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Show I TJne latal Necklace V2cy Vckers I i c.k.h, i letter for each Jewel on his Jf (Continued from Last Sunday ) . ... . P , writing pad: (Continued from Last Sunday,) CHAPTER VIII. Suspicious Circumstance. ft wHE record of the mastci t crt ninah of the hint h u n dred -fan reccal in ol of invariable trndrnrp on th part of the criminal to project him.' self forward in imagination to thi I probable circumstances of the dti- I ootery oj hit m He to " ward but not backward " Sorran's classic work on tin science of detection was at that limp In the course of being written Backward" Back to the very be-ginning be-ginning to the moment when that Grange elusive personality with the soft contralto voire and the tm.izing hair hid hooked her room ft( rh. Astorbllt and back agal'.i beyond l hat To the Grand ( entral Station anl straight Jnto the train. Sorran wa always lurky with trains A kittle I more than an hour's Journey Tlm3 enough to shuffle the cards and consider con-sider his hand A girl of striking physical an. peerance cruyrgM from sleep: 111 tie Connecticut Tillage and goe-straight goe-straight to the Astorbllt Hotel with B brand new outfit. She arrives two davs before the prlnrc is due. There is no room for her Br chance an apparent Stranger overhears over-hears a clerk refusing her accommodation accom-modation and offers his room. Improbable, all of If Stranger dr. not give up their rocm like ;ha' V eren as s means ol opt ning a flirta tion. It would hs e to be -trang-&jfl er of a ery curious temperament. In crime there in no cnnicldencr, HK That appearod In the appendix, the section that gave mnxlnis for detec-tlvee. detec-tlvee. Captsln Q nmgham, then, was a confederate. A confederate of whom" jsM The girl allows h-rself to be ac rosted by a second si ranger 3or-ran 3or-ran whom she certainly has not Diet before She gives him her co:-rect co:-rect name and address, She talks iH and behaves exactly as a girl from a little, place- like East Pennaeook would talk and behave. Given that she were a crook, why hud she not fl lied about her name and address 1 Given that she wero not a crook. HH whence came her surpr sing abilifv 9 to throw shadowing detectives off the "She Is either crook or notcrook, Ml the logicians would say." no mused) and musing, produced a 2x5 pocket writing-pad and made a jjN couple of columns. In the "crook" column he wrote1 I "Comes to one of the mo6t expen- -l..- t U Vdb kl C LIU1B1I III 1 III IV BIICU IICI family Is known to be hard up. Knew of the arrual of Prince wUu Mpak. Knows why he has come. 3KB Wears a eur'ous necklace made ap- HH parently of her own hair Sits in mHH the foyer at a time when ihe Prlnc is expected. Is recognized b him. tejdj The recognition alarms him. Tlv iKbB Prince is found strangled with her Urafl necklace. She pre.enf police from HHH watching her movements." That, so far was the case for her crookedness. The sum of the links HiL of evidence made a fairly strong chain Now for the "non-crook" column f&u First, she blurts out her know!- uH edge of the Prince and, his more- fnS mentB to a stranger who might, or Sfl might not have been a detective. She openh smiles at the Prince and wwE expresses surprise when he doe not come and speak to her In spite of this she naively denies knowing him personally She wears pub-H pub-H llcly the chain with which tbo Prince is subsequently strangled PsM Every one of these actions was a Stl separate Item of evidence a gains; y.$ her prouded by herself. Which - was absurd ! wfflB The two columns cancelled out Sorran did not mind in the least. He had the ultra-logical brain that 'jSi'S can accept an apparent paradox f , without discomfort More facts were wanted. East Penacook might provide them CHAPTER IX. A New Complication. A HOUSE that was still called the Manor House, though the Manor had passed to RSw other ha'id-i! The dooi as opened to Sorran by an obvious scrub BH woman. He asked for Mrs Wilding ind was shown grudgingly Into the drawing-room While Sorrar. waited he took stock of the room The note of SHH --hobby gentility was plain to his keen eyes. There was a wide gulf between the Manor House and the Astov-H Astov-H bllt Sorran had come to bridge it As Mrs Wilding entered the room f his first impression was of her age. Somehow he had expected that the MkOm moth-r of that vital young girl uouIC herself be young and active, Mrs .Vlldlng he judged, was in the middle fifties. "Good-afternoon. 