Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-01-07
CHAPTER XyI-Continued


THE secret service men exchanged
l. glances. There was more to this than
appeared Somewhere ahead. then, was
Milky Larlsch. with a motor that did
not belong to him and wearing clothing
which his victim described as "A chauf-
feur's coat OF leather brceches and put
tees. and a fur greatcoat over all.
Had the snow commenced when
this happened?"
Not then. sir. Shortly after
go out with the driver" the chan
cellor ordered one of his men, and
watch the road for the tracks OF another
car Go slowly"
SO it was that, after an hour or so,
they picked up Nikky's trail, now TWEEN
ty-four hours old but still clear, and fol-
lowed II. The Chancellor was awake
enough by this time, and bending for
ward. The man they had rescued sept
heavily. As the road descended into
the foothills, there were other tracks
in the thin snow. and more than orce
they reused Nikkys victim to pick out
his own tire marks. lie obeyed duly.
When at last the trail turned from the
highway toward the shooting-boN at
Wedeling Mettlich fell back with
something between n curse and a groan.
THE fool !" he muttered. The young
fool! II was madness"
At last they drew up at an inn in the
village on the royal preserve. and the
Chancellor looking rather gray, alight-
ed He directed that the man they had
rescued be brought in. The Chancellor
was not for losing him just yet lie
tn For l,i ,,t hn tp, ,I
rather cavalierly locked him in 1t,
The dull-eyed landlord. yawning as he
lighted the party upstairs with candles,
apparently neither noticed nor cared
that the three OF them surrounded n
fourth, and that tile fourth looked both
sullen and IN.
The car. with one OF the secrct-scrvice
men, Mettlich sent on to follow Nikky's
trail, AMI &c report 1t to him. The other
man was assigned to custody of the
chauffeur. The Chancellor. more re-
lieved than he would have acknowledged,
reflected before "A fire and over glass
of hot milk that he was rather un-
propitiously bringing Karl bride
1t was almost fonr in the morning
when the police agent returned. The
track he. had followed apparently led
into the grounds of Wedding, but was
there lost In many others. 1t did not.
so far as he could discover, lead beyond
the lodge gates.
The Chancellor slipped his hot milk
and considered. Milky Iarisch pris-
oner In karrs hands caused him less
anxiety than 1t would have month
before. But what was behind IL all?
The inn. grumbling at its broken resi-,
settled down to sleep again. The two
secret-service agents took turns, on
chairs outside their prisoners door,
glancing in occasionally to see that lie
still slept in his built-in bed.
At a little before five the man outside
the prisoners door heard something in
side the room. lie glanced in. All was
quiet. The prisoner slept heavily, gen.
uine sleep. There was no mistaking II =,
the sleep of man warm after long
cold and exhaustion. weary after violent
effort. The agent went out again and
locked the door behind him.
And as the door Closed. trapdoor
from the kitchen below opened softly
under the sleeping mans bed With
great caution came the landlord, head
first, then shoulders. The space was
cramped. He crawled up, like "A snake
out of a hole and ducked behind the cur
tains Of the bed. All was still quiet, save
that the man outside struck a match
and lighted a pipe. -.
Half an hour later. the Chancellor's