The Washington times., 1933-05-12

aAU NEu$eE OEOpS-ueau.
CHAPTER TEN
The man with the flashlight
shut it off as Kruger struck the
, floor. It would have been ridicu-
1ously easy to fire another shot
Into the lighted room where
Cavanaugh stood stark still-a
target that could not be missed.
The assassin in the dark, in
fact, had begun to level his
revolver when one Of his COM
panions knocked it aside.
Don't be a fool!" said one Of
the men hoarsely.
For men in their positions it
was bad technique to commit
another murder. Their sole OBJ
ject now was to escape as
adroitly as possible. One Of
them closed the door, leaving
Cavanaugh standing alone in
the office where a moment be-
fore the living Kruger had
faced him.
"Pn have to get out Of here
ct once" Cavanaugh said silent
" to himself, cor I'll be ar
rested"
In a daZed way he was aware
Of what had happened. Kruger
had burst in upon the scene Of
crime and his life had paid the
penalty. Cavanaugh looked
about him. A glittering some
thing on the floor attracted his
eye. It was the cheap revolver
dropped by Kruger.
There was no belief in his
mind that Kruger was merely
wounded-alive and still a
menace. The single bullet had
spoken with the voice Of death.
Cavanaugh felt this inwardly,
knew it to be true beyond per-
adventure. The word Death
rang through his mind like the
tolling of a bell. Karl Kruger
q had gone and taken his sorry
tale with him.
Without hurrying Cavanaugh
let himself into the outer cor
ridor and closed the door be-
hind him. There in the back
part Of the theater he could
hear dimly the mechanical
dialogue of the characters on
the screen. The throb of his
pulse in his wrist was quite dis
tinct. His heart had a heavy
beating that was almost a jar.
The remarkable thing was
that he had escaped both Kru-
gers bullet and any implica-
ton in the murder. It remained
only for him to walk casually
back to the box and sit down
behind Leni Luneska. He needed
no alibi.
Relief For Leni
If anyone, by chance, should
inuuire-he had merely been in
the forecourt smoking a ciga-
rette. After all, he had had
practically nothing to do with
Kruger's death. Poor devil!
For an instant Cavanaugh
felt a wave of pity for the man
but Immediately it was engulfed
in a great feeling of relief for
Ieni's sake. For her the black
beast of fear had been killed.
It was a good thing, Cavanaugh
decided deliberately, that Kru-
ger was dead. By any process
Of human reasoning, the man
had forfeited all right to live.
At the bend of the corridor
Cavanaugh set foot on the first
step leading downward when he
almost bumped into a stocky
figure ascending.
Thus it came about that Tom
Mulrooney encountered-and re-
nembered- presence Of
Lucky Cavanaugh in a part Of
the theater where Cavanaugh
had no business to be.
This was important because
Mulrooney was head of the
city's detective force. A short,
wide-shouldered man with a
stubby red moustache and eyes
as blue and clear as a child's.
Cavanaugh, on his way to Leni
Luneska, would have passed
the detective with a nonchalant
salutation but Mulrooney, for
no apparent reason, insisted
upon stopping and shaking
hands.
"Well, well Lucky-it's good
to see you again." Mulrooney
said. "How did they treat you
at Caliente2"
'They got everything but my
tooth brush, as usual" grinned
Cavanaugh.
"That'S a smart story and
(cOntinued on End. Comic Pose)
SDinach Oaf