Morgan County republican. (Versailles, Mo.) 1906-1914, 1907-12-19

but W ma no returned IL u
Forbes; ! was sure OF that. Locke
was a newspaper man trained In the
school OF modern journalism. He had
determined on n grand coup for his
paper. II the sealed dispatch prom.
ised to be of assistance TO him he
would break the seal.
That would not suit me at all. My
task was to hush up the scandal Of
Sir Mortimer Brett and his mistress.
Locke was determined to give II the
fullest publicity. Our ends were utter.
ly at variance. Every sentence OF his
recital made me see that more clearly.
! saw, too, that the object of his
story was to overwhelm me with the
certainty that must make n full con.
fession to him or suffer those conse.
quences. My one hope was to avert
those consequences until my inter.
view with Madame de WARMER. I
hoped everything from that.
For the present I need fear nothing
from Forbes. Helena had given me
her word that she would trust me until
hAihhiShAs puN IA llthtt VI ilti'llh
and Forbes was useless unless Locke
also was silent. | awaited the rest Of
his narrative with anxious concern.
THE next morning | bestir myself
early, you may be sure OF that Cap
tain Forbes rest had been equally
perturbed. Together we discover the
startling fact that, early as we had
aroused ourselves. our patient with
his nurse and physician had been even
more energetic, But my discovery Is
Of a nature more dramatic than that OF
the kings messenger. He imagines
that It is Sir Mortimer who has fed.
| am forced to the reluctant conclu.
sion that II ia Mr.. Ernest Haddon,
American tourist, masquerading as
the d%lplomatist, Sir Mortimer Brett.
Is It necessary that I enter into ex.
plantations for this discovery, or shall
we take the fact for granted?"
Take II for granted by all means,
since You have already taken 30 much
for granted"
Il shall not bore you much longer.
Captain Forbes and myself Join
forces. | needed but one argument TO
persuade him to do that. knew
where Madame de WARMER and her fel.
low conspirators were bound; Captain
Forbes did not"
"And Mrs. and Miss Brett-dld you
reveal your suspicious to them"
80 far" Locke looked at me sig.
%nifcantly, Il have revealed them to no
one. We arrive at Alterhoffen. then,
the four of US. Captain Forbes insists
on storming the chateau. With what
result you know better than I. As for
myself. | prefer to keep my counsel.
and, first OF all, to give my friend
the servants at the castle to convey a
note to him requesting the honor Of
an Interview at ten this morning. My
friend Haddon denies me the honor Of
an interview. Then II the mountain
will not come to Mohammed, Moham.
med must go to the mountain.
Il am directed to the castle by the
stairway that leads to the village
street. / have not descended a dozen
steps Of the gloomy stairway when |
hear some n coming up them In fu.
rious haste. Naturally. ] pause: and
quite as naturally I take the precau-
ton of placing my hand on the revolt
yer In my hip pocket. which ! carry
with me. remembering the fate of my
acquaintance. Captain Forbes.
"To my surprise the person In this
extraordinary haste c~onceals himself
In the little g~lass-covered room at the
angle of the stairs. l descend the
steps cautiously and curiously. There
are other surprises In store for me.
of all I see a secon. figure stand.
ing fiat against the wall. AS my eyes
become accustomed to the darkness
| am startled to discover that tho man
concealed in the lodge has a revolver
In his hand. For the moment I think
he is lying In wait for myself. But
Immediately l hear steps from
below. There is a click as the trigger
is cooked. | am averse to ~bloodshed
even the killing Of a would.be muir.
derer. fire, not at him, but to shat.
ter the pane of glass and divert his
aim.
Now for my last surprise. The as.
rather tardily | must say, has
been grappled with by the man who
had concealed himself against the
wall and was apparently awaiting de.
But the would-be assas.
sin has succeeded in freeing himself
from this very faint-hearted assailant.
pursue the assassin; he eludes cap,
ture; | return ruefully to the hotel to
hnd-my friend Haddon receiving the
warm thanks Of the heroine for saving
her life"
"A great deal OF this Is ancient his.
| said, my voice trembling with
shame and rage, such of It as is not
You return. then, to unmask
he would-be hero. And now, what2"
And now" said Locke In a deep
voice, his face thrust close to mine,
I want to know this: Why we're you
hiding in that stairway Why did you
stand there passlvely while the man
vas committing the act Of murder be.
ore your eyes? Why did you pretend
struggle with the assassin, pretend
o struggle, / say7"
Even a coward will fight, I ID
when he Is %cornered," ! said bitterly.
co BE CoNTINUED.)