Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Th( and they've kidnaped her Alght under your hose! What was the number of that car?" "Cut out that line of talk, young fel lah; I know my business. They had the proper documents." "But yoA hadn't brains enough to in quire whether they were genuine or not! You wait!" shriled the chauf feur. 'T. have you broken for this work." He wheeled and ran back to his car, to find Susan and the countess in a great- state of agitation. "They got her, they got her! And I swore on the book that they never should, so long as I drove the car." Susan wept, and the countess tried in vain to console her.. And when Jones was Informe: he frightened even the countess with the snarl of rage whichburned across his lips. He tore into the hai, seized'his hat, and was gone. Not a word.of 're proach did he offer to the chauffear. Braine and the Countess. He understoodthat no'one Is Infallible. He found the blundering policeman, who now 'realised that he stood in for a 'whiff of the commissioner's carpet. All he could do'was to give a good de scriptio of the man and woman. Word was sent broadcast through the city. The pollece ha4 to' be inf6rmed this time. Late in the day an officer whose beat included the ferry landing.at Hoboken said he had seen the three. Everything -had -looked al right to him. It was the motherly face of'the one and.the benign countenance of the other that had blinded him. At midnight Jones, liggard and #Ith the air of one beaten, returned home., No1 wireless yet?" asked Norton. "The George Washington of the North German Lloyd dloes not answer. Somnething has happened to her wires, tampered wit possibly." ao ong as weknow they are at sea,, we can remedy the evil. They will not be~able to land at a single port. I have sent ten cables. They can't get away -from-the wire. If I could only get hold of the names of those- damnable doc torn who signed that document! Twen Jones bent his head in his hands, and Norton tramped the floor till the sound of his. focitsteps threatened to drive the mnaing Susan into hys teries. "It is only a matter of a few days." "But San the child stand the ter rorst questioned. Jones. "Who knows that they may not really drive her In-. saner" On .board the George. Washington every one, felt extremely sorry for thIs banutiful -girL. It was e- frightful mis fortune to be so~stricken at her age.: "!She is certainly insane," said one of' the passengers, who had known Hargreave slightly through some bank lag business. "Hargreave wasn't max' ried. He lived alone.". After the second day out Florence was permitted- to wander about the ship as she pleased. A good many of the passengers were mightily worried when they learned that the wireless had in some mysteri ens way been tampered with after the boat had made the open sea. It was impossible to put about The appara tus must be fixed at sea. And when finally Norton's wireless caught the wires of the George Wash ington he was gravely informed that the .young lady referred to had leaped the rail off the Banks e.t night and had been drowned. She, had not been *missed till the' following morning. CHAP.TER 'X. Th~e Past a Blank. It was perfectly true that Florence had cast-herself into the sea. It had not been an act of despair, however. On the contrary, hope and courage had prompted her to leap. The night was clear, with only a moderate sea run ning. At the time the great ship was passing the banks, and almost within hail she saw a fishing schooner riding gracefully at anchor. She quite read ily believed that if she remained on board the George Washington she was lost. She naturally fori~ot the marvel of wireless telegraph'y. No longer may a man hide at sea. So. with that quick thought which was a par't of her inheritance, she seized- the~ life buoy. climbed the rail r.r~d leare -d far out. As the great, dark, tessing '-a. owooped up to meet her th --otea a .!ck of- wood bobbing up ,.: - dor. She tr'ed to avoid it, but erg'.'l n. nr~ struck it head n.