The Elbert County tribune., 1912-12-20

| AilSHN % WIN Aad 6iNCh fiiiu hio sAShOe
to the land of those weighed and
found wanting. She knew; how much
he did not care; enough to read his
guilt.
1t appeared to George that she was
accepting the situation with philos-
ophy deeper than either his or Ry-
annes. Not whimper, not plant,
not protest so far had she made.
| She was Roland in petticoats.
"Oh. I'm Dashed up Bit" said Ry-
anne. '1'll get my legs in day or
! so. Fortune, will you answer one
question:"
AS many as you like"
How did you get here?"
Don't you know"
George wasn't certain, but the girls
voice was cold and accusing
'T?"
Yes. Wasn't it the note that you
wrote to mc?"
Ryanne took his head In his hands,
wearily. Il wrote you no note. For
tune; l have never written you a note
of any kind. You do not know my
handwriting from Adams. In Gods
name, why didn't you ask your mother
or your uncle? They would have rec
ognized the forgery at once. Who
gave it to your"
"Mahomed himself"
Damn him," Ryanne grew strong
under the passing fit of rage. mo.
don't tell me to be silent. l don't care
about myself. I'm the kind of a man
who pulls through, generally. But
this takes the spine out of me. I'm
to blame; it's all my fault"
Say no more about it." She be-
lieved him. She really hadn't thought
him capable of such baseness, though
| at the time of her abduction she had
been inclined to accuse him. That
he was here, prisoner like herself,
was conclusive evidence, so far as she
was concerned, of his innocence. But
| she knew him to be responsible for
| the presence of Jones; knew him to
be culpable of treachery of the mean
est order; knew him to be lacking in
generosity and magnanimity toward a
man who was practically his benefac-
tor. What does Mahsmed want?'
''The bally rug. Fortune. And Jones
here, who had it. says that it is gone"
Vanished, magic-carpet-wise," sup
plemented George.
"And Jones would have given it up"
"And thousand like 1t, If we could
have bought you out of this"
Jones and l could have managed
to get along
eve shouldn't have mattered"
/ And would you have returned to
Mr.. Jones his thousand pounds?"
yes. and everything else have"
quite honestly.
Don't worry any more about the
rug, then. l know where 1t is"
Your" cried the two men.
"Yes. l stole it, l did SO. thinking
to avert this very hour: to save you
from HARM" to George. "and you from
doing a contemplate thing" to Ry-
anne. 1T is in my room. done up In
the big steamer-roll. And now 1 am
| glad that l stole it,"
Ryanne laughed weakly
Said George soberly: What con-
temptibls thing?" He remembered
Mahomed's words in regard to Ry-
anne as the latter lay insensible ir
the sand.
Ryanne, quick to seize the opportu-
nifty of solving. to his own advantage.
| eaS Pu]NiS ioA pSoiBSt anu dI Tie same
| time guiding Fortune away from a
topic. the danger of which she knew
nothing, raised a hand. 81 bribed Ma
homed to kidnap you, Jones. Don't
be impatient. You laughed at me
when laid before you the prospectus
of the United Romance and Adven-
ture Company. l wished to prove to
you that the concern existed, And SO
here is your adventure upon approval.
| thought, of course, you still had the
rug. Mahomed was to carry you into
the desert for week, and by that
time you would have surrendered the
rug. returned to Cairo, the hero of a
full-fedged adventure. Lordl what a
mess of 1t I've made. | forgot. next
to this bally rug, Mahomed loved me-
The hitherto credulous George had
of late begun to look into facts in
stead of dreams. He did not believe
word of this amazing confession. de-
spite the additional testimony of For
tune, relative to Ryanne's statements
made to her in the bazaars.
''The bitter bitten" was Georges
sole comment.
Ryanne breathed easier.
cTo BE coNTINuED)