Show gairl in the TL ua liz a b cok th fo ind a n top carew cc service CHAPTER X continued jed 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 individual looming large in the semidarkness semi darkness stopped in III his arbor of pus pushing about some boxes and retarded laurie with surprise are you the watchman asked the latter briskly 1 I am that were you yon here last night 1 I was was anyone else herel here dryll a wan did you hear bear any noise during the night ciril irbit were you asleep 1 I was admitted the watchman simply ills voice ans hibernian and rich with tolerant good humor 1 I want to make a trade alth you the newcomer held out his ellk alk lint bat will you give me your hat bill or any old hat youve youre got around the tae place for this 1 IT I will sald tile the watchman calmly though good humored lie seemed a man of few words and who might yon ton ber be he added adde d 1 I came in last night with sir mr shaw and I 1 spent tile here when I 1 woke up added lauble dryly 1 I found that my host had moved the watchman sadly shook libi his head youre a young lad he said with friendly sympathy als ris a pity youve got into these habits laurie grinned at him he had discovered that his money like his watch was sate safe in tits his pockets ets taking out a bill he showed it to his companion do you like the looks of that he inquired 1 I do admitted the alie watchman warmly tell me all you know about shaw end and take it for your trouble 1 I will promptly agreed the other but not much get for your money for ills little enough I 1 know the man youre about I 1 suppose Is the tat fat fella with eyes you could hang yer hat on that had tile the back room on tle the ground floor the one then all I 1 know Is lie he moved in three days ago and lie moved out two hours ago what lie did between times limes I 1 dont know but he paid for the room for a month in advance so nob odys mour nin his loss did he be say why he was going or where a word did he say ile he was in a hurry that lad tie he had a gang of three men with him and they had the alae empty in ten tell minutes I 1 lent em a hand an he gave me a dollar arid and the last I 1 saw of him A sudden thought struck the watchman where was iou you all the time he be asked asbed with interest in the cellar the watchman nod nodded deil understandingly youre too joung young for that sort of abing till me boy now im no teetotaler he went on 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 Hav eyou got one handy 11 have barp 1 the watchman disappeared into a shadowy hajowy corner and returned with a battered derby an a tine one grand hat it ISI Is he iii ar nestly assured the alie newcomer as lie be handed banded it over baurle took the hat and put it on ills head where being too atraill for foi t lm it perched at a rakish angle ile he cropped the bank note into Ms his own polk MIK nai and ana handed lanaea them to hi companion who accepted them without r ble emotion evidently brief though ills lay in the building had been herbert ransome shaw had accustomed cus cris tomed its watchman to surprises lauries last glimpse of the man as lie hurried away showed him with extreme efficiency and the swift 1 uncoils use of two well trained hands putting the silk hat bat on his head and the hie bill in his pocket rushed through the early kast fast side streets ile he was not often at this hour and eve even n in his it surprised him to discover how many were abroad so early in I 1 i the morning the streets seemed full of pretty girls hastening to factories and of offices flees and of briskly stepping men and women representing types that also would ordinal ordina illy lly catch the attention of the young playwright bait now he had neither thought nor erets for them ills urgent nacda were first the as furance thet doris was sate safe and next atie privacy of his own rooms a bath and a change of clothing obviously he be could not present himself to dorla doris in the sketchy ens ensemble embe he presented now or could coula be lie he decided that he could and must most to remain ln in b ahls 19 present state ot of suspense a moment longer than he need do was unthinkable lit in a surprisingly short time he ha was in the studio facing the man sam had called henry a yawning night elev elevator ator man who regarded ill bilm and his questions with a pessimism partly due to tho the lack of sleep and fatigue these combined influences led him to making short chert work of getting ting rid of this unkempt and unseasonable caller no sah ho he said miss mayo ion don receive no do callers at dla dis yere hour no still sah sara sam don como come on tell eight no sah I 1 cahnt take no messages to no ladles what aint out do acy beds yat I 1 got to per teck dese yere folks I 1 has lie ended austerely the caller peeled a bill from tits his over ever ready roll rind and the face of the buildings guardian angel changed find and softened ened haps I 1 could jes knock on miss mayos do lie suggested after a thought filled interval IT buts all I 1 want agreed laurie knock at her door end and ask tier her if sir mr devon may call at nine and take tier her out to breakfast tell her lie he haa bas something very important to say gay