The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1912-02-29

cent, dyed his cheeks; his breath rat
tied harshly in his gullet; his eyelids
twitched and opened wide. He glared
blankly at the face above.
"Des Trebes!" cried O'Rourke. "Des
Trebes!"
His voice quickened the intelligence
Of that moribund brain. A fash Of
recognition lighted the staring eyes.
The lips moved without sound.
"Des Trebes!"
"Ah, yes the Irish
Tho whisper was barely articulate.
O'Rourke put to his lips a cup of
brandy diluted with a little water.
Drink" he pleaded, and try to tell
me what's happened to ye. Who gave
ye these wounds? Try to speak"
But no | shall
/ not tell"
"But-good God, man! ye've been
murdered"
The white lips moved again; the
adventurer bent his ear low to them.
I'VE have both lost
but you your wife I.
my wife!"
| In frenzy O'Rourke resumed his
efforts to strengthen the dying man
with spirits and water, but Des Ire
bes, with final effort, obstinately
shut his teeth, moving his head i'm
perceptibly from side to side in token
of his stubborn refusal
So he died, implacable. In death
the chiselled features remained set
in smile sardonic and triumphant.
Dying, he gave no comfort to his
foe.
For a little time longer O'Rourke
knelt at Des Trebes' side, watching
and wondering. Eventually he sighed
heavily, shook his head, shrugged his
shoulders and rose. And, rising, he
perceived for the first time that he
was no longer alone with the dead in
that place.
kneeling in silence by the vicomte's
side he had till then been hidden from
the inner doorway to the room by the
drapery of the center table. And evil
IDENTITY 1t was this circumstance which
had emboldened man to slip in from
the main hall and approach Sypher's
| desk at the back of the room.
AS O'Rourke appeared he was con-
scious first of something moving in
the room-a movement caught vaguely
from the corner of his eyes. Then he
heard stitled cry of fright. He had
already his revolver in his hand, so in
slant had been the obedience of his
brain and body to the admonition Of
instinct.
He swung about with the weapon
poised, crying: Stop" The other
man was apparently trying to escape
by the door to the hall, but was much
too far from it to escape the threat
ened bullet. A jet of fire spurted from
his hand. O'Rourke heard a crash
and clatter of broken window-glass be-
hind him. Without delay or conscious
aim he fired and saw, still indistinctly
through pungent wreaths of smoke,
the figure reel and collapse upon
itself.
The man had hardly fallen ere
ORourke stood over him, with foot
hrm upon one arm, while he bent and
Wrenched revolver from relaxing fin
gers. Then, stepping back, he took
stock of the murderous-m minded in
truder, and saw at his feet, writhing,
coughing and splitting, a Chinese
coolle-a type of the lowest class his
lace q set yellow mask, stolid, I'm.
emotional, brutalized. Even then 1t
betrayed little feeling; only the slant
set black eyes burned with unquench-
able hatred as they glared up at the
conqueror. O'Rourke's bullet
mad penetrated the mans chest; and
as he squirmed and groaned through
his sharpened teeth of rat, Grim.
son stain spread on the bosom of his
coarse white blouse.
Wholly COMPOUNDED, O'Rourke shook
an amazed head. A third element had
Deen added to the mystery with no
eject other than to render it more
opaque and dense than before.
The telephone, it's raucous voice
now long since stilled, came into his
mind, and he was minded to leave the
room and find it. to summon aid.
Before he could move, however, q
football on the vefanda startled him,
and his ears were ringing fifth a COM
mand couched in terse, curt English:
Hands up"
CHAPTER xxXIU,