New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1921-07-08

trees had on a long travelling coat
that came nearly Il his heels, and his
cap was the kind that has two visors,
one in front and the other behind.
Realizing that it wasn't Tarbell, |
stood perfectly still. The house was
lighted with gas, and the dining-room
chandelier had been turned down, so
there was a chance that the skulker
under the trees wouldn't see me stand
ing in the corner of the box window.
To make it surer, / edged away until
the curtain hid me. | Il just in time,
The man had crept out of his hiding
place and was coming up to the win
dow on the outside. As he passed
through the dim beam of light thrown
by the "turned-down chandelier. | saw
that he had n pistol in his hand, or Il
weapon of some kind; anyway, |
caught the CLINT of the gas-light on
duh steel.
That stirred me up good and plenty.
| still had the gun | had tdken out of
Fred Mays drawer; / had carried IL
ever since the night when it had
mighty nearly got me killed off in the
Red Tower coal yard. | fishcd it out
and made ready, thinking, of course,
that the skulker must certainly be one
of Clanahan's gunner. | still had
that idea when / felt, rather than saw,
that the man was pulling himself up
to the window so that he could take
n look into the dining room.
The look satisfied him, apparently,
for the next second l heard him drop
among the bushes; and when | stood
up and looked out again ] could just
make him out going around toward
the back of the house. | knew the
house like a book, and without making
any noise about it ! slipped through
the buffers pantry and got a look
out of a rear window. My man was
there, aud he was working his way
sort of blindly around to the den side
Of the place.
| knew there was only one window
in the majors den room, and that
vas nearly opposite the screened door
way. SO / ducked back into the
dining room and took a stand where
| could see the one window through
the d~oor-curtain network of bamboo
beads. ! was so excited that l caught
only snatches of what Mrs. Sheila was
saying to the boss, but the bits that
| heard were a good deal to the point.
"No, / mean 1t, Graham II Is as
| told you at first :. there is no
standing room for either of us on
that ground -. and you must not
come here again when you know that
| am alone. -. No, Jimmie isn't
enough !"
| wrenched the h~alf-working ear
sense aside and damned it into my
eyes, concentrating hard on the win
dow at which l expected every second
to see a mans face. If the man was
a murderer, / thought l could beat
him to 1t.
The suspense didn't last very long.
A hand came up first to push the
window vines aside. 1t was a white
hand, long and slender, more like a
woman's than a mans. Then against
the glass / saw the face, and 1t gave
me such a turn that 1 thought I must
be going batty.
Instead of the ugly mug Of one of
Clanahan's gunner, the haggard face
framed In the window sash was a face
that l had seer once-and only once
before; on a certain Sunday night in
the Billiard when the looselipped
mouth belonging to 1t had been bah
bling drunken curses at the night
clerk. The man at the window was
the dissipated young rounder who had
been pointed out as the nephew of
President Dunton.