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There was a run on the Ilion National bank, and depositors were standing in line hour after hour waiting their turn to withdraw their money. Paying tellers worked with deliberation that was maddening. Some days only half a dozen people would be paid off, but still the line increased. hoping against hope. For two days and nights the figure of a young girl had been noticed. She was slowly working her way to the front. At 2:45 p. m. on the third day she was admitted to the bank and withdrew her entire account. To avoid confusion depositors were admitted at one door and passed out through a side entrance, and as she emerged from the latter she cast a hurried glance about her. She gave a sigh of relief when she saw that she was quite alone and apparently unnoticed. Then suddenly a tall man appeared in the doorway behind her. Lillian Burkhart trembled as she clutched the roll of bills, her teeth chattered, the color faded from her cheeks, and she was conscious that her hands trembled visibly. The man looked at her sharply. stepped forward and asked if he could be of service to her. "You seem to be in trouble. Can 1 do anything for you?" he asked, with some concern. "You can go away," she managed to answer. The man calmly proceeded to button his heavy ulster, slipped his hand in the pocket thereof and pulled out a heavy pair of gloves, which he drew on slowly. His tall, broad shoulders were surmounted by a handsome clear cut face; his whole appearance was faultless. He glanced concernedly at Lillian, whose color had not yet returned and who seemed to tremble from head to foot. "Really, I feel that I must call for assistance. Will you have a cab or a doctor? It would be nothing short of brutal to leave you here shivering like that. Are you ill or simply cold? I Insist upon knowing." Lillian was forced to look at him again, and it seemed to give her courage to speak. "Were you ever hungry?" she murmured as she took a firmer hold on the bills. "Yes, indeed," said her companion. "But never with that amount of money in my grasp." Lillian started with a sudden jerk at the mention of her money and dropped the entire roll of bills. He stooped to pick it up, and after one wild shriek she called distractedly: "Stop thief! Stop, I say!" The crowd was massed in front of the bank, and the cry seemed to have passed unnoticed. The man picked up the bills despite her exclamation and handed them to her. Lillian laughed a sickly little gurgle, saying: "Perhaps you're not a thief after all -are you?" "No, I'm not! Are you?" suggested the man. "I am merely one of the many depositors trying to get a few dollars. But you were more fortunate than I. When I reached the window the cashier pulled it down, saying it was 3 o'clock and too late to draw. Better put that wad out of sight and 1 not tempt the hysterical mob outside," he added. 1 "That's what I wanted to do, but you won't go away and let me. A wo1 man doesn't have pockets all over her clothes like a man. And, oh, I wish you would go, for I'm so hungry and ] want to get home! I've stood in that line for nearly three days to get mon1 ey for the landlord. My, but I hate that man!" she expostulated, with a shrug of her pretty shoulders. I "Well, I'll be on my way, and be W sure you tuck it safely away in its hid-
