Show The I THE STORY STOny At ft II public dance Martin Marttn i man tutu In on n dane dance with Max Malt whom Martin In In dl ll lie over over- hoar her a II can venation conversation between Jewl and und a II woman women which h he be concerns lie r ru reo c call ll a II blind ad Inquiring th the whereabouts of fit Rhoda McFarland McFarland land an anil elles en ea a m n lory Ha lie l e that In lu Rho da real teal nm She Sh refuse to deny or admit It However It h her hr r childhood In Call fornin Her lIer mother dead she ahe h huni hen been happy halry until ml befell her father hr or Me Mc JI with th th blow Is In tier uncle William m Royce They move to where her father tl In is engaged In work take up Ul Her Iter father dies die suddenly vainly trying to 10 give her a Ki about I papers RI In Ina Ina a II trunk gore KOPS to Ih lit Hie with witha a II worker fellow Jen Jen- ning Their apartment It II brt broken ken Into and HOO tOO JOO of ot money taken Martin Murtin learns that C Co J J. J of ot th the blind aul ad Is I. Charles 1 J. Forstr uncle of tit Lewis Lewi Hh Rhoda uSa admits admit her name Is Ii McFarland A mysterious Clair Cleveland Clevland a anks aek k Rhoda for tor an Interview Sh She asks for tor a II certain paper per belonging to hr tier which she be h claims was as al In McFarlands McFarland's CHAPTER IV Continued IV-Continued Continued 6 6 60 To 0 It was wa a si If a burled thing had lund reared It Its head after nil all these the po years and stared nt lit her r I Inco her fathers father's death therod beep bui tin fin unacknowledged flIr III In Ilio ilie bottom of vt her mind that this would happen happen- something like I Ihl this It tutu Imd Its first agtie nightmare form when as ft n child of fourteen shed she'd read reaul In the paper about another trial under antler I the hue hueMann Mann Monn act net It lied Imd been a fear of finding find ing 1111 Unit that would give l form anti body to this nightmare that lint liml kept her hr from front going over the papers In tn the Iho old leather loather trunk the tho day utter after r rIH IH liar lier father dIM died One of the first things nines the clue luau had done after her flight from the hotel up In the little halt hall l lied room of ot her first boarding hou house home l' l lunch laad been to seal that trunk with strips of ot gummed gummel paper all nil around the tue Ih lid Iki Her lIer fathers father's dying ref reference to 10 his papers prevented her from destroying the thing After the burglary shed she'd looked at itt It to make sure It was undisturbed undisturbed un disturbed but at that time preoccupied pied by the tho loss hots of ot her three hundred dollars the she hadn't thought much about It Up to now until she heard bard Claire Cleveland pronounce tho the word California Call Cali tomb fornia shed she'd been able In her hr sensible moments to 10 remind herself that nil all shed hed ever er seen sn In the trunk unit had been laboratory notes and arid diagrams to 10 ar ar- KUC gue that ihunt In all probability It contained nothing else Is and to 10 promise herself that some someday day she h would open Oln It up go o through It methodically make an end of ot her hr nightmare once and for all nil Rut Hut now the nl nightmare was true These people certainly Claire lr and probably Forster awl and his nephew nephew-haul nephew hail their connection with her father hack back hackIn In the days s of th the thur horror anti and for sortie som unthinkable purpose of their own wanted the thing dug drug tip III She alto sat Slit there thre frozen It t was seconds see sec before she ho could even 1111 turn her herejes eyes ejes IS from the womans woman's horrible face You know about It It dont don't you Claire was as saying You must t know something about It It Why hy there wasn't hardly anything else In III th the papers at ut atthe the time time especially especially the Ihl San nn Francisco papers You dont don't want to 10 take lake a 11 athing thIng tiling like Ilka that too hard dearie deane At that managed to 10 drag her hypnotized eyes lS away and turn them themon on her empty coffee nip cup Of course to hear har people polle talk talk talk- dirty hypocrites you'd hypocrites you'd think a tiring thing like hike that lund had never happened before Its It's happening nil all the time only they lucy dont don't happen to get caught You UI I must t know yourself that a looking good girl could get any man If It she shue wanted hi him blurt III practically any man They're funn funny that way way most most DI men D are Hut But your father I think they put something something some some- thing over o on him Of Ot course she site hastened to add I woul wouldn't want to 10 tobe toto to bo held to anything I couldn't prove and naturally I couldn't prove one single sin I gle Ie thing about tills this lint Hut It If there lucre was wasa a II In the woodpile It H was lIIS this tins man uan Forster And you can play piny that hunt right across arross the board hoard Theres There's no noway noway way WilY that you OU could get back at nt him that I cun can see ace because It all nil was over and anti done with whir long II hugo ago go flut theres there's one ono thing you jou oU can run rio do and ud hunts that's In lay oft from him If It he lie tries to come around