Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-11-10
THE KING OF
DIAMONDS
BY LOUIS TRACY.
TO-DAY'S INSTALLMENT.

*" ANT ! have a light?' said
Philip with head screwed
round to ascertain II the doc
tor were following him
Some sense, whether of sight or
hearing he knew not, warned him of
movement near at hand, an impalpa-
bic effort, physical tension as of a
man labOring under extreme but re-
pressed excitement
He paid little heed to it, All the
surroundings in their weird dwelling
were so greatly at variance with his
anticipation that he partly expected
to find further surprises.
DR.. Williams did not answer Philip
advanced a halting foot a hesitating
hand cropping for door.
instantly a stout rope fell over his
shoulders, moose was tightly drawn
and he was ierked violently to the
stone floor of the passage He fell
prone on his face, hurting his nose
and mouth. The shock Jared him
greatly, but his hands, If not his arms,
were free, and, with the instinct Of
self preservation that replaces all
other sensations In moments of ex-
IRENE peril he strove va1iantly to
rise.
But he was grasped by the neck
with brutal force, and some one knelt
on his neck
Philip Arson" Kissed a mans
voice, do you remember Jocky
Mason?"
So he had fallen into trap Gun
ningly prepared by what fiendish
combination of fact and artifice he
had yet to learn. JoCky Mason, the
slIullxish criminal Of Johnson's News
Was he in that mans power?
Under such conditions man thinks
quickly. Philips first ordered thought
was one of relief He bad fallen into
the clutches of an English brigand
Money would settle theis difficulty, if
all other means failed.
Yes, yes" he gurgled, half
strangled by the fierce pressure on
his throat.
"You hit me once from behind. You
can't complain if do the same. You
sent me to a living hell for ten years
NOT your fault that it wasn't for
ever. Lie still Not all your money
can save you now, ! am Judge and
jury, and hell itself. You are dyjnu
-dying-dead!"
And with the final words drawled
into his ears with bitter intensity,
PhlLp felt terrible blow descend on
MS head. There was no pain, no fear
no poignant emotion at leaving all
the world held so dear to him. There
was an awful shock. A thundercloud
seemed to burst in his brain, and he
sank into the void without a groan.
Now, in falling, the hard, felt hat
ne wore dropped in front of his face.
The first wild movement Of his head
tilted 1t forward, but the savage Jerk
given by his assailant brought the
rim slightly over his skull again.
In the almost complete darkness of
the passage, Mason could not see the
| slight protection this afforded to his
victim. and the sledge- hammer blow
| ne delivered with a life preserver--
| that murderous implement named so
| utterly at variance with its purpose
did not reveal the presence of an
obstacle.
He struck with a force that would
nave stunned an OK; it must have
Killed any man, be he the hardest
! skulled aborigine that ever breathed.
But the stout rim of the hat, though
! crushed like an eggshen, took off
some of the leaden Instruments ire
mendous impact Philip though Juite
1nsensible. was not dead His SEN
tlent faculties were annihilated for
the time, but his heart continued its
life-gtving functions, and he breathad
with imperceptible futterings.