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Thc to naught. She knew a little about motors. She threw on the r er-er and headed straight toward the ?ov-boat. The men shouted at her, but she did not alter her course. The rowboat had its sides crushed in and the men went piling into the water. "Jim," she cried. Norton suddenly 'ung off Braine and began to swim madly for the motor boat, which Florence had brought about. Even then it was only by the barest luck in the world that Norton managed to catch the gunwale. The rest of it was simple. When they finally reached a haven, Florence, odd ly enough, thought of the horse she had left tethered nine miles from the stables. She laughed hysterically. "I guess he won't die. We can send someone out for him. Now, for heav en's sake, how .did you get into this? The Magle Paper Was Her. Where were you? What have you been up to?" with tender brusqueness. "I wanted to do a little detective ,rork of my own," she faltered. "It looks as if you bad done It. You Infant! -Will you never learn to keep outside this muddle? lt's a man's work." Florence, thoroughly weakened by her long immersion in the water, be gan to weep silently. "You poor child. rm a brute!" And be comforted her. Later that day, at home, she re membered the blank paper. "I stole this from one of the men In the cave., e said this blank pa per would probably save father." Jim took it. "Hm! Invisible ink. and it's had a fine washing." "But msaybe It Is waterprooV. "Maybe it is. Anyhow, Miss Sher lock, we'll show It to Jones and see what he says." CHAPTE R XX. -.. Bralne Tries Another Weapon. "What I want now," said Braine; as be paced the living room of the apartnent of the countess, "is re venge. rye been checkmated enough, Olga; they're playing with us." "That is nothing new,",.she replied,' shrugging. "&At the beginning I -warned you. I never liked this affair ,after the figst two or three failure. But you would have your way. You wanted revenge at that early date; but I cannot see that you've gone .for ward.'~ Has it ever occurred to you that the organization may be getting -tired, too? They depend solely upon your Invention, and each time your 'Me ta~r has resulted in touching nothing but-so" "Thanks!" "O), rm not chtding you. I've failed, too." "Are you turning against me?" he denaanded bitterly. "Do my actions point that way?" she countered. "No. But the more I view what has passed, the more dis heartened I grow. It has been a series of blind alleys, and all we have suc ceeded In doing Is knocking our heads. I can see now that all our failures are due'to one mistake." "An'd what the devil is that?" he asked, Irritably. "We were in too much of a hurry at the beginning. Hargreave prepared himself for quick action on your part." "And if I had not acted quickly he would have started successfully on one of his world tours again, and that would have been the last of ~him, and we should- never have learned of the girl's existence. So there's your argu ment." "Perhaps you are right. But for all that we have not played the game 'with any degree of finesse." "Bah!" Braine lit a cigarette and smoked nervously. "I can't even get rid of that meddling reporter. He has been as much to blame for our fail ures as either Jones or Hargreave. I admit that In his case I judged hastily. I believed him to be -just an ordinary newspaper man, and he was clever enough to lull my suspicions. But rm going to get him, Olga, even if I have to resort to ordinary gun man tricks. If there's any final reck oning, by the Lord Harry, he shan't get a chance In the witness stand." "And I begin to think that that lit tle chit of a girl has been hoodwink ing me all along. By the way, did you find out what that letter said?" she asked after a pause. "Letter? What letter?" She sprang from her chair. "Do you :nean to say that they have not told you about that?" Olga became great ly excited. "Explain," he said. "Why, I was at the garden day be fore yesterday, and a man approached Send yc Ilargest job. I a subscribe Year. We 3 : Mill and asked if I was Miss Hargreave. Becoming at ce suspicious that something very important was about to happen, I signified that I was Miss Hargreave. The man slipped a paper into my hand and hurried off. I took a quick glance at it and was dum founded to find it utterly blank of writing. At first I thought some joke had been played on me, then I chanced to remember the invisible ink letters you always wrote me. Under standing that you were to visit the cave in the morning, I had one man at the garden take the note. And you never got it!" "Some one shall pay for this care lessness. I'll call up Vroon and Jack son at once. Wait just a moment." - He went to the telephone. A low muttering conversation took place. Olga could hear little or none of