Show ae if 7 Z 0 IV its 00 UM 01 wa 01 ii too P SYNOPSIS mad alad dan maitland Malt land on reaching his new york bachelor club met an attract ive young woman at the door janitor OKi igan acan assured him no one had been within that day dan uncovered discovered a worn wom nna ans finger prints iu in dut dust on hla his desk along with ith a letter from his attorney maitland dined with mith bannerman his attorney 1 0 dan met et out for or to aft r ta 1 aili an family jewels during lits hla walk WAIR to the country seat neat he met the y woman in gray array whom ho lad seen leaving caulle lil bachelors bach elora club b her auto had broken broken down lie he fixed it uy liv a ruse rune she he lout lost him maitland Malt land on reaching home surprised lady in gray array cracking the 8 safe re contal containing ning his kerns gems she apparently took him for a well known know n crook daniel anist anesty half hypnotized baitland Malt land opened his hl 0 nafe a yie took ahr efrom the jewe jewels and gave them to tier lier first forming a partnership in crime the real dan ansty bought by police of the world appeared bou on th the same name mission maitland Malt land overcame over ramo mm him lie he met tho the girt girl outside the house and they sped on to new york in her auto ke ite had the jewels and she to met meet him that day a maitland reveled rece e led ed a mr air snaith I 1 introducing t acing himself as aa a d detective active to shield the girl in gray Af Malt altland land about to show how hirn him the jewels ewels supposedly supposed ay lost loat was wai felled by a blow from analtha Sn altha cann can the latter proved to be anisey himself and ile he secured the renis gems anasty who wax was maitlandt Mal Mait lands double as the latter the criminal maitlandt Mal Mait lands engagement enea Rement with the girl in gray anasty feared tor for the safety of the gems gema CHAPTER VII continued lie he nodded eyes to hers fascinated with an odd commingling com mingling ot of fear and hope and satisfied self aalt love now I 1 am unconnected with the affair no ore one knows that I 1 had any hand in it besides no one knows me that I 1 steal tier her tone fell lower the police have never heard beard of me dan I 1 1 1 I belleve believe 1 I could get away she ehe interrupted and then if they stopped you youre right by the pow powers eral 1 ile he struck the table smartly with his first you do that and we can carry this through why lacking the jewels I 1 am mateland Malt Matt land I 1 am even wearing malt lands clothes he boasted 1 I went to his apartments this morning and saw to that because it suited my purpose to be maitland Matt land for a day or two then T tier her gaze questioned his waltert walter cried anisey and when the man was deferential at his bis elbow call a cab at once please ac certainly erta sir mr the rest of the corps of servants were at the other end of the big room anisey made certain that they were not watching thep then stealthily passed the canvas bag to 0 o the he girl she bant bent her head bestowing bestow lug it in her handbag hand bag you have made me happy dan came tremulously from beneath the hat brim whatever doubts may have assal assailed led him when it wa was s too late by that remark were effa effaced ced slen silenced ced who could mistrust her sincerity then when and where may I 1 see you again he be demanded the same place lt it was a bold move but she was a standing landing 4 the waiter was back announcing noun cing the cab in waiting and he dared not protest yet his pat riposte commanded her admiration 11 no too risky it if they are watching here they may be there too lie he shook his head decidedly the flicker of doubt was again extinguished for undoubtedly maitland Malt land had escorted her home that morning her reference had been to that place somewhere else he h insisted confident that she was playing fair she appeared to think for an instant then tumbling in her pocketbook extracted a typical feminine ancl stub its business end looking as though it had been gnawed by ka a vindictive rat and scribbled hastily on the back of oc a menu card mrs mccabe west one hundred and eighteenth street top floor ring king three times 1 I shall be there at seven she told him you wont fall me not if im still at liberty he laughed and the waiter smiled at discretion a faraway far away and unobtrusive smile that could by no possibility give of lenae feuse at t t the he same time it was calculated to no convey n aey the impression that in the 40 opinion pinion of one humble person at least sir 2 maitland Malt land was waa a merry wag goodby good by dan anisey held her fingers in lils his hard palm tor for an instant rising from his chair goodby good by my dear ho be said clumsily ile he watched her disappear eyes humid temples ny by the powers lie cried allut hut aho ashes worth it perhaps tits his meaning was ns vague even to himself lie he resumed his seat mechanically and sat for a time staring dreamily into vacancy blunt fingers drumming on the clot i no he be declared at length j no im safe enough in tier her hands 11 once secure from tho the public gaze baze tie girl crowded back into a corner of the cab as though trying to efface herself tier her eyes closed almost automatically mati cally the curve of