Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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TE?E'AT ROMAE n cLOUIS JC A o i titz iihon o f ti r . 1 io Wf St/u.r A J/'W Pre t.'/nti/ s?s J i/m -!> ire, //Vt? Jl '/'uirfo//. Inc. THE CAST. i MRS. VERNON CASTLE as Patria Charming. MILTON SILLS as Donald F'arr. 1 WARNER OLAND as Baron H uroki. ' DOROTHY GREEN as Fanny Adair. SYNOPSIS. Anticipating tl.e long-threatened Japanese invasion of the Sotithwa stern Stales. Patria Chunning. an American g.rl t" great wealth. a.-siste 1 by her liaiRe. daptain llonald I';.i) da e l\ S A.?, ru|iv:"s her vast rata h prop* rties along the border into v.-;. t! anto .nts to an aran-.l . it p. Huron Hut'oki and Gen. N - commanding tin ;.]!. i Jupnio- o\nan : or- es secret 1> . : ..n., . . r ;n- .\i -\i>-a.n n o taiiis. m:s;i ? t la':: 's p . ami ?: patch a t o tin g : . r . ich rn.ds an outlyim 1 on s ead ot 1'atria's property and brings I- priso; . Boss M< rgan. sister ot 1' <1 .M : g.oi. t<-rein.iti of t.?e Chunning tart ha . . THIRTEENTH EPISODE Wings o! Death. ALARMS AND EXCURSIONS. It was midtiftcrnonii of a Sunday uncomntonly warm, cn-n for that tcason, when Hud Morgan, on his saddle and bridloloss horse, l'onnd ltis way?loss consciously than guided !>y tho instinct of the hoinnig pigeon?to 111? hacienda of Patria ('linnning's rancho. None witnessed Ids arrival. P.eon use it was a day of rest. no house servants wore in evidence. busied with their accustomed week-day tasks. Mrs. Pillsbury was in her room, napping away the hour of the siesta. ller son. Kodmim, general superintendent of the Ohnnning ranch properties, had ridden off soon after breakfast on some idle errand. Patria and l>onald Parr were alone in tlie library, conning a great topographical map of the neighboring country. Not n sound disturbed lite peaceful hush of the hacienda other than their low-pi tolled accents, before they heard the rumble of approaching hoofs; and this was a noise so ordinary and commonplace that limy were not even aware of it. ?? It required the shuffle of uncertain footsteps on the graveled walks of the gardened patio to distract them from their engrossing occupation. Patria looked up first from the map, glancing inquisitively out of ihe window. It was her cry of pity ttint drew Donald's attention. Following the direction of her ga/.e. lie saw the wounded and seinideiiiented man at pause ill the middle of the patio, glaring witlessly round him. a bloodied ami _l. . I .. U .... _ -.1 .! ? ? - I giucMi.v limine, n vismii it> iiicoiigru oils: to that time ami plnre as ait up jmritlon front the grave in a kinder garten. .Tumping up. Donald ran out, woun< Ills arms round Morgan, and helper him Into the library. Thus it was tliaf. for upwards of ar hour, tlie tale T'.ud had to tell, o terror and traa ly, of a hornesteaf burned, a mother and a ehild niur tiered,, a sister kidnaped hy raider: from across the hord??r. was knowi ouly to l'atria and Donald. When he had finished speaking am bowed his wounded head on arms fold ed upon the library tahle, there wa nothing more said hy anyone for man; minutes. Tim two stared at ea?-h oth er across the shoulders of the man ii speechless const ernation and hewildei merit. "What are you going to d >?" I'atrl deinnndeil presently. Donald said: "i-'irst of all, get llu ?.(> bed." T? Ml At- i < ? ""13111 JiCSS ; UK' .T: :*1 pi'i il esj e(|. "\\'p will, of course start an exped tlori to reseue her ?> soon as we dare. "Dan-!" "it wonM !>o worse tlian usoles* t let our lioys eross the hord< r !?y da; light. V on know well enough liow It KtHIltaneously iillaost till' Mexieal can spread news l>y their unde ground telegraph. 1'nless we w:rit ii nightfall and smuggle our unm aero: unseen, we might as well telegraj Zelaya or H'urokl, or is r sponsible for this atrocity, to prepai to receive us." "And in the meantime?wliat ha pens to Hess? Oh, 1 cannot unde stand how you dare suggest waitli here till dark !" "Because I am determined to rf rue her?and because I feel sure i harm will come to her." "How can you say that?" "I am sure that this is a move dl tated by Hurokl. You know how p< . nistently his spies have haunted tl neighborhood and how consistent they have failed to find out anytht concerning our preparations?all < cept those three who died suddenly finding out too much!" Parr srail grimly, then once more was grave. "Not one had seen anything or IIv to tell the tale of what he saw. The fore Hurokl has done this thingwould