IJy OG17fVE TfiMNST

5wHa NAN tCf HOVR 1

J SYNOPSIS

The story opens at Harvard where ColRupert Winter U S A visiting saw thesuicide or young Mercer Ha met CaryMercer brother of the dead studentThree later in Chicago In 199-6Col Winter overheard Cary Mercer ap ¬

parently planning to kidnap Archie thecolonels ward and to gain possession ofAunt Rebecca Winters A MissSmith was mentioned apparently as a

Winter unexpectedly met aa relative Mrs Millicent Melville who

told him that his Aunt Rebecca Archieand tho latter nurse Miss Janet Smithwere to leave for the west with the

1 colonel and Mrs Melville A great finan ¬

cial magnate was aboard the train onwhich Col Winter met his Aunt Rebe-cca

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Miss Smith and Archie He set hisorderly Sergt Haley to watch over CaryMercer CoL Winter learned that thefinancial Is Edwin S KeatchamOn approaching Cary Mercer the colonelwas snubbed Winter aldea by Archiecleverly frustrated a holdup on thetrain He took a great liking to MissSmith despite her alleged connectionwith the kidnaping plot which he hadnot yet revealed to his relatives The

t party arrived In San Francisco it wasI thought that there were big persons be-

hind the holdup Archie mysteri-ously disappeared Fruitless wasconducted tor Archie Blood In a near-by room at the hotel caused fears for theboys life No headway was made In thesearch for Archie lads voice washeard over the telephone however andn minute later a woman voicethat ofMiss Smith Col Winter and a detectiveset out for the empty mansion owned byArnold a Harvard graduate They weremet a terrible detonation Indicat-Ing an explosion within Tho partyrushed Into the house A few minuteslater Mercer appeared He assured Win ¬

ter that Archie had been returned to MrsRebecca Winter The colonel saw a

K vision Slitting from the supposedly haunt ¬

ed house It was Miss Janet Smith ColWinter to himself admitted that he loved

i Miss Smith Mercer told Winter thatArchie had overheard for a coupwhich Mercer and his friends wanted to

q carry out For that reason Archie hadbeen kidnaped One of Mercers friendst on returning to his aunt had beenarrested for speeding and when he ret-urned from tho ponce station to his autothe lad was gone Mercer confessed hewas forcibly detaining Keatcham at tho

haunted house Mercer told his lifestory relating how Keatcham and hisscoundrel secretary Atkins had ruinedhim the blow killing his wife Despitethe fact that Mercer was In Keatchamservice he was holding him prisoner Inorder that he could not get control of arailroad which was the pet project of thefather of his college friend EndlcottTracy

CHAPTER X ContinuedHo Isnt a very confiding man I

didnt see him often My dealings4 wero with Atkins He didnt know

that I had found him out ho thoughtthat ho had only to explain his twonames and expected gratitude for hiswarning as he called It Ho is slimybut I was able to repay a little of myscore with him I was employed bymoro than Keatcham and I saw agood many industrial backyards Justchance I came on a clew and EndyTracy and I worked It up togetherAtkins was selling information to

4 Keatchams enemies We did notmake out a complete case but enoughof one to make Keatcham suspect himand at tho right time Dut that hapuened lateryou see I dont knowhow to tell a story oven with so muchat stake Ho pulled out his handker ¬

chief and Winter caught the gleam ofthe beads on his sallow forehead Itwas this way he went on At firstI was only looking about for a safechance to kill him and to kill thatsnake of an Atkins but then it grewon mo It was all too easy a punish ¬

mentjust a quick death when hisvictims had years of misery I wantedhim to wade through the hell I hadto wade through I wanted him to

11 know why he was condemned ThenI it was I began to collect just tho cases

I knew aboutjust ono little sectionof tho horrible swath of agony and hu ¬

initiation and poverty and sin he andhis crowd had made the ono I knew

foot of because Id gone over9It every night I wasnt so dead tired Ito sleep God do you know what

it is to havd the people who used toj be running out of their houses just tosay howdy to you curse you for aswindler or a fool or turn out of oneIIstreet and down the other not to lassyou Did you over have a little wom-

an¬

who used to glvo you frosted cake

I when you were a boy push her crapeveil off her gray hair and hand you theenvelope with her stock with yourhandwriting on tho envelope end beg

I you trying so hard not to cry twasn worse than If she hadbeg you to lend

her just half her interest moneyand1 you couldnt do IU Did you never

I said I waded through bell1mind Not I alonothat was theall the people that had trusted

mo And just that some rich menshould bo richer Why should theyhave the lions share The lionsshare belongs to the lion They arenothing but jackals Theyre meanerthan Jackals for the jackals tako whatthe lion leaves and these fellows stealtho lions meat away from him Wemade honest money we paid honestwages folks had more paint on theirhouses and more meat in their store-houses

