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THE OAKDALE AFFAIR .................................................................................................................................1

EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS ................................................................................................................1

The house on the hill showed lights only upon the first floorin the spacious reception hall, the dining room,

and those more or less mysterious purLieus thereof from which emanate disagreeable odors and agreeable

From behind a low bush across the wide lawn a pair of eyes transferred to an alert brain these simple

perceptions from which the brain deduced with Sherlockian accuracy and Raffleian purpose that the family of

the president of The First National Bank ofOh, let's call it Oakdalewas at dinner, that the servants were

The owner of the eyes had but recently descended from the quarters of the chauffeur above the garage which

he had entered as a thief in the night and quitted apparelled in a perfectly good suit of clothes belonging to the

gentlemanly chauffeur and a soft, checked cap which was now pulled well down over a pair of large brown

eyes in which a rather strained expression might have suggested to an alienist a certain neophytism which

Apparently this was a youth steeling himself against a natural repugnance to the dangerous profession he had

espoused; and when, a moment later, he stepped out into the moonlight and crossed the lawn toward the

house, the slender, graceful lines which the illfitting clothes could not entirely conceal carried the

The brazen assurance with which the lad crossed the lawn and mounted the steps to the verandah suggested a

familiarity with the habits and customs of the inmates of the house upon the hill which bespoke long and

careful study of the contemplated job. An old timer could not have moved with greater confidence. No detail

seemed to have escaped his cunning calculation. Though the door leading from the verandah into the

reception hall swung wide to the balmy airs of late Spring the prowler passed this blatant invitation to the

hospitality of the House of Prim. It was as though he knew that from his place at the head of the table, with

his back toward the great fire place which is the pride of the Prim dining hall, Jonas Prim commands a view

Stooping low the youth passed along the verandah to a window of the darkened librarya French window

which swung open without noise to his light touch. Stepping within he crossed the room to a door which

opened at the foot of a narrow stairwaya convenient little stairway which had often let the Hon. Jonas Prim

to pass from his library to his second floor bedroom unnoticed when Mrs. Prim chanced to be entertaining

the feminine elite of Oakdale across the hall. A convenient little stairway for retiring husbands and diffident

The darkness of the upper hallway offered no obstacle to this familiar housebreaker. He passed the tempting

luxury of Mrs. Prim's boudoir, the chaste elegance of Jonas Prim's bedroom with all the possibilities of

forgotten wallets and negotiable papers, setting his course straight for the apartments of Abigail Prim, the

spinster daughter of the First National Bank of Oakdale. Or should we utilize a more charitable and at the

same time more truthful word than spinster? I think we should, since Abigail was but nineteen and quite

Upon the dressing table of Abigail reposed much silver and gold and ivory, wrought by clever artisans into

articles of great beauty and some utility; but with scarce a glance the burglar passed them by, directing his

course straight across the room to a small wall safe cleverly hidden by a bit of tapestry.

How, Oh how, this suggestive familiarity with the innermost secrets of a virgin's sacred apartments upon the

part of one so obviously of the male persuasion and, by his all too apparent calling, a denizen of that

underworld of which no Abigail should have intimate knowledge ? Yet, truly and with scarce a faint

indication of groping, though the room was dark, the marauder walked directly to the hidden safe, swung

back the tapestry in its frame, turned the knob of the combination and in a moment opened the circular door

A fat roll of bills and a handful of jewelry he transferred to the pockets of his coat. Some papers which his

hand brushed within the safe he pushed aside as though preadvised of their inutility to one of his calling.

Then he closed the safe door, closed the tapestry upon it and turned toward a dainty dressing table. From a

drawer in this exquisite bit of Sheraton the burglar took a small, nickel plated automatic, which he slipped

into an inside breast pocket of his coat, nor did he touch another article therein or thereon, nor hesitate an

instant in the selection of the drawer to be rifled. His knowledge of the apartment of the daughter of the house

of Prim was little short of uncanny. Doubtless the fellow was some plumber's apprentice who had made good

use of an opportunity to study the lay of the land against a contemplated invasion of these holy precincts.

But even the most expert of second story men nod and now that all seemed as though running on greased rails

a careless elbow raked a silver candlestick from the dressing table to the floor where it crashed with a

resounding din that sent cold shivers up the youth's spine and conjured in his mind a sudden onslaught of

The noise of the falling candlestick sounded to the taut nerved housebreaker as might the explosion of a

stick of dynamite during prayer in a meeting house. That all Oakdale had heard it seemed quite possible,

while that those below stairs were already turning questioning ears, and probably inquisitive footsteps,

Adjoining Miss Prim's boudoir was her bath and before the door leading from the one to the other was a

cretonne covered screen behind which the burglar now concealed himself the while he listened in rigid

apprehension for the approach of the enemy; but the only sound that came to him from the floor below was

the deep laugh of Jonas Prim. A profound sigh of relief escaped the beardless lips; for that laugh assured the

youth that, after all, the noise of the fallen candlestick had not alarmed the household.

With knees that still trembled a bit he crossed the room and passed out into the hallway, descended the stairs,

and stood again in the library. Here he paused a moment listening to the voices which came from the dining

room. Mrs. Prim was speaking. "I feel quite relieved about Abigail," she was saying. "I believe that at last she

sees the wisdom and the advantages of an alliance with Mr. Benham, and it was almost with enthusiasm that

she left this morning to visit his sister. I am positive that a week or two of companionship with him will

impress upon her the fine qualities of his nature. We are to be congratulated, Jonas, upon settling our

Jonas Prim grunted. "Sam Benham is old enough to be the girl's father," he growled. "If she wants him, all

right; but I can't imagine Abbie wanting a baldheaded husband with rheumatism. I wish you'd let her alone,

"The child is not old enough to judge wisely for herself," replied Mrs. Prim. "It was my duty to arrange a

proper alliance; and, Jonas, I will thank you not to call me Pudgyit is perfectly ridiculous for a woman of

The burglar did not hear Mr. Prim's reply for he had moved across the library and passed out onto the

verandah. Once again he crossed the lawn, taking advantage of the several trees and shrubs which dotted it,

scaled the low stone wall at the side and was in the concealing shadows of the unlighted side street which

bounds the Prim estate upon the south. The streets of Oakdale are flanked by imposing battalions of elm and

maple which overarch and meet above the thoroughfares; and now, following an early Spring, their foliage

eclipsed the infrequent arclights to the eminent satisfaction of those nocturnal wayfarers who prefer neither

publicity nor the spot light. Of such there are few within the well ordered precincts of lawabiding Oakdale;

but tonight there was at least one and this one was deeply grateful for the gloomy walks along which he

At last he found himself upon a country road with the odors of Spring in his nostrils and the world before

him. The night noises of the open country fell strangely upon his ears accentuating rather than relieving the

myriad noted silence of Nature. Familiar sounds became unreal and weird, the deep bass of innumerable bull

frogs took on an uncanny humanness which sent a half shudder through the slender frame. The burglar felt a

sad loneliness creeping over him. He tried whistling in an effort to shake off the depressing effects of this

seeming solitude through which he moved; but there remained with him still the hallucination that he moved

alone through a strange, new world peopled by invisible and unfamiliar formsmenacing shapes which

He ceased his whistling and went warily upon the balls of his feet, lest he unnecessarily call attention to his

presence. If the truth were to be told it would chronicle the fact that a very nervous and frightened burglar

sneaked along the quiet and peaceful country road outside of Oakdale. A lonesome burglar, this, who so

craved the companionship of man that he would almost have welcomed joyously the detaining hand of the

law had it fallen upon him in the guise of a flesh and blood police officer from Oakdale.

In leaving the city the youth had given little thought to the practicalities of the open road. He had thought,

rather vaguely, of sleeping in a bed of new clover in some hospitable fence corner; but the fence corners

looked very dark and the wide expanse of fields beyond suggested a mysterious country which might be

At a farm house the youth hesitated and was almost upon the verge of entering and asking for a night's

lodging when a savage voiced dog shattered the peace of the universe and sent the burglar along the road at a

A half mile further on a straw stack loomed large within a fenced enclosure. The youth wormed his way

between the barbed wires determined at last to let nothing prevent him from making a cozy bed in the deep

straw beside the stack. With courage radiating from every pore he strode toward the stack. His walk was

almost a swagger, for thus does youth dissemble the bravery it yearns for but does not possess. He almost

whistled again; but not quite, since it seemed an unnecessary provocation to disaster to call particular

attention to himself at this time. An instant later he was extremely glad that he had refrained, for as he

approached the stack a huge bulk slowly loomed from behind it; and silhouetted against the moonlit sky he

saw the vast proportions of a great, shaggy bull. The burglar tore the inside of one trousers' leg and the back

of his coat in his haste to pass through the barbed wire fence onto the open road. There he paused to mop the

For another mile the now tired and discouraged housebreaker plodded, heavy footed, the unending road. Did

vain compunction stir his youthful breast? Did he regret the safe respectability of the plumber's apprentice ?

Or, if he had not been a plumber's apprentice did he yearn to once again assume the unharried peace of

whatever legitimate calling had been his before he bent his steps upon the broad boulevard of sin? We think

And then he saw through the chinks and apertures in the half ruined wall of what had once been a hay barn

the rosy flare of a genial light which appeared to announce in all but human terms that man, red blooded and

hospitable, forgathered within. No growling dogs, no bulking bulls contested the short stretch of weed grown

ground between the road and the disintegrating structure; and presently two wide, brown eyes were peering

through a crack in the wall of the abandoned building. What they saw was a small fire built upon the earth

floor in the center of the building and around the warming blaze the figures of six men. Some reclined at

length upon old straw; others squatted, Turk fashion. All were smoking either disreputable pipes or rolled

cigarets. Bleareyed and foxyeyed, bearded and stubbled cheeked, young and old, were the men the youth

looked upon. All were more or less dishevelled and filthy; but they were human. They were not dogs, or

bulls, or croaking frogs. The boy's heart went out to them. Something that was almost a sob rose in his throat,

and then he turned the corner of the building and stood in the doorway, the light from the fire playing upon

his lithe young figure clothed in its torn and illfitting suit and upon his oval face and his laughing brown eyes.

For several seconds he stood there looking at the men around the fire. None of them had noticed him.

"Tramps!" thought the youth. "Regular tramps." He wondered that they had not seen him, and then, clearing

Six heads snapped up or around. Six pairs of eyes, blear or foxy, were riveted upon the boyish figure of the

housebreaker. "Wotinel!" ejaculated a frowzy gentleman in a frock coat and golf cap. "Wheredju blow

The youth came slowly toward the fire. "I saw your fire," he said, "and I thought I'd stop. I'm a tramp, too,

"Oh," sighed the elderly person in the frock coat. "He's a tramp, he is. An' does he think gents like us has any

The youth flushed. "Oh say!" he cried; "you needn't kid me just because I'm new at it. You all had to start

sometime. I've always longed for the free life of a tramp; and if you'll let me go along with you for a little

The elderly person frowned. "Beat it, kid!" he commanded. "We ain't runnin' no day nursery. These you see

here is all the real thing. Maybe we asks fer a handout now and then; but that ain't our reg'lar lay. You ain't

swift enough to travel with this bunch, kid, so you'd better duck. Why we gents, here, if we was added up is

wanted in about twentyseven cities fer about everything from rollin' a souse to crackin' a box and croakin' a

bull. You gotta do something before you can train wid gents like us, see?" The speaker projected a stubbled

jaw, scowled horridly and swept a flattened palm downward and backward at a right angle to a hairy arm in

The boy had stood with his straight, black eyebrows puckered into a studious frown, drinking in every word.

Now he straightened up. "I guess I made a mistake," he said, apologetically. "You ain't tramps at all. You're

thieves and murderers and things like that." His eyes opened a bit wider and his voice sank to a whisper as the

words passed his lips. "But you haven't so much on me, at that," he went on, "for I'm a regular burglar, too,"

and from the bulging pockets of his coat he drew two handfuls of greenbacks and jewelry. The eyes of the six

registered astonishment, mixed with craft and greed. "I just robbed a house in Oakdale," explained the boy. "I

For a moment his auditors were too surprised to voice a single emotion; but presently one murmured,

soulfully: "Pipe de swag!" He of the frock coat, golf cap, and years waved a conciliatory hand. He tried to

look at the boy's face; but for the life of him he couldn't raise his eyes above the dazzling wealth clutched in

the fingers of those two small, slim hands. From one dangled a pearl necklace which alone might have

ransomed, if not a king, at least a lesser member of a royal family, while diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and

emeralds scintillated in the flaring light of the fire. Nor was the fistful of currency in the other hand to be

sneezed at. There were greenbacks, it is true; but there were also yellowbacks with the reddish gold of large

"Can't yuh take a kid?" he inquired. "I knew youse all along. Yuh can't fool an old bird like The Sky Pilot

"He's The Oskaloosa Kid," exclaimed one of the company. "I'd know 'im anywheres."

The boy stuffed his loot back into his pockets and came closer to the fire. Its warmth felt most comfortable,

for the Spring night was growing chill. He looked about him at the motley company, some halfspruce in

clothing that suggested a Kuppenmarx label and a not too far association with a tailor's goose, others in rags,

all but one unshaven and all more or less dirtyfor the open road is close to Nature, which is principally dirt.

"Shake hands with Dopey Charlie," said The Sky Pilot, whose age and corpulency appeared to stamp him

with the hall mark of authority. The youth did as he was bid, smiling into the sullen, chalkwhite face and

taking the clammy hand extended toward him. Was it a shudder that passed through the lithe, young figure or

was it merely a subconscious recognition of the final passing of the bodily cold before the glowing warmth of

the blaze? "And Soup Face," continued The Sky Pilot. A battered wreck half rose and extended a pudgy hand.

Red whiskers, matted in little tangled wisps which suggested the dried ingredients of an infinite procession of

"Pleased to meetcha," sprayed Soup Face. It was a strained smile which twisted the rather too perfect mouth

of The Oskaloosa Kid, an appellation which we must, perforce, accept since the youth did not deny it.

Columbus Blackie, The General, and Dirty Eddie were formally presented. As Dirty Eddie was, physically,

the cleanest member of the band the youth wondered how he had come by his sobriquetthat is, he

wondered until he heard Dirty Eddie speak, after which he was no longer in doubt. The Oskaloosa Kid,

selfconfessed 'tramp' and burglar, flushed at the lurid obscenity of Dirty Eddie's remarks.

"Sit down, bo," invited Soup Face. "I guess you're a regular all right. Here, have a snifter?" and he pulled a

The change in the attitude of the men toward him pleased The Oskaloosa Kid immensely. They were treating

him as one of them, and after the lonely walk through the dark and desolate farm lands human companionship

of any kind was to him as the proverbial straw to the man who rocked the boat once too often.

Dopey Charlie and The General, alone of all the company, waxed not enthusiastic over the advent of The

Oskaloosa Kid and his priceless loot. These two sat scowling and whispering in the background. "Dat's a

wrong guy," muttered the former to the latter. "He's a stool pigeon or one of dese amatoor mugs."

"It's the pullin' of that punk graft that got my goat," replied The General. "I never seen a punk yet that didn't

try to make you think he was a wise guy an' dis stiff don't belong enough even to pull a spiel that would fool

a old ladies' sewin' circle. I don't see wot The Sky Pilot' s cozyin' up to him fer."

"You don't?" scoffed Dopey Charlie. "Didn't you lamp de oyster harness? To say nothin' of de mitful of rocks

"That 'ud be all right, too," replied the other, "if we could put the guy to sleep; but The Sky Pilot won't never

stand for croakin' nobody. He's too scared of his neck. We'll look like a bunch o' wise ones, won't we? lettin' a

stranger sit in nowafter last night. Hell!" he suddenly exploded. "Don't you know that you an' me stand to

The two sat silent for a while, The General puffing on a short briar, Dopey Charlie inhaling deep draughts

from a cigarette, and both glaring through narrowed lids at the boy warming himself beside the fire where the

others were attempting to draw him out the while they strove desperately but unavailingly to keep their eyes

Soup Face, who had been assiduously communing with a pint flask, leaned close to Columbus Blackie,

placing his whiskers within an inch or so of the other's nose as was his habit when addressing another, and

"Fertheluvomike!" ejaculated Blackie, drawing back and wiping a palm quickly across his lips. "Get a

"The trouble with Soup Face," explained The Sky Pilot, "is that he's got a idea he's a human atomizer an' that

"Well, I don't want no atomizer loaded with rotgut and garlic shot in my mug," growled Blackie. "What

Soup Face needs is to be learned ettyket, an' if he comes that on me again I'm goin' to push his mush through

An ugly light came into the blear eyes of Soup Face. Once again he leaned close to Columbus Blackie. "Not a

Blackie leaped to his feet, with an oatha frightful, hideous oathand as he rose he swung a heavy fist to

Soup Face's purple nose. The latter rolled over backward; but was upon his feet again much quicker than one

would have expected in so gross a bulk, and as he came to his feet a knife flashed in his hand. With a sound

that was more bestial than human he ran toward Blackie; but there was another there who had anticipated his

intentions. As the blow was struck The Sky Pilot had risen; and now he sprang forward, for all his age and

bulk as nimble as a cat, and seized Soup Face by the wrist. A quick wrench brought a howl of pain to the

"You gotta cut that if you travel with this bunch," said The Sky Pilot in a voice that was new to The

Oskaloosa Kid; and you, too, Blackie," he continued. "The rough stuff don't go with me, see?" He hurled

The youth was astonished at the physical strength of this old man, seemingly so softened by dissipation; but it

showed him the source of The Sky Pilot's authority and its scope, for Columbus Blackie and Soup Face

Dirty Eddie rose, yawned and stretched. "Me fer the hay," he announced, and lay down again with his feet

toward the fire. Some of the others followed his example. "You'll find some hay in the loft there," said The

Sky Pilot to The Oskaloosa Kid. "Bring it down an' make your bed here by me, there's plenty room."

A half hour later all were stretched out upon the hard dirt floor upon improvised beds of rotted hay; but not

all slept. The Oskaloosa Kid, though tired, found himself wider awake than he ever before had been.

Apparently sleep could never again come to those heavy eyes. There passed before his mental vision a

panorama of the events of the night. He smiled as he inaudibly voiced the name they had given him, the right

to which he had not seen fit to deny. "The Oskaloosa Kid." The boy smiled again as be felt the 'swag' hard

and lumpy in his pockets. It had given him prestige here that he could not have gained by any other means;

but he mistook the nature of the interest which his display of stolen wealth had aroused. He thought that the

men now looked upon him as a fellow criminal to be accepted into the fraternity through achievement;

whereas they suffered him to remain solely in the hope of transferring his loot to their own pockets.

It is true that he puzzled them. Even The Sky Pilot, the most astute and intelligent of them all, was at a loss to

fathom The Oskaloosa Kid. Innocence and unsophistication flaunted their banners in almost every act and

speech of The Oskaloosa Kid. The youth reminded him in some ways of members of a Sunday school which

had flourished in the dim vistas of his past when, as an ordained minister of the Gospel, he had earned the

sobriquet which now identified him. But the concrete evidence of the valuable loot comported not with The

Sky Pilot's idea of a Sunday school boy's lark. The young fellow was, unquestionably, a thief; but that he had

"He's got me," murmured The Sky Pilot; "but he's got the stuff on him, too; and all I want is to get it off of

him without a painful operation. Tomorrow'll do," and he shifted his position and fell asleep.

Dopey Charlie and The General did not, however, follow the example of their chief. They remained very

wide awake, a little apart from the others, where their low whispers could not be overheard.

"You better do it," urged The General, in a soft, insinuating voice. "You're pretty slick with the toad stabber,

"We can go to Sout' America on dat stuff an' live like gents," muttered Dopey Charlie. "I'm goin' to cut out de

"Come out of it," admonished The General. "If we're lucky we'll get as far as Cincinnati, get a stew on and

The General was a weasel faced person of almost any age between thirtyfive and sixty. Sometimes he could

have passed for a hundred and ten. He had won his military title as a boy in the famous march of Coxey's

army on Washington, or, rather, the title had been conferred upon him in later years as a merited reward of

service. The General, profiting by the precepts of his erstwhile companions in arms, had never soiled his

military escutcheon by labor, nor had he ever risen to the higher planes of criminality. Rather as a mediocre

pickpocket and a timorous confidence man had he eked out a meager existence, amply punctuated by seasons

of straight bumming and intervals spent as the guest of various inhospitably hospitable states. Now, for the

first time in his life, The General faced the possibility of a serious charge; and his terror made him what he

"You're a cheerful guy," commented Dopey Charlie; "but you may be right at dat. Dey can't hang a guy any

higher fer two 'an they can fer one an' dat's no pipe; so wots de use. Wait till I take a shotit'll be easier,"

and he drew a small, worn case from an inside pocket, bared his arm to the elbow and injected enough

From a pile of mouldy hay across the barn the youth, heavy eyed but sleepless, watched the two through half

closed lids. A qualm of disgust sent a sudden shudder through his slight frame. For the first time he almost

regretted having embarked upon a life of crime. He had seen that the two men were conversing together

earnestly, though he could overhear nothing they said, and that he had been the subject of their nocturnal

colloquy, for several times a glance or a nod in his direction assured him of this. And so he lay watching

themnot that he was afraid, he kept reassuring himself, but through curiosity. Why should he be afraid?

