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VOLUME XXXV. LAURENS, SOUTH CAROLINA, WEDNESDAY, MAY 26, 1920. (Cointied fronm Last, Veek.) "Let ime g1 p1c : gle me go." 1 plnced h tr In a cluir. ni d still Ieping a tiglit hold ol one of her arimis, stii helr, debating what to (10. Wiait dileiratemtive cotil< have driveil t1his glil to tlie daing jotitrIiey across the niarrow leie by whleh shle h1n-1 gain1ed nvce!Ss to mly qIuaIr ter s ? Was She, T wotlleredl. onive more in the 11) i m i'r of' HIt evil x.I lusihnnl fC iers, driven by fea r of himl) to sich d"setat 'eeds. "Let Ime :to..." .ho monn.led nnn "Not util1 yoiui tell mII, whiat you were IdIig in tuy ioois," I un:-IVere(d firily. "I did not know Ithere was nn one here. I thoutiht the apartient was Vacillit. I toliglit the (istontis were "'Bu1t why did you cOlie?" "I en n't teil Itlat",' sie 'onned. "I can't! I ean't !" "You inlst," I repelited. "I aim go ing to keep yoi here uotil you d tell me." "You miast not keep me here," she said. IT don't wtint my people to know about Iny havling been here. You look like a gentleman. Please lot ue go." "Doesn't An ria rnt-doesn't your als. ter know you nre here?" At my mention of her sister's rinnie an expressIon of amazement escaped her. "Wh are you?" she naked excited ly. "How did you know who I was?" "I- nn a friend .of your sister," I answered. "She will tell you who 1 am. You must trust me. I fegl I have a right to know what you are doing here. Won't you tell me?" A strange look came into her ejes and she shook her head. "You wouldn't understand. I was trying to trace the whispers." "The whispers I" I cried excitedly. "You have heard them, too?" "Often," she said. "I heard them tonight. Mother and Barbara were oult to the theater. They scerned to come from near the ceiling in my sits ter's room. They seeimed to vanish in the direction of this room. I thought there was no one here. I de.. cided to creep along the ledge and see if I could trace them." "And did you suicceed?" She shook her head. "When I first came in this room I could still hear then. They seemed to be coning fron up near the ceiling. I got up on a chair end put my ear to the wall to listen. Then they stopped altogether and then-you Came In. May I go now-hefore my mother cones home?" "On oie condition," I answered, "that you tell your sister aibotit your haiivlng bieen her'e." "I'll tell her if you wish mec toa," she repliedl, "an' now, please may I go? Cloubl y' 3ou let tme out or 3 -mtr door'? See, I brought a key to ou' apertmett with mhe. I don't think T dard' make thait tri) necross the ledge tonighit." As I es'or'tedl her to thle dloor, mry mind in a whIrl over the events of the evenIng, I suddenlhy remnemberdd how imortannt it was thant I should see her sister for' a long talk before I kept my applointm ient with Oornman.' "Tell your sister," I saidi to ClaIre Bradfordl as shte depar'ted, "tlint it is itmplert'ive that sh~e meet ime at lumh eon tomorrow. I have news~ of the utmost untportnnee-news t at con cen all of us. Trel her to meot me at the Astor at one. She mu ~t come." "I'll tell her," she replied. CHAPTER VII. It was the next eening th',at I made my astoundhing discovery, When pure chance led me plump into twyhat both Barbara Bradford and I trecognized at ce as our first real clue to the mysteries surrounding us. My find cnic uniexpectefilly at the endi of aun exciting day. As may be imagined I slept little in'j the hours following my unexpected m eeting with Claire Bradford in my roon s, coming as it dlid right on top o. Detective Gorman's revelations as to ho identity of the telephone girl. Colupled with these circuimstances was t ie fact that if my hopes were realiacid, Barbara would be within a very few hours lunching with me for the rat time. I just had to see her b tore I met German. The tale I was t unfold to him was so improbable, so alpnost un believable, that I wanted to\ go ove it 0 hspImers 1usiraftongt ~on Irwm i Myers able to coivilce Ithe* e4(' 'tve that it wa*:s IIth( nbsoluell truthi . I could Iot help but realize ho". prepost6I'oVus It wul und141 in tihe bhimelld f'or beivin ihntl : v m1ind Ini heen latinin11ed by witn~eSSingw too manly Imovie thl4P 4i5er. Yot I h1l 41pr(of. Tliere vere 1w la (ntris In my gr'ent unch''s d111ry 1t0 I Could slow. I inj( the 44n(on1y 4ous 1n41tes. My story of the s1r1n-.9I' whisiers, Ir inved he, e(ml 1e con1)1-med IIy I he (1ld IIIa1undress, by B1rm1:-:1 1Ira1(lford, y , and by CIiIre, too. That is, if the reason (hire had gin onerount for her preilence InI my room was the true olie. it sou(nded logI , a1n11 yet I (d iot pne il the coniblice in her that I did in liaibarn. liut whi I relied on most of all to convince Gormatn of the truth of 14y prelosteroius f1de was his own knowl edge of wlo the telephone girl was. Just wheni I hn( reachei the dedue tioni tlt the hand ploiting against Its must live a Condjutor In the build Ing, he hiad come forward with the knowledge that pointed toward the parson ilost apt to be involved. I was pondering it all over lit my naind as I left the house to meet lIar b:tra. I wIs out on4 the street aind just turning the corner when I reieil hered that I hld spent Iost of the money in my pocket the night'before. 