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Show 6Rg SECDETof fTl 6 Z. Alexander Powell j Author of "The End of the Trail;' I 5 "Fighting in Flanders," " The Road to doty" "Vive la France," etc. Novelized from the Motion Picture Play of the Some Name By the American Film Manufacturing Company, l'':-x- CcvyHcht. ifli, by E. Akan&r Pew!!. V--: .... SYNOPSIS. Ijlout. Jarvls Hope is detailed by the United Suites naval board to invcbtixiito and report tindi nga on the invention of Dr. Ralph Iturke, which 'serves to bringf , the suumarino to a state of perfection. On the trial trip of the inventor's boat, a Japanese helper is surprised in the act of examining' the mechanism. Hope reports favorably on the new device but there are o tilers interested in it. Attempt to burglarize Burke's laboratory fails; later his daughter Cleo finds him murdered in his bedroom. Cleo sells her father's hooks; she finds a note from which she learns they contain secret formula. Olga lvan-oil lvan-oil and lierald Morton, spies in search of formula, attempt to earUutv Cleo when she comes for books to Stophanski, the anarchist. Hope rushes to her aid ; Morton shoots but bullet hits a bninb ju cellar, wiiich explodes. Hope and Cleo escape and attend ball at Mrs. Delrnar's. whoso nephew has two missing books. Mahlln. a spy, attempts to steal books; in excitement that follows books disappear. disap-pear. Maiilin escapes. Hope and Cleo take boat for an island out in the bay. Mahlln and the Jap turn out the island light. After a violent storm Hope and Cleo arrive on strange island and discover man they hunt is there. Mahlin and Japanese Jap-anese also reach the island. They escape from Hope but return and dynamite the shack. Hope and Cleo manage to reach Sandsboro, where Doctor Owen has one pf the boohs. He arranges to meet Hope at the hotel with book. Morton poses as Hope and but for an earthquake would have possessed the volume. Cleo is captured cap-tured by Morton and taken to cabin In the mountains. She finds there book for which they search. Fortunately she gets note to Hope. who. with Hook, starts to rescue. As he crosses chasm in swinging swing-ing basket Mahlln steals up and chops at cable with an ax. Hook, appears in time to save Hope. He reaches tiie other side and is greeted by Cleo; she swears her love to him. They are followed by Mahlin and Jap who attempt to kidnap Cleo. She swings herself over the canyon. can-yon. Olga and Morton are dashed to earth in an aeroplane. TWELFTH INSTALLMENT "What is the matter, dear?" asked Cleo quickly, noting the anguish in Hope's face. 'las anything happened?" hap-pened?" For a long moment he stood motionless. motion-less. Then, summoning all his courage, cour-age, he proffered her the letter. "Read It," he said In a tone so hoarse that it was little higher than a whisper. Filled with forebodings of she knew not what. Cleo unfolded the closely written sheet. This is what she read: Dear Jarvis: This is a Humiliating letter for a woman to have to write to a man but it rias to be written. Do you remember but of course you do the Abernethy's house party at Lake Placid last summer? And do you remember how we lost our way the afternoon we started to climb White-face, White-face, and how. the storm coming up. we took refuge in that deserted cabin and spent the night there together In the forest? for-est? (I shall never forget how the wind moaned there, and the rain lashed the roof all through that interminable night.) V.'e were afraid we would not be believe 1 if we told the truth, you remember, so l when we got bark to camp the next morn- ' ing we told tiie others that wo had sprnt the night tt the I-ee's cottace. It was a I foolish an insane thing but we did It. ! They say that lies have a way of coming com-ing home to roost, and it Is quite true, for that lie has come home and is roosting roost-ing on my b-r!po,t a great blaelc, ugly thing that is driving me wild. ft seems that a few days after we left Lake lia-ld I r.-tzel Abornethy hn-.p"iicl to meet -V rs. Lee at tiie boat Hub and thanked her for taking care of us. Of opiirs.-. Mr.