Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-09-23

room in his mind for any 'nousn'
v@ ., scarcely conscious of his new
d s,ion,, s,%, he ran across the log Jam
e..' ,hs pool and up the path to the
bs0N what he expected to find there
BE- a'p n,.b had come this way in the
tha. a. n and II not to the cabin where
nora" 1swk had been here when she
.'s, ,one into the woodland path That
hao .O ouVb As he reached the turn in
was .,h he saw that the door of the
ne s,a p,s wns open and when he rushed in'
eaO. ,rsd for anything. he saw that AT tnt !,
prepaiesos unoccupied. He stooa aghas,
room umoment, mo trying to adjust ms mlho n.
for hn nun in logically the evidence nc
to tax ehore-tSe overturned chair the
found icu.,a s". .draVging on the floor by tn
blankets hroken water pitcher. the
bed, ,Iv h,reau drawers, the torn pits OF
opened .arts of his own handkerchiets-
lnenI,Po ,Po Goor-all visible signs OF +.
upon ..;on tho perhaps of n struggle. tnat
eommoi.ion' Mace. And then under the
bad taher ssnied square Of heliotrope1
table ne He picked 1t up quickly ana
paper. % tbe light of the window. IL
took y " Vsnvelope Of the letter he had
was tne trom Anastasie Galitzin. And
received it t,h;s-? A scrawl in Beth S
shai, w" .'you left this last night. You d
asss, as,a, 40 back to Anastasie. po.o,
ener erksJorod for moment, feter
Bewad'tb =. rho forceful characters Of the
itared a. .ne written hurricdly in a
handyr,fi ~ lead pencil, and then the
erswl ssouence of events came to MN
propaOiV ,rsb She had opened the note
Ttnu.,os;s WIZ Galitzin and read II. Whot
etalsid2 said2 He had forgotten details
haa aSa y we're phrases that might nave
But mtisscconstrued. mtsc And Beth. nc
peeh , s0o her now coming up the path,
sOuil nod high. seeking explahatlohS-
and and meeting Hawk ,u ;.oo,e9 uo
.ssrched for it without success; liam
N ESs answer to all of his questions Wa was
!. tbs personality Of the man as refer
Irsw - him. The bits of torn lihen ana
, nstb,s own handkerchief, whlch ne
i,nnd in the corner of the pea agalhSt
%s vail, crumpled into BAH ana sun
s,oi,t with her tears. were mute Dui
aioonent evidences of her suffering ana
,Orture in the presence OF TINS man
Wts had not been too delicate in the
rssns % by which he had accomplished
her subjugatlon. , .ho aoor n
A.. S,Mn like Gagged animal. Mhal
me- . Se do-which way turn? Tha'
IS%t % had gagged and bound her was
.,uSn iSri"ns But what then? He rushed
oUt.ide and examined the shruoberl
around the cabin. ~.
''T There was nothing to indicate thu
alrsction in which he had taken her
s"S rho forest at his very elbow
@ Stretched for miles in all directions
hiding place that had served othei
miIty ones before Hawk-the New Jer
ssy mines that he had learned to love
nov now wrapped in q conspiracy of 81
ispce. 1t would be dusk very soon
4 search OF the pine barrens at nigh
vould be hopeless. Besides, llawk hat
had the whole of the morning and mos
G the afternoon In which to carr!
ont his purpose. - What was tina
purpose! Where had he taken Beth
Where had he left her when he hat
returned to Black Rock House to ro'
Mcguire? Or had he lmpos
tBe Even Hawk wouldn't hav
dared = Peter clenched his fists II
agony and rage at the terrible thought
that came swarming into his brain
driving out all reason.
His Highness had suffered great!
the last few years of his life, the phys
zeal pain of wounds received in battle
the mental pain of falling hopes. o
fallen pride, Of dsillusionment, but h
could not remember any pain that hat
seemed to matter like the anguish o
the present moment. The other suf
tPrings were those of the Grand Duk
Peter Nicholaevtch, material suffering
born Of his high estate. But this pres
ent suffering was primitive. 1t wrenChe
love that he had found was fine
life, love which asked nothing ant
only craved the JOY of giving. Ant
this wOman-this mate that he hat
chosen out of all the women that he
bad known in the world
Hawk Kennedy would have fareC
badly II Peter could have had hin
within arms reach at that moment
But after time, as Peter went into
tne cabin, he grew calmer, and, pacing
The hoor for while, began to think
more lucldly. Less than an hour age
Hawk Kennedy had been at Black Rocl
house giving Jonathan Mcclure ant
etryker their unpleasant half-hour. II,
wouldn't have dared to return and &C.
somplish what he had done after 4
oeed SO terrible as that which had en-
ie'ed Peter y thoughts. He was still &
human being and Beth HI
sMNuldnt have killed Beth out Of hand
Hawk. ' '''' ''A y
he had taken her sOmewhcre-to on,
VI als hiding places in the woods, ant
opposed Keeping her, the legal heir q
pen cameron, for ransom. as n par
ms plot to win his share Of tn,
SSGlire ,sS.lire fortune. He had stolen tn,
si Ji''Male a. agreement. too, and now helt
~ tne cards-all Of them.
reter paused, standing by the win,
t.IT, STM seat looking out at the Leaves
1ang '1.Oag IN the rising wind, his minC
Huy sHo"ty resolved on plan. He wa
SE"n Eu' 10 turn toward the telephone
bnSbna ne noted Commotion in tn
So"es opposite his window. A flash O
rrS.h almost at the same moment,
HE hh OF broken glass, and the hair oil
IS mead mead twitchcd violently.
floor. '''''S ie'er cropped to tn
.oC,s CiGSe shooting. His scalp stung un,
iOOsana'"f.taoly-,but iOan' aside from that h.
t1on %,S mat he was not hurt. A frac.
"VII OF an inch lower
"a nawk His first impulse had bee,
tSo 'aSh S TO the door-but the events O
Ss Oru uay had taught him caution, and s,
mncL M SLtOGHChed, drawing his revolver. Too
tbs tb'n depended upon his existence a
IN present moment to take a chanc
pscisIeiuo i%e open with hidden encmy-cs
ssSn sSaAS II that enemy were Hawk Ken.
Tcn ne listened intently. No sound
sblarttne sa tne breaking Of a twig and tn
ts%WuGSe3f tSuGe OF Whispering voices-two o
dId No. perhaps more. And still Pete
dona aTt o., move. His quick thinking ha,
the MN nih service. 1t was clear thn
shot TeG Se1 outside had decided that th
yt Innd nag taken effect. "' u"
doorwuo now, Instead Of creepinp to tb
'nuS, Iptpp