d not distinguish the words, but the other spoke loudly, and
Phil heard him say:

"Now listen here. You come through with that map, or I'll leave you here
to be carried out feet first!"

The old man feebly protested and Phil was about to whistle for help when
he saw the assailant rip away the old man's shirt and disclose a cloth
bag. It was the work of a second to tear this open and extract from it a
paper.

Phil could hear the chuckle of satisfaction and then he gasped, for the
old man rose from his cot and tried to grapple with the younger man, who
gave him a brutal push, throwing him back onto the cot.

Phil hesitated no longer, and so excited was he that he failed to give
the signal. Throwing open the door, he rushed into the room, and
directing the flashlight directly into the eyes of the man, partially
blinded him. At the same moment he made a grab for the paper, but
succeeded only in getting a part of it, one piece remaining in the hands
of the man.

The old man lay back on the cot gasping for breath, so could be of no
harm, nor yet of any assistance. The younger man was undersized, hardly
more than a match for Phil, who was an exceptionally strong lad, yet so
great was the evident worth of the paper, that he started for Phil,
slowly and warily.

Phil was unarmed, but a happy stratagem occurred to him. Hastily
reaching into his pocket, he drew forth a shiny pair of wire cutters,
and pointed them at the culprit, at the same time ordering him to throw
up his hands.

The momentary gleam of the polished wire cutters was enough to convince
the man that a pistol was being pointed at him, but instead of obeying
the order to hoist his hands, he made a spring for an open window,
jumped over the sill, and a bare second later, Phil heard a dull thud.

He dashed to the window and flashed his light about, to find that a very
few feet below was an ell roof, and he just caught a glimpse of the
fugitive letting himself over the edge, probably to drop into a yard
below and so make his way to freedom.

Foiled in his attempt to capture the fellow, Phil turned his attention
to the old man. He shoved the paper, the seeming cause of all the
trouble, into his hands and told him he had nothing more to worry about.

To his surprise, however, the old man weakly pushed it back to him,
saying in laborious gasps:

"Take it, boy, it's yours. I'm--going--out--a fortune in----"

His words trailed into nothingness and he dropped b