CCFYRtSHT JSU * Johnston
ff/asfrd/cmfrYlZarQa
SYNOPSIS.
Harding Kent calls on Louisa Farrlsh to
propose marriage and flnds the house In
treat excitement over the attempted sui
cide of her sister Katharine. Kent starts
an Investigation and flnds that Hugh
Crandall, suitor for Katharine, who had
been forbidden the house by Oeneral Far
rlsh. had talked with Katharine over the
tslephone Just before she shot herself.
A torn piece of yellow paper Is found,
at sight of which Oeneral Farrlsh Is
atrlcken with paralysis. Kent discovers
thst Crandall has left town hurrlsdljr.
Andrew filaer. an aged banker, commits
suicide about the same time aa Katharine
attempted her Ufa. A ysllow envelope is
found In Elser's room. Post Of Acs In
spector Davis. Kent's frlsnd, takss up
the cuse. Kent Is convinced that Cran
dall Is st ths bottom of ths mystery.
Katharine's strange outcry pussies ths
detectives. Kent and Davis search Cran
dall's room and And an address, Lock
Bo* 17. Ardwsy, N. J. Kent goes to Ard
way to Investigate and becomes suspi
cious of a "Henry Cook.". A woman
oommlte suicide at tne Ardway Hotel. A
Klow letter also Agures In this cass.
Nt calls Louise on the long distance
telephone and flnds that she had Just been
•ailed by Crandall from the same booth.
'•Cook" dlssppears. The Ardway post
master Is missing. Inspector Davis ar
rives at Ardway and takes up Inves
tigation. He discovers thst tne dead
woman is Sarah Backet of Bridgeport.
Louise telephones Kent Imploring nlm to
drop the Investigation. Kent returns to
New York to get an explanation from
Louise. He flnds ths body of a woman in
Osntral Park and more jfellow letters.
He sees Crandall. whom he recognliss as
"Cook." enter the Fsrrlsh home. Louise
again Implores Ksnt to drop ths lnvsstl-
Sstlon and refuses to glvs any explana
on. lister Kent sees Crandall and Louise
la an automoblls. Kent returns to Ard
way. Davti announces that he has
planned to arrest the mlsslng_postmsster
and also the master erlmlnsl. while seek
ing the criminals. Kent comes across
Ixtulse and Crandall. Pursued by Davis
4he postmaster Jumps off a precipice and
is killed. Aleck Toung, the master crim
inal. Is found In a hut in % morphlns
stupor.
CHAPTER XIII.
The Strange Vigil.
Dawn found Inspector Davla and me
keeping strange vigil in the deaerted
oottage. Louise waa gone. Crandall
was gone. Conatable Dodda waa gone.
Only the two of ua were there, and on
a rude couch in the corner, inert, nn
oonacioua with the death-like stupor
of the confirmed uaer of morphine, lay
the wreck of a man whom Davie bad
termed the maater criminal.
On th« Inspector's return from hla
pursuit of th« poitmtiter be had at
once aaaumed the position of director
general of the little group at the cot
tage. He had decreed that Crandall
•hould take Louise back to town In
the automobile as soon as she was
able to travel.
"Alter she haa had an hour's rest
here," he said authoritatively, "her
nerves will have recovered sufficiently.
It Is Important that the wound in her
arm should be dressed as quickly as
possible. It will be well, too, for her
to return as speedily as possible to
her father and sister. Her continued
absenoe. If It reaches their ears, will
needlessly alarm them both. You, Mr.
Crandall, will take her back In the ma
chine in which you came, of course."
"Certainly," aald Crandall — over
eagerly, I thought—"but, If you will
pardon me for asking, who are you?"
For reply Davla handed him hia card
which bore his official title.
"But," stammered Crandall, "I don't
understand you. What are you doing
out here?"
"I'm here," said the Inspector, "I
fancy on the same mission that
brought both you  and Kent here—to
find the sender Jt the yellow letters
that have been menacing the peaoe
and happiness of the house of Far
risb." j
"But," protested Crandallagain,
"how did you know It waa Aleck
Young?"
"So you know him?" said the inspec
tor, with a note of inquiry In his voloe.
I had been taking no part in the con
venation that was carried on.
