Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-09-04

took place while Chris was ligh,lnv ~
arctic and showed his face lool,invs ms nis cle
deed, as II was bound to be in tb,s ae, M
glare, but perfectly placid and 60 .orsh(
By some trick of the light ana suented
Sanderson's face took on for M noa,, shadow
ment the look of n deaths head ts tius mo-
very deeply set In their sockets eyes
pools OF shadow, while his lips. usua,e mse
firmly closed. were drawn bacl, ana Usually
his teeth as he smiled at Brent. tn.
second the room was dark again bu, n next
SWIFT Celtic imagination had been ,oante
to an almost superstitious thrill oacned
sight. az The
Smoking under fire, eh?" con,r.. <,
Charles, still smiling. "It shall be bai,en!N an,n g
corded In your obituary notice." r.
$50 you intend to shoot mey. -.
Chris pleasantly. aska
Most certainly. You're caupb, :.
my dear Brent You must see for va,,ss.s. ,ssa
that can't afford to let you 90 'u'*f W.
special privilege | Will shoot You with u.
of your own bullets" And he laid h,a p
revolver on the table while he st,,, om om
Chris covered with the weapon he baa w
covered in the pocket of the dressing s,Is us
Brent made a gesture with his bana.
OF one who appeals to the world at ias
who says Germans have no sensa y
humor?' he demanded. NO accom-, !!
my death would be complete unless ~
own peculiarly tasteful remarks were ;r'
cluded, my dear Herr Won Mantel" "'
20, so you know that do youPr
"Yes. I know that. and quite n Il.
other things, too. know. for instance ~! ~
you are not going to fire on me-" 's'
Indeed; may ask why?"
For the very simple reason tb,, =.
would rouse the house, and that, fancr, wv y
the last thing you wish to do"
by Jovc. you are a pluckv chan
seem to have made good use Of your ,im. NV
L must say" "s
Yes" agreed Chris. "Diplomacv a.,
spy hunting are amusing recreations for ~.
man who has to stay at home" and tu,n
ing, Chris began to saunter toward N.
| window. y"
stay where you are" ordered Char,..
| fiercely, "or you'll be a dead man. m h,os
| tho whole lot OF us to pieces with that ho,
| there" W.
Brent paused and Sanderson swan.
| swiftly between him and the window. s,i,
| keeping him covered. What Brent baS
been maneuvering for had come TO mas
and making a dash at the table he snatchss
| up Charless revolver.
| Charles sprang forward but too late ,ns
| the next moment the two men were lookjr,
at each other over their leveled weapons :
| shall we call it stalemate, eh rnein
herr?' asked Chris with his pleasant smiIs
ITO hell with stalemate and with van
| too" cried Charles, and aiming straightlat
the little box on the table he pulled the ths
| ger of his revolver. The hammer cicksd
and that was ALL No detonaton followed
Brent was laughing outright by now.
"Checllmate, / think" he observed "A
loaded revolver, my dear Won Mantel Is 4
| bad weapon for a diplomatst. never carry
one. By the way, I'm sorry to trouble YOU.
but do you mind putting up your handsi
| It's very uncomfortable, / know, but Il
seems to be the smart thing to do here
| He felt conscious of the bad taste Of his
gbe even as he uttered 1t, for he knew
| that he saw before him a heartbroken man
In that moment Charles had realized that
| ho had been absolutely outplayed and not
n loophole was left to him. His years Of
| work, his ambitions so nearly realized, were
to come to nothing. He flung away III.
useless revolver and knew that his life
what remained of it to him, was as fulfil
as the weapon. And there is nothing mors
ridiculous than an empty revolver In
| moment of emotion. n
CONTINUED TOMORROW