"One way of escape?"

"Yes."

The baron saw that he had been beaten in the most complete manner. He saw that indeed there was no hope for him but in the mercy of the detective. The young man was no fool.

"How can I escape?"

"Surrender to me unharmed and uninjured Miss Amalie Speir. Do this and I will surrender the note, and you can keep the two thousand dollars. I permit the latter to save scandal."

"I accept your terms."

"So far so good, and now tell me why you sought to force this girl to marry you. Tell me the whole truth and I will pay you an additional thousand dollars."

"There is no need for me to conceal the facts."

"You are right."

"The girl is an heiress and does not know it."

"Tell me the facts."

"Her grandmother was a Mrs. Harold Stevens. Mrs. Stevens quarreled with her husband and they separated. The husband returned to America, Mrs.

Stevens remained in Europe. Mrs. Richards made her acquaintance, and during their intimacy Mrs. Stevens revealed the fact that she had a daughter living in America, and that she had deposited fifty thousand dollars to her daughter's credit to be surrendered upon identification.

She gave Mrs. Richards a picture of her child and employed her to find the heiress, and placed matters in such shape that the money could be paid over upon proof. Mrs. Richards failed in finding the heiress until Miss Amalie Speir came to live with her, and then she recognized in that girl the heiress, and determined that I should marry her, and we would secure the deposit, which now amounts to nearly a hundred thousand dollars."

"But Amalie is not the heiress."

"No, her mother is the heiress, but had she become my wife we were to furnish evidence that the mother was dead, secure the money on the girl's wonderful resemblance to the picture of her mother. The money was left in such a manner that no legal steps were necessary."

"Amalie would not marry you?"

"No; and now the game is up."

"One more question: How did you learn that I was interested in the case and start to deceive me when we first met?"

"We were watching the mother after the disappearance, and learned that she had employed you. I knew all the time you were a detective, but you have beaten me; I surrender."

That very night Jack and Gil accompanied the baron to the place where Amalie Speir had been held a prisoner, and Jack had met face to face the beautiful girl who had so long filled his thoughts. It was morning ere he had finished the long story he had to relate to the beautiful girl, and when morning came he led Amalie to her mother's home. Words will never describe the joy and delight of that mother.

The baron quietly stole off to Europe. Jack had no desire to detain him or punish any one. He had wrought a successful "shadow" to the end and was content.

And now comes the most pleasant part of our narrative.

Mrs. Speir's heart was filled with grat.i.tude, and the daughter, the beautiful Amalie, learned to admit more than grat.i.tude. She gave her heart to the brave, persistent and determined young man who had done her and her mother such signal service, and it was a glorious occasion when Jack led to the altar the bride he had won in such a strange and weird manner. We could write more, but we believe we have told the whole tale as concerns _facts_, and comments we will leave to our readers.

THE END.

The World's Finger is the t.i.tle of the most absorbing detective narrative ever written.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

One would not surmise from the t.i.tle that such was the fact; but the closing chapter of the book gives the clue to its meaning: "I swore to my father on his death-bed that The World's Finger should never point to a Davanant as amongst the list of known convicts, and that oath I will keep."

T. W. HANSHEW is the author, and a writer of more exciting and sensational detective stories cannot be found at the present day.

One reader writes: "I thought I would read a chapter or two of THE WORLD'S FINGER, to see what it was all about. I soon found out, and it was two o'clock in the morning before I lay it down, having read it to the end at one sitting. It certainly is a corker."

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