The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1931-04-03


II don't know anything about any
girl that's disappeared" protested the
boy. Say, who are your"
'I'm the reporter Conley's expecting
in about fifteen minutes. Didn't you
see a girl-a red-haired girl? Didn't
you answer some questions Of hers or
take her somewhere"
"Surer" said the boy. Forster was
expecting her. I took her up to the
top floor. to the private elevator. Con-
ley ran her up from there"
How do you know Forster ex.
pected herr" Martin asked.
Because we ran her right up the
minute she gave her name. Miss
White, it was. She didn't know
Forster owned the hotel and she
seemed sort of scared when she found
she was going up to that bungalow of
his on the roof Conley came down in
the private elevator to take her up"
"What time was this?"
II don't know" said the boy. "This
afternoon some time. Say, do you think
they're keeping her up there"
Martin nodded. He hadn't thought
so until moment ago. But bunga-
low on the roof Offered opportunities.
I'm going up to see If she's there,
anyhow"
How you going to get inT' the boy
wanted to know. "The private ele-
vator's locked up except when they
run 1t themselves. The only stair
except the service stair-comes down
into Forster's Office on the top floor.
That's all locked up now"
"How about the fire escape?" Mar
| tin asked.
The boys face lighted at this sug-
gestion, but chiefly, Martin was dis
appointed to discover, in admiration
Of the reporters nerve in contemplate
ing it. "There's fire escape landing
outside the window right at the end
of the corridor on the top floor. And
there's a steel ladder goes up from
there that curves over the sort of
stone railing at the edge Of the main
roof. That ladder must be pretty
scary, climbing right up over the edge
Of nothing"
1t may be confessed that 1t struck
Martin that way. But all he said was
that it looked like the best bet. He
shook hands with the boy and walked
away, with the best air Of unconcern
he could assume, to the. elevators.
"As far as you CO." he said in re-
Spouse to an inquiring glance from the
elevator boy. He hoped the phrase
actual number of the top floor, and 1t
did. He perceived, though, that even
the briefest hesitation on his part
when he stepped out Of the elevator
at the top would be fatal to his plan.
The boy would ask him whose room he
was looking for. He must choose in
advance which way to turn. Very
well, he'd turn to the right.
1t seemed at first that he had made
disastrously bad guess, for he found
himself walking straight toward a
transverse partition of glass and oak
with door in the middle of it marked
&c. ]. Forster" The door was ajar
and there was a light inside. The
elevator hadn't started down. The
boy was certainly watching him. The
only thing he could possibly do was to
push open the door and walk in and
see what happened after that.
Nothing happened! A sense that he
had no time to waste all but betrayed
him into a mistake The project that
was on the rails Of his mind was the
one he'd come up in the elevator with,
namely to get out the window at the
end of the corridor on to the fire es-
cape, and he had his hand on the
knob when the thought of something
else halted him. The helpful bellboy
who had remembered Rhoda had
spoken of a stairway leading from the
office up into Forster's apartment. He
turned back at once and started
through the suite of offices looking
for it.
When he saw it going boldly up
from the second room he entered
evidently the stenographers' room.
since there were four typewriter desks
in this first thought was that this
was too easy to be true. It wasn't
as easy as it looked, however, for he
found at the head Of it solid ma
hogany door locked. 1t would take
competent burglar with full set
of tools to get in through that door,
he thought despairingly.