TWELVE. DETECTIVE STORIES
By ARTHUR STRINGER ;
mm CefyrigM. ttt$, by M JToCtor Vevspcssr f yn4lMM.
V.-rThe Boob from the Burdock Patch
THIT thought I wm mad. The
nattvs of that eae-hores town
clearly took ms for a not And
I east altogether blame them, when
oome to think 'It over. For It doesgl
look llk Malty to ee a girl lying flat
on her beck la the eun. blinking up at
the dome of kMvto t though ah war
a eho-Swam bold Ing eon vara with tha
infinite.
But It wasn't converse I waa aftsr.
It wm two much simpler things Juat
freckles and Un, I had to havs thsm,
and Td only two days to gat thorn .In.
Then I darkened two of my front teeth
with repeated appllratlone of tlncturt
of Iron, braided my hair up ck( and
tight and addVned my feet with a pair
of broad-toed "essles". Aod, . thus
equipped, I ma da my way back ft? tha
bad of my birth.
I want back to tha city looking so
much Hka tha Qusen ot tha Rubra that j
One-legged small boy lesned s gainst
th Subway kloak and cel'ed aloud ta
tha world: "8ay. Dutch, did youee plpt
th hook from th' burdock patch?"
Z bad tha conaolatlon of knowing that
my destination was a roomlog-houas
at a eartaln number In Eest Twenty
fourth Street where my arrival had
boon, laboriously prepared for.
Under ordinary circumstances, of
course, th proapect of being a slavey
fa an Bast Bids roomlng-houaa would
have' proven anything but appealing
ta me. But In thla case tha clrcum
stances were far from ordinary. In
poctor Bloan, In fact, had announced
that this same Twenty. fourth Street
rooming-house, conducted by Mrs.
Manger, held a certain old German
who aniwered to tha name of Otto
Schoenfeld, and that while nothing
definite as yet waa known as to Bchoen
fold's activities, there seemed to b
' certain substantial reasons (or In van
ttgatlng that mild-mannered old Ocr
man and hla manner of life. ,
That was all I knew. But it was
enough. - Mrs. Munger, I soon found
was not tha typo of woman to make my
task an over-luxurlously easy one. Un
'dor bar soft and billowy form, t saw,
raalded a heart of granite. Bealdee
fear long flights of stairs to climb,
there wars beds to make, halls to be
awept, washings to be canted to the
i roof, towels to be Ironed, belts to be
answered and a hundred and one other
odd errand to be run. I waa installed
la a sulphur-colored cubbyhole on the
top floor front
, To this, however, 1 offered no objec
tion, for the one other occupant of that
top floor waa a mild-mannered old
ooultet by the name of Sohoenfeld.
As far Otto Schoenfeld himself, ht
cave every premiss of proving about as
ahy as a springbok. Ha vanished like
a ahadow. t found, at the first sign of
my , approach. It wasn't until my
third day aa a slavey, In fact, that I
got a good look at him. .
It wasn't until the fourth daV thai
. X had a chance to vlalt his quarters,
- climbing the three long fllghta with e
frugalpared of laundry for which 1
waa instructed to collect thlrty,twe
coats, I eould hear the hum of ma
chines aa I repeated my knock on his
- door, t eould also bear the sound ol
a bolt being withdrawn as old Otto
answered that knock
His work. I soon discovered. Involved
the continuous reeflpt and despatch of
" earetull poked psetaels-lsases. Some ,
ttmea they came by messenger, and
ometlmes -they came by registered
apeclat delivery. But alweys they wers
delivered peraonally at Otto Bchoen
feld'l door. It waa Impreaaed on ma
from the first, that alt such packages
were te go at ence to that top-floor
pttclae.
I bad two days of toll before I found
myself presented with a chance of even
ao much aa penetrating the enemy's In
. trenehmenta. My chance earns with a
- curt order, from the mountainous Mrs.
Hunger, ta wash Schoenfeld'e windows.
Be hell aut a coin to me and aaked ma
If I'd Brit runout to a Third Avenue
grocery and buy some cuttle-bone tor
hla canaries.
