mly. "How can a man like you understand a man like me? It can't be
done. We're further apart than the poles."

"But you must see, Wilson--that's the name, isn't it?"

"It will do for the nonce, kind sir."

"But you must see that the game is up. If you take my advice you won't
even try to escape."

"Then I won't take your advice," said Wilson, softly.

"But all these policemen know you're a big prize. If they find you and
you break for it, they'll shoot--and shoot to kill if necessary."

The thief flung round on him and his face was suddenly drawn and
serious.

"Death, my dear Gladwin, is the very least of my troubles, if it will
only come like that."

"By Jove! I like you--and I hope you escape!"

"I know you do," said Wilson, shaking his head, "but not altogether on
my account. You're thinking of her--the girl. You don't want it to be
known that she was going to marry me."

"To be frank, yes. They're coming now. Quick! Do something!"

The thief seized from the floor one of the portieres he had torn down
to wrap the canvases in, wound it about him and darted behind the
curtains that screened the window. As he vanished Gladwin went to the
door and heard the voice of his friend, Whitney Barnes, demanding
admission.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

HANDCUFFS AND LOVE.

Helen Burton could not have found a cozier place to faint in than that
ultra-luxurious den of Travers Gladwin. Every chair and divan in the
place invited one to swoon within its folds.

The young man had ordered his decorator to provide him with a chamber
wherein stiffness and formality would be impossible unless one stood
erect. The decorator had spent money with a lavish hand upon Spanish
leathers and silken stuffs from the near East and the Orient and he
had laid these trappings over the softest of swan's down. Once you
sank upon them you could not help a sensation of utter peace and
relaxation.

That final and irrevocable blasting of her ideal was a shock upon many
shocks that the young girl had experienced within the course of a few
hours and that she reached the den on her feet was due more to
Bateato's strength and agility than to any nervous or physical force
within her slender body.

The little Jap had fairly flown up the stairs with her in such fashion
that she had no distinct recollection of her feet touching any stable
surface. Then he had turned a sharp corner while she seemed to stream
behind him like a fluttering pennant, and n