Show k kiy ins i irmo T I 1 1 e U bf fifth fth avenue alvenu 1 11 yf apt fiat f i CHAPTER CHA P TER XI continued 21 although he e could 0 b ild not shouts shout he freund he could make inarticulate la noises blees he maythem mad ethem them till tits his throat ackad ched and the cal cornera pers of his mouth aiji were raw from the harsh rope rope 11 lit bid bad no idea fidei yu wh ere be was he supposed bellington must have prepared ai 1 this secret place and kept its locality hidden perhaps er haps through it there here had come omen ere tills who had upon him seized him whose agony left him white and feeble perhaps he would starve to death here hem it was waa well known milt his bis movements jn were uncertain and that he was impatient of questioning it would be found that ills his bed was unoccupied eliy wo would uld not took look tot him here they would hunt tar far alfhid while he starved to death in itla tower retreat N no 0 shame or repentance pen tance came to him instead he cruised himself for carelessness in his former home he had preserved almost an excessive caution but he had stipp sed in RO large a household as this with many man servants st and guests h awas 0 was binte there were other rooms which should have attracted burglars mare more thain these rooms where women kept kepi their to conie come here argued a preconceived plan farst of all lie he though of 11 could he after all have dared this vf was M lija ita dejected spirit assumed for petting ilia roan man off ills guard lie ile remembered telling McKlin ber that those violo who underestimated will him came to disaster perhaps ne ae had made the mistake of thinking a 1 man beaten to the ground when he aas was merely resting awaiting an opportunity to spring ilia assailant might even eien have been foag Mc mccumber lUmber it was a tall agile DIIO who attacked him according to dames barnes instructions sliced at breakfast asked K it lo lie 10 should arouse air or see if lie he wanted his conee coatee la in his room As as rule auxon was up early in the end they him ills his mouth was swollen and discolored and he could not re to lila ills feet when bradney uncut cut the bonds he was in a deplorable condition jae he would tell ills his wife nothing nor w would lie he hear of lie pollyp being notified 1 I know who did it he be lied and I 1 will RH attend to him inn roye elf this must not get info the papers it if it does I 1 know it comes from one of you three tie he looked coldly at ills wife bis butler butle and the footman it was bradney alone who dared to meet ills his gaze in such a rage as this mrs trem bIoU sneed could not avoid the consciousness that eliat it was MIS one of 0 the wealthy employing employ lm ilni se with anger brudney welco welcomed mOd the opportunity to see aff amara a roan of whom he had heard so amt h bad at at wh whose hands he had him n if lf experienced elpe fenced treatment at a moment when his usual control was golm iuie it seemed to the scientist that for a all minute nute the mask was lifted and the HIP terrall emotions which he hal apt L pt hidden wire were let loose lie he cursed tits ills wife he called sneed kneed a timid worthless crea creaturo tuna eliat he had allowed a thief to break through and ar assault sault him bradney towering over I 1 then hern all alj came in for his share where lind lim iahlo hulking flankey flunkey been that the had stolen upon him Pra tIney was secretly amused then IA n ami I 1 ilip ila chance aniie to ese escape lape tie he re eclied some of barnes gestures and fit e at once there edudd be fl a suspicion of cillus collusion lon it a aled i fd to mra airs baxon that here was a 0 courteous and efficient man servant goaded to rare insubordination sneed suddenly Pud denly took the resolve to depart with ills his footman turned to his wife pay thein and see they leave at once sneed turned on his heel beef and left the I 1 he room ills his second footman followed if an any oj of those other people heard ony any commotion just tell them I 1 had i a fainting spell and shall be all a right tm tomorrow orrow ile he almost pushed her from the room and turned the key blaxon hoped as he be walled walked to the th rare ii fe eliat lie he would find and the robbery iad 1 ud been made by professionals for rea tilly convertible plunder ile he hardly dared search for the ex the hie envelope which had held whit buld have kept a pliant end and obedient tool was gone negotiable ble securities and a 8 large sunt sum of cash were untouched it was plain that the 1111 had come for one thing only ond ind nd art been successful the man who would liae leave most to gain by this allt war Was young koban mckind b br who lud had been in the house a week ond and MS lad learned of the danger in vi illen hill father stood in biguri oung SICK imber was like the man of 0 whom had one fleet fleeting lag glance never again would there be the opportunity port unity to get any more ing lii letters the page pace stolen from the register could not be replaced what g tool ool he be had haid been not to havo have them to implicate the poll politician without them hem would be almost impossible I 1 were to make a baij stand and accuse his enemy of 0 attempted blackmail the public would p probably ro bably flock to the support of the older sao and better known man it was the greatest Krea gres test blow paul huron had aver ver sustained ile he felt that the of it would never neve r pass from his bt mind ills his face was bruised and sore sire but he be hardly knew it he who bad warned his bis opponent of the folly of him had HH D 13 1 no 1 al I Iwas lateen 1 W when willu eil ed ids bl vito we to 6 eltar a abbe had d 4 z by bv WYNDHAM M 1 it in the ludlw i Bory los brought with her a pot 0 of coffee some sandwiches iches the coffee he eagerly be would not eat eal 1 I dont know what we are to now how those men have goner gone it most inconsiderate of you to talk like that to them the malda maids wont wait at table and the agency cant send any mien men until tomorrow it only we so many people staying herel here they wont be long here he said bald grimly 1 I think this social expert ment Is going to end pile the whole bunch to in automobiles andrake and take them to the chateau at huntingdon telephone for reservations and sae see they get a good m meal i eal like the change now lea leae ve me cie alone CHAPTER XII the evening that saw the flaco guests taken to dinner at huntingdon Hunting do found the japanese