?/ Edison Marshall
^MlusiraL^is bq P4UlFfiEwt\^^/<,
V
WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE
pr i iK- out fishing with Alexander
p . - ? iolftive. tells of his projected trip
|o - Do*n*. Pterce adviaett him to
r - <>es wide open while there. On the
WJl> :n a train Dr. Lent ia attracted ?.>? a
girl ? no later faints. Dr. Lone treats her.
an! Into her bag. la astounded to
j|f revolver.
me meets Ahmad T1"*, an Oriental.
* riducts him to Southley Downs. ,
wh<r- meets Mr. Southley and his son
Errv-T >? -uthley. Mr. Huywosd and ris hod
ViUa >nd 'hen Joserhine Southley. who la
th? girl he had met on the train. Josephine
IriJx him the story of Southley Downs and
ita Gheat. which is not the ghost of a hu
man beir.g but a tiger.
Pr. l.'-nu ha* a quarrel with Vilas Hay
war.i over Josephine, and finds that the Hay
warda have a strange authority over the
Southley a. Me is ordered to leave Southley
pcintif The rain prevents him leaving ar
?*><?-. Pr. Lone and Ernest ki? out on the
road m the rain looking for the tracks of a
? i*. tii. ? Ernest says are there.
They find me tracks. uttr Bracat and
in i ? k- ^ee a prowling creature in the
ti.ii; - f Southley Downs. This fr'.tchtens the
eM?T H.j ward, who also see? it. Ernest
begin* J" feel that Ahmed Das Is perpetrat
inK some deviltry.
Ti. ? %r Hsyward is later found dead,
hi* n- > k broken as If by a plant's blow.
Tl:. oroner and police arrive in order to
In vat Ik" ite.
jt#- ,u?- of the murder. Dr. Long trust
remain at Southley Downs. All the persona
ther?* ?* quest loned by Inspector Freeman.
1" l.onn l?'<-ome? jealous of the love he
be! ' To exist l*etwcen Vilas Hayward and
i : *i- During the course of Investiga
t i"r ? the crime Dr. Long l**comes suspi
cion* ? ' ?? man named Robin. He determines
t,? * itch him
Ale\-<ndor Pierce and Inapector Freeman
d'? .*? ? ti '?"??. r,*\ T.omit fe??<? that hi*
vis t at Southley Downs Id comlnr to an
I ? k.v. Ie.it in-* the l>al>itat of th.
sir I ? r whom h?- feela he has a hopeless love
I ine .-*outh1ey l?egins to show sotni '
th toward Dr. I.onK during the course
investigations of the murder. an tre
Mr " l?r. Long meets Vilas Hayward
? , > ? ' .? (Cental. *bmad Das. who
ia h.!!'->l**<'ured 'n the dim light
. . iN WITH THE STORY ?
There was an effect of silence,!
too. possibly induced by the accen-j
tuaiion of the faint sounds that werej
present. It seemed to me that I
could hear distinctly the rustle and!
whisper of portieres dragged on the
floor by the wind. A window shade
wavered with the faintest stir of
sound. Then there were the hush-:
ed. manifold sounds of the night
that came hushed and strange i
through the noises ? noises so ob-j
seure that the ears had to strain to
perceive them.
\ilas*s face was lighted by the
nearest candle. I could really sec it
nioie plainly than any other detail
in the room. The fact fascinated
me at first. All other things were
dim and blurred and unreal; but it
was sharp and clear. And even this!
early in the drama it had a quality I
that was 'disturbing to the spirit. Hei
had ttdured much these last three
da\
"Good God! Where is every
?>in : he exploded a last. "Ahmad !j
Ahmad Das!"
The servant arose and came near
him. half obscured in the shadows, j
li? -inod straight and tall.
sahib ? "
>ierc is everybody? Southley)
and ' i- son ought to l?e back 1?\ |
H hat direction have they <
goi ne? ^ |
"I d?? not know, sahib. They told
me they were going toward the cot
tages of the laborers. But they did
not turn that way after they had
gone out the door."
"And Miss Southlev? She was to
join me here."
"She has gone too. I don't know
where. The detectives are spending
the dav across the marsh ? on the
height."
"But it's time they were back by
now. Good Lord, what did they go
there for, when the trouble is here?
Here, I tell you, and you know it,
Inn Alimafl Yd! knC.V it tuO ucV
ilish well."
"I do not know what, the sahib
means."
"Damn your black face."
Then Vilas tried to tegain his
I self-control. We saw him struggling,
i The fight was inscribed on his face.
