Show 4 12 pa E s ZIP GIRL hm v ka pt 0 ar B forda yvel URY bertice CHAPTER X continued 14 at last a cheerful whistle in the lower regions drew him down a flight of stairs to what appeared to be an underground storeroom here a bulky individual looming large in the semidarkness semi darkness s topped stopped in hla his labor of pushing about some boxes and regarded laurie with surprise are you the watchman asked the latter briskly 1 I am that were you here last night 1 I was was wai anyone else here 1 divil a wan did you hear any noise during the night divil a bit were you asleep 1 I was admitted the watchman imply ills voice was hibernian and rich with tolerant good humor 1 I want to make a trade with you the newcomer held out his silk hat will you give me your hat or any old hat youve got around the place for this 1 I will the watchman calmly though good humored he be seemed a a man of few words and who might you be he added 1 I came in last night with sir shaw and I 1 spent the night here when I 1 i woke up added laurie dryly 1 I found that my host had bad moved the watchman sadly shook his head bead youre a young lad lie he said with friendly sympathy a pity youve got into these habits laurie grinned at him ue ile had bad discovered that his money like his watch was safe in his big pockets taking duj out a bill he be showed it to his do you like the looks of that he inquired 1 I do admitted the watchman warmly tell me all you know about shaw and take it for your trouble 1 I will promptly agreed the other but not much get for 3 our money for little enough I 1 know the man youre about I 1 suppose Is the fat fella with eyes you vou could hang yer jer hat on that had the back room on the ground floor the hie one then all I 1 know Is he moved in three days ago and he moved ou out t two awn hours ago what lie he did between times I 1 dont know but lie he paid tor for the room for a n month in advance so nob odys mournen mour ills his loss did he say why lie he wad was going or where divil a word did he say uc ile was in a hurry that lad ile he had a gang of three men with him and they had the place empty in ten minutes I 1 lent lem em a hand an lie ile gave me a dollar and the last I 1 saw of him A sudden t thought struck the watchman where was you all the time he be asked with interest in the cellar the watchman nodded understandingly youre too young for that sort of thing me boy now im no teetotaler be went on argumentatively A glass once in a while Is all right it if a man knows to stop but how about that hat interrupted the restive victim of this homily have you got one handy 1 I have the watchman disappeared into a 8 shadowy corner and returned with a battered derby an a line fine grand hat bat it Is I 1 he earnestly assured the newcomer us as he handed it over laurie took tonic the hat and put it on hla big head where being too tor for him it perched at a rakish angle ile he dropped the bank note into ills hs own silk hat and handed them to his companion who accepted them without visible emotion evidently brief though his stay in th the building had bid been herbert ransome Il ansome shaw had accustomed cust cus tomed orned its watchman to surprises lauries Laur los last glimpse of the man as lie he hurried flurried away showed him with extreme efficiency tul effi clency and the swift simultaneous use of two well trained hands putting the silk hat on hla big head and the bill in his pocket packet laurie rushed through the early east side bide streets ile he was riot not often abroad at this hour and even in his ahlai anxiety it surprised him to discover how many were abroad so early to in the morning the streets seemed full of pretty girls hastening to factories and offices and of briskly stepping men and women representing types that also would ordinarily catch the attention of the young playwright but now lie he had neither thought nor r eyes for them ills urgent needs were first the assurance that doris was wag sate safe and next tile the privacy of his own rooms a bath end and a change of clothing obviously he be could not present himself to doris doria in the sketchy ens ensemble embe he be present ed d now or could be bet ile he decided that he be could and must to remain in his present state ot of suspense a moment longer than he need do was unthinkable in a surprisingly short time he was in the studio building facing the man sam had called henry a yawning night elevator man who regarded him and its ills questions with a pessimism partly due to the lack ot of sleep and fatigue these th ese combined influences led him to making short work of getting rid of this unkempt and unseasonable caller no sail sab he said miss mayo don receive no callers nt at dis yore sere hour no sah sam ion don come on tell eight no sah I 1 cahnt take no messages to no ladies what aint out dey cley beds sit I 1 got to dese yere folks I 1 lias has lie he ended austerely the caller peeled a bill from his ever ready roll and the face of the bull buildings lIngs guardian angel changed and softened ihaas I 1 could jes knock on miss mayos in do lie suggested after a thought filled interval all I 1 want agreed laurie knock at