The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1915-09-16

the concert performer Il will try It."
His tone had become disagreeable and
harsh.
IF you make good with your train
ing, come to me through Monsieur
Fleury and the two hundred francs
week are yours" Poe rose quickly, as
though the interview were ended, and
started toward the door.
Torche hesitated, seemed to waver
between two desires, and finally adj
vanced close to Poe, and asked In a
tone that appeared anxious:
"4The sleightof-hand alone will not
do?"
mo, I'm afraid not" Poe had half
way opened the door. Torche had
drawn strangely close, edging little
to one side, toward the knife which he
had thrown back beside the bread.
What is that?" cried Poe, pointing
over Torches shoulder to the closet
door, and assuming look Of horror.
Torche, thrown off his guard by the
simple trick, turned on his heel with
hiss and stared at the closet door,
his hand instinctively seeking the
knife beside him.
The door had not moved, but the
ruse allowed Poe to give strange
little whistle, almost unnoticed; a
whistle curiously like that which had
issued from the lips of the single man
sitting at the far end Of the box next
to the Blondells at the Chatelet.
At that instant, while Torches gaze
was still fixed on the closet door, a
pink nose and two CLASSY eyes peeped
out from beneath the left leg of the
performers tapping trousers. and Poe
dropped one of the bright red cherries
from the bag he had purchased, within
a foot or two of the animal.
With swift swoop the sleek rat
pounced upon the cherry, clutched 1t
between its teeth, and, like flash,
darted up the trousers leg again.
Christopher Poe stood with a cynical
smile deeply grooved in his hard
cheeks.
With cultural snarl Torche sprang
to action, clutched the knife In leap,
and dashed on Poe, only to find a
steady revolver aimed between his
eyes, and the cool voice of Poe de-
handing:
"Give me the Royal Ruby!"
"Sa majestic diabolique! LIE Diable!"
Kissed Torche, backing from the gun,
the whites of his eyes rolling. and his
hands quivering up like the rays of
heat from stove, with steady mo-
ton. you have the secret. You saw
me in the box tonight"
His agony-strained fingers, still
clutching the knife, had quivered up
above his head, and with a sudden
twist he jerked the whole force Of his
body behind the blade, and crashed it
down upon his adversary. Before Poe
could pull the trigger large woman
leaped on him from behind with
snarl, and bowled him to the floor, the
knife hurting into the closet from
which the woman had burst forth un-
noticed.
In the struggle that followed, the
French pair fought like savages, Poe's
revolver was kicked from his hand,
and Torche suddenly leaped after it,
giving Poe the chance to twist from
beneath the woman with wrestling
trick and dash through the door to the
head of the stairs, where Torche had
stopped to pick up the revolver.
Before Poe could grasp Torche the
woman hurled herself upon him again,
and in the turmoil that followed the
STOPPING Torche lost his balance, and
hurtled down the rickety flight of
steps; near the bottom the body
crashed through the rotten rail, and
Poe trembled at the sound Of an agon-
iZing scream, as the man slipped
through the opening between the bal
ustrades, and dropped with kicking
clatter to the main floor, four stories
below. The woman stiffened up, and
released her hold on Poe, as she lis
tened in awful silence, the muscles in
her face stretched tense with horror.
In that instant Poe recognized her
as an Apache, dyed in criminality,
whom he had encountered before.
She returned to the fight like a
iCness, but Poe managed to overcome
her and bind her ankles and wrists
skilfully with the cord torn from her
dressing-gown.
He left her struggling on the door
sill, moaning, lie diable Poe" and
snatching at the cord with her teeth.
She wriggled through the doorway
into the room. and struggled toward
one corner, kissing vile oaths at Poe
meantime, who stood with his arms
folded, watching her direction intently.
Finding that she was surely edging
toward rickety desk in the corner,
Poe anticipated her effort, stepped to
the crazy piece Of furniture. and picked
up several articles, one after another,
the woman watching him with greedy,
>catlike eyes.
Suddenly his hand encountered a
long-stemmed, deep-bowled clay pipe,
filled with fresh tobacco. A hiss of
pent-up breath greeted his movement,