The boob from the burdock' patch
prided herself oa seeing through that
rase, but she went without a murmur.
On my return with the cuttle-boae
Otto iehoenfeld was all ready to re
ceive me. Then he locked me Inside,
pointed cut that he wanted me to he
. especially careful of his photograph
plates an the wlndow-mlls.
Along one wall ran a wide work
bench. Installed under this bench was
an electric dynamo, a huge galvanised
can with a funnel ea Its top obviously
. to catch drip, and a Udless bread-boa
i as a receptacle for flees chips and the
' bench refuse in general. Oa the bench
1 was a large smooth-rimmed grindstone.
eonneeted with the dyne mo, with a
email drlp-oaa adjusted above It. Thla
was plainly an autometlo grinding
wheel fey shaping and, polishing lenses.
Against the opposite wall stood s
cabinet of stock- lenses. About the
walls were hung highly complex charta
of the human eve, and a couple of cal
endars bearing the name of manufac
turing opticians, together with an ad
vertising sign, announcing: "The
Sehocafetd Torle Will Save tour
Eyes." -
Whoa later In the day I communi
cated thla Information to floan himself,
he aaldt "Oct ale finger-prints."
Another two days slipped by, how
evert before I had a chance. It pre.
eented Itself when Mrs." Munger sent
me up to the second floor back with a
box of cellara to be delivered ta the
vaudeville acrobat . residing therein.
But Instead of taking that hot te tha
second. floor back I climbed te the top of
the houae and knocked on Otto Bchoen.
f eld's door.
"I tTNaa them'a for you!" ,
"Not forme, leodle girl." he eald with
good-natured forbearance, as he handed
tha nareel back to ma, I gaped at htm
gratefully, and backed away. But once
that door was reloehed I had the eat
Ufactlon W seeing the wrapping-paper
about the cellar-boa clearly Impreaaed
with the loops andwher!c ot a thumb
and forefinger slightly stained with oa
And before I presented the hot to Its
rightful owner rd torn sjray tke neces
sary portion of wrapping-paper.
By nowii yila waa oa las wayfte the
inapeciore emce. veiore nigral en an
swering meessge had reached me. It
read: "Watch that man like a hawk.'
So I watched Otto Bchoeofeld mere
closely, and In doing so made a number
of discoveries, one was that the aid
Oerman had a habit of clipping out
lata at nlgtlt and remaining away for
a couple of .hours:' Another waa that
the dlfferent-slsed plate-holders which
he kept In a row oa his window-ledge
were not there for the printing of
photographs. Tha order of their ar
rangement. In fact, was altered day by.
day. and my Immediate inference was
that they were being used aa an In
genious sort of signaling to the back
window of some room or office on the
north side of Twenty-third Street I
also discovered that certain messengers
re pelted their calls on Brhoenfeld. and
showed every evidence of a desire to
avotd(jmdue obeervation. '
But my moot urgent' need. I began
to realise, wae to obtain admission to
that old German's workroom. It could
never be done, I also discovered, by
meana of my "spider " since aa espe
cially intricate spring-lock guarded that
precious door. Even Mrs.. Munger I
found, wal not In poesesslon af a paaa
key. It wasn't until I carried the old
tea's frssb bed-linen up to blm and
stood waiting to carry away hla. own
soiled sheets- and plllow-allpe, that I
caught eight of hla key-ring on the lit
tered work-table. I waa chewing gum
at the time. I knew 1 baa only a mo
ment or two, before the old man
merged from the bedroom. But
'idled ever to the table, turned eve
the key-ring, pleked oat what I knew
to be the key I wanted, and promptl
took a sum Impression of It against tb
palm of my hand. Having had a key
made from this Impress, I entered the
room the neat evening after the old
Oerman had ro"e out.
