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Show H l if WMmA$ Author of "The Yalse Yaces7 BH fit 111 ftnHMWHvlk Copyright 1920 by the Author fl, SYNOPSIS. BBB CHAI'TKR l.-Vnguoly conscious of a BBBB double personality, but without any Idea BBBB of Its meaning, ttio girl, Leonora, makes BBBB tier accustomed way Into tho Street of jjYjjBK Strange Faces. ThoroURhly at home In BBBB tho underworld of Now York, Leonora BBBB takes her course to her appointed rendcz- BBBB vous. Orcntly In lovo, and seeing the fine BBBB qunlltlca which tho girl really possesses, BBBB Mario seeks to turn her from the path BBBB of Inevitable destruction, but only In a BBBB half measure accomplishes his purpose. BBBfl At Itlstorl's cafe, gathering place of crlm- BBBfl Inula, Leonora meets her partner, "Red" B, Carnehan, and his associates, and la ac- BBBfl l- cused of betraying a fellow criminal to BBBB tho police. She savagely defends herself, BBBB and the ensuing argument Is Interrupted BBBfl by the appearance of Leo Qteltnsky, flee BBBJj Ing from tho pollco, one of whom he has BBBJ killed. Odlccrs tn pursuit crash Into the BBBfl room and two are killed by Carnehan. BBBfl Leonora and the rest escape. M CHATTER Il.-ln her studio. Prisctlla BBBB Maine, wealthy artist, awakes from BBBjj troubled sleep with a distinct feeling of BBBjj having hor life linked with Leonora's. BBBJ Prlscllla has palntod a picture of herself BBBfl In fancy dress a gipsy which seems to BBBjj have a hypnotlo effoct on her. Unnerved, BjjBjlL and fearful that her mind la affeoted, BBBJ Prlscllla calls to her aid an old friend, BBBj Dr. Philip FoBdlck. Explaining, as far as BBBJ she can understand, her Idea of her BBBJ double personality, Prlscllla goes over the BBBJ situation with Fosdlck. A student of the BBBJ higher emotions of the human mind, Fos- BBBJ dick la deoply Interested, and very much BBBJ In love with the girl, offers his aid In BBBJ solving tho problom. Ho Is stunned when BBBJ she tolls him the story In her mind, con BBBJ firmed by the newspapers. Deeply BBBJ nhaken, Fosdlck promises to make an BBBJ exhaustive study of Prlscllla's case. kfH CHAPTER III.-Fosdlck hears of a BBBJ dirk chaptor In the Ufa of Prlncllla's BBBJ father, and that mystery surrounded her BBBJ mother. Ho discovers tlint the portrait BBBJ Prlscllla has painted has a strange effect BBBJ upon her. Auto-hypnosis, ho calls It BBBJ Prlscllla Is unable to take her thoughts BBBJ from Mario, whom she truly loves, al- BBBJ though In the character of Leonora, fH CHAPTER IV.-Nothtng that can In BBBJ any way clear up the strange situation BBBJ develops; the scene changes from Prls- BBBJ cilia's studio to a sordid room In a nar- BBBJ row street, where tho girl Is awakened BBBJ by a message from "Red" Carnehan, tn BjjBjjY hiding, demanding that she come to him. BBBB In her studio Prlscllla senses with cold IpBaL, fear the danger which threatens Leonora. H CHAPTER V.-LacklngdeiTnUe dlrec- BBBJ tlons, Leonora sets out to meet Carne- BBBJ han, making her way to a resort of the BBBJ underworld where she thought she might BBBJ gain Information. There she meets Inez, BBBJ her bitter enemy and a rival for the of- BBBJ fectlons of Carnehan, Inez promises to BBBJ take her to Carnshan, but leads her to BBBJ Mario's lodgings and leaves her. Mario BBBJ renews his protestations of love and BBBJ leaves her to mako preparations for their BBBJ wedding. Led to the house by Inez, Car- BBBJ nehan, crazed with liquor, appears de- BBBJ termlned to kill Mario, knowing him In BBBJ love with Leonora. For a tlmo she pact BBBJ ties him and secures his revolver, but he BBBJ overpowers hor nnd In a struggle the BBBJ lamp Is overturned and tho place oet BBBJ afiro. Mario returns In time to save Ltv BBBJ onora, Carnehan being left In the burn- BBBJ Ing building. Prlscllla lives through nil BBBJ the tlmo of horror with her soul linked BBBJ to Leonora and suffering with hor. H CHAITER Vl.-Aftcr consultation with BBBJ Prlsclllit, Doctor Fosdlck employs a de BBBJ tectlve to trace "Mother O'Moro," who BBBJ Prlscllla believes can explain much of BBBJ the mystery which connocts horself with BBBJ Leonora. The portrait of Prlscllla, which BBBJ tins llgurod bo strangely In her life, Is BBBJ sold by Fosdlck, who Is convinced It has BBBJ an evil effect on the girl ho loves. Put BBBJ on exhibition, Prlscllla Is viewing It when BBBJ she Is terrlllcrt at being recognized (as BBBJ loonoiu) by n character she recalls as BBBJ "Harry Itiu Nut," a companion of Car BBBJ nehan and Leonora's old days. With him BBBJ is Inez, und I'rUcllla realizes her danger, H C11APT12U VIl.-"Harry tho Nut," H, bearing tho alios of Chllvers, finds Prls- BBHi cllln. who ho thinks Is Leonora, and BBH thruiitt'iis to oxpo8o hor. She dotles him. BBBsL The rullowlng morning Prlscllla dreams BBBT again of Leonora. In the Uream-vlslon BBB1 she sees a bungalow sot In a clearing In BBBI Uio Catsklll motintalnT Mario Is bidding BBBft Leonora good-byo and then goes In his BBBI automobile to Kingston to board a train BBH for a business trip to New York. After BBBI his departure Leonora Is seized with a BBBI feeling of terror. She Is In constant ap- BBBLw-w prehension of peril. Prlscllla In her dream j""- senses Leonora's danger. After she BBBI awakens she Is unablo to shake off the BBB depressing Influence of the vision. She BBB visits Dr. Philip Fosdlck at his office BBBj and In her agony Insists that, through H hypnotic Influence, he make hsr mind H one with Leonora's. He does so, and In H a hypnotlo trance Prlscllla sees Leonora V dead, drowned, a victim of Cumehan's H vengeance. fl CHAPTER VHI.-"Chllver- U foiled j In bis attempts at blackmail. K CHAPTER DC-Asleep In the studio, . Prlscllla Is drugged and carried to a H squalid room, where she la confronted by her enemy, Inez. The woman (believing B her to be Leonora) tells her her one H time friends are of the opinion she has H not dealt fairly with them, and are con H slderlng her punishment. Attempting to H ecape, she Is captured and brought Into H' tb presence of the gang. Consultation H1 U Interrupted by the abrupt appearance H of Carnehan. The thug Is aghast at th F sight of Priscllla, declaring he hod killed B her that afternoon. The police, brought BBBJ to the scene by Mario, break Into th Ktherlng. Mario, believing Prlscllla to Leonora, his wife, carries her to a BBB1 waiting automobile and they are driven BBB swiftly away to Ihe mountain camp which BBBj had been so clearly revealed to Prlscllla BBH In her dream-vlBlon. H CHAPTER X.-There Prlscllla vainly BBB Insists that she Is not Leonora. Mario BBB believes her mind Is unhinged. Unable BBBj to convince him of her Identity, Prlscllla BBH escapes, wandering In helpless confusion BBB In n desolate stretch of country, fihe BBB finally takes refuge In a hut To this hut BB later comes the crazed Carnehan At BB "nt of Prlscllla he kills himself just as BB Fosdlck and Mario break In H ' CHAPTE Xl.