The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, July 12, 1903, Page 7

THE SUNDAY CALL. Pacifie Coast equent and the ex- s which re the using every 1ish the cf ad- Pac 2 The bandits had murdered a mile express $60,000 in e Prope rty of X3 Company E the robbers by - ght ced was the im- upon a package of ave been bringing flowers m- eve f t gentleman who saved hey told me he was pleased to 2 ne else su get t | ady is with him 2 w T s out of the win. nd walked the me 1 not brir y e and ut for What r . Telegraph H We »or roug e to t flowers, but I gat m for s of We n't worry way ¢ t the baror - & King e d let y here ts g third to-morrow et this hou » - e girl thanked ' him angd Maitland eautiful but there we her faee, and t e discove away. bieed 1 pardon for r agings = 1l t wish to leave Sosin” GVAESS he paying respects to husband. 1 hope he has s 5 o A and he has suf- vered to receive me the he money If he w + valuable would discover his bring down ridi- se. He r mentioned and witk ba fd weakiy v g apologized &y P en me. the man a scending Indifference that caused the rev- r er an in- rs to gasp we. & was he the Vitation tc 1 again the next d ~ ] at night thieves entered the baron's s rr e Jodgings and carried away some $1800 in e : SUEL SRS soid thet e °d under the floor. ? existence at of the feariess When it wayma to his “quaintances to and determined on a bo sympathies. He was shown venture. where the carpat had been get at the hidden treasure the dust upon a board was the imprint f a hand, the hand with the long third up to 1 there in harp,” said y might the have were not elessly et dle Half Hour Storiettes. Is One of the Brightest, Snappiest Pages Ever Published. Just It the Thing to Read Over Your Cup of Breakfast Cofee. You'll Be All Excited Over Girl and Highwayman For Insiance, Which Will Be Orly One of the Daring Sjoriettes in the - Next Sunday Call, July 19. : LSS R W S found more.” Then he sent for a clerk nk, had his man remove some m the chimney and take out gold twenty-dollar pleces which had deposited to his credit. That this was the money taken from the express car Malitland felt confldent and vet he had no proof. If the man on the couch was the real bandit, how came the impr of that hand in the dust? Had he robbed himself to create a sen- sation, or was he after all, innocent? That hand under the bandages! He must t at any cost, and without delay. of a ba bricks f! $20,000 § he see t} Mollie went out and left them sipping wine together. Maitland looked across the table at the arm lying stff in its splints and bandages. Then he got up and went to the window, standing with his back to his companion. When he re- turned there was a look of stern determ- ination on his face. “Let us drink to the health of the little flower girl,” he cried. “What a little beauty she is. “A strange creature, surel replied the other with interest. “I had hoped to see her and thank her for the flowers she sends. But Mollie has frightened her so that she dare not come, When this cursed arm is out of the splints I shall be free and then—" “And then you will find your little ad- mirer ready to recelve you. Gad, baron, you are a lucky fellow; And patient, too. If 1 were in your place I should be tempted to defy that old doctor and get out at once. Your arm must be well knit by this time.” “That's how it seems to me, but he is an obdurate old 1 wish I might have a look at your bruised member,” said Maitland, careless- ly. “I studied surgery once and might find reasons for disagreeing with this old sawbones. 'Spose we take a look at it, anyway?"* “Could you put it up again so that he wouldn't suspect?” “Right and tight as a package of tea.'” sald the detective, draining his glass. The baron poured out some brandy and drained it at a gulp “To it then before Mollle gets back. I half suspect she stands in with the doctor to keep me housed up here for fear I will see the lit- tie girl.” Maitland needed no second invitation. ‘With his penknife he quickly cut the stitches and rapidly unrolled the ban- dages. His hand shook and his face flushed as fold after fold was wound away. The other watched him ecoolly without once wineing. At last the splints lay bare. Maltiand lifted them gently away, his gaze riveted on the fingers. ‘What's the matter with you, yman? It's the arm that is broken, up herey The fingers are all right.” “The fingers are all right,” repeated the detective, setting his teeth to hide 'his disappointment. ““It isn’t the same at all.” “What isn't the same? They haven't changed hands on me, have they?” “I could almost belleve they had," Mait- 1and rejoined under his breath. “But, say, you needn’'t be cooped up here any long- er. That old doctor is a fraud. Your arm is in fine shape. I'll put on the bandages and we'll go out together for an airing. What do you say to a drive out to the hill to see Mabel?" I'm with you,” cried the other. “Hurry up and we'll get off at once.” That night Maitland paced his room for hours, trying to find the end of the thread that would unravel this mystery. The deeper he had gone into it the more he was puzzled. The hand of the baron was not the hand of the robber. Of that he' was certain. And yet the money he was spending layishly was no doubt the very money taken at that time. Had the tramp been one of a company to commit the crime his accomplices would have shown up for thelr share of the plunder. Yet here he was spending it openly and in a manner to attract the greatest pos- sible attention to himself. Then there was the imprint of the hand on the dust under the carpet. That was left by the real thief. Who was he and how did he learn of the secret hiding place? Could it