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a jerk, rt e Bat was cocked at a s 2nd jerked an rod the wor ke & hound 8 quarry. SPI : work all done Saturday s'poge?" he asked, i said I, be, to tingle. incom ee hobo y's been in your shop last evening?" likely." moved along: the hall, and pre- spped aside to en- 4b e to use the key which already had singled out on its ring. I opened the door with an acute ¢ of anticipation; but" mno- g out of the way met my view! "walls were arranged the 1 ! were placed at pise distances 'about the 'tong a that held Jasicus legal periodic ; * typewriter desk was" : and' tmencumbered, 'save 'for | vase of Japanese ware in which Miss Fox usually had flowers of some sort. In short, everything was neat and shipshape, as the place always was of a morning before the day's activi- ties disarranged it into a homelike un- diness. Struber had not paused to dwell upon 'the aspest of the outer room, |, seeming to divine that my private room must hide whatever it was he was expecting to find. The door be- tween the two rooms stood ajar, and an exclamation from the detective, who had halted upon the threshold, brought me speedily to him. "For the love o' Mike!" he mar- velled. Ii peered across his shoulder and echoed his astonishment. ~ First, I noted that my desk had been dragged to. one side, providing a wider clear space in front of the safe which stood against the wall behind it. Then 1 saw that the safe door stood open. A few Papers were scattered over the floor. With a glare, 1 recognized one.of the small ivory boxes. It lay 'upside-down, its lid projecting right angles from it. . 7. And then my attention became riv- eted upon: a figure huddled in the sel ind the safedoor. I only had time to make out. the. fa- miliar blue blouse and loose flowing | breeches of the Chinese coolie's at- tire in public, when Struber sprang | . forward. He pushed the safe = door to, permitting the light to fall square- | ly upon the motionless form over | whieh he stooped. ! Along low whistle escaped him. He reached down and caught the end | of the braided queue and gave it. a! He jerked harder; the thing came away in his hand. "This is no Chink," he announced in a brittle tone, standing upright and 100 from the dangling queue in his h to the denuded poll. - Is d in wonder. A small circu- iar Space at the top of the ' man's #, where the queue had been fas- tenad by means of some sort of ad- hesive, disclosed an area of close-! cropped gray 'hair. The. face was hidden in the hollow. of one arm; the { at! | | knees were drawn up and the 'body |. arched, as if it had petrified in a PareRyam of pain. FRA ©" Next instapt I saw something that sickened me with horror. One hand was turned palm upward. It was puffed and swollen. In the palm was' 2 Sle faprin ot. syiahol on the eath' ring. On the floor beside it la the ring itself. Be ay CHAPTER IX. Struber turned the body so as to get | 3 view of 'the face. I was only hazily consgious of his. quick; deft move- ments, having myself no stomach : to gee more than I already had and when |' I came out of my daze he was utiliz- ing my desk telephone ina low-voiced conversation with some: person---at' Joliet headquarters, I surmised. Be- ore moving the desk, it would seem" that the intruders, heedful of mak- ing as little ' noise as possible, had 3 he | kh © 7 i 1 h g g > ularly ill-favored and ragged A Whose villainous odor,' once he got it going, su| an intent on his to disinfect the room. The derby squinted at'me along a thu the safe. "Y' don't know that gu e remarked in a tone he thought I did; Wi a mse, he contin sick, Mr, Ferris, an'. no a sight like that man's chest, 'sp i on ou've al y went through." Then e Wi fired at me: "Keep a rattlesnake in' the safe?" 1 shook m sad; '1 did in truth feel: sick. "It was the ring," 1 told him. "Don't touch it." "Not -me!"--laconically. "That's the way I'd doped it out. It croaked that gink as if it'd - a-been a. side- winder, though. You its keeper?" "It's min It 'won't Mr. Struber "T'm great litf thing of that kind," ed me: "But I'd like to get it out o' jen before the coroner comes buttin' | if. Y' Know, an inquest's a public proceeding, an' we're not ready to ave some things get in the mnews- papers yet. These foxy reporters is fierce. Go shoo your jewelry into its] sorrel an' put up the bars; then let's I never had handled the ring with- out a feeling of dread, and the thought of picking it up now was in- expressibly repugnant. But I recog- nized fully the wisdom of keeping some details suppressed until I was in a position to give a sensible, plau- sible account of them, and so 'hasten: ed to get the deadly object back into its box and the box itself buried be- neath 'a mass of papers in a-desk drawer. » "Mr. Struber,' reflectively . puffing his. malodorous cigar, 'was now seat- ed, one (leg swinging