Connecticut western news., 1920-04-08

In His Pocket They Found Black Mask. i near the front. They had agreed taat : Dick was 10 drop off as soon as tke 1 train slowed down enough 10 make it safe. whereas Curly would go on and play Sam's part until the proper time. | The train almost slid to a halt from l the pressure of the ard-jammed l brakes. A volley of shots rang out. Curly slipped the mask over his face and rose with a revolver in each hand. He had been sitting at the end of the car, so that nobody noticed him until his voice rang out with a crisp order. ! "Hands up! Don't anybody move" '" An earthquake shock could not have alarmed the passengers more. The color was washed completely from the faces of most of them. Reach for the roof. Come. punch hole in the sky!" To do 1t thorough Iy. Curly flung a couple of shots through the ceiling. That was enough. Hands went up without any argument. most of them quivering as from an Arkansas chill.
 Presently Cranston herded the pas sengers in from the forward coaches. With them were most of the train crew.
 Were cutting off the express car and going forward to 'Dobe Wells with it. There we can blow open the safe uninterrupted" Bad Bill explained. You herd on the passengers here from the outside till you hear two shots. then hump yourself forward and hop on the express car"
 Fine! Curly was to stand out there in the moonlight and let anybody in the car that had the nerve pepper away at him. If they did not attend to the job of riddlng him. his false friends would do it while he was run ming forward to get aboard. Nothing could have been simpler-if he had not happened to have had inside informa- tion of their intent.
 He had to think quickly, for the plans of him and his friends had been deranged. They had reckoned on the eX- press car being rifled on the spot. This would have given Cullison time to reach the scene of action. Now they would be too late. Unless Curly could stop it. the holdup would go through according to the DTGgram(of SOapy 0u;' '."' "r t;'e cr"' ,''@.
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 "f,f up one of his guns, hc fired. AS if in answer to the first shot his revolver cracked twice. Simultaneously, he let out cry of pain. wriggled back for n dozen yards through the grass, and crossed the track in the darkness. AS he crouched down close to the wheels of the sleeper some one came running back on the other side.
 "What's up, Sam? You hit?" he could hear Blackwell whisper.
 No answer came. The paroled con- vict WAS standing close to the car for fear of being hit himself and he dared not move.
 Sam" he called again; then, Hes sure got his"
 That was all curry wanted 10 HnOW. Softly he padded forward. keeping as low as he could till he reached the empty sleepers. A brakeman was just uncoupling the express car when Curly dived underneath and nestled close to the trucks.
 From where he lay he could almost have reached out and touched SOapy standing by the car.
 "What about the kid?" Stone asked Blackwell as the latter came up.
 "Thcy got him. Didn't you hear him yelp?"
 "Yes. but did they put him out of business? See his body?"
 Blackwell had no intention of going back into the fire zone and making sure. For his part he was satisfied. So he lied
 "Yep. Blew the top of his head off
 Good" Soapy nodded. That's a receipt in full for Mir. Luck Cullison."
 Before many minutes the engine be- gan to slow down. The wheels had hardly stopped moving when Curly crept out. plowed through the sand, up the rubble of a little hill, and into a draw where bunch of scrub oaks of fered cover.
 A voice from in front called to him. :Jrst then the moon appeared from be-