EPISODE XO. IX
CToprrlxtX. 11S. Paramount rictam Car-
GRAHAM HA Li: listened with rMiC
Bmtloa to his loni tory of the
" robberr in the private car. by
iceaoi of which The Twisted Thread.
th orsaniution which, .after threat-enlrva-
him fur years, had of late been
trikitig opa olows at him. had se
cured certain papers so Important that
he had taken every Possible means to
a'D them safe.
"They cam through from the other
sr. lad. said Tommy. Almea and I
ir snttlns; there, talking and then
omethint; hit me on the head and I
went down and out! That's all 1 can
remember until I woks up
"And then T
"I ws In the road, beside the rail
way track, and the chap you saw. the
one wno oroucht me home, was wash
ier my forehead and trvlnr to siraiarht-
a me out. l asked him about Almee
he was the first thine I thought about,
of course! And I told you. He said
abe d son off with his friend. Mr. Car
ter1 he's the Trillin Carter we know.
Oad. the on who's vice-president of
the railway chaslnr the train! Of
course, she's probably ail right, if she's
with ilr. Carter
"Of course I'm all rlrht!" cried
Alme herself, appearins; In the door.
"And so are the papers! Her they
are. Tommy!"
"For heaven's sake!" cried Tommy.
"Almee you really aot them!"
Now It was Aimee's turn to tell her
story, and she did describing the wild
chase along" the rails after the speed-
Ins" train. iu the stranre episode she
bad been Just In time to see the rob
bery of the orla-tnal robbers by another
et of thuca.
"I don't understand that." she said.
But. after all. as Ions; as we've Rot
inem back, it doesu i matter much.
does Itr
"Of coarse not." said Graham Hale.
He was up his Improvement In the
last two days had been rapid, although
Ir. O'Connor was still concerned about
his condition. "Almee. my dear It was
a lucky day for us when you came to
live with us! But It was rather bard
oa you you've been plunged Into the
very midt of ail our troubles. The
Twisted Thread hasn't been content
to make war on me and my own family
-It has dracred you In. as welL"
I m ;!ad to be one of you." said
Almee. Sh flashed a tender, meanins;
look at Tommy, who flushed, delicbt-
fuLy. W hen my father died I had no
veopt left and you took me In and
treated me as If I'd always belonged to
you! Wky shouldn't 1 share your trou-
b!eT-
"Go and rest, now." said Graham
Hal. "You're; tired out. Almee and
there are limits to your endurance, even
though you may not reaJtse that your-
e'r.
"I am t ! re d." s h e confessed. "Tommy
your lurt you feel all right?"
"Tee I'm perfectly all rlshl!" he
aid. "Oo and rest, dear."
There was. as yet. no definite etv-
srageraent between Tommy and Almee.
bat they understood on another very
welL And the look la Tommy' eyes
as they followed Aim from tn room
W as iouent of his feeling.
Hello her comes Mr. Kayn. h
aid to bis fathsr. He had gone to the
window, and could s bis father's old
friend approaching. "I'll tell them to
end him In."
Thornton Kayn cam tn. and Tommy.
after a moment, left the two older men
together. Kayn was Graham Hal'
Ideal friend: he alone. Tommy knew,
was acquainted with the contents of
the paper Uraham Hal guarded so
Jealously. Tommy left them to talk.
But la a moment he was called to the
door, lie rev-ognlsed the man who had
asked for hlra: he was a detective, em
ployed by the Ionovan agency, which
was Uraham Hs'e's chief reliance In his
Strug; with Th Twisted Thread and
th search, which had proved unavail
ing so far. for th mysterious and for
midable "Number On under whose
order th gang of criminals operated.
"WelL Simpeon? swld Tommy.
"I'm the operative who was on th
trail of th man who fired that shot
tsHo the telephone In Philadelphia the
Cher Bight with th Idea or shock
ing yoir father by a sudden nois in
bis ear." said Simpson, "iv been
trailing him ever since. I'v reason to
believ h's In th house her now."
"Wbatr Tommy started. "la the
.bouse? Impossible!"
"Nothing's Impossible you get to
iearn that In my business." said rUmp
son. sen tenuously. "Can I com In? I'd
like to make ra pinch"
"Cora In of cours!" said Tommy.
"Put I can't lroaatn who It is your
after"
Just then Thornton Rayn cam down
th sxalrs. And f impson. with a cry of
tyiomph. leaped toward him.
"Her my man!" b cried.
But Rayn was too swift for what
r action SlmpsAn meant to tak.
