KINGS MOUNTAIN HERALD, KINGS MOUNTAIN, N. 0.
.' - A'
1 n
TheT
rey
A NorvlUeel Varaio. of Am Motioa
, rnimcmi by the
By LOUIS JOSEPH VANCE
tatWe"Ta Fmmam Hmmm."TU Bm Bmt,"Tlm Bmmt Bmj.".mm.
' Basstratea1 wiA FasHinasi Irani the fictnre rrihiliw
. Oop7rl(kt, UU, hy
svnopsis.
'The I of Hearts I
the "death-algri" em.
Cloyed by Heneca
rina In the private
'hlch. throuah the
War of venfeanca
incr or nia
daushlW Judith, a woman
looa llkU Mm own ha euM
violent paaelooa luik
-'" Alan Law, aoVn of the man (now
dead) who waa Innocently responsible for
the accident which leftt Trine a helpless
cripple for life. Alan ttovoa and la loved
Hose, Judith's twin Jand double, but In
other respects hr r,.rmntt. Judith
vows to oompaae Alan's! death, but Alan
saves
her life under nVamatlo clroum-
love Thereunnn .tuHtth
Actuated In
turn by the old hatred, the
iw lov, and
jealousy of her sister. Rose;
alienated from her father
baaomei
rousrh her
i"? t0 ""Z out his horn
cldal plana,
"u cause or tne aid she
Alan In his flight with Rose
extended
m tha van-
ownue or -iTns through
V western Artsona.
mountaina
CHAPTER
Camp-for-thle-Nlght
; VfU. gents!" tbAi driver observed
" X,--Ithdi)Awlng bead and
and intimate com
as Jfln the stubborn genius be
w05,, hood. "I reckon yon-all
F 1 make tip yore mlnda to
'cutthls hyeh salubrious spot
-inds Xr-the-Nlght. You won't Be
CjK' no fartheh not Just 't present
"Pulling this old wagon through them
. desert sands back ybndeh baa Just
naturally broke' the heart of that en
gine!" "What, precisely. Is the trouble?"
,- Alan Law Inquired, rousing from anx
. lous preoccupation.
"Plumb bust' all to hell," the chauf
feur explained tersely.
"Nothing could be fairer, more ex
act and comprehensive than that,"
Tom Barcus commented.
Law nodded a head too weary to
respond to the other's humor. His
worried eyes reviewed the scene of
the breakdown.
"What's to be done?" Mr, Law won
dered aloud.
"Take it calm," the affable chauffeur
' advised. "Frettln' won't get you-all
nothln'.- If it was me, I'd call It a
day, make a fire, get them cushions
out of the cyah, and get some rest.
Tou can't do nothln' till I get back,
' anyway, and that won't be much be
fore sunup."
1 "Where are you going?" Barcus de
: man dud. . . . " , .
'Walklh', friend; Just walkln' "
; "What fort"
"To fetch help leastwaya, onless
yo've got some kick comln' and 'ud
ruther stop hyeh permanent' "
He turned oft and busied himself
with preparations against his Journey.
"It's simply things like this make
me believe this Isn't, after all, notb
. lng more nor less than a long-drawn-out
nightmare," Barcus observed pen
sively. But Mr. Law was no more attend
ing: be had turned away and waa Just
" then standing by the running-board of
. No Doubt Which Cam First In Hla
. ty.i E,tw,m-
the moto!.car and civilly explaining
to Miss Judith Trine the purpose of
the chauffeur's expedition.
Judith :, herself poised on the
running-board and smiling down at
hci victim with a warmth patently
.it more than the warmth of friend-
e la: and at some little distance. Rosei
fiancee and Judith lister,
, out with Jealousy of
: Intimacy between her
lover! . 1
, .my Mend!" Barcus
i mentally apostrophised the unwitting
: Alan Law.
- He tempted himself to ndd know
ingly and with profound conviction:
"I knew It. Now it begins again!"
1 ; - For Rose had abruptly taken a hand
. fn the affair, a gesture of exasperation
prefacing her call: : "Alan!" v -To
her Mr. Law turned Instantly,
with such . alacrity that none who
waU-hed might doubt which of the two
Womeit came first in bis eatflflm.,
:r v ' ' wap i ntion the under
8
trji
AH 1 1 Ii
Vs lit
" d' ' . . . .'
