Evening Star Newspaper, July 10, 1921, Page 56

-8 THE SUNDAY STAR, | e THE BLACK CAP A Last Adventure in the Gray Mask Series of Stories BY WADSWORTH CAMP. HE approach of the moment when she must testify against Slim and George; must - tell n public the detalls of that tragedy which had played such, hayoc with her, drove Nora Into & mepbtd humor which neither Garth nor 1K€ Inspector could alter. She followed | Garth on the stand. She was dressed im: black. The appeal of her person- alfy was irresistible. It was clear that it the two criminals had ever had a chance Nora would destroy it. Blim and George sat by their counsel. Geotge could not quite hide the animal character of his face, but he had man- aged to soften it somewhat. At Nora's appearance, Garth noticed, there came into his eyes a survival of the passion hp had so recklessly declared In the steel-lined rocm. {8Um, on the other mothing of the = clothing guve im au His sha:p terest. would have said, be capeble with which he was charged. ‘Garth watched the men perpetually. He saw the hatred slip throush while ai would During Nora's expossd some- thing of their powerrsl desice for re- venge against these iwo who quietly drened away their lives. For Garth ana Nora told of trapping these men in an admission of the mur- der, over a year ago, of Kridel, a prom- ising young detcctive. It was his death which had saddened Nora, and it was the’ feeling of a necessity to find his murderers which had made her pose to- the band of criminals which Slim 4 George led as a spy from head- ers. And it was in breaking up jeir gang that Garth, posing as one of the members behind a gray mask, had first worked on a case with Nora. Garth took Nora from the courtroom, well aware that, given the opportunity, Slim and George would not let them move a foot without exacting full pay- ment. Garth respected Nora's mood. He her in a cab and sent her home. P wandered restlessly _about the downtown streets. Then he went to headquarters. The inspactor admitted that he, too, would breathe easier when the two were in the chair. The next day the Inspector sent for The moment he answered the ms he knew something disas- * trous had occurred. He felt that the exoeptional, almost with the effect of & physical violence, had entered the A d, let slip His quiet ost cierical. cssed a polite in- not, & casual spectator sle of the evil recital, ahead of him. % inspector held the telephone. The recetver was at his ear. is huge fig- ure projected to Garth an uncontrolled fear. His volce, customarily rumbling and authoritative, was no more than a groping whisper. "Wh‘y the devil doesn’t Nora answer? Po_ you know, Garth, that Slim and are loose on the town?" ey are on theirway to the death house,” Garth countered. “You mean they were,” the inspector “condemned by your testimony 'Wora’s. But I've just got the word. axplosion was planted in front of van _on the way to the Grand There was a crowd of rats the slums. Those birds were torn the sheriff's men and their brace- ‘Xnocked off. They were spirited .o r. But don't sup] Sitm and of pose ‘would nfl,l \g’l\ nfl:‘l': ‘"h“m:: is town' very exit's barr m know thol‘;’llharty‘- only old debts. What'll they do S ‘They y useful defense against Slim's , abnormally clever and in- ble, or against naked bru- as George's? And the malevo- of these two would be all the more in its action since no fear of ment would restrain it. The r, Or worse, Of rth and Nora, undoubtedly, they _intended, ‘earn for them only the death pen- to which they wers already con- ‘ve got to get Nora” Garth the lnupec'x‘rm ““The servant at should be there.” jor ;‘!l;moon out, and Nora sald e home.” . Garth cried, “they made for a shot.” after that number,” he called “I¢ you get Nora tell her 'm on nd to sit tight.” ded a course through the bound crowds, experiencing nsations of a truant from an im- g and destructive retribution, es alert for a sudden movement, ears constantly prepared for the crack of a revolver. * % x % he Aéhn summer when he had side. tracked Simmons and had taken his place behind a replica of the gray mask. He could see Nora in her cheap ran he recalled that evening finery, and George, he remembered, witlf a sense of sheer terror, had loved Nora in his way: had, in fact, through his brutal and amorous eagerness, de- livered himself Into her hands. He reached the flat, breathless and wondering that he had not been dis- turbed. No one answered his ring. He | questioned the hallboy. The inspector's daughter had left fifteen minutes ago. She had said headquarters had tele- phoned her to go to her father without delay. The situation was clear. Garth ran to the sidewalk. A man stood there. Garth recognized him for , a tallor who worked in a hearby shop. | The tallor's excitement made him nearly incoherent. but Garth drew from him 2 description of Slim and George. As the inspector’s daughter had stepped to the sidewalk, he eaid, the men had sprung upon her, stifled her one scream, ! and driven her off in an automobile. “Which direction did they take?" The taflor pointed south.- Garth hur- ried to the curb, stopped and found fresh tire marks. He was aware of his helplessness unless Nora's Ingenuity had Slim and George wouidn't even try to Jeavs the city until the hue and cry had somewhat abated. Into the windings of the underworld they had carried Nors, and Garth knew how devious . those windings were—what silent and “4nvieible machinery would nourish and secrete and protect. He lifted a_tiny tuft of fur which had nestled, almost hidden, in the dust of the gutter. Its color and texture ‘were reminiscent of the muff he had frequently seen Nora carry. It might ‘e a souvenir of her struggle, or else— lked down the street, searching car. Hé hastened on. As soon as he was ent that the pleces constituted an intelligible trall he conquered his % mee long enough to enter a drug stord and telephone his discovery to the !m!of. going on,” he sald. Lord knows what I'll find, so got'‘after me it away.” emerged ‘waterfront street, into a:- ‘was nearly deserted at this hour. ~or two street lamps of an anti- pattern flickered ineffectually. ::’ :n of hynb‘l'l:‘!