But the longer he watched the heavier grew his lids. Several times they closed to be dragged open again only

by painful effort. Finally came a time that they remained closed and the young chest rose and fell in the

The two ragged, rathearted creatures rose silently and picked their way, halfcrouched, among the sleepers

sprawled between them and The Oskaloosa Kid. In the hand of Dopey Charlie gleamed a bit of shiny steel

and in his heart were fear and greed. The fear was engendered by the belief that the youth might be an

amateur detective. Dopey Charlie had had one experience of such and he knew that it was easily possible for

them to blunder upon evidence which the most experienced of operatives might pass over unnoticed, and the

Beside the boy kneeled the man with the knife. He did not raise his hand and strike a sudden, haphazard

blow. Instead he placed the point carefully, though lightly, above the victim's heart, and then, suddenly, bore

Abigail Prim always had been a thorn in the flesh of her stepmothera wellmeaning, unimaginative,

ambitious, and rather common woman. Coming into the Prim home as housekeeper shortly after the death

of Abigail's mother, the second Mrs. Prim had from the first looked upon Abigail principally as an obstacle to

be overcome. She had tried to 'do right by her'; but she had never given the child what a child most needs and

most craveslove and understanding. Not loving Abigail, the housekeeper could, naturally, not give her

love; and as for understanding her one might as reasonably have expected an adding machine to understand

Jonas Prim loved his daughter. There was nothing, within reason, that money could buy which he would not

have given her for the asking; but Jonas Prim's love, as his life, was expressed in dollar signs, while the love

which Abigail craved is better expressed by any other means at the command of man.

Being misunderstood and, to all outward appearances of sentiment and affection, unloved had not in any way

embittered Abigail's remarkably joyous temperament. made up for it in some measure by getting all the fun

and excitement out of life which she could discover therein, or invent through the medium of her own

But recently the first real sorrow had been thrust into her young life since the halfforgotten mother had been

taken from her. The second Mrs. Prim had decided that it was her 'duty' to see that Abigail, having finished

school and college, was properly married. As a matchmaker the second Mrs. Prim was as a Texas steer in a

ten cent store. It was nothing to her that Abigail did not wish to marry anyone, or that the man of Mrs. Prim's

choice, had he been the sole surviving male in the Universe, would have still been as far from Abigail's

choice as though he had been an inhabitant of one of Orion's most distant planets.

As a matter of fact Abigail Prim detested Samuel Benham because he represented to her everything in life

which she shrank fromage, avoirdupois, infirmity, baldness, stupidity, and matrimony. He was a prosaic

old bachelor who had amassed a fortune by the simple means of inheriting three farms upon which an

industrial city subsequently had been built. Necessity rather than foresight had compelled him to hold on to

his property; and six weeks of typhoid, arriving and departing, had saved him from selling out at a low figure.

The first time he found himself able to be out and attend to business he likewise found himself a wealthy

All of which is to render evident just how impossible a matrimonial proposition was Samuel Benham to a

bright, a beautiful, a gay, an imaginative, young, and a witty girl such as Abigail Prim, who cared less for

Nagged, scolded, reproached, pestered, threatened, Abigail had at last given a seeming assent to her

stepmother' s ambition; and had forthwith been packed off on a two weeks visit to the sister of the

bridegroom elect. After which Mr. Benham was to visit Oakdale as a guest of the Prims, and at a dinner for

which cards already had been issuedso sure was Mrs. Jonas Prim of her position of dictator of the Prim

It was some time after dinner on the night of Abigail's departure that Mrs. Prim, following a habit achieved

by years of housekeeping, set forth upon her rounds to see that doors and windows were properly secured for

the night. A French window and its screen opening upon the verandah from the library she found open. "The

house will be full of mosquitoes!" she ejaculated mentally as she closed them both with a bang and made

them fast. "I should just like to know who left them open. Upon my word, I don't know what would become

of this place if it wasn't for me. Of all the shiftlessness!" and she turned and flounced upstairs. In Abigail's

room she flashed on the center dome light from force of habit, although she knew that the room had been left

in proper condition after the girl's departure earlier in the day. The first thing amiss that her eagle eye noted

was the candlestick lying on the floor beside the dressing table. As she stooped to pick it up she saw the open

drawer from which the small automatic had been removed, and then, suspicions, suddenly aroused, as

suddenly became fear; and Mrs. Prim almost dove across the room to the hidden wall safe. A moment's

investigation revealed the startling fact that the safe was unlocked and practically empty. It was then that Mrs.

Her scream brought Jonas and several servants upon the scene. A careful inspection of the room disclosed the

fact that while much of value had been ignored the burglar had taken the easily concealed contents of the wall

safe which represented fully ninety percentum of the value of the personal property in Abigail Prim's

Mrs. Prim scowled suspiciously upon the servants. Who else, indeed, could have possessed the intimate

knowledge which the thief had displayed. Mrs. Prim saw it all. The open library window had been but a

clever blind to hide the fact that the thief had worked from the inside and was now doubtless in the house at

"Jonas," she directed, "call the police at once, and see that no one, absolutely no one, leaves this house until

"Shucks, Pudgy!" exclaimed Mr. Prim. "You don't think the thief is waiting around here for the police, do

"I think that if you get the police here at once, Jonas, we shall find both the thief and the loot under our very

"You don't mean" he hesitated. "Why, Pudgy, you don't mean you suspect one of the servants?"

"Who else could have known?" asked Mrs. Prim. The servants present looked uncomfortable and cast

"It's all tommy rot!" ejaculated Mr. Prim; "but I'll call the police, because I got to report the theft. It's some

slick outsider, that's who it is," and he started down stairs toward the telephone. Before he reached it the bell

rang, and when he had hung up the receiver after the conversation the theft seemed a trivial matter. In fact he

had almost forgotten it, for the message had been from the local telegraph office relaying a wire they had just

"I say, Pudgy," he cried, as he took the steps two at a time for the second floor, "here's a wire from Benham

"Impossible!" ejaculated Mrs. Prim. "I certainly saw her aboard the train myself. Impossible!"

Jonas Prim was a man of action. Within half an hour he had set in motion such wheels as money and

influence may cause to revolve in search of some clew to the whereabouts of the missing Abigail, and at the

same time had reported the theft of jewels and money from his home; but in doing this he had learned that

other happenings no less remarkable in their way had taken place in Oakdale that very night.

The following morning all Oakdale was thrilled as its fascinated eves devoured the front page of Oakdale's

ordinarily dull daily. Never had Oakdale experienced a plethora of homegrown thrills; but it came as near to

it that morning, doubtless, as it ever had or ever will. Not since the cashier of The Merchants and Farmers

Bank committed suicide three years past had Oakdale been so wrought up, and now that historic and classical

event paled into insignificance in the glaring brilliancy of a series of crimes and mysteries of a single night

such as not even the most sanguine of Oakdale's thrill lovers could have hoped for.

There was, first, the mysterious disappearance of Abigail Prim, the only daughter of Oakdale's wealthiest

citizen; there was the equally mysterious robbery of the Prim home. Either one of these would have been

sufficient to have set Oakdale's multitudinous tongues wagging for days; but they were not all. Old John

Baggs, the city's best known miser, had suffered a murderous assault in his little cottage upon the outskirts of

town, and was even now lying at the point of death in The Samaritan Hospital. That robbery had been the

motive was amply indicated by the topsyturvy condition of the contents of the three rooms which Baggs

called home. As the victim still was unconscious no details of the crime were obtainable. Yet even this

Reginald Paynter had for years been looked upon half askance and yet with a certain secret pride by Oakdale.

He was her sole bon vivant in the true sense of the word, whatever that may be. He was always spoken of in

the columns of The Oakdale Tribune as 'that well known manabouttown,' or 'one of Oakdale's most

prominent clubmen.' Reginald Paynter had been, if not the only, at all events the best dressed man in town.

His clothes were made in New York. This in itself had been sufficient to have set him apart from all the other

males of Oakdale. He was widely travelled, had an independent fortune, and was far from unhandsome. For

years he had been the hope and despair of every Oakdale mother with marriageable daughters. The Oakdale

fathers, however, had not been so keen about Reginald. Men usually know more about the morals of men

than do women. There were those who, if pressed, would have conceded that Reginald had no morals.

But what place has an obituary in a truthful tale of adventure and mystery! Reginald Paynter was dead. His

body had been found beside the road just outside the city limits at midnight by a party of automobilists

returning from a fishing trip. The skull was crushed back of the left ear. The position of the body as well as

the marks in the road beside it indicated that the man had been hurled from a rapidly moving automobile. The

fact that his pockets had been rifled led to the assumption that he had been killed and robbed before being

Now there were those in Oakdale, and they were many, who endeavored to connect in some way these

several events of horror, mystery, and crime. In the first place it seemed quite evident that the robbery at the

Prim home, the assault upon Old Baggs, and the murder of Paynter had been the work of the same man; but

how could such a series of frightful happenings be in any way connected with the disappearance of Abigail

Prim? Of course there were many who knew that Abigail and Reginald were old friends; and that the former

had, on frequent occasions, ridden abroad in Reginald's French roadster, that he had escorted her to parties

and been, at various times, a caller at her home; but no less had been true of a dozen other perfectly

respectable young ladies of Oakdale. Possibly it was only Abigail's added misfortune to have disappeared

But later in the day when word came from a nearby town that Reginald had been seen in a strange touring car

with two unknown men and a girl, the gossips commenced to wag their heads. It was mentioned, casually of

course, that this town was a few stations along the very road upon which Abigail had departed the previous

afternoon for that destination which she had not reached. It was likewise remarked that Reginald, the two

strange men and the GIRL had been first noticed after the time of arrival of the Oakdale train! What more

was needed? Absolutely nothing more. The tongues ceased wagging in order that they might turn

Find Abigail Prim, whispered some, and the mystery will be solved. There were others charitable enough to

assume that Abigail had been kidnapped by the same men who had murdered Paynter and wrought the other

lesser deeds of crime in peaceful Oakdale. The Oakdale Tribune got out an extra that afternoon giving a

resume of such evidence as had appeared in the regular edition and hinting at all the numerous possibilities

suggested by such matter as had come to hand since. Even fear of old Jonas Prim and his millions had not

been enough to entirely squelch the newspaper instinct of the Tribune' s editor. Never before had he had such

an opportunity and he made the best of it, even repeating the vague surmises which had linked the name of

Jonas Prim was too busy and too worried to pay any attention to the Tribune or its editor. He already had the

best operative that the best detective agency in the nearest metropolis could furnish. The man had come to

This, then, will be about all concerning Oakdale for the present. We must leave her to bury her own dead.

The sudden pressure of the knife point against the breast of the Oskaloosa Kid awakened the youth with a

startling suddenness which brought him to his feet before a second vicious thrust reached him. For a time he

did not realize how close he had been to death or that he had been saved by the chance location of the

automatic pistol in his breast pocketthe very pistol he had taken from the dressing table of Abigail Prim's

The commotion of the attack and escape brought the other sleepers to heavyeyed wakefulness. They saw

Dopey Charlie advancing upon the Kid, a knife in his hand. Behind him slunk The General, urging the other

on. The youth was backing toward the doorway. The tableau persisted but for an instant. Then the wouldbe

murderer rushed madly upon his victim, the latter's hand leaped from beneath the breast of his torn coat

there was a flash of flame, a staccato report and Dopey Charlie crumpled to the ground, screaming. In the

It had all happened so quickly that the other members of the gang, awakened from deep slumber, had only

time to stumble to their feet before it was over. The Sky Pilot, ignoring the screaming Charlie, thought only

"Come on! We gotta get him," he cried, as he ran from the barn after the fugitive. The others, all but Dopey

Charlie, followed in the wake of their leader. The wounded man, his audience departed, ceased screaming

and, sitting up, fell to examining himself. To his surprise he discovered that he was not dead. A further and

more minute examination disclosed the additional fact that he was not even badly wounded. The bullet of The

Kid had merely creased the flesh over the ribs beneath his right arm. With a grunt that might have been either

Down the road toward the south ran The Oskaloosa Kid with all the fleetness of youth spurred on by terror. In

five minutes he had so far outdistanced his pursuers that The Sky Pilot leaped to the conclusion that the

quarry had left the road to hide in an adjoining field. The resultant halt and search upon either side of the road

delayed the chase to a sufficient extent to award the fugitive a mile lead by the time the band resumed the

hunt along the main highway. The men were determined to overhaul the youth not alone because of the loot

upon his person but through an abiding suspicion that he might indeed be what some of them feared he

wasan amateur detectiveand there were at least two among them who had reason to be especially fearful

They no longer ran; but puffed arduously along the smooth road, searching with troubled and angry eyes to

The Oskaloosa Kid puffed, too; but he puffed a mile away from the searchers and he walked more rapidly

than they, for his muscles were younger and his wind unimpaired by dissipation. For a time he carried the

small automatic in his hand; but later, hearing no evidence of pursuit, he returned it to the pocket in his coat

where it had lain when it had saved him from death beneath the blade of the degenerate Charlie.

For an hour he continued walking rapidly along the winding country road. He was very tired; but he dared not

pause to rest. Always behind him he expected the sudden onslaught of the bearded, bleareyed followers of

The Sky Pilot. Terror goaded him to supreme physical effort. Recollection of the screaming man sinking to

the earthen floor of the hay barn haunted him. He was a murderer! He had slain a fellow man. He winced and

shuddered, increasing his gait until again he almost ran ran from the ghost pursuing him through the black

night in greater terror than he felt for the flesh and blood pursuers upon his heels.

And Nature drew upon her sinister forces to add to the fear which the youth already felt. Black clouds

obscured the moon blotting out the soft kindliness of the greening fields and transforming the budding

branches of the trees to menacing and gloomy arms which appeared to hover with clawlike talons above the

dark and forbidding road. The wind soughed with gloomy and increasing menace, a sudden light flared across

Presently a great rain drop was blown against the youth's face; the vividness of the lightning had increased;

the rumbling of the thunder had grown to the proportions of a titanic bombardment; but he dared not pause to

Another flash of lightning revealed a fork in the road immediately aheadto the left ran the broad, smooth

highway, to the right a dirt road, overarched by trees, led away into the impenetrable dark.

The fugitive paused, undecided. Which way should he turn? The better travelled highway seemed less

mysterious and awesome, yet would his pursuers not naturally assume that he had followed it? Then, of

course, the right hand road was the road for him. Yet still he hesitated, for the right hand road was black and

As he stood there with the rain and the wind, the thunder and the lightning, horror of the past and terror of the

future his only companions there broke suddenly through the storm the voice of a man just ahead and

The youth turned to flee; but the thought of the men tracking him from that direction brought him to a sudden

halt. There was only the road to the right, then, after all. Cautiously he moved toward it, and at the same time

The voice seemed reassuringits quality and the annunciation of the words bespoke for its owner

considerable claim to refinement. The youth had halted again, but he now crouched to one side fearing to

reveal his presence because of the bloody crime he thought he had committed; yet how he yearned to throw

himself upon the compassion of this fine voiced stranger! How his every fibre cried out for companionship in

this night of his greatest terror; but he would have let the invisible minstrel pass had not Fate ordained to light

the scene at that particular instant with a prolonged flare of sheet lightning, revealing the two wayfarers to

The youth saw a slight though well built man in ragged clothes and disreputable soft hat. The image was

photographed upon his brain for lifethe honest, laughing eyes, the well moulded features harmonizing so

well with the voice, and the impossible garments which marked the man hobo and bum as plainly as though

The stranger halted. Once more darkness enveloped them. "Lovely evening for a stroll," remarked the man.

"Running out to your country place? Isn't there danger of skidding on these wet roads at night? I told James,

just before we started, to be sure to see that the chains were on all around; but he forgot them. James is very

trying sometimes. Now he never showed up this evening and I had to start out alone, and he knows perfectly

The youth found himself smiling. His fear had suddenly vanished. No one could harbor suspicion of the

"I didn't know which road to take," he ventured, in explanation of his presence at the cross road.

"Oh," exclaimed the man, "are there two roads here? I was looking for this fork and came near passing it in

the dark. It was a year ago since I came this way; but I recall a deserted house about a mile up the dirt road. It

"Oh!" cried the youth. "Now I know where I am. In the dark and the storm and after all that has happened to

me tonight nothing seemed natural. It was just as though I was in some strange land; but I know now. Yes,

there is a deserted house a little less than a mile from here; but you wouldn't want to stop there at night. They

tell some frightful stories about it. It hasn't been occupied for over twenty yearsnot since the Squibbs were

found murdered therethe father, mother three sons, and a daughter. They never discovered the murderer,

and the house has stood vacant and the farm unworked almost continuously since. A couple of men tried

working it; but they didn't stay long. A night or so was enough for them and their families. I remember

hearing as a littleerchild stories of the frightful things that happened there in the house where the

Squibbs were murderedthings that happened after dark when the lights were out. Oh, I wouldn't even pass

The man smiled. "I slept there alone one rainy night about a year ago," he said. "I didn't see or hear anything

unusual. Such stories are ridiculous; and even if there was a little truth in them, noises can't harm you as

much as sleeping out in the storm. I'm going to encroach once more upon the ghostly hospitality of the

The youth shuddered and drew back. From far behind came faintly the shout of a man.

"Yes, I'll go," exclaimed the boy. "Let's hurry," and he started off at a halfrun toward the dirt road.

The man followed more slowly. The darkness hid the quizzical expression of his eyes. He, too, had heard the

faint shout far to the rear. He recalled the boy's "after all that has happened to me tonight," and he shrewdly

guessed that the latter's sudden determination to brave the horrors of the haunted house was closely connected

When he had finally come abreast of the youth after the latter, his first panic of flight subsided, had reduced

"What was it that happened to you tonight?" he asked. "Is someone following you? You needn't be afraid of

me. I'll help you if you've been on the square. If you haven't, you still needn't fear me, for I won't peach on

The youth was on the point of unburdening his soul to this stranger with the kindly voice and the honest eyes;

but a sudden fear stayed his tongue. If he told all it would be necessary to reveal certain details that he could

not bring himself to reveal to anyone, and so he commenced with his introduction to the wayfarers in the

deserted hay barn. Briefly he told of the attack upon him, of his shooting of Dopey Charlie, of the flight and

pursuit. "And now," he said in conclusion, "that you know I'm a murderer I suppose you won't have any more

to do with me, unless you turn me over to the authorities to hang." There was almost a sob in his voice, so

The man threw an arm across his companion's shoulder. "Don't worry, kid," he said. "You're not a murderer

even if you did kill Dopey Charlie, which I hope you did. You're a benefactor of the human race. I have

known Charles for years. He should have been killed long since. Furthermore, as you shot in self defence no

jury would convict you. I fear, however, that you didn't kill him. You say you could hear his screams as long

The man was glad that the darkness hid his smile of amusement. He knew The Oskaloosa Kid well, and he

knew him as an expug with a pock marked face, a bullet head, and a tin ear. The flash of lightning had

revealed, upon the contrary, a slender boy with smooth skin, an oval face, and large dark eyes.

"Ah," he said, "so you are The Oskaloosa Kid! I am delighted, sir, to make your acquaintance. Permit me to

introduce myself: my name is Bridge. If James were here I should ask him to mix one of his famous cocktails

that we might drink to our mutual happiness and the longevity of our friendship."

"I am glad to know you, Mr. Bridge," said the youth. "Oh, I can't tell you how glad I am to know you. I was

so lonely and so afraid," and he pressed closer to the older man whose arm still encircled his shoulder, though

Talking together the two moved on along the dark road. The storm had settled now into a steady rain with

infrequent flashes of lightning and peals of thunder. There had been no further indications of pursuit; but

Bridge argued that The Sky Pilot, being wise with the wisdom of the owl and cunning with the cunning of the

fox, would doubtless surmise that a fugitive would take to the first road leading away from the main artery,

and that even though they heard nothing it would be safe to assume that the gang was still upon the boy's

trail. "And it's a bad bunch, too," he continued. "I've known them all for years. The Sky Pilot has the

reputation of never countenancing a murder; but that is because be is a sly one. His gang kills; but when they

kill under The Sky Pilot they do it so cleverly that no trace of the crime remains. Their victim

The boy trembled. "You won't let them get me?" he pleaded, pressing closer to the man. The only response

Over a low hill they followed the muddy road and down into a dark and gloomy ravine. In a little open space

to the right of the road a flash of lightning revealed the outlines of a building a hundred yards from the rickety

and decaying fence which bordered the Squibbs' farm and separated it from the road.

