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Show IT ' ' " ' l WEBSTER-MAN'S MAN "" II I . Author of "Cappy Rickt," "The.Valley of the Giant," Etc: jfifl II CopjrlftM try retw D. Kyns ! CHAPTER XI Continued. ., 'If. -11 ; L "T"18 raoro comfort Uinn I hod if j hoped for when I cnm.o hero, gentle- 12 ' mi. I nm very grateful, I assure I r0"' Of courso this llttlo revolution B you'ro cooking up Is no nffnlr of mine, is n" trust I need not assure you that f your conHdcnco la quite safo with , To Doctor nnd tho Colonel Immc ml dlntcly roso nnd bowed Ilko n pair of SI marionettes. Webster turned to III- T cardo. j I "Have you had any cxpcrlcnco In revolutions, my sonr ho nsked. II Illcnrdo nodded. "I realized I had J I to havo czporlenco, and bo Invent to f Mexico. I wnB with Madero, through I I the first revolution." , j I "How are you arming your menl i "Mannllchcrs. I'vo got 20,000,000 I rounds of cartridges, 23 machine guns, I "id a dozen three-Inch' Hold guns. I II i havo also engaged 200. American exit ex-it soldlcn to hnndlo the machlno guns HlfL nn(1 t'10 hnttory. These rascals cost RIj mo f3 n day gold, hut they're worth HI ' It; they like fighting nnd will go nny-U nny-U i whoro to get It and nro faithful." flft "y nro secretly mobilizing In tho IS mountains, ehr Webster rubbed his S f chin rumlnntlvcly. "Then I tako It 11 " you'll attack Huonnventura when yoti II Blrlko tho first blow?" 1 1!' "Quito -right, Vo must capture a jJ seaport If wo aro o rovolute success- I t fully," J ' "I'm glad, to know that. I'll mako It '. my business to be up In tho mountains i.' t tho tltno. I'm for peace, every rut- ' tlo'out of tho box. Gentlemen, you'vo!! I, cheered mo wonderfully, I will now go homo nnd Icavo yon lo your evil K machlnntlons; and, the good Lord and j! the Jiggers willing, I sl.nli yet glenn n i night's sloop." ' Mother Jenlts wns waiting for Web- I stcr at tho foot of Uio stairs. He ,' paused on tho threshold. "Mrs. Jenks." ho said, "IJIIIy tolls J mo you hnve been very kind to htm. Hr I want to tell you how much Ijnppro-.. B clalo It and thnt I stand willing to re- I ' clprointo any tltno you nro In need." I Mother Jenks flngored her beard and I rolleuli-d, " 'Ave you met Miss Dolores I Ituey, sir?" sho queried. I; "Yourwnrdl Yes." H 4"f)w does tho lamb strlko you, Mr. I r Webster?" "I Imvo never met many women; I I have known few Intlmntely; but I 1 ; should sity that Miss Dolores Tluoy 1 ' Is tho marvel of her sex. Sho Is as I beautiful as sho la good, and Is as In- 8 X lAlllnnnl nn atut Aitn t It L kVlllfiVHV UD DIIU Villi Ul I "Slio's a lydy, sir," Mother Jenks f amnned proudly. "An' I dono It. You f can eo with art n hoyo wot I am, H I but for all that, I'vo done my ddoty Ur by hor. From tho day my sainted If ' 'Knery- 'o wns n colonel o' hnrtlllcry II ' under president Huoy, Dolores' father HT hescaped from tho burnln' palaco . with 'cr an told mo to rnlso 'or n lydy H ; for the syko of hor father, ns wns tho B, finest gentleman his' rotten country'U jf ever seo. sho's been my guldln star. j ' 8ho'8 sclf-aupportln' now, but still I Hi . la.'t done my whole dooty by her. I j want to seo 'cr married to n gentle BJh man ns'll maintain 'cr llko a lydy." B7 "Well, Mrs. Jenks, I think you will Bh' Itvo to seo that worthy ambition nt-Hjf nt-Hjf tallied, Mr. Oenry Is licad over heels u In lovo with her." H "Aye, Willlo's a nlco lad I could B wish no better; but wot 'o'a got 'o L cot from you, an' whero'll 'o bo If 'la 1 wlno doosn't p'y big? Now, with you, ; . It's different. You'ro a bit oldcr'n , I'H'y. an' more settled an' Borlous ; ( you'vo mndo yer fortune, so Wlllto 8- ' tolls mo, an' not to go beatln' about , H tho bally bush, I B'y, wot's tho matter ( p w'tl you an' her stcppln over tho , Ht broomstick together? You might go