The Dolores star., 1923-09-21

nc watched Boris go up the stems of a
particularly evil-looking house and ran
Sharply, with a peculiar rbytbm on
,he door. 1t was opened promptIv
ne SAID word or two to the door
keeper, then passed Inside. The door
was shut to again.
IL was at this juncture that Tommy
iost his head. What he ought to have
uohe' what any sane man would have
uohe' was to remain patiently where
ne was and walt for his man To come
OUT again. What he did do was on
urely foreign to the sober common
sense which was, as rule, his leading
characteristic. Something, as he ex-
pressed 1t, 1t seemed to snap in his
Drain. Without n moments pause for
rehectlon, he, too. went up the stems.
ana reproduced as far as he was able
the peculiar knock.
The door swung open with the same
profnptness as before. A yillainous-
iaced man with close-cropped hair
stood in the doorway.
"WellT' he grunted.
II was at that moment that the full
realization Of his folly began to come
home to Tommy. But he dared not
hesitate. He seized at the first words
that came into his mind.
"Mr. Brown" he said.
10 his surprise, the man stood aside
Upstairs" he said, Jerking his
thumb over his shoulder, Second door
on your left"
Iaken aback though he was by the
mans words, Tommy did not hesitate
If audacity had successfully carried
him SO far, 1t was to be hoped 1t would
carry him yet farther. He quietly
passed into the house and mounted
the ramshackle staircase. Everything
In the house was filthy beyond words.
Tommy proceeded leisurely. BY the
time he reached the bend in the stair
case, he had heard the man below
disappear into back room. Clearly
no suspicion attached to him as yet
To come to the house and ask for "Mr
Brown" appeared indeed to be rea-
sonable and natural proceeding.
At the top Of the stairs Tommy halt
front OF him ran narrow passage,
with doors opening on either side of 1t.
From the one nearest him on the left
came low murmur Of voices. It
was this room which he had been di-
rected to enter. But what held his
glance fascinated was small recess
Immediately on his right, half con-
1nI h,,
was directly opposite the left-handed
door and, owing to It's angle, 1t also
commanded good view of the upper
part Of the staircase. AS hiding
place for one or at pinch, two men,
1t was ideal. being about two feet
deep and three feet wide. 1t attracted
Tommy nightly. He thought things
over In his usual slow and steady way,
deciding that the mention Of mfr.
Brown was not request for an in
dividual, but in all probability pass
word used by the gang. His lucky use
Of 1t had gained him admission. So
far he had aroused no suspicion. But
he must decide quickly on his next
step.
1t seemed to him that luck had
served him very well SO far. but that
there was such thing as trusting it
too far To enter the room at the
left was colossal risk. He could
not hope to sustain his part indef-
nitely; sooner or later he was almost
bound to betray himself, and then he
would have thrown uway a vital
chance in mere foOlhardineSs.
A repetition of the signal knock
sounded on the door below, and Tom
my his mind made up, slipped quickly
into the recess, and cautiously drew
the curtain farther across, SO that it
shielded him completely from sight.
There were several rents and Sits In
the ancient material which afforded
him good view. He would watch
events, and any time he chose could,
after all. join the assembly. modelling
his behavior on that of the new ar
rival.
The man who came up the staircase
with a furtive, soft-foOted tread was
unknown to Tommy. He was obvi-
ously of the very dregs of society.
The low beetling brows. and the crimi-
nal jaw, the bestiality of the whole
countenance were new to the young
man, though he was a type that Scot
land Yard would have recognized at
n glance.
The man passed the recess. breath
ing heavily as he went. He stopped
at the door opposite. and gave repe-
tition of the signal knock. A voice
inside called out something. and the
man opened the door and passed in.
afrording Tommy momentary glimpse
of the room inside. He thought there
must be about four or five people
seated round long table that took
up most of the space, but his atten-
tion was caught and held by tall
man with close-cropped hair and
short, pointed, naval-looking beard,
who sat at the head of the table with
papers In front of him. AS the new
..,,,or opt.raI ha Glanced I'M. and