and reverently‘
touched it‘ to her lips ere she handed it v
to the scheming scoundrel, who put it
with the papers.

“You’ve been lonely since he wen

“It was torture till the letter came.
Did you know that he "sent one? ”

There was a Quick start on the Cap
tain’s part, but he instantly recovered.

“ Yes, he wanted to let you know that
he was safe, and so he wrote‘fyou to
that effect. He will be with you ere
long, if nothing happens, and then thf
mystery, not so much of a one after al
when you hear it, will be cleared up.’.'

Nora boWed and thanked him again.

Once more on the street Captain Sleek
almost burst into a laugh of triumph.

“ Everything 'comes my way,” he cried.
“ This is the easiest play of all. No risk
in this, for the unsuspecting girl is not
of the «breed that suspicions everybody.
I had- her in my hands from the first,

lucky to pick it up from the desk where
she laid it, and she can’t have it to show
to the police. I'm in luck!"

He did not stop till he had reached
the house from which he sought the
detectlve’s door, and then he drew forth

skill.

“I'll see if they're all here,” he said.
seating himself at the table. V

Rapidly he ran over the papers, some
six in number, and not very lengthy.

‘_‘ They're all right," said he. “I hold
the fortune in my hands at last, and if

good deal.”

He tied them up as they had been
handed to him by Nora Marks and put
them away in an adjoining room over a
couch and by the aid of a secret button
in the wall.

“Now for the last play! The old
man was easily handled. He fell into
the net nicely. and all I had to do was
to present (the paper with the sympa-
thetic ink.”

Captain Sleek went out again.

Once more among the crowds on

many people who did -not suspect that
that face so adroltiy manufactured by

 

ms: in the mom:

  

 

stopped and looked at him a second
time. '

“I know the build of those shoulders,”
said this person in a low voice. “ I re-
member the man who faced me in the
house on M—« Avenue, and finally es-
caped. Can it be Carlo Mayne? Have
I found him at last?"

Waters, the detective, did not let .the
man escape him.

He threw himself upon his trail and
followed him with the cunning of the
fox.

Waters had everything at stake now;
he seemed to have had new life injected
into him as he tripped behind Captain
Sleek, nor did he stop until his quarry
vanished.

Waters -looked perplexed, for the man
had dodged into an alley, but only for a
second. .

He came out again, and this time
was‘better observed by the discomfited
ferret. _

“It is Carlo,” he exclaimed. “That
is the man who killed Diamond Dess
and who eluded me in the house of
crime. Now he shall not escape again."

But ten minutes later the detective
stood dazed under a lamp with his brain
in a strange whirl and his nerves terri-
bly shaken,

He had let his eagerness get the bet-
ter of his judgment.

So sure was he that he had cornered
the hunted quarry that: he had caught
up with Captain Sleek and had let his

hand fall upon his shoulder.

As the Captain turned he uttered
the name of Carlo Mayne and with the
suddenness of a thunderbolt a clinched
hand struck him in the face.

Waters reeled away to fall against the
lamp-post, and to let the game escape
once more. ,

It had occurred in the twinkling of an
eye, and by the time the stunned de—
tective recovered the other was gone.

Poor Waters! . «

Failure seemed to lie in wait for him
and defeat to be his portion.

Captain Sleek was far away and ‘lost
to sight by the time the detective re
covered and Waters looked around, so
completely baffled that he bit his lip al
most through. '

If he could have followed his mam—if
he could have kept at the captain's heels
after the blow—he would have seep him
enter a little house some distance from
the scene of the encounter and not far
from the river. . , i —

He looked the door #carefuily behind
him and descended a flight of ten steps
beneath the floor. ,

There he found another door, which
he opened, and in a little while turned
on the gas in a cell-like apartment.

He could put his trained ear to the
wall and hear the swish of the tide,
and he did this for an «instant to straight-
en aud smile.

“When it comes to the end, if fate
should play her votary, false, Gabriel
will find me here,” said he. “This is the
last retreat of Captain Sleek, as some
call me, notably the old General, who
lives on M—— avenue. It‘s a' great game,
but the prize is‘worth the risk, and I
live to baffle all the man-hunters. I

He took a turn about the room" and
once. more listened to the river; then
he quitted the place and again twent
back to the main house. ‘

He was ,alone.

“ She's very pretty, but Flint can have
her,” he exclaimed} tthinking suddenly
of Nora Marks. “Flint’s an easy-going
young fellow, (but he must keep out of
my way. Out of the way of the tiger,
that’s it.” _

Just an hour«after these last occur-
rences Captain Sleek, still wearing the
made-up face, was on the street, and
encountered a man who suddenly grasped
'his arm. -

He looked down into the face of
Ninepins. ’ _ ,  j _
.“IArmanfa watching “you,” said the
».- . .sr' under his“ ‘ -  

r‘i‘!’

   

  
  

    

V

 

   
 

“Look back at the corner just passed.
See him?” 
Captain Sleek threw a look toward “,3,

the designated spot, and then looked at ’

Ninepins again. '1,
‘ I see. Toll him off. Can you do it? " 
“I can try.”
“ Do it.” '1:
“What’s it werth?” _' , “i
"A ten." 
“It’s a go. I’ll see you later." ’3 

Captain Sleek moved on, a dark scowl
on his brow, and Ninepins went to the
task.

“Waters is patient, but a fool,” said ,, 
the man with the made-up face. “I must 3 3--
silence him, some time, like I silenced
the other trail lynx.” -

'Tben he turned a corner and vanished. _

, .

   
   
    
   
    
    
    
 
  
  
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
 
  
  
    
    
    
    
  
 
  
     
  
   
   
  
  
   
  
    
  
  
   
  
   
    
    
  
  
  
   
   
  
    
  
   
  
  
   
  
  
    

 

CHAPTER XVI.
THE TiiAt‘K ul“ A PASSION. .

Blair Jenks, or “Prince Bullion,” sat
in a cosy little room of the club and
sipped his wine.

It was the morning after his father’s
startling return home and the strange;
confrontation in the library. ,

The young man’s nerves were a little  ‘
shaky, as was evidenced by the tremor
of his hand as he lifted the claret to
his lips, and he looked like he had
passed through an exciting episode.

He was quite alone, for the hour was
too early for the usual run of club fre- I
quenters, but'Blair seemed to be waiting
for some one, for, he glanced at the door
every time it opened, and smiled even
when disappointed. \

At last there came to his face a smile
that lingered, and a man who caught j
sight of him the moment he entered
the club—house came forward.

“ Am I a'trifle late?” queried this in-.
dividual, as he seated himself at Blair’s
table. 3 r

“ Not at all, Hardesty. I couldn’t keep ,

You look pale.

it to myself.” .r
“What’s that? By “
Jove, boy, you’ve seen a ghost.” , '
“ Not a ghost, Hardesty, but flesh and
blood. The Guv’nor came home last 
night." ,
“ Came home? Where had he been?“
“Heaven knows, but he looked as if
he had passed through the outskirts at
Hades.” ~ ' -'
“ Well, me." '. "
Blair sipped some more wine and told
the story of his father’s startling re:
turn to the library'in the striking d18-
guise furnished by the deft fingers of-
Ninepins. . ‘f
Hardssty was a private detective, the,
only person of the kind Prince Bum-V“
had 'ever' taken to, for he did notJlke
detectives as a class, but there 
something about the slick~tongued Harv,
desty that pleased him. ' " ‘ ,
" The strangest part is to come.” said"
Blair Jenks. “He went away again.”
“What, you let him go, did ybu?"
“ He slipped out. I went to the cell‘
for another bottle for his nerves,
when I' came 'back he was gone.” t 
v “I thought, you w0uld have taken,“
the precaution to lock him in." "  ,2
“I had the key to the front 'ddor'ni t”
my pocket, but, hang it all, .I ‘di‘dnft.
think of the back door. He went: suit
that way. It threw me into
era, and the bottle I had broughtfup
dropped from my hands.” a . 
“No wonder, boy. It:was enough,”
give one the shakes. Bythe way,‘ dldn
your father tell you anything about him» I
absence?"  '
“ But little. His faCe was Ninep v
work. You know, Ninepins, the. f
titer? " : I ‘ . ‘
Hardesty nodded- ~ 
“But the more coming homo‘
night wasn't the worst of it. ' I' '
from the rest?” ' .w- '
“What's that?" ' . '- .5 _‘
“ The terrible and astoundinth'e
tion be mad .” , 
“ Upon what subject?" ,
.‘fit concerns me. He [sat
My, I‘ve got to steady. -- ,
vl( T,‘ ‘ t'é ‘y 

 

V

   
  

 
 
 

 
  

   
 
 
 
  

, . the.
Jr" '

18

The Train Detective.

 

 

Prince Bullion gulped down his claret
and waited a moment before he contin-
ued.

“It all seems a dream, a horrid vision
of the night,” he said. “I can’t believe—-
that is, hardly—that I was awake last

night. He said that his daughter was
dead.”
“Why, he must have been raving.

The brain must have been in a whirl.”

“ His or mine? Well, no difference
which,” grinned Blair. “ There was mad-
ness somewhere. But he reiterated it,
and it nearly drove me wild. I am not
his child, but a hospital substitution.
My ancestry is known to him, and, per-
haps, to his wife.”

“Impossible! This man must. be
found.” .
“Yes, Jarold Jenks, mad or sane,

must turn up, and he must tell the truth.
He said that the girl killed recently on
M—— Avenue was his child.”

f‘ Diamond Dess! Come, Jenks, this is
too much!” cried Hardesty. “You’ve
either been drunk or your father is as
mad as a March hare.”

“Either one will suit me if proved,”
was the answer. “ But find him for me,
Hardesty. Don’t let grass grow under
your feet. Why, it’s simply torture.”

“ You didn’t let your mother know—”

“God, no! I couldn’t do that. KVhy,
she doesn’t know that he was in the
house last night.”

“ She could affirm or
story he told you.”

“Yes, yes; but I couldn’t go to her
with the question. It burned my tongue
when I thought of it. Just 100k at it,
Hardesty. If it is true, what am I
worth? What are my prospects? ”

“ Not very good, that’s a fact,’ smiled
the private spotter. “ It’s a terrible
story, but it’s the ravings cf 2. mad
brain.”

“I hope so. To think of it, living
with him all this time, and than to be
told that the murdered girl—~Diamond
Dess they call her—was his child ind
heir.”

“Calm down a little,” said Hardesty.
“ Don’t let any one see your excitement.
Leave it to me.”

“I’ll give you a cool thousand if you
find him. Don’t let grass grow under
your feet. He is somewhere in the city.
Ninepins changed his face, you know.
He keeps a run of the whereabouts of
his patrons, they say.”

“To a certain extent only. He can’t
keep track of a madman.”

Prince Bullion let the man slip away,
and then tried to tone down his nerves
with nicotine, but the trial was a failure.

On the street he met with much better
success.

The air seemed to act as a bracer, and
he started off.

“Why not take a look at her?” sud-
denly flashed across his mind. " She
must be above ground yet, and—I’ll do
it!”

Blair Jenks knew where to find the
still unburied victim of the dagger.

He was admitted to the presence of the
dead, and for some time he stood by the
body, looking down into the marble face.

“ So this is the child of Jarold Jenks,”
he said to himself. “ It’s false! I won’t
believe it. Why, my father is mad—
mad as sin, and when he comes back to
reason he’ll laugh at the crazy idea.”

He tramped from the scene, and went
home.

He went into the library and sat‘down
at the desk.

“I wonder if he carried anything off
with him last night,” he said, opening
the desk, and bending over it.

“ He did! He did! He took away the
check book and ‘the little memorandum
{Eat were here yesterday. But he left

8.”

The young man picked up a little pack-
age which he knew was not there when
he last inspected the desk.’ - '

His hands trembled as he opened it,
and as he uttered a cry he heard a foot-
fall behind him, and turned to confront
banker’s wife.

I , i .,

disprove the

   

 
 

 

‘ . 1
- / »/.,  .-;
.. A  ’Lva'vififl-ffl «waist-sis

Martha Jenks stood like a statue before
her son.

“ Who was here last night, Blair? ” she
demanded. I

“No one.”

“He answered her without a blush,
and looked calmly into her white and
tensely drawn face.

“I heard voices in this room. I heard
them distinctly, and one sounded like
my husband’s.”

“I saw no one, mother.”

All this time the young man was try-
ing to hide the little package he had
taken from the desk.

He could almost cover it with his

hand, but not altogether, and Mrs.
Jenks saw his futile efforts.
“What have you taken from the

desk?” she asked.

He could conceal it no longer, and the
next moment he held out his hand.

“ I found this there a moment ago.”

She advanced and took it from him.

“Father must have left it here the
other day,” he said.

“It was not there yesterday,” cried
Martha Jenks. “I looked at the con-
tents of the desk then, and— Merciful
heavens! it is the proof of the deed! ”

She would have reeled away, if the
arm of Blair had not caught and sup-
ported her.

As he held her up he looked at what
she held in her hand, and saw there a
tiny shoe, an infant’s slipper.

“ It is the proof of the past!” echoed
the hapless woman, without a vestige of
color in her face. “It is my daughter’s
slipper! ”

She nearly fell from the young man’s
arms, but he supported her to the sofa.

“He came back last night, my hus—
band did,” she said. “Don’t keep it
from me.”

Blair’s face hardened.

“He was here,” he said.

“ And left this. Where did he go? ”

“ I cannot say, but I will find out.”

“Find him. You don’t know it all,”
said the woman. “ You don’t know the
double secret that has preyed upon my
mind so long.”

“‘ Then, I am not your child?”

She turned her head away, and kept
silence.

“ You need not fear to tell me,” he
replied. “Jarold Jenks told me last
night, but I would not believe.”

“So he told you about the trick of
years and years ago? I don’t wonder
that you doubted him.”

“I could not believe such a horrible
narrative, such an incredible tale.”

“ No, no!”

,“ But it was true? ”

“It——was."

Blair Jenks turned from the woman,
who sprung up and caught his arm.

“ What are you going to do?” she
cried.

“I intend to make him make restitu-
tion. He shall make up for the past, or
I will kill him!”

“ You will do that, will you? ”

“ Why not? He robbed my parents of
their child. He shall tell me who they
were.” '

“ Don’t force that secret from him.”

“I will, or tell the one he would not
have the world to know for all its
wealth.”

“What secret is that?”

“The check book which is missing
would show, and the memorandum could
tell a terrible tale. He is a defaulter.
More than that. He has robbed his
partner. Jarold Jenks has broken up
the house of Marks & Jenks. He is a
felon!”

The poor woman released Prince Bul-
lion’s arm and staggered back.

“It is vengeance and hatred now!”
continued Blair. “ I intend to find him.
The past shall be told and the future
shall shut him up in a criminal’s cell.
You can’t hold me back nor keep me
from my quarry, though he is your hus-
band. I will flnd him and .strike. The
felon banker of New York shall feel
the hand of the one he has wronged. I
will avenge my parents! ” '

t ‘-',’

 

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gift» .1; mi v .a,',i;-li._aw-.‘,.\ .wqa sg- in. run, ‘:  . a: ......‘~. u“  , “, ...,, .- x l H ,V . i. _-

In another moment Blair Jenks was

on the street and the first cab found took
him away.

“ Ninepins first, and then a hunt for
Hardesty, and for the other one,”
surged through his mind as the cab
rattled over the stones. “1 will em—
ploy every detective in Gotham, but
what I find him. I will rake the city
with the hands of vengeance. I will
find this wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

He urged the driver faster over the
streets, and at last was set down within
a stone’s throw of Ninepins’s den.

His blood still burned his veins as he
dashed down the steps and burst like
a storm-cloud into the place.

But he stopped the moment after he
crossed the threshold for the place was
tenantless and still.

“Ninepins, where are you?”
Blair.

The only answer he received was si-
lence, and this maddened him.

In vain did he search the house, but
the face-fixer was not to be found.

“New for Hardesty or Jarold Jenks,
the felon,” he exclaimed as he rushed
away.

Two squares away he was stopped by
a hand laid on his arm, and he looked
into the face of one whom he did not
know.

“You will come with me, Mr. Jenks,”
said the stranger. “I want you for the
murder of Diamond Dess.”

Prince Bullion laughed outright.

cried

 

CHAPTER XVII.
THE TRAIN SPOTTER IS BEATEN.

Prince Bullion drew back the length‘
of the detective’s arm, but he did not
laugh again.

Instead of the smile there came to his
face a deathly pallor, and when the
grip of the spotter tightened he felt that
he was to be baffled in his hunt for
Jarold Jenks.

He had failed to find Ninepins at
home, and now he was to be shut up on
a charge of murder.

An hour later, as he stood in a cell
at the station, with the serious charge
against him, he heard a step come down
the corridor outside, and the sound
ceased at the iron door.

The face which confronted him was
that of a man at least fifty, with a gray
beard and keen eyes.

Blair Jenks pressed his own face
against the bars and tried to recognize
his visitor. '

The stranger looked once, but it was
a keen, scrutinizing look, and without

..a word he turned away.

In another minute this person turned
up in the private room attached to the
station.

"It’s Blair Jenks, sure enough,” he

said to the official in charge. “ The man
is innocent.”
“Don’t tell Waters that. The man is

losing his grip.”

“He certainly is when he lodges such
a charge against ‘ Prince Bullion.’ ”

“Poor Waters! His last trail
turned his head,” said the Inspector.

The other smiled in a sympathetic
manner," and walked away.

Blair Jenks’s visitor was the Train
Spotter, and when' he left the police
station, he sought Out the Grand Cen-
tral Depot and boarded a train.

Just in time to catch it, he seated
himself in the smoker and leaned back
to reflect.

“It’s a queer trail,” said he, musing-
ly. “ It’s one of the strangest of my
career, and it has turned Waters’s
brain.” ‘

He relapsed into silence, and cigar
smoke now and then hid his face.

Once more he alighted at Woodsdale,
but not in the same garb as that in
which he had last visited the place.

The house behind the cedars was to
be visited again, but this time in day-
light.

The last time he saw it was under
the starry heavens, and then he stood
on the little box, behind the house and

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looked down into the nest of the plot-
ters.

Woodsdale was stirring with life that
day, and the Train Spotter made his way
up the narrow gravelly walk toward the
house.

The cedars, stirring lightly in the
breeze, showed him now and then their
hearts, and the gayly dressed children
passed him with a look and a smile.

Tom Tracer did not go direct to the
suspected house. r

While he had come up to Woodsdale
to stand face to face with Abel Marks,
the missing banker, he did not care to
precipitate matters, and so he passed
on into the centre of the little village

,. ,and sauntered here and there in the

warm sunlight.

At last, without meeting any one
whOm he questioned, he turned back
and struck the gravel again.

The sunlight fell upon the house in
the trees, and he noticed that the wine
dows were closed.

The detective walked up on the porch
and rang.

The tones of the bells echoed through-
out the place, but no one answered the
ring.

What had become of Sammy Slack?

Did not the tall guardian of the miss-
ing man still inhabit the place to watch
like a human Cer erus over his charge?

Tom rang agai with a little more

emphasis than before,- and waited aWhile .

longer.

He had come hither to enter that
house, and to solve, to his satisfaction
at least. one mystery, and, quitting the
porch, he went to the rear of the prem-
ises and halted at the door there.

This time he did not ring, but after
gently trying the door he launched his
body against it, to see it quiver and fall
11‘. v ,
The crash of the falling dovr did not

‘ seem to rouse any one, and the Train

Spotter stood ‘tor'a moment amid in-
tense silence la a semi-darkened room.
The nest’seemed empty.‘_  ,
Tracer Went to the door. or Abel

f, 'Marks’s prison and opened it with case.

i

a

No one greeted him. I - _

He had come too late; the houscin the
trees was empty! ‘

He went back to the parlor and up to
the table. .

He saw that the flight, while

it had '

thither he would have to direct his
trail.

But he would have another hour in
Woodsdaie, and he did not care to put
it in in idleness.

“I say, mister, would you just stop
a minute?”‘ said-,a voice behind him,
and Tom turned to see at his side
a boy nearly out of breath.