é:n ‘was a glow, broad windows of s saloon on th Garth knew th tation of that e _reputation dive; and its long resistance to a final ?‘ of its shutters. He was glad th 'Did 4 les. H h bee! ¥ 8) when the automoblle tracks swung be- yond {t, but they turned in at the next bullding, a warehouse with & crum- bling, picturssque facade. He saw be- neath the edze of a double cellar door a larger piece of fur, mute testimony 2 had recently been.opened, ndemned men had carried abandoned vaults; but if Slim and George had trusted themselves there, the cellar obviously furnished other exits, perhaps underground to the river, almost certainly through the evil saloon next door. . * ok % VWEHILE he looked a fisure detached itself from -the shadows at the corner of the warehouse. It was In rage, with unkempt halr, and features sunken and haggard. He grasped his revolver, suspecting that this vagabond exterior disguised a member of the gang —an outpost. Yet theye was a chance that the man was one of the neighbor’s mt\’xlthudo of derelicts—a purveyor, pos- ‘ome here, my “How long have you been loafing in that _corner?” “Who the devil are you?” sald the other. Garth held out some money. The clawllke hand extended itself, closing over the colns. In quick succession the man rang three of the pleces on the pavement. “Seems good,” he sald, in his diMm- cult voice. “If you want to know that bad, maybe an hour; mayl more; napping. Nothing better to do, but I'm honest, and I'd work if I got the chanc “An automobile drove up here,” Garth said rapidly. ““Why, so it did. I seen it with these yory peepers—not & quarter of an hour ““How many got out of {t? What did do?” - “I seen two men and a woman,” the other answered. ‘“They lifted that cellar door and went down. Now I wondered why they did that.” 2 the woman make a fight?” The other shook his head. ‘“Went like it was a candy store. Cutting across his throaty accents, a feminine cry shrilled. The heavy doors could not muffle its terror. Suddenly it was hushed. Garth shoved the man to one side, urged by a temper that no longer permitted calculation. Beyond the doors of the saloon he faced the proprietor across unoccupled tabl He remembered the round, livid face beneath its crown of reddish hair. @ had seen it more than once, sullen and unashamed, behind the bars at eadquarters. The man's past history made a connection between him and Slim’s party nearly Inevitable. But Garth had no choice. T!.l::dnmnrlatur. at his entrance, brac his elbows against the bar. . *“T aln’t done & !hl.n& Mr. Garth. I call God to witness ere ain't any- thing to bring a bull here except near- r and tobaccy.” “We'll see, pa Marlowe,” Garth said evenly. lar of the warehouse next door. lars to dimes there's a way ti our place. Will you give up the com- bination quietly?" “Now who tole you there was a door through my cellar?” “Never mind,” Garth snapped. ‘Tl take all the chances and use it, but at a sound from you—you understand? Come ahead, then.” Marlowe slouched down the stairs. Garth ordered him ahead while he pressed the control of his pocket lamp. They continued between grim walls, plashed with mold, beaded with mois- ture. They paused before an oak door. “Don’t open,” Garth whispered. ‘Let me get my fingers on the latch. I don’t trust you, papa,” he said, “but if you want to make yourself solid at head- quarters find a policeman and tell him 'm_going into the cel- Dol- what I'm up agains “The cops and I seem hand and glove these days. What are you up against, Mr. Garth? What you want in that empty cellar?” Garth waved him away, watched him retreat toward the stairs, squinting his beady eyes, mouthing unintelligibly. The detective snapped off his light, aware that he faced the critical mo- ment. He opened the door and stepped into the black 1 of the warehouse cellar. He held his revolver ready. He moved to one side and paused. He re- it was not uniikely that the cellar was empty save for himself. The men might have led Nora into it as a trick to confuse the police. Nora's cry might have marked their departure by some ingeniously contri: exit. He must find that exit and continue his pursuit. He stepped forward. Light flashed, and from the sudden mrkllngt chc.lnfu.lon & remembered laugh at him. Four shadowy figures stood of him, holding flashlights. blinding barrier he could make out Nora, crouched against a stained and rugged . _And the brute, George, was at her s muscular hands on her arms. Garth ened by the spector with many men would soon tearing through the cellar doors. If only he could postpone the issue for him- self—fight for time -until that saving moment! There lay Nora’s best chance, but_her ignorance of such a possibllity couldn’t account for the horror in her lonless face. use,” she screamed. “Get back, Jim! Quick! Through the door!" “You'll stick hers, Garth,” cam said George, “drop gun. For any little damage you do here Nora'll foot the bilL” “Let's see how you enjoy your own Jewelry, Garth.” s And he reached in Garth’s pocket and drew out the pair of handcuffs he had been certain to find there. He snapped them on the detective’s