The diamond drill., 1921-05-14

could not doubt This was the same
peculiar ornament had observed that
evening In the girls hat, or else its
exact mate. recalled the quaint
shape Of the miniature hlt too clearly
10 be mistaken. Then this car was the
one In which she had departed with
Gustave Alva two hours before. What
had occurred In the meanwhile7 Some
thing serious evidently. The dagger
on the floor would Indicate a struggle.
or at least a hasty departure from the
vehicle.
stood staring at n, slowly compre-
hending the probable meaning Of those
dark stains on the blade. Their ma
ture could not be determined In so
dim light, yet when touched them
with my finger IL became discolored.
My God could II be blood7 Blood IL
was blood then this had been a scene
OF tragedy, OF awful crime perhaps
The discovery sickened me. but i had
TO go on. l wrenched open the for
ward door and peered fearfully with
In. I could not but know instantly
what saw--a dim, huddled form
leaning forward across the steering
wheel. one hand yet on the spokes.
with head dangling helplessly, upheld
only by contact with the windshield.
knew the man was dead before
touched the cold hand; his very pos
ture told that--and how he had died !;
instantly, from stab In the back.
could not see his features. the dark
ness hid them, but desperation drove
me TO pass my hand over the con-
cealed face; the upturned mustache,
the exposed teeth, grinning ironically
IN death, left no doubt as to who he
was--the Chilean soldier and attache,
Captain Alva. The awful horror OF II
paralyzed my very brain. She must
have done this That girl must have
killed himi But whyf for what rea-
son7 for what purpose7 Could II have
been In answer TO insult7 Had the
man dared 10 press his advances once
they were alone7 and had she re
sisted7 / would not question his In
clination, yet this was not possible
The knife lay on the floor behind him,
just as plucked. blood-stained. from
the wound. The girl, then, was not
even riding beside him; she could not
be to have dealt such a blow--she
must have been alone I'm the rear seat.
There In the dark, unnoticed by the
man driving, she had leaned forward,
and driven that sharp blade unerring-
ly home to the heart. He had sus-
pected nothing In time 10 raise even
an arm In self-defense. Then. dazed,
frightened by her terrible deed. for
getful even Of the knife In her terror,
she had dashed IL to the floor and fed
into the darkness, leaving the rear
door open behind her.
That was the story; that must be
the story. My mind pictured the scene
In all its horror. Yet what could ac-
count for such an act7 What cause
could transform this woman, this
smiling-faced girl. into a murderess7
Her leaving that weapon behind
would seem TO proclaim that the deed
was done in haste, on the spur of the
moment; that II had not been In any
way premeditated and planned. 9th
erwise she would have guarded
against such danger OF discovery.
Why, that carelessness alone might
ruin every hope OF escape, might bring
her to the electric chair-it was
damning evidence.
1 dare not remain there In the
presence OF this grlsly spectacle. To
be found would fasten the hldeous
crime upon me, while such story as
must tell would never be believed. /
did not know even who she really was.
or where she might be. cared moth
ing for Alva's death; horrible as II
was. / was conscious OF no regret, but
] must not be mixed up In the affair.
The only thing for me 10 do was TO
disappear, and leave the police TO
make their own discovery. And the
knife7 the weapon which had done
the deed1 What should 1 do with
that1
did not hesitate long. would
protect her from discovery II could
mt least until was myself convinced
OF her guilt. There was no longer
the slightest doubt In my mind but
what this was her act Everything
pointed straight toward her. Yet
there might be reason. worthy
cause, and, In any case, she had done
a service to the country. The world
was better Off with this conspirator
dead; nor would l denounce the one
who had taken his life. I hid the
knife In a pocket OF my coat, and
FASTENED down the side street toward
the nearest car line, my only desire
being to escape that neighborhood as
swiftly as possible.
BY n quarter OF three l was safely
in my room at the hotel. for the first
time feeling sense OF real security.
Yet II was not to sleep. did not
even undress, except 10 remove my
wet outer-g garments before finging my
self on the bed. My brain wouldn't
rest, and I lay there staring up at the
ceiling, while my mind reviewed over