Show S T R aly I 1 N G ANGE 84 L by LOUIS JOSEPH VANCE Q QUEER LUUK LUCK F did dd you ever have a piece of r really y good luck for instance help from an entirely unexpected source when you were in deep trouble luck good or bad is certain ly on the trail of hugh chita ker you remember a corps of eminent surgeons gave him just s x months to live so he found a girl in trouble married her to save her good name and d sap feared airn ed atey five years later he reappeared in new york from r 0 australia happy healthy an and prosperous and started out to f and nd the little girl he married he d her when he goes to the theater she a sara law gr great actress mutual reco gril e t on or across the footlights stops th the play and creates wild ex bement among the audience ir wh what next occurs is told in this installment go to iti CHAPTER V continued 7 where a miss bliss law he asked 4 11 1 I dunno go ask max 1 where Is he you can search me last I 1 saw of him he was tearing the star dressin room up by the roots whitaker hurried on just in time to see ie e max disappearing in the direction 4 of the stage door at which point he lie caught up with him and from the managers man mann igers gers disjointed catechism of the doorkeeper garnered the information that the stir had hurried out of the building while max was mas making his announcement before the curtain max swung angrily upon whitaker oh its it s you Is it perhaps 3 ou can explain what this means she was looking straight at you when rhen she dried up I 1 I 1 saw her perhaps you d better find miss law and asb ask her whitaker interrupted hane ha e you any idea where ashes she s gone home probably max snapped in eburn ii 4 come ca then passing his arm I 1 through the manager s NN hitaker drew drem him out into the alley well get a taxi beffie this mob ar but look here what business ve you got mixing to tn isk miss law said whitaker shortly it hid been on the tip of his tong ie to tell the man flatly I 1 ni her A husband but he lie retained wit mit enough to del det y himself the satisfaction of tl Is shattering rejoinder I 1 know her he added that s enough tor for the pres I 1 eat at the entrance to the alley max paused to listen to the uproar within his u ell beloi beed ed theater I 1 id d agn give e five thousand gold dollars if I 1 hadrit met you this afternoon 1 he groaned I 1 always knew that worn wom an was a jonah I 1 you were mere calling her dour our mascot two hours ago shell she be the death of me yet the little man insisted gloomily he stopped short jerking his arm tree free look hereim here m not going I 1 va got my work rork cut out tor for me back there with a jerk of his head tom toward ard the theater whitaker hesitated then without rk regret decided to lose him it would be as well to get over oner the impending in without a third factor very well he said beckoning a taxicab ja in to the curb what s the address max gave it sullenly so long he added morosely as 4 whitaker opened the cab door sorry I 1 eer eier laid eyes on you whitaker settled back in the cab and oblivious to the lights of broad way streaming past tried to think it suddenly presented itself to his reason with shocking force that his attitude must be humbly and wholly rholly apologetic it was a singular ular case he had come home to find his wife on the point of marrying another man and she was the one entitled to feel aggrieved aggrieve dl 1 strange twist of the eternal triangle I 1 far too soon the machine swerved into fifty eveith street slipped half way down donn the block described a wide arc are to the northern curb and pulled up trembling before a modest modern residence between sixth and seventh avenues reluctantly whitaker got out and on suspicion told the chauffeur to wait then with all the alacrity of a condemned man ascend ng the scat fold he ran up the steps to the front door A man servant answered his ring without undue delay was miss law at home he would see this that she was at home whitaker tencie tendered red a card with his sur name came penciled after that of mr hugh morten in engraved script he ile stared lound him with pardon able wonder ii IL this were truly the home of mary alary ladislas whitaker her property he had far better than he could possibly have foreseen math TV ath that investment of five bundled dollars six years since soft shaded lights rare furnishings the rich yet delicate atmosphere of exquisite taste the hush and orderly perfection of a home made and maintained with mith con s summate ma art rt these furnished him with dim pr provoking boking intimations of an indi y vidu I 1 allty y t to 0 which he was a stranger less than a stranger nothing almost immediately he became aware of feminine footsteps on the staircase there entered to him a lady well past middle age with the dignity and poise consistent R with ith her years her manifest breeding and her iron fron gray hall mr whitaker he ile bowed I 1 am mrs a t f lend of miss lav lam s she has asked me to say that she begs to be excused af at lea t for tonight and I 1 am further instruct ed to ask it if you will be good enough to leave leme your address certainly I 1 in stopping at the ritz carlton but he be demurred I 1 should like to leave a note it I 1 may mrs Sec retaa nodded an assent you u will find materials in the desk there she added indicating an es cri toire thanking her whitaker sat down and after some hesitation wrote a few lines please don t think I 1 mean to cause you the slightest inconvenience or distress I 1 shall be glad to further your wishes in any way you may care to des agnate please believe in la my sincere regret signing and folding this he rose and delivered it to mrs he ile found himself in the street with his trouble for all reward for his pains lie ile mon wondered dered what to do where to go next the driver of the taxicab was ras holding the door for him head bent to catch the address of the next stop but his fare lingered still in doubt dimly he became aware of the vio lent ballings baw lings of a brace of news ven dors who were ramping through the 47 et whitaker stood with his gaze riv eted in horror street one on either sidewalk at the spur of a vague m wonder onder if the capeis were already noising abroad the nem news s of the fiasco at the theater max whit aker purchased a paper ther y are sir horrible molder chanky the man galloped on howling but whitaker stood with his gaze riveted in horror the news item so pointedly offered to his attention was clearly legible in the light of the cab lamps LATEST EXTRA TRAGIC SUICIDE IN HARLEM RIVER stopping his automobile in the middle of washington bridge at 7 30 p m car ter S drummond the lawyer and fiance flance of sara I 1 law the actress threw himself to his death in the harlem river the body has not