Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1918-07-11
The Crisis
By EVELYN HOPE BARTON

y
He is crafty, shrewd. Until you are
back with your friends, beware of
Pascal Trebo."
THAT is his name, is it?' [ asked.
He is the man to adopt any name
to hide his tracks, replied Albert
Cone seriously. 1T was an unfortu-
nate hour when his eye fell upon Dru-
silla. Those eyes-they terrify her,
they haunt her still!'
Looking down, up, in, out or straight
away, those brilliant jet black eyes of
Trebo remind Of sphero-cylindrical BIZ
flame darts forth. You will know him
by his eyes"
'Why know him at all?" I question
ed. "Wherefore should he cross my
path?"
Because he has sworn to do so.
Trebo has made his boast that you,
who have won my sister, will never
marry her.
This was rather high-handed senti
ment for me to accept unqualifiedly.
l secretly derided what [ esteemed to
be exaggerated fear. My friend, Cone,
attached to the American consulate at
BOlo, Ecuador, had been year among
these people and was schOOled as to
the various characteristics-an lola
podrida" of native and foreign ele-
ments, in greater part representing the
offscOurings of anarchistic and revOlu-
tiOnary groups.
To come to the point, |, from the
North, employed to negotiate with en-
voys of the local government, was after
some gano and potash concessions, and
had come to BOlo to meet Cone, and,
later, his sister, Drusilla.
l loved Drusilla from the first mo-
ment my eyes rested upon her singular
ly lOvable and expressive face. There
had been a brief courtship, an en-
gagement. Meanwhile I was called to
Bogota to close up final negotiations.
/ was very busy my first week at Bo-
gotta. / heard nothing Of this Trebo,
and was preparing to return to Bolo
when one day man approached me at
my hotel.
"You are Senior Francis Worden"
he asked in a smooth tone.
/ nodded an assent. He was no.
ticeable individual. His face was
strong one and showed character and
force The most vacuous, lightest
blue eyes l had ever seen, however,
void of expression, blurred and COW
cred with slightly darkened glasses,
gave me an impression of weakness
and indecision.
''They told me of you down at the
exchange" he went on. you are
agent for Northern purchasers Of gano
and potash properties, | understand"
"Why, yes" I acceded. II have done
something in that line"
Thereupon my visitor became COM
municative. He proceeded to describe
a potash holding which lack Of operat-
ing capital prevented him from de-
velOping A drive of 20 miles, he in
formed me, an hours inspection, and [
could gain a valuable concession at
one-fourth it's real value. [ consented
to go with him. 1t was to arrive at
an isolated old plant abutting an aban-
doned digging.
My guide showed me over the pros
pect and then the plant. AS we en-
tered it's cellar blow drove me pros
trate, insensible, and later I aWoke to
a consciousness of horror and sus.
pense.
MY hands and feet were tightly
bound; I was helpless, except for the
power to lift myself to a sitting posi-
ton. Four feet beyond me was q keg
of blasting powder Leading from it
was a long fuse. [ traced its other
end. Three yards behind me it was
fiery and sputtering.
I recognized fully that the slowly
creeping fire would reach the keg soon.
A sudden thought inspired me. [ flop
ped over sideways, my face landing di-
rectly across the fuse. My lips reached
it, knew that | was saved as, the
bitten end still between my teeth, I
came upright again. The reaction
gave me new strength. tugged at my
hands. At the end of 20 minutes |
was free. I fastened outside. My
fierce resentful impulse was to
hasten to Bogota and set the police on
the trail Of my would-be assassin.
was penetrating a little thicket
when I lodged aside as I saw man
making for the plant, the very man
who had lured me thither. I OWNED
at once that, waiting for the explosion
which did not eventuate, he had re-
turned to learn the cause. I was full
of anger and bounced upon him with
fury Once, twice, thrice lunged out
at him. The glasses he wore snap
ped to pieces.
And something elsel My fist blows
had not only broken the glasses, but
a film OF glass set in his eye sockets,
and as these were displaced there was
revealed pair Of black piercing eyes.
The painted films gone that had so
oop,plo+o1r diSU11iSn6 tho r.11fiop no