The diamond drill., 1921-05-14

UIC6II6f. and hof Words and ackioo6
rcmained a. q coostraint Why had
she stood there. her hand on the door,
and talked to me In that mocking
wayf Had she a purpose. an aimf
Did she believe my explanationf or
was her suspicion aroused into a de-
termination to verify II In some wayf
Although could not decide. yet doubt
less the latter theory was the most
probable. That was why l had been
pledged 10 call at "247 lie Compte
street." and ask for "M<s Conrad"
This was the same place where Harris
had secretly met Krantz. Evidently
II was another headquarters for these
precious villains. Once there. and
safely In their power. the truth OF my
identity could easily be established.
Was that her ideaf
IL so, who then was Miss ConradT
Not Marie Gessler. certainly, under
another name, for she would have re-
turned 20 Washington. There was no
doubt as 10 that. for Alve had agreed
TO take her direct TO the depot In his
own car. and would scarcely leave un-
al she was safely on the train. Prob
ably the other woman was confed-
crate. with whom she would communi-
cate by telephone. My clearer judg-
ment told me all this, made me fully
conscious OF the danger OF keeping
this appointment, yet never swerved
me from an intention to do so. Marie
Gessler's eyes were frank and honest
they had looked directly into my own,
pleadingiy imagined. and ! retained
q blind faith In her no ordinary cir
cumstances would overcome. She was
involved In this criminal conspiracy
there could be no doubt as to that
but why7 under what conditioner
What could ever have driven so wom-
anly woman to such an association
Was her appeal to me an effort at as
sistancei Was she blindly endeavor-
Ing to learn In this way II was
worthy Of trust. and confidencef This
hope would not down; II remained in
sistent. persistent. / would keep my
word; would go TO the place desig-
mated, at the hour set; / would 90
armed, prepared for whatever might
occur Of treachery-but would 20.
Perhaps here was the key to the whole
mystery; and once solved her con-
nection with the plot, particularly II
II absolved her from blame. and the
necessity OF exposure, could go for
ward with clear conscience, and land
Nfh knx N..a
longed.
I must have covered four or FIVE
blocks immersed In such thought, al
most forgetful OF my surroundings,
my head bent low before the rain, my
feet carelessly slushlng through the
water In pools on the sidewalk. met
no one. heard no sound to arouse me
all about was dark, desolate, forlorn.
Then suddenly became conscious OF
some unusual obstruction just ahead.
At first I took II for a wrecked wagon
lying against the curb, but another
step forward revealed the truth--a de-
serted touring car. Its red tau-iight
plastered with mud, and barely visible.
/ approached with a feeling OF relief
II WIS not wrecked. no sign OF acci-
dent was to be noticed. Even In that
dim light could see the machine was
no common car. a sedan. its glass bril-
liant I'm spite OF the rain spatters, and
Its paint cleaning brightly.
/ stared about wonderingly, but
could perceive nothing to account for
the presence of such a car. or It's >ap-
parent desertion. Up and down both
streets not figure moved; not a
sound reached me but the slough OF
the wind, and the patter. OF rain.
with the loneliness OF II ALL
as curiosity led me TO cross the muddy
TO assure myself as 10 what
this strange desertion meant.
There was no one I'm the car
could look straight through the
dlmmed windows. against the glare OF
a street lamp block away. One OF
The rear doors stood half open. and,
tempted by IL, bent over and felt
within. My hand touched some OBJ
iect on the floor, and / instantly
straIghtened up with the thing