her door and ask her if mr air devon may call at nine and take her ber ont to breakfast bellber he be has hag something very important to say to her ana sail sab the guard guardian ilin was all humility ile he accepted the hill bill and almost simultaneously the elevator rose out of sight the interval before its return was surprisingly short but too long for the nerves of the caller laurie pacing the lower liall hall filled it with apprehensions and visions which drove the blood from ills heart ile he could have embraced henry when khen the latter appeared wearing an expansively reassuring grin miss mayo she say he be briefly reported under the force of the nervous reaction he experienced laurie actually caught the mans arm rhes there lie jerked out youre sure of it sah henry spoke soothingly by this time he be had made a diagnosis Illi gnosis of the callers condition which agreed with that of the night watchman laurie had just inter dewed lowed she say lie he repeated 1 I done say what you tot tol me and she soy tell tell de benman jes like dat all right laurie nodded and strode oft off the first time he be was breathing naturally and freely she was there she was safe in a little more than an hour lie he would see her in the meantime his urgent needs were ft a bath and a change of clothing As soon as he was dressed he would g go back to the studio building nod and keep watch in the corridors until she was ready then after breakfasts breakfast lip lie would personally conduct her to the security of louise Ord ways home i louise need not see bee her if she did not feel up to it but she would surely give her asylum after hearing lauries experiences of the night that was his plan it seemed ik good one lie ile did not admit even to himself that under the air of sang frold froid be wore as a garment every instinct in hirn him was crying out for tile sound of doris voice also as lie he hurried flurried along he was conscious that a definite change was taking place in ills his attitude toward herbert ransome shaw Sl oly reluctantly but fully tie he bad now accepted the fact that dertle bertie represented a force that must be reckoned with lie he inserted the latchley latchkey latch ley key into the th p door of ills his apartment with an inward prayer that bangs would not be visible and for a moment lie he hoped it had bad been granted but when he entered their common dressing room he found his chum there in the la last 8 t stages of ills usual careful toilet lie he greeted laurie without surprise or comment in the detached absent manner he had assumed of late and lau ale hurried into th alie bathroom and turned on the hot water glad of the excuse to escape even a tete a tete that greeting of bangs added the final notes to the minor symphony life was playing for him this morning As lie he lay back in the hot water relaxing in his stiff bruised body the thought came that possibly lie he ant and rodney were really approaching the final breaking point bangs was not ordinarily din dina rily artly a patient chap ile he was too impetuous and high strung tor for that but he had been wonderfully patient with this friend of his heart it if it were true that the friendship was dying under the strain put upon it and lauri ew how flow possible this was now swift and intense were vere bangs reactions life henceforth however full it might be would lack an eleni element ent that had bad been singularly vital and comforting ile he tried to think of what future days would be without bangs banes exuberant personality to fill bit them with work and color but he could not picture them anil and as the effort merely added to the gloom bloom that enveloped him lie he abandoned it and again gave himself up to thoughts of doris As he be hurried into his clothes it a strong temptation came to him to tell bangs the whole story then danes bangs would understand everything and he laurie would have the benefit ot of Kod advice and help in untying doris tangle doris dorial again she swam swain into the foreground of his consciousness with a vividness that made his senses tingle lie ile was sitting on a low chair lacing his shoes and his fingers shook as lie he finished the task lie ile dressed with almost frantic haste urged on by a fear that despite ills bis efforts ans shaping itself into a mental panic then hair brushes in hand lie he faced his familiar mirror and recoiled with an exclamation doris was not there but her win dow was and hanging from its center catch was something bright that caught his eye and instantaneous recognition tion it was a small roman scarf with a narrow vivid stripe CHAPTER XI doris takes a journey within five minutes he was in the studio building across the square frantically punching the elevator bell outwardly he showed no signs of the anxiety that racked him but presented to sam when that appreciative youth stopped his elevator at the ground floor the sartorial perfection which sam always vastly admired and sometimes dreamed of imitating but tor for such perfection sam had no eyes today at bils early hour it was not dot much more than half past eight be had brought down only two passengers and no one but laurie