comfortably over the chair arm. I leaned against my desk 'and whited, as he produced & blue halo in the air by waving his cigar. . "Reckon 'yuh thought' we weren't much interested in your troubles this mornin'," he, began, . contemplating me through the haze. "Fact o' the matter is, Mr. Ferris, I knew Thurs- day yuh was keeping something back I'ought to a-been put next to, Stebbe yuh don't know that guy at thé: Re- public; I ain't sayin' yuh do or yuh don't; but as soon as yuh lamped that mind with somethin' that 'd' happen- ed before; somethin' that Trg 0 worryin' yuh, too. Correct?" . - ° I contented myself with another nod, and, to myself; the expression of Ia definite conviction" the extent to which this chap hod bef : I could no longer dispute the fact that Mr. Struber was clever; that he was remarkably shrewd both at ob- serving and at drawing deductions from what he observed. Without seeming to remark my 'trestfallen silence, he pursued; = "Says I to myself Thursday: 'Now, there's somethin' Mr. Ferris is afraid to tell me; it ain't. ever 'occurred to him before that mebbe some time he'd have to tell it, an' handin' it to him sudden this way's got him to guessin'; he wants to wel the: likel results o' tellin', s0'I might as: wel blow. 'Mabbe,' says-I,*he'll need Jolt to make him at all, and I'll la; ow a while." , , "Well, I reckon yn got the jolt all-right--what?? > = "Several . of them," I conceded. "But I'm less concerned for that. have been: than for those that are likely to be; Just between ug, T'd like to head them off." Sy "My 'idee exactly. -If you're ready to put me wise "to what was in' the: package the guy at the Republic sent hall h know. 'bout Shublic act--~why, mebbe we can head 'em. e way to go about it is not to set PADRE Th, Cont. Ta Po 3 caught fair game this time, but ewho knows who" the next one might be?" ht. Whoth } e was right. ether knowin, spoken or not, hig last words gave gy a sudden chill and a swift recurrence, of the sickening feeling. The truth of the matter was, T had a yi | unmistakable criminal activity : our . ugly objected: " jaunty angle. He 3 LA To s eliberately placed card 'border yuh connected safe under the spur of a' that 'something might, ha like what actually 3 was horrifying, My careles| an object so deadly was yond measure. "My God!" the from me. "I'll get words were rid of the ', "Net ve : Put it where it ean ite évery ;simp -that feels called monkey with it; but you freeze to Smet me yuh may want it. powe! a Ld At this foment I could mot have ] believed that the "time - would" com when I 'would be thankful for not having obeyed a natural impulse destroy a thing so diabolically mal nant. ' i "As Soon as I had steadied a He upset all my "preconceived no- ; ane bit I foo studied Mr, Strubex and considered. | 1g 'he Urpeised 'me with 8 another side of his char- "When the coroner comes, ' don't, mention _ that "gentle; lady] to him; nor Miss Fox's nam don't 'mind my sayin' so, too swell a girl to be mixed ini a mess! liké this we've run into." Notwithstanding 'the language; his, tions. of detectives. In a vague sort: tone and manner were unmistakably of fashion, I fancied he should be go-! respectful, and" I stared at him i ing over my office with a magnifying- lens and mystifyin] occult comments and mysterious hea shakings, which, in. true ol style, he would resolutely refuse explain. Instead, however, he was the most Sominenplage looking » chap conceivable. He had been not so much, startled and surprised by the fatality itself, it would seem, as gratified that a 'line of reasoning had to been approv: firmed: = Apparently, in a single brief taken in everything necessary to he knowl: aside from removing the queuewig and scrutinizing the vic- tim's face, he had sought no farther for clues. And lastly, he was more disposed to'sit down and thresh out the whole matter with me. 1 was be- ginning. to understand .why. his chief reposed confidence him. expressed something of ny thoughts, and he nodded his under- standing. 3 "Clues 7" he muged expanding "end of hi y cigar, which oecasionally fizzed like a damp firecracker. t's 'the. use o' chasin' them bugs in a case like this here? " That stiff; "the busted safe; the little'box; the ring--them's clues, No use lookin' for any others. Yuh ain't a-goin' to find anything hore that points' to: what's behind it all. "This much is as plain 'as day. Didn't we both'have the same ranch ? somethin' or other bein' pulled of fn here? Sure, we did. Look at it just a second as I see, it"--he squar- ed round and indicated the différent objectives with wide sweeps of one arm: "Somebody's opened tle safe por by twistin' the button 'stead o' drilling it*fulk o' holes, pourin' in a spoonful' or so o' soup an' spoiling a y. good harnessed-box. No ne Bl SE ese foxy' erts 'wl reads 'combination through the ends o their inspecting the s nondescript the jolts fingers by the fall o' the tumblers, just 'as easy as if they'd had it to fom ie P "Then there's the mark on this stiff's hand. . Right off I looks for the ing. 