The Washington times., 1918-04-09

aware of my disfigurernent7" re-
turned Stalners In cold. even tones,
tRst = shall be interested to know
how you 5earned anything OF its
dgHffioancSss : J. thong ght the secret
was one which would be kept-at
any rate till my DEATH"
Though he was conscious that
the facts which he had thought con-
cealed had been IN some way re-
Vealed to aset OF blackmallers, Cap
tain Stainer betrayed no emotion.
He had always been accustomed to
face danger in this manner.
There is in Mrs. willoughby's
possession" said Pietro. ian exact
reproduction on paperJ1f. the tattoo
marks which you bear between your
shoulders. It asesiven to her by
. missionary who had been long
among the KAiu natives"
The Missionary That Escaped.
"It must have been he who tend
ed me on my. eseapey muttered
stainer. "Hs was the only white
man who ever knew the treatment
to which I had been subjected.
thought he died on. his way back 10
the coast"
~You sought 10 have him killed.
you mean, signor," corrected Pietro.
But he escaped He reached civili-
zation, and lived Q little while. Mrs.
Willoughby nursed him, and he told
her your story. He also gave her
the. facsimile he had. taken OF the
marks on your back She made no
use OF Il till now, Ecco, II is very
simple, and should be grateful
to her, for at the time of the outcry,
al New York;"
Z 5'1 iInow-I} know" said Stainer.
more hurriedly. 'fAll sorts of accu-
BatTons were leveled ~ my head"
= "And they could have been proved.
nignor, had any one known Of your
tattoo marks"
They are but roughly executed.
They might mean anything"
Pietrs Describes The Marks.
sBut there was Indignation In
New York. At that time any evi-
dence against you would have been
accepted And such as this! Per-
nit me to see the list drawn by
Mrs. willoughby-inacc per-
haps, as she did not have the or
iginal. by her. On the right should
er blade there hangs the figure of
a man from a tree. All he has no
hands or feet. and beneath is writ
ten in rough letters-they could
write. then, these savages7 Tho
missionaries, I suppose"
Yes, curse them, the canting
meddlers."
Beneath Is written a name. All!
I remember, was IT not OF this crime
you were eccused?"
Eyes. and honorably acquitted"
"For want OF evidence. signor.
When a whole tribe shows its feel
inEs by such a course to brand you
with a picture OF che crime. 1t
proves"
Enough OF that. What more
have you?"
"On the left ,shoulder-bIade"-
Pietro was again examining the pa
per which Lillian had given him.
"a man lies naked on the ground
he Is strapped down-and the sun
shines upon him. Close by there is
drawn some insect. / think It is an
ant"
"a torture in vogue among the
savages."
A Collection OF skulls
"And made use of by some Eu-
ropeans, signor. Between the shoul-
ders there is a skull" Pietro
glanced with some curiosity at the
two ghastIy relics over the book
case. 1.-THE signor captain always
much interested in the subject OF
the skulls. He read a paper. so I
am told, before a society in New
York-I~ know not its name-And
again much applause. hear Cap
tain Stafner have a fine collection
OF -ssu1Is.
s"fhsy are easily collected. The
natives. arc always killing each
other. People in this country
won't" understand''-the big man
took a few rapid PAGES up and down
the room-it was the only display OF
emotion he allowed himself-"they
won't understand that the condi-
tions Of life out there in Africa are
different to those in this country.
The natives are vermin, and we
must treat them as such II we wish
to be their masters"
"The people OF America are very
angry at such an idea. They for
give the signOr because thay have
no proof against hiE,. Sut II they
heard him say so-Dio. - SIFv
know he 1--we these marks H5n his
back-and the others which / have
Eot mentioned"
And what guarantee do you give
me OF your silence?" The soldier
stood still exactly in front OF his
adversary and fixed his own eyes
uncomfortabiy. "Remember. you
biackmailer and thief that you are.
] am not the sort Of man to be
played with. II ! strike a bargain
with you. that bargain Is to he
kept by both OF us. II I give you
what you ask-what is it,"
Twenty thousand dollars" NUT
tered Pietro. He had been asked 10
say fve thousand. but thought bet
ter OF It.
$4,000 for the Skunk.
Twenty, thousand dollars. Money
means little to me. and have
plenty Of it. But II ! give you
10000 now 81 must be on the
solemn understanding of Mrs. vii.
loughby's silence and your own
Also no attempt must be made to
force me to further payments. II
you break either Of these condi.
tions-well. 1 have my own means
of silencing you, And ] am a man
not to hesitate" He laid his heavy
hands on Pistr0's shoulders,
CONTINUED Tomorrow.)
sossvussns - ". n Rsa..s1