Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

n Tn ...i ? GREEN (FANCY By GEORGE BARR MeCUTCHEON Mor wf -GRAUSTARK." THE HOLLOW OF HER HAND.-TFE PRINCE OF GRAUSTARK," ET& CbvMilv Mi M?4 Cmvmt. Iw. "I shalFSo my best," he said eimplj Silently he drew a chair to the dooi mounted it and, drawing himself up b his hands, poked his head through th *r?nsnm. An instant later he wa n the floor again. She heard him in erting a key In the lock. Almost b< fore nhe rould realize that It had a< dually huppened, the door opened slow !y, cautiously, and his thin wiry figur through what seemed to her d< more than a crack. As softly the dooi was closed. For a long time she stood, dazed an( anbelleving, in the center of the room taring at the door. She held he: breath, listening for the shout tha was so sure to come?and the shot perhaps I A prayer formed on her lip: and went volceiessly up to God. Suddenly she roused herself front the stupefaction that held her. Wit! feverish haste she snatched up gar ments from the chair on which she hac carefully placed them in antlcipatior of the emergency that now presentee Itself. A blouse (which she neglectec to button), a short skirt of some dart material, a jacket, and a pair of stout walking shoes (which she failed t< Scce), completed the swift transforma lion. As she glided to the window, sh( Jammed the pins into a small black hat of felt Then she peered over the ledge. She started back, stifling a cry wit! Ser hand. A man's head had almost come In contact with her own as she leaned out. A man's hand reached aver and grasped the* Inner ledge ol the casement, and then a man's face was dimly revealed to her startled raze. CHAPTER XIV. A Flight, a Stone-Cutter'# Shed, and a Voice Outside. "Why have you come up here?" She . tame swiftly to his side. "Thank the Lord, I made It," Be whispered, breathlessly. "I came up Because there was nowhere else to go t thought I heard voices?a man and a woman speaking. They seemed to be quite dose to me. Don't be alarmed. Miss Cameron. I am confluent that I can?" "And now that you are here, trapped ' as I am, what do you purpose to dol You cannot escape. Go back before it is too late." "Is Sprouse?where Is he?" "He is somewhere in the house. 1 was to wait until he?Oh, Mr. Barnes, I?I am terrified. You will never know the?" "Trust him," he said. "He is a mar eL We'll be safely out of here in a little while, And then It will all look . simple to you.. You are ready to go" Good! Sit down, do! If he doesn't return in a minute or two, I'll take a look about the house myself. I don't Intend to desert him. I know this flooi pretty well, and the lower one. The stairs are?" "But the stairway Is closed at the bottom by a solid steel curtain. It ie made to look like a panel in the wall You are not to venture outside this loom, Mr. Barnes. I forbid it You?" < "How did Sprouse get out? Ton sale Four door was locked." "H? had a key. I do not know where he obtained?" "Skeleton key, such as burglars use By lore, what a wonderful burglar h< would make I Courage, Miss Cameron! He will be here soon. Then comes the ml adventure?my part of it I didn't tome here tonight to get any ll&shy ole arown jewels. I came to take you oul of?" Ton?you know about the crowi Jewels?** she murmured. Her bodj seemed to stiffen. "Then yon know who I am?" "No. You will tell me tomorrow." "Yes, yes?tomorrow," she whls pered. For some time there was silence Both were listening Intently for sound: in the halt She leaned closer to whis per In his ear. Their shoulder touched. He wondered if she experi snced the same delightful thrill tha ran through his body. She told blm o the man who watched across the hal from the room supposed to be occuplei by Loeb the secretary, and o Sprouse's Incomprehensible daring. "Where Is Mr. Curtis 7" he asked. Her breath fanned his cheek, he Dps were close to his ear. "There 1 no Mr. Curtis here. He died fou months ago In Florida." "I suspected as much." He did nc nrpss her for further revelation *Sp rouse should be here by this tlmi I must go oat there and see If he ri quires any?" She clutched his arm frantlcall; "You shall do nothing of the kind. Yo ?hall not?" MSh! What do you take me fo Hiss Cameron? He may ??r.ely | 1 g irocd of help. Do you think tha I would leave him to God knows w. sort of fate?" "But he said positively that I was go In case he did not return in?In teen minutes," she begged. "He n have been cut off and \ias compel to escape from another?' "Just the same, I've got to see w has become of?" "No! No!" She arose with h dragging at his arm. "Do not be f hardy. You are not skilled at?" "There Is only one way to stop i Miss Cameron. If you will come v> me now?" "But I must know whether he cured the?" "Then let me go. I will find whether he has succeeded." He was rougher than he realized wrenching his arm free. She uttere low moan and covered her