-;. Lee had no idea what Hazel was C-iving at. and said so and then the j (at wa.s (ait of trie hag. And if anything ' were tic'"''.'!! to make matters worse, one j of the guides t 1 i Mrs. Abornethy that he j had Be' n us coming nut of the cabin at seven o'clo' k in tl e morning j Haz'l, as you know. Is a modern edi- j tlon of tiie town rier, and. thanks to her j Industrious cireulaiun of the story, every- one knows that we spent the night together to-gether in the cabin and, of course, puis the worst posvbie Intorpre'atlon upon It. You know and I know that we riid no wrong, but no amount of d' nial wdi! convince con-vince others of our innocence. I'm not blaming you, Jarvis, but you have compromised com-promised rne. indeed, I already begin to f.ee rigns of ostraejsm. At the Hlldretb's dinner tho other night that impossible Mrs. Norton asked me if I didn't prefer the unconventional!! y of llfo In the wood to the staid existence ono leads In New York v. hereupon a general Bntcker ran around the. table. You will understa nd, therefore, that life has become perfectly Intolerable. t'nder such circumstances, Jarvls, there Jh only one course open to a gentleman and I know that you are a gentleman. You proved that by the way you conducted con-ducted yourself in the cabin. Is there need, then, for mo to tell you what you Hhould do? I am fond of you and I am sure that I could make you happy. Willi Implicit faith that you will do what Is right by me, I eagerly await your reply. Affectionately. LN'LZ. For what scorned to them both an eternity, Cleo, her chocks drained of color. Mood as though tinned to stone, staring at (he letter with unseeing eyes. At Inst, she spoke : "Who is this woman?" "Hit name Is Inez Machin," replied Hope. "She belongs to tpiite n well-known well-known New York family. I met her last summer ut u house party In the AitlronduokH." "Do you love her?" "Love her?" be repeated bitterly. "Not (In- least. In tlu world. There Is only one woman wlptii I love and you j know who she Is, Cleo." "Is It true, us she says, that yon did norning wrong?" "(In my honor ns tin officer and n mini I swear It, Cleo." "You needn't swear II, Jarvls," hint answered (II .apiisslnmilcly. "In my benrt. I never doubled you." There a puirn I "What lire you going ''" "bout it, Jarvis?" she slowly asked at length. "It is for you to decide, Cleo," he answered miserably. "My happiness, my future, is iu your hands." "I must have time to think," she said. "Come to me this . afternoon. ... I will give you my decision then." Though racked by emotion, she kept herself, by a supreme effort of the will, under admirable control. It was not, indeed, until she had reached her room and bolted the door behind her that she threw herself upon the bed and gave way to a torrent of tears. Late that afternoon Hope came to her for his answer. Though her eyes were swollen from weeping, she was calmer, more dignified, than lie had ever seen her. In the space of a few hours she seemed to have changed from a child to a woman. She had donned the same black gown Unit she had worn at her father's funeral, its somherness accentuating the glory of her hair and the milky whiteness of her complexion. Hope thought that he had never known one so lovely, so frail and so appealing. "Jarvis," she began, "I have spent the whole day trying to decide what is the right thing for us to do. You are, as this Hiss Machin says in her letter, a gentleman . . . and in such a case a gentleman has no alternative . . . Jarvis, you must marry her." "But I am going to marry you," cried Hope. "No, dear," said Cleo firmly, though her lips quivered, "you are not going to marry me . . . much as I love you, I could never be happy as your wife knowing that another w.miau had a claim on you . . . and now, dearest, you must go ... I can't stand it any longer . . . my heart is breaking." "I won't go," Hope fairly shouted. "I don't love that woman and 1 won't marry her. She has no claim on me . . . 