The Washington herald., 1914-11-08

was innocepy rsponsIbe for the accident
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sumsanoes Alan ssxss her is and 90 TnEHEy % wins
judith refuses to out the she made her father
ana r. o.s H and Ss friend Tom arras 70 escape the pese
euten Urine his aides led By his confidential man.
1.-THE LAST WARNING.
In the chill violetshadowed dusk Of that clear
evening ehapfallen motor car crept sluggishly
into the little mountain town Of Mesquite at
the heels Of two mutinous mules, driven by
chauffeur who steered with one hand while the
other hourished a cracking whiplash over the
backs Of its sole motive power.
Its one passenger. a cripple as helpless as the
car itself, huddled in a corner Of the rear seat
saluted Mesquite with snarl Though he was In
sore need of such rude comforts as the town stood
prepared to afford him, his dOmeanor toward It
was that Of one who suffers indignity rather
than begs accommodation.
And now as the car crawled to pause before
the Mountain house-Mesquite's one caravansersi
and Mesquite ITSELF to the last hea-bitten hound.
gathered round to view this wonder, Mr.. Trine's
indignation and chagrin distilled words Of poison
GUS import.
Far from resenting this, Mesquite, pipe in mouth,
hands in pockets, admired and applauded, and rath-
er resented the change that befell when two other
strangers Cwhose earlier appearance in town had
helped make that one day memorable beyond all
others in Mosquitoes history charged out Of the
Mountain house and interrupted the elder devil
with cries Of greeting and jubilation.
The leader Of these answered to the name Of
Marophat; his companion was a person named
Jimmy One guarded word from Marrophat was
all that was required to change the old mans
oaths to phrases of honeyed appreciation.
What passed between the trio after they disap-
peared. behind that bedchamber door Mesquite
could by means guess. But that a celebration
of some sort was In progress was evidenced by
tho frequency with which Marrophat and Jimmy
called on the bar for more liquid refreshment as
well by bursts Of laughter long and loud and
somehow strangely cynical Of accent.
And toward midnight one belated Mesquite
paused in the street outside the Mountain house
for last curious stare at the lighted windows
OF Mr.. Trines quarters, and so witnessed an incl
dent which puzzled him by fits and starts through
out the balance Of his days.
He saw, clearly siIhouetted against the glowing
oblong Of the window, the Mephistophelean profile
of Seneca Trine, distorted with grimace Of the
cruelest joy that ever heart Of man conceived. He
saw Manophat approach his master with drunk
en- swagger and speech which, though indistin-
guishable to the unseen auditor, unquestionably
afforded both Of the other men ample excuse for
ecstatic glee. Toward its conclusion Mr.. Mario
phat apparently capped the peak of tubilation by
fumbling in his coat pocket and bringing forth
something which strongly resembled q single play
ing card.
the cripple made gesture which eloquently abol
ished this card, gesture which said quite plainly:
"AH that is finished The thing has served its
purpose! To hell with it,"
Whereupon, with smart jerk of his wrist, Mr.
Marrophat sent the card spinning and sailing out
through the open window to lose itself in the
night
The watcher didn't see It fall, and though he
spent an uncomfortable time searching for It in
the deePdust Of the roadway he went his way in
the end with curiosity unsated: Fate had reserved
that card for higher purpose.
Undisturbed, 1T lay where 1t had fallen, face up
ward, not dozen feet from the front door of the
Mountain house, until another day dawned on
Mesquite.
Then, in the clear Hight Of that dawn, four more
strangers struggled into town-two weary and hag-
gard men, two footsore and bedraggled women
One of these last was dressed in a suit Of mans
clothing, much the worA for wear. The other
members Of the party one and all wore the look
Of people who have escaped the jaws Of death by
the narrowest Of imaginable squeaks.>
At sight of the Mountain house the party be-
trayed slight symptoms Of q more cheerful spirit:
rejoicing in its promise Of food and drinks and
beds withal wherein to sleep the four quickened
their steps.
But of a sudden one Of the women-she who
wore the garments Of her sex-paused, uttered
low cry, ahril with terror, and clutching the arm
of the man nearest her. pointed down to the card
that stared up from the dust at her feet
1t was Trey of Hearts.
H-FULL FLIGHT.
"oh, what can It mean?" Rose whispered broken
ly, clinging to her lovers arm. Surely you don't
think :. Surely it must be accidental
Surely 1t kan't mean"
"Tm afraid It does" Alan Law responded grave
ly, eyeing the front of the Mountain house Our
luck holds consistently-thats all. It wouldn't be
us II we didn't pick out the one place where Mar
y6phat and Jimmy chose to stop over night For
tunately, it's early: doubt they're up. With half
a show we ought to be able to find some way Of
putting good distance between us and this town
before they waken -. Toni"
But Mr.. Barcus was already at his elbow In
thorough sympathy with Alans Interpretation Of the
significance to be attached to the card that trem-
bled in Roses hand.
-sharD's the world" he agreed. ~And there's =