. .
po-
. t t t , tt . t + t t t H t tt tt H t t t H + t t t t t . t t t t t + t t t t tt t + t t t t t + t + + i
i .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , " " " " " " ' , j
. . . . . . , . . , . , . . . , . . , . , . . . . . .
Brookyn.-It ] 'was 'a qulot day In
the pollco station. Drownsvlllo was
bohavlng itself and the matron of the
station had a whole hour to talk , with
only ono Interruption to wlpo the
tears from the eyes of a smat'l , dIrty
boy , Induce hIm to toll the address
of hIs home and send hIm on hIs wa ) '
under the guIdance of a bIg , strong
buecoat. And the matron , when she
talks , has a few thIngs to tell. In
fact , Mrs. Cox says , with hOl' good
Irish chucko ] , that she thInks she wlll
'
write a book of her experIences'
make her rich after she retires frQm
the job of matron. The "boys" have
suggested it to her. ' 1'he " ! Joys" are
the buecoats ] , every ono or whom In
Brookyn ] , knows Mrs. Cox and has a
joke for her or a word of guyIng
when he meets her.
Duties of a Police Matron.
IntoxIcation Is the usual charge
upon which the woman prisoner Is
committed , with occasional charges
of theft , of assault , an atteml1ted suI ,
clde and now and then a woman whose
f
-,1' hands have commItted some bigger
' .J , crime , homIcide or Infanltclde.
Whatever the charge , they all pass
through thl' station house on theIr
way to the jaIl or the penitentIary ,
and the matron has them In her care.
She gets them fresh from tholr mis ,
. domennors and with rhe staIn of theIr
crImes new upon them. She Is t1\e
first and often the only minIstering
angel they know , for It Is to the tasle
of mInIstering that most of the ma.
tr ns , womenllke , give , themselves ,
with more heartiness than to the
technIcal tasks of theIr office.
As I sat In the comfortable lltUo
apartment of the matron , fioodt'd with
morning sunshIne , each of the homely
, f objects In the room , and oven the pic.
tures on thd walls , seemed to have
somethIng to whIsper of the storIes
- " that Imve been told In these rooms ,
o ( the depravity they have looked
upon , of the pltIablo wrecks of wom.
anhood they have seen pass through
thIs room to t.he Iron.barred cells be.
yond. Of some of thflse crIppled
creatures and their storIes the matron
told mo. Fourteen years of the Ilfe
has not calloused her senslbllltIes but ,
Instead , sharpened her sympathIes ,
and for all the endless stream that
comes her way she can lIsten to each
of theIr stories , pity them and holrl
out a hand to help If they have not
gene too far to bo beyond helpIng.
SometImes the judIcIous , quIck IntercessIon -
cessIon of the matron can do a Ireat
eal to check a young offender In the
downward course ; at any rate , a
kind word never hurts oven the most
. 10wl1 ,
Young Girls Savecl.
One nIght two young glrs were
brought Into the station house for 11\ .
toxicatIon , fresh , daInty girls ,
dressed In the finest of ovenlng gowns ,
covered with long coats. It was ! ' \ew
Year's eve and a blttor cold nIght.
1 The matron was used to the unusual ,
; . but the presence of gIrls such as
t these In her lodging house made her
" Glop and wonder. It was onlr : a llt.
tIe wh1le before the seep ] of Intoxlca.
tion wore off and the girls wolco to
. the realization of their surroundIngs
" and the horror of It. FInally , they
were calm enough to tell the matron
bow It all happened. The. ) ' had been
over to Manhattan to a dance with
two boy frIends. It was so Ic ) ' cold
' 'I\1 \ that the escorts suggested before the ) '
1'I1 crossed the bridge to take somethIng
to warm them , and the ) ' stopped In a
cafe and drank what the men or.
dered for them. Unused to takIng
stimulants , as soon as the ) ' struck
the cold all' out of doors the drlnles
went to tlolr heads and thoj' lenew
, err llttlo else of what happened un.
tIl they waked to find themselves In
the police station. What had hap.
pened was that the two escorts , find.