“ You’ve been looking in the old house
down yonder, I see,” continued the lad.
“What of that, boy?” '

“ You didn’t find ’em in, did yer? ’

“It seems to be empty. I am too late
to see my friends.” '

“Friends?”,gasped the boy. “Wish
you could have seen ’em last night. I
say, you want ter keep the tall man from
abusing the littler one.”

“ Did he do that?”

“ Yes. You see it’s this way with me:
My name’s Starry, and I don‘t shine 0’
nights for nothing. Last night I wanted
ter take another look inter the house
back yonder, and mi went to my old
place, the back roof. Presently the tall
man goes into the room to the‘right of
the parlor, and fetches the other man
out. He told him that he had to go
away. The other one didn’t want ter go.
and acted as if he expected to wait
till the fellow who came up here some
time ago and had a confab with him
and got him to sign a paper, which I
see done. v

“ But it was no use. 'The tall man
had his way, and in the end the other
one let him fix up his face and disguise
himitill you‘d a hardly knowed him.
Then they went away and I got down
from my perch and saw ’em take the
trail. The little man went away under
protest, and as if he feared' the tail
one. It looked to me like it was go or
die in the house back there.”

Tracer, who had listened to this tale
of the flight, gave the boy a coin, and
then drew from him an exact descrip-
tion of Abel Marks’s disguise, after
which he went to catch the train back
to the city. - . ~
‘ Once more on the trail of Abel Marks,
he turned up' in New. York and hastened
over to where Shivers, the depot watch,
stood.

' “They came back—the tall man and
his charge,” said the detective.

“_When?”

"They musthave- come in on the

been hasty, was a well-planned one, for- 11 20

the‘ papers whidh he had seen on the
stand were gods. and nothing remained
to tell of late occupancy.

TraceI‘JGt' .a, “smile ripple over his face,
for: 9 had heen‘ cunnineg baffled by

. .~ , .

.thevlpairm g~ .

Once mow he stood in the sunshine,
and ,now he caught sight of a watching
face behind some curtains in an ad-
joining house. ‘ I.

He went over and rang the bell, to
be confronted by an elderly lady ina
white cap. , , ;

- ,“ I’m afraid you will not find any one

K at home, now,” said she, before Trace;-

i

if i
«-

could speak. ”
“‘In the next house, you mean? «said

he. “ When did they go?”

’7‘   ‘ 1‘ Last, night. There Were two of them

$11: Jail; man and an old gentleman,

,th’e' mviium'n-om the city." - 

“The/invalid? Was heable to de-
part?” > 'A   .

“He walked quite well.” I can't say
anything about our neighbors. for they
came and went like spirits, and did not
bother us.” ’ ‘

 What time did the‘y go, Madam?”

i “. It was just before the 10: 30 Express
t, the city. They took no baggage with'
't em that we saw. My husband went to

e if they got oil, for he had taken an
5 ntereet in ‘the people over there, but
he did not reach the train in time, and
it, was just leaving the depot when he

 

n’laughjat'hisfallureJ? , ' _ 
racer uldinot repress a‘ smile.
“ ‘ nacho 

  

, kept his bench with the patience of

got there, So he was too late, and I had, -

“ 1' didn’t see ’em.”
' “You were on duty.
“ Yes-n

‘smversr' _
Tracer had to be content with the

watch's statement, and in a little while '

he Was gone. _
It was now, a hunt for the fugitives.
The trail seemed lost in the city; he
had lost the most important quarry,
and for a little while he stood “non-
plused and apparently at .his wits’ end.

_But all at once a'shadow tell across >

the detective’s path. ' .

There came down the street, not far
from the Grand Central, the tallfigure
of Sammy Slack“

Now start told him of the proximity
of the keen spotter. , ,‘

, As the tall one came forward, watched
by the Train Spotter, he seemed to be
of! his guard, as if he was safe at last.

To, -iell,,in behind the man, andl
track'e him to the ferry house.  a '

s,“ Sammy"slaek , seated himselt on
meat the benches h‘ehid his.face,be-
hind a hewspaper and read in silence.~
' Boatafter, boat catne and went, but he

modern Job. ' r I , . :
All this time the sharp eye‘s of the

ferret watched  never for a- mo-

ment. losing sight of his prey.

_At last Sammy,‘ disappointed. as his

face indicated, folded. the paper and put

itaway.’ ‘ i - " 

    
 
 

  
   
   

     

 
    
 
  
 

  

 

., slips out againi,” bathegah

But, I got another chew, and that,
. up, and Ifll lock up the whole

 

Once more. IWith'thlanOO‘: at “19 1m “We, Trace" and "ya '
. ~ if , em. r fiche-mm *likmmrsv1nlt‘ 
  »   ., 

 
    
    
  
   
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
  
  
  
   
   
      
 

“Not out of my sight till you take me
to the quarry,” said the tireless tracker.
“ You must show me Abel Marks."

Would Sammy Slack do this, or would
he mislead the ferret, and play out suco 
cessfully another hand? 

It was another lengthy chase, but at
last Tom saw the man enter a small ,
house on a quiet street some distance
away from the centre of the city.

He wondered if Abel Marks, the bank—
er, was in there. ,

At any rate, he had run the tall plot-
ter down, and he intended to investigate.
further.

The shutters of the suspected place 
were closed despite the hour, and the. - ‘
place looked deserted- '

But Tom waited. . z

The moments waned, and the day 
slipped by. V'» r

No one came out, and no 'one 2111-. w
peared to send out to him the slighte" ‘Ei
est sign of life within. ‘ ‘

Suddenly there came from the house H
a strange sound, like a half-suppressed ”
cry, and this roused the indefatigableiyi,
sDY. 1““

The time for action had come. 2

Tom Tracer reached the steps and
grasped the knob. ,.'

As he gave it a wrench the door“
opened, and he fell back as a man ap-.5
peared. v , 

It was not’ Sammy Slack. 7

Tracer stepped inside, and looked into:
the eyes that seemed to scintillate like"
a basilisk’s. r

“Well, sir?” demanded the mam
“What is it?” ' . « i4 ;

What could Tracer, the ferret.,$ay? a“

“Do you live here?" he asked. g 1'

“Would I be here, if I didn’t? Why
Ilve inhabited this house for ten years.

“ The gentleman who entered it '
while ago—” ‘ ‘

“ I‘m that person.” . ,

The detective smiled, and then broke
into a light laugh. )

“But it. was a tall man,” said 
“ That gentleman is a triend of mine-f-

“ Come, sir, you‘re mistaken. Noon
has entered this house but myselt 
days. What might your mission be"
to see the ‘tall gentleman?m '  '*

Jig
has

  
   
 
    
   
   
  
  
  
     
  
   
   
    
 
   
   
    
     
     
    
    
   
  
  
 
   
 
  
    
  
  
  
    
   
  
  
 
 
      
  
  
   
     

Tracer had been bamed' again:
could ‘only say that after all he ,
been deceived, and then quietly take it
departure. \ . ' '

“ He’s a ’cool and a keen one, "18.88131
my Slack,” he said to himself as ~-
bowed himself out. t 1*  "‘

 

CHAPTER XVIII. ,
sperms AND sporraaw-ff
“Come with me. Tom: ‘   1..
These words were spoken“ on“. the .
ten minutes after the Trainspoet
last adventure, and they still souhd
in his ear when he looked down into
face of Waters, the ferret. ,.
The- poor fellow’s face shoWed‘r
vexation and. worry of his last,_,
but his eyes had been ,keen, nut-
to penetrate Tom Tracer’s mask nd
pick himout on the street. “ ' -. "’
Tracer stared at his brother d 
and went away with mm. .  "’\ A
, ,Waters said nothinglmore
. king .the door ofhis little,
Broadway, he escorted‘iro ', , ,
“He get into my“ .
had him once in firehouse—on the, - '

.‘»

scene of the crime, .but-hel‘got‘a

B

      
   
    
   
   
 
  

me a strange start. " I'Ve locked on
to.
what I catcthhe right One.”  _' * '
, Tracer thlmght 0!, Blair Janka;

cell at the station, but did no ‘
him. , ' * , . “‘- V
1" Thy,“  .min'tim 5‘ ~ I.
to ruin the best detecttyo fugw . '-
continued Waters. ‘fxlt’s’r-l air _ '

  

   
   
     
  
 
  

    
     
    

       
  

  

 
   

.20

The 'iTraiin' Detective;

 

 

 

  
   
  
 
   
 
    
   
 
 
  
 
    
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
  
  
    
   
  
    
  
  
    
  
   
  
  
   
   
  
 
 
 
 
  
  
   
  
   
   
  
   
    
   
  
  
 
    
 
  
     
  

, "‘I don’t want to rob you of one lau-
, rel, and I won’t if I can help it,”
averred Tom. “You must brace up,

,Waters. It’s a deep trail. The girl’s
‘ murderer will be found.” -

“I had him.”

“ Where? ”

“ In the house on M— street. He held

. me against the wall and nearly choked
1', the life out of me. I fell like one
. dead on the floor, and when I came to
" _he was gone. I had the man, I say;,I
, stood face to face with Carlo, and told
him to his teeth that it was his dagger
that did the deed. But since then, it's
\been against me. I can’t pick up the
.‘old trail.”
“ That’s because you've let this little

,'the Train Spotter.
5 “No, it‘s not that; it’s fate," was the
(answer. “ I can grasp things all right
after a time, but suddenly they get be-
‘ yond myidepth, and I flounder in deep
water. It's all up with Waters. They‘ll
. hoot him on the street before the week’s
"' 01111.”:

' “ The inspector has confidence in you.”
‘I‘ Why should he? "

' Waters was pacing the room like a
man whose brain is in a whirl of doubt
, and excitement.

  * His face had lost flesh within the past
, few days, and his eyes had int their
depths an almost maniacal glare. ‘ '
g “ Things will come your way yet,
f‘Waters,” encouraged the watchful de-
vtectiVe. ’ ‘
 "Not till I’m dead!‘
“thing I’ve found out,

he asseverated.

There's some-
though it’s not
H 

‘ Waters passed his hand across his
, yoreh'ead as if to collect his thoughts,
.and then sprang at Tracer and seized
. by the collar—a singular action.

" I know now. It’s a strange place for
rate be,‘and you wouldn’t know him,
me! You’re not afraid to follow me? ”
rr'Tracer rose with eagerness, and the
her led him from the house and called
he first cab they met. .

As the vehicle rolled away, the half-
dazed ferret talked: ~

‘ ’ffit’s Jenks, and yet it’s not! It looks
like some of Ninepins’s work, it’s so well
one, and the old man seems to be in
ding from the shadow of impending
‘6‘”

.“xfiow came you to find him? " .
‘ "I can’t tell you. It must be fate
 me from the crime to another
tattle. mystery.u
Thls‘cab soon drew up in a square. W8:

_\ looked out. “This is the starting
,t;” he announced. \ “Now for Jarold
’ s! ” he cried, springing out. “ I say,
" if I have found a trail for you, you
titreturn the compliment.” '
"‘“I will, Waters. I'll help you find the
m!“ that killed Diamond Doss.”

Then you think I've had the wrong
: it"lo'cked up? I’ caught sight of Prince
million as he came out of Ninepins's,
‘ - something told. me that he was the.
V  went through my brain like a
oak of light. ,I caged him on the
ar di'fthe‘moment, and he‘s in dur-
oeyet.” and Waters broke into a bois-
’s laugh. - v -.
,.Acr0ss the square hastened the mad
f V t, Tom Tracer at his heels.
pTliey went down the first alley on
street'which they struck beyond the
," andthe Train Spotter’s guide ran
‘ flight of three steps which termin-
i. 1 Kat‘s narrow door of old-fashioned

ate’ré knocked. and they heard foot-
in the dash. ,

12’s ’the‘ she Cerberus of the
gexplaiu‘ed Waters. with a glance
s. comrade, and then the door

I once pushed‘psetthe woman,

, i

v

“.mishap get the better of you,” assumed ‘

‘old Jenks in that little room."

‘as' he started toward the woman, who
‘ret'reated'and suddenly flashed a dagger

 

' banned, the doom,» .
.r, rook. * 

 
 

The woman's figure seemed to gain
an inch in stature as she covered Tracer
with her finger.

“Who is that man? ” she cried.

“Never mind that, madam! He’s all
right, but—"

“ He's gone! "

Waters looked at Tom and smiled.

“ VVe’ll see," said he, with a grin.
Then he turned once more upon the fe-
male.

“He's not here,” was repeated, but
the ferret paid no attention to this, and
at once stepped to the foot of a stair.

The woman sprang at the men like
a panthress, but the arm of Waters
,pushed her back and held her against
the wall, while he said fiercely:

.“ We are the law, Madam Viper! You
can't keep us back. You must let us go
to the man up-siairs.” And Waters,
throwing her aside, motioned to Tom as
he mounted the steps.

Up they went, and gained the landing
overhead. ,

“That’s the door,” indicating a door
a short distance away. “ You'll find Jar—

Tracer stepping forward
opened the door.

A dim light for a moment prevented
him from seeing who occupied the
cramped place, but at last he made out
a figure lying on a cot with the face
turned toward the wall.

He bent over the form and touched
the face. ‘

“He’s dead!” he exclaimed in audible
tones.

“You’ve found Jarold Jenks,” said the
crazed ferret, now at his side.

“Yes, but look at him!” and Tom
held up one hand. “He is dead! Call
the woman. Don’t let her escape. May-
be it’s another crime!”

Waters started for the door, but an-
other exclamatidn stopped him. ‘

“Look! It’s: not murder, Waters,"
cried the Train Spotter. “See these bits
of paper. They litter the floor about the
gough. He tore something up before he

6 .H

In another instant Waters was pick-
ing up the bits and cramming them, into
his pocket. . '

“ Well, yOu’ve found him, have you? "
and the detectives turned, to stand’ face
to face with the woman.

“This man is Jarold Jenks, the Wall
street banker. You gave him shelter." '

“I did. I would do it again. He.
came to me in distress, and I would
be an ungrateful soul if I had refused
to receive him." ‘

“ Who are you, w0man?" demanded
Tom. ‘ t

“ Never mind that.” ‘ '

Waters broke out into a laugh.

‘ “ She is Sara. Shook!” he answered
for her.

“or course you gave him shelter,”
continued the detective. “I don’t blame
you, Sara Shook. But ‘you‘ say he volun—
tarily came to you. What was his ex.
planation when he came?

“That’s between me and'the dead,"
was the answer. ' ;

“ You knew him well?” .

“Ask him," and ‘ Sara pomted to
Waters. ' X

“I can answer that," put in Waters.
" Years and years ago, she did him
a favor, and fromlthat time on this
woman has lived on the bounty. of
Jarold Jenks.” ,

" It that true?"——no reply. . ‘

“ You must speak," cried Waters, his
eyes getting‘the old mad light again

immediately

in his face. V .

Waters stopped. .

“She’ll wing ,you,,"Water‘s!” Tom
warnedu 7

“And I’ll play-with 'he'r like’C/arlo
playedwtth me.” _  v -
' ,At- mention of the" name/Carlo, Sara‘

Shook} uttered _ a; cry Rand staggered
 th V” l 611813} ',

' the end came."

The next moment Waters was faced
by the tigress, and but" for the hand
of Tracer he would have felt the de—
scending blade.

The knife was turned aside, and the
two detectives held the struggling crea-
ture in their vise-like grasp.

“You have heard of Carlo?”
Waters.

The eyes flashed, that was all; the lips
did not move.

By and by Sara calmed down, and the
ferrets released her, to see her quit the
room, as they directed their attention
once more to the occupant of the low
couch against the wall.

“ It is Ninepins's work," decided Tom
Tracer. “No other face-fixer could do
a job like this.”

“But he is Jarold all the same.
man died at the end of his crime."

The Spotter was looking at some marks
on the wall above the bed, and he did
not reply.

“ What is‘it, Tom? Did he leave some
clew behind?” asked Waters. starting
forward and looking closely at the wall.

“ There's a screw] here,” was the
answer. “ it is a mere scrawl, made by
a death-stricken hand‘ and directed by
a dying mind. See! Here’s a broken
line and a few jumbled 1etters—"

“But it’s a sentence,” interrupted
Waters. “ It’s a clew all the same.”

Both men were on the bed, and their
keen eyes were trying to trace out the
writing on the wall.

“Look! Here’s the beginning,” cried
the excited Waters. “ My head is in a
whirl‘again. Make it out, Tom!”

Tracer did not take his eyes from the
lettering, but before he could make out
the first sentence, the room rang with
a loud report, and the plastering was
shattered before his face.

Sara Shook had come back!

asked

This

 

-~ CHAPTER. XIX.
THElTItAP IN THE DARK.

The shattered plastering, falling in a

shower in the Train Spotter’s face near-
ly blinded him.. = ‘
r With a. mad cry Waters sprang across
the room and seized the frantic woman
at the door, the smoking weapon still in
\her hand. «

" You won’t see what he wrote! " she
exclaimed. “ It-is gone now! " '

The Train Spotter came to the woman.

“Do you know what it wast“: he
asked. , . ,

“I do not, but you;will not translate
it. He died alone. I. was not in when

“This man called you Sara Shook.” "

“ That is my name.” , .u > _

“ He says, too, that you have lived for
years on Jarold Jenks' bounty.”

“ To some extent that is true also,"
was the reply. “We have been friends
for years, but he did not wholly suppo
me." - . ‘~

Tracer turned to the bed again, and
his gaze fell upon the face of the dead.

,“ There’s a corner left yet,” exclaimed
Waters. “ Look, Tom, the bullet did not
take quite all the message.”

In an instant the detective had thrown
himself across the couch, and his hands

plastering that contained parts of the
writing:
“ What is it?” asked Waters.

and the speaker looked at Sara Shook.
“It’s a confession of crime. It is well,
perhaps, that Jarold Jenks is dead."

“, Yes, it is well,” echoed Sara.

The woman was now permitted to de-
part, and the detective comrades, having
nothing to gain by a longer stay, de-
cided to depart. _ ‘ ‘

0n the next floor they heard a noise in
one ,room, but they did not encounter

are Shook when theyieft the house,

ad in a short time they were on the
street.

" You have followed this, side trail some.
Waters." 1 ’  . f ' i - '

 

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were bringing together several'7 bits of.

" It is nearly enough,” was the answer, 2

“Who is that woman?" asked Tom. ~

 

 

  

 

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years ago, had charge of a children’s
ward in one of the city hospitals."

“ But how did she link her name with
the fortunes of the banker?”

“That you’ll learn by and by. Just
now, Tom, let us attend to the other
clew.” \

“I must find Abel Marks first.”

. “ Find him, but come to me when
you have done that, and let us work to—
gether.”

The Train Spotter promised, and left
Waters at his own door.

As the day was closing, the Train Spot-
ter might, in his well-assumed disguise,
have been seen in a certain part of New
York, trailing the tall man who had baf-
fled him a few hours before, and deter-
mined that he should not escsape him
again.

For some time Tom kept him in sight;
then the shadowed man ran acros an-
other fellow, with whom he held a short
confab.

“That must be the other one," con--
cluded the Tracer. “Captain Sleek in
new feathers, I see.”

The person who had held the brief con-
versation with Sammy Slack passed on,
walking at a fast pace, but the Train
Spotter kept after the tall man and
tracked him back to the house where he
had been baffled in-his queries.

The door closed behind the well known
figure; then, in a little while, opened
again, this‘ time to admit the Tracer~—
now determined to find his man and nab
him. ‘ ' .

In he went, and after groping around
cautiously, finally reached a closed door,
which he softly opened.

Within all was darkness, and he
paused on the threshold.

Just then a door which he did not see
opened and closed, and Tom Tracer
stepped aside and waited.

For ten minutes he stood there, eager-

’ ly waiting for a repetition of the sound

and wondering where the light would
flash up. and whose face it would reveal.

But the door did not open again, and
at last, his patience exhausted, the de-

tective moved on again.

With one hand on the wall .to guide
'him he slipped round the dark room, but

suddenly brought up against a couch. I

A groan advised him that it was oc-

cupied, and he bent over it.

