CIHM
Microfiche
Series
({Monographs)
iCMH
Collection de
microfiches
(monographies)
Canadian Instituta for Hiatorical Microraproductiona /
Inatitut Canadian da microraproductlona hiatoriquM
Technical and Bibliographic Notes / Notes techniques et bibliographiques
Tha InttHule has attempttd to obtain tha bast original
copy available for filming. Features of this copy which
niay ba bibliographicatly unique, which may alter any of
tha imagas in tha raproduetion, or which may
significantly change the usual method of filming are
checi(ed below.
Coloured covers /
Couveilure de couleur
□ Covers damaged /
Couverture endommag#e
□ Covers restored and/or laminated /
Couverture restaurie et/ou pellicul£e
I .Cover title missing /LetBiede couverture manque
C^oured maps / Cartes gtographiqucs en couleur
Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black) /
Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou n^e)
□ Cotoured plates and/or illustrations /
Plandws et/ou iliustratkMW en couleur
□ Bound with other material /
ReM avee d'aulres documents
□ OrUy edition available /
Seule MNton disponible
□ Tight tending may cause shadows or distortion along
Interior ma^in / La reKwe serrie peut causer de
i'ombre ou de la distorsion le long de la marge
intirieure.
□ Blank leaves added during restorations may appear
within the text. Whenever possible, these have been
ondtted from filming / N se peut que certaines pages
blanches ajout^es lors d'une restauration
apparalssent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela 4tait
possH)le. ces pages n'orrt pas M filmtes.
□ Addittonal comments /
Commentaires supptfmcntaircs:
L'Institut a microfilmi la meiiieur exemplaire qu'il lui a
iM possible de se procurer. Les details de cat exem*
plaire qui sont peut*£tre uniques du point de vue bB)8-
ogrspMque, qui peuverrt mo(Wier une image reproduite,
ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la mitho*
de normale de filmage sont indiqu^s ci-dessous.
I I Coloured pagM/Pagea da couleur
I I Pages damaged/ Pages endommagiea
□ Pages restored and/or laminated/
Pages restaurtfes et/ou peffieuMes
Phges discotoured, stained or foxed /
Pagea dtcolortfas, tadiatiea ou piqutes
I I Pages detached / Pages d^lach^es
Showthrough /Transparence
□ Quality of print varies /
QuaSt* in^gale de rbnpression
□ includes supplementaiy material /
Comprend du matiriel siq^menlaire
J y( Pages wholly or partially obscured bv ^ ff ic <>i^,
I — ' tissues, etc., have been refilmed to eiii-,^. ihe best
possible image / Les pages tota br .cnt ou
partieHement obscwcies par un feuillet d'ci 3c. ui, une
pelure, etc., ont €i6 film^es k nouveau da fafon k
obtenir la meilleure image possible.
□ Opposing pages with varying colouration or
discotourations are filmed twice to ensure the best
possble Image / Les pages s'on)osant ayant des
colorations variables ou des decolorations sont
tilmies deux fois afin d'obtenir la meilleure iniage.
possibte.
This item is filmed at the reduetim ratto checked below /
ۥ deeinncnt ttt au taux da rMwliofi Indlqui ci*deiSMt.
10x 14x llx 22x 26x 30x
I I I I I I I I I M I I I I I I l~rT-
12x 18x 20x 24x 28x 32x
Th« copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks
to the generosity of:
ItotloMi Library of Canada
This title was microfilmed with the generous
penrnlssion of the rights holder:
David H. Strlngar
L' exemplaire film« fut reproduit grAce k la
g^n^rosit^ de:
BtbllatMqiM MtfonaU du Canada
Ce litre a 6X6 microfilm^ avec I'aimable autorisation
du d^tenteur des droits:
David H. Strlngar
The images appearing here are the best quality
possible considering the condition and legibility of
the original copy and in Iteeping with the filming
contract specifications.
Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed
beginning with the front cover and ending on the
last page with a printed or illustrated impression, or
the bac\i cover when appropriate. All other original
copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a
printed or illustrated impression, and ending on the
last page with a printed or illustrated impression.
The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall
contain the symbol -♦(meaning "CONTINUED"), or
the symbol ▼ (meaning "END"), whichever applies.
Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at
different reduction ratios. Those too large to be
entirely included in one exposure are filmed begin-
ning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and
top to bottom, as many frames as required. The
following diagrams illustrate the method:
Les images suivantes ont 6\6 reproduites avec le
plus grand soin. compte tenu de la condition et de
la nettet* de rexemplaire filmA. et en conformity
avec les conditions du contra! de f Hmage.
Les exemptaires origlnaux dont la couverture en
papier est imprimde sont film^s en comment ant
par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la
demi6re page qui comporte une empreinte d'im-
pression ou d'illustration, soit par le second plat,
selon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires origln-
aux sont f ilm68 en comnr»n?ant par la premiere
page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou
d'illustration et en terminant par la derni^re page
qui comporte une telle empreinte.
Un des symboles suivants apparaltra sur la
demiire image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas:
le symbole -» signifie "A SUIVRE". le symbols ▼
signifie "FIN".
Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent §tre
fiim^s h des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque
le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en
un seul cliche, il est film^ k partir de Tangle
sup^rieur gauche, de gauche h droite, et de haut
en bas, en prenant le nombre d 'images
ndcesFaire. Les diagranrwnes suivants iltustrent la
m^thode.
1
MOOCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART
(ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2)
^ /APPLIED IIVMGE li
16S3 East Main Street
Rochester, ^4ew York 14609 USA
(716) 482 - 0300 - PtMMW
(71») 288 - 5989 - Fox
THE DOOR OF DREAD
THE
DOOR OF DREAD
A S§cra Sirvic$ Romance
N
MTHUIt STRINGER
UEONE BRACKEJl
i>n:K»AifAi*ous
TMI *K^MKEEILL COMPANY
THE
DOOR OF DREAD
A Secret Service Romance
By
ARTHUR STRINGER
If. LEON£ fiRACKEU
INDIANAPOLIS
TBI BOnS-lfBRULL COMPANY
To
My Old Friend
Arthur MacFarlane
In Memory of Our
Attic
THE DOOR OF DREAD
THE DOOR OF DREAD
CHAPTER ONE
"TT THAT'S yoar namer
V V "Sadie Wimpd/*
"And your home?''
"Anywhere under me hat I"
The heavy-jowled man with th- incongruously
alert side-glance looked up across the polished desk-
top.
"What do you mean by that?"
"That me home's mostly where I happen to be."
He studied her with an eye as wistful as an old
hound's eye in winter. She looked as ctooper and
neat, in her trim-cut tailor-made gown, as a well
groomed polo pony. And under her neatness of
limb was a suggestion of strength, and under her
strength a trace of audacity, and under that audacity
a toudi of restivenras.
"Have you ever been in Europe ?"
"Surer
1
2 JHE DOOR OF. DREAD.
"About an over the lot/' was the languid re-
ipoiue.
"I asked you where f*'
"Wen, Odessa, Budapest, Palermo, Petersburg,
Rome, the Riviera, P^u^ Ostend, Amsterdam,
the "
"ThtstH dor cut in the man at the deslc.
"Quite some little pilgrim, ain't I?" the trim-fig
ored young woman in the Bendel hat had the ef-
f rontety to ask.
Tlw man at the desk fingmred a paper-weight
fashioned from an old coin-die of the Philadelphia
Mint
"Supposing you teU me What you know about
this Fletcher report leak," he quietly suggested.
There was a rustle of siUc as Sadie Wimpel
cro»ed htr knees.
"Admirl Fletcher roped out a Navy report show-
in' how and why a foreign fleet could land in the
United States. Sen'tor Lodge s'bmitted that report
to the Senate. But before doin' it he told 'em the
report ouj^t *o be printed in confidence, as they
put it, and the motion was carried. Secrct'ry Dan-
ids, yuh see, didn't want any foreign guy gettitf
THE DOOR OF DREAD
next to the data in that rqwt It'd be like adm.
tisin' your safe-combinattcm to **
"I know all that"
"Well, there was a certain foreign guy got hold
o' that report."
"Who was it?"
"A capper for KeuddL"
"But who?"
"The same capper that got hold of our aectet iig^
nal code book from the destrojrer HiOl last taranier."
"How do you know that?^
"B'cause I'm a friend of a friend of a friend of
the boob of an ensign who-«sve up tii^ book and
faced a court-martial for it, a lew: :weekt ago^ on
the Oregon/*
"Where was the Oregon when that court^iarttal
.was held?"
"Anchored in San Francisco Bay,** yna the girl's
answer.
For a moment or two Chief Blynn of the Secret
Service stared out of the broad window of the
Treasury Building. Jost beyond that window was
the Washington Motwrnent, and bdnad that tbt
Bureau of Ei^vii^ and Prinlhig, where ^ dte-
tric devaton were rkhig and d^iag ^
4 THE DOOR OF DREAD
afternoon crowds, and into B Street was swarm-
ing a motley throng of designers and engravers and
plate-printers, side by side with stitchers and count-
ers and sizers, with steel-press men and bull-gangers
and oil-burners from the Ink Mill, all hurrying
homeward after the day's work. They were part
of a machinery which took on a touch of nobility
because of its labyrinthine intricateness, because of
its sheer unguessed complexities. Yet they were a
mere company in that vast army which Chief Blynn
and his agents were appointed both to appraise and
protect. And they brought home to the haggard-
eyed official so meditatively watching them a hint
of the more immediate complications confronting
him.
"You said you'd done Secret Service work be-
fore?" he askeJ, as he turned back to the girl.
"Yes."
"Where?"
"In Europe."
"Anywhere else?"
"Right here in America."
"For whom?"
"Foryuh!"
The chief looked ponderously up from the pi^eft
THE DOOR OF DREAD $
in which he had pretended to be so pertmadously
interested. It was an old trick of the chiefs, that
of masking his mental batteries behind aa etcat|».
ment of manuscripts.
"Then why haven't I a record of that work?"
guess you didn't know I was doin* it"
"Why?"
"Because I was actin' for Kestner."
"Of the Paris office?"
"Yes."
"And with anybody else?"
The girl hesitated,
'*Yes; with young Wilsna»* as well."
The chief glanced down at his pages of script
"On what case?"
"The Lambert counterfeitin* case."
•Then why aren't you still acting with Kestner?"
"Because he's quittin' the Service."
"Who told you that?"
"Wflsnach."
'Ttees Wilsnach tell you everything he knows?"
Sadie Wimpel uncrossed her knees.
"Not by a long shot!"
"But working together that way, the two of yoa
naturally became more or less confidtotial?"
6 THE DCX)R OF. DREAP
A lUght ilmh ahowcd under tiw rioe-powder en
the woman's fopliistictted young f aee.
"I wu wiae to Kettner's duddn' the buggy long
before Wibnadi ever opened his peep about it"
'^ow did that happenr
'3'canse I knew the skirt who was cannin' his
purfessk»1 chances by manyin' him.**
Does narriage always do that?"
"When a skwth settles down it ain't wise to stadc
bo high on him stayin' the curiy wdf o' the singed-
cat crib.**
The duel pusded for a momeni or two ever this
i^parently enigmatic statement.
'TThen it's Wilsnadi you want lo swing in witH
en this new work?"
"Not if I have to crowhar me way into it"
"But why are you so sure you can help the Serv-
ice out in this case?"
1 never said I wanted to hdp the Service out"
"Then what do you want to do?"
"I want 'o see >^msnadi n^ke good."
For just a nxmient a smile flidcered about tiie
face of the pendulous-jowled man at the desk. It
made the watdiing giri think of heat-lightning along
an August ^-line.
THE POOR 09: DRIAD 7
"But how do you know Wiltnach ii goiqg to bt
put on this .^asc ?"
"Because he's the only num yuh've got who can
round up that gang."
Again a meditative silence feU over the man at
the desk. Then he threw aside his pose of hostility,
as a man makes ready for work ty throwing off hit
coat.
"Sadie, how old are you?" he quickly inquired.
"Good nightr was the girl't grimly evadvt an-
swer.
"You said your name was Win^ Haf» m
any other?"
"None worth mentionin'."
"You mean you're not a marriad WMnaa?^
"Not on your life!"
"And never were?"
A shadow crossed the pert young face under the
Bendel hat.
"Me for the single harness I" she announced, with
a shrug.
He sat pondering her for a silent moment or twa
"What nationality are you ?"
"Come again," said the puzzled girl
"Are you a good American?"
8 THE DOOR OF DREAD
1 won't ganiUe on the 'good.* But ain't bdn
jvtt Anorkui about enough in times like these?"
"It's enough f acknowledged the nun at the desk
with a sigh.
**BvA what I wanted to get at is, where did youi
parents come from?"
"Me mother was Irish."
"And your lather?"
"Seaith mer
The dew-lapped head moved slowly up and down
Then came still another moment of silence.
'^ow, Sadie, there's a door you're keeping shut
between the two of us."
"A door?" ectoed the girl.
Tes, a door that you don't seem willing to open ;
a door that seeiis to lead out on other days." He
raised a heavy hand at the flash of ahum in het
wide-open young eyes. **But I'm gofaig to let that
door stay shut, my girl; for as long as it stays that
way it needn't count with either one of us."
**I don't quite get yuh," murmured the not alto-
fether tranqiA young woman. "And what's the
game, anyway, wif all this third-degiee stuff?"
'^ve I seemed too inquisitive?"
"No-<H«>! But yfhea yuh get me thumb-prints
THE DOOR of: DREAD 9
and me weight, tub-siife, jruhH jnift about havt mt
record, won't yuh ?"
The chief smiled u he beat orer the pi^en in
front of him.
"My dear girl, we've had yoor record hen for
the last five years. That's part of our bathieM.''
"Hully gee I" said the girl, stiffening in the chair
where she sat. Then, furrowing her yoonf brow,
she craned apprehensively about at the ittrimfafftt iny
sheets of closely-written script
"But that's not the point, Sadie," pufmed her
inquisitor. "The point it that you're a lemarfcably
Clever young woman."
Sadie Wimpel, under her rioei»wder, turned
promptly and visibly pink.
"Aw, Chief, cut out the con!"
"But I mean it." The girl shook her head.
"I'm a mutt and I know it. And I've been at
nervous as a cat since I breezed in here, for when
yuh swivel-chair boys throw a scare into me I flop
straight back to me Eight' Ward talk. But phst
me outside wif the hotel broads and I can puO the
s'':iety stuff so's Ida Vcmoo'd look like aa alto-
ran!"
"you're not only clever, Sadie, but you'ie attiact-
10 TH£ DOOK or, DREAD
ive. You're young and you're good to look at. And
the fact that you're a distinct deviation from type
makes you especially valuable for the >irork jve're
going to lay out for you."
A secretarial-looking young man in glasses en-
tered the room and stepped softly to the chief's desk.
There he murmured a discreet word or two and as
softly left the room. Chief Blynn's hand went out
and touched a buzzer-button on his desk-end. In-
significant as that movement was, the girl's quick
eye detected a valedictory note in it.
"Then yuh're goin' to ginune that work?" she
asked as she rose to her feet.
"That depends on your friend Kestner."
"Where does Kestner cwme in?"
"He comes in through that door in two minutes.
He and Wilsnach, in fact, are waiting out thert to
talk this case over with me."
"So Wilsnach's there tool*" taid the girl, ttaring
at th? door.
"Yes, Sadie; but I've go! to deny you the pleas-
ure of seeing him. I want you to step out this other
way, and go straight back to your room at the Ral-
eigh. Then I want you to wait there until I call you
up. And to-night after dinner either Shrubb or
.THE DOOR OF. DREAD| 1%
BrubKfaer wfll cone and explain just what has to
be doner
The heavjMwdied wan was on his feet by this
tiro^pitotinghertemafd Aedoor onthe far side
oftheroonL But the giri hnng^back for a moment.
•Tlicre'. Jnrt one Amg, Chief." she ventured,
with a haod^iovenient toward the written sheets on
the desk-tofiL ''Have yuh gotta put Wilsnach wise
to aUtiiat dope &et«r
•Whaidoper
"Aboof me blaelE vebet fastr
ThediiellaqiM.
•Thafa aa opeiathe's report on the Warren
P«*rf-«wigi?iiig case,** he explained. "But in the
matter of that door I happened to mention, I said
it would stay dint, Sadie, and shut it stays!"
"I get yah r die announced, as she passed out of
the nooL But flippant as her words were, there
remained in them a tremulotts note of gratitude.
Chief %nn swung about, stiU smiling, as the
<>oor on the opposfte side of iflie room opened. The
next momctti be was shaldng hands with Kestncr
and Wilsaach of the Paris office.
•TCestner.- the head of the Service said as he suik
into his swivd^hair, *1 want you to come tadt."
12 JHE DOOR of: DREAD
"My fighting days are over," announced the man
who had said good-by to the Service. Yet he looked
with no unfriendly glance at the ponderous face in
which was set the shrewdest pair of eyes he had ever
stared into.
"Then make this your Tast fight," almost pleaded
the official, who plainly was not greatly given to pe-
titioning for favors.
"Try the younger men," Kestner smilingly sug-
gested. "Give Wilsnach here a chance on the case."
The man from the Paris ofiice shifted a little un-
easily.
"Wilsnach was on the case for a week," explained
the chief, "and yesterday he asked me to wire for
you."
There was open reproof in Kestner's glance at
his colleague of other days.
"Wilsnach knows I came to America for quite
another purpose," he explained; "for the somewhat
personal, though trifling, purpose of getting mar-
ried."
"My dear fellow, by all means get married," be-
gan the man at the desk. "Bui — "
"But at once tear off on a beagle-chase around the
world after some verminous criminal with a weak-
THE DOOR of: DREAQ 13
ness for ten-cent becMiottses and traveling steer-
age r
"This chase win not take you out of America,"
corrected Chief Blynn, "Jhat much I can guaran-
tee."
"But it win take me out of my club and my newer
way of kx)king at things," explained the patient-
eyed Kestner. "You see, I seem to be developing a
sort of philosophic sense of humor, and that leads
to self-criticisra, and that in turn keeps whispering
to me that gunMhoeing and gray hairs don't always
go well together r
"So mhat yoo want is peace with honor, the same
as the rest of this country that's sleeping on a vol-
canor
Tve had eaoa^ of the volcano, at any lai %"
"Wdl, for a famUy man who's tired of eruptions,
I shonkl think an embassy secretaryship, say Rome
for ten nKMiths, then London for a year, and then
one of the quieter Continental Embassies itself,
JwouW be just about the right thing to keep the rust
off."
^ntner tmrned and eyed the older man; but that
older man disregarded his stare.
•*This isn't k>08e taflc, Kestner. We can't expect
14
THE POOR of; dread
you to come back without making it worth while for
you. But you know the way things stand with the
Administration. You know the Navy people can't
afford to let much more of their stuff get out And
when you land your people you'll get your post
That's as sure as taxes and death 1"
"You could do it inside of a month," prompted
the bland-eyed Wilsnach.
"There are occasions," said the solemn-eyed Kest-
ner, "when a month may seem a very long nace of
time."
"Isn't an ambassadorship sometimes worth three
or four weeks of waiting?" inquired the man at the
desk. "I know a few guys who've worked twenty
years for 'em I"
"But I'm not working for ambassadorships."
"D' you mean you don't even vxmi one?" was the
somewhat acidulated inquiry.
"It's a great honor, and a great opportunity," ac-
knowledged Kestner. "But when I work for my
country I don't do it ytith one hand in the pork-
barrel!"
The chief's gesture was one of heavy impatience.
"This thing's already been thought over and
tolked over. Foreign pogt« aren't pasicd around
UHE POOR dp: PREAI) 15
like tndinrfltnpt. Tliqr fo tfie men equipped
for them— and from tfait yeir tiioee men are going
to need jpcater eqnipmenl tium flashing a goM-
headed cane and writing tomieti. Yonknowse^
or ei|^ languages, and you'vt covered Europe for
ten or twelve ^pears. You'w leanied the lay of the
land and served your comtaf on some pretty big
questions."
The big form fettled forwatd over the desk and
the big voice dropped torn more serious tone. "Kest-
ner, that coutthy needs you now. It needs you as
it never quite needed you before. And if you're
the American I think you ar^ you're going to dde- '
step the tuOe and orgBfrmusic for a few wedes and
help this Adn&ustntion out of a hofer
A td^lK»e<aa intemqiled Ae chief s words, but
never once did his eyes kave tiie other man's face.
"Remember, it's not this ne w spap e r waiHalk
that's wonying us. We're tfaee months ahead of
that. And it's not the ditp^Kmibs and the factoiy-
bummgs and the labor^kbts tiiat an wonying us.
We've got plenty of good woricers to traa down the
rest of that rouj^i-nack stuff. We am handle the
Fays and Von ud Van Homes and Loo-
^ and Schoises easily enoughs Aough we can't
16
THE DOOR OF DREAD
•Iways holler out how much wc know about 'em.
But there's another gang operating over here that's
getting on our nerves. For example, who told both
Vienna and Berlin that we'd approached the Danish
Minister on the matter of the purchase of the Dan-
ish West Indies and gave the Germans a chance to
set the Rigsdag against the bill of cession? Who
surrendered our vacuum valve amplifier, for pick-
ing up wireless, to that same power? Who stole the
Peari Island's mine-field maps for the protection of
Ae Canal? Who gave our new Fort Totten target-
firing records to the foreign agent who was taken
off the Niew 'Amsterdam at Kirkwall and carried
than in his shoe-sole when arrested? And God
knows what might happen before our next dread-
nought gets off the stays 1 And I'm only telling you
oae4ialf of what we're up against here, with this
second tmderground band sneaking our data before
it can even be reported to the Department itself.
You can jpretty well see, I guess, what's got t * .
done by some one from this office. And I'm not
Ae only man who thinks you ought to do it. You
can count on the Secretary of the Navy, and, what'r
more, you can count on !he White He use !"
WiiimsSa. moved, as though to break the silence,
THE DOOR OF DREAD 17,
but Kesitner stopped him. Then lit turned to tlM
thick-shotildered man at the dfi k.
"Let me explain something to you,*' lie began io
his cool and even tones. "You knofw what oar woik
is. It's a bit like tiger^ooting; lednctive cnoa^
but still dangerous. It has, as you tay, a great deal
of rough-neck work, and now and then an oocasioiial
risk. When you're young, you're ^l&d enoQ^ to
face those risks. There'a a tiirill aboul it But to
keep on at it, once you're nearing for^, you've goi
to have a spark of youth that won't go ottt Yon'^
got to nurse your streak of romanee. Now, tiie
trouble is, I find my spaik gdng out Tbe wotk
doesn't seem romantic to me aiqr moie It ——iff
nearly always homdrtiBi, and ytry often mder-
hand."
"It's necessary work," interrupted tbe oOier.
"So is scavenging. And I fed I've done tbotA
enough of it."
"Then keep it up," persisted the diief, «ty hOp-
ing us clear away this final mess."
"But I'm tired of messes like tf^ Tni tiled ol
the types they bring yott in contact wMl Fnitifed
of the way thqr hw»e to be foonded 1^ Fni tiied
of crook-warreas and gnn-pl^ and wiie^i^fing.
18 THE DOOR OF DREAD
I want quietness and decency and an acre or two of
lawn with a tennis-court at one end and a Japanese
tea-house at the other!"
••Which is exactly what I've been trying to argue
you into," promptly pointed out the chief. "You
get aU those things when you get your rosewood
desk at the Embassy— with a silk hat and a state
carriage thrown in !"
"My experience with Embassies," suggested Kest-
ner, "hasn't precisely fixed them in my mind as
abodes of quietude."
"But instead of stewing along the undercrust,
youH be a monument on the upper," said the chief,
with a repeated heavy gesture that was almost one
of hnpatience. "And w can leave the Embassies
out, for we've got troubles closer than that. We've
got one of the shrewdest and completest systems of
espionage ever organized to break up. As I've al-
ready told you, we've founds leaks from the Navy
and from the Aviation Corps. Our cipher codes
have been stolen and our wireless adaptations lifted.
Our canal fortification plans have been dug out, and
we know two different foreign powers are trying to
get Ae secret of our new balanced turbines, to say
■othing of the Cross torpedo for which, we know
,THE DOOR OF, DRIAQ 1ft
beyond a doubt, one InteOigenoe Department Iim
offered a cod mfflioa And we have eveiy fcaioa
to believe tiw whole bntineH it being engineered by
one of the triddett foreign agents who ever bought
a war^nap."
Kestner sighed a little wearily. "And the gentle-
man's name?" he casually inquind.
The chief was silent for a moment or two, as
though weii^g the expediency of maldng further
confession to one stffl outside the Service. Thcnhe
IwHed out a drawer and tossed a mounted group-
photograph across the desk.
•Thafs an enlargement from a moving-picture
fihn showmg Ae crowd that watdied the hmnchmg
of our new submersible destroyer. Westumbledon
it by accident. But in that crowd is one face, and
if you look at it under the glass youTl see the face
of the man who's organized the entire system that
we've got to beat That's about aU we know, be-
yond the fact, apparently, ^ he's working with
foreign peopk he's brought over for the purpose,
people unknown to our <^>eratives here."
"But who's the man?" repeated Kestner, running
a casual eye along the wdter of dos^ crowded fig-
Bres on the motmted pktme.
20
THE DOOR OP DREAD
"KcudeU!" was the chief's answer.
Kestner's hand dropped to the desk-top. "Kcii-
dell?" he echoed, a trifle vacuously, as he took up
the picture and searched through iti terrkd faces
with a narrowing eye.
"Then you've heard the name?" inqiiiicd the
chief.
"Yes, I've heard the name," was Kestner's slowly
enunciated answer. "And even Wilsnach here will
recognize the face, I imagine."
"You mean you know the man?"
"Do we know him, Wilsnach?" Kestner asked,
turning to his colleague, bent k>ic over the photo-
graph.
"That's Keudell," cried out the younger pan.
"I'd swear it."
"And what do you know about him?" asked
Blynn, turning back to Kestner.
"For one thing, that I hate him the mptt as ft
woman hates a snake."
^ "Why?"
Kestner's answer was neither so prompt nor so
direct as it might have been. "Because embodied
in him is everything about this life that made it,
and still makes it, odious to me."
THE DOOR OF DREADi 21
"Does that mean/' asked the cUef at he waldMd
Kestner restore the pholofnq^ to the detk-topb
"that we're not to coant on 70a hi this ftnV*
Kestner stared for a meditathre momem or two
at the Washington Monument Then he turned Hfk
to the man at the desk.
"I'm not the man for this case. But I know tfie *
people it belongs to. And I can at leait ettrt thoae
people right."
"What people ?" asked the diiel,
"Wilsnach here, for one."
"And the other?"
"Is a young woman na»e( Sadie Wh«|ieL''
"Why this young woman?"
"Because she knows Keudell the same as a ke^er
knows a diamond-back !"
The heavy-shouldered man bdbind the '*H k was
already on his feet.
"Then supposing we talk to the Secretaty of the
Navy for five or ten minutes," he suggested. "And
then we'll see if we can't get hi to the President hun-
self for a few mimttes."
The other two men bad already risen.
"The first thing we ought to do," ej^hdned Kest-
ne*'. "is to round up Sadie Wh^d."
82 iTH£ DOOR OF, DREACj
"Th^** afmoanced the chief as he crossed to the
toner door, "should not be a difficult matter."
"Do you happen to know Sadie?" Kestner asked.
"Stdk Wimpel, gentlemen, is already engaged on
this case,'* announced the chief, with a pardonable
note of pride in hit voice. "And to-morrow, as
M a d i me Fttidiiara, the world-renowned astrolo-
gitt, I might add, the will be doing the decoy-duck
act jutt off Broadway r
CHAPTER TWO
IT was six days after hU confmnee in Waahiap.
ton that Kestner v Srcakfarting in his foomt
overlooking San Diet ' Bay. He had hia reaKma
for privacy, and nursed no inclination, wpputoOy,
to mingle with the gayer company throngiiY tht
wide verandas and corridors of that huge hottdiy
which seemed to exist only for laughter and Tt tf
and dancing and love-making.
Yet the table was laid for two, and as Kestner m
before his iced Casaba he might have been seen to
glance repeatedly and impatiently down at his watch.
His look of anxiety, in fact, did i.ot pass away nnta
a telephone-bell rang and the hotdKjffice annoonoed
the arrival of Lieutenant Keays.
"I'm sorry to be late," proclaimed this yoong fieit-
tenant, as Kestner admitted him and at ^ same
moment dismissed the waiter.
The newcomer, who bore a startlhig itsendW
to Wilsnach of the Paris office, insptettd the huien
breakfast table with evident leHef. It ym, how
23
24 THE DOOR OF DREAD
ever, a rejuvenated Wilsnach, an airy and summery
Wilsnach in white cricketer's flannel, carrying a roU-
brira Panama and a bamboo swagger-stick. "But
to rig out in this get-up takes time."
Kestner, as they took their seats, cast a somno-
lently critical eye over his younger colleague.
"You'll do I" he finally announced.
"But just why am I Lieutenant Keays?" inquired
the man in cricketer's flannel.
"Because, my dear fellow, your arrival has been
duly heralded in the evening papers," Kestner an-
nounced, "and there are one or two persons, quite
outside official circles, who are rather interested in
your new war-plane."
"My new war-plane?" •
"Yes; which you have brought with you from
the Brooklyn Navy Yard— at least, the speciHcations
are now with you."
Kestner handed an oblong packet of papers across
the table to his inquiring-eyed colleague.
"Then you've actually been finding something
out?^ Wilsnach asked.
"I've found out quite a number of things," was
Keitner's quiet-toned answer, as he squeezed a slice
of lemon over his fried sand-dabs. "And not the
THE DOOR OF DREAD 25
least important is : fact that Wallaby Sam is
working with Ke iciell."
Wilsnach looki 1 i p in asto'iishment.
"That's a sweei pair to have against usl" he sol-
emnly affirmed.
"But this seems to be only a side-show," Kestner
explained. "The main-top, we must remember, is
back in New York. It's only outpost work we're
doing here, Wilsnach, for it's Sadie they've planted
at the center of things."
A shadow crossed Wilsnach's face.
"But will it be safe for that girl, working alone
there?"
Kestner smiled.
"You'd rather have her here?" he inquired.
"Couldn't she help us out, on a case like this?"
"But this case, Wilsnach, is off the main line
And you needn't worry about Sadie Wimpel not
being able to take care of herself. In the meantime,
however, we've got our own work cut out for us."
"Along what lines?"
"I'm not quite sure myself, yet You see, I've had
to keep under cover and remain a purely nocturnal
animal, so to speak. And that's cowitod agaiast
me."
26
JHE POOR PF, dread:
"Why under cover?"
"Because one of the facts I've dug out is that the
sweet-scented couple we spoke of a moment ago
have got Anna Makaieff operating for them, and
operating right here in this hotel."
"Makaieff?" cogitated Wilsnach, "Jhat name's
new to me.'*
'•Well, it isn't to me— and I've had the dictaphone
annunciator on the end of this jointed bamboo fish-
ing-pole covering her window every night it was
open."
"Where does she come from?"
"Her father was an Anglicized Pole and her
mother a music-hali singer in Paris. She was
trained for the stage herself, but married before she
.was twenty. Then she went to India with an Eng-
lish army-officer who knew nothing of her antece-
dents. There she hitched up with a Russian grand-
duke and ran away to the Orient, where she was
soon deserted, and had to live by her wits. Keudell
found her there when he was buying up German
coast-defense data, and took her to Vienna, where
she learned two or three more languages, and how
to dress, and a few of the tricks of the international
?py trade. She wgis four year* in Petrograd« and
THE POOR of; PREAEf aZ
those four years, I'd venture, cost the Russian gov-
ernment a good nany million rubles in militaij;
leaks. Then she rather dropped out of things for
a few years, for she actually fell in love with a
young artist and stuck to him like a bur until ^
family railroaded the boy out of the country. Jo-
day she's an exceptionally iulroit and attractive
woman of the panther type, at the dangerous age
of thirty, and with her claws this time sei in the
flesh of a Lieutenant-Colonel Diehms oui heie.*'
"And has Diehms been— r!" iWilsnadi aeemed le-
Ittctant to put his felloic-offioeifa fyH into ^n»d»,
I'm afraid so."
'Toorde'ir
"Yes, poor devil, for He Has a ynU imi tm <3ui^
dren at Wihningtoo, and Sfambb ^mttB Ine ttcy'te
the right sort!"
"And does jtbe liCalaueff ^ghuaaiuL aream yoit'ie on
her trail?" *
"Naturally iio^ or ^'d tvta Id Didmis oiti bl
her claws to get awqr. It makes me ^ to we
poordefildaadogaboiiisir^lier. H^iBkeania'
in a trance."
"Could slie Hare for lumr
"Netan^t What she's HiT^ir is Nwy ki]foin»«
2S THE DOOR OF! DREAD
tion. Why, she had possession of every detail of
our L-i ten days after it was launched at the yards
of the Fore River Shipbuilding Company and three
weeks 1 ofore its acceptance trials by the Navy peo-
ple themselves. And now she's after our new air-
ship specifications. That seems to be her main ob-
ject. But incidentally she's picking up any Army
or Navy secret that she can get her hands on. So
the only thing for this man Diehms to do, when the
truth comes out, is to shut himself up and quietly
blow his brains out."
"But can you afford to let him do that?"
"I can't exactly say, just yet. But our panther
has hypnotized him. For example, you read last
week about the aviation tests over here at the North
Island school ? You probably read how Lieutenant
Taylor, of the Aviation Corps, established an endur-
ance record for eleven hours and twelve minutes on
only thirty gallons of gasoline. That was with our
new Farlow motor. Keudell and his people to-day
have full specifications of that motor in their posses-
sion. Anna MakaieiT is the agent who got it for
them — ^though it didn't come from Diehms. And
inside another ten days, if no one interferes with
THE DOOR of; DREAI) 79
her activities, she'll know as much about our secret
adaptation of the Crozier-BufBngton disappearing
carriage for coast-defense guns as the Chief of Ord-
nance himself. So that gives you a slight hint of
why this very handsome young lady from Austria
has to be rounded up.**
Wilsnach poured himself out a second cup of
coffee. "She won't be easy to comer, I imagine.*'
"The hardest part is Diehms, with that decent
family to pull down after him," was Kestncr's medi-
tative reply. "The poor devil can't be saved, of
course. But I find it isn't easy to get the thou^
of that Wilmington home out of my head."
"And the woman doesn't worry you?"
"What good is a woman of that type ? She's like
a cat in a squab-pen. The sooner her hide is nailed
to the aviary door, the better. She's merely a sneak-
thief in spangles. She's nothing more than a penny-
weighter with a Paris accent, or a lush-dip with the
grande dame air." Kestner's gesture was one of
half-wearied disgust. "She's just panther— which
means cat written large. What I'm trying to tell you
is that she's carnivorous, and always will be, for
wherever your panther wancfers you an goiiif to
3Q [THE DOOR QF, DREADj
find her feeding on somebody's flesh and blood. And
jve'd all prefer that she wandered about in some
other part of the world."
"Panthers aren't so easily rounded up," reiterated
the mild-eyed Wilsnach.
Kestner sat for several minutes in studious si-
lence. Then he smiled as he glanced up at his
younger companion. "The approved method of
rounding them up, I believe, is to locate their run-
yvay, and then stake an innocent young lamb down
in the jungle."
"And you're to be the lamb?" was the quick in-
qvdry.
"On the contrary, I'm too lamentably old for such
uses. And the wool would never cover me, for
there's a limit to all disguises, once you've been
known. Besides, your bleat can always give you
away. You agree with me there, don't you, Wils-
nach, that a man can never really disguise his voice T*
"I've never seen it done, off the stage.**
"Precisely. So that counts me out with the lady,
.with whom I once had the pleasure of conversing.'*
"Then who in thunder is going to be the lamb?'*
yrzs Wilsnach's perturbed demand.
"How would you like to be ?"
lTHE DOOK of, DREAD!
31
*'I wt»uldn't like it at all," ^as Wilsnach's prpn^
retort.
**WelI, you may as well get used to the idea," and
this time Kestner spoke without smiling, "for my
plans are made, and you're going to be planted rig^t
in the path of this most predaceous lady."
"Well, it's not yfotk I care for, and that I'll say
right now !"
Kestner got up from the table and lodnd a little
wearily out across the Bay ^(rhere the green low-
lands of the Aviation Field were freckled .with the
tiny mushrooms of serried army tents.
"I've always said, Wilsnach, that there are times
the Service takes us into dirty work. And I'm acwiy
if this has got to be one of themj"
CHAPTER THREE
THE second evening following the printed
announcements of the arrival of Lieutenant
Keays at the Coast a number of his younger fellow-
officers tendered him a quite informal dinner. This
dinner, which was served 'n one of the upper rooms
opening off the dancing-floor, was sufficiently con-
vivial in character to attract the attention of casual
couples tired of waltzing and fox-trotting to the
strains of an orchestra.
It had been the source of much disappointment to
the young stranger from the Brooklyn Navy Yard
that Lieutenant-Colonel Diehms had failed to attend
this dinner. Yet Wilsnach, keeping his wits about
him, did not betray his feelings. For before the
evening was over he had the satisfaction of seeing
Diehms step into the room where he sat. The last
notes of Nights of Gladness had just died away, and
to the young Lieutenant-Colonel's arm d ing one of
the loveliest women that the man from the Paris
office had ever had the dubious good luck to behold.
32
It
THE TOOR OF DREAD 33
Wilsnach, for all the byplay with those aboiit him,
studied her closely, but not so dosely at he ttiidied
the face of the man with her. '
"I call that an uncommonly beautiful woman,"
ventured the light-hearted Wilsnach to the officer on
his right as he glanced toward the small taUe to
which a silver cooler filled with chopped ice had just
been brought. "Who is she ?"
"That's Madame Gamier," answered the man on
Wilsnach's right.
"Then not an American?"
"No; she's merely spending the winter here.**
"But why here?" blithely persisted Wilsnach.
"She's rather interested in aviation. Th^ say
her husband is Gamier, the French invents who's
getting out that gyroscopic sUbilizer for air^nft.
She's going to look after the government trials ioe
him."
Yet as the talk at Wilsnach's crowded table
grew louder, and the laughter more convivial, the
shadowy-eyed woman with the orange opera-cloak
looked more than once in the direction of the newly
arrived Lieutenant Keays. From under her dark
lashes, from time to time, she might even hav« been
detected studying his well-taik>red iignre witii a not
34 THE DOOR 0? DREAD
altogether impersonal interest. Her companion, H
might also have been observed, lapsed more and
more into periods of gloomy silence. And if Mad-
ame Gamier occasionally spoke at greater length to
the young French waiter who attended her table than
might seem necessary, and if this waiter showed any
tmdue interest in the neighboring table and its noisy
officers, no one outside of the alert-eyed Wilsnach
seemed to take notice of the matter.
When the technicalities of a wordy argument
among his confreres warranted Lieutenant Keays
in produc certain papers and specifications from
his pocket, and he allowed these to pass from hand
to hand about the table, a close observer might also
have noticed the minutest tightening of Madame
Gamier's lanf orous lips. And when these papers
were duly restored to the young lieutenant's posses-
sion, and later to his pocket, the woman with the
ivory-white skin might have been seen whispering
certain information to the gloomy-eyed officer be-
side her. Then as the glasses were refilled and the
noisy talk resumed, Madame Gamier and Diehms
left the room.
When, an hour later, the last toast had been
drank and Keays' last companion had bidden him
THE DOOR PP DREAD 3S
good night, he wanderer' disconsolately but warily
about those suddenly quieted upper regions off the
dancing-floor. He wandered erratically yet alertly
on, with his heart in his boots, for the sudden fear
possessed him that Madame Garnier had retired for
the night. Then quite as suddenly he felt his heart
come back from his boots to his throat. For as he
stepped out of the deserted ballroom he felt his
body brushed by the perilous fringes of a golden-
orange opera-cloak trimmed with sable. At the
same moment a little Watteau-like fan of ivory
dropped to the floor.
He stood staring down at it stupidly. He heard a
small coo of startled laughter and an even softer
apologetic murmur of regret. He leaned forward
unsteadily and groped about on the polished floor,
trying, with what appeared to be the ineffectual
struggles of inebriacy, to recover the fan.
The woman at his side laughed a second time,
laughed softly and mysteriously, as she stooped and
caught it up. Then she crossed the room and passed
out through the door into the shadowy darkness of
the wide loggia swept by the balmy night sea-breeze.
Wilsnach, with studiously unsteady steps, made
his way toward that same door and stepped out u^oa
36 .THE DOOR OF DREAD
the Mint ihadowy loggia. There, finding the wide
s|»cei of that behny-eired veranda tsnoocupied« he
groped his way to a huge rustic chair beside the rail-
ing, and after swayingly communing with nature
and essaying several fruitless efforU to reform his
dant^ing tie-ends, subsided into a sleep that seemed
as untroubled as it was profound
Out of the shadowy doorvmy bdiind the sleeper
stole, a few moments later, the equally shadowy fig-
ure of a woman in a golden-orange opera'doak
trimmed with sable. She advanced slowly and
noiselessly to the railing, dose beside the rustic chair.
She turned toward the chair, stood motionless and
murmured an almost inaudible sentence or two.
Her words, however, brou^^ no answer from
the recumbei^ figure with the straggling tie-ends.
So the woman looked quietly about, slipped closer
to the sleq>ing man and stooped over him.
A tingling of nerves needled through Wilsnadi's
cramped body as he felt the toudi of that white
hand. The fingera slipped like a snake in under his
coat, but he neither moved OM" lifted an cydid. He
was conscious of the fact ^ the woman** breath
was fanning wvrjily at his face, that he hy within
the aura of some soft and vdiuptoous aroma, that
THE DOOR of: dread
there was tomething perversely afipealii^ nbovl tht
very nearness of that perfumed body, no amitr
what mission had brought it so close to Wft mnL
He could still feel the slender finpns feilii|| lUjilM
ingly about under his coat.
He could hear her quiet littfe gn^ of r^tarf m
they 'dosed on the packet of papers wlydi Ik oh^
ried there. And he was conscious of her ronipliH
•ttspension of t 'cath aj the hand, still holda^ Wm
papers, was slowly and malthily wii Ji- .n.
The next moment she was standing at the i^i
agahi, as quiet as a statue, staring dreamily ont over
the moonlit water. Then she turned and with a
quickening murmur of drapery passed out of the
circle of Wilsnach's hearing and dtiusmSAsm,
He waited there, however, for what seemed m f«»-
sonable length of tine to ledBOii at tht matgia of
safety.
Yet the tired limbi nmaiaed as cramped as be>
fore. For at the very moment he had decided to
gather himself together he heasd the sound of a
stealthy step behind him. A man stood it Ida akk^
stooped close over his face and then oooe mofc
peered cautiously about tte ^bricne^ For ti» tic*
ood time a ting^ of nerves tiP^ ttm^Wi^
38 THE DOOK OF, DREAD!
nach's tired body. And for a second time a hand
insinuated itself under his coat, padded quietly
about and then proceeded to explore his lower
pockets.
But the search proved fruitless. The man swung
about, crossed the loggia and hurried in through
the open door. As he did so Wilsnach twisted
quickly about in the rustic chair, and peered after
him.
A second later the disappearing figure had passed
from Wilsnach's line of vision. His glimpse of the
man was a brief one; and the light had been uncer-
tain. But it both angered and amazed him to realize
that his second visitor had been an agent so menial;
had been, in fact, one of the hotel waiters.
He was still half-kneeling on the chair, with a
head craned about its back, when a quicker step
sounded beside him and a hand was clamped on his
shoulder. The next moment he saw it was Kestner.
**Who was that man
"Never mind who he is. You get down to the
carriage entrance and head off Diehms if he tries to
climb into ^n automobile. I'll get to the main door
and stop him there, if he goes that way. If there's
no sign of Diehms at your end of the house put a
.THS X>OOli DREAD!
39
man on guard and get back into Madame Garnier't
rooms with this pass-key. For if Diehms and that
woman ever get out of this hotel, it's good-by!"
"But what can they do?"
"God only knows I But I've a feeling, Wilsnach,
that we'll never see them alive again I"
Wilsnach did not linger to talk this over. He
made his way down through the hotel and inspected
the neighborhood of the porte-cochere. He found
there, however, no trace of Diehms. So, having
slipped a bill into the hand of a sleepy-eyed "starter,"
he explained what was expected of that attendant
and quickly swung back throu^ the all but deserted
hotel corridors.
He hesitated for several seconds before the door
which he knew to be Madame Gamier's, for he was
still uncertain as to what was demanded of him.
Then he took a deep breath, fitted the key to the
lock, listened intently and stepped inside.
On his right, he could see, stood a partly opened
door, and he felt convinced of the fact that it led
to a bedroom. This discovery left him a little un-
easy and a little uncertain as to how to advance.
Then all thought on the matter suddenly vanished,
for a quick sound smote on his startled ear, a souod
40 JHE DOOR OF DREAD
like that of a window-sash being savagely pried
open.
This was followed by a rustle of drapeiy and the
quick sharp scream of a woman. Then came a
silence, followed by the sound of a woman's voice,
slightly tremukwis with terror. **fVho ore yout*
It was a man's voice that answered, menacing,
deliberate and not altogether pleasant to hear.
"Never mind who I am. But I want those Navy
plans you took off that Easterner, and I want them
quick !"
"You will never get those papers," was the wom-
an's deliberately defiant reply.
"I think I wiUr
"Those papers belong to the Navy Department
and they will go back to the Navy Department, no
matter what Keudell or any of his spies may do I"
The man, apparently, had advanced farther into
the room.
''Keep back!"
"Not this— "
The sentence was never finished. The next mo-
ment a shot rang out, foUowed by the sound of an
uncertain step or two, and then the duU thud of a
falling body.
JH£ IXX)R of: DREAQ 41
Wilsnach, with his heart in his mouth, ran across
the room and darted in through the half-open door.
In the center of the bedroom he saw an ivory-
skinned woman in an evening-gown, with a smoking
revolver in her hand. Stretched out on the floor
lay the figure of a man. Beside him, on the polished
hardwood floor, glistened a small pool of blood. And
Wilsnach's first glance told him this was the same
man who had stooped over him as he lay in his k)g-
gia chair.
The next moment Wilsnach was at the telephone.
"Send the house doctor to Madame Gamier's rooms
at once. At once, please, for it's an emergency
case."
Then he called over the wire: "Give me room
four hundred and twenty-seven." Frantically as
Wiknadi called room four hundred and twenty-
seven, he could get no response there from Kestner.
And now, of all times, he wanted the guidance and
help of his older colleague. For he was in the midst
of a tangle that he could not quite comprehend.
"If this is known," still sobbed the Foman, "cv-
•fyAing will be lost"
Wilsnach stood regarding the tumbled mass of
her dusky hair. He stared at it a little vacantly, a(
,TH£ DOOK Of! DR£AD
^MMti^ it ^vere no «aqr ^liog for Uia to d^M lib
'mat than I dor cried the wfaite-ahouIdeKd
woman, as she looked up at him with distracted
eyes.
"What do you want to do?" asked the somewhat
bewildered WUsnadL
Instead of answering that question, she stand at
him with what seemed to be a sodden i^roof.
"Can't yon see what has happened here?" die
asked, hi little more than a whiter.
1 can see that we both seem to be workmg for
the same Service, without quite— ^
"Then what are we to do?" ^ cot in. Tor no
one must dream I'm in that Service and every
moment mems danger f
"There are several thmgs we can do. The first
is to let hi that house 6xxlbor, ]^ remember, «>
one else. Then wait for me here until I get badcf
He was off, the next nxMnent, scourmg the nud-
nigfat hotd for scmie trace of Kestner. It was not
until he reached the bggia itsdf that he caui^t si^
of his older colleague's figure. And Wilsnacfa hesi-
tated for a nxMnent to i^^Mroadi that dder colleague,
lor he saw Kestner was aUeadjr acooatiiig a trim*
CTHE DOOR OIP pREAi:! 43
shouldered officer with a military cloak thrown over
his arm.
"Lieutenant Diehms?" Wilsnach could hear his
fellow-operative say. He could also see the offi-
cer's curt head-movement of assent
"There's a matter I'd like to talk to yoa about,"
announced Kestner.
"Why?"
"Because in this hotel, not an hour ago, Madane
Gamier stole a number of Navy peciets from an
officer named Keays."
The two men confronted each other. Jlheir stares
seemed to meet and lock, like the antlers of cmbsi-
tled stags.
".Who are you?"
"I'm from the Secret Service at Washington, and
I am here investigating Navy leaks — ^Navy Inks in
yrhidi you are involved."
"In which I am mvolved?" repeater the officer.
"Do you know who Idadame .Gamier uht and
where she comes from?'*
"She is a confidential agent of our own fovem-
ment," was the officer's reply. "And she ocmies ffom
Washington for the same work that yps ftvleM to
be doing." , ,
44 .THE DOOR OF DREAD
Kcstner stood for a moment studying the other
waa. But his vague look of pity did not desert
hiin.
*Tin sorry for you, Diehms! Truly sorry! Be-
cause you've been made a tool of— more than a tool
ofr
Diehms swung suddenly about. He caught the
other man in a grip as fixed and frantic as the last
grip of die drowning.
God, yooTl not say that!" was his passion-
ate cry.
Kestner had no chance to reply to that cry, for
A^^lsnach, reluctant to wait longer, stepped quickly
uptohim.
"Something's happened," announced the new-
comer, at a loss as to how he should proceed.
1 know it," quietly acknowledged Kestner.
"But I must speak to you akmeP
"On the cootraiy. Lieutenant Diehms will be
equally iatetested in the occurrence," coolly declared
thedderman. "So you needn't hesitate to speak
out"
Bid m M^lsaidi hesitated.
Thea 111 do it for you," explained the cahn-eyed
Kestner. "You were abot^ to announce that Ma-
THE DCX>R of: DREAQ 45
dame Gamier, to protect certain invaluable Navjr
secrets, has just shot a man who attempted to force
those secrets from her. Is that not true?"
"Yes I" gasped Wilsnach.
"And is it not equally true that he was shot in the
leg?"
"Yes."
"And yet, Wilsnach, entirely for our benefit!
Listen to me, both of you. An hour ago Madame
Gamier found she was under observation, when she
stole certain papers I've already mentioned. She is
a quick-witted woman. She proved this by the
promptness with which she pretended she'd taken
those papers to forestall their theft by quite another
spy. But that spy is her own colleague, once known
as Soldier-Ben. For the last three weeks, I find, he
has been gay-catting lor her here in this hotel as a
jvaiter."
