Drmnmond
TheAihcntuRs of a
Demobilized Officer Who
Found FWt Dull
by CYRIL McNEILB
?mntAnow if.
IRWIN MYERS
/
ONI
N
Drum mood paused for a moment Ml
the door of the alttlng room, then with
a sllsht throe b? stepped P*t Peter
?l Dirtit dbt kit twm ibun b? had
p?n to look N thl? particular ml"
? nrtvata d?, at Ox, prtncteala <rf I
the cut- He a?rlated K 1? bi? mfcd
with Peterson himself, soave, Impas
*ve. nttlw; with the Ctrl Iren?, par
teettrnnw?d trtefttewftn
tac InnnmnMr dsarettea. ul .
cartas kar already fuultieae nana; and
k a laacr with Henry LUtaf i
Mi thin, craai tem. and birm, startne |
minted him. Tka (trt was not ttxre;
hw acratceaed |i1sks ? the aaCh was
a.ca|ilt?l by as unkempt-looklns mas
with a ragged beard, At the end of
the table waa a vacant chair, an the
light at which asa UUnfUo reord
h( Mm with malevotant tary. Alone
a men. and be glanced at their
Sooa were obviously focelgn
iae might have been anything
aw<?Mt to ,Snodi| school
hschw. There was one with spec
tacle? and the general appearance ot
an Intimidated rabbit, while his neigh
bor. te^il by a large red soar right .
anaaa hla (teak, and tiro HooSE<r|
ayes, strack Hugh as being the sort
-? ?" m ofae ?T?Ud uot
sskaL
trna Just . behind
1 Mm.
"Permit me. gentleaaen. to tntrodaca
M. C, the oijglaatar at the lttUe en
tertainment wa hare Just bad."
Hash bowed (mHr.. "*J ooij re
gret Is that (t tailed u> function," he
n?ilart.?ti I tal* yea ?aaM? TM
*alte forgotten yaar menagerie. In
fhet"?hla glance wandered elowfr and
aaeaewhat polovcdlj >W tx? to te$a
at the tabu?"I had aa Idea It was
*" a large one.
"So this la the I a a? tan t young iwtne.
la ltr Has bhnxlatxH qua ot the man
with the scarred face turned on him
la why he hasct been killed by now."
Hush waggled an arruslns finger at
1 knew yon were a nasty man as
?on as I saw feu. Now look at Hen
ty up at the end at the table; he
doesnt say that sort of thins And
yen do hate me. dont you. Henry?
How's the Jaw?"
"Captain Draauwed." said Latins
ten. Ignoring Hugh and addressing the
?rst speaker, "was very nearly killed
last night. I thought for some time
as to whether I srould or not. but I
ftnallj decided II would he inch too
easy a death. So it can be remedied
If Hugh felt a momentary twinge of
Mar at the calm, expressionless tone,
and the half-satisfied grant which
|)i< led the words, no trace of It
?>o?>d on his face. Already the
raaltsatkon had come ta him that If
he got through the night tttre he would
he more than passing tacky, hut he
was too mech of a fatalist to let that
?wi| Mi* aadaly. So he merely stifled
a yawn, and again turned to Laklngton.
"So It was you. my little one. wbese
fairy face I saw pressed against the
window. Would tt he tndtsrreet to ask
how you p"t the dope Into n*r
Laktegton looked at him with an ex
of grim satisfaction on hla
"Tea were gaa? it. If Je? want ta
know. Aa admirable la vent Woe of my
tll< ad Kaaffnefs nation."
? guttural chnckle came from ona
af the aaen. and Hagh looked at him
"TW arum certainly would not he
nafiet^" he iiaail ni ta Muwa.
"?Ilhawt a Btthy Woe he la It-"'"
The Omam pashed Wk hla chair
wtth aa oath, hla face purple with
"A Bthj Baehe." he natlni J thick
ly. laaihlag toward Hagh. "Hold him
the araa of. and I win the throat tear
ft al happened an |aMly. At .
apparently Intent
cigarette, the Best
tan had fallen to the
waa a dell. heavy thnd.
ache tea ah. d hack, over
??III ? chntr. and fell like a log ta
?n fca^ hfc Uai hftttag the wan with
5 1 a Mtte Umply Hagh
far a dgarettn.
