Newspapers / The Monroe Journal (Monroe, … / Oct. 27, 1914, edition 1 / Page 2
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I The Trey 0' Hearts A NoreW Venio. of th. Motioa Tictof Druna rloro product by th Unirl FOa Co. tb Sun Nam a By LOUIS JOSEPH VANCE I CHAPTER XXX. Blrdman. About eight o"clock In tbe evening of tbe same day a motorcar deposited at the Hotel Monolith a gentleman whose weather-beaten and oil-Btalned motor tag-cap and duster covered little cloth ing more than shirt and trousers and assorted oddly In the eyes of the desk clerk with the rather meticulously turned-out guest known to him as Mr. Arthur Lawrence and to the manage ment cf the hotel as Mr. Alan Law In cognito. Eventually persuaded, the clerk yielded up the key to Mr. Lawrence s suite of rooms, together with two notes superscribed with the same nom de guerre. Alan's Impatience was so great that he could hardly wait to examine these communications until he was quit of the public eye. The first proved to be a character Istic communication: "Dear Ulysses Thanks for the Jail delivery. I got in this morning just in time to motor over to Jersey in hopes of seeing your finish as a bachelor; instead. I was favored by being made an Involuntary witness to your spec tacular ascent, following your almost equally spectacular high-dive. "But to business: my time is lim ited; In half an hour more I am to double in blackface fjr the purposes cf the author of this melodramatic farce which you, no doubt, call the history of your grande passion. "I mean to say well, several things, to-wlt: When I saw you snatched out of the North river I was engaged in trailing a pale-faced villain In a motor car concerning whom you probably know far more than I; he cn his part was busy being a bold, bad kidnaper; Bore was in his power, ns we say in such cases. His Intentions, however, werp noihine more blameworthy than Copyright, 1811. t Iwl Joaeph Vance end leave Immediately for the racinc coast Tia Santa Fe route." Comparison between this and the message purporting to be from Rose distilled the conviction that the lame hand as responsible for both. Alan shrugged. So he was to be lured away from New York and Rose by this transparent trick, was he! Xo fear! He glanced at his watch, finding the hour far too early to attempt what he had In mind. With plenty ef time on his hands, he gave the matter serious censidera tion and concluded to take no chances: it was Just peseibie that Trine had taken Rose with him on his western trip, after all. In such case the only possible way of overtaking the special would be by air line. Promptly Alan called up the avia tion fields at Hempstead Plains and pot into communication with a gentle man answering to the surname cf Coast: the same birdman who had come to Alan's rescue with his hydro aeroplane. Their arrangements were quickly consummated. Coast agreeing to wait for Alan with u biplar.e in Van Cort landt park from midnight till daybreak, prepared if need be to undertake a transmit inontal ftifclit. Thereafter Mr. Law proceeded to re habilitate himself in decent clcthlng and his own esteem; after bathing, he dined alone in his rooms, from a tray; after dining he slept soundly for three hours and may be thought to have earned at least that much rest through having been for four hours a passen ger In a hydroaeroplane lost In fogs that wrapped Long Island and all the adjacent territory in an impenetrable shroud. Nor had this been all. Leaving aside nil that had led up to Alan's rescue by Coast: the furced landing of the hydro aeroplane f.-r lack f fuel had take:; to return hr to the nrms of her doting j place on the suuih shore cf the Croat parent. I know, n-cause 1 swumcu after Vm, even to the house of Peiieca Trine. Later I sleuthed some nivirc. follo ving a furtive young man from the house cf Trine to the office of the general manager cf the New York Cen tral, where ho made arrangements f ir 0 special to convey the said Trine and retinue to Chicago and points West. It leaves at three this afternoon. I was unable to ascertain whether or not Rose Is to participate in this Jnrgira. but I know 1 shall. On the off chance of being useful, I have bribed the train crew to let me impersonate the porter. So. should you be moved to follow and succeed in catching up v.ith us. und observe anybody who locks rather off color In the party don't shoot: the said party will be me. "Yours for the quiet life, "TOM IURCl'S." The second note yielded a communi ctlon written on notepaper of the sim j iest elegance In a woman's hand a hurried scrawl: "They are taking me West by spe vial train I don't know where cr why. A servant has promised to see that this reaches jou. Save me!" Over this Alan wrinkled an Ineb rious nose. The hand was the hand of Hose, but the phraseology was not In l.or spirit. He examined It more close ly and thought to detect beneath its renblance of haste a deliberate and carefully guided pen. He picked up the envelope to compare the handwrit ing of the address with that cf the en closureand shook out a trey of hearts. This last was covered, as to its face, with a plainly-written message. "With the compliments of Seneca Trine to Alan Law. We are due In Chicago at eleven tomorrow morning South bav: a search of h iurs liatl !oi l.,ui before a beat was found to c.:i vey Alan and the aviator to the main land; iir.d a motor run of several hcurs had followed t hat. cniveyirg t':i:i:U tJ Lis Hempstead hangars ai:d Alan on to his bote 1 in New York. Another man would have needed twelve hours in Led at the least to compensate