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have been :.c all these yesn that you have grown overconfident. I tell ou that there is a desperately -. ewd mari vomewhere back of an St~s. Mark mo, I do not' believe Har ve is dead. He is in hiding. It m be near by. He may have dropped rithe balloon before it left land. The man they picked up may be Orts, thkagrnan-The five thousand might hai been his fee for rescuing Har Here, Is the greatest thing 1 eeveer been up against; and you .start in with every day methods! -Little woman, don't let your tongue eqaway valth you too tar." *Trn not the least bit afraid of you, You -need me. and It has never eeO IM apparent than at this mo , right I ell by the wayside hA1trip. Truthtfly, I realizedftive - nteos afttr the men were gone. The ~ ~~ etyde 'rthing T did was to keep iask on my tce. 'Ibey can't bure to akat me. But the thing looked eas; -and it would have worked liat for Norton's appearance." -Yoa all but comproinsd me. That 1Iesr- woruies me a lttle." lr en ssio- lost its anger and grew thoughtfuL -H's always about, some ere. D ypu think Hargreave took te. IL He's been watched P* 40 hours. He hasn't la letter or telephoned to any burthe grocery There hae Sno telegrams. 'Some one in that 4bou'1rna where the mone Is, and -m*1wtq m. that ft M be the gr. ib"e lookes enough ilk Kratana to -weaLbwe to the. window atup, at the sta ~ ~~ have made a good trapression the. ~ with his back stM to 4 her in my asma ~ yik-at Is oftto n"irn tbathis face was Agin in Tod~vgy rean "gad e tonabip1 ipfl the. hei@ja -yes.' 'And -es and .they nd us that newepser easel wiLl eemIyting rng Toad you t&w hOut thefr even ganine 4in th bU1inU&. We must npblic any me. Tbis - y know where! stzdod eren im arreaeaeve 3ind ~name was thenr-ti Har -aeinothe fold; So sure - aiitat iaedher as&aInre i a stii'tin. She. ten in loge butoo lat to-~warR him. '1 ru hert andhmerhe. In hng ahief fotedAMfls an- ever - ci tehid -tlIByou. told- mie.' ea.was madly Ia love with ~sedhe~bue cm. back thehouse to- forgive her, to find hdbeen 3.1ued by thoe ersrt This ebatkad uthe Asoan nuathe t twen ov Wsametoa halt abruptly oosid ather. -sorrid. on-have -no rivaL. eI~ ta daughte~ to your teander Th tiztier she safd,-has full pow & cCaouyto act for trargreave aht up to the daay the giut a eife of legal age." ' d!W aiss~aeye on'our Mendronea. did arn day ad night, there win -staat the kmanhalea and 'ware .i ea could you make up anything Z~etbmgir .udenrly. Gifa r likenss." IkMotthera5ip which picked ~#hema at sea and gais the tap ~wthe aviator or Eargreave ~b~dlv. 1s mportant to learn which e wevry carefu4; play the >miastiou know how to play it. ~AdtHargmeva Is dlive, we win. To nozu irning. girly.; Tears of an - sikR that. Sailors .are easy ha armn weese. No color. r ' uemerjmut themellow wig and the ensatrs Now, by-by'! r'en'mto going to kiss me, Leo?" afa.2Helight her hands. "There Is a og Delisa about you, Olga. A > is tornight from your lips would snip 16eh2ocs; -a I need a clear head. TuoSiberwe fail or win, when this gamne Is pinyedyou shall be my wife." ~Hsikim- -the hands and strode out Elle weapan gased'down at her small ~h-M~ anI4 and inlled tenderly. (The tigress bas, her tender moameans) He !ahewut i! a ~ weulp into her dressing room and W. r n boar or more worked over her Rhbe and balr, till she was certain that - dAtte egtain of the ship described her toe anyone else he could not fail to give fair description of Florence Har. -But Norton reached the captain first. ~Othere reporters had besieged him, but they had succeeded in gathering the 'vaguest kind of infotan. They had no deserlption of Hargreave, while ~-Norton had. Before gong down to the & Kbeat, however, he had delved Into the -~-aat of the..Prineess Oldt Perigoff. It Seas him a pocketful of money, but the edjustified the mens. The princess a d no past worth mentioning. By - iecing thIs-and that together he be meassured that she had told the imple truth regarding the relationship -'to lorcaice's mother. A cablegram h ad given him all the facts i~n her his t~ 7', there were no gaps or discrep Subscribe ni Mystery." 