I sat down en his work-stool and
locked mora carefully over the triad
Ing-wheel, studied 'cut Ite connection
with the dynamo-shsft and discovered
a connection which I couldn t quite as
count for. Be I got down on my heade
and knees, peered under the table, and
found a swlvsl-shslf adjusted there.
hidden from the easual ere by a fringe
of pinked oilcloth. Thla shelf. I nest
disco vera 4, ewung eutwnrd and re
vealed an aualliary shaft and bevel
gearing which connected with the
dynamo on the one band and on the
ether with a eerend grtadlBg-wheel
Thla second wheel waa much (mallei
than the cne above the table. But the
moat Important feature about It I saw.
lay In the fact that it didn't operate In
a vertical position, as did the wheel on
the table-ten. It wm geared and ad-
Justed to run In a horlsontal position
It wss slso geared to revolve at n very
high rste of speed. And this wee the
sort of wheeU I knew, that waa uaed
by dlamend-euttera. Just aa the fixing
was was used for embedding a stone,
and thus holding It -firmly while Its
facets wsre being ground.
Otte Schoenfeld. I saw, wss an op
tician oft'ron pretense. His vocation
aa a tene-grlnder waa merely a blind
He was d diamond cutter. Working tn
scent St f urb a calling plainly Implied
that his work wss Illicit. Aid t law.
In a breath wh'at It all meant He wat
"fence" for diamond thieves. The
lenses which were almoat dally coming
to him by mall and maaeenger ware not
lensee st all. but stolen diamonds pried
out of their esttlaga, forwarded to an
expert wbo examined them under s
microscope, removed ell distinguishing
marks frm them, probably apllt them tf
they were of a suspicion iy large ataa,
completely disguised them by reeut-
tint, ana sent thstn out Into the world
a rain, to be sold freely and fserteeety.
The Alliance office had been right. The
mild-eyed Qormaa had been a man well
worth watrhlng.
As I stepped cut of that door, after
making sure the coast waa clear. 1
caught the eouad of heavy steps as
cending the stairs. It cent me scurry.
Ing In a panic to my room, where I
tumbled Into bed, clothes end all
I could hear the old Oerman unlock
his door and move ceutloualy above his
room. I could hear him step out Into
the narrow hallway again and ep
parentty stop .at the stairhead to Helen.
Then he moved stealthily toward my
own door, which waa without a lock,
and puahed It aa Inch or two further
open, i anew ne waa uaiening mere.
Hla beery breathing. In fact, wai aa
advertisement, not only of come eecret
excitement but also of the fact that
he had climbed the stairs at a rate of
speed which wss scPt'onal with him.
So I satisfied hla straining ears by pre-
ducing as regular and sonorous an Im
itation of enering es I waa able.
The neat Bight Schoenfeld went out
earlier than usual I felt that my
chance had come, and proceeded to art
on. that conviction. v
Once the old Oerman waa well out of
alght I waa bolted In hie room and re
newing my search ot hie poeeeeotone
there. And nothing presented Itself to
reward, that search, until from under e
white enameled iron bed I unearthed
an iron-bound pox about me else a
steamer-trunk. ' tta hue wreucfet-lroa
lock wm a formidable-looking one. but
so, old-fashioned In It simplicity that
live minutes with my "spider" had con
quered It and I waa able to lift back the
heavy lid.
It was act until I delved below the
tray that I discovered anything of Im
portance. The? things . began la
happen. . '
I first unearthed aa automatic pletol
with a boa of cartridges beat do It. Then
came a email pah of dewdera aoalea
aad a diamond -gaga. Then same row
of small mantle envelopea, doaena and
dosone ot them, each cne deteg and
bearing a number and aa laaertptloa
which I wss unable tc decipher. But J
carefully lifted out one of these en-
v elopes and peeked Into It It held a
beautifully cut diamond of the drat
water, about three cerate ta weight
And each envelopee I looked. Into con
tained cne or more of these stonee.
Bosida them I aaw.an aid cuter-box.
a much-handled bogy with faded labels
and a dog-eared revenue stamp encir
cling it It was n humble enough look
ing container. But I blinked-, involun
tarily be I lifted the lid, for it flashed
back the llfht In a thouaand broken
prisms snd I realised m I stared down
at It that I wm looking at eeveral hun
dred cut diamonds, diamonds of all
abapee and elsee, come of -them- pure
white, some n eansry yellow, corns
faintly tinged with blue and pink, some
cut rose and double rose, with two or
threa cut brlolette. ' .
