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w COPYRIGHT, EY SYNOPSIS. > W^. i CHAPTER L?In a New York jewelry i store Philip Severn, United States con- I sular agent, notices a small box which , attracts him. He purchases it. Later he discovers in a secret compartment a writ; \ ing giving a clew to a revolutionary movement in this country seeking to overthrow the Chilean government. The writing mentions a rendezvous, and Severn decides to investigate. CHAPTER II.?Finding the place mentioned in the writing apparently deserted, Severn visits a saloon in the vicinity. woman in the place is met by a man, seemingly by appointment, and Severn, suspicions aroused, follows them. | They go to the designated meeting place, g|tVv an abandoned iron foundry. M ' v, . CHAPTER IIL?At the rendezvous Severn is accepted as one of the conspirators and admitted. He meets a stranger who appears to recognize him v;xr?jrTEK IV.?The stranger addresses Severn as Harry Daly. The incident plays into Severn's hands and he accents it. His new acquaintance Is a notorious thief, "Gentleman George" Harris. Concealed, Severn hears the girl he had fol* iowed address the conspirators. She urges them to hasten the work of revolution. >f-v CHAPTER V.?Leaving the crowd to discuss the message she had brought, the girl discovers Severn listening. She ac' ? cepts his explanation of his presence and makes an appointment to meet him next day. He tells her his name is Daly. Har* i \ rls informs him of a scheme he has to secure a sum amounting to $1,000,000, the revolutionary fund, and offers to "split" with him. Severn accepts the proposition. i&Ajs? ' . CHAPTER YL?Severn learns it was his new friend and a "Captain Alva" who had lost the box which started him on the trail. Harris tells him the woman is Marie Gessler. He arranges to meet Severn next day at Tom Costigan's saloon. Leaving the building, Severn notices a stalled automobile a few blocks away. Investigating, he finds the body of Captain Alva, stabbed to death with a hatpin dagger. Securing it, he remembers having seen it, or one like it, in Marie Gessler's bat CHAPTER VII.?Believing Marie feft the foundry with Alva, Severn is forced to believe she is the slayer. He takes the dagger with him, leaving the body tni Ka rtlarnvoroH lntOT? At- tho a/iHraaa Marie had given him he finds she is r unknown. He visits CostJgan's and learns that Harris has disappeared. Gostigan apparently has no doubt that Severn is really "Daly," and gives him his full I confidence. CHAPTER VHI.?At his hotel Severn finds a message asking him to 'phone the Hotel McAlpin. He does so and is invited to.call. At the McAlpin he meets Marie Gessler. She refuses fully to explain her I position, and he is unable to make up ^his mind as to whether she is guilty or innocent of Alva's murder. The presumption, however, is all against her, and Severn, on whom she has made a deep 'mpression, is in a quandary. _ CHAPTER IX.?With Marie, Severn visits Perond's cafe, an underworld resort, where the girl believes they may meet Harris and a Russian Jew, Ivan Waldron, a leading spirit in the scheme of robbery. At Perond's, Harris discovers Severn, and heltevfosr the' latter has obtained the money after killing Alva, attacks him. Severn fights him and Waldron off, and, with Marie, escapes. The girl refuses fully to explain her position in connection the conspirators, insisting that Se* vern must give her his full confidence. With that he is forced to be content s ' , ' ( CHAPTER X ~~ The Proof of Murder?The Back Room t of Costigan's I watched her through the glass doors until she vanished among the crowd in the lobby. I could not permit her to go away like this; to get beyond my sight and knowledge?yet I hesitated too long, until she had merged into the swirling crowd and was lost. It was indeed a strange feeling of loneliness which swept over me in that moment. Never before had I felt such depth of interest in a woman, or i experienced such regret at parting. With no apparent effort, seemingly utterly indifferent, she had nevertheless become intwined with jmy life, her iM?ACAnAA a n/\AAcc*if*.t mx* V*o nninocc a ucvcoonj xui uuj The soft pressure of her body, the touch of her hand, was intoxication; the glance of her eyes sent the warm blood pulsing through my veins. She had become tt> me an inspiration, a 1 memory to dream over, a ho^p no j longer to be resisted. This was strange, so strange as to ' be beyond understanding. I argued It with myself, but to no result. The fact would not be denied. Here was an unknown woman, original and beautiful, to be sure, yet one whose very identity was shrouded in mystery. rfo all appearances she was actively engaged in