American Fork citizen. [volume] (American Fork, Utah) 1912-1979, 1921-05-14
TWO

""N"' ioi MS upDtule. lie h0u
specialized In peculiar stunts OF his
own: stunts over which he was sin.
| gularly reticent; stunts over which
his men formed their own conclusions,
and wOrshiped him accordingly.
But Drummond was no fool, and he
had realized the vital Importance Of
fitting himself for these stunts TO the
best Of his ability. Enormous physical
strength Is great asset, but IL car
ries with It certain natural dlsadvan.
tages. In the first place, Its possessor
Is frequently clumsy: Hugh had prac-
ticed In France till he could move over
ground without n single blade of grass
rustling. Van Dyck--a Dutch trap
pef--ha1 first shown him the trick, by
which n man goes forward on his ell
bows like snake, and Is here one
moment and gone the next, with no
one the wiser.
Again, Its possessor Is frequently
slow: Hugh had practiced In France
till he could kill man with his bare
hands In second Olaki-a Japa-
nese-had first taught him two or
three OF the secrets of his trade, and
In the intervals Of resting behind the
lines he had perfected them until 1t
was even money whether the Jap or
he would win In practice bout.
And there were nights In No Mans
Land when his men would hear strange
sounds, and knowing that Drummond
was abroad on his wanderings would
peer eagerly over the parapet into the
desolate torn-up waste in front. But
they never saw anything, even when
the green ghostly flares went kissing
up into the darkness and the shadows
donced Enthusiastically. All was silent
and still; the sudden shrill whlmper
was not repeated.
Perhaps patrol coming back would
report German, lying huddled In II
shellhole, with no trace Of a wound.
but only broken neck; perhaps the
patrol never found anything. But
whatever the report, Hugh Drummond
only grinnned and saw 10 his mems
breakfast. Which is why there are In
England today quite u number Of
civilians who acknowledge only two
rulers-the King and Hugh Drum
mond. And they would willingly die
for either.
The result on Drummond was not
surprising; AS nearly as a man may be
| he was without fear. And when the
idea came TO him as he sat on the
edge of his bed thoughtfully pulling on
his shoes, no question OF the possible
risk entered. into his mind. To explore
| the house seemed the most Natural
thing In the world, and with character
istic breyity he summed up the stu
alton as II struck bin.
"They suspect me anyhow; In fact,
they know took Potts. Therefore,
even II they catch me passage creep
| Ing, I'm no worse of than | am now.
And I might find something Of inter
est. Therefore carry on, brave heart.
II was dark In the passage outside
us he opened the door of his room ana
crept toward the top OF the stairs. The
collar Of his brown lounge coat was
turned up, and his stocking feet made
no sound on the heavy pile carpet.
Like huge shadow he vanished into
the blackness, feeling his way forward
with the uncanny instinct that comes
from much practice. Every now ana
then he paused and listened intenuy'
but the measured ticking OF the clock
below and the occasional creak or q
board alone broke the stiffness
To the left lay the room In which he
had spent the evening, and Druinmohu
turned to the right A. he had gone
M 10 bed he had noticed door
screened by a heavy curtain when ne
thought might be the room phyihs
Benton had spoken Of--the room
where Henry darlington Kept ms III
gotten treasures. He felt his way
along the wall. and at length his hand
touched the ,curtain--only to drop IL
again at once. From close beside hin
had come sharp, angry hiss.
He stepped back pace ana stoou
rigid, staring at the spot from whicn
the sound had seemed to come-bu.
he could see nothing. Then he leaned
| forward and once more mo'eu ,he
curtain. Instantly II came again
sharper and angrier than before.
Hugh passed q hand over his FORE
\ head aud found II damp Germans nc
knew, and things on two legs, ou'
what was this that Kissed so viciousiS
in the darknessH At length he deter
mined TO risk It. and drew from ~,
pocket a tiny electric torch. HOLDING
II well away from his body. nj
switched on the light. In the center
Of the beam. swaying gracefully q
and fro, was a snake. For a moment
he watched II. fascinated as II spat q
the light angrily; he saw the nat hooe
where the vicious head was set on UNI
upright body; then he switched on th'
torch and retreated rather faster thai