Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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I I HAMM ’' . / ■ ■ i" v ' ’> >* T ’ > » < STORM MUSIC B) By Domford Yates Copyright by Minton. Batch A Co. WNB Sorvlco. CHAPTER X—Continued —17— The knowledge set my heart pound- hijp. Some fountain that had not been working burst suddenly Into play. Its liquor was bitter-sweet—and It made me drupken with rage. A girl had been mishandled. Not the Countess Hel ena of Yorlck. for she was not of this life; but a slight, pathetic figure, whose head was bare . . . that had stood very still In a valley. What then took place, happened more swiftly than I can set It down. Bugle was on the drawbridge, and I was standing, ready and waiting to kill him, three paces away. I saw the man drop the handkerchief and I saw him draw hack his arm to discharge the shoe. It was then that I noticed Sabre —nosing the scrap of linen, white on the bridge. . . . As the shoe left Bugle's hand, the Alsatian crouched, and as he turned to come back, the great dog sprang. The shock would have sent a giant flying, for Sabre weighed fully six •lose. As Bugle met the rail of the draw bridge, I heard a bone snap. And then the two went over. Into the moat. The splash they made must have been heard, but for the outcry within the castle Itself. As I ran for the postern, I heard a hubbub In the archway and Florin's voice calling to Hubert to open the gates. As I stumbled into the passage— •This Is the stufT,” breathed Bush. “Up the stairs on yer left. I've got to lock this door." It seemed best to do as he said. Pharaoh and Dewdrop were gone. I needed Bush to bring me where they were. Without a word, 1 turned to the steps I knew. . . . As I came to their head, 1 became ■ ware of a radiance—a faint sugges tion of light, enough to outline the doorway that gave to the little hall. Another step, and I heard the drone of a voice. I entered the hall a tiptoe. One of its doors was half-open—not that of the staircase which led to Hel ena’s room. Beyond this a light was burning, the light of a torch—and an Ice-cold voice was teaching a hitter sentence to cut like a whetted knife. “So you see, there's not much left. Tomorrow morning, no doubt, order will lie restored. Very likely the police will arrive. They won’t arrive tonight, for the telephone Isn’t working. I’m afraid I’m to blame for that. The search, which is now proceeding In a somewhat haphazard way. will be or ganized; clues will be sifted; the ah duction will he reconstructed. Your sheets are below the ramparts, so they’ll know you were taken that way. Your handkerchief lies on the draw bridge; the slipper which you kicked •ff will be found in the fields. I ex pect they’ll employ your Alsatian—I'm sure I should. But ns I carried you here, I don’t think that lie will come »fT. One has to think of these things. Be that as It may, no stone will he left unturned to Hnd the beautiful countess—you really are lovely, you know—the worshipful mistress of Yor- iek, that carted her drunken brother •ut of her way. And all the time you’ll be here, sharing tlds somewhat snfriendly chamber with me and my friends. . . You do see the point, don’t you? They won't search the castle, because they’ll know for certain we’re none of us here. You didn't search it this morning—you knew 1 was gone. And if they did search the castle. I hardly think Florin would let them look in this room. It’s cleverly done, that door. You've got to be curious to And it and an expert to find Its lock. I'm both. I found them on Wednesday evening—with the help of your broth er’s key. 1 need hardly say that had 1 known that the key which you hand ed the warden was his and not yours, we should have adjourned to this chamber this morning instead of to night However, all’s well that ends well. . . ’’ A stealthy step behind me remem bered Bush. As I turned, he was locking the door at the head of the curling stair. For a fraction of a second I hesi tated. Rush was at my mercy. Was • bis the time to unmask? And then I decided to stake my winnings once more. Bush straightened his back and turned to the half-open door. Then lie hung on his heel for an Instant, to breathe in my ear. “Come on, you. I’ll give you I’Ka- raofi's a genius, lie’s got little Shelia Col.) " • •••••• i Here, since It bears upon my story, I must describe how you entered that secret room. This was the way of it. In the massive door from the hall the keyhole was set to the right, and when you had turned the key, the Iron- studded oak opened inwards and so to the left. At once you found your self at the foot of ■ staircase turret, the steps of w hich rose to the right and after