Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1889-05-10

tective. "Ah! if it is indeed he, it is a
clue at last. All the perils of earth
shall not prevent me reaching that
man, and through him the woman I
loye-stoIen, bereaved Grace Dayton i"
II.
"Quick! off with the top of the
barrel; out with the opium. We have
no time to lose. Some one may come"
1t was a little after midnight, and
the scene was a deserted wharf. In
side of it, standing beside a huge,
Ridgely; near him, hammer and chisel
in hand, a fellow-detective, and lust at
the door, closely Watching the wharf
and the street leading to it, was a third
member Of the agency.
"HOw did you come to work it,
Ridgely?" asked the man with the
hammer, as he ripped off the top hoop.
Easily. I spotted the Osprey as
she sailed into the harbor at dusk A
hundred rods from the wharf some Of
the sailors boldly tipped out this hogs
head. To the inspector aboard they
said that it contained straw and fever
infected bedding, and as it foated
away, and no one paid attention to it,
the inspector believed it.
And it was this barrel ?"
"The same. 1 was in a yawI and
followed in the wake of the hOgshead.
About two hundred yards down stream
two men in q small boat were waiting
for it. They drew it ashore at this de-
serted spot, attached hooks, dragged it
into this shed, and went away after Sc
! curing the door. I heard them say
that at two O'clock-an hour hence
they would take it to the den. I went
for you two. That's all there is in it.
Remove the contents.
"And arrest the men when they
come ?"
Not at all
"Eh?"
"No; it's their haunt we are anx-
ious to locate. Remove the opium, if
opium it is, and hoop the barrel up
again
Il don't understand"
"And me inside of it!
Yes, that was audaciOus Walter
Ridgely's scheme. His fellow officer
glowed with admiration at his bravery,
but shook his head obviously.
Done up in paper, then in water
proof cloth, and finally in tinfOil,
pound after pound, package after
package Of the struggled opium was
taken out Of the barrel.
All of this was hidden under q heap
of straw in one corner of the shed.
Then Ridgely got into the hogshead,
the top was secured. In his close
quarters he called out to his com
paniOn, as the last nail was driven
home:
Keep US in view, but not too closely,
so as to arouse suspicion, and do not
act till I signal by whistle"
"AlI right" Then silence and dark
ness, for Ridgely's assistant and the
guard had left the vicinity of the shed
Ridgely had Just completed cutting
an air-hole through a stave, when
wagon wheels sounded outside.
Through the small orifiee he had
made he could make out two roughly
dressed men. They jolted him ter
ribIy as they proceeded to roll the
! hOgshead out of the door, up a plank,
and into a wagon. Then one took up
/ the lines, the other sat on the barrel
as If to watch If they were being fol-
lowed, and the vehicle started up.
Tt traversed a mile or two of deserted
city streets, struck off for the suburbs,
and finally threaded lonely thorough
fare leading south down the coast.
Day was advanced many hours when
the wagon halted. The detective, glanc-
ing through the aperture, made out a
kind of rambling cabin, and beyond it
what seemed a bOarded-up cave.
Several desperate-lOOdng men came
out and regarded the hOgshead criti-
cally. Then it was rolled through the
doorway Of the boarded-up cave, and
then four weary hours went by for the
cooped-in Ridgely.
Voices sounded on his hearing al
last. Glancing forth, the detective
saw two men. One Of them had driven
from some dark compartment Of the
cavern a mule Across its back were
strung two enormous baskets, such a.
are used in South America to convey
merchandise.
There you are, Aylmer, +" spoke this
man. "tO order, as you wanted 1t. You're
going to great bother, it seems to me
to get out of the district. Why not g
boldly, without all this trouble ?"
I dare take no risks, was the re
ply. This is the best way. YoJ
/ know the information we haye-tha
the detectives have located us. IF TIM
! is so, / may have difficulty in reaching
VIllavOsa, even disguised as / am. YOl
attend to affairs here-try to get wha
/ goods We have to YiLlavosa. Once SAT
with the aiEl there, ven lie low mt