"Preposterous 1" was the one yrofd that cane from
Diehms' lips.
"Yet equally trae," continued Kestner. "But that
is not all. Madame Gamier had other evideao^ Uh
night, that her position had beccnne a dangerous one.
She realized things had suddoily come to a final ift>
sue, ShenadesevefiadtSGQnrtties,yetOM«lihn|
46 TH£ DOOR OF. DR£AQ
was not the fact that during the last three days a
dictaphone had been placed in her room — ^as my duly
tfanscribed shorthand will later show. She knew
she was near her last ditch. She had courage, and
she had cleverness, so she engineered this particular
shooting-scene, promptly and deliberately engineered
it with that poor dupe of hers, for the purpose of
throwing us off the track, if only for half an hour.
During that half-hour, as you very well know, Lieu-
tenant Diduns, you and she would be out of this
hotd and in a motor-car headed for the Mexican
border.**
Didnns stood with unseeing eyes.
"Vfhat," finally asked the young officer, "what
will this tnean— for her?" "
Trom twelve to twenty years in federal prison
at Atlanta," was Kestner's answer.
A visible muscular twinge ran through the man's
rigid body. *'And former he added.
**0nly one thing— court-martial."
The yotmg ofiber with the premature gray about
tiie ten^Iet folded his arms. He stood for several
m o mwit s staring heavily ahead of him.
Td prefer . . . ending things ... in the
tBiir yray" lie slowljr announced.
"I'm sorry," said Kestner, as he looked out over
the midnight Bay, twinkling with its countless lights.
"But it seems the onljr way out 1"
"It's the only way," echoed the officer at his side.
"But even then there are certain thinp to be re-
membered," Kestner reminded him.
"I have not forgotten them."
"Then we can arrange those details in my room,
if you'll be so good as to ^t for me a moment
or two."
Kestner, as the officer walked to the end of the
loggia, turned to his colleague, wiping his forehead
as he did so. "Wilsnach, the side-show's over, and
they've sent word for you to catch the first train for
New York. Are you ready to start?"
"Yes, I'm ready," the younger man replied. "But
what are you going to do about this poot: devil
Diehms?"
Kestner stared out over the water.
"You'll find the answer to that waiting for you
when you report at Sadie Wimpel's rooms. And
then you'll understand why I've been saying that
JService woxk can't alwajrs be dean yoikl"
CHAPTER FOUR
SIX days later a funereal old figure came to a
stop before a shabby-fronted house in a shabby
New York side-street not far from Herald Square.
He hesitated for a moment at the foot of an iron
hand-rail, red with rust. Then he glanced pensively
eastward toward Broadway, and then as pensively
westward toward Eighth Avenue. Then the dolo-
rous eyes blinked once more up at the sign-board
which announced :
MME. FATICHIARA
PdmUi mid Astrohgist
The next moment the man in black ascended the
broken sandstone house-steps and rang the bell.
He stood in the doorway, pensive and dejected,
with his rusty umbrella in his hand. About his arm
was a band of crape, faded to a bottle green, and
on his bespectacled face was a look of timorous
audacity.
He rang again, aj^parently quite unconstious of
48
THE DOOR OP DREAD 49
having been under scrutiny from a shrewd pair of
eyes that stared out through the shuttered grillt-
work of the door itself. Then he sighed heavily,
and was about to ring for the third time, when the
door opened and he found himself confronted by m
large negress who, while arrayed in a costume that
was unmistakably Oriental, still bore raaj of tht
earmarks of Eighth Avenue origin.
"Madame Fatichiara?" the visitor ventured, wttfa
a timid glance at the imperturbable turbaned figure.
The negress solemnly nodded, stepped aside and
motioned for him to advance. This movement was
made with an arm far too athletic to be lightly dis-
regarded. Then the door was closed behind him,
and another door at the rear, suggestively presided
over by a stuffed owl with two small ruby Ui^ts set
in its head, was silently opened.
The visitor sidled in past a screen cmbrjssed with
a skull-and-cross-bones surrounded by an ample pa-
rade of what appeared to be interlocked copperheads
worked in lemon-y 'h?ff. Then he edged about a
bowl of goldfish suspended from a black tripod and
found himself confronted by a silent and motkoltia
woman in an elony-black peignoir.
This woman sat behind a table dn^ed with
50
JH£ POOR OF. PREAEi
r^im, «8 wAUk fiffl aaodwr suggestively reptOioM
Mgn was worked k beryl green, the tnbtem in
tMt CMC being that of a dtanond-brxk rattler
gaged in biting its own tail Ota tiie tabic beliind
which the woman sat as taeMtts$ as an Egyptian
idd itood a green jade rase hi ^hich tmoi^ied
fhrw JaiMnese punk-stidti. BaiUt it, oa a braoae
tripod cnibossad with snatai, stood a glass globe,
iridi i ctal hi th» shadowy md vmmttim %fat of the
«nrti^Hd room. PMfaif it ww a hMean sIeiA on a
Mack phah pad anbioidmd wi& tfK ^8 of the
Zo^ white betoi the dwB stacd a fiaachette, a
padt of greea^MciBed ph^rinf^aids* a tes^aer tiay
of what ^p«ued to bt 'MteoBS^'* and as astro-
nonical chart of dte hwivciM, fraud and under
sdass.
The newcomer's pensivt fue, however, was
rected more toward the pimiibii than toward
significantly arrayed aoeessedas.
As this woman's %tfe was badcsi by the dusky
curtams of a materializhif cahhiet, and her heavily
massed hair was ^f as 4Hii as tee oatatns, tha
ooptrastmg paBor ^ her face, wtf whitemt J
rirf pnwdci, produced aw iiiipi'W9iea^^ i^jproa^^
THE DOCK OF mMid> 51
This hnprtt^kxi of wta nnln en was in no way
mitigated by the bl pii^neitt whkli liad been added
to the elongated cydids or by the wothui'i studied
Mi^tade of languor md aSooimm or by tiie fixed
state with which her m>^r t ^ and half-doeed
eye ate ^elcd iter ciTiw Hii ^ris^or hi msty Made.
Hdt i^s^er, however oj^i into a diair Hadng
Ae yooBf seeias. Be ' her and her iiir>
TOWdiofs wink a nod oi yetm ^ifptc it Then ha
tBtkcmkm^gm^ ^ee^wded to liglit i .
P»r om Met mooMt the nyttie^md aeemi
wi^diet l oh a d for movement Then ihe
nsak V nxply bm : m her chair.
''Huily-geef 4m tuddenly ejactdated. The Uv
' eyes v - now atari^ and wideK)pene*
Thenr owt ^ a r of esoteric mystery itiddenly evs^
oe^ed, p lOee a soi^>4nd)ble by that one be-
tra¥«g Cfc^ laation.
e, if it am't old y/m^ hhnsdf r
% mmk looked quickly yet casually about, to
1 ke sttie they were akme. '*S&dl%*' he solemnly
mi^nam- I, yoli'fe&ef
''W^. ua'^Mtn'tittwaylkMlEt BotitUnd
^ sets me uiv Wf8^ to kmp ^ map Qt
yowir She stared at hkBloof and hungrily. Jheo
52 THE DOOR OF DREAD
she sat back with an audible tii^. "I guest yuh ain't
back none too soon 1"
"Why?" asked Wilsnach.
"B'cause yuh're sure goin' to lose your little stick-
up, if yuh leave her long in this dun^l"
"Anything happened?"
"Yes. tots! And here's a letter Kestnor sent on
for yuh."
Wilsnach took the note from her hand. But he
stood smiling down at her, .without breakis^ the
envelope's seal.
"Sadie, you're fine I" he repeated.
"Fine I" she cried, with a hoot of derision. "I
yns more'n that. I was dog-goned near fmedf*
"Wait," conunanded Wilsnach. "What was it I
told you about that enunciation of yourt^'
"Oh, gee, teacher, I just gotta denomoe a while
b'fore I can stop to pr'nouncel I always get weak
on the English when I get indignant And I've
been some little bob<at for the higtiiniMiii o' this
swamp !"
"But why were you nearly fined
"Well," began the seeress, with an abandoned
rush of words that contrasted strangely with her
earlier zis of immobaity, "I hadn't baoi Mack 19 2a
THE DOOR of; DREAD 53
tiiis dram t«ro dftyi b'lbn a flatly hn^ ne atn^
•ifn and blew in for a tiro-dollar pafaa^^ So
I took 'im bgr the mitt and nLi ht was mre foia' to
main a jooroey MOB. And lie ats to me, 'EiGcaae
me, miss, but yah're tlie gay wiio^a foo^ to do
tis?elm'! And it'i foia' to be riglit over to tbe
Island,' he tea, 'for Tm a plaii»-dodiei man horn
Hcadqnartertr Seeia' Kettner and yidi'd told me
Fcdi had cv'tythsng fixt, I ghw him tiw ^aa^
eye and aei^ 'Nix, hoiMH»y, six! Save ^ for
the web-foots,* set I, 'for Fm h^ to tide hnrf and
what jvh Idn poS over on the diief t I ain*t been
hibei B atlB ' ap-Hate wif the h^^toami, eoa, aad I
wooldn't be odnmdof tida oT ttoff if I diM haw
purtectioar 'W^'aesdieiBl^.Aoiffaifhiabadii,
Vuh'd better aaad hi a hony adilor tei yoflaelfair
apiriti, for I'm fofai' to pdMT jroh hv Md rtefoi^
todoitrightaowt Sof^jPooratnaMaiiosf
«Wbgr ^dnai yott do aa iM Hdi aad flma Bm-
diyr
'Tha(t gfadc woolda^ kt ne fif near a ffcoQi^ Bor
git long enoQili oof s hie to alo«r amgr a hmc
o'smokea. Ht towtd ma acfoait to Bi||ir Ammo
b'fore hi mm arilad to lii at «di « tttL
Hi Jwr tidqi^ tittterapaiita a «op toOM
54 THE DCX)R OF DREAP
along. That cop sez, 'Whadda yuh doin' wit* the
skirt, Tim?' The gink climbs in beside me. 'Pinch-
in* her fur palm-readin*,' he sez, as he waves for the
driver to git under way. And that cop was all that
saved me from being disgraced for life! He put a
hand on me friend's arm and sez, 'Nuttin* doin*,
Tim! If they hadn't jus' brought yuh in from the
goat-cliffs yuh'd a-knowed the green lamps was giv-
in' this lady the wink ! She's a federal plant, son,
and yuh'd better git her back before the whole ward
gives yuh the laugh!' And he got me back. But
when I got back I was so hot tmder the collar I
cudda jumped the Service for Hfe!"
"We all have our troubles, Sadie, at work like
this," soothed Wilsnach," as he studied her pert
young face. He realized, as he watched her, that
the very audacities which had once made her a try-
ing enemy were converting her into an invaluable
colleague.
"But this stall's bin trouble from the first crack
out o' the box!" complained the young seeress as
she lighted a cork-tip cigarette. "It's easy enough to
say not to talk and jus' feed your sucker list on a
few Mong-jews and Wollas and Sack-rays, for to
make^'em think I'm French. But I ain't no more
THE DOOR OF DBSAJQ SS
French 'n a Frankftsrter, and I can't git away wit'
it! I jus* can't r
•Then you've already had visitors?"
'^Visitors? Say, a street-sign like mine brings
the nuts down like an October black-frost ! Gee, but
the ginks yuh bump into at this game I The first
ol* guy who got a dollar readin' turned confidential
and Mid he was a widower and wanted me to join
him in a Back-to-Natcher Society and take dew-,
baths m his back yard. Then a fat Swede who'd
been a ring-thief in a Turkish-bath joint wanted me
to work the Riviera wit' him as a hotel-sneak. Then
a lit woman wit' three chins and no lap, the same
dalmtn* to be the slickest clairvoyant on the Island,
pleaded to know ius' how I could git p'lice purtcc-
tion, especially wit' a face like mine I The ol* catl
Then a yelkm-faced undertaker wit' a front yard
fuB o* spinach and a white string-tie wanted me for
his hoosdteeper up in Syracuse. Natcherally, I said
mitlhi' doin', Grandpawl"
**Go onf" prompted Wilsnach.
*Then a mutt in the sash, door and blind trade
waate ;^ 'o move in wit' his trunks, bein' soused to
tfie . and tempor'ry furgittin* home and mother
tyiiilthka. ZuleikaxoUedhimdoinithefl^aBd
5J
THE DCX)R OF DREAD
kit him ciyin' ag'tnst a hydmifc fit to break
heart! Then a mulatto lady bookmaker ccnne in to
git me to dream traek-mmibert for her. So fai me
off thne Tm nukin' a atab at piddn' ^ dftuit win-
ner!. Then another waahed^ ol' gny wif a fat-
cnted Elixir O* Life wanted me to nm his Second
Ark C The Sacred Elect and be his q»rit-wife am
At nde. I tc^ him to git readjr for the grave
b'fore h» mind went any woner
"Is tint anr
'^otbyafeogdiotl Yetterdqr a eoople o' prO"
moten dropped in. Oat wurtcd ow Im* a come-on
to a company o' hit to mtke bfeod ofai^ bj ttab-
hin"cm wif a nee^fd o' nodw^ and Nd ni-
foe. The other hid doped out a Kheme for omW
a miffion or two hi^ortin' the GaUHoaian hd^^rt
to kill an the hofi-wieva out o' the ootton ebUti.
He offered to iplit cm utiI jejr tmrrtln* f ■piiimi
if rd get oat and kibbgr for Hate gnmb. Then a
widow come in f c« a mtmpi from her '*«*^»imd,
and got ciyia' aS over the piaoe OBta I hadda wm
her aha was apottm' me phtab^Mi. I give her
bade her moMgr and told her tfiia apirit-fappm* gMw
waaaUbmik. Than a coopla o^ laifera oona in fram
tfttMsvyYat^Md— "
THE DCX)R OF DREAD S7
"Sailors?** snapped out ^ilsnadu
Sadie dashed his hopes. They was soased to the
gilla—wone'ii the sash and door guy 1 Thexwatto
lit up I diort-dumged *em a couple o' bonei, jus* lor
squeezin' toe hand durin' busineas hoars T
There doesn't seem to be nnxh fofttt to wofk OS
m that groiq),'* meditau^ Wikiiadi, after a moi^
or two of ttlenoe.
"Vnmt I wantta know,** demanded Sadie,
him with a rebdUous eje, "is jus* whj I'm pbiited
here^ and jw' what food Ym dokt H iNa pahn-
fcadin* fufff
There's a reason lor it, Sadies nd tiie nMoa ii
this: W^ve got to nkt 1M» \ig aty far m mm
named Doffui. We don't know wkera ka iib or
where he's headed lor. AS we know la tSnH k^
hidden awi^ somewhere ki New YoIl'*
iiriiere d* I eone hi?" dmuttied tkaaeefiM.
Ton oome In as tiie deoogMfnck who's going to
persoade the gon^ ilnni«r to d^ dm kito
yw n ei gh bo t ho o d. For before ^ nan can« to
onr dty, Kestner teOa m^ he'd been coondttng n
ioftene-t^er ouned Madame Fatickiari.''
Tkcn I imi't the one and oo^r dsnMMiad Site
^Wkap^ w^ a tetmet note of dis^ipoaitmnt
58 THE DOOR OF DREAD
"No, you're merely the om pmMiar kind of fly
our particular kind of fidi «^ rise to. I nmn by
that, Sadie, that if oar aHHi aces yoor ngn, or stum-
bles across your newaptfcr advertising; it's reason-
able to assume he'll cotoe out of hiding and try to
have a talk with you."
"I don't quite git that!" objected Sadie.
"You're his fmnd of other days,'* explained
Wilsnach. "You me fats adnwr befoie he went
under cover."
"Then why'd he go vaa6et oavtrT*
"Because ten days ago when he was fired from
the Sinclair Steel Plant he stole a baadle of chart
piaas <rf one of our Navy boa^ Ttat boat's our
new long-cruising submarine loRnm as the Car^
MoiOh Submersible. It's ca&ed thi^ because it has
a system of air-valve tjtcton tor am-laying and
a perfected nwdianwn for tahs^ ott fr^ s^p^ies
along the sea-bottom. Tfaat gives it a ninety-day
cruismg radius without any need of returning to its
base, in time of war. Doi^^giA^^ose Jn
the same bunch he also got tiiejKw iNqpoot nmgtm^
detector, for indicate under wi^^ ^ipniadi of
any ironclad. ^ i j^mt^tj^m^^
THE DOOR OF DREAD. 59
ham doottiOy ^paMtd toKfe^
PmIc em anM.**
Thn Hii gigr DeciM't a ifj r
tXd mm Sktdair oontoidt DoffMi im*t a paid
•ffent, but mwdyamw IiMid wi» tried to get tvta
with the emapmxy by mifiag aqgr office-papen be
coidd gnb vMe wa^ig femd far hb pay envelope,
after betng find. Stedafa* lie on't even know:
the value of Hme pi^crt, for met of tiM wofk vat
done m hood and tader gawtsaam hMpedon.
That* 8 a ira can't be rare of. Bm there It
one nu^ we cm be «ae of, aai tiiat It that for
thew peperi 2>i»f^ C0«trf ^ a fMorter a/ c
"BM na «p r bnaihed ool m ftnaaed StOk
WhBpd.
'^KcirtBif'a biKef it tiitt Dmihi wat actodl^
phnled at Shiddr Worio. thtie^a a kfadc or
twokDoffBi'tieeofd. Wekaovthathaorl^i^
came from the g t iwnimat gm luetoriet at Water*
vieit, he waa ioiiie tik oKNidit at Ifoi^ert
Ke«t» nd thit ha iMB did worfi ea the Mir^Miwi
hi^Biwiii^Kavy Yard Thit doai^ hnh lin
»fiMit Bat he nay have been after tDoiething
00 JHE DOOR OF DREAD
wmHi !waitiBf a coi^le of yem for. The woni
kink in hit record, thoui^, is that Dorgan became
a pool-room habitat"
Th^yio* ^ poniesr
Tes; and through he got to nes^ect his W(»k
and was finally discharged. It was this woman
named Fatichiara who gave him tradc-retum tips.
Thafs abont an we know, except one thing. And
tint one thing is that Keudell and his gang would
cot this man's throat as quick as they'd strike a
matdi once they thought those |4ans were within
their rcadir
•*How d' yuh know he ahi't gsynattin* for Keu-
ddl right alongr demanded Sadie.
''Because Keoddl doesn't appear to have been on
trafl two months, let ahme two years. There
nqr have been others, It's true. But Kestner wired
me diat he'd got enoui^ tips from the Madame Gaiw
filer pi^ to show that Keuddl himsdf had hud a
number of ropes. And those ai« the thhigs weVa
got to tract npr
.The mentkm of Madame Qunier's name took Us
tiious^ bade to the letter whidi he stifl hdd va-
opeoed hi his Imni. Sadie Wlmpd sat iesentft%
waidiing him as he tore the end from the envekipe
THE DOOR OF DREAD 61
and unfolded a sheet of paper on yrhidn, a y^*rffr*g
from a newspaper was pasted.
"From the Los Angeles Times/* he said aloud as
he made note of a brief inscription at the bottom.
But Sadie's thoughts, at the moment^ were not
concerned with that communication.
"It's all right t' talk about tradn* up these things,
but that kind o' tracin' takes yuh through a stack o'
rough-neck work, and yuh know it as Well aa I dot
The slooth-king who sits in a swivd-chaii; and
rounds up the big crook by tappin' a two-stoty bean
is all right for the movies, but it won't go in real
life. And if yuh ain't ready to get your roof tort
off yuh'd better can your hide-and-aeek gum urit*
the Big House boys !"
"Just a minute !" expostulated Wilsnach, ^«ooeii-
pied with his sheet of paper.
"What's the dope, anyway?" demanded Sadie^
blinking at the sudden solemnity of Wilsnach's facc^
as he stared abstractedly across the table at her.
"Listen," he said, turning back to the dipi^
which he held in his hand. Then he read aloud:
"To the long list of Pacific Coast aviation acci-
dents must be added still another fatality. Early
tiut momh^ Lieirtenam-Coloiid Alfred Diehma,
svfao had been cooperating wisk iht Jfygwy AHtOm
62 THE DOOR OF! DREAD
Corps at San Diego, together with Madame The-
ophile Garnier, the wife of a Continental inventor,
met their death in the Padfic. Ths acddent
occurred while Colonel Diehms was experimenting
with the new Gamier gyroscopic stabilizer for air-
craft The trial, which was under governmental su-
pervitton, involved an altitude-test with passenger.
At an estimated height of about five thousand feet
the machine was seen suddenly to dip and fall. As,
tmfMtonately, both pilot and passenger had neg-
lected to ivcar life-belts, nettiber bod^ liat been le-
ooverea • . .
It was Sadie who spoke up out of the silence.
"Yuh don't mean to say that Kestner codced up
that end for'em?"
Wilsnach looked at her out of unseeing eyes.
Then he slowly nodded his head.
"I suppose it was the best way I" he meditated
aloud.
"HuUy gee," Sadie cried, as she sat absorbing the
significance of the words to which she had been lis-
tening, "ain't that just what I've been tryin* to tell
yuh? Don't that show yuh it's just dog cat dog,
and the Old Boy take the guy who's too good to
sneak a chance ?"
Wilsnach, at the moment, was remembering what
Kestittr, only one short week before, had said to
TH£ IXX>R OP DREAD 63
him about Service work. And it yn» with an effort
that he pulled himself together.
"Well, Sadie, no matter what kind of work it is,
we're in it, and we've got to go through with it!
And the sooner >\ e get down to tin tacks the better I"
"I ain't delayin' yuh!" announced the young
woman beside the crystal-gazer's globe. But for
the fraction of a moment a faint shadow hung about
her face, a shadow of disappointment, apparently,
at his calmly nuKuline eagemesi to eicape to the
impersonal.
"We've got to remember why you're here, and
why I'm here. And the answer is, KeudeU. And
our hopes of finding Keudell seem to hang on just
one thin thread: that somewhere in this dt/ is •
thief who's stolen papers which he can't tmload, im-
less he unloads them on Keudell. And if we can't
find the thief, we've got to find KeudeU, or the peo-
ple who are acting for Keudell."
"Then why wasn't I give a descriptioa of this gujf
called Dorgan?"
"Because there wasn't time, for one thing, and,
for another, Romano's been covering your house
and would never *ve let him get away before I had
a chance to get here. But I'm fung to iieicribe tiw
m THE DOOR <XP, DREAD
nan, in case any of us should miss him. Dorgan's
a mechanic, remember, and he's about thirty years
old. lie's wide-shouldered and rather short, with
curly black hair, cut close. His ears stick out a little,
and one of them is mushroomed, for he worked in
the prize-ring for a couple of winters. Then — "
"Wait!" suddenly announced Sadie. The faint
purr of a desk-buzzer had sounded behind her black-
draped table. She bent her head and watched the
quick play of the vari-colored electric globes of her
tiny annunciator.
**Hully gee," she murmured, as she hid away the
end of her cigarette, "here's a hob-nail comin' for a
readin*. And Zuleika's pushin' the double-green to
say he's a guy worth watchin'l"
Wilsnach, who was already on his feet, circled
about the table and lifted the black velvet drapery
of the cabinet.
"I'll wait here until your man goes," he quietly
announced.
Sadie, reverting to her posture of esoteric impas-
sivity, intoned a solemn "Ong-tray-voot" in answer
to the questioning knock on the door.
That door promptly opened and a man stepped
into the room. He carried his hat in his hand, and
THE DOM W DREAD m
Sadie could see the black hair that curled about the
edges of his outstanding ears. He was half-way
across the room before he stopped, hesitated and
then slowly advanced toward the vacant chair that
faced the table, g jping for it with an abstracted
hand as he stared into the woman's heavily pow-
dered face. Then he sat down in the ch lir.
''You ain't Fannie Fatichiara!" he ttMidenly and
deiiberitely announced.
"Ain't I?" murmured the impassive-eyed Sadie.
"You're a faker!" announced the itnuigar, itad-
denly leaning forward in his chair.
Sadie's somnolent eye wri^ languid with scorn.
"If any she-cat's been b 'n my name," she ma-
jestically proclaimed, "I'll v i r outta Witi^
b'fore she kin squeal for 1 '1 ■ '
The man sniffed. "You smoke cigars?" be de-
manded.
"No," was Sadie's languid retort. "But I gue«s
that pool-room king I'm picki. vrinncrs foi kin
maybe blow hisself to an occasio lal purfecto!"
"You ain't Fannie Fatichiara !" doggedly i^Kated
the newcomer.
The woman behind the black-draped ^ ible sud-
den^ k»t the last of her nu^^stic mieii. "WdVil
66 THE DOOR OF DREAD
I ain't Fannie Fatidiiara," she challenged, "I jus*
wish yuh'd lead me to herf
The man pondered this for a moment Heseemed
puzzled. "AU right/' he suddenly announced.
It WMS Sadie's turn to ponder the problem so un-
eqwctedly confronting her. "When?" she inquired.
''Any old timet" promptly decfaued the visitor.
Again Sadie pondered. "Howll we go?" she
ten^ponzed.
**We11 go in a taxi, by gum," was the altogether
redckss answer, "and the sooner the better F'
Sadie drew her sable wrappings together and rose
with bodi dignity and determination to her feet.
"Then yuh wait imtil I grab me hat and mitts,"
sl» exfdained to him.
She stepped back and slipped in under Iht draped
curtains of die cabinet front There Wilsnach
caus^ her by the arm, his lips dose to her ear.
"Follow tiut man V was his fierce whisper. "Keep
with ham to the bst gasp. For that's the thief who
rt(de our Navy plans f
"Then gimme a gun," whispered back the unper-
turbed Sadie, before stepping out through the sec-
ond tier of curtains at the cabinet back. "For Vm
goin' to make good on this case or quit the Service 1".
CHAPTER FIVE
SADIE WIMPEL leaned back la the taxscab
with a titter of care-free amusement. That
w(M4dly-<wiae young lady had long stnoe kanied to
preserve an outward calm during her momentt of
inward tension. She experienced a desire to powder
her nose, but there were reaaoos, she knew, why it
would be better not to open up the hand-bag Aitt
lay on her lap. So she merely tktefcd again.
Her pertly insouciant face seemed to puzzle tilt
man at her side. He studied the azure-lidded eyes
and the rouge-farigfatened lipi, atudied tlMm yikk m
frank and open curiosity.
"Do you know whtK you're goia§r* be tail|y
asked.
"Nope, but I'm on my way," waa Sadia'i blttli^
irresponsible reply.
For the second time the man beside her turned
and studied her face. "You've certainly got Mm T*
he ilowly
68 THE DOOR OF. DREAD
"Ynh've gotta have nenre," conceded Sadie,
"when yuh're scratdun' for yourself T*
"It ain't always easy scratching, is it?" he ki-
quired, with a note of newly awakened hope in hit
Toke.
"Nott^akmgshotr
Her conqianion still hesitated. "Maybe I cotdd
make it easfer for you/' he finally suggested, though
fttook an effort for him to say the words.
"Howr hmguidly inquired the woman.
"in tdl yon that in about ten minutes' time."
Then he added, in audible afterthought, "I guess
I'm kind of up against it mysdf f *
He said no more, for the cab had stopped before
a smister-ktoking brownstdne-frooted house wiA
cn r^ in e d wmctows md an uroo-grilled door.
SadM dul not altogether Wn tiie appearance of
that house. It kwked like a plaee, she promptly
condn d ed, wlwre anything might happen. Birt At
gave no sign of her seoret misgivings.
"So here's where we wade h&T* was her careless
chirp as she stepped from the cab and foNowed the
stranger up the tMrown^om sl^ swinging her
hami-bag as ^ wc^
She wished him as he rang the bell, notliif tfM
THE DOOR OF. imAS m
two short and the two long pushes of his finger
against the little button. Then she turned and
glanced carelessly about at the house-front windows,
making note of the fact that they were barred by a
grille work which, if airily ornamental, was none
the less substantial.
Tliere was a wait of some time before the door
itself was opened. It was opened by an oddly hir-
sute man in the service-coat of a butler. Sadie,
whose quick eyes had taken him in at a glance, found
him almost as tmprepossessing as the house itself.
He was a peculiarly large-boned and muscular-look-
fng man, with his hairy skin singularly suggestive
of a gorilla. His eyes seemed much too small for
hit heavy-jowled face, and about their haggard cor-
am) WM • toudi of animal-like pathos. Yet about
thoM eyes was something sullen and reserved, some-
thing heavily taciturn, something which left the
whoit face as blank at the front of the curtain-
wMywed hottie itself.
"Where's the boss ?" asked the man who had niaf
•adie watched both of them closely, determined
#Mt no secret message t sign ^ould peM between
$imw^(kmhn\imtytt^k. But there seemed so
70 THE DOOR OF. DREAD.
bmk in the irteely enmity of the servant's dtedy
'Tht boss is hmy** he cur^ annotmced.
**Wdl, he's expecting me," corfdentially an-
Itoth of your inqnhmi the man iasMe the door,
ayiwiiiitflj without so mtA m a dhfect look at
woRiMi widi the cardessly swinging handbag.
Tes, I gwss well botfi oonae ku" The words
wope in n h f n casually. Bat for aQ thcu* uuielniii s
thev sflcincJ to carry tlw wei^M: etf as lAtei^twk
The large4x)acd »an at ^ door haaililsd lor
one Moment . Then he stepped bade, wMiAed the
two visitors pass krto the Mway and earefufiy
nd quietly dosed the hea i ry do u t hihinJ ten.
"Th^B (jK&xf" ^AoMiptTtA Dorgan oak of one
"Ak/t he Ike aav old magT fcmaricad Sadie
To that alMt-eyed yotmg woman tiiere seemed
sonsddof ofliMns in the sm^ of the dosmg dooi^s
lock-har. ft sasmsd M» the spring of a ^ip width
might be cnttag off all retreat There was some-
tiling dungecm-lilGe in its very n o wn e ss .
Her st^, however, did not lose any of its fBact«
THE DOOR OF DREAD 71
free resilience as she followed her companion
through the second door which the servant had
opened for them. The questioning glance she turned
on that companion, once the room-door had closed
on them again, was as tranquil as ever.
"What kind of a dump's this, anyway?" she casu-
ally inquired.
The man, who had tiptoed to the door, made a
gesture for silence. He pressed an car against the
dark-wooded panel and stood there listening. Then
he turned and faced her. "You wait here for a min-
ute or two," he said in a tone so low she could
hardly catch the words.
She stood watching him as he silently and with
the utmost precaution opened the door through
which they had just passed. Then he ck)sed it as
quietly behind him.
Yet the moment that door was shut Sadie Wira-
pel's manner underwent a prompt and unequivocal
change. She ran to the windows and found them
kwked and barred, as she had expected. Then she
■ileiitly tried the second door at the back of the
room. That, too, she found to be securely locked.
Then she promptly peeled off her gloves and stowed
ttei away in her hand-bag. She next gave the
72 THE DOOR OF DREAD
hidf her vaaMM attentioa, nakiiif note of
tiw faded sud diabby ftt n i i t iif e^ of the white tnantfl-
I^ece with its nloit omioht dodc, of the wifee fw
the can and li^^ting drctiiti whidb ran along ^
broken picture-mokling. Then the took one of the
faded chain, pu^ied it against the wall on the far-
ther si<fe of the room
Whatever happened, she preferred knowing there
was nothing more than solid roaaoory at her bade
Sht was sitting there, with her knees crossed,
when the door was once more sikntly opened and
the man called Dorgan stepped back into the roooi.
He c&ine quietly, as though the hoose were the abodt
of sleepers who dare not be awakened. Yet Sadie
noticed a diange in his face. It feoked more trou-
bled. Theddnhadkwtthekstof itsoi^kMirookMr.
It looked oily, like the skin of a Unei^stoktr dfanb-
ing deckward f<Mr a breath of air. Sie noticed, too,
that he was breathing more quiddy. And on the
low forehead she could see a faint but mwntitakabie
dewing of sweat-drops.
He did not turn and qwak to her for several mo-
ments, apparently intent on making sure his return
had been unobserved.
Then, ^ stancBng at the door, he turned and
THE DOOR OF DREAD 73
CO
studied the young woman vith the pert eyes and the
carelessly swinging foot. That troubled look of his
seemed one of appraisal.
••What's the game?" she quietly inquired.
He stepped forward as she spoke, crossing the
itx«n with the same studied quietness. Yet he
shrugged a shoulder as he stood before her, as
though to disguise the urgency, the apprehension,
which he could not keep from his eyes. "I'm get-
ting leery about these people here," he said in little
more than a whisper. Then he stopped.
*W»t's the game?" repeated the patient-eyed
woman.
Tve got certain documents these people want to
get hold of. They want them bad, but they're going
to pay me my price for 'em I"
Tour troubles is interestin'," quietly admitted
Sadie. "But I came here to see the dame who said
I'd crabbed her name."
The HKHst-browed man gave a gesture of impa-
tioioe. Then he grew very grave.
**Lady, I'm going to be very honest with you.
There's trouble ahead of me in this house, and I'm
not ready to meet it. What I want to know is, are
you game to help me out?"
74 THE DOOR OF DREAD
He tttraed and looked at the door at thoogfa to
nuke "xat it was still ckMed.
'nVbadda I have to dor demanded Sadie. "And
whadda I get out of it?**
*^oa play your cards right and yoaH get about
anything you want! Can I count on you?"
"Surer assented the woman. The man called
Dorgan drew still closer to her.
*Tve got an envdope of pliers here that aren't
worth a cent to anybody but the fdks they're in-
tended for. These people know I've got them, and
they may get nasty over it Can you rtow them
away until the coast is dear?"
"And then what?" asked Sadie, making an effort
to control herself.
"Get away yoursdf as soon as the duuice comes.
Then meet me k your rooms, say to-morrow at
five.**
Sadie ^ferred to seem aoo-commtttaL "And
howH I get away?" she demanded, as she watched
his hand indnuate itself in under his vest and un-
button a pocket-fiap there.
"That's what I'm going out tiiere to make sure
of. Here's the stuff . Can you take care of it?"
"Surer
THE DOOR OF. DREAQ
7$
**Th'cn quick!" prompted the other as he thrust
a long manila envelope into Sadie's hand. She no-
ticed, considerably to her disappointroent, that it
was sealed.
"Then you gaze the other way, son, until I stow
it down in me lisle-thread safe," Sadie requested,
turning her face so that he might not see the sudden
flash of triumph which she was unable to hide. For
she had every reason to believe that she had the
plans of the secret submarine in her possession.
"Quick!" repeated the man watching the door.
There was a rustic of drapery, the snap of an
elastic and a little sigh of relief. Then the two con-
spirators stood facing each other again.
"What's next?" inquired the young woman.
"These people won't imagine I've given you those
papers," explained the man. "So they won't tty to
stop you, once you start for the street."
"Oh, 1 ain't hungerin' to linger round a drum Uke
this, b'lieve me !"
"Then wait here a minute or two until I come
back," whispered the moist-browed man. "For the
sooner you can beat it the better."
Sadie watched him as he tiptoed to the door, as
he stood listening there, as he cawtitmily ttuaed tibs
76 THE DOCm OP DREAD
knob, and as he stepped guardedly out and closed
the door behind him.
Then she stood with her lips shghtly parted and
her blue-stenciled eyes very wi le. F< <r the moment
that door had closed there came to her ear the
sounds of a sudden struggle, a mufiicd thud of feet,
vague concussions of the flooring, faint gasps and
grunts, telling of some brief and wordless struggle
taking place in the hallway immediately (nitside that
door which had so recently opc\icd and closed.
Sadie did not like those sounds. They reminded
her of earlier and less equable days. They sent a
thousand inousc-feet of alarm scampering up her
spinal column. But they also brought back to her
a sort of second wind of audacity. Her hand was
quite steady as she opened her hand-bag and took
Wilsnach's revolver from its hiding-place there.
Quite steady, too, was her tread as she advanced to
the closed door, listened there and then pressed a
straining ear against the dark panel, as Dorgan him-
self had done.
She could hear nothing more. All movement, ap-
parently, had ceased. But she waited, listening in-
tently. The silence remained unbroktn.
The quietness of that house of mystery no longer
THE DOM W intEAD 77.
puzzled ker. It became a source of apprehension,
of actual alarm. Yet she compelled herself to wait,
changing her position a little from time to time, to
rest her straining body. Then lU furthtr waitiiv
became unendurable.
She closed her hand about the door-knob, turning
it softly. To her relief she found the door still un-
locked. She swung it back an inch or two, peered
out and opened it still wider. Then she stepped into
the hall itself. She stood close against the door-
frame, staring from one end of this hall to tht othtr.
It was empty.
ller next movement, in accordance with a natural
impulse to escape, was toward the street-door. She
sidled forward cautiously and silently, until she
could go no farther. Then, with a deep breath, she
dropped her revolver back in the hand4)ig^ nadiad
out a hand and turned the knob.
But the door refused to open. It was securely
locked, and in it she could find no trace of a key.
Close as she was to the open, she found herself shut
off from the street by an iron grilling as heavy as
cell-bars. Yet it was not alarm that swept throu|^
her. It was more a wave of exasperation.
She stood with her bick to tht door, stttdyiof tht
MICROCOTY RESOIUTION TEST CHAIT
(ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2)
78 THE DOOR OF DREAD
gloomy house confronting her. Nothing, she de-
cided, was to be gained by inaction. If she could
not get out one way, she would proceed to find an-
other. Yet she hesitated to advance deeper into that
field of possible ambush, into territory which might
be bristling with danger.
She stood there, with her pert young face
wrinkled up, carefully weighing what doors to try
first and what line of retreat to take up ia case of
surprise.
Instead of advancing, however, she suddenly
shrank deeper into her corner, for close beside her
she heard the sound of a key being thrust into the
heavy iron door-lock. She waited, breathless, as
this key was turned back and the old-fashioned lock-
bar released.
The next moment the door itself swung open and
a man stepped quickly inside.
She stood crouched back behind the half-opened
door, hoping against hope that the newcomer would
pass on without locking the doors and without catch-
ing sight of her in the uncertain light.
But in this hope she was disappointed. The
stranger quickly closed the door, stooped forward
a little as he thrust the key into its hole, and then
THE DOt.R OF DREAQ
79
swung about on her with a startled little noise in his
throat, strangely like the grunt of a feeding pig con-
fronted by a farm-conie.
Yet he stared at her quietly enough, without airjr
further movement of tiie body. Sadie Winqid,
equally motionless, stared bade at the man conf ront-
ing her. He was big and blond, with yellow eye-
lashes and a number of small intersecting scars on
either chedc
She knew, even before sAnt CQnq)leted her staAy
of the grim and mocking moudi and the pale blue
eyes with their serpent-like fortitude, that tiie man
was KeudeU himself.
"What are you doing in this hottseP* he quietly
demanded. Yet tiwre was menace in his rtry calm-
ness, the menace of an atort mind alive to axxy con-
tingency.
"I'm waiting to get out," was Sadie's pron^ and
quite truthful reply.
He cahnly k)cked the door and podceted the key.
But never once did the studious pale eyes kave her
face. "How did you get in?"
"I came for work," was ^ prompt npiy.
"What kind of woric?"
"House-wwk."
80 THE DOOR OF. DREAD
"Who let you in?"
*'A big man in a butler's suit; a gink who locks
like a gorilla. Then another man came hurryin' in
b'hind me and asked for the boss."
"Go on !" commanded the newcomer.
"I was shoved into that room there, and when I
was waitin* those two men had a fight at the back o'
the house. And I ain't goin* to work in no drum
with doin's like that goin' on in it! And I wantta
get out!"
The man did not move. "Who sent you here ?"
"The Oberholdt Employment Bureau."
"And did my man tell you jve had work for you?"
"He told me to wait."
The big blond face did not lose its studiousness.
"He did perfectly right," was the altogether imex-
pected reply. "Will you step this way ?"
Sadie held back. "I don't want no work in this
kind of a dump," she stubbornly proclaimed.
"Will you step this way ?" repeated the big blond
man. There was more than command in those five
words. There was a threat, a cold and deliberate
challenge that could not be disregarded. And the
girl knew it was not her moment for finalities.
"Watch your step 1" Sadie whispered to herself.
THE DOOR OF DREAD 81
She walked slowly and sullenly ahead of hhn until
he came to a door at the bade of a haUway. Thii
door he opened, and waited for her to pass inside.
She was disturbed by his calmness. She was fur-
ther disturbed by the fact that his stance never once
left her. And there were certain eventiaUties for
which she wished to be prqtared.
"Sit down," he suavely commanded.
Keudell himself, she noticed, tpok a chair bdund
a walnut library-table on which stood a desk-tele-
phone and a green-shaded electric reading-lamp;
Difiident as was his pose, she chafed under Iht con-
sdousmss of his unpanu^ power. Bdiind all Us
apparent urbanity, she very well knew, was a nalke
which mig^t at any moment break out.
She started visiUy when the call-bdl of the desk-
phone suddenly rang. She wondered how loi^ it
would be before the daws showed through tfaft
velvet.
Yet Keudell, as he answered that call, did so with
affected unconcern, languidly placing tlw reodvor
against a pink and partly inclined jear. He even
listened with the faint shadow of a anile on his lips.
Sadie Wimpel sat watching him, -wtrnMiag wlqr
he made her think of a razor-Uade ympgtd in to*
82 THE DCX>R OF! DREAD
ncl. And she kept warning herself to be careful, for
she knew, from the faint tinkle of that phone-bell,
that it A" as merely a private circuit operated from a
dry-cell or two. This meant that from some other
quarter in that place of mystery Keudell was being
told things which could not be to her advantage.
So she sat watching him, without movement, for
he was now talking quickly and not quite so calmly
as before. She had no means of even guessing at
what his words meant, since they were in a language
quite unknown to her. So she watched him with
veiled and non-committal eyes as he hung up the
receiver, sat leaning forward over the table for a
moment or two in deep thought and then looked
up at her again. He was even able to indulge in a
half-ironic smile as he spoke.
*'Sr you were sent here for work?" he purred,
stroking his yellow mustache.
"Yes, sir," was her studiously patient answer.
"Have you any references?" he demanded.
That question sent a sudden tingle through her.
It was not one of fear; it was more the faint thrill
of hope that comes to the shipwrecked at the sight
of a sail on the horizon.
"Yes, sir I"
THE DOOR OF DREAD 83
She spoke demurely and looked down at her hand-
bag with an expectant smile. Then she deferen-
tially stood up as she opened this ba^ groping
down into it with fingers which did not at once find
the papers she seemed to be looking for.
"How'd this do?" she casually inquired.
She stepped demurely forward, until her coat-edge
brushed against the top of the walnut table itself.
Keudell looked at her half-raised hand both a
little scornfully and a little heavily. He did not
move as his vision focused on that otttstretched
hand, but the pupils of his pale eyes, converging in
a stare that retained none of their former indiffer-
ence, grew suddenly darker in tone. The rabbit-like
pinkness of his many-scarred cheeks also deepened,
here and there, until the skin was fantasticaUy
blotched with brick-red splashes of color.
He fovmd himself staring into the barrel-end of
a most formidable-looking revolver. And the hand
that held it, he was not slow to notice, was remark-
ably steady. Yet he faced it without any ai^rent
flinching of his huge body. He even seemed too
preoccupied with his predicament to lift has eyes
from that unwavering barrel-end to the wc»nan's
angry face.
84 THE DOOR OF DREAD
"Don't be a fooU" he cried out, in his quick and
impatient guttural.
But the fires of Sadie's anger had stood too long
banked to be thus brushed aside. Her blue-lidded
^es flashed . hh a resentment that was not to be
mistaken ; nostrils of her pert young nose were
distended with an anger that was ominous.
"I'll be just fool enough to put half-a-dozen holes
idean through that fat carcass o* yours, if yuh so
much as shift one finger n that table, yuh pink-
eyed ol' white-slaver yuh I" she hissed out at him.
"So don't yuh monkey wit' me, or it'll all be over
but the shoutin' !"
"Don't be a fool !" he quietly repeated. Yet it v as
taking an effort for him to hold himself in. "T ad-
mire your spirit, mademoiselle. It is excelld:
"Hal" snorted Sadie. But her gun stayed w. -
it was.
"And most assuredly I shall find work for you,**
continued the man at the table.
Sadie's second snort was even more wrathful.
"Yuh gimme a pain in the neck ! Whadda yuh take
me for, anyway? Yuh save that bull-con for the
gorilla-guy who's butlerin' for this hang-out ! Hand
it to the com-rustlers who ain't hep to a crook from
THE DOOR OF DREAD 85
the gyp-game days! For it don't go wit' me I I
know who yuh are, and what yuh are, and I could
git a Carnegie medal for ev'ry gun-hole I put in that
fat head o' yours!"
"One moment, mademoiselle !"
"Not on your life I Yuh and your gorilia-gink *ve
do!» consider'ble monkeyin' wit' me this last half-
hour, and there's been doin's in this dump thaf U
call for consider'Ue ventilatin'. But if any guy tries
to stop me from wa. -in' out o* this house, I'll venti-
late *em first, and vt tilate 'em good! Now, take
that door-key out o' your pocket and hand it to ne,
and hand it to me slow!"
they confronted each other for a silent moment.
The man's hand moved across the table-top. Sadie
promptljr oonprdiended and intercepted that movt-
ment.
"No, yuh don't! Not on your lifej Yuk touch
that bell-button and it'll be your last move on tiiis
green earth!" The revolver-barrel was advanced
several inches closer to Kewk&'s brad. "Yvk haml
out that door-key !"
Keudell slowly and deliberately reached into kni
pocket and handed out the key, dror piog it on the
Uble-top in front of her. She taudmi for tt wHfi
86 THE DOOR 0F. DREAP
her left hand, feeling about the smooth wood until
her fingers came in contact with it. Then she drew
back a step or two. She still watched Keudell and
still kept him covered. Yet as she did so a barely
perceptible change crept over the figure confronting
her from the chair on the other side of the table.
"I see, mademoiselle, you do not trust me," he
said with a smile as she backed away.
"'Bout as much as a rattler!" was her prompt
reply. Yet his smile widened, apparently at this
pleasantry. And that smile disturbed Sadie. It
wavered before her as tht signal of som^ secret and
reassuring knowledge to which she was not as yet
a party. But she intended not to lose her chance.
"Yuh don't make a mark outta me!" she pro-
claimed as she continued to back away, step by step,
with her revolver in one hand and the house-key in
the other. *'And it's worth rememberin' the first
move outta that chair means flirtin' wit' a tomb-
stone!"
He turned his head a little as she continued to
back away, shifting about so as to be still facing her.
And still again he smiled.
"Then I warn you, mademoiselle, to watch me
most carefully^ ' he half mockingly called out to her«
THE DOOR of: DREAD
87
Yet it was his expression more than his actual words
that disturbed the retreating Sadie.
"Oh, I'll watch yuh," sl.e said, as she felt behind
her and opened the door into the hallway. Three
more steps, she knew, would take her out of his
sight, and twenty mere would take her out of the
house. So she withdrew with' infinite precaution,
never letting her eye waver from her enemy.
It was at the third step that she wondered why he
suddenly ducked beneath the table-top. Her an-
swer to that question came unexpectedly, in a sud-
den clutch about the body that swung her feet clear
of the floor at the same time that it damped her
right arm closely against her side.
It was not until she saw the pair of great hairy
wrists clutching her arms that she realized the mean-
ing of that sudden imprisonment. It was then only
that she understood the significance of Keudell's
smile. Some time during her retreat across the
room the door that led to the hall had been silently
opened and closed. And without dreaming of what
awaited her, she had backed into the arms of
Keudell's gorilla-Iike accomplice.
She knew this, but she did not waste energy in
any prolonged resistance, for she also knew that it
88 THE DOOR OF DREAD
was foolish to struggle against the pressure of Can-
hfs vise-like arms. Yet she watched for her chance,
watched with a wariness bom of desperation.
She watched as the hairy hand reached out and
wrenched the house-key from her fingers. She saw
it flung across the room, and Keudell's sudden movc-
snent as he hurriedly slipped from his chair to re-
cover it
It was. indeed, not until her captor reached out
for her revolver that she started to struggle. Into
that struggle she put all the vehemence of her out-
»gcd innocence, her ill-treated body, her revolt
against indignities not to be endured.
But for all her fury she found herself helpless.
She was imprisoned by thongs and sinews incompar-
ably stronger than her own. Her right hand was
ttiU free and the revolver was still clutched in her
fingers. But the hairy hand clenched over her fore-
arm prevented any use of the weapon. The most she
could do. during that one-sided struggle, was to keep
it out of Canby's grasp. Her enemy realized the
necessity of possessing that firearm and seemed de-
termined to have it, at the cost of any effort. He
twisted her writlung body cruelly about, so that her
back was held dose against his own panting body.
THE DOOR OF. DREAD) »
Then he worked his left arm up so that it was held
crook-like close in under her chin and in a position
for promptly garroting her, once the pressure of
that constricting arm was brought to bear on her
neck. And this would undoubtedly h ' ^en ef-
fected, had not Sadie Wimpel sudden sted her
head about and at the same time bent her knees, so
that she dropped and hung suspended from the arm
that imprisoned her. This brought her mouth close
to the bare flesh of the hairy wrist. Without a mo-
ment's hesitation she caught that wrist in her singu-
larly strong young teeth. She snapped at it like an
animal, sinking her teeth in the yielding flesh with
all the strength of ner jaw-muscles. She bit deeper,
until the taste of bloor 11 but sickened her and the
man himself, with an s jry gasp, released his right
hand and struck blindly at her face. It was an in-
stincii' <. md un. a :oning reacti"-* against pain too
acute to be endured. And while it was not what the
struggling girl had looked for, she was still alert-
minded enough, for all her lack of breath, to realize
her chance when it was presented to her. Camped
as she still was close against that gross body behind
her, she found her right arm suddenly released.
She had neither the time nor the strangtH pa <Wh
90 THE DCX)R OF DREAD
crate on her aim. But the lurching struggles of the
man holding her had brought his right leg forward
so that it fell within her line of vision at the same
moment that her exhausted right hand went down.
Instinctively she pulled the trigger, even while the
garroting arm about her throat constricted untU
her very breath of life was shut off.
She had neither the time nor the strength for a
second shot, for that strangle-hold was too xmich
for her, stopping as it did her very power of breath-
ing, clamping close about und'^r her chin until she
could fee' the very cartilage of her neck crackle.
