Evening star., 1914-11-22

stay till | had it all, every man and every
secret right here in this hand. I'd have
waited little longer if it hadn't come to
my knowledge that my secret was coming
out A letter had come into the town that
would have set you wise to it all. Then
had to act and act quickly.
1--WE nothing more to say to you, except
that when my time comes I'll die the easier
when l think of the work have done in this
valley. Now, Marvin, I'll keep you no
more Take them in and get it over"
THERE is little more to tell. Scanlan
had been given a sealed note to be left
at the address of Miss Ettie Shafter, a
mission which he had accepted with wink
and knowing smile. In the early hours of
the morning beautiful woman and much
muff1ed man boarded a special train which
had been sent by the railroad company and
made a swift, unbroken journey out of the
land of danger. 1t was the last time that
ever either Ettie or her lover set foot in the
Valley of Fear. Ten days later they were
married in Chicago, with old Jacob Shafter
as witness of the wedding.
The trial of the Scowrers was held far
from the place where their adherents might
have terrified the guardians of the law In
vain they struggled. In vain the money of
the lodge-money squeezed by blacl1nail
out of the whole countryside-wa spent
like water in the attempt to save them.
That cold, clear, unimpassioned statement
from one who knew every detail of their
lives, their organization, and their crimes
was unshaken by all the wiles of their de-
tenders. At last after so many years they
were broken and scattered. The cloud was
lifted forever from the valley.
McGinty met his fate upon the scaffold,
cringing and whining when the last hour
came. Eight of his chief followers shared
his fate. Fifty-odd had various degrees of
Imprisonment. The work of Birdy Edwards
was complete.
And yet, as he had guessed, the game was
not over yet. There was another hand to
be played and yet another and another.
Ted Baldwin, for one, had escaped the
scaffold; so had the Willabys; so had sew
eral others of the fiercest spirits of the gang.
For ten years they were out of the world,
and then came day when they were free
once more,-a day which Edwards, who
knew his men, was very sure would be an
end of his life of peace. They had sworn an
oath on all that they thought holy to have
his blood as vengeance for their comrades.
And well they strove to keep tteir VOW.
From Chicago he was chased, after two
attempts SO near success that it was sure
llldC the In1rQ WOulQ get MIN. FROM lTl1CagO
he went under changed name to California,
and it was there that the light went for a
time out of his life when Ettie Edwards
died. Once again he was nearly killed, and
once again under the name of Douglas he
worked in a lonely canyon, where with an
English partner named Barker he amassed
fortune. AT last there came a warning to
him that the bloodhoundS were on his track
once more, and he cleared-only just in
time-for England. And thence came the
John Douglas who for second time married
worthy mate, and lived for five years as
Sussex county gentleman, life which ended
with the strange happenings of which we
have heard.
Epi1cgue
THE police trial had passed, in which the
case of John Douglas was referred to
higher court. So had the Quarter Sessions,
at which he was acquitted as having acted
in self-defense.
@Get him out of England at any COST
wrote Holmes to the wife. "There are
forces here which may be more dangerous
than those he has escaped. There is no
safety for your husband in England"
Two months had gone by, and the case
had to some extent passed from our minds.
Then one morning there came an enigmatic
note slipped into our letterbox. "Dear me,
Mr.. Holiness! Dear mel" said this singular