The Daily Alaska empire., 1931-05-01

| which hung on either side of tn.
 window by which I had entered.
 An impulse urged me to concea
 myself behind one of them, anc
 study my man before he saw me. Exactly what I might gain by
 this I did not know.
 Probably the idea was the result
 and product of Williams training
 and of the years spent in the at- mosphere and environme ent oi crookdom. did not so much argue as feel that it would be a sound thing to do, probably giving me some advantage over my victim, or rather the man whom I hoped would be my victim.
 Rising from my chair and strengthening it's cushions, I step ped behind the curtain that was nearest to the desk, settled myself as comfortably as I could, and draped the curtain in front of me.
 Fortunately it was not only voluminous but hung from a cur tain-pole that stood out foot from the top of the window
 I was comfortably ensconded, completely hidden, both from with in and without, and perfectly safe, but could see nothing This disabil- ity I remedied later, by taking out my pocket-knife and cutting a hole in a fold of the curtain where it bulged in toward me, when Char terS was out of the room.
 Yes, l reflected. undoubtedly my impulse had been a sound one. l might, if I chose, hide in the house until a real air of mystery would surround my discovery; I might, if lucky, by remaining where I was, overhear, with benefit to my plans, conversation between Charters and Machado or Gryde;; I might, by waiting, watching and listening, learn which of his fen1als staff were Frisco Fanny and Louie the Lady, believed by Williams to be respectively his own and his sons wife.
 And at least I could choose my own dramatic moment for confront ing him, and starting that reign of terror which hoped to inaugurate.
 According to his daily custom, exactly as Williams H. William had told me, the man Charters hustled into the room and set about his afternoons work.
 Nor was it long before I was lis- tening, with breathless interest, and indignation, to what was obviously plot between him and the rela- tive of one of his patients, for the murder of that patient.
 Not for nothing had I associated with, listened to, and watched, some of the worst and wickedest criminals in the world.
 These two-the faces of both of whom could, now, thanks to the cut in the curtain, clearly see understood each other, and their conversation was a marvel of con- ciseness and compression.
 When the woman scrubbed some thing on scrap of paper and Charters, having glanced at it. it and threw it into the basket, knew that I had the key to whatever, otherwise cryptic, cipher it might contain
 Gate that night I recovered it and found that the woman had written upon it the figure one, and four thoughts Ten thou sand. The price of girls life, as knew from what I'd heard. And it was then that I thanked the the Power-that had sent me, melodramatically play y-act- ing if you will, behind my curtain.)
 Later, when Charters was alone, his face turned from me, his eyes covered by his hand, I stepped silently from my hiding place and, as he looked up, was between him and the window.
 To the hour of his death he must have believed that I had that mo- ment stepped silently into the room from the lawn without.
 I thank God that it was not so.
 The morning after my arrival at the Monastery. entering the dining room to display myself to my fel- low patients, and to play my chos- en part of a person irresponsible and eccentric to the point of lun- acy. I came face to face-and even now I can scarcely write the word with untrembling hand-I came face to face, say, with my daugh- ter Rosemary ...
 "Rosemary!" gasped, in utter utter incredulity.
 Had I become insane indeed?
 For the girl. sitting and smiling opposite me, was Rosemary's self as Rosemary must have been had she lived.
 had not seen her face when she was in the consulting room, for had. at that early moment. feared