Evening star., 1923-05-13
"Gray Ghost" Again In Action, and
His Shadow Falls on Home of Fam
lily of Great Wealth.

trating eyes, 1t was pardonable. For
he was one of the few multimillion-
aires in the country into whose life
no scandal had crept, upon whose
named no agitator heaped scornt
On each anniversary of the we'd
ding of Elias and Rachel. his wife.
the children and their children gath
cred in the great Westchester castle.
On these occasions the women wore
their more wonderful jewels. their
newest gowns. Upon the table stood
the famous gold service, presented to
old Elias twenty years ago by an In
dian potentate whose finances he had
reduced to order.
The sons and grandsons and their
wives We'd with each other In friend
ly rivalry to see which one mig hit
present to Elias and Rachel the rarest
present. And on this fiftieth anniver-
sary OF the marriage of the old couple
their descendants had outdone them
selves. Moreover. the whole world
, knew of these family gatherings.
just now, before Elias rose to speak.
hts oldest son, Elias I'd, had read the
names of the senders of more than
200 kilograms. A king and two
presidents were among them. The
sideboards were piled high with gifts
from three continents. There must
have been In this room the equivalent
of not less than million dollars in
gold and precious stones.
Elias raised his glass. II am going
to give pou a toast" he said. You
nil know to whose health I shall ask
you to drink" His smile seemed to
caress the sweet, mild features Of his
wife. But before I give that toast.
] want you to join me in thanks. AS
look over my life and see the pros
perity and happiness that has come
to me and mine. I fell that God has
been very good to me-"
TOO good" said a voice from the
door.
MOT merely the words. nor their
~ cynical connotation, caused the
gasp of amazement from the men and
the cries Of fear from the women. 1t
was the pistol in the hands of the
speaker. He stood framed in the
doorway long and lean, Tipped
and cruel-eyed. Even as Elias Sd. an
ex-aviator and football player. kicked
his chair from under him, the in
truder crossed the threshold. Behind
him came half a dozen men. each
armed and menacing.
The butler. French and excitable.
dropped a bottle of wine to the floor.
It's loud explosion galvanized into ac-
tivity the buffers four assistants.
Weller. stocky and active, leaped at
the leader; bullet caught him full in
the chest, and he went somersaulting
to the floor. Johnson. older than We'll
Ter. threw a silver tray on which were
coffee cups. The liquid damaged only
priceless tapestry. A shot from an
other Of the bandits sent Johnson to
Join Weller. Elias Sd. a yard from
one OF the bandits. went down His
fathers cry of agony was cut short
by a fourth bullet.
Before this merciless attack the
others hesitated.
Old Elias. his face ashen with grief,
not fear, faced the intruders. What
do you want?' he cried
What do you think we wantr
3eered the lean leader. "Everything
you have, old fossil"
The French butler sprang forward,
but the leader easily evaded him. The
butler went sprawling upon the floor
One of the bandits bent over and his
pistol muzzle crashed upon the but
ler's forehead. He crumpel into un-
consciousness
The leader walked to the side of
old Elias. Threatening the old man
with his weapon, he ordered the wom-
a n vi nff |, al, ri p
necklaces.
II forbid you to- cried old Elias.
Outraged pride made him give the
order.
Callously the leader struck the
host. The old man fell across the
table. The two remaining servants
were shot down without compunction
And when Elias grandsons would
have continued the unequal struggle,
their wives and mothers and their
white-faced grandmother restrained
them.
Within forty minutes after their ar
rival the bandits had departed, TAX
ing with them. in sacks the gold
plate; the jewels of the women. and
certain ornaments from the drawing
hind them lay two dead men, six bad
ly wounded men. and a dozen hyster-
ical women. All the unwounded were
tightly bound and gagged.
A similar situation obtained in the
servants hall Outside in the garage
and stable were men who struggled
vainly at their bonds or moaned from
the pain Of injuries And in the lodge
at the gates of the estate lay another
dead man, above whose body, in a
great cage. chartered Indignantly
green and yellow parrot.
X y
TT was half an hour before little
L Elias 4th wriggled free of the
ropes that secured him: ten minutes
more before he had released his
before she had cut the bonds Of the
rest; another five minutes before the
chief Of police of the nearest village
had been aroused from his early
slumbers by frantic ringing of the
telephone; another hour before he
had arrived at the sane conclusion
that he must ask help Of the New
York Detective Bureau: and nine
hours after that Jerry Tyron called
upon Jimmy Pelham and dragged
him sleepily from bed.
Wake up" cried Tryon.
go way" grumbled Pelham. "I
wouldn't get up for anyone in the
world. - Played bridge till three this
morning."
mot even for the Gray Ghost?'
asked Tryon quietly.
Pelham's sleep-foR1ed eyea cleared