If
RED CLOUD, NEBRASKA, CHIEF
i
t
r
it
The
-
"CLOSE CALL, PARTNER!"
SYNOl'SIS.-DIMIUIriH Die pros
pect of h itioiith'H visit to her
aiiHtoro mint, 1-ady Ilrytheu
Lumlio, ot Jervaulx abbey, unit her
cousin, Alexander Uimho, Almee,
vivacious daughter of thu Very
JloVerond Viscount Hcniopu, wan
Ucih Into tlio park, thcro eiicoun
torlng a strnugu youth. Ho laUKli
InKly Intioduees himself as "Hilly."
American. Tliu two rlilo on his
motorcycle, tho "Klylng Sphinx,"
nnil part. Willi llourrflna llerncrs,
her cousin, Alinru sets out fur Jcr
vuulx. She decides that (leorglna
Htmll Impersonate her ut Jorvuiilx,
uhlln ho oes on u holiday. Ueor
Klmi'ii horrlilcii protest Is umumiII
Iiik, Almeo ubuIii mcetH "Hilly,"
Ho tells her his nnmu Is Spencer,
ur.d bIiu gives hern uh Amy Hnooks,
ut present "out of u Job." Hilly
offers to tnlte her Into partnership
In kcIIIiik the Sphinx. In ti spirit
of mnilcuti adventure, she accepts.
Tho two proceed to tho town of
Btmihoe, taking separate lodKtnjjs
In Ivy cottage. That tilfslit Almeo
vIsIih (leorulnu n ml leurriH that thu
deception him not been dlHcovercd.
Hho compels CloorRlna to contlnuo
tho subterfuge. On u trial upln,
with Hilly, Almee almost collldos
with a currluKo In which aro her
aunt, Georgian mid Alexander.
Tho pair escape, unrecognized.
GeorKlnu lour mi that Lord Hcroopo
Is comlnp to visit Lady Krythoa
unit Is In hopeless bewilderment.
Whlla Almeo Is secretly visiting
UeorKlna at Jervaulx. tho p!aco Is
burglarized, Almeo escupes.
CHAPTER VIII Continued.
"Hut when I reached the open there
waa no one to liu Keen," pursued the
hutler, whose thnmt ached with the
effort to make his mistress hear;
"there wus, however, a dim light, n
mere glow, in one of the windows; I
shouted, asking whose it wub "
"Which window?" nskod Mr. Lambe
sharply.
"I am unahlo to Ray for certain
either her ladyship's or Miss Seroope's,
which Is next to It. Perhaps, If we
went out "
Lady Krythen Innnedlntely led tlie
wny through the front entrance.
"Tlicre is a light full on in one of
the moms now I" said Alexander.
"It Is Almee's room," said Lndy
Krythen. Like a thundercloud she.
swept upstairs and heat upon the door
of iter niece
"Almeo I Open the door. Why Is
your light on?"
"I I'm so frlKhtcnod, aunt 1" cried
h trembling; voice. "I dare not he In
tho dark I dare not."
"I cninVit iiear you 1" said Lndy Kry
thoa. "Have they c-cuught tho thieves?"
screamed the voice tragically.
"Cu light them?" snorted Lndy Kry
then, blinking the doorhandle. "Is It
toi.10
"There Was No One to Be Seen,"
1 sued the Butler.
Pur-
Hltely a mob of mcntnl deficients could
catch nnjbody? Nol"
I "Thank heaven 1" said Goorglnn with
an explosive gasp.
Lndy Krythen started,
"Kr! What are you talking about J
Will you open the door or not!"
"I'm frightened, aunt! I I I"
Ceorglnn's voice rose to a shrill whoop.
CHAPTER IX
"Marvelousl"
Lady Krythen recoiled. There were,
after all, enough hysterics In the house
already. Kvldently nothing was to be
learned from her niece.
