The Detroit times., 1914-10-26

fAlice, And not only that, but the
girl and Jones were evidently In com
munication with him. She sum-
moned a. waiter, made q secret sign.
and he bowed and approached. She
slipped the letter into his hand and
whispered: Show that at the cave
tomorrow. II is In invisible ink and
meant for Hargreave."
Hes aliver
Positively"
VERY we'll" The waiter bowed
and strolled away nonchalantly,
Braine was In Boston over night,
4 Otherwise the countess would have
taken the mysterious note nc once 10
him. She remained for perhaps q
quarter Of an hour longer and then
left the garden. She would have
taken the letter to her own apart
ment but for the fact that the chemi-
calls needed were hidden In the cave.
Now IL happened that Florence went
out for her early ride the next morn
ing. and crossing q field she saw q
man with q bundle under his arm.
The sun struck his profile and
limned II plainly, and Florence ut
tered low cry. The man had not
observed her. SO, very quietly, she
slipped from the horse, tethered II 70
q tree, and started after the man to
learn what he was doing 80 far from
the city. She would never forget
that face. She had seen II that dread
full night when the note had lured
her into the hands Of her enemies.
had impersonated her father.
t. a. 49, 49, 81. ~sss
Just as well do 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 . o 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, APP
parently press a spring, and a hole
suddenly yawned The man vanished
quickly. and the spot took on again
its virginia. appearance. A cave!
Florence had the patience to wait.
BY and by the man appeared again
and skunk away.
When she was sure that he was
beyond range, she came out from the
place Of concealment, crept up the
knoll, and searched about for the
magic handle OF this strange door.
Diligence rewarded her, and she soon
found herself In large, musty earth
lsmelling cave. Loot was scattered
about, and there were boxes and
chairs and a large chest. Men EVIL
IDENTIFY met here, possibly after some
desperate adventure against society.
She found nothing to reward her
hardihood, and as she was In the act
OF moving toward the caves door she
beheld with terror that II was NOV
ing,
She was near the chest at that mo-
ment. The cave was not a deep one.
There was no tunnel, only a wall. Res
olutely she raised the lid OF the chest,
stepped inside, and drew the lid down.
She was just In time. The door open
ed and three men entered. talking
voiubly. They felt perfectly secure
In talking as loudly as they pleased.
To Florence II seemed almost impos-
sible that they did not hear the thun-
der OF her heart. Strain her ears as
she might. she could gather but little
of what they said, except:
IF Hargreave had this paper we
might all be put on the defensive. To
an outsider Il IL a blank paper, But
4 the boss will be able TO read II. $50
The speaker moved away from the -
cinity of the chest and she heard no
more. ~
tContfnued Thursdsyp