It. When Braine put the receiver back on the hook his face was not pleas ant to see. "That girl!" "What now?" "It seems she had been out horse back riding that morning. She had seen one of the boys cross the field and suddenly disappear; and she was curious to learn what had become of him. With her usual luck she stum bled on the method of opening the door of the cave and went in. She must have been nosing about. -She didn't have much time, though, as the boys carre up to await me. Evidently she crawled into that old chest and in some inexplicable manner purloined the letter from Jackson's pocket. They left to reconnoiter; and it was then that Jackson discovered his loss. When Florence heard them returning she jumped into the well. And lived through that tunnel! The devil is In it!" "Or out of it, since we consider him our friend." "And I had her in my hands, note and all!" "But with all that water there will not be any writing left on the letter." "Invisible ink is generally indelible and impervious to the action of wat er; at least the kind I use is. I'd givo a thousand for a sight of that letter." "And it might be worth a million," Olga suggested. "Not the least doubt of It in my mind. Olga, old girl, it does look as if my star was growing dim. We'll never get our hands on that million. I feel it in my bones. So let's settle down to a campaign of revenge, without any furbelows. I want to twist Har greave's heart before the game winds "You wish really to injure her?" "I do not wish to injure her. Far from it," he replied, smilin evilly. "You want her . . . dead?" whispered Olga, paling. "Exactly. I want her dead. And so If all my efforts here come to noth ing, so shall Hargreave's. His mil lions will become waste paper to him. That's revenge. The Persian peach method." "Poison? You shall not! You shall not kill her!" vehemently. - "Tender hearted?" "No. If I must in the end go to prison, so be it; but I refuse to die in the chair." "Very well, then. We shan't kill her, but we'll make her wish she was dead. I was only trying to see how far you would go. The basket of peaches is in the hallway. Every peach is poisoned. No man in the Just Power Enough to Keep Herself Afloat. country knows more about subtle poi sons than I do. Have I not written books on the subjeCt?" ironically. "And they will trace it back to you in a straight line," she warned. "I will not have it!" "I can go elsewhere," he replied coldly. "You would leave me?" "The moment you cross my will," emphatically. It became her turn to pace. Torn between her love of the man and the danger which stared her in the face, she was for the time being distracted. All the time he watched her with maeolent curiosity, knowing that in the end she would concur with his evil plans. "Very well," she said finally. "But listen; we shall be found out. Never doubt that Your revenge will cost us both our lives. I feel it." "Bah! The law will have no hand in my end. I always carry a pellet; and that ring of yours would suffice a regiment. She will not die. She will merly become a kind of paralytic; the kind that can move a little but not enough; always wheeled about in a ehair. I'll bring in the peaches; ur Job Work All work gum r, now is the V wish everybod ionl (CONTINUED.FROM LAST " rosy and downy. One bite, after a given time, will do the trick. If they suspect and throw them out we have lost nothing but the peaches. A trusted messenger will carry them to the Hargreave house. And then we'll sit down and wait." Meantime, in the library of the Har greave house, Florence and Jim were puzzling over the blank sheet of pa per. 'Tll wager," said Jim, "the water washed all the writing away. The fire does u-t seem to do any good. We'll turn it over to Jones. Jones'll find a way to solve it. Trust him." "What are you two chattering about?" asked Susan, who was arrang ing.some flowers on the table. "Secrets," said Jim, smiling. "Humph!" Susan puttered about for a few min utes longer, then crossed to the recep He Went to the Telephone. tion room, intending to go upstairs. At that moment the maid was ad mitting a messenger with a basket of fruit. "For Miss Hargreave," said he. He gave the basket to the maid, touched his cap awkwardly, and swung on his heel, closing the door behind him. He was in a hurry to deliver another message. "0, what lovely fruit!" cried Susan, pausing. "I'm going to steal one," she laughed. She selected a peach and began eating It on the way up to her room. The maid passed on into the library. "What's this?" inquired Florence, as the maid held out the basket. She selected a peach and was about to set her white teeth Into it when Jim in terposed. "Walt a moment, dear." Florence lowered the peach. Jim turned to the maid. "Who sent It?" "I don't know, sir. A messenger brought It, saying It