~ Do s e N m'. am -. shue of the. ISubscribe i IMystery." Tims.Get paiup Mill and yon, from one swirl to another, like a chip of wood. Then everything grew blank. Fortunately for her the master of the fishing schooner was at the time standing on his quarterdeck by .the whel, squinting through his glass at the liner and envying the ease and comfort of those on board her. The mate, sitting on the steps and smok Ing his turning-in pipe, saw the mas ter lean forward suddenly, lawer- the glass, then raise it ftafi. "Lord a'mighty!" . "What's the matter, ca, a?" "Jake, in God's name, come 'ere an' take a peek through this glass. I'm dreamin'!" The mate jumped and took the glass. "Where away, sir" "A pint off th' sta'board bow. Bee ,somethin''white bobbin' up?" "Yesslrl Looks: like some one dropped a bolster 'ra pller over -board. . . . Cod's whiskersI" he broke of. "Then I ain't really seein' things," cried the master. "Hi, y' lubbers!" he yelled to the crew; "lower th' dory. They's a woman inith' water out there. I seen her leap th' rail. Look alive! Sharp's th' word! Mate, you go 'long. The crew dropped their tasks and sprang for the davits, And the star board dory was lowered in shipshape style. It takes' a good bit of semanship to haul a body out of the sea, Into a dancing bobtailed dory, when one moment It.is climbing frantically heav enward and the next heading for the bottomless pit. They were very ten der with her.. They laid her 'out in the 'bottom of the boat, with the life buoy as a pillow, and pulled energetically for the schooner. She was alive, be cause she breathed; but shedid iiot-stir so much as an eyelid. It was a .stiff bit of work, too, to land her aboard without.adding to her injuries. The master ordered the men to put her in his own bunk, where he nearly stran gled her 16y forcini raw brandy down her throat. "Well, shei'alve, anyhow." When Florence finally 'opened her eyes the gray of dawn lay on the, sea, dotted here and there by the schooners of the fleet, which seemed to be hang ing in midair, as at the moment there was visible to the eye no horizon. "Don't seem t' recognize nothin'." 'Mebbe she's got a fever," suggested the mate, r'bbing his bristly chin. "Fever nothin'! Not after bein' in th' water half an hour. Mebbe she hit one o' them wooden floats we left. Them dinged liners keep on crowdin' us," growled Barnes, with a fisher man's hate for the floating hotels. "Went by vithout a toot. See 'er, jes' like tht banker's wife goin' t' church on Sunday? A mile a minute; fog or no fog, It's all the same t' them. ~They run 'us. down an' never stop. -What th' tarnation we goin' to -do? .She'll haff t' stay aboard till th' run Is over. I can't afford t' yank up my mudhook this time o''day." "Guess she can stand three 'r four days In our company, smellin' -oil cloths, fish, kerosene, an' punk t'bac co." "If y' don't like th' kind o' t'bacco I buy buy your own. I ain't objectin' none." The mate stepped over to the bunk and gingerly ran his hand over the girl's head. "Cod's whiskers, cap'n, they's a bump as big's a cork on th' "The Poo Yon hn, Murmured back o' her head! She's struck one o' them fioatsealU right. Where's th' arnica?" Barnes turned to his locker and rum maged about, fially producing an an cient-bottle and some passably clean cloth used frequently for bandages. Sometimes a man grew careless with his knife or got in the way of a pulley block. With blundering kindness the two men bound up the girl's head, and then went about their duties. IFor three days Florence evinced not the slightest inclination to leave the bunk. She lay on her back either asleep or with her eyes staring at the beams above her head. She ate just enough to keep her alive; and the strong black coffee did nothing more than to make her wakeful. No one knew what the matter was. There was the' bump, now diminished; but that It should leave her in this comatose state vastly puzzled the men. The truth Is she had suffered a slight con cussion of the brain, and this, atop of all the worry she had had for the last few weeks, was sufficient to cause this blankness of the mind. The final cod was cleaned and OW to The Tin Remember TI in the game ~ wr you misght b ion[ (CONTINUED FROM LAST W) packed away In salt. the mnudhook raised, and the schooner Betty set her sails for the southwest. Barnes real, ized that- to save the girl she must have a doctor who knew his business Mrs. Barnes would know how to care for the girl, once she knew what the trouble was. There would be some news in the papers. A young and beautiful woman did not jump from a big Atlantic liner without the newspa pers getting hold of the facts. A fair wind carried the Betty into her haven, and shortly after Florence was sleeping peacefully in a feather bed, ancient, it is true, but none the less soft and Inviting. In all this time she had not spoken a single word. "The poor young thing!" murmured the motherly Mrs. Barnes. "What beautiful hair! 0, John, I wish you would give up the sea.