THE OAKDALE AFFAIR

By Edgar Rice Burroughs

Chapter One [And only chapter ED. ]

The house on the hill showed lights only upon the first floor--inthe spacious reception hall, the dining room, and those more or lessmysterious purlieus thereof from which emanate disagreeable odors andagreeable foods. 

From behind a low bush across the wide lawn a pair of eyes transferredto an alert brain these simple perceptions from which the brain deducedwith Sherlockian accuracy and Raffleian purpose that the family of thepresident of The First National Bank of--Oh, let's call it Oakdale--wasat dinner, that the servants were below stairs and the second floordeserted. 

The owner of the eyes had but recently descended from the quarters ofthe chauffeur above the garage which he had entered as a thief inthe night and quitted apparelled in a perfectly good suit of clothesbelonging to the gentlemanly chauffeur and a soft, checked cap which wasnow pulled well down over a pair of large brown eyes in which a ratherstrained expression might have suggested to an alienist a certainneophytism which even the stern set of well shaped lips could noteffectually belie. 

Apparently this was a youth steeling himself against a naturalrepugnance to the dangerous profession he had espoused; and when, amoment later, he stepped out into the moonlight and crossed the lawntoward the house, the slender, graceful lines which the ill-fittingclothes could not entirely conceal carried the conviction of youth ifnot of innocence. 

The brazen assurance with which the lad crossed the lawn and mountedthe steps to the verandah suggested a familiarity with the habits andcustoms of the inmates of the house upon the hill which bespoke long andcareful study of the contemplated job. An old timer could not have movedwith greater confidence. No detail seemed to have escaped his cunningcalculation. Though the door leading from the verandah into thereception hall swung wide to the balmy airs of late Spring the prowlerpassed 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 thePrim dining hall, Jonas Prim commands a view of the major portion of thereception hall. 

Stooping low the youth passed along the verandah to a window of thedarkened library--a French window which swung open without noise to hislight touch. Stepping within he crossed the room to a door which openedat the foot of a narrow stairway--a convenient little stairway whichhad often let the Hon. Jonas Prim to pass from his library to his secondfloor bed-room unnoticed when Mrs. Prim chanced to be entertaining thefeminine elite of Oakdale across the hall. A convenient little stairwayfor retiring husbands and diffident burglars--yes, indeed!

The darkness of the upper hallway offered no obstacle to this familiarhousebreaker. He passed the tempting luxury of Mrs. Prim's boudoir, thechaste elegance of Jonas Prim's bed-room with all the possibilities offorgotten wallets and negotiable papers, setting his course straightfor the apartments of Abigail Prim, the spinster daughter of the FirstNational Bank of Oakdale. Or should we utilize a more charitable and atthe same time more truthful word than spinster? I think we should, sinceAbigail was but nineteen and quite human, despite her name. 

Upon the dressing table of Abigail reposed much silver and gold andivory, wrought by clever artisans into articles of great beauty and someutility; but with scarce a glance the burglar passed them by, directinghis course straight across the room to a small wall safe cleverly hiddenby a bit of tapestry. 

How, Oh how, this suggestive familiarity with the innermost secrets of avirgin's sacred apartments upon the part of one so obviously of themale persuasion and, by his all too apparent calling, a denizen of thatunderworld of which no Abigail should have intimate knowledge? Yet, truly and with scarce a faint indication of groping, though the room wasdark, the marauder walked directly to the hidden safe, swung back thetapestry in its frame, turned the knob of the combination and in amoment opened the circular door of the strong box. 

A fat roll of bills and a handful of jewelry he transferred to thepockets of his coat. Some papers which his hand brushed within the safehe pushed aside as though preadvised of their inutility to one of hiscalling. Then he closed the safe door, closed the tapestry upon it andturned toward a dainty dressing table. From a drawer in this exquisitebit of Sheraton the burglar took a small, nickel plated automatic, whichhe slipped into an inside breast pocket of his coat, nor did he touchanother article therein or thereon, nor hesitate an instant in theselection of the drawer to be rifled. His knowledge of the apartment ofthe daughter of the house of Prim was little short of uncanny. Doubtlessthe fellow was some plumber's apprentice who had made good use of anopportunity to study the lay of the land against a contemplated invasionof these holy precincts. 

But even the most expert of second story men nod and now that all seemedas though running on greased rails a careless elbow raked a silvercandle-stick from the dressing table to the floor where it crashedwith a resounding din that sent cold shivers up the youth's spine andconjured in his mind a sudden onslaught of investigators from the floorbelow. 

The noise of the falling candlestick sounded to the taut nervedhouse-breaker as might the explosion of a stick of dynamite duringprayer in a meeting house. That all Oakdale had heard it seemed quitepossible, while that those below stairs were already turning questioningears, and probably inquisitive footsteps, upward was almost a foregoneconclusion. 

Adjoining Miss Prim's boudoir was her bath and before the door leadingfrom the one to the other was a cretonne covered screen behind whichthe burglar now concealed himself the while he listened in rigidapprehension for the approach of the enemy; but the only sound that cameto him from the floor below was the deep laugh of Jonas Prim. A profoundsigh of relief escaped the beardless lips; for that laugh assured theyouth that, after all, the noise of the fallen candlestick had notalarmed the household. 

With knees that still trembled a bit he crossed the room and passed outinto the hallway, descended the stairs, and stood again in the library. Here he paused a moment listening to the voices which came from thedining room. Mrs. Prim was speaking. "I feel quite relieved aboutAbigail, " she was saying. "I believe that at last she sees the wisdomand the advantages of an alliance with Mr. Benham, and it was almostwith enthusiasm that she left this morning to visit his sister. I ampositive that a week or two of companionship with him will impress uponher the fine qualities of his nature. We are to be congratulated, Jonas, upon settling our daughter so advantageously both in the matter offamily and wealth. "

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 Abbiewanting a bald-headed husband with rheumatism. I wish you'd let heralone, Pudgy, to find her own mate in her own way--someone nearer herown age. "

"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 willthank you not to call me Pudgy--it is perfectly ridiculous for a womanof my age--and position. "

The burglar did not hear Mr. Prim's reply for he had moved across thelibrary and passed out onto the verandah. Once again he crossed thelawn, taking advantage of the several trees and shrubs which dotted it, scaled the low stone wall at the side and was in the concealing shadowsof the unlighted side street which bounds the Prim estate upon thesouth. The streets of Oakdale are flanked by imposing battalions of elmand maple which over-arch and meet above the thoroughfares; and now, following an early Spring, their foliage eclipsed the infrequentarclights to the eminent satisfaction of those nocturnal wayfarerswho prefer neither publicity nor the spot light. Of such there are fewwithin the well ordered precincts of law abiding Oakdale; but to-nightthere was at least one and this one was deeply grateful for the gloomywalks along which he hurried toward the limits of the city. 

At last he found himself upon a country road with the odors of Springin his nostrils and the world before him. The night noises of the opencountry fell strangely upon his ears accentuating rather than relievingthe myriad noted silence of Nature. Familiar sounds became unrealand weird, the deep bass of innumerable bull frogs took on an uncannyhumanness which sent a half shudder through the slender frame. Theburglar felt a sad loneliness creeping over him. He tried whistling inan effort to shake off the depressing effects of this seemingsolitude through which he moved; but there remained with him still thehallucination that he moved alone through a strange, new world peopledby invisible and unfamiliar forms--menacing shapes which lurked inwaiting behind each tree and shrub. 

He ceased his whistling and went warily upon the balls of his feet, lesthe unnecessarily call attention to his presence. If the truth were tobe told it would chronicle the fact that a very nervous and frightenedburglar sneaked along the quiet and peaceful country road outside ofOakdale. A lonesome burglar, this, who so craved the companionship ofman that he would almost have welcomed joyously the detaining hand ofthe law had it fallen upon him in the guise of a flesh and blood policeofficer from Oakdale. 

In leaving the city the youth had given little thought to thepracticalities of the open road. He had thought, rather vaguely, ofsleeping in a bed of new clover in some hospitable fence corner; butthe fence corners looked very dark and the wide expanse of fields beyondsuggested a mysterious country which might be peopled by almost anythingbut human beings. 

At a farm house the youth hesitated and was almost upon the verge ofentering and asking for a night's lodging when a savage voiced dogshattered the peace of the universe and sent the burglar along the roadat a rapid run. 

A half mile further on a straw stack loomed large within a fencedenclosure. The youth wormed his way between the barbed wires determinedat last to let nothing prevent him from making a cozy bed in the deepstraw beside the stack. With courage radiating from every pore he strodetoward the stack. His walk was almost a swagger, for thus does youthdissemble the bravery it yearns for but does not possess. He almostwhistled again; but not quite, since it seemed an unnecessaryprovocation to disaster to call particular attention to himself at thistime. An instant later he was extremely glad that he had refrained, foras he approached the stack a huge bulk slowly loomed from behind it;and silhouetted against the moonlit sky he saw the vast proportions of agreat, shaggy bull. The burglar tore the inside of one trousers' leg andthe back of his coat in his haste to pass through the barbed wire fenceonto the open road. There he paused to mop the perspiration from hisforehead, though the night was now far from warm. 

For another mile the now tired and discouraged house-breaker plodded, heavy footed, the unending road. Did vain compunction stir hisyouthful breast? Did he regret the safe respectability of the plumber'sapprentice? Or, if he had not been a plumber's apprentice did he yearnto once again assume the unharried peace of whatever legitimate callinghad been his before he bent his steps upon the broad boulevard of sin?We think he did. 

And then he saw through the chinks and apertures in the half ruined wallof what had once been a hay barn the rosy flare of a genial light whichappeared to announce in all but human terms that man, red blooded andhospitable, forgathered within. No growling dogs, no bulking bullscontested the short stretch of weed grown ground between the road andthe disintegrating structure; and presently two wide, brown eyes werepeering through a crack in the wall of the abandoned building. What theysaw was a small fire built upon the earth floor in the center of thebuilding and around the warming blaze the figures of six men. Somereclined at length upon old straw; others squatted, Turk fashion. Allwere smoking either disreputable pipes or rolled cigarets. Blear-eyedand foxy-eyed, bearded and stubbled cheeked, young and old, were the menthe youth looked upon. All were more or less dishevelled and filthy; butthey were human. They were not dogs, or bulls, or croaking frogs. Theboy's heart went out to them. Something that was almost a sob rose inhis throat, and then he turned the corner of the building and stood inthe doorway, the light from the fire playing upon his lithe young figureclothed in its torn and ill fitting suit and upon his oval face and hislaughing brown eyes. For several seconds he stood there looking at themen around the fire. None of them had noticed him. 

"Tramps!" thought the youth. "Regular tramps. " He wondered that they hadnot seen him, and then, clearing his throat, he said: "Hello, tramps!"

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. "Wheredjublow from?" inquired another. "'Hello, tramps'!" mimicked a third. 

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

"Oh, " sighed the elderly person in the frock coat. "He's a tramp, he is. An' does he think gents like us has any time for tramps? An' where mighthe be trampin', sonny, without his maw?"

The youth flushed. "Oh say!" he cried; "you needn't kid me just becauseI'm new at it. You all had to start sometime. I've always longed forthe free life of a tramp; and if you'll let me go along with you for alittle while, and teach me, I'll not bother you; and I'll do whateveryou say. "

The elderly person frowned. "Beat it, kid!" he commanded. "We ain'trunnin' no day nursery. These you see here is all the real thing. Maybewe asks fer a handout now and then; but that ain't our reg'lar lay. Youain'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 twenty-sevencities fer about everything from rollin' a souse to crackin' a box andcroakin' a bull. You gotta do something before you can train wid gentslike us, see?" The speaker projected a stubbled jaw, scowled horridlyand swept a flattened palm downward and backward at a right angle to ahairy arm in eloquent gesture of finality. 

The boy had stood with his straight, black eyebrows puckered into astudious frown, drinking in every word. Now he straightened up. "I guessI made a mistake, " he said, apologetically. "You ain't tramps at all. You're thieves and murderers and things like that. " His eyes opened abit 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 regularburglar, too, " and from the bulging pockets of his coat he drew twohandfuls of greenbacks and jewelry. The eyes of the six registeredastonishment, mixed with craft and greed. "I just robbed a house inOakdale, " explained the boy. "I usually rob one every night. "

For a moment his auditors were too surprised to voice a single emotion;but presently one murmured, soulfully: "Pipe de swag!" He of the frockcoat, golf cap, and years waved a conciliatory hand. He tried to look atthe boy's face; but for the life of him he couldn't raise his eyes abovethe dazzling wealth clutched in the fingers of those two small, slim hands. From one dangled a pearl necklace which alone might haveransomed, if not a king, at least a lesser member of a royal family, while diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds scintillated in theflaring light of the fire. Nor was the fistful of currency in the otherhand to be sneezed at. There were greenbacks, it is true; but there werealso yellowbacks with the reddish gold of large denominations. The SkyPilot sighed a sigh that was more than half gasp. 

"Can't yuh take a kid?" he inquired. "I knew youse all along. Yuh can'tfool an old bird like The Sky Pilot--eh, boys?" and he turned to hiscomrades for confirmation. 

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

"Pull up and set down, " invited another. 

The boy stuffed his loot back into his pockets and came closer to thefire. Its warmth felt most comfortable, for the Spring night was growingchill. He looked about him at the motley company, some half-spruce inclothing that suggested a Kuppenmarx label and a not too far associationwith a tailor's goose, others in rags, all but one unshaven and allmore or less dirty--for the open road is close to Nature, which isprincipally dirt. 

"Shake hands with Dopey Charlie, " said The Sky Pilot, whose age andcorpulency appeared to stamp him with the hall mark of authority. Theyouth did as he was bid, smiling into the sullen, chalk-white face andtaking the clammy hand extended toward him. Was it a shudder thatpassed through the lithe, young figure or was it merely a subconsciousrecognition of the final passing of the bodily cold before the glowingwarmth of the blaze? "And Soup Face, " continued The Sky Pilot. A batteredwreck half rose and extended a pudgy hand. Red whiskers, matted inlittle tangled wisps which suggested the dried ingredients of aninfinite procession of semi-liquid refreshments, rioted promiscuouslyover a scarlet countenance. 

"Pleased to meetcha, " sprayed Soup Face. It was a strained smilewhich twisted the rather too perfect mouth of The Oskaloosa Kid, anappellation which we must, perforce, accept since the youth did not denyit. 

Columbus Blackie, The General, and Dirty Eddie were formally presented. As Dirty Eddie was, physically, the cleanest member of the band theyouth wondered how he had come by his sobriquet--that is, he wondereduntil he heard Dirty Eddie speak, after which he was no longer in doubt. The Oskaloosa Kid, self-confessed 'tramp' and burglar, flushed at thelurid 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 flask from his side pocket, holding it toward The Oskaloosa Kid. 

"Thank you, but;--er--I'm on the wagon, you know, " declined the youth. 

"Have a smoke?" suggested Columbus Blackie. "Here's the makin's. "

The change in the attitude of the men toward him pleased The OskaloosaKid immensely. They were treating him as one of them, and after thelonely walk through the dark and desolate farm lands human companionshipof any kind was to him as the proverbial straw to the man who rocked theboat once too often. 

Dopey Charlie and The General, alone of all the company, waxed notenthusiastic over the advent of The Oskaloosa Kid and his pricelessloot. These two sat scowling and whispering in the back-ground. "Dat'sa wrong guy, " muttered the former to the latter. "He's a stool pigeon orone of dese amatoor mugs. "

"It's the pullin' of that punk graft that got my goat, " replied TheGeneral. "I never seen a punk yet that didn't try to make you think hewas a wise guy an' dis stiff don't belong enough even to pull a spielthat would fool a old ladies' sewin' circle. I don't see wot The SkyPilot'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 and kale. "

"That 'ud be all right, too, " replied the other, "if we could put theguy 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'twe? lettin' a stranger sit in now--after last night. Hell!" he suddenlyexploded. "Don't you know that you an' me stand to swing if any of debunch gets gabby in front of dis phoney punk?"

The two sat silent for a while, The General puffing on a short briar, Dopey Charlie inhaling deep draughts from a cigarette, and both glaringthrough narrowed lids at the boy warming himself beside the firewhere the others were attempting to draw him out the while they strovedesperately but unavailingly to keep their eyes from the two bulgingsidepockets of their guest's coat. 

Soup Face, who had been assiduously communing with a pint flask, leanedclose to Columbus Blackie, placing his whiskers within an inch or soof the other's nose as was his habit when addressing another, andwhispered, relative to the pearl necklace: "Not a cent less 'n fiftythou, bo!"

"Fertheluvomike!" ejaculated Blackie, drawing back and wiping a palmquickly across his lips. "Get a plumber first if you want to kissme--you leak. "

"He thinks you need a shower bath, " said Dirty Eddie, laughing. 

"The trouble with Soup Face, " explained The Sky Pilot, "is that he's gota idea he's a human atomizer an' that the rest of us has colds. "

"Well, I don't want no atomizer loaded with rot-gut and garlic shotin my mug, " growled Blackie. "What Soup Face needs is to be learnedettyket, an' if he comes that on me again I'm goin' to push his mushthrough the back of his bean. "

An ugly light came into the blear eyes of Soup Face. Once again heleaned close to Columbus Blackie. "Not a cent less 'n fifty thou, youtinhorn!" he bellowed, belligerent and sprayful. 

Blackie leaped to his feet, with an oath--a frightful, hideous oath--andas he rose he swung a heavy fist to Soup Face's purple nose. The latterrolled over backward; but was upon his feet again much quicker than onewould have expected in so gross a bulk, and as he came to his feet aknife flashed in his hand. With a sound that was more bestial than humanhe ran toward Blackie; but there was another there who had anticipatedhis intentions. As the blow was struck The Sky Pilot had risen; andnow he sprang forward, for all his age and bulk as nimble as a cat, andseized Soup Face by the wrist. A quick wrench brought a howl of pain tothe would-be assassin, and the knife fell to the floor. 

"You gotta cut that if you travel with this bunch, " said The Sky Pilotin 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 SoupFace to the floor and resumed his seat by the fire. 

The youth was astonished at the physical strength of this old man, seemingly so softened by dissipation; but it showed him the source ofThe Sky Pilot's authority and its scope, for Columbus Blackie and SoupFace quitted their quarrel immediately. 

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 othersfollowed his example. "You'll find some hay in the loft there, " said TheSky Pilot to The Oskaloosa Kid. "Bring it down an' make your bed here byme, there's plenty room. "

A half hour later all were stretched out upon the hard dirt floor uponimprovised 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. Therepassed 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 rightto which he had not seen fit to deny. "The Oskaloosa Kid. " The boysmiled again as he felt the 'swag' hard and lumpy in his pockets. Ithad given him prestige here that he could not have gained by any othermeans; but he mistook the nature of the interest which his display ofstolen wealth had aroused. He thought that the men now looked uponhim as a fellow criminal to be accepted into the fraternity throughachievement; whereas they suffered him to remain solely in the hope oftransferring his loot to their own pockets. 

It is true that he puzzled them. Even The Sky Pilot, the most astuteand intelligent of them all, was at a loss to fathom The Oskaloosa Kid. Innocence and unsophistication flaunted their banners in almost everyact and speech of The Oskaloosa Kid. The youth reminded him in some waysof members of a Sunday school which had flourished in the dim vistas ofhis past when, as an ordained minister of the Gospel, he had earned thesobriquet which now identified him. But the concrete evidence of thevaluable loot comported not with The Sky Pilot's idea of a Sunday schoolboy's lark. The young fellow was, unquestionably, a thief; but that hehad ever before consorted with thieves his speech and manners belied. 

"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 oftheir chief. They remained very wide awake, a little apart from theothers, 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, an' any way one more or lesswon't count. "

"We can go to Sout' America on dat stuff an' live like gents, " mutteredDopey Charlie. "I'm goin' to cut out de Hop an' buy a farm an' aottymobeel and--"

"Come out of it, " admonished The General. "If we're lucky we'll get asfar as Cincinnati, get a stew on and get pinched. Den one of us'll hangan' de other get stir fer life. "

The General was a weasel faced person of almost any age betweenthirty-five and sixty. Sometimes he could have passed for a hundredand ten. He had won his military title as a boy in the famous march ofCoxey's army on Washington, or, rather, the title had been conferredupon him in later years as a merited reward of service. The General, profiting by the precepts of his erstwhile companions in arms, had neversoiled his military escutcheon by labor, nor had he ever risen to thehigher planes of criminality. Rather as a mediocre pickpocket anda timorous confidence man had he eked out a meager existence, amplypunctuated by seasons of straight bumming and intervals spent as theguest of various inhospitably hospitable states. Now, for the first timein his life, The General faced the possibility of a serious charge; andhis terror made him what he never before had been, a dangerous criminal. 

"You're a cheerful guy, " commented Dopey Charlie; "but you may be rightat dat. Dey can't hang a guy any higher fer two 'an they can fer onean' dat's no pipe; so wots de use. Wait till I take a shot--it'll beeasier, " and he drew a small, worn case from an inside pocket, baredhis arm to the elbow and injected enough morphine to have killed a dozennormal men. 

From a pile of mouldy hay across the barn the youth, heavy eyed butsleepless, watched the two through half closed lids. A qualm of disgustsent a sudden shudder through his slight frame. For the first time healmost regretted having embarked upon a life of crime. He had seenthat the two men were conversing together earnestly, though he couldover-hear nothing they said, and that he had been the subject of theirnocturnal colloquy, for several times a glance or a nod in his directionassured him of this. And so he lay watching them--not that he wasafraid, he kept reassuring himself, but through curiosity. Why shouldhe be afraid? Was it not a well known truth that there was honor amongthieves?

But the longer he watched the heavier grew his lids. Several times theyclosed to be dragged open again only by painful effort. Finally came atime that they remained closed and the young chest rose and fell in theregular breathing of slumber. 

The two ragged, rat-hearted creatures rose silently and picked theirway, half-crouched, among the sleepers sprawled between them and TheOskaloosa Kid. In the hand of Dopey Charlie gleamed a bit of shiny steeland in his heart were fear and greed. The fear was engendered by thebelief that the youth might be an amateur detective. Dopey Charlie hadhad one experience of such and he knew that it was easily possible forthem to blunder upon evidence which the most experienced of operativesmight pass over unnoticed, and the loot bulging pockets furnished asufficient greed motive in themselves. 