"VWih. a sjiaU biov b tUd htm; he
Mil1 !& f ) 7 'Vr "T
I II: . - ' I ; J l-'. iCx p-.v . --.
shook off th feeble effort which Tom
my. too amazed to be vigorous, mad to
detain him. and rushed through the
door. By th tint eimpson was on
his feet and at th door Rayne'a cab
was speeding away.
"But look her there's soma mis
take!" cried Tommy. "Mr. Rayn is my
father's best friend. He couldn't have
don a horrid thing Ilk that "
"I'v got th proof." said Simpson.
rather wearily. "W don't go off
half cock it doesn't pay. Here are the
photographs I took in Philadelphia-
Tommy, aghast. Incredulous, was
convinced. There could be no doubt
that the roan was right, incredible
though it seemed. And yet after all
was It so incredible? Did not this
fastening of suspicion upon Thornton
Rayn clear up much that waa mys
terious. Inexplicable ? If Thornton
Rayn wer "Number One" !
He was almost afraid to tell his
father the truth yet be knew that It
must b done, and at once.
"Thornton Rayne! Wy God!" said
Graham Hale. "After all these years:
And yet I might have guessed a dos-
en times
"Ksd!" cried Tommy. "Isn't It time
you told me everything?"
"I think It Is." said his father, with
a sudden decision. "Tea, I shall tell
you th whole story."
He paused lor a moment, then went
on.
"Thornton Ram and I were boys to
getherwe grew up. and were always
bosom friends. Even when we fell In
love with the same woman our friend
ship endured or I believed it did. She
was Camilla Arnot. who was. in those
days, the most famous, the most beauti
ful and th most popular woman on th
stage th true queen, of th comic
opera.
"I never knew why. but her choice
fell upon me. Thornton took his de
feat hard. but. after a little, ilk a
man. My father, when I told him of
my contemplated marriage, threatened
to disown me. He had an old-fash
loned prejudice against th Idea of mar
riage with an- actress h would not
meet Camilla, who would have banish
it. nut I would not glv her up.
With Rayne'a help a secret marriage
was arranged. For nearly a year
was the hsppiest man on earth. And
then. Just as I hoped and expected my
happiness to be crowned by th delight
of fatherhood, there cam black dla
aster th blow that ruined my life.
"In som amaslng fashion Camlll
was led t believe that I had tricked
her that our marriage had been
fraud. I went home on day to be me
by ber denunciation. I denied the
charge wor to find th proofs.
went to seek th minister who had
married us. and from him I got a cer
tlftcate, 1 returned to find myself
barred from th house In which w
lived by firemen and police! Th house
was utterly destroyed I could not ge
through th lines Camilla was one of
those who wer killed!
"I was for a tlm It was believed
that my reason would never be restored
But on goes on somehow. I emerged
from the shadow of madness. I picked
up th threads of life. But nothing
could be th same. My wife my love
th child she would hav given m
all gone "
"But my mother?" Th question was
torn from Tommy. He had wondered.
often, at the utter absence of any
memory of th mothar h bad never
seen who had died, as h had always
supposed, at his birth.
Not now don't ask m anything
mora now. Tommy." said Oraham Hal.
desperately. "But oh you can under
stand."
"I can understand thax It was prob
ably Thornton Rayn who deceived
your wife!" said Tommy. "He was a
false friend then as be hsvs been ever
since. Hut. are you sure she died In
the flre?"
"I must hav known It. Jn all these
years. If she wer alive." gnid Uraham
Haie. "Thornton Rayne! Ah. yes. he
would have. known that to show me the
wax figure of Camilla would be th
keenest torture he could have inflicted
upon me!" .
"Poor dad!" said Tommy. "But. at
least, we know who Is our enemy
now we know Number One! II Is un
masked."
Alme Villon. Graham Hale's ward,
and th object of th love of Tommy
Hal, which she returned, desplt her-
seir. naa not gone to bed. as ah had
said ah would, when ah left Tommy
and his father. From her window she
saw th flight of Thornton Rayn from
th house and understood. Gripped
with a sudden terror, eh followed
him from th house a few minute later.
Had a detertlv shadowed her h
would hav learned something Infinitely
trior startling even than th revelation
of th duplicity of Thornton Rayne.
For It was to th new meeting place
of Th Twisted Thread that Alme went.
When sh arrived sh knocked tn a
peculiar manner and wa admitted by
th automatic opening of th door. Re
fer an uu aw bar ah auni th
THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN. PORTLAND, JANUARY 13,. 1918.
