orough in all his inquiries, I
directed him to proceed as soon as possible to the scene of the robbery,
and enter at once upon the performance of his duties.

In a very short time Manning had made his preparations, and at eight
o'clock that evening he was at the depot awaiting the departure of the
train that was to bear him to his new field of operation.

After a journey of several hours, in which the detective endeavored to
snatch as much comfort as possible, the train drew up at the neat little
station at Geneva, and Manning was upon the ground.

It was two o'clock in the morning when he arrived, consequently there
were but few people stirring, and the station was almost entirely
deserted. Two or three passengers who were awaiting the train, the
persons connected with the railroad, and the runners of the two hotels
(Geneva boasted of two of these very necessary establishments), were
the only persons who greeted him upon his arrival.

Having never been to Geneva before, and being entirely ignorant of the
accommodations afforded by either of these houses of entertainment,
Manning, at a hazard, selected the "Geneva Hotel" as his place of abode.
Consigning his valise to the care of the waiting porter, he was soon on
his way to that hostelrie, and serenely journeyed along through the
darkness, all unconscious of the reception that awaited him. On arriving
at their destination, he perceived through the glimmering light that
hung over the doorway, that the "Geneva Hotel" was an old, rambling
frame structure, which stood in the midst of an overgrowth of bushes and
shrubbery. So dense was the foliage that the detective imagined the air
of the place was damp and unwholesome in consequence. Certain it was, as
he discovered afterward, the air and sunshine had a desperate struggle
almost daily to obtain an entrance into the building, and after a few
hours engaged in the vain attempt, old Sol would vent his baffled rage
upon the worm-eaten old roof, to the decided discomfort of the lodgers
in the attic story.

Ceremony was an unheard-of quality at the "Geneva House," and the
railway porter performed the multifarious duties of night clerk, porter,
hall boy and hostler. As they entered the hotel, the porter lighted a
small lamp with the aid of a stable lantern, and without further parley
led the detective up two flights of stairs which cracked and groaned
under their feet, as if complaining of their weight, and threatening to
pr