Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-08-18

little way open without a jar OIL
sound
There was the possibility that Ro
berta had paused just beyond it; that
she might have changed her mind sc
Katherine was extremely cautious-ant
it was well that she was so.
She peercd into the hall. which, al
though dimly lit, was lighter than the
room behind her.
Instantly she withdrew her head, re
closed the door, and turned the key in
the lock. fastening it. Then, almost
holding her breath. she waited.
What she had seen was startling
enough.
much more quickly than Katherine had
believed she could; more than likely
she had run to the stairs and down
them. But Belknap was returning.
She had caught sight of him at the
moment he turned around the post OF
the balustrade coming from the floor
above, where his room was located
she had seen him-and she feared that
he had caught glimpse of her. Not
enough to have recognized her; she was
quite certain as to that. but his eyes
had evidently been on the door when
she had thrust her head outward. lie
had started forward with quickened
pace, and
The knob of the door turned; then
when it would not yield, the knob was
shaken gently.
Katherine made no response what
ever. She stood very still, listening.
Beknap, at the opposite side. tapped
lightly against it. Then Katherine
heard his voice raised barely above a
whisper.
Let me in, Berta," he said. There
is something l forgot to say, and there
is no knowing when there will be an
other opportunity like this one. You
haven't undrcsscd, yet, I'm sure. Open
and let me in. l won't stay five min
utes. | promise"
katherine smiled, we'll pleased to
know that he had not recognized her !;
and. of course, she made no reply what
ever.
Belknap did not, Immediately, speak
again, but Katherine could hear a faint
rustiug beyond the closed door; and
then she became genuinely startled.
She heard the click of metal against
metal at the keyhole, and Belknap's
muttcrcd remark made at the same
time:
IAN right. If you won't let me, I'll
go in
And katherine understood.
She knew that he was using burglar
forCcps to grip the post of the key and
turn it, and thus unlock the door from
his side, and she knew that it could be
done as easily as if he held the key
itself. She knew all about such instru-
them in the museum cabinet at head"
quarters.
1t did not at the instant occur to her
to seize the key and hold it-and even
if she had done so, Belknap would
presently have discovered that it was
not Roberta. but another, beyond the
door-and he might guess who that
other person was. Katherine was very
far from wanting him to suspect that
she had been witness to the scene that
had just happened inside of the room.
When the forceps clicked against the
lock, and she realized what was doing,
she darted away. and by the time he
had begun to turn the key in the man
ncr described she had fed into
Roberta's bathroom, and had closed and
locked the door after her-and that time
she withdrew the key and dropped it to
the tiled floor. =.
But there was no other way out of
that room unless. She glanced to-
ward the high and narrow window and
shook her head-but approached it
neverthaless-and stepped upon the low
chair that stood beneath it while she
pushed wide open the hinged screen to
peer into the night outside.
1T might be done" she told herself
'It can be done. l must do
it. That man shall not know that
Belknap had entered the other room
and was rapping softly against the
bathroom door.
Come out here" she heard him say.
"What is the matter with you!'
But Katherine was working with
fcvcrish haste and paid no heed to him.
There was a pile of bathtowels in the
small cupboard where they were kept,
and they were of generous size.
She seized upon them one by one and
knOtted them together until she de-
cidcd that her improvised rope was long
enough, for she had made up her mind
that she would experience only slight
difficulty In forcing her slender body
through the window. She had not a
doubt that Belknap, when he became
convinced that Roberta would not go
out to him nor answer him (for, of
course, he could not doubt that it was
Roberta inside of the bathroom), she be-
lievcd that he would do one of two
things; he would either try to force the
door-an unlikely thing-or he would
calmly announce that he would sit down
and wait till she came out. il it took
her till doomsday to deCidc-an OK
trcmely likely thing for him to do in his
present mood.
Well, he could wait; but katherine
did not propose to remain where she
was to be waited for. Roberta might
have done so; she would not.
She tied one end of her rope around
the pipe of the hot water heating ap.
'ObabLy a Waiter!