Ing themselves burdened wIth glJ'ls
too much Intoxicated to know what
vms happonlng to them , had opened
the door of a tenement house , sho\"ed
them In and left them thero. The
gIrls had fallen Immediately to sleep
and one of the ocoupants ot the house
stumbling o\"er thom , had reported to
the pollco and had them taken to the
station. It was a hIdeous night for
those Klrls , used enl ) ' to the nIceties
and refinements of m .
When the next morning came , with
I's Inevitable appearance at court ,
they peaded ] not to be taken In' the
patrol wagon with the ether prIsoners
and the matron securlli : the permls.
slon of the sergeant to tam ! them to
court herself In the car , and al't'angell
for 11. prlvato hearIng beroro the
Judge. The clrcl\mstances reJated ,
, v
. . . . . . . . . , , , . , . , , , , , , , , , , , ,
the judge let them err with some
strong words of admonItion. Then
the matron took the glrs ] to theIr
homo , where they found n mother al.
most frantic. The matrpn put In n
plea fOl' them and saved thom the up.
braidIng that most parents would
have } Joured forth for such an indls.
crotlon. ow , eTery ChrIstmas sIn e
the hapJening ! there comes to the sta.
tIon a gift from those two gIrls , n bIt
of' ' theIr own handIwork , and now and
then a letter from tholr mother , reo
iterating her apprecIation for the
savhig of her girls.
Maggie a Regular Lodger.
WIth some of the prisoners the mo. .
trons become old frIends , for they
almost make the 'statIon ho se theIr
regular dwolllng place. One of Mrs.
Cox's od.tImers ] Is an Irish woman ,
named MaggIe , whol11 ever'body In
the station house knows. She has
been a habItuo of station houses for 15
) 'ears , and the matrons and sergeants
get so ther look for her and almost
miss her when she doesn't come. She
Is one of the cheerful drinkers and 11.1.
waj's comes In with a swagger and a
laugh. The matron will greet her
with a sort of despaIrIng smIle :
" \Vell , MaggIe , 11.1'0 ) 'ou back agaIn ? "
"Suro , and aIn't you glad to see
me ? I keep you alive , give 'ou
somethIng to lIve for. "
And she docs keep thIngs alive ,
Mrs. Cox admIts. She sIngs her IrIsh
-
songs at the top of her great Irish
voIce , and keolJS ever 'body In the
station awalco wIth her song. She
maIms herself ! lerfectl ) ' at home In
the tin ) ' cubbj'.hole of a cell and slnles
Into a sleep as 11eaceful as a chIld's
when she has exhausted herself with
sIngIng , It takes a vIgorous effort to
make her get up In time for court. I
I '
Enlivens Station with Song ,
Remonstrance wIth her Is use loss ,
the matrons have learned her long
ago. Son1CtImQS the ) ' ask her If she
Isn't ashnlJcd to como so orten to the .
station lnL o , and she alwa's makes
the sarno nswcr , "No ; the cIt"S
wIlling for me to stay here and I'll
como as often as I llIee. It's much
moro comfortable than home. It's
cleaner nnd I like the eectrlc ] lights. "
I
She has such a ready good humor
and such a spirit of fun that In splto
of hOl' waywardnaRs 1\1" gle Is rather
a favol'lte In the ntatIon ami wIth the
judges. AftOl' ono of her last visits
to the poll co statIon Maggie pleaded
penitence to the judge and promised
to walle the strnluht and narrow path
In the future If the judge would let
her lto. So Hlo maslstrat dId gi\"e j
" " " ' " . . . . . . . , . , . " " "
I ' , , , , , , , J , , , , , , , , , , , . , , , . ,
her the chance , threatonlng dlro con ,
sequences If she appeared before him
'agaln soon. The very next nIght Mag.
glo was brought Into the station
house with her usual hilarity , but
gorgeously arrayed. She made no
apologlos for her downfall , but ox.
plalned that when she wont from the
st 1t1on house the day before she had
found n letter from her sIster contain.
