Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-01

IlC tIlICr il bilSkh. Duu ~ "a law boA
of his policy to ignore obvious diff
I'D like that, too" he said. II don't
want to call in Chimp any more than
you do. But there's this thing of get
ting the stuff out of the house"
What you were saying just now
Mrs. Molloy reminded Mr.. Carmody
ITS got to look like an outside job
what I mean"
LAS it's called" said Mr.. Molloy hast
lily. She's always reading these de-
where she picks up these expressions
Outside job. ha, ha! But she's dead
right. at that. You said yourself il
would be necessary to create the ap-
pearance of an actual burglary. If we
don't get Chimp, who is going to take
the stuff?"
IT am"
"Eh?"
Il am" repeated Mr.. Carmody stout
ly. Il have been thinking the whole
matter out, and it will be perfectly
simple. I shall get up very early to-
morrow morning and enter the picture
gallery through the window by means
of a ladder. This will deceive the po-
lice into supposing the theft to have
been the work of a professional burg
lar"
Mr. Molloy was regarding him with
affectionate admiration.
IT never knew you were such a hot
sketch!" said Mr.. Molloy. you GER
tainly are one smooth citizen. Looks
to me as If you'd done this sort of thing
before.
Wear gloves" advised Mrs. Molloy
What she means" said Mr.. Molloy
again speaking with a certain nervous
haste, lis that the first thing the bulls
as the expression is-they always
call the police bulls in these detective
stories-the first thing the police look
for is f~inger-prints. The fellows In the
books always wear gloves"
"A very sensible precaution," said Mr.
Carmody. now thoroughly in the spirit
of the thing. Il am glad you mentioned
it.. I shall make a point Of doing So
The picture gallery of Rudge Hall
the receptacle of what Mrs. Soapy Mol
10y called the antiques and all like that
was situated on the second floor of that
historic ediice. To Mr.. Carmody, al
$50 on the following morning. as he
propped against the broad sill Of the
window facing the moat a ladder he
had discovered in one of the barns, IL
gazed upward, like an %inexpert Jack
about to mount the tallest bean-stalk
en- record.
Even as a boy. Lester Carmody had
never been a great climber. While his
young companions, reckless of risk to
life and limb. had swarmed to the top
of apple trees, Mr.. Carmody had pre-
ferred to roam about on solid ground
hunting In the grass for windfalls. He
had always hated heights, and this
morning found him more prejudiced
against them than ever. It says much
for crime as a wholesome influence in
a mans life that the lure of the ne
farious job he had undertaken should
have induced him eventually, after
much hesitation. to set foot on the
ladders lowest rung. Nothing but a
single-minded desire to do down an
innocent insurance company could have
lent him the necessary courage.
Mind having triumphed over matter
to this extent, Mr.. Carmody found the
going easier. Carefully RETAINING from
looking down. he went doggedly up
ward. Only the sound of his some
what %stertorous breathing broke the
hushed stiffness of the Summer morn
ing. AS far as the weather was con-
cerned. 1t vas the start of a perfect
day. But Mr.. Carmody paid no atten-
ton to the sunbeams creeping over the
uCWy kIdSS. HUI, WliEII tllC uuLCU Wds
broken by the first piping of birds. die
he pause to listen. He had not, he con-
sidered. time for that sort Of thing
He was to have ample leisure later, but
of this he wa not aware.
He continued to climb. using the ex-
treme Of caution-a method that, while
it helped to ease his mind. necessarily
rendered progress slow. Before long
he was suffering from a feeling hat he
had been climbing this ladder all his
life. The thing seemed to have no end
He was now he felt, at such a distance
from the earth that he wondered the
air vas not more raref1ed, and 1t ap-
peared incredible to him that he should
not long since have reached the window
sill.
Looking up at this point. a thing he
had not dared to do before, he found
hat steady perseverance had brought
about it's usual result. The sill was
only a few inches above his head, and
with the realization of this fact. there
came to him something that was almost
a careless jauntiness. He %quickened his
pace. and. treading heavily on an up
per rung. snapped 1t in two as II 1t had
been matchwood.
When this accident occurred, he had
been III a level with the sill and just
about 10 step Waflly ON 10 II. Inc
effect of the breaking Of the rung was
to make him execute this movement at
about Is times the speed he had con-
templated. There was a moment in
which the whole universe seemed to
dissolve. and then he was on the sill,
his fingers clinging with a passionate
grip to a small piece of piping that
protruded from the wall. his legs swing
ing dizzily over the abyss. The ladder,
urged outward by his last frenzied kick.
tottered for an instant, then fell to the
ground.
The events just described. though it
seemed longer to the principal actor IN
them, had occupied perhaps six seconds.
They left MI. Carmody in a world that
jumped and swan before his eyes, feel
ing as though somebody had extracted
his heart and replaced 1t with some
kind of lively fireworks. This substitute,
whatever it was. appeared to be fixing
and leaping inside his chest. and its
gyrations interfered with his breathing.
For some minutes his only conscious
thought was that he felt extremely i'll.
Then, becoming by slow degrees more
composed, he was enabled to examine
the situation.