4- Times. Get i isp 1sIpidup,o Mill andes. It rad clea aMd frank. Trust a Rnaen secret agent to know what be was t3Lkpg about. go Norton's suspicions-and he had entertained some-were completely lulled to sleep. And he wouldn't have doubted her atall except for the fact that Braine had been with her when he had introduced Hargreave. Ear' greave bad feared Bralne; that much the reporter had elicited from the but ler. But there wasn't the slightest evidence. Braine had been in New York for nearly six years. The princess had arrivedin the city but a year gone. And Braine was a member of several fashionable clubs, never touched cards, 'and seldom drank. He was an expert obese player and a wonderful amateur billiardist. Perhaps Jones, the taciturn and inscrutable, had not told him all be knew regarding his master's past. WeR, well; he had In his time un tangled worse snarls. The office had turned him loose, a free lance, to handle the case as he saw fit, to tur In the story when it was complete. But what a story it was going to be when he cleared it up! The more mys tfying it was, the greater the zest and sport for him. Norton was like a "I Am Not Afraid of You, L." ganker .who played ,r big stakes. and only big. stakes stirred his crav The captain of the-tramp steamer 'Odent told him the same tale he had told the-other reporters; he ha& picked upa-man atasea. The man had been br-h aboard totally exaunated. -was there another body any wheret" "No." "What became af him? - "I .sent a 'wireless and that 'seemed to bother huzg. It looked s that he did not want anybody to learn that he had been jeecued. The moment the boat tonnce4 the'pler helost himself in the crowd.- Fifty reporters came aboard, bot he was gone. AndlIcould but tell them jt what I'm tellng you." "H. had money." "A~bout Eve thousand." "Pleas. describes him.' .dsripon he had given tosaR-tliere porters. -Norton looked over the rail at the big warehouse. "Was it anordinary ballo~on?" "Ther. you've got me. My Marconi man says the balloon part was like any-other balloon; but the passenger car was a aew business to him. It could be driven against the wind." Driven s'gainst the wind. Did you tall thIs to the other chaps?" . "Don't think' I did. Just remem bered it. Probably some new inven tion; and now it's at the bottom of the sea. . Two men, as I understand it, 'went oft in this contraption- one is gone for good." "Bar good,". echoed the reporter gravely. Gone flor good, indeed, poor devIlI Norton teok out a roll of bills. "There's two hundred Sn this roll." Wqli?" said the captain, vastly as "'s yours if -rea will do~ me a small avor." "If It doesn't get me mixed up with the police. i'm only captain of a tramp; and some of the harbor police have taken a dislie to me. What do you want me to do?" "The police will not bother you. This man Hargreave had some enemies; they want either his life or his money; maybe both. It is a peculiar case, with Rnsnia in the background. Ho might have laid the whole business. before the police, but he chose to fight it out himself. And to tell the truth, I don't blisve the poliee would have done any good." "Heave her over; what do. you want me to do for that handsome roll of money?" "If any man or woman who is not a reporter comes to pump you tell them the man wernt ashore with a packet un der his arm." "Tie rs knot in that:' "Say that the man was gray haired , lean shaven, straight, with a sear !.i up on his forehead, generally cot' recd up by. his hair." "That' battened down, my lad. ('o - Say that you saw him entEr yonc':: >w to The Tim Remember Trh ni the game a: r you migrht be jon (CONTINUED FROM LAST WE] warehouse, and later depart without e his packet." C "Easy as dropping my mudhook." 6 "That's all." Norton gave the cap- V tain the money. "Good-by and many thank&" "Don't mention it." h Norton left the slip and proceeded to the office of the warehouse. He ap- E proached the manager's desk. I "Hello, Grannis, old top!" I The man looked up from his work I surlily. 'Then his face brightened. I "Norton? What's brought you here? -0, yes; that balloon business. Sit M down." II "What kind of a man Is the captain e of that old hooker in the slip?" "Shifty in gun running but other- c wise as square as a die. Looks funny a to see an old tub like thaL fixed up t with wireless; but that has saved his 3 neck a dozen times when he was run-' b ning it into a noose. Not going to in terview me, are you?" "N. I'm going to ask you to do me 5 a little favor." "They always say that. But .spin her out. If It doesn't cost me my job, 9 It's yours." "Well, there will be a person mak- f Ing Inquiries about the mysterious aeronant. All I want you to say is, i that he left a packet with you, that you've put It In that-safe till he calls 1 to claim it." Grannis nibbled the end of his pen. "Suppose some one should come and t 'demand that 1,open the safe and de