“ Who's there? ” was asked.

Tracer did not speak.

“Friend or foe?” queried the same
voice. .

“ Friend."

” If friend, for heaven’s sake don’t
"stir. There’s a trap where you stand.
There is a door in the floor which opens
by some infernal a soy, and—”

The. detective fel the floor sinking
beneath his feet, and as he sprang back
he was thrown dewnward and fell
through dense blackness upon a hard
floor some‘distance below!

He heard at the same time the wild cry
of a human being; then all became still.

The trap had opened too quick for
him, and, despite his agility, [he had
been dropped into its depths and was
now in a ungeon into which came not
a single ray of light.

The dimensions of the place he could
not determine, until he could feel his
way around it.

This held a, and, soon returned to the
spot where e had been thrown. '

He ascertained the den to be doorless,
windowless, and the abode of bats, which
now and then brushed him with their
wings. A . -'

Tracer had never been in such a place.

Traps had caught him ’before,.but not
such a trap. w -

“Trapped!” he grated, “and it looks
like a permanent abode—as dark as a
tomb in the catacombs and as terrible.
I can’t find the semblance of a door, but
the air that comes in here mustlcome
from overhead."

’He drew from his pocket a match, and

 

  

I The flame flashed up, and overhead in
the wall, just out of reach, he beheld an
opening a foot square, and through
which the air seemed to come, for it
stirred the flame of the tiny torch.

By its light the captured detective
looked over his prison. He dimly saw
the hinges of the trap door; saw the long
webs which the opening of the trap had
disturbed, and then the match went out.

Tracer went back to the wall and stood
there in grim silence, but not in despair.

He was not that kind of a detective,
but one to play any hand which fortune
might send him.

80 Tom began to surmise how thick
the walls were, how far he was from the
river, and where the bats came from.

All at once, as he cogitated, there came
to his ears a sound which startled him.
It‘ was the whistle of a boat on the
river!

To the alert Tracer this meant sev-
eral things.

“I must be near the river,” his
thoughts ran. “ Now, if I could only
look out by means of the little window
up there—"

He broke his own sentence by striking
another match, and when he threw it
down he made a running leap and seized
the window sill.

He swung there for a little while, and

then drew his body up.

At first only darkness confronted him;
then he caught sight of a glimmering
light; then of a'movin‘g figure.

But, light and figure were so small
that they seemed miles away.

Tom still clung to the copingof the
window. What should he do? What
could he do? were the questions.

To creep through that little window
looked impossible, but the detective be-
gan the struggle.

His fingers went to work on the edges
of the window frame, which turned out
to be plastering, and at last he made an
impression.

The little pieces fell to the floor be-
low, and Tom worked on until he had
enlarged the opening a good deal.

~Once or twice he dropped to the floor
for breath and rest, for he could use
but one hand at a time.

’ Minutes seemed hours. but he worked
assiduously, until he at length determ-
ined to try the aperture.

‘ \To do this he dropped to the floor for
rest, and to gather strength. Then
threw off his outer garments.

-It would, indeed, be a tight squeeze,
but it was a struggle for life and free-
dom, anddetective vengeance Which it
would be glorious to wreak on the crim-
inals who would destroy him. /

Once more he drew himself, up to the
enlarged hole; he pressed in head and
shoulders over the sill, and then worked
his body in. ‘-

It was a slow movement, and the air
which came to him at intervals seemed
laden with the odor of the whar'ves.

Along the air-shaft, as it evidently
was, he worked his way, painfully, until
soon he reached.its end, and the detec—
tive, leaned‘ over what might be the bot-
tomless pit; he could not see beneath

‘ .him, and he could only surmise that the
I The Train Spotter staggered to his.
' feet and fell back against a wall.

air-shaft he had followed led into 'some
sort of an [area behind the building’s wall.

 

, CHAPTER XX.
FROM.“ DUNGEON 'ro DEA'rm r -
Tom was in a quandary. Whah
below? ‘If he jumped or dropped, would
it not be to his destruction?

Would he break his limbs, and so sat? ‘

fer an agonizin‘ death? If not that.
would he not be discovered and be again
immured in that raiyless dungeon? ' -
His last match was brought out, and
he struck it along the ceiling to hold it
over the open, and looked downward.
.But the little light was too feeble to
give him any encouragement, and a puff
of wind put it out just when he thought
he was getting a glimpse of the unknown
beneath him. ' V ‘ '

He dropped a bit otipiaafer; and heard
' it strike’the ground beneath",  _ ; _ ,

was

,or was still infideath. -

 

  

 

He thought the distance was ‘not great,
and he resolved to risk the leap.

That decided, he at once lowered his
body over the end of the air-shaft, which.
he had utilized, and hung in the dark
for several seconds.

“ Here goes! "

He had loosened his hand, and down.
he fell.

He struck earth quickly, and staggered.
to his feet a'moment, only to fall head-
long, stunned and dazed by the fall.

A moment he lay there, but quickly
rallied and rose to his feet again, lean-
against the wall. ‘

“ It’s better than the dungeon,” he said
to himself. “It’s better than waiting
in the dark for one’s executioner. I must -
try now to ascertain what’s about me—'

‘where I am at, as the Congressman

phrased it,” and he smiled grimly at the-
allusion.

He started off, and found that he could.
grope his way down what appeared to

be a narrow passage between heavy '

walls, or an abandoned corridor, or un-
der—cover passage. . .

He pressed on, eager and vigilant, and
curious. How would the passage end?
Would he not be led into another trap
as deadly as the one from which he had

escaped? 
Suddenly, however, he paused in the

dense darkness, for an outburst of bots-
terous laughter came to his hearing.

It seemed so near that he fell back,
and for a moment held his breath in
trepidation.

“ Open the trap, Jerry,” was what he, 

heard said. “ Don’t be a kitten.”
“Wait till I get my breath.
expect to carry the joke this far.”
“Well, we’ve carried it
we’ve got to go to the end of the lane-
Do you want the cops to break in and.-
find us with the thing in our posses—1
sion? ” ‘  '
“Not for the world.”
“ Then open the trap.

I’ll toss 1 him.
down." ‘

As hinges squeaked Tom Tracer drew

back and looked up.

He was momentarily blinded by we. fly

Ifélash of light; then something fell at this
eet. - 
In .another moment the trap was shut
and darkness came again. '

“ That settles the matter,” ‘he hehrd,
exclaimed, overhead. “It’s the end 0?;
the whole business, and now if you’ll
keep a still tongue in your head, .wfi
we’ll be all 0. K." ,

“Trust me for that. Don’t take me
for a fool, Lark.” Xi

As silence once more came down over
‘the dark scene in the noisome 11%
Tom Tracer glided'forwardiill‘his 
struck something on the ground, orifices.
it might be, begrimed with dirt 
debris. ' a . , 

‘He knew that a human body had been,
dropped at is feet, and from the‘ haunts,
of some evi doers, which haunt was not?
at hand—in fact, above him but a 
eet. , .. '

That some crime had been com ,‘
and that he had witnessed the last?
of it, was evident, and that prayed“
he was yet in the very heart of nth
and murderers’ den. ' 

Tracer’s hand found a face whisk: ,
a bandage, and then he {the
vestigating hand over the 
again to the features.    .4 

The absence of a. light prevented”
from seeing what the victim looked z .
but .he found the smooth face of a: "
fairly advanced inyears. ’ .
f Tracer bent over the body, and . s»
the wrist to find if the pulse yet th «

It was still enough, and he listened
vain for the faintest beating of the e  w
The man was dead; ‘that'hs,.decidoa,

Tom would have given a 
that moment for a match. ‘\ I, '

Alone with the unknown dead.
dark, the Train Detective reflected as
t best course to» pursue.  .

The voices of those overhead
ceased, and Tom could 

     

I didn't J

here, and - .

  

 

 
   

22

The Train Detective.

 

hands in an effort to discover the man’s
identity by something on his person.

He was st00p1ng over the body, when,
suddenly, the trap overhead opened
again and a. light blinded him.

Its blaze was flashed in his face, and
beyond it he caught sight of the figures
of three men.

Dark and scowling were the faces into
which he looked, and as he caught sight
of them they saw him, standing upright
there in the dismal death dump!

“Gods! he lives!” cried a voice.

“ No; it’s another! Don’t you see the
man on the ground? Quick with the
gun, Jerry!” ,

The dazed detective,'with his hand on
the butt of his own revolver, of which he
had not been dispossessed, found him-
self covered by a cocked six-shooter
while he stared up at the three human
brutes, ready for more murder or evil
doing.

“Don’t! Fetch him up,” cried one of
the three, who had not spoken until
then.

Then one of the dark faces was thrust
into the opening and Tom Tracer was
questioned:

“Are ye armed?”

“‘ I am“),

“ Throw yer gun down!”

The detective did not relinquish his
hold on his revolver, nor did he fall back.

“It’s worth yer life, stranger, ter draw

in that place,” was the warning. “Yer
in the grip 0’ death.”
Tom could believe this without a

stretch of the imagination, and prudent—
ly thrust the weapon in his hip-pocket
again.

In another instant two arms from
above reached down into the place, and
he was seized by both shoulders.

“ Now, haul away, Jerry! ” ordered one
of the rufiians. “Let’s see what sort 0’
fish we’ve caught in the dump.”

It required a good deal of strength to
haul the detective up into the room
above, but by hard tugging the pair
succeeded in lifting him from the place,
and he was held by them in the light of
a gas jet.

I Never before had he stood face to face
with such a trio of wretches.

River thieves and wharf vermin he
knew them to be, and that he had struck
one of many haunts for such outlaws
was only too evident.

He was walked half way across the
room and thrust by force into a chair, at
a. rickety table.

Bottles and grimy glasses strewed the
table, and there was a smell of foul
liquor on the air.

But even that was not discouraging to
the dauntless Tracer. He was out of the
darkness, and that was something.

While one of the three stood near, a
six-shooter in his hand, the other two
keenly and curiously surveyed their

risoner.

Tom did not flinch. not appear in the
least disconcerted.

“ How came you down thar? ” demand-
ed one of the three, the leader of the lot,
apparently, as he pointed to the trap,

v- closed once more.

“ I was escaping from my enemies.”

All three men laughed.

“ Enemies, hey? Whar war they? ”

The detective smiled as he answered:

“ They were back at the end of the
passage which lies above the chamber or
tunnel down there."

The men exchanged looks.

They seemed to scent danger in the ex-
plicit answer.

“See here! You don’t expect to git
away from us, do you? " asked the burly
leader.

“ Why not? You fellows have no right
» to finish me for anything I have done
’ ‘ to you? " -

“ Oh, haven’t we? In this world man
grotects himself. Ef he don’t, no one
Ioes it for him—not here in New York.”

Tom Tracer knew what this signified.

“Such hunted men as we go by the
old saying that dead men tell no tales.

 3 You have made a little discovery to-

night, .and just that seals your doom.

 

We can’t let you go. You may be more
than we know you to be—a man escap—
ing from his enemies, even if your story
is true. We can’t afford to trust to
experiment and good looks. You may
be a spy or a tracker. We hate them.
They have made life a burden to us.”

Tracer, watched like a hawk by his
captors, looked into the shiny eyes of
the big speaker, but did not reply.

He knew one of the trio!

His red hair gave him away, and dis-
closed his identity, and the Train De-
tective was thinking rapidly.

“Red Rankin,” thought he, “I know
you. I haven’t forgotten the wharf trail
of last year, and then you thought you
had me caged for good, but I beat you at
your own game, and now you’re alive to
give me trouble once more, you vicious
brute!”

Tom looked over to the man he had
thus singled out, and their eyes met.

There was a start on the rufflan’s part,
and he came forward, but instantly fell
back without speaking.

“ Toss for the manner,” suddenly cried
the captain of the band. “ We can’t af—
ford to keep this man here. Toss for
the way. Throw the dice, Jerry.”

Jerry’s dark hands glided across the
table and fished a dice box out from
among the bottles there.

“One dice,” continued the leader.
“ You know how, Jerry. Six for the cord,
five for the dagger, four for the bludgeon,
and three—”

Rankin came still a little closer to the
detective.

His figure seemed to shake, and when
Jerry raised the leathern dice box on
high he uttered a cry which stopped it
in midair.

“What is it, Reddy? ” asked the cap~
tain. “Do you know him?”

Red Rankin laughed.

“Where have I seen those eyes? ” he
exclaimed. “What about that heard?
You might pull it off, Jerry.”

In another instant the hand of the
chief ruiiian was thrown out and the be-
grimed fingers twisted themselves in the
detective’s false beard.

One quick, villainous jerk was enough,
and it came away from the face, the
ruffian’s triumph.

There was a cry from all three at this
sudden unmasking, and the dice nearly
fell from Jerry’s hand.

“ Look! I thought so!” cried Red Ran-
kin. “ I know him now.”

The man reached out for the revolver
in Larry’s hand, but that person drew
back.

“Who is he, Reddy?”

“ It’s Tom Tracer, the Spotter. It’s the
man who found me out last summer,
and who got out of the little trap on the
old third floor.”

“ It can’t be.” \

“ But it is,” cried the other. “ I’ll give
my life if it isn’t Tom Tracer. You don’t
know him, Larry, but I do. And he
knows me, eh? ” And Reddy, with ama-
licious grin, leaned toward the watchful
Spotter and almost touched his face.

“ Then down with the dice! The soon-
er the better, Jerry!” This from Larry.

Thus startled again, Jerry gave the
box a sudden whirl in midair, and its
lone dice spun on the dingy table.

“ What is it? ” coolly asked Larry.

“ Six," announced Jerry.

“ Then it’s the cord!”

At that instant the detective sprang
up with the suddenness of a leaping pan-
ther.

To their amazement, the three human
tigers saw him over against the door
with a cocked revolver in his hand!

 

CHAPTER XXI.
BACK TO THE TRAIL.

For a moment at least the undaunted
man, their prisoner, seemed the master
of the situation.

The bound toward the door, the sudden
whirl, and the uplifted six-shooter which
stared the three in the face appeared to

paralyze- them.

The foremost fell back from the weap-
on, and all three, ranged side by side,

 
 

 

looked at the man who had asserted his
powers.

The tenant of the chamber beneath
the house had been drawn up to plague
them, and the tables so suddenly turned
promised to give them a great deal of
trouble.

The tableau continued in silence for a
full1 minute, when the leader of the trio
sax :

“ Reddy calls you Tom Tracer.
right? ”

“ He ought to know.”

“That’s the same man,” said Reddy,
at this moment. “ The old trap last year
didn’t hold him long, and when I went
back to it three hours later it was
empty.”

The detective smiled.

“I haven’t seen him since ter ask him
how he got out of the nest, but he got
out, I know.”

“At least, I am here, Reddy."

Tom Tracer looked at the three, and
seemed to catch a softening of the eyes
before him.

He felt that the door'behind him was
locked, and that the key was in the
pocket of one of the ruflians.

“ Let’s talk business,” said Larry, the
leader. “ There needn’t be any trouble
between us, if you’ll play fair.”

“ What do you call fair? ”

“ An oath—a vow taken upon pain of
death not to reveal what you have seen
to-night.”

“ You mean about the man under the
floor? ”

Larry nodded.

“ It wasn’t our work, Tom Tracer. We
didn’t finish the poor devil, that was
done before we touched him. We found
him on the pier and fetched him here;
Hands up, boys, and swear to this.”

“Why, then, my silence? ”

“ Because we don’t want ter go ter the
police. We don’t want ter be brought
up in court when we are on other busi—
ness.” 4

The detective’s gaze for a moment
wandered to the floor.

“ Who is he? "’ he asked.:

“ W'e don’t know.”

“Bring him up.” , _.

“What, inter this room, and be'liable
ter have the cops come in on us?",

“You won’t be disturbed. I’ll vouch‘
for that.” 7

“But he’s safe where he is, and thej
won’t miss him.”

“ Very well.
compromise.”

The three exchanged looks, and Redd?
Rankin was seen to nod approval. ‘

Jerry moved toward the trap and lifted.

Is he

Then there will be no:

it.
The eye of the detective followed him,‘
and for a moment doubted his purpose. t
“ Bring him up to the light,” said Tom.
The three men, covered by the ferret’s

revolver, put ropes down and brought up ~

the silent tenant of the underground
tomb. J

As the dead body was swung into the
light the detective stepped forward and
looked.

“ You don’t know him, Tom Tracer? "1
said Reddy. “We found him on the
wharf and fetched him in.”

“ Alive? ”

“ There was breath in the body, but
it didn’t remain long. But 'on our lives
we didn’t kill him!” .

“ But you robbed him.”

“We’ll admit that.”

“ What had he? ”

“ A watch.”

“ Nothing more? ”

“ A ring and a few coins. It was al-Y
most a water haul.”

The detective looked down into the
face of the unknown, and while he
gazed Larry repeated the declaration
that they had not taken the man’s life.

It might be thus, but he could not trust
these rascals of the pier and the alleys.

Still he could not afford to fight them
in order to carry a point which might
ever remain another dark mystery of
the city.

“You are willing to take the oath,
aren’t you? ” suddenly asked Larry./

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The Train Detective.

23

 

 

 

“For how long?”

“ Forever! ”

“And the man yonder?”

“Oh, we can get him back to the
wharf or we can let the room down there
keep him for all time.”

“If you take him to the wharf I’ll
promise.”

" We’ll do that, eh, boys?”

The others nodded, and Larry stepped
forward.

“ Hands up," he said to the ferret, and
Tom held up his right hand and took
an oath not to betray the three men for
their night's work.

" That‘s better than feeling the cord
or killing all three 0’ us,” smiled Larry,
after the oath had been taken. “We
don’t part the best 0’ friends, but we part
without bloodshed.”

When the Train Spotter thought of the
trail ahead he concluded that it was far
preferable to a battle for existence with
three such cool masters of crime and
Strategy.

“Let him out now, Jerry,” said the
captain of the wharf pirates. “Good-
night, Mr. Tracer."

The door opened upon a scene of inky
blackness, but the detective did not hesi—
'tate.

He looked once more at the villainous
faces behind him, and crossed the thres-
hold.

The door banged behind him, and he
drew a long breath.

The thoughts of the crawl through the
underground passage, the drop from the
end of the tunnel, and his subsequent
rescue by the three men, rushed across
him mind again and sent a thrill
through every nerve.

“ Now, Mr. Slack,” said he, with a
light chuckle. “We will see who holds
the last cards in this double game. We
will see who lives in the house so well
guarded and prepared for enemies. The
man on the couch who warned me a sec—

ond too late—1 will see who he is.”

Once more on the streets of Gotham
the man of many trails started off.

He found the house in which he had
met with his startling adventure in the
dark, and passed it with a keen look.

The shutters were as tightly drawn as
before, and he could not catch the faint—
est glimmer of light, but he did not
doubt that it was still tenanted by the
same people.

Was Abel Marks, the missing banker,
there? Was the nabob of Wall Street
a captive in the house, as he had
been in the dwelling behind the cedars
at Woodsdale? Ah, if he only knew he
could work with some assurance of suc-
cess.

He did not stop to investigate just
then, but passed on and dodged into a
little alley some distance away.

In a short time he came out at the
other end of the unfrequented thorough-
fare, and dashed up a flight of steps, to
knock at a door near the head of the
landing.

The person who opened this door fell
back with a slight start, but held the
portal open and stared at the detective.

“Mr. Jasper?” said the spotter.

“ That’s my name.” '

“ You are head bookkeeper in the house

of Marks & Jenkins, bankers, on Wall

Street?"

A slight pallor came to thes'oung
man’s face, and he gave his questioner a
sharp look.

“You seem to know me,” was all he
said.

“A good many people know you, Mr.
Jasper. You haven’t had much to do
during the last several days? ”

“ No, sir. Owing to the vanishment of
Mr. Marks and the indisposition of Mr.
Jenks, I have not been at my desk.”

Tom Tracer looked around the room
and saw that it was plainly furnished.

He noticed, too, an odor of rich smoke
in the room, and a pipe lying on the
table told that the bookkeeper some-
times indulged in the pleasures of mm-
tine. -

 

“ You have heard nothing of Mr.‘

Marks? ” he said, turning suddenly to the
bookkeeper.