"(io hack to your bed and don't be
Billy. There Is no danger," snapped
Lady Krythen. The sharp whirr or a
motor on tho drive, below drew her
attention, and she hastened down
stairs. The car drew up at tho entrance
with n Jerk and ejected three police
men; a constable, a sergeant and In
spector I'anko of Stnnhoe, a man of
enormous energy for his bulk, with
thick black eyebrows and a singularly
bitter expression. Ho ran up the
steps, but lieforo be could open his
mouth Lady Krythen forestalled him.
"You are wnsting your time hero!
po ut onco In chase of a motorcycle
Chat got nwn.v ten minutes ago by the
.gtonhoo road!"
"X Tiotorcyclol" exclaimed the In
mpp
Joy
By Sidney Gowing
Illustrations by Ellsworth Young
Copyright 1922 by
spector almost Joyously, as one who
seems his theories confirmed. "Ser
geant, get after them at once In the
ear lithe i'olson with you. As we
didn't meet them they must hnve
taken the branch lane at the cross
roads away with you, man quick 1"
"I shall consider no reward too
great, If my emeralds are recovered !"
exclaimed Lady Krytho, as the car
drove away. "Do you think your men
will be successful, Inspector? My but
ler allowed the malefactor to slip
through his fingers I41 the most fatu
ous milliner. Can you "
"One moment I" interrupted tho In
spector. "The thieves were seen then,
by your ladysblp'H servants! Wns one
of them a woman?"
He had to bawl the question into
Lady Krythen's ear-trumpet, which
Alexander brought. When she under
stood, Lndy Krythea's eyes Hashed
fiercely.
"'esl" she exclaimed, "a young
woman. You suspected it woman then
before you came here?"
"I do more than suspect, my lady,"
said Inspector I'anke grimly. "I
know !"
"Who wns tills woman, Inspector,
and when do you propose to appre
hend her? We have 11 piece of the
creature's skirt 1"
"Hah! let me see It at oncel" said
the Inspector, his eyes lighting up. It
was brought to Mm and Its capture ex
plained. Inspector I'anke examined
the yard of cloth, tried its strength,
rubbed it, held It up to the light,
peered keenly at the torn edges.
"Hood!" he said under his breath,
and turned upon Mr. Lnmbc so sharp
ly thnt that gcntlcmun jumped. "Your
telephone, sir where Is it?"
"Who Is the abominable creature?"
exclaimed Lady Krythen. "And why
Is she at large, n scourge upon the
country,, breaking Into"
"She won't scourge It much longer,"
said the Inspector grimly. "I'll very
soon give your ladyship news of her
I want the telephone, quick!"
"This way," said Mr. Lnmbe, nnd
led him to the call-room. Inspector
l'unkc remained at the Instrument n
considerable time, llo emerged trl
umphnnt. "If they get nwny now well, mny
I never handle another case," he said
quietly to Mr. Lambe. "I can't an
swer questions at present, sir; I've
got to get busy. If 1 might suggest
that you induce her ladyship to retire,
and come round with me yourself
It hampered me a bit, that ear-trumpet,
and we've got to be quick you
can explain to her nfterward."
Alexander wns successful In per
suading his aunt to retire from the
Held, though she .went breathing
threats of vengeance, and mourning
iiloud for the emeralds. Inspector
I'unko made a rapid examination of
the safe, tho wall beneath Lady Kry
thea's window, and the ground out
side. He took a full description of
the missing Jewels, and briskly ques
tioned the servants.
"I've only tluiu to say this, sir, be
fore I go," be said, turning to Mr.
Lambe. "I recognize the work of
.luck the Climber In this case, as plain
ly as if they'd left thu name written
on the wall! It was him and Calam
ity Kate. I thought for a moment It
might ho Ilender Williams, who was
released from Portland last mouth.
Hut it's undoubtedly .luck's Job. For
some months past a series of daring
burglaries have occurred at country
houses In various parts of Kngland,
nnd, so far, I'm bound to say they've
beaten us; no arrest has been made.
