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, off at a furious pace,
HAPPY DAYS
11
known,
robbed.
No suspicion. rested upon Jack Warner
for several
en, after a “fruitless quest for him, de-
tectives were responsible for a theory that
he was the assailan is was verified
by the statement_of Horace Warner him-
e became conscious. Matters
had reached a climax.
[ro BE CONTINUED.]
Down on the Old Farm.
. (Continued from page 8.)
“Good-by, Celia. Don’t forget me!
The safe was open and had been
Good-
by, father! Don’t despair! I shall prove
my innocence! There are ten days to work
in. Trust me. Believe in me...I am going
to Bake a a brave fight to save the old home.”
“Oh, my son! My son!” groaned Simon
‘Tompkins, extending both hands before
him. “Oh, Charley! Come back, my boy!
Come back!”
““Get up!” cried the detective, giving the
horse a cut and phe aeon went rattling
down the Portlan
“That settles i exclaimed Squire Mel-
ton, shaking his fist at the group under the
. “Silas Stubbs, I'll have the law
on you.
get your things together and find another
roof to shelter you, for as sure as the sun
will rise’ to-morrow in ten.days’ time I
shall oust you from the old farm.”
CHAPTER V.
‘THE ESCAPE.
It would be hard to explain in full the
feelings of Charley Tompkins as he went
spinning over th® Portland road with De-
tective Connolly in the open BY.
Charley was entirely innocent—no mys-
tery need be attached to ints part of the
business—we give it out rig)
Being innocent, the vente which his
father had shown in him cut the boy to the
True, the blind man had taken it back
afterward, but Charley knew him
enough to understand that his mind was Poy
no means settled in spite of what he said.
His father doubted him; the old house
was in danger.
It was pretty hard to have all this sud-
denly come upon the boy_at his homecom-
ing, when he proudly handed over the large
sum which he had saved by denying him-
self everything but the bare necessities of
re.
“Pll never go back till I can prove my
tmnocence,” he thought. “Somebody com-
mitted this robbery, but I can’t believe that
Brock: | Melon is a criminal, in spite of what
Celia
“Brace “up, now.
to heart, young. fellow,”
grufily, as these thoughts were passin,
through Charley’s mind. There’s better
than the likes of you who have been in
trouble. Anyhow, they can’t givé you
Icore'n ten years and at your age that don’t
amount to muc
“I shall never go to State’s prison for the
robbery of the Harvey Bank, Mr. Connolly,”
replied Charley, quietly. “Something tells
e »
Connolly laughe
“Faith and I Balieve you are right,” he
remarked. “Say, this thing can be fixed
right now if you say the word.”
“What do you mean?”
“Come now, come now! You've given up
five hundred dollars, to be sure, or, rather,
I have took it from you to give up to the
police, of course, but you took_a hundred
times five hundred and what did you do
with it? Just give me the steer where say
twenty times five hundred can be found
and mebbe you'll never get to Boston at
Don’t take it so much
said Connolly,
“No,” said Charley, “I wouldn’t bribe you
if I could and I couldn't if I would.
innocent, The money you took from me is
mine, honestly earned, every dollar of it,
and don’t you forget that I shall hold you
in strict account for the last cent.”
“Rats!” growled the detective,
talking. about bribes’
“You were.”
“Yer lie, you t’lef! _ Never said no such a
thing! Do you dare to tell me to my face
that I’m a croo
“No need to tell you what you ‘already
Don't § talk tome. I don't want to
“Who's
“Faith and “you "Il hear every word I've
got to say to you,” retorted the detective,
seizing the whip and giving the horse a
sarnee cut.
‘ow just here was where Mr Detective
‘conn made a huge mistak
He had been warned in Portland, where
he hired the team, that the horse would
not stand the whi ip. .