The young man shook his head.

“What do you think?”

“ I hardly know,” was the reply.
“ Sometimes I fear foul play, then again
I imagine that he has extended his trip
and will turn up all right in a few
days.”

“How long have you been with the
firm? ”

“Three years.”

“ You know a good deal about the part-
ners? "

“ No more than one learns in an or-
dinary business manner.”

“You know their habits, eh, Mr. Jas-
per?”

The young man flushed.

“That’s not in the scope of my avo-
cation,” said he, with a faint smile.

“I know; but you haven’t been idle
outside the office.”

“Pray, what do you mean? ”

“You know that Jarold Jenks has a
boy."

“Oh, Prince Bullion!"

“ Yes.1!

“ You’ve met him outside the office and
after business hours?”

“Occasionally. Accident has thrown
us together, but I don’t pretend to be
the young fellow’s chum.”

“ No? Well, Mr. Jasper, while you are
not his chum, you know that he is an
expensive appendage to the house of
Jenks.”

“Rather costly.”

“ Does he ever look over the books? ”

“Never!” With another start.

“ Who does besides yourself? ”

“ A young accountant named Flint. He
is called in now and then as an expert to
see if there’s a tangle anywhere along the
line.”

“ Well, how much of a tangle is
there? ”

This was a shot fairly from the box,
and the young man who faced Tracer
seemed to recoil.

“Come, Mr. Jasper. This is wholly
between us. How much is missing? ”

“I should say a great deal.”

“And you have hid it? You haven’t
told the head of the house? ”

“ Heavens, no! I dared not do that.”

“ Because the villainy was too near the
fountain-head? ”

‘° Partly so,” evasively answered Jasper.

For half a second the detective was si—
lent. Then he left his chair and came
over to the young man.

“Now, Mr. Jasper, which one of them
did it, Marks or Jenks? ” he asked.

“ It was Jarold Jenks,” was the start-
ling answer.

Jasper, the accountant, seemed to cower
in his chair as he answered the ques-
tion.

His face grew white, and he seemed to
upbraid himself for the reply he had
given.

But Tom Tracer was not at the end of
the inquisition. '

He still eyed the bookkeeper and stood
at his side.

“You are sure it was Jenks?”

“ 1—1 am; but for Heaven’s sake—”

“ He’ll never upbraid you for this be-
trayal,” smiled the ferret. “ Jarold Jenks
will never call you to account, and he
won’t care what they do with the books.
Only tell me the truth, Jasper. You knew
all the time that this thing was going on.
You knew that Abel Marks was in the
dark concerning it. Now, what has this
got to do with the vanishment of the
senior partner? ”

“ Nothing.”

“Come, sir,” sternly said the Train
Spotter. “ You can’t afford to play a crimi-
nal hand, you, of all young men in New
York. There is murder at one end of
the line, and theft at the other. Jarold
Jenks paid you for silence.”

“He paid me: of course he did. He

had to do it, but I’ll hand it back. Only

don’t take me away from here.”

A little smile came to the detective’s
face, and he knew he had picked up
another clew. ‘

 

CHAPTER XXII.
THE TERRIBLE TRUTH.

Captain Sleek, once more in his own
true colors, was alone in a neatly fur-
ished room some distance from the scene
of the last chapter.

If one could have penetrated to his
presence he might have noticed that the
curtains were tightly drawn and the
doors closed.

There was nothing of the hunted man
about this cool—head, but at the same
time, whenever a footstep passed the
house, he listened till it got out of hear-
mg.

Presently there came up the steps be-
yond the door a step which caused him
to lean forward and listen to the bell.

But there was no bell to tinkle at that
hour, or, if it still remained in place, it
had been “doctored” by the hand of
Captain Sleek.

There came toward the door of the
room footfalls, which ended at the portal,
and the following moment it was opened.

Blair Jenks, or Prince Bullion, stood
before the captain.

There was a whiteness about the
youth’s mouth, and his eyes sought out
the plotter in the middle of the room.'

“What’s happened?” asked Captain
Sleek, eyeing the banker’s son keenly.

“What hasn’t happened? It’s some-
thing when a fellow is arrested for mur-
der, isn’t it? ”

“Arrested for murder? Come, what
joke is this? ” cried the captain.

The young man dropped into a chair
across from the other and continued:

“ There’s a mad detective on the force,
it seems—a chap named Waters—who ap-
pears to have got the idea that he has to
arrest everybody till he accidentally
finds the person who killed the young
woman on M— Avenue.”

“That’s a queer notion,” said Captain
Sleek.

“Well, I happened to fall into his
clutches, and I got a look at the interior
of a cell at the station house.”

“You did?”

“ And I had some trouble proving that
I was not a red—handed assassin.”

“But you were lucky,” laughed Cap—
tain Sleek, falling a little deeper into
the luxurious chair. “ It’s not everybody
nowadays who can escape so well from
the hands of the police.”

“They had to take my statement as
against this madman’s,” Blair went on.
“ But for a level-headed inspector, I
suppose I would have been brought to
trial for murder, and perhaps hanged.
It wasn’t the most pleasant experience
in a man’s life, and I’m not over it yet.”

“ Didn’t any one come to your res-
cue?”

“ Not a' soul. I was visited by a white-
bearded man, who took a good look at
me, and then walked away coolly after
offering me no help. I had to help my-
self out, and my family conections,” here
he smiled, “stood me in good stead. It
was a mere chance, though. I escaped
by the skin of my teeth.”

“Let me congratulate you,” said Cap-
tain Sleek, holding out his hand, which
Blair took.

“ Well, I’m glad I’m out of it. Don't
want another experience of that kind.
But I tell you I’m in a worry.”

“Over that arrest? The newspapers
will explain all that, and give you a good
advertisement.”

“ It’s not that. I wish it was nothing
more. But I’m in a terrible flx. You
know my father?”

“I’ve seen him."

“ He has lost his mind.”

“ Not so bad an all that.”

“ Yes. My father has vanished.”

“Like Abel Marks?”

“Not exactly that way. But let me
stop here. It’s a family matter, and I
don’t feel able to go over it.” .

“Just as you like, Blair,” said Cap-
tain Sleek. “It’s all one to me, however.
If I knew, I might offer a suggestion or
help you out of the shadow. But don’t
confide anything to me if you think I’m
not able to keep the matter.”

‘6

- It’s not that—it’s the terrible aspect of

 

   
    
  
   
 
     
  
 
   
    
   
  
   
    
    
   
  
  
  
  
  
   
     
   
  
  
   
   
    
   
    
   
 
 
   
  
   
  
  
   
     
 
 
    
    
 
   
     
   
    
   
 

the case. .It’s the hideous revelation—the
story he told in one of his outbursts of
lunacy; yes, it must have been told in
that state.”

Blair Jenks, who had left his chair,
was pacing the room, but all at once he
stopped in front of Captain Sleek.

“ Did you ever know Diamond Dess? ”
he asked.

There was a quick start on the cap-
tain’s part, but the next moment his
hand crossed the table' and picked up a
cigar, which he coolly lighted.

“You may have met the woman, as
you run in all kinds of society,” con-
‘tinued Blair. “She is the girl who
was murdered on M—-— Avenue. That is
‘ the, crime which has turned Detective
 Waters’s head."

“ I've heard of the case.”

,, “That girl has drifted into my life.
She has strangely entered my existence,

and though dead and under ground, now,

 she has blighted my career for all time

 to'cOme.” r .

"5' How so, boy?”

“ It’s a part of the revelation that fell
from Jarold Jenks’ lips.”

Captain Sleek hid his handsome face
in a cloud of smoke, which drifted away
» to show it once more to the “banker’s
" ,‘heir. '

.. ” . Blair Jenks came back to the chair and
' sat down.

“ If you knew her, if you ever saw her,

r, ‘ftell me, had she. any of his ways?" he
’ asked. ‘ ‘
. “ Any of whose ways? "
‘ ,i‘Jarol’d Jenks’. It’s a strange ques-
tion, I know, and you may think me de-
mented for asking it, but it comes up in
my mind a thousand times a second, and
I Can’t keep it down.”

i‘ A regular Banquo’s ghost, eh? ”
grinned the captain. _

“A thousand times worse than that,”,‘
Blair. “But let me press the
query. ,, If you knew the unfortunate
,girl, 'did she have any of his ways? ”
“I knew her but passingly. It was a
mere summer acquaintance; it was noth-

“ I have heard—” ‘ '

Prince Bullion paused, and caught the

,keen eyes of Captain Sleek looking him

through and through. ,

' i‘ “ What have you heard?” demanded

the captain.

;. r l‘.‘ Pardon me, but one hears a good deal

’ ' 01 chatter at the club,” said Blair. “ It

" comes 'and goes for the most part,‘ and

, p it called very reliable; but I heard

him you used to Visit her.”

- '7'“ Diamond Dess? ”

__ ’,‘,"Yes, yes. I certainly heard that at

the Club, but not untii'after the crime.”

5, Captain Sleek's gaze fell,,butrhe sud-

;fdeiily lifted it and once more transfixed

_ihis..visitor with his clear, cold eyes.

,ifiOne hears a good deal of ‘ stuff} at

the Club,” he said. “But for-once, boy,

zen heard a bit of true gossip."

Blair’s eyes brightened.

“ You did know her, them,”

> u Yea.” ‘ i "

“.Well enough to call on her?”

I “I even went that far.” ' ’ ,
.f‘Then you can answer my question.

d, she look like Jarold'Jenks, or did

e have any of his ways?”

. ,~ "It’s a funny question. I suppose this

e, Leo learned at the Club.” ' N
‘ o. It came from his lips in the

E

 

"5 ' singing through my head. What was
.she like in life?”, -

’i' She was a‘pretty girl as girls go
.nowadays; but she was self-iwilled and,
,igiperious.” ‘  ‘- , .'
" .f‘,‘ Like Jarold' Jenks! ” = ' ‘
‘  She could deceive with the archness
lot, the arch deceiver, and could play a
(wad so deceptively cunning that you

ould think her the pink of honor.”

 
   
  
 

i

. "You must have studied her careful-
1y,” cried Blair Jenks, astonished at the
analysis. ‘ ‘ f -

 passing study, nothing more," was
the..:reply. “ But this interest of yours

  u: ,

      

     

 

    
 
 

ri'ible revelation which sent the blood ,

 

 

bob’s heir. ‘j I can’t find my father to
force the truth from him. I have forced
it in part from Martha Jenks——”

“ Your mother, boy? ”

“‘I call her Martha Jenks now,” said
Blair. .

Captain Sleek turned his chair slight-
ly from his visitor, and for a moment
seemed to study a certain spot on the
wall opposite.

“The man who killed her may have
known the truth,” the young man sud-
denly proceeded.

“ Perhaps he did.”

“ If I could find him I would make
him tell me all or I would avenge the
death of the woman who, dead, has
come between me and my future.”

“You begin to talk like a madman.
You have imagined something too hor-
rible to have a semblance of truth. You
will quite lose your head by and by.”

“ It’s nearly lost now,” cried-Blair
Jenks. “What have I‘ got ahead if all
this is true? What am I but a nameless
offspring, a substitution, the victim of
a plot as dark as midnight. It’s an old
crime. _It took place years ago, but I
am reaping the harvest of folly and the
whirlwind of sin. You have seen the
dead woman.’ You have answered me
eVasively. I would like to press you
further, but I dare not.”

“ Go on,” coolly said Captain Sleek.

“ No, no! ” Blair Jenks sprang up and
Seemed to grow into a statue of whiteness
on the flowered carpet. “.I cannot. I
might have it all confirmed. I will go out
and find him. I will make him tell me
the truth about my parents. I’m glad
some hand struck that woman down. I
would go and do it myself if she lived
to-day.”

u WM,  n , ‘ V

“ She was Jarold Jenks’ daughter!”

“Come. Nonsensel.” cried Captain
Sleek, but at the same time a shadow of
doubt seemed to cross his face.

“That’s the story. There!_ It’s out
at last. I am an outcast, a man without
a name. They wanted a male child, but
their offspring was a: daughter, and a
nurse played the hand for money. I-am
the child she substituted. Diamond Dess
was the real heir. It is enough to drive
me mad.”-

The man in the chair looked up at his
visitor and seemed to smile. '

“You sent for me,” said Blair, com-
ing up to the table. “ What do you
want? I got your letter at the club, and
that’s why I’m here.”

“‘ Sit down. You brought up this other -

matter, and we’ve almost ignored the

real object of this meeting. However,
we’ll come to .it now." '
” I’m ready to listen. Go on.”

“I. wanted to tell you that the gold
mine you purchased is a great fraud,”
slowly said Captain Sleek.

There was no change of color in Blair
Jenks’ face. . .. _ .

“ Those men swindled you nicely, and
instead of a paying mine you have to-
day a hole in the ground that wouldn’t

‘ builds hut in Shantytdwn.”

Blair Jenks suddenly laughed.
“I don’t see that they got the best of
me after all. The“ check I gave them

was worthless.” . \ ,
“ How , worthless? Your father’s
checks are as good as gold in this city.”
“ Not now.”

Captain Sleek’s face lost color.

“I don’ see'why. It was given the
other day, Vnd they’ve cashed it before
this.”

“ It hasn’t been cashed; but, really, it
wasn’t worth the paper it was written

“ You are’ mistaken- That, check‘for
twenty thousand dollars is ‘WOrth every
penny of it.” n , ‘ r

.“ Let me confess the terrible truth,”
and Blair. leaned toward Captain Sleek.
" Jerald Jenks was a robber. He stripped
the firm of every available penny, and
when he signed thattcheck he knew that
is would never be paid. That’s why he
89¢ me .to delay giving it up for a day

r‘tw “All ‘ “egg-slight,

 
   
 

 

    

   

  

 

Jarold .

- i  1

All color fled from Captain Sleek’s
cheeks, and he seemed to fall back in
his chair. ’

Prince Bullion, in after days, recoiled
at that look of horror and chagrin.

 

CHAPTER XXIII.
THE OLD GENERAL HAS AN ADVENTURE.

Tom Tracer rang a bell at a door on
M——— Avenue, and the portal was opened
by his old friend the general.

It was after the detective’s interview
with Jasper, the accountant, and he had
gone direct to the place just mentioned.

The old man started a litle when he
saw who stood on the step, but he quick-
ly recovered and escorted his caller into
the snug little parlor.

Tracer took the chair which the gen-
eral pushed forward and looked at his
friend.

“ What have you seen lately?” he
asked.

“ But little. Everything is quiet across
the street, and nothing of note has hap-
pened there lately.” .

“ No callers? ”

“None. I have seen no one enter the
place for several days but the officers,
and they don’t remain long.”

For another minute Tom Tracer sat
silent, and then he leaned‘toward the
old man. ,

“ General,’l’ said he, as his eyes seemed
to transflx the recluse. “What do you
know of Jarbld Jenks’ past life? ”

There was‘an unmistakable start on
the listener’s part, and the color left his
face. '

h “ That’s? a queer question, Tern,” said,

e. ,
“But you knew him?”

“ I did.” . ,

“You knew him before he‘went into
business in Wall Street?” ‘

' “Yes.”

“ You knew him in his younger days,
and before he was married? "

“ Perhaps; but I don't see why you re-
call these things.” ‘

The ferret smiled.

“ we all for a purpose, General,” said
he. “You want to know why I recall
them? Because he is dead.”

The old man almost sprang from his
chair, and it was with great difliculty
that he held himself down. ,

' “ Dead?” cried he. .

“ Dead, and the woman who did him a
favor long ago was in the house with
him when he died."

“ Andhis wife—” ,

“' He didn’t die at home. He died by
his own hand in'a distant house in this
city, and she was with him.”

“ Sara Shook?” - _ ‘

“ Is that her name, General? ”

“ It is. She was .the hospital nurse.”

“ But that was long ago? ”

“ Years and years ago, and ever since
she has been living on Jarold Jenks'
bounty.” ’ . ,

“ You mean she had a'hold on him? ”

“ She. had.” ‘

“What was the secret?_ You know,
General.” ".  ‘ .

There was no reply, and the old man
for a little. looked strangely into the de-
tective’s face, and appeared to shivar.

“ I can’t disclose that. Go ‘to Sara
Shook and ask her,” he said, ‘

“ She will seal her lips and play sphinx
to perfection.
this secret of thettr'aii. I am here to
listen to the storypf the past.”

“ Because you think it will reveal the
motive for the crime across the street,”

“ Partly so, and partly because it will
give me another clew. It will clear up
a dark place in the “other trail—in the
hunt for Abel Marks.” ‘ ‘

“ His partner? Another strange old
man,” said the General.‘ " If you will
letme off, Tom, I will promise to tell
you allianother time.” . .

“ How much time do you want?”

“ Give me ,till to-morrow.” . 3

The detective thought a' moment.

" You shall have the time,” said he.
‘1 I will be here in the morning ready for
thesecre .” ' 7‘
 “Itxshali then be y um") »

a

’w<—a~> _ .w‘

I have cometo you for '

     

.rku

 

A»

  
  
 
 
 

     
     

 

     

 

 
   
    
  
  
 

  
    
  

  

 

 

   

Asthe detective gazed into the Gen-
eral‘s face he seemed to see a light of
joy there, and in a short time he stood
omemore on the steps.

lie glanced across the street, and saw
,, that the house of the crime was dark and
H’ the shutters tightly drawn.
~ He did not cross, but walked away,

and a minute later was on his way down
town.

As for the General, he remained a
while silent in his chair, and then leaped
up with a cry.

“1 must go through it carefully,“ said
he. “I must see if she did leave any-
thing behind.’~.‘

He pulled his hat over his brows and
 turned up his collar, then he slipped into
fit“ the hall and cautiously peered out.

‘7 Tom Tracer was out of sight, and the
old man glided across the street and up
the steps of the house of the dark deed.

He opened the door with a key which
he look from his pocket, and locked it
again when he had passed inside.

in the parlor he turned on the gas, but
dimly, still enough to see, and passed

, into Diamond Dess’ bedroom.

3 It was a cosy place, luxuriously fur-
nished, and one which the eye of the

. ‘ detective had already searched.

The General looked keenly around,
and went over to the desk in one corner.

The man—hunters, in their eagerness
for clews, had broken the lock of this

5 desk, and he had no trouble in lifting it.

It did not reveal any secret to the old
man, and he looked all over the chamber
to quit it reluctantly, and at last to re-
enter the parlor and sit down. - ,

“She told me once that she had the
papers, and she said she had the whole
thing written out in case of need,” he
.said, in low tones. “Now that she‘s
under the ground, and the trail dogs of
the city are after human prey, why can’t
I find them?”

U He Sprung up and dashed from the

5. room.

‘ He climbed the stairs in the hall, and

on the second floor of the house stopped

,in a small chamber which had a musty

odor. ‘ ,

This time he left the door open. I

The old General was busily engaged in
searching this room, when he turned
suddenly toward the door, and stood
transfixed, as if he confronted a ghost.

In the cramped hallway outside stood
a man with a dark, sinister face, and the
old man looked into deep-set eyes over
the barrel of a levelled revolver.

For half a minute the two looked at
one another, and .then the General was
the first to speak. . .

“What is it?" said he. "‘ Who are
you, “that you come here and thus face
me? " ‘ - ‘ ' .

The other laughed. .

“ I don’t have to ask you who you are,”
he said. “ I know. You are here like a
thief in the night, and your hands have
searched the house.”

“I have been looking for something
which the dead girl may have concealed
somewhere.” ’

“ Why, the man-hunters have done all
that before you.” ‘ .

“They’ve been here. They’ve looked

, all overthe place, and have gone off. I

. I my all that. But what have they

to nd?!’ 

"Go.-end ask them. You have been

, ' more -'fortunate.”

H  U

“ You just put something
pocket.” 7

The General 3611 back aghast.

.  L ‘i It’s in the pocket on the right side.

 is You took it from beneath the carpet at

‘3 the foot of the bed.”

' v ‘ What could the old searcher say?

 What little color th t remained on his
‘ face. fled, and he 1 ked min at the
I coolhead before him.

