Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-05-18

forced to postpone. ale phoned that it
would be very, even exceedingly, important
for us to be here before nine. Shall we waltz
Certainly The girl began pulling
down the fngertips of her gloves and twist
ing them.
am doddering old fool' exclaimed her
father suddenly.
"Father!"
Il never telephoned his house to make
sure. Why should we come down here to
his offices?"
They fastened back to the elevator and
went down. The elderly man stepped into the
pay-station booth. Presently he emerged,
wrathful of countenance.
"Never called up at all. Doesn't know
what I'm talking about. A whole evening
spoiled!'
"But what can it mean?"
Down into the dank subway again; and
twenty minutes later, at nine-ffteen, the
two arrived at the apartment on the third
floor of the Dryden. The girl opened the
door impetuously, fearing she knew not
what In the plain, ordinary safe in the liv
ing-room reposed the Mana Sahib's ruby
and fifteen thousand dollars.
A FEW blocks over the way, in dark and
- cavernous studio, lonesome dachel
Of the telephone.
Across the city there stood series of
apartments that had never been fashionable;
though many of the inhabitants put up
brave pretense for such cognition-where-
in the real estate agents reaped Sundry
profits. BY some, the Indifferent princi-
pally, they were called flats. In one of these,
comfortably appointed, with a few really
good rugs on the floors and furniture that
was neither acrobatic nor offensive, there
lived woman. She was young and pretty
in faded way. She was preparing for bed;
and as she let down her hair the many gray
threads caused quicker to come between
her eyes. Her expression was placid; but
it was the placidity of the crushed and the
beaten, not of the resigned.
From brick house in another quarter OF
the town, a quarter that had fallen under
the edict of mobile fashion along about war
time, a man stepped forth noiselessly and
disappeared into the night, became shad-
ow among the shadows.
CHAPTER ~.
TN the meantime Forbes was invited by the
burglar to come in and sit down. He en-
tered the room, thoroughly hypnotiZed.
"Sit down in that chair there went on
the man in the mask, indicating fine Shera-
ton. Strange that Forbes should give any
particular attention to the make of a chair!
"There's good chap" came hoarsely. Il
should hate to give you a crack on the head.
If you keep perfectly quiet and do as you're
told, / sha'nt be forced to hurt you. Now
listen carefully. Take out your handker-
chief. Top pocket, overcoat, if you please!
Now tie it over your mouth. That's the way!'
Forbes was by no means coward; but
the unexpectedness of the encounter stunned
him. He forgot that he had ever wanted to
be an amateur detective. The burglar rose
to his feet with astonishing agility. Forbes
watched him, under a malevolent enchant-
ment He saw the man whip down from the
wall rare old priests stole.
"Put your hands behind the chair and
hold them there. The automatic's the quick
est thing in the world"
A moment later Forbes felt the rough
edges of the stole sink into his wrists. The
ends went in and out of the spindles, and
the knot came under his elbows. Next the
handkerchief was given precautionary
twist. The Bokhara embroidery on the low
boy was also forced into service. This Sc
cured his ankles to the legs of the chair.
"Don't know what you came in for; for
you opened the door without knocking.
Never mind The burglar slipped the pis-
toll into pocket. "Now don't worry. Per-
haps sometime before midnight the people