Evening star., 1933-07-03

7 T was Sue Tally. 1t was not sue
Tally. 1t was Sue Tally.
told myself that was mistaken.
i told myself that the light upon it
had been too brief, too sudden and
swift flash to permit me to recognize
any face. But I stared and stared at
that unshuttered window and wondered
what was back of those winking blank
panes, and that strange, haunting re-
semblance to Sue Tally'S face would not
leave me.
Suddenly I was conscious that Low
schiem had reused from his distraction
sufficiently to note my gaze and follow
it. I had the impression he had over
looked some pressing and urgent aspect
of affairs This impression was con-
frmed when he caught his breath
sharply, slid quick glance at me, and
said suddenly:
But must go. There are things
| Grethe will want-you and Father
Robart can stay with the-with this. "
His eyes indicated the thing at our feet.
/ Wait" I said. What room is that
across there What number is it? The
one with the shutters Open"
| His eyes were yelled and yet intensely
aware of me and my question.
You mean across the court there?
That is about "a or 35. Why?"
Not 10, then.
rs it unoccupied?"
"Yes." He replied directly, without
a shadow of hesitation.
Il saw face just now in the win
dow"
mo, no. You are mistaken. There
is no one there"
There certainly was a face there,
Lovschiem."
1t seemed to me he looked family
relieved at the implication that I did
not know the face But he said word
or two to the priest, who did not look
around or reply, and waddled hurriedly
| away. At the end of the passage he
met the little porter and stopped for
few words with him before he disap-
peared around the corner, and the por-
| ter hurried toward us.
Madame had called him, the porter
said breathlessly, and he was to remain
| with us while monsieur went to her
assistance.
Turning into my room, I threw my
coat over my shoulders and took a
| flashlight from my bag. The little
porter watched me anxiously, and said
as I returned to the corridor:
I'm going to look about the court.
| Back in a moment"
| He did not seem reassured, but, OF
course, had nothing to say. Then
closed the door, saw the porter's bright
eyes watching it and what he could see
of me, stepped out of their range OF
vision. and snapped the button on my
| flashlight. 1t made darting circle OF
thin light on the stone floor of the
| landing.
There was no sign OF struggle. but
could have expected none. There were
no muddy footprints, for there was no
mud; everything in Armene was dry
, and cold and wind-swept. There were
no cigar ashes. There were no coat
buttons There was nothing but dark
blotch, quite small, where the dead
man had huddled.
I bent close to the worn stone and
looked and looked, turning my flash
light here and there, and eventually
1 did discover small red piece of what
looked like hard rubber or very hard
wax. It was rough and irregularly
semi circular and about the size Of a
half-dollar. It bore no faint resem-
blance to any kind of clue. I put it in
my pocket merely because 1t was the
only thing except the dark patch on
the stone and dry brown leaf that the
landing held.
It was just at that second that there
was a sudden lull in the wind; every
thing. shadows and shrubbery and rat
| ting windows. fell into dead quiet, and
heard an unguarded step on the stair
way below me.
1t wasn't any sound but step; ]
knew that perfectly and I daresay II
the wind had not lulled just at that in
slant should not be alive now. But
I heard it and moved to one side IN
order to look over the curve of the rail-
ing. And at that very instant there
were two sharp cracks of revolver.
my f1ashlight spun in my hand and
! thudded somewhere below, the wind
/ swooped down upon the courtyard with
crash, and every light in the hotel
went out.
| My hand tingled but wasn't hurt.
There was no sound but the hurting
of the wind, and found myself run
ming down the stairway, holding to the
railing. There was no excuse for it
but that is what I did.
I encountered nothing on the STAIR
way. If it was Lovschiem who had shot
at me-and I thought it possible
would probably either follow me tc
finish the job or seek to re-enter the
hotel himself.
He certainly was not apt to re-entel
the hotel by way of the winding stair.
way and corridors where the priest an6
the porter waited; if he followed the
wall cautiously past the great iror