a bloomln' sight farther an' faro wuss." j UK. -too old, my dear schemer, too Mm ol'll" John Stuart replied smilingly. M" "Al"' B'10" ,n ,ovo w,,n imy' Don't Ww worry. If ho doesn't tnnko n go of H' this mining concession, I'll take care Hn of ''Is finances lintll ho enn do so him- mft nclf. I do -not mind tolling you In IR9 strictest confidence,, that I . Jiavo ID mado my will nnd divided nly money U equally between them." Hi ,'01Clrt, o'oss you, for n sweet, kind gentleman." Mother Jenks gulped, ri flu'to overcome with cmgtlon. W 4. Hastily WebRter bade Mother Jenks ffijjjk Rood night nnd hurried nwny to es- H. PO o discussion' on such n delicate mWw t0I),c w,,h lm'B blunt n,"J ncle- mF y tolnded landlady. Ills mind was In n R tumult. Sd It was thut'ho paid no nt- p tcntion to a vehicle thnt Jogged by him f .' with tho cochoro Ragging- low In his ! , Beat, half asleep over tho reins, until ' quick command from tho closed In terior brought tho vehicle to nn abrupt halt, half a block in ndvanco of Wobstor. JSavo for aa arc light nt each end , of .tho block, tho Gallo do Concordln , was dltn.'.savt' for Webster, tho car- riago and tho two men who piled hur- j' cdly out nt tho rear of tho convoy- tuicc the Cnlle do Concordln wns de- ' It ' Tpld'of life. Webster saw ono of tho , R, men hurriedly toss a coin to thp cochi i cro; with r fon-ent '.'Grncln's, mi enp- Han," tho driver clucked to his horse. , turned tho corner Into tho Culle KM- , nondo nnd disappeared, having his hiti passengers famg Webster nu.l itiutj f swot ri approach He r as miii.i- i, 26 feet of thcra when tho tailor of tin two mon. spoke, "Good evening, my American friend. This meeting' Is a pleasure wo scarce-Jy scarce-Jy hoped to have bo soon. For tho same wo nro Indebted to Lieutenant Arrcdondo, who happened to look back ns wo passed you, and recognized recog-nized you under, the arc light" Webster hnl(od' abruptly; tho two Sobrantcnn officers stood smiling nnd evidently enjoying his discomfiture. Knch carried a scrvlco revolver In a closed holster fastened to his sword-belt, sword-belt, but neither hod as yet mado a movo to draw seeing which, Webster felt sufficiently reassured to accept tho unwelcome situation with a grace equal to that of his enemies. "What? You two bad llttlo boys tip thtsjiotel I'm surprised," ho replied In Spanish. Ho folded his arms, struck an attitude and surveyed them as might nn Indignant father. "You kids havo been up to somo mischief," ho added, as his right hand closed over tho butt of his automatic, where It lay snuggled In the open holster under his left nrtn between his shirt nnd coat. "Can It bo possible you nro going to take advantngo of superior numbers nnd the' fact thnt you are both armed, i. un.v iuv nun a uuei on your terms, my dear .Captain Dcnnvldos?" Uy a deferential bow, tho unwholo-somo unwholo-somo Dcnnvtdea Indicated that such were his Intentions. "Then," said Webster, "ns tho challenged party I Imvo tho cholco of weapons. I chooso pistols." "At what rango?" the lieutenant rsked with mock Interest "As we stand nt present I'm armed. I'ull your hardware, you pretty pair of polecats, and seo If you enn bent mo to tho draw." Captain "Ilennvldes' Jaw dropped slightly; with a quiet, deliberate motion mo-tion his hnnd stolo to his holster-flop. Lieutenant Arrcdondo wet his lips and glanced so apprehensively nt his companion com-panion that Webster was nwaro that hero was a situation not to his liking. "You should uso an open holster," Webster taunted. "Come, come unbutton un-button thnt,holster-flnp and get busy." Ilennvldes' hum! enmo away from tho holster. Ho was not tho lenst bit frightened, but his sonso of proportion propor-tion in matters of tills kind was un- llprL'nllll- n almbn.im uiTguing n SlinKC-lip. "In disposing of any enemy In