* """ m the net af atriktag
Winaml, "*h? jou really sppaal
to me." *
PManon took the empty chair oAl
. "Sit down." be said shortly: "I can
ooly hop? that I shall appeal to you
still morv before w? kill you."
Hugh bowed and sat down.
?Consideration," he murmured, "was
always your stranx point. May I ask
bow loo* I hare to 11?%?"
Pwtersoq smiled geulally.
"At the earnest request of MI. Lak
'?I*?' yr.o are to be ?pared until to
morrow. At least, that Is ocp present
Intention. Of course, there might be
an accident In the night; In a house
like uus OBe uetei can tell.?Or"?
he carefully cut the end oft a cigar?
"yon might go mad. In which case we
shoal do't bother to kill you. In fact.
If you go mad, we shall not be dia
Once again he smiled genially.
"As I said 'before, in a house Ilk?
?lis, juu uui uever wit?;?:?."
The Intimidated rabbit, breathing
beavlly, was staring at Hugh fascin
ated; ihd 4 tiMfllUM HUJEll I lulled
to him with a courteous bow.
"Tsuldle," he remarked. "you've been
eating onions. Do yon mind deflecting
Qm blast In the opposite direction?"
His calm imperturbability seemed to
madden Laklngtocx
"Yihi wait." h? mailed thickly; "you
wait till rve finished with you. You
wont be so <1?d BlUliOWUti Uitfu. . .
Hugh regarded the speaker languid
ly..
"Your smuuiltti.Hi ti more titan prob
able.' he rtmiHted, IB a bored Tutce.
"1 shall be too Intent oo getting Into
a Turkish bath to* remove the contam
ination tn rhint-^? laughing."
Slowly Laklngton sank back In his
chair, a hard, merciless smile on his
Upa; and- for a moment or tyo tnert
ill Dlcnc? tn the room. It was broken
by tb?-unkempt man on the sofa, who,
without warning, exploded unespected
I*.
"A truce to all this fooling," he
buret lorQi In a deep rumble; "I con
faa? I do not unf??w?nd it. Are we
assembled her? tonight, comrades, to
Usteo to private quarrels and stupid
^talkr
A murmur of approval came from
the others, and the/Speaker stood up
waving Ms arms.
1 know not what tbla young man
^ has done t I care less. Ib Russia such
' Irtflea mautr uut.?n? has the appear
ante of a bourgeois, therefore ha must
tile Bid we m>t klUthouasnrts aye,
tena of tbonaands at bla kidney, before
we obtained file great freedom? Are
we not going to do the same 111 tola
accursed country? Kill him now?
-Kill Him Now?Throw Him in ? Cor
nor and Lot Uo Proceed,"
throw him in a corner and let us pro
ceed.**
He Rat down, amidst a murmur of
approval. In which Hugh joined heart
ily.
-Splendid," he murmured. MA mag?
niflcent peroration. Am I right, air,
in assuming that you are what la vul
garly known as a Bolshevist7"
The man ^turned his sunken eyes,
glowing with the burning fires of fanat
icism, on Druratnond.
*7 am one of those who are fighting
for the freedom of the world," he cried
harshly, "for the right to live of tha
proletariat.** He flung out hla arms
wildly. "It la freedom; It Is the dawn
of tha new age.7 .
Hugh looked at him with genuine
curiosity; It was the first time he had
actually met one of these wild vision
aries In the flesh. And then the curi
osity was succeeded by a very definite
amasement: what had l'eterson to do
with such as he?
For the moment his own deadly risk
was forgotten: a growing excitement
filled his mind. (3ould It be possible
that here, at last, was the real object
of the gang; could It be posalble that
Peterson was organizing anglollber^te
plot to try sod Bolshevlxe England T
He looked up to find PeterHon regard
In? him with a faint atnlle.
"It la a little dlOlevU to andeniUad,
lan't It, Captain Drummondr he raid,
carefully flicking the aah off hla cigar
T told you you'd And youraelf In deep
water.- Then he resumed tha contam
piatlon of the papers In front of blm.
