Adventures Of Tad

AüTHOB OP "PEPPEB ADAMS," "BLOWN OüT toSea," "Paul Grafios," Etc. [Copyrighted, KS6, by D. Lolhrop db Co., and Published by Special Arrangement.] CHAPTER XII.- CONTINUED. For one brief moment Deacon Whitney gazed at Joe's grotesque garb In silent horror. And then, with a stride which brought him within reach, he seized the red man's ear with considerable emphasis. "The flower of the tribewill iuststop this tomfoolery, an' march along home with the avenger," remarked the deaeon, with grim pleasantiy; and the youthful chieftain, in all the glory of his trappings and war-paint, wasmeekly led along by the ear in the direction of the paternal wigwam, to the unsmotherable delight of about twenty Bixport boys who were playing baseball on the green, near the deacon'a house. Meanwhile, Tad and Polly made their way home more slowlj-. By this time the two had become great friends, and were never at a loss for conversation while together. Tad tokl his eompanion all about his life at Miss Smith's. How Samantha had taught him to milk Suke}-, the Jersey cow, and . even instructed him in the art of grooming White-face, the family horse, that was said to bo about twenty-five years old. Then, Miss Smith had shown him all about planting the vegetable garden and weeding flower-beds. She told Samantha (who told Tad) that he was by all odds the best help that had ever worked for her, and, sidenng he was a boy - Miss Smith cherishing a rooted antipathy to the generality oí boys - she wasn't so sure but that she oould say that she almost liked liim. "I'm sure I like her ever so much," added Tad, in a rather unusiial burst of confidence, "and folks that tliink she is grumpy and cross don't k'now her - that's all" ''Perhaps she'll adopt you some dar, Tad," suggested Polly, langhing a little at the tdea of grim-visaged Miss Smith with an adopted sou. "1 wish she would," retnrnod Tad, with simple earnestness; "I'd give any thiiig to have some one kind er love me, lüce yoiir folks do you- even though they wasn't inv very oWn. I teil you, Polly," said Tad, sorrowfully, "this baring to drift arotmd without any home, and ttobody to care what happens to yon, isn't the nicest thing in the world." Polly was about returning a sj'mpathizing aiiswcr; but, eatcliinga glimpse of Captain Flagg rolling licavily along in the distancc, Tad and his conüdenees were momentarily forgotten. "There's father!" she oxclaimed, delightedly, and with Bounce barking at her heels, Polly ran floetly down the. plank lidewalk to meet kim. "Sic's got somebody," thought Tad, wistfully, and then with a littlo sigh ha tornad Into Miss Smith'a neatly kojt iiower-yard, where the pansies and oldfashioned gaiden-lilies seemed to nod iiim a friendly vrelcome. There was nothing particular f or Iiim to do, and, sitting down on the edge of the piazza, Tad feil into abrown study. He was a good deal pcrplexed as to wketker he had better confido his suspicions that Mr. Forrest was also Mr. Jones, and presumably Mi-. Kdwards ilso, to Miss Smith and Captain Flagg, wait till he had more positive proof. "My word wouldrTt go very far tgainst his smooth tongue," thought rad, as lio meehanically unfolded tha oopyofthe paper that had probably Jropped frpm the pocket of the subject of his meditations, and which Tad had been holding in his hands all the while. "Why, what! It can'l be!" Tad exclaimcd, all at once, ns his oye feil apon a conspicuously printed notice, headed: " I-'ice Eundred Dollars Bewardü" And, the better i take in the meaning, he read t over again aloud. Folio wing tlie offered reward was this announcemenl : "TIn m will he pa .1, and no questions asked, for the return of a small alligatorskin rachel with nickel-plated trimminga and look, together wlth oontents of the same. Said gachel was left, by mistake, in one of the seats Of the Brood Street Station, Philadelphia, the evening of Mnrch -J8, 1S7- , and was taken thereírom by a boy of about fourteen, shabbily dresscd, witli ark hair and eyes. " Address, or eall upon, J. II. A., 3W7 Oldtown Street, Boston. Mass.'' "Well, should gay it coutd be!" said the sharp voice of iliss Smith, wliii, having heard Tad'a cxclamation, had stepped out on the piazza, unnoticed by Tad. "Whero'd this paper come f rom!" she demanded, as she took it trom Tad's hand. Tad explained briefly. "First good I ever knew come of keeping a dog!" curtly remarkecl Miss Smith. "Huniph!" continuedthe lady, now somewhat cxcited, "here's that fellojv's name - if his name is Forrest - on the margin, and the notice has got a lead pemil niark drawn round it. Don't that make it all plain enongh?" "All what, ma'am?' meekly returned Tad. "Why, tliat this Mr. Forrest must have seen the notice, and kep' it to himself, thinking that porhaps he could wheedle you out of the bag for little or nothing, and tlien get a big reward for returnin' it," replied Miss Smith, with a triumpliant snap of her gray eyes. "1 think there's more to it than that, Miss Smith," said Tad, rising to his feet. "I think he's the same fellow wlio tried so hard to get hold of it in Boston. You