I waa sitting wfth Louise's bead pil
lowed on my knee endeavoring with
my handkerchief to staunch the slight
flow of blood that was still coming
from the bullet wound. I had been
strongly tempted to voloe a protest,
when 1 heard Davis arrange for Lou
ise's return In the automobile with
Crandall, for while Davis seemed to
think he, like ourselves, bad been In
pursuit of the criminals, I still be
lieved It was for the purpose of warn
ing them Instead of capturing them.
Yet, on the other hand, I knew noth
ing about running a car. It was clear
ly out of the question for me to take
Louise back, much as I distrusted
Crandall. Anxiously I waited for his
confession of acquaintance with the
man In the hut
"Tea, 1 knew him —only too well,"
•aid CrandaU.
"Tell me about him." said the in
spector. "But watt—let us carry Miss
Farrlsh Inside the cottage where she
will be sheltered from the night, air
until you are ready to start"
"I can walk." said Louise. "Is fact,
I think I was more frightened than
hurt"
I helped her to her feet and assist
ed her Into the cottage, while I piled
some cushions that were lying about
and made her comfortable. The noise
of our entranoe made no lmpressiofc
on the drug-stnpefled man who lay on
the other side of the room, but Davis
and Crandall croeeed to where he lay
Td evsmined him closely.
f,*. • \ ,
"He will not wake for Hwril
hours," M>d Davla after feeling hie
pulae. "Kent and I will stay bar* un
til then. You. Mr. Crandall, will take
Mlu Farrlsh home, and you, Dodds,
aa soon aa lt*a daylight, had better go
look (or Rouaer'a body."
"I don't have to look for It," aaid
the conatable with a shudder. "I know
Juat where it la. It'a a long waya
round by the road, though."
"Take the buckboard," aaid Davla,
"and when you reach the body go
through all the pocketa carefully and
bring me everything you find. You'd
better not take the body back to Ard
way yet. Ia there some place elae you
can take itY"
"Sure," Mid Dobbs. "I can take It
over to Mlllervale. It'a ]uat about aa
far In the other direction. But what
In tbe land'a sake I'll tell about it,
geta me."
"That'a easy." aald tbe Inapector.
"You can explain that you were driv
ing over there and aa you came by
you aaw the body lying on the road.
You can explain that he muat have
fallen over the cliff In the dark. By
the time they get through talking
about it and having an Inquest over
In Mlllervale we will have had a
chanoe to finish any more investigat
ing we want to do. You can atart
about dawn."
"All right," aaid the conatable, "but
what will I do with them warrants?"
"Leave them with me. After you
have disposed of Rouser'a body you
can stop on your way back and wsll
take thla ons In with us. Come on
outside, Dodds. and you, too, Crandall,
I want to ask you some questions
about our friend over there. You,
Kent, atay here with Mlas Farrlsh."
The three of them went out, leaving
Louise and me alone together, a clr
cumstanoe that I couldn't doubt that
Davis had planned, realising that there
was much we would say to each other.
Hardly were they out of the door be
fore Louise turned to me, with sup
pliant arms, and cried out, with a sob
in her voice: "Harding, forgive me for
having deceived you."
'lt la you," I cried, "you, who muat
forgive me for having disobeyed your
wish, for having come out here after
you bad asked me not to. for having
almoat put a bullet through your dear
heart."
"You didn't know—you couldnt
know that I was here," she sobbed.
"But how can you ever pardon the lies
I told youT"
"Lies," I protested. "Dear girl, you
never lied to me. Whatever these dear
Hps have aaid, I knew. I always knew
your heart was true."
"Katharine asked it and I had to
promise her."
"You mean about Hugh Crandall."
"Yes," she breathed. "I don't know
yet what it is that is between them.
It's something about—about my fa
ther. Crandall knew it and Katharine
found it out. Whatever It is, they de
termined to keep It secret between
them. Katharine made me promise
that I would tell no one, not even you.
She swore me not to reveal to anyone
that I had even aeen Hugh Crandall. I
had to promise her, you understand,
don't youT"
My answer was a kiss full on her
Hps, while my arms went about her
and held her tight to me.
"Of course, dear girl," I breathed, 'T
understand. I understood all ths
while."
