The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-03-24
Our Daily $bcrt Story

fF De44fzfpl One who answered to the n%zne ok Red" had met with an accident mar had deprived him Of an ear and ms tysorpWD were not more than an men From his aenap. 1t was also rather hard 70 ten where his bead began and his neck ended, Th6 other man, Who was Tn froouced as Mike" was nroken-noscd. pftted with smallpox and closely cropped " 70 hts hair They both entered heart ny into the spirit of the joke and the re suit Of the conference was fhht the same nfehk Che three met at Magruder,s again and proceeded from thence to Hockers- ley q house. arriving at about 2 as m. De roome panssd on the porch ieng enough tp adjust black cloth mask and put on pair Of frR eoied overshoes, an exam pie followed by .'Red'' and Mike. He then tried the door softly and the knob ylelded 60 his hand The latch had not been set. Remember, this Is joke." !" he said to hts friends
 nureF eMid s.Ezed."
 Say. dis is | snap" Mike chuckied. They entered, De Frocne. who knew the prefnises. leading the way. IL would have been better for him if he had not assumed the leadership. for he stumbled aEairet the rocker of a chair in most unprofesei6nAl way and the chair knock cd over a table loaded with glass bric-a- brac. There was crash
 AnotheF crash came from room up- stairs and the next moment Hockersley came galiantiy bounding down the stairs with the rapitity of an india-rubber ball. De Froosns tried to step aside. but Hocls- ersley hit ouf with an iron fist and caught him neatly on the point of the jaw. De Froorne went down like log.
 At about the same instant Mike swung little contrfvarce of sole leather and lead in an expert fashion and Hockersiey crumpled into q loose heap of striped flannel at the foot of the stairs Then Mike turned and addressed Mrs. Hock- ersley. who, In a fascinating night toilet. was looking over the banisters with wide, horror-stricken eyes
 Come down here. lady" he said, pointing the siuug shot at her, pistol fashion She shuddered and obeyed.
 Now" continued Mike, cheerfulTy, 'sit down in that chair an keep yer head shut or I'll open 1t fer yer in q way yer won't like. Red git busy with the siI- yer while look after the lady. Yer want to hurry. too"
 When De Froome came to his senses he found himself on a lounge in Rockers ley'e den. Mfrs. Hockersley was standing looking down at him. but with no anx- iety in her look. whe fihe groaned she did not seem in the least sympathetic and sympathy had always been her strong point. He groaned again.
 You might as well stop that" said Mrs. Hockersley. coldly. I'm not going to hand you over to the police.''
 'Policel'' he exclaimed. "Adeline. are you madTs
 Mrs. Hockersley.''. she corrected. "No, I don't think I am exactly mad. Only a little weak-minded. I'm going to keep your secret. You have almost killed Lyle. you and your coHfederates, but I took the mask from your face as soon as they lent and before anybody else saw you. I said that you had been struck down as you came to my husbands res- cue. But never let me set eyes on you aRafn."
 De Froome pulled himself together then and told her about the little joke he had planned. He explained that, she had a mistaken Idea of the situation, but Mrs. Hockersley refused to believe him. You are liar and a sneak." she said; ''Iyle Is worth a million of you. am thankful that my eyes are opened. even at this cost. Now go."
 He went--as far as "sonewhere in South America" He may have been a victim of clrcumstantial evidence, but it was a highly mjudicious proceeding. in any case. (