Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1917-01-12

aN1 AANAAn naRNAugHnA
The key to my happiness 10 no
longer in that woman's hands," an
nounced Golden. Yet a tremulous
note I'm his great voice sent a wave
Of pity surging through the younger
man, whose arm went out to the stocp-
ing shoulder so close to him. And
that Unexpectedly intimate touch, ap-
parently, was too much for the al
ready unnerVed man at the desk, for
with a gesture oddly poignant he lift
ed his hand and pressed II against his
closed eyes, as though in an effort to
shut away actualities which were too
dark to be endured.
Manley, az he did so, slipped a hand
in under the lapel Of the older mans
coat, lifted a wallet lightly from it's
pocket, and stood upright again.
Then, with a shrug that was almost
n Of pity as he looked down at the
still silent millionaire, he turned
away and slipped out Of the room.
The departing woman had already
passed through the street door before
he could overtako her. She stopped
wonderingly at his call to her.
"Mr. Golden, madam, seems to have
changed his mind. Here are a few
hundred dollars from him, which may
be of material assistance to you in this
matter you spoke Of"
Manley, who had taken the roll Of
bills from the wallet, was quite sol
emn-faced as he handed the money to
the equally solemn-faced woman. Yet
the shadow of q smile played about
his lips as he watched the austere
figure in black disappear from sight.
Then he turned back to the library.
There he found Golden pacing back
and forth, padding grotesquely about
from pocket to pocket.
"Manley, my wallets gonOl" was
the financier's cry.
Was there any money in IT." in
quired the secretary.
What d. you suppose I'd keep in
it," was the impatient demand. "Tal-
cum powder? OF course there was
money in it-over four hundred dol
lars in greenbacks!"
Manley shook his head in mock sor-
row
This. sir, looks like very grave
carelessness!"
1T looks like very grave thievery to
me-" snapped the older man.
. . . .
The Emlssary In Oak.
Midway between that portion OF New
| Vnrlr harhnr lpnurn ou Tho TTnnnr how
and the open reaches of the sea that
wash up the sands of Manhattan
beach, lies a district that might be fit
tingly denominated as No Mans land.
One of the least savory habita-
tions adjoining that fringe Of a city's
lotsam was the ruinous boathouse Of
a certain Oyster Joe.
And Oyster Joe, the river pirate,
looked the part. The unsteadiness of
his still muscular limbs, the %looseness
Of his swollen lips, the ~unkemptness
Of his entire surroundings, all united
to proclaim him a lover of the cup that
can cheer and at the same time inebri-
ate. This fact, indeed, was further
evidenced by the earnestnesB with
which Oyster Joe. himself making his
way into the sail loft, lifted q worm
tarpaulin aside and studied a row Of
cognac casks.
So intent was his study of this
wealth of Joy to be that he saw and
heard nothing of a slender bodied
stranger who quietly approached his
abode, entered it, and stared studious-
ly about. What made this intruder
even more mysterious was the fact
that across the upper part Of his face
he wore a narrow band Of yellow cloth.
The movements of this mysterious
stranger were marked By celebrity.
When his Investigations, in fact, were
suddenly interrupted by a sound which
grew louder along the narrow road
winding inland through the salty
marshes, he crept to the door, peered
out and prepared himself for a prom.
Used intruder. For approaching Oys-
ter Joe's boathouse he cDIld plainly
make out a two-horse wagon driven by
a Observation-Disclosures and White-beard-
ed man OF about sixty.
The masked intruder crept back
through the boathouse, entered the
sail loft and stealthily approached the
still musing figure Of Oyster Joe. In
a moment he had the old pirate bound
and gagged.
Then, hearing the wagon wheels al
most at the door. the stranger dragged
his inert captive to a nearby beam,
dashed him to 1t and over him threw
the tarpaulin from the cognac casks.
Slipping back to the outer rooms
the masked stranger drew his revolver
and stood close in beside the shadow
Of the door, calmly waiting for the
man who had already alighted from
the wagon.
From the mouth behind the white
whiskers came a squeak. like the
squeak of a rat behind a wainscoting.
as the strangers revolver was thrust
Unexpectedly into his startled old face.
Before he could quite recover from