collins and van both arose eagerly at this.

the detective’s blood surged hotly through his veins.

“the unconscionable scoundrels!” he muttered under his breath. “they are human fiends.”

and in that moment the old detective rejoiced that their would-be victim was beyond their reach.

but he was conscious of his own perilous position.

if the trio of villains went to evelyn’s prison cell to commit the contemplated horrible crime of murder, her escape would be discovered.

but the old detective was only temporarily alarmed.

he reckoned that it would be very soon time for harry to return from paine’s with assistance.

certainly escape would be a difficult matter for the villains.

the snow was too deep to admit of their making very rapid progress if they attempted to leave the asylum.

the trio of villains had arisen for the purpose of paying a murderous visit to the prison cell of the young girl.

but at that moment scraggs interposed.

“hold on!” he growled. “what are ye going to do?”

burke turned and stared at him.

“you heard the agreement.”

“well, you can’t kill the girl in this house. i object to that!”

“thunder!” ejaculated burke. “what has come over you?”

“that’s what has come over me,” said dr. scraggs, coolly.

“you are blocking our plans.”

“i don’t care if i am. this is my house and i am boss here!”

there was an ominous silence.

the trio looked ugly and collins glared at the asylum keeper.

“you’re a cursed traitor!”

“no, i am not!”

“then what’s the matter with ye?”

“i’m not going to have any murder in my house, that’s all! i don’t care a picayune what you do with the girl, but you can’t kill her here. do you see?”

“humph!” exclaimed burke. “you’re mighty particular. it’s an easy job. there’ll be no blood stains. we’ll just shut her windpipe and she can be carried out for a dead patient. see?”

but scraggs was obdurate.

“i don’t care!” he said. “it’s not going to be done here. that ends it.”

all this while blood had been silent. now he said:

“well, i don’t blame scraggs for that, boys. this asylum is his way of making a living. if any scandal arose out of this place it would put him out of business.”

“that’s it,” agreed scraggs. “them’s my reasons an’ nothin’ more nor less.”

“well,” said burke, in a mollified way, “if that’s the way of it perhaps you’re right.”

“we can fix that!” said collins.

“how?”

“to-morrow we’ll take her away in a sleigh. a few miles from here is the assabet river. we can dump her in under the ice and if she’s ever found it won’t be until spring, anyway.”

“good!” cried blood. “that is the best way to work it. no need of having any hard feelings.”

“i haven’t any feelings about it,” said burke. “so we’ll put it off until morning. one more drink, gents.”

brandy was decanted and the party drank freely.

all this while old king brady had listened with deep interest.

23

now that the fate of evelyn grimm had been settled, other matters came in for discussion.

burke laughed uproariously.

“haw! haw!” he guffawed. “every detective in this country thinks the girl was burned up in fifteenth street.”

“everybody else does, for that matter,” said blood.

“we led ’em astray easy enough. the poor woman who was burned up there though——”

“sh!” exclaimed van, with a frightful contortion of the face. “let thet rest.”

“oh, it’s a tender subject with you, old bluebeard. how many more wives have you burned up ther same way?”

“curse you, shut up!” growled van, savagely. “i had to shut her mouth. she was false and would have betrayed the whole gang of us sooner or later.”

“never mind that,” said scraggs, “i am interested in those accursed detectives. you say a couple of them chased you as far as lexington?”

“yes,” agreed burke.

“do you know who they were?”

“i do!” said van. “for i’m the man they chased. curse ’em! they are the bradys of new york!”

“they are on our list,” said collins. “we’ll trap them.”

“they must die!”

“well,” growled scraggs, “i don’t want them to get their eyes on my place here. i’ve too much at stake. see?”

“ain’t you with us?”

“of course!”

“then you’ve got to take chances.”

“but there’s no need of being so reckless.”