* I hate it. It is terrible. I am always watching you in my mind's eye, in calm weath er, in storms. Pieces of wrecks come ashore, and I always wonder over the death and terror back of them." "Don't y' worry none about me Betty. I never take no chances. Now I'm goin' int' th' village an' bring back th' sawbones. He'll tell us what t' do." The village doctor shook his grizzled head gravely. "She's been hurt and shocked at the same time. It will be many days be fore she comes around to hersel. Just let her do as she pleases. Only keep an eye on her so that she doesn't wan der off and get lost. I'll watch the newspapers and If I come across any thing which bears up6n the case I'll notify you." But he searched the newspapers in vain, for the simple fact that he did not think to glance over the old ones. The village took a good deal of In terest In the affair. *They gossiped about it and strolled out to the Barnes' cottage to satisfy their curiosity. One thing was certain to their simple minds: some day Barnes would get a great sum of money for his kindness. They had read about such things in the family story paper. She was a rich man's daughter; the ring on the un known's finger would have fitted out a fleet. Florence was soon able to walk about. Ordinary conversation she seemed to understand; but whenever the past. was broached she would shake her head with frowning eyes. Her main diversion consisted of sitting on the sand dunes and gazing out at sea. One day a stranger came to town. He said he represented a life insur ance company and was up here from Boston to take alittle vacation. He sat on the hotel porch that evening, surrounded by an admiring audience. The stranger had- been all over the world, so It seemed. He spoke famil arly of St. Petersburg, Vladivostok. Shanghai, as the .villagers-some of them-might have spoken of Boston. There .were one or two old, timers among the~ audience. They had been to 'all these parts. The stranger knew what he was telling about. After tell Ing of his many voyages he asked If there was a good bathing beach near by. He was told that he would find the most suitable spot near Captain Barnes' cottage just outside ghe vil lage. "An' say, Mister, seen anythin' .In th' papers about a missin' young wom an?" asked some one. "Missing young I woman? What's that?" The man told the story of Florence's leap into the sea and her subsequent arrival at the cape. "That's funny," said the stranger. "I don't recollect reading about any young woman being lost at sea. But those big liners are always keeping such things under cover. Hoodoos the ship, they say, and turns prospective passengers to other lines. It hurts business. What's the young girl look like?" Florence was described minutely. The stranger teetered In his chair and smoked. ;Finally lespoke. -"She probably was insane. That's the way generally with insane people. They can't see water or look off a tall building without wanting to jump. My business Is Insurance, and we've got the thing figured pretty close to the ground.., They used to get the best of us on the suicide game. A man would take out a large policy today and tomorrow he'd blow his head off, and we'd have to pay his wife. But nowadays a policy is not worth the paper It's written on if a man commits suicide under two years." "You ain't tryin' to Insure anybody in town, are you?" "Oh, no. No work for me when I'm on my vacation Well, I'm going to bed; and tomorrow morning I'll go out to Captain Barnes' beach and have a good swim. I'm no sailor, but I like water." He honestly enjoyed swimming. Early the next morning he was in the water, frolicking about as playfully as a boy. He had all the time In the world. Over his shoulder he saw two women wandering down toward the beach. Deeper he went, farther out. He was a bold swimmer, but that did not prevent a sudden and Violent attack of cramps. And it was a rare piece f irony that the poor girl should save the life of that scoundrel who was without pity or mercy. As she saw his face a startled frown marred her brow. But she could not figure out the puzzle. Had she ever seen the man before? Slie did not know, she could not tell. 