davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1908-10-11
Clarke Is Interested.

II was only a half an hour aftcrward
that Clarke changed this view entire
~ and found himself so vastly inter
ested in the mysterious English couple
that our vacation. the Yellowstone.
and everything else paled into insig-
nificance
1t was sitting hot, and when we
had finished our dinner We found the
observation platform, the only place
of comparative comfort, already
crowded.
Let's go TO our quarters where we
can shed our clothes, turn on the cleo
trio fan, and be comfortable. l sug-
gested.
our dTaWing-rOOm connected with
the stateroom Of the English couple
by a door, so that thes two might on
occasion be thrown together en- suite.
This door bolted upon our side, and 1
presume upon the other also. We had
removed most Of our garments. and
had settled down TO read and TO be
as comfortable as possible when our
attention was attracted by a stealthy
scratching sound at the base Of this
door.
1 looked down and saw the corner
of an envelope appear. / called
CIarle's attention and We watched Il
until the entire envelope. long. white
one. stuffed SO full of papers that II
went under the door with difficulty,
lay on the floor AT our feet
-Our pretty haison progresses, "
whispered Clarke. There is billet
dOuN for you
1 hastily seized the envelope and
emptied its contents on the reading
table. And then Clarke and / stared
and gaped in helpless and idOtiC as
constituent. Before us lay bonds Of
the United Zinc Corporation 20 the
value OF S7500O0-
With them was o single sheet Of
note paper with the crest Of the Los
Angeles limited AZ the top Clarke
and } read it silently.
ITO Mr.. Carlton Clarke: I am tax
ing what believe TO be tie only
course 20 save these papers and my
life. BY the time we reach Old Faith
fun Iuu cope t5 devise some d-a5..a.-
ton to ask YOU to make Of them, IN
til then guard them we'll 1 know I
can trust you. Destroy this note at
once. Lady EtheIbert Snively-"
Now what DO you think Of tEat2'
! gasped in a whisper
What is the use of thinking an
swered Clarke. we viii wait. Lady
SniveIy, YOU are a brilliant woman
You are a physiogonomist Of The high
est order You are taking an awful
chance. but you have put your trust
in the right men We Will be true 10
il and see this thing through 70 the
end" And Clarke took or his trav-
cling cap and gravely bowed toward
the door that separated Us from the
mystery beyond
And now. Sexton" he continued,
there is but one course lOr US To pur-
sue and that is to act as II nothing
has happened. II is safe TO say the
husband viii not suspect MS unless We
give him cause 10 do So Nothing is
likely to happen on this train. and the
next act OF tine drama is lai5 at Old
Faithful so we might as well possess
our souls in patience
The Washington times., 1908-10-11
Beginning OF Friendship.

