Two evenings later, Mr. Hines, happening to be down at Coney Island with a party of friends, met Dallas Worthington on Surf Avenue, walking arm in arm with Owen Sheridan. The manner in which the girl was looking up into her escort’s face caused Hines to utter an exclamation of jealous rage. For the young politician’s infatuation for Dallas had proved to be more than a passing fancy. Strange as it may appear, he had seriously fallen in love with the girl, and the lapse of two days found him even more hard hit than at first. Consequently, that meeting at Coney Island was a great blow to him. Until then he had refused to believe what Carrier Greene had told him, and, being an egotistical young man, he felt confident that, although the girl appeared to have somewhat of a prejudice against him at the start, she could not continue to hold out for long against the charm of his personality. He returned home from Coney Island with the dislike which he had already formed for Carrier Owen Sheridan increased tenfold. The next day he received a summons from Boss Coggswell to come to the clubhouse immediately. When he got there he found that politician in a state of considerable agitation. “Have you heard the news?” exclaimed the district leader, pacing nervously up and down the floor of his private office. “No, boss; what is it?” “Carrier Greene has been arrested--and Tom Hovey, too.” “Tom Hovey! The fellow you sent to get those letters from Greene? What are they arrested for?” inquired Hines anxiously. “Tampering with the mails, of course. I understand they’ve got them dead to rights, too. Greene was seen handing the letters to Hovey, and Hovey was caught in the act of opening the envelope over a steam kettle. Lawrence has got a strong case against us.” “Against _us_?” repeated Jake Hines, with a crafty smile. “Don’t say that, boss. They haven’t got anything on you--and you can rest assured that you’ll not be implicated. Neither Greene nor Hovey will squeal, no matter what happens. I’m willing to stake my bottom dollar on those fellows standing pat. They’ll go to jail for life rather than give you away. There’s only one man we’ve got to fear, so far as you’re concerned.” “Who’s that?” inquired Boss Coggswell nervously. “That letter carrier, Owen Sheridan. He’s behind these arrests, of course. It was him that put Judge Lawrence wise to the whole business.” Coggswell nodded gloomily. “Yes, and he can implicate me by testifying that I sent for him the other day, and tried to bribe him to hand over that mail. His evidence----” “Will put you in stripes, boss, I’m afraid,” broke in Jake Hines grimly. “But he’s the only man we’ve got to be afraid of.” Coggswell agitatedly paced the full length of the room several times before he spoke again. Hines observed that the boss’ ears were wiggling furiously--that peculiar physical indication of the sinister thoughts that were brewing within the crooked brain.