The Washington times., 1906-11-04
The Case of the Vacant Ofice

covered q deep conservatory f1.0ea
10 the west side Of me house dId B5va
accomplish his object. Through ths
glass wall partly open door was dis
cenable. left open that the warmth
OF the dwelling might reach the con.
servatory.
Through this door and a side haH
BOYD could see into the library be-
yond. where an elderly man sat read
ing newspaper, while q woman near
ny was nodding in her chair
''Macklin and his wife" thought
Boyd, briefly watching tnem. " He
has aged since he retired from busi-
ness ! haze heard that he has lost
heavily in the market. which uax have
led him 70 venture this transe-c=sf747.
Having located his man. BOYD pro-
ceeded 10 make a further examination
OF the conservatory, and presently dis
covered an outer door. Carefully try
ins II. he found II secured with bolt
within Next he quietly tested sever-
Al or the small glass paues near The
casing Of the door, and found tEat The
putty securing Them had fallen avav
ln pieces Working quietly with his
knife, he presently succeeded In rem0v-
Ing one OF them, when he found thar
ne easily could thrust his arm and
shoot the bolt OF the conservatory
door.
so FAR. so good" he nutte-ed.
Now 10 await Developments
Leaving the door boiled as he had
found il, he cautiously retracad h7.
steps. and re5oined the WAITING 5err--
tives
Forzmore than two hours. in the s11l-
tude and gloom OF the quiet mark.
amid silence broken only bv the
signing OF the night wind through the.
leaness trees. Boyd and the detectives
patiently watched and waited
in the Tar distance the bell on a To-
cal church struck g o'clock. whereuoo1
AkeTman muttered, a bit impauentIv.
It's about time that something was
doing, isn't H. Boyd2''
Not quite yet.- said Boyd. with
grave assurance Not before the ser
wants have gone Up 10 bed. An. there
uoW are signs of that.
The lamp IN the kitchen had bee,
fNtlngIished- and presently lights an
reared in two of The upper rooms. and
90 one ot the front chambers. soon
o1lE Tie latter remained. and those q,
The hal and library. and Bovd then
advised seeking a concealment nearer
the house within better view OF the
front door and vestibule.
Tn minutes later q move by- Mack
lin plainly indicated that Felix Rov5
Was on the right track. lie came out
10 the vestibule. and for several min
utes stood peering anxiousIv toward
the deserted street. then slowly re-
turned and quietly closed the front
door
''Ah. that's a good sign. boys ulrlr-
INJURED BOYD complacently. ,Ie is
alone downstairs. and now esur--z
visitors We soon shall have buSf-
ness tliat will dispel the chill Of This
night air and warm our blood with
its
Easy. Felix" whispered Coleman
suddenly. There are two men M the
front gate"
Right you are. Jimmie. our men.
too, FOR thousand, Lay low until
they have entered"
They are coming up the walk"
Aha and well do I know that fig
ure." Boyd triumphantIy whispered.
The Big Finger hiuself?"
None other, JiFFi4saIe! The same man
] thrice have encountered. only 10 lose
him each time by a stroke Of III luck
and ah-ah, the other is Rannev one
Of his chief minOns, I saw him that
night IN their subterranean stronghold.
BY Jove. We soon should have our
quarry well coruered.
Why not nail them at once growI-
ed Akerman, under hIs breath
Hush, Not on your Iife"' whispered
Boyd decistvely. Wait bit. 7 say,
unfit they have entered.
Meantime. while these subdued re-
marks We're made the two men had
hriskly approached the house. as II
bent on legitimate business only, and
had entered the vestibule. There the
light from within revealed them more
plainly. the imposing and powerful
figure quickly recognized by Felix
Boyd. also that OF a smaller man.
with q leather grip hung with e strap
over his shoulder
That's Perry's grip. or I'm a uarr'
muttered Coleman.
Lets hope that ali of Perry's bonds
are in it as we'll" Boyd grimIy NUT
tered. ''Ah' they rap on the pane in
stead OF ringing. So. so. and Mack
lin promptly responds. Cut and dried,
Ell? Now they are in, and our work
must begin.
why the devil didn't we collar
them at once?" he growled. half an
griIy. This putting or their arrest
may result IN
In our recovering all OF the stolen
bonds. rather than only a part OF
them" Boyd curtIy interrupted. with
a resentful fash OF his determined
eyes. You should have head enough
to see that. Akerman."
What do you mean7'
IF they have brought only Mack
Inns share OF the bonds, we may lose
the remainder by arresting these
ScoundreIs Immediately. Unless they
have all of the bonds with them, they
must be shadowed instead Of arrest
ed"
Sure enough! had not thought o.
that