“oh, don’t fret, we can handle the bradys all right! hello! what the deuce is that?”

a wild, animal-like cry came down the stairs.

old king brady crouched back in the shadows just in time.

a dark form rushed past him. the next moment isaac, the keeper, sprang into the reception room.

he was wildly excited.

“quick!” he shouted. “they have got her! she is gone! she is gone, i tell you!”

wildly threshing his arms about him he made the circuit of the room.

van caught him by the shoulder.

“what are ye talkin’ about, ye cursed hyena?” he yelled. “speak plain! what’s wrong?”

“oh, the girl! she’s gone!”

“gone?” echoed all.

“yes.”

“where?”

“i don’t know. the two countrymen slipped a bar out of the cell door and they’re gone, too!”

fierce exclamations filled the room. van hurled the unfortunate keeper to the floor.

“you cursed traitorous dog!” he yelled, drawing a knife. “i’ll kill you for this!”

he flung himself forward and that moment might indeed have been the keeper’s last.

but scraggs forced the ruffian back.

“hold on!” he growled. “hear the man’s story first. i’ve always found him true.”

“oh, i swear it!” cried isaac. “i left the door securely barred. come and see for yourself. they were asleep before i left them.”

“come on then, you dog!” hissed van. “if i find you’ve lied, you shall die!”

up the stairs all now rushed.

they found the prison cell of the girl captive empty.

a brief examination told the whole story.

the tracks on the fire-escape and the snow beneath told all.

fury and fear alike overwhelmed the villains.

their consternation was great.

“we’ve been fooled!” cried burke, savagely. “i tell ye it was a game!”

“them two rubes weren’t what we thought they were.”

martin brought his hands forcibly together.

“curse it!” he cried. “we had the game right in our hands and didn’t know it. them two jays were our men!”

“the bradys?”

“yes.”

“they fooled us!”

as this conviction dawned upon the villains their fury was beyond expression. words cannot depict it.

but scraggs was sour.

“confound you for coming here at all!” he growled. “why didn’t you lead those detectives somewhere else?”

“we thought this the best place,” said van. “if things had worked the way i thought they would——”

“but they didn’t!” snapped scraggs. “what are you going to do about it?”

“that’s the idea!” cried van. “we are gaining nothin’ hyar. we ought to chase ’em.”

“chase ’em!” said burke. “in this snow?”

“we ought to git along just as well as they kin!”

“you fergit.”

“what?”

“they have snowshoes.”

“wall, git snowshoes, then, for us. i say, scraggs, have ye such a thing?”

“no!” replied the asylum keeper. “what do you take me for? i’m no keeper of a logging camp.”

“no, nor anything else!” snapped burke, viciously. “but if we can’t do any better we must wade.”

“that would be a fool’s game,” said the asylum keeper. “they can go four steps to your one on snowshoes.”

“curse the luck! they can’t go far on such a night.”

“ten miles would put ’em beyond your reach.”

“wall, suggest a plan then,” growled burke. “i’m sick of it.”

“so am i!” snapped scraggs. “i wish i’d never seen you or your girl. this will be my ruin.”

“you’re awful afraid of being ruined,” said blood, angrily. “i’ve paid you good money, anthony scraggs!”

“and you’re making a fugitive from justice of me, the same as yourself.”

24

“well, you ought to be. you’re the worst shark of us all.”

old king brady listened to all this wrangling with much edification.

the old detective was exultant.

certainly he had reason to be.

in a short while the asylum would be surrounded by armed men and the birds would be in limbo.

the great case would be won.

old king brady could hardly contain himself.

he listened intently for some distant sound of the return of harry. but time passed.

the crooks did not attempt a pursuit.

they abandoned it as impracticable. but they were alive fully to the exigencies of the moment.

it had been decided to let the girl go without any effort to recapture her.

the trio would trudge the best way they could through the snow to a distant railway station.

blood was to remain in the asylum with scraggs.

“i can hide you where nobody will ever find you,” said the proprietor of the asylum. “so have no fears.”

old king brady listened to all this with some misgiving. would his men slip him after all?