'Why could not she remezm ber? Why must her poor head ache so when she tried to pierce the wall of darkness which surrounded her men tally? The man thanked her feebly, but not in his heart. When he had sufl es, and get th< e Pastime wil] ~nd win the $ e cut off in the )olar PEK-LOOK FOR NEXT ISSUI clently recovered he returned t6 the village and sought the railway station; where the Western Union had 'its of flee. "I want to send a iode message to my firm. Do' you think you can fol low it?" "I can try," said the operator. The code was really Slav; and when the long message was signed it was. signed by the name Vroon. - The day after the -news came -that Florence had jumped overboard of the banks, Vroon with a dozen other. men had started out' to comb all the fishing villages along the New Eng land coast. Somewhere along-the -way he felt confident that. he'would learn whether the girl was dead or alive: If she was dead then the Is'e- was a draw, but if she-was alive there wae still a fighting chance for the BlAck Hundred. He' had had some Idea of re maining in the village and accom'plish Ing the .work .himself; but after delib .eration he concluded that it was Im portant enough "for- Braine hiiself to ~~M. Braine Took Florence Aboard the Chartered Yaht. take a hand In. So the following night he departed for Boston, from there to New York. He proceeded at once' to the apartment of the princess, where Braine declared that he himself would go to the obscure village and clrrm Florence as his own child. But Insure absolute success they wo .d 'charter Morse's yacht and- steam' right up Into the primitive harbor.' When 'Vroon left'the apartment'Nor. ton saw him. He was a man.'of .in. pulses, 'and he had found by experl ence that- first. impulses are generaJy the best.. He did not know who Vreer was. Any man 'who called .n Princess Perigot while Braine 'iras' with her would be worth folowing. On the other hail, Vroin r'ecognized the reporter- Instantly. end with that ever-ready and alert mind of .his set about to lure the young -mani into a trap out. of which he might not easil come. - Norton decided to follow his -maz., He might be going on a wild-goose chase, he reasoned; still is first im pulses had hitherto served him well. He looked -careworn. He was con vinced that Florence was dead, despite the assertions of Jones to the 'con-' trary. He had gone over all the mis haps which had taken place and he; was now absolutely convinicedithat~his, 'whilom friend Braine .and the Princess Perigoff were .directly -concerned.: Florence -had either been:. going.''to or coming from the- apartment. And that memorable day of- tlie abduction, the princeashad been'in the dry 'goods shop. Vroon took a downtown surface car,s and Norton took. the seame. -He sat huddled in a corner, never- suspecting tat Vroon was watching him from a corner of his efe. 'Nortdn was. not keen today. The thought of Florence kept running through his head.. - The car stopped and Vroon -got-off.. He led Norton a winding course which. at length ended at the door of a tene ment building. Vroon entered. Nor ton paused, wondering what 'next to do, now that his man' had reached~.his destination. Well, since he had fol lowed him all this distance he must make an effort to find out who he was and what he was going to do. Cau tiously he entered the hillway. As .he was about to' lay his hand on the newel post of .the. 'dilapidated'. ytairs the floor dropped from undef his, feet and he was precipitated into the cellar... This tenement belonged :to - the Black Hundr~ed; It concealed a thou sand doors and a hundr'ed triaps.' Its history 'was as dark as its hallwab,. When Vroon and 'his comipanion,. who. had been waiting~ for-.him, de-. scended into the cellar they found, the reporter insensible.' TIhey:boundg blI'nda folded, and gagged hhm quickly. "Saunders," said Vroon, "'yoii tell, Corrigan that I've a sailor for him to night, and that I want.' this sailor booked for somewhere .south of the equator. Tell him to say to the. mas ter that this fellow Is ugly.