The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1923-04-11
CHAPTER XIV
SISTERS Under Their Skins.

sisters Onder Their Skins"
Aimee came as neal to sheer panic
as she had ever been yet when. after
O~verhearing from her coign of van
tage in the second floor window the
questions of the police, she saw them
start for the crag pits.
The only bright feature of the stu
alton, though not dazzlingly bright.
was that de Jussac was already on
his way In the same direction. She
had seer him go, and guessed his
errand. Bertrand, at least, was an
ally.
"Td rather they got me than Billy p
she said with a little sob.
The one obvious and reasonable
thing for Aimee to do, was to remain
where she was. To lie low, like Brer
Rabbit, and take no part In the COM
ing crisis. AS a natural consequence
1t was precisely the thing which her
mind refused to entertain. If Billy
was going to meet trouble, she deter
mined to be on the spot. There was
no knowing to what lengths he might
go, in his passion for self-sacriice.
Ten minutes later Aimee was In the
bushy dip of ground leading into the
crag pits. The police were well ahead
of her, converging round the far end.
Aimee had taken some trouble to avoid
being seer by them. At the
she could not see them at all, and
took 1t for granted they could not see
her either.
Bending low and running between
the bushes, Aimee made for the en-
trance of the Sphinx's cave. 1t
seemed to. her that must be where
Billy had gone. On arriving at the
mouth, however, she discovered her
mistake. Through a gap in the brush
wood she caught sight of Billy a con-
siderable distance farther along the
pits. And with him was de Jussac.
The police arrived almost immedi-
ately afterward. Alice, c~rouching be-
hind the bushes. watched the meeting.
Her throat felt dry and hot, her
hands opened and shut nervously.
She hesitated, uncertain what to do.
Would Billy get away with it?' A
CLEAN of hope and confidence re-
turned. Billy had a wonderful knack
Of getting away with things.
She saw the party disappear into
the cave nearest them; she witnessed
the emergence of Billy, and was aware
of q certain relief of tension when
the police returned and spoke with
him. Finally, wondering as she
watched, Aimee observed the arrival
of the gate-saw the PROSTATE body
of Jake carried into the open. The
distance was considerable. But the
significance of that pathetic figure on
the gate anne home to her. Aimee
was not slow of comprehension. She
began TO realize the meaning of 1t all.
The police had what they wanted.
The captive could be no other than
Jack the Climber himself. Billy had
"got away with ii" with a
Aimee WIS staring dumbly at the
group, when she heard a faint animal
like noise close beside her. She turned
sharply, TO find that she was not
alone.
A woman, in a stained and ragged
dust-cloak, was crouching behind the
screen of brambles a few yards away.
She was young, and not Unlocking
save for the deathlv pallor of her face
and the disorder of her hair. Indeed
there was a wild gipsyish beauty
about her, that survived even the
hunted expression in her eyes.
She was staring through the bushes
at the distant group.
'@They got him !" she said in a
~strangled whisper. She huddlci her
self together trembling.
"An' they'll get me, too. Let EN-.
No good my runnin' for it.
Il dunno who you are p she NUT
tered. what you dom here? Are
you goin' to gimme away?"
Aimee did not move Her heart