The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-02
CHAPTER XII. Maggie Hale.
is your name ?"
 WI Maggie Hale."

 she hesitated and then answered light ly. T am out of employment just at present. I was private secretary to Theodore Barker"
 A flicker of mutual amusement shot from Langdon's eyes to those of the Prosecutor. and the spectators with a whispering rustic of interest leaned forward to stare. for Texas" Barker was a striking figure in the city.
 His millions amassed by the mascu- line love of taking a chance' would have made him notable anywhere, but Texas the gambler enlarged that notability to the spectacular. though his constant clashes with the police had recently robbed him of some of his more exclusive patronage.
 To Mary Page alone the name Bark CT meant nothing, and the sudden eag- erness in her manner was due not to the expectation of bit of sensational testimony, but because this was the woman she had been supposed to be on the night when the police dragged her to jail.
 This new witness was. however, not woman to bring from Mary anything but an uncomfortable shudder of aver
  ed, old-eyed type whose profession it is to make herself attractive to men. She was the decoy of the great gam bling hell back of the Hotel Republic, and Mary wondered vaguely what on earth she could possibly know of the tragedy, that after so many weeks seemed no nearer solution.
 The Prosecutor wondered much the same thing, and the Judge made a mental note to warn Langdon that witnesses whose characters were not beyond reproach detracted from rather than added to case.
 And he made that resolution in the face of the twinkle of amused recog- milton that Maggie Hale had shot him when she took the stand. For all kinds and all classes met at Barker's, and it was with this famous place that Langdon's first question dealt.
 'As secretary to MT. Barker you must have been frequently at his establish ment back of. the Hotel Republic. were you not?''
 T was," the witness answered read fly. But mostly in the daytime. had my evenings free"
 There were evenings when you were there. though. were there not?"
 "Oh. lots!" Her tone was freighted with easy amusement. Sometimes met up with party for dinner or a show. and then we'd drift about to try and bank at The House."
 She smiled. and several men in the courtroom smiled too.
 Miss Hale. were you friend of Da- vid Pollock ?"
 T knew him; knew him pretty well. He was at Barker's good bit"
 Were you at Barker's on the night that he was shot?'
 "Yes, but early. Somebody tipped me off that the air was fresher at caba- ret"
 A snigger of repressed mirth filtered through the room at this hint of the big raid. but Langdon drowned.
 Had you seen MT. Pollock that day?"
 "No. Not since the night before"
 "Miss Hale. isn't 1t true that you were to have joined the supper party for the company that MT. Pollock and MT. Daniels were giving?'
 "No. I wanted to, but he said 1t was purely theatrical Then I bet him would come anyway.
 why were you particularly anxious to attend that party--on MT. Pollocl's account?"
 'Not on your life! l knew that there was going to be some crooked work pulled of. but couldn't prove 1t. r. had a grudge against someone who was in on 1t. and wanted to queer the deal"
 awin you tell us please what that deal was?"
 The woman twisted her hands to- gether nervously. and her eyes darted among the spectators as if searching for menacing face. then she said olowly:
 ~Ths-ths deal want pulled on. and