The Black Mask — page 97: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

hands. To his infinite relief it swung in, squeaking rustily. Fle listened again and made his way down the steps. He wound a dirty handkerchief about the china knob of the door, removed his shoes, placed his left foot on the knob and caught the ledge of the transom, With sinuous agility he drew himself up and over the sill, wriggling through the small space made by the open tran- som and dropping with scarce a sound to the floor on the inner side of the door. It was too dark to ascertain what his surroundings were, so he stood motion- less, straining his ears. Suddenly, so close that he recoiled, he heard a sibi- lant sigh and the creak of bed springs. He drew his brows together again and fingered his lips. It «was impossible that he had erred ; in all probability this room was a chamber adjoining the fish store— the bedroom of the old woman the two conspirators had spoken of. He de- cided there must be a door near at hand that opened into the store itself and de- termined to locate it forthwith. With the deep, even breathing of the. sleeper in his ears, the man followed his sense of direction and groped a careful way forward. With each step his blood warmed within him. Two grands in crook parlance meant two thousand dol- lars. It was a sum worth striving for. With that amount of money in his pos- session he could fulfill long cherished ambitions. He could buy enough dope to lead him into a Castle of Dreams; put the city he had entered so recently from him and journey to the coast. The key to all wishes was before him—in a hidden drawer under the counter in a fish store, | The outstretched hand of the man slid over another door, They touched a knob and turned it. The second door did not yield and was keyless. He stood still for a minute, thinking. The woman who owned the shop was canny. She evident- ‘ hie, a | in ~~ oe ad The Guerilla . ee “ mh ae 2 ly understood the difficulty of breaking in from the outside, and by locking the connecting door and secreting the key | made doubly difficult the felon’s prog- ress, The man turned his head in the direc- tion of the bed. He must possess the key that opened the door or the expedi- tion would be fruitless. leather covered billy from his pocket and slipped the thong about his wrist. He debated briefly whether it was ad- visable to wake the sleeper and demand the key or to use the blackjack imme- diately and search for it at his leisure. Fis ruminations were abruptly terminat- ed by a sharp inquiry that cut the gloom like a knife: “Who is there?” The man stiffened, his fingers wind- ing about the neck of the blackjack. The bed creaked again and two soft foot- falls sounded one after the other. He strove to pierce the curtain of blackness with his eyes, but failed. In some way the sleeper had become aware of his preserice; he heard hurried, rattling bréathing that was an indication of fear. Tis fingers about the blackjack grew still tighter. The dull patter of feet moving pre- ceded the rasp of a key being turned warily in the door that opened into the hall of the tenement. Even though frightened, the woman was not losing her head. She intended preparing an exit if escape became necessary and a vantage point from which she could both. survey the bedchamber and raise a quick alarm if her suspicions proved. to be correct. A dozen rapid steps carried the man across the darkened expanse of room. He brought himself up short as he col- lided with an unseen figure, clutching a withered throat with his left hand and effectually preventing a scream from surging to lips opened to receive it. At the same moment he thrust the weight — 4h a ty , d = ’ f ’ yp re % ’ “ee 4 b> . 73 7 <.- A . “Fe ™ +i) ms te hag 2 « oA, “ on -. “— He drew the rr Cer » 7 oS * “ t 1] Comicbooks:com