be Mollje—yes, why not? The bellef that the hand under the bandages was the gullty hand had blinded him. She was an accomplice of the real thief and ‘was helping him to get the moncy that he had somehow lost to the tramp. It was through her that he must work to catch the real criminal. With this end in view, Maitland visited daily with the baron and encouraged the latter's attentions to Mabel. This was not a difficu!t task. Mabel was such a sweet little body that the baron was soon head over heels In love with her. He showered her with presents, dressed her in silks and laces, took her to drive dally and gave out everywhere that they were to be married. Mollie was furious, but her hold on the baron was gone. He re- fused her entrance to his quarters, sent back her letters unopened and passed her on the street with searcely a nod of re- cognition. Maitland kept Mollie informed as to their love affalr. He wished to make the baron so hated by his former sweet- heart that she would try to ruin him. At the same time he was gaining her confi- dence. After several weeks of this ma- neuvering he made an engagement with Mollie to meet bim at dinner. She was also to bring her brother. who had but recently turned up and who Maitland was very anxlous to see. When this was all ing. There was no mistaking the hand. He would have known it among a mil- lon. How many hours he had pored over its outline, bullding up from the faint red W a complete stgucture. He had often thought he could tell just the text- ure of the skin. And here it was just as he had pictured it. He knew now why the man hud seemed familiar to him at the outset. The face and figure of the man corresponded with his speculations. It was as though a figure out of a dream had been suddenly materialized. B heart was in his t but hablt was stronger than em and saved him et from betraying himself. The baron and 70 MEFET Mabel_ would they never come? He talked 'y commonplaces while his brain wa _n fire. AIIE)T, CRIED He ordered wine and ed it en his eompanions for fear that thev might go before his plan was worked out. To ar- rest this man now was to bungle and Maitland was an artist. At last they came: the baronm, tall and eourtly, his ecompanion fresh and pretty as a wildwood flower. For this night she had laid aside her new finery and wore a simple dress. no orna ave a bt I MoLLIF. A TRAMP ANB A STREFT WA/ SNEFRED e ’d At & iFie of violets at her throat the - RO. v Mollie's eyes flashed a the man be- side her grew livid. But before a word y could be sald Maitland sprang up, and ot grasping the baron's hand, cried: “My 5 dear fello ad 1 am to ses you Come and r table. And you, Miss Mabel, how pre ¥ to-night. Here are some old ances. Now we shall have a jo “T decline to r hem,” cried Mollle, rising. “A .tramp and a strest waif!" sneered the brother. “Take that back, or by heaven you will never speak asgain,” shouted Van Staal, advaneing on the stranger. are, you know you a shrieked Moll beside he f with rage. “Where dld you get money with which to trick out this little minx? From the ex- I need to do Is to say press comp the word and you zo to the pen.” “And then, fed her compenion, “your litle pet thers can go back to the on the cheek cut the e brother staggered but drawing a re- r would have fired had not Mal caught his hand and wrested the weapon him t he was now mad with g at the baron's throat ave your life * sald Maitland, stepping between the two men and covering both a revolver In each hand “Your 3 to bé wasted in tha they belong to ma. e and four officers securely and see that they do not escape. This lady, too, may as well go alang. This litle gir! is inno- cent. I will see that she is properly cared for™ At the trial the baron, with Ingenious complacency ed his part in the He . wiedged his tha r an Staal and John and the same person. His r e in the world he explained to be the rest accident. It happened a few weeks earlfer when hoboing through a mountainous district out on the Southern Pacific. He had left the railway K ng to take a short cut th mber to a ham- let near by tsore and hungry, he had n down on his luck. A few beg and If po: him from the cc ble sheiter he reach- its feasibility. It was round wing the ob- gold piece. ng it as a p ver was $60,000 there by the the crime, bu tramp had money was vally rema. highwayman » Barkley, one of the most thieves i highwaymien In the and was shortly afterward exe- » San Quentir daring belief in the gave up all the jewels and finery that Van Staal had presented to and pleaded o hard with the Judge for his tdl that he was arranged Maitland invited the baron and 4. .charged on the prom that he would Mabel to the same’ luncheon. Mollie came first and her brother fol- lowed, Something in the man's face or figure seemed very familiar to Maitland and yet he did not remember to have seen him before. But as the brother raised a glass of wine the detective al- most leaped from his chair. There clasped about the stem of the champagne glass were the fingers he had been so long seek- give up his roving and settle down to earn an honest living. He and Mabel were married and are now living happily on & little farm In California. And In Maitland's office hangs a frame in which is d ed the print of the hand that played such a part in estab- lishing his theory of psychics applied te detective work. Fun, Fast and Furious. More Awful Adventures of Phyllis the Cook, Clarence the Fly Cop, Lady Bountiful’s Terrible Teddies and the Jolly Jackies ‘Who Out-Hobson Hobson, in the Great Comic Supplement. Printed in Multiple Colors, About Which th: Whole Country Is Talk- ing. Just Take a Peep at the Next Sunday Call, July 19. —————