tints in the Angelico–”
But the man was gone.
Washington re-appeared and said he had looked everywhere, and so had Mrs.
Sellers and the servants, but in vain; and went on to say he wished he
could get his eye on a certain man about this time–no need to hunt up
that pocket-book then. The Colonel’s interest was awake at once.
“What man?”
“One-armed Pete they call him out there–out in the Cherokee country I
mean. Robbed the bank in Tahlequah.”
“Do they have banks in Tahlequah?”
“Yes–a bank, anyway. He was suspected of robbing it. Whoever did it
got away with more than twenty thousand dollars. They offered a reward
of five thousand. I believe I saw that very man, on my way east.”
“No–is that so?
“I certainly saw a man on the train, the first day I struck the railroad,
that answered the description pretty exactly–at least as to clothes and
a lacking arm.”
“Why don’t you get him arrested and claim the reward?”
“I couldn’t. I had to get a requisition, of course. But I meant to stay
by him till I got my chance.”
“Well?”
“Well, he left the train during the night some time.”
“Oh, hang it, that’s too bad.”
“Not so very bad, either.”
“Why?”
“Because he came down to Baltimore in the very train I was in, though I
didn’t know it in time. As we moved out of the station I saw him going
toward the iron gate with a satchel in his hand.”
“Good; we’ll catch him. Let’s lay a plan.”
“Send description to the Baltimore police?”
“Why, what are you talking about? No. Do you want them to get the
reward?”
“What shall we do, then?”
The Colonel reflected.
“I’ll tell you. Put a personal in the Baltimore Sun. Word it like this:
A. DROP ME A LINE, PETE.
“Hold on. Which arm has he lost?”
“The right.”
“Good. Now then–
A. DROP ME A LINE, PETE, EVEN IF YOU HAVE to write with your left hand.
Address X. Y. Z., General Postoffice, Washington. From YOU KNOW WHO.
“There- that’ll fetch him.”
“But he won’t know who–will he?”
“No, but he’ll want to know, won’t he?”
“Why, certainly–I didn’t think of that. What made you think of it?”
“Knowledge of human curiosity. Strong trait, very strong trait.”
“Now I’ll go to my room and write it out and enclose a dollar and tell
them to print it to the worth of that.”
CHAPTER IV.
The day wore itself out. After dinner the two friends put in a long and
harassing evening trying to decide what to do with the five thousand
dollars reward which they were going to get when they should find One-
Armed Pete, and catch him, and prove him to be the right person, and
extradite him, and ship him to Tahlequah in the Indian Territory. But
there were so many dazzling openings for ready cash that they found it
impossible to make up their minds and keep them made up. Finally, Mrs.
Sellers grew very weary of it all, and said:
“What is the sense in cooking a rabbit before it’s caught?”
Then the matter was dropped, for the time being, and all went to bed.
Next morning, being persuaded by Hawkins, the colonel made drawings and
specifications and went down and applied for a patent for his toy puzzle,
and Hawkins took the toy itself and started out to see what chance there
might be to do something with it commercially. He did not have to go
far. In a small old wooden shanty which had once been occupied as a
dwelling by some humble negro family he found a keen-eyed Yankee engaged
in repairing cheap chairs and other second-hand furniture. This man
examined the toy indifferently; attempted to do the puzzle; found it not
so easy as he had expected; grew more interested, and finally
emphatically so; achieved a success at last, and asked:
“Is it patented?”
“Patent applied for.”
“That will answer. What do you want for it?”
“What will it retail for?”
“Well, twenty – five cents, I should think.”
“What will you give for the exclusive right?”
“I couldn’t give twenty dollars, if I had to pay cash down; but I’ll tell