Show 1 1 chwe nh ta ARK LOUIS JOSEPPI JOSEPH by VANCE IA author of the false faces the lone ii S M I 1 R illustrated wolf by IRWIN etc MYERS AWERS si copyright 1320 1920 by the author 2 RED AND HIS GUN synopsis vaguely conscious of AL a double personality but without any idea of its meaning the girl leonora makes her accustomed way into the str street e et of strange faces in the underworld of now new york tork marlo joins her bar greatly in love and seeing the fine qualities which the girl really possesses possess marlo seeks to turn her from the path ot of inevitable destruction she promises to marry him at Ri cafe gathering place of criminals leonora meets her partner red Carn carnethan ehan and his associates and Is accused of betraying a fellow criminal to the police police crash into the room and two are killed by carnethan Ca Carn mohan ehan leonora and the rest escape in her studio priscilla maine wealthy artist awakes from troubled sleep with a distinct feeling of having tier her uto lito linked with leondras Leo noras priscilla has painted a picture of herself in fancy dress a gipsy which has a strang effect on her unnerved and tearful fearful that her mind Is priscilla calls to her aid a dear friend dr philip fosdick who Is in love with her he Is stunned to find that her dream story of the police light fight Is confirmed by the newspapers pris clila tells him about the mystery of her mother who died when she was born he sees the effect of the painting and pronounces it a case of auto hypnosis priscilla makes him promise not to go to the police and he begins investigating it for himself the personalities of priscilla and leonora become more closely identified red sends word to leonora to come to him in hiding biding treacherous inez ine in love with red volunteers as guide and takes her to marlo mario she promises to marry him but changes her mind when he decides to set the police on red SURRENDER continued 10 you are overwrought marlo mario drew up a chair and sat down for days you have been living at high nervous ten tension slon never knowing what fatality the next hour might bring forth tonight against your wish and judgment you came out to meet a roan man you fear and loathe braving the pl peril il of arrest as well as the boutall ty ef ct this storm your clothing Is wet through you are shi shivering you suffered buffered a shock at me by chance cl iunce then we quai fried ile he lifted her hands to his lips one after the other tile the sum of such physical nervous and emotional stress was too much leonora you fainted without a signoff sign of warning I 1 caught you barely in time 1 I suppose I 1 it if you say so marlo mario but I 1 dont understand I 1 remember our rowing think of that no more marlo mario pleaded and at the same time insisted you and I 1 must never quarrel there can be no excuse tor for misunderstanding when our hearts are one she nodded meekly tell me one thing only he be pursued sued ner her eyes promised who la is philip philip her look was completely blank 1 I dont know any philip you are sure intent search of her face satisfied him St strange rangel in your faint you spoke that name as it if you were talking la in your sleep you said distinctly yes philip and again no philip I 1 am safe with ith marlo mario now 1 I dont know she drew a hand over perplexed brows and yet its funny like an echo what you no matter with decision the spaniard paulard dismissed the puzzle took her hands bands in a firm grasp and held her eyes with alth a gaze gaz earnest eearnest find and commanding for the present forget all that forget everything but that we are united now and forever nothing nothing leonora can come between us now we cannot permit it we will riot not love such as ours Is not to be denied or paltered faltered palt ered with upon any conceivable consideration As I 1 am wholly holly yours so you must hence forth be mine and to us all the rest must be such stuff as dreams dreams are made imade of you understand dmit leonora I 1 have your promise never since childhood had bad she so surrendered to domination but now she knew a strange dear joy in submitting she bowed tier lier head then lifted it to show him adoring eyes yes marlo mario so that Is sett settled ledl 1 marlo got up and strode into the bathroom water began to gush loudly into the tub ne ile brought brou glit back a light warm robe of fleecy stuff you sou are cold and wet a hot bath will ili wake make you another woman then put this on meanwhile I 1 will god dry clothing for you and acab tonight you sleep uptown the best and quietest hotel in the city will be the safest in the morning I 1 will call for you we will go to get the license for or our marriage by noon you will be my wife by nightfall we will be far from new york tork they kissed marlo lifted her to tier her feet the door latches of itself if anyone knocks pay no I 1 shall be back in a few minutes and have leave my key in a staring daze utterly an unthinking puppet of love and gratitude ww bw him go the sense of his bin personality lingered precious and compelling slie she did not feel alone she moved slowly toward the bathroom unconscious fingers loosening her sodden blouse finding the tub nearly full she shut off the taps only with the silence that followed did appreciation of her