three or four rises curled out of your view. Now the door was very heavy and, •ot being truly hu,ng, had to be held •pen; If It were tfot so held. It at once swung back to Its frame and, since Its lodk was s spring-lock, shut Itself fast. A etteb was, therefore, provided, to prevent It from playing this trick— the sort of self-acting catch that Is used for an entrance gate; and to bring this catch Into action, you bad but to ojien the door as wide as you could. But by so doing you were masking an other door. Enter the turret aud let the door shut behind you, and there In the wall which the door, when open, had hid den, was another smaller doorway which gave to the secret room. The door which It framed was also of oak and iron, hut though.lt boasted a han dle, there was no keyhole at all. It was in fact locked by the catch which held open the major door. Turn this catch to one side, and the minor door would swing open without a sound. From within the room this door, when shut, could neither be opened nor seen, because It was hacked with the woodwork which covered the walls. All this, of course, I learned later. All that I knew at the moment was that the door to the room had been “cleverly done.” Bush whispered over his shoulder. “Watch out for this door. It’s wedged.” He sidled round the oak and I fol lowed, with a hand on my pistol and (leoffrey’s knife In my sleeve. . . . I shall never forget the scene. Only one torch, was alight, and this was so held by Dewdrop that Its beam fell on Helena's face. To this the eye naturally turned, and In an Instant the rest of the room was black. . She was sitting upright on a bench, with her back to the panelled wall. The neck of her dress was torn and had fallen from one of her shoulders. If anything, her air was listless; she did not seem to be breathing, she sat so still. Her eyes were lowered to avoid the glare of the torch, but her beau tiful head was high, and for all the emotion stie showed site might have been sitting in a church. The sight of her captive and deso late hit me hard. * That IMiaraoh had been able to seize her was all my fault: but for me, she would have had Sabre, her body guard. More. Had I returned to the castle, my cousin and Barley and I would all have been there, and the odds against Hiaraoh’s success would have been absurd: as it was, I had made them even—and Pharaoh had won. The beam of the torch was blinding and I shut my eyes and sank my chin on my chest. I wanted to be able to see where Pharaoh was. Rush was be side me: he had lingered a moment to take up the wedge and to lock the major door, but now he was standing beside me—I could hear him licking his lips. And Dewdrop, a pace or two distant, was holding the torch. But I had not distinguished Pharaoh, and Pharaoh was first on my list. Then the man spoke again, and I knew that he was standing or sitting on the farther side of the room. “As always, I’m perfectly frank. My hand Is upon the treasure. It’s simply a question of testing these walls and this floor. But I can’t get it out of the castle—at least, not as much as I want. I don’t like to use the drawbridge: I believe even your bucolics would find that strange. But I know t-here’s anoth er way out. You took It with Mr. Spen cer five nights ago." 1 There was s little silence. Then— “Go on," said Helena, quietly. “You will tell me that way,” said Pharaoh. “And then?” “\Ve shall work till dawn, removing as much as we can.” "And then?” “\Ye shall clear up and go,” said Pharaoh. “And you will be free. I hard ly think you’ll want anybody to find us—in possession of so much gold.” “ ‘Clear up and go,’" said Helena. "What do you mean by ‘clear up?’” “I mean what you think I mean. There’s a nuisance I’ve got to abate.” “If you were honest, you’d say ’a score to settle.’ ’’ "I prefer the term ‘nuisance.’ Still, that may have to wait a little. At dawn we shall leave the castle, and you will he free.” Helena took a deep breath. “I see,” she said. “And now I’ll tell you something. You’ve got a long way, hut a long way is never enough. You know that you’re near the gold, but you don’t know how to reach It. It’s very well to talk of testing these walls and this floor, but that’s a Job for a mason, and you know It as well as.I. But if the gold was here, as you admitted Just now. you couldn't get It away. More. So long as you stay here, you’re safe, for on one will open this room. But the longer you stay here, the slight er your chance of escape. You’ve only the Rolls and my men will very soon find that, looking for me. And tomorrow, as you surmise, order will be restored. .