to her tars sah the guardian was all humility ile he accepted the bill and almost simultaneously sly the elevator rose out of sight right the interval before its return was surprisingly short but too long for the nerves of the caller laurie pacing tile the lower hall filled it with apprehensions and visions which drove alie blood from his heart lie ile could have bare embraced henry when the latter appeared wearing an expansively reassuring grin miss mayo sho she say bay ihaas lie he briefly reported under tile the force of the nervous reaction lie he experienced laurie actually caught the mans arm ashes there he jerked out youre sure of it sah 11 henry spoke soothingly by this time lie he had made a diagnosis of the callers condL condition tion bilitch agreed with that of the night watchman laurie had bad just interviewed she say ayans 1 he repeated 1 I done say what you tol me and she say sav tell do benman 1 jes like dat all right nodded and strode off for the first time he was breathing naturally and freely she was there she was safe in a little more than an hour lie would see tier her in the meantime ills his urgent needs need were a bath and a change of clothing As soon as he was dressed lie would go back to the studio building and keep watch in the corridors until she was ready then after breakfast lip he would personally conduct her to 0 the security oi of louise Ord ways home louise need not see her if site did not feel up to it but she would surely give tier lier asylum after hearing lau rles ries experiences of the night that was its ills plan it seemed it 11 good one ile he did not admit even to himself that under the air of sang frold froid he wore as a garment every instinct in him bim was crying out for the sound of doris voice also as lie jie hurried along lie he was conscious that a definite change was taking place lit in ahls attitude attl tude toward herbert ransome siev S haw so ly reluctantly but fully lie had now accepted the tact fact that bertle Eer tle represented a force that must be reckoned with tie ne inserted the latchkey latch latell key into tile th door of tits his apartment with an inward prayer that bangs would not be visible and for a moment tie he hoped it il had been granted but iset when he be on cn alered their common dressing room lie he found tits his churn chum there in the lat last stages of ills usual careful toilet lie ile greeted laurie without surprise or comment in the detached deta clied ansedt manner lie he had assumed of late and lautie laurie hurried into the bathroom and turned ou cm the lint bot water glad of 0 the excuse to escape even a tete a tete that greeting erecting of gapes added the final notes to the minor symphony life was playing for him this morning As lie lay back in the liot hot water relaxing hla his stiff bruised body the thought come came that possibly ile he and rodney were really approaching the final breaking point canga bangs was not ordinarily dina rily a patient chap ile he was too impetuous and high strung for that but lie had been wonderfully patient with ib this s friend of his heart it if it were true th atlie friendship was dying under the strata strain put upon it and laurie knew how possible tills this was and how swift arid and intense were bangs reactions life henceforth however full it might be would lack an element that had bad been singularly vital and comforting ile he tried to think of what future days would be without bangs exuberant personality to fill theta with work and color but ha ba could not picture them BOO and as the effort merely lidded added to tile the gloom that enveloped him he abandoned it and benin again gave himself up to thoughts of doris As he be hurried into his clothes a strong temptation cattle to him to toll tell the whole story then baeva would understand everything and he be laurie would have the benefit of 0 advice and help la in untying doris tangle dorasil again she sworn swam into the foreground of his consciousness with a vividness that ande ills his senses tingle lie ha was sitting silting on a low chair arcing ills hla shoos shoes and his fingers shook as lie finished the lie task ire he dressed with almost frantic haste urged on ny by a tear fear that despite his efforts was wag shaping itself into a mental panic then hair brushes in hand lie ho faced ills his familiar mirror end and recoiled with tin nn exclamation doris was not there but tier window was and biting lin ngin 1 l ing from its center catch was something bright that caught tits lila eye and recognition tion it was a small roman scarf with ancarrow a narrow vivid stripe CHAPTER XI xa doris takes a journey wll mn in ivo minutes lie he was la in ill the studio building across the square frantically punching tile the eleva elevator torbell ach outwardly he showed no sg signs ns of the anxiety that racked limni but presented to sam when that appreciative youth stopped ills his elevator at the ground floor the sartorial perfection which sam always vastly admired arid and dreamed arnAd of imitating bat tor for such perfection saro sam had no eyes today at this early hour it was not much more th tl in rk half past eight lie he had brought town down only ITO rs and no