It was at the moment that this vise-like dutch
seemed unendurable that she realized her shot had
not gone wide. For the next moment the pressure
relaxed, the arm about her throat fell slowly away
and the hairy figure so close behind her f eU as stowly
|to the ground.
She staggered back against the wall, gaping at the
fallen man and gasping for breath. She stared
down at his ludicrously exposed white sock and the
leather shoe-top already reddened with blood. She
saw that she had shot him somewhere below the
knee. Yet that fact did not altogether disturb her.
She was not thinking of others, but of herself^
JHE DOOR of: DREADI
91
What apprehension she knew arose from the ques-
tion as to how long the first nervous shock of such
a wound would eliminate this hairy monster as a
factor in her fight for freedom, for she still remem-
bered that she had Keudell to reckon with, and that
before all other things she wanted freedom, and
nothing but freedom.
The thought of that second enemy steeled her
into sudden activity. She crouched back, sweeping
the room with one quick and combative stare. Had
she found Keudell there, facing her, she could have
felt more at her ease. But the discovery that the
room was already empty filled her with a sudden
imreasoning terror, since it confronted her with a
peril that was both unknown and unseen. Keudell,
she felt convinced, would never permit her to escape.
Things had gone too far. And a Keudell out of
sight implied a Keudell maneuvering in some secret
manner against her, making ready to confound her
with some blow that would be as unexpected as it
would be decisive.
Sadie's next move was to swing about and face
the open door. But even in that corroding storm of
ianger at the affronts which had been heaped upon
her, much of her native wariness remained with her^
92 THE DCWDR OF. DREAD
So as she crept toward the hall-door she did so with
a series of movements that were feline in their
noiselessness. Then she stood there, with one hand
against the door-frame, listening. A moment later,
as she advanced her head about the corner of that
door-frame, the movement was as cautious as the
blink of a gopher from its sand-knoll.
"For the love o' Mike 1" she softly murmured.
For she at last realized, as she stared toward the
front of the house, why KeudeU was not for the
moment interested in her.
That blond giant, she could see, was otherwise
engaged. He was engai,ed in holding down on the
carpeted floor the still struggling figure of the man
who called himself Dorgan. Where the latter had
reappeared from, Sadie could not even guess. But
she could see, as she ventured a second view, that
he was plainly much the worse for wear. He was,
however, stiU struggling fiercely if hopelessly against
his stronger opponent, who apparently had wit-
nessed his flight toward the house-door and had
taken prompt measures to intercept it.
Yet in neither of these combatants did the watch-
ing woman evince any prolonged interest. She felt
THE DOOR OF DREAD
93
no regret at the discovery that Keudell's nose was
bleeding profusely, giving an air of sodden dejec-
tion to his haughtily up-turned Teutonic mustache.
She felt no sympathy for the bruised and battered
Dorgan, with his discolored eyes and his sadly torn
clothing. His ultimate fate did not even concern
her. She was sick of the whole house. Her soul
was by this time preoccupied with its one passion,
its one undeviatirg and all-consuming passion to
escape, to get away from that abode of uncouth
encounters and mysterious enemies. Something
within her whimpered like a kenneled hound for
release from those gloomy quarters. Her lungs
ached for the breath of the open again. And she
intended to go, she solemnly told herself, while the
going was good.
To go by the natural avenue of the street-door,
she knew, was now out of the question. That would
take her too close to Keudell, who at any moment
could leave Dorgan to his own devices. So she
stood back in the doorway, studying the stairs that
led upward. She was familiar enough with the
structure of city houses to feel assured that some-
SSbere from tiiose upper regions Hould ])^ fta ogeo-
94 THE PCX)R OF DREAD
ing to the roof. And on more than one occasion,
in the past, Sadie had had occasion to soar upward
and skim along the sky-line route.
So she stooped down and made sure the manila
envelope was still in her stoJicing. Then, with a
deep breath, she took the hall at a run.
She was across the hall and had reached the stair-
way before Keudell even caught sight of her. Be-
fore he had scrambled to his feet and started in
pursuit she was half-way up the stairway itself.
She was harried by the fear that he might fire at
her, yet she did not let this thought deter her flying
steps. She decided not to lose ground by trying
to shoot back until she was compelled to. Then,
she grimly concluded, she would go the limit. For
she felt reasonably certain there were no enemies
above her, or she should have long since heard from
that quarter. Her one fear was that the heavy-
bodied Keudell might overtake her— and that would
mean the undoing of Kestner's planning, and the
defeat of Wilsnach's hopes.
She decided, as she reached the landing and
swung about the banister, to take a pot-shot or
two for luck. So she fired, as she ran, and saw
her first bullet scatter the wall-plaster not two feet
THE DOOR OF DREAD 95
from Keudell's botbiiig head. The aecond shot
splintered one of the hardwood banister qnndles.
And she did not stop for another, for by this time
she realized her pursuer was at least not gaining
on her.
She was ahnost at the top of the second flight
before that pursuer reached its * attorn step. Fac-
ing her on the landing above, she caught sig^ of
a white enamel high-boy on which stood a pewter
tray whereon were arrayed a row of <!rinking
glasses, a soda-siphon and a collection of empty
beer bottles. With one quidc jetk, as she readied
the landing, she swung thi«i laden highboy out from
the wall A seccmd push sent it crashing and careen-
ing down the stairway, gathering speed as it went
But she did not stop to determine Ae result of
that catapultmg descent She rounded the banister
and made for the next floor, swung about to the
last stairway ana found herself at the top of the
house, confronted by a door which proved to be
locked. This door, she felt, wov'd surt leac' to-
ward the roof. So after a second ineffectual tr^
at its knob ^he stood back, fired one quick shot into
its lock and swung it open to the sound of falling
metal.
96 THE DOOR OF DREAD
In front of her stood a small iron ladder. Up
this she swamied, until she came to a transom, held
shut by a chain over a heavy iron staple. It took
her but a moment or two to untie this chain, push
up the transom and climb into the open air.
With that advent to the open her spirits suddenly
came back to her, and she giggled audibly, with a
half-hysterical and sobbing choke at the end of her
laughter. But she did not even stop to replace the
transom. She scurried across the flat tin roof un-
til she came to a tile-covered wall-top. Over this
she scrambled, dropping to a roof of tar-and-gravel
a couple of feet lower than the first one. Then
came the climb to another tinned roof with a locked
transom^ another tile<ovcred party-wall which
taxed her strength to surmount, another series of
roofs in ever ascending planes, and then a flat house-
top studded with clothes-line stanchions, between
which stood a square frame died like the deck-
house of a schooner.
At the back of this roof-shed Sadie found a door
that opened on a steep and narrow flight of steps.
She paused for just one moment, first to look back,
then to stow away her revolver, and then to
straighten her hat.
THE DOOR OF DREAD.
97
Then she entered the hatchway between the Une-
stanchioos and stepped quietly but quickly dowr the
narrow stairs. She listened, when she came to the
first ioor below, but could hear nothing beyond the
distant sotmd of a piano. So she crept on, peer-
ing over the banister from time to time, and breath-
ing easier at every foot of territory safely covered.
She had readiied the second floor and was ahnost
at the last stair-head when m intem^on came.
It came suddenly, with the unes^ected opening of
a door dose beside her. Throus^ this door stepped
a tall and angular man in a voluminous bathrobe.
In his hand h^ carried a towel and ^nge, and the
high-ardied dome of his fre^y scrubbed bald head
shone like polished metal in the strong side-light
Sadie, quidc as thought, stopped and veered about
so that she faced the door nearest her on the op-
posite si'*^ of the hall. She seemed to be staring at
this dootf with trod^ aiixiety.
"Pawdon me," she drawled over her shoulder to
the advancing figure, "but is this Miss Deifflinger's
room?"
"Derfflinger?" repeated the man m the bathrobe,
eying her su^iciously. "There's no Miss Derfflinget:
in this house.^
98 THE DOOR OF DREAD
"There must W wxKVfSy argued Sadie Wimpel,
with one ear cocked for wasy teUtale totiiid from
the upper regions through which she had so recently
descended.
"Who told you there was?" demanded the man.
Sadie, instead of answering that question, a ked
anotlwr.
"What number is this?*' she promptly inquired.
"Two hundred and thirty-one f*
Sadie had backed away until her hand was on
the banister-rail leading to the floor below. Noth-
mg, she decided, was now going to come between
her and the street.
"Then wasn't it funny of Ae maid not to tell
me?" she murmured in mild perplexity. But she
turned about and began her descent
"What maid?" barked out the man in the bath-
robe, following her to the head of the stairs.
"Why, your maid, of course," answered the tran-
quil-^ed young woman yrho was now half-way
down the stairs.
"We have no maid!" decisively and belligerently
called out the man at the stair-head.
Sadie had reached the ground floor and was ad-
THE DOOR OF. DREAQ 99
\
vandng toward the street entrance by this time.
She knew she was safe.
"No, I don't s'pose a cheap skate like yuh ever
would have one!" called back the defiant and quite
reckless trespasser, conscious of the fact that she
was only ten short steps from the open street and
that nothing could now stand between her and her
freedom.
As she swept through the door she slammed it
shut with a force vindictive enough to loosen the
paint-checks on its faded panels. Then she hurried
down the steps, turned to the right, and once she
had rounded the comer was glad to hear the com-
panionable pulse of the city's traffic all about her
and the press of the prosaic and every-day Avenue
crowd close at her elbows. She pushed her way
on through that crowd until she spotted an empty
taxicab and promptly signaled its driver.
A minute later she was sitting back in an up-
holstered seat, humming homeward, sighing with
relief as she poised her tired feet well up on the
leather-covered railing in front of her. And during
that journey she divided her time between powder-
ing her nose and massaging with a gently investi-
100 THE DOOR OF DREAD
gatory forefinger certain more or lest bruised and
tender portions of her body.
"I guess I'm some little singed-cat/' she medi^
tated, "shootin* that boob through the shin-bone!
But when yuh mosey round wit' the big-mitters
yuh gotta watch the deck or drop your pile I And
he sure did squeeze in me rib-<age for tatV
CHAPTER SIX
IT was ten minutes later that Sadie Wimpd
seated herself in her rcptiliously embroidered
palm-reading parlor. Leaning back in her chair of
state, she languidly Upped a cork-tipped cigarette
on her plaster-of-Paris property-skull. As she did
so Wilsnach, seated on the other side of the taUe,
turned over and over the h-avy manila envelope
which she had quietly yet triumphantly handed to
him. Then he tore it open.
He leaned forAvard over the papers with a quite
audible gasp of bewilderment, which Sadie made it
a point to ignore, being at the moment ttudiottsly
engaged in blowing a smoke-ring in between the
slightly parted curtains of her materializing cabinet
Then Wilsnach, rounding the taWe, came and
stared down at the pert young face so thiddy cov-
cred with rice-powder.
"Sadie," he announced, a litUe tremulously.
"you've got 'em!"
"Huh?" inquired the languid^yed Sadie, dtscoi»*
101
102 THE DOOR OF DREAD
solately looking into a chocalate box which she only
too well knew to be empty.
"Sadie, you're simply wonderful f* declared Wil»-
nach, as he stooped down and caught her by the*
shoulders.
"Do anything, Willsie, but tamp the bull-con into
a trustin' heart!" mocked the girl. But a solemn
look came into her eyes as she stood up beside her
colleague and his hand slipped happily about her
shoulder.
"You are a wonder, Sadie," repeated Wilsnach,
with a preoccupied and brotherly pat, as he stared
down at the manila envelope. "Why, you've saved
the War Ofiice stuff here that's worth millions to
themr
The vague look of hunger that had crept into Sa-
die*s eyes slowly crept out of them again.
"Have I?" she listlessly asked. For he had al-
ready turned away and was once more bent over
the papers on the table.
'•But how did you do it?"
Sadie, watching him appraisingly out of the cor-
ner of her eye, blew another smoke- ring. Then,
with a shrug, she sat back in her chair.
"The same as I've done any other Service work,"
THE DOOK OP DREAD 103
she announced, wondering if it was merely an tmpfy
stomach that left all the world so suddenly cnmty
"But how?" ^r^/-
Sadie briefly but picturesquely retailed to him
the happenings of the afternoon. Wilsnach, when
she had finished, sat for a luxurious minute or two
staring at her in silent approval. Then his gaze went
still again to the raanila envelope whkh he now
held in his hand.
He sat there, in troubled thought, as Sadie herself
went to the window, opened the slats of the heavy
colonial shutter and stared out into the gathering
darkness of the side-street.
"And it's rainin' pitch-forks I" she declared.
Wilsnach looked up at her sharply as she crossed
to the hall-door and opened it.
"Zuleika," she called out. "yuh gotta can that tnr.
ban outfit and get into a rain-coat ! Then beat it over
to Broadway and loor a taxi back to this cave o'
hunger !"
Wilsnach was on his feet by this time.
"What do you want with a taxi?" he demanded.
Sadie eyed him with mild disfavor.
"I'm goir; to feed!" was her ultimatum. "And
seein' I ain't et for over seven hours, I'm goin' to
104 THE DOOR OF DREAD
feed in a joint where they don't have to send out
for the fizzl"
"You can't do it, Sadie," Wilsnach calmly de-
clared. He stowed the carefully folded charts down
in his inner pocket and stood studying the empty
manila enevelope.
"Why can't I? Ain't I done enough roof-run-
nin' to git an honest appetite ?"
"You've done enough to get a life-medal from
Daniels himself," he admitted. "But don't you sec
what's still ahead of us?**
"I'd like to see about a yard of st^ ahead o*
me!"
"We've only been through the first act of this
play, and the second might begin any time now.
And we're not ready for it. Don't you suppose
that man Dorgan is going to come back here as soon
as he imagines it's safe? How are you going to
face him without his papers?"
But Sadie was not interested in papers.
"For the love o' Mike, ain't yuh goin' to gimme
a chance to eat between now and Christmas?"
"You can eat later, Sadie, but just now we are
acting for the Service, and to the Service every-
thing must bow."
THE DOOR OF DREAD lOS
"Yuh got them papers, and Keudell didn't— ain't
that enough ?"
"These are not the only papers Keudell was aftet
Either that man or one of his agents planted at
Watervliet got our new coast-gun plans, our new
seventeen-inch gim with the new Winton automatic
breech-lock." Wilsnach looked down at his watch.
"And in ten minutes it's up to me to be inside Keu-
dell's ho'ise and going through it from cellar to
attic."
"And just where'll Keudell be?" Sadie inquired.
"If Dorgan got away I rather imagine he'll be
shadowing Dorgan."
Sadie suddenly backed away.
"And s'posin' that pink-eyed wop comes down
here to raise a holler?" demanded the girl.
"Nothing could be more satisfactory," was the
other's answer.
"And what am I goin' to do if that wire-haired
Irish terrier beats it back here and finds out I've
double-crossed him? What'm I goin' to tell him
about them papers?"
"Those papers," corrected Wilsnach.
"Those papers," dutifully repeated the girl.
"You're going to give them back to him."
106 THE DOOR OF DREAD
**Whilc yuh stiU have *cm?" mocked Sadie.
*'Hypnotizin' him wit* a couple o' passes, I s'pose,
so he'll sit down and eat outta me hand?"
Their eyes met.
"Sadie, I believe you could hypnotize that man
Dorgan !"
"I'd have a fine chanct, wouldn't I, wit' his envel-
ope tore open and his blue-prints missin' ?"
"We'll get another envelope and we'll make it
look like one full of Uue-prints," explained Wils-
nach.
"And where'U yuh get it?"
"Where most envelopes come from — a staticmery
store. And I'll see if K^tner himself can't drop in
with it, in ten or fifteen minutes, on his way to help
me out up at the Keudell house. But before I for-
get it, I want my revolver."
She crossed the room to the black-draped taUe,
opened her hand-bag and gave Wilsnadi the weapon.
"And what fell am I goin' to do if that gink starts
rougb-kousin* round here?"
"He may never even come here. But I hope he
doesl"
"Then what's the matter wit' yuh stayin' rig^l
THE DOOR of: DREAp 107
here and gatherin' in botli Dorgan and Kcudell
yourself?"
"I don't want Dorgan. He's the sick oyster that's
had the pearl taken out of him. And I don't want
Keudell until I can get him right. And I can't
waste another minute arguing about it. If Dorgan
comes before I can get back you'll have to handle
him alone !"
Sadie watched him as he stepped hurriedly to-
ward the door.
"Hold on a minute!" she commanded, for she
hated the thought of his leaving her.
"I can't!" was Wilsnach's retort as he flung open
the door and made for the street.
Sadie stood looking after him for a meditative
moment or two. S! shut her lips tight, to put a
stop to their trembling. Then she studiously and
dejectedly scratched the point of her tip-tilted nose.
Then she stared slowly aoout her mysteriously
lighted reception-room, from the reptiliously-
adorned screen to the black-draped materializing
cabinet. Then she crossed to the table and stood
between her framed signs of the Zodiac and the
leering white skull on its velvet pad. She stood
108 THE DOOR OF DREAD
peering down at the languid-bodied goldfish circling
idly about their iridescent glass bowl, moodily pon-
dering the question as to whether or not goldfish
were good to eat.
Then sh* looked up suddenly at the sound of an-
gry voices, the reproving throaty tones of the ne-
gress Zuleika and the heavier challenging notes of
the intruder who was not to be kept back.
Then she rounded the table and stood between
it and the cabinet curtains, watching the door.
"It's that wire-haired terrier come back 1" she lu-
gubriously announced, as she took a deep breath and
waited for the door to open.
A moment after the door had opened Sadie Wim-
pel saw that it was indeed Dorgan. But it was
a figure much different to the Dorgan who had
stepped into her reception-room a few hours earlier
in the day. About him, however, still clung a for-
lorn air of bravado, seeming to announce him as a
spirit not easily cowed.
Sadie, as she stood staring at him, decided that
much of that woebegone buoyancy was based on
the courage which is paid for over a mahogany bar.
For Dorgan's figure was not an inspiriting one.
Over one eye and surrounding his entire head yfUi
THE DOOR of: DREAD 109
a huge white bandage, startlingly suggettWe of
Zuleika's pontifical turban. A diminutive motmtaui-
ridge of court-plaster adhered to his lower lip, and
along the point of his right jaw-bone ran still an-
other spur of plaster, to say nothing of divers abra-
sions about the collarless and bull-like neck. In sev-
eral places, too, his clothing was plainly torn.
"So they did things to yuh, too!" she announced,
as he stood returning her stare of inspecdoo.
Sadie's appreciation of character was quidc and
instinctive. She knew that Dorgan was no coward,
yet she also knew that in some undefined way die
was cleverer than this man with the bdligennt
square jaw and the wiry black hair. She tecafied
what Wilsnach had already told her abottt Dorgaa
being at one time a prize-fighter. She hendl, ia
the days which she kept behind the lodeed door of
her memory, had had occasion to stwfy a pfiae-rinf
professional at close range, and her coMen^t foe
that gentry was open and unqualified. It left htr
less afraid of Dorgan. Life's ftnl victories, Sadse
had long since learned, were not won 6y fisti.
So as she stared with quiet appraisal at the titiek*
muscled arms, the significant "mnsfafoom^ ea Weir-
ing below the tilted head4Mada9e^ tad ^ Am!
no JHE DOOR OF. DREAD
nose shadowing the elongated potato-lip whidb so
unequivocally announced Dorgan's ancestry, she de-
cided that he was not altogether an agreeable type
to "double-cross." The mere fact that he had bat-
tled his way back to her house was sign enough of
his buU-headedness.
But her feeling, as she confronted him, was not
one of actual fear. He was, after aU, merely a
*'rough-neck.*' He was nothing more than a lathe-
worker who had gone wrong, a medianic who had
stolen factory secrets and was bent on financing his
stolen papers. And if Kestner or Wilsnach only got
back in time there was still a fighting chance of slip-
ping out of the man's clutches.
"So they did things to yuh, too !" repeated Sadie.
Dorgan, ignoring her exclamation, sank mto a
chair. He turned about, with a strangely tnrd^ike
movement, and sat studying her o*^ of his one good
eye, A look of grim ap«robati :K crept over his
battered face.
"You're about the nerviest skirt I ever hitched
with !" he finally ejaculated.
Sadie, havi g absorbed the full significance of
those words, breathed easier.
"Oh, yvh weren't without your nerve, takin' 9
THE DOOR OF DREAD
HI
decent girl into a dump like that!" she announced,
with a parade of anger.
He sat solemnly cogitating this accusation.
"D'you suppose I thought Kendall was going to
pull any of that strong-arm stuff?"
"Who's Kendall?" she demanded. The more they
talked, she began to realize, the wider would be her
margin of safety. And Kestner, she remembered,
ought to be there at any moment.
"Kendall's the man we tried to do business with—
the big blond stiff with the saber-marks on the
cheek!"
So Kendall, Sadie inwardly remarked, was an-
other name for Keudell. And Keudell rather inter-
ested her, even while he intimidated her. He was
of a type altogether different to Dorgan. Keudell
would be tricky, and apt to keep you guessing, with
that cool eye which never put you wise to when he
was bluffing and when he was beaten. And she was
glad it was Dorgan, and not Keudell, that she had to
combat
"He certainly put a few marks on me!" declared
the irate-eyed young woman.
Dorgan sniffed.
"You can't hold a candle to what / got," he an-
112 JHE DOOR OF DREAD
nonnoed. "And I gum Kendall liad to take ft jolk
or two himself." Dorgan wipul hit mouth with the
bade of his hand. And hell bun^ into his biggest
jolt when he finds out it was you who got ftway with
those papers r
"How'll he find out?" hiquired Sadie, realising
that the talk was veering around to raUier danger-
ous ground.
"I'll see that he knows»" was Dorgan's quick
tort "And I'll see that he doesn't get another
chance at them !"
Sadie saw his face diange; and the thin vwce of
some deep-kenneled instinct tdd her of '^t <ittet-
ticm he was about to ask, evoi before words
were spoken. "You* ve got tiiosc papers aU ri^r
he suddenly demanded.
"Surer' was Sadie's casual refrfy.
"And you've got *em on you?" he continued.
"Sure I have," she replied. Yet the next moment
she could have bitten her tongue-point off for that
insane admission. She realized then that she shouhl
have proclaimed they were not immediately avail-
able; that they had been stored away for safe-ke^
ing; that it would take a little time to get th«n—
anything to hold him off until Kestner oouM be sent
JHE DOOi^ of: dread IIJ'
to her hOp. She knew* intuithreljr, what Dorgan's
next demnul would be, and she was resolved that
its utterance should be withheld as long as possible.
So it WIS with a show of sudden hot resentment that
she jwaaped up from her chair and fusilladed him
with her quidc voOeys of indignation.
"But I wantta know the reason for all this rough-
house," she stormed with a violence that made him
wmce. "I wantta know the meanin' of all this gum-
shoem* and door-teckin* and gun-play. And just
why*d that pork-eyed gink wit» the sword-marks
gimme the diase up over the cat-teasers ? And jus'
Whfd yuh root me out o* this decent palm-readin'
en^um and tiy to make me a runner-in for a
bundi o* papen I don't know nothin' about and I
don't blieve are worth a tradin' stamp?"
'^Haven't you anjr idea what those papers are?"
demanded Dorgaa
"The only thing I've gotte an idea about is that
niy floatin' ribs are sure achin' for a six-course din-
ner! I am't no freight-jumper, and bein' throwed
around by a coi^ o' wild-eyed boobs ain't my idea
of in^ ^rtsl And what fell am I goin' to git
<^ o' bemg niati4ianled by a he-butler that looks
like a missin' liidc and tiien finished oflF by that pink-
114 THE DOOR OF DREAD
giUed wop wit* the iiieat<arver f resco>woric all over
hit ttmpf*
The unbandaged tide of Dorgan's face wrinkled
up with a sembtance of mirth. Then it grew tol-
emn again.
"You're all right r' he gravely and appreciatively
announced. "And if you hadn't spUt that butler's
shin-bone we'd have had Kendall down here on top
of us long before thisi Yes, rir; you're all rij^itf*
"No, I ain't »*! rig^ r pron^tly contended Sadie,
still talking agahist time. 1 swung in to h^ yuh
otttta a hole, but I ain^t seen aothin' in all this to be
writin' home aboutf
"Well, what were you txptJ&ns out of it?"
"I oqtedc f know where I'm atf
"Where you're at? You're back home, aren't
you? And you didn't have to have a hotel doctor
solder you 19 before you got here, did you? Well,
I did!"
"And after bein' pounded 'round by a co^^ o'
crooks yuh made for the tall ttndber without a sign
of a come-back f
Sadie's lips curled with scorn.
"Say I D'you stqtpose I'm gomg to let that man
KeiKiatl hang the Indian sign oa nK ami e: «ct to
THE DOOR 01! DREAD
lis
get away with it?" was Dorgan's angry demand.
"Not much I He tried to put one over on me, and
he's going to pay for itl"
Sadie deemed it best to follow her new tack of
bull-baiting.
"Yuh look as though yiih'd been makin' him pay
for it !" was the girl's contemptuous rejoinder.
Dorgan was on his feet in a twinkling. There
was something more than ever taurine about the
squared shoulders and the belligerently towered
head.
"Give me those papers," was his quiet, unlocked
for Qs.mand. "Give me those papers, and I'll show
you!"
Sadie's lips still curled with contempt, but in her
opulent young bosom she experienced a feeling not
unlike that which comes to the passenger of an
express-elevator on its downward flight. It was
the fatal demand at last And she could see no yny '
of evading it
She dropped into her chair, behind the black-
draped table, and made a pretense of fumbling with
her skirt-edges. Then she suddenly sat up, looked
at Dorgan's expectantly poised figure, and from
Dorgan turned her gaze toward the door.
116 THE DCX)R OF DREAP
"What's thatr she demanded
For dearly to her now came the sound of coii>
tending voices from the haU without She knew,
as she listened, that one of those voices was Kest-
ner's, and a great wave of rdief q>ed throui^ her
jtiredbody. There was stitt a chance, she felt, if only
Hat cards could be played right
But she was puzzled by the fact that Kestner't
voice was rising high and angry above the protest-
ing tones of the negress. She was still worrying
over this discovery when the door opened and Kest-
ner himself strode into the room. But it was a
Kestner in no way like the immaculate Kestner of
old. His wet hat was puDed down over lus eyes,
and he carried a newspapf;r in his hand. Sadie,
with her heart in her mouth, tried to arrest him
with a warning glance. But tiie newccmier ddiber-
ately ignored both Dorgan and the diallenging eye
of Dorgan which studied him from under its tur-
ban-like bandage. He walked strai^^t to the table
where Sadie Wimpel sat
''So you call yourself a dairvoyantP' he showed,
and still Sadie could not comprehend the source of
his ituiignation. She gestured to him for cautioii,
for ttlenc^ but he ignored the nravement
THE DOOR of: DREAP
117
'^on'ra atbot tlM dieetktl tUng at pick^
wimien tlal mr got loowr he intdy ATowfd.
I'm whatr adced the anased Swlie.
Kestner flang hia folded newspaper indignantly
down on the table in front of her.
"You had the nerve to take a fiver for that anre-
thing tip of yonr^" he dedared. nenachig her with
an nnsteadjr forefinger, "and you didn't come witUa
a mile of a winner r He poshed the paper toward
her. "Did you get a look-hi on that list? And did
yon or didn't yon advise me to go the limit on those
two kmg diots you were so sore about ^
Sadie resignedly shook her head. It "was ioo
nmdi for her. Then she wearily took up the paper
and held it in front of her. As she dki so her quick
eye cant-'tt of the end of a sealed manihi en*
vdopeshowfaig ten between its folded pages. Her
face did not change. But she drew in a great bieath
of relief. She coidd have hogged Kestner trntfl his
coQarhones cradoed.
Instead of any aodi amatoiy oaOmr^ however,
she suddenly rose to her feet and confronted him
with a show of anger as great as his own. And as
she did so tiM folded newspaper fen from the taWe-
edge to the floor where she stood,
118 THE DOOR OF, DREAD
"Whadda yuh mean by blowin* in here and inter-
rupting a privut readin'?" demanded Sadie, making
sure her foot was planted on the yellow envelope.
"I ain't no sheet writer, and I ain't no miracle
worker — **
"No, but you're a bunco-steerer, and you can't
con me 1"
"Say, yuh big four-flush, if yuh could lay a bet as
vig'rous as yuh can beef over a lost chance yuh'd be
a second Canfleld b'fore the spring circuits closed!"
"I've laid my bets! And now I'm goin' to lay a
complaint!'*
"Well, yuh needn't cackle as if yuh was goin' to
lay an egg!"
"You're a faker!" '
"Whadda yuh goin' to do about it?"
"I'm going to have you pinched, that's what Fm
going to do about itV*
Sadie leisurely took her seat
"Yuh got any other business wit' me ?" she tak^
"For this is my crowded evenin' and I ain't got
* much time for pikers f
"Yottll have time to bum yfhtn I get throti|^
with your
THE DOOR OF DREAD 119
Sadie, turning to the door, called to her turbaned
negress.
"Zrleika, show this genTmun where he kin find
the nearest cop I"
"And you think I won't come back with him?"
demanded the irate intruder.
"It costs yuh money to know what I think!"
cahnly announced the girl behind the black-draped
table. A sense of triumph welled through her tired
body. She felt like an actress who had faced one
of her big scenes and had not failed in it. Yet she
knew a vague sensation of anxiety, at the thought
of her impending isolation, when she saw Kestner
turn away. She had always been a little intimi-
dated by the man from the Paris office. But never
had her desire for his companionship been keener.
"You'll soon change your song!" he announced,
as he paused for a momert at the end of the snake-
embrssed screen and stared beUigerently back at her.
Sadie, as he turned and stalked out, raked her mind
for some adequate excuse to keep him there. But
she could find none. She began to realize, to her
inner consternation, that she would have to face
Whatever that td^ hdd for her. and face it alone.
120 THE DOOR OF DREAD
And she tried to figure up how many hours it was
since she had eaten.
"That's the brand o' squealer I've gotta face ev'ry
day in this business," she wrathfuUy announced.
But Dorgan, who had dropped into his chair and
remained utterly passive through all this scene, sud-
denly swung about on her.
"You're steering for a fall here," he announced,
with calm conviction.
"I'm what?" demanded Sadie, making sure the
manila envelope was under her foot.
"I've got a hunch you're going to have trouMc
here ! There's something wrong about that guy, and
Iknowit!"
"How d' yuh kno^iir it?"
"He's the same guy I saw gum-shoeing around
here two days ago ! And if he's not putting some-
thing over on this house there's nothing in a hunch."
"Well, all he can do is close me up."
"Thenwhat'llyoudo?"
Sadie pondered this question. The zest of battle
was in her veins and she wanted no misst^ to mar
her chance of final victory. She was one small fac-
tor working blindly in a campaign which she could
not atn^rehoid in its entirety. But there were cer-
THE DOOR OF DREAD
121
tain things, she knew, which Wilsnach was demand-
ing of her, and she did not propose to be a blunder-
head in the Service.
She let her gaze dwell pregnantly on Dorgan's
battered features. She still had very thin ice, she
remembered, over which to pick her way.
"I was thinkin' yuh might finance me for a move
on to the Windy City, if I gotta move," she solemnly
yet blandly suggested.
Dorgan shifted his chair closer to the table be-
hind which she sat. Then he studied her face for
a moment or two.
"I've got to beat it myself," he finally began.
"And how about me ?" queried Sadie.
"That's what I'm coming to!" was his answer.
Still again he studied her face, and her hopes rose
with his silent nod of approval. But they went as
promptly down again at the next words he spoke.
"Let me see that envelope of mine I"
She was conscious enough of the danger ahead
of her. She knew that everything depended on
whether he accepted that envelope as it was or tore
It open and discovered that it no longer held his
secret plans. One rip of the manila paper flap and
the game was up. Yet she knew that further equtvw
7
122 THE DOOR OF DREAD
ocation would only serve to leave him suspicious,
and increase the danger. So she betrayed neither
limitation nor active concern as she stooped down
behind her table, fumbled for a moment with her
dress drapery, and then taacd tlw sealed envdope
on the table-top.
It was the aivelq>e, and not tiie man's face, that
she watched as his heavily sinewed hand descended
on the yellow oblong of paper, turned it over and
then placed it again on the table-top.
"Lady," said Dorgan, as he sat bade in his diair,
"you've done me a good turn; and I'm going to
square up for it, but I can't square up in cashf
Sadie scarcely heard his words, for all her mind
was intent on that menadng oblong of yellow. Her
very heart stopped beating as he again readwd out
a hand, feisurdy took up the envdope and as lei-
surdy stowed it down in his inner breast podcet,
buttoning the flap of this pocket over it It was
then and cmly then that Sadie can^ back to earth.
"Cash's about the cmly thing that kin talk wit'
me!" die announced. AxkI ^he samotxaotd it with
vigor, for she saw the tide of affairs was now flow-
ing in her dire^on.
V
THE DOOR of: DREAD 123
He leaned forward again and tapped his coat-
front just over his heart.
"I'm going to slope up to Canada and sit on this
nest-egg of mine until the excitement blows over,"
he quietly explained to her. "This town's too hot
. for me, and I can afford to wait until it cools down.
Money isn't much good after they've given you a
number and shaved your head."
"It'd help me along consider'ble !" acknowledged
Sadie.
Dorgan was on his feet by this time, and had
taken off his coat. Then he as deliberately took off
his vest and placed it on the end of the table.
'*Goiii* to turn in?" Sadie solemnly inquired.
But Dorgan, as he took a small pen-knife from
one pocket of the vest, did not even smile.
"No; it's more a case of turn out," he explained
as he flattened the vest on the table-top. He saw
the look of wonder in her eyes, and wrinkled his
face in a one-sided smile as he stood for a moment
kwking down at her.
"I'm taking a cliance with you I wouldn't take
with any man this side of the Ohio," he went on,
M he opened the knife, turned over one edge of the
i
\
124 THE D<X)R OF. DREAD
vest and began picking out the stitching along its
lining-front.
Sadie watched him as he pulled the released edges
of this vest-lining apart and from its hiding<^Iace
between the garment-padding drew out an oblong
of black silk carefully stitched about the edges.
This oblong was scarcely eight indies long and
two indies wide, and no thidcer than an empty card-
case.
"That's your pay!" announced Dorgan as be
tossed it down on the table. He tock iq> his vest
and put it on. Then he did the sanw with his coat
Sadie ccmtinued to view him with carefully am-
erced disq»proval as he once mart tock up the pen-
knife and proceeded to cut the stitching at one end
of his mysterious ol^»ig of Uadc silk. Frcmi the
interior of this sheathing he drew out a sheet or two
of paper tightly folded tc^ieAer.
"I ain't interested in lK»ise-plans/' she wearily an-
nounced, as he unfolded the thin sheets on her table-
top and revealed to her puzzled tye an indescribaldy
intricate network of lines ai^ figures and lettering,
tiie latter so crowded and minute that for all its
sdiolar-like precisicm she was unable to read it.
"Houise-plansf ejaculated Dorgan, holding up
THE DOOR OF DREAD 125
one of the sheets in front of her. "Do you call that
a cottage wall or the cross-section of a coast gun?"
*'I never seen no gun like that 1" avowed Sadie,
squinting closer at the paper.
"No; you never did! And what's more, not six
people outside official circles ever did either I Do
you know what that is? That's the government's
new seventeen-inch coast gun with the secret Win-
ton breech-block. There's the whole business, right
there on two sheets of paper!"
"It don't look much t' me !" protested the unim-
pressed Sadie with a shoulder-shrug of disdain.
**Well, it will certainly look good to any gun ex-
pttt who happens to clap eyes on it. And it'll look
so good to a man hanging out up at the Alsatia Hotel
that hell hand you over quite a few hundred dol-
lars for those specifications !"
**\Vhat man?" inquired the still skeptic Sadie.
"He's a guy called Breitman !"
Sadie stooped lower over the paper that still lay
on the table. For a distinct quiver of nerves sped
through her body at the mention of that all too fa-
miliar name. Breitman, she remembered, was one
of the aliases under which her old-time enemy, Wal-
laby Sam, was wont to masquerade.
«
126 THE DOOR OF DREAD
She taddeoly felt die wu on the friiife of
movements that were too momentous for her. The
thought of her own insignificance intimidated her,
made her wish for the reappearance of Wilsnadi
or the intervention of Kestner himself. But she
knew that she was ordained to blunder along alone.
And since she most go it alone, she decided to go it
slow.
"Where'd you get 'em?" she asked, witii a care-
less hand movement toward Uie dotely figured sheet
whidi he had dropped on the table.
The barricaded k>ok that came mto his ore at that
question did not escape her.
"I got that gun phm before I got this other stuff r
he exi^ained, as he taiiped his breast wi& a casual
forefit^ier.
'^ut ixdierer she persisted for she knew that
if there were leaks bodi Wilsnach and Keener and
the chief himself would ymok to know where tiiose
leaks had occurred.
"Up at Watervliet," he acknowledged;
**And how?*
T roomed *dth an Austrian named Heincdd. He
put me wise to what ooidd be oade oat of some of
the ordnance secrets* onoe we got awigr witfi tfaem.
THE DOOR OF DREAD 127
He was in the gun workt there with me, but they
got leery and held up his mail He skipped the
country before he could make his deal I decided
to move on, after that, so I got a transfer to Navy
Department woric'*
"And what fell good is a gun map gom' to be to
me, or to this man Breitman, or any othor wop
who isn't busy runnin' a gun factory?" dem-tnded
Sadie. It was well, she knew, not to appear too
wise.
"That gun," retorted Dorgan, pounding with an
impressive forefinger on the table-top, "is the gun
that's going to win the next war. The country tiiat
knows how to make it is the coimtry that comes <xA
first And the foreign agent who thinks you've
got those specifications is going to be after 'era as
keen as Kendall was after that new submarine.
And he'd got it if he played straight, bat he played
crooked and lost his chance f
Sadie's sigh was one of exhausted patience.
"And this guy up at the Alsatia is one o' them
foreign agents?"
"Sure he is! And it's vtp to you to finance this
thing so we can s{^ even on the proceeds. It'll
ptit you on Easy Street All you've got to do is to
128
THE DOOR OF DREAD
make sure of the money before you hand over the
pikers. We've got the real thing; there isn't another
copy outside of Strauss' office in Washington I"
Sadie reached out a languid hand and picked up
the sheets. She looked them over with an hidiifer-
ent eye, and then proceeded to fold them together.
"And what *m I to git for this stuff?" she in-
quired.
"As nrach as you can— the more the better 1"
Sadie sat back and viewed him with open hos-
tility. But she made it a point to keep the folded
sheets still between her fingers.
"Say, what d'yuh take me for anyway, talkin'
about peddlm' 'round gun plans that'll gimme a
limousine and Eyetalian gardens out on Long
Island? Doesn't it strike yuh that d' stuff's about
as dead as the dropped pocketbook gag and the fiUed-
watch stall I It's about even wit' the ol' silkworm
scheme and the Spanish prisoner fake that caught
'em ev'ry time in the eariy ei^ties I But yuh can't
make it go down wif this generation! Yuh gotta
change your d<^ or the wire-gai^ tap into yotur
circuit and sure steer yuh for an early fallf
"listen to mef cried Dorgan, sullenly swmging
abotrt on her.
jHE POOR of: dreap
129
Biti Sadie, at that paiticiil&r moneiit, wM twt Ut-
tening to bim. Her tfiouChta were c^tewhefe. For
still again from beyond her room-door she heard
the tooad of voioes, ^ eKpoetidatoiy tooet of tiw
bewildered ZuWlca, and Utt heavier tones of the
unknown intmder whose entranea she seemed to be
dispittii^
For a second or two Sadie tfaougfat the intruder
nu'gfat be Wilsnadi oome baek^ or even Kestner hini>
self. But hiterventton so timdjr aa that, she felt,
was too good to be true.
Dorgan hhnself suddeidjbadced away and turned
to the door, with his head thrust forward and his
one visibi . eye mterrogatively blinking. Then he
looked a little h^Oeasly at tiie hmguid-eyed seeresa
behind the table, for k>ttder above the thidc notes
of the huge negress suddenly sounded tiie authorita-
tive guttural of the roan'i voke. Then came a silence
which seemed imermtnable;
'TAitfV Ktnmr said Dorgan in a whi^, as
he continued to retreat untit he stood yidi his bade
against the waS.
C3IAPTER SEVEN
SADIE WIMPEL kept her eye on Dorgan as he
badced against the wall. She watched him
quite at doady as he watched the dow. Yet as she
did so she was not altogether idle. She quietly
pidced up the two sheets of India p^>er fdded to-
gether on the table. Then with her eyes still on
Dorgan she unbuttoned her shirt-waist and as quietly
secreted the papers, reassuring herself of their safely
before she let her gaze wander from her enenqr't
face.
The next moment she was lotmging indecently
back in her diair, viewing with veiled eyes the door
through \v hich Kev.dcU would enter. Yet for all her
pose of impassivity a close observer might have ik)-
ticed the quickened throb of her throat-pulse and
the quickened rise and fall of her breaT for she
was only too keenly aware that the advent of Keu-
dell meant the advent of a mwer and a grei^ pariL
130
THB IXX»t 09. DREAD
131
And that peril was all the more disturbing because
it remained still undefined.
She sat without perceptible movement, however as
the door swung open aiid Keudell himself strode in
past the snake-embroidered screen. Nor did she
move as he advanced toward the center of the room,
seeming to fill it with his huge presence, menacing
it with his smile of apparent unconcern. On his
scarred blond face, still damp from the driving rain
through wh. ' had passed, was an expression too
unconcerned to be called a sneer and too sinister to
be described as a smile. It was only a pale and
slightly protuberant eye, moving restlessly from side
to side, which typified the alertness of the mind be-
hind the pretended apathy of the gross and heavy
body.
But most interested Sadie Wimpel was the
fact that Kcudell's right hand rested in the loose
side pocket of his coat. It remained there with a
rigidity which tended to thrust the comer of that
carefully tailored garment slightly forward and did
not at first thought add to the impressiveness of the
figure. But Sadie had seen enough of underworld
life to venture a guess as to just what Keudell hdd
in that hidden right hand.
132 THE DOOR OF DREAD
"So this 18 your hangKmt?" the newcomer finally
remaiked, taking a step or two nearer t!w ttiAt be-
hind which the indifferent-eyed seeress sat. Dor-
gan, as Keudell advan^ deeper into the room,
swung slowly about so as to keep facing him.
The pale-faced seeress seemed to emerge from
her catalepsy.
"Ain't the wall-paper to your likin'?" she calmly
inquired.
Keuddl stood for a momoit returning Iwr stare.
"And it seems so short a time since you and I
yrtn engaged in a ccnversation whidi, imfortn-
natcly, did not come to a finish T suavely intoned
her huge Uond visitor.
"It was finidi enons^'for mer pron^y asserted
the young wtMnan confronting him. The half-sneer-
ing smile went from Keuddl's face. For one brief
nooment his glacial eye rested on Dorgan.
"So you two thou|^ yon cotdd get away widi ft,"
he said, ¥rith an oddly me^tative movement of tiie
jaw muscles which did not tend to add to his attract-
iveness. Sadk waited for Dorgan to speaks hat that
worthy raerdy stood watdiing the newcomer, watdi-
ing him with a steely and noQ<QnmittaI staie of
deliberation.
THE IHDOR OF DREAD 133
"Ain't yuh kind o' takin' chances," the young
woman mildly inquired, "blowin' into a privut house
where yuh ain't been askt?"
"I'm going to take more than chances 1" retorted
Keudell.
"Ain't he the ol' cut-up !" cooed the derisive Sadie.
But her mockery had small effect on Keudell.
"You know what I came for," he deliberately
announced.
"For to git your hand read?" asked the innocent-
eyed Sadie.
Her evasiveness seemed too much for Keudell's
patience. He turned away from her and confronted
the watchful-eyed Dorgan.
"I want those papers," he quietly announced.
"I haven't got 'em," retorted the man with his
back to the wall, "and you wouldn't get them if I
had 'em!"
It was Sadie who cut in before Keudell could
speak again.
"Don't yuh let this pink-eye buffalo yuh into sayin'
or doin* what yuh don't wantta!" she shriUed out,
with a sudden show of anger. "For he's goin' to
git outta here, and git out quick, or he'U be took
outr
134 JHE DOOR OF] DREAD.
"WhoHtalMineoiit?"
"What's the matter wit' a bundi o' cops idotn' it V*
**Whowia get them?"
"I gotta feelin' that me maid's already out after
'cmr
"Neither you nor your maid can leave this house,"
calmly announced KeudeU. "And nobody's going
to leave it until I get what I came after."
"Even though ytdi're pinched on tlw way out?"
Keudell laughed at her.
"You fail to ronember that I'm an attach^ of the
Austrian Embassy, and members of an embassy can
rot be arrested."
It was Sadie's turn to laugh. She even suqwcted
him of lyii%.
"I don't care if yuh're the Khig of SiamI Yuh
can't pull tiiat wild>west stuff this dose to Broad-
wayl It ain't bcin' done this season f
"How about that nuui of mine you shot through
the leg?"
"He got what was comin' to him T'
"And I'm going to get whi^ is ocmiit^ to me. I
have a rig^ to tlK»e papers, and I'm goti^ to get
tiion."
Sadie was thinkii^ both hard and fiut Ikit Ui
THE DOOR OF DREAD 135
disguise the fact that her empty little head was for
once working overtime, she languidly took up a cig-
arette and lighted it. Then she looked at Keudell.
with pity in her eye.
"Honest, King, yuh wring me heart wit* thoughts
o* the or days when the rubes were buyin* gold
bricks down to Union Square! For yuh're sure
workin' the wrong game! Ain't yuh ever goin' to
git gerry to the fact yuh can't throw a scare into
us two? And ain't yuh ever goin' to wake up to
the fact that if yuh want them submarine models
yuh gotta git down and talk business?"
The one thing for which Sadie was now maneu-
vering was time. Dorgan she no longer feared.
He and his destinies were nothing to her. All she
remembered was that she carried certain papers
which must reach either Wilsnach or Kestner, and
nobody else. She carried them, yet she carried
them at a time when their possession was a peril.
The heavy-witted Dorgan, she felt, might still be-
tray her to save his own scalp. And she felt equally
assured of the fact that Keudell himself would kill
her as readily as he would strike a match, rather
than let those gun plans slip through his fingers.
"There's been too much talking busincn," n
136 JHE DOOR OF DREAD.
Keu<kU'8 retort, "and nothing came of it And
now I'm not going to waste words and I'm not
going to waste time. I want those papers!"
Time, however, was the one thing which Sadie
was insisting that he should waste. And dosely as
she watched her enen^, and that enemy watched
her, oat of her fingers was rqpeatedly and frantic-
ally playing on the tmtton of her hidden push bdl
and she was silently praying for intervention, in-
tcrvention in the form of ZnMka, or Wilsnadi, oi:
Kestner himself.
"Where'd yuh git a liceme to come rough-housin'
tiirough this ward and squealin' about papers 3ruh
ain't even paid for yet?" she burst out, with all the
insdence at her command.
Keudell, with his pale ^es fixed on Dorgan't
face, quietly lifted his ri|^ hand from the side
pocket where it had been re^di^.
"My license is rig^t hextf* he announced.
"Hully gee 1" gasped Sadie. For Keudell's threat
of force was no kmger a vdted cme. In his half-
raised right hand he held a heavy-bodied at^onnttc
revolver. And he repeated his command of "I
want those papersP' as he Hepped dofer to tiie
strangely divergent pair opposing him.
JHE DOOR OF DREAD
137
There was something in Keudell's face, as he
stood facing her, which sent a distinct wave of ap-
prehension through that watchful-eyed young wo-
man. It was not merely the face of a braggart
and bully. It was the face of an aggressively de-
termined man, who, for reasons that could not be
fathomed, found himself confronted by his last re-
source. There was no longer mere belligerency
about the grim lines of the mouth. There was
something strangely like desperation itself. It sug-
gested a final abandonment to a course which could
no longer be evaded, a final comprehension of con-
sequences which, however grave they might prove,
now had to be unflinchingly faced. Something deep
within Sadie Wimpel's unanalytical little soul con-
vinced her of the fact that Keudell was at the end
of his rope, and being at the end of his rope, was
no longer going to be satisfied with half measures.
Then her eyes followed Keudell's figure as he
stepped doscr to the sullen-faced Dorgan. Dorgan,
she knew, was not subtle. Yet, on the other hand,
he was not easily intimidated.
"You can't hold me up this way 1" he rebelliously
announced, with his one unbandaged eye blinking
iTI
.1
138 .THE DOOR OF! DREAD
down at the somber gunmetal of the leveled re-
volver.
"Can't ir was KeudeU's cry.
"Nq, you can't ! And what's more you can't even
scare me I"
"Then I'll do a little more than merely scare youf*
said Keudell with an audible gasp, as he took one
step closer to the man against the wall.
Sadie's heart leaped up into her throat. She knew
what was coming. She knew that Keudell had suf-
fered indignities enough to leave him desperate.
That much was evident from the very fact that
he had sought her out in her own home; that he
had forced his way into the enemy's lair; that he
had been willing to place his head in the lion's
mouth. And unimaginative as she was, this thought
fixed in her mind the value of the papers she car-
ried in her own breast, the papers for whidi Wils-
nach would have traveled half-way around the
workl. They were certainly worth the fight But
onct Keudell broke loose, her last chance was gone.
And Keudell was surely going to break loose.
"Wait r' was her shrill cry as she suddenly stood
up behind her table. "If yuh want your papers that
bad, you sure kin have 'em!"
JHE PCX)R OF, DREAQ 139
For one Inctioii ol a lecond Keuddl looked about
at her. But lie still ktpt the revolver pointed at
Dorgan's ribs.
'1 intend to have them r
•Then put that gun down and yuh'n git
"Where are theyr
"In that man's pocket r
"Then come and take them otit of his pocket!
And come quidcT
For one brief second Sadie Win^el hesitated.
But it was a second and no more, for she had de-
cided on her plan and intended to carry it through.
She nmnded the taUe and stepped dose to the
rebeUious-eyed Dorgan. She even essayed a re-
proving jerk of his coat Upcl.
"Can't yuh see the jig's up ?" she demanded. For
time was tiie one tiuQg for which she was still
fighting.
"Hand over those papers I" repeated Keudell.
And Sadie knew it was not a moment for trifling.
SI» ^pged a hand down inside Dorgan's coat,
unbuttoned the pocket-flap, and drew out the yellow
manila envelope which he had stored away there.