-Tho mysterv of the dual BB personalities Is cleared and KoadlcK brlnfjs BB I'rUcllla and Mario togethur. "I don't iindurstnnd. It's It's In comprehensible Not tlint I doubt wlint you say. 1 must bnvo told you wbnt I snw, tbcro In Uio forest. . . ." Her eyes filled n&iiln. tenrs ran down lier cheeks. Sbo averted ber face. "Ob, tho pity of It I" Bbe repented. "Just when llfo scomed about to com pensato ber for all sbo bad nover bad . . ." "Don't let ko like this, 'Cllln. Remember, Re-member, nothing In certain." "No you nro wrong. I Baw hor, 1 know." "You think bo." "Why do you persist In saying that7 Hnvo my dreams ever proved groundless?" ground-less?" "Wo don't know, yet; perhaps somo of them were Hut this wasn't ono of what you call your dreams; It was n vision, possibly n hallucination, In hypnotic, hyp-notic, trnnco. It may bnvo been a true phenomenon of tclesthetlc communication; communi-cation; nssumlng that Leonora was really dead, your spirit may hnvo found somo menns, by Bomo extraordinary extraor-dinary effort, to surmount tho obstacles, obsta-cles, whoso very naturo Is unknown to us, that stnnd between the living and the dead, prohibiting communication communica-tion . . . But wo don't know." no argued earnestly, with Intention, seeing ho had already engaged her Interest to such extent that sho was forgetting to grieve. "On tho other hand, wo do know It's easy to fool ourselves. Remember, you hnvo gono about nil dny fretted by a feeling that something was wrong with Leonora, bohio danger threatened her hnpplncss. You pnssed Into tho hypnotic trnnco already prepared to sco tho worst. You snw It Out the question rcmnlns unanswered, and for Mio tlmo being unanswerable : Did you see truly, or did you sco a fantasy conjured up by your own Imagination Influenced by fear?" "If I could only think that, Philip- I" "Why not try?" nut ho was arguing ngnlnst his own conviction; his argument Incked con-vlctlo'ri. con-vlctlo'ri. Her drooping head described a movement of rejection. "No," she said, "tho troublo Is I know . . . But the mystery and tho horror of such nn end . . . Philip: who could bnvo killed her?" "If she Is dead, ns you think need wo nccuso anybody of murder? It might hnvo been suicide " "Oh, no," sbo Interrupted almost scornfully "never I Why should sho do such n thing? Sho was so happy, sbo loved Mario, be loved her devotedly." de-votedly." "Or nn accident, perhaps . . ." Sho seemed to try to adopt this theory, she pondered It nt length, but In the end could not accept It. "No." she declared; "It was neither suicide nor accident. It wna wbnt she bad been afraid of all along, death by tlolcnce . . ," IV. DEFIANCE. Lnto In the evening the telephone Interrupted tho supervision of her packing, with which Prlscllln was endeavoring en-deavoring to divert ber weary thoughts nnd with no gront success. Her mnld being busy nt tho moment, I'llscJIIn answered In person, and Buffered Buf-fered n slight shock when she hoard the studied accent of Mr. Hnrry Chll-vith Chll-vith so completely had sbo forgotten tho man. Mr. Chllvers chirped briskly: "Ob, hello, Norn I This Is Harry. What happened to you this afternoon? Forget our dnte for ton 7 Or did something some-thing get In your way?" Quito evidently Mr. Chllvers wns prepnred to bo n good fellow and overlook over-look that slight. But Prlscllla replied with nn apathy nothing short of cyn leal : "Miss Maine Is not nt home." An onth of resentful Incredulity was cut In two as she clicked the receiver Into Us hook ; but the plcturo suggested, suggest-ed, of the Nut rnglng nt a mute rind unemotional telephone, failed to excite even tho ghost of her smile. The death of Leonora had bereft the man of all claim upon her consideration, considera-tion, rendering him hopelessly Incompetent Incom-petent for harm. Ho had become nothing noth-ing to her, less than nothing. Tho Incident Berved merely to remind her that Bho had neglected to tell Fosdlck about the fellow, his effrontery, tho Insolence of his ll I -veiled threats. Now tho bitterest melancholy oppressed op-pressed her, a desolation Indescribable; Indescrib-able; the vision of tho pool was constant con-stant In her Imagination, obscuring even material objects that passed under un-der her regard ; the senso of loss, a living liv-ing anguish from which there was no escape, . . r Only in sleep did sbo And surccaso; then there was oblivion of a sort In a sleep hoavy and hot nnd thick, In which she Iny Inert Uko something submerged In a tepid, blnck, viscous fluid, from which sbo emerged with throbbing head and sluggish pulses, unrcsted, enervated, despondent. Fosdlck cnllcd up about mid-morn-Ing nnd, henrli her report on tho effect of tho drug, told her to dlscon- Mnue It, promising to bring a sub-rtltute sub-rtltute when bo cnl'ed In the evening. Sho promised to bo at homo to him alone. Later her mnld summoned her to the telcphono n second time. Mr. Chllvers Chll-vers wns on tho wlro. "Tell him I've left town for the summer," Prlscllla Bald, too depressed to feel annoyed by his persistence. But when sho wns leaving Altmnn's In tho afternoon nftcr an hour or two of perfunctory shopping, Mr. Chllvers waylaid her In tho carriage entrance. He saluted with n wldo flourish of his beaming topper nnd a smirk of poisonous amlnblllty. "Snw your enr up tho street," ho nn nounccd cheerfully "thought perhnps I you wouldn't mind glvln mo n lift." Thought Perhaps You Wouldn't Mind Qlvlno Mo a Lift" Sho stopped, reading darkly his shrewd, nnrrow, rnt-llko face, reading , the threat nnd triumph In tlioso smnll, black, close-set eyes, surmising that without a public scene there could be' no escaping tho Interview ho demanded. de-manded. Sho shrugged, and In sllcnco led on out to tho sldcwnlk. Her car warn waiting across tho way. Seeing her, I tho chauffeur pulled round to thoi curb. ' Mr. Chllvers slipped a gallant hand under her arm to help her In, but be-i foro bo could follow Prlscllla pulled the door to. Immediately his mnnncr changed. Scarlet with anger, ho laid a hand on the ledge ot Uio window "What's the big Idea?" ho demanded. demand-ed. "You ought to know better than to think you can gyp mo without a Btruggle." "Thero will bo no struggle," Prls-, cilia replied quietly, talking from the window. "You see, for reasons of my own, day before yesterday, I choso to let you think mo somebody 'who I am not. Thcso reasons no longer exist. I let you bcllevo I was Leonora," Prlscllla explained coldly, "because 1 wanted to shield her " "Oh, uo doubt, no doubt I" "But my motive doesn't matter. Leonora died yesterday. So there's no moro need of my pretending. One moment, please I" Sho forestalled n threatened Interruption. "Listen to uio I I nm not Leonora. My name In Prlscllln Mulno. I hnvo lived nil uiy llfo In New York, In tho Park ave- nne bouse which belonged to my father. .Should we ever meet ngnln. don't presume on the ncqunlntnncc 1 bnve permitted you to clnlm but which Is now closed. And before you threaten threat-en me ngnln, let me ndvlsc you to And out the truth about Prlscllln Maine." Sho put her linger on tho telepbonu button. "Let go