was for Miss .Hargreave." "Let me see if there Is a card." But Jim searched in vain for the card of the donor. At once all his suspi cions arose. "Don't touch them. Bet ter let the maid throw them out. Fruit from unknown persons might not be the healthiest thing in the world." "What do you think?" "That in all probability they are poi soned. But there's no need trying to prove my theory right or wrong. Ask Jones. He'll tell you to throw them away." "Horrible!" Florence shuddered. "But they do not want to poison me. I'm too valuable. They want me alive." "Who can say?" returned Jim gloomily. "They may have learned that they cannot beat us, no matter what card they turn up. I may be wrong, but take my advice and throw them away. . . . Good Lord, what's that?" startled. "Some one cried!" "0, Miss Florence!" exclaimed the maid, terror stricken as she recalled Susan's act. "Miss Susan took a peach from the basket and was eating it on the way -to her room!" "Good heavens!" gasped Jim. "I was right.. The fruit was poisoned." Jim had head enough to send for a specialist he knew. The specialist ar rived about twenty minutes after Sus an's first cry. To his keen eye it looked like a certain poison which had for its basis the venom of the cobra. "Will she live?" "0, yes. But she'll be a wreck for some months. Send her to the hos pital where I can visit her frequently. And I'll take that peach along for analysis. No police affair?" "No. We dare not call them in," said Jim. "That's your affair. I'll send down the ambulance. Keep her quiet. She'll have a species of paralysis; but that'll work off under the treatment. A strange business." "So it is," agreed Jim grimly. Florence knelt beside her friend's bed and cried softly. "You called me just in time. An hour later, nothing would have saved her. She would have been paralyzed for life." Jim accompanied the doctor to the door and went in search of Jones. He found the taciturn butler eying the fruit basket, his face gray and drawn, though his eyes blazed with fury. "Poison!" "A pretty bad poison, too," said Jim. "We can't do anything. We've just to THE TIMEE ranteed, and me to send in v a Merry Xn )ollar !EEK-LOOK FOR NEXT ISSUE got to sit still. But in the end we'll get them. That she devil "No, my friend; that he devil. The woman is mad over him and would commit any crime at his bidding. But this is his work. We want him. HO. wasn't without courage to send this fruit, knowing that I would instantly suspect the sender. Yet, I have no definite proof. I could not hold him in court in law. He will have bought the fruit piece by piece, the basket in a basket shop. He will have injected the poison himself when alone. Poor. Susan! That messenger was without doubt some one over whom he holds the threat of the death chair. That's the- way he works." - Jim tramped the room while Jones carried the fruit to the kitchen. The .butler returned after a while. "What about that blank sheet of pa per?" "It has to be dipped into a solution; after that you can read It by heating. I have already dipped it into the solu tion. The moment the heat leaves the sheet the writing disappears again. The ink Is waterproof. I'll show you." Jones got a candle from the mantle, lit it, and held the sheet of paper very close to the flame. Gradually, almost imperceptibly, letters began to form on the blank sheet. At length the mes sage was complete. "Dear Hargreave-The Russian min ister of police is at the Blank hotel under the name of Henri Servan. He is investigating the work of the Black Hundred in this country and can free you from their vengeance if you sup ply the evidence needed." "Now, what evidence can he want?" .asked Jim. "Such as will prove Braine an unde sirable citizen." - "And then." "Quietly pack him off to Russia, where he is badly wanted." "Who sent this message?" "One of our mysterious friends. We have a few, as you already know. But I'll go and make this man Servan a visit. I have seen the real minister, and if this man is the same one, some thing oi importance may turi up. I shall want you somewhere - about. Here, I'll let you have this letter. Re member, heat brings it out and cold air makes it vanish. Now I'll go up for a moment to see how that poor girl is getting along. We are lucky; there's no gainsaying that." "You're a clever man, Jones," said: Jim. Jones turned upon him, his faoe grave. The two men looked steadily into each o~iher's eyes. Jones was first to turn aside his glance, as he had something to conceal and Jimmad nothing. When the ambulance took the tor. tured Susan away, Jones addressed Florence gravely. "I am going out and so is Mr. Nor ton. Do not leave the house; not: even if you have a telephone call from : me or Norton. Both of us will return; so don't let an'ything bother or con fuse you." "I