,1k
hood and rownspf The Twisted Thread,
and. thus arrayed and disguised, passed
Into the meeting room. As she came In
all the cloaked figures rose.
"Number One!" said one of them. All
bowed and she returned the bow. Ko
all this time it was Almee, herself often
In peril at its hands, who had been
Number One of the Twisted Thread
Almee, who had, indeed, herself thwart
ed Its most dangerous plots against
Uraham Hale and his son.
The figures were without disguise,
of those who sat about the table, built
In the triple T of Th Twisted Thread.
One was Thornton Rayne, flushed from
his flight the other a woman whose
face, though showing- the marks of
time, was still lovely. She was
Camilla Arnot, whom Graham Hale
thought dead these many years!
'You are late. Number One," said Ca-
mllle. speaking in a voice cold with
anger. And you are required to ex
plain why it is that you have, fur from
doing your duty and helping in the
campaign against Uraham Hale, ac
tually conspired to defeat our alms!
Thanks to Thornton Rayne you have
been unmasked at last we know, now.
that you have enlisted with our ene
mies, even while you have pretended
(a be the leader, acting in my place, of
these avengers!"
"That Is true!" said Almee, after a
moment, defiantly. "You have lied to
me both of you. That la why I have
acted as I have "
Camlllb rose. and. with a sudden.
STORIES
THE QUARRELSOME CHILDREN
DID you ever Hear of a sister and one of their tempers. Certainly some
brother quarreling with each oth-lthing must be done, and done quickly,
er mo often and so much that thev I Grandma sighed as she thought that
grew to believe they didn't really love
vny iivuifi m mil :
Carrie and Billy were like that.
Morning, noon and night found them
on bad terms. They didn't behave at
all as brother and sister should. Their
"fights" were foolish to listen to and
they sounded something like this:
"Ulster, what did you do with my
ball?"
"I haven't seen your old ball!"
"Yes, you have, mean-ee, you've hid
it on purpose. Now, you give it to
me."
"Like to see you make me. If I did
have It. And I wouldn't tell you if I
did."
"I'll show you how I can make you
leave my things alone!" Ustually at
such aa outburst grandmother would
come along and try to make peace.
Carrie would . whimper that Billy
"hurt her feelings." and Billy would
say that Carrie "picked a fight" when
ever sh had a chance. Somehow,
however, the" "scrap" was always
patched up for the present and things
went well until the next time.
Carrie's and Billy's mother was dead
and their father traveled on business
the year round. He left his children
with their grandmother becauae he
knew that she would love them. He
didn't expect ber to spoil them as she
did.
And the dear old lady herself was
beginning to worry about It. Soon
their father would come horn for a
visit and she could imagine how
shocked he would be to see them in
Carrl Wl Wklsisrr That Billy
Hrt Her Krellair" Billy Weald
hay That Csurri) "flc-Lxd a fUhW
Al30.
0
authoritative gesture, ordered the other
members to leave the room. When the
three of them were alone she spoke.
"Do. you know who you are? My
daughter!" she said.
"Yes." said Almee. steadily. "But
you lied to me. You told me Graham
Hale had killed my father "
"There was a purpose," said Camille,
"Now you shall know the truth. I
thought he was my husband. He
tricked me by a false marriafre of
which you are the child. So he ruined
my life and cast you, nameless, upon
the world! Thornton Rayne, my Rood
friend, who loved me who has always
loved me, and has sought, these many
years, to give me his own name, told
me the truth. 1 swore venpeance I
determined that you should execute it.
So, while you were growing up, I
waited. Thornton Rayne and 1 organ
ised The Twisted Thread, that an in
strument might be ready to our hands
when the time of vengeance came. And
you you, whom I trusted, implicitly,
have been the one to defeat our pur
poses! At every turn It has been you
who stood in our way who betrayed
us!"
"And rra glad!" cried Almee. "I don't
believe that Graham Hale ever de
ceived you! I think It's Mr. Rayne who
is the traitor and the liar because he
wanted you for himself! I know Mr.
Hale and Tommy I don't believe Mr.
Hale ever did a. mean or unworthy
thing "
"You see," said Rayne, viciously, I
"there's a reason. Camille. The girl's 1
FOR THE YOUNG
I hr,r well-meant indulgence had a bad
As she eat knitting In her rockln
chair, she heard the familiar voices
.of the children, raised in anger at
each other, cine arose and went softly
to the room where they were "squab
Dling."