stake my life on it?in ore to get hold of somebody presumed be in your confidence?somebody fr< whom he can persuade the infonnatl RIAr tCF?f PREPAREDNESS )5cpn VANCE ri ; Hot: I':(tare Play of the for the Inter national t ? ^ ruler the J)/reef/on of \ Ce/vrijf/,/ S.'jr lie desires. . . . Make your mind easy. lloss will come to 11?? harm? until Iluroki limls tluit sl.e will toll him nothing; inul he won't find out that before we effect her rescue." "Am! you will semi after her??" "As soon ns it's dark enough for our imhi to inovo without heing soon?the strongest force we can spare, and the host mounted. For the present, however, we must keep this quiet ; if the hoys cot so much sis a hint of what's happened, there'll he no holding them. .\\>t a soul must know?" The gravel of the patio walk erumhed hcncsrh :i lirm and alert i fe; d. l'arr looked up. "i-i\eopt Kodman." lie amended, rococui/;,rc 111 o now eomer, "I lite. wo must t '!. of course; and if anything does it d. <;;t before we're remly. lie can control the hoys if anybo !y can." T' : 'U:.d out \\\'.< e??n\ersat i'?n 1'ttd ha 1 i*!. : ' i '. i d !i??r made a -i'.'ii to hi' Undorstnod \ !lv subject < ;' i!i>cu->iiirj. Ami when, son e ton min nios In tor, Pi>;iat<1 tiiul Ho.dnum ri ; 1 to r? lv:n. ho silrrnl to the touch <?!' thrir hands duly i?> !:ft lip u fa<o 1 ruin which cvi-ry trace ?*i intoHiyhdo cxj>n--si 'ii ha 1 boon ora>od ; its \.-s wore blank: its lirm linos wore \i 'i : its vin'itli "apod liko a cretin's. Tito kindly wofls thoy spoke to ' i had n oiV"ot upon a mind ttnhinm'd by thi- anjui-h it ha 1 sufP.' i d. (h'O'ly. t'i i. tho two nton lifted ],im a.nil. i':!o oit eithor >: !i , holding his ii"::-- liver tin i i' sliouhlors. 1? ? I hint away to a bod'dm mbor. undressed him. iiis wounds. ami ]? it him to hod. I oai it.1 * i* *!:i lo v : (' ]. hy liis hou-<! tor a titiio. 1 oiial t ami l'illshury rot. r'!"ii to thv library t.? plan the ft SOI;,'. Am hour Infer Pn'rin in panic found fh? m tli' i-o ' i'lt tlm news that sho had ! "'? Path's shlo for a fow moments, litinkinv: him sound asleep. only to liml tin louirt empty on hor rot urn. In an amazingly short time tho man had wakonod. dressed and made his escupt*. ^ * rrholr soaroh for him ondod half a tnilo from tho house, at tho corral win-re a number of the row-punchers i had been amusing themselves hv trying to tatne a half a score of unbroken bronchos. Hud had found his way > thither and was babbling out flagi inents of his story to a circle of sympathetic hut bewildered friends. Tf it was too late to stop him. Rodman's Influence with his employees proved to he all that Donald laid as sorted It was. Tn earliest dark of night, then, c t picked force of forty-eight cow-punchers. led by Rodman himself, rod< I quietly by twos and threes, rendez voused at an agreed place, crossed tin border In its most isolated secretion and vanished silently into the blued mystery of Mexico. AIR LANES. I i There was little sleep for Patrh ^ that night. Visions of the fate o j, women kidnaped across the border j memories or tales slie had heard sine her arrival at tin* ranch. haunted her In tlio pool blue twilight of dawi ^ slm was up ami dressing herself in lie a via ting clot lies, j She went down to the patio to fin Donald there, watching for the daj awaiting the word it must bring therr with a face drawn and haggard wit ^ Sleepless.,ess. Together thev break fa-t ed poorh I, ' choking down a few nioiithfuls of foo and some coffee, then motored on through the -.-in hush of the newhor !l day to the aviation field. Karly though they were, they did nr of Patria's flyin corps. Alr aidy t \vo machines were i tlie air. aglow with the young sui light. rising like petals of gold win< ti swept through Die blue. Si\ mot w i re preparing to rise. The reniaii ? ing eight biplanes of the air squadro k'* were still nested in their hangers. Tier itnnat!enco would not let I'; t,,ia wait for tlm reports of those wl were already cliinhing the sk' -s. i .