face v, her hands. Undeterred, he crossed r| the door. His hand was on the ki y when a door slammed violently so - where In a distant Dart of the hou; a r fl A hoarse shout of alarm rung < t. and then the rush of heavy feet o s thickly carpeted floors, j. Barnes acted with lightning sw r. ness. He sprang to the open wind 9 half-carr^ins, half-dragging the j with htm. ? "Now for it!" he whispered. "No r second to lose. Climt) upon my bai I quick, and hang on for dear life." ] , had scrambled through the windi r and was lying flat across the s t "Hurry! Don't be afraid. I am stro , enough to carry you if the vines j their part," With surprising alacrity and sn j ness she crawled out beside him a i then over upon his broad back, clas i * Holding to the Ledge With One Har I He Felt for and Clutched the Thi ? Vine With the Other. : ing her arms around his neck. Hoi lng to the ledge with one hand he f< for and clutched the thick vine wi ' the other. Slowly he slid his body < ' of the sill and swung free by one ar An instant later he found the lattl with the other hand and the hurri descent began. TTIu feet touched the srround. In t ; twinkling of an eye he picked her i in his arms and bolted across the 1 ' tie grass plot Into the shrubbery. S ; did not utter a sound. | Presently he set her down. E ( breath was gone, his strength < hausted. "Can you?manage to?walk a lltl ' way?" he gasped. "Give me your har 1 and follow as elose to my heels as y ' can. Better that I should bump Id | things than you," Shouts were now heard, and shr ' blasts on a police whistle split the a On they stumbled, blindly, reckle: r ly. He spared her many an Injury taking it himself. More than once s Qiuruiureu s;ui|iaiuj nucu uv 1 into a tree or floundered over a 1< ' Utterly at sea, he was now guessing * the course they were taking. Whetli : their frantic dash -was leading the I toward the Tavern, or whether th t were circling back to Green Fancy, knew not. Panting, he forged onwai 1 At last she cried out, quaverlngly: T MOh, I?I can go no farther! Cai 7 we?Is it not safe to stop for a n ment? My breath is?" "God bless you, yes," he exclaim* and came to an abrupt stop. S leaned heavily against him, gaspl ? for breath. "I haven't the faint* 3 idea where we are, but we must some distance from the house. 3 will rest a few minutes and then ta " it easier, more cautiously. I am eor t hnt it waft th? nnlv thine to do. rou * u3 it was. "I know, I understand. I am r 11 complaining, Mr. Barnes. You will fl ' me ready and strong and?" "Let me think. I mu^t try to { my bearings. Good Lord, I w r Sprouse were here. He can see In 1 s dark. We are off the path, tha ^ sure." "Do you think he escaped?" "I am sure of it Those whist ' were sounding the alarm. He n come this way. The chances are tl your flight has not been discovered, you feel like going on? We must h f. them to the Tavern. They?" u "I am all right now," she said, t they were off again. Barnes now picl r, j his way carefully and with the gre in est caution. -He. could only pray tl t i he was going in the right direction, hat An hour?but what seemed thrice as long'?passed and they had not come to , to the edge of the forest Her feet were beginning to drag; he could tell that my by the effort she made to keep up with le<] htm. Prom time to time he paused to allow her to rest hat "You are plucky," he once said to her. Im MI am afraid I could not be so plucky )01. If you were not so strong," she sighed, and he loved the tired, whimsical little me twist 3he put Into her reply. rith To his dismay they came abruptly - 1 t? ?l,n j upon a regiou auuuuuiug m uu^e mw, ee. j This was new territory to him. His heart sank. on! "By Jove, I?I believe we are farther away from the road than when we [ jn started. We must have been going up (j n the slope Instead of down." ,{tj, "In any case, Mr. Barnes," she mur[ tc mured, "we have found something to nofc sit down upon." mp. He chuckle^ "If you can be as je cheerful as all that, we sha'n't miss juj the cushions," he said, and, for the first veJ time, risked a flash of the electric torch. The survey was brief. He led jft her forward a few paces to a flat boulow der, and there they seated themselves, jlpi "I wonder where we are," she said. 1 am inclined to suspect that wf )t j are itbore Green Fancy, but a long way off to the right of it Admitting ch. that to be the case, I am afraid to re H? L trace our steps. The Lord only knows what we might blunder Into." "I think the only sensible thing to do, Mr. Barnes, is to make ourselves as snug and comfortable as we can re> and wait for the first signs of daynd break" ,p_ He scowled?and was glad that It was too dark for her to see his face. I He wondered if she fully appreciated j what would happen to him if the pur|suers came upon him In this forbidding spot. He could almost picture his own bpdy lying there among the rocks and