"Children," she said In firm . tones,
cease this dreadful fussing." Aston
ished. the children shut up like clamo.
I'sually, Grandma pleaded and begged
them to be quiet and nice." The
dldn t exactly know what to say to
this new form of reproach. Then
Grandma spoke again:
"Your father is coming next , week,
He has a surprise for you but if h
ever hears you speak to one anothe
as I have heard you, he will never le
you know what the surprise Is! and
can tell you the surprise im a mighty
fine one.
"What is ltr asked both children
at once.
Dear children.' said Grandma, In
her old loving voice, "I cannot tell
you, but you must really try to be
good In the future to deserve the sur
prise."
Grandma was very solemn. The
children were awed. They looked at
one another shamefacedly. Then they
ran off to lunch with more good grace
than they had displayed for many
weeks.
When the morning of the great ar
rival came. Grandmother took Carrie
and Billy to the depot- The fussy
old train rAjlled Into the station, crowds
of people came through the gates, and
It was with difficulty that they rec
ognized their father. They saw hin
at a distance and before he reached
them, they were able to see that he had
a little boy with him.
"Who's that?" asked Carrie, in
whisper to Billy.
"I dunno." he replied.
Soon after they were In their father's
arms. After Grandma had been fondly
embraced. Father put his arm around
the shoulder of the little stranger and
said. "Children, here Is a new friend
for you. This little boy is French:
his name ia Francois. And I want you
to be very nice to him. This will be
quite hard, for he doesn't understand
Knglish: but if you treat him kindly,
he will be happy and know that he is
with friends." .
After they arrived home Father took
the children on his lap and told them
a story. "You ve heard about the war,
haven't you, dears? I have Just come
from France where the war is going
on. and 1 chanced to be in one of the
small towns that was destroyed by the
Germans. I found little Francois be
ing carried to an ambulance by a
French ooldier, and I stopped to ask
where he was being taken.
"Then the soldier told me the sad
news that the little chap's father and
mother were killed when the town was
shelled, and that he was left all alone
In the world. He is what people call
a war orphan.
"I thought of you two. my dear lit
tle cuiUlrcu, and haw your luviof kind
S sy Anna Katharine Green.
in love with Tommy I've caught them
kissing and hugging one another -"
"Ah !" said Camille. "You've fallen
In love with him! With a man whose
father and yours are one and the same
man "
Almee cried out at that. Her face
grew deadly white.
"Oh!" she said.
"There is a score for you to settle;"
said Camille. "Girl can't you see that
he has wronged you, too?"
"It doesn't matter!" cried Almee,
desperately. "I won't work against
them. There's some explanation he
ought to have a chance to make It!"
She pointed td Rayne. "He he's the
one who is responsible for all the trag
edy and misery! He's used you as his
cat's paw! You trust him you take
his word to condemn my father the
man you loved love still, perhaps "
"Love still! Ha!" cried Camille. "I
hate the very thought and sight of him!
The day we landed from the steamer
when Thornton Rayne, here, imperson
ated that stupid detective it was all
I could do to keep myself from killing
him! Bit I don't want him killed! I
want him Impoverished despoiled
driven mad to linger on insane
wretched "
Her fury rose and mastered her. She
was like a madwoman herself. Sud
denly she cried out to the waiting
members.
"Tike this girl Number One!" she
cried. "Lock her up in Long Kang's
restaurant the Chinese will guard her!
they are faithful they can be trusted!"
ness might make this little fellow
happy once more; so I asked permis
sion to bring him to America with me.
I have adopted him now. and here
after he will be your little brother. I
hope you will treat him as kindly as
you do each other, for he has lived
through the fearful war and has had
enough trouble in his little life to
make even a grown-up miserable for
all time. Will you promise to always
be kind to him?" .
The children nodded their heads
their eyes were full of tears; they
couldn't speak. They were ashamed of
themselves and sorry for the little
Father Pat HI Arm Arouid the Shoul
der ml he Little StraagTer aad Said.
C'hlldrea, Here la a New Friend
tor Vos,"
French chap: and they didn't know
which feeling hurt most.
"Now we will go Into the other room
and begin Francois' first lesson in Kng
lish," said father.
Carrie and Billy claspea hands ana
followed him.
"Say. Billy." whispered Carrie, "I'm
awful sorry we've had so many fights';
but we will never have any more, will
wer1
No?" answered Billy. "Gee. I'm glad
hat father don't know How bad we've
been, or we might not have had Fran
cois with us."