Ing ft5. She took $7 of It and bought
a new skirt , a new shIrt waIst and an
enormous brass chaIn ; with the other
$8 she went to a saloon to come out
mInus the money and In the custody
of a polIceman. Once durIng ono of
her vIsits to the station Maglge grow
despondent. She thought of her two
daughters who are placed In a Cath.
ollc homo , safe from her Infiuenco ,
and she began to brood. She got hold
of n string and decided to choke her.
self with It. To inalw the thing 1110re
effectIve she called to Mrs. Cox to
toll her what she was goIng to do.
The matron was used to Maggie , hoover \ \ "
over , and to threats of suIcIde , so she
answered carelesslr : "Go ahead ,
MaggIe , ) 'ou've no Idea how quIckly
we would get you out of hero ; get
) 'OU out much qulckor dead than alIve ,
because wo don't want any dead ones
around hero. " WhereUIJon Maggie
burst Into ono of her peals ot laugh.
tel' and declared It was no use com.
mIttIng sulcldo In the face of such
dlscouragomen t.
There are onlr n few that taleo the
-
jllllYE Yt1tCT .
fill ? HEI 8118XJ I
w
TilE
L/lOY
-
tf I
ECCIN R
1 1I/s 'Y-
world so cheerfully under the Infiu.
ence of drink. Manr of the cases
that come under the ere of the 11OIIco
matron 11.1'0 of women who have hoen
led to the passIon for drInk to drown
some sorrow , and manr of them
women used to better ways of living ,
dar a fraIl hIt of a woman-a
mere girl-was hrought to the station ,
'Hor husband had got out a wanaut
for 1101' and wanted to have her com.
mItted to some Institution. Drink halt
made terrlblo ravages In the woman's
alJpearance , and when the etrocts of
the whlsle ) ' began to weal' off she sat
In her cell clingIng with hOI' thIn
hands to the hal's and begging pItl ,
fully for drlnle , Toward dawn the
woman collaps d and a hUl'ry call
was sent to the hospital. The ambit.
' . ( lnce In hIs arrIval had only
time to Ime , at her sldo and begIn
hIs her. surger fore death closed UIJon ,
,
\'s ! Pitiful Story.
While th' , woman lay tremblIng In
the cell dlV } IJ ; the night she had told
her star ) ' to the woman outsltle th I
bars , of how the craving had growl\
I
, upon her lIttio by muo uutll she loat
. ----I. " . . . . " . , , ' ' . \ , ,
- - - - - - - . . : . . - J
I
. ,
, . . . . , . . . . . .
- - - < < . . . . . " " , . . . . .
.
all power ever harsoU , At 23 she W !
; \ hOJeross ! wreck , The closing oct
of the little tragedy was wh n the
mother came from her llomo in the
country , near ow Yorle , and Insl tcll
on seolng the place ukoro her girl had ,
dletl. The matron begged ntlll 1Jloallod
with her not to look at the coli : thntlt
would bo somothlng she could no\'or
Corgot , but the mother demanded to
see It , and as SMn as she looked into
the bare plnco , toll In cOllapse , 11.1111
an ambuhmco had to bo called to care
tor hor.
" 'I'ho lady" was once a figure well
Imown in all the ! lOlIco stations , but
"tho lady" is ono of the figures that
has lJaSSOlI , whose lIfo hurried her tea
a pitiful ontl booro she reached what
should have been her primo. ' 1'ho mar
trons all called her "tho lalh' , " bOo
cause even h\ her worst days oho novo
er looleod I\n'thlng but the Indy , was
alwl's well dressed and novoI' came
to the pollco station without her woll.
fitting gloves carefullY buttoned ,
though somotlmos she \ms 11Icleod out
of the gutter In an almost hopelessly
deadened cl.\ndition. Her story Is one
that might hnvo been the thread of
some of the storlos ono used to read
In the Sunday school lIbl'arlos , though
It comes with much moro .forco to
hear the pollco matron who snw her
In the last days of her dogradatlon tell
It.
