Evening star., 1923-02-08

Continued From Yesterdays Star)
They had entered the anteroom Of
the bureau of military intelligence.
and from this they made their way
into narrow hallway. and thence to
Col. Hawkshursts's private ofice. Both
men had taken their little fash
lights from their pockets, and now
and then the rays of these pierced
the darkness.
When Hawkshurst's office was
reached. Rennison led the way to a
wide. leather-cushioned sofa
Now, let's sit down." he said.
When both were seated Rennison,
IN the darkness, drew out his pocket
book.
"a little of that light OF yours
please. colonel" he said.
A moment later the ray of Hawks
nursts pocket lamp vas flashing on
Rennison's hands.
hurst asked.
The papers that were taken from
Shanning's body this afternoon"
Rennison answered.
"But-but didn't you give them to
Horsford?" Hawkshurst faltered.
No. The papers l gave to Hors-
ford may deceive him for q day or
two, but they. are not even copies of
the originals, which are here" And
as he spoke he took from the pocket.
bo9 bo9k the, the sheets IN Of tissue paper he
-But-Rennison!' protested the be-
wildered chief OF the bureau OF mill
tary intelligence. What. in Heavens
name, is the purpose OF this decep-
tion? What do you mean by"
Il mean that at this hour you and
Towndrow are the only persons in
washington ! am willing to trust"
hennlson replied. II think Merschon
is all right, but-wefl. there Is moth
ing that 1t is necessary to put up to
Merschon now. These papers, how
ever, must be kept safely, and in my
possession they can no longer be re-
garded as safe. You must take them
and put them in the safest place you
KNOWN one Of the boxes behind B
panel-the secret of which Is known
only to you and me-"
Hawkshurst: too dazed to reply.
was silent. Mechanically his fingers
closed on the sheets Rennison thrust
into one of his hands.
You will do this-at once?" Rem
Certainly, Rennison-since you
ask it." Hawkshurst muttered.
LAS quickly as you can, then" said
Rennison with note of impatience
in his voice. The sooner we get out
of here, the better"
Hawkshurst rose and crossed the
room.
There's no light coming from out
side. Rennison. but / think I can
make out without a spark" he said
quietly.
To the eyes of Rennison, still seated
on the sofa. the figure Of Hawkshurst
no longer was visible. In the course
OF the next two minutes the silence
OF the room was broken only by a
series Of faint clicks and rattles which
emanated from the wall on the op-
posite side Of the apartment. Then
Hawkshurst returned to where he had
left his companion.
"Ai right, Rennison." he said ITS
Behind b." Rennison asked, as he
rose.
"Yes-in number FIVE"
Good" Rennison muttered. well.
then, let's co.
But. as he started toward the door
Hawkshurst plucked his sleeve.
You have some reason for distrust-
ing Horsford?" the colonel asked.
Rennison hesitated.
called a 'hunch'-that's ALL"
Acting on 'hunch' in an affair 50
serious as this is risky business, my
boy" Hawkshurst cautioned. 'It is
a Navy Department case. We in the
outsiders. The papers you recovered
were the property of the Navy Depart
1nent, and, in it's relations with US,
Assistant Secretary Horsford is its
technically. we should not deceive
him. Only the soundest kind or a
reason-certainly no mere lunch
could justify US in doing what we are
You may be right. colonel" said
Rennison moodily. 'But-well, we
must not waste time that may be
precious. Let US co.
Slowly and silently. with Rennison
in the lead, they returned to the cor
ridor. Not until they reached the
entrance to the building did Hawks
hurst speak.
'I don't approve this chance YOU
are taking, Rennison." he said gruff-
ly. 1T is too irregular. Whether you
WIN or lose. you are open to censure
both of us. in fact It is unneces-
sary, of course, for me to tell you
that I hope your .hunch' Is proved to
ever. that you got Reifsnyder-a
naval offlcer-an Annapolis man. ft
10 true. too, that the man you now
suspect Is. according to our view,
considerably less than that-beins
wrong. believe we are riding for q
fall. ood-night!"
Thus speaking. he thrust open the
door, waved hand and hurried down
the steps to the street. where his
AS Rennison halted outside the en-
trance two figures that had been
standing in the shadow Of a stone
column approached him. He recog-
nizsd Towndrow and Coughlin.
w hats keeping you. Coughlin?"
Rennison asked with an afYectation Of
geniality. You left more than a
quarter of an hour ago"
"Oh. jollied one Of your watchn1en
INTO letting me make call on a de-
uaY1mant nh0nao Cnnrhlin ;oA
sirily. I've had long day Of 1t and
I wanted to report to headquarters
by wire instead OF going around my
self. It's all right now, and TIM
headed for home. I'll walk with you
as far as the avenue"
glanced at the sullen face Of Town
drow.
"All right" he muttered. '4Ias
Nerschon gomez"
"Yes--flve minutes ago." replied
Towndrow.
"And Horsford?"
"Not yet"
Looks like we are goins to get q
hit of a shower Coughlin remarked
AS they descended the steps to the
street.
His companions, walking a little be-
hind him, were silent.
'Is that limousine waiting at the
corner for you, captain" the de-
"I think So" Rennison replied. "a
friend of mine said he would wait
for me there"
When the corner was reached,
Coughlin again bade Rennison and
Towndrow goodnight. and strode
f "confound ss the nyrn'a fsiIow@ R.nmisen sxsmne
muttered. There was something I
wanted to say to you before I reached
this car. However. this will get us