of the door, plense," she said, looking calmly Into his Infurlntcd eyes. "Will you oblige me? Or shall I send my chauffeur to nsk the policeman police-man over there to step this way for a moment?" Mr. Chllvers opened bis mouth, but shut It without speech. A second attempt at-tempt was more successful. "If you think you can put It over on mo like this I" But Prlscllln wns already speaking Into the telephone: "All right, Arthur; to the studio, plense." Tho car swept forwnrd so suddenly Hint Mr. Chllvers wns almost dragged off his feet beforo he remembered to loo3o his bold. Satisfied tlint sho bad seen the last of him he would hardly And a second sec-ond opportunity to annoy her that day, or neglect to make the Inquiries sho had advised nnd tomorrow would see her well beyond hlB rench. In Southampton she sank back In her seat nnd once moro delivered up body and mind nnd soul to melancholy. At the mouth of tho alley she dismissed dis-missed the cnr. "Mrs. Trowbridge will use you for tho rest of tho nfter-noon," nfter-noon," sbo told Arthur. "I'll cnll a taxi to take me home when I'm ready." ner business In the studio proved moru exacting and fatiguing than she had anticipated. Weary to start with, Bho worked steadily, heedless of the passage of time. It was something past six, when pausing to survey tho result of her labors, sbo discovered there was llttlo moro to do. At once pIio realized ber weariness like a dragging drag-ging weight, nnd felt that It would bo utterly Impossible to continue beforo sho hnd rested for n llttlo. The Invitation of the divan proved too tempting Sbo lay down, sighing. I Sleep pii.-M'-.-'i'i! ber without nny wnrnlng, without nn Instant's grace ... CHAPTER NINE j The Changeling. I. TRANSLATION. As on tbnt first occasion when Bleep hnd Btolcn upon nnd overcome hen unawares In Ihe studio, her unclos-1 Ing eyes comprehended only dark- ' ness absolute. Unlike tbnt time, when she hnd rouse-1 Instantaneously, self-conscious ness springing suddenly, full wlttcd. full powered, clear, out of nlghtmnre thrnlldom, now she nwokc slowly nnd nt expense of effort nlmost painful: senses and perceptions struggling long nnd arduously to brenk tho embrace of n lethargy so deep nnd undisturbed i tbnt tho self-sense hnd Inln In It be-, numbed and stifled, like n seed tbnt slumbers In the pent darkness of the earth against tho coming of the spring. In tho confusion of those flrst wnk- j Ing moments she believed herself to be nt home, In bed. But tho dnrkne.18 of her bedchnmbcr hnd never Ijcen sheer; there wns nl-l ways a diffused glow from tho lights' In the street to temper it Then Bho remembered, dully, the, studio and tho weariness that had weighed upon her In tho afternoon. Sho must hnve slept several hours nt the lenst reckoning, for It hnd been broad dnyllght when sho lay down, tho evenings were Jong, nnd It wns now, Judging by the blackness of It and'tho silence, dead of night But she looked tn vain for the vlolet-tlnted rectangle of the north-light north-light And mysteriously the windows were shut which bad been open when she stretched out to rest For there was not only nn utter nbsenco of light but a smothering lack of fresh air. Her lungs starving, she lay for some time stupidly contemplating tho exertion tbnt would be needed to rlso nnd open one of the windows. Somehow she could not seem to nervo herself to It She wns feeling nctually III, squenm Ish. ner limbs wero stiff nnd heavy, her hands hot, her checks and forehead fore-head afire, a prickling sensation afflicted af-flicted her body, she was athlrst and the tnstc In her mouth wns evil; nnd when sho moved her head upon the pillow, pnln like n brutal blow crashed from temple to temple nnd back ngnln nnd ngnln, forcing feeble groans past iber lips. J Nevertheless conditions such as these wero unendurable. At whatever I 'cost, she must hnvo water and fresh ifilr. , . . She steeled herself nnd presently, j by n supreme qxertlon of will, power. ! 'forced herself to sit up. For the time! .being she could no more. The pain i 'rocked nnd smnshed about Uko a mnd i thing, till sbo wondered would It brenk ! her skull. And as by degrees thoi trnnsports subsided, sho wns taken with qunlms of nausea. ' I Sho must have kicked off her Bhoe.s) I In her sleep. At lenst, she could not j , remember removing them before lying. I 'down. At nil events whatever had ; become of them they wero gone. Bo- inenth hor stockinged feet the floor i wns bnre nnd rough, of unfinished ( wood. Now, thero wns n nig beside tho dlvnn In the studio. And even , bad It been spirited away like herj shoes, the studio floor was of hord- wood neatly Joined nnd polished till ' its surfnco wns like glnss. Then n hand that she dropped to' thp edge of her couch encountered tin-' Iconrso ticking of an uncovered mat- j tress, Instead of the silken rug that clothed the divan. I Slowly It wns borne In upon her that she was neither In her bedchnmbcr : nor In ber studio. i This conviction struck home to her understanding with n shock that j brought her to her feet. What had happened? Where wns she ni.dwho? Wan she Prlscll'n Maine, delirious? I Or was she Leoimm et once ngnln ' that puppet of her life In dreams, em- burked upon some new nnd still more terrible adventure? ' But Leonora wns no moro . . . She took n blind step Into obscurity, and another, blundered Into n chair ' and knocked It over with n clntter. j While she wnltcd, dnshed, hnnds clutching wildly at vacant blackness, I n key turned In n reluctant lock, n j door opened, closed, nryl was relocked. . Prlscllln failed to elicit more thnn ' n harsh, Inarticulate whisper from a ' swollen tbront. I A mntch rasped and spluttered In the murk, u gns-Jct hissed from a wnll-brncket, spreading a fan-like flame with a body of ghastly blue nnd n border bor-der of tnwny yellow. It revealed a mean nnd ugly cubicle, perhnps six feet by eight, with dingy wnlls to whose crumbling plaster clung a few dlsmnl rngs of ancient pnper. Tho single window wns stoutly boarded board-ed on the Inside. Tho begrimed floor wns n si ranger alike to carpeting nnd i soap and water, had apparently been bo slnco time out of memory. For I furnishing there was a small table of I painted wood, the overturned chnlr, i and a scorbutic Iron bedstend with ' Bwny-bncked springs,, n lumpy mnttress nnd ono emaciated pillow. Silent beneath tho wheezing gaslight, gas-light, the woman Inez bent upon Prlscllln Prls-cllln a louring regard. 