The Pulaskian., 1921-02-17
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the three without plainly enough to Determine who was speaking. but their words were indistinguishable. Then the murmur finally ceased. and he thought one of the men had left the house, perhaps both, yet that was hardly likely. Someone remained cer- tainly. for there was movement. and the sound of feet, mingled with the clink of dishes. Pancha was evidently clearing off the table. His thought centered on her. Had he made a mis- take in thus suddenly confding his true story to her ears? Yet, so far as he knew, she had said nothing to in jure him, and had made no effort to reveal his secret Indeed her actions had rather expressed fear of Laud and a certain sympathy for him; sure ly that was what he had read in the depths of her eyes. Yet how could this be accounted for? She must cer- tainly be one with these others; brought up probably from childhood In the atmosphere of crime, and cer- fainly loyal to her brother. if nothing else. What then could possibly inhu. ence her to show him the slightest consideration?
 He sat with head in his hands, en deavoring to solve the mystery, and, out from the dark, a possible explana- tion flashed into his mind-Macklin Could any relation she might have with this fellow account for a desire to wish his escape alive? It might; the fact that he was already the hus- band of the woman Macklin planned to marry would quite naturally ex- plain the entire situation under cer- tain conditions. If that rascal had made love to her, and now deliberate ly planned to desert her for another, the Spanish blood would account for all the rest. By heaven; that must be it He recalled the insistence of her questioning; the flash of her eyes the threatening gleam of her white teeth. Unconsciously he had touched 5 the secret spring, and unloosed the ti ger. Jealousy was the weapon-a love turned to hate, the fury of woman scorned. To get Olga out of her path forever. she would risk anything dare anything. Here then, was his one and only chance.
 But could the girl serve him. even If she desired to do so? He realized the seriousness of his position his helplessness without some outside aid He had been a blind fool to venture into this den alone; and even a blind CT fool to claim friendship with Han- ley. The morning would find him com pletely exposed, and he had little doubt what form vengeance would as sume at the hands of these men. He was like condemned man in his cell waiting helplessly for the certain hour of execution. Worse than that, even; for his fate must inevitably seal also the fate of his wife. Her only chance of rescue lay in his efforts, and he was helpless. There was not a thing he could do; yet he tried again and again desperately, testing the punch cons of the floor. block by block. dig ging at the dried mud between the < logs of the wall; endeavoring to gain some leverage upon the hinges of the door, and tugging once again furious ly at those wooden stakes protecting 2 the narrow window. His fingers bled from the frantic effort 10 thus loosen something, to yield him an opportuni- ty to really exert his strength. These efforts were utterly useless; there was not a spot of weakness to be dscov- cred. If the place had been originally constructed as a prison it could not have been more securely built. Men tally and physically exhausted. he flung himself upon the floor. and lay there, quivering from head to foot, with nerves completely shattered The silence became ghastly: any sound would have been relief. There was no one moving about even in that other room, and the door between fitted gleam of light He listened intently, holding his breath, but his head sank back once more in dejection Why in Gods name hadn't he fought it out like man? Why had he ever permit ted himself to be thus caught like a trapped rat? The frenzy of disgust he ! felt caused him to sit up and stare, once more at the single star shining through the window. What was that? A shadow? Surely something out yon- der moved!
 Silently, cautiously, he stepped on the stool, and looked out between the bars, his heart beating like drum. At first he saw nothing, the blood seem ing to stand still as he ,gazed-then the fingers of hand grasped one of the wooden bars. and a face rose slowly just in front of his own. A whisper revealed the identity of his visitor.
 "Senor, come quietly to window; do not speak loud"
 "Pancba you You would talk with