"Here we are!" cried Bridge, "and spooks or no spooks we'll find a dry spot in that old ruin. There was a stove

there last year and it's doubtless there yet. A good fire to dry our clothes and warm us up will fit us for a bully

good sleep, and I'll wager a silk hat that The Oskaloosa Kid is a mighty sleepy kid, eh?"

The boy admitted the allegation and the two turned in through the gateway, stepping over the fallen gate and

moving through knee high weeds toward the forbidding structure in the distance. A clump of trees surrounded

The two had reached the verandah when Bridge, turning, saw a brilliant light flaring through the night above

the crest of the hill they had just topped in their descent into the ravine, or, to be more explicit, the small

valley, where stood the crumbling house of Squibbs. The purr of a rapidly moving motor rose above the rain,

"I suppose it is James, anxious to find you and explain his absence," suggested The Oskaloosa Kid. They both

"Gad!" cried Bridge, as the car topped the hill and plunged downward toward them, "I'd hate to ride behind

As the car swung onto the straight road before the house a flash of lightning revealed dimly the outlines of a

rapidly moving touring car with lowered top. Just as the machine came opposite the Squibbs' gate a woman's

scream mingled with the report of a pistol from the tonneau and the watchers upon the verandah saw a dark

bulk hurled from the car, which sped on with undiminished speed, climbed the hill beyond and disappeared

Bridge started on a run toward the gateway, followed by the frightened Kid. In the ditch beside the road they

found in a dishevelled heap the body of a young woman. The man lifted the still form in his arms. The youth

wondered at the great strength of the slight figure. "Let me help you carry her," he volunteered; but Bridge

needed no assistance. "Run ahead and open the door for me," he said, as he bore his burden toward the house.

Forgetful, in the excitement of the moment, of his terror of the horror ridden ruin, The Oskaloosa Kid

hastened ahead, mounted the few steps to the verandah, crossed it and pushed open the sagging door. Behind

him came Bridge as the youth entered the dark interior. A half dozen steps he took when his foot struck

against a soft and yielding mass. Stumbling, he tried to regain his equilibrium only to drop full upon the thing

beneath him. One open palm, extended to ease his fall, fell upon the upturned features of a cold and clammy

face. With a shriek of horror The Kid leaped to his feet and shrank, trembling, back.

"What is it? What's the matter?" cried Bridge, with whom The Kid had collided in his precipitate retreat.

"You'll find a flash lamp in the right hand pocket of my coat," directed Bridge. "Take it and make a light."

With trembling fingers the Kid did as he was bid, and when after much fumbling he found the button a slim

shaft of white light, fell downward upon the upturned face of a man cold in deatha little man, strangely

garbed, with gold rings in his ears, and long black hair matted in the death sweat of his brow. His eyes were

wide and, even in death, terror filled, his features were distorted with fear and horror. His fingers, clenched in

the rigidity of death, clutched wisps of dark brown hair. There were no indications of a wound or other

violence upon his body, that either the Kid or Bridge could see, except the dried remains of bloody froth

Bridge still stood holding the quiet form of the girl in his arms, while The Kid, pressed close to the man's

side, clutched one arm with a fierce intensity which bespoke at once the nervous terror which filled him and

To their right, in the faint light of the flash lamp, a narrow stairway was revealed leading to the second story.

Straight ahead was a door opening upon the blackness of a rear apartment. Beside the foot of the stairway

Bridge nodded toward the rear room. "The stove is in there," he said. "We'd better go on and make a fire.

Draw your pistolwhoever did this has probably beat it; but it's just as well to he on the safe side."

"I'm afraid," said The Oskaloosa Kid. "Let's leave this frightful place. It's just as I told you it was; just as I

"We can't leave this woman, my boy," replied Bridge. "She isn't dead. We can't leave her, and we can't take

her out into the storm in her condition. We must stay. Come! buck up. There's nothing to fear from a dead

He never finished the sentence. From the depths of the cellar came the sound of a clanking chain. Something

scratched heavily upon the wooden steps. Whatever it was it was evidently ascending, while behind it

The Oskaloosa Kid cast a wide eyed glance of terror at Bridge. His lips moved in an attempt to speak; but

fear rendered him inarticulate. Slowly, ponderously the THING ascended the dark stairs from the gloom

ridden cellar of the deserted ruin. Even Bridge paled a trifle. The man upon the floor appeared to have met an

unnatural deaththe frightful expression frozen upon the dead face might even indicate something verging

upon the supernatural. The sound of the THING climbing out of the cellar was indeed uncannyso uncanny

that Bridge discovered himself looking about for some means of escape. His eyes fell upon the stairway

The Kid needed no second invitation. With a bound he was half way up the rickety staircase; but a glance

ahead at the darkness above gave him pause while he waited for Bridge to catch up with him. Coming more

slowly with his burden the man followed the boy, while from below the clanking of the chain warned them

"Flash the lamp down there," directed Bridge. "Let's have a look at it, whatever it is."

With trembling hands The Oskaloosa Kid directed the lens over the edge of the swaying and rotting

bannister, his finger slipped from the lighting button plunging them all into darkness. In his frantic effort to

find the button and relight the lamp the worst occurredhe fumbled the button and the lamp slipped through

his fingers, falling over the bannister to the floor below. Instantly the sound of the dragging chain ceased; but

For a long minute the two at the head of the stairs stood in tense silence listening for a repetition of the

gruesome sounds from below. The youth was frankly terrified; he made no effort to conceal the fact; but

pressed close to his companion, again clutching his arm tightly. Bridge could feel the trembling of the slight

figure, the spasmodic gripping of the slender fingers and hear the quick, short, irregular breathing. A sudden

impulse to throw a protecting arm about the boy seized himan impulse which he could not quite fathom,

and one to which he could not respond because of the body of the girl he carried.

He bent toward the youth. "There are matches in my coat pocket," he whispered, "the same pocket in

which you found the flash lamp. Strike one and we'll look for a room here where we can lay the girl."

The boy fumbled gropingly in search of the matches. It was evident to the man that it was only with the

greatest exertion of will power that he controlled his muscles at all; but at last he succeeded in finding and

striking one. At the flare of the light there was a sound from belowa scratching sound and the creaking of

boards as beneath a heavy body; then came the clanking of the chain once more, and the bannister against

which they leaned shook as though a hand had been laid upon it below them. The youth stifled a shriek and

simultaneously the match went out; but not before Bridge had seen in the momentary flare of light a partially

Beneath them the stairs creaked now and the chain thumped slowly from one to another as it was dragged

"Quick!" called Bridge. "Straight down the hall and into the room at the end." The man was puzzled. He

could not have been said to have been actually afraid, and yet the terror of the boy was so intense, so real, that

it could scarce but have had its suggestive effect upon the other; and, too, there was an uncanny element of

the supernatural in what they had seen and heard in the deserted housethe dead man on the floor below, the

inexplicable clanking of a chain by some unseen THING from the depth of the cellar upward toward them;

and, to heighten the effect of these, there were the grim stories of unsolved tragedy and crime. All in all

Bridge could not have denied that he was glad of the room at the end of the hall with its suggestion of safety

in the door which might be closed against the horrors of the hall and the Stygian gloom below stairs.

The Oskaloosa Kid was staggering ahead of him, scarce able to hold his body erect upon his shaking

kneeshis gait seemed pitifully slow to the unarmed man carrying the unconscious girl and listening to the

chain dragging ever nearer and nearer behind; but at last they reached the doorway and passed through it into

"Close the door," directed Bridge as he crossed toward the center of the room to lay his burden upon the

floor, but there was no response to his instructionsonly a gasp and the sound of a body slumping to the

rotting boards. With an exclamation of chagrin the man dropped the girl and swung quickly toward the door.

Halfway down the hall he could hear the chain rattling over loose planking, the THING, whatever it might be,

was close upon them. Bridge slammedto the door and with a shoulder against it drew a match from his

pocket and lighted it. Although his clothing was soggy with rain he knew that his matches would still be dry,

for this pocket and its flap he had ingeniously lined with waterproof material from a discarded slicker he had

In the resultant light the man saw with a quick glance a large room furnished with an old walnut bed, dresser,

and commode; two lightless windows opened at the far end toward the road, Bridge assumed; and there was

no door other than that against which he leaned. In the last flicker of the match the man scanned the door

itself for a lock and, to his relief, discovered a boltold and rusty it was, but it still moved in its sleeve. An

instant later it was shotjust as the sound of the dragging chain ceased outside. Near the door was the great

bed, and this Bridge dragged before it as an additional barricade; then, bearing nothing more from the

hallway, he turned his attention to the two unconscious forms upon the floor. Unhesitatingly he went to the

boy first though had he questioned himself he could not have told why; for the youth, undoubtedly, had only

swooned, while the girl had been the victim of a murderous assault and might even be at the point of death.

What was the appeal to the man in the pseudo Oskaloosa Kid? He had scarce seen the boy's face, yet the

terrified figure had aroused within him, strongly, the protective instinct. Doubtless it was the call of youth

and weakness which find, always, an answering assurance in the strength of a strong man.

As Bridge groped toward the spot where the boy had fallen his eyes, now become accustomed to the darkness

of the room, saw that the youth was sitting up. "Well?" he asked. "Feeling better?"

"Where is it? Oh, God! Where is it?" cried the boy. "It will come in here and kill us as it killed thatthat

"It can't get in," Bridge assured him. "I've locked the door and pushed the bed in front of it. Gad! I feel like an

From the hall came a sudden clanking of the chain accompanied by a loud pounding upon the bare floor.

With a scream the youth leaped to his feet and almost threw himself upon Bridge. His arms were about the

"Brace up, son," Bridge admonished him. "Didn't I tell you that it can't get in?"

"How do you know it can't get in?" whimpered the youth. "It's the thing that murdered the man down stairs

it's the thing that murdered the Squibbsright here in this room. It got in to themwhat is to prevent its

"Come! come! now," Bridge tried to soothe him. "You have a case of nerves. Lie down here on this bed and

try to sleep. Nothing shall harm you, and when you wake up it will be morning and you'll laugh at your

"Lie on THAT bed!" The voice was almost a shriek. "That is the bed the Squibbs were murdered inthe old

man and his wife. No one would have it, and so it has remained here all these years. I would rather die than

"I wish," said Bridge a trifle sternly, "that you would try to control yourself a bit. Hysteria won't help us any.

Here we are, and we've to make the best of it. Besides we must look after this young womanshe may be

The boy, evidently shamed, released his hold upon Bridge and moved away. "I am sorry," he said. "I'll try to

do better; but, Oh! I was so frightened. You cannot imagine how frightened I was."

"I had imagined," said Bridge, "from what I had heard of him that it would be a rather difficult thing to

frighten The Oskaloosa Kidyou have, you know, rather a reputation for fearlessness."

The darkness hid the scarlet flush which mantled The Kid's face. There was a moment's silence as Bridge

crossed to where the young woman still lay upon the floor where he had deposited her. Then The Kid spoke.

"I'm sorry," he said, "that I made a fool of myself. You have been so brave, and I have not helped at all. I

"Good," said Bridge, and stooped to raise the young woman in his arms and deposit her upon the bed. Then

he struck another match and leaned close to examine her. The flare of the sulphur illuminated the room and

shot two rectangles of light against the outer blackness where the unglazed windows stared vacantly upon the

road beyond, bringing to a sudden halt a little company of muddy and bedraggled men who slipped, cursing,

"No," replied Bridge, "and I doubt if she's badly hurt." His hands ran quickly over her limbs, bending and

twisting them gently; be unbuttoned her waist, getting the boy to strike and hold another match while he

"I can't find a scratch on her," be said at last. "She's suffering from shock alone, as far as I can judge. Say,

The youth drew himself rather stiffly erect. "Her features are rather coarse, I think," he replied. There was a

peculiar quality to the tone which caused Bridge to turn a quick look at the boy's face, just as the match

flickered and went out. The darkness hid the expression upon Bridge's face, but his conviction that the girl

was pretty was unaltered. The light of the match had revealed an oval face surrounded by dark, dishevelled

Further discussion of the young woman was discouraged by a repetition of the clanking of the chain without.

Now it was receding along the hallway toward the stairs and presently, to the infinite relief of The Oskaloosa

"What was it, do you think?" asked the boy, his voice still trembling upon the verge of hysteria.

"I don't know," replied Bridge. "I've never been a believer in ghosts and I'm not now; but I'll admit that it

He did not finish the sentence for a moan from the bed diverted his attention to the injured girl, toward whom

he now turned. As they listened for a repetition of the sound there came anotherthat of the creaking of the

old bed slats as the girl moved upon the mildewed mattress. Dimly, through the darkness, Bridge saw that the

victim of the recent murderous assault was attempting to sit up. He moved closer and leaned above her.

"I wouldn't exert myself," he said. "You've just suffered an accident, and it's better that you remain quiet."

"Who are you?" asked the girl, a note of suppressed terror in her voice. "You are not?"

"I am no one you know," replied Bridge. "My friend and I chanced to be near when you fell from the car"

with that innate refinement which always belied his vocation and his rags Bridge chose not to embarrass the

girl by a too intimate knowledge of the thing which had befallen her, preferring to leave to her own volition

the making of any explanation she saw fit, or of none "and we carried you in here out of the storm."

The girl was silent for a moment. "Where is 'here'?" she asked presently. "They drove so fast and it was so

dark that I had no idea where we were, though I know that we left the turnpike."

"We are at the old Squibbs place," replied the man. He could see that the girl was running one hand gingerly

"Am I badly wounded?" she asked. "Do you think that I am going to die?" The tremor in her voice was

pathetic it was the voice of a frightened and wondering child. Bridge heard the boy behind him move

"You are not badly hurt," volunteered The Oskaloosa Kid. "Bridge couldn't find a mark on youthe bullet

"He was holding me over the edge of the car when he fired." The girl's voice reflected the physical shudder

which ran through her frame at the recollection. "Then he threw me out almost simultaneously. I suppose he

thought that he could not miss at such close range." For a time she was silent again, sitting stiffly erect.

Bridge could feel rather than see wide, tense eyes staring out through the darkness upon scenes, horrible

Suddenly the girl turned and threw herself face downward upon the bed. "O, God!" she moaned. "Father!

Father! It will kill youno one will believe methey will think that I am bad. I didn't do it! I didn't do it!

I've been a silly little fool; but I have never been a bad girlandandI had nothing to do with that

Bridge and the boy realized that she was not talking to themthat for the moment she had lost sight of their

presenceshe was talking to that father whose heart would be breaking with the breaking of the new day,

"I may die," she said. "I want to die. I do not see how I can go on living after last night; but if I do die I want

my father to know that I had nothing to do with it and that they tried to kill me because I wouldn't promise to

keep still. It was the little one who murdered himthe one they called 'Jimmie' and 'The Oskaloosa Kid.' The

big one drove the carhis name was 'Terry.' After they killed him I tried to jump outI had been sitting in

front with Terryand then they dragged me over into the tonneau and laterthe Oskaloosa Kid tried to kill

"Tomorrow you will know about the murdereveryone will know about it; and I will be missed; and there

will be people who saw me in the car with them, for someone must have seen me. Oh, I can't face it! I want to

die. I will die! I come of a good family. My father is a prominent man. I can't go back and stand the disgrace

and see him suffer, as he will suffer, for I was all he hadhis only child. I can't bear to tell you my name

you will know it soon enoughbut please find some way to let my father know all that I have told youI

Bridge laid a hand upon the girl's shoulder. "If you are telling us the truth," he said, "you have only a silly

escapade with strange men upon your conscience. You must not talk of dying nowyour duty is to your

father. If you take your own life it will be a tacit admission of guilt and will only serve to double the burden

of sorrow and ignominy which your father is bound to feel when this thing becomes public, as it certainly

must if a murder has been done. The only way in which you can atone for your error is to go back and face

The girl did not reply; but that the man's words had impressed her seemed evident. For a while each was

occupied with his own thoughts; which were presently disturbed by the sound of footsteps upon the floor

below the muffled scraping of many feet followed a moment later by an exclamation and an oath, the

"Pipe the stiff," exclaimed a voice which The Oskaloosa Kid recognized immediately as that of Soup Face.

"The guy probably lamped the swag an' died of heart failure," suggested another.

The men were still laughing when the sound of a clanking chain echoed dismally from the cellar. Instantly

silence fell upon the newcomers upon the first floor, followed by a"Wotinel's that?" Two of the men had

approached the staircase and started to ascend it. Slowly the uncanny clanking drew closer to the first floor.

"We don't know," replied the man. "It followed us up here, or rather it chased us up; and then went down

again just before you regained consciousness. I imagine we shall hear some interesting developments from

"An' wot croaked this guy here?" asked a third. "It wasn't nothin' nicedid you get the expression on his

mug an' the red foam on his lips? I tell youse there's something in this house beside human bein's. I know the

jointits hantedthey's spooks in it. Gawd! there it is now," as the clanking rose to the head of the cellar

stairs; and those above heard a sudden rush of footsteps as the men broke for the open airall but the two

upon the stairway. They had remained too long and now, their retreat cut off, they scrambled, cursing and

Along the hallway they rushed to the closed door at the endthe door of the room in which the three listened

"Let us in! Let us in!" screamed two voices. "Fer God's sake let us in. Can't you hear IT? It'll be comin' up

The sound of the dragging chain could be heard at intervals upon the floor below. It seemed to the tense

listeners above to pause beside the dead man as though hovering in gloating exultation above its gruesome

prey and then it moved again, this time toward the stairway where they all heard it ascending with a creepy

slowness which wrought more terribly upon tense nerves than would a sudden rush.

"Let us in," screamed the men without. "Fer the luv o' Mike have a heart! Don't leave us out here! IT's

"Oh, let the poor things in," pleaded the girl on the bed. She was, herself, trembling with terror.

The THING had reached the head of the stairs when Bridge dragged the bed aside and drew the bolt.

Instantly two figures hurled themselves into the room but turned immediately to help Bridge resecure the

Just as it had done before, when Bridge and The Oskaloosa Kid had taken refuge there with the girl, the

THING moved down the hallway to the closed door. The dragging chain marked each foot of its advance. If

it made other sounds they were drowned by the clanking of the links over the time roughened flooring.

Within the room the five were frozen into utter silence, and beyond the door an equal quiet prevailed for a

long minute; then a great force made the door creak and a weird scratching sounded high up upon the old

fashioned panelling. Bridge heard a smothered gasp from the boy beside him, followed instantly by a flash of

flame and the crack of a small caliber automatic; The Oskaloosa Kid had fired through the door.

Bridge seized the boy's arm and wrenched the weapon from him. "Be careful!" he cried. "You'll hurt

someone. You didn't miss the girl much that timeshe's on the bed right in front of the door."

The Oskaloosa Kid pressed closer to the man as though he sought protection from the unknown menace

without. The girl sprang from the bed and crossed to the opposite side of the room. A flash of lightning

illuminated the chamber for an instant and the roof of the verandah without. The girl noted the latter and the

"Look!" she cried. "Suppose it went out of another window upon this porch. It could get us so easily that

"Shut up, you fool!" whispered one of the two newcomers. "It might hear you." The girl subsided into silence.

"I reckon you croaked IT," suggested the second newcomer, hopefully; but, as though the THING without

had heard and understood, the clanking of the chain recommenced at once; but now it was retreating along

Sighs of relief escaped more than a single pair of lips. "IT didn't hear me," whispered the girl.

Bridge laughed. "We're a nice lot of babies seeing things at night," he scoffed.

"If you're so nervy why don't you go down an' see wot it is?" asked one of the late arrivals.

Instantly a chorus of protests arose, the girl and The Oskaloosa Kid being most insistent. What was the use?

What good could he accomplish? It might be nothing; yet on the other hand what had brought death so

horribly to the cold clay on the floor below? At last their pleas prevailed and Bridge replaced the bed before

For two hours the five sat about the room waiting for daylight. There could be no sleep for any of them.

Occasionally they spoke, usually advancing and refuting suggestions as to the identity of the nocturnal

prowler below stairs. The THING seemed to have retreated again to the cellar, leaving the upper floor to the

During the brief intervals of conversation the girl repeated snatches of her story and once she mentioned The

Oskaloosa Kid as the murderer of the unnamed victim. The two men who had come last pricked up their ears

at this and Bridge felt the boy's hand just touch his arm as though in mute appeal for belief and protection.

