The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1914-12-16

tity. She greeted them effusively and
offered them chairs. For half an hour
they sat there, chatting .inaDities, all
the while each mind busy with deeper
concerns.
When the man in search Of Flor
ence eventually arrived and asked the
marager of the garden If he knew
Miss Hargreave by sight the manager
pointed toward the box. The man
wound his way in and out Of the idlers
and by tie time he reached the box
Jim and Florence had made their de-
parture. The man bowed, approached,
and asked If she was Miss Hargreave.
For a moment the countess suspected
a trap. Then it appealed to her mind
that if there was no trap It might be
well to pcse as Florence, II only to
learn what the outcome might be.
eyes. What is wanted?" she asked.
The man took a letter from his
pocket ard handed it to Olga, saying:
"Give this to your father. He knows
how to read it."
Before she could reply the man had
turned and was hurrying away.
Olga opened the note, her heart
beating furiously. It was utterly
blank. At first she thought 1t was a
hoax. Then she happened to remem-
Der that there was such thing as in
visible ink. At last! HargreaVe was
alive; this letter settled all doubt in
her mind on this question. Alive!
And not only that but the girl and
Jones were evidently in communica-
ton with him. She summoned a
waiter, made secret sign, and he
bowed and approached. She slipped
the letter into his hand and whis-
pered: "Show that at the cave to-
morrow. It is in invisible ink and
meant for HargreaVe."
Hes alive?"
Positively"
"Very we'll" The waiter bowed and
strolled away nonchalantly.
Braine was in Boston over night,
otherwise the countess would have
taken the mysterious note at once to
him. She remained fo- perhaps a
quarter of an hour longer and then left
the garden. She would have taken the
letter to her own apartment but for
the fact that the chemicals needed
were hidden in the cave.
Now it happened that Florence went
out for her early ride the next morn
ing, and crossing field she saw a
man with a bundle under his arm.
The sun struck his profile and limned
1t plainly, and Florence uttered low
cry. The man had rot observed her
So, very quietly, she slipped from the
horse, tethered it to a tree, and started
after the man to learn what be was
doing so far from the city. She would
never forget that face. She had seen
It that dreadful night when the note
had lured her into the hands Of her
enemies. The face belonged to the
man who had impeTsonated her father.
It occurred to ker that she might
just as we'll do a little detective work
on her own hook. She had passed
through so many terrifying episodes
that she was beginning to crave for
the excitement, strange as this may
seem. Like gambler who has once
played for high stakes, she no longer
found pleasure in thimbles and needles
and pins. She followed the man with
no little skill and at length saw him
approach knoll. stoop. apparently
press a spring, and hole suddenly
yawned. The man vanished quickly,
and the spot took on again its vir-
ginal appearance. A cave. Florence
had the patience to walt. BY and BY
the man appeared again and skunk
away.
When she was sure that he was be-
yond range, she came out from the
place Of conceaiment, crept up the
knoll, and searched about for the magic