The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-11-09

dress.
Il suppose you know it already"
added Cousin Phoebe, "as you and Nan
are such old friends"
Nan blushed, and so did John Ran
som, and then Nan grew pale and
Ransom turned quickly to see what
had caused the sudden change of color
The three conspirators were coming
toward them, arguing in low tones.
"Are those the menu" asked Ransom
quickly.
Nan nodded. BE careful" she whis-
pered, and then the car started and
left him alone.
He stood there rolling a cigarette,
his ears keen to catch q word from
the three men.
"Durgee played trick on US" NUT
tered one.
"what did he say when you tele-
phoned him just nowT"
"Oh. nothing, except that Ransom
was wearing a yellow marigold when
he left Buffalo. and II we didn't know
Q marigold when we saw one we were
Just the bunch Of blockheads be took
US for"
"But Ransom might throw the fow-
er away"
"Of course he might asked Dur
gee what he looked like. He said he
was a tall chap in a gray suit, had
light hair, smoked cigarettes and wore
a topaz ring on his little finger"
They laughed scornfully.
"As If we had time to stop and take
inventory Of every man who came
through the gatev scoffed one. II
told Durgee to tag him plainly"
"There wasn't any yellow marigold
came through that gate" insisted an
other.
Maybe he's coming on another train.
There's another at 9:45 tonight"
1--WE better be on hand then-same
place."
They scattered, and Ransom, who
had stepped behind a pillar, evidently
waiting for taxi, smiled in salts
fed way as he went back into the sta
ton.
He stepped into a telephone booth
and called law Office.
There was a brief dialogue in which
Ransom told the state attorney what
he had escaped and that the villains
would be waiting for man with
marigoh in his buttonhole on the 9:45
train that night.
At 9:15 that night John Ransom
mingled with the crowd that stood be-
| fore the bulletin board In the Grand
Central terminal. His keen eyes had
singled out the thfee plotters, and he
had pointed them out to dozen quiet
looking men who were also scattered
through the crowd.
The minutes dragged. An official
chalked messages on the blackboard.
The Boston express was twelve min
utes late; the Western Limited was
on time. At $40 he announced the
train, and the crowd hurried to track
| % and waited outside the lines.
John Ransom was there. and so were
the three plotters, their faces grim and
resolute.
The gate opened, and the crowd Of
incoming passengers poured through.
The three plotters jumped forward.
A man with yellow marigold had
passed through. They were about to
follow him when there came another
man wearing yellow flower and still
another, until it seemed that every 9th
| err man was wearing a marigold in his
coat.
Gam dippy?" demanded Jim hoarse-
| ly of his companions.
Somebody is" growled Bill. :.What's
all these guys wearing yellow flowers
| fOr?'
BEAT it," whispered Dan. "Meet me
at Leghorn's place. I'm going back to
Buffalo tonight to fix Durgee. What's
he making a fool out of us for with
! his yellow What do you want?" he
| ended shrilly as firm hand closed
on his arm.
He looked up into the determined
! face of man wearing yellow mari
| gold-a familiar face, the face of q
| Buffalo detective. And another one,
wearing marigold, was escorting Jim,
and Bill also had a plain clothes man
| all to himself.
The plotters would have battled, only
at the first sign of resistance there
| gathered q score Of detectives, all
wearing yellow flowers. and in the
center of these the three flower hunt
ers were spirited away and later
brought to justice for the crimes they
had committed in Buffalo and which
the company would have overlooked
had not they conspired to add murder
! to their other sins.
A few days afterward John Ransom
availed himself of Cousin Phoebe's in.
vitation and went to the Harpers'
house to inquire after Cousin Phoebe
and Fido and incidentally, of course,
Nan.
She seemed so glad to see him that
he forgot all about Fido and Cousin
Phoebe and thought of no one save
Nan. He told her all about the plot
ting plotters and how they had been
| fronpad Inv tho o,tnn;pr dataofiras