Beside the boy kneeled the man with the knife. He did not raise hishand and strike a sudden, haphazard blow. Instead he placed the pointcarefully, though lightly, above the victim's heart, and then, suddenly, bore his weight upon the blade. 

Abigail Prim always had been a thorn in the flesh of her stepmother--awell-meaning, unimaginative, ambitious, and rather common woman. Cominginto the Prim home as house-keeper shortly after the death of Abigail'smother, the second Mrs. Prim had from the first looked upon Abigailprincipally as an obstacle to be overcome. She had tried to 'do right byher'; but she had never given the child what a child most needs and mostcraves--love and understanding. Not loving Abigail, the house-keepercould, naturally, not give her love; and as for understanding her onemight as reasonably have expected an adding machine to understand highermathematics. 

Jonas Prim loved his daughter. There was nothing, within reason, thatmoney could buy which he would not have given her for the asking; butJonas Prim's love, as his life, was expressed in dollar signs, while thelove which Abigail craved is better expressed by any other means at thecommand of man. 

Being misunderstood and, to all outward appearances of sentiment andaffection, unloved had not in any way embittered Abigail's remarkablyjoyous temperament made up for it in some measure by getting all thefun and excitement out of life which she could discover therein, orinvent through the medium of her own resourceful imagination. 

But recently the first real sorrow had been thrust into her young lifesince the half-forgotten mother had been taken from her. The secondMrs. Prim had decided that it was her 'duty' to see that Abigail, havingfinished school and college, was properly married. As a matchmakerthe second Mrs. Prim was as a Texas steer in a ten cent store. It wasnothing to her that Abigail did not wish to marry anyone, or that theman of Mrs. Prim's choice, had he been the sole surviving male in theUniverse, would have still been as far from Abigail's choice as thoughhe had been an inhabitant of one of Orion's most distant planets. 

As a matter of fact Abigail Prim detested Samuel Benham because herepresented to her everything in life which she shrank from--age, avoirdupois, infirmity, baldness, stupidity, and matrimony. He was aprosaic old bachelor who had amassed a fortune by the simple means ofinheriting three farms upon which an industrial city subsequently hadbeen built. Necessity rather than foresight had compelled him to hold onto his property; and six weeks of typhoid, arriving and departing, hadsaved him from selling out at a low figure. The first time he foundhimself able to be out and attend to business he likewise found himselfa wealthy man, and ever since he had been growing wealthier withoutpersonal effort. 

All of which is to render evident just how impossible a matrimonialproposition was Samuel Benham to a bright, a beautiful, a gay, animaginative, young, and a witty girl such as Abigail Prim, who caredless for money than for almost any other desirable thing in the world. 

Nagged, scolded, reproached, pestered, threatened, Abigail had at lastgiven a seeming assent to her stepmother's ambition; and had forthwithbeen packed off on a two weeks visit to the sister of the bride-groomelect. After which Mr. Benham was to visit Oakdale as a guest of thePrims, and at a dinner for which cards already had been issued--so surewas Mrs. Jonas Prim of her position of dictator of the Prim menage--theengagement was to be announced. 

It was some time after dinner on the night of Abigail's departure thatMrs. Prim, following a habit achieved by years of housekeeping, setforth upon her rounds to see that doors and windows were properlysecured for the night. A French window and its screen opening upon theverandah from the library she found open. "The house will be full ofmosquitoes!" she ejaculated mentally as she closed them both with a bangand made them fast. "I should just like to know who left them open. Uponmy word, I don't know what would become of this place if it wasn't forme. Of all the shiftlessness!" and she turned and flounced upstairs. InAbigail'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 afterthe girl's departure earlier in the day. The first thing amiss thather eagle eye noted was the candlestick lying on the floor beside thedressing table. As she stooped to pick it up she saw the open drawerfrom which the small automatic had been removed, and then, suspicions, suddenly aroused, as suddenly became fear; and Mrs. Prim almost doveacross the room to the hidden wall safe. A moment's investigationrevealed the startling fact that the safe was unlocked and practicallyempty. It was then that Mrs. Jonas Prim screamed. 

Her scream brought Jonas and several servants upon the scene. A carefulinspection of the room disclosed the fact that while much of value hadbeen ignored the burglar had taken the easily concealed contents of thewall safe which represented fully ninety percentum of the value of thepersonal property in Abigail Prim's apartments. 

Mrs. Prim scowled suspiciously upon the servants. Who else, indeed, could have possessed the intimate knowledge which the thief haddisplayed. Mrs. Prim saw it all. The open library window had been but aclever blind to hide the fact that the thief had worked from the insideand was now doubtless in the house at that very moment. 

"Jonas, " she directed, "call the police at once, and see that no one, absolutely no one, leaves this house until they have been here and madea full investigation. "

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

"I think that if you get the police here at once, Jonas, we shall findboth the thief and the loot under our very roof, " she replied, notwithout asperity. 

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

"Who else could have known?" asked Mrs. Prim. The servants presentlooked uncomfortable and cast sheepish eyes of suspicion at one another. 

"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'swho it is, " and he started down stairs toward the telephone. Before hereached it the bell rang, and when he had hung up the receiver after theconversation the theft seemed a trivial matter. In fact he had almostforgotten it, for the message had been from the local telegraph officerelaying a wire they had just received from Mr. Samuel Benham. 

"I say, Pudgy, " he cried, as he took the steps two at a time for thesecond floor, "here's a wire from Benham saying Gail didn't come on thattrain and asking when he's to expect her. "

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

Jonas Prim was a man of action. Within half an hour he had set in motionsuch wheels as money and influence may cause to revolve in search ofsome clew to the whereabouts of the missing Abigail, and at the sametime had reported the theft of jewels and money from his home; but indoing this he had learned that other happenings no less remarkable intheir way had taken place in Oakdale that very night. 

The following morning all Oakdale was thrilled as its fascinated eyesdevoured the front page of Oakdale's ordinarily dull daily. Never hadOakdale experienced a plethora of home-grown thrills; but it came asnear to it that morning, doubtless, as it ever had or ever will. Notsince the cashier of The Merchants and Farmers Bank committed suicidethree years past had Oakdale been so wrought up, and now that historicand classical event paled into insignificance in the glaring brilliancyof a series of crimes and mysteries of a single night such as not eventhe most sanguine of Oakdale's thrill lovers could have hoped for. 

There was, first, the mysterious disappearance of Abigail Prim, theonly daughter of Oakdale's wealthiest citizen; there was the equallymysterious robbery of the Prim home. Either one of these would have beensufficient to have set Oakdale's multitudinous tongues wagging for days;but they were not all. Old John Baggs, the city's best known miser, hadsuffered a murderous assault in his little cottage upon the outskirtsof town, and was even now lying at the point of death in The SamaritanHospital. That robbery had been the motive was amply indicated by thetopsy-turvy condition of the contents of the three rooms which Baggscalled home. As the victim still was unconscious no details of the crimewere obtainable. Yet even this atrocious deed had been capped by one yetmore hideous. 

Reginald Paynter had for years been looked upon half askance and yetwith a certain secret pride by Oakdale. He was her sole bon vivant inthe true sense of the word, whatever that may be. He was alwaysspoken of in the columns of The Oakdale Tribune as 'that well knownman-about-town, ' or 'one of Oakdale's most prominent clubmen. ' ReginaldPaynter had been, if not the only, at all events the best dressed manin town. His clothes were made in New York. This in itself had beensufficient to have set him apart from all the other males of Oakdale. He was widely travelled, had an independent fortune, and was far fromunhandsome. For years he had been the hope and despair of every Oakdalemother with marriageable daughters. The Oakdale fathers, however, hadnot been so keen about Reginald. Men usually know more about the moralsof men than do women. There were those who, if pressed, would haveconceded that Reginald had no morals. 

But what place has an obituary in a truthful tale of adventure andmystery! Reginald Paynter was dead. His body had been found besidethe road just outside the city limits at mid-night by a party ofautomobilists returning from a fishing trip. The skull was crushed backof the left ear. The position of the body as well as the marks in theroad beside it indicated that the man had been hurled from a rapidlymoving automobile. The fact that his pockets had been rifled led to theassumption that he had been killed and robbed before being dumped uponthe road. 

Now there were those in Oakdale, and they were many, who endeavored toconnect in some way these several events of horror, mystery, and crime. In the first place it seemed quite evident that the robbery at the Primhome, the assault upon Old Baggs, and the murder of Paynter had beenthe work of the same man; but how could such a series of frightfulhappenings be in any way connected with the disappearance of AbigailPrim? Of course there were many who knew that Abigail and Reginald wereold friends; and that the former had, on frequent occasions, riddenabroad in Reginald's French roadster, that he had escorted her toparties and been, at various times, a caller at her home; but no lesshad been true of a dozen other perfectly respectable young ladiesof Oakdale. Possibly it was only Abigail's added misfortune to havedisappeared upon the eve of the night of Reginald's murder. 

But later in the day when word came from a nearby town that Reginald hadbeen seen in a strange touring car with two unknown men and a girl, the gossips commenced to wag their heads. It was mentioned, casually ofcourse, that this town was a few stations along the very road upon whichAbigail had departed the previous afternoon for that destination whichshe had not reached. It was likewise remarked that Reginald, the twostrange men and the GIRL had been first noticed after the time ofarrival of the Oakdale train! What more was needed? Absolutelynothing more. The tongues ceased wagging in order that they might turnhand-springs. 

Find Abigail Prim, whispered some, and the mystery will be solved. Therewere others charitable enough to assume that Abigail had been kidnappedby the same men who had murdered Paynter and wrought the other lesserdeeds of crime in peaceful Oakdale. The Oakdale Tribune got out an extrathat afternoon giving a resume of such evidence as had appeared in theregular edition and hinting at all the numerous possibilities suggestedby such matter as had come to hand since. Even fear of old Jonas Primand his millions had not been enough to entirely squelch the newspaperinstinct of the Tribune's editor. Never before had he had such anopportunity and he made the best of it, even repeating the vaguesurmises which had linked the name of Abigail to the murder of ReginaldPaynter. 

Jonas Prim was too busy and too worried to pay any attention to theTribune or its editor. He already had the best operative that the bestdetective agency in the nearest metropolis could furnish. The man hadcome to Oakdale, learned all that was to be learned there, and forthwithdeparted. 

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

The sudden pressure of the knife point against the breast of theOskaloosa Kid awakened the youth with a startling suddenness whichbrought him to his feet before a second vicious thrust reached him. Fora time he did not realize how close he had been to death or that he hadbeen saved by the chance location of the automatic pistol in his breastpocket--the very pistol he had taken from the dressing table of AbigailPrim's boudoir. 

The commotion of the attack and escape brought the other sleepers toheavy-eyed 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 foran instant. Then the would-be murderer rushed madly upon his victim, thelatter's hand leaped from beneath the breast of his torn coat--there wasa flash of flame, a staccato report and Dopey Charlie crumpled to theground, screaming. In the same instant The Oskaloosa Kid wheeled andvanished into the night. 

It had all happened so quickly that the other members of the gang, awakened from deep slumber, had only time to stumble to their feetbefore it was over. The Sky Pilot, ignoring the screaming Charlie, thought only of the loot which had vanished with the Oskaloosa Kid. 

"Come on! We gotta get him, " he cried, as he ran from the barn afterthe fugitive. The others, all but Dopey Charlie, followed in the wake oftheir leader. The wounded man, his audience departed, ceased screamingand, sitting up, fell to examining himself. To his surprise hediscovered that he was not dead. A further and more minute examinationdisclosed the additional fact that he was not even badly wounded. Thebullet of The Kid had merely creased the flesh over the ribs beneath hisright arm. With a grunt that might have been either disgust or relief hestumbled to his feet and joined in the pursuit. 

Down the road toward the south ran The Oskaloosa Kid with all thefleetness of youth spurred on by terror. In five minutes he had so faroutdistanced his pursuers that The Sky Pilot leaped to the conclusionthat the quarry had left the road to hide in an adjoining field. Theresultant halt and search upon either side of the road delayed the chaseto a sufficient extent to award the fugitive a mile lead by the time theband resumed the hunt along the main highway. The men were determinedto overhaul the youth not alone because of the loot upon his person butthrough an abiding suspicion that he might indeed be what some of themfeared he was--an amateur detective--and there were at least two amongthem who had reason to be especially fearful of any sort of detectivefrom Oakdale. 

They no longer ran; but puffed arduously along the smooth road, searching with troubled and angry eyes to right and left and ahead ofthem as they went. 

The Oskaloosa Kid puffed, too; but he puffed a mile away from thesearchers and he walked more rapidly than they, for his muscles wereyounger and his wind unimpaired by dissipation. For a time he carriedthe small automatic in his hand; but later, hearing no evidence ofpursuit, he returned it to the pocket in his coat where it had lain whenit 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 heexpected the sudden onslaught of the bearded, blear-eyed followersof The Sky Pilot. Terror goaded him to supreme physical effort. Recollection of the screaming man sinking to the earthen floor of thehay 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 greaterterror 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 theyouth already felt. Black clouds obscured the moon blotting out the softkindliness of the greening fields and transforming the budding branchesof the trees to menacing and gloomy arms which appeared to hover withclawlike talons above the dark and forbidding road. The wind soughedwith gloomy and increasing menace, a sudden light flared across thesouthern sky followed by the reverberation of distant thunder. 

Presently a great rain drop was blown against the youth's face; thevividness of the lightning had increased; the rumbling of the thunderhad grown to the proportions of a titanic bombardment; but he dared notpause to seek shelter. 

Another flash of lightning revealed a fork in the road immediatelyahead--to the left ran the broad, smooth highway, to the right a dirtroad, overarched by trees, led away into the impenetrable dark. 

The fugitive paused, undecided. Which way should he turn? The bettertravelled highway seemed less mysterious and awesome, yet would hispursuers not naturally assume that he had followed it? Then, of course, the right hand road was the road for him. Yet still he hesitated, forthe right hand road was black and forbidding; suggesting the entrance toa pit of unknown horrors. 

As he stood there with the rain and the wind, the thunder and thelightning, horror of the past and terror of the future his onlycompanions there broke suddenly through the storm the voice of a manjust ahead and evidently approaching along the highway. 

The youth turned to flee; but the thought of the men tracking him fromthat direction brought him to a sudden halt. There was only the road tothe right, then, after all. Cautiously he moved toward it, and at thesame time the words of the voice came clearly through the night:

 "'. . . As, swinging heel and toe, 'We tramped the road to Anywhere, the magic road

 to Anywhere, 'The tragic road to Anywhere, such dear, dim years

 ago. '"

The voice seemed reassuring--its quality and the annunciation of thewords bespoke for its owner considerable claim to refinement. The youthhad halted again, but he now crouched to one side fearing to reveal hispresence because of the bloody crime he thought he had committed; yethow he yearned to throw himself upon the compassion of this fine voicedstranger! How his every fibre cried out for companionship in this nightof his greatest terror; but he would have let the invisible minstrelpass had not Fate ordained to light the scene at that particular instantwith a prolonged flare of sheet lightning, revealing the two wayfarersto one another. 

The youth saw a slight though well built man in ragged clothes anddisreputable soft hat. The image was photographed upon his brain forlife--the honest, laughing eyes, the well moulded features harmonizingso well with the voice, and the impossible garments which marked the manhobo and bum as plainly as though he wore a placard suspended from hisneck. 

The stranger halted. Once more darkness enveloped them. "Lovely eveningfor a stroll, " remarked the man. "Running out to your country place?Isn't there danger of skidding on these wet roads at night? I toldJames, just before we started, to be sure to see that the chains were onall around; but he forgot them. James is very trying sometimes. Now henever showed up this evening and I had to start out alone, and he knowsperfectly well that I detest driving after dark in the rain. "

The youth found himself smiling. His fear had suddenly vanished. No onecould harbor suspicion of the owner of that cheerful voice. 

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

"Oh, " exclaimed the man, "are there two roads here? I was looking forthis fork and came near passing it in the dark. It was a year ago sinceI came this way; but I recall a deserted house about a mile up the dirtroad. It will shelter us from the inclemencies of the weather. "

"Oh!" cried the youth. "Now I know where I am. In the dark and the stormand 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 youwouldn't want to stop there at night. They tell some frightful storiesabout it. It hasn't been occupied for over twenty years--not since theSquibbs were found murdered there--the father, mother three sons, anda daughter. They never discovered the murderer, and the house has stoodvacant and the farm unworked almost continuously since. A couple of mentried working it; but they didn't stay long. A night or so was enoughfor them and their families. I remember hearing as a little--er--childstories of the frightful things that happened there in the house wherethe Squibbs were murdered--things that happened after dark when thelights were out. Oh, I wouldn't even pass that place on a night likethis. "

The man smiled. "I slept there alone one rainy night about a yearago, " he said. "I didn't see or hear anything unusual. Such stories areridiculous; and even if there was a little truth in them, noises can'tharm you as much as sleeping out in the storm. I'm going to encroachonce more upon the ghostly hospitality of the Squibbs. Better come withme. "

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

"Yes, I'll go, " exclaimed the boy. "Let's hurry, " and he started off ata half-run toward the dirt road. 

The man followed more slowly. The darkness hid the quizzical expressionof his eyes. He, too, had heard the faint shout far to the rear. Herecalled the boy's "after all that has happened to me tonight, " and heshrewdly guessed that the latter's sudden determination to brave thehorrors of the haunted house was closely connected with the hoarse voiceout of the distance. 

When he had finally come abreast of the youth after the latter, hisfirst panic of flight subsided, had reduced his speed, he spoke to himin his kindly tones. 

"What was it that happened to you to-night?" he asked. "Is someonefollowing you? You needn't be afraid of me. I'll help you if you've beenon the square. If you haven't, you still needn't fear me, for I won'tpeach on you. What is it? Tell me. "

The youth was on the point of unburdening his soul to this strangerwith the kindly voice and the honest eyes; but a sudden fear stayed histongue. If he told all it would be necessary to reveal certain detailsthat he could not bring himself to reveal to anyone, and so he commencedwith his introduction to the wayfarers in the deserted hay barn. Brieflyhe told of the attack upon him, of his shooting of Dopey Charlie, of theflight and pursuit. "And now, " he said in conclusion, "that you know I'ma murderer I suppose you won't have any more to do with me, unless youturn me over to the authorities to hang. " There was almost a sob in hisvoice, so real was his terror. 

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 DopeyCharlie, 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 hisscreams as long as you were within earshot of the barn--dead men don'tscream, you know. "

"How did you know my name?" asked the youth. 

"I don't, " replied the man. 

"But you called me 'Kid' and that's my name--I'm The Oskaloosa Kid. "

The man was glad that the darkness hid his smile of amusement. He knewThe Oskaloosa Kid well, and he knew him as an ex-pug with a pock markedface, 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, andlarge 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 isBridge. If James were here I should ask him to mix one of his famouscocktails that we might drink to our mutual happiness and the longevityof our friendship. "

"I am glad to know you, Mr. Bridge, " said the youth. "Oh, I can't tellyou how glad I am to know you. I was so lonely and so afraid, " and hepressed closer to the older man whose arm still encircled his shoulder, though at first he had been inclined to draw away in some confusion. 

Talking together the two moved on along the dark road. The storm hadsettled now into a steady rain with infrequent flashes of lightning andpeals of thunder. There had been no further indications of pursuit; butBridge argued that The Sky Pilot, being wise with the wisdom of the owland cunning with the cunning of the fox, would doubtless surmise that afugitive 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 thatthe 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 thereputation of never countenancing a murder; but that is because he is asly one. His gang kills; but when they kill under The Sky Pilot theydo it so cleverly that no trace of the crime remains. Their victimdisappears--that is all. "

The boy trembled. "You won't let them get me?" he pleaded, pressingcloser to the man. The only response was a pressure of the arm about theshoulders of The Oskaloosa Kid. 

Over a low hill they followed the muddy road and down into a dark andgloomy ravine. In a little open space to the right of the road a flashof lightning revealed the outlines of a building a hundred yards fromthe rickety and decaying fence which bordered the Squibbs' farm andseparated it from the road. 

"Here we are!" cried Bridge, "and spooks or no spooks we'll find adry spot in that old ruin. There was a stove there last year and it'sdoubtless there yet. A good fire to dry our clothes and warm us upwill fit us for a bully good sleep, and I'll wager a silk hat that TheOskaloosa Kid is a mighty sleepy kid, eh?"

The boy admitted the allegation and the two turned in through thegateway, stepping over the fallen gate and moving through knee highweeds toward the forbidding structure in the distance. A clump of treessurrounded the house, their shade adding to the almost utter blacknessof the night. 

The two had reached the verandah when Bridge, turning, saw a brilliantlight flaring through the night above the crest of the hill they hadjust topped in their descent into the ravine, or, to be more explicit, the small valley, where stood the crumbling house of Squibbs. The purrof a rapidly moving motor rose above the rain, the light rose, fell, swerved to the right and to the left. 

"Someone must be in a hurry, " commented Bridge. 

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

"Gad!" cried Bridge, as the car topped the hill and plunged downwardtoward them, "I'd hate to ride behind that fellow on a night like this, and over a dirt road at that!"

As the car swung onto the straight road before the house a flash oflightning revealed dimly the outlines of a rapidly moving touring carwith lowered top. Just as the machine came opposite the Squibbs' gate awoman's scream mingled with the report of a pistol from the tonneauand the watchers upon the verandah saw a dark bulk hurled from thecar, which sped on with undiminished speed, climbed the hill beyond anddisappeared from view. 

Bridge started on a run toward the gateway, followed by the frightenedKid. In the ditch beside the road they found in a dishevelled heap thebody of a young woman. The man lifted the still form in his arms. Theyouth wondered at the great strength of the slight figure. "Let me helpyou carry her, " he volunteered; but Bridge needed no assistance. "Runahead and open the door for me, " he said, as he bore his burden towardthe house. 

Forgetful, in the excitement of the moment, of his terror of the horrorridden ruin, The Oskaloosa Kid hastened ahead, mounted the few steps tothe verandah, crossed it and pushed open the sagging door. Behind himcame Bridge as the youth entered the dark interior. A half dozensteps he took when his foot struck against a soft and yielding mass. Stumbling, he tried to regain his equilibrium only to drop full upon thething beneath him. One open palm, extended to ease his fall, fell uponthe upturned features of a cold and clammy face. With a shriek of horrorThe Kid leaped to his feet and shrank, trembling, back. 

