Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1921-04-28

her swoon, but she felt stronger, bet
ter able to think and to work out
thought in action
AT present, however, two considera-
tons dominated all others: her need
of water; the necessity somehow to
escape from that place of terror and
abomination.
She got up, unsteadily enough.
padded to the door, and listened there
with an ear to the joint between door
and jamb.
Hearing what she believed to be a
rumor of distant voices, nothing else,
she laid hold of the knob and turned
it cautiously. A thrill shot through
her. heart when the door opened ::
Whether by design or inadvertence,
lnez had neglected to lock it!
peering reconnaissance showed
nothing but gloom Immediately beyond
the door. Trembling. the girl opened it
wide. The light from the gas jet then
revealed length of malodorous hall
way, broken by two more doors. both
closed. At its far end 1t turned off al
a right angle. What lay beyond was
unguessable: there was no light.
The air of the hallway was heavy
with that subtle, sickly smell, alluring
and appalling the breath of
death. She had smeIt If be-
fore, somewhere, at some time indefi-
mite. AT length she knew it !:
the reek of opium smoke in the den
of Sing Ho, to which sheer Leo
nora-had gone that night ESQ long
agoO to meet Charlie the Coke.
She advanced one unshod. timid
foot across the threshold, faltered,
took another step and closed the door
behind her. shutting herself out into
untempered darkness, and stole fear
fully on, feeling her way with hands
that brushed the walls.
She drew near to the farther door.
The voices became more definite
Seemingly several persons were clos
eted in that room, all talking at once
in discordant dissension. The notion
came TO her, was entertained and es-
tablished as an idea fixed that if she
could only win past that door, the rest
would be easy, an unhindered way of
escape would open out to her. !.
She was within two PAGES of sue
cess when an especially violent wran-
gle ended in harsh rasping of chair
legs on bare, rough floor; and in a
sudden lull heavy heels thumped
toward the door. The girl shrank
back, instinctively flattening herself
to the wall to one side of the door.
This last was thrown open, letting
out flood of gaslight and choking
gust of air heavy laden with tobacco
smoke. A man came out. turning
toward Priscilla's recent prison. Blind
ed by the transition from light TO
darkness, he stopped and, cursing, put
out hand toward the wall. 1t touched
Priscilla'S shoulder. She WINGED with
stified cry of fright Instantly the
hand closed cruelty on her shoulder:
its owner uttered an exclamation of
mingled wrath and satisfaction, and
with one ruffianly swing sent her stag
gering into the room.
Somehow she escaped a tumble.
righted herself, stood cringing, blink.
ing. trembling.
The door closed with n bang. The
accents of the Nut, destitute for the
time of all pretensions to polish. an
bounced:
Here she is now! Caught her Just
n time-tryin' to do sneak. who
oft the door unlocked on her? You
Tnez?"
Coolly the voice of Inez replied :
Maybe I did don't remember"
On careless of you"
"Ah, shut up. What difference does
7 make? She didn't get away. did
she? She couldn't, not in a thousand
years, without we let her"
Priscilla began to get her bearings
finding herself in that sortlid room
where she had witnessed the meeting
of Leonora and Inez, beside the in.
sentient body of the drug fiend, on the
night of the storm. She reviewed face
after face known to her through the
associations of her dreams; English
Eddie. heavy, ford and fiashy; Char
lie the Coke, CHASTITY of face. shifty
eyed, with his frail, racked body and
spasmodic gestures; Inez with elbows
planted on the table. a sullen face
clamped betty zen two fists; at her side,
the Nut, to whose presence nothing OF
his uptown elegance adhered but the
handiwOrk of his excellent tailor. la
boring under the burden of new
part, self-assumed, his bottle neck
shoulders wearing with poor grace the
mantle of Red Carnehan, master OF
gunner; three or four others, remem-
bered as lesser limbs of Reds
gang.
The company sat in silence, staring
at Nora with unfriendly, inquisitive
eyes. Precisely so had Leonora on
that occasion faced prejudiced jury
of her kind Only the setting was
slightly different, the company deci-