The Bridgeport times and evening farmer. (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1918-1924, 1922-04-24

each one of them seemed to pulsate
and throb, and from some wondrous,
glorious depth of its own to fling back
from the white ray upon it a thou
sand rays in return, as though into
it had been berathed a living and i'm
mortal fire.
And Rhoda Gray, crouched there,
stared-unti1 suddenly she grew
afraid, and suddenly with a shudder
she wrapped the package up again.
These We're the stones for whose
fabulous worth the woman whose
personality she, Rboda Gray, had
usurped, had murdered a man; these
were the stones which were indirectly
the instrum entality-since but for
them Gypsy Nan would never have
existed-that made her, Rhoda Gray,
tonight, now. at this very moment, a
hunted thing, homeless, friendless,
fighting for her very life against po-
lice and underworld alike!
She rose abruptly to her feet. She
had no longer any need of a fash
light. There was even light of a sort
IN the place-she could see the stars
through the jagged holes in the roof,
and through one of these, too, the
moonlight streamed in. The shed
was all but crumbling in a heap. IN
I. e,
was now but rotting, broken boards
Under one of these, beside the cloth
ing of Gypsy Nan which she had dis
carded but a little while before, she
deposited the package; then stepped
out into the lane. and from there to
the street gain.
And now she became suddenly con-
scious of a great and almost over
towering physical WEAKNESS. She
did not quite understand at first I'M
less it was to be attributed to the re-
action from the last few hours-and
then, smiling wanly to herself, she
remembered. For two nights she
had not slept 1t seemed very
strange. That was it, of course,
though she was not in the least sleepy
now-just tired just near the break
ing point.
But she musl' so on. Tonight was
the end, anyhow. Tonight, failing
to keep her appointment as Bertha
the crash must come; but before it
came, as the White Moll, armed with
| the knowledge of the crime that had
| driven DangIar's wife into hiding, and
which was Danglar's crime. too. and
with the evidence in the shape of
those jewels in her possession, she
! and Danglar would meet somewhere
| alone. Bebore the law got him.
when he would be e-mouthed and
| stru ggling with all his cunning to
| keep the evidence of other crimes
| from piling up against him and
| damning whatever meager chances
| he might have to escape the penalty
| for Deemer's murder, she meaat-
yes, even if she pretended to COM
| pound a felony with him-to force
| or to inveigle from him, it mattered
| little which, a confession Of the au-
thorship and details of the scheme to
| rob Skarbolov that night when she
| Rhoda Gray, in answer to a dying
| woman's pleading. had tried to FORE
stall the plan, and had been caught
| apparently, in the very act of com
hitting the robbery herself! With
| that confession in her possession with
| the identity of the unknown woman
| who had died in the hospital that
| night established, her own story
would be believed.
And so, If she were weary, what did
| it matter? 1t was only until morn
| ing. Danglar was att the Silver
| Sphinx now with the man he meant
| that she should help him murder,
| only-only that plan would fail, be-
cause there would be no Bertha" to
| lure the man to his death, and she
Rhoda Gray, had only to keep track
| of Danglar until somewhere, where
| he lived perhaps, she should have
| that final scene, that final reckoning
with him alone
1t was long way to the Silver
Sphinx, which she knew, as every
one in the underworld, and every one
| in. New York who was addicted to
Summing knew, was a combination
dance-hall and restaurant in the Chat
haTl Square district. She tried to
find a taxi, but without avail. A clock
in a jewelers. window which she pass
ed showed her that it was ten minutes
after II. She had had no idea that
it was so late. At II, Danglar had
said. Danglar would be-grow:ng res
tivei she took the elevated. If she
could risk the protection of her Veil
in the Silver Sphinx, she could risk it
equally in an elevated trainI
But in spite of the elevated. it was
she knew, we'll Jon towards 1880
when she finally came down the
the street in front of the Silver
sphinx From under her veil, she
glanced, half curiously, half in a sort
of grim irony, at the taxis lined up
before the dance-hal The two lead
ing cars were not taxfs at ALL though
hey bore the ear-marks, with their
registers, of being public vehicles for
h.re; they were large, roomy, power
tul. and looked, with their hoods up.
like privately owned motors. Well
t was CT little account! She shrug-
ged her shoulders, as she mounted
the steps of the dance-hall- Neither
Bertha" nor Cloran would use those
cars night.
-XVII-