Show as W k i P A detect ve in po nt of fact said H 6 01 1 ob 21 4 I 1 PICTURES by of GMT tha MAR LL co SYNOPSIS mad dan maitland Malt land on reaching his ew york bachelor club met an antrae five young woman at the door janitor 0 hagan ilagan ass red him no one I 1 ad been within that day dan discovered a mo worn an s finger pr ants in dust on 11 1 Is deek desk along with a letter from his attorney mateland Malt Matt land d ned with bannerman hia his at torney dan set out for greenfields to bet get his family jewels dur ng his walk to the country seat he met the v un woman in gray whom he had see seen n leav ing I 1 Is bachelors cl el b her auto had brol en down he ile fixed t by a r ruse u she e lost him maitland on reaching h home e surprised lady in gray rack ng the safe fe containing I 1 s gems S e apparently took him f r a well I 1 crook daniel ar anisis sta halt hypnotized maitland Malt land opened his sate safe took tl e jewels and eave gave them to her first form ng a part in crime the real dan anasty boug t by police of the world appeared on the same mission ma fiand overcame hin he ile met the girl outs de the house find and they sped on to new york in her au to he ile had the jewels and sl si e prom sed to meet him that day maitland Malt land reee received ived a mr anait introducing himself as a detective to shield tl e g rl in gray maitland Malt land about to show I 1 im tl e jew els supposedly lost was vms felled by a blow from knaths ana th s cane the latter proved to be anasty himself and he secured the f berns bems anasty vho aho was Mait maitland lands s lou die ie masqueraded as the latter tl TI e criminal kept hept maitland s engagement vitt the girl in gray CHAPTER VII continued it was very plain to a deductive reasoner from the girls girl s attitude to ward hiir hirr that she had fallen into re lations ot of uncommon friendliness with maitland oung as iniste be lived their acquaintance to be there had plainly been a fl where it 11 lay the on of Matt maitland land s forbearance he had been fascinated b the woman had not hesitated to take anasty s name even as anasty was vas then taking his in order to pro long their so much the better tu n about was still fair air play maitland had sown aa sty the real anasty would reap the harvest pretty women interested him deeply though he saw little enough 0 them partly through motives ot of prudence parti because of a refinement of taste women of the class of this conquest by proxy were out of reach of the enemy of society that Is IR under ordinary circumstances this one on the contrary vias m as not what ever ener she was or had been however hoener a cracks woman ornan she might be her cultivation and breeding were as apparent appi rent as her bea ity and quite as attract attractive iNe A criminal is necessarily first a gam gain bier bler a votary notary of chance and the blind goddess had always been very kind to mr anasty he felt that here again she was favoring him maitland he had eliminated from this girl s life maitland had tailed failed to keep his en g gement and so would never nener again be b called upon to play the part ot of burglar with her interest tor for incentive and guerdon anasty himself could take up where maitland Malt land had let lef off easily enough the difficulties were insignificant be he had only to ilay up to maitland Malt land s standard for a while to be maitland Malt land with all that gentleman s advantages educational and social then gradually drop back to his own level and be himself dan anasty handsome dan the professional the fit mate for the girl what was mas she saying but you have haie lunched alrea already dyl with an appealing pout indeed no he protested earnest ly I 1 was early conceive my eager ness and by III chance a friend of mine insisted upon lunching with me I 1 had only a cup of coffee and a roll ht he motioned to the waiter calling him NN waiter alter rather than garcon intuitively understanding that malt land would never have aired his french in a public place and that he could not afford the least slip be fore a woman as keen as this lay a clean cloth and bring the bill of fare be he demanded tempering his lordly instincts and adding the I 1 lease that men of maitland s stamp u e to interiors inferiors A friend tard ly echoed the girl wien v I 1 en the servant u was as gone he laughed lightly determined to be frank A detective in point of f ct said he and he enjoyed her sur I 1 rise I 1 on ou have many such for con corn en ence one tries to have one in each city and this 9 oh I 1 have him fixed all right he c to me all the latest develop ments and official intentions with re 9 rd to the maitland arrest her eyes danced tell me she demanded imperious the emphasis of ii amacy irresistible as she bent tor for ward forearms on the cloth slim white hands clasped with tense im lat I 1 allence lence eyes seeking his why of course maitland escaped no fact scared the butler into un gigging him then in a fit of pardon able rage knocked that fool down and dished out of the window ably in p brauit of us up to a late he lic ur he hadn haan t returned and police clinion is divided as to whether malt land arrested