. -' ' ' ' ' . -
v. "V j
-'' I
"" ? u I v'- -
0' Hearts
Plata Dm of
Umml Film Cm.
bU Jeeepk Vl
standing of Judith. Eyeing her nar
rowly though furtively, Mr. Barcus
saw her handsome face darken omin
ously.
And her father waa as quick to
recognize these portents of trouble
and to seek to advantage himself of
them.
His head craned out horribly on his
long, wasted neck as he pitched a
sibilant whisper for her ears, and his
face in the moonlight seemed to glow
with the reflection of that inferno
which smoldered In his evil
bosom. . . ' ;,
But one was silenced, the other
Quenched, all In a twinkling. His
daughter turned on him In a flash pf
Imperial rage.
Barcus caught snatches of the wom
an's tirade.
"Be silent!" he heard her say. "Be
silent, do you hear? Don't ever speak
to me again unless you want me to re
place that gag. I say, don't speak to
me! . . . I am finished with you
once and for all time; never again
shall you pervert my nature to your
damnable purposes never again shall
word or wish of yours drive me to
lift my hand against a man who has
never done you the least harm, though
your persecution of bim would have
acquitted him of a charge Of man
slaughter In any court on grounds of
self-defense!-. . . Understand me!"
she raged. "I'm through. Henceforth
I go my way, and you yours . . ."
Her voice broke. She clenched ber
hands Into two tight lists with the
effort at self-control, and lifted a
wrlthen face to the moonlight.
"God help us both!" she cried.
CHAPTER XLIV.
As In a Glass, Darkly.
Thoughtfully Mr. Barcus returned
his attention to the lovers.
If the evidence of his senses did not
mislead him, he was witnessing their
first difference of opinion. It was not
an argument acute enough to deserve
the name of quarrel; but undoubtedly
the two were at ojjds upon some ques
tionRose Insistent, Alan reluctant.
The last gave way In the end,
shrugged, returned to the car.
"I'm going back np the trail," he
announced, and hesitated oddly.
"Feeling the need of some little ex
ercise, no doubt," Barcus suggested.
"Rose thinks it's dangerous to stop
here," Alan began to explain, Ignoring
the Interruption. . .
"Miss Rose Is right eh. Miss Ju
dith f" Barcus interpolated.
Judith nodded darkly.
. "So I'm going to sea If I can't buy
burros from the prospector back there.
Rose says he has some doesn't know
how many "
"Three will be enough," Judith Inter
posed. "I mean, don't get one for me.
I'm stopping here."
"But" Alan started to protest
She gave him pause with a weary
gesture.
"Please! It's no good arguing, Mr.
Law: I've made up my mind; I can be
most helpful here, by my father's
side," she asserted, and nodded at
Trine with a significant smile that
maddened him, "He needs me and
no harm can come to me; I'm pretty
well able to take care of myself!"
This, then, must have been the nub
of the lovers' quarrel: Rose's Insist
ence that Judith be left behind, Alan's
reluctance to consent to this lest he
convict himself of the charge of rank
Ingratitude, remembering the great
service his erstwhile antagonist had
done bim. '
It only Judith might not find cause
to change her mind!
He set himself sedulously to divert
Judith with the magic of his conversa
tional powers an offering Indifferent
ly received. He was still blithely
gossiping when Judith flung away to
her alster's side. ?
- The ensuing quarrel seemed but the
more portentoo in view of the re
straint Imposed upon themselves by
both parties thereto.
He believed, however, that a crisis
Impended when the tinkle of mule
bells sounded down the canyon road;
and at this be threw discretion to the
winds and ran toward the two with
hands upheld in mock horror and a
manner of humorous protest
; 'Ladles, ladles!" he pleaded. T
beg of yon both, let doga delight to
bark and bite " .---v
, He got no farther: Judith's ears
were aa quick. aa his own; 'she, too,
had caught the sound of bells behind
the base of the hill. And of a sudden,
without another wor aha turned and
flung away into the Leavy thickets- of
undergrowth that marked all the can
yon, to either side ot the wagon-trail.