wrists. The four confederates lounged forward, pro- stout cords, and bound them les. His lg:manuf! :fl-unco was sme Nora's arp cry: “Don't. fight, Jimi™ His sense of ul ess in- ‘while the men, in obedience to Slim's on ks for walking into our parior, fiy cop.” said Slim. ‘“We heard how you and the skirt had fallen for each other. We if we gave you a “WITH EXTREME DFLIBERATION HI lead with some of her trinkets you'd play the busy sleuth hound.” Nora’s voice held the quality of a sob. “Jim! Why did you come?" “Planted or e the trall was my bast chance. Cut out the bum acting, Slim.” Let's hear what ycu've got on your mind” * % x % L shrank from a reply. More and more he was impressed by the in- diffe ¢ with which these confederates constantly revealed thelr faces. He knew, if the inspector did not arrive quickly, he must suffer an eccentric and barbarous punishment. He tried to forecast the penalty, but it wasn't until George stepped forward and Nora screamed that he guessed why the others were unafrald of his identifica- [ tion, that he understood how his situa- tion might involve more than life and death. And, perhaps, the shambling creature outside had put the inspector's party on the wrong track. George placed a pint bottle in Slim's hand. A smoky liquid dld not quite fill it. SUm turned to the others, as- suming an attitude of mockery. “This is the brave guy that side- tracked Simmons last summer and wore the gray mask just as if he had some- thing, too, that frightened women and children. He's the bull that steered us against the black cap yester Let's see how he likes hearing the s tence read himself. Only he isn't going to get anything as comfortable as the electrio chair.” Slim drew the cork from the bottle |'hll. his thin lips ceased to smile. “Since you found a gray mask so coming, Garth,’ he snarled, “it's onmly fair to give you honest cause to wear one. But you'll go poor Simmons one :a{.tar. Your mask won't need any eye oles.” Nora cried out again. “You couldn’t do it Garth muttered. Beneath his rage lurked a fear of which he had never dreamed himself capable. To face death would have been so much simpler. “What's in the tle, Slim?"* “A black cap for you, damn you! Pure vitriol!” He bent closer. “Squirm! Those ropes and your own handcuffs will hold you. You'll beg me for a bullet before I'm through.” George twisted the girl 8o she had to watch. P your handsome beau, Nora! You'll think I'm more your style In about ten seconds.” A complete satisfaction blotted from Slim's eyes the fear he had hitherto never quite concealed—the quiet fear of a strong man who acknowledged his o own inevitable destiny. Garth re- minded him of that. It was his last weapon. “They’ll get you, Slim. They're keep- ing the chair warm for you. WII this help then?" Slim laughed. “Will it hurt? T've walted for this moment ever since you and she sent me to rot in the Tombs. I'll pay old scores while I can.’” ‘With an extreme deliberation he com- menced to tip the bottle, The fluid, almost Imperceptibly approaching the mouth, exercised for Garth a dreadful fascination. He tried to tell himself it was impossible that the innocent-ap- pearing fluld in the control of this crimi- nal could condemn him to an unrelieved blackness through which, hideously scarred, he must grop henceforth, thing repellent and past use. The lights were centered upon his face. It struck him as ironic that their glare should hurt his eyes. Slim smiled at Nora. He moved the bottle & little. A drop fell. Something tortured the skin of Garth's cheek. It was as if an iron at white heat had been applied against his flesh with a strong pressure. The stuff was real enough. Again Bllm moved the bottle shg- gishly, so that -the liquld, ready to trickle out, was directly above Garth’s eyes. Nora reached and closed h hands about the mouth. “Look out!" George warmed. ‘¥ou'll 't burnt.” “You see, George won't stand for that,” Slim said slyly. - "Nol. no, Blim!"” Nora whispered. *“T1l bargain. “You're in a swell position to bar- #ain,” George ecoffed. “You don't think,” Garth muttered, “that I was fool enough to follow that trail without covering- myself?"" “That doesn’t affect me,” Slim In- ned. ‘There's a getaway from ®this place nwy will ever find. Now, Nora! [an “Slim,” she sald, breathlessly. “You're not a fool. You must know that I can bargain. Suppose you get cl the border—into Canada? Couldn’t you keep out of trouble, omce you were there?’ Slim ceased pulling at her hands. He at her, amazed, casting aside his last pretense. “What you talking about, Nora? I know you're clever, but thers aren’t any more miracles. There’s no way out of this town for us.” “Unless my father unlocked the gates.’ Slim started. Garth, too, answered be | to & desire almost violent. Surely Siim ‘would realize the hopelessness of secur- a “that thes Mfi ‘wanted to n the same stool.” ‘With a growing wonder Garth watched Nora fling aside her.reserve. She turned on-George, raising her hands in an attl tude of fury, as if inspired by a pas- slon beyt trol. “And that's true. if you think r'd let him take that acid give the bottle t me, and Tl use it on myself instead. She knelt at Garth's side, and for a moment the light in her eyes, her un- restraint, smore than the result of her appeal, held him tense. “I love him so much, Slim, that to save him I'd see my father dead."” A subdued murmur of volces sifted through from the street. They could hear the stealthy straining of hands at the cellar doors. Nora arose, and, hid- ing he? face, stood trembling. “The bulls!” George whispered. “Throw the stuff and let's make our getaway.” Slim shook his head. “I'Il