The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1919-05-08
Will-'O-the-
Wisp
n
(Copyright.)
BY FRANK coMsrocK


the poplars at the end Of the en-
closure and dipped.
shadow fled across the lawn be-
meath II.
Ashcroft lowered the forward planes,
the will.o'.the-wisp settled. ran along
the grass for little way. and q mo-
ment later he jumped Off and came
over where I stood.
"what do you think Of III" he
Queried exultingly.
II think" replied "that you have
perfected one Of the most devillsh con-
trivances ever possessed by re-
spectacle crook. When do we start?"
Half an hour" he said. "Come In
side and have n drink"
When we had seated ourselves on
| either side OF bottle of sparkling
Chablis, he raised his glass and toasted
our coming adventure.
"ro the safe voyage OF the WILL
o'-the-Wisp and the Honorable Geor-
gia Calendars diamond dog collar"
| said he.
And we drank It of with deep feel
ing.
A month before had come across
Ashcroft, or rather he had come across
me. and In n manner that left no donbt
as to my Intentions In visiting him.
The fact of II was, that his home
being one Of the most snug looking
villas In the exclusive section OF Staten
Island. and I being a gentleman liv-
Ing mainly by my wits, cast my eyes
upon 1t and computed mentally just
how much I should be In II fortune
should favor me with clear field.
The upshot Of the thing was. that
| just as I was about to descend from
his third-story' window. together with
what more or less valuable articles
had managed to pick up In the course
| Of my visit, the electric lights were
switched on and bullet splattered the
| plaster down the back Of my neck.
Ashcroft changed his mind after the
first shot. took me In. instructed me In
| what he was pleased to call "the finer
points Of the game" and from that on
We were lnseparable.
We distrusted each other most cor
daily and split the profits.
He looked up at me from long and
silent meditation upon the virtues Of
the wine.
| 'The wind will drop in about fifteen
minutes, should say, and the Honor
able Mrs. Calendars little private roof
party takes place at eleven. We shall
just make It. Have you a revolver?'
| got out my automatic and Inspected
Its contents, and he nodded In ap-
proval.
| Let us pray we shall not have to
use them. Where are the masl-sT
| We climbed aboard. The Will-o'-the-
Wisp qulvered, moved forward like n
living thing Ashcroft tilted the for
ward planes aud we lifted.
An immense shadow was fitting
along the ground below us. but pres.
emily the moon went behind cloud
and we sailed through darkness. The
country below us was an inky surface,
with here and there twinkling light
that spoke Of house.
Ashcroft moved the lever trifie and
MY seat inclined fraction. I knew
that we were climbing.
Presently we righted and slid along
on level. Ashcroft let out another
notch and the purring of the motor
increased to muffied hum. A wind
Ing white ribbon that I knew was the
turnpike was dlscernible below MS and
a black spot was racing along In our
wake.
| 1t was an automobile, and a faint
footing Of the horn came up TO us, but
the men In II never lifted their faces.
"Two thousand feet" said Ashcroft.
I'VE shall just make It."
Far below us to the right one could
make out the varied lights of Coney
BLAND.
A little north of them the sharp,
knlfe-lIke streak OF n searchlight from
the Navy Yard swept back and forth
across the sky. once heading exactly
In our direction. but we were beyond
It's focus.
II looked like n toy city.
! could hardly believe II was New
York, that vague wilderness OF roofs.
the long strings of lights that were
I
the streets, the faint glow OF Broad-
way. the crawling things that knew
were the trains of the elevated rail-
road.
II was exactly IL 100 o'clock. Over
Madison Square we circled again and
slid down In long glide until we
could have shaken hands with Diana
had we been In her vicinity. Then
Ashcroft shut Off t'.e motor and we
nosed earthwnrd IN "a narrowing circle.
Ashcroft Is nothing II not accurate.
We made our way cautiously across
the two roofs that intervensd between
the Will-o'-the-Wlsp and the imitation
Italian garden that sent soft glow of
light into the night
Ashcroft softly parted the leaves of
the arbor wall and we peeped In.
There were long rows of japanese
lanterns and flowers. and at a table
that was loaded with enough silver to
H..