The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1910-03-24
CHAPTER 1v-(continued>

RI AtPrOA La q AAS
lips were, perhaps, too full and too hui
man for your connoisseur of beauty.
III looked from face to face, and
but for her pallor she exhibited no sign
OF fear.
Although she was Of the
fact. she had been afforded an extra
ordinary privilege. BY the merest ac-
presence Of the Borough Lot" Not a
very heroic title for an organized band
OF criminals, but, then, organized
criminals never take unto themselves
generic and high falutin' titles. Our
t.SllyeT Hatchets" n Red Knives
are boy hooligans who shoot off toy
pistols. The police referred to them
vaguely as the Borough Lot" Les
ser lights in the criminal world have
0een Known to boast that they were
Pot unconnected with that combina-
don; and when some desperate piece
Of villainy startled the world. the po-
lice investigating the crime started
from this point: Wa It committed by
one OF the Borough Lot. or was 1t not?
AZ Kathleen was pushed into the
room by her captor. a u of subdued
conversation ended abruptly. and she
was the focus of nine pairs Of passion
less eyes that looked at her unsrnil-
lngly.
When she a heard the voices,
when she tool her first swift glance
Ct M ROOM. and had seen the type
OF 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-
% her. Only one OF the men lost his COM
posture. The tall. heavy-looking man
Who q at n end of the room with
bowed, attentive head listening to q
little c~lean-shaven man with side
whiskers. who looked for all h world
u an old-fashioned Jockey, started
with asmuttered oath.
~"Upstairs!" he roared and said some
thing rapidly In q foreign tongue that
1ent the man who held the girls arm
staggering back with a blanched face.
IL" he stammered appealingly, 81
didn't understand"
The tall man. his face flushed with
rage. pointed to the door. Inc hastily
opening the door, her captor half drag
Ged the ,bewildered girl to the darkness
OF the landing.
.'Thi. way. he muttered, the she
oould FEEL his hand trembling as he
stumbled up yet another flight of
lars so1 ! <, never once relinquishing his
nothing. or you'll get into trouble. You
eee what happened to me for takin' you
anto the wrong room. Oh, he's a devil
Dc 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
U think the tall man had said, Kath-
leenscould only Judge. She herself was
hall dead with fright. The sinister
g Of these men, the mystery OF
this assembly In the suffered room.
terror to her position.
Her conductor unlocked 3 door and
pushed her in. This had evidently been
prepared for her reception, for a table
q been laid, and food and drink stood
ready.
The door was closed behind her. and
Q 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
b rickety stairs had died away, then
from the window could not be very far;
she would risk 1t. She drew aside the
curtain. Where the window should
have been was q sheet of steel plate.
Il was screwed to the joists. Some
body had anticipated her resolve to es-
In an illiterate hand. was the SEN
tence:-
You wont be bert If 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.
NuASO 0AAN SSAAa uS l1lOSO NuO6IlOIlS
and well let you go
had they to ask, or she to
answer She knew OF nothing that she
could inform them upon. 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
b viands spread upon the table she
did not touch. The mystery of her cap
ture bewildered her. OF 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
heard q voice raised In anger. Once
AFdoor slammed, and somebody went
0latterng down h stairs. There was
doorkeeper, h could hear him speak
with the outgoer.
DID h but know It, the question
that perplexed her was an equal mat
ter Of p%erplexity with others In the
house that evening.
h notoriuE men upon whom she had
looked, all innocent Of their claim to
notoriety, were themselves puzzled.
Bat Sands h man who looked SO
nl-he q the unhealthy appearance of
n who had just come through q long
eickness-was an inquirer. vennis-no-
body knew his Christian name-was
another. and they were two men whose
inquiries were not to be put off,
VENTS turned his dull fish ewes upon
big Conner, and spoke with delibera-
tion.
"connor, what's this girl business?
Arr we in it,
connor knew his men too well to
rtemporixe.
'You'ro In It, If it's worth anything"
he said slowly.
Bats clo%se.cropped red head was
thrust forward.
IL there money in it," he demand
rcrnov nnAA.A his hood
''Much?"
Conner drew . deep breath. II the
truth be told. that the Lot" shouid
share. was h 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 raj dangerous. He knew his
mon and they knew him. There was
not q man there who would hesitate to
destroy him at the merest hint OF
streachery. Candor was the best and