"I waa so she murmured,
"afraid you would think I was deceiv
ing you, that I didn't love you."
As our lips met In a long, sweet kiss,
a wave df Joy swept over me that all
but obliterated thoughts of the dread
ful yellow letter 1 forgot for th« mo
ment the drug-sodden creature lying
In the corner, not twenty feet away
from us.
The spell tu broken by a slight
twitching of the man across the room
We came to ourselves with a start at
from a dream. I went over to bis side
and looked at him. He was still dead
to all around him.
"Ton understand, Harding, dear,
don't youf said Louise, as I resumed
my place beside her, "why I asked you
to drop your search? As soon as
Katharine became conscious and I told
her that you were on the trail of Jlie
yellow letter, she became greatly ex
cited. She Insisted that I should make
you withdraw at onoe. She was deter
mined to know all about what you bad
done, and I told her of your being here
In Ardway. She. weak and 111 aa she
was, made me swear that re
call you by telephone. She wanted
me to telephone to Hugh CrandaU, too,
but I did not know how to reach him.
I had to promise her everything she
aaked."
"Of course you did," I said. " But,
dear, I loved you so that I could not
rest while this terrible mystery that
hung over your dear ones was un
solved. I felt that It was my duty to
disregard your wish. I realised that
you were being compelled by some In
fluence you could not withstand to act
as you did. You are not angry with
me, are you. dearest r*
"Of course I'm not," she said with
H wan smile, patting my hand gently.
"But tell bm," I asked, "what of
Hugh Crandall? What la his connec
tion with this dreadful myatery?"
"1 don't know," she answered
thoughtfully.
"I have thought all along that ho
had aomethlng to do with It, and you
aaw just now that he admitted know
ing thiß man here whom the Inspector
lnslats la at the root of everything."
"Katharine trusts him, yet I know
my father for aome reaaon forbade
him the houae."
"I'm sure he la guilty," I cried.
"Kathartae'a eyes have been blinded
by love to hla real character."
"I think you muat be mlataken,"
said Louise. "He knows about the ex
latence of a paper that gave some
man a strange bold on my father.
Katharine knew of it, too. He may
have told her. She insisted on my ac
companying him out here to try to
help recover it."
"Didn't he tell you about It on the
way out?"
"No. I aaked him what it was. He
told me that too many people knew
its contenta now. The more I think
about It the more perplexed I am
about the mysterious manner In which
both he and Katharine acted about
thla document."
• "Tell me everything," I Insisted, all
my suspicion against Crandall return
ing anew.
"To begin with, he Insisted on our
leaving the chauffeur In Newark,
though It had been my Intention to
have htm come with us. Crandall
would not hear of It. 'Katharine put
you In my charge,' he aaid, 'and it li
her wish aa well as my own that we
take every precaution for secrecy. It
Is better that only you and I go on
thla mission. We want no aervant
gossiping about this matter." 'But
where are we going, and why?* I
aaked him. 'Surely I have a right to
know that.' 'We are going to try to
recover from the hands of the wicked
eat blackguard on earth, a certain
document that haa come Into hla pos
aeaalon. It la a question whether or
not we shall aucceed. If we do, I
aball put this document in your hands
and you muat promise that it ahall not
go out of your poaseaslon until you
have placed It in your sister's hands.
You muat promise me, too, that you
will aak no questions about it and that
you will not read it. When Katharine
haa aeen it, do with it whatever ahe
tells you. She probably will aay that
you are to burn It without reading.'
"Can't you see, Harding, what a
dilemma I waa in? I felt that what
Mr. Crandall aaked me to do waa Kath
arine'a wish. They had talked togeth
er for nearly half an hour juat be
fore you came to the houae. I had to
promise what he aaked, though I pro
tested first. It seemed to me that car
rying back the document to Katharine
would excite her and retard her re
covery, and I told him ao."
" The sight of that document Bafe
in her own handa will do more to cure
"Dear QIH, Vog Never Lied to Me."
her speedily than all the doctors In
the world,' he answered."
"Did he mean the yellow letter T" I
queried.
"I don't know. I asked him If that
was what he meant and be would not
answer me. The only thing Jtve did
tall me was that there had been
strange developments In the case
slnoe he had undertaken to get this
paper for Katharine. They seemed to
puzzle him greatly. He said that some
thing with which he had nothing to
do .had alarmed the man we were go
ing to see and that he had disappeared,
gone Into hiding."
