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                             THE INCENDIARY

                           A Story of Mystery.

                             BY W. A. LEAHY.


    CHICAGO AND NEW YORK:
    RAND, McNALLY & COMPANY,
    MDCCCXCVII.

    A PRIZE STORY
    In THE CHICAGO RECORD series of "Stories of Mystery."

    THE INCENDIARY

    BY W. A. LEAHY.

    (This story--out of 816 competing--was awarded the fourth prize in the
    CHICAGO RECORD'S "$30,000 to Authors" competition.)

    Copyright, 1896, by W. A. Leahy.




THE INCENDIARY.




CHAPTER I.

FANFARE: THE PLAY BEGINS.


It was about half-past three in the afternoon when Bertha, the
housemaid, came running down the steps, with a shrill cry of "Fire!" and
fell plump into the arms of the bake-shop girl, who had seen the smoke
curling from Prof. Arnold's window and was hastening across to warn the
occupants of his house. The deep bark of a dog was heard within and
presently Sire, the professor's old St. Bernard, rushed by the two young
women and darted hither and thither, accosting the bystanders
distractedly, as if burdened with a message he could not communicate.

"Ring the alarm!" cried Bertha and the bake-shop girl in a breath, as
soon as they had recovered from the shock of their collision. Their cry
was taken up by a knot of three boys, who, as usual, were the first on
