Show F 1 I imagine its ita nothing more serious than indigestion AU VIP v A v TB lff tr BT lm JACOUES FUTRELLE fy 6 G nasr COPYRIGHT 1908 1906 b ay THE associated COPYRIGHT 1909 1909 by THE dobbe MERRILL COMPANY SYNOPSIS f count dl di rosini the italian ambassador Is at dinner witta diplomats when a messenger summons bumm ona him to the cm babsy where a beautiful young woman asks for a ticket to the embassy ball the ticket is in made out in the th e name 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 agn to the state ball for inform information 0 his attention Is called to miss isabel thorne who with her companion disappears A shot Is heard and senor alvarez of the mexican legation IB 13 found wounded grimm la Is assured miss thorne did it ho he visits her demanding knowledge of the affair and ana arrests pietro Petro miss thorne visits an old bomb m maker aker and they discuss a wonderful experiment fifty thousand dollars Is stolen from the of fice of senor rodriguez the minister from venezuela and while detectives are ara investigating vesti gating the robbery miss thorne appears as a guest of the legation grimm accuses her ot of the theft the money la is restored but a new mystery occurs in the dio disappearance appearance of INIons monsieur leur Dois segur the french ambassador elusive miss mis thorne reap reappears ears bearing a fatter which states that tale the ambassador has been and demanding ransom the ambassador bas returns and again strangely disappears later he to Is rescued from an old house in the suburbs it Is discovered that pietro shot senor alvarez and that hols prince dabruzzi grimm fi figures n a mysterious jail delivery he orders doth both miss thorne and dabruzzi to leave the country they are conveyed to new york and placed on a steamer but return CHAPTER continued your paper he inquired courteously mr grimm was still gazing dreamily out of the window 1 I beg pardon insisted the naw new comer pleasantly he folded the paper once and replaced it on the table one hand lingered for just the frac of a moment above mr grimms coffee cup aroused by the mio remark mr grimm glanced around oh thank you he apolo apologized gizea hastily 1 I hear bear you at first thank you the newcomer new comer nodded smiled and passed on taking a seat two or three tables down apparently this trifling courtesy had broken the spell of reverie for mr grimm squared around to the table again drew his coffee cup toward him and dropped in the single lump of sugar he idly stirred it for a moment as turned again toward the open window then he lifted the tiny cup and emptied it again he be sat motionless for a long time and thrice the newcomer new now comer only a few feet away glanced at him narrowly and now it seemed a peculiar culiar drowsiness was overtaking mr orlum once he caught himself nodding and raised his bla head wit with h a lerk jerk then ho he noticed that the are arc lights in the street were wobbling curiously ind he fell to won wondering doring why that sin bill icle file name flame sparkled at the apex apel of the capitol dome things around him grew hazy vague unreal and then as if realizing that something was the matter with him he came to his feet he took one step forward into the space between the tables reeled attempted to steady himself by holding on to a chair then everything grow grew black about him and he be pitched forward on the floor his face was dead white his fingers moved a little nervously weakly then they were still several people rose at the sound of the falling body and the newcomer new comer hurried forward his coat sleeve caught the empty demitasse demi deml tasse as he be stooped and swept it to the floor where it was shattered the head waiter and another came pell mell I 1 and those diners who had risen came more slowly the matter asked the head bead waiter anxiously already the newcomer new inow comer was supporting mr grimm on his knee and flicking water in hla his face nothing serious I 1 rancy fancy he answered shortly hes subject to these little attacks 11 what are they who Is he be the stranger tore at mr air grimms collar until ie it came loose then he fell to chafing the still hands ho he Is a mr grimm a government employee I 1 know him he answered again 1 I imagine its nothing more serious than inai indigestion A little knot had gathered about them with offers of assistance walter badat you better send fiend for a physician some boma one suggested im a physician the stranger put in impatiently have some one call a cab and ill see that hes taken ken home it happens that we live in the same apartment house just a few blocks from here obedient to the crisply spoken directions ions a cab was called and five minutes later mr grimm still insensible was lifted into it the stranger took a seat beside him the cabby touched his horse borse with a whip and the vehicle fell into the endless moving line CHAPTER A slip of paper when the light of returning con selous ness finally pierced the black lethargy that en shrouded him mr grimms Grimm fl mind was i a chaos of vagrant absurd fantasies then slowly slowly realization struggled back to its own and he came to know wings ti lings first was the knowledge that he be was waa lying ut flat on hla his back on a couch it seemed then that he be was in the dark oz utter abject darkness and final ly came an overwhelming so bet lenco lence a of at for a while ho he lay motion not oven even the movement of 0 an ss with to indicate consciousness w wi eyelash eye lash a deli delicious delillo clo languor grada aped in passed and afie feeble flut illy this heart grew into a steady 1 of his beat the keon keen brain va baj hyth mio ing he was beginning to awaken what had happi happened he member that in some manner tl a drug U ew only administered to him a vs ad been tasting of opium that spi sp fsr dose lie ho had fought against it t th chles ely risen from the table inthe n V he had and that he had fallen A s caurant tau rant was blank the rest with eyes still closed less hands inert at his side 01 id nerve the while ho he turned th he listened over in speculative mood situation had administered the drug druga ic waiter unless unless it had been of course ous stranger who had r reb lie courto courte newspaper on the table T laced the opened now new fields of t thought grimm had no roo 11 a ati ure mr having seen him before k of ever paid only the enforced he had politeness to him and n of drug been adment administered tar fahd i a incoherently mr gr grimm inq I 1 that in some way it had toj 0 I 1 1 11 international I 1 he great plot which miss thorne was w tr in and vital an instrument so delicate where was waa lie ho