And it was a hard fight, too ? a los
ing fight. For a long moment he
was quiet, and Ahmad Das resumed i
ibis furniture dusting. Ho bent low-!
er and lower, and once more he was
on his knees.
Ami now I didn't look at \ ilas.
My eyes were frozen upon Ahmad
Das. His position, as far as exter
nals were concerned, was one that
every housekeeper pets in nian\
times a day. But there was some
thing different about his. There
was a luxury, a passion, in the way
he spread his long body on the
floor. I can't describe it except t?>
say it was as if lie fcii a rapture in
it. \or was he calm any more.:
! There was a strange nervousness
upon him. like an intense eagerness, j
and his lips were drawn, ever so]
slightlv. He crawled about so slow-;
I\. his bod\ so elose t?> the floor.
Then Vilas spoke again in the si- j
lence ? the won'- sharp ami clear.
M\ eyes flashed to him. He wa
Jeaning forward in hi- chair. e\<*r\.
muscle set. everv tendon ricid.
"Ahmad Das!" he commanded.
"Co and get some candles." I
"I cannot, sahib."" the Hindu an
swered from the floor. "They are
all gone but these two. Every one.
I can not bring more."
"Then I'm goin^ out to look for
Southley."
"He will be hard to find, sahib.
There are shadows and water and
jungle between." Then Ahmad's
voice seemed to grow indescribably
eag?r. "You will need a guide."
"A guide ? what do you mean?"
"If ilie sahib goes. I wiii take him
there. The sahib must not start out
in the dark alone! And if the sahib
has despaired of Mis? Southley
meeting him here, and wishes to go
to his room, I will go thence with
him, too."
Vilas Hayward suddenly snatched
open the drawer in the table. For
an instant his frenzied hands thrust
at its interior; then he whirled to
"Where's my pistol?" he cried.
j To me the words seemed charged:
J with some terriMe kind of passion, j
| The effect that the\ had on \ ilasj
was not pleasant l?? see. The man-;
| hood seemed to fro mil of!
him. His Iip> v. ?? loose, hi
protruded. slink i ml hands i?m :????! ;
for the ehair-ai ms.
'*\o. you d?\i!! he eried.
voiee risiii". on won't ' me'
out there, where \?ni srot nn tnther."
"Saliili!"
"And 1 order \ou to get nil th?
floor. You're not working now. j
Get up, or 11 1 kill \ou where vouj
lie!"
ward Ahmad.
"It was in the drawer."
"Perhaps one of the detectives
borrowed it for the hunt today ?
Again Vilas filing into his chair.
Again Ahmad went hack to his dust- J
ing. His motions seemed to growi
more sinuous, more silent. And'
now I looked in vain for the cloth.
He seemed to have dropped it. j
"Does the sahih wish to go look)
for Sahib Southley?'" he asked. "Il j
he does. I will be glad to go with J
him?"
Ahmad Das lip. He ruse very |
Isoftly to his full height. He tiptoed
across the room. \nd ho blew out
the light on 1 h<- little sand.
The shadows deepened. There
was only one candle now. he one
that burned on the table. And 1
heard a soft whispered sigh from
Alexander.
"The man's a devil." he breathed
in my ear. "Vilas called him by
the right words."
"Then get up and save him." I
answered. "Do you want to see Vi
la* murdered before our eyes?"
"Hush ? and watch."
We watched. A long time there
was silence. Ahmad Das stood still
beside the extinguished candle.
"What are you going to do?"
"Do, sahib?" The answer came
at last, trembling with some un
earthly kind of passion. "It's not
well to be improvident with candles.
The detectives might need a brighter
light when they return to see what
remains here."
Vilas tried to meet the snaky eyes.
"What do you mean?" he whis
pered.
"They will come back soon, and
want to talk to their gust. One of |
their guests is gone ? you know
where. Yesterday they bore him
across the water. You only remain, |
and you are very dear to them,!
'.Sahib Strumburg ."
I Vilas 'eaned forward. "Strum
burg? How dare you call me that?
My name's Havward ? "
"Once Strumburg ? then Roderick
? then Havward ? what does it mat
ter. sahib? Names die when their
? bearers die/'
I "But I'm not Strumburg. I tell
you I'm not ? "
I "I will remember, sahib, that you
told me that. But consider again,
and se*? if you don't want to make
me another asswer."
"1*11 never admit it."
"I will go from you for a minute,
sahib ? just a minute into the dark
ness ? and then 1 will return. I
will want your answer then. And
there might be other things for you
to tell me. too. when I come into
your presence a moment from now.
You really had no proofs that Sahib
Southlcy is wanted in prison."