1 II. INEZ. I "Well," Inez drawled In ovcrcolorcd surprise, "would you look who's hero I i ' As I llvo 'tis r.onu other than tho Duplex Du-plex Kid Llttlo Noru of tho Double Life nnd Face I" Arms akimbo, with fleering mouth and hostile eyes, sho waited hopefully ir JL I -III I HI I I I ! - I "As I Live, 'TIs None Other Than the Duplex Kid Little Nora of the Double Life" for her glln i draw tho spirited re-sponso re-sponso which might have been expected ex-pected of Leonora, nnd bo provide excuse ex-cuse for further Insolence, Sho wns disappointed. Her victim was too far gono In wretchedness to know or enre whether Bho wero the butt of Ill-natured derision. Added to the misery of her body, she hnd now to cope with an Intellectual confusion that seemed past raveling. She hnd fallen asleep In tho tranquil tran-quil spaciousness of her studio: she wnB awako In this confined place of unspeakable squalor. Sho hnd been free nnd alone : she wns now In n mnnner Jailed, nt the mercy of this truculent vixen. No later than this afternoon she hnd been Prlscllla Malno: tonight she wna cast for the rolo of Leonora. Both hands clasping clasp-ing her tortured head, ns If to prevent pre-vent Its splitting asunder, tho girl stnred at Inez with distraught eyes In a haggard countennnce. "Thought you'd pay the old place n ' visit, did you? Found Flft' avenue and all too rich for your stummlck, I presoom. How's It feel to. be back on the farm? Like old home week, 1 guess." Again Prlscllln tried to speak; but her tonguo clove to tho roof of her mouth. The sounds, when nt length they came, were unrecognlznble a I her own voice. I "Water I" she croaked "In pity's nnmo water I" Momentarily tho other seemed of n mind to refuse her. Then, perhaps because sho saw she would get no sat Isfaction from her prey otherwise, sin decided to Indulge her. i "All right, dearie; I'll fetch you u ' nice long drink. Back In n minute. Just mukc yourself perfectly ut home." Deftly unfastening the door, Inez slipped out Prlscllln was fce.pt waiting n cruel time . . . Whether prompted by need for ' i stcnltb or by common hatefulncss i J seeking to prolong her torments, Inez chose to return noiselessly. Prlscllln. 1 sitting with drooplrtg head, had no wnrnlng tltl she heard tho door close l softly. Then, seeing Inez posed with 1 her back to It. a large goblet of thick glass held high, the girl lurched to I hor feet and toward her. "Plcnso I"-. Prlscllln begged huskily. i With a quick movement Inez placed the. glass on tho little tablo nnd met Prlscllln with a straight-arm blow on tho bosom tlint drove tier reeling back to tho bed, whoso uprights she ' grasped to savo herself a fall. "Don't bo In such a sweat You'll get your drink, nil right when you've ' done what I want you to." ( "What what do you want mo' to do?" I Inez tossed toward her a bundle of garments she hnd brought under her J n mi. "I want' that suit you'vo got on It's too d n' good for you and your rings and tlint brooch and overy-I overy-I thin. Hand 'em over and you can ( have your drink." "1 don't understand. You enn't It i can't bo possible you mean to rob me?" "Sny, lls'n I" With the Btrldo of nn Infuriated animal Inez crossed to her nnd stopped with her shrewish fnce thrust forwnrd pugnaciously, not six Inches from Prlscllla's. "I'm golu to have them swell duds nnd jools If I have to rip 'em off your back with my own bunds and the ekln off your face, too. Get mo? I mean every word of It, You're goln' to come down to where you belong this minute, and , you'ro goln' to look tho part, too, or my nnrae ain't Inez. You've corao the I hnughty over me for tho last time. It's my Innlns now, nnd when I'm fin-I fin-I Ished with you cverythin '11 be per-j per-j fectly even between you und Inez, forever for-ever nnd ever n-raen I" With" trembling, awkward fingers Prlscllla began to pluck at tho buttons but-tons of her blouse. Inez retreated to tho table, picked up tho glass and rattled the Ice musically mu-sically within It. "Hurry, deur heart I" Prlscllla removed coat and blouso nnd stepped out of her skirt, then lifted lift-ed her hands for tho glnss. Her tor-tnentor tor-tnentor warned her off. - "Walt u mln-utol You'ro forget-tin' forget-tin' them rings." Silently the girl stripped her fin-gers. fin-gers. dropping their Jewels Into the ! greedy palm. Nothing mattered, so t that sho earned that drink of water.' But yet once again was sho put off. "Don't crowd mo sol I might got nervous and spill something. . . . Climb Into them clothes 1 brought you first nnd If I wns you 1 wouldn't wnsto no time, neither. Cnn't tell when Hnrry or someone 'II bump In here nnd catch you with nothln' on but your pretties. And bo thankful I let you keep them . . ." For nn instant, Indeed, the woman seemed disposed to repent of tbnt . generosity, eyeing Prlscllla's undcr-jgS gnrmcntB of lnco nnd filmy Bilk. IrrPH fumbling hnsto Prlscllln covered tliem f' with the cheap nnd none too clean' cotton blouse, tho shoddy nnd lll-fnshloned lll-fnshloned cont nnd skirt which Inez hnd brought her. At long Inst sho hnd her rewnrd. At flrst In frantic gulps, then moro slowly If with no less nvldlty, she drained the glass: while Inez nt tho bed snatched up nnd pneked under her nrm tho spoils of this her first victory over her rival. "Well, how nbout It, Nora? Fcelln chlrpler?" sho Inquired with mngnn-nlmlty mngnn-nlmlty when Prlscllla put down tho empty glnss. "I don't know." Prlscllla's feet wove uncertainly toward tho bed. Too lute she was realizing that the glass had f held something moro than mero water. j She sat down suddenly and began again to nurso her head. "I'm 111." 1 sho murmured "very 111. How did I fj get here?" v "1 guess maybe that's somethln' E you don't know." Inez laughed spitefully. spite-fully. "And I don't mind tellln': Harry followed you down Flft' avenuo 'safternoon nnd seen where you stopped, up In McDougnll nlley. Then ho got Churlle nnd left him to watch you while ho 'phoned for tho rest of tho bunch. When it got dnrk and cverythin' wns quiet, they picked the lock, found you doln' n Rip vnn Win klo that looked good for twenty year, give you a shot of the hop to make "Well, If You Gotta Know, tho 1 Bunch's Outside Makln' Up Their j Minds What to Do With You." J sure you wouldn't wnko up at the- wrong time, nnd brought you down hero In a taxi. That's your history up ? to dnte. Cheer up: tho worst Is yet : to come. And when It comes grab ' this from me Innocent H'l Inez 1b ; goln' to have n rlngsldo seat" MI don't understand . . . 8 The words were barely audlblo; but f the termagant henrd. Her sneer dark- ened. "Well, If you gotta know, the t bunch's outside maklu' up their minds what to do with you. I huven't got no Idenr wbnt they'll flne'ly settle on, but I It'll bo plenty, whatever It Is. If It wns unybody else I'd feel sorry for them; but you 1" Her laugh wns hnrsh nnd Jeering. f For sole response tho cringing flguro j on tho bed suddenly sank In upon I ! Itself, then over upon one Bide, where It Iny sprawling, Inert, whites of eyes i , showing under hnlf closed lids. J.' Startled, the womnn bent over Prls- Jt cllln. But her breathing went on mo i j notonously. She' hnd merely fainted. - I j III. THE TRAP. $ I The blinding prismatic glare that filled all spnee dwindled slowly to a I hand's breadth of particolored flame, ' Its thunderous roar to a sustained I snore: overhead the sertorous gas Jet j by fits and starts hissed and spat an- ( grlly. j She had no means of knowing how j long it had been burning; that Is to sny, how long she had been Insensible ; '. but It wus long enough, at all events, $ for tho atmosphere of that stuffy hole . to have grown sickening with Wnit j- and Its aggravation of the native r ' stench. Her mouth and throat once more '. were parched. Tho drink brought her 1 by Inez hnd served only to render her j thirst moro Intense: a mntter of bplte- i ful calculation, In all likelihood: even i though diluted, alcohol In any form Is no quencher of thirst, rather the contrary. Inez had not, however, j reckoned with its stimulating proper- E ties: Prlscllla was uo less unhappy In jj body and mind, on recovering from E; her swoon, but sho felt stronger, bet- i- ter nblo to think nnd to work out K thought In action. m At present, however, two consldera- tlons dominated all others: her need m of watgr; tho necessity somehow to B (Continued on pag-j three.) E mill1lllllllllllllliimiiiiiimiimmiiiniu fl The I Dark I J Mirror i 1 h 1 j Louis Joseph Vance j PTJli- Author of "The False Faces," 'ypPl "The Lone rVolf," Etc p S Illustrated by i I IRWIN MYERS 3 I nlllllilllllllillllltllllllillllllllllilllliliiliin (Copyright, 1930. by the Author.) ! escape from tlint plnco of terror and !i nbomlnntlon. j She got up, unsteadily enough, pndded to tho door, and listened thero with an car to tho Joint between door , and Jamb. ; Hearing what she believed to bo n "' ; rumor of distant voices, nothing else, sho laid hold of tho knob and turned ; It cautiously. A thrill shot through I her heart when the door opened: i i Whether by deslgu or Inadvertence, I Inez had neglected to lock It I I " ' A peering reconnnlssanco showed .. J . nothing but gloom Immediately beyond ' the door. Trembling, the girl opened It Jj wide. The light from tho gas Jet then I revealed a length of malodorous hall- wny, broken by two moro doors, both closed. At its far end It turned off at ' a right nngle. What lny beyond was unguessable: there was no light. Tho air of the hallway was heavy with that subtle, sickly smell, alluring . . . . "nl appalling . . . the breath of ( death. . . . She had smelt It be- I j fore, somewhere, at somo time Indefi nite. ... At length she know it: the reck of opium smoko in the den - of Sing Ho, to which she or Leo norahad gone that night (so long ngol) to meet Charlie the Coke. Jsno advanced one unshod, timid foot across tho threshold, faltered, took another step and closed tho door behind her, shutting herself out Into tintempered darkness, nnd stolo fenr-j fenr-j fully on, feeling her way with hands Sthat brushed the walls. She drew near to the farther door. Tho voices became raoro definite. J Seemingly several persons wcro clos eted In that room, nil talking at once, In discordant dissension. The notion muiio to her, was entertained nnd es- tnbllshed as an Idea fixed, thnt If she could only win past that door, the rest j would be ensy, an unhindered way of i escape would open mit to her. . . J She was within two paces of sii( cess when nn especially violent wrnn-Rle wrnn-Rle ended in n harsh rasping of chair j legs on n bare, rough floor; and In n j sudden lull heavy heels thumped j toward the door. Tho girl shrnnk bnck, Instinctively flattening herself X to the wall to one side of the door, i j This last was thrown open, letting I out a flood of gaslight and n choking ( 2 K1161 of,n'r "envy laden with tobacco I moke. A man came out, turning! toward Prlscllln's recent prison. Blind ly cd by the transition from light to 1 darkness, he stopped and, cursing, put U out a hand toward the wall. It touched Prlscllln's shorldcr. Sho winced with ' j ii stifled cry of fright. Instantly the I hnnd closed cruelly on her shoulder; fi Its owner uttered an exclamation of i I mingled wrath nnd satisfaction, and with one rufllnnly swing sent her stag- " K'Ting into me room. j Somehow she escaped n tumble righted herself, stood cringing, blink-. blink-. Ing, trembling. t The door closed with a bang. The accents of tho Nut, destitute for tho I time of nil pretensions to polish, announced: an-nounced: "Hero she Is now I Caught her Just i In time tryln' to do a -sneak. Who R left tho door unlocked on her7 You Inez?" J Coolly the voice of Inez replied:, "Maybe I did I don't remember." I "D n' cnreless of you " "Ah, shut up. What difference does It mnkc? She didn't get nwny. did , she? She couldn't, not In n thousand yenrs, without we let her." Prlscllla began to get her bearings, ; finding herself In thnt sordid rooml I where sho had witnessed the meeting1 f of Leonorn nnd Inez, beside tho In-' V sentient body of the drug fiend, on thel h night of tho storm. She reviewed fnco i after face known to her through the i nssoclntlons of her dreams; English Eddie, heavy, florid and flashy; Chnr-lie Chnr-lie the Coke, ghastly of face, shifty-vyed, shifty-vyed, with his frail, racked body and' li spasmodic gestures; Inez with elbowa planted on the tnble, a sullen faco clomped between two fists; at her side, , . the Nut, to whose presence nothing of Ills uptown elcgnnce adhered but Uio handiwork of his excellent tailor, In- borlug under tho burden of n new ' part, self-nssumed, his bottle neck ' 1 shoulders wenrlug with poor grace the ! I j,. mantle of Red Cnnichnn, master of I Ho" gunmen ; three or four others, remem-jr remem-jr p nered oh lesser limbs of Red's tj gnng. . . . K ' The compony sat In silence, staring j II nt Norn with unfriendly, Inquisitive I; eyes. Precisely so nnd Leonora on r. ' thnt occasion fnced a prejudjeed Jury j of her kind. Only the setting was v slightly different, tho company dccl- J mated, Its presiding spirit gono beyond jj recall. . . . si The pause lasted longer than the f patlcnco of Inez. Sho sat up sudden- i 1y and wnved an extravngant arm, I' ' mimicking tho manner of bally-hoo be- foro n circus side show. jlj "Ladecz and gempmuml" she pro- , . claimed in t Hat professional bawl: "I ' "Ladeez and Qempmuml" She Pro-h Pro-h claimed In a Flat, Professional Bawl. I have the honor to present to you t' 1 night the only certified Two-ln-Ono In , captivity Miss Prlscllla .Maine, the , latest fashion hint from Fift' nvenoo, and plain Nora O'More of this club. Take a good look, Jndecz and gemp-' gemp-' mum, nt this peerless freak, the only Ilvln' Two of n Kind. A single prlco of admission pays for both ono dime, the tenth part of a dollar and your money back if y'alnt snt'sflcdl" IV. RESURRECTION. Somebody chuckled hoarsely. Chairs were shifted. Asides were exchanged I In nudlblo murmurs. A contemptuous j voice declared loudly: "It's Nora, all right, all right!" The Nut bent his mouth to mumble Into the ear of Inez ' something apparently In tho nature of I a remonstrance. Sho heard him. with 1 a surly face, growled a response, which seemed to Irritate 1dm exceedingly, and turned scornfully nway. English Addle alone changed neither her pose nor tho modcrntely dubious expression expres-sion with which sho was regarding Prlscllla. The latter, drawing upon nn uncx-f uncx-f pectcd store of latent spirit, moved forward to the edge of the table. "My name Is Prlscllla Mnlno," sho uttered with difficulty. "I I " "My Gnwd!" Inez