Jasper County Democrat, Volume 16, Number 89, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 February 1914 — WITHIN THE LAW [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

WITHIN THE LAW

By MARVIN DANA

FROM THE PLAY OF BAYARD VEILLER Copyright, 1913, by tho H. K. Fly company.

CHAPTER XV. Within the Toils. THE going of Garson left the room deathly still. Dick turned to Mary and took her hand in his. His arm swept about her in a protecting embrace—just in time or she would have fallen. A whisper came from her quivering lips. Her face was close to his, else he could not have caught the uncertain murmuring. The muscles of her face twitched. She rested supinely against him as if bereft of any strength of body or of soul. Yet, in the intensity of her utterance, the feeble whispef struck like a)shriek of horror. “I—l—never saw any one killed before!’’ Before he could utter the toothing words that rose to his lips, Dick was Interrupted by a slight sound at the door. Instantly he was all alert to meet the exigencies of the situation. He stood by the couch, bending forward a little as if in a posture of intimate fondness. He heard the noise again presently, now so near that he made sure of being overheard, so at once he spoke with a forced cheerfulness in his inflection. “I tell you. Mary," he declared, “everything’s going to be all right for you and me. It was bully of you to come here to me like this.” The girl made no response. Dick, in nervous apprehension as to the Issue,

sought to bring her to realization of the new need that had mint upon them. “Talk to me,” he commanded eery softly. “They’ll be here in a minute. When they come in preteud you just came here in order to meet me. Try, Mary. You must, dearest!" Then again his voice rose to loudness as he continued: “Why, I’ve bee® trying all day to see you. And now here we are together, just as 1 was beginning to get really discouraged. 1 know my father will eventually”— He was interrupted by the swift swinging open of the hallway door. Burke stood just withiu the library, a revolver pointed menacingly. “Hands up, all of you!” The inspector’s voice fairly roared the command. The belligerent expression of his face vanished abruptly as his eyes fell on Dick standing by the couch and Mary reclining there in limp helplessness. “What are you doing in this house at this time of night?” Dick demanded. “I recognize you, Inspector Burke. But you must understand that there are limits even to what you can do. It seems to me. sir, that you exceed your authority by such an intrusion as this.” Burke waved his revolver toward Mary. “What's she doing hbre?” he asked. “You forget yourself, inspector. This is my wife. She has the right to be with me—her husband!” “Where’s your father?” he questioned roughly. “In bed, naturally,” was the answer. “I ask you again. What are yob doing here at this time of night?” “Oh, call your father,” Burke directed..

“It’s late,” Dick objected. “I’d rather not disturb him, if you don’t mind.” Suddenly he smiled very winningly and spoke with a good assumption of ingenuousness. “Inspector,” he said briskly, “I see I’ll have to tell you the truth. It's this: I’ve persuaded my wife to go away with me. She’s going to give all that other sort of thing up. Yes. we’re going away together. So, you see. we’ve got to talk it over. Now. then, inspector, if you’ll come back in the morning”—

As he spoke the white beam of the flashing searchlight from the tower fell between the undrawn draperies of the octagonal window. The light startled the inspector again, had done once before that same night His gaze followed it instinctively. So within the second he saw the still form lying there on the floor. There was no mistaking that awful, motionless, crumpled posture. The inspector leaped to the switch by the door and turned on the lights of the chandelier. In the next moment he had reached the door of (he passage across the room, and his whistle sounded shrill. His voice bellowed re-en-forcement to the blast. “Cassidy! Cassidy!’’ Cassidy came rushing in with the other detectives. “Why, what’s it all mean, chief?” he questioned. “They’ve got Griggs!" Burke answer ed. There was exceeding rage in his voice as he spoke from his kneeling posture beside the body, to which he had hurried after the summons to his aids. “I’ll break you for this, Cassidy," he declared fiercely. “Why didn't you get here on the run when you heard the shot?" “But there wasn’t any shot. 1 tdll you. chief, there hasn't been a sound.” Burke rose to his feet His heavy face was set in its sternest mold. “You could drive a hearse through the hole they made in him." said Cassidy. Burke wheeled on Mary and Dick. “So.” he shouted, “now it's murder! Well, hand it over. Where’s the gun?" He nodded toward Dick as he gave his order. “Search him!” Dick took the revolver from his pocket and held it out.