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

"O-o-o!" groaned The Kid, shuddering. "It's dead! It's dead!"

"What's dead?" demanded Bridge. 

"There's a dead man on the floor, right ahead of us, " moaned The Kid. 

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

With trembling fingers the Kid did as he was bid, and when after muchfumbling he found the button a slim shaft of white light, fell downwardupon the upturned face of a man cold in death--a little man, strangelygarbed, with gold rings in his ears, and long black hair matted in thedeath sweat of his brow. His eyes were wide and, even in death, terrorfilled, 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 ofbloody froth which flecked his lips. 

Bridge still stood holding the quiet form of the girl in his arms, whileThe Kid, pressed close to the man's side, clutched one arm with a fierceintensity which bespoke at once the nervous terror which filled him andthe reliance he placed upon his new found friend. 

To their right, in the faint light of the flash lamp, a narrow stairwaywas revealed leading to the second story. Straight ahead was a dooropening upon the blackness of a rear apartment. Beside the foot of thestairway was another door leading to the cellar steps. 

Bridge nodded toward the rear room. "The stove is in there, " he said. "We'd better go on and make a fire. Draw your pistol--whoever did thishas probably beat it; but it's just as well to be 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 always heard. "

"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 hercondition. We must stay. Come! buck up. There's nothing to fear from adead man, and--"

He never finished the sentence. From the depths of the cellar came thesound of a clanking chain. Something scratched heavily upon the woodensteps. Whatever it was it was evidently ascending, while behind itclanked the heavy links of a dragged chain. 

The Oskaloosa Kid cast a wide eyed glance of terror at Bridge. Hislips moved in an attempt to speak; but fear rendered him inarticulate. Slowly, ponderously the THING ascended the dark stairs from the gloomridden cellar of the deserted ruin. Even Bridge paled a trifle. The manupon the floor appeared to have met an unnatural death--the frightfulexpression frozen upon the dead face might even indicate somethingverging upon the supernatural. The sound of the THING climbing out ofthe cellar was indeed uncanny--so uncanny that Bridge discovered himselflooking about for some means of escape. His eyes fell upon the stairwayleading to the second floor. 

"Quick!" he whispered. "Up the stairs! You go first; I'll follow. "

The Kid needed no second invitation. With a bound he was half way upthe rickety staircase; but a glance ahead at the darkness above gavehim pause while he waited for Bridge to catch up with him. Coming moreslowly with his burden the man followed the boy, while from below theclanking of the chain warned them that the THING was already at the topof the cellar stairs. 

"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 theedge of the swaying and rotting bannister, his finger slipped from thelighting button plunging them all into darkness. In his frantic effortto find the button and relight the lamp the worst occurred--he fumbledthe button and the lamp slipped through his fingers, falling over thebannister to the floor below. Instantly the sound of the dragging chainceased; but the silence was even more horrible than the noise which hadpreceded it. 

For a long minute the two at the head of the stairs stood in tensesilence 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 spasmodicgripping of the slender fingers and hear the quick, short, irregularbreathing. A sudden impulse to throw a protecting arm about the boyseized him--an impulse which he could not quite fathom, and one to whichhe could not respond because of the body of the girl he carried. 

He bent toward the youth. "There are matches in my coat pocket, " hewhispered, "--the same pocket in which you found the flash lamp. Strikeone 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 tothe man that it was only with the greatest exertion of will power thathe controlled his muscles at all; but at last he succeeded in findingand striking one. At the flare of the light there was a sound frombelow--a scratching sound and the creaking of boards as beneath a heavybody; then came the clanking of the chain once more, and the bannisteragainst which they leaned shook as though a hand had been laid upon itbelow them. The youth stifled a shriek and simultaneously the match wentout; but not before Bridge had seen in the momentary flare of light apartially open door at the far end of the hall in which they stood. 

Beneath them the stairs creaked now and the chain thumped slowly fromone to another as it was dragged upward toward them. 

"Quick!" called Bridge. "Straight down the hall and into the room atthe end. " The man was puzzled. He could not have been said to have beenactually 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 theyhad seen and heard in the deserted house--the dead man on the floorbelow, the inexplicable clanking of a chain by some unseen THING fromthe depth of the cellar upward toward them; and, to heighten the effectof these, there were the grim stories of unsolved tragedy and crime. Allin all Bridge could not have denied that he was glad of the room at theend of the hall with its suggestion of safety in the door which mightbe closed against the horrors of the hall and the Stygian gloom belowstairs. 

The Oskaloosa Kid was staggering ahead of him, scarce able to hold hisbody erect upon his shaking knees--his gait seemed pitifully slow tothe unarmed man carrying the unconscious girl and listening to the chaindragging ever nearer and nearer behind; but at last they reached thedoorway and passed through it into the room. 

"Close the door, " directed Bridge as he crossed toward the center of theroom to lay his burden upon the floor, but there was no response tohis instructions--only a gasp and the sound of a body slumping to therotting boards. With an exclamation of chagrin the man dropped the girland swung quickly toward the door. Halfway down the hall he could hearthe chain rattling over loose planking, the THING, whatever it mightbe, was close upon them. Bridge slammed-to the door and with a shoulderagainst it drew a match from his pocket and lighted it. Although hisclothing was soggy with rain he knew that his matches would stillbe dry, for this pocket and its flap he had ingeniously lined withwaterproof material from a discarded slicker he had found--years oftramping having taught him the discomforts of a fireless camp. 

In the resultant light the man saw with a quick glance a large roomfurnished with an old walnut bed, dresser, and commode; two lightlesswindows opened at the far end toward the road, Bridge assumed; and therewas no door other than that against which he leaned. In the last flickerof the match the man scanned the door itself for a lock and, to hisrelief, discovered a bolt--old and rusty it was, but it still movedin its sleeve. An instant later it was shot--just as the sound of thedragging chain ceased outside. Near the door was the great bed, andthis Bridge dragged before it as an additional barricade; then, bearingnothing more from the hallway, he turned his attention to the twounconscious forms upon the floor. Unhesitatingly he went to the boyfirst though had he questioned himself he could not have told why; forthe youth, undoubtedly, had only swooned, while the girl had been thevictim 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 hadscarce seen the boy's face, yet the terrified figure had aroused withinhim, strongly, the protective instinct. Doubtless it was the call ofyouth and weakness which find, always, an answering assurance in thestrength of a strong man. 

As Bridge groped toward the spot where the boy had fallen his eyes, nowbecome accustomed to the darkness of the room, saw that the youth wassitting up. "Well?" he asked. "Feeling better?"

"Where is it? Oh, God! Where is it?" cried the boy. "It will come inhere and kill us as it killed that--that--down stairs. "

"It can't get in, " Bridge assured him. "I've locked the door and pushedthe bed in front of it. Gad! I feel like an old maid looking under thebed for burglars. "

From the hall came a sudden clanking of the chain accompanied by a loudpounding upon the bare floor. With a scream the youth leaped to hisfeet and almost threw himself upon Bridge. His arms were about the man'sneck, his face buried in his shoulder. 

"Oh, don't--don't let it get me!" he cried. 

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

"How do you know it can't get in?" whimpered the youth. "It's the thingthat murdered the man down stairs--it's the thing that murdered theSquibbs--right here in this room. It got in to them--what is to preventits getting in to us. What are doors to such a THING?"

"Come! come! now, " Bridge tried to soothe him. "You have a case ofnerves. Lie down here on this bed and try to sleep. Nothing shall harmyou, and when you wake up it will be morning and you'll laugh at yourfears. "

"Lie on THAT bed!" The voice was almost a shriek. "That is the bed theSquibbs were murdered in--the old man and his wife. No one would haveit, and so it has remained here all these years. I would rather die thantouch the thing. Their blood is still upon it. "

"I wish, " said Bridge a trifle sternly, "that you would try to controlyourself a bit. Hysteria won't help us any. Here we are, and we've tomake the best of it. Besides we must look after this young woman--shemay be dying, and we haven't done a thing to help her. "

The boy, evidently shamed, released his hold upon Bridge and movedaway. "I am sorry, " he said. "I'll try to do better; but, Oh! I was sofrightened. You cannot imagine how frightened I was. "

"I had imagined, " said Bridge, "from what I had heard of him that itwould be a rather difficult thing to frighten The Oskaloosa Kid--youhave, you know, rather a reputation for fearlessness. "

The darkness hid the scarlet flush which mantled The Kid's face. Therewas a moment's silence as Bridge crossed to where the young woman stilllay upon the floor where he had deposited her. Then The Kid spoke. "I'msorry, " he said, "that I made a fool of myself. You have been so brave, and I have not helped at all. I shall do better now. "

"Good, " said Bridge, and stooped to raise the young woman in his armsand deposit her upon the bed. Then he struck another match and leanedclose to examine her. The flare of the sulphur illuminated the roomand shot two rectangles of light against the outer blackness where theunglazed windows stared vacantly upon the road beyond, bringing to asudden halt a little company of muddy and bedraggled men who slipped, cursing, along the slimy way. 

Bridge felt the youth close beside him as he bent above the girl uponthe bed. 

"Is she dead?" the lad whispered. 

"No, " replied Bridge, "and I doubt if she's badly hurt. " His hands ranquickly over her limbs, bending and twisting them gently; he unbuttonedher waist, getting the boy to strike and hold another match while heexamined the victim for signs of a bullet wound. 

"I can't find a scratch on her, " he said at last. "She's suffering fromshock alone, as far as I can judge. Say, she's pretty, isn't she?"

The youth drew himself rather stiffly erect. "Her features are rathercoarse, I think, " he replied. There was a peculiar quality to the tonewhich caused Bridge to turn a quick look at the boy's face, just asthe match flickered and went out. The darkness hid the expressionupon Bridge's face, but his conviction that the girl was pretty wasunaltered. The light of the match had revealed an oval face surroundedby dark, dishevelled tresses, red, full lips, and large, dark eyes. 

Further discussion of the young woman was discouraged by a repetition ofthe clanking of the chain without. Now it was receding along the hallwaytoward the stairs and presently, to the infinite relief of The OskaloosaKid, the two heard it descending to the lower floor. 

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

"I don't know, " replied Bridge. "I've never been a believer in ghostsand I'm not now; but I'll admit that it takes a whole lot of--"

He did not finish the sentence for a moan from the bed diverted hisattention to the injured girl, toward whom he now turned. As theylistened for a repetition of the sound there came another--that ofthe creaking of the old bed slats as the girl moved upon the mildewedmattress. Dimly, through the darkness, Bridge saw that the victim of therecent murderous assault was attempting to sit up. He moved closer andleaned 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 benear when you fell from the car--" with that innate refinement whichalways belied his vocation and his rags Bridge chose not to embarrassthe girl by a too intimate knowledge of the thing which had befallenher, preferring to leave to her own volition the making of anyexplanation she saw fit, or of none--"and we carried you in here out ofthe storm. "

The girl was silent for a moment. "Where is 'here'?" she askedpresently. "They drove so fast and it was so dark that I had no ideawhere we were, though I know that we left the turnpike. "

"We are at the old Squibbs place, " replied the man. He could see thatthe girl was running one hand gingerly over her head and face, so thather next question did not surprise him. 

"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 frightenedand wondering child. Bridge heard the boy behind him move impulsivelyforward and saw him kneel on the bed beside the girl. 

"You are not badly hurt, " volunteered The Oskaloosa Kid. "Bridgecouldn't find a mark on you--the bullet must have missed you. "

"He was holding me over the edge of the car when he fired. " The girl'svoice reflected the physical shudder which ran through her frame at therecollection. "Then he threw me out almost simultaneously. I suppose hethought that he could not miss at such close range. " For a time she wassilent again, sitting stiffly erect. Bridge could feel rather than seewide, tense eyes staring out through the darkness upon scenes, horribleperhaps, that were invisible to him and the Kid. 

Suddenly the girl turned and threw herself face downward upon the bed. "O, God!" she moaned. "Father! Father! It will kill you--no one willbelieve me--they will think that I am bad. I didn't do it! I didn'tdo it! I've been a silly little fool; but I have never been a badgirl--and---and--I had nothing to do with that awful thing that happenedto-night. "

Bridge and the boy realized that she was not talking to them--that forthe moment she had lost sight of their presence--she was talking to thatfather whose heart would be breaking with the breaking of the new day, trying to convince him that his little girl had done no wrong. 

Again she sat up, and when she spoke there was no tremor in her voice. 

"I may die, " she said. "I want to die. I do not see how I can go onliving after last night; but if I do die I want my father to know thatI had nothing to do with it and that they tried to kill me becauseI wouldn't promise to keep still. It was the little one who murderedhim--the one they called 'Jimmie' and 'The Oskaloosa Kid. ' The big onedrove the car--his name was 'Terry. ' After they killed him I tried tojump out--I had been sitting in front with Terry--and then they draggedme over into the tonneau and later--the Oskaloosa Kid tried to kill metoo, and threw me out. "

Bridge heard the boy at his side gulp. The girl went on. 

"To-morrow you will know about the murder--everyone will know about it;and I will be missed; and there will be people who saw me in the carwith them, for someone must have seen me. Oh, I can't face it! I want todie. 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 willsuffer, for I was all he had--his only child. I can't bear to tell youmy name--you will know it soon enough--but please find some way tolet my father know all that I have told you--I swear that it is thetruth--by the memory of my dead mother, I swear it!"

Bridge laid a hand upon the girl's shoulder. "If you are telling us thetruth, " he said, "you have only a silly escapade with strange men uponyour conscience. You must not talk of dying now--your duty is to yourfather. If you take your own life it will be a tacit admission of guiltand will only serve to double the burden of sorrow and ignominy whichyour father is bound to feel when this thing becomes public, as itcertainly must if a murder has been done. The only way in which youcan atone for your error is to go back and face the consequences withhim--do not throw it all upon him; that would be cowardly. "

The girl did not reply; but that the man's words had impressed herseemed evident. For a while each was occupied with his own thoughts;which were presently disturbed by the sound of footsteps upon the floorbelow--the muffled scraping of many feet followed a moment later by anexclamation and an oath, the words coming distinctly through the looseand splintered flooring. 

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

"The Kid musta croaked him, " said another. 

A laugh followed this evidently witty sally. 

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

The men were still laughing when the sound of a clanking chain echoeddismally from the cellar. Instantly silence fell upon the newcomers uponthe first floor, followed by a--"Wotinel's that?" Two of the men hadapproached the staircase and started to ascend it. Slowly the uncannyclanking drew closer to the first floor. The girl on the bed turnedtoward Bridge. 

"What is it?" she gasped. 

"We don't know, " replied the man. "It followed us up here, or ratherit chased us up; and then went down again just before you regainedconsciousness. I imagine we shall hear some interesting developmentsfrom below. "

"It's The Sky Pilot and his gang, " whispered The Oskaloosa Kid. 

"It's The Oskaloosa Kid, " came a voice from below. 

"But wot was that light upstairs then?" queried another. 

"An' wot croaked this guy here?" asked a third. "It wasn't nothin'nice--did you get the expression on his mug an' the red foam on hislips? I tell youse there's something in this house beside human bein's. I know the joint--its hanted--they's spooks in it. Gawd! there it isnow, " as the clanking rose to the head of the cellar stairs; and thoseabove heard a sudden rush of footsteps as the men broke for the openair--all but the two upon the stairway. They had remained too long andnow, their retreat cut off, they scrambled, cursing and screaming, tothe second floor. 

Along the hallway they rushed to the closed door at the end--the doorof the room in which the three listened breathlessly--hurling themselvesagainst it in violent effort to gain admission. 

"Who are you and what do you want?" cried Bridge. 

"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 here in a minute. "

The sound of the dragging chain could be heard at intervals upon thefloor below. It seemed to the tense listeners above to pause beside thedead man as though hovering in gloating exultation above its gruesomeprey and then it moved again, this time toward the stairway wherethey all heard it ascending with a creepy slowness which wrought moreterribly upon tense nerves than would a sudden rush. 

"The mills of the Gods grind slowly, " quoted Bridge. 

"Oh, don't!" pleaded The Oskaloosa Kid. 

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

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

"No funny business, now, if I let you in, " commanded Bridge. 

"On the square, " came the quick and earnest reply. 

The THING had reached the head of the stairs when Bridge dragged the bedaside and drew the bolt. Instantly two figures hurled themselves intothe room but turned immediately to help Bridge resecure the doorway. 

Just as it had done before, when Bridge and The Oskaloosa Kid had takenrefuge there with the girl, the THING moved down the hallway to theclosed door. The dragging chain marked each foot of its advance. If itmade other sounds they were drowned by the clanking of the links overthe time roughened flooring. 

Within the room the five were frozen into utter silence, and beyond thedoor an equal quiet prevailed for a long minute; then a great forcemade the door creak and a weird scratching sounded high up upon the oldfashioned panelling. Bridge heard a smothered gasp from the boy besidehim, followed instantly by a flash of flame and the crack of a smallcaliber automatic; The Oskaloosa Kid had fired through the door. 

Bridge seized the boy's arm and wrenched the weapon from him. "Becareful!" he cried. "You'll hurt someone. You didn't miss the girl muchthat time--she's on the bed right in front of the door. "

The Oskaloosa Kid pressed closer to the man as though he soughtprotection from the unknown menace without. The girl sprang from thebed and crossed to the opposite side of the room. A flash of lightningilluminated the chamber for an instant and the roof of the verandahwithout. The girl noted the latter and the open window. 

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

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

There was no sound from the hallway. 

"I reckon you croaked IT, " suggested the second newcomer, hopefully;but, as though the THING without had heard and understood, the clankingof the chain recommenced at once; but now it was retreating along thehallway, and soon they heard it descending the stairs. 

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

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

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

"I believe I shall, " replied Bridge and pulled the bed away from thedoor. 

Instantly a chorus of protests arose, the girl and The Oskaloosa Kidbeing most insistent. What was the use? What good could he accomplish?It might be nothing; yet on the other hand what had brought deathso horribly to the cold clay on the floor below? At last their pleasprevailed and Bridge replaced the bed before the door. 

For two hours the five sat about the room waiting for daylight. Therecould be no sleep for any of them. Occasionally they spoke, usuallyadvancing and refuting suggestions as to the identity of the nocturnalprowler below-stairs. The THING seemed to have retreated again to thecellar, leaving the upper floor to the five strangely assorted prisonersand the first floor to the dead man. 

During the brief intervals of conversation the girl repeated snatchesof her story and once she mentioned The Oskaloosa Kid as the murderer ofthe unnamed victim. The two men who had come last pricked up their earsat this and Bridge felt the boy's hand just touch his arm as though inmute appeal for belief and protection. The man half smiled. 

"We seen The Oskaloosa Kid this evenin'" volunteered one of thenewcomers. 

"You did?" exclaimed the girl. "Where?"

"He'd just pulled off a job in Oakdale an' had his pockets bulgin' widsparklers an' kale. We was follerin' him an' when we seen your light uphere we t'ought it was him. "

The Oskaloosa Kid shrank closer to Bridge. At last he recognized thevoice of the speaker. While he had known that the two were of The SkyPilot's band he had not been sure of the identity of either; but now itwas borne in upon him that at least one of them was the last person onearth he cared to be cooped up in a small, unlighted room with, and amoment later when one of the two rolled a 'smoke' and lighted it he sawin the flare of the flame the features of both Dopey Charlie and TheGeneral. The Oskaloosa Kid gasped once more for the thousandth time thatnight. 

It had been Dopey Charlie who lighted the cigaret and in the briefillumination his friend The General had grasped the opportunity to scanthe features of the other members of the party. Schooled by long yearsof repression he betrayed none of the surprise or elation he felt whenhe recognized the features of The Oskaloosa Kid. 

If The General was elated The Oskaloosa Kid was at once relieved andterrified. Relieved by ocular proof that he was not a murderer andterrified by the immediate presence of the two who had sought his life. 

His cigaret drawing well Dopey Charlie resumed: "This Oskaloosa Kid's abad actor, " he volunteered. "The little shrimp tried to croak me; buthe only creased my ribs. I'd like to lay my mits on him. I'll bet therewon't be no more Oskaloosa Kid when I get done wit him. "

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 onthis roof and slide down the porch pillars. "

Bridge laid a strong, warm hand on the small, cold one of his newfriend. 

"Don't worry, Kid, " he said. "I'm for you. "

The two other men turned quickly in the direction of the speaker. 

"Is de Kid here?" asked Dopey Charlie. 

"He is, my degenerate friend, " replied Bridge; "and furthermore he'sgoing to stay here and be perfectly safe. Do you grasp me?"

"Who are you?" asked The General. 

"That is a long story, " replied Bridge; "but if you chance to recallDink and Crumb you may also be able to visualize one Billy Burke andBilly Byrne and his side partner, Bridge. Yes? Well, I am the sidepartner. "

Before the yeggman could make reply the girl spoke up quickly. "This mancannot be The Oskaloosa Kid, " she said. "It was The Oskaloosa Kid whothrew me from the car. "

"How do you know he ain't?" queried The General. "Youse was knockedout when these guys picks you up. It's so dark in here you couldn'treco'nize no one. How do you know this here bird ain't The OskaloosaKid, eh?"

"I have heard both these men speak, " replied the girl; "their voiceswere not those of any men I have known. If one of them is The OskaloosaKid then there must be two men called that. Strike a match and you willsee that you are mistaken. "

The General fumbled in an inside pocket for a package of matchescarefully wrapped against possible damage by rain. Presently he struckone and held the light in the direction of The Kid's face while he andthe girl and Dopey Charlie leaned forward to scrutinize the youth'sfeatures. 

"It's him all right, " said Dopey Charlie. 

"You bet it is, " seconded The General. 

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

"Well, this one said he was The Oskaloosa Kid, " persisted The General. 

"An' he shot me up, " growled Dopey Charlie. 

