was shy of shops, so he sought one of the big department
stores on Sixth Avenue, where he instinctively felt that everything
under the sun could be bought.

As Bobbie paused before one of the big display windows on the sidewalk
he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure. It was that instinct which
one only half realizes in a brief instant, yet which leaves a strong
reaction of memory.

"Who was that?" he thought, and then remembered: Baxter.

Burke followed the figure which had passed him so quickly, and found
the same dapper young man deeply engrossed in the window display of
women's walking suits.

"What can he find so interesting in that window?" mused Burke. "I'll
just watch his tactics. I don't believe that fellow is ever any place
for any good!"

He stood far out on the sidewalk, close to the curb. The passing
throng swept in two eddying, opposite currents between him and Baxter,
whose attention seemed strictly upon the window.

"Well, there's his refined companion," was Burke's next impression, as
he espied the effeminate figure of Craig, strolling along the sidewalk
close to the same window.

"Can they be pickpockets? I would guess that was too risky for them to
take a chance on."

Neither youth spoke to the other, although they walked very close to
each other. As Burke scrutinized their actions he saw a young girl,
tastefully dressed in a black velvet suit, with a black hat, turn about
excitedly. She looked about her, as though in alarm, and her face was
distorted with pain. Baxter gave her a shifty look and followed her.
Craig had been close at her side.

Burke drew nearer to the girl. She seemed to falter, as she walked,
and it was apparently with great effort that she neared the door of the
big department store. Baxter was watching her stealthily now.

"Oh!" she exclaimed desperately and keeled backward. Baxter's
calculations were close, for he caught her in his arms.

"Quick! Quick!" he cried to the big uniformed carriage attendant at
the door. "Get me a taxicab. My sister has fainted."

The man whistled for a machine, as Burke watched them. The officer was
calculating his own chances on what baseball players call a "double
play." Craig was close behind Baxter, in the curious crowd. Burke
guessed that it would take at least a minute or two for Baxter to get
the girl into a machine. So he rushed for Craig and surprised that
young gentleman with a vicious grasp of the throat.