’ " What is it?" queried the man.

.,“ Only a few papers.”
"Papers that she left? Let me have

them"; 7 ,

"“I can’t do that? .. r

u 

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other. “I am here for what you have
just concealed in your pocket, and un-
less they are laid on the table yonder
within ten seconds I will proceed to take
them from a corpse."

There was no mercy in the voice that
fell upon the G-eneral’s ears.

The other one did not move, having
firmly planted himself in the door with
the revolver in an unshaking hand.

“ Five seconds more,” he said, sternly.

Biting his lips, the General dived one
hand into the inner pocket, and drew out
the package of papers.

He placed them on the little table at
his left and slowly lifted his gaze to his
enemy.

One hand reached out and seized the
papers, and the other slowly lowered the
six‘shooter.

“That‘s better than serving the coro-
ner,” the stranger grinned. “It‘s better
than dying in this already famous place.
Come; we‘ll go down tillI take a look
at the documents.”

They went to the parlor, and the Gen-
eral was waved to a chair while the
other one stood at. the table.

He went to work on the papers, which
he opened by cutting the string with
which they were tied, and they fell out
on the cloth. _

The old man eyed him closely, and
seemed to wonder what he would say to
the contents of thesheets before him.

He leaned over the cloth and pickd up
the sheets, which he placed together so
as to read them in proper order.

“They’re all here, I guess,” he said,
with a quick, upward glance.

“ She wrote out the narrative.”

“ How do you know? Did you know
there were such papers in this house? ”

“I suspected it.”

“ Youknew her, then? ”

The General smiled.

“You came over here to search the
house? You wanted to find this package
of papers?”

“Frankly, I did.”

“And, having found them, you would
turn them over to the police.”

H No.”

“ Why. not? " .

l 7‘ Because they don't concern the po-‘
ice.” ' -

~ “ No? Do you know what these papers
contain?"

“ I could guess.”

The stranger did not press the query
that seemed to come to his lips, and the
old man‘ continued to watch him from
the chair at the table. '

Suddenly the strange one uttered a
cry, and the documents fell from his
hand and ’lay on the cloth. .

He did not speak, but his gaze slowly
wandered to the General, and rested on
his white face.

“‘ It's all over,” said he, and then he
swept the sheets together, and bunched
them quickly. ‘

Holding them in his left hand, he.
:struck a match with the right, and
the papers near the blaze.

' The General started up'with a sharp .

held

cry, but the stranger drove him to a
halt With a look. '
 “, Not a step! ” said be.
You ‘arel" ‘

“ But the papers!
stray them!: You don't know what you
0" ' ‘ y

 Don't .1? V Hands off! " '

“ Stand where

He thrust the papers into the fire and '

watched them‘burn.

The old man trembled in the middle of
the floor, and his facegot red and white
by turns. '

“I'll hand you "over to the police",

cried the General. I ,
“ You will, eh?” laughed the other.
“I’ll see you swing." - ‘

‘, “, For making a bonfire of a few pa-

pers left by a dead girl?- I would like
to see a man, hang for, that”, ‘

The burning went on, and when 
last bit of pager fell blackened from the
yillain’s nan”. lie-turned ’ '
u ' havoc

   
   

    
  
 

   

   
 
 

    

good pay if we would take

You must not de~_
bie asy'an acroba  j (p 

new? " ’

iumphanuy, man.  " .tted; V: ‘flii‘ fill N61 556.9

 

ful how you tell the tale of this night's
adventure. You will be in the shadow of
death, old man, and the moment the dogs
turn to my trail, that moment your life
goes out like the extinguishing of a
rush-light.”

The next moment the General was the
only tenant of the room.

  
    
  
  
  
  
  
   
   
   
   
   
  
   
  
  
  
  
   
  
   
   
  
   
   
  
  
   
   
   
  
    
    
   
    
   
  
   
  
  
     
  
   
   
    
   
   
   
    
     
   
   
   
    
    
   
    
 
   
  
    
 
 
  
  
  
    
    
   
  
 
  
  

 

CHAPTER XXIV.
our or run mourn or A ('IiILD.

Back once more to the house in which
he had met with the startling adventure
in the cellar the train detective went,
to find it as silent and grim as ever, but
he fell to watching it from a convenient
point, and in a little while saw a girl
trip up the steps and fit a key into the
lock. ‘

The train spotter swooped down upon
the child. ,

“ Wait a minute, little one,” he ordered
“ Who lives here? ” ‘
‘ t‘ I do"!

“ How long have you lived here. little
one? ”

“ Just began to-day. Mamma and I are
taking care of the sick man. He is very
sick. You can’t see him, sir."

“I’ll see your mother, at any rate,"
and the detective pushed the door open
and stood in the hall, still holding the
child’s arm. ,

“Ruby, is that you?” cried a voice
beyond the hall.

The child answered and moved for-
ward. '-

“ Who’s with you, Ruby? "

f‘ A gentleman who met me on the
step.” , j " ‘ 
A door opened to show Tom Tracer a: j
sharp-faced woman of forty, in the light.

“Where is he, madam—the siCk 
man? ” asked Tom, springing forward. -,~

"You're a second too late. My pa-_
tient’s gone!’ ' ' . '3

“ Gone! ” echoed Tracer. “ You let .'
him out, didn't you? ” 

“ I did nothing of the kind. He heard
some one in the hall, and in another
instant he was out of the house." . ‘

“ But Ruby here said he was very
sick.” I _ , ‘

“ It was all a sham. * It’s a pretty t k
Sammy Slack played on us,”-l‘aughed e
woman. . ’ ‘ 

“It’s all a huge joke, I guess,” she

went on to explain. “Sammy's bee
away, but to-day ,he turned :1
in our house and asked me

take care of a sick man in this hon, 
We came here, Ruby and I, and W

the patient in the room yonder on’
couch. He looked very weak, and 

barely whisper. Sammy ‘  

ten days, or until he died, and. I 
I couldn’t do better 811' take 12116:}th

The woman led t e detective 
the ream, ‘where they found a tumb
bed and disordered covers. ‘ 

‘,‘ Maybe he went below,” said the do,-
tective, pointing at the floor at .th
foot of the couch. '  ., '

“Aye, but there is, for I’ve tried-d
and Tom tried .to find the secret
of the trap, but in vain. . . ,

“He went out the back way 5;; 
him quit the couch, and he was

“As you‘ seem to be familial Wm
Sammy, can you tell me where 
She shook her    
“Has, he any ‘other haunts in 
city?” V , x » 
“I can’t say.” I L I, ,
“ Why, mother, there’s the nice

him,” put in the child. _
Tom Tracer ear the woman In
and glanced than fully at theféltild.
. 'f Sammy, has another home,- btit  
won’t find him there, I think.”1;the '

   
  
   
     
  
     

 

  
  

 

  

 

 

 

 

who can dress good enough for both of
them? You know) him, madam.”
The woman did not speak.
“ That’s the sort 0' man who gave me
the note that day,” and once more the
child spoke to her mother’s discom-
flture. “He was a nice man and no
mistake, for he rewarded me, you recol-
lect, mamma.”
“ Come," said the detective, “ the child
betrays on. You know that Slack lives
with‘hi friend, and perhaps upon the
h latter’s bounty. Speak candidly. You
can trust me.” .
, “ Sammy Slack is not Sammy Slack
 at all,” averred the woman, a little more
' at her ease. “ He is quite another per-
, son, but of late he has been S mmy
Slack. His friend is known as aptain
Sleek. It’s a name he’s fairly and hon-
estly won, and——”

“Wait a‘ moment,” interrupted the
-. ferret. “I am a detective, and must
ask you to come with me." .
,, “What, to the station?” almost
shrieked the woman, falling against the
wall. “Never! I have been there once
, . in my life, and I won’t 'go again. Oh! I
want to break away from Sammy Slack,
” tor sooner or later all who have dealings
with him get into the fire. I don’t
want to singe my garments, for Ruby’s
sake.”

She pushed the child away hurriedly,

, and the little one left the room with a
p  scared look. '

-'> “Now,” continued the woman, “I’ll
say this: Sammy Slack and Captain

  

See one and look for the other’s shadow.
S’ammy has been ‘up the river,’ but
not under his true name. Captain Sleek
is too slick for the police, and he has
never been behind the bars. He is too
2 . cool for the best of them. Oh, I tell
you, they are a precious pair, Slack and
Sleek are, and I can’t contrive " what
sort 0’ scheme they’ve got on hand now.
[The sick man is gone, or he might have
explained. What's up, anyhow? What
is Sammy wanted for? ” -.
“For murder, madam!”
5 _ “0h, heavens—no! It can’t be! Sam-
;‘my wouldn’t go that far! I know the
,man too well“ You will never mark that
crime against Sammy's name. I can't
say as much for his partner, though.
'1'“ call the child in, and she’ll tell all
she knows aboutihat man. Maybe it
will help Sammy,” and, opening the
door, ‘the mother called her little daugh-
ter. ‘ ‘
l The child quickly appeared, and with
,3; white face, as if new frightened.
’r “ Ruby was «in the fine house on 0——
treet," said the woman. “ She once
 a note there for Sammy Slack,
ow two weeks ago."
. ’“From whom did you carry the note,
child?" asked Tom.
. ," From the nice—looking m n who met
‘me on the street, He told e that he
new mamma,-and asked me if I could
and 0-;— street and the nice house.’
‘Z‘V'And you found both?"

," Did Sammy reply to the note?” ~

,. _ v‘.‘ Why, .he gave me a box, a little box,
:totake back'to the nice gentleman who
' tied for me in a clubhouse.” ,
> And you took it direct’ to the nice
an-to Captain Sleek? ” -

n‘_‘ I did, but I met with‘an accident on
 way. It was a funny accident. I
 and fell on the sidewalk."
“But you held on to the box, child? ”
‘I let it slip ‘out of my’ hands, but
m: y for a second. I got. it again and

‘ ton the lid again." ; -
you, you broke the lid, did you? "

    
  
  
  
  
    
   

  

   
    
    
    
   
  
    
   
   
   
   
  
 

  

from Captain Sleek.

him when I delivered the, box." ‘

 “ You told him that you didn’t open

and box, did‘vyou, Ruby?” ‘ ,
,“t-‘That’s it exactly. I did see into the
le box, but I didn‘t lift it out.” e '
What, was in the box, child? ”

Ruby glanced at” her mother.

"‘2‘ llvhim hild‘ytell him 311.”! ' ,‘

    

      
 

Sleek have been old friends for years._

.“gXes, sir, and, I eXpected to catch it'
I had to storyto

CHAPTER XXV.
FOUND.

ed Tracer for the room of the despond-
ent Waters. .

He found that person in, and the mo-
ment Waters espied his friend he cried:

“ You have news? You have found
the man?”

“Not yet, Waters. I have come to
ask you about the dagger which you
found under the carpet on the stair in
the house on M-———— avenue. Tell me
minutely about it.”

Waters at once gave Tom a full de-
scription of the dagger.

“ That is the one,” averred the Tracer.

“ You have seen it?”

“I have not, but a little child—little
Ruby—has.” ‘

“ Little Ruby?” he repeated. " Must
we drag a child into this man-hunt?”
he asked, regretfully.

“Yes, even a child and her mother,
in order to get at the truth.”

Tracer went back to the trail, turn-
ing his steps almost unConsciously tow-
ards Wall street.

The hour was late, and the silent
guardians of‘ the city’s gold street stood
like statues in the dim light, or shield-
ed their figures in the dark shadows of
the tall buildings.

Proceeding down the street, he at
length stood opposite the building oc—
cupied by Marks & Jenks.

Hardly had he paused there when
there came out of the shadows near by
a shuffling figure, which approached the
doorway of the building. I

Tracer stepped back into an overshad-
owing doorway and watched.

Straight to the door proceeded the
'night visitor, and at once he inserted a
key in the lock.

The outer door swung open, and the
.man paused for a moment in the hall
from which opened the door of the
banking house.

Half a minute later the outer door
closed, and the detective knew that the
person, whoever he was, had passed on
into the banking room.

Not a sound came from the place.

The Tracer from where he stood could
see nothing moving, and all he could do
was to stand there and wait until the
unknown came out again.

He heard the tread of the policeman
on that beat as he passed 'the place,
never thinking to try the ‘door of the
banking house, which during the past
week had gained a new and startling
reputation. .

watched room a strange cry-every like
a groan, a deep groan oi dismay, and it
seemed to end abruptly, as if the per-
son had fallen to the floor, suddenly
struck down.

The detective waited for more, but
nothing! more was heard, and he was
about to leave his cover opposite when
the outer door once more opened, and
the man who had gone in came out; the

man started down the walk.

He- did not get far, 'for the hand of
Tracer fell upon his arm.

There was a cry and a start, but the
man did not speak. and his face told of
the agony and terror at his heart.

the shadower. “ We cannot be seen from
the street, and I want to interview you.
That is what I am here for now.” ‘

The frightened man’s answer was to
hand Tracer two keys. - ‘ '

They returned to the outer door, which
.soon swung open again, and Tracer him-
self led the way into the bank.

,The curtains at the front windows
were down, and-the private room was
quite dark, but, pushing past the ferret)
Marks led the way to it. I

f‘ This is the, best place for us,” the
banker now spoke. in an unnatural voice,
and  himself-in the revolving chair
2: his own private édesk,.and turned on

  
 

  
 

 

These revelations of little‘ Ruby start»

Finally there came from within the.

street door was locked up again, and the'

' “ Shall we go back, Mr. Marks?” asked.

 

“ I have come back,” he then remarked,
“like a thief in the night, and you have
shadowed me.”

“You’ve given us a long chase, Mr.
Marks, yet you haven’t been very far.
Ever since the night you went away
with Sammy Slack you have caused no
end of talk, but, now that you’re back
again, all this mystery will be cleared
up, I hope.”

“I don’t want you to betray me—not
yet, at any rate,” said he; “ I am not in
a state of mind to be found just yet.”

“But you want to let your child know
that you’re safe, don’t you? You don’t
want to torture Nora longer? ”

“I don’t, but I must. I want to walk
from this room to a hiding place some-
where they won’t find me.”

“ Where who won’t find you? ” queried
the detective. “You took risks'in com-
ing down town to-night, Mr. Marks.”

“ I couldn’t keep back. All the powers
on earth couldn’t have mastered my will
to-night. I wanted to see if everything
was safe here. I had to come. But, I
wish I hadn’t. Yes; I wish I hadn't.”

He paused a moment. '

“Where’s Jenks? What does he think
of my vanishment?” he at length asked.

“He doesn’t think about it; he’s
dead!” informed the shadower.

Marks sprang up, but the next moment
drOpped limp and helpless into the (hair.

“Dead? My partner dead? I wonder
if he discovered the robbery? Did he
know that they had ruined us? Did that;

cause his death? Tell me that!”

“ You must find out thrOugh the wom—
an who waited on him to the last. Sara.
Shock, the old nurse.” .

“ You’ve been up to Woodsdale looking
for the trail, have you?”

“ Yes; I went thither and found it. You
were decoyed from the city that night,
I concluded.” .

“ By Sammy? Yes. It’s a strange
story. He worked the scheme from Al—
bany. It was 'a bright one-21. deep-laid
plot to get me out of town into the
hands of the pair of villains. Fool that
I am, I fell into the trap, and while I
was in their hands they robbed us.”

“But the books will show that some
one else may have .had a hand in the
fleecing,” quietly intimated Tracer.

“Where is Flint? He can point out
the false entries; the two villains never
had access to the books. Flint and Jas~
per had, and they. Can tell if I am a
ruined man or ave enough left to keep
my child from the poorhouse.”

“ We shall see to that, all in due time,
Mr. Marks. But now about Jarold Jenks:
You have long been friends? " '

 For years. We were boys together,
but Jenks wanted the secret kept, and I
have obliged him. He was the pink of
honesty, but at times a little given to

speculation.”

“ His son— ”

“The Prince? " cried Abel Marks.
“There’s a blade for you, sir! Give him

string and he will run into the river
with the bit of foolishness in his mouth.
I told Jenks more than once tdcurb his
son, but he let him go. Oncehe said:
‘ He’s got none of my blood in his veins,’
and laughed at his own words.” ‘ .
Tracer made no remark, and the'bank-
er kept on: ‘ I
~ “ In Woodsdale I-was not permitted to
see the sun. It was a prison—wthe house
among the cedars—and they wouldn’t

let me tell the world that I was in the '

land of the living. Sammy Slack played
his hand pretty well, but when he
brought me back to the city and took me
to the little house from which I, have
lately escaped I felt that the game ,‘was,
nearly played out." ' ‘

“What about the other one? ”

“I saw- but little of him. Sammy'was
the jailer and the other one only dropped
in now and then.” .

“ But the meme, Mr. Marks? ”

“ I signed a paper for the little man}.

promising to pay five thousand dollars
for my release-”
he preeen

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The stare that came into Abel’s face,
even in the dim light of the private
room, was noticeable.

“Those papers? Did I leave them in
the desk? I remember now. How did
they know they were, there?”

“ I cannot tell. Captain Sleek got them.
Were they important, Mr. Marks?”

“ They told the story of my life.”

"‘A poor place to keep papers of that
kind,” remarked the Tracer.

“ I know it, but Nora never suspected
they were there. If I had not been de-
coyed that night they would have been
safe, for I should have burned them.”

“ You were too late, Mr. Marks. They
fell into the hands of Sammy Slack’s
partner.”

. “ Then I am in the jaws of the lion,”
and Abel Marks struck the desk with his
clinched hand.

 

CHAPTER XXVI.
THE HEADLICSS EFFIGY.

“ Decoyed from home, robbed during
my absence, plundered and ruined and
God knows what else,” Marks went on,
“ I must find a hiding place, but where?
I cannot escape these villains. You must
let me go. You must not stand between
Abel Marks and his fate.”

Tracer‘s hand was on the half-frenzied
man’s shoulder.

“ You must go home to your child, who
yet clings to you.”

“ Yet? ” cried Marks. “ Why should
she? What if Sammy Slack’s partner
comes to her with the story of those pa-
pers? ” . ,~

“But he won’t. I’ll see to that!”

Marks was incredulous.

“ You may be shrewd and cunning, but
you are no match for Sammy Slack and
his friend.”

The detective laughed.

“If you will go home—if you will trust
Nora, all will be well.”

“ They’ll find me there. I’m ruined, at

“any rate. so.why not let them take the

girl? ”

“You don’t mean that you will give
Nora up for their silence? ”

, Abel Mark’s looks fell. »

“Come,” and the hand of Tracer tight-
ened. ,“ It is one of two places for you-
the police station 0r home. Take your
choice.”

“ In God‘s name, man, on what charge
could you.have me locked up to-night?"
he cried.

“ 0n the old one—you know?”

“ Then let it be home.”

Tracer looked across the rodin, and his .

gaze settled on a little safe set deftly in
the wall.

“ You keep some things in there, don’t
you?” said he.

“ That is Jarold’s safe. It is private.
He had it set in there last summer, and
I never looked into it.” '

“It is now the safe of the dead, and
might give me a clew to the selfoinflicted
crime.”

“ How self-inflicted? "

“ Your partner grew tired of life, and
helped himself across the river in Sara
Shook’s house." .

"Is that true? Then,” cried Marks,
springing up, “ then I am under no obli-
gation to let that little treasure box re-
mai unlocked.”

Removing the handkerchief from the
810be,‘ he started across the room and
reached upon a shelf which ran to one
corner. .

' “I saw Jarold' put something here the
other day, and— Yes, it is the key to
the safe yonder in the wall! ”

Tracer took this key and opened the
safe.

' Both men leaned forward.

“ It is crammed with something,” cried

Marks. “ See! they are securities. By

' Jove-i these are some of the papers which

should have been in the large safe over
there! ’

The banker pulled out package after
package and looked at them. a
‘ " It can't be," the banker cried. It
canft be that Jarold wggg dentitiisatel:
‘o’Jarold of my,  u,»
31““  ~ missed from

.‘

 

safe, and which tore a groan from my
heart that I couldn’t repress.”