1 she ssid with the most distant of bows. "You wish to see me, I believe? Please be seated." "Thank oj," said Sorran. And then, perceiving that he must startle the old lady out of her frigidity or he would learn nothing. .ime directly to his point KH "I have come to see you in con nection iith your daughter," he began. The cYrct nis v.ord produced t'Bj WhOliy unexpected He had supposed that she would be mildly surprise 1, He was unprepared for the iippar ntly extravagant motion mo-tion which the lady displayed. "Weam oftlwun and held it "Oh!" she gapped. Her hreath came uneven!) She groped In her chatelaine Sorran dived forward and took from it her smelling-salts "Tell me! Tell me quickly!" sho said "There Is no need for alarm. I assure you," said SoiTan hastily, "is she alive?"' demanded .Mrs Wilding "I have no reason whatever to believe otherwise." said Sorran. faintly puzzled. "When I sow her last yesterday morning - sin-seRned sin-seRned in the best of health and spirits.:, "You Saw her?" exclaimed Mrs. Wilding. 'And In New York' Why. Oh. why hasn't she come to see her mother'' Did sho tell yuu that Mr. Sorran?" Tears were coursing down the old lady's cheeks Sorran had not bargained for this md he felt momentarily mo-mentarily at a loss "I gathered that Miss Wilding had only lelt home last week." ho -aid tentatively "But tell me about her," said Mrs. Wilding "Where did you see her?" "At the Astorbilt hotel" "Oh!" wailed the old lady and began to wipe away her tears. Sorran frowned. The interview was slipping out 6f his hands. He was making step after step in the dark, and, it appeared, stumbling at each step. Her next words threw a dim light "It was Rosrmai y whom you saw at the Astorbilt hotel," she ex laimed almost Indignantly. "Why couldn't you have said so at once? You have gnen me a shock for nothing Oh. dear, my nerves are not what they were. I have been warned again and again Why couldn't you have said what you meant in the first place?" The grande dame had vanished, l little tearful old woman stood !n her place. Sorran was touched and. unreasonably, f.-lt ashamed of himself. him-self. "I am extremely sorry that liter? has been a misunderstanding," hi said. "1 have been speaking of Ml. Rosemary throughout." "And why should you think I want news of my daughter Ros mar ''" slip demanded "Rosemar left here last week much against my wishes. I thought you had something to tell me about my daughter Luc. I have uot heard from her not so much as a po card, if you will believe mi sine.' she left home at the end of the war to help with the hospitals in Salonlkl." Sorran was on the alert. A set-ond set-ond daughter Lucy. Lucy had Inft for Salonlki at the end of the war. An unusual time to become a nurse. Lucy had not been heard of Thing were beginning to happen. "Miss Lucy went out as a lied Cross nurse?" said Sorrau sympathetically. sympa-thetically. "Hae you applied to the American Headquarters lot-news lot-news of her?" "I think Rosemary wrote some time ago," said Mrs. Wilding, "but there was no answer I think ft 111 1 1 st peculiar. And don't tell ml Rosemary has gone to tind her, for it shall not believe it. I know why sho went." There was the clear invitation to ask the obvious question and Sorran Sor-ran asked it. "It was the ideas put into he: head by that Mr. Belfrage. Pleasant Pleas-ant manners I admit, but I didn I like him'rom the first I advised Rosemary to have nothing to do with him Did she take my advice.' No. She admitted to nie that sho used to meet him evenings He's old enough to be her grandfather and ought to know better than to put ideas into her head when her Aunt Jane leaves her a little money. I don't know why I'm telling tell-ing you all this. What have you come to see mo abeut?" "About the very person you have Just mentioned to me Mr. Belfrage," Bel-frage," said Sorran. drawing a bow at a venture. "I am anxious to get in touch with him. He doesn't live here, I gather?" "No." replied Mrs. Wilding. "He stuyed here. He came dowu from New York to tell my daughter that She had Inherited twenty-five hundred hun-dred dollars from her Aunt Jane in Australia, whom I've never heard of, nor did my husband ever speak of her. which perhaps Is not strange, as, she seems to have left this country when she was quite youug." I see." said Sorruu. "He came down here to bring your daughter her legacy and took rooms in the plac e May I ask for how long?" "Long enough to persuade Rose niary to go down to New York by herself and