nife again. Clo was deeply
interested. Her idea was that the fellow would pull out a quantity of
greenbacks; but in an instant she saw that she had guessed wrong. There
were many sheets of paper folded together, at least a dozen, and this
seemed to astound the man. With a jerk he opened out the sheaf of
papers, and having stared an instant, slammed them on to the table.
"Curse her, she thought she'd do us, did she?" The words tumbled out
between his brown, broken teeth, as he dashed his fist on to the papers.
"So this is why she sent you--you catspaw!"

Clo was far from being a coward. Her hot, defiant temper rose at the
least alarm, but she was so amazed at the result of her errand that she
was struck dumb. Mechanically her eyes had turned to the papers. She saw
that the upper sheets consisted of blank stationery taken from a train,
the Santa Fe Limited.

"If you're trying to scare me, you can't," she said. "You're acting like
a fool. If something's gone wrong in your business, it isn't my fault,
and I'm sure it isn't Mrs. Sands. If there's a trick, she's tricked,
too. Try to have common sense."

The girl's fearless gaze and quickly spoken words calmed the man.

"It's darned rot to say my lady who stayed at home ain't in the trick.
Why, dumbhead, this paper shows! She was on board the Limited. Gee!
Don't I have cause to know that? It's easy as slidin' off a log to see
what she done. She helped herself to what was in this yere envelope, an'
filled it with train stationery. Then she sealed it up with the same
kind o' seals. Stole the stamp and wax on purpose. Thought she could get
away with it. I take off my hat to her."

"I know nothing except that I agreed to bring the parcel," said Clo.

"You go back to her ladyship as fast as you can scamper, and tell her I
wasn't soft enough to bow myself off the stage without peepin' at what
Santa Claus had put in my stockin'. Tell her 'twould only o' bin a
matter o' time if I hadn't peeped. As it is, it's a matter o' less time.
Tell her a life will pay for this, and she jolly well knows whose!"

The man had ceased to bluster, and now that he had got himself in hand
again his fierce eyes and his low, hissing voice thrilled the girl as
his threats had not thrilled her. This time he allowed her to rise,
which she did, tottering slightly. She had forgotten about paying for
her tea, but the dollar bill lay in a crumpled wad on the table. The man
placed one of his oddly repulsive