n gun fight, so a professional killer onco In-formed In-formed me," Webster continued. "It Is a good plan to put your first bullet anywhere in tho abdomen; the shock of a bullet tliero pnralyzcs your opponent oppo-nent for n few seconds and prevents him from returning tho -compliment, and In tho Interim you blow his brains out while ho lies looking nt you. I havo nover hud any practical experience experi-ence In mntters of this kind, but I don't mind telling you that If I must practice on somebody, tho good Lord could not havo provided two moro do-llghtful do-llghtful subjects." He censed speaking, nnd for nenrly hulf a minute tho three men appraised each othor. Ilennvldes wns smiling slightly; Arrcdondo wns fidgeting; Webster's glnnco never faltered from tho captain's nervous hand. "You would bo very foolish to draw," Webster then assured Ilenn-vldos. Ilenn-vldos. "If I am forced to kill you, It will bo with profound regret. Suppose Sup-pose you two dear, sweet children run nlong homo nnd think this thing over. You may chnngo your mind by tomor- row morn " Tho captain's hand, with tho speed of a Juggler's, Jiad flown to his holster; hol-ster; but quick as ho wns, Webster was a split second quicker. Tho sound of his shot roared through tho silent cnlle, nnd Uennvldes, with his pistol half drawn, lifted a bloody, shuttered Fin ml twY til tint ii ,.!.. uanti rrom tho butt as Webster's automatic au-tomatic swept In n swift nrc nnd covered cov-ered Arrcdondo, whoso arms on the Instant In-stant went skyward. "That wasn't a half bnd duel," Web-ster Web-ster rc-marked coldly. "Aro you not obliged to mo, Captain, for not blowing your brains out for disregarding my liner. Instincts nnd refraining from shooting yo'u first through tho abdomen? abdo-men? Illcss you, my boy, I'vo been stuck for years In places where tho only sport consisted In seeing who qpjdd .tako a revolver, shoot nt n tin can and 'roll It fnrthest In three seconds. sec-onds. Let mo seo your hnnd." Ilenavldes, sullenly held up thnt dripping member, nnd Webster Inspected In-spected It nt a respectful distance. "Steel Jncket bullet," ho Informed the wounded man. "Small hole didn't do much damage. You'll bo Just ns well ns over In n month." Ho helped himself to Arredondo's gun, flipped out tho cylinder, nnd slipped all six cartridges Into his palm. Similarly ho disarmed Ilenavldes, expressed ex-pressed his regret thnt clrcumstnnces had rendered It Imperative to uso force, and strolled blithely down the callc. In ho darkened patio ho groped along tho wnll until ho found tho swinging ropo by which ho hud descended from his room whereupon he returned his shoes, tied the luces together, slung them around his nock, lug his tots Into the udobo wall and limbed brisks to his room. Th ifi iiHiuv tt. Sitter waited , ' " ' ' n.'l t.nii ac- j V IkVTi tmi Ii ilifWTTlstirijfl IiiWuimI1Wmmiihii nm i compnnled her Into tho dining room for brenkfrist "Well, how did you pass your first night In Huonnvonturn?" she Inquired, In the manufacture of breakfast conversation. con-versation. "Not very well. Jiggers bit mo nnd woUo mo up, nnd finally I fell Into a tranco nnd had n vision about you. After thut I couldn't go to sleep again. I was fairly bursting to seo you nt breakfast and rend your palm. Tvo Just discovered a wonderful system." "Show me," she flashed back at him nnd sho extended her little hnnd. Ho picked It up gravely and with tho dull tlno of n fork mndo a great show of tracing tho lines on her palm. "You aro about twenty-four years old, and your ancestors were puro-brcd Cnstlllans who enmo from Madrid, crossing tho Atlantic in caravels. Ever slnco the first Ituey landed on this coast tho family has been Identified with tho government of tho country In ono way or another. When you were qulto a llttlo