commented dramatically dra-matically "she admits It I" "Plensel" Prlscllla pleaded "I can hardly speak give mo something to drink water." English Addle sat forward Bhnrply and squirted siphon water Into n glass. "A drop of brandy, dearie?" she. suggested ln4a tone not unkind. Prlscllla shook hor head. "You'd better," bet-ter," the woman Insisted; ".you need It." She tilted a bottle over the glass, coloring the water with tho liquor. Despairing of getting what she wanted, want-ed, too thirsty to permit of long hesitation, hesi-tation, Priscllln put the glns3 to her lips nnd drank. "Everybody sit tight," Inez warned ; "tho big bunk act Is about to commence." com-mence." Prlscllla lowered the glass, nodded her thanks to the English woman, and with something remotely resembling , defiance again confronted hor captors. "I am Priscllln Maine," sho stated for Hin Rprnml Mmn "U'linf ln vmt ' want with mo?" Tho Nut tipped his clinir back and eyed her quizzically. "An even brenk," ho replied. ! "And no moro shennnlgnn," Inez supplemented. Prlsclln looked blank. "I don't un-, un-, derstnnd . . ." "Ah cut out the stnllln'l" Inez flared. "I'm gettln sick of your airs and everythln'l" "I don't understand," Priscllln repented re-pented patiently. Ignoring tho Interruption. Inter-ruption. "I'm not tho womnn you believe be-lieve me to bo." She addressed herself her-self directly to Harry: "I told you that this afternoon. If you nnd made tho Inquiries I asked you to, you could hnvo satlslled yourself I was telling the truth. As It Is, you have done this thing kldnnped me laid yourself your-self open to the law" "We'll tako our chances with tho law," Inez put In. snrdonlc. "But , don't mind me: you Int'rust us strangely. Go on, go on." "But even If I were Leonorn ns-sumo ns-sumo thnt I am what do you want with me?" "An even brenk," Hnrry Iterated "fair play and no moro stalling." ' "Plenso explain what you mean and let me go." "Fat chance," Inez commented. 'I am 111, unfit to stnnd on my feet or tnlk to you but If you will only, let me go, I promise to keep this out-rage out-rage to myself. Tho police need ncv-j er know If" "You can go, mavbe," Harry responded re-sponded jylicn we've come to an understanding un-derstanding and you've satisfied us you'll act In good fulth and not try any moro foolishness." "Won't you pleaso explain?" "Ah I You know perfectly well I" I fnez began. With a sharp explosion of temper. Hurry silenced her. "Bo quiet I If, you wont us to get anywhoro with this tnlk keep quiet. If you go on I llko this, you'll only make her stub-born," stub-born," "That's right," English Addlo advised. ad-vised. "Glvo Norn a chance, dearie." Inez meditated mutiny, thought better bet-ter of It, subsided Into a tit of sulks. j "I'm sure It's simple enough," Harry proceeded loftily, with something of the condescension of one humoring a i wilful child "I'm sure you understand what we want, Nora; but if you Insist I'll try to put It In words of ono syllable syl-lable . . . We're nil old pals of yours, and we feel we've got a right to be let In on the ground floor when youlvo struck It rich like you hnve. We want n chitnco to work In with you nnd cop out something for ourselves. You've got tho Inside track now God knows how you worked it, but you did you've got It, you can go where you wont nnd do about ns you plenso with the Rltz mob. And thnt makes It simple sim-ple for you to open things up for us. You know what we can do, each ono of us; you can ensy slip us n tip now nnd then nnd leave tho rest to us. All I ask for myself, for instance. Is n few Introductions. I'll tnke care of the rest." "I think you must be mndl" I'rlscllla's I'rls-cllla's head was swimming again. "Was It to tell me this thnt you you?" "Precisely," Harry assented with an amiable nod. For an Instant she wns dumb pcr-, pcr-, force. Then tho vertigo beginning to pass, and with It tho fear of fainting ( again ; she found fresh confidence nnd ( wns visited by an Inspiration of cunning. cun-ning. "If I rc.fuso?" "You'll get twenty-four hours to think It over," tho Nut replied. "If by thnt time you're still stubborn . . ." "And If I agree?" "We'll put our heads together and scheme out a working arrangement" "But, I'm too 111 tonight ..." . A gleam dawned In tho ugly little eyes of the Nut. "Thnt sounds like you mean to come down to earth." Priscllln Inclined her hend: "I will do what you wish " "Sensible young womnn I" "But I'm unnblc to discuss details tonight." J "You can go bnck nnd Ho down till you feel stronger." "No. I enn't stay here. You must let me go home." J "Hardly, my dear," Harry said. ' "You won't get another chance to give i mo tho slip until tho cases aro all framed, and I'm satisfied you won't j dare try It again." ' "You'll have to take my word sorao-' sorao-' time now or Inter." "Sorry no con do." , English Addle Interposed: "But we nil know Leonorn never went bnck on her word." "Never," Priscllln afllrmed; nnd had i wit enough to refrain from throwing 1 a look of gratitude to this new-found nlly. j "Ah. for Gnwd's sake!" Inez pro-' pro-' tested In disgust. "You mnkc mo wonry. If you think you enn trust thnt dnnble-fnced cat any furthor'n you enn see her !" I "I don't nsk you to trust nic," Prls-( Prls-( cllln explained "only to give me time to rest In quiet nnd comfort not hero ! befoie- we go Info our plans. And j you need not trust me. I'm willing thnt one of you shnll come with mo and sec that I play fair. You can trust Addlo . . ." "Thnt's perfectly fair," the English- womnn Insisted. "I'll go with Norn, and you know mo well enough to know she won't lift 'er 'and without mo secln' It." "All right," tho Nut conceded. "Take Addle home with you nnd glvo me your word you'll bo rendy to see mo nt eleven tomorrow " incz nounccu to her feet In a rage. "You pack of poor boohs 1" sho shrilled. "Can't you see she's only frnmln' to . slip you tho doublo cross nnd you nil helpln her!" "Only one thing more," Priscllln Insisted, In-sisted, ns If sho had not heard. "I j must hnvo my things bnck my suit, t my blouse, my Jewelry." I "Hello I" Harry sat forward, eyeing her shnrply. "Thought you looked 1 different. Whnt's become of your clothes?" ( Prlscllln's nod Indicated Inez. "She stole them from me. Mnke her give them back." 1 Tho Nut turned to Inez, scowling blackly. "Give them back" "Yes, I will not. I got a bromldo enlargement of me beln' such n simp." "You'll do ns I say," nnrry Insisted dnrkly. "I'm runnln' this show" , "You are like h II" i The girl's deflanco found nn echo In n new voice nt the back of tho room. J "Llko h I Is right I" Thero was n concerted turning of startled heads. The door had opened noiselessly. It framed tho figure of n einn wearing n 1 grensy red sweater hiked up at either hip to permit his hands to rcmnln In j tho pockets of n pnlr of tattered, I fruyed and stained khaki trousers. His jiuou was ruueiy nonciinlant. A cap of gray cloth pulled forward shadowed shad-owed Ills eyes; but the faco stamped with an evil, mirthless grlu, was