rotting, while she?well, she would merely go back to Green Fancy. "I fear you do not realize the extreme gravity of the situation. We must get out of these woods if I have g to carry you in my arms." w/ "I shall try to keep going," she said w quickly. "Forgive me if I seemed to f] falter a little. I?I?am ready to go W on when you say the word." II. "You poor girl! Hang it all, perhaps you are right and not I. Sit still and I will reconnolter a bit. If I can find a place where we can hide among f these rocks, we'll stay here till the sky begins to lighten. Sit?" "No! I shall not let you leave me for a Second. Where you go, I go." Ik She struggled to her feet, suppressing i a groan, and thrust a determined arm f through his. "That's worth remembering," said I he, and whether it was a muscular necessity or an emotional exaction that caused his arm to tighten on hers, none save he would ever know. After a few minutes prowling among the rocks they came to the face of id, what subsequently proved to be a ek sheer wall of stone. He flashed the light, and, with an exclamation, started back. Not six feet ahead of them 'd* the earth seemed to end; a yawning black gulf lay beyond. Apparently th wpro on the very edge of a cliff. "Good [Lord, that was a close call," m- he gasped. He explained In a few ce words and then, commanding her to e(* stand perfectly still, dropped to the ground and caj-efully felt bis way forhe ward. Again he flashed the light Is ?P an instant he understood. They were on the brink of a shallow quarry. be Lying there, he made swift calculations. The quarry, no longer of use to lis the builder, was reasonably sore to be !X* abandoned. In all probability some sort of a stone-cutter's shed would be tle found nearby. It would provide shelter id, from the fine rain that was falling and ou from the chill night air. He rememl*? bered that ODowd, in discussing the erection of Green Fancy the night beIN fore, had said that the stone came from a pit two miles away, where a ss" fine quality of granite had been found. Two miles, according to Barnes' quick he calculations, would bring the pit close ed to the northern boundary of the Curtis >? property and almost directly on a line '* " * -A OmiAnan ai With tne point wuere uk ouu o|jivu? m entered the meadow at the beginning ;m of their advance upon Green Fancy, ey That being the case, they were now he quite close to the stake and rider fence rd. separating the Curtis land from that of the farmer on the north. Q t "Good," he said, more to himself 10* than to her. "I begin to see light Are you afraid to remain here while I go ^ down there for a look around? I be eha'n't be gone more than a couple of ng minutes." -st "The way I feel at present," sne be said, Jerkily, "I shall "never, never from Ve this Instant till the hour In which I ke die, let go of your coat-tails, Mr. ry> Barnes." Salting the action to the gh word, her fingers resolutely fastened, not upon the tall of his coat but upon *ot his sturdy arm. "I wouldn't stay here nd alone for anything In the world." "Heaven bless you," he exclaimed, ?et suddenly exalted. "And, since you put Ish it that way, I shall always contrive to :he be within arm's length." it's And so, together, they ventured along the edge of the pit until they reached the wagon road at the bottom, les As he had expected, there was a rummy shackle shed hard by. It waB not Sat Tnuph of n nlace. but It was deserted Do &nd a safe shelter for the moment eat A workman's bench laj on Its side in the middle of the earthen floor. He ind righted it and drew It over to the ccd boarding. . . . She laid her head .at- against his shoulder and sighed deeply, hat . . . Hq kept his ejres glued on the door andTIalened fort&e first ominous sound outside. A long time afterward a she stirred. o "Are you cold? You are wet?" "It was the excitement, the nervous- 0 ness, Mr. Barnes," she said, drawing o slightly away from him. "Isn't It near- 1 ly daybreak?" e He looked at his watch. "Three t o'clock," he said. There ensued another period of si- M lence. She remained slightly aloof. ? "You'd better lean against me," he el said at last. "I am softer than the beastly boards, you know, and quite as * harmless." "Thank you," she said, and promptly f, settled herself against his shoulder. f< "It Is better," she sighed. "Would you mind telling me some- tl thing about yourself, Miss Cameron? I should like to know whether I am to A address you as princess, duchess, or? y Jijst plain Miss." p "I am more accustomed to plain g Miss, Mr. Barnes, than to either of the titles you would give me." "nAnf unii fp<>l thHf T ?m dpsprrlna I of a little enlightenment?" he asked. "I 0 am working literally as well as fig- p uratlvely in the dark. Who are you? ^ Why were you a prisoner at Green h Fancy? Where and what is yonr na- n tive land?" e "Mr. Bnrnes, I cannot answer any t< one of yonr