The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1923-07-13

Lou. for she was In plain enough
sight.
A man arose from the bench on
which Bobby had been sitting and
started to move leisurely away. Bobby,
instantly abandoning his survey of the
neighborhood, started after the man,
put himself in front of him and said
something. The man made threaten
ing gesture, whereupon Bobby, still
holding the newspaper in one hand
with the other seized the lapel of the
strangers coat.
After that the action was like a
speed-camero film chase. The stranger
smashed Bobby in the face, tore loose
and dashed headlong down the dozen
yards or so of park path to the street,
across the sidewalk and into the road
than he went down, was close behind.
People stood stock still and watched,
open nlouthed. Lou, aghast, was con-
sciOus only of a sick fear.
Front street is a traffic plague spot
at times. A three-ton truck, momen-
tarily stalled, had halted three trolley
cars and flock of motor vehicles of
all kinds. AS the fleeing stranger es-
sayed to dart through the jam q shah
by runabout, squirming ahead without
hope of ultimate thoroughfare, blocked
his path completely. The man found
himself, two PAGES from the curb, in
cul-de~sac with the flying form Of
Bobby almost at his heels.
Lou saw the stranger turn, saw
even from that distance that his face
was like the face of snarling dog,
saw his hand whip behind him, saw
the flash Of steel, saw great daub OF
red spring from nowhere and take the
place of Bobby's face. Lou felt that
she would never get her breath again
as though she were dying.
There was rush of people, and Lou
found herself in 1t. There was the
shrilling of whistle, a blur Of blue
uniforms, tossing and fiinging about
of arms and lei,s in little vortex. Dim
ly Lou caught fieeting glimpse of
BOBBY, white as a ghost where he
wasn't crimson, with a policeman
holding him up and a writhing form
that two other policeman gripped and
menaced as they rushed 1t through the
jam to the patrol box on the corner.
"Bobbie!" cried Lou. But the cry
was no more than a whisper and was
drowned nv tho nIopp of tho opobu1opoo
they took him away In.
At the hospital that evening they let
Lou see Bobby, for he had made a
special request that If by any chance a
girl named Louise Landers called she
should be admitted and the doctor had
said the long, deep wound at the edge
of the hair wasn't very serious.
IL had just read in that Chicago
paper" explained Bobby, that there
was $500 reward for this Bolvick
that kidnapped the Chalmers kiddie,
and his picture was in the paper. Then
happened TO look up-and there was
his nibs, sitting right there; and him
supposed to be in Mexico Say, Lou, l
was up in the air. / couldn't see
policeman and he was leaving. So l
just had to nail him. If I'd stopped to
think, maybe ! wouldn't have done 1t
1T might have seemed silly. But you
don't know how much l wanted that
money, Lou-for the rest Of the
course-and-well, for you. So l went
after him; and somehow 1 managed to
hang onto him till the cops came. l
never knew l was cut until / began to
wobble after they had him. All kept
thinking about was twenty-five hun
dred dollars-and you. Because you
aren't the kind of a girl to waste your
self on fve-and-ten window dresser,
Lou"
Then all LOUIS wisdom went a-glim- |
mering. "Oh, Bobby!" she trembled;
1T will be wonderful, of course; and |
we've lots of time. But II wouldn't |
care-now-if you were always going {
to be window trimmer-or a window
washer; so therel''