The Carlisle independent., 1917-09-20

Blanca and Her Men Escape From the
 Burning Building. continued to plead. She stripped her. self of the mantle and held it out to him.
 One man had been left in the cellar. l That was the crook named Joe, who had tainted from the intense heat. As Ravengar sat up and opened his eyes on the ground, Joe was opening his in the cellar. He, too, could not at first remember what had happened to him.
 He was conscious only of the fight in the shed, the outbreak of the blaze. But Joe had not a meditative mind. He found himself alive, and that was his chief concern. He meant to re- main alive. He was not anxious to face what seemed to him the inevitable punishment for his crime.
 He had no doubt that he was al- ready branded as Ravengar's murdel> CT. And he felt, too, that Blanca was becoming too exacting, and her ScnemeS too dangerous.
 He crawled out of the cellar by the bulkhead and looked about him. No- body was to be seen though he thought he heard Bianca's voice in the distance.
 Joe thought it was altogether good moment for making his getaway.
 He started to crawl through the long grass, meaning to reach the pine trees and then slip carefully down to- ward the cliff.
 But as he raised his head he was startled and terrified to see Ravengar lying not twenty paces away, support ing himself upon one elbow and star ing about him.
 Joe suddenly took heart again. The man was not dead, then.
 He edged away from Ravengar, and then he saw the figure of Leontine, apparently become incarnate out of nothing. He saw it waver, now yisi- ble, now invisible. Then she was standing beside Ravengar, who had risen to his feet, and offering him the mantle.
 At once Joe made his decision. He Topped down in the grass and began crawling toward them.
 Ravengar, meanwhile, resolutely de- clined the mantle.
 Take it. my dear" he said again. T am quite safe. And I will meet you here after it has grown dark, and we can make our plans together. You can never go back to your husband"
 Leontine shivered. She had told Ravengar of his murderous plot
 "rll take it, then, since you wish it." she said submissively, and drew back her arm, with the flmy mantle upon it.
 At that moment hand shot upward from the grass and tore the mantle from her grasp. A moment later Joe, an expert thief, had it in his posses sion, and was racing for the pines.
 Leontine cried out, and Ravengar staggered after him. But Joe was al- ready out of sight, hugging the pre- cious mantle in his arms.
 As Leontine turned, voices were heard from the other side of the trees. They were those of Sebastian and Bi- anea, who had been joined by her sec ond seryitor.
 "Come!" cried Leontine, grasping Ravengar by the arm. We must get away before they sight usI"
 "Leontine! The mantle!"
 Our lives, Ravengar," she respond ed.
 And, seizing him by the arm, she helped him into the trees, into the un- derbrush. They crouched there while Blanca and Sebastian, unsuspecting their presence, passed by them toward the hotel.
 q suppose that fellow Ravengar won't come back to nfe," suggested Sebastian.
 Blanca realized for the first time that he had gone. But she did not care to let Sebastian know that she had saved him. T guess we've seen the last of him." she answered.
 Blanca and Sebastian, arm in arm. started down the path through the woods together.
 (END OF TENTH EPISODE.)