There was s o methin g more than reproof in Dor-
gan's eye as she did so; there was Wind revolt and
140 THE DOOR OF. DREAD
the white heat of a rage tint had no dutnee of ex-
hauttiiig itself in action. Btit fay this time DcMrgan
was a mere biddent in the widening drde of Sadie's
emerpmta. What she wanted now was escape from .
that house, and esc^ at any cost.
She saw Dorgan raise a hand, as though to strike
at her, and lAnt cat^t at this movemmt as a pre-
text for dodging back behind her table. For a
monttnt she nursed the hope of contintiing her
ili^ through the blade cnrtahis that draped the
front of her materializing cabinet, and through the
cabinet to the rear door that opened on the hall,
and from the hall to the upper regions of the house.
But this hope lasted (mly for a nxnnent, for Keo-
deU was at her side befmre she had even rounded
the taUe-end. He stood so cbse to her, as die
drew tq>, tint ^ht revolver barrd in his iq>raised
hand pressed against her body and gave her a nm-
way of chills up and ^>wn die baddiooe.
Hand me that padcagef* he commanded. He
^ke with a quwt huddness of voice diat seemed
more threatening and more intimidating than the
loudest shout could be.
Durii^ one momei^& sfmat Sadie's qnertkming
tyts rested on those of her caf^r, for the fingers
.THE DOOR of: DREAD
141
of the !eft hand wcie now damped about her arm.
She saw the
fotdidmesa
1 quibbling.
all farther evasion, the
»tiU watching him, she
slowly raised her hand and held oat tlK sealed ma-
nila envelope.
KetideU took potaesdoa of it with a dutch of
the fingers and a quick hackward movement like
that of a child jerking a dicstnut from an over-
heated hearth. As he did so Sadie was vaguely
condoos of Dorgan'fl stodtlqr movement aUmg the
roooKwan. She had no time to ghre this much
though for she saw that Keudell was engaged in
an equally absorbing movement 1^ realized that
he was promptly and deUberatdy tearing open the
end of the manifat envdope which she had handed
to him. And the opening of that envelope, she
knew, wookl brh^ atiU aaodwr diange to the shift-
ing drama.
Sadie leaned forward a little over the table-edge,
watching the big blond figure, oddly cabn in the
presence of a crisb whidi die knew could no longer
be averted. Sht saw Keuddl draw forth the con-
tents of ibt opened envdope. She saw, even be-
fore he tmfdded it, tt&t the diert widch he had
withdrawn was nc^ng more than the carefully
142 JHE DOOR OF DREAD
folded page of a newspaper. Sht saw the fordgn
agent stare down at this newspaper page, stare down
at it a little stupidly, with his jaw musdes slightly
rdbuced. Then he no longer occupied her atten-
tion, for she became suddenly ocmsdous of tiie fact
that Dorgan no longer stood with his bade against
the wall, but had advanced toward the center of
the ro(»n, and even as his nnbandaged eye was bent
on Kewldl his right hand was groping quickly and
foolishly about the bowl of goldfish on its little tri-
pod of Ruskin bronze.
For Dorgan himself had undoubtedly been await-
ing that nxnnent of dividtd attention on the part
of his taemy. Even as his hand dosed on the lip
of the glass bowl, about whidi the small swarm of
iridescent bodies were dreamily revotvinj^ Sadie
stood puzzled as to the meaning of the movonent.
She was puzzled, too, by the quidc writhe of his
bo^, like the twist of a ball-thrower's torso, as he
winded and sw^t the bowl from its btonze tripod.
Then sIm uiKlerstood. For with mie and the same
mawmeat the bowl with its flame-c(dc»ed IxxSes
and its gravd-bed and its galkm of green-tinted
water went hurtling rtrai|^ at the had of die
startled KeoddL
THE DOOR of; DREAQ 143
It itrtick true. But KetKkS still won hit hat,
and the ttiff fiber brim of this aerved to braak
somewbat the force of the blow. Yet it cotdd not
stop the blindhig ddnge of water and gravd and
madly flopping bodies which cascaded about hhn.
And abnost coincklcnt with the crash of the break-
ing glass came the sound of Keudell's revolver fall-
ing to the fioor.
Yet, oddly enou^i, what most held Sadie's atten*
tion at the moment was one goldfish iHiidi writhed
and flopped on Keudell's wide shoulder as he stag-
gered back against the table-edge. She watched it
as it danced like a fiame down his vest-front and
then minuetted with its fellows at his leet» like
quavering dueds of sunU^ dancaig on ^ water*
stained carpet
She stared in horror as KeudeU's heels atianptd
impartially on these fragile bits of pulsing life and
on the crunching fragments of bowl-glass. She
saw him grope and flounder about, Uinded for a
moment by both the bbw and Utt shower about
his head.
The next mooiei^ however, he &d rec over e d
himself and was stooping to catch ^ fiifien
revohrer. At the snne instant that his fingers cani
144
THE DOOR Ob: DREAD
CB B Iltt WIOI UOI|pR lOOiE tWO ^pnCK IMpt
wafd, twtei^ bade fab fight foot ai lie cane to
a itop^ He Ideked vkio^^, aai all hb force,
lib faearj iboe ttar^unf the fireum and the gra^
isg ia^n at the same time.
The biow tent tiir f ey d v er eca ttlb ig aeross tl- ^
carpeted loor, tmder the biadc-dfified t^Mt and out
of afehi beycn^ the cnrtaiM of outtenal-
i^m^ cwtiwet.
Hw lefiee of ^ bbw alio sent Keudefi'a Dody
swingmg half-way about, and brought Dorxsa him-
wAi etanerhK the table hilitwi whi^ Sad^
Wimpcl ao«r itood. There hb haad fell oa
^aiito>oi-Pams skitU whi^ alood 1^ hli^ ml-
vet m^. He caught it vtpf irrevwentfy. b}' tht aw*
bone. The aext momnt ht stM it wkh afl his
iotce ^ahlst the fa^f4i»iied %ody of ICet^^
nhert k ricochetted frm^ tke h avv shoekfe^r aaci
crash^ against the door-xniBie hattermg r vo a
hsodred pi ece s .
Bat bf time Ke^eil was i o 1(^«e} «savc.
He iwiiiim^ iteft tfid amed a ^&ir. t i#%e «at
iM o wem Aat Dergam ce^fht up the clairvoyant
latifi rtyinl finyt glofae erf sdid from its
bronae tr^ad nd seat it csMUMiadif^^ agMuist his
JH£ IXX>R Of: DREACI
145
enrmy, Kenddl himself flunf the chair ytith all hit
foKiC,
DorgM's howl, half of anger and half of pain,
as ^ diair-faadc itrack against his hip, was brute-
like «r J laroaty and singuhurly suggestive of the
^ oi a atock-yards calf.
^kit ddie did not wait or more. She swung
at dovr through the curtains of her cabin i-
fiunt. ier f. t impulse was to find and possess
herself of the .alien revolver. But as she stood
staring about at the back of her cabinet she saw
the door to invitingly confronting her. At the same
time she realized that ^e^ Bight remained unob-
senmi by the two oomba; ^s. And a natural and
mstinctive propulsion tow< ape asserted itsdf.
She opened the door an : «d through it into
the shadowy back hallway, where she could still
hear the muffled crash of furniture and the thud of
stamping feet But Sadie no longer hesitated. Her
passion to reach iht open was now an all-consum-
ing one. She was even vaguely conscious, as she
darted for the front of the house, of a gaunt and
towering figure bound close to the spindles of the
stair-banister. 1^ los dimly aware that this dusky
figure was that of her own attendant, Zuleika, and
146 THE DOOR OF. DREAD
that she hung there tied and trussed with the vol-
uminous cotton drapery of her own Oriental turban.
A fold of this same turban had also been used as a
gag, knotted and tied tight across the bruised cheek-
flaps and holding the rigid head close in against
the stair-spindles. Above the gash of wiiito this
gag made across the dusky face, the eyes of the un-
happy negress rolled dolorously, both in speechless
revolt against such treatment and in mute appeal f ot
release.
But Zuleika no longer figured in Sadie's move-
ments or her sympathies. Her one obsession was
to reach the open. And her passion to escape was
based on something more than mere fear. It was
based on the knowledge that she was acting for
the Service, and that now, as never before, the Serv-
ice stood in need of her help.
She was out through the door and half-way down
the house-steps before she noticed that a taxicab was
standing at the curb. Its engine was humming, and
from under the dripping hood of its driving-seat a
water-proofed figure was studiously watching her
approach.
As she reached the sidewalk and turned to the
THE DOOR OF DREAD 147;
east this driver speeded up his engiiw aiul rtirted
westward. She fdt rdieved at this movement, tm-
til she discovered through Hit falling rain another
taxicab facing her farther down the block. The
driver of this cal^ the moment he cat^it ngfat of
her, jumped from his seat She at once divined
his infemtion, and modi as she dreaded a tttrtak
from the directtcm of BrcMulway, she swvsag sharply
about and started westward. By this time she was
nnmii^.
Before she had taken a hundred steps die could
hear the hnm of tiie second taxicab and ^ chudc
of its hose tiie-diains against iht fender-wii^
That cab, she knew, was pursuing her. And she
also knew, this time, ttiat die side-street n^icfa
hdd them was pnctically deserted. Her one object
now was to reach Eighth Avenue, where, if no pa-
trolman happened in sight there wouki at least be
decent citizens enough to on for fwotectieMn.
But the taxicab wfaidi had preceded her west*
ward, die suddenly discovered, had already swung
shar^ Hboi^ and drawn ^ ctose to tiie carb at tiw
Avenae oonier. And diia &rst driver, Oe hte ooo*
feden^ i»d d cKCB d e d from his ses^ sstd was
148 JHE DCX)R OF DREAD
I^aitity awaiting her apfHroadi. And ttiH time
seemed nobody in nf^t to whom she couM 9ppetl
for heip.
It was not that she was greatiy afraid for her
omi sdtt. More than once, in her earlier days of
adwjittire» iA» had proved to the predatoiy male
a a^ve cmly too readily liberated and too willingly
abandoned. But she remembered the gun plans hid-
den away behind the flimsy barrier of her i^irt-waist
front, and she knew what to expect from any agent
of KeudeH A five-minute seardi in the darkened
body of dtiKr of those cabs, wtx knew, wouki cause
her and poor Wilsnach's pg^trs to part eompaiqr
forever. And she wanted this to be a heme run.
Sinee she had gone through so nmdi cm ^t day
of days, she did not intend to pve up uirtil the hut
ditch was reached. That modi at least she owed to
Win$ie.
Suddenly, as she ran, ttut veered diagonally across
the rain-pooled street, her instinct tellLtg her that
tiK farther she kept away from that vraiting taad-
cab with Its shiister dodowed hood the better wonM
he her dnnoes. The driver, who was not igr >r v t
of her tnaamver, stepped pnmfi^ itot tiie ii jot
of his car and croticd the ride - itwet ahead of her.
JHE DOOR OF, DREAQ
149
He did not run, since » dripping pedestrian or two
imposed m him ^ necenity of not exciting undue
suspicions. Yet Sadie saw tiiat he mi^ stil! head
her off before she turned south into Ei|^ Avenue.
And she knew the second cab was close behind her,
making impossiUe any hteral eso^ into the doofw
ways part whkh die was qweding.
Then, of a sudden, a wave of renewing hope
swept IhroQgh her tired body. For under the dearer
ligirt of ^ street corner lanq> beyond the wattkig
taxicah she made out the crimson ofalonf of a nmSH
box. It stood oat, a quadrang^ of warm red, as
reassorhif and consoling as a haibor U0A to a 4i»>
tressed ak^per. Tririal as k seemed, it soddeafy
typified the orpi&ed streagdi of a m^o^s
eramemal machhiery. It stood there, a sanetnaiy
d em a nd ing respect, sotneAhig official and inriolH^
aomeOiQf whidi it was peril to ontraffe.
It was not natil aha iHard ^ pandag cah dnmr
b^nd her thai d» ventured ooee more to ^aafe
her eonrsemd dart acfoes^ street Shewasnta-
nmg now w^ Uttte groaning gasps of desperation,
whhnperinf Iflie a hurried pup, but grimly resobed
to readi miM lex before who had
come bttwMB her and her goal could do ap^
150 THE DOOR OF DREAD
An die adced was to reach that corner witiioiit
interruption. Once she was there, she knew, and
once her precious packet was dropped within its
protecting sheet-iron sanctuary, she did not much
care what happened. So she ran now as she never
ran before. !
Her foot turned as An took the muddy curb on
the run, and she went down and slithered across the
wet pavement like a base-runner charging for third.
But that movement brous^t her body into contact
with the box-piUar. At the same instant that she
strugiM to her knees she drew the packet from its
hiding^ace. The next moment die had staggered
to her feet and shoved the preckms packet into the
narrow maw of the box itself, which seoned to
•waDow it like a sea-lion swaUowing a fish-taiL
And Hmt, ^ knew, was the end of her battle.
St» felt the tttdden weight of a hand on her
ahoidder. It was more a Mow than a (Mdu and
die did not have strength enoui^ to redst its force.
So she once more subsided to the wet pavement,
going down as quktly and invertebrate as a straw-
stuffed dummy, but stSl dii^iing sttdibonily to the
painted box-pillar with her wet arms. Asshechng
there, however, she ttircw back her head and
THE DOOR OF DREAD
151
screamed, again and again, witii all liie pow of
her lungs.
"Slam her one, Htnikr' calmly si^gestod ^ aee*
ond driver, as he joined his confederate, "or that
she-hyenaH have the whole ward buttin' m on thisf*
Sadie ducked as Huidc proo^tly proceeded to
slam her one, and Hunk's fist came into violent
coUision with the box-fnUar. Whereopoo Sadie
screamed louder than ever. So arrestmg were those
screams, k fact, ibat neither Honk aor his water-
proofed friend had the chance for a second ^brt
A spindle-legged mes se ng er boy suddenly scurried
across the Avenue. A second hiter a rooad-qred
German botcher emef|^ from his shop, wi^ his
carving knife and one comer of a ruddj^atahied
apron still in Ins hand.
"Whadda yuh dohi* f that rib^ wspimyT* im-
personal^ inquired the ^indle^egged yondi, lor the
two water-proofed figures were now tuggiof hi uni-
son at die woman who stiU dung to tiie box-pfflw.
'This souse's gotta pay her fare, or eone to tiit
statioo4iMttef wrathfnlly and tactftdhr renondcd
the man called Hunk. Two other pfdwtrfaBis had
joined the messfngf r boy »d the goiy a pro i wd
butdier, and already stood starmg at die strumte,
152
THE DOOR OF DREAD
viewing it with that impassive detaduneok
to the metropolitan qjectator on such occasions. YeC
SaiMe continued to ding to her piUar and scream.
-Aw, hdir* said Hwik, as he glanced i^»prehen-
sively about the rain-swept Aventie. Then he sud-
denly badted away toward his cab.
•*Beat it. Chide r he called back. "There comes
a copr And Chide proaapt\ did as Huric sug-
ge^ed.
Sadie Wimpel, although no longer exercising her
lungs, still kept her arms wn^ped about the box-
pillar as the patrolman sauntered i:q>. Shtcftncaor
tinned to ding to that i»llar, blindly, perverse^, at
tiieoflker stooped and made an effort to lift her to
her feet.
show tiiem wise bafaiesr she was 8obl»n^y
annotmcing, over and over agadn. The patrolman
had her on her feet by this time. He suddenly
stopped and turned her face to the li^t Then die
quietly and wearily relaxed on the broad bosom
^miglcd with metal buttons. For it was the same
officer, die saw, who had earlier in the wedc saved
Ikt from the over-«cak>us plain-dothes man still in
il^m ce of Washhigtow's »de-rtreet "plant"
THE DOOR OF DREAD
153
"What're they tryin' to do to you this time?" he
deman d ed as he held her up.
'Tiyin* to pinch me rd* he pantingly re-
sponded.
**Whodidr
TbemtaxMMndttsr
The officer warded the accumulating crowd back
with the flailing end of his night-stick.
"Did they get it?" he demanded as he stared up
and down the rahhiwqit side-street already empty
of any sign of a taxicab. Then he stooped and
pounded oo the curbstone with his night-stick. "Did
they get itr he repeated.
"Not on your Kfef* returned Sadie. "I poked
it into this mail boxT
Then what d' you want me for?" asked the offi-
cer, r emenrt >eriiy that he was conferring with a
federal agent
"Yuh gotta can up Hendry and 'im to have
Morgan hurry a coi^le o' men up h«ire to this boxl
And that box's gotta be watched r
The officer hentated.
"What* • the matter with lettm' the collector be
teldn* it 1^ 08 his mxt round?"
1
154 JHE DOOR OF DREAP
•^Uectorrshrilkd Sadie. •*Ytih gotta kwpMijr
collector from imlockm' that box tiU Morgan gets
his men up here, or your job won't be wort* atradin* .
stamp r
"Why?"
Sadie's eye met the slightly skeptical eye of the
officer.
"B'cause there's a bunch o' stuff in under that
lid wort' a hundred thousand dollars, or yuh kin
put me in the nut-ward up at BeUevueP'
The officer replaced his i^li^hl-rtidc The federal
authorities, he remewiwre^ Im4 a way of moving
darkly and by means of myslerkwis agents.
"And then what d'you wnt me to dof'
**I want yuh f pass me ^roui^ Ais ring o' pop-
eyed rubbernecks," Sadie swd, as she stared wearily
about at the ever deepening drde of odookers, "and
then git something in brais buttons 1^ to Aat house
o'mine. But before yiA do Aat yuhH khiffly lead
me into a drum where I kin wrasde wif a coi^
o* broiled Delmonicoes! For I'm goin' to feed, and
feed deep," she grimly arnxmneed. "And wh^s
more, I'm g«Mn' to wash it down wif a foil quart
o'fizrr
CHAPTER EIGHT,
SADIE WIMPEL ttadjiiig iier to k tlw
*yvk ain't looldn' m rotten UnaSifiA, DudMM,"
she rttmiMited alotid, as she poind a pbit of her
freshly marcelled hair into place. Then she lan-
guidly proeceded to powder her nedt and sbooidcrB
with a swan's-down "sprsader," solemdy 8tudt)ring
her own ixnafe in the mirror as she did so.
Then a smUe broke across her soher yotmf iMe,
tof in the doorway behind her she f^fgM s^^ of
V^nisna^ in cfeniBK <facei^ mkI w^ a tap^Mit over
his arm.
"Come fair she sanf ool over her eefefawled
shoulder, for her hesita^visiler had shown «vtf|^
nfn of yemdiing.
**VU wait," anmnwntd the ever deeoroM
nadL
''Ain't he the tii^ IMr Saiht dsBm^ of
her mirror, as she gnt a finisUnf tondi to her Ike
w^ ^tt powder-folil^ Then At stood and
155
156 THE DOOR OF DREAD
turned about, shaking out her skirt and niMsaging
her trim waist-line w ith outspread thumb and fore-
finger. "These dinner gowns ain't none too hany
in the upper-works, are they?" she asked, as alie
pinned a bunch of violets to her corsage. She teoked
wistfully up at Wilsnach. There were times when
he seemed to touch her spirit with a vague and un-
defined sense of disappointment.
•*How'd I look?" she courageously de m ande d .
"You look fine, Sadie," acknowledged Wibnack
"But Kestner seems disappointed that Keudell got
away from us."
Sadie sighed.
"And I guess Dorgan ought 'o get a medal aa a
quarter-miler," she indifferently announced. For
Service work loomed smaU beside the thought of
her first Collet creation and a three-liour dinner
with Wilsnach. But a smaU doud diowed ttadf
in the sky of Sadie's hopes.
"I wish we was eatin' alone," she said at the
reached for her cloak.
"Were eating !" corrected the other.
"Were eating," dutifully repeated the girl.
"But it's Andelman of the Intelligence Dq»art-
ment that wt*Tt going to dine with. And I imagine
THE DOOR OF DREAD
157
his talk is going to help straighten out this Keudell
case."
Sadie looked up at him out of wistfully reprov-
ing eyes.
"It was nice o' yuh to send me them fbwers —
those flowers," she told him.
"You deserved them," Wilsnach protested.
For the second time Sadie sighed.
"And I sure got a lot out o' that spiel o' yours in
the art gallery," she went on, smiling gratefully as
he held her cloak for her.
"We can get there oftener, when this case is
over," explained Wilsnach, looking at his watch.
"I'm ready," she announced, her face sobering as
she noticed his movement. And she remained silent
as they made their way to the street and stepped
into the waiting taxicab. She was perversely quiet,
too, during the ride to the carriage^trance of the
huge hotel just off the Avenue.
"You ought to enjoy this dinner," Wilsnach told
her, as they made their way through the carpeted
corridors to the chambre separie .where Kestner
was awaiting them.
Still again her wistful eye aou^^t his preoccupied
face.
158 7HE DOOR QF. DREAD.
mi
1
r
"I don't expect to/' ihe dedtred
"Why not?"
*^'cause business is butiiiess, no mitler wliat
frills yuh pin on it I And I'd rather be ettin' akme
wit' yuh in a forty-cent red-ink dtm^ than dinia'
on terrapin wit' foreigners T
Wilsnach was robbed of the necessity of replying
to this somewhat enibarrassiQf oonlessioa, nnoe ^
door of their seduded dintntmm had been tluowi}
open and they found themnivta ooolronted bgr
Kestner and another man.
This second man stared at Sadie Winq)d witii a
glance that was openly antagonirtic.
"Who is this girir he promptly and somewhat
belligerently inquired.
*Thts," said Kettner as ht watched Swlie flush
up to the little runway of freckles qaming her wdl-
powdered nose, "is Miss Winpd."
"And who is Miss Wimpeir
1 can best describe her," co n tni u ed Kettner, •§
he eyed the official so newly arrived from Washh^
ton, "as the most vahiafale woman afsnt in a& the
Service."
"And she is to dine with us to-night?" tin
ington ravoy nc»e too affably iiiquired.
THE DOOK pJb DREAQ
*Td a Iwaeli tliit Ind wat giM lo be a hmf*
"Sfaioe yott art hcwt lliii tnalag," Ktataer
wai loaTeijr «|NBnia|f nw iiuiwiwr oi yoar fMRt
nuftf oi c oaric, aefMiia on jour own wttMir
TIk c<|ifd ile^ of Ktilncr *t iirtiai^^
uaHMHHm / WW I I IHUI ID nHB ie||BIUUiy lim lOr •
Hwicnt or two of fhom^fai i8raot> Sa^a ]ier>
•df» dt^Bf ^ tabkaa, liiniad awajr towaid tlw
•qnani cfada of dlnaar titihi, Ska ma «»•
Iwrnssed Iqr Ml ^ open Iwa^ty of Aadrinaa'a
matuiir and by the niifiniMiiiiM of tfcat CoMH
mi < v'Hidi WSiaaeh toaaif twd penoadad Imt
into njatedof. So iIk ilaod vkk niefid aid
abstiacted tgpce* Har^ <fomx af^ ^ ^tiumm ol
•ihcr and |^Hi» at tfaa eentu: ai wUA Hood a Yaee
of Ridimoiid foa»teda Ik^Mad in a
wreatii of stidlK. Ai^ to cover belii Imt
reMment £nd bar iadlpHttioa liie d^banleijr :
over Hbt taUe and m^kd her tieai^ ^midt
iiMM air at ^ perftnw of tiM dMieiid RjeteeadL
Ttien, looldog '^'ver hot i>Ofifiing AaiMtr wkA
fio^ AiMnan'a eyei it8l iaii m Ctufer'a
I
100
JHE DOOR OF DREAD
face, ahe stooped itm cioMT and itiidied that dMl^
of Hofttn witli qokk and weKMag eyes.
'^ut we were to dttcoM mattert of a waiewfast
TOtriMffltW natm" protested the oAdat from
Washington. "And this dhmer was arranged
merdy that we might taBc witiioist intermpCioii and
withoitt danger."
"Miss Win^ wifi be qdte prepared to take a
part in that discnssion,'* Kcstner cafanly aunotmced.
Sadie was standhig now with her hade to the table
and was coosdoas of the fact that Andefanaa had
once SKM>e turned toward her. His |^anee» she saw,
was still a hostile one.
"Then tiie coSeagoe you spoke of as Ronuno is
not to he widi nsr the ste^y-^ officer iw|itired.
"RornawH I regret to say/is elsewhere coMsd."
Sadie neidKT heard Kcstner^s words nor was she
kmger consewas of her CoOtt dhm er- go wa. Site
was, in fact, straggihig wi& a prcAlem whidi
seeaed to He bqrofid her powers of c om p tthsnsinw ,
That problem had arisen from a discovery whkh
idle had made quite by acddent And that dis-
covery had been made as she kaned over the Tsae of
Riehnaad roses efardedwhfcsi^ax. Forcamdoi^
hnried fai^ midst of those innocait-lookhig flowtrt
THE DOOR OF DREAD
161
lAvt had ctni^ of a small metallic disk no
Utfger than a watch-case. Yet had this half-hidden
^Mc beat a coiled and glimmering snake it could not
hive ftartled her more. She had seen such things
belofc. She knew, at a g^aan, that it was the
annunciator of a dicti^^hone.
Yet she stood watching the three men before her
with a foce as expressionless as a mask. So ab-
sorbed, indeed, did she seem in her own thoughts
tiiat her handkerchief fdl unnoticed from her gloved
fingers. And it was not until the waiter came into
die room that Wilsnach noticed the bit of hm and
linen as it hy at her feet. Before he could cross to
her side and recover it, however, she herself had
bent down and pkked it up. But that brief stoop
had given her a moment's visicm of two small silk-
ooversd wirss nm^ng from the center of the table-
bottom to 1i» rug on which the table itself stood.
Sw knew* tfien, that there could.be no mistake
about the matter. Sha realized that a plan had been
perfected whereby every wocd of tiieir tiBc eoold ba
overhMrd and recorded by some unseen and un-
known anchor. Wherever that auditor mit^t be
statkmed at the far end of those small Bhu><annA
thrsads of metal* he stood vtrtMiSfy • iRr m «vtfy
162
THE DOOR OF DREAD
wntenoe that might be uttered at their table. But
the problem that confronted her was whether that
annunciator had beat placed there by Kcatatr !■■»>
•df, or by &n enemy of Kestner's.
She had no time to give the matter further
thought, however, for the three men were already
advancing to their places. And Andelman, with hit
cocktail glass in his hand, was smiling across the
table at the drooping-Udded girl in the dropping-
bosomed Collet dinner-gown. For by this time
Sadie was unmistakably drooping-lidded. One of
the lessons which life had taught her was, when in
dottbt, to asnmie an outward mien of utter meeknsss*
"I am sorry," said the envoy from Waahii^^oa,
"that official discretion nadt as lor ivw • taammt
seem inhospitable 1"
Sadie disliked the Ml, ami it teak • nii^li §at
her not to show it
"It ain't troubiin' me," shs i^ed, as Aa timgmil
at the shoulder-straps of her gowa. Then As s^
denly remembered Wilsnach's stem ■dmowitkn m
to her verbs. So for the second time liif yasM
vi^y as shs imwid s ^ Im mifff. *^ltltimili^
THE DOOR OF. DREAD
163
"Thm what cm I pottflbfy do to make aiiimd»r'
teqaired Ae ofctr, ftdgf her.
She Meed calmly and dt ia et ld^ ak the miling
face, nettled bgr tiie fact that tim was more than
a toadi of mockery in ka smile. Yet ifae henelf
hmgM • fittk •§ ahe turn ed tkoaft t» the me ol
rotes tint stood belMBB then.
«nrtih e'd aqpare jommitr ifae quieUy iii— ■ 1.
"I)9r ktthi' me pki » Qoi^lie ^ Asm laeas cMEae aew
ar inofypl^e f
Sie WM maiaUiiafag i hMpectie»o€ hotfi Andel
niaaaBdKeslan>aasheapeiK> She waaatffi watch-
ing diem at she promptly leaned fonaaO, with aa
arm oii t i tiitched» woadei'mi^ from iriii^ 0t Ike
nics Ae s^ia^^f hetn^nd waa to ffnw,
It waa AaMaaa iHio spoke. He apsis Jiaipljr,
whh a ipidi a^ef cemmaadia widler aaafasB
toMITadfaw.
"Mikmm'; hi aaid, "give hid^r two «f
Mllmd i«»Mi^ fisaaer
A0i wMi Alt aaaaaaBd iw mystery sleed no
felpv a mystery.
Saltan isf • voluptiioas seoead or two, sat alBP-
dewB i§ A§ flaw AQiddsr4engih iN^iie i^kyves
164 THE DOOR OF DREAD
of whidi die was to inordiiiatel/ prowL Then hav-
ing digested her victoiy, ilie kwked i4» at Anddma^
Td rather {ndc me dKXMe,** she demitrred, with
one rounded arm idll ttretdied languidly out across
Aetabk. Her fingers were within rix indwt of the
innocent-looking yaie before the waiter, for afl his
celerity ^ movement, eoald interpose.
''Ptodoo, madaMs," he mtmnttrcd as he iiooped
over the taMe. Yst as he did so he crowded 2n so
dose to the girl's forwud^ient body that she was
compelled to shrink hack kito her diair.
"You win iiitf A%lHMe's taste intproadiabie,"
said AndehsM^ eooe nore aUe to snOe.
Sadie <yd net answer him, for at ^ moiuent her
aM was aeeapfed with'the cfafama hi fraot of her.
Kestnci^ At saw, had not moved. He tau^ sat
imrwinf hor with a casual hidilforence totidMd w^
■ nw w wwen t WSsnadi, it Is tme, feoked ahent him
a little pozzled, but to he puialed was habitual with
the interrogativc-sottled mm from the Paris office.
Andelman was tiM man! That mudi the voice
of Sadie's instmets at once prodaimed to her. It
was AaiitaHM who had pronpdy betrayed the ten-
non under which her mttieuver had pkwed him. It
W Aiiidniin who, for an his pose of au«-free
ju£ ixxDR of: dreaq
165
gallantry, pointedly watched the deft-fingered waiter
as the latter meagerly broke off two of the buds
whidi drooped loosely over the edge of the vase.
Sadie then knew not only that Andehnan was the
man, but that the waiter called Alphonse stood not
altogether ignorant of the situation. The fact that
he had chosen two bods whidi in no way served to
screen the center of the vase, and the further fact
that he had broken tiwse off short rather than with-
»
draw their stems from the tangled company of their
felkmt, confirmed his postti<m as an accon^lice of
the Washington official who, for some unknown
reason, was porkuig against the interests of her
diicf.
'^tdi nqr be long on taste," she calmly an-
noi»ecd, as aiw took tiie two buds from the waiter's
fingen, jfA'n iottinly short on stems 1"
Is raaduae not pleased asked ♦he waiter.
Tbcfe was idmost a diallenge in his inquiry. It was
Andeknm hinseif who 9p6kt up sharply.
"A^lioiHe, bring the oysters I And also, if you
please, a idolet-pki for the ladyP
KeHaer'i hidolent tyn followed the waiter's fig-
ure as he departed. Tben the secret agent turned
NcktoUshoit
166 THE DOOR OF. DREAD
''Why was it Bnkmhtr taumAt didn't nm cyver
lor thk taOcr Kettoer cuuaBjr inquired.
"Bntliidier mi not w intimttdx in toiidi with
the new code movcneatt at I am myidf. Captain
Otsrernade that dear, I thought, hi hit talk over the
tdephooe with jroo."
i^stner nodded.
"How long have you been doing code work for
the Department r he next aiked. Andehnan tmikd
attheqneitkja. He teemed to be g^ of the chance
of talldng again.
"At far bade at the war with Spain. I had an
undereecfetaryihr^ hi Barodooa at ^ thne, and
devised a qrttem of keq^ oar people at Paris hi
toodi wHk the movemtata of the eneny't battle-
th^ and torpedo-boatt nd that tort of thing.
There were, at you may rememba, some forty-
foorof themahcfedier. I adopted the two Fiendi
words of VcAnci' and VffMlkff/ to stand for teived*
and 'departed,' and then piepared a codete of
possOde ports where these boats might arrive or de-
part I did this by givh« eadi the name of some
partkadar ttodt listed on tiie Frendi Exdange.
Each boi^ hi torn, was iipr s wiited by a certidB
Btmber, to when I whfed Farit to btiy or teS ao
THE DOOR OF DREAD IjS?:
many shares of such and such a stock, it meant the
arrival or departure of such and such a boat from
such and such a point."
It was Sadie who spoke next.
"Yuh're the first Navy man I ever heard speak
of 'em as boats!" she murmured as she boked up
at him with languidly drooping lashes.
"I'm sorry to give offense!" was Andelraan's
acidulated retort. But the languid-eyed girl made
note of the fact that the dart had not misied its
mark.
"Oh, it ain't offensive," she lazily acknowledged.
"It's only funny!" Then, seeing Wilsnach's re-
proving eye on her, and misjudging the cause of that
critical side-glance, she cried in hasty amendment:
"It iwi'/ offensive!"
"And what was the data you were to present to
me?" inquired Kestner, as he squeezed a slice of
lemon over his Blue Points.
Andelman looked at him for a silent moment.
"My first duty was to learn from you jtiet .wbat
progress you have been making."
"Progress in what?"
"In tracing out the different leaks from onr two
Departments."
168 THE DOOR OF DREAD.
"Itit WHsnadilierewlioisddiqrtlittiRrork. I
am merely a lort of oveneer, in tlib cate."
"But it was you who wired in tiia laet r^ort to
the Waihington anthorities.*'
fwetmer tRniea*
"And that is the date yott widi?"
"Yes.*'
"But why lepeat what has already been incor-
porated in my official reports?"
If there was a sting behind his words the man
from WasMngton preferred to ignore it Sadit
found a wayward satisfaction in tiie eottdttsioB that
the two men wefe not destined to be Idndred souls.
It woiOd make her tadc tukr, she Uk, when her
chance should come.
"Bat, don*tyoa see, Fvc got toknow whafi been
done bef<m I can ontfrne what stifi remte to ba
done," paticndy expounded the Washington envoy*
"And yon know as wdl aa I do Ihitt tiie ^tm^ la
a serious one.**
"It is even more serioni tiian yon imaghM^"
admowkdged Keitner. And agate Sa&'a eyt
sought her chiefs, as though behind that cart an-
nouncement n^i^ lie some hidden mcan^.
"And in view of that fact," Andefanan €Qotim»d,
THE DOOR OF DREAD m
"l have • plan, by means of which, provided we can
work harmoniously together, we can surely round
aU of this stolen data. But unless we work to-
fethcr I think there's small chance of either your
plan Of mine succeeding. So the sooner we get
down to hard-pan, the better!"
Keitner, in spite of the persistently patient tone
of Andefanan's talk, betrayed no immediate inten-
twn of fetting down to hard-pan. And Sadie, to
her Mcret relief, began to realize that her chief was
more let on acquiring information than on divulc-
iogft.
**Biit in ft cMt Iflce this you never do get down to
iMtl-pan," Keitner was parrying, "until you make
your haul And we haven't yet made our haul."
TlicWy," agreed his host. "But what I must
know ii what etcpe have been taken toward that
KMtner'e glance was a distinctly combative one.
"Am I to understand that the Washington author-
Wti are qaettioning our method of procedure?"
Wflmach, at this tartly-put interrogation, looked
•bo* with mild surprise at his chief. The Utter,
WiBMch inwardly remarked, seemed less stable and
1m «fbaae than usual For once be aeemad to Im
170 THE OCXHl PP DREAD
lost control of his nerves. Even Sadie Wimpel sat
a Htfle '^wildcred by Kestner's tin wonted acerbity.
Yet she watched him quietly, from under studiously
veiled eyes, wondering what his game could possibly
be, and just when her chance for a word of warning
to him would come.
"Of course your methods are not under question,"
the smiling Andelman was saying. "But before the
two of us can cooperate in this thing we must each
know where the other stands.*'
Kestncr did not seem di - oscd to deny this. He
merely became more earnest.
"Then where do you stand with regard to the
theft of what they're calling the Wheel Code?" he
asked.
Andelman hesitated, with his glance resting ques-
tioningly on Wilsnach and the woman at his side.
"You can talk as freely before these two as you
can before me," announced Kestner. "But, in the
first place, what the devil is the Wheel Code?"
Andelman smiled with patience if not altogetim
jv ith pleasure.
"Since your hesitation seems to hinge on some
doubt as to my knowledge of official affairs, I'll be
very glad to explain a code which, as you probaUy
jm DOOR OP DRBAD
in
know, is used by both the Navy and the Army. The
device itself merely depends on the use of two disks,
on the same center. There's a series of numbers on
one; on the other an arrangement of letters and
certain codified service-words. Now, once a key-
relation is determined on, the sender picks out his
message, and the receiver, placing his disks according
to the predetermined key-relation, reads this other-
wise undecipherable message without any great
trouble. What made the loss of this code of ours
especially costly, however, was that the 'filler* or
•blind' words incorporated in the cipher— very much
after the fashion of the duck that barked like a dog,
in the old conundrum— took months and months of
hard work for the two Departments to work out."
•^ut what was the use of these blind words, as
you call them, in a code like that ?" asked Wilsnach.
•Merely to insure secrecy I These fillers are put
in as a stumbling-block, for the code-expert of the
tnenqr to bark his shins on. For, once your enemy
has messages enough to work with, he can event-
ually decipher any code ever devised by human in-
tdUgence."
"Now we do seem to be getting down to hard-
pan," Kestner suddenly exclaimed. "You say th|s
Mictocopr RnotunoN tbt omit
(ANSI and ISO TEST CHAUT No. 2)
^ /APPLIED IIVU1GE Ine
1653 East Mam Street
^£ Rochester, Ne» York 14609 USA
^5 (715) 482 - 0300 - PhonT^
(7'6) 288 - 5989 - Fox
i
172 THE DOOR OF! DREAD!
Japanese ofiicer has possession of our Wheel
Code—"
"I have said no such thing," cut in Andehnan,
with his slightly puzzled tyts on the other man's
face.
"But the Dq>artment has just said so" maintained
Kestner.
Sadie, realizing that her chief had at last com-
mitted himself to a positive statement, endeavored
to kick at his shins under the table. But he was be-
3rond her reach. Wilsnach, wincing visiUy, stopped
eating to stare at her in silent reproach.
Andelman, for the fraction of a second, seemed
to be at sea. But before he could speak again
Kestner was facing him with
more marked than before.
"My own belief is that Washington is taking an
exaggerated view of this whole situation. There's
been a leak or two, but that is no excuse for gettii^
hysterical over it. And if this Japanese officer
boasted that he had our Silberton Gxie, I dcm't
even believe he's stolen it. You know as well as I
do that the Japanese arc the trickiest code-makers
on earth. This code expert of theirs probal^y got
hold of a number of our inessages, months or even
THE POOR of: PREAQ
173
years old. Then, working them ouiE on lines of
classification, and resorting to a few imaginative
guesses, he stumbled on the key to the whole thing!"
Andelman sat in thoughtful silence, at the end of
this speech. Kestner waited for several moment:
then he swung unctuously back to his theme.
"Any code can be worked out in that vny.
There isn't a cipher-code in the Service, land or sea,
that isn't vulnerable to the expert, once he has time
enough and reason enough for working it out"
Andelman's slowly awakening smile was erne of
patient forbearance.
"You are altogether wrong. How could a
foreigner, for example, derive any earthly good
from a knowledge of the Navy Department's new
wireless Clock Code?"
"Why not?" asked Kestner.
"Because the significance of every cipher depends
not only on the hour of the day, but on the minule
of that hour, at which it is despatched, yhe same
message, I mean, sent at twenty different times dur-
ing the day may mean twenty entirely different
things. And the chnuionietrical determination ol
each cipher value, again, is protected by our adiqptft-
tion of the Hovland Keyboard Qpherr-^rOll^r•
174 THE DOOR OF DREAD
doubtless heard our Navy officers speak of it as the
Keyboard."
"Why the Keyboard Cipher?" asked Wilsnach.
"Because the transmitting machine — for wireless,
of course, — is a good deal like an ordinary t3rpe-
writer, with keys to close a certain number of 'con-
tacts' for each letter. But the cipher-language is
produced by first switching the letter-keys, the same
as a mischievous boy might do on a typewriter —
mixing 'em up in a hopeless mess. The receiving
operator, of course, works with a keyboard cor-
respondingly switched and at the same time com-
bined about the same as the numeral sequence of a
safe-lock. In wireless, of course, this shuts out the
outsider. It stops eavesdropping. Since the de-
codification is done automatically, and printed on
the tape of the receiving apparatus, it does no good
for the outsider to try to tune in!" Andelman
laughed as he took a sip of wine. "Soimds pretty
complicated, doesn't it ? But it's about two hundred
times more complicated than I could ever make it
sound, for it's just by its infinite complicatedness
that it is made secret."
Kestner, who seemed deep in thought, did not
comment on this statement.
THE DOOR OF DREAQ 175
"But I thought our Bobine Whisperer had super-
seded all that?" he finally ventured. And Sadie,
watching from the other side of the table, felt sure
that she saw a secret eye-flash pass some secret
message between Andelman and the waiter called
Alphonse, as the latter lifted away the empty oyster-
plates.
"Why should the Bobine Whisperer supersede
the Hovland adaptation ?" inquired Andelman, with
his eyes on Kestner's impassive face.
"Because both Scrivi. r and Oliver have acknowl-
edged its superiority." Kestner looked up at Andel-
man with sudden surprise on his face. "You knew
it was the Bobine Wliisperer specifications wHich
were stolen, didn't you?"
It was a direct interrogation, but Andelman did
not directly reply to it. For just a moment his eyes
rested absently on the vase of Richmond roses.
Then he turned smilingly to Sadie Win^ and
Wilsnach.
"Perhaps our friends here would like you to give
them a description of this mysterious Whisperer,"
he finally ventured.
It was at this point that Sadie turned to Wilsnach
with the carelessly put command : "Ginune a card
176 THE DOOR OF DREAD
and pencil I For we had a code at the Convent that
used to stump *em ev'ry time I"
Then straight down the card, Chinese style, she
smilingly penciled tiae words : "Roses have tin ears!"
She smiled again as she looked down at her min-
utely inscribed column. She was still smiling as
she passed it over to Kestner, who for a moment
hesitated abcat taking it.
He glanced at the card for only a second or two.
Then shook his head with disapproval.
"Sadie, that's indecent!" he angrily announced,
as he proceeded to tear the card into shreds, and
having tossed these pieces contemptuously toward
the center of the table, he turned deliberately away
from her, once more facing Andelman. "We're
here to discuss Service business, and not make
jokes !"
For the third time that evening a flush mantled
Sadie's sophisticated young face. Andelman noted
it, and not without approval. For a moment, too,
his hungry eyes rested on the scattered fragments
of pasteboard. It was the waiter, who, having care-
fully placed plates before each of the guests, turned
to remove the litter of paper-ends from the taMc-
doth.
THE TOOK OF DREAD
177
Sadie promptly defeated this end by insolently
and half-angrily blowing the card-fragments back
into Kestner's lap. He ignored the maneuver, for
his mind seemed set on more serious things. He
even frowned a little when the bland-eyed Wilsnach
broke in with one of his ^iparently iminsptred iiH
,terrogatijns.
"But just what is the Bobine WTiisperer?" the
methodic-minded man from the Paris office was ai-
quiring.
Andelman, for some unknown reascm, permitted
the ghost of a smile to flit for a moment about his
Ifps. Then he leaned patiently back in his diair as
Kestner began to speak.
"Since we're aU united in the task of kee|nng this
Bobine Whisperer secret from getting out of Amer*
ica," began Kestner, "it won't be a loss of time to
try to give you an mkling of what it is. But ^ease
correct me," he added, as he again turned smi&igfy
toward Andelman, "if I make miftalffs. The Bo-
vine Whisperer is our improvement on the Bdlini
and Tosi rectangular aerial device for wifeless.
.That is to say, two aerials at right ang^ afe so
attached to both soidii^^ toad teoeiv^ apparatta as
to permit of the tfansBMStea of unequal cur ra rts .
17S .THE DOOR OF. DREAD
By a simple enough law of mechanics which I
needn't go into here, these tv/o electro-magnetic
forces are made to unite, not unlike a fireman's
water screen made by the interjection of two hose
streams. The Hertziri waves are projected in a
single vertical plane .able of being instantly al-
ternated by the Bc^aie device, and because of the
fact that this apparatus can transmit messages a
hundred miles without their waves being perceptible
to intervening operators, it has * «n called the
Whisperer."
"Exactly— the Whisperer 1" said Andelman.
"It gives an admiral a diance for absolutely se-
cret communication between his diflFerent units/'
pursued Kestner. "It also puts a stop to the danger
of 'jamming,' which helped the Germans out in
tiieir South Pacific fight with the British, as it did
tiie Russians when they had the Austrians shut
up in Przemysl. But it does still more than this.
It makes possible the determination by triangulation
of the position of any foreign operator whose mes-
sages have been intercepted. This means it can de-
cipher the position, and also the speed, of any hostile
ship, or, for that matter, any hostile squadron, once
its sending-zone has been invaded. And what that
THE DOOR OF DREAP
179
means to a foreign power has been very well in-
stanced 1^ the fact that the specifications for this
device are among those stolen by our same Orio^
friend who got the new eubniBriiie and the mm
coast-gun plans 1"
It was Sadie Wimpel who looked up sharply at
Kestner's last words. Through his welter of wire-
less technicalities her untutored naad had «rt<ight
no feeblest ray of light. She was not ignorant,
however, of who had got hot' the submariM and
the coast-gun plant. And she . .new k wat not an
Oriental.
It dawned on her, suddenly, that Kestner was not
telling the truth, that he was deliberately and ^udi«
ously lying to the thou|^ful-faced envoy Irmi
Washington. But his reason for doiflf ao waa
something more than she could fathom*
"Then this Oriental is the nttn yn wmt maai
up?" Andelman was aiddng.
"Wouldn't that be your suggestion?" ptmd
Kestner, with his gaze fixed on the other man.
The other man shrugged a non-committal shoul-
der. He seemed undecided as to his stand. And
from his very indecisiveness Kestner iq^ftcared to
derive a discreet yet defeite s^faction.
180
THE DOOR of: DREAEI
None of this satisfaction, however, imparted it-
self to the restless-minded Sadie. Her chief, for
once in his life, seemed obtuse. He had scoffed
at her warning. And now, speech by speech, he
was not only handing his secrets out to a man who
had no right to them, but was also tossing the most
sacred information of the Service into a metal ear
hidden amid a cluster of roses not three feet away
from him. And the thing could not go on.
Sadie fotmd it l.ard to hit on a feasible plan of
action. The best she could do, she finally decided,
would be to slip away to the hotel office, on the
pretext of telephoning, and there write out a sec-
ond message of warning to Kestner. This coula
be done on a telegrapli blank, and after her return
to the table a page could deliver the message. In
that way, she felt, Kestner could receive it without
unduly arousing Andelman's suspicions. And then
he would be free to act as he saw fit
Sadie finally decided to put this plan into execu-
tion. She saw that it would be best, however, to
leave the table when the waiter himself was engaged
at its side. She did not care to be followed. So
as the talk went on she impatiently awaited the re-
turn of that discreet-eyed functionaiy.
THE DOOR of: DREAQ
181
Yet it was thif waiter himself, when lie stepped
bade into the room, who made the first move. He
somewhat bmskly interrupted Andelmaa's talk with
tlw amiouncement that there was a Umf-dtstanoe
call awaiting him at the office. And this wakor,
Sadie noticed, was not so inward^ cahn as his otit>
ward appearance might indicate.
"Find who is calling f commanded Anddmaa,
with a distbct note of amwyance. Then he turned
to Kestner again, repeating an inqimy if it could
be true that the new Am^ satchel-wirdesa de^;ns»
based on the ''Whisker Wifdess" of the Freadi In-
telligence Corps, had been among the secrets so wa^
teriously and so ingenioiidy stden from Headqnaiw
ters. Then he stopped talking, for the waiter
more stood close behind him. This servai^s &ce,
Sadie now noticed, was moist with a faint dewing
of sweat-drops.
"It is Washington, sir, that wants youf* he an-
nounced.
"But who?" irritaUy demanded Andehnan.
"I think they said the Navy Department, sirr
Andeltnan's manner dianged.
"Then you'll excuse me for a rahmte or two?"
he gradoosl^ inq^Oored, as rose from h» chair.
182 THE DOOR OF) DREAP
And Kestner watched him in silence until he left
the room. It was not until the waiter followed,
carrying away a trayful of empty dishes, that Sadie
•poke up.
"That man's a fake," she promptly announced.
It was Wilsnach, still watching the door, who
made a sudden hissing sound for silence.
"Why do you say that?" Kestner quietly inquired.
"B'cause I know it," was her quick retort.
"I am equally aware of the fact," was Kestner's
even-toned reply.
Wilsnach paused in the act of lighting a cigarette
to stare at his chief.
"How do you know it?" he demanded.
"For the last two days I find my private telephone
wire has been tapped. My steps have been dogged,
and a decoy message yrhich I sent out was inter-
cepted. Such incidents, naturally, point only to one
thing r
"But why couldn't we have been given a tip?"
demanded Wilsnach.
"I wanted to be sure of my ground. And it was
only an hour before sitting down to this table I
verified my suspicion that Andelman was in no way
oflficially connected with any Washington depart-
THE DOOR OP DREAD
183
ment. I have just further verified it by the mttter
of the Bobine mispercr. While I have given not
a little of my time and thought to the working oat
of such a device, there is, at prcMOt, mo Mch tMiig
in existence!"
"And that ain't all I" announced Sadie.
"What else?" asked the indifferent-eyed Kettner.
"As T tried to tell yuh b'fore, the gu/a gotta
dictaphone planted in that bunch o' roeet thmT
"He's got a—"
Kestner, instead of re-echoing the rest of that
sentence, suddenly sprang to his feet He leaned
over the table, pushed back the looee dafle»«l ^arie
crimson buds, stared there for a aeeood or tw&aad
then sat down again.
"So that's his game!" he ejac uted. Then he-
fore either Wilsnach or Sadie cookl ipeak, he waa
on his feet again.
"Quick !" he criea to Wilsnach, as he leaned over
the vase and with one fierce jerk freed tiie
ciator from its wires. "They've heard evety wo«l
we've been saying! Get the waiter! Go r^ to
the kitchen if you have tol"
"Couldn't it be dooc more quietly, as he comet
back, and—"
184 THE DOOR OF DREAD
''G>nMs back? He won't be bade here any mart
than Andetman will ! Hurry, man, hurry, or they'll
be away before we can get to the doors f
Kestner, who had pushed the annunciator into his
podcet, was already half-way across the room.