Hii*li half closed hla eyes, while a
gneral hnti of conversation broke oat
| Prmnd the table.
Fragmenta of conversation struck his
&W> Ume tO i'cie. slhft Intlml
d tiled nbhll wltE tit M?hl of htUt
Id hU watery ?7?. ?u Mtlinlai 00
the flori? of workmen'? councils { ?
bullet-beaded man wma aborting an In
h?ttl? <t? .hour nn ? fii-MtifLfi
wages ftid work for alL
"Can It be possible," thought Hugh,
grimly, "that such aa these hare the
power to control bis destinies?" And
then, because he had some experience
of what one unbalanced brain, whose
owner could talk, was capable of
achieving; because he knew something
about mob psychology, his half c-on
temptwes anmsemeut chanj:?! to a"
bitter foreboding.
"You fool I" he cried suddenly to
the Russian: and everyone ceased talk
ing. "You poor d?d boob! YOU?and" -
your new earth! In Petrograd today
bread Is two pounds four shillings a
pound; tea, Bfteen pounds a pound. Do
yon call?Kmt freedom?"?Ho gavs a
contemptuous laugh. "
Too surprised to speak, the Bus
Peterson who broke the silence with
his sua t a voice.
? "Year ilstwoi I am glad la
Is not likely to be one* of long dura
tion," he remarked. "In fact, the time
has come for you to retire for the
night, my yOUhg friend."
He stood tip smiling; then he walked
over to the bell behind Hugh and rang
U.
"Dead or mad?I wonder which."
Be threw-Uie end et his elgae late
the grate as Hugh rose. "While we
He Opaned the Door and Stood There
Smiting. (
deliberate down liare on vnrtoua mat- j
tera of Imporumc? we shall be tfclnk
lng of you upsU!r8r^lhai is to say..!
If yon get there. I se? that Laltlngtoo
la even now beginning to gloat In
pleasant anticipation."
?Nut a mum!lK uu the sol tiler's faw
twitched; not by the hint of a look
did he show the keenly watching au
dience that he realized his danger.
Laklngton's face was merciless, with
Its fiendish look of anticipation, and
Hugh stared at him with level ^yes
for a while before he turned toward
the door.
"Then I will say 'Good night,'" he
remarked casually. ?'Is It the same
room that I had last time?"
"No," said Peterson. "A. different
one?specially prepared for you. If
you gef to the top of the stairs a man
will show you where It is." He opened
the door and stood there smiling.
And at that moment all the lights
went out.
TWO.
The darkness could be felt, as real
darkness Inside a house always can
be felt. Not the faintest glimmer
even of greyness showed anywhete)
and Hugh remained motionless, won
dering what the next move was going
to be. Now that the night*? ordeal
had commenced, all his nerve had re
turned to him. He felt Jce-cold: and
a^-Jils powerful hands clenched and
unflenched by his series, he grinned
faintly to himself. Then very cau
tiously he commenced to feel his way
toward the door.
At that moment someone brushed
past him, Uke a flash Hugh's hand
shot out and jrtpped him by the arm.
The man wriggled and twisted, but
be waa powerless as a child, and with
another short laugh Hugh found his
throat with bis other hand. And
I again silence settled on the room , , ,
Still holding the unknown man In
front of him, he reached the foot of
the Malrs, and there "he paused. He
had suddenly remembered the^ mys
terious thing which ha(Twhl7.xed past
his head that other night, and then
clanged suddenly Into the wall beside
htm. He had gone up five stairs when
it had happened, and now with his
foot oo the first, he started to do
some rapid thinking.
If, as Peterson had klndtf assured
him, they proposed to try and send
hlijn mad. It waa unlikely that they
would kill him on the atalrs. At the
same time It was obviously an Imple
ment capable of arrurate adjustment,
and therefore It was more than llkejy
that they would use It. to frighten
him. And if they did?If they did . . .
The unknown man wriggled feebly
In hi?"* hands, and a sudden unholy
look came on to Hugh's fnre.
"It's the only possible chance," he
said to hlmnelf. "and If It'a you or
me, la^lrfle, f gues* It's act to be
you "
Me-o-my,
tew you'll take to
a pipe?and P. A.!
