The Elbert County tribune., 1918-03-01

had caused Mr.. ODay to decide that
: he was willing to handle SO large
bet.
The one thing for which OTDay had
J unfailing respect was a gun. so he
stared MT 1t in utter speechlessness.
. The next thing which the surprising
person who turned out to be knave
rather than fool did was to make
demand to which the captured
gambler yielded perforce. The de-
mand was that ODay write note
from dlctation.
1t read, "Obey bearer implicitly"
and was In the writing and decorated
with the signature of the gambler.
Directly the note was in his pos
session the masterful Jimmy put 1t
in his pocket and shut O'Day into his
own vault When the doors of the
vault had changed shut on O'Day, the
businesslike Mr.. Barton suddenly re-
placed the monocle, put the pistol in
his pocket-and drunken English
man staggered out, ignoring fusillade
of ridicule from the barkeepers whose
master he had mastered.
II wonder how O'Day likes his in
carceratlon?" pondered Jimmy.
mot very well, 1 fancy" replied
the chauffeuse.
Nor did he. AS matter of fact,
he was shouting and pounding on the
doors of his vault with a right good
will to get out and right evil will
against the person who had put him
in.
Presently the clamor and commo-
ton he was making was heard by one
of his bartenders, who went to the
rescue. At once the gambler shouted
an order which his fury rendered
bit more emphatic than his usually
determined commands.
And Jimmy and 1 drove along, l
knew not whittier. in ignorance of the
fact that an avenging demon was in
pursuit.
AS we drove up the road, we seemed
to have left civilization behind us.
Suddenly, a building doomed ahead.
Two men came sauntering out of
the building with a casual air as we
appeared ON the scene. One of them
pulled tgun with which to threaten
Jimmy. But ]. B. drew Martin O'Days
note from his pocket and presented it
with an air of assurance which the
event fully justified.
Bring Kerrigan out to my car" he
ordered.
His peremptory tone seemed to car
ry conviction with it, for the men
started toward the house even while
! was wondering how Jimmy could
be sure that Kerrigan was in the Inn.
I Sr,tI tnrrIx fH.. H.
| the game turned to me: you see,
we have O'Day's number all right. He
got Kerrigan out here to rescue the
Malone girl"
with the master pitcher hidden
away, he is sure the game will go
the way he wants it to. Oh, yes
Martin O'Day plans to clean up neat
little pile on this kidnapping business.
But I've ruined It'll Hear me crow"
But Jimmy crowed too soon. Just
at that particular moment the men
were halted by shout which startled
me.
/ turned and there, alighting from
a gigantic green touring car, was a
man instinct told me must be ODay.
He and his driver had leaped from
us with a look of purposeful malice
twisting their faces into more evil ex-
pressions than nature herself had be-
slowed on them-and she had done
well enough.
In the meantime Rita Malone was
pacing up and down the room in
which she had been locked.
Inaction became more than Rita
could endure. 1t occurred to her that
she might be able to pick one of the
old-fashioned locks with that object
which is widely .heralded as "woman's
best frfend"-a hair pinl
1t worked. Rita found herself free
and roamed around on q little tour
of investigation based on a new sus-
picion that had taken possession of
her.
AS she tiptoed through the hall she
heard the sound of an auto. Then
she saw the men creeping down the
stairs. and suddenly she knew as
clearly as if she had beheld him there
that Bert Kerrigan was a prisoner in
the inn.
Her cautious search was rewarded
few seconds later, for she found her
lover tied ANONYMOUSLY to a rickety
old chair in one of the back rooms
on the third floor. 1t took her but a
few moments to free him. Then the
prisoners had a sort of reunion and
quick explanations followed.
II wonder whose little game this
is" unused Kerrigan. Then sudden
ly: what time is it?" he asked.
That question seemed a popular one
that afternoon When Rita and he