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Show "No," Exclaimed Orme, Vehemently. Then Arima's voice said, close to his ear: "Where the papera?" The papers! Japanese chnracter thus brought lis fresh surprise to Orme. F.vcn after this hard fight, when three of hla friends lay groaning on the ground-when ground-when he. had In his power the man who had Injured them, who had tem-' porarlly bested himself Arima's chief thought was still of the papers! He seemed to have none of the semi-barbarlan semi-barbarlan vengefulness that might have been expected. He merely wished the papers w ished them the more desperately des-perately with every passing moment. The lives of bis companlona counted for nothing besides the papers! "Where?" repeated Arlma. a- "I haven't them," said Orme. "You ought to know that by this time." The answer wus a torturing pressure pres-sure on Orme's spine. "You tell," hissed Arlma. As the pressure Increased Orme's suffering was so keen that his senses began to slip away. He was gliding Into a state In which all consciousness centered haully around the one sharp point of pain. Then, suddenly, he was released. For a moment he staggered limply, but his strength surged back, and he was able to see bow the situation had changed. The girl had swung her car In closer clo-ser to the edge of the grove and nearer to the struggling figures. Doubtless she had some Idea of helping. Hut the effect of the change In the position posi-tion of her car was to permit the searchlight of the other car to throw its bright beam without Interruption down the road. And there, perhaps 50 feet to the southward, gleamed something white. The girl could not see It, for her car was headed north. Hut Arlma saw It, and In a flash be realized what It was. The papers lay there at the side of the road, where Orme had tossed them a moment before the two cars met. There had been no other way to dispose of them. If the car from the north had stopped at a different angle, or If the other car bad not moved, the light would not have shone upon them, and the Japanese might not have suspected sus-pected where they were. Or, If Orme had teased them a few feet farther to one side, they would have been out of the range of the light Hut there they luy. " Arlma leaped toward them. Kven as he started, a figure appeared at the other sK'vj of the road and walked to ward 'the cars. It was a man wltti '7 sal buttons and policeman's hel &we.J He walked witn authority, anl r)e Hdd a stout club In his band. 'input's goln' on here?" he demand ed.Bn, i A.'l.im stopped In his tracks. To Orme, at this moment, came the memory of the girl's desire to avoid publicity. "Nothing wrong," he said. The policeman stared. "I've been watchln' you from over there," he said. "It looks like nothln' wrong, with men flghtln' all over the ground." "Just a little trial of strength," explained ex-plained Orme. "Trial of strength, hey?" "Well," admitted Orme. "this man" pointing to Arlma "wanted something some-thing that I had. It's not a matter for the police." "Oh, it ain't? Somebody's been hurt." He gestured with his club toward to-ward the shadows where the three Injured men were slowly coming back to their senses. "Not seriously," said Orme. "We'll see about that later," replied the policeman decidedly. Orme tried to carry the affair off boldly. Kvery moment of delay now threatened defeat for him. "There la M mm We've Done Enough Talhln'." |