fever heat as she said, very softly: "There, I did not
mean to hurt you. You must not think me hard. But I must win that wager.
Not so much for the money as for the gratification of proving to Bob
that I have some control over myself. Surely, if you truly love me you
will not begrudge me that satisfaction?"

"No, no, sweet one. Have your own way. I'll wait. Only say that there is
some chance of my succeeding."

"Why, of course, every one has a chance. But I must not tell you how
great yours is, because if I did I would not be winning my bet fairly.
And I must say good-night," with which she left him. Her last words
lingered with him, and he took comfort. For what could she mean but that
his chances were good, since if otherwise, how could the telling prevent
her from winning her wager? Nevertheless, as the weeks went on, he tried
many times to get a more definite reply from her, but never succeeded.
Still he hugged the cherished hope to his heart and waited as patiently
as man could.

Randolph was simply miserable all the time. Whenever he was with Dora
she was good to him, kind to him, and often used tender tones that
thrilled his heart. But he too failed to get anything from her, save the
old request that he should be patient and wait. He too waited, but not
patiently.

Meanwhile, in New York, Mr. Barnes was still burrowing into everything
that seemed to have any connection direct or otherwise with the mystery,
or mysteries, that baffled him. Of one thing he had satisfied himself
beyond all doubt. That was that Mr. Fisher had not been implicated in
the train robbery. His spy had found that he had been absent from the
city during three days at the time of the crime, but this very fact had
been shown to be his safeguard. By some skilful work the man discovered,
that during that time he had simply been off shooting ducks, in a part
of the country where it would have been impossible for him to be an
accomplice. This simple fact should not have been hard to discover, were
it not that Fisher had kept his trip a secret. This for some time
puzzled the detective, but finally he followed him out of the city, and
practically accompanied him on a similar outing, after which he learned
that his sister was morbidly opposed to all killing, whether for sport
or for a livelihood. It was to humor this idea that her brother made his
excursions in secret. The spy learned from the man from whom the dogs
were hired that Mr. Fisher had