Rhoda lI heard her hr move mOIe her chair clinic back a II little and that broke brake the spell up UI she sho saw sav the woman gazIng gazing gaz gaz- ing tag thoughtfully at her watch Well eil I guess I e said suld Ill my ray say she he he concluded ed And nd I Know OW you OU must be wanting to 10 run along Im I'm going to order a 11 taxi I cant can't take you IOU an anywhere any auty- where re In It can IT n She hadn't qui quite Ie raid her Fa say Fay though for as she rose cost roseto to e the table she clue added I You wont won't forget torget to look hOok up that paper of ot mine wine will you dearie Despite her ber panic Rhoda was able to note that this thU had bad been a clear afterthought and not a complete one either Claire hadn't told her where sire she lived Rhoda went home She Sine didn't know how bow she che got there Nor Zor did t she plan lian what line enee a do when ben she did She he lund had no clear of what shed she'd find nut Dut by the time she sill had climbed the long tight flight of stairs and let lt h herself Into the studio with her latchkey ant and flown straight up to her little bedroom 1 U ia the loft lott and aua looked under tU hd Hy By By Henry Denry fio br The Tb Bobbs Co Service Se she ahe he was not really surprised to Bee see that the trunk was gone CHAPTER V The Enemy's Enemy Lair Lar Ibid Had Claires Claire's Invitation to 10 lunch been an anything but a trick Irick to Insure her absence ab ab- attica sence from froni the studio while It was wu being be trig ing broken Into It wouldn't have b been n to do dt that and anti Claire probably knew It It Max Lewis knew It anyhow for hake had told lold him tine the nl night ht be ire brought her home that fiat she sine and worked all nil day at lit the tine News Non's and that hint lions Doris and Isabel were we're off Ott on a tour with their ballet No Claire had hind asked tier her to lunch in order to find out something What could she he have hove found out Not much certainly was wall sure lIure she hadn't told anything Important Walt a minute l Iho thought though h I She had saM laid that none rone of her fathers father's tapers papers had Item been tle destroyed There was Willi a whole trunk full tull of th them m shed she'd said and she had hall sealed up UI tine the trunk In other words shed she'd volunteered tha fact fact fact- Silly babbling fool that I I-I I that hat a sealed up trunk was the tine thing to look for hut mad had sire she said that It was In the studio She Rhe couldn't remember having hav hay ing lag said Mid that hunt In so many words cords but she he must have Admitted It by hy Inference Infer flee ence since ha iran had s l suggested coming home with her hr and I helping In thin search for the hue paper shin she wanted Had Claire expected her to 10 accept an otter offer like that not very seriously serious ly Iy hut but slut she might aught have lin regarded It IL as alt asa a n chance worth taking Anyhow It hadn't ten been until after Rhoda lund hal declined de tI this offer otter giving giving away her own O II suspicion U 11 no run doubt hand hand handover over fist fist fist- that Claire ha hate had remembered the friend who wino was waiting for her hr to telephone iii hi him Iii Them hiem shed she'd d sail said though not him Did that really mean nan there therl were re JWo wo of them Max Maz and hi his uncle Forster Most likely not Claires Claire's hatred haIred of ot old l Forster had hind seemed real enough It must t have been blen Max shed she'd telephoned to to waiting at a tel telephone phone somewhere for Claires Claire's Instructions lii Ills attempt yesterday to find the papers they lucy wanted had been unsuccessful because he be hadn't known what wild to look for So he hed he'd taken luken tier her three hundred dollars Instead Did Old Claire know that lint site she wondered That might be worth thinking about later Inter but she he hadn't time to follow It out now Max I lund had tried a again aln today with better bet ter Ir Information remembering likely enough nou h. h Just where heil hed seen the trunk the hue day Ilay before a and had succeeded 11 without any trouble atall at nt all It hn had Just happened within the past palt hour thanks to her own plain Imbecility In gi gUIng h In lag everything l' away SIte She hated tine Ihl thought of telling Martin what hind had hll happened even wn while silt she was wall V wishing whiting he hit were wre lucre here at tier her pI elbow how now mow telling her hr what to 10 do Well couldn't site she think of at anything do O un for herself Was Vas site she going to Mt sit down clown and let It that pair of crooks rok get t away n with whit It They were probably up Ul at mires Claire's tint lint now gloatIng gloat gloat- 11 hug Ing OUT r their booty hooly grinning about how easy shed she'd been Sine She hl wouldn't call the police pollee Site She he couldn't do eta that with whir the story of or her fat fathers father's liens lien's dl disgrace Involved ol In iii the tine matter mat bat ter hr and they knew nw It That's what they lucy were counting on They'd been too into clever er for her not Max x but Claire W hJ One On of the tha First Things She HOld Had Done After Her Flight From the Hotel The hl mere rore fatuous smirk on Maxs Max's beefy handsome face was enough