The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1923-07-24

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Pennington plucked the knife from the
woodwork
Mrs. Whey" he said over his
shoulder. sdo you mind waiting for
me in the dining-room?"
At the entrance she looked back.
'fWhat are you going to do?" she
demanded fearfully.
He shrugged his shoulders helpless
ly.
please CO." he whispered. I've
got to use every method I know to
enable me to get on the track Of
your brother-before it's too late"
Collecting herself with an effort, she
crept from the room, closing the door
after her.
In the grim hah-hour that followed
she lost all sense of time. She looked
up suddenly to see Pennington before
her.
I'm just off," he said quietly.
Then you know"
He has told me as much as I
wanted to know"
She regarded him doubtfully.
at all sounds so utterly hopeless"
she declared.
Pennington was leaning against
the table eating bread and cheese
alternately.
you must remember, Mrs Whey
he told her between the mouthfulls,
that I have made It my business to
study the movements Of our arch
bandit. 1t would be impossible for
me to know all his hiding places, but
/, l have discovered a good few OF
them, sufficient, I feel convinced, to
assist me in sitting fact from fiction.
' Wong See-the intelligent youth
/ eollared in the act of making a hur-
2 ried exits a poor sort of creature,
when brought face to face with the
: serious problems Of his life. BY dint
Of dire threats and much patience,
1 gathered he was on the point Of
, proceeding to Chai-Hungs lair, to
r the place where your brother has
been taken. In effect, we have arrived
at delightful compromise. Wong
See is between Scylla and Charybdis:
If he fails to join i-Hung-the
vengeance Of that gentleman will fall
upon him, swiftly and surely, whether
he seek refuge in China or any old
I island in the archipelago. The remain
ing horn of the dilemma is" He
l stuck his tongue in his cheek g.
death by the most horrible torture
imaginable-at the hands Of he who
l sees in the dark otherwise-myself
Now comes the compromise. He is to
proceed to Chai-Hungs hiding place,
as he had originally intended, only
with Pennington in his immediate
rear. In this manner, he stands a
sporting chance Of lodging a horrible
end at the hands of either
He reached for his hat.
Monica slipped between him and
: the door.
You're not going alone?"
Most certainly"
She stamped her foot impatiently.
You mustn't do THAR she cried.
It's positively absurd. Surprising
there are others waiting for Wong
See in the jungle?"
I've been in tight corners before.
Mrs. Whey" he reminded her gently,
and I've managed to squirm out of
2 EN-, somehow. II 1 attempt to start
out with crowd of native soldiers,
the information will be tapped out on
some native telegraph system almost
before the men have left the bar
racks. Hewitt will be spirited away
and the chances of rescue will be.
come a thousand times more remote"
"One more couldn't possibly do any
HARM" protested Monica.
I'm not taking any chances" said
Pennington.
Take me" said the girl, flushed
to the roots of her hair.
YOU
why not? I shall be at my wits
end if you leave me here alone"
Her voice broke. IF Chai.Hung is
plotting against one Of us. why
shouldn't he send for me while you
are away. looking for Jack?"
Pennington glanced hurriedly at
his watch and Monica realized that
her argument had gone home She
seized his jacket impulslvely with
both hands.
Pennington's one weakness lay in
his utter inexperience of the oppo-
site sex.
Come on, then" he said, with
gruffness that was new to her.
There's an electric torch in the
right-hand drawer Of your brothers
desk. We may want it,
Trembling with excitement, she hur-
ried in search of it, joining him a few
seconds later at the foot of the We
randa steps. Almost at the exact
spot where she had seen the man
who had impersonated Pennington,
the cook-boy awaited the order to
proceed.
Soon they had left the beaten track
and were threading their way through
tangled underground, under branches
so closely interviewer as to exclude
the stars, the humming Of countless
legions of insects in their ears. the
bright light of the electric torch de-
scribing an illuminated circle on the
back of Wong-See.
The night air blew suddenly chill
and slight shiver ran through Mon
iica.