The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-04-17
"THE WHITE MOLL"
 FRANK l.. PACKARD
 Appearing every day in serial form in the Magazine Section of The Times

and risk the front entrance. She darted across the hall to the opposite side from that of the Plugs room, because that side the opening of the door would not necessarily expose her, and crouched down Tn the COZ nor. It was black here, perhaps black enough to escape observation. She listened, her heart beating wild ivy. The voices outside continued. Why were they lingering there? Why didn't they do one thing or the other either go away. Or come in? There wasn't any too much ttmei The Pug might be back at any minute now. Perhaps it would be better after all to run back and go out by the front door, risky as that would be. No,
 her escape in that direction now WAS cut off, tool
 She shrank as far back into the corner she could. The door of the end room on this side of the hall had opened, and now man stepped out and closed the door behind him. Would he see her? She held her breath! No, lit was all right. He was walking away from her to- ward the front of the hall.
 And now for moment it scene ed as though she had lost her senses, as though her brains were playing some mad, wild trick upon her. Wasn't that the Plugs door before which the man had stopped? Yes, yes! And he seemed to have a key to it, for he did not knock, and the door was opening, and now for an instant, just an instant, the light fell upon the man he stepped with a quick, light ning-Hke movement inside, and she saw his face. It was the Adyenturer.
 She stifled a little cry. Her brain was in turmoil. And now the back door was opening. They-they might see her here! And-yes-it was safer-safer to act on the sud- den inspiration that had come to her. The door of the roosi, rom which the Adventurer had emerged was almost within reach; and he had not locked it as he had gone out-she had sub consciously noted that fact. And she understood why he had not now that he had safeguarded himself against the loss of even the second or two 1t would have taken him to unlock it when he ran back for cover again from the Plugs room. Yes that room! It was the safest thing she could do. She could even get out that way, for it must be the room with the low window. which she re- membered gave on the back yard. and She darted silently forwa I'd and, the back door opened. slip ped into the room the Adventurer had just vacated.
 It was pitch black. She must not make a sound; but, equally she must not lose a, second What was talk ing place in the Plugs room between Pinkie Bonn and the Adventurer she did not know But the Adventurer was obviously on one of his mauraud- ing expeditions, and he might stay there no more than a minute or two once he found out that he had been forestalled. She must hurry-hurry!
 She felt her way forward in what she believed to be the direction of the window. She ran against the bed. But this afforded her some thing by which to guide herself She kept her touch upon it, her hand trailing along its edge. And then halfway down it's length, what seemed to be a piece of string caught in her extended, groping fingers. It seem- ed to cling. but also to yield most cautiously, as she tried to shake 1t off; and then something, evidently from under the mattress. came away with little jerk, and remained, sus- pended, in her hand.
 It didn't matter, did it"r Nothing mattered except to reach the window Yes. here 1t was nowi And the roller shade was drawn down: that was why the room was dark. She rais- ed the shade quickly-and suddenly stood there as though transfixed her face paling, as in the faint light by the window she gazed, fascinated, at the object that still dangled by a cord from her hand
 And it seemed as if an inner dark ness were suddenly riven as by a bolt of 1ightning-a hundred things, once obscure and incomprehensible were clear now, terribly clear. She under stood now how the Adventlrcr was privy to all the inner workings of the organization: she understood now how 1t was. and why, the Adventurer had a room so close to that other room across the hall. That dangling thing on an elastic cord was a smeared and dirty ce1luloid eye-patch that had once been flesh -colored! The Ad- venturer and the Pug were one,
 Her wits! Quick He must not know! In a frenzy of haste she ran for the bed. and slipped the eye-patch in under the mattress again: and then still with frenzied speed. she climbed to the window sill drew the roller shade down again behind her, and dropped to the ground.
 Through the back yard and lane she gained the street, and sped on along the street-but her thoughts outpaced her hurrying footsteps. How minutely every detail of the night now seemed to explain itself and dove tail with every other one, At the time. when Shluker had been pres ent 1t had struck her as a little forced and unnecessary thatythe Pug should have volunteered to seek out Danelar with explanations after the money had been secured. But she under stood now the craft and guile that lay behind his apparently innocent plan. The Adventurer needed both time and an alibi, and also he re- quired an excuse for making P;nkie Bonn the custodian of the stolen money. and of getting Pinkie alone with the money in the Plugs room Going to Dangiar supplied all this He had hurried back. changed in that room from the Pug to the Adventurer, and proposed in the latter character to relieve Pinkie of the money to re-