The Tupelo journal., 1909-07-02

look on his gaunt face unlike any
known to Colvin. .
Only three minutes in the hall, with
the moon through the arched window;
and his arm about her and the fra
GRANGE of her loosened hair against
his cheek and her voice stirring his
heartstrings with an exquisite pang.
Only time for the immemorial ques-
| tons of love: Are you sure, dear, it
is really II" and when did you
| first" To this last she had an
swered with her half-humorous. adora-
BILE little Tilt of a laugh: "Oh, l
reckon it was-a-little-all along,
ever since / read about your saving
that poor little Filipino boy, like
Archie; the one who was your servant
in Manila, and going hungry for him
on the march and jumping into the
rapids to save him-when you were
lame, too"
Here the colonel burst in with a
groan: ooh, that monstrous newspa-
per liar! The dear little Filipino boy
DIS d I1dIIlCu lldu, anu l. oioh I jump
into the river to save him. 1t wasn't
more than wading DEPTH only swore
at him for an idiot and told him to
walk out when he tipped over his
| boat and was laundering about. And
| he did! He was the limit as a liar"
To his relief, the most sensible as
well as the most lovable woman in the
world had burst into a delicious bit of
| laughter and returned: ooh, well.
you would have jumped in and saved
him if the water had been deep; it
wasn't your fault it was shallow" And
| Just at this point Mercer and Aunt
| Rebecca must needs come with a most
| unusual premonitory racket, and Janet
had fed.
Afterward had come the council.
All the coil had been unraveled. Bird
! sail appeared in person, as sleek,
smiling and complacent over his
blunders as ever. One Of his first
sentences was a declaration of trust
in Miss Smith.
Il certainly went off at half-cock
there" said he, amiably; ''and just be-
| cause she was so awful nice / felt
obliged to suspect her; but I've got
the real dog that killed the sheep this
time; it's sure the real Red Wull!"
1t appeared that he had, of a verify,
been ~usefully busy. He had secured
the mechanic who had given Atkins a
plan of the secret passages of Casa
Fuerte. He had found the policeman
who had arrested Tracy Che swore
because he was going too fast) and the
magistrate who had fined him; and
not only that, he had captured the po-
liceMan, a genuine officer, not a GRIM
inal in disguise, who had been Atkins
instrument in kidnapping Archie. This
man, whom Birdsall knew how to ter
rify completely, had confessed that It
was purely by chance that Atkins had
seen the boy, left outside in the motor
car. Atkins, so he said, had pretended
that the boy was a tool of some enc
mics of Keatcham's, whose secretary
he was, trading, not for the only time,
on his past position. In reality, Bird
sail had come to believe Atkins knew
that Keatcham was employing Mercer
in his place.
Il can't absolutely put my finger on
his information" said Birdsall; "but
suspect Mrs. Melville Winter; / know
she was talking to him, for one of my
men saw her. The lady meant M harm,
but she's one of the kind that is al
WAYS S1amminp fha dnfectives and ha-
ing took in by the rascals."
He argued that Mrs. Winter and
Miss Smith knew where the boy was;
for some reason they had let him go
and were pretending nod to know
where he was. "Ain't that sop the
detective appealed to Aunt Rebecca,
who merely smiled. saying: You'ae
a wonder, Mr.. Birdsall!!' According
to Birdsalls theory, Atkins was puz-