bilities of the child's death, and had said that the father had
named no other heir, and had directed that in case of Jake's death he
was to have the money---one-half for himself and one-half to be
distributed in charity. Jake, calculating upon his own death, had made
the same provision, and in case the child Amalie died, and Jake also,
Mr. Townsend was to carry out the original terms of the
trust--distribute one-half in charity and keep one-half for himself.

We here desire to call attention to the fact that at this time there
were at least two honest men on earth, Mr. Townsend and Jack, and both
were making every effort to find the real owner of the estate, while
both would benefit in case of failure, for Mr. Townsend had told our
hero that in case the heiress was not found, or any other legal
claimant, he would transfer the interest in the estate to Jack,
remarking: "I have enough of my own, and you deserve it in case there is
no other heir discovered."

With this possibility staring him the face, Jack was bending every
energy to find the original heir, and was prosecuting his search with a
skill and acuteness that well warranted success, and in his
investigation he ran up against a very singular experience. Several
robberies had taken place in the section of the country where Jack was
conducting his investigation, and when he had been about three weeks
thus engaged his adventure occurred. The detective was stopping at a
little country hotel, and he had worked several disguises. He was cute
enough to know that his work would in time attract attention, and that
he was liable to considerable annoyance, so as stated, he changed his
attire, his general appearance, and his pretended business. One day he
was a book agent; the next day, under a different disguise, he was a
sewing machine canvasser, and so he floated from one business to
another; but despite his care and shrewdness, as it appeared, he did
attract attention, and one night while in his room in the hotel
indicated a country-looking chap knocked at his door and was admitted.
The visitor was a green-looking fellow, and upon entering said:

"Mister, you will excuse me, but I jest thought I'd call in on you
because I also thought I might be of some service to you."

"Hello," thought Jack, "here I am at last; my usual luck has set in; I
am going to get some information."

"I am very happy to have you call," said Jack.

As our hero spoke, however, there came a