The Spectator., 1916-05-05

summer house to the veranda, and to have detected this approach Jones, had he been watching, would have needed searchlight. Beggs hugged the lattice work for another ten nm utes and then drew himself up and wriggled to one of the windows. Here was an operation that needed all ms care and skill; to lift this window With out sound But he was an old hand and windows with ordinary locks were playthings under his delft touch. lie raised the window, stepped over the sill into the library. and crouched down. He did not close the window; house thieves never do. They leave windows and doors open, because sooner or later they have to make their escape that way.
 Presently he stood up, flashed his torch, found the library shelves, ana tiptoed toward them. He then selected three or four volumes, opened them at random and laid neat packages or money between the leaves. It was not real money, but only bank clerk NOuld nave lOlu lHdI. I HIS NOAN' ~ moved toward the window again.
 "Stop!" said Jones quietly
 Spider Beggs gasped, it was so unexpected but at the same time all most instinctively he plunged head long through the window, and the bull let which followed shipped lock ot his hair He threw himself off the veranda and scurried across the lawn, zigzag fashion. But no more bullets followed
 Jones turned on the lights and in- vestigated the room. but he could not find anything disturbed, and naturally came to the conclusion that the ln- truder had been interrupted before he had begun his work. He turned of the lights and sat up the major part of the nght Nothing more happened. Florence came down, but he sent her back to bed, explaining that some one had attempted to enter the house and he had taken a shot at him.
 Spider Beggs had a letter to write. He was in high feather. He had
 
 away without a scratch. But he had the misfortune to write his letter to the secret service officials in hotel often frequented by Norton. And so Jim, on finishing his own letter, plotted it and casually glanced at the blotter. A single word caught his eye. Being an alert newspaper man, always on the hunt for stories. he examined the blot ter with care It was an easy matter for him to read writing backward, having fooled away many an hour in the composing rooms The word which had awakened the reportorial sense in him was counterfeit" He held the blotter toward the mirror and read enough to satisfy himself that the Black Hundred had become active once more And this was one of the best ideas they had yet conceived.
 Hargreave had always been some thing of a mystery to his neighbors Where he had lived in other days was unknown; neither had any one the re- motest idea from what source his riches had been obtained. And noth- ing was known of Jones or the daugh- ter. It was a very shrewd method of clearing every one cut of the house and leaving it to be examined at leis- ure. And he had fallen upon this | thing; he. Norton. all because his | tailor had written him a sharp note about his bill and he had been pro voked to reply in kind! Counterfeit money. There was quite furry these days over certain issues of spurious paper. It was so good that only eX- perts could detect it. There were two plates. one for ten and another for a twenty For while he was pulled be tween duty and love. Well. it would only add another interesting chapter to the general story when he published