A Woman Among Thieves.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 49, 26 February 1913, Page 10

A Woman Among Thieves.

By HUGH PHILLIPS.

m ll'Ter xyii. I T-- ■ •■■;-■ ■- V,U m, '.v.-j h.i.\ been ;:. . • :. ■■ '-.■-: : - «ubi n d r^ , : ■ ■:. -■-. y ;i kn n> she i ■■■r • -, : ■/• r-ii-i Ma.:- ; ■•i '" ." ; :'- i i ii-i. .iri an ■ - I---H , .-••■• S.T ,'.' .- Mm. M.iriVHscD sj;d. only siieht- I -■• :.'-•• .rr-vi h for h-r." ! _"> .-.:". .t - - ." \I ,>-iii replied.! :•_" ' -'". • n , --. C^urious-I 1■- ■ " '■ ■ "_*.r! .i Soh-o trnlv a -"■ ■ '.-.i-.:- lt ■■" : '".•• arn l of an; :' :i niiiTi ." U ;!son cried, i M- --'"r. f-'rr i.iirpii. -and the --aptara.! ha - - --j ..! ■:.■ :u-■.--.-- of the; IT- _---r -.-,:■■. ;.; -;..,; , .o- -t; th- door of I ■■'•■■' '.'■'•! ■ re :•:.• girl was yourl l—-<-~ : • ■•■■'.. :i~;,-~ {'■>■-; nriJi arrivpd ■ at a i :-.c. .:;- ■ ".! i; til- 3 kw»ntity of the! for- j-!.>r had ■'■- e-VLbYehed. ' j ' V\-' . r.■>." Mal'.-oim r'-p'ii°d rtmtnm- ] p.a::v.>i.. -\ , >.- v --;i i-.ij--<- a doubt in j m— miE'i, F wrr't -vvpar t i her. n*\ pro 1'.0r,? to ; i;.| whether sh" i= still therp." Tlipy qu:,-k!;. n:ade their war to Soho.i ar.\A fiirenn; r'arrar's Court inquired oil thrp- yrnr.'rs- -.v'.i. ■ were playing thpre i! they had e«-r, a rtrangr young lady entering the court on ti.'e e-ening of May's di r>ne;>. raj] , t 3 . There ;- a romi'-kanle .-'armis-hness in th:- locality whi!-:i always prpvpnts information of ihe !• md they r.-quired being obtained. .;nl it w.i* -ome time before ;h>-v ._m->iiK pt>; anything satisfactory froni th.> :-y-. Evpntuaily. alter Wilsnn isad pr.im:-=ed a e-mpjp of S'Tvprpijms for tiip truth. '. learned that a con-pie ansxrerinir riip .i-'-crip.; i.-n of the two they wer- *<•••! in; had been se?n to enier No. ■:■?•. i>n obta'nir.c this inforTriatioii tipy decidt■■; t-i L r - away and the best hr '."■:"- :i_k seemed like so many year-. j'.*-!'a 1-.v on -.he hod i-y terror. It was fortunate that the shutter" ivptp -irfn-rrht-ni-i :tv iron bars, or m <ie*i pratinn s!n* would have junrppd into -,hp street below. If she ci.i not what shp had done with th> :at.>.! parr-el what would they do vriti her? >ae attempted to reason it ot:t. ■\ . son. knev. would be terribly cLr'.r'-ssed. He world be at a loss to "ur !■ r«tm-i w'py she had vanished. i-■'"■" did ?.:*■ know that in the narrow f->u— he and the irrepressible ':■'. :-...-•■'nj s-ere even at that mo-m>-::t ':•/«• they could 2Pi into the house. :■ rp v.-.!.-i : i lii;lii foreign eating- -■• at ;.;e comer abutting on the km::: ?:r*pr. T!ifv entered, and over a. c ! ; - •■: wine their plans: for Wii- n wa- ootermined to get into the ijo':--' by hook or by crook. Malcolm pa i=rd in thp act of sipning hi- wirif. as though an idi'a had occurred to ",i:n. "\\ iiy not knock at the door, and ask if ifcpy have v room to lot?" he suggested, eas.