"It's too bad he didn't kill you, " remarked Bridge pleasantly. "You'rea thief and probably a murderer into the bargain--you tried to kill thisboy just before he shot you. "

"Well wots he?" demanded Dopey Charlie. "He's a thief--he said hewas--look in his pockets--they're crammed wid swag, an' he's a gun-man, too, or he wouldn't be packin' a gat. I guess he ain't got nothin' onme. "

The darkness hid the scarlet flush which mounted to the boy's cheeks--sohot that he thought it must surely glow redly through the night. Hewaited 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 thefaces of the six hobos; but now he suddenly felt a great shame that hisnew found friend should believe him a house-breaker. 

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 boyalone and in the morning, when the storm had passed and daylight hadlessened the unknown danger which lurked below-stairs, betake themselvesupon their way. 

"And while we're here together in this room you two must sit over nearthe window, " he concluded. "You've tried to kill the boy once to-night;but you're not going to try it again--I'm taking care of him now. "

"You gotta crust, bo, " observed Dopey Charlie, belligerently. "I guessme an' The General'll sit where we damn please, an' youse can take itfrom me on the side that we're goin' to have ours out of The Kid's haul. If you tink you're goin' to cop the whole cheese you got another tinkcomin'. "

"You are banking, " replied Bridge, "on the well known fact that I nevercarry a gun; but you fail to perceive, owing to the Stygian gloom whichsurrounds us, that I have the Kid's automatic in my gun hand and thatthe business end of it is carefully aiming in your direction. "

"Cheese it, " The General advised his companion; and the two removedthemselves to the opposite side of the apartment, where they whispered, grumblingly, to one another. 

The girl, the boy, and Bridge waited as patiently as they could forthe coming of the dawn, talking of the events of the night and planningagainst the future. Bridge advised the girl to return at once to herfather; but this she resolutely refused to do, admitting with utmostcandor that she lacked the courage to face her friends even though herfather might still believe in her. 

The youth begged that he might accompany Bridge upon the road, pleadingthat his mother was dead and that he could not return home after hisescapade. And Bridge could not find it in his heart to refuse him, forthe man realized that the boyish waif possessed a subtile attraction, asforceful as it was inexplicable. Not since he had followed the open roadin company with Billy Byrne had Bridge met one with whom he might careto 'Pal' before The Kid crossed his path on the dark and storm sweptpike south of Oakdale. 

In Byrne, mucker, pugilist, and MAN, Bridge had found a physical andmoral counterpart of himself, for the slender Bridge was muscled asa Greek god, while the stocky Byrne, metamorphosed by the fire of awoman's love, possessed all the chivalry of the care free tramp whosevagabondage had never succeeded in submerging the evidences of hiscultural birthright. 

In the youth Bridge found an intellectual equal with the added charmof a physical dependent. The man did not attempt to fathom the evidentappeal of the other's tacitly acknowledged cowardice; he merely knewthat he would not have had the youth otherwise if he could not havechanged him. Ordinarily he accepted male cowardice with the resignationof surfeited disgust; but in the case of The Oskaloosa Kid he realized acertain artless charm which but tended to strengthen his liking for theyouth, so brazen and unaffected was the boy's admission of his terror ofboth the real and the unreal menaces of this night of horror. 

That the girl also was well bred was quite evident to Bridge, while boththe girl and the youth realized the refinement of the strange companionand protector which Fate had ordered for them, while they also sawin one another social counterparts of themselves. Thus, as the nightdragged its slow course, the three came to trust each other moreentirely and to speculate upon the strange train of circumstances whichhad brought them thus remarkably together--the thief, the murderer'saccomplice, and the vagabond. 

It was during a period of thoughtful silence when the night was darkestjust before the dawn and the rain had settled to a dismal drizzleunrelieved by lightning or by thunder that the five occupants of theroom were suddenly startled by a strange pattering sound from thefloor below. It was as the questioning fall of a child's feet upon theuncarpeted boards in the room beneath them. Frozen to silent rigidity, the five sat straining every faculty to catch the minutest sound fromthe black void where the dead man lay, and as they listened therecame up to them, mingled with the inexplicable footsteps, the hollowreverberation from the dank cellar--the hideous dragging of thechain behind the nameless horror which had haunted them through theinterminable eons of the ghastly night. 

Up, up, up it came toward the first floor. The pattering of the feetceased. The clanking rose until the five heard the scraping of the chainagainst the door frame at the head of the cellar stairs. They heard itpass across the floor toward the center of the room and then, loudand piercing, there rang out against the silence of the awful night awoman's shriek. 

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

"What are you doing?" cried the girl in a muffled scream. 

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

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

"Please! Please!" he cried. "Oh, please don't leave me. "

The girl also ran to the man's side and clutched him by the sleeve. 

"Don't go!" she begged. "Oh, for God's sake, don't leave us here alone!"

"You heard a woman scream didn't you?" asked Bridge. "Do you suppose Ican stay in up here when a woman may be facing death a few feet belowme?"

For answer the girl but held more tightly to his arm while the youthslipped to the floor and embraced the man's knees in a vice-like holdwhich he could not break without hurting his detainer. 

"Come! Come!" expostulated Bridge. "Let me go. "

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

The youth only strained his hold tighter about the man's legs. Bridgefelt a soft cheek pressed to his knee; and, for some unaccountablereason, the appeal was stronger than the pleading of the girl. SlowlyBridge realized that he could not leave this defenseless youth aloneeven 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'tleave you unless she calls for help in articulate words. "

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 silenceby the window. From below came an occasional rattle of the chain, followed after a few minutes by the now familiar clanking as the ironlinks scraped across the flooring. Mingled with the sound of the chainthere rose to them what might have been the slow and ponderous footstepsof a heavy man, dragging painfully across the floor. For a few momentsthey heard it, and then all was silent. 

For a dozen tense minutes the five listened; but there was no repetitionof any sound from below. Suddenly the girl breathed a deep sigh, andthe spell of terror was broken. Bridge felt rather than heard the youthsobbing softly against his breast, while across the room The Generalgave a quick, nervous laugh which he as immediately suppressed as thoughfearful unnecessarily of calling attention to their presence. The othervagabond fumbled with his hypodermic needle and the narcotic which wouldquickly give his fluttering nerves the quiet they craved. 

Bridge, the boy, and the girl shivered together in their soggy clothingupon the edge of the bed, feeling now in the cold dawn the chilldiscomfort of which the excitement of the earlier hours of the night hadrendered them unconscious. The youth coughed. 

"You've caught cold, " said Bridge, his tone almost self-reproachful, asthough he were entirely responsible for the boy's condition. "We're anice aggregation of mollycoddles--five of us sitting half frozen up herewith a stove on the floor below, and just because we heard a noise whichwe couldn't explain and hadn't the nerve to investigate. " He rose. "I'mgoing down, rustle some wood and build a fire in that stove--you twokids have got to dry those clothes of yours and get warmed up or we'llhave a couple of hospital cases on our hands. "

Once again rose a chorus of pleas and objections. Oh, wouldn't he waituntil daylight? See! the dawn was even then commencing to break. Theydidn't dare go down and they begged him not to leave them up therealone. 

At this Dopey Charlie spoke up. The 'hop' had commenced to assert itsdominion over his shattered nervous system instilling within him a newcourage and a feeling of utter well-being. "Go on down, " said he toBridge. "The General an' I'll look after the kids--won't we bo?"

"Sure, " assented The General; "we'll take care of 'em. "

"I'll tell you what we'll do, " said Bridge; "we'll leave the kids uphere and we three'll go down. They won't go, and I wouldn't leave themup here with you two morons on a bet. "

The General and Dopey Charlie didn't know what a moron was but they feltquite certain from Bridge's tone of voice that a moron was not a nicething, and anyway no one could have bribed them to descend into thedarkness of the lower floor with the dead man and the grisly THING thatprowled through the haunted chambers; so they flatly refused to budge aninch. 

Bridge saw in the gradually lighting sky the near approach of fulldaylight; so he contented himself with making the girl and the youthwalk briskly to and fro in the hope that stimulated circulation might atleast partially overcome the menace of the damp clothing and the chillair, and thus they occupied the remaining hour of the night. 

From below came no repetition of the inexplicable noises of that nightof terror and at last, with every object plainly discernible in thelight of the new day, Bridge would delay no longer; but voiced his finaldetermination to descend and make a fire in the old kitchen stove. Boththe boy and the girl insisted upon accompanying him. For the first timeeach had an opportunity to study the features of his companions ofthe night. Bridge found in the girl and the youth two dark eyed, good-looking young people. In the girl's face was, perhaps, just a traceof weakness; but it was not the face of one who consorts habitually withcriminals. The man appraised her as a pretty, small-town girl who hadbeen led into a temporary escapade by the monotony of village life, andhe 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 thefine, sensitive mouth and thought of the youth's claim to the crimebattered sobriquet of The Oskaloosa Kid. The man wondered if the mysteryof the clanking chain would prove as harmlessly infantile as these twowhom some accident of hilarious fate had cast in the roles of debaucheryand crime. 

Aloud, he said: "I'll go first, and if the spook materializes you twocan 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 agood fire going in the kitchen and warm up a bit. "

Down the hall they went, Bridge leading with the boy and girl closeat his heels while the two yeggs brought up the rear. Their footstepsechoed through the deserted house; but brought forth no answeringclanking from the cellar. The stairs creaked beneath the unaccustomedweight of so many bodies as they descended toward the lower floor. Near the bottom Bridge came to a questioning halt. The front room layentirely within his range of vision, and as his eyes swept it he gavevoice to a short exclamation of surprise. 

The youth and the girl, shivering with cold and nervous excitement, craned their necks above the man's shoulder. 

"O-h-h!" gasped The Oskaloosa Kid. "He's gone, " and, sure enough, thedead man had vanished. 

Bridge stepped quickly down the remaining steps, entered the rear roomwhich had served as dining room and kitchen, inspected the two smallbedrooms off this room, and the summer kitchen beyond. All were empty;then he turned and re-entering the front room bent his steps toward thecellar stairs. At the foot of the stairway leading to the second floorlay the flash lamp that the boy had dropped the night before. Bridgestooped, picked it up and examined it. It was uninjured and with it inhis hand he continued toward the cellar door. 

"Where are you going?" asked The Oskaloosa Kid. 

"I'm going to solve the mystery of that infernal clanking, " he replied. 

"You are not going down into that dark cellar!" It was an appeal, aquestion, and a command; and it quivered gaspingly upon the verge ofhysteria. 

Bridge turned and looked into the youth's face. The man did not likecowardice and his eyes were stern as he turned them on the lad fromwhom during the few hours of their acquaintance he had received so manyevidences of cowardice; but as the clear brown eyes of the boy met histhe man's softened and he shook his head perplexedly. What was thereabout this slender stripling which so disarmed criticism?

"Yes, " he replied, "I am going down. I doubt if I shall find anythingthere; but if I do it is better to come upon it when I am looking for itthan to have it come upon us when we are not expecting it. If there isto be any hunting I prefer to be hunter rather than hunted. "

He wheeled and placed a foot upon the cellar stairs. The youth followedhim. 

"What are you going to do?" asked the man. 

"I am going with you, " said the boy. "You think I am a coward because Iam afraid; but there is a vast difference between cowardice and fear. "

The man made no reply as he resumed the descent of the stairs, flashingthe rays of the lamp ahead of him; but he pondered the boy's words andsmiled as he admitted mentally that it undoubtedly took more courageto 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 toshare his danger with him, for in his roaming life Bridge had known fewassociates for whom he cared. 

The beams of the little electric lamp, moving from side to side, revealed a small cellar littered with refuse and festooned withcob-webs. At one side tottered the remains of a series of wooden racksupon 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 thefrail structure had collapsed to the earthen floor. A table with one legmissing and a crippled chair constituted the balance of the contents ofthe cellar and there was no living creature and no chain nor any othervisible evidence of the presence which had clanked so lugubriouslyout of the dark depths during the vanished night. The boy breatheda heartfelt sigh of relief and Bridge laughed, not without a note ofrelief either. 

"You see there is nothing, " he said--"nothing except some firewood whichwe 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 stuffupstairs, " and together they returned to the floor above, their armsladen with pieces of the dilapidated milk rack. The girl was awaitingthem at the head of the stairs while the two tramps whispered togetherat the opposite side of the room. 

It took Bridge but a moment to have a roaring fire started in the oldstove in the kitchen, and as the warmth rolled in comforting waves aboutthem the five felt for the first time in hours something akin to reliefand well being. With the physical relaxation which the heat induced camea like relaxation of their tongues and temporary forgetfulness of theirantagonisms and individual apprehensions. Bridge was the only memberof the group whose conscience was entirely free. He was not 'wanted'anywhere, he had no unexpiated crimes to harry his mind, and with theresponsibilities of the night removed he fell naturally into his old, carefree manner. He hazarded foolish explanations of the uncanny noisesof the night and suggested various theories to account for the presenceand the mysterious disappearance of the dead man. 

The General, on the contrary, seriously maintained that the weird soundshad 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 wifeor daughter. 

"I wouldn't spend anudder night in this dump, " he concluded, "for boththem pockets full of swag The Oskaloosa Kid's packin' around. "

Immediately all eyes turned upon the flushing youth. The girl and Bridgecould not prevent their own gazes from wandering to the bulging coatpockets, the owner of which moved uneasily, at last shooting a look ofdefiance, not unmixed with pleading, at Bridge. 

"He's a bad one, " interjected Dopey Charlie, a glint of cunning in hisordinarily glassy eyes. "He flashes a couple o' mitsful of sparklers, chesty-like, and allows as how he's a regular burglar. Then he pullsa gun on me, as wasn't doin' nothin' to him, and 'most croaks me. It'seven money that if anyone's been croaked in Oakdale last night theywon't have to look far for the guy that done it. Least-wise they won'thave to look far if he doesn't come across, " and Dopey Charlie lookedmeaningly and steadily at the side pockets of The Oskaloosa Kid. 

"I think, " said Bridge, after a moment of general silence, "that youtwo crooks had better beat it. Do you get me?" and he looked from DopeyCharlie to The General and back again. 

"We don't go, " said Dopey Charlie, belligerently, "until we gets halfthe Kid's swag. "

"You go now, " said Bridge, "without anybody's swag, " and he drew theboy's automatic from his side pocket. "You go now and you go quick--beatit!"

The two rose and shuffled toward the door. "We'll get you, you colledgeLizzy, " threatened Dopey Charlie, "an' we'll get that phoney punk, too. "

"'And speed the parting guest, '" quoted Bridge, firing a shot thatsplintered the floor at the crook's feet. When the two hoboes haddeparted the others huddled again close to the stove until Bridgesuggested that he and The Oskaloosa Kid retire to another room while thegirl removed and dried her clothing; but she insisted that it wasnot wet enough to matter since she had been covered by a robe in theautomobile until just a moment before she had been hurled out. 

"Then, after you are warmed up, " said Bridge, "you can step into thisother room while the kid and I strip and dry our things, for there's noquestion but that we are wet enough. "

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 onthe road I'll be all right. I--I--I like wet clothes, " he ended, lamely. 

Bridge looked at him questioningly; but did not urge the matter. "Verywell, " he said; "you probably know what you like; but as for me, I'mgoing to pull off every rag and get good and dry. "

The girl had already quitted the room and now The Kid turned andfollowed her. Bridge shook his head. "I'll bet the little beggar neverwas away from his mother before in his life, " he mused; "why the merethought of undressing in front of a strange man made him turn red--andposing as The Oskaloosa Kid! Bless my soul; but he's a humorist--aregular, natural born one. "

Bridge found that his clothing had dried to some extent during thenight; so, after a brisk rub, he put on the warmed garments and thoughsome were still a trifle damp he felt infinitely more comfortable thanhe had for many hours. 

Outside the house he came upon the girl and the youth standing in thesunshine of a bright, new day. They were talking together in a mostanimated manner, and as he approached wondering what the two had foundof so great common interest he discovered that the discussion hingedupon the relative merits of ham and bacon as a breakfast dish. 

"Oh, my heart it is just achin', " quoted Bridge, "For a little bite of bacon, "A hunk of bread, a little mug of brew;

 "I'm tired of seein' scenery, "Just lead me to a beanery

 "Where there's something more than only air to

 chew. "

The two looked up, smiling. "You're a funny kind of tramp, to be quotingpoetry, " said The Oskaloosa Kid, "even if it is Knibbs'. "

"Almost as funny, " replied Bridge, "as a burglar who recognizes Knibbswhen he hears him. "

The Oskaloosa Kid flushed. "He wrote for us of the open road, " hereplied quickly. "I don't know of any other class of men who shouldenjoy him more. "

"Or any other class that is less familiar with him, " retorted Bridge;"but the burning question just now is pots, not poetry--flesh pots. I'mhungry. I could eat a cow. "

The girl pointed to an adjacent field. "Help yourself, " she said. 

"That happens to be a bull, " said Bridge. "I was particular to mentioncow, which, in this instance, is proverbially less dangerous than themale, and much better eating. 

"'We kept a-rambling all the time. I rustled grub, he rustled rhyme--

"'Blind baggage, hoof it, ride or climb--we 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 atall, to talk to, " she said; "but I suppose you are used to asking forfood. I couldn't do it--I should die if I had to. "

The Oskaloosa Kid looked uncomfortable. "So should--" he commenced, andthen suddenly subsided. "Of course I'd just as soon, " he said. "You twostay here--I'll be back in a minute. "

They watched him as he walked down to the road and until he disappearedover the crest of the hill a short distance from the Squibbs' house. 

"I like him, " said the girl, turning toward Bridge. 

"So do I, " replied the man. 

"There must be some good in him, " she continued, "even if he is sucha desperate character; but I know he's not The Oskaloosa Kid. Do youreally suppose he robbed a house last night and then tried to kill thatDopey person?"

Bridge shook his head. "I don't know, " he said; "but I am inclined tobelieve that he is more imaginative than criminal. He certainly shot upthe Dopey person; but I doubt if he ever robbed a house. "

While they waited, The Oskaloosa Kid trudged along the muddy road to thenearest farm house, which lay a full mile beyond the Squibbs' home. As he approached the door a lank, sallow man confronted him with asuspicious eye. 

"Good morning, " greeted The Oskaloosa Kid. 

The man grunted. 

"I want to get something to eat, " explained the youth. 

If the boy had hurled a dynamite bomb at him the result could havebeen 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 reachedhis hand inside the kitchen door and brought it forth enveloping thebarrel of a shot gun. 

"Durn ye!" he cried. "I'll lam ye! Get offen here. I knows ye. Yer oneo' that gang o' bums that come here last night, an' now you got the gallto come back beggin' for food, eh? I'll lam ye!" and he raised the gunto his shoulder. 

The Oskaloosa Kid quailed but he held his ground. "I wasn't here lastnight, " he cried, "and I'm not begging for food--I want to buy some. I've got plenty of money, " in proof of which assertion he dug into aside pocket and brought forth a large roll of bills. The man lowered hisgun. 

"Wy didn't ye say so in the first place then?" he growled. "How'd I knowyou wanted to buy it, eh? Where'd ye come from anyhow, this early inthe mornin'? What's yer name, eh? What's yer business, that's what JebCase'd like to know, eh?" He snapped his words out with the rapidity ofa machine gun, nor waited for a reply to one query before launchingthe next. "What do ye want to buy, eh? How much money ye got? Lookssuspicious. That's a sight o' money yew got there, eh? Where'dje getit?"

"It's mine, " said The Oskaloosa Kid, "and I want to buy some eggs andmilk and ham and bacon and flour and onions and sugar and cream andstrawberries and tea and coffee and a frying pan and a little oil stove, if you have one to spare, and--"

Jeb Case's jaw dropped and his eyes widened. "You're in the wrongpasture, bub, " he remarked feelingly. "What yer lookin' fer is Sears, Roebuck & Company. "

The Oskaloosa Kid flushed up to the tips of his ears. "But can't yousell me something?" he begged. 

"I might let ye have some milk an' eggs an' butter an' a leetle baconan' mebby my ol' woman's got a loaf left from her last bakin'; but weain't been figgerin' on supplyin' grub fer the United States army efthat's what yew be buyin' fer. "

A frowsy, rat-faced woman and a gawky youth of fourteen stuck theirheads 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 fatbank roll in the youth's hand. "Or, leastwise, " she amended, "I ain'tgot much more'n we need an' the price o' stuff's gone up so lately thatI'll hev to ask ye more'n I would of last fall. 'Bout what did ye figgeron wantin'?"

"Anything you can spare, " said the youth. "There are three of us andwe're awful hungry. "

"Where yew stoppin'?" asked the woman. 

"We're at the old Squibbs' place, " replied The Kid. "We got caught bythe storm last night and had to put up there. "

"The Squibbs' place!" ejaculated the woman. "Yew didn't stop there overnight?"

"Yes we did, " replied the youth. 

"See anything funny?" asked Mrs. Case. 

"We didn't SEE anything, " replied The Oskaloosa Kid; "but we heardthings. At least we didn't see what we heard; but we saw a dead man onthe floor when we went in and this morning he was gone. "

The Cases shuddered. "A dead man!" ejaculated Jeb Case. "Yew seen him?"

The Kid nodded. 

"I never tuk much stock in them stories, " said Jeb, with a shake of hishead; "but ef you SEEN it! Gosh! Thet beats me. Come on M'randy, les seewhat we got to spare, " and he turned into the kitchen with his wife. 

The lanky boy stepped, out and planting himself in front of TheOskaloosa Kid proceeded to stare at him. "Yew seen it?" he asked inawestruck tone. 

"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 gluttonfor thrills. 

"Something that dragged a chain behind it and came up out of the cellarand 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 andlooked admiringly at the youth. "What mought yer name be?" he asked. 

"I'm The Oskaloosa Kid, " replied the youth, unable to resist theadmiration of the other's fond gaze. "Look here!" and he fished ahandful of jewelry from one of his side pockets; "this is some of theswag I stole last night when I robbed a house. "

Case Jr. , opened his mouth and eyes so wide that there was little leftof his face. "But that's nothing, " bragged The Kid. "I shot a man, too. "

"Last night?" whispered the boy. 

"Yep, " replied the bad man, tersely. 

"Gosh!" said the young Mr. Case, but there was that in his facialexpression which brought to The Oskaloosa Kid a sudden regret that hehad thus rashly confided in a stranger. 

"Say, " said The Kid, after a moment's strained silence. "Don't tellanyone, will you? If you'll promise I'll give you a dollar, " and hehunted through his roll of bills for one of that lowly denomination. 

