Charlevoix county herald., 1919-01-03
THE CHARLEvOIX COUNT

ed up. Whats the matter" he rasp
ed. whats happened nov? Glsce
what ails you. man."
told him as best I could. and he
swore.
Lily Lawton put down her head and
began 10 weep in nervous terror.
my God. Gordon!" the colonel
burst out, do you see what that
means? told you you hadn't ought
10 have let that leetle girl go up there
the way you done. Course they saw
you and her go 20 the police station,
an when you come back here an she
went up there, they laid for her an
roped her fust off
We'll. that ends it, I reckon. You
phone 10 Connel an tell him 10 kick
them two out Let 'em have their dirty
scum. II that will git Lucille and Nc.
Kabe turned loose"
He paused. breathing hard.
please. Mr. Glace." Lily sobbed
brokenly. "if there is any way to help
poor Miss Lucille, you will take it.
won't YOU Oh. she was so good 10
me! can't bear II to think those peo'
pie have caught her"
She resumed her tears.
didn't answer for moment. Some
way. il seemed that the excited out.
cries OF my companions served 70
steady my own disturbed balance, and
show me the need Of cool thought and
action in this new crisis.
On the face. It looked pretty bad.
First McKabe. old hand at the game,
had been taken: then Lucille. q woman
who for three years, had matched wits
with this very society OF banded evil,
had been seized in broad daylight, II
Twas to accept Connel's statement at
full value.
To cap ALL Dual had gone off and
left me sitting idle with orders TO
await message. And as yet no mos.
sage had come.
Against that, however. was my
knowledge, now several years old. of
the man whose gray suit had come
back to us with the cryptic bit OF
writing stuffed into a shoe.
True. Sheldon had failed to pick up
any trail leading to the mysterious
Kim Lee: but l could only admit in
fairness that the colonel's methods sa.
vored too much of brute directness to
avail against the secretiveness of the
people he had questioned. Certainly
Semi Dual would not have written
no. Cd
knowledge upon which to proceed.
The best answer ! could find, then,
was that there really was Kim Lee,
and that Semi Dual and he were some
where under cover, with hands on the
pulse of affairs.
The thought steadied me yet furth-
er. looked up at the flushed face OF
the old fire-eater before me and shook
my head.
Colonel" said I, II do not be-
lieve this is the time for us to mix in.
The Lord knows I wouldn't spare any
effort to save the girl who gave us
such noble assistance; but II turning
Reich and the woman loose will save
her. they have doubtless told Connel
as much and he will do it without any
urging from me. He said as much this
morning"
But, my Lord" he questioned,
why don't Dual do something? Do
you suppose he knows about this last
thing they've put over?"
II can't say" I replied. There
isn't any way for me to tell unless"
Suddenly l stopped. One OF the
flashed into my brain.
sat and studied the thing, and the
longer I did so the more like bit OF
my friends uncanny work it appear
ed
UNLESS what?" prompted Sheldon
with Impotence.
UNLESS Mercury and Venus
reached their conjunction little bit
ago." / remarked.
1t seemed to me that something
back in my brain applauded the words.
I thrilled as spoke. At last
seemed to be picking up well-nigh
intangible thread of meaning in the
tumble.
1t came on me that back OF this
second seemingly crushing blow was
the unseen hand OF Dual II that were
So
II don't get you" said the colonel
"and wish you'd talk so a man could
understand YOU"
The old mans nerves were palpably
ragged.
I smiled. '1m not sure myself yet,
colonel" I told him "but / think ! see
light"
well. DON'T" he snapped.
Anyway. call up Connel and ask him
IL he's goin' to turn them two loose.
IF | was sure, OF that I'd feel better.
Cad, II this was in Goldfield, we'd have
had a posse out after these here folks
inside an hour; but in town like this
a Teller don't know where to hunt
first"
More to quiet him down than any
thing else, got Connel on the phone
and asked IL the capture of Lucille had
heen used In siren theu the dema nds