see life. What does a girl of that age want to see life for? I'm sure there's enough life in East Pennaeook." He kept the old lady on the ub-ject ub-ject of the legacy for half an hour. '"( JfiZOi lntrrnationii if hut gleaned nothing fresh save that Rosemary had partly placated her mother by the assurance, possibly given in good faith, that she would make inquiries for her sister Lucy There was one line of possible information that remained He would have to work toward It tactfully. tact-fully. He begun by rising to go. "When I had the pleasure of meeting Miss Rosemary," he said, "she showed mo her very curious chain. It is made of her own hair, I believe, and 1" "Bless my soul!" exclaimed Mrs Wilding. "That is Lucy! ff the girl you saw was wearing the hair-chain hair-chain it was Lucy and not Rosemary." Rose-mary." "Will you show me a photograph of your two daughters?" asked Sorran Sor-ran He hatl to repeat his request several times before the old lady could grasp it. Eventually she produced pro-duced a photograph of the two girls taken in their teens. Sorran slare,d from one face to the other They were not strikingly strik-ingly alike, and vet the family resemblance re-semblance was sufficiently strong for him to bo uncertain. 'I cannot tell," he haid. "But whichever of your daughters I have seen I will bring back to you safely." Then he escaped from the house as quickly as he could. CHAPTER X. Eight Emeralds. T was nearly eleven. Inspector I Dolan was studying the latest reports handed him by a tired 1 Kcnture Service. Inc. Great nnt clerk, out of temper through hav ing to work overtime There was a knock at the door. The Inspector Inspec-tor looked up as Sorran entered. "Any news?" ho asked anxiously Almost, but not quite," replied Sorran. "We might make It quite if you can let me have that hair-chain hair-chain for a minute or two." "I'll fetch it for you myself," he said, and left tho room, to reappear later with the cjiain. which was enclosed en-closed in a silken envelope and sealed. "I'm afraid 1 must nsk you not to remove it from this room, Sorran," Sor-ran," he said. 'Good enough." rcpliod Sorran. ' Let me sit down with it while you, get on with your work." Sorran laid the chain out on the table at his disposal and studied it A hideous trinket, reminiscent of the Victorian age, of sickly sentimentality. sen-timentality. Its one redeeming feature was the bizarre effect produced pro-duced by the arrangement ' of the uncut emeralds. There were eight emeralds, He perceived now that they were set at Irregular And not regular intervals, as had seemed to be ihe case when the girl was wearing them. ' He closed his eyes and visualized iio Kigbtsi Kcaervcd. c-tSSn .. the chain round the neck of Its nearer. Then his luain played him S trick He saw not the chain at all. but 1 creamy white throat, shoulders, ."arms Eyes Diue-groen s a an Irish sea. In his ears was the faint whisper of that soft contralto. con-tralto. He opened his eyes with a muttered self reproof and turned his attention back to tho chain. He picked it up and examined tho clasp By one clasp a Jewel was so close set as to make it difficult diffi-cult to close the clasp. There was the space of one gold rivet aud then another jewel A Bpaco of -en rivets and then three jewels close set without interval. Two rivets and another jewel. Four rivets and another jewel. Three ilsets and the final jewel, which was sepurated from the fastener of the clasp by one rivet only. Sorran counted the jewels. Eight emeralds. Next he counted the rivets Eighteen rivets. Eighteen plus eight equals twenty-six! Out came th writing pad and the fountain pen. The first jewel, uext to the clasp, might bo assumed to be "a." Miss ing "b" for the gold rivet, the second sec-ond Jewel would stand for "c. Seven rivets made the next Jewel "k'.' In a couple of minutes ho had a tetter for each Jewel on his E writing pad: ACKLMPUY Er He stared at the letters. He K. could make a number of simple wordB of them, but no word that w usod all the letters. He worked m out a fresh scheme, beginning with tho opposite clasp, which made his ifc first letter "b " ThlR led nowhere K and he returned to his first assort- E- ment of letters, F Suddenly he laughed and wrote: E LUCY MPAK He remained staring at the letter- lng several minutes, while his Ms thoughts flew ahead. Ahead and R backward He come to his con- P elusion with an Intake of tbo Jfl breath that might hav indicated .. pain. V- "I've got a hit of news," he