The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1905-09-15

liberty and his life. but l did not find
IL an infectious spirit on calm rehec-
ton Yet the thought of withdrawal
was not TO be entertained for a mo-
ment On the contrary. l was impa-
tent of the delay ordained by Rallies.
and perhaps no small part OF my Sc.
cret dsalTection came of his CALLING de
termination to DO without me until the
last moment.
1t made it no better that this was
characteristic of the man and of his
attitude toward me. For month we
had been, suppose. the thickest
thieves in all London. and yet our in
timacy was curiously incou lete
With all his charming frankness there
was in Ratfles a vein Of capricious re
serve which was pereeptible enough
TO be very irritating. He had the in
stinctive SeCretivenesS of the inveter-
ate criminal. He would make mys,
teries Of matters Of common concern.
For example. never knew how or
where he disposed Of the Bond street
Jewels. on the proceeds Of which wa
We're both Stil' leading the outward
lives 9t hundreds Of other Young fel
lows about town He was consistently
mysterious about that and other de-
tails Of which Il seemed 10 me that
lad already earned the right "a know
everything J could not but remem-
her how be had led me into my first
felony by means Of trick while yet
uncertain whether he could trust me or
not That could no longer afford TO
resent. hut l did resent his want of
confidence in me now said nothing
about it. hut it ranked every day and
never more than in the week that sue
ceedel the Rosenthall dinner Wher
| met RatileS at the club he would tell
me nothing When went to his rooms
he was out or pretended TO be
One day he told me he was getting
on well. but slowly. 1t was a more
tickl.sh game than he had thought.
hut when l began TO ask questions he
would say no more. Then and there.
in my annoyance. | took my own de
cision. Since he would tell me moth
ing of the result of his visits. I deter
mined 10 keep one on my own account,
and that very evening found my way
to the millonare'S front gates.
The house he was occupying is.
believe, quite the largest in the st.
Johns wood district 1t stands in the
angle formed by two broad thorough
fares. neither Of which. as it happens,
is Il bus route and | doubt if many
quieter spots exist within the four
mile radius. Quiet also was the great
square house. in its garden of grass
plots and shrubs; the lights We're low,
the millionaire and his friends obvious
/ ~ spending their evening elsewhere
The garden walls were only a few
feet high In one there was side
( door opening into glass passage; in
the other. TWO five-barred. grained and
vanished gates. one at either end of
the little semicircular drive. and both
wide open. So still was the place that
! lad great mind to walk boldly in
and learn something of the premises;
in fact. | was on the point of doing
SO when | heard quick. shufiling
step or the pavement behind me- l
turned round and faced the dark scowl
and the dirty clinched fists of Il dilapi-
tated tramp
You fool" said he. You utter
IDIOT"
"RafIles"
That's it," he whispered savagely;
tell all the neighborhood-give me
away at the top of your voice"
With that he turned his back upon
me and shambled down the road,
Struggling his shoulders and mutter-
ing TO himself as though had refused
him aims. A few moments l stood
astounded. indignant, at loss; then
followed him. His feet trailed, his
knees gave, his back was bowed. his
head kept nodding; it was the gait of
man eighty years of age. Presently
he waited for me midway between
two lamp posts. As l came up he was
lighting rank tobacco in a Guilty pipe
with an evil smelling match, and the,
flames showed me the suspicion of a
smile
You must forgive my heat. Bunny
but it really was very foolish of you.
Here am l trying every dodge-beg-
ging at the door one night, hiding in
the shrubs the next-doing every NOR
tai thing but stand and stare at the
house as you went and did. It's a
costume piece. and in you rush in your
ordinary clothes. tell you they're
on the lookout for us night and day.
Its the toughest nut ever tackled"
Well" said |. IF you had told me
so before shouldn't have come. You
told me nothing"
He looked hard ut me from under
the broken brim of a battered billy
cock
You're right" he said at length.
i've been too close. Its become Sec
ond nature with me when I've any
thing on, but here's an end of it, Bun
ny, so far as you're concerned. I'm
going home now. and l want you to
follow me. but for heavens sake keep
Tour distance and don't speak 10 me
again until | speak to you. There
give me a start" And he was off
again. n decreplt vagabond. with his
hands in his pockets. his elbows
Is III