1 never harmed a hair of her head. I'm going to stay here and marry you, my darling." "Listen to me, Jarvis, dear," said Cleo, putting her hands on his shoulders shoul-ders and raising her tear-lilled eyes to his. "Ilo you really love me?" "Do I love you?" he groaned. "I ! love you so much that life without you is not worth living." "And you wish to please me?" "Of course," he answered simply. "Then you will marry Miss Machin," said Cleo. "Can't you see, dear, that (bough it breaks my lienrt to give you ti)i I can always feel that we were strong enough to do what was honorable honor-able and right? It is because I love you so much, Jarvis, that I ask this of you." ".May may I kiss you good by, my darling?" asked Hope brokenly. Her answer was to throw herself Into his arms. For n long iniuuie their lips clung together, their hcaris throbbed in unison; then she struggled free. -j Then turning lie groped bis way to the door. As it olool hchind him Clcn stood for a moment, swaying like a lily in the wind, and then, her si rongt h suddenly dozening her, crumpled to the lloor, unconscious. The next morning Hope, very white and shul.cn, scut for linok. showed Mm the letter from Inez Machin, and told him of Cleo's decision. "Shucks," said the old seaman, after he heard the story, "there ain't no more call for you to marry that gal, looteuant, than there Is for me to. 'Cording to your story, and her story, too, she ain't caught you Willi the goods. She's Just trying to pill one over on you, looteuant." "That's the way It looks to me, Hook, but Cleo won't see It that way. She Insists that the only honorable thing for me to do under the circumstances circum-stances Is to marry Miss Muehln. I've tried to urgue with her, but she's adamantine." ada-mantine." "Just you wait till I've had n talk with her," said Hook, rising. "Don't you do nothing foolish, lootenanl, until un-til I get buck. I'll soon talk those story-book notions outen her head. Don't you worry . . . I'll llx things up all right." "I hope to heaven you'll be successful," success-ful," said Hope, fervently. "If you are I'll never forget It." Two hours later Hook returned. One look at his face showed Hope that he had met with no success. "I'm much obliged to you, Hook," said Hope, wearily, "but I knew It would be useless. When Cleo once makes ti) her mind (here's no nse In trying to change It. You will look utter her, Hook, won't you?" "You bet I will, loolenant," said (he sailor, mopping his eyes wllh n vivid bandana. "I'm a pretty tough old hall, but I'll tlo my best to be a father lo her." "And Hook," said Hope, wllh a truro of euiluiiTaHsiiienl, "If you If she should ever need liny money you won't bi'sllalo lo let mo know, will you? I haven't much besides my pay, but whatever I have, It's Clou's mid yourH for (he nulling. I cat! go away with an coaler mind If I can have your promise that you will call on me In case of necessity." "Don't let that worry you, looten-nnt," looten-nnt," said Hook, grasping the officer's hand in his great sun-burned paw. "We'll get along all right, I reckon, and If we don't, I'll let you know." Hope had already wired the navy department that the chances of finding the formula of Doctor Burke's invention inven-tion were almost negligible and asking that sixty days leave of absence be granted him. The following morning he received a telegram from Washington Washing-ton granting his request. Whereupon he wired Inez Machin : "Will you do mo the honor to marry me? Tiie department has granted me sxty days leave and I am starting Kast immediately. imme-diately. A few hours later he received her reply : I have announced our engagement. Owing to the shortness of your leave we will be married soon after your return. Love. That evening saw nope boarding the ferry which connected at Oakland with the easthound mail train. Inez Machin was undeniably a beau- tiful girl tall, slender and as lithe i and sinuous as a panther. An exquisite exquis-ite olive-coloring, lustrous eyes, and : great masses of blue-black hair betrayed be-trayed her Latin descent. Her beauty j was marred, however, by a thin-lipped and rather cruel mouth and by an ex- ; pression which could best be described j as cold and calculating. Though she . possessed all the sophistication of a girl who had been brought up in the so-called "smart set," she had a seductiveness seduc-tiveness of manner, together with a pronounced physical