"But I have! You can't scare me
out of it.*'
"Both things you can answer
when I return to the sahib's pre?
enee. It will be just a little mo
ment ? "
\ ilas half rose in his seat, order
ipp tlie servant to relight the eandle.
But Ahmad didn't obey. Rather he
faded. The shadows hid him, and
darkness closed round him.
^ et it wasn't as he had complete
ly gone. I knew that ho was wait
ing somewhere in the darkness just
be\ond ? perhaps behind the cur
tains. possibly in the hall. I didn't
hear or see him. 1 simply knew he
was there, and in a moment more
would come back into the light for
the answer to his questions. A long
moment passed away. And once
more I looked at Vilas Max ward.
He had his head turned oxer his
shoulder, and he was watching with
fascinated horror something that ap
proached him in the darkness. i
couldn't see what it was at first. It
was farther away from me. But yet
1 was aware of the sense of some
thing moving ? something half craw
ling. half sliding toward the man in
the1 chair. And then I saw an irreg
ular grav patch of shadow that was
not quite* so dark as the shadow
around it? a patch which seemed
to be moving. And all at on ? it
to tr\ to deny the reality of the
thing. There was the tawny hide,
darkened, of course. by the shadow,
tln? low-hung head, tin* jrreat Mack
stripes. The details were obscured ;
hut my eyes didn't need them to rec
ognize the creature. It seemed to
In* Iving rlose to the floor, in the po
sition a tiger lakes just before it
springs.
And I couldn't say it wasn't true.
1; would not have been so convinc
ing if \ ilas had not seen it. too.
And I knew b\ the suppressed gasp
of the great detective l?eside me that
his eyes were also resting on the
thing. I think that he started to
whisper some messages of wonder.
But I didn't hear him. All I heard
was \ ilas's scrcain.
He backed up against the wall,
his fingers at his throat. There was
no record left in my brain of the
sounds In* made and the words he
said. Ahmad Das had returned,
just as he had promised, to get the
answer to his questi< ns. "he trans
formation was complete ? the tiger
soul at last in its own body. And
Vilas was ready to answer.
(Continued Next Week)
CULBERSON
Mr. and Mrs. C. L. Stalcup of
Taft, California, arrived here a few
'days ago to spend their vacation
with friends and relatives.
Mr. Jerry Croft and family of
jGastonia, have moved here. He will
lake charge of the Culberson mill.
Hoe Arton of Isabella. Tcnn., was
i a visitor here last week.
The young folks enjoyed a play
| at Mrs. \. C. Hughes' Thursday
night.
I{ev. It 'll of Murphy filled his
regular appointment at the Metho
<!m church here Sunday. He an
nounced a revival meeting to begin
on the 3rd Sunday in Auguest.
Mr. and Mrs. Ira C. Ow*vibv and
Mr-. O. ( Vnderson were Andrews
\isiturs Sunday.
Our school will begin ( Monday,
jnlv 30th.
Mr. C. Conklc of Ohio, dealer in
thoroughbred dairy cows and coun
ty agent If. W. Cray were here to
see T. \\ . Shields 1 uesdav. Mr.
Shields has bought two of his cows.
Mr. Conkle is well impressed with
our county.
Mr. Hob King of Belleview was a
business visitor here last week.
The Canhill Construction Co.. has
completed the grade work in \otla
Township and are going over to do
the work at the Tennessee line in
(Hot House Township. Il is report
led the engineers have derided on
| what i> known as the Nichols sur
j\ev.
| DR. E. L. HOI T
DENTIST
\-K.W -Tl < 1 Al l T
lutirrxiN wi.i.v iti ii iuxr.
Offlcr I'linnr IM Knt. I'traiir Hl6
MURPHY, N. C.
WE OFFER $100.00
To any on<' who will use Padgett's
Indian Herb Juiie and fai! to get re
suits we claim for it. Indian Herb
Juice Las given satisfaction to .-.11
who have used it for twenty-five
years. We recommend Padgett's In
dian Herb Juice for constipation,
indigestion, rheumatism, liver and
Kidney trouble, and has proved su
preme for high blood pressure. For
sale at all drug stores.
halted.
The Ti -.-r of South Ie\ l).mn> had;
cMsnif again. The eamilt ?!? it
ineffective and dim. yel ii showed j
1 1 10 out lint* plain. Kven slim I tried j
?t? tell myself it was some mental j
fallacy, a mirage or delusion that'
could not, possibly be true. I tried i
t-? say it was the effect of light and
shadow: l>ut the lie died before it
came t?> my thought. Il wasn't any
taaB
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