He started into the alley, flashing his bull’s-eye ahead of him as he proceeded.
He had not taken more than twenty or thirty steps when he was set upon, and, for a moment, roughly handled.
Finally he succeeded in drawing his revolver.
Just as he was about to pull the trigger, his antagonist fired a shot.
This deflected Gardner’s aim, for he was hit in the breast. However, he fired and was certain he wounded his man.
Then he lost consciousness, and had come to himself but a few moments before being found by the patrolman.
He could give no description of the man, for the bull’s-eye lantern was knocked to the ground and smashed at the time the watchman was set upon, and thereafter the struggle had been continued in the dark.
“Not much to be learned from this, chief,” said Nick.
“The whole affair is the blackest kind of a mystery,” declared the chief. “The robbers left not the slightest clew behind.”
“You’ve been going over the ground pretty thoroughly?”