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Show The claimed looking downward In thoughtful manner. "Boys, to tell j the dead honest truth, ol Brown has been a fool himself. If there's anything any-thing that fools hate It's competition. Folks used to soy that Brown was quite a feller. I thought so myself but I've turned ag'In' him. Well, boys, let's not git excited. You've worked up some wood. Le's skirmish around for some happiness." He began to prepare a venison roast for the oven. He turned to the boys and said: "Boys, It'll be a kind of a grindstun for yer appetites If ye keep on with the wood job till I git dinner ready." They went to the ravine and resumed re-sumed their work with Bumpy's ax and buck-saw. In an hour or so the old man came out and shouted to them : "Don't tear down the woods. Can't ye see when ye've gone fur enough? Come in to dinner." As they came he added: "I don't dare let ye git too hungry. I want suthln to eat myself. Go an' wash yer hands." They sat down to their dinner of venison and baked potatoes and bls- . Ished by the Information that came to him from Judge Swift. It was this: "Robert Royce Is now sitting by the fireside at the Westminster hotel in Ashfield. Rodney the proprietor tells me that he has been sitting In the chair he now occupies ever since he finished eating his supper about quarter quar-ter past Blx." Blake told the Judge of the singular Incident of the evening and rang off. He came out of his office. "Well, Sheriff, I'm about ready for an Important move in this game of checkers," he said. "I've got a man In the king row. I'm going to move for Bumpy Brown's release on bail." The County court convened in the morning. The district attorney, In view of the discovery of new evidence In the case of the People against William Brown, moved for the release of the defendant de-fendant on ball freely offered by a number of responsible Grand Army men. "I am convinced that the prisoner pris-oner If he Is set free can be of some service to us." The motion was granted. Late that afternoon Colonel Blake called Shad to his office. He said: "I think that you now have a chance to render me an Important service. I want yon to go tip with Bumpy Brown tomorrow and live with him or near him for a couple of weeks. The old man likes you and Bony. For you, especially, he entertains a real affection. Perhaps Per-haps yon can get him to help us. I want to know who is that pretty Miss De Long who works In South Bolton and who came to his little house one Sunday when you were there. I cannot can-not place her. She seems to have dropped out of the skies. How does It come about that she and Bumpy Brown are on familiar terms? I have staked out the irround for you. It By Irving Baclieller Copyrlfht by Irving Bacheller. (WNU Service) f SYNOPSIS I Bagged, and starving-, a boy of about Ixteon la found In the woods by a Icamplna- party, having fled from hla brutal fathr Bat Morryson. Fed, and In clean clothes, the boy Shad (Sheridan) (Sher-idan) la aent to Canton, with a letter to Colonel Blake. The colonel, hla wife, and their young daughter Ruth, are Impressed by the boy's manner. iHe goes to work In Amity Dam, and becomes friendly with a youth of hla Age, "Bony," and Bumpy Brown, tinker, tink-er, village character. Bat Morryson eomes, determined to take hla aon back (to hla own dissolute life. He Is overawed over-awed by Colonel Blake, the district Jettorney, and hla father paBaes out of iHhad's life. A girl, young and pret-i pret-i ty, comes to Brown's shack. Inquiring x for him. Shad applies himself dlllgent-jly dlllgent-jly to hla neglected education. Love for illuth Blake takes a atrong hold on his heart. In an attack made on the Perry 'family, Oscar Perry, the father, la fatally shot, and hla daughter, Mrs. ioollttle, wife of Cyrus Doollttle, fromfnent cltlaen, seriously wounded. Ircumstantlal evidence points to umpy Brown as the assailant. ITe is arrested. The friendship between Shad nd Ruth Blake kindles Into love. Colonel Col-onel Blake arranges for the youth to take up the study of law, under hla aTttidance. New evidence points to Robert Rob-ert Royce as the possible murderer f Perry. ( CHAPTER VII 13 The Mysterious Arm. , Colonel Blake's offlces were up one ifflfiht from the main street of the village vil-lage In the rear of a brick building. It Is necessary to the understanding of a singular event In the case of the People against Brown, that the reader should have a clear perception of a part of the structure of these offices and the points at which the help employed em-ployed near their entrance was stationed. sta-tioned. There was nn outer room In which a young typist received all comers. The typist opened a panel In an oak partition and gave their names and the nature of their business to a clerk who eat at a table Inside the partition parti-tion and against It. Shad was immediately imme-diately trained for this latter task. I I I I ' Col.Blake's Outer Clerkfe Office Office KoomL J Slide' Shad'sDesk. I O I CD Its Hand Seized the Little Leather Bag on Shad's Desk. cults and coffee. Bumpy was happy again. Their dinner eaten, Bony asked him to tell about his life in jail. "I don't want to think of it," said the old man. "This mornln' I got Into the sheriff's bathtub an' washed It all off me." The boys helped with the dishes. As they sat by the fire Bony drew three Amity Dam cigars from his pocket and generously passed them. "No, I'm too tired. The pipe fer me," said Bumpy. "I don't like Eph's cigars. They're kind of quick-tempered. I want peace tonight. Cigars are like Indians, hostile an' friendly." "I'll take a chance," Shad resolved as he and Bony lighted up. The boys sucked hard but could get no smoke. Bumpy got a piece of wire. "Bam that through 'em," he suggested. sug-gested. "Then maybe they'll behave. Learn 'em who's master." The obstinacy of the two cigars was overcome by the wire, but the boyg epat frequently and seemed to be getting tie worst of It "I think that Eph's cigars are made to keep boys good," said Bumpy with a laugh. "They have gizzards in 'em," said Bony with a sad look. "They're as hard to kill as a cat." Simultaneously the boys gave up, having decided that as an aid to happiness hap-piness the cigars were a