expense of the
economically-managed city treasury.

And this closes a chapter which has made no direct progress whatever in
following the leading characters of this story, who must now be again
taken up in their order.

CHAPTER X.

FOLLOWING UP THE PRINCE STREET MYSTERY--TOM LESLIE'S PECULIAR IDEAS--A
CALL UPON SUPERINTENDENT KENNEDY--THE DEPARTURE OF A REGIMENT--JOSEY
HARRIS IN A STREET-SQUALL--A RENCONTRE.

It was not to be supposed that Tom Leslie and Walter Lane Harding, after
the expenditure of ten dollars, a whole night's rest and a considerable
amount of bodily energy, in the investigation of what they called the
'Prince Street mystery,' would permit it to remain uninvestigated
afterwards, so far as a little more money and a good deal more of
inquisitiveness could go in unravelling it. Even before they parted,
late on the night of the adventure, they had discussed half a dozen
plans for gaining admission to the house on Prince Street or that on
East 5--th, by fair means or foul. Harding, who was something of a
stickler for propriety in ordinary cases, in spite of the fact that he
had on that one occasion been inveigled into following a carriage and
playing spy under a front stoop--Harding expressed himself satisfied
that there being now in their minds a sufficient certainty of the
existence of a disloyal organization in the city to make affidavits to
that effect a duty--the proper course would be to lay the matter at once
before the Superintendent of Police and request that a watch might be
set upon the houses or some proceedings taken to "work up" the case for
after proceedings. The young merchant no doubt had more confidence in
this plan than he might otherwise have done, from the fact that a few
months previous a robbery had been committed at his place of business,
and that upon his laying the matter at once before the police
authorities, such steps had been taken as within two weeks secured the
detection of the leading culprit and the recovery of most of the missing
property. Here was a detective "bridge" that had once "carried him safe
over" in a commercial point of view: why would not the same bridge offer
both of them a safe footing when attempting to unravel a mystery of
disloyalty?

Tom Leslie, as was natural to one of his temperament, took a different
view of the whole matter. Mysteries "bothered" the straight-forward
Harding; but to Tom they formed one of the necessities of existence--a