The methods of the thieves are so
similar In eacli case, that it is clear
to an expert all these Jobs were dono
by the same person or, rather, two
persons, a man and a womnn. The
man, besides being as smart a hand at
cracking a safe as ever lived, seems
to liavo tlie training of n steeplejack
as well. He can climb anything that
11 Ily could get a foothold on; In fact,
he's known as the Climber.
"Tlie woman, If anything, Is innro
dangerous than tho man. All that's
known of them Is that they're prob
ably foreigners .some say Americans
and that they use a motorcycle when
they're urn the Job.
"Hrlelly, what happened here Is
this: Tlie man got in through Lady
Krythea's window. There's the marks
of him on thu wall. He might have
got In still easier by the next one,
where thu veranda Is. Hut be went
in through her ladyship's bedroom."
Mr. Lnmbo's eyes met those of the
Inspector; the same thought passed
between them; whatever might be
snld of .lack the Climber's moral char
acter, bo was a bravo man.
"And so to her anteroom, and
opened the safe without waking her
of course, she's pretty deaf. The bur-glar-alnrni
didn't go till he'd done It;
and for that matter all these precau
tions of her ladyship's are simply
bunco; tho house is an easy Job for
11 cracksman. .Tack got away by the
same road lie cniue, and he only thing
that puzzles me Is why Kate had to
bolt for It downstairs. It Isn't usual
for her to bo In tlie house at all we
believe her Job Is helping her partner
, up 'and watch-keepIUB outside.
of Livin
Sidney Cowing
"However, there it Is. And this lilt
of blue cloth, sir." concluded Inspector
I'anke, holding it up, "is going to put
Calamity ICate In my hiinds."
He folded the torn fragment of
cloth, put it In ids pocket, and moved
briskly to tlie door. "Goodnight, sir!
Iteforo very long I'll show you the
rest of this skirt nnd its owner!"
CHAPTER X
Action and More.
Wily Spencer, sitting In his austere
ly furnished bedroom, looked unusu
ally thoughtful. The night was still
young, but ids cnndlo wns not lit. The
whole house, Indeed, was in darkness.
There Were Five Little Shoe Prints
-Visible,
He snt on the window sill nnd stnred
out Into tho night. At Inst he wan
dered bnck to the bedside, his hands
thrust In his pockets.
"Tho partner," he said pensively,
"has got something on her mind. A
fellow doesn't need any X-rnys to see
that."
Ills lips curled down nt tlie corners.
"I'd glvo a lot to know what it Is.
I hate to seem Inquisitive. Hut I'd
bate n lot worse to have anything hap
pen to the partner. An' I can sure
smell trouble coming. She doesn't
fenr mnn or devil. Hut thnt Isn't al
ways goln' to help n girl. There's
times when It's more useful to call up
a husky with big feet like me.
"She'd sure be mad If she thought
I was Interfering. And she can get
mad the partner. (See! but she's
great ! The dinkiest tiling that ever
happened. Hut I don't like the way
things aro framing."
He stood for a while, as If listen
ing; then sighed nnd lay down on the
bed, fully dressed. In twenty seconds
lie wus asleep, breathing regularly and
easily.
It was n doglike sleep, of which
some men hold the faculty, and very
doglike was the manner In which Hilly
roused himself some hours Intor. In
a moment he wns broad awake, and
swinging his legs olT the bed, sat lis
tening with cocked ears. He moved
swiftly to the window nnd peered out.
There was nothing to be seen. Hilly
remained w here ho wns for some sec
onds, till ids senses alert. Then, with
n gesture of decision, he snntched up
his cap, heaved himself out of the
window, and climbed down the trellis.
He came silently under Almee's
bedroom window, glanced up at the
open casement, took n little nickel
torch from his vest pocket, and bent
down. Shading thu glow with his
hand, ho examined the soft soil be
neath the window. There were five
unmistakable neat little shoe-prints
visible; the first, pnlr deep nnd point
ing Inwards to tlie wall, tho others
leading outwards.
