The Horry herald. (Conway, S.C.) 1886-1923, August 19, 1915, Page SIX, Image 6
DC
|l
^?ijTheMiSonD
. I By HAROLD
I Illustrated from Scenes i
I Same Jsiame by the The
(Copyright. 1914, t
This, the nineteenth episode
of the interesting story
will be shown at the Casino
Theatre Thursday night
CHAPTER XIX
A olank Sheet of Paper.
Florence was a fortnight in recovering
from the shock of her experience
at the masked ball of the Princess
Parlova, who. by the way, disappeared
from New York shortly after
the fire, no doubt because of her fear
of the Black Hundred. The fire did
not destroy the house, but most of
the furnishings were so thoroughly
drenched by water that they were
practically ruined Her coming and
-. __ _ >
going were a nine clays' wonder, and
then the public found something else
to talk about.
Norton was a constant visitor at the
Hargreave place. There was to him a
new interest in that mysterious house,
with its hidden panels, its false floors,
its secret tunnels; but he treated
Jones upon the same basis as hitherto.
One thing, however: He felt a sense
of security in regard ;o Florence such
he had not felt before So, between
assignments he ran out to Riverdale
And did what he could to amuse his
%
sweetheart. Later, they took short
rides in the runabout, and at length
she became as lively as she had ever
been.
But often she would catch Norton
orooaing.
"What makes you frown like that?"
"Was I frowning?" innocently
enough.
"I find you this way a dozen times
in an afternoon. What is the matter?
Are they after you again?"
"Heavens; no! I'm only a vague isEue.
They will not bother me so long
as I do not bother them. It has
dwindled into a game of truce."
"Do you think so?" eying him curiously.
"Why, yes."
"What's the use of trying to fool
me, Jim? If they haven't been after
you, you are sensing a presage of evil.
I'm not a child any longer. Haven't
I been through enough to make me a
woman? Sometimes I feel very old."
"To me you are the most charming
m an tnis wide world. No, you're not
a child any longer. You are a woman,
brave and patient; and I know that I
could trust you with any secret I have
or own. But sometimes a person may
have a secret which is not his and
which he hasn't any right to disclose."
She became silent for awhile. "1
,hate money," she said. "I hate it,
hate it!" - **
*Tt's mighty comfortable to have it
around sometimes," he countered.
"As in my case, for instance. If I
were poor and )...d to work 110 one
would bother me."
; "I would!" he declared, laughing.
"Come; let's throw off moods and go
into town for tea at the Rose Garden;
and If you feel strong enough we'll
trip the light fantastic."
They had been gone from the house
less than an hour when a man ran
Up the steps of the veranda and rang
the bell. Jones being busy at the rear
of the house, the maid came to the
door.
"Is Miss Hargreave in?" the stranger
asked.
"No," abruptly. The door began to
close ever so slowly.
"Do ycu know where I can find
her?"
The maid eyed him with covert keenness;
then, remembering that the reporter
was with Florence, said: "I
believe she is at the Rose Garden this
afterpoon."
"That is in town?"
X uo.
"Thanks." The man turned abruptly
and ran down the steps.
The maid ran back to Jones.
"Why didn't you call me?" he demanded
impatiently.
"There wasn't time."
"Did you tell him where she was?"
"Yes. But I shouldn't have told him
If Mr. Norton had not been with Miss
Florence."
Jones ran to the front, dashed out,
eyed the back of the man hastening
down the street, smiled, and returned
to his work, or, rather, to the maid.
Ho took her by the shoulder, whirled
her about, and shot a look into her
eyes that quailed her.
"Always call me hereafter, no matter
what, I'm doing. That man has
never laid eyes on Florence and has
no idea what she looks like. Why did
you drug my coffeo the night of that
ball?"
She stepped back.
"And how much did they pay you
for letting that doctor send Florence
to Atlantic City? 1 know everything.
Hereafter, walk straight. If you play
another trick I'll kill you with these
ollar Mystery
' MAC GRATH
?
in the Photo Drama of thm
inhouser Film Company
y Harold MaoGrath)
two hands. And listen and te?? thia
to your confederates: I always know
every move they make; that is why no
one is missing from this house. There
is a trait or T pt th mil ft ?i A him If f Vinir '
? ?%.v *>1111 U I 111 II llivrjf
can. Will you walk straight, or will
you leave?"
"I?I will walk straight," she fal- j
tered. "The money was too big a
temptation "
"Did they give it to you?"
"Yes. And more to stay here Tint
this is the iirst bit of dishonest work
I ever did."
"Well, remember what I have said. ]
Another misstep and I'd make an end
to you. Don't think I'm trying to
scare you. You've witnessed enough
to know that it's life and death in
this bourse. Now run along."
At the Garden Jim and Florence
sauntered among the crowd, not havg
any particular objective point in i
dew.
