Show PICTURES 00 by me Z GMT OT THE A R LL CO SYNOPSIS mad dan mateland Malt Matt land on reaching his new york bachelor club met an attract tive young woman at the door J janitor tor 0 hagan assured him no one had been with n that day dan discovered a worn wom an q finger prints in dust on his desk along with a letter from his attorney maitland Malt land dined with bannerman h s at torney dan set out for greenfields to g t his tarn farn ly jewels during his w m alk to the country seat he met the young woman in gray whom hora he had seen leav leav ing his bachelors club her auto had broken down he fixed it CHAPTER 11 continued don t she insisted as much as to CO say that he was fabricating and she knew it we must hurry you know because there ive dropped my handkerchief by the tree there do you mind of course not he set off toward the point ind bated b bit it on reaching it cast about vainly for any thing in the nature of a handkerchief in the midst of which futile q iest lest a change of tempo in the motor im patient drumming surprised him startled he looked up too late the girl was in the seat the car in motion already some bards ards from the point at which he had left it dis bayed he strode forward raising his voice in perturbed expostulation but I 1 say over the rear of the seat a gray gauntlet was waved at him as tanta sizing as the mocking laugh that came to his ears cars he paused thunderstruck appalled by this monstrosity of ingratitude the machine gathered impetus drawing swiftly away anay yet in the still ness the farewell of the gray girl came to him very clearly good by with a laugh thank you and good by handsome dan CHAPTER III handsome dan standing in the middle of the road watching the dust cloud that trailed the fast disappearing motor car mr maitland cut a figure sufficiently for lorn and disconsolate to have distilled pity from the least sympathetic heart his hands were thrust stiffly at full arm s length into his trousers pockets a rumpled silk hat was set awry on the back of his head his shirt bosom was sadly crumpled above the knees to a casual glance he presented the appearance of a man carefully attired in evening dress below his legs were sodden and muddied his shoes of patent leather twin wrecks alas tor for jauntiness aunt mess and elegance alack tor for easte ease and aplomb tricked observed maitland cas bally and protruded bis his lower lip thus adding to the length of a coulten ance naturally long outwitted by a chit of a girl but this was crude melodrama real izing which he strove to smile a sor ry failure handsome dan quoted he and cocking hi hie head to one side eyed the road inquiringly where in thun der d ou suppose she got hold of that name bestowed upon him in callow col lege days it had stuck burr like tor for many a weary neary year of late however its use had lapsed among his acqua n he had begun to congratulate himself upon having lived it d and now it was resurrected flung at him in sincerest mod ery cry by a woman whom to his knoch knowledge dge he had bad ne never v e r before laid eyes upon odious appella tion hateful invention of an ingenious enemy I 1 handsome dan bhe she must have known me all the time all the time I 1 was making an exhibition of myse f wenta wentworth orth I 1 know no one of that name who the dickens can she be bea it if it had not been contrary to his code of ethics he would gladly have raved gnashed his teeth footed the dance of rage with his shadow in deed his restraint was admirable the circumstances considered he ile did nothing whatever but stand still tor for a matter of five minutes vainly racking his memory for a clue to the identity of miss wentworth at length he gave it up in despair and abstractedly felt for his watch fob which gasn wasn t there neither invests gation developed was the watch at which crowning stroke of misfortune the timepiece must have slipped from bis his pocket into the water while he be was tinkering with that infamous carburetor carb maitland Malt land turned eloquent 4 ly red in the face the price he meditated aloud with an effort to resume his pose is a high one to pay for a wave of a gray glove and the echo of a pretty laugh with which final fling at fortune he I 1 set oft off again tor for Maitla ind manor trudging heavily but at a round pace through the dust that soon settled upon the damp cloth of his trousers legs and completed their ruination but maitland was beyond being dis by such trifles A wounded vanity engaged his solicitude to the exclusion of all other interests at AA the end of 45 minutes he had covered the remaining distance be tween greenfief fie d station and maitland manor for five minutes more he strode wearily over oyer the side path by the box hedge which set aside his ances acres from the public highway at length with an exclamation he paused at the first opening in the living bar rier a wide entrance from which a bluestone blue stone carriage drive wound away to the house invisible la in the waning light situate in the shelter of the grove of trees that studded the lawn gasoline I 1 barr said maitland shuddering and shivering with the combination of a nauseous odor and the night s coolness the latter by now making itself as unpleasantly kroml nent as the former though he hated the smell with all his heart manfully inconsistent