failure. "I ought to have known better," said Shad. "I haven't smoked since I quarreled quar-reled with a cigar named Eph's Best In Bony's room one night after Miss Spenlow had gone to bed. It almost crippled me. How do you get along with that woman?" "Same as ever," said Bony. "Sniffs an' looks me over every night when I come in. Sometimes she makes me go an' take a bath 'fore I go to bed. It's awful." "How is the Home for the Friendless?" Friend-less?" "Gosh! She's bringln' me up fer the Home. Miss Benson has made her chairman of the Infants' committee. commit-tee. She's terrible strict now." Bumpy got out his fiddle, tuned It up and played while the bird sang. It was time to light the lamps when Bony left. Shad and Bumpy were going go-ing up to the Dam in the morning to get kerosene, saleratus and other needed supplies. "I'll see you tomorrow," said Bony as he went away. Bumpy lighted the lamps. He had strung a clothes line and put out a lot of bed clothes to air in the breeze. Mattresses, sheets, covers and pillows were now brought in and heaped on chairs around the stove. (TO BE CONTINUED.) may be that love can accomplish what fear could not." "I don't believe that I ought to do that," Shad objected. "The old man has been good to me." "And I want you to be good to him. Tou are not to be a spy but a friend. Tou will be under no obligation to report anything which he Is unwilling that I should know." "Then I shall enjoy my job," Shad answered. The next day Shad got a livery team and an ample store of provisions for Bumpy's larder. He telegraphed to Bony asking him to meet them at the Fun Shop. They put a warm brick In the bottom of Dick's cage and covered its bars with a shawl. Before Be-fore noon they arrived in a sleigh at the end of the trail leading into Brown's cove. Bony, standing by the door, waved his hat as they drew near. "Welcome home!" he shouted. Bumpy shook his hand but did not speak. They hurried into the shack. Bumpy stood a moment looking up at the portrait of his wife. Just a faint, quivering "Hello, mother 1" came from his lips. He hurried to the filled water pail, took down a dipper and drank. Shad winked to Bony as he said: "We'll go out an' break up some more wood an' leave you with the woman a few minutes." The boys went out-of-doors and cut down a dead tree In the near thicket. "I never heard him call her 'mother' before," Bald Shad. "Nor I," Bony answered. "Te know I'm kind o' scared for the old man. I don't see how he's goln' to make a livin'. It's winter time. He can't travel around much. He has to git home every night to look after that ol' bird." "He has some money saved up and if he needs more the colonel is going to give It to him." They returned to the shack. Bumpy was now in a cheerful mood. The bird was laughing and going over his reminiscent and familiar sayings on the broad window-sill near the oven. Shad unwrapped the supplies. "Well, boys, there's some dead so'gers layin around here, but we might be in worse shape, as a feher used to say that had a hump on his back," Bumpy began. "Don't look so solemn. We'll fix up a good dinner. Tou look kind o' nervous. What's the matter?" "I've been talkln' with some fools that still think you're guilty," Bony answered. "Well, fools are like frogs in a pond. Tou can hear 'em preachln' day an' night, but nobody is ever converted." con-verted." Bumpy had washed at tie sink and was drying his face and hands. "The People ag'in' Brown 1" he ex- The evening train for the south was almost an hour late. Shad ate his supper sup-per with a small bag in his lap and got aboard the train arriving at the county seat about eight-thirty. There .were not more than half a dozen people peo-ple In the streets. He went to the office. The anteroom ante-room was dark. The colonel's key was In the door that opened from It to the large room occupied, in business busi-ness hours, by clerks and stenographers. stenog-raphers. The colonel was at work in his private room the door of which was open. Shad put the bag on his desk and removed his overcoat and muffler. The lawyer came out and greeted him. They stood a moment talking together. Colonel Blake stood facing the door. In the middle of a sentence he topped suddenly. He was looking at a man's arm which had been thrust through the open slide In the oak partition. par-tition. Its hand seized the little leather bag on Shad's desk. Before the colonel col-onel had quite recovered from his astonishment as-tonishment it vanished with the bag. The lawyer ran to the door. It would not open. It was locked. The thief had turned the key on Its farther side. !The bag was gone with the man who had seized it, and they were helpless. The colonel ran to the telephone and " called the sheriff. With two minutes the latter, with his deputies, was out cn the streets. Colonel Blake returned from the telephone. tele-phone. "The Devil and Tom Walker!" he exclaimed. "This kind of thing is well enough in fiction, but when it Jumps Into real life It' goinif too far. That was the arm of the murderer or an accomplice. He may have followed you from the itraln. If I had not been here he might ihare overcome you with violence. We are getting close to the guilty man. He is scared. He Is desperate. He thinks that the revolver is a vital part f our case. He doesn't know that it la so well known that it is no longer needed. Its evidence is on record." "My old slouch hat was In that bag .with the revolver," said Shad. Colonel Blake went to the telephone and called the home of Judge Swift in Ashfield. "I have reason to believe that the man who killed Oscar Perry is in or near this village. Please go quickly and see if Robert Royce is in Ashfield. It's important Let me know at my office as soon as possible," the colonel requested. The sheriff came and unlocked the door. "We've scoured the town," he said. "We have seen no stranger. I learn that a team hitched to a buggy stood In front of your door a few minutes ago. It faced toward the river. A t woman sat In the buggy." The lawyer told what had happened In the office. Sheriff Colewell said: "The thief, whoever he is, got into that buggy with the bag and was a mile out of town when you called me." The telephone bell nintr. Colonel Blare answered it. He w;is aston- |