She had spent her girlhoOll In the
country at her father's homo upon the
HUdsdU , whore they took city bOll1'tl.
ors In the summer tImo. The girl was
IlS pretty as 111cture , had boon carOo
fully reared and well olhlcatetl. Ono
summer there came the InevItable
man from the cIty that won the heart
of the countr ) ' gIrlutd they were
married and came to nrooltlyn to ll.
All went as happy as a marrlago boll
f r a whUo. There was a lIttio girl
baby after whoso comlna the young
wlte Wits not "ery strong , and the doc.
tor ordol'ed mll1c punches ever ) ' day.
' 1'ho ) 'oung woman began to lllco the
punches and wanted two Instead of
one a day , then after n whIle she bo ,
gan to take the brandy wIthout tho'
mille and soon she found the llIlbit
Ilxell on lier strongl ) ' . The husband
bore with her nnd dId ovorythlng that
could bo done , but thIngs went from
bad to'orso until thQ habit fastened
Itself so that there was I1l'st a vIsIt to
the poll co station , and after the fil'st
a second amI a thIrd.
The woman , whoso lIfo had becn
guarded as carefully as any gIrl's
could be , who had been used In her
) 'OIl11g days to talco nothing stronger
than mll1t or sweet chler , began to be.
como used to the walls of a cell and to
bow In abject slavery to the taste of
whlslC ) ' . Somothnes she would IJlead
with the 'matron to go and Intercede I
wIth her husband nnd promIse bettor. .
thIngs , and many a time has Mrs. Cox
g9ne wIth the plea. Always It was. .
granted and the same result would' '
follow and "the lady" would bo 'bacle '
In the station house crazed with drInk.
' 1'11e bab ) ' gIrl grew up Into a beautiful
y ung woman , who would como arter
dark to vIsIt her mother In the cell
and plead with her. It was lllte try.
Ing to check the north wind. The pas.
sion swept down everythIng In Its
pathway. One day Mrs , Cox was sent
for to como to a consumptIve homo ,
and there she found "tho lady" In the
last stages of the dlseaso. She wanted
to say goodby and to offer thanlts for
the lIttle Idndnesses of the old days.
Made Nursery of Station ,
Ono day not long ago a 14.year old
gIrl brought In a dIrty llttlo baby and
saId the chnd was lost. The baby
spent the afternoon peaceably sleop.
Ing on the bIg quilt the matrons lcoep
for the purpose , and about five o'cloelc
a man came In and asked the matron :
"Havo you got for mo 'Il baby ? "
The matron assured hIm that she
hoped It was for hIm , as abe was anxIous -
ous to turn the InCant over to somo.
body. ' 1'he baby was properly IdentI.
fied and the man started off wIth It ,
complacently , wh n the matron aslcod
where his wlfo was that she had left
the chIld uncalled for all afternoon.
She had gene out , the man answered ,
and she had telephoned to him Ilt hIs
place or wOl'k ovor'In Manhattan to
call at the 1I01lce station on hIs way
homo to got the babo. 'rho man wa ! ;
told verr plaInly that the next time
hIs wIfe wllnted to go shopping she
was not to send hel' baby to the police
stations as U IlIlI'sery.
"Shoplifter" a Puzzle.
The shoplifter Is often the puzzl
to the matron of the Adams street
stutIon. They como In great numbers
from the poor , ahabby woman , whc
has stolen a few pall's of socks , or n
IIttlo frock for her haby , whom she
longs to have dressed lIke the babIes
of her well.to.do neighbors , to the
woman of apparent wealth , who has
accreted some seemIngly useless trlflo.
Ono'w man , faultlessly gowned and
ot undoubted culture and good hreed.
lng , who offered $500 not to bo made
to sleep In u coli had heon arrested
for taltlng three pairs of GJ.ccnt !
gloves. She was Indignant at her ar.
rest , but she didn't deny the theft ,
merelY oITored to pay tor the gloves.
