aggerated confidence in the impregnability of his defences. He evidently regarded the detective as more of a bulldog than a hound, who would just as soon chase the shadow of a vulture as the body of a fox, yet gave him credit for discovering, by blunder or otherwise, the vital point of the case. With rare ingenuity the fellow contrived to manufacture false scents and trails, but the detective declined to bay upon a single one of them, contenting himself meanwhile with the simple exposure of the shams. Under a tranquil exterior, the feelings of the wretch must have seethed like the caldron of Macbeth's witches, yet he seemed to retain his wonted calmness and selfreliance.

They remained at New Albany two or three hours without discovering a scintilla of evidence against the postmaster. About five in the afternoon, having taken dinner, they started back for Eureka, but, as the roads were bad, the sky cloudy, and the night dark, only reached Twin Falls, where they put up at a small country tavern. Both occupied the same room; and Smythe took advantage of the heavy slumbers of his companion to steal from his pocket the manipulated receipt which he seemed to regard as the principal evidence against him. When the officer discovered the robbery the next morning, he was terribly enraged to find himself outwitted and beaten at the second stage of the fight, after having succeeded so admirably in the first.

The contest that ensued was a struggle between gladiators. Mortified at the lack of vigilance which rendered the theft possible, stung by the covert, easy insolence of the fellow who now thought himself master of the situation, and withal impressed with a fuller appreciation of his desperate purpose and daring, the detective threw all his energies into the battle of wits. He is a grand talker, mesmeric and crushing by turns, whose words roll down upon the head of a criminal like the waters of a cataract; but Smythe, unfortunately, was equally able as a listener. About five feet nine inches tall, broad-shouldered, though thin through the chest, with hair

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and beard so intensely black that they glistened like the skin of some reptiles, with thin, bloodless lips contracting firmly

"Smythe took advantage of the heavy slumbers of his companion to steal from his pocket the manipulated receipt."

around a small mouth, and with diminutive, repellent eyes that sparkled with a peculiar snakish lustre, he could, if he chose, face a storm of denunciation and obloquy with the freezing stolidity of an Indian; or, if it better suited his purpose, he could strike back with any weapon that came to

hand. Such an antagonist was not a safe one to encounter at a disadvantage. It required a great deal of courage and sustained effort to look down into those cold, glassy, treacherous eyes, for this was what the detective aimed to do, as remarkable discoveries are often made by gazing from above into the "windows of the soul." If guilt is hidden within, it is very apt to reveal itself, especially if the criminal sits while the interrogator bends over him, for the inferior position detracts from his courage. This psychological law plays an important part in the science of detection, and agents cannot study it too closely.

That morning they were four hours in riding fifteen miles from Twin Falls to Eureka. With the ill-omened receipt either destroyed or secure in his own possession, the selfassurance of the accused returned, and he put forth his best efforts both as listener and reasoner. Managing his cause with admirable coolness and discretion, he made a determined defence, often slipping out as it were, from under the blows of his adversary, who as often found himself talking to empty space and wasting eloquence on the air.

In the course of the argument, however, Smythe became pretty well convinced that he was responsible for the stolen money; and, finding that no confession could be wrung from him, the special agent moderated in his demands, and began to work for the recovery of the funds. The four packages, including the two sent from Twin Falls August 22d, contained four hundred and sixty-six and a half dollars. This sum he agreed to pay; and on reaching Eureka, he placed the full amount in the hands of the detective to be distributed among the proper owners. The latter was aware that another special agent, under orders from the department, had visited the office shortly before to look into the money-order account, which was supposed to be considerably in arrears; and, as Smythe had a habit of using the funds belonging to that branch of the business, the detective concluded that the large sum just transferred to his custody was probably abstracted thence to meet

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the present unexpected emergency. He accordingly called for the books, and examined them carefully, finding several false entries, made by the assistant postmaster, for the purpose of tiding the rotten craft over the previous investigation. Smythe knew that when the accounts reached Washington, the manipulations would be discovered, and hence stole the letters from Twin Falls to make good the balance, and to facilitate the explanation of the fraudulent figures as mere "mistakes."

Mr. Furay unwound the false entries, and found the office eight hundred and thirty-seven dollars behind on money-order account. Now the law guards this fund with the most stringent penalties, making it a penitentiary offence for any postmaster or employé connected with the operations of this branch of the work, to convert to his own use, or misapply for any purpose whatever, any portion of the money-order funds. The special agent demanded the balance, threatening the guilty assistant with immediate arrest unless the entire amount was paid over.

Now, for the first time, Smythe was thoroughly alarmed, and began to beg like a dog. The postmaster, too, honest, kind, and credulous, who, till the moment of the discovery, would not believe a word reflecting on the integrity of the assistant, being overmastered by the power and guile of the snake, shared fully in the fright, not knowing where the extraordinary developments might end. The money in arrears must be forthcoming, or the tumbling walls would rattle about their heads. The serpent vanished from the eyes of Smythe, and, notwithstanding the theft of the receipt, the detective was again master of the situation. Weighted with the load of cumulative evidence, the criminal wilted under the gaze of the officer like newly-mown grass under a July sun.

He was advised to convey his property, worth about five hundred dollars, in fee simple to the postmaster, as partial indemnity for the misappropriated funds. Here an unexpected difficulty arose, the wife of the embezzler refusing to sign

the papers, as required by the laws of Kansas to make the transfer binding. Unsupported by any one in her singular resolution, she held out stubbornly against the united appeals of husband, postmaster, and detective, but finally yielded, and affixed her name to the deed. The postmaster then mortgaged to a local banker his newly acquired possessions, together with all his individual property, to raise the amount of the deficiency, and the rush with which the business was hurried through may be inferred from the fact that the officer in returning from New Albany reached Eureka about noon, and left at seven o'clock the next morning, having in charge both the surplus money-order funds and the entire amount stolen from the four registered letters. Where an agent is on the right track, and has cleared away outlying doubts and difficulties, delays are dangerous, while judicious but overwhelming precipitation almost invariably wins.

That night the detective neither slept nor lay down. Toward daylight, Smythe, who still denied the robberies, came and said, "I believe the letters from Twin Falls will yet be found. I have one favor to ask. Will you hold the money thirty days before delivering it to the owners? They left here, as registered letters, numbers nine and ten, in package envelope number nine, addressed to Lawrence, Kansas. For some unaccountable reason, I have no record of any of the packages which left that day.”

"Certainly," replied the agent, "I will wait a month; and if the letters are found in the mean time, the money shall be restored to you."

Before starting, the detective requested the postmaster to report promptly any statement the suspected criminal might make in regard to the loss of the letters from the Eureka office, foreseeing that, with his rare and versatile cunning, he might proceed to manufacture evidence to suit his purposes. He also ordered the peremptory dismissal of the assistant — an order which the principal was more than ready to obey. As yet no person in Eureka outside of the official family knew the