, 1917-10-18

rebounded. Number two tried to follow
his leader. There was a sharp snap
A board crashed in two, and with The
\ parted timbers the man came hurting
downward, struck the ground with a
groan, and lay there inert.
/ acted on impulse. There was not
a doubt in my mind that the two men
were the persons for whom Marvel
was waiting. Through the open roof
I could see the first man clinging to
the sill of window, wavering as If in
doubt as to what course he should
pursue. / fastened his decision.
Reaching out for the weapon Marvel
had given me, I pumped it dry"
against the ground in a corner of the
shed.
The fallen man stirred, bat he did
not open his eyes. The man over
head must have seen me. With an
exclamation of manifest dismay he let
go of the window support. He made
a smooth, splendid slide the length of
the roof and landed with a dead clump
on the ground with both feet.
The next instant he swung into view
l dL lut Opcu uOol way VI IL n
glance revealed. the condition of his
comrade, the same glance took me in,
empty weapon extended. He backed
away with a scowl, fitted across the
yard and cleared about all that was
left of the fence, the top stringer, on
the fly.
heard a door in the house slam. 1t
was Marvel. coming out. 1t was Mar
vel, his y fixed on the flying fugitive,
to whom / shouted, rather incoherent-
ly:
unconscious"
Then 1 saw, first the fugitive disap-
pear around the orn Of a long line
of freight cars, then Marvel in pur-
suit, vanishing in turn. took it upon
myself to stand not two feet away
from my captive. l leaned over and
prodded his clothing, dreaming Of sure
glory should / find the $4,000 pack
age aboard of him.
1t was not, and the man reused up
under my rather clumsy handling. He
rolled over and finally sat up, rubbing
his confused head with a wry grimace
of pain.
"Sit STILL" I ordered full valiantly,
the empty weapon extended, and 1t
served as a quieting menace.
AS / glanced towards the house
saw the woman Nance come out into
the yard, leading the little child by
the hand. She wavered irresolutely
for a moment or two and looked all
about the place. Abruptly she snatch
ed up the child and ran towards the
street, leaving the house open and
u%nguarded. Had 1 been unhampered
l would have detained her, for she
was in a measure one of the cen
trail figures in the case in hand. How
ever, / reasoned that my duty was
with the man who had fallen into my
power so accommodatingly. My pris
oner had an evil eye, and in a clear
test of physical strength he vas far
my superior. His fall had clearly
crippled his normal activity, and the
leveled weapon did the rest.
1t was nearly half an hour before
Marvel reappeared. One hand was in
a side coat pocket. In front of him,
two PAGES ahead, was the man who
had slid the roof. AS soon as my cap
tive could get onto his feet and steady
himself there was a group of four
Marvel made his prisoner pilot the
way. A street corner was reached, 9
police officer summoned and we were
soon at Central station.
Marvel showed no self-glorification
but was very particular as to the dis
position of the prisoners. After they
had been searched and were removed
to separate cells below stairs, almost
Immediately the turnkey came to the
door of the stairway Inc beckoned to
my friend. who Joined him after q
word to me to await his return.
At the end of an hour Marvel re.
turned. The cloud of thought was not
yet dispelled from his face. He had
a card in his hand. and he came over
and sat down beside me with the air
Of a person a good deal tired and
somewhat disturbed.
TT results in this" he said, and re.
versed the card SO I could view what
he had penciled upon 1t:
"E. N.-16791."
] looked over the initials and mum.
Der vaguely. What does it mean?"
/ asked.
You tell me-" replied Marvel, and
then his chin sank into his hand
in his old thoughtful way, and / did
not disturb him, for i knew he was
wrestling with some intricate prob
lem.
THE two fellows we have Gagged"
he volunteered finally. "are kings in
their crooked profession. The one I
chased down had carried the booty"
when he reached that woman's
house?"