Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1915-02-25
"Hang the bellr he growled.

he eyed Nine. Du val cOVertly. Sne
did not appear to exhibit any particu.
lar regret at the interruption.
AS matter of fact. the sight of her
visitor relieved her.
Radcliffe was persistent wooer, and
rebuffs seemed to have no other effect
than to redouble his ardor
She ordered the fOotman to take
away the harp and bring the cards and
card tables.
while we wait" she said. I'VE might
as well while away the time pleas
antly."
The fountain tinkledAs usual. From
time to time Mime. Du Val sent
glance toward it.
All at once the jet OF water flew at
tangent Radcliffe rose and touched
the knob. lifting the panel which dis
closed the secret elevator.
Three hard visaged men stepped into
the room. blinking after their long bur
row through the dark tunnels.
One of them was dressed In the
flashy manner so dear to our native
! product the gun man
His name was Gyp, and. though re
was not aware Of 1t, he was on the
short road to certain unenvied chair
| There was something in his eyes that
reminded you Of the hyena But
trained hyena has marketable quail
ity.
ike" said Radcliffe, when you en-.
/ fnr chic hpnCo fol ,H hof ho
next time I'll mash 1t down over your
lamps"
"Ali right, cap. III hight bITnds me
when | comes in here, an l forget
Well, we're ready
Nine Du Val shrugged and crossed
over to the gem vault. She despised
these tools, but in crime one has to
take what tools one can.
And there was always the possibility
Of these low bruteS speaking incau-
tously during some drinking bout.
She brought the little box of gems
back. Then Radcliffe drew the sign on
a piece of paper-a heart with a dagger
running through 1t.
This was a kind Of key that would
open certain door. The initials of
each were then written within the
heart. which was surrendered to Gyp.
This sort of business was after his
own heart. He did not like directness
except when he struck, after the fash
ion of his prototype. the rattlesnake.
About that same hour, half after g.
| nafnptiVn HINT upiyr,
over package of partly burnt letters,
those rescued from Hassam Ais house
before the fire got beyond control.
He was studying each bit of paper
with scrupulous care. The door open
ed. He looked up impatiently.
'Oh. Storm! Come in; interesting
work here, but | haven't found any
thing worth Il wooden toothpick."
81 want you to look at this. Hunt"
said Storm, producing the burnt piece
he had shown Zudora that afternoon.
Hum! Where did you find it?"
"In the cellar of the burnt house"
"Uhuh." He searched it thoroughly
under his magnifying glass. Haven't
come across any mate TO it. Come.
Dig into these and see what you can
find"
BY and by he came upon half burnt
letter that made him sit up with a
jerk. Then he laughed shortly. Mime
Du."
John, did Hassam Ali know a wo
man by the name of Mime. Du?"
sNTrnn IN "a
but he knew a Nine. Du Val"
"Ah. see" Then the detective
stacked those letters he had gone
through and picked up his pipe.
Queer old codger, that Hassam All
These scraps of paper prove to me that
crooks are the most credulous people
in the world"
What do you mean by that?"
"Well, he seemed TO know some of
the biggest in the country, and they
always went to him when in doubt.
Evidently thought he could look into
the future and tell them whether they'd
go TO Jail or not Crooks are peculiar
people. believe me, boy. Now let's go
out and get bite somewhere I've
been cramped up in this caboose since
3 this afternoon"
Nothing about the diamonds?"
mot an eyelash. But there's a vague
mention of couple of tons of gold"
"What?"
Gold. But whose 1t is or where it
Is, nix. Shops closed for the night
But there's one thing. There's some
fancy diamond smuggling going on and
some fancy diamond cutting besides.
And your Uncle Dudley's going to nail
'em one of these days"
And that fancy diamond cutter him.
self was wondering how long this soft
snap was going to last
To take known diamond and make
1t an unknown one was the main trick
OF his present occupation
1t was good money and little danger
so far as he was concerned.
His room was in a garret In par
tally deserted tenement. He was rare
ly disturbed by any one but the jan.
ltor. who was old and nearsighted and
did not care what his tenants business
was so long as the rent was paid in
advance
nh 81.