| Show ay 0 MO r J da COPYRIGHT 1007 ra Z 1 SYNOPSIS mad dan maitland Malt land on reaching h his new york bachelor club met an attract tive young woman at the door janitor ohagan 0 hagan assured him no one had been within that day dan d sc a won an 8 f nget prints in dust on his desk along with a letter from hia his attorney maitland Malt land deed d ned with bannerman hi his s at torney dan set out tor for greenfield s to set got his tarn fam ly jewels aurini h s walk to the country seat he met the young woman in gray whom he had seen leav ing ng his bachelors club her auto had broken down he fixed it by a ruse she lost him maitland Malt land on reaching home I 1 surprised I 1 lady in gray cracking tl e safe V containing Onta ining his gems she apparently took him for a well knor n crook daniel anasty half hypnotized maitland Malt land opened his ate safe took tl the jew jev els and eave gave them to I 1 er first form ng a parti parts bersh p in crime the real dan anasty sought by pol ce of the world appeared on the same m aaion ma fiand overcame him he met the girl cuts outs de the house and they sped on to new york in her au to he had the jewels and she promised to meet him that day maitland Malt land received a mr snaith introducing himself as a detective to shield the ga g rl in gray 13 1 3 maitland Malt land about to show h m the jem je els ells supposedly lost was felled by a blow from ana th s cane the latter proved proved to be anasty himself and he secured tl e gems anasty who was maitland Malt land lands s dou ble masqueraded as the te latter 1 e criminal kept maitland Malt land s engagement with the girl in gray he gave I 1 er the gems after fall ng in love at first sight they were to meet and divide the loot malt land revived and regretted miss ng his ga engagement ga gement anasty masquerading as ma aland narrowly avo ded capture through mysterious tip the girl in gra visited maitland Malt land s apartments during his absence and returned gems CHAPTER VIII vill continued but where to put them that he might find them without delays delay it must be no conspicuous place where 0 hagan would be apt to happen upon them doubtless the janitor was trust worthy but still misplaced Mib placed opportunities breed criminals it was all a risk to leave the treas ure there without the protection of steel walls and time locks but a risk that must be taken she dared not retain it longer in her pos session and she would contrive a way in the morning to communicate with maitland and warn him her gaze searched the area where the lamplight fell soft yet strong upon the dark shining wood and heavy brass desk fittings and paused ar rested by the unusual combination of 01 inverted bowl and super imposed book A riddle to be read with facility in a twinkling she had uncovered the in criminating hand print ting if it could be traced that Is to sa oh she cried softly and laughed a little oh how careless fine brows puckered she pondered the matter and ended by placing her hor own hand over the print thie thia one oue fitted the other exactly how he must have wondered 1 he Is sure to look again espe bially if no need to conclude the sentence quickly she placed bag and case squarely on top of the impression the bowl over all and the book upon the bowl then drawing from her pocket a pair ot of long gray silk gloves draped one across the book and head tilted to one side admired the effect it seemed decidedly an artistic et ef feet admirably calculated to attract attention she was satisfied to the point of being pleased with herself a tact fact indicated by an expressive flutter of slim fair wr hands and now to work time pressed and A cloud dimmed the radiance of her eyes irresolutely she shifted in her chair troubled frowning lips woefully drooping and sighed and a still small whisper broken and wretched disturbed the quiet of the study I 1 can not 0 1 I can not to spoil it all now when yet she muad must she must forget her self and steel her determination with the memory that an another others s happiness hung in the balance depended upon her success twice she had tried and tailed failed this third time she must sue aeed and bowing her head in token of her resignation she turned back squarely to face the desk As she did so the toe of one small shoe caught against something on the floor causing a dull jingling sound she stooped with a low exclamation and straightened up a small bunch of keys in her hand eight or ten of them dangling from a silver ring maitland Malt Matt lands land s keys he must have dropped them there forgetting them altogether A find of value and one to save her a deal of trouble skeleton keys are so exas pera tingly slow part when used by inexpert hands but how to bring herself to make use of these all alls s fair in war and this was a sort of war a war of wits at least but one should fight with ones own arms not pilfer the eneany s and turn them against him to use these kea kes s to ransack maytland Malt Mait lands land s desk seemed an action ever more blackly dishonorable than this clandestine visit this mid night foray swinging the notched metal slips from a slender finger she bontem plated them and laughed ruefully what qualms of conscience in a burg lar self confessed she was there for a purpose a recognized nefarious pur pose