' 1' 111\ waH a case out of many such
that Mrs. noylan recallf ! from her ox
JJoriOnCe8 at tile Adams street stn.
tIon , 0110 of the thng8 [ no ono can ox.
plaIn. 'rho ) ' call It lc1eptomanla willi
the rich and thlovol'Y with the poor ,
who , at least , have the prIck of noces.
sIty tn lend palllatIon to their gulIt.
These are the ordinary happonlngs
In the 11(0 of the IJollco'matron. TheIr
days and nights uro a ceaseless round
of watching the IntoxIcated , of stand.
Ing by to lcoop the sulcldo from her
Intentlon , of dressIng the woman wlth
delIrium tremens , who tears her
clothes to shreds In the night , of hear.
Ing ovel' and over the storIes ot
wl'etchednISB ( and mIsery and doprav.
It : . ,
" - . . ' . . r.-
. . . . .
-4
I : 'J /
" " ' '
= =
!
!
I There was a quick step in the hall ,
I
Molllo looleod InquirIngly across her
silver basltet at Jack , The Girl In Pink
sat up erect and hneUh' smoollicd ner
tumbled lodts. Then tbo door ope td
nnd Townshond peel1ed In ,
"Thought ) 'OU P001Jl0 would bo takIng -
Ing an hlYentctry-comlJIIUng tbo r \ ' -
ages. Tlm was an awfulh' jolly lIttle
dInner , 1\Irs. Clal1ln , " lIe followed her
cheery volco Into tbo pretty room. "I
oaw the lights were stIll on , so I
dIdn't rIng up the Inctotum , Can't tell
how lUuch I enjo'cd it. li'our o'clocle ,
ruesday , Iss ! Van Alen , Good-nlrht ,
.again ,
The door had almost elosol1 bohlnll
him when Molllo Clnllln SlJrang forward -
ward , the sIlver drOlJplng wllh : \
crash Into the basleet.
"Oh , Mr. Townshond , come baclel"
1101' soft , southern volco had in it 11.
note or distress. "Como rIght bnck ,
ihls mlnutel"
Ho turned his sIx fcet three quickly -
ly about , atul looked down at hel' fX- !
poctanUy ns she stooll In the doorwa ) ' ,
She smiled up , and the fiush on the
raIl' , Inughl g fact'J deepened a bit , a'J
she went on in her pretty , IWlJUlslve
way :
"Don't ) 'OU itnow , foolish man , lhat
) 'ou must not go err that wayl It's
such bad lucle to como bacltl Como
right In here and turn around th 'ee
Urnes. Ono-two-three-thnt'sIt. Now ,
! lit downl" 8ho'o the greatcoat a
genUo llttlo push toward the sleepy-
hollow chaIr. 110 wont down ; t1hl'
breathed n sigh of relief , "Thoro , : rou
can go now. " She held the door In-
'ltIngly open.
110 sat quite stIll In the bIg , comfortable -
fortablo chah' , mlll looked sternly at
1ho ether man , who was lennlng nog11-
Gently agaInst the IJlano.
"Taleo her back south , Jacle , before
the commonwealth finds out. We burn
witches up hore. "
She Ulado a 11tt10 moue , and the
ether man shrugged hIs ahouldors.
! . "I used to bo a bo11over In heredI y.
I'm not now. 1 glvo you my word ,
i rownshond , she has sonslblo ancestors.
I know two of them-anllioole at her , "
o poInted scornfull ) ' at the daInty IIg-
uro In the 111110 blue crene. "StecJlod
In superstition I Wears 1\ fetish of
some sort round her necle , and hat !
Cor her high nrlestcss the wrlnlelede'3t ,
blaclwst old- " ,
A blue cloud swept across the room ,
II. sort hand covered hIs lips , and a
\'olco was raIsed In Indignant pro-
tcst :
"It Isn'tl It's only my-rabbIt-folt : !
And you shan't maim fun of dear old
Aunt Llzal And who was it that
wouldn't pull with the 'Varsity crow
last year , because they had lost tholr
mascot ? And- "
"And who was It- " The GIrl In 1'Inie
bad rlson and was poInting an accus-
lng finger I\t the ilian In the great-
: oat , "that only lost weole , at Debby
Fair's mess , wouldn't sit down until
the steward was brought In-becanso
there wero-th-II'-to-enl"
He gave one 1 00 Ie at Jack-then ,
wI1hout n word , the two men boltl'd ,
pursued by llttle , dollclous , mockIng
Gibes.
