gers to stop and turn and gaze after them in wonder. It was
now, or never, she told herself, with a sudden deeper breath of
determination.

With a quick motion of her hand she flung open the door, and leaning
out, called shrilly for the driver to stop. He went on unheeding, as
though he had not heard her cry.

She felt MacNutt's fierce pull at her leaning shoulder, but she
struggled away from him, and repeated her cry. A street boy or two ran
after the carriage, adding to the din. She was tearing and fighting in
MacNutt's futile grasp by this time, calling desperately as she fought
him back. As the cab swerved about an obstructing delivery-wagon a
patrolman sprang at the horses' heads, was jerked from his feet, and
was carried along with the careering horse. But in the end he brought
them to a stop. Before he could reach the cab door a crowd had
collected.

A hansom dashed up as the now infuriated officer brushed and elbowed
the crowd aside. Above the surging heads, in that hansom, Frank could
see the familiar figure, as it leaped to the ground and dove through
the closing gap of humanity, after the officer.

It was Durkin; and now, in a sudden passion of blind fear for him she
sprang from the cab-step and tried to beat him back with her naked
hands, foolishly, uselessly, for she knew that if once together MacNutt
and he would fall on one another and fight it out to the end.

The patrolman caught her back, roughly, and held her.

"What's all this, anyway?" It surprised him a little, as he held her,
to find that the woman was not inebriate.

"I want this woman!" cried Durkin, and at the sound of his voice
MacNutt leaned forward from the shadows of the half-closed carriage,
and the eyes of the two men met, in one pregnant and contending stare.

A flash of inspiration came to the trembling woman.

"I will give everything up to him, officer, if he'll only not make a
scene!" She was fumbling at a package in the bosom of her dress.

"He can have his stuff, every bit of it--if he'll let it go at that!"

Durkin caught his cue as he saw the color of one corner of the sealed
yellow manila envelope.

"Stand back there!" howled the officer to the crowding circle. "And
you, shut up!" he added to MacNutt, now horrible to look upon with
suppressed rage.

"This woman lifted a package of mine, officer," said Durkin quickly.
"If it's intact, why, let her go!"

His fingers closed, talon-like, on the manila enve