liver?" "All you've got to do Is to tell them 3 to show the rebelpt signed by you." r The warehouse manager laughed. I "Got a lot of sense in that ivory dome 8 of yours. All ight. But if anything t happens you've got to come around and back me up. What's t about?" "That j dare not tell you. This 1 1nuch, -Im laying a trap and I wagt some one I don't know to fall into it." "On your way, James. But If ypu don't send me some prize fight tickets I next weel for this, rI. never do yu another favor." In reply Norton took from his pocket two bits of pasteboard and laid them e on the desk. "I knew you'd be want ing something like this." "Ringside!" cried Grannis. "You re porters are lucky devils!" "I'd go myself if- there was any 1 earthly chance of a ieal scrap. M make me laugh. Gran. You're al A going, always hoping the next onel be a real one. But It's all bunk. The pgs are the biggest fakers on top the z sod. They've got us newspaper men ( done to' a frazzle." "I guess you're right. Well, count < on - me regarding that mysterious r bundle'in the safe." "At three o'clock this afternoon I I want you to call me up. If no one has i called, why the game is -up. But If i some one does come around and make I inquiries, don't fail to let me know." "I'1l,be here till five. I'd better call you tip then." Then Norton returned home 'and Idled about till afternoon. He went over to Riverdale. Five times,. he1 walked up and down the front of the Hargreave place, fizially plucked up i his' courage and walked to the door. 1 Aster all, he was a lucky mortal. He had a good excuse to visit this house, every layin the week. And there wasj something tantalizing in the risk he I took. Besides, he wanted to prove to1 himself whether It was a passing fancy ora something deeper. That's the way 'with humans; we never see a sign "Fresh Paint" that we don't have to prove It. He chatted with Florence for a while and found that, for all she might be guileless to the world, she was a good linguist, a fine miisician, and talked with remarkable keenness about books and arts. But unless he roused her, the sadness of her position always lagvrtten In her face. It was not difficult for him to conjure up her dreams in coming to the city and the blow which, like a bolt of lightning from a clear sky, had shattered them ruthiessly. "You must come every day and tell me how you have progressed," she said. "I'll obey that order gladly, when ever I can possibly do it. My visits' will always be short." "That is not necessary." "No,* said Norton In his heart, "but It Is wise." Always he found Jones waiting for him at the door, always In the shadow. "Well?" the butler whispered. "I have laid a neat trap. Whether this balloon was the one that left the top of this house I don't know. But ifj there were two men in It, one of them lies at the bottom of the sea." "And the man found?" The butler's voice was tense. "It was not Hargreave. I met Oda but once, and as he wore a beard then, thie captain's description did not tally' with your recollection." t "Thank God! But whatis ths trapr "I propose to find out by It who Is back of all this, who Hargreave's real 4 enemies are.". Norton returned to his rooms, thel'e to await the call from Granais. Be: 1 was sorry, but if Jones would not ta~ I hin into his fullest confidence,. I 1 must hold himself to blame for ag - ~iumder he (Norton) made. Of oourg e could -readily understand J'oner' angle of vision. He knew nothing of the general run of reporters; he had heard of them by rumor and distrusted them. He was not aware of the faot a that the average reporter carries mor'e a secrets in his head than a prime min- S iter. It was, then, up to him to -s6t C about to allay this distrust and gain 1 the man's complete confidence. Meanwhile that same morning a I pretty young woman boarded the I Orient and asked to be led to the cap- I tejn. Her eyes were red; she ha4 1 es, and get the e Pastime will ad win the $1 cuet off in the x lollar ;K-LOOK FOR NEXT ISSUI vidently been weeping. When the aptain, susceptible like all sailors. aw her his promises to Norton took rings. "This is Captain Hagan?" she asked, alling the handkerchief she held in er hand. "Yes, miss. What can I do for you?" le put his hands embarrassedly into is pockets-and felt the crisp bills. lut for that magic touch he would ave forgotten his lines. He sQuared is shoulders. "I have every assurance that the 2an you picked up at sea is my father. am Florence Hargreave. Tell me verything." The captain's very blundering