The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1917-06-09


Patria almost roughly by the waist
and drag her with him.
THAT corner house" he said sharp
ly to Ryley, indicating an unoccupicd
dwelling which adjoined the Claiming
residence on the Fifth avenue side
somebody stationed in an upper room
behind those shutters-with gun Of
some sort, Maxim-silenced. That shot
couldn't have come from any other
quarter. Here: take care of Miss Chan
ming, please; don't let her expose her.
self. I'm going to have q try for our
gay assassin"
Bent almost double, he ran in the
| shelter of the wall to the rear of the
half-burned house, and. catching the
low sill Of window, easily swung HIM
self up and into the library.
The room had barely escaped becOm-
ing total wreck-was in truth little
better; yet there remained of the floor
ing web of charred and greasy tim
bers strong enough to sustain a mans
weight. Parr picked gingerly way
1
stairs negotiable, and within a very lit
tie time was climbing out on the roof
through broken skylight. Nor was he
In any way surprised to find the scut-
tie on the roof of the corner house
open-recently broken open, If he read
the signs Alright.
Stealthily, then, automatic in hand,
Captain Parr let himself down into
the ostensibly vacant residence, stole
back through the upper hallway, and
suddenly threw open the door to one of
the rear rooms.
simultaneously little man who had
been kneeling at one of the shattered
windows swung round, and whipped
two shots at Parr from q heavy re-
volver furnished with n Maxim 81
lencer. PARIS answering shot rang
brutality loud. The little man dropped
his revolver and subsidized into a curl
ously disheveled heap, quite dead. The
captain delayed only long enough to
make sure that there was no other
/, occupant of the room and to,verify the
fact. which he bad all along suspected,
that the murderer was Japanese.
left here to discourage any attempt
, Of ours to break into that vault" he
, surmised. "That means the enemy has
surprised our secrets probably even
= now trying to get away with the
: loot. :"
|, Throwing open the shutter. he called
= to Ryiey in the garden that the danger
: had been done away with. then turned
= and set himself to hasty exploration OF
the corner house.
He found no living soul therein, but
every evidence that many had been in
lawless possession OF the premises not
!, long since. The place had been Quilted
of its furniture, the trail of whose
i, hasty removal led Parr to and through
the front door.
As he ran out into the avenue cas-
, ual-minded policeman, strOlling past
, "Have you noticed anybody leave
/, this houseT Parr asked.
tive noticed about two dozen leaving
it-and that's about all they did leave
A big guy bossin' the job tells me the
Japanese consul has purchased the
: property and is moving every stick out
: before refurnishing. Three vanloads
they carted away-and in q hell of 9
hurry they were, at that"
(which way did they go?"
The policeman obligingly jerked {
thumb westwards. "They made of
o that way" said he. "But where the.
were bound, dunno"
d Parr fancied he could hazard ,
e shrewd guess. He ran hastily across
the avenue, and down the side street.
t And. so running, he disappeared TO
= time from human ken.
THE HOLE IN THE WALL.
Ignoring the protests of Mr.. Ryley
| Patria crept along under cover of tn
| wall to the window through which sh
| had watched Parr disappear, ant
| climbed through.
Just why she elected to follow hin
she could hardly have said.
She was inside the house before sh
appreciated that she had yielded 4
what was most probably foolish i'm
pulse.
The first thing to greet her as sh
| hurried through the upper hallway wa
the grinning mask of a dead Japanes
| huddled up on the floor of the bacl
\ room; and turning from this in drea
\ and disgust she ran blindly down tn
N stairs. But she discovered no sign O
4 Captain Parr-or indeed of anybod
\ else-and though she stopped at tn
i front door long enough for u hast
i glance out into the avenue, the ma
!! she sought was by that time severa
blocks away.
But this she couldn't know; and be
& lieving that he must still be somewher
, i'm the house, she pursued her investigs
# tons; In the course of which, descend
ing to the cellar, she discovered lire
E. futable evidence of what Parr had SUI
a missed to his own satisfaction, If h
4, hadn't stopped to verify 1t, that tn
d treasure vault of the Claiming hous
y, had been looted through breach l
d the connecting wall.
1t Or was 1t empty altogether? Ha
d her quick ears caught the sound OF
: footstep beyond that breach? If so,
,t must be Captain PARIS beyond a doub
In the utmost confidence that TIL