But CLARKE had not salisued NY
curiosity coasyraIas Tie lIi assUrtud
DaIr lie had ,.ue,tod IL, ana some
thing ia the pi4uauJ lace OF Tie won
an appealed 10 .ue AL a manner 1 would
lave IOunl difficult 90 analyze.
We had JA- drawing room, and The
couple OF mystery The staJerOOm AL
joining A. Consequently we frequently
met them Iace 10 lace in the narrow
passaSeway while on our journeys 10
and from the dining car OF the obse.-
walton car These meetings were mat
tiers OF silent 1UrmalIJy IN which we
hattened ourselves against tie polish
I'd mahogany woodwork To allow them
TO pass. And L could not help but no
tlce that whatever The order in which
they approached the passageway The
husband always ieli back and com
PEELED his wife To proceed. II might
have been mere pOiiteness. but why
Cid he always take the lead exceDt
when passing us2 And why did he
watch her head so closely TO see thar
It turned neither to the right nor 10
the left?
We passed thus many times during
the first day of the journey and only
once was the usual order reversed.
Then the husband was so far in ad-
vance that TO have varied would have
been to make his object too apparent.
Or else he forgot his vigilance for the
moment and passed MS looking straight
ahead and not acknowledging our
presence 10y so much as a thank you -"
The life followed. her eyes 10 the
floor. AS she came opposite my elbow
she raised her mead and gave me
look fun in the eyes, a look so fun Of
helpless appeal that Il startled me. /
could do nc more than slightly bend
my head when the man glanced sus-
piciOUsly around The eyes immedi-
ately fell 10 the floor again and the
incident was as If 1t had not hap
pened.
The English couple were Just com
ing from the diner. We were on Our
way there liz response to the last call
for dinner We had the diner prac-
ucally 10 ourselves and I lost no time
IN telling Clarke Of the incident in the
psssagewey.
There's something wrong there,
Clarke. I'm sure of it.
There certainly is when a pretty
wife gives a handsome fellow like you
a rapid fire glance in a dark passage
way" ban,eringly returned Clarke
mo" 1 returned earnestly. There
is something seriously wrong. She
needs our help in some way, and it's
mp 70 us to find out. There's a nys-
terry there to be solved"
MY dear Sexton" yawned Clarke.
YEARLY. Cant YOU divorce yourself
from the idea of work? This is a va
cation. II you must have material for
what you cali your literary efforts
wait until we get to the park and tl,vu
write a guide book OF the Yellowstone.
The Washington times., 1908-10-11
TIE mn IHRENUphI3H /zfI5~I -
AfD N15HPRENRDN rs n ~@Zl~/
ThE EIIRZI M 6k/lZLOhIZ2 hIIH. -

in advance Of the rest OF the ps=ty and
Clarke reused TO his duty sufficiently
10 walk out with me over the lorna
ton" as the acres OF limestone de-
post made by the geysers is oficially
and technically known Here again we
met my lord and lady when Jne resi-
Of the tourists came NO. and were
grouped reverenty IN a circle to watch
the Fountain geyser. play. Lady
Snively clapped her hands in gIee as
the boiling water. throwing clouds Of
seething steam, shot fifty feet into the
air.
isn't II marvellous" she exclaimed.
Not a shade Of trouble marked her
countenauce. She was a wonderful
actress.
''All beastly rot Just a Tot Of beast
" steam and water coming out OF a
beastly hole" said her cheerful hus-
band, turning away with a disgust
only surpassed by that with which
he inspired every other member OF
the company.
My heart beat a little faster as We
began the last nine-mile lap TO tine
Upper Geyser basin and Old Faithful
Inn. but ] knew not what awaited us
SO I put ia out Of my mind and leaving
10 Clarke the thinking part. I again
took the front seat with the driver.
30 Hughes had began to interest me.
He was little chap. an ex-jOckey. and
ne proudly boosted that he could stii
ride at an even hundred without train
ing. lac had been by turns a COW
pLncher and d horse wraagler i'm the
winter and park driver IN the sum
mer. he was a wiry bundle o. nerve
and muScie and IL il came 10 a night
B InsJncuveiy oIscerned in him an ally
40, 40 be despised.
The shadows Ul the Western snow
p,dos wcle iensJheaing wDen we Drew
80. IN advance of The rest or taa party.
asaIn by virJue Of oUI special be-
tore the log portals OF that wonderful
q piece Of forest architecture, Old Faith
full Inn.
was assigned 10 room i and
Clarke 10 room Is. LORD and Lady
Snively followed as and drew No. y.
Whatever the destiny that bound Us
together il seemed u1broken.
Clarke went directly TO his room.
but I was there TO see the Yellowstone
and ! resolved To do that at any price,
SC ] met 30 Hughes On his way from
stablinS his team, ana together we
proceeded over the wonderful forma-
ton Of the Upper Geyser basin before
going down To see Old Faithful, which
The Washington times., 1908-10-11