In a twinkling ahe bad lost herself to
view in their labyrlnihlne shadows.
The remainder of tkt business was
trwnaa - Mmywij buuusu, Aueroa
were no . preparation t be mad
once Alan had ridded tip with Ms I
three burros, nothing umalned but,' to I
mount and make off without delay
Before morning they were all rid
ing Ilka so many hypnotized subjects.
fatlgue bearing so heavtl ca all their en alone knows; LjJy , hla men
senses that none spoke or r ued to , tal vision comprehended the bare pos-'
epo-a t ' ' 4 .; siblllti of his being able, with his fast-
A '
' Broad daylight surprised them In
this stats, still stubbornly traveling;
and shortly afterward showed them
one place so perilous that it shocked
them temporarily awake.
This was simply a spot where the
trail came abruptly to aa end on one
side of a cleft In the hills qnite thirty
feet TWide and several hundred in
depth, and was continued on the far
ther side, the chasm being spanned by
a bridge of the simplest character
no . more than a footway of boards
bound- together with ropes none too
substantial In seeming, with another
rope, breast-high, to serve as a hand
rail. ,-
Alan tested the' bridge cautiously.
It bore him. He returned, helped Rose
to cross, and with ber once safely
landed on the other side, took his lite
In his hands and, aided by a Barcus
unaffectedly afflicted with qualms,
somehow or other (neither of them
knew precisely' how.) persuaded the
burros to cross.
After that, though the way grew
more broad and easy and even showed
symptoms of a decline, they had not
enough strength left to sustain
through another ha r.
And what they nought good for
tune, opportunely a. this pass, brought
them to a clearing dotted with the
buildings ot an abandoned copper
mine. Wot a soul waa In evidence
there, but the rude structures offered
shelter for beast as well as man.
Barely had they made Rose as com
fortable aa might be upon the rough
plank flooring of one of the sheds
and tethered the burros out of sight,
when Alan collapsed as If drugged,
while Barcus, who had elected himself
to keep the first watch and purposed
a. "X m
Gnashing Hla Teeth
doing It In a sitting position, with
his back against the door-Jamb, felt
sleep overcoming him like a dense,
dark cloud.
CHAPTER XLV.
The Bowels of the Earth.
Awaking ' befell Mr. Barcus In' a
fashion sufficiently sharp and startling
to render him indifferent to the benefi
cial effects of some eight hours of
dreamless alumber. r -
We discovered himself lying flat on
his face, with somebody's inconsider
ate, heavy hand purposely grinding the
said taoe Into the aged and splintery
planks of the shed flooring. At the
same time other hands were busy
binding his own together by the
wrists and lashing the same to the
small of his back by meant of a cord
passed around his middle, while his
natural If somewhat spasmodlo efforts
to kick were sadly hampered by the
tact that hie ankles had already been
secured by means of half a dozen half
hitches and a square knot
His hands attended to, his ead was
released. Promptly he lifted It and
essayed to yell; an effort rendered
abortive by the gag thai waa thrust
between his teeth the! Instant hll
jaws opened.
Then he heard
mirthless chuckle.
: Now the blood
ugh, a cold.
Thomas Barcus
ran cold (or he
it did; which
same thing).
amounts to much,
For it his senses
played fair, the
laugh he had
was the laugh ot
Mr, Marrophat,
ead-devll in the erv-
Ice of Seneca
rlne. .;'
He twisted his head to one side
and glancing, along the floor, saw noth
ing but the, wall. - Twisted the other
way, at the cost of a splinter In his
nose, the effort was repaid by the dis
covery of Rose. Trine in a plight like
his- 'tr'Jt wrists and ankles bound,
gagged into the bargain the width of
the Bhed between them. .
,v But of Alan Law, no sign. v
;'The heart of Mr. Barcus checked
nomentamy; ne snut nis eyes and
vhlvArAd in an uncontrollahlA eofTiirA
of dread. " --v-vs
. Then, tormented beyond endurance
by the fears he suffered for the safety
of his friend, he began to wriggle and
squirm like a crippled snake, , pain
fully Inching his way across the floor
toward Roeet with what design, heav-
otfl
thoatfeht
iihe
berd
n
numbing fingers, to work loose the
knots at Rose's wrists;- but deep In
hla heart he knew this to be nothing
but forlornest hope., . ,. ,., ; ...
