East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1922-05-08
"Lhe Sign Of the Trident
hsaped BY Herbert Crooker from the Pahe phot9siaJ
ssrioi White Eagle starring Ruth Roland
Original story by Val Cleveland
Copyright by Pathe Exchange, Inc
Copyright by Pathe Exchange, Inc.


cisco society, gave gasp " -,
as She bent over the hand OF young
woman who sat opposite her OhIi
a single light threw its ray dowiw1lN
upon the two as they sat III the Oh
zarre studio. The palmst se@rShSu
the face OF the girl and again osht
over her palm as If TO assure he;Seli
that her eyes did not deceive her-
"One moment, please" she said 70
the giri, and rising 70 her ieet shs
disappeared between The black viewer
curtains at one end OF the huge room
Curiosity had prompted Ruth Kan
dolph TO visit the celebrated interpIe-
ter o. 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 typ.cal modern
American girl. l..r beauty and WIT
had made her one OF the most popular
Young women in the art school, and
her skill as a clay modeller had earned
her an enviable reputation IN San
Francisco art circles. Ruth's prefer
ence in her modelling was for Indian
subjects, preference perhaps not ac-
cidental as she had vague memories
Of childhood days--days vixen she and
her father had been wanderers Oh 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 tnd tattoo mark trident
like this Ga design was sketched
| here)-on the lett palm OF
| woman, ask her TO return III two
days and then telegraph US. You
will receive $1,000 reward.
P. o. Box No. IL,
| San Mario, Calf.
Madame Piper re-read the note care
| fully and then pla-ed it back 1T the
| desk. She was not averse to intrigue,
such as this appeared to be. Indeed,
this was not the first time that some
fhing of tins sort had come to her
attention. Closing the desk. she drew
the curtains aside and in another mc'
nent had taken her seat opposite Ruth.
| Taking the girls hands in hers Size
! bent over it carefully and studied it.
! "Beware the trident, it is an i'll
omen" she finally said, indicating a
small figure resembling three
,ronged spear.
Il never knew the meaning of it,
| the girl smiled.
Its a tattoo. Return Thursday
evening and III try to tell you inore
about it," came the slow answer. "ano
please leave your name with Abdul"
she added. indicating the tall Hindu
who was stationed in lhe reception
| room.
On Thursday evening at about eight
| o'clock there was ring at the door
of Madame Piper's. Abdul answered
| and admitted a sinking figure who de-
| sired to see the seeress. In moment
he was ushered before her.
\ Il have come" he grinned. The
tridentl"
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 almost to his shoulders. The
high cheek bones told her that he
| was an Indian. Silently she motioned
4 for him to step into the room back
of the studio. Had an intruder step
4 ped in, he would have seen a consider
alb : sum of money change hands, and
directly afterwards he would have seen
Crouching Mole, for that was the name
OF the visitor about to assume the
robes of Hindu.
"A ring at the bell caused the two
consprators to start Abdul entered
and announced Miss Randolph. In
another moment she was brought be,
tore Madame Piper and professor
Tagor, a Hindu palmist." 1t was the
professors" intentions to satisfy him
self as to the trident.
He nodded to the seeress and left
the room hurriedly.
"I am sorry" Madame Piper apollo
! gized to Ruth, 'but the professor 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 desirous of satisfying
her curiosity. Abdul swung open the
larger outer door for the girl and she
| startled 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
tinguish.
&c happened that young rancher
.:com San Mario, Phil Stanton by
name, was Just about leaving the Hotel
Caledonia in search OF adventure. 1t
was his first visit to San Francisco in
come 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 short sprint he
leaped for the running board and in
cnother moment crashed through the
rlass OF the door. One of the girls
assailants leaped from the car. but the
other one bounded out from the i'm
pact OF Young Stanton's fist. The
| chauffeur also leaped from the car,
and Phil swung himself to the front
seat. stopping it as it was about 10
climb the curb.
"To whom do l owe this wonderful
rescue?" asked the girl as soon as she
had recovered.
"I'm Phillip Stanton-from San
Mario" he grinned.
/ Again let me thank you," smiled
the girl. !,