ils, and muffling the hammer with his
handkerchief, as quietly as possible nailed the boards into place.
Triumphantly he slid the box to its former position on the floor.

"I think that will fool you, Mr. Watts," he said with a smile, and
catching up the telegraph instruments he turned to the door.

On the threshold he started back. The two men, and two others, were
returning from the house.

In alarm Jack looked about for a way of escape. Across the barn was a
smaller door. He ran for it on tiptoe, darted through, and found himself
in the stable. Passing quietly on to the outer door, which the cracks and
moonlight revealed, he waited until the four men had entered the main
barn, then slipped forth, and keeping in the shadows, ran toward the
house.

[Illustration: HE SAW THE DETECTIVE LED BY, HIS ARMS BOUND BEHIND HIM.]

A beam of light streamed from one of the rear windows. Jack made for it,
and cautiously approaching, peered within. The woman he had seen at the
door was at a table, washing dishes, her back toward him. And just
beyond, facing him, and bound hand and foot in a big arm-chair, was the
detective.

For some minutes Jack tried in vain to attract the officer's attention.
Then the woman obligingly stepped into the pantry with some dishes, and
quickly Jack gave a single tap on the window-pane. Boyle looked up
instantly, started, smiled, then nodded his head in the direction of the
railroad. Jack held up the parcel containing the telegraph instruments,
the detective nodded again, and in a moment Jack was off.

It was an exhausting run over the rough, little-used road, now darkened
by the overhanging trees; but at length Jack recognized the point at
which he had been carried from the woods, and turning in, soon found
himself at the railroad.

Hurrying to the nearest telegraph pole, he swarmed up to the cross-tree,
and quickly filed through the wire on one side of the glass insulator.
The broken wire fell jangling to the rails. Connecting an end of the wire
he had brought with him to the wire on the other side of the pin, Jack
slid to the ground, made the connections with the instrument, and the
relay clicked closed.

At once someone on the wire sent, "Who had it open? What did you say?"

"Alex!" exclaimed Jack, at once recognizing the sending; and was about to
break in when the instrument clicked, "17 just coming--CX."

"Claxton, and 17! Just what we want!" Quickly interrupting, Jack sent,
"CX--Hold