girl, your father, Don Illcnrdo Iluey, at that tlmo, president of Sobrnnte, failed to suppress n revolution revo-lution nnd was cornered In tho government govern-ment palnco, which was set afire. "Through tho bravery and devotion ui u i-ui-Kiiey genuemnn, uoionei uonry Jenks, nn nrttllcry officer In your father's army you were saved from perishing In tho burning pnlncc. Colonel Col-onel Jenks turned you over to his spouse, now known ns Mother Jenks, with Instructions to rnlso you n lydy, nnd Mothc? Jenks hns carried out thoso Instructions. Colonel Jenks and your father were executed, and Mother Jenks Bent you to tho United Stntes to bo educated. You hnd a brother, Itlcardo Luis Iluey, older than yourself your-self by seven or eight years, I should Judge. In somo mysterious mnnner you nnd your . brother lost track of eacli other, and at tho present moment ho believes you perished In tho flames that gutted tho government palace. "You are of n proud, Independent nature; na-ture; you work nt something for n living, liv-ing, nnd Inasmuch ns you haven't been nblo to set nsldo n grcnt dqnl of money mon-ey from your earnings, you nro plan-nlng plan-nlng to termlnnto your visit to your nntlvo land nt nn early date and return re-turn to tho United Stntes for tho pur-poso pur-poso of getting back to work. Theso plans, however, will nover bo con summated. "Why? Iiccauso you ore to bo married mar-ried to a nlco man and live happily ever afterward, and about sixty days from now, If nil goes well, I, John S. Webster, nm going to lntroduco you to your long-lost brother Illcnrdo. You will first seo Itlcardo riding at tho head of his victorious rebel troops as he enters Iluennventum. He will bo tho next president of this wretched country, if. fortunately, ho Is not killed In tho revolution he Is now fomenting ngulnst his father's ancient enemy. Your brother does not know you nro living nud It will bo n proud and happy hap-py day for mo when I bring him to you. In tho Interim, what do you pur-poso pur-poso having for breakfast?-Ham and eggs sunny side up, an omcletto or n cereal?" Ho released her hand nnd favored her with tho boyish grin that always had tho effect of stripping tho years from him as ono strips tho husk from n rlpo car of corn. Sho wns gazing nt him In wide-eyed amazement "Is my orother really nllvo?" "Ho wns as Into as midnight last night Do you recall tho chop I saved from being ussasslnnted In Now Orleans?" Or-leans?" "Yes." "Your worthy brother. And do you recnll tho chnuffcur whoso pnssngo to this port I was forced to pay?" "Yes." "Tho samo Individual. I Bent him nshoro In the lnunch with Wily, and ho hns been housed nt 131 IJuen Amlgo hut left early this morning for tho back country to open n recruiting office." of-fice." Sho reached across tho llttlo tnblo and squeezed Ills big brown hand impulsively. im-pulsively. "You'ro the most wonderful man I qver know. And doej my poor brother know I nm living, Mr. Web-ster?" Web-ster?" "No nnd I'm not going to toll him. I think It will bo much nicer to restore re-store you to each other on the steps of the government palace on tho day when tho Iluey fnctlon comes Into its own again. Thnt vlll mako Ids virtnrv all the sweeter. Ily the wuy. where was Itlcardo when your father's shin of stato went on tho rocks?" "At school In n military ncmlemy In Kentucky." "It Is n mnrvolous mlx-up, whh n in. enrdo enn doubtless explain, Miss Ituey. I know ho believes his slMur perished with her father. Mothor Jenks didn't know whoro ho whs and couldn't communicate with him and thoro you nro. Howo.ver, little old Jack Klx-lt will bring you together again In duo course. In tho Interim, how about those eggs? Straight up -or lllp 'om?" ' She beamed ncross at him. "Wo are' going to lio such good, true frlomls. aren't we?" she urged. I