"And what 'm I to do?" demanded the indignant-
eyed Sadie. She had small relish for being thus
elbowed out of a movement in whidi she should
have been the chief factor.
"Anything you like," was Kestmr's abstracted
message as he disappeared frcmi sig^t. Wilmadi
was rounding the table to follow him. But Sadie,
knowing what she knew, cau^t him firmly by the
sleeve of his coat
"Yuh just wait a minute f she comnmnded.
*'Who's that Oriental guy the diief s been talkin'
about?"
V^^laoach tried to shate her off.
"Idon'tknowr
"IMd he ever txXi yuh he knew a Jap had got
those plans?"
"No," said the tugging WUsnach. "Three hours .
ago ht said everything pointed to oat man and only
mt manP'
"Wait! Whatmanr
THE DOOR of: BREAQ
185
"Wallaby Sam!"
Sadie at once released the bewildered and still
struggling Wilsnach.
"Then where's your Wallaby Sam?" she called
after him, remembering what Dorgan had already
told her.
"That's what we'd give our eye teeth to know!"
was Wilsnach's answer as he slipped out through
the door.
Sadie looked after his disappearing figure. Then
she gathered up her wraps, powdered her nose and
quietly but resolutely proceeded down to the ro-
tunda of the big hotel. From there, perceiving
neither Andelman nor Wilsnach nor Kestner, she
strolled on to the starter's office, at the carriafe
entrance, and called for a taxicab.
"Where to?" was the question put to her.
For one moment she hesitated. Then the said
with determination : "Hotel AlsajMal"
CHAPTER NINE
SADIE WIMPEL nursed no great love for
head waiters. She had, in the past, too often
clashed with these mysterious embodiments of in-
terlocking authority and subserviency. Yet after
her interview with the head waiter of the Alsatia,
the same being both brief and persuasive, she sat
in the pink-lighted room of serried tables and near-
onyx and plate mirrors, sedately sipping her second
cup of black coffee.
She would have much preferred a gin rickey.
But seeing matters .of moment before her, she de-
cided to keep a clear head and a cool hand. For,
over the rim of her cup as she drank, she could
distinctly see at a table not more than the toss of
an oyster cracker from her, a rotimd and somewhat
familiar figure in full evening dress.
About this rubicund figure, seated in solitary state
at his small rose-shaded table, there was still some-
thing both inalienably blithe and disarmingly incon-
sequential. Had the serviette tucked up imder his
many-terraced chin been red instead of white he
186
THB POOR Oir dread; |87
would have suggested a weather-beaten but still
light-hearted old robin. There was something perkily
ingenuous and bird-like in the very movements of
this portly diner as he lifted a chafing-dish cover
and peered interrogatively into what appeared to be
a generous portion of chicken a la King.
Sadie, as she sat gazing at this rotund voluptuary
so engrossingly immured in his ventral delights, de-
cided that Wallaby Sam made an ideal figure for
the work of a foreign agent. His blitheness of
aspect was in itself a discourager of suspicion. His
beaming blandness of eye anid his rosiness of cheek
gave him an outward semblance of care-free inno-
cence in no way suggestive of the international
intrigant And Sadie further realized that if
Wallaby Sam had seen her, be was now bent on
ignoring her.
So at the moment that he was engaged in prod-
ding critically into the depths of his steaming chaf-
ing-dish Sadie took the bull by the horns. She rose
from her chair, gathered up her possessions and
moved forward until she came to the table of the
fat man so engrossed in his collation.
The fat man in question did nof even lode up
as tfie xoung lad^ with the deboQair ^booe «M
188 7HE DOOR OF DREAD
the tip-tilted nose sank into a seat opposite him.
As before, all his attention seemed centered on the
viands before him.
"Ain't it crool, the way most men'U furget a soul-
mate ?" murmured Sadie.
Wallaby Sam reached for his glass of Chablis,
took a sip from it and put it down on the table
again. Then he looked up at Sadie, blinking at her
with impassive and only mildly querulous eyes.
Then he gave all his attention to the plate beside
him.
"And me tryin' to ketch your eye for the last
half-liour!" lamented the slighted Sadie.
"So I noticed^" the blithe old robin calmly an-
nounced.
This, for a moment, seemed to dampen the ef-
fusive young lady's ardor» But it was only for a
moment.
"What's the reason for: the frost?" sl^ deter-
minedly inquired.
"I don't get bit twice by the same snake !" quietly
averred the rosy-cheeked old gentleman, as he
stabbed his heart of lettuce to the core. Thai he
cut it, crisscross, with much vigor.
"I guess I'm the party that's gotta kidc comin'
THE DOOR OI^ DREAD
189
for that old rumble," maintained the girL But Wal-
laby Sam, alias Adoli^ Breitmrn, chose to ignore
her complaint. It was semal minutes, in faO, be-
fore he spoke again.
"What, I mean who, are you tloing these d^i • "
he grimly inquired.
"I ain't feedin' no goldfish 1" quite as grim'^ ic-
torted Sadie, and that reference to the old days
tended to make the man opposite her wince a trifle.
"But for a couple o' months. Baron, I was eatin*
wheat-cakes wit' the down-and-outers. And yuh
was the party that put me there 1"
Wallaby Sam glanced afipredatively over ber re-
splendent attire.
"You seem to have emerged from the »^erieiioe
without material loss," he renund'^ her.
Sadie was able to mtoter vp tlie Sfmblince of a
contented little laugh.
"Oh, I'm workin' a new line nowadays P"
"What line?" casually inquired the diner.
"Cuttin' keys!" was the laconic rqjy.
Wallaby Sam finished up his creamed dudeea be-
fore speaking again.
"And what do you make out of cnttiiig kcyi?^
he finally inquired.
190
JHE DOOR of: dread
"I make a hanl o' loose joolry now and thenT
Sadie reddesdyadcnowledged. "And now and then
I get sumpin wwUi more'n joolry f
"Stidi as?" Inquired her companion.
"Ytth see,'' expUuned Sadie, "I hit one o' tte
best hoteb, rent a room for a day and get a key.
But b'fore I give up me room I beat it ever to me
own little joint, cut a dooplicate o' that hotel key
and hand in the orig'naL Then I blow '*p from the
Palm Room or the Fox Trottery when the next
party is out, and fine 'em a bundi o' ihinestones for
not keepm' their joob under cover H'
"And I assume you are wotking this hotd at this
particuhr nxnnent?"
Sadie smiled.
"Oh, I slipped into four twenty-seven jus' for
the sake of old times," she audaciously announced.
.Wallaby Sam, with knife and foric poised upright,
sat studying her serene-eyed young face. For she
had taken Ihit trotd)le, before approadiing him, to
ascertain from the office tiie exact number of Breit-
man's quarters in the Alsatia.
"So you were in four twenty-seven ?" he medita-
tively repeated.
THE DOOK DREAQ 191
"That gimme the nerve to swing down here,"
she pregnantly acknowledged.
Wallaby Sam put aside his knife and fork. Then,
still meditatively, he moved his head slowly up and
down.
'*You*re a clever girl !" he quietly dedarcd. "You
deserve a better line of work !"
"I'm wit' yuh there!"
"And I'm going to give it to you."
"When?" asked Sadie.
"As soon as I finish this meal," replied Wallaby
Sam with decision. Brt still he sat regarding her
without the slightest spirit of animus.
"And where'U it be?" asked the carelesa^ed
Sadie.
"Right over in my office," was the answer.
"Then s'posin' yuh loosen up and order me a
Peach Melba and a cup o' cawfee," suggested the
pert-faced girl, with a shrug of indifference. "For
if I work wit' a party, I also eat wit' him!"
Wallaby Sam studied her as she sat licking
whipped cream from her long-handled spoon. She
did it with a quietness oddly feline. He studied
her as she smiled back at him over her demi-tasse.
192 .THE DOOR OF! DREAD
chirpUy inquiring if it didn't kind of - remind him
of other days. And he ccmtinued to sttidy her at
she sat at his side in a taxicab, nonchalantly smok-
ing a cigarette as they made their way to his rooms.
Sadie, on the other hand, was by no means favor-
ably inqMPessed with either the unsavory neighbor-
hood or Hit blank-fronted side-street house wherem
Wallaby Sam acknowledged those rooms to be. But
she showed no hesitation as she stepped from the
taxicab and waited for her ruddy^eeked a)mpan-
ion to unlock the house-door. She was not afraid
of Wallaby Sam as she would have been of Keudell.
And she had sufficiently run the gauntlet of forbid-
ding-fronted houses to be no longer intimidated by
them.
'•We'll go to my office on the first floor up," ex-
plained Wallaby Sam, as he ushered her in. He
switched on the hall lights and led Sadie toward
the stairway which faced them. He touched an-
other light-button at the head of the stairs, unlocked
a massive-loddng door and opened it
"Be so good as to switch on the light/' he po-
litely requested as he ushered Sadie through this
second door and pointed to the push-button faintly
discernible on the farther wall
THE DOOR OF DREAQ 193
She still felt reasonably sure of herself. And at
that juncture, she told herself, nothing was to be
gained by hesitation. So she stepped briskly for-
ward to turn on the switch.
She was half-way across the room when she heard
the slam of the door behind her. Then came the
sound of a key hurriedly turned in the massive lock,
and then she uttered a foolish and quite chUd-likc
little squeal of indignation.
She ran back to the door and tugged at the knob.
Then she fell to kicking at the panels. But this
resulted in nothing. And she knew, by this time,
that Wallaby Sam had deliberately, and a little more
promptly than she had expected, made her a pris-
oner.
She stood there for a minute or two in the dark-
ness, schooling herself to calmness. Then she felt
her way carefully about the room, padding along
the solid wall until she came to the light-button.
To her relief, as she pushed this, a solitary electric
bulb flowered into light in the ceiling above her.
Then she stood with her back to the waU, studying
the room about her.
It was not a promising room, she saw, in which
to be a prisoner. It was quite without windows,
194 THE DOOR OF; DREAD
and with the exeeptkm of aa old leather coodi, was
equally withoat fttrnittire. She rannised that H
mtsat have once been used u a storeroom, for the
heavy door, she saw, had been fireproofed with
sheet-inm, painted and grained to look Vkt wood.
A rectangle of bare bricks above it showed where
a transom-opoiing Ind been later walled t^^ for
screwed to the door-frame still stood the slender rod
of a transom shift In the ceiling, at the far side
of the room, was the grin wofk of a small ventibt-
ing flue. But beyond this the room was sealed as
tight as a strong box.
'1 guess I'm the Crusoe o' this idand, all ri|^
all rig^tr she announced to the walls about her.
But she next gave hti> attention to the walls, for
on more than one occasicm in the past she had suc-
ceeded in eating her way out through mere plaster
and laths. But the walls in qn«rti(»i, she discovmd
as she tapped interrogatively about, seemed to be
of solid masonry plastered and then covered vrith
painted basiap*
She went to the heavy leather couch and carefully
and noisdessly turned it over. Amid the quad-
rangle of dust where it had stood she found a nnall
pile of old new^pers, a pair of faifed tapestry
THE DOOR QF DREAD
195
window curtains, an empty cardboard box and a
faded cotton umbrella with a broken ferule. She
stared down at them with disgust. Then she re-
turned the couch to its former position, and sat
down on it, deep in thought
Then she slipped off her wrap, pinned up the skirt .
of her Collet gown, and having vigorously but de-
terminedly wofked a steel from her corsets, crossed
to the door-frame against which the transom-rod
was screwed. Then patiently and laboriously, using
her corset-steel as a screw-driver, she removed the
fastenings whidi held the lower end of this rod to
the wood. The upper fastenings were beyond her
reach. But she was satisfied with being able to
lever away a good two-thirds of tlie rod, twisting
and bending the sdid iron until it broke under the
strain.
When she shook it free of its fasteners she held
in her hand an instrument of either offense or de-
fense that was two feet in length and almost a
quarter of an inch in thickness. She weighed it
In her hand, studiously, as a golf player weighs a
'dthfttp and then stared even more studiously about
tile room in whidi she found herself a prisoner.
Her first point of attack was the door, on which.
196 THE DOOR OF DREAD
the condttded, she might be able to use her rod u
a jiininy. But this, the iooii saw, was hopdest*,
as the sheet-iron covering gave her no opening and
the necessity for silence limited her to <»ily prying
and kvering movements. So she directed her at-
tention next to the walls. These she founc*, .dice
she had scratched away iht burlap and plaster, to
be of brickworic. And she promptly realiaed tiiat
it would take her all night to barrow throu|^ a bar-
rier so formidabte.
Her hst resource, accordingly, was the floor.
This was covered by a wdl-wom Wilton carpet se-
curely tacked in place. So it took several minutes'
work with her rod to free even one comer of diis
carpet She wori^d sfowly and cautiously, for she
found th- dust disagreeaUe, and die worked nlently
because she wanted no betrayal of her movements.
When die had two sides of the carpet free of
tacks she rolled it carefully back, revealing a aust-
covered hardwood floor not at all to her liking.
But near the ^nter of this floor, sht saw, was a
break in the solid boarding, ap p a rently marking the
spot where a pipe-flue or a ventilator had ooct
stood. It had been neatiy and firmly patched, how-
ever, witii short boards matdiing Iht rest of the
THE DOOR OF DREAD 197
tonguc-and-groove flooring. So she spread out one
of the old newspapers, kneeled down upon it, and
began a silent and cautious investigatioti of the
board cracks.
In five niinutes she had the first short piece of
flooring removed. In a scarcely greater length ol
time she had succeeded in lifting away the remain-
ing six boards. This gave her a clear view of the
floor-joists and the plaster and laths forming the
ceiling of the room below. What stood in that
room below she had no means of knowing and no
power of judging. She merely remembered that
her work must be absolutely silent For with the
first sound, she felt, her last chance woukl be gone.
She knelt beside her burrow, frr several min-
utes, deep in thought. Then she rose to her feet,
spread several of the newspapers about the open-
ing, found the corset-steel she had tossed aside, and
from under the couch drew out the old cotton um-
brella with the broken ferule. Placing these beside
her, she lay face down on the floor with her head
directly over the opening. Then, with the utmost
care and delicacy of finger movement, she began to
pick away all detachable jweces of plaster showing
between the laths. She persevered at this until she
198 THE DOOR OF! DREAD
had picked and nibbled a square foot of the lath-
ing as clean of plaster as a hound gnaws a ham
bone clean of meat. But the finishing coat of the
ceiling below still remained intact. And this, she
knew, was the perilous part of the operation.
So it was with the care of a surgeon, using her
corset-steel as a bistoury, that she made her first
tentative incision through the harder plaster-of-
Paris below one of the wider lath-vents. A small
section of this cracked loose, and with the aid of
her steel point she was able to keep it from falling.
Holding her breath, she finally succeeded in lifting
it away. By the soft flow of warmer air against
her cheek she knew that she had cut an opening
through the ceiling-shell into the room below.
So she lay there, without moving, listening in-
tently and staring down through the narrow crevice.
Yet no sound was to be heard and no faintest glim-
mer of light showed itself. So she began to work
again at the plaster, this time attacking a lath-end
nearly severed by a heaven-sent knot-hole. From
this knot-hole she picked away every shred of plas-
ter, taking infinite precautions that no loose ends
should fall away and strike the floor below. For
what that floor held was still a mystery to her.
THE DOOR OF DREAD 199
By this time she was able to insert a couple of
fingers through the opening and could work to
greater advantage. Once the lath-end was dean of
plaster she held it firmly and pressed it from the
joist until it was free of the nail-head, after which
it was easy enough to twist it entirely away. This
gave her an opening a good two inches wide and
four inches long, an opening entirely through the
ceiling. Through this she guardedly and slowly
pushed the umbrella, first releasing the handle-
spring so that when it was completely through the
aperture the steel cover-rods mushroomed outward
and opened wider and wider as she drew the um-
brella handle cautiously upward again.
She heaved a sigh of relief as she fixed this han-
dle in place, for she knew now that she could work
without danger of being overheard. From now <ai
all falling fragments of plaster merely dropped
soundlessly into the inverted bell of the umbrella
cover and hung there until she had an opening large
enough to let her hand through and lift them away.
She worked more quickly now, both grateful for the
current of fresh air that seeped against her face
and encouraged by the thought that her movements
had been quite silent. And by this tone she had
200
JHE DOOR OF DREAD
cleared away over a foot and a half of the laths and
plaster between the two joists.
She emptied the umbrella of its debris, closed it
and carefully drew it up through the aperture. Then
she silently and cautiously moved the heavy leather
couch over against the opening. She next took up
the pair of old tapestry window curtains and tied
and twisted and knotted them together. One end
of this roughly improvised scaling-ladder she tied
to the nearest couch-leg, the other end she lowered
into the darkness of the room beneath her.
She kneeled over this little well of darkness again,
listening intently. Then she rose to her feet, took
up her wrap and gloves, gave one final look about
her disordered prison and carefully switched off the
light Then, holding her wrap in her teeth, she
sat down on the floor and gathered her skirts close
about her knees, letting her slippered feet pro-
trude through the ceiling-hole. The next moment
she was lowering hnrself slowly and cautiously
down through this hole.
It was not an easy thing to do. But Sadie was
youthful and she was also muscular. She had need,
none the less, of all the strength of her lithe young
body as she lowered herself, hand by liard and inch
THE DOOR OF ©READ
201
by inch, along that pair of knotted window curtains
swinging free in space.
Two small fears possessed her as she did so. One
was that the dust from the curtains would compel
her to sneeze. The other was that she might reach
the curtain-end before her dangling feet came in
contact with the floor of the room beneath her and
that the sound of her fall might yet betray her.
For she knew, once her shoulders were below the
upper floor level, that there could be no going back.
Her fears, however, were quite groundless, and
she had no inclination to go back. Her swayii^
toe touched a carpeted floor and with her next move-
ment both feet were firmly planted. Then she took
a great breath of relief and peered about through
the unbroken darkness, with her cai3 straining for
the slightest sound.
She stood there listening for several minutes.
Then she stooped and pulled the slippers from hfer
feet. These, together with her long white gloves,
she bundled up in her wrap. Then she groped her
way slowly and noiselessly across the floor until her
outstretched fingers came in contact with a wall-
surface. She continued to work her guarded way
along this wall until she came to a door. Once
202 THE DOOR OF DREAD
there she put down her wrap, leaving it close beside
the baseboard. Then she stood with her ear pressed
fiat against the door-panel.
As she listened there ^ could make out the faint
but unmistakable souiid of movements in some other
part of the house. Just where those movements
came from she could not tell. But they served as
a warning that her way to the street might not
be so clear as she had hqped.
She reached for the door-knob, and nursing it be-
tween firm fngers, turned it so guardedly that she
succeeded in opening the door without ponderable
sound. She swung it back with equal caution. Then,
from some room farther along the darkened hall,
she made out a vague ray of light. And the next
moment she knew that it was from this room that
she had caught the sound of some one moving cau-
tiously about.
She tiptoed forward through the darkness, ad-
vancing on her shoeless feet without appreciable
noise. She crept on until she came to the partly
opened door itself. Without moving this door, the
craned about and peered into the lighted room.
Then she held her breath again and stood with-
out the shift or change of a musde-flexor. Foi;
THE TOOR OF! DREAD 203
on the far side of that room, with his back to her,
she could distinctly sec the rotund figure of Wallaby
Sam.
He was stooping before the opened door of a
small wall safe. She could see the high lights on
the polished dome of his head and along the arc of
his smoothly starched collar-back. Above this col-
lar she could see the pendulous and pink-fleshed
neck. She could even hear his heavy breathing as
he stooped lower and drew a packet of papers from
one of the inner chambers of the open safe. And
even in that position of stooping abstraction he re-
tained an aspect that was both rubicund and bird-
like in its suggestion of perky inconsequentiaUty.
Sadie's stare, as she studied him, was even moi«
abstracted. It wandered from the high light on
the forward stooping head-top to the center table
half-way across the room, where her mildly in^
mg glance rested on the tall column of a Russian
brass candlestick at least a foot and a half in hciglit
Then, taking a deep breath, she advanced noiafr.
lessly into the room, edging step try ga„ded 8t»
toward the center table.
Once there, and with her eyes still fastened on
^ allaby Sam's stooping back, she reached gmpin^
204 JHE DOOR OF DREAD
out for the brass candlestidc. Then she advanced
again toward the open safe-front, with her mtoit
gaze fixed on the small shining area of the pink-
fleshed skull.
He neither saw her nor heard her as she rtood
so dosdy behind him. He was croudied, widi
Uithe wheezes of omtentmait, over a little bundle
of folded white sheets and blue-prints. Around
these, after a vohqytuous stare at the dosdy in-
scribed white pages, he sni^yped a rubber band to
hdd them together.
It was at the precise moment that the rubber band
snapped against the folded and sorted {»pers that
his world suddenly wait out, like a bubble borsti^
in mid-air.
Fen' it was at that moinent tiot the wwnan so
dose bdiind him, swinging witfi all her f oree^
brot^t the luavy canSe^dc ^»wn on the ^v«<-
ing high light along the pink-fleshed «tV3lL
It was <»ily at tiie nxuneut of ito^ ^adi
that she closed her eyes. In the next Ineath sl» was
watching him go over udewise, slowly atKi gen^>
and quite w'thout sound or outcry. She saw him
lie tiiere on his side, widi oat hand tiirowtt out,
in a child-like attituik of inconsequential dreariness.
THE DOOR OF DREAD 205
When she had made sure that he did not move
she went back to the table and replaced the candle-
stick. Then she stepped quickly in over his out-
stretched legs, crouched down in front of the safe
and tossed out on the middle of the floor the dif-
ferent bundles of paper which she found there. An
exultant little thrill ran through her as she glanced
at the appellation penciled on the third bundle. It
ran: "Secret & Confidential— Navy Department
Wireless Code— For Officers Only."
She had no chance to read further, for a throaty
little groan frcmi the fallen man told her that he
was coming to his senses. But she knew that she
had recovered the wireless code.
So she scrambled to her feet, dodged back to the
other room for her wrap and slippers and as quickly
returned. She flung her wrap on the floor, and
into it tossed the entire collection of papers. She
h^d no time for sorting. That, she knew, could
be done later. But she took everything that the
wall safe could yiekL Then she even more hurriedly
put on her slippers, for by this time the grotesquely
rotund figure on the floor had moved an arm and
then its head, and was even staring up at her with
dazed and uncomprehendmg eyes.
206 THE DOOR OF DREAD
She caught up her wrap, tied the precious pi^en
hi it by the trick of knottuig together her fang
sleeves, and held it dose to her tide, like a DJabrian
immigraiit chstdiiiig the shawl that omrict her
worldly goods. Then she crossed the room, stepped
outoide and closed the door after her. She groped
her way hurriedly along the daric haU until she came
to the street-door. It opened with a spring k)ck.
The next moment she was ontside the house.
But the ride-street eonfrotttii4g her was both si-
lent and deserted. And she had already recognised
it as an unsavory part of the city. She was afraid
of solitude, wordlessly terrified at the thou^it of
isolaticm. Some mischance, she felt, was sdJ d«»-
tined to intervene and rob her of her predons hanL
And now, of all times, she wanted to be sure of
herself.
A little way down the street she made out a mil-
liner's shop window, opposite a street lan^w And
from beyond this street lamp she could he«r the
sound of steadily approadiing footsteps.
A small chill seized her at the fateful sound of
those feet. Needling tremors of apprehension con-
tinued to play along htr spim until hi the tmcertam
THE DOOR OF DREAP 207
light ifae made out the brass buttons of a patrolman
on his beat Then she promptly dove down the
house-steps and made for him, like a winded swim-
mer making for a life raft
He drew up, as he saw her, and awaited her com-
ing. He did so with not a little wonderment. He
even suspended judgment as she caught his arm and
clung to it
"I want yuh t' pinch me I" she gasped.
Instead of doing so, however, he calmly swung
her about an ? inspected her from her dippered toes
to the undttlatory upper hem of hei- dinner gown.
"What's the trou ilc, lady?" he quietly inquired.
"Pinch mer commanded^Sadie.
"Now, Uttle one, you cahn down I"
But Sadie refused to be calmed.
"Ofl&er, are yuh goin' to gather me in?"
He turned l»r half-patiently and half- wearily
about Fmding her breath unimpeachable, he had
•ecretly deckkd tiuit it was cocaine.
**You run akn% home and sleep it off," he mildly
advised her. "Take a nice long sleep and the Wil-
lies'U an be gone m the mormngr
"Yuh won't run me in?" she challenged, as she
r
208
THE DOOR OF. DREAP
r,i'
ttmed and itared in terror finfc one way and then
the other along the midnight street
"I ain't no reit cure robber/' he aunounced, ''and
I guess the best—"
But he did not finish that sentence. For Sadie
had backed sbwly away until she stood beside a
galvanized garbage pail awaiting iU collector at the
curb. From the top of this pafl she Ufted an empty
beer bottle. Then she sent it flymg straii^ and
true through the plate-glass window of the milUner's
shqp beside them.
"Now yuh gotta gather me in f die triumphantly
announced.
Andthe officer* in^r^ssed with the fact that sudi
madness might direct the next ndssile at his own
person, proaq>tly gathered her in.
Her smiling docDity as he hurried her along to
his signal box rather per^exed him. And she
seemed clear-headed enough, now that his night-
stick was out and his arm was securely linked
through has.
"Excuse me, kdy," he finally inquired, "but
why're you so bent on going to the station iKnssef '
Sadie laughed quietly and triumphantly as she
THE DOOR OF DREAD 209
noted tliat a precinct captain was swinging across
the street to join them.
'*B'cattse I've gotta gold mine under me left arm
tere," was her ridiculous answer, "and I sure
wantta get 'lehind bars before it's taken off me I"
CHAPTER TEN
IT was ten o'clock the next morning that Sadie
Wimpd presented herself at Kestner's door, in
response to her superior officer's summons.
"Sit down," said tliat superior officer, without his
customary smile. Sadie, eying him, sank into a
dbair.
"I suppose you know that we missed Wallaby
Sam by half an hour last nig^t?"
"He always was a headliner on the get-away cir-
cuits!" acknowledged the girt
"But the thing I carft understand, Sadie, is why
you neglected to call m up the moment you knew
where Breitman's plant was. I'm not saying that
this cock stuff wasn't a magnificent haul. But it
would have been twice as valuable if we'd been abte
to round up Wallaby Sam himself. And it was
quite bad enough losing Andelman."
The giri betrayed a tendency to fidget
"Well, there's one remark I wantta make, Mista
Kestner. When this work turns into a three-ring
210
THE DOOR OF DREAD 211
circus I c ui't watch but one ring at a time. I got
so ex'.ited when I p,it me hands on those gover'nienf
codes that I thottjht I'd better be goin' when the
goin' was good, I didn't think much about Wallaby
Sam, except that he might come to, and gunme the
chase!"
Kestner studied her with a form of perplexity.
"But Breitman has been acting as Keudell's rij^t-
hand man! And I felt sure that had been made
plain to you."
**Oh, I was gerry to that, all ri^it," admitted the
somewhat endnrrassed young woman in the chair.
"But there were certain reasons why I wasn't so
crazy about havin' WaUaby Sam rounded vtp last
night!"
"What reasons?"
"Wen, I Imew Wthnacfa would be on the job.
And I didn't want Wilsnadi tiiird-de^;reein' that old
robin r
"Why not?"
"B'cause that old robin knows too nmdi about
me past."
"What past?"
"The past Blynn said yuh'd all ke^ the door shut
on, s'kmgas I kept it shut mysdf r
THE DOOR OF DREAD
"But can you, Sadie?"
"Not if there's a roast comin' ev'ry time I make
a try at it!" was the girl's somewhat embittered re-
tort.
Kestner, conscious of her anger, glanced down
at his watch.
"But why isn't Wilsnach here?" he asked.
Sadie, getting up from her chair, crossed aim-
lessly to the window and stared out over the serrated
line of the housetops.
"I ain't his nurse!" was her retort, flung back
over an insolent shoulder.
"But I s^nt for you both," explained Kestner,
at a loss to account for both her sudden aceririty
and her splendor of raiment. For Sadie was ar-
rayed in a tailored suit of steel blue that fitted her
like a glove, with a modish little rainbow hat a-rake
on her elaborately coifTured head and a huge bondi
of hothouse violets pinned to her waist
"Service work ain't exactly made us into Siamese
twins," she announced, as she continued to stare out
over the housetops. Her soul was not at peace with
itself, and she preferred to evade the over-investi-
gatory eye of her chief. The belated Wilsnadi, she
even suspected, was at that moment patiently stand-
THE DOOR OF DREAD
213
ing in line to buy two seats for the Casino opening.
And ^ te of those seats, she also suspected, was for
her.
Kestner sat studying the trim young figure in
steel blue. Then he smiled a little, as though some
untoward incident had confirmed his earlier suspi-
cions as to her disingenuousness.
"Sadie, where did those violets come from?" he
calmly inquired.
"Is wearin' 'em against the law?" she as calmly
equivocated.
Kestner smiled for the second time.
"Has Wilsnach been sending you flowers for the
•second time?"
Sadie, at this, swung squarely about and faced
her interrogator.
"So he told yuh he sent me them roses?" There
was an unlooked-for note of sharpness in that in-
dignantly put question.
"Yes," admitted Kestner, "he told me."
Sadie's laugh was quite without mirth.
"And I s'pose he told yuh why?"
"He said you deserved them, as I remember it,
for he considered you'd done as neat a piece ol
work as he'd ever seen in all the Service."
\
214 THE DOOR OF DREAD
Sadie turned back to the window. She laughed
again, but her eyes were smarting.
"About the same as slippin' a fish-tail to the
trained seal at the end of its stunt. I s'pose!" she
commented.
Kestner suddenly became serious.
"Sadie, how many times have you been married?"
When the girl in the steel blue suit swung about
for the second time, it was almost with fierceness.
"S'posin' I have hitched up a time or two! Ain't
a girl gotta have some hobby ?"
"How many times have you been married?" re-
peated the man confronting her.
Open antagonism now showed itself in Sadie's
stare.
"Yuh'U be wantin' me finger-prints nextl" was
her pertly derisive cry.
"But how many times, please?"
Their eyes met. Then Sadie turned back to the
window.
"I was married twice— not countin' Cambridge
Chariie! And it took so much dough to git a de-
cree against thai first lemon that I let the other guy
attend to his own unhitchin' !"
"How about Wallaby Sam?"
THE DOOR OF DREAD 215
Sadie snorted aloud.
"That old geezer was nothin' but a gang-boss to
me! And yuh canned me chances before I could
git a hook into hhn!" Her voice took on a note
of mockery. "But wasn't I the foolish kid to run
away wit' the idear that gittin' married was just
me own privut affair? Wasn't I the wall-eyed wop
not to see that about ev'ry gover'ment agent pa-
radin' a tin badge had a right to poke his nose into
me birt' certificate and me other equally privut mat-
ters? Wasn't I, now?"
Kcstner did not smile. His patience, in fact, car-
ried with it a touch of pity.
*That is not the point, Sadie. You just spoke
about a certain door. And the point is that a very
wise man has said the future is only the past, en-
tered by another door. No one is more anxious for
your eventual happiness than I am. But our past
has the habit of reaching out a hand and taking
our happiness away from us. I only want to warn
you that—"
"Well, there's no wop can put the rollers under
me!" cut in the indignant-eyed young woman.
'There was nothin' underhand about any o' that
hitchin' up, and there was nothin' underhand about
216 THE DOOR OF DREAD
the unhitchin*— which is more than some o* thwe
Fift' Avenoo ribs can say! I was druv to it!
Three lemons in a row, who never come throug^i
wit' enough to pay a honest board-bill!"
"Then I'm as glad as you arc that you're legally
free. But there is one other question I must ask
you. Has— cr—has Wilsnach ever led you to be-
lieve that a termination of that freedom might be
not altogether undesirable?"
"Come again!" said the puzzled Sadie.
"Has Wilsnach," repeated Kestner with a sigh,
"been trying to make k)ve to you?"
Still again Sadie's laugh was about as mirthless
as the chatter of a kingfisher.
"That gink?" she inquired, with a gesture of con-
tempt. "Why, that gink ain't got no more idear
o' makin* love than a hcarse-pluaie has!"
"But you don't altogether dislike him, do you?"
Sadie's face softened a little.
"He'5 the only guy who's been decent to me in
a dog't; age! I mean exceptin' yuh— and yuh're
goin' to beat it for the double-harness shop as soon
as yuh get through pilotin' this case!"
Kestner's face retained all its solemnity. "But
thi' . case is far from ended." he reminded her.
THE DOOR OF, DREAR
217
**No, it ain't ended. And until it's ended I s'pose
there's no use remeniberin' we're human beln's ! It's
r>U for the sake o' the Law I But take it from me,
I'm gettin' good and tired o' the Law 1 What I've
saw o* the Law this last few weeks is enough to
drive a girl to blackmailin' her way up and down
Broadway until her sucker-list is as empty as a last
year's bird's nest!"
"You could never, never go back to that sort of
thing, Sadie."
"Yuh don't know what I could go back to," de-
clared the desperate-eyed young woman at the win-
dow. "And gum-shoein' ain't so soul-satisfy in' that
I'm goin' to hang crape over me natural feelin's un-
til Keudell's last come-on goes up to the Big
House 1"
"But until this case is finished, Sadie, none of
us can afford to have feelings. That may seem a
little hard, but I've suffered from it quite as much
as you have. The three of us, Wilsnach and you
and myself, are now secret agents. And a secret
agent, after all, is only a spy. And a spy has to
remember that he must always work alone, with-
out oflRcial help, and that when working he can
have no friends, and that if he's cornered he can't
218 THE DOOR OF DREAD.
even ask for protection. This is a big case we re
on, and in a case like this we sometimes have to
use queer agents."
Sadie swung about on him.
"Am I so queer?" she promptly demanded.
"I'm trying to save you from getting that way.
You're far too fine a girl. Sadie, to let a chance like
this ever slip away from you."
"I don't see that it's gettin' me anywhere in par-
tic'lar."
"But it isn't ended yet."
"And don't look like it ever will end."
Kestner could afford to smile at her petulance.
"You must remember," lie explained with the ut-
most patience, "that it took Wilkie just fourteen
months to run down that famous one-hundred-dol-
lar Monroe-head silver certificate. And we're run-
ning down something infinitely more important than
a piece of cotmterfeit paper."
"Oh, I ain't kickin' against helpin' to round up
Keudell. No decent Amurican wants a foreign
agent like that nosin' out /ur Navy secrets. And
I guess I hate him as much as yuh do. What's
more, he's the kind o' crook yuh gotta get, or he'll
get yuh. But I ain't consoomed wit' affection for
THE DOOK QF. DREAD 219
gropiii' rouiid in the 'daric. I wantte be ferry to
what's goifi' on, and I wantta know wlien I'm gum-
min* the gstne."
"Precisely/' the patient-eyed Kestner asiured her.
"And that's exactly why yon and WDsnach were
sent for. There's a new Idnk in this case, and I've
got to explain it But I can't understand why Wils-
n£xh's so late in reporting. By the way, did you
see him after leaving the Alsatiaf
"Nor
"Did you see him before thai Andefamm dinner?"
Sadie, under her rice^wder, turned a shade or
two pinker.
"Yes," she finally admowledged.
"Where?"
"Up f the Metfopolttan."
'mat MetropoUtan?"
"The Museum wit' all those old Maiieri ni iL
Mista \\nisnadi said it'd do me mbd good. He's
been tryin' to argue me into bdievin' ^tat picture
gallery guff's got something in it"
Kestner knew better Hum to im^ openly. He
wheded about In his diair and togred witb the paper-
wei|^ on his table, appaiai^ finding it dtffieuK
to piirase toy fiC reply lo eompankm's lasi re-
220 THE DOOR OF DREAD
mark. He surprised that compamon by suddenly
opening a drawer and flinging a photograph on the
table-top.
•*Wcll, since you insist on being gcrry to what's
going on, here's a different kind of picture for you
to study. And it will pay you quite as well as any
canvas up at the Metropolitan."
Sadie did not deign to examine the photograph.
She was busy repinning the violets to her wairt.
Kestner himself took up the picture and heki it out
for her.
"Who's the gink?" she casually inquired.
'That* s iint man we've got to round up in the
next twenty-four hours."
"Why?" was Sadie's indifferent demand, as she
jok the photograph from Kestner's fingers.
Her con^MUiion did not answer her, for the bell
of the desk-phone ck>se beside him shrilled out a
sudden caH He lifted the receiver and sgdkt a
word or two over the wire.
'*Here's TOsnach now," he announced,as he hung
up iht receiver.
But Sadie paid no attention to his words, for
her face was bent low over the photograph which
he had handed to her. She studied it long and
THE DOOR of: DREAD 221
earnestly, fie studied it so long that Kestner sat
in turn studying her. Yet what her thoughts were
he was unable to decipher. He merely saw that
a new and quite unlooked-for air of solemnity had
descended about her.
"So that's the guy I gotta help round up I" she
said, as Wilsnach stepped into the room. But she
said it more to herself, apparently, than to either
of the two men confronting her. And she contin-
ued to stare abstractedly out over the serrated line
of the housetops as the newcomer seated himself
at her side.
Kestner, in the meantime, handed the photograph
to Wilsnach.
"This mild-looking gentleman," began the man
at the table, "is the cause of this little conference
of ours. We're here to discuss him. And havinsr
discussed him, we're commanded to gather him in
some time before to-morrow night !"
Wilsnach looked up from his second scrutiny of
the picture.
"Anything to do with the Keudell case?" he in-
quired.
"That is a point which we still have to determine.
His name seems to be Strasser, David Strasser.
222 JH£ DOOR PF. DREAD^
And he's either a genius or one of Ae deverett
gay-cats, as they call them over here, that ever
scouted ahead of a foreign spy."
"Whadda yuh mean by genius?" contemptuously
inquired Sadie, coming out of her trance. Kettner
noticed that she ignored the snapshot which WUi-
nach was endeavoring to pass on to her.
"A man has surely some claim to being called a
genius when he can walk up to Lieutenant-Com-
mander Hellweg, who is in charge of the govern-
ment's proving-grounds at Indian Head, and quietly
but unequivocally inform him that both his ordnance
and his explosives are out of date 1"
"Or a nut !" interjected Sadie.
"Well, that's what this mild-eyed little man did,
and, what's more to the point, he seems to have
come dangerously near to proving it Y*
Kestner took up the photograph which Wilsnach
had placed on the table and stared down at it as he
continued to speak.
"I'm not an expert on such things, so I'm rot
going to give you an expert's report on the case,
lit. as Brubacher explains it to me, this man has
invented a new explosive. No, it's not exactly a
new explosive, but it's an adaptation of the form
.THE DOOR OF DREAD
223
of the older hii^ txgkmhf, Tbm tMc mad pio-
Hc add niixtafet lieaB aiboat#M tttw tting, reafiy*
whether they hipfiii to be ciQed M i linUt or Max-
imite or Gmlite or BaHaMlIt or fl K g i inhe or Lyd-
dite or any other oM fUgig eodhif %i fie.' Chem-
ically, they've reaAid tiicir tflptw oi t &iut oi power»
and the proUem !■» beta to baBd gmt strong
enough to stand tlMtr fire (where a preisurs of
tw^e thousawd pooada to ^ sipape hub is now
considered low) and a^ ' • same time ieskt &etr
heat, when leas than two U Mired disdnifsa boraa
out a stxteen-kidi fpmJ*
"Sm^fom- discharffss did for ^ Stder coast
sun." a ft»fn 4< Ht Wtotarh.
**Thh man Strasser has appMendy hit on a new
idea. He leaibed that our naval pms oonldn't be
made maeh heavier, for sadi a rifle has to have
three feet of length for eveiy indi of caliber. Thia
means diat our new usrteen-indi gnn, ior inrtance,
has to be at least f orty^i^ feet long. Each gun,
Brubadmr tdls me, wei|^ almost nitMty-fonr tons.
To mmaA heavkr gims than thi^ in ^ turret of
a dreadnaught means the diqilMemcBt of the Aap
has to be enonnoudy incr cMe d , ste ^ projectfie
of eadi rifle w«s^ two thousand powids and a
224
JHE DOOR OF DREAD
broadside from a battery of them would ked over
any vessel that wasn't of proporttoaately enormoits
tonnage. And there is a reasonable limit, of coorse^
to the wze of all warships, even though our newef
inventions have emancipated gun range beyond the
nieie line of human vision. It was once possible,
I mean, to shoot only as far as Ae eye can see.
But the hydroplane and the machinery of modem
range-finding have pretty wen overcome Aat And
now the naval gun that can reach the farthest is
the gun that wins the fi^ Do you follow me?*
"We're right behind yuhP retorted Sadie.
"But, as I said before, diarges can't be increased
because guns can't be made heavier. And too modi
explosive in a gun makes it about as dangerous for
the man behind it as for the man 'm front of it
Strasser apparently realized all this. So he set to
work studying the character of Ac expteave. He
decided that what was wanted was not a pmmd on
the projectile, but a push. He wanted an expkidve
that would *foBow throu|^' like the driver of a gdf
player asitUf^theball,andnotliltttfae «ng^
sharp crack of a baseball bat That sing^ sharp
cradc bums out the bore, after a certain namber of
THE DOOR OF, DREAD 225
discharges, and keeps the breedi-pressiire always
to the danger mafk."
**Do yuh get him?** the despairing-eyed Sadw de-
manded of the scrtipt]k>cisly attentive Wilsnach.
The latter nodded, thous^ with a toudi of impai-
tience.
"Now this man Strass^/* oontimaed Kestner,
"saw that the explosive itself was about as powerfnl
as chemistry could make it So he began to ex-
periment with guncotton, in the matter of mediaii-
ical distribution. He found that a multi-perforated
charge resulted in a rdatively low hiitial pressure
in the gun, while the eiqpbave, because it was cudi-
ioned with these comttless perf<»atioos, burned with
sufficiently aocderating rapidity to nurintahi a con-
stant pressure behind the jprojectile during its entire
transit throui^ the guo-barrd. In oto words, he
devised an explosive that would 'follow through*
and make the kmgest drive. The longer the gun,
of course, the greater the push. So he calmly
walked to ^ Washington audiorities wad re-
quested fhem to make him a tdxty-foot gon. tbk
gun was to weigh seme sixtjH^ae tons, the fluna
weight as our present fourteen-inch naval gun, and
226 THE DOOR OF DREAD
would cost the go^ermnent, Bnibacher said, about
one hundred and thirty thousand dollars to build."
"And they built itr asked Sadie.
**They called the man a crank, and got rid of
him. Then he went to Indian Head and saw HcU-
weg. He was carrying a satchel full of the explo-
sive and Hellweg let him have his talk out They
kept the man there for several days, or one pretext
or another, and got hold of all his new explosive
they could. Then they secretly tried it out at the
Coast ArtiHery Schod at Fort Monroe— «iJ t*
madt good! It wasn't properly aged, for cannon
powder needs half a year to dry out, but even with
a twdve-indi gun tiiey got a range of ahnost six-
teen miles. And that was an eye-opener!"
"But what," demanded Wilsnach, 'liad this man
Strasserhitonr
"He'd hit on the idea of paddng his explosive
in a series of attenuated fibers instead of in a solid
mass, so that combustkm, diffused for even the in-
finite part of a momei^ uniformly probnged pres-
sure ftfou|^iont ^ entire kngdi of the gim. That
gave the push instead of tiie cradc."
"HuOy geer tote r nipt e d the wearied girl.
"Instead of being made ii^ ti|Mr
THE DOOR pi; PREAD.
or strips," Kestner went on, "Strasser seems to
have secured a compound annularization of the ex-
plosive by twisting infinitely small hollow tubes of
it into spirals and then spiraling this into coils and
then still again spiraling the result, the same as big
cables are made by twisting small wires together
and then again twisting the twist, ad infinitum. The
wires, in this case, were like extremely small bed-
springs prodigiously prolonged and finally combined
so as to produce the greatest riber attenuation pos-
sible. So combustion, instead of being like the
sound-crack you get when you smite twelve keys
of a piano, was more like the trickle of sotmd when
you run your finger along their face.**
"I believe I get it now," admitted Wilsnach.
"But there's another kink to this, which I can't
make very plain. It depends on the fact that an
explosive, in vacuo, loses its effectiveness. And
Strasser seems to have adapted this to his granu-
larization process, for chemical analysis showed our
people that periodically along his row of detonating
units he had produced a semi-vacuum. They think
this in some way tends to retard the full force of
the explosion and helps to give the pushing power
I spoke of. And that's about all we know.**
228 THE DOOR OF DREAD
**Which seems to be consid'r'ble I" commented
Sadie, as she took a small mirror from her vanity
bag and wearily proceeded to powder her nose.
"And what are we to do?" asked the ever-prac-
tical Wilsnach.
"They've sent us orders to corral Strasser. That
mild-mannered crank, it seems, finally got indignant
at the suspicion and contempt with which he was
being treated by the federal authorities. He kicked
over the traces and announced that if Uncle Sam
didn't want to buy his secret he'd go to a govern-
ment that would be glad enough to get it. He sudr
denly packed up and made for New York."
It was Sadie who spoke next.
"How d'yuh know he wasn't tryin' to get next
to those new coast guns of ours?" she casually in-
quired. "Why couldn't a guy like that be a jome-
on for Keudell all the time?"
"As for that, of course, we are still in the dark!
And we can't get the answer to it until we get the
man himself."
"And what's the procedure this time?" inquired
^Vilsnach.
Kestner sat for a moment deep in thought. Then
he handed over the photograph to his colleague.
.THE DOOR OF, DREAD 229
'here's the man we want It's a good sni^slioi
of hun. BnAadier had him photographed witiiont
letting him know he was being taken. To-^norrowa
print of this picture will be sent out to about every
city in America. But I'd rather like to get Strasser
before the dty auth(mties anild 8tq> iaJ*
"And we've nodiing but the picture to go on?"
"Nothing beyond the fact that Strasser bought
a tkket for New York and wu seen heading this
way."
"Then what are your suggestions?"
Kestner shrugged a shoulder. "I have none." he
admitted.
"Then we most foOow the tmal procedure."
"Precisdy. We've first got to seine the city.
And the only suggestk» I can make is tiiat we di-
vide our territoty so tiiat any two of us wiU not be
covering the same ground."
Wilsnaeh, after deeply scrutinizing the picture
for the second ttme» again passed it on to Sadie
Wimpd. As before, she gave a cursory glance at
it and tossed it back on the taUe.
"in cover the trains and ferries along the River,"
finally araioaficed Kestner. "And you, Wilsnach,
might fine-oomb tiie likeliest hotels and restaurants
230 THE DOOR CF DREAD
and that sort of diing." KetHier, u Iw turned to
the woman seated by the window, seemed to he»-
tate. "As for you, Sadie, what would you prefer
doingr
Sadie was busy buttoning her glom.
"Secin* it's sudi a nice day.** she languidly an-
notmoed, "I guess 1*11 just bladcsnake along Broad-
way and see what I can slide intoT*
"Am I to infer from this.** asked Kestner, "that
the case radier fails to interest you?**
"Oh, m be on the job when the gong ringsr
was Sadie's listless r^. "Yuh needn't ott off the
mitts, Chief, until yuh're dead sure I*vc gone to
matr
CHAPTER ELEVEN
^ ADIE WIMPEL'S progress up Broadway that
morning was much brusker than the move-
ments of most blacksnakes. She hurried north as
far as Forty-second Street, made sure that she was
not being followed and then dipped into the Sub-
way. There she caught an express for East Four-
teenth Street
Ascending to the street, she hurried still farther
eastward and then turned south. When she came
to the "family entrance" of a comer saloon she
stepped in through the faded swing door, looked
about, and seated herself at one of the little round
tables in the empty room. A bartender in his shirt-
sleeves presented himself.
"Gimme a long beer," commanded the girl.
When the bartender returned with this, however,
she viewed its foaming collar with indifference.
Where's Tim?" she demanded.
231
232 THE DOOR OF DREAD
*'Still sunnin' hisself out in front," solemnly an-
nounced her servitor.
"I wantta see him."
"Sure!" assented the bartender, as he swept Sa-
die's spurned change into his huge palm and went
whistling from the heavy-aired room with its resid-
uary taint of many beverages.
Two minutes later a portly figure wearing a dia-
mond shirt-stud and pink-striped collar and cuffs
stepped back into the empty "parlor." From one
comer of his mouth drooped a dark-colored cigar.
"Howdy, Sadie !" he said, without removing the
cigar. He stared down at her with open and half-
derisive approbation. "Hully gee, but they've got
yous queened up like a Coney Island float 1"
"Tim, Where's Shindler?" demanded the woman
at the table, altogether ignoring the other's gallantry.
The man called Tim smoked meditatively tor a
moment or two : it was plain that he nursed a latent
respect for Sadie Wimpel,
"That's one on me, little one," he confessed. "If
yuh want to find Shindler yuh'd better dig up Coke
Kilvert. I seen him and Coke drinkin' Chianti
over to Peruchetti's some time early last week."
"And not since tlien?"
THE DOOR OF DREAD
233
Sadie rose to her feet "AH right/' the an-
nounced. "Ill root out Coke."
She made her way farther eastward and agam
turned south. She walked hurriedly and with de-
termination. She passed through unsavory streets
and veered nonchalantly about even more unsavory
characters who looked after her with quietly ap-
praising eyes. But there was that in her carriage
whidi discouraged pursuit
She kq)t on her way tmti] she entered a Second
Avenne pawnshop which tht knew to be a "fence"
for a gang of up-town "dips." Leaning against a
counter die bdidd a sUm-bodied young man with a
mislea<fing air of ddicacy and with eyes as soft as
a woman's. That disarming air of fragility, she
remembered, was a valued asset in professions such
as his.
"Hello, kid," he said, without moving.
"HeUo, Coke."
"Whaf s dom*?" was the youth's languid inquiry.
"Where's Shindler?"
Coke gazed impassively at his nail-ends.
"Seardi me 1 1 ain't seen him ^is week." '
"Where'd yuh see him last wedc ?"
234
THE DOOR DREAD
Coke pondered that question for several moments.
There was an air or determined authority about
Sadie Wimpel which rather disquieted him.
"Down to Nitro Charlie's," he finally admitted.
"What was he cookin' up?"
Coke's eyes fluttered.
"How fell should I know?"
"Yuh gotta know," was Sadie's quiet response.
