| Show EE STORY ER R 1 A L em w e L U Q va A 2 50 H V 1 3 ErS ABMa tr az ey JACQUES FUTRELLE ay M NER pop gh t by the aado a ed benlay da A ag nea coper abt ht 1909 by the ih company out 6 SYNOPSIS count dl di rosiad the italian a ambas mb sado Is at d d in the national cap tal when a messenger br a note d erecting him to co come e to tl embassy at once here a be beautiful toung joung woman asis s that she be given a t ceet to the embassy ball the tick et is made out in the name of miss is Is abel tl TI orne chief campbe I 1 ot of the e ret service and mr gr mm his head detective are warned tl at a plot of or the I 1 at n races against the eng engish ish speak A g races Is brewing in washington and gr mm goes to the state ball for information in a conservatory his at is called to miss isabel thorne mho vi ho will w th her companion soon asap d sap pears A revolver shot Is heard and ca nabell and grimm hasten down the hall ball to find that senor alvarez of the 11 axi xi q n legat on I 1 as been shot A wo man d d it and gr mm Is assured it wa was 9 miss tl TI orne he vis ts her demanding knowle azre of tb the affair and there arrests a man named pietro Petro CHAPTER VII the S gnal and the nal que tion remains unanswered remarked mr air campbell the original question 7 repeated mr grin in where is prince benedetto d abri z zi the secret envoys envoy his chief re in him I 1 wonder mused the young man it the latin compact is signed in the united states 7 the latin compact will not be e ened ned in the united states mr grimm intern apted and then after a moment have we received any further reports on miss thorne I 1 I 1 mean reports from our foreign the ch et ef shook his head inevitably by some act or word she wilt will lead us to the prince de dared mr grimm and the moment 1 e is known to us everything be codes chaes plain sailing we know she is a ecret agent I 1 expected a den al but ahe be v was as qu te frank about it and 1 had bad no intention whatever of placing I 1 er under arrest I 1 knew some one was wag in the adjo ning room because of a 1 I 1 gat noise in there and I 1 knew he knew it she raised her loce once a little obviously for the benefit of whoever was there from that point everything I 1 said and did was to corn com pel that person whoever hoever it was to show bina himself gelf it s chief nodded under understand tand angly air grimm v ft as silent tor for a little then went on the latt poss b I 1 ty in my mind at t that moment he confessed was that ohp person in there was the man who shot senor alvarez alva ez frankly I 1 had halt half an idea that that it might be the prin e in person luddeni Sud deni his mood changed and abow ou our lady of mys tery may come and go as she likes because I 1 kno know v even if a dozen of our n en ba haia bae e ransacked Wag washington hington in n N a n for the prince she fiill w ill inevitably lead s to him and that reminds me I 1 sl 0 id like to borrow blair and hast and jol joanson please plant them so they may keep constant atch on miss thorne let them rei 1 ort to ou and wherever I 1 am I 1 will reach ro ou over the phone by the way what was in that seal c I 1 1 e that was taken from senor mv ili irez 9 campbell inquired curiously it had bad to do with some railroad fran h ses sea responded mr air crimm frimm as he rose I 1 sealed it again and returned it to the senor evident ly it was not what signer signor expected expect pd to find in fact he admitted it u aan t what he was looking for for a latt litt e while the two men gazed thol thoughtful each into the eydi of the ther then mr grimm entered his private offee where here he sat for an hour with his immaculate boots on his d sk th liking A world orld war he had been tl ti rust forward by h s govern ment to prevent it subtle blue gray ea es his hig H ganess prince benedetto d ab ZA a haunting smile and scar sear let lars at abo t the moment he rose to go I 1 al 1 ss thorne closely veiled left the enez elan legation and walked rap adly do the street to a corner wh ali re without a vord mord she entered a wn a t teg r g automobile auto mobil s the wheels spun and the car leaped for forward Nard for 1 i I mile or more it wound aimlessly tim lessly in and out occasion occasionally lly bisecting its own pat alna finaly ly miss thorne leaned for fprd rd and touched the chauffeur on the arm do now she said I 1 the car bened out into a street of stately residences and tied along until thecla the placid bosom of A the potomac came into view besides that tor for a few minutes then over the bridge to th virginia side in the dilapidated little city of alemam alexandria irl the car d I 1 not slack en its speed but