The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1899-05-17
CHAPTER II.
r.----


oiled the officer. well, I'll tell yer
what. I'll go up and sort O. size up
the house and keep watch, while you
20 and see the cap'n. If the cap'n
thinks there's anything in it, he'll
give you some men. Anyhow, y'u'd
better tell him where I am, so that I
won't get fred for not being round
when Rounds comes along"
"Ill fix that. What's your name
and number?"
"Jim Sykes, Number 422."
call right. Look out for'the bent
tree and tape" I said, as I turned to
leave him.
I had not gone many steps when I
heard the rattle OF a carriage. I
called Sykes, and he came plodding
back to meet me.
"What do you want now?"
"See if that carriage is empty, will
you, T prefer riding to walking just
now"
Eyer right, young feller. 'Taint no
fun walking from here to headquar-
ters this time of night. Hey there!
Hey there, I tell yer!'
"What yer want? I amt no t'ief. !"
This from the driver of the carriage,
which by this time got opposite US.
"Have yer got passenger?"
"Naw. Don't want none. Coin to
the stable"
"Not yet, Pete. Come here and
drive this gentlemen to headquarters.
See?"
"Sykesy, you make me tired"
grumbled "Pete, as he slowly turned
the heads of his horses toward the
curb.
stepped into the carriage, and the
tired horses plodded away with me on
my errand. Officer Sykes tramped up
Bank street and was soon lost in the
darkness.
By the aid ola match I looked at
my watch. It was half past two.
In twenty minutes I was ut police
headquarters. A burly doorman ad-
mitted me and demanded my errand.
told him I wanted to talk privately
with the officer highest in command.
"This way" he said. Captain
Watson is in the Office"
Captain Watson was a grim, gray
old veteran. He seemed to me to be-
an ideal man to hold watch and sway
over the peace of a great city in the
mysterious hours of night. He
greeted me cordially, and told me to
sit down and tell him my story.
l told him everything. I did not
omit any of the minor details. talked
rapidly, so he would not get impatient,
but I was determined he should see
the Importance of the occasion. Ieven
told him about the Chinaman finding
me at Phister's, and how he acted and
how he looked.
The CAPTAIN sat with half-shut eyes
during this portion of my narrative,
saa seemed to take very little interest
IF, indeed, he took any-in what I
vas telling him. Ibegan to feel dis
:ouraged.
But when I began to describe the
girl-which r did with a minuteness
of detail that surprised even myself
his manner changed perceptibly. His
keen, cold eyes scrutinized my face as
L talked, and seemed 10 be rendering
his ears valuable assistance in taking
in ell I said. When I had finished
and had told what I had done to make
it possible to identify the house, and
had told OF my meeting with Officer
Sykes, the captain relapsed into his
old attitude of apparent listlessness.
His head seemed to drop down into
his shoulders, and his eyes, now nearly
closed again, gave him the appearance
of being very drowsy.
I was plunged into momentary de-
spair. Surely, I thought, this kind
OF tragedy was not so common in San
Francisco that the police shut their
eyes to it.
I had about made up my MUD to
say something, when the grizzled head
began to separate itself from the collar
of the coat into which it had sunk.
The keen eyes looked at me, through
me, far past me. I saw that the cap
tain, instead of being Indifferent, was
in deep study. He slowly unfolded
his six feet of length, and, going to @
cabinet of drawers in one corner of the
room, he took from a small closet q
photograph.
"We have showed this to so many
in the lasttwenty-four hours" he said,
':aud always without result, that I do
not even hope for success now. Still,
your description comes dangerously
near"
he handed me the picture. Ny first
glance at it sent thrill of terror
through me. In my blindness I had
stumbled upon a police mystery! A
feeling of nausea came over me. My
brain, usually cool, seemed now to
reel. There was no doubt of it. I
held in my hand the likeness of the
girl had just left in the Chinaman's S
house. Oh, how I cursed myself for
. fool! Fool! To come away and
leave that girl to the mercy of that
whelp of Satan! I could not speak
for moment. Recovering myself,
with an effort, handed back the pic
ture and calmly said:
Captain, that is the girl
If there had been occasion to find
fault with Captain Watson for .inat-
tention before, there was no oppor-
tunity to do so now. He strobe about
rs if on the moment of opening q
tremendous battle. He touched a
button in his desk that no doubt rang
. bell in some other room. He rang