The Mena weekly star., 1909-07-01

as patient" Pi'"eses
 Janet lifted her sweet evos ons ohe glance as fleoting and light as tba hash or birds wing. 'T-T--reo,,an u IS settled" murmured she. but i'm, meuiately she was the nurse agnin
 MT. keatcham, you are stavine awala much too late. Here is CoIv,n who night" "''"'' uoou
 " was then that MT. Keatcham had .aheh the coloners breath away hv Kissing Janet's band; after which bo shook hands with the colonel with . strange new cordiality. and watched mem both go away together witb n look on his gaunt face unlike any known to Colvn.
 oply three minutes in the hall with Inc moon through the arched window. and his arm about her and tho fra. Etaoee ot her loosened hair against BIS cheek and her voice stirring his heartstrings with an exquisite pang Only time for the immemorial ones. tlons CT love. Are you sure. dear it IS really l?" and When did vou first" To this last she had an. iwered with her half-humorous, adora- ble little Hit of laugh: "Oh I reckon 1t was-a-little-al along ever since I 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 eroan: "Oh, that monstrous newspa- Ter liar! The dear little Filipino boy was a married man; and I didn't jump into the river 10 save him. It wasn't more than wading depth-I only swore at him for an idiot and told him to walk out when he tipped over his boat and was loundering about. And he did! He was the limit as 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. "Oh, well you would have jumped in and saved him II the water had been deep: it wasn't your fault it was shallow!" And just at this point Mercer and Aunt Rebecea must needs come with most unusual premonitory racket, and Janet had fled.
 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 declaration of trust In Miss Smith
 T certainly went off at halfcock 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 Wul!" been usefully busy He had secured the mechanic who had given Atkins a plan of the secret passages of Casa Tuerte. He had found the policeman who had arrested Tracy Che swora because he was going too fastl and the magistrate who had fined him; and not only that, he had captured the DO liceman. a genuine officer not a crim- inal in disguise, who had been Atkins instrument in Kidnapping Archie. This man, whom Birdsall knew how to ter rify completely, had confessed that 1t was purely by chance that Atkins had seen the boy, left outside in the motor car Atkins so he said. had pretended 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
 Why. he knew the old gentleman was just off quietly with MT. Mercer and some friends; knew they were all friendly, just as well as you or me-" declared Birdsall. He had seen Archie on the train. for, as the colonel remembered. he had been in the Win ters' car on the night of the robbery. Somehow. also Atkins had found out about Archies disappearance from the hotel
 'I can't absolutely put my finger on his information, said Birdsal but suspect Mrs. Melville Winter: I know she was talking to him, for one of my men saw her The lady meant no harm. but she's one of the kind that is al- ways slamming the detectives and be- 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 not to know where he was "Ain't that so?" the detective appealed to Aunt Rebecca, who merely smiled, saying: "fonre wonder. MT Brdsall!" According 10 Birdsalrs theory, Atkins was pug zled by Archie's part in the affair But he believed could he find the boys present hosts he would lind Ed win Keatcham It would not be the first time Keatcham had hidden him solf. the better to spin his web Tor the trapping of his rivals. That Mercer was with his employer the ex-secre- tary had no manner of doubt any more than he doubted that Mercer's scheme had been to oust him and to build his own fortunes on Atkins ruin. lie knew both Tracy and young Arnold very well by sight When he couldn't frighten Archie into telling anything a.ahahl.. he went hack to his Ilrst