conspiracy against the government of Chile, in a crime against human life. She was unques- j tionably the authorized agent of a i gang of revolutionary plotters?I had j witnessed their reception of her as : one of their own, and could not doubt Avlrienre of mv own oves She ! had borne them instructions, and stood in their midst, in secret conclave, speaking as one having authority. More than that, even, she had refused to deny this connection, to reveal her name, or acknowledge any other purpose. She had used me to further her ends, whatever they might be, preying upon my personal .interest in her, I l I)allpI5bish 40R0P ? >.ANSE CASEtfCAVSNVISH > ?. Illustrations' <&r v4-weil RANDALL PARR1SH ana yet refusing to lift "a single fold of this curtain of mystery. What could it mean, but that she was secretly ashamed to permit of my full understanding? The thought of the stolen money, the murder of Alva, recurred to me; the invitation I had overheard for her to accompany him t on his fatal trip, and her accept ance; the positive assertion of Harris that she had done so; her confessed knowledge that the money had actually been given into the possession of the Chilean captain; the nature of the i weapon- with which h^ had been killed; her remaining in New York instead of returning to Washington. I could not blot these things out, no matter how hard I endeavored to ' reconcile them with her denials. I trusted her; I would continue to trust her against the world, yet deep down in my heart lingered a question unanswered. If she was honest, square, actuated by some worthy purpose, why did she still refuse to confide in me? Surely I had been sufficiently tested? and she knew who I was. If she was the sister of a classmate whom I knew and loved, what necessity remained for the concealment of her name? What, indeed, except shame at the part she was playing in this sordid drama of life? Some of my earlier suspicion had been eradicated, for now it was clearly demonstrated that It could not have been her knife which had pierced Alva's heart Whatever j else I might believe against her, this [ evidence no longer existed, for she j still wore the dagger in her hat Peculiar as the design was, the weapon locked in my valise, which I had picked up blood-stained on the floor of the car, was not hers; It had been wielded in its deadly work by some other hand. But whose? Did she know? Did she even suspect the assassin? Was she even now endeavoring to conceal his identity? These questions were unanswerable; I could only partially drive them back by ! memory of the girl herself; it was ^ ^ 1 ' i uad The Dagger I Had v Was Gone. impossible to recall her vividly to mind, and yet associate her with so foul a crime. I was still immersed in such thoughts, mentally struggling for her honor, and my own justification, when I finally attained the quiet of my room. I was squarely up against a stone wall; there was no light perceptible anywhere. Neither Harris nor Waluron was guilty of thi^ crime; they AKlitArotarl furthor pnfl* WCiC UUULClultU uviu xut luv* vv_ Rideration. These two worthies had undoubtedly done their best, but had been outgeneraled by some one else; and, whoever that other might be, he had made a clear get-away, leaving not even a lurking suspicion behind him. It was the job of a master-thief, an expert in crime?or else had been accomplished through the blind luck of some one whose very identity cloaked any possibility of suspicion. My glance wandering about the room aimlessly fell upon the valise in one corner. It was just where I remembered leaving it when I went out, yet I saw something which surely resembled a slash in the leather. I crossed over, and bent down; it was a slash, the clean cut of a knife, rui? j ning from end to end, penetrating through both leather and eloth. Who ever had done the deed had been unable to operate the lock, and had used the blade as a la^t resort, slitting the entire bag wide open. I inserted my hand and felt within; nofhing seemed missing, or greatly disturbed. I explored to the bottom, and then sprang to my feet in startled amazement?the dagger I had con cealod tnere was gone: Good God!.what could be the meaning of this? She had worn that ornament in her hat openly, purposely, to fool me into believing her innocent. There could be no other explanation. She had confessed being at the hotel, seeking to locate me, and the number of my room. What xfrould prevent her coming up here unobserved, then, while I was out, and gaining entrance? And who else would have any reason to thus search through my things, anfl aDStract uns important evidence t?x crime? Yet how did she know I had It? How did she even suspect I was the first