de elved her. "And then he hustled .otn the gang-plank and headed for hat warehouse. He had a package ;hich he was as tender of as if it ad been dynamite." "Thank you!" impulsively. "A man has to do his duty, miss. A allor's always glad to rescue a man ,t sea," awkwardly. When she fnally went down the angplank the sigh the captain heaved va3 almost as loud as the exhaust rom the donkey engines which were orking out the crates of lemons from he hold. "Maybe she is his daughter; but wo hundred is two hundred, and I'm poor sailor man." Then Grannis came in for his roubles. What was a chap to do rhen a pretty girl appealed to him? "I am sorry, miss, but I can't give ,ou that package. I gave the man a eceipt and till it is presented to me he package must remain In yonder afe. You understand enough about he business to realise that. I did Lot solicit the job. It was thrust upon e. I'd give a hundred dollars it the >lame thing was out of my safe. You ay it Is your .fortune. That hasn't >een proved. It may be gunpowder, lynamite. I'm sorry, but you will Lave to find your father and bring the eceipt." The young wornan left the ware iouse, dabbing her eyes with the odden handkerchief. "I wonder," mused Grannis, as he atched her from the window, "I won l'er what the deuce thati. chap Nor on is up to. The girl might have >een the man's daughter. . . . Good .rd. what an ass I am! There WSat any 1pan" And eo he reached ter for &b telephone. Immediitely' upon receipt of the essage the reporter set his machin ry in motion. Some time before awn he would know who the arch :cuspirator was. He questioned.Gran is thoroughly, and Grannis' ddscifp ion tallied amazingly with that of Florence Hargreave. But a call over he wire proved to him conclusively hat Florence had not been out of he house that morning. On the morrow the newspapers had eare-heads about an attempt to rob he fDuffy warehouse. It appeared hat the police had been tipped be orehand and were on the grounds in line to gather in several notorious ~unmen, who, under vressure of the hird degree, vowed that they had een hired and paid by a man in a nask and had not the slightest Idea rhat he wanted them to raid. Noth ng further could be gotten out of he gunmen. That thef -were lying he police had no doubt, but they ere up against a stout wall and all 'YuMutCmeEey a ndTi othin - aslueynohng u Youe eMsty Come Eva Dayin and Tell era cound wn o hld hemen fort Nortn hadden aufne temper. tera lhcaefu Flangthe ha gained Braine cradwaed omthing-fote btter eityodacning paace diltes-r oate an, whmp had beet fored By ,hair' hidende thea ecped thea) Th Ferain o th fact asFel sof hairwn breathig He d escaewh ow to account for the flickering light the upper story of the warehouse. is ancient enemy had been watch wonderful st( show each chk 0,000. Be su: nidst of the st Myst Ing him alUthe time. More tnan tmls,l Hargreave and the meddling reporter t were in collusion. In the flare of c lights at the end of the gun-play he had caught the profile of the reporter. I Here was a dangerous man, who must s be watched with the utmost care. He, Braine, had been lured to com mit an overt act, and by the rarest t good luck bad escaped with nothing t more serious than a cold chill and a r galling disappointment I He crawled along the top of the pier, listening, sending his dark-accus- t tomed glance hither and thither. The s sky in the east was growing paler and 1 paler. In and out among the bales I of wool, bags of coffee and lemon 1 crates he slowly and cautiously t wormed his way. A watchman pa- t trolled the office side of the ware house, and Braine found it possible to eteep around the other way, thence into the street. After that he straight ened up, sought a second-hand shop and purchased a soft hat, which he pulled down over his eyes. He had half a dozen rooms which he always kept In readinesf for such adventures as this. He rehted them furnished in small hotels which never asked questions of their patrons. To one of these he went as fast as his weary legs could carry hih. He al ways carried the key. Once in his room he donned fresh wearing ap parel, linen, shoes, and shaved. Then he proceeded downstairs, the second hand hat shading his eyes and the upper,part of his face. At half past twelve Norton entered the Knickerbocker cafe-restaurant, and the first person he noticed was Braine, reading the morning's paper, propped up against the water carafe. Evidently he had just ordered, for there was nothing on his plate. Nor ton walked over and laid hi)s hand upon Braine's shoulder. 