With Infinite pains he had con
trived to bridge the distance by halt,
or possibly not quite so much, whea
a dark body put the sunlight of the
open doorway Into temporary eclipse.
Another followed It Boots clumped
heavily on the flooring. The laugh
sounded again, apparently In Ironic ap
preciation ot Mr. Barcus' efforts. Two
pairs of hands seised him, one be
neath the shoulders, the other be
neath the knees, and he was lugged
laboriously out Into the sunlight, car
ried a considerable distance, and de
posited unceremoniously within a few
feet of the mouth of the abandoned
mine Just at the moment when he had
satisfied himself that the purpose
ot his captors was simply to throw
bim into the black well. .
He wasted a look of appeal on the
frozen mask of villainy that waa Mar
rophat's (who bore the burden of Bar
cus' head and shoulders) apd got
laughed at for ajl his pains.
Then he was left to himself once
more, but only for a few momenta;
the Interval ended whan the two ap
peared again, thta time bringing Rose
In similar fashion.
Not until she had been put down be
side him did he discover that Alan
was likewise a captive trussed to a
tree at some distance.
The remaining arrangements of
their captors were swiftly and deftly
consummated, though their design re
mained obscure to Mr. Barcus until
he, after Rose, was dumped like a bale
Into a huge bucket and therein by
means of rope and windlass lowered
J J
OS?,- '1
In Impotent Rage.
to the bottom of the shaft a descent,
he estimated shrewdly, of something
like a hundred feet
A hideous screeching followed, the
protests ot rusty and greaseless ma
chinery. Twisting his neck, Barcus
saw the dim opening of the shaft
slowly closing, aa It a curtain were
being drawn down over It. Jimmy
was closing the bulkhead door, leav
ing them definitely prisoners, beyond
human aid, there In that everlasting
black hole. . . .
With a final squeal and thump the
bulkhead settled Into place. A con
fusion of remote sounds thereafter In
dicated that Jimmy (with, perhaps,
Marrophat's assistance) was making
the bulkhead fast beyond question
wedging and blocking It with timbers.
These ceased and the silence was
broken by Alan's voice.
"Barcus!"i . - '
The latter grunted soultully by way
of answer: he could do no more.
"I've worked my gag loose," Alan
pursued In a hurried whisper, "but my
hands are tied behind my back. Are
youraf Grunt once for 'yes'."
- Dutifully Bracus grunted a solitary
grunt ' ;. ; 1 - ; .'. '
"Then roll over on your face and
give me a chance to work them free
that way, given time , . . ,"
"Time!" was the mirthless thought
of Barcus. "Havent we got all ator
nlty?" For all that be wasted no time
whatever In obeying Alan's suggestion
then lay for upward ot tea minutes
with his face In the mold of the tunnel
while " Alan chewed and spat and
chewed and spat and chewed again at
the ropes round the wrists of his
friend..'';:: -
- It It were In truth no more than ten
minutes it seemed upward of an hour
before the bonds' grew slack and 'Bar
cus with an effort that cost him much
ot the , skin on one wrist worried a
hand free, then loosed the other, re
moved and spat out bis gag, and aet
hastily about freeing his friend. That
took but a few Instants little more
than was needed to rid Rose ot her
bonds. ,; . . ". ., v..
That much accomplished, a pause
of profound consternation followed.
The darkness was absolute in the tun
nel, Jimmy having taken the candle
away with him; and its silence waa
rendered uncanny by the sobs and mur
murs ot the lovers, that sounded some
how fearfully remote and Inhuman to
Barcus who had turned immediately
to the bulkhead and was, without the
slightest hope, groping about Its Joints
fcecSl
and crevices m search of som war
of forcing It . .
"Barcus old waa !" .
"Yes?". . ,
"Hav you any Idea t
"Devil a one!" '
A pause , . .
"Did' you notice what that black
guard had fixed up?"
"What do you meanF
. "Why at the bottom ot the shaft
I got only glimpse coming In the
door of tha powder room was open,
and I saw a fuse set to tha top of a
keg of blasting powder ..."
"What's the good ot that? War
fast enough aa It Is!"