"He'd just pulled off a job in Oakdale an' had his pockets bulgin' wid sparklers an' kale. We was follerin' him

The Oskaloosa Kid shrank closer to Bridge. At last he recognized the voice of the speaker. While he had

known that the two were of The Sky Pilot's band he had not been sure of the identity of either; but now it was

borne in upon him that at least one of them was the last person on earth he cared to be cooped up in a small,

unlighted room with, and a moment later when one of the two rolled a 'smoke' and lighted it he saw in the

flare of the flame the features of both Dopey Charlie and The General. The Oskaloosa Kid gasped once more

It had been Dopey Charlie who lighted the cigaret and in the brief illumination his friend The General had

grasped the opportunity to scan the features of the other members of the party. Schooled by long years of

repression he betrayed none of the surprise or elation he felt when he recognized the features of The

If The General was elated The Oskaloosa Kid was at once relieved and terrified. Relieved by ocular proof

that he was not a murderer and terrified by the immediate presence of the two who had sought his life.

His cigaret drawing well Dopey Charlie resumed: "This Oskaloosa Kid's a bad actor," he volunteered. "The

little shrimp tried to croak me; but he only creased my ribs. I'd like to lay my mits on him. I'll bet there won't

The boy drew Bridge's ear down toward his own lips. "Let's go," he said. "I don't hear anything more

downstairs, or maybe we could get out on this roof and slide down the porch pillars."

"He is, my degenerate friend," replied Bridge; "and furthermore he's going to stay here and be perfectly safe.

"That is a long story," replied Bridge; "but if you chance to recall Dink and Crumb you may also be able to

visualize one Billy Burke and Billy Byrne and his side partner, Bridge. Yes? Well, I am the side partner."

Before the yeggman could make reply the girl spoke up quickly. "This man cannot be The Oskaloosa Kid,"

"How do you know he ain't?" queried The General. "Youse was knocked out when these guys picks you up.

It's so dark in here you couldn't reco'nize no one. How do you know this here bird ain't The Oskaloosa Kid,

"I have heard both these men speak," replied the girl; "their voices were not those of any men I have known.

If one of them is The Oskaloosa Kid then there must be two men called that. Strike a match and you will see

The General fumbled in an inside pocket for a package of matches carefully wrapped against possible

damage by rain. Presently he struck one and held the light in the direction of The Kid's face while he and the

"Why he's only a boy," ejaculated the girl. "The one who threw me from the machine was a man."

"It's too bad he didn't kill you," remarked Bridge pleasantly. "You're a thief and probably a murderer into the

"Well wots he?" demanded Dopey Charlie. "He's a thiefhe said he waslook in his pocketsthey're

crammed wid swag, an' he's a gunman, too, or he wouldn't be packin' a gat. I guess he ain't got nothin' on

The darkness hid the scarlet flush which mounted to the boy's cheeksso hot that he thought it must surely

glow redly through the night. He waited in dumb misery for Bridge to demand the proof of his guilt. Earlier

in the evening he had flaunted the evidence of his crime in the faces of the six hobos; but now he suddenly

But Bridge did not ask for any substantiation of Charlie' s charges, he merely warned the two yeggmen that

they would have to leave the boy alone and in the morning, when the storm had passed and daylight had

lessened the unknown danger which lurked belowstairs, betake themselves upon their way.

"And while we're here together in this room you two must sit over near the window," he concluded. "You've

tried to kill the boy once tonight; but you're not going to try it againI'm taking care of him now."

"You gotta crust, bo," observed Dopey Charlie, belligerently. "I guess me an' The General'll sit where we

damn please, an' youse can take it from me on the side that we're goin' to have ours out of The Kid's haul. If

"You are banking," replied Bridge, "on the well known fact that I never carry a gun; but you fail to perceive,

owing to the Stygian gloom which surrounds us, that I have the Kid's automatic in my gun hand and that the

"Cheese it," The General advised his companion; and the two removed themselves to the opposite side of the

The girl, the boy, and Bridge waited as patiently as they could for the coming of the dawn, talking of the

events of the night and planning against the future. Bridge advised the girl to return at once to her father; but

this she resolutely refused to do, admitting with utmost candor that she lacked the courage to face her friends

The youth begged that he might accompany Bridge upon the road, pleading that his mother was dead and that

he could not return home after his escapade. And Bridge could not find it in his heart to refuse him, for the

man realized that the boyish waif possessed a subtile attraction, as forceful as it was inexplicable. Not since

he had followed the open road in company with Billy Byrne had Bridge met one with whom he might care to

'Pal' before The Kid crossed his path on the dark and storm swept pike south of Oakdale.

In Byrne, mucker, pugilist, and MAN, Bridge had found a physical and moral counterpart of himself, for the

slender Bridge was muscled as a Greek god, while the stocky Byrne, metamorphosed by the fire of a woman'

s love, possessed all the chivalry of the care free tramp whose vagabondage had never succeeded in

In the youth Bridge found an intellectual equal with the added charm of a physical dependent. The man did

not attempt to fathom the evident appeal of the other's tacitly acknowledged cowardice; he merely knew that

he would not have had the youth otherwise if he could not have changed him. Ordinarily he accepted male

cowardice with the resignation of surfeited disgust; but in the case of The Oskaloosa Kid he realized a certain

artless charm which but tended to strengthen his liking for the youth, so brazen and unaffected was the boy's

admission of his terror of both the real and the unreal menaces of this night of horror.

That the girl also was well bred was quite evident to Bridge, while both the girl and the youth realized the

refinement of the strange companion and protector which Fate had ordered for them, while they also saw in

one another social counterparts of themselves. Thus, as the night dragged its slow course, the three came to

trust each other more entirely and to speculate upon the strange train of circumstances which had brought

them thus remarkably togetherthe thief, the murderer's accomplice, and the vagabond.

It was during a period of thoughtful silence when the night was darkest just before the dawn and the rain had

settled to a dismal drizzle unrelieved by lightning or by thunder that the five occupants of the room were

suddenly startled by a strange pattering sound from the floor below. It was as the questioning fall of a child's

feet upon the uncarpeted boards in the room beneath them. Frozen to silent rigidity, the five sat straining

every faculty to catch the minutest sound from the black void where the dead man lay, and as they listened

there came up to them, mingled with the inexplicable footsteps, the hollow reverberation from the dank

cellar the hideous dragging of the chain behind the nameless horror which had haunted them through the

Up, up, up it came toward the first floor. The pattering of the feet ceased. The clanking rose until the five

heard the scraping of the chain against the door frame at the head of the cellar stairs. They heard it pass

across the floor toward the center of the room and then, loud and piercing, there rang out against the silence

Instantly Bridge leaped to his feet. Without a word he tore the bed from before the door.

"I am going down to that woman," said Bridge, and he drew the bolt, rusty and complaining, from its

"No!" screamed the girl, and seconding her the youth sprang to his feet and threw his arms about Bridge.

"You heard a woman scream didn't you?" asked Bridge. "Do you suppose I can stay in up here when a

For answer the girl but held more tightly to his arm while the youth slipped to the floor and embraced the

man's knees in a vicelike hold which he could not break without hurting his detainer.

"Wait!" begged the girl. "Wait until you know that it is a human voice that screams through this horrible

The youth only strained his hold tighter about the man's legs. Bridge felt a soft cheek pressed to his knee;

and, for some unaccountable reason, the appeal was stronger than the pleading of the girl. Slowly Bridge

realized that he could not leave this defenseless youth alone even though a dozen women might be menaced

by the uncanny death below. With a firm hand he shot the bolt. "Leave go of me," he said; "I shan't leave you

The boy rose and, trembling, pressed close to the man who, involuntarily, threw a protecting arm about the

slim figure. The girl, too, drew nearer, while the two yeggmen rose and stood in rigid silence by the window.

From below came an occasional rattle of the chain, followed after a few minutes by the now familiar clanking

as the iron links scraped across the flooring. Mingled with the sound of the chain there rose to them what

might have been the slow and ponderous footsteps of a heavy man, dragging painfully across the floor. For a

For a dozen tense minutes the five listened; but there was no repetition of any sound from below. Suddenly

the girl breathed a deep sigh, and the spell of terror was broken. Bridge felt rather than heard the youth

sobbing softly against his breast, while across the room The General gave a quick, nervous laugh which he as

immediately suppressed as though fearful unnecessarily of calling attention to their presence. The other

vagabond fumbled with his hypodermic needle and the narcotic which would quickly give his fluttering

Bridge, the boy, and the girl shivered together in their soggy clothing upon the edge of the bed, feeling now

in the cold dawn the chill discomfort of which the excitement of the earlier hours of the night had rendered

"You've caught cold," said Bridge, his tone almost selfreproachful, as though he were entirely responsible for

the boy's condition. "We're a nice aggregation of mollycoddles five of us sitting half frozen up here with a

stove on the floor below, and just because we heard a noise which we couldn't explain and hadn't the nerve to

investigate." He rose. "I'm going down, rustle some wood and build a fire in that stoveyou two kids have

got to dry those clothes of yours and get warmed up or we'll have a couple of hospital cases on our hands."

Once again rose a chorus of pleas and objections. Oh, wouldn't he wait until daylight? See! the dawn was

even then commencing to break. They didn't dare go down and they begged him not to leave them up there

At this Dopey Charlie spoke up. The 'hop' had commenced to assert its dominion over his shattered nervous

system instilling within him a new courage and a feeling of utter wellbeing. "Go on down," said he to

"I'll tell you what we'll do," said Bridge; "we'll leave the kids up here and we three'll go down. They won't go,

The General and Dopey Charlie didn't know what a moron was but they felt quite certain from Bridge's tone

of voice that a moron was not a nice thing, and anyway no one could have bribed them to descend into the

darkness of the lower floor with the dead man and the grisly THING that prowled through the haunted

Bridge saw in the gradually lighting sky the near approach of full daylight; so he contented himself with

making the girl and the youth walk briskly to and fro in the hope that stimulated circulation might at least

partially overcome the menace of the damp clothing and the chill air, and thus they occupied the remaining

From below came no repetition of the inexplicable noises of that night of terror and at last, with every object

plainly discernible in the light of the new day, Bridge would delay no longer; but voiced his final

determination to descend and make a fire in the old kitchen stove. Both the boy and the girl insisted upon

accompanying him. For the first time each had an opportunity to study the features of his companions of the

night. Bridge found in the girl and the youth two dark eyed, goodlooking young people. In the girl's face

was, perhaps, just a trace of weakness; but it was not the face of one who consorts habitually with criminals.

The man appraised her as a pretty, smalltown girl who had been led into a temporary escapade by the

monotony of village life, and be would have staked his soul that she was not a bad girl.

The boy, too, looked anything other than the role he had been playing. Bridge smiled as he looked at the clear

eyes, the oval face, and the fine, sensitive mouth and thought of the youth's claim to the crime battered

sobriquet of The Oskaloosa Kid. The man wondered if the mystery of the clanking chain would prove as

harmlessly infantile as these two whom some accident of hilarious fate had cast in the roles of debauchery

Aloud, he said: "I'll go first, and if the spook materializes you two can beat it back into the room." And to the

two tramps: "Come on, boes, we'll all take a look at the lower floor together, and then we'll get a good fire

Down the hall they went, Bridge leading with the boy and girl close at his heels while the two yeggs brought

up the rear. Their footsteps echoed through the deserted house; but brought forth no answering clanking from

the cellar. The stairs creaked beneath the unaccustomed weight of so many bodies as they descended toward

the lower floor. Near the bottom Bridge came to a questioning halt. The front room lay entirely within his

range of vision, and as his eyes swept it he gave voice to a short exclamation of surprise.

The youth and the girl, shivering with cold and nervous excitement, craned their necks above the man's

"Ohh!" gasped The Oskaloosa Kid. "He's gone," and, sure enough, the dead man had vanished.

Bridge stepped quickly down the remaining steps, entered the rear room which had served as dining room

and kitchen, inspected the two small bedrooms off this room, and the summer kitchen beyond. All were

empty; then he turned and reentering the front room bent his steps toward the cellar stairs. At the foot of the

stairway leading to the second floor lay the flash lamp that the boy had dropped the night before. Bridge

stooped, picked it up and examined it. It was uninjured and with it in his hand he continued toward the cellar

"You are not going down into that dark cellar!" It was an appeal, a question, and a command; and it quivered

Bridge turned and looked into the youth's face. The man did not like cowardice and his eyes were stern as he

turned them on the lad from whom during the few hours of their acquaintance he had received so many

evidences of cowardice; but as the clear brown eyes of the boy met his the man's softened and he shook his

head perplexedly. What was there about this slender stripling which so disarmed criticism?

"Yes," he replied, "I am going down. I doubt if I shall find anything there; but if I do it is better to come upon

it when I am looking for it than to have it come upon us when we are not expecting it. If there is to be any

"I am going with you," said the boy. "You think I am a coward because I am afraid; but there is a vast

The man made no reply as he resumed the descent of the stairs, flashing the rays of the lamp ahead of him;

but he pondered the boy's words and smiled as he admitted mentally that it undoubtedly took more courage to

do a thing in the face of fear than to do it if fear were absent. He felt a strange elation that this youth should

choose voluntarily to share his danger with him, for in his roaming life Bridge had known few associates for

The beams of the little electric lamp, moving from side to side, revealed a small cellar littered with refuse and

festooned with cobwebs. At one side tottered the remains of a series of wooden racks upon which pans of

milk had doubtless stood to cool in a long gone, happier day. Some of the uprights had rotted away so that a

part of the frail structure had collapsed to the earthen floor. A table with one leg missing and a crippled chair

constituted the balance of the contents of the cellar and there was no living creature and no chain nor any

other visible evidence of the presence which had clanked so lugubriously out of the dark depths during the

vanished night. The boy breathed a heartfelt sigh of relief and Bridge laughed, not without a note of relief

"You see there is nothing," he said"nothing except some firewood which we can use to advantage. I regret

that James is not here to attend me; but since he is not you and I will have to carry some of this stuff

upstairs," and together they returned to the floor above, their arms laden with pieces of the dilapidated milk

rack. The girl was awaiting them at the head of the stairs while the two tramps whispered together at the

It took Bridge but a moment to have a roaring fire started in the old stove in the kitchen, and as the warmth

rolled in comforting waves about them the five felt for the first time in hours something akin to relief and

well being. With the physical relaxation which the heat induced came a like relaxation of their tongues and

temporary forgetfulness of their antagonisms and individual apprehensions. Bridge was the only member of

the group whose conscience was entirely free. He was not 'wanted' anywhere, he bad no unexpiated crimes to

harry his mind, and with the responsibilities of the night removed he fell naturally into his old, carefree

manner. He hazarded foolish explanations of the uncanny noises of the night and suggested various theories

The General, on the contrary, seriously maintained that the weird sounds had emanated from the ghost of the

murdered man who was, unquestionably, none other than the long dead Squibb returned to haunt his former

home, and that the scream had sprung from the ghostly lungs of his slain wife or daughter.

"I wouldn't spend anudder night in this dump," he concluded, "for both them pockets full of swag The

Immediately all eyes turned upon the flushing youth. The girl and Bridge could not prevent their own gazes

from wandering to the bulging coat pockets, the owner of which moved uneasily, at last shooting a look of

"He's a bad one," interjected Dopey Charlie, a glint of cunning in his ordinarily glassy eyes. "He flashes a

couple o' mitsful of sparklers, chestylike, and allows as how he's a regular burglar. Then he pulls a gun on

me, as wasn't doin' nothin' to him, and 'most croaks me. It's even money that if anyone's been croaked in

Oakdale last night they won't have to look far for the guy that done it. Leastwise they won't have to look far

if he doesn't come across," and Dopey Charlie looked meaningly and steadily at the side pockets of The

"I think," said Bridge, after a moment of general silence, "that you two crooks had better beat it. Do you get

"We don't go," said Dopey Charlie, belligerently, "until we gets half the Kid's swag."

"You go now," said Bridge, "without anybody's swag," and he drew the boy's automatic from his side pocket.

The two rose and shuffled toward the door. "We'll get you, you colledge Lizzy," threatened Dopey Charlie,

"'And speed the parting guest,'" quoted Bridge, firing a shot that splintered the floor at the crook's feet. When

the two hoboes had departed the others huddled again close to the stove until Bridge suggested that he and

The Oskaloosa Kid retire to another room while the girl removed and dried her clothing; but she insisted that

it was not wet enough to matter since she had been covered by a robe in the automobile until just a moment

"Then, after you are warmed up," said Bridge, "you can step into this other room while the kid and I strip and

At the suggestion the kid started for the door. "Oh, no," he insisted; "it isn't worth while. I am almost dry

now, and as soon as we get out on the road I'll be all right. III like wet clothes," he ended, lamely.

Bridge looked at him questioningly; but did not urge the matter. "Very well," he said; "you probably know

what you like; but as for me, I'm going to pull off every rag and get good and dry."

The girl had already quitted the room and now The Kid turned and followed her. Bridge shook his head. "I'll

bet the little beggar never was away from his mother before in his life," he mused; "why the mere thought of

undressing in front of a strange man made him turn redand posing as The Oskaloosa Kid! Bless my soul;

Bridge found that his clothing had dried to some extent during the night; so, after a brisk rub, he put on the

warmed garments and though some were still a trifle damp he felt infinitely more comfortable than he had for

Outside the house he came upon the girl and the youth standing in the sunshine of a bright, new day. They

were talking together in a most animated manner, and as he approached wondering what the two had found of

so great common interest he discovered that the discussion hinged upon the relative merits of ham and bacon

The two looked up, smiling. "You're a funny kind of tramp, to be quoting poetry," said The Oskaloosa Kid,

"Almost as funny," replied Bridge, "as a burglar who recognizes Knibbs when he hears him."

The Oskaloosa Kid flushed. "He wrote for us of the open road," he replied quickly. "I don't know of any other

"Or any other class that is less familiar with him," retorted Bridge; "but the burning question just now is pots,

"That happens to be a bull," said Bridge. "I was particular to mention cow, which, in this instance, is

"'Blind baggage, hoof it, ride or climbwe always put it through.' Who's going to rustle the grub?"

The girl looked at The Oskaloosa Kid. "You don't seem like a tramp at all, to talk to," she said; "but I suppose

The Oskaloosa Kid looked uncomfortable. "So should " he commenced, and then suddenly subsided. "Of

They watched him as be walked down to the road and until he disappeared over the crest of the hill a short

"There must be some good in him," she continued, "even if he is such a desperate character; but I know he's

not The Oskaloosa Kid. Do you really suppose he robbed a house last night and then tried to kill that Dopey

Bridge shook his head. "I don't know," he said; "but I am inclined to believe that he is more imaginative than

criminal. He certainly shot up the Dopey person; but I doubt if he ever robbed a house."

While they waited, The Oskaloosa Kid trudged along the muddy road to the nearest farm house. which lay a

full mile beyond the Squibbs' home. As he approached the door a lank, sallow man confronted him with a

If the boy had hurled a dynamite bomb at him the result could have been no more surprising. The lank, sallow

man went up into the air, figuratively. He went up a mile or more, and on the way down he reached his hand

inside the kitchen door and brought it forth enveloping the barrel of a shot gun.

"Durn ye!" he cried. "I'll lam ye! Get offen here. I knows ye. Yer one o' that gang o' bums that come here last

night, an' now you got the gall to come back beggin' for food, eh? I'll lam ye!" and he raised the gun to his

The Oskaloosa Kid quailed but he held his ground. "I wasn't here last night," he cried, "and I'm not begging

for foodI want to buy some. I've got plenty of money," in proof of which assertion he dug into a side

"Wy didn't ye say so in the first place then?" he growled. "How'd I know you wanted to buy it, eh? Where'd

ye come from anyhow, this early in the mornin' ? What's yer name, eh? What's yer business, that's what Jeb

Case'd like to know, eh?" He snapped his words out with the rapidity of a machine gun, nor waited for a reply

to one query before launching the next. "What do ye want to buy, eh? How much money ye got? Looks

"It's mine," said The Oskaloosa Kid, "and I want to buy some eggs and milk and ham and bacon and flour

and onions and sugar and cream and strawberries and tea and coffee and a frying pan and a little oil stove, if

Jeb Case's jaw dropped and his eyes widened. "You're in the wrong pasture, bub," he remarked feelingly.

The Oskaloosa Kid flushed up to the tips of his ears. "But can't you sell me something?" he begged.

"I might let ye have some milk an' eggs an' butter an' a leetle bacon an' mebby my ol' woman's got a loaf left

from her last bakin'; but we ain't been figgerin' on supplyin' grub fer the United States army ef that's what

A frowsy, ratfaced woman and a gawky youth of fourteen stuck their heads out the doorway at either side of

the man. "I ain't got nothin' to sell," snapped the woman; but as she spoke her eyes fell upon the fat bank roll

in the youth's hand. "Or, leastwise," she amended, "I ain't got much more'n we need an' the price o' stuff's

gone up so lately that I'll hev to ask ye more'n I would of last fall. 'Bout what did ye figger on wantin'?"

"Anything you can spare," said the youth. "There are three of us and we're awful hungry."

