Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-10-29

il the iron safe, with its bright coat
of varnish family rejecting the dim
light of the lamp. And. looming above
them all. was the giant statue of Her
culcs. 1t was possible to get view
of the door leading into the room anG OF
the windows overlooking the garden.
They were nll closed. 1t was not likely
that any one could have entered from
the outside 4 dead quiet pcrVaded
the place and | began to wonder II
had not been mistaken. Nevertheless
waited. determined to rcassure my
self before retiring for the night.
Presently I caught the fash of a
light. ! looked and looked, aud. after
Il while. made the discovery that some
one was huddlcd up against the large
statue of Hercules, near the foot OF
the stairs. There was faint SOUND aS
of some one breathing heavily, Men
tally | damned the statue for obstruct-
ing my view and at the same time lur
nishing such convenient refuge TOR the
intruder. Even at that moment won
dcrcG ut the whim which had caused
Colonel Wharton to place such Il
clumsy and inappropriate thing in ms
living room. Also, at the same moment
| sp"culatcd idly upon the twelve great
'abors Hercules Is supposed To nave
undertaken. Was any one of them as
Were his struggles against the ombodl
mcnts of evil to be compared with my
fight to reconcile love and duty An
other movement from the person below
aroused me from my useless medlta-
tions. | could reach but one conclu-
sion.
Some one was preparing to open the
safe and steal the Red Diamond.
| determined that it was my duty to
act. In less time than it takes to relate
the fact / had hurried TO my room, pos -
scSscd myself of my revolver and re
turned to my post of observation. !
determined to move with caution and
not To arouse the house unless it was
absolutely necessary. The person by
the statue had not moved during my
brief absence. Whoever it was seemed
quite as fearful as myself.
Presently the flash of light became
more pronounced and | realized that
the intruder was proceeding cautiously
around the side of the room and in the
direction of the safe. Then. suddenly
| made an astonishing discovery.
1t was Il woman.
Almost unconsciously ! put my re
volvcr rway, but remained at my post
looking over the rail at the strange
figure below. She was clad in blue
hathrobc. which had evidently been
hastily thrown over her night dress.
Her long hair. loose and in diSO"dN"
flowed down her back. and in her hand
she carried Il Candlcstick containing 4
lighted waXcn taper. | pinchcd my
self to make sure that it was not all 4
dream. But it was real cnough--only
too real. The woman was in her bar,
= feet and she tiptocd and moved witt
provoking -S'owncss, pausing every now
J and then to make sure that no one wa.
in the room. Presently she reached hel
destination, and placing the candle OF
the top of the safe stopped down ant
began to tumble with the knob.
Suddenly there came puff of wind
, from where | could not gucss--and OK
tinguished the candle.
, 'Oh :" came the half suppressed or,
from the woman, and then all wa
! silence.
! 1 never moved. The silence con
, tinued for long while and then
- heard the scratching of Il match an
the candle was rclighted.
The woman looked around norvousl
before resuming operations. Seeing II
. one, she began turning the knob of til
safe, but evidently with poor success
Did she know the combination, or wa
she working at random?
All the while | stood there. dazc
= with astonishment at this strange per
{ formance. | was wondering who sli
= could be. SO far as | knew there wcr
r but three women in the house, Mr..
n Crilly, Dora Wharton and Amy Smitl
=. the maid, and the thought of any {
G wanderer was quickly dismissed.
Could il be DOSSiblp that tbnro w.
some one else in the house of who
presence | was unaware:
E., My impulse was to 60 downstair
i seize the thief and demand to kno
" what she was doing. But the dcsi
, to see how far she wOuld go heh 4
: in my place. Unconsciously, howeve
| walked to the head of the stairw;
and down one step in order to get
d better view. At that moment the trol
70 the door of the safe flew open. In II
excitement | leaned forward and n loo
= board in the stairway gave LOT
'e creak.
e Instantly ! drew back so that
Is could not be seen from below. B
the woman at the safe was tcrrib
- scared. She recoiled and almost fl
10 to the floor. AS she regained her pos
IS tion she turned her face to me for Il
~ HrSC time ana WHdC l. SbW gave me
It shock that made my heart palpitate al
II my brain reel.
v 1t was Dora Wharton!
There could be no possible dou
ID about her identity. She was standiI
il now, holding the candlestick in h
lie hand and gazing about to learn Il
cause of the unexpected crcaking. r.
Is candle threw it's waxen light on h
" face and never have ! seen face
e full of pain and suffering. 1t W
a Dora and it was not Dora. The Do
N knew was young. full of life al
n vivacity, with a quizzical look in h
Ie black eyes and smiling lips. T
Iy woman by the scfc looked haggal
X from terror, the gaze in her eyes "
a that of a criminal caught in the az
ID and her lips were unsmling and col
tracted. Yet, in spite of the contras
which made her look like another pc
son, | knew only too well that it W
10 the one and only Dora Wharton W
~ was destined to have such an intluen
!. over my life.
10 | waited in breathless silence to S
N what she would do next. Suddenly S
- closed the door of the safe and snuff
out the candle and I knew that s
: was slowly making her way along t
staircase.