The Lighted WayOppenheim, E. Phillips (Edward Phillips)
General
The Lighted Way
Oppenheim, E. Phillips (Edward Phillips)
Detective and mystery stories
The man laughed contemptuously. He stared at Arnold for a moment and
seemed to realize for the first time that he was a stranger.
"You are a fool to meddle in things you know nothing of!" he
muttered.
"I know you've no right where you are," said Arnold, "and I shall
keep you until some one comes."
The intruder made a sudden dive, freeing himself with an
extraordinary turn of the wrist. Arnold caught a glimpse of his face
as he slunk away. While he hesitated whether to follow him, he heard
the door open and the soft rustle of a woman's skirts.
"What are you doing out there, Mr. Chetwode?"
He turned around. Mrs. Weatherley was standing just behind him,
leaning also out of the window, with a little halo of light about
her head. For a moment he was powerless to answer. Her head was
thrown back, her lips parted. She seemed to be listening as well as
watching. There was fear in her eyes as she looked at him, yet she
made the most beautiful picture he had ever seen. He pulled himself
together.
"Well?" she asked, breathlessly.
"I was waiting here for you," he explained. "I looked through the
curtains. Then I saw a man's hand upon the sill."
[Illustration: "I was waiting here for you," he explained.
_Page 39_.]
Her hand shot to her side.
"Go on," she whispered.
"I saw his face," Arnold continued. "It was pressed close to the
window. It was as though he meant to enter. I threw the curtains
back, opened the window, and gripped him by the arm. I asked him
what he wanted."
She sat down in a chair and began to tremble.
"He said he wanted Rosario, the Jew," Arnold went on. "Then, when he
found that I was a stranger, he got away. I don't know how he
managed it, for my fingers are strong enough, but he wrenched
himself free somehow."
"Look out once more," she implored. "See if he is anywhere around. I
will speak to him."
He stood at the window and looked in every direction.
"There is no one in sight," he declared. "I will go to the corner of
the street, if you like."
She shook her head.
"Close the window and bolt it, please," she begged. "Draw the
curtains tight. Now come and sit down here for a moment."
He did as he was bidden with some reluctance.
"The man was a villainous-looking creature," he persisted. "I don't
think that he was up to any good. Look! There's a policeman almost
opposite. Shall I go and tell him?"
She put out her hand and clasped his, drawing him down to her side.
Then she looked steadfastly into his face.
"Mr. Chetwode," she said slowly, "women have many disadvantages in
life, but they have had one gift bestowed upon them in which they
trust always. It is the gift of instinct. You are very young, and I
know very little about you, but I know that you are to be trusted."
"If I could serve you," he murmured,--
"You can," she interrupted.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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