un-mlstukubie. un-mlstukubie. After u moment's relish of the dramatic dra-matic sensation effected by his unheralded unher-alded resurrection, Red Carnehan slouched In, closed tho door with a kick of his heel, and put his shoulders to It. "It'll tnke a smarter guy'n you are or ever will be, Harry," ho asserted In a blurred voice of arrogance, "to boas thLi bunch as long's I'm on top of tho map." V. THE HAUNTED MAN. Stupefied silence held till slmlleied by n laugh of uncouth Joy. "Itedl" Inez cried, Jumping up nutl overturning her chnlr. "Red Carnehan Carne-han I My Gnwd, Bed, you've come back I" "I'll sa I 'i -.." . r - Grinning. , unman slouched to- ward tho table. They crowded about Carnclian, slink-lng slink-lng his hands, slnpplng his back, screaming and bellowing n hundred phrnses of congratulation, delight, nnd nmnzciiit'iit, together with question Innumerable. He suffered the ovation, laughing, greeting ench by name, yielding his hands to ono uftcr another. an-other. Then, without warning ho began to strike down the fawning hnnds and thrust his way through tho group toward to-ward the table. "Lay off mo 1" he snnrlcd. "Lny off gimme alrl I'll bean tho next guy what puts his hnnds onto me I Lay offl" "But Red!" Addle protested "wo thought you was dead 1" ion wasn't far wrong, nt that." Carnehnn seized the brandy bottle and chattered Its neck ngnlnst n glass Into which he spilled the raw spirit lavish-ly. lavish-ly. The drink nt his lips, his gnzc. roving above the brim, discovered nnd wns transfixed by tho pale, sot faco of Prlscllla. Ho started violently. As If an Invisible but mighty hnnd hnd struck htm n crashing blow, he staggered stag-gered back, lost his footing, brought up heavily against tho tnble. Bottle nnd glass, escaping Ills palsied grasp, crashed to the floor. In n fluttering breath tho blood drained from his face, nnd left It livid, leaden and blue. His widened eyes wcro fixed In horror. hor-ror. "Whnt's 'at?" Broken words brushed his stiff lips. "Whnt's 'at?" Ho lifted a shaking " i nnd singled out Priscllln. Ills -o became a scream: "Name of law-1! somebody tell me whnt's 'at thero?" Tho Nut dropped n southing hnnd upon his shoulder. "Why, Bed It's Nora I" "Nora?" the gunman chattered. "1 know It's Nora! But wlmt'8 It doln' here?" "But, Red I" In nlnrm English Addlo Ad-dlo ranged up on his other sldo nnd Inld hold of his arm "why shouldn't Nora be here?" j "Why?" Ho glared madly nt tho I woman. "Why, 'causo she's dead." "Dead, 1 tell you I I guess I oughtn . know. Didn't 1 croak her mcsclf, up i thero In tho woods, yest'dny nft'nooti?" He seemed to renllzo whut ho hnd said and tried to cover It with hysterical protest. "No; that's n lie I Who sold I croaked herl I never, she done It her- J self, it was all a accident! 1 tell you I didn't hnvo nothln' to do with It her t foot slipped nnd she went over tho ' edgo before 1 could cntch her. nnd 1 seen her drown I I couldn't help her, I don't know how to swim, I'd vo pulled her out If I hnd! It wasn't my fault ' I swear to Gawd It was all a accl- l dent 1" "But, Red you're off your null" , Addlo reasoned. "Norn couldn't bo dead end bore nt tho same tlme " ' """She Is dead I Didn't I hco her ' drown meself? Gnwd! I ain't soon nothln' since but her fnce when sho went under, I ain't benrd nothln' but her hoggin' me not to . . . He stammered Into Incoherence, his chin sank upon his breast, he glared WfflJi I ri ,-t "Lemme Loose!" He Screamed. ' "Lemmo Loose!" nt Priscllln with tho look of a lunn-tic. lunn-tic. Abruptly lie roused, wild of eye. 'enturei working Insanely, and threw ff the hands of Addlo and tho Nut. "Lemme loobe!" he screamed. "Lem-ne "Lem-ne loose! I croaked her once, but If I nco ain't enough. I'll croak her ngalu nd make. It sure, the " Epithets unspenknbly vllo fell like toads from bis slavering mouth. He tugged at a pocket of his trousers and suddenly nn automatic pistol was wner!ng In Ids hand. With a choking cry, Priscllln cowered, throwing both hnnds out to shield lier fnce. Tho Nut nnd Addle fell upon Cnrriehiin bodily. For ii moment It seemed Hint they might be able to hold him. But he fought with the strength of a maniac. Tho hold of the English woman was broken llrst, she was thrown off shrieking shriek-ing for help. The Nut clung desperately desperate-ly to Cnrtieliiin's pistol hand, striving o wrest tho weapon from him. Then oilier closed In, Carnehan became the core of 0 swaying, writhing tangle of bodies. It wns, Prlscllla thought, like looking look-ing through n peep holo Into hell. They fought like wild beasts In u pit, like beasts they growled, "yelped, snnrled, snapped, howled, roared. A haze nf dufr. beaten up from the un-swept un-swept floor by scuffling, shifting, stamping feet, hung In the gns light. The pistol exploded with a dotona Hon cnr-splltting tn that confined space. Prlscllla, witless with fright, foil , hprolf seized nnd urged toward the door. I "Beat It, child get out of this ns quick's you can I 1 seen from the very first you wasn't Nora I" She recognized the ncccnt of English Eng-lish Addle. In ono lltho bound, n crouching shape of mnllco with n pnlo face of evil nnd blnzlng eyes planted Itself j before them nnd blocked tho wny, j "Keep nwny from thnt door I" Inez j screeched. "She shan't get nway, she shan't I I'll rip her eyes out first I" 1 She darted clawing hnnds nt Prlscllln's Prlscll-ln's face. The bulk of tho Englishwoman English-woman enmo between them. In pnnlc Priscllln pnwed frantlcnlly nt tho door, swung It wide, stumbled out, blundered blindly Into the wnll whero the hallway turned, cannoned off, nnd 1 somehow found herself before n sec-1 sec-1 ond door. An nged Clilnnmnn wns gunrdlug It. Dully she remembered hnvlng seen 1 him before nnd wondered would he peek to hinder her. But hu seemed I unnwnre of her. Ho wns eyeing Im-passively Im-passively the door, which, she dlscov-I dlscov-I ered, was quivering under n rain of 1 blows on the other side. Grasping Instinctively nt tho truth, she thrust the guardian unceremoniously unceremoni-ously nslde and begun to fumblo with the bolls. I Without protest, tho Clilnnmnn I turned nnd shuffled off. The storm of blows continued. The bolts wcro reluctant to her slinking. j unlnstructed fingers. At length, how- j ever, the Inst slid back, she lifted the stout Iron Intch, the door slammed ' open. I Three uniformed policemen, armed with pistols nnd nightsticks, chnrged In. Seeing the girl, one seized nnd , threw her roughly bnck ngnlnst the 1 wnll. Sho gavo n cry of pnln. A voice sho knew protested sharply: ' "Let that lady go, officer. Sho Is my wife." Priscllln turned. Mnrlo wns offering offer-ing her tho hnvon of his nrms. Sho went Into them sobbing his nnmonloud. Other police officers pnssed them, running. run-ning. As rendlly ns though she hnd been n child. Mnrlo gathered her up and Rtrodo down tho stnlrs. Arms round his neck, she clung closely to him. Ills breath was on her cheek, she wns nwnre of his strength and gentleness. Nestling ngnlnsl his bosom, sho wns sensible of tho