The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1916-12-13
THE DAILY
SHORT STORY
The Two Passengers.
BY NAPOLEON s. zARIcK.
Copyright. 1916, by the Mcclure

Newspaper Syndicate)
NUT OF the door or popular gam
bling hall fled twenty hatless
coatless figures. and after them
came host Of officers of the law.
namely. sharp-eycd detectives and
shrewd policemen. The pursued were
smaller and more agile, while the pur.
Auers were well.trained and stronger
1t was famous raid. The gamblers
had been caught in the act, the gam
bling devices, some Of them valuable,
were all confisCated, and the men,
except one, were seized after q long
run.
The one who escaped was Bob
Crane, the owner OF the hall.
That was the one drawback 10 the
whole thing, for he was known to the
law authorities to he the main leader
and organizer of the gang, and man
who has organized one gang is, as n
rule, perfectly capable or organizing
another. In vain ali searched, trying
to win the large reward offered for his
capture. But he had disappeared. az
II OF the face OF the earth, and his cap
tured friends, though closely question
ed. could not give the slightest idea
as to his whereabouts.
But there was one person IN the city
where the raid occurred vino could
have told the searChers where Bob
Crane was, and that one person was
Nellie Hayes. Nellie was a tall girl,
with soft brown hair and large. blue
eyes. One afternoon after Bob HAD
left the gambling hall to get light
1 t.,
ing work, he had decided to take a
walk through one of the parks to re-
lieve his mind of the tip that he had
received from one of his COnfederates
that his place was watched by mum
Der Of the police officials.
While in this park he saw a horse
madly running down the long. smooth
drive. His heart gave thump as he
saw a girl dashing before the Oncom.
Ing horse. Bob made a desperate at.
tempt to rescue the girl and succeed.
ed in pulling her away from the dan
ger. This girl was Nellie Hayes, and
later, when Bob first met her on the
street, nearly year before the raid,
he stopped short to look at her BE.
ing tall, square, good.looking CRAP
about twenty.fOur years old, his gaze
made her eyes drOop and the soft col
or rise into her face. lie then deliber
ately turned and followed her at re-
spectful distance to her home on one
OF the fashionable streets of the town.
Time passed rapidly and before long
he had made friends with her father,
and In an amazingly short time the
upper class knew him as the sweet
heart Of pretty Nellie Hayes.
She knew nothing about him. but
just took him on trust, thinking him
TO be an honest, upright man. But
she had been deceived, as many other
good women are. When he told her
he had enemies she thought 1t was be-
cause he was so good, and he had not
heart nor the inclination to undeceive
her. Now, when he lodged under the
arm OF a blue.Coated pursuer. and
swung another one out of the way with
blow of his big fist. he ran, more
from force Of habit than anything else.
straight in at the half open door of
the Hayes home. Nellie was standing
in the hall as he rushed in.
Bob" she cried. showing a little
excitement in her voice. as she came
toward him with her arms Outstretch.
ed and her eyes plying him. oh.
what's the matter. dear"
Don't Nellie" he said huskily, as