he raised his head sniffing the air for further evidence and got his reward in a sickening gust tank leaked he commented with brevity quart of the stuff must have trickled out right here ugh I 1 if it goes on at this rate there 11 be another breakdown before she gets home and serve her right too he growled vindictive but tor for all au ju indignation he ac kLow ledged a ane sneaking abing wish that he might be at hand again in such event a second time to give gratuitous ice lee to his gray lady analyzing this frame ol 01 mind not without surprise and some disdain of him who weakly entertained it he crossed the drive and struck in over the lawn shaping his course direct for the front entrance of the house by dead reckoning the hour was t two wo or something later and a chill was stealing in upon the land wafted gently southward from long island sound round all the world beside himself seemed to slumber breathless in sensate wraith wraithlike like gray shreds of mist drifted between the serried boles holes of trees or rising veiled the moon moons s v man an and pallid face that now was low upon the horizon in silent rivalry long and velvet black shadows skulked across the ample breadths of dew drenched dren cLed grass somewhere a bird stirred on its unseen perch chirping sleepily and in the rapt silence the inconsiderable interruption broke with startling stress in time not long the house lifted into view a squat rambling block of home grown architecture with little to recommend it save its keen assoria eions and its comfort at the edge of the woods the lord and master paused indefinitely with little purpose sur beying idly the pale columned cacide ana wondering whether or not his en trance at that ungodly hour would rouse the staff of house seri servants ants it if it did not he contemplated with mild amusement the prospect of their sur prise when morning come they should find the owner in occupation bannerman was right he con ceded any the syllables died upon his lips his gaze became fixed his heart thumped wildly for an instant then rested still and instinctively he held his breath tiptoeing to the edge of the veranda the better to command a view of 0 the library windows I 1 these opened from ceiling to floor and should by right have haxe presented to his vision a blank expanse of dark glass but oddly enough even while thinking of his lawyers warning he had fancied ah ahl said maitland Malt land softly A disk ol 01 white light perhaps a foot or 18 inches in diameter had flitted swiftly across the glass and vanished ah ali ah the devil the devil murmured the young man ancon ly the light appeared again dancing athwart the inner wall of the room and was lost as abruptly as before on impulse maitland Malt land buttoned his to coat across his chest twining up the collar to hide his linen darted stealthily a yard or two to one side and with one no seless bound reached the floor of the veranda A breath later he stood by the fiant door where at first glance he discovered the means of entrance used by the in ma the doors stood ajar a black interval showing between them so that then was the way cau piously maitland Malt land put a hand upon the knob and pushed A sharp penetrating squeak brought him to an abrupt standstill heart I 1 am mering shamefully again gathering himself to spring if need be he crept back toward the library windows and reconnoitering cautiously determined the fact that the bolts had just been withdrawn on the inside of one win dow frame which was swinging wide its it s a wise crook that provides his own quick exit considered maitland Malt land the sagacious one was not alpar eltiy leaving at that moment anthe on the contrary having made all things ready for a hurried flight upon the first alarm the intruder turned back as WAS clearly indicated by the motion of the light within the clink of steel touching steel became audible and maitland nodded bannerman was in L J at that very moment the safe was being attacked deed justified at that very moment the safe was being attacked maitland Malt land returned noiselessly to the booi his ills mouth had settled into a hard unyielding thin line and a dan gaious light flickered in his eyes temporarily the idler had stepped abide giving place to the real man that nas vas maitland the man ready to fight for h s own naked h hands ands against fil firearms flie arms earms it if it need be true he had but to step into the g broom to find weapons in plenty but these must be then loaded to be ot of service and precious moments wasted in the pro cess moments in which the burglar might gain access to and make off with his booty maitland had no notion whatever of permitting anything of the sort to occur he counted upon taking his enemy unawares difficult as he be lieveld such a feat would be in the case of a professional cracksman down the hallway he groped his way to the library door his fingers at length encountering its panels it m wis mis is closed doubtless secured upon the in n side the slightest movement of the handle was to alarm the housebreaker maitland paused delab crating another and better plan hav bay ing in mind a short passageway con necking library and smoking room in the library itself a heavy tapestry cur tamed its opening while an equally heavy portiere took the place of a door at the