week to find something for him, and then occurred a certain very famous
safe-robbery, and the Lizard disappeared.




CHAPTER XV.

LITTLE EVA.

Early in March Jimmy was again forced to part with his watch. As he was
coming out of the pawn-shop late in the afternoon he almost collided
with Little Eva.

"For the love of Mike!" cried that young lady, "where have you been all
this time, and what's happened to you? You look as though you'd lost
your last friend." And then noting the shop from which he had emerged
and the deduction being all too obvious, she laid one of her shapely
hands upon the sleeve of his cheap, ill-fitting coat. "You're up against
it, kid, ain't you?" she asked.

"Oh, it's nothing," said Jimmy ruefully. "I'm getting used to it."

"I guess you're too square," said the girl. "I heard about that Brophy
business." And then she laughed softly. "Do you know who the biggest
backers of that graft were?"

"No," said Jimmy.

"Well, don't laugh yourself to death," she admonished. "They were Steve