The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-04-22
Continued from Yesterday

utes dragged along. Why didn't the
man hurry and go out? About 10
o'clock" Danglar had said-but that
was very indefinite. Pinl<ie Bonn
and the Pug might be as late as that;
but, equally, they might be earlierl
It seemed an 1nterr1inab1e time.
And then, her eyes strained across the
street upon that upper window, she
drew still farther back into the pro-
tecting shadows of the doorway. The
light had gone out.
A moment more passed. The street
door of the house opposite to her-a
door separate from that of the sec
ondhand store-opened, and bent.
gray-bearded man. stepped out, peer
ed around, locked the door behind
him, and scuffled down the street
Rhoda Gray scanned the dingy and
iIl-lighted little street. 1t was virtual
ly deserted. She crossed the road,
and stepped into the doorway from
which the old fence had just
emerged. 1t was dark here, well out
of the direct radius of the nearest
street lamp, and, with luck, there was
no reason why she should be observed
if she did not take too long in open
ing the doorI She had never actually
used a skeleton key in her life before,
and
She inserted one OF her collection of
keys in the lock. 1t would not work.
She tried another. and still another
with mounting anxiety and perplex-
ity Suppose that-yes! The door
was open now! With a quick glance
over her 1houlder. scanning the street
in both directions 10 make sure that
she was not observed, she stepped in
side, closed the door. and locked it
again.
Her hash1ight stabbed through the
darkness. Narrow stairs immedi-
in Of
her right was a connecting door to
the secondhand shop. Without an in
stant's hesitation she ran up the
stairs There was no need to observe
caution since the place was temper
ariIy untena nted; there was need only
of haste. She opened the door at the
head of the stairs, and, with a quick,
eager nod of satisfaction. as the flash
light swept the interior, stepped over
the threshold. 1t was the room she
sought old I.uertz's bedroom.
And now the fashlight played in
quisitively about her. The bed occu-
pied a. position by the window; across
one corner of the room was a ere
tonne hanging, that evidently did ser
vice as a wardrobe; across another
corner was a large and d1lapidated
washstand; there wee a few chairs,
and a threadbare irpet; and, oppo- |
site the bed, another door, closed, |
which obviously led into the front
room.
Rhoda Gray stepped to this door, |
onened it and peered in. She was |
not concerned that it was evidently |
used for kitchen, dining-room and the |
stowage of everything that overnowed |
from the bedroom; she was concerned |
only with the fact that it offered no
avenue through which any added risk
or danger might reach her.
found it, and gave her attention now |
to the walls of old Luertz's bedroom. |
She smiled a little whin1sically. The |
Crab had used a somewhat dfgnitled |
term when he had referred to
panels" True, the walls were of |
stained wood, but the wood was of the |
cheapest variety of matched boards, |
and the stain was of but a single coat, |
and a very meager one at that! The |
smile faded. There We're a good |
many knots; and there were four |
corners to the room, and therefore |
eight boards, each one OF which would |
answer to the description OF being |
the sixth panel"
She went to the corner nearest her,
and dropped down on her knees. AS
we'll start with this one! She had
not dared press Danglar, or Danglar's
deformed brother, for more definite
directions. had she? She counted |
the boards quickly from the corner
to her right; and then. the flashlight
playing steadily, she began to press
first one knot after another in the
board before her, working from the
bottom up. There were many knots;
she went over each one with inftte
care. There was no result.
She turned then to the sixth board
from the corner to her left. The
result was the same. She stood up,
Ia a l.
Gus Impotence creeping upon her.
She had been quite a while over even
these two boards and it might be
any one of the remaining six!
Her. eyes traversed the room, fol-
lowing the ray of the flashlight- If
she only knew which one. it would
- Was it an inspiration? Her
eyes had fixed on the cretonne hang
ing across one of the far corners from
the door, and she moved toward 1t
now quickly. The hanging might
very we'll serve for another purpose
than that of merely ward robe! It
seemed suddenly to be the most like
ly of the four corners because it was
tngenious1y concealed.
She parted the hanging. a hetero-
geneous collection of clothing hung
from pegs and nails. Eagerly, has
tily now, she brushed these aside, and, /
close to the wall. dropped down on
her knees again Inc minutes passed.
Twice she went over the sixth board
from the corner to her right. She
felt so sure now that it was this cor
ner And then, still eagerly, she
turned to the corresponding board at
her left
It was warm and close here. The
clothing hanging from the pegs and
nails enveloped her, and with the
cretonne hanging itself. shut out the
air, what little of it there was, that /
circulated through the room.
Over the board. from the tiniest
knot to the largest her fingers press
ed carefully Had she missed one
anywheref She must have missed
one, She was sure the panel in
question was here behind this hang |
81, try in,