(Juite good order, 1 warn you: Mr. Bo- hqn will see to that. If you wait till thtm, therefore,.you will have to cut your way out. You’ll have no gold to carry, so that should be easy enough: but once you are out, you’ll Itave no sort of transport and the park will be full of my people, looking for me. Of course, as I say. If you stay here, you’re perfectly safe. But you’ve nei ther food nor water, and nothing that you can think of will make me talk.” “What, nothing?" said Pharaoh,, “Nothing,” said Helena, calmly. “You’ve no one here to torture, and I’m not afraid for myself, fror the mo ment I’m up against It: but you are up against time.” It was tlear that she meant what she said: her fearlessness was sub lime. 1 wondered If she believed what Pharaoh had said. “Removing as moA as we can . .. clear up and go ... and you will be free.” Once Pharaoh bad access to more than a million pounds, was Pharaoh the man to grab whfit he could and bolt? If she opened her mouth, Pharaoh would certainly go. It seemed likely that he would take with him a thousand pounds. Fifteen hun dred, perhaps: Dewdrop and Bugle and Rush could eafh of them manage a bag. And something else he would take —against his return: and that was her master key. And she herself would be free, for she would be dead. Was It likely that Pharaoh, the ruthless, would spare her life? Spare her to cut off his access. If nothing else? “It certainly looks,” -he said,-“as though we shan’t be able to finish to night. Still, these things shouldn’t be rushed. And you know I can’t help feeling that twenty-four hours In this chamber will help you to change your mind. The quarters are close, aren't they?" “So much,” said Helena, calmly, “may happen In twenty-four hours.’ - “As I was saying, here we are out ot the world, and time will stand still. Outside—well, the warden will rage and your people Imagine vain things Mr. Bohun will organize: Mr. Spencei will grin like a dog and run about thfr—" . “Mr. Spencer’s the rock you’ve split on from first to last.” “In a sense that’s true,” said Pha raoh. T frankly admit I’m more ac customed to dealing with knaves than fools. And he’s been very fortunate so far: but I don’t think his luck will last. It’s all my fault,” he sighed. T’ve only myself to thank. But he made such an exeelleut lever that against “As You Know I Can’t Hslp Feeling That 24 Hour* in This Chamber Will Help You to Change Your Mind.” my better Judgment I let him live. Bui there—we all make mistakes. To b€ perfectly honest, I went to the for ester’s cottage because I believed he was there. I didn’t need you, you know I already knew of this room.” “You seem to need me now.” “Quite,” said Pharaoh, “quite. But that’s because your brother has gone. As a host—well, his hospitality left nothing to he desired. I find you mor* exacting. Never mind. About Mr. Spen cer. Yo\i know I did give him a chance I actually wrote him a note, contain ing some good advice.” “People like Mr. Spencer don’t taki any notice of threats. He had spoiled your game—and he isn’t dead yet.’’ “I assure you,” said Pharaoh, “It’s only .arinatter of time.” A gust of pas sion suddenly shook his accents. “If he goes to Tibet, I’ll get him.” The gust died down, and he laughed. “Stu pid,” he murmured. “Let’s say I don’t like his face.?’ “Ypu don’t like him because you fear him." * “He may prove Inconvenient. Una bated nuisances sometimes do.” “It isn’t his tongue that you fear. You.fear his hand." “But you don’t, do you?” flashed Pharaoh. “It’s astonishing how you've fallen for that young calf.” I could Just distinguish the man, but the resolute beam from the torch went far to distract my eye. I could make out that he was sitting astride of a chair, about six paces from Dewdrop, close to the wall. There was furniture standing between us, a massive writ ing table against which Dewdrop was leaning, holding the torch. For fear of missing my man, I dared not tire upon him from where I stood. Reach him I could not, without cross*. Ing the beam of the torch. “I told you I had no scruples." The voice was cold and harsh as the Var- dar wind. “Am I to demonstrate this?” I^dena shrugged her shoulders. “That's a matter for you—not me. I find It sufllcjently obvious, but per haps you like gilding your most refined gold.’’ “I have two questions to ask you. You know what they are. To obtain the accurate answers. I am ready to go all lengths. Not a long way. All lengths.” 