allurement which j had kept a score of impressionable i youths in her train. Despite her self-assurance, however, her meeting with the man she was to marry was marked with a certain constraint. con-straint. "I knew Unit you would come, Jarvis," Jar-vis," she said, as she greeted him in the library of her home. "It was terribly ter-ribly embarrassing for me to he compelled com-pelled to write you as I did . . . but what else could I do? Y'ou know, as well as I do, that, though society is always tolerant towards a married woman, it never looks forgivingly on the indiscretions of an unmarried one. Ever since the story of our spending the night together in the cabin leaked out, life here has steadily grown more impossible. Some of my best friends have cut me on the street, and I wasn't even Invited to the Tailor's cotillion. But everything seems to have been forgotten since I announced our engagement. en-gagement. I'll try to make you a good i wife, Jarvis. . . . Don't you think that ! we can he happy together, Jarvis?" "1 hope so," he answered coldly. "When is when are we to be married?" mar-ried?" "On the fourteenth," answered Inez. "The Invitations will be out tomorrow." tomor-row." "So soon ," he exeluimed. "Hut that Is only three weeks away." "There seemed nothing to be gained disapproval. In fact they seemed to outdo themselves in the attentions they showered on the young couple. This, if Hope had only known it, was due as much to the impression he had made as to Inez' popularity, for his frankness and cordiality, his polished though democratic manner, and clean-cut clean-cut appearance, won him many friends. Though he did his best to hide his misery under a veneer of small talk and laughter, he was not as successful as he imagined. He little dreamed, nor had he known it, would he have greatly cared that, his melancholy melan-choly manner had become a popular subject for discussion among Inez' girl friends. "That Lieutenant Hope is a perfect dear," Angelica Pembroke had remarked re-marked to a group of women at a tea one afternoon, "anil Inez is mighty lucky to get him. But he always has such a sad look in his eyes when he is talking to you that one gets the feeling feel-ing that he is hiding some terrible sorrow." Which accurately summed up the opinion of the women. "Hope's a good sort," said Reggie Van Arsdale to the men with whom he was playing cards at. his club. "What gets me is how a girl like Inez Machin happened to rope him in lie's not at all her sort. And the funny thing about it is that she litis an idea she can twist him around her little linger. He's quiet and docsnt' say much, but all you have to do is to take one look at that jaw of his to see who is going to be the boss." The day after Hope's departure for the Fast, Cleo and Hook returned to Vahlavia and reopened the little cottage cot-tage about which clung so many sad and happy memories. "We must look things in the face, Hook," said Cleo the next morning, "and decide whut is best to do. I have only a few hundred dollars left from the sale of daddy's books, and that won't last us long. I must find some kind of work." "Now don't you get to fretting about things, Miss Cleo," said Hook, assuming assum-ing a confidence that he was far from feeling. "We'll get along somehow." "It's only Inviting trouble to talk like that." she said severely. "You know as well as I do, Hook, that I must go to work." 'Then why don't you get a job in one of them public libraries?" he asked. "That sort of work pays well and it ain't hard." "I've thought of that," she replied, "but I find to get a positiou as librarian libra-rian you must get a diploma from a library school or college." "You could get a job as stenographer, stenog-rapher, I reckon," he suggested. "No," she asserted, "I am not fitted for that either. It wodld take me an hour to pick out a letter on a typewriter type-writer and I can't write shorthand, either. The truth is, Hook, I am not fitted for anything except to keep house. I know how to cook and sew J. ' "-:, - : l ' V J '7 ' - I '') , . ;, I '. ' - ' ) ; I - . I' - : . . ' - ' - , J "' ; ' 1 .. A,ei . V - ' - i "You'll Marry My Sister or I'll Thrash