Show ami M v SL if y macj V f COPYRIGHT 1908 b y THE associated bunday OPY RIGHT 1909 by AY THE MERRILL COMPANY SYNOPSIS caunt dl the italian ambassador Is ie at dinner with when it a messenger summons him to the eln cm balmy where a beautiful 1 Y young 0 u n g w woman ona ln nalta its fo for r it ticket to the alio llio e embassy n ib a ss y ball the ticket la in mado made out in the name of alms kilns isabel thorne chief of 0 tho secret service find mr air Or orlinm linin him hia boad detective are warned that eliat ft a plot is brewing in washington and goes to tile the state ball for or information in ahli s at la Is called to isabel thorne who with her companion disappear 4 A shot is ia heard and senor benor alvaie alvakez s of tile the mexican legation Is im found wounded youn dc d grimm to Is assured ur I 1 miss thorne lid did it no be vialta vials her demanding knowledge ot of tile affair ana and arrests cletro A miss liss thorne visits an all old bomb maker and wey discuss a wonderful wonder rul fifty thou thousand man dk dollars la im stolen froin the office of 0 senor benor rodriguez the minister from froin venezuela and while are investigating vesti gating the robbery A miss thorne ap do re na as a guest ot of tile the legation gatton If orlinm aca accused uses lier her of the theft mem tile money la 19 refi but a now new mystery occurs in n iho he of monsieur the french ambassador VI ninale ive miss thorne reappears CHAPTER X XIII I 1 I 1 I 1 continued you know knew I 1 was here repeated mr bir grimm musingly and may I 1 V just as you know that 1 I or some one nt at least had entered this house it few ew minutes ago she ahe interrupted tile the automobile horn outside was a signal it Ila hastings stings was in the car or was it blair or johnson mr air grimm did not say you anticipate any personal danger when you entered be queried instead you afraid I 1 might shoot no there was a long silence mr grimm still sat with his elbows on his knees staring at tile the vague white which was miss aless Thor nos face and bare neck one of her white arms hung rt at her side like a pallid serpent and her hand band was at rest on the seat of the couch it seems miss thorne he said at length casually that our paths of duty are inextricably tangled twice previously we have met under circumstances cum stances that were more than strange Bt and now this 1 whatever injustice I 1 may have done you in the past lb by my suspicions luis has I 1 hope been forgiven and in each instance we were able to work side by side toward a conclusion I 1 am wondering now it if this ibis singular affair will take a a similar course lie ha paused miss thorne started to speak but he silenced her with a blight gesture of his hand it Is only fair to you to say that we that la is the secret service havo learned many things about you he bo resumed in the same casual tone aavo wo have through our foreign agents traced you step by step from rome to washington we know that you are in it a any a representative of a sovereign of europe wo we know that you were vere on an a secret mission t to 0 lie spanish court perhaps for this sovereign and remained in madrid for a month we know that from there you went to paris also on a secret mission perhaps the same and remained there for three weeks we know that you met diplomatic agents of those governments later in london we know all this we know the manner of your 5 our coming to this country of your lour coming coining to washington dut but we dont know why you are here again she started to speak and again ho bo stopped tier her wo we dont know your nae name but that Is of no consequence we do know that in spain you were senora car caa sa savant in P paris iris mademoiselle daubl non con in london miss jano jane kellogg and here miss isabel thorne we realize that exigencies arise lif in your calling and anine which make changes of name camo desirable necessary even and there is no criticism of that now as the representative of your government rather a government you have a right to bo be here bore although unaccredited it ed you have a right to remain here as long as your acts are consistent with our laws you have a right to your secrets its as long as they do not directly or indirectly threaten tho the welfare of this country now why dav ire you hero lie ho received no answer he be expected nano after a moment he wont went on admitting that you ore axe a secret agent ant of italy admitting everything that you claim to be you con tinoco mo me that you are not the parson person who came here for or the letters and cigarettes you have said nothing to prove to my satisfaction that you are not act the individual I 1 was walting waiting for to you dont mean that you suspect she began in a tone of arnaze anaze ment ident 1 I dont mean that I 1 suspect any 61 ng he be interposed 1 I mean merely that you convinced me theres nothing inconsistent in the fact that you are arc what you say you tire are and that in spite of that you came caino tonight for ile ho was interrupted by a laugh a throaty silvery note that lie he remembered well ills idle hands closed spasmodically only to bo be instantly relaxed suppose mr air grimm I 1 should tell you that immediately after madame Dois segur placed the matter in my hands bands this afternoon I 1 went straight to your office to show this letter to you and ask for your assistance she inquired suppose that I 1 left my card for you with a clerk there on being informed that you were out remember I 1 knew you were on the case from madame Dols BoIs segur would that indicate anything except that I 1 wanted to put the matter squarely before you and work with you wo we will suppose that much mr air grimm agreed that Is a statement of fact miss thorne added my dard card which you will find at your office will show allow that and when I 1 left your office I 1 went to the hotel where you live with the same purpose you were not there you account for the fact that he be went evidently of ills his own will precisely an yon yen insist account for or it if you have studied the situation here as aa I 1 have responded mr air grimm for instance sitting at his desk there and he turned to indicate it ho he could readily see out the windows overlooking the street there Is only a narrow strip of lawn between the house and the sidewalk now if some one on the sidewalk or or in a carriage promptly suggested miss thorne or in a carriage mr air grimm