Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-06-29

sons manner under the SCRUTINY of the man shs
knew he hated so venomousy which made hef
shudder and form half resolution to acauaint
Louoeque with his servants treachery She had
half risen to her feet still fighting against the
iudlcrous impulse when the shrilI hoot of an owl
reached from out the mighty distances of ths
1ar reaching desert waves She reseated herself,
cold with feeling of omnipresent evil. 1t was
not alone her impression of the butler-thief but
there was something deadly and surcharged with
violence IN the artificial owls call.
And now the very seconds lagped Every
nerve, every muscle fexed for she knew moi
wha, Lucille waited, her against the wall
her eyes pools of mirrored terror.
After what seemed an nterminable AGE canf
again the sound. Unable, this time to endure tho
long 1ntermlsslon she was charged to undergo,
she softly opened the door, peering out over the
sleeping city that the rebel chieftain had flung
up at mere command. Immediately before her
own abode she made out the less pretentious
snack OF the international spy. dim light from
.he Par.lally opened door cut segment from
the darkness. Far more significant of slunber
than complete darkness was that light
A tiny droning sound reached her ears By
main force piercing the thick veil of night,
Lucille made out the shadowy outlines of a lean
motor car, dimly silhouetted against a pile of
lava dust. Something shapeless and dark and
1urtIve OF movement crept across the space that
1ntervened between it and the light-cleavage of
Loubeques quarters Lucille could not resist the
impulse that forced her from the door into tho
open.
Times she paused, fearful that her chatter.
to whom she knew she should feel grateful vet
Tor whom nothing but hatred and fear would
enter her heart. So silently the man moved IL
seemed at times the earth must have opened and
swallowed him up
Something tugged at her feet, fairly draw.
ing her away from the scene. Then a strange
wave OF pity for the unsuspecting one against
whom this furtive attack was being made urged
her forward. AS the dark figure slipped through
the door, Lucille thrust her head cautiously with
in. Upon the cot lay the long figure of the in
ternatlonal spy, his face turned toward the sill
ent, motionless figure that stood in the center
OF the room staring at him. The eyes were
tightly closed but the girl knew that the man
merely feigned sumber.
Thompson turned toward the table upon
which the lamp dimly burned. Lucille allowed
her eyes to wander for second in that direc-
ton, her heart thudding so violently at sight of
the diary and papers there that she was fearful
she would be heard. Alongside the papers, its
Facets sending out a million flashes of reddest
blood lay the strand of rubies. She marked the
involuntary fexing of the thief's hands as he
tiptoed toward them.
Not sound disturbed the silence But some
thlng caused her to dart swift glance at the
sleeper. His eyes were narrowed but open lights
OF amused malice in them she had never sus-
pected could show in mortal eyes, lights so
malignant she shuddered even as she would have
opened her lips to cry warning The butler
thief drew closer to the prize he had worked so
hard to gain. His thief's fingers were out
stretched to grasp the necklace when, with a
crash, the lamp darted toward him, smashing
upon the floor and leaving utter blackness in its
wake.
Upon the heels of his startled alarm came a
chuckling laugh from Loubeme a. laugh that
matched the evil that had glowed from his ewes
SO scant before Came gurgled oath, the heavy
breathing of strong men in combat.
Lucille turned as though to run. Came
swift vision before her, one that made her step
swiftly within the wall of mantled darkness She
could hear the silent struggle of her enemies
mingled with crashes of sound. Some instinct
held her silent, motionless. The papers and the
necklace had been upon the table, directly before
her.
Between her and that table threshed the
two men, She dared not take the chance Other
chances had been nothing compared to this
This was so deadly, full of cool thought She
could not-could not do it.
Eyes met her own, eyes that seemed to
force their way through the dark interior and
cause her to forget everything that had inter
vened, eyes that mirrored a message of love and
faith and hope to her she looked down from
the window of the mysterious house in San
Francisco into the eyes of her lover, the man
whose happiness could not be insured without
those papers short space before her.
With the thought she sprang into the room
Her toe met something soft, soft and wriggling
and silent. She bounded high, clearing the bodies
of the two men and landing squarely against
the table. Her hands groped even as she knew
her presence had penetrated the consciousness of
the combatants, lost as they were to outside
things by the fury of their hate. Cropping grop-
ing, her hands encountered the cold rubies Sba
thrust them swiftly into her bodice her left hand
continuing the search Papers rustled under her
fingers. An iron hand was upon her shoulder but
she wrenched herself loose and leaped back
Heavy breathing sounded, heavy breathing
and the catlike tread of the one who groped for
her elusive figure Along the wall she moved un-
til her body encountered the swaying door.
faint light tricked through at her and in that
Hash she made out the tall figure of Loubeque
Even as he sprang at her she slapped the
door shut. Came cry Of pain and rage, the
stumble of feet backwards
Lucille fled through the night, fled towards
where she had seen the motor car from which
Thompson had come to this place It was a
chance, no odds what orders the man had been
given
What commands he had been given? She
stopped a second. She had been warned to wait
for three boots of the owl and but two had been
given Impulse directing her, she lifted her hands
to her mouth. First sound came. second
time she made the attempt. Feeble it was at
best, but the startled silence took it up and
hurled back this offender against restfulness
TO her right came the purr of the motor,
From behind sounded shot She lunged toward
the first sound. dark figure leaned from the
seat and drew her beside him. Lucille clung to
the man, sobbing from nervous reaction even an
the car shot through the night.
The whine of bullet sounded overhead--an-
other and yet again another. She dared not
look back The white road stretched like a
glstening gorged serpent before them. Silence