The little safe was further explored,
and more securities found, and bills and
bonds.

“ It is true! Robbed, and by him! ” he
cried, the last package falling from his
nerveless hands. “ It is good he’s dead!
Jarold Jenks, you won’t know how I
receive this evidence of your betrayal.
Curse the wild oats of Prince Bullion!
He drove you to this, Jarold. He is the
real cause of this robbery, I well enough
know.”

Marks replaced the securities and other
papers in the wall safe, and transferred
the key to his own pocket. .

“I’m ready now,” he announced.
“Take me home, but keep the wolves
away a while longer. Don’t let the city
know that I’m back. Let it wonder
what has become of Abel Marks. Should
New-York discover me the two plotters
would find me, as well.”

Half an hour later Nora Marks stood
face to face with one who came back
to her like one from the dead.

If Tracer had turned his steps toward
the quarters where he once lodged he
might have witnessed a strange and
startling episode—might have seen the
man who, slipping down Broadway un-
der the flaring electric lights, turned sud-
denly aside and ran up the steps which
led to his room.

In that room he had left the effigy of
himself, after the attempt upon his life.

Resting on the table, as though it had
fallen after the shot with the silent pow—
der, lay the counterfeit of himself, wait-
ing, as it were, for the terrible discovery
that would reveal another crime.

Toward this door the man went, eager-
ness in his looks and agility in his move-
ment.

Reaching up, he caught the cross-piece
of the door and nimbly pulled hisflgure
up to the transom.

The room within was not lit up, but
the gas—light throughthe nearest win-
dow revealed the well-arranged figure at
the table. . y '.

“ It’s queer,” muttered the man. " Not
discovered yet? Surely— "

He dropped to the floor, breaking his
own sentence, and then he began deftly
to unlock the door by means of a bit of
steel.

For a few minutes he worked; then the
door Was pressed open, and into the room
he stepped.

“Cheated by an effigy! ” that was his
exclamation as be surveyed the cheat
with a rage that could find no expression
in words.

But the fellow was not wholly discon-
certed. .He replaced the now disarranged
dummy, taking care to make everything
look as it had when he entered.

“They won't know that I’ve‘ been
here," he muttered. “ If he comes back
he will think that the cheat still remains
a cheat, and won’t suspect. How did he
escape? What spoiled my aim? What
good luck saved this detective terror?”

Closing the door, and again respring-
ing the lock, he tripped down the stair.

An hour later the man entered a dwell4
ing in the best part of the city with a
pass\ key which he carried.

‘Passing into the parlor, by the light
there stood. revealed—Captain Sleek--
Sleek, with the face which Ninepins had
given him." and this face, reflected in a
large mirror on the opposite wall, drew
from him a smile. 

“It’s got to be a different phiz, if I
want to trap this keen hound,” he said
aloud. “ He may have seen me in this
and Ninepins must help me out again."

Suddenly Stepping to the front win-
dow, he stood there, one ear pressed
against the curtain. ' - ‘

“ It went by." said he. “ It seemed to
stop, but after all it did not. Ah, it
comes back. It is on the steps now! ”

The bell tinkled lightly, as if a child
had pulled it. . " I ,

He did not answer the call.

The .bell'tinkl’ed again ‘

“.‘fl’ht’ "5‘

i

 

 

He at once went to the outer door, to
find there—Little Ruby!

“ You, child? What brings you here?"
he demanded, and drew her into the hall.

“ Don’t you know me? You are not the ,7:
gentleman who sent me to this house for -“

the little box,” was the child’s answer. 
“ Neither are you the person who gave it 
to me—” 

She cast a frightened look toward the ‘ 
door, but the hand of the captain Closed 

   
   
    
   
  
   
   
  
  
    
  
  
   
   
  
   
  
   
    
     
  
   
    
 
    
 
  
    
  
    
  
  
   
   
   
  
   
    
   
  
  
  
  
    
   
 
  
  
   
    
  
     
   
  
   
  
  
  
   
    
    

on her arm.

“What about the box? ” he asked.
“Who sent you to this house to-night,
child? ”

“No one; but I know that you‘re in
danger. Mamma thinks so from what
the man said; [but I don’t believe you
ever did anything really bad. The hand-
some man who waited for me at the club-
house had your eyes, and he paid me
well for my trouble.”

“ Go on.” ,

“ Mamma and I were watching the
sick man, you know. and I was captured
at the door by the man.” -

“ By what man? ”

“By the spy, I guess,” cried the child,
who had now been led into the parlor. ‘

“ And he saw the man on the couch?”

“No; that man ran away before he
saw him, and then he talked sharp to
mamma. I've come to warn the man
who lives here, and if you‘re that one,
for you have his eyes, I say— ” ,

“ Never mind, little one. The gentle-
man will be'warned. Thank you and
your mamma.”

“She didn’t send me.
own accord.”

Captain Sleek looked down into the ups ,
turned face and seemed to grate his teeth. _ '

-

I came of my

 

CHAPTER XXVII. é _\

A WOMAN'S sscns’r. ‘ 
- After parting with the banker near his» ‘
home, the train spotter bent his steps
to that part of the city where he had»
last seen Sara Shook. He wanted to see
more of the strange woman who had'
taken such a prominent part in Jarold:
Jenks’s life. v

In one of the little rooms on the sec— 
ond floor he had left the robber-banker“ -
dead on the couch, and the shattered ‘
wall had bamed him in his attempt to v
make out the last message of the fugis .
tive.

When he reached the place he found
it dark and forbidding, on the outside at"?
least. ~. -

Tracer tried the door without knock- _
ing, and, to his surprise, it yielded, and.
he entered. I

Listening 8. while, he passed up the,-
narrow stairs and stood 'at' the decry!
the dead, room. This door he . softly. 3“
opened; and lookedinto the dark cham- '
ber, silent enough to be the shade of the '
dead. A

Then he entered, and, striking a
match, held it above his head, to behold
the couch against the shattered wall and 
a sheeted figure thereon.

The dead was still there. but the
man was gone.

The detective lifted the sheet to.
into the placid but strange-looking
of Jarold Jenks—the face 'Ninepins' had
made for him! ' “ .' 

For a minute he looked at the face,
and then let the sheet fall to its place; ‘4

“Where is the woman?" said:- he
aloud. " _

{I  fl .

Tracer turned to confront‘the, angular ‘
figure of Sara Shook. in the doorWay, .

“ You did not think I would run my
and leave him here?"gshe continued.
“ That is not the sort of womanI am.” _

“ You have done right to keep 
over him," said the detective. “He. "
been kind toyou.” ,v . _

“ Never mind that. .What he‘had d
for me is not to be' discussed here.”  ~'

" But you knew him well. You-m
notl 1want me to read the message on.

“ Bless you," laughed the Woman. “It?”

 

    
     
  

  

   
 
  

 
 
    
 
  

 
   

 
 

l

 

“But the ball spoilt the dead man’s
3 '1 'last words. Was it a confession? ”

 I “It may have been. He had a good
deal to confess.”

She came in, and he stepped over to
the bed, in the light of the lamp which
Sara Shook had in her hand.

, “ Did you know him when he came to
v , 'you for asylum? ” V
. r “ Not at first, but his voice told me

' 'Who he was. Ninepins can change faces,
but the voice remains‘the same.”

“ You know Ninepins? ”

V “ Who does not know the face-fixer of

, New-York? He is dangerous because he
‘ is a genius, and you detectives must
acknowledge that on more than one oc-
casion Ninepins has beaten you with his

,‘brushes and little knives.”

_ ., " It is true, woman, but sooner or

,later this bird of ill omen will find his
g/cage." r

g“ What have you found out about this
dead man? ” she suddenly asked.

, ».“-He was a fugitive from justice.
“Didn’t he confide his secret to you? ”

w “No, sir, and I did not ask him for
it. He needed assistance, [he said, and
,9 that was enough for me. No need for me

Iftoinquire into Jarold Jenks’s secrets.”

“The secret you already hold-the one
you have kept for years—was enough.
‘was it? " .

V The woman started. .

Elwin was enough, since you know there
was a secret,” retorted she. "‘ So he was
awcriminal ?”
 “ He was.
gynrtner.”

I" The man who was missing—Abel
arks? Perhaps he did not think that a
crime, since he had known the Wall
StreetShylock from childhood.”

' “'It is not that alone, madam,” re-
turned the detective. “It is presumed
that he was, guilty of other deeds which
, reed him to seek an' asylum here, in

this disguised face.” ‘
Sara Shook placed the light on the

             
    
  
 
   
 
 
 
   
 
 
  
 
  
  
   
    
 
   
 
  
  
   
   
  
  
 
   
  
     
  
 
  
  
   
   
   
 
   
  
   
 
  
  
  
  
  
   
  
 
   
     
  
  
  
    
 
 
  
  
 
   
    
    
     
      
    
     
      
     
        

He robbed his friend and

I

As “impressed by the Tracer’s words
and'manner she seemed ready to speak
more to the point.

“Ifcame to first know him years ago.
_ . as a nurse in a city hospital for chil-
magma- he came and tempted me. I
amigoing to tell the s ory, for I am Igo—
iinzaway after the to log."
“,“All right, Sara. Go on! "’
_ "Jarold Jenks and his wife were
happy int‘heir married life, until the first
child ame. With the advent of the little
("the me their ifirst bitterness. They
"tinted a boy, and the babe: was a ‘girl,
hose” limbs were strangely drawn or
an! ’shapen. It was, in due time, sent to
ibefihospital for the cure of its limbs,
Mil-the Surgeons saw that it would be
hasyvCure. w '
It was then that I' came into this
_ eot sin and deception: "Jarold 'Jen'ks
',  ",6 my path with the wile' of the
Miner backed by the curse of vankind
’3‘ [,dl; There was a male child in an-
w'ard, and the two little ones really
éhviresembled one another. It was
‘ Tempted by his money, I effected
achange pf‘babes, and one night the
‘ the ward was deserted,‘and Jaroldv
carried home the boy who is: new

  

  

.X.

 
 

7,1’:‘in,'tthisvgame of deceit; .I shared,
t3: another, butslonsaao thevgrave
, over himi-andi am the sole pos—
r‘of my secret, outside the home of

said“, yonder. \ . .

e was kind to/ me, despite the fact
’at times he greatly-regretted the
" , ‘ ':’We had played; \He saw his hair-
 to manhood a raystering’scap‘ee
co, inwnom he could not-take “delight;
éLPrince Bullion, as the young spends

 

  

  

  

éé'stand's to-day on, the thre hold of,
' at which must ‘cut’short' h s/carser
‘ Trista; the story. all. That is the
of the past. lam, sam Shook, the,
 whomheiped

  

  

do after his father’s kind". Net alone v

 is known, ‘ ignorant .of- his parent- ’

"Jerald J nitsP to,

 

track of her. Smuggled from the place,
but cured of the slight deformity, I
watched her growth, keeping track of her
from the moment she left the place to—
her death."

“ She is dead, then?”

“ That you know, I fancy, for her death
is a police mystery, but her identity re-
mains hidden. Diamond Dess is that
child! The woman, murdered on M—
Avenue was Jarold ‘Jenks's. babe! The
mother does not know it, but the father
did. He knew ere he died that the blade
of an assassin found the heart of his
child, and this knowledge in a measure
drove him to the act which he did in this
house. But what have you discovered?
Are you on the trail of crime which
starts from M—— Avenue? Is that your
mission? ” '

“In part it is.
Marksw "

“Found him, have you?” cried Sara
Shdok. “Have unearthed the missing
banker of Wall Street? Couldn’t you
fetch him here and let him look down
into the face of his partner? ”

“ Not now, madam.” ‘

“Is he a fugitive from justice, too?
Does he fear the unmasking of the secret
as Jarold feared it? ”

“Abel Marks will appear, but not yet
awhile. He must remain secluded for
the present."

Sara broke into a laugh.

“ Life’s mystery all the time, she ex-
claimed. “ When I quit this house I
will become a little mystery to my neigh-
bors, for Sara Shook will vanish like the
sunbeams.”

“But not until after you‘have seen
him put away? ”

“ No. Though he drew me into crime,”
said she, “I won’t leave him until the
grave has closed over him. What, think
you, has been the feelings of that mother
'who consented to have her child replaced
by another, and who in those years of
secret silence looked upon the wild path
cut by Blair Jenks, so-cailed? ”

“What of his parentage?” asked the
ferret.

“That is my secret.”
 Then you know? ” .
p “ Yes, ‘I do know; but you can’t rob me
or that secret, which, all these years, I
have kept from Jarold Jenks and his
wife.”‘ '

Tom Tracer did notmake the effort to
wrest the secret from her, and left the
room. , ' I g
. “Do what you ill. with the dead,”
Sara said, as she to lowed.

“ I leave that to you.” .

“ Thanks! I will see that he goes
home." ~, ,

“ But you will not go with him?”

“I will! 'I want to stand once more
before the woman I haven’t met, for
years-.-—notsince I saw her one night in
her own house with the bby in hex-arms."

Tracer proceeded down the stairs, and
Bare Shook followed him to the room be-
low. I -

“ You saw Diamond Doss often, did you
not? ” he asked.  

" A thousand times. I ‘Watched‘ the
development of her life. I even \saw her
married.” , ' ‘ '

“ She was a wife, then? ”

“‘A‘nd Carlo Mayne was her husband.”

“ The; handsome, man who frequents
the, house on the avenue? "

I have found Abel

1,

“ The same; 'Cold,‘cunnin’g, and. with‘

the nature of the vengeful. I watched
the courtship, if it can be called such. I
did notapprove, mat the girl loved him,
and—— Well. she’s. dead'now! ”- - . '

Sire. o sued the door and held it aiar
for the racer. - ' '

“She's :‘a strange Woman, but she ,

proved .iaithful'to Jarold Janka,” said the
shadow‘er, as he passed on down the
street. “ She kept? the secret well

a‘through the years, and r perhaps helped

his child marathon once. they were
man and Wife! Captain Sleek, the arrow

of:-  points‘ in: your, direction, and

    
  

  

the shaftfullmih‘i‘ .
L  » .. : a. who emotional! d. V

   
 

 

came after him like the tread of the
panther in the jungle. I
The Train Spotter was in dire danger.

 

CHAPTER XXVHL.
VlTL’l‘lTRE» AND HAIVK.

Captain Sleek let the little girl out
of the fine house and went back to the
parlor.

“ So Abel Marks is at large,” said he.
“He broke his word with Sammy, and
is gone. What does this mean? What
will the spy do? ”

Then came the turn of the key in the
outer lock, and Sammy Slack himself
stepped into the hall and parlor, and,
throwing his hat upon the table, he took
a seat. He was uncommonly cool.

“ You haven’t heard of the escape?”
questioned Captain Sleek, looking search—
ingly at the other. “ You don't seem to
know that the sick man's gone.”

“Gone! The banker?”

“The man you brought back to New
York without consulting me. Just be—
cause you got tired of keeping watch
at Woodsdale you escort him back to the
city to give him wing and let us fight for
our ‘very lives.”

The look in Sammy’s eyes became a
stare when Captain Sleek added:

“ The spy came just too late to find

.Abel Marks under the woman’s care,” he

said.’

"' The spy!” he echoed.
you?”

“A child; and this makes it all the
more truthful. Mr. Slack, you must fight
for your existence now." '

“ We can beat this detective hound! ”
cried Sammy. “There are two of us, and
two heads are better than one. But,
who is this detective? ” _ ‘ ‘ '

“ I cannot tell, but I have a suspicion.”

“ Find out. Let me know him by sight
or’ otherwise. I will take the trail. I
am something of a man-hunter myself.
But, about Abel? Where is he?”

“ At home, perhaps.”

“ It seems to me he would go direct to
the bank.” , ,

“I did not think of that. “You may
look.” _

Which Sammy Slack at once did.

He started away, and reached the bank
in the dead of night, just too late to dis—
cover Tracer and Abel Marks emerge
from the building. , I '

He found the door: securely locked.

All was silence. No, Abel wasnot there,
that Was evident.
‘-‘Z Ish-e home? ” be queried. “Didhe
genome instead of seeking the bank?
If I thought Abel Marks was back there
I'd roust him out before daylight."p

But he did not carry outihis sugges-

.“ Who told

. tion; he slipped upBrOadWay and van-

ished. ' V
In the gray light of another day Sam-
my Slack might have’ been seen in a little

park on a bench embdwered in the foli-‘

age of a clump‘of bushes; he was fast
asleep. i "

Suddenly a young man crossing the ~

park stopped and looked at the picture.

“It’s the captain's partne‘r,”.cried this~

individual. “It’s the tall man called '
Sammy." . ' ; .

He went a little closer and" bent over
the man. '

Blair ,Jenks, or PrincefBullion, after ,a
night of worry and tel-tying at the wine-
cup, as’was shown by his eyes, was‘go-
ing home when the strangebut startling
vision of. Sammy Slack asleep ' in the
park crossed his path. ‘  ’ ,

He shook the sleeper and sawthe eyes
open.

Blair.. .
Sammy gasped and looked again.
“ Never saw you before in
Don’t see whyaydu disturb a f HOW“? "

He broke his own sentence with a-'

glance round the 'shrubbery, and seemed
to realize his situationi ~ ~
“Tm ~ lair,” said
‘-‘ Yen’re t elcaptsin’s friend.”
“ I don't know the ‘captain.” -

   
  

1‘».

“Come, don’t yon kaow.‘me?’,’ cried '

11' my life.-

Prince "Bunion.  .

 

 

      
   
 
        
     
      
 
        
    
    
      
    
         
   
 
   

 

 

 

couldn’t do it.

The Train Detective.

29

 

 

“ Sit down."

" Not here,” exclaimed the roysterer.
“ I will see you in my room. It’s not far,
and I’ve two nests, you know.”

Sammy rose and shook the sleep from
his eyes, to be taken away by the young
man.

Prince Bullion soon afterward ushered
him into a fine room, elegantly furnished,
and when he had shut the door he turned
upon Sammy with:

“Where’s the old banker? ”

Sammy’s eyes grew larger, but he did

not speak.
“Come! Don’t put on an innocent
air,” cried the young man. “I know.

Where is the banker?”

“ Which one? ”

“Which one? By Jove! that’s good,
just as if you are the constituted guar-
dian of both the gov’ner and Abel Marks.
Which one? What if I should say the
gov’ner? "

“Then I would tell you that I don’t
know.”

In another instant Blair had seized the
man’s arm, and his fingers seemed to
meet in Sammy’s flesh.

“Let it be Abel Marks. It is your
work. Don’t lie to me. Where is Abel
Marks?”

The tall one shook his head, but a
pallor overspread his face.

“You know. Come, sir! It’s a plot.
You took Abel Marks out of town the
night he vanished. What’s the game?
And where’s the money of the firm? ”

“I don't know.”

“ Who robbed the bank? Why, there’s
nothing in the safe. The securities are
missing, and—”

“Ask the thief,” put in Sammy, grow-
ing insolent as well as impatient.

“ No such talk to me. You don't know
whovyou’re dealing with. They call me
Blair Jenks, but I’ve lost that name.
Jarold Jenks is a robber—I know that—
but he didn’t take all the funds. He
You robbed Abel Marks.
You know you did.”

In another instant Sammy Slack was
on his feet, and his figure towered above
the young man’s.

“ It is false! ” he cried.

With an oath Blair flashed a revolver,
but as he raised it his wrist was caught
by the long hand of the other, and the
weapon rendered useless.

“I can hold you like a fly,” laughed
Sammy Slack. “ Don’t you see, boy, that
you’re nothing in my hands. You cant
get the best of me. I never robbed your
father. I never robbed Abel Marks.
Don’t throw that into my teeth.”

“ But you’re the captain's friend. You
and Captain Sleek are in this game for
money.”

Sammy, in reply, dragged Blair over to
a rich arm-chair and crushed him into
it with a chuckle.

“ This may be your nest, but I’m the
master—bird in it just now,” he cried.

Blair, white-faced, stared into his face,
but did not speak.

“ You can’t bluff Sammy Slack,” con-
tinued the tall one, who stood over
Prince Bullion. “ Now answer me a few
questions, won’t you? "

“ That depends, sir."

