Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-12-02
THE THING ON THE HEARTH
Begin Here Today

Mysterious, incredible tragedy
had been the fate of
Rodman, the world genius, whose
tremendous brain power had been
centered on the commercial man
ufacture of precious one The
scientific world was startled when
the preliminary papers of Rod
man showed that by synthetic
chemistry he was about to turn
out sheets of emerald and rubies
weighing several pounds at no
more cost than the manufacture
of ordinary window glass.
The Orient was shocked. 1t meant
tremendous destruction of wealth.
Then one day, bearing a gift worth
thousands, there came a strange
creature from the Shan Monastery
In Asia. Powerful, Intelligent
weird-this man had been delegated
by his religious order to serve the
great genius and protect him from
1vil.
Then came the tragedy. The one
man in the world needed to solve
The mystery was NJ. Jonquelle,
greatest of French detectives.
Go on with the Story
CHAPTER II
As soon as France could release
II SSuJ ululs ItOuludn
Ienius was the common property
Of the world. The American gov
eminent could not, even with the
verdict of a trial court, let Rod
mans death go by under the smoke
screen of such a weird, inscrutable
mystery.
7 was to meet Jonquelle and come
here with him. But my train into
New England was delayed and when
! arrived at the station 1 found that
Jonquelle had gone down to have a
look at Rodman's country-house,
where the thing had happened.
It was on an isolated forest ridge
OF the Berkshires, no human soul
within a dozen miles of ia COM
Portable stone house in the English
fashion. There was a big drawing
room across one end of 1t.
Rodman used this drawing-room
for a workshop. He kept it closely
suffered and locked. Not sven this
big, yellow, servile creature who
took exclusive care Of him in the
house was allowed to enter, except
under Rodman's eye. What he saw
in the final Genes of the tragedy,
he saw looking in through a crack
under the door. The earlier things
he noticed when he put logs on the
IRE at dark.
Time is hardly a measure for the
activities of the mind. These refec-
lions winged by in a scarcely per-
ceptible interval of it. They have
taken me some time to write out
here, but they crowded past while
the big Oriental was speaking-in
the pause between his words.
s'The print" he continued, twas
the first c~onfirmatory but it was
not the first i~ndicatory sign. I doubt
If the Master himself noticed the
thing at the beginning"
He paused.
"The Master was sunk in his la
Dor, and while that enveloped him,
the first advances of the lure would
have gone by unnoticed-and the
of the pressure. But the
day was at hand when the Master
was receptive. He had got his work
completed; the formulae, penciled
,ut, were on his table. I knew by
T., relaxation. OF all periods this is
he one most dangerous to the hu-
nan spirit"
He sat silent for a moment, his
Zig fingers moving on the arms of
he chair.
ST knew" he added. Then he
vent on: "But it was the one thing
against which I could not protect
i'm. The test was to be permitted"
He turned sharply toward me, the
'oIds of his face unsteady.
ssExcellency!" he cried. 81 would
rave saved the Master, I would
rave saved him with my souls dam
but it was not permitted.
On that first night in the Italians
.ent 1 said all I could"
His voice went into a higher note.
''Twice, for the Master, I have
1een checked and reduced in merit.
For that bias I was myself encircled.
| was in an agony of spirit when I
knew that the thing was beginning
10 advance, but my very will to aid
was at the time ~environed."
His voice descended.
He a motionless, as though the
bulk Of him were devitalized,
and maintained its outline only by
he inclosing frame Of the chair.
@Tt began, E~xcellency, on an
night. There is a chill in
these mountains at sunset. 1 had
put wood into the fireplace, and !