in jail and waiting for news.

As it happened, I wired the Little Woman that Casey was in jail again,
and caught the first train to San "Berdoo"--coming down by way of
Barstow. I could save two or three hours that way, I found, so I told
the Little Woman to meet me there and bring all the money she could get
her hands on. Not knowing just what Casey was in for this time, it
seemed well to be prepared for a good, stiff bail. She beat me by
several hours, and between us we had ten thousand dollars.

At that it was a fool's errand. Casey was out of jail and gone before
either of us arrived. So there we were, holding the bag, as you might
say, and our ten thousand dollars' bail money.

"It's no use asking questions, Jack," the Little Woman told me
pensively when we had finished our salad in the best cafe in town, and
were waiting for the fish. "I've asked questions of every uniform in
this town, from the district judge down to the courthouse janitor.
Nobody knows a thing. I DID find that Casey was booked yesterday for
having a stolen car and a load of booze in his possession, but he isn't
in jail--or if he is, they're keeping him down in some dungeon and have
thrown away the key. It was hinted in the police court that he was
dismissed for want of evidence; but they wouldn't SAY anything, and so
there you are!"

We finished our fish in a thoughtful silence. Then, when the waiter
had removed the plates, the Little Woman looked at me with a twinkle in
her eyes.

"Well-sir, there's something I want to tell you, Jack. I believe Casey
has put this town on the run. They can't tell ME! Something's
happened, over around the courthouse. A lot of the men I talked with
had a scared look in their eyes, and they were nervous when doors
opened, and looked around when people came walking along. I don't know
what he's been doing--but Casey Ryan's been up to something. You can't
tell ME! I know how our laundry boy looks when Casey's home."

"And didn't you get any line at all on his whereabouts?" I asked her.
Given three hours the start of me, I knew perfectly well that the
Little Woman had found out all there was to know about Casey.

"Well-sir--I've got this to go on," the Little Woman drawled and held a
telegram across the table. "You'll notice that was sent from Goffs.
It's ten days old, but I've been getting ready ever since it arrived.
I've put Babe in a boarding-school, and I leased the apartment house.
I kept th