The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1911-10-13
CHAPTER XXI.
A slip Of Paper.


lethargy that enshrouded him, Mr..
Grimm's mind was chaos of vagrant
absurd fantasies: then slowly. slowly.
realization struggled back to ito own.
and he came to know things. First
was the knowledge that he was lyins
flat on his back, on couch, "
seemed; then, that he was In the DARK
an utter, AFFECT darkness. And maj
ly came an overwhelming sense OF ~
lence.
For a while he lay motionless. with
not even the movement OF an eye-lasn
to indicate consciousness, wrapped IN
delicious languor. Gradually this
passed and the feeble futter OF his
heart grew into a steady. rhythmic
beat. The keen brain was awaken
ing; he was beginning to remember.
What had happened? He knew only
that in some manner drug had been
administered to him, bitter dose
tasting of opium; that speechlessly.
he had fought against it, that ne mad
risen from the table in the restaurant,
and that he had fallen. All the rest
was blank.
With eyes still closed, and nerve
less hands inert at his sides he listen
ed, the whils he turned the situation
over in speculative mood. The waiter
had administered the drug, of course,
.unless-unIess it had been the courte-
Gus stranger who had replaced the
newspaper on the table! That thought
opened new fields of conjecture. MT.
Grimm had no recollection of ever
having seen him before; and ne hao
paid only the enforced attention OF
politeness to him. And why had the
drug been administered? Vaguely,
incoherently, Mr.. Grimm imagined
that in some way it had to do with the
great International plot of war IN
which Miss Thorne was so delicate
and vital an instrument.
Where was he? Conjecture stopped
there. Evidently he was where the
courteous gentleman in the restaurant
wanted him to be. A prisoner? PROB
ably. In danger? Long, careful at
tention to detail work in the secret
Service had convinced Mr.. Grimm
that he was always in danger. That
was one reason-and the best-why
he had lain motionless, withont so
much as lifting a finger, since that
first glimmer of consciousness had en-
tered his brain. He was probably
under scrutiny, even in the darkness,
and for the present It was desirable to
accommodate any chance watcher by
remaining apparently unconscious.
And go for long time he lay, list
sning. Was there another person IN
the room? Mr.. Grimm's ears were
keenly alive for the inadvertent shuf-
hing of foot; or the sound of breath
ing. Nothing. Even the night roar
of the city was missing; the silence
was oppressive. At last he opened his
eyes. A pail of gloom encompassed
him-a pail without one rift of light
His fingers, moving slowly, explored
the limits of the couch wherein he
lay.
Confident, at last, that wherever he
was, he was unmatched, Mr.. Grimm
was on the point of concluding that
further inaction was useless, when his
straining ears caught the faint grating
of metal against metal-perhaps the
insertion of key In the lock. His
hands grew still; his eyes closed. Ana
after a moment a door creaked slight
ly on its hinges, and a breath of cool
air informed Mr.. Grimm that that
open door, wherever it was, led to the
outside, and freedom.
There was another faint creaking
rs the door was shut. Mr.. Grimms
nerveless hands closed involuntarily,
and his lips were set together tightly.
Was it to be knife thrust in the
dark? If not-then what? He ex-
pected the flare of match; instead
there was soft thread, and the rustic
of skirts. A woman! Mr.. Grimm's
caution was all but forgotten in his
surprise. AS the steps drew nearer
his clenched fingers loosened: he
waited.
Two hands stretched forward in the
dark, touched him simultaneously
one on the face, one on the breast A
singular thrill shot through him, but
there was not the flicker Of an eye or
the twitching of a finger. The woman
1T was q woman-seemed now to be
bending over him, then he heard her
drop on her knees beside him, and she
pressed an inquiring ear to his left
side. 1t was the heart test
Thank Cod" she breathed softly.
It was only by q masterful effort
that Mr.. Grimm held himself limp and
inert, for strange fragrance was en-
veloping him-a fragrance he well
knew.
The hands were fumbling at his
breast again. and there was the sharp
crackle Of paper At first he didn't
understand. then he knew that the
woman had pinned . paper to the
lapel Of his coat. Finally she straight
ened up, and took two steps away
from him, after which came pause
His keenly attuned ears caught her
faint breathing, then the rustic Of her
skirts as she turned back. She was
leaning over him again-her lips