Under n little German textbook on
high explosives that I stumbled across
something which brought a catch" In
my breath and a little tingle of triumph
up and down my backbone
My discovery wss nothing more than
a neatly kept pocket notebook. . But on
ite .orderly pages were entered lists of
stones received, with dales, and among
ihc addressee I found such nsmes as
ingeio Paroto, Famuel Ever eon, August
Xwack, Fidelo Forcarlno, Marie Dec
Champa, and William Rellstab. each
established aa a trafficker In stolen
Jewels end each with his present
whereabout, duly revealed. There, be-
fore me, were the names that Bloan
snd hla agents had spent fruitless
teks In trying to find.
I wanted that book and that Hat more
than anything alee. But would It be
safe for me to carry It away;
I thought It over, there on my knees
Reside (he open trunk, and decided, to
feetore the book to where I had found
It I carefully replaced the tray, re
locked the trunk, and pushed It back
te Its earlier position beneath the
white enameled bed. I breathed more
freely when I wss out ef thet room
aad Mfsly back In my own. There 1
made reedy for the etreet, for I realised
that I had Important business ahead
ef me that night
I had reached the second floor when
I found that another person waa com
ing up those - etalrc and coming as
no'seleeely es I wae trying tc go dow
them. Thla other person wae a man.
but Td been unable to catch eight ot
hla face.
'Eecuee, meee. but you know ol' man
aair Schoenfeld r
I remained client for a moment, and
then nodded my head In accent For as
I beard that suave and full-toned vohf
ask Ita queetion I knew even before 1
saw the outllnto ef the cllvc-skinned
race la the clearer light from the hall
bracket thet I was ence more ctandlng
fee to face with Anrele Parcto.
Then where- muc I go find heemT"
Then he Suddenly stood stock stilt, and
the smite. d'4 cwey from his ollve-
Itlaned face. He looked at ma long
aad earnestly. - - v
I alec caw that ha stood an higher
ground than I did, and this. I remem
bered, would always be a disadvantage.
I
Be Instinctively I moved up the remain
ing threa ateps ef the stairway, cling
ing to the banisters add watching him
at each atop. It wasn't until I reached
the hal floor -that ha either moved or
epokc . -. i". -:'
"JEseusa, please," he eald in his full-
Voweled leUln Intonation.- fl maka oa
beeg meesuk. I final
There wm a note cf Irony, of mock
ery, I'm sure,. In that apology of hla.
But It wasn't this that caught my at
tention. It wm more the soft and
panther-like quickness with which ni
stepped pMt me. dpwn the stairs, took
the turn, and continued on his way to
the Street ' .
I knew, m I heard -the street door
close that tha cat waa out of tbc'ug.
I eould, no longer Pee4a that houaa s
a boob from the burdock patch. I wm
diecovered. Pare to and Sohoenfeld
were working together, hand and glove.
and anything that wm to. be done
pwould have to be done before those two
came together.
I made a pretense of preparing for
bed, but It was a pretsnse and nothing
more. Then I unearthed my revolver
aad slipped It under my pillow.. Bleep,
I knew was out or tne queetion. I mi
on my hard little bed with Ita hundred
and one bumps and waited for the un
expected. And the unexpected- came. It earns
in the form ef a etealthy step to my
oor. It was a mysteriously studied
step, a step that sent a little shiver
along my spins.
Tha next movement took the form of
a knock an my door, a carefully mod-
eraiaq ana jmt s uieunei nun a, ti
became louder and more determined as
It was repeated. And I oould hear an
enxloue nd enmswhat guturat voice
any "Leetle one!" twice over.
"What do you wantT" I demanded.
"I vant to spssk mil yen, sktase,"
retorted the comber figure eo cloee to
me. "Listen, lejtla one. Vlll you heli
an oldt man In trouble?"