'Sh!" whispered Jim.
"What is it?"
"Olga Perigoff is yondeb in a box." j
"Very well; let us go fchd sit with
her. Is she alone?"
"AnnarPlltlv. Put rirvn't vrm tntnlr I
we'd better go elsewhere?"
"My dear young man," said Florence
with mock loftiness, "Olga Perigoff
has written me down as a simple
young fool, and that is why, sooner
or later, I'm going to put the shoe
on the other foot. You and Jones
have coddled me long enough. Inas1
iftucli as I am the stake they are playing
for, I intend to have something i
i more than a speaking part in the
play."
"All right; you're the admiral," he
said with pretended lightness.
So tlie two of them joined their
: subtle enemy, conscious of a tingle
of zest as they did so. On her part, !
the countess was always suspicious of !
this sleepy-eyed reporter. She never |
could tell how much he knew. But
of Florence she was reasonably cer- !
tain; and so long as she could fool
the pretty infant the suspicions of the
rnorter were a negligible quan- |
tity. She greeted them effusively and
offered them chairs. For half an hour 1
they sat there, chatting inanities, all
the while each mind busy with deeper!
concerns.
When the man in search of FlorOB
on Ol'nntnollif n rr 5 ? ?-? /J
v.** vu v i i vu at i ? ai i i > CU ailU UStV^U UltJ
manager of the garden if he knew
Miss Hargreave by sight the manager
pointed toward the box. The man
wound his way in and out of the idlers
and by the time he reached the box
Jim and Florence had made their departure.
The man bowed, approached,:
and asked if she was Miss Hargreave.
For a moment the countess suspected
a trap. Then it appealed to he? mind'
that if there was no trap it might be
well to pose as Florence, if only to
learn what the outcome might be.
"Yes. What is wanted?" she asked.
The man took a letter from his
pocket and handed it to Olga, saying:
"Give this to your father. He knows
how to read it."
Before she could reply the man had.
turned and was hurrying away.
Olga opened the note, her heart. 1
beating furiously. It was utterly |
blank. At first she thought it was a;
hoax. Then she happened to remember
that there was such a thing as invisible
ink. At last! Ilargreave was
alive; this letter settled all doubt in
her mind on this question. Alive!
' And not only that, but the girl and
Jones were evidently in communica|
tion with him. She summoned a
; waiter, made a secret sign, and he
bowed and approached She slipped
i the letter into his hand and whis1
pered: "Show that at the cave tomorrow.
It is in invisible ink and
, meant for HarKreave."
"He's alive?""
"Positively."
"Very well." The waiter bowed and
strolled away nonchalantly.
Braine was in Boston over night,
otherwise the countess would have
taken the mysterious note at once to
him. She remained for perhaps a
; quarter of an hour longer and then left
! the garden. She would have taken the
| letter to her own apartment but for
the fact that the chemicals needed
| were hidden in the cave.
Now it happened that Florence went
out for her early ride the next morning,
and crossing a field she saw a
man with a bundle under his arm.
i The sun struck his profile and limned
it plainly, and Florence uttered a low
cry. The man had not observed her.
So, very quietly, she slipped from the
horse, tethered it to a tree, and started
after the man to learn what he was
doing so far from the city. She would
! never forget that face. She had seen
it that dreadful night when the note
had lured her into the hands of her
enemies The face belonged to the
man who had impersonated her father.
It occurred fo her that she might
just as well do a little detective work
on her own hock She had passed
' through so manv terrifying episodes
i 1
THE HOBBY HERA
that she was beginning to crave for
the excitement, strange as this may
seem. Like a gambler who has once
played for high stakes, she no longer
found pleasure in thimbles and needles
and pins. She followed the man with
no little skill and at length saw him
approach a knoll, stoop, apparently
press a spring, and a hole suddenly
yawned. The man vanished quickly,
and the spot took on again its virginal
appearance. A cave. Florence
had the patience to wait. By and b>
the man appeared again and slunk
away.
When she was sure that he was beyond
range, she came out from the
place of concealment, crept up the
knoll, and searched about for the magic
handle of this strange door. Diligence
rewarded her, and she soon found j
herself in a large, musty, earth-smelling
cave. Loot was scattered about,
and there were boxes and chairs and j
a large chest. Men evidently met
here, possibly after some desperate
adventure against society. She found
nothing to reward her hardihood, and
as she was in the act of moving toward
the cave's door she beheld with
terror that it was moving!
She was near the chest at that mo
ment The cave was not a deep one.
There was no tunnel, only a wall.
Resolutely she raised the lid of the
chest, stepped inside, and drew the
lid down. She was just in time. The
door opened and three men entered,
talking volubly. They felt perfectly
secure in talking as loudly as they
pleased. To Florence it seemed almost
impossible that they did not
hear the thunder of her heart? Strain
her ears as she might, she could gather
but little of what they said, except: |
"If Hargreave had this paper we !
might all be put on the defensive. To
an outsider it is a blank paper. But
the boss will be able to read it. . . ."