was walting waiting for the upward journey when the I 1 doris was not there but her window was and hanging from its center was something bright that caught his eye and instantaneous recognition two tenants of the building had walked tar far enough toward its front entrance to be out of earshot sam grasped lauries Laurl cs arm and almost dragged him into the car As lie did so he hissed tour four words she gone hillst devon gone where when laurie had not expected this he ailt realized now that he should have done so ills failure to take in the possibility of her going was part of his infernal optimism of his inability eveia now to take her situation at its face value sam was answering his questions bout eight jes after henry went and an d I 1 come on an automobile aut mobile stop in front de do an dat man mail ald de eyes lie come in I 1 try stop him fura funi de car but he push me on oil one side an order me up or like be was wilson his himself self so I 1 took him film to de top flo but when we got dere an he went 0 to o miss bliss mayos do I 1 jes kep de car right dere an watch hlin blin good boy what happened 1 me he knock an buffin happen den 1 he ie call out doris doris jes like dat an she come coma an talk to him but she open de do could you hear what else he said no bah after dat he whisper to tier her hissin like a snake laurie set his teeth even sam felt the ophidian to in shaw go on lie he ordered den I 1 reckon miss mayo she rot put on a coat an lat dat man wait I 1 fought he was gwine gwane leave an I 1 she aho was glad but he stood dere battin an grID nIn nur to split his hald leurle recognized the grin bout two three minutes she come out sam went on she had a big fur coat an a veil on she look awful pale an when dey got in de elvator she dian didn say gay a word dey gasn wasn aan nobody else in de car an it seem lak I 1 let her go off without sayin so methin so I 1 say you gwine away miss bliss mayo de man he look at me mighty cold an hard an she only nod she speak at alir afir no still sail she aint say a word she jes stood stiff an still an he took her out to do car an dey bote got in was it a limousine a closed car sah did the man film himself relf drive it no sah lie ile sat inside wid ald mis bliss mnyo the man what drove it was younger what did he look like 1 I see much 0 him lie ile had a big coat on an a cap but his lair was ballah laurie recognized the secretary which way did they go east they were st standing raiding on the top tod landing by this time and laurl laurie strode forward ill take a look around tier her room perhaps she left some message sam accompanied him and he be had not desired this continued companionship laurie found n certain solace in it in its his humble way this black boy was doris friend lie ile was doing ills his small part now to help tier her if as he evidently suspected there was something shi sinister lster in her departure entering the familiar studio laurie around it with a pang unlike the quarters of shaw it remained unchanged the room facing north as it did looked a little cold in the early light but it was still stamped with the impress of its former occupant the flowers he had given her only yesterday hung their heads in modest welcome and halt half a dozen eye flashes revealed halt a dozen homely little details that were full of reassurance here open and face down on the reading table was a book she might have dropped that minute there was the long mirror before which she brushed her wonderful hair and yes the silver backed brushes alth nith which she brushed it on the writing table were a pencil and a torn sheet of paper as it if she had bad just dashed oft off a hurried note in short everything in the room suggested that the owner whose pre presence still hung about it might return at any instant and yet there in the window where he had bad halt half jokingly tot told her to place it hung the brilliant symbol of danger which he himself had selected lie he walked over and took it from froin the latch in doing this he discovered that only halt half the scarf hung there and that one end was jagged as it if roughly and hastily cut off lie ile put the scarf into ills his pocket As he did so ills his pulses leaped pinned to its folds was a bit of paper so small and soft that even the inquisitive eye of sam following his every motion failed to detect it laurie turned to the black boy wed better get out of here be suggested trying to speak carelessly and leading the way as he spoke miss mayo may be back at any moment sams eyes bulged till they rivaled shaws you don vink she gone lie he stammered why should vv we think she has hag gone laurie tried to grin at him perhaps ashes merely taking an automobile to ride or an early train for a day in the country certainly nothing liere bere looks as if she had gone away for good people usually pack dont they sam dropped his eyes ills his face human till now took on its familiar look ile he followed mist devon into the elevator in silence and started the car on its downward journey but as his passenger was about to depart with a nod sam presented him with a reflection to take taka away with him TO BIS CONTINUED |