or three stalwart
policemen, whose revolvers pointed unwaveringly at Mr. Critz. The
plump little man gave one glance, and put up his hands.

"All right, boys, you've got me," he said in quite another voice, and
allowed them to seize his arms. He paid no attention to the police,
but at Mr. Gubb, who was tearing the wrapper from what proved to be
but a common vitrified paving-brick, he looked long and hard.

"Say," said Mr. Critz to Mr. Gubb, "I'm the goat. You stung _me_ all
right. You worked me to a finish. I thought I knew all of you from
Burns down, but you're a new one to me. Who are you, anyway?"

Mr. Gubb looked up.

"Me?" he said with pride. "Why--why--I'm Gubb, the foremost
deteckative of Riverbank, Iowa."

THE PET

On the morning following his capture of the Hard-Boiled Egg, the
"Riverbank Eagle" printed two full columns in praise of Detective Gubb
and complimented Riverbank on having a superior to Sherlock Holmes in
its midst.

"Mr. Philo Gubb," said the "Eagle," "has thus far received only eleven
of the twelve lessons from the Rising Sun Detective Agency's
Correspondence School of Detecting, and we look for great things from
him when he finally receives his diploma and badge. He informed us
to-day that he hopes to begin work on the dynamite case soon. With the
money he will receive for capturing the Hard-Boiled Egg, Mr. Gubb
intends to purchase eighteen complete disguises from the Supply
Department of the Rising Sun Detective Agency, Slocum, Ohio. Mr. Gubb
wishes us to announce that until the disguises arrive he will continue
to do paper-hanging, decorating, and interior painting at reasonable
rates."

Unfortunately there were no calls for Mr. Gubb's detective services
for some time after he received his disguises and diploma, but while
waiting he devoted his spare time to the dynamite mystery, a
remarkable case on which many detectives had been working for many
weeks. This led only to his being beaten up twice by Joseph Henry,
one of the men he shadowed.

The arrival in Riverbank of the World's Monster Combined Shows the day
after Mr. Gubb received his diploma seemed to offer an opportunity for
his detective talents, as a circus is usually accompanied by crooks,
and early in the morning Mr. Gubb donned disguise Number Sixteen,
which was catalogued as "Negro Hack-Driver, Complete, $22.00"; but,
while looking for crooks while watching the circus unload, his eyes
alighted on Syrilla, known a