8
THE SUNDAY OIJEGOXIAX, PORTLAND, DECE3IBER 2. 1917.
av3 xi AaXiBDraCx VHt 3 xa Katharine Green.
11
J V
(Copyright Reserved, Paramount Pic
tures Corporation).
THE FLIGHT OF THE Fl'RY.
Episode Tit. 6.
FOR a. moment Tommy Hale, as .he
lay in the wreckage of the cellar
of the warehouse in, which he had
been held a prisoner by The Twisted
Thread, could not realize the signifi
cance of the tottering beam that hov
ered above him and Atmea Villon. He
could see that it was about to come
crashing down; in some odd fashion he
did. understand, did apprehend, that it
bore the threat. Indeed, the certainty,
of death, to him and the girl who had
risked her life to come to his aid.
But he was still hazy; his mind was
not yet adjusted to the comprehension
of things seen and heard. Then, sud
denly, he was aroused. He made a
mighty effort. Just in time he freed
himself from the debris that held him
down and began .to pull at Aimee's
shoulders.
Then he saw that a heavy beam had
fallen across her feet; he nulled at It
desperately. And, Just before the great
mass from above crashed down, he re
leased her she was covered with the
new dust caused by the descent of the
tveam. But it had missed her. If only
ty tncnes. And, exhausted by his ef
fort, he collapsed again, and lav still.
Some time later he stirred again, and
roused himself. Aimee lay still beside
him, breathing heavily; a sudden panto
gripped him. She might be she-must
be! badly hurt. And he was lying
mere supine, instead or straining1 everr
nerve, making every effort to carry her
to safety outside to reach, with her,
a place where she might have care.
tne meaicai attention that was vitally
necessary, as she could see. He pulled
himself to his feet; discovered that,
though he was stiff and sore, though
every bone and muscle in his body pro
tested against the imposition of any
movement, he was, uninjured. He
groped about In the darkness of the
cellar, trying to find some means of
egress.
There wan only the faintest light.
But it was enough to show him that
escape by means of the stairs down
which he had been carried as a pris
oner was blocked. The stairs had been
smashed to pieces in the explosion that
had wrecked the building; indeed, the
whole street floor perhaps the whole
house seemed to have crashed down
into the cellar. As he moved about he
had to climb over heaps of debris. But
at last he spied another way out. Pick
ing up Aimee he shouldered her, and
began to make his way, slowly and
painfully, up an incline formed by
heaps of masonry and rubble that led
to a sort of trench, exposed to his view
by the destruction of the blast.
The going was hard and painful. He
had to stop often to rest. But he was
making progress; he guessed that the
explosion had opened a way into the
ditch that was being dug for the new
subway. Indeed, as he advanced, he
could hear noises from the streets: the
sounds made by workingmen outside,
who might well, he guessed, be striving
desperately to clear away the wreck
ace to see if any living victims of the
explosion remained, and, if there was
none, to find what bodies might lie hid
den in the ruins. He could guess his
father's anguish the desperate efforts
he must be making to solve the riddle
of the fate of his son and ward, who
must be, in his eyes, the victim of the
strange and terrifying attack that was
being made upon him by The Twisted
Thread.
But Just as he thought he was about
to win through Tommy came to an ob
stacle too great for him to conquer.
Before him loomed a solid pile of ma
sonry and shattered brick not to be
scaled, not to be penetrated, except
with the aid of tools stronger than his
bare hands.
So great was the reaction from the
hope he had experienced that Tommy,
for a minute, was unable to conceive
of going back and making another at
tempt in a different direction. He sat
down and abandoned himself, for the
first time, to despair. And that moment
of surrender saved him.
Through the wall that barred his
way he heard a sound of hammering.
And then two voices:
"No use, Jim! There can't be any
one in there! Better chuck it and try
somewhere else, hadn't we?"
"Pure, we're Just waiting time here!"
-N'o, no keep on help we're here!"
Tommy screamed, at the top of his
lungs. And with his bare hands he
began beating against the wall. For a
moment there was silence on the other
side. It might have been a silence due
to stark amazement it might have
meant. that the rescuers, suiting their
actions to their words, had already
gone on to join men working else
where. But in a moment a shout came
In answer to Tommy's call.
