"Now we're in great luck," Thad breathed, gripping Hugh by the knee, as they crouched in company behind their screen of bushes. "We can watch, and see just what effect that bombshell has on the skunk!" "Keep quiet, Thad," warned Hugh; "or he might hear you." The reformed tramp seemed to be very particular about his comfort nowadays. Time was when he could throw himself down carelessly on the hardest kind of ground and rest easy; but since he had taken to living under a roof things were different. They saw him fix the pillow in the hammock very carefully before he allowed himself to recline there. Then he raised the paper, and seemed to take a careless glance at it. Hardly had he done this than the watchers saw him start upright again. He was undoubtedly devouring the thrilling news item on the front page with "avidity"---at least, that was what Jim Pettigrew would have called it, had he been at his favorite job of "writing up" the doings of Scranton society for the past week. "Now he has got a body blow!" hissed the delighted Thad, unable to keep still any great length of time when his pulses were throbbing like mad, and his eyes round with eagerness. Brother Lu read the article through. Then he lowered the paper and seemed to be meditating, to judge from his attitude. Hugh thought he could detect something akin to a wide grin on the other's face, but then he may have been mistaken. Thad, on his part, was positive that he knew what must be passing through the mind of the man after reading that suggestive news concerning the Texan marshal who never yet allowed an intended victim to elude his clutches, and who meant to get the guilty party so badly wanted "down below." "Say, he's figuring on whether he'd best streak it as he is, or go in and gather a few things together that he may need," continued the irrepressible Thad. Even as he spoke they saw the other scramble hastily out of the comfortable hammock, and start post-haste for the open door of the cottage. Thad was as certain of what was about to happen as that he knew his own name. Hugh suspended judgment, believing that it would be unwise to jump too hastily to a decision. Besides, there were a few little suspicious things connected with the actions of Brother Lu that he did not wholly like. A minute passed, two of them, which doubtless seemed like so many hours to the confident Thad. Then they again saw the late hobo coming out. Thad stared harder than ever, and his heart felt like lead. What did it mean? he asked himself. Brother Lu did not have his hat on, nor was he carrying any sort of hastily thrown together bundle. In fact, he showed not the first sign of the dreadful alarm Thad had anticipated.