"We're at the old Squibbs' place," replied The Kid. "We got caught by the storm last night and had to put up

"We didn't SEE anything," replied The Oskaloosa Kid; "but we heard things. At least we didn't see what we

heard; but we saw a dead man on the floor when we went in and this morning he was gone."

"I never tuk much stock in them stories," said Jeb, with a shake of his head; "but ef you SEEN it! Gosh! Thet

beats me. Come on M'randy, les see what we got to spare," and he turned into the kitchen with his wife.

The lanky boy stepped, out and planting himself in front of The Oskaloosa Kid proceeded to stare at him.

"Yes," said the Kid in a low voice, and bending close toward the other; "it had bloody froth on its lips!"

The Case boy shrank back. "An' what did yew hear?" he asked, a glutton for thrills.

"Something that dragged a chain behind it and came up out of the cellar and tried to get in our room on the

second floor," explained the youth. "It almost got us, too," he added, "and it did it all night."

"Whew," whistled the Case boy. "Gosh!" Then he scratched his head and looked admiringly at the youth.

"I'm The Oskaloosa Kid," replied the youth, unable to resist the admiration of the other's fond gaze. "Look

here!" and he fished a handful of jewelry from one of his side pockets; "this is some of the swag I stole last

Case Jr., opened his mouth and eyes so wide that there was little left of his face. "But that's nothing," bragged

"Gosh!" said the young Mr. Case, but there was that in his facial expression which brought to The Oskaloosa

"Say," said The Kid, after a moment's strained silence. "Don't tell anyone, will you? If you'll promise I'll give

you a dollar," and he hunted through his roll of bills for one of that lowly denomination.

The youth drew a bill from his roll and handed it to the other. "If you tell," he whispered, and he bent close

toward the other's ear and spoke in a menacing tone; "If you tell, I'll kill you!"

At this moment Case pere and mere emerged from the kitchen loaded with provender. "Here's enough an'

more'n enough, I reckon," said Jeb Case. "We got eggs, butter, bread, bacon, milk, an' a mite o' garden sass."

"But we ain't goin' to charge you nothin' fer the garden sass," interjected Mrs. Case.

"That's awfully nice of you," replied The Kid. "How much do I owe you for the rest of it?"

"Oh," said Jeb Case, rubbing his chin, eyeing the big roll of bills and wondering just the limit he might raise

The Oskaloosa Kid peeled a five dollar bill from his roll and proffered it to the farmer. "I'm ever so much

obliged," he said, "and you needn't mind about any change. I thank you so much." With which he took the

"Gosh!" exclaimed Mr. Case, feelingly. "I wisht I'd asked six bits moreI mought jest as well o' got it as

Back down the sticky road plodded The Oskaloosa Kid, his arms heavy and his heart light, for, was he not

'bringing home the bacon,' literally as well as figuratively. As he entered the Squibbs' gateway he saw the girl

and Bridge standing upon the verandah waiting his coming, and as he approached them and they caught a

nearer view of his great burden of provisions they hailed him with loud acclaim.

"Some artist!" cried the man. "And to think that I doubted your ability to make a successful touch! Forgive

me! You are the ne plus ultra, non est cumquidibus, in hoc signo vinces, only and original kind of handout

"Oh, it's easy when you know how," replied The Oskaloosa Kid carelessly, as, with the help of the others, he

carried the fruits of his expedition into the kitchen. Here Bridge busied himself about the stove, adding more

wood to the fire and scrubbing a portion of the top plate as clean as he could get it with such crude means as

The youth he sent to the nearby brook for water after selecting the least dirty of the several empty tin cans

lying about the floor of the summer kitchen. He warned against the use of the water from the old well and

while the boy was away cut a generous portion of the bacon into long, thin strips.

Shortly after, the water coming to the boil, Bridge lowered three eggs into it, glanced at his watch, greased

one of the new cleaned stove lids with a piece of bacon rind and laid out as many strips of bacon as the lid

would accommodate. Instantly the room was filled with the delicious odor of frying bacon.

"Mmmm!" gloated The Oskaloosa Kid. "I wish I had boasked for more. My! but I never smelled

anything so good as that in all my life. Are you going to boil only three eggs? I could eat a dozen."

"The can'll only hold three at a time," explained Bridge. "We'll have some more boiling while we are eating

these." He borrowed his knife from the girl, who was slicing and buttering bread with it, and turned the bacon

swiftly and deftly with the point, then he glanced at his watch. "The three minutes are up," he announced and,

with a couple of small, flat sticks saved for the purpose from the kindling wood, withdrew the eggs one at a

Bridge laughed. "Knock an end off your egg and the shell will answer in place of a cup. Got a knife?"

The Kid didn't. Bridge eyed him quizzically. "You must have done most of your burgling near home," he

"I'm not a burglar!" cried the youth indignantly. Somehow it was very different when this nice voiced man

called him a burglar from bragging of the fact himself to such as The Sky Pilot's villainous company, or the

Bridge made no reply, but his eyes wandered to the right hand side pocket of the boy's coat. Instantly the

latter glanced guiltily downward to flush redly at the sight of several inches of pearl necklace protruding

accusingly therefrom. The girl, a silent witness of the occurrence, was brought suddenly and painfully to a

realization of her present position and recollection of the happenings of the preceding night. For the time she

had forgotten that she was alone in the company of a tramp and a burglarhow much worse either might be

The breakfast, commenced so auspiciously, continued in gloomy silence. At least the girl and The Oskaloosa

Kid were silent and gloom steeped. Bridge was thoughtful but far from morose. His spirits were

"I am afraid," he said, "that I shall have to replace James. His defection is unforgivable, and he has misplaced

The youth and the girl forced wan smiles; but neither spoke. Bridge drew a pouch of tobacco and some

He paused to kindle a sliver of wood at the stove. "In these parlous times," he spoke as though to himself,

"one must economize. They are taking a quarter of an ounce out of each five cents worth of chewing, I am

told; so doubtless each box must be five or six matches short of full count. Even these papers seem thinner

than of yore and they will only sell one book to a customer at that. Indeed Sherman was right."

The youth and the girl remained occupied with their own thoughts, and after a moment's silence the vagabond

"'"Just me," filled up my callin' card.' "Say, do you know I've learned to love this Knibbs person. I used to

think of him as a poor attic prune grinding away in his New York sky parlor, writing his verse of the things

he longed for but had never known; until, one day, I met a fellow between Victorville and Cajon pass who

knew His Knibbs, and come to find out this Knibbs is a regular fellow. His attic covers all God's country that

is out of doors and he knows the road from La Bajada hill to Barstow a darned sight better than he knows

There was no answering sympathy awakened in either of his listenersthey remained mute. Bridge rose and

stretched. He picked up his knife, wiped off the blade, closed it and slipped it into a trousers' pocket. Then he

walked toward the door. At the threshold he paused and turned. "'Goodbye girls! I'm through,'" he quoted

"Where are you going?" cried The Oskaloosa Kid. "You're not going to leave us, are you?"

"I don't know," said Bridge, solemnly, "whether I'm safe in remaining in your society or not. This Oskaloosa

Kid is a bad proposition; and as for you, young lady, I rather imagine that the town constable is looking for

The girl winced. "Please don't," she begged. "I haven't done anything wicked, honestly! But I want to get

away so that they can't question me. I was in the car when they killed him; but I had nothing to do with it. It

is just because of my father that I don't want them to find me. It would break his heart."

As the three stood back of the Squibbs' summer kitchen Fate, in the guise of a rural free delivery carrier and a

Ford, passed by the front gate. A mile beyond he stopped at the Case mail box where Jeb and his son Willie

were, as usual, waiting his coming, for the rural free delivery man often carries more news than is contained

"Mornin' Jeb," he called, as he swerved his light car from the road and drew up in front of the Case gate.

"Mornin', Jim!" returned Mr. Case. "Nice rain we had last night. What's the news?"

"Plenty! Plenty!" exclaimed the carrier. "Lived here nigh onto forty year, man an' boy, an' never seen such

"Ol' man Baggs's murdered last night," announced the carrier, watching eagerly for the effect of his

"I dunno," replied Jim. "He's up to the horspital now, an' the doc says he haint one chance in a thousand."

"But thet ain't all," continued Jim. "Reggie Paynter was murdered last night, too; right on the pike south of

"By gol!" cried Jeb Case; "I hearn them devils go by last night 'bout midnight er after. 'T woke me up. They

must o' ben goin' sixty mile an hour. Er say," he stopped to scratch his head. "Mebby it was tramps. They

must a ben a score on 'em round here yesterday and las' night an' agin this mornin'. I never seed so dum many

"An' thet ain't all," went on the carrier, ignoring the others comments. "Oakdale's all tore up. Abbie Prim's

disappeared and Jonas Prim's house was robbed jest about the same time Ol' man Baggs 'uz murdered, er

most murderedchances is he's dead by this time anyhow. Doc said he hadn't no chance."

"But thet ain't all," gloated Jim. "Two of the persons in the car with Reggie Paynter were recognized, an' who

do you think one of 'em was, eh? Why one of 'em was Abbie Prim an' tother was a slick crook from Toledo er

Noo York that's called The Oskaloosie Kid. By gum, I'll bet they get 'em in no time. Why already Jonas

Prim's got a regular deedectiff down from Chicago, an' the board o' selectmen's offered a reward o' fifty

dollars fer the arrest an' conviction of the perpetrators of these dastardly crimes!"

"Gosh!" cried Willie Case. "I know"; but then he paused. If he told all he knew he saw plainly that either

the carrier or his father would profit by it and collect the reward. Fifty dollars!! Willie gasped.

"Well," said Jim, "I gotta be on my way. Here's the Tribunethere ain't nothin' more fer ye. So long! Giddap

"I don' see why he don't carry a whip," mused Jeb Case. "Agidappin' to that there tin lizzie," he muttered

disgustedly, "jes' like it was as good as a hoss. But I mind the time, the fust day he got the dinged thing, he

Jeb Case preferred an audience worthy his mettle; but Willie was better than no one, yet when he turned to

note the effect of his remarks on his son, Willie was no where to be seen. If Jeb had but known it his young

hopeless was already in the loft of the hay barn deep in a small, redcovered book entitled: "HOW TO BE A

Bridge, who had had no intention of deserting his helpless companions, appeared at last to yield reluctantly to

their pleas. That indefinable something about the youth which appealed strongly to the protective instinct in

the man, also assured him that the other's mask of criminality was for the most part assumed even though the

stories of the two yeggmen and the loot bulging pockets argued to the contrary. There was the chance,

however, that the boy had really taken the first step upon the road toward a criminal career, and if such were

the case Bridge felt morally obligated to protect his new found friend from arrest, secure in the reflection that

his own precept and example would do more to lead him back into the path of rectitude than would any

For the girl he felt a deep pity. In the past he had had knowledge of more than one other smalltown girl led

into wrong doing through the deadly monotony and flagrant hypocrisy of her environment. Himself highly

imaginative and keenly sensitive, he realized with what depth of horror the girl anticipated a return to her

home and friends after the childish escapade which had culminated, even through no fault of hers, in criminal

As the three held a council of war at the rear of the deserted house they were startled by the loud squeaking of

brake bands on the road in front. Bridge ran quickly into the kitchen and through to the front room where he

saw three men alighting from a large touring car which had drawn up before the sagging gate. As the

foremost man, big and broad shouldered, raised his eyes to the building Bridge smothered an exclamation of

surprise and chagrin, nor did he linger to inspect the other members of the party; but turned and ran quickly

"We've got to beat it!" he whispered; "they've brought Burton himself down here."

"He's the best operative west of New York City," replied Bridge, as he moved rapidly toward an outhouse

Once behind the small, dilapidated structure which had once probably housed farm implements, Bridge

paused and looked about. "They'll search here," he prophesied, and then; "Those woods look good to me."

The Squibbs' woods, growing rank in the damp ravine at the bottom of the little valley, ran to within a

hundred feet of the outbuilding. Dense undergrowth choked the ground to a height of eight or ten feet

around the boles of the close set trees. If they could gain the seclusion of that tangled jungle there was little

likelihood of their being discovered, provided they were not seen as they passed across the open space

"We'd better make a break for it," advised Bridge, and a moment later the three moved cautiously toward the

wood, keeping the outhouse between themselves and the farm house. Almost in front of them as they neared

the wood they saw a well defined path leading into the thicket. Singlefile they entered, to be almost instantly

hidden from view, not only from the house but from any other point more than a dozen paces away, for the

path was winding, narrow and closely walled by the budding verdure of the new Spring. Birds sang or

twittered about them, the mat of dead leaves oozed spongily beneath their feet, giving forth no sound as they

Bridge was in the lead, moving steadily forward that they might put as much distance as possible between

themselves and the detective should the latter chance to explore the wood. They had advanced a few hundred

yards when the path crossed through a small clearing the center of which was destitute of fallen leaves. Here

the path was beaten into soft mud and as Bridge came to it he stopped and bent his gaze incredulously upon

the ground. The girl and the youth, halting upon either side, followed the direction of his eyes with theirs.

The girl gave a little, involuntary gasp, and the boy grasped Bridge's hand as though fearful of losing him.

The man turned a quizzical glance at each of them and smiled, though a bit ruefully.

The girl trembled and shook her head. "I would rather die," she said, firmly. "Come, let's go on."

The cause of their perturbation was imprinted deeply in the mud of the pathwaythe irregular outlines of an

enormous, naked, human foota great, uncouth foot that bespoke a monster of another world. While, still

more uncanny, in view of what they had heard in the farm house during the previous night, there lay,

sometimes partially obliterated by the footprints of the THING, the impress of a small, bare foota woman's

or a child's and over both an irregular scoring that might have been wrought by a dragging chain!

In the loft of his father's hay barn Willie Case delved deep into the small redcovered volume, HOW TO BE

A DETECTIVE; but though he turned many pages and flitted to and fro from preface to conclusion he met

only with disappointment. The pictures of noted bank burglars and confidence men aided him not one whit,

for in none of them could he descry the slightest resemblance to the smooth faced youth of the early morning.

In fact, so totally different were the types shown in the little book that Willie was forced to scratch his head

and exclaim "Gosh!" many times in an effort to reconcile the appearance of the innocent boy to the hardened,

"But, by gol!" he exclaimed mentally, "he said he was The Oskaloosie Kid, 'n' that he shot a man last night;

but what I'd like to know is how I'm goin' to shadder him from this here book. Here it says: 'If the criminal

gets on a street car and then jumps off at the next corner the good detective will know that his man is aware

that he is being shadowed, and will stay on the car and telephone his office at the first opportunity.' 'N'ere it

sez: 'If your man gets into a carriage don't run up an' jump on the back of it; but simply hire another carriage

and follow.' How in hek kin I foller this book?" wailed Willie. "They ain't no street cars 'round here. I ain't

never see a street car, 'n'as fer a carriage, I reckon he means bus, they's only one on 'em in Oakdale 'n'if they

waz forty I'd like to know how in hek I'd hire one when I ain't got no money. I reckon I threw away my

fourbits on this bookit don't tell a feller nothin' 'bout false whiskers, wigs 'n' the like," and he tossed the

book disgustedly into a corner, rose and descended to the barnyard. Here he busied himself about some task

that should have been attended to a week before, and which even now was not destined to be completed that

day, since Willie had no more than set himself to it than his attention was distracted by the sudden

Instantly Willie dropped his irksome labor and slouched lazily toward the machine, the occupants of which

were descending and heading for the Case front door. Jeb Case met them before they reached the porch and

The most imposing figure among the strangers was the same whom Bridge had seen approaching the Squibbs'

"As you may know," he said, after introducing himself, "a number of crimes were committed in and around

Oakdale last night. We are searching for clews to the perpetrators, some of whom must still be in the

neighborhood. Have you seen any strange or suspicious characters around lately?"

"I seen the wo'st lookin' gang o' bums come outen my hay barn this mornin' thet I ever seed in my life. They

must o' ben upward of a dozen on 'em. They waz makin' fer the house when I steps in an' grabs my ol' shot

gun. I hollered at 'em not to come a step nigher 'n' I guess they seed it wa'n't safe monkeyin' with me; so they

"Off down the road yonder; but I don't know which way they turned at the crossin's, er ef they kept straight

Burton asked a number of questions in an effort to fix the identity of some of the gang, warned Jeb to

telephone him at Jonas Prim's if he saw anything further of the strangers, and then retraced his steps toward

the car. Not once bad Jeb mentioned the youth who had purchased supplies from him that morning, and the

reason was that Jeb had not considered the young man of sufficient importance, having cataloged him

mentally as an unusually early specimen of the summer camper with which he was more or less familiar.

Willie, on the contrary, realized the importance of their morning customer, yet just how he was to cash in on

his knowledge was not yet entirely clear. He was already convinced that HOW TO BE A DETECTIVE

would help him not at all, and with the natural suspicion of ignorance he feared to divulge his knowledge to

the city detective for fear that the latter would find the means to cheat him out of the princely reward offered

by the Oakdale village board. He thought of going at once to the Squibbs' house and placing the desperate

criminals under arrest; but as fear throttled the idea in its infancy he cast about for some other plan.

Even as he stood there thinking the great detective and his companions were entering the automobile to drive

away. In a moment they would be gone. Were they not, after all, the very men, the only men, in fact, to assist

him in his dilemma? At least he could test them out. If necessary he would divide the reward with them!

Running toward the road Willie shouted to the departing sleuth. The car, moving slowly forward in low,

"If I tell you where the murderer is," he whispered hoarsely, "do I git the $50.00?"

Detective Burton was too old a hand to ignore even the most seemingly impossible of aids. He laid a kindly

hand on Willie's shoulder. "You bet you do," he replied heartily, "and what's more I'll add another fifty to it.

"I seen the murderer this mornin'," Willie was gasping with excitement and elation. Already the one hundred

dollars was as good as his. One hundred dollars! Willie "Goshed!" mentally even as he told his tale. "He

come to our house an' bought some vittles an' stuff. Paw didn't know who he wuz; but when Paw went inside

he told me he was The Oskaloosie Kid 'n' thet he robbed a house last night and killed a man, 'n' he had a

Detective Burton could scarce restrain a smile as he listened to this wildly improbable tale, yet his

professional instinct was too keen to permit him to cast aside as worthless the faintest evidence until he had

proven it to be worthless. He stepped from the car again and motioning to Willie to follow him returned to

the Case yard where Jeb was already coming toward the gate, having noted the interest which his son was

arousing among the occupants of the car. Willie pulled at the detective's sleeve. "Don't tell Paw about the

Burton reassured the boy with a smile and a nod, and then as he neared Jeb he asked him if a young man had

"Sure," replied Jeb; "but he didn't 'mount to nothin'. One o' these here summer camper pests. He paid fer all

he got. Had a roll o' bills 's big as ye fist. Little feller he were, not much older 'n' Willie."

"Did you know that he told your son that he was The Oskaloosa Kid and that he had robbed a house and

"Huh?" exclaimed Jeb. Then he turned and cast one awful look at Williea look large with menace.

"Honest, Paw," pleaded the boy. "I was ascairt to tell you, 'cause he said he'd kill me ef I told."

Jeb scratched his head. "Yew know what you'll get ef you're lyin' to me," he threatened.

"I believe he's telling the truth," said detective Burton. "Where is the man now?" he asked Willie.

"Not now," said Burton; "we just came from there; but there has been someone there this morning, for there

"Thet's right," interjected Jeb. "Thet's what they do say, an' this here Oskaloosie Kid said they heered things

las' night an' seed a dead man on the floor, didn't he M'randy?" M'randy nodded her head.

"But I don't take no stock in what Willie's ben tellin' ye," she continued, "'n' ef his paw don't lick him I will. I

told him tell I'm good an' tired o' talkin' thet one liar 'round a place wuz all I could stand," and she cast a

"Honest, Maw, I ain't alyin'," insisted Willie. "Wot do you suppose he give me this fer, if it wasn't to keep

me from talkin'," and the boy drew a crumpled one dollar bill from his pocket. It was worth the dollar to

"'N' thet ain't all he had neither," he said. "Beside all them bills he showed me a whole pocket full o' jewlry,

'n' he had a string o' things thet I don't know jest what you call 'em; but they looked like they was made outen

Detective Burton raised his eyebrows. "Miss Prim's pearl necklace," he commented to the man at his side.

The other nodded. "Don't punish your son, Mrs. Case," he said to the woman. "I believe he has discovered a

great deal that will help us in locating the man we want. Of course I am interested principally in finding Miss

Primher father has engaged me for that purpose; but I think the arrest of the perpetrators of any of last

night's crimes will put us well along on the trail of the missing young lady, as it is almost a foregone

conclusion that there is a connection between her disappearance and some of the occurrences which have so

excited Oakdale. I do not mean that she was a party to any criminal act; but it is more than possible that she

The Cases hung openmouthed upon his words, while his companions wondered at the loquaciousness of this

ordinarily closemouthed man, who, as a matter of fact, was but attempting to win the confidence of the boy

on the chance that even now he had not told all that he knew; but Willie had told all.

