e lifted one of the hot stove-hole covers
and returned to the parlor, grinning.

"I guess she'll remember she's got more wen dis begins to woik," he
said. "Take off her shoes, Dink."

The other growled an objection.

"Yeh poor boob," he said. "De dicks'll be here in a little while. We'd
better be makin' our get-away wid w'at we got."

"Gee!" exclaimed his companion. "I clean forgot all about de dicks,"
and then after a moment's silence during which his evil face underwent
various changes of expression from fear to final relief, he turned an
ugly, crooked grimace upon his companion.

"We got to croak her," he said. "Dey ain't no udder way. If dey finds
her alive she'll blab sure, an' dey won't be no trouble 'bout gettin' us
or identifyin' us neither."

The other shrugged.

"Le's beat it," he whined. "We can't more'n do time fer dis job if we
stop now; but de udder'll mean--" and he made a suggestive circle with a
grimy finger close to his neck.

"No it won't nothin' of de kind," urged his companion. "I got it all
doped out. We got lots o' time before de dicks are due. We'll croak de
skirt, an' den we'll beat it up de road AN' MEET DE DICKS--see?"

The other was aghast.

"Wen did youse go nuts?" he asked.

"I ain't gone nuts. Wait 'til I gets t'rough. We meets de dicks,
innocent-like; but first we caches de dough in de woods. We tells 'em we
hurried right on to lead 'em to dis Byrne guy, an' wen we gets back here
to de farmhouse an' finds wot's happened here we'll be as flabbergasted
as dey be."

"Oh, nuts!" exclaimed the other disgustedly. "Youse don't tink youse
can put dat over on any wise guy from Chi, do youse? Who will dey tink
croaked de old woman an' de ki-yi? Will dey tink dey kilt deyreselves?"

"Dey'll tink Byrne an' his pardner croaked 'em, you simp," replied
Crumb.

Dink scratched his head, and as the possibilities of the scheme filtered
into his dull brain a broad grin bared his yellow teeth.

"You're dere, pal," he exclaimed, real admiration in his tone. "But
who's goin' to do it?"

"I'll do it," said Crumb. "Dere ain't no chanct of gettin' in bad for
it, so I jest as soon do the job. Get me a knife, or an ax from de
kitchen--de gat makes too much noise."

Something awoke Billy Byrne with a start. Faintly, in the back of his
consciousness, the dim suggestion of a loud noise still reverberated. He
sat up and looked about him.

"I wonder what that was?" he mused. "It sounded like the