“ Does it? We’ll see.”

Sammy, with the coolness of a con-
queror, drew a chair alongside the other
and went on:

“You’ve, been flying pretty hi h of
late. Don’t you know that birds 0 your
plumage come to the end of their powers
when they drop back to earth and flut—
ter there in the mire? ”

“Is that what you wanted to say to
me? ”

“Not exactly. It’s only an introduc-
tion. I’m a little short of ready cash.”

 Didn’t the last play net you some-
thing? ” ‘

“Never mind the last play,.” said
Sammy. “I’ll take a little now—a few
of the feathers that clothe you, my fine
bird.”

Blair flushed to the temples.

“ It’s downright robbery! ” he ex-
claimed. “ I’d as soon be held up on the
streets.”

2

H. "yrs-x: |;_

 

“ It’s more secluded here,” replied the
tall man, showing his teeth in a sar-
castic grin. “We’ll call it a genteel
trick, but you can’t escape me. I’ll take
the nest egg. Come, hand it over.”

Blair drew forth his pocketbook and
threw it upon the table.

“Take it!” he exclaimed.

The hand of Sammy Slack reached out
and raked in the pocketbook, after which
he opened it and turned it upside down.

Nothing fell out, and the robber looked
at Prince Bullion with a curious smile.

“ You don’t mean to tell me that you’re
broke? ” he said.

“ You see my pile.”

“ But you’ve got more than this. COme,
a young man in your circumstances—a
bird in this nice nest—has something
more than the mere lining of it.”

“ Not a dollar.”

Sammy flung the pocketbook back upon
the table and stepped toward the door.

“ By the way, how’s the gold mine? ”
he asked.

“ It’s a fraud.”

“ Eon gave Jarold J enks's check for it.”

u es."

" How can it be a fraud? A young
man who can get hold of a check for
twenty thousand dollars can get more
cash.”

“ But the supply’s exhausted.
can’t rob a pauper, Sammy Slack.”

This irritated the tall man, and he
came over to Blair, who looked up into
his face with a comical leer.

“See here,” he said, “ why don’t you
get some cash of Carlo? ”

“ Carlo? I know no such man.”

Blair broke into a laugh.

“ You cannot hoodwink the " bird,’ as
you call me. Carlo? Call him by what-
ever name you please, he is still Carlo,
the man who kept the fine house for the
murdered girl.”

“How's that? Don‘t be so fast with
the names of strangers, my bird.”

“But I' will use his.
Carlo went to see Diamond Dess. What—
ever relation they bore to one another,
he was Carlo to her, and if the police
knew—"

He stopped suddenly; the tall man’s
face had changed.

“ Why don’t you go on?” he asked.
“ What about the police? ”

“I say if the police knew that Carlo
had two names, and that he was con-
cerned in the vanishment of Abel Marks,
the Wall Street banker, what do you
think they’d do? ”

“ What could they do? ” '

“ If they know that Carlo, or Captain
Sleek, as some call him, went often to
see Diamond Dess—that he may have
been with her the night she was mur-
dered in cold blood—that this man—this
crony of yours, Sammy Slack, was her
friend, don’t you think there’d be a little
investigation that might draw you into
the snare? ”

“ By Jove! this is too much,” cried the
enraged man. “ I’ll twist your neck.”

“If you can!” ‘

Blair Jenks was on his feet, and the
tall man had taken a step forward.

They stood face to face in the room,
andlooked at one another like waiting
gladiators.

Suddenly the door opened.

Both men looked toward the portal,
and saw there the sharply-outlined fig-
ure of a woman whose face was white
and whose eyes fastened upon Blair with
a wild glare.

“Don’t touch him,” she cried to Sam-
my Slack. “ Don’t lay hands on that
young man as you value your life! ”

Sammy’s face grew dark with rage,
and he looked at the woman with glow-
ering brows.

“What right have you to say that I
shall not twist this bird’s neck?” he
demanded. '

“I have all the right in the world.
Touch him if you dare! I know you,
Sammy Slack, alias Martin. France of old
fame. Touch him now if you wish.”

Sammy dropped his half-uplifted hands
and walked toward the door.

f‘ 90! " cried/ the woman. I,

You

" ' 1'1 .‘L 7H». ". $14” P” l " ‘1" '3' *"  ‘ 0‘"
- ~- .,. v-.;..t .. A

    

I will say that'

 

. a . v « . s “ ’.‘ u \
w. {MIKE'LW ‘ ,j- F“. m.  _.  , '33. 2._Vx‘

He looked back at his almost victim.
and crossed the step. slamming the door
in the face of the pair.

Sara Shook merely laughed.

 

CHAPTER XXIX.
TOLLED To His noon.

Tom Tracer, the Train Spotter, hurry-
ing from Sara Shook’s house in the last
quarter of the night when he had met,
the woman beside the sheeted dead, went
straight to Waters’s room.

The mad detective alone in the little
place with his brain still harassed with
the thought that he was the victim of
fate, if not the legatee of a foul plot,
was half asleep in a chair when the
train detective aroused him.

“You have found him!” he cried, as.
once before upon Tracer’s sudden appear-
ance in that same room.

“Not yet, but I want to catch a little
rest.” '

Waters pointed to a couch at one side
of the room, and Tracer cast his body
upon it.

Waters watched him awhile, and see—
ing that Tom did not care to talk, he-
came silent and turned his head away-

The man who had tracked Tracer to
the detective’s room had stopped on the
sidewalk below.

From the pavement in front of Sara.
Shook’s house he had kept up this espion-
age, and now, baffled as it seemed, he
stood undecided in the light of the near--
est lamp watching the place.

“ Shall I follow him?” he asked him-
self. “ It’s the old detective. What was
he doing there? What but plotting
against me with the woman Sara.

He entered the building and went up-
stairs to the first landing; he looked to-
ward the door of Waters’s room but still
he hesitated.

“ He may come out,” he muttered.
“That would be better than trying to
get to him.”

So he drew back and waited.

The hours crept on. .

The night waned, and still this man
stood guard outside Waters’s door with
his keen eyes on the alert.

Who was he?

Not Captain Sleek, for that individual
could not have thrown himself on the
detective’s trail; not Sammy Slack, for
he was on the eve of'seeking the park
for his nap; nor could the spy have been
Blair Jenks, the wild blade.

In the shadows so abunda 2 n the up-
per hallway stood the man watching
Waters's door.

When at last the portal opened and a.
face came into view, the watcher drew
deeper into the shadows and his eyes
flashed.

“I almost feel myself at the end of
the game,” said he. “ Tom will tell me.
all when he gets up, and I must have
patience. But what if Tom is deceiving
me? What if Tracer is in league with
my enemies? For he has all to win
if I fail, and I have stood in his way
more than once.”

“That was not the man I followed
here," muttered the one on the watch.
“It must be another man. Can he have
changed his face in the room yonder?
Is he in other garments, and will he
slip past me and elude me at last?”

In a little while Waters came forth
and passed down the stairs.

The other followed, but the nimble de-r
tective got away.

On the pavement below stood the
baffled spy.

“ Some other time,” he said, and then
he too vanished.

If he had gone back he would have
found the door unlocked and the sleep-
ing ferret at his mercy.

Had he climbed the stairs again he
would have found Tom Tracer in the
sound sleep which precedes the dawn,
but fate or fortune took him away.

As for Tracer, he rose refreshed.

Waters was gone, but this did not
bother him.

He knew the eccentric man, and did
not look for him; so, after leaving a note
on the table for him, he left the room.

..» »  . a. ',y . .5. _'
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In Tracer's mind it was to be the last
day of the long trail. ,

The track was to be abandoned at the
end before. dark, and he wanted a fair
day for the work.

Captain Sleek in another part of the
city smoked in the fine room where little
Ruby had warned him.

The man of plots and cool scheme:
was alone, but not for long.

Sammy Slack came in and threw him~
self down upon a sofa.

“See here,” he cried, looking over at
the silent Carlo. “ Don’t you know they
suspect you?”

' There was a look and a start, and Cap-
tain Sleek lost a little color.

“ Who suspect me?”

“The young blade for one.” .

“. Prince Bullion?”

It Yes."

“ You've seen him ?”

“ I have,” -

“ When did you see Prince Bullion?"
. “ Not an hour ago.”

“ Where ?”

“ In his new quarters.”

“Well?”

“ He makes some plain charges, that
is, he talks pretty plainly concerning

' .. you and Diamond Dess.”

Carlo came over to Sammy and shook
’ him up.
r “Tell me everything he said,” he de-
manded. “Don’t keep back a word.
I’ll choke the young game-cock!"

“I would have done so if the woman
hadn’t come in.”

“ What woman ?"

“Why, the one who lives on Jarold
Jenks’s bounty.” ,

“Oho! Sara Shook, the id nurse.”

I “ Yes. She came in lik a blast of
storm, and I had to give up my little
.game." -‘

" She drove you away,-did she?’

“I couldn’t stand her look ,nor her
threat.”

" 7“ What Was the threat?”

“ It was more in her look than in her
.tones. She called me the old name, for
on thing.” ‘

‘ She’s got that, has she?" laughed
., Captain Sleek. I

’“ Got it pat. It went through me like
a knife, and made Blair open his eyes.
I. never had anything to go through me
like it before.‘ Why, she is a holy ter-
m."

 .“ Terror enough for you, it seems.
{ But, Sammy, there's got to be a cool
lay, one that .ends the game in our
‘vor or which gives the spoil to the de-
tective.” ,

,w “Lbelieve you."

- f “‘ It,“ must be made at once.”
 “To-day, you mean.”

 “ Not later than toniight.

..

He can be
ound. You may not know a certain
“thing. but I’ll tell you. The office holds
’but his emgy. He .isn’t dead." '

   
  
   
   
 
    
     
    
  

  

. r90
. {‘- I thought I had finished him." smiled
Captain Sleek. “ It was the first failure
of my ‘eareer. t was a shot. at point-
blank‘ range, bu it failed."

,_  “(Where Will we find him? If we could
decoy this man to Woodsdale, say to the
hpuse, behind the cedars—"

 “That’s capital, Sammy!” exclaimed
, , “ You deserve a crown
gfcr {tfie suggestion. It’s certainly worth

;  .M

 

  
    
  
    
   
     
    
  
   
 

“E
p
93
8
gr

"fit-But this man is cool and cunning.
it, would have to be a prize de'ftly ar~
ranged to toll him to the little place.”
'- f“ We will bait the trap. He must be
in Woodsdale to-night.”

37“‘But “if he doesn’t come, what then?”
. f‘A quick play in this city!’ A cool
game to the death, for it is now a vic-
‘i'y or ruin."

Captain Sleek walked the room like
 caged animal. 3 .

_,Watched by the other, he was impa~
{iehtrand anxious, and when he came to
£er
' ’ ‘make you
r he an.

   
  
 
 

Sammy sat he' suddenly stopped.
‘ bait tollahim

      

«Ms

1‘ Me?!) V

“ Why not? You’re willing to risk
something to get rid of this man, aren’t
you?”

“I am, but you see—”

“Hush! I will find him before night.
You will get on the ten o’clock express
at the Grand Central. You will be fol‘
‘owed by this trail-hunter."

“In the same coach?"

“Perhaps. You don’t fear the espion-
age?”

“It might be uncomfortable.
might nab me on the train.”

“ No. His eagerness to spring another
trap and catch another bird will take
him all the way to Woodsdale.”

Sammy did not reply.

The job was not one he relished, .but
he submitted, and in a little while both
men were‘smoking over the plan Cap-
tain Sleek had proposed.

“You must be sure that the trap is
well set,” said Sammy Slack. “A fail-
ure would destroy my hopes.”

“And mine as well. I’ll go up before
you.“

“And set the snare? Good! That
gives me confidence.” .

“ I will see that the trap is so well as
that after to—night there will be no de-
tective to bother us.”

Sammy Slack did not breathe free
again till he was away from his com-
panion.

He waited for night.

He kept indoors and smiled when he
thought of his visit to Blair Jenks and
the coming of Sara Shook.

Captain Sleek was at work, and he had
confidence in his friend.

More than once he went to the window
and looked out upon the well-thronged
street. ,

He tried to make out some familiar
faces in the throng, but they did not
materialize, and he saw the long shad-
ows of the afternoon steal across the
city stones. A

“ I’m the bait of the trap,” said be.
“I’m to toll the detective to Woods-
dale.- What if I fail? What if he ar-
rests me on the train? I can get out
of this game now. It's not too late.”

He wavered. 1

Nothing but fear of Captain Sleek held
him from the attempt his brain sug-
gested. ‘

He could have withdrawn, but he
would have the Captain for his bitter
foe, and he shuddered when he thought
of that.

“No! We win or fall together. and
Carlo is cool and sharp. I’ll stick to
Carlo! ” he said.

He watched on till night came.

The lights came out one by one, and
he heard the hours as they were struck
by the nearest clock.

“ It is half-past nine now,” said he,
glancing at his watch. “ It is tithe.”

Without much attempt to disguise
himself, Sammy Slack slipped from the
house and went uptown.

In the cab that drewhim he leaned
back and wondered how the plot would
pan‘out. .

“It’s like setting a trap for foxes,”
he laughed. “ They are seldom caught;
but this one falls under Carlo’s hand,
and Carlo is slick." ,

He did not glance much among the
crowd in the depot..but he noticed a
man who appeared to have been watch-
ing him. 

“ It has succeeded," thought Sammy
Slack. 1' The fox is on the trail."

In the smoker he took the seat sug-
gested by Captain Sleek and smiled as
the train pulled out. '

The person he had seen was in the
same coach, but now he did not appear
to be watching him.

Sammy tried to look unconcerned, but
he could not quiet histrestiVe mind.

He was tolling a detective to his doom.

He’Was playing the greatest hand he
had ever held, and the cards seemed to

He

    
  

 

come naturally from the pack of rate.
'1‘ egt nslip through the suburbs
1 i m

 

   

lowed 'them‘ all throu 11
rather is dead 8.

 

   

ive to Sammy’s mind, but it could not,
obliterate the man’s surroundings.

Woodsdale would soon be reached.

He wondered if Captain Sleek was
ready with the trap.

He wondered, too, what plan he had
taken to tell the detective that fortune
awaited him in Woodsdale. ;

Ah, Carlo was sleek; he knew just what
to do, and~——

The whistle sounded in the night, and
the few lignts of the little station came
into view.

Sammy prepared to quit the car.

As he rose he glanced at the suspected
man; he was rising too.

“ We’ve caught the fox,” thought Mr.
Slack. “ rl\he game is ours."

The next moment he stood on
platform of Woodsdale Station.

     
 
  
   
 
 
 
 
  
  
   
   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
 
  
   
   
  
  
  
  
   
     
    
     
   
  
   
  
    
   
    
 
 
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
      

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CHAPTER XXX. .

THE VANISHMENT OF SARA snoox. ‘ »

Let us for a moment turn from
these scenes occurring outside the great
city at night and go back to the metrop-
olis itself to witness the end of a swift
career.

The visit of Sammy Slack to Blair
Jenks and the intervention of Sara Shook
Was an episode that more‘than startled
that young blade. '

The woman who held in her heart .
the secret of his life stood and gazed 3}
at him after Sammy’s departure. *

“ You don’t know who you are, young
man,” she suddenly said.

“My God! do you?”

Sara put out her hands to ward off
the youth, who darted forward,- and a
laugh rippled over her lips.

“ They call you Blair Jenks,” said she. 2i

“ But I am not. He says so." ' ' 

u He I?" 

“Jarold Jenks. In his own home he ft
revealed the past and his wife confirmed
the terrible revelation."

“Isn’t that enough?”

“ I would know it all. I would know the
whole secret in its dark details. Some-
thing tells me that you know, woman.
You must be the-nurse."

There was a sudden start by Sara
Shook, and she cast her eyes to the
floor.

“Let me keep the secret,” said she.

“You shall not.” v 2‘
' He dashed at her, and beating down 
her arms, dressed. her by main force
over to the chair at the table and thrust
her into it.

“ You leave that chair when you have
disclosed the secret, and not before
then," he went on. “ You must be Bare.
Shook, the name Martha Jenks muttered ‘
in my presence. Now, go on.".

She did not answer him, but merely
looked up into his ram and seemed to
hurl defiance into his teeth. |

“The door is locked and the key is in
my pocket,” cried Prince Bullion. ' ‘

“ I swore never to tell the secret with-
out his bidding, but since I have already
broken that vow—for death absolves me
—-—I can tell you.”

He did not speak, but watched her,
his face pale and his hands in a quiver.

Then for the next iive minutes Sara
Shook talked rapidly but in low tones.

Blair listened spellbound and did not
once interrupt her.

“ You have the story now,” said the
woman, at the conclusion of her startling
narrative. “ Youbknow that what he told
you that night in the library, when he
came home with the strange face Nine-
pins had given him, was the truth, ter-
rible as it seemed then. Diamond Dess 4‘
was the child God gave the pair, and
you—’ ,

“ You need not stop there!" cried
Blair.

There was no reply, the woman look-
ing up at him from the depths of the
chair. with her breath almost stopped.

“ Tell it all! You have kept track of
me, for you would not have kept track
of Diamond Dess without knowing what 1‘
became of my parents.” ‘ V

“I kept track anthem.

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Blair Jenks’s lips came together at
this and he winced, but did not speak.

“He died branded for a crime which
belonged to him. He was guilty. You
cannot go back and say he was innocent,
for he was not. Your father committed
murder.”

“A felon‘s son! And my mother?
Of .course she was little better,” said
Blair, bitterly.

The face before him grew ghastly.

“You should think well of your
mother," said Sara Shook. *

“But if the father was so steeped in
crime the wife should have' saved him.
She may have been criminal too.”

“ She is living, but she wishes she were
dead," came from the ashen lips of the
woman. ‘

“ So do I!"

The next moment Sara Shook's tall
figure stood before Prince Bullion, and
her eyes appeared to look him through.

“Your mother stands before you," she
cried.

There was a swift recoil on the young
man‘s part, and his hands pushed her
back.

“ You, viperess? Then, indeed, am I a
snake's hatching," he almost thundered.

“Don’t touch me! You my mother?
Then you did the lowest crime a woman
evendid. You gave away your own for
money. You sold your child for a na-
bob's gold. You gave me a name which
was not mine, and let me live to see the
years of manhood, only to hurl me into
the depths where you grovelled! ”

“ Nevertheless, you have had a life we
could not have given you,” she said.

“I have lived in the light of crime,
and I have touched the waters of ruin.
You my mother? There’s the door!”

He opened the door and covered the
portal with his hand.

Sara Shook hesitated.

9‘ The world is out there. In my heart
you have no place. Go, or I’ll strangle

She advanced a step and stopped.

“I have another revelation."

“One’s enough? Gal”? “' " "

“ You don’t know who killed Di'amond
near" ’. ‘ ‘ .

“I would have killed her myself if I
had suspected the truth ,” he exclaimed.
“ The hand that killed her has my
thanks."

“But, my son—"

“ Not that name in my presence! The
door is open and the path for you to
tread henceforth lies out there."

He would have seized her, but she
slipped past him.
haIn the doorway she paused and looked

ck.

The angular face was dark and the
eyes strangely afire.

“ The path you ‘are on is‘ nearly ended.”
she said with uplifted arm. “ You stand
in the shadow of ‘fate, and why not,
when you are a felon’s child? What's
ahead for you now? Where's the path
with one ray of sunlight? The whole
city will know the truth. New York will
discover the“:! “Blair Jenks is Boston
Kent.” .

Blair cried aloud in his agony, and
the woman merely laughed.

" I'll find ,Jarold Jenks and settle With
him for this deception which has dragged
me to the level of the lowest."

“ Then you will settle with the dead!"

Blair heard the last word as he sprang
tOWard the statue in the door and landed
where no one stood.

Sara Shook was gone!

He heard” her feet on the stair and
leaned out to see the last of her as she
reached the pavement.

“ My mother!” he groaned, re-entering
the room. “Driven from one hell to
another, where is there a spot of peace
for me? Why not hunt her down and
silence her tongue? She may have lied
--no. no! Her story is too true. I am a
felon's child!"

