The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1916-05-06

hardness of her eyes modified. and that
anger which primarily had marked her
countenance gone by the the she
! chose to pursue her catechism-
What's your name? No-don't an
sweri I saw your eyes waver. and
| I'm not interested in a makeshift alias.
But it's a stock question, you know
Do you care for a cigar?"
She opened mahogany humidor on
| the desk and extracted a box
NO, thanks"
Right according to HoyIe-ths
criminal always refuses to smoke in
these scenes But let's forget the book
and write our own lines. III ask you
an original question: Why were you
acting just noW?"
"Acting?" Lanyard repeated. in
trigued by the acuteness of this mas
terfu1 woman's mentality.
! "PreciSely-pretendin you're an or
binary criminal For moment 1 actu-
ally believed you afraid OF me- But
you're neither that nor a common
crook How do 1 know? Because
you're unarmed; your voice has
changed in the last two minutes to that
Of a cultivated man; you've stopped
cringing and started thinking; and the
way you walked across the floor just
now and handled that chair showed me
how powerfully you're made. If L
hadn't found this revolver you could
overpower me in an instant-aHd I'm
no weakling, as women go. Then why
the acting?~
Studying his captor with narrow in
terest, Lanyard smiled family and
shrugged, but made no response. He
could do no more than thisAno more
| than spar for time. The longer he in
| dulged this woman in her within for the
bizarre, the more assured were Lucy's
| chances of escape. By this tine. he
reckOned, she must have found her
way through the service gate to the
! street. But he was on edge with ap-
prehension of mischance
Come, comet" Nine. Omber insist
ed. You're hardly civil. my good man
! Answer my question"
You don't expect me tO-do you?"
| A CLINT of anger shone in the WON
ans eyes.
You're right" she said shortly; q
! dare say Sidonie isn't asleep yet I'll
get her to telephone while 1 stand
guard over you"
| Bending over the desk, without re-
moving her gaze from the adventurer.
| his captOr CROPPED for, found and
! pressed a calI-button
From some remote quarter of the
| house sounded the grumbIe OF an cleo
trio bell
PITY you're SO brazen," she COM
mented. Just a little less side. and
you'd be rather engaging person!"
Lanyard made no reply. In fact, he
/ wasn't attending.
In this suspense the iron control
which had always heretofore been his
was breaking dowH-since now it was
for another that he was concerned.
And he wasted no strength trying to
enforce it. The stress of his anxiety
was both undisguised and indisguis-
able. Nor did Nine. Omber overlook
it.
/ whats the trouble, Ell? Is it that
already the cell door clangs loudly in
your ears?"
AS the woman spoke Lanyard left
his chair with a spring as 1.-the and
sure and swift as an animals, that car
ried him like a shot across the two
yards or so that separated them
A hairs breath of error in his reck-
oning would have finished him, for the
other had been alert for just such a
move, and the revolver was nearly
level with Lanyard's head when he
seized it by the barrel, imprisoned the
woman's wrist with his other hand,
and in two movements had possessed
himself of the pistol without hurting
it's owner.
Don't be alarmed" he said quietly
I'm not going to do anything more
violent than to put this out of com
mission"
Breaking it smartly. he shot a
shower OF cartridges to the floor. The