Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1921-08-11
Alva-wnoeyer he may be.

SaSSln was
mo. Only it must have been one
of certain men; perhaps two were in
the affair, At first l figured it out
to be Waldron alone; now am not
so sure that Harris didn't have some
land in it. They may have had the
affair all pianned-the money was
passed over to Alva early in the eve
ming. didn't know it then: learned
this later. Nrantz told me when we
were alone on the way back to New
York. Let's move along; there is a
policeman coming yonder."
The officer passed us slowly, swing
ing his club, and eyed us curiously as
he went by; l did not turn my head,
yet felt certain he stopped and looked
back as though wondering what our
business could be in that neighbor-
hood. We turned down a still darker
side street before exchanging further
speech.
Il believe / know what you are"
l said at last in low tones close to her
ear, IAN agent of the Secret Service"
"Oh, no; the honor you offer me is
far too great, | have not attained
to any such official dignity,
Il rather expected you to deny !;
but you offer me no other explana-
ton"
And so you decide to believe that?
Very well Mr.. Severn, / shall let you
have it your own way. You deserve
reward; only, pray, never suggest this
theory to any one else. Let it remain
our secret, will you?"
Your mockery does not change my
mind"
Il had no expectation that it would !;
neither does it bring me a salary. But
seriously, forget all this raillery to-
night, and remember only that you
are with Marie Gessler. Whatever
her purpose may be, you are to be
loyal only to her"
II am, absolutely" l replied with
conviction my voice was unable to
disguise. She turned her face quick
ly, and in the dim light our eyes met.
You said that very earnestly. You
make me believe l judged you right,
Philip Severn. Here is my hand"
clasped it tightly, the firm pres
sure of the warm fingers sending an
instant thrill through every nerve of
my body. 1t was not withdrawn and
we walked so closely together l could
feel the slight pressure of her form,
almost resting against mine.
"Where are you taking meT
ITO Perond's French cafe-have
you ever heard of it?"
"No, l think not
II have been there with Summing
parties once or twice, with plain
clothes man along, of course, to show
us the sights. 1t is not very respect
able, l believe, although really l new
er saw anything particularly dan
gerous. Interesting and unconven-
tional. of course, but l anticipate no
trouble, unless we care to- make 1t
ourselves. You see the cluster of
lights at the next corner. That's
Perond's."
AS / gazed forward. she drew her
hand from my grasp, and her form
Strengthened.
"What am / to do when we arrive?"
Merely be the attentive escort
but not too attentive, please. Have
you dined?"
mo. | was going to ask YOU"
"You need not ask mel am fam
ished, and this place is really famous
for It's meals"
Peronds was really underground; at
steps to attain its entrance, and the
glass in windows and doors fronting
the street was heavily draped, pre-
venting any view of the interior from
without. What was overhead could
not be determined in the darkness.
my eyes merely discerning the nut
lines of a tall building, without a
CLEAN of light showing anywhere
from top to bottom. The front of the
restaurant, however, was = brilliantly
aiIlt anu Il tOiVlth man III hhiiVii ~
promptly held open the door as we
began descending the stairs
Within the vestibule maid re-
lieved us of outside wraps, and thus
unencumbered we advanced through
open doors directly into the main
room. This was surprisingly large
apartment, filed with tables of va
rious sizes and shapes, the majority
occupied by men and women, either
eating or drlnking.s Near the center
was a cleared space for dancing, but
at that moment unoccupled, while
against the farther wall, on rather
high stage, two cabaret singers were
noisily entertaining the crowd. Alto
gether 1t was stirring and attractive
scene, bearing to my mind no re-
semblance of any preconcelved notion
Of the underworld. i could have cas-
lily imagined that we had entered
rather, the restaurant of an ultra
fashionable hotel the other side OF
Broadway.
Nor did mr. entrance create the