The Dolores star., 1916-04-07
CHAPTER xIIi-cestInvsd.

Trying not to seem over-eager, he
signature. II was Hills and came
from Jersey Cityi At last the scent
was getting warm. What good for.
tune! But he must not seem too
anxious. or she might grow reticsnt
Diplomacy. diplomacy!
You are treated better than ami"
he complained whimsically. II haven't
even had . card! But then. you are
lady. which makes all the difference.
All! woman. lovely woman! How you
fascinate and abuse us!"
She giggled self-consciously.
so this II the latest news Of Hill"
said Pedro. Il suppose you write to
each other FREQUENTLY"
Well. mol" said she. You see, I'm
engaged. I told Mr.. Sam It was use
less. but he's 20 persistent"
She giggled again.
Poor sam!" said Pedro. You arc
very cruel!"
DO you happen to know his Jersey
address," she asked. thereby giving
Pedro the Information he wanted, to
wit: that she was unaware Of Hills
present whereabouts.
oh! he was only there for a day!"
said Pedro. putting the coin which she
indicated out Of his handful. upon the
counter. He might drop in here any
time. II he does. tell him Pedro was
asking for him. will you? And now
good.by; I must be OIL"
A Pedro Joined his waiting COM
panion outside he was met with .
string Of reproaches.
Never before have seen you
tarry % long with q woman, oh,
waster Of precious moments!" said
BeauJean. How shall 1t benefit
thsef"
TT has already done sol" declared
Pedro. Come. hasten with me. We
are going to Jersey City. shall ex-
plain on the way"
30 of they went to the ferry, Mr..
Jones. the inadvertent detective, shut
fiing after.
To discover where the picture post
card had been purchased would have
been almost impossible: but to locate
the district in which 1t had been
mailed was easy enough. and that,
combined with the hour which had
been stamped upon It, was sufficient
evidence to show that Sam had been
near the waterfront at some time be-
tween eight and ten o'clock on the
evening of the previous Monday. Con-
seQuently. the next problem that con-
fronted them was what Hill had done
after dropping this exquisite chrome
into district tx" pillar-box? Pedro
at once tried to picture his own prob
able actions were he to find himself
in such district at such an hour,
with, presumably. no company but Mr..
Jones! All! of course! the cabarets
tho saloons Of the dance! That
seemed the obvious answer, but he
consulted with Beau.Jean, to be GER
tain. Yes. Beau-Jean would
make straight for the cafes, and Hill
had probably done the same.
Thus 1t came about that the shades
Of evening found them lettering from
one low-browed ramshackle dive to
another, ever inquiring for Hill, Of
whom they found no further sign.
Finally. when nine o'clock had come,
and still nothing had been discovered.
Beau-Jean suggested that they post
bone their effort until the following
day. and rest their weary brains and
bodies for . while. But Pedro would
have none Of these suggestions.
But am hungry" protested the
giant. Here It IL, of an hour. and we
have eaten nothing since noon. More
over. the bear is famished. Presently
he will begin to growl."
WELL" admitted Pedro reluctantly,
4 am hungry myself. Let US go and
eat and smoke. Afterward, we shall
feel more inclined to search. Where
shall We gor
y think there is a lunch.wagon
down by the dock" said Beau-Jean.
let us make an examination"
All right" Pedro assented. and they
sst OF at brisk pace. in the direction
Of the lights.
Sure enough, there was a lunch.
wagon backed up against the ferry
house. and as they approached. 1t took
on an increasingly familiar air. Pc.
dro's interest was now quickened by
more than the thought of food Where
had he seen that gaudy decoration be-
fore? -. Holy saints! 1t was ole
own! At the same instant Beau-Jean
recognized the movable hostelry of Mr.
Isaac Lovejoy. with a whoop of glee
and they quickened their pace to q
run. The worthy proprietor was occu
pied In serving a pair of customers
car conductors, or ferrymen, they ap
pesred to be-but when he caught
sight Of Pedro he dropped the slice
of pumpkin pie that he was in the act
Of transferring from platter to plate
and, entirely disregarding this email
mishap. he stretched out both hands
TO the boy. broad smile of welcome
hi