The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-04-07

OIner.
 Quite so. DangIar!' he said coolIy 'I admit it-I am ashamed of my self I hate to think that I could be caught by you; but I suppose I can find some self-extenuating cir cumstances- You seem to have risen to an amazingly higher order of in telligence. In fact, for you, Danglar, it is not at all bad!" He went polishing his nails. Would you mind taking that thing out of my face? Even you ought to be able to handle it effectively a few inches far ther away"
 Under the studied insult Danglar's face had grown a mottIed red. Damn youi" he snarled. 'I'n take 1t away when I get good and ready; and by that time I'll have you talk ing out of the other side of your i mouth! See? Do you know what you're up against, you slick dude?" T have a fairly good imagination" replied the Adventurer smoothly. You have, eh?" minicked Dang | lar wickedly. Well, you don't need to imagine anything! I'll give you the straight goods sos there won't be any chance of a mistake. And never mind about the higher order of in telligencei It was high enough, and little to spare, to make you walk into the trap! I hoped I'd get you both, you and your she-pal, the White Moll; that you'd come here together but I'm not kicking. It's a pret- ty good start to get you!'
 '.Is it necessary to make a speech" complained the Adventurer monoton- ously. T can't help listening, of course"
 You can make up your mind for yourself when I'm through-whether it's necessary Or not!" retorted Dang lar V1ciously. I've got little pro- position to put up to you, and maybe it'll help you to add two and two together if l let you see all the cards. Understand? You've had you run of luck lately, quite a bit of it, haven't you, you and the White MoH? We'll. it's my turn, now! You've been queering our game to the limit, curse you!" Danglar thrust his working face little farther over the table, and nearer to the Adventurer Well, what was the answer? Where did you get the dope you made your plays with :? It was a cinch, wasn't it, that there was a leak somewhere in our own crowd ?" He laughed out sud denly. You poor fool! Did you think you could pull that sort of stuff forever? Did you? We'll, then, how do you like the leak tonight? You get the idea, don't you? Everybody every last soul that is in with us, got the details of what they thought was a straight play tOnight-and it leak ed to you. as I knew it would; and you walked into the trap. as I knew you would, because the bait was good and juicy, and looked the easiest thing to annex that ever happened Fifty thousand dollars! Fifty thou sand-nothing! All you had to do was to get a few papers that it wouldn't bother any crook to get, even a near-crook like you, and then come here and screw the money out of a helpless old man, who was SUD- posed to have been discovered to be a miser. Easy, wasn't it? Only Nicky Vfner wasn't a miser. We chose Nicly because of what happened two year ago. It made things look pretty near right, didn't it? Looked straight, that part about Perlmer, too, didn't it? That was the come on. Perlmer never saw those papers you've got there in your pocket. | doped them out, and we planted them nice and handy where you could get them without much trouble in the drawer of Perlmer's desk. and-'
 Its a long story" interrupted the Adventurer. with quiet insoIence.
 Its got a. short ending." said Danglar, with ugly leer. we could have bumped you off when
 
 you went that far you'd come farther, and that wasn't the place to do it, and we couldn't cover ourselves there the way we could here. This is the place. We brought that trick table here a while ago, as soon we had got rid of Nicky Viner. That was the only bit of stage setting we had to do to make the story ring true right up to the curtain. in case it was necessary. It wouldn't have been necessary if you and the White Mon had both come together, for then you would neither of you have got any further than that other room. It would have ended there. But we weren't taking any chances. I'll pay you the compliment of admitting that we weren't counting on getting you off your guard any too easily if as it happened, you came alone, for, being alone, or if either of you were alone there was that little proposition that had to be settled, instead of just knocking you on the head out there in the dark in that other room; and so as I say, we weren't overlooking any bets on account of the little and the money. We tried to think of eveerything!" Danglar paused for a moment to mock the Adventurer with narrowed eyes. That's the story; here's the end. I hoped I'd get you both together. you and the White MoIl. I didn't. But I've got you. I didn't get you both and that's what gives you a chance for your life, because she's worth more to us than you are. If you'd been together, you would have gone out together. As it is, I'll see that you don't do any more harm anyway. but you get one chance. Where is she? If you answer that, you will of course. answer minor question and locate that leak for me, that I was speaking about moment ago But we'll take the main thing first. And you can take your choice between a bullet and straight answer. Where is the White Moll?"
 Rhoda Gray's hand felt out alons the wall for support. Was this a dream some ghastly, soul-terr!fying