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Show OFF f .wg J)ID you ever read or hear of a detective who used the tug of heart strings as a clue? That is exactly what this one did, and it proved more efficacious than all the circumstantial evidence in which two girls of the theatre were entangled in this quick-moving quick-moving story of mystery. . M. ' treading la th Ittmr tlx end of the . room. Then H ke ' about ta put hi questioB Into word. Linda' eyelids flat-; flat-; tered. Tbt daied look cleared free kr J aa tka orchestra down below bat out tfca Uat bar. It w Kitty Maredep," aka gasped, faintly. "Bb aubbad ma In lb' back with kat pin. I h they're eomla;. KP 'am away till tV doctor " ' "Look, after ber. but don't attempt to mora her!" cried tha atage martagfr. aa ha pram toward tha Iron .t.lrway. '1 U tall tha reet to keep out." Half-way down tba alaira tha manager mat tba making tlda of flrla. Th. new. had spread and they " bysteric.1 wit. horror and xcltement. . .. Tall tbna to dose tha ataia eoo at nee " whlaparad tha stage mansger to th rrassureT. -rod then look around for Kit. . m.X: Tk. poor -; b of attempting to murder. Whs.? N. I don't know .nytbing mora than that. ,b th. Pol 4C,a wl ah. sv stsndlng next to ma In, tha wlnta. ana 6 ,rthVt't, linTTh. nr., to cm. dn coupled with tha .np.lc.bl. clrcum. yserrv. voicing further opinion. -U the waa all part of tha game. Reef Linda worked up the quarrel ao that Kitty abonld (o down and lea re her to make out abed been .tabbed." e "Do yon think It poeelble that Kitty knew anything?" asked lha manager. The deleetiT. .mllrd. "Not on your life.' She ehoted Linda out ef her way when eht left th. dreaalng room at 10:4.1 and wheal tha rumor went around that Linda waa dying. Kitty thought that I-jnda had fallen and aha'd be held reapon.iblr." "Keren thousand gone" to tha" "I'nleaa we can get 'em drst," inter- rupted Shelby. That night and for many eucreedlng daye, the machinery of the police department waa set In motion for the capture of Linda and ""Ber"jiarT nerTTtiT"" nie7rp7s hs bsTbeen aa" well laid for their get-away aa they had been for the successful robbery. Aa for the detective-eergeant, ha took no part in directly fndearoriuf to trace the real culprits, Strangely enough, and almost eiclusively he devoted bis nnseen attention to Kitty. like Mary'e little lamb, he fol- 1 I L. L. V. - - mured. "Here, atop that and come ana have supper with me." Linda choked bark a nob, and pressed the locket to her breast. A hesitant shadow . that materialised Into Shelby caste ait ef tha doorway aa the two giria moved away. "It ain't atrlrtly tha letter of tha law . but I guess I'll have ta msk my meal eaV ' ' Cation an' leara the girl aloae. There's some good ia her or aha wouldn't hare carried sot my bunch and coma after Kitty ; lor the picture of her aid mother.' roaalbly It waa because Delect I re BkelbT bad seen th. trusting eyea of the portrait on the alght be had iBTesllgatad Kltry'e make-up bet, or probably It waa Just bereave be-reave kle einerlmoe bad taagbt him that H - does net always need a judge aad jury ta ' punish a repentant girl. Whatever hie ' . , asotlra for mercy, he took a algkt train to Chicago and aa Hulled everybody by rap- . taring a wad ef sank -notes amounting ta ' -. mora tha a f.1000. THE treasurer ef the theatrical eempeay put ana Important and aommlng-ap ". aueatlon ta the detective when the kttav reported hie ancceea. . v s "now." he aakrrl, "could To.) kaow that Linda would trail after her eld friend, -aiiinr" 1 - -' ' ' " 1 - "I did not know," said Bbalby, amlllag. "but aa Cottoa had a clear start aa as aad ', could not be traced, I made a wla-or-loee-all bet with myself aa Linda ' aentlmeatal ' - streak. I found aut that for tba aaka at that Waaler. Cotton, she had pawned erery- thing but the lorket containing the portrait of her mother. Kitty had It. aad I just wslted until Unds came ta collect. Thea " "Wbst tbeal" 1 . "Oh, I lost track of th girl." said the detective quietly, "and went after tha mener, that's all." It ahould be mentioned that the money , waa la Cotton's pocket, and that tha judge . . ' : reckoned hint toe ettrer to be let aut made! eeroa years. . . , , No ona was prepared for tha aurj-den aurj-den awing of Linda' hand and tha twinging amack that left itv mark on Kitty' carefully mada-up mada-up chaek door of a Far Western city, twa shadowa converged upon her. ' The leading one, a veiled woman, reached her first. The second , s man. s rumbled Into a nearby doorway aad stayed unseen. At the touch an key ana Kitty turned. The Tell waa