'There she is! Time Charley en gets his we had that Chink sign looked up, but I don't believe we found out what it means. Me remember Charley Yen's case? Believe me, yes, Us hulls 's paid for not ferget- that stingaree tin "Now when you're ready to put me next to what yuh know, why, I'll give the answer--mebbe." ; "Here's hoping, at. any rate," 1 fervently. expressed my eelings. More and more did I regret . this amiable sleuth's apparent shiftiness, for 1 was sensible of a growing con- fidence in his abilities. How mu would it be safe for me' to tell him? It seemed imperative that, if the mys- tery was éver to be cl up, if 'an be ended, h na i e as a repres: ive the law should be f of all the. oul Yet I 'abou me with shidry | rthodox. J but comprehensive survey, he had +p iBeay's teying grab, 'savvy? H s : ' : (11 th : herrhe finds o | be- |-victim "in consideration 'placed in possession : wonder. ' "'S all right," he. tried to quiet my quickly 'awakened alarm. ou leave it to me. When Doc. -Harris asks you anything, follow my lead. 'He's young and like as fiot never "heard o' the ring an' Charley Yen's death. ' Hagan was coroner then. Harris don't know nothin' about Lois Willets. : We don't want to:drag her ain't any in- into this 'at all. - There ed and: its. result con. quest that's goin' ee out more-'n we already 'alre; now, 80 let it go as a lain, ev 2 day 'case o' peter-crac portant - papers 'som ink 80 who that stiff } . "That's so," I, with 'a sudden realization that we had forgotten the wi of y's larger aspects, "you seem- \ RAN es i kN ra The shrewd 'eyes regarded me quizzically. .: "Recognize him! "Who was he?" "Steve Willéts." | : (To be continued.) op - TRENCH DAGGERS. Various Kinds of These. Weapons Use at the Front. '1 Shops in London showing cutlery are doing a considerable business with army officers in trench daggers, These weapons vary in size gnd pat- tern, Sometimes they have a decided mediaeval appearance. More deadly weapons for the "in fighting" which is '80 frequent a feature 'modern trench warfare cowldihardly be de- sired: They are described as plunge dagger," "sts "knuckle-duster dagger;". "| y ger" and "Thug Tonite "Th ter of ithe grip varies; and the handles are weighted according to the of strain put on the blow. = Sometimes an officer 1 faney of his own as to the most de- sirable kind of trench dagger, and supplies. the specification, = A little excitement has been caused in a Hay- market shop by. the. request that an o I guess yes." sent to the War Office. The order is more likely to mean' that one or two officers in the bul about proceed. to_the front isgue of such weapons file, In the F¥ | trench daggers, | breastplates a i | cient' war. para | in uge for som | and kee, Kitchener is seriously: considering the ] \ Cut oot ind burn the old raspberry th 'canes as soon as they 'are through fruiting. * Cultivate the 'young 'shoots valuable, as is sweet clover; which may be grown to advantage in most provinces, § It will cost not less than 75 cents to raise a baby Brahma chick up to the point of laying, Leghorn chicks could be raised for about 50 cents, as er | mature much earlier in life, It pays to prepare vegetables as well as _ fruits neatly - for "market. Clean, attractive packages do not cost much more than unattractive ones ind bring much better: prices. . Try wo" A 3 » X-| Wheniit is necessary to prune trees, the branches should be" cut. or sawed off smoothly and a thick coat of pa applied to the cut surface, and a sec- ong oat applied after the first ia ry,' Bu : og IR The' mammoth Russian sunflower is. grown for its seeds. While it is bloom: ing at thesback of a lot itis a sight worth seeing. The seeds are used for THE PATRICIANS BF AUSTRIA. Unchangeable Point of - many. powerful - persons in Au society wish that the rigid rul gourt etiquette could odifi uf the number in favor of reforms is not sufficiently 'large to® bring about a change in the usage of centuries. The nobility their own rank nearly all th "straight had assorted 'lot of these knives should be |B rdly be enforced. If they ¥ ed_as to permit a lady | Hos modified; but wo 13 'bees are the right number average farmer to have, ten bi \g us- jxere preferable to a and still "fewer "being desirable to" start with. For the fruit bees should be regarded as a ; sary side line just as chickens many parts of the coun > 'equipment. cost for five colonies of "1t*is 'possible for: careless' help to a Sonsidesable portion of the A + bees is about $60. . dles, open. sa 0 by. using &, tight-bo 'canvas over' the ral all of the heads. In the grain shatiers badly, a surprising. 'be: be It is. that I would" er. anything. sa