-pocting the countrywide south of tl border. ''l Ordering out her own biplane- tl machine, that is, in which she hi ro gained all Imr practice and expci1eii< as an nvlntrice?she took the pilot P* , seat and. refusing to permit Donald r" anyone else to accompany h< df grasped tiie controls and shot hot I Hit' SWITCH WIUCIl OpeiHieU I lie SO -K-j starter. r^o Winding up in a Inner slant, tlie 1 plane gained the thousand-font lev then began to move southward in wit le- curved sweeps. ?r- There was little air astir?Just lis gentle and steady breeze from t tly west. Aerial navigation offered ng problems to distract Pat rift's nttenti ix- from the landscape beneath it. P of keen, youthful eyes, sharpened by i ed llcitude, inspected it closely, missl no salient feature. Her gaze trac ed every highroad and tortuous I re- way, probed every covert, pel ?I t rated every gulle.v ami fol<l ler the foreshortened hills, recognized t to familiar movement of provincial M am lean life that formed the landscape Ion but nowhere found any tokeu of tl - ... -A - tvhieh she so longed to see. the uouu ? s' dust w hieli should murk the progress ol' a large body of horsemen. The littlo expeditionary force had niiivcd rapidly* and with craft, effacing Itself completely from the face of the conn try side, long before sunrise. I or upwards of an hour l'atria pursued her fruitless reconnaissance. At length, discouraged and disheartened, she turned hack toiler starting point and dropped down to the private aviation field. As she descended, in spite of the preoccupation of every faculty imposed by that most difficult task known to aviators, that of negotiating a successful landing, she was conscious that strangers watched her from tin* body of a huge gray motorcar on tho edge of tho field. Alighting hoshlo her stationary biplatio, she saw a group of some half a dozen moving toward her from a car. iMtiald was one of these; the others were all men in the Hold uniforms of tin1 regular army of the United States. She identified one or two faces made familiar to her hy production in the pages of newspapers and magazines?the fares of men who had risen to high places in the service of their country. < hie wore on the collar of his tunic the insignia of a brigadier general. Her heart warmed to their s ddierly hearing- -then sank as she was rein itided that all they stood for, of gallantry, loyalty, hravery. intelligence and e Hie it ney, must count for nothing in event of war. because the country they served refused rhetn men enough t't load success tilly against any hut. the mo?i pitifully impotent enemy. Introduced by < 'aptain l'arr. the br'gadier general greeted her with grave courtesy, present -d formally each ir.emher of his statT. and eomnlimcntcd I'M via on h'M* own skill in a\iation, as well as thn skill of her corps of airmen. "I have seen a great deal of wonderful Hying." lie said, "lan what 1 see going on here surpasses anything that has eotne under my observation, for snap and precision?conies near to what I have heard of the work of the French and KnglMi flying corps. I could wish." he added, a trace wistfully. yet with a perceptible twinkle in his eyes as they held Patria's, "my own command were as well off!" ''My men and my machines," Patria told 1;iin. "are always tit the service of my country." "In went of need. then. I shall not hesitate to rail upon you." "You need not, 1 am doing"?Patria hesitated hrlelly ; yet this nlheial visit proved that the secret of her preparations had leaked out?"what I am doing solely as a patriot and a soloier's daughter." "It is because you have proved yourself to he that?a worthy daughter of iny own comrade." the general said, "that I have ventured to make this i uninvited call. I would he glad if you could give me a few moments of your time to discuss a question of pub lie policy." There was no way to escape. Patria bowed gracefully to the inevitable. 1 "If you will bo pood enough to no" company ine to my home," she said, "we can find there a quiet place in i which to talk. And I shall he honored if you and your staff will be my guests for luncheon." The invitation was eagerly accepted, and the party motored back to the hacienda. c , There, while luncheon was heine prepared. Patria abandoned all effort at concealment and, conducting tin general to the library, laid before birr ^ a complete exposition of all her plans and preparations to repel an invasion p omitting 110 material detail. "Not my biplanes alone," she con ~ eluded, "but the rest of the gear r have gathered together here?nnd tin men trained to manipulate it?are a my country's call." f Tlio general straightened up fron . tin' topographical map over which h< p had hccn heading. There was admira 1 hin and something more in his regard rt 'Vmi are a very remarkable youn d woman, if you will permit me to sa, it so. Miss 1'hanning. I am only .sort* n that there are not more women?an men- iike you in tins land. If ther ,, The wistful look possessed his eye n again, hut he shook that humor off. 1*e 1- { ,n "You Will Fly &s I D "No mntter. T must not criticize? I what I must not criticize. Furthermore, it is my duty to whisper in your , our u word of advice.