tell you, it's a chance. All of you vamoose except George. We'll wait ind see, and maybe we won't need you after this. Remember, Nora, there'll al- face and show our heels.” The lights snapped ont. Garth was aware of landestine stirrings. Then the silence of the cellar was broken by the fumbling at the door. ‘1l let you go, Nora,” Slim whis- pered. “Send the other cops back. they try to rush us, God, we'll do the trick on Garth and@kill who we can besides, the inspector first of all. So play straight.” heard her retreating footsteps. BEGAN TO TIP THE BOTTLE.” Garth After all he had accomplished his chief purposs. Through him-Nora had found escape. - He heard a sharp splintering of wood, and a wan light, not much stronger than the glow of the city through the mist, diffused itself in the cellar. The |inspector's breathless voice reached them. “Nora! Garth!" Garth saw Nora's shadowy figure ad- vance into the well of the door. He heard her stifle her father's reliet and tell him to order his men beyond ear- shot. Her voice murmure Garth st.x‘e‘ued that it recited his abhorrent ger and the terms on which she had agreed to buy his release. He strained his ears, understanding fully what depended on the answer, yet convinced that reasonably it could only be a refusal. As the price for his con- nivance the inspector must throw his position and his reputation to the winds, perhaps face a trial, more than likely to ail sentence. It was conceivable that is Jove for Nora would dictate that sacrifice, force on him that Could she act to that ex- r father? Had she, in fact, been acting In the cellar? Had his peril finally shown her heart the truth? The two most compelling issues of his own life, as well as the inspector's career, depended on the reply, and he could hear nothing. Slim had handed tle to George, and he moved now into the door well, where ne could listen. per warmed the cold air. *“T couldn’t catch it all, but she’s get- ting away with something.” The murmuring ceased, through the wan light Nora glided, wraith.like, into the doorway, and called to th em o imt £ o ! e hates me for making him, but he'll do what he ean. He'll t:ll the Harlem police and the towns along the Hudson that he's got you. He'll try to cover himself with a planted getaway. You have an automobile. Take it an leave by You'll catch the Montreal express at Tarry- town. You've plenty of time, everything will arranged. can’t keep the wool over attorney’s eyes forever. If you're mot over the er tomorrow morning it's no mfl. Bo catch the train. “And, Jim, there's a conditiog for you. Father won't budge unless you give him your word to go quietly. have to promise on your sacred oath not to make any effort to escape or to throw Slim down. “What's that for?* George asked, It would -u,?;clouuly. had “Use your X 3 do father a lot of MMIK 80 much for Jim if he took matters into his own hands and got the acid just the same.” or"ggl!" Slim lmNed. "qu;;e plenty mon-sense, Nora, and it's to give us a chance. Lo N . o Wl you , " answered. “I promise.” . S * % X % ¢THEN good-bye,” she called, snd her voice no longer held any com- mand, nor was it steady. ‘*Good-bye. It I only dared come over to you! God bring you back safe to me.” At a gesture from Blim, George cut the cords that bound Garth's ukl'i:. The detective rose. With a nod Slim motioned George toward the oak door which opened on Marlowe’s cellar. “Get to the phone,’” hi ‘whispered. an “If you see anybody upstairs, ::te ”yonr back turned ”__ m’n"t your pmx bracelets.’ Slim indicated the reyolver, held ready in his coat pocket. “After George, and in front of me. Always like that from now on.” He touched the bottle of acid which he had taken from George. . ‘Remember, this will be behind you like m}"fml. but I don't want to shoot to kill with either. Just a little in the face 18 better if you try to cut up.” *You h my promise,” Garth sald. He followed George through the door- ‘way. . They crossed the spaces of the ee"nr and climbed lhl: stairs. pausing at the head until they could be certain that Marlowe's evil figure faced a barroom significant 2 ‘Well! Well! wmr-‘r‘énud g it house? ing the inspector’s complicity, or, fail- ’8 that, would seek a8 Garth didl 107 | waiting,~ o timmed ansily o tho mion the strafagem behind l;: lan. e “How often have I Jou, Tugn way under heaven Al » fhe old man {o stand for that.” saia | Maziows, e et SHim. fined. the new element. m’s anger “No one else could do it.” said N “but you know how he me. could make him do it as the price for myself and Jim.” 1| One “thing's certatn” Sltm mused. *“If you did get away with it, I could keep you and the h tor ‘stralght. I'd take Garth, bound tight, some guns and the acid along as gllt-edge securi- ties. Hadn't t of that, eh? Ex- pected to trip me, didn't you? Well, Nora, you have let yourself for dicker, ‘and, by gad, 1 think it over, because I've got you this far: the minute you played queer Garth ‘would go blind and burnt.” “You'd swear to let Jim go at the border?” “On my-oath I'd let him go clean.” by TR KRR ¢ for a million,” George broke’in angrily. “She gets herself away, then she throws Garth down to see us | f¢ roast in the chair. You ought to know the it . ‘We heard in the Toml ) 1 pse M Inclined to fl‘"u:' ‘would protect his own had let slip rea]l evidence of the pro- prietor's lawless connection with the ll:g and Slim, Garth knew, was un- likely to make blunders he couldn't retrieve. This one dovetailed into the fact that the detective ocould still iden- tify the four confederates had seen down stairs—that is, if he kept his ;!nufli rlltlbm.m:hen. had no intention of olding ‘bargain would as far as the border, ent his twisted the booth. The soul craved. ::l;‘:"— She’'d double cross the devil{derstand " Shim ?Avm Ways be time for us to wash Garth’s|without being able to move. {and Slim started to raise the botile, ag other stepped obediently to the side- ‘walk, removed his t ‘coat, handed it to Slim, and slip) on the smaller one. 8lim motioned George and Garth into the car, followed them, and, while he Jerked out his instructions, drew down the side curtains. Garth was to sit on the back seat with George, who would keep one hand conveniently on his auto- matic. 