solitude come home till then ihen in her wonder and dellget dells ht she had accepted without question the easy explanation that inez had lost her way upon the roots roofs and brought her to the wrong hause I 1 ren even so red must be hidden somewhere in the same block of tenements suppose he were to learn where she was now dow suppose inez had not blundered but deliberately and with malicious intent b had ad led her to marlo mario then had gone to tell red lied intuition linked the poles of tact fact and surmise completing chest of conviction instantaneously leonora perceived with hideous clearness that inez had bad planned this in revenge for the long series ot of defeats she had suffered in their rivalry something for which inez alone had been in the first instance responsible it was inez who had made charlie hit the pipe too often thus clearing the way for this supreme trick of treachery this Thi made it plain why inez had not followed to the door to marlos flat but had bad climbed back to the roof and shut the trapdoor now leonora no longer guessed she knew inez had bad gone straightway to tell red that leonora refusing to answer his call had bad taken refuge with marlo instead beyond shadow of reasonable doubt red was even now on his way to make good his threats what it if ile he were lurking in the hallways of the house or in the dark of the street outside the door ald and marlo mario going to 0 o his death perhaps it was not yet too late to scream a warning down the stairs madly leonora ran to the door tore with trembling fingers at the latch and threw it open to find red standing m on the threshold thres holu a shape of grimi I 1 ak I 1 wheres that D n menace his slender feline body poised alertly an automatic pistol in the hand at his right hip an evil snarl gnarl twisting his cruel lips murder in eyes whose glance shot directly past the girl to the room beyond before she could lift a hand the man darted in caught her arm and sent tier her reeling to tile the middle of the room and ana kicked the door to behind him slie she staggered against the table and caught hold of it to save herself a fall carnahan Carn ehan waa wa at her side before any sound could issue from lips which lih his hard bard palm sealed brutally pistol nuzzled her bossom 0 oce e peep out of you he rasped Curial cunning ng eyes raked the room suspiciously cious clou sly ly wheres that d n VIII she tried to speak but a dry mouth and a constricted throat refused their office she could only shake her head in dumb fright with piteous eyes with it a grunt of impatience the gangster released tier her flung across the room in two catlike cat eat like bounds stopping to peer in through the doors to bedchamber and bathroom and satisfy himself that marlo was skulking in neither ne lie came back at a slow prowl with staring menace in his eyes and a mirthless grin where Is lie he ne ile seized her arm in a grab gra intentionally savage you isder me pain unsealed pale lips irps on which her whisper rustled 1 I dont know a lie alel I 1 her wrist suffered a more violent wrench she cried out in protest please redl I 1 dont know hones I 1 dont know where hes gone lie he went out just a minute figo what forr for he he said hed get me some colne dry things to put on OD mines all soaked well a grimace made the man mans fare terrible then hell be back before long ill wait thanks for gods sake red ked 1 all ah shut your trap lie ile cast her arm free violently and stood back so you thought you could gyp red Carn carnahan ehan and get away with it I 1 you little fool it she attempted no reply the first spasm of consternation passing the faculty of concentrated thought returned she entertained not est eat hope of escaping her fate at the hands of red carnethan Carn chan ehan whether she lived or died she conceived matter but it was otherwise with marlo him she must save somehow by some heroic exercise of wit and I 1 spirit yet in the beginning she cast about in vain for ruse or wile that might serve alone defenseless in the company of a man armed and determined murder in heart and mind a ninn insane with jealousy and hatred isike ike bred of sheer fear the fear of 7 assassin living moment by moment in the shadow of arrest what could she do against si th ih odds she could of nothing positively nothing and yet she knew there must be some way out if only she could find it she knew herself to be clever far cleverer than red as she had bad once boasted to his face iier her wits had yet to fall fail her however extreme or exigent the occasion give her time to think and she could circumvent him but now that one essential element time was lacking impossible to guess how bow soon return and then there was wag reds impatience to be reckoned with rier ner look of a trapped animal faded in its stead her face reflected concentration cent ration of thought amounting almost to abstraction she seemed to consider carnahan Carn ehan out of a fathomless composure as she might one factor in an engrossing problem in whose r solution blut 1 n she was vitally interested this change in her annoyed the man intolerably not only was any semblance of indifference offensive but lie he had learned to distrust the girls moments of thoughtfulness thoughtful noss if its ills intelligence telli gence was not of a