Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-12

- U "A momentous meeting
this! One which a few
seconds ago I feared might
have been postponed. 1t is fortunate
that am able to offer you my protec-
ton"
The words were the last that ever
left his lips. From some unseen place
= came the crack Of an automatic pistol
and Victor Porle spun around and feli'
q crumpled-up heap, upon an over
turned table. Solomon Graunt, amaz-
ingly quick, ducked and fred IN tne
direction from which the shot mao
come only to fall a moment later, face
downward, by the side Of his partner.
Three men who had been creeping
through the shadows of the place to-
ward Laurita turned and disappeared:
There was the sound OF banging OF
doors, stified means and shrieks In the
distance. then a curious silence. Ger
AID. still gripping Laurita, found her
now a dead weight in his arms, ner
ewes closed, her cheeks more colorless
than ever. He laid her gently on a
divan and afterward stopped down and
picked up the automatic which lay
close to Solomon Graunt's right hand.
He stood in the middle of the sanded
floor peering around and listening.
There was no sound whatever inside the
place, which was apparently deserted.
with the pistol in his hand, he felt no
longer helpless. He stepped back to
the door through which they had en-
tered and shook It vigorously, only to
find that 1t was locked on the outside.
He bent over Laurita for a moment,
fancying that he saw signs of returning
consciousness. Then suddenly he be-
came tense again. From the other SIDE
of the door labeled Private" there came
the sound of faint groan. He crossed
the room and threw it open. The body
I of Freddy, the proprietor, which seemed
fell with a dull thud on the sanded
floor. Hideous In life, he seemed in
death to be more than normally gro
tesuue. Gerald stared at him until he
felt his senses beginning to reel. He
cried out at the top of his voice, heed
less of the fact that so far as he knew
there was no one to hear him. Even
the silence was not more terrifying than
that unexpected response from the dim
recesses of the place. response In
woman's throaty. drunken tones.
What's wrong, dearie? Hold on
bit and we'll have some light"
Amazingly then from the gloomy
corner of the room came horrible and
1ncongruous Sound--a little hiss ana
the discordant rasping of a cracked
record upon an ancient gramophone:
way down in Tennessee,
That's where I love to be"
Lights Unexpectedly shot out all
around. Gerald stared about him Wild
". The room, clearly visible now a
scene Of chaotic disorder, with over
turned tables, counters, scattered upon
the floor, broken glass, thin streams OF
liulpCr sucked in by the sawduSt, was
empty save for a drunken woman seat
ed by the side of the gramophone and
rocking to its strains.
What a night" she called out.
~Everybody's dead, and I can't stop
this BY instrument"
Exhausted with her effort at the
switches, she collapsed across the bench
upon which she was seated. The
eramophone continued wheeling out
its appalling melody. Suddenly from
outside came sounds OF bliSSful promise
the tramp of heavy footsteps. The
window crashed inward, fragments OF
glass flying all over the floor. A sergeant
of police with peaked cap drew himself
unusually pale face cleaned
in the background. Gerald welcomed
both hystericallyp The sense of relief
was almost overpOwering.
You're too late.'' he called out-"too |
late! Three dead men and crazy |
blasted Instrument"
They paused for a moment at the
top of the narrow, cohbled street. I'M
perfectly lit. leading as 1t seemed into
pools of darkness Above the warehouse
and the house beyond, the spire OF the
cathedral, clean-cut. more than ever
impressive by reason of its near proS-
unity, stood wildly out in the crisp
Winter twilight. There were stars in the
clear sky, suggestion of frost In the
air. The warmth Of the city, whose
main arteries they had Just Quilted, with
its crowded paver1ents, its brilliantly III
electric cars, its throb Of humanity. had
left them with a little glow.
so this is where you wandered from
the lighted ways, Martin, In search OF
romance?" Blanche observed, glancing
for a moment behind and then forward
into obscurity.
what possessed me can't imagine"
he reflected. Three nights out OF four
the other things would have contented
me. On the fourth there was always
something that wanted to escape.
Il don't suppose you could have really
been satisfied with your life" she OBJ
served.
II don't suppose was" he admitted.
ION the other hand. 1t is amazing what
philosophy can do toward reconciling
us to anything. AS soon as thing Is
or becomes Inevitable We accept 1t.
Something inside US seems automatically
to be working toward adaptation"
You've carried out your own theory
pretty we'll" she remarked, with the
second development in your life, mean,
not the first. Don't hurry. l
like to walk slowly down this quaint
street. like to try to imagine the
Thoughts which must have Der n passing
through your brain when the door you
were admiring few open and you were
invited to enter. The symbolism OF
all is most attractive"
IT wasn't in frame OF mind to APP