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and wore better clothes SunJ Icy and there were more schoolhouses

and fewer saloons and the negroeswere learning a trade instead of loaf ¬

ing The whole county was the betteroff for our prosperity and there isnt amill in the outfitand I know whatIm talking aboutthere isnt a shopor a mine thats as well run or makesas big an output now as it did whenthe old crowd was in You find it thatway everywhere and thats what Ispctog to break things down We sawto all the lltrlo affairs they were ouraffairs dont you know But Keatchfuns new men draw their salaries and

let things slide Yet Keatcham Is agreat mat ger It be would only takethe time only hos top busy stealingto develop his businesses theres moremoney in stealing a railway than inbuilding one up Oh he isnt a foolif I could once get him where ho wouldhave to listen I know I could makehim understand Hos pretty cold ¬

blooded and he doesnt realize Hoonly sees straight ahead not allaround like all these superhumanlyclover thieves they have mighty stu ¬

pfd streaks Well rye got him nowand it is kill or cure for him Ho cantmake a rime I know I couldnt doanything alone I had to wait I hadto havo stronger men than I am tohelp By and by they tried their jack ¬

al business on a real lLonQn TracyThey wanted to steal his road I goton to them first I see a heap of peo ¬

plo in a heap of different businessestho little people who talk They no-tice all right but they can see onlytheir own little patch I was the fel¬

low riding round and seeing the town ¬

ship I pieced together the plot and Itold Endy Tracy Ho wouldnt believemo at first because his father hadgiven Keatcham his first start anddone a hundred things for him To bosure his father has boon obliged asan honorable man to oppose Keatchamlately but Keatcham couldnt mean toburn him out that way But he soonfound that was precisely what Keatch ¬

am did mean Then he was gladenough to help me save his father Theold man doesnt know a thing wedont mean he ever shall know Welet him put up tho best sort of a fighta man can with his hands tied whilethe other fellow is free My handsare free too I dont respect thedamned Imbecile laws that let me beplundered any more than they do andsince my poor mother died last sum ¬

mer I am not afraid of anything theyare thats where I have the choice ofweapons I tell you suh nobody isbig enough to oppress a desperateman Keatcham had one advantageho had unlimited money But AuntRebecca helped us out there ColonelI want you to know I didnt ask herfor more than the bare grubstake itwas sho herself that planned our stockdeal

Sho is a dead game sport thecolonel chuckled I believe you

And I hope you dont allow that Iwas willing to have her mix herselfin our risks Sho would come shosaid sho wanted to see tho fun

I believe you again the colonel as ¬

sured him and he remembered the oddsentence which his aunt had used thofirst night of their journey when sheexpressed her hankering to match herwits against those of a firstclass grim ¬

inalWe didnt reckon on your turning

up or tho complication with Archie Iwish to God wod taken tho boys ownword I Dut now you know all aboutIt will you keep your hands off Thatsall we ns-

kWetttho colonel examined hisfinger nails rubbing his hands softlytho back of ono over the palm of theotherwell you havent quite toldme all Dont unless you are preparedto have It used against you as the po¬

icemen say before the sweatboxWhat did you do to Keatcham to gethim to go with you so like Marys lit¬

tie lambI learned of a little device that

looks like a tiny currycomb and is soflat and small you can bind It on amans arm lust over an artery Justpress on the spring and give theleast scratch and the man falls downin convulsions I showed him a ratI had had fetched me and killed it likea flash Ho had his choice of walkingout quietly with meI had my handon his armor dropping down deadHo went quietly enough

That was tho meaning of his lookat me was It Winter thought Hosaid only Did Endicott Tracy knowabout that

Of course not Mercer denied Doyou reckon I want to mix tho boy upin this more than I have And Arnoldonly knew I was trying some kind Ofbluff game

I will lay odds though the coltnel ventured in his gentlest tonetone that Mr Samurai as Haley call <him knew more Dut when did youget rid of Atkins

Mr Keatcham discharged him atDenver I met Mr Keatcham hereIt was arranged on the train We hadIt planned out If that plan had failedI had another