high order he had at least cunning with acumen enough to feel and fear the finer mettle ve ot of her lier mentality instinctively he be sought an outlet tor for his exasperation in a burst of lurid blash phemy dousay you say he concluded cl gesticulating wildly with the pistol what you stand ln there for dembs a cat you try to come clean by alyin she responded quietly the use even if I 1 told you the truth it do any good youve made up your mind you said it im wise and ive 9 got ot you where here I 1 want you it if you think you can put anything over on me now well try it all try it I 1 wish you would she shrugged wearily then inquired in tone of moderate curiosity wheres Wb eres inez waiting for you now how ayou know T ne ile was obviously posed inez got to do T you know well enough it washer was her that told you I 1 was here well what if she did nothing only she brought me here first like h 1 1 yes the girl ignored the interruption 1 I even know where he lived no moren I 1 knew where to look for you so inez framed me just to put me in bad with you ali ah to sweeney ask charlie if you dont believe me ask him after he comes to at slag sing hos tomorrow hell hall tell you he be promised to meet me there tonight and bring me to you but when I 1 got there charlie was dead to the world inez said thed shed show me the way to where there you and leo was laying up tip and when I 1 sold nil all right she brought me here left me at the door and blew and then what could I 1 do I 1 know i where here to find you and I 1 was cold and wet and tired tira her statement carried co conviction vIct lon against his wish the man believed ell eved tier her and because it was aganet his hia wish als h ho be was the more arrita irritated ed and chose to deny his belief 11 ills s glare was ugly so the stall Is it you ask charlie hell tell you the truth you look to get it out of inez only hell tell you too late what do you mean too late too late to stop you making a d n fool of yourself Il lows that ilowe I 1 goan to make a d n fool out of fl 1 I dont know yet but I 1 hope you dont think im such a flat as to think youve come here tonight just for a friendly talk youre dead right therel there ills laugh rang with brutal scorn ill say I 1 come for no friendly talk with him and you well what did you come fort for she confronted him with sullen yet fearless eyes ills his own shifted lie ile had little stomach for plain speech the instinct of his kind was was strong in him to kill if be could what h he feared but to declare his purpose openly in anticipation to discuss it in cold blood with an intended victim was more than lie he had bad bargained for inarticulately resentful of such v in himself he looked furtively aside licking his lips and discovered the decanter of madeira which marlo mario had ae left ft on the table after opening it for leonora carnahan Carn ehan brimmed an ordinary drinking glass with the wine and drank it in one long draught grateful for its pungent warmth deluded by its mellow smoothness I 1 now madeira may not wisely be taken on top of rye whisky conscious of reinforced bravado the man leaned against the table hla hist back to it leering truculently what did I 1 come for oh I 1 dunno what ayou think youve threatened me often enough it if you ever caught me with him again 11 ile he nodded in a heavy humor you got that right kid no girl of mine ind n e can pass me up for any stool pigeon or dick that ever lived ile he and get away with it you wait see seel I 1 she shut her eyes in spite of herself she shuddered lie he laughed with gratification and her eyes reopened of a sudden sidden passionately unafraid seeking first the pistol in hla his hand then his face youre going to kill me red I 1 ill say I 1 am in spite of his shamefaced smirk he meant it in deadly earnestness she had another shudder but fought it down without releasing his gaze after a minute she said very well im ready only ile he interrupted youre worsen ready youre in a helava hurry his 1119 turn C comes 0 m eg first yours next get me but she implored his credulity with clasped hands extended 1 I tell you youre wrong about him red he got anything to do with the cops honest to god he the madeira was working powerfully A flash of unwonted insight visited vi his sodden intelligence you be beggin for that pill if you stuck on him and mars enough dull bull or no bull he be aln aint coln to live to say he be store stoe red Ca Carne baus girl 11 youre ture wrong tong red yure all wrong she protested wouly and anyhow what goodal it do you dont you kno know youre just playing inez game gwan inez aint nathn ln to me 1 I know she and she knows it it too and why dont you see you turned her flown down for me and ashes been crazy jealous ever since now she gets even with us both gets we out of the way right off the lat and sends sends you to the chair for it my god red you dont trust that hellcat do you dont you know k now ashes only waiting to fix things safe for leo before she squeals on you all ah forget it that together with more profanity silenced her le me and inez alone febbe I 1 did 7 pass her up tip for you but a long time ago and ashes forgot all about it by now she dont think of nobody but leo it if you believe that youre as big a boobas she thinks maybe but not as big a one as |