The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-02-09
CHAPTER /

CISCO society, gave a. gasp VI suI-
prise as she bent over the hand OF
a young woman who sat opposite
her. Only a single light threw its
ray downward upon the two as
they sat in the bizarre studio. The
palmist searched the face OF the
girl and again bent over her palm
as IL to assure herself that her
eyes did not deceive her.
"One moment, please" she said
to the girl, and rising to her feet
she disappeared between the black
velvet curtains at one end OF the
huge room
Curiosity had prompted Ruth
Randolph to visit the celebrated in
terpreter of destiny. All her friends
in the art school had spoken OF
the woman, and although Ruth had
: laughed at them and chided them,
her curiosity got the better of her.
and she too decided to visit the
seeress.
Ruth, Randolph was a typical
modern American girl Her beauty
and wit had made her one OF the
most popular young women in the
art school, and her skill as clay
modeller had earned her an envia-
BILE reputation in San Francisco
art circles Ruth's preference in
her modelling was for Indian sub
jects, a preference perhaps not &C
cidental, as she had vague MEM
cries of childhood days-days when
she and her father had been wan
derers on the plains and among the
canyons.
In the adjoining room Madame
Piper had pulled small envelope
from a drawer in her desk and was
reading the contents.
Dear Madame: If you find tattoo
mark trident like this Ga design
was sketched here on the left palm
of a young woman, ask her to re-
turn in two days and then tele-
graph US. You will receive $1,000
reward. p. o. Box No. II,
San Mario, Calf
Madame Piper reread the note
carefully and then placed it back
in the desk. She was not averse to
intrigue. such as this appeared to
be. Indeed, this was not the first
time that something of this sort
Ildu COllc " hCl dlLChIiOh. Niochh 3
the desk, she drew the curtains
aside and in another moment had
taken her seat opposite Ruth. TAX
ing the girls hand in hers she bent
over it carefully and studied it.
Beware the trident. it is an i'll
omen" she finally said. indicating
a small figure resembling a three
pronged spear.
81 never knew the meaning of it, -
the girl smiled.
TITS a tattoo. Return Thursday
evening and I'll try to tell you more
about it," came the slow answer
land please leave your name with
Abdul" she added. indicating the
tall Hindu who was stationed in
the reception room.
On Thursday evening at about
O'Clock there was ring at the door
of Madame Piper's. Abdul answer
ed and admitted a sinking figure
who desired to see the seeress. In
moment he was ushered before
her
Il have come" he grinned. THE
trident"
Madame Piper gazed at the man
who stood before her. Under the
one light she could see his sharp
features to advantage. He was
dressed in dark clothes. A felt hat
was on his head, covering his
coarse black hair which hung al
most to his shoulders. The high
cheek bones told that he was an In
dian. Silently she motioned for
him to step into the room back of
the studio. Had an intruder step
ped in he would have seen a con-
siderable sum of money change
hands. and directly afterwards he
would have seen Crouching Mole,
for that was the name of the Wis
itor about to assume the robes of
a Hindu
A ring at the bell caused the
two conspiratorS to start Abdul
entered and announced Miss Ran
dolph. In another moment she
was brought before Madame Piper
and Professor Tagor, a Hindu
palmist." 1t was the professors
Intentions to satisfy himself as to
the trident
He nodded to the seeress and left
the room hurriedly.
Il am sorry" Madame Piper
apologized to Ruth, but the pro-
lessor has failed. | fear we can
tell you nothing about the trident"
Ruth laughingly told the older
woman that it did not matter-she
had only been desirious of satisfy
ing her curiosity. Abdul swung
open the larger outer door for the
girl and she started down the stone
steps toward her automobile After
directing the chauffeur to take her
home, she opened the rear door and
stepped inside. The car suddenly
jerked and started swiftly down
the street, throwing her into the
back seat where she found herself
in the viSe-like grip of two men
whose features she could not dis
tingush
1t happened that a young rancher
from San Mario, Phil Stanton by
name. was just about leaving the
Hotel Caledonia in search of adj
venture. 1t was his first visit to
San Francisco in some months and
he decided to make the most of it,
As he reached the corner he heard.
woman scream, then a motorcar
shot by him. almost knocking him
from the curb. Phil came to his
senses quickly and dashed across
the square. hoping to cut off the
distance between himself and the
machine After a short sprint he
leaped for the running board and
in another moment crashed