The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1917-02-10

took a squint myself and I'll bee /
blamed if that slippery customer with .
the comic mask wasn't lookin' right
into my eyes.
"JenkinS.' he says, quite Caimlike,
you're a good man in your way. 50
| thought I'll tip You of that a couple
of the Iron Claw S-Sccond-StOry workers
are pullin' off job right in this house
while you're guzzling your beer. If
YOU nab those two purch-climhers,' he
says. 1T ought 10 help that promotion
we're lookin' for >"
Then he gives little laugh an
| with that he was gone. | thought h"
was kiddin' me along and ! was pretty
sore by that time. | makes diy"
through the winder with Joe close
behind me, but that masked Jerry
had disappeared like he always does
I'VE did the best we could. chief.
an you ought 10 know il amt n"
cinch TO round up the Lau-h!n. Mask.
Well-aS was SHyin, h" mad"
clean getaway and me- and Joe d'sid-
ed TO take a look through IN" house
90 MI, s,ra no WAS only >trin-ln
Us. We went up them front stars
like n couple III gun-Shoo artists an
tr.n We seen somerhin' was wrong.
Tn. door Of the room where Miss
WilkcuS sleeps stood open a little way
and | caught the gIim of ha~hli-ht
near where Sh" keeps her jewel case.
] -. 30 a. Il. mp
and pushed the light button. And
fL,ro We was face to face with a
ruuurn of the most surprised and
toughest lookin' crooks that | ever
me-, up with. Miss WiIk"uS was lyin
there i'm the bed Sleepin' ike a baby.
Them two houschreakin' agents OF
LeCar's was rs full of fight as cou-
plr Of Kilkenny cats. They whipped
: on their guns. and one of them tieShed
| me i'm the shoulder. while the other
: fetched Joe crack over the head
/ that put him TO sleep for a minute. By
| the time Miss WilkenS had got her
> eyes open an let ont scared screect
: they was through the winder anC
: Climbin' down the latticework.
: "Wait n minute. Jenkins" Captain
I Rrockett INTERRUPTED. Your story
NAV be very Interesting. but what ha,
4 this mart of il got to DO with thu
l Laughing Mask?"
: Ell u.os inst cnnin' 70 that" his sub
| ordinate ranlied in somewhat az
: ,,riovad tone I'VE got ont the from
| door inst os tbe thugs was maxim
l ,rocls for rocin' car they had hid
I don off to one side of the road ole
r. "a, porl,or triad IN stop 'em. but h
q ,rot = walton on the law that knOcke,
n him stiff, They Jumps into the ca
: and sends her off with the self-starter
h We thought they was gone all right
g whom that automobile stops up with
q iarl; that nrettv near put them motto
L bandits over the glass front We wa
( Johnny on the spot then. an we co
Il Iored our men in hurry. An say
q what do YOU think put the kibosh o
d that iov ride getaway"
t The thing that brought ther
d crooks 70 n standstill was a rope Il
l. thic, rs nv arm. with one end tie
" to the rear axle of the autoEobIl
L and the other end made fast to hi
n tree, The wheels was huzzin' roun,
Y but they wasn't gettin' nowhere. Al
e the man who rugged up the contraI
If tion for stoppin' those crooks mu,
Is have been that Laughin' Mask yer
* after. We found those jailbirdS ha
lie pretty bad records an the commits
said was likely to get some goo
news in a couple Of days. PerhaI
u this Teller with the mask amt as ba
~ as YOU think. chief"
ID "Whv doesn't he come out into II
t. omen. then, and explain these charge
r standin' against him. instead
o. Sneakin' around like masked SAT
he bIower?" he demanded with cOnsi
r erahle heat.
II didn't know you wanted me
ly begin backwards" he said in rufflC
as tones. I've got sOmethin Wort
at talkin' about all right, If you'll gi'
in me chance to tell it"
is please tell us everything that ha
n pened, jenkins" Margery interpOse
Ut We'll II certainly was some Scra
e. Miss Golden answered the THE
to catcher, addressing himself exclusiv
he ly TO the diplomatic girl, AN q
at | StrangcSt part of the whole thing ha