Waterbury Democrat., 1900-11-19
C - } 5 THE STURGIS WAGER {! 5 A DETECTIVE STORY. G y By EDGAR MORETTE. {
 E Copyright 1899, by Frederick A. Stokes Go.
 SA@N
F CHAPTER I. \ THE CABMAN'S FARE.

ably muffied in their warm wraps.
 Broadway was thronged with the usual holiday shoppers and pleasure seekers. Cabs with their jaded steeds driven by weatherbeaten jehus, and private carriages behind well-groomed horses handled by iveried coachmen, deftly made their way through the crowds and deposited their fares at the entrances of the brightly-lighted thea ters or fashionable restaurants. A wizened bag, seated on the curbstone at the corner seemed to shrink into herself with the cold as she turned the crank of her tiny barrel-organ and ground out dismal and scarcely au- dible cacophony; while an anxious eyed newsboy, not yet in his teens, shiv- cred on the opposite side of the way, as, with tremulous lips, he solicited a purchaser for his unsold stock. One could hardly be expected to open a warm overcoat on such a cold night, for the sake of throwing cent to an old beggar woman, or of buying news paper from a ragged urchin. Even the gayly decorated shop windows failed to arrest the idle passerby; for it re- quired perpetual motion to keep the blood ill circulation.
 The giant policeman on the crossing, representing the majesty of the law, swayed the crowd of vehicles and pedes- trians with the authoritative gestures of his ponderous hands, and gallantly escorted bands of timid women through the inextricable maze.
 And withal, the cable cars, with their discordant clangor, rumbled rapidly to and fro, like noisy shuttles, shoot ing. the wool of the many-hued fabric which is the life of great city.
 Presently from one of the side streets there came a cab, which start ed leisure ly to cross Broadway. The big police man, with his eyes fixed upon an ap- preaching car, held up warning hand, to which the driver seemed to pay no attention, for the reins remained slack and the listless horse continued to move slowly across the avenue.
 Several people turned to look with mild curiosity at the bold cabman who dared thus to disregard the authority of blue cloth and brass buttons. Their surprise turned quickly to amazement and dismay when their eyes rested upon him; for his head had fallen forward upon his chest and his limp body swayed upon the box with every mo- tion of the cab. He seemed unconscious of his surroundings, like one drunk or in a stupor.
 At his side sat a young man closely mufaed in his overcoat, and with a sealskin cap pulled well down over his ears. His face was deathly pale. Those who caught sight of his features saw that his bloodless lips were firmly set, and that his eyes glittered with few erish light. He carried one hand in the lapel of his coat. With the other he shook the inert form of the uncon- scious cabman, in an effort to arouse him to sense of the impending danger,
 The situation flashed upon the gripman on the car. Instantly he threw his weight upon the brake wheel, at the same time loudly sound- ing his gong. The policeman, too, un- derstood in a twinlSling what was about to happen, and rushed for the horses head. But it was too late The cab was fairly across the track when the car, with slackened speed, crashed into it.
 Just before the collision, the young man in the sealskin cap sprang from the box to the street. He landed upon his feet; but, losing his balance, he 1 fell forward upon his left arm, which still remained in the lapel of his coat. He must have hurt himself; for those standing near him heard him groan. But the center of interest was else where, and no one paid much atten- tion to the young man, who, arising quickly, disappeared in the crowd.
 The cab, after tottering for an in stant on two wheels, fell over upon its side, with loud noise of splinter ing wood and breaking glass. The driver rolled off the box in a heap. At the same time, the panic-stricken 1 passengers on the car rushed madly l for the doors, fighting like wild l beasts in their haste to reach a place | of safety.
 After the first frenzied moment, it became evident that, although badly shaken up, the passengers had re- 1 ceived no injuries, except such bruises as they had inflicted upon each other in their mad struggle to escape. By this time a crowd had collected about the overturned cab, and several more l ance of the first one, who was now seated serenely upon the head of the cab-horse, precaution seemingly superfuous, for the poor beast, though uninjured, appeared to be | quite satisfied to rest where he lay until he should be forced once more to resume the grind of his unhappy existence.
 The cabman had been rudely shaken by his fall. He had lain as l though unconscious for the space of a few seconds; then. with assistance, he had managed to struggle to his feet. He stood now as though dazed by the shock, trying to understand | what had happened.
 'Are you hurt?" inquired one of the l policemen.
 The man, mumbling an unintelligi- ble reply, raised his hand to scalp wound from which the blood was flowing freely.
 At that moment two men forced