Hilly at once ran noiselessly round
to the garden gate and peered up and
down the lane. No one visible. He
returned quickly, got a rako from the
shed, and carefully raked over the
footprints; also those beneath his own
window. Then ho Hindu for the gate,
and, after a moment's thought, un
locked the shed where the Klying
Sphinx reposed. He wheeled the
cycle out, freeing tho engine, nnd tip
toed softly down the path with It.
Not till he was clear of tho lane
and well out on the high road did Hilly
start the Sphinx, and then only at a
very gentle pace. At an easy seven
miles 1111 hour ho ambled along the
road, beading for Jorvnulx abbey.
It would huve surprised Almeo
Seroopo considerably hud sho guessed
for one moment bow far Hilly was
abreast of affairs. Tho carefree, In
souciant Hilly, who seemed to live for
nothing hut tho Sphinx, was Infinitely
moro wideawake than people gave
him credit for. Tho cool blue eyes
missed very little; tho brain behind
them was able to connect fucts to
gether shrewdly,
1 ill fcfJ II " 1 ri ij 1 ijf yf j TZPB
Almee had not the faintest suspl
clon thnt anybody at Ivy cottage knew
she had made an unconventional exit
by the window the night before. Hilly,
however, was perfectly well aware of
the fact. Karly that same morning,
before setting off for Syderford, he
hnd observed the footprints beneath
her window, which, to a keen eye,
told plainly that Almee had dropped
from the trellis, and later on bad re
gained her room by tlie same path.
Clearly the partner hud made a mid
night excursion for n very dellnlto ob
ject; people do not roam the country
side In tlie small hours for nothing.
Thu incident of the carriage on the
Stunhoe road puzzled Hilly; be had
mentioned the carriage casually to
Mrs. Sunning saying nothing about
the collision and learned that it could
belong to none other than Lady Kry
then of .Tcrvnulx abbey. He wns told
n good dcnl about that establishment.
It was easier to start Mrs. Sunning
talking than to stop her.
Obviously, Amy bad something to
fenr from Jervaulx; something that
bound her to secrecy, and led her to
run risks. It annoyed Hilly that sho
should hnvo unythlng to fear what
ever. "Sometimes," snld Hilly to himself,
ns the lodge gates of Jcrvutilx came
in sight, "u l.oncho Ally with the
spring blood In her will get doln'
stunts an' gulloji'ng among the gopher
holes. When i..ey do that they're
liable to fall an' break n cannon-bone.
It's tho same with her. If sho doesn't
want me, why -1 e doesn't. Hut If she
docs, I'm goln.; to lie right there."
Ho dismounted some little distance
short of the park entrance. The dnrk
pile of the abbey was visible, a quar
ter of n mile ucross the grasslands.
Hilly paused nnd reflected. The
Journey could be nothing more than a
scouting expedition. He wished very
much that he bad been .closer on Al
mee's track's.
Just then ho observed n light flash
out in one of the abbey windows.
Faint, tlntlnnnbulatory sounds were
borne to 1dm upon the night breeze
the clanging of a bell.
Ho watched the house with nlert
and thoughtful eyes. In u few mo
ments two dim figures became visible,
moving swiftly. An imaginative on
looker might hnve thought them to be
goblins, gnmbollng across tho sward.
Hut they kept an uncommonly straight
line, crossing tho park and beading
for n point a few hundred yards to
Hllly's right. Two people running
swiftly.
Hilly followed them with his eyes.
The foremost was long-limbed, scud
ding along with giant strides. Tlie
other, close behind, moved no less
swiftly, but It wns n figure of nguo
outlines, nppurently wearing n clonk
or dust-coat. They vanished from
sight against tho park fence where
tho Inne turned.
"If thnt nln't n hold-up," snld Hilly,
stnrtlng away from the fence, "there
never was one yet!"
ho heard the cough nnd splutter of
n starting motorcycle under tnll trees
far up the lane. For one moment he
listened, than made n dnsh for the
Sphinx.
