red to guess that not more than a score of people did as yet know
of the arrest. Our end of town was drained, quiet; nobody over at the
Vandeman bungalow; looking down at the Square as I made my sneak
through, I had caught a glimpse of Bronson Vandeman, a great rosette of
apricot blossoms on his coat lapel, making his speech of presentation to
the cannery girl queen, while his wife, Ina, her fair face shaded doubly
by a big flower hat and a blossom covered parasol, listened and looked
on.

One of my pieces of mail concerned the Skeels chase. If my men down
there had Skeels, and Skeels was Clayte, it would mean everything in
handling Cummings and Dykeman. I took out the report and ran hastily
through it; a formal statement; day by day stuff:

"_Found Skeels and Dial at Tiajuana. Negotiating to buy saloon and
gambling house. Arranged with Jefico for arrest of S. (Expense
$20.) Rurales took S. to jail. (Expense, $4.50) I interviewed S.,
and he said he came here to open a business where he could sell
booze. D. was his partner in proposition. S. knew nothing of bank
affair. Would waive extradition and come back to stand trial at our
expense. Interviewed D. He says combined capital of two is $4500.,
saved from S's business and D's miner's wages. D. said--_"

Not much to show up with; but there were three photographs enclosed that
I wanted to try on Cummings and Dykeman. No telling where I'd find
either, but the Fremont House was my best bet. Getting back there
through the crowd, I saw Skeet Thornhill in a corner drugstore, waiting
at its counter. I was afoot, having been obliged to park my roadster in
one of the spaces set apart for this purpose. I noticed Vandeman's car
already there.

I lingered a minute on that corner looking down the slope that led to
City Hall Square. Tent restaurants along the way; sandwiches; hot dogs;
coffee; milk; pies; doughnuts. Part way down a hurdy-gurdy in a tent
began to get patronage again; the school children in white dresses with
pink bows in their hair had just finished a stunt in the Square. They
and their elders were streaming our way, headed for the snake charmers,
performing dogs and Nigger-in-the-tank. In the midst of them Vandeman
and his wife came afoot. He caught sight of me, hailed, and when I
joined them, asked quickly, glancing toward the drugstore entrance,

"Worth come with you?"

I shook my head. He made that little clucking sound