The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-04-26


evidently wished to travel alone, and who
had been so successfully foiled in the at
tempt by that intrusive fop with the hand
some beard. Foolishly kept on thinking
OF her, until, as we were dashing almost like
lightning through the wind and darkness,
only fifteen or twenty minutes from Chalk
Farm, the bell in my van rang out sharp
and sudden summons. | never wondered
for moment who had pulled the cord. In
stinctively | knew, and-it was the carriage
farthest from my van. / left my place al
most breathlessly as the engine slackened
speed, and, fastening along the footboard,
hesitated at no window until l reached the
one from which I felt quite sure frightened
young face would be looking out. My heart
literally beat in dread as stopped and looked
into the carriage. What did l see? Only
the tso passengers buried in their respec-
tive corners. The young lady raised her
head from the book she held, and looked up
at me stonished-childishlya and wondering
ly astonished.
''Has anything happened to the train?"
she asked, timidly.
The gentleman reused himself leisurely
from seemingly snug nap. ''What on
earth has stopped us in this hole?' he said,
rising and pushing his handsome face and
his long beard past me at the window.
1t was only too evident that the alarm had
lOo pCCu given llOHl Iu'S CdTTldSo. ycl IuG
feeling had been such certainty to me that
it was long before l felt convinced to the
contrary: and L went on along the footbOard
to other carriages very much more slowly
than had gone to the first one. Utter
darkness surrounded us outside, but from
the lamplit compartments eager heads were
thrust, searching for the reason of this I'M
expected stoppage. No one owned to hay
ing summoned me until reached that sec
alacc
l had fastened past before), where the fid-
getty deaf old lady who had amused me at
Rugby sat alone. l had no need to look in
and question her. Her head was quite out
OF the window, and, though she had her
back to the light, and l couldn't see her
face, her voice was cool enough to show that
she was not overpowered by fear.
What time you've been comingr' she
said. "Where is it?''
where's what?''
But, though yelled the question with all
my might and main, l believe 1 might just
as hopefully lave questioned the telegraph
post which could dimly see beside us, and
have expected an answer along the wire.
"Where's the small luncheon basket?'
she inquired, pulling out her long purse with
great business. ga small luncheon basket,
my good man, and make haste'
Shall ever forget the sharp expectancy of
first over, then under, then through her
glittering gold-rimmed spectacles? What
surprised me most particularly was the fact
OF her decidedly not being, as any one might
suppose, raving lunatic.
'Be quick with the small luncheon basket.
please" she said, resignedly sitting down,
and pouring the contents of her purse out
in her lap. Il am as hungry as l can be-"
suppose that when she looked up at me
thn ci lvvar ell, H.
my utter bewilderment-I didn't try to make
her hear, for knew it would be useless
for she suddenly raised her voice to a shrill
pitch of peevishness, and pointed with one
hand to the wall of the carriage.
"Look there! Doesn't it say Small lun-
cheon baskets. Pull down the cord? l
want small luncheon basket, so l pulled
down the cord. Make haste and get it for
me, or I'll report you to the manager''
Seeing now that she was almost as blind
as she was deaf, l began to understand
what she meant. On the spot to which she
pointed. above the seat opposite her, two
papers were posted in line, one the adver-
tisement of "Small luncheon baskets sup
piled at Rugby, the other, the company's
directions for summoning the guard to stop
the train in case of danger. AS they hap
pened to be placed: ''Small luncheon bask-
cts. Pull down the cord.''
While was gazing from her to the bills,
getting over bit of my establishment, and
she was giving me every now and then a
sharp touch on the shoulder, to recall me to
my duty, and hasten me with her refresh
ments, we were joined by one of the direc-
tors who happened to BEGGING up to town by
the express. But his just and natural wrath,
loud as it was, never moved the hungry old
lady; no, not in the slightest degree. She
never heard one word of it; and only mildly
insisted in the midst of it that she was al
most tired of waiting for her small luncheon
basket.
With fierce parting shot the director
tried to make her understand that she had
incurred penalty of five pounds, but he
couldn't, though he bawled at her until the
poor old thing-mortified at having taken so
much trouble for nothing, perhaps fright
ened at the commotion which she saw
though she didn't hear it-sank back in her
seat in a strong fit of Mysteries, and let her
shillings and sixpences roll out of her lap
and settle under the seats.
1t seemed to be a long time before we
started on again, but 1 suppose it was only
six or seven minutes delay after all. ex-
pect should have waited to explain the
stoppage to the pretty young girl of whom |
considered myself sort of natural protect
or, but, as | said, she was at the very oppo-
site end of the train, and l was in haste
now. There must have been a good laugh
in several of the carriages when the cause of
our stoppage got whispered about. AS for
me, when got back into my van, solitary as
it was, chuckled over it until we stopped
at Chalk Farm to take tickets.
1t seemed to me that the train was taken
into custody as soon as it stopped there.
''Of course you have the carriage doors all
locked, and I'll go down with you while you
open them one by one. My men are in pos
session of the PLATFORM
This was said to me by Davis, detective
officer whom l knew pretty well by now,
having had good bit to do with him about
this Warwickshire robbery.
SIT is no use," l said before we started,
''the train was searched, as you may say, at
Rugby. Every passenger has undergone
close scrutiny, can tell YOU What causes
such scientific preparation for us here?''
"A telegram received 10 minutas ago." he
answered, ''It seems that two of the thieves
we are lodging are in this train in clever
DISCUSSES. We have had pretty full particu-
ulars. though the discovery wasn't made un-
til you left the junction. Have you noticed
he dropped his voice little here-''a
lady and gentleman together in either car
riage?'
felt little bit of odd catching in my
breath as he spoke.
''No," 1 said, quite in a hurry. ''No
young lady and gentleman belonging tOgeth-
er; but there may be plenty in the train.
What if there are though? There was no
young lady or gentleman among the rob-
bers.'
'Among the robbers rejoined Davis
with suppressed enjoyment, ''was a woman
who'd make herself into anything; and you
must own that gentleman with long,
dark beard isn't bad for a lady known to us
pretty well by her thick, red hair and cut
under her lip?"
''But the young lady?" asked, cogitating
this.
''Ah! the young lady. True enough; well
what should you say now, if told you she
grew out of that boy with the closely cut
dark hair, that we're after"
remember the pretty plaits and the loose
falling hair. | remember the bewilderment
in the eyes which entirely hid their natural
expression, and didn't answer this at all.
81 wish l had good chance of catch
ing the old fellow as 1 have of catching the
woman and boy" continued Davis as we
moved slowly past the locked luggage-van.
81 know that they're here and that shall