The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-07-12


Tretes the prime mover in this terri
BILE affair; he no longer entertained
a shred Of doubt that his enemy had
Travelled with him from Calcutta TN
der the disguise OF DE Hyeres," Aad
he believed the man had planned this
thing far ahead: else would he have
surely taken some overt step to pre-
vent O'Rourke from delivering the
ruby to Sypher, He OWNED acuteIy
that, despairing Of any further at
tempt to win the jewel from him, Des
Trebes had turned his wits 10 the task
Of stealing 1t from Sypher; somebody
naturally much less to be feared than
the adVenturer.
But on the other hand. II the gin
had not been Des Trebes' assistant
what had become of her? And what
OF her g~uest-the lady one Of whose
initials was b?
1t was not Inconsistent with Des
Trebes' whole-hearted ylllainy that he
should employ a gang of thugs sufi-
ciently large to qyerpower and make
away with bodily and In a body Miss
PyHsent, her guest and the servants.
Great Cod" cried O'Rourk0.
IF II be In truth my wife,"
Without presage a thin but impera"
tive naturalization broke upon the
silence OF the house OF death. O'Rourke
jumped as If shot. Somewhere in one
Of the other rooms a telephone bell
was ringing. 1t ceased, leaving a
strident stiffness; but before he could
to find the instrument and an
swer the call, there rose a second time
that moaning sob which first he had
attributed to an impossible source,
then, IN the turmoil Of his thoughts,
had forgotten.
He waited, listening intently. The
telephone called again and again sub
sided. Then u third time he heard the
groan, more faint than before, but suf-
tiCiently loud to suggest Its sourcs
He moved warily toward the windows
and out upon the veranda-hounded
by the telephone. But that would
to walt; here was a more ur-
gent matter to his hand. Between the
long, insistent rings the moaning was
again audible; and this time he To-
It accurately. 1t came from the
avn. near the edge OF the verandA.
He stepped of carefully, but almost
stumbled over the body Of a man who
ay there, huddled and moaning.
And anOther!" whispered the ad-
'enturer, awed. Faith, this Pool Of
u
He at once completely Mortified
md utterly d~umbfOunded. Nothing he
come upon within the bungalow
In the nature OF a struggle
prior to the assassination of Syphe:.
lie had up to this moment considered
t nothing but a cold-blooded and cow
Irdly murder; the man had apparent
y been struck down from behind In to-
al ignorance of his danger. O'Rourke
lad deduced that Sypher had risen
the desk to put the jewel In his
afe; and that while be was SO err
the assassin, till then skulking
utside the long windows and waiting
or a moment when his victims back
hould be turned, had entered and
But how could he recon
lie that hypothesis with this man who
~ weltering and at the point Of death
t the veranda edge?
Indeed. he could not do 80. But
ais victim, at least, was not yet dead;
he had strength to moan, he might
be revived. at least temporarily.
Without" delay, then, the Irishman
rasped the man beneath the armpits.
nd, lifting him bodily to the verands.
ragged him into the library. Not I'M
! he placed him In the middle Of the
DOR. beneath the blare OF the lamp
ght, did O'Rourke have an oppor-
unity to observe his features. But
DIV al he dropped to his knees beside
lie body. his wondering cry testified
immediate recognition.
The latest name to be inscribed on
long and blood-stained death-roll
the Pool Of Flame was that Of Paul
Vicomte des Trebes; or, If
here were life enough left In the
ian to enable him to insist upon his
ON de guerre (the wanderer reflected -
rimly) Raoul de Hyeres.
What next?" wondered O'Rourke.
What can the meaning Of it all be
ow?"