"All right, " agreed the Case boy. "I won't say a word--where's thedollar?"

The youth drew a bill from his roll and handed it to the other. "If youtell, " he whispered, and he bent close toward the other's ear and spokein a menacing tone; "If you tell, I'll kill you!"

"Gosh!" said Willie Case. 

At this moment Case pere and mere emerged from the kitchen loaded withprovender. "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 youfor the rest of it?"

"Oh, " said Jeb Case, rubbing his chin, eyeing the big roll of bills andwondering just the limit he might raise to, "I reckon 'bout four dollarsan' six bits. "

The Oskaloosa Kid peeled a five dollar bill from his roll and profferedit to the farmer. "I'm ever so much obliged, " he said, "and you needn'tmind about any change. I thank you so much. " With which he took theseveral packages and pails and turned toward the road. 

"Yew gotta return them pails!" shouted Mrs. Case after him. 

"Oh, of course, " replied The Kid. 

"Gosh!" exclaimed Mr. Case, feelingly. "I wisht I'd asked six bitsmore--I mought jest as well o' got it as not. Gosh, eh?"

"Gosh!" murmured Willie Case, fervently. 

Back down the sticky road plodded The Oskaloosa Kid, his arms heavy andhis heart light, for, was he not 'bringing home the bacon, ' literally aswell as figuratively. As he entered the Squibbs' gateway he saw thegirl and Bridge standing upon the verandah waiting his coming, and ashe approached them and they caught a nearer view of his great burden ofprovisions they hailed him with loud acclaim. 

"Some artist!" cried the man. "And to think that I doubted your abilityto make a successful touch! Forgive me! You are the ne plus ultra, nonest cumquidibus, in hoc signo vinces, only and original kind of hand-outcompellers. "

"How in the world did you do it?" asked the girl, rapturously. 

"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 expeditioninto the kitchen. Here Bridge busied himself about the stove, addingmore wood to the fire and scrubbing a portion of the top plate as cleanas he could get it with such crude means as he could discover about theplace. 

The youth he sent to the nearby brook for water after selecting theleast dirty of the several empty tin cans lying about the floor of thesummer kitchen. He warned against the use of the water from the oldwell and while the boy was away cut a generous portion of the bacon intolong, thin strips. 

Shortly after, the water coming to the boil, Bridge lowered three eggsinto it, glanced at his watch, greased one of the new cleaned stove lidswith a piece of bacon rind and laid out as many strips of bacon as thelid would accommodate. Instantly the room was filled with the deliciousodor of frying bacon. 

"M-m-m-m!" gloated The Oskaloosa Kid. "I wish I had bo--asked for more. My! but I never smelled anything so good as that in all my life. Are yougoing to boil only three eggs? I could eat a dozen. "

"The can'll only hold three at a time, " explained Bridge. "We'll havesome more boiling while we are eating these. " He borrowed his knife fromthe girl, who was slicing and buttering bread with it, and turned thebacon 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 theeggs one at a time from the can. 

"But we have no cups!" exclaimed The Oskaloosa Kid, in sudden despair. 

Bridge laughed. "Knock an end off your egg and the shell will answer inplace of a cup. Got a knife?"

The Kid didn't. Bridge eyed him quizzically. "You must have done most ofyour burgling near home, " he commented. 

"I'm not a burglar!" cried the youth indignantly. Somehow it was verydifferent when this nice voiced man called him a burglar from braggingof the fact himself to such as The Sky Pilot's villainous company, orthe awestruck, open-mouthed Willie Case whose very expression invitedheroics. 

Bridge made no reply, but his eyes wandered to the right hand sidepocket of the boy's coat. Instantly the latter glanced guiltilydownward to flush redly at the sight of several inches of pearl necklaceprotruding accusingly therefrom. The girl, a silent witness of theoccurrence, was brought suddenly and painfully to a realization of herpresent position and recollection of the happenings of the precedingnight. For the time she had forgotten that she was alone in the companyof a tramp and a burglar--how much worse either might be she could onlyguess. 

The breakfast, commenced so auspiciously, continued in gloomy silence. At least the girl and The Oskaloosa Kid were silent and gloomsteeped. Bridge was thoughtful but far from morose. His spirits wereunquenchable. 

"I am afraid, " he said, "that I shall have to replace James. Hisdefection is unforgivable, and he has misplaced the finger-bowls. "

The youth and the girl forced wan smiles; but neither spoke. Bridge drewa pouch of tobacco and some papers from an inside pocket. 

 "'I had the makings and I smoked

 "'And wondered over different things, "'Thinkin' as how this old world joked

 "'In callin' only some men kings

 "'While I sat there a-blowin' rings. '"

He paused to kindle a sliver of wood at the stove. "In these parloustimes, " he spoke as though to himself, "one must economize. They aretaking a quarter of an ounce out of each five cents worth of chewing, Iam told; so doubtless each box must be five or six matches short of fullcount. Even these papers seem thinner than of yore and they will onlysell one book to a customer at that. Indeed Sherman was right. "

The youth and the girl remained occupied with their own thoughts, andafter a moment's silence the vagabond resumed:

 "'Me? I was king of anywhere, "'Peggin' away at nothing, hard. 

 "'Havin' no pet, particular care;

 "'Havin' no trouble, or no pard;

"'"Just me, " filled up my callin' card. ' "Say, do you know I've learnedto love this Knibbs person. I used to think of him as a poor atticprune grinding away in his New York sky parlor, writing his verse of thethings he longed for but had never known; until, one day, I met a fellowbetween Victorville and Cajon pass who knew His Knibbs, and come to findout this Knibbs is a regular fellow. His attic covers all God's countrythat is out of doors and he knows the road from La Bajada hill toBarstow a darned sight better than he knows Broadway. "

There was no answering sympathy awakened in either of hislisteners--they remained mute. Bridge rose and stretched. He pickedup his knife, wiped off the blade, closed it and slipped it into atrousers' pocket. Then he walked toward the door. At the threshold hepaused and turned. "'Good-bye girls! I'm through, '" he quoted and passedout into the sunlight. 

Instantly the two within were on their feet and following him. 

"Where are you going?" cried The Oskaloosa Kid. "You're not going toleave us, are you?"

"Oh, please don't!" pleaded the girl. 

"I don't know, " said Bridge, solemnly, "whether I'm safe in remaining inyour society or not. This Oskaloosa Kid is a bad proposition; and as foryou, young lady, I rather imagine that the town constable is looking foryou right now. "

The girl winced. "Please don't, " she begged. "I haven't done anythingwicked, 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. Itwould break his heart. "

As the three stood back of the Squibbs' summer kitchen Fate, in theguise of a rural free delivery carrier and a Ford, passed by the frontgate. A mile beyond he stopped at the Case mail box where Jeb andhis son Willie were, as usual, waiting his coming, for the rural freedelivery man often carries more news than is contained in his mailsacks. 

"Mornin' Jeb, " he called, as he swerved his light car from the road anddrew up in front of the Case gate. 

"Mornin', Jim!" returned Mr. Case. "Nice rain we had last night. What'sthe news?"

"Plenty! Plenty!" exclaimed the carrier. "Lived here nigh onto fortyyear, man an' boy, an' never seen such work before in all my life. "

"How's that?" questioned the farmer, scenting something interesting. 

"Ol' man Baggs's murdered last night, " announced the carrier, watchingeagerly for the effect of his announcement. 

"Gosh!" gasped Willie Case. "Was he shot?" It was almost a scream. 

"I dunno, " replied Jim. "He's up to the horspital now, an' the doc sayshe haint one chance in a thousand. "

"Gosh!" exclaimed Mr. Case. 

"But thet ain't all, " continued Jim. "Reggie Paynter was murdered lastnight, too; right on the pike south of town. They threw his corpse outena ottymobile. "

"By gol!" cried Jeb Case; "I hearn them devils go by last night 'boutmidnight er after. 'T woke me up. They must o' ben goin' sixty mile anhour. 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 bums in my life. "

"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 housewas robbed jest about the same time Ol' man Baggs 'uz murdered, er mostmurdered--chances is he's dead by this time anyhow. Doc said he hadn'tno chance. "

"Gosh!" It was a pater-filius duet. 

"But thet ain't all, " gloated Jim. "Two of the persons in the car withReggie 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 Toledoer 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 dee-dectiff downfrom Chicago, an' the board o' select-men's offered a re-ward o' fiftydollars fer the arrest an' conviction of the perpetrators of thesedastardly crimes!"

"Gosh!" cried Willie Case. "I know--"; but then he paused. If he toldall he knew he saw plainly that either the carrier or his father wouldprofit by it and collect the reward. Fifty dollars!! Willie gasped. 

"Well, " said Jim, "I gotta be on my way. Here's the Tribune--there ain'tnothin' more fer ye. So long! Giddap!" and he was gone. 

"I don' see why he don't carry a whip, " mused Jeb Case. "A-gidappin' tothat there tin lizzie, " he muttered disgustedly, "jes' like it was asgood as a hoss. But I mind the time, the fust day he got the dingedthing, he gets out an' tries to lead it by Lem Smith's threshin'machine. "

Jeb Case preferred an audience worthy his mettle; but Willie was betterthan no one, yet when he turned to note the effect of his remarks on hisson, Willie was no where to be seen. If Jeb had but known it his younghopeless was already in the loft of the hay barn deep in a small, red-covered book entitled: "HOW TO BE A DETECTIVE. "

Bridge, who had had no intention of deserting his helpless companions, appeared at last to yield reluctantly to their pleas. That indefinablesomething about the youth which appealed strongly to the protectiveinstinct in the man, also assured him that the other's mask ofcriminality was for the most part assumed even though the stories of thetwo yeggmen and the loot bulging pockets argued to the contrary. Therewas the chance, however, that the boy had really taken the first stepupon the road toward a criminal career, and if such were the case Bridgefelt morally obligated to protect his new found friend from arrest, secure in the reflection that his own precept and example would domore to lead him back into the path of rectitude than would any policemagistrate or penal institute. 

For the girl he felt a deep pity. In the past he had had knowledge ofmore than one other small-town girl led into wrong doing through thedeadly monotony and flagrant hypocrisy of her environment. Himselfhighly imaginative and keenly sensitive, he realized with what depth ofhorror the girl anticipated a return to her home and friends after thechildish escapade which had culminated, even through no fault of hers, in criminal tragedy of the most sordid sort. 

As the three held a council of war at the rear of the deserted housethey were startled by the loud squeaking of brake bands on the road infront. Bridge ran quickly into the kitchen and through to the frontroom where he saw three men alighting from a large touring car whichhad drawn up before the sagging gate. As the foremost man, big andbroad shouldered, raised his eyes to the building Bridge smothered anexclamation of surprise and chagrin, nor did he linger to inspect theother members of the party; but turned and ran quickly back to hiscompanions. 

"We've got to beat it!" he whispered; "they've brought Burton himselfdown here. "

"Who's Burton?" demanded the youth. 

"He's the best operative west of New York City, " replied Bridge, as hemoved rapidly toward an outhouse directly in rear of the main building. 

Once behind the small, dilapidated structure which had once probablyhoused farm implements, Bridge paused and looked about. "They'll searchhere, " he prophesied, and then; "Those woods look good to me. "

The Squibbs' woods, growing rank in the damp ravine at the bottom of thelittle valley, ran to within a hundred feet of the out-building. Denseundergrowth choked the ground to a height of eight or ten feet aroundthe boles of the close set trees. If they could gain the seclusionof that tangled jungle there was little likelihood of their beingdiscovered, provided they were not seen as they passed across the openspace between their hiding place and the wood. 

"We'd better make a break for it, " advised Bridge, and a moment laterthe three moved cautiously toward the wood, keeping the out-housebetween themselves and the farm house. Almost in front of them as theyneared the wood they saw a well defined path leading into the thicket. Single-file they entered, to be almost instantly hidden from view, notonly from the house but from any other point more than a dozen pacesaway, for the path was winding, narrow and closely walled by the buddingverdure of the new Spring. Birds sang or twittered about them, the matof dead leaves oozed spongily beneath their feet, giving forth no soundas they passed, save a faint sucking noise as a foot was lifted fromeach watery seat. 

Bridge was in the lead, moving steadily forward that they might put asmuch distance as possible between themselves and the detective shouldthe latter chance to explore the wood. They had advanced a few hundredyards when the path crossed through a small clearing the center of whichwas destitute of fallen leaves. Here the path was beaten into soft mudand as Bridge came to it he stopped and bent his gaze incredulously uponthe ground. The girl and the youth, halting upon either side, followedthe direction of his eyes with theirs. The girl gave a little, involuntary gasp, and the boy grasped Bridge's hand as though fearfulof losing him. The man turned a quizzical glance at each of them andsmiled, though a bit ruefully. 

"It beats me, " he said. 

"What can it be?" whispered the boy. 

"Oh, let's go back, " begged the girl. 

"And go along to father with Burton?" asked Bridge. 

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 thepathway--the irregular outlines of an enormous, naked, human foot--agreat, uncouth foot that bespoke a monster of another world. While, still more uncanny, in view of what they had heard in the farm houseduring the previous night, there lay, sometimes partially obliteratedby the footprints of the THING, the impress of a small, bare foot--awoman's or a child's--and over both an irregular scoring that mighthave been wrought by a dragging chain!

In the loft of his father's hay barn Willie Case delved deep into thesmall red-covered volume, HOW TO BE A DETECTIVE; but though he turnedmany pages and flitted to and fro from preface to conclusion he met onlywith disappointment. The pictures of noted bank burglars and confidencemen aided him not one whit, for in none of them could he descry theslightest resemblance to the smooth faced youth of the early morning. Infact, so totally different were the types shown in the little book thatWillie was forced to scratch his head and exclaim "Gosh!" many timesin an effort to reconcile the appearance of the innocent boy to thehardened, criminal faces he found portrayed upon the printed pages. 

"But, by gol!" he exclaimed mentally, "he said he was The OskaloosieKid, 'n' that he shot a man last night; but what I'd like to know ishow I'm goin' to shadder him from this here book. Here it says: 'If thecriminal gets on a street car and then jumps off at the next cornerthe good detective will know that his man is aware that he is beingshadowed, and will stay on the car and telephone his office at the firstopportunity. ' 'N'ere it sez: 'If your man gets into a carriage don'trun up an' jump on the back of it; but simply hire another carriage andfollow. ' How in hek kin I foller this book?" wailed Willie. "They ain'tno street cars 'round here. I ain't never see a street car, 'n'as fer acarriage, I reckon he means bus, they's only one on 'em in Oakdale 'n'ifthey waz forty I'd like to know how in hek I'd hire one when I ain't gotno money. I reckon I threw away my four-bits on this book--it don't tella feller nothin' 'bout false whiskers, wigs 'n' the like, " and he tossedthe book disgustedly into a corner, rose and descended to the barnyard. Here he busied himself about some task that should have been attended toa week before, and which even now was not destined to be completed thatday, since Willie had no more than set himself to it than his attentionwas distracted by the sudden appearance of a touring car being broughtto a stop in front of the gate. 

Instantly Willie dropped his irksome labor and slouched lazily towardthe machine, the occupants of which were descending and heading for theCase front door. Jeb Case met them before they reached the porch andWillie lolled against a pillar listening eagerly to all that was said. 

The most imposing figure among the strangers was the same whom Bridgehad seen approaching the Squibbs' house a short time before. It was hewho acted as spokesman for the newcomers. 

"As you may know, " he said, after introducing himself, "a number ofcrimes were committed in and around Oakdale last night. We are searchingfor clews to the perpetrators, some of whom must still be in theneighborhood. Have you seen any strange or suspicious characters aroundlately?"

"I should say we hed, " exclaimed Jeb emphatically. 

"I seen the wo'st lookin' gang o' bums come outen my hay barn thismornin' thet I ever seed in my life. They must o' ben upward of a dozenon '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 theyseed it wa'n't safe monkeyin' with me; so they skidaddled. "

"Which way did they go?" asked Burton. 

"Off down the road yonder; but I don't know which way they turned at thecrossin's, er ef they kept straight on toward Millsville. "

Burton asked a number of questions in an effort to fix the identity ofsome of the gang, warned Jeb to telephone him at Jonas Prim's if he sawanything further of the strangers, and then retraced his steps towardthe car. Not once had Jeb mentioned the youth who had purchased suppliesfrom him that morning, and the reason was that Jeb had not consideredthe young man of sufficient importance, having cataloged him mentally asan unusually early specimen of the summer camper with which he was moreor less familiar. 

Willie, on the contrary, realized the importance of their morningcustomer, yet just how he was to cash in on his knowledge was not yetentirely clear. He was already convinced that HOW TO BE A DETECTIVEwould help him not at all, and with the natural suspicion of ignorancehe feared to divulge his knowledge to the city detective for fear thatthe latter would find the means to cheat him out of the princely rewardoffered by the Oakdale village board. He thought of going at once to theSquibbs' house and placing the desperate criminals under arrest; butas fear throttled the idea in its infancy he cast about for some otherplan. 

Even as he stood there thinking the great detective and his companionswere entering the automobile to drive away. In a moment they would begone. Were they not, after all, the very men, the only men, in fact, toassist him in his dilemma? At least he could test them out. If necessaryhe would divide the reward with them! Running toward the road Willieshouted to the departing sleuth. The car, moving slowly forward in low, came again to rest. Willie leaped to the running board. 

"If I tell you where the murderer is, " he whispered hoarsely, "do I gitthe $50. 00?"

Detective Burton was too old a hand to ignore even the most seeminglyimpossible of aids. He laid a kindly hand on Willie's shoulder. "You betyou do, " he replied heartily, "and what's more I'll add another fifty toit. What do you know?"

"I seen the murderer this mornin', " Willie was gasping with excitementand elation. Already the one hundred dollars was as good as his. Onehundred dollars! Willie "Goshed!" mentally even as he told his tale. "Hecome to our house an' bought some vittles an' stuff. Paw didn't know whohe 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 awhole pocket full o' money, 'n' he said he'd kill me ef I told. "

Detective Burton could scarce restrain a smile as he listened to thiswildly improbable tale, yet his professional instinct was too keen topermit him to cast aside as worthless the faintest evidence until he hadproven it to be worthless. He stepped from the car again and motioningto Willie to follow him returned to the Case yard where Jeb was alreadycoming toward the gate, having noted the interest which his sonwas arousing among the occupants of the car. Willie pulled at thedetective's sleeve. "Don't tell Paw about the reward, " he begged; "he'llkeep it all hisself. "

Burton reassured the boy with a smile and a nod, and then as he nearedJeb he asked him if a young man had been at his place that morningasking for food. 

"Sure, " replied Jeb; "but he didn't 'mount to nothin'. One o' these heresummer camper pests. He paid fer all he got. Had a roll o' bills 's bigas 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 andthat he had robbed a house and killed a man last night?"

"Huh?" exclaimed Jeb. Then he turned and cast one awful look atWillie--a look large with menace. 

"Honest, Paw, " pleaded the boy. "I was a-scairt to tell you, 'cause hesaid he'd kill me ef I told. "

Jeb scratched his head. "Yew know what you'll get ef you're lyin' tome, " he threatened. 

"I believe he's telling the truth, " said detective Burton. "Where is theman now?" he asked Willie. 

"Down to the Squibbs' place, " and Willie jerked a dirty thumb toward theeast. 

"Not now, " said Burton; "we just came from there; but there has beensomeone there this morning, for there is still a fire in the kitchenrange. Does anyone live there?"

"I should say not, " said Willie emphatically; "the place is haunted. "

"Thet's right, " interjected Jeb. "Thet's what they do say, an' this hereOskaloosie Kid said they heered things las' night an' seed a dead man onthe 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, " shecontinued, "'n' ef his paw don't lick him I will. I told him tell I'mgood an' tired o' talkin' thet one liar 'round a place wuz all I couldstand, " and she cast a meaning glance at her husband. 

"Honest, Maw, I ain't a-lyin', " insisted Willie. "Wot do you supposehe give me this fer, if it wasn't to keep me from talkin', " and the boydrew a crumpled one dollar bill from his pocket. It was worth the dollarto escape a thrashing. 

"He give you thet?" asked his mother. Willie nodded assent. 

"'N' thet ain't all he had neither, " he said. "Beside all them bills heshowed me a whole pocket full o' jewlry, 'n' he had a string o' thingsthet I don't know jest what you call 'em; but they looked like theywas made outen the inside o' clam shells only they was all round likemarbles. "

Detective Burton raised his eyebrows. "Miss Prim's pearl necklace, " hecommented to the man at his side. The other nodded. "Don't punish yourson, Mrs. Case, " he said to the woman. "I believe he has discovered agreat deal that will help us in locating the man we want. Of course I aminterested principally in finding Miss Prim--her father has engaged mefor that purpose; but I think the arrest of the perpetrators of any oflast night's crimes will put us well along on the trail of the missingyoung lady, as it is almost a foregone conclusion that there is aconnection between her disappearance and some of the occurrences whichhave so excited Oakdale. I do not mean that she was a party to anycriminal act; but it is more than possible that she was abducted by thesame men who later committed the other crimes. "

The Cases hung open-mouthed upon his words, while his companionswondered at the loquaciousness of this ordinarily close-mouthed man, who, as a matter of fact, was but attempting to win the confidence ofthe 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 gleanno additional information the detective returned to his car and drovewest toward Millsville on the assumption that the fugitives would seekescape by the railway running through that village. Only thus could heaccount for their turning off the main pike. The latter was now wellguarded all the way to Payson; while the Millsville road was still open. 

No sooner had he departed than Willie Case disappeared, nor did heanswer at noon to the repeated ringing of the big, farm dinner bell. 

Half way between the Case farm and Millsville detective Burton saw, farahead along the road, two figures scale a fence and disappear behindthe fringing blackberry bushes which grew in tangled profusion on eitherside. When they came abreast of the spot he ordered the driver to stop;but though he scanned the open field carefully he saw no sign of livingthing. 

"There are two men hiding behind those bushes, " he said to hiscompanions in a low whisper. "One of you walk ahead about fifty yardsand the other go back the same distance and then climb the fence. WhenI 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 whenBurton saw them turn in and start to climb the fence he vaulted over thepanel directly opposite the car. He had scarcely alighted upon the otherside when his eyes fell upon the disreputable figures of two trampsstretched out upon their backs and snoring audibly. Burton grinned. 

