The Holly chieftain., 1902-07-18

aroused dsep curiosity 70 that ra
like to sec more of you and your
strange game. I'm in the humor for
It."
Consider 1t Eettied, my boy. soms-
thing tells me there's luck in our ln-
ion Of forces. Let's shake upon it,
there's my hand-+take that With my
compliments. and Jones. he pays the
freight
The strange compact was duly sealed
by an Auglo-Saxon grip.
There goes your rescued beauty BE-
yond the trees yonder. Take the glass
and have another last look At her.
This may be . Wretched day for many
Eallants who VIII come on their knees
tothat fair enchantress. Ihope 1t won't
have any evil eject ON your future
PLEASE don't worry about me- said
Mark. japntily. yet the other noticed
that he seiasd upon the glasses eager
ly and leveled them.
Soon with q sigh he lowered them.
Pardon me. my friend. but have
just had quite q shock Perhaps you
know what 1t Ia to look upon the face
OF one you had reason to believe was
dead! That has Just been my expsri-
ence." he said, sadly. l.ass ''.},s
Meaning Little Miss Million. sup
poser"
'The young. lady In the carriage.
Her face caught my eye and gave me
q shock. 1t is 30 like one l knew, and
yet the possibility Of such a thing is
absurd. She WAS the daughter Of a
poor farmer IN the bush, and this girl
seems born to the. purple. Still. 1t has
given me quite surprise. Dismiss the
whole thing from your mind. beg.
Now, tell me more about your great
plan to startle the old habitues Of
Monte Carlo rs they have been
shocked only once before
You shall by degrees know every
thing that have discovered, down to
the smallest details. For the present
l shall deal only in generalities. In
|. the first place, know that am not
the only one madly POSSESSED with the
idea Of discovering this lost system by
means of which Darragh broke the
bank at Monte Carlo.
Depend upon it, I'm in this game
for keeps. and don't intend to be
blutfed out of my honest rights by any
Frenshman, be he prince or peasant,
hero of Algiers or any other man.
Count Leon Villebois and 1 have al
ready made each others acquaintance
he knows I'm hot after that same
paper. and we cherish mutual. respect
for each other after indulging in a lit
tie bout that the alguaxils of old Sc
vile put stop to. One thing Is GER
tain. If this French count and his Rus
sian ally push me against the wall too
hard, they may take sudden voyage
up Salt Riyer-and Jones. he pays the
freight"
Merrick confessed that his interest
had deepened and that he felt more
desirous than ever to be the comrade
-of Jones in the search for the Golden
Fleece. for such the valuable docu-
ment. II ever found, would be to those
lucky enough to possess 1t.
"You are curious to hear about Dar-
ragh. and how evil fortune befel him
after he seemed to hold the world in
his grasp. '5l9t
The night he broke the bank his
wealth was utterly unknown, but that
was not the. worst. Had II been an ac-
cident they would have .raked 1t all In
again and much more with the turn
of the cards. but they knew as we'll as
others that Darragh had q complex
system that had actually proven infal-
lible, and that the whole OF Monte Car
10 was at his mercy. ~ es'
That night Darragh was KIDNAPPED
Il don't say who did it, but they got
his money, and failing to hnd the pa
per containing a diagram Of his won-
derful system Of play, carried him
away far OF from France and italy, on
yacht to Alglers. In succession he
was taken to Russia and Austria, Italy
and Spain. but they could not force
him to tell his secret, and the paper he
declared he had destroyed, though
there was a copy Of 1t somewhere hid
den away. ~ is4l IN
Even torture proved unayaiiing and
at last 1t was decided to dispose of
Darragh In order that he might never
appear against them. 7i
He was sunk in the harbor Of Se-
Vile, but fortune allowed him to break
loose from the bag and reach q steam
~ Dee. Ia ri -,