The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-03-21

and, like a thief taking away that hidden money. She knew she was go- ing to be afraid, horribly afrasd-it frightened her now-but she c>,uld not let that fear make a moral cev- ard of her.
 Her hands cIenched at her sides. She would not allow herself to dwell upon that phase of it, She was go- ing to Skarbolov's, and that was all there was to it. The only thing she really had to fear was that she should lose even a. single unnecessary mo- ment in getting there. Halfpast one Gypsy Nan had said. That should give her ample time; but the quicker she went, the wider the margin of safety.
 Her thought reverted to Gypsy Nan. what had the woman meant by her last few wandering words They had was certain; but the words came back now 1nsistently, tSeven-three-nine." What did ''seven-three-nine'' mean? She shook her head helplessly. Well, what aid it matter? She dismissed further consideration of it. She re- peated to herself Gypsy Mans direc- tiens for finding the spring Of t.e secret drawer. She forced herself to think of anything that would bar
 
 lurking at the threshold of her min ].
 From time to time she consulted her watch-and each time hurried the faster.
 It was five minutes past one when, stealing silently along a black lane, and counting against the skyline the same number of buildings she had previously counted on the street from the corner, she entered an equally black yard. and reacffed the back door of Sharbolov's little store. She felt out with her hands and found the paddock, and her fingers pressed on the link in the chain that Gypsy Nan had described. It gave readily She slipped it free. and opened the door. There was faint, almost ina audible, protesting creak from the hinges. She caught her breath quickly. Had any body heard it? lit had seemed like a cannon shot, And then her lips curled in sudden self-contempt. Who was there to hear it?
 She stepped forward. closed the door silently behind her. and drew out her f1ashlight. The ray cut through the blackness. She was in what seemed like a small, outer store storeroon1, that was filtered with an untidy collection of boxes, broken furniture. and odds and ends of all sorts. Ahead of her was an open door, and, through this. the flash light disclosed the shop itself. She switched off the light now as she windows, and, used too freely. the light might by some unlucky chance be noticed from the street
 And now, in the darkness again. she reached the doorway of the shop. She had not made any noise. She assured herseIfof that. She had never knowkn that she could move so silently before-and -Yes, she would fight down this panic that was sefzing her! She would, It would only take a minute mow-just another mn inateit-f-if n shea would only keep her head and her nerve. That was what Gypsy" NsaneJhad said. She only needed hoe keep her nerve. She had never lost it in tdie face of many really serious danger when with her fath er-why should she now. when there was noting but the silence and the darkness to be afraid of!
 The f1ashlight went on again. it's ray creeping fnqusitively now along the rear wall of the shop. It held finally on an escritoire over in the far scorner at her right
 Once more the light went out. She moved swiftly across the floor, and in a moment more was bending over the eScrftoire. And now, with her body hiding the. flashlights rays from the feont windows. she examined the deslS. It was an -old-fashioned, spin dre- legged affair, with a. nest of pig enrI11oles1 and -nlu1tffarious little draw CTS. One, of the drawers, wider than any sof the :otherr, and in the center, waseobviously9th ,one5to which Gypsy Nan referred. She pulled out the drawer; and in2thes act of reaching in side, suddenly drew back her hand. What was that? Instinctive1y sine switched off the 'fashlight, and stood tense and rigid in the darkness.
 4. minute passed-another. Still she listened. There was no sound unIess unless she could actually hear theebeating of her heart. Fancy! Imagination The darkness played strange tricks. lit wasn't so easy to keep one,s nerve. She could have sworn that she had heard some sort of movement back there down the shop.
 Angry with. herself, she thrust her hand into the opening now and felt hurrie diy around. Yes, there it was: Her fingers touched what was evil dently a little knob or button. She pressed upon it. There was a faint.  answering click. She turned on the fieshisght again. What had before appeared to be nothing but one o6 the wide, pearl inlaid partitions between two of the smaller drawers. was pro- truding invitingly outward now by the-matter of an inch or so- Rroda Gray pulled it open It was very shallow, scarcely three-quarters of an inch in depth, but it was quite long enough. and quite wide enough for its purposei Inside, there lay little pile of banknotes. banknotes of very large denomination-the one on top was thouea and-dollar bill.
 She reached in and took out the money-and then from Rhoda Gray's lips there came little cry, the fash light dropped from her hand and smashed to the floor, and she was clinging desperately to the edge of the escritaore for support. The shop was flooded with light. Over by the side wall, one hand srn on the cleo tric-HsAt switch, the other holding a