"You two sure can go to sleep in a hurry, " he said. One of the menopened his eyes and sat up. When he saw who it was that stood over himhe grinned sheepishly. 

"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 fromeither side Burton's companions closed in on the three. 

"Wot's de noise?" inquired the second tramp, looking from one to anotherof the intruders. "We ain't done nothin'. "

"Of course not, Charlie, " Burton assured him gaily. "Who would eversuspect that you or The General would do anything; but somebody didsomething in Oakdale last night and I want to take you back there andhave a nice, long talk with you. Put your hands up!"

"We--. "

"Put 'em up!" snapped Burton, and when the four grimy fists had beenelevated he signalled to his companions to search the two men. 

Nothing more formidable than knives, dope, and a needle were found uponthem. 

"Say, " drawled Dopey Charlie. "We knows wot we knows; but hones' to gawdwe didn't have nothin' to do wid it. We knows the guy that pulled itoff--we spent las' night wid him an' his pal an' a skoit. He creasedme, here, " and Charlie unbuttoned his clothing and exposed to view thebloody scratch of The Oskaloosa Kid's bullet. "On de level, Burton, wewern't in on it. Dis guy was at dat Squibbs' place wen we pulls in dereouten de rain. He has a pocket full o' kale an' sparklers an' tings, andhe goes fer to shoot me up wen I tries to get away. "

"Who was he?" asked Burton. 

"He called hisself de Oskaloosa Kid, " replied Charlie. "A guy calledBridge was wid him. You know him?"

"I've heard of him; but he's straight, " replied Burton. "Who was theskirt?"

"I dunno, " said Charlie; "but she was gassin' 'bout her pals croakin' aguy an' trunin' 'im outten a gas wagon, an' dis Oskaloosa Kid he croakssome old guy in Oakdale las' night. Mebby he ain't a bad 'un though!"

"Where are they now?" asked Burton. 

"We got away from 'em at the Squibbs' place this mornin', " said Charlie. 

"Well, " said Burton, "you boes come along with me. If you ain't donenothing the worst you'll get'll be three squares and a place to sleepfor a few days. I want you where I can lay my hands on you when I needa couple of witnesses, " and he herded them over the fence and into themachine. As he himself was about to step in he felt suddenly of hisbreast pocket. 

"What's the matter?" asked one of his companions. 

"I've lost my note book, " replied Burton; "it must have dropped out ofmy pocket when I jumped the fence. Just wait a minute while I go lookfor it, " and he returned to the fence, vaulted it and disappeared behindthe bushes. 

It was fully five minutes before he returned but when he did there was alook of satisfaction on his face. 

"Find it?" asked his principal lieutenant. 

"Yep, " replied Burton. "I wouldn't have lost it for anything. "

Bridge and his companions had made their way along the wooded path forperhaps a quarter of a mile when the man halted and drew back behind thefoliage of a flowering bush. With raised finger he motioned the othersto silence and then pointed through the branches ahead. The boy andthe girl, tense with excitement, peered past the man into a clearing inwhich stood a log shack, mud plastered; but it was not the hovel whichheld their mute attention--it was rather the figure of a girl, bareheaded and bare footed, who toiled stubbornly with an old spade at along, narrow excavation. 

All too suggestive in itself was the shape of the hole the girl wasdigging; there was no need of the silent proof of its purpose which laybeside her to tell the watchers that she worked alone in the midst ofthe forest solitude upon a human grave. The thing wrapped in an oldquilt lay silently waiting for the making of its last bed. 

And as the three watched her other eyes watched them and the digginggirl--wide, awestruck eyes, filled with a great terror, yet now andagain half closing in the shrewd expression of cunning that is a hallmark of crafty ignorance. 

And as they watched, their over-wrought nerves suddenly shuddered to thegrewsome clanking of a chain from the dark interior of the hovel. 

The youth, holding tight to Bridge's sleeve, strove to pull him away. 

"Let's go back, " he whispered in a voice that trembled so that he couldscarce control it. 

"Yes, please, " urged the girl. "Here is another path leading toward thenorth. We must be close to a road. Let's get away from here. "

The digger paused and raised her head, listening, as though she hadcaught the faint, whispered note of human voices. She was a black hairedgirl of nineteen or twenty, dressed in a motley of flowered calico andsilk, with strings of gold and silver coins looped around her oliveneck. Her bare arms were encircled by bracelets--some cheap and gaudy, others well wrought from gold and silver. From her ears dependedornaments fashioned from gold coins. Her whole appearance was barbaric, her occupation cast a sinister haze about her; and yet her eyes seemedfashioned for laughter and her lips for kissing. 

The watchers remained motionless as the girl peered first in onedirection and then in another, seeking an explanation of the soundswhich had disturbed her. Her brows were contracted into a scowl ofapprehension which remained even after she returned to her labors, andthat she was ill at ease was further evidenced by the frequent pausesshe made to cast quick glances toward the dense tanglewood surroundingthe clearing. 

At last the grave was dug. The girl climbed out and stood looking downupon the quilt wrapped thing at her feet. For a moment she stood thereas silent and motionless as the dead. Only the twittering of birdsdisturbed the quiet of the wood. Bridge felt a soft hand slipped intohis and slender fingers grip his own, He turned his eyes to see theboy at his side gazing with wide eyes and trembling lips at the tableauwithin the clearing. Involuntarily the man's hand closed tightly uponthe youth's. 

And as they stood thus the silence was shattered by a loud and humansneeze from the thicket not fifty feet from where they stood. Instantlythe girl in the clearing was electrified into action. Like a tigresscharging those who stalked her she leaped swiftly across the clearingtoward the point from which the disturbance had come. There was ananswering commotion in the underbrush as the girl crashed through, aslender knife gleaming in her hand. 

Bridge and his companions heard the sounds of a swift and short pursuitfollowed by voices, one masterful, the other frightened and whimpering;and a moment afterward the girl reappeared dragging a boy with her--awide-eyed, terrified, country boy who begged and blubbered to no avail. 

Beside the dead man the girl halted and then turned on her captive. Inher right hand she still held the menacing blade. 

"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 inhis decision by this most potent of arguments. 

The boy cowered. "I didn't come fer to watch you, " he whimpered. "I'mlookin' for somebody else. I'm goin' to be a dee-tectiff, an' I'mshadderin' a murderer;" and he gasped and stammered: "But not you. I'mlookin' for another murderer. "

For the first time the watchers saw a faint smile touch the girl's lips. 

"What other murderer?" she asked. "Who has been murdered?"

"Two an' mebby three in Oakdale last night, " said Willie Case moreglibly now that a chance for disseminating gossip momentarily outweighedhis own fears. "Reginald Paynter was murdered an' ol' man Baggs an'Abigail Prim's missin'. Like es not she's been murdered too, thoughthey do say as she had a hand in it, bein' seen with Paynter an' TheOskaloosie Kid jest afore the murder. "

As the boy's tale reached the ears of the three hidden in theunderbrush Bridge glanced quickly at his companions. He saw the boy'shorror-stricken expression follow the announcement of the name of themurdered Paynter, and he saw the girl flush crimson. 

Without urging, Willie Case proceeded with his story. He told of thecoming of The Oskaloosa Kid to his father's farm that morning andof seeing some of the loot and hearing the confession of robbery andkilling in Oakdale the night before. Bridge looked down at the youthbeside him; but the other's face was averted and his eyes upon theground. Then Willie told of the arrival of the great detective, of thereward that had been offered and of his decision to win it and becomerich and famous in a single stroke. As he reached the end of hisnarrative he leaned close to the girl, whispering in her ear the whilehis furtive gaze wandered toward the spot where the three lay concealed. 

Bridge shrugged his shoulders as the palpable inference of that cunningglance was borne in upon him. The boy's voice had risen despite hisefforts to hold it to a low whisper for what with the excitement of theadventure and his terror of the girl with the knife he had little orno control of himself, yet it was evident that he did not realize thatpractically every word he had spoken had reached the ears of the threein hiding and that his final precaution as he divulged the informationto the girl was prompted by an excess of timidity and secretiveness. 

The eyes of the girl widened in surprise and fear as she learned thatthree watchers lay concealed at the verge of the clearing. She benta long, searching look in the direction indicated by the boy and thenturned her eyes quickly toward the hut as though to summon aid. At thesame moment Bridge stepped from hiding into the clearing. His pleasant'Good morning!' brought the girl around, facing him. 

"What you want?" she snapped. 

"I want you and this young man, " said Bridge, his voice now suddenlystern. "We have been watching you and followed you from the Squibbshouse. We found the dead man there last night;" Bridge nodded toward thequilt enveloped thing upon the ground; "and we suspect that you hadan accomplice. " Here he frowned meaningly upon Willie Case. The youthtrembled and stammered. 

"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; hetell me. You get out or I call Beppo. He keel you. He eat you. "

"Come, come, now, my dear, " urged Bridge, "be calm. Let us get at theroot 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 evenheard of. It seems to me that he must have some guilty knowledge himselfof 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 shouldbe, and then look once more at me. Which of us might be a murderer andwhich a detective? I ask you. 

"And as for yourself. I find you here in the depths of the wood digginga 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 fromyou, for you do not look a murderer, though I cannot say as much foryour desperate companion. "

The girl looked straight into Bridge's eyes for a full minute before shereplied as though endeavoring to read his inmost soul. 

"I do not know this boy, " she said. "That is the truth. He was spyingon me, and when I found him he told me that you and your companions werethieves and murderers and that you were hiding there watching me. Youtell me the truth, all the truth, and I will tell you the truth. I havenothing to fear. If you do not tell me the truth I shall know it. Willyou?"

"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 uponthe Oskaloosa Kid. 

Quickly and simply Bridge told the girl the story of the past night, forhe saw that by enlisting her sympathy he might find an avenue of escapefor his companions, or at least a haven of refuge where they might hideuntil escape was possible. "And then, " he said in conclusion, "when thesearchers arrived we followed the foot prints of yourself and the bearuntil we came upon you digging this grave. "

Bridge's companions and Willie Case looked their surprise at hismention of a bear; but the gypsy girl only nodded her head as she hadoccasionally during his narrative. 

"I believe you, " said the girl. "It is not easy to deceive Giova. Now Itell you. This here, " she pointed toward the dead man, "he my father. Hebad man. Steal; kill; drink; fight; but always good to Giova. Good to noone else but Beppo. He afraid Beppo. Even our people drive us out he, myfather, so bad man. We wander 'round country mak leetle money when Beppodance; 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 largeman. Beppo come too. I bury heem. No one know we leeve here. Pretty soonI go way with Beppo. Why tell people he dead. Who care? Mak lot troublefor Giova whose heart already ache plenty. No one love heem, only Beppoand Giova. No one love Giova, only Beppo; but some day Beppo hekeel Giova now HE is dead, for Beppo vera large, strong bear--fiercebear--ogly bear. Even Giova who love Beppo is afraid Beppo. Beppo devilbear! Beppo got evil eye. 

"Well, " said Bridge, "I guess, Giova, that you and we are in the sameboat. We haven't any of us done anything so very bad but it would beembarrassing to have to explain to the police what we have done, " herehe glanced at The Oskaloosa Kid and the girl standing beside the youth. "Suppose we form a defensive alliance, eh? We'll help you and you helpus. What do you say?"

"All right, " acquiesced Giova; "but what we do with this?" and shejerked her thumb toward Willie Case. 

"If he don't behave we'll feed him to Beppo, " suggested Bridge. 

Willie shook in his boots, figuratively speaking, for in reality heshook upon his bare feet. "Lemme go, " he wailed, "an' I won't tellnobody nothin'. "

"No, " said Bridge, "you don't go until we're safely out of here. Iwouldn't trust that vanishing chin of yours as far as I could throwBeppo by the tail. "

"Wait!" exclaimed The Oskaloosa Kid. "I have it!"

"What have you?" asked Bridge. 

"Listen!" cried the boy excitedly. "This boy has been offered a hundreddollars for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the menwho robbed and murdered in Oakdale last night. I'll give him a hundreddollars if he'll go away and say nothing about us. "

"Look here, son, " said Bridge, "every time you open your mouth you putyour foot in it. The less you advertise the fact that you have a hundreddollars the better off you'll be. I don't know how you come by so muchwealth; but in view of several things which occurred last night I shouldnot 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 wouldbe similarly impressed. "

The Oskaloosa Kid appeared hurt and crestfallen. Giova shot a suspiciousglance at him. The other girl involuntarily drew away. Bridge noted theact and shook his head. "No, " he said, "we mustn't judge one anotherhastily, Miss Prim, and I take it you are Miss Prim?" The girl made ahalf gesture of denial, started to speak, hesitated and then resumed. "Iwould 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 woodwill be searched; but I don't see how we are to get out of it beforedark as the roads are doubtless pretty well patrolled, or at least everyfarmer is on the lookout for suspicious strangers. So we might aswell make the best of it here for the rest of the day. I think we'rereasonably safe for the time being--if we keep Willie with us. "

Willie had been an interested auditor of all that passed between hiscaptors. He was obviously terrified; but his terror did not prevent himfrom absorbing all that he heard, nor from planning how he might utilizethe information. He saw not only one reward but several and a gloriouspublicity which far transcended the most sanguine of his former dreams. He saw his picture not only in the Oakdale Tribune but in the newspapersof every city of the country. Assuming a stern and arrogant expression, or rather what he thought to be such, he posed, mentally, for thenewspaper cameramen; and such is the power of association of ideasthat he was presently strolling nonchalantly before a battery of motionpicture machines. "Gee!" he murmured, "wont the other fellers be sore!I s'ppose Pinkerton'll send for me 'bout the first thing 'n' offer metwenty fi' dollars a week, er mebbie more 'n thet. Gol durn, ef I don'thold out fer thirty! Gee!" Words, thoughts even, failed him. 

As the others planned they rather neglected Willie and when they came toassisting Giova in lowering her father into the grave and covering himover with earth they quite forgot Willie entirely. It was The OskaloosaKid who first thought of him. "Where's the boy?" he cried suddenly. Theothers looked quickly about the clearing, but no Willie was to be seen. 

Bridge shook his head ruefully. "We'll have to get out of this ina hurry now, " he said. "That little defective will have the wholeneighborhood on us in an hour. "

"Oh, what can we do?" cried the girl. "They mustn't find us! I shouldrather die than be found here with--" She stopped abruptly, flushedscarlet as the other three looked at her in silence, and then: "I amsorry, " 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 ofone 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. Theroad past Squeebs an' Case's go right through it. I know path there Ifin' myself. We on'y have to cross road, that only danger. Then we reachleetle stream south of woods, stream wind down through Payson. We allgo Gypsies. I got lot clothing in house. We all go Gypsies, an' when wereach Payson we no try hide--jus' come out on street with Beppo. Mak'Beppo dance. No one think we try hide. Then come night we go 'way. Findmore wood an' leetle lake other side Payson. I know place. We hide therelong time. No one ever fin' us there. We tell two, three, four peoplein Payson we go Oakdale. They look Oakdale for us if they wan' fin' us. They no think look where we go. See?"

"Oh, I can't go to Payson, " exclaimed the other girl. "Someone would besure to recognize me. "

"You come in house with me, " Giova assured her, "I feex you so your ownmother no know you. You mens come too. I geeve you what to wear likeGypsy mens. We got lots things. My father, him he steal many things fromour people after they drive us out. He go back by nights an' steal. "

The three followed her toward the little hovel since there seemed nobetter plan than that which she had offered. Giova and the other girlwere in the lead, followed by Bridge and the boy. The latter turned tothe man and placed a hand upon his arm. "Why don't you leave us, " heasked. "You have done nothing. No one is looking for you. Why don't yougo your way and save yourself from suspicion. "

Bridge did not reply. 

"I believe, " the youth went on, "that you are doing it for me; but why Ican't guess. "

"Maybe I am, " Bridge half acknowledged. "You're a good little kid, butyou need someone to look after you. It would be easier though if you'dtell me the truth about yourself, which you certainly haven't up tonow. "

"Please don't ask me, " begged the boy. "I can't; honestly I can't. "

"Is it as bad as that?" asked the man. 

"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, and--and, oh, Bridge, I don't want to leave you--ever!"

They had reached the door of the cabin now and were looking in past thegirl who had halted there as Giova entered. Before them was a small roomin 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 in the dark as to have run intothis fellow. "

"Did you know last night that it was a bear?" asked the Kid. "You toldGiova that you followed the footprints of herself and her bear; but youhad not said anything about a bear to us. "

"I had an idea last night, " explained Bridge, "that the sounds wereproduced by some animal dragging a chain; but I couldn't prove it and soI said nothing, and then this morning while we were following the trailI made up my mind that it was a bear. There were two facts which arguedthat such was the case. The first is that I don't believe in ghosts andthat even if I did I would not expect a ghost to leave footprints inthe mud, and the other is that I knew that the footprints of a bear arestrangely similar to those of the naked feet of man. Then when I saw theGypsy girl I was sure that what we had heard last night was nothing morenor less than a trained bear. The dress and appearance of the dead manlent themselves to a furtherance of my belief and the wisp of brown hairclutched in his fingers added still further proof. "

Within the room the bear was now straining at his collar and growlingferociously at the strangers. Giova crossed the room, scolding himand at the same time attempting to assure him that the newcomerswere friends; but the wicked expression upon the beast's face gave noindication that he would ever accept them as aught but enemies. 

It was a breathless Willie who broke into his mother's kitchen wide eyedand gasping from the effects of excitement and a long, hard run. 

"Fer lan' sakes!" exclaimed Mrs. Case. "Whatever in the world ails you?"

"I got 'em; I got 'em!" cried Willie, dashing for the telephone. 

"Fer lan' sakes! I should think you did hev 'em, " retorted his mother asshe trailed after him in the direction of the front hall. "'N' whateveryou got, you got 'em bad. Now you stop right where you air 'n' tell mewhatever you got. 'Taint likely its measles, fer you've hed them threetimes, 'n' whoopin' cough ain't 'them, ' it's 'it, ' 'n'--. " Mrs. Casepaused and gasped--horrified. "Fer lan' sakes, Willie Case, you comeright 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 and reached thetelephone. 

"Shucks!" he cried. "I ain't got nothin' in my head, " nor did eithersense 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 tocome arter 'em. "

Mrs. Case sank into a chair, prostrated by the weight of her emotions, while Willie took down the receiver after ringing the bell to attractcentral. Finally he obtained his connection, which was with Jonas Prim'sbank where detective Burton was making his headquarters. Here he learnedthat Burton had not returned; but finally gave his message reluctantlyto Jonas Prim after exacting a promise from that gentleman that he wouldbe personally responsible for the payment of the reward. What WillieCase told Jonas Prim had the latter in a machine, with half a dozendeputy sheriffs and speeding southward from Oakdale inside of tenminutes. 

A short distance out from town they met detective Burton with his twoprisoners. After a hurried consultation Dopey Charlie and The Generalwere unloaded and started on the remainder of their journey afoot underguard of two of the deputies, while Burton's companions turned andfollowed the other car, Burton taking a seat beside Prim. 

"He said that he could take us right to where Abigail is, " Mr. Primwas explaining to Burton, "and that this Oskaloosa Kid is with her, and another man and a foreign looking girl. He told a wild story aboutseeing them burying a dead man in the woods back of Squibbs' place. Idon't know how much to believe, or whether to believe any of it; butwe can't afford not to run down every clew. I can't believe that mydaughter is wilfully consorting with such men. She always has been fullof life and spirit; but she's got a clean mind, and her little escapadeshave always been entirely harmless--at worst some sort of boyish prank. I simply won't believe it until I see it with my own eyes. If she's withthem she's being held by force. "

Burton made no reply. He was not a man to jump to conclusions. Hissuccess was largely due to the fact that he assumed nothing; but merelyran down each clew quickly yet painstakingly until he had a foundationof fact upon which to operate. His theory was that the simplest way isalways the best way and so he never befogged the main issue with anyelaborate system of deductive reasoning based on guesswork. Burton neverguessed. He assumed that it was his business to KNOW, nor was he on anycase long before he did know. He was employed now to find Abigail Prim. Each of the several crimes committed the previous night might or mightnot prove a clew to her whereabouts; but each must be run down in theprocess of elimination before Burton could feel safe in abandoning it. 

Already he had solved one of them to his satisfaction; and Dopey Charlieand The General were, all unknown to themselves, on the way to thegallows for the murder of Old John Baggs. When Burton had found themsimulating sleep behind the bushes beside the road his observant eyeshad noticed something that resembled a hurried cache. The excuse of alost note book had taken him back to investigate and to find the lootof the Baggs's crime wrapped in a bloody rag and hastily buried in ashallow hole. 

When Burton and Jonas Prim arrived at the Case farm they were met by anew Willie. A puffed and important young man swaggered before them ashe retold his tale and led them through the woods toward the spot wherethey were to bag their prey. The last hundred yards was made on handsand knees; but when the party arrived at the clearing there was no onein sight, only the hovel stood mute and hollow-eyed before them. 

"They must be inside, " whispered Willie to the detective. 

Burton passed a whispered word to his followers. Stealthily they creptthrough the underbrush until the cabin was surrounded; then, at a signalfrom their leader they rose and advanced upon the structure. 

No evidence of life indicated their presence had been noted, and Burtoncame to the very door of the cabin unchallenged. The others saw himpause an instant upon the threshold and then pass in. They closed behindhim. Three minutes later he emerged, shaking his head. 

"There is no one here, " he announced. 

Willie Case was crestfallen. "But they must be, " he pleaded. "They mustbe. I saw 'em here just a leetle while back. "

Burton turned and eyed the boy sternly. Willie quailed. "I seen 'em, " hecried. "Hones' I seen 'em. They was here just a few minutes ago. Here'swhere they burrit the dead man, " and he pointed to the little mound ofearth near the center of the clearing. 

"We'll see, " commented Burton, tersely, and he sent two of his men backto the Case farm for spades. When they returned a few minutes' laborrevealed that so much of Willie's story was true, for a quilt wrappedcorpse was presently unearthed and lying upon the ground beside itsviolated grave. Willie's stock rose once more to par. 

