What right had a criminal to offer his hand to _his_ daughter? “Good-bye, Earle,” she answered, clasping it warmly, while a big tear trickled down her cheek and dropped hot and burning upon it. Then she turned quickly away, drew her vail over her tear-stained face, while Mr. Dalton led her from the room, himself bestowing only an indifferent nod upon the offending culprit. CHAPTER II THE ROBBERY About three months previous to the events related in the preceding chapter, on a dark and stormy night, two men might have been seen prowling around a stately mansion in an aristocratic portion of the city of New York. After carefully reconnoitering the premises, to see that no one was stirring within, one of them cautiously proceeded to cut out a pane of glass in one of the basement windows, while the other kept watch upon the sidewalk. The glass was removed without the slightest noise, whereupon the burglar unfastened the window and lifted the sash. Then making a little noise like the twittering of a sparrow, he was immediately joined by his companion, and both disappeared within the house. A few minutes later a third man coming along the street, saw the sudden glimmer of a light in one of the lower rooms of the mansion. Something about it instantly attracted his attention. It was a quick, sharp flare, and then seemed to go suddenly out. He waited a minute or two, and the same thing was repeated. “Aha! a burglar!” he muttered to himself. “I think I’ll have to look into this thing.” He stopped, and his first impulse was to turn and go in search of a policeman. Ah! if he had done so how much of future misery would have been saved him. But upon second thought he concluded not to do so, and quietly slipped within the shadow of the great porch over the front entrance. It seemed a long time that he stood waiting there, and he regretted that he had not gone for an officer. He did not know how long the burglars had been there, and he had feared they would escape before he could return. But finally he heard cautious steps approaching from the rear toward the corner where he was stationed, and now he caught the sound of exultant whispers, that they had been so successful as to get out undiscovered with their rich booty. The next instant two men emerged into view, bearing their plunder in a bag between them. With a bound the new-comer darted forward and felled one man to the ground with a blow that sounded like the descent of a sledge-hammer, and then grappled with the other. The burglar who had been felled had been only momentarily stunned, and, almost instantly recovering himself, he had quietly picked up the bag, which had also fallen to the ground in the melee, and made off with it, leaving his companion to shift for himself as best he could.