garden in lower fifth avenue occupied by the milman conspirators during the dinner which was perceptibly better served bec nusi sneed had dropped back into his of om he was in a deplorable condition place and achille was less hurried there was wag no word said about great greal kock flock it was when breed had taken the coffee away that ullman alliman began sitting in the center of them ho he showed no sign of triumph watching him film nita thought that she had never seen a man more perfectly courteous than he milman complimented them all on what they had done but it was her father who came in for the greatest praise the dough daughter watched him growing younger as lie he listened to peters el encomiums barnes frit felt that at last he be had been able to do his share we are now ullman went on to in the he position of holding what was going to use to lever himself into a senatorial seat I 1 have little doubt in my mind but that he will pay the price asked which Is a million I 1 dollars JIt without hout this evidence he has haa no a actual hold on with it lie can command his absolute obedience I 1 feel certain that with me mc kimbers help baxon can win without it lie he has little chance the question Is this Is the worth a million dollars to paul baul it not we vie are worse off than when we began if it Is we have won peter milman looked about him as the chairman of a meeting does when he desires suggestions none would have supposed that there was a very redl red risk of disgrace and imprisonment if claxon refused to buy boy and determined ter mined to prosecute if you yon had looked into his fam face bradney remarked und and had seen all the pai pars lons of hate and disappointment ent fear and despair graven on it you would have no doubt at all on the subject im certain he will buy them back but hell try and gut get us names barnes reminded him 1 I any to too gentle theres always that danger peter hillman observed calmly but when a man has so BO overpowering an ambition its as lits his lie he may use caution which lit in really abhorrent I 1 have no doubt he will wish he could put us in SI sing n g sin sing 9 but bot dietter b etter sh show him th that f it la Is dangerous before we ties see him we must rehearse some of the circum stances in which we were injured by him I 1 want him to think that we all know very certainly by what means he bebart hurt us in case hap he should hould decline to buy these letters he h a must understand that h be cannot il not prose prosecute cuje us mallo cab floyd malet et had ad said eald little ile be was waa watching the girls sensitive taca fact lie ile did not understand how hovi it was the others did not realize she be was buffering they had bad assumed that she gale was wai wholly with them and aa ai eager as they to win it was because malet loved her that he be knew what was passing to in her mind ile he had seen her with robin rabin he knew b certainly that she oved loved the lad and suffered torture at the thought was going to atom aid in giving paul baxon the he whip hand band I 1 over him it was plain to floyd malet that this love of his for a girl whose beauty had first attracted him because it was of a rare and finer sort must be kept a secret shiret what has the world to offer but scorn tor for the middle aged and unsuccessful lover but love he reflected if it to Is genuine finds its reward in service how could he ne help her was it possible to bring her happiness and robin I 1 the other men were talking about robins father he will suffer said bald mr milman impartially and his family will suffer buffer I 1 am sorry for them but in this alila case our interests welch weigh down the balance Mc Kimber at all events has har money and an assured position why not offer to sell the letters to him then malet cried you will get your money just the same and you will be defeating baxon I 1 Is he noticed that nita listened eagerly for the reply there are two tw reasons against it IL one that we know braxon to be a crook used to chicanery fraud and blackmail he will not protest no matter how we obtained these letters Us he will probably pay with mckim ber it Is different how shall we convince him that if he be buys these letters he to Is safe from subsequent blackmail he will know that his secret Is shared by many others and he will never feel safe As he probably wont run for office now he be may make a fight of it lie he has money he can retain the best counsel while we ari are handicapped from the start it ta Is not a matter of choosing to benefit one at the cost of the other personally I 1 am inclined to be sorry tor for Mc Kimber with us till nil it to la merely the east eist and safest way to get the money we shavo beerie from aman I 1 who did it I 1 chos to bell the catt cat barnes asked how flow are yu going to talk it II over with 1 I t think hink if I 1 telephone to him he w will III come but he might bring a gang of thugs with him barnes objected he can get a butich bunch of gunmen any time he needs them to prevent him going through this place and get ting the letters it Is not a house easy to break into as you jou know ile he will nut not be admitted it if he does not come alone if he Is as desperately anxious for those letters as I 1 believe he be will conio at once and alone I 1 shall not men ion them when I 1 speak to him but he will bu be thinking of nothing else malet had the opportunity to get get a few words with nita later in the evening A few mornings back he be said softly you met in the lie grounds at great rock kock you had a few minutes with him and ahn left him you said bald you vou thought you ion had been breaking your heart nita what did you mean she at him did I 1 say any thap how silly billy one exah before breakfast you cant deceive me like that he answered you are fond of robin and you pu are torn between two twe emotions your love for him and your our loyalty to your our father what you would like to be able to do Is to tilio to 6 those accursed letters and gle gl e them aero to mr Mc Kimber without letting hii hi wife or ton son know they ever existed 1 I would rather do that than any thing else she ehe admitted she sau au that it was useless to conceal it from the sculptor and she knew too that this middle aged genius with the worn face and quiet ways loved her li it is hard uncle floyd she said and smiled whimsically to feet feel one Is be fraying where one loves you are arc vot he protested TO BID BE CONTINUED CONTINUE |