THE
SAFETY CURTAIN
AND OTHER STORIES
by
ETHEL M. DELL
AUTHOR OF:-
The Hundreth Chance
Greatheart
The Lamp in the Desert
The Tidal Wave
The Top of the World
The Obstacle Race
The Way of an Eagle
The Knave of Diamonds
The Rocks of Valpré
The Swindler
The Keeper of the Door
Bars of Iron
Rosa Mundi
Etc.
GROSSET & DUNLAPPUBLISHERS NEW YORK
Made in the United States of America
This edition is issued under arrangement with the publishers
G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York and London
Made in the United States of America
The Knickerbocker Press, New York
CONTENTS
The Safety Curtain
The Experiment
Those Who Wait
The Eleventh Hour
The Place of Honour
ethel m. dell's novels
The Safety Curtain
CHAPTER I
THE ESCAPE
A great shout of applause went through the crowded hall as theDragon-Fly Dance came to an end, and the Dragon-Fly, with quivering,iridescent wings, flashed away.
It was the third encore. The dance was a marvellous one, a piece ofdazzling intricacy, of swift and unexpected subtleties, of almostsuperhuman grace. It must have proved utterly exhausting to any ordinarybeing; but to that creature of fire and magic it was no more than aglittering fantasy, a whirl too swift for the eye to follow or the brainto grasp.
"Is it a boy or a girl?" asked a man in the front row.
"It's a boy, of course," said his neighbour, shortly.
He was the only member of the audience who did not take part in thatthird encore. He sat squarely in his seat throughout the uproar,watching the stage with piercing grey eyes that never varied in theirstern directness. His brows were drawn above them—thick, straight browsthat bespoke a formidable strength of purpose. He was plainly a man whowas accustomed to hew his own way through life, despising the troddenpaths, overcoming all obstacles by grim persistence.
Louder and louder swelled the tumult. It was evident that nothing but arepetition of the wonder-dance would content the audience. They yelledthemselves hoarse for it; and when, light as air, incredibly swift, thegreen Dragon-Fly darted back, they outdid themselves in the madness oftheir welcome. The noise seemed to shake the building.
Only the man in the front row with the iron-grey eyes and iron-hardmouth made no movement or sound of any sort. He merely watched withunchanging intentness the face that gleamed, ashen-white, above theshimmering metallic green tights that clothed the dancer's slim body.
The noise ceased as the wild tarantella proceeded. There fell a deephush, broken only b