The Daily Alaska empire., 1933-07-10
TheWhife CoCIkafoo
5 Migsos C. Eberhars

l
 T am Sue Tally. I've told you twice to put up your hands. This
 gun is loaded. and I'm a good shot"
 stood there looking at her She
 was Of the same general height and
 build as Sue but lacked Sues fine ness of wrist and ankle and deli cacy of proportion. She was fair, too. and wore her hair like Sues, She was even dressed in a black velvet coat. like Sues. But she did not resemble Sue in the least. A general, written description oi height. weight. and coloring might have applied to them both, but they were not at all alike.
 Then mortified question crashed upon me. Where was Sue? What had happened? Where had she gone?
 You don't want to shoot me-" said. Tt won't do you any good. There are too many gendarmes in the place for you to escape" "They are drinkin. in the kitch- en. Paul likes having them there." She spoke little contemptuously but her hard eyes did not waver from mine. "I am Sue Tally" she reiterated. "and want the paper you took from the priests room short time ago. Don't deny 1t, for saw you. That paper belongs to me-" go you are, Sue Tally" I said v thoughtfully. T had suspected your presence for some time. Cant we sit down and talk this over more amicably?"
 She did not relax her hold or the pistol and eyed me suspiciously. l went on:
 Where have they been keeping you all this time?, Hasn't 1t grown little tiresome. dodging the DO lice. hiding here and therey" She bit her lip. thought sudden. ly that there was, something at the same time shrewd and stupid about her face.
 She said: Tt was easy enough. All but those nights in the store room. Come, give me the paper" So it was she in the storeroom; had not expected that. even though had guessed that she was about somewhere. waiting to carry out her role in the conspiracy.
 "ln the stareroom." l repeated sympathetically. You poor girl. It must have been most uncpmforta- ble. The smoke from your cigar cites drifted up to me one night"
 "Oh. it wasn't difficult to stay out of peoples way. Anyway. at 2, dis tance look rather like-this other girl. had this coat made like hers on purpose. Of course. I've not been in the hotel all the time. I've been staying at Paul's = the cooks house."
 "Oh. so you've been staying at Pauls," l thought, the girl had been bored and dull; she was prob ably not ayerse to talking to some one. Her hand did not waver with the pistol. but she was looking rather approvingly at me. "The Lovschiem's haven't been treating you very well. have they?"
 IL was lucky thing to say No" she flashed. They forget how important l am to them" She checked herself quickly. but 1t was too late.
 I've seen you before, you know"
 "When?" she said incredulously. Looking from the third-story window : suppose you were lodged there then-the night of the first murder" .s ,s, Sue bit her lip again. and to my astonishment and intense discom- fort tears came yelling up into her too-large eyes. 1 should have pre- ferred her to remain hard and shrewd.
 And Mrs. Byng saw you too wben you turned out the hotel lights. suppose that was after Ma. dame Lovschiem had said you must hide from the police who were com ing.
 She nodded without. think. req. liking what she was doing.
 They didn't tell me it would be like this." she said sullenly. the tears still hanging there in her eyes. They ought to have told me" Possibly ought to feel decent compunction for my not too diplo- matic behavior, But didn't-either then or thereafter. Twas. even. too hurried for finesse. I said with sym ,pathy: "you poor girl. They've treated you very badly, haven't they?" And l looked at her with crass admiration and murmured:: "So beautiful"
 Her eyes stopped looking faint,y like oysters and strayed to the mir. TOT: The seconds wavering gave me my chapce- 1 sprans toward her.
 fCopyrioht, fsss. Mionon c. Eberhartj The mysterious stravsty, to- morrow, takes bic proper place in ,fns feIsa .