anasty and anasty got away avay or vice versa excellent she clasped her hands noi sly a gay little gesture so whatever the outcome one thing is certain higgins will presently be seeking eking another berth she lifted her brows prettily hig gans with the rising inflection the butler t aou ou hear 7 eyes wondering she moved her head slowly from side to side hear what I 1 fancied that you had waited wafted a moment on the veranda he finessed oh I 1 was quite too frightened he took this tor for a complete denial better and better he had actually feared she had bad eavesdropped ho how w ever i arran arrant tahl ably and maitland Maitia nd s authora active way with the servants ser Nant had been too convincingly natural to have d calved a woman of her keen wits there followed a lull while anisey v was as ordering orl or ering the luncheon thina he did elaborately and with success telling himself humorously hang the expense maitland Malt land pays of which fact the weight in his pocket was assurance maitland Malt land anasty s thoughts verged off upon an interesting tan gent what was maitland Malt land s motive in arranging this meeting it it was self evident that the twain were of one world the girl and the man of fash ian but whatever her right of her ilage she had reno aced it declassing declass mg h herself by yielding to th avish in vollin voltin tar ly placing herself on the tle level of anist where she must remain tor for eer eier there w m as comfort in that reflection he glanced up to find her eyes bent in gravit hm she too it ap feared had fallen a pley to reverie upon what subject 7 an absorb ng one doubtless since it held her ab str acted despite her companion companions s di df unequivocally admiring stare the odd light was flickering again in the cracksman s glace sl e was then more beamut ful thin aught that ever he had dreamed of such hair as was hers woven seemingly of dull flames lambent witch witching and eyes f fil il alwa always s but never more so than at this moment when filled with sweetly pensive contemplation was she reviewing the last 34 24 hours dream ing of what had passed between her and that silly fool maitland it if only A ansty bisty could surble what they had said to each other how long they had been acquainted it if only she would g ve him a hint a leading v v ord od it if he could have haye read her in nd have seen behind the film of thought that clouded her eyes one tears fears mr anasty in haie lost appetite for an excel int luncheon eon on for she was studying his hands her memory harking back to the moment when she had stood beside the safe h iding the bullseye bull s eye in the blaul ness of that hour a disk of 0 light shone sholie out luridly against the tapestry of memory within its rad us appeared two hands long supple strong immaculately white graceful ard dexterous as delicate of contour as a woman s yet lacking nothing of mancul ne vigor and modeling hands that wavered against the blackness fumbling with the shining nic kelee disk of a comb nation lock the impression had been and re mamed one extraordinarily vivid child coi id her eyes have deceived her soa thoughtful 7 9 she nodded alertly instant aneo isly mistress of self and let her gaze sarious yet half smiling linger upon h s the exact fractional shade of an in stant longer than had been perhaps d then lashes drooped long upon her cheeks and her color deep filed cried all but imperceptibly the man s breath halted then came a trace more rapidly than before he bent forward impulsively tt TA T A gi I 1 sighed eier so gently T I 1 was thoughtful its all so strange you his ills attitude was an eager question I 1 mean our meet ng that way last she held his gaze again mo menta rily and damn the waiter savagely mr anasty to his inner man sitting back to facilitate the service of their n eal i the girl placated him with an insle n ficano remark which led both into a maze of meaningless but infinitely dl N arting in consequences diverting divert ng at least to anasty who held up his head giving her bad look for look jest for jet platitude for platitude when the waiter was within hearing distance a together he felt acquitting himself very creditably As for the girl in the course of the next halt half or three quarters of an hour she demonstrated herself conclusively a person of amazing resource de with admirable ingenuity a campaign planned on the spur of a dance ciance observation the gentle man nored and self sufficient crook was tal en captive before he realized it h weer wener willing he may have been enmeshed in a hundred un compie comple bended subtleties he basked purring the a v bile she ins fuated herself be neath his guard and stripped him of his entire armament of cunning lance invention suspicion and d s ti fiust he ile relinquished them without a sigh barely conscious of the tion after all she v was as of his trade heiselt mired with gu it she vo ild never dare betray him the conse q ances to herself would be so dire besides patently almost too much so she admired him he ile was lur hir apio had she not more than hinted t it at such was the case that his ex ample his exploits had fired her to emulation however