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near enough, that it had been shattered
by a hard blow.
“VVhat’s missing?”
the clerks.
“The nugget,” they answered.
Bertie reached the door the same
stant, and pushed out.
The crowd was surging around, and
three or four men near at hand had bloody
faces.
“Who broke that window?” liertie de-
manded, immediately.
“VVe don’t know who he was,” said
“He was off as soon as it was
he demanded of
in-
one man.
done."
“Why didn’t some of you nab him?”
“We did try it,” said one of the men
with blood on his face, “but he was
Chain lightnin’.”
“He broke our faces with the same
thing he broke the winder with-the
heel of a pistol,” another explained.
“And he got away?”
“Yes.”
“'I‘hat’s mighty bad. Can anybody de-
scribe him?”
This they tried to do, but no two could
agree and the end was confusion.
The fact was, they had taken no
tice of the man 1111til he suddenly
the window and seized the nugget of
gold.
Their his motions were
like that no one could follow them, and
the few who had tried to prevent his
escape had fared badly in consequence.
About the only fact Bertie could
hold of, then, was that the thief was a
man, and his Vigor of action bespoke a
no-
broke
so llglllI1l1lf,,'-
get
man in l1lS1)1'l1llc--()1lC having rather cool
in-rye and superior strength.
llertie turned back into the store.
The clerks had speedily
window of other valuable articles.
cleared the
The proprietor had pressed to the
front, too, as quickly as possible, and he
was now speaking loudly.
“How am I to know that?” he was de-
DIAMOND DICK, JR.
RIGHTS A WRONG. 5
manding of the two rough-looking men
who had accompanied Bertie the
shop. “You but how am I to
know that he wasn‘t a confederate?“
“Holy smoke I" one of
ploded. “"l1at is jist as good as callin‘
me and my pardner thieves!"
“'l‘hat’s what it is," agreed the other.
“You make your mistake, Mister Man.“
“I hope I do, but it looks rather sus-
picious. ” i
“What’s the trouble here?” asked Ber-
tie.
“Why, this man says mebby et was a
into
say so,
the two ex-
put-up job, 0111' comin’ in hyer to draw ‘
his attention while a pard of our’n broke
the winder.”
“Then that includes me," said Bertie,
calmly. “In fact, I was the one who
brought these men in here, and I’m re-
sponsible. And I assure you, Mr. Conk-
ling, that I am not in that business."
“Not saying that you are, sir, but do
you know these men well?”
“Never saw them in my life till a few
minutes ago, sir, but all the same I bank
on their innocence."
“You kin do that, sport, every time."
“You see, Mr.
idea of coming in here till I proposed it
for this young lady’s sake.“
Conkling, they had no
“'l‘hat’s right,” cried one of the men.
“Aiitl if you want to know who
I‘m Chris
short, and l’iii jist down from the Sxpizuv
H
I am,
Ross, called lx'ris-lx'1'oss fer
creek country.
“And I'm Ilryce I%yei's, commonly
called By-lly,“ said the other. “XXI hey
been pardners these ten years, an‘ Kris-
I am honest and l
“'e hadn't nothin‘
do with the loss ofthe Turtle
l(ross knows thet
know thet he is. ter
nugget, but
we‘d like to have somethin‘ to do with
hndin‘ et again."
“'l‘liat‘s riglit,” lx'ris-Kross.
“Ef this hyer leetle lady is the rightful
owner of that nugget, she'd orter have
ct."
agreed