-rly. • I'.r that means wp may ga'her r .\ir rharactei nf the people Tvith w r.ni we luiv- to deal." 'Not :i '•:•. ■ idea at all." said Wilson. ••■Who <ha:i -iv" "Why not ''xith of ns?" " 1 i""-. I tail k that will be best. Drink ■up. an 1 wp « i! be oiT now." la a few minutes they presented them-i'-Ires a: the door of Xo. 39, and with beating hearts awaited the answer to tbeir knock. Thp door was opened almost rmmeuiately by the man known a* Pierre. Wilson was the firet to ■~',ood cvoring." he said, very affably. Malcoim w.is looking over the man's s-houlder. and in the passage behind h-e recfnmUed the man be hail seen accompanying Bella. He and Wilson had agTeed upon a siim beins ■ r ri\ .-n if sue., an event happenpil. and ■=■>. after rer. ivinrj the hint, he altered hi? plans. an<l said: — "May I =*c the lady who accompanied that gentleman Jiprp <<n Tupsday?' , The foreigner shook his head In deprecation. "No. .=;£rr.or."-lie =a\<i. -n-ith a.n extraragant "'We have no lady here." "But this i- N"o. 3fl.'" Faid Wilson, with; weil-simulaie-l a-toni-hment. "I am cuite certain that she came here." "A mistaki-. F'gnor: quite a mistake. Ij have my y,\:--. and I have my ehildrenj only here. We do not take in stran-U'::-.-.n grunted. ■li ai!" he -aid. "It seems very strange: but 1 do mt think I have been misinformed. 1 suppose." be added.: "thiTn no plate about here where my' fripnd and I --an put up for the nig-ht?" The nun shook his head again. "I'm afraid not. <ignor," he said, de-i ferentially: "but i: you go up to the court a-:il turn to ?he right there is the l hotel where )oi] can >N j t*p." Tht>y him for his information,! and .'-"parted in thp direction indicated. , A- 'ou a.- they tnrned the corner they stop » •!. and held a consultation. i'!i." =aid Malcolm. "'What do you! ■\\ .. ir ,. ,->T\ ;}ip right track." observed AY:;-. : . -~.f that I feel sur.-. What <■ ■' y.'u -iy to our trying to get in the, j;n with TMi in anything." Malcolm r ;■ •■•'. "but how do you 1r- r>,. = e to ?p; about it?" j •'"■ v-.-.-n i-.-.rr.»-' and pointed to the f..-l pr-bably nnticed." hp said, "that ldioiiiins: No. 30 are the backs of .-.*> pear to be big stable;':" r r-. :-7.-ous is at the -back, at' i\i -t ! imagine so." . :-.,i. r-1 ami." said Malcolm. | ■\ .■■'■'.. .- 1 g"t over the wall at the fr-nt. a:i.l .Umber along that ledge on th.- :■■'"■ ■ '"■ '- Ijt Tn a hlc to get a good Malcolm igr->ed that it was a good -\\'i ",': b til get over,™ Up said. : v.-.ii t !: ~' beginninp to warm to the O^ J . - : tl»e alTdir. • ■i),,n't vi a tliiiiU V"U had better staj here and k''<T watch V" Wilson suggest