Instantly the animal threw up his heels,
kicking out the front of the buggy, then
seizing the bit between his teeth, he started
with: the detective
lying back on the seat wildly shouting,
“Whoa! Whoa!” and jerking on the reins
like an old woman, whieh, of course, made
meters a great deal w
s Charley ‘Tompkins might have
helped hin if he had been on hand to help.
nm one sense of the word Charley had
fared worse than the detective, for he had
n thrown, out of the buggy when the
horse kicked up and was now lying on his
back in the road half stunned.
The instant Charley recovered himself it
flashed over him that here was his chance.
‘0 go to Boston as a criminal meant jail
for the time being at least, and without
friends or money hat could he hope to do
in ten days’ tin
To be sure, it te ht all end in his in-
nocence being proved, but in the meantime
what was to become of his poor blind fa-
ther and the old home? -
Thus, in spite of the fact that to run
away looked like an admission of his guilt,
Charley resolved to make the best of his
opportunity.
here was some fifieulty in getting up,
handcuffed as he w:
By the time the “boy managed to regain
his Teet a horse was heard coming furiously
along from the direction of the village.
t wishing to be seen, Charley hurried
on a few steps to a place where Beaver
Brook crossed the road.
Here was his chance to give his pursuers
the slip.
He crawled under the bridge rail and
jumped down into the shallow brook, run-
ning on into a dense thicket, which he
knew perfectly well.
Many was the time he and Sam Sanders
had hunted muskrats here.
The brook ran down to ‘the seashore,
where there was an old ruined summer
hotel, which had been partly destroyed by
fire some years before and had never been
rebuilt.
“If I could only get down to the old
Hamm House I might find fome way of ge’
ting these handcuffs off,” ght Charley.
can't do anything as tong “ss my hands
are stuck together like this,”
He stopped and listened.
‘The teams had stopped by the bridge and
somebody was getting out.
This puzzled Charley. The spot was a
lonely one, There was no possible excuse
for any one but Detective Connolly sto
ping there and the team had come
wrong way for
In a minute the team was heard return-
ing toward the village and hurried foot-
steps among the bushes reached Charley’s
gy
ae
‘here was surely some one on the foot-
path which led down to the old Hamm
ouse,
This seemed strange enough, too, for the
place was seldom visited except by an oc-
casional picnic party or some fisherman.
Why any one should care to seek the old
ruin now with night coming on was some-
thing which Charley could not understand.
He crouched down among the bushes
and waited, for he knew that the newcomer,
whoever be might be, would have to pass
close to
he came, rae rapidly and talking
to Srimselt as he
“Brock Melton, » “thought “Charley, recog-
nizing the voice.
He listened attentively.
What was Brock saying?
These words reached his ears:
“Confound it all! I didn’t look for this.
What am I to do? Unless I satisfy them
I'm a Boner. The charge against Charley
can never
Charley’s blood began to boil
He had not altogether believed Cella
Dunmore’s statements. He felt that the
girl, having deceived him in one thing,
might have done so in another.
He had loved Celia fondly. They had
been all but engaged when suddenly her
letters ceased to come and it was a fact that
his friendship for Brock had been most sin-
cere,
Charley found it very hard | to ppelieve | tim
false, still harder to believ hie!
helpless he was w
ie sprang out from among the bushes
into the path.
Brock.” he exclaimed. “Oh, Brock!”
Brock stopped skort with a sharp ex-
clamation. .
For heaven’s sake how came
“No matter, since I am here!” replied
Charley, sternly. “You k what has
happened to me, Brock Melton. Speak the
ruth! You are the only man in the world
to whom I told the combination. Did you
“What do you
say? Charley Tompkins, you may have
escaped that detective, but you shan't
escape me! I allow no fellow. to come be-
tween me and the girl I love.”
He sprang upon Charley furiously and
knocked him down with one terriblé blow
between the eyes.
Charley fell tke a stone and lay there at
his enemy’s feet completely stunned.
“Great heavens! I've killed him!”
gasped Brock.
For an instant he hesitated and then,
taking to his heels, ran on down the path
and disappeared.
