The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1913-12-18
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Book !.
CHAPTER I-Rudolph Van vechteu. q
young man Of leisure, u astonished to
80 man enter No. 1312 q house across
the street from the Powhatan club. The
house has long been unoccupied and q
spoken OF as the House Of Mystery.
CHAPTER 11-severA persons at regu-
ar intervals enter No. 1S13.
CHAPTER 1H-van vechten expresses
concern to his friend. Tom Phinney, re-
gardlng the whereabouts Of his cousin
and 1ancee. Paige Carew. A fashionably
attired woman Is seen to enter the House
Or Mystery. A man u forcibly elected
from the house. Van Vechten and Tom
FOLLOW the man and find him dead In the
CHAPTER VIVIAN vechten is attract
% BY the face Of q girl in the crowd Of
onlookers surrounding the body. Later
No discovers the girl gazing at him with
look OF scorn from the windows OF the
mysterious house.
CHAPTER v-Detective Flint calls on
Van Vechten to get his version Of the
tragedy.
CHAPTER vI-Tom Phinney goes alone
on on yachting trip. He recognizes among
two m persons %ho IN "a passing motor boat
House Of Mystery. He sees one Of them,
e MI. Calls. on shore later and follows
him. Tom Is seized. blindfolded and taken
to house. He hears girl named Jessie,
evidently the daughter Of the man in
a
voiced girl later protests against The
roughness Of his captors.
Book II.
CHAPTER Ivan vechten calls on his
uncle. Theodore Van Vechten, big man In
wall street and known as the Man Of
Iron" In search Of information regarding
tho whereabouts Of Paige Carew.
CHAPTER 1I-Deective Flint shows
Van Vechten a gold mesh purse found in
the House Of Mystery. Van recognizes It
as belonging to Paige Carew.
CHAPTER III-The sweet-voiced giri
helps Tom Phinney escape, but refuses to
disclose her identity. Tom declares he
will meet her again.
CHAPTER 1v-Detective Flint tells Van
Vechten he has theory that Paige has
been kidnapped. Van goes to lay the case
before his uncle.
That's what it says" replied Tom.
I'm way, yes. But this sheet of de-
formed intelligence is moro remark
able for what it does not say than for
what 1t says. Schuyler, you know.
was Mrs. Devereaux's maiden NAME"
Toms eyes opened. by George!"
he exclaimed wonderingly. $50 It
was!"
WELL" tartly, does the circum.
stance suggest anything to you?"
But Tom merely stood silent q Sec
ond wagging his head mo. It's only
little more muddling, is all can make
of It."
Here it is the fifth Of September"
Van Vechten's summarizing went on;
where, in heavens name, have they
been all this time? Where are they
now"
Moses and green spectacles, Rud-
dy" burst forth Tom in desperation.
You'll give yourself a headache if you
keep on asking questions that nobody
can answer! Here-let's sit down at
this table and have something to
drink; maybe that'll help. You can
think things over, anyhow"
Van Vechten all of a sudden expert
enced a let-down from the high ten
sion under which he had been labor
ing ever since the cablegrams arrival,
and Immediately the drawn lines about
his mouth, and the restless shifting of
his eyes, disclosed his growing bur
den of anxiety; even to Toms unob-
servant regard it was laid bare how
deeply the battling mystery-the un.
certainty of his cousins fate-had az
fected his whole being.
Steady old man. Tom MUIR
INJURED alphabetically. "Try little
nerve tonic. Brace up"
They sat down.
Il don't want anything to drink"
Van Vechten declined the offer, "but
l will gladly smoke a big black cigar. |
Perhaps it will clear away some of
the cobWebs."
Tom, ever model of abstemious-
ness, contented himself with mild
and ladylike thimble of curacao.
Then they took up the subject of the
cablegram again. Van Vechten fiat
tened the paper upon the table,
propped his elbows at either end and
grasped his hair firmly with both
hands, the cigar smoke forming blue
halo about his head He gave himself
up to the serious business of inter
preting and assimilating the disquiet-
ing, unfathomable information from
overseas.
The operation, manifestly, was not
very satisfactory, for by and by he
uttered another groars tossed away his
halfsmoked cigar and once more sat
upright.
"What-" he began, but his COM
panion promptly checked him.
Nov you stop right there" COM
manded Tom. If you want to fire any
more questions, suppose you try EN-
out on Uncle Theodore. Ring him up."
The other smiled wanly, and spark
Of his customary sprightly humor
flashed again.
Bright boy" he said. IF pos
sessed your practical mind would not