laughing lips became a doleful droop a crinkle appeared between the arched brows waves of burning crimson hooded flooded her taco face and throat in hor her lap both bands lay clenched into tiny fists clenched so tightly that 41 fc hurt numbing her fingers a physical a I 1 dain that somehow helped hor her to 9 I 1 Q L 0 1 I want you to keep your mouth shut endure the paroxysms of shame that she should have stooped so low jowl presently the fingers relaxed and her whole frame relaxed jn in sympathy the black squall had over but now were the onca tranquil a ruffled and angry then languor gripped her like an enemy she lay listless in its hold sick elch and faint with disgust of self this was her all punishment to have done what she had done to be about to do what she contemplated tem plated for she ba had set her hand to the plow there must now be no ho drawing back however hateful might prove her task the voice of the cabby dropping through the trap roused her this Is the martha washington maam mechanically site she descended from the hansom and paid her fare then summoning up all tier her strength and resolution passed into the lobby of the hotel and paused at the telephone switchboard CHAPTER vill VII dance of the th hours four p m the old clock in a corner of the study chimed resonantly and with deliberation four double strokes and while y yet et the deep throated music was dying into silence the telephone bell shrieked impertinently maitland Malt land bit savagely on the sag gag and knotted his brows trying to bear it the effect was that of a coarse file rasped across raw quivering nerves and he be lay helpless able to do no more toward endurance than to dig nails deep into his palms again and again the fiendish clamor shattered tho the echoes blinding flashes of agony danced town down the white hot wires strung through his head bead taut from temple to temple would the foot fool at vie the other end never be satisfied that he be could get no answer evidently not the racket continued mercilessly short series of shrill calls alternating with imperative rolls prolonged until one thought that the tortured metal sound sounding ing cups would c crack Though tl nay prayed that either such would bo be the case or else that ones head bead might at once mercifully be rent asunder that so BO exquisite should be the moans means of releasing him from his bonds seemed a refinement of irony yet maitland Malt land was aware between spasms that help was on the way the telephone instrument for obvious obvious convenience had baen equipped with an extension bell which rang simultaneously in OH Oll agans fu ru artera arters when maitland Malt land was not at home the Janitor valet so warned would answer the calls calla and now in the ll 11 e still intervals the heavy thud of lia hurried feet could be heard beard upon the staircase Ol ohagan lagan was coming to answer and taking tits his time about it it seemed an age before the rattle of haawkey kaaa key in latch announced mai awl another ere all unconscious of the cgue supino supine on an the divan against the dorther study wall tho the old man shur shuf tad to the instrument lifted receiver from the hook book and aepli applied it to ici ha ear I 1 well well he be demanded with that impatience characteristic of if the crate for or modern methods of com munt cation the alia ails ye to yo ye niheam and lorry I 1 arn am I 1 know etwas a leddy eddy iles heb not wan naan there or thereabouts faith and he be say name will I 1 be tellin him nape kape ut to thin none ot of roe me business if ye ye do ill not answer sure am I 1 to be clim climbing bin two lights flights av wry ivry dolve dinits goodby good by hanging up the receiver and the divele fly away wid wd ye grumbled Ol lagan As he turned away horn from the instrument maitland Malt land managed to brodu produce c a a sound something between a moan and a strangled ati angled cough the old man whirled on hla his heel I Pw hats the next instant he was bending over maitland Malt land peering into the face drawn and disfigured by the gag the saints pre preserve sarve us ns and who the davvie are ye at all owhy dont ye dovake maitland Malt land turned purple rod and emitted a furious snort mesther ther maitland Matt land be all thota st strange rangel Is ig ut mad I 1 urn am or how bow did yo get back here and into this fix sor and me the halls and poll shin the brasses fernist the front dure wry ivry minute since ye out 11 indignation struggling for the upper hand with mystification in the irish mans brain he grumbled and swore yet busied his angels in a trice the binding gag was loosed and ropes and straps cast cant free from swollen wrists and ankles and with the assistance 0 1 a kindly arm behind his shoulders sat up with the pain of renewing circulation in his limbs wid these two oles oleo saw ye lave three hours gone sor and I 1 cud swear no had bad inifred entered this hause since thin doea ut all mane be all kliots holy it menna means panting brandy and soda Oli ohagan agan end and be quick maitland Malt land attempted to rise but his bis 1 legs gs gave under him and he sank back with a oath resigning himself to wait the tha return of normal conditions dit ions As an for hla his head it wits was throat threat eving to split spilt at any moment thu tight