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Byrne had no time to pick any particular spot to juht have been directly over a picket fence, or a bottomless pit--he did not know Nor did he care

As it happened he was over neither The platfor across a culvert at the instant Beneath the culvert was a sli unhared the deputy sheriff to his knees, and before that frightened and astonished officer of the law could gather his wits together he had been relieved of his revolver and found hi into its cold and business-likethe deputy sheriff in the ribs with cold steel, and warning him to silence Above the pool stood a little wood, thick with tangled ood Into this Byrne forced his prisoner

When they had coe to make discovery from the outside improbable Byrne halted

"Now say yer prayers," he co to croak yeh"

The deputy sheriff looked up at him in wild-eyed terror

"My God!" he cried "I ain't done nothin' to you, Byrne Haven't I always been your friend? What've I ever done to you? For God's sake Byrne you ain't goin' to et you, sure"

Billy Byrne let a rather unpleasant smile curl his lips

"No," he said, "youse ain't done nothin' toto croak everything I meet that stands for the law They wanted to send me up for life--me, an innocent man Your kind done it--the cops You ain't no cop; but you're just as rotten Now say yer prayers"

He leveled the revolver at his victim's head The deputy sheriff slus as he pleaded for his life

"Cut it out, you poor boob," adotta die and if you was half a man you'd wanna die like one"

The deputy sheriff slipped to the ground His terror had overco hi down upon the man for a moment His wrist was chained to that of the other, and the pull of the deputy's body was irritating

Byrne stooped and placed the muzzle of the revolver back of the er tightened upon the trigger