other end in the natural order of things a burglar would overlook this inch by inch the young man edged into the smoking room the door to which providentially stood unclosed once within it was but a moment s aock to feel his waa wa to velvet folds and dra v them a aide ade fortunata tp I 1 t t 14 b u A without rattling the brass rings from which the curtain depended and then maitland was in the passage acutely on the alert recognizing from the con tinned click of metal that his antigon to he was still at his difficult task inch by inch there was the tapestry very gently the househelder pushed it aside an insidious aroma of scorching var nish the dark lantern penetrated the passage while he stood on its thresh old feeling for the electric light switch unhappily he missed this at the first cast and heard from within a quick deep hiss of breath some thing had put the burglar on guard another instant wasted and it would be too late the young man had to chance it and he ho d d without I 1 the hesitation stepping boldly into the d danger anger zone at the sime time making one final desperate pass at the spot where the witch should have been and missing it oa on the instant there came a click of a different call her from those that had preceded it A revolver had been cocked some where here there in the blank darkness maitland knew enough not to move in another respect the warning came too late his fingers had found the switch at last and automatically had turned it the glare was blinding tarl ly but the flash and report for which maitland waited did not come when his eyes had adjusted themselves to the st sid denly altered conditions he saw directly before him and some six feet distant a woman s slight figure dark cloaked resolute upon its two feet head framed in veiling features effectually disguised in a motor mask whose round staring goggles shone blankly in the warm white light on her part she seemed to lecog nize him instantaneously on his it may aa well be admitted that maitland MaltI ands s wits were gone wool gath ering temporarily at least a state of mind not unpardonable when it is taken into consideration that he was called upon to grapple with and simul to assimilate three momen tous facts for the first time in his life he found himself nose to nose with a revolver and that one of able bodied and respect compelling proportions I 1 or the first time in his life again he was under necessity of dealing with a housebreaker but most stupefying of all he found the fact that this house breaker this armed midnight maraud er was a woman and so it was not altogether fearlessness that made him to all intents and purposes ignore the weapon it is nothing to his credit for courage it if his eyes struck past the black and deadly mouth of the revolver and looked only into the blank and ex onless eyes of the wind mask it was not lack of respect for his skin s integrity but the sheer tremendous viander wonder of it all that rendered him oblivious to the eternity that lay the other side of a slender trembling fin tip and so he stared agape until pres antly the weapon wavered and was lowered and the woman s voice touched with irony brought him to his senses oh she remarked coolly its only you thunderstruck he was able no more than to parrot the pronoun you yoa were you expecting to meet any gnp elbe au here to nighta she inquired in mockery he his shoulders helplessly and tried to school his tongue to co cherence I 1 confess well certainly I 1 didn dian t count on finding you here miss wentworth and the black cloak you know reversible of course gray inside as us you see handsome dan the girl laughed quietly drawing aside an edge of the garment to reveal its in ner face of silken gray and the fluted ruffles of the gray skirt underneath he nodded appreciation of the de vice his mind now busy with specula eions as to what he should do with the girl now that he had caught her at the same time he was vaguely vexed by her persistent repetition of the ob sole scent nickname handsome dan he iterated all but mechanically why do you call me that please have we met before I 1 could swear never before this night but you are altogether too modest she laughed not that it s a bad trait in the character of a professional but really it seems i t bit in credible that any one so widely ad verti sed as handsome dan anasty should feel at being lecog nihed why your portrait and abiog raphy have commanded space in every yellow jo Q arnal in america recently and dropping the revolver into a pod et in her cloak I 1 was afraid you might be a servant or even mait land she diverted the subject with a nod but dut but it if you recognized me as anasty back there by the ford didn dian t yoi yo I 1 suspect I 1 d drop in on you why of course I 1 didn dian t ou all but tell me that 3 ou were coming here but I 1 thought perhaps I 1 might get through before you came mr anasty but I 1 knew all the time that even it you did manage to surprise me er on the job ob you wouldn t call the po p lice she laughed confidently and oddly enough at the same time nervously you are certainly a D very bold man and as surely a very care less one to run around the wiy way you do without so much as troubling to grow a beard or a mustache after your picture has been 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