The Carlisle independent., 1917-01-04

Monthly pay roll on No. 4.
 Brief though the message was, it contained enough news to arouse Spike.
 Costing only a glance in the direc- tion of the fleeing dog, Spike, clutch ing his find, hurried toward Seagrue's camp and lost no time in covertly showing him the message, without ex- blaming how it had fallen into his hands.
 Seagrue, reading the telegram, saw the moment he looked at Spike, what was in the convict's mind.
 Seagrue studied the message. Ut wouldn't be a bad idea to get hold of the stuff while, anyway he unused. Its behind time now, 1 understand; and hear the men over there are get ting restless about not getting their money. If you could hold it up or Rhinelander few days you might work up a strike"
 How far do you want to go with this thing?" demanded Spike, casting a vicious eye on his employer.
 0Oll Ndt Q lOW ldl JOu GO, oSJh Seagrue, provided you hold up thaS pay roll
 Spike left the camp. No more than a moments reflection was need ed to suggest an idea to him. Return ing to the station, he got long dis tance telephone wire and called up two of his friends at Oceanside- Sykes, convict acquaintance, and a chum of Sykes, who, in various en- counters with the law, had lost all of his name but Dan
 In jailbird jargon Spike explained to Sykes, who answered the telephone, the possibilities of a haul at Signal. Dan, standing near Sykes in the room they occupied together, asked ques- tions and prompted his companion, who tried to get from Spike-reluc- tant to talk much on the wire-a de- scription of the lay of the land. Spike bluntly told them in the end to stow it and take the job or leave it, as they liked. However, the two crim- inals got enough from him to decide that a third man was indicated, and they called into their conference a crooked safe expert, known only by his nickname of Bat, the Bat" To him they confded their plot. Nothing loath, Bat consented to join iii the en- terprise, and following Spikes hints, the trio made arrangements to leave for Signal on the train that should carry Rhinelander's pay roll.
 When No. pulled into Signal next morning three men dropped off the hind end. They made up the crim- rob Rhinelander, and, knowing the loot was expected on the train that carried them, two of the men kept the front end of the train well in view until they had watched Lyons and Helen take the package of money from the express messenger, and after re- ceipting for it, walk with Rhinelander into the station. Inside of the office Rhinelander examined the shipment of currency.
 T have no safe at the camp, Lyons, explained Rhinelander, when the agent asked him to receipt for the package. Keep it here for me in your safe un- til tomorrow" He pushed the open package of bills back through the wicket of the counter, but in doing this he accidentally overturned bot tie of ink.
 Helen screamed little, and jump ing aside, caught up piece of cloth from the letter-press stand, wiped the ink off the bills as best she could and turned them over to Lyons, who took the big package within his charge and placed 1t carefully in the safe. Not, however, without having been observed by two of the Oceanside criminals who were lettering just then outside the office window
 Turning away before they were dis covered, these men-Sykes and Dan were joined by the third member of their expedition, and the three headed for Rhinelander's camp to hunt up Spike. They encountered him OF the way over to the station to look for them. A consultation was held in the woods. The four were now assured that the money had come. and they knew where it had been put. To the safe expert was left the details, and when these had been arranged to suit him, the quartet scattered. That evening they might have been seen lowering around the station about the time that Helen and Lyons were clcs- ing up for the night Indeed, the lat ter had hardly locked the station door before Spike, watching his opportuni- ty, signaled his assistants to the freighthouse window. This, without ceremony, they troke open and enter ing the telegraph office from the freightroom, took possession of the premises.
 The man known as The Bat, the master mind of the visiting trio, at once got down in front of the safe for