The Yale expositor., 1917-03-15


hand when he gave her back her fan
said simply:
"Follow me IL you are interested in
obtaining a certain paper"
Sebastian had needed no second invi-
tation, and when he had followed her
to the door of her house he had found
Blanca waiting for him.
"Won't you come In, Senor Ma
varre?" inquired Blanca, smiling.
In her sumptuously furnished recep-
ton room Blanca had coffee served by
Chinese servant.
"Senor Navarro" she said, "a GER
tain paper has come into my hands in
which l believe your are interested.
1t is matter Of business. How much
is it worth to your"
81 offered a hundred dollars for II
this morning." answered Sebastian
Suppose we say fifty thousand dol
lars" she said.
Sebastian shrugged his shoulders.
MADAME, let us put business aside"
he said. II like to leave these mat
ters to my lawyer"
"Come, senor, let us finish this DEAL"
she said. as 1t fifty thousand? do
not bargain"
He saw that he was dealing with
woman of stronger character than he
had imagined.
swell, I'll give you ten thousand"
he said, decisively. "That is positively
my last word"
NO." answered Blanca, rising.
That was the moment when the pis-
toll shot sent them hurrying into the
anteroom. A moment afterward the
attendants entered, bearing the body of
the suicide.
Sebastian's eyes fell upon Romanoff.
At once he realized that Romanoff and
Blanca were in the deal together.
Then it was that Leontine was car
ried in and placed on the couch. The
combination, Of circumstances over
whelmed him. He started back in ter
ror as his wife sprang to her feet and
stepped forward toward Blanca.
"Give me that paper" said Leontine.
Blanca stepped back and nodded i'm
perceptibly to one of the attendants,
who seized Leontlne by the arm. And
then a strange thing happened. Sud-
denly the paper was wrested from Bi-
anca's hand by some invisible agency
and transferred to Leontine's.
Blanca sprang forward to snatch it,
but then she staggered and then reeled
back; at the same instant the hand
Of the attendant was torn from Leon
tines arm and he was hurled to the
floor. A stream of blood poured from
his cut lip.
Leontine, clutching the precious doc
ument, moved toward the door. She
was half way toward it when Blanca
recovered her self-possession.
"Stop her" she cried. Don't let
her go! Get that paper from her!"
The second attendant and RomanOff
leaped forward. Just as the attendant
was about to pinion Leontine, he, too,
went reeling back under the impact of
terrific blow which knocked him,
stunned, to the ground. Romanoif
seemed lifted bodily and cast upon the
PROSTATE form of the other man.
The room was in an uproar. Two
Chinese servants ran between Leontine
and the doorway. The attendants, ris-
ing from the floor at Bianca's signal,
flung themselves upon Leontine again.
Then it seemed as If an invisible
devil were at work in the room,
LeOntine stood beside the door, un-
touched, the precious paper still In her
hand. She alone had kept her self-pos-
session.
Quietly she stepped toward the Sc
cret panel, pushed it open, and passed
into the gambling house. Thence she
made her way leisurely toward the
head of the flight of steps that led
down to the street.
She went down slowly, and, believ-
ing herself safe, stopped Under the
nearest street lamp to read the rest
of the confession, in order to learn the
truth.
AS she did so, a man came down the
steps behind her.
Louis Lamb, or "One-Lamp Louie
| 0hu IHuue HlS way DuCh W NNeW 1oi
with his hoard after the earthquake
devastated Whites village.
On reaching the metropolis he Inn
medlately got in touch with the un'
derworld; and that in itself required q
certain habit of mind.
Blanca, recognizing that he had
money to spend, permitted him to
spend ii. Romanoff, who had planned
to rob him, did not recognize in. the
frequenter of the gambling house the
hermit of Whites Village.
And Louie had not the slightest rec
objection of the confession of forgery
which he had committed in company
with Sebastian,
When he spoke to Leontine at the
side Of the suicide he had not the least
idea that he had ever seen her before
He drifted back to the table and wait
ed impatlently for the game to begir
again.
After lowering round for some time
however, he accepted the assurance:
that the game was ended for the night