Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1916-03-29

open laughter showed on BalidOri
sinister face, as with his sound arm
he held the struggling figure in white
close to his side.
Have no fear OF that" he called
backNacross the swirling water, as his
bearded confederate bent TO the oars.
she will live. But she win live in
way that will leave you praying she
had died."
Twelve Years Later.
Casavanti. the cadet was a firm up
holder of the pregnancy of apparel.
He believed in keeping up appear
ances. He even reveled in his appel
lative Of the Beau Nash of the Ten
dcrloin His clothes were of the lat
est cut and from the folds of his nov
city cravat always flashed a skinner"
az the FIRST water There was. accord.
ingly. almost q note Of condescension
in his manner as he received slim"
Legato IN his meretriciously sumptu
Gus sitting room. For Slim" what
ever his aspirations in crookdom, was
still a mere underling.
Who sent this ?" demanded Casa
vanti as he took note from his Wis
itors hand.
"Legar," was the answer. The cadet
pulled languidly at cigarette as he
opened the note and read it.
The girl spoke of will come to.
night at twelve. You will find her a
flower that is ripe for the picking
And once the flower gets in your
hands want il kept there.-JuIes.
Casavanti restored the letter to its
envelope. Then he stood thoughtfully
regarding his visitor
did anyone see you come hereT
he asked
mot that / was wise to-" was Sims
prompt reply.
Then see that you get as quietly
awayl"
Slim Legato, accordingly, kept a
weather eye open as he emerged TO
the street Nothing suspicious met
his gaze. Il was not until he had de-
seconded the steps and reached the
curb that 4 closed limousine. running
as quietly as a frozen river, flowed
along the pavement little more than
ten PAGES away from him. At the
first corner IL turned sharply and
stopped, obstructing the crossing.
The debonair Slim drew up, blink
ing suspiciously at the mysterious We
hicle. Then he blinked even harder,
for from the open door window of the
limousine a gloved hand had unmis-
talxably beckoned to him. And the re
markable part OF it all, to Slim, was
the fact that the drawn car curtains
concealed everything but that mys.
teriously reckoning hand.
Slim promptly decided to investi-
gate But he also decided to advance
with caution. Before he could place a
foot on the runningboard, however
and thrust a pertly inQuisitive head
into the hooded gloom of the car, that
car began to move forward again. Yet
before It passed from his reach the
gloved hand thrust into his own an en-
velope.
on this envelope was clearly in
scribed:
"Dr. Ludwig Palidori.
Care Of Jules Legar,"
and beneath these words Sims be
wiIdered eyes made out the unmistak.
able emblem of a laughing mask. What
it meant was more than he could tell.
So inscrutable did this mystery
seem, in fact, that Slim, after one min
ute OF deep thought, promptly yet de-
lieately slipped the blade of his PEN
knife along the gummed flap of the
envelope and forced 1t open. On a
single sheet of paper he found written
the cryptic words:
Remember the Hammer of God.
which snlites, and brushes whom II
smitesl"
Slim, the gay cat and gangster, puz-
zled much over this message as he
restored it to it's violated envelope
and adroitly resealed the flap.
Nov. who tells gettin' his little
knocker out FIR the Doc?" demanded
that bewiIdered worthy of himself as
he made his guarded way back to the
underworld rendezvous which was
known to his confreres as the Owls
Nest
The Owls Nest proper was an un.
savory cellar room in one of the most
unsavory sections of the lower East
side. Years before it had been wine
cellar. presided over by a Neapolitan
of Mano Nero affiliations, until a fed
eral shoo-fy, in sesarch for ''coiners,
had been found stilettoed behind one
OF its casks OF Marsala, whereupor
the Neapolitan had vanished and in
due time the Owl herself had taken
possession of the quarters.
With the advent of Jules Legar. the
mysterious center of a mysterious cir.
Gle of evildoers about whom, she
knew, it never paid to be too inqusi-
tive, life had become easier for her
Har. cellar incnn snicnnrs in q dis