Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-02-15
CHAPTER 1.


CHAPTER I.
The Face Of Hate.
It was three o'clock in the morning.
Along a deserted pavement Of River
side Drive strobe briskly a young
man whose square-set shoulders and
erect poise suggested a military train
ing. His coat, thrown carelessly
open to the cold night wind. display.
ed an expanse of white indicative Of
evening dress. AS he walked his heels
clicked sharply on the concrete with
the forceful firm tread of the type
which does things quickly and de-
cisively. The intense stiffness Of the
early morning hours carried the
sound in little staccato beats that
could be heard blocks away. "A few
yards behind him, moving furtively
and fnoiselessly. almost as, If he had
been shod with rubber, crept another
figure, that of a stocky. broad-shoul-
dered mar, who despite his bulk and
weight moved silently and swiftly
through h night, a soft brown hat
drawn low owe his eyes as il he de-
sired to, avoid recognition.
All at once the man ahead paused
suddenly and TODD looking out over
the river. Between the Drive and the
distance-dimmned lights of the Jersey
shore there rose like great silhouettes
the grim figures of several huge steel
clad battleships, their fghting-tops
lost in the shadows of the opposite
hills. Beside them, OBSCURE, with no
lights visible, lay the great transports
that in a few hours, or in a few days
who knew-they would be convoy
ing with their precious cargo Of fight
ing men across the war-perilled At
lantic.
1t was on the forward deck of one
of these great battleships that the
eyes of h man ahead were riveted.
His shadower. evidently much con-
cerned in his actions, crept slowly and
stealthily forward, approaching near
er and still nearer without being OBJ
served.
| A dim light became visible on the
warship's deck and then vanished.
Still the man stood there watching, q
puzzled. anxious look coming into his
face. Quickly the light reappeared-
two flashes. a pause. two flashes, a
pause. and then a single flash. 1t was
such a light as might have been made
by a pocket torch. a feeble ray bare
~ strong enough to carry to the adj
iacent shore, a light that. if it had
been flashed from some sheltered
nook by the boat davits might not
even have attracted the attention of
the officer on the bridge nor Of the
ships Waterman: Manifestly it was
a signal intended for the eyes of some
one on shore.
A muttered imprecation escaped the
lips of the watcher on the Drive. He
stood there, straining his eyes toward
the ship as if expecting a following
signal. then he turned and gazed aloft
at the-windows of the apartment
houses lining the driveway to see If
some answering signal flashed back.
And in the shadow of the buildings,
hardly ten feet away but half shell
tered by a doorway. stood his sinister
pursuer; motionless but alert.
For perhaps quarter Of an hour
they held their positions. At last
the man who was being followed
shrugged his shoulders impatiently
and set off again down the Drive,
from time to time turning his head to
watch the spot from which the signal
had been flashed. Behind him, as
doggedly az ever ana now a little
closer. crept the man with the hat
over his eye
Regardless of the lateness of the
hour. at a third-floor window Of one
Of the great apartment houses lining
the Drive sat a young girl in her
nightrobe, with her two great black
braids flung forward over her Shout
deIs. about which she had placed for
warmth's sake a quilted negligee.
Jane Strong was far too excited to
sleep. An hour before she had come
In from a wonderful party. The mu-
sic still was playing mad tunes in her
ears. The excitement, the coffee, the
lspirited tits at arms with her many
dancing partners had set her brain on
fire. Sleep seemed impossible as yet.
Looking out at the Rivera ia
vorite occupation of hers-the sight
of the warships looming up through
the darkness reminded her once more
that nearly all Of the men with whom
she had been dancing had been in
uniform. bringing into prominence in
the~iumble of ideas in her over-stim-
ulated brain. almost as a new discov-
cry, the fact that her country was
really engaged in war. that the men.
the very man whom h knew best,
were most of them fighting, or, soon
going to fight in a foreign land. Sud-
denly h found herself vaguely wish.
ing that there was something she
might do, something for the war,
something to help. Would it not be
splendid. she thought, TO go to France
as q req Cross nurse, 10 De over there
in the middle of things, where some
thing exciting was forever going on.
Life-the only life she knew about,
existence as the petted daughter of
well-to-dQ parents in a big city-had,
ever since the war a begun, seemed
strangely fat and uninceresting. Par
ties. to be sure were fun but hardly
any one vas giving parties this year.
The Stantons had entertained only
because their lieutenant son was 60
ing abroad soon. and they wished him
to have a pleasant memory to carry
with him. Most of the interesting
men she knew already were gone, and
now Jack Stanton was going. How
she wished she could find some way
Of getting into the war herself.
The sound Of approaching footsteps
caught her ear Wondering who was
abroad at that hour Of the night she
pushed up the window softly and
Hooked out. In the distance she saw
a mar approaching, striding briskly
toward her. AS she stood idly watch
ing him and wondering about him,
suddenly abe caught her breath. She
had sighted the other figure behind,
the man creeping stealthily after him.
Nearer and nearer they came. In
tense expectation she waited sensing
some unusual development. They
had reached her block now. Almost
directly under her window the man
Nm advance paused to light q cigar.
cite. His shadow paused. too, but
p~~ - a. - 1A vvtf4SSn ANNrA~nAvt 0n IT.