see, ma'am," continued Tad, meekly, "I ain't so quick is some, but I've studied it out kind of like this. He somehow found out, in the first place, that the tall gentleman who owns it had jewelry, or whatever it is, worth ever so much money in his sachel, and just followed on after him to get a chance to grab it. Thcn I got hold of it, and ever since he's been doggin' me. He's got a niustache, and bran'-new toeth, and his voice is a little different; but this afternoon I fonnd out something that makes me pretty sure I'm right." And then Tad told Miss Smitli about the little blue scar, that he liad so unexpectedly discovered. "WeD, Tad," obsei-ved Miss Smith, af ter a short astonished p.iuse, "you're a smarter boy than ever thought you was, I'm free to confess. The - the - deeeptive critter!" And, for a moment or two, it really seemed as though Miss Smith was determined to s-ally forth, and, single-handed, capture Mr. Torrest, and drag li!m into the prcsence of " Square" Martin, the Bixport justice of the peace, there to denounce him as a fraud of the flrst water. But, upon cooler reflection, she saw that, in reality, there was no visible proof of any such charge, further than Tad's ovil word. Even Captain Flagg or Polly would hordij have reoognized, in tho elegantly-dre8sed gentleman with a silky black mustaehe.the smoothfaced, shabby sharper who had tried unsuceessfully to steal Captain Flagg's money and papen on Commercial wharf. "Give a í'ogue ropo cnough, and he's sure to hang himself; so I guess we won't say any tliing for a spell longer," flnally said Miss Smith, to Tad's great gratification. But the good lady immediately sat down and wrote a letter to "J. H. A." in relation to the sachel. and afterward posted it with her own hands. Furthermore, she had a new loek put on each of the outer doors, and even went so far as to havo Tad clean and load an old iiint-loek niusket, that had done good service at Hunker Hill, which, to Samantha Nason'i great horror, she kept standing at tlie head of her bed.' "I feel it in my bones that the fellow'll mako ono more trial for that sachel," she taid, oraoularly, "íor he knows that what's in it is well worth runrún' a big risk for; bnt, if he's aware when iic's well off, he botter keep awayl" Threo daya paosed, and then Miss Smith rcc"inl an answer, to the eftecfc that "J. H. A."would be n BLxporton the following day, and would do liimself the honor of calliiij; apon Miss Smith, at her residence, in ilie eveaing . "Tliingsis coming to a climax, Tad," said Miss Smith, carefully tucking the letter away in a pigeon-liole of the oldfashioned secretary in the front sittingroom, "and I guess you'll gct your five hundred dollars reward, after all, and Edwards, or : i-; name is, wil] have Iiis trouble for lus pain." .Fivc hundred dollars! Tad turued from red to white, and white t agaln. He thought to himself that when lio held tho money in liis banda he would believe it, but nut till Uien: The sachel had been placed is a secretary drav er for safe keeping. Misa íSmith unlocked the drawer, to make sure that it was safe. Then gho held t thoughtfully np by the handle. "I'm free to confess I'm dretfal cariota to know what's fnaide," she rcmarked, aa she held it v hi r ear, and shook it rigorously. "ltere's papers, for one thing- I hear "cm rnstle- and something like a box," she continOed; "but never mimi. Tad - wre'll know all about it to-morrow night." Thua saj-ing, she replaced the sachel, loeked the drawer and dropped the key into hor pocket, happily unconscíoua that a Bharp pair of eyes - whose owner was bidden from view of any chanco passor-by by a thick clump c,: lüaes before the house- had been watching her every movement froji without, throngh the half-olosed blinda. CHAPTER XIII. The cm-tains were palled down, the big kerpsene-lamp lighted, and Miss Smith, at the head of the dining-room table, was pouring out the tea, on the evening wlien the arriral of J. H. A. was expected. "I s'pose the stage'll be late; it always is when there's any thing of importance on hand," observed Miss Smith, glancing disconsolately at the pale-faced clock, whose hands pointed to the hour of seven. "Dear me, I hope not!" said Mrs. Mason; "tor, to teil the trnth, ever since I heard about Tad and the mysterions saohel, I liave been fairly devoured with cuiiosity to know its contents." "Of coursp, Miss Smith, you've got the article safely onder lock and key," Mr. Mason remarked, helping himseli to a biscuit as he spoke. "Loeked up in the seeivtary drawer, and the kry's in my pocket," returned Miss Smith. Had the old-fashioned secretary been a burglnr-proof safe, with combinationlock, she could hardly have spoken with more confldence. "Anybody mxghi slip in the front door and piek the lock, though," slyly suggested Mr. Mason, whodearly loved to tease Miss Smith. "The front door's loeked and bolted, directly it's sundown," answered Mis3 Smith, scornfully; "and as the settin'room winden all button down to the top, I guess there's no great danger." "But our room opens directly into the sitting-room, and, you know, we always keep ourwindows pushed up," persisted Mr. Mason, winking at his wife. "Dqn't mind him, Miss Smith," said his wife, "lie's ahvays trylng to frighten somebody, if he can." "1 wasn't bom in the woods, to be scart by owls," answered Miss Smith, at which retort Mr. Mason laughed, and passed his preserve-dish for a second installment. "How will Mr. 