Omaha daily bee., 1916-08-23

BE seated" said the admiral, "and
let us hear the story Your reports
have been very brief and we have had
none of the details" =.
Whereupon Hope briefly sketched
the extraordinary story Of the search
for the lost formula. He told how
Cleo had learned that her father had
concealed the formula in one OF a
dozen books, all of which had been
sold by auction, and Of the means
which he had adopted to trace those
books. He described the explosion in
the house OF the nihlist, Stephanski;
he told of his desperate tight with
Mahin in the house of the British
consul; of how he and Cleo were
wrecked on the Farallones; of their
narrow escape from death when Sat
suma dynamited the cottage on the
cliff; of the dramatic scene in the
Sandstone restaurant which was so
startlingly interrupted by the earth
quake; OF Cleos abduction by Morton;
of her escape by means of the cable,
from the cabin on the ledge, and hnal-
" of their learning from Romero that
the book which, they had every reason
to believe, contained the secret, had
been lost.
Throughout this amazing narrative
the hard-headed old sea-hghters about
the table sat spellbound.
by Georgel one of them burst out
as Hope concluded, its the most in
teresting story | ever listened to. 1t
beats a novel by Oppenheim."
at is indeed most interesting mar
rative, Mr.. Hope" said the chairman,
land I can assure you that your SER
vices in this matter will not be forgot
ten. | only wish that you had met
with better success, for if there was
ever a time in our history when we
stood in need of such weapon as
this invention of Doctor Burke would
place in our hands it is now. ] will be
frank with you, Mr.. Hope. The ma
ton finds itself today in a grave, not
to say perilous. situation. A foreign
power, whose name there is no need
to mention, taking advantage OF the
Mexican imbroglio, has presented to
this government certain demands
which are, to all intents and purposes
an ultimatum. Our national honor
will not permit US to agree to these
demands, which are humiliating in the
extreme, yet to enter into a war with
a hrst-class power at the present time
: with our navy badly deficient in ships
and men and our army engaged in
Mexico, would only invite disaster
The only thing that would save the
situation for US would be the discov'
cry of DR.. Burke's invention. With
such weapon in our hands, the
safety of our coasts and harbors would
be virtually assured, for under such
circumstances, doubt II any power
would expose its navy to the risk o.
destruction by attacking US. You see
therefore, how much depends on find
ing this formula Now that you are
acquainted with the situation that con
fronts us, are you still OF the opinion
that 1t Is useless to continue thu
search"
"The formula has not been de-
stroyed," said Hope. AT least, we
have no reason to believe that It has
And as long as it is in existence there
is always chance, even though
very slim one, Of its being found.
: "Are you willing to resume thu
search7" asked the chairman. II an
: not giving you an order, Mr.. Hope
| am asking you question"
Hope rose and saiuted. with your
permission, sir" he said briefly, Il
will start for the coast tonight"