"What can I dor I Mked. -
"I haf vorked hard, leetla one. vorked
many years, and I haf saved vat 1
eould. Tonight I belief, somebody v"1
some to rob me of vat I haf! Vat leet't
I haf le In a troonk In my room.' Some
body vllt come to rob me of dat leetla
Ona ding you can do. Tou can keep
dat troonk of mine here, mil yOu. Here,
under your bedt It v4l be safe. And
den I vlll not be robbed!" I
It txk a moment or two for this to
sink In. The only trunk I had sight of
In Otto Bchoenfeld'f rooms had been
the Iron-bound chest of oik. Anil that
Iron-bound chest held svsrythtng which
had brought me as a spy Into that
household. '
"But I haven't even a lock an my
door I contended.
"I vlll put cne en " wss bis prompt
and somewhat unexpected reply.
I backed away fm-WaA little. "I
wish I wm home." I said, with a well
simulated aob of distress.
1 vlll help you go derc van 'die
trouble Is ofsr, he announced tn his
heavy ud lntlmata whisper.'
"But there's Mrs, Munger," -1 still
pointed ou'.. "She win send me away
without my wages."
" --' 2wT
"Tou via haf more from me, von die
la ofsr, daB Mrs. Hunger via efer gtf
you." He, shuffled beak toward the
door, as though the entire matter were
finally settled. "So now I vllj bring da
troonk aad fix dat lock-bolt en die
door of -yours!" f;., ,.-
I stood there listening ad his quiet
yet heavy tread passed along the little
hallway wondering what my eoutne af
action aught to be. Then I heard htm
shuffling back along the hall, and whle
pering for, tne to turn on the light
He bad come In through the narrow
door sldsways,i for he was tarrying the
oak cheat by Ita two Iron handles. He
toddled across the room to my iron bed
put down the chest, and carefully
puahed It under the bed. Then he
reached Into Ms coat pocket and lifted
cut a screw-driver and a wrbugnt-fron
draw-bolt. . Reaching Into another
pocket he took out soma screw-nails.
held the bolt against the edge of my
door, and nroceeded to fasten It there.
On the frame of the door be screwed
a loop of Iron Into which this bolf could
slide. Then be closed the door end
slid the bolt back and forth eeveral
times to make sure that it worked.
'Lock yourself fn so and It vlll he
all right." he eald with a reassuring
smile. And before I could say another
word to him bs had slipped out through
the door and disappeared within his
own quarters. '
I promptly closed and bolted my
door, crossed to the bed, and cautionary
pulled the mysterious chest a little cut
i s.e v."e
- HTeaLtaa.WA.
INC THAT MMATt.0
AMO MYoTtft.OW
WIMK Of LIGHT.
(rem Ite hiding-place. The first dis
covery I made was that it was securely
locked. My second discovery wm that
the keyhole of the huge lock had been
filled with sealing-wax and stamped
while still fluid lth a seal of oddly In
termingled Initials.-
As soon as I had dressed. I moved
the trunk out. to test Its weight A
I did so a suddsn question crossed my
mind. How wm I to be certain that It
really held what I thought It betdl
The fact tUal Its lock had been so care
fully sealed may have been only a
trick and the man against whom I
was campaigning had shown himself
extremely resourceful In tricks.: I re
membered a pair ot nll-clesors In my
suitcase, got them out and with them
cut and gouged away the Ceallng-wax
that covered the lock-front Once Fd
cleaned out that keyhole I got busy
with my spider. In two minutes I had
the Hd open, and the tray of leneee and
mailing boxM lifted away. The auto
Matin pistol was gone, U rows cf
msnlla envelopes wsre gone, the boxes
of precious stones were gone, end the
notebook: with its orderly rows of ad
dreeseawas also gens. That tricky old
scoundrel had dupsd me, had tooled
me te the queen's taste. And ,K waa
ten to one that I'd lost all chance of
redeeming the sltustlon. y
I crept cut to the old German's door,
cautiously tried IV aad found It eUll
locked. . Then I stood at the head of
the stairs, listening. :j , ;' -
,As I did so I heard a sound. like that
ot sr street-door being opened aad
closed. , And at almost the earns time
I heard a second sound, only th cne
'
from behind Otto
i-a
I banked away, instinctively, until I
oamcto the fact of the eta Irs that led
tc the roof-hatch, for here the ahadow
WMi deesest and a way to tha
Stood elocsst behind me. ThejTt took
advantage of that avenue cf escape.