8iim would be opposite, his gun hlndfi. and the bottle of acid ready at his side. ‘And that isn’t all,” he leered. “You're too precious to take chances with, Here! Lean forward.” He flung the chauffeur's great coat across Garth's shoulders, chained wrists, and vuftoned it tight about him. He chuckled as the car started. “The cape, George, makes it look as it our friend kept his hands out of 'Lll':?‘ hope the ‘You've a swell hance to make trouble now, Garth. That's how I check fon & bull's promises. It znybudy trics to stop us or to snitch you free you'il get the acid in those shining peepers You'd bet- ter pray everybody keeps straight.” Enough light entered from the front to draw an ashen glow from the acid which he held at his side perpetually ready. Beyond the driver’s back Garth could follow their route among tortuous down- town thoroughfares into lower Broad- way. They went then, at a discreet pace, straight through the heart of the city. The car at last drew a hollow response from the ivement of the Broadway bridge. lim moved rest- lessly. “The first toll-gate, Garth. the bill?" And Garth struggled, and could not move his hands, for George cried out, ‘Who pays the horse of & mounted policeman haited across theif path. The car stopped. Swiftly the policeman bent down, shaking his fist at the driver. “If you want to run me down,” he shouted, “why not give me a chance to make my will? You might be a good chaufteur for a baby carriage. Go ahead | now, and keep to the right. I ought to run you in." *x % THE night was disturbed only by the sound of their passing, nor at the station was there any indication that an effort would be made to halt them. Bo tightly was Garth bound that Slim had to help him from the automobile. d over his |, WASHINGTON, D. 0, JULY 10, 1921_PART . eyed agent. The gag was as tight as at firat. Even if i had not been for the acid Garth was helpless. A dull rumbling made itself audible far to the south, and increased until the ralls commenced to hum. The headlight gleamed—hastened closer. The locomotive grumbled by, drawing an interminable string of mail and express and Pullmans, shrouded for the v end, far from the station { lamps, were two lizhicd day coaches. 8lim and George led Garth there, and helped him to the .platform between. The rear car was a_smoker, comfort- y filled with sleepy men. Slm turned his back on it, urging Garth into the car ahead, which housed scarcely more than a dozen passengers—men and in various attitudes of somno- He nodded his sa faction. It me clear that for hi 2 as at an end. The Adozing pi 5 and hats. The fs s great coat would pass un- | were settled as hefore, with Slim opposite Garth and rge, in the corner at, the detective ventured with | hope to appraise his neighbors. | opposite lounged on his cushion his paper fallen to the floor, his eyes closed, h'z head swaying. drunkenly in unison with the motion of the train. Farther back two women in deep mourning wept quietly from time to time, and a man and a woman across the aisle stared restlessly at them, speaking in low tones whose accents of pity alone reached Garth. The rest slept. | The face of none was recogniza- ble, nor did_any suggest the slightest interest In the new arrivals. The drowsiness of the car Increased. Only his captors and himself seemed immune to the contaglon of sleep. The women in mourning had controlled their One of them had left her seat, p. moved along tank. dark and chaotic Without warning confusion descended upon and destroyed the smooth orderliness of their journey With The folting of the wheels, as if they | had Teft the rails, flung the passengers | a sudden jar the brakes locked. | from their sluggish indifference. The lirhts expired, leaving a darkness al- most palpable. During the first instant Garth was lashed by misgivings for the time as compelling as those which had been aisle toward the door he endeavored frantically and without success to free himself. The turmoll might involve botk out, and I've had enoukh experi- ence with that daughter of mine to belleve her when she talks iike that Slim and George, might smash that|She chased to the Grand Central while atrociouvs but he could do nothing. ‘Then he felt George's arms about him. He heard Slim's oath. the wheels was less difficult. The train resumed its smooth haste. The lights came on, and Garth stared at the in- spector and other men he knew, hold- ing leveled revolvers. Somebody cried out: weapon, ‘ake care!" Garth turned in time to see SlUm whirling the bottle, from which the cork had boen drawn, and from whose neck the liquid was already spouting toward his face. “Then shoot!” Slim shouted. He heard Nora's voice, screaming. “You won't, Slim!" He moved his head. He saw the woman in mourning, who had thrown back her vell, exposing Nora's face and Nora's eyes, which reflected the unbe- lief and the horror of her voice. The future seemed to crush upon him, a sable welght lowered by her as the re- sult of a deliberate choice. The liquid struck his forehead, filled his eyes. He wondered