far su h a day: Mr. Law awakened in a lamblike temper when calhd at eleven-thirty. At midnight he committed an act of burglary, calmly and with determina tion breaking his way Into the house of Sennca Trine through the area win dows and basement. In this nefarious business nothing hindered and none pnosed him. Lut for a single lighted window in the up per tier (but not, ho noted, the window to Rose's bedchamber! ar.d one or two lights which he found burning dim la the kitchen offices and other servants' quarters on the lower floor be would have thought the hour? empty. The silence of pn abandoned place In formed It nil below the upper story. l!ut he was not to be satisfied with such negative evidence: he explored the dwelling minutely, room by room, rtory by story, passing with little in terest throuph apartments by every sirn dedicated to the tendency of his mortal enemy, intent cn one object only to find Rie Trine, that ona woman whom he loved, or else make sure she was not there. He negotiated that hist flight of steps which led to the topmost floor with extraordinary stealth, advised t :here-to by a sound, or rather a serie.i if sustained sounds, which had there 1 tofore been inaudible to him. Possibly I they had not till then existed; possibly i the man servant whom he found suor- f9f. tfSmO z if S :A l;?t -$f$ v J?K hit- tn a ehetr outside a closed drcr had not fa lit-n asleep and begun to snore until the momeat when Alan "t foot upon the lower step of that fxal ascent. Turning the heal of the stairs Alan paused for a little, speculatively intent oa this man who must somehow be disposed of before he might solve the secret of that shut axd guarded door. Aside from actual violence no solu tion offered to the puzzle and vio lence was abruptly forced upon him. No sound warned hint of the deer that opened at his back as he sux-d watching the sleeping guard. A pierc ing shriek was the first Intimation be received that his presence had been discovered. It served as well to move him Instantly into action: a single glance vershoulder showed him the figure of a maid servant in cap and gown, her mouth still wide and full of sound and Alan fell upon the guard like a thunderbolt. The man bad barely time to Jump up and recognize tbe alarm: then a fUt caught him on the po'nt cf his Jaw. and he returned promptly to deep unconsciousness. No time now fcr qualms cf com punction cn account of the savage ruthlessness cf that blow: no time even to search the fellow for a key to the closed door: already the matd was taking the stairs tn full Sight and cry. tour steps and a bowl like a warlock s to every jump. Hacking off. Alan took a short run. cleared the prostrate body of the guard with a leap, and flung himself full force against the door, his shoulder striking a point nearest the lock. With a splintering crash it broke Inward. Without dignity cr decorum he sprawled on nil fours iuto the presence of Judith Trine. Po'.r Mr. Law!" she cried, with a mocking nod, "always disappointed! I'm .o sorry truly I am!" "Oh, spare me jour sarcasm." he begged resentfully. "It's ridicuUus enough, this whole mad business" "But I am net sarcastic," she Insist ed with such sincerity that he opci.ed his eyes la wonder, "llelleve me, I am sorry fcr once it Is 1 and not Rose whom you find locked up here! For, you see, 1 am locked up, ty way of punishment thanks to my having had pity on you once too often while my father decamps mysteriously for parts unknown " "You don't know where he's gone, then?" "Do you?" she asked sharply. "In a general way. Ly special train to the West" "Taklns Hose?" "So I'm told." The woman chclird upon her ar.grr, but quickly mastered it. "He shall pay for this!" she asseverated. "Your father? I wish him nothing more nor less than your enmity," Alan assured her civilly. "Hut since it seems that he has gone, and Rose with him, if you'll forgive me, 1 think I'll be going" "Alone?" That one word, uttered w ith all the significance that this woman knew so well how to Infuse Into her tone, checked him suspiciously on the threshold. "Why yes." "You wouldn't care for a companion du voyage?" she suggested. "Oh really!" he protested. She held up an arresting hand. "Lis ten!" she begged. From the street below came the un mlstakable rattle cf a policeman's lo cust on the sidewalk. "That damned maid;" Alan divined thoughtfully. "The came," Judith Bgreed with ominous calm. "Has It struck you that you may have some trouble getting away without my permission?" "I'm not so stupid as not to have thought of that," h, countered. "Then be advised and tako mo with you." "In what enracity, please? As enemy or ally?" 'As ally you're right: we can't be friends until we overtake that spe cial train. After that, by your leave, I'll shlit for myself." "It's not such a bad notion," ho re flected: "with you under my eye, you can't do much to Interfere " "If I promise " she suggested. "I'll take your wcrd," he agreed sim ply. "Hut ycu're in for a l.:t of hard ship, I'm afraid. The one way ta catch up with your father is by aeroplane and I've got one waiting." She nodded Intently. "Don t con sider me as a woman when It comes to hardship," she hinted obliquely "I've no reason to, going on what I know of you." "Give me one minute to find my coat and hat." In less than that time she was at his side in the hallway. The police entered by the front door as tbe two crept out of the area win dow. TteVcVii up'theiSe ! Attorney General Bickett, the Santa Fe. Ard it was some hours - later, though still daylight, when they J J t ricked up the spoclal train, flying like LP OL&tfi S a bunting across the level. Ww VVVw t There was scant room for doubt i !! 