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A few ht hi the old wonora then showed Hugh to his roo and not overclean little cha houses, all of which were high and inartistic Above, however, was a narrow strip of brilliantly blue sunlit sky

A quarter of an hour later he made the acquaintance of the wo individual whose black bushy eyebrows lishlass of red wine fro late last night," the man said "You had already started froet past the frontier all right"

"Yes," replied Hugh, sipping the wine out of courtesy "We got out of France quite safely But tell ements for me?"

"Why, Il Passero, of course," replied the man, whose wife addressed him affectionately as Beppo

"Who is Il Passero, pray?"

"Well, you know him surely Il Passero, or The Sparrow We call hi about Europe, and always elusive"

"The police want him, I suppose"

"I should rather think they do They have been searching for hies theland"

"But what is this mysterious and unknown friend ofof all the gangs of international thieves We all work at his direction"

"But how did he know of h, s," he replied with a grin "It is his business to know them And besides, he has some friends in the police--persons who never suspect hied his shoulders

"He is not Italian," he replied "Yet he speaks the lingua Toscano perfectly and French and English and Tedesco He lish Nobody knows his true nationality"

"And the ht me here?"

"Ah! that was Paolo, Il Passero's chauffeur--a h "But I cannot see why The Sparrow has taken such a paternal interest in me," he added

"He no doubt has, for he has, apparently, arranged for your safe return to England"

"You know him, of course What manner of man is he?"