"A get-nwny !" said Hilly. "My Job !"
He threw bis leg over the Sphinx
nnd whirred off round the corner. He
lifted his chin nnd gave n Joyous
laugh, like tho bay of a hound. The
lust of the hunter was In his blood.
Tli? rider ahead, already aware that
he was being chased, let out his ma
chine at breakneck speed. The ray
from Hllly's lump showed him u man
crouching low between the handle
bars, bis arms spread like tho wings
of u lint. On tha pillion behind
crouched a small, muffled figure.
"fjlve up!" shouted Hilly, as he
overtook them. "You can't make It.
I've got you!"
A hand stretched out from the fig
ure on the pillion, and emitted a bark
ing Hash of lire. It dazzled Hilly for
tha moment. Something zipped
through his balr; automatically his
left hand tightened on tho valve-lifter
nnd the Sphinx slowed, allowing the
other cycle to shoot ahead.
Hilly made n lurid remark, and ut
onco Increased speed again to closa
with the fugitives. Itlght ahead the
lane forked on to tint main road, and
thither the driver of the other cycle
wns obviously heading. Hut tha lights
of n car were In sight, approaching
rapidly on thu road. The rider of the
cycle had evidently no ambition to
meet It: at the last moment be
swerved left and continued along tha
nnrrow lane.
Hilly laughed aloud.
"The guy's cornered himself!" he
thought. "He's taken the blind alley.
Mo for him !"
Tho lane was very rutty nnd unaven.
Thu cycle ahead had vanished round
a bend; Hilly, shutting off his engine,
swung round It Immediately nfter
ward. As bo did so he beard n crash.
Tho driver of the othar cycle, realiz
ing too late that ho was in a cul-de-sac,
had swerved, braked violently,
and eamo thoroughly to grief.
Hilly sprang from tho Sphinx, let
ting her fall on her side with the
headlight still glowing. Tha other
cycle lay prostrate; n small heap was
huddled bcsldo It on the grass.
Tho taller mnn, tho driver, was Just
staggering to his feet when Hilly ran
nt liliu. Tho cyclist whipped out a
repautlng pistol.
A gun, nt night, and In tho hands
U a shaken man, Is much less ccrtuln
thun n list with six feet of activity
behind It. Hllly's left dashed tlie pis
tol bund aside, the bullet spat lite
potently into the air, and his right
came with a terrific upper-cut beneath
tlie man's chin, lifting him off his feet
to fall inert.
As he enmo down, something
skipped and rolled away from him
nloiig the grass, In the ray of the
Sphinx's headlight. Willi the swift
Instinct for loot Wily pounced upon
It 11 sumptuous looking little ensa of
leather, with u clasp. Wily .thrust it
In his pocket and turned to the fallen
mail, who Jay with closed eyes and
his head moving faintly from side to
side.
"Mighty slow with a gun," said
Wily, stooping over him. "I'm going
over you for tho rest of tli 3 goods,
Hud."
A moan from the other malefactor,
lying by the fallen cycle, Interrupted
him. So pathetic and treble n moan
was It that Wily started and Jerked
himself upright, staring.
"Lordy!" he gaspad, with remorse
and concern. "It's n woman I"
The discovery was disconcerting
enough. Hut u" thought shot through
his brain that nearly paralyzed Hilly.
What womnn wns It?
Ho hurried to her side. She had
already raised herself on one bund
and seamed trying feebly to get up.
Wily stooped over her.
"Much hurt?" ho stammered.
"Here"
At thnt moment tho fallen driver
recovered and stirred. Wily turned
his bend toward him, with a quick
Instinct th danger lay closer at
bund.
The woman's hand wns grasping n
stone, and, as Hilly turned, she
brought her arm round with n sweep,
swift ns a striking snake. The chunk
of rock crashed full on the side of
Hllly's head. Ho fell ns an ox fulls,
and lay still.
