Evening star., 1918-04-21

ing, ''tenQefly SnlelueUs Iloh anna oh~
why not? Who would not mother
thing that is to bring one four hundreu
thousand francs?" -.
Let me see it? 1t must be shown to
the count, remember. He Will take no
risks; come not one step beyond the
square, until he is certain that 1t fs-
the paper his government requires.
Let me have it. Let me take 1t to-him
quick"
She waved aside airily the hand hs
stretched toward her and danced into
the thick of the resumed quadril1e.
"Ah, non! non, nom" she laughed. as
he came after her. The conditions
were of your own making, cher ami
we break no rules even among our
selves
soul of a fooN But II the count
comes to the square-he is due there
-now mignonne-and / am not there TO
show him the thing Margot, for
the love of God. let me have the pa
per-"
Let me have the sign. the pass-
word" -
Cleek snapped at a desperate chancs
because there was nothing else to do.
because he knew that at any moment
now the end might come. ,.
when the purse will not open, elit
itw he hazarded. desperately-choos-
ing, on the off chance. of it's correct-
ness the password of the Apache.
. "It is not the right one! 1t is by no
means the right one!" she made reply.
backing away from him suddenly, her
absinthe- frightened eyes. her absin-
the-sharpened laughter mocktng him.
Your thoughts are in the Bois. cher
ami. What is the password OF tne-
brotherhood to the cause of GERMANY.
stupid? 1t is not right, non. non! 1t 10
not right"
The cause of Germany! At the words
the truth rushed like a flash OF In
spiration across Cleek's mind. The
cause of Germany. What dolt. ne
was not to have thought of that be-
fore. There was but one phrase ever
used for that among the kaiser's peo-
pie. and that phrase
Ito the day." he said, with a burst
of sudden laughter. My wits are IN,
the meen tonight. la refine. To the
day. of course-'To the day." And
even before she replied to him he knew
that he had guessed Alright.
"Bravoy she said. with a little hic-
cough, for the absinthe. of which she
had imbibed SO freely tonight. was be-
conspirator to forget how to open the.
door he himself locked. 1t is well
know thee; it is well 1t was our WORD
in the beginning. or 1 had been sus-
putting her hand to her breast and be-
ginning to unfasten. her bodice-"watt
but a moment. Monsieur Twitching-y
Fingers. and the thing shall be In your
hand
The strain, the relief, were all too
great for even such nerves as Cleek's.
and if he had not laughed aloud he
knew that he must have cheered. -
Ohio. You grin because ones m
gers blunder with eagerness. htci
coughed Margot, thinking his laughter.
was for the trouble she had in getting
the fastenings of her bodice undone.
"Peste. monsieur, may not a lady well
be modestly careful when Name Of
the devil, what's that2"
1t was the note of a whistle shrillinE
down the narrow passage without
the passage where Dollops, jim Apache
garb, had been set on watch. and.
hearing it, Cleek clamped his jaws to-'
gether and breathed hard. A single
whistle, short and sharp, such as this.
real Clodoche was coming and that he
and Count Won Hetzler had already ap."
peared in the square beyond. 80.
Soul of a sloth! will not that hurry
you. la reine?" he said excitedly. In
reply to Margots startled question.
TT is the signal Fouchard's son was
to give when he and Won Hetzler ar
. rived at the place where 1 am to meet
them. Give me the paper quick! Tear,
the fastenings. if they will not come
. undone else. One cannot keep a Won
Hetzler waiting like lackey for q
scrap of ribbon and a bit of lace"
'Pardieu! they have kept better men
than he waiting many an hour befora
this she made reply. But you shall
have the thing in a twinkling now.
There. but one more knot, and then it
is in your hands" -.
And, had the fates not decreed other
wise, so indeed it would have been. But
then. just then. when another second
would have brought the paper into
view. another moment seen it shut
tight in the grip of his itching fingers,
disaster came and blotted out his.
hopes,
Without hint or warning. without
fn hn ncho - tf
the trap door behind the bar flew up.
and backward with a crash that sent
Marise and her assistants darting.
away from it in shriekine alarm: a
babel of excited voices sounded. rush
ing feet scuffled and flashed along the
shaking floor. and Merode and his fol-
lowers tumbled helter-skelter into the
room.
kept them from entering the passage
from the corridor of the Chateau La
rouge and thus forcing them to take
long, roundabout journey to THE
shortening that journey by entering the
passage from Fouchard's tavern, doing.
in fact, the very thing which he had de-
clared to Margot he himself had done.
crowding about him. dirks In their
hearts-and the paper not his yet!
A clanor rose as they poured in; the
ceased to play, and Margot, shutting a
tight clutch on the loosened part of her
half-unfastened bodice, swung away
from C1eeks side and flew in a panic -.
Merode. '--'
"Gaston," she cried. knowing from hfs
wild look and the string of oaths and.
curses his followers were blurtinE out
that something had gone amiss. Cas-
ton, mon occur. Name of disaster!
what is wrong?"
Everything is wrong." he flung back,
excitedly. THAT devil. that renegads,
that fury. Cleek the Cracksman. is here
He came to the rescue out of the very
skies and all but killed Serpice'
"Cleek," Fifty shrill voices Joined
Margot's in that screaming cry; fifty
more dirks flashed into view. "Cleek
in France? Cleek? Where is he? Which
way did he go? Where's the norker-
where-where?"
Here, IL anywhere"'
"Here?' "
"Yes. unless you've been fooled and
'et him get away. He knows about
the paper and is after II. Margot, and If
any one has come up from the sewers
within the last twenty minutes"
They knew Instantly and roar Of e1a"
cited voices yelled out: "Clodoche. Clo-
doche. Clodoche!'' as. snarling and
bowling like pack of wolves. they bore
down with a rush on the blue bloused
figure that was creeping toward the door,
But as they sprang 1t sprang also! 1t
was neck or nothing now, Cleek realized
it and, throwing himself headlong over