jerked it the Inspector. ilk "What?" demanded Dolan. "The girl who owrls this chain Is jf" dead I want all the men you can rrlvo me to find her body." It CHAPTER XI. I A Love Token. S INSPECTOR DOLAN was sitting m at his desk, his attention mo-mentarlly mo-mentarlly diverted from the 'fe sheaf of reports before him. Ho was holding the silken envelope w containing the gem-studded hair ft!" necklace. E "The nirl who owns this chain is dead.' Sorran had flung at him and K had gone away without a word of f explanation, with the excuse that p. he was only theorizing and was ft probably wrong. That, of course, T was all nonsense reflected the In P spector If Sorran was theorizing ft be was probably right T Inspector Dolan was uneasy He u looked at- the growing pile of di- L gested reports with something of f impatience. Those reports showed i his own vast machinery at work. ft They gave particulars of everyone !L who had been In the hotel at th w moment of the Prince's arrival, of j? every one who had left the hotel since that moment and where he lj. or she had gone The machinery r was perfect But the Inspector had It: already begun to suspect that it K would prove inadequate. P From his own point of view it k, wad of paramount Importance that 'p. he should first recover the odd ten 1 million dollars' worth of peMlOUS t; stones And yet the Inspector In 5 his heart of hearts had been whollv convinced by Sorran's hint that the f nochanlsm of the whole brilliant ! coup had its hub in the apparently f unreasonable murder. f His eye fell again on the silken & envelope in his hand 1 If Sorran w?s right and the girl j. who had owned It was dead, the corpse was hound to be reported soon. The significance of her death could be dealt with later. In tho II meantime, how had Sorran deduced I as much by a mere examination of the necklace? H He removed the necklace from the envelope. His trained eye at I once noted the irregularity of the f gems remembering that Sorran had given his news after a prolonged pro-longed examination of the necklace I he drew the obvious Inference. He returned the necklace to its I envelope and pressed an electric I button I 'Take this to Walters, and ask him to decide it," he said to the man who answered the belt. To himself, he added- "If Sorran Sor-ran will work in the dark, he must ji take the consequences." I While he was waiting for the cipher expert's report on the neck- 1 ace. he turned to the sheaf of re- 1 jorts from Lester the plain clothes j man. whose terrain was the steel-walled steel-walled suite itself One item stood out from the others "Tele- I phone tapped from room 718 Dou- j ble switch enabling conversation to be held with Prince and to inter-cept inter-cept all calls to Prince " j Inspector Dolan looked at the j plan of the hotel Room number 718 was In the same corridor as the suite and diagonally opposite it Next he consulted the hotel list to find the occupant of number 7 1 S "Miss Rosemary Wildiug, East j Pennaeook, Conn." The name itself meant nothing to the Inspector He turned to tho ij alphabetically indexed report from Hall, the detective whoso work began be-gan outside number 727. 1 wilding. Rftsemary, Miss, East Pennaeook, Conn Room number 71 S.' Followed a police descrip- J tion of her physical appearance, a 1 special note being given to hair, unusual wine red A note was appended ap-pended to the description I Was sitting with Mr Sorran in Coyer when Prince entered. Prince seemed to recognize her. Shadow- j cd at instance of Mr Sorran- Left hotel 10.50, llth Inst Lost by shadower at Times Square 11:15. I Mr. Sorran in chares ' 3 "Urn!" grunted the Inspector, heavily. "'Girl with hair of unusual i ninr red Hair necklace used to strangle the Prince unusual wine red. Sorran talking with the girl before anything happens. Sorran j ask; to keep the girl to hlmaelf." There was .1 knock on the door and a man entered with the report H from the clphei export "Cipher elementary Letterius 'Lucy Mpnk Suggests love token. Common device In Balkan eoun- L tries on betrothal. " 7 I Inspector Bolau considered the JH (Continued on e.d FQ0C) j I A Esdratind. New Detective Mystery Story I II "A he drew the cover a ray -jjlj of moonlight fell on the dead ?iSr'x woman's face and toucher '1 the hair so that it glowed .mjii glowed to a dull red that re- minded him of blood" (Continued from Preceding l'ajfj report. Lucy Rosemary. T.. . i difference might be Important negligible Lucy might be a set ond name In