Evening star., 1923-08-19
!. BY
ARTHUR SOMERS ROCHE.

jerry iryon struggling at hrs elbow
Tor the lead. fearful that his beloved
younger partner might suffer injurv
Just beyond the threshold, at the
root OF flight Of stairs. he paused.
The Silence of the place was uncanny.
The noise Of the assault on the door
had aroused the neighborhood: Il
should have aroused the inmates ~
this house.
Perhaps they waited at the top Of
the stairs. ready to kill In
that case he must be the first to face
them And so he bounded uu the
stairs. And at the landing he paused.
The strangest sight that had ever-in
his knocking around with Jerry
Tryon, in his experiences in the war
met his eyes confronted him now.
For tho door to a large room was
open; electric lights burned brilliant
ly in a chandelier. And in that room,
beneath those lights, lay the bound
and gagged bodies of fifteen men.
:. kk X
LIE strobe into the room. Jerry and
II the plain clothes men behind him.
There, upon a table in the center OF
the room, propped against a book so
that 1t would attract the attention OF
the first arrival. was an envelope. 1t
was addressed to Pelham. He picked
tt up. tore IT open and read the note
inside
My dear Mr.. Pelham" he read. II
am an artist, not a bungIing thief. [
cannot see how you could imagine
that I would be guilty of leaving so
clear a trail. And yet, according to
the newspapers, you believe that I,
who deal only in money and jewelry,
would annoy myself with so clumsy
booty as furs. You will find the prop
terty of Messrs. Bennett & Darius in
| the rooms upstairs
II resent your stupid assumption
| that !. who never fail In anything
undertake, should have attempted
your death without success. But even
| more strongly I resent the inefficient
scoundrels who have impersonatsd me,
who have dared to attempt to use my
| methods. And so / am delivering
them to yon. 1t would not do for you
TO capture them. You will understand
| that it is necessary that I make the
vermin of the underworld understand
that my name is not lightly 10 be
used.
And please be assured, my dear
Mr.. Pelham, that when decide that
you are dangerous to me. and should
be removed. you will be removed"
IT was signed "Peter Ballanvtne,"
the nom de guerre of the Gray Ghost.
But threatening as was the tone OF
the epistle, Pelham laughed triumph
antly as he turned to Tryon. The
Gray Ghost was still at large and vet
he grinned.
"I knew all along it wasn't Gray
Ghost job" he cried.
Tryon was amused at this exehibi-
ton of vanity on the part OF his CO.
| adjutor.
Well" he said, pointing at The
prisoners upon the floor, that
Gray Ghost job
And a good one, too said Pelham.
He frowned as thought came TO
him. II the Gray Ghost had happened
| to turn his talents to the detection
instead of the commission of crime,
he would have been without rival.
Still. he was without rival now.
Dispiritedly he Joined Tryon in
searching for, and finding, the method
of egress. through a skylight across
| the roofs and down another skylight,
of the Gray Ghosts followers.
Would he always be a little TOO
late? Somewhere, now, the Gray Ghost
laughed at him. But he laughs best
who laughs last He could wait for
that last laugh.
Copyright 1897