Evening star., 1925-09-20
LIBERAL REWARD


CONSERVATION. II must have left the
| card case at home"
TOO bad" he said. I'm not sorry
though, to see that you also left youi
gun at home. Annie. L rather had 1,
on my mind. It's a bit awkward
! about the card case, isn't it?"
She waved the mischance airily
aside.
mo matter. l can explain every
thing"
| "Everything?"
Everything she repeated haugh
| tily
| I'm that event. said he with p
, sharp change of tone, Il want to
know what. that bag of loot Is doins
back there on the noor of this carr
| She swung around in her seat and
stared at a battered black bag Of imi
| tation wslrus hide which, to he,
vision at least seemed to have ma
terialized out of the Californian air
II don't know what it's doing
there" she stammered Il never laid
/ eyes on II before.
And of course you haven't a glim
4 mer of a notion what 1t contains?"
| Only what you tell me-" She faced
about to look him in the eyes. Where
did you get your information | should
| like to know"
TN warrant you would, Miss limo
cence. But | don't propose to tel
you. You'll hear the essential facts
when YOU and your gang stand trial
Come now, end this farce. You were
there at the alley to help Gentleman
Joe transfer the stun when YOU VA "
! that the house was watched. you
/ made a jump for the car and tried
! TO Gear out with the evidence
And now you'd have me believe
you're detective,' she excIaime ed
contemptuouslr. What simpleton
YOU must think me. But it's plain
enough who YOU are. You're GEN
| tleman Joe himself"
/ Il! Well. of all the triple pla ed
| nerve
You are. OF course. YOU are. Tha,
accounts for Your manner, your
clothes. for everything. And you're
the man who had his head in the
car when | first recognized 1t. the
man who dashed back into the house
lt was you who put that bag where
1t Is. ! see the whole affair
| You ought to so in for clairvov-
ance, he said. with weary sbrup
| IL $ SAFER than your present line
/ But. fortunately, il doesn't matte,
what you think you see or who yo,
| think | am. What does matter is
| that the bag contains stolen goods
| that 1t Is In this car. which you claim
Is yours, and that YOU answer to the
description OF Roadside Annie. Take,
altogether. It's combination which
even you would find stiff job TO ex-
| plain
Il m ready to try" she said, throw
ing on her brake and shifting gears
| He started
| Where are you going,"
TO the nearest stationhouse
| wait. he protested. Il wouldn',
| do that
m sure YOU wouldn't"
It's you I'm concerned about.
Let's talk this over"
lie again studied her profile
Brains and beauty" he said slowly.
re" can boast both. It's a pity
you DON'T put them to better use.
what gave you the wrong slant on
| me- Re frank with me- You NAV
find 1t to your advantage. Tell me
your real history. who are youy
Where did you come from? How in
the name OF destiny did such a girl
as you ever drift into the under.
| world? AS | look at you | can hardly
believe that you did the thing 7 saw
you do
She felt like bewilderment al she
| looked at him. but it was immediatelv
swa allowed up In emotions less chari.
table.
You're either knsve or fool. -
she said, her dark eyes flashing
We told YOU that my name is
Miss Clayton" he put in II
haven't forgotten. Though. on sec.
ond thought, you didn't supply the
! Miss. Perhaps you have married
alias a4so?"
| Well, | haven't. ] mean I'm not
married. But that is none Of your
business. she added, regretting her
hasty denial You pretend to think
every statement l make is a lie
The word is yours. not mine And.
after all. I'd like to feel that you
| were who you say YOU are
! Your feelings don't interest me-"
| knowledged with a laugh. who am
l to one of your high station?"
| \ y
CHE noted his fine teeth as he
- laughed. but reflected that he
shared this boon with the lower races
OF mankind, and gazed austerely up
the long reach OF asphalt. Where
/ upon. as a claret-colored touring car
4
swiftly toward them. she caught her
breath. glanced without turning at
her strange companio wavered and
then. making her auixotic choice.
stopped casually to her shoelace as
/ the ruddy monster roared past. The
| impulse on which she acted was mys-
! terious, but she rejoiced that she had
yielded to its humane guidance. She
exulted as in great deed greatly
| done.
$50 YOU don't know your own
| father"
She straightened with a hot flush.
| Judge Clayton himself" he said
! .ternly, You let him 60 by without
| lifting a finger. You didn't know him
| from Adam. That punctures your
neat little fiction. Annie. You have
| put up spunky fight. but you must
see now that you haven't a loophole
| left. Admit that you're beaten
She choked in her eagerness to an
| nihilate him.
And to think" she cried, Ito think
| that I did it for such a, worm as you.'
"Eh?" he calculated. Did what for
me-"
Let my father go by-ducked, even
! so that he wouldn't recognize me. I