| Show IAL S EE LU L S S V 5 A B wm jr by jacques IF V M katner R h 1 1603 hy by the associated bunday magazines copyright 0 P y r tg N t 1909 90 by the bobbs merrill company Com panT 13 1 count ciuni dl di ros int the italian ambassador asat Is at dinner with diplomats when a messenger summons him to the embassy where a beautiful young woman asks for a ticket to the embassy ball the ticket Is made out in the name nam of miss isabel thorne chief campbell of the secret service and mr grimm his head detective are warned that a plot Is brewing in washington and grimm goes to the state ball for information his attention Is called to miss isabel thorne who with her companion disappears A shot Is heard and senor alvarez of the mexican legation Is found wounded grimm la Is assured miss thorne did it he visits her demanding know knowledge knowledg ledl ge of the affair and arrests cletro Petro miss thorne visits an old bomb malcer maker and they discuss a wonderful experiment fifty thousand dollars Is stolen from theoffice the office of senor rodrig e the mi minister nistor from venezuela and while h de detectives te elives are in vesti gating the robbery miss thorne appears as a guest of the legation grimm accuses her of the theft the money Is rest restored cred but a new mystery occurs in the digap disappearance p 11 arance of monsieur Bols segur the french frenc h ambassador elusive MISS thorne reappears bearing a letter wh which ich states that the ambassador has been and demanding ransom the ambassador bas returns and an again strangely disappears t later he Is rescued from aai an old oc house in the suburbs CHAPTER VI letters from jail for two weeks signor signer pietro fletro P etro tinni known to the secret service as an unaccredited agent of the italian government and the self belt confessed as callant of senor alvarez of the mexican legation had been taking his easo ease in a cell he had been i formally arraigned and committed committe d without ball to dwalt await the result of the bullet wound which had been inflicted upon the diplomatist lo from mexico at the german embassy ball and since then undisturbed it and apparently care careless lesi of the outcome he had spent his time in reading and smoking he ho hod d answered questions with only a curt yes yea or no when he deigned to answer them at all and there had been no callers or inquiries for him he flo hn abruptly declined a suggestion of couns counsel bl twice each day morning and night he be had asked a question of the jailer who brought his simple meals how is senor alvarez he Is still in a critical condition the answer was always the same whereupon the secret agent would return to hla hig reading with not a shadow of uneasiness or concern on a face occasionally there came a courteous attle note fro from m thorne which he read without emd emotion tion afterward cast ang them aside or tearing them up he never answered them and then one day there came another note which for no apparent reason seemed to stir him from his lethargy outwardly etwas like all the others but when senor Petro scanned the sheet his eyes byes lighted strangely and he stood staring down at it as though to tide hide a sudden change of expression in his face hla his gaze was concentrated on two small splotches of ink where bere it seemed the pen had scratched as miss thorne hd had signed her name I 1 the gua guard rd stood at the barred door for or a moment then started to turn away the prisoner stopped him with a quick gesture i 1 i oh guard may I 1 have I a glass atas ot milk please 7 he be asked no joe I 1 prefer If tepid I 1 I 1 he thrust a small coin between the me bars the guard accepted it and passed on then still standing at the door the prisoner read the noto note again my dear friend 1 I understand from an indirect ondfre ct r source Cl that there has been a marked improvement in senor alvarezs condition andi and I 1 am hastening to send you the good news there Is every hope that within a short while if he con to improve we cau can arran arrange gei a ball bond and you will be free until the ae time of trial anyway might it not be well tor fori you voit to consult an attorney at once drop mo me a line to let me know you received this sincerely I 1 ISABEL finally the prisoner tossed the note fiote an a tiny table in a corner of lils his cell and resumed his reading after a time the guard returned with the milk I 1 I 1 would it be e against the rules for me to write an answer to this 7 queried signor Petro and he indicated the note certainly not was the re reply ply if I 1 might trouble you then for pen and ink and paper suggested the signor signer and he smiled a little believe me I 1 would I 1 prefer to get them tor for myself I 1 1 I guess right the guard guiard grinned good again he went away and the prisoner sat thoughtfully sipping the milks milk he took half of it IL thew then lighted a cigarette puffed it once or twice and permitted the light to die after blittle a there dame came again the clatter of the guards feet on the cement pavement and the writing materials were thrust through the bars the guard went event on with a nod and a moment later the signor signer hea heard rd the clangor of a steel door down the corridor as it was closed and locked he leaned forward in his chair with half closed eyes listening for a long time then ahen rose and noiselessly approached pro ached the cell door again he be listened intently after which he resumed his seat he tossed away the elga aciga rette he had and lighted a fresh oese afterward holding the note over the flame etame of the match here and there chere where the paper charred in the heat a letter or word stood out from the bare whit whiteness ness of the paper and finally a message complete appeared between the innocuous ink written lines the prisoner read it gree greedily dily an am Otiva privately tely informed there Is little chance of alvarezs recovery shall I 1 Yar arrange range escape for you or have a ambassador intercede would advise former as the othor other might likht take months and meeting to sign treaty alliance would woul d be dangerously delayed signor Petro permitted the sputtering flame to ignite the paper and thoughtfully watched the blaze destroy it the last abny scrap dropped on the floor burned out and ho he crushed thrashes the ashes under his heel than he began ta to 0 write my dear miss thorner thorne many thanks for your courteous little note I 1 am delighted to know of the improvement in sanor alvarezs condition I 1 had hoped that my impal sive act in shooting him would not end in a tragedy please flease me informed k of any further 