Thatpartofitwastrue。TheSparrowdidhaveanoldmotherwhowassick。Afineoldlady-finerthantheson-Finch，hernamewas。Indirectly，sheknewoldHayden-Bond，themillionaire，and-AlmostsubconsciouslyshewasawarethatDanglarwasspeakingagain。
“Iguessluck’sbreakingourwayagain，“hegrinned。“Theoldboypaidahundredthousandcoldforthatnecklace。Youknowhowlongwe’vebeenwaitingtogetourhooksonit，andwe’veneverhadoureyesoffhishousefortwomonths。Well，itpaystowait，anditpaystodothingsright。Itbrokeourwayatlastto-night，allright，allright！To-day’sSaturday-andthesafetydepositvaultsaren’topenonSunday。Mrs。Hayden-Bond’sbeenawayallweekvisiting，butshecomesbackto-morrow，andthere’ssomeswellsocietyfussfixedforto-morrownight，andshewantshernecklacetomakeasplurge，soshewritesMr。H-hyphen-B，andoutitcomesfromthesafetydepositvault，andintothelibrarysafe。Theoldmanisn’tlongonsocialstunts，andhe’sgotprettywellsetinhishabits；oneofthosemust-have-nine-hours’-sleepbugs，andhe’salwaysinbedbyten-whenhiswife’lllethim。Shebeingawayto-night，theboyswereabletogettoworkearly。Theyoughttobeabletocrackthatboxwithoutmakinganynoiseaboutitinanhourandahalfattheoutside。“Hepulledouthiswatch-andwhistledlowunderhisbreath。“It’saquarterafterelevennow，“
hesaidhurriedly，andmovedabruptlytowardthedoor。“Ican’tstickaroundhereanylonger。I’vegottobeondeckwheretheycanslipmethe’whiteones，’andthenthere’sSkeenywaitingforthewordtobumpofftheSparrow。“Hejerkedhishandsuddenlytowardthejewelsinherlap。“Saltthoseawaybeforeanymoreadventurersblowin！“hesaid，halfsharply，halfjocularly。
“Anddon’tlettheWhiteMollslipyou-atanycost。Remember！
She’sboundtocometoyouagain。Playher-andsendoutthecall。Youunderstand，don’tyou？There’sneverbeenayipoutofthepolice。Ourmethodsaretoogoodforthat。LookattheSparrowto-night。Wherethere’snochancetakenofsuspiciongoinganywhereexceptwhereweleadit，there’snochanceofanytrouble-forus！Butthiscursedshe-fiend’sanotherstory。
We’renotplantingplumtreesforhertopickanymoreofthefruit。
Understand？“
Sheansweredhimmechanically。
“Yes，“shesaid。
“Allright，then；thatendofitisuptoyou，“hesaidsignificantly。
“You’reclever，cleverasthedevil，Bertha。Useyourbrainsnow-weneed’em。Good-night，oldgirl。Seeyoulater。“
“Good-night，“saidRhodaGraydully。
Thedoorclosed。Theshort，ladder-likestepstothehallwaybelowcreakedonce，andthenallwasstill。Danglardidhaveonrubber-soledshoes。Shesatupright，herhands，clenchednow，pressedhardagainstherthrobbingtemples。Itwasn’ttrue！Noneofthiswastrue-thishovelofaplace，thosejewelsglintinglikeevileyesinherlap；herexistenceitselfwasn’ttrue；itwasonlyherbrainnow，sicklikehersoul，thatconjureduptheseuglyphantomswithhorrible，plausibleingenuity。Andthenaninnervoiceseemedtoanswerherwithacalmnessthatwashideousinitsfinality。Itwastrue。Allofitwastrue。ThosewordsofDanglar，andtheirbaldmeaning，weretrue。Mendidsuchthings；menmadeintheimageoftheirMakerdidsuchthings。Theyweregoingtokillamanto-night-aninnocentmanwhomtheyhadmadetheirpawn。
Shesweptthejewelsfromherlaptotheblanket，andrising，seizedthecandle，wenttothedoor，lookedout，and，holdingthecandlehighaboveherhead，peereddownthestairs。Yes，hewasgone。
Therewasnoonethere。