-and diso bedient. A tramp freighter, whose. captain Is a bully. Do you understand me ?" "I get you. But there's no need to go to Corrigan this trip. Bannock is in port and sails tonight for Norway.. That's far enough." "Bannock? The very man. -Well, Mr. Norton, reporter and amateur de tective, I guess 'we'v~e got you fast a wonderful st .show each ch 10,000. Be su~ midst of the s ery. made Braine furious. He reached again for Florence. ."Clear out o' here, 'r show your aU thority;" growled Barnes. "She goes with me, or you'll re gret it." "All right.' But I guess th' law won't hurt me none. I'm in my rights. There's the door, mister." "I refuse to go without her'" Barnes sighed. He was on land a ihan of peace, but there was a limit to his patience. U;e seized Braine by the shoulders and hustled him out of the house. "Bring your proofs, mister, an' nothin' more'll be said; blt till y' bring 'em, keep away from this cot .fage." And. simple-minded sailor that he was, he thought this settled the mat ter. That night he kept his ears open for unusual sounds, but he.merely wasted his night's rest. .. Quite naturally, he reckoned that - the stranger would make .his attempt at night. Indeed, he made It in broad daylight, with Barnes not a hundred yards away, calking a dory whose seams had sprung aleak. Braine had Florence upon 'the, chartered yacht before the. old man realized what had happened.. He never saw Florenca.again; but one. day, months -later, he read all about her in a newspaper. Florende fouglit; but she was weak. and so the conquest was easy., Braine was kind enough, now that he had her..safe. Ho talked to her, but she merely stared at the receding coast. "All right; don't -talk if you do~n't want- to. Here," to one' of the men, "take her to the cabin and keep her there.- - But don't you touch her. I'll bieak you if you do. Put her In' the .cabin- and juard the door; at least keep an eye on it.- She may. take it into her head to lump overboard." 'Even the temporarily demented are not without a species of cunning. Flordnce had never seen 1)ralne till he appeared at the Barnes cottage. Yet she revolted at the touch of his hand. On the second day. out toward New York she found a box of matches and blithely set fire - to -her cabin, walked out into the 'corridor' and thence to the dek. - When the fire was discov ered it had gained .too much headway to be stopped. . The yacht was doomed. .They.put offin the boats and for half a day drifted helplessly. Fate has everything mapped out like a game of chess. You move a pawn, and bang, goes your bishop,, or your knight, or your king; or she lets you almost win a game, and then check mates.'you. But there is one thing to be said In- her favor-rail at her how we -.will, sheis always giving odds to the innocent. Mike Bannock was in the pilothouse, looking over his charts, when the look out in the crow's nest sang out; "Two boats adrift.off the port bow, sir!?" Aid BannocZ who .was a first-class sailor. although -a -rough one, shouted down the- 'tube 'to-- the -engine room. The freighter -came to a halt in about ten minutes. The castaways saw that they ha'd. been noted, and pulled 'gallantly at the oars. There are some .things which sct ence, well ad'vanced as"It is, cannot explain. Among them is the shock whinh cuts off the -past and the coun tersh'ock which reawakens memory. Trhey may write treatise after treatise and expound,.but they- never succeed '"Girl, i.veYou Bte hnLf, In' truly getting beyond that dark wall of mystery. At the sound of Jim Norton's voice and at the sight .of his face-for sub consciously she must have been think .ng of him all the while-a great blind ing heat-wave seemed to burn across her, eyes, and when the effect passed away she was. herself again. A wild glance at her surroundings convinced her that both she and her lover were In daniger. . "Keep back," whispered Jim. "Don't recognize me." "They believe that .I've lost my mind, and. I'll keel) that idea in their hEads. Scrn~etime tonight I'll find a ch.ance' to talk to you." It tock a good deal of cautious ma .neuvering to bring about the meeting. l "They shangied mc. And I thought -you dead! It was, all wrong. It was a trick of that Perigoff woman, and It succeeded. Girl, girl, I love you better than life'" "I know it now," she said, and she -kissed him. "Has my father appear'ed yet?" "No." "D~o you know anytblog at all about him?" radly. llion Dollar pears in The subscription COME TO SEE US The South '3end Maiuable Steel Range. 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I'll. dope the . reporter while you're. gone. Long -- hours afterward Norton opened his aching eyes. He could hard ly move and his, head buzzed abomi nably. Wh't had happened? What was the meaningof this slow rise and fall.of his bed? Shanghaied? "Come out o' that now,. ye skulk er!" roared a voice down the com paniobnay. "Shinghaied!" the reporter- mur mured. He' sat up and ran- thrdigh his pockets. Not a- s6u markee, not' a match-even; and a second glance told him that the clothes he wore were not his own. --- "They've landed me this time:- Shanghaied! What the devil .an! I going to'do? ' "Ifye'hear ine?" biwldd the' stri tient 'Vods agaip., - -Norto'n looked-about desperately for some- weapon of defense. . He saw an engineer's -spanner-on the -floor- by the bunk :across the' -way,' and with no small physical effort he succeeded it obfkanihg-it.