the- meantime - It would be as well to take precau Hons against everything v Ho " picked up tiip receiver 61 a private house telephone. "That you. Bricrly? I Sor ran shadowed until further notice " W- CHAPTER XII. A Floating Body I a N hour after midnight at the A police wharf near the Bat- ter '. ine uae nan turned an hour ago and now swirled and I gurgled again?t the hull of th I police boat as it mau its way to 1 the sea. The officer on duty kept his P steady gaze on the moonlit water H It was a monotonous job. Things VCTy rarelv happent-d nowadays. No sooner had he made the last j reflection than his trained eye wa caught by an unfamiliar bobb.ng in the waters He leaned over the rail of the boat and peered H There was a moment of uncer- taint Then he blew his whistle Instantly from below the deck jl came the hiss and chug as the en gine of the little motor launch wus ! started The launch shot Into raid- stream. I The watchman save the direction in a hoarse bellow - moment i later the launch had recovered the I object from the river and was re- I turning to the boat. The lieutenant in charge of the police boat for the I night was summoned I " The lieutenant looked at the ob- ject that had been recovered from i the river. A long experience of river work made it unnecessary for him io ask questions'. "Morgue,"' he ordered curtly and I returned to the cabin that xvas his I office to make due note of the oc currence. A sling stretcher was lowered on which the body was brought onto I the deck jj "Young woman, by the look of I her. ' said one of tho stretcher ) bearers. "Pull that cover over. Tom. said ' the second stretcher bearer. "That jl hair gives me the creeps." I . ogj The man whose task it was to II draw the cover looked at the corpse i and shuddered A ray of moonlight , fell on the dead woman's face and touched the hair so that It glowed glowed to a dull red that re- minded tho man of blood He drew the cover hastily The stretcher vas taken to the morgue The I police doctor was summoned. The lieutenant of the boat tele- I phoned his report to headquarters. I Within throe minutes his message I was transmitted (o Inspector Dolan, j and by a standing order, to David 1 Sorran Sorran received the message in his own rooms and hurried immc- dlately to 'he morgue; He arrived ',. lore the police doctor had left. l Sorran explained tiis Identity to j the doctor, which was confirmed by ssBSBSH 'V the superintendent, whn ipon Sorran Sor-ran begging the doctor to wait a lew minutes longer, obtained permission per-mission to ente- the morgue itself. Then he caught his breath suddenly sud-denly For a moment he thought with a more than professional pang of anxiety that his theory had been falsified by the crude fact before him. A more careful scrutiny, however, how-ever, showed him that this was not so He left tin- morgue, veiling his satisfaction from the doctor and the superintendent The doctor agreed to answer Sor-ran's Sor-ran's questions "How long has she been dead?" was the first question. "Difficult to say." answered the doctor. "I have only made a cursory cur-sory examination. I don't think drowning was the cause of death." " Violence?" I think not. The boy was verj emaciated. We shall probably be able to say definitely at the post mortem " Sorran left the point and went to another "Any identification marks?' ' 1 have just examined the clothing, cloth-ing, which is oj a surprisingly fine texture. It is marked in several -places 'Rosemary W ilding.' " "Thanks, very much," said Sorran, Sor-ran, whereupon the doctor with a final word to the superintendent hurried back to bed Sorran chatted with the superintendent superin-tendent long enough to gain his confidence. On Sorran's advice he made a direi tly personal report by telephone 10 inspector Dolan Sorran Sor-ran heard him tell his chief that the clothin.' was marked ' Rosemary Rose-mary Wilding" Then he left the morgue and stopped at the nearest telephone station. He rang up his sister a doctor with a rising reputation, who had lost none of her femininity in the pursuit of her profession, "Sorry to disturb you, Violet," he said into the receiver. "It's not a case for vou, but for me David I say. how do you mark your loth ing'" "What a question'" telaimed his sister sleepily "I mark it SOR R-A-N. What did you think?" "I had an idea you might mark It 'Violet Sorran." Would you mark it like that if you were living at home wh Ethel''" Wo At home we used each to put our initial It would look silly