Shelockedthedooragain，returnedtothebed，setthecandledownuponthechair，andstoodthere，herfacewhiteanddrawn，staringwithwide，tormentedeyesabouther。Murder。Danglarhadspokenofitwithinhumancallousness-andhadlaughedatit。Theyweregoingtotakeaman’slife。Andtherewasonlyherself，alreadydriventoextremity，alreadywithherownbackagainstthewallinanefforttosaveherself，onlyherselftocarrytheburdenoftheresponsibilityofdoingsomething-tosaveaman’slife。
Itseemedtoplumbthedepthsofironyandmockery。ShecouldnotmakeamoveasGypsyNan。Itwouldonlyresultintheirturninguponher，ofthediscoverythatshewasnotGypsyNanatall，ofthealmostcertaintythatitwouldcostherherownlifewithoutsavingtheSparrow’s。Thatwaywasclosedtoherfromthestart。
AstheWhiteMoll，then？Outsidethereinthegreatcity，everyplain-clothesman，everypolicemanoneverybeat，wasstaringintoeverywoman’sfacehemet-searchingfortheWhiteMoll。
Shewrungherhandsincrueldesperation。Eventoherownproblemshehadfoundnosolution，thoughshehadwrestledwithitalllastnight，andallthroughtheday；nosolutionsavethenegativeoneofclingingtothisonerefugethatremainedtoher，suchasitwas，temporarily。Shehadfoundnosolutiontothat；whatsolutionwastheretothis！ShehadthoughtofleavingthecityasGypsyNan，andthensomewherefaraway，ofsloughingoffthecharacterofGypsyNan，andofresumingherownpersonalityagainunderanassumedname。
Butthatwouldhavemeantthelossofeverythingshehadinlife，herlittlepatrimony，theirredeemablestampofshameuponthenamesheoncehadowned；andalsotheconstantfearanddreadthatatanymomentthepolicenet，wideasthecontinentwaswide，wouldclosearoundher，as，soonerorlater，itwasalmostinevitablethatitwouldclosearoundher。IthadseemedthatheronlychancewastokeeponstrivingtoplaytheroleofGypsyNan，becauseitwastheseassociatesofGypsyNanwhowereatthebottomofthecrimeofwhichshe，RhodaGray，washeldguilty，andbecausetherewasalwaysthehopethatinthisway，throughconfidencestoasupposedconfederate，shecouldfindtheevidencethatwouldconvictthoseactuallyguilty，andsoproveherowninnocence。ButinholdingtotheroleofGypsyNanforthepurposeofreceivingthosecriminalconfidences，shehadnotthoughtofthis-thatuponherwouldrestthemoralresponsibilityofothercrimesofwhichshewouldhaveknowledge，and，leastofall，thatsheshouldbefacedwithwhatlaybeforehernow，to-night，atthefirstcontactwiththosewhohadbeenGypsyNan’sconfederates。
Whatwasshetodo？Uponher，anduponheralone，dependedaman’slife，and，addingtoherdistraction，sheknewtheman-theSparrow，whohadalreadydonetime；thatwasthevileingenuityofitall。
Andtherewouldlecorroborativeevidence，ofcourse；theywouldhaveseentothat。IftheSparrowdisappearedandwasneverheardofagain，evenachildwoulddeducetheassumptionthattheproceedsoftherobberyhaddisappearedwithhim。
Herbrainseemedtogrowpanicky。Shewasstandingherehelplessly。
Andtime，theonepreciousallythatshepossessed，wasslippingawayfromher。ShecouldnotgotothepoliceasGypsyNan-and，muchless，astheWhiteMoll！Shecouldnotgotothepoliceinanycase，forthe“corroborative“evidence，thatobviouslymustexist，unlessDanglarandthosewithhimwerefools，wouldindubitablydamntheSparrowtoanotherprisonterm，evensupposingthatthroughtheinterventionofthepolicehislifeweresaved。Whatwasshetodo？
Andthen，foramoment，hereyeslightedinrelief。TheAdventurer！
Shethrustherhandintothepocketofherskirt，anddrewoutthetornpieceofpaper，andstudiedthetelephonenumberuponit-andslowlythehurtandmiserycamebackintohereyesagain。Whowashe？Hehadtoldher。Anadventurer。Hehadgivenhertounderstandthathe，ifshehadnotbeenjustafewminutesaheadofhim，wouldhavetakenthatmoneyfromSkarbolov’sescritoirelastnight。