You!" by waiting." she answered easily. "And besides," she added, "thai will give us a month for our honeymoon before your leave expires. Hy (he way, where are we going on our wedding wed-ding (rip, Jarvls?" "I haven't given it a thought," he answered miserably. "Anywhere that you wish, Inez." "Don't be so enthusiastic about It," she exclaimed wllh a sudden burst of anger. "One would suppose that you were going (o be burled Instead of married. You're anything but a cheerful cheer-ful bridegroom, You treat me as (hough I had the smallpox." "You know as well as I do that I don't love you," he answered brutally, "and that I inn marrying you only because be-cause I feel Unit I ought to. I'll he a good husband to you, Inez, but I can't lie n lover." "At any rale you can pretend lo be one," she replied. "Then1 Is nothing (o be gained by either of us Idling the world know the (ruth. And now suppose sup-pose you look over this list and see If there are any others lo v hem you would like Invitations scnl." Tho nevt fortnight wan crowded wllh pre-nnptlal gaieties; luncheons, leas, dinners, receptions, dances, (healer (he-aler parlies, for, iu spite of Inez' assertion as-sertion that, her friends had ostracised her, there was no lack of entertainment entertain-ment In her honor. Nor could Hope delect any signs of coolness In (he attitude at-titude of (how of her friends to whom lie was Introduced. If they believed (he stories of her Indiscretion, they certainly did nothing to show their and to make bread, but (here are thousands thou-sands anil thousands of girls who can do those things as well as 1 can. What wouldn't I give to have learned how to do something practical." "Now, don't you worry none, Miss Cleo," said the seaman soothingly. "I'm going to start out and get a Job tomorrow'. Kverythln's goln' to turn out all right." "Hook," she demanded, sudiUudy, "I want you to promise me something." "What Is It, Miss Cleo?" be demanded demand-ed cautiously. "I want you to promise me first." "All tight, I promise." "I want you to give me your word, Hook," she said earnestly, "that no mutter how much we may need money, you will never let Mr. Hope know." "But, Miss Cleo," expostulated the sailor, taken off his guard, "the very lest thing the looteuant said to me wuz, 'Hi? sure and let me know, Hook, If Miss Cleo needs any money.' " "If you ever tell him," she declared passionately, "I'll never speak to you again. Oh, 1 just couldn't stand that I couldn't," and she burst Into tears. "There, there, Miss Cleo," soothed tho sailor, awkwardly stroking her bowed head, "Don't lake on so. Of course 1 won't let the loolcnunt know If you don't want me to, but hanged If 1 can see why." "Itenioiuher, Hook," she said, wli lug her eyes, "you have given me your word." Tho next two weeks Cleo spent In searching (ho "Help Wanted" columns of Iho newspapers mid In answerlm; those advertisements whose requirements require-ments she felt she could fill. She wore her shoes out tramping the streeis of Oakland andSan Francisco. At ollice after office she applied lor work, only to be met with refusal when her lack of qualifications became be-came apparent. Then she tried the stores, in the hope of securing a place as clerk until something better offered, but it was the dull season and the selling sell-ing forces were being reduced instead of increased. Hook, though he managed man-aged to retain his habitual cheery smile, was meeting, with, no greater success, for there is little work that a one-armed man, no matter how willing will-ing he may be, can do. This was driven home to him time and time again as he applied at employment bureaus, contractors' offices, ship, lumber and coal yards, only to be curtly turned down when it was seen he had an iron hook instead of a left hand. At the end of a fortnight the gloom of discouragement hung like a cloud over the little cottage in Yalda-via Yalda-via and, though the wolf was not yet at the door, both Cleo and Hook realized rea-lized that he was not very far away. Two days before the wedding Hope called at the Machin home to see the presents, which had been steadily pouring in. "Miss Langham Is culling on Miss