The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1916-12-14
were what seemed to be tiny teutaclss

|
open-to what?
Quick, Margery," he whispered,
what l have just given you is what
have called the octopus bomb. II will
save us, If the need should be dire, II
there should be no other manner OF
escape"
AS the man in the mask finished the
rapidly spoken words the door of the
vault swung outward. Margery stepped
forward
The detectives, with whom the room
swarmed, paid no heed to Margery. .
Their quarry emerged from the gloom |
of the vault a moment after her. He |
glanced about-from revolver muzzle
to revolver muzzle, all leveled at him.
Margery glanced back at the Laughing
Mask as he stood thus, facing this des-
perate denouement. Then she cried
out involuntarily, for one of the detec-
tives had approached the Laughing
Mask, raised his hand to the mask it
self and was about to tear it off. But
the Laughing Mask stepped backward
and with a gesture commandingly
stopped him.
"One moment, if you please, gentle
men. There is no need for this. My
mask stays where it is. AS for the
crimes which you seem to think are
matter for these revolvers-I believe
this confession of the Iron Claw ac-
counts for the chief of them and,
therefore, for the rest"
The captain was shout to glance at
IL, but turned to Goldan for word of
instruction. The next moment there
was crash at the other side OF the
room. Legar had heard every word
from his hiding place beS'nd the an
tique screen and he knew tat this was
the most desperate case for his for
tunes that had yet befallen. AS the
captain stretched forth his hand, ex-
tending the confession to Golden, Le-
gar. with a rush, dashed past him,
grasped the confession from his fingers
and made for the window. Snatching
his cap down over his eyes, he
plunged head first through the glass,
shattering it to splinters.
Legar had flashed across the room
like a missile from catapult. Three
of the detectives were knocked from
their feet The others gaped at the
shattered window. The captain was
the first to recover his wits. He
shouted an angry command one of his
men threw up the battered sash and
the rest leaped out.
Inside the Golden library, the detec
tive who had tried to disclose the iden
tity of the Laughing Mask was again
intent upon solving this mystery. That
is why he had remained behind.
Its no use, your times come. OF
with the mask, tell you"
The Laughing Mask looked straight
into the beady eyes before him and ne
saw that their gaze was not of the
sort that is open to argument or per
suasion. Then he looked steadily OF
beyond to where Margery stood, be
| hind the detective.
| Margery understood his glance ant
| interpreted his gesture Alright. Sh'
| deity slipped the octopus bomb from
| her handkerchief in which she hat
| held it, clutched tightly within he
i fingers, ever since she and the Laugh
/ ing Mask had left the vault. AS tn
4 detective strobe forward to peer tn
4 more closely at what he expected t
III see revealed Margery hurled the bonn
q to the floor.
81 The next moment the room wa
4 filled with an impenetrable cloud c
a black smoke. Completely it envelope
u everyone and everything in the librar!
u Gradually the black, sootlike pa
rose to the high ceiling Of the librar!
disclosing Margery, her father and tn
81 detective to one another. But IN
Al Laughing Mask had vanished. The d.
is tective dashed to the door leading
the adjoining reception hall and fun
10 it open. Golden followed and both ra
Id through this spacious chamber and o
of to the stairs. Margery, still apprehel
% sive for the safety of the man in tn
an yellow mask, ran after the searcher
10 who were fairly bafIled
AS soon as all three were clear
On the reception hall the LaughiT
lis Masks head emerged from a lars
az ancient Roman vase; swiftly, /
lie climbed from out its great shelterir
of bowl and stepped noiselessly back
in the library.
nd Silently the Laughing Mask lift
ill the window and climbed over the 81
In another moment he had leaped
i'd. the ground below. But he had II
,m reckoned upon the quick discourae
ed ment that overtakes that limp arm
a the law known as a central ofiice
ird tective. The half dozen of the :yI
ter with their chief, who had pursued L
gar when their revolvers failed to st
in him, had quickly given up the chai
Ter They were walking briskly when t
captain quickly motioned to his m
the to hug the wall of the house. Son
as thing at the shattered window of t
ing library had caught his attention.
was a mans back. The man W
,or. astride the window sill. The captt
| al, l., Nf n M