Blair dropped into a chair, and the
moments slippingby found him there

 
   
 

 

And the woman? '

Back she went to the scene of death.

Sara Shook seemed to take a wild dea-
light in the revelation she had made.

Once she said aloud:

“It makes all things even.
ran over me in the streets with his rig

Once he

and tumbled me into the gutter. Then
I went to the hospital and endured the
tortures of the accident ward for three
months. I have ‘evened up’ with him,
though he is of my flesh and blood. I
knew the blow would break his spirit
and crush him. He is proud and haughty,
and in the heyday of his fame he rode
on the top Waves. It did me no good
to see my offspring there. When I had
committed the crime of years ago I hard-
ened my heart and lived on Jarold
Jenks’s gold, taking it in‘ payment for
my silence and my crime. Why endure
the rest? They will ask me why he died
in my house. They will want to know
why he left a message on the wall over
the couch, and the man-hunters of Goth-
am will give me no rest. Why play out
the game against those ferrets, Sara
Shook?”

She went into the little room with its
silent tenant and remained there some
time.

“I could create a sensation before I
go by telling who killed Diamond Dess,”
she went on, halting in the parlor on the
first floor. “I could simplify matters;
why not do it? They will find him in
the end. He cannot escape these men
of the trail. He will fall into snares
they set for him. But I might give them
a clew. I know who is on the trail. I
know the man at whom I shot, to shatter
the wall over his head and spoil Jarold
Jenks’s last sentence. Why not tell
him?"

She sat down and wrote at a table for
half an hour.

The clock ticked on and the day
waned.

Sara Shook wrote laboriously, for she
was no scholar and the sentences
dropped slowly from her pen.

At last she rose and folded the paper.

She sealed it in an envelope and wrote
upon it the name of “ Thomas Tracer,
Detective, City,” then looked at :it once
more as if satisfied, and hid it' in her
bosom.

Ten minutes later the tall figure of
Sara Shook glided through sunlight and
gvlzzd‘ow ,along the pavements of New

She stopped at a letter—box and mailed
her letter. ,

As she turned away she smiled as if
to remind herself or the coolness of her
well-planned act, ‘ '

No one saw her now. a ‘ “

She swept on toward the Bridge,
tracked by no one and regarded not by
a single one in the throngs of hurrying
thousands.

But suddenly some one touched her
arm.

The woman looked. over her shoulder
and uttered a slight scream. ’

“I know you, madam. You are the
lady who once called on Mr. flank: and
had a long talk with him in the private
office. I am Frank Flint, the special
accountant of the bank."

“ And you want to see me? ' Not now!"

and Sara Shook tore loose from the
young man’s grip and pressed on.
,“ It’s the same“ woman; there's not the
least doubt of it,” said the bookkeeper.
“Jasper would know her, too, if he could
see her. She knows where Jenks is.
Shall I let her escape me? I can't af-
ford to.” ,

But the tall shape was already gone,
and Frank Flint stared into the crowd
which had swallowed her up. .

He turned back, the last person to rec-
ognize Sam Shock, the nurse, alive.

He returned to his little quarters and
once more thought of his meeting with
the dark-faced creature.

“ I should have held her,” said he. “ I

 

see what I have missed. The detective

know whatI, "3 do} ;
' it.

‘With

  
 
 

  
  

wanted to
Di

more. ‘ '

   

 

but perhaps he knew. She gave it to
me for a little favor done her in the park
one night. Does he know that? I see
how it might get me into trouble, now
that she‘s been murdered, and I’ll let it
go.” ‘
Frank Flint did not quit the house ‘-
until night once more spread her wings .
over the city. 

Then he slipped from his lodgings and ‘
went up—town.

The door of Abel Marks’s mansion
opened to him and Nora greeted him in
the hall.

Possibly if .he had gone in another di-
rection he might have seen a crowd of
people bending over something silent

and human in shape on one of the piers. if;
He might have edged his way into the 

crowd and looked down into the drenched '5
face and dark features of the woman ‘
who had been fished from the river. ' 

But ,he did not see this; he looked ‘i;
into a living face and sparkling eyes. -“

He did “not hear the swish of the wat-
ers that sang the song of the dead; he
did not stand where little pools gath-
ered on the pier and look into the face
of Sara Shook.

And when he left the house the clocks
struck eleven, and at that moment, some
miles out of New York, Sammy Slack
and the fox of the trail alighted at
Woodsdale Station and by different:
ways betook themselves to the house
among the cedars.

The Train Spotter stood at the thresh-
old of victory, if the hand of the enemy
was not strong enough to deprive of
triumph the man who never failed, no
matter who opposed him on the trail of
crime.

    
  
  
 
    
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
  
  
  
   
  
  
   
   
  
   
    
 
    
   
  
  
   
   
    
    
  
   
   
  
  
   
   
  
  
     
  
   
   
   
  
     

 

CHAPTER XXXI.
ms FOX'S LAST RUN. _

Sammy was so sure of his game that “
he chuckled nearly all the way to the ‘
house among the cedars.

Well did he know that the detective,
the cool and cautious Tracer, was in the
toils, and that beyond the~door of the
little house which had been Abel Marks’s ‘
prison Captain Sleek waited for the ;
prey. '

Sammy proceeded toward the trap with _
such feelings, but near the door he hid
among the trees and waited. ‘

He wanted to see thegame go in; he- ,.
wanted to make sure that the bird was / "
in the snare; and then, valiant fellow
that he was, he would‘try and be in at“.
the death. .

Hidden by the trees, he held his breath .
and watched. 

Suddenly he heard footsteps cookies ,;
that he started and looked with attend. '
ed eyes. I " ’ 

A shadow with human shape stood be-
fore him, and before he could raise a
hand he was in the trap himself!

It was a rude awakening to a cher. 3
ished'dream, and the revolver that looked ' ’
into his face from the distance of two .
feet sent a cold chill through his blood. 

“ Carlo is'yonder,” said the apparition.
“ He is in the trap set for me.” -

Sammy could not find his tongue till
the cold barrel of the weapon 
his forehead. i 

“ You will come with me, Mr. Slack.
You will ring and see that Carlo 
the signal. ‘ ‘v ‘ '

Sammy's knees seemed to smite one
another, but he could do nothing less
than obey. , , ‘ ‘ ' 

He shuffled toward the house and *
mounted the porch with Tom the de-
tective. . '

There was no‘ reply, but the door was"
opened. * '

men. '.

i Sammy looked pleased, but said home

as. . ,
“ Is he gone?” asked the ferret. “He.

was here. He sent you to toll me thither;

didn’t he?"
[Silence and a biting of lips, nothing-
'Ikacer searched the house. A
' 'm‘“? ‘- '

 
   
    
  
    
   

  

     
   
 
  

   
 

 
 

 

 
 

 

 

  

 

   
 

32

The TrainwDetective.

 

 

The whistle of a train from the north ‘
startled Sammy Slack and he caught,
the detective’s eye.

“ He is going back to the city, I under- l
stand. Carlo Mayne, alias Captain
Sleek, is making his last run, Mr. Slack.”

It was true.

The human figure that boarded the:
night express for New York cuddled
down in a seat in the darkest part of
the foremost coach and looked a bitter
look at the little depot as it vanished.

The next morning in the first flushes,
of dawn the detective landed in the city. 1

He was not alone, but in a short time
he had lost his companion, and the tall
figure of Sammy Slack might have been
seen behind the bars of a station-house
cell.

“Now for the main bird!” said Tom.

The man who ran up the steps of the
fine nest on 0—— Street did not look
much like the Train Spotter, but it was
he.

Silence greeted him in the house and
the fragrance of Havanas permeated the
parlor.

But Captain Sleek was gone.

Tom Tracer moved from room to room
and from floor to floor.

Always on the alert, he sought for the
fugitive, for the confession drawn from
Sammy Slack, willing to betray his part—
ner in the shadow of the noose, had re-
moved the last vestige of the curtain of
mystery involving the fate of Diamond
Dess.

At last the detective came back to a
certain little room in the house and lifted
a trap door in the floor.

Revolver in hand, he descended a
flight of narrow steps, and with the lan—
tern he carried made his way down a
dark passage to a door set in the solid
wall.

He found this door locked, and be—
yond it, so far as he knew, lay silence
and the river.

For some time the ferret stood at this
door and then went back.

It opened behind him, and just as he
shut the door at the foot of the stairs.

The face that looked out from the
darkness was wild and full of vengeance.

It was the face Ninepins had fixed up,
but it had Captain Sleek’s cold eyes, now
seeming to flash with a strange light.

Tom Tracer came back to the door.

This time he found it unlocked.

He pushed it open and held up his
lantern.

As the light penetrated the gloom
ahead he uttered a cry, for against the
stone wall of the dungeon stood a man,
and in his hand was gripped the coward’s
. weapon, the dagger.

Tracer touched the man and the body
dropped, the dagger, a black-handled
one, falling with it to the stones.

The detective, knew he was at the end
of the trail.

He had found the murderer of Diamond
Dess, but the bar of earthly Justice
would never call him to account.

Captain Sleek, alias Carlo Mayne, the
husband of the poor girl, was beyond
the hand of human vengeance, and the
detective saw that the same dagger
which had taken the girl‘s life had
avenged her. '

Sammy Slack had told the plot.

He_.detailed how he and Carlo Mayne
had plotted to rob the Wall Street firm
of Marks & Jenks, how they enticed
Abel Marks from the city to Woodsdale
as a part of the plot, how they intended
to rob him, first by holding him for
ransom and afterward by blackmail, the
Captain having discovered a chapter
from his past which was not just of the
best, and how they expected to fleece
Jarold Jenks in much the_ same manner,
but principally through his supposed son,
Blair.

It was not until after the death of
Diamond Dess, killed in a passion by
Carlo. who, the first night Tom Tracer
saw him emerge from the girl’s house
from the old General’s window, Went

 

back unobserved, quarrelled with his

I
in

beautiful wife and stabbed her, that the
young head of the plot discovered that
she was Jarold Jenks’s child, and it was
this discovery which angered him so in-
tensely against himself.

Abel Marks recovered the papers which

, Carlo took from his house by deception,

and that before they were read by any
one, and the little secret of his past was
made safe by fire.

Jarold Jenks’s widow sold the mansion
and disappeared soon after his death,
while Prince Bullion, the son of Sara
Shook, took the downward course and in
a brief time reached the end of the
primrose path.

Some wondered why he vanished, but
he kept the secret revealed by Sara to

the end of his career, and left behind.
him nothing but the record of a blighted '

name.

Sammy Slack got the full term for
conspiracy, and Waters recovered his
mind, but often went back to the time
when he " fought fate,” as he called it,
and only missed catching the murderer
of Diamond Dess by a hair.

Nora Marks became the wife of Frank
Flint, the young accountant, while Jas-
per, the bookkeeper, remained in the
employ of the banking house on Wall
Street.

The old General drifted away from the ‘
house opposite the scene of Carlo’s r

crime and vanished completely, and Tom
Tracer did not care to keep track of him.

BUFFALO BILL NOVELS.
By Colonel Prentiss Ingraham.

900 Buffalo Bill’s Rough Riders.
895 Buffalo Bill’s Secret Ally.
890 Buffalo Bill’s LifeStake.
882 The Three Bills: Bufi'alo Bill,Wild Bill and Band—
box Bill; or. The Bravo in Broadcloth.
874 Buffalo Mill's Buckskin Braves.
869 Buffalo Bill’s Road-Agent Round-up.
863 Buffalo Bill‘s Death Charm.
857 Buffalo Bill’s Roval Flush.
851 Buffalo Bill‘s llouble Dilemma.
V 845 Buffalo Bill’s Redskin Ruse.
; 8‘30 Buffalo Bill‘s Bovs in Blue.
1 826 Buffalo Bill’s She Shooters.
82:2 Bud'an Bill’s Best wer.
816 Buffalo Bill's Red Trail.
812 Buffalo Bill’s Death-Knell.
794 Buffalo Bill’s Winning Band.
787 Buffalo Bill’s Dead Shot.
781 Buffalo Bill's Brand.
777 Buffalo Bill‘s Spy Shadower.
769 Buffalo Bill's Sweepstake.
765 Buffalo Bill’s Dozen: or, Silk Ribbon Sam.
‘ 761 Buffalo Bill’s Mascot.
' 757 Buffalo Bill’s Double.
750 Buffalo Bill‘s Bii- Four;or, Custer's Shadow.
748 Buffalo Bill’s Flush Hand.
739 Buffalo Bill’s Blind: or. The Masked Driver.
1 735 Buffalo Bill and His Merry Men.
1 731 Buflnlo Bill's Beagles; or Silk Lasso Sam.
, 727 Buffalo Bill‘s Body Gus .
l 722 Buffalo Bill on the War- th.
: 716 Buffalo Bill’s Scout She owers.
I 710 Buflalo Bill Baffled; or, The lleserter Desperado.
' 697 Buffalo Bill's Buckskin Brotherhood.
‘ 691 Buffalo Bill’s Blind Traii' or, Mustang Mad e.
667 Buffalo Bill‘s Swoop; or, The King of the M nee.
l 658 The Cowboy Clan; or, The T 88 of Texas.
. 653 Lasso Ki ’3 Lea e;or.Buc Taylor in Texas.
i 649 Buffalo Bi '8 Chie of Cowboys; or. Buck Taylor
. 644 Buffalo Bill‘s Bonanza; or. Silver Girdle Knights.
362 Buffalo Bill's Gri : or. Oath Bound to Custer.
829 Buffalo Bill’s Pl ge: or. The League of Three.
‘ 189 Wild Bill‘s Gold Trail; or. The Desperate Dozen.
175 Wild Bill’s Trump Card: or, The Indian Heiress.
168 Wild Bill, the Pistol Dead Shot.

But for the cleverness of the Train'

Spotter the plot against Abel Marks,

would have been successful, and Captain
Sleek and his partner not only would
have reaped a harvest of gold, but the
mystery of Diamond Dess would have
remained one of the unsolved puzzles of
city crime.

,If Captain Sleek died in the little un-
derground chamber which he had set
apart for a moment of desperation,
Sammy Slack walked from the prison
and tried 'to become a better man; but
the old life was too much for him, and
he fell back into his crooked paths and
in time became Convict No. 2,223, and
looked out upon little patches of sky
through the iron diamond.

Tracer was very properly proud of his
last exploit, and after receiving the
thanks of the Inspector went back to
his duty, and the Train Spotter is to-day
one of the keenest ferrets in the City of
Millions and Mystery.

THE END.

 

NEXT DIME LIBRARY, NUMBER 904!

BUTTALI] BILL’S TANHLED TRAIL;

Gentleman J ack, the Man of Many Masks

BY COL. PRENTISS INGRAHAM.

 

 

Beadle’s  library.

BY CAPTAIN HOWARD HOLMES.

896 Kent Keen, the Crook-Crusher.

888 Ni htshade in New York.

879 Fa con F1 nn, the Flash Detective.
871 The Croo Cashier.

859 Clew-Hawk Keene’s Right Bower.

847 Hiram Hawk, the Harlem Detective.
840 Major Bullion, Boss of the Tigers.
88! Shadowing the London Detective.

817 Plush Velvet. the Prince of Spotters.
803 The Bogus Broker's Right Bower.

788 The N ight—Hawk Detective.

779 Silk Ribbon's Crush-out.

766 Detective Zach, the Broadway Spotter.
751 The Dark Lantern Dem ctive.

736 The Never—Fail Detective.

724 Captain Hercules. the Strong Arm Detective.
711 Dan Damon, the Gilt-Ed e Detective.
701 Silver Stew, the Brande Sport.

694 Gideon Grip, the Secret Shadower.
684 VeiVet Van, the Mystery Shadower.
678 The Dude Desperado

671 Jason Clew the Silk-Handed Ferret.
664 Monk More , the Man-Hunter.

654 Sol S hinx. the Ferret Detective.

612 Red ard and Yellow

608 Silent Sam the Shadow Sphinx.

592 Ca tain Sid, the Shasta Ferret.

579 Ol Cormorant. the Bowery Shadow.
569 Capinin Cobra, the Hooded Mystery.
559 Danton. the Shadow Sharp.

550 Silk Hand. the lithium: Ferret.

i . . . ‘.v 5 ‘\ x' . . I . ‘ .
y i ~i. 0 . LJ 1 , ’ i.’ =
I 1th N. “I W 'Li,‘ .Jt'nnirhvsk/ttiup»: .4 #1:. a ‘4 a . 4 ‘ . w."  1 ., a‘, .,

By Bu 17:10 Bill.

889 The Ranch King Dead-Shot.

820 White Beaver’s Still Hunt.

80? Wild Bill, the Wild West Duelist.

800 Wild Bill, the Dead-Center Shot.

639 Buffalo Bill's Gold King.

599 The Dead Shot Nine: or, My Pards of the Plains.
l 414 Red Renard. the Indian Detective.
v 401 One-Armed Pard; or, Borderland Retribution.
' 397 The Wizard Brothers: or, White Beaver’s Trail.

394 White Beaver, the Exile of the Platte.
; 319 Wild Bill. the Whirlwind of the West.
I 304 Texas Jack. the Prairie Rattler.
l 243 The Pilgrim Sharp: or. The Soldier‘s Sweetheart.
83 Gold Bullet Snort: or, Knights of the Overland.
52 Death-Trailer. the Chief of Scouts.

By Leon Lewis, Ned Buntllne, etc.

773 Buffalo B-ll’s Ban; or. Cody to the Rescue.
682 Buffalo Bill’s Secret Service Trail. 1
629 Buffalo Bill‘s Daring Role; or. Daredeath Dick.
517 Buffalo Bill's First rail; or. The Express Rider.
158 Buffalo Bill, Chief of Scouts.
117 Buffalo Bill 3 Strange Pard: or, Dashing Dandy.
92 Buffalo Bill, the Buckskin. King.

1
BY LIEUT. A. K. SIMS.

897 The Six-Shot Spotter.

887 The Stranger Sport from Spokane.

878 The Sport Detective's Colorado Clew.

860 The Spangled gfort Shadower.

843 PM Crescmt ty Sport.

832 Gid Gale’s Block Game.

804 The King Pin of the Leedville Lions.

786 Chicago Charlie’s Diamond Haul.

776 Chicago Charlie, the Columbian Detective.

758 The Wizarl King Detective.

723 Teamster Tom, the Boomer Detective.

709 Lodestone Lem, the Cham ion of Chestnut Burr.
695 Singer Sam, the Pi m tective.

688 River Bustiers; or t e Detective from ’Wey Back
673 Stuttering Sam the Whitest s rt of Santa. Fe.
666 Old Adamant, the Man of Roe .
618 Kansas Kari, the Detective King.

552 Prince Primrose. the Flower of the Flock. '
58 Huckleberry, the FoohHills Detective.

BY J W. OSBON.

877 Cool Creede, the Deed-Shot.
759 The S rt from St. Louis. -
518 Boys. Richard, the Thoroughbred.

NEW ISSUES.
906 The Train Detective: 0r, Captain Sieek’s Cool
Strike. By Capt. Howard Holmes.

904 Buffalo Bill‘s Tangled Trail; or, Gentleman Jack
the Man of Many i asks. By Col. P. Ingrsham.

905 Shasta Sam, the vigparlner; or, Kent Keen‘s
Knock-out. By J. .Osbon.

LATEST ISSUES.
902 Soft Velvet, the Men from Sendrock; or, The
Gold Bank Sports. By Wm. R. Eyster.

901 The Hotel Swell-Sharp; or, The Siren Shadower.
BY Albert W. Aiken.

900 Buffalo Bill’s Rough Riders: or, Texas Jack's
Sharp-Shooters By Col. P. Ingraham.

899 The Double~Quick Defective: or High Bustling
for the Man in Gray. By Wm. . Manning. 3
A new issue every Wednesday.

Beadle’s Dime Library is for sale by all
Newsdealers. ten cents per copy. or sent by mail on
receipt of twelve cents each. BEADLE & ADAMS,
Publishers, 98 William street, New york.