why the pain wasn't greater. He could not grasp the fact that he still read through a blur the tense unbelief of Nora's face, and saw vaguely the t%o condemned men struggling in the grasp of the de- tectives, who fastened upon their un- willing wrists gleaming handcuffs. Shame of his doubt joined the rellef that swept him with the urgency of a material suffering. He glanced at Nora. She had stopped and was raising from the floor behind Slim’s seat a bottle pre- cisely similar to that from which the water had poured. She had not con- quered her emotion. “He ought to have it,” she whis- pered. “I didn't belleve he'd do that when he saw the game was up d was no use. The chair is too She opened the window and emptied the bottle. She. flung it far to the right of way. The inspector freed Garth from the coat and the hand- cuffs. He grasped Garth’'s hand. “I know it hurt you, Garth, to prom- ise to go along with these crooks quietly, but Nora made me ask it. She passed me the wink at the top of the cellar steps.” “You mean” Garth asked, “that constantly inspired by the threat op- posite; and in the last flash of light he had seen that the steady courage of He 8tood beside him while they watched through the station window George as he purchased three tickets from a sleep: his captors had furnished no antidote for this uncharted peril. As women screamed and men fought along the Nora had all this planned from the very beginning?” * x % ¢N\TOT then,” the inspector answer- we watched Marlowe's and saw you leave. Got the number of your car, of course, and had reports on you ail the The Jolting of | way to Tarrytown. A mounted cop on the bridge made sure you were all three inside, and the operator at Tar- rytown was a local detective. Nora smiled at them in the railroad of and fixed the rest” Nora sat by a window. Her expres- sion was nearly tranquil again. “Better sit down, too, Garth.” *Your legs ought ervously. e inspector advised. to be shaky.” Garth obeyed, laughing n “T've been trying to hide He turned to Nora. “T'd like to know how you changed -anged the most lkely she answered. *“T knew something must happen to make Slim forget that acid for a moment. It had to be bigger, more immediate than the fear of capture. Everybody has a dread of rallroad accidents. Own up, Jim. You were scared yourself when the brakes set. “So I led them in New York to furnish an illusion of the beginnings of a wreck. It was simple. Slim would almost certainly take his hands from tae bottle then. But {f it hadn’t worked out right, Jim, you know I'd never have let the others come in. You see, they were with father in the dark sleeping car ahead. Father watched from the vestibule. When I chose my moment —you remember, I was going along the aisle close to you—he gave the engineer and the brakeman the Sig- nals we had arranged in New York" Garth wanted to tell Nora of his gratitude, realizing how far beyond expression that lay. With a smile, she stopped his awkward attempts. "I think I know what you would say, Jim. It was nothing—only what I had to do. ‘Things can't be the same,” he sald. I know I'm & beast to speak of it. I know you expect me to take what you did in the cellar as acting. But, Nora, lying there as I it made me hap- | pler than I ever have been in my life. Tell me how you managed much act- t:“.lt I think nobody oould act ltke %m.-.' tears in her eyes. She olosed at There was no one to see the quick but she promised to get us | surrender of her hands. PARIS SCIENTISTS ARE RELUCTANT WHEN TELLING OF NEW VITAMINE DISCOVERIES Sterling Heilig. The Sun- day Star's Spccial Cor- tespondent in French Capital, Investigates Report of Discovery of | “Elixir of Life"—An Interview With Amer- ican Girl Working in Famous French Labo- ratories—The Guinea Pigs Kept Free From Microbes. BY STERLING HEILIG. PARIS, July 1, 1921 MONG American students of the Borbonne and around the Am {22 Uliversity Unton oclutiso: dndhe Rue Fleurus, there has been a persistent rumor of an American girl, working at the Pasteur Institute, who has “found vitamines,” or “discovered the elixir of life,” or “pulled off something In biology.’ It takes time to trace s thing llke this, and then you'll see—whether there be much, little or less in it— high science likes to make its own communications in its own time, way agd place and have them read in the official bulletin of the soclety. I found the American girl. In fact, the Pasteur Institute produced her for me proudly. She is the one and only American of either sex working at the institute in Paris at present. She is Miss Mary Drusilla Flather of Lowell, Mas: who came to study histology (t microscopic study of tissues) on a foreign fellowship from ryn Mawr College, Philadelphia. She is very much annoyed at the rumor. “I am extremely annoyed,” she says. “1'am only a student! ‘Through the courtesy of the French foreign office I obtained a letter to the steward of the Pasteur Institute of Paris, by whom was arranged a meeting with Dr. Calmette, the illus- trious former chief of the institute at Lille, and today, with Dr. Roux, holding s leading position in that of the capital. At the first words it became clear that they are working strong on vitamines. Dr. Calmette was 8o kind tm'lgrud to put in a word which might not meet his approval con- cerning_the mysterious substances. Nobody has, or had, seen & herd of vitamines, or even & single one. They are, or were, too small for our big- gest microscopes. But, you know, a new and extraordinary microscope is making furore in Europe. Vitamines have been known by in- ference, as we know the ether of space, which Einstein says does