The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1916-07-15

! lighted with the interest his words
evoked An on the back Of his
| hand they was big red ring. like it
was painted there"
The Red circle" muttered La
mar. and just then he found the ring
Of the trapdOor
Then he paused. as if in thought.
Presently he took out one OF his cards
and scrubbed on il: Need Aid Fol-
low Boy
Take this card 10 the first police
man you can find he said. Lead
him here. and then 20 somewhere and
have an ice cream cone debauCh.
| Hurry now Chase
As Spudsy scampered of on his mis-
| sion Max Lamar drew his revolver
and stepped down through the trap
door into the passage beyond
Along that same passaEeway. not
five minutes earlier Circle Jim Bor.
den had propelled his drunken son
| Through what seemed to Ted a mile
Of underground wandcrings, the sped
! At last. Jim had pushed upward. An
other trap!oor had Welded TO the push
and the father and son had cruWlod
out of the passage into a poorly fur.
nishyd and nllghtcd room
| A bedroom adjOined this first dusty
apartment. These rooms had for
years been Jim Bordon's unsupported
hiding place
Jim partly led, partly carried him
into the adjoining bedroom and threw
him heavily upon tn" cot, which. with
one chair. formed the room sole fur
! nishing Ted took acaut note OF his
surroundings and was soon in drunk
en- sleep.
jim. spent with his run. collapsed
upon the rickcty chair beside the cot
and looked dcWn in gloomy disgust
upon his snoring son.
The last OF the Tordcus'' he
unused We two. My son and !.
| hopcd-I was fool enough 10 hope
back there in that hell OF a living
tomb-that Ted might redeem Us.
That he might prove to b" the saliva
ton Of our name. And nova thief
! The cheapest. meancst. lowest type Of
thief, There's no hope. The sooner
! the Bordens go. the sooner 4 menace
TO society will be done away with. We
must go. he and l."
With fingers that did not trcmbl".
! he turned on III" solitary gas jet,
then. with one last look at the sleep.
ing boy. he left the room. closing the
door behind him.
He will never know" muttcred
Rorden as he came out into the other
room. He will die in his sleep. Gas
is mcrcifully painless And now it's
my own turn. My own-turn. \ quick
or death and less easy T. bear than"
He checked himself: the big shout
| Gors tensing. head thrust forward
eyes alight For. almost under his
feet he heard a mufled sound of some
one stumbling in the dark.
Borden understood. His secret hid
ing place had been discovered.
Noiselessly. be slipped to the trap
door. and stood crouching and alert
just behind its hinge a second later
the trap began to rise. Inch by inch
it was lifted from below
A pistol muzzle prOtruded from the
narrow opening; then hand. an arm,
and a human head.
One lightning look revealed to the
crOuching Borden the face OF Max
Lamar In the same instant, Circle
Jim launched himself upon his foe.
He seized Max by the wrist and.
with one mighty tug. dragged him up
into the room. slamming the trap shut
behind him.
Hands up" snarled Borden. Up
! Tp,-So,"
He stood for a moment glazing in
cold triumph at his helpless enemy.
Then he spoke; slowly. hungrily,
from between hard-clenched teeth.
Sit down" he said
Max Lamar" he said in the same
slow. deep voice that robbed his words
of any meloirana faint, You've sent
me to prison three times. Now, I've
got you"
Lamar's eve roved from the black
pistol muzzle to the SCARED hand that
held it so menaCingly.
Il see you still have the Red Circle,
Jim" he said. as if to make converse
ton.
He was playing for time.
Red Circle" repeated Borden,
duly. Yes. The Red Circle 1t is
still there on my hand. Always there.
And it has always marked one mem
Der in every generation Of my family.
And the person it marked has always
been a criminal.
Here it ends said Borden again
81 am going 10 wipe out the curse by
wiping out my family My son is in
that bedroom-dying | shall go next.
With this gun / am going to shoot
myself. after I have squared an old
score nv killing you"
Borden, as he spoke. raised the re-
vOlver a few inches. and his finger
frightened en- the trigger. Lamar
gathering all his strength, lunged sud
denly forward, clutChing Jim's wrist
and twisting ii to enc side. The bull
let went wild. In another instant. the
table was overturned. and the two
men locked in furious embrace.
| Presently. in the deathlOCk. Lamar s
fingers found the catch that held the
pistols cylinder in place. One sharp
pressure and no had broken the re-
| yolypr sending tho remaining car