No-o," mused Carrie. Then she
smiled and gave her brother a loud
kiss oil his ear the- nrst one lor
months, but the beginning of many
others to both him and their little
comrade, Francois.
LITTL.K BESSY'S NOTEBOOK.
Testidday us' fellows was tawking
about Sid Hunts berthday which we all
knew he wood be 10 yeers old prity
soon, but noboddy knew wen, on ac
count of Sid -lot having told enyhpdy
on account of not wunting everybody
to give him 10 puntches, which way vy
we wunted to know. Sids quiet little
uzzin Joe wus standing there without
say ins - enything all the time we was
rTR A
There was no chance for Almee to
resist. She knew better, indeed, than
to make such an attempt. She was not
badlv treated. Though she had been
deposed as Number One, she was still
the daughter of tne supreme -eaaer,
and as such entitled to respect. Only
Thornton Rayne regarded her with un
veiled hate in his eyes so that Almee
shuddered. For It seemed to her that
she understood his secret and sinister
purpose, hidden even from her mother,
only too welL
It was Thornton Rayne, she guessed
who had arranged the second theft of
the papers she had recovered on the
train. His last wish would be to have
Camille see them since they would
establish Graham Hale's Innocence and
his own duplicity, which had lasted so
many years. He wished to kill Hale,
to get him finally out of the way. And
Almee was sure, as his baleful glance
rested upon her, that he wanted, now
that she had accused him openly, to
kill her, too.
She knew the Chinese restaurant to
which' she was being taken it was In
Brooklyn, and one of the valued haunts
of The Twisted Thread. It contained j
all manner of secret exits and en
trances, and there was a garden, sur
rounded by high walls. A restaurant
a laundry an opiam (ten conuuvieu
for the benefit of .sight-seeing parties
half a dozen different enterprises
were centered In the one big, rambling
structure.
And here Almee became a prisoner.
PEOPLE
tawking, and after a wile Puds Sim-
kins Bed. G. Joe. you awt to know wen
Slds berthday is, youre his cuzzin, alnt
you?
Y. , sed Joe.
Well, do you know? sed Puds.
Yes. Red Jne.
Wich all us fellows yelled. Wen IS
it. wen is it. tell us .wen it is.
Sid told me not to" tell, sed Joe.
Aw, come on. Tell us, he won't care,
we won't puntch him hard, we all sed,
and Joe sed, wat will you give me?
Lets take up a collection, sed Leroy
Shooster. And he passed his cap
erround and we all put sumthing in it.
me putting 4 marbils, and my cuzzin
Artie putting a little ball made out of
rubber bands, and Puds Simkins put
ting a top without eny peg to it, and
Leroy Shooster putting 2 stumps of
pencils, one with a rubber on.
Will you tell us his berthday for all
these? sed Leroy Shooster.
Yes, sed Sid Hunts quiet little cuzzin
Joe. And he took all the things out of
the cap and put them in his pockets
and started to run like the dickins.
yelling back. His berthday was yes
tidday. .
Aw, heck, sed us fellows. On account
of you cant puntch a fellow for his
berthday after its over. Lee Pape in
Chicago Dally News.
Governor Forced to Make Own .Toys
uovernor erns, of Michigan, is a
strong believer in active play which
shall call forth Initiative and skill.
'At the age of 6 or 7 years, like all
healthy boys, I asked father for toys.
On one occasion I said: T want a top.'
'He said: 'Make it. Mother will give
you a spool and here is my pocketknife.
Go ahead.' I whittled for a few minutes
and found the cutting difficult.
I returned the knife to father and
he asked: 'Where is the top?"
"I said: 'I do not want a top.'
"He replied: 'You do not want a ton?
Make it, or I shall be obliged to punish
you."
'I was so well acquainted with my
father that I made the top. On my-re
turning the knife he commended me by
spinning It and remarking: 'That is a
fine top.'
My father built better than be knew.
He put lime in my spine by insisting
that I make my own carts, wagons,
sleds, kites, boats, windmills and that
finish every task I voluntarily began.
Modern fathers and mothers have
forgotten the fine art of demanding
tnat tneir Doys help themselves. The
toyshop, t!-.rough thoughtless fathers
and mothers, hae dissipated the ener
gies of our boys and placed a premium
on helplessness."
"He's a Brick."
Tracing the origin of things Is an
Interesting study. We use words and
expressions without having any idea
of their first and original meaning.
