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Show The GIRL in the MIRROR :: By i I: ELIZABETH JORDAN t ! e br Th Century Cornpsnf.) tTnnrtc Bat don't you do it. A dark, musty closet Is no place for a kind-hearted, I sensible woman to spend twenty-four hours In." She Ignored that, too, but now she moved more quickly, and her companion, com-panion, close at her heels, found him- j self In an upper hall, approaching a door at the front of the house. Before Be-fore this door his guide now planted herself-, with much of the effect of a cornerstone settling Into place. Keeping a careful eye on her, he stretched out a long arm and tapped at the panel. There was no answer. He tapped again. Still no answer. Ha glanced at the enforcedly silent woman wom-an beside him, and something In her eyes, a gleam of triumph or sardonic amusement, or both, waa tinder to his hot spirit, "Have you led me to the wrong door?" he asked. He spoke very quietly, but the tone Impressed the woman. The gleam faded from her eyes. Hastily she shook her head. "If you have " He nodded at her thoughtfully. Then he raised his voice. " "Doris," he called. "Doris I" He heard a movement Inside the room, an odd little cry, half exclama-atlon, exclama-atlon, half sob, and hurried steps approaching. ap-proaching. The next minute her voice came to him, In breathless words, with a tremor running through them. "Is It you?" she gasped. "Oh, Is It you?" "Yes, open the door." "I can't. It's locked." He stared at the unyielding wood before him. "You mean they've locked you In?" "Yes, of course." It would be, of course, Laurie reflected. re-flected. That was Shaw's melodramatic melodra-matic method. "We'll change all that, In a minute." He stepped back from the door. "What are you going to do?" Tha voice Inside was anxious. "Break It down, If necessary. Breaking Break-ing down doors to get to you is my specialty. You haven't forgotten that, I hope." He turned to the women beside him. "Have you the key to this?" She shook her head. "If yon have, you may as well hand It over," he suggested. "I shall certainly break down the door If you don't J and It's a perfectly good door, with a nice polish on it." He saw her hesitate. . Then suddenly, sud-denly, she nodded. "Yon have it, after all. He spoke with the natural relief of an Indolent young man spared an arduous job. Again she nodded. "Where Is it?" She could make no movement with her bound hands, but with an eye-flash she Indicated the side of her gown. "In your pocket? Good. I'll get It." He got It as he spoke. Holding It In his hand, he again addressed his reluctant companion. "When I unlock the door, you will go in first, and walk over to the nearest corner and stand there with your back to the room. Also, here's my last warning: I should be very sorry to do anything that would hurt or Inconvenience you. If you behave yourself I will soon take off that gag. If you don't, I shall certainly lock you up. In either case, you can't accomplish ac-complish anything. So take your choice." He unlocked the door, and the deliberate de-liberate figure preceded him Into the room. In the next Instant he saw nothing In the world but the eyes of Doris, fixed on his. Then he knew that he was holding her hands, and listening to her astonished gasp as she took In his appearance. "My disguise,", he explained. "I couldn't ride up as publicly as young Lochlnvar, though I wanted to. So I got this outfit." He turned around for her Inspection, deliberately giving her and himself time to pull up under the strain of the meeting. At the first glimpse of her all his assurance had returned. He was excited, triumphant. But as he again met her eyes, something some-thing in their expression subdued him. "It took longer to get here than I expected, but of course you knew 1 was on the way," he said. Her response was unexpected. Dropping Into a low chair, she buried her face In her hands and burst Into a passion of rears. Aghast, he stared at her, while from the corner the bag stared at them both. Laurie dropped on his knees beside Doris and seized her hands, his heart shaking under u new fear. "They've been frightening you," he muttered, and was surprised by the Intensity of his terror and anger as he spoke. "Don't cry. They'll pay for it." (TO BE CONTINUED.) x-:-x-:-x-:-x-:-x-:-x-:-x.m-m-m-:.t.:.t-:-t But Ire got something to say, and I want you to atop struggling and listen lis-ten to it" Under his quiet tones some of the frenzy died out of the eyes staring up at. him. "I'm here to get Miss Mayo," he went on. "She's In the house, Isn't she? If she Is, nod." There was a long moment of hesitation. At last the head nodded. "Is there any one else In the house?" The head shook negatively. "Is there no one here but you and Miss Mayo?" Laurie could hardly take In this good luck, but again the head shook negatively. "Where Is she? Upstairs?" The head nodded. He stepped back from the bound figure. "All right," he said cheerfully. "Now I'm going to unbind you and let you take me up to her. As a precaution, pre-caution, I shall leave the bandage on your mouth and hands. But, being a sensible woman, of course you realize that you have absolutely nothing to fear, unless you give us trouble. If you try to do that I shall have to lock you Into a closet for a few hours." As he spoke he was unfastening the cord. "Lead on," he Invited, buoyantly. . There was nn instant when ho thought the struggle with her would begin all over. He saw her draw herself together as If to spring. But she was evidently