Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-04-24

| cape without trying TO read this riddle
| would have been hardly human of the
| girl, for all her miSuiynGs: she stole on
| to tho folding doors with loss noise than
! n mouse h1d made ana put an aye to tho
| crack which, proving somewhat wider
| than she mad anticipated, afforded fair
! viow Of the best part of the other room.
An electric chandelier was on fun blaze
above the broad and heavy centre table
Of mahogany, beyond which, AGAINST the
| farther wall, stood on the one hand
! bookcase, ON tho other a desk of the roll
top typc-ClOsed. Above each OF these the
wall wn5 decorated with trophies OF
ancient Rrmor: between them hung a
huge canvas in a massive gilt framc-the
portrait of a beautiful woman beautifully
painted And Immediately beneath the
portrait stood n young man. posed in
profound abstraction, staring mt the desk
He rested lightly against the table mia
back square to Sllly's view revealing n
well-tUrncd head matched with dark
hair, clipped snuEy by welI-formed ears
and the salient line Of one lean. brown
cheek. But even so, with his coUntenance
hidden, something conveyed a strong i'm
preston 10 the girl of n perpeXed and
disconnected humor
She was frankly disappointed. For
some reason she had expected to discover
a burglar Of one or another accepted
:
blown evening dress, 1.-the. polished pan
therish, or a common yegE, a rod-eyed,
unshaven, burly brute in the rags ana
tatters of a tramp. But this man wore
unromantc blue serge upon n person
neither fascinating nor repellent. She
could hardly imagine him either stealing
a diamond tiara or hopping a freight.
But that he was of a truly criminal
disposition she was not permitted long TO
doubt; for in another moment he started
from his pensiye pose with the animation
of ono inspired, strOde alertly to the wall.
stepped upon the seat of a chair beside
the desk, and straining on tptoes uhOugh
tnlerably talD coptrived TO grasp the
handle of short-bladed Roman sword
which formed part Of one of the tro-
phies.
With some difficulty and, in the end, a
grunt of satisfaction, he worked the
weapon loose and, jumping down, turned
TO the desk, thrust the point of the sword
between the writing pad and the edge OF
the roll-top, forced the blade we'll in, and
bore all his weight upon the haft of this
improvsed jimmy Promptly with a
sound Of rending wood, the top flew half
way up.
At this the man released the sword,
which fell With a thump 10 the rug at his
feet pushed the top as far back as II
would so, and. bending over the desk. eN-
plOred its rack of pigeonholes and draw
ers. One of the latter eventually yielded
the object OF his search; he took from II
first a small automatic pistol, which ne
placed carelessly 70 one side, then a small
leather-bound book, whose pages no
thumbsd IN nervous haste, evidently seek
ing some memorandum essential TO his
ends. This found, he paused. conned II
attentively for an instant then turned
and took the book with him across the
room beyond the bookcase, thus vanishing
from the ield OF Sallys vision.
Nov was her chance to slip down
stairs and, undetected, away. But. sur
prlsingly enough, she proved Of two
minds about adyantaging herself Of the