Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1921-07-21

shoulder in an excess of friendlineSs,
evidently feeling to some extent the
whisky he had been imbibing so freely.
"Thats the talk, Daily. Well. so
long"
He slipped out through the gate into
the dark of the alley, leaving 1t slight
ly ajar for me to follow. l sheltered
myself behind the high board fence
and listened to the soft slush Of his
feet in the mud. The sound vanished,
and all about was silence. and dark
ness. waited only long enough to be
sure he was safely out of the way, and
then followed, eager to be of. One
thing was certain. l would make no
effort to Join him on the car; would
use the remainder Of the night to de-
eide the future, working out the prob
lem alone.
To make certain that avoided any
possibility Of encountering the fellow
again. passed directly through the
deserted lumber yard before emerging
upon Cans street. This thoroughfare
was at this hour desolate enough, not
light showing In the houses. or a
moving figure visible as far as /
could see In the dimness of the street
lamps. The rain was steady, the pave
ment shimmering with moisture, the
only sound the pattering of the drops
as they fell. If any policemen were
abroad I saw no signs, and, with col
lar turned up to my ears. I chose to
walk rather than seek the block to the
east and the possibility Of a street car.
The factory district ended in row
of houses, dark and silent at this hour,
but the walking was good, and |
pushed forward briskly, so buried In
thought as to become practically in
sensible to the unpleasant surround
ings. The night had been full one,
far exceeding my expectations, yet
left me more puzzled than ever as to
my own duty. So far knew Of no
act of crime with which these men
could be connected; they were mere
ly proposing future attack on a neu-
trail government. If, however. ! con-
senred TO play my part with Harris,
would not only be in ample time to
circumvent any danger Alva and his
gang might contemplate, but also gain
ample evidence for their conviction
and expulsion from this country, In
addition to this would be in position
to block the daring plans Of this inter-
national thief. Altogether it seemed
to me that the wiser course for me to
pursue was to wait, and watch ready
to act at any moment, but keeping my
own council until certain that the
specific moment had arrived
Nor was l oblivious to the strange
impression left upon me by my en-
counter with Marie Gessler. She had
interested me oddly, and / could not
drive her memory from my thoughts.
Our moment of conversation had been
peculiar, and her words and actions
remained as conStraint. Why had
she stood there, her hand on the door,
and talked to me In that hooking
way? Had she purpose, an aim?
Did she believe my explanation? or
was her suspicion aroused into de-
termination to verify it in some way?
Although could not decide, yet doubt
less the latter theory was the most
probable. That was why / had been
pledged to call at "247 lie Compile
street. and ask for MISS Conrad"
This was the same place where Harris
had secretly met KrantZ. Evidently
it 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 idea?
If so, who then was miss Conrad?"
Not Marie Gessler, certainly, under
another name, for she would have re-
turned to Washington. There was no
doubt as to that, for Alva had agreed
to take her direct to the depot In his
own car, and would scarcely leave I'M
til she was safely on the train. Prob
ably the other woman was confed-
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,
pleadingly | imagined, and l retained
a 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
byt why? under what conditions?
What could ever have driven so w0m-
anly woman to such an association?
Was her appeal to me an effort at as
sistance? Was she blindly endeavor-
ing to learn in this way If | was
worthy Of trust, and confidence? This
hope would not down; 1t remained In
sistent, persistent. would keep my
word; I would go to the place desig-
mated, at the hour set; | would go
armed, prepared for whatever might
occur Of treachery-but ] would go.
Perhaps here was the key to the whole
mystery; and once | solved her con-