'The man looked up with mild curiosity. "Why, 'Norton, sit down, sit down! Have you had lunch? No? Joia ne." "Thanks. Came in for my break fast,' said Norton, drawing out the chair. Braine was sitting with his back to the wall on'the lounge-seat. "I wonder if you newspa*er men ever eat a real, 'true enough bi'eak fast. I should think the hoqrs you lead would kill you off. Anything new on the Hargreave story?" "I'm not handling that"tb er lied cbeertully. f4jM I knew him rather intilmate' . e a horror- of dead people, and don't want to be called upon to Identify the body when they find It." "Then you think they will find it?" "I don't know. It's a strange mixup. I'm not on the ,story, mind you; but I was in the locality of Dufy's ware house late last night and fell into a gunman rumpus." "Yes, I read about that. What were they after?" "You've got me there. No one seems to know. Some cock and bull story about there being something valuable. There was." "What was -It? The report in this paper does not say." "Ten thousand bags of offee." Braine lay back in his chair and laughed. "If you want my opinion," said Norton, "I believe the gunmen were out to shoot up another gang, and the police got wind of It," "Don't you think It about time the police called a halt in this gunman matter?" "Ohfl, so long as they pot each other the pollee look the other. way. It saves a long trial and passage up the river. Besides, whenever they are nabbed some big- politician manages to open the door for them. Gi-eat is, the American voter." "Take Mr. Norton's order, LuigL, said Brain. "A German pancake, buttered toast and coffee," ordered the reporter. "Man, eat something!" ( "It's enough for me." "And you'll go all the rest of thea day on tobacco. I know sospething of you chap.. I don't see how you man age to. do It." "Food Is the least of our troubles. By the way, may I ask you a few ques tions? Nothing for print, unless' you've got a new book coming." "Fire away." "What do you know about thel Princess Perigoff?" "Let me see. Hi'm. Met her first about a year ago at a,. reception given to Nasimova. A very attractive wom an. I see qute alot of her. Why?" 1 "Wel), she claims to be a sort of;1 aunt to Hargreave'e daughter" "She sai1 something to me about that the other night. You never 1 know where you're at inithis world, do you?" The German pancake, the toast,, the coffee disappeared, and the reporter passed his cigars. "The president visits town todaya and I'm off to watch~the, show. I sup pose I'll have to interview him abouti the tariff and all that rot. When you start on a new book let meknow and I'll be your -press agent" "That's a bargain." "Thanks for the breakfasts" Braine picked uD b hfnwasapr; smoked and read. He smoked, es, but he only pretspded Mri pyoung fool wa oleves, but ei> man.a Is infallble. He had hot the leasti suspickmn; he saw only the newspaper story. Still, In some mannes he] might stumble upon the truth, and1 It would be just as well to tie the reporter's hands effectually. The raor of early morning had been subdued; anger and quick tenm. per never paid in th'e long run, and no1 one appreciated this fact better than Braine. To put Norton out of the way temporarily was only a wise pre caution; It was not a. matter of spite r reprisal. ry, "The Mill apter as it app! e that your s ory. ery. He pad the reckoning, 10t the res aurant, and dropped i.:t ou of h1 lubs for a game of billias. In rew quite a gallery about the tablA. le won easily, racked his rnze and ought the apartments of the princess. What a piece of luck it was that )lga had really married that old do ard, Perigoff! He had left her a Itled widow six months after her mar lage. But she had had hardly a ko eck to call her own. . "Olga, Hargreave is alive. He was here last night. But somehow he .ticipated the raid and had the po Ice in waiting. The question is, has Le fooled us? Did he take that mil ion or did he hide it? There is one hing left-to get that girl. No mat er where Hargreave is hidden, the mnowledge that she is in my hands will bring him out into the open." "No more blind alleys." "What's on your mind?" "She has never seen her father. She )onfessed to me that she has not even *en a photograph of him." There was a long pause. "Do you understand me?" she asked. "By the Lord 'Barry, I do! You've t head on you worth two of - mine. he very simplicity of the idea will Attempt to Rob the Duffy Warehouse. win out for us. Some one to pose as ier