Evening star., 1924-12-11
The Ark of the Covenant
A Story of Mystery and Adventure
BY VICTOR MCCLURE.
1874, ;, H.rpsr 4 Bro.

I $50 he could buy half a dozen lockets
| of the same kind, and when turned
into the bank he was grinninE broad
| ly as he went Oft to shoulder his way
up the street. I added the locket to
my tissue-wrapped trophies.
| My next concern was to interview
Jaxon and his five men again. Nor
mally they would have left the bank
! by this hour, but they were still
| cheering news. / collected the six of
them in a spare room and questioned
| them along the same lines as I had
used with McGrath. They all refter-
! ated their former statement that
| there had been no odor, but three of
| them, including Jaxon, recalled hav-
| ing heard 4 faint pop before dropping
of to sleep. and their descriptions of
the noise were, on the whole, fairly
close to that given me by the police
| man. Four of them, also including
Jaxon, now positively remembered a
faint luminosity. and the other two
thought they did.
/ now took my exhibits, as the
police would call them, and my the
ory up town to a friend OF mine who
has a great reputation in chemistry
and physics. a clever little fellow
called Dan Lamont, 50 we'll off that
he can afford to have q irst-class
laboratory, and keep big staff Of
unremunerative research. He Is a
perfect little wizard. and many a
| time 1 had gone to him to be pulled
out when the physics OF my work
had me begged.
"Hullo, Jimmy" he said. as soon
as he saw me. Whats tho trouble
this time? Won't the coefflcients come
unstuck from the dihedrals, or is 1t
that the helicopter still refuses to
coptr'
You're wasted as a physicist.
Dan," told him. You ought to go
into vaudeville as the un-funniest
back-chat comedian alive. Haven't
you heard about the robbery"
TIL bite-and then you can say
your smart answer" he grinned.
What robbery"
There are days when Dan doesn't
see a daily journal. and I guessed
| from his readiness to chaff that he
had not heard about the banks. I
told him. AS expected, he at once
showed the liveliest interest.
We'll, Jimmyw he exclaimed.
| What do you know about that? Most
| interesting! Christopher Columbus
and the hard-boiled egg! Are you
telling me that Wall Street was put
to sleep for two hours while a gang
of crooks helped themselves?" \
| That's just what do tell you"
"Phew" He stood up and stared at
me. Then he took out his loose
change and ratified IT in his cupped
hands, trick he has when very ex-
cited. =
| What makes you think the crooks
used gas?" he demanded.
7 can think Of no other way in
which they could dope the district"
said. Can your .~4,-
They might have nxed the water
supply" he saidtsoftly. mo. Water
isn't popular enough with the police
and the watchmen to make that
method effective. But, gas"
Whats your kick at the gas
theory, Dan?"
Haven't you said that the people
who went to sleep smelled no odory'
/ That's right. Not a thing"
Then there isn't any gaseous
anaesthetic known could do. It," said
Dan. Let's see. The absence of
odor rules out chloroform and ether
straight OF. Ethyl, chloride--no-too
smeliy-apd too lethal. You say mo-
body's deadf" =
mot q soul so far"
Queer. queer! Nitrous oxide has
no smell, but Its effects last barely q
minute There may be a gas could
do 1t. Jimmy. but I've never heard of
1t. What makes you 30 keen on the
| gas idea, anyhow?'
told him about the powdered
| glass, and showed it to him. Then
I brought out the locket and my
1 fathers gold coin. Dams excitsmert
grew.
"This is mighty Interesting, Jimmy
-iniEhty interesting" he purred. 1T
never heard of anything to tarnish
McGrathsss locket- Who told you
this WAS goldf~
1T Is gold" insisted.