San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-10-11
Begin Here Today.

| dOpe Ranger, daughter OF LOring
Ranger, disappears, and her father
offers a NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. re-
ward for her return. Acti !; upon in
structiOns from Hopes abductors, Lor-
ing leaves hundred. thousand dollars
worth of bonds in specified place.
Juarez Charlie, adventurer, is a
warm friend of Ranger. He goes on
still hunt for Hope. He is given
a clew to act upon by n girl friend.
Hope is held prisoner in DIR. Bris-
lows private sanitarium and she
makes friends with DIR. George KEEL
sey, who is detained there because he
knows of criminal dealings of DIR. Bris-
tow. Hope and Kelsey consult as to
different means of escape. Now go
on with the story. 1929 F.,
On their arrival at he garage, they
found the touring car repaired. and
the party ready to start. Charlie
swung the Princess lightly from one
car to the other, held her hand n
moment in parting. promised to meet
them all the next Sunday at Mrs.
Greepberg's for dinner; and then
stood waving as they drove away.
With their departure, he shed his
role of the moneyed idler. Stern bust
ness demanded him now-just how
stern he did not realize until he start
ed to pay the garage keeper for the
use of the flivver, and discovered that
he had only dollar and So cents left
in his pocket.
However, he did not betray his
dilemma his training saved him. He
still had his tongue, and it had ex-
tricatcd him i'm more embarrassing
straits than this. Chilly, steadily he
talked on to the garage keeper, while
trying to decide on his next move.
He surreptitiously explored his
various pockets in the faint hope OF
finding some overlooked currency, and
his fingers came in contact with ia
miliar object. Like a magic talisman,
it restored his equanimity and cour-
age.
1t was an imitation meerschaum
pipe, and tor ather, its fellows
had for years provided Charlie with
what he called, his little graft" He
always carried with him on his jour
neys an assortment of these, retail
ing at so cents apiece, and on his
arrival in a "hick" town would set
out with one of them in his pocket
carefully wrapped up in an old silk
handkerchief. In the office of the
railroad hotel or at the main street
pool parlor, he would mark Gown his
prospective victim-sOmetimes loung-
ing patrons, sometimes the proprietor
of the place-and strike up n CONVEX
sation, mesmerizins him with his gift
of language. Then at the psychology
cal moment he would draw out his
pipe, and handling it as tenderly rs if
it were some rare treasure, would Of
fer it for inspection.
my. father put in 80 years color
ing that bowl" he would affirm, pen
sively. reminiscent, drought it with
him from the other side, and gave it
to me on his death-bed. never thought
that anything could make me part with
it, but old Hard Luck is some per-
suader, and I've made up my mind
to let it go. OF course, if | had
time to turn n deal, l could easily
get as high as four or five hundred
for n pipe like that; but these bum
lungs of mine tell me that l can't af-
ford to lose any line getting to Ari
IONA" Here hollow cough would
shake his whole frame.
so, if you,k know of anybody. friend,
that's willing TO come ecross with the
% l need to make up my fare to
Phoenix. the meerschaum's theirs"
The listener generally fell for the
bargain, and by the time the fraud
was discovered and the constable set
on his trail, Charlie would be many
miles away.
OF course. with the garage keeper
he had to vary his story, and adapt
it to his character as canvasser for
"put-it-togcthcr-yourself" furniture,
but he did it so effectively. that when
he closed the transaction, he had paid
all charges against, him and had eleven
dollars to boot.
Then rasolutely putting out of his
mind the Princess, the garage keeper,