1 -— “I believe you.” said Helena calmly. "The trouble Is you’ve got far as you can.” — • -—- “Let us see. Your brother was a mlae of Information, as you may bellero. Amongst other things he told me ths following curious fact When a sob or a daughter of Yorlck Is ten years old, a leopard, the badge ot Yorlck, Is tattooed upon their skin. . , . Is is that true, Lady Helena?” Helena moistened her Up* “Yea.” ' (TO BE CONTlNUiDi TALL TALES $ As Told to: FRANK E. HAGAN and ELMO SCOTT WATSON Chamgioriof the Oil Fields A SK any Texas or Oklahoma olt- drlller who’s the best in his busi ness and he’s pretty certain to answer “Why, Kemp Morgan, of course I" .Ask him why and he will tell you it's because Kemp had more unusual experiences than any other seeker after “black gold” ever did. For Instance there was the time Kemp lost his best drill. He was working In soft ground but he noticed that the drill kept going slower and slower the farther It went down. Pret ty soon It stopped completely. When Kemp tried to pull It out, It was stuck fast. Come to find out that he had bit an alum mine and the hole had shrunk up around the drill so tight that even Kemp couldn’t budge It. Then there was the time a Texas “norther” swooped down on Kemp’s rig. But It didn’t stop him—^no sir- reel He *just kept on drilling, and brought In a 22-lnch gusher. It was so cold that the oil froze as It spurted upward so there was a solid column of frigid oil. Kemp Just took out his knife, hacked It off In three-foot lengths and shipped it to the refinery on flat cars. That was In Texas but Kemp nnd a funny experience once In Oklahoma. He drilled a well so deep that It tapped a rubber mine 'way down In Brazil. She began to gush pure rub ber, so Kemp Just blew his hot breath on it to make it solid, cut it off in 11- foot lengths and shipped it to that place in Ohio where they make solid tires for trucks. When the average driller brings in a “duster,” he moves his rig away from there pronto. But not Kemp Morgan! He knew what a tough time the Kan sas farmers had digging postholes in the summer when the ground was baked hard. So whenever he’d strike a dry hole, he’d Just take his two hands, pull it up four feet and two inches at a time and saw it off. Then he’d ship a carload of these lengths across the state line where they al ways found a market. Here’s an Adorable High-Waisted Dress That’s Easy to Make for Little Girl J ^ - Private Life of Jonah I T WASN’T a whale which swallowed Jonah, theorizes Stanley Suehwalko, It was a big-mouthed fish in northern Michigan. His friend, Laddie Hornik, captured the monster In 1930. Laddie inspected the fish, which had laid down Its life while being hooked, gaffed and beaten over the head with a pair of oars, and couldn’t decide what to do with IL The size seempd to destroy the fish’s commercial value and imagine Laddie’s surprise, says Stanley, when the first stranger to arrive bid a fabulous price for the fish’s scales. Laddie yelled “Sold!" Then he re covered his poise, sheared off the scales, counted the money and watched the stranger bear the scales away. “What’ll you do with ’em?” asked Laddie. “I’m a spade manufacturer from Mo line, 111.,” replied the buyer. ‘Tve got material here for G.400 spades of the best chilled steel.” Buyer after buyer paid staggering prices for different parts of the fish and Laddie, says Stanley, didn’t get wise until a tremendous price was bid and accepted for the fish’s stomach. The stomach buyer immediately slit open the fish’s belly and revealed the golden throne upon which Jonah had been seated during his long captivity. “It’s cheap at half the price,” stated the buyer with pardonable satisfaction as he brushed a stray fin from his. precious purchase. The Despondent Grasshoppers A SEASONED maxim of the copy books is that frequently a real cry does a person good. Leonard Bailer, once a Nebraska farmer, Is sure of It. Rain washed away the railroads ground his Nebraska lands; the drouth hit him squarely; then the dust storms killed every living thing and his land was dry as the Inside of a grain bin. At this moment, the grasshoppers ar rived by millions and settled on his farms. Wasn’t a thing for the ’hoppers to eat but they were too tired to move on and Leonard almost lost hope. As a last gesture, however he rushed out among the despondent grasshoppers, sitting there In the dust, and planted several sets of the strongest and hardiest onions he could buy. To his surprise the onions matured quickly. The moment their bulbs ap peared above ground the grasshoppers pounced on them, ate ravenously and burst Into tears. “And that," Leonard recalls proudly, “is how my farms were saved. The land, was drenched by the tears of the grasshoppers and as soon as they had drowned themselves I was able, of course, to raise a normal crop.” C Waatera Newspaper Union. Theory Pre-Dates Pa.