The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-02-01


 "She's alive!" exclaimed broom
 ''Get these wet clothes off of her. l Guiek!'
 ] The men stood grouped in the hall 1 way while the women tore the we garments from the reviving victim
 and prepared @ warm bed for Ter
 Elias Broom was edging toward tn.
 door, bent on escape, when the awed
 chattering voice of the young fel low who had assisted in carrying hel
 to the house arrested him. A grea
 sense of relief crept over him as ht listened to the young mans story; his i eyes blinked with satisfaction. Ht 1 was forgetting his own remark of $ minute ago that he was freezing and must get into some dry clothes at once The young man was saying: "It happened right out there by the sea wall-where the big break is. liar. ry and l were coming up the Drive and I called attention to a man run. ming south along the wall. Just then this gentleman ran over from this side of the street, and a minute or two later we saw him jump into the break over there. Suicide, I thought. but he wasn't a minute coming up There was the woman! He'd pulled her out! By thunder, 1t was the bravest thing I ever saw! He''-
 And then 1t was that everybody be- gan to shower praise upon the man who only had tried to do his duty by the one who hired him to do ugly. not gallant, deeds.
 Did you watch which way the rob- Der ran?" demanded broom eagerly.
 ''Lost him in the dark. He ran like fury. You must have scared him of, y said the second young man. '1 wish we could have seen his face. Did you see it?''
 "Not distinctly" answered broom , "He struck me as being a slim young fellow. that's aIl." Of one thing he was assured-the evidence of these two men would prove that he had acted as valiant protector and not as a thug, a fear which had not left his mind until now. They had seen the fleeing assailant, but there was only one person who could identify him. That person was Frances Cable, the victim. If it was not James Bansemer, then who could it have been?
 The door opened, and an agitated young woman came out.
 "It is Mrs. Cabler' she cried in trem- bling tones. g
 The physician arrived at that mo- ment, and a few minutes later came m officer who had been. hailed from the doorway. While the policeman was listening to the voluble young eye witnesses broom stood aloof, puzzling himself vainly in the effort to solve an inside mystery. He had been ready a few minutes before to curse himself for pulling the woman out of the water. but now as the belief grew stronger within him that her assailant was not James Bansemer his view point changed. If such was the case there would be no need to fear Mrs. Cables story if she revived sufficiently to tell 1t. On the other hand, if it was Bansemer, he had rescued her to an ill purpose. He was conscious finally that some one was speaking to him.
 What do you know of this?" de manded the policeman. broom repeat ed his brief story What is your name and where do you live"
 'My name is Elias broom, and live over in Wells street."
 Could you identify the manY'
 "I don't think so.''
 'What were you doing over in this part of town?'
 Walking up to see the skaters on the park lagoon. But what's that got to do with it? You'd better be out looking for the thief instead of vast ing time on me here," snarled broom. The officer gasped. and there is no tell ing what might have happened if the captain and a swarm of bluecoats had not appeared on the scene at that mo- ment Two minutes later they were off securing the lake front in search of the mysterious holdup man. Two plain clothes men remained to question the witnesses and to inspect the neighbor- hood in which the crime was commit ted.
 Word came from the inner room that Mrs. Cable was regaining conscious ness.
 "Does-can she throw any light on the affairY' asked Elias broom.
 ''She has uttered no word except her husbands name. think she is still calling upon him for help, poor thing" said the young woman who bore the news.
 "Cable ought to be notified" said one of the men.
 Don't do it over the phone," said broom quickly. 'I'm going past his house. I'll stop in and tell him. Let me out. officer. I must get out of these wet garments. I'm an old man, you know.'
 The probable solution had come to broom like a fash. AS he hurried up the street his mind was full of the theory. He scarcely could wait for the door of David Cables house to be opened in response to his vigorous
 (Continued on Page 9)