The San Francisco call., 1913-10-06
Continued From Saturday
CHAPTER x1x-Continued

! DICKS manner became tudt ~ INC
devoted husband offended by imperti-
nent obtrusion.
you forget yourself. inspector, he
said. icily. This is my wife. She
has the right to be with nie-her
husband.''
The inspector grinned skeptically.
| He was moved no more effectively by
| Mary's almost hysterical effort to re-
| spond to her husbands leading.
| why shouldn't l be here? Why!
| l."
Burke broke in on the girls his
J trionics ruthlessly. He was not in
| the least deceived. He was aware
| that something untoward. as he
deemed it. had occurred. 1t seemed
| to him, in fact. that his fnical me-
| chanisms for the undoing of Mary
| Turner were in fair way to be
| thwarted. But he would not give up
| the cause without a struggle Again,
| he addressed himself to Dick, disre-
garding completely the aloofsmanner
| of the young man.
Where's your father?" he ques-
| toned roughly.
I'm bed, naturally" was the an
i swer. II ask you again: What are
you doing here at this time of night?'
! Burke shook his shoulders ponder
ously in a movement of impatience
over this prolonging of the farce.
"Oh, call your father" he directed
disgustedly.
Dick demonstrated with an excel
| lent show of dignity.
It's late" he objected I'D rather
not disturb him, IL you don't mind.
Really, the idea is absurd, you know"
! Suddenly, he smiled very winningly.
and spoke with good assumption of
! righteousness
| Inspector he said briskly, Il see,
! I'll have to tell you the truth. It's
this: I've persuaded my wife to go
away with me. She's going to give
all that other sort of thing up. Yes,
were going away together" There
was genuine triumph in his voice now.
see, we've got to talk 1T over. Now,
then. inspector, If you'll come back
| in the morning"
The official grinned sardonically. He
could not in the least guess just what
had in very deed happened, but he
was far too clever man to be bam-
boozled by Dicks maunderings.
| "Oh. that's itif' he exclaimed, with
! obvious incredulity.
"Of course" Dick replied bravely,
| though he knew that the inspector
dlsbelieved his pretenses Still, for
| his own part, he was inclined as yet
| to be angry rather than alarmed by
1 this failure to impress the officer
You see, / didn't know
/ And even In the moment of his say
4 ing, the white beam of the flashing
/ searchlight from the tower fell be-
!, tw cen the undrawn draperies of the
octagona1 window. The light startled
the inspector again. as it had done once
before that same night. His gaze fol-
lowed 1T instinctively So. within the
second, he saw the still form lying
there on the floor--lying where had
/ been shadows. where now, for the
passing of an instant, was brilliant
radiance.
There was no mistaking that awful.
motionless, crumpled posture. The
inspector knew in this single instant
/ of view that mur Ter had been done
| here. Even as the beam of light from
! the tower shifted and vanished from
the room, he leaped to the switch by
I the door and turned on the lights of
T! the chandelier. In the next moment
he had reached the door of the pass
age across the room, and his whistle
! sounded shrill. His voice beloved re-
| enforcement to the blast.
| Cassidy, Cassidy
As Dick made a step toward his
wife, from whom he had drawn a lit
| tie in his colloquy with the official,
Burke voiced his command viciously:
stay where you are--both of you,''
Cassidy came rushing in, with the
other detectives. He was plainly sur
prised to find the room SO nearly
empty, where he had expected to be-
hold a gang of robbers.
! why. what's it all mean, chief?"
4 he questioned. His peering eyes fell
on Dick, standing beside Mary, and
they rounded In amazement.
They've got Griggsi' Burke an
swered- There was exceeding rage in
| his voice. as he spoke from his kneel-
| ing posture beside the body, TO which
he had hurried after the summons to
his aids. He glowered up into the be-
wildered face of the detective "Tll
break you for this. Cassidy" he de-
/ clared fiercely why didn't you get
here on the run when you heard the
! shot2"
"But there wasn't any shot" the
perplexed and alarmed detective ex-
postulated He fairly suffered in the
/ earnestness Of his self-defense. II
tell you. chief. there hasn't been a
sound"
Burke rose to his feet. His heavy
| face was set in It's sternest mold.
You could drive a hearse through
the hole they've made in him. he
rtmbled He wheeled on Mary and
Dick. 'Sor' he shouted. now it's MUIR
der. Well, hand it over.
Where's the gun?''
Followed a moments pause Then
the Inspector spoke harshly to Cas-
sidy. He still felt himself somewhat
| dazed by this extraordinary event
but he was able to cope with the situ-
alton He nodded toward Dick as he
| gave his order: Search himr'
Before the detective could obey the
direction. Dick took the revolver from
| his pocke. where he had bestowed it,
and held 1t cut
And 1t SO chaaced that at this in
terminating crisis fer the son, the
father hastily strode within the
/ library He had been aroused by