exhausted by her His Hostess, Having Turned Her Back to Him, He Crept Behind Her. previous contest. She was also subdued. sub-dued. She rose heavily, and, taking her time to it, Blowly led the way out of the kitchen and along a hall to the front of the house. "No tricks, remember," warned Laurie, keeping close behind her. "Play fair, and I'll give you a year' salary when I take Miss Mayo out of this." . She turned now and looked at him, and there was venom In the glance. Violently and negatively, she shook her head. "Don't you want the money?" he Interrupted, In-terrupted, deeply interested In this phenomenon. "I'm glad to have met you," he politely added. "You're an unexpected and a brand-new type to me." She was walking forward again, with no sign now that she heard his voice. Reaching a wide colonial staircase stair-case that led to the second floor, she started the ascentbut so slowly that the young man behind her uttered another an-other warning. "No tricks, remember." he repeated, cheerfully. "I'm afraid you're planning plan-ning to start something. I believe you're capable of falling backward, and bowling me over like a ten-pin. xocx-:-x-xxxaxxxx-:-?: CHAPTER XII Continued 16 On the other hand, what could he do In broad daylight? If he were seen, as he almost certainly would be, Shaw, careless now, perhaps, In hi fancied security, would take precautions pre-cautions which might make Impossible Impos-sible the night's work of rescue. That, of course, assuming that Shaw was still at the house among the cedars. Was he? Laurie pondered that problem. Undoubtedly he had personally per-sonally taken Doris there, he nnd the secretary. But the chances seemed about even that, having done this, he would leave her, for the day at least, either In charge of the secretary or of wme caretaker. In that case In that case The young man sprang to his feet. He would waste no more time In speculation. spec-ulation. He would know, and at once, who was In that house with Doris. He swung back to the garage with determination de-termination In his manner, nnd entered en-tered the place so unexpectedly that Burke, who had fancied hlra a mile way, started at the sight of him. Then, with a contented smile, he stilled his nerves and kept his eyes on the bill the visitor held before him. "See here," said the latter. "I want to do a tramp act." "Sure you dot" Burke promptly acquiesced. "Can you find me some ragged trousers and an old coat and cap? The worse they look, the better I'll like It, And while you're about It, get me some worn-out shoes or boots. How soon can you have them here?" "I I dunno." Burke was looking somewhat overwhelmed. "You're pretty big," he mentioned. "Nothin' o' mlne'd fit you." "Great Scott I" exploded the other. "I don't want 'era to fit! I'm not going to a pink tea In them." "But you want to get 'em on, don't you?" Burke demanded, with some coldness. "I do." "Well, look at yerself, young fella, nnd then look at me." Laurie obeyed the latter part of the Injunction. The father of seven was at least five Inches shorter than he, and his legs and shoulders were small In proportion. No coat or trousers he wore could possibly go on the young Hercules before him. "Oh, well," urged the latter, Impatiently, Impa-tiently, "get some, somewhere. Here. Take a run Into town. Use my car If you like. Or go to some one you know who's about my size. Only, muni's the word." Five-dollar bills were ln the air, fluttering before the eyes of the garage ga-rage 'owner like leaves In Vallam-lirosn. Vallam-lirosn. He clutched them avidly. "And hurry up," added his Impatient Impa-tient patron. "Let's see you back here in five minutes." "Who'll look after the garage? Not that any one's likely ro stops" the proprietor gloomily admitted. "I'll look after It. Come, get a move on !" "Oh, all right ! But I cant be back In no five minutes, nor In thirty Milnut.es, neither. I gotto go over to Nick Swanson's. He's about your size." "All right, all right I Got to It." The Impatient youth was fairly ! shooing him out of his own garage, but with the sweet memory of those five-dollar bills to sustain him. Burke was pntlent, even good-humored. One tiling he could say about them college lads: they was usually ready to pay well for their nonsense. Witli a forgiving for-giving grin be hurried off. Left alone, Laurie removed ills co.it and cap, searched the garage suc- cessfully for grease, oil, waste and Fhoe-hlacking, and then, establishing himself In front of a broken mirror In Burke's alleged office, removed his collar and effected a startling transformation trans-formation in the appearauce of his bead, face, bands, and shirt. Beginning In ills college days, and continuing throughout his more recent re-cent theatrical experiences, the art of make-up had Increasingly interested lit tii. The people in bis plays owed Romel htng to his developing skill, and even one of the leading Indies had humbly taken suggestions from Ii I in. But- never In any stage dressing-room dressing-room had young Mr. Devon secured a more extraordinary change than the one he produced now. with the simple aids nt band.. When Burke returned be found his garage In charge of an unwashed, unkempt, un-kempt, unprepossessing young ruffian whom he stared at for a full minute before he accepted him as the man be had left there. The ragged trousers, trou-sers, the spotted "reefer" buttoned high around the neck, (lie dirty cap pm'ed over the eyes, and the wholly disreputable broken shoes Burke had brought with him completed the transformation trans-formation of an Immaculate young gem Ionian Into a blear-eyed follower . iif ll'.o open road. Clad In these garments, Laurie took o few preliminary shuttles around the gam;:e. w title the owner, watching him. slapped his thigh In approval. t;.