, 1922-06-20

CHAPTER TX
THE DIRECTION FINDER

The DIRECTION FINDER
thing devlish-I knew itr'
repeated vario as he faced
Jack ovcr the table at The Binnacla.
~Wh,nsyou saw me drive Up here you
Fstdcnfy- changed your tune. You ran
% eover-tp yourselfr'
The waiter, Herman. sniveled His
faos wa livid. Hs bowed and almost
f.uned-on vario, took hold OF him, for
all the world Ike a drowning man
catching at a straw.
"Furthermore, I believe you slipped
that vial in this mans pocket-per-
haps you palmed ibid a little sIeight
of hand. You inhunIan cadi I could
cano youf"
Ruth was speechiess. She lerned
over the table, half standing, an al
Turing little figure in blue Her ex-
element had sent a blaze of color to
her cheeks. Her golden hair framed
her a In a mass OF gold that shed
a brightness over her whole counte-
nance. Ruth was n very desirable
little girl and her chief charm was
that she did not seem to be thinking
of It all the time.
Jack had been working himseif into
an almost apoplectic rag. as vario
hurled the accusation at him. He took
a step forward in furious defense, then
shot out his forefinger pointing Mt the
tcacup that had been before him.
would I-poison-myself!" he men
Aced-
Wen settle that" came back vario
sharpiy. "In undertake to IAbei this
all and seal it-in the presence of you
as witness Then I'll send It to some
reputable chemical laboratory for an
nlysis. I could, do It myself-but-
well. in other words, we'll inpound
this evidence until 10 else deter
mines what it is"
The waiter scurried about getting
Tasks varsc turned to Ruth with
excessive. courtesy. Miss Walden
4 must fnsist-for your own safety
IN drtvesyou back to the Club. III
telephones n postpone the appoint
ment l. had at the Seaville Station.
No II can easily go over till
tomorrow Your mother cannot stand
!muchfmore. She needs you
RUTH. She has been through SO much
anguish fn-the last two days"
Ruth looked from vario at Jack.
,stm sputtering impotentfy. Wa It
;truer The quickest way to get out of
danger is often the most obvious
'-rhanicyou, Professor. It's very kin
of you to take such an interest"
They left Curtis still standing. stil
boiling with rage, beside his mother.
As vario's car disappeared. Jack
sprang into his own and shot down
the South Snore Dad toward n short
cut to the cross island highway.
Mia Waiden's surprise was great
when h saw Vario with Ruth
where's lack Curtis?" she exclaimed.
The moment of silence that followed
a eloquent. ooh, Ruth. dear, any
moro troubIe?"
Ruth was out OF the car. age to
give he= mother moro confidence.
''No. Mummy. nothing much :.
Jack was.a little off in the head :.
but Professor vario came along -. g.
and .
Mrs. Walden beamed her apprecia-
ltion Of varioisshelp- vario exchanged
a eensglancerwith Ruth and under
stood that She chose to wait until
there were more factssbefore She made
an open accusation. He nodded n
a~cauisoed.
"Youn let me know the+resuft?"
Ruth asked
vario promised and with a forced
1ight-hearted remark Ruth turned and
ran up the 1tairs to her room to dress
for dinner.
Meanwhile. on the opposite porch
of the II which was otherwise de-
serted, vira, only a few moments. be-
fore. had tucked her arm ~nervously
under Garrick's and drawn him into
the privacy OF the gfassedin, winter
sclarium.
you may come. too. Dick" she
nodded back to him "There-please
shut the door. "She glanced at Gar
rick. half conf1dingiy. half fearful of
him. 1--WE been so afraid-ever since
I found out how the walls might have
ears-'
Dick closed It and, Garrick placed a
chair for vira who sank into 1t rigid
ly. turning and looking up at Ibis face
as he stood withxhis hands stin on the
back of the-chair.
There was something seething IN
her mind n Garrick was just about
to make somet reassuring remark that
would relieve the tension and open
the floodgates of her heart. vfra, all
animation, now hat she had taken
this step, did not wait to give him a
chance
It's about Glenn she cried tense
~, bringing her two hands together.
You know all about the Inner Circle
and Georges. Wen. Glenn was
our treasurer when we first started
is yet, IN n way. I suppose oh, It
may have been all right when we
started 1t was fun and all that. 1t
was unique 1t was smart. But . .
ono. thing led, to another and
49,. Guy. Oh. get him out Of It all
gctshim out of It cleanr"' -,
vfra, flushed. had risen from the
scbair and was standing with hands