In an improvised litter they carried the dead man back to Case's farmwhere they left him after notifying the coroner by telephone. Half ofBurton's men were sent to the north side of the woods and half to theroad upon the south of the Squibbs' farm. There they separated andformed 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 themean time Burton telephoned to Oakdale for reinforcements, as it wouldrequire fifty men at least to properly beat the tangled underbrush ofthe wood. 

 *****

In a clump of willows beside the little stream which winds through thetown 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 andwomen were, obviously, Gypsies. Their clothing, their head-dress, theirbarbaric ornamentation proclaimed the fact to whoever might pass; but noone passed. 

"I think, " said Bridge, "that we will just stay where we are until afterdark. 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 to-nightwe should be able to pass around Payson unseen and reach the wood to thesouth of town. If we do meet anyone to-night we'll stop them and inquirethe way to Oakdale--that'll throw them off the track. "

The others acquiesced in his suggestion; but there were queries aboutfood to be answered. It seemed that all were hungry and that the bearwas ravenous. 

"What does he eat?" Bridge asked of Giova. 

"Mos' anything, " replied the girl. "He like garbage fine. Often I takehim into towns late, ver' late at night an' he eat swill. I do thatto-night. Beppo, he got to be fed or he eat Giova. I go feed Beppo, yougo get food for us; then we all meet at edge of wood just other sidetown near old mill. "

During the remainder of the afternoon and well after dark the partyremained hidden in the willows. Then Giova started out with Beppo insearch of garbage cans, Bridge bent his steps toward a small store uponthe outskirts of town where food could be purchased, The Oskaloosa Kidhaving 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 thetown toward the meeting place beside the old mill. 

As Bridge moved through the quiet road at the outskirts of the littletown he let his mind revert to the events of the past twenty four hoursand as he pondered each happening since he met the youth in the dark ofthe storm the preceding night he asked himself why he had cast hislot with these strangers. In his years of vagabondage Bridge had nevercrossed that invisible line which separates honest men from thieves andmurderers and which, once crossed, may never be recrossed. Chance andnecessity had thrown him often among such men and women; but never hadhe been of them. The police of more than one city knew Bridge--they knewhim, though, as a character and not as a criminal. A dozen times he hadbeen arraigned upon suspicion; but as many times had he been releasedwith a clean bill of morals until of late Bridge had become almostimmune from arrest. The police who knew him knew that he was straightand they knew, too, that he would give no information against anotherman. For this they admired him as did the majority of the criminals withwhom he had come in contact during his rovings. 

The present crisis, however, appeared most unpromising to Bridge. Gravecrimes had been committed in Oakdale, and here was Bridge connivingin the escape of at least two people who might readily be under policesuspicion. It was difficult for the man to bring himself to believe thateither the youth or the girl was in any way actually responsible foreither of the murders; yet it appeared that the latter had been presentwhen a murder was committed and now by attempting to elude the policehad become an accessory after the fact, since she possessed knowledgeof the identity of the actual murderer; while the boy, by his ownadmission, had committed a burglary. 

Bridge shook his head wearily. Was he not himself an accessory after thefact 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 avoidedfor so long a time. But why should he permit it? What were they to him?

A freight train was puffing into the siding at the Payson station. Bridge could hear the complaining brakes a mile away. It would be easyto leave the town and his dangerous companions far behind him; but evenas the thought forced its way into his mind another obtruded itself toshoulder aside the first. It was recollection of the boy's words: "Oh, Bridge, I don't want to leave you--ever. "

"I couldn't do it, " mused Bridge. "I don't know just why; but Icouldn't. That kid has certainly got me. The first thing someone knowsI'll be starting a foundlings' home. There is no question but that I amthe soft mark, and I wonder why it is--why a kid I never saw beforelast night has a strangle hold on my heart that I can't shake loose--anddon't want to. Now if it was a girl I could understand it. " Bridgestopped suddenly in the middle of the road. From his attitude he mighthave been startled either by a surprising noise or by a surprisingthought. For a minute he stood motionless; then he shook his head againand proceeded along his way toward the little store; evidently if he hadheard anything he was assured that it constituted no menace. 

As he entered the store to make his purchases a foxeyed man saw him andstepped quickly behind the huge stove which had not as yet been takendown for the summer. Bridge made his purchases, the volume of whichrequired a large gunny-sack for transportation, and while he wasthus occupied the fox-eyed man clung to his coign of vantage, himselfunnoticed by the purchaser. When Bridge departed the other followed him, keeping in the shadow of the trees which bordered the street. Aroundthe edge of town and down a road which led southward the two went untilBridge passed through a broken fence and halted beside an abandonedmill. The watcher saw his quarry set down his burden, seat himselfbeside it and proceed to roll a cigaret; then he faded away in thedarkness and Bridge was alone. 

Five or ten minutes later two slender figures appeared dimly out of thenorth. They approached timidly, stopping often and looking first thisway and then that and always listening. When they arrived opposite themill Bridge saw them and gave a low whistle. Immediately the two passedthrough the fence and approached him. 

"My!" exclaimed one, "I thought we never would get here; but we didn'tsee a soul on the road. Where is Giova?"

"She hadn't come yet, " replied Bridge, "and she may not. I don't see howa girl can browse around a town like this with a big bear at night andnot be seen, and if she is seen she'll be followed--it would be too muchof a treat for the rubes ever to be passed up--and if she's followed shewon't come here. At least I hope she won't. "

"What's that?" exclaimed The Oskaloosa Kid. Each stood in silence, listening. 

The girl shuddered. "Even now that I know what it is it makes me creep, "she whispered, as the faint clanking of a distant chain came to theirears. 

"We ought to be used to it by this time, Miss Prim, " said Bridge. "Weheard it all last night and a good part of to-day. "

The girl made no comment upon the use of the name which he had appliedto her, and in the darkness he could not see her features, nor didhe see the odd expression upon the boy's face as he heard the nameaddressed to her. Was he thinking of the nocturnal raid he so recentlyhad made upon the boudoir of Miss Abigail Prim? Was he pondering thefact that his pockets bulged to the stolen belongings of that younglady? But whatever was passing in his mind he permitted none of it topass his lips. 

As the three stood waiting in silence Giova came presently among them, the beast Beppo lumbering awkwardly at her side. 

"Did he find anything to eat?" asked the man. 

"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 forwardmuch to his company through the woods to-night--especially while he washungry!"

Giova laughed a low, musical little laugh. "I don' think he no hurt youanyway, " she said. "Now he know you my frien'. "

"I hope you are quite correct in your surmise, " replied Bridge. "Buteven so I'm not taking any chances. "

 *****

Willie Case had been taken to Payson to testify before the coroner'sjury investigating the death of Giova's father, and with the dollarwhich The Oskaloosa Kid had given him in the morning burning in hispocket had proceeded to indulge in an orgy of dissipation the momentthat he had been freed from the inquest. Ice cream, red pop, peanuts, candy, and soda water may have diminished his appetite but not his prideand self-satisfaction as he sat alone and by night for the first time ina 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 EliteRestaurant on Broadway; but at heart he was not happy for never beforehad he realized what a great proportion of his anatomy was made upof hands and feet. As he glanced fearfully at the former, silhouettedagainst the white of the table cloth, he flushed scarlet, assured as hewas that the waitress who had just turned away toward the kitchen withhis order was convulsed with laughter and that every other eye in theestablishment was glued upon him. To assume an air of nonchalance andthereby impress and disarm his critics Willie reached for a toothpick inthe little glass holder near the center of the table and upset the sugarbowl. Immediately Willie snatched back the offending hand and glaredferociously at the ceiling. He could feel the roots of his hair beingconsumed in the heat of his skin. A quick side glance that required allhis will power to consummate showed him that no one appeared to havenoticed his faux pas and Willie was again slowly returning to normalwhen the proprietor of the restaurant came up from behind and asked himto remove his hat. 

Never had Willie Case spent so frightful a half hour as that within thebrilliant interior of The Elite Restaurant. Twenty-three minutes of thiseternity was consumed in waiting for his order to be served and sevenminutes in disposing of the meal and paying his check. Willie's methodof eating was in itself a sermon on efficiency--there was no lostmotion--no waste of time. He placed his mouth within two inches of hisplate after cutting his ham and eggs into pieces of a size that wouldpermit each mouthful to enter without wedging; then he mixed his mashedpotatoes in with the result and working his knife and fork alternatelywith bewildering rapidity shot a continuous stream of food into hisgaping maw. 

In addition to the meat and potatoes there was one vegetable in aside-dish and as dessert four prunes. The meat course gone Willie placedthe vegetable dish on the empty plate, seized a spoon in lieu of knifeand fork and--presto! the side-dish was empty. Whereupon the prune dishwas set in the empty side-dish--four deft motions and there were noprunes--in the dish. The entire feat had been accomplished in 6:34 1/2, setting a new world's record for red-headed farmer boys with one splayfoot. 

In the remaining twenty five and one half seconds Willie walked whatseemed to him a mile from his seat to the cashier's desk and at thelast instant bumped into a waitress with a trayful of dishes. Clutchedtightly in Willie's hand was thirty five cents and his check with a likeamount written upon it. Amid the crash of crockery which followed thecollision Willie slammed check and money upon the cashier's desk andfled. Nor did he pause until in the reassuring seclusion of a darkside street. There Willie sank upon the curb alternately cold with fearand hot with shame, weak and panting, and into his heart entered theiron of class hatred, searing it to the core. 

Fortunately for youth it recuperates rapidly from mortal blows, andso it was that another half hour found Willie wandering up and downBroadway but at the far end of the street from The Elite Restaurant. Amotion picture theater arrested his attention; and presently, partingwith one of his two remaining dimes, he entered. The feature of the billwas a detective melodrama. Nothing in the world could have better suitedWillie's psychic needs. It recalled his earlier feats of the day, in which he took pardonable pride, and raised him once again to aself-confidence he had not felt since he entered the ever to be hatedElite Restaurant. 

The show over Willie set forth afoot for home. A long walk lay ahead ofhim. This in itself was bad enough; but what lay at the end of the longwalk was infinitely worse, as Willie's father had warned him to returnimmediately after the inquest, in time for milking, preferably. Beforehe had gone two blocks from the theater Willie had concocted at leastthree tales to account for his tardiness, either one of which wouldhave done credit to the imaginative powers of a Rider Haggard or aJules Verne; but at the end of the third block he caught a glimpse ofsomething which drove all thoughts of home from his mind and camebut barely short of driving his mind out too. He was approaching theentrance to an alley. Old trees grew in the parkway at his side. At thestreet corner a half block away a high flung arc swung gently from itssupporting cables, casting a fair light upon the alley's mouth, and justemerging from behind the nearer fence Willie Case saw the huge bulk of abear. Terrified, Willie jumped behind a tree; and then, fearful lestthe animal might have caught sight or scent of him he poked his headcautiously around the side of the bole just in time to see the figure ofa girl come out of the alley behind the bear. Willie recognized her atthe first glance--she was the very girl he had seen burying the dead manin the Squibbs woods. Instantly Willie Case was transformed again intothe shrewd and death defying sleuth. At a safe distance he followed thegirl and the bear through one alley after another until they came outupon the road which leads south from Payson. He was across the road whenshe joined Bridge and his companions. When they turned toward the oldmill he followed them, listening close to the rotting clapboards forany chance remark which might indicate their future plans. He heard themdebating the wisdom of remaining where they were for the night or movingon to another location which they had evidently decided upon but no clewto which they dropped. 

"The objection to remaining here, " said Bridge, "is that we can't make afire to cook by--it would be too plainly visible from the road. "

"But I can no fin' road by dark, " explained Giova. "It bad road by day, ver' much worse by night. Beppo no come 'cross swamp by night. No, wegot stay here til morning. "

"All right, " replied Bridge, "we can eat some of this canned stuff andhave our ham and coffee after we reach camp tomorrow morning, eh?"

"And now that we've gotten through Payson safely, " suggested TheOskaloosa Kid, "let's change back into our own clothes. This disguisemakes me feel too conspicuous. "

Willie Case had heard enough. His quarry would remain where it wasover night, and a moment later Willie was racing toward Payson and atelephone as fast as his legs would carry him. 

In an old brick structure a hundred yards below the mill where thelighting machinery of Payson had been installed before the days of thegreat central power plant a hundred miles away four men were smoking asthey lay stretched upon the floor. 

"I tell you I seen him, " asserted one of the party. "I follered thisBridge guy from town to the mill. He was got up like a Gyp; but I knewhim all right, all right. This scenery of his made me tink there wassomething phoney doin', or I wouldn't have trailed him, an' its a goodting I done it, fer he hadn't ben there five minutes before along comesThe Kid an' a skirt and pretty soon a nudder chicken wid a calf on astring, er mebbie it was a sheep--it was pretty husky lookin' fer asheep though. An' I sticks aroun' a minute until I hears this hereBridge guy call the first skirt 'Miss Prim. '"

He ceased speaking to note the effect of his words on his hearers. Theywere 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 his ragged trousers. Dirty Eddie voiced a characteristicobscenity. 

"So you sees, " went on Columbus Blackie, "we got a chanct to get boththe dame and The Kid. Two of us can take her to Oakdale an' claimthe reward her old man's offerin' an' de odder two can frisk de Kid, an'--an'--. "

"An' wot?" queried The Sky Pilot. 

"Dere's de swamp handy, " suggested Soup Face. 

"I was tinkin' of de swamp, " said Columbus Blackie. 

"Eddie and I will return Miss Prim to her bereaved parents, " interruptedThe Sky Pilot. "You, Blackie, and Soup Face can arrange matters with TheOskaloosa Kid. I don't care for details. We will all meet in Toledo assoon as possible and split the swag. We ought to make a cleaning on thisjob, boes. "

"You split a mout'ful then, " said Columbus Blackie. 

They fell to discussing way and means. 

"We'd better wait until they're asleep, " counseled The Sky Pilot. "Twoof us can tackle this Bridge and hand him the k. O. Quick. Eddie and SoupFace had better attend to that. Blackie can nab The Kid an' I'll annexMiss Abigail Prim. The lady with the calf we don't want. We'll tell herwe're officers of the law an' that she'd better duck with her live stockan' keep her trap shut if she don't want to get mixed up with a murdertrial. "

 *****

Detective Burton was at the county jail in Oakdale administering thethird degree to Dopey Charlie and The General when there came a longdistance telephone call for him. 

"Hello!" said the voice at the other end of the line; "I'm Willie Case, an' I've found Miss Abigail Prim. "

"Again?" queried Burton. 

"Really, " asserted Willie. "I know where she's goin' to be all night. Iheard 'em say so. The Oskaloosie Kid's with her an' annuder guy an' thegirl I seen with the dead man in Squibbs' woods an' they got a BEAR!" Itwas almost a shriek. "You'd better come right away an' bring Mr. Prim. I'll meet you on the ol' Toledo road right south of Payson, an' say, doI get the whole reward?"

"You'll get whatever's coming to you, son, " replied Burton. "You saythere are two men and two women--are you sure that is all?"

"And the bear, " corrected Willie. 

"All right, keep quiet and wait for me, " cautioned Burton. "You'll knowme by the spot light on my car--I'll have it pointed straight up intothe air. When you see it coming get into the middle of the road and waveyour hands to stop us. Do you understand?"

"Yes, " said Willie. 

"And don't talk to anyone, " Burton again cautioned him. 

A few minutes later Burton left Oakdale with his two lieutenants and acouple of the local policemen, the car turning south toward Payson andmoving at ever accelerating speed as it left the town streets behind itand swung smoothly onto the country road. 

 *****

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 silentlythrough the doorless doorway. Columbus Blackie was in the lead. Heflashed a quick light around the interior revealing four forms stretchedupon the floor, deep in slumber. Into the blacker shadows of the far endof the room the man failed to shine his light for the first flash hadshown him those whom he sought. Picking out their quarry the intrudersmade a sudden rush upon the sleepers. 

Bridge awoke to find two men attempting to rain murderous blows uponhis head. Wiry, strong and full of the vigor of a clean life, he pittedagainst their greater numbers and cowardly attack a defense which wasinfinitely more strenuous than they had expected. 

Columbus Blackie leaped for The Oskaloosa Kid, while The Sky Pilotseized upon Abigail Prim. No one paid any attention to Giova, nor, withthe noise and confusion, did the intruders note the sudden clanking ofa chain from out the black depths of the room's further end, or thesplintering of a half decayed studding. 

Soup Face entangling himself about Bridge's legs succeeded in throwingthe latter to the floor while Dirty Eddie kicked viciously at theprostrate man's head. The Sky Pilot seized Abigail Prim about the waistand dragged her toward the doorway and though the girl fought valiantlyto free herself her lesser muscles were unable to cope successfullywith those of the man. Columbus Blackie found his hands full with TheOskaloosa Kid. Again and again the youth struck him in the face; butthe man persisted, beating down the slim hands and striking viciouslyat body and head until, at last, the boy, half stunned though stillstruggling, was dragged from the room. 

Simultaneously a series of frightful growls reverberated through thedeserted 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 footdrawn back to implant a vicious kick in Bridge's face he paused at thegirl'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 frightfulcreature, caught the reflected gleam of two savage eyes and felt thehot breath from distended jaws upon his cheek, then Beppo swung a singleterrific blow which caught the man upon the side of the head to spin himacross the floor and drop him in a crumpled heap against the wall, witha fractured skull. Dirty Eddie was out. Soup Face, giving voice toa scream more bestial than human, rose to his feet and fled in theopposite direction. 

Beppo paused and looked about. He discovered Bridge lying upon the floorand sniffed at him. The man lay perfectly quiet. He had heard that oftentimes a bear will not molest a creature which it thinks dead. Be that asit may Beppo chanced at that moment to glance toward the doorway. There, silhouetted against the lesser darkness without, he saw the figures ofColumbus 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 ofthe great bear struck Columbus Blackie between the shoulders. Downwent the man and as he fell he released his hold upon the youth whoimmediately turned and ran for the road. 

The momentum of the bear carried him past the body of his intendedvictim who, frightened but uninjured, scrambled to his feet and dashedtoward the rear of the mill in the direction of the woods and distantswamp. Beppo, recovering from his charge, wheeled in time to catch aglimpse of his quarry after whom he made with all the awkwardness thatwas his birthright and with the speed of a race horse. 

Columbus Blackie, casting a terrified glance rearward, saw his Nemesisflashing toward him, and dodged around a large tree. Again Beppo shotpast the man while the latter, now shrieking for help, raced madly in anew direction. 

Bridge had arisen and come out of the mill. He called aloud for TheOskaloosa 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 keelever'one. Run! Climb! He keel me. Beppo he got evil-eye. "

Along the road from the north came a large touring car, swinging fromside to side in its speed. Its brilliant headlights illuminated the roadfar ahead. They picked out The Sky Pilot and Abigail Prim, they foundThe Oskaloosa Kid climbing a barbed wire fence and then with complainingbrakes the car came to a sudden stop. Six men leaped from the machineand rounded up the three they had seen. Another came running towardthem. It was Soup Face, so thoroughly terrified that he would gladlyhave embraced a policeman in uniform, could the latter have offered himprotection. 

A boy accompanied the newcomers. "There he is!" he screamed, pointing atThe Oskaloosa Kid. "There he is! And you've got Miss Prim, too, and whendo I get the reward?"

"Shut up!" said one of the men. 

"Watch this bunch, " said Burton to one of his lieutenants, "while wego after the rest of them. There are some over by the mill. I can hearthem. "

From the woods came a fear-filled scream mingled with the savage growlsof a beast. 

"It's the bear, " shrilled Willie Case, and ran toward the automobile. 

Bridge ran forward to meet Burton. "Get that girl and the kid into yourmachine and beat it!" he cried. "There's a bear loose here, a regulardevil of a bear. You can't do a thing unless you have rifles. Have you?"

"Who are you?" asked the detective. 

"He's one of the gang, " yelled Willie Case from the fancied security ofthe tonneau. "Seize him!" He wanted to add: "My men"; but somehow hisnerve failed him at the last moment; however he had the satisfaction ofthinking it. 

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 inguarding them; then he with the remaining three, two of whom were armedwith rifles, advanced toward the mill. Beyond it they heard the growlingof the bear at a little distance in the wood; but the man no longer madeany outcry. From a tree Giova warned them back. 

"Come down!" commanded Burton, and sent her back to the car. 

The driver turned his spot light upon the wood beyond the mill andpresently there came slowly forward into its rays the lumbering bulk ofa large bear. The light bewildered him and he paused, growling. His leftshoulder was partially exposed. 

"Aim for his chest, on the left side, " whispered Burton. The two menraised their rifles. There were two reports in close succession. Beppofell forward without a sound and then rolled over on his side. Giovacovered her face with her hands and sobbed. 

"He ver' bad, ugly bear, " she said brokenly; "but he all I have tolove. "

Bridge extended a hand and patted her bowed head. In the eyes of TheOskaloosa Kid there glistened something perilously similar to tears. 

In the woods back of the mill Burton and his men found the mangledremains of Columbus Blackie, and when they searched the interior of thestructure they brought forth the unconscious Dirty Eddie. As the caralready was taxed to the limit of its carrying capacity Burton left twoof his men to march The Kid and Bridge to the Payson jail, taking theothers with him to Oakdale. He was also partially influenced in thisdecision by the fear that mob violence would be done the principals byOakdale's outraged citizens. At Payson he stopped long enough at thetown jail to arrange for the reception of the two prisoners, to notifythe coroner of the death of Columbus Blackie and the whereabouts of hisbody and to place Dirty Eddie in the hospital. He then telephoned JonasPrim that his daughter was safe and would be returned to him in lessthan an hour. 

By the time Bridge and The Oskaloosa Kid reached Payson the town wasin an uproar. A threatening crowd met them a block from the jail; butBurton's men were armed with rifles which they succeeded in convincingthe mob they would use if their prisoners were molested. The telephone, however, had carried the word to Oakdale; so that before Burton arrivedthere a dozen automobile loads of indignant citizens were racing southtoward Payson. 

Bridge and The Oskaloosa Kid were hustled into the single cell of thePayson jail. A bench ran along two sides of the room. A single barredwindow let out upon the yard behind the structure. The floor waslittered with papers, and a single electric light bulb relieved thegloom of the unsavory place. 