to put the full name " "Thanks, awfully, Violet," said Sorran. "Frightfully sorry to dls turb you. Good-night." Sorran replaced the receiver and left the call office. "Poor old inspector " he mused "It's not quite fair to him in a way. but It will be the best thing for him in the end. Wonder what he's do ing now?" At that moment, did Sorran but know It, Inspector Dolan was jiold ing a telephone conversation with the. chief of tho Fa' Pennaeuok police station sT CHAPTER XIII. A Surprising Request. NOOX of the following day-two day-two days after that on which it had first been discovered dis-covered that the prince had been murdered. In Christopher street a stranger on his way to 'the docks paused for a moment to peer intp the windows of a curiosity shop; the action itself it-self was sufficient to denote :ilin rv stranger. Within the shop Itself the proprietor, pro-prietor, who on his sign proclaimed pro-claimed to the world that his name was Weam. was, sitting, waiting. He was as unlike the traditional owner of a dock-side curlnsjiv shop as It was possible to imagine He looked most like a lawyer. He took a gold watch from his waistcoat pocket, looked at itand 6cowlcd. There was the taintest trace of uneasiness apparent as he replaced his watch. Five minutes passed, and then there came a look of reliel in his eyes as hfs still alert ear- caught the- sound of an approaching footstep. foot-step. 4 A moment latei a man in the middle thirties, of strikingly military mili-tary appearance, entered the curiosity curi-osity :iiop "You're late. GlUingham "I am sorry, Mr Weam." said the other, a note of respect clearly discernible dis-cernible in his voice. 1 u.ihl lint help It They have taken my description de-scription from that night at the AstorbHt, and I have to avoid a chance encounter with any of th po'ico detectlvee who might be smart enough to pick it up." "Hm. " said Weam. "It was somewhat some-what careless of yon to expose yourself that night. That was not in my calculation- " "I am sorry," returned Gilling ham, "but I don't sec how it could have been avoided I saw hor talk ing to a stranger There was no knowing who be might be though I have since found out who he was." Tho old man waited for the oil" to continue , "He was David Sorran," said Gil-lingham. Gil-lingham. and added "I think vou will agree that it i just as well I took the risk 1 did " "Perhaps," agreed tho old- man. and left the point "Have vou anything any-thing to report to-day7" "Tho Battery police picked up the body shortly after midnight." said GlUingham "N'o report is hiding hid-ing issued to the newspapers " The shadow of a smile flitted across the old man's face "They don't want us to hear about it." he said with a queer noise in his throat that was a chuckle. "Shall I go up?' asked Gilling-ham Gilling-ham "Yes." Replied Weam, "and you 'had better be convincing." There was a note of warning in (O) lfl','0. luteroatioDd w I bbbbLbbH his voice. GlUingham looked at him. decided that it were better to ask no questions, and passed through the door at the back of the shop. ( Weam' was about to follow him when he turned as tlie door of the shop opened and a young man en-t en-t i(l. Weam advanced to meet him. deciding to assume that he was a customer. "What can I show you?" he asked. ".Miss Rosemary Wilding, please," was the surprising answer. CHAPTER XIV. "Arrest on Sujpicton." JNSPBCTOR DOLAN pick, d up lj the telephone receiver on his desk before the bell had finished fin-ished ringing "Hello' Yes, Walters. You're told oft" for Ms. Sorran. aren't you? Rights I'm listening " "I'm speaking from downtown, sir. " Mr Sorran has just entered a curiosity shop in Christopher street. N'.uno on sign above the door is Weam" "Well, there's nothing in that, is there?" snapped the inspector. "Yes, sir. I think there is. Mr. Sorran hung about for over five minutes before entering. While he was waiting the man who is registered reg-istered at the Astorbilt 9s Captain GlUingham entered the shop before Mr. Sorran." "That's a smart bit of work on vnur part. Walter.