"Simply to make assurance doubly
sure by causing a cave-In, . . ."
"I seem to remember hearing or
reading, some place, that tunnels have
two ends. If that's true, the far end
ot this ought to be about the safest
place when that explosion happens
If It ever does."
"Something in that!" '
"Got any matches?" Barcus In
quired, aa Alan hurriedly helped Rose
to her feet.
"Never one."
"Nor I. We'll have to feel our way
along. Let me lead. If I step over the
brink of a pit or anything, I'll try to
yell and warn you In time."
Alan caught his friend's hand In
passing and pressed It warmly a ca
ress eloquent of his gratitude to Bar
cus for taking their peril lightly, or
pretending to, tor the sake of Rose.
A ticklish business, that groping
their way through blackness so
opaque that It seemed as palpable aa
a pool of ink. And haste waa Indi
cated; they stumbled on with what
caution was possible against pitfalls
a gingerly scramble. Then an elbow
In the tunnel sensed rather than felt
or seen cut them off from direct
communication with the bulkhead,
and at the same time opened up a
shaft of daylight, striking down
through that pitchy darkness like a
column of fine gold.
Cries of Joy, amazement, Incredulity
choking In their throats, they stum
bled forward, gained the spot Immedi
ately below the shaft, looked upward,
dazzled, to see blue sky like a coin of
heaven's minting far above them, at
the end of a long and almost perpendi
cular tunnel, wide enough to permit
the passage of a man's body, and lined
with wooden ladders.
The end of the lowermost ladder
hung within easy reach from the floor
of the tunnel.
But even as Alan lifted his hands to
grasp the bottom rung the opening at
the top ot the shaft was temporarily
obscured.
Thrilled with apprehension, he hesi
tated: Marrophat was up there, he lit
tle doubted; hardly like that one to
overlook the ladder-shaft In preparing
the tunnel to be a living tomb.
"What la It?" Rose demanded at his
elbow. In a shaken whisper.
"Nothing," he lied instantly, and
seizing the bottom rung, swung him
self up. "But wait for me till I signal
the coast's clear," he warned before
committing himself Anally to the as
cent Marrophat or no Marrophat at the
top, there was nothing for him to do
but to grasp the nettle danger with a
steady hand, unflinching. Even though
he were shot dead on emerging from
the shaft It were better than to die
down there, like a rat In a trap. . '.
He had climbed not more than halt
a dozen rungs when a voice hailed
from above:
"Law Oh, Mister Law. I say don't
come up here's a present for you."
Pausing without answer, he looked
up. A few drops of Water splattered
his face, like heavy rain. Almost Im
mediately the blue aky waa per
manently eclipsed: a heavy cascade of
water, almost a solid column, shot
down the shaft with terriflo force. '
Half-drowned and wholly dazed, he
felt himself picked up and dragged
away from the waterfall.
Then, as his senses cleared, he com
prehended the fact that the' tunnel
was already filling; that where they
stood It was already ankle deep; while
the water continued to fall without
hint of letup.
CHAPTER XLVI.
Flood and Fire.
Screaming to make himself heard
above the roar of the deluge, Barcus
yammered In Alan's ear:
'That devil! He's found the reser
voir opened the sluicegates turned
It Into that shaft! We're done for!"
Alan had no argument with which to
gainsay him. . Silently getting on hla
feet silently he groped for Rose In the
darkness, momentarily becoming more
dense as the fall of water ahut out
the light and drew her away with him,
up the slight incline that led back to
the bulkhead. . . .
TKe water, mounted rapidly. With
in life minutes It drove them back to
the elbow in the tunnel; within ten It
lapped their ankles aa they lingered
there, doubting which waa the greater
peril, to advance or to stand fast and
let the flooding tide snuff out the fires
of life. To return to the neighbor
hood of the bulkhead was to court the
death indicated by the fuse and the
keg "of blasting powder . . -. ' '
Of a sudden the thought crossed
Alan's mind that Marrophat had ar
ranged the latter solely to keep them
away from the bulkhead. Now that he
thought of it he felt certain that the
powder room had been deliberately
disclosed to him by Jimmy.-;
Probably, then, the keg and fuse
were but stage properties or pos
sibly . . . - ..:"! i
Whether or no., waa death tn One
form preferable to the other? .