Tho woman staggered to her fct
nnd ran to her prostrate companion.
"lie's got his!" she panted. "You
hurt, Jnke?"
She helped the man to rise. He
stood dazedly for a moment; the spi
nal Jar from n knock-out uniLv the
point of the chin Is terrific, but evan
escent. "Look lively nn' beat it!" gasped
the woman, hauling the motorcycle
upright with surprising ease. "See If
tho bulglne'll run we'll have the cops
here next I"
"Got to settle with him!" said the
mnn thickly, glnnclng at the prostrate
Hilly.
"He's nil In, I tell you. Get her
going 1"
The mnn wrenched tha motorcycle
round, nnd fumbled nt the feed nnd
controls with Korvous fingers. While
ho did so tho womnn snatched up an
other stone, nnd, running to the
Sphinx, hammered on tho anglne nnd
the levers. She hnd denlt tjirco or
four lusty strokes when tho other
motorcycle enmo spitting nnd wob
bling past her. The womnn ran to
It and swung hcrs3lf up deftly behind.
"Let her out. We'll clear yet !"
The motorcycle, coughing nnd miss
ing fire badly, trundled bnck down the
lane tho way It bad come. Jack the
at ; ifiiHiHi
9 S 1 1 11! PllfMT giyjU II i I nihil ill I
He Fell as an Ox Falls.
Climber leaned to the hnndli-bars,
Calamity Kate, her arms tight round
him, settled herself on the pillion.
Together they whirred awuy Into the
darkness.
CHAPTER XI
Confession.
It wns very dnrk and vary quiet at
the lane's end when Hilly nt last
stirred, and, after an Interval of
slowly returning consciousness, man
aged to raise himself dizzily to a sit
ting position.
Ho pressed his hands to thu side
of his head and remained for awhile
motionless, conscious of a damp
warmth under his left palm. Ills eyes
dwelt on a white, chalky stone, as
big ns a doubled fist, thnt lay on the
grass beside him. Events began to
reconnect theinselvjs In ti brain thnt
still buzzed faintly.
"A granlto skull," murmured Wily,
not without n touch of pride, "isn't
altogether a disadvantage In an argu
ment." Ho looked about him thoughtfully.
Not fnr nwny something gleamed In a
rut a small repenting pistol. His
Into opponents hnd evidently left In
too much of n hurry to take nn In
ventory of their effects,
"She must have dropped that when
the mnchlno crashed," thought Wily.!
"She loosed It at me when I was riiV
Ing up. Lucky for me she hudn't it
Junt now. Some girl!"
Ho heaved himself to his feet un
steadily, made for 11 ditch where ,
there wns a glitter ot witter, and
bathed tha tender side of Ids head.
The water revived him; save for a
cut tinder his lmlr, no serious damage
was done, though the blow might
easily have cracked 11 weaker skull.
"1 don't see that I shine much, o jr
this Job," said Hilly despondently;
"they sure bunded It to me. Got right
under my guard. Never thought of 11
woman sharing In n hold-up; an' yet I
guess It's been done before."
Hj picked up the pistol, wns nbout
to pocket It, but altered his mind and
Hung it In the ditch. The other auto
matic waa nowhere to b"o seen. Hilly
walked towards the Sphinx, the bend
lamp of which was now in darkness.
His baud swung against n large lump
projecting from the sld of his cont.
ho halted and dragged out the leather
case. Wily had forgotten Its exist
ence. "Why, here's something saved from
the wreck I" ha exchilmed. "They
couldn't huve seen me got It I"
Ho dropped on one knee, opened' tho
case, ami switched the little electric
torch over It.
Wily gave n stifled gasp. On n bed
of crcnin silk velvet reposed u neck
lace of amethysts, ending In u loop
of nine superb amerulds that shone
with changing green Hres under tho
torch's glow. Hilly was not an expert
In gems, but bu guessed that tlieso
were such as u prince might be proud
to own.
