The Washington herald., 1914-06-21
LUCILLE LOVE. The Gir Of Mystery
n Thrilling Story Of Cove Devotion Danger and Enrique

which she could not describe even to herself.
Suddenly the reason for her being upon the
train came to her and her hands sought her
breast, then her throat. With Q little CRY she
staggered back into the arms Of the women.
Robbed p she gasped. II have been robbed r
The women looked at one another pftyingiy,
then incredulously and finally believingly a. they
caught the pallor and sanity on the girls face.
Try and think. my dear" one of them plead
You have been asphyxiated-the light-socket in
your section was loose and the escaping gas"
Lucille did not answer. summoning all her
strength, she turned the knob Of the door and
sought the conductor. He looked fncredulous At
the girPs charge, but investigation showed that
the 1t had been tampered with. Nothing,
howc'er. could be done before reaching San
Francisco except search of the car
Lucille went with him from place to plaza
scanning every face. But she knew who had
done this thing When she fought against the
fingers of the drug they had been the fingers of
Thompson. When she had slipped from peaceful
slumber into the drugged stupoF ie was Thomp-
son she had been bravely fighting.
But Thompson-where had he disappearedf
What had become of the man? She knew 1t had
been him, knewIit even though the face she
looked into while she fought had been SCARED
recently, showed white streak that gave q
sinister expression to his otherwise SNUG coun-
tenance.
She wondered Il that streak had been the
bullet-made one Of the Mexican who for love of
her, had given up his life out there on the ranch
Of Ioubeque. Whether or no, she was positive
that Thompson was the thief.
I'VE know who the thief was, Miss" re-
ported the conductor little later. He had the
compartment facing your section. The screen In
cut out. He must have dropped out the window
after working his game"
Lucille smiled family.
"A medium sized man, rather dark plainly
dressed, with features that nobody would notics
especially snd-s lvid scar across the side of his
face" she murmured. =
he ms Iooka ad AZ H. T.,
Thompson" she murmured. Yes, It was
Thompson was positive from the first"
As the conductor corroborated her descrip-
ton of the thief she lay back against the dusty
cushions of her seat, idly watching the train
charging across the landscape She had started
badly but she clenched her teeth firmly. Her
purpose was firm as ever, her rage bit highar.
CHAPTER 01vn
ne Keen Eyes Of LorSsqsa
HUGO LoUBEQUE cursed profoundly 70 I'm.
self as he paced up and down the floor of
hs San Francisco house. From below came Shs
sounds Of his servants, searching into every
nook and Granny Of the mysterious house tcr
the packet of papers and documents b nsw
Lucille had hidden here Already they had hs@
through the place twice and as yet no Hgn hAA
come to light Of their resting place.
He frowned heavily he went 10 ~ WIN
dow and looked down upon the street, deserted
now save for the old woman who trudged toward
the place. She carried basket Of nutt orR
her arm and Loubeque smiled grtmly e Ghe 6is-
appeared from his sight, then reappeared afSeR
being turned away from the door by the SERVANT
They had been bothered Q great deal the
last two days by all sorts of women, ren6ers and
peddlers and agents, bothered until he had or
dered an explicit sign over the entrance, barring
them But now, he idly studied the woman,
something about her caught and held his stten-
ton. She moved slowly but there was an afecta-
tion about that slowness which had no kin with
decrepitude.
Came a ring at the door bell as the posi-
man stepped up the little walk. But Loubeque
did not heed him. His eyes were fastened, like
those of hawk now, upon the old woman She
had stopped beside the alarm box on the corner
lamp post. Suddenly the bent form Strengthened
and he read the impulsive resolve of Youth in
every movement of the lily attired old woman
Her hand groped upon the ground. He saw her
pick up stone and smash the fire alarm He
waited, his eyes still fastened undeviatingly upon
her figure.
Came the sound of fire engines, rolling down
the street in black cloud Of smoke, engines,
they always seemed, of destruction that could
have nothing to do with saving lives or property.
Loubeque watched the woman. She dashed to-
ward the captain he darted up in his light
buggy, pointing eagerly toward the house Of the
spy, her eyes glowing with excitement. Then
Loubeque smiled as he pressed bell and or
dered the search to stop immediately.
Before the rush of fremen with their hose
the door opened. Their heavy feet slumped upon
the stairs, throughout the house. But Loubeque
did not move. He watched Lucille she tossed
aside the habilments she had worn over her girl
ish clothes. She looked swiftly about to make
certain one was in sight. Then she swiftly
approached the extra truck upon which the
slickers and hats of the fremen were laid. Once
more she looked about her then flung herself
into a long rubber coat and jammed helmet
over her head.
Loubeque smiled once more broader smile
this time, she darted up the walk and into
his house. Swiftly he peered over the stairs
Without an instant's hesitation Lucille had sped
to the basement. He tiptoed to the room that
had been assigned her when he held her captive
here. Pressing a button, one wall of the room
opened. He peered below, watching her as, be-
low, she searched feverishly for the papers.
Loubeque quietly moved back to his own
room. Slowly his fingers reached out. Came q
slight clink of machinery. Then the spy stepped
below and received the assurance of the fire cap
tain that everything was well. His smile was
that of man quite positive that everything was
more than well.
CHAPTER xxx.