"'How will we find him?' I asked.
* 'He Is as anxious to see me as he
Is not to see some one else,' Crandall
told me. 'He wrote me plain directions
how to reach a place be calls the de
serted Cottage, and made an^appoiat
ment there for nine o'clock tonight"*
"Why," I asked Louise, "do you
suppose that he and Katharine lnslat
ed on you coming out here? Why
could not Crandall himself have recov
ered the document and restored it to
Katharine?"
"I asked him that. He told me that
the man who held it had made the
condition that it should be received by
either my father or Katharine. They
did not wish it known that my fa—
what had happened, and as they were
certain this man knew neither Kath
arine nor me, I was to go with hlan
and Impersonate my slater."
"Did you get. the document?"
"No, we failed," aaid Louise, "and I
do not know what In the world I am to
tell Katharine. We came out here In
the afternoon. Crandall thought it'
advisable to find the place by day
light. We ran the automobile up the
lane that leada to thla place and crept
through the thicket until we came In
alght of the cottage. There were two
men moving about In the cottage.
Young and auother man whom Mr.
Crandall told me waa the poatmaater
at Ardway. He seemed aurprlaed at
the presence of the poatmaater. We
watched for half an hour and then
took the automobile back to a little
hotel about three miles away from Ard
way. For aome reaaon, Mr. Crandall
did not want to atop In Ardway."
"I guess I waa the reaaon," I re
plied. "But when did you return
jjpnt" ■ •
"We had dinner at the little hotel,
and as aoon as It waa dark, atarted
back for the cottage. When we ar
rived we found a light In the window
and aaw Toung there in a atupor juat
as you Bee him The other man waa
nowhere around. After trying to
awaken Young, without succeae. Mr.
Crandall searched his clothes, but
there waa nothing In any of hla pock
eta. He even felt all the Beams, and
took off his ahoes In search of the pa
per we wanted, but It was nowhere on
him. He ransacked the cottage as well
as waa' possible In this dim light, but
could not And any suggestion of a
hiding-place. Out in the little shed
that aervea as a kitchen he found a
slip on which was written a list of
eatables—bread, milk, eggs and sucb
thlngß. We decided from this that tho
other man— Rouser, I think Mr. Cran
dall had said his name was—had gone
to some neighboring farm-house or
■tore to lay In supplies and probably
would soon return. Mr. Crandall sug
gested our hiding In the bushes until
his arrival, and we did so. We had
hardly taken our place behind the
bushea before we heard him coming.
Mr. Crandall stepped out, and the
rest Is so mixed up I don't know Just
what happened. I heard shots and felt
a pain In my arm and I think I
■creamed and then I don't remember
any more until I found you bending
over me."
"To think that It was my bullet that
hit you!" I cried. "I might have kllle4
you."
i "It's only the lightest sort n
scratch," she protested. "It doesn't
[ even hurt any more. It does not bother
me half so much as to know how to
: tell Katharine that we failed In our
t mission."
I "Tell her," said I, "that one of the
i conspirators Is dead and that the oth
> er is safe in the hands of Inspector
i Davis and myself. Tell her that any
i document either of us finds that in
■ any way relates to ber father will bt
i placed In her hands at once. Tell her
> that I will not leave the prisoner's aids
, until I have it safe and that my honor
Is pledged both for Davis and myself
that no word affecting her father will
i ever become public, Crandall Is out
there now talking with Davis, and I
i think you will find that be, too, wIK
tell her the same thing."
r~ (TO an CONTINUED.)
10 START.WORK
OH AMENDMENTS
IBBUEB CALL FOR EIGHTEEN
MEMBERS OF COMMISSION
TO MEET IN RALEIGH.
SETS DATE FOR APRIL 21
Date Fixed After Governor Corres
ponded With the Eighteen Members
For Some Time—WlH Talk Over
Bllla.
Raleigh'.—Governor Craig has is
sued a call for the members of the
Legialative Commission on Constitu
tional Amendments to meet at Ral
eigh April 21 for organization. This
date haa been aelected after corres
pondence with the 18 members, it ap
pearing to be the most generally con
venient date. The commiasion la to
elect a secretary at that time, and
agree upon a program for session*
and hearing.
