The Washington times., 1919-03-04
At the End of This
Chapter YOU
81. Begin.
Chapter Twenty-Five
By Natalie Sumner Lincoln.

By Natalie Sumner Lincoln.
Somewhere in the distance q
church clock bell tOIIed the hour and
tAree sharp blades descended swift
lysSS
Mrs. Emery Thayer reused herself
from the uneasy slumber into which
she had fallen and passed q shaking
hand across her eyes. The nightmare
had been too realistic. What mad
awakened her? For fully five minutes
she waited, every sense alert. Utter
silence prevailed In the bedroom aad
she was about TO slip back on her pill
lows when q faint, very faint scurry-
ing noise caught her attention.
It ceased before she could locate
it, and again only her heavy breath
ing disturbed the silence. Convinced
that her nerves were playing her false
she mentally mathematical the last
cup Of coffee which she had taken be-
fore retiring, and settled back in
bed But whatever the cause which
had aroused her, she was too wide
awake to go back to sleep, and as
she lay contemplating the furniture
family disceTnible In the darkness,
unbidden thoughts troubled her and
the bed grew even less comfortable
than the cell at the Eighth police pre-
cinct, from which she, with her COM
pauions, Snyder and Fuller, had been
released that Afternoon, the police reg
lister showing the statement: Not
enough evidence to hold them"
What had she gained in the past
month In Washington-the emnity Of
the two men she was pledged to aid
Snyder and Fuller. She shivered
slightly: past events taught her dow
much mercy she might expect at their
hands-the case of pretty Deborah
Cornish, whose disappearance had
baffled the police OF two continents,
was still fresh in her mind. Again she
shiVered-and not with cold.
Her thoughts flew to Frank Kim
ball Could she place faith in him,
or was his imprisoned wooing but
q blind to cloak his intention to
marry Madeline Connor and thus gain
the triangle? II so-Mrs. Thayer's
eyes flashed; then her sudden ungov-
ernabie anger changed: her woman's
intuition could be relied on, she, and
she alone, had won Frank KimbRlrs
love, but-the word Of three letters
stung her-there should be no but"
in her romance; with the right trt-
angle once in her possession she
could dictate terms to her lover.
Was she any nearer the goal? Her
hasty flight from the Wayside Inn
to the Raleigh Hotel would not long
throw Snyder and Fuller off her
track she had, perhaps, until noon
to locate WI Tsang on his return
from New York, that once accom-
plished and with the information she
could give him-a snap Of her fin
gers was eloquent
The sudden sharp sound was fol-
lowed instantly by a repetition Of
-
ened her. II came nearer and Mrs.
Thayer grew conscious of rustling
among the newspapers which she had
thrown across the foot OF her bed
before switching off the light
Mrs. Thayer's fingers closed spas
medically around a tiny electric
torch, which lay under her pillow and
flashed II down the bed Coming
rapidly over the white spread was
a mouse. Her squeal of terror was
drowned under the covers as she
dragged them over her head She
remained half suffocated for several
minutes, then cautiously peeped out.
Utterly unafraid Of the ray Of
light which she directed at him, the
mouse rustled in and out OF the
papers, taking a nibble here and
there. subdued "shoor' produced
no effect and Mrs. Thayer looked
longinEly in the direction Of the bell
she dared not venture to cross the
room In her bare feet.
Her terror was augmented by dis
covering q second mouse join his
mate. AS they came in merry gamble
toward her she threw herself side
ways, and the curtains, across which
her bed was placed. parted and she
rolled through a partly shut door
which opened under her weight Her
fall was broken by a pile of what,
judging from their texture, were
steamer rugs, and Mrs. Thayer scram-
bled to her feet none the worse for
her unexpected tumble and started TO
return, but thought Of the mice de-
TERED her.
Her hsshIight, to which she still
chung, showed a door opposite the one
by which she had slid into the closet,
and she decided to leave by IL. gain
the hall and the aid Of q friendly
chsmbermsid-
To her Joy Mrs. Thsyer found the
second door unlocked and she was
about to step outside the closet when
she was arrested by hearing a key
turn In q lock and Frank KimbaIrs
voice announce:
"Come in. Knowles; We can talk
without danger Of being overheard"
A second later. as Mrs. ThGyeF
drew back into the safe shelter OF
the rugs, she saw through the door
which she had left Gjar, the light
flashed on and Major Knowles. fol-
lowed BY his host, strobe into the
bedroom. Both men selected seats
beyond ths limited range of vision
permitted by the crack Of the closet
door.
Knowles was the dFst 70 break the |
GbOTt silence that eHsued,
strange we have no weird from
HendeFBons" be commented, you |
dOa't suppose" he broke OF 70 light |
his cigar. You don't suppose the |
Head DSTfFG got hfnF"
Meaning WUT qUsstiOaed Kim
bail Not likelyf that Head Devil, |
az you call him, is friendly to Hem
deFson,"
81 don't take much stock in a
chtnk'S freadshipS no eatangiinE al