yet been recovered CHAPTER VII vill A history whitaker consulted a telephone book without finding that drummond had any private residence connection and then tried at random one of the clubs of which they had been members in common in the days when hugh whit aker was a human entity in the knowl edge of the town here he had better luck luck that Is in as far as it put an end to his wanderings tor for the night he be found a clerk who kemem bared hia his face without remembering his name and who consequently was not unwilling to talk drummond it seemed had lived at the club he had dined alone that evening in his room had ordered his motor car from the ad jacent garage tor for seven clock and had left at about that hour with a small handbag and no companion nothing further was known of his actions save the police report the car had been found stationary on wash ington bridge and deserted drum monds mond s motor coat and cap on the driver s seat bystanders averred that a man had been seen to leave the car and precipitate himself from the bridge to thi stream below the body m was as still the club had noti fled by telegraph a brother in san francisco the only member of drum mond s family of whom it had any rec ree ord friends fellow members of the club were mere looking after things doing all that could and properly ought to be done under the circumstances whitaker walked back to his hotel there was no other place to go no place that is that w mooed his humor in that hour he ile was indeed profoundly shocked he held himself measurably responsible for drummond s act of des pe aeration per atlon ration ineat to loor peter stark whom his heart mourned cei ing he had cared most for drummond of all the men he had known and liked in the old life now he felt alone and very lonely sick of heart and forlorn there was of course lynch his partner in the antipodes whitaker was mas fond of lynch but not mith w ath the affection that a generous spir cited youth had accorded peter stark and drummond a blind and unreason ing affection thit asked no question questions and made nothing of faults the ca lacity for such sentiment m was as dead in I 1 im as dead as peter stark as dead as drummond it was nearly midnight but the hour found whitaker in no humor for ped bed or the emptiness of his room he strolled into the lounge sat down at a detached table in a corner and ordered som thing to drink A page bearing thing on a salver ambled through tle lounge now and again opening his mouth to bleat dispassionately alls MIS ta AN whitaker mista whitaker the omner ow of that name experienced a flush of exasperation what right had the management to cause him to be advertised in every public room of the establishment bit elt the next instant his resentment abed when ihen he remembered that he re bained mr hugh morten in the mana gerial comprehension he lifted a finger the boy swerved toward him tendered a blue envelope accepted a gratuity and departed den de arted it was mas a cable message very ably an answer to his to grace pettit whitaker tore the envelope and un folded the inclosure glancing first at the signature to verify his surmise As he did so he heard his name a second time pardon me this Is mr whitaker A man stood beside the little table one whom whitaker had indifferent ly noticed on entering as an equally lonely lounger at another table though he frowned involuntarily y with annoyance he t well deny den his identity yes he said shortly looking the man up and down with rith a captious eye yet it was hard to find much fault with this invader of his preoccupation he ile had the poise and the dress of a gentleman dignity without aggressive ness completeness m without ostentation he ile had a spare not ungraceful body a plain dark face a humorous mouth steady eyes a man easily forgotten or overlooked unless he willed it other wise rise my name Is ember he said quiet ly if you 11 II permit me my card he e c offered ered a slip of pasteboard en with mith the of martin em ber her and ill sit down domn because I 1 want to talk to you tor for a f few ew min utes accordingly he sat down dovin whitaker glanced at the card and questioningly back at mr ember s face I 1 don t know you but IN what hat are we to talk about please the man min smiled not mr whit he said mrs whitaker send you to me then how what the deuce I 1 I 1 happened to have a seat near your box at fit the theater tonight mr em ber explained coolly from what I 1 saw there I 1 inferred that you must be yourself afterwards I 1 got hold of mix confirmed my suspicion and ex your address from him I 1 see said whitaker slowly who the devil are you he de demanded bluntly I 1 was said the other slowly once a private detective now im a per son of no particular employment of in dependent means with a penchant boure oure at liberty to assume for pok ing my nose into other people peoples s busl bust ness mrs george pettit once em plo ed me to find her sister miss mary vary ladislas who rho had run away with a chauffeur named morton just a minute said whitaker sud sad denly by your leave ember bowed gravely for a thought I 1 longer onge r whitaker s gae gaze bored into hia his eyes in vain effort to fathom what was going on behind them the animus un discovered by his words then kemem bering he looked down at the cable message in bis his hand martin ember it ran private agency 1435 broadway grace graca pettit whitaker folded the paper and put it away in a pocket go on please he said quietly in those days mr ember resumed edid idid I 1 did such things indifferently well I 1 had little trouble in following the run a ways aw ays from southampton to green port there they parted hemas he was want ed for theft in a former position was mas arrested convicted and sent to sing sing where be he presently died im glad to say piss iss ladislas had registered at the CoH commercial mercial house as mrs morton she was there alone under that name for nearly a week before you registered as hugh mor ten and in the space of a few hours ma man ailed led her under your true name and shipped her off to new york right whitaker agreed steadily and then I 1 traced her to the hotel belmont where she stopped overnight then lost her completely complete lj and so reported to mrs pettit I 1 came into a little money about that time and gave up my busi ness gave it up that Is as far as placing myself at the service of the public was concerned after some time mr drummond sought me out and begged me to renew my search for mrs whitaker you were dead he told me she was due to come into your estate a comfortable living for an in dependent woman roman r what do you think of this man E ember az I 1 I 1 Is a h he e on t alie I 1 ie level or is he e a smart rascal who has evil I 1 designs f on whitaker 0 0 BE CONTIM a |