Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-02

IN the lower part OF which was cobbler's shop.
Are there any rooms to let in this house!'' he
asked of the at the bench.
The man nodded. Go UP stairs and ask at the
second floor he replied. . You see Carbon Soumis-
sin: he keeps the house.
Up stairs went Astro and Valeska, and plunged
into dark, narrow hallway. A doorway opened
part way and whiskered man looked out He had
evil face. botched with red spots, and fez.
He was smoking Turkish cigarette.
What you want here
I'D like to look at Your front room, third floor.
\ murmur of voices came from inside the room.
The turned and growled foreign oath.
Then he turned and looked at Astro with a vicious
inquisition
'All right he said at last You 60 up Door
open. Three dollars week
followed by his assistant. Once out of earshot,
he stopped for a moment to pull out the paper
again, and pointed the first drawing the sheet.
Fee" he said, and looked at her meaningly.
The old man down stairs.
Probably. Now We'll find out what they have
The hall bed room was incredibly dirty, but
tanned nothing but a bed with evil coverings,
chair and crazy washstand, over which hung a
square, cracked mirror. Astro hrst went to the
grimy window and looked out He pointed to the
sign, and Valeska followed his eyes: One of the
buildings across the street cut of the first word,
use, and the other. with small dor1ner, obscured
all after bab with the exception of the upper hall
of the R. 1t showed in fact. precisely as the girl
had drawn it.
>
He took up the chair first, and looked it over
carefully. Then he pointed to marks on the sides
of the back, where the paint was worn smooth The
marks were about inch wide, and similar ones
showed the legs and the side rails OF the seat
This is where straps have chafed the paint, he
commented She was undoubtedly fastened
curely. Did YOU notice where the marks or bruises
were on her.
Yes: they were bad enough for me to remember.
There red marks on her wrists and on her arms
below her shoulders; and her arms were almost
covered with bruises: but small ones
oh. they pinched her. no doubt. Undoubtedly
she had rough time of it. if may Judge the char
acter of the villain with the fez Well. we must find
her There no use inquiring here. fthey have used
this room for torture chamber, we II get nothing
out of them. and they Il grow suspicious.
They went down stairs. and, while Valeska waited
in the street. .Astro drove bargain with Carbon
soumissin Luckily the lowe, hall was dark, and
tenance But the Master of Mysteries had an i'm
portant piece of news to tell when he reloined
Valeska.
They were talking Arabic rather Turkish
heard one of them quote the motto we saw on the
dagger. Now | know what they are. Have YOU
heard OF the Hunchaksts:'
The papers had been full of one OF the recent
murders of this dreaded Armenian society tina.
Valeska knew roughly what the name implied
Every country to have its guerrilla
assassins.' said Astro, they drove up town " But
the Armenian Hunchaksts are more dangerous than
any of the Others because they are better ORGANIZED
Their object is usually extortion Now We mus
visit the rug merchants I'm afraid we're the
track of something serious this time
THEIR route led them directly into the heart u
the mystery On Eighteenth-st., where. in
front of Turkish rug the crescent of Turkey
hung out there great crowd gathered. pressing
about the entrance 1t took Astro little time TO dis
cover the cause of the disturbance. The merchant,
Marco Dvoran. had been found. when his shop was
opened by his head bookkeeper, lying in a pool OF
blood in his office. shot in the back. He was not
dead though mortalv wounded and unconscious.
He was now at the hospital. at the point of death