promise," said -Flor'ence, s~ig gling with a sob. Jones went downstairs again, paused by a window as if cogitating, and sud denly threw it up and looked abroad. A rustle among the lilacs caused a smile to flit across his face. So they had sent some one to learn the'effect Iof the poison? Or 'to follow him Ishould he leave the house? He re-' tired to the kitchen and gave some ILetters Began to Form on the Blank Sheet. explicit orders to the chef, orders which did not in any way refer to cooking. Then Jones and the reporter left the house, each quite aware that they were being followed. Near the Blank hotel they separated in order to confuse the stalker. He might dod der and follow the wrong man. B ut It was evident that this time he had been directed to follow Jones; for he entered the hotel a minute after Jones. Meantime a second spy, whom Jones had not'seen, had observed the trans fer of the invisible writing and had Immediately Informed Braine, who Iwas not far away. That his poisoned fruit had stricken down an outsider troubled him none at all. But that mysterious message he meant to have; I it might be a life and death affair, it might be a clue to the treasure, or teweebouts of Hargreave. Ths whe only one man followed Jones, several kept a far eye on Jim. Jones scribbled his name on a blank card and had It taken to the Russian's I room. The page eyed that card curl- I ously. .lt was different from anything he had ever seen before. In one cor ner were written three or four words which resembled a cross between Hie brew and Greek. "Humph!" muttered the boy. "Whadda y' know about that? Chick en scratches; but I guess the bell . We can do the prices rea your name an mas and a pros1 Mysi rings Roosian. On your way, Hor tense," he cried to the hall maid, who wanted a look at the card. "Up t' th' room, sir. He'll see yuh!" The boy kept the silver salver extended ex pectantly, but Jones went past with out apparently noticing the hint. The Russian was standing by a win dow when Jones knocked and was bidden to enter. "You are not Hargreave." "Neither are you the Russian min ister of police," urbanely. "Who are you?" "I am Hargreave's confidential man, sir." The two men eyed each other cau tiously. "You speak Russian?" "No. I am able to scribble a few words; that Is all." The Russian Ut a cigarette and smoked leisurely. He was In no hur ry. "No, I am not. the minister; but I am his accredited agent. I am em powered to bring back to Rdssia a man who is known here by the name of Briine, .another by the name of Jones Paused by a Window. ro on, and a woman who calls her self a countess and unfortunately is ne. All I desire is some damaging proof against them that they are out Laws in this country. The rest will be simple." "They have all three taken out nat aralization papers." The Russian waved his hand airily. "Once they are in Russia those docu ments will khever come to light. This man Braine, it has been learned, has Long been in the pay of Prussia, and ias given the general stafl' of that. ountry many plans of our frontier i 6ritfications. I do not know what any mie of the three looks like. That is why I sought Hargreave." "I will gladly pcint them out to you," said Jones, rubbing his hands' together, a sign that he was greatly pleased. "That will be very good of you, I'm ure," in a rumbling 'but perfectly intelligible English. "And suddenly they all three will lsappear?" "Suddenly; and you may believe me that from that time on they'll be heard >f never more." "All this sounds extremely agree able to me. Mr. Hargreave will be iappy to hear that his long enforced iidng will soon come to an end." "All you have to do, sir. Is to point .hem out to me." "It may take a week or ten days." "My government has waited for ten iars to gather in this- delectable trio. A month, If you like." "The sooner the better. I shall call his evening after dinner. We shall 3egin with Mr. Braine; and generally where he Is is the woman. Vroon ill be the most difficult." "After dinner, then, since you know some of his haunts. There is a re Jones laughed shortly. "Keep it fourself, sir. Mr. Hargreave would willingly double whatever this reward a to eliminate these despicable crea ures from his affairs." "Thanks." While this conversation was taking. lace Norton idled about; and feeling he cravings for a cigarette, prepared' :o roll one, only to find that he hadn't .he "makings." So fate urged him to tep into the nearest tobacconist's. Ele asked for his favorite brand and >assed over the silver. Braine and his comipanions saw Nor ;on enter the shop. It agreed with heir plans perfectly. The toba'econist1 iappened to be afiiliated with the or-:; er. So they hurried into the shop. im Instantly realized that he was in' itrap. "How can I get out of here?" he 'hispered to the tobacconist. The