Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-03-10


me put these on him.
NO. Mo-" begged June. 1T was my
fault. Please let him go. Please do
Lamar shrugged his shoulders.
Turn him loose he ordered the
guard.
And Circle" Jim scuttled off, down
the street, like a bullet-grazed wolf.
Lamar turned to June. raising his soft
hat.
81 hope he didn't brighten YOU he
said Really, you shouldn't have in
terceded for him, just now. If you had
let us arrest him"
I'm glad l didn't" she made answer.
and thank you for coming to my aid
Mr. Lamar. L
"You-you know my name?' he STAN
mered yet I'm sure l never met you.
if had, couldn't have forgotten
NO." she laughed embarrassed. You
never met me. But you were pointed
out to me at the opera one evening by
Charlie Graham, chum of yours. He
told me all about your detective work.
And it interested me tremendously. You
see, / had never met real, live det--"
Crime specialist" put in Lamar
Crime speciallst-please. Miss-Mtss
Travis" answered June, adding: "Oh,
here is my mother. [ want you to
meet her
As Lamar helped the two ladies into
their car "A few minutes later, he had
the joy of hearing June say:
Wont. you come and see us--and tell
US more about your work.
Sputtering some half-coherent reply,
the usually cool-headed man stood star
ing in foolish happiness after the car.
To his own surprise, he, found himself
trying to recall every infection of June
Travis sweet voice, every expression OF
her big laughter-lit eyes. .... .
With a start he came to himself He
had FASTENED to the prison to see Cir
Gle" jim Borden released, and TO follow
him. And-all because of one girl-he
had quite forgotten Jim's very existence
and had let him get clean away. pref
ty crime specialist forsooth. And now to
pick up the trail i'm that dense laby-
rinth of a city--to trace one wild beast
among tho usands of human beings.
Ted Borden was out of a job. This
was no novelty to him. Though he
was barely Twenty-Five, this was the
eighth position he had managed to
lose There were but three things on
earth in which the lad felt even Ian
guild interest These were cigarettes,
10-cent whisky and loafinG. To ac-
quire the first two, he sometimes sacri-
ficed the third. by working somewhere
for a more or less irregular interval.
This morning he had come to the
factory two hours late. A little after
noon he had secretly lighted a cigarette
i'm the varnish room. The superintend-
ent had caught him at it, in time to
avert a, blaze; and had forthwith dis
charged, him. r..,
With half a weeks pay in his pocket,
Ted had repaired to the Golden Star
saloon, the headquarters of his select
crowd of friends. None of his acquaint-
ances we've there, so he consoled himself
with his lonely joblessness BY seven
drinks of horribly bad whisky and had
then lured the idle bartender into a
crap game. g.. D" %.
At the end of an hour Ted had
slouched out of the place, penniless;
considerably more than half drunk;
and with his last cigarette hanging from
one corner of his mouth.
lie leaned glumly against the saloon
corner, taking account of stock. He was
broke, out of work, and with no means
to buy even scent box of cigarettes.
There are a thousand wonderful ways
to spend an afternoon off-if one has
cash. If one has not, an idle afternoon
may seem longer than busy year.
Ted had had a vague idea of going to
the question, he presently decided to loaf
around the square in front Of the Chron-
icle office and watch the score. 1t was
next best to seeing the game. bad
next best" but his only alternative.
As he lounged along, in the soft spring
sunshine. he reviewed his list of &C.
quaintances; bordering which one might
be induced to lend him enough money 10
get through the week. He could not
think of any who were likely to show
such childlike trust in him.
Perhaps some of his fathers old GRO
MES might help him-some of the He'll
cat district gang to whom Circle" Jim
Borden's name was one wherewith to
conjure-the gang with whom his father
had sternly forbidden the boy to asso-
ciate. ...- ...t
Ted knew his father was a crook. And
he had always resented Jims efforts to
keep him straight, deemed those pitiful
attempts the acme of hypocracy. His
father was due to get out of prison
some time soon. Then there was GER
tain to be enough money for them both
until Circle Jim's next term.
Ted had reached the square. He paus-
ed in the outer fringe Of the throng
that watched the baseball bulletins. A
run was scored by the home team. The
crowd yelled. Ted joined in the chorus
with a. perfunctory "Attaboy!" The
cigarette butt dropped from his mouth
He lowered his eyes TO look for it. His
gaze fell on the portly meridian of the
man standing next to him.
The man was staring ecstatically up
ward at the score board. His coat was
open. From the pocket of his jutting
waistcoat hung a jeweled watchfob. The
watch itself protruded a full half inch
above the top of the pocket; being thrust
out of its nest by the owners strained
position.
Ted's mouth grew dry and his dull
eyes frightened. Hot temptation gripped
and shook him. The blood of a line of
"Red Circle" crooks suddenly boiled up
within the lads veins.
Here, within easy reach of his hand
was something that ought to hook for
enough cash to buy all the cigarettes
and 10-cent whisky he could consume in
q month. His fingers twitched.
So intent did his every faculty all at
once become that he did not hear a
man come up behind him, halt abruptly
and murmur his name.
Out. crept Ted's hand. nearer and
nearer to the coveted watch. Now his
fingertips had closed lovingly on the
fob. Then, at the same time, two things
happened.
The watchs owner felt the touch of
the clumsy fingers, glanced downward;
made a grab at the nicotine-s stained
digits and shouted Thief" on the
same instant Circle" Jim Borden (wno