oman, once
to light a cigar; then he suddenly turned up a side street that ran
through the red-light district.

He was walking swiftly and he took a path that skirted the swamp behind
the town. I had no doubt of his mission. My heart began to beat with
excitement. The little path led up the hill, clothed with fresh foliage
and dotted with cabins. Once I saw him pause and look round. I had
barely time to dodge behind some bushes, and feared for a moment he had
seen me. But no! on he went again faster than ever.

I knew now I had divined his errand. He was at too great pains to cover
his tracks. The trail had plunged among a maze of slender cotton-woods,
and twisted so that I was sore troubled to keep him in view. Always he
increased his gait and I followed breathlessly. There were few cabins
hereabouts; it was a lonely place to be so near to town, very quiet and
thickly screened from sight. Suddenly he seemed to disappear, and,
fearing my pursuit was going to be futile, I rushed forward.

I came to a dead stop. There was no one to be seen. He had vanished
completely. The trail climbed steeply up, twisty as a corkscrew. These
cursed poplars, how densely they grew! Blindly I blundered forward. Then
I came to a place where the trail forked. Panting for breath I hesitated
which way to take, and it was in that moment of hesitation that a heavy
hand was laid on my shoulder.

"Where away, my young friend?" It was Locasto. His face was
Mephistophelian, his voice edged with irony. I was startled I admit, but
I tried to put a good face on it.

"Hello," I said; "I'm just taking a stroll."

His black eyes pierced me, his black brows met savagely. The heavy jaw
shot forward, and for a moment the man, menacing and terrible, seemed to
tower above me.

"You lie!" like explosive steam came the words, and wolf-like his lips
parted, showing his powerful teeth. "You lie!" he reiterated. "You
followed me. Didn't I see you from the hotel? Didn't I determine to
decoy you away? Oh, you fool! you fool! who are you that would pit your
weakness against my strength, your simplicity against my cunning? You
would try to cross me, would you? You would champion damsels in
distress? You pretty fool, you simpleton, you meddler----"

Suddenly, without warning, he struck me square on the face, a blinding,
staggering blow that brought me to my knees as falls a pole-axed steer.
I was stunned, swaying weakly, trying vainly to get on my feet. I
stret