hom ever weakly fern fem ninea he saw her before him dainty il luring yielding yet leading him on altogether desirable and so long had hi ht ant anasty sty starved for affection I 1 am sure you must be dying for a e beg pardon he ile awoke abruptly to find himself twirling the sharp r abbed stem of his empty glass ab s he s ared into this as though seeking there a clue to what aliey fie had been tall ing about hazily he understood that they had been dr efting close upon the perilous shoals of intimate personalities what had he told her hat had he not no matter it was clearly to be seen blat t ct her regard for him had maced rither rather than waned as a result of their conversation one had but to look into her eyes to be reassured as to that one did look breathing bie athing heavily Iv what Ilat an ingenuous child it was to show him her heart so freely he ile wondered that this should be so f eling it none the less a just and g laceful tribute to his fascinations she repeated her arch query she was sure he wanted to smoke indeed he did if she would permit and forthwith maitland Malt Matt land lands a cigarette case was produced with a flourish what a beautiful case in an instant it was mas in her handa hands beautiful she iterated inspecting the delicate tracery of the monog monogram ram engravers art rt head bended forward face shaded by the broad brimmed hat you like it if I 1 ou woul I 1 care to ov n it ita anasty demanded unsteadily 19 the inflection of doubtful sur p se was vas a delight to the ear car ohi ohl I 1 t think of accepting be des I 1 have no use for it of course you am aln t are not that sort sot an hour back he could have I 1 icken himself for the grammatical b under noy nony he was wholly alluded besides she didn dian t seem to notice but as a little token between us she drew back pushing the case across the cloth I 1 t dream but it if I 1 insist 1 if it aou ou insist I 1 suppose it s awfully good of ou she flashed him a madlem mad lening ng glance you do me pro honor he amend ed hastily then daringly I 1 don t ask much in exchange only A cigarette she s ig hastily he laughed pleased and diverted that 11 be enough now if I 1 aull ou 11 light it for me she glanced dubiously ro ind the now a most deserted room and a waiter started forwald as if animated by a spring anasty motioned him imperi bously back go on he coaxed no one can see and watched flattered the slim white fingers that extracted a match from the stand and drew it swiftly down the prepared surface of the box holding the flickering flame to the end of a white tube whose tip lay between lips curved scarlet and 1 outing there A pale wraith of smoke floated away on the fan churned air ard anasty was vaguely conscious of roce receiving iving the glowing gloving cigarette from a hand whose sheer perfection was vas but enhanced by the ripe curves of a rounded forearm he inhaled deeply with satisfaction undetected by him the girl swiftly pissed passed a furtive handkerchief across I 1 er lips when he looked again she was smiling and the golden case had d appeared she shook her head at him in mock bold dold man she ballel called him but the crudity of it was lost upon him as she had believed it would be the n ament had come for vigorous meas ures s she felt guile having paved the wiy way why do you call me that to appear so ol 01 enly running the gauntlet of the detectives eha startled of course aou ou saw she insisted saw no saw what wha wh perhaps I 1 am mis tal en but I 1 thought you knew and t to your likeness to mr air malt land anasty frowned collecting himself bewildered what hat are yo i driving at anyhow 7 he demanded roughly D dant t you see the detectives 7 I 1 should have thought your man would have warned aou ou I 1 noticed four bolt ing round the entrance as I 1 came in and feared why didn dian t you tell me then I 1 have just told you the reason I 1 supposed ou were in your disguise chats I 1 hats so the alarmed espres sion gradually faded although he re troubled I 1 sure am maitland to the life he continued with satis faction even the head waiter and of course she insinuated dell d el I 1 cately c i tely you have disposed of the loot he shook his head gloomily no time as yet her dismay was evident you don t n ean can to say 7 in my pocket oh she glanced stealthily a in your pocket she whis wills and and it if they stopped 3 iou ou I 1 am maitland but if chev insisted on searching acu cu she was round e eed ed with a ar that s so her perturbation was infectious his jaw dropped I 1 hey would find the jewels known to be stolen by god he cried savagely dan I 1 I 1 beg your pardon but what am I 1 to doa do you are sure 7 mcclusky himself is on the nearest corner phew he whistled and stared at her searchingly through a lengthen ing pause dan said she at length yes there Is a way go on last night dan she raised her glorious eyes to his last night I 1 I 1 trusted you his face hardened ever so slightly 3 et when he took thought the tense lines about his ees and mouth soft ened and she drew a deep breath knowing that she had all but won I 1 trusted you she continued soft ly do you know what that means I 1 trusted you TO BE CONTINUED |