Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-10-04

reputable camp in the Adiron.
dacks where he lives with his
beautiful step-daughter,
EVE STRAYER, is concerned in the
sayr.efy of the priceless Flaming
Jewel.
The Flaming Jewel was .i~st
stolen from a refugee countess OF
Esthonia by
QUINTANA, the great international
thief. He loses possession If II
and writes to his New York agent.
SARD, that it is now held by Mike
Clinch.
JAMES DARRAGH, who has sworn
TO o the jewel for tie
countess, robs Sard, takes the let
ter and goes to Clinch's cabin
where he works under the name
of
HAL SMITH. He is trailed by State
Troopers, but Eve, who Knows his
arrest will cause more trouble for
her step-father, warns him to hide
while she deceives
STATE TROOPER STORMONT.
Go on With the Story
CHAPTER w
When State Trooper Stornlont
came out on the edge of Owl Marsh,
the girl was kneeling by the water,
washing deer blood from ner slender.
sun-tanned fingers.
What are you doing here 2" she
inquired, looking up over her shoul-
der with a slight smile.
Just having a look around" he
said pleasantly. That's a nice fat
buck you have there"
Yes. he's nice"
HYou shot him ?" asked Stornont.
who else do you suppose shot
/ him 2" she inquired, smilingly. She
rinsed her fingers again and stood
up, swinging her arms to dry her
hands-a 1.-THE, gray-shirted figure in
her boyish garments. straight, sup
pie and strong.
Stormont smiled too, then became
grave.
who else was here with you:"
he asked quietly.
She seemed surprised. did you
see anybody else?"
He hesitated, flushed, pointed down
al the wet sphagnum. Smiths foot
K prints were there in damning con-
trast to her owr. Worse than that,
Smiths pipe lay on an embedded log,
and a rubber tobacco pouch beside
it.
She said with a slight catch in her
breath: TT seems that somebody has
been here. Some hunter, per-
haps-or a game warden. -"
"Or Hal Smith" said Stormont.
n A painful color swept the girls
face and throat. The man, sorry for
her. looked away.
After a silence: II know some
thing about you,'' he said gently.
@And now hat I've seen you-heard
you speak-met your eyes ! know
enough about you to form an opin-
ion. So l don't ask you to
turn informer. But the law won't
stand for what Clinch is doing
whatever provocation he has had.
And he nus not aid or abet any
criminal, or harbor any m~alefactor."
The girls features were express
sionless. The passive, sullen beauty.
-of her troubled the trooper.
Trouble for Clinch means sorrow
for you." he said. II don't want you
to be unhappy. 1 bear Clinch no Ill
will. For this reason I ask him, and
ask you too, to stand clear of this
affair.
HAL Smith is wanted. I'm here
to take him."
As she said nothing. he looked
down at the footprint N the sphags
num-. Then his eyes moved to the
next imprint to the lei Then
he moved slowly along the waters
edge, tracking the course of the man
he was following.
The girl watched him in silence
until tie plain trail led him to the
spruce thicket. i
Don't &c in there!" she said
sharply, with an odd tremor in her
voice.
- He turned and looked at her, then
Stamped camly into the thicket. And
the hext instant she was among the |
spruces, rSp, confronting him with
her rifle.
said. "
white face.
Eve" he said, sit will go hard
with You If you kill me. I don't
want you to live out your life in
prison"
II can't help it. If you send my
father to prison he'll die. ia rather
die myself. Let us alone, l tell you!
The man you're after is nothing to
US. We didn't know he had struck
up anybody"
.If he's nothing to you, why do
you point that rife at me?"
II tell you he is nothing to us.
But my father wouldn't betray a
dog And / won't. That's all. Now
get tout of these woods and come
back tomorrow. Nobody'll interfere
with you then"
Stornmont smiled: Eve" he said,
rdo you really think me as yellow
as that?"
Her blue eyes flashed a terrible
warning, but, in the same instant,
he had caught her rifle, twisting it
out of her grasp as it exploded.
The defamation dazed her; hen, as
he flung the rifle into the water, she
caught him by neck ad belt and
eung him bodily into the spruces.
But she fell with him: he held
her twisting and struggling with all
superb and supple strength:
staggered to his feet, still mastering
and, as she struggled, sobbing,
locked hot and painting in his arms,
he snapped a pair of handouts on
her wrists and flung her aside.
She fell on both knees, got up
shoulder deep in spruce, blood run
ming from her lips over her chin.
The trooper took her by h arm.
was trembling all over. he
took a thin steel chain and padiock
from his pocket. passed the links
around her steel-bound wrists, and
fastened her to a young birch tree.
Then, drawing his pistol from its
holster, be went swiftly forward
Through the spruces.
When he saw the cleft in the
rocky flank of Star Peake, he walk
ed straight to the black hole which
ccnfronted him.