For instance, "He's a Brick," used so
frequently by you to designate one of
your friends as being a "fine fellow,"
has been traced by some learned phil
ologist to a King of Sparta, who lived
four centuries B. C. A visitor to
Lacedaemon, the Spartan capital, be
ing greatly surprised to find that the
city had no walls asked the King what
he would do in the event of an inva
sion. The King replied: "Sparta has
50,000 soldiers and each . man is a
"Brick."
9
a prey to fear and horror as she
.thought of the new plots that might
even now be being carried into effect
against those whom she could no long
er help as the result of her knowledge
of the plans of their enemies.
She went nearly mad with nervous
ness. The forced Inactivity, the silent
waiting, the indifference of her Chi
nese jailers, all preyed upon her nerves.
At last, in desperation, she made her
way to the workroom of the laundry
and begged to be allowed to do some
ironing, simply to help to pass the
time. The good-natured Chinaman in
charge consented.
Soon an amusing thing happened. A
dirunken man came in. He needed a
shirt he was going to a party, with .
his wife, he explained. His laundry
was ready but he had no money. He
tried to snatch the package, but the
Chinaman hurled it back into the room
where Aimee was, over a partition. On
the instSTnt she conceived a plan. She
tore open the bundle, and wrote across
the front of a stiff-bosomed shirt an
appeal to Tommy Hale to rescue her.
Then she threw the shirt out.
"Catch and run quick!" she called.
He had wit enough to seize the shirt
and obey. The Chinaman came back,
furious. But Almee mollified him by
paying him the laundry bill and he
knew nothing of the message she had
sent out.
Now there was more waiting. Aimee
stayed as much as she could in the
garden, surrounded by its high walls.
Along the top of the walls ran two or
three strands of wire escape there
looked hopeless. Yet it was over the
wall that she expected help' to come
fmm Tommy, if and when it came.
Strange things were going on. mean- .
while, beyond those walls. Not Tommy,
but Thornton Rayne, was there, watch
ing every movement Aimee made, and
laying a dark plan of his own a plan
that required time for Its execution,
and skill, and a great patience. Her
instinct had been right. He feared her
now; he was determined to eliminate
her from the list of his obstacles, if he
could.
A trolley line ran in the street on to
which the walled garden backed. It
was a street little used; few cars used
the tracks. And that played into
Rayne's hand and fitted into his ne
farious scheme.
With one man, whom he could trust,
since he had enough information con
cerning him to send him to the electric
chair, should he choose to use it. Rayne
went about his task. He connected a
small feeder wire with the heavily
charged feed wire of the trolley line,
carrying enough electricity to ensure
the death of anyone who came in con
tact with it. And this small wire, in
turn, he connected with the wire fence
that ran around the wall. A switch
waa cunningly arranged below, at the
street level, so that, at will, Rayne
could electrify the wire fence. Then
anyone who touched its wires would be
killed instantly.
His next problem was to induce
Almee to reach the top of the wall
and to make it possible for her to do
so. But as to that he anticipated no
great difficulty. He procured a long
rope ladder. To it he attached a note, ...
forging the writing of Tommy Hale,
and bidding Almee to use it to reach
the top of the wall. He had no doubt
of the result of that appeal.
And he watched, with a malicious de- . .
light, the discovery of the ladder and '
the note by his unsuspecting victim.
Almee caught her breath as she saw
the ladder dangling. Eagerly she rushed
to it, tore open the note, and read it.
She pressed it to her iips. And then.
suddenly, she remembered, and a spasm
of pain crossed her features. Still
even in spite of what she knew, she
loved Tommy! That was not could
not be wrong!
Somewhere, near by, he was waiting
for her, ready to save her, eager to -
help her. She looked up the high wall.
and the swaying ladder, and trembled
slightly. Still she could make it. And -
she trusted Tommy. There was some
way, in his mind, to get her down, on
the -other side. She could count upon
him! So she began to climb.
As she climbed she became conscious
of a great uproar inside the Chinese
house. There was a sound of fighting;
voices rose; one of them was strangely
familiar. And then she heard her own
name from behind in Tommy's voice!
"Aimee!" he called. "Aimee!"
She reached the top of the ladder,
gained a precarious foothold on the
wall, and turned to look. back. Tommy
was in the garden.
"You wrote to me to climb up you
threw down the ladder!" she cried.
"I didn't!" he called. "There's soma
trick! Stay there till I can reach you!"
There was a new rush from the house.
Aimee clung to her perch and looked
on, desperately afraid. And all the
time death surged through the innocent-looking
wires that were within a
foot of her toward which, at any mo- ' '
ment, .she might reach out her hand
for support!
(Another installment next Sunday.)