Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1913-04-23

may uuu IL ubeiuls
Taking my little electric lamp he ad-
vanced toward the machine again.
flashing the light for a second on the
number, and then peering by its light
into the tonneau. exclaiming as he
Strengthened up Il thought So"
II II was safe for him TO smoke, the
constable and | felt that II was safe
for us, too, 10 relax our precautions.
and together we had advanced until
we were beside him.
What did you hnd?" asked. won
dering at his exclamation.
What | expected" he replied en-
lgmatically.
The manner Of his answer provoked |
me and determined then and there |
to have II out with him.
Look here, Davis" / said; II
brought you into this case and do not |
like the way you have acted about It, |
have freely told you everything
have discovered and have aided you
in every way can. Before go a step
farther on this trip l want to know
more about It."
What Is It you wish to known" he
asked. The constable edged nearer
for fear he might miss something of
our conversation.
First, where are we going2"
ITO what is known as the deserted
cottage, about a half mile farther on.
at the edge Of this clearing, a shack
that was built for a shelter for lum-
bermen or Quarrymen-whichw was 1t,
Dodds?"
Built for one and used by t'other,"
the constable replied, but faint been
used by either, so far as l know, for
dozen years"
How do you know the missing post.
master Is there?"
Traced him"
How"
Bicycle tracks," he answered with
chuckle. you were not the only
person who discovered that Rouser,
when he disappeared, went on bicycle.
In fact, Kent. you are little slow as
detective. By the time you had as
certained that much, ascertained
where the bicycle tracks led to and
had even gone 80 far as to have Dodds
get warrants for Rouser and his &C
complete"
81 still do not see how you got evil
dence enough to get warrant for
Crandall. Did you find him out here
with the missing postmaster"
Il didn't say had a warrant for
Crandall," replied the inspector sharp
ly. Did you ever hear Of John Doe
warrant?"
How do you know they are out here
now?" l asked.
We'll soon find out. Come on" he
answered, starting across the clearing
almost at a dog-trot.
There were many more questions
wanted to put to him, but there was
no opportunity, and, besides, l doubted
much If he would have answered them
At first he made little effort to move
quietly, but after we had gone a
quarter of mile or more he called
back In whisper, Quietly now"
We had come to path which led
US through short thick growth of I'M
derbrush. AS noiselessly as Indians
following trail We felt our way along,
the silence broken now and then by
the sound of bough bent back, or a
} rustling leaf. Soon the path brought
US out on some rising ground. Not fifty
yards ahead of us appeared the de.
} serted cottage.
That's it." whispered Dodds.
SSH" answered Davis. wait
herel"
+ We stopped there Just at the edge
Of the underbrush, peering into the
darkness, straining our eyes to see
: and our ears to hear, From the one
window in the side Of the one-story
D log hut dim light shone, proving thai
J the place was either occupied or had
been very recently. AS we became
more and more accustomed to the
: darkness l could see that there were
1 apparently two paths, the one OF
/. which we were standing and another
!" leading off at about right angle.
AS we looked and listened heard {
5 sharp crack, like the breaking of
twig that had been stepped on.
d The sound, so far as l could Judge
b came from the other path, apparently
, a hundred feet away from the cottage
l turned toward Davis and saw tina
= he, too, had heard 1t. He was stand
' Ing with his whole body tense, hi
head bent forward little as IL read,
K to spring at any instant
T AS we listened, another sound cam
t to our ears. At first indistinct, 1
e quickly took the rhythm of footstep
4 hurrying along the path, a man WALL
ing rapidly, decided. The hurryin
). footsteps came nearer and nearer. Ds
t. Wis now was crouching like a rune
about to make hundred-yard dash.
z It was only a minute of suspens
& and yet the effect on my nerves wa
q indescribable. l wanted to screar
like hysterical girl; l wanted to rur
!. forward or back, 1t made no difiel
It ence; wanted to do SON ething, AM
s thing-anything but stand there an
Is wait in the darkness.
D All Of a sudden the form Of A ma
n hurrying along the other path becam
4. visible. He seemed to be carryin
g. something Davis took two or thre
o noiseless steps forward and stoppe
D. abruptly. From the shadows, froI
a nowhere it seemed, the figure Of al
other man appeared directly in tn
5, path Of the oncomer.
e Hold on here!" It said, or som,