-He stood up, his h#nd be id his back. - "All right, me bucko! I'll come down -an' git ye!" . A . pair of .enormous boots began to appear down the companionway, and there gradually -rose*- up from them a'man as wide as a church dodi and as deep'as a well. "Wait a moment,' said Norton, grip ping the spanner. - "Let- us have a per feet understanding.-right off the-bat. "We're going -t' have It, matey, Don't yd worry none." Norton :raised the spanner, an4 dizzy as he was, faced this seatarint Hercules courageously. "rve lieen sanghaled,.- and yox know it. Where are we bound?" "Coyienhag'en." "Well, for i mbth' or more you'll beat u8e up' whenever the opiportunity offers.. .But I merely wish. to warn yov that-if your do you'll find a heap of trou ble waiting for you the next time yov drop your mirdhook -in :North Amer ica.' - "Is that- o?" said'. h'e giant, eyin thespanner.and th'e shaking and thai held it- aloft. - "It Is., I'll. take your.-orders- and do the -best I can, because you've got the 4ppgr hand.-' But, God :Is. witnes .od'll p'ay-foi 4ei-y heedless bbw -yot ,trid. Now what do'you want me tc "Lay.-down that spanner an' :comE on deok, Ill. tell.ye-what-t' do. I was goin' t whale :th'adaylights -but o'! ye; 1 .t Ye're' somethin' av 'a -man. Drol -the spanner first." Noriton .hesitatetd. As--lithe as a i ger the- bulk-ofra .man s'prang .at' hin ind crushed him-to -the -loor, wrench ing away thesanner. -Then the giati ~took-'Norton- by"the' scrtiff'of his nec1 and langed'him up the stsps 'to. the "I ain't goin' t".hurt ye. I had.t show ye-that nospanzner ever-bothered .Mke Bannock. - Now,. d'a know -whal a cook's galleylis?" -- - "I -do," said'Norton, breathin ,hdr ' "Well, 'hike there an' start in witi peelizi''- spuds, an' don't waste 'em neither. That'll- be all fer th' present Ye.- were -due -for a wallopin' 'but-] kinda like yer spunk." -- So Jimi stumbled down to the cook's gallery and 'grimly set to work at the potatoes. It might- have . been -fa2 worse. But here lie was, likely to be on -the high seas for months, and nc way of notifying Jones-what had hap Iened. The outlook was anything bui cheerful. But a vague hope awoke fIx hip heart. If they were still'after him might, it. not - signify, that Florence lived. - , .Meantime Braine had -not been Idle According to Vroon the -girl's memory was lii'bad ~shape;"so''he had n'ot'the leait don'ot of'briziging her'1back tc New Yoi-k *rithout .mfshap. .Once he had ,her there .the game .would begix in earnest..-- He played his -cards -ex ceedingly well. Steaming .up Into -the little -fishing- harbor with a handsome yaeht Ini itself -would allay' any dis trust. And he wore a capital disguide too. Everything went . well till he laid his hand -on -Florence's -shoulder She gave, a -satled cry and ran -ovel to-Barnes, clinging -to him wildly. "No,'no!"'she 'cried.' -- "Now - what; my child?"'asked thE sailor. She shook her head. Her aversior was inexplicable. "Come, miy dear; can't.you see thi It is your -father?" Braine. turned-tc the captain. "She has- been like' this for- a 'year. Heaven knows If she'll ever- be- in- h'er' right mind again,' sadly. ' "I1 was giving her an ocear voyage, with-tie 'kindest nurses pos sible, and. yet she jumped, overboard Come,- Florence."- - - .- The girl, wrapped her arms all. thE tighter? aflound Barnes' neck. . An. Idea came into the old sailor'" head.' "Of' course, sir,.-y've got proo; .het she's your' daughter?" "Proof?". Brain was tqken aback "Yes; somethin'. t' prove that you'r4 her father. -- I got skinned out of-a sloop onde- because I- took a man'! wrd' at~'its -fece' v alue. Black an white, an'; on daper, says I, hereafter.' - Bi' I' never thought of such thing.".;.pro tsted- Braine, beginning to .lose his- patience. ''I. can't risi sending to New York for- documents She is my daughter; ahd' you will fin( It ill - flot 'pay t'o take 'this peculia2 stand." . ' . -"Irn black- an' white, 'r y' -can't havE her." . . ' Braine thereupon: rushed forwvard t< seize Florence. Barnes svwung Flor ence behind him. "I1 guess she11l stay here a leet1 longer, sir." .Time -was -'ital, and this obstinacl yry, "The Mi apter as it ap re' that your tory.