to 10 tell It'll anybody that mat there was no Intelligence Intel behind It lie He took look Claires Claire's orders In spite of tie the rl rich h uncle Martin Martin Mar Mar- tin thought he lie was afraid of Forster I The old titan man who hud had given her and flabe Bube the ride down downton downtown downtown town to In Iu his iris limousine that morning That hadn't been belll chance III of ot course Hed He'd been ben trying to 10 find her and hed he'd succeeded somehow He lie was playing a 1 hand of his own In this game Her lIer body stiffened d under the Impact Impart of or an Idea Could stu h use him as an anally anally anally ally a thee th other otine pair Claire was afraid of him too she thought 1 Sh She mst mt be to hate hale hIm like lib that Anyhow shed she'd dons done el she could to keep p from going to hIm Shed She'd warned warold her Iler In the letter against answering hi his advertisement and had hod rubbed the warning In today at lunch Well then why wilY not go to 10 him now as os quickly a as all a taxi could take Inke her hr to the Worcester r hotel That was where whre Martin said he hue lived lveLl Take Claires Claire's letter along as us a bit of t documentary docu i She got the letter out of the tine drawer of the tine writing desk crammed It Into her ulster r pocket pocket- slammed pocket slammed the studio door behind her and darted down tIn the th two long flights of stairs to the Ihl street Worcester hotel site she said to the tine taxi tact driver w who mo ho pull pulled 1 up to the tine curb when ta f iio he signaled him It U was woJ quite a II ride the ride the r bettH part of a mile at least and least and sine she didn't didn want to chill chili with wet Wt blankets the fine warm resolution re that possessed pos pea her she couldn't help doing It Forster might not be a desirable ally even If Claire mated hated him He lIe might be as all bad as 81 she ahe said suld he was He lie might have ha been n her hr fathers father's arch enemy There wouldn't h be bus much satisfaction sat sat- In spoiling Claires Claire's and Maxs Max's tame game If doing that Involved delivering herself over oer tied hand and foot Into the power of ot a man like that And could sh sine spoil their game ame Could she sine convince Forster that Claire and hI his nephew were tre conspiring against him To what extent had Claire given ghen h herself away In th the hue letter She SIne got It It out to 10 road read It but her Iner gaze didn't go o beyond the tIne first two lines Claire address Claire's aridness written across the ito top lop Claires Claire's flat or tint or w was ll It Hn nA mire hi tila ii tV 0 was I what the relation looked 1 like cpr She Sine was that sort of ot woman mu all ull right with her ht llory of ot the wicked man who had ruined her huOr when she was n a mere girl the confession son shed she'd extorted from him And now tube she he was thinking of getting married and wanted It froze fro again like hike a pointer get getting getting et ting wind of a 11 prairie chicken Had ibid that statement been blen a careless bit of ot truth Did Old she want to marry Max And was she afraid that Forster would disinherit him If It site she did With another plunge physical as aswIll aswell aswell well wIll as os figurative Rhoda opened the tine front window and spoke again to the chauffeur I e 1 changed my mind she said suld Heres Ures the address I want you to go goto goto to And she sine rend read hIm Claires Claire She Sine hadn't a doubt shed she'd find the pair of them there up tip to the elbows I la Iu her IlIr fathers father's papers The Tho building before which men her taxi pulled tip up was an nn three story stone slone lIou house I remodeled remodel Id as Its two front d doors lon Indicated Into flats lints was trembling n a little a as she sine got out but she didn't l nt feel II afraid trait And she made It sound almost like a Joke when she said to the tho taxi tasi driver Walt uit 11 please Ia Sl I dont don't think Ill I'll be long bug Hut limit If it you do Incur hear anybody screaming for tor help In there come corne In lii Inand ant and see Ie who It II Is K There was a n momentary delay after atler sh she rang rant Claires Claire's bell bell hers hers was wa one olle of or the top tOll flats before tints before the buzzer released re reo leased the tue catch on nn the vestibule door but bunt heard hurd a door open oll at the top of the house tine the Instant she started start ed II up UI the stairs A little surprising that lint U will She Site hadn't expected them to be eager to receive visitors I ju Just t now had wondered In Indeed whether they'd let her In at nt all Perhaps thy they wouldn't ii when hn lien th they lucy saw sass who hun the he was The woman alone was waiting for her Max Ma wasn't In III sight What ilo it jou O l want mire Claire asked sharply when bhe blue saw SASi who It was aLIS Hat almost t In tu he he same canto breath she tried to change e her hr tattles tactics all adding with an unea uneasy y laugh Hemens 11 1 n s I didn't expect you to find my paper as as ns that hunt I Her color lurid had chun changed l under her up make though In a 1 sickly way that made think of lead ud poisoning She mu lUu roust t get tt ln unable Claires Claire's door that was the first thing to do so 80 she |