plans that he and the old lady had made for their adventure into
African wilds.

Having come to a decision the lad felt a sense of relief from the
worry that had haunted him for many sleepless nights. When he
closed his eyes in sleep it was to dream of a happy reunion with
those at home. And as he dreamed, Fate, cruel and inexorable,
crept stealthily upon him through the dark corridor of the squalid
building in which he slept--Fate in the form of the American crook,
Condon.

Cautiously the man approached the door of the lad's room. There
he crouched listening until assured by the regular breathing of
those within that both slept. Quietly he inserted a slim, skeleton
key in the lock of the door. With deft fingers, long accustomed
to the silent manipulation of the bars and bolts that guarded other
men's property, Condon turned the key and the knob simultaneously.
Gentle pressure upon the door swung it slowly inward upon its hinges.
The man entered the room, closing the door behind him. The moon
was temporarily overcast by heavy clouds. The interior of the
apartment was shrouded in gloom. Condon groped his way toward the
bed. In the far corner of the room something moved--moved with a
silent stealthiness which transcended even the trained silence of
the burglar. Condon heard nothing. His attention was riveted upon
the bed in which he thought to find a young boy and his helpless,
invalid grandmother.

The American sought only the bank roll. If he could possess
himself of this without detection, well and good; but were he to
meet resistance he was prepared for that too. The lad's clothes