The Prairie Detective: Secret Service Series No. 24 — page 103: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE PRAIRIE DETECTIVE. 101 tion of the cry of acrow. In answer to this would be heard the howl of a coyote, by which he could tell with tolerable accuracy the whereabouts of his partner. By repeating the signal from time to time and listening for a response, he could easily trace him to his waiting-place. The detective covered the ground as rapidly as possible, not stopping to wonder if he was going the right road, but, pushing straight ahead, with his eyes fixed on the north star, and all his thoughts bent on the problem of, how to recover the lost girls ---from the hands of their supposed captors. For about an hour he traveled without an in- stant’s cessation. At the end of that time, having satisfied himself that he had gone about as far as Ryan had directed, he stopped and gave the signal which had been agreed upon. | The answer came promptly, and close at hand. In five minutes he was with Ryan and Robinson, whose presence was soon explained. The ex-Bloodsucker came forward at once, and stood in an attitude of humiliaton before the de- tective. “Well, my man,” said Dan, quietly, ‘‘what do you want to say?”’ The fellow stood silent a moment before replying. At length he spoke. | “T hardly know,’”’ he said. ‘‘The truth is, that I have done you a mighty mean action, and if you did what you ought, you would kill me in my tracks. But I can only repair the wrong I have done by making myself your servant through life. I don’t ask you to trust me—Heaven knows I don’t deserve it. JI only say give me a chance to retrieve as best I may the greatest wrong of my life. And if Ido an toreetas comicbooks (ele)