Evening star., 1921-05-06
CONTINUED from Yesterdays Star.)

els there so much to conceal?" de-
manded the Indian. glancing round the
group, contempt in his brooding eyes.
in the lands that lie beyond the
SHOWS we have nothing to conceal
There is nothing that can be con-
cealed, because all is known
And it was al that moment that the
intent watcher outside the window
began to shake with silent mlrth-
For the face was the face OF the In
dian. Ram Oar, but the voice was the
voice Of Lakington. 1t struck him
that the next ten minutes or SO might
be we'll worth while. The problem
of removing the pearls from the
duchess neck before such an assem-
bly, seemed to present a certain
amount of difficulty even to such an
expert as Henry. And Hugh crept a a
little nearer the window. so as to
miss nothing. He crept near enough,
in fact, to steal a look at 1rma. ana
in doing so saw something ~hlcn
made him rub his eyes and then grin
once more. She was standing on tne
outskirts of the group, an evening
wrap thrown loosely over her arm
She edged q step or two toward Ia
BILE containing bric-a-brac. the center
of which was occupied. as the place
of honor, by a small inlaid Chinese
cabinet-a box standing on four gro
tesquely carved legs; 1t was psan- peau
bered having heard it's history-a
story which reflected considerable
glory on the predatory nature OF
previous duke. At the moment: now
ever, he was not concerned WIN i.s
past history, but. with with oossbmmste us
quickness Of the girl that MADE nj"
rub his eyes. ,+
the other guests. who were ctAnins
eagerly forward round tho Inoiah.
then she half dropped ner etp ~atp Ut IT
was done SO rapidly. so naturally.
that for a while Hugh thought ne
had made a mistake. And then
slight rearrangement OF her wrap 70
conceal a hard outline beneath as
she Joined the others; nsnid H,SPe'tsS Chinese @
cabinet now standing on the tao.e le
was not the one that had been mere
previously. The original was uhoei
irna Peterson's cloak.
Evidently the scene was now set- -
( the necessary props were In postum
and Hugh waited with growing ,,t I'M
! patience for the principal event ou,
the principal performer seemed IN ho
| hurry. In fact, in his dry way Lan Lar
ington was thoroughly ENJOYING n
| self. An intimate inside kho"iEuSr :.
/ OF the SkelclOuS th0S
bones in the cupboards of most OF
those present enabled the gods 10
sneak with disconcerting ACCURACY
! and as each victim insisted on SOME
BODY new facing the SANDS tnat caue
! from beyond the mountains, !ne p..
| formance seemed likely 10 last
definitely. S,... of
applause came from the group; an
nouncing the discontinue Of yet an
other guest, and with it Lakington
seemed to tire Of the amusement. En-
ticipation of the main item wnica
was stun to be staged Drummond
could not but admire the extraordl-
nary accuracy Of the character stuoy.
Not a detail had been overiookeo'
not a single flaw in Lakingtons act-
dian who stood there. and wnen z
few days later Hugh returned her
pearls TO the duchess, for a long nm E
neither she nor her husband wouiu
| believe that Ram Oar had oeen an
F.! EnElishman disguised. And wneh
thai fact and had been shown the
two cabinets side by side. It was tne
consummate boldness of the crime
| coupled with its extreme slmpaclty
that staggered them. For It was onLy
in the reconstruction OF IT enat haI sne
principal DeAuIy u INV ,.,o,,
| came apparent. The element OF !uch
| Waa reduced to a minimum. ana at nc
stage Of the proceedings was 1t I'm
possible, should things go amlss. Iol
Harrington to go as he had come,
mere indian entertainer. without tne
necklace, true, in such an event, nu'
unsuspected, and free to try again
AS befitted his last, it was perhaps
| his greatest effort. ana lnls
was what happened as seen by tne
1 fascinated onlooker crouchlng near
the window outside.
! Superbly disdainful, the Indian tip
| ned back his sand into the little bag
and, replacing it in his pocket. stalk
ed to the open window. With arms
| outstretched he stared into the
darkness, seeming to gather strength
from the gods whom he served.
DO your ears not hear the wh1s-
! perings of the nightT' he demanded
Life rustling in the leaves; death
moaning through the grasses" And,
suddenly he threw, back his head and
laughed, a fierce. mocking laugh:
then he swung round and faced the
room. For while he stood motion
less. and Hugh. from the shelter of
the bushes. wondered whether the
two quick flashes that had come from
| his robe as he spoke-hashes such as
a small electric torch will give, and
| which were unseen by any one else