Evening star., 1925-04-02
THE SEVEN SLEEPERS
H. Thrilling NopeI of By FRANCIS BEEDING
international Intrigue copyr.b 1875 BIZ Little Brown&oo)
By FRANCIS BEEDING
Copyright, 1875, By Little, Brown & co..

doubtedly serious that Karl had at
| tackled me at sight.
| 7 looked down at the fellow. He
was an ugly brute (though l say II
who shouldn'D and | hoped that. in
spite Of the resemblance OF feature
between US. the likeness was not real
ly fundamental He was certainly not
the kind of man for whom any one
would substitute himself without con-
siderable misgiving.
| Meanwhile. grandmother was pre-
| sumably preparing to receive me, and
| | realized that she was likely TO be
lannoyed If she found me there IN
| studied contemplation Of the inert
figure of her dearest grandson.
| membered also that Uncle Fritz and
! Uncle Uric were likely TO be there,
and ] had no reason to believe that
| they would be less sudden or less re-
| sourceful than Karl on realizing the
mistake which had been made.
| Ny blood was up and my throat hurt
me abominably. so that l doubt
whether | should have left the house
even ~ / had been given the chance
to do so. Anyhow, it was impossible.
Already ] heard steps and voices IN
the room adjoining.
| I bent down hastily, seized my late
| opponent by the ankles and dragged
| him between the desk and the. win
dow, where his head and feet were
| covered by the falling curtains.
No sooner had 1 done this than the
| second door, which 1 had remarked
! when examining the room, opened,
and the girl in brown appeared
This way. Karl" she said. They're
waiting for you" ] passed my hand
kerchief once or twice across my fore
| head, gave 4 rapid glance into the
| mirror. which showed that ! was less
disheveled from my late encounter
| than I had feared, and passed through
| the open door.
| ! entered a larger room than the
| previous one, and my eye instructive
ly noted that ii was decorated in the
same way; that is to say, its walls
| were covered with white painted
| paneling, and there We're two tall
! windows. I had no time. however,
| TO note further details. for my at
| tention became Immediately engaged
| with the person, or rather persons,
who We're awaiting me.
They were three in number and were
seated behind table covered with
| a red cloth.
Two of them I instantly recognized.
The man in the center was the dark
eyed man with the silky beard, who
had favored me with such a pene-
trating glance a luncheon in the
grill room of the Hotel du Lac The
man on the left was his companion,
the buIlet-headed Prussian type, with
the Mensur scars on his face. The
man on the right was tall and thin.
bald as an egg and wearing an eye
glass. I remembered at once my
neutral friends I'm the train This
was evidently Herr Schreckermann.
who had bought the aluminium
saucepans and the ball bearings.
walked UP to the table and came
to a standstill opposite the man in the
center. Meanwhile the girl in brown
had slipped out behind them and van
ished through another door, giving
me an encouraging smile as she did
so.
II was the man in the center with
the silky beard who spoke. ] had
| already made UP my mind that he was
the most important member of the
tribunal He looked at me a mo
ment with that same disconcerting
stare which had so strangely affected
me at the restaurant l find II diff
cult to describe its precise quality
It was as though he were cautiously
cropping in the recesses of my mind,
cutting painlessly at secret tissues
of the brain with 2 velvet knife.
His voice when he spoke had the
t same quality, musical, but with a
latent rasp. Every syllable of his
utterance fell .dIstipet- and yet no
note of 1t was forced. II reminded
, me of the taste Of oHyes-oily, with
a tang.
He fell upon me, softly as a. cat.
why did you find il necessary TO
kill the chauffeur" he demanded
The three men all had their eyes
fixed Upon me blythe man
of the Mensur marks with the CLASSY
! stare of commanding officer. the
bald headed man with the awe which
, ! deeds of violence Inevitably inspire
in the sedentary, and the man in the
center with that gradual, soft regard
which ] had already begun so great
ly to dislike.
Let me explain" I began.
You will do no such thing" said
, the man with the silky beard. I'VE
haven't any time for explanations.
Ny question was intended to inform
you that we already know precisely
what has happened"
"If you will allow me" I began
again.
The man with the beard held UP
his hand in q gentle movement OF
arrest.
/ Continued in Tomorrow's Starr