*' "If you please,** said Putrla simply ?surmising what was coining. Yet the-geiicrul hesitated. "You understand." he said, a trace embarrassed, "1 am acting under lust ruel ion." "I quite understand." "Then I must tell you?frankly? that you are coining perilously near to usurping a power which the Constitution vests with congress alone. "The right to raise and maintain a standing army," Putrla added. "T'roHsolv Tf tTint is not wlint vnil are doing?on n siiuill scale, but none the loss in nn admirably efficient way ?I have misunderstood all you have shown and told me here today." "Perhaps." Patria agreed, smiling. "And yet you Mill find, upon investigation. that every man in my employ, aside from the raneh hands and others who have definitely peaceable labors to perform, is carried on my pay rolls as a watchman !" "An army of watchmen !" Again the eyes of the general twinkled. "Precisely. The Constitution does not prescribe the citizen's right to protect his own property, T believe, !>v employing men ami arms to guard it. That is all that 1 am doing lmre on my lands. 1 hav? my property and lay people to safeguard, and I' mean to do it." Yo further reference was made to the object of the visitation, hut the wnd rstanding was implied that a report ' : -1 he T In \V:; <h i M a t Mi aild that Washington \\?>;j 1 < 1 then take such action as ii 111il:1 11 see lit. Xoon?ami still no word from Bess Morgan or the party which had ridden iol't ii to rescue her. r.ut Patria betrayed no inkling of the anxiety which gnawed at her mind. To confess that she was waiting the outeeinc of an armed invasion of a nominally ftiemlly land which she. I'atria ('banning, had authorized! Kven the favor lmr patriotic spirit had found in the esteem of lmr guests could hardly mitigate the disaster to her plans which must follow any such discovery. Ami it was nearly two o'clock before she was finally rid of them. With heartfelt gratitude she saw the dust of their wheels drift away down the road?then turned and jumped info her own motor car and had it moving hack toward the aviation lield almost before I'onahl could take his place heside her. One of her fliers was making n landing as I'atriu alighted at the field. He had nothing to report. Again clambering into the pilot's seat of her own pnrtieular biplane, Pntria committed her fate to the adventure of the air Janes. For a little she climbed s/ondily, but not for long: content to leave the greater rtmge of observation to those on the higher levels, with their powerful glasses, she quartered the land beyond the border at an elevation barely sufficient to escape the wddies and currents that made navigation interesting if not devoid of danger above the summits of the lowland hills. Here, comparatively close to the ground, she might he aide to pick up tnotcnnons ni\ isimi; 10 me airmen so i far above her. And so. in the end, it proved, f She had been flying a little more - than an hour?was returning from a ? wide circuit through the south toward her starting point. Of a sudden she * was conscious that the monotonous i drone of tlie mot >' 'I her was being punctuated? one c^oinler was heginning to miss fire. 1 I'atria began to foresee that sdif 2 1 nigl11 he obliged to make a landing t south of the border. Slie searched tlie landscape that swain beneath bet ri anxious eyes. Then she saw a motor-ear abruptly - sweep out of a narrow gnllev at sotin ' distance off to tlie right, making i g furious pace northward. The met y who occupied it wore khaki ; for ai v instant she thought them soldiers ii u American uniforms. Then she sav e that they were men of an nvorag Mature smaller than that of Atneri s can troops. They were standing u in the tormenti and tiring pistols hue] Irect and Land Where I eay." Into tho month of tho pulley to the rear. B| Only u moment after she had caught j1( sight of the car, Tatria saw the pursuit issue from the gulley?between ^ twenty or thirty horsemen whom she had no difliculty in identifying with {l] the C'hutming cow-punchers who had r, ridden out the night before. They r, were tiring from the saddle, using ,j revolvers?weapons wliieli they preferred to the autoninlie pistols. , As they came into sight, two of the j cow-punehers lu'nke from the woods, ami the road as well, striking off ( neross country toward tl:e bridge id j tlie border, spurring their mounts to utmost speed. , <1 1 atria know what that maneuver indicated. Tho road out a whlo curve ^ through tho country ; hy this short out tho two rhlors would roach tho bridge considorahlv in advance of tho motorl< car?providing nothing happened to hinder them. On the other side of the bridge there was a hidden switch- j hoard, its wires communioatint; with mines secretly planted in the road? one of the first preparations made by * Panda's order against an attack in force advancing alonjr the road. The two vanished from view, while 4 the pursuit pounded on after the carload of fugitives. Three cow-punchers, ( better mounted than their fellows or ' hotter riders, contrived to race tin ir ' steeds alongside the ear. and threw ' themselves l'toin the saddle bodily into ^ the tonneau, heedless of the rain of bullets that greeted them. ' Their fate remaned seeded to Putria's knowledge; for at that moment l' T biplane ittr lied and dipped pet':!- ' on s|y. Site <:111trI?t anothe" -;im|i<e of the elmso a few itti't'd later, lmt dared not aire it ttny he< d. Site knew only that it wt:s drawing near the bridge. At tlie time all her wits were wanted to cope with ila- tied; of landing on -iraiiui- ground; tho failing motor wits mimu < iitl: ;i pause i"i* iv|i;iii'<, I'atrla's skill proved < to the nceasion, however; the biplane settled (low n ire n tIy im*:ii* tin* edtfe ?>f a w ill'* area of Hoar ground?-mme too smooth for nuufort, Ian still naked of trees. As soon as it had eonie to a fall pause the jrirl hopped down front tlie si at and hemm tin examination of the engine; hut it took some lime to loe;:le the sijlt o'* th.e trouble, aU(l longer still to repair it. At length. howe\er, she was ready to resume her tiiidit. As she closed the tool box and started found the plane toward tin* front of the tntieitine, a pistol shot sounded hehlnd her. and a hwllet perforated the lower plane within a foot of her side. l.efore she could turn she was hailed in a voice siroti^ly colored with tlm no em ef a Japanese?and badly broken by panting. "Halt?as you stand, please! I * u t up your hands ! Kik'bt !" She heard hasty footsteps behind her. Tin n a Japanese Kentlcman of rather more than middle it^'c came into view ro\erinir her with his oistol r- -- - - I" ' Pausing In* deftly whipped her autonuitic fr*?m Its holster attached to her belt, and grinned unpleasantly. "Thank you very much." lie gasped politely in spite of his winded condition? for it was evident that lie had run a considerable distance at a very fast pace. "Now be good enough to take your seat. I will sit beside you. You will My as I direct and land where I say?please understand?or 1 shall be reluctantly obliged to shoot you." FROM THE BLUE. Without demur I'atria turned and i climbed to the pilot's scat. With sur prising agility, considering his appar ent age, the Japanese followed to the place alloted to the observer. "You will start immediately," he ; pursueu wiiii si sigrimcaiu gcsnire oi I ili** pistol in his baud, "ami aim for * those mountaiiis in the south. When we are high enough I will further di? reel the course." I'atrln switched on tin? self-starter, i The propeller began to revolve noisily, i The drone of the motor sounded clear i and sweet and true. The biplane i bumped forward over the uneven v ground, lifted, and began to climb, e I'ohlnd it half a dozen exasperated - cow-punchers broke from the woods, p reined in to fire, then recognizing the l> pilot of the airplane, refrained?hut cursed fervently. Of this l'atria knew nothing. Her attention was concentrated on the business of being a good pilot for u passenger armed and desperately ready to shoot. He sat watching her with a malicious grin while siie made her craft climb to the thousand-foot level. The noise of the motor prohibited conversation. but his gestures were understandable enough to perceptions quickened by the fear of death. At the thousand-foot level the Japanese hade l'atria to stop climbing and liy directly into the south. Watching 1dm out of the corners of her eyes, she saw that lie was a man of the highest intellectual caste, r person of authority find high rank, The insignia on the collar of his tunic disclosed his rank as that of a general, if she were not in error. Further than that, she could guess nothing about hint?though she was satisi, tied that he had been one of the passengers in the motor-car pursued bj , the cow-punchers. Whether