I The reporter thought not. "Unless iyo-u are extraordinarily lucky," he said, '•you will want some assistance before ih,- nieht is out. Now appears to be a . very good rnu-nient; let us get it over." ■ U il-i-n and so within a. very :'--.v minutes they both lay with bated breath upon the cold slate roof of the . 4iablp#. They at once ?et about a curI vpv. \ ' I should think." said Wilson, pointing Itn tho heavily barred windows on the ■ first floor, '--hat is where we want to get. >• .uieliow that reminds mc of a ; prison. Those heavy .bars are quite new. ; Vet 1 wish wo hail some definite facts to work upon. a!l thr same. For example, whpihcr the girl is liore of her own free will '.r not i- one question I should like ans»f>r'"i; another i« whether it is ray ;o;:-!n yonr friend;" If nn!y May would oome to the win- , dow ! It won!,; he worth a good deal to i th-Pin to know exactly where she was imF"or some minutes neither of them I s>po-kp. Presently a light appeared in a : room at the back of No. :W. le.-s than i ten yards away from wherp tliev lay concealfd. Almost Fimultanfously they I heard a woman's cry from behind the 1 i-losml -hntter?. Wilson needed no-th-j m-_r fMrl.her to tpil him that the woman he loved was a pri-oner within those ! wall*. i "Whn; lock:" observed Malcolm, ap--1 preciatively. "We mieht have watched I for hour*, and seen notbins." j "Yi»s. 1 sirppo-"" so." said Wilson, sen-tentinu-ly. after a pause. Ma.iv.liv looked up in astonishment. i "Why. man alive, whatever is the i ma*tter? \ ou seoni sorry, rather than eJat-pd. at the discovery. What is it?" I "Nn": it perfectly obvious that this ' spoil- '-top' to iis'. . Don't you see. man," Ijp went on. fiercely, gripping the other J hy the foat and painting to the window. "Don't you see how impossible of ; a<vps? the plow is? How are we to get to that window without a ladder?"' "We!!. Irt us call a policeman," sugfre=ted Malcolm. "We dare not break in." "No. not a.nv circumstances,' Wilson said. "For certain reasons, which I cannot tell you of. it becomes a mutter of life and dteith if we call in the police. Anything but that." Therf was a lot in connection with this affair that Malcolm could not u-nder-~;i.nd. H<" wa> anxious to find out all he could, it only for the sake of his pappr. "What <-ould Wilson mean?" he won-dereJ. It set him. thinking. Wilson, on the other hand, simply made an impatient, sjesture. "Don't start to think about my reasons," he snapped. "You shall know everything in time, and I promise you a good sensational piece of news for your paper. Meanwhile the question we have to decide is how to release the girl without c.iuelng a disturbance.' , ■Malcolm em-iled a little cynically. "11l give it up." he eaid. "Well, it's got to be done," the ca.pta.in replied. "But how?" "The only way appears to mc to be through the front door." The reporter opened his eyes in astonishment. "\ou mean that?" he exclaimed incredul'insly. es." Wilson was quite calm, and he proceeded, "I've oome to the conclusion the place is a lodging-houae. In such establishments there is usually a good deal of running in and out. What :e to preveat mc in and walking straight to the room where she ie imprisoned ?" "FFiu ! All that ie n-eceseary is a little boldness and plenty of nerve," was the sage reply, ,- but " Malcolm paused, and 6miled irritably at Wilson, who said: — "Oh. get on with it!" "All right, my dear fellow, don't get excited. I admit you have the nerve and all t.'nit, but don't you think i-t -highly probable that the door is kept locked? Do you think if the girl is a prteon-er they will allow strangers in the house? No, that place belongs to one eet of people only. Didn't you notice the caution with which the door 'Was opened?" Wilson litst-ened. to his argument in eilenee, and the other continued, "I think your proposal is impracticable. They would probably remember you if you tried it." "Maybe. But I am going to have a shot at getting in." Wilson, being a man of action, proceeded to put his proposal into immediate effect. "You take my pistol," he eaid, handing the weapon to Malcolm, "lest I be tempted to shoot. Keep watch here. If you hear a row, come in. Now I'm off, and if I tkra't return, wait two days, and then go to Scotland Yard." With that he vanished, leaving the reporter very much on the gui viv<". I Malcolm was thinking wiat a fine J scoop he would make later on: how his I adventurous tale -would fill London with I amazement when it appeared in his paper! 'Wilson, in t-he meantime, had reclimbed th-e etable wall and dropped quietly I back into the narrow court. With hurj rirni footsteps he reached the door of No. ■ 39. Luck favoured, him. As he dropped ; into the court he saw Pierre, the man who had. opened the door to him, leave the hou&e with a jug in his hand. Pre- '! sumably he was going to fetch beer or . milk. It was -dark now, and the man ■ turn-ed round to see that the court was absolutely empty. Believing it to be so, I he puHed the door to gently and left it ajar. Wilson was hidden in the shadow of the corner, and now he crept slowly ! alongside the wall and entered. Knowing that the cry had come from behind the shuttered windows of the i tirst lloor. he noiselessly proceeded upI stairs. At the top of the flight a lamp j was burning, and by its flickering light he' could distinguish a row of doors along the corridor. He drew into- the shadow and .endeavoured to think out which would be May's room. Suddenly a little gasp, a cry of suppressed joy. escaped him. The key was in the door of the ro-om opposite which j he was standing. He turned it quickly , and entered, to find, the room in darkncjs and apparently empty. His disappointment was keen. Walking to the window he looked out, and. to his great joy. he discovered that the room from whence he had heaTd the cry 'j-waa -.hat on the left of -him. More im- | po,.ant still, only a yard beneath was a i pT 7 w arl 7 T bTick abntl °en.t, wide enmijrh to form a walking ledge. It was Jie t-hing in th t world for him could then, «t all events-, let her know

In a second he reae through the "window. Malcolm caw him, and waved an ackm o wledgment. (To be continued daily.)