lifted for a brief Instant. "Vou! " ahe gaaped. "Linda!" -"Teh. It's me all rlghty." The reckleaa mice faltered and took en a pleading note. "I ain't got no eicuse to make, Kitty but I want that locket I glee you t keep f'r me. Ton had It In y'r mske-up boa th' ' ' night I I went away. Think of th' old times and go get It f'r me,! Kitty ran her finger through a slender gold chain that hung aroud her neck. "It' here." sh said entlrJIL Jhonght-JfeH sure thst one dsy you'd come for It. Are Linda laughed bitterly. "I ain't with nobody," aba said. "Cotton, the mean, lying skunk, quit long ago. He's la Chicago Chi-cago now. Left me neer stranded. I'm kidin' my head an' altngln' kask for fair bow, Kstty. I got all that waa comln' t' me, don't worry. He led me an. an all ' that rough stuff I handed you waa a fake t' cover him while he sneaked la an' cleaned up the treasurer's ones. He swore he loved me an' we'd ssttls dowa somewhere. Oa what'a th' use " . A bright object glittered In Kitty's fingers. She dropped It Into I.lnds's pslm. i "Maybe that'll bring ysu luck," shs mar- '"No, don't touch me," moaned Linda when the atage manager bent over her i. THEME was one other who also kept trar of Kitty 'a movements. Not la persayt. but by mesas of a theatrical paper that conecientioualy records ths cross-country trips of the touring eompeaiea; and when, air weeka after the break-up of the town season, Kitty come out of th stags- p'K I h' a !oan y'r cherry blossom, KlttyJ" The request waa simply a chorus girl's wsy of requesting the bay neighbor en her left to pass over ths tube of lip sslre. Equslly lucid and slightly more curt, the owner of tha coveted cosmetic responded with "Nix, Linda. Buy y'r own." And forth, with applied the synthetic cherry blossom to her own Hps. In four deft strokes, shs transformed her somewhat homely mouth to an srrhed bow of luring, pouting loveliness. loveli-ness. Kitty then dropped ths lipstick inta her make-up boi, locked it and thrust ths hey whers no lingers but her own could reach it. "T'u wait," hissed ths disappointed salreteea one. "T'u gimme back that thing J asked y'o t keep f'r me. Tou're got It In that box." "You'll get It after the show's over, not ' before," returned Kitty with Bnallty. With a look eloquent of threats so dark that her tongue could not adequately ei-presa ei-presa them, Linda flounced off her seat and went on tiptoe down the long line of girla busily besutlfying for ths evening perform-tnc. perform-tnc. 8 he wssted no more time risking a refusal J but spying a tub of the ao-dealred coloring matter, Linda reached over a bar boulder and grabbed it before its proprietress proprie-tress could say yea or nay to Ita departure. There followed a sharp, impolite ripreasioa ef protest, a flurry of skirts snd a quick ' rush ; but Linda achieved her purpose before the lipetlck could be recovered. She tossed It back with a taunting laugh and appeared In no wise humbled by the outspoken comments com-ments on her persistent instincts for shams-less shams-less cadging and Impudent, open robbery. . "Aw, can th' chatter, golla," waa her jaunty. Insouciant advice. "It's th' lsst night ef th' ahow an' there ain't no sense In my lsyin' out seventy-' cents on that dope. Nex" week I'm goln' to get job along with a movie bunch, an' I'll hare t' 'buy out a drug-store full of pea greea an' ysller." "Mories? TouT" Inquired Kitty. "Say, that'll leave you plenty of time." -"F'r what?" asked Linda, incautiously. "For slinging haah." Following the gurgle of delight that rippled' rip-pled' along the line at Kitty'a remark, there came a period of bated giggling. Linda, in addition to her repute aa an incorrigible piker, had a name for Bearing quickness of retort that usually left her with the Uat and beat word. No one waa prepared for the sudden swing ef Linda' hand and the swinging amack that left ita mark on Kitty'a carefully made-up cheek, and no one could eay what reprisals would have followed had not the lights dimmed la eignal that the curtain waa about to go up. THE can of duty and routine is ea much a habit with drilled chorus aa If I with thoee engaged In more serious orcupa-tioBB. orcupa-tioBB. and the threatened riot was quelled by the necessity ef applying tha final touches ef grease paint and powder before going dowa. Kitty in particular tad much to repair, and although aha had suffered ths indignity -of Linda's aasault ia restrained alienee, there wa a look in her bright eyea that boded ill for the other when 11 o'clock came. During tba performance there were eight ehangee, and at six Intervals the iron atalr-way