Crumville._

"Hello! what's this?" mused the former moving-picture actor, as he
gazed at the written cards. Then suddenly his face brightened. "Oh, I
see! It's one of those cards that I heard about--the kind he has been
distributing among the storekeepers in an effort to catch me. Say, one
of these may come in handy when I go for those miniatures!" he
continued.

At last he heard a noise outside, and looking in that direction saw
Tim Crapsey approaching in a somewhat dilapidated cutter, drawn,
however, by a powerful-looking bay horse.

"Had a fierce time gittin' this horse," announced the man, as he came
to a halt beside the barn. "The livery stable man didn't want to let
him go out, and I had to tell him a long yarn about somebody bein'
sick and my havin' to git a doctor. And I had to offer him double
price, too!" and at his own ruse the man chuckled hoarsely.

He had brought with him some sandwiches and doughnuts, and also a
bottle of hot coffee, and on these both made a somewhat limited
breakfast, the man washing the meal down with another drink from his
flask.

"I kept my word--I didn't drink a drop when I was in town," he
croaked. "But say, this is mighty dry work!"

"You keep a clear head on your shoulders, Tim," warned Porton. "Some
day, drink is going to land you in jail or in the grave."

"Not much!" snorted the man. "I know when to stop." But Porton knew
that this was not true.

Another conference was held, and Crapsey told of having taken a look
around, both at the Wadsworth place and the Basswood home.

"There is no one at the Basswood place but Mr. and Mrs. Basswood; and
I understand the man is sick in bed," he said. "All the telephone
wires are out of commission, but to make sure that the Basswoods
couldn't telephone I cut the wire that runs into his real estate
office--and I also cut the wire up at the Wadsworth house."

"Good for you, Tim!" returned Ward Porton, and then he told of having
found the two cards, each containing Dave's signature.

"That's fine!" cried the man. "That ought to help you a great deal
when you ask for the miniatures."

"I hope it does," answered Ward Porton, thoughtfully. "Now let us go;
the sooner we get at this affair the better." And then both left the
barn, entered the cutter, and drove rather slowly in the direction of
the Basswood home.

CHAPTER XV

THE RETURN TO CRUMVILLE

"If Ward Porton got my cap and overcoat he must have been