'J. H. A.' find his way here," asked Mrs. Mason, after a brief pause. "Tad's gone op to Potter'a to meet him," returned Miss Smith, glancing into the teapot- "Potters" being the old-time country tavern where the stage coach stopped, and from viience it Btarted. A little general conversation ensued, and then, rising from the table, Mr. and Mrs. Mason Btepped out on the piazza,to enjoy the cool of prcning, while Miss Smith called Samantha to hor own snpper. Half an hour passed, and the distant clatter of the crazy stage coach was heard comiifg round the bend in the road at the entrañes of the village. The lamp was oarried into tlie sittingroom, and Captain Klagg, with Iris wife and Polly, who had just arrived, in compliance with Misa Smith's express lnvitatíon, were shown into the quaint, old-time room, followed, a moment oitwo later, bv the Maaons - Miss Smith, wearing her best alapaca, bringing up the rear. There was a brief peiiod of waiting, in whioh every one spoke in a sort of undertone, and presently steps were heard oa the piazza, vvhereat Miss Smith nervously hurried out, to encounter the gaze of the tallest and stiffest gentleman she had ever soen, who had just entered the door with Tad. "JChla is Mr. J. H. Athorton- Miss Smith," Baid Tad, awkwardly. Miss Smith oourtesied, primly. The tall gentleman inollned his hèad about an inch and a half, ifter whioh ceromony ho was oshered into the sittinroom, and formally presented to the awembled company, whose presence he evidently regarded with great surprise. "Bein' a lone woman," explained Miss Smith, "I thought best, for my sake and ïad's here, to ask in these frien's and neigbbors of mine, so 's to make siire that ev'ry thhi '11 bc doae straight and square." Mr. Atherton did not seem partiólarly woll pleased with the explanados, but lio silcntly bowed, and seated himself in Miss Sinith's rocking chair. ïhcn, mounting a pair of gold-bowed eye-glasses aerosa lus Roman nose, he glaaced over the top of tlicin, and cleared his throat in an mpressiva i! ia mier. er- youth, whom 1 dimly remeniber having seen once before," said Mr. Atherton, with adignifled movement of liis slender white hand toward Tad, who stood near the old secretary, "h.is, white cm the way to your house, imformed mo concerning the manner in whicli - a - my property came into his po and I présame his- er - veracity need not bo callptl iut question." Miss Smith sniffed amlibly. "He's as truthful a boy as I ever saw," she said, eonolsely, and Captain Flagg w:is heard to mnrmnr that no truthf ulier one never chopped down a cherry tree with liis little hatehet "That being the case," continuedthe speaker, who liad a pondorous way of moying and gpe&king, "we will proceed to the business in hand." Drawing a note-book from liis pocket, Mr. Atherton opeued it, and began reading: "Contents of sache] as follows Item first, white pasteboard box, eontaining certain articles of jewelry, to wit: One gold star pendant, oontaining seventeen diamonds with large strawcolored stono in one pair -solitaire ear drops, 3J carats weight each; ono diamond ring; one heavy gold bracelet. Value of the whole - six thousand flve hqndred and fifty dollars. These valuables," he -obscTTCd, pausing a moment to note the effect of his announeement, "are family jewela, now belonging to myself as sole vmng oeirol the late Atherton family.'' "Item second," he continued, referring again to the noté-beok, "family papers, as follows: Power of attorney froni my deceased brother, S. K. Atherton; deed of Atherton homestead; wifl of late General Cleveland Atherton" - "That's enough," cnrtly interrupteii Miss Smith; "you have the key-tothe sachel with j-ou, I s'pose." "I have, madam," was the reply. "Then," returned Mi.s Smith, moving tovvard the secretary drawer, and proeeeding to insert the key, "if the things in the sachel correspon'a tothem you've mentioned, why" Hero Miss Smith stopped abruptly. The drawer was unlocked. With a face palcr than ashes, she jerked it open! - it was emptj '. "Robbers!" slip gasped, dropping into the nearest chair. "ïliieves!" she screamed, hysterieally. as they all rose to their feet and came orowding alout her. "Burglarsl" she slirieked, still higher key, "and it's all been done since six o doek- that sachel was in there then, for I sec it with my own eyes! And now - it's jone - gone!" And Miss Sniitli's toíc-o (ailed hi she began to sob. At this Btartling plece of news Mr. Atherton looked incredulons, Captain Flagg and his vite aatonnded, Polly amazed, Tad bewildered, Mrs. Mason surprisod and Mr. Masón overwhelmedí "By Jove!" muttered the latter gentleman, m asndden thoughi seemedte strike hini; and, leaving the üttlegroup staring dunibly at eaofa other, he bolted into his own room. fTO BE CONTIKUED.]