The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1925-11-26
SHADOWS OF THE
CITY
lContinued from page ski

Come along, then" She led the
way through to the dining room and
across to a table set for two.
The dance floor beyond the row of
tables was small and intimate; and
upon 1t, to the mad harmonies of the
jazz orchestra, four or five couples
danced-danced with a certain pagan
abandon. With start Bertram rec
ognized Hugh Coswell, the eminently
respectable president of the Midwest
Trust company, the husband of Arista,
and the father of three children and
he was not dancing with Arista-no,
nor with any of her friends The
partner who chung to him was a
petite. Titian-haired young woman
whom Bertram vaguely recognized !:
some one had pointed her out to him
once, he remembered, and mentioned
her name. Suddenly the name bobbed
into his mind: "Sally Keddleston.'
-Four other men, with partners, were
dancing: they we're all older than Hugh
Coswell; they were gray-haired, all Of
them over fifty. Bertram knew two of
them; men whom many thousands in
Chicago knew by reputation. at least;
by good reputation. And each man
held in his arms yellow-haired or a
brunette Sally Keddleston of his own.
Bertram's friends smirked when
they recognized him; and they waved
and called cordial-too cordial
greetings.
Confused for the moment, he brought
his gaze about to the table as a
waiter placed cocktail before him.
Dinner sir?" the man asked.
Dinner" replied Bertram mechan-
ically. Evidently, serving so few peo-
pie, the establishment offered a pre-
pared meal
SuddenlS Bertrals recollected the
pearls which-so Kitty Hewitt had
said-Hugh had bought in New York,
and not for Arista. CHANGING toward
the dancers, he looked for pearls upon
Sally Keddleston. Jewels she wore,
plenty of Jewels, but no rope of pearls.
Once more, as he watched, Kitty
Hewitt seemed to read his thoughts.
Hes not given them to her yet, I
guess she murmured. "That makes
1t a little easier"
"Jove!" he exclaimed with sudden
pleasure as Kitty Hewitt stepped into
his arms and they moved off in the
rhythm of the dance; for she was
quite the most superb dancer he had
ever encountered AS they circled the
little room to the softly played melody,
''Marcheta," he thought how lovely
this girl really was.
AS the dance music stopped and
they returned to their tables, Kitty
Hewitt spoke: Its hot in here Do
you mind opening one of those win
dows?"
There were no walters in the room
and Bertram himself crossed to the
middle window, unfastened the catch
and opened it a few inches. AS he
seated himself opposite Kitty Hewitt
again, he saw that she was turning
her vanity case. open, upside down.
A pale yellow powder spilled out
and lay in a conical pile on her plate.
ST put in a whole box" she ex-
planned, land it broke"
That's funny-looking powder" he
said.
The music had begun again, and the
people at the other tables were dane
ing Kitty Hewitt rose.
"Come along" she smiled.
"Shall we dancer" Bertram rose and
came round the table to her
"Oh, just minute, first" she inter-
rupted. please give me a match"
"A match?' He stared at her. She
did not smoke, he knew. What then?
"Oh, here's one!" She had caught
up box of matches from the table
and glanced quickly round the room.
The prominent men and their partners
danced on merrily, intent upon their
own affairs Suddenly Kitty Hewitt
struck match.
'What are you doing?" demanded
Bertram.
sStand backi'' she warned him. and
flung the burning match upon the pow
der on her plate. For second 1t
flickered there, as Bertram watched,
spell-bound, then binding explosion
filed the room.
'.Flashlight 7" Bertram heard him.
self gasp. Two women screamed;
man shouted hoarsely the dance mu-
sic stopped; and as dense cloud OF
flashlight powder smoke rolled across
the ceiling, panic paralyzed the
dancers.
"Who did thatT' Hugh Coswell's
frightened voice Everybody quiet
What
A window was opening of ITSELF
that is, was being pushed up from the
outside-the window Bertram had
partly raised, and as the people stand
ing huddled on the floor stared in ter
ror, a man stepped over the sill and
into the room.
He was a tall, slender young man,
in a checked suit, with a black velours
hat slightly tilted over one eye. The
face was pale and square-jawed, with
cold blue eyes and a hard, straight
mouth. Something vaguely familiar
about these features Then. with q
start, Bertram recognized him. It
was the youth upon whom he had OPP
Grated, whose life he had saved, that
amazing night six weeks before