6 change 14 in his condition conditi oti As yet I 1 do not see the necessity of consulting an attorney but later I 1 may be compelled ia to do so respectfully PIETRO PETRO this done the secret agent carefully cleaned the ink from the pen wiping it dry ary with his handkerchief then thrust it into the halt half empty glass of milk the fluid clung to the steel nib thinly he went on writing with it between the lines of ink 1 I am in no danger I 1 hold bold credentials to united states which when presented will make me responsible only to the italian government as special envoy according to international law arrange escape for one week from tonight use any money necea sary make careful arrangements arrange menta for the test and signing of com compact piLet for two nights after again the prisoner cleaned the steel nib after which ho put it back in the bottle of ink leaving it there he waved the sheet of paper back and forth to dry it and at last scrutinized it minutely standing under the light from the high up window of his cell letter by br letter the milk evaporated evaporate ds leaving the sheet perfectly clean and white except for the ink written message this sheet he folded placed in an envelope and addressed later the guard passed filon along g the corridor and signor signer Petro thrust the letter out to him be good enough to post that please he requested it sealed I 1 dont doni know if your prison rules requite require you to read the letters that go out if so read it or have it read then seal it ILI for answer hns the guard dampened the flap of the envelope sealed it thrust jt it into his pocket and passed on the secret ecret s agent sat down again and sipped his bis milk meditatively one hour later mr grimm accompanied by johnson came out of a photographers dark room in pennsylvania ii avenue with a developed negative which he sat on a rack to dry at the end of another ho hour houlbe urbe he was sitting at his desk studying under a magnifying glass a finished print of th the 0 negative word by word he wa was writing on a slip of naper what his magnifying glass gave v e him and so curiously enough it came to pass that miss thorne and chief campbell of 01 the secret service were reading the hidden milk written m message es sage at al most the identical moment johnson got letter from the postman mr grimm was explaining 1 I opened it photo graphed it sealed it again and re mailed it there was not more than half an hours delay and miss thorne can not possibly know 0 of it he paused a moment its an odd thing that writing kiting such as aa that is absolutely Y invisible to the naked eye and yet when photographed phed becomes deat decluer per able in the negative what do you make of it mr 4 the prisoner read rea d it gree greedily dily campbell asked the guileless blue eyes were ilive alive with eagerness well hes he s right of course cour se about not being in danger said mr grimm gri imm if he came with credentials as special envoy this government austre must respect them even eveh it if senor alvarez dies and leave it to his bis own government gov rn abo punish him if we were officially aware that he has such suc h credentials or denti als ali 1 I doubt if we would have the right to keep ke ephim him confined we would merely have to hand him over to the italian embassy em basy and demand his punishment ish ment and of course all that makes him more dangerous than i ever ver 11 ads yes I 1 know that said the chief h little impatiently but chols who is this man who is this man inan mr grimm repeated e as if surprised at the question 1 I was looking for prince benedetto Bene etto dabruzzi of italy I 1 have found him mr campbele Camp belA beir s clock like brain ticked over the situation in detail its like this mr grimm elucidated ho he has credentials which he knows will tree free him if he is forced to present them but I 1 imagine tuey mey were given him more for prot protection ectA on in an embr emergency gency like this than for introducing him to our government aa the matter stands he cant afford to discover himself by using those credentials denti als and yet it if the latin compact to IB signed he must be free remember too that he Is accredited from three countries aitay itay franco france and spat spain n ile he was silent for a moment naturally hIly his escape from prison would preserve his incognito and at the same time permit him to sign the compact there was silence tor for a long time 1 I believe the situation Is without precedent said mr campbell slowly the special envoy of three great powers held for attempted I 1 s officially we are not aware of hla his purpose or his identity mr grimm reminded him if ho be escaped it would clarify the situation s tremendously if he escaped repeated mr camp bell musingly but of course the compact would not be signed at least in this coun I 1 try mr grimm went on tentatively mr campbell gazed straight In intonte into the listless eyes of the young man for a 9 minute or more and gradually full understanding der standing came home to him finally he nodded his head bead use your own judgment mr grimm be directed CHAPTER A call on an tho the warden the restful silence of night layover lay over the great prison here and there in the grim coy corridors riders a guard dozed in the glare 0 of af an electric light and in the domce too a desk light glimmered where the warden sat at his desk poring over a report once he glanced u up p ht at the clock it ij wa was 0 five minutes i of eleven and ana the then n he went an on with his rea reading read dinc lne after a little the silence was broken by the whir of the clock and the first firs t sharp stroke of the hour and at just that moment the door from the street opened and a man entered he was rather tall and slender and a sinister black mask hid bid his face from the quickly raised eyes 0 o the warden for a bare traction fraction of a second tho the two men stared at each other then instinctively the wardens right hand band moved moed toward the opens open draw drawer dr of hla desk where a revolver lay and his left toward several electrically connected levers the intruder noted both gestures and unarmed ed himself stood silent the warden was first to r well what is it I 1 yov you have a prisoner here bore pietro was the to p ily in a pleasant voice 1 I have coine come to demand his release the wardens right hand was raised above the desk top and the revolver in it clicked warningly you have come to demand his bis release eh lie he queried he still sat motionless with his eyes fixed inthe on abo black mask how did you pass the outside guard TO BE BB CONTINUED |