"All right we heard you! "We'll get
you hold on till wo come! "W'e won't
ho long, now that we know you're
there!"
"Hurry, there's aslrl here who's been
-ad.ly hurt!"
But there was no answer- save the
ring of picks and) the ripping and tear
ing of crowbars thrpugh the rubble.
As if he could really help Tommy
worked, with his bare hands but not
for long. For soon, incrediblv soon.
really age-long as the time seemed to
Tommy, a pick came through within
a minute there was opened an aperture
wide enough to permit Tommy to hand
Aimee's unconscious form through to
the hands waiting eagerly to receive
her. Then he was dragged . through
himself, and in a minute he was fol
lowing the men. who carried Almee to
the street. His father, tears in his
eyes, was waiting; the police were
formed in line to keep back the curious
crowd.
lAt tho curb-an. ambulance waited, and
a white-coated) surgeon made a swift
and curspry examination of Aimee.
"We'll rush her to the hospital I
can't teLl here Just what's the matter,"
ho said. "It may be simply a shock
or there may be some internal injury."
"Isn't it possible for her to be as well
cared) for at home as in a hospital?"
asked Graham Hale. "I want to get
her back under my roof " '
"AH right." said the surgeon, nod
ding.1 "We'll run her out in the am
bulance for you although it's not
strictly according to regulations. Still.
I think we can. stretch a point in this
case."
Tommy Hale and Ms father made the
trip in. the ambulance with Aimee. She
lay, white and. still, pitifully frail. And
the surgeon, looking at her, shook, his
head.
"I don't know," ho said. "It looks
to me as if she had succumbed, to a
sort pf cumulative, attack upon her
nerves. But I really can't say a thing.
"Vou'll have your own doctor ready."
"I telephoned to him to go direct to
the house," said Hale. "It's Dr. O'Con
nor " ,
"You couldn't have a better man,"
salfl the surgeon, nodding emphatically.
::He's first-class in every way. Well
I hope she'll be all right. She may
come out of this condition perfectly
well except for her exhaustion. You
can't tell. But an examination will
soon tell the story. I couldn't make it
back there, of course."
Tommy himself was almost ex
hausted. Coming on top of his desper
ate struggle and his miraculous escape
from death under the water, his experi
ence in the explosion, had nearly fin
ished him. But he was kept up by his
anxiety about Aimee.
The ambulance was driven as fast as
consideration. 1 or-4hei patient -would, -al-
X' ' i
it
low, its bell clearing all traffic away
before it. And it was not long before
Graham Hale's home was reached. Dr.
O'Connor was waiting', and. with him, in
a pitiable condition of anxiety, was
Hugo WaldX Aimee's tutor, whp had
cared for her in. the interval between
her father's death, abroad, and. her safe
delivery into the hands of Graham
Hale, who had, in. fulfillment of her
father's dying wish, assumed the care
of the girl and. her fortune.
Tommy stared curiously at . Wald.
Even in his own tense state he was
able to observe the other man. Ami
Wald's actions confirmed a suspicion
Tpmmjr had been, entertaining with in
creasing strength for some time. The
man was in love with, Almee. His eyes.
his trembling hands, his face, working
nervously as he staredi at her limp form
being carried; up the steps, all spoke
eloquently for his repressed passion.
"How did this happen?" he asked
Tommy, his voice hoarse.
Tommy shrugged his shoulders.
"I'll try to explain it all later." he
said. "Just now I want to hear what
Pr. O'Cpnnor has to say about Almee.
I can't talk until I know the verdict."
There was a time of anxious waiting.
At last Dr. O'Connor, looking grave
and deeply concerned, came down to the
library, where Tommy, hiafather, and
Wald were waiting.
"I'm not prepared to be very defi
nite," said the doctor. "Miss Villon is
in a coma. It may be simply sheer
nervous exhaustion. , But what I fear
is some brain lesion. It is impossible
t,o give a final verdict tonight. She
must be kept absolutely quiet she
must 'be guarded- against any shock.
When she regains consciousness, as she
may do at any moment, even though
for the briefest flash, nothing nrvust dis-.
turb her or trouble her."
"Her maid is devoted to her," said
Mr. Hale. "She will see to it that
everything is done as you wish."