AAAAAAN JAAANNA- III
Toman-well, we had more difficulty
- classifying her The accent and
he clothes were English beyond the
possibility Of the most charitable err
.or- Buc the piquant. sad face, the
soulful brown eyes, the cheeks Of
cark but wholesome and even color,
The full red lips, the small and deli
cately nodded features, these were
legacies perhaps Of French ancestors.
more likely tokens OF that congIomcr-
ate strain now called the American
-ype; but English, never.
Of course, being men, it was the
conan who first and more greatly In
tereSted Carlton Clarke and myself
when we encountered the couple, the
drst morning out OF Chicago, on thu
observation platform Of the Los An
-eles limited. The interest WAS par
d7nable for, although on this long
planned vacation to Uncle Sans
amusement park. the Yellowstone. we
had promised ourselves To forget alb
solutcly an mysteries and their soIu-
ton, teleTatbic. occult. dCductivr cor
otherwise. We could not refrain from
INDUCING I'm n little harmless spccuIa-
NibAA NbliN VI lililtr llIf NlllN Two persons
in the trains company who seemed
10 possess any possible degree Of hu-
man interest
Acquaintanceships are not 80 neces-
sary nor so easily formed on trans
continental train as on a transatlantic
liner, and so we made no effort 10
penetrate the reserve with which
Lord and Lady Labels" the title
their luggage suggested TO us. chose
70 surround themselves. Nor was
their reserve more impenetrabIe than
our own
True. had we so wished we might
have broken the ice with nv lord con
corning certain prize night soon 20
take place in san Francisco. which
we heard him cNcitedIy discussing with
George. the porter. But even had we
not been sufficient unto ourselves 1
would have been loath 10 dispel the
aura or mystery with which 1 had in
vested the lady Of the piquant face
and the dreamy eyes.
They're from London. They came
BY the Cunard line. That much is
clear from their luggage" remarked
Clarke. borrower. they made a hur-
rled trip from New York TO Liverpool
and back again, according to the
labels, ana 4 am inclined TO believe
the woman acquired her clothes and
her accent ia tnis short space OF tune
-or 1 viii stake anything she rs Ameri-
can. The man IS a crook II L know
anything OIL pays.OgEOmy. l can [ say
Just what Is wrong, but the overnas-
terlnS cLaIelu,e. .s,lc an his lace IS
greco Now. / sc satisfied your curl
osIty ana / nope you Will leave me 10
my DOOh.
The Washington times., 1908-10-11
Size Had Only Painted.

In tra.A. size G..u only TAINTED. Tor
she reEalutu c0aSci BUSINESS with the
handling. and looked wIldly about
ler-
You are free from him forever
Lacy sniye.y.-' said Clarke.
Thank GOd-' she exclaimed Il
fear il Is wicked 60 feel 50. but it Is
better than suicide -Jr me or hanging
Tor him"
The absence Of Lord Sn.veIy would
be a difficult thing TO explain at tine
hotel. ana none OI US re.iShed the idea
Of an inquest with ITS consequent de-
lay, 10 say nothing 81 tLe incrimlaat-
ing cOlo-S WIKI which suspicious
minds might invest the events of the
night But manifestIy there was moth
Ing 10 be done but 10 Tell the truth,
and so CLARKE and i took Lady Snive-
ly between us and, piloJed By Hughes.
We picked cur way carefully back
over the quarter OF a mile Of treach-
circus formation. when We set foot
on solid and safe ground again old
Faithful was just beginning 70 play.
N had played just as we started OUT.
and so. according to his schedule.
maintained throughout the centuries
we had been on the formation lust
siXty-nine minutes. II had not seem
ed more q an ten
When re reached the hotel we
found tNS very potent agencies AZ
work in our favor: Clarke's reputa-
uon, which had penetrated even into
the Yellowstone. and Ro Hughes.
whose straight story admitted OF no
Doubt Without the knowledge OF 4
single one Of our feIow-pa sseneers. II
was quietly arranged thar We should
all proceed in the morning by a spe-
cial stage in charge Of Hughes. 10
MammOuth station at the northern
end Of the mark. there TO make re-
port 10 the cavalry colonel in com
mand. This plan admitted OF a few,
hours sleep Of which We FASTENED
10 take advantage
And now. Lady Snively.'' began
Clarke when we were comfortably
o slowed away in the stage the next
morning. perhaps you can tell MS
your story and we can advise YOU as
10 the future.
Please do not call me Lady Snive-
"" answered the brave little woman.
That name was my undoing and
henceforth I am content 10 be plain
Alice Hathaway. The story is brief
and II ii would only prove a warning
20 all foolish American girls would
feei that I have not lived IT in vain.
NV father died when Z was eighteei.
He was one of the organizers Of the
United S at Z nc c rpOr1tiCn. bit be
fore his death he had converted all of
his stock into bonds. I was an only
child and I suddenly found myself in
the possession Of the bonds which
you have now. That was two years
The Washington times., 1908-10-11