granted then why quibble 7 she would not quibble she would be firm resolute determined cold flooded unmindful of all kindness and curtesy and she would use them accomplish her purpose and have done finally and for ever with the hole whole hatta hat if I 1 af P 1 1 I reg under the name of mr dan els there was a bright spot of color on either cheek and a hot light of anger in her eyes as she set abo it her task it would never be less hideous never legs less immediate the desk drawers yielded easily to the eager levs 1 evs one by one she had them open and their contents explored vain repetition of yesterday after fruitless task but she must be sure she must leave no stone un turned maitland Malt land manor was mas closed to her for ever because of last night but here she was sate safe for a few short hours and tree free to make assurance do ably sure there remained the dispatch box the black japanned tin box which had proved obdurate yesterday she had come prepared to break its lock this time if need be maitland s careless ness spared lier ier the necessity she lifted it out of a lower drawer and put it in her lap the smallest I 1 ey fitted the lock at the first attempt the lid came up and perhaps it is not altogether isable that one should temporarily for get one s compunctions 1 in the long de berred moment of triumph the girl uttered a little cry of joy crash the front door downstairs had been slammed she was on her feet in a breath fant with fear yet not so overcome that she forgot her errand her sue cess As she stood up she dropped ane dispatch box back into the drawer without a sound and opening her handbag hand bag stuffed something into it no time to do more a dull rumble of masculine voices was distinctly frightfully abo au ble me in the stillness of the house V v ices of men conversing together in iq the inner vestibule one laughed and the laugh seemed to penetrate her bosom like a knife then both strode across the tiling wing and began to ascend as was clearly told her by footsteps sounding deadened on the padded carpet panic stricken she turned to the student lamp and with a quick twirl and upward jerk of the chimney catch extinguished the flame A reek of smoke immediately began to foul the close hot air and she knew that it would betray her but was helpless to stop it besides she was caught trapped damned beyond redemption unless unless it were not maitland Malt land after all but one of the other tenants unexpectedly returned and bound for another flat futile hope upon the landing by the door the footsteps ceased and a key grated in the wards of the lock blind with terror her sole thought an instinctive impulse to hide and so avert discovery until the last possible instant and on the bare chance of something happening to save her the girl caught up her skirts and fled like a hunted shadow through the alcove through the bed chamber thence down the hall toward the dining room and kitchen offices the outer door was being opened ere she had reached the hiding place she had in mind the trunk closet from which she remembered remark ing ng a window opened upon a fire escape it was vias barely possible a fighting chance j she closed the door grateful that its latch slipped silently into place and fairly flung herself upon the win dew dow painfully bruising her soft hands in vain endeavor to raise the sash it stuck obstinately would not yield too late she remembered that she had forgotten to draw the catch fatal oversight A sob of terror choked chol ed in her throat already foot steps were hurrying down the hall a line of light frightened underneath the door voices excitedly keyed bandied question and comment an un mistakable irish brogue minging with a clear enunciation which she had but too great reason to remember the pair had passed into the next room she could hear 0 hagan announcing no wan here sor then it its s the dining room or the trunk closet come along one last frantic attempt but the window w I 1 dow catch rusted with long dis use stuck panting sick with fear feat the girl leaped away and crushed her self into a corner crouching on the floor behind a heavy box her dark cloak drawn up to shield her head and the door opened A flood of radiance from the re lighted student lamp tell fell athwart the floor the girl lay close and still hold ing her breath ten seconds perhaps ticked on into eternity seconds that were in them selves eternities then no one here 0 hagan the door was closed and through its panels more faintly came faith and the murd hering devvie must ve flew th coop afore ye come in sor the girl tried to rise to make again for the window but it was as though her limbs had turned to water there was no strength in her and the black ness swam visibly before her eyes ra dialing away in whirling streaky cir cles even such resolution and strong will as was hers could not prevail against that numbing deathly exhaustion her eyes closed and her head tell fell back against the wall it seemed but an instant though it was in point of tact fact a full five min utes ere the sound of a voice again ro ased her she looked up dazzled by a gush of warm light he stood in the doorway holding the lamp high above his head hig face pale grave and shadowed as he peered down at her I 1 have sent 0 hagan anav he said gently if you will to come