"Good! I think yes, on the whole,
I shall ask you to put me up for the
night. The case is obscure. I shall
feel more at "ease If I am close at hand
in the event of any sudden change. You
understand it may be that I am tak
ing the whole case much more serious
ly than the facts warrant me ini doing.
But I prefer to be over-cautious "
"By all means," said Mr. Hale. "Tom
my will you see that they make ar
rangements to make Dr. O'Connor com
fortable for the night? Tell them to
make a room ready as near Aimee's as
possible."
Wald paced the room nervously. And
Dr. O'Connor, looking at Graham Hale,
frowned.
"You don't look any too fit your
self," he said. "I think it's a good
thing I'm here. I'll have a look, at you,
too. I think I told you three months
ago that you'd have to begin to take
things more easily, didn't I? You're
not so young as you were. I don't ad
vise any abrupt breaking off of work
and any sudden change in habits of
long standing1 that has killed a great
many American men of affairs. But
there's a happy medium between that
sort of thing and the way in which a
lpt of you big business men work your
selves into your graves."-
"It's not business that's been worry
ing me of late, doctor," said Graham
Hale. He sighed. "This my ward's
condition is not the result of an. accl
dent."
The doctor looked up, startled.
"I might as well tell you the story,'
said Mr. Hale. "
And he did. He recited, calling upon
Hugo Wald for help from time to time,
the series of events that had shattered
the peace of his household since the
arrival of Aimee Villon, from abroad.
"For years this organization. The
Twisted Thread, has threatened me," he
said. "I took its threats as a Joke at
first, tvery rich man becomes accus
tomed to the receipt of threats and let
ters hinting at blackmail. But, grad
ually, the persistence of these particu
lar threats and warnings got on my
nerves.
"And then, on the very day that my
ward arrived from abroad, a new note
was struck. The warnings had. been
vague for years. On that day I was
warned that the first blow was immi
nent. It was not conditional. No way
was pointed out in which I might avert
it no demand was made. And that
night my vault, in the basement of this
house, was blown open and valuable
papers were stolen. An attempt was
made to carry off Miss- Villon. At
tempts have been made on my son s
life. My submarine Invention has been
turned to the account of this gang of
desperadoes in his effort to defeat
them my sod was caught, and only a
I" f
-
j el
K
miracle defeated their attempt to mur
der him.
"It seems that it is not my life they
seek. They might have killed me a
dozen times, I suppose. They prefer to
try to deprive men of my reason to
make my life hell upon earth. They
mark down for their vengeance, with
their damnable symbol, everyone near
and dear to me. They want to convince
those about me that I must be shunned
that it is as dangerous to have deal
ings with me as with a leper! O'Connor
how long can aman stand such a
strain?"
His voice rose. Wald looked at him
curiously; the doctor's eyes were grave,
and full of a deep concern.
"Steady, Mr. Hale," he said. "You're
playing into their hands, if you've stat
ed their purpose correctly. Keep a grip
on yourself. No one is solng to shun
you or, if they do, you're to be con
gratulated on discovering them in their
true colors. The way to save your
reason is to fight back at them to de
termine that you won't allow yourself
to be driven into the mental state they
are trying to induce in you."
"I believe it is a blackmailing
scheme, in spite bf 'all the appearances
to the contrary," said Wald, interrupt
ing. "These people realized that you
weren't the man, Mr. Hale, to yield to
any ordinary attack. And they may
have decided that it was better, from
their point of view, to reduce you to a
condition in which you would be dis
posed to accept any terms with them
at all."
"Do you know of any reason for such
a malicious pursuit?" asked the doctor.
"Have you any enemy sufficiently vin
dictive to explain the activity of this
gang?
I didn t know I had an enemy in the
world until this began," cried Graham
Hale. "So far as I know, I've played
fair all my life! No I can't think of a
soul who could have any reason, real or
fancied, for hounding me in this way."
If you wish to go up to your room
now. it is ready, doctor," said Tommy,
returning.
"Thanks I will, he answered. And
when he went out Wald, too, retired.