want upy those narrow stairs, otcu by
step, holding my . breath, for at the
same time . that my , atratninw
caught the sound cf steps ad vane me? up
through the house " I heard Otto
Bchceafeld't doer Ope aad the aa
of the spring-lock which told me It
had boon swung Chut egaie. I raeeg
alced the stealthy eheffle M the old
German crossed to the head of the
atatrs and listened there for a mas
or" two. But I took advantage ef that
diversion to scurry up tne romaining
stepc to the roof aad slip oaf through
the - door which I had came to
toleraMy well In my daDy activities
with Mrs. Muager-a riotbee-baaket
My attention, as I did co waa at.
tracted by. tha winking ot Sash
light from cne ef the windowa of the
Tweotjr-ehlrd street oBoe-buildlng fac
insnsc ' This reminded me of Schoen
feld'e wmdow-aUl .arrangement of
plato-frames and ot thofact that even
In that uncertain light I might bo visi
ble to some unknown accomplice
signaling frem that offlee-buildlng. So
crouched there behind a sheltering
chimney-tier. in the ahadow of a wan
ooptng, -
-My eyes bu got mora need to the
darknses by thla time,, aad nnoartaJa
es was-Uhe light along that brokeo
tier of roofs, I eould make out what
WM taking place ao ctoae to where 1
lay hidden. I could cm the roof stock
door curing back and tha heavy figure
slowly ahouldsr out through It I knew
at .a glance that it wae Otto Schoen
feld hlmeelf. From hie left hand hunt
a long and 'narrow laundry-bag, tied
at the top. In his right hand, which
he held doubled up cIom to hie chest
be held ta automatic end aa he backed
eteeJtMly cut through the narrow doer
his attention waa directed toward come
percon or person who seemed to be
threatening him from within th bouse
But that threatened interference, ap
parentiy wm comcthlng only of the
instant Fur the next moment he
dropped the bag to tha roof, swung the
aoor snot, and wedged It tn that post
lion with a screwdriver which he took
from on. of hie pockets. Then, after
pressing hi ear against the door for
several momenta. In an attitude of
listening, lis caught up the laundry,
bag again and crept along the root
until be came to where the clothes.
line Swayed In the Bight brcaae. The
next moment I saw him cut thla
clothes-tine away, from Its ttanchtoas.
He crept back to a row of three chim
neys In cne that stood at the easterly
edge of the houM-Toof. puahed hla bag
down inside the middle chimney and
tot It hang there by the clothes-line.
Ur wedging the upper end; of the
ootton rope in between two chimney
bricks where the mortar had been
torn eway. Then I aaw him cut
off the lew Inehee of rope that pro-
iruaea. so mor even m daylight email
evidence would remain to show the
pot where be had ao Ingeniously but
involuntarily repented a device yleh
la supposed to be peeullcr to Beat
Claua alone.
Thea my heavy-fooUd friend felt hie
way carefully to the back of th roof.
There sew him reach into hie pocket
and lift something cut. What he new
held in hut right hand wae a. pocket
naeniixm arm with H a waa pftlnly
signaling to the window of hie un
known confederate. The next minute.