Machin," said the man who answered Hope's ring. "But I'll tell her that you are here, sir." "Don't disturb her," said Hope. "I'll wait in the library until Miss Lang-ham Lang-ham leaves." Dropping into an armchair he licked up a magazine which he was idly perusing when his attention was distracted by the sound of voices coming com-ing from the adjoining room, the door of which was ajar. This room, he knew, was Inez' room where she was accustomed to receive her friends. The voices he recognized as those of his fiancee and a girl friend, Lucy Langham, but it was not until he heard his own name that he lowered his magazine and, unconscious of his eavesdropping, sat with alert ears. "Your Lieutenant Hope is a perfect dear, Inez," he heard Miss Langham saying. "Everyone is crazy about him. We are all wondering how you happened to get him. He's so quiet and serious not at all your sort." "If I tell you how it happened will you give me your word never to breathe It to a living soul, Lucy?" came Inez' voice through the half-open door. "Of course I won't repeat anything you tell me, dear," said Miss Langham. Lang-ham. "Well, It's really awfully amusing." said Inez, and Hope could hear her laughing softly. "I met him last summer sum-mer at Abernethy's. They had a house party, you know, at their camp on Lake ITaeld. One afternoon Jarvis and I started to climb Whiteface mountain, but we lost our way in the woods, and, to make matters worse, a terrible storm came up. Fortunately we found a deserted cabin . . . and there we spent the night. Jarvis behaved be-haved beautifully ... he never slept, keeping guard all night, though we had to remain there till morning. There were ouly two rooms in the place. I slept on the bed in one of them and he insisted on sitting up in the other. The next morning we managed man-aged to find the trail again and made our way back to the Abernethy's, who were worried to death about us. 1 knew perfectly well how they would all raise their eyebrows if we told them that we had spent the night together to-gether in a descried cabin, so I persuaded per-suaded Jarvis that we had better tell them that we had spent the night together to-gether with the Lees, who have a camp on the lake. A few days later (he camp party broke up without anyone any-one suspecting anything. Jarvis was ordered to die l'acitic coast and I never expected to see him again. But last mouth when 1 was visiting Lucille Allen in Washington, I sat tit dinner one night next to a very well-knowu lawyer, lie had bad lucre champagne than was good for him and he was very talkative and confidential. Iu the course of our conversation something was said about Jarvls and the lawyer remarked : "'That young man is going to be one of the richest olliccrs in the navy one of these days.' " 'Nonsense,' I answered, 'I happen to know that he hasn't anything except ex-cept his lieutenant's pay.' "'And 1 happen to know,' said the lawyer, 'that he Is the sole heir of Theodore Wlckluun.' " 'Not Theodore Wlckham, the steel magnate?' 1 asked. "'The same,' said he. 'He Is Jarvls Hope's uncle.' "'How do you know all this?'" I asked him. "'1 know It,' he replied, 'because we are Theodore WU-kluuu's attorneys and 1 have seen his will. But I must beg of you. Miss Machin, not to repeal what I have Just told you. I'm afraid 1 have talked too much.' "'Don't worry,' 1 answered. 'I shall not repeat !(.' "But that set me thinking, l'apa bail had some serious reverses In Wall si red and mamma and I had been forced to economize. We had hud to give up the cottage at Bur Harbor and one of (he motors and everything was looking pretty blue. "'Why not marry Jarvls Hope?' I said to myself. 