-,. Anything to add'" "Yes, sir I went past the shop a moment ago and looked In. There was no one in the shop, so I entered en-tered quietly. I could hear voices coming from a room at the back of the shop One of them was Mr. Sorrun's voice and one of them was a woman's a young woman's. I should think, sir, and a lady Judging Judg-ing by the speerh, though I couldn't hear whs ' w as bb Id "Right " said the inspector. "Go back to your post, and if you seo Mr. Renshaw before you follow Mr. Sorran from that neighborhood obey any orders he may give Got that?" "Yes; sir." Inspector Dolan put a hurry call through lo tho Battery police station. sta-tion. "How many plalu clothes men have you available at the moment''" mo-ment''" he asked. "Fifteen." sir " "Do you know a curiosity shop in ("hrist opher street- run under the name of Weam?" es, sir, "Send ten of your- plain clothes men out under Renshaw. Draw a onion round that shop and shadow any man that comes out. If a y oung woman comes out. arrest her at once on suspicion of being concerned con-cerned in the murder of Prince Mpak. If she comes out with a man, arrest them both. Got that?" "Yes, sir." I K?atur SorvKr. Ine. Ureat Uri "Right." said the Inspector 'If nothing happens for an hour, a couple of my own men will arrive with a warrant to enter the bouse and take the girl If she is there." Having "thus set another crank of his perfect machine working Inspector In-spector Dolan hung up the receiver. CHAPTER XV. A Gentleman's Promise . VirvEAM '-howe,j not the least jLf 'r;ne of ill may at Sor- ran's demand. "Certainly, if it Is convenient for Mies Wilding to see you," he au-swered, au-swered, and added. N'ou are Mr Sorran. 1 presume?" Sorran bowed acknowledgment. Weam led the way through the door at the back of the shop. Sorran followed up a flight of stairs richly carpeted On the first floor Vi earn opened the door of a room to reach which they turned at right angles from tho head of tho staircase; so that Sorran Judged that they passed Into what had been originally the next house. In the room, talking to Captain (Illlingham. stood Rosemarv Wild lug. S.irrrui noticed that r.- 're.mi white of her complexion had now an ashen quality. Her eyes, blue-green blue-green as an frish sea, looked up into his. startled, as he entered, and made his pulses throb. "Mr Sorran wishes lo see you, my dear said Weam in a tone that Indicated nothing but fatherllnetj "Mr Sorran ," repeated the girl ' This is the gentleman whom I met in the lobby of the Astorbilt " "I am glad you've not forgotten me. Miss ilding." said Sorran "I have come to take you home " ' Oh. no. no! " cried the girl, "that is impossible '' As jf her sudden outburst required explanation she added Please remember that you are a perfect stranger to me You youself told me that 1 must be careful care-ful with strangers." The girl from Ka-t Pennacook' Her naivete was beyond all ques tion genuine, thought Sorran. "I am not such a stranger as I was then," said Sorran. "I have seen your mother in the meantime. And I promised that I would bnlig you safely home." Rosemary looked surprised and not a little puzzled. . "If you have been to seo my mother" she said, "she will have told you Why I came to New York '" 'She did,' said Sorran. "She told me you had come to find your sister, Lucy And I promise you. on my word of honor, that if you will come with me now I 1 will tain Kifhlo Korrved. . wav in which the official police could have become aware of that curiosity shop and Its significance in tho Mpak mystery, and that was by shadowing his own movements. So Inspector Dolan had as little faith ns that, thought SoTran. So much the better He knew where he was. He considered blmsolf wholly free to make whatever bargain bar-gain ho liked "That is so much nonsense, he said to Rosemary "These gentlo-mi gentlo-mi n will both tell you that T have DO connection whatever with the , jttk police force " "Mr Sorran is a private detective.' detec-tive.' said Weam, ' but Is at present pres-ent working for the police His probable object in persuading you to leave this house Is to hand you ov er to them " "We are wasting time." said Sorran. Sor-ran. "I will prove my bona fides very simply I freely admit to you, Miss Wilding, that I cannot now get you out of this house If you Were to walk out with me. now l could not prevent you from being arrested " Rosemary shuddered "I ask Mr Weam In his interests I iLr" as veil as yours," continued Sorran, Sor-ran, "to device a means by whksb I nii get you away from here. Come. sir." to Weam "surely this Is the first time that a detective has appealed ap-pealed to vou for assistance in de- resting the police" V "Why should yo,i think that I W can help you?" he asked. 1 ''Because," replied Sorran. deter- 1 J mined to pierce bis indifference, f m "yon are . the most resourceful I IM rogue in New York - wh:cb is to -v'"bW bI say the world " njtt Weam nodded slow'.y. but beyond I this made no sign that he had fi heard Sorran's accusation. 