allm,s7 shivered, but mnnngod n hypocritical noil. "While wo In.vo only know ia h other twenty-four hours, it fcc,,,, Kreat deal longer that tlini 1 1. . v becauso Hilly has told mo bo much about you, and you'ro so comfortable and easy to get acquainted with, and I I can't very well express my grntl ttulo for what you've done for whal you'ro going to do." Her volco faltered; falter-ed; she smiled roguishly through the tears of her emotion. "If I were only Hilly, now, I coId put my nrm ncross your shoulders and settle tho matter by saying: 'Johnny, you old horse-thief, horse-thief, you'ro all right' " "Tho best thing to do would bo to cense pulling me up with importance. And now, before we climb out of the realm of romnnco nnd the Improbnble to tho more substantial plane of things for breakfast, Just ono brief word of caution. Now thnt I havo told you your brother lives and Is In Hucnn-venturo, Hucnn-venturo, forget It' until I mention It again, becauso his presence here Is bis secret, not ours." "All right, Caliph," sho agreed. "I think I shall call you that hereafter. Llko tho lato Caliph Haroun Al Has-chid, Has-chid, It appears you havo a habit of prowling nround o' nights in queer places, doing good deeds for your subjects. sub-jects. Hut tell mo about my brother. Describe him to me." "Not now. Hero comes tho head waiter with n cnblegrum for me, I think." That functionary enmo to their tablo and handed ono of tho fntnlllnr yellow envelopes to each of them. "We'll excuso each other," Dolores suggested. Sho read: "CIo you If I lose. You aro a good, gamo llttlo scout, nnd I llko you Hne. "JEROME." Sho glanced ncross nt Webster, whoso face was a conflicting study of emotions In which disappointment nnd nmnzeinent appeared to predominate. "You ancient scoundrel," sho heard him murmur. "What ho, Caliph I Unpleasant news?" sho ventured. "Yes and no. I had one of tho finest Jobs In tho world all atnked out und now tho boss cnbles mo It's filled by n better man." "What aro you going to do nbout It?" "Well as soon as I'vo had my brcnkfnst, I'm going to cablo Neddy Jerome and tell him I'm satisfied Satisfied to Slav lnrn nml untluflfw! "You Ancient ocoundrell" lies n liar. You see, Miss Ituey ho objected vigorously to my coming hero In tho nrst place wanted mo to tnko a 30-dny vacation and then mnnngo tho Colorado Consolidated Mines com. puny, Ltd., for him. I llko Neddy nnd would have been glad to go to work for his company, but, of course. Hilly comes nrst, nnd so I declined tho of-for. of-for. Later I changed my m,1(j nmI last night I cabled him I'd accent If ho'd wait 00 days-possit.iy tH). ,, now ho replies thut he's sorry, but I the Job is niled by better , Thnt's whyl know he's a liar" "I see. You figure thoro Isn't n bet-ter bet-ter mining engineer than you-oli Pa. Ilph?" ' Ho looked at hor mnpnni,..ii. "No, hut NedHy Jerome donnu' I know he does beoni.se he hns taken the trouble to tell mo so moro than onco. And ns n rule Ne.ldy Inclines TZ ,rn"- Hwrr-'f u5 n? horm. t" ,m,"'0,l 8,urll,K ,mr, ?i 1. 1 u-i J . ' ' Wny' '" forold this I Why, this U ninnzliig." .l00"1!1 ,mve wpl" with laughter. o her M1,0rly"1 ,0,tl "" 8no other things equally amazing, did I nrlOZ: t0U,.," Ot,,0r U,I"KS n ihi. n ""r1". "t Jon foretold mis. now do you account for Hint?" Tho wltnoss decline to answer on hoSr,a. ,,hnt. S" muy ncnuilnnto ""emnrkublo woiniinl" I Ju.s'tYas STS" 0 re'"nr,f "mt l8 'Thnt N, ,!,!