Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1915-01-02


a soft rustic and fluctuatiOn Of wall
draperies in the apartment. The light
waxed. The smooth shaved starmas-
ter stood before his visitors.
They beheld man Of undlstingush-
ed size and form eked out by a splen-
did pOmposity Of manner. To this his
garb contributed. All the signs of the
zodiac had lent magnlicence to the
long black, loose robe with gaping
sleeves which he wore. Mrs, Blair
noted with vague interest that it was
all hand embroidered.
With a rhythmlcal motion of arms
and hands he came fogw'rd pe"form-
ed a spreading bow Of welcome anl
drew back, putting his hnu1 f.. his.
brow as il In concentration Of thOugat-
Marjorie Blair felt an unhDIy de; lie To
laugh. She glanced at Professor Kent
and to her surprise found him exhibit
ing every evidence of discOmpOSurc
Stupid of me" he muttered in apOl-
ogy. Gets on ones nerves, you know.
Awesome and all that sort OF thing
fussing with the stars
Fear nothing" said JaX "rhe star
forces respond to the master win OF
him who comprehends them. Madam.
the date, year, month and day Of your
birth, II you please"
March 15, 1885," replied Mrs Blair.
Propelled by an unseen force, celes-
tial globe mounted on a nlckeled stand
ard, rolled forth. The starmaster
spun it with practised hand. Slowly
and more slowly it turned until, as IL
came to a stop, ray Of light, mysteri-
ously appearing, focused on a cOnsteI-
latlon.
"Yonder is your star" declared the
astrologist, "See how the aural light
seeks it."
ooh, say" murmured he Of the
monocle. Weird, you know! Quite
gets on ones nerves. Quite
"Sh-h-h.hl" reproved Preston Jax.
"Sllence is the fitting medium Of the
higher stellar mysteries. Madam, your
life is a pathway between happiness
and grief Loss, like a speeding comet,
has crossed it here. Happiness, like
the soft moon glow, has beamed upon
it, and will again BEAM in fuller eff
fulgence."
With beautifully moduated intOna-
tons he proceeded, while one OF his
visitors regarded him with awe struck
reverence, and the other waited with
patience-but unimpressed, so the ora
tor felt, by his gifts His voice sank,
by deep toned gradations into silence.
The ray wlnked out. Then the woman
spoke
"ls 1t possible for your stars to guide
me to an object which have lost?"
Nothing is hidden from the stars"
declared their master. "You seek Jew
els, MADAME" (Kent had let this much
out, as if by accident, in the mornings
conversational
"Yes."
"Your birth stone Ia the bloOdstone.
Unhappy indeed, would be the omen
il you lost one Of those gems" IeI
was fishing and came forward toward
her almost brushing Kentl
But l say" cried Kent in apparent
ly uncomfortable agitation; "dld your
stars tell you that she had lost some
jewelry? Tell me, is that how you
knewT
In his eagemess he caught at the
astrOlogcrs arm, the right one, and hlsl
long fingers, gathering in the amplej
folds Of the gown, pressed nervouslyi
upon the wrist Preston Jax wincedI
away, All the excited vapidlty passed
from Kents speech at once.
"The jewels which this lady has
lost he said very quietly, "are a set
Of unique rose topa2es. | thoughtful
fact, | felt that you could, with or
without the aid Of your stars, help her
to recover them"
Blackness, instant and impenetrable,
was the answer to this Kent raised
his voice the merest trlne
Unless you wish to be arrested 1
advise you not to leave this place. Not
by either exit"
Arrested on what charger came
half choklngly out of the darkness.
"Theft."
II didn't take them.'
Murder, then"
"My Godw so abiect was the terror
and misery in the cry that Kent felt
sorry for the wretch. Then, with
certain dogged bitterness, 81 don't care
what you know; didn't kill her."
THAT is very likely true" replied
Kent soothingly But 1t Ia what /
must know in detail, Find your foot
lever and turn on the light"
The two visitors could hear the as.
trologer grope heavily, As the light
flashed on they saw, with shock, that
he was on all fours, II was as IL
Kents word had felled him. Instant.
ly he was up, however, and sald:
what am | up Ogainst2 How did
You find me?'
Thrustlng his hand in his pocket the
scientist brought out little patch of
black cloth, with single star skill.
fully embroidered on Il.
"Wild blackberry has long thorna
and sharp" he said "You left this
latter on Hawkill cliffs"
AT the name the mans chin muscle
thrubbpd with hig effort IN boId his