Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1910-04-08
HAPTER IV-(Continued)

fast eyes, a straight nose n the mar
row upper lip OF the aristocrat, her
lips We're, perhaps, too full n TOO nu-
man for your connoisseur of beauty.
She looked from face to face ana
but for her pallor she exhibited no sign
Of fear.
Alth ough she was Of the
fact, she had been afforded an extra
ordinary privilege. BY the merest ac-
cident, she had been ushered into the
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
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 the criminal world have
been known to boast hat they were
not unconnected with that combina-
ton: and when some desperate piece
Of villainy startled the world, the po-
lice investigating the crime started
from this point: Was it committed by
one Of the 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 hat looked at her unsmil-
ingly.
When she had heard the voices,
when she took her first swift glance
at the 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-
ed her, Only one Of the men lost his COM
posture. The tall, heavy-looking man
who sat at one end of the room with
bowed, attentive head listening to a
little c~lean-shaven 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 a foreign tongue that
sent the man who held the girls arm
staggering back with a blanched face.
Il" he stammered appealingly, Il
didn't understand"
The tall man, his face flushed with
rage, pointed to the door, and hastily
ged the bewildered girl to the darkness
Of the landing.
This way he muttered. the she
could feel his hand trembling as he
stumbled up yet another flight of
stairs, never 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, / mean. Smiths his
name, dye hear?" He shok her arm
roughly. Evidently the man was be-
side himself with terror. What dread
full think the tall MAJ 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 a table
had 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
the rickety stairs had died away, then
crossed the room swiftly. The drop
from the window could not be very far;
she would risk it. She drew aside the
curtain. Where the window should
have been was a sheet of steel plate.
1t was screwed to the joists. Some
body a anticipated her resolve to es-
cape by the window. In chalk, written
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.
Keep quite and tell US these questions
and well let you go.
What 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
mex hours she asked herself these
questions over and over again. She
grew ain with hunger and thirst, but
the 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 a voice raised III anger. Once
a door slammed. and somebody went
gathering down the stairs. There was
8 doorkeeper, she could near him speak
with the 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.
The notorius men upon whom she had
looked, all innocent OF their claim to
notoriety, were themselves puzzled.
Bat Sands, the man who looked SO
ill-he had the unhealthy appearance OF
n who had just come through a long
sickness-was an inquirer. Vennis-no-
body knew his Christian name-was
another, and they were two men whose
inquiries were no to be put off.
Vennis turned his dull fish eyes upon
big Common, and spoke with delibera-
ton.
"Connor, what's this girl business
Are we in It?
Common knew his men too well to
temporize.
You're In 1t. II it's worth anything
he said slowly.
Bats close-cropped red head was
thrust forward.
lis. there none In it," he demand
ed.
Conner nodded his head.
"Much?"
Conner drew a deep breath. II the
truth be told. that the Lot shoul
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 fhara uybn x.,n,.Il Io~sAx -