Neat Very neat And then youbecame tho secretary

Mercer flushed in an unexpectedfashion Certainly not he saidwith emphasis Do you think I wouUtake his wages and not do the workfaithfully No suh I assumed to bohis secretary in the office that gaveme a chance to arrange everythingBut I did It to oblige him I nevertouched a cent of his money I paidin fact for our board out of our ownmoney It would have burned my fin-

gers¬

suhAnd the valet Was ho in your

plot Dont answer It youOfHe was sub replied Cary Mercer

He Is a right worthy fellow and he

thought after he had seen to tho tick ¬

ets which he did very carefullyandgiven them to me he could go off ontho little vacation which came to himby his master through me

Thats a little bit evasive How ¬

ever I havent tho right to ask youto give away your partners anyhowHo was peering at Mercers face behind his glasses but the pallid tiredfeatures returned him no clew to thothoughts in the head abovo themWhat have you done with Mr Keatch

am ho concluded suddenlyTho question brought no change of

expression and Mercer answered read-Ily I put him off by himself whereho sees no one and hears nothingI road a good deal about prisons andthe most effectual way of taming menand solitary confinement Is recom ¬

mended by all the authorities Hismeals are handed to him byby a me-chanical device He has electric lightsome of the time turned on from theoutside Ho has a comfortable roomand his own showerbath He hascomfortable meals And he is suppliedwith reading

Rending repeated tho colonel hissurprise in his voice

For tho first time ho saw Mercersmile but it was hardly a pleasantsmile Yes suh reading he said1 have had typewritten copies made

of all tho cases which I discovered Inregard to his staallng our company Ireasoned that when he would get ab ¬

solutely tired of himself and his ownthoughts be would just naturally boobllgbcd to read and that would beready for him Ho tore up ono copy

HornI cant say I wonder Whatdid you d01

I sent him another I expected hewould do that way After a while hewill go back to it because it will drawhim Hell hate it but he will wantto know them all I know his natureyou see

Wha are you going to do with

himLet him go after ho does what wewant and promises never to molestany of us

Dut can you trust himHe never breaks his word replied

Mercor Indifferently and besides heknows ho will be killed It he shouldHo isnt given to being scared buthes scared of mo all right

What do you want him to dotPromise to be a decenter man and

to let Mr Tracy alone In future moan ¬

while to send a wire in his secret codesaying he has changed his mind Itwill not surprise his crowd Ho neverconfides in them and ho expects themto obey blindly anything In that codelanguage I reckon other telegramsare just for show and they dont no-tice them much

The colonel took a turn around theroom to pack away this Informationin an orderly fashion in his mind Mer ¬

cer waited patiently he had saidtruly that he was used to waiting Per-haps

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he supposed that Winter was try¬

lug the case in his own mind but inreality Rupert was seeking only oneclew as little diverted from his pur ¬

pose as a bloodhound He began to-

t

understand tho man whoso fixed pur ¬

pose had his own quality but sharp¬

ened by wrong and suffering Thisman had not harmed Archie as muchas his warped and fevered soul couldfeel softer emotions ho was kindlyIntentioned toward the lad Who hadcarried him away then Or was hooft on his own account really thistime Or suppose Atkins the missingsecretary discharged at Denver cOming back for another appeal to his em ¬

ployer finding Keatcham gone but lotono say stumbling on some traco ofmystery In his departure supposehim to consider tho chance of his hay ¬

ing his past condoned and a rosy fu ¬

ture given him if his Suspicions shouldprove true and ho should rolcaso thocaptive wouldnt such a prospect spuron a man who was as cunning as hewas unprincipled Mightnt ho havewatched all possible clows and might ¬

nt he have heard about Archie andplotted to capture tho child thinkingho would be easily pumped Thatwould presuppose that Atkins knowthat Archlo was at tho Arnold orno he might only have seen tho boyon the street ho know him by sightthe colonel remembered that severaltimes Archie had been with him inKeatchams care It was worth con ¬

sidering anyhow Ho spoke out ofhis thought Do you think Keatcham could hne told the truth and thatcode of his to lost or stolen T Whycouldnt AtMna have stolen ItT lIehad tho chance and ho isnt hamperedby principle you say

Mercer frowned it was plain thepossibility had its argument for him

He might he conceded but I doubtIt Why hasnt he done somethingwith it Ho hasnt They wouldnthave postponed that meeting if he hadwired his proxy and his directions inthe code Hed have voted his em ¬

ployers stuck lIes got too much atstake I happen to know bo thought ita sure tip to sell short and he has putalmost all he has on It You seeKeatcham was banking on that hoknew it Ho thought Atkins wouldntdare give any of his secrets away orgo against him in this deal becausethey were In the same boat