He was decidedly of the opinion
that It were better to he extinguished
once and for aft lime, In the Vvoat) o4
a second, annihilated by an explosion,
than to die thus Ungerlngly.
On this consideration, he drew Rosa
with him back, to the bulkhead.
"When they had been some fifteen
minutes beside the bulkhead, the wa
ter mounted the head of a slight lis
perhaps ten feet behind them, and
poured down In ever deeper volume
to back up against the barrier.
It waa waist deep, however, before)
they retreated to the head f that
rise.
In fifteen minutes more It haal
reached their chins. And they stoo
with head against tha roof of the tuay
nel.
Holding Rose close to bim, Alaa
kissed her Hps, that were as cold as
death.
Then, tumbling under water, he
found the hand of the man at his side.
The water lapped his lips like
blind hand ...
In the tunnel that branched off from
the main shaft, beyond the bulkhead,
some thirty minutes before this Junc
ture, a candle had guttered In its stick.
I in-.
Hi- v
a
Alan Negotiates for the Burros.
left carelessly thrust Into the wall by
Marrophat's lieutenant, and guttering,
had dropped a flaming wick Into a lit
tle heap of bone-dry debris. This last
flamed, licked hungrily at the timber
lng that upheld the falls of the tunneL
The Umbering caught fire without de
lay. In a space of time Incredibly
brief the flames were spreading right
and left, the tunnel was a vault of
blistering fury. -
As Alan said his last mute farewell
to Rose and Barcus, the fire spread
out In the bottom of the shaft a4f, in
vaded the powder room.
Alan had guessed aright at Murro
phat's design; the keg of blasting pow
der was less than an eighth full; lta
explosion could not possibly have eft
fected the cave-In Alan had at Oral
feared.
But what Marrophat had overlooked
was the proximity to the keg of soma
several sticks of dynamite, masked by
a film ot earth that had fallen front
the crumbling walls.
When the blazing fuse dropped
sparks Into the blasting powder this
last exploded right willingly and the)
dynamite took lta cue without tht)
leaat delay.
The resultant detonation waa test
rifle. The bulkhead waa crushed la)
like an eggshell barrier. Part of the
walls fell In, but the tunnels and shaft;
remained Intact- Tbe released flood
streamed out and spread swiftly to thai
farthest recesses of the burning tun
nel. Dense clouds ot steam filled that
place of terror as the fires were extin
guished. Swept with the stream as It poured
out of the tunnefe Alan contrived
throughout to retain his hold round)
the waist of Rose. Barcus shot past
him unseen In the darkness. It was)
not until Alan had. contrived to catch,
an unburned timber and stay hlmeelf
and bis almost witless burden beneath)
the mouth of the shaft that he discov
ered Barcus alive, If almost unrecog
nlzable In his mask of mold and soot,
battling back toward the shaft against
the kneedeep tide.
Half-blinded and stifled as he was by
the reek of steam and powder fumes,
Alan struggled with himself until his)
wits Vere passably clear.
Immediately before htm dangled tha
hoisting bucket and rope. ,
Surrendering the care of Rose tc
Barcus, Alan climbed Into the bucket
and stared upward, examining the
walla ot the shaft for a way to th -top."
'' - ''
There was none other than the most;
difficult; gapa too great to be bridged
by climbing showed in the wooden
laddera.
, The one feasible route was via tha
rope. And there was nobody at the
top to work the windlass and Alan,
hoped there would be nobody to op
pose his essay. - ' ' :" "
He addressed himself to tbe taasf .
without murmuring lifted himself up
on the rope, wound It round one leg
and began that heartbreaking climb.
How he accomplished It he never"
knew. That It must be accomplished
was, his one, all-absorbing thought
And somehow, by some almost super- '
human effort, it was eventually accom
plished. r . 'v '
He arrived at the top of the abaft
far too ' exhausted to show surprise
when, falling In half-fainting condi
tion within two feet of the brink, h
saw Judith Trine running like mad '
across the clearing. . . ".-
'But without her aid he would not
within hours have been able to work
tha windlass and lift Rose and Bar '
cus to the surface.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)