In fact, I eould see the answsrmg wink
of a corresponding light In the fourth
floor window. Then the cerlee of
Schoenfeld" hlmeelf erept cautiously
baek te the roof door end leaned foe-
ward with hla ear pressed against Ms
surface. For below stairs certain mere
or less Interesting thing were plainly
taking place. I could hoar the sound
cf sudden and chattering blows, like
tnoss M axe would make In etneehlng
In a door, followed by shouta awd calls.
and the thump of hurrying, feet It
eotmded to me remarkably like a polios
raid Schoenfeld wee elttlng on the
roof and engaged tn aclemnly removing
hie shoes. This done, he pulled hie
screwdriver wedge away from the door
where It had held that door shut
picked up hla shoes, and pussyfooted
oautleoely serosa the roof until , he
came to the very wmll-eeptng agalnat
which I pressed. He clambered grout
Ingly over the roping, within' ten feet
of where t ley holding mf breath. With
his gass still fixed on that door he
reached Into a pocket and took out bis
automatic, which he placed carefully
on the top of the wall coping. 1 knew
better than to move. It wm the ataa
on the ather side of the wall. In fact
who did the moving. He had caught
nn hla shoes In ens Band, aad his nlstol
In ths other, and was apparently about j
to adventure further along. those en-
even housetops'' when the reef-door
through which he had ao recently
pa seed swung opsn wtta a thump. A
flashlight suddenly exploded ca 'ths
darkness, a much stronger flash than
that ussd by the German. . It wavered
and danced Inquiringly about ths
empty roof for a momsntvor twe and
then wtnt out as suddenly cc It had
appeared. .Aid still again I lay to my
sheltering ahadow, Scarcely daring tc
breathe. Then I was startled by a
mall sound tbst wae made by a pair
of Heavy hoes being placed op the
wall directly over my head. By rising
ens elbow I could Just see thw tone of
them. And. I waa hoping gainst hope
that the automatic Would be pieced
there beetdc them. But the second
slipped away end no curb movement
took placeTBo I -quietly reached up
aad lifted one of the ehoee from Its
resting-place. Slaking down again, I
threw that ahoe lightly and ellenlty cut
ever the houaa cornice. A few.ceeoade
later I could hear the fa'nt thud of
sound M It track the Street pavement
" Then I reached" up aad took toossee
ton ot tha second shoe. I wag about
came
door.
to repeat the prnases with this, vemem- "
soring that whatever happened a ahoe- .
Ism man would always be an easy
quarry to follow, avhoa a grunt of eur-- ,
prise aoamdar from the wall-top act , ' ,
three feet tn frem my head. I could
bear the iBtorrogaUVa pawing of a head '
along the oopktg-Ulee and the crackle
of the tlai roof m tho body on the
Other atd of the bricks corambled to ,
as upright position. ' To reach: that
position It wm Beceanary tor tho ism ' .
toe limber-Jointed Oerman to grasp the"
edge Of .the cop Ing-tile. The extraor- ,
dlnary feature of th Whole thing was
the fact that the hand which sawwd for
a ctatcb along; the glased corner of the
Ule held ah automatto pletol m tu
fingers, . I oould act oca tt clearly bat
I could ceo ft clearly eaeogfc to uctder- ' -stand
what It wae. And la mr own
t-isni hh 4 ami seta iocs empty anoe,
But inettad of fitaginsT It oat Into snaoa. :
m t had at Irct tatendsd. I did coma- '
thing quite different Holding It by the
toe. I brought Ita beovy heel down with
all my power oq tho It age re lustered
about tho Blatol-etoek. Those Angers,
H ss happened, reeUd on the thick
eopmg-tUe M the blow toll. A I '
struck th eosoad time I had the catls- .
faction of eoctng the automatic knocked,
free of too relaxed finger That aide
blow jWao atreng enough, In fact.' to .v
eend It rattling to tha root-tin, where '
It skidded along the gentle slope and
dropped out of eight -
Our next movement wm a prompt
even though m essentially ludicrous '
che. We each rose to our feet faetag
each ether acroes that narrow wan-top ' '
wble ronae scarcely to gap waist And ,
w each eagerly and Immediately
reached oat for the other.
I knew there could and would be bo
ilf-mec cures in that heuse-top fight
with Otto Schoeafeld. And my knowl-
edged Aeywd me up to keep on fighting. :
flchting like a wildcat even after we
bad tails to the roof together and the '
old scoundrel vu doing his beet to get
a stranglehold on my throat I became
dimly conscious that we were rolling
ever aad over, like two wrostlora who
have gone ta the mat I drmly remem
bered that we were on a hones roof,
some five stories above tha etreet level.
