The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1915-02-11
(Oopyrieht, 1914, b Harold 1facorath,
By HAROLD MAC GRATH

Y AA6010 10SA3x0tQS 3.
let her weave her nets. dig her plts.i
The day would come. and it was not:
far distant, when she would md that
| the mild eyed mongoose was just as.
deadly as the cobra. and far more.
cunning.
THE heads of the Black Hundred;
! must be destroyed. Those were tho.
orders. What good to denounce them,
to send them to a prison from which,;
with the aid of money and tremen-
dous secret political pull, they might
readily find their way out? They must
be exterminated, as one kills OF the
poisonous plague rats Of the Orient.
IA woman? In the law Of reprisal
there was no sex.
/ Shortly after the telephone episode
(which rather puzzled the princess)
she received a wire from Braine, which
announced the fact that Florence and
five had escaped and were coming to-
New York on train No. 25, and ad-,
vised her to meet the train en- route.
She had to fly about to do 1t.
When Captain Bannock released
0I6luS, u0 udu OOCA Az III CASA0OAO
frame of mind. Tricked, fooled by the
girl. whose mind was as unclouded as
his own! She had succeeded in bribing
q coal stoker, and had taken him UNI
awares. The man had donned the dis
guise he had laid out for shore ap-
proach, and the blockhead Bannock
had never suspected. He had not rec
ognized Norton at all. It was only
when Bannock explained the history
Of the shanghaied stoker that he real
lied his real danger. Norton! He must
be pushed OF the board After this
episode he could no longer keep up
the pretense Of being friendly. Nor
ton, by a rare stroke of luck, had
forced him out into the open. So be
It. Self-preservation is in no wise
looked upon az criminal. The law may
have its ideas about It. but the In
dividual recognizes no law but it's own.
It was Braine whom he loved and adj
mired, or Norton whom he hated as
dog with rabies hates water. With
Norton free, he would never again
dare return to New York openly This
meddling reporter aimed at his ease
and elegance.
He left the freighter AZ soon az .
boat could carry him ashore The
fugitives would make directly for the
! railroad, and thither he went at top
speed, to arrive ten minutes too late.
"Free!" said Florence, as the train
! began to increase its speed.
Norton reached over and patted
her hand. Then he sat back with .
sudden shock Of dismay. He Owed
q hand into z pocket. into another and
another. The price Of the telegram
he had sent to Jones was oil he had
had In the world: and he had borrowed
that from = friendly stoker. In the
excitement he had forgotten all about
such = contingency AZ the absolute
need Of money.
Florence. I'm afraid we're going to
have trouble with the conductor when
he comes
WHY"
He pulled out his pockets sugges-,
lively. mot postage stamp. They'll,
put Us on at the next station. And"
with Z glance In the little mirror be-
tween the two windows. Il shouldn't
blame them bit" He was unshaven.,
he was wearing the suit substituted.
for his own; and Florence. sartorially.i
was not much better on.
She smiled, blushed, stood up. and,
turned her back to him. Then she sat
down again. In her hand she held .,
|. small dilapidated roll Of banknotes.
II had them with me when they;
abducted me-" she said. Besides.
this ring IL worth something"
Thank the Lord" he exclaimed,
relievedly.
So there was nothing more to do
but be happy; and happy they were.
They were quite oblivious to the pecu-
liar interest they aroused among the
other passengers. This unshaven;
young man, in his ragged coat and
soiled jersey; this beautiful young,
girl. in wrinkled homespun, her
glorious blonde hairy awry; and the
way they looked at each other during
those lulls In conversation peculiar
to lovers the world over, impressed
the other passengers with the idea
mat something very unusual had hap
pened to these two.
The Pullman conductor was not es-
pecially polite; but money was money.
and the stockholders, waiting for their,
dividends. made 1t impossible for him
to reject it. The regular conductor.
paid them no more attention than TOT
grumble over changing q $40 bill.
So. while these two were hurryingi
on to New York, the plotters were
hurrying east to meet them. The two;
trains met and stopped at the same
station about eighty miles from New
York. The princess, accompanied by
vroon, who kept wen in the back
ground, entered the car occupied BY
the two castaways.
In the mirror at the rear of the car
Morton happened to cast an idle
glance, and he saw the princess.
Vroon, however. escaped his eye.