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Show H n The Man Who R0r 8 1 Wasn't Himself 1 W O. CHAPMAN Q CHAPTER XI. Continued. ' 11 "Ellen!" breathlessly remonstrated Amy. "Surely yon cannot Intend " "1 do!" cried the girl, stripping the engagement ring from her finger and holding it out to Clinton. "Here It "JB, sir! I quite agree with yoa that II Is time to end tills farce." Clinton recoiled from the ring. "But hut, .Miss Kirkland, you misunderstand misunder-stand " "Iieally?" she scoffed. "How about yourself? I have the pleasure of returning re-turning yon your property, Mr. Clintou-I.owrie." Clintou-I.owrie." She bowed and left the room, smiling and composed in the face of the attendants at-tendants in the corridor. "Oh, dear!" sighed Amy. "What a kettle of tish !" Clinton looked down into her quivering quiv-ering face, and his irritation gave way to remorse. "What a brute you must think me! Yet what else could I do? This muddle has become intolerable uwulerahie !" "Do you mean because doctor wants ve-u to stay here and rest a few days?" "You think I can rest here?" he exclaimed ex-claimed "Here among a pack of lunatics, and the daftest of all this tally ass of a quack !" "No, no. Will; he calm!" she chided. "Remejiiuer. doctor is our dear old friend. He is only doing what he thinks is best for you." "The idiot !" cried Clinton. "If he thinks it best to drive me mad be has set about it the quickest way. I have a horror of being locked in confined." "Only for a few days," she soothed. "How do I know that?" he rejoined. "No; I tell you a single day will be enough to make me furious at the the asininity of the whole thing. Then he win be certain to keep nie here, and a few more days will see me in a frenzy. I tell you I'd rather jump out of rhi-? v iiulow tit once and " Amy's sweet eyes dilated with 'read. "I'lease!" she whispered. "If you're violent they'll put you in a padded cell and not let me see you." "At least I shall have had a run for my money." he replied. The grim humor of the remark deepened deep-ened her dread. "Oh, dear! If only I can think how I'm sure you'd behave if I line' you safe -" "Safe at home." he suggested, as she hesitated. "Would you. Will, really?" she exclaimed. ex-claimed. "I shall go to the doctor " "No," he ordered. "That would be useless. You know it." "Ye-es, it would," she reluctantly assented. as-sented. "But how " Suddenly her face brightened. "Tell me, honest and truly now woukl you behave and be quiet as a mouse and not run away, if 1 took you home?" "Anything to get out of this lunatic luna-tic asylum !" he vowed. "Promise !" "I promise." "isn't it a beautiful view?" she remarked, re-marked, facing the window. The sudden break perplexed him, tint lie mechanically Imitated her movement. She went on in the same S "It Is Time to End This Farce." tone: "Seem to be looking out. It's the window screens. The frames 3"e metal and the wire Is the very strongest strong-est steel, liesides, there are some copper cop-per wires; they are connected with aD alarm. You see why bars are not ueeded at the windows." "I see," he replied, clenching his Ja w. "lint there's a way," continued Amy. "I peeked into a room and saw a window-cleaner do it. One of the screws in the upper left-hand corner of the upper screen is loose. You turn It, nd the screen will open. I don't know how about the lower screen." "Well?" asked Clinton. "What of It?" "Old stupid! Don't you S"c? After the moon sets I'll be waiting for you with the coupe." "You'll be " He burst Into so sudden sud-den a laugh that she sprang away from him, startled. The attendant took a quick step Into the room, but paused and drew back when he saw that Clinton made do movement to follow fol-low the young lady. Amy looked reproachfully at her mirthful companion. "Why do you laugh at me?" "Pardon me," he apologized. "I was not laughing at you. It was the planning plan-ning of our elope I should say, my escape; all the accompaniments of melodrama, mel-odrama, but with the parts reversed. Can't you see how comical it is?" She peaked her eyebrows at him. "You were never so so humorous in your real personality. Sometimes I could almost wish " "Yes?" he Inquired. But she averted her gaze and hurriedly hur-riedly changed the subject. "The question is how are you to get down?" His look became grave. "You really real-ly mean this, Miss " "Not if you call me Miss Lowrie!" she flashed. "It is not that I do not like Amy," he said. "It is a beautiful name." "Then use it, goose ! Now, that settles set-tles everything. Won't it be fun ! You must be ready at the ghostly hour of midnight. The moon will be down theu. I'll stop at the first house on this side across the alley." "But wait Who'll you tell?" "Nobody." "That won't do. . You can't come alone. I can't agree to that." "It's when everybody is coming home from the theater," she replied. "Be ready. Good-by." She tripped gayly across to the door and chirped to the attendant guard as she passed out : "I have cheered him up. He lias promised to be quiet. Please disturb him as little as you can." CHAPTER XII. Midnight. Clinton followed the girl to his door and watched her sprightly departure down the corridor. When she disappeared disap-peared in the elevator he stepped back and nodded to the attendant. "Tell Doctor Kirkland I do not wish to see him today. Oblige me by