The Prairie Detective: Secret Service Series No. 24 — page 33: what you’re looking at

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

THE PRAIRIE DETECTIVE. of ing for. He managed his scheme skillfully, but the moment Persimmon Bill’s name was mentioned the two guides closed up like oysters. He managed to learn that they had heard of the great robber, but they either would not or could not tell him anything definite about the man he was in pursuit of. From that time the guides shunned their employer. At night, after supper, instead of sitting and smok- ing their evening pipe with him, while all three talked together about the day’s events, they would skulk off together, leaving Dan alone to ruminate in solitude. He would not have minded this, ordinarily, but traveling with them in the midst of a great wilder- ness, and more or less at their mercy a large part of the time, he felt disturbed at the turn matters had taken, and assumed a more watchful demeanor at all times. For the past two days the men had given up their strange behavior, and seemed to have returned to the ways they observed before the rupture occurred. They were pleasant and affable, and ceased their long moonlight walks. One of them even returned to the subject of Persimmon Bill of his own accord, but did not talk on it very long or very explicitly. His object seemed to be the discovery of Dan’s mo- tive for inquiring about the robber chief. But the detective was too sharp to be caught, and readily discovered the design. On the last evening of their journey, Burdette and Robinson sat by the fire, smoking in silence. Slavin had gone away for the ostensible purpose of bringing in some wood. He had been absent some moments, when Robinson began to talk with a great deal of volubility. His manner, so utterly at variance with Eomicbhoo SS (Efe)