| Show P EE STORY HEARTS N 4 AND MAS P kr S by HAROLD macgrath author Autho of the man on the box etc with drawings by ll arrison fisher da ass ra copyright by B bbs merri I 1 co CHAPTER V cont continued aued here was a burglar with the sense of humor what can I 1 do for you youa I 1 asked blandly firstly as they say you might tell me what you and this lady are doing in hiis lonesome cellar say sir when you address me yes sir the lady and I 1 were playing hide and seek nice game sir grinning ere you trying to hide under the coal oh no in im as merely exploring it say sir when you address me sir you re a cool hand sir I 1 am gratified to learn that our ad mi ration is mutual but what aie you doing here I 1 was ascertaining it if the law was properly observed sir shaking with silent laughter but what puzzles me I 1 went on is the fact that you could gather the gems in that garb for I 1 was post tive that this was the galloping Gallo pins dick every one was looking for I 1 don t understand a word you say sir im an inspector of cellars sir not a jeweler so you and the lady was playing hide and seeka come now what Is your graft Is all the push here to tonight night 9 that depends cursing under my breath that I 1 wore a gown which ham my movements for truth to tell I 1 was watching him as a cat watches matches a mouse well sir we of the profession never interferes with gentlemanly jobs sir all I 1 want of you is to help me out of here I 1 am not a burglar oh I 1 understand sir I 1 understand completely A gentleman is always a gentleman sir now you can re turn to that coal bin I 1 was just about to make tor for it when you lit that c can die dle why not leave by the cellar doors 9 I 1 have my reasons sir most satis sails factory reasons sir I 1 prefer the win dow get along his tones suddenly hardening I 1 got along the lady may sit down sir he said courteously thank you I 1 will replied the girl plumping down on an empty wi she afterward confessed that it if she lad had not sat down on the box she would have sat down on the cellar floor as a sort of paralysis had seized her knees I 1 I 1 stepped into the coal bin and rested the candle on the little shelf tor for that purpose I 1 was downright anxious to see the fellow safely away there wasu t room in that cellar for the three of us his presence doubly en dangerud dang ered us and multiplied the corn coin I 1 was in no position to force the gems from him A man who has ten thousand dollars worth of jewels on his person t stop at shooting and I 1 possessed a healthy regard for my skin I 1 opened the win dow and caught it to the ceiling by a hook I 1 found there there is a stout screen my man take this sir and cut it out handing me a pair of wire clippers I 1 holding his lantern under his arm meanwhile the muzzle of the re vo volver iver during all this time never wavered in its aim at my head I 1 went to work at the sere screen en and presently it fell inward Is that satis sati cyp with im irony you are the most perfect gentle man that I 1 ever see sir the girl laughed hysterically now the fun was begin ning to pall on me step out of the bin and stand aside sit do down wn by the lady maybe she s a bit frightened I 1 obeyed him to the letter thanks with the agility of a cat he leaped up and wriggled through the window he turned good goad night sir sometime maybe ill do tle tt e same for you sir go to the devil I 1 I 1 snarled my my what a temper sirl sir I 1 wouldn t have tho ight it of you and a nice lady in speaking distance he disappeared the girl laid a hand on my arm you have acted very sensibly mr ar Com cornstalk stalk if you had not it is buhe certain he would have shot you it would have been a good thing for me if he had he has gone and the jewels have gone with him I 1 hadrit the least chance the wretch he probably came disguised as a plumber and nobody suspected him but it if he possessed the ten of hearts why should he have left this way waya possibly my idea was only an lint tation of his there must have been at least a dozen tens of hearts my dear young lacia I 1 would elve a good li jato deal it if you were well oat of this I 1 believed my plan was mas tor for the best and instead I 1 have simply blackened the case against us I 1 have been too ad venturous the situation looks very serious just now of course in the long run we shall clear ourselves but it will take some fine arguing to do it and possibly po shibly halt half a dozen law it Is a terribly embarrassing pre di cament but since we started out together we well 11 hang together she held out her hand to me it will be fun to extricate ourselves with full honors you re a brick and I 1 pressed her hand tightly now I 1 wonder why the burglar try those cellar doors she murmured by jove soon find out come on there theres s hope yet this time we reached the stone steps without interference I 1 gaa gave the candle to the girl cautiously put a shoulder against one of the doors and gave a gentle heave beave it was not locked through the thin crack I 1 looked out upon the bright world of moonshine and crystal instantly I 1 permitted the door to settle into its accustomed place I 1 readily under stood the burglar burglars s reasons seated upon a box less than a dozen feet away and blissfully smoking one of the club clubs s cigars sat a burly policeman so they had arrived upon the scene what Is if it asked the girl as I 1 motioned her to retreat the worst has come the police dramatically gracious heavens