- rerorod to losing uu 'H - .' Ie changed my mmj i again. I'm going to stay hero now." 1 "Indeed I Why?" "Just to bo obstinate. Apparently I'm not wntited hero by the powers that be; so Just to rile them I'm go-i go-i Ing to hang around Sobrnnte nnd nrguo the question with them. Hy tho way, I see you received a cablegram also. Better news than mine, I hope." She nodded. "I havo a llttlo business busi-ness deal on back home. Haven't got a great deal Invested, but It looks as If I might make 510,000." He nrched his eyebrows and favored her with a llttlo disapproving grunt Sounded like the prospectus of n fnko mining promoter yes, by thunder, thnt wns It Dolores was o school teacher, and school teachers and doctors doc-tors nro ever tho mainstay of n swindler's swin-dler's sucker list "You won $10 from mo yesterday," he challenged. "Hot you another ten I can tell you the nature of your Investment" In-vestment" "Go you, If I losol" Unconsciously sho wns learning the argot of tho male of tho species, as exemplified In Neddy Ned-dy Jerome's cablegram. "It's n mining property." "You win. It is," she answered truthfully, starting to open her purse. "Quartz or placer?" "I don't know. Explnln." He chuckled nt her Ignorance. "Quartz Is gold-bearing rock, nnd plncer Is gold-benrlng gravel." "Then my mining property is placer, plac-er, because It has lots of sand." "I know It, I knew it," ho warned iicr solemnly, nnd ho shook nn ml-monitory ml-monitory nngcr nt her. "Ulnck sand, eh? Is tho gold very nne?" "I think It Is." "Then you'ro stung good nnd deep so don't deludo yourself Into thinking you have $10,000 coming. I never know a proposition for saving tho lino gold In black sand that didn't turn out to bo n dzzle. It's tho hnrdest thing In tho world to save. Now, listen; you tell mo tho nnmo of the fllm-llam nrtlst thnt got you Into this deal, nnd when I get back to tho United States I'll Investigate the compnny ; If It's nn out-nnd-out swindle, I'll tnko thnt promoter by the throat nnd choko your money out of him, tho scoundrel I It fn Just theso fly-by-nlght fellows thnt ruin tho nnest gambling gamo In tho world nnd senro off Investors In legltl-ninto legltl-ninto mining propositions." "Oh, you mustn't really, Caliph. He's an old mnn, and I only did it to help him out" "There should bo no sentiment In business, .Miss Ituey." "Oh, well, let's bo cheerful nnd hopeful, hope-ful, Caliph, and discuss a moro Important Impor-tant subject" She was very serious now, for by her meddling sho had, she realized, so arranged ar-ranged matters that at n tlmo when John Stuart Webster's very life depended de-pended upon his Immediate departuro from Buenaventura, ho was planning to stay and fnco tho music, Just to bo obstinate. "You must reconsider your decision to rcmnln In this country," sho Insisted. "Your llfo may btf the prlco of liberty of action, you know. Isn't Hilly cnpablo of developing tho mlno nfter you ndvnnco tho cash?" "I wouldn't ndvnnco him n cent for his mine until I had Investigated It myself." "Thee you should mnko somo arrangements ar-rangements to sufeganrd yourself whllo making tho Investigation, nnd Icavo Sobrunto Immediately thereafter. Isn't thnt a sraslblo proposition?" "Very If I felt llko leaving Sobrnnte. So-brnnte. Hut I do not If thnt mining concession is a potential winner, I'll havo to stick around nnd mnko a winner win-ner out of It before I go nwny nnd lenvo Hill In chnrgo. Besides, I'm wor- , ; "Il "" b mn or mnlarlal fever, and last night I got thinking 1 about him nnd decided to send him back to tho Colorado mountains for n J few months. I wnnt somo regular doc-I doc-I tors to work on Hill so he'll bo nt when ho gets back on tho Job." As n matter of fact, this Idea of send-; send-; ng Hilly to tho United Stntes had hut that moment occurred to Juck Wcb-rter; Wcb-rter; ho reflected now thnt this plan wns llttlo short of nn Inspiration. It would glvo Hilly and Dolores nn opportunity op-portunity to marry and Imvo n honeymoon honey-moon ; It would leave him free of her disturbing presence, nnd enable him to lenve Sohranto when tho Clenrys shorfld return. He resolved to spenk to Billy (to nn CONTINUED.) |