that an, tomoblle had been wrecked by the ex! plosion of a mine or another accident this one had escaped and been, as lu interpreted it, providentially guided tc the spot where Patria waited with hei temporarily stalled biplane. The way she flew in accordance wltl his commands carried the machine high above the rampart of the hllb anil on until at length a wide vallej I was opened up beueulh them?i ^m range. wild Tnlley, Kecretod-* in the rart of the highest hills. And it proved to he the site of a rent encampment, a place where an nay was established ; for its length no breadth were dotted with mushlomdiUe tents of khaki in orderly ?ws broken only by roadways and i.II grounds. Here her captor desired I'atrin to (Seoul. There was a glitter of illtnnored amusement, of triutnpluint mliee, in bis eye us in? touched ^ier rin and pointed down Into thecal It wus borne in upon the girl's un- I <M'8tail(llhg in tluit instant, that the tan had guessed ln?r identity. 8 i'us not only the Instrument of his wn escape, but she was the very jm ri/e. no doubt, that tie had set forth ^ V u snare. I And slie had little doubt what would I rove her fate, once she had made a 8 undine in tliat valley. I Thoughts such as these nerved her 8 o heroic measures. What she must I lo was murder?but so are most (acts 8 >f war. And this was one ofjVher 8 onntr.v's chicfest enemies. I A heavy wrench rested in a pocket, 8 onveiiient to her hand. Slie watched I o r chance, whipped it out and?as the u ^8 ianatiese, startlod by her unexpected leiion, turned toward her- threw it 8 villi all her tnip'ht at his face. 8 lie ? << < ivi'd the Idow squarely be- 8 11 I lie eyes. Itiva heard him ?;roan. 8 * > ...!.!? .if .ill* iiiiI'mii" fruiii flu* >; .,! :\ < ii't11, caught the biplane ami ;.. m' mm 7c 5 N < Huroki Was Questioned by the Cowpunchers. . Ji for n moment tossed ?nd played with it as though it were a feutiier. It ' heeled dangerously, spinning upon its left planes us upon an axis. 1 Instinct alone?and a hit of luck to hoot?helped I'atriu right the ma- I chine. i Hut when she had accomplished , that, she rode alone; the observer'** seat was empty. Resolutely forcing herself not to think of that poor hulk of a body , dropping like a plummet to u deaths which would render it unrecognizable,^^ a shapeless, featureless pulp, the girl swung the biplane round and headed for home. Two hours later she de- t scended in her aviation field uipl was helped down by Imnuld I'artv^i Vroin ' this one she learned, succinctlyW1, *hut ; 11 ii?1 happened. ; I'illsbury's force, after a nijrl>t and Ijfl a half clay of fruitless scouting, had jfl fallen afoul of two motor-curs rilled I with Japanese and Mexican officers, \M northbound from the secret cneamp-dMH uioiit for a roconnoissanee along the Jfl border. Chief among these officers j'fl were Baron Huroki and (leneral Nogi. { I The ear containing Nogi had broken |*l through the resistance offered by th? cow-punchers and fled northward, 1 hotly hunted as I'atria had seen. The two cow-punchers who had taken the short cut had 'arrived at the bridge , just, in time to explode si trfiM"' beneath tin* ear sis it careered downhill | toward the bridge. Somehow Nogi hud escaped destruction in tluit imsi uess; but he was alone in this respect. I*1 So it wjis Nogi who iisnl been ear- jjf ried l>s?ck to his coiumand hy Pulria., 'aw In th<> meantime Iluroki had boon -hB captured and questioned by the cow- ?/| punchers; had protested utter l^nor- ,3 ance of the whereabouts of Hess Mor- j<9 gan ; hud changed his m^nd about that, 1 eonfessiiiK that siie was a prisoner at I 1 1 headquarters, when 1'i 1 lshury caused him to face a firing squad. Where- (j . upon PiUsbury had liberated one of ||1 iiuroki's companions, instructed by fl f the Japanese to britiK back Hess alone j ; J and unharmed. Otherwise Japan was .^y j to lose one of Its most loyal and efti- ?| dent servants. IMIlsbury hud. prom- W ! Ised Hurokl that. V Upon the return of the oflicer with ; Hess, Hurokl had been released, In , . 'accordance with the terms IMIlsbury had made, and had started hack for . v tlie encampment In the hills, while the v f. I cow-punchers had ridden joyfully f; j > homeward with the rescued girl. J The arrival of this party at the ju hacienda had anticipated Patrla's re- Tn 1 [turn hy loss than half an hour. And jl ' i with the restoration of his sister. Hud (f 4 j Morgan's mind had been made wliolu , r i again. pi k | (TO HE CONTINUED.) * " it?' S w