The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1913-06-22
CHAPTER ONE.
ROBERT CARLTON BROWN.


A mellow moonlight night it had been.
A clear. clean. beautiful night. with
plenty of stars flung wide in the sky
and a gorgeous big moon glowing bright
enough to reveal both key-holes to the
staggering eyes of late convivial home
seekers. flushed with Ramos fzzes and
Sazzeracs.
And no one enjoyed that bright night
more fully than private Waterman Hop
kins. who had round on Royal Street
which included the big New Orleans Ex-
change, the Louis XIV Furniture fac
tory. a small shop for old-fashioned jew
elry, a molasses warehouse and the old
Dubois home.
Moonlight nights and pay days cleaned
with almost equal luster to Hopkins.
There was certain relief for him to reach
for doorknob in plain sight, there was
sure satisfaction in passing the trap cor
ner between the furniture factory and
the jewelry store, where some one might
be lurking with gun TO stick in his
face unseen on moonless nights: but best
of all. he could see plainly the vicious
Great Dane which Armand Dubois, cow
ardly miser that he was, kept to pro-
tect the hoardings in his house.
There is just before dawn a breath
less space, an awesome gap of time in
which the moon is making ready to sur
render her silver sceptre to the golden
sun; for the moment the stage is hushed
and darkened. the world is stilled, and
that omirious pause can be heard, seen,
felt II is the period of darkness before
dawn that strikes a chill down the backs
of accustomed night providers even, for
in-that moment the elimination of more
than half of all night crimes is reached
or forced.
1t was at this awesome hour that
Private Watchman Hopkins unlocked the
front gate to the Dubois home. slipped
softly up the front steps, and tried the
doorknob for the thirty-seventh time
that night. At his first step on the walk
Alert, the vicious great Dane. had
growled and bounded toward him on the
long wire to which he was chained so
he could run the length of the house
and guard the rear door and windows.
The great mastiff chafed on his chain
while Hopkins passed within six feet of
his swapping jaws to try, the side door.
As he assembled the steps the dog ground
out a series of growls and barked in a
low. cultural tone.
When Hopkins mechanically tried the
door and passed back along the walk the
dog raced at his side on the wire, strain
ing, jerking, TO lessen that siX-foot gap
between them. struggling to get at him,
swapping. growing. Armand Dubois had
trained his dog to make friends with no
man. and he himself stood ten yards
away and threw red meat to him through
the window at feeding times. 1t was
the knowledge of this that caused Pri-
waite Waterman Hopkins relief on moon
light nights. when he could see the dog
and make sure its chain was fast. but
on every night he was intensely fear
full that the chain would snap under
the strain of Alerts lunges: indeed, he
had spoken to misery Dubois about it.
When Hopkins had gained the front
gate he took his customary deep breath
of relief and continued on his round.
Fifteen minutes later he was back. and
Alert as usual. greeted him with a
growl and disputed every step he took
toward the side door. Perhaps II was
the influence of that uneasy period tust
before dawn, but Hopkins felt that Alert
was the least bit fiercer than usual He
shuddered as he thought of any stranger
entering the yard at night; Alert ac-
customed for three years to his fifteen
minute rounds. still tried to get at him,
and Hopkins could only imagine what
he would do to a stranger from the fact
that two years before a predatory cat
dropped over the wall on housing eX-
pedition and Alert made such rumpus
and barked and tore about so Vlciously
that half the neighborhood was alarmed
out of bed and a weather-vane headed
little Jew ran out in his nightshirt ana
turned in a fire alarm. And only SIX
months before. when Hopkins had been
lick and 2 new man had taken his place
for one night, Alert had ragged so that
the relief Waterman stood trembling at
the gate. afraid to enter, and Dubois
threw I'D his bedroom window ana
screamed TO the man not TO try TO come
in. that the dog would kill anybody IN
the grounds but Hopkins, and ne hao
TO throw a great chunk of meat to Alert
10 quiet him so the neighborhood could
get to sleep.
All this Lifted wildly through Hop
kin's thoughts a he remarked Alert S IN
creasing fury and wondered IL night
bird had fitted across the garden and
enraSed him. or IL a mosquito had slipped
into his domain unnoticed and irritate1
the brute by daring to alight on his tai.
But everything was all right: tne
doors had not been tempered with.
though Hopkins laughed at the notion
of any one getting as far as his first steI
into the ward without Alert arousing all
Royal Street
Just as he was approaching the frons
cate again and gasping for his usual deep
breath of relief, a window on the sec
ond floor of the DUBOIS mouse new up
Alert made an instantaneous bound, fiuns
himself in the air toward the night
capped vision framed in the sash, was
ierked back TO the ground by his chain
and lay stunned for a moment while the
night-capped figure screamed:
Help! Robbers! Thieves! Robbers"
Windows in several nearby houses
popped up.
Night Waterman Hopkins. glancing at
the dog, dropped his electric stick. pulled
his gun, and dashed toward the front
stairs. The dog scrambled to all fours.
emitted a lion-like roar, hunched to-
gether and with dripping jaws and wild
glaring eyes, sprang for Hopkins just as
he grasped the porch rail. The running
wire drew taut, held. and then snapped
with a loud report Alert, free, sprang
for Hopkins The night-capped old man
in the window threw up his hands.
screamed fMon Dieur and dropped
limp, half over the sill. Hopkins threw
himself back and pulled at the trig-
ger of his gun with both hands.
A crash of bone, an agonized groan
and Alert hulched in a heap on the
cement walk at Hopkins feet, his mas
siye skull crushed in by a big bullet.
Hopkins few up the steps and
pounded on the door, fumbling his
KEY chain blankly and trying to force
a key to ft, for Dubois nature was
SO suspicious that he would not even
allow his Waterman key to his door.
locking everything from the inside
with bolts and padlocks.
Keeping one eye on the quivering heap
at the foot of the steps, Hopkins pounded