The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-11-12
The Trey O'Hearts.
Romantic Tale b, I.oui, Joseph Vance
Copyright. 1914 by Loui. Joseph Vance
sYNoPSIS.

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copvrisn. 1914 by Loui. Joseph vane.
sYNoPsIs.
sad Fhe Fey e"f mssi,s F PSss' F...
asa to snop,ls in Of PS!sss
chapters: rh, trey Of hearts Is the death
war Of Vengeance a Which. thronrh aho a.enes
Of his daughter Judith. woman OF Violent
WAS inpose9sly responsible for tho seeiiens
Aim and ISvsd By 'i Rese i Sr
her sn ama sougis but In all other esPse.s
death By. Alan saves her Hs peaer A, drs
%na hsF one a 50 a;Snsy
ove and ID tsp by the old the new
becomes aiiena:ed from nh her tasheF sSrouE ns
n ner 'aiinrn to carry out his homicidal plans.
m I With aid nos ae 1 has
ee" ne OF Trino through tho mountains
s. 4ne Ro:s and bound ga
ana lowered down the shaft OF an aban-
Hood and fire. -
CHAPTER xCvI.-THE EXPLOSION.
Of sudden tho thought crossed
Alan's mind that Marrophat had ar
ranged the latter solely to keep them
away from the bulkhead Now that he
thought Of it, he felt certain that the
powder-room had been deliberately dis.
closed to him by Jimmy.
Probably. then, the keg ana fuse
"ero but stage properties, or posi-,
bly,
whether or no, was death in one
form preferable to the other?
,hs ne was decidedly OF the opinion
.nat ~ were better to be extinsuished
once and for all time. in the space
OF a second. annihilated by an exnlo-
sion, than to die thus lingeringly.
on tnis consideration he drew Rose
win him back to tho bulkhead. 1t
was soiid-a crackless barrier of stout
paAen pianks, reinforced with straps
iof iron. Neither light nor air might
penetrate 1t, save In the scantiest
quantities. Nor could they hope that
the water would seen out of It In SUI
'hctent volume to counterbalanoe tho
aeiuge pouring down the ladder-shaft
ana this last was stalking them
there In the blackness like, an insa-
table enemy The lisp of it's advanc-
ing waVclets rang In his hearing like
tho purring of a man-killlng tiger in
the darkness of n nightbound Jungle
When they had been some fifteen
minutes beside the bulhhead. the
water mounted the head of a slight
rise perhaps ten feet behind them,
and poured down in ever deeper VOL
um9 to back up against the barrier.
1t was waist deep, however, before
they retreated to the head OF that
rise,
Half an hour later it was waist deep
there. on the highest spot In the tun-
mel.
In fifteen minutes more il had
reached their chIns. And they stood
with heads against the roof OF the
tunnel.
Holding Rose close to him, Alan kiss
ed her lips that were as cold as death.
) Then, fumbling under water he
found the hand of the man at his
side
The water Tapped his lips like
blind hand 4. .
Far from resenting this Mesquite.
pipe in mouth. hands in pockets, ad-
mired and npplauded, and rather re-
scented the change that befell when two
other strangers ,Whose earlier APP
pearance In town had helped In Mes
quite's history charged out of the
Mountain House and interrupted the
elder devil with cries of greeting and
tubilation.
The leader of these answered to the
name of Marrophat; his companion was
n person named Jimmy. Mesquite ac-
CURED this information through pay.
ing close attention to the substance of
their communications with the cripple.
More than this, however. II learned
little. Something seemed to have been
accomplished by the two, something
that was highly gratifying TO Seneca
Urine: for one guarded, word from Mar
rophat was all that was required to
change the old mans oaths to phrases
of honeyed appreciation, his scowis to
such smiles as called to mind fugitive
iashes of sunlight athwart snow
bound landscape. And he was chuck
ling almost mirthfully when lifted
from the car and carried into the hotel.
What passed between the trio after
they disappeared behind that he'd
chamber door Mesquite could by no
means guess. Bun that celebration
of some sort was in progress was evil
denced by the frequency with which
Marrophat and Jimmy called on the
bar for more liquid refreshment, as
we'll as 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 one last Gu
rious stare at the lighted windows OF
Mr.. Trine's quarters. and SO witnessed
an incident which puzzled him by fits
and starts throughouD the balpac, of
his days.
CONTINUED To-Morrow,)