there evidently he be wa was re ire stopped courteous gen gentleman aleman in th tb re the wanted him binl to tie be A arle restaurant ably in danger long ner to detail work I 1 li i careful at service had bad convinced the secret that he was always in d A r grimm was one rea t th ger gar that he had lain motionless L best why much aa atall awty Z without so first glimmer of consula sanco chaa ahk tarred his bis brain he ashry en an under scrutiny oven even in ahe do bably and for the present it was des aness acl kness accommodate any chance to remaining apparently ancona atcher by and so for fop a long time IOUs ening enang was there adoth le fe lay list the roomi room mr grimm ar person in keenly alive for the anad ears were fling of afoot or the sou artent shut shuf ing nothing even th id d of breath of the city was missing night roar was oppressive at last the silence eyes A pall of gloom he a opened his bis him a pall without one encompassed his fingers moving rift of light the limits limits of the cone aly explored lay whereon be confident at last th ahn was he was unwatched t 1 wherever he was a on the point of cc c 1 mr grimm further inaction was luding ric that straining ears cars caught una tb ss when eia his s ol of metal against metah abat ant grating inser insertion alon of ofa a keilt perhaps the hands grew still his alsye ew after a moment a door do 0 sed and ly on its ita hinges and andoff ad slight air informed mr gril W oath of cool open door wherever if it that that outside and freedom freedoms 1 I a led 40 the there was another I 1 as the door was shut shu hu 1 ifft creaking nerveless hands closed mr dir A grimms s and hla lips were set to td involuntarily was it to be a knife i other eor tightly dark it if not then wl brust in the pecked the flare of a ro at he ex there was a soft thread th ach instead of skirts A A woman 1 r i nd d the rustle caution was all but for 0 r grimms surprise As aa the stomp steps often tt n in hla his his clenched fingers kew t nearer waited 11 os ened ho he two hands handa stretched f fy 1 dark touched tofi ched him sim ward in the one on the face ono one on tl singular thrill shot throb 0 breast A there was not the maker flicker sli gh him but auf the twitching of a af f an cyp or it was a woman beeme lm ke icom woman all bending over him then li 11 1 nw now to be drop on tier her knees anees beside I 1 9 hoard heard her hor pressed an inquiring ear im and she side it was the heart tea t to hla his left thank god she bri br it was waa only by a m mat tied lied softly I 1 that mr air grimm hold helmst erful rf ul effort inert for a strange r f limp find and ve loping him a fragrance fra granc n ce was en an knew i 9 ho he well wall the hands were fumal breast again and there w wa ng at his the sharp km 3 I 1 11 p crackle of paper at first ila ho eilar 1 understand then he knew that tho the woman had pinned a ai paper to tho the lapel of tits hla coat finally she straightened up and took two steps away from him after which carnon came a mausu tits his keenly attuned cars caught lier her faint breathing then the rustle of her skirts as she turned back she was leaning over him again her lips touched his forehead barely again thoro was a quick rustling of skirts the door creaked and slI sl lenco eSco deep OP oppressive pros sive overwhelming silence isabel 1 was lie ho dreaming and then ho he ceased wondering and fell to i re remembering ill emberd ng her kiss light as ad air and tile tho softly spoken thank godl sho she did care theril then she had understood that dayl day the kiss of a woman beloved Is a splendid heart tonic mr air grimm straightened up suddenly on tho the couch himself again he hd touched d the slip of paper which she had to his coat to make sure it was not all a dream after which he recalled tb the 0 tact fact that while lie ho had heard the door creak before she went out ho he had not heard it creak afterward therefore the door was open she had left it open purposely that was beside the question at the moment and why how was she in washington pondering that question mr air grimms excellent teeth clicked sharply 1 together and lie ho rose ho know knew tho the answer the compact was to be signed tho the alliance which would array the civilized world in arms ile he had failed to block that as he thought it if miss thorne had returned then prince benedetto dabruzzi who held absolute power to sign the compact for italy france and spain had also returned stealthily feeling his way as ila ho went mr grimm moved toward the door leading to freedom guided by the fresh draft of air ila he reached tho the door it was standing open and a moment later stopped stepped out into the starlit star lit night it was waa open country hero here with a thread of white road just ahead and farther along a fringe of shrubbery mr grimm reached the road par far down it a pin point in the night a light flickered through interlacing branches the tall lamp of an automobile of course mr grimm left the road and skirted a sparse hedge in the direction of the light after a moment he heard the engine of an automobile and saw a woman barely discernible step into the car As it A started forward he staked everything on one bold move and won his reward being a narrow sitting space in the rear of the car hidden from its occupants by the ton nelu one mile two miles three miles they charged through th lash night and still he clung on at basy tl iero came relief 11 the place where the lights are just ahead there was no mistaking that voice raised above the clamor of the engine tho the car slackened speed and mr grimm dropped oft off and darted behind spine convenient bushes and the first thing he bo did there was to light a match an dread what was written on an the slip of paper pinned to his coat it was simply my dear mr grimm by the time you read this the compact will have been signed and your efforts to prevent it splendid as they were futile it Is a tribute to you that it was unanimously agreed that you must bo be accounted for at the time tim 0 of the signing hence the drugging in the restaurant it was only an act of kind kindness nesi that I 1 should come here to see that all was waa well with you and leave the door open behind me believe me when I 1 say that you are one man in whom I 1 have never been disappointed accept this as my farewell tor for now I 1 assume again the name and position rightfully mine and know too that I 1 shall always cherish the belief that you will remember roe me as your friend ISABEL THORNE P S the prince and I 1 left the steamer at montauk point on a tugboat mr grimm kissed the note twice then burned it TO BE BB CONTINUED r 1 |