The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1914-09-16

an Ordinary pair Oh CulIuioa@s' !o'
that"
THE thought came to me after you
left. knew you'd recognize the men
and understand. l see no reason why
it didn't work"
1t would have been all right if you
had consulted a ~clairvoyant."
What the deuce do you mean by
that?" Braine demanded roughly.
Il mean that then you would have
learned your friend the reporter was
to arrive upon the scene at its most
vital moment"
What, Norton?"
Eyes. The trouble is with you, you
have been so successful all these years
that you have grown overconfident.
tell you that there is a desperately
shrewd man somewhere back Of all
this. Mark me, l do not believe Har'
greave Is dead. He is in hiding. 1t
may be near by. He may have dropped
from the balloon before it left land.
The man they picked up may be Orts'
the aeronaut. The five thousand might
have been his fee for rescuing Har'
greave. Here is the greatest thing
we've ever been up against; and you
| start in with every day methodist"
Little woman, don't let your tongue
run away with you too far"
I'm not the least bit afraid OF you
Leo. You need me and it has never
been more apparent than at this mo
ment."
All right. I fell by the wayside
this trip. Truthfully, realized 1t i've
minutes after the men were gone. The
only clever thing 1 did was to keep
the mask on my face. They can't
come back at me. But the thing looked
so easy; and it would have worked
but for Norton's appearance.
"You all but compromised me. That
butler worries me a little" Her ex-
preston lost its anger and grew
thoughtful. He's always about, some
where. Do you think HargreaVe took
him into his ~confidence?"
Cant tell. He's been watched
straight for 40 hours. He hasn't
mailed a letter or telephoned to any
place but the grocery. There have
been no kilograms. Some one in that
house knows where the money Is, and
it's ten to one that it will be the GIRL
"She >lookes enough like Katrina to
be her ghost"
Braine went over to the window
| and stared up at the stars.
| "You have made a good impression
on the girl?" with his back still to-
ward her.
81 had her in my arms"
"Olga, my hat is off to you," turn
ing, now that his face was again in
repose. your very frankness regard
ing your relationship will pull the
wool over their eyes. or course
they'll make inquiries and they'll find
out that you haven't lied. It's perfect.
Not even that newspaper weasel will
see anything wrong. Toward you
they will eventually ease up and you
can act without their even dreaming
your part in the business. We must
not be seen in public any more. This
| butler may know where / stand even
though he cannot prove it. Now, I'm
going to tell you something. Perhaps
you've long since guessed it. Katrina
was mine till Hargreave-never mind
what his name was then-till Har-
greave came into the fold. So sure
of her was l that I used her as a lure
to bring him to us. She fell in love
with him, but too late to warn him. |
had the satisfaction of seeing him cast
her aside, curse her, and leave her. In
one thing she fooled us all. l v
knew of the child till you told me-"
He paused to light a cigarette.
"Hargreave was madly in love with
-her. He cursed her, but he came back
to the house to forgive her, to find
that she had been seized by the secret
police and entombed in the fortress. l
had my revenge. 1t was l who sent in
the information, practically bogus. But
in Russia they never question; they
act and forget. So he had a daugh-
teri"
He began pacing the floor, his hands
behind his back; and the woman
watched him, oscillating between love
and fear. He came to a halt abruptly
and looked down at her.
Don't worry. You have no rival.
I'll leave the daughter to your tender
mercies."
The butler" she said, has full pow
ers of attorney to act for Hargreave
while absent, up to the day the girl
becomes Of legal age"
I'll keep an eye on our friend Jones.
From now on, day and night, there will
be a cat at the knothole, and ware
mouse! Could you make up anything
like this girl?" suddenly.
"a fair likeness"
D it. Go to the ship which picked
up the man at sea and quiz the cap
tain. Either the aviator or Hargreave
is alive. 1t is important to learn which
at once. Be very careful; play the
game only as you know how to play it.
And If Hargreave is alive, we win. To-
morrow morning, early. Tears OF an
gulsh. and all that. Sailors are easy
when a woman weeps. No color, re-
member; just the yellow wig and the
salient features. Now, by-by!"