The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-07-23

shrouding darkness from the merci-
less criminal, felt her blood turn cold
at the thought of those cropping I'm
gers which would eventually find her
But as she waited, scarcely daring
to breathe for fear of betray ing her
presence, she heard q low exclama-
ton of satisfaction come from the
Italian gunman. and even while she
wondered what 1t could mean, a small
shaft of light suddenly pierced the
ebony blackness.
That exclamation from her enemy
meant he had found his pocket fash
unbroken. and now little circle of
light travelled over the jutting walls.
slowly approaching the spot where
Margory Golden crouched. waiting
her inevitable discovery with all the
courage she could muster. Nearer.
and yet nearer, came that hetraylng
full on the white face of the girl.
while from the lips of Black Tony
came a startled oath of wonder.
Then the light was quickly extin-
guished. and Margory heard the soft
pad OF stealthily approaching foot
falls. Into her distraught mind came
the memory Of those shelflike ridges
she had seen at the further end Of
the chamber. and. feeling her way
along the damp wall. she stole rap
idly toward them. Even as she STUN
bled against the lowest Of those stone
projections, she heard the sudden
spring of the gangster. followed by
his cry OF baffied fury as he clawed
at the empty air where he had last
seen her.
Then came a little click TO her cara,
and again that circle OF light COM
menced its exploration. It suddenly
glared into her eyes. and the shadowy
form behind it came rapidly under
the ledge.
With drawn breath and tunult-
uously beating heart, she waited,
waited until she saw the bullet
shaped head Of the gangster just be-
meath her. Then with q mighty eff
fort she lifted the heavy lump Of coal.
and with all her strength sent 1t
crashing onto the hair-matted skull
of the italian. For q moment he
swayed unsteadily. and then. half
stunned. suddenly lost his foothold
and went thudding down the stair
like lodges.
She now had nothing but her bare
ster, more dangerous and vicious than
a mad dog. AS she lay fiat on the
narrow ledge momentarily expecting
a fresh onslaught, she knew there
was but one possible chance for her
salvation. II her masked protector
should by any chance return to this
underground labyrinth, which he had
apparently utilized as q terribly
guarded hiding place. she might yet
escape that knife blade.
But that chance was even more re-
mote than the despairing girl could
realize, for at that moment, while
she was intently listening for the soft
step of Black Tony, the Laughing
Mask was seated in q fragrant and
sun-lit garden talking in an earnest
manner to the pretty Dorothy Will
kens, close beside him. He appeared
to be urging some plan, to which.
after a little hesitation, she consent
ed. Then as he impulsively leaned
over and kissed her they heard the
rapidly approaching sounds OF a
hard driven motor.
Then that car. In which were seated
Captain Bracket and two Of his de-
tectives, came into view and. with the
whine of hastily applied brakes,
stopped q short distance down the
road. At the sight OF these implaca-
Bile enemies the Laughing Mask. with
a word Of assurance to his compan-
ion; slipped quietly through the hedge
and ran lightly toward the highway.
down which the detectives were al
ready coming. But the meaning OF
this surprising maneuver was appar-