At this incriminating crisis for the son the father hastily strode into the library. He had been aroused by the inspector's shouting and was evidently greatly perturbed. “What's all this?’’ he exclaimed Burke in a moment like this was no respecter of persons. “You can see for yourself." he said grimly to the dumfounded magnate. “So." he went on. with somber menace in his voice, “you did it. young man." ile nodded toward the detective. "Well. Cassidy, you can take ’em both downtown. That's all.” The command aroused Dick to remonstrance against such indignity toward the woman he loved. “Not her!" he cried imploringly. “You don’t want her. inspector! Thi3 is all wrong!" “Dick." Mary advised quietly, “don't talk, please.” “What do you expect?” Burke inquired truculently. “As a matter of fact, the thing's simple enough, young man. Either you killed Griggs or she did.” The inspector with his charge made a careless gesture toward the corpse of the murdered stool pigeon. Edward Gilder looked and saw the ghastly, inanimate heap of flesh and bone that had once been a than. He fairly reeled

at the spectacle, then fumbled with an outstretched hand until he laid hold on a chair, into which he sank helplessly. “Either you killed him,” the voice repeated gratingly, “or she did. Well, then, young man, did she kill him?” “Good God. no!” Dick shouted, aghast. “Then it was j-ou!” “No, no! lie didn’t!” Mary’s words t ame frantically. Burke reiterated the accusation. “One of you killed Griggs. Which one of you did it?" He scowled at Dick. “Did she kill him?” “I told you no!” “Well, then,” he blustered to the girl, "did he kill him?” The nod of his, head was toward Dick. Then as she remained silent, “I'm talking to you!” he snapped; “Did he kill him?” The reply came with a soft distinctness that was like a crash of destiny. “Yes.” Dick turned to his wife in reproachful amazement. “Mary!” he cried incredulously. “You’ll swear he killed him?” Burke asked briskly. “Why not?” she responded listlessly. At this intolerable assertion as he deemed it Edward Gilder sat rigidly erect in his chair. “Gqd!” he cried despairingly. “And that’s your vengeance!” “I don’t want vengeance—now!” she said. “But they’ll try my boy for murder,” the magnate remonstrated, distraught. “Oh, no. they can’t!” came the rejoinder. “What’s the reason we can’t?" Burke stormed. “Because my husband merely killed a burglar. He shot him in defense of his home!” • * * * * * *

In his office next morning Inspector Burke was fuming over the failure of his conspiracy. He had hoped through this plot to vindicate his au-

thority. so sadly flaunted l>y G arson and Mary Turner. Instead of this much to be desired result from his scheming the outcome had been nothing less than disastrous. Some oi%? had murdered Griggs, the stool pigeon. The murder could not go unpunished. The slayer’s identity must be determined. To the discovery’ of this identity, the inspector was at the present moment devoting himself by adroit questioning of Dacey and Chicago Red. who had been arrested in one of their accustomed haunts, “Come across now!” lie admonished. His voice rolled forth like that of a bull of Bashan. lie was on his feet, facing the two thieves. Ilis head was thrust forward menacingly, and his eyes were savage. “I don’t know nothin’!" Chicago Red’s voice was between a snarl and a whine. “Ain’t I been telling you that for over an hour?"

Burke gave Dacey, who chanced to be the nearer of the two, a shove that sent the fellow staggering halfway across the room under its Impetus. “Dacey, how long have you been out?” “A week.” “Want to go back for another “God. no!" “Who shot Griggs?” The reply was a chorus from the two: “I don’t know—honest, I don’t!” In his eagerness Chicago Red moved toward his questioner. “Honest to Gawd, I don’t know nothin’ about it!” The inspector’s fist shot out toward Chicago Red’s jaw. The thief went to liis knees under the blow.

“Now. get up—and talk!” Burke’s voice came with unrepentant noisiness against the stricken man. Cringingly Chicago Red obeyed as far as the getting to his feet was concerned While he got slowly to his feet lie took care to keep at a respectful distance from the official. Cassidy entered the inspector’s office to announce the arrival of the district attorney. “Send ’im in,” Burke directed. He made a gesture toward the doorman and added. ’em back!” “I came as soon as I got your message,*’ the district attorney said as he seated himself in a chair by the desk. “And I’ve sent word to Mr. Gilder. Now, then, Burke, let’s have this thing quickly?” The inspector’s explanation was concise: “Joe Garson. Chicago Red and bacey, along with Griggs, broke into Edward Gilder's house last night. I knew the trick was going to be pulled off. tind so I planted Cassidy and a couple of other men just outside the room where the haul was to be made. Then I went away, and after something like half an

hour I came back to make the arrests, myself. When I broke into the room I found young Gilder alone with that Turner woman he married, and they were just talking together. “I found Griggs lying on the lioor—dead! The Turner woman says young Gilder shot Griggs because he broke into the house. Ain’t that tlit* limit?" “What does the boy say?" “Nothing. We’ve got Chicago Red and Dacey, and we’ll have Garson liefore the day's over. And, oh, yes! They’ve picked up a young girl at the Turner woman’s place. And we’ve got one real clew—for once!” He opened a drawer of the desk and took out Garson’s pistol, to which the silencer was still attached. “You never saw a gun like that before, eh 7" he exclaimed. Demarest admitted the fact “I’ll bet you never did! That thing on the end is a Maxim silencer. There are thousands of them in use on rifles, but they’ve never been able to use them on revolvers before. That thing is absolutely noiseless. I’ve tried it. Well, you see, it’ll be an easy thing—easiest thing in the world!—to trace that silencer attachment. Cassidy's working on that end of the thing now!” (To be continued.)

“Hands up! All of you!”

“You could drive a hearse through the hole they made in him.”