wires twanging internally infernally between his temples while the corners of his mcguth were cracked and bore from the i pressure of th the e gag all of which totted up a considerable debit against mr Ani anistes account for maitland Malt land despite his suffering hall had found time to figure it out to his personal satisfaction or dissatisfaction it if you prefer in tho the interval between his return to consciousness and ane arrival of Ol lagan it was simple enough to deduce from the knowledge in his that the burglar having contrived his escape through tho the disobedience of higgins should have engineered this complete revenge for the indignity maitland Malt Malti land and had bad put upon him how he had divined the tact fact of 0 the towels bowels rema lemafa ne in their owners DOS session was lebs clear anil and yet it was wai r reasonable ease reano after all to presume that maitland Malt land should prefer to hold hla his own possibly antiey had seen the girl slip the canvas bag into Mal Matt lands pocket while the latter was kneeling and binding his captive however that was there was wan no denying that ho he had trailed the treasure to its hiding place unerringly angly and succeeded in taking possession of tt it with consummate skill and audacity when malt land canio came to think of it he recalled distinctly the trend of tho the burglars inquisition in the character of 0 mr snaith which had all been calculated to discover the location of tho the jewels anil and when ho he did recall this fact and how easily lie had been duped malt land could have ground ilia hla teeth in melodramatic rago rage but for the he clr cir comstance cum stance that when first it occurred to him such finch a feat was a physical impossibility and eyon when the operation bouli have been painful to an extreme sipping the grateful drink which Ol lagan presently brought him the man pondered the rase case with no pleasure lit in the prospect he foresaw it if higgins had actually communicated munica ted the fact ot of Ani anistes escape to the police the entire affair was waa likely tl 0 come out in the papers all of it thrift that Is that he could not suppress ilat even figuring that he could silence higgins and Ol ohagan lagan no difficult task though lie might be somewhat late with fliggins the most moat dis discreet creef imaginable explanation of his extraordinary conduct would make him the laughing stock of hla his circle of friends to say nothing of a city that had been accustomed cus tomed to speak of him as mad maitland Malt land for many a days day unless ah he had it lie he could pretend so long as it suited his purpose at all events to have been th tho man caught and left bound in higgins rare care simple enough the knocking over of the butler would be aserio ascribed ed to a natural ebullition of indignation the subsequent flight to a harebrained hare brained notion of running down the thief and yet even that explanation had I 1 its ts dIff diffley lel ties ilow how was he to account fur for the ilia fact that he had failed to rom muni cute cate with the police knowing that his measure tie te asure had been ravished lavished ravi shed it was nil all very involved mr air malt ehni returned tho glass to OI fagan and cradling his head in ills his hands racked big hl brains in vain for a satin sails factory tale to tell there were so many things to be taken into consid ei el atlon there was the girl in gray not that lie he had forgotten her for an instant hla his fury raged but tho the higher at a the thought that Ani anistes inter interference fen had bad prevented hla his Malt lands keeping the engagement doubtless the girl had bad waited then gone away in unger anger believing that the man in whom she bhe had placed faith had proved himself unworthy hut but that telephone call Ol ohagan lagan demanded the haggard and distraught young man who was that on the wire lust just now teeing a thoroughly trained servant Ol lagan had walled waited that question in silence a with impatience though he was now his hi tongue unleashed lea shed hit worda fairly stumbled on one an others heels in his anxiety to get them out ont in the itasta possible time sure an all a leddy sor eor be the vicc ity av her askin were yo ye in and es lif havin seen yo ye go out no longer ale anso thin wan 0 clock anti and sayin auit a 11 about comin hack back at all a all was I 1 to be tellin her aven it ye we were byln there on tho the die va van n all unbeknown est to me which the same can not help pleaded the young man feebly smiling one thing thine at a time please ohagan Ol lagan answer me ma one question did she give a name she did not sor bof though mesili there there walt wait a bit I 1 want to think of course she hail bad given no name it be like lier what was he thinking of anyway it could not have been the gray girl tor for she knew him only as anisey she could never have thought him himself maitland Malt land nut but what other woman of his acquaintance did not believe him to be out of town lount with a hopeless gesture maitland Malt land gave it up tip conceding the mystery too deep die for him his intellect too feeble to in grapple with all its infinite ramifications the counsel he had bad given Ol ohagan lagan seemed most appropriate to fits present rf needs eds |