vo td in and out through din dingy 1 tr ts ti pa ra t tumble down negro h huts 7 t t r I 1 an I 1 our before it came to a e 0 e 1 I 1 I 1 in front of an old bric a f r this Is 1 number ninety seven the chausteur chaut eur announced misa thorne entered the hoase with a key hey and was w as gone for or ten minutes perhaps she was readjusting her veil when she came out and stepped into the car silently I 1 gain it moved forward on to the end of the dingy street and finally into the open coun try three four five ml es perhaps ou on the old baltimore road and again the car stopped this time in front of an ancient colonial farmhouse tarm houe outwardly the place seemed to be deserted the blinds battered and stripped of paint by wind and rain were all closed and one corner of the small veranda had crumbled away from age and neglect A narrow path strewn with pine needles led tortu 01 sly up to the door in the rear of the house rising from an old barn a thin pole with a cupelle cup 1 ke attachments at the apex thrust its point into the open above the dense odorous pines it appeared to be a wireless mast miss thorne passed around the house and entered the barn A man came forward and kissed her a thin little man of indeterminate age drying his hands on a piece of citon cotton waste his face was pale with the pallor of one who knows little out door life his eyes deep set and a gilt glit ter feverish inward fire and the thin I 1 ps were pressed er in a sharp line behind him was a long bench on which were scattered tools of various sorts fantastically shaped chemical apparatus two or three electric batteries of odd sizes and ranged along one end of it in a row were a score or more metal spheroids a shade larger than a one pound shell from somewhere in the rear came the clatter of a small gaso line engine and still farther away was an electric dynamo Is the test ax arranged ranged posa the lit tie tle man queried eagerly in italian the date is not fixed yet she re plied in the same language it will be I 1 hope within the next two weeks and then fame and fortune for both of us he interrupted with quick enthusiasm ah ali rosa I 1 have worked and waited so jong for this and now it will come ind nd with a ith it the domin on of the world again by our country how will I 1 know v ahen hen the data is axed 9 it N not be well to write me here my aly lady of mystery stroked the slender nervous hand caressingly and a great affect on oil shone in the b blue lue gray eyes at eight 0 clock on the n of the test she explained still speaking italian a a agle light will appear at the apex of the capitol dome in wash HP tj I 1 f p W th that we control the world excia med the man tr antly ington that is the s gi al agreed upon it can be seen by all in the city and is visible here from the window of your bedroom I 1 iea es 3 es he exclaimed the feverish glitter in his eyes dee deepened pentA it if Is a fag of course you will ill not attempt the tes tea she went a ent on lo NO 10 not in a fog he put in quick ly it must be clear and if it Is s clear you can see the I 1 in the dome without and all your plans are working out well I 1 es and yours I 1 don t tl ti ink there is any question but that both england and the united states will bu do you know what it means do you inow what it means he was mas silent a moment his land landa working nervously then with an e fort and his ilig iness 11 II s highness is safe the subtle eyes grew misty thoughtful for a moment then cleared again he ile is safe she repeated ilex co and venezuela were he began 14 we e don t know 3 et what they will do the venezuelan answer is locked in the safe at the legation I 1 will know what it ia Is within forty eight hours she was m as silent a little our d no now our greatest difficulty is th the 9 hostility of the french ambas to the compact his govern ment has not et not fled him of tl e presence of prince d abruzzi dabruzzi he does not believe in the teas feas b lity of the plan and we have to to proceed to extremes to prevent bim him working against us but they must see the incalculable liable advantages to follow upon such a corn com pact with the vast power that will be given to them over the whole earth by this he ile indicated the long it 11 m work ark table they must see it IL they will see it luigi said miss thorne gently and now how are youa you are you wella are you corn for fordable table its such a dreary old place here I 1 suppose so he replied and he met th the e solle tou toua blue gray eyes for an yes I 1 am quite corn com fordable for table a b e he added I 1 have no time t to 1 e otherwise with all the work I 1 n ut do it R will ill mean so much they