The speaker moved away from the
vicinity of the chest and she heard
- - no
more.
Very deftly Florence raised the lid
Just enough to peep out. The man
who had been talking was pitting the
note in his hip pocket. As he turned
toward the chest he sat down on the ;
soapbox immediately in front of the
chest. An inspiration came to the girl,
an exceedingly daring one. She took
her liberty in her hands as she executed
the deed. But the dimness of
the cave aided her. When she crouched
down again the magic paper was
hers.
It seemed hours to her before the
men left the cave. As she heard the
llidllpn Hr?r\r Inr In r>1r\oin<* cVia rnlonfl
, v.v.x/1. V4W i jut M > A ViV/Olilg DilC KUOtU
the lid and stepped out, breathing
deeply. The paper she had purloined
was indeed blank, but Jones or Jim
would know what to do with it. And
wouldn't they be surprised when she J
told them what she had accomplished
all alone? Her exultation was of short
duration. She heard the whine of the
door on its hinges. The men were re
turning. Why?
They were returning because they
had discovered a woman's shoeprint
outside. It pointed toward the cave,
freshly, and there was none coming
away. To reenter the chest would be
foolhardy. It would be the first place
the men would look. She glanced
about desperately. She saw but one
chance, the well. And even while the
door was swinging inward, letting the
brilliant sunshine enter, she sum-j
moned up the courage and let hersell
down into the well, which proved to
be nothing more nor less than an un-!
derground river!
The men came in with a rush. They
upset boxes, looked into the chest, and
the man who was evidently in command
gazed down the well, shaking
his head. Their search was thorough,
but they found no one. And at length
they began to reason that perhaps a
woman had got as far as the door and
then turned away, walking on the
turf.
Meantime Florence was borne along
by the ewift current of the river, which
gained in swiftness every moment.
From time to time she bumped along,
the rocky walls, but she clung to life!
valiantly. In ten minutes she was
swept to the other side of the hill, in
to the rapids; but the blue sky was
overhead, she was out in the familiar,
For a Moment the Countess Suspected
a Trap.
LD; CONWAY, S. 0.
world again. On, on she wae carried.
Even though she was halt dead, she
could hear the roar of a falls somewhere
in advance.
*
Braine* thought he really had a clue
to the treasure, and vlth his usual
promptness ho set about to leain if it
was worth anything. He procured a
launch and hegan to prowl about, using
a pole as a feeler. All the while
he was being closely watched by Norton,
who had concluded to hang onto
Viraine's trail till he found something
worthy of note. Braine was disguised,
but this time Jim was not to be fooled.
But what Ma he locking for, wondered
the reporter? Braine continued to
pole along, sometimes pausing to look
over the gunwale down into the water.
In raising his head after the last
investigation he discerned something
struggling In the water, about three
hundred yards away. The current
leisurely brought the object into full
view. It was a young woman with
Just power enough to keep herself
ufloat. The golden head roused something
in him stronger than curiosity.
It might be!
Braine proceeded to move the launch
in the direction of the girl. It was
this movement that turned the reporter's
gaze. He, too, now saw the woman
in the water and wondered how
she had come there. When Bfriine
reached the girl and pulled her into
the launch Jim saw her face blainly.
He flew from his vantage point,
found a skiff, and started after Braine.
"By the Lord Harry!" murmured
the rogue. "Well, they tan thlk of
manna from heaven, but this Is what
I call luck. Florence Hargreave, out
of nowhere, into my arms! The god
of luck has cast another horseshoe
and it's mine."
He had r. flask in his pocket, and
he forced some of the biting spirits
l^l>'aWMl'llMIIWllll? ' ' ' '
;:>< ;.;:;.v.^SL r<>>x. ^^m*^^Ss6??
Found Herself in a Large, Musty Cave.
down the girl's throat She opened
her eyes.
"Well, my beauty?"
Florence eyed him wildly, not quite
understanding where he had come
from.
"1 rlnn't Iftinw hnw vnn err?t horfl *'
?? W ?v MV ?? j vru ^vv IAVI
he said; "and I don't care. But here
we are together at last. Where is
your father?"
"I?I don't know," dazedly.
"Better think quickly," he warned.
"I want lucid answers to my questions,
or back you go into the water.
I'm about at the end of my rope. I've
been beaten too many times, my girl,
to have any particular love for you.
Now, where is your father?" <
"I don't know; I have never seen
him."
Braine laughed.
And Jim's boat ran afoul some rocks
and into the water he went. He had
not attracted Brjfine's attention, fortunately.
He began to swim toward
the drifting launch.