It will take over the bills for
amending the Cohatltutlon that were
introduced during the recent aeaaion
of the Legislature, will hear any citi
zen and interests as to these and for
mulate recommendations, to be pre
sented to the Governor 60 days before
he Issues a call for the Legislature to
meet in special session. Also the
commission will recommend any oth
er amendments that It may consider
advisable.
The Legislature, In turn, will act
upon these recommendations and con
sider any other amendments that
member* propose ai the extra ses
sion, the province the Legislature be
ing to provide for the people to vote
on the several amendments pro
posed.
The commission Is composed of 18
member*, five named by the Gover
nor, five by the Senate and eight by
the House. They follow:
A. M. Scales, Greensboro; J. W.
nalley, Raleigh; D. Y. Cooper, Hen
derson. H. Q. Alexander, Charlotte;
N. J. Rouse, Kinston; Lieutenant
Governor Daughtridge, Rocky Mount;
H. W. Stubb, Will lams ton; A. T.
Grant, Mocksvlllc; A. D. Ward, New
hern; A. D. Ivle. Spray; F. M. Wash
Ington, Wilson; Speaker Connor, Wil
son; E. J. Justice, Greensboro; R.
A. Doughton, Sparta; W. A. Devln,
Oxford; E. R. Wooten, Kinston; C. S.
Wallace, Morehead City; H. A. Page
Aberdeen; R. R. Williams, Ashevlllo.
Stokely I* Adjudged "Not Guilty."
The jury In the Murden Stokely
trial announced that It had reached
an agreement and was ready to ren
der a verdict. The news quickly
spread and before the court could be
assembled every Inch of space avail
able In the court room was packed
by eager spectators. The prisoner
entered in custody of an officer and
the Jury tiled In. Amid intense sil
ence the formalities were gone
through with, and the jury rendered
a verdict of "not guilty." No trial In
ICiizabeth City has ever created so
keen an interest. Young Stokely and
his family quickly left the city for
their Tiome in Okisko.
North Carolina New Enterprises.
A charter is Issued for the Richard
son-James Company (Incorporated)
of Star. Montgomery county, capital
SIO,OOO authorized, and $2,500 sub
scribed. SI,OOO by Noah Richardson
and S6OO each by W. H. James, L. L.
Richardson and W. L. James. Anoth
er charter is for the Southern Crown
Milling Company, Asheboro, capital
$50,000 authorized, and $25,000 sub
scribed ijy W. F\ Redding and others
Union County Commencement.
The biggest educational rally that
ever took place at Monroe was held
several days ago In the form of a
county commencement. The Immense
crowd gathered was a striking proof
of the Interest the people are taking
In education and the advancement
made. There were 3,000 school chil
dren here and the line of march was
more than a mile long.
Change County Commencement Date.
'' The date of the Wayne County
School Commencement has been chang
ed from April 11th to April 4th. Ad
ditiogal prizes have also been offered
A prize of $lO will be given to the
school bringing the largest crowd of
Btudents and patrons, and a prize of
ss to the one bringing the second
largest. The Wayne county club will
give a silver loving cup to the school
winning the greatest number dt
points in field events. A team must
win three years in succession to
establish permanent ownership
PrizM For Guilford Farmers.
The Greensboro Merchants' Asso
ciation has made anouncement of prize
awards to farmers in Gpilford county
marketing the most tobacco in
Greensboro during February. The
first prize, sls coat suit, went to Mr.
W. R. Moore; the second prize went
to W. O. Doggett, a $5 razor, and $7.50
worth of paint; and the third to W.
H. Trexler, |lO worth of drugs. H. C.
Rudd woo the first prize for making
average for all tobacco; second prize
was won by T. C. Smith and third
went to Fred N. Taylor,
WOULD RECLAIM MUCH LAMBf
~~~■ »
Government Engineers Have Reußl
mended the Organisation of a
Drainage District in Burke.
Raleigh.—▲ special from Washing
ton states that the organisation of at
drainage district under the state law
with the co-operation of all the land-'
owners along the bottom lands of the l
creek, each to pay his proportionate*
part of the cost, is recommended te
the report of an examination of Silver'.
