The Nevada County picayune., 1909-05-27
CHAPTER XII.-Continued.

Or David with his ridiculous little sling going against Goliath, added she. Very well put, Bertie; only the good advice comes too late; the ques- 'tion now is, how to get out with whole skin. Surprising as it may be, I expect to-with your help"
 'Honored, I'm sure" growled Bertie.
 There is one thing l meant to ask you-I haven't. but l shall now. h. stead of making it impossible for me to sleep tonight, as you virtuously in tended in order to clear your con- science before you tried to pull me out of the trap I've set for myself. suppose you do me a favor, right now"
 s.You put it so well, you make me ashamed of my moral sense, Aunt Becky; what is it you want?"
 "Oh, nothing unbefitting a soldier and a gentleman, dear boy; just this: Cary has to have some money. l meant to give it to Stoves, but you hustled him off in such a rush that didn't get at him. You know where he ifs. don't you? You haven't sent him straight back?"
 -'I can find him, I reckon"
 rsThen I'll give you the money, at once"
 How weak a thing is man! Here was an eminently cool-headed, req sonable man of affairs who knew that paws which had escaped from the fire unsinged had no excuse to venture back for other peoples chestnuts; he had expressed himself clearly to this effect to young Tracy; now, behold him as unable to resist the temptation eof a conflict and the chance to baffie Atkins as if he were hot-headed boy sn plain shoulder-straps
 "I'll do better for you, Aunt Rebec- ca," said he 'Ill not only take Fire less the money, I'll go with him to the house. can make a sneak from here; and Atkins is safely downstairs al this moment. He may be shadowing Fireless; if he is, perhaps I can throw him off the track
 Thus 1t befell that not an hour later Rupert Winter was guiding the shabby and noisy runabout a second time to- ward the haunted house.
 Nothing doin'," said the joyous ap- prentice to crime; "I called old Cary up and got a furious slating for doing it; but he said there wasn't watch dog in sight; and the old man had sur rendered He was going to let him into the library on parole"
 You need a guardian" growled the colonel; where did you telephone? Not in the drug store2'
 "Oh. dear, no, not in such a public place: I've a shrinking nature that never did intrude its private, personal affairs on the curious world. ! used the phone of that nice quiet little res taurant where they gave me a lovely meal but were so long preparing it used up all the literature in sight which was the Ladies' Home Journal and a tract on the virtues of Knox reIatine. When l couldn't think of anything else to do | routed out Cary I'd smoked all my cigarettes and all my cigars but one which l was keep ing for after dinner. And Cary ro"ed me good and plenty. There wasn't a soul in the room
 Has any one followed you?'
 Not a man, woman or child. not even a yellow dog. l kept looking round, too"
 "It was Q ,:,,eadfully risky thing to do. you don't deserve to escape; but perhaps you did. Atkins may have come to the Palace for some other purpose and never have noticed you.
 "My own fatLer wouldn't have got oo to me in that dinky rig"
 Winter was not so easy in his mind. 8,n De toped for the best since there