"Where did he come from?" asked the drug store proprietor.

"Probably through the alley that leads from the saloon to the end of our
building," explained Ralph. "He could easily dash into the hall from
there."

"He was after papers," declared Tavia, "for just as he grabbed me he saw
Dorothy. I was going to scream when he put that queer-smelling stuff to
my nose."

"I screamed when I saw Tavia," ventured the frightened Dorothy, "but he
had me almost before I could open--my--mouth. Tavia squeezed my hand and
I knew she meant for me to be quiet."

"And if you had not closed your eyes he might have given you another
dose," added Tavia, who somehow, seemed to know more than any one else
about the wicked ways of the mysterious stranger.

"But how did he manage to get away so promptly?" asked one of the men,
trying to get on the track for capture.

"Through that same alley into the saloon," Ralph said. "I will go at
once, and have the place searched."

"As soon as he got the papers Dorothy had he went off," finished Tavia,
"just as he did when he got my notes."

Leaving the girls to quiet themselves in the drug store, all the men,
except the head clerk, started out to give the alarm.