Still I reckon Ill have to see

KeatchamMercershook his head gently but

with decision I halo to refuse youcolonel but unless you promise not tointerfere it is Impossible Dut Illgladly go with you to see It we canfind any traco of Archie Ill risk thatmuch And If you will promise

Such a promise would bo Impos ¬

sible to an officer and a gentlemanthe colonel urged lightly smiling Dosides dont you ECO I have all thocards I have only to call In my menId hole to do It but If you force meyou would have no chance resisting

Wo shouldnt resist colonel nosuh your force Is overwhelming DutIt would do no good you couldnt findhim

Wo could try and wo may be bet ¬

tor sleuths than you ImagineThen It would be the worse for

him for It you find him you will findhim dead H

CO tJLLUefTI

There was something so chilling Inhis level tones that Winter broke outsharply Are you fooling with meTHave you been such an Incredible madman as to kill him already

Mercers faint smllo made the colo-nel fool boyish and Impetuous Ofcourse not sub he answered I

told you ho was alive myself I reckoned you knew when n man is lyingand when ho Is telling the solemntruth You know I have told youtho truth and treated you on thesquare nut just the same If you tryto take that man away youll onlyhavo his dead body Ho cant do anymore harm then and a dead man cantvoteTho

colonel who had taken out hisclgaretto case opened it and meditatively fingered the rubber band Doyou reckon he suggested in his mostamiable voice do you reckon youngArnold and Endlcott Tracy will standfor such frills In warfare as assassi ¬

nationI do not sub replied Mercer

gravely and as ho spoke ho pushedback tho heavy tapestry hiding a win-dow

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opposite the colonels head butthey can both prove an alibi Mr Ar ¬

nold Is in Pasadena and there goesMr Tracy now In his machine to tryto find Archie Do you see

Tho colonel saw Ho Inclined hishead at tho same time proffering hiscaseI rather think Mr Mercer that Iwas wrong You have the last trump

CHAPTER XIThe Charm of Jade

It was no false lure to distract pur ¬

suit that hurried sentence of Ran ¬

dalls which had met tho colonelsangry appeal for Information Thowoman was not only repeating MrsWinters message tho message Itselfdescribed a fact As she stood at herroom telephone Aunt Rebecca hadhappened to glanco at Randall supple-menting tho perfunctory dusting of thohotel maid with her bwn sanitarydamped clean cloth llandalls eyessuddenly glazed and bulged In suchvtartllng transformation that Insteadof questioning her Mrs Winterstepped swiftly to tho window whereshe was at work to seek the cause ofheragitationOh

I Oh Mrs Wintergasped Randall Aint that MasterArchie

Mrs Winter saw for herself thoface at a cab window the waving of1 slim hand Archies face Ambleshand Brief as was tho space of hispassing for the two horses In tho cabwere trotting smartly she was sureof both Give mo my bonnet shecommand any bonnet any glovesAnd my bag with soine money

It was as sho flung through the doorthat she throw her message to thecolonel back exactly as Randall hadsubmitted It Miss Smith was comingalong tho loggia Dont stop mosaid Mrs Winter sternly Ive seenArchie Im after him

Stop cried Miss Smithbut itwas to the elevator boy who was whiz ¬

zing below them in his cage not to heremployer and she boarded tho eleva-tor with tho older woman Ill gowith you she said There was novibration In her even tones althougha bright red flickered up In her cheek

But Rebecca Winter caught savagelyat her breath which was coming fastIt is not with tho running you

neednt think It Janet she pantedsharply In a second It was tho sightof his faceso suddenly I never ex ¬

pected any face would make my heartpump like that again All of whichshowssho was speaking quito natur-ally and placidly again = that womenmay grow too old for men to makefools of them but never for childrenComo It was a shabby sort of hackho was In drawn by two horses withauburn tails Heros tho offlco floor

Not a word did Janet Smith sayshe was not awoman of words In anycase Moreover tho pace which MrsWinter struck was too rapid for com ¬

meats or questions it swept themboth past the palmshaded patio intothe side hall out on tho noisy daz ¬

zling swaying street Looking beforeher Miss Smith could see tho dustybody of hack a block away MrsWinter had stepped up to n hugecrimson motor car In tho front seatof which lounged tho chauffeur hisforehead and eyes hunched under hisleather visor The machine was pufflag with tho engine working readyto leap forward at a touch of tho lever

Twenty dollars an hour If you letmo get In now said Mrs Winterlightly mounting by his side as shospoke

Hey moT what gurgled thochauffeur plucked out of a halfdoze

Oh say beg your pardon lady butthis U hired it belonGs-

I

1

dont care to whom It belongs Ihave to have it announced Mrs Win ¬

ter calmly Whoever hired It can getanother Ill make it all right Youstart on and catch that hack with thoauburn talled horses