CHAPTER VI.
THE BANK BURGLARS AT THE OLD HOTEL.
Charley was not dead nor anywhere near
i
The blow dealt him by Brock Melton was
a stunner, but the effects of it soon passed
oft and if Brock had remained to watch he
would have seen Charley stagger to his
feet after a moment and stare wildly
around,
“That’s it,” he muttered.
one gets for trusting a friend.
Brock is the thief!
een!”
“That's what
He's guilty!
Oh, what a fool I have
It was a terrible moment for the poor
boy, but Charley was a brave and deter-
mined fellow and his mind was soon made
up.
“T’ll follow him!
end of the earth!”
ried on along the pat
e.must confess! He shall give up.the
stolen money! I will never rest while this
terrible charge is hanging over me. Broc
Melton, you had better have a dozen detec-
tives on your track than have me.
Chariey was excited and no wonder. He
felt very fierce then. It would have been
a poor time for Brock Melton to have run
against him if his hands had been free.
Charley hurried on and after a uttle came
out of the thicket on the brow of a
ere it was all open and the jcean lay
Ill follow him to the
through a gully,
crossed a broad, sandy beach and emptied
into the Atlantic.
A little to the ‘right, standing back from
the beach, half hidden under the biff, was
the old Hamm House, its roofless walls
rising grim and desolate in the last glim-
mer of twilight.
t was a desolate spot; no sound broke
the stillness save the scream of the sea-
gulls and the breaking of the rollers on the
ch.
“What brought Brock down here, any-
how?” thought Charley. “Does he expect
to meet those two fellows who tackled him
on Breakneck? I can’t imagine anything
else.
He looked down over the bluff, but could
see nothing of his enemy, but he saw some-
thing else which he had entirely forgotten
and which gave him hope.
It was an old ruinous shanty which
joined the horse sheds alongside the hotel.
“The blacksmith shop,” thought Charley.
“T shouldn't wonder a bit if I could find a
file there. Nothing can be done until I can
get rid of these ge bracelets, At least
I must make tl
He scrambled down the hill as best he
could and made his way to the old shop.
Luck was with him that time, for he had
no sooner Opened the door than he saw an
old rusty file lying on a shelf with some
other tools. Seizing it and with one sharp
look around, which “showed him nothing of
Brock, he stole behind the old shop, sat
down on a stone and went to work.
And such work it was. Half an hour
made but little impression on the steel,
mpered as poor Charley was, for he was
not able to give the file a play of more than
an inc!
“I can never do it!” he thought.
the stiehiest use.”
threw down the file in despair, and,
strangely enough, that was the very mo-
inent that relief came.
Charley had, as it happened, a very small
hand and the ndeuffs were regulation
size and fitted him | loosely. In his despera-
tion he shut up his hands as closely as pos-
sible and gave one fierce tug, when, to his
great joy, his left hand slipped the iron,
As the loose handcuff dangling from
is ri
“Good! Good!” he exclaimed. “I'm all
right now! T'll slip the file in my pocket
and tackle the other handcuff later on. I’ve
wasted entirely too much time already if
I'm going to find out what brought Brock
down here.”
But was Brock near him?
It seemed altogether probable, for the
Path which he had followed led’ nowhere
“Tt isn’t
‘Stil, for all Charley knew, he might have
turned and gone back to the road again.
He thought of this and felt by no means
sure.
It was now quite dark and as Charley
pushed on toward the ruined hotel he had
to pick his way carefully to prevent stum-
bling over the big ot Iders which
strewn about the
© was ea the best of his way
along Charley's sharp ears caught the
splash of oars, and, looking seaward, he
saw a small boat pulled by two men raj
idly approaching the beach in front of the
hotel.
It was too dark to see the men’s faces or
to discern whether they were the same ill-
looking pair whom he had seen threaten
Brock on the mountain, but he was not left
long in doubt, for at the same instant a
dark figure appeared on the broad piazza of
the hotel and Brock’s voice was is heard call-
ing in subdued tones:
t you,
st ju, Bike?”