this castle that l am to take out OF
pavng-'
You know 1 couldn't stay in Lon
don another day with the beastly nay
fever coming on. Alice Now, what
have you done with those papers,
Yes. knew you had searched my
luggage, liar. Don't give yourself any
false hopes. You will never see them
again"
Then The sentence was lost in
a hiss OF rage
oh, yes ] know you are perfectly
capable Of killing u:e just as you did
those other women
She was interrupted by a snsrI or
rage from my lord. and thought Tor
a moment that we We're going to have
20 rush in and take a hand chen there.
but they quoted down and the tank
drifted into commonplace.
Merely a repetition Of what I heard
this afternoon. whispered Clarke.
1t seems TO be their stock CONVERSE
ton. 1 wonder. No it cant be
him. He wouldn't be so bold.
Clarke was talking &c himself now
and so I slipped out and took a stroll
about the mammoth rotunda OF the
hote.. I encountered 80 Hughes al
the drinking fountain and we sat down
over cigar while I reveIed IA his
picturesque conversation. Either u
was 10 hughes powers OF descrip-
ton or something Sopoudc iu the
cigars I had consumed. Tut I forget
about Clarke and the drama We were
watching until WAS suddenly re
called TO my duty by noticing that the
guests had slipped away 70 their rooms
ana we were alone in the cavernous
rotun ia with the exception OF the
sleepy clerk at the desk.
Asking $50 TO come witE me I rose
10 go back 10 ClaTkeS room. when a
shawled ana yelled figure stole down
the corridor ami ont u.o doorway. II
was the English woman. She had
gene but a Jew minutes when tne Zig
ure o. man followed. / drew DC
back into the shadow that Le might
not see Us. II was Lord Snivelv. I
was tiptoeing down the corridor TO
apprise Clarke when mis- figure l"omed
"VJ OF the shadow. and mOtior3ng b
@nG me TO follow he slipped ouf tie
dOor IN the rear o. ,he mysterious
couple.
No moon was shining but the night
was clear and the light from tile stars
was equal to that OF the moor in a
lesser altitude or in an atmosphere
less clear. We saw the figure OF the
The Washington times., 1908-10-11
MYSTERIES.

woman say. You VIII never get them
IL can help IL I Only thank God Ihat
l found you out IN TIM, though don't
see why II was not before 1 married
you"
But my deah.'' drawled the hus-
hand. ''yOu surely can't believe all
that beastl. rot. Cswn't a fellow have
a beastly clipping in his bag without
being a bloomin' crook? Haven't 7
brought you out TO this beastly hole
and given YOU everything you want
ed?'
Yes. with n yown mon p. inter
r1irfed the wife.
The Washington times., 1908-10-11
Went - fo London.

