River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1916-02-10

| and give me those Jewels, without res
| ervation, in exchange for what tnfu-
ence l have in certain quarters"
with your famous friend. the chief
of the surete, eh?"
Possibly / am known also at La
Tour Pointure."
II confess don't follow you, unless
you mean to lay an information
against me-"
Never that"
Its riddle, them"
For the moment only. But will
say this: 1t will be futile, your at
tempting to escape Paris; Popinot
has already picketed every outlet.
Your one hope resides in me; and /
shall be at home to you until midnight
tomorrow-today rather"
Lanyard laughed quietly and sub
sided into a reverie which, undis-
turbed by De Morbihan, endured
throughout the brief remainder OF
their drive; for, thanks to the small
ness Of the hour the streets were
practically deserted and offered no
hindrance to speed, while the chauf-
feur was doubtless eager for his bed.
AS they drew near Troyon's, how
ever, Lanyard sat up and jealousy
reconnoitered both sides Of the way
Surely you don't expect to be kept
out?" the count asked dryly. "But that
just shows how little you appreciate
our good POpinot He'll never offer
any objection to your locking yourself
up where he knows he can find you
but only to your leaving without per.
mission!"
Something in that, perhaps. Still,
l always give myself the benefit of
every doubt"
There was, indeed, no sign of am
bush that he could detect in any quar-
ter-no indication that Popinot's Apa-
ches were skulking about. None the
less, Lanyard produced his automatic
and freed the safety catch before
opening the door.
"A thousand thanks, my dear
COUNT"
For what? Doing myself serv-
ice? You make me ashamed
IT know" agreed Lanyard, deprecia-
tory; "but that's the way ana little
devil-you really can't trust me!
Adieu, M. lie Comte."
"Au revoir, monsieur"
Lanyard watched the car round the
corner before turning to the entrance
of Troyon's, simultaneously keeping
his weather eye bright. But when the
motor was gone the street seemed
quite deserted and as soundless as
though it had been the thOroughfare
of some remote village rather than an
artery of the pulsing old heart o.
Paris.
Yet he wasn't satisfied. He even
shivered a bit, perhaps because of
the chill in that air Of early morning,
possibly because a shadow of premo-
milton had fallen athwart his soul.
Whatever it's cause, he could find no
excuse for the sensation, and shaking
himself impatiently, pressed the but
ton that rang bell by the ear Of the
concierge heard the latch click, thrust
the door wide, and re-entered Troy
ons.
He thought longingly Of bed, yawned
involuntarily, and, reaching his door,
fumbled the key in a most unprOfes-
sional way; there were weights upon
his eyelids, heaviness in his brain.
But the key met with no resistance
from the wards, and in a trice, appre-
ciating this fact, Lanyard was wide
awake again.
No question but that he had locked
the room securely on leaving after his
adventure with the charming somnam-
bulist
Had she, then, contracted the habit?
Or was this only proof of what he
had anticipated in the beginning-a
bit of sleuthing on the part Of Roddy?
He entertained little doubt as to
the correctness of this latter surmise
as he threw the door open and
stepped into the room, his first action
being to grasp the electric switch. But
no light answered.
"Hello!" he exclaimed softly, re-
Numbering that the light could read
lily have been turned off at the bulbs.
Whats the good of that?"
In the same breath he started vio-
lently and swung about.
The door had closed behind him,
swiftly but gently, eclipsing the faint
light from the hall, leaving stark dark
ness.
His first impression was that the in
truder-Roddy, or whoever it might
be-had darted past him and out, pull
ing the door to in the act.
Before he could consciously revise
this misconception he was fighting for
his life.
So unexpected, so swift and sudden
fell the assault that he was caught
completely off guard-between the
shutting of the door and an onslaught
whose violence sent him Keeling to the
wall, the fight of time could have
been measured by the Pickering of an
eyelash.
Two powerful arms were round his
body, pinioning his hands to his sides,