The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1930-05-28

stared down into the dark hallway
below. Then, with a shrug of her
shoulders, she turned and went in
to the living room, slamming the
door behind her.
Mr.. and Mrs. Chubb had been
asleep long since, but Mary Della
did not go directly to her own room.
Instead, she dropped into Mr.
Chubb's comfortable chair, threw
her legs over one arm of the chair
and rested her back against the
other.
Timmy's strange remarks had
set her to thinking and she wanted
to try to put it all together. He
had talked as if he knew who the
Red Mask was. But what could he
have meant about Joe singing fall
setto?
She went back to that awful night
on the Cheshire road. She and Bob
sitting in his car the woman's
screams the Red Mask
Bob getting to his feet and taking
look at the woman
CHE had forgotten nothing and
~ the night had lost little of its
terror for her. The woman scream
ing F.. if Jimmy had heard, he
never would have talked lightly of it
as he had tonight. The Red Mask.
Rather heavy-set, full face The
red mask had hidden the eyes, of
course, but she saw the lower part
of his face now as though it were
painted on the wall before her. Yes,
full and white. Strangely white.
The floor creaked somewhere on
the opposite side of the room and
Mary Della jumped in spite of her.
self.
Nerves! She wondered she had
any nerves left. This reviewing of
the tragedy was bad business. If
she thought about it much more
she'd be afraid to sleep without
light.
Again the floor creaked and again
Mary Della startled.
"Silly!" she thought. you're
going childish" Better 60 to bed
than sit up here and be scared to
death over nothing"
But there was another weight on
her chest. Had she been quite fair
to Joe? After all, had it not been
because of his feeling for her that
he had been rough with Jimmy?
Still. she could not persuade her
self that Joe deserved any sympathy
from her. He had made a scene on
the dance floor and had slung back
an ugly threat when he was being
taken out. Joe's worst enemy was
his temper. He grew angry too
quickly and had too little control
over himself once he was aroused.
Oh, well. Time enough to
think about joe They wouldn't,
she decided, really keep him in jail
over night. And tomorrow. If
there was still question to her
mind. she would send him word
| to.
Mary Della suddenly was on her
feet.
She was quite certain that some
thing had moved on the landing.
For a moment she leaned against
the heavy mission table for support.
Her knees were shaking and little
chill ran down her spine.
She stepped out of her slippers,
kicked them under the table, and
crossed the room softly.
She remembered that she had not
locked the door when she .cSme in,
but she lacked the courage to raise
her hand now and turn the key in
the lock
For the third time that creak.
and now she knew that it was on
the landing What to do? Should
she wake her father? Could :"
DRAMATICALLY she ran back to
Il the table, turned the light out,
pulled the cord from the socket and
set the gaudy shade on the table.
Back behind the door, she lis
tened once more.
There was an interminable silence
during which her knees shook so
violently that she was afraid she
would slide to the floor.
A metallic click! The doorknob?
She was sure it was the doorknob
If she could only keep her nerve
And then a thin ray of light cut
through the darkness and she real
lied with a shock that the door was
partly open, that someone was Gid
ing cautiously into the room.
She waited. She wanted to
scream. But she waited.
Easily the figure pushed through
the door. She made out the vague
outline of a man, Of derby, Of
an ample overcoat.
He did not look behind the door.
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