latter' smiled. "I have to obey hese gentlemen. I don't know what hey want you for; but if I made a nove to help you. I should find my wn throat cut without saving yours." "The devil!" Jim made a dash for the rear door, o find it locked. Even as he fumbled rith the key, Braine and his com anions flung themselves upon the re orter and overpowered him. "Ah, my friend Braine!" he said. "My friend Norton!" feered the vie "And what do you want; some eaches?" "A paper, my friend, a little secret f paper with invisible wrIting on It. from the sma sonable. If y i start off wii ?,rous New Y ; ry. We promise to give you something in exchange for it." "What?" asked Jim with as much nonchalance as he could assume. "Life." "Search," said Jim. "You won't ob ject to my smoking?" He began to roll a cigarette while they passed over him. He struck a match; the pleas ant aroma of tobacco floated about his head. "He's got it on him somewhere. I saw him take it. He's got his nerve with him." The cigarette glowed. Jim smoked hurriedly. Through every pocket they went. The contents of his wallet lay scat tered at his feet; his watch dangled from the chain. The cigarette grew shorter and shorter. Suddenly one of the men stretched out a hand and whisked the cigarette from Jim's lips. He threw it to the floor and stamped out the coal. "I thought so!" he exclaimed, hold ing out the scrap of burnt paper to wards Braine. The words "Dear Hargreave" were all that remained of the message. With a snarl of rage Bralne whipped out his revolver. "I will give you one minute to tell me what that paper contained." "And after that minute is up?" "A bullet in your stomach." Quick as a flash Jim's hand shot out, caught the loosely held revolver, gave it a wrench, and brought it down savagely upon Braine's head. Then he reversed it and backed toward the front entiance. "Au revoir, till we meet again, gen tlemen!" CHAPTER XXI. A Packet of Papers. Jim said nothing at first about his adventure to Jones, whom he met half an hour later. "Was it necessary to keep that in visible letter?" he asked. "No," said Jones. "Would it have given our affairs a serious turn If it had fallen into alien hands?" "Decidedly," answered Jones. "It would mean flight for the Elack Hun dred or a long time under cover, if our friend Braine learned that Russia was now taking an active interest in the doings of the Black Hundred. And eventually all ~our work would have to be done over again." "eAh !"1 "You look a bit mussed up. Any thing happened?" asked the k'een-eyed butler. "Nothing much. I made a cigarette out of the letter and smoked it." Jones chuckled. "I see that you have had an adventure of some sort; but it can wait." "It can." "Because I want you to pack off to Washington." "Washington?" "Yes. I want you to interview those officials who are most familiar with the extradition laws." "A new kink?" "What I wish to learn is this: Can a man, formerly undesirable, take out naturalization papers and hold to the protection of the United States gov ernment? That is to say, a poisoner, menaced by Siberia, becomes an Am erican citizen. He is abducted and carried back to Russia. Could he look to this ' government ,for protection? That is what I want you to find out." "That will be easy. When shall I start?" "As soon as you can pack you grip." "That's always packed," replied the reporter. "You see, I'm ~eternally shunted hither and yon, at a moment's notice, so I always have an extra grip packed for quick travel." "The Russian agent wants Braine, Vroon, and the countess; and tonight' I'm going to try to point them out to him. It would satisfy me more than anything I know to eliminate this precious trio in Russian fashion. It's thorough; and once accomplished, good-day to the Black Hundred in Am erica. The organization in Russia has still some political significance, but on this side of the water it is merely an aggregation of mercilesS thugs." "I'll take the first train out. But you will tell Florence?" "Surely." "And take care of your own heels. You were watched at the hotel." "I know it; but the watcher could learn nothing. Henri Servan as a name will suggest nothing to the fool who followed me. Besides, we both knewj that he was trying to peek through the keyhole. That hotel, you know, still retains the old-fashioned key holes." "To keep the maids in good humor, I suppose," laughed Jim. "Well, I must be on my way to make that flyer." The two shook hands and Jim hur ried off. The butler watched him -till he disappeared down the subway. "He's a good lad," he murmured, "and a brave lad; and money is only an incident in human affairs after all. I'll be a good angel and let the two be happy, since they love each other and have proved it in a thousand ways." 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