The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1913-06-22
AN EXCITING TALE Of TIE NEW
ORLEANS FRENCH QUARTER
by Robert Carlton Brown

| until the soft slippers came 10 MS eA-
pectant ears.
That you, Hopkins?" came an anxious
cry in a cracked voice from within.
Yes, Mr.: Dubois; for the love OF
| heaven, open up. 1 told you this would
happen II you"
The door was opened a crack before he
finished, and the frightened face that
had appeared beneath the nightcap in the
window stared out.
For Gods sake, come in" cried old
| Dubois ENORMOUSLY, grasping Hopkins
shoulder with palsied hand and pulling
! him within. There's a nasty crowd coll
lecting in front. Bring in that porch
chair don't know how / forgot 1t last
night; they might get through the gates
and steal 1t. Hurry
Where are the robbers"
"Gone"' cried Dubois, straining his
wrinkled neck forward and moistening
his throat in an effort as he spoke.
Are you sure? What did they get?"
"Everythingr Look!" Dubois had
pushed him with tremulous fingers UP the
stairs to the second floor and pointed
through an open door. holding to the wall
! for support and struggling for breath.
Everything! Look! All my money, in
bills; stacks, stacks, and stacks OF bills. !"
There was a rickety antique Sheraton
four-poster, Dubois bed. and on IT was
the cloth-coyered box of a bed-spring,
gaping open, half filled with a scattering
of crumpled papers. The bed clothes
were thrown in a heap in one corner Of
the room. Hopkins stepped back in sur
prise. his foot came down on a wad Of
cotton, he picked it up and stood finger
ing it absently as he stared at the
wrecked bed
Then you did sleep on your money in
place of a mattress, as people always
said?" cried Hopkins.
Yes, yes For Gods sake. be quiet,
There is no use,' the Quaking old man
stood CLASSY eyed. glazing at the va
cant spring box-"but there is no use to
deny it. l kept everything-all-in that
box, packed in among the springs. did
did" he stopped, clawed forward one
of his great, Tapping ears and stood
straining forward to catch the repetition
OF a sharp sound his Ell eager ear had
plucked from other noises rising from
below.
Hopkins was shifting at the piece of
cotton he had found.
"ChIoroform," he exclaimed. dropping
it.
En-" cried old Dubois, jerking his
hand from his ear and thrusting II
into the opening in his night. shirt.
They chloroformed you and threw
you in a corner with your shoes and
the bed clothes. while they rified the
treasure chest
Eth? yes. Ii heard them at my
bedside, then I was on the floor and
couldn't use my arms, my legs. my
tongue" his voice rose to a shrill
screech, "and 1 knew they were TAX
ing my bills. in stacks. stacks and
stacks of them" His vein-ridged
hand shot to his tapping ear, he broke
iGta
What's that? There's somebody fooling
with the front gate"
He rushed to the window. which
he had again carefully locked after
recovering from his faint when Alert
sprang at Hopkins, craned his cordy
neck toward the front of the house,
and tottered as he shook his quivering
fist at a slight, square-chested fel-
low in a neat business suit of no dis
tinctive cut ana an ordinary derby
hat The stranger must have clamb-
cred over the locked iron gate. re-
CARELESS of its pricking points, for
he was busily at work by the porch
stretching out the limp form of Alert
as though he were a taXidermist.
Leave that dog alone! Get out
of there or /" Dubois in an in
sane moment tore an antique French
firearm tremblingly from the bosom
of his night shirt where II had IAN
concealed.
DON'T cried Hopkins. jumping
forward to grasp the quivering hand
attempting an aim.
I'll protect my place-my rights
|-Tll|"
His twitching jaws dropped open.
as the man below. aroused by the
commotion in the window. glanced
up, hastily picked a small object like
a sausage skin from one of the points
on Alert's massive studded collar. and
slipped through the front gate, which
he opened with an easy twist. as
though it were actually unlocked.
You left it unlocked"'
81 did mott" Hopkins denied Du-
bois' hasty accusation. 1T locks itself
when it swings shut, and it was shut.
Who the devil is the fellow? I never
saw him before-do you suppose"
Il don't suppose anything-"Du-
bois thrust out his jaw threateningly.
eviIy. You're hired to protect me-"
he shook his NANCY locks in Hopkins
awed eyes. why do you let him
get away? Why don't you-see what 1t
is he took from the collar. Maybe"