The Washington times., 1905-04-09

1
he laid his usual stress upon the pro
| n-'have-er-in1uence with the
cable companies both in San Francisco
and in New York. Martin & Martin
/ realize that the old man is in a hurry.
They will reply via London as well as
/ Frisco. Therefore I have fixed both
Offices Any message that comes for
| the Scnator"-he paused to let the sig
ni11cance of his statement sink in-.wiil
come late. II the MESA age-should there
| be one-does not reach Senator Lang
horne by o'clock tomorrow, the game
| is ours
You have, apparently. ti,ought of
| everything IT was the prince who
spoke. q
F! The millionaire pursed his lips. .'CI
! course, my dear man, one always thinks
| of everything when there are dollars
and cents In sight. There are many
kinds of greed, but the greed for gold
affects the rich and the poor alike
1--WE laid our plans carefully con-
! tinued the big man, though we did it
| by wire. Luckily the Christina was off
! the coast OF China. or we should not
! have been able to act so quickly. There
| is little chance of the truth Of the mat
/ ter reaching this country for at least a
| week, and even then it viii be merely
| a question of truth between the words
| of the captain of the Christina and who
| ever has investigated the matter II
| viii be month before the matter is
cleared up, and then it wfff~go down as
a newspaper yarn-there are SoSmany
| newspaper yarns. The people are al
ways fooled by them. They never learn
better Probably seventy-five out of one
| hundred ordinary persons are liars in
a small way at least-yet ninety-nine
out of a hundred persons will believe
what they are told, if told in a suf-
| ficiently positive manner"
! What is the news from the embassy,
Rubinoff?" asked the prince, turning to
| the tall captain.
Your blow was sudden. 1t took away
| the ambassadors breath as quickly as
| one of my Cossacks' takes gold away
| from a Hebrew and Rubinoff laughed
shortly. But now everything is being
done to learn the truth of the matter.
| st. Petersburg has been notified, and
asked for discretionary powers The
ambassador will offer to pay any in
demnity this country demands. no mat
! ter how large
No use" said the millionaire. 'Ameri-
cans as rule are hipped on the subject
of lives. What are lives where millions
are concerned?" he snorted.
| The prince looked at the rich American
curiously. He was not squeamish in re-
| gard to human life. He was too much
| accustomed to risking his own. But ne
remembered that it was to save and
| brighten the lives of millions of poor
! people in his own country that he was
striving
| Outside Billy lay still listening to this
| converse ton. realizing more and more
| how clearly he and the Senator had di-
agnosed the matter of the slaughtered
] Americans. What troubled him most.
however, was the news that the cable
! companies had been held up by the New
/ York ring. 1t was impossible 20 reach
| San Francisco in time to Illustrate the
scheme. His only hope lay in New
| York. He must get there he told him
self, as soon possible. Just what his
! course would be after he reached the
| metropolis. events must determine. His
| one idea as he crawled down his pre
/ carious ladder was to tell the Senator
the lay of the land. and hurry to the
metropolis in the first train leaving
| Washington
AS he hung for MON ent to the vine
about four feet above the ground. pre-
! pairing to drop the rest of the way. his
| legs were seized suddenly, and he was
| Jerked downward with great force His
| back and shoulders struck the ground
with a dull thud. The sudden fall
| stunned him for a second. and before
| he could move, q man was kneeltng on
| his chest, and two others were holding
| his arms above his head. while a fourth
| stuffed a cloth into his mouth.
| The commonplace looking man on his
chest gave a few hurried directions. and
in moment his arms and legs were
| tied securely. Some one threw an old
rug over him as he lay on the ground.
He could not move or speak, but he
could hear
IF had my way, Mr. William Hale
would never spy again" It was the
passionless voice of the nondescript
Tell the prince what we have caught"
| and one of the men went away
| There was silence for few minutes.
Then Billy heard the footsteps of two
| men approaching, the step Of man Of
action, and the sloveniy shuttle OF a ruff
/ fan. The rug was lifted from his head.
and the prince held candle close to
his face.
| Hale" was all he said.
| Billy said nothing. He was gagged.
/ The prince turned to the nondescript
and spoke in n low tone. Then he
leaned over Billy.
Mr.. Hale" lie said. courteously as
ever, lit is necessary that you be our
guest for a few days. I have given
orders that you be properly cared for.
| Ny one regret is that this course should
| be forces upon us. You have only your
self, howarer. TO thank for it. It would
! be Il waste OF time i know to tell you
! not TO try to escape Goodnight
He was gone. and the rug was again
thrown across Billy's face. He felt him
self lifted and carried, IS he judged
! to the back gate. for he heard the
| scraping of a hook and the creak of
rusty hinges. Then he was again put on
the ground. After a short time he heard
the wheels of a wagon coming up the
alley He was picked up and put In the
carriage. The rug was no longer over
him. and he could see the nondescript, |
who had charge of the abducting party, |
get into the carriage and sit opposite
hiEl, while two other men mounted be- f.
side the driver.
Bound and guarded as he was, Billy |
knew there was no loophole of escape |