1
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i ' ' ,i.r!isrZ??.rrr.i.:r?y-:-:.'-i--
.... - v '
WOMEN HELP AMERICA IN GREAT WAR; MISS
' ANTOINETTE FUNK AIDS IN LOAN CAMPAIGN
Miss Sarame Reynolds, Virginia Beauty, Chosen Because of Her Dramatic Soprano Voice and Her Typical Rep
' resentation of American Womanhood, Sings "Star-Spangled Banner at Boston Grand Opera Performances.
m. ig. on-.. - .. . vaaa
1 J v v'C ) I I'V
J-f 'W J . n J I i
Warts O-f Jr-Sszc-& 7bacAxrzr. jYSse S&S'&ZJ7& JPeyj-racs.
Youngest Coo? of JCaj'se:
A STRIKING example of the value
of women in helping Amer
ica in the great war is Miss
Antoinette Funk, a member of the
woman's committee of the Coun
cil of National Defense. She is
executive vice-chairman of the woman's
liberty loan committee, of which Mrs.
McAdoo is the chairman. She was
asked to take the post by Secretary
McAdoo, because of her powers of log
ical appeal, her ability as a speaker
and her untiring activity in any work
connected with the great cause for
which America is fighting..
Miss Sarame Raynolds, the new
0
t
V
4 ' 4- ;
Graham Hale, disturbed in mind, too
nervous to think of sleep, stayed be
hind He was surprised, soon, to hear
a car drive up outside; in a few minutes
Tommy came in with two men Mr.
Hale had seen before representatives
of a detective agency which had done
a great deal of work for him.
"Good evening, Mr. Donovan." he
said to one. of them. "This is rather a
belated visit but if you bring news
you are more than welcome!"
"I think I do." said Donovan. "As
you know, I was disposed, from the
first, to take The Twisted Thread more
seriously than the police or some of
the older agencies. Well I have con
firmation of my Judgment now!"
"I think recent events have furnished
a very ample and sinister confirma
tion!" said Mr. Hale.
"Yes but I have something more. I
have a cable message from the Chief
Inspector at Scotland Yard, in London.
He acted upon a hint I was able to give
him and Scotland Yard has been trying
to run down the movements of a wom
an in "London who may prove to be the
secret leader of the whole movement."
"You mean the jnay be the Number
One who has been referred to in the
latest warnings and threats?"
"As to that I don't know. No I
think not, on the whole. I think. Num
ber One Is a recent arrival coming,
perhaps, direct" from headquarters
abroad. Number One, I should say,
must be a sort of executive head for
the active conspirators. I think it will
turn out that the identity of Number
One is as much a mystery to the gang
sters themselves as to us. That would
be in line with the practice of some of
the secret criminal, groups in Europe
particularly in Russia and Italy
And The Twisted Thread has taken
some of those societies as Its pattern."
"Do you think It is connected with
any of them?"
"Hardly. Their history Is usually
that of an organization formed. In the
beginning, for some good purpose.
Sometimes revolutionary groups, in an
oppressed country, formed a society
pledged to the destruction of tyranny.
The charter members are, -as a rule.
beauty, will sing "The Star-Spangled
Banner" at each performance of the
Boston Grand Opera Company this
season. It is an honor for which she
is peculiarily fitted, as she is descended
from American forebears of distinction
in political, financial and social life in
Virginia for generations. Her paternal
ancestor, Geoffrey Raynolds, settled in
Richmond County, Virginia, in 1666,
coming to America with others from
London to escape the plague. Miss
Raynolds was chosen by the Grand
Opera Company to Sing "The Star
Spangled Banner," not only on account
of her dramatic and beautiful soprano
"4 C.:'. As -;v.. , On
K:.w;v. ' - .
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If 7Wt i To"!" )
earnest, sincere patriots. Then self
seeking adventurers come in, get con
trol of (.he society, and use its power
una its ritual to gain tneir own enas.
They steal and lie and kill and levy
blackmail in the name of freedom of
patriotism, or whatever it may be, and
most of the members of the society are
their dupes, without any real under
standing of the purposes for which they
are being used and exploited.
"That's interesting." said Hale. "But
how about this woman in London? Who
is she? Have they run her down?"
"Not yet. As to her Identity she is
known as the Countess Lacalde. but
that means nothing. They have traced
her movements for several years under
half a dozen assumed names. The rea
son for suspecting her in connection
with the activities of The Twisted
Thread here is that she has been send
ing and receiving a number of cable
grams lately. They have been in a
curious code, which appears to be com
mercial, but is not. That is at first
sight, the messages look like ordinary
business messages. But they can't be
deciphered by the use of any of the
standard code books.