Molllo turned sUddenly nnd looked
learchlngy ] nt the glr1' who had thrown
hersel [ down upon the rug. "ElIzaboth
Van Alen , I bolleve I'll tell-you-
somothlng. The strangest thlngl" 8he
amo slowly toward the firo.
"For three nights , Dess , I have
: Ireamed the sarno thIng-that In a
: ertaln place In this very hOuse , there
Is something valuable , silver or gold ,
' .1Id on. And , Dess , I believe It ! Thor
was no earthly reason why I should
dream such II. thlng-I have never
thought of It ! It just came to me ,
'inll I ] mow Aunt Llza would say It
was sent ! Jack laughed at first , but
last night when I woleo hIm up and
showed hIm-como , I'll show youl"
Eho sprang lightly to her feet and
gathered the seCt blue draperies about
her.
her.Tho
The GIrl In' Plnle followed quickly ,
AS she led the way to the dIning-room ,
( itralght across the parquetted 11001' ,
'Here , right behind this buffet , " she
tugged recklessly at the pretty pIcco or
furnIturo. "Now , put your car to that
wall , nnd listen when I tap. Don't you
hear-It's hollow ! " The two IrIB
Jooked at each other breathlessly , ' 1'ho
Girl In Plnle had caught the fever of
excitement that glowed In the blufj
eyes.
" 'I'hore L m't another place In the
whole room tnat sounds that way. I
know , for wo ha\'o a secret cabinet In
the llbrar , ' down home-and It'c rho
very Identical spot of m ) ' dreams !
You Imow , thls-theso apartments
were on co n hOuse , ono of these old
colonial mansions ; It belonged to
Juck's great-great-grandfatherorsome.
body. It's Jacle's own property , Ho
can do as ho plea.Os , and I'vo marlo
up my mInd-he's got to dIE ; In there
lnd see ! And thIs very nIght ! "
"Dut , Molllo , think of the me89 all
over your pretty room ! And won't
. . .llUl In the other apartment- "
' ' ' 1'hOY'\'A Ion" away. Mr. Crosby
won't bo back tIll to-morrow-that's
why I want Jack to do It to-lllg t ,
And what do I care for a moss , I !
only-oh , Jacle , let's do It-now ! " h
llfted two coaxing blue o'es to the
man who had corne In quietly and
was standing In the doorway , watchIng -
Ing the two with the shadoW' or a
smIle on his darle , aandsomo tace.
There was s\onco ( \ for a tImo. ' 1'ho
man In the dress SUlt ] ooleed dreamily
at the bit cr Unte : ! wall. 'rhe 011'1 In
I > Jnk laughed a little , norvously-hor
pro.ale , sennlble self had vanished I
. - , . . , / t - . ' - ,
bo ere the glamour .of mystery. h < < l
could almost see the treasure I
"l'l-e-aso , Jack. " 'Vhon MoUlo
coaxod- . ,
The man drew a long brat , W,1th-
out n word ho Inhl asldo coat ah\l \ vest ,
'
110 turned bacle tb.o'big I rug , " Ho
pushell the burrct out into the room ,
then dOllberatoly and slowly ho rnlsod
the hatchet Molllo Iuullled hIm.
C.r-a-c-Itl Down tumbled n sIlU'\rO
of tinted wallI
"O.ob , Moll ol" gasped the girl In
Pin It ,
"Go on , " suld Molllo , In a low , Inexorable -
orablo'olco. . The blue yes wera un-
rOlentIng. The Spartans paled Into
Inslgnllicance before this slender
) 'oung priestess.
AgaIn the hatchet went up-tho gnsh
wIdened ,
The plaster was all down-tho grny
dust was BeWIng Over the pretty china
and sIlver , oyer the po11shed tablol !
nnd , ohalrs , over the blue and tht'
plnle ParIs gowns , ever the black and
the golden heads.