to discover the dead body, and bear away with me the tell-tale weapon with which Alva had been murdered? I had no means of knowing how?only she alone had special reason to regain possession of that knife. And she had even dared later to flaunt it in my very face, to show it to me in her possession, just as though it had never passed out of her hands! Here was revealed a depth of duplicity, a criminal audacity, not to be expressed in words; this soft spoken girl, this woman to whom I knew I had given my heart, stood revealed now in all her. hideousness?a murderess, a thief, a scheming criminal, coolly concealing the trail of her crime, and using her very charms of face and manner to conceal from me her true nature. Perhaps she would see me again? perhaps! The lie was yet warm upon her lips. She had gone away laughing at the simpleton who had believed her, the dupe who had so easily been deceived by her smiles. The chances were she had disappeared already, vanished, left the city, assured that no evidence now remained behind to ever connect her with this tenjlble affair. She cared nothing for me?I) had been a mere tool, pliant in her hand?I remained merely in her memory as something to laugh about, another victim, a blind, groping fool, with whom she had played to her heart's desire. I sat with my head in my hands staring at the mutilated bag, racked with anger and misery. I had been easy, a mark of derision and ridicule; I a mere screen for her to hide behind, while her accomplice, if she had one, escaped with the spoils. Then the reaction came; the thought that perhaps I had not read the story wholly aright; the faint hope that It might not prove exactly as I had pictured in my first wild burst of passion. It was too infamous, too unthinkable. Why, if she was guilty, should she have remained In New York? Why should she have sought me out, or listened so intently to the quarrel of those two men at Perond's? What could she possibly gain by thus overhearing the tale of their failure, If she already knew - - ' * J ? 1? A WHO was ine murueref uivaivo, auu what had become of the spoils? 'I could ask these questions, but not one was answerable. .They merely mocked me with their emptiness. Then, shrill and insistent, the telephone rang. My heart was beating like a triphammer as I took down the receiver. Who could be calling me at this hour? Who except she alone in this city knew my name and hotel? "Hullo." A man's voice spoke huskily. "This you, Daly?" "Yes," hastily, instantly aware or who was on the other end of the wire, yet feeling it best to dissemble until I learned the purpose. ! "Who is .speaking?" | "The fellow you biffed with a bottle tonight. No, I ain't got no hard feelings. Besides, I got something else to think about than a cracked dome. Say, I got some dope on how that job was did, an' maybe could tell you some tiling else 01 interest, jl got iu una. with you privately?that's what. It's a matter for the girl as well as yerself. I'm playing square as long as you do the right thing, but I know who the dame is, an' am liable to soueal if I get a raw deal; that's put ting it straight, Harry." 1 "You know who she is, you say?" "Sure I do. Old Pierre, over at Perond's, told me. He never forgets a face, or a name, that old duffer. He knew you the minute you blew in, and he knew her, too; she'd been there before slumming." "Who is she, then?" "That's all right?I know: but I ain't fool enough to blow it over the wire. If you'll come over here and have a talk, m spijl a few things in your ear that'll make you wis*." 44Where are you7" "At Costigan's." "What's become of your partner?" "Who's that?Waldron? He ain't no ! partner of mine. Say, you must have handed that guy some jolt. The last I saw of him, he was laid out on a bench in Perond's back room breathing like a stuck pig, dead to the world. Will tr/vn r>nrr\a nvor VlPrpV "What have you got to tell me?" "Well, there's the dame's name for one thing. I'll bet you don't even know who she is, or how she's stringin' you. Then I'm on to where a part of that boodle's planted?anyhow I've got a hunch. If we turn it up, I'm still strong on the fifty-fifty proposition." - . J I turned it over swiruy in my nimu, the receiver still at my ear. I felt no [ articular fear of Harris; to be sure, in all probability, he was only feeling about in the dark, hoping in this way j to learn something of value, yet it might be that he had accidentally uncovered the girl's identity, and that alone was inducement enough to urge me to take the risk. If he actually knew who she was, he was the kind that might become ugly, and, however much I suspicioned her in my own j mind, I had no desire to lea"ve"TTer un- I