“tlt, Melton!” was the answer.
ts “the coast all clear?”
“Yes. I’ve no here for the last halt
hour. Hurry up. I want to settle this
business and get back home.”
‘Oh, we'll settle our end of it fast
enough,” replied the man, leaping ashore
and assisting his companion to draw t
ach,
e com e to your senses and
are willing to settle,” he added. “You're a
slick bird, you are. After fixing up the job
with us and letting us do all the dirty
work you slope with the.bag. You're a
great grafter. I've a blame good mind to—
but Ho, matter. Settle now and it will be
a
n and stop your talk,” srowled
You’d have heard from me in a day or two
at the most.”
“Oh, ye Ob, of course,” sneered Bike.
They assed 1 nto the deserted barroom of
the old Totet and the light was seen flash-
ing in:
Charl ey. “crept up on the piazza and took
his Stand | alongside the sashless window.
“What asked Brock, in a
husky tone. “Of course, I get half and
you two the other half. That goes, I sup-
pose?’
“Indeed it don’t go!” cried Bike, fiercely.
“This here divvy goes in thir
“No, sir!” cried Brock “Didn't I supply
the brains? It’s halve:
“Oh, very well; all right, Halves let it
be,” replied Bike, coming down 60 easily
that even then Charley bad his. suspicions
of what was to follow.
Brock seemed to have none, however,
He walked behind the bar, stooped down
and presently rose up again, depositing a
neat alligator grip on the bar.
“Here it is!” he exclaimed.
will divide.”
“The deuce we will,” hissed Bike, sud-
denly throwing himself half over the bar
and thrusting a cocked revolver in Brock’s
face, “That there bag is ours, sonny. Light
out!”*
“Now we
Brock gave a yell of terror, and, spring-
ing out from behind the bar, made. a rush
for the di
Before “he could reach it the man Mose
sprang in front of him and seized him by
the throat.
“Don't let him go,” he cried. “Let’s do
him up. Now’s our chance.”
“Help! Help! Oh, don’t kill me!”
yellea, Brock. “Take it all but don’t.
a
e
Te Sas too much for our generous hero's!
ds off!” shouted Charley, fuddenly
darting iz through the open w
“Charley! Charley! Save me! 1
“Bat ok or you die!” shouted Bike, cov-
ering the brave boy with the revolver.
He fired as he spoke.
Charley sprang upon him, and, with the
handcuff dangling from his right hand,
dealt Bike a stuning blow between the eyes
paten sent him reeling back against the
ar.
- “Run, Brock! Run for your life!” he
shouted, as Mose let go and sprang to the
assistance of his friend.
. [To BE CONTINUED.]
ee
{This story commenced in No. 277.]
THE KING OF THE AIR
The Haunted House on
the Hill.
By GASTON GARNE,
Author of “Those Barclay Boys,” “333,”
“His Last Chance,” “Holding His Own,”
“Enchaated Mountain,” etc,
CHAPTER X.
THE TRAPDOOR IX THE HALL.
Professor Pistrucci continued to look out
of the window until the horsemen had al-
most reached the house,
The moon was at her full and the stars
most brilliant, and with the added light
e windows, a made it almest as
“Yes, that is the detective” he muttered,
grinding his e “The oes
re to ie bi in? It will be his
tase visit. This time he shall have a taste
Bianca.
your promise! on told me that never
again should it oc
his much was sua in English, then the
professor and his daughter began talking
Italian. Tred closed the window and stood
listening to the furious knocking on the
front door below.
He was greatly alarmed. The professor's
whole appearance had altered. His face
had assumed a look of ferocity terrible to
witness, He looked more like some wild
ht Fred.
be no doubt whatever about it.
is mad.
“There can
The
Think of-
man
He had just as soon bill these fel-