The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-03-24

quarters had prepared l-er-aS l say, did what I could. She got away; but somehow Rough Rorlle later dis covered here here in this room. I l nderstand that he was not happy over the result; that, thanks to you, she escaped again, and has not been heard of since" Rhoda Gray droprad her chin in her grime-srn cared hand, staring specul2t-VeIy a the other. The man sat there, apparently a seIf-confessed 1 crook and criminal, but. also, he sat i there as the man to whom she owed
 the fact that at the present moment i she was not behind prison bars. He pr claimed himself in the same br5 ath both a thief and a gentleman, as far as she could make out. They were characteristics which, until now, he had never associated together; i but now, curiously enough, they did not seem so utterly at variance. Of i course they were at variance, must 1 Of necessity be so: but in the person. | sltty of this man the incon gruity l seeme3 someh lost Perhaps it l was a sense of gratitude toward him | that modified her views He looked 1 a gentleman. There was something 1 about him that appealed. The gray | eyes seemed full of cool, confident, | se1i-possession; and quiet as his man. | ner was, she sensed a latent dynamic i something lurking near the surface ! all the tine-that she was conscious she would much prefer to have en- | listed on her behalf than against | her. The strong, firm chin bore this l out. He was not handsome, but
 With a, sort of mental jerk, she forced her mind back to the stark realities l of her surroundings. She could not
 thank him for what he had done last
 night. She could not tell him that l she was the White Mou. She could 1 only play out the role of Gypsy Nan 1 until-until-- Her hand frightened 1 with a fierce involuntry pressure up- 1 on her chin until it brought physi- | cal hurt Until what? God knewI 1 God alone knew what the end of this 1 m:sera ble impossible horror, in which | she found herself engulfed would be! Her eyes sought his face again. The | Adventurer was tactfully engaged in 1 carefully smoothing out the fingers 1 of his yellow gloves. Thief and gen | tleman. whatever he might he, what
 ever he might choose to call himself,
 what. exactly, was it that had | brought him here tonight? The | White MoH. he had said; but what
 did he want with the White Mol1? 1 He answered her unspoken question now, almost as though he had read | her thoughts.
 l 'fShe is very cleverS he said 1 quietly. ''She must be exceedingly 1 clever to have beaten the police the l way she has for the last few years;
 and-er-I worship at the shrine of | cleverness especially if it be a | woman's. The idea struck me last night that if she and I shouId-er- | pool our resources, we should not have to complain of the reward.''
 "Oh, so youse wants to work wid | her. eh?'' sniffed Rhoda Gray. 50
 dat it, is it?''
 l Partially" he said. ''But, quite apart from that, the reason I want to l find her IS because she is in very great danger. Clever as she is, it is
 8 very different matter today now l that the police have found her out. | She has been forced into hiding, and, l if alone and without any friend to | help her, her situation, to put it
 mildly, must be desperate in the eX-
 treme. You befriended her last night. 1 and honor you for the unse1fishness
 with which you laid yourself open to l the future attentions of that animal 1 Rorke, but that very fact has de- priYed her of what might otherwise 1 have been a refuge and a quite se-
 cure retreat here with you. I do not l wish to intrude, or force myself upon | her, but I believe I could be of very material help, and so I have come to
 you, as I have said because you are
 the only source through which I can | hope to find her, and because, through
 your act of last night, know you to 1 be trustworthy. and, perhaps, even
 an intimate, friend of hers.
 ''Aw. go on!" said Rhoda Gray.alias l Gypsy Nan. deprecatingly.s Dat don't prove nothin'I I'd have done as much for a stray cat if de bulls was chasin her. See? I told youse once youse had de wrong number. She didn't leave no address. Datss flat an dat's de endcf it."
 I'm sorry said the Adventurer 1 gravely. ''Persaps I haven't made out a good enough case. Or perhaps even believing me, you consider thai
 the White Mol. and not yourself | should be the judgeas to whether my services are acceptable or not % .sYouse can dope it out any way youse Hkes,'' said Rhoda, Gay indiffer- lin youse dere's nothin' doin'!"
 Pm sorry" said the Adventurer i again He smiled suddenly, and tuck ing his gloves into hts pocket, leaned 1 forward and tore off a small piece | from the margin of the newspaper on 1 the tioor-but his head the while was
 now cooked in a curious listening at l situde in the direction of the door. 1 You will pardon me. my dear lady. | T I confess that. in spite of what | YOU say. I stlI harbor the belief that ] -ou know where to reach the White 1 IoIl: and so-" He stopped ab-
 uptly. and she found his glance
 harp and critical upon her. You re expecting 9 visitor, perhaps2" he
 nquired softly.
 Rhoda Gray stared in genuine per 1 leXity.
 There is some one on the stairs D 1 piled the Adventurer-
 Rhoda Gray 1istened-and her per-
 exity deepened. She could hear l othing.
 "Youse must have good ears.'' she | offed.