defended at his mercy. Guilty or not j guilty, my inclination was to protect | her to the last. Besides I was eager ! to obtain the information he claimed | to possess; indeed, all progress on the ! case was blocked until I did obtain it ! As to his boast that he knew where j the stolen money was concealed, I; took little stock in that. Doubtless he ' merely threw that in for good measure. But the other looked reasonable enough; she had confessed being at | Perond's before; Pierre was fully as j likely to recall her to memory as he j was to remember Daly, and Harris j could never have made so shrewd a guess, unless he had really been told the facts. Another thing gave me courage to go to Costigan's. I was still accepted by these people as Harry Daly, crook. I would undoubtedly be so received, so treated. Under these circumstances there could be no personal danger; I held the whip-hand,] the advantage?Harris was only endeavoring to see what he could get: out of me; he had abandoned force to resort to uipionmcy. "All right," I said. "I'll run over there; if you want to play fair, I'll meet you half way." "Oh, I'm on the square, old man, and I've got some good dope," he insisted. "I'll blow it when you show up." I returned the receiver to the hook, uncertain whether or not I had decided rightly, yet determined to carry out the experiment. Above all else I wanted to learn who Marie Gessler j was. Nothing else mattered so muen, for on this discovery all else, hinged. ^ If violence, or treachery, was intended, I would be found prepared, and well able to defend myself. The neighborhood into which I was venturing induced me to take a taxi,! and, within ten minutes, I was deposited at the door of the saloon. I pressed open the swinging door, and stepped into the brilliantly lighted barroom. Costigan was behind the bar, but, at sight of me, rounded the end, and shook hands cordially, removing his apron, and slipping into a coat, in token that he had changed his occupation. "Better call Charlie," he said to a man beside him, "for Til be off for an hour or so. You came to see George?" 'Tes; he telephoned me." "Said he was goin' to. He's waitin' in the office there, ni go along with TTAtl M j ,?vu. He pushed a passage through the crowd, his breadth of body according me ample room in which to follow without being obstructed, and opened the closed door with a pass-key. To a wave of his big hand I passed confidently past him, and entered. The next instant he had pressed me forward, came in also, and closed the j door; the sharp click of the lock sounded like the repo-t of a pistol. One startled glance at the interior told me I was trapped, and the swift Instinct of defense led me to step aside, so that I should have my back to the wall. Harris sat in the swivel chair, with feet elevated on the desk, sardonically grinning at: me over a half-chowed cigar tilted between his I teeth. A white rag was hound round j his head, through which a few ?irops r*- 1 ^1 j "I'll Bet You Don't Even Know Who She la." of blood had oozed, leaving a dark stain. Leaning against the wall op* posite was Waldro'n, one eye halfclosed, and his lip split, giving to his face a look of savage brutality, rendered peculiarly sinister by a grim effort to smile. Costigan remained motionless, with back against the door, as though thus barring all possibility of escape. I had walked into their trap, and the jaws had ciosecr. The grin on Harris' face maddened j me. "Well," 1 said coldly, "it was a stall, was it? What is the idea?" Ro lnnched. without changing his i ~v% ^*o ? ' attitude. . "This happens to be our turn to play, Daly," he returned, apparently j well satisfied with his smartness. I "Then you have nothing to tell me?" 1 "Oh, yes. I have; I've got a h?1 of a lot to tell you. But first of all you are going to tell me a few things. I Push back your right sleeve to the el| bow, shirt and all." "What's that for." "Never you mind what it's for; you J- 1 T ?... :f vnn l-nftn- il? [ UO Wliai i 11 ?? uu aiiVK I best for yourself." I j I looked at the faces of the others, j but they were hard as flint. My hesitancy caused Harris to lower his feet, I (Continued on page 7, culomn 1.) ' A Rare Girl. "Jack said I was a dream." "What did you say?" "I told him to wake up."?Ex. To Cure a Cold in One Day Take LAXATIVE BROMO QUININE (Tablets.) It stops the Cough and Headache and works off the Cold. E. W. GROVE'S signature on each box. 30c. _ T? T? "DT1T T TVTn 171T5 JX. r. JDJCj IXiLsXV ATTORNEY-AT-LAW General Practice in All Courts. Office Work and Civil Business a Specialty. Money to Lend. Offices in rear over Hoffman's Store. BAMBERG, S. 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