The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-09-06

'f 1t. and some of the pieces are
 ather valuable.''
 She picked up a leather box from
 he table.
 Sec. I've got it ready for you. I bought that perhaps it might be suf- fIcIent to induce ou toto remain silent"
 Young MT. Raymond examined the contents of the box with a critical eye.
 Not bad" he commented presently his manner a little less harsh. Some of it is junk. of course, but there ought to be couple of thousand dollars worth of stuff there. Still. I'd get at least twenty-five thousand out of that old boy. So you see it would n't pay me to let you off.
 I'lyl tell you what I'd do,'' he said, cycling the trinkets greedily. 'I don't want to be hard on you. I'll put off the meeting with that sucker until tomorrow night. I'll give you until then to come to your senses In the meantime, I'll take this stuff along with me. We'll call it an extra pen alty for putting me to all this bother for nothing perhaps. if you-play the game right you'll get it back again later. If-''
 He never finished that sentence At that moment both of thcm suddenly became aware of the presence of somebody else in the room. Hands up!" exclaimed a deep bass voice, the owner of which was point l ing an automatic in Raymond's di- | rection. Don't move a muscle, Vel vet, or you'll go to the morgue instead l of the penitentiary." | ''The inspector!" growled the dis conafited crook, glaring at Janet as his long, slender arm shot up toward the ceiling.
 | Say! Whats this-a trp?" 1 Tt looks a bit like it, my son, In- spector Holden rejoined. with a sar- | donic grin. But this lady didn't set it for you, if that's what you mean You walked right into it yourself. | Sorry. to intrude on you, Mrs. Ere mont" he apoligized.s 1 "But I happened to notice this | gentleman stepping out of the eleva- I tor 9 few minutes ago, and I watched l him come in here. I recognized him as chap I've been looking for for | the past twelve months, so I taalx 1 the liberty of letting myself in and l walking in on you nannounced. The key of my apartment fits the lock of your door,
 He stepped up close to his pris- oner.
 Lets go through you, Velvet, and see if you've any concealed weapons
 on you" he remarked. I'm taking no chances on your shooting me g second time, you know. "One bit twice shy as the saying goes." "A second time!" Raymond echoed
 deprecatingly. "Say, inspector, you
 ain't insinuating that 1t was me who
 plugged you that other time, are you
 You know it was this woman who dit
 it."
 Janet gave vent to an incoheren
 cry. She tried to speak, but he
 throat seemed suddenly, paralyzed
 Theroo m was spinning around her and she c1utched the back of chai
 to prevent herself from falling. Trying to pass the buck to Mrs
 Fremont, are your" she heard the DO
 lice official saying. That won't dc young fellow. I've been making in
 quiries abot this lady. ever since
 recognized her the other day. an, thoroughly respectable young -vo l man"
 Janet suddenly found her voice. | What" she cried. You recog
 nized me the other day? Then yol
 knew"
 "Of course I di,'' her neighbo across the hall cut in sn,ilingly. '"Tha
 time your little boy got his heat
 caught in the side of the crib wa the first glimpse I'd caught of you Mrs. Fremont, since we moved il
 here. But as soon as I saw you i identified you as the woman who es
 caped from the taxicab.
 T began to understand then wh
 you've been avoiding me and Mrs
 Holden ever since we've been you
 neighbors. But yo have been doin
 a lot of worrying for nothing" h , went on. t'If you had come forwar, , the day after tho sh ,oting. everythin , would have been alright. There , nothing on you, little woman. Ther never has been.''
 Nothing on her." sneered Ray , mond. Don't talk ike an idiot, Hol : den. You can't hang that shootin on me, I tel you! How could I hay
 plugged you? Didn't you frisk m
 before we entered the taxicab? You'v got to admit that I din't have a gat
 The police inspector laughed sar ,, onicaly. That's true enough h 2 rejoined.
 . You din't have a gat. But tn . . bullet that punctured me came iron my own gun. You were slick enougI to get it out of my hip pocket, Velvet and your fingers was on the triege
 before I caught on what you wre u to.
 = i've known al aorg that it wa ; you who shot me. You were brett shrewd, I must concede. It was clever trick of yours to slip your arr J back of me and pump the bullet int my left side-so as to make 1t loo - like the work of this unhappy lit+1 lady-but I caught sight of the gu in your hand just before you fired There never has been a bit of doub . in my mind as to which one of yo B plugged me"
 Janet looked at him in anlazep1en1
 '"Then why-why did you accus me?" she demanded.
 Well you see I didn't want tn boys at headquarters and the news paper reporters, to know that I wa 1 s11cta to Ia lG