father; a message handed to her in secret; dire' misfortune if she whis pers a word to anyone; that her fa ther's life hangs upon the secrecy; she must confide in no one, least of al Jones, the butler. It all, depends apon how the letter gets to her. Bred in 'the country, she probably sleeps with her window open. A pebble at ahed to .a note, tossed into the win dow. I'll trust this to no one; I'll lo t mnyself. With the girl In our control the rest will be easy. If she really does not know where the money Is Hargreave will tell us. Great head, ittle woman, great head. She does not know her father's handwriting?" "She has never seen a scrap of It. All that Miss Farlow ever received ras money. The original note left on the doorstep with Florence has been lost. Trust me to make all these in uies." "Tomorrow night, then, immedi Ltely after dinner, a taxicab will await her just around the corner. Grange is the best man I can think of. He's an artist when it comes to playing the old-man parts." "Not too old, remember. Han greave isn't over forty-five." "Another good point. I'm going to stretch out here on the divan and nooze for a while. Had a devil of a time last night." "When shall I wake you?" "At six. We'll have an early dinner ent in. I want to keep out of every body's way. By-by!" In less than three minutes he was Bound asleep. The woman gazed down at him in! wonder and envy. If only he. could drop to sleep like that. Very softly she pressed her lips to his hair. At eleven o'clock the following night the hall light in the Hargreave house was turned off and the whole nteior became dark. A shadow crept through the lilac bushes with out any more sound that a cat would have made. Florence's window was open, as the arch-conspirator had ex pected it would be. With a small Btring and stone as a sling he sent the letter whirling skillfully through the air. It sailed into the girl's room. The man below heard no sound of the Etone hitting anything and concluded that it had struck the bed. He waited patiently. Presently a wavering light could be distinguished aver the sill of the window. The girl was awake and had lit the candle. rhis knowledge was sufficient for his need. Tho tragic letter would do the rest, that is, if the girl came fromr he same pattern as her father and mothr-strong willed and adventu He tiptoed back to the lilacs, when i nose sent him close to the ground. Ealf a dozen feet away he saw a shadow creeping along toward the ront door. Presently the shadow stood up as if listening. He stooped gain and ran lightly to the steps, up hese to the door, which he hugged. Who was this? wondered Braine. Patiently he waited, arranging his poe ;re so that he could keep a lookout it the door. By and by the door )pened cautiously. A man holding Scandle appeared. Braine vaguely ,cognzed Olga's description of the utler. The man on the veranda sud lenly blew out the light. Braine could hear the low murmur >f voices, but nothing more. The con rersation lasted scarcely a minute. Fhe door closed and the man ran ion Dollar ears in The habsrition | Housekeepers ! You Need No Longer Guess, There's a Way to Know! From now on we shall operate a strictly dependable de livery service, observing a schedule with 'railroad punctu ality. The careful housekeeper can know just when to order her things for any specific delivery. In keeping our schedule right up to the notch in eihciency, we shall not be able to make any in between or "right away" delive-ies except in cases of illness, as such deliveries would disarrange our schedule and throw our whole business into disrepute with systematic housekeepers. HERE'S THE SCHEDULE. Orders Received by 7 A. M. go out on 1st Delivery. Orders Received by 9 A. M. go out on 2nd Delivery. Orders Received by 11 A. M. go out on 3rd Delivery. Orders Received by 6 P. M. go out on 4th Delivery. Pin Your Faith to Our Dependable Delivery Service and Save The Worry. The M1lannillg Groerv Co. Purveyors to Particular People Watch For The Big This will be the BIGGEST Season in Sumter's Business Circles. There are lots of things for you and prices will be better than you have expected. Be Patient ! And then Rewarded. SUMTER. S. C. FOR HORSES, MULES WAGONS. BUGGIES. SURRIES, HARNESS, ETC., call to see us. We expect to get in a few more Fords soon, but they are hard to get now and the factory has sold all they can make by October 1st. Also a fuli line of tires and parts. 1O .l2, D. C. SHAW CO., SUMTER, 'Phone 553. BRING YOUR Jcob Worck TO 1ThE TIMES OFFICE.