The Tomahawk., 1916-10-19

carly Ill luc InOTuluS. IL was inc per
sonal check of Bayard Alexander and
was for $125,0OO.
The two representatives of the fed
eral government conferred hurriedly.
and the securities" questioned
Gard. Were they intact when you
were at the bank this morning?"
"Everything was in ORDER" replied
Allen.
"The package of industrials What
was it's value?"
About $5oo,ooo," replied the ex-
aminer.
alexander is leaving tonight with
those securities. He may be taking
time has come for his arrest. Par
ticularly must we guard those assets
and prevent any unnecessary demands
upon the bank"
"He may be making a run for Can
ada" said Allen.
"The securities will take him to
New York that he may realize upon
them," was Cards deduction. Il am
for the station and will follow him if
he takes any train. You try for his
trail about town and report to me
there"
But after all it was a piece of luck
that saved the day for Gard. He was
racing for the station in taxicab
when his machine was halted at
crossing. Another taxicab pulled up
beside his, waited minute, two min
utes. He could see the driver from
where that individual sat not six feet
away and just opposite his window.
Presently this chauffeur bent down to
get instructions from his fare. The
man in the taxicab was talking quiet
ly, but so near was he to the special
agent that he could be easily over
heard.
Get out of this JAM" he was say
ing. "Cut across town to the North
side station. We have already missed
the 6:15. If you head it of at the
North side it is worth twenty-dollar
bill to you"
The voice was smooth and unruf-
fed. Yet it was dominant. It set the
driver Immediately upon edge and into
motion. And there was in it famil-
lar note that puzzled the detective for
a moment, then brought back the in
terview of the afternoon. Yes, it was
Bayard Alexander talking.
1t was hard luck that caused
crossing policeman to let the first au-
tomobile through and shut off the Sec
ond. 1t was the worst sort Of luck
that caused the special agent to ar
rive at the North side station just as
the gate was slammed and made 1t
necessary for him to produce creden-
tails to get through. He was barely
able to swing into the vestibule Of a
sleeper as the train was getting under
way. It was particularly hazardous
from the standpoint of accomplishing
the end he had in mind, for he did not
even know if Alexander was aboard
and faced the danger of having ridden
away on the fastest train to New York
and left his work behind him. Even
if the man he was after was aboard
there was the chance that he had be-
come aware of the chase and would
take precaution to outwit him.
But now there was no hurry. His
man was or was not on the train and
the porter told him there would be no
stop for two hours. The special agent
was still good deal of q youngster
with an appreciation Of the dramatic
and here was a situation that appealed
to him. He wondered if he were riding
into the dusk on a wild goose chase,
or if he had cornered this fugitive
master.crook, with a travelling bag con-
tanning half a million dollars of other
peoples money. He pictured the man
he was after-the suave, confident,
stealthy cashier, who had stolen his
hundreds Of thousands and had, by the
very force of him, compelled his sub
ordinates to bide his shortcomings.
He wondered if this man of action was
expecting pursuit or if he was riding
on in confidence of being able to make
his escape. He thought Of the satchel
that the cashier carried and of his re-
sponsibility, as government agent,
for safeguarding it's contents. It was
something Of an assignment for a
youngster.
And mother used to say to me-"
grinned Billy to himself, when she
sent me around the corner for dozen
eggs: DO be careful to bring back
the change and for goodness sake
don't drop the bag I wish mother
could see me now"
Whereupon William H. Gard of the
United States department Of justice
arose and went to the front Of the
train. From this point he worked
steadily back, making sure that he
saw every passenger, looking each
over with sufficient scrutiny that a dis
guise would not have escaped him,
making sure that the man he sought
was in the portion of the train to the
rear. It began to look as though he
had actually boarded train which the
fugitive had failed to catch.
Dark waa i,lst coming nm r. was