Finding, after a few minutes further conversation, that he could glean no additional information the detective

returned to his car and drove west toward Millsville on the assumption that the fugitives would seek escape

by the railway running through that village. Only thus could he account for their turning off the main pike.

The latter was now well guarded all the way to Payson; while the Millsville road was still open.

No sooner had he departed than Willie Case disappeared, nor did he answer at noon to the repeated ringing of

Half way between the Case farm and Millsville detective Burton saw, far ahead along the road, two figures

scale a fence and disappear behind the fringing blackberry bushes which grew in tangled profusion on either

side. When they came abreast of the spot he ordered the driver to stop; but though he scanned the open field

"There are two men hiding behind those bushes," he said to his companions in a low whisper. "One of you

walk ahead about fifty yards and the other go back the same distance and then climb the fence. When I see

you getting over I'll climb it here. They can't get away from us." To the driver he said: "You have a gun. If

they make a break go after 'em. You can shoot if they don't stop when you tell 'em to."

The two men walked in opposite directions along the road, and when Burton saw them turn in and start to

climb the fence he vaulted over the panel directly opposite the car. He had scarcely alighted upon the other

side when his eyes fell upon the disreputable figures of two tramps stretched out upon their backs and snoring

"You two sure can go to sleep in a hurry," he said. One of the men opened his eyes and sat up. When he saw

"Can't a guy lie down fer a minute in de bushes widout bein' pinched?" he asked. The other man now sat up

and viewed the newcomer, while from either side Burton' s companions closed in on the three.

"Wot's de noise?" inquired the second tramp, looking from one to another of the intruders. "We ain't done

"Of course not, Charlie," Burton assured him gaily. "Who would ever suspect that you or The General would

do anything; but somebody did something in Oakdale last night and I want to take you back there and have a

"Put 'em up!" snapped Burton, and when the four grimy fists had been elevated he signalled to his

"Say," drawled Dopey Charlie. "We knows wot we knows; but hones' to gawd we didn't have nothin' to do

wid it. We knows the guy that pulled it offwe spent las' night wid him an' his pal an' a skoit. He creased

me, here," and Charlie unbuttoned his clothing and exposed to view the bloody scratch of The Oskaloosa

Kid's bullet. "On de level, Burton, we wern't in on it. Dis guy was at dat Squibbs' place wen we pulls in dere

outen de rain. He has a pocket full o' kale an' sparklers an' tings, and he goes fer to shoot me up wen I tries to

"He called hisself de Oskaloosa Kid," replied Charlie. "A guy called Bridge was wid him. You know him?"

"I dunno," said Charlie; "but she was gassin' 'bout her pals croakin' a guy an' trunin' 'im outten a gas wagon,

an' dis Oskaloosa Kid he croaks some old guy in Oakdale las' night. Mebby he ain't a bad 'un though!"

"Well," said Burton, "you boes come along with me. If you ain't done nothing the worst you'll get'll be three

squares and a place to sleep for a few days. I want you where I can lay my hands on you when I need a

couple of witnesses," and he herded them over the fence and into the machine. As he himself was about to

"I've lost my note book," replied Burton; "it must have dropped out of my pocket when I jumped the fence.

Just wait a minute while I go look for it," and be returned to the fence, vaulted it and disappeared behind the

It was fully five minutes before he returned but when he did there was a look of satisfaction on his face.

Bridge and his companions had made their way along the wooded path for perhaps a quarter of a mile when

the man halted and drew back behind the foliage of a flowering bush. With raised finger he motioned the

others to silence and then pointed through the branches ahead. The boy and the girl, tense with excitement,

peered past the man into a clearing in which stood a log shack, mud plastered; but it was not the hovel which

held their mute attentionit was rather the figure of a girl, bare headed and bare footed, who toiled

All too suggestive in itself was the shape of the hole the girl was digging; there was no need of the silent

proof of its purpose which lay beside her to tell the watchers that she worked alone in the midst of the forest

solitude upon a human grave. The thing wrapped in an old quilt lay silently waiting for the making of its last

And as the three watched her other eyes watched them and the digging girlwide, awestruck eyes, filled

with a great terror, yet now and again half closing in the shrewd expression of cunning that is a hall mark of

And as they watched, their overwrought nerves suddenly shuddered to the grewsome clanking of a chain

"Let's go back," he whispered in a voice that trembled so that he could scarce control it.

"Yes, please," urged the girl. "Here is another path leading toward the north. We must be close to a road.

The digger paused and raised her head, listening, as though she had caught the faint, whispered note of

human voices. She was a black haired girl of nineteen or twenty, dressed in a motley of flowered calico and

silk, with strings of gold and silver coins looped around her olive neck. Her bare arms were encircled by

bracelets some cheap and gaudy, others well wrought from gold and silver. From her ears depended

ornaments fashioned from gold coins. Her whole appearance was barbaric, her occupation cast a sinister haze

about her; and yet her eyes seemed fashioned for laughter and her lips for kissing.

The watchers remained motionless as the girl peered first in one direction and then in another, seeking an

explanation of the sounds which had disturbed her. Her brows were contracted into a scowl of apprehension

which remained even after she returned to her labors, and that she was ill at ease was further evidenced by the

frequent pauses she made to cast quick glances toward the dense tanglewood surrounding the clearing.

At last the grave was dug. The girl climbed out and stood looking down upon the quilt wrapped thing at her

feet. For a moment she stood there as silent and motionless as the dead. Only the twittering of birds disturbed

the quiet of the wood. Bridge felt a soft hand slipped into his and slender fingers grip his own, He turned his

eyes to see the boy at his side gazing with wide eyes and trembling lips at the tableau within the clearing.

And as they stood thus the silence was shattered by a loud and human sneeze from the thicket not fifty feet

from where they stood. Instantly the girl in the clearing was electrified into action. Like a tigress charging

those who stalked her she leaped swiftly across the clearing toward the point from which the disturbance had

come. There was an answering commotion in the underbrush as the girl crashed through, a slender knife

Bridge and his companions heard the sounds of a swift and short pursuit followed by voices, one masterful,

the other frightened and whimpering; and a moment afterward the girl reappeared dragging a boy with her

Beside the dead man the girl halted and then turned on her captive. In her right hand she still held the

"What you do there watching me for?" she demanded. "Tell me the truth, or I kill you," and she half raised

the knife that he might profit in his decision by this most potent of arguments.

The boy cowered. "I didn't come fer to watch you," he whimpered. "I'm lookin' for somebody else. I'm goin'

to be a deetectiff, an' I'm shadderin' a murderer; and he gasped and stammered: "But not you. I'm lookin' for

"Two an' mebby three in Oakdale last night," said Willie Case more glibly now that a chance for

disseminating gossip momentarily outweighed his own fears. "Reginald Paynter was murdered an' ol' man

Baggs an' Abigail Prim's missin'. Like es not she's been murdered too, though they do say as she had a hand

As the boy's tale reached the ears of the three hidden in the underbrush Bridge glanced quickly at his

companions. He saw the boy's horrorstricken expression follow the announcement of the name of the

Without urging, Willie Case proceeded with his story. He told of the coming of The Oskaloosa Kid to his

father's farm that morning and of seeing some of the loot and hearing the confession of robbery and killing in

Oakdale the night before. Bridge looked down at the youth beside him; but the other's face was averted and

his eyes upon the ground. Then Willie told of the arrival of the great detective, of the reward that had been

offered and of his decision to win it and become rich and famous in a single stroke. As he reached the end of

his narrative he leaned close to the girl, whispering in her ear the while his furtive gaze wandered toward the

Bridge shrugged his shoulders as the palpable inference of that cunning glance was borne in upon him. The

boy's voice had risen despite his efforts to hold it to a low whisper for what with the excitement of the

adventure and his terror of the girl with the knife he had little or no control of himself, yet it was evident that

he did not realize that practically every word he had spoken had reached the ears of the three in hiding and

that his final precaution as he divulged the information to the girl was prompted by an excess of timidity and

The eyes of the girl widened in surprise and fear as she learned that three watchers lay concealed at the verge

of the clearing. She bent a long, searching look in the direction indicated by the boy and then turned her eyes

quickly toward the hut as though to summon aid. At the same moment Bridge stepped from hiding into the

"I want you and this young man," said Bridge, his voice now suddenly stern. "We have been watching you

and followed you from the Squibbs house. We found the dead man there last night;" Bridge nodded toward

the quilt enveloped thing upon the ground; "and we suspect that you had an accomplice." Here he frowned

"I never seen her afore," he cried. "I don' know nothin' about it. Honest I don't." But the girl did not quail.

"You get out," she commanded. "You a bad man. Kill, steal. He know; he tell me. You get out or I call

"Come, come, now, my dear," urged Bridge, "be calm. Let us get at the root of this thing. Your young friend

accuses me of being a murderer, does he? And he tells about murders in Oakdale that I have not even heard

of. It seems to me that he must have some guilty knowledge himself of these affairs. Look at him and look at

me. Notice his ears, his chin, his forehead, or rather the places where his chin and forehead should be, and

then look once more at me. Which of us might be a murderer and which a detective? I ask you.

"And as for yourself. I find you here in the depths of the wood digging a lonely grave for a human corpse. I

ask myself: was this man murdered? but I do not say that he was murdered. I wait for an explanation from

you, for you do not look a murderer, though I cannot say as much for your desperate companion."

The girl looked straight into Bridge's eyes for a full minute before she replied as though endeavoring to read

"I do not know this boy," she said. "That is the truth. He was spying on me, and when I found him he told me

that you and your companions were thieves and murderers and that you were hiding there watching me. You

tell me the truth, all the truth, and I will tell you the truth. I have nothing to fear. If you do not tell me the

"I will," replied Bridge, and then turning toward the brush he called: "Come here!" and presently a boy and a

girl, dishevelled and fearful, crawled forth into sight. Willie Case's eyes went wide as they fell upon the

Quickly and simply Bridge told the girl the story of the past night, for he saw that by enlisting her sympathy

he might find an avenue of escape for his companions, or at least a haven of refuge where they might hide

until escape was possible. "And then," he said in conclusion, "when the searchers arrived we followed the

foot prints of yourself and the bear until we came upon you digging this grave."

Bridge's companions and Willie Case looked their surprise at his mention of a bear; but the gypsy girl only

"I believe you," said the girl. "It is not easy to deceive Giova. Now I tell you. This here," she pointed toward

the dead man, "he my father. He bad man. Steal; kill; drink; fight; but always good to Giova. Good to no one

else but Beppo. He afraid Beppo. Even our people drive us out he, my father, so bad man. We wander 'round

country mak leetle money when Beppo dance; mak lot money when HE steal. Two days he no come home. I

go las' night look for him. Sometimes he too drunk come home he sleep Squeebs. I go there. I find heem

dead. He have fits, six, seven year. He die fit. Beppo stay guard heem. I carry heem home. Giova strong, he

no very large man. Beppo come too. I bury heem. No one know we leeve here. Pretty soon I go way with

Beppo. Why tell people he dead. Who care? Mak lot trouble for Giova whose heart already ache plenty. No

one love heem, only Beppo and Giova. No one love Giova, only Beppo; but some day Beppo he keel Giova

now HE is dead, for Beppo vera large, strong bearfierce bearogly bear. Even Giova who love Beppo is

"Well," said Bridge, "I guess, Giova, that you and we are in the same boat. We haven't any of us done

anything so very bad but it would be embarrassing to have to explain to the police what we have done," here

he glanced at The Oskaloosa Kid and the girl standing beside the youth. "Suppose we form a defensive

"All right," acquiesced Giova; "but what we do with this?" and she jerked her thumb toward Willie Case.

Willie shook in his boots, figuratively speaking, for in reality he shook upon his bare feet. "Lemme go," he

"No," said Bridge, "you don't go until we're safely out of here. I wouldn't trust that vanishing chin of yours as

"Listen!" cried the boy excitedly. "This boy has been offered a hundred dollars for information leading to the

arrest and conviction of the men who robbed and murdered in Oakdale last night. I'll give him a hundred

"Look here, son," said Bridge, "every time you open your mouth you put your foot in it. The less you

advertise the fact that you have a hundred dollars the better off you'll be. I don't know how you come by so

much wealth; but in view of several things which occurred last night I should not be crazy, were I you, to

have to make a true income tax return. Somehow I have faith in you; but I doubt if any minion of the law

The Oskaloosa Kid appeared hurt and crestfallen. Giova shot a suspicious glance at him. The other girl

involuntarily drew away. Bridge noted the act and shook his head. "No," he said, "we mustn't judge one

another hastily, Miss Prim, and I take it you are Miss Prim?" The girl made a half gesture of denial, started to

speak, hesitated and then resumed. "I would rather not say who I am, please," she said.

"Well," said the man, "let's take one another at face value for a while, without digging too deep into the past;

and now for our plans. This wood will be searched; but I don't see how we are to get out of it before dark as

the roads are doubtless pretty well patrolled, or at least every farmer is on the lookout for suspicious

strangers. So we might as well make the best of it here for the rest of the day. I think we're reasonably safe

Willie had been an interested auditor of all that passed between his captors. He was obviously terrified; but

his terror did not prevent him from absorbing all that he heard, nor from planning how he might utilize the

information. He saw not only one reward but several and a glorious publicity which far transcended the most

sanguine of his former dreams. He saw his picture not only in the Oakdale Tribune but in the newspapers of

every city of the country. Assuming a stern and arrogant expression, or rather what he thought to be such, he

posed, mentally, for the newspaper cameramen; and such is the power of association of ideas that he was

presently strolling nonchalantly before a battery of motion picture machines. "Gee!" he murmured, "wont the

other fellers be sore! I s'ppose Pinkerton'll send for me 'bout the first thing 'n' offer me twenty fi' dollars a

week, er mebbie more 'n thet. Gol durn, ef I don't hold out fer thirty! Gee!" Words, thoughts even, failed him.

As the others planned they rather neglected Willie and when they came to assisting Giova in lowering her

father into the grave and covering him over with earth they quite forgot Willie entirely. It was The Oskaloosa

Kid who first thought of him. "Where's the boy?" he cried suddenly. The others looked quickly about the

Bridge shook his head ruefully. "We'll have to get out of this in a hurry now," he said. "That little defective

"Oh, what can we do?" cried the girl. "They mustn't find us! I should rather die than be found here with"

She stopped abruptly, flushed scarlet as the other three looked at her in silence, and then: "I am sorry," she

said. "I didn't know what I was saying. I am so frightened. You have all been good to me."

"I tell you what we do." It was Giova speaking in the masterful voice of one who has perfect confidence in

his own powers. "I know fine way out. This wood circle back south through swamp mile, mile an' a half. The

road past Squeebs an' Case's go right through it. I know path there I fin' myself. We on'y have to cross road,

that only danger. Then we reach leetle stream south of woods, stream wind down through Payson. We all go

Gypsies. I got lot clothing in house. We all go Gypsies, an' when we reach Payson we no try hidejus' come

out on street with Beppo. Mak' Beppo dance. No one think we try hide. Then come night we go 'way. Find

more wood an' leetle lake other side Payson. I know place. We hide there long time. No one ever fin' us there.

We tell two, three, four people in Payson we go Oakdale. They look Oakdale for us if they wan' fin' us. They

"Oh, I can't go to Payson," exclaimed the other girl. "Someone would be sure to recognize me."

"You come in house with me," Giova assured her, "I feex you so your own mother no know you. You mens

come too. I geeve you what to wear like Gypsy mens. We got lots things. My father, him he steal many

things from our people after they drive us out. He go back by nights an' steal."

The three followed her toward the little hovel since there seemed no better plan than that which she had

offered. Giova and the other girl were in the lead, followed by Bridge and the boy. The latter turned to the

man and placed a hand upon his arm. "Why don't you leave us," he asked. "You have done nothing. No one is

"I believe," the youth went on, "that you are doing it for me; but why I can't guess."

"Maybe I am," Bridge half acknowledged. "You're a good little kid, but you need someone to look after you.

It would be easier though if you'd tell me the truth about yourself, which you certainly haven't up to now."

"Oh, its worse," cried The Oskaloosa Kid. "It's a thousand times worse. Don't make me tell you, for if I do

tell I shall have to leave you, andand, oh, Bridge, I don't want to leave youever!"

They had reached the door of the cabin now and were looking in past the girl who had halted there as Giova

entered. Before them was a small room in which a large, vicious looking brown bear was chained.

"Behold our ghost of last night!" exclaimed Bridge. "By George! though, I'd as soon have hunted a real ghost

"Did you know last night that it was a bear?" asked the Kid. "You told Giova that you followed the footprints

"I had an idea last night," explained Bridge, "that the sounds were produced by some animal dragging a

chain; but I couldn't prove it and so I said nothing, and then this morning while we were following the trail I

made up my mind that it was a bear. There were two facts which argued that such was the case. The first is

that I don't believe in ghosts and that even if I did I would not expect a ghost to leave footprints in the mud,

and the other is that I knew that the footprints of a bear are strangely similar to those of the naked feet of

man. Then when I saw the Gypsy girl I was sure that what we had heard last night was nothing more nor less

than a trained bear. The dress and appearance of the dead man lent themselves to a furtherance of my belief

Within the room the bear was now straining at his collar and growling ferociously at the strangers. Giova

crossed the room, scolding him and at the same time attempting to assure him that the newcomers were

friends; but the wicked expression upon the beast's face gave no indication that he would ever accept them as

It was a breathless Willie who broke into his mother's kitchen wide eyed and gasping from the effects of

"Fer lan' sakes! I should think you did hev 'em," retorted his mother as she trailed after him in the direction of

the front hall. "'N' whatever you got, you got 'em bad. Now you stop right where you air 'n' tell me whatever

you got. 'Taint likely its measles, fer you've hed them three times, 'n' whoopin' cough ain't 'them,' it's 'it,'

'n'." Mrs. Case paused and gaspedhorrified. "Fer lan' sakes, Willie Case, you come right out o' this

house this minute ef you got anything in your head." She made a grab for Willie's arm; but the boy dodged

"Shucks!" he cried. "I ain't got nothin' in my head," nor did either sense the unconscious humor of the

statement. "What I got is a gang o' thieves an' murderers, an' I'm callin' up thet big city deetectiff to come

Mrs. Case sank into a chair, prostrated by the weight of her emotions, while Willie took down the receiver

after ringing the bell to attract central. Finally he obtained his connection, which was with Jonas Prim's bank

where detective Burton was making his headquarters. Here he learned that Burton had not returned; but

finally gave his message reluctantly to Jonas Prim after exacting a promise from that gentleman that he would

be personally responsible for the payment of the reward. What Willie Case told Jonas Prim had the latter in a

machine, with half a dozen deputy sheriffs and speeding southward from Oakdale inside of ten minutes.

A short distance out from town they met detective Burton with his two prisoners. After a hurried consultation

Dopey Charlie and The General were unloaded and started on the remainder of their journey afoot under

guard of two of the deputies, while Burton's companions turned and followed the other car, Burton taking a

"He said that he could take us right to where Abigail is," Mr. Prim was explaining to Burton, "and that this

Oskaloosa Kid is with her, and another man and a foreign looking girl. He told a wild story about seeing them

burying a dead man in the woods back of Squibbs' place. I don't know how much to believe, or whether to

believe any of it; but we can't afford not to run down every clew. I can't believe that my daughter is wilfully

consorting with such men. She always has been full of life and spirit; but she's got a clean mind, and her little

escapades have always been entirely harmlessat worst some sort of boyish prank. I simply won't believe it

Burton made no reply. He was not a man to jump to conclusions. His success was largely due to the fact that

he assumed nothing; but merely ran down each clew quickly yet painstakingly until he had a foundation of

fact upon which to operate. His theory was that the simplest way is always the best way and so he never

befogged the main issue with any elaborate system of deductive reasoning based on guesswork. Burton never

guessed. He assumed that it was his business to KNOW, nor was he on any case long before he did know. He

was employed now to find Abigail Prim. Each of the several crimes committed the previous night might or

might not prove a clew to her whereabouts; but each must be run down in the process of elimination before

Already he had solved one of them to his satisfaction; and Dopey Charlie and The General were, all unknown

to themselves, on the way to the gallows for the murder of Old John Baggs. When Burton had found them

simulating sleep behind the bushes beside the road his observant eyes had noticed something that resembled a

hurried cache. The excuse of a lost note book had taken him back to investigate and to find the loot of the

When Burton and Jonas Prim arrived at the Case farm they were met by a new Willie. A puffed and

important young man swaggered before them as he retold his tale and led them through the woods toward the

spot where they were to bag their prey. The last hundred yards was made on hands and knees; but when the

party arrived at the clearing there was no one in sight, only the hovel stood mute and holloweyed before

Burton passed a whispered word to his followers. Stealthily they crept through the underbrush until the cabin

was surrounded; then, at a signal from their leader they rose and advanced upon the structure.