not exist. The only test for vitamines has been the living organism. * % ¥ X Tm starting point was this. When people working on nutrition thought that they had analysed all the elements of necessary food, it was argued that with a purified, synthetic food containing all these proteins, carbohydrates, fats and salts, we should be able to make animals live. It is not so. Natural nutrition con- tal some other element, invisible, unknown, &8s mysterious as radium and without tiny quantities of which life cannot go on existing. In a-docked room of the third floor of the Pasteur Institute of Paris Dr. Bugene Wollman is feeding this mysterious element to baby guinea pigs which differ from all other living animals on-earth” in that they have never known & microbel Born by the Caesarean operatlion, these younsg guinea pigs have never bresthed any but sterilized air, been nourished by other than sterilized milk or allowed to come in contact other than sterilised floors, walls and utensils. They live in a trick box or -toyhouse—“to study their needs in vitamines without the intervention of microbes.” To some are fm orange juice, “becaunse it can be heated to & certain extent without destroying its natural vita- mines.” They thrive and grow. Others have no orange juice. They ne away. The sterilizsing of their 1k destroyed its vitamines. Dr. Calmette took me up to Dr. ‘Wollman. I saw the playhouse and all its life. But here, at once, the myste deepened! mflvonfi’:n will not call them To call them vitamines make an sasertion—and are you 2o maintain it? But when you “A0Co8S0! rs’ you dlaim about them chem- wag on the | THE BOX IN WHICH KEPT E! point of belng revealed. Who knows? Perhaps it hung by a hair—the hair of a baby guinea pig! “There are anti-scurvy factors,” he went on. “There are other ,anti-berri- berri factors, which ase certainly not the same. Then there is still a third kind—young animals having every necessary sterilized element for growth do not grow; but when you add very small quantities of things containing these so-called ! vitamines to their nutrition they grow per- fectly!” “Thelr chemical nature will become known,” he spoke up confidently. “We have strong sources—"' Here he stopped short and went on about guinea pig: “An animal _extremely liable to scurvy,” sald Dr. Wollman. “If you put them on oats they will develop scurvy in about three weeks. It suf- fices to add a few cubic centimeters of lime or orange juice to preserve them. Now, here is an interesting dispute: Is scurvy an_infectious dis- ease? The theory is defended by Dr. Winslow, American Red Cross repre- sentative here, who was told in Rus- sia that scurvy is certainly an in- fectious disease. And, in fact, it may be plausibly argued that lack of cer- tain substances may favorize the de- velopment of -infectious germs, and that scurvy and berri-berri are re- sults. Winslow assures me that in Russia they claim go. “Now, here” sald Dr. Wollman, turning to his babies in their play- house, “are young guinea pigs with- out microbes. These experiments on animals without microbes will be tbe only way of showing whether or not scurvy is a disease totally independ- ent of microbes. * % x % RT is long, and time is fleeting. This was all very interesting, but it was not getting me an Inch nearer to the elixir. Frankly, I asked about their American girl student. “Miss Flather,” said Dr. Chalmette, approvingly. He sent for Dr. Pettit. Dr. Pettit was enthusiastic. “She wanted to perfect herself in the tech- nique of histology for her college.” It was under Dr. Pettit that she be- gan, at the Sorbonne, in the faculty of sclences, under a course of his- tology maintained there by him. And from one thing to another she got to- working at the Pasteur Institute. Here, obviously, was my real start. And right here I got my setback. 1 was hinting, in a tactful way, that if the Pasteur Institute has made a new discovery, I would be proud to tell it to America, because, just now, under the circumstances, you see, cher maltre—"" “Would America be interested?” answered Dr. Calmette, in tones at once gentle, reproachful and with a flash .of spirit. “Americans _do not know what we are doing. Do they care what we are doing? *“Our publications e not known in the United States,” Insisted Dr. Calmette firmly. |“Americans do not read the communications made to our Soclete de Blologie, which has its seat in Paris and fifteen subcen- ters in various countries. Its com- munications are read and made by Greeks, Rumanians, Catalans, Portu- guese, Danes, Belgians, Argentines, Swedes, etc., but only three coples of its bulletin are asked for in the United States. “We must recognize the recept! of American students in Paris” mu Dr. Calmette, *and their orientation to the branches of science. On Jmusr;‘!fl next, the Pasteur In- stitute of s will begin aghin the course of higher teaching of biology.' as before the war. It ts three months — January, Febfuary and March—in seven lessons. It will be desirable to notify ‘American uni- versities—can you not do it through your papers? We will accept Amer- icans presented by their chiefs. They should have a certain knowledge of medicine and biolog: Which got long tufts of halr from goat. ‘an it be?” I asked Miss Flather, when I met her. “It 1s" she answered. “Strange as it may seem, the bulletin of the So- ciete de Biologie, one of the princi- pal scientific journals of France, has on its subscription list only thre, American colleges and universities. “The institute,” I floundered, “The institute is simply perfect in its hospitality to strangers” said Miss Flather. “In this laboratory Where 1 