O-n.ol rang the tall cnthedral tlock.
Down fell the tools with 'clntter upon
the Uoor , MolIlo Ellrang forward wItIt
a starlleil cry :
"Look I " the \vhlspor sdunded hoarsely -
ly through the sllen 'O. . "Oh , loolcl"
loolcl"I I
- - <
.
SUDDENLY EVERY ONE STOOD
S'l'ILL.
' 1'hore was 1gllttor of silver ,
gleam of gold-In the opening I The
GIrl In PInk felt shIver creep doWJ :
her back ; her heart throbbed wildly ,
And : Molllo was right ! Her dreamt
were t\'U1I1 :
It was sllvor-heavy , Eolld sllver-
wrapped In soft , old , yellowed papol
that plaInly told of the pll13slng of the
years.
Slowly , reverently , Molllo unwrnppec
them picco by piece. The blue oyel
were luminous , the sweet mouth trom.
ulous.
"Now , hurr11 See what else there'
Is-It seems to bo n small secret cab-
Inet. Oh , Jncle , what wUl Aunt Llza
say ! Aren't you clad I dreamedl"
The man willi the dust-covored shirt
and begrImed hands pushed her gently
aside. I
"Got bacle out of this mess , Mollie. '
and let mo aeo what Is here , It must
have been great-gront-grandfather.
ClafUn'a. Ho was governor , and t.hI
was the mansIon. Jovol I'd Illco tn' '
glvo the old gentleman a handshake ! ,
Here , taee ] thoBo , " ho handed her another -
other bundle of silver spoons , II. piteh-
er , a sIlver sugar and creamer , a pall"
or sUEar tonga , n half-dozon Hllver
plates of foreign maee , two gold-lIned
goblets , and a queer low dIsh 'of I3Ilver
filigree. I
Suddenly everyone stood sU11. 'l'here
was n confusIon of voIces , a trampling
of heavy feet In the hall , and the next
moment the door was flung violently
open , and two brawny policemen stood
on the threshold , J
"Just lwep your pace , partner.
Promallallln' aIn't the tlclcet just now. "
The big pollcoman smIled pleasantly ,
'rho man In the dust-covored clothes
grew palo. '
"Don't lese your temper , old man , "
sang out a cheery volco from the 1 r.l11.
"They'vo run mo In , too. I thInk-it's
going to be-runny. " The Girl In PJnle
gave a little Invountary cry. The man
In the greatooat smiled at her reassur-
Ingy ] , Strange , she bad never lenown
before what n spiondld-Iooldng fellow'
ho was ! Any gIrl mIght be proud-
Perhaps-after all- Then she retrent-
ell toward the library door hastlly.
. '
A man , ( L small man , with a very red
face and angry eyes , had pushed , hi : !
way pnst the two pollcomen across to
the tabo ] where the treasure glittered
nnd gleamed under the eQctri ] lights.
" 'I'hero It Is-overy bit of It ! " Ho
pointed excitedly w the heap of sHver
stuff , then to the unsIghtly hole In
the wall. "Don't YOll see that ! What
rurthor proof do you want ? I don't
care who ho Is-a ClaflIn or anybody
else , or whether ho owns the universe I
1I0's a blasted thlof-he and hIs part.
ner there ! Haven't I bcen watchln
him slmlklng about the place for the
last two hoursl 'l'hey lenow I WIU
awa'1 from homol The thIef ! SteallnB
my sIlver rIght out ofbls rage fair ,
Iy choleed hIm , ho could not say more
Molllo caught hol' breath. For one
brIef moment she looked at the groUll
before lieI' . Then , with a queer lItth
sound , a curious mixture of ] aughtel
and sobs , she sanle helpessly ] down
upon the fioor , a I.Ittle limp , buo ] thing
that gasped faintly :
"Oh , Jaclel Jackl It's-Mr. Crosby. . . .
alld-w 've dug - Into - his - sUve.
closett "
. . . . . : . . . . . . . . . . A . ' . '