'He's good looking and goes In good society, and he has a brilliant bril-liant future ahead of him. And he's going to he Immensely rich very soon, for his uncle Is past eighty and In miserable health,' " "Bui how did ho happen to propose to you?" queried Miss l.aughmn deeply deep-ly Interested. "He didn't," Iuca confessed, with u shade of embarrassment. "I proposed to him." "What!" exclaimed her visitor incredulously. in-credulously. "Well, not that, exactly," said Inez, laughing, "but I wrote him a letter saying that my friends bad learned that we had spent the night together in the cabin, that I was facing social ostracism, and that he owed it to me to put an end to the gossip by coming East and marrying me." "You didn't. . . . You're joking, Inez," Miss Langham ejaculated "in shocked surprise. "You couldn't do such a thing." "I did," said Inez, unabashed. "And it worked like a charm. Within a week after I wrote him he wired me asking me to marry him. He's dreadfully dread-fully quiet and serious, of course, and we haven't much in common, but once we are married I'll do as I please." "I think," said Miss Langham, iciiy, as she rose, "that it is the most cold- 7 . ' . ."-"' Tv.(rj T - V- -f ,;V 1 f - ,r -4 k y a ( , i A 1 v t ; t'a.' ,.' " -e' i . r I , - i I - ' I ,'v '-- . ' .'''....''.'"' 'XV. : ;. . . ' "You Can't Leave Me Now!" Criea Inez Hysterically. blooded, shameless thing I ever heard of. I pity Lieutenant Hope from the bottom of my heart. I only, wish that I were free to tell him what sort of a woman he is about to marry." "You don't need to tell Mm, Miss Langham," said a voice behind them, and Hope stood In the doorway. Both girls screamed. "I have heard every word, Inez," tit said sternly. "I thank God I havs learned the truth In time." "Eavesdropper," she sneered. "I may be an eavesdropper," he answered, an-swered, "but thank heaven I've not descended de-scended as low as you have. I only hope that I shall never set eyes on your deceitful face again." "But you're not serious . . . yor can't leave nie now!" cried Inez hys terically. "Why. the invitations are out . . . the wedding 1s day after tomorrow. to-morrow. What will people say? Oh, Jarvis, you won't humiliate me so. I'm sorry, Jarvis . . . truly I am ... I was only joking with Lucy . . .surely you don't think I was serious, do you? . . . there Isn't a word of truth in what I just said. Oh, Jarvis, Jarvis," and her voice rose into a scream, "you won't leave me, will you"" "What the devil's going on here?" broke in another voice, and Inez' brother Larry, a young man about town, strode into the room. "Oh; Larry, Lary," sobbed Inez, now on her knees, "don't let him leave mo He says he won't marry me just because be-cause of some silly things he overheard over-heard me saying to Lucy Langham." "You'll many my sister or I'll thrash you within an inch of your life," snarled Machin, stepping toward Hope monaei'.'.gly. "I'll do nothing of tho sort." said Hope. "I lo gin to think that you'ri both blackmailers." "Are you calling me a blackmailer?"' demanded Machin, swinging up his walking stick as though to strike. "You've guessed it." said Hope, auA as the stick descended he caught it in . his left baud and with his right smashed home an uppercut that caught ' young Machin squarely on the point of " the chin nud stretched him upon the lloor. : ' "If you will be kind enough to escort es-cort mo, Mr. Hope," said Miss Langham, Lang-ham, drawing aside her skirts as she . passed the cowering Inez, "1 will loavtf this house." As they passed out of the room Inei, with a despairing cry, threw herselt on the sofa and gave way tv a storm of angry tears. Hope assisted Miss Langham Into her car, which was waiting at the curb. "Mr. Hope." she said, offering her band. "I congratulate you from the bottom of my heart on your escape. And you needn't worry about what people will say. I shall make it my business to see that the truth Is known. Oan't 1 give you a lift to your hotel.?'' "Thanks," be replied, "but 1 must send a very Important telegram." Five minutes Later he was leanlnii over a desk In a Western V'nion otllce. writing furiously. The message wa addressed to Miss Cleo Burke, Vl-davla, Vl-davla, California, and the clerk bchltil the counter smiled happily when h read It. When Hope, now buoyant with happiness, hap-piness, reached his hotel, he found yellow envelope Iu bis box. He tore II open. The dNpuloh It contained wss dated Washington. ' ' "Kcport here without, hu Instant'.' delay," It read. "Situation very grsvo. Your services urgently need, si," It was signed by the chief oT thu Ml-reau Ml-reau of Intelligence of the naxK (TO BIO CON l'lM I'll ) |