Coke passed a second measuring glance over her
trimly clad body.
"Why?"
"Because I'm stoolin' for a Fed guy, this week.
And I don't wantta have to dig up nothin' against
yuh, Coke I What was Shindler cookin' up?"
Their studiously contending glances came together
like aerial scouts above masked batteries. Behind
his enemy's entrenchments. Coke conceded, might
be reserves which it would be foolish to oppose.
"Him and Charlie hit on a plan o' squeezin' a
bunch out of a German gunpowder man called Pior-
kowski. It was some plant, for Charlie'd pinched
a river-launch full o' new smokeless from the naval
magazine up to lona Island. It was a Navy officer's
patent and was bein' stored there to ripen for a
mont* or two/'
THE DOOR Oi; DREAP
235
"Go on !" commanded Sadie.
"Then Shindler faded away.'*
"But where?"
"Search me, Sadie 1 All I know is that Charlie's
sore as a pup, and squealin' about Shindler givin'
him the go-by!"
"And who's Piorkowski?"
"He's the big spade over here for that Krupp
gang o' ammtmition makers. And that's about all I
know."
"That'll help," said Sadie.
Ten minutes later she was in the Subway again,
bound for the upper parts of the city. She sat deep
in thought as her train sped northward, remember-
ing from other days the fact that Shindler had
once been a "nmner" for the Deutsche Waff en Mu-
nitions Gesellschaft. This brought her other equally
disturbing thoughts, and she did not look up until
her train stopped at the Grand Central Station.
Then she suddenly shrank lower in her scU, be-
tween - crowding shoulders on either sx^t of her,
like a snail into its shell. For walking slowly along
the platform with his habitual air of aimless vacuity
she caught sight of Shindler himself.
There, not thirty feet away from her, she had
236 THE DOOR W MEAD
the dubious triumph of beholding the one man in all
the world she had the least desire to ec For Shind-
Icr and Strasscr, »he very well knew, were one and
the fiame man.
If for a moment Sadie shrank unconsciously back
bctv her fellow-travelers, a. liie sight 'f that
disturbingly familiar figure, ho scriH ly ^f the giutr
tleman in quest ''on was none the less pointed.
Three years, she noticed, had w< "-kcd considerable
change wit^ him, more tl an h r study of Kestner's
[Washington sna[>shot h i led her t*^ anti< ipate. He
had plainly lost a ponderalile part o ' his old-t me
jauntineas. His dr ot innocuous perKiness seenu^d
no longer a part of him. ic appeared more like i
mask, put on to cone al the fact that t wr a
hounded and harried man uncertain < i t) e future.
He now wore eye-glasses, she s ^ ^ pa of tt r-
toise-shell "blinkers" which furtli ui ^ s
true appearance by giving hu i an a jf
occupation. That beguiling an u ari}
stoop of his was m re accentuated than of - 1
as he moved along the crowded tform car ig
a yeUov han44)ag ^asied with gr ie he seemed
waatfy m haa se mmu mad neutaii latted uUsea
TUL DOOR OF DREAQ
237
ready to mergt inconivkuotislf itito hit btdk-
groma of neutraktialed rmrynioca. Yet SMndtef
hiintdf, Sa€ii€lcfiew»wa8notiiiiUI»tliednl>4iveried
water>m<xcssiii, in being quite as Ttndent at he wu
se?f-€f{adi^. Thnt vas a part of fait effecthrcnett.
By tkb t»^^ had odlected her witt and
started fo* e do - Yet before the ^pped from
the car plat m made a aeoond aiiu even more
disconceriiiig .lit ity. Movh^ aindefify along
tlffcmg ^ ever-stiifting owd, with air of a
mm tad no object in view and no oMoa hi
Ule \^aBadihinitelf oasied withtBtesleetof her.
M i she leaew, at a i^anoe, that Wibi^H wM ahad-
owmg Shiodter.
m; rfattwd, at the merged into . "iw d and
ed discreetly after them, that her ^ teemed
i(i nly to foctM and centraKie on .^ute two
itrangely divergent yet alatnuni^ oontigiiotit
ures.
The dioiii^ of dieir coming togedwr did aot add
to her peace of mind SUndler, the knew, wat a
o^iod dodg^. I^ie hai^ m &e past, cHCOuirtmd
orJy too many prooft of that. And if hi the twmilt
of her teethmg ikde brate any one defi^ idea
aoni^ ar ticd a tio n , it wat ^ frantic hc^e that
238 THE POOR QV. PREAD.
Shindler would once again prove himself the mtstcr
of flight that he had seemed in his earlier days.
But Sadie did not intend to leave things to diance.
There was too much at stake and already that
strangely incongruous couple were slipping beyond
her sphere of observation. So she storted wwlutdy
in pursuit.
Shindler she could no longer see. But there wai
no mistaking Wiknach as he slowly and with dtb-
prate carelessness mounted the steps that led above-
ground. She hurried after him, once he had turned
the comer, but in Forty-second Street she hdd back
again, guardedly watching her confederate as he
ambled across the car-tracks and passed eastward
in front of the Belmont. Still farther eastward she
could now make out the figure of the man with the
"blinkers" and the yellow hand-bag.
So she followed discreetly after them, keeping to
the north side of the street. She clung to the trail
with the casual nonchalance of an expert "tailer,"
taking advantage of any bit of cover that offered
and falling promptly back when she found the thin-
ning stream of pedestrians no kmger a veil between
her and her quarry.
Then she suddenly stepped and wheeled about,
THE DOOR OF DREAD 239
for on the opposite side of the street.tlie had seen
Wilsnadi do the tune. Swnotioed, as sbe bent over
a corner news-st«nd and inspected the second edi-
tion of an evening paper whose ink was quite dry
before mid-dajr, that the nan with the leather hand-
bag had swung about and was retracing his steps
westward. Sosheleisurdjrandaindesdjrparcliased
a newspaper*
Wilsnadi, as the coepajr cssagred Us doubling
movement, tamed and stared in tereste d ly through
a plate-i^ass window at a seductive array of ninety-
cent outing^hirts. ^Then he feisupdy entered tfia
store itsdf.
Siin&r most have seen that rooveraent, Sadie
promptly surmised, for he lost no time in taking ad-
vantage of a dear field. He dndEed for a cross-
town car, walked throa||i it and quickly jumped
aboard aaodicr cur novhig westward. Wilsmidi,
emerging into Uie open, haded a taxicab ttid plainly
stancu m pursuit.
That cr o s s t o wn stream of traffic was too tw]^
to permit of Sadie's eye f o8owhig any one partic»>
lar tmit She saw the twhi rows of cars stop and
start and stop again, and At wo Bd e wd if k tiM
co nip l fiitk i of to tkmsind wlis<kd mo v em e nt
240 THE DOOR OF DREAD.
Shindlcr could still make his escape. But the taxi-
cab that held Wilsnach, she could see, had ahready
passed on to the west of Fifth Avenue.
Sadie hovered about the news-stand for an ir-
resolute moment or two and then started westward.
She stood back in the shadow of a Subway kiodc
to wait for a Madison Avenue surface-car to swing
about into Vanderbilt, when on the opposite comer,
emerging demurely and quietly from the grill of the
Manhattan, she caught sight of a figure wearing tor-
toise-shell "Winkers" and carrying a yellow hand-
bag.
It was Shindler. She at once turned about and
descended the Subway steps, wondering whether
or not this figure was destined to come down the
same underground passage that for the moment
concealed her.
As soon as she felt reasonably assured that this
was not to be the case, she hurriedly retraced her
steps. By the time she reached the street Shindicr
was well past the kiosk and was now walking def-
initely eastward. He was doing so with a quite un-
looked for briskness of step.
Sadie, still carrying her news^xaper, followed him.
She continued to follow him as he turned southward
THE DOOR of: DREAQ
241
again. She did not hesitate until she saw him stop
before the entrance of one of those shabbier side-
street hoteb which are little more than bed-houses
with bar-room attachments. She was well within
a steltering doorway as he stood looking sharply
back along the almost empty thoroughfare. Then
he made a dive for his warren.
S»iie stood there for several moments. Then,
once her jSan of action was formulated, she swung
west and north again to Forty-second Street. Near
the comer of Madison Avenue she dipped into a
trunk-shop, bought a cheap rattan suit-case and
swung back eastward again. At the Grand Cen-
tral news-stand she bought seven magazines, the
bulkiest she could find, and half a dozen newspapers.
These die stowed away in the suit-case, concluding
this to be the quickest way to give it sufficient weight
for a lady traveling light. Then she promptly pro-
ceeded to the squalid caravansary, whose only splen-
dor was its brightly gilded brewery sign, where
Shindler had already installed himself.
She was given a room, together with many hea-
vily inquiring glances, on the third floor. She was
oblhrious of both its meager furniture and its un-
kempt condition, for once she was akme she placed
242 THE DOOR OF. DREAD
herself on sentry duty at her slightly opened door.
Then, growing bolder, she ventured into fhe many-
odored hallway and explored it from end to end.
A study of the room-nmnbers as she did so con-
vinced her of the fact that the figures which she
had seen opposite the name of Strasser on the do|^>
eared register implied he had been g^ven a room
on the floor below.-
3o she returned to her quarters, got her suit-case
and her door-key and went boldly down to the of-
fice. There she demanded a larger room. She was
proffered one with a bath, but it would cost her a
dollar more. Sadie, when she learned this was on
the second floor, took it without hesitatk». She
even went so far as to allay official sn^idon by
paying for it in advance.
Yet she knew, as At made her way up to this
room, that the hardest part of her work was stifl
ahead of her. She knew, as she took off her gkives
and her absurd bunch of hotfaome vioiets, diat she
could not expect luck to come her way twice in the
same morning.
Her success, she decided, wouU! have to depend
on her own initiative. So she waited besicfe her
slightly opened door, as patioit as a farm-oollit
THE DOOR of: dread
243
above a wood-chuck's hole. To wait and watch, in
fact, seemed the only thing left for her to do.
It was a long quarter of an hour before she was
rewarded with any sound from that immediate
neighborhood. But the sound, in this case, was
Shindler*s o\ n voice. Narrowing her door-crack,
she could see him standing in his own doorway,
three rooms to the right on the opposite side of the
hall, frugally ordering a pitcher of beer and a cheese
sandwich. As of old, he spoke suavely and softly,
Mflth an intonation that seemed almost plaintive.
Sadie waited until the slatternly bell-boy had dis-
appeared. Then she stepped out into the hallway,
closed her door behind her, and walked quietly to
the room which she knew to be harboring Shindler.
On the door of this room, after waiting for a mo-
ment or two, she quietly knocked. A preoccupied
voice from within said "Come!" Takmg a deeper
bitath, she opened the door and stepped into the
room.
Bending over a chair, on which stood the opened
yellow hand-bag, was Shindler. His coat was off
and he was gazing with studious abstraction at some
unknown object in the interior of the bag. He
sighed pensively as he turned «k>w]y about He
244 THE DOOR OF DREAD
»»iaed one hmi4^ as though to run it through his
diini'iliiii ai^ grotesquely thinning cow-lick. But
the ii wpvwiiwit m» arrested m mid-air.
Tor Hat km o* Gawd r* he slowly ejaculated.
Sad« viewd him with apparent tmconcem.
••Don't Iht ae butt hi on yoor ui^jaddnT she
sniho^ aMKMooed.
Ht floei stifl stariiqr at her. 'Astonishment r Ji
at hia oo«id not be swallowed whole.
"I tfcon^— bought you were m Budapest 1" was
his pha% h M de qaa te cKdamation.
Sadie's %ctiried with scorn.
"YohnMMi yuh left tat theier she amended.
Um taOdfy absUaeled tym took cn a look of
troobte.
•1 had Ac danerof beatm' it or bem' gathered
in. Somtaaaafylkeatitr
•Thaf* mte nwit yeia dawgs 'd dor
She coold see tha haUtaally nikl ^yes harden a
little;
•That's «Mo£m wi^to teSc to your husband I"
Sadie ^ood form aeeood or two with her eyes
closed, aa Aaogh her body Ind sustained a blow
which bewildered even her mmd.
ynh sat^ were that partic'lar kind of
THE IXKDR of; DREAQ 245
a hiisb«i4" ahe finally retorted. She atepped ove-
do^-tohhn. -^uli were a crook when yuhro .
me into marryin' yiih. and yah made me a crook
Yuh kiOed any diaact I ew had o* bem* decent.
Yah were reaify to iwe me for your dirty work.
Yah made me hito a giaMaoa. Yah didn't even
stop—"
But he cot her diort
*Di<to'tIkeq>yoaffom8tarvhi'? And didn't I
8pen4 on ytm when I had it to spend?"
"Yes; yah lit me tq> like to alkiight drug-store I
B« yah dkl a wif atdea money. Andwhcnigot
your mmiber jn* tried to lie yoor way out of it
And when trouble came yuh dkl more than show
yow heeb ia« a houiid-^ were ao white-livered
yiA pl«»ted Aa« Bafariaa fort-map. in me trunk
and left ma to £Me the rnuifc r
"They'd htire ihot me-H»d ^ dotft k)ok like they
did much to your
"And when yuh thoQ^ I im off the map." went
<« the tdeatleii^ Sadi^ ^ tj^^ ^.^
tapper's whiowf And Aen yiA— *•
•WaAea.e of rydtfaflAatupr suddenly
^ wrinktoi4)row«| man confronting
w. ft was not ai^ to hb hi^)5fcm,
246 THE DOOR QF DREAD
"There's a lot of use in it. They tell me this
ain't a good country for bigamists. Mebbe it ain't.
But I know that wit* things as they arc it's an awful
tmhealthy climate for spy-work !"
Shindler stood eying her for several moments
of utter silence.
"What do you want, any way?" he finally de-
manded.
"I wantta know just what yuh're goin' to do
about it!"
The man in the "blinkers" sat down in the chair
beside the many-stained table on which ^ood a
crockery ash-receiver, a highly lithographed tray
advertising a German beer, and a melancholy plas-
ter-of-Paris statuette of Columbus without a head.
"What are you goin* to do about it?" Shindler
inquired. Behind his beguiling air of pensiveness,
by this time, was the craftiness of the professicmal
criminal declining to be cornered.
Sadie Wimpel also sat down. Shindler, she knew,
was not so guileless an enemy as he appeared. And
she was equally aware of the fact that her steps
would have to be picked with caution.
"What's your graft these days?" she calmly in-
quired.
JHE DOOR of; dread 247
"WhaftyoonriieMkri, at hit roving eye made
•n inventory of her ootwMd apparel Hit sardonic
approval of that appMd only teemed to anger her.
She gave no exprettton to that anger, however, for
a knock toonded on the door and brou^ a tudden
chill about her heart where the tightneat of the steel
blue tailor^nade had ahtady eetablithed certain
vague ditoomf ortt.
She taw. to her relief, Aat it wat nw^ the slat-
ternly m-hoy with a pitdier of beer and a cheese
sandwich. SKndler, after mspecting the tray, sent
for a second giatt.
"You teem to be on Eav Street." he continued,
as the boy took hit dqiartQit.
"Are yidir* Sadie <<»tt«t.Mfed.
"I'm gom' to bi^ or I'm goin' to know the tea-
sonwhy.^watShmdkr'tietort For the first time
he spoke with a peic^tible trace oi pattkm.
"It'U never be in thit bmi;'* mn„»n^
'my won't itr he demanded.
" Yuh know^ Abe. rm a kind of a attrologcr and
dairvoywrt thete *ort. Thaf t me pnrfetdon, this
*a»on. And rv« been leadhfyow start, and they
sure say ytdi're goin* to travel r
There wat a toodi of aeom hi Ut toiie;
248 THE DOOR OF DREAD
"You're dead certain of that ?** he quietly inquired.
*Tm dead certain of it," was her equally impas-
•iverq>ly. "Yuh're goin' to slip over to the Grand
Central this afternoon and get the first train oat o'
this town for Montreal And from there ytdi're
goin' to heat it hack to Europe!"
"And what's goin' to make me do that?"
"Ahi't yuh hep to the fact that yuh've been tailed
for the hut three weeks?"
Shhidler hius^ied.
"I've been tailed for the last three years— and I'm
still wearin' my hair long, ain't I?" He suddenly
tnmed about on her. "But why're you so keen about
gettin' me off to the other side again?"
She realized, in view of the gulfs that yawned
between tiiem, the newer things that Wilsnadi had
brought into her life.
"Abe, I'm goin' to be Iftmest wtf yuh. I've a
gen'l'man friend here who's the right sort I thifde
a good deal o' that man. And some day he's goin*
to think a good deal o' me— if I can ever get a chance
o' sbowin' him I wantta travel in his tiassf
"And it am't my dassr was Shindler's sneering
demand.
"Your dass ? If he ever found out I'd hitched up
THE DOOR op DREAD 249
wit' a polecat like yuh, ifd ture adce him teiu
sickf
Shindler's scrutiny of her impasdw fac* was in-
terruptcd by the boy with the glass.
"So you're ashamed o' me?" he penaivdy coo-
plained.
Jm ashamed o' myself," solemnly acknowledged
Sadie Wimpel. 'Tm so ashamed o' myself that I'm
^^^bstakeyuhtoacahinp^
Shindler stood in the middle of the room, with the
glass m his hand. "Ain't you kind of knockin' your
ownhome<ircle?" he inquired. But behind that
vehrety mask, Sadie knew, there was the fire of a
rage that burned all the fiercer f or hemg idf swi.
stnning'.
"I am't knockin' yuh-««//,-„ could knock yuh I
I m blamin' myself for ever bein' so blind and foot.
»3h as to hitch up vif a cur like yuh. I didn't know
^ then, but I should've known better'n that. I
WW Padolsky over m Odessa the ««e - KmM
tolled Eichendorff I I didn't— "
"Cut that outi" Shindler suddenly harked. Hit
iVoice was as sharp as a pi^'. ye^
250 THE DOOR OF DREAD
"That's what I intend to do— cut the whole busi-
ness out."
Shindler's sneer was not a pretty one.
"That don't make your record over. I guess
there's more than me between you and your kid-
glove friend I"
It was Sadie's turn to show passion.
**No, there ain't! There's no man livin' got a
ckubn on mc — exceptin' yuh, and I don't reckon yuh
as a manf*
**WelI, there's one thing you can reckon on 1"
•mat's that?"
•TTttt I don't go to Cherbourg."
•Then yuh go up the River to the Big House V*
He looked at her quietly, with the beer-pitcher in
his hand. So impassive v/ere their attitudes that an
outsider, conten^Uiting them through the window,
might have accepted their talk as an exchange of
mere conjugal commonplaces. And such, Sadie
suddenly remembered, they were — for Shindler's
career had been made up of revolt and crime and
evasion.
••Whatll send me to the Big House?" he was
casually inquiring.
"I may be a purfessional clairvoyant, Abe, but J
jH£ POM m tmum
don't need to go into no trance to «lig out what yuh
and Nitro Charlie ve been tryin' to cook up this last
two weeks! And Charlie'd sure take it hard, after
lootin' that launch-full of lona Island powder, to
know yuh were hangin* the Indian sign on him for
the chance o' doin' a little §ty<atti%* ioc K tu dfll
and his gang f"
Shindler slowly replaced his beer-jug.
"Whafre you ragin* about, anyway?" he de-
manded. But his Wink was one of bewilderment,
bewilderment at her (Con^prehoMoa of hit BBBIud
den secrets.
"There's a Servi*^ nian or two who'd sure be in-
terested to know J jsi -^-bat yuh found out about
them ccast-defense - Indian Head, and Ihtm
mortars at Fort Moiir v
Shindler quite as slowly sat down beside t.'M.
He did not look at Sadie Wimpel. His vacantly
ruminative eyes were fixed on the two empty beer
glasses in front of him, toyed idJy, as he sat
there, with a seal ring on his finger, twisting it
nervously round and round. And Sadie, as she sat
studying him, remembered that he was alwa^
virulent when he was most passive.
Through the gray misU of memoiy, loc^ m pte
252
THE DOOR OF DREAD.
sat regarding htm, ttwrs cum to Iwr tht impwulon
that ihe had witnessed this scene befon, or some
scene mysteriously akin to it Then thfoo^ tiiete
mists, like sunlight through fog, came the key to the
c omckkn c e . It came with the thin remembrance
of something she had not thoii|^ or heard of, for
several long years. It was some ghostly memoiy of
a ghostly rumor that Shindler's ring was a ''trick"
ring. Once, when happy with hotrin, he had ex-
plained its theft from tha taktrtu of a murdered
coke-snuffcr in Bourdeaux. And ht had t ^ rttd
that inside its tiny sliding panel vas anqite i^aoe
for enough chloral hydrate for a knodc-oot
Shindler laughed a little as he turned toward tht
Uble. But Sadie was so hmiiy alert that her mm-
ends began to tingle.
"So that's how the hnd &tr ht Mid, at be
sbwiy proceeded to fill the two cnplyilaMt. Sa^
watched him from under bar dtomirdy ^ncsgiag
eyelids. Adeptly as the move was mtdt, tht had
the satisfaction of seeng tht ckwd of wMttih
powder sift down into the second i^ati. Tht tiioai^
of his suavt dtpcnrity tkkntd btr. But ibt wat
determined to act out her part
Ht i hnmd at ht hMrfad htr tht iMb tha^
THE DOOR OF, DWLAD^ 253
his face was still wrinkled witii ilt
tuous laughter.
"Say, kid, we can't afford to %bt, ut twor he
protested.
••We ain't goin' to fight f" announced Sadie.
"Then don't you lose any sleep about me tryin*
to butt in on your love-affidn. I gam I've got
troubles of my own 1"
Sadie noticed that he eyed her dasely as she lifted
the beer to her lips and made a pretense of drinkiog
it. Then she put down the glm with a iBddeiiilww
of anger.
"But yuh can't help buttin' into my affairs so long
as yuh're on this side of the Atlantic And if yuh
stay another two days in thii bttff yidi'f« to
butt into Sing-Sing r
"Who'll put me there?" once more demanded
Shindler. He wat collected enough to light a e^
ette.
II'
•The guy who wat tailin* yuh 1^ to h»U an ho«r
agor
She could see Shindler'i face imiliag throi^ the
smoke-cloud.
"Well, I guess I'm ready for that guy," he — -
nounced. Sadie watched him a* i
254 THE DOOR OF DREAD
to the open hand-bag. Asheitoapedovcrthialiaad-
baf and carefnUy lifted lonietliing from k lier hand
dwt out and the glass of beer it hdd was poured
into the headless statute of Cohtmbos thai stood at
the center of the taUe.
Then she lounged back in her chair and held the
emptied ghus to her lips. As Shin^ slowly
walked toward her she was apparently engaged in
drainhiff the Uut of her driidc. So iatm was At
on this maneuver that she did not at first notice
what Shindkr had taken from his bag.
But as he {daced it careft^ on the taUe die saw
that it was a tin box about five faMlKs high and some
eight hicfaes hmg. To one end of it waa wind a bit
of mechanism that boked like a smaU dedi wlilniii
its metal canng.
She blinked up at SlikiiSkr as the tetlw tmmi
over it and stutd down kno har ftMi. /
"That's what yorar gum-^ mm is goki' to tail
into!" he amoMMsd.
The girl put kar tmpty |^ down oa Ab table-
edge. She<adita^inwtwidi^.
'mat is It?^ she aM M she mlM htr fof«.
head For tka attend ttefhkii^tniMttfyfiiidied
hnr face.
THE DOOR OF DREAD
•Tf • • pound toNcco-box packed with something
to pot Mn asleep. It's packed with a damned sight
■tfooger brand o' goncDtton than ever came off lona
Island. And tbit neat little alarm-clock works, you
Me» haa m piaee of picture-wire tied to a wheel-shaft
here, ao tliat aa it winds up it pulls the cork out of
a bottle of iu^ttric add inside the box. That does
the trick. And if you get inquisitive, and tiy to
open the boac tint also does the trick !"
Sadie waa Uaak»g tomnolently back in her chair.
"What trickr the demanded with vacuous eyes.
Sbin^ emitted a small sigh of satisfaction.
Then he Hiked ^ thi box carefully back into his
Then be turned and faced the woman
"Aren't jnn le^ aU right?" he innocently in-
quired.
IW-Tm fiwrr she murmured, as she made
an affoft to grope ineffectually for the table-edge.
"t §Hm jmh'd—ytdi'd better get me outta here !"
fl^ttlMtr, iKmtver, made no immediate m-ive to
fH hw oM of there. Ht did not even deign to an-
•IWIf h§f. He i^ared for a moment d*nvn at her
fatrt figure. Then he crossed to the shabby oak
^Mlii at the far i^dt of the room and totM lit
256 THE DOOR OF DREAD
few worn toilet articles wh^ he had to reoeotly
unpacked. Thcte he ddiberatdy and tlowljr jacM
awi^ n tiw hand tif He next looked itwSoiii|f
about ^roon, to aNkemfi#iatnothfaif had been
forgotten. Then he pot on h» cost, took np hit
hat and the hand-bag and wafieed toward the door.
Sadie a»ald hear ite M ha teak tfte kejr from the
k>ck. ^oonkl idiolMtrte^Bor behind her open
anddoee. She ^ not ntta Iter head, but Ae was
tiiinkii^badi haedantfte. Ste knew that wkhin
the next ndmila ar two At aHU wmA a dnitfen,
and ahe knew only ie» tfnn tMa dedakxi woidd
beam oiTOB t o M— ihikwl^ SUaSkt,lSmVt^
of dodfen^ waa iwiM w g a— if of Ue fd-awaya.
Wain't mm, ika i ri ia i wife her whappy eod,
best tfMf that cadMhiVpen to hhtt? Andtohtr?
Woakki*t w% maka thinp cate lor herf
Vtaikhi^ feet iplva her a fi^hliny ehMoa wMi ^^to"
nack, tkaighfeiKdHaeafeit avnydMtnt fhd oi^
to have?
She rolkd her head to one side. Ska made mra,
aa she did 10, that fee feoai was empty. Then, aa
rfie sat iy and owi at fee two emp^ beer gtimi,
another qw n kwi came to her. What eodtf ika tei
THE POOR OF DREA£^ 2^
Kotmr? And what would Wilsnach say? And
how moch ^ eitlier of them already know?
SkM fdt mre, the next moment, that she could
never He to then. And she knew that she could
new itwt to go straight by crooked thinking. She
WM in the Service, and that meant being on the side
of the Uw, tad tfie Uw meant truth. She was on
« ca« for Kestner. What that case meant in all
its complexities, she could not quite understand.
But the hMl her part to play. She had to stick to
Shindler. by hook or crook, to the bitter end. She
had to etick to him, no matter what it cost. And
Wihnadi, when he found out what he found out,
coidd «^ tad think what he liked.
Tht atxt flMOMnt the was on her feet, straighten-
her hrt and cnaying a furtive dab or two at her
«Me. She ikook down her rumpled skirt as she
cfoieed At fww to the door. Then a gasp of dis-
omy faieke ffooi her, for Shindler, she found, had
quietly hxked this door behind him.
She ckneltd M about the room in search of a
^IjPhone. Bot there was none. She found a push-
M«. Witt a printed card of directions, and slie was
tryinf to decipher these when she heard the sound
258 THE DCX)R OF DRBAI^
of buffjiflf stc|M in th€ biUwi^ w ith o ot » And At
next Bw i mnt ctsot tht rattle of a key in tiw lode
Tint oonldnietnottljr one fh^. liwatSkkidhr
Qtitcic M n cttf fbe lank onoe mora iirto her dmir
beside the table, with her arms outspread and her
face flat on the tiwr stiiiwd wooden surface srippled
with dfarette-bnrat. She scarcely braathed as she
heard tiie door behind her o|ien and a qoide st^ or
two croesthe roMn.
Then out of the siloioe and quite dose to her die
heardnvoice. And die knew it was tiie 'voice of
WnsnadL
''Good God, if s Sadie r die heard hhn w
He dropped on one knee beskle her and she codd
fed bis htfid ay i lt ^ htrbody, with an h^enrogatofy
toodi on ^ wrbt and the quick pressura of a finfer
agahist her node artery, u tiiough to nid» rara her
heart was stSlbcadnf. Then he lifted her face and
"Sadie, what is it? Whafa the nu^r he cried
in nm^^ed dam and pity*
Bm aanie wepc ner ^yes cnaeo, noranatt^ in ma
eo n s dous ness that to arm was aboirt h» and hail
hf^ding h^ i;^ that Us band was brushing her tern-
THE DOOK OP I»EAD 2S9
pie and his breath fanning her cheek. And it wai
equally consoling to know that the thought of calam-
ity to her could bring anything like a feeling of
consternation to him. He was fumbling at the neck
of her dress, by this time, trying to loosen it And
even the absurd movements of his fiiigers engaged
in that absurd mission were not altogether dtaagitt*
able to her.
"Sadie, speak to me!" he implored.
But Sadie entertained no intention of speaking to
him. To do that would end a situation which might
never come again. So Sadie kept her dnt and
made the most of it.
Wilsnach, as he stared down into her face, felt
the injustice of it all. It was not the kind of work
into which any woman should have been dragged.
Sadie, he knew, was not like other women. But still
it was not quite fair to her. He felt more than
sorry for her: he felt under a tremendous debt of
gratitude to her. She had stood by him in more than
one crisis. Slie had, in fact, never failed him. Her
companionship had come to mean a great deal to
him. She was a quick-witted and a big-hearted girl
who'd never been given a chance. And there was
something about her that he liked, and likMl a lot
260 THE DOOR O? DRIAQ
Wilsnach, as he held her there, leaned down and
did a very human but a very indiscreet thing. He
pressed his lips against the full red iips that were
so close to his own. And it startled him a little to
find them quite warm and the pressure of them
against his own a sensation tliat was vmexpectedly
and altogether pleasant.
Equally startling was the effect of that caress on
Sadie herself. Resolute as she was in the perform-
ance of her professional duty, fixed is had been her
determination to play out her part, that one un-
locked for touch was too much for her. Her will
crumbled under it. All memory slipped away from
her. She no longer thought of Shindler or Kest-
ner or the case that had brought her within those
unsavory walls. All she knew was that Wilsnach
had kissed her.
Her reaction to thai advance was both unwilled
and immediate. Her t yes c^^ened dreamily and tor
one moment she stared up into his face. Then her
head sank contentedly down into the hollow of his
protecting shoulder. Her arms tightened about hri
neck. And in a response as unreasoned as had been
those movements themselves she found herself mur>
muring : "Do yuh care Do yuh i"
JH£ DOOR of: dread 261
WilMiidi, an licmr before, might have been in
•ome doubt at to hit antwer to that question. In
hit aatteftijr bntjr Ufe there had been neither time
nor plaoe for women. Bat now he found the gaze
of a pair of dumbly appealing eyes something dis-
tinctly more than pleasant He realized that the
pressure of a pair of clinging arms could make a
man Easily and abturdly happy. He discovered
iwnething strangely desirable in the lips murmuring
so dote to hit own. They teemed to cannonade the
cememed ttfoqglioid of hit bachelorhood with ex-
ptoto of cmotioat afiintt which he stood quite un-
fortified. And iortaking reason himself, he bent
lower and lor tfie tccoad time pressed his lipt
aftimt tbe warmA of her retponding lips.
**! love jou, Sa^r a iroice that did not seem
Kke his own vofee wat saying. And if the truth
that dedM^ had not before been plain to him,
he now loond it bodi pi«tant enough and plausible
enough to reiterate. And even more bewildering
wat the qnfet %ht of nytwe which his words had
produced fai the felcat faae muiag up into his.
Td go tteom^ Hen for yuhr the solemnly an-
nwBced. Sie «ndd not wriie love as other women
jM. Lilt had beta too hard with her. But with
2Si JHE DOOR OF, DREAD
her capttolition tlwra coald asd tlitre wooU bt no
**Yoo*ll never need to do that," proteHed WSa-
mdL •Wen try and make it more Iflce the other
plaeer
"And yuh care that roodir she hangrH/ re-
"I care far toon than thatr ttoutlj declared
"And ydi wna't jmt Idddin* when jnih sent ma
tiiem violetar iha lorlondy demanded.
"Of conna I wan't"
That brought Sadie's thoughts hack to the world
that ittB faiy about them.
"And yuh— yuh codd care for a ghl who'd got
halkd up wit' a coofk^ o* lemons, b'fore die got
gerry to what a rtsA man was like?"
"We're not going to think of the past," he told
her. "Neither of yours nor of mUier But her
strangling little sigh did not CKxge his nodce. She
was remembering what Kestner had cmly that mcMm-
ing tdd her.
"But yuh can't get away from the past," she de-
dared, as she shook hersdf free ami stared ahoul
THE DOOR of: DREAD 263
room thai bronght the thought of SUadltf
•weeping back into her memory.
Wilmach foOowed her glance. And he too came
back to realitiet.
*3ttt what happened here ?" he demanded.
"I tailed that boob to this dump, and got into his
room when he thought it was a bell-hop at the
door. Then he tried to put me under wit' a couple
o' knock-out drcpi.''
•That curr sakl Wilmach. 'TU make him pay
forthatr ^
"HowH yuh make him pay for it?" demanded
Sadie. He's given us both the slip."
"Given Ui both the slip!" exclaimed Wilsnach.
"Not on your life I He walked right into my arma
those itainr
Hewhatr
"And I had the irons on him before he so much
M got hia breath r
Sadie stared at her feet again.
"Then where'd yuh leave him
Wilsnach couM not even guess as to the source
of her ahirm.
"Why, I kicked him in the clothes-closet of that
MICROCOPY RESOUmON TBT CNART
(ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2)
264 THE DOOK OF DREAD
empty room down the hdl, the room where you left
your violets and gloves. That's what sent me in
here, double-quick."
"But how'd yuh know I was here, in this room?"
**I found Strasser carrying a key with this room-
number on its shank-plate. So I dove for this room
to see what it meant."
"And what'd yuh do wit* his valise?"
"Why?" inquired the puzzled Wilsnach.
"What'd yuh do wit' his valise?" shrilly repeated
the girl.
Wilsnach stood staring at her in perplexity.
"Why, I gave it to the officer to take down to the
taxi."
"mat taxi ? What officer ?"
Wilsnach could afford to be patient.
"The officer I brought along for the purpose of
formally gathering in Strasser, of course. And
the taxi, I might add, was to get him quickly down
to Headquarters, without any fuss and feathers,
before the arrest became known."
"Then Strasser's still in that closet ?"
"By this time," exclaimed Wilsnach, "our officer
has doubtless taken him down to the taxi, as I in-
structed him to do when I handed him the closet key."
THE DOOR OF DREAD 265
"But the vah'se?"
"The valise, Sadie, is naturaUy going along with
the rest of us !"
"Not wit' yuh! " was her unexpectedly passionate
declaration.
"Why not?" asked the still more amazed Wils-
nach.
That question remained for all time unanswered.
For at that precise moment a sudden detonaticm
shook the building in which they stood. The win-
dows rattled. A tremor ran along the floor under
their feet and minute flakes of loosened plaster
snowed down about them. Sadie stood gaping at
Wilsnach, an unuttered question in her staring eyes.
Wilsnach himself ran to the window and thrust
out h,s head. But this window opened on the back
of the house and showed nothing of the street Then
he went to the door and opened it. The place seemed
oddly quiet after that one sudden thunder of soond
which had shaken its floors.
•'What do you suppose that was?" he asked
through the open door. Then he stared along the
hall toward the stair-head where he could make
out a hurriedly approaching figure. This figure wtt
both hatless and breathless. It was qukt €k)« fo
266 THE DOOR QF^ DREAD
Wilsnach before the latter realized it was his own
officer, the officer to whom he had handed the key.
This officer came and leaned against the door-post
where Wilsnach stood. His eyes were red-rimmed
and blinking and his nose was bleeding a little. He
wiped his stained lip with the back of his hand. Then
he blinked heavily down at his singed uniform.
"Well, your guy got away !" he said in a muffled
voice, like a man with a mouthful of food.
"Got away?" echoed Wilsnach.
The hatless man snickered. Both his movements
and the sounds that he made seemed oddly unco-
ordinated.
"Blew himself up with a bomb, before I could
even get a foot on the running-board !"
"He what?"
"He blew himself up! Why, there ain't a piece
o* him the size of an oyster cracker !"
It was not Wilsnach's voice that spoke next, but
Sadie Wimpel's. It sounded thin and quavering
from the stillness of the shadowy room.
"Somebody get — get me a drink o* water, quick!"
she said, as she sank into the shabby chair beside the
table that still held the two empty glasses. "I'm
— I'm kind o' sick!"
THE DOOR OF DREAD 267
Wilsnach caught vtpctmoi HutBt classes and na
to the wash-bowl tap on the other nde of the room.
Water dripped down the tides ol tfaft vauttady gk»
as he hurried bade to her.
"Don't you woriy about that man," he aaid, as
he tried to hold the glass to her lips.
"But he's deadr cried out tiie giri, sitting up
straight in her chair.
"Do you call that madi loss?" he demanded, as
she pushed the glass »way fnan her mouth. About
its brim she could still detect a tiim odor of beer.
It reminded her too much of the past
She was herself by this time, staring frowning!/
up into Wilsnach's worried face.
"Do you know what that man was?" he asked,
as in answer to htr signal he helped her to her feet
"Yes, I know what he was," Sadie i^Iied, dit^-
ing forlornly to Wilsnadi's ann. For a moment
she was tempted to teU hhn cverythhig; fo deanse
her soul of the secret, to swing wide tiie door wiiidi
she had once so dreaded to open.
Yet, looking up at him» die Iiesiteled. R codd
be done later on, at some other thne, when die was
surer of his faith in her. For die could not afford
to lose that faith of his m her. It was the one thing
268
THE DOOR of: DREAQ
she had left Xt was the one thing that could save
her.
She surprised both Wilsnach and the officer wait-
ing somewhat restlesstly at the open door by sud-
denly flinging her arms about the man beside her.
"D'yuh ruUy care for me?" she passionately de-
manded.
"Of course I do,** was the reply of a somewhat
constrained Wilsnach, glancing apprehensively to-
ward the hallway.
"Then I don't give a rip what happens !" she cried
out with her abandoned little vibrata of emotion.
CHAPTER TWELVE
YOU can smoke here," announced Wilsnach,
as he refilled his demi-tasse from the btttered
pewter coffee-pot with the ebony handle.
A faint tinge of pink crept up into Sadie Wimpel't
powdered cheek. "I don't wantta smoke I'*
Sadie spoke with apparent indifference, yet across
the narrow white estuary of the restaurant-table
she shot a glance of quick interrogation. Wils-
nach, she felt, was trying her out He was till a
little uncertain about her beiii|r able to act like «
lady.
"Why not?" he asked, recalling her earlier dec-
oration that she had seen enough European dudi-
esses engaged in that innocent pastime to swamp a
ship. There were times, he had to acknowledge
when Sadie was still a bit of a mystery to him.
**I told yuh I was goin* to cut out the stnokin' and
the slang I And I'm goin' to cut them out for
good!" For the second time the cok>r showed a
269
270 THE DOOR OF DREAD
little deqjcr between the powdered ear-lobe and the
ineradicable little runway of freckles. "I don't
wantta do anything that'll make yuh ashamed of
me. That's wb-^r
Wilsnach p d at her solemnity. He could af-
ford to be i .uulgent. He had vindicated his dis-
covery. His exotic little side-street restaurant had
yielded them up a dinner that was irreproachable.
Sadie had eaten her way t^- ugh that dinner with
the open and honest appetite ot a healthy boy. Wils-
nach himself had dined with the delight of a truant
who had found the balm of freedom edged with the
zest of adventure.
"But I want yqu to be happy," he maintained,
smiling at her from that hazy headland of con',...
which is bastioned on the seas of ventral ap^' •
Trouble, he realized, could not house for long in
that resilient young heart of hers. It was only
two days since the tragic taking-off of Shindler, but
shocked as she may have been by that occurrence,
she now seemed intent on forgetting it. As she sat
smiling across the table at him she could even sur-
render her hand to his, with a child-like little gulp
of contentment.
"Well, I'm so happy, whra I see yuH coppin' any-
THE DOOR OF DREAD 271
thing about me to like, that I'd go without catin', if
yuh said so!" Here Sadie once more sighed con-
tentedly. "And I sure like my eats 1"
Their hands clasped midway across the narrow
table.
"I like everything about you 1" he said with sud-
den fervor. And he knew it was true.
"Yuh see I've canned that junk yuh kicked about,"
she announced, as she stared hungrily down at her
now ringless fingers. Yet ',he looked up at him
again, even more hungrily. "Yuh ain't ashamed
of me?" she implored.
"You're wonderful!" he averred.
Her eyes deepened and darkened. She sighed
happily. Then her linked fingers at the table-center
closed with sudden passion about his hand. "Hully
gee, but I love yuh !" she cried out with a tremulous
little choke in her voice. "I love yuh so mudi that
it hurts!"
"You'll never be sorry for it I" was Wilsnach's
equally tremulous reply.
"I know I won't But sometimes I think yuh
will!" ^
"Try me!"
"Sometimes," went on the woman with whom, h^
272 THE DOOR OF! DREAQ
knew, life had dealt so harshly, "sometimes I wish
we could have known each other when I was as
young and baby-eyed as those girls that go up and
down Fift' Avenue, ev'ry afternoon I Why couldn't
this have come to me before I got mixed up with
all those things I can't get away from?"
Wilsnach felt the raven wing of tragedy that flut-
tered over them, and he did his best to brush it
away. "Then I would never have known you I
I wouldn't have been fit to sit beside you ! And the
dead past has buried its dead, and we're not going
to dig it up. We've got a whole Ufetime to look
forward to !'*
"A whole lifetime 1" she echoed.
"And once we've helped Kestner clear tq> this
Keudell case we'll be free to start over."
He thought, for a moment, that the sudden release
of his hand was due to her resentment at the intru-
sion of those sterner realities which they had for the
moment evaded. But he saw that it was actually
due to the fact that their funereal waiter was re-
turning to the table. And from the first Sadie had
most heartily disliked that waiter.
They sat in silence until the funereal figure once
more took it! laggard departure. Then the estuaiy
THE DOOR OF DREAD 273
was again bridged by iti linked wanntli of liaad
meeting hand.
"Will yuh alwa3r8 love iiicr Saide wistfufly
asked.
Wilsnach did not answer tliat question. He
did not answer it because at tiw moment his eye
was fixed on yet another figufe Huit stqiped qnletiy
over to their table even as he watdwd.
"Are you Mr. Wilsnach r this stranger inqnited.
"Why?" asked Wilsnach.
"There's a man wants you at the phone."
"What man?"
"He called himself Kestner, I think."
It was the school-bell sounding accusmgly oo the
ears of the truant Wilsnach k)oked at Sadie Wha-
pel. Their hour was over.
The heavy-browed intruder seemed quite indif-
ferent to their emotions. "YouTl find ^ tdephone
on the second floor," he said as he moved hidif-
ferently away.
Wilsnach got up from his chair. "Ill be back in
a minute," he announced.
"Don't be long," she murmured, as her eye stiU
followed him. Then she sat back viratching the man
with the prq,rietary air as he directed Wilsnach
274
THE DOOR PIT DREAQ
to the stairway that led above. Then she fell to
wondering what the meaning of Kestner's sudden
on would be.
She was still pondering this when the man with
the proprietary air stepped back to her table side.
He moved with more haste than before. But his
uptct was one of bored preoccupation.
*Tilr. Wilsnach is waiting for you outside," he
w pto ined. He even languidly and impersonally as-
sisted her in gathering up her belongings.
"Why didn't Mr. Wilsnach come for me?" she
demanded. If a party took you out to dinner, she
had been taught, it was a party's job to see that you
didn't have to cruise out of a slum-joint without an
escort.-
"He said he had to find a taxicab. I guess maybe
he's in a hurry."
Of course he would be in a hurry, Sadie remem-
bered, with a call like that from Kestner. And
nothing could shake her faith in the rock of Wils-
nach's gentility. So she quickened her steps and
caught up her skirts as she mounted to the sidewalk.
There, to her relief, she caught sight of the wait-
ing taxicab.
She could even see Wilsnach's hand swing the
THE DOOR OF DREAD 275
door open for her. She kntw, m ilie H^ped Uglitfy
up into the hooded dtrioMai of tlw cafa^ tint he WM
moving over on the lent to BMke room for her. At
th. same moment, however, the bccime oooidow .
tiie fact that a eecond men wm crowdfaif hi An u£;i
the narrow door behind her.
She tvimed to Wibnadi with a ^leitioci oo her
lips. She realized, as the did to, that tiie taxkab
was already weO under way. Put her teoood <S»-
covery quite obliterated her eariier one. As die
stared through the gloom ibe found tfiat the man
who sat so close beside her was not Wilsnadi.
She twisted quickly about and saw thitt the sec-
ond man who had fdkmed hr Hito tfie cab was
equally unknown to her. It wsk . moment or two
before the significance of the skuatioo actuary
struck home. Th?n foUor. :tl a rtaetkm th9« was as
natural as it was m^fkable. She wasted no forOier
timeon doubts. She had for too many momhs been
the center of oontendmg forces, buffeted by the tides
of intrigue, conspired agaaist by Hit enemies of evil
She started to her feet ttid shouted aloud wMi aS
the strength of her lusty young haigs.
But that call of alarm was not k)ng4ived. She
found herself jericed bo^y bade mto the nberat
276
,THE POOR OF. DREAD>
and a massive hand at the same time i^ced over
her mouth. It cupped itself artfuHy over her chin,
with a gigantic thumb and forefinger squeezing
tight on her nostrils until the very breath of life
was shut off from her body. She fdt herself
wedged closely in between the two bodies. They
held her like the horns of a vise, held her until all
moven^t became impossiUe.
She tried to writhe and twist away from the great
hand that was shutting off her breath. But this
was impossiUe. Reverting to feral ways, she tried
to fight with nail and tooth. But this was equally
useless. She was without strength. The ache for
air caused her t9 collapse. Then, and then only,
the gross thmnb and forefinger over her n<^ re-
laxed their pressure a little and permitted her to
breathe again.
The man who had thrown an arm about her, she
saw, was huge of stature. He was massive and
thick-shouldered, ahnost giant-like m size. And
about the entire proceeding he had remained mad-
deningly self-contained.
"This dame*8 sure to be heeled," he said to the
smaller man on her ri|^, "Xou frisk her 3when I
hold her downP'
jHE DOOR of: dread m.
Again her revolt against indignity was prompt
and instinctive. She felt the odious hand padding
impersonally about her body, in search for a pos-
sible weapon. Those bruskly interrogative fingers
seemed to her as beastial as the slathering of a
snake about her helpless limbs. And she fought
against them with all the strength that was left to
her.
The big man beside her tightened his grip. "Quit
that!" he warned her, "or you'll quit breathing!"
And again the great hand cupped over her face
and shut off her breath. And again she was com-
pelled to subside.
"Nothin' doin'!" grunted the smaller man
when the exploration was completed. He sat back
in the seat again, linking his arm dexterously
through the girl's so that any further movement of
her hand was impossible. Then the big man on her
left did the same. She felt at least grateful for be-
ing able to breathe again. But she was held as
tightly between the two bodies on each side of her
as though she had been strapped in a straight-jacket.
She had no clear knowledge of where the hurrying
taxicab was threading its way. She knew that they
tfiad turned^ and turned again, mm^
278 .THE DOOR OF, DREAE)
to be fewer, and she could see they were now fol-
lowing streets that were both quiet and unkempt.
And she concluded that for the time at least all re-
sistance was us^ss.
She warned herself to be cahn and keep her wits
about her. It was no longer the fleeting physical
terror at being physically overpowered that pos-
sessed her. It was more a great and all-consuming
indignation at the treatment to which she had been
subjected. She couM know sustained fear no more
than could the homeless feline that has adventured
through the thousand nocturnal vicissitudes of all
street-life. It took some bunch of trouble to give
her cold feet Her own life for the last few years,
as she had so recently told Wilsnach, stood too
checkered to leave room for such a chill. But
that was the only medal, she explained, that her
years of otttlawty had hung on her. It had put her
out of the house-pet class. Yet she was startled and
iq»8et and disturbed in soul by the sudden thought
of her helplessness. They had got her head in
dumoeiy. But even more disquieting to her was the
thought that they had tncked her so easily, that
th^ had put one over on her, by a dodge that was
as <4d as Ute dip-jostler's.
THE DOOR 01? DREAD 279
"Going to keep quiet now?" the big man at her
side was inquiring.
Sadie did not even deign to answer that ques-
tion. She was wondering what form her chance
would take when it came. For chances always come,
in some shape or other, and if not at one moment,
then at another. She could not afford to give i»
her faith in that.
"Sure she's goin* to keep quiet," was the grim
response of the man on the other side of her. His
face advanced toward her in the darkness, like the
head of a fighting-cock. "For if she can't do it her
way, she'll do it ours!"
Sadie, as the car rattied on. pounding over car-
tracks and swerving about comers, decided to do
it in her own way. She preferred the privilege of
breathing. But she decided, in her secret soul of
souls, that if it came to a show-down she could do
up that smaller man, even though she had to eat
his ears off. She could make the runt take the
mat. She was sure of it. And the only thing that
held her back was the memory of the second man
with a hand like a ham. He was a different propo-
sition, that human derrick.
It was this second man who suddenly shouted
280 THE DOOR OF DREAD
aloud to the driver as their car took still another cor-
ner on the run. They slowed down and stopped.
The smaller man on Sadie's right stepped out, dos-
ing the door behind him. Sadie could see him talk-
ing in low tones to the driver. What passed be-
tween them she could not tell. But her heart went
down a little at the resultant discovery that this li-
censed chauffeur was a conscious factor m the move-
ment. And the big man on her left, with his ever-
menacing big hand close to her face, was holding
her securely down in the seat
It was as the smaller man dimbed back in the
car that Sadie's hopes suddenly rose. Under a
street lamp not twenty paces away she saw the li^
flash on the metal buttons of a patrohnan's uniform.
A glimpse of that uniform fortified her with the.
memory that she was now on the side of the Law—
that she and the approaching c^cer were colleagues
in a common sense. She squinted thou^tfully at
the huge paw poised so dose to her face. She took
a deep breath, like a diver about to make his plunge.
Then with ah the strength of her sturdy young lungs
she shrilled out the one pregnant and disturbing
word of "Help!"
THE DOOR OF DREAD 281
It was a scream that could not be altogether
stifled. E-en a feather manress could not have
completely muffled it. But the poised hand came
down on it, like a pianist's soft-pedal on a con-
certo's loudest chord.
