Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-03-02

nv St"i III Ut lle open WluutT Will
the eyes bulgin' out of his head.
took a squint myself and I'll be
blamed If that slippery customer with
| the comic mask wasn't lookin' right
into my eyes.
Jenkins he says, quite calmlike.
you're good man In your way. so
l thought I'd tip you off that a couple
of the Iron Claw's-second-story workers
are pullin' off a job right in this house
while you're guzzling your beer. If
you nab those two porch-climbers, he
says, 1t ought to help that promotion
ye're loOkin' for"
"Then he gives a little laugh an
with that he was gone. / thought he
was kiddin' me along and / was pretty
sore by that time. / makes q dive
through the winder with Joe close
behind me, but that masked Jerry
had disappeared like he always does. .
1--WE did the best we could, chief,
an you ought to know ii amt no
cinch to round up the Laughin' Mask
Well-as l was sayin', he made a
clean getaway and me and Joe decid-
ed to take look through the house
to make sure he was only stringin'
| us. We went up them front stairs
like couple Of gum-shOe artists an
then we seen sOmethin' was wrong.
The door Of the room where Miss
Wilkens sleeps stood open little way
and l caught the glim Of 4 flashlight
near where she keeps her Jewel case.
l showed my hand just inside the door
and pushed the light button. And
there we was face to face with
couple Of the most surprised and
toughest loOkin' crooks that i ever
met up with. Miss Wilkens was lynn
there in the bed sleepin' like baby"
Them two hOusebreakin' agents of
Legars was as full of fight as a cOu-
pie Of Kilkenny cats. They whipped
out their guns. and one of them fleshed
me in the shoulder. while the other
fetched Joe a crack over the head
that put him to sleep for minute. BY
the time Miss Wilkens had got her
eyes open an let out scared screech
they was through the winder and
climbin' down the latticawOrk."
"Wait a minute, Jenkins" Captain
Bracket interrupted. "Your story
may be very interesting. but what has
this part Of it got to do with the
Laughing Mask?"
II was just comm to that" his sub
ordinate replied in a somewhat ag-
grieved tone. 1--WE got out the front
door just as the thugs was maxim
tracks for a racin' car they had hid
den off to one side Of the road. Old
got a wallop on the jaw that knocked
him stiff. They jumps into the car
and sends her of with the self-starter
We thought they was gone all right,
when that automobile stops up with a
jerk that pretty near put them motor
bandits over the glass front. We was
Johnny on the spot then. an we col
Jared our men in a hurry. An say.
what do you think put the kibosh on
that JOY ride getawayT
1.-The thing that brought them
crooks to a standstill was a rope as
thick as my arm. with one end tied
to the rear axle Of the automobile
and the other end made fast to a big
tree. The wheels was buzzin' round.
but they wasn't gettin' nowhere. An
the man who rugged up the cOntrap-
ton for stOppin' those crooks must
have been that Laughin' Mask ye're
after. We found those jailbirds had
pretty bad records an the commish
said l was likely to get some good
news in a couple Of days. Perhaps
this Teller with the mask amt as bad
as you think. chief"
"Why doesn't he come out into the
open. then, and explain these charges
standin' against him. instead Of
sneakin' around like a masked safe
blower" he demanded with consid-
cradle heat.
II didn't know you wanted me to
begin backwards" he said In ruffled
tones. "I've got sOmethin' worth
talkin' about all right. If you'll give
"Please tell us everything that hap
pened. Jenkins" Mareery interposed.
well. IT certainly was some scrap,
Miss Golden" answered the thief
catcher, addressing himself exclusive
ly to the diplomatic girl. IAN the
strangest part of the whole thing hap
pened after | got the bracelets on
them crooks and left Joe to watch
them, while went up to the house to
see If anything was missn'."
Just as / reached the house." he
quickly resumed. 1.-THE moon broke
through the clouds an I stood lookin'
into the garden. for | had a bunch
that One-armed desperate might be
hangin' around to superintend that
job his men tried to pull off. Then.
all at once. | seen Miss Wilkens.
dressed In kind of lace wrapper.
standin' like ghost down at the fur
Their end of the garden. An she
wasn't alone by long shot Talkin'
to her. free and easy as If he'd known
her all his life. was that daredevil.
Laughin' Mask. felt sort Of Obliged
to him for tippin' me off about Le-
gar's second-StOry workers. but /
knew you was anxious to have a little
talk with him. so | commences to
sneak up on them night providers like
an old Tom would go after a couple
of sparrows. ! had covered about
half the distance when that masked
hC