Evening star., 1912-11-17
CHAPTER XIV.
The Locked Door.

Meantime Hester had crossed the lawn
and entered the conservatory. She car
ried the golf bag by it's supporting strap
and walked quickly. She knew that the
conservatory opened directly into the Ii
brary, where the Rev. Horatio Merle was
reading >the morning paper and her idea
was to go straight to the curate and tell
him the whole truth. In the absence OF
Miss Thompson this was the only thing
to do. If Anton followed her, as might
happen, Mr. Merle would be protection
for, in his presence, the chauffeur would
not dare make trouble He would wait
to get Hester alone. never suspecting that
she would be capable, in her widest
dreams of giving back this great sum OF
money
The girl paused TO enjoy the warm
fragrance of the lilies. 1t reminded hei
of something way back-sometnlns sad
and strange. What was it? Oh, yes
Now she knew. 1t was the funeral OF
Billy Connor-'Diamond Billy the con-
fidence man, over in Brooklyn She had
gone with Maggie Connor and Rosahe
Poor old Billy. He drank himself to death
after they shut down on horseracinS In
New York state. How she cried when
the organ played and they all knelt down
That was the Only time she had ever been
in a church or tried to pray
u De HO1eSt, " NC hiid.
make amends for any wrong act 10
ask God for strength against temptation.
Now in her need, these words that the
curate had taught her came back to her
mind and comforted her. This had been
a hard fight with Anton and she had won
out She had rescued the money and
would give it back, as she had promised
that was something
Hester smiled as she pictured Anton
face when he opened the purse me
<,fr In n 10
the best of her at game like that-her
own game, Now put your two little
hands outside your cloak and Keep EN-
therer' Silly Anton, Didn't he know
that Hester Storm had worked that trick
when she was twelve-year-old kid
sneaking feathers from shopping guys on
9th avenue cars? Two little hands out
side your cloak! Ha! Two little g-oTed
hands-very innocent-and one OF them
fake Joined on to fake arm and the
whole thing strapped from the shoulder
Then. if the man gets gay and hugs YOU,
and pretty soon gets crazy and kisses
you while you wriggle and twist ana
keep him busy-and then get busy your
self with your real arm down i'll the golf
bag-why, it was too easy. 1t was a
wonder Anton didn't get wise when she
stopped long at the lodge IhoSe
shoulder straps take time to fasten on.
With thrill of professional pride and
a sigh of half regret, Hester pressed her
hand to the bosom of her dress where
the bundle of crisp bank notes cracked
allurngly Five thousand pounds!
Twenty-Five thousand dollars. And it
must be given back. No hddling around
either 1t was not good for girl like
her to have $4,000 that belonged TO
somebody else in her clothes. Not good
at all.
She walked straight to the wide dou-
BILE doors with their green portieres that
separated the conservatory from the Ii
brary. and bracing herse f for this near
ordeal with the Rev Merle, she turned
the knob.
Resale will be glad" she thought as
she pressed against the door. 70 her
surprise nothing moved or yielded. and
the girl realized with a sudden sinking
of the heart, that the library door was
locked.
Hester tapped lightly on the panel then
louder, but no one came. She listened,
with her ear close to the door, but there
was no sound from the adjoining room.
Strange! Mr.. Mere must have gone out.
Ordinarily there would have been moth
ing alarming in this, but now to the ag1-
tated girl it assumed the proportions of a
disaster She had counted on giving this
money Immediately to the clergyman, but,
with the clergyman absent
Seized with alarm, Hester darted back
to the door of the conservatory, the door
in the ground glass wall that led in from
the lawn. She opened this door just
crack and looked out, then instantly closed
it and turned the key. Not Il hundred
yards distant, Anton was hurryinS to-
ward this very spot. There was not
second to lose.
In the presence of danger Hester's mind
acted quickly. The essential thing now
was to hide this money. But where? She
looked wildly about her. In the center
of the room stood a small, low table. COW
cred with potted plants. There was
drawer in this table Hester put down
the golf bag and pulled the drawer open.
Lengths Of twine and wire, some garden
ers tools and a lot of seed catalogues
She shook her head and pushed the
drawer shut. Anton would look there at
once. She must find some simp.e place
that he would not think Of Perhaps she
could bury the money in one of these bic
tubes that held the palm trees, but no,
there wasn't time. 1t was maddening,
In this emergency the girls eyes fell
upon a small. standard rose bush growing
in gilt basket. 1t was plant that
Lionel and the countess had purchased
at the Progressive Mothers bazaar. lies
ter bent down eagerly to see If there was
a space between the basket and the flower
pot and, in trying to move the latter, she
caught the stem of the rose bush, where
upon to her surprise. the bush itself, with
the earth about its roots. detached itself
from the flower pot, so that she was able
to lift the plant and a cylinder OF
dry earth out Of the pot. An! This
might do. And moment later she had
laid the bank notes in the bottom OF the
pot and replaced the cylinder of earth
above them. To the casual glance there
was not the slightest indication that the
rose bush had been tampered with.
Now. in desperate haste. Hester flung
off her scarlet cloak, and, with a few
deft movements, loosened the shoulder
straps that held the false arm in place
Anton might search her, and. if he found
this-there, 1t was off, And none too
soon for at that very moment the loose
jointed figure of the chauffeur appeared,
silhouetted in sinister black against the
ground glass wall of the conservatory. A
moment later he was trying to open the
door clicking savagely at the lock.
Where cou.d she hide the false arm?
Anton would be here in a second. There
was another door at the end of the con-
servatory where he could come in She
dared not lock this other door, for then
he would know that she was guilty. But
the false arm? High up along the wall
higher up than she could reach ran a
VIDE shelf, ranged with tin cans and
rackages of seed and coils of rubber hose
II was the best she could do. and with
a quick movement Hester flung the false
member upward so that it touched the
ceiling and then fell out of sight behind
a rusty watering pot. As she did SO she
saw Anton's shadow nearing the other
door Vel, she was ready for him. Wait, !,
Her cloak. There!
And now. partly to hide her agitation
partly with a feminine idea of taking the
aggressive in bad cause, Hester stepped
TO a telephone fixed against the wall nea =
the library door. What was the telephone
number on that card she had picked up in
the garage? All, yes! And in the very
last second before the chauffeur entered
she took up the receiver, placing her hand
co haf he Ia caiN NaI h,lI