'1
Then I bhut my eyes, end gave up all
effort, for I eould fed my revolving
body roll oft the wdgc of things and
drop Into spaoe. -
It dropped Into epacd bwt, luekHy, It
wm only four or five feet Into space.
as far as the level of the next foot
But I waa uppermoet when wo struck
that roof, and I rolled free of my op
ponent, without coming to n, atop.
Then t eat up, dased. a little pussled
by the fact that thla opponent of mine
did not start pursuit of ms. I
scrambled tc my feet groped my way
to where I saw a clothea-nne straying
on tho roof, and fumblingly untied that
line. Then I crept over to my enemy
aad tied first his feet together and then
hie hands together bebtad hi back.
Then I clambered back acroee the roof,
climbing the wall-eoping, crossed to the
chimney that held the laundry -bag,
aad carefully drew that soot-covered
bag up from Ite hldtng-plaoa. Then I
staggered la through the roof -door and
down the narrow etepa, where Mrs,
Hunger wm seated on the top step of
the house-emtra, weeping over the
wreckage of her top floor rear, which,
looked ctrangely as though a cycles
had swept through It
But I wm more Interested, tost then.
In my laundry beer, and I promptly oat
down on the very step so recently va
cated by the Incoherent Mrs. Munger,
and tavtemgated.. the contents of that
bag. It held, I found, duevens
dosenc of small manlla envelopee, a
worn cigar-box filed with small atone
Which glltteredread ahone In the bald
electric light two cardboard boxes
filled with equally Iridescent pebble,
and a notebook filled with arderlv saws
of names' end" addresses. And t knew,
m I dropped these back In the soot
covered bag, that my night hadn't been
aa nttogether waeted one. I had woof
I had obtained what I had been gent ,
after! -
Otto Schoenfeld'e door my a battered
wreck along the aide wall against which
I leaned: a showering cf broken lenses
glistened along the floor; bedding and
boxes and clothing lay scattered about t
and, ae though to glvs. articulation to '
tnat ecene of ruin and disorder, Mrs.
Munger' lugubrious wall rose loader
than ever front below stair.
Tub come batter In' down the door
of a decent woman,"' aha lamented
aloud, "who' always tried to keep a
decent bouee! Tou'd be working more
to the point If yuh'd arrest that young
girl up there who'e ctsalln' and pick In
her all ef other folks' belongings!
Thefe what you'd be dom'i"
"Whet gtrlT demanded a voice
which mads me suddenly tt up. For I
knew It was the voice of Bloan hlm
eelf. , -,
I wee etm sitting there when Sloan
appeared, abort of breath, with weariness
and disgust on his heavy-lined face.
"Wall, thig Is a Una night work,
tent he demanded, ta a tone of
wearied end unadulterated disgust
I merely cat there grinning down at
htm. "What's wrong with ItT"'
"Nothing, of course,' "he x retorted
wttb heavy acorn "except that yoe -bungled
your whole Job here, and
Wllklns bungled hi raid, and Fchoen- '
feid got eway, and the whole bunch of '
Picanond Thieves hM given the Altl- :
ance the all-night laugh again! That's
tha only thing thst's wrong with it!"
"Aren't yotl leaving something outT
I quietly asksd of him.
Whatr he barked.
TVe," I raid as I swung the lean- ,
dry-bag toward him. "And ' Otto .
Schoenfeld, who'c tied down up there
on the eeoond root And If Ton can
trust Wllklns and roylto go to ths
third office-donr on the fourth floor of
tho Twsnty-thitd Street office building
backing eft thle dump, you'll probsbly
gather W a stick-up cr two who've been
gay-catting there for cur Oerman
friend! Aad I w'sh you'd order me a '
taxi, for I feel like a welter-weight
who'c taken the count and am rather
toatiag to get Into something loose!"
'. .' - : V.