The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-01-14

kert the night before; but the thought l of even day lost in his investiga- l tion drove Oden almost to the verge 1 of desperation. |
 Captain Lewis would understand of course, that something had hap pened to him; but would he keep the be found, or would he assign another detective to it and thereby deprive Odell of the opportunity for which he had waited so long? I placed guard both inside and out of Ahe Meade residence should relax their vigilance for an hour and en- ble the nameless fiend to strike again?
 Dusk deepened to darkness while Odell tortured himself with vain fears and imaginings, and stin there was no sign of the return of Pete from the village Tony shuffled in at last, however, muttering curses beneath his breath and lighting smoky lamp and an oil-stove in the corner, he started to prepare supper.~r. Oden watched him through warily half-closed eyes as he. sliced ham. opened cans and placed sas huge loaf of bread and a wooden dish of butter
 on the table; and the detective realiz ed suddenly that he himself was faint from hunger. No food had passed his lips since the previous night; and he dared not simulate a sudden re- turn to consciousness now lest Tony redouEle his vigilance.
 He lay in a silent agony of craving, while the tantalizing odor of coffee
 filled the room, and Tony, still grum- | bling audibIy over his confederate's delay, Shuffled pack and forth from l shelves to table and stove.
 All at once Oden narrowed his lids
 until only a mere slit remained, l through which he gazed with greater | intensity at his jailor's movements; for | Tony had brought battered tin tray
 to the table and placed upon it plate of ham and beans, a steaming l of coffee a great nf | bread.
 1 It was evidently his intention to
 feed the other prisoner, and Odell
 mentally writhed at his inability to | esta b1ish communication with Miller. | If only he could reach that tray un-
 observed and place upon it some
 token which would show his subor- | dinate that he was near at hand and l on the lookout for a chance to escape | If Tony would but turn his back for | a minute.
 | But if the opportunity should come | what object could he place upon the | tray? He thrust one hand down
 cautiously beneath the blanket but | found as he had supposed that his l pockets had been emptied; not even
 a stub of pencil or scrap of paper re l mained.
 At that moment as if in answer to
 his unexpressed prayer a faint ''hal- loa" sounded from the landward di-
 rection, and with a grunt of relief |
 room, the tray forgotten.
 l Oden sprang from the couch with
 the recklesshess of desperation; but
 he had not taken his weakness into
 him so that he reached out blindly to
 steady himself. His hands caught
 the back of a chair, and as his vision
 cleared again he saw that hanging
 across it were his collar and neck
 tie, the latter of a curious blue and
 and black design. Would Miller | recognize it?
 Outside he could hear the two men
 calling to each other, and it was evil dent that Pete was still some dis
 tance away; but no time could be
 lost. odell took up the neckties and
 tried feverishly to tear off a frag-
 ment from the end, but the strong
 silk resisted his efforts. He looked
 hastily about him. and his eyes which Tony had sliced the ham. Seiz-
 ing it he hacked and tore at. the silk
 until a short strip of it came off in his hand. Then he gouged a piece of l bread from the center of the portion of loaf upon the tray, thrust the bit of silk into the aperture and rep1ac- , ed the soft bread to mask it's presence. 1 The knife he secretted beneath the
 mattress of the couch, and reclining again he pulled the filthy blankets
 up to his chin.
 } preached; but it had perceptibly } thickened since his departure. and he : stumbled as he ascended the steps r which led to the porch.
 t whole = burg!" he ended with a
 hiccough of disgust. t+They don't 2 seem to know what it is, Tony my = boy, but I got the next best thing tc t "Whisky?'' Tony's voice was not : 1 over-enthuSiastic.
 And 1audanum. A foxy old hicl P in the first farmhouse down the roa6 inc hOOVp h. niehf nieht 'A oR ias i5'' drugstore We'll make e "Gimnae dat bottle an go feed you,
 odelrs vast relief 1T fixed de tra, - O eats cause youse was gone so - II - long I figered dat youse had blew = The door opened and. Pete staggered d in seized the tray. and departed ' while Tony seated himself astride ; $ chair and raised the bottle to his lips e The fates had been more kind thai q Odell had dared to hope. He knev =. the swift and deadening effect of tn 9 mixture which Pete had brought; ant e when once the men succumbed to it
 influence escape would be assured if He strained his ears to listen for tn e direction from which Pete would re st turn, for he had as yet no idea wher n Miller was confined. He had hear, ',t the former cross the porch and des rs cend the steps againn, but that wa ,- all. Could it be that Miller was il ,- some other building, an outhouse 0 E. Shed perhapS! # so he could scarce ,e ly hope to find it in the darkness , and his subordinate, gagged, woul = be unable to guide him even if h 2 dared venture a subdued call. q 1 While these disturbing thought Iv filled his consciousness they wer ,e broken in upon suddenly by a strin l of picturesque and which seemed t m rise from beneath the floor. and h k breathed a sigh of relief. The. voic "a was enthusiastically Mil1er's. Woul is he find that bit of silk, recognize i
 and be able to conceal it from tn in befudd1ed gaze of his variegate is oaths uttered in vigorous ton k jai1or?
 ,d (To Be Continued) t,iee SUGGEST ALTERING