Evening star., 1930-03-27

OI seeing LII. 0COplOTu dAOHe, uL-
watched, now hopelessly dashed by the
yet again, she must meet him as a
spy-and accompanied by :. whom?
A fiery wave, compounded almost
equally of resentment and horror,
swept over her. The misery and terror
from which the organization known
to its members as the Zones had rescued
her in the past seemed, looking back
ward, more endurable than the price
she was called upon to pay for her
freedom. Freedom! She laughed aloud
at the thought. The horrors of French
Guiana-Cayenne, Deviles ISland-yes
yes! These had driven her to the
verge of madness. But this freedom! -
1t was the freedom enjoyed by the
pampered slaves of some Roman tyrant
the sort of freedom" which had
prevailed in the household Of Tigel-
linusl
Well, she had made her choice; use
less to quarrel with the consequences.
At is minutes to 4 she was at her
post. A man stood before her, bowling
in un-American fashion.
My dear Fee" he said in French.
You are punctual, as usual"
Nine. Czerna'S heart leaped and
seemed to stand still for one dreadful
moment. Not for two yearS-two long.
sorrowful years-had she heard any
man call her Fee" The speaker, his
soft hat held to his breast as he bowed,
watched her, smiling. But his eyes, his
extraordinary, hypnotic eyes, prompted
her answer.
II am always so glad to see you,
Gaston," she replied.
She seemed to be repeating lesson;
the words were not her own. But the
critical part of her mind remained in
dependent. This was some superior Of
flcer of the Zones. He was not her di-
visional chief: she knew the chief. He
must be a headquarters official. She ap-
praised him. Madame knew what was
correct in mems dress as well as in
women's. Castor Pascal" was care
lesSly, but perfectly, de mode for the
occasion. He was short man; not
more than an inch taller than herself
He was slim, dark, aquiline, sallow. He
had a magnificent head. Inspiration
came:
He was the double Of Napoleon
Buonaparte at 35
II have so looked forward to meeting
Father Burke"
The words numbed that critical fac
ulty. This mans eyes claimed her
again.
you win love him." she said me-
chanically. Everybody does"
Deputy Commissioner Burke's car
came out of Center street. At this mo-
ment his humor was little short of mur-
derouS. He was 10 minutes late. Solke,
his secretary, blamed LaZarvich, the
chauffeur. Lazarvich blamed Solke.
Burke's cigar had gone out. He tossed
1t into tray. Then, of sheer force Of
conveniently beside him, and took out
a paper-wrapped sweetmeat between
finger and thumb. A Swiss diplomatic
friend at Washington regularly supplied
John Burke with these delectable can
dies product of q firm in Zurich. Only
a diplomat could have secured them.
They came in attractive wooden boxes.
And they bore such labels as Char
treuse," "Curacao-Bols." "Benedictine.
of all. they actually held the unobtain-
able liqueurs specified on their wrap
pings!
Burke stripped of the foil and placed
the chocolate in his mouth.
They were on lower Broadway. Crate
ful tang of cognac acted favorably upon
his humor. He reached for another
eandied liqueur. Without looking at its
label, he unwrapped the confection and
popped 1t into his mouth. Brandy
again; extraordinarily good. He took a
third.
Lazarvich. through the mirror. was
watching him. Why should his chauf-
feur watch him? His duty was to watch
the traffic. This was q busy spot:
too. Good heavensl What had
gone wrong with the mans face? 1t
was visably increasing in size! It's i'm
age occupied the whole of the mirror, so
that nothing whatever could be seen Of
the street behindl How funny!
Commissioner Burke began to roar
with laughter.
This unaccountable merriment. when
later he endeavOred to reconstruct what
had happened, formed the only cogent
link between actuality and phantaSy.
He realized that he was mad-ill-
drugged; that he was no longer master
of his actions. He grabbed at the
speaking tube. =.
"Datura metal, soft-haired thorn
apple, was the variety used by the
thugs" The speakers voice went on:
opium and hash'sh were formerly
blended with it. My preparation is
based upon datura sanguinea, the Pc
ruvian red thornapple. and the source
Of the native drug called tonga"
He appears to be in profound
stupor."
This voice was softly musical.
He Is in q state called Kal by q
certain sect located in Nizam. He Is
conscious Of all that Is said, but is
powerless to speak or stir. Whatever
he Is ordered to do during the next "a
hours, while in this condition. he win
carry out to the letter. This little
known formula explains many political
assassinationS which have puzzled Brit
ish officials in India"
But will he remember?"
'Nothingl You VIII order him to
forge, or, If you desire his death, you
will order him to destroy himself"
IF I were sure of his forgetting
should prefer him to live"
BE sure. accept the responsible
ity."
Some moments Of silence followed,
then: