The Press., 1917-08-30

inst, the bunch Of bF0ckheads he took fu us foF.r
 { aBut Ransom might throw the How CT away
 T "Of course he might. asked Dur gee what he looked likes He said he was a tall chap in gray suit, had light hair, smoked cigarettes and wore q topaz ring on his little finger
 They laughed scornfully.
 GAS if we had time to stop and take inventory of every man who came through the gater' scoffed one. "I told Durgee to tag him plainly" 2 'sThere wasn't any yellow naarigold came through that gate" insisted an other.
 "Maybe he's.cOming on another train. There's another at 9:46 tonight"
 we better cbe on hand then-same place" .,. had stepped behind q pillar, evidently waiting for a taxi, smiled in a satis- fied way as he went back into the sta ton.
 He stepped into a telephone booth and called a law office.
 There was brief dialogue in which Ransom told the state attorney what he had, escaped and that the villains would be waiting for a man with a mariROld in his buttonhOle on the 0:45 train that night.
 At 9:15 that night John Ransom mingled with the crowd that stood be- fore the bulletin board In the Grand Central terminal. His keen eyes had singled out the three plotters, and he had pointed them out to dozen quiet looking men who were also scattered through the crowd.
 The minutes dragged. An official chalked messages on the blackboard. The Boston express was twelve min utes late; the Western Limited was on time. At $40 he announced the train, and the crowd hurried to track 28 and waited outside the lines.
 John Ransom was there. and so were the three plotters, their faces grim and resOlute.
 The gate opened, and the crowd of incoming passengers poured through.
 The three plotters jumped forward. A man with a yellow marigold had passed through. They were about to follow him when there came another man wearing a yellow flower and still another, until it seemed that every Oth- CT man was wearing a marigOld in his coat.
 "Am dippy?" demanded Jim hoarse- ly of his companions.
 Somebody is," grOwled Bill. ''What's all these guys wearing yellow flowers for?"
 Beat It," whispered Dan. Meet me at LeghOrn's place. I'm going back to Buffalo tonight to fix Durgee. Whats he making 6 fool out of US for with his yellow What do you wantY' he ended shrilly as 8 firm hand closed on his arm.
 He looked up into the determined face of q man wearing yellow mari gold-a familiar face, the face of Buffalo detective. And another one, wearing a marigOld, was escOrtfng Jim, and Bill also had a plain clothes man all to himself.
 The plotters would have battled, only at the first sign of resistance there gathered a score of detectives, all wearing yellow flowers, and in the center of these the three flower hunt CTS were spirited away and later brought to justice for the crimes they had committed in Buffalo and which the company would have overlooked had not they conspired to add murder to their other sins.
 A few days afterward John Ransom availed himself of Cousin Phoebe's in- vitation and went to the Harpers' house to inquire after Cousin Phoebe and Fido and incidentally, of course, Nan. ....
 She seemed so glad to see him that he forgot all about FidO and Cousin Phoebe and thought of no one save Nan. He told her all about the plot ting plOtters and how they had been trapped by the cunning detectives, who had all worn marigolds to puzzle the three, and how everything was coming out all right. ..f...
 And he had to thank Nan all over again for saving his life, and he almost told her then and there that he want ed to offer that life to her gentle keep ing, but he didn't, which was very we'll, because Nan was impulsive and might have sent him away forever.
 But there came a day when he could and did tell it to her, and Nan had a fash of common sense and accepted him on the spot, which was the most sensible thing she ever did, according to her family. Although the said fam fly thought Nan and John were luna- tics because they wanted marigOlds for a wedding decoration, the bride and groom didn't care. 'I love lunatics," said John, gathering Nan into his arms. ''gO do l." smiled Nan.