Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-11-25

with What brought MN mere
or course not Why should
Il essentially" But il MAS a menace.
, hidcouS thing II made him think
AZ a picture he had seen somewhere -
2 2ihbet at a bleak. wind -SWept. dark
&kiod cross road with Il figure dan
Cling from it, one of those damned
steel plate cn2raNinGS OF the high
vavmcn DAYS in England,
The unhuoWn'
For a moment he stood stiu-an
thru suddenly both fists were raised
above his had There VAS q reason
above all others why he should 80 on.
The stakes were on the table. II was
not merely question Of old Marlin :
money. Win or lose here. the men.
ara of that voice that Shrjckcd the
name of shadow Narnc for All 20
hear now hung over his whole future
j must either he removed, or he.
Shadow Narne. promised with @haStlN
certainty To take the place of thar
dangling. sWayinS thing upon the
clhhet chain. The menace was here.
What better chance was to fight il
than here and nov? Who vas the
more cunning? Who would misp.ay
a crrd?
Not Shadow Narne'
y grim ana cold composWe came.
now-that was all. Brighten Shadow
Narne away? Elh. They did
know Shadow Narne--Save only as Il
name to he scrccched out from some
safe retreat in the darkness, What
might tranSpire in the secret recess
IS Of his heart. the purely human fact
that diSmay and fear might prey at
ugly moments upon him. was one
thing: TO halt him. . make him
even hesitate. was another
He had never hesitated; he had but
moved the more quickly. Spaeded up
his plans, for time was II greater ob
lect now. He was at work at this
very moment--waitin2 until the house
was quiet for the night.
Well. it was time now. wasn't it?
\ small f1aShliGht played on the
dial of his wrist watCh.
Just midnight,
He nodded his head sharply. slipped
across the room. and, with the door
alar. stood listening. A minuse pass
ed-another- There was no sound.
He stepped out into the Graa.. wide
hal. and closed his door softly be-
hind him.
1t was like a shadow moving now.
That was Locke's room there; Potv's
here-Dora Martins opposite. He
passed them by, descended the great
staircase. made his way back along
another wide hall way, and finally
halted before door This was Mr.
Martins room. He listened .niently.
The sound of regular breathing, as if
from within.
He smiled crimly as he turned away.
and cautiously let himself out through
a French window in the living room
which opened on the veranda From
here. he dropped lightly 20 the lawn.
The money was not hidden IN the
house. He was spared from the start
any loss of time in an abortiva search
of that kind There WAS too much
significance attached to the old mani
acs act of creeping stealthily in and
out under his own veranda in the dead
Of night; especially when ided TO
this had been the informal ton CLEAN
ed from Polly that Mr.. Marlin was
in the habit of stealing out of the
house at intervals for a succession of
nights on end. though at later hour
each night. 1t was the obvious, Hnt
why later hour each night? Rather
queer! Why try to square insanity
with the rational?
1t was the secret under the veran-
da that interested him.
But his mind as he made his way
noiselessly along the edge of the
bushes that frinGed he Veranda, re-
Verted with a certain disturbing in
sistence to Polly. The girl hand't
stopped talking about going back to
England. She said ne had promised
her she should when her education
was finished. Well perhaps he had
AS one makes a promise 10 quiet a
child! She wanted TO be with her
mother. Quite natural! But she
hadn't any mother; and, if things
went right here, he was rather in
clined to believe he preferred Amer
lea to England as a perma nent place
OF residence. He had reitered his
promise, of course. He couldn't af-
ford to do anything else-yat. Sooner
or later, he would have TO explain"
to Polly; but when that time came,
unless he had lost a certain facility in
eXplana tons that had never failed
him yet. he should be aa!e to turn
even the fact that he had kept Mrs
Nickes death from her t. his own
account. And tell the truth, even
if somewhat inverted, at that! Soil
citude would be the keynote-that
since Mrs. Wickes was not really her
mother, her visit here need not be
spoiled by i'll news that woulo keep
S0ilrltude-and all that sort of idea