unhurried, powerful puWntlons of his lienrt . . . VI. RESCUED. The reminiscent feeling was now more than ever strong, more Insistent. The old snw fulled: for onco history was retelling n fnmlllnr chapter.' All that she wns npprdicmUnp,- emotion-1 ally or through sensory perception, j was mere repetition nil this sho hnd known before. Precisely ns now had .Mnrlo carried her down the stnln of the burning! tenement. Once more Mnrlo lirtniiimr ' Into n waiting inntor-enr. shut the door ( and, ns the driver Jockeyed n wny through the mob, gathered her ten-I ten-I derly Into bin arms. Or was It Leonorn to whom these , things hnd one time happened nnd now were happening ngnln? Wns this too a dream? , Without one regret she resigned her-, her-, self to the dominion of d renin; and nblllty to discriminate between Illusion 1 ! nnd nctnnllfv Inpsed Into unlnmented 1 1 abeyance. So with sense of personal-I personal-I Ity; there wns confusion, but It was! if nn consequence; whether Leonorn or Prlscllla. she was safe with her be-oved, be-oved, and at rest. Streets mean nnd grim dissolved os by magic Into n Jeweled perspective of ' Fifth nvenue. bare and still. Hours ln-j tor (or pcrhnps years or minutes) the, enr was roaring upgrade on a forest ' road like n tunnel, roofed nnd walled 1 with leaves whoso silhouettes In the i swinging headlight glare hnd the look of pntterns cut from cordboord and, painted nn earthly green. . . . Then! In the ghostly crepusclo of early dawn ' their way wound through wilderness j hills thnt reared desolato heads to a wan, cold sky. . . . And tho world wns I nflnmo with tho red blnzo of sunrise' when she wns lifted up, homo ncross) n verandn, through n living room to a bedchamber, and there put down upon I n bed. Mnrlo, stnndlng over her, had a face worn and gray with wenrlness. Near j by a mnld waited, n comely creature! of middle age whoso countennnce of kindly cast wn blurred with the stu ' pldlty of slumbers untimely broken. I The mnn Instructed this ono in a lint, dull voice: "You will undress mndai.ie. please, and put her to l.rd. She will sleep late, I think, she bus had a terrible adventure nnd is quite worn out; but should sho nwaken before I do, tell Hamanaka to call mo Instantly." He knelt nnd pressed his lips to I'rlscllla's, to her forehead, her leaden eyelids, her Inngtild hnnds. "D(nr heart of mine," ho murmured mur-mured . . . "dear wife . . ." Ho rose. Like one walking In sleep ho left tho room. CHAPTER TEN The Day of Reckoning. - I. THE BUNGALOW. On entering the living room she heard a clock strike. Immediately she paused, counting. Eight chliucs died sinking In the scented evening hush ; hut she did not stir, her pose remained that of one "Dear Heart of Mine," Ho Murmured fM "Dear Wife." '( arrested sharply In some net of charm- 11 lug stealth, so delicately poised In H npprchen8lveuoss sho seemed scarcely 'H to touch tho floor. The room wns H quiet, dim with shadows, but for her- ' "B self untenanted. -H A slight sound drew her nttentlnn. H Shu discovered u dlillng room beyond' H the living room, oft-footed, n Jnpn- H neso boy In white linen nppenred, car- IH rylng two candelabra of thren branches H each, and vanished nftcr placing them H upon the round dining tnble, where H their rich light fell noftly on lustrous ;M nnpery, burnished silver, nn Iridescent 1 bowl of cut glass filled with burning M She remnrked thnt there were places .IH set for two. f "H Her regard reverted to the living '! room. Sho thought It delightful In ov- w cry detail of Its unpretentious luxury. H Riches nlone could never hnve ere- H nted It. The wood tire rendy laid In j, the fleldstone flrcplnco would present- ly bo grateful; alrendy there was a ' hint of chill In the aromatic, rare nlr 'fl of the hills. 1 Sho moved aimlessly to the mlddlo H of the room nnd pnused ngnln. A long jjH hrenth sighed on her lips. As she turned uneasily toward the veranda 71 a duplication of thu gesture made her f aware of n mirror on the wnll oppo- 111 site. She Inspected herself gravely. f She hnd waked up without a shad- ow of doubt upon her understanding; A sho recalled without a break every link In the chain of events which hnd brought her to this place; she was jH acutely conscious of her niinmulnus 'H position In this household, profoundly . l disturbed ... vJI A remote droning noise crept Into M the stillness of the evening so grndunl- H ly that she noted It without any as- tonlshment; but when, gaining In vol- "H . lime, It beenme recognizable as the BB sustained growl of n motorcar rapidly climbing the mountain road, sho began H to tremble. ,H The car swept swiftly across tho far 'H side of the clearing, swung Into the " drjve that led to the garage, and dls- "H appeared. The throbbing nf Its motor- H was stilled, Impatient footsteps round- H cd on the gravel walk. M Her body was vibrating now like n H reed. Almost the Impulse wns moro H strong than Iter will, to fly bnck to H her bedchamber, lock herself In, refuse 1 to see or spent; to him . . . H How could she face him and tell rH hltn the truth? How break his heart? H And not his nlone . . , jH Running up the steps to the vernudn rH he saw her waiting In the shadows H and cried out to her In the name of 4H Leonora. She could not reply. Men- H tnl rehearsal of what her attitude at H this meeting should bo proved value- . H less. She had meant to guard against ''H his arms with a respect, an authority. H which must commnnd respect and win 'H her time enough to tell him; she was H captive and powerless before sho H could lift n hnnd or nrtlculato ono 'IH syllable of protest. The passion nf 'H his kisses, the murmuring of his volcn lH wore overpowering. Tho quickened tn- H mult of her pulses was llko the storm- TB Ing of n strong surf. Sho loved him . . . H Stunned, breathless, quivering, hu- H mlirhted, she found thnt she had some- H how contrived to put him from her. H Tho pnlned perplexity In his gnzo cut !H like a knife. She turned nstdo, that '"1 shu might not see . , . JH "Forgive me." he begged. "I hnvo H been Inconsiderate, thoughtless, In the . Joy of hnvlng you restored to me I l Forglve " H "Thero Is nothing to forgive," sho """"H Interrupted. "You'vo dono nothing H ( thnt wasn't right nud natural. Only . . . H Oh 1 How can I mnkc you understand 7" .i Ho gave a helpless gesture. "Tell mo what you wish me to understand. H I will try. I love you so . . JH Touched, she sought to smile kindly :a through her tears. "Give mo a mo- lil ment," sho pleaded tremulous hnnde 'liisfl busy with thu disarray of her hair 'llH "give mo n little time, Mario" 11 The mellow booming of a tubular 'Slfl gong sounded. Mnrlo turned Impa- H tlcntly. Bowing nnd smiling, the Jup- M nuoso boy stood In the entrance to the M dining room. M "Dinner Is served." " By 11 resolute effort she succeeded H In composing face and manner. Mnrlo H maintained nn Inquiring attitude, def- 'H ercntlnl, puzzled, hurt. Somehow slrt; 'H mustered a umllu thnt only mystified H him the more. '' .(To be continued) ' 4 11 m |