The smaller man swore softly as he dodged up
into his seat. The cry, it is true, could not be
repeated, for the great engulfing paw had closed
over the girl's face and promptly prohibited the
mhalation of her next breath. The human derrick,
above the whispered vitriolic blasphemies of the
smalkr man, shouted wrathfuUy to the driver to
get his car under way. But before it could even
gather speed the blue-coat was out beside the run-
ning-board. Sadie did not even object to having
her breath cut off, for in another second the officer
himself had swung open ihe cab-door. And that,
she knew, meant rescue.
"What's doin' in here?" he demanded. Then
the belligerency went out of his face, for th
smaller man had leaned forward into the light.
Yet nothing, so far ns Sadie could see, passed be-
tween them.
"Hello, that you, Spike?" was the officer's
,m .THE DOOR OF, DREAD.
tnilder-tpolcen inquiry. "Whatcha got there, any-
way?"
'It's aU rieht, Tim! She's only lit and noisy r'
•mo is?"
"It's Blink Hogan's skirt We had to dig her
out o' Ctmiiskey's hop-joint!" i
"Souscdr
"To the gills! Says she's a she-hyena and been
tiyin* to prove itT*
"Whatcha doin* with her?" was the officer's more'
indifferent-noted inquiry. For Sadie, with her
Iweath cut off, was unable orally to contradict this
gross misstatement So she did her best to kick the
glass out of the cab-front But the big man was too
pnudi for her,
"We gave Blink our promise to get her Home,"
was the smaller man's weary retort. "But if you
can do it any easier, I wish t'ell you'd take her over."
The officer now stood on the curb. He was
swinging his night-stick. j
"Not for mine T' he finally announced.
It was not until the cab was under way, and
well under way, that Sadie was really permitted to
breathe again. They were traveling faster now,
pxking along streets that were still unknot to^
/
if
tTHE DOOR of: DREAD. 283
lier. She had, in fact, long since lost all sense of
time and direction. Even their movements of the
passing moment became more or less indistinct to
her. She was vaguely conscious of the fact that
they had pulled up before a forbidding-looking
house and the two men were half-lifting her down
out of the cab. The street, as she later recalled it.
seemed desoted. But her companions gave ner
little time for observation. They walked, one on
each side of her, holding her up by the arm-pits.
The cab moved on, she remembered, as they hur-
ried her in toward the house-door, which swung
open with a signal, seei.iing to suck them in like
a bivalve. Then the double-doors closed behind
her, and the sound of their closing seemed like the
thud of a dead-fall, like the double snap of a trap.
They crossed a hallway and went stumblingly up
a stairway, through unbroken darkness. Jhey went
three abreast, the men feeling their way as they
mounted. At the top of the stairs, alter taking a
turn, the smaller man stopped and pushed a wall-but-
ton. This flooded the upper hallway with light
Then they moved on to a closed door. Jhis the
bigger man opened with his left hand.
They stepped into a room papered 3Pt|| saijiim^
284 ,THE POOR OF, DREAD
cdored wall-paper. It was not large, and its fur-
niture was both mean and meager. From this room,
however, a door opened into a lij^ted room at the
rear.
The smaller man stepped prcmiptly in through
this second door, leaving the girl still firmly held by
his burger omqianion.
Sadie could hear a broken hum of voices, one
more guttural than the others. It was the guttural
voice, emerging louder and more authoritative than
its rivals, which finally made itself heard.
"Then bring her in hereT this voice commanded.
Sadie, as she heard it, found the situation less
mysterious but n(»ie the less menacing. For it was
Keiidell himself D^o had qioken. And the next mo-
ment she was being kd into his presence.
Sadie blinked a little at the strong lig^t with
which she found herself suddenly confronted. But
she Uiidced even more at the figures whidi she saw
ranged before her. They made her think of a row
of magistrates set up to intimidate a prisoner. For
behind the kmg green-baize table which stood ahnost
at the center of the rocmi fat four men in four iuf^
backfd diaira.
Ilises Qi ^um she recognijawj at a glance. The
THE DOOR OF DREAD 285
one directly behind the reflecting library lamp that
stared at her like a headlight, was Keudell himsdf.
The next man to him was Breitaian, alias Wallaby
Sam. And next to Breitman sat Andelman, the
same suave Andelman who had posed as the ord-
nance officer from the Department at Washington.
The fourth man, who sat on Keudell's left, she
could not for a moment place. Then she remem-
bered the Secret Service photograph which Kest-
ner had once handed out to her and Wilsnadi for
inspection. It was Heinold, the Austrian who had
stolen the gun plans from the WatervUet worics and
handed them on to Dorgan.
That quartette's silent contemplation of her, she
realized, was meant to be inquisitional. She felt,
even against her wiU, like a prisoner brought to the
dock. There was something disturbing, for a mo-
ment, in that Judicial array. It brought to her mind
the impression that she was a cell-inmate suddenly
confronted by her accusers. Yet she was not alto-
gether afraid of them. The whole thing; she tried
to tell herself, had been stage-managed for the sole
purpose of terrorizing her. Even the high-backed
chairs and the formidable-looking table of green-
baize did not quite succeed in giving them the dig-
286 THE DOOR OF, DREAP
nity of a judicatory tritmnal. For takiiig tium all
in an, the knew, they were at muaTory a quartette
of intrigants and agents provocatewr ai ever
skulked like rats through the sulxellars of a na-
tion's defenses. And the knowledge that she was a
servant of that nation kept her courage up.
But Sadie had little more time to think of this,
for KeudeU had ah%ady given a curt command to
HeiiK>ld.
"Lock that doorP he barked out
As Heinold crossed to the door and locked it
KeudeU turned back to the still standing girl.
"Sit down r* he ommianded.
She advanced- a step or two to the worn leather
chair, whidi had apparently been carefully placed
for her, and sank languidly into it This left her
even more in the full glare of the light from the
reflector of the green-topped reading-lamp on the
table.
**Yuh might switch that electric/' she mildly sug-
gested.
"Why?" demanded Keudefl.
Sadie sat intently regarding him. They watched
each other warily, like boxers pondering the prob-
lem of how the 5rst blow should strike. Then the
THE DOOR OF. DREAD 287.
girl't lip curled a little with Kom. But otherwise
she remained outwardly unmomL
*1t rather annoys me," she finally replied.
KeudeU swept her with a glacial eye. "It suits
me as it is," was his reply. "And you win have,
madame, worse things than that to annoy you be-
fore you have finished with vaf*
"Ain't he the big man r murmuitd Sadie^ sel-
tling back in her chair.
Her nonch ala n ce seemed for a moment to non-
plus Keudell, to leave him nothing a-ainst which
to storm. Then he cleared himself again for ac-
tion.
"You wiU teH us." he suddenly said, and his voice
gave the sense of thundering even while it remained
moderate in vdume, *>ou will tell us what you
know about Abraham Shindler."
Sadie continued to study him with a perplexed
yet casual tyt,
"Whafs the guy's name?" she inquired.
"Shindler, I saidT' repeated KeudeU. But the
thun<fcr4)olt, r^ted, was without its sense ot
shodc Sadie Wimpd merely shook her head.
"Yuh're baikin' up the wrong tree. That gink
ain't on my callin' listf
288 THE DOOR OF DREADf
Keudell, with his molars clamped l ^rt wr , ni
regarding her. The thought that he had made a
bad begimiing did not tend to foften hit matner.
"What's your name?" he suddenly tboC out at her.
Sadie smiled. "What difference doea it make?"
she languidly inquired.
"Were you not known in Monte Cario at
Cherry Dreiser?" asked Anddman.
"Maybe!" was Sadie's reply.
"And two years ago hut April," oontiatted Keo-
dell, "you were in Odessa. What was your busi-
ness there ?"
"I wasn't murderin' any Jewjsh n^Htfaief P' she
announced as she met KeudeQ's stedy state. The
latter's face did not actually change hi expiessioa.
But there was a ponderable Uipse of thne before he
put his next question.
"Why did you leave Budapest exactly two years
ago?"
"Did I?" parried Sadie.
"You did!"
"And yuh're dead sure of itr
"I am!"
"Then yuh're probably dead sure of the reason
why!"
THE DOOR OF. PREAQ
It wii WtlWjjr Smo who tpoke next Hisvoicr
WM ■hakiog • mtfe. tml f or the fint time in his
life he teemed to have ptrted from his rubicund
Mtvitjr. He wti like a robin with • house-cat too
dose to its fledglingt.
''Look here, my giri, we're not here for the fun o f
alltWf. You know who we are, don't your
Sadie continued to ^ them with hmguid scorn.
"I know the whoie bimdir
"And do you imagine we're going to put up with
much of thia monkcgr-worfc?"
"I ain't hiterested m what yuh'rc goin' to put ud
withr ^
"But you're here, and you're going to stay here
until you answer certain quesdcns."
"And then what?" inquired Sadie.
It was Keudeil who spoke next "You do not
intend to taOc, perhaps?" he A«ifiHfd.
"Am't I taOdn'?" mquired Sadie.
Keuddl leaned forward across the green-baize
taWe-top, staring at her. For a moment he stared
at her ahnost abstractedly, as though pondering the
mysteiy of human qieech and the inviolability of
the human wilL He ^ood arrested by the con-
sciousness that bdund the unfurrowed frontal-bone
290 ,THE DOOR OF DREADi
of this chit of a girl facing him were certain facts
to which he sought access, certain facts which he
must possess. They were there in the small vault
of her skull, there clear and plain, there as definitely
and indisputably as a tradesman's greenbacks lie in
a safe-drawer. Yet between that frontal-bone and
a safe-door there was a perilous difference. The
heavier chamber of steel could be shattered and
ravished. But with the crushing of that smaller
chamber of bone and tissue its treasure went with
it.
It was that which frustrated him, as it must frus-
trate all men who seek to live by force alone. Be-
tween him and those most desired of facts stood
nothing more than a fraction of an inch of sutured
calcium salts which one blow could shatter. Yet
they remained inaccessible, impervious to his power.
'•You think, madame, you may perhaps beat us
at this game?" he finally suggested. An ominous
note of quietness had come into his voice. It was in
his suavest moods, she remembered, that he was
most to be feared.
"What game?" tanporized Sadie.
"The game, madame, that is going to tt^ before
you get out of this house 1"
[THE DOOR OF DREAD
It
291
Time, Sadie felt, was an asset to her. She no
longer stood alone. She was part of a complex
mechanism which her absence would disturb, as a
slipped cog disrupts a machine. Already, she felt,
the word had gone out and the search was under
way. So her first duty now was to fence for time.
"Then what's the use o' talkin' about it?" was
her nonchalant retort to Keudell's threat.
"But you are going to talk about it 1"
"Am ir
"You are going to say, first, where this man
Kestner is, and where the papers you stole are, and
then what became of the blue-prints you tricked
out of Dorgan. And you are going to say it before
you see God's sunshine again I"
Sadie's passivity suddenly dropped from her.
Fixed as may have been her purpose, her mind, in
the final analysis, was stiU an untutored one. And
anger possessed her.
"Say, yuh can't pull that movie stuff on me!"
she cried back at him. "I'm not the goat in this
deal. And what's more, 3ruh guys can't throw a
scare into me, either! Yuh may as well get wise to
that! Get it— and get it good! This is the third
time yuh've tried to put over the rou^^-ncck work —
292 THE DOOR OF DREAD
and yuh know how far it got yuh before and how
far it's goin* to get yuh this time V*
Keudell seemed to relish her opposition. Resist-
ance was what he wanted. It supplied him with a
bone on which to set his teeth. He stood up in his
place, ahnost exultantly, and leaned across the table
menacing her with an accusatory forefinger.
"This, madame, will be the fourth time. And
this time it will get us somewhere. It will—"
He stopped, interrupted by a sudden knock on the
aoor. He motioned, still standing, for Heinold to
answer that knock.
The entire tribunal waited, anxious-eyed, as the
key was turned, and the door opened. But most
anxious of all waited Sadie, for all the indifferent
glance with which she apparently regarded her suede
shoe-tips. For she remembered that she was still
the part of a machine.
It was the huge-bodied man who had held her
in the taxicab. He came in thoughtfully, ignoring
her where she sat But she watched him as he
crossed the room and leaned over the green-baize
taUe toward Keudell.
**We*ve got him this time I" he quietly announced.
THE POOR PF: PREAD 293
"Which one?"
"Wilsnachl"
Keudell, with slightly incredulous eyes, sank
slowly back into his chair. "Where is he?"
Sadie, for the moment, was quite forgotten.
"I left Spike and Otto bringing him in from the
cab."
"Do you mean he is hurt, perhaps?"
The big man shrugged a shoulder. "Of course
he got noisy when he saw he was nipped. They al-
ways do. So we had to shut him up.**
"Can he talk?"
"He could talk all right if he wanted to."
"But will he talk?" was Keudell's quick inquiry.
"We haven't tried."
It was Wallaby Sam, with his rosily bald head
slightly inclined, who spoke next, "Then hadn't we
better get him up here?"
Keudell made a gesture of impatience.
"We don't want him up here until this woman
has said what she's going to say." Sadie Wimpel
already seemed a mere incident in his activities. He
had bigger fish to fry. "Tell Spike and Otto to
take him down-stairs and take bis boots off. (3ivc \
294 THE DOOR OF, DREAD.
hira five minutes to write out what we wadb toJ
know. If he refuses, and fails to change his muid
in that time, light the gas-tube and get busy wiA it" i
"And ifhe still refuses r
"You can cook his feet off, for all I cant*
The big man turned coolly away. **I*n codk *«n
an right !" he determinedly announced, as he crosseil
the room and passed out through the doOT.
The quietness of that room was ominous. The
man called Heinold was waiting to rdock the door
before returning to his seat He even had his H*^
on the knob before anything happened to intemqvt
that ominous lull Yet it was not so much an inter-
ruption as an eruption.
The crater of it was the worn leather diair in
which Sadie Wimpel sat It seemed less a reasoned
and pre-determined movement than a Uind and
frenzied explosion of activity. Yet behind that tn-
mult, mad as it seemed, was somt shadow:
of thought some forlorn atten^ at strat^.
For Sadie, in her revolt against quiescoio^ Had
not altogether lost hier head. When she ftrudc, the
jBtruck in the only way possible to her.
. She dived so qniddy for the greoi-baize table
that tfic impact of her body seit it crowdtog over
THE DOOR of; DREAD 29S
against the breasts of the three men seated behind
it, before they could rise to their feet. This, for a
few seconds, preoccupied them with purely defens-
ive movements. Yet before those three men could
actually comprehend the meaning of her advance
she had caught and snatched away the electric-light
standard, tearing the cloth-covered wires from their
socket as she darted back across the room.
The result of this maneuver was to plunge the
place into total darkness. She could hear the sound
of overturned chairs and the quick shouts to Hein-
old to guard the door. But she was close beside the
pale-eyed Austrian before he could recover from his
first surprise. He threw out his arms to bar her
way, and clutched at her when she brushed against
Him. But the lacquered brass lamp-standard was
already poised, and at the right moment she brought
it down with all her force.
She could hear his curse of anger as he fell back
before that onslaught, for her blow had not faUen
true. But he no longer occupied her thoughts. Her
one passion was to get through the door, against
which she had fallen bodily. She heard, even befor«
she had it open, quick steps stumbling and advimdi^
about her in the darkness. But die had foand ^
296 .THE DOOR OF DREAD
knob and swung through to the outer room widi-
out any of the outstretched hands reaching her. A
revolver barked out, somewhere behind her, before
she could swing the door shut again. But the bullet
missed her, and she was now well ahead of her pur-
suers. She even had time to swing shut the hafl
door as she passed through it. Another ten steps
took her to the head of the stairway. The exultar
tion of battle was in her veins by this time, and she
went down the carpeted treads like a reindeer down
a rock-side.
At the bottom she saw a shadow looming be-
fore her. But she was unaUe to stop. She saw
this shadow assume the form of a crcMS, and even
as she felt l^r hurtling body enjulfed in a pair of
masnve arms, she knew, sickeningly, that it was
the same huge4)odied man who had held her down
in the taxicab once more making hfT a priscMMr.
Above the shock of that sud'lr; arre ;t ui.d the dead-
ening pressure of Ae ccnii.rictin|; ? about her
she could hear the sharp calls and shouts f mn above
and then the huskily reassuring words of her
ci^or. *Tt's aU .-ightf I've got herP'
Keudell and Andelman were already down the
stah^ and dose behind her. Wallaby San^ leaning
THE DOOR OF DREAD 297
over the baniiter, shouted down an order in Ger-
man, an order which she oonld not qnite understand.
But the others seemed to disr^iard him.
"WhatTl I do with herr the big man was cahnly
if a Uttle breathlessly inquiring of KeudeH
The light was too dim for Sadie to see his face.
But his voice was once more menacing in its quiet-
ness. "You will tie her t5>." he commanded. -^Tien
you win lock her— in the room at the ^af^ f You
wiU be so good as to tie her securely, quite secufdy.
For we shafl have need of her, kter on. Sbt ia^
sheot, m friend, ^ win not be unpleasant to
tameP
*Tn tie her an r^tr announced Ae widc-slwul-
<iered man as he fifted her dear of her feet And
once more Sadie knew that aU struggle was useless.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
SADIE WIMPEL knew that the task of tnui
ing her up had not been neglected She 1^
like a mummy, flat on what seemed to be a dust:
tapestty-covered box-couch, staring at the ceil
ing. She could move neitlwr hand nor foot Tb
pain tn her arms, pinioned dose behind her badi
had already become acute. A numbness about di
ankles told her that they were tied quite as tij^tlj
After a series of seismic contortions o' e bod'
«
she racceeded. in rolling slightly over ot side
In this position she was better aUe to study the roon
in which she lay a prisoner. I
Slw studied it carefully and methodically, am
she did not find it an encouraging harborage. Ii
was small and n^^^ted-looklug, with a shutterec
window on <mt side and a firq>roofed door on tlu
other. This door, she knew, was locked, for At
had heard the sound of the turning key after shi
had been coolly but uncereuKmiously dropped on Oh
box-couch akmg the wall. On one side of the dooi
298
I THE DOOR of: DREAD| 299
wai a broken rocking-chair and an overturned pack-
mg<U€ ftin half fined with moldy-looking books.
On the other side was a bamboo table, a rollcd-up
hair mattress and a couple of cardboard hat-boxes.
On the table stood a faded and wilted palm in a flat
majolica vase. This palm, apparently unwatered
for months, had long since died and dried up. Along
the outer waU was a bamboo book-shelf filled with
dust-covered magazines. The floor was painted
and without a carpet. A solitary and unshaded elec-
tric bulb had been left burning, presumably for the
pujpose of some future spying on her.
Sadie, viewing the room with studious eyes, ac-
knowledged to herself that it was anything but in-
Then she directed her thoughts back to the bonds
whidi heki her a prisoner. She saw, by the expedi-
ent of suddenly kicking up her heels, that a white
cotton rope remforced by a trunk-strap held her
ankles together. It was the same kind of rope, she
discovered, that was used for many a housetop
clothes-line. And judging from the way it swathed
and circled her Umha, there had been an ample sup-
ply of it. Yet for several minutes she worked dog-
gedly and valiantly at these bonds, trying first to
300 THE DOOR OF DREAP
worry her hands free, and then her feet It did «
take her long to discover that all ludi efforts wei
useless. It only tired her body and added to th
pain in her shoulders. And after all her struggl<
there was no appreciable loosening of aqy of th
strands that were so croelly hiterfering with he
circulation.
She by back on the box-coudi, once more study
ing the room about her. From time to time her eyi
returned to the de&4 palm in its ugly majolica vase
It towered above her in its comer, as melandK^
as a hearse-plume. It stood a monument of negiec
and abuse. It depressed her with its apiritlessness
Its pallid and withered fronds became something pa
thetic It seemed so funereal in its etiolated dejec
tion that she turned wearily away from it
Then she stared back at the dead pahn, for it ha<j
suddenly become of interest to her. She looked a1
it long and pointedly, with her fordiead sli^tly
wrinkled. Then she took a deeper breath. It wai
almost a breath of relief. For on the faded fronds
of that dead palm, she saw, hung her one and only
hope.
She wormed her way to the edge of the bex-
conch, letting herself drop limply to the floor.
THE DOOR OF DREAD 301
by much writhing and working of her torso she
placed herself in position for rolling towatd the
bamboo table. These movements were painful. But
she worked both methodically and patiently, for by
this time she had arrived at a definite plan of action.
And as she rolled toward the fragile-looking bam-
boo table she did so with all the vigor at her com-
mand. She bore down on it, in fact, with ever ac-
celerating speed. Instead of pausing before coming
into contact with its spindle legs, her rolling body
struck .t as a bowling-allej ball strikes a nine-pin.
She struck with sufficient force to send the faded
palm and its ugly majolica vase tumbling to th«
floor. As it tumbled it crashed to pieces.
Instead of exhibiting dismay at this catastrophe,
• Sadie Wimpel turned over on her side, waited for
the cloud of dust from the dried earth to settle, and
then viewed the ruins with cahnly studious eyes.
The bottom of the vase, she noticed, was the
largest remaining piece of majolica. But what was
more important for her purposes, along the edge of
it ran a shattered edge of the vase-side. This frag^
»nent of earthenware she bunted and shouldered pa-
tiently away from the others. She did so very mudi
like a sea-lion pushing its trick baU across a stags.
302 THE DCX>R OP DREAp
But Sadie, for all the ludicrous abturdity of thoM
movements so like an ainpliilMaii'i» WM nmr man
serious in her life.
When she had disposed the fragment of Crocker]
to her liking, she again rolled over and regarded ii
with critical eyes. Then, carefully measuring hei
distance, she rolled a,vay from it, this time at i
slightly different angle. But on this occasion, dis-
regarding any personal discomfort which it might
involve, she rolled completely over on the saw-edgi
of the broken majolica, so that when she lay faa
upward her two forearms, tightly tied against hei
back at the waist-line, rested on the jagged edge
of the earthenware. Tlien, witl: a series of movc<
ments even more undignified than her earlier ones,
she began to see-saw her tired body back and forth,
making sure to press a strand or two of the oottou
rope against the serrated edge of the ^raae>«ide M
she moved.
It took much patience and even more rtrengtH of
body. But by this time she was worldng in that
icy calm of determination which is the sublimation
of indignant rage. She was no longer thinking of
herself. She was thinking only of what stood be*
loreher. ^ fhe coiikl not affoi^ |o lailt
"She sat up, warning herself to be cooL"
THE DOOK of: PREAI? 303
Yet she compdled to stop and rest, from
tu.e to time, for her position was a strained one
an i her body «ras tired. She continued the abra-
sion of the cotton fiber pinioning her arms, however,
until her neck-cords seemed ready to crack. Then
she rolled wearily over, face downward, and rested.
Then she began a series of muscular twists and tugs,
worrying at the swathings that bound her hands be-
hind her. She noticed, as she tugged and worked,
an ever increased sense of relaxed tension. So she
continued her labors, more frenziedly than before.
And it suddenly came home to her that her cam-
paign of attrition had actually severed the rope that
held her deadened forearms in their painfully un-
natural positicm.
She sat up, at this discovery, warning herself to
be cool But her body was stippled with nerve-
qniws as she worked at the loosened strands stiU
about her ariLs, When they were quite free, and
the bkxxi was tingling and needling once more
thrw^ her numbed finger-ends, she sat there for
several luxurious moments, reveling in the thought
of that release. The one thing to complete her hap-
piness, she felt, was a glass of water, For by this
time she was inexpressibly thirsty,
304 THE DCX)R OF DREAD
When she had rested sufficiently, it was a mattei
of much less difficulty to lean forward and conquer
first the trunk-strtip and then the knots of the rope
about her ankles. This too brought its own relief,
though it was several moments, she found, before
she could regain the use of her limbs. At first she
thought they were paralyzed, so unresponding they
were to the commands of will. They seemed, in-
deed, like something not belonging to her own body.
And the pain became as sharp as the pain that fol-
lows frost-bite, merging from a muhitudinous need-
ling of nerve-ends into a dull ache of discomfort
But she persevered in her exercises, determuiedly
working the fingers of one hand and then the other.
She next gave her attention to her feet When these
became normal she crept to the couch and lay on it
full length. She knew that she was once inot« free
to move. And for that primal freedom she was
not ungrateful.
But she did not remaui idle for hag. After a
brief breathing-spell she was on her feet agaiiv
busily exploring the room. The wmdow, she had
imagined, would be the vutocraMe point of lier
prison. But an examination of ^'s window soon
^wed her to be wrong. It was not only shuttered
THE DOOR of: drear 305
butitwasevensecurefybamd. So she directed her
atttation to the otlier aide of the room where the
door stood
The door itself was not encouraging. But above
it stood a transom, the glass of which had at some
time been replaced by a heavy wahiut panel. This
transom, she fdt, was the one assailable point in
the enemy's luM. So she decided to storm it.
To storm it, however, was not an altogether easy
matter. But Sadie's wits had in the past risen to
emergencies even greater than this. She stood for
a moment deep in thou^t Then she quietly
dragged the tapestry-covered box-couch toward the
door. This coimA she turned over and stood up on
end, making sure it was firmly fixed against the
floor-boMds. In this podtion, she had already de-
dded, the exposed rows of coil-springs would pro-
vide her with a sort of scaling-ladder, unstable per-
haps, bi:^ still possible.
This proved to be the case. She found the tran-
som hdd shut by tittce nails driven into the door
lintel; and it todc but a lew minutes' work with a
piece of the pabn-vase to work these nails free of
the wood The tfiasom, once these were removed,
swnng bMk wttlioitt trouble and showed the outer
306 THE DOOR OF DREAD
hall to be in darkness. So she carefully descended
her improvised scaling-ladder, looked about the
room and proceeded to wrench one of the rocker-
rods from the antique chair that stood in the comer.
This, she concluded, would serve both as an instru-
ment of defense and a possible weapon of assault,
if the need arose. And before she had gone far,*
she felt, there would be every promise of that need.
She also broke away a piece of the dilapidated bam-
boo table, to serve as a rod to hold open the tran-
som. Then she twisted and knotted her two lengths
of cotton rope together, tying one end securely to
the door-knob and placing the other, to which she
had already tied her wooden rodcer-rod, within
reach at the couch-top. Then, having slipped off
her shoes and tied them about her neck, she switched
out the light and groped her way back toward the
door.
She dambered up the treacherous spring-tiers as
best she could, cautiously fedhig for the transom.
Having swung it open, she placed her bamboo sup-
port beneath it She next reached for the rocker-
rod tied to the rope-end, carefully k>wering it
through the opened transom. Then she took a deep
IfftttSi, for At knew Hk haadttt put of her task
THE DOOR OF DREAD W
was still ahead of her. To emerge head down from
a transom seven feet high is no easy matter. But
to do this encumbered with skirts, half choked with
dust and in utter darkness, takes unto itself the na-
ture of both an exercise in audacity and an adven-
ture in acrobatics.
But Sadie knew her possibilities. As she slowly
and silently vermiculated over the dust-covered
door-lintel she retained her hold on the cotton rope.
She emerged, head down, until her knees were free
of the crossbar. Then, pivoting on the taut rope,
she swung about with a cat-like twist of the body,
describing an aerial cart-wheel and dropping quietly
if a little dazed on the carpeted floor of the hall.
She was on her feet in a moment, untying her
rocker-rod from the rope-end. The latter she tossed
lightly back through the open transom. Then ith
her rod she pushed away the piece of bamboo hold-
ing up the hinged panel, the latter swinging back
into place as the bamboo stick dropped back into
the room from which she had escaped.
Then the giri turned and stood with her back to
the door, straining her eyes through the darkness,
with her aural nerves acutely alert, with even her
moist skin-surfaces sensitized to atmospheric im-
30t THB DOOR OF DREAD
prcssions, and with nostrils distended, like a winM
moose sniffing for some hint of its pursuers.
She could hear and see nothing. But her over-
dclicate olfactory nerves warned her of the immi-
nence of others. The signs of this were devious
and diffused. And faint but unmiitakable on the
musty air ioated the smell of tobteoo-imolce. For
once in her life she found that aroma anything but
tranquilizing. Her mouth sas dry, and more tlwi
ever the thought of long and cooling dnimlifi
pealed to her. When she got to a water-n^ ^
told herself, she would drink like a camel
She was not content, however, to remain k»g
active. So with one hand extended she advaneed
slowly and noiselessly through the Harlm^ ,|o^
ping at every step or two to listen and then goii^
on again. The absence of both aound and light
tended to disturb her. It left cveiy doorwi^ aa
imminent menace and evefj comer a poarible aaH
bush. Her groping fingers came in contact wiA a
door-frame, yet she was afraid to torn the
Darkness had impoted on her its acomndatioii of
uncertainties. She even began to entertain exaf-
gerated ideas of dtstaacs^ i^^p'^ing tiiat she had
.THE DOOR OF DREAD!
309
traversed scores of feet where she had covered only
as many inches.
Still again, as she advanced on her shoeless feet,
she OKOttntered the square of a door-frame be-
tween which she could feel the panels of the closed
aoor itself. She explored it with fastidious fin-
ger-tips, wondering what could lay behind it.
She was standing close in beside it, with one ear
ipressed btently against its panel, when a sudden
sound startled her. She could hear the rattle and
cUnk of porti^re-rings and the sound of a key be-
ing quickly turned in a lock. The next moment a
door opened and a fulcrum of light cascaded out
across tl» darkness of the hallway.
It was the door, she saw, past which she had so
recently and so innocently worked her way. It was
wide open by this time, and two figures had stepped
ont into tiie hall. One was Keudell and the other
was Aadehnan. She had a clear vision of them in
silhoiwtte, and ut the same time her quick eye caught
sight of the banister and the stair-head for which
she had bmi seardiing; not five paces away from
her.
InstiKtivtly jphf flat^owd her hodj ^'nst the
310 THE DOOR OF] DREAD!
paneled door, pressing as deep into tht shadow of its
frame as she could. She saw Keudell, with his hat
already on his head, step toward the stairs. She
saw Andeln'an reach out a hand to grasp the ban-
ister before the closing door behind hun again left
the hallway in darkness. She heard the sound of
the lock and the second clink and tinkle of the por-
tiere-rings. And she knew that this door on her
right had been locked by some <mt still within Hht
room. She could at the same time hear the stqw
of the two men descending the stairs.
She stood listening intently, for the directibn of
their advance was a matter of vast moment to her.
Before those steps reached the bottom of the stairs,
however, she heard them come to a stop. She
caught a whispered word or two and then the sound
of the men as they hurriedly reascended the treads,
stopped again and listened. At the same time, from
sc»newhere below-stairs, she heard the duU tirad <^
a door being quickly closed.
While she stood ^)eculating as to whetW or f»ot
this could be the street-door whidi had suddenly
opened and shut, a vague flare of li^t showed some-
where deep in the well of the stairway. This brou^
her cre^ng forward to Utt banister. Then she
THE DCXDR OF DREAD 311
knew her surmise had been right ; some one had en-
tered from the street and was now striking a match,
either to make sure of his whereabouts or to guide
the mamier of his advance. The uncertain light of
that burning match showed her one other tableau.
This was Keudell, half-way up the stairs, with a re-
volver in his hand and Andelman crouching close
behmd him. He stood poised and menacing, as
though prepared for any emergency. But a gasp
that was half anger and half relief burst from him
as the matdi burned up.
"Easy there I" suddenly called out the man with
the match-end. And as he spoke Sadie Wimpel
knew it was the big man who had held her down in
the taxicab. He had obviously just caught si^t
of his colleague with the leveled firearm.
"What the devil do you mean by coming in that
way?" demanded Andelman. "Without a word of
warning?**
"It's the only way I had time fori"
"What's wrong?'*
"Listen: he's got Spike's driver. In ten minutes
they'll be hot on this trail 1"
"Who has?"
"Wilsnachhasl"
312 THK DCX)R OF DREAD
"HeU I" said KetsdeU. out of the tikiice.
But Sadie, at the sound of that name, knew i
sudden sense of released tension. She breatho
deep. Wilsnach had captured their taxi-drivei
Then Wilsnach was free f A toft and warnimi
glow crept through her body and left her indeter
minately dizzy with hope. They had lied to hei
from the first. Wilsnach was not a prisoner witl
her in that house. He had been too clever fo
them. He had trumped their ace and captured theii
own driver. And he would be after diem, any timi
now, hot-foot Ike. For that was Wilsnadi*s way
She could hear the sound of stq» again.
"What are we going to do?" asked Anddmai
out of the darkness.
It was the big man who spoke next
"You've got to beat it out of hete, and beat it
quick!"
"But why?"
"I tell you this house ain't safe! They'll third-
degree that driver until he can't keep his trap shutf
"Supposing he doesn't!"
"It means you've got to scatter f
"And it means," con^ned Andefanan, *'a fine
ntts»ng t^ of this thingf
THE DOOR OF DREAD 313
Again Vere was a brief interlude of iiknoe. Sft-
die, listening above, strained for every word. "And
it will be a worse mess, unless we get away from
here!"
It was Keudell speaking at last He did to with-
out apparent alarm, almost meditatively. He strode
a match and looked at his watdi. Then he spoke
again. "Give the word to Breitmaa and HeiaokL
And make it wher« I saidP*
"London?"
"Yes!"
"London in six days. Am I ri^?"
"That is right. But remember tiiat m am
watched. Go by Aray of St. Louis and take die
Wabash back. Drop off at Detroit and hang over
in Bartholomew's rooming-house in East Feny
Street until you get word from me."
"And you ?" asked Anddman.
"I will go by the river, with McKensie. That is
the only way left for me— with McKensie as far as
Kingston, in the launch, and then the Lackawanna r
"But where in London?"
That question remained for the moment unan-
swered for the door at the stah^-head abov« them
suddenly opened and the cautbus but hiquisitive
314 THE DOOR OF DREAD
head of Wallab/ Sam appeared in the vague thaf
of light.
"We're in for a rumble 1" Andelman called warn
ingly up to him.
Wallaby Sam shuffled out on the landing. Hi!
was the only figure plainly visible to the watching
girl. More than ever, with his rounded paunch and
his r jmpled-up hair-fringe and rubicund face, he
looked like a blithe-spirited old robin finally driven
into a dejection for which he had not been fash-
ioned.
He pursed his heavy lips up in a dolorous whistle,
blinking meditatively down into the rfarWim where
the other three men were grouped.
"You'll have to hurry I" once more warned the
big man.
"But where in London?" repeated Andehnan, al-
most fretfully.
"The Tecumseh House. And have Heinold— "
He did not finish, for Wallaby Sam was calling
down to him. "How about that girl?"
It was Andelman who answered. : God's
sake don't holler so loud! And why can't we have
some light here?"
. It was Keudell's voice, cahn and authoritattvi^
.THE DCX>& DREAQ 31S
which tpoli* abmw AadiftMi's whimper. "Bring
Hetaold dows here eo we caa talk this thing out."
Wallaby Sam, wA a frusn^ tamed and shuffled
back into ^ ligfttdl roooL
"1 tell yoa jm hsvcn't time for debating socie-
ties aromid dii hooaef You're steering for a fall I"
It was the h^ man of tiie taxi who spoke.
••Whea Utose guys hit us. they'll hit heavy. You
leave Ae girl to me. 'can have her held for a cou-
ple of wadn, and wi»u. , oo send the word I'll—"
StiB agirfB he brdee off for Wallaby Sam and
HaiMll weie groping and stumbling their way
down tf» §taia» They had switched out the light
bdundtiwm, Sadie noticed, but they had not stopped
to kxic ^ door. Of that she was positive. And
on Hat die built her hopes.
She aiAed notaelessly along the wall, working
her way step by cautious step toward the stair-
head. Her movements were equally deliberate as
Ae groped for the door-knob, caressed it between
htr strong young fingers and carefully turned it.
As she expected, it yielded and swung back to her
pressure. She slipped inside and with a silence bom
of Ini^te pre«ustton closed and rebdced the door,
feavmgthe key in the k>ck.
316 THE DOOR OF; DREAD
It disturbed her, as she did so, to find that thi
sound of a>nferriz^ voicn was no longer reMhinj
her. But her first aim, once she was lodred in ths
room, was to find the light-switch. So she gropec
and padded about as a blind woman might, follow
ing the line of the walls and eq>Ioring eveiy pita
of furniture with which she caxat in cxmtatL It
was several minutes before she came to an opec
roll-top desk on ixdiidi stood a readh^-lamp. h
another moment or two she had discovered tin
switdi and turned on the light.
She found herself in a sparsely-fumidwd rooa
whidi had ai^Kuently been fitted up as an dke
A telephone-directory <ni the desk-top in front oi
her sent her drcUng about the chamber for a tele-
phone, but ncme was to be f otmd m the room. She
could not even unearth a trace of wiring. So ^
returned to the desk. There, beside the telq^ione-
book, stood a box of cigarettes and a niatch-lK>kier.
For (me Inief mon^ tttt looked hesitatingly st
the cigarettes, then began a hurried yet nethodk
search of the desk-drawers.
But these she found practioifiy empty. It ym
not until she came to die bottom drawer on the
right-hand nde du^ her fean^ vu in an^ ^y re-^
THE DOOK OF DREAD 317
warded. In this drawer she found an automatic
pistol and several clips of cartridges. And a small
wave of satisfaction sped through her tired body as
she possessed herself of this weapon. For now,
she knew, the fight would not be sudi a one^ded
one.
She was standing deep in thought again,
the gunmetal weapon in her hand when a sudden
sound arrested her. She heard the knob of her
door turn and then move more vigorously, as
though tugged at by an impatient hand.
"Who locked this door?" demanded a muffled
voice from the hall. She knew it was Wallaby Sam
speaking. She heard him step to the stair-banister
and call down to his companions in the lower regions
of the house. Then came the sound of answering
voices, hushed and hurried, and the further sound
of quick steps on the stairs and past the door bdiitid
which she stood.
At any time now, she surmised, they would dis-
cover the fact of her escape. And that would
promptly solve for them the mystery of the locked
door. S3 she knew that she would have to be
ready. Their work, she concluded, would be hur-
ried, and being hurried, would be rtdbiegg.
318
THE DOOR of: DR£AQ
They could advance, she knew, only by way of
the door behind which she stood. So she carefully
wheeled about the roll-top desk and in front of it
placed the chairs which stood in the room.
From thia ambuscade, she felt, she could at least
keep things interesting, as long as her cartridge-
clips held out, at any rate. For, this time, she knew,
she could expect no quarter from them. She was
not ignorant of Keudell's record and his character.
He would never give her another chance.
She waited with the calmness of the unimag-
inative young animal that she jvas, still further nar-
cotized by sheer physical weariness. She waited
with her eyes on the locked door and her pistol in
her hand. She even forgot her thirst. One de-
termined assault on those panels, she knew, would
easily carry them away. So she decided that it
would be better, on the .whole, jko have the light
turned off.
She reached oul for ffie switcK. 'As She aid so
her eyes fell on the box of cigarettes. A wayward
temptation to take one of them up and light it pos-
sessed her. But the business on hand, she remem-
bered, was too serious for trifling. So she switched
out the light and stood in the darkness, waiting.
JH£ DOOR of; dread
319
And as she waited she remembered that she was
very thirsty.
The tension of her position also began to tell on
her tired body. She found standing irksome. So
she groped her way about the desk and lifted one
of the chairs back next to the wall which enfiladed
her. She sat down in this chair, with the auto-
matic still in her hand, still waiting.
She tlKnight she hear^ a vague sound or two, but
of this At could not be sure. The silence tended
to unnerve her. She became obsessed with the
though that vast and intricate tissues of intrigue
were bemg woven on the looms of silence about her.
Countless ghostly contingencies, as the minutes
dragged on, stood serried and sinister in the gloom
above her. Inactivity became an ache. The fingers
of her restless left hand toyed for a moment with
the open cigarette-box on the desk-top. She took
up one of the tiny cylinders, tapped its end against
the desk-edge and tried to moisten it with her lips.
Then her hand went back to the match-holder. She
sat motionless for a minute or two, hemmed in by
the velvety blackness about her. Then she delib-
erately took up a match, struck it and lighted the
cigarette which still drooped from between her lips.
320 THE DOOR OF DREAD
She sighed at the second puff. It almost made he
forget her thirst again. She was in the act of ex
haling the third luxurious puff when she suddenl;
leaned forward, rising from her chair as she did so
It was at the same moment that the sudden crasl
came that she leveled her pistol and pulled the trig
ger. For she knew that the door had been suddenlj
broken in, that her enemies were already througl
that door and advancing on her. It came home tc
her consciousness, at the same instant, that then
had been no detonations from her fire-arm. There
had been the snap of metal against metal, and that
was an. She had scarcely time to realize that her
automatic was empty, that she had neglected to
slip m a dip, before she heard a voice calling out,
a Uttic thick with excitement : *Tve g-t 'em! They're
herer
She groped frenaedly about for the clips of
artridges. As she did so the tevel ray of a flash-
light exploded across the darkness of the room, and
the voice cried out for the second time.
"Stick up your hands there I Stick 'em up quick !"
It was not the savagery with which these words
were tittered that appalled her. It was the fact that
ih^ were spoken by WUsmch himself.
THE POOR OF! DREAD 321
For one moment the flash-light wavered about the
room and then centered white and clear on her
startled face. She sank weakly back in her chair,
with the cigarette still drooping from her slightly
parted lips.
She heard Wilsnach's exclamation of "Good
God !" as she reached forward and switched on the
electric-lamp. She could see the light shine on his
revolver barrel. He was without a hat or coat, and
his eyes, in the sudden light, were ridiculously round
and blinking.
"Wh— where are they?" he rather vacuously de-
manded. In the doorway behind him, Sadie saw,
stood Romano of the city force, with a gunmctal
automatic in his hand.
•*Where are they?" repeated Wilsnach.
Kestner himself swimg in past Romano as Wils-
nach stood still regarding her.
"Didn't you get 'em?" shrilled Sadie.
"Get who ?" demanded Kestner.
"Keudell and the others !"
**Nor'
"They're in this house then !"
Kestner suddenly relaxed and sank into a chair.
Then he shook his head. "They can't"
322 JHE DOOR OF DREAD
**Bat diey were here not ten nsnntes ago— anc
I ous^itta knowT ,
Kestner still was dobrously shaking his heac
from side to side. They've made their get-away !'
Sadie leaned bade in ber chair. Wilsnach came
forward a step or two and gently took the auto-
matic from her somewhat shaky right hand. He
looked at it curiously. Then he k)oked even more
cmionsly into her white face with the disturbingly
febrile i^itter about the weary-kwking eyes. The
cigarette was still in her hand. She stared down at
it guiltily.
"HuUy gee," she said with listless insolence. "I
said rd cut-out the sniokin', didn't I?"
No one ^poke as she laus^ed, quite without mirth.
•*Well, I guess I earned this coffin-nail, all rightl
For Fve had quite a night of it r
Kestner, with tiie btttemess of defeat in his bkxidi,
swung half angrily about on her.
"You seem to tinnk aH this was engineered for
your amusement r
Sadie sn^kd at him.
"It kxikt fuw^ t* mer die announoed,
"Whatdocsr
■3
THE DOOR of: DREAQ 323
The way yuh keep lettin* that bunch get hr
yuhr
Kestner was in no mood to enoottrage such levity.
**Could you handle this case any better ?" was his
curt demand.
reply.
"I guess mebbe I could,** was the girl's languid
'*Thm why don't you try it?**
Sadie blew a ring of smoke ce
iilingward. She
moment or two
watdied it meditatively, for a silent
"I guest mebbe that's what I*n have to do I" she
finally dedarad.
flit
1
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
IT WAS five days later that Miss Mabel Poole,
six short wedcs out of her Victoria Hospital
training-school, found herself alone with a patient
And the first point that made itself apparent to the
young trained nurse was that this patient's room was
disturbingly dark. The second point that came to her
attention was that this darkness seemed crowded
with cut flowers, giving it the heavy air of a hot-
house. And the third fact to impress itself on her
was that the bell-boy who had carried her bag down
the hotel hallway had not waited for his tip. He had
gone, and in going had softly dosed the bedroom
door behind him. In that flight, she felt, there was
something disquieting and stealthy; it was like being
treacherously abandoned by her last ally.
Miss Mabel Poole's apprehensions as to that ty-
rannical new patient of hers did not decrease as she
stared across the darkened room. She was, in
524
(£HE DOOR Oir DREAQ 32S
fact, the second nurse to be called in. The first
one, she had been told at the register in Strong's
drug-store, had been unceremoniously bundled back
within the hour of her arrival. The sick woman
had disliked her personality. And Miss Poole,
being still young and ardent, did not wish to share
her fate. So, nursing a human distaste for defeat,
she squared her young shoulders to the situation
with the solemn cheerfulness of youth.
"Wouldn't you like a little air in here?" was her
gently persuasive suggestion as she turned to open
her hand-bag.
The scarcely discernible figure on the bed did not
move.
"Are yuh the new nurse ?" asked a weak and qua-
vering voice.
Miss Poole, as she buckled on her fragile armor
of nurse's gingham, acknowledged that she was.
Then she crossed to the windows. But a sudden
command arrested her.
"I don't want those shutters opened!" called out
the querulous-voiced woman on the bed.
The newcomer stood thoughtful for a moment
or two. "But I think we could do much better with
a Uttle light" She spokt softly; but it :iias ifa^
326 7H£ DOOR 01^ DREAD.
rustling softnett of a bocage tliat madct a tnidiin»»
gitn.
'Then twitcb on that wall light beside the dresser
there!" was the invalid's petulant concessicm.
Miss Poole swstdied on the wan lig^ Hermind*
as she did so, pmnptly reverted to restrainmg-
sheets, for she was possessed of the dan^ening
suspicion that she was straddled with a road actress
in the twilight wont of delkium irement. But this
was only the girl's second case : and she was anxious
not to fail on it
"Did Doctor Wihon leave any instructions?'' she
asked, as a matter of form. For Bht was disagree*
ably oonsdous that die patksnt's head, raised from
the piUow, had been studiously regarding her from
the dim lig^t of the bed-comer. The hivalid, Miss
Poole observed, was a somewhat younger vroman
than she had expected
''I guess aiqr instmctioas yuh get vHH be comm'
f rcMn me f was the patient's announcement. A toot'
dant sense of huniMr seemed to relieve her w(»rds
of their posniblf bntskness.
Then st^posing we see if wa can't make yon
more comfortaWe,** suggested the young nurse, re-
numbering her trainuigHKhocl procedure.
THE DOOR OF DREAD. 327
Her pttient, hcmem, nther itartled iitf
denly tittiiig up in bed, with « vigoroiit fling of the
coverings tliat tent them over the f ooC4MMrd And
the quenslotii whimper htd oompletely gone from
that pfttienf s voice;
"Sit down r the oommuded.
Misi Pode. after four weeld on her lee^ jwi not
unwilling to ntdowa
"Are yuh a trained aitner
"Yeir
"And a Canadian?"
"Year
"Where do yvH come liomr
"Lucan."
"Where's Locanr
"A few ndks oirt of Londoo."
This, and still anodier thoqglitftil Impectioa of
the giri's face, seemed to reassore the woman on
thebed.
"Was your hst case a hard oner
".^ther. It was a boy with typ'ioid. I had to
be both day and ni|^ mrse-^and he diedr
"Well, yuh won't see me fdlow his exan^let And
yuh look tifeder than I do, ri^ wt ^
"X am tuedr admowie^ tiw gift
328 THE DOOR OF jmMhD
"Then what's the wKHr widi an easy cr f thU
time, with a room o' your own, and a threa4KMr
taxi ride every afteflKK»?"
A look of alarm promf^ came into Misa Poole's
honei;l lOntarian eyes.
"I'm a trained i rse," she primly aanotmced.
"Well, ttat's what I took yuh for!
"Bi^ you are not ill,' protetttd tba giri m tb;
striped hkat and white uniform.
The woman on the bed laughed a little
"Oh, yes, i ami I gotta be! For thr c or fou
iifaiyt I'm gmi* ^ be tlie sickest woman in this b^ Jc-
woods town o' yours. A&d if I'm uoi I gam^ I've
gctta have a nur e."
"I don't quite uaderstwd," ff oteiti ^aea-
dian girl.
"What'? your name?**
"Mabel roole."
"All right, Mabel. ikt ■ ^ l^xjfc'^— a d Vm
some judge o' maps! p is oryu re ^ hon-
est as d ylight and I ihaow it A^ if oh dom't
think the same about me, yuh can i su e o' - «■
first week s salary 1^ tak<n' a doub.. fee from
daHnoi ^ coin hag over ikt e on tbe dretierr'
**Bm T wm mai. to ti^ c»re of a patieirt."
THE TOOR OF DREAD 329
tke, but yvii'n tiw finicky-fingered kid I Now,
homy dHA, jnh Intai to me. Yuh're honest, and
I 'm gotti' to be honest with yuh. That's the best
^ ay, isn't it?^
'*! Atflk so," answeied the girf.
^ to begin with, I'm a i 'ant. I'm a pUnt
md n> -\m xtort/*
"A sehc d the girl in the uniform. She
WIS oegii ag to 2e daylight Here, after all,
m icmentia with deltisions. Here was a human
bciBg aOmlly userting herself to be a member of
tltt vegetable kingdom.
1 meaii,"MabeI, I'm in t^ lUsh-league burg o'
yotM on secret service."
**Oa secret service f" repeate irl
Toh ate't hep to what that s?**
The head imder the nurse's cap moved slowly
from dde to side.
"D*yuh know what a gumshoe is ?"
"No.-
**Well, I'm one," answered the woman on the
bed. 1 mean I'm here actip' for the federal au-
thorities at Washington. And in our country, Ma-
bel, that's about the same as actin' for the l^iftg
and queen of all the British £minre<"
330 THE DOOK OF! DREAD
"And what mtat you do?** asked the girl, ttndjr-
UIk uI6 WOmBu on wlC DCQ WlIU IIHBIBWWl DOS lull
V S I C Ot Bp SOBUMXOg tyt%.
"I gotta stay bttrkdr*
She nnikd at the girl's r et urain g kxdc of ahurm.