closing clos-ing the door and keeping it closed." "As you wish, sir." The door closed noiselessly. Clinton Clin-ton went to the window, stepped up on the hot-water radiator window-seat, window-seat, lowered the upper sash a fev inches, and felt for a loose screw in the upper lefPhand corner of tbo screen. All the screws were immovable. He reached over to the other side. One of the screws In that corner turned under the twist of his fingertip, finger-tip, and the screen swung outward. He drew it shut, pushed up the window, win-dow, and stepped down to examine the window-seat radiator. There was nothing about it to which a line could be fastened. He stepped up again and looked at the window cord. Taken together, the cords of both sashes might be strong enough to bear his weight. From the window he went to the bed. The sheets and coverlet, though light, were of fine, strong material. ma-terial. Having made these investigations he settled down beside the pile of magazines and began to read. He was not interrupted until close upon the fashionable hour for dining, when an attendant opened the door and announced an-nounced that dinner would be served to him in his room. A snuill table was presently brought in, and the meal served as neatly as in a first-class restaurant. The cooking was excellent, though noticeable for the absence of all highly seasoned dishes and of all stimulating drinks. Neither wine nor coffee nor even tea was served. Clinton drank his creamy milk without complaint, and complimented compli-mented the cook and the pretty waitress. wait-ress. The girl, who was a trained nurse, reported B 1!) In goodnppetite and good humor. With the removal of the table, a male attendant brought In a suit of pajamas. After this Clinton presumed that he would be left alone for the night. He smoked a cigar that he happened to have in his pocket, read until eleven o'clock, took a bath and went to bed. Within a minute after he had turned out his light, the door opened and a attendant stepped In, with an apologetic: apolo-getic: "Beg pardon, sir; but your clothes." "What about my clothes?" demanded demand-ed Clinton. There was no reply. Clinton sat-, up in bed and saw by the moonlight which streamed in through the window win-dow that the mall was deftly emptying empty-ing the pockets of his trousers. "Here enough of that!" he ordered. "Keep your hands out of my pockets." "But I cannot take out your clothes without emptying them, sir," replied the man. "Who the devil wants you to take out my clothes?" demanded Clinton. "The management, sir. We are required re-quired to clean and press all garments." "Leave my clothes where they are. or I'll knock your head off." "Yes, sir; very good, sir." The man bent over with his back to Clinton, as if replacing the trousers. When he rose he had Clinton's shoes m his hand. Before the owner could protest, he was at the door. A respectful re-spectful explanation drifted back through the opening as the door was drawn shut: "Must polish them, sir. You'll find them here in the morning." Clinton leaped out of bed and ran to jerk open the door. It was locked. He raised his hand to knock, and dropped it, probably remembering that the door was deadened. He faced about. On the floor lay the articles that the man had taken from his pockets. pock-ets. He went to replace them before the moon could glide down behind the ragged black mass of the mountains and leave him in darkness. Catching up a handful of small change, he reached for his trousers. They were not where he had left them. They were neither on nor under the neatly hung coat and waistcoat. It was evident that the man had smuggled smug-gled them out under his jacket Consternation alone saved Clinton from an explosion of his quick temper. -It was truly a dilemma in which he found himself. To remain in the sanitarium sani-tarium might be to lose all chance of escape; but to leave without trousers trous-ers ! The thought of fleeing in pajamas pa-jamas with a charming young lady whom one does not acknowledge to b( one's sister is, to say the least, em barrassing. He put on his remaining clothes buttoned up the coat, examined his appearance In the waning moonlight, and blushed. Considerate of his feelings, feel-ings, the moon went down, and the merciful darkness cloaked him about. In the obscurity, bis courage rallied. So dark a night, no one would see. With burglarious stealth he crept to the bed and pulled off the coverlet and sheets. To knot them end to end was the work of only a few moments. He stole across to the window, lowered low-ered the upper sash, and tied one end of his line to the two window cords on one side. He did not open the screen, but stepped down to crouch in a corner and look at his watch by the light of a vesta. It was five to twelve. He had not completed his preparations any too soon. As he returned to the window he saw the light of a passing automobile. He sprang up on the window-seat and opened the top screen to peer out. The automobile slackened speed and stopped at the first house across the alley from the sanitarium. It seemed to be a coupe. At once he swung himself him-self out over the window sashes, peered down to make certain that the window below was unlighted, and cautiously began to lower himself from the sill. When he put his weight on the shet line it stretched with the tightening