The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1915-10-14
The Diamond
From the Sky
BY ROY L. McCARDELL
Copyright. 1915. by Roy [. MccardeII
CHAPTER XVII.
For Love and Money.


~ Ut from the rickety old man
sion, long gone to slattern
W shabbiness as lodging house,
came Detective Tom Blake in
his guise of overgrown bootblack He
led the dazed and bewildered Esther
by the wrist and following after her,
forgetting In his excitement the hurts
he had sustained. came the devoted
Quabba.
Whimpering inquiries unheeded by
Esther as to whether she had been
hurt and divided between his worry
over his young mistress and the fright
ened chatter of Clarence, the monkey,
who chung desperately TO him, Quabba
submitted to being hustled after Es-
ther into the waiting taxicab, which
drove of as though at command, leav-
ing the bootblack upon the scene.
From the dark and dingy interior
of the lodging house came cloud Of
dust, raised by the falling OF the rickety
old stairway and landing in the battle
with Blair
The blOwzy and gin sodden land
lady. reused now to an acute percep-
tion of the trouble TO come from the
police, stood in the doorway screaming
as the idle and shabby population OF
that mean part OF Richmond came
focking to the scene, wondering If it
were murder, robbery or both.
Blake In his bootblack guise mingled
with the throng as spectator, waiting
TO see If Blair would be brought out
from the interior wreckage, living or
dead. Al the arrival of the police
wagon the screaming landlady slam
med the door and barred it.
Inside, among the wreckage of the
fallen staircase and landing, Blair, re-
vived from the stunning effects Of his
fall, pulled himself to hi1Geet, rejoic-
ing that beyond a few bruises he was
not injured. He scrambled over the
debris and down the cellar steps and
over the dirty Uttered back yards and
away, while yet the hysterical land
lady held the fort against the batter
ing police outside
The house had been a fine mansion
stanchly. But at last it gave way and
In poured the police, who could gain
no information from the screaming,
scratching harridan, who endeavored
to bar their way, and SO they promptly
laid hands on the landlady and such
of her dodgers as had not fed, and
hailed them out to the patrol wagon
and bore them off.
Blake, idling with the crowd, did not
disclose himself, but, satisfied that
Blair had made good his escape and
that no notoriety or arrests would stir
up matters that Blake, as agent of Ar
thur, desired to remain quiescent, he
returned, smiling inscrutably, to his
Office
In a back street the fleeing Blair,
noting a standing automobile, whose
driver was STOPPING over by It's front
wheel finishing pumping up a tire,
bowled over the startled chauffeur and
drove off In the Communicated car al
breakneck speed He drew his hat
down over his eyes and bent low over
the wheel as, halfway to Mrs. Ran,
dolph's house, he flashed past the taxi
cab containing Esther and Quabba.
Hating his car In front of Mrs. Ran
dolph's mansion, Blair hastily donned a
linen automobile coat and a drivers
cap with goggles on the visor lying in
the car seat.
Hiding his own hat and dust covered
coat under the seat cushion and wear
ing the auto toys, he was the first per
son TO greet Esther and Quabba when
their taxicab drew up and they
alighted
The taxi driver. evidently in the pay
and at the orders of Detective Blake
drove away without word, and de
spite the indignant protests of both Els
Their and Quabba, Blair outfaced then
with his declaration that he was limo
cent of any lodging house encounter
hlit ON the contrary Gad haen ridip~ -