"The time of these messages coin
cides very closely with the various in
cidents in which you have been con
cerned. That might be Just a coinci
dence but, taken in conjunction with
certain other matters, which I won't
go into Just now, they seena to be sig
nificant. What I want is 'your author
ity to follow up this clue. The expense
mav be considerable Scotland Yard,
feeTTng that this is. in a sense, a private
matter, hesitates about incurring heavy
expenses "
"You have. carte blanche in spending
money I've told you that before," said
Graham Hale, vehemently. "My peace
of mind and the safety of those about
me do you think I'd hesitate at any
expenditure that would secure those?"
That's all I want, then." said Dono
van. "I shall send a man to london
tomorrow, on the fMt. liner,. to co-operate
with Scotland Yard."
"I only hope your clue may lead to
something." said Hale, eamBtly, as the
detective rose to go. "It s the first
jYsss rfj7?os7sZp SimX.
voice, but also by reason of ha splen
did representation of the highest type
of American womanhood. Her roles
this season are: Giulietta in "The Tales
of Hoffman" and Santuzza in "Cava
lerla Rusticana." It is also fitting
that Miss Raynolds give her initial per
formance singing the National hymn in
Baltimore, where our National hymn
was born.
The wife of Prince Joachim, youngest
son of the Kaiser, was formerly Prin
cess Marie Auguste von Anhalt- The
Prince is perhaps the best liked of all
the Kaiser's eons by the German people.
clearly definite one you or any of the
other agencies that are on the track of
The Twisted Thread have found that
Is certain, at least."
"We'll run them down," said Dono- i
van, confidently. "It can only be a
question of time, of course. No band' of
criminals can defy all the organized
power of the law Indefinitely. That's
been proved over and over again."
"A question of time!" Graham Hale
repeated, soberly. - "Yes but remember
that, as matters stand, time works for
them against us. They have come
close to final success once or twice al
ready. And I well. I'm an old man.
I can't stand a strain like this very
much longer. I can't sleep at night
I'm losing my appetite life is scarcely
worth living, under this constant pall
of anxiety and horror."
"We're doing our best, sir, Donovan
replied. "We're not leaving any stone
unturned, and we won't."
"I like Donovan," said Tommy, when
the detective had gone. "He impresses
me more favorably than any of the
people that are at work on the case.
The police lack imagination. They're
splendid for routine work. They re
brave, and they'll take any sort of
chance. When there's something defi
nite to be done you can't beat them.
But they can't compete with the Twist
ed Thread on Its own. ground- they
can't match wit with wit. cunning
against cunning."
"I'm disposed to trust Donovan my
self." said his father. "A woman in
London! Now why ? What reason
can any woman have for plotting
against me?"
Tommy hesitated.
"Dad " he said. "I don't want to
seem inquisitive. But aren't you keep
ing something back? Aren't there
things that prey on your mind that you
haven't told to me or to anyone else?
Sometimes I've -seen you looking over
papers old photographs bundles of
letters. I suppose I haven't any right
to ask questions. But I can't help be
ing curious and wondering whether,
perhaps, they might not have some
thing to do with this "
"No!" said Graham Hale. with
startling vehemence. "I can assure
you that there is no connection, that
there can be no conection, between
the papers you are thinking of, and the
chapter in my life that they concern,
and this persecution!"
"Well, if you're sure, of course." said
Tommy, dubiously, and as if he were
far from fully convinced.
"I am!" said Graham Hale. "And
It's not quite true that I have told no
one of those papers and the events that
they deal with. Tommy. My old
friend, Thornton Rayne, who was. as
much as myself an actor in those
events, knows the whole story. He has
seen all the letters. He is familiar
with every detail of the story a
wretched one, my boy."
"Where is Mr. Rayne V asked Tommy,
curiously. "I thought it strange that
he should disappear Just after we
chased the gang that blew up the vault
here! It seemed to me that so old a
friend would have been likely to stand
by you in a time like this."
"He was called to London, suddenly,
on urgent business." said Mr. Hale.
"You know that he has had to go
across four or five times a year for
many years. He hesitated arbout going
but his summons was imperative. I
couldn't let him stay here on my ac
count. There was nothing that he
could do, in any case."
