The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-09-16
BELOW THE DEAD LINE.

be well guarded against that, and I
since nave seen striking evidence OF e.
A raid would have been q failure"
All, you are complimentary in a
way" observed the chief with a ieer.
| Il can appreciate genius even in
criminal" retorted Boyd, with dry
| contempt.
And / in a ninion Of the law"
sneered the chief. Possibly we are
more equally endowed with genius
than YOU would be willing to admit"
That 1 deemed IL necessary to pay
you this visit, in order to get look at
your rascally countenance. is itself an
admission of your genius for crime and
| cunning" returned Boyd dryly
From the beginning of this strange
interview their relative positions had
not changed. Boyd remained standing
at the wall, with his arms folded across
his breast, with his right hand thrust
well within his vest. and resting light
! ly on the destructive missile he had Sc
GREETED there; while his forceful face,
pale though it appeared, wore con-
stantly an expression of mingled Sc
verify and contempt.
The fact Of Boyd's presence there
! had spread to others of the gang. From
| the masked passage in the corner they
came silently Sinking into the cham
/ ber grouping themselves near the Ia
| bic, until. Boyd counted no less than
nine. and staring darkly at this intrud-
! er whose means of getting there was
| still a mystery to nearly all. That the
| chief himself was not quite clear upon
this was evineed by his next question.
How did you succeed in entering
| this placer he demanded in reply to
| Boyd's last remark.
IF you are indeed my equal, that
question would be needless" said
\
| before she reached the Woodcock and
ran her into Macy's hotel. You will find
| her there in the custody of Detective
Alderman of the central Office, IL you
care TO seek her"
The chief started slightly. and his
threatening frown deepened.
'Ha! understand he muttered,
with ominous voice. 1T was you who
/ followed Ranney?"
Yes. And i'm yonder dark corridor"
| added Boyd, ''you will find an auburn
wig. a womans skirt. hat and veil. and
an outer garment of which L relieved
| your decoy. All of which ] fingered TO
remove before entering this room, lest
they should impede my movements Do
I make myself plain?"
| Growls of resentment came from sew
eral of the gang when the truth was
/ thus disclosed and the thin lips Of
Il
played his cleaning white teeth, like a
dog about to bite. Yet, he still held
| the gang in check. much as If he
wished to learn Boyd's true mission
there, or as If he derived a certain
grim satisfaction from this talk with
the man who repeatedly had thwarted
| their criminal designs.
Perfectly plain" he answered with
a semi-subdued snarl. you are even
more clever than I thought. / learned
| from Broger, before you sent him up
! the river, that he had referred to me
in your hearing as the Big Finger.
| thought you readily would recall it.
and I made il the basis OF this move to
get you i'm my clutches. Yes. you are
more clever than I thought The dark
ness here has made your Counter-mOve
possible; but the misfortune now is
yours, not ours, for you shall leave
this place Only upon a stretcher."
"On the contrary. / shall walk out
! by the way / entered, and without OPP
position" Boyd CURLY answered. as
If piqued by the others malevolent
| voice and aspect.
| Then, before reply could be made,
he added, in tones that rang even more
sharply through the room. and
brought darker frowns to the face of
every hearer:
"A truce to such threats, you fell
| lowsi I came here only to secure q
mental photograph of every man of
you. from the Big Finger Gown to the
| little. Nine In all. Ell? A full compli-
ment calls for ten. II there are more
! OF you, bring them on: for / would like
look at all of your rascally gang.
And now, you at the table, having
told you my mission here, suppose you
| state your business with me- Doubt
| less you had some motive in Turing me
TO your villainous den. So state ii
briefiy-and then I'll go my way"
The chief of the crooks. for a men,
ton of whose name Boyd vainly had
listened, drew his chair nearer the ia
bic. across which he rested his brawny
arms. and glared in momentary silence
at the haunting face and motionless
| figure OF this man who thus cody
scorned and defied him.
my business with you is more Sc
rious than you seem 90 imagine" he
presently answered, with a voice now
plainly expressing his intense bitter
ness and hatred. You are too dam
gerous man to let go. Now, bark
you. Mr.. Felix Boyd"
We'll, / am listening"
II will tell you why / lured you
here" the chief went on. with sup
pressed ferocity For months you
have been a stumbling block i'm my
way. Again and again you have
with your Internal craft and
clever cunning, caused the mis-
carriage of designs which / had ma
tured after weeks of labor and much
expense. But for you-you alone! we
should successfully have executed cur
many projects, and derived therefrom
profit worthy the toll and the perils
we embraced"
"Glad TO learn that my efforts have
proved so effective said Boyd curly.
More even than that continued
the other, ignoring the haunting re-
mark. Through you one of our num-
Der has been killed Through you,
two are doing time in Sing Sing.
Through you"
Through me you shall finally land
there%" interrupted Boyd sharply
Take my word for that"
you ask my business with you"
cried the chief. with terrible sternness
1 have not lured you here TO bride you
not TO warn you, nor to listen longer
to your haunting observations"
For what, then? Come. be briefr'
~,