Creek, Burke Couqty, by Agrlcaltnrali
Department Engineers Yarnell and
Lynde, made at the request of Rep
resentative Webb.
The engineers recommend that tha>
channel be widened to 35 feet sad
brought to a depth of eight feet, atf
an estimated cost of $18,084. In Uka*
opinion of the engineers, if the itsk
recommended is doae, the land aloag
the banks of Sliver Creek wQI In
rease from 400 to 600 per cent.
There is about 1,000 acres of bot
tom land in the proposed drainage
district now worth approximately $36
an acre but if properly drained It
would be worth at least SIOO an acre.
The report of the engineers Bays
in part:
"The examination was made afoot,
in company with W. A. Walton, one
ot the land owpero along the creek.
Starting at a point just above Me-
Elrath's dam about six miles above
Its outlet, the creek was traversed
to its mouth. The watersheds of Sil
ver Creek are naturally rolling and
hilly, and the run-off Is very rapid.
It Is estimated that there is about
1,000 acree of bottom lands In the
proposed district. The soil 1b rich and
needs little if any fertiliser. It pos
sesses a much greater fertility than
do the upland salts, but there Is al
ways the possibility of the complete
loss of the crop by overflow. Almost
any rainfall of consequence cauaas
the creek to overflow, not only dan
aging the land and crops but also de
positing sand.
"Almost all the bottom land wan
once In cultivation, but in recent years
owing to the uncertainty of getting a
crop. It has been abandoned to a great
extent. Owing to lack of drainage
the uplands are now practically age
less.
To Improve Lenoir Roads.
Property owners on one road run
ning out of Klnston, the Hill highway,
have subscribed a fund to supplement
an appropriation by the County Com
missioners for the Improvement of
the road. This in Lenoir county, and
S6OO was raised by the farmers living
within six miles of the city! The road
will be sand-clay top-surfaced for a
half dozen miles. Other communities
in the county are discussing the ven
ture, and private donations to dis
trict funds will probably be consid
erable when Lenoir begins the gen
eral Improvement of Its highways
shortly, the first money for which was
made available by the recent sale by
the county of its stock in the Atlan
tic & North Carolina Railroad Co.
T. P. A. State Convention.
National Chairman B. H. Marsh, of
the Traveler's Protective Association,
at Raleigh for a day or two from Win
ston-Salem. Bays there Is a gratifyingly
good outlook for the T. P. A. State
Convention to assemble In Greensboro
in May. At the laat state convention
it wan detrmlned to have 1,200 mem
bers by the next annual session and
the enrollment now Is just 1,120, lack
lng just 80 members of the coveted
number. Mr. Marsh thinks the goal
in membership will be reached before
the Greensboro convention. The Kal
eigh post now lias nearly 100 mem
bers and is quite active under the
presidency of Jno. W. Cross with Mr.
Clem Wilder as secretary.
Growth of Rural Libraries.
There is a steady growth in the
number of rural libraries in the public
schools of the state under the state
aid system In vogue for several years
past whereby the state gives $lO to
ward each library in cases where the
local people raise at least that amount
in addition. Also there are supple
mental allowances of $5 each under
certain conditions that are very gen
erally taken advantage of. State
treasury warrants were issued recent
ly for the appropriations for 34 new
libraries and for nine supplemental 11
braries. . '
New Act Trantfere Duty.
Through all the yearn past It has
been the duty of the State Auditor
to get out and distribute to the coun
ties the abstract blanks for listing
taxes throughout the state and the
county tax lists, but under the new
machinery act this duty is transferr
ed to the Corporation Commywion ae
State Tax Commission, a change
that it is not believed the Legislature
intended after the establishment of a
separate tax commission was voted
down and the conclusion reached to
retain largely the old machinery.
For Power Development.
The first step#, looking to immense
power developments in Henderson
county, as well as the construction of
an interurban line from Henderson
vllle through Flat Creek and Saluda
to a point on Green River, were taken
when petitions were filed in the
clerk's office, of the United States
District Court by the Blue Ridge In
terurban Railway Company for the
condemnation of certain lands and
boundaries on the river. The petitions
were first filed with the clerk of the
court of Henderson County,