The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-17

not be fortunate as I am. She will be parted from her hubby almost as soon as she gets him."
 Najla suddenly looked perplexed and hestitated.
 Then few of your friends will be at the pier" she said. Twill Police Captain Kemp be there?"
 "No," broke in Manning. we have every reason to believe that Ali Singh means to bolt out of the country, and Kemp means to stop him."
 But MT. Kemp must really give an hour to protecting you before the ship sails" cried Najla, her fine eyes sparkling with real excitement. Surely you understand, Mir. Man ming, how my wretched uncle hates you. He will endeavor to do you some mischief, even at the twelfth hour. Please telephone Captain Kemp and ask him to come.
 Manning fell in with her wishes at once. He was almost defenseless, and he had now the added anxiety of his brides well-being.
 So matters were arranged in that way, and it was we'll, indeed, that they were, for Ali Singh, despite his own troubles, had been able to spare time to perfect last scheme of ven- geance. By playing skillfully on Hong Kong Harry's drug-induced emotions, and especially by arousing the mans jealousy, he worked him up to such pitch of frenzy that he was intrusted to lead 8 small but desperate party of orientals whose definite mission was to "get" Man ming.
 It happened that a number of per- fectly respectable Chinamen and Jap anese were travelling by the St. Paul. Some were men of importance and attended by secretaries and personal servants, and it was manifestly ab- surd that Kemp's cohort of detec- tives should be expected to treat all these orientals as potential assassins. Yet how were the police to pick and choose! Any one of the richly attired Chinamen or dapper little Japs might be- Ali Singh's devoted emissary-a fanatic willing to sacrifice his life instantly provided he had first suc- ceeded a plunging knife into Man ning's heart.
 Very thankful indeed were both Manning and the police captain that Najla was present. To some extent they managed to conceal their anxi- ety from Margaret, but Kemp and two of his best men watched Najla more sedulously than the throng of passengers and leave-takers, so that they should be ready to interpret the least warning in her eyes. They did not err. The warning came just as Manning was emerging from the main companionway on the prom enade deck. Kemp saw the girls questioning glance change to one of terror as she caught sight of three men leaning over the ships rail, close to the gangway.
 Kemp and the detectives sprang in front of her and the police captain whispered hoarsely:
 What is it?"
 'That man there," she murmured. I'm sure 1t is Hong Kong Harry. He has not turned yet, but one of the men with him saw Mir. Manning and nudged him."
 At that instant Hong Kong Harry himself wheeled about.
 But the half-caste's rowing glance fell on Najla instead of Ali Singh's intended victim. Instantly his vacil- lating mind changed. Najla was the last person hea expected to find on board the ship, and his muddled brain now conceived the notion that she intended to leave America with her friends but might yield to an impassioned plea that she was really his wife by reason of the promise and the interrupted ceremony.
 Even in his dazed state he realized that Manning's murder would be fatal to this suddenly formed project. Instead. therefore, of carrying out the program arranged with his fel- low thugs. he grabbed each of them by an arm, impelled them violently forward and shouted to Kemp. whom he had discovered by this time:
 Here you are! Take these two! There are no others. Mr. Manning will then he perfectly safe"
 Margaret shrieked, realizing that her husband had been in deadly peril without her knowledge. But Kemp and his men leaped and seized not