'Supposing thi' I am able to pr form this little favor for you," he nl said, ' w hat enrs Moral ion may I cx pect in return ? Q "A one per cent chance of escaps for yourself." 'From what0" deinarded Wean. m "From exocntion for the murder if LUC3 Wilding ' Sorran had "iicceeded The mask of passive indifference -was. torn off. For the first time Weam I looked his age. His hands shook l gHis jaw dropped, while bis iron j f Us-. 1 take you to w here your si-ter is Rosemary Wilding crossed Impulsively Im-pulsively to where Sorran was standing Sorran slipped her arm through his. Outside the house the cordon of plain clothes men were taking up their positions. CHAPTER XVI. A Grim Dilemma. SORRAN, Rosemary's hand on his arm. made for the door-V. door-V. eam was standing in their .path and made no effort to draw aside. "Do you know that Mr Sorran Is a detective? ' he asked in that quiet faintly quavering voice that somehow some-how gave the suggestion of Immense Im-mense self-ronfldence. The effect of his words was elec trical. Rosemary snatched hor hand from Sorran's arm oh' she gasped "How unutterably un-utterably mean! I thought you v.fre my friend," she added reproachfully re-proachfully "I, am," returned Sorran "What has my profession to do with our Friendship? Don't you trust me?" "I don't know who to trust," she Wailed w roti hedly "If I were your enemy," said Son, in, "J would have come here with a warrant for your arrest. Would I have walked into a house when., you are protected by your er friends, unarmed and unaccompanied?" unaccom-panied?" "You have not come unaccompanied unaccompa-nied " tald Gilllngham, who was .standing tv the window. Sorran gave the speaker a puzzled glance. Weam asked a question with his eyes. Weam's face was a mask of pas Sit e indifj'ei eni e "Theie are three plain clothes men in the street below," he added, speaking to Weam. ' Renshaw, of the police headquarters Is posting them. There are probably an equal number at least in front. a cordon round the house Mr Sorran has some dozen members of the police force to protect him from Miss Wilding's friends." Sorran strode over to the window and looked out Renshaw he rec- gnized. He had no difficulty in making out the three plain clothes men There was the fact. The inference? infer-ence? The Inference was abundantly abun-dantly clear. There was only one will struggled to overcome the er fects of the shock. Rosemary Wilding was gazing from Weam to Sorran with horror j in hei eyes. . , "Is it true0' she almost whispered. whis-pered. "Of course, it Isn't,'' snapped Gll-lingham Gll-lingham Weam in those few seconds, had recovered himself. "If Mr. Sorran thinks that he can prove it, he will doubtless try " In hor grim dilemma Rosemary's Instinct made her turn to Sorran. "Tako me away." she sobbed. "I am sorry " said Sorran "I would to God I could do as you ask, V -.; but I can't " He turned again to Weam. "Well?" he demanded. Weam was not without that touch of greatness which is often ! found in the master criminal., Each move In the gamp ho played with hifl own life tnd the lives of others j was clearly understood His judg- I menl was never stampeded by II! panic Dispassionately imperson- I dlh almost, be realized that at that particular point Sorran's Interests happened to coincide with his own "I will do as you ask," he said, and added, "because it happens to suit me." He turned to Rosemary. -The girl j recoiled before her sister's murderer. mur-derer. I "It Is our only chance," Sorran I warned her She seemed to gain I strength from his words and stood j her ground Weam came closer to her. "Keep still," he commanded irri- tably; "I am noi going to hurt 1 you" Bl As he spoke his nervous, bony hand reached and caught the pin The next moment Rosemary's wealth of hnlr fell in a cascade to ' her shoulders, to her waist, below HI her waist. JL The girl, in obedience to a glance al i from Sorran, made no movement. Weam caught one of the unpent tresses and held It in the palm of 1 his hand "Your hair," he said, and agaiD there came into hie voice that weird sound that was a chucklo. "It pleases my sense of humor to I sae you for the moment by your ' hair." As he spoke he drew a pair ol 1 scissors from his pocket and severed sev-ered the tre3s. He held it for a K moment In his crabbed fingers; It gleamed so that his hands Beemed steeped In blood. To Be Continued Next Sunday. I |