Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-09-17
BY LOUIS JOSEPH VANCE
Author Of The Private War
Terence o'Rourke, Gentleman
Adventurer
Copyright, 1907, The Dobbs-Merrill Company.

4 ,
This was the policeman, returned. And
some ones let down the bottom length Of
ladder. but there amt nobody in sight"
| mo" interjected Hickey. Ind there
wouldn't we been If you'd been waitin'
in the back yard all night
| Certainly not" Maitland agreed bland
ly; especially If my burglar had known
1t. In which case I fancy he would have
chosen another route-by the roof, posi-
bly,"
"Yeh know somethin' about roofs yeh-
self, donchuh7" suggested Hickey. We'll,
l guess yeh'll have time to write book
about it while yeh--"
| He stepped unexpectedly to Maitland's
side and bent forward. Something cold
and hard closed with a snap around each
of the young mans wrists. He started up,
face aiame with indignation. forgetful
Of the girl hidden in the alcoVe.
4 What the devilI" he cried hotly. jing-
ling the handouts. b
"Ah, come or" Hickey advised him.
"Yeh can't bluff it for ever, you know.
Come along and tell the sarge all about
1t. Daniel Maitland, esquire, alias Hand
some Dan Anisty, gentleman burglar.
. All, cut that out, young fellow;
yeh'I find this amt no laughin' matter.
Yeh're foxy, all right, but yehve pushed
yer run of luck too hard"
Hickey paused, perplexed. finding no
words wherewith adequately to voice the
disgust aroused in him by his prisoners
demeanor, something far from seemly, to
his mind.
The humor of the situation had just
dawned upon Maitland, and the young
man was crimson with appreciation.
Go on, go on!' he begged feebly.
DON'T let me stop you. Hickey. Don't,
please, let me spoil it all. Your Sher-
lock Holmes, Hickey, is one of the fin
! xx-ft-
messed. 1t is a privilege not to be under
estimated to be permitted to play Raffies
| to you. But seriously, my dear
sleuth!" with an unhappy attempt to
| wipe his eyes with hampered fists, don't
| you think you're wasting your. talents?"
| BY this time even the policeman seemed
doubtful. He glanced askance at the de-
tective and shufhed uneasily. AS for the
cabby. who had clustered in at first with
! intent to demand his due in no uncertain
! terms, apparently Matland's bearing,
coupled with the inherent contempt and
| hatred of the nighthawk tribe for the
minions of the law. had won his sympa
! thies completely. Longing against
| door-jamb, quite at home, he genially
! puffed an unspeakahle cigarette and
! nodded appreciation of Maitland's every
! other word.
But Hickey-Hickey bristled billgerent-
| ly.
Fine" he declared acidly; Sine and
dandy. 1 take off my hat to yeh, Dan
Anisty. I may be a bad actor. all right,
but yeh got me beat at the post"
Then turning to the policeman, 81 got
him right Look here'' Drawing a fold
ed newspaper from his pocket, he spread
it open for the officers inspection. "Yeh
see them pictures? Now, on the level, is
it natural?"
The patrolman frowned doubtfully
glancing from the paper to Maitland
The cabby stretched curious neck. Matt
land groaned inwardly; he had seen that
Infamous sheet.
| Now listen" the detective expounded
with gusto Twice today this here Matt
land, or Anisty meets me. Once on the
! stoop here. nd he's Maitland md takes
, me to luneh-seeY Next time it's In
| Harlem, where I've been sent with a hot
/ tip from the Commissioners ONCE to find
Anisty, md he's still Maitland nd sur
( prised to see me. 1 amt sure then, but
] I'm doin' some heavy thinEin'. all right
| / let's him go and shadows him. After a
while he gives me the slip md I chases
down here, waitin' for him to turn up
/ Coming down on the car l buys this pa
per nd sees the pictures, and then I'm
/ on. See?"
i On-huh' STuubeu thS pdIIOlhlah
scowling at Maitland. The cab
by caressed his nose with a soiled
forehnger reflectively, plainly a bit preju-
diced by Hickeys exposition.
lone minute" Maitland interjected,
eyes twinkling and lips twitching. How
long ago was it that you began to watch
this house, sleuth?'
Five minutes before yeh come home"
responded Hickey. ignoring the insult.
! Now"
Took you a long time to figure this out.
didn't it? But go on, please"
"Well, 1 picked the winner, all right"
f1ared the detective. 81 guess that'll be
about all for yours"
mot quite" Maitland contradicted
brusquely, wearying of the complication.
You say you met me on the stoop here.
At what o'clock?"
"One; nd yeh takes me to lunch at
Eugene's."
"Ah! When did leave your
II leaves yeh there at two"
''Well, O'Hagan will testify that he left
me in these rooms, in dressing gown and
slippers at about one. At four he found
me on this divan. bound and gagged. by
courtesy of your friend Mr.. Anisty. Now,
when was 1 with you in Harlem?"
"At seven o'clock, to the minute, yeh
| comes
Never mind. At ten minutes to seven
took cab from here to the Primordial
Club, where 1 dined at seven precisely"
And what's MORE" interposed the cab
man eagerly, II took yer there, SIR
Thank you. Furthermore, sleuth, you
say that you followed me around town
from seven o'clock until-when?'
IT said" stammered the plain
clothes man, purple with confusion.
mo matter. didn't leave the Primer
dial until a quarter to eleven. But all
this aside. as 1 understand it, you are
asserting that, having given you all this
trouble today, and knowing that you were
after me, deliberately hoped into cab
fifteen minutes ago, came up Fifth ave-
nue. at such break-neck speed that this
officer thought 1t was a runaway, and
finally jumped out and ran upstairs here
to fire revolver three times, for no pur-
pose whatsoever beyond bringing you
gentlemen about my ears?'
Hickey's jaw sagged. The cabby
lostentatiously covered his mouth with a
huge red paw and made choking noises
pass 1t up. sarge, pass it up" he whis-
pered hosrsely
Shut yer. trap" snapped the detec-
tive. II know what I'm dom. This
crooks clever all right, but I got the
,yihosh on him This time Iemme alone -