Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-06-04

our men had taken fright and scut-
tied. Deverll and / were for throwing
things up, and even Mackenzie him
self was somewhat shaken in his pur-
pose. Besides, good impostors as both
men were it was impossible to maintain
this play-actng for long without some.
thing going awry. That day there had
been a contretemps in the Castle Hill
avenue. We had occasion to cross that
quiet road, and while the bath chair
was In the middle of it a motor suddenly
whizzed round the corner, and, in
second. was almost on top of us.
Perhaps Mackenzies nerves were, like
my own. wearing rather thin with our
perpetual alertness.
Anyway, up went his revolver and the
chauffeur, his face a mixture of horror
and surprise, managed to pull up within
q few feet of us. Incidents such as
these threatened our disguise. An old
lady in a bath chair who pulled up
motors with revolver could scarcely
hope to escape notoriety.
That same evening there was in ad-
dition to the usual band. to be a we'll
known soprano who would sing on the
bandstand at the west end of the leas.
The placards announcing her appearance
were everywhere, and as the evening
promised to be still and warm we con-
ceived the idea of making, what would
be oAir last throw among the big crowd
which was certain to assemble. On that
understanding we parted about o'clock.
They were to call for me at 8.
l o
came into the smoking room to inform
me that the lady in the chair was wait
ing for me outside. l knew as / de-
scended the steps that something was
afoot, they were in such haste to be get
ting on. For obvious reasons we did
not go in for conversational exchanges
on these promenades, and even in the
least frequented roads 1t was /, and not
Mackenzie, who gave the necessary direc-
tions to Deverill in his capacity as chair
man. However, noticed that we did not
take the nearest way to the leas, and
judged that from something they had
learned the plan had been altered. I
would have asked Mackenzie about It,
only that cautious man.. evidently to
be quite in character with the part he
played as an invalid dame out in III.
evening air. had the hood up. So
walked on by his side, patiently waiting
till we reached some part sufficiently
quiet to make questioning possible.
Deverlll was pulling the chair along at
| a pace that amused me, for 1t was quite
out of keeping with the careful, vale
tudinarian aspect given to our equip
age by the raised hood, which suggested
much fragility in the occupant. When.
between high walls, bordered with trees,
and with nothing in sight save motor
car in the distance, / could restrain my
curiosity no longer. seeing indeed no need
to restrain it. Calling on Deverlll to
halt. | pressed back the hood of the
chair and bent over with my question
as to why we were going in direction
exactly contrary to that arranged: But
my question died on my lips as l looked
at the occupant of the chair. 1t
was not Mackenzie. 1t was man
recognzed-the clear-cut features. the
eyes, the carmine lips parted in grin.
and showing the broken front teeth.
"Dewinski !" / cried involuntarily, and
as Henschel had cried the name that
l had a second in which to hear his
reply; o., - nou,,ns,, ,o roc. wifi,
something in his hand that he lifted
Then something crashed dowl and
consciousness left me-
When 1 came to myself again the first
sensation / recall was simply dull
throbbing in my head. Something queer
had happened u it. The intolerable
ses edseS Se P arSY eran
become yielding and pliable, so that my
head was visibly dilating and contract
ing in the same fashion as the heart
does. Then l became aware that I was
lying on the ground, for l was con-
vinced that my head had dilated, on the
whole. more than it had contracted, and
was now of such dimensions as to be
beyond unassisted support
Some one kicked me in the ribs
Get UP, You English swine"
was startled into complete conscious
an unshuttered window, and showed me
three men, of whom l knew two-De-
winski, and the fat man Room. The
other. was a stranger to me, a young
man in chauffeur's cap and linen over
alls. They raised me from the ground,
and was propped up on bench against
the wall. We We're in a big wooden
shanty. In the center of the floor there
was a circular opening. very much like
WELL only larger. Two very big beams
in the roof supported a fiywheel, from
which a double length of rope hung over
the well-like opening. The whole place
had an aspect of dilapidation and an
odor of decay and fustiness assailed my
nostrils. Recent events came back to
me. and the only thing j was uncertain
about was the question as to how long
had been in their hands
! CONTINUED TOMORROW