supplemented ted had attracted his attention some one lie he know it Is riot not at all unlikely that he rose for no apparent reason as aa ho he did do passed along tho the hall hal and through the french window across the lawn to the carriage and not a person in the house would nave leave seen him go out precisely there seems no doubt that was the way 11 she mused and of course he roust must have entered the carriage of hla his own free will 11 in n other oilier words on some pretext or other he was lured in then made prisoner pr leoner and V I 1 ha le paused suddenly and ills his hand band met miss Thor nos warningly the ne lie night was broken by the violent clatter of footsteps apparently approaching the embassy the noise was unmistakable some one was running the window miss thorne whis vered she rose quickly and started to cross the room to look out mr air grimm sat motionless an instant later and there camo came a tremendous crash of glass the french window in the hallway by the sound then rapid footsteps still running along the hall mr grimm moved toward the door unruffled perfectly self possessed there was only a narrowing of his Z 7 z oo 00 P the ambassador and I 1 left a card for you and that Is a statement of fact it was not difficult owing to the extraordinary circumstances to imagine that you would be here tonight just as you are and I 1 came here my purpose still was to inform you ot of what I 1 know and work ork with ith you does that convince you and how did you enter the embassy mr air grimm persisted not with a latchkey latch key as you did she replied madame Bols segur at my suggestion left the french window in the hall there unfastened and I 1 came in that way the w y I 1 may add monsieur went out when ho he disappeared very well commented mr grimm and finally 1 I think perhaps I 1 owe you an apology miss thorne another one the cl circumstances now as they were at our previous meeting are so BO unusual that Is it necessary to go on there was a certain growing deference in his tone 1 I wonder if you account for monsieur Boisse gurs disappearance as I 1 do he inquired 1 I dare say and mist thorne leaned toward him with sudden eagerness in her manner and voice your theory Is she questioned it if we believe the servants wo we know that monsieur Bols Dois segur did not go out either by the front door or the rear mr air grimm explained that being true the french window by which you entered seems to have bavo been 9 the way yes yes miss bliss thorne interpolated and the circumstances attending tho the Als disappearance appearance how do eyes at the abruptness and clatter of it all and then the electric lights in the hall hashed up before mr air grimm stood a man framed by tho doorway staring unseeingly into the darkened room his face was haggard and white as death his mouth agape as if from exertion and the lips bloodless hin bla eyes were widely distended as it from fright clothing disarranged arranged clis collar unfastened and dangling the ambas ambassador miss thorne whispered thrillingly CHAPTER XIV A rescue and an escape aless Th ornea voice startled mr grimm a little but he had no doubts it was monsieur Dols segur mr grimm was going toward the framed unframed en figure when without any apparent reason the ambassador turned and ran along the hall and at that instant the lights went out again for one moment grimm stood still dazed and blinded by tile the sudden blackness and again he bo started toward the door miss thorne was beside him the ligh lightsy he whispered tensely find the switch ile he heard the rustle rustic of her skirts as she moved away and stopped stepped out into the hall ball feeling with both his hands along the wall A few feet away in the direction the ambassador had gone there seemed to be a violent struggle in progress there was the scuffling of feet and quick drewn drawn breaths oa as muscle strained against muscle the lights lightal it if he could only find the a eliell th en as ilia hands moved along the wall they came cama in ID contact alli another hand band a hand pressed firmly against the plastering barring ills hla progress A light blow in tho the fare face caused lafin to stop step back quickly the scuffling sound suddenly resolved itself into moving footsteps and the front door opened and closed with a bang mr air grimms listless eyer snapped and bin lil white teeth came together sharply as ho he started toward tho the front anor dut but rate fate to be against him still ha fie stumbled over a chair and lits his own impetus forward sent cent him sprawling his bis head struck the wall with a resounding whack and then over tho the house camo came utter silence from outside lie ho heard the clatter of a cab finally that died away in the distance miss thorne lie he inquired quietly tin im here she answered in it a despairing bp sp airing voice dut but I 1 cant find tho the switch are you hurt no and then she fo found und the switch the lights flared up mr air grimm was sitting thoughtfully on the floor door that simplifies the matter considerably er ably lie ho observed complacently as ho he rose tho the men who signaled to me when you entered the embassy will never let that cab get out of their sight miss thorne stood leaning forward a little eagerly gazing at him with those wonderful blue gray eyes and an expression of of perhaps it was admiration mi ration on her face are you sure she demanded at last 1 I know it was hla his response and just then monsieur secretary of the tha embassy thrust an inquisitive head timidly around the corper corner of the stairs the crash of glass had aroused him what happened he asked breathlessly we dont know just yet replied mr air grimm if the noise aroused any one else please assure them that theres nothing the matter arid you might inform madame Bols Dols segur that tho the ambassador will return home tomorrow good night at his hotel when he reached there lere mr grimm found miss aliss Thor neB card and he drew a long breath at his office he found another of her cards and he drew another long breath lie he did like corroborative details did mr air grimm and of course this I 1 on the following day miss thorne accompanied him to alexandria and they were driven in it a closed carriage out toward the western edge of the city finally the carriage stopped at a signal from mr grimm and he assisted miss thorne out after which he turned and spoke to some one remaining inside a man TO BE CONTINUED |