"I suppose not. said Tommy. "And.
of course I didn't know he'd been
called abroad. That's a different mat
ter." "Go up to bed) and try to get some
sleep. Tommy," said his father. "You
can't help poor 'Aimee by staying
awake and worrying abput her. And
you must be utterly worn out. boy."
"I am when I stop to think about
it." said Tommy. "But how can I
think about myself? If Almee hadn't
gone rushing back to that horrible
place, after she'd escaped, because she
was afraid for me -! It's on my ac
count that she's lying there now '
Graham Hale sighed heavily.
"I know," he said. ''But try to rest.
We must keep ourselves in condition
these days. Tommy. We can never tell
at whaC moment, and from what direc
tion the next -blow will be launched.
Anything may happen, at any time. I
feel that we can trust no one that the
very people we least suspect may be
emissaries of The Twisted Thread."
Aimee lay stilK white and wan, be
neath her covers. From time to time
she stirred faintly in her strange sleep.
Sometimes her lips parted, and she
moaned, so feebly that scarcely a sound
was audible. Her maid; Marie, sat
watching, keeping a silent vigil. There
was a slight noise at the door, and
Marie, looking up. saw Hugo Wald.
His face was lined and there was agony
In his eyes as he pointed at Almee.
His lips framed a question voicelessly.
Marie shook her head, rose, and went
to the door to Join h"lm. I
"She hasn't moved." she said. "Not
really. She hasn't opened her eyes or
spoken a word. She moans a little,
sometimes, and I think she's trying to
say something some single word in
her sleep,"
"My God!" said Wald. "Marie she's
going to get well? When I think of
the danger she was in is still in! it
drives me mad!"
"Do you think of no one but her?
Marie demanded, angrily. "Do you
never remember that others, whom you
knew long before she came into your
life, have some claim upon you?"
He stared at her, bewildered, dazed.
Wald's mask was stripped from him by
the intensity of his feelings and his
terror for Almee. Anyone who saw him
now, as he stared at the unconscious
girl, must have penetrated his secret
his love for her. Marie, certainly, did
so. She turned upon him in a sudden
furv, drawing him Into the hall.
"Hugo!" she cried. "Has she be
witched you? Can you think of nothing
but her? Aimee always Aimee! How
about me? How about the work we are
pledged to do together the duties we
must not neglect?"
"You don't understand," he said, dully.
"You don't realize "
"I understand only too well!" cried
Marie. "You sneaklng.treacherous
beast! Oh I know she'jTyounger than
I, and better looking, too! But you
could admire me enough before she
came! You could fool me with your
lying promises beguile with your tales
of why we must wait before we could
be married! You could take everything
I had to offer and now you are getting
ready to throw me over for the first
pretty face that fascinates you!"
"Are you mad, Marie?" he asked her,
roused from his absent-mindedness. "Do
you realize what would happen if we
were overheard? I can't make love to
you here while you're supposed to be
Aimee's maid! What would be said and
thought?" ,
"Oh, you're ready enough with your
excuses!" ehe said, furiously. "But
you've fooled me for the last time! I'll
take care of myself now. And I can
tell you one thing, you credulous fool!
You'll never get her! She's in love with
young Hale, whether she knows it or
not!"
Black fury twisted Wald's features.
"You're lying!" he snarled. "They
don't know one another well enough
they haven't seen one another
enough "
"As if that made any difference!" she
said, contemptuously. "Love isn't a
matter of time." Then her mood
changed. Her anger, her bitterness,
faded. She flung her arms about him.
sought to draw him to her, to soften
him. "Hugo! Don't you know I love
you, dear? If I taunt you, if I say harsh
things. It's because I can't bear to see
you making a fool of yourself over that
doll-faced girl in there! What does she
know of love? How can a child like
that give you the love I give you?"
Be careful. Marie. he begged. It
was as if he saw that he must not go
too far. that if she were aroused she
might cast every scruple aside; might
defy every warning of prudence and
common sense. "You know we must
be on our guard here. If we were once
suspected our usefulness would be over.
And we have a great deal to do."
"I I'll try to be sensible. Hugo." she
said, trembling. "But It's fearfully
hard "
"Wash the tears from your face," he
id. "Make yourself look normal, in
case anyone comes in. I'll watch over
Almee while you're doing it."
