Abbeville progress. (Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, La.) 1913-1944, 1913-05-24

| anne. IT get my legs IN a Nay OF
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
"I?"
Yes. Wasn't it the note that you
wrote to me 90
Ryanne took his head In his hands.
| YEARLY. 81 wrote you no note. For
tune; | 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
| ognizod the forgery at once. Who
/ gave il TO YOU"
"MahOmed himself"
Damn him!" Ryannc grew strong
under the passing fit of rage. NO
( don't tell me to be silent | don't care
/ about myself I'm the kind of a man
! who pulls through. generally. But
/ this takes the spine ont 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. a 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 n
man who was practically his benefac-
/ tor. What does Mahomed want? p"
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 a thousand like il. il we could
have bought you out of this"
Jones and | could have managed
to get along"
we 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. | know where it is"
"You?" cried the two men.
"Yes. | stole it, did so. thinking
TO avert this very hour; to save you
from harm" TO George. "nnd you from
doing a contemplate thing" to Ry-
anne TT is in my room. done up in
the big steamer-roll. And now am
glad that 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 in
the sand.
Ryanne, quick to seize the opportu-
nifty of solving, to his own advantage,
the puzzle for George. and at the same
time guiding Fortune away. from a
topic, the danger OF which she knew
nothing, raised a hand. IL 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. | 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 a week. and by that
time you would have surrendered the
rug, returned to Cairo. the hero OF a
full fledged adventure. Lord! what a
mess of 1t I've made. ! forgot. next
TO this baliy rug, Mahomed loved me. y
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 Ryannes statements
made to her in the bazaars.
The bitter bitten" was Georges
sole comment.
Ryanne breatbed easier. V.
(TO BE CONTINUED