questions without Jeopar- tl dlzlng a cause that is dearer to me n than anything else in all the world. ] l] am sorry. I pray God a day may soon 6] come when I can reveal everything to you?and to the world. I am of a j( otrii.'ken country; I am trying to serve ^ the unhappy house that has ruled It for centuries and Is now in the direst peril. The man you know as Loeb 13 * a prince of that house. I may say this to you, and It will serve to explain my position at Green Fancy: he is not the prince I was led to believe awaited me _? there. He Is the cousin of the man 1 expected to meet, and he Is the enemy of the branch of the house that I would serve. Do not ask me to say more." "Your sympathies are with the entente allies, the prince's are opposed? Is that part of Sprouse's story true?" "Yes." "And O'Dowd?" "ODowd Is anti-English, Mr. Barnes; If that conveys anything to you. He Is not pro-German." "Wasn't it pretty risky for you to carry the crown Jewels around in a traveling bag, Miss Cameron?" "I suppose so. It turned out, how* ever, that It was the safest, surest way. I had them In my possession for three days before coming to Green Fancy. No one suspected. I was to deliver them to one of their rightful owners, Mr. Barnes?a loyal prince of the blood." "Bnt why here?" he insisted. ? I ImU U15IU Weihgt Suits For Summer fAmfnii Willi VII Tropical Worsteds, medium, and dark pat Two and three-piec Tailored to hold th< Tropical \ Palm Bea< Mohair Su Serge Suit Straw Hats, New SI PARK ll <1 idli B8?I 1^??g "He was to fake them into'Canada, ad thence, In good time, to the palace f his ancestors." "I am to understand, then, that not niy yon bat the committee yon speak f, fell into a carefully prepared trap, "he treachery, therefore, had Its in* eption In the loyal nest. Ton were berayed by a friend." "I am sure of It," she said bitterly. If this man Sprouse does not sue a? ? aK T Kollnva "I etsu m rvsiuiiu^ mc?uu, A. wmv.v ball kill myself, Mr. Barnes." The wall of anguish In her voice rent straight to his heart "He has succeeded, take my word or It They will be In your hands be3re many hours have passed." "Is he to come to the Tavern with 3em? Or am I to meet him?" "Good Lord 1" he gulped. Here wai contingency he had not considered There and when would Sprouse apear with his booty? '1?I fancy we'll nd him waiting for us at the Tavern." "But had you no understanding?" "Er?tentatively." The persplratloc tarted on his brow. He was thinking f something else: his amazing sto ldlty In not foreseeing the very sltua' Ion that now presented Itself. Whj ad he neglected to settle upon I leeting place with Sprouse In tlM vent that circumstances forced then 9 part company in flight? Fearing hat she would pursue the subject hi lade haste to branch off onto anothei ne. "What Is the real object of the con piracy up there, Miss Cameron?" "You must bear with me a llttk inger, Mr. Barnes," she said, appeallgly. "I cannot say anything now." "You said that tomorrow nighl rould be too late. What did you mean y that?" She waited a few seconds and then emoved her head from hl3 shoulder, [e heard the sharp Intake of her Pure Ice Manufactured Under i SOFT DRINKS I Soft CIGARETTES tobaccos CANDIES VX)r FRUITS We ?, CIGARS the mosl licit you Abbeville Cai Palm Beaches, Mohairs terns. e Suits, half, quarter a sir shape under all con Vorsteds, $16.50 1 :hes, $10.00, $12.50 an its, $20.001 s, $20.00 i lirts. Silk Socks, Hand Solf Collars. E R & R breath and felt fEe convulsive more* meat of the arm that rested against his. There was no mistaking her sodden agitation. f "I will tell yon," she said, and h? was surprised by the hsrshness that came Into her rolce. "Tomorrow morn' log was the time set for my marriage to that wretch up there. I could hare avoided It only by destroying myself. If yon had come tomorrow night In* stead of tonight yon would have found me dead, that la alL Now Ton understand." : "Good God! You?were to be forced Into a marrlafe with?why. It la UM most damnable?" f "ODowd?God bless him I?was ng> only champion. He knew my father. He?" "Listen 1" he hissed, starting to his feet. _ Cow Must Repay Generous Feeding. The cow most be regarded as a sort of living machine. She takes the raw .materials given her in the j form of food and works them over int milk. If the supply of proper materials is small, the output will be small. The cow that will not repay generous feeding should be disposed of anl one bought that will. There are, of course, certain inbred characteristics or natural qualities which even liberal feeding can not overcome. Subscribe to The Press and Bannei; t t . ????1^?? Mil lib??' Cream? Sanitary Conditions : Drinks and Sections I re prepared to serve yon in t courteous manner and so- B r patronage. H tidy Kitchen I 5 and Serges, in light, H md skeleton lined. BB ditions. B| to $25.00 d $15.00 H to $22.50 to $40.00 H "I eeseI