^eur The germ theory of disease Is much older than the discoveries of Louis Pasteur, with whose name It Is asso ciated because he was the first to make practical use of it. according to the Medical society of the state of New York. He produced serums for anthrax, rabies and other diseases. But before Pasteur was born, a Seven teenth century German scholar named Athanasius KIrcher noted that flies visit the sick and Infect the well by contaminating their food. Pattern IN.'2-H for daughter and see yourself as others did when you were her size. There’s nothing difficult about It at all, no panelled seams to Join —Just a high-walsted skirt and a bit of a bodice which makes It very quickly fashioned. Send for this pat tern now and In the .meantime take a trip to Main street and buy a few yards of either printed lawn, batiste, dimity, or voile and a few yards of velvet ribbon for the trimming. Barbara Bell Pattern No. 1852-B is available in sizes 2, 4, 6 and 8 years. Size 4 requires only 2V» yards of 35 or 39-inch material. Send 15 cents for the pattern. The Barbara Bell Pattern Book featuring Spring designs is ready. Send 15 cents today for your copy. . Setd your order to The Sewing Circle Pattern Dept., 3G7 W. Adams St., Chicago, 111. © Bell Syndicate.—VVNU Service. Dainty Collars and Jabots to Crochet High time to he thinking up fresh accessory notes for spring wardrobe. Isn’t it? Then what better than these airy, lacy collars and dainty jabot for giving last year’s frock a “lift” and changing this year's so it wins recognition ? There’s an open front collar in a square mesh de sign, a triangular collar that closes In hack, both easy to do In petite bouele. The soft, flattering Jabot of mesh with “nosegay” of Irish roses is made in cotton. Pattern 1136 comes to you with- detailed directions for making the When you were a little girl wouldn’t you just delight at the thought of having this adorable dress? Then why not sew this up >411 >4round /Ac House Sweep rugs the way of the pile. Brushing against the grain tends to brush dust in instead of out. • • * Paint stains that are dry and old may be removed from cotton or wool en goods with chloroform. First cover amply with olive oil. • * • The tough skin that forms on top of a cornstarch pudding may be pre vented If a piece of oiled paper Is placed over pudding when set away to cool. • • • Paper baking cups make excellent caps for milk bottles. Press edges down firmly to fit mouth of bottle. « * * Powdered borax added to the wa ter when washing fine white flannels helps to keep them soft. © Bell Syndicate —WNU Service. @UDJ eS A Smart Man Teacher—Who was the world’s smartest man? Boy—Thomas Edison. He Invented the phonograph and radio so that people would stay up all night and use his electric light bulbs. Pattern 1136 collars shown; an Illustration of them and of all the stitchei needed; material requirements. Send 15 cents in coins or stamps (coins preferred) to The Sewing Cir cle, Needleeraft Dept., 82 Eighth Ave., New York, N. Y. Doctor Will Take 25 ‘In-Laws* on Country-Wide Vacation Dr. Thomas Richmond, of Kansas City, is so fond of his wife’s rela tions that he is taking 25,of them on holiday with him. The Idea was his own, not Mrs. Richmond's. They in cluded the doctor’s eighty-one-year- old mother-in-law and eleven-months- old nephew-in-law. They are going to tour the country in a 17-seater bus and two curs, with a lorry for the luggage. “I think he is crazy,” his wife said in an interview. “But If he wants to spend his money that way, it’s all right with me.” Fir*t Word Son—Paw, why was Adam created first? Father—To give him a chanse to say something. James Cagney, Film Actor, Victor in Unusual Suit Remote Control Cooking Black—Dining in a restaurant? Where is your wife tonight? Blue—Broadcasting cooking hints over the radio Affluence They hud suddenly grown rich and bought a farm complete with hens, cows and pigs. Said a visitor: “Do your hens lay eggs?” “They can,” was the reply, “hut In our position they don't have to.” Fat Man’s Advantage A fat man has one advantage over his brethren—he knows where his cigar ashes will fall. Ting a Ling Though life Is,most uncertain I’m sure of this one tiling That when I’m In the bathtub The telephone will ring. PERHAPS RETIRED James Cagney, film star, won his fight recently to cancel Ids $4,500 a week contract with Warner Broth ers, Inc. Judge Charles Bogue in Los Angeles, held that the studio had broken the contract by failing to ad vertise Idm as the star In every pic ture he made. It Is probable Cag ney, hinted, he will make a few pic tures for British studios. Childhood Memories Jackson—I noticed you got up and gave that lady your seat in the tram the other day. Hackson—Since childhood 1 have respected a woman with a strap In her hand.