Adventure Magazine Cover, December 18, 1919 — page 194: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

' She broke away from him and ran ' 180 again that he was coming out and that he was going to wear a mask so that he could kill her without any one recog- nizing him. He-must have been drunk, she said. He was often drunk. She snatched a handful of things together and fled, but he had met her right at the — e followed. She darted through the en- trance next door and ran up the stairs. He had caught her by the skirt and put the gun to her head but she had tripped him and fled down the hall—and burst into my room. After that everything had happened as I said. Asa preliminary story, the police were ready to accept it. Things more strange than she told happened daily under their noses and nothing remained except to confirm her story by going to the apart- ment next door. I wondered if she had thought of that wlten she gave an ad- dress so near at hand. She had said that her name was Mar- jorie Cline and before she left the room I had no reason to question her ingent- ity and resourcefulness. . to go with the officers. Without a flaw she kept the rdle I had thrust upon her. She looked pathetic and appealing. She was pretty and she did appear help- less, thoroughly distressed; so much so that the policemen, who are rather cyni- cal and not easily made sympathetic toward people who tell strange stories, were gentle, even kind, with her. She spoke to me weakly, withotit offering a handclasp or thanks, which would not have looked well, and said that she was sorry that she had brought such trouble upon me, I bowed remotely and did not return any polite phrases. Then she did a daring thing. She picked up the black casket from the table, picked it up swiftly and handed it with a sort ef explanatory gesture toward the biggest policeman, saying that it con- tained a few little trinkets with which she had fled her room. The policeman looked at me, but before I could say anything _—I don’t know that I would have said “much anyway—she explained further : “Qh, yes, it’s mine. See the mono- pram: MC,’ ”’ He took it into his hand, scrutinized it and handed it back to her ; together She stood up. Adventure they went out, leaving me staring through the doorway. The policeman who kept watch over the dead sat down, lighted a cigar, flicked ashes on the carpet and began to talk of other dead,men and the various ways in which they had found their deaths. I bent over and put my nose to the car- nations. [ had of late been showing a rather unusual interest in flowers. Suddenly a heavy, uniformed man burst into the room. “She’s got away!” he cried. “The little devil—slipped right around the corner. Wasn't watching her. suspected a thing. They never heard of her at the apartment next door—and she’s gone. Right into the fog!” The big fellow smashed his fist into Never an open palm and swore feelingly. Then questions came rapidly at me, but I stood pat. I knew nothing more of her than I had told.. Nothing was to be got out of me—not at that late hour. Then the ambulance came and the policeman and the dead man went away. When they were gone I made sure that. the blinds were down, hung a cap on the» door-knob and emptied the large bulbous vase into the water-bowl. Then I fished out rings, bracelets, earrings and. such, and dried them on a _ bath-towel and tumbled the collection on, the bed. [| went over them carefully, but as I knew |. nothing of gems anyway it was not sur- - prizing that I found none I could a nounce genuine. The next day I received a note. was a short note, but it came from the woman whose name I never knew, for she said that it was not Marjorie Cline— “but something like that.” She assured me’ that her story, as she had told it to me, was true, literally true, and that I was welcome to the paste gems as mementoes from her, because the casket had a false bottom where the real jewels were hid- den. The lock was flimsy, so a robber might break it open easily and then, finding the paste duplicates, fill his pockets and go with nothing of value. The note ended: Oh, I hope it isn’t a terrible thing to say, but I believe my prayers to be freed from that beastly man were heatd in heaven—for my cg i in today, and I can be happy now. an A) ” age SS me (E(0) 0\(0(0) thre con ue