- great was Ids Interest In the "act," indeed, that when the Impersonator ln the garage and started off. Burke mowed x strong desire to follow hlui and see the finish of the performance, a desire that recalled for a fleeting Instant In-stant the determined personality of the young gentleman hidden under the tramp disguise. At the last moment before leaving, Laurie took from his pocket the tiny revolver he had brought with him, and holding It in his palm, studied It In silence. Should he tnke It, or shouldn't he? He dropped It among the discarded dis-carded heap of clothes, and picked up In its stead a small screw-driver, which he put Into his ragged pocket. That particular tool looked as If It might be useful. Lounging up the country road, with hU cold, bare, dirty hands in the pockets pock-ets of the borrowed reefer, he looked about with assurance. He believed that in this unexpected guise, he could meet even Shaw and get away with It; but be meant to be very careful and take no unnecessary chances. He cut across half a dozen fields, climbed half a dozen fences, was fiercely barked at by a dozen dogs, more or less, and finally reaching the grounds of the house -In the cedars, approached It from the rear In exactly the half-sneaking, half-cocky manner In which the average tramp would have drawn near a shuttered house from one of whose chimneys smoke was rising. It was a manner that nicely blended the hope of a handout hand-out with the fear of a rebuff. Once he fancied he saw something moving among the trees. He ducked back end remained quiet for some time. Then, reassured by the continued silence, he emerged, sauntered to the back entrance, en-trance, and after a brief preliminary study of the shuttered windows, assailed as-sailed the door with a pair of grimy knuckles. He had. expected a long delay, possibly pos-sibly no response at all. But the door opened as promptly as If some one had been standing there avraltlog his signal, and on Its threshold a forbidding-looking woman, haglike us to hair and features but cleanly dressed, stood regarding him with strong disapproval. dis-approval. In the kitchen ranee back of har a coal fire was burning. A teakettle tea-kettle bubbled domestically on Its top, and cheek by Jowl with this a big-bellied big-bellied coffee-pot exhaled a delicious aroma. The entire tableau was so different from anything Laurie had expected that for an Instant he stared at tne woman, speechless and almost open-mouthed. open-mouthed. Then the smell of the coffee cof-fee gave him his cue. He suddenly remembered that he had eaten nothing noth-ing that day, and the fact gave it thrill of sincerity to the professional whine In which he made his request. "Say, lady," he begged urgently, "I'm down an' out. Gimme a cup o' cawfee, will yuh?" Her Impulse, he saw clearly, had been to close the door in his face. A eady her hand was automatically responding to It. But he whipped off his dirty cap and, shivering on the doorstep, door-step, looked at her with Laurie's eyes, whose beauty no amount of disguise could wholly conceal. There was real appeal In them now. Much, Indeed almost everything, depended on what this creature would do In the next minute. She hesitated. "I ain't had a mouthful since ,vis-terday," ,vis-terday," croaked the visitor, pleadingly plead-ingly and truthfully. ' "Well, wait there a minute. I'll bring you a cup of coffee." She turned from the door and started to close It, evidently expecting expect-ing him to remain outside, but be promptly followed her In. and her face, hardening Into quick anger, softened a little as she saw him cowering over the big hot stove and warming his dirty hands. In silence she filled a a cup with coffee, cut a thick slice from a loaf of bread, buttered It, and set the collation on the kitchen table. "Hurry up and eat that," she muttered, mut-tered, "and then clear out. If any one saw you here, I'd get Into trouble." trou-ble." Laurie grunted acquiescence and wolfed the food. He had not at down, and now, as. he ate, his Mack eyes swept the room while he planned his next move. Drying on a stout cord back of the stove were several dish-towels. dish-towels. They gave him his first suggestion. sug-gestion. Ills second came when he observed ob-served that his hostess, evidently reassured re-assured by ids haste, had turned her back to him, and, bending a little, was examining the oven. Noiselessly setting down the cup and the bread, he crept behind her, and, seizing her in one powerful arm, covered tier mouth Willi his free fwind. He could not wholly stltle tlte smothered shriek she gave. For the next moment he had his hands full. Despite her wrinkles and her gray hair, she was a strong woman, wom-an, and she fought with a violence and n false strength due to overwhelming overwhelm-ing fury nnd terror. Tt was so rjifil-cult rjifil-cult to control her without hurting her that all his strength was taxed. Bui at last he brought her slowly down into a chair under the row of fiish-toweis, fiish-toweis, and seizing two of these useful articles, as well as the cord that held them, securely bound and gagged her. As he did so he dropped his role and looked soberly into her furious eyes. "Look here," he told her. "I'm not going to hurt you; be sura of tiaC |