Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1917-01-19

noo
ponent clear Of the ~deck-boards and
finging him h-eadforemost into the
black water. Then he turned and
braced himself for the charge of the
second man. This second man he met
by dropping quite fiat and unexpected
ly on the deck itself. He felt the
charging body go over his own, caught
at one still kicking foot as he twisted
quickly about, and before his opponent
could from that fall the patri-
archal boat owner had assisted his UNI
welcome guest e the deck-lip after
his companion.
But, oddly enough, in that struggle
the bewhiskered old boatman had UNI
dergone a sudden and startling change.
The clutching fingers of his enemy IN
the second contest along the boatdeck
had buried themselves in the thick
white beard decorating that launch
owners chin. And when this enemy
went overheard that fringe of whis-
kers went with him, leaving at the
wheel a somewhat altered and consid-
erably younger looking man. And that
this unknown amender Of destinies
was still intent on nursing the secret
Of his identity was further evidenced
by the fact that, before turning his
boat about and facing the ebb-tide u r
rent Of the North river, he carefully
adjusted over his nose a narrow band
Of yellow cloth, with its little apron
of an inverted crescent. Still later,
as he closely watched the light-span-
gled shore line, he caught sight OF
two small winging eyes Of green and
red. Accepting this apparently as a
signal, he swung in close under the
shadow of a coal barge and made fast
at the slip end, where high above him
a waiting taxcab stood close beside
the stringpiece. Yet, hurried as the
man in the mask seemed to be, he took
time to sit under one Of the cabin
lamps and indite a short epistle. This
epistle, addressed to "Enoch Golden
apd his friends" read as follows:
The Funds Of the Third National
bank vault are now In my possession
and will be duly returned to the right
full owners. But that may enjoy the
luxury Of the game as we'll rs tho
name, I am Withholding from those re-
turned funds the fifty thousand dollars
In gold which was formerly the prop
erty Of the man who, by expressing
the poor, has compelled this action.
When that man looks Into his own
heart and returns to the paths Of wis
dom, this gold will be returned to him
by
THE LAUGHING MASK.
Stil later that night while DaviO
Manley and Margory Golden and her
father were arguing and wondering as
to the origin and full meaning of this
strange message, Legar and his men,
emerging like water rats from the
r~iverfront rendezvous close beside the
Owls Nest, piled into a harbor launch
with a mufied kicker and silently
made their way for Oyster Joe's.
Crowding into the dimly lit sail loft
OF Oyster Joe, they found themselves
confronted, not by the millions m
stolen treasure, but by a ~stiI-jointed
and blasphemous old man in white
w%hiskers. tied and dashed to one of
his W shack beams.
Don't yelp at me about your
damned gold" cried Oyster Joe, with
a sulphurous string OF oaths, when
, he was able to speak. Il never saw
any goldl All / saw was that chain
lightning gink In a mask, the gink
who's doublecrossed me twice at the
same camel"
Legar staggered back into a broken
, chair.
, so it's the Laughing Mask agaIniH
he said with an oath.
ITO an CoNTRUnDl =