A spasm of Jealous hate swept across
her features. But she said nothing, and
went to follow his suggestion. He went
into Aimee's room. Marie, a minute
later, peeping In, saw him there. In an
attitude that betrayed the abandonment
of his grief and fear.
"Fool!" ehe said, furiously. And then,
an Impulse came to her.
"I'll prove it to him!" ehe said. She
turned and went down the stairs. Oa
the way she met Tommy, ascending.
"Mr. Hale" she said.
"Yes!" he said, eagerly. "How is
Miss Villon? Has ehe come out of her
sleep? Is she better?"
"She's etlll asleep or unconscious,'
said Marie. "But she has stirred once
or twice. I think she's tried to say
something. But she could only manage
one word. I caught that by leaning:
over her, with my ear almost against
her lips. What do you suppose it was.
Mr. Hale?"
"I don't know," he said.
"Your name!"
Tommy's face was transfigured with,
delight.
"Really V he cried. "Oh "
"I wonder if I could look at her for
Just a momeiy he said, a moment
later. "I'd give anything Just to see
her "
"I can't see why you shouldn't," said
Marie. "Go in very quietly. But X'
know you'll be careful. You heard what
the doctor said '
Tommy and the maid went on to
Aimee's room. And Tommy, stealing
In. saw Hugo Wald, on his knees, his
arms spread over the covers, his head
bowed down. At the faint noise made
oy Tommy he started to his feet, but
he made no outcry. Tommy, startled
and displeased, nodded to him. and
crossed to the bed. He stared down at
Aimee. And she, as if she were con
scious, in some strange way, of his
presence, stirred. Her arm moved. He
bent low. Plainly, so distinctly that
Wald could hear as well as Tommy, ehe
spoke.
"Tommy!" she said. "Oh Tommy!"
Wald turned away. Marie could see
his features, distorted with Jealous
rage. Tommy could not. And he was
too utterly delighted to have noticed
anything. He turned and left the room,
dazed by his own Joy. He could read
only one meaning into that betrayal of
Aimee's thought of him.
He did not sleep, however. He lay
awake, thinking of Almee. praying,
hoping, that the morning would bring
encouragement. But. as the gray light
of the dawn was beginning to come
through his window, a scream aroused
him a scream from Aimee's room. He
dashed toward it. Marie, wailing,
passed him. He dashed in. Aimee lay
still. But it was as if she had sprung
up and fallen back. Her covers were
disarranged. A look of deadly fear was
on her faoe. On the floor was a
hideous mask.
His father and Dr. O'Connor came in.
The doctor, at a glance, went to work,
applying restoratives.
"She had some shock!" he said. His
eye fell on the mask. . "Good God! If
some one showed her that I'm afraid
It's hopeless!"
But Just then Aimee stirred. She
sat up.
"Thank Heaven!" said the doctor.
"The shock revived her Instead of kill
ing her as it might have done "
"He's gone!" said Almee, shivering.
"Don't let him come back! The man
the man with the horrible face I woke,
and saw him staring at me threaten
ing me "
Wald came in. sleepily.
"What's happened? Has anything
gone wrong?" he asked.
"No! Everything's all right!" said
Tommy, grimly. His eyes challenged
Wald's. And before their steady gaze
Wald's shifted and fell.
(Another Episode Next Sunday.)
rotate Bugs May End "War.
WASHINGTON. Nov. 20. The war
will soon be over. An Ohio man will
end It. He has suggested to U. S. Ma
rine Corps officials here that they di
rect their aviators to drop potato bugs
over Germany. He declares there are
no potato bugs in the Kaiser's realm,
and since the "spud" is absolutely es
sential to Germany's economic welfare,
the dropping of "Murphy destroyers
over the Rhine country would quickly
terminate hostilities. Simple. Isn't it?
Marine Corps officials think bo.
Sergeant's Size Handicap.
PHILADELPHIA. Nov. 20. Sergeant
Frank Montague, who is stationed with
the United States Marines at their
League Island camp, is 'peeved. The
sergeant weighs 360 pounds. Recently
he sent two khaki uniform blouses to
the laundry and they were returned to
him unwashed, with a notation on the
laundry slip which read: "We don't
lnunder wall tents."
A Stubborn Cough
Loosens Right Up
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To avoid disappointment ast your
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