Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1914-08-16


bot also 10 see each h1stsianenf of ct the nroOf1s
picture heafers.
Copyright, 1914 by Louis Joseph vance,
sYNoPs1s-The of Hearts is death sign usod by
hToSsb hs sauRb,sp Ju P n, vE aa which
H. temper ana Questionable sanity no wages ssalnst
BE FOR ,t ,ss soodsnt witch made him helpless cripple
eSmpaTn sSaip. a.S & h 81 htr sisters
shs loves Under dramatic circumstances Alan
oon'tansS Rose n1s. judith in her purpose snake ms
I-FoREwARNED.
The thing managed with an ingenuity that
Alan termed devilish: It indisputably Macha,
vellian.
The lovers had come down from the North in
hot haste and the shadow OF death. Two DAYS of
steady travelling, by canoe, by woods trail by lake
steamer-forty-eight hours of fatigue and strain
eased by not instant's relaxation from the high
tension OF vigilance upon which their very lives
depended-wore to elimination through this
tedious afternoon on the train from Moosehead: a
trip Of physical torment only made possible by
Alans luck in securing, through sheer accident
two parlorcar reservations turned back at the last
moment before leaving Kineo station.
No matter: the longest afternoon must have fits
evening: the pokest Of trains comes the more
surely to Its destination in another hour or two
they would be in Portland-free at last to draw
breath OF ease in land OF law order and sane
living
As II in answer to this thought. the train slowed
and as the trucks groaned and moved anew a lout
OF boy came gallopng down the aisle brandishing
two yellow envelopes and blattng like stray calf:
"Mista Lawr Mista Lawr! Telgrams for Mista
Lawri"
Alan had been expecting at every station a pre-
paid reply to his wire for reservations on tho night
express from Portland to New York
But why two envelopes superscribed "Mr A.
Law Kineo train southbound, Oakland Sta?
He tore one open. unfolded the enclosure and
grunted disgust with its curt advice opened tbe
other and caught his breath sharply as he with.
drew-part way only-a playing card, a Trey of
Hearts.
Thrusting It back quickly, he cnpped both en-
Velopes together, tore them into hundred frng.
ments, and scattered them from the window But
the hendish wind whisked small scrap back
and only one!-into .he lap OF the woman he
loved
Vainly he prayed that she might be asleep. The
silken lashes trembled on her checks and lifted
slightly, disclosing the dark glimmer OF question.
ing eyes. And as she clipped the scrap OF card
board between thumb and forefnger, he bent for.
ward and silently took It from her-one corner OF
the Trey OF Hearts but inevitably a corner bearing
the figure above a heart
The Pullman agent at Portland wires no reser.
Vations available on any New York train IN the
next thirtysix hours" he said with lowered voice
Couldn't We possibly catch the New York boat
tonight?"
He shook a glum head Mo- looked that nm
nrst II leaves before we get IN"
She SAID TOO bad" abstractedly reclosed her
eyes, and apparently lapsed anew into semisom.
noience-but without deceiving him who could we'll
guess what poignant anxiety gnawed at her heart
He could have ground his teeth in transportation;
the impish insoience OF that warning timed an
precisely to set their nerves on edge at the verv
moment when they were congratulatinR them
selves upon the approach OF a respite
The sheer insanity OF the whole damnable buai-
ness
The grim. Wild absurdity of itl
To think that this was America. this the twen.
teth century, the apex OF the highest form NJ
civilization the world had ever known-and stiTl
a man could be hunted from pillar TO post haunted
with threats, harried with attempts at assassina.
ton in a hundred forms-and that by a slim of a
Girl with the cunning OF a madwoman the heart
of thug, the face OF a charming child-the faea
of the woman that sat beside him. Duplicating its
every perfect feature nearly that even he who
loved the one could scarcely distinguish her from
the other but by instinct intuition, blind guess
work.
He nodded heayy-heartod confirmation OF a sur
mise slowly settling into conviction IN his MIND
that such cunning. such purpose and pertinaoity
could not possibly spring from a mind welLbal.
anced. that the woman Judith Urine, sister to the
Rose he loved so well. was mad as that mono.
maniac her father, who sat helpless in his cell Of
silence and shadows in New York day after day
eating his heart out with impotence for the word
that his vengeance had been cousummated by the
daughter whom he had inspired TO execute IT,
An hour late, in dusk OF evening the train lum.
bered into Portland station; and heart in mouth
Alan helped Rose from the steps, shouldered
way for her through the crowd and almost lifted
her into a taxicab
Best hotel in town." he demanded. "And be
quick about it-for a dorbe tip"
He communicated HIS one desperate scheme to
the girl en- route, receiving her endorsement OF IT,
30 having registered for her and seen her safely
TO the door OF the best available in the house
within ready call OF the public lobby and office he
washed up. gulped hasty meal-which Rose had
declined TO share pleading fatigue-and hurried
away into the night with only the negro driver OF
public hack. picked up haphazard at some dis
lance from the hotel, for HIS guide
H-FORTUITY.
He wasted the better part of an hour IN fruit.
less and perhaps ilisdvsed inquiries; then his
luck such as 1t was. led him on suspicion down
a poorly-lighted wharf, at the extreme end Of
which he discovered lonely young man perched