1Retracing 4ny steps, I returned to my apartment and took some bills from their hiding-place in the bookcase. As I emerged into the street again, I be Came -aware that across the sirect was a man whose appearance seemed vaguely familiar. As I once more turuned the corner, walking briskly, I glanced back for a second look at him and was surpised to see him com ing In my direction. Then all at once my subconscious mind came to my rescue. I realized when it was that I had seen him be fore and what made his appearance so familiar. As I left the house not tenl minutes ago that very ;tame man had bden standing across the street. As I ha(1 turned back at the corner he had been coming in my direction just as lie was now. Ile must be following mue, tralling me10, shadowing 141e. I determined to test out my theory. At the next cor ner I turned sharply, glancing quickly back as I did so. Ile was still follow IIg me, though on the other side of the street and perhaps half a block away. I wenit at few steps out of sight and then stopped as if to look in a shop w1(indow. lie came hurrying around*. ie corner an instant later, slowing down as soon as he spotted me agaIn and walked On lowly puast me as if not notleing me. I waited until he was some1 distance beyond and~ retrainlg m~y steps qulic(kly to the avenue againa stopped( in theO shelter of a buli~iling to light a cigar, pulrposely wasting a numlbher of ma)4tces.. Ini hardly ten seconds lhe was lback, covert ly wvatching 1me from the other side of the street. There wasi1 no question abioult it. Ie was trailing mue. lit whlo could( be0 having mie shadol(wedl? Certainly lie was4i not in the emp1lo1y of the Israd fords or of Detective Coriman. Either lie must 1)0 oiie of tihe hand of plot ters, or--I halted to voice my susi clon, hut somlehow the t' cughit of my great-tacie R7ufus kept obtrudling it self. It w1old be just i I the sus5 pieious~ old muiser, if it was lie who had planned 4411 this devilment, to put me in a position of trust and1 then to have 111 watchied night and~ (lay. Whoever it was that inspired this pursuit, I determined to lead lmy shadowv a merry chase. Jumnping into a taxi I bade the driver take me to a department store. Looking back I sawv tho shadow hastily entering an other cab. Arrived at my dlestination I thrust fare and tip into tihe driver's hand and hurrying insido managed to catch an elevator just ascending. One flight uIp I got out a1nd redlescenlded to the main floor by a staircase at the rear, emnerglig thence on to a sidle street. A secondi taxi took me to the Twenty-eighth street sub~way sta tion, and there, with no sign of my pursuer, I took a tr-ala to Times square and went to the Astor to moot Barbara Bradford, arriving on the dot of one. She wats there awaiting me and we quickly found a secluded table in one of the less conspicuous rooms. 'Tvo told Claire everything," she said as soon as we were seated. "I honn von'ren not ngr with ma her. I am sorry to have frightened her." "She shouldn't have gone to your room. That's just like her, though. "She Shouldn't Have Gone to Your Room. That's Just Like Her, Though." She alwiayi acts oi the spur of the ioonrit. She's awfully worried, too, poor l." "We can sive her," I s.id. "Why," site asker quickly, "what have you learned?" "I was convinced that they Imust hnve soneone In the house aiding them. I've found out who it is. It's the telephone girl-Nellie Kelly is the name she goes hy." "I cain't )elieve it," cried the girl, shocked at my statement. "She's only a girl like myself. I have talked to her lots of times. I'm certain there's nothing wicked or wrong about her." "I'm afraid there is," I explained. "I took her out to dinner list night, to the White Room. The house detective, while she was off telephoning. prac tically ordered me out of the place be cause I was with her. She's notorida. ier husband in Lefty Moore, a %vi known burglar. He's in Sing Sing now. Detective Gorman arrested him. He oughtto know." "Oh, the poor girl," exclaimed Miss Bradford, tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm so sorry for her." - "But think of yotl sister, Think what they are trying to do with Miss Kelly's aid." "But how do yon know she's aiding them 7" "I don't know It. But I do know that nohody could pull off all the things that have been happening in the Granddeck without some one there helping them. We've found someone used to helping criminais-a criminal's wife. Isn't that enough? All we need to do now is to watch her closely and fasten the thing on her." "Ilow are you going to do that?" "That's why I insisted on your con ing here today. I am to meet Detective Gorimiian at three. I feel that lie could nid us, am I think wo ought to tell himl (verything.'" "Tell the police!" Iler face grew white at the thought. "Woulin't that inean a s(indal-the newspapers and all that sort of thing?" I shook my head decisively. "Gorinan's not with th' pollee now. Ile is (mii pioyed as i hotel detective. But he is just thie tan 1- we need. o h1l I us. Ile knows till abouift ('riminiais and1( how to t rack the'to. With his ol we catn guickly cienr th le who le tinig ftp." ''Will you have to tel1lhimt every t hi ng-aboiut ('Clire's tmarringe?"' "W~e've either got to t'il himit every thinig or not hing."' "Ohlm ,howv I wvishi we dlid not hiave to. Theii more eleflI there ire who' kniow about i tigs thle mtore Ii kely they arte Ito becoiie publie."' "Yet yo tusted file With your ss. IShe gave mec a quick 81lanmce of crGa " (u'e ifierent." mimafal most people would not agree with you. They wouhl~ regard mte as a worthless, discredlited young fellowv out of a job)." "But it's not y'outr fauilt." "Tho point is," I wenit on, "that we have reached a place where we need expert adlvice. ior'man hats fortuitone-I ly tfurned uip to give it. Th'io only way is to tell him i everything." For a monment she dehnted thme mat ter silently, her pretty forehend puck Cred in thou gh t. I"Yes," she said at last, "I sutppose it is the onily way3. Bfut wvon't lhe wuanlt a lot of money for his services?" "I'll attenld to that," I ans-wered., "I'll make my great-uncle reward him handsomely for recoverling the Gaston jewels." "If ho does." "Hie nmust. We've got to get them back." 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