we went first 20 London Tbs
world AID the future looked lovely for
a time but the dream was soon dis
PEELED Suspicion began 10 gnaw upon
my happiness when, instead Of pro-
ceeding at once 10 his ancestral castle
in Surrey as he had promised. We sud
denly packed I'm an hour and made a
hurried return 10 the United States.
On the passage home ] found in his
luggage a newspaper clipping that set
me thinking all the harder II was
the story Of some villain ia England,
who. under various names, was sUs-
pected or marrying a number Of
women, securing possession Of their
wealth and then numbering them
J. Frederick Baluister. wac itT'
interrupted Clarke do you know,
Sexton, 1 rather suspected from the
hrst II was him. lie was a sort Of
English Johann Koch. and went IN
Ger number Of aliases"
Yes. BsluIsrer was one OF The
names used, and the description IN the
paper nttec him so perfectly tLat,
struggle as ] might against the awful
thought. 1 could not get il o.. VI my
mind He knew Of my wealth and
knew the safe deposit company with
which b. was kept / determined 10
draw IL out secretly and place IL eIse-
where Z had secured The rapers
when. with the suddcuuess that
marked ala his movements. he told me
we were going TO the Yellowstone
had no opportunity % place the bonds
anywhere, so closely did he watch me.
1 am now convinced ne knew i had
them on my person. FOR our journey
was "a constant series Of quarreIs over
the question Of my placing all ny
fortune in his hands. that he might
redeem from mortgage his ancestral
estates.
During one OF these quarreIs, about
the ume we reached CHICAGO.
charged him directly wiki the clppiae
/ had found in his luggage His first
look Of terror and anger told me the
shaft had struck and then he became
the same inscrutable. oily villain as
before But knew The truth. and I
knew that upon ny wits alone rested
the safety Of my fortune and my lie
When you gentlemen entered The
train . studied you closely Then /
learned Dir. CIarse-s name and Sc yraa
al once familiar 20 me because AIRS.
Richard King. whom ] know quite
well. had ysId me Of your wonderful
WurE ard row You had rescued her
and her husband from the wiIes Of a
worker of black magic knew could
trust you
Only once clio I lose heart and see
Eo;lluz-lu the 1cture- but the sIterna-
tive between death and the lifelong
disgrace OF beng mis- wife This WIS
a. OLD Faithful Inn when Ee watches
me 50 closely thar I saw no pos ole
chance Of communication with you =
believe for The moment my mind gave
way under the strait / noticed Jlar
S~lyeIy was GczluE iu his chzir, and
an overmasJerllg impulse seized me
20 get as far as possible from the
hotel and end It ali with the little re-
volver I had provided for just such an
emergency auG ir D.. Lad not been for
you brave gentlemen either should
have succeeded, or he would have
killed me or I would have slain him
believe il an turned out for the best.
NoI received The note slipped
through the crack In the wall. Mr..
Clarke. directing the disposition Of my
fortune In case OF my death?f
The Washington times., 1908-10-11

So Change In Manner.

