Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1913-02-27

eyes and turned aside his head. He
was sick in soul and body. To have
walked blindly into a trap like this,
Of his own making, too! Fool! What
had possessed him, usually 80 keen.
to trust the copper-hided devil? All
for the sake Of one glass Of wine!
With an effort entailing no meager
pain in his side, he stilled the strang-
ling ~hiccoughs, swung round and tried
to smile reassuringly at the girl.
"You are better?" she asked.
There was In the tone Of that ques-
ton an answer to all his dreams, One
nights work had given him his ticket
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 a philos-
ophy deeper than either his or Ry.
anne's. Not a whimper, not a plant,
not a protest so far had she made,
She was q Roland in ~petticoats.
ooh, I'm Dashed up a bit" said Ry-
anne. "IIl get my legs in a day or
80. Fortune, will you answer mi
question:"
las many as you like"
How did you get heref"
Don't you know?"
George wasn't certain, but the girls
voice was cold and accusing.
III"
eyes. Wasn't It the note that you
wrote to me?"
Ryanne took his head in his hands,
YEARLY. 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 1t 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 b~aseness, though
at the time Of her abduction she had
been inclined to accuse him. That
he was here, a prisoner like herself
was conclusive evidence, so far as she
was concerned, Of his innocence. But
she knew him to be responsible fol
the presence Of Jones; knew him tt
be culpable Of ~treachery Of the mean
est order; knew him to be lacking II
generosity and magnanimity toward {
man who was practically his benefac
tor. what does Mahomed want? p
"The bally rug, Fortune. And Jone'
here, who had it, says that 1t is gone.
Vanished, magic-carpet-wise," sup
plemented George.
"And Jones would have given 1t up.
"And o thousand like 1t, If we coult
have bought you out Of this"
Jones and / could have manage'
to get along"
we shouldn't have mattered."
"And would you have returned t
Mr.. Jones his thousand %pounds?"
Eyes, and everything else | have,
quite\ honestly.
Don't worry any more about tn
rug, then. l know where it Is"
your" cried the two men.
Eyes. 1 stole it. l did so, thinkin
to avert this very hour; to save yo
from HARM" to George, "and you fror
doing a contemplate thing" to R!
anne. at is in my room, done up l
the big steamer-roll. And now l al
glad that l stole it."
Ryanne laughed weakly.
Said George soberly: What col
temptible thing? He remembers
Mahomed's words in regard to R.
anne as the latter lay insensible l
the sand.
Ryanne, quick to seize the opportl
nifty of solving, to his own advantag,
the puzzle for George, and at the sam
tine guiding Fortune way from
topic, the danger Of which she kne
nothing, raised a hand. II bribed M
homed to kidnap you, Jones. Don
be impatient. You laughed at N
when / laid before you tie prospect
of the United Romance and Adve
ture Company. wished to prove
you that the concern existed. And
here is your adventure upon approvf
l thought, Of course, you still had Il
rug. Mahomed was to carry yCu In
the desert for a week, and BY TIL
time you would have surrendered Il
rug, returned to Cairo, the hero of
full.ledged adventure. Lord! what
mess OF 1t I've made. l forgot, ne.
to this bally rug, Mahomed loved me
ID The hitherto credulous George hi
or Of late begun to look into facts
i. stead of dreams. He did not belize
a word of this amazing confession, d
As spite the additional testimony Of FL
Il. tune, relative to Ryanne's statemen
Id made to her in the bazaars.
"The bitter bitten" was George
sole comment.
II Ryanne breathed easier.
II CTo BE CONTINUED
Afh.n DhfIosnnhv CoNa. zee.