"I gotta stay huried in this hotel until four or fire
o* the biggest crooks that ever wore shoe-leather
sneak into this town for a secret conference.**
'"That sounds like mcvii^ {Mctures," saki the
young nune, witn oer conictnpiative eyes stiii sicep"
ticaL
It s g(x novur pictures stm^ to HiifH| tor tnat
bundi is so bad they daren't all get h^ oae town,
in our country, without bein* saelt out So thcy*Te
had to beat it up across tlw bolder, loiiie from tiit
East and some from the West And Fve had the
straii^t tip that Aqr're foin^ to meet her«, r^^
here hi tfua hold. As I say, tiicy were leeiy
bundihif up anywheres hi the States. And fittle
Sadie is goin* to gather 'em aB hL She^a fofai' to
do it widi her fitOe hatchet, first crack oat o' tiie
box. And when W&on and Danids and Ae oAer
big guns are gerry to what Fvt dooe ikgfn
u> WmK QOWB WiOt^B Bar gOIQ tO imBB OB •
Sertke medal siia of a soup-phinr
(
THE DCX)R OF. DREAQ 331
There were moments when the younger woman's
mmd seemed unable to follow the Gargantuan foot-
steps of her companion.
''Do you mean you are going to arrest all these
*Tm goin* to do more'n arrest 'em. I'ni goin'
to extradict 'em and have 'em go home with irons
on, and get the life sentence they've been workin'
overtime to earn."
The alarm on the young nurse's face dfd not ap-
preciably decrease.
"And what am I to do with all this?"
Sadie Wimpel sat on the edge of the bed, swing-
ing her feet. She even smiled a little, for she felt
sure that she knew her woman.
"Yuh're goin' to be my gay-cat"
"Your what?"
"Yuh're goin' to act as my stick-up. And that
needn't give yuh cold feet, dearie, for it won't be
any harder'n what yuh're doin' at this moment.
All yuh gotta do is wear a uniform and put me cut
flowers out in the hall ev'ry night and stand be-
tween me and the wide, wide world. I mean yuh
gotta keep me from hein' seen. Ev'ry gink in this
Indian-sign hotel's gotta think Vm h real fiitient,,
332
JBE POOR PF JDREAD
For Gawd only knows when the fitst o' that gang
'11 be bobbin' up here. And if he smelt a rat the
whote bundi 'd beat it for the tall timber. All yub
grotta do is answer the door and order meals am
ttsi; the {dione for me. I've been up talkin' with that
nke Idnd-eyed old Crown Attorney o' yours and
makin' depositions and havin' a couple o' pow-wows
with yoor city magistrate. So to-morrow yuh'U
have to drop round and get a bunch o' papers from
tlum for me to sign up. That's to oil the extra-
dictin' process and have the gang held here until
the Amurican authorities are ready to take 'em
over."
Miss Poole sat down in a chair beside the dresser.
She was too interested to be afraid.
'^ut I don't see how you, how any woman, can
actually arrest four or five men, especially men of
the kind you mention."
Sadie, as she thrust her toes into her bedroom
slippers, laughed quietly.
**Why, honey child, I don't have to handle 'em.
There'D be four or five cops from your ci - rce
to do the navvy work. And that strong-ar. ^uad
11 be waitin* and ready in a room in this hotel,
Syatchin' for me to give 'em the signal. And il
THE DOOR PF: DREAQ 333
there's any hitdi in thst Fve doped ont a titeie
for aendin' a posb-bell signal to the house-engineer
down-stairs, so's he can shot off the power and get
the bunch between floors in the elevator, once they
try to make a bieak lor tiie open. Ytdi see, aO I
gotta do is make sure I got my gang together. And
that reminds me: Yoh're goin' to have the room
directly above tiiis one. In a day or two Fra gcnn'
to be moved iq» to that room. IH have to make a
kidc about the noise— «iid Aere^s suve groond for
it, w^ tiiem Grand Trunk engbe-beQs foin* an
night and them street-cars poondin' across the sta-
tionnrails all dayf
"But why change rooms?" adced die yoong nurse.
"Because ^ is the room when that gang is
goin' to sit down and have its secret oonfereaoe.
They're goin' to sit down at ^t rotmd table tiiere,
rig^ under ^tat okl-fasfak»ed dandier, aad fan-
agine they're gettin' their money's worth because
they're & 19 by tfie heaviest brass-wock east of
Keokukr
Stifi again the younger woman seemed mMt to
follow her older co mpanio n.
"B^ hew. €ui you be sure they come to l^s
roomf
334
JHE DOOR OF DREAD
Sadie pained in tiie act of drofipiiig a ddrt over
her head.
"Thej gotta come hete, dearie, b'cause Fm goin'
to have this room rigged ttp ipedal for 'em. If
I can't work it any other way, IH engage ev'ry
other en^ room in iMs whole dnmp and pay for
it in advance. And thittH leave 'cm oidy tins one
to crawl into. Bat jthat am't tiie m^ortant point"
Sadie, having hooked her ddrt and kxked the door,
switdied on ^ rest of the lif^ Did ynfa ever
go to a county fair and see the mbes crowdin' is
to what they called a camtra obscmar
1 think I haver
"Of course yvk havel Wdl, I'm canyin* our
War Depa rtm e nt' s i mprovem e n t on thi^ an im»
p r ov emeut that was first worked out for our sub-
marine periscopes. Yuh see brass globe on the
bottom o' that oU daaddier that kwks as if it
come out o' the Aik? Well, Vm goia' to take off
that and set my 1^ kns in thne. IfB blend
in with the ornamental work and coiddn't be spotted
withamkroscope. Then afto- Fve had a hole cut in
the floor up hi your room, I'm goin' to set up my re-
frsetin' mirron. Tbm 9& I gotta do h adjust my
wUte leased £aL It may be too smaU to diov
THE DCXDR OF DREAD 335
ev'ry one nttiii' 'round this taiUe it oooe, bctfc by
revotrin* Hait dial I
the room on it But that ain't aH Yah lee tiiat
nifty ml paintm' o' seven biHous cows eathi' zinc
auarta off'n a hillside tiuU's been overrun with what
looks like a carload o' German mustard? Just pipe
that picture and that five^aefa plasler-ol-Fiuis gQt
frame, and tdl me if yuh see anything fecial
about it"
1 He gtn in the unitonn stuotea tne jHcture on tne
walL
"AH I can see is that it seerat an espeetalfy stupid
bit of painting."*
"The pahtthi* may be stoopid, but the plasterof-
Paris frame am't, not fay a k»g AtiL For if yuh
stand oa that chair and study them gi^-cofcred ty
perwwxt yun it see wnerc one u tnem tnrce-mcn
scrolls is ctrt away. Where tfiat scroti oqgteta be
18 tne annunciator ox a qiet a pno oe covereii wmi
gilt And them ^cture wires thai |po to Ae
mokiin' there are covered with siflc ffl)er. But ish
ittcad o^ iloppfai' 1^ ^e nol^^ tib^ (o r||^
4%^ mnM ^^HIm* m^Jt m^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^
wiiH a tebeiver sbb uiyHsen uMuminw wueu i gR
up tiMft. That mnsi I can A up fat tint tooaib
336 THE DOOR OF DREAD
like a firm' line liitaicr. IcaiiaitfatckwWiaiMldi-
case receiver at my ear and pidc vip wist I vm/k
to pick up, f(Mr if «^ one o' tkat boneli doent
show up, I sure wast to know wheae ke't at"
"But still I don't quite icfr— " began ^bt otktf .
"Well, in show ynh. Tohbottow Tm foin' to
be a pnttjr M woman. So wall have an dactri-
dan string a private wire ov-.. to Doctor l^t^lson's
office. This hotd knows I've got momgr to ban^
but they don't know it's comin' out o^ ytmr Unde
Sam's pocket That dectrictanll do the woik the
way I teU Um and hell carry the wh«8 19 thiei^
that floor. Where we stop 'em after Hmt wont
be any p' hk or anyho^ else's hnsinws. Then
we'll move up above Bid get fcadly. I'ttpowder^
till took ^ a hMtipsper and yAtL have 'en
carry me up on a str e tdm wfor wc^ie gsia' to do
this thing right Then, as soon as we saa ^ hmidi
is beginnin' to diow np^ Tm fob' to get worse.
I'm goin' to get so bad that yoht have to scad a
wire to Noo YcwIl Thafs ne home town. Yoh'S
i^ f gncph for a qwrialitt to beat it hete as qdck
as a train can bring hhn. YWU have to wife to
Beetor Wilsnach to omm at onee. And jtk rasf
^^^^^^^ - ■ < • ^^^pvwqpip aPWWwM^Htt
THE DOOR of: DREAR 337j
oAatc w o p p cc i ^c ai KiTy ana Rifea wmi^^ib >»
tfie wiA opposite her. "And alUir^i;** tfie/ve bodi
pretty clever specialists in their \ they're gdn'
to arrhc just a UtAt too kte fnr tJiis opeiBtioo..
Fmt &e case is sote (oin' to be worad b'lont
then bi^ (MM get their Idt Uud oirtf
'3at won't there be danfor? Woo^^"
Again Sadie ct^ Uie other diort
"For ynhr she d rman d ed . "Or lor nte?*
The Canaditti girl bhished.
I'm afraM I was tiihddng more abook nysdl."
die had ^ honesty to admowiedfe.
"And ytdi're gettsn' cold Icet?"
"It's not so nmdi a aatler of cM lee^ m yoQ
can it But it's aB s»— so new to me. And I
ra^er wUh you-— you hacfai^ tsiwB me hilo yomt
oQofidmee la thb wnr."
leinpiainre wsa noc nBizMDoi^ ^ea me weo juuug
&ce (^po^te her*
Xio, aeanef mere wont oe asymiiig new aoouc
it Aflynh'regotfaidoMbewhatyBhaw^atTimwt
mtfie ami a ntee aean4rnn gin. it iMte was any
tning 8 m s i wosKm™ tfy to ft
dccot skirt into h, lU's seovt fiQi^ ind ^a gotii
3aS THE TOOR OF DREAD
•taj lecret, and the lord-mayor o' Lnonll never
even know yuh'vc been gay-cattin' for a gwndioe
expert. And if yuh're a quitter Fve rare nadt
the mistake of my lifeT
Still again the younger wonna fafanliod a little.
"I don't thinic I'm what yon cafl a quitter. But
there's your own tide of tlie caie. In't a iMag
like this dangerous for yoar*
"HuUy gee, child, I gotta eat danfer in a caSin'
like minel That's my jofa^ tddli' dttnees. And
the only thmg thafs wonyior i* wMier yuli'rt
goin' to stick it oot or not"
'T think yon cui oooBt 08 nt," tiie CuMto ^
very quietly announced.
A sigh of relief esci^ SaiSe.
"Then s'porai' we get down to cmcs," ike said,
as she seated heisdf with a tdsphooe directory on
her top. Tor I sore don't want any loopkoles in
thow exlfadicttoa jfocudlii'i r*
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
MISS MABEL POOLE both by tnining and
tempenment was not ghen to exchabUity.
But two dayi teter, as Sadie Wmipd sat in her
upper room Hke a lender at the oenter of its web»
the young trained nurse began to grow into a rcali-
satton of the dramatic vahKS of the ntnation about
her. She eonld not tpitu undefsland the game, but
sne was opoiqf imcr s si eo m ns movemcnn. abii
they were mo fe m e irts all new to her eyes. She
object so Q» a gunmetid watdi widi a couple of
ihoe-strings dangling from it, her alert-mhided oom-
pa wKw was ane to ovemear ai^ won* yo aen m
the room bdow them. And the adventure was al-
ready under way.
She had been hifected with an cdio of Sadie's
*i(if i#^ wi— 1^ as Qie let If f ItcteniiK iBAeBuV wi #fi tfis
nri crophooe at her ear» suddenly kaned forward,
turned a swftdi and began dowly revolving th
polidied white dial which stood on the small table
at the center of the room. She had caufl^t the
339
340 THE DOOR OF DREAD
other wonnn't laint gasp of satis£ictioii u tw
diminislied figures, dear in outline for all the prii
matic tinu which haloed their images, crossed th
face of the dial.
"That's Andefanan V said Sadie under her breatfe
Then she added : ''Andefanan and a belMwy. He'
puttin' the hand-bag at the foot o' the bed and opcnin
the window. And thafs Andefanan taldn' the ke:
from the outside o' the door and puttin' it on tb
mnde. Which is the fit and proper thhig for anj
crook to da The b(^ is addn' hhn if he wants iea
water. ... So he wants a highball, does he
to steady his nerves a bit I Whidi same isn't to hi
wondered at. Mister Anddmanf*
Sadie, leaning intently forward, continued to tun
the dial slowly ab(»it
He's giiren the boy a quarte^-whidi ou|^
be quite a handsome tip for the Tecumadit And
thaf a a cigarette he's ligfatin'." The dial becami
en^ty of aS movement "And now he's out o'
readk"
Sadies with tiie watch-case leoeiver still at hei
ear, turned suddenly to the other womaa
'"IhSeA^ I W8i^ yt& to. scoot down to ^ office
and adE il thete'i aq^ mail for se. And yAm
THE POOR PP: PR£Al>
341
yuh're at the desk I want yuh to look at the register
and find out what name that man put down there,
and where he pretends to come from. And lock
that door when yuh go out and take the key with
yuh."
The young nurse started on her errand without
tomment, for during the last forty-eight hours she
had learned not to be too inquisitive as to the mean-
ing of things. There liad been too many move-
ments to puzzle her, even to being sent to Cowan's
hardware store for a Colt automatic and to the
house engineer in the basement with a jten-dollar
bill sealed up in an envelope.
When she returned to the room with the informa-
tion that the newcomer had signed himself as
"Adolph Weininger," of Milwaukee, she found
Sadie once more leaning intently over the glazed
dial
•That's Heinold who's just come in," was the
staring woman's whispered comment. Then she no
longer watched the dial, but sat with inclined head,
all her attention directed toward the microphone
at her ear. "Hully gee, they're talkin' Magyar I"
she muttered, and there was disappointment in her
yoice.
342 THE DOOR OF, DREAD.
zee M ■Qe hk Tneiif 8i • mcc oi v^ecmK cmicOt
•M fcininow OM yoinifBr wobub of a mum cm
Mfttcd cloM ofcr ft inoiiM4iol<t Bat ttfl tiN witdi
fffffffij VVVm mUMpQ XOs PVvv* MIQ SQiCi* SUB y^pm
■pnw&ic tad an btt Utai^ Kript Tlmihtd^
•■t^tArft ti^M- ■iiaaiit nai I^^^^^^m a^.^ ^tl^t ■ J^^m.
wsQEU DEm ^u^^S^u^Mm K^^k^B^^^B Q^^H ^^HB KH^SBfli
V m^w^s a^w* wot^mwwmv ■pww^^vim mh^v vMvm vbsotb w^vf ^smpw*^
phoM receiver. But itiB As witdb cofltiBBstf* As
boor pueed away.
The gkl in tiie wilom, tind of Hfiiiidtd ae>
vp tiM book and twaed ta aindliwoifc witm Sa^
loofcfd up ift^ aihad Ae tiaM>
laeju COOK m on mm wyai mn^ noii onv
giaka*" die finally ■■artid. "Ym, on tlK a^
train-41i bet my hatr Aad eowdlid her
dme^abie to make mm of Ike boor of ita arrifil.
And after agibi tumimi to bip hutniBwati At as*
notmeed wiib a tl^ tiHtf tbt fooai ptt oact sKwa
So ttcy tock advtnttgi <rf tiw hfl ta til tkik^
axtl tofether. Tbea tkt tiqra me ctivitd amgr
Mu iM CM oaov mora ctoocbm omt immommkm*
* A ^ ^ILa A&M^ft 9f\m ^^^b ^^^^^^ ^^^ft^ j^J^ f^H^^^A ^^^^^^
/!• isB ppp joc aii^i mai mai nt jHEtK stM;
THE DOOR OF L^EAD 343
n3i% I wMifc I eoohl fol oolte M iMit lor ImII
te ImnhtI Fd MM dp MOW tkttHUkf tottsA Mi
iown tial'd mitt tikow wept wtSk l^hMT
thm MfAfav I an do lor yovr aiM fl»
yoom iMftt. Sbt WM too ffwrtcw to rndL tlM
1^ M toe tfd* wMi a MM of IdddM dmw to
uiaK M sKwe BMOitiromi swt MB Bw flyno Mr
and tfm^ io ddogi HmH hti MMind ber frit 1%
'Tdi aa lim «p Hit ddef.* wat Sodi^t
reiponM^ BS Mm to iMld Ut Mfli for twt
canr'
'Wuif .:iauTaAtdtte^
ThtoWofpoiita Hm^ 1^ mndMT wHitM
on tilt win f if IT am to lia e« Htl
Hm vbw> 8hi iowt
Sidie*s
plioat^ lor the
had coot tip to htf
sne rcvoifw atr
•ad AadAnoB had l Uui m d to tfwir wm But
wMttfc mu usu BCT WW MB MB BHK SB^fiitt WOOffK
atfMflM
344 THE DOOR OF DREAD
She leaned dowr over the dial, ttarfaig intently
at the forediorteiied haage of thia nan aa he took
off his hat and his forehead She notked
the low receding Une of that forehead aa it fan back
into the delta of the bald head, the square and bony
jaw, the wide sbpe of tiie loose-haQg sho ulde rs.
And her study of that simian figure did not leave
her long in doubt She knew it was Canby, the
same Cai% who had acted as Mtnaa's botkr ki
New York at Ike time of the coart-gun ^fts.
'nihat's three of them r die said under her bftath.
Then she k>oked and listened again, for the three
men had ranged themselves about tiie table (Hrectfy
under her kns* wad Anddman had produced a pack
of cards and a pocket case of c^ps. Thij were
about to mask tkekr conferenee, she saw, by pre-
tending that k waa a himify game of poker.
HeinoM was indolentl y eountiog out Ike ^^a
Tvken a knock sounded on the door. ItwuAndd-
man, Sadie saw, who rose to answer that knock.
She waited, b r s athk is , imtH she saw Anddman'a
figure ag^a move across the dial Then dose be-
hind thk figure moved anotho*, a shorter and
■touter igur^ a figwi Aat waBnd w^ a bkd-l3Ga
iwdjfle, tooteig fai diminuendo man than mm
THE DOOR OF DREAD 345
a Uitbe and rul»cu»i dd rdbin. She could see the
ch ec ker ed nik handkcrdiief at he blew hit note and
the keen cncktnfw of his eye ai he tofied h» Mtk^
n^ced body slowly about «id made a iilent yet care-
ful in^Mctkm of the room. Thea he sat down.
**Thafs Wallaby Sam! And that ihakes four o'
thcnf nid the woman watching tin 4W I| lotto
voce.
"Shoidd there be more Uian fonrr adced Miia
Pode.
'nrhere dioiski be five o^ themf'
Then who is tiie odierr
It's KeodeS," w Msp eied bade
Do yoo— do yoo hvm to wait for lamT*
Sadie snorted*
He's tlK Ug wafoar
"I doi^t quite mderstaod."
"In plain Unked S tates^ Im^s snfo s^pwet^
the whde posh! Andht'stheooelfottafetr
The sstnation sttH seemed to perplex Mist Mabel
Poole.
lain wajy oont yon oavt «• oneurs wup m
and artaal ^ese four mo^ and |il ^e twissiw|f om
when he eeiMa?"
For iieead thne Sa^ envied a hoot
i
'C
~^ ' ii
m
346 THE DOOR OF DREAD
And throw « ican koto M Ug cum tiiaf 4
keep htm roOia' till tht hesTenlj cows OHt homtl
Noton jourfilcdttricl That'i not wty to— "
She MKideiilj faraht off mid m wfth iadiiwd Iwid,
listenhig to tiM foindt Ihit tridded hilo tier Mr ovtr
the wire.
'Thikf 1 Aaddmia tefcfiioidtf, and idiaf t
nine old poMword they med on Dorgin in tfw
gtn-nap dai^-polkadot And no gink who ain't
a oouBter-jim^cf eayt poikadot into a phone tnwa-
B^ter lor aothhi\ do they, Mabel? FnMB whidi
even a pfadMnd l&e me can argue that heTa taidn'
to one o' (he hoidL And ^ oo^a fotte he Kf»>
d^ And tiiat nawa oar friorf Kcodrfi M%
more'n a tbooaaad niM MMf Ipmi Mb hM, m
way rate.**
^^gr^^^ •••• wm^^MH^^MH^ ■■HHpiipw^ ^^HtJ^
fag op htr dtaip>€iit Spa ai llv ilhMlias*
Then ihc ttuMtthi mat to Imp ImI.
'1 fiMM, If^ yiH can neiif if ifet iMMt
to thai laiepri^ oAct and wilt ioflliil M ^
diMto. For 4^ loofc ii iMI# I m pli^ tf
ha uim lii hilaii to ■ wriwr . I mff wMtt
J^fi^fe^r ^K^tifsa^i to* flar tiha fl^ ^(MB hj^afli
^ loiia Ua aliMl, ^ iiii jfiii f(p
THE DOOR O^ DREAD
347,
sign il XHmrf"^ Me tiwi it foet litnii^ to
uK Bmi pcwwiinr vw
Tbt jooBf tn^nd mum ifipytd k^to li nfanoit
tfiA ft wtfwtHt tad tqr oo flMMit mfogBHil
MUM of ncitm cBt Innricd 4mri lbt<Mi||i t he lw ld
When ilw iilMiiiiL ftmf^ mimm hier, A»
fouai htr patiMt itg iMM% iliifi f tedM
of lbs cflMiMi ofticmv Ir '
f^^^^K ^^^^^ V^^uifb ^^A^^^^^^ MA
^•^^^R^P ^^^^^ ^^^B^^^^^^ww
iMt AfMHI twim MKlBd idbMt WM CfCB '
C^^^^^^^— ^ ^^^^^^
csaqor* The elfrfft of nmgr *
ilM Ihi^ ki tfaed her eat MbMif
mtfida^ Ae adMMMfidt coolt
lenM l» #i — ih i g fiilMi ihe hoi
«
348
THE DOOR OF. PREAQ
the more patient-eyed woman sj' ting alert and in-
tent before a glazed white dial, with a dictaphone
receiver clamped over her ear. She reminded the
heavy-eyed girl of a crystal-gazer sitting above her
globe, with her thoughts on the incomprehensible.
Then, as her brain grew drowsier, it made her think
of the huddled figure in one comer of Michelan-
gelo's Last Judgment — a figure that was both tragic
and brooding and had haunted her mind from an
art print in her childhood home.
Then the watcher, with her utter absence of
movement, seemed to become something grotesque,
merging into a gargoyle on a lonely to 'er, crouch-
ing silent and cynic, over a world wrapped in dark-
ness. Then the attenuated chain of thought melted
into sleep itself, and the picture became a blank.
The girl was wakened from that sleep by a shake
from Sadie Wimpel's hand. She sat up at once, for
she was used to sudden calb.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Where'd yuh go to send that telegram?" de-
manded the other woman. It was plain to see that
scmiething had haj^tened to disturb her.
"Why?"
THE DCX)R OF DREAD; 349
"Btcmm Yyt jtist picked a point er i«o ffom
tint btmcli mdeniaith us.**
1 went to the tdegrq^ office a couple of falod»
Thafs tiK
up Richmond Strec
hotd is on*"
Did any one tail yoli when yvBH went ito ^
office?**
'Tail me?**
Te8» ihadow yidi? Follow yuh there?**
The giri on the bed tat thinldnf it om.
'Vo, nobody loOowed me. I'm foite mm of
that**
"Bttt did Tiih.ice anybody? Or p^ any^aif
sttspicioiii ?**
''No, nothing in any way w e pidow .'*
"And yidi*re dead lore nobody followed yiih to
that office?** pemeled tiie other*
"Not a io^ The oi^ perton I tiw, c.-tiidi of
tihe operator, waa wi old men i^aad^ dwe. Ha
wai
pccting a wke from hit wil^ oo her wi^ badi Iran
M omit Oeme^^ He expliined ^Mt ha ^di^ Ibhw
wiucti train to meec
"What ^Kd^itcMnHHi lode ttbt? T^ini^dMtfii^
r'
il
350
THE DOOR QF. DREAD
think, for I sure've got to get this thing ttnii^
What was he like?"
"He was a big man and he wore big glasses with
blue lenses. And he was rather old, I should say."
"And there was nothin' else yuh noticed about
himr
The girl was silent for a moment or two.
"I remember one thing, now. There were a num-
ber of crisscross marks on his cheek. I r emembe r
wondering what could have caused them."
Sadie Wimpel heaved a sigh. The girl could
not tell whether it was one of relief or of resig-
nation.
"Was he fair or dark?"
"He was fair, I think. Yes, he must hkwt been
fair, for I noticed that his eyetHX>ws were a yellow-
ish gray."
Sadie sat down on the side of the bed.
"That man was Keudelir she quietly announced.
But the Arctic feet of uiKounted mice, for all the
dder woman's quietness, ran up and down the
young nurse's spine.
"But that man didn't even look at mt^ p ro tes t ed
tfie girl. "He didn't know why I went tlmt, or
iwrfaat I tHTought."
:e:he door of, dreaq
351;
352
.THE DOOR OF. DREAP
rm in thb holeL Thafi oertda, or tfaejr woaUnlt
•tUl be ftnoldn' down there in that room. AndKen-
IdeS himseif doem't loiow it ytt, or he'd htvt tipped
'em off tad had 'cm dock lor ^ open."
She sat deep in thought for a moment or two.
The yotmfer woman, who had dipped ont of bed,
begin to dren.
**BiA l3m man yon call Keoddl woukfai't come
heie, to thia room, would htT*
"Ketiddl'd do aiQrtMnf . And I gnesi well know
hit fimit befoai tfv n^ is over." She rose to
her feet and hiviiid aeross the room to makt sttre
that the door was locked. Then, after htrther safe-
guarding this door by sUdfaig to the heavy brass bdt
acrewed against it, she stood, with nanhiathre tytB,
regarding tiie room.
19 ICnock softly* sign still haagin' on the
oot^ o* ^ door?"
Tcs," answtied the girl, as she Utrnst her wfate
aran trough a petticoat.
'^dl, go to the pixme, please^ and send a nea>
sage down to the office. I tee Fm gohi' to be pretty
k>w to-nlgl^ and I waitt yah to warn 'em that your
p^ient's not to be disturbed, not to be dktoM on
•B/ ■ocounc
iTHE PCX)R OF, DREAQ
353
ledtd aad MliwrilitHv, •• llw operator WM
and the tMtnft was dflfy ddhrtrtd.
ioppoeiiig tluit nan ilioald eoow hmr in-
qtsiffdtiiepfackkaMadedlliii Poole. The newer,
convkxioii of mogt wm plafai^ disturhiiic her.
She had n8Aed eiiriteiiwnli bet there were timee
:iHien cxdleneBt eoidd eone too dooe for oomlort,
•*0h, I foeie worae thtega codd h^ipen," Tm»
SM» caenal retort, as the croesed the room and
oaee more took «p her ^eti^hociereeehrer. '^That'd
at haat fat ne hep to iHm he was," ahe contiiKied,
as she ifpied inetrmnettt to her ear. "And
knowU" where KcadeQ is oui^ he me fifit aha
hi fifef*
She 9Med snddeafy about, and heni over hec
rrhe/re §M oat afahi, tiw hmOi ^
tumr
She sit Irawahv ORFcr ^ enptjr !i4dto sorfMe,
The Md patienajr watcUaf her.
«M iMi can die flMn 70a ci^ Keod^ kacnc
joofre hi M rooni, or «vcb hi this hoUir fha
fsBtSSnf dsBHBded.
Sadie^ ailtf noddhi |^ tUMiwttsptfi^ Ofar hsr 4id
354
THE DOOR OF, PREAQ
and pattiag 6emn Iwr rectivtr, itt p cn teim tUt
quest 'on.
"Don't yah t'poM Kmidell «w yoli bnt it IimIi
here?"
"I don't think he could have. In the fint phce,
yoo yourself said he had to wait to overhear our
nemge. And hi the second place, there was a
crowd at the comer of Yorke Street when I came
back, a crowd right north of the hotel here, for a
policeman had stopped a man for speeding."
"How'd that ever hide uh from Keudell? That
guy could tail yuh a thouMod niika and yidi'd nmr
know it"
"But I had to push throu|^ thia crowd, right faito
it, and at first I couldn't get awqr again. And I
would surely have noticed a hufe man like Keudell
if be had been anywhere about. The crowd had
closed in so thick that I edged toward the policeman,
for I intended to tell him I was a trained nurse and
aak him to help me throui^ a* I waa m a hnny.**
"/UKldidhe?"
"He was too busy talking with the nan he had
stopped to notice me. I heard aome one say that
his car had made the eighteen mikt Iram St
Thomaa m a little under Pma/tf-mimk niinatei» and
THE DOOK pp. PREAQ 355
didn't «««Bdo«r«p at tiMcHgrteili. TiMiIlMMd
worn out ^ tliqr Iw ft dottar.
Ttel iaMmtd and I mMI ft wtiSt to IM ^
woddlMVpaiL Bol tfM flMHUvanrt ft doelor, ftlter
an, fori WW hfan takt a paper oat of hto pocktt
■od dw«r it to tlM pottoMMB and fift UN edge
of Ilia coat wiMC ha ted ft litda liim dMd piaaad."
"A wtetr* inappad Sa«a Winipd, awiaginf
ahatplx aboot
•*A fittk MM made of liKfr, a good deal Wm
mmm of onr cia» jim, ot&f not lo taaai.''
"Aad wtet did cop do tiKB r
*leaw kirn point badttowafdte American Coo-
ndaia oOoe on Yoriea Street Tten te poAed tfie
cfowd hade and let ^ nan into the eidc en-
traaea of ^ teld. I knew thrt was ngr d«Me,
eo I foOowad deaa after tek"
''Wtet did Oi^ man kMk Vktr
Tte gill waa aSeat lor a oneMBt or two^ ap-
paiaa^ atwq^ to li iM aM i a ter nmnwy ei Ite
etraagar'a fan.
**Mit ted a inoto^cap pnBad dom ovar Ida fora*
tead and te wore a pi^ of dioae big mkft fog^
eo I conlda't aee nmdi of Ida fMa. Bnttevaaa
nioe-looktog niaa» and ratter praliMiQHMaaMiib
MClOCOfY RBOUITION TBT CHAIT
(ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2)
^ /APPLIED \MA3E Inc
356
THE DOOR of: DREAD
I should say. I don't think he could have been more
than thirty-five.'*
Sadie was on her feet by this time. The younger
girl seemed quite unable to comprehend the source
of her excitement.
"But, hully gee, what was he likef. Fat or thin?
Tall or short? Fair or dark?"
Again the girl patiently tried to retrace the un-
certain footprints of memory.
"I think he was a little above medium height
And he was rather thin."
"And a little gray over the ears?"
"Yes, his hair was dark, but gray about the tem-
ples. I remember that. And I remember his jaw-
line, now that I come to think of it. It was hard
and clean-cut, and from the casual manner in which
he viewed the crowd and from the way he talked to
the officer I thought he must be a man of aflfairs,
a man who was in some way used to power."
"And yet he came from St Thomas I JVhat and
Where's St. Thomas?"
"That's a city nearly twenty miles south of here.
It's—oh, I remember now, he explained to the offi-
cer that he wasn't the owner of the car, but had
wired to have it waiting for him/'
JHE DOOR of: dread. 357
**Wiwd from wherer
*Trom aboard a }itw, York Central train."
"But what train?"
"It must have been ^ Wolverine--that's the flier
that cuts throui^ western Ontario between Niagara
Falls and the tunnel at the Detroit River."
'Trom Noo Yawk?" suddenly demanded Sadie.
**Ye8," yna the girl's answer.
"And he came into this hotel?"
"Yes; but I don't tiiink he took a room, for I
feel sure he didn't register. Instead of stopping at
the desk, he said a word or two to the clerk, who
came out and hurried with him to the elevator.
Then tfaqr were both whidced off t^-stairs."
"To whidi floor?"
"I don't kiK>w, because I came up by the stairs."
"What'd yuh do that for, at a time like this?"
The yoni^^ girl stared at her dder conqpanion.
The strain, she saw, jm begi nn ing to teU (m her
patienf • nerm.
"Because yestettlay you said that would always
be the safest Vay."
"Ami yuh saw ndbody in the halls, after that,
or around any o' the doMTs? Yuh didn't any-
358 THE DOOR DREAD
"Not a thing. I remembered what you had al-
ready told me about keeping my eyes open. And
if there had been a sign of anything out of the
ordinary I should have remembered it."
"Any thing out o* the ordinary !" gasped Sadie.
She smiled a little as she stared into the young
nurse's wondering face. Then she looked at the
disordered bed. "And there jruh were, sleepin' like
a babe, with all this stowed away in your innocent
young nut !"
"All what?" asked the amazed girl.
"Why, child, don't yuh realize what this means?
That man who came into this hotel is the man we
wired for.last night That man vtas WUsnach him-
self!'*
"But he couldn't have got our message, if — "
"Of course he couldn't. But bein' in the Secret
Service himself, and workin' on this case, he must've
bumped into a tip on his own hook. Then, natu-
rally, he just made a runnin' broad jump for where
he knew this gang was holdin' out !**
The young woman looked relieved.
"Then he can step in and take this case off your
hands? He can get you away from all this dan-
ger?*
THE DOOR OF DREAD
359
Sadie laughed.
"I gotta keep him away hom all this danger!
I gotta put him wise to the ropes that've been laid
around here. For I sure 6oa'i ynoA that man takin'
risks, if I can help it I**
"But why should you worry about him?" adced
the nurse, as she adjusted her cap on mahogany
brown hair which Sadie r^;arded as altogether too
primly coiffured.
"Because there ain't another man like him in all
the world," was Sadie's quite unexpected answer.
Her capacity for surprising her younger oon^an-
ion seemed without limit.
"Then you know him?"
"In a kind of a way," was Sadie's ironic retort.
Then she once more became studious. "But the
stunt we gotta face is how to get in touch with him.
It's ten to one he's told that night clerk to keep his
trap shut. But the first thing we can do is see if
he'll talk or not!"
"What shall I ask him?" inquired the girl as she
crossed to the telephone in answer to the older wo-
man's gesture.
"Ask him for the room number o' that specialist
who just blew in from Noo Yawk to-iii|^ the
360 THE DOOR OF; DREADj
one he took up-stairs without waitin* to register — •
and give him to understand that man's business is
also yo rs !"
Sadie, who from time to time had been applying
the dictaphone receiver to her ear, suddenly turned
about and bent over the dial again.
"The bunch is back 1" she announced with olm-
ous relief.
But the girl at the telephone did not hear her,
for her attention was centered on the words com-
ing to her over the wire. She suddenly turned about
to her companion.
"He's in the office now. They caught him on his
way down-stairs, and the night clerk wants to know
if he'll put him on the wire."
Sadie started toward the telephone. Then she
hesi* ted.
"No," she concluded. "Ask that clerk to send
him up to this room as soon as he can come.**
Sadie, as this message was being delivered,
crossed to her dresser mirror, viewed the face in
it with open disapproval and promptly proc<. ided
to rearrange her hair. Then she with equal prompt-
ness powdered her nose, rubbed a moistened finger-
end along her eyebrows, and again studied herself
in the glass.
THE DOOK of: DREAD
361
"I gotta face like a Dutch cheese!" she an-
nounced. The confinement and anxieties of the last
few days had left it tired and colorless. So she
discreetly switched out all the lights except the small
bulb beside the dresser. But even that did not quite
satisfy her. She was fumbling through her dresser
drawer for a rouge-tube yrhen a knock sounded on
the door.
Even the younger girl, as Sadie motioned for
her to answer that knock, was not unconscious of
the momentary exaltation ^nrhich shone in her com-
pomon's tired eyes.
Sadie sank into a chair at the end of the shad-
owy room. It astonished her that the mere thought
of seeing Wilsnach again could so upset her. As
she watched the door and told herself that with its
opening all her world would surely change, she was
conscious not only of quickened pulses and equally
quickened breathing, but also of a vague yet vast
weight being lifted away from her spirit. There-
after, she knew, everything would be differect
Wilsnach would be with her.
She leaned forward, listening for his voice. She
watched the striped blue and white back of the girl
in the doorway, vi^uely wondering why the familiar
362 THE DOOR OF DREAD
accents had failed to reach' her ear. Then an even
greater surprise took possession of her.
For, although she heard a voice, it was the voice
of the girl »lone. And it rose shrill and expostu-
latory an<* ■ j punctuated by the thump of the door
as it wr iiung back and swung flat against tiie
papered wall She saw then that for a brief sec-
ond or two a struggle had taken place, that the
trained nurse had been sed to one side, and was
now running with little sous of terror down the full
length of the red-carpeted hallway.
But Sadie Wimpel's thoughts no longer centered
.cm the nurse. It was the towering figure which
stood just inside the door that held her attention.
iThe discovery that it was Keudell facing Y
her passive, with a shadowy wonder in hr;
That passivity was not due to fear. It was based
more on the reluctance of her mind to accept the
totally unexpected. She required time to digest her
shock. She fotmd herself compelled to reiterate,
as she stared at the approaching figure, that this
man was not Wilsnach, but KeudelL And Keudell
was her enemy. And her eauay was Bdvzadag
upon her.
She could see the smile of tritmiph which showed
THE DOOR OF DREAD 363
his white teeth. Btst instead of depicting merri-
ment, that shuster contraction of tiie buccinatoiy
muscles seemed more like the unmasking of a bat-
tery, seemed more menacing than even the wink
of the polished metal of the revolver in his hand
as that hand moved tqmard.
She was not crafty, now, for there aeoned to
be no time for crafting In that austere Tooment
of finalities she came austerely to the point For
she knew exactly what hv intended to do.
**Yuh can't do it I" she quietly aniKmnced. **Yuh
can't do it and get away!"
This warning, ^e saw, meant nothing to Keudbl],
for Keudell was no longer a sentient and reason-
ing being. He was a blind accumulation of instincts
harrying him to strike before he himself could be
struck. His will was a city with all its wires down*
There was no way by which she could send a mes-
sage into its stomifStrickai central offices. No vdoe
could reach him; no word could strike home to the
still judicial vaults of reason. It would be like
trying to argue with a tiger. He would aet^ and
act at ODct,
Yet even ttgers» abe remembered, Ir : been held
back by mystoy, fay a ttdmf in dayli^^ or a $st-
364 JHE POOR OF, PREAD.
bnnd at ni^^ And the dapw of even m nunme,
she next poignantly remembered, ndgfat be the
means of her salvatioo-Hnust be die meant of her
salvation, something indonyitabie in her cowering
body suddenly called up to her. And with that
rebound of mortal hope came a retnm of gnile» a
forlorn knowledge that life food and something
to be f oui^ for to die end.
"Yiih're goin' to croak me," she said, staring
across the shadowy room hito the face yrlMi she
could not distinctly see. **But before yuh do it
I'm tellin' yuh where your codes and goa diarts are.
The/re lyin' there in dii^ bureaa diaWa «Aiiddie
sttixnanne plans^™"
It was both f orlom and foolish, and the trudi
of this she realized as her dty lips failed in utter-
ing the words themselves. She came to a titop, for
Keuddl's ^e had fallen on her instruments of es^-
onage in the center of the room. And that discov-
ery, she knew, sealed her fote. There was mudi
bitterness in his guttural baric of a lau^ for it todk
only a glance for him to realise the meaning of die
microphone and its wires.
'*So you got that farf he said. And agahi his
.eye wavered, caught as a child's m^xt be by the
THE DOOR OF DREAD 365
movements of an automaton, held by the strange
sight of the diminutive figures moving about on the
glazed white dial.
This, apparently, was something new to him.
And the mystery deepened as he took a step or
two forward and beheld the figures of his own col-
leagues from the periscopic mirrors of the ap-
paratus. It took on a touch of the uncanny, of
black arts that defied explanation. For one vital
moment it arrested and held his attention.
There before him he could see the moving, breath-
ing, gesticulating images of his own fellow conspir-
ators. There were the four of them, Heinold, An-
delman, Breitman and Canby. Avi even as he
stared down at them the drama on that diminutive
stage of mystery shifted and changed. He could
see the four figures erupt into sudden activity.
Heinold caught at a chair-back and swung it above
his head. Andelman dropped low behind the table.
Canby, wheeling sharply about, whipped a revolver
from his pocket and thrust it in front of him with
a slight stabbing motion. At the same instant, from
below stairs, came the sound of a shot, thick and
muffled, synchronizing with the movement of the di-
ininutive figure as neatly as the off-stage "business"
366
THE DOOR OP DREAD
t
of a melodrama. Keudell could see the thin cloud
qf tmoke drift acroM the dial-face, for a moment
obscuring the figure*. But he realized, as he
watched, that those figures were contending with
other figures, that a circle of men with poised re-
volvers were closing in about his four startled col-
leagues, that Heinold, who tried to break through
this agitated yet constricting circle, was clubbed back
and clapped into handcuffs the moment he fell
sprawling across the table-legs.
Keudell did not fail to comprehend the final
meaning of that spectacle. It meant defeat and
capture for the men on whom he had depended.
It meant the end of everything. But in compre-
hending this there yras one thing that escaped his
attention.
That was the movement of Sadie Wimpel, who
had sat bent forward in her chair, with her earnest
eyes on his face as he advanced into the room.
It was as his own eyes widened with wonder at
the pantoscopic vision confronting him from the
illuminated dial that Sadie, in the shadowy back-
ground, slipped from her chair, bending low like
a track runner awaiting the starting signal, with
the tips of her fingers almost touching the carpeted
. .1
THE DOOR of; DREAQ 367.
floor. But in reality she awaited no signal. She
saw the still o|ien door and bolted for it.
She felt, all along, that it was absurd, as absurd
and hopeless as her only too obvious lie about the
stolen gun charts being in the bureau draw ^ut
any movement, however foolish and f utile, . 'tow
better than mere passivity. To remain longer qni-
ii^Q^nt was out of the question. Even a rat, she
reminded herself, would not die meekly in its comer.
She braced herself, mei.tally, for some indeter-
minate sense of bodily shock, for sh? knew that
before she could reach and round that open door
the leveled revolver in Keudell's hand would be
following her movements. Yet the mere leap of
mind from one plane of ought to another, the
tatrt act of directing thai revolver faarrd on her
body, involved at least a ponderaUe ^aoe of time.
There woi lu be a :ions second or tmo, the knew,
before Keudui ootdd cover her. And no rtrert-cat
could have been more ag^le than that white-faced
girl who knew Ait was running for her life.
Sht did iMt reach ibe door before the shdf rang
out Btrt she knew, as A» caught at the frame-
work and swung about into tfie hall, that the bullet
had failed to readi her, firmly as her body had been
368 JHE PCX)R OF DREAQ
braced to nxet its impuL She realized, with an
exultation whidi expressol itself in an unwilled and
atavistic scream of trium^ that Keudell's first diot
had missed.
That shout was still cm her lips when she awak-
ened to the fact that her path along the hall was al-
ready blocked. She saw, even before she realized it
was Wilsnach himself, that a hurrying body, running
toward the door, was confronting her own as it
staggered away frcnn that portal of perils. She
thought, as she collided with this figure, that it was
one of her enemies frc»n below stairs. Then, as
she realized it was indeed Wilandi, a new terror
swej^ through her. She swung about and caught
at his arm as he stundbled past her, readiing for his
revolver as he went For she knew that he must
be stopped.
She clutched at him, dtmg to him, choking in her
breathless efforts to warn him bade And ht ig-
mind her articulate struggles, plainly thinking her
a little mad, for ht shodc her off, almost impa-
tiently. She was still holding him bade by his right
arm, swung somewhat behind him in his effort to
reach his hip podcet, srhen Keudell's huge figure
blocked iht doorway.
THE DOOR OF DREAD 369
She did not actuaUy see the revdver still in
enemy's hand. She was no more consdous of it
than she was of the figufes that crowded dose at
Wilsnadi's heels. All she saw was the malignity
of Keiidell's heavy and colorless face. In its slightly
vacuous and fodiidi-lodcing eyes she hdield <»ily
ven(»n. It was the ven(»n of ultimate and tuirea-
scming hate. And she knew only too wdl what it
meant
At tiie same moment that she wondered why
Keudell did not raise his weapon higher, she flung
her body against the barrel*end that had wavered
aiui wheeled until it cei^red on Wilaiadi.
The shot did not seem bud to her. Her one
fear was that it would be repeated and that with
the second shot she mig^t not be able to act as a
diield for the man bdiind her. But tiiere was no
chance t&r a secc»d shot, for a ni|^<«tidc of sea-
soned ash, stained to look like dierry wood, readied
fantastically over the head of Wilsnadi md smote
KeuddPs fingers dustered on the metal revolver-
stock.
It was widded by a policeman, Sadie vagc^y
realized, a pdiceman even bigger tiun Keuddl him-
sdf, ft pdicemap whp seemed imiiattttaBy k»f of
370
JHE DOOR OF DREAD
ann as he iH-ought the night-stick down for the
second tune, this time flat against Keudell's pink-
flested skulL The sound was not a pleasant one,
but an thought of it was swept away by the dull
glory of the knowledge that Kcudell had fallen, that
he was on the floor, prostrate, grotesquely huddled,
so pathetically mert that without movement or pro-
test he could be jericed over on his back and a pair
of handcuffs oould be snapped clicking over his
great wrists.
Yet Iwr triunqth seemed overshadowed by a vague
worry which she could not define, a worry keen
but inconq>rehensible, whid* brought her appealing
eyes back to Wilsnach's face.
'*Tkis ttkman^s shotf* she heard him call out in a
voice husky with alarm.
She was about to contradkt this, and contradict
it with vigor, when the found that the words seemed
unwilling to frame tfaemsehes for utterance. She
also found, to her mild surprise, that Wilsnacfa was
holding her with one arm about her waist
The sudden perplexity of her helplessness brought
her studious eyes once more back to Wilsnach's face.
Into those eyes crept a pkintive wonder, a dumb
9nd animal-like questioning, an unspoken imploring
THE DOOR of: DREAD 371
for a denial of what was recognized as alieadjr un-
deniable. The figures «botit her seemed to recede,
as though viewed from a river ferry parting from
its slip-edge. Wilsnadi akme remained dose to her»
so dose that as her eye^ sea r died his fac: she ooukl
see the lode of pity on it.
Her wistM gaze was sttll on his f^ ^ a* ht lifted
her in his arms and carried her into ^ room. There
with awkward gentleness he plaoed her on dis-
ordered bed. She tfaouj^t, for a moment, that he
was alone wit*i her. But she coold hear ^ girl
in tiie nurse's uniform, at the te l ephon e , makmg
patiently frantic efforts to get Doctor WUsoa on ^
wire. Then, as Wilsnadi ran to the door and
shouted out an order or two to the men groiq^ed
there, the white-faced girl in the uniform came to
the bedside. She carried a pair of sdssors in Iwr
hand. SSxt ht{;m cutttng, rcddess^, rmnoody, at
the dothing encompassing Sa^s fao^JT. Jim lat-
ter noticed with languid wonder that tiie gi*^ w^s
crying softly to hersdf as slie wodc ;1 SI Jso
noticed for the first time tiiat the ciothing haag
cut away from her was warm and wet, as thoi^
drenched in hot tea. She still wondered why iixty
fdt scarry for her. Even the last of the eoeroed
m THE IXX>R OF DREAD
professional calmness went from the girl with the
scissors as Wilsnach dosed the door and stepped
back to the bedside.
"It's no use 1" she was saying in teary little gasps.
"It's no use! I know it's no use I It's gone rif^t
through—'*
She did not finish, for Sadie, like a sleeper awak-
ening to midnight alarms, called out with a clearness
and strength of voice that was startling: 'What
has happened to tnef*
Wilsnach, tight-lipped, turned to the girl with the
scissors. He seemed to find something dependahte
and consolatory in her uniform. He did not actu-
ally speak, but his eyes said, as plainly as words:
"Is there nothing we can do?"
The girl shook her head. Then she badced dowly
away from the bedside, in obedience to Sadie's lan-
guid gesture. Wilsnach's gaze fdtowed her.
**But Doctor Wilson—" began the tragi<>eyed
man.
For the second time the girl diook her head. '*It's
no use," she whispered, staring at her ensanguined
fingers.
Wilsnach turned back to the bed. Then he made
a dgn for the nurse to withdraw.
THE DOOR OF DREAP
373
"I'd like to be alone with her," he said quite
simply. And Sadie's gray face brightened like a
sick child's whose broken toy has been glued to-
gether. She did not speak for a minute or two as
Wilsnach bent over her, pushing back the tumbled
hair from her white forehead.
"Have we got 'era?" she finally asked in a whis-
per.
"Yes, yes — ^all of them I" was his bitterly impa-
tient reply. His hands dropped, in tragic helpless-
ness, on the stained bedding. "But see what it's
cost us !"
Sadie remained silent ag^in, for she could feel
the tears that fell so foolishly from Wilsnach's eyes.
They puzzled her a liitle, for he was a man, not
given to crying over trifles.
"Then the case is ended?" she said with a great
sigh. He could feel the tremor that sped through
her body.
"Yes, it's ended," he acknowledged. The thin
ghost of a smile played about her lips.
"And I guess I wasn't such a hum-dinger as 1
thought I was goin' to be !"
He turned his head away, for that wintry smile
stabbed him to the hea t.
374 THE DOOR OF DREAD
"I tried to be a three-bagger, wit' bells on. And
I turned out to be only an also-ran !"
**You*re the bravest woman I ever knew," Wils-
nach tried to tell her. "And instead of me saving
your life, you — "
He could not finish. She smiled again as she
stared mistily up at him. Her fingers were cling-
ing to his arm, hungrily, and she seemed to be fol-
lowing her own lonely furrow of thought.
"I ain't goin' to lose yuh, anyhow. I might've
done that, yuh know, tryin' to make good and not
bein* able to. And that would've been far worse
than— than this !"
A look' of contentment crept into her face at
Wilsnach's impassioned little cry of "You could
never have lost me!" Then it merged into a look
of wisdom touched with pity, for she felt in her
secret soul of souls that he was wrong. And her
fingers still clutched at him, as though seeking in
the misty dissolution of all life some final tangibility
which might remain stable.
"Will yuh kiss me?" she asked, as simply as a
child.
He kissed her. As he did so he struggled to
THE DOOR of: DREAD
37S
control the shaking of his body. He could see that
she had closed her eyes. . . .
"You must come away now," he heard a voke
say to him. It was the young nurse speaking, once
more efficient and dry-eyed and armored in the im-
personality of her profession.
Wilsnach's stricken eyes, as he looked up at her,
•were an interrogation. The girl in the uniform did
not answer in words. But the slowly affirmative
movement of her head as she crossed to the door
and opened it was answer enough to his question.
TBS END