Before you're a day older
you want to let the idea slip
under your hat that this
is the open season to start
something with a joy'us
jimmy pipe ? and some
Prince Albert!
Because, a pipe packed
with Prince Albert satisfies
a man as he was never satis
fied before?and keeps him
satisfied! And, you can
prove^it! Why*-P. A.'s
flavor and fragrance and
coolness and its freedom
from bite and parch (cut
out by our exclusive pat
ented process) are a reve
lation to the man who never
could get acquainted with a
pipe)?P. A. has made a
pipe a thing of joy to four
memrfiere one was smoked
before!
Ever roll up a cigarette
with Prince Albert? Man,
jnaiL?-but you've got a
party coming your way!
Talk about a cigarette
smqke; we tell you ifs a
peach!
hrimem Atomrr T?
mmtd
fc?L
and hclf pound fin
kumidorm and in t hm
mmund cry ?tal glasa
h a m i J or with
BpartM* moiatuncr
top.
Copyright 1921
by R. J. Reynolds
Tobacco Co.
Wliutoa-Salftn,
W.C. - '
the national joy ?moke
With a quick hoove ho Jorked the
man off his feet, and lifted him up
tlU his head wag above the lerel of
his own. Then clutching film *lght,
he commenced to climb. HI? own
bead was bent down, aomawbtr? hi
the region of the man's back, and
be took do notice of the feebly kick
ing lags.
Then at laat he_ reach edtbefoorth
at?). and gave a fl&a! adjustment to
his semi-conscious burden. He pressed
big bead even lower In the man'a
back, and lifted him up another three
inches. " *
H?\v awfully Jolly!" he murmured.
?1 hope the resnlr will please yon."
"I'd stand quite still If I were yon,"
?id Peterson suavely. "Just listen."
As Hogh had gambled on, the^ per
formance was designed to frighten.
Instead of that, something hit the
neck of the man he wag holding with
inch force that It wrenched him clean
ont of his arms% Then came the clang
beside him, and *^lth a series of
ominous thuds a body rolled down
'the stairs Into the hall below.
! "Yon fooL" He heard Laklngtqn'a
voice, shrill with anger. "Yonve
killed hirn. Switch on the light . . ."
! But before the order could he car
ried out Hugh had disappeared, like
a great cat, into the darkness of the
passage above. As Kick- would have
It the first room he darted Into was
empty, and he flung up the window
and peered ont.
A faint, watery moon showed him
a twenty-foot drop onto the grass,
and without hesitation he flung his
legs over the sill. And at that mo
ment something prompted hlin to look
upward.
I It was a dormer window, and to an
active man access to the roof was
easy. Without an Instant's hesitation
he abandoned all thonghts of retreat;
and when two excited men rushed In
to fhe room he was firmly ensconced,
with his legs astride of the rldge of
the window, not a yard from their
heads.
Securely hidden in the shadow, he
watched ' the subsequent proceedings
with genial toleration. A raucous bel
low from the two men announced
that they had discovered his line of
escape; and, In half a minute the
garden was^full of hnrrylng figures.
One. calm and Impassive, his Identity
betrayed only by the Inevitable cigar,
stood by the garden door, apparently
taking no part In the game; Laklng
ton, blind with fury, was running
round In small circles, cnrslng every
one Impartially.
"The car la still there," A man
came up to Peterson, and Hugh heard
the words distinctly.
"Then he's probably over at Ben
ton's house. I will go and see."
Hugh watched the thick-set, mas
sive figure stroll down* toward the
wicket gate? and Ire laughed gently
to himself. Then he grew serious
rfgalii and with a slight frown he
pulled out his watch and peered at -It.
Half-past, one . , . two mora hours
before dawn. And In thoae tmo hours
he wanted to explore the honae from
;on top; especially he wanted ft> have
s look at the mysterious central room
of which Phyllla had spoken to hlgr
V wlxre Ijoklnaion kept bis
(Continued on Page Four)
/
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Th? (Mate* .That Dm* Wot Affect Tto M
The Bolshevist* may not be strong
on providing food for Russia, hut they
ara experts at making a hash ot thine*
?Columbia, S. C. Record.