were both silent for a time fina fins ly misa miss home walked over to I t I 1 f if u 4 w e the long table and carfo curio isly lilted one of the it was a sinister looking th glittering at one end of c was a del cate vibratory apparatus api aratus not unlike the transmitter of a telephone and the other end was threaded as it if the spheroid was made as an an attachment to some other device with that we control the world exclaimed the man triumphantly and its mine rosa mine it its s m wonderful ond erful she mused softly wonderful and now I 1 must go I 1 may not see you again until after the test because I 1 shall be watched and followed wherever I 1 go if I 1 get an opportunity I 1 shall reach you by tele phone but not even that unless it is necessary there is always danger always danger she repeated thou thought glit fully she WAS thinking of mr grimm I 1 understand said the man sim ply and took look out for the signal the I 1 in the apex ot of the capitol dome she went on I 1 understand the night must be perfectly clear and you un der stand that the test Is to be made promptly at three 0 clock by your chronometer at three 0 clock he repeated for a moment they stood with their arms around each other then tender ly his visitor kissed him and went out he remained looking after her vacantly until the chug chug of her automobile as it moved off down the road was lost in the distance then turned again to the long work table CHAPTER vill VI 11 miss thorne and not M ss thorne from a pleasant wide open bay win dow of her apartments on the second floor miss thorne looked out upon the avenue with inscrutable eyes be hind the closely drawn shutters of an other bay window farther down the avenue on the corner she knew a man named hastings was hid ng sl e 0 knew that for an hour or more he had been watching her as she wrote in tl e other direction in a house near the corner another man named blair was similarly ensconced and he too had been watching as she wrote there should be a third man johnson miss thorne curiously studied the face of 0 each passerby passer by seeking therein something to remember she bat at at the little mahogany desk and a note with the ink yet wet upon it lay face up before her it was ad dressed to S gnor pietro Petro in the district and read M dear friend I 1 have been wa ting to write you with rith the hope that I 1 could report senor alvarez out of danger but Ms its condition I 1 i egret legret to say remains un changed shall I 1 send an attorney to you would you like a book of any kinda or some delicacy sent in from a restaurants 7 9 can I 1 be of any service to you in any way na if it I 1 can please drop me a line sincerely ISABEL THORNE at last she rose and standing in the window read the note over folded it placed it in an envelope and sealed it A maid came in answer to her ring and there at the window under the watchful eyes of blair and hastings and perhaps johnson she handed the note to the maid w m ith instructions to mall mail it immediately two minutes later she saw the maid go out along the avenue to a post box on the cor ner then she drew back into the chad had ow of the room slipped on a dark col cot ored wrap and standing away from the window safe beyond the reach of prying ea edys s waited patiently for the postman he appeared about five 0 clock and simultaneously another man burred the corner near the post cost box and spoke to him then hen er they disappeared from view around the corner so that s johnson is if mused miss thorne and she smiled a little mr grimm certainly pays me the cimpl ment of having me carefully tt arched A few minutes later che he dropped into the seat at the desk aga n the dark wrap had been thrown aside and hastings and blair from their hiding places co ild see her distinctly after a wh h ie le they sa sav v her rise qu akly as an ie timed into the avenue and lean toward the window eagerly loo ing out ohp car came to a stand still in front of the legation and mr cadwallader an under secretary of the biati british h er embassy en bassy who was alo alone ne in the car raised his cap she nodded and rolled then disappeared in the shad oss of the room again mr cadwallader went to the door spoke to the servant there then re turned and bus ed himself about the car hastings and blair watched in bently both the door and th the e window I 1 for a long time finally a closely veil I 1 ed and muffled figure appeared at the bay window and waved a gloved hand at mr cadwallader who again lifted his cap A mil ute later the veiled woman came out of the front door shook hands with mr cadwallader and got in the car he also climbed in and the car moved slowly away CONTINUED |
