Evening star., 1925-03-21
Continued from Yesterdays Starr

DreSentlY
leVed the blackness cheercd her un-
reasonably. 1t was a danger signal
| and she knew 1t, but it cheered her.
one would rather be doing some
thing dangerous than just moldering
in the pitch dark" she told herself,
and edged slowly nearer and nearer
to the light.
She was now at the corner, and
could look round it and through the
steel bars into part of the laboratory.
The disadvantage of her position was
that she might be taken in the rear
by any one who came along either
the passage that she herself had come
up or the slanting passage with the
well In IT which ran into the other
at an acute angle, about feet from
where she was standing.
Jane. however, knew of no one who
was at all likely to arrive except
Henry. She therefore did not trouble
about her rear, but looked with all
her eyes into the laboratory. She
saw Lady Heritage sitting in a tall
chair' little turned away. Her
right elbow rested on ono arm, and
her chin was in her hand. Her eyes
were downcast. She was speaking in
cold, gentle voice:
L have not many friends
thought you were my friend. Was
1t ali lies, Jeffrey?"
Mr.. Ember came into view for a
moment. He must have been at the
far end of the room. He came down
1t now, walked past Lady Heritage,
and turned to face her. Jane saw his
profile. He was smiling family.
II am not fond of lies" he said
they are very entangIing-so hard
TO keep ones head and remember
what one has said. Now the truth
is simple and easy: besides, you may
believe 1t or not, 1 really do dislike
lying to you. ] have always told YOU
the truth where 1t was humanity pos
sible to do so. Even in the matter
Of Miss Molloy-"
Lady Heritage exclaimed suddenly
and sharply, lifting her chin from her
hand and throwing her head back:
"Renata Molloy! She's in this
wretched conspiracy of yours, I sup
pose?'
Ember laughed.
NO" he said.
Then what Is she?"
"l'wish I knew" said Ember, speak
ing soberly enough.
But what you told me wasn't
true?"
Some of 1t was. / was really rath-
er pleased with my neat dovetailing
| IL run over 1t, and you'll see that
l told the truth whenever 1 could.
All that about my having known Mol
10y in Chicag ago-solid fact Then 1
think ] said that l ran across him
again In London, and found he had
taken government service with Scot
land fard-that was fiction and so
was the yarn about his warning me
that foreign agents were on the track
OF the government formula. But it's
perfectly true that he has a daughter,
and that she sometimes walks in her
sleep. When I told you that she had
come tn-sleep walking-duriug an
important conversation about the
government formula, and that neither
Molloy nor I was sure how much she
had heard, L was mingling fact and
Hcuon. Renata Molloy happened in
on meeting of the Great Council
that is. the council Of the managing
agents from all the countries within
the scope of our operations, and no
one knew what she had heard. or
what she understood. When I told
you that L thought she would be SAT-
er down here under my own eyc, and
that i was not sure whether she had
been got at. 1 was speaking very Sc
rious fact indeed. They'd have killed
her then and there II corpses were
just little easier to dispose of in
London. 1 now very much regret
that we didn't chance 1T"
A trembling bewilderment had de-
cended upon Jane. She saw Raymond
stare for a moment at Ember with a
curious, Mortified look and then drop
her chin upon her hand again Ember
came step nearer.
Having disposed of that" he said,
Il should be glad If you would Just
look at these papers. Documentary
evidence, as 1 said just now, is con-
vincing. This is a short summary of
all managing agents. This is a list
of those agents. They form the Great
Council. These four names"-he
paused-'I should have told you that
there was an Inner Council. 1t is the
Inner Council which really runs
everything. There are four members,
/ come second, Molloy was third, and
Belcovitch, who will be here present
ly, is No f."
James heart beat faster and faster
She heard that Belcovitch would be
there presently, but she could not
tear herself away. She saw Raymond
Heritage put out her left hand for
the, papers and glance at them indif-
ferently, saw her brow contract as
she read, saw her drop the first two
papers upon her lap and lift the third.
There was a dead silence whilst she
read 1t. 1t was the list which gave
the names of the Inner Council. She
let it drop from her hand and an ex-
traordinary rush Of color transformed