The Elbert County tribune., 1906-10-11

| to, fell from his hands; stopped to
| pick 1t up. and as l seized 1t, he again
mastered himself and sprang fiercely
upon me. | struck him terrible
blow upon the head, and as he totter-
ed and fell, his mask was torn away,
and there before me upon the snow
lay the bleeding form of Victor De-
neau.
"As I turned to leave the spot two
| rufianly natives, dressed in the same
manner as Deneau, attacked me.
.I raised the weapon and fred a
bullet into the heart of the foremost
I received a wound in my side Srom
the other, but, turning hastily, also
had the good fortune to dispatch him,
as he raised his weapon in deadly
aim at my heart
II searched the clothes OF DeneauL
whom | thought was dying, and
found passports, credentials, letters Of
recommendation, and letters of credit
to nearly every part of Russia and ST.
IBERIA. Yon can see by this, Castle
man. what a valuable head | wear,
and could Deneau have presented it to
the car, it would have been worth a,
title equal TO dukedom," and he
smiled in that peculiar half-mocking,
but wholly significant, way that char
acterized him.
my head and the heads of my as
sociates are more valuable to the Rus
sian government than all the priceless
jewels in the glittering crown of the
czar."
Then it is not surprising that De-
neau exhibits such tireless energy
and such mastery genius and cum
ming in his management Of the case
| said.
81 have no dread Of the Individual
Deneau, but / confess that a proper
number of operators under his master
ly directions could at the present
time, or at near future date, cause
us serious amount of trouble, pro-
vided-"
"Provlded?" I interjected.
Provided he is in possession of
certain secret upon which the future
of our institution depends. But at
present, Castleman, 1 can't say, even
to you, what this discovery involves,
but. be assured, you will know in a
short time, and"
At this moment I heard the tones
Of bell. They came from a distance,
not so distinctly as they sounded be-
fore, but l counted the strokes. one,
two, three, and when the vibration
of the gong had died away. Valdez
mere hastily left the room, but with
that unfailing courtesy, he bade me
good night, and, as he passed into
the dark hall, he turned again to me,
saying:
"Castleman, see that no one enters
the house tonight. Slsta will warn
you in the event of an attempt to do
so. Have you any arms?"
None, save my pistol said, but
do you expect Deneau?"
81 always expect him. He may
come tonight; he may never come.
Should he come alone, you have your
pistol. Should he be accompanied by
others, step into the laboratory and
pull the lever at the left of the door
way"
Then, as IL he had overlooked some
thing, he crossed the room and enter
ed the laboratory. l followed him in
silence. AS he passed the door, l saw
him raise his hand and pull upon an
iron bar at the left of the doorway,
then l heard a grating noise and a
whir of some hidden machinery;
blue light flashed across the room,
then he pushed the lever into it's
place, and the noise ceased.
7 had stood in mute astonishm ent
at this strange proceeding, but when
he again spoke, / felt reassured, for
he smiled as he observed my inquiring
gaze:
"Ah, Castleman, you watch with
every assurance of safety tonight. If
any one approaches the house beyond
the stone wall, Sista will warn you.
If it be Deneau. and he comes alone,
you will know what to do?"
| bowed shocked at the idea of the
duty I was to perform, but made no
reply.
Should there be others, pull that
lever, as have just done, then leave
it down until Sista makes her second
report"
Then he left me staring upon that
ugly device, as though it has fasci-
mated me.
The violence of the storm had some
what abated. but the wind still moan.
ed through the old pines. and as they