of the knots, but held. He slowly let' himself down, hand under hand. Before Be-fore he came to the lower end. his stockinged feet touched the ground. He turned out toward the vague blot under the overshadowing tree. The outlines of a coupe became dimly visible, then the white form of aD out-peering out-peering face. "All aboard," he whispered, slipping Into the seat beside the excited girl. The coupe glided out of the gutter and started up the street at quickly accelerated speed. As they swept across the lighted intersection Clinton Clin-ton crouched forward with his hands on bis knees. Amy did not observe the embarrassed movement. She was peering ahead into the darkness beyond be-yond the intersection. She ran the next block, swerved around the corner, cor-ner, and turned on the coupe lights. "You're a little trump !" he exclaimed. ex-claimed. "That's nice of you, you poor dear boy! Isn't It fun? Isn't It romantic? I was shivering with tear that they might pop out and Lean back till we pass the crossing." Involuntarily he obeyed. She glanced at him to make sure, and perceived his costume. "Oh !" she gasped "Oh ! Didn't you have time? Where are your trousers?" "I no that " he stammered "that confounded attendant stole them." "Stole?" "Claimed the rules required him to take my clothes to be pressed." "So that was It I That must be one way they keep patients from running off. But It didn't stop you, you brave boy !" Amy burst Into a gurgle of irrepressible irrepres-sible mirth. "See here," he admonished. "Even i If I am" "Indeed no, not even If you are my brother. I mustn't see. It's It's really real-ly too sli-shocking !" This time she startled the silence of midnight with a burst of ringing laughter. "Miss Lowrie!" be reproved in a tone that left no doubt as to his ruffled ruf-fled dignity. Though bubbling with repressed merriment, the girl had paid close attention at-tention to the driving 'of the coupe. She kept to the smoothest of the more secluded streets, and slackened speed "bile passing through the radius of light at the intersections, that the coupe might not attract the unweV come observation of a chance policeman. police-man. But between intersections she threw on the high gear. "We must get home before they learn of your escape," she explained j when Clinton suggested a more moderate mod-erate speed. "They may telephone about it, and if they should find I am not at home don't you see? that would let the cat out of the bag. They would come for you at once." "You've ventured to do all this absolutely abso-lutely alone?" "Of course. Keep quiet. Here's our block. S-s-sh 1 Keep still now. No one must see us go in." She turned off the coupe lights and drove slowly toward the other end of the long block. The light from the nearest intersection was just sufficient to show her clear young eyes where to turn into the yard. Under the pergola the darkness was so dense that she entered it at a snail's pace, one hand on the steering lever and the other thrust out of the side window to touch the grape leaves with the tips of her fingers. "The porte-cochere door Is unlocked," un-locked," she whispered. "Slip out now, and creep up to your room. I'm afraid to stop." "If you insist," he acquiesced. The stairway and upper hall offered him the relief of a clear passage. He stole up to his room. The door was ajar. After pausing to listen, he ven- Cautiously Began to Lower Himself. tured to light a vesta. The little tre lasted long enough for him to make sure that all the shades were drawn down close over the windows. He closed the door, lighted a single gas jet and dived into the closet. When he emerged, his pajamas were covered witli trousers and his stockinged feet cramped into a pair of tight shoes. At the same moment Amy slipped in at the door, beaming with the mischievous mis-chievous delight and exultance of a college girl at a midnight feast. Her li st act was to turn down the gas. her second to hold up her lips for Clinton Clin-ton to kiss her. instead, he caught her hands to keep her away from him. He tried to force his gaze away from her sweet face, and could not. He drew in a deep breath and murmured protestingly : "Miss Amy, you refuse to realize " "No, it's you," she broke in. "Now that Ellen has jilted you and Charlie has jilted me " "What ! You weren't engaged to Bcmm?" The girl blushed under his intent gaze. "I I did think that perhaps I might But that was before you came home. Since then " She faltered and looked down. "It's so queer! Actually I believe I love you twice as much more so much that I haven't any room for Charlie." "You are certain?" "Positive. And the funny thing Is I was going to encourage him Just because be-cause you didn't want me to. Then I began comparing him with you, and somehow Why, do you know you mustn't even smile, because it's It's really tragic but actually I was becoming be-coming jealous of Ellen. Wasn't that selfish of me?" Swiftly he bent down to sweep her into his arms and shower kisses on her lips and eyes, on her dimpled cheeks and white forehead, and on her exquisite ex-quisite pink ear and fragrant hair when, overwhelmed, she snuggled her face on his shoulder. Bewildered, blushing, filled with rapture yet still Innocent of Its meaning, she flung her arms around his neck and returned his embrace with blissful tenderness. (TO PE CONTINUED.) |