“He couldn’t. It would be one chance in a million, but all his life he’s been taking chances. This couldn’t do any harm.”
Her dark head bent beside his fair one with the crisp sun-reddened curls.
“I don’t see any message. Where is it?”
“I don’t see it myself—not much of it. Gimme time.”
This was the paragraph upon which his gaze had fastened, and the words and letters were scored sharply as shown below, though in the case of single letters the mark ran through them instead of underneath, evidently that no mistake might be made as to which was meant.
J. P. Kelley of the ranger force reports
over the telephone that by unexpected good
luck he has succeeded in taking prisoner
the notorious Jack Foster of Hermosilla
and the Rincons notoriety and is now
bringing him to Saguache where he will be
locked up pending a disposition of his case.
Kelley succeeded in surprising him while
he was eating dinner at a Mexican road-house just this side of the border.
“Do you make it out?” Maloney asked, looking over their shoulders.
Curly took a pencil and an envelope from his pocket. On the latter he jotted down some words and handed the paper to his friend. This was what Maloney read:
...................................
.................... luck .........
... prisoner ....Jack....of He....a
....R......t......s now............
Saguache...locked up pending a dis-
position of his case...succeeded in
surprising him.....................
...................................
...................................