Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-08-10
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( "And that is-7"
''Zara-Kahn. He'd lament the loss
of both a generous client and walk
! ing picture gallery of his art!'
At that moment Chong-Hee ap-
peared at the doorway to announce
that the baths we're ready.
The rusted hands of the veranda
clock pointed to a little after one
when Varney stretched his tattooed
arms and yawned.
Time for bed, old son."
Pennington, who was leaning on
the rail, glanced back over his shoul-
der.
rTired?"
The other nodded.
Taken all around, it's been a
rather trying day. fou won't be in
too much of a hurry to get away in
the morning?"
Cant say. It depends on cir
cumstances-and Mr.. Chai-Hung.
You won't mind if hang about here
for spell. l know where to find
my ROOM"
Varney smiled.
DO just as you like, of course, I'm
not going to suggest that you're feel
ing uneasy about recent events; but
in any case, Chang would raise Cain
long before any outsider could reach
the house." He bent down and patted
the creatures shaggy head.
Pennington held out his hand.
Good night. Varney. It's done
me a world of good seeing you so fit
and f1ourishing. 1 never worry; 1t
wastes so much time! But l try 10
imagine 1 can think better when half
the worlds asleep!"
He stopped there - rolling and
smoking interminabie cigarets. and
each time he struck fresh match
the hound that was curled in a cane
chair jerked up its head. Presently
Pennington extinguished the lamp.
AS he came back to his original posi-
ton sudden sound attracted his
attention. The moon, sailing gaily
toward a cloud bank, threw sufficient
light to enable him to see that Var
ney's dog had not stirred. The
sound came again, this time from
the patch of blackness that indicated
the opening to the passage. Pen
nington loosened the button of his
hip pocket and walked deliberately
toward the patch. His keen ear ac-
customed to the slightest noise, all
his senses alert, he gathered that
someone was retreating softly as he
advanced. He stepped a couple
of PAGES backward and looked at the
dog. The animal blinked friendly
up at him, squirmed into a moro
comfortable position - and resumed
its slumbers.
Pennington winked ominously at
the night, lit the cigaret he had just
made, and strobe whistling to his
room. He closed the door carelessly
after him and turned the key. Pres
emily he was moving about the
room, humming softly to himself,
with a hurricane-lamp burning NOR
lily on a table by the bed. To a
chance listener, it would have ap-
peared that "he who sees in the
dark" had at last succumbed to IA
tigue and was in the act of undress-
ing; but in reality Pennington was
indulging in the amusing pastime of
picking perfectly useless things up
in one part of the room and putting
them down in another. He removed
his boots and. knocking out the
light, stretched himself at full length
III HIS ClOliCS DSiihQ liio iiiooidAlO-
curtains. s'is
Varney's spare room contained no
window, obtaining its ventilation
from the space between where the
partition walls finished and the
ALTERS began, and Pennington, tying
the curtains at the head end of the
bed in a knot behind him, focused
his eyes upon a narrow batten that
served to flnish-off the rough edges
of timbering of the wall Immediately
at his side. This was the wall divid-
ing the room from the passage:
There were two outer partitions that
rose higher than the rest, and the
fourth was the one that backed on
the room in which the trader him
self was sleeping.
He had been in that position for
roughly half-an-hour when he knew
rather than heard that something
was moving stealthily about the
Presently the movement
ceased altogether, and the man on
the bed caught the sound of mea-
sured breathing that seemed to come
from somewhere close to his side.
passed softly along the
-