atalr-way leading to the girl' dreaalng room resounded re-sounded to the clatter ef eighteen pairs of dancing pump heels. Tha ruah of chattering, chatter-ing, perspiring girla eentraeted oddly with the languid daintiness of their demeanor .en the atage. The last two changes before tha grand finale and assembly of all the performer were confined to the center end and pair 'of girla, and at 10:45 Kitty aad Linda- backed into the wings for their last change. No word waa epokea aa tha twa girla sped ap the stairway, and there waa apparently no time waated la reeriminatkma. Kitty came dowa first, with tea seconds ta spsrs before ahe was ,du aa, aad tha stage manager motioaed her ta her place ea entrance. "What'a apT" he remarked. "Ton uau- "ally are the laat down." Then, after a pause, a added aa hs saw that the girl carried her make-up box. "What has yea got that thing with you for?" "Private reasons," aald Kitty, aa aba aut th box la the property mas s room. The atage manager ahrugged his shoulders aa he turned away; then observing that Linda had not yet put in appearance, he walked quickly to the foot of the dressing room stsirwsy. He hsd no need to look ar his watch in order to know that tha time for the two girla' entrance cue was approaching rapidly. The music warned him tbst the moment waa perilously near, and ha stuck his finger on the puh knob of the busier. "What in the hisses is the msttcr with her?" he muttered angrily aa no sound of Linda's descent reached him. "Say," be asked, speaking over his shoulder, "hsd shs finiahed changing when you cams down?" Kitty nodded. "Nesrly," shs replied. "Shall I go up?" The atage ma nager came toward the winxa. "Too late, It'a no good now," he anapped. "They're grouping for the est piece That rlub'll not be missed, that' one thing, but it'll coat her Ave bucka out of ber pay envelope tonight." Kitty made no comment In reply to the atage manager'a remarka ; but her unspoken thoughts sgreed with his judgment. The sting of tha: vicious blow still burned her cheek, and ahe, more -han tha others, hsd good reason to resent ths behsvior . of Linda. THAT Ill-tempered act of violence bad bo justification. The two girla had been friende, and Kitty bad no aelf-reproach on her conscience for the chsngs thst hsd been gradually coming over Linda. Some outside out-side influence or aome ill, phyeical er mental, men-tal, hsd been at work. Kitty inclined to the belief thst the men who lurked in the'ehadow of. the atage door every night waa responsible. Who waa he? What waa he? "No good, I'll bet." thought Kitty. "I wouldn't be aurprlsed If be has been making Linda hock all her blta of jewelry. She ain't got anything left 'cepting what aha gave me to keep for her. Guess she wss scsred he'd wsot that, too, an' thafe why jhe aeked me to put it In my make-up box. I ll make her wait now before I give it up. That'll teac'j her not to be ao cranky." "Run up, now, and tell Linda I want ta aee her here at once," aaid the etsre msna-ger, msna-ger, ss the scene shifters took their places for the closing drop scene. Kitty hesitated. "Can't you r-" shs commenced, snd a, look of relief rarce over ber face aa .the manager beckoned a boy. "All righ ," he aaid. amiably, after the boy had gone. "I auppose you don't wsnt to be the ons to tell her she's due for a railing down', eh? Well, that'e not to be wondered at. What? What?" THE boy ran up and clutched the stsge msnaser's sleeve and drew him aaide. Kitty noticed that the hoy's hsnd trembled, hat face waa white and hia voire ahook. "She can't corns down., 'She's hurt swful hsd," Kitty beard the boy say. "She wsnts you to come up. She " The rest of the boy' words were indlstlnguiab. sble to Kitty; but her eyes widend with, dswning surprise and terror wh-n she saw the stsgs mansger hasten to the dressing-room dressing-room stairs. No msn's foot wss supposed to mount that stsirwsy during the performance. perform-ance. Close to ber elbow, Kitty heard a whispered whis-pered alniater word: "Murder!" Her fingers rlenched until her nails rut into ths palms of her hands. Her lips quivered pitifully piti-fully and a sob strangled in ber throat. Waa she, she asked herself, reapoasibie by aome dreadful trick of Kate for lb rumored tragedy? trag-edy? She stood unheeded snd panic-stricken panic-stricken witk horror while the aceo shifters whispered ard muttered around her, and the muaic rraahed out front. MXTO, IK) N'T touch w." moaned Linda. . v srhen the stsgs msBsxer bent over her. "Send thst womsa awsy. I will tail you quick 1 Iv " as The girl bead sank hark on tne floor, - s nd the aoaa motioned ta the dresser ta retire. re-tire. "When ar yea hurt? How did it happen?" hap-pen?" he asked, and bis startled face grew te is when ke saw a thin, trickle of blood oaae from the corner . ' the girl's mouth. Her eyes closed The stars manager'a gas shifted rapidly about the dressing. room. There waa no suggestion at disorder, of a struggle- Hi eyes questioned the dresser hVow -silent crowd of 1"'" gensrsl m.n.ger's room. J?" feetiv. and .tag. manager forced tfcst T through 'the throng gstherrf ." ". rrm-ng-room atalr. Th. choru. girl, had halted wh'eah. ...ge manager bad ,,r pressing through the huddled .