Part 10 (1/2)

”The White Moll!” he whispered brokenly. ”G.o.d bless the White Moll! I ain't had a chance to say it before. You saved my life, and I--I--”

In the semi-darkness she leaned forward and laid her fingers gently over the Sparrow's lips.

”And there's no time to say it now, Marty,” she said quickly. ”You are not out of this yet.”

He swept his hand across his eyes.

”I know it,” he said. ”I got to get those s.h.i.+ners back up there somehow, and I got to get that paper they planted on me.”

She shook her head.

”Even that wouldn't clear you,” she said. ”The safe has been looted of money, as well; and you can't replace that. Even with only the money gone, who would they first naturally suspect? You are known as a safe-breaker; you have served a term for it. You asked for a night off to stay with your mother who is sick. You left Mr. Hayden-Bond's, we'll say, at seven or eight o'clock. It's after midnight now. How long would it take them to find out that between eight and midnight you had not only never been near your mother, but could not prove an alibi of any sort? If you told the truth it would sound absurd. No one in their sober senses would believe you.”

The Sparrow looked at her miserably.

”My G.o.d!” he faltered. He wet his lips. ”That's true.”

”Marty,” she said quietly, ”did you read in the papers that I had been arrested last night for theft, caught with the goods on me, but had escaped?”

The Sparrow hesitated.

”Yes, I did,” he said. And then, earnestly: ”But I don't believe it!”

”It was true, though, Marty--all except that I wasn't a thief,” she said as quietly as before. ”What I want to know is, in spite of that, would you trust me with what is left to be done to-night, if I tell you that I believe I can get you out of this?”

”Sure, I would!” he said simply. ”I don't know how you got wise about all this, or how you got to know about that necklace, but any of our crowd would trust you to the limit. Sure, I'd trust you! You bet your life!”

”Thank you, Marty,” she said. ”Well, then, how do you get into Mr.

Hayden-Bond's house when, for instance, you are out late at night?”

”I've got a key to the garage,” he answered. ”The garage is attached to the house, though it opens on the side street.”

She held Out her hand.

The Sparrow fished in his pocket, and extended the key without hesitation.

”It's for the small door, of course,” he explained.

”You haven't got a flashlight, I suppose?” she smiled.

”Sure! There's plenty of 'em! Each car's got one with its tools under the back seat.”

She nodded.

”And now, the library,” she said. ”What part of the house is it in? How is it situated?”

”It's on the ground floor at the back,” he told her. ”The little short pa.s.sage from the garage opens on the kitchen, then the pantry, and then there's a little cross hallway, and the dining-room is on the left, and the library on the right. But ain't I going with you?”

She shook her head again.

”You're going home, Marty--after you've sent me a taxicab. If you were seen in that neighborhood now, let alone by any chance seen in the house, nothing could save you. You understand that, don't you? Now, listen! Find a taxi, and send it here. Tell the chauffeur to pick me up, and drive me to the corner of the cross street, one block in the rear of Mr. Hayden-Bond's residence. Don't mention Hayden-Bond's name. Give the chauffeur simply street directions. Be careful that he is some one who doesn't know you. Tell him he will be well paid--and give him this to begin with.” She thrust a banknote into the Sparrow's hand. ”You're sure to find one at some all-night cabaret around here. And remember, when you go home afterward, not a word to your mother! And not a word to-morrow, or ever-to any one! You've simply done as you told your employer you were going to do--spent the night at home.”