this is frightful we shall never get out now oh dear at X V what can I 1 do for you why did I 1 ever come it will be in the papers with horrid pictures we ought not to have left the ball room our very actions will tell heavily against us awful now dont don t you worry they will not take any notice of you once they set eyes upon me homo home sum they are looking for me there s only one superfluous ten of hearts I 1 have it but I 1 shall be found with you and the stupid police will swear I 1 am an accomplice she wrung her hands but no jewels will be found upon us I 1 argued halfheartedly halt heartedly they will say we have already dis posed of them but the real burglar they will say that he came into the cellar at our bidding this girl was terribly reasonable and direct hang it I 1 know teddy hamilton the M F 11 hell go my ball and yours too for that matter come let s not give up there must be some other way out I 1 wish I 1 might believe it why did I 1 comee a bit of a wall stealing into the anger in her voice this Is tom fools night and no mistake I 1 assented ruefully but I 1 am a bigger fool than you are I 1 had an alibi and a goad one an alibi why on earth then did you follow me what Is your alibie never mind now we should still be in this miserable cellar briefly what a night A am so ashamed I 1 I 1 shall be horribly compromised III take the brunt of it all 1 im in sorry but for the he love of heaven don t cry or I 1 shall lose what little nerve I 1 have left I 1 am not crying she denied em my inclination is to s shriek with lauga er I 1 im rn hysterical and who wouldn t be with police of fibers and cells staring one in the facea let us be going that police man outside will presently hear us whispering if we stand here much I 1 there was wisdom wisdom in this so on e again I 1 took the candle and we mai ched back there wasn gasn t a sin gle jest left in my whole system and it t look as it there was ever going to be another supply we took the other side of the furnace and at length came to a felsot of wooden L 1 F stairs leading somewhere su into the club it was our last chance or we should be obliged to stay all night in some bin for it would not be long be fore they searched the cellars it if this flight led into the kitchen we A were saved for I 1 could bluff the ants NN e paused presently we as bended side by side with light but firm step we me reached the landing in front of the door without mishap from somewhere came a puff of air which blew out the candle I 1 struck a match viciously against the wall and blundered into a string ot of cook ing pans it was all over the agony of suspense gs blang bumpily blang blang I 1 have heard many stage thunders in my time but that racket beat any thing and ever thing this side of siege guns 1 instantly the door opened and a po 1 eiceman poked his head in before I 1 I had time to move he grabbed me by the arm and yanked me into the bal ball room the girl and I 1 had made a afi complete circuit of the cellars and had stumbled into the ball room again by the flight opposite to that by which we left it cheerful prospect gasn wasn t if the adventure had ceased to have hava any droll side to it t aha ahat cried the base minion of the law here you are then hello t everybody hello he bawled caught here we were the blue domino and myse myself if the grey j chin both of us in a fine fix dig die jj covery and ejection I 1 could have stood with fortitude and equanimity but there was bad business afoot there wasn gasn t any doubt in my mind what was going to happen As the girl said there would be flaring headlines and horrid pictures we were like to be the newspaper sensation of the day arrested and lodged in jail what would my rich doting old uncle say to that who had threatened to dis inherit me for lesser things I 1 felt terribly sorry for the girl but it was now utterly impossible to helo heir her tor for I 1 t help myself and behold the mysterious stran ger I 1 had met in the curio shop the fellow who had virtually virtu olly haunted me tor for six hours the fellow rho no had mas quera ded as caesar suddenly loomed up before me still wear ng his sardon ie lc smile at his side were v ere two more policemen lie ile bad had th own aside his toga and was in evening dress ills keen glance rested on me here he Is mr cried the policeman cheerfully swinging mo me around A detec detective and heaven help me he believed me to be the thief I 1 oh tor for aladdin s lamp CHAPTER VI I 1 stood with folded arms awaiting bis his approach nonchalance Is always respected by the police I 1 must have presented a likely picture however my face blackened with co aldust cob webs stringing down over my eyes my capuchin gown soiled and rent the girl quietly took her place beside me so you took a chance at the eel cel lars eh inquired the detective urbanely well you look it it will you go with us quietly or shall we have to use force iu in the first place what do you and your police pollee want of me mea I 1 returned coolly he ile exhibited his star of authority I 1 am haggerty of the central of flee fice I 1 want you SOT tor several things several I 1 stared at him stupidly several things then it came to me with a jar like an earth quake the story in the newspaper returned to rny my vision oh this was too much altogether too much lie took me to be the fashionable thief for whom halt the new york police force were hunting my sight swam tor for a moment in a blur V to be continued W j |