The Oskaloosa Kid sank, trembling, upon one of the hard benches. Bridgerolled 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 andtook up the paper. The entire front page was devoted to the variouscrimes which had turned peaceful Oakdale inside out in the past twentyfour hours. There were reproductions of photographs of John Baggs, Reginald Paynter, Abigail Prim, Jonas Prim, and his wife, with a largecut of the Prim mansion, a star marking the boudoir of the missingdaughter of the house. As Bridge examined the various pictures anodd expression entered his eyes--it was a mixture of puzzlement, incredulity, and relief. Tossing the paper aside he turned toward TheOskaloosa Kid. They could hear the sullen murmur of the crowd in frontof the jail. 

"If they get any booze, " he said, "they'll take us out of here andstring us up. If you've got anything to say that would tend to convincethem that you did not kill Paynter I advise you to call the guard andtell the truth, for if the mob gets us they might hang us first andlisten afterward--a mob is not a nice thing. Beppo was an angel of mercyby comparison with one. "

"Could you convince them that you had no part in any of these crimes?"asked the boy. "I know that you didn't; but could you prove it to amob?"

"No, " said Bridge. "A mob is not open to reason. If they get us I shallhang, unless someone happens to think of the stake. "

The boy shuddered. 

"Will you tell the truth?" asked the man. 

"I will go with you, " replied the boy, "and take whatever you get. "

"Why?" asked Bridge. 

The youth flushed; but did not reply, for there came from without asudden augmentation of the murmurings of the mob. Automobile hornsscreamed out upon the night. The two heard the chugging of motors, thesound of brakes and the greetings of new arrivals. The reinforcementshad arrived from Oakdale. 

A guard came to the grating of the cell door. "The bunch from Oakdalehas come, " he said. "If I was you I'd say my prayers. Old man Baggs isdead. No one never had no use for him while he was alive, but the wholecounty'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 score o' ropes. They meanbusiness. "

Bridge turned toward the boy. "Tell the truth, " he said. "Tell thisman. "

The youth shook his head. "I have killed no one, " said he. "That is thetruth. Neither have you; but if they are going to murder you they canmurder me too, for you stuck to me when you didn't have to; and I amgoing to stick to you, and there is some excuse for me because I have areason--the best reason in the world. "

"What is it?" asked Bridge. 

The Oskaloosa Kid shook his head, and once more he flushed. 

"Well, " said the guard, with a shrug of his shoulders, "it's up to youguys. If you want to hang, why hang and be damned. We'll do the best wecan 'cause it's our duty to protect you; but I guess at that hangin'stoo good fer you, an' we ain't a-goin' to get shot keepin' you fromgettin' it. "

"Thanks, " said Bridge. 

The uproar in front of the jail had risen in volume until it wasdifficult for those within to make themselves heard without shouting. The Kid sat upon his bench and buried his face in his hands. Bridgerolled another smoke. The sound of a shot came from the front room ofthe jail, immediately followed by a roar of rage from the mob and adeafening hammering upon the jail door. A moment later this turned tothe heavy booming of a battering ram and the splintering of wood. Thefrail structure quivered beneath the onslaught. 

The prisoners could hear the voices of the guards and the jailer raisedin an attempt to reason with the unreasoning mob, and then came a finalcrash and the stamping of many feet upon the floor of the outer room. 

Burton's car drew up before the doorway of the Prim home in Oakdale. Thegreat detective alighted and handed down the missing Abigail. Then bedirected that the other prisoners be taken to the county jail. 

Jonas Prim and his wife awaited Abigail's return in the spacious livingroom at the left of the reception hall. The banker was nervous. He pacedto and fro the length of the room. Mrs. Prim fanned herself vigorouslyalthough the heat was far from excessive. They heard the motor draw upin front of the house; but they did not venture into the reception hallor out upon the porch, though for different reasons. Mrs. Prim becauseit would not have been PROPER; Jonas because he could not trust himselfto meet his daughter, whom he had thought lost, in the presence of apossible crowd which might have accompanied her home. 

They heard the closing of an automobile door and the sound of foot stepscoming up the concrete walk. The Prim butler was already waiting at thedoorway with the doors swung wide to receive the prodigal daughter ofthe house of Prim. A slender figure with bowed head ascended thesteps, guided and assisted by the detective. She did not look up at theexpectant butler waiting for the greeting he was sure Abigail would havefor him; but passed on into the reception hall. 

"Your father and Mrs. Prim are in the living room, " announced thebutler, stepping forward to draw aside the heavy hangings. 

The girl, followed by Burton, entered the brightly lighted room. 

"I am very glad, Mr. Prim, " said the latter, "to be able to return MissPrim to you so quickly and unharmed. "

The girl looked up into the face of Jonas Prim. The man voiced anexclamation of surprise and annoyance. Mrs. Prim gasped and sank upona sofa. The girl stood motionless, her eyes once again bent upon thefloor. 

"What's the matter?" asked Burton. "What's wrong?"

"Everything is wrong, Mr. Burton, " Jonas Prim's voice was crisp andcold. "This is not my daughter. "

Burton looked his surprise and discomfiture. He turned upon the girl. 

"What do you mean--" he started; but she interrupted him. 

"You are going to ask what I mean by posing as Miss Prim, " she said. "Ihave never said that I was Miss Prim. You took the word of an ignorantlittle farmer's boy and I did not deny it when I found that you intendedbringing me to Mr. Prim, for I wanted to see him. I wanted to ask him tohelp me. I have never met him, or his daughter either; but my father andMr. Prim have been friends for many years. 

"I am Hettie Penning, " she continued, addressing Jonas Prim. "My fatherhas always admired you and from what he has told me I knew that youwould listen to me and do what you could for me. I could not bear tothink of going to the jail in Payson, for Payson is my home. Everybodywould have known me. It would have killed my father. Then I wanted tocome myself and tell you, after reading the reports and insinuations inthe paper, that your daughter was not with Reginald Paynter when he waskilled. She had no knowledge of the crime and as far as I know may nothave yet. I have not seen her and do not know where she is; but I waspresent when Mr. Paynter was killed. I have known him for years and haveoften driven with him. He stopped me yesterday afternoon on the streetin Payson and talked with me. He was sitting in a car in front of thebank. 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 intothe country to look at a piece of property--a farm somewhere northof Oakdale--and that on the way back they were going to stop at TheCrossroads Inn for dinner. He asked me if I wouldn't like to comealong--he kind of dared me to, because, as you know, The Crossroads hasrather a bad reputation. 

"Father had gone to Toledo on business, and very foolishly I took hisdare. Everything went all right until after we left The Inn, althoughone of the men--his companion referred to him once or twice as TheOskaloosa Kid--attempted to be too familiar with me. Mr. Paynterprevented him on each occasion, and they had words over me; but afterwe left the inn, where they had all drunk a great deal, this man renewedhis 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, insteadhe seized Mr. Paynter by the coat and whirled him around and then hestruck him an awful blow behind the ear with the butt of the weapon. 

"After that the other two men seemed quite sobered. They discussed whatwould be the best thing to do and at last decided to throw Mr. Paynter'sbody 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 themsaying that they weren't getting as much as they had planned on; butthat 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 andcame back into the Toledo road. A little way out of town they turnedthe machine around and ran back for about half a mile; then they turnedabout a second time. I don't know why they did this. They threw the bodyout while the machine was moving rapidly; but I was so frightened thatI can't say whether it was before or after they turned about the secondtime. 

"In front of the old Squibbs place they shot at me and threw me out; butthe bullet missed me. I have not seen them since and do not know wherethey 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 tojail. I have done nothing criminal and I won't run away. "

"How about the robbery of Miss Prim's room and the murder of Old ManBaggs?" asked Burton. "Did they pull both of those off before theykilled Paynter or after?"

"They had nothing to do with either unless they did them after theythrew me out of the car, which must have been long after midnight, "replied the girl. 

"And the rest of the gang, those that were arrested with you, " continuedthe detective, "how about them? All angels, I suppose. "

"There was only Bridge and the boy they called The Oskaloosa Kid, thoughhe isn't the same one that murdered poor Mr. Paynter, and the Gypsygirl, Giova, that were with me. The others were tramps who came intothe old mill and attacked us while we were asleep. I don't know who theywere. The girl could have had nothing to do with any of the crimes. Wecame upon her this morning burying her father in the woods back of theSquibbs' place. The man died of epilepsy last night. Bridge and the boywere taking refuge from the storm at the Squibbs place when I was thrownfrom the car. They heard the shot and came to my rescue. I am sure theyhad nothing to do with--with--" she hesitated. 

"Tell the truth, " commanded Burton. "It will go hard with you if youdon't. What made you hesitate? You know something about those two--nowout with it. "

"The boy robbed Mr. Prim's home--I saw some of the money andjewelry--but Bridge was not with him. They just happened to meet byaccident during the storm and came to the Squibbs place together. Theywere kind to me, and I hate to tell anything that would get the boy introuble. 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 alwaysso considerate. He looks like a tramp; but he talks and acts like agentleman. "

The telephone bell rang briskly, and a moment later the butler steppedinto the room to say that Mr. Burton was wanted on the wire. He returnedto the living room in two or three minutes. 

"That clears up some of it, " he said as he entered. "The sheriff justhad a message from the chief at Toledo saying that The Oskaloosa Kid isdying in a hospital there following an automobile accident. He knew hewas done for and sent for the police. When they came he told them he hadkilled a man by the name of Paynter at Oakdale last night and the chiefcalled up to ask what we knew about it. The Kid confessed to clearhis pal who was only slightly injured in the smash-up. His storycorroborates Miss Penning's in every detail, he also said that afterkilling Paynter he had shot a girl witness and thrown her from the carto prevent her squealing. "

Once again the telephone bell rang, long and insistently. The butleralmost 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 thedoorway of the living room long enough to call in: "A mob has the twoprisoners at Payson and are about to lynch them, and, my God, they'reinnocent. We all know now who killed Paynter and I have known sincemorning who murdered Baggs, and it wasn't either of those men; butthey've found Miss Prim's jewelry on the fellow called Bridge andthey've gone crazy--they say he murdered her and the young one did forPaynter. I'm going to Payson, " and dashed from the house. 

"Wait, " cried Jonas Prim, "I'm going with you, " and without waiting tofind a hat he ran quickly after the detective. Once in the car he leanedforward urging the driver to greater speed. 

"God in heaven!" he almost cried, "the fools are going to kill the onlyman who can tell me anything about Abigail. "

 *****

With oaths and threats the mob, brainless and heartless, cowardly, bestial, filled with the lust for blood, pushed and jammed into thenarrow corridor before the cell door where the two prisoners awaitedtheir fate. The single guard was brushed away. A dozen men wieldingthree railroad ties battered upon the grating of the door, swinging theties far back and then in unison bringing them heavily forward againstthe puny iron. 

Bridge spoke to them once. "What are you going to do with us?" he asked. 

"We're goin' to hang you higher 'n' Haman, you damned kidnappers an'murderers, " yelled a man in the crowd. 

"Why don't you give us a chance?" asked Bridge in an even tone, unaltered by fear or excitement. "You've nothing on us. As a matter offact we are both innocent--"

"Oh, shut your damned mouth, " interrupted another of the crowd. 

Bridge shrugged his shoulders and turned toward the youth who stood verywhite but very straight in a far corner of the cell. The man noticed thebulging pockets of the ill fitting coat; and, for the first time thatnight, his heart stood still in the face of fear; but not for himself. 

He crossed to the youth's side and put his arm around the slenderfigure. "There's no use arguing with them, " he said. "They've madeup their minds, or what they think are minds, that we're guilty; butprincipally 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'dcheated 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 sideyou'll learn something that'll surprise you. I believe there is 'anotherside, ' don't you, Bridge?"

"I've never thought much about it, " said Bridge; "but at a time likethis I rather hope so--I'd like to come back and haunt this bunch of ratbrained rubes. "

His arm slipped down the other's coat and his hand passed quickly behindthe boy from one side to the other; then the door gave and the leadersof the mob were upon them. A gawky farmer seized the boy and struck himcruelly across the mouth. It was Jeb Case. 

"You beast!" cried Bridge. "Can't you see that that--that's--only achild? If I don't live long enough to give you yours here, I'll comeback and haunt you to your grave. "

"Eh?" ejaculated Jeb Case; but his sallow face turned white, and afterthat he was less rough with his prisoner. 

The two were dragged roughly from the jail. The great crowd which hadnow gathered fought to get a close view of them, to get hold of them, tostrike them, to revile them; but the leaders kept the others back lestall be robbed of the treat which they had planned. Through town theyhaled them and out along the road toward Oakdale. There was some talk oftaking them to the scene of Paynter's supposed murder; but wiser headscounselled against it lest the sheriff come with a posse of deputies andspoil their fun. 

Beneath a great tree they halted them, and two ropes were thrown overa stout branch. One of the leaders started to search them; and when hedrew his hands out of Bridge's side pockets his eyes went wide, and hegave a cry of elation which drew excited inquiries from all sides. 

"By gum!" he cried, "I reckon we ain't made no mistake here, boys. Lookahere!" and he displayed two handsful of money and jewelry. 

"Thet's Abbie Prim's stuff, " cried one. 

The boy beside Bridge turned wide eyes upon the man. "Where did you getit?" 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. "Hedidn't steal those things. Nobody stole them. They are mine. They havealways belonged to me. He took them out of my pocket at the jail becausehe thought that I had stolen them and he wanted to take the guilt uponhimself; but they were not stolen, I tell you--they are mine! they aremine! they are mine!"

Another new expression came into Bridge's eyes as he listened to theboy's words; but he only shook his head. It was too late, and Bridgeknew it. 

Men were adjusting ropes about their necks. "Before you hang us, " saidBridge quietly, "would you mind explaining just what we're being hangedfor--it's sort of comforting to know, you see. "

"Thet's right, " spoke up one of the crowd. "Thet's fair. We want to dothings fair and square. Tell 'em the charges, an' then ask 'em ef theygot anything to say afore they're hung. "

This appealed to the crowd--the last statements of the doomed men mightadd another thrill to the evening's entertainment. 

"Well, " said the man who had searched them. "There might o' been somedoubts about you before, but they aint none now. You're bein' hung ferabductin' of an' most likely murderin' Miss Abigail Prim. "

The boy screamed and tried to interrupt; but Jeb Case placed a heavyand soiled hand over his mouth. The spokesman continued. "This slickeradmitted he was The Oskaloosa Kid, 'n' thet he robbed a house an' shota man las' night; 'n' they ain't no tellin' what more he's ben up to. Hetole Jeb Case's Willie 'bout it; an' bragged on it, by gum. 'Nenny waywe know Paynter and Abigail Prim was last seed with this here OskaloosaKid, durn him. "

"Thanks, " said Bridge politely, "and now may I make my final statementbefore going to meet my maker?"

"Go on, " growled the man. 

"You won't interrupt me?"

"Naw, go on. "

"All right! You damn fools have made up your minds to hang us. I doubtif anything I can say to you will alter your determination for thereason that if all the brains in this crowd were collected in oneindividual he still wouldn't have enough with which to weigh the mostobvious evidence intelligently, but I shall present the evidence, andyou can tell some intelligent people about it tomorrow. 

"In the first place it is impossible that I murdered Abigail Prim, andin the second place my companion is not The Oskaloosa Kid and was notwith Mr. Paynter last night. The reason I could not have murdered MissPrim is because Miss Prim is not dead. These jewels were not stolen fromMiss Prim, she took them herself from her own home. This boy whom youare about to hang is not a boy at all--it is Miss Prim, herself. Iguessed her secret a few minutes ago and was convinced when she criedthat the jewels and money were her own. I don't know why she wishes toconceal her identity; but I can't stand by and see her lynched withouttrying to save her. "

The crowd scoffed in incredulity. "There are some women here, " saidBridge. "Turn her over to them. They'll tell you, at least that she isnot a man. "

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 steppedtoward the subject of dispute. "I'll settle it durned quick, " heannounced and reached forth to seize the slim figure. With a suddenwrench Bridge tore himself loose from his captors and leaped toward thefarmer, his right flew straight out from the shoulder and Jeb Case wentdown with a broken jaw. Almost simultaneously a car sped around a curvefrom the north and stopped suddenly in rear of the mob. Two men leapedout and shouldered their way through. One was the detective, Burton; theother was Jonas Prim. 

"Where are they?" cried the latter. "God help you if you've killedeither of them, for one of them must know what became of Abigail. "

He pushed his way up until he faced the prisoners. The Oskaloosa Kidgave him a single look of surprise and then sprang toward him withoutstretched arms. 

"Oh, daddy, daddy!" she cried, "don't let them kill him. "

The crowd melted away from the immediate vicinity of the prisoners. Noneseemed anxious to appear in the forefront as a possible leader of amob that had so nearly lynched the only daughter of Jonas Prim. Burtonslipped the noose from about the girl's neck and then turned toward hercompanion. In the light from the automobile lamps the man's face wasdistinctly visible to the detective for the first time that night, and as Burton looked upon it he stepped back with an exclamation ofsurprise. 

"You?" he almost shouted. "Gad, man! where have you been? Your father'sspent twenty thousand dollars trying to find you. "

Bridge shook his head. "I'm sorry, Dick, " he said, "but I'm afraid it'stoo late. The open road's gotten into my blood, and there's only onething that--well--" he shook his head and smiled ruefully--"but thereain't a chance. " His eyes travelled to the slim figure sitting sostraight 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 coming home with us. "

The man stepped toward the car, shaking his head. "Oh, no, Miss Prim, "he said, "I can't do that. Here's your 'swag. '" And he smiled as hepassed over her jewels and money. 

Mr. Prim's eyes widened; he looked suspiciously at Bridge. Abigaillaughed merrily. "I stole them myself, Dad, " she explained, "and thenMr. Bridge took them from me in the jail to make the mob think he hadstolen them and not I--he didn't know then that I was a girl, did you?"

"It was in the jail that I first guessed; but I didn't quite realizewho you were until you said that the jewels were yours--then I knew. Thepicture in the paper gave me the first inkling that you were a girl, foryou looked so much like the one of Miss Prim. Then I commenced to recalllittle things, until I wondered that I hadn't known from the first thatyou were a girl; but you made a bully boy!" and they both laughed. "Andnow good-by, and may God bless you!" His voice trembled ever so little, and he extended his hand. The girl drew back. 

"I want you to come with us, " she said. "I want Father to know you andto know how you have cared for me. Wont you come--for me?"

"I couldn't refuse, if you put it that way, " replied Bridge; and heclimbed into the car. As the machine started off a boy leaped to therunning-board. 

"Hey!" he yelled, "where's my reward? I want my reward. I'm WillieCase. "

"Oh!" exclaimed Bridge. "I gave your reward to your father--maybe he'llsplit it with you. Go ask him. " And the car moved off. 

"You see, " said Burton, with a wry smile, "how simple is the detective'sjob. Willie is a natural-born detective. He got everything wrong from Ato Izzard, yet if it hadn't been for Willie we might not have cleared upthe mystery so soon. "

"It isn't all cleared up yet, " said Jonas Prim. "Who murdered Baggs?"

"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 knowthey are guilty. They think they are being held merely as suspects inthe case of your daughter's disappearance, whereas I have known sincemorning that they were implicated in the killing of Baggs; for after Igot them in the car I went behind the bushes where we discovered themand dug up everything that was missing from Baggs' house, as nearly asis known--currency, gold and bonds. "

"Good!" exclaimed Mr. Prim. 

On the trip back to Oakdale, Abigail Prim cuddled in the back seatbeside her father, told him all that she could think to tell of Bridgeand his goodness to her. 

"But the man didn't know you were a girl, " suggested Mr. Prim. 

"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 awoman. I don't care anything about his clothes, Daddy; Bridge is agentleman born and raised--anyone could tell it after half an hour withhim. "

Bridge sat on the front seat with the driver and one of Burton's men, while Burton, sitting in the back seat next to the girl, could not butoverhear her conversation. 

"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 thewealthiest. You need have no hesitancy, Mr. Prim, in inviting him intoyour home. "

For a while the three sat in silence; and then Jonas Prim turned to hisdaughter. "Gail, " he said, "before we get home I wish you'd tell me whyyou 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 hadno idea a tramp's existence was so adventurous. You won't make me marryhim, Daddy, will you? I wouldn't be happy, Daddy. "

"I should say not, Gail; you can be an old maid all your life if youwant to. "

"But I don't want to--I only want to choose my own husband, " repliedAbigail. 

Mrs. Prim met them all in the living-room. At sight of Abigail in theill-fitting man's clothing she raised her hands in holy horror; but shecouldn't see Bridge at all, until Burton found an opportunity to drawher to one side and whisper something in her ear, after which she wasgraciousness personified to the dusky Bridge, insisting that he spend afortnight with them to recuperate. 

Between them, Burton and Jonas Prim fitted Bridge out as he had not beendressed in years, and with the feel of fresh linen and pressed clothing, even if ill fitting, a sensation of comfort and ease pervaded him whichthe man would not have thought possible from such a source an hourbefore. 

He smiled ruefully as Burton looked him over. "I venture to say, " hedrawled, "that there are other things in the world besides the openroad. "

Burton smiled. 

It was midnight when the Prims and their guests arose from the table. Hettie Penning was with them, and everyone present had been sworn tosecrecy about her share in the tragedy of the previous night. On themorrow she would return to Payson and no one there the wiser; but firstshe had Burton send to the jail for Giova, who was being held as awitness, and Giova promised to come and work for the Pennings. 

At last Bridge stole a few minutes alone with Abigail, or, to be morestrictly a truthful historian, Abigail outgeneraled the others of thecompany and drew Bridge out upon the veranda. 

"Tell me, " demanded the girl, "why you were so kind to me when youthought me a worthless little scamp of a boy who had robbed some one'shome. "

"I couldn't have told you a few hours ago, " said Bridge. "I used towonder myself why I should feel toward a boy as I felt toward you, --itwas inexplicable, --and then when I knew that you were a girl, Iunderstood, for I knew that I loved you and had loved you from themoment that we met there in the dark and the rain beside the Road toAnywhere. "

"Isn't it wonderful?" murmured the girl, and she had other things in herheart to murmur; but a man's lips smothered hers as Bridge gathered herinto his arms and strained her to him. 

*****

Partial list of correctioins made in the previous reproofing:

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