The Pensacola journal., 1922-12-24

nothing better to. disguise the con-
tents underneath.
He walked over to the old bu-
reau, that was fanked on one side
by the secret door to the den, and
on the other by the cretonne hang
ing that, stretched diagonally
across the corner of the room,
served the Rat as a wardrobe.
There was the shirt that he had
worn on the night when he had
first came here, the night he had
been wounded by the police.
White Jack had washed the blood
stains out, and had showed it in the
top bureau drawer.
He pulled the drawer open, bent
over it, reached in for the SHIRT.
Strengthened up-and the shirt
dropped from his fingers. He did
not move. Something cold, and
round, and hard was pressed none
too gently against the nape of his
neck. His eyes had lifted to the
mirror in front of him mechani-
cally, and he stood there staring
into it now like a man dazed and
numbed. An arm was stretched
out from behind the cretonne cur
tains, and a hand held a revolver
against his head. 1t was like sonnc
uncanny moving picture that hC
was watching. For now the crC-
tonne hanging moved; and now :
figure moved out from behind the
hanging, and stood behind him
Billy Kane, and stared. too, intr
the mirror, over his, Billy kanc's
shoulder. There were two face
in the glass now, two faces tha'
in form and features seemed iden-
tical-or else it was some strange
mirage that caused a double To-
Election of his own face. Anl
then one of the faces smiled male
violently, leeringIy. 1t wasn't his
own face that smiled. He wasn't
smiling-though his lips moved.
"The Rat" he said, below his
breath.
He felt hand slip into his
pocket, and remove his automatic.
And then the other spoke:
Remarkable resemblance, isn't
it-Billy Kane? And the recog-
milton appears to be mutual-BiIIy
Kane. I've been waiting hero
quite a while for you this evening
Billy Kane did not answer. Tho
Rat! The Rat was back! 1t Wa
the moment, arrived at last, thai
had haunted mm from the mo-
ment he had taken upon himself
the others personality here in the
underworld; but though he was
more at the others mercy with
that revolver boring into his neck
more helpless than he had thought
to be when this time should ar
rive, more poWcrless where, IN
stead, he had told himself a hun
dred times that at the worst j,
could be but a fight man to man
he found himself far more un-
moved now than he had antici
pated he would be. He found him
self curiously composed. Their,
seemed even grim, sardonic hu
NOR stirring in his soul. What die
it matter now? Tonight he haC
no further use for the Rat man
tle-she had seen to that by now
Tonight the whole house of card.
had toppled anyway, and the ulti
mate worst had happened, sav,
only that the police had not yo
got their steel bracelets around hi
wrists. And yet there was a zig
nifiance in the cold menace Of tin
others tone. and a still deeper >ig
nifiance, that he did not like. IN rh,
others ostentatious repetition o.
his, Billy kane's, name. II wa.
obvious that Billy Kane was NJ
stranger to the Rat.
"Get back to that table. and ST
down therew ordered the Rat
Billy Kane, because he had nc
choice, obeyed. 1t was like son'
weird, extravagant hallucnation O
the brain. He was looking us
from his chair into what secme,
to be his own facc-only as h,
studied it now, fascinated by il
he saw what no mirror had exc
shown him was a part of his owl
identity The face was a littI,
older. little more drawn, an,
there was an expression in tn,
eyes, a smoldcring something, :
devils malignity that burned ou
through the half-cIOsed lids, leav
ing the pupils like fever spots be
hind. And he remembered nov
that she had commented upon tn,
freshness of his face on that frs
night when they had met.
you fool!" sneered the Ra
suddenly. $50 you played the Rat
did you? And did you think
didn't know? Well. you seem t,
have liked it-Billy Kane-and $,
] guess you'd better finish out tn,
act, and play it until the end. Yol
can manage that, can't you-say
for another ten minutcs-until tn,
Rat is dead"
Billy Kane's hand frightened Of
the table edge. 1t was not onl,
the words, it was the eyes, and tn,
face that were working now, tha
seemed to possess some deadly clio
quence.
What do you mean?" Bill,
Kane steadied his voice.
''It won't take long to tell you,
said the Rat roughly. "You'v
been here long enough to know
that apart from the old cobble
and his wife upstairs, who min
their own business and are alway
deaf when they don't want to hear
this place is sound-proof. to re
volver shots. Well. the game is IL
tonight. Your game-and m
game! I've got one or two littl
things to do here, and then II