Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1917-01-26

quet floor at the bottom Of that portlere
the toe of a mans shoe had been
plainly visible. Yet Golden's secre-
tary had waited until the girl had
closed and locked the vault door. Then
he had leaped for the figure behind
the drapery.
But that intruder behind the drapery
had apparently not been altogether
unconscious Of the danger confronting
him. He had at the same moment
side-stepped nimbly through the quick
ly opened door. throwing an approach
ing and suddenly hysterical housemaid
aside as he had swept past her. The
I redoubtable Wilson, who had also at
tempted to block his exit, had even
L'ore promptly gone down, knocked
fiat by one fierce blow. II had been
then, and then only, that Manley dis
covered the identity of the intruder.
He had caught sight Of the SCARED
face, which even an ample beard failed
to screen. He had seen the right
arm OF wood which ended in its sin
lister iron hook, and all doubt as to his
enemy hal vanished.
But this discovery had in 10 way
interfered with Manley's pursuit Of
that G%udacious intruder.
1t had not been a pretty fight, that
h~and-to-hand contest between the slim
bodied youth and the scar-faced ex-
ploiter Of evil, but 1t had been a des-
perate one. AS Manley. pressing stub
bornly on, had struggled to close in
on his opponent, Legar had discreetly
and nimbly backed away until he
found the double house door itself
barring his farther retreat. There
upon he had promptly shattered the
%plate-glass backing the iron grill work
on the hinges, and had actually swung
one Of these doors open before Manley
could gather himself together and
spring bodily on his escaping enemy.
They had gone down the broad steps
together. locked arm in arm, fighting
and clawing as ferociously as midnight
cats in a tenement court. And Man
ley, with n hand on Legar's leathery
throat, would surely have won, had
not a closed car glided up to the curb
along which they were writhing and
painting and rolling. From that car a
yellow-faced Italian known as Scoop
had taken a prompt and active part in
the encounter. He had withheld
finalities, however, until Manley was
uppermost. Then, with a quickly
drawn billy" he had blackjacked that
youth into utter Indifference as to
Legar and mysteriously waiting limou-
sine and all the rest Of the world.
Before Manley's senses had come
back to him he and the green-feath-
cred parrot had been tossed bodily
into the closed car, and, three minutes
before the arrival OF the police for
whom the white-faced girl in the
library had so frantically telephoned,
that mysterious limousine had speeded
OF into the night, carrying not only
Legar but the youth who had been so
presumptious as to attempt to inter
fere with Legar's exploits.
But Manley did not altogether give
up. His heart still had the residence
OF youth. He still believed in his
star.
What fretted Manley most, however,
was his lack OF freedom. Rolling a
little over on his side. he studied min
utely the rough brick floor on which
he lay. After this inspection he
wOrmed his way carefully from side to
side, lying lace down and trying each
row Of exposed bricks with his shoe
toe, in the hope of finding one Of them
loose.
He had deliberately tested eleven
rows before he found any reason for
hope in this direction. A chill of ex-
element ran through his tired body,
In fact, as he discovered one brick
which seemed less securely embedded
in cement than were its fellows. He
worked at It patiently, laboriously,
kicking away small particles OF plas-
ter, humping It with his boot heel,
prying at II with his sole until IL
rocked free in its row. Then came
the even sterner task of shifting II
from its place. This he did by turning
about and lying close to It, on his side.
so that the fingers of his tightly i'm
prisoned hand might come in contact
with it's edges. Time after time 1t fell
back, but in the end he triumphed.
Yet It was not this unearthed brick
which interested him. His attention
was directed towards the rough-edged
pa~rallelogram where that brick had
originally rested, for the corners Of
this opening, he soon realized, pro-
vided him with a saw edge which in
time might serve to abrade and cut
through the stoutest of cotton rope.
But the consolation of this hope did
not stay with him long. For ever as
he started to work. his movements
we're interrupted by the sound OF a
key In the heavy iron lock on the door
thRt shut him In. He rolled over
Quichly, twisting about - that his APP
parently inert body covered both the
loosened brick and the spot from
which n had heau fahau Ha ooo.