Thereforehewasacrook。Danglarhadsaidthatsomeonehadbeengettinginaheadofthemlatelyandsnatchingtheplunderfromundertheirnoses；andDanglarnowbelievedthatithadbeentheWhiteMoll。Awansmilecametoherlips。InsteadoftheWhiteMoll，itappearedtobequiteobviousthatitwastheAdventurer。Itthereforeappearedtobequiteasobviousthatthemanwasaprofessionalthief，andanextremelycleverone，atthat。Shedarednottrusthim。Toenlisthisaidshewouldhavetoexplainthegang’splot；andwhiletheAdventurermightgototheSparrow’sassistance，hemightalsobeverymuchmoreinterestedinthediamondnecklacethatwasinvolved，andnotbeentirelyaversetoDanglar’splanofusingtheSparrowasapawn，who，inthatcase，wouldmakeaveryconvenientscapegoatfortheAdventurer-insteadofDanglar！Shedarednottrusttheman。Shecouldnotabsolveherconsciencebystakinganother’slifeonahazard，onthesuppositionthattheAdventurermightdothisorthat。Itwasnotgoodenough。
Shewasquickinhermovementsnow。Subconsciouslyherdecisionhadbeenmade。Therewasonlyoneway-onlyone。Shegatheredupthejewelsfromthebedandthrustthem，withtheAdventurer’stornpieceofpaper，intoherpocket。Andnowshereachedforthelittlenotebookthatshehadhiddenundertheblanket。Itcontainedthegang’ssecretcode，andshehadfounditinthecashboxinGypsyNan’sstrangehidingplacethatevening。Halfrunningnow，carryingthecandle，shestartedtowardthelowerendoftheattic，wheretheroofslopeddowntolittlemorethanshoulderhigh。
“Seven-Three-Nine！“Danglarhadalmostdecodedthemessagewordforwordinthecourseofhisconversation。Inthelittlenotebook，setagainstthefigures，werethewords:“Danger。Thegameisoff。
Makenofurthermove。“Itwasonlyoneofmany，thatarbitraryarrangementoffigures，eachcombinationhavingitsownspecialsignificance；but，besidesthese，therewasthekeytoacompletecipherintowhichanymessagemightbecoded，and-Butwhywasherbrainswervingoffatinconsequentialtangents？Whatdidacoderorcodebook，matteratthepresentmoment？
Shewasstandingunderthenarrowtrap-doorinthelowceilingnow，andnowshepusheditup，andliftingthecandlethroughtheopening，setitdownontheinnersurfaceoftheceiling，which，likesomevastshelf，GypsyNanhadmetamorphosedintothatexhaustivestorehouseofedibles，ofplunder-acuriousandsinistercollectionthatwaseloquentofagauntletlongflungdownagainstthelaw。Sheemptiedthepocketofherskirt，retainingonlytherevolver，andsubstitutedthearticlesshehadremovedwiththetinboxthatcontainedthedarkcompoundGypsyNan，andsheherself，asGypsyNan，hadusedtorobherfaceofyouthfulness，andgiveitthegrimy，dissoluteandhaggardaspectwhichwassosimpleandyetsoefficientadisguise。
Sheworkedrapidlynow，changingherclothes。Shecouldnotgo，oract，asGypsyNan；andsoshemustgoinherowncharacter，goastheWhiteMoll-becausethatwasthelesserdanger，theonethatheldtheonlypromiseofsuccess。Therewasn’tanyotherway。Shecouldnotverywellrefusetoriskhercapturebythepolice，couldshe，whenbysodoingshemightsaveanother’slife？Shecouldnotbalanceincowardlyselfishnessthepossibilityofaprisontermforherself，hideousasthatmightbe，againstthepenaltyofdeaththattheSparrowwouldpayifsheremainedinactive。ButshecouldnotleavehereastheWhiteMoll。Somewhere，somewhereoutinthenight，somewhereawayfromthisgarretwhereallconnectionwithitwassevered，shemustcompletethetransformationfromGypsyNantotheWhiteMoll。Shecouldonlyprepareforthatnowasbestshecould。