Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1896-01-09

| wy SOdi WAS Jne fnop OF man well
known to our professional costumer
and secret dealer in professional dis
| Cuises. In half an hour issued from
IL as well set up a clergyman as one
could wish to see. My next move was
to trace the girl who had spoiled
madam's aim, and in doing so had I'M
doubleday saved my life. 1 had no
t'acd. as she stood under the brilliant
| glare of light in the drawing-room of
| the House with Green Blinds, that her
hat and veil and gown werS covered
with shining particles of black dust
Kind which collects rarely but dur
| ing u railway journey. She had en-,
tered the room hurried and breathless.
as though she had been walking rap
| IDLY. Had she come in from any sta
| ton other than the Grand Central,
which was but few blocks away, it
| seemed to me, from her evident de-
sire for haste, that CHE would scarcely
have taken time for walking. l pos
sessed myself, working upon these
| suppositions, of time-ta BILE, and found
that an accommodation train which
had p (whither madam had conn
mandcd me to go the neg. day) for one
of it's stations, had arrived but a few
minutes before the time of the girls
appearance ut the House with Green
Blinds. No other for the same sta
ton was scheduled to depart within six
hours 1t was now nearly 12 o'clock.
and there remained but one thing TO do
before allowing myself few hours of
| IN q h-np oI
IN interview with my chief and explain
TO him the details of an affair which
II had grown out of my power 10 con-
troll unaided. found him Just leaving.
his club, and explained the thing ia
him carefully, together with my own
plans and ideas. He was kind enough
to commend them and to allow me 10
go on as ! had intended, leaving prac-
tically tho entire management IN my
hands, but giving me the benefit of his
advice and placing whatever assist
ance | desired at my disposal. v
Ray, of the department, therefore, to-
gether with another young fellow from
our own office, TO my rooms to watch
whatever might go on in the opposite
house and to dog anyone who might
issue from it, though the latter seemed
to me needless precaution.
Before six o'clock, having in the mean
time been refreshed by few hours
sleep at the Hotel b, was stroling.
without apparently other aim than that
of waiting for my train, up and down
through the waiting-room of the Grand
Central station. 1t was not long be-
fore my expectation was fulfilled. The
girl entered the waiting-room and went
Immediately to the ticket office, where
she purchased a ticket to P. What
set me back, however, was the appear
ance of the person who followed close
behind her. could not have sworn to
his identity, but the resemblance was
marked one. The hair, escaping
from under his soft hat in wavy rich
ness; the wcll-groomed appearances;
the small hands and feet. were all IN
evidence. The chief difference lay in
the fact that now his beard was worn
rather long and of n jet black color,
whereas the man whom | had seen
tried and convicted of grave charge
in her majesty's criminal court some IS
months before. had worn light brown
imperial. This, of course, was a mat
ter easily changed by one who wished
to disguise himself, and after / had
caught n glimpse of his eyes, as they
flashed for an instant brilliantly into
miue, the resemblance, even the very
identity of the man with the one | had
seen, was borne more forcefully upon
me. And yet, had seen those eyes, or
others like them. more lately. Through
the holes of the satin mask they Tor
was it but resemblance y had ques-
toned me not yet ~ hours before. and
the same strange attraction in them
held me now as then.
He did not seem to be in company
with the girl for whom l had waited
tor she took no notice of him at all,
and, after buying her ticket, stood
quietly waiting for the gate to OPEN,
hut, rs well as | could make out, was
there as spy upon her movements and
on the lookout for some one else. nc
had stationed himself near her ia po-
sition where everyone who went
through the gate must pass under the
searching of his rye. | had noticed.
however, that he had purchased no
ticket, and | perceived that my only
chance of an interview with the girl
would be in following her on board The
train. Had he been sent by the people
from the House with Green Blinds to
see, without her knowledge. that no
one approached her and that she was
safely out of town without a chance
of betraying them for that they mis-
trusted her had been evident enough?
He would scarcely allow person
AGAINST whom ne lad the slightest sus-
picion to follow her through the gate.
hao no knowledge of his being ac-
quainted with my own appearance, and
yet. even while he might not have been
present the night before at our inter-
view, there had been plenty of time
for any member of the organization 20
become familiar with my face while
they were watching me in my rooms
and before the signal had been given
to me by Jackson. Ny only hope, there
fore, was that my disguise would pass
muster. Az it happened, chance IA
vored me in more ways than one. Ash
was following the other passengers
through the door which led to the train
passed very close TO the man as he
stood carelessly watching The woman
In front OF mean old woman, laden
with huge and heavy basket-dropped
a small pocketbook. He stopped and
DiCked IL IN returpinr II tn b,.r