No evidence of life indicated their presence had been noted, and Burton came to the very door of the cabin

unchallenged. The others saw him pause an instant upon the threshold and then pass in. They closed behind

Willie Case was crestfallen. "But they must be," he pleaded. "They must be. I saw 'em here just a leetle while

Burton turned and eyed the boy sternly. Willie quailed. "I seen 'em," he cried. "Hones' I seen 'em. They was

here just a few minutes ago. Here's where they burrit the dead man," and he pointed to the little mound of

"We'll see," commented Burton, tersely, and he sent two of his men back to the Case farm for spades. When

they returned a few minutes' labor revealed that so much of Willie's story was true, for a quilt wrapped corpse

was presently unearthed and lying upon the ground beside its violated grave. Willie's stock rose once more to

In an improvised litter they carried the dead man back to Case's farm where they left him after notifying the

coroner by telephone. Half of Burton's men were sent to the north side of the woods and half to the road upon

the south of the Squibbs' farm. There they separated and formed a thin line of outposts about the entire area

north of the road. If the quarry was within it could not escape without being seen. In the mean time Burton

telephoned to Oakdale for reinforcements, as it would require fifty men at least to properly beat the tangled

In a clump of willows beside the little stream which winds through the town of Payson a party of four halted

on the outskirts of the town. There were two men, two young women and a huge brown bear. The men and

women were, obviously, Gypsies. Their clothing, their headdress, their barbaric ornamentation proclaimed

"I think," said Bridge, "that we will just stay where we are until after dark. We haven't passed or seen a

human being since we left the cabin. No one can know that we are here and if we stay here until late tonight

we should be able to pass around Payson unseen and reach the wood to the south of town. If we do meet

anyone tonight we'll stop them and inquire the way to Oakdale that'll throw them off the track."

The others acquiesced in his suggestion; but there were queries about food to be answered. It seemed that all

"Mos' anything," replied the girl. "He like garbage fine. Often I take him into towns late, ver' late at night an'

he eat swill. I do that tonight. Beppo, he got to be fed or he eat Giova. I go feed Beppo, you go get food for

During the remainder of the afternoon and well after dark the party remained hidden in the willows. Then

Giova started out with Beppo in search of garbage cans, Bridge bent his steps toward a small store upon the

outskirts of town where food could be purchased, The Oskaloosa Kid having donated a ten dollar bill for the

stocking of the commissariat, and the youth and the girl made their way around the south end of the town

As Bridge moved through the quiet road at the outskirts of the little town he let his mind revert to the events

of the past twenty four hours and as he pondered each happening since he met the youth in the dark of the

storm the preceding night he asked himself why he had cast his lot with these strangers. In his years of

vagabondage Bridge had never crossed that invisible line which separates honest men from thieves and

murderers and which, once crossed, may never be recrossed. Chance and necessity had thrown him often

among such men and women; but never had he been of them. The police of more than one city knew

Bridge they knew him, though, as a character and not as a criminal. A dozen times he had been arraigned

upon suspicion; but as many times had he been released with a clean bill of morals until of late Bridge had

become almost immune from arrest. The police who knew him knew that he was straight and they knew, too,

that he would give no information against another man. For this they admired him as did the majority of the

The present crisis, however, appeared most unpromising to Bridge. Grave crimes had been committed in

Oakdale, and here was Bridge conniving in the escape of at least two people who might readily be under

police suspicion. It was difficult for the man to bring himself to believe that either the youth or the girl was in

any way actually responsible for either of the murders; yet it appeared that the latter had been present when a

murder was committed and now by attempting to elude the police had become an accessory after the fact,

since she possessed knowledge of the identity of the actual murderer; while the boy, by his own admission,

Bridge shook his head wearily. Was he not himself an accessory after the fact in the matter of two crimes at

least? These new friends, it seemed, were about to topple him into the abyss which he had studiously avoided

A freight train was puffing into the siding at the Payson station. Bridge could hear the complaining brakes a

mile away. It would be easy to leave the town and his dangerous companions far behind him; but even as the

thought forced its way into his mind another obtruded itself to shoulder aside the first. It was recollection of

"I couldn't do it," mused Bridge. "I don't know just why; but I couldn't. That kid has certainly got me. The

first thing someone knows I'll be starting a foundlings' home. There is no question but that I am the soft mark,

and I wonder why it iswhy a kid I never saw before last night has a strangle hold on my heart that I can't

shake looseand don't want to. Now if it was a girl I could understand it." Bridge stopped suddenly in the

middle of the road. From his attitude he might have been startled either by a surprising noise or by a

surprising thought. For a minute he stood motionless; then he shook his head again and proceeded along his

way toward the little store; evidently if he had heard anything he was assured that it constituted no menace.

As he entered the store to make his purchases a foxeyed man saw him and stepped quickly behind the huge

stove which had not as yet been taken down for the summer. Bridge made his purchases, the volume of which

required a large gunnysack for transportation, and while he was thus occupied the foxeyed man clung to

his coign of vantage, himself unnoticed by the purchaser. When Bridge departed the other followed him,

keeping in the shadow of the trees which bordered the street. Around the edge of town and down a road

which led southward the two went until Bridge passed through a broken fence and halted beside an

abandoned mill. The watcher saw his quarry set down his burden, seat himself beside it and proceed to roll a

Five or ten minutes later two slender figures appeared dimly out of the north. They approached timidly,

stopping often and looking first this way and then that and always listening. When they arrived opposite the

mill Bridge saw them and gave a low whistle. Immediately the two passed through the fence and approached

"My!" exclaimed one, "I thought we never would get here; but we didn't see a soul on the road. Where is

"She hadn't come yet," replied Bridge, "and she may not. I don't see how a girl can browse around a town like

this with a big bear at night and not be seen, and if she is seen she'll be followedit would be too much of a

treat for the rubes ever to be passed upand if she's followed she won't come here. At least I hope she

The girl shuddered. "Even now that I know what it is it makes me creep," she whispered, as the faint clanking

"We ought to be used to it by this time, Miss Prim," said Bridge. "We heard it all last night and a good part of

The girl made no comment upon the use of the name which he had applied to her, and in the darkness he

could not see her features, nor did he see the odd expression upon the boy's face as he heard the name

addressed to her. Was he thinking of the nocturnal raid he so recently had made upon the boudoir of Miss

Abigail Prim? Was he pondering the fact that his pockets bulged to the stolen belongings of that young lady?

As the three stood waiting in silence Giova came presently among them, the beast Beppo lumbering

"Oh, yes," exclaimed Giova. "He fill up now. That mak him better nature. Beppo not so ugly now."

"Well, I'm glad of that," said Bridge. "I haven't been looking forward much to his company through the

Giova laughed a low, musical little laugh. "I don' think he no hurt you anyway," she said. "Now he know you

"I hope you are quite correct in your surmise," replied Bridge. "But even so I'm not taking any chances."

Willie Case had been taken to Payson to testify before the coroner's jury investigating the death of Giova's

father, and with the dollar which The Oskaloosa Kid had given him in the morning burning in his pocket had

proceeded to indulge in an orgy of dissipation the moment that he had been freed from the inquest. Ice cream,

red pop, peanuts, candy, and soda water may have diminished his appetite but not his pride and

selfsatisfaction as he sat alone and by night for the first time in a public eating place. Willie was now a man

of the world, a bon vivant, as he ordered ham and eggs from the pretty waitress of The Elite Restaurant on

Broadway; but at heart he was not happy for never before had he realized what a great proportion of his

anatomy was made up of hands and feet. As he glanced fearfully at the former, silhouetted against the white

of the table cloth, he flushed scarlet, assured as he was that the waitress who had just turned away toward the

kitchen with his order was convulsed with laughter and that every other eye in the establishment was glued

upon him. To assume an air of nonchalance and thereby impress and disarm his critics Willie reached for a

toothpick in the little glass holder near the center of the table and upset the sugar bowl. Immediately Willie

snatched back the offending hand and glared ferociously at the ceiling. He could feel the roots of his hair

being consumed in the heat of his skin. A quick side glance that required all his will power to consummate

showed him that no one appeared to have noticed his faux pas and Willie was again slowly returning to

normal when the proprietor of the restaurant came up from behind and asked him to remove his hat.

Never had Willie Case spent so frightful a half hour as that within the brilliant interior of The Elite

Restaurant. Twentythree minutes of this eternity was consumed in waiting for his order to be served and

seven minutes in disposing of the meal and paying his check. Willie's method of eating was in itself a sermon

on efficiencythere was no lost motionno waste of time. He placed his mouth within two inches of his

plate after cutting his ham and eggs into pieces of a size that would permit each mouthful to enter without

wedging; then he mixed his mashed potatoes in with the result and working his knife and fork alternately

In addition to the meat and potatoes there was one vegetable in a sidedish and as dessert four prunes. The

meat course gone Willie placed the vegetable dish on the empty plate, seized a spoon in lieu of knife and fork

andpresto! the sidedish was empty. Whereupon the prune dish was set in the empty sidedishfour deft

motions and there were no prunesin the dish. The entire feat had been accomplished in 6:34 1/2, setting a

In the remaining twenty five and one half seconds Willie walked what seemed to him a mile from his seat to

the cashier's desk and at the last instant bumped into a waitress with a trayful of dishes. Clutched tightly in

Willie's hand was thirty five cents and his check with a like amount written upon it. Amid the crash of

crockery which followed the collision Willie slammed check and money upon the cashier's desk and fled.

Nor did he pause until in the reassuring seclusion of a dark sidestreet. There Willie sank upon the curb

alternately cold with fear and hot with shame, weak and panting, and into his heart entered the iron of class

Fortunately for youth it recuperates rapidly from mortal blows, and so it was that another half hour found

Willie wandering up and down Broadway but at the far end of the street from The Elite Restaurant. A motion

picture theater arrested his attention; and presently, parting with one of his two remaining dimes, he entered.

The feature of the bill was a detective melodrama. Nothing in the world could have better suited Willie's

psychic needs. It recalled his earlier feats of the day, in which he took pardonable pride, and raised him once

again to a selfconfidence he had not felt since be entered the ever to be hated Elite Restaurant.

The show over Willie set forth afoot for home. A long walk lay ahead of him. This in itself was bad enough;

but what lay at the end of the long walk was infinitely worse, as Willie's father had warned him to return

immediately after the inquest, in time for milking, preferably. Before he had gone two blocks from the theater

Willie had concocted at least three tales to account for his tardiness, either one of which would have done

credit to the imaginative powers of a Rider Haggard or a Jules Verne; but at the end of the third block he

caught a glimpse of something which drove all thoughts of home from his mind and came but barely short of

driving his mind out too. He was approaching the entrance to an alley. Old trees grew in the parkway at his

side. At the street corner a half block away a high flung arc swung gently from its supporting cables, casting a

fair light upon the alley's mouth, and just emerging from behind the nearer fence Willie Case saw the huge

bulk of a bear. Terrified, Willie jumped behind a tree; and then, fearful lest the animal might have caught

sight or scent of him he poked his head cautiously around the side of the bole just in time to see the figure of

a girl come out of the alley behind the bear. Willie recognized her at the first glance she was the very girl

he had seen burying the dead man in the Squibbs woods. Instantly Willie Case was transformed again into the

shrewd and death defying sleuth. At a safe distance he followed the girl and the bear through one alley after

another until they came out upon the road which leads south from Payson. He was across the road when she

joined Bridge and his companions. When they turned toward the old mill he followed them, listening close to

the rotting clapboards for any chance remark which might indicate their future plans. He heard them debating

the wisdom of remaining where they were for the night or moving on to another location which they had

"The objection to remaining here," said Bridge, "is that we can't make a fire to cook byit would be too

"But I can no fin' road by dark," explained Giova. "It bad road by day, ver' much worse by night. Beppo no

"All right," replied Bridge, "we can eat some of this canned stuff and have our ham and coffee after we reach

"And now that we've gotten through Payson safely," suggested The Oskaloosa Kid, "let's change back into

Willie Case had heard enough. His quarry would remain where it was over night, and a moment later Willie

In an old brick structure a hundred yards below the mill where the lighting machinery of Payson had been

installed before the days of the great central powerplant a hundred miles away four men were smoking as

"I tell you I seen him," asserted one of the party. "I follered this Bridge guy from town to the mill. He was got

up like a Gyp; but I knew him all right, all right. This scenery of his made me tink there was something

phoney doin', or I wouldn't have trailed him, an' its a good ting I done it, fer he hadn't ben there five minutes

before along comes The Kid an' a skirt and pretty soon a nudder chicken wid a calf on a string, er mebbie it

was a sheepit was pretty husky lookin' fer a sheep though. An' I sticks aroun' a minute until I hears this

He ceased speaking to note the effect of his words on his hearers. They were electrical. The Sky Pilot sat up

straight and slapped his thigh. Soup Face opened his mouth, letting his pipe fall out into his lap, setting fire to

"So you sees," went on Columbus Blackie, "we got a chanct to get both the dame and The Kid. Two of us can

take her to Oakdale an' claim the reward her old man's offerin' an' de odder two can frisk de Kid, an'

"Eddie and I will return Miss Prim to her bereaved parents," interrupted The Sky Pilot. "You, Blackie, and

Soup Face can arrange matters with The Oskaloosa Kid. I don't care for details. We will all meet in Toledo as

soon as possible and split the swag. We ought to make a cleaning on this job, boes."

"We'd better wait until they're asleep," counseled The Sky Pilot. "Two of us can tackle this Bridge and hand

him the k.o. quick. Eddie and Soup Face had better attend to that. Blackie can nab The Kid an' I'll annex Miss

Abigail Prim. The lady with the calf we don't want. We'll tell her we're officers of the law an' that she'd better

duck with her live stock an' keep her trap shut if she don't want to get mixed up with a murder trial."

Detective Burton was at the county jail in Oakdale administering the third degree to Dopey Charlie and The

"Hello!" said the voice at the other end of the line; "I'm Willie Case, an' I've found Miss Abigail Prim."

"Really," asserted Willie. "I know where she's goin' to be all night. I heard 'em say so. The Oskaloosie Kid's

with her an' annuder guy an' the girl I seen with the dead man in Squibbs' woods an' they got a BEAR!" It

was almost a shriek. "You'd better come right away an' bring Mr. Prim. I'll meet you on the ol' Toledo road

"You'll get whatever's coming to you, son," replied Burton. "You say there are two men and two women

"All right, keep quiet and wait for me," cautioned Burton. "You'll know me by the spot light on my car I'll

have it pointed straight up into the air. When you see it coming get into the middle of the road and wave your

A few minutes later Burton left Oakdale with his two lieutenants and a couple of the local policemen, the car

turning south toward Payson and moving at ever accelerating speed as it left the town streets behind it and

It was after midnight when four men cautiously approached the old mill. There was no light nor any sign of

life within as they crept silently through the doorless doorway. Columbus Blackie was in the lead. He flashed

a quick light around the interior revealing four forms stretched upon the floor, deep in slumber. Into the

blacker shadows of the far end of the room the man failed to shine his light for the first flash had shown him

those whom he sought. Picking out their quarry the intruders made a sudden rush upon the sleepers.

Bridge awoke to find two men attempting to rain murderous blows upon his head. Wiry, strong and full of the

vigor of a clean life, he pitted against their greater numbers and cowardly attack a defense which was

Columbus Blackie leaped for The Oskaloosa Kid, while The Sky Pilot seized upon Abigail Prim. No one paid

any attention to Giova, nor, with the noise and confusion, did the intruders note the sudden clanking of a

chain from out the black depths of the room's further end, or the splintering of a half decayed studding.

Soup Face entangling himself about Bridge's legs succeeded in throwing the latter to the floor while Dirty

Eddie kicked viciously at the prostrate man's head. The Sky Pilot seized Abigail Prim about the waist and

dragged her toward the doorway and though the girl fought valiantly to free herself her lesser muscles were

unable to cope successfully with those of the man. Columbus Blackie found his hands full with The

Oskaloosa Kid. Again and again the youth struck him in the face; but the man persisted, beating down the

slim hands and striking viciously at body and head until, at last, the boy, half stunned though still struggling,

Simultaneously a series of frightful growls reverberated through the deserted mill. A huge body catapulted

into the midst of the fighters. Abigail Prim screamed. "The bear!" she cried. "The bear is loose!"

Dirty Eddie was the first to feel the weight of Beppo's wrath. His foot drawn back to implant a vicious kick in

Bridge's face he paused at the girl's scream and at the same moment a huge thing reared up before him. Just

for an instant he sensed the terrifying presence of some frightful creature, caught the reflected gleam of two

savage eyes and felt the hot breath from distended jaws upon his cheek, then Beppo swung a single terrific

blow which caught the man upon the side of the head to spin him across the floor and drop him in a crumpled

heap against the wall, with a fractured skull. Dirty Eddie was out. Soup Face, giving voice to a scream more

Beppo paused and looked about. He discovered Bridge lying upon the floor and sniffed at him. The man lay

perfectly quiet. He had heard that often times a bear will not molest a creature which it thinks dead. Be that as

it may Beppo chanced at that moment to glance toward the doorway. There, silhouetted against the lesser

darkness without, he saw the figures of Columbus Blackie and The Oskaloosa Kid and with a growl he

charged them. The two were but a few paces outside the doorway when the full weight of the great bear

struck Columbus Blackie between the shoulders. Down went the man and as he fell he released his hold upon

The momentum of the bear carried him past the body of his intended victim who, frightened but uninjured,

scrambled to his feet and dashed toward the rear of the mill in the direction of the woods and distant swamp.

Beppo, recovering from his charge, wheeled in time to catch a glimpse of his quarry after whom he made

with all the awkwardness that was his birthright and with the speed of a race horse.

Columbus Blackie, casting a terrified glance rearward, saw his Nemesis flashing toward him, and dodged

around a large tree. Again Beppo shot past the man while the latter, now shrieking for help, raced madly in a

Bridge had arisen and come out of the mill. He called aloud for The Oskaloosa Kid. Giova answered him

from a small tree. "Climb!" she cried. "Climb a tree! Ever'one climb a small tree. Beppo he go mad. He keel

Along the road from the north came a large touring car, swinging from side to side in its speed. Its brilliant

headlights illuminated the road far ahead. They picked out The Sky Pilot and Abigail Prim, they found The

Oskaloosa Kid climbing a barbed wire fence and then with complaining brakes the car came to a sudden stop.

Six men leaped from the machine and rounded up the three they had seen. Another came running toward

them. It was Soup Face, so thoroughly terrified that he would gladly have embraced a policeman in uniform,

A boy accompanied the newcomers. "There he is!" he screamed, pointing at The Oskaloosa Kid. "There he

"Watch this bunch," said Burton to one of his lieutenants, "while we go after the rest of them. There are some

From the woods came a fearfilled scream mingled with the savage growls of a beast.

Bridge ran forward to meet Burton. "Get that girl and the kid into your machine and beat it!" he cried.

"There's a bear loose here, a regular devil of a bear. You can't do a thing unless you have rifles. Have you?"

"He's one of the gang," yelled Willie Case from the fancied security of the tonneau. "Seize him!" He wanted

to add: "My men"; but somehow his nerve failed him at the last moment; however he had the satisfaction of

Bridge was placed in the car with Abigail Prim, The Oskaloosa Kid, Soup Face and The Sky Pilot. Burton

sent the driver back to assist in guarding them; then he with the remaining three, two of whom were armed

with rifles, advanced toward the mill. Beyond it they heard the growling of the bear at a little distance in the

wood; but the man no longer made any outcry. From a tree Giova warned them back.

The driver turned his spot light upon the wood beyond the mill and presently there came slowly forward into

its rays the lumbering bulk of a large bear. The light bewildered him and he paused, growling. His left

"Aim for his chest, on the left side," whispered Burton. The two men raised their rifles. There were two

reports in close succession. Beppo fell forward without a sound and then rolled over on his side. Giova

Bridge extended a hand and patted her bowed head. In the eyes of The Oskaloosa Kid there glistened

In the woods back of the mill Burton and his men found the mangled remains of Columbus Blackie, and

when they searched the interior of the structure they brought forth the unconscious Dirty Eddie. As the car

already was taxed to the limit of its carrying capacity Burton left two of his men to march The Kid and

Bridge to the Payson jail, taking the others with him to Oakdale. He was also partially influenced in this

decision by the fear that mob violence would be done the principals by Oakdale's outraged citizens. At

Payson he stopped long enough at the town jail to arrange for the reception of the two prisoners, to notify the

coroner of the death of Columbus Blackie and the whereabouts of his body and to place Dirty Eddie in the

hospital. He then telephoned Jonas Prim that his daughter was safe and would be returned to him in less than

By the time Bridge and The Oskaloosa Kid reached Payson the town was in an uproar. A threatening crowd

met them a block from the jail; but Burton's men were armed with rifles which they succeeded in convincing

the mob they would use if their prisoners were molested. The telephone, however, had carried the word to

Oakdale; so that before Burton arrived there a dozen automobile loads of indignant citizens were racing south

Bridge and The Oskaloosa Kid were hustled into the single cell of the Payson jail. A bench ran along two

sides of the room. A single barred window let out upon the yard behind the structure. The floor was littered

with papers, and a single electric light bulb relieved the gloom of the unsavory place.

