The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1908-04-03

Ehnild mas Hd'l9 ucClihcu W duhi
you 10 the house"
Fraudulent old reprobate!" men
tally interjected Bob Crayton.
Because you are strange to the
town, and nobody knows You. Auntio
believes you are an adyenturer. But
YOU don't think | doubt you, dear
do you?" hastily pleaded Julia.
Bob Crayton met her winsome eyes
with a look that probed TO their very
depths.
1T would be fearful eye-opener
TO me il, after ALL / discovered sh e
was one Of the gang" he mused;
"but that's impossible. What a brute
! am to doubt her! And what a
wretch / am TO deceive her-to use
her as a tool when she trusts me so
implicitly!
Shall confde in her? She would
Immediately repeat her confidence to
Aunt Emma, and the whole gang
would take fight. / mustn't risk
that" he concluded. Il must go on
now to the inevitable. Julia will hate
me, scorn me, spurn me, and--I want
her love. Oh, what an idiot | have
BEEN"
Acting upon instructions, Robert
Crayton, a detective of great promise,
had appeared at the country town OF
Parkhampton in the guise of bot
anist.
In Rose Cottage lived Emma Young
and her niece Julia. with modesty and
unpretention, respected by all who
knew them; but Crayton was aware
that a number of spurious national
bank notes had lately crept into cir
culatiOn. and Parkhampton was sus-
pected OF the clever forgeries.
And, among other matters, Cray
ton, by ingratating himself with
Julia, thus eXcusing a number OF sur
reptitious visits to the garden, had
discovered that. in three evenings Of
the week, at a certain hour at night
decidedly late for Parkhampton-
Miss Emma received three visitors.
They did not arrive together, and
they invariably did arrive in the same
order; a middle-aged lady, who lived
hard by; an elderly gentleman from
near village; a rather younger man
from the far end Of the town.
They were admitted with obvious
caution, and they departed without
noise or hesitation; a soft good
night" and they were gone their
respective ways.
Then came the moment when Cray
ton discovered that in playing with
hre he had burned himself he was
in love with Julia, and Aunt Emma
had discovered the fact, and forbid
den her niece to see him.
Grinding his teeth, he watched the
lights OF Rose Cottage blink them
selves out; then he crcpt across the
rear garden until within a few yards
or the house, removed an empty dog
kennel that stood upon slab of
wood, pulled tie slab aside, and re-
vealed a circular hole. down which
he dropped with an air Of acquaint-
snce that spoke of previous visits.
1t was Crayton's last visit but one
TO the well-shaped hole. The fol-
lowing morning he sent a wire TO
New York, which, later, brought two
assistant detectives to Parkhampton
He also made certain arrangements
with the local police.
1t was duty or Julia; with quaking
heart he chose the former.
Parkhampton went 10 sleep. Gle
mats Cottage, clnging TO its twin
support, put out its lights for slum-
ber.
The lady from hard by, the elderly
gentleman from near village. and
the young man from the other ex-
tremity of the town, were severally
and stealthily admitted to Rose Cot
tage.
Well nab them red-handed." !"
whispered Crayton's watching assist
ants.
Rose Cottage was now in darkness:
from all external appearances wrap
ped in honest slumber.
Crayton gave the sign, and his two
assistants followed him across the
garden of Aunt Emma's house. ST.
lently they removed the dog-kennel
and the slab of wood.
Crayton dropped down the hole.
There's a short ladder at the
side he whispered to his assistants;
but I'd drop If were you"
Bull's-eye in hand, he crawled into
a low, roughly-constructed tunnel.
AS his body disappeared one OF his
men dropped from the garden. The
other followed as soon as the way was
clear. Ten yards OF crawling, and
the three men were confronted by
b door and a brick wall Here the
tunnel was heightened, so that they
could almost stand upright. The
flooring, too, was concreted. Before
the partition OF the old house there
had been an area at the back giving
light to the kitchens and exit there
from; with the division of the house
into two the kitchens had been con-
verted into dark storeroOms and the