. With numerous
clues, suspicions circumstances and half-identified people on every
hand, there was no one feature upon which definite action could be
taken. Atwood was the most elusive criminal he had ever pursued.
Never at any time had the man become an actual personality. Like a
will-o'-the-wisp, he was ever in sight, yet just beyond reach. While
the detectives struggled along tangled paths that led nowhere,
Atwood's long arm continually reached out to strike back.

As he thought along these lines, an explanation slowly took form in
Marsh's mind. In some of its features it seemed weird and unreal.
This, perhaps, was due to the fact that the few definite pieces of
information in his possession had to be largely supported and
connected by theories and deductions. Strange as the explanation
might seem, it nevertheless gave birth to a well-defined plan of
action.

In this way the morning slipped by and Marsh was surprised, on
looking at his watch, to find that it was nearly noon. He went to
his telephone, called the Monmouth Hotel, and asked to speak to Miss
Atwood. When the girl answered the telephone, Marsh inquired if she
would care to have dinner with him. The invitation was accepted with
quite evident pleasure on the girl's part, and Marsh soon left to
keep his appointment with her. On his way to the hotel, Marsh
stepped into a cigar store, looked up Gilbert Hunt's telephone
number, and made an appointment for the evening. Marsh took this
precaution of telephoning Hunt from a pay station because a
telephone call is easily traced, and he had not yet decided to
advise Hunt of his real address.

Jane Atwood joined Marsh in the lobby of the hotel, and the
friendliness of her greeting made him glad of his decision to take
her on the trip he had planned for the afternoon.

They had dinner at the Edgewater Beach Hotel. It was the girl's
first visit to this show-place of the North Side, and Marsh was
delighted with her animated interest in everything about her. In
fact, he found it hard to believe that this girl, whose bright
chatter, sunny smile and sparkling eyes now held him fascinated, had
so recently been through such trying experiences. Marsh felt that it
was a natural reaction brought about by this diversion, and he long
afterward remembered it as one of the happiest hours in a life that
had been replete with professional adventure, but barren in the
companionship of women of her sort.

As they sat sipping th