The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-07-16

nave no 10 give 10 me-Very
well. that ends it; all you have to do is TO
'who sent you here7''
twice. II any one had / would give him my
opinion Of him when | got back. You refuse
TO tell me anything about the explosive
that powdered that gold?'
Refuse? OF course / refusei What did
you expect? / suppose the man Mo sent
you here thought, because you were an en-
gaging young woman and | an old dotard,
| would gable to you the results of a
life's work. Oh, no. no. no, But 1 am not
an old dotard. 1 have many years to live
Il hope so. Wei. I must bid you good
morning. I shall go to some one else"
The old man showed his teeth in a for
1T IS useless. Your bottle is broken, and
the material IL contained is dissipated. Not
a trace of 1t is left"
He waved his thin, emaciated hand In the
air as he spoke.
"Oh. that doesn't matter in the least" said
Jennie. Il have several other bottles here
TIL professor placed his hands on the arms
Of his chair and slowly raised himself to his
You have Others" he cried. "other bot
ties? Let me see them-let me see theml"
No" replied Jennie, Il won't"
With a speed which. after his recent coll
lapse, Jennie had not expected. the professor
ambled round to the door and placed his
back against IT. The glasses over his eyes
like fingers crooked rigidly. He breatRed
rapidly and was evidently laboring under
tense excitement.
"Who knows you came up to see me-? he
whispered hoarsely, glaring at her.
Jennie. having arisen, stood there, smooth
ing Down her perfectly fitting glove and
answered with a calmness she was far from
feeling.
Who knows I am here? No one but the
director of police"
professor, quite evidently abashed by the
information, The rightly of his attitude
relaxed and he became once more the old
man ne had appeared as he sat in a heap
in his chair. You will excuse me-" he NUT
tered. edging round toward his chair again.
Il was excited"
81 noticed that you were. professor. But
that door"
WHY he asked. pausing on his way
Because l wish It OPEN
And l." he said In a higher tone, wish
1t to remain locked until we have come
to some understanding. l can't let you
go out now, but l shall permit you TO go
unmolested as soon as you have made some
If you do not unlock the door immediate
ly l shall take this machine and fling 1t
The crashing glass on the pavement will
soon bring som one to my rescue, pro-
lessor. and. as l have a voice of my own
have little difficulty in directing the strang-
ers where to come"
AS Jennie spoke she moved swiftly toward
the table on which stood the strange aggre-
CATION of refectors and bent glass tubing.
\ no. no. screamed the professor.
springing between her and the table. Touch
anything but that-anything but that! Do
not disturb it an inch-there is Z anger-death
not only to you and me. but perhaps to the
whole city. Keep away from It,"
Very well. then" said Jennie, stepping
back. IN spite of her endeavor to sustain
her self-control. open the door. Open both
remain seated in your chair / shall not touch
the machine, nor shall / leave until / make
the explanations you require and you have
answered some questions that 1 shall ask.
But 1 must have a clear way to the stair
in case you should become excited again"
"Tll unlock the doors. I'll unlock both
DOORS" replied the old man TREMENDOUSLY,
fumbling about his pockets for his keys.
But keep away from that machine unless
ALL
With an eagerness that retarded his speed
the professor, constantly looking over his
shoulder at his visitor. unlocked the first
door; then hastily he flung open the second
and tottered back TO his chair. where he col
lapsed on the tiger skin. trembling and ex-
we may be overheard" he whined. One
can never tell who may sneak quietly up
the stair. / am surrounded by spies trying
to find out what / am doing"
wal a moment" said Jennie.
She went quickly to the outer door, found
that it closed with a spring latch, opened
and shut ii two or three times until she was
perfectly familiar with its workings; then
she closed it,, drew the inner door nearly
There" she said, I'VE are quite safe
from interruption, Professor Seigfried. but
must request you not to move from your
chair"
Il have no intention of doing So. muir
INJURED the old man. Who sent you? You
said you would tell me. / think you owe me
II think you owe me one" replied the girl.
A told you before no one sent ntr6 me- IA !
L shall endeavor to make clear to you ex-
actly why / came. Some time ago there
Where? W VII n exclaimed the old man.
placing his hands on the arms of his chair,
as If he would rise to his feet
land 1 shall tell you all / can about 1t. The
government, for reasons or Its own. desires
to keep the fact OF TINS explosion q secret @r
circles know anything about it. / am try
ing to discover the cause of that disaster"
Are you-are you working on behalf OF
the government" asked the old man eager
ly, a tremor OF fear in his quavering voice.
No; l am conducting my investigations
But why? But why? That is what /
don't understand"
u would very much rather not answer
that question"
But that question-everything is in
volved in that question. / must know why
you are here. If you are not in the employ
of the government in whose employ are
your"
secret?"
Yes, yes. yes!" cried the scientist i'm
patiently.
Well. 1 am in the service of a London
daily newspaper"
Il see. / see, and they have sent you here
to publish broadcast over the world all you
can find out of my doings. 1 knew you
were a spy the moment / saw you. / should
never have let you H."
My dear sir, the London paper is not
aware of your existence even. They have
not sent me TO you at all. They have sent
me to learn, If possible, the cause of the ex-
plosion i spoke Of. / took some of the de-
bris to Herr Feltz to analyze 1t, and he
said he had never seen gold, iron, feldspar.
and all that, reduced 10 such fine impalp-
able grains as was the case with the sample
1 left with him.. 1 then asked him who i'm
and he gave me your address. That is why
/ am here"
But the explosion-you have not told
me when and where it occurred"
THAT, as / have said, is a government
secret"
But you stated you are not in the govern
ment employ. Therefore 1t can be no breach
of confidence If you let me have full par
ticulars."
Il suppose not. Very we'll, then. The
explosion occurred after midnight on the
18th In the vault of the treasury"
The old man. In spite of the prohibition.
rose uncertainty to his feet.
Jennie sprang up and said menacingly,
Stay where you are!'
Il am not going TO touch you. If you are
so suspicious of every move / make, then
go yourself and bring me what / want.
There Is a map of Vienna pinned against
the wall yonder. Bring it to me-"
Jennie proceeded in the direction indi-