"Where have they hidden that
money?"
"I don't know."
"Well, well; I've given you your
chance. You'll have to try your luck
with the water again."
Florence, weak as she was, set her
lips.
"You don't ask for mercy?" he said
banteringly.
"I should be wasting my breath to
ask for mercy from such a monster as
ycfu are," she answered quickly.
"That damned Hargreave nerve!"
he snarled.
He rolled up his sleeves and stepped
toward her. She braced herself but
did not turn her eyes from his Suddenly,
from nowhere at all. came a
pair of hands. One clutched the gunwale
and the other laid hold of Braine.
A quick pull followed, and Braine began
to topple But even as ne tell
ho managed to fling.himself atop his
assailant; and it was only when the
struggle began in the water that no
recognized the reporter. All the devil
in him came to the surface and ne
fought with the fierceness of a tigor
to kill, kill, kill , In nearly every instance
this meddllngf reporter had
checkmated him This time ono'or the
other of them should stay in the
.vat or.
Norton recognized that tie had a
large order before him to disable
Braine. The recognition between
them was now frank' and absolute;
there could never again be any diplomatic
sidestepping.
"You're a dead man, Norton!"
panted Braine. as he reached for the
reporter's throat.
Norton said nothing, but struck the
hand aside. For a moment they both
went under. They came up sputtering,
each trying for a hold It was a
terribly enervating struggle.
Florence could do nothing. The
boat in which she sat continued to
drift away from the fighting men.
Once she tried to reach Braine with .
1 1 1 ] 1 I ? . ' . - J
uio puie ?? iiuu ueen using, our ioiiea.
From the shore came another ooat
For awhile she could not tell whether
It contained friends or enemies it
was terrible to be forced to wait, absolutely
helpless. When she heard the
newcomer a call encouragingly to
Braine she know then that the orave
tight oS Uer sweetheart wp.s going to
come to naught. She knew a little
about nn .tors. She threw on the
power and headed straight toward the
rowboat. The men shouted at her,
but she did not alter her course. The
rowbcat had its sides crushed in and
the men went piling into the water.
"Jim," she cried.
Norton suddenly flung off Hraine and
began to swim madly for the motorboat,
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
iv enough, thought of the horse she
had left tethered nine miles from the
stables. She lauglffed hysterically.
"I guess lie won't die. We can send
someone out for him. Now, for heaven's
sake, how did you get into this?
" ^ >CT "If ?. '
The Magic Paper Was Hers.
Where were you? What have you
been up to?" with tender brusqueness
*T wanted to do a little detective
work of my own," she faltered.
"It looks as if you had done it
You infant! Will you never learn tc
keep outside this muddle? It's a
man's work."
Florence, thoroughly weakened by
her long immersion in the water, be
gan to weep silently.
"You poor child. I'm a brute!" And
he comforted her.
Later that day, at home, she re
I membered the blank paper.
"I stole this from one of the men
in the cave. He said this blank pa
per would probably save father/'
Jim took it. "Hm! Invisible ink
and it's had a fine washing."
' "But maybe it is waterproof."
"Maybe it is. Anyhow, Miss Sher
lock, we'll show it to Jones and see
what he says.
TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK
DRIVING RUSSIANS
TO SECOND LINE
The Teutonic rush eastward in Polan
dis rapidly hurrying the Russians
to their second offense line centuring
upon the fortress of Brest-Litovsk
Austro-German concentration of effort
seems to be in direction of
that stronghold, from which their
forces are at at points now barely 40
miles distant.
Opinion in allied capitals seem divided
as to whether the Russianscan
hold this new line. Petrograd military
observers express confidence, but
London is wondering whetehr a further
retirement will be necessitated.
The latest official report seems to
show the Russinan lines rapidly yielding
in the centre and to the south
where von Maekensen's forces have
penetrated to the Radzyn-Vladova
line, while in the north the Russians
appear to be making a more determined
stand.
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I {J
' H. H. WOODWARD,
Attorney anil Counsellor at Law,
CONWAY, 8 ~
HAL L. BUCK,
Fire Insurance
Office Conway National Bank
Conway, 8. C.
\
R. B. SCARBOROUGH
Attorney at Law, "
CONWAY. S. C.
LUM JUNG LAUNDRY, I
CONWAY. S. C#
Beginning July 1st. 1913|
Ail persons must take tickets IfS# 1
work left hero. Possitively to J j
work delivered until ticket is prd- *
srnted. Laundry not called for in 4
30 days will be sold for charges.
I I
LUMgJUNG
f J
WILLIAM EUGENE KING, M 0
Physician and Surgeon I
Office in Piatt Drug Co. / ^
AYNOR,. --- S. C.
J. M. JOHNSON,
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Marion. S C
?-J Vf I
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LORIS, S. C. ^
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HORRY COUNTY 1 I
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