1 Si'lrivJ'E most gifted orator, will speak contrived with considerable difficulty to focus binoculars upon the rear plat- it t4Vl AlfCO form of the car. and caught a fugitira 111 XI1C CUlll U1VJ glimpse of a white-coaled figure with a black face that was watching thebl- wi m T If 1 Mane in the same manner, that Is. J iVjiOnTOe Oil iViOnClay with glosses. The man in the white ccat. Alan as- 1 ! J "atsssrsirs. Nov. 2, on public questions. self with this assurance when his sar donic destiny struck the motor dumb. In response to his look of dashed inquiry the aviator merely shook a weary head and muttered the words: "Engine trouble." Swiftly the earth rose to receive the volplaning mechanism. Under Coast'a admirable handling it settled down al- m wiser HAVE YOU SEEN THE B. & JP. POLICY? ONE DOLLAR buys $30 per month, with S300 for Accidental Death, AA Classification. Larger or smaller amounts at proportionate rates. CALL TO-DAY, Tomorrow may be too late. We also write Life Insurance in its most approved forms. Escape of Alan and Judith. GORDON LK? CO. Everything in Life, Accident and Fire Insurance. ori:i:. hoisf. iu ii.ii;. moxroe, n. o. sjFjsg-pttrsrimaE: Shook Out a Trty of Hsarts. CHAPTER XXXI. Via Air Line. Not ence In the course of the next sixteen hours but a thousand times Alan questioned (and. It will readily be allowed, with all excuses) his san Ity in permitting himself to be In fluenced to burner Judith's Insistence and make her a party to thie wild aerial cross-country dash. Retween whiles the plane flew fast and high, cutting a direct line, as the crow flies, athwart tbe eastern and western states. Chicago they raised as a smudge on tbe northern horizon about one o'clock In the afternoon; thereafter some lit tle time was lost in descents to ascer tain the Identity of the many railroad lines that criss-crossed the swimming most without a Jar. on the outskirts of a city whose name Alan never learned. For the biplane was barely at a standstill before he was out and. reel ing with the giddiness that affects men after long flights, making his way as best he might toward the managers office connected with a trainyard im mediately adjacent to the spot where they had come to earth. Lavish disburs-ctnf r.ts of money won him his way against oiileial protests that what he demanded was an impos sibility, within twenty minutes, leav ing Coast to follow on when and as best he mifiht, Alan and Judith were spinning through open country 111 me cab eif nn engine running light, with only clear track between it ami tbe special. The several hours that ensueel oe fore the rear lights of the special were brought to view were none too muny for the task Imposed upon Alan of overcoming the scruples of the en gineer and fireman. Another minute, nnd less than nfty feet separated the two the special train and the light engine, both hur tling through the light at top speed. With a word to the engineer Alan crept out aloi;.; the side of the boiler. with only a greasy handrail and a nar row foothold between himself and what meant death, or something close ly resembling it, should he be shaken off by the tearing wind and the sway' lng of the locomotive. It Beemed an hour before he worked himself up to the cowcatcher now within four feet of the rear platform of the epecial. On this last he could see a woman's figure indistinctly silhouetted against the light through the door, and beside her a man in a white coat, clinging for dear life to the knob of the door- holding it against the frantic efforts of some persons inside to tear it open Another hour of suspense dragged out or such was the effect while the light engine with Intolerable slownees bridged those; four scant feet. At length It was feasible to attempt the thing. Hose (he could see her strained white face quite plainly now) was hulf over the rail of the car ahead, ready to Jump. His heart failed him. It was too hazardous a risk. He dared not let her take it. Something very like a shot sounded from the train and something very like a bullet whistled pest bis cheek, and proved the signal for several more. Strangely, that knowledge steadied his nerves. Straining forward and holding on to a bar so hot that scorched bis palm, he offered a hand to the girl on the rail. Her hand fell confidently Into it. She Jumped. His arm wound round her e she landed on the platform of the cow catcher. Ho heard ber breathe his name, then hurriedly passed her be tween himself and the boiler to the footway at the side. The fireman was waiting there to help her. Alan turned bis attention to Ilarcue. To his dismay he found that the en glno was losing ground. The space was widening rapidly as Darcus re leased the knob and threw himself over the rail. fly a miraculous, flying leap, the man accomplished that Incredible feat and gained the platform. An instant later ten feet separated the engine from the special, as tbe en gineer applied the brakes. And this he did none too soon: for at the. came time Marrophat and an other appeared on the rear platform and opened a hot. but, thanks to the widening distance. Ineffectual Ore. , Tbe engine ground slowly to a halt as the rear lights of the special train swept from sight round a bend. (Continued In next Issue.) Small, &rms. 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The Monroe Journal (Monroe, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Oct. 27, 1914, edition 1
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