Ill make it right with your fareMiss Smith cut In before tho chauffeur

ofkldnapjIng

spoke an elderly man and his ivlfecame out of the shop They staiedfrom her to tho automobile and intheir gaze was a proprietary Irrita ¬

tion This was instantly transfusedby n moro vivid emotion The womanlooked Shocked and compassionate

Oh pal she gasped did you hearthatThe man was a country banker fromIowa Ho had a very quick keen eyeIt flashed Case of kidnaping heysnapped ho instantly grasping thocharacter of tho speakers and jumpingnt tho situation Tako tho automadam Got a move on you MrChaulfeurl I

Oh Im moving all right calledthe chauffeur as ho skillfully divedhis lower wheels under tho projectingload of n great wagon and obliquelybumped over tho edge of a street carfender pursued by tho motormanscurses I see em lady I see the redtails Ill catch cm I i

Ills boast most likely had been madegood since for another block theyboro straight on their course but CorInn orange wagon which had been Jturned There was a rush of pursuitof tho golden balls from tho sldowalkJa policeman come to tho j

traffic and ordered everything to hnltIuntil the cart WAS righted The boysand girls In tho street chased back tothe sidewalk Tho episode took barelya couple of minutes but on the edgeof the last minute tho cab turned acorner The motor car turned thosame corner but saw no guiding oriflimmo of waving rid horsehair Thecross street next was equally bareThey were obliged to explore two ad ¬

jacent highways before they camoupon tho hack again This time It wasIn distant perspective foreshortenedto a blur of black and a swish of veilAnd even as they caught sight of it thehorses swung round Into profile andturned another corner In tho turn aman wearing a black derby bat ntuckhis arm and head out of tho window Inorder to glvo some direction to thodriver Then ho turned half aroundIt won almost as If ho looked back atJhis pursuers yet this Mrsargued hardly could be since he hadnot expected pursuit and anyhow thechances were ho could not know herby sight

It was a moan street narrow andnoisome but full of shipping t tameand barred by tramways a heart-breaking street for a chase The chauf-feur

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was a master of his art hejumped his great craft at every va ¬

cant arms length bo steered itthrough Incredibly narrow anon heprogressed sometimes by luffs like aboat under sail when the forwardpassage much be reached In such in ¬

direct fashion but the crowd of un ¬

gainly vehicles loaded dizzily abovehis head made the superior speed oftho motor of no avail In spite of himthey could see tho red tails lesseningAgain and yet again the hook turnedagain but each time with n loss toomotor struck its trail Dy now thostreet was changed the dingy twostory buildings lining It were bright ¬ yv

ened by the goid loaf and vermilion foriental arms and garbs and embroid ¬

Cry spangled the windows and orlenaIIfaces looked Inscrutably out of door iwnya Thoro rose the blended odoraof ayrco aananlwoexl and unclonnllness that announce the cast reekingup out of gratings and pulling out ofshops

Ah said Mrs Winter softly toherself Chinese quarter is itWell Her eyes changed theyvsoftened in a fashion that would haveamazed one who j only know tho surtaco of Mrs Winter tho eccentric so-ciety potentate Sho looked past thesqualid garish scene past tho shinoIng sandhills and tho redwood treesbeyond Into a stranger landscape glow¬ iing under a blinder glare of sun Halfmechanically sho lifted a tiny gold fI6Ichain that had slipped down her throat Iolrunder tho gray gown Raising the yel ¬

low thread and the craven jade orna ¬ t

ment depending therefrom she let It fHe outside amid the white lace andchiffont Y

Were making good now calledtho chauffeur Will I run alongsideand hall em or what

Bho told him quietly to run along ¬

side But her lips twitched and whenshe put up her hand to press themstill she smiled to discover that herhand was bare Sho had forgotten topull on her glove She began to pullIt on now a

Tho road Is narrow said she Runahead of tho back and block its way 4

You can do it without hitting thedhor-ses cant you > 1Well I guess returned tho chant¬ +r i

feur Instantly accomplishing themaneuver in fine style M

TO Hi CONTINUEDi

Idaho Ahead of Egypt r

America has now triumphed over N li

Egypt and India In holding what willsoon bo the largest Irrigated tract ofdesert land In tho world This Is whatis known as tho Twin Kails county Intbo state of Idaho The ultimate areaunder Irrigation when the entire TwinFalls project shall have been complot ¬

ed will be 1350000 acres HarpersWeakly t