The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1909-07-02

about to build this man had given the
lavish and inquisitive easterner a plan
of the secret passages-to use in his
own future residence. Whether At
kins went alone or in company to the
Casa Fuerte the detective could only
surmise. He couldn't tell whether his
object would be mere blackmail, or
robbery of the cipher, or assassination.
Perhaps he found the insensible man
in the patio and was tempted by the
grisly opportunity; victim and weapon
both absolutely to his hand; for it
was established that the dagger had
been shown Tracy by Mercer as
curio. and left on the stone bench.
Perhaps he had not found the dag
ger, but had his own means to make
an end of his enemy and his own ter
ror. Birdsall believed that he had ac-
completes, or at least one accompice,
with him. He conceived that they
had lain in ambush watching until
they saw Kito go away. Then an
entry had been made Most like"
| Birdsall concluded, "he jest flung that
| dagger away for you folks to find and
suspect the domestics, say Kito, cause
he was away" But this was not all
J that Birdsall had to report. He had
traced Atkins to the haunts of certain
unsavory Italians; he had struck the
trail, in fine. To be sure, it ran under
ground and was lost in the brick
walled and Shiny -timbered cellars of
| Chinatown which harbored every sin
and crime known to civilization or to
savagery. What matter? By grace of
his aunt's powerful friend they could
| track the wolves even through those
noisome burrows.
"Yes," sighed the colonel stretching
out his arms, with resonant breath
of relief, we're out of the maze; all
we have to do now is to keep from be-
ing killed. Which isn't such plain
proposition in Frisco as in Massa-
chusetts! But | reckon we can tackle
it! And then--then, my darling, |
shall dare be happy"
He found himself leaning on his
windowsill and staring like a boy on
the landscape, lost in the lovely hal
lucinations of moonlight 1t was no
scene that he knew, it was vision of
old Spain; and by and by from yonder
turret the princess with violets in her
loosened hair and her soft cheek like
satin and snow, would lean and look.
81 tie meuve a lastima mi eterno pa
decor,
Como te amo. amame, bellissma mujer!
"Ah, no, little girl" he muttered
with a shake of the head, 81 like it
better to have you a plain, American
gentle> oman, as Aunt Becky would
say, who could send me to battle with
a nice little quivery smile-sweet-
heart! oh, I'm not good enough for
you, my dear, my dear" He felt an
immense humility as he contrasted his
own lot with the loneliness of
Keatcham and Mercer and the multi
tude of solitaries in the world, who
had lost, or sadder still, had never
possessed, the divine dream that is
the only reality of the soul. AS such
thoughts moved his heart, suddenly in
the full tide of hope and thankfulness,
it stood still, chilled, as if by the
glimpse of an iceberg in summer seas.
Yet how absurd it was only that he
had recalled his stoical aunt's most
unexpected touch of superstition.
Quite in jest he had asked her if she
felt any presentiments or queer things
in her bones tonight. He expected to
be answered that Janet had driven
every other anxiety out of her mind;
and how was she to break it to Mill |
cent?-or with some such caustic re-
r.rtee. Instead, she had replied test
lily: yes, | do, BERTHE. | feel-hor
rid! l feel as if something out of the
common awful were going to happen.
1t isn't exactly Atkins, either. Do you
reckon It could be the | Suey When, |
that bamboo-shoots mess we had for |
dinner?"
Although they spent a good 20 min /
utes after that. joking over super
stitions, and he had repeated to her
some of Tracy's and Arnold's most in
genious "spooky stunts" to make the
neighborhood keep its distance from |
Casa Fuerte. and they had laughed |
freely, she as heartily as he, never
theless he OWNED that her smile was
pretense. Suddenly, an unruly tremor
shook his own firm spirits. Looking
out on the stepped and lanterned |
arches of the wing, he was conscious
of the same tragic endowment of the
darkene1 pile, which had oppressed |
him that night, weeks before, when he
had stood outside on the crest of the
hill; and the would-be murderers
might have been skulking in the
shadows of the pepper trees. He tried
vainly to shake of this distempered
mood Although he might succeed for
a moment in lovers absorption, 1t
would come again. insidiously, seep-
ing through his happiness like a fume.
After futile attempts to sleep he rose.
and still at the bidding of his uncanny
and tormenting impulse he took his
hath apd droacad him ealf for tho dav