passed rapidly along the sidewalk. Walker Farr shut his eyes
suddenly, as a man tries to wink away what he considers an illusion, and
then opened his eyes and made sure that she was what she seemed; there
was no mistaking that face--it was Kate Kilgour.

He stared after her. She halted on the next corner, peered up at the
dingy street light to make sure of the sign legend on its globe and then
turned down an alley.

"Ba gar!" commented old Etienne, putting Farr's thoughts into words,
"that be queer t'ing for such a fine, pretty lady to go down into Rose
Alley, because Rose Alley ain't so sweet as what it sounds."

Then two men came hurrying past without paying any attention to the
denizens of the neighborhood who were sitting in the gloom on the stoop.
The street light revealed the faces of the men as it had shown to them
the girl's features. One was Richard Dodd. Unmistakably, they were
following the girl. Farr heard Dodd say: "Slow up! Give her time to get
there. She's headed all right."

And Farr stared after those men, more than ever amazed.

One of them was obtrusively a clergyman--that is to say, he was cased in
a frock-coat that flapped against his calves, wore a white necktie, and
carried a book under his arm.

Dodd was attired immaculately in gray, and as he walked he whipped a
thin cane nervously. They began to stroll soon after they had hurried
past the stoop, and were sauntering leisurely when they turned into Rose
Alley.

"I now say two ba gars!" exploded Etienne. "Because I been see the
jailbird, Dennis Burke, all dress up like minister, go past here with
the nephew of Colonel Dodd. And they go 'long after la belle mam'selle."

"A jailbird!"

"He smart, bad man, that Dennis Burke. But he was hire by the big man
to do something with the votes on election-time--so to cheat--and he
get caught and so he been in the state prison. But he seem to be out all
free now and convert to religion in some funny way. Eh?"

"Etienne, are you sure of what you are talking about?" demanded Farr.
His voice trembled. The visit of that handsome girl to that quarter of
the city--those men so patently pursuing her--there was a sinister look
to the affair.

"Oh, we all know that Burke. He hire many votes in this ward for many
years. He known in Marion just so well as the steeple on the _hotel de
ville_. And that odder--that young mans, we know him, for his oncle is
Colonel Dodd. Oh yes!"

"Good night, Etienne--and to