one but laurie was walting waiting for the upward journey when the f lk 0 jill doris was not there but her win dow was and hanging from its center was something bright that caught his eye cye and arad instantaneous recognition two tenants of the building had walked far enough toward its front entrance to be out of earshot sam grasped lauries Ln uries arm arid and almost dragged him into tile the car As lie did so lie ike hissett four word she soe one mist devon gone where when laurie had not expected this lie ile realized now that he should have done so ills failure to take in the possibility of tier lier going was part of ills his infernal optimism of ills his inability even now low to take tier lier situation at its face value sam was answering ills his questions bout eight jes after henry went and I 1 come on an stop in front de do an dat man mid ld de eyes lie he come in I 1 try stop him turn fum lakin de car but he push tile me on one side an order tile me up like lie he was wilson his himself self so I 1 took hita him to de top llo flo but when we got dere an lie he went to miss mayos do I 1 jes kep de car right dere an watch him good boy what happened ile he knock tin an buffin happen den lie he call out doris doris jes like dat an she coina an 1111 talk to him but she open do de do could you hear what else ele lie he said no bah after dat lie he whisper to tier lier like a snake snake f laurie set get ills teeth even breo sam felt 11 the ophidian la in shaw go on he ordered den I 1 reckon miss mayo the she put on a coat an all dat man watt wait I 1 he was wan gwine leave leav an I 1 she gho wo was glad but lio lie stood dere waltin an duft to split his hald laurie recognized tle the grin bout two three inI bhe come out sura sam went on ohp had a biz big fur coat an a veil on she look awful pale an when dey got cot in 10 lo do elvator she dida say fw feord word ord dey wasn else sn in do da car an it seem lak lah I 1 let her go oft off without sayin gayln som othin so I 1 say any you gwine awine away miss I 1 I mayo bayol I 1 debnan de man tie be look at me cold an hard bard an she only nod sic she speak at ally alir 1 no sab she aint eny eay a word she nhe jes stood an still an I 1 he 1 a took tier her out to de b ear car an dey bota bair e got in was it a limousine a closed car tans sati sah did the he man himself drive it no sill sah tie ne sat inside wid bliss alias mayo the man whet drove it was wa younger what lid did lie look ike 1 1 I see bee much 0 bam ile he had a big coat on an a cap but his haar was ballah laurie recognized the secretary which way did they go 7 east they were standing on the toy top landing by this time and laurl strode forward ill talce take a look around tier lier room perhaps she left some message sam accompanied ahlm arid and though lie he had bad not dot dess desired fred this continued companionship laurie found a certain tain solace in it in his humble way this black bolua dors friend ile he waa doing tits lils benall aman part now to help her if its aa lie ia evidently suspected there e was something sinister in her departure entering the familiar laurie looked around it with it a pan pang unlit unlike e the quarters of shaw it remained un nn changed tho the room facing north as it did looked a little cold in the early light but it was still stamped with the IP impress ress of its former occupant the tha flowers he had given her only yesterday hung their heads lu in modest welcome arid and halt half a dozen eye flashes revealed halt half 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 flaute there was the long mirror before which she brushed her wonderful hair and yes the silver hacked backed brushes with which she brushed it on the writing table were a n penell pencil and a tor torn sheet of paper as it if she had just dashed off a hurried note in short everything ever thing in the room suggested that the owner whose pres pre ence still hung about it might return at any instant and yet there in the window where he had halt half jokingly told toh tier her to place lt it hung the brilliant symbol of danger which he be himself had selected he walked over and took it from the latch in doing this he be discovered that only half the scarf hung there and that one end was jagged as it if roughly and hastily cut oft off lie he put the scarf into his pocket As aa he be did so its his pulses leaped pinned to its folds was a n bit of paper so small find and soft that even the inquisitive eye of sam following tits his every motion failed to detect it laurie turned to the black boy awed wed better get out of here he ha suggested trying to speak carelessly and leading the way as he spoke miss bliss mayo may be back at any moment 11 sams eyes bulged till they rivaled shaws you don tink she gone he stammered why should we think she hai hag gone laurie tried to grin at him 1 perhaps merely taking an automobile tonj to ribe or an early train for a day in the country cert certainly ainaly nothing 9 here looks as it if slie she had gone awaa away y for good people usually pack donl don they sam dropped his eyes ills face human till now took on its familiar sphinx Ilke look lie ile followed mist devon devork into the |