The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1910-03-24
CHAPTER V-(Continued)

Kathleen Kent was something more
tnan pretty. something less than beau
tifui. An oval face with gray. stead
Iast eyes. a straight nose and the mar
row upper lip of the ~aristocrat, her
lips were, perhaps, too full and too hu-
man for your connoisseur Of beauty.
She looked from face to face, and
Dut FOR her pallor she exhibited no sign
Of fear.
Although she was unaware of the
fact, she had been afforded an extra
ordinary privilege. BY the merest ac-
cioent, she had been ushered into the
presence OF the Borough Lot" Not a
very heroic title for an organized band
OK criminals. but, then. organized
criminals never take unto themselves
generic and high falutin' titles. Our
,"Silver Hatchets' and Red Knives
are boy hooligans who shoot off toy
pistols. The police referred to them
vaguely as the Borough Lot" Les
ser lights In h criminal world have
been known to boast that they were
not unconnected with that combina-
zion; and when some desperate piece
OF villainy startled the world, the po-
lice investigating the crime started
from this point: Was 1t committed by
one OF h Borough Lot, or was 1t not?
= AS Kathleen was pushed into the
room by her captor, a hum Of subdued
conversation ended abruptly, and she
was the focus Of nine pairs Of passion
less eyes that looked at her unsmil-
ingly.
When she had heard the voices,
when h took her first swift glance
at the room, and had seen the type
or face that met hers. she had steeled
herself for an outburst of coarse
amusement. She feared she did not know
what she feared. Strangely enough, the
dead silence that greeted her gave her
courage. the cold stare Of the men nerv-
cd her. Only n of the men lost his COM
posture. The tall, heavy-looking nan
who sat at n end Of the room with
bowed, attentive head listening to q
little shave man with side
whiskers, who looked for all the world
like an old-fashioned jockey, started
with a muttered oath.
"Upstairs!" he roared and said some
thing rapidly In q foreign tongue that
sent the man who held the girls arm
staggering back with a blanched face.
IL" he stammered appealingly, IT
didn't understand"
The tall man, his face flushed with
rage, pointed to the door. and hastily
opening the door, her captor half drag
ged the bewildered girl to the darkness
Of the landing.
Hho Voy NO nlultcTcu, tU6 BIG
GOULD feel his hand trembling as he
stumbled up yet another flight Of
stairs, v once relinquishing his
hold OF her. Don't you scream nor
nothing, or you'll get into trouble. You
see what happened to me for takin' you
into the wrong room. Oh, he's a devil
Is Connor-Smith. I mean. Smiths his
name, dye hear?" He shok her arm
roughly. Evidently the man was be-
side himself with terror. What dread
ful think the tall man had said, Kath-
leen could only judge. She herself was
half dead with fright. The sinister
faces OF these men, the mystery of
this assembly in the shattered room,
her abduction, all combined to add
terror to her position.
Her conductor unlocked a door and
pushed her In. This had evidently been
prepared for her reception, for q table
q been laid, and food and drink stood
reedy.
The door was closed behind her, and
2 bolt was slipped. Like the chamber
below, all daylight was kept out by a
curtain. Her first thoughts were of es-
cape. She waited till the footsteps on
the rickety stairs had died away, then
crossed the room swiftly. The drop
from the window could not be very far;
she would risk 1t. She drew aside the
curtain. Where the window should
A0NO OOCh was q SIlett VI steer DlaIc.
1t was screwed to the joists. Some
body had anticipated her resolve to es-
cape by the window. In chalk, written
In an illiterate hand. was the SEN
ence:-
You wont be bert IL your senserble.
We want to know some questions
and then well let you go. Don't make
q fuss or 1t will be bad for you.
Keep quite and tell us these questions
and well let you go.
what q they to ask, or she to
answer? She knew Of nothing that she
could Inform them upo Who were
these men OBTAINING her? During the
next hours she asked herself these
questions over and over again. She
grew faint with hunger and thirst. but
the yiands spread upon the table she
did not touch. The mystery of her cap
ture bewfldered her. or what value
was she to these men? All the time
the murmur of voices In the room be-
low was continuous. Once or twice she
q voice raised in anger. Once
q door slammed, n somebody went
gathering down the stairs. There was
q doorkeeper, h could hear him speak
with h outgoer.
Did she but know It, the question
that perplexed her was an equal mat
ter OF perplexity with others in the
house that evening.
ioeOAiuo iC upon WnOm Sne mad
looked, all innocent Of their claim to
notoriety, were themselves puzzled.
Bat Sands, the man who looked 20
fIl-he had the unhealthy appearance of
n who had just come through a long
sickness-was an inquirer. v~ennis-no-
body knew his Christian name-was
another, and they were two men whose
inquiries were not to be put off.
Vennis turned his dull fish ewes upon
big Conner, n spoke with delibera-
ton.
"Connor, what's his girl business?
Are we In It?
Common knew his men too well to
%temporize.
"You'ro in It, If it's worth anything"
he said slowly.
Bats close-cropped red head was
thrust forward.
rs there money In it," he demand
ed.
Common nodded his head.
"Much?"
Common drew a deep breath. IF the
truth be told, that the Lot" should
share, was the last thing he had in
tended. But for the laundering of his
agent, they would have remained in
ignorance Of the girls presence in the
house. But the very suspicion of dis
loyalty was dangerous. He knew his
men and they knew him. There was
not a man there who would hesitate to