e and time a'most for that train with them
Sunday-school children to come, and it put him out awfully; but he
said that he'd make it his bizness to see to that, and then he made a
'p'intment with Camp to meet him at half-past ten ter-day, an' they'd
go tergether ter see the Columbine perleeceman.' She paused, and
uttered a cackling laugh. 'Wal,' she concluded, 'Camp see that 'twas
gittin' purty late, so he 'greed to it; an' I didn't say nothin', but
arter he'd gone ter meet them boys ag'in I put my foot down ter come
here fust, an' not to wait till mebbe the feller'd git away, and
finally Camp reckoned 'twould be best, and so we came. Someway that
feller sort o' went ag'in' me, to'rds the last. I don't want to be
hasty ag'in, but I sort o' feel as if he might be kind o' tricky, 's
well's the rest.'

It did not take us long to convince the Camps that they had been duped
all round, and while we had little faith in their ever seeing the
'Sunday-school feller' again, we obtained their promise to keep their
appointment with him; and here Dave Brainerd suddenly muttered an
excuse to the two officers, and said in my ear, 'If I am not back in
fifteen minutes meet me at the Administration at four sharp.' And with
a nod to the Camps he went hastily out. I felt very sure of his
errand. He had fancied, like myself, that 'Smug,' fearing lest the
Camps might prove too clever for his wiles--perhaps suspecting the
keen-eyed old woman--had followed them in order to assure himself
whether it would be safe to keep his latest appointment with them, and
this indeed proved to be the case.

Before the Camps left the place we had easily convinced them that
their 'Sunday-school friend' and not I, had been the 'confidence
man,' and that if he kept this last appointment with them it would
only be to lure them into another trap, and a worse one, for it would
have for its aim the suppression of any and all evidence they might
have been inclined to give to the 'perleece.'

In convincing the gentle old man, and shattering his faith in my
friend Smug, I could see that we had dealt his simple, kindly nature a
real blow, but Mother Camp was of sterner stuff.

'You needn't worrit about me, not now,' she assured me, with a
vigorous nod. 'After gitten' into one trap I ain't a-goin' to tumble
into any more, an' I ain't goin' ter let him, neither, not when I'm on
hand. I've told that man, more times 'n I've got fingers an' toes,
that he was too soft-hea