The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1920-09-23

NO SHuTI linOW Cuiult, anu III lls !
aura OF its slckly flame Stella Dono-
van saw the face of a man with long, |
unkempt beard and feverish eyes that !
stared at her as though she were an
apparltion.
AS her eyes became more accus-
toned TO the light she saw that the
stranger was man of approximately
thirty. of good robust health. His hair
was sandy of color and thin. and his
beard, which was Of the same hue, had
evidently gone untrimmed for days,
perhaps weeks; yet for all OF his un-
kempt appearance, for all the strange
ness of his presence there, he was n
gentleman, that was plain. And as
she scrutlnized him Miss Donovan
thought she beheld mild similarity In
the contour of the mans head, the
shape of his face the lines of his body,
TO the man who several weeks be-
fore, she had seen lying dead upon the
floor of his rooms in the Waldron
apartments.
"My God !" he cried In high voice,
I'll thought was seeing things. You
are really woman-and alivep
Miss Donovan hesitated n moment
before she answered, wondering
whether TO tell him of her narrow es-
cape. This she decided to do.
"Alive, but only by luck" she said
I'm n friendly voice, and then recounted
the insults of Cateras, her struggle
with him, and capture OF his cartridge
belt and revolver, and how finally she
had left him bound and gagged in the
adjoining cell. The man listened at
tentIvely. though his mind seemed
slow to grasp details.
"But," he insisted, unable to clear
his brain. "why are you here? Surely
you are not one of this gang Of out
laws?"
"I am a prisoner. That is true Of
you also. Is 1t not?"
"Yes. IL am prisoner, although
I do not In the least know why. When
did you come2"
"Not more than two hours ago. Two
men brought me across the desert from
Haskell"
~ do not know how I came. I was
on the platform of an observation car
the last / remember" his utterance
slow, as though his mind struggled
with vague memory, talking with q
gentleman whom / had met on the
train. There-there must have been
an accident, think, for never knew
anything more until woke up here"
"Do you recall the name of the
man you were conversing with on the
observation carr"
He pressed his hand against his fore
head, n wrinkle appearing straight be
tween his eyes.
"T'ye tried to remember that" hi
admitted regretfully, "but 1t doesn''
quite come to me-"
"Was II Beatonf"
"Yes. Why, how strange OF course
he was Edward Beaton of New York
He told me he was broker. Why
how did you know"
: ''It is not so strange" she said a
last, "for your disappearance is indi
rectly the occasion of my being herr
also. believe / can even call you b!
name. You are Mr.. CavendlshT
"Yes," he admitted. his hands grip
ping the back OF the bench nervously
his eyes filled with amazement. "Bu
but do not know you"
"For the best of reasons" she an
swered smillngiy. advancing and ex
tending her hand-"because we hav
never met before. l am Stella Dono
van. newspaper woman. You
. strange disappearance about mont
ago aroused considerable interest, an,
: I chanced to be detailed on the case
. My Investigations led me to visit Has
kell, where unfortunately my mission
became known to those who were re
sponslble for your Imprisonment here
So. TO keep me quiet, was also at
!. Quoted and brought TO this place"
"You-you mean It was not an acc
u dent-that was brought here pun
J, posely?"
Exactly; you were trailed fror
' New York by gang Of thieves havin
confederates In this country. am III
u able to give you all the details; bu
u this man Beaton. whom you met on tn
u train, is, notorious gunman an
q gambler. His being on the same trai
u with you was a part OF a wellIai
+ plan. and have no doubt but what
g deliberately slugged you while yo
L two were alone on the observatlo
r platform"
V "But-but." he stammered. "wha
was his object? Why did those peopl
$ scheme TO get me?"
u "As / told you, Mr.. Cavendish,
D. not know all the details, but thin
e these men-one OF whom Is lawyer
g planned to gain possession Of your fol
s. tune, possibly by means OF a forge
n VIII; and, In order TO accomplish thi
1t was necessary to get you out of III
'r way. II either of us can escape fror
e. this place we shall be In time to 70
8, them completely"
n CTo BE CoNTINUED)