- ,ha three me. took the atalr. "' At tha dring-room door J "MO"; tered a. unespected check. The doqr w locked and ther. was no reply ta their d.-mand d.-mand for admittance. Detective Shelby wasted no tim la woras "Out of tbs wsy. doc!" hs cried. d tackled th. doer with a practiced eboulder. At th. second lunge, ths lock parted, bb ths three men found something more pus-sling pus-sling than a lochsd door. Of a wounded, euppoeedly dying girl there wa. ne alga. Inatead. they confronted a bound, gagged and angry -eyed woman of advanced yeare. "The dreeaerl" gaaped the stag manager. "H-m," muttered Shelby. Aa be released the womsa from her bonds, hs ddeds You've lost your esse. Doe. This jab looka like the work of some old timer. ' Say. ' he turned to the etege. manager, "there' been a fsks murder here. Haa there by any chance been a real robbery? Soma ef them prindpala of youre pack quite a lot of jewela. don't they?" "Bure, but" A SUDDEN, atartled look cbaaed the flueh of excitement from the elago manager'a cbeeka. He fled. "It'a pay night!" he gaaped as he passed through the broken doorway. A moment later, a loud hubbub of eidted cries csms from below. Ths treaaurer'a office had been cleared out during his sbsenc and close upon two hundred mea and women were destined to return' to their homes thst Bight minus their pay envelopes. There wss a wsiling and gnashing of teeth. "Seven thousand and fifty dollars, eh?" commented Shelby, mben the atage manager returned and gave him the newa. "A neat little bit of alick nay. I're got moat of the atory from the dresser, but I wsnt ta browse around a bit and see If I csn get a sidelight oa ths psst history of the young women who laid on the floor here and hoaxed you all off your guard on a fake murder trail. First of all, we'll go end apologise to the young lsdy the cop's looking after. It'a certain aura ahe'a clear of the charge of attempted murder." Right at this point. Detective Shelby rested voicing his idess. "But," he continued con-tinued to himself, "wss shs la cahoots wltk Linda and her pal?" For the best part of sn hmAr the detective was a very unobtrusive but busy man. He asked a lot of questions of all sorts of people, snd hs listened hers snd there aad gathered gossip Jhat would have been utterly ut-terly useless to a mind untrsined to sift snd sn'slyu. He learned of the sttsrk Ihst Linos hsd made on Kitty prior to the perr formaBce, and being curious to know what it waa that Kitfy had in her make-up box . belonging to Linda, he vlalled the property-room property-room before the girl and did not aak ker for the key to her bns. All the same, the lock of a make-up bos doea not offer any reel oppeeitioe to the peraueeion of a skeL etoa key, and Shelby sooo found out whst Kitty had. belonging to ths missing Linds. Rut beyond this, snd learning from Kitty herself that aba had had another quarrel' with Linda when the two had gone to the dreeeing room for the last change.a hs did not question Kitty with any appearance ef great Interest. - IT WAS past mlduigbt when ha summed up the situation in the general manager'a office. "Ho far aa I can make out," he eiplalacd to hia eager liateners, "ths girl Linda was In -tow, paobahly infatuated with the crook that engineered the whole plait. She pley-acted pley-acted ber part well enough; but bo chorus girl would hare timed the trick for the exact moment when everybody wee thinking at getting toto their home -going dude. Who the feller ia. I don't know yet. Guessing aia't aa geod, snd the drawer wss too Hum. mated t get an eyeful. of his build. Ha' had a doth tied over the lower part ef hi face whea be ponnced en her and trussed her up. He sod Linds thee beat it dowa the firs-escape while the hurry call waa befhg aeat for ms and the doctor.. That, slap Linda handed to her eld friend Kitty ' ' Cosrrteht. 13. sv Pubtts to4sc Cessr '..'' . .'.'..'. . ' : ' . . i ' 1 . i " .. I . ' ..... . - . ' ' . ' ' ' .-"''' ' . - . . '''' ' , " - a X 1 . ,.-. . |