was there were four Greek men, doctors; one Serbian girl, pre- paring to_ go into bacteriological work In Serbia; one Swiss docto# from the University of Geneva and one doctor from the Argentine. We were given the freedom of the lab- cratory, no payment Whatsoever being charged for materials used by us.” Miss Flather is a reticent young lady. For a moment only she let her- self go. “The Pasteur Institute did such great things during the war” she said earnestly, “and it received so little financial assistance, it is derful what they are doing now. “What are they doing now asked. “If T may speak,” she went on dif- fidently, “I should like to suggest one thing—that _the publishers of Ameri- can sclentific journals put the Pas- teur Institute of Paris on their free list. On account of the rate of ex- change, it costs really—not equiva- lently, but really and truly—160 francs to 200 francs to keep up what was a sixty-franc subscription before the war. They should be sent for nothing.’ T had got completely off the track with Dr. Calmette, * % % * TTAMINES,” he had been saying, “are abundant in milk, potatoes, carrots, onions and, generally, fres vegetables, salads and fruits. Their total absence in the nutrition of adults produces diseases like berri- berri and scurvy. Young animals cannot grow without them and in- sufficlency leads to rickets, bad teeth, etc. They are destroyed by fire and by & certain amount of cooking. They lack entirely in canned goods and sterilized products; but potato juice, orange juice, lime or lemon juice can easlly supplement the lack.” 6 “Lime-juicers,” I said dully, “are| ships of nations wise to the facts and desirous to save their men from scurvy?” He nodded benevolently. “And those stories of Jack London, pf men miraculously restored by a!tions have few teaspoonfuls of raw potato juice, are true?” A “Ye! he answered. THE VITAMINE GUINEA PIGS LIVE. AT THE PASTEUR INSTITUTE THE PIGS ARE TIRELY FREE FROM MICROBES FROM THEIR BIRTH TO THEIR MATURITY. n';edlnle!y she will spill the husked rice. How little do we know! -“I am _extremely annoyed” ex- claimed Miss Flather. “Have you been saying things like that to Dr. Calmette and Dr. Pettit? What will me! Oh, I am extremely am a student, only a T answered. “They think ex- cellently well of you; and, you know it perfectly. But have not the United States a few thinks coming to them also? Spill it, mademoiselle. We un- derstand that all discoveries made at the Institute are its own to com- municate officially. But news” I said, “just news! “I am only a student,” she reiter- ated. Obviously, it would be well to go gently. “Apart from _histology,” I “your work—" “I tried to get a general idea of the instruction of blology in Paris, both in the establishments of higher education and in some of the lycees.” “They correspond to our high said, “No: the lycees prepare for the baccalaureate and all state examina- tions up to the highest professional schools, and the baccalaureate corre- sponds to two years in our colleges. It means two years more work than the diploma of our, high schools.” “And vitamines™ Again she balked. quote her. x % ¥ % UT 1 gather that the *so-called vitamines™ are considerably more variou@ than had been supposed. Heretofore, many of us have jogged along in life fairly well, because we have eaten a great variety of foeds and thus accldentally consumed the vitamines necessary for life and health. But who can know how many pine, lose health and life itself just because their habitual food has not enough of this or that vitamine? In the future our meals will be bullt up around things which we cannot see or smell or taste. “Unless,” I insinuated, “we take them in a tiny phial?” I am not to “When they She did not rise to it. “The British government,” she said, t “has set aside a large appropriation for research work along these line: done by the Lister Insti- tute and elsewhere under the Medical . In American laboratories, doubtless, hundred: 1at work. As a patriotic American,’ she concluded primly, “I feel confl- :dent that America will have & share lln the Ziscosaries.” 1 es.’ Obviously, it is a scramble. ! “New vitamines?” I queried. : No answer. “Surprising remedial transforma- en brought about by known ones,” I fished in the trou- ! bled waters. “Such small quantities,” she mused. lack in foods, they render life im-|“Ope fifteen-thousandth of an ounce and we have only to feed husked rice to pigeons as exclusive diet for a short time for them to fall sick. Their feet become paralyzed. Juice of potatoes, for example, cures them at once. Otherwise, they die in a few days. It was from such rejected rice husks that Funk separated, by complicated fractionations, a certain combination, of which he gave the chemical formula, and claimed, doing this, to have Isolated vitamines, ‘whose name he invented. It was not repeated afterwards. Funk worked here with us at times, but chiefly in London.” Surely, 1 meditated, T can drag it out of a weak girl. I will go to her and say: “All Is djscovered!” possible. Husked rice lacks (s:m.. and im- of a vitamine product made from Yeast, when added to the hulled rice diet of those pigeons, cured thelr paralyzed legs in & few hours™ “A pigeon is small” I said, “but an old man is big! An old man would need more, wouldn't he? Or perhaps more concentrated stuff, from some new vitamine? Miss Flather looked hostlle. . “Nothing is known,” she said, “of between old sge and Hum, hum! N:rl'. 1 wonder? Was there not, perhaps, some small equivocation inm, that answer? Noth! is known by whom? v’ul?u-hl:d. eclence, all right. By Pasteur Institufe of Paris? , i L TR 4 - »