Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1921-10-12

sFf any force, nov showing VINO might
be inside. The office renfasssd quiet,
no one either leaving or entering,
nor did observe any shadow on the
within. Baffied and uncertain. / lad
barely returned TO my point Of con-
cealment, when an elevator stopped
at this floor level, and three men
stepped out into the corridor. Two of
them attracted no attention, but the
third was in his shirt-sleeyes and wore
q cap with some insignia upon it,
He advanced briskly, and flung open
the door leading into what had once
been the Railway Exchange" and
motioned the others TO enter. As the
three vanished, / heard him explain
that this was the only vacant suite on
this floor, and then another voice
said, dissatisfied, that It was altogeth-
er too small for their purpose. When
they came out the agent closed the
door carelessly and pressed the ele-
vator button, saying he would show
them something on the second floor
above.
Even as they shot up out OF sight
l was across the corridor with hand
on the knob. / feared springlock,
but was pleasantly disappointed, the
door opening instantly. permitting me
to slip inside. There We're two rooms,
both small. and Uttered with the frag-
ments left by the late occupants.
What struck me foreibly was that
there was no connection between
those rooms and the next suite; they
were separated by a thick wall.
could hide here securely enough. and.
by slightly lifting the glass, gain good
view of the corridor. but it would be
impossible to overhear anything TAX
ing place in Wines office. At that,
the position was better for my pur-
pose than the open stairway, and /
unfasteped the window sash, propping
it open crack so as to afford me
fair view. If Waldron appeared l
would endeavor to discover some
means of learning the object Of his
| visit. Meanwhile l was safe enough,
and able TO observe every movement
on the floor
Suddenly, when / least expected II.
the door of the Investment office
opened. and young woman came out.
She had her hat on, and took note
OF a pencil stuck into her hair, and
felt no doubt she was Wines stenog-
| rapher, who had finished her days
work and was departing for home.
Then the man was probably still there
| alone. The girl disappeared down
the elevator, and could scarcely have
reached the lower floor, when a cage
travelling In the opposite direction
stopped and discharged a passenger.
II was a woman who stepped out
CHANGING quickly about as though un-
certain where to go, and l recognized
Marie Gessler.
She started down the corridor, look
ing for the numbers on the doors. and
then, discovering herself wrong, re-
traced her steps and approached
Wines door. Even then she APP
peared to doubt her next move, glanc-
ing arouad as though anxious to re-
main unobserved before yenturing
| farther. Then, opening the door
quickly, she disappeared within. In
that moment, before the door closed,
caught the sound of mans voice,
startled, uttering single surprised
exclamation.
You here! What does this meant'
Then a low spoken answer, the
words lnaudible, and ended by a click
| of the latch.
That closed door seemed to urge
me to learn what was TRANSPORTING be-
yond; / could not fight back the
temptation But would it open? had
it been left unlocked? The only way
In which could ascertain was to try.
There was no one TO witness my at
tempt, and, even If some Office door
suddenly opened, l could quickly find
concealment in the nearby stairway.
crept out through narrow crack.
and approached on tiptOe the entrance
to Wines office. No sound reached
me from within, and my fingers 81
lently pressed the knob, which
turned without resistanee-the latch
was off. A half inch at a time
opened the door, listening for any
noise behind, my eyes peering through
the narrow crack at what was re-
vealed within. They perceived little,
merely a small, unoccupled room. evil
IDENTIFY an outer Office. containing a
cheap desk, two chairs and type
writing stand, the machine covered.
Two maps hung upon the walls; in
one corner was glass water-holder.
and in the other a dimlnutiye closet,
the door ajar. That was all. except
that indistinguishable voices were con
versing somewhere beyond the parti-
ton and well out of view.
Encouraged TO believe this I thrust
my head far enough forward TO make
sure. A step to the left would doubt
less have revealed Wine. but from
where / stood the end of the partition
interfered. BY slipping to the right II
would be quite possible for me to en-
ter without being seen, and three
cautious steps would bring me TO the
security of the closet. From there,
with the door into the corridor closed,
| might overhear al that passed be-
tween the two. had Sentured too
far now to retreat. and, without a sec
| ond of hesitation. I pressed through