now CHAPTER IX procrastinate on the cab which picked maitland up at his lodgings carried him but a few blocks to the club at which he had the previous evening entertained his law yer maitland had ser se acted it as the one of all the clubs of which he and bannerman were members wherein he was least likely to meet the latter neither frequented its sober precincts by habit its severe and classical building on a corner of madi madl son avenue overlooking the square is but the outward presentment of an in aw ution to be a member of which 11 I 1 a duty but emphatically no great pleasure to fhe the sons ot of a new york family of any prominence but bit in its management the younger generation holds no suffrage and la Is not slow to declare that the primordial is s rightly named characterizing the individual members of the board of governors as antediluvians prehistoric monsters who have never learned that laughter lends a savor to existence and so it Is that the younger genera tion which Is understood to include maitland Malt land and bannerman while it re pas its dues and has the name of the primordial engraved upon its cards shuns those deadly respect table rooms and seeks its comfort elsewhere maitland Malt land found it dull and depress ing enough that same evening some thing before seven the spacious and impressive lounging rooms were but sparsely tenanted other t than an by y the he corps of servants and the few members who had lent the open doors the excuse of their presence were of the elderly type that hides itself behind a newspaper in aa au easy chair and snorts when addressed the young man strolled disconsolately enough into the billiard room thence dogged by a specter of loneliness to the bar and finally in sheer desperation to the dining room where he selected a table and ordered an evening paper with his meal when the former was brought him he sat up and began to take a new in terest in life the glaring headline head fineg that met his eye on the front page proved as bracing as a slap in the face the maitland jewels he read halt half aloud daring attempt at burg lary mad maitland Malt land catches hand some dan anasty in the act of crack ing his ills safe at maitland Malt land manor aich was which both principals disappear the news story was exploited exploit jd as a beat it could have been little else since nine tenths of its exclusive details had been born full winged from the fecund imagination of a busy reporter to whom maitland Malt land had refused an interview while in his bath some three hours earlier maitland Malt land dincov ered with relief that boiled down to es it consisted simply of the statement that somebody presumably himself had caught somebody presumably anasty burglarizing the it 11 arary sate safe at maitland Malt land manor that morning that one of the some bodies no one knew which had overpowered the other and left him in charge of the butler who had presently permitted his prisoner to escape and then talked for publication it was not to this so much that malt blatt land objected it was the ll Il lustra eions that alternately saddened and maddened the young man the said 1 11 4 lust rations comprising blurred halt half tone reproductions of photographs taken on the maitland Malt land estate a dia gram of the library as fanciful as the text it illuminated and two portraits side by side of the heroes himself and anasty excellent likenesses both of the originals and of each other mr maitland Malt land did not enjoy bis his din ner anxious and preoccupied he tasted the dishes mechanically and when they had all passed before him took his thoughts and a cigar to a gloomy corner of the smoking room where he sat at tor for two solid hours debating the matter pro and con and arriving at no conclusion whatever save that hig ilig gins was doomed at 10 15 he began to contemplate with positive tiva pleasure the prospect of 0 discharging the butler that at least was action something that he could do wherever else he thought to move he found himself baffled by the blank darkness of mystery or by his tear fear of publicity and ridicule at 10 20 he decided to move upon greenfields at once and telephoned 0 hagan advising bin mrs to profess ig norance of bis his employer employers a whereabouts at 10 22 or in the midst of his ad monitions to the janitor he changed his mind and decided to stay in new york and instructed the irishman to bring him a suit case containing a few necessaries his intention being to stay out the night at the club and so avoid the siege of his hodg ings by reporters and detectives at 10 45 a club servant handed him the card of a representative of the evening journal maitland Malt land directed that the gentleman be shown into the reception room at 10 46 he skulked out of the club by a side entrance jumped into a cab and had himself driven to the east thirty fourth street ferry arriving there just in time to miss the last tra train n for Green greenfields ds denied the shelter alike of his lode ings his club and jils his country home the young man in despair caused him self to be conveyed to the Barthol dl hotel where possessed of a devil at of tolly folly he preserved his incognito bareg by reg isterling Isle ring under the name of at dan aels and straightway retired to bla Us room TO BE CONTINUED |
