If, to the casual observer, Chick was but a dirty, ragged little boy,
undersized and underfed, and rather frightened, to himself at least he
was a bold desperado, about to avenge himself for a wrong committed.
Thunder muttered ominously, and a drop of rain fell on his face as he
skirted the common, and reached the big, dark saloon at the cross-
roads. Skirting the side wall, he crept to the rear, and felt for the
open window which he had discovered earlier in the day. It was a low
window and easy of access, and he lost no time in climbing in.
The passage was in utter darkness, but he felt his way along the wall
until he reached a door. Here he fumbled for the knob and opened it. A
street lamp outside threw a dim, wavering light into the room,
revealing the long bar with its shining fixtures. Chick put down his
crowbar and tremblingly removed his coat. According to the moving
pictures of criminals, that was the first move. Then he resolutely
grasped his weapon and with thumping heart approached his enemy.
It appeared a very innocent enemy as it stood there in the half light,
announcing in printed letters across its face, that seven out of every
ten persons who put a nickel in the slot, received a prize in money.
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