When we met the English couple. or
Lord and Lady SuINeiy as we now felt
privileged 10 call them, on the OBJ
seryaJion platform the aeNt morn!ng
we could discern absolutely nothing
different iu their manner toward
each other nor toward US than in
previous meetings The husband
seemed. as usual. utterly wrapped W
in his own selfish self and obiivious
TO his wife and To the other passen-
gers On The platform. once ca vlSe
caught the wo-@&a's eye ana "a quick
exchange Of teiepLthic glances passed
between them Again I found her
eyes looking into m.le when her hus-
bands head was turned. and 1 tried
with all the power of my soul 10 make
my eyes say 10 her that all was we'll
and that we were on the job 70 the
end. The bonds were safely strapped
In CIarke's money belt. next 60 his
body, and, without boastiug. between
the two of us. ] would have defied any
six men TO take them away from him.
No further incident occurred during
the railroad journey, and the state
OF armed neutrality continued.
At OGDEN We watched with interest
20 be assured that the couple of mys-
terry transferred 20 the Yellowstone.
Il would have complicated matters
and been embarrassing if they had
gone one way while we. with the
bonds. went another Our routes were
the same. however. and when we
boarded the Short Line sleeper we
found them in the opposite section,
the staterooms having already been
pre-empted ny party OF German
tourists.
After breakfast at Yellowstone sta
ton the next morning our entire party,
numbering about nfty. were loaded
into the big MY stages 70, tiie
thirty-tWo-mile drive to the Upper
Geyser basin and Old Faithful Inn.
Clarke and l had surrey 10 ouI
selves in charge of one 30 hughes.
''Bo'' being Yellowstone slang Tor ur.y-
or. we also Travelled special. That
is. we were relieved from aohorins 10
,he regular schedule laid down by the
stage company What was infinitely
more to NV relief we v ere spared the
company OF Lord and Lady SuVely,
who went i'm one of The stages. Know
ing what we did, with the mystery Of
those three-quarteTs Of a million hang
ing over our heads their presence
could not bat have Jared upon the
beautiful panorama Of canyons. for
ests. and dashins mountain streams
through which we were passing For
my part I chose L. forget them and
thc mystery.
II was different with Clarke. Slower
The Washington times., 1908-10-11

! reckon there's a devil awaitln' at the
bottom OF every one o. these here
holes with a hook. Why even the
swatties, that's the soldiers. you know.
what's detailed our here, like that
fellow over there, to see that the tour
lists don't sarCy of none o. the forma-
ton. the couldn't no more be dragged
out here at night than you could get a
COW pUncher 20 herd =heeP"
Then we went over to see "Old
Faithful 90 through its fOur-minuJe
act, and it was tine TO go in and dress
for dinner. Supposing Clarke was al
ready at his toilet / went directly TO
my room and had begun the operation
Of shaving when I heard a gentle tap
at the door II was Clarke. and his
face had a serious look
Hurry through with your dressing
he said. The English folks have
gone in 10 dinner and I want 20 make
our hours agree with theirs. Sexton,
I've got the whole story. or nearly the
whole Of il, and it's bad. Very bad.
I've no time to tell il all now, but fl
may be murder IL we do not work fast
and carefully. And the worst OF it Is
that we can do nothing but wait and
watch A man can say "A good deal TO
his wife before the law may interfere,
and we are not even the law BY tie
way, the architect who built this
hotel had a great eye for the pic
tUresque but very little idea Of pri-
Nacy. See those cracks between the
logs. The acoustic properties of the
walls are perfect But hurry with
your dressing and I will 60 on in and
keep an eye on our friends. We must
not let them get cut of our sight a
minute"
4, WAS all innocent enough at din
her. Ely lady n the Table next To ours
Cnajted As iHnocenty anu uy lord
tCUEG- fHIJ and Sneered as naturally
as if thei~ lives were d printed pag,.
When the dinner was over they Went
dire tly II their room ard Clarke ana
I disTeearded the opportunities Of the
guide TO go out and see old Faith
ful" under the seacchlight and quietly
let ourselves into C-arile's room. Il
was not long before ! found that
Clarke had not spoken tc1 highly OF
the acoustics -of -the walls.
Il Was disgrGcefuuy like eavesdrop-
ping on an ordinary family row cut
we knew shat -nere was something
back OF it al that possessed vital
interest for us
1t isn't any Use urging me any
fHrthct. Lord SniveIy." We heard the
The Washington times., 1908-10-11

than I to awaken to the mystery IL
now absorbed his very being. 1 am
sure he saw none Of the landscape
through which We passed and his mas
ter mind was busy with the problem.
After several vain endeavors TO
draw lis attention TO the landscape
I left him 10 mis- thoughts and taking
the trent seat with 30 Hughes I
swallowed with avidity and apparent
guilibility mis- marvellous tales OF beav-
ers. elk. bear. and the other tame VILE
animals Of the park.