The Oskaloosa Kid sank, trembling, upon one of the hard benches. Bridge rolled a cigaret. At his feet lay a

copy of that day's Oakdale Tribune. A face looked up from the printed page into his eyes. He stooped and

took up the paper. The entire front page was devoted to the various crimes which had turned peaceful

Oakdale inside out in the past twenty four hours. There were reproductions of photographs of John Baggs,

Reginald Paynter, Abigail Prim, Jonas Prim, and his wife, with a large cut of the Prim mansion, a star

marking the boudoir of the missing daughter of the house. As Bridge examined the various pictures an odd

expression entered his eyesit was a mixture of puzzlement, incredulity, and relief. Tossing the paper aside

he turned toward The Oskaloosa Kid. They could hear the sullen murmur of the crowd in front of the jail.

"If they get any booze," he said, "they'll take us out of here and string us up. If you've got anything to say that

would tend to convince them that you did not kill Paynter I advise you to call the guard and tell the truth, for

if the mob gets us they might hang us first and listen afterwarda mob is not a nice thing. Beppo was an

"Could you convince them that you had no part in any of these crimes?" asked the boy. "I know that you

"No," said Bridge. "A mob is not open to reason. If they get us I shall hang, unless someone happens to think

The youth flushed; but did not reply, for there came from without a sudden augmentation of the murmurings

of the mob. Automobile horns screamed out upon the night. The two heard the chugging of motors, the sound

of brakes and the greetings of new arrivals. The reinforcements had arrived from Oakdale.

A guard came to the grating of the cell door. "The bunch from Oakdale has come," he said. "If I was you I'd

say my prayers. Old man Baggs is dead. No one never had no use for him while he was alive, but the whole

county's het up now over his death. They're bound to get you, an' while I didn't count 'em all I seen about a

The youth shook his head. "I have killed no one," said he. "That is the truth. Neither have you; but if they are

going to murder you they can murder me too, for you stuck to me when you didn't have to; and I am going to

stick to you, and there is some excuse for me because I have a reasonthe best reason in the world."

"Well," said the guard, with a shrug of his shoulders, "it's up to you guys. If you want to hang, why hang and

be damned. We'll do the best we can 'cause it's our duty to protect you; but I guess at that hangin's too good

The uproar in front of the jail had risen in volume until it was difficult for those within to make themselves

heard without shouting. The Kid sat upon his bench and buried his face in his hands. Bridge rolled another

smoke. The sound of a shot came from the front room of the jail, immediately followed by a roar of rage from

the mob and a deafening hammering upon the jail door. A moment later this turned to the heavy booming of a

battering ram and the splintering of wood. The frail structure quivered beneath the onslaught.

The prisoners could hear the voices of the guards and the jailer raised in an attempt to reason with the

unreasoning mob, and then came a final crash and the stamping of many feet upon the floor of the outer

Burton's car drew up before the doorway of the Prim home in Oakdale. The great detective alighted and

handed down the missing Abigail. Then be directed that the other prisoners be taken to the county jail.

Jonas Prim and his wife awaited Abigail's return in the spacious living room at the left of the reception hall.

The banker was nervous. He paced to and fro the length of the room. Mrs. Prim fanned herself vigorously

although the heat was far from excessive. They heard the motor draw up in front of the house; but they did

not venture into the reception hall or out upon the porch, though for different reasons. Mrs. Prim because it

would not have been PROPER; Jonas because he could not trust himself to meet his daughter, whom he had

thought lost, in the presence of a possible crowd which might have accompanied her home.

They heard the closing of an automobile door and the sound of foot steps coming up the concrete walk. The

Prim butler was already waiting at the doorway with the doors swung wide to receive the prodigal daughter

of the house of Prim. A slender figure with bowed head ascended the steps, guided and assisted by the

detective. She did not look up at the expectant butler waiting for the greeting he was sure Abigail would have

"Your father and Mrs. Prim are in the living room," announced the butler, stepping forward to draw aside the

"I am very glad, Mr. Prim," said the latter, "to be able to return Miss Prim to you so quickly and unharmed."

The girl looked up into the face of Jonas Prim. The man voiced an exclamation of surprise and annoyance.

Mrs. Prim gasped and sank upon a sofa. The girl stood motionless, her eyes once again bent upon the floor.

"Everything is wrong, Mr. Burton," Jonas Prim's voice was crisp and cold. "This is not my daughter."

"You are going to ask what I mean by posing as Miss Prim," she said. "I have never said that I was Miss

Prim. You took the word of an ignorant little farmer's boy and I did not deny it when I found that you

intended bringing me to Mr. Prim, for I wanted to see him. I wanted to ask him to help me. I have never met

him, or his daughter either; but my father and Mr. Prim have been friends for many years.

"I am Hettie Penning," she continued, addressing Jonas Prim. "My father has always admired you and from

what he has told me I knew that you would listen to me and do what you could for me. I could not bear to

think of going to the jail in Payson, for Payson is my home. Everybody would have known me. It would have

killed my father. Then I wanted to come myself and tell you, after reading the reports and insinuations in the

paper, that your daughter was not with Reginald Paynter when he was killed. She had no knowledge of the

crime and as far as I know may not have yet. I have not seen her and do not know where she is; but I was

present when Mr. Paynter was killed. I have known him for years and have often driven with him. He stopped

me yesterday afternoon on the street in Payson and talked with me. He was sitting in a car in front of the

bank. After we had talked a few minutes two men came out of the bank. Mr. Paynter introduced them to me.

He said they were driving out into the country to look at a piece of propertya farm somewhere north of

Oakdale and that on the way back they were going to stop at The Crossroads Inn for dinner. He asked me

if I wouldn't like to come alonghe kind of dared me to, because, as you know, The Crossroads has rather a

"Father had gone to Toledo on business, and very foolishly I took his dare. Everything went all right until

after we left The Inn, although one of the menhis companion referred to him once or twice as The

Oskaloosa Kidattempted to be too familiar with me. Mr. Paynter prevented him on each occasion, and they

had words over me; but after we left the inn, where they had all drunk a great deal, this man renewed his

attentions and Mr. Paynter struck him. Both of them were drunk. After that it all happened so quickly that I

could scarcely follow it. The man called Oskaloosa Kid drew a revolver but did not fire, instead he seized Mr.

Paynter by the coat and whirled him around and then he struck him an awful blow behind the ear with the

"After that the other two men seemed quite sobered. They discussed what would be the best thing to do and at

last decided to throw Mr. Paynter's body out of the machine, for it was quite evident that he was dead. First

they rifled his pockets, and joked as they did it, one of them saying that they weren't getting as much as they

had planned on; but that a little was better than nothing. They took his watch, jewelry, and a large roll of

bills. We passed around the east side of Oakdale and came back into the Toledo road. A little way out of town

they turned the machine around and ran back for about half a mile; then they turned about a second time. I

don't know why they did this. They threw the body out while the machine was moving rapidly; but I was so

frightened that I can't say whether it was before or after they turned about the second time.

"In front of the old Squibbs place they shot at me and threw me out; but the bullet missed me. I have not seen

them since and do not know where they went. I am ready and willing to aid in their conviction; but, please

Mr. Prim, won't you keep me from being sent back to Payson or to jail. I have done nothing criminal and I

"How about the robbery of Miss Prim's room and the murder of Old Man Baggs?" asked Burton. "Did they

"They had nothing to do with either unless they did them after they threw me out of the car, which must have

"And the rest of the gang, those that were arrested with you," continued the detective, "how about them? All

"There was only Bridge and the boy they called The Oskaloosa Kid, though he isn't the same one that

murdered poor Mr. Paynter, and the Gypsy girl, Giova, that were with me. The others were tramps who came

into the old mill and attacked us while we were asleep. I don't know who they were. The girl could have had

nothing to do with any of the crimes. We came upon her this morning burying her father in the woods back of

the Squibbs' place. The man died of epilepsy last night. Bridge and the boy were taking refuge from the storm

at the Squibbs place when I was thrown from the car. They heard the shot and came to my rescue. I am sure

"Tell the truth," commanded Burton. "It will go hard with you if you don't. What made you hesitate? You

"The boy robbed Mr. Prim's homeI saw some of the money and jewelrybut Bridge was not with him.

They just happened to meet by accident during the storm and came to the Squibbs place together. They were

kind to me, and I hate to tell anything that would get the boy in trouble. That is the reason I hesitated. He

seemed such a nice boy! It is hard to believe that he is a criminal, and Bridge was always so considerate. He

The telephone bell rang briskly, and a moment later the butler stepped into the room to say that Mr. Burton

"That clears up some of it," he said as be entered. "The sheriff just had a message from the chief at Toledo

saying that The Oskaloosa Kid is dying in a hospital there following an automobile accident. He knew he was

done for and sent for the police. When they came he told them he had killed a man by the name of Paynter at

Oakdale last night and the chief called up to ask what we knew about it. The Kid confessed to clear his pal

who was only slightly injured in the smashup. His story corroborates Miss Penning's in every detail, he also

said that after killing Paynter he had shot a girl witness and thrown her from the car to prevent her squealing."

Once again the telephone bell rang, long and insistently. The butler almost ran into the room. "Payson wants

you, sir," he cried to Burton, "in a hurry, sir, it's a matter of life and death, sir!"

Burton sprang to the phone. When he left it he only stopped at the doorway of the living room long enough to

call in: "A mob has the two prisoners at Payson and are about to lynch them, and, my God, they're innocent.

We all know now who killed Paynter and I have known since morning who murdered Baggs, and it wasn't

either of those men; but they've found Miss Prim's jewelry on the fellow called Bridge and they've gone

crazythey say he murdered her and the young one did for Paynter. I'm going to Payson," and dashed from

"Wait," cried Jonas Prim, "I'm going with you," and without waiting to find a hat he ran quickly after the

detective. Once in the car he leaned forward urging the driver to greater speed.

"God in heaven!" he almost cried, "the fools are going to kill the only man who can tell me anything about

With oaths and threats the mob, brainless and heartless, cowardly, bestial, filled with the lust for blood,

pushed and jammed into the narrow corridor before the cell door where the two prisoners awaited their fate.

The single guard was brushed away. A dozen men wielding three railroad ties battered upon the grating of the

door, swinging the ties far back and then in unison bringing them heavily forward against the puny iron.

"We're goin' to hang you higher 'n' Haman, you damned kidnappers an' murderers," yelled a man in the

"Why don't you give us a chance?" asked Bridge in an even tone, unaltered by fear or excitement. "You've

Bridge shrugged his shoulders and turned toward the youth who stood very white but very straight in a far

corner of the cell. The man noticed the bulging pockets of the ill fitting coat; and, for the first time that night,

He crossed to the youth's side and put his arm around the slender figure. "There's no use arguing with them,"

he said. "They've made up their minds, or what they think are minds, that we're guilty; but principally they're

out for a sensation. They want to see something die, and we're it. I doubt if anything could stop them now;

they'd think we'd cheated them if we suddenly proved beyond doubt that we were innocent."

The boy pressed close to the man. "God help me to be brave," he said, "as brave as you are. We'll go together,

Bridge, and on the other side you'll learn something that'll surprise you. I believe there is 'another side,' don't

"I've never thought much about it," said Bridge; "but at a time like this I rather hope soI'd like to come

His arm slipped down the other's coat and his hand passed quickly behind the boy from one side to the other;

then the door gave and the leaders of the mob were upon them. A gawky farmer seized the boy and struck

"You beast!" cried Bridge. "Can't you see that that that'sonly a child? If I don't live long enough to give

"Eh?" ejaculated Jeb Case; but his sallow face turned white, and after that he was less rough with his

The two were dragged roughly from the jail. The great crowd which had now gathered fought to get a close

view of them, to get hold of them, to strike them, to revile them; but the leaders kept the others back lest all

be robbed of the treat which they had planned. Through town they haled them and out along the road toward

Oakdale. There was some talk of taking them to the scene of Paynter's supposed murder; but wiser heads

counselled against it lest the sheriff come with a posse of deputies and spoil their fun.

Beneath a great tree they halted them, and two ropes were thrown over a stout branch. One of the leaders

started to search them; and when he drew his hands out of Bridge's side pockets his eyes went wide, and he

"By gum!" he cried, "I reckon we ain't made no mistake here, boys. Look ahere!" and he displayed two

The boy beside Bridge turned wide eyes upon the man. "Where did you get it?" he cried. "Oh, Bridge, why

did you do it? Now they will kill you," and he turned to the crowd. "Oh, please listen to me," he begged. "He

didn't steal those things. Nobody stole them. They are mine. They have always belonged to me. He took them

out of my pocket at the jail because he thought that I had stolen them and he wanted to take the guilt upon

himself; but they were not stolen, I tell youthey are mine! they are mine! they are mine!"

Another new expression came into Bridge's eyes as he listened to the boy's words; but he only shook his

Men were adjusting ropes about their necks. "Before you hang us," said Bridge quietly, "would you mind

explaining just what we're being hanged forit's sort of comforting to know, you see."

"Thet's right," spoke up one of the crowd. "Thet's fair. We want to do things fair and square. Tell 'em the

This appealed to the crowdthe last statements of the doomed men might add another thrill to the evening' s

"Well," said the man who had searched them. "There might o' been some doubts about you before, but they

aint none now. You're bein' hung fer abductin' of an' most likely murderin' Miss Abigail Prim."

The boy screamed and tried to interrupt; but Jeb Case placed a heavy and soiled hand over his mouth. The

spokesman continued. "This slicker admitted he was The Oskaloosa Kid, 'n' thet he robbed a house an' shot a

man las' night; 'n' they ain't no tellin' what more he's ben up to. He tole Jeb Case's Willie 'bout it; an' bragged

on it, by gum. 'Nenny way we know Paynter and Abigail Prim was last seed with this here Oskaloosa Kid,

"Thanks," said Bridge politely, "and now may I make my final statement before going to meet my maker?"

"All right! You damn fools have made up your minds to hang us. I doubt if anything I can say to you will

alter your determination for the reason that if all the brains in this crowd were collected in one individual he

still wouldn't have enough with which to weigh the most obvious evidence intelligently, but I shall present

"In the first place it is impossible that I murdered Abigail Prim, and in the second place my companion is not

The Oskaloosa Kid and was not with Mr. Paynter last night. The reason I could not have murdered Miss Prim

is because Miss Prim is not dead. These jewels were not stolen from Miss Prim, she took them herself from

her own home. This boy whom you are about to hang is not a boy at allit is Miss Prim, herself. I guessed

her secret a few minutes ago and was convinced when she cried that the jewels and money were her own. I

don't know why she wishes to conceal her identity; but I can't stand by and see her lynched without trying to

The crowd scoffed in incredulity. "There are some women here," said Bridge. "Turn her over to them. They'll

Some voices were raised in protest, saying that it was a ruse to escape, while others urged that the women

take the youth. Jeb Case stepped toward the subject of dispute. "I'll settle it durned quick," he announced and

reached forth to seize the slim figure. With a sudden wrench Bridge tore himself loose from his captors and

leaped toward the farmer, his right flew straight out from the shoulder and Jeb Case went down with a broken

jaw. Almost simultaneously a car sped around a curve from the north and stopped suddenly in rear of the

mob. Two men leaped out and shouldered their way through. One was the detective, Burton; the other was

"Where are they?" cried the latter. "God help you if you've killed either of them, for one of them must know

He pushed his way up until he faced the prisoners. The Oskaloosa Kid gave him a single look of surprise and

The crowd melted away from the immediate vicinity of the prisoners. None seemed anxious to appear in the

forefront as a possible leader of a mob that had so nearly lynched the only daughter of Jonas Prim. Burton

slipped the noose from about the girl's neck and then turned toward her companion. In the light from the

automobile lamps the man's face was distinctly visible to the detective for the first time that night, and as

"You?" he almost shouted. "Gad, man! where have you been? Your father's spent twenty thousand dollars

Bridge shook his head. "I'm sorry, Dick," he said, "but I'm afraid it's too late. The open road's gotten into my

blood, and there's only one thing thatwell" he shook his head and smiled ruefully"but there ain't a

chance." His eyes travelled to the slim figure sitting so straight in the rear seat of Jonas Prim's car.

Suddenly the little head turned in his direction. "Hurry, Bridge," admonished The Oskaloosa Kid, "you're

The man stepped toward the car, shaking his head. "Oh, no, Miss Prim," he said, "I can't do that. Here's your

Mr. Prim's eyes widened; he looked suspiciously at Bridge. Abigail laughed merrily. "I stole them myself,

Dad," she explained, "and then Mr. Bridge took them from me in the jail to make the mob think he had stolen

"It was in the jail that I first guessed; but I didn't quite realize who you were until you said that the jewels

were yoursthen I knew. The picture in the paper gave me the first inkling that you were a girl, for you

looked so much like the one of Miss Prim. Then I commenced to recall little things, until I wondered that I

hadn't known from the first that you were a girl; but you made a bully boy!" and they both laughed. "And

now goodby, and may God bless you!" His voice trembled ever so little, and he extended his hand. The girl

"I want you to come with us," she said. "I want Father to know you and to know how you have cared for me.

"I couldn't refuse, if you put it that way," replied Bridge; and he climbed into the car. As the machine started

"Oh!" exclaimed Bridge. "I gave your reward to your fathermaybe he'll split it with you. Go ask him." And

"You see," said Burton, with a wry smile, "how simple is the detective's job. Willie is a naturalborn

detective. He got everything wrong from A to Izzard, yet if it hadn't been for Willie we might not have

"Two yeggs known as Dopey Charlie and the General," replied Burton. "They are in the jail at Oakdale; but

they don't know yet that I know they are guilty. They think they are being held merely as suspects in the case

of your daughter's disappearance, whereas I have known since morning that they were implicated in the

killing of Baggs; for after I got them in the car I went behind the bushes where we discovered them and dug

up everything that was missing from Baggs' house, as nearly as is knowncurrency, gold and bonds."

On the trip back to Oakdale, Abigail Prim cuddled in the back seat beside her father, told him all that she

"There were two other girls with us, both very pretty," replied Abigail, "and he was as courteous and kindly

to them as a man could be to a woman. I don't care anything about his clothes, Daddy; Bridge is a gentleman

Bridge sat on the front seat with the driver and one of Burton's men, while Burton, sitting in the back seat

"You are right," he said. "Bridge, as you call him, is a gentleman. He comes of one of the finest families of

Virginia and one of the wealthiest. You need have no hesitancy, Mr. Prim, in inviting him into your home."

For a while the three sat in silence; and then Jonas Prim turned to his daughter. "Gail," he said, "before we get

home I wish you'd tell me why you did this thing. I think you'd rather tell me before we see Mrs. P."

"It was Sam Benham, Daddy," whispered the girl. "I couldn't marry him. I'd rather die, and so I ran away. I

was going to be a tramp; but I had no idea a tramp's existence was so adventurous. You won't make me marry

Mrs. Prim met them all in the livingroom. At sight of Abigail in the illfitting man's clothing she raised her

hands in holy horror; but she couldn't see Bridge at all, until Burton found an opportunity to draw her to one

side and whisper something in her ear, after which she was graciousness personified to the dusky Bridge,

Between them, Burton and Jonas Prim fitted Bridge out as he had not been dressed in years, and with the feel

of fresh linen and pressed clothing, even if ill fitting, a sensation of comfort and ease pervaded him which the

He smiled ruefully as Burton looked him over. "I venture to say," he drawled, "that there are other things in

It was midnight when the Prims and their guests arose from the table. Hettie Penning was with them, and

everyone present had been sworn to secrecy about her share in the tragedy of the previous night. On the

morrow she would return to Payson and no one there the wiser; but first she had Burton send to the jail for

Giova, who was being held as a witness, and Giova promised to come and work for the Pennings.

At last Bridge stole a few minutes alone with Abigail, or, to be more strictly a truthful historian, Abigail

"Tell me," demanded the girl, "why you were so kind to me when you thought me a worthless little scamp of

"I couldn't have told you a few hours ago," said Bridge. "I used to wonder myself why I should feel toward a

boy as I felt toward you,it was inexplicable,and then when I knew that you were a girl, I understood, for

I knew that I loved you and had loved you from the moment that we met there in the dark and the rain beside

"Isn't it wonderful?" murmured the girl, and she had other things in her heart to murmur; but a man's lips