"This Is tha darnedest game I ever
was up against," he said dazedly, re
turning the case carefully to his
pocket.
He made a rapid examination of tha
Sphinx, nnd nt onco became awnro
of Calamity Kate's handiwork. la
splto of tho best Intantlons, however,,
that enterprising lady had overesti
mated the vulnerability both of Hllly's
skull and l;ls motorcycle She hud
done soniQ damage, but hnd missed
the more vital parts of tha Sphinx.
After ten minutes' work Hllly's ca
pable bauds restored the machine to
fair running order, and he rode nwny
down the Iiino. Hoth lumps were out
of action.
Any further pursuit of the thieves
he put nsldo as 11 useless proposition.
He had a 11guo iden that they had
gone hours ago; In fact, however, he
hail not been unconscious more than
a few minutes.
"There's only ona thing to do," said
Hilly, "an' that's"
A disconcerting thought flnshed
through his mind. The bumping of
the Jewel-case against his side sug
gested It.
"Gee!" he murmured, "I'm Little '
Hoy Hlue, all right. Hut if I wus to S
run against the cops now, It'd tnlca
a heap of explanation before they
slugged me. t My story'd look pretty
thin. Jewel-case motorbike It only
wants one Item to complete the out
fit 1"
Ho turned on to the high road, rap
idly resolving on n plan of action as
ho rode. It was a good plan, but n
few moments later It was hopelessly
upset again, ho was, as It happened,
nearer to Stnnhoe than to Jervaulx
ubbey, and ns ho turnad In the direc
tion of the latter Hllly'became awaro
of someone running toward him along
the road a dark figure, with a pe
culiar moving gleam of whiteness
about It. He stopped the Sphinx im
medlataly nnd thrust out Ids feet to
steady himself. ,
The dark figure checked In its
stride, besitnted, anil seemed about
to bolt back again.
"Partner !" cried Hilly In amaze
ment. "Is that you?"
The raply wns a wild gasp. Almee.
breathless, muddy, with an appre
ciable breadth of white cambric show
ing ut tlie base of her skirt, rushed
up to him nnd seized bis arm.
"Wily! Oh, I'm so glad I'm so
glad!" she punted. "Wily, I I'm In
an awful mess! Tho absolute limit r
"How! Why?"
"I was in a house and It was
burgl ad" gulped Almee, struggling
for breath "they thought it was me
and I scooted they're chasing me."
It was not a vividly lucid explana
tion. Hut Hllly's intelligence depart
ment connected wit 11 it nt onco; Ik
supplied the missing factors. Hefora
lie could answer, a pair of light
Unshed Into view far down the road,
approaching at speed.
"Car!" exclaimed Almee, and witb
a note of panic "Wily, supposo it's
police? If so, they'll be looking for
me!" She made a dash for thu pil
lion of the Sphinx. "Got mo out of
this, Wily start her quick!"
"Not on your llfo!" said Wily swift-
1. i.'nii,.,! ,1... 1...... .1.1
it. xiuii.- im- Hioi iiiuig on earth , I
for you now. Come with me." tl I J
Hi. ...,. I. ....I. !r... . 1. .... 1
...- ...ivu in,) j ill US illOllg tl(5
road to a field gate. In a few mo
incuts bo bad it open, thrust thu
Sphinx through, let bar fall behind
the hedge, nnd dragged Almee with
him Into tho ditch. They had hardly
gained that cover when the ear swept
by with a roar, showing a glimpse of
police helmets scudding past the low
rampart of thorn ranee. Tho nmjcstv
of law and order, sweeping Inoxornhfv
through the night. A rattle, n boot,
and It wns-gono.
In tho ditch there was painful .
Icnce. Hilly mechanically ft.t j,j3
bulging pocket, glunced for n moment
nt tho Sphinx, and then starad blankly
at Almeo.
"The Iden ," continued
Almee, "that I've lost my char-acter."
(TO UiZ CQXTIXVKDA
!),
a
i