Show j IX THE BROKEN BROKE J the Chronicles of MARCONI M GRAM THE MAN WITH W ITH THE MASTER MIND Carlton Being Clarke Clarkel T De BY FRANK Fr LOVELL NELSON Solver of Criminal Mysteries M Y stories Telegram for you Clarke I said vs s 8 I took the message which the boy delivered at the door of our Oak street apartments one morning In mer A shade of anxiety passed over the face of oC my Strange I thought though that Carlton Clarke the great telepathic detective should be dis by so ordinary an event as the receipt r 01 ot a telegram Clarke took the yellow envelope and held It thoughtfully In his hand as a woman studies a as telegram before sum summoning summoning summoning moning the courage to open It I Do you remember Thalda he asked i suddenly still holding the envelope as I signed the messengers book Did I remember r Thalda Thaida As If I could forget that glorious vision of young womanhood that had flashed into our presence in the ghetto district of New York and whose psychometric mind had aided us In the solution of the puzzling puzzling puzzling mystery of the Blue I see you do lo continued Clarke Yell Well my mini mind has haM been filled allied with forebodings concerning her all morning I have no word from her for several weeks Something tells me that this message concerns her and that the news Is not good We Ve will see and he tore open the envelope and read real it hastily A look of distress passing quickly to a black frown of anger overspread his face Without a word he passed the message to me I read On board S S Magellan off ot Pensa Pensacola cola oola Fla Marconi station The wolfs fangs No signature A cipher None one that I was familiar with yet it must have haven havea n a meaning and a deep and terrible one one for tor as I looked at Clarke his eyes eyes blazed with anger an er and beneath It he wore ore a look of ot deepest concern It is from her The wolf I must save her but how Sexton can I count on you You know that without asking I replied but I the tile slightest Idea what Jt it all means Of OC course not Come Into the library and I will tell you while we plan some method of or action I do o not yet know what hat hatI I first met Thalda Thaida continued Clarke Clarke when we were seated sealed in the thc li 11 when I was an at Belle Bellevue vue uc She was WiS a student delving deeper than the tho mind of or woman ordinarily goes into subjects philosophical and psychological She was a true friend frienda a Jovial companion and these traits allied with the beauty of which you can testify had the effect of gathering about her an nn ever enlarging court But with Hh an admirable reserve she held them then all at length I alone atone came the nearest to her con confidence confidence confidence and the life we tiled lived was ideal both too busy buy for our chosen choen work to tomar tomar mar inar it by b thoughts of anything closer both protected she by her womanly reserve re reserve serve liene I by bJ my sincere respect for her herThen herThen herThen Then Compte Armand de do Loup came Into our lives He lie was a young youn French nobleman very rich living where and how he pleased We re were attracted to him by bJ his love of the oc occult occult cult which he ho had studied In India in Tibet wherever the minds of oC thinkers run In the direction of the unknowable lie Ile was was wai suave handsome and at first charming In every way It was not nol long Jong however until his advances to Thalda Thaida became so pronounced as to cause her to fear him and me to hate Mm urn with all an my heart When It be became became became came necessary for her definitely to repel re repel pel his offers he went out of oc our Vr sphere as suddenly as he had entered it but leaving lp behind him his curses and his vows rocs of oC the most terrible vengeance hIs Ills fiery Gallic spirit could invent it Nine years have passed since then and no blow has fallen unless this Is it it After Arter he left translating his name literally lit literally we called him the wolf We often orten talked jokingly Of oC the time when the threatened fangs of the wolf would close upon us The fangs tangs of the wolf It must bo ho Thalda Thaida Aa AJ Clarke was speaking the bell rang again and a second messenger ar arrived arrived arrived rived Clarke feverishly tore open the cover and reading It passed It to me It was have havo struck Save me meLike meLike meLike Like the first it was sent by Marconi system from the steamship Magellan Walt Wait exclaimed Clarke We can cando cando cando do nothing There will be a third She Is sending me word despite some terri terrible terrible ble obstacle He had hardly finished when hen the third message arrived Sent from the same station It read come conle tor Would there be a fourth that would give us the final clue All AU the day we waited with all the patience we could summon but It came riot Clarke spent the time poring over ver the time timetables timetables tables of ot the north and south lines At last he gave up and throwing the time timetables timetables timetables tables from him he exclaimed Some Something Something Something thing has happened She cannot finish But there Is another means If only she will try It Then he flay lay back In his chair and closed his I eyes For more than an hour he did not stir I began to think he slept Then he jumped up so sud denly that he startled me Quick I r have it We are arc going Pack Dont forget the arms and amI plenty of ammunition and put in those four automatics we got the other day There may be hot work before we ever eversee eversee eversee see Chicago again Lets see time the t e train leaves In an hour and a quarter But where are arc we going I asked Involuntarily New Orleans he hc shouted as he dashed d shed Into his room to throw his clothes out to me to pack p ck We Ve reached New Orleans at dusk and tool took a cab from the railway station As we drove away looking out of the cab window I saw a swarthy roughly dressed man enter another cab which Immediately followed us I thought nothing of the Incident at the time ex except except except to wonder how such a looking individual in individual Individual happened to be riding in cabs As we entered our hotel I looked back The roughly dressed fellow had ha discharged his cab and taken up a po position position position across the street where he could watch the time door of the hotel Ah Ali we Se are arc watched wat hed whispered Clarke exultantly That proves we weare weare weare are on the right trail We e have but to turn watchers ourselves to find the th end of It AVe We registered under assumed names went directly to our rooms and had dinner brought up While we were eating Clarke laid the plans for the thc night nl ht I felt assured that his 1215 Iron body and nerve nerv of steel would not re relax relax relax lax until he lie had find accomplished some something something something thing yet I complained that he had hadl assigned signed l to tome me the hardest task of all that of waiting patiently in the hotel until he should need me I befit bait however to his argument that one or oI orus orus us at least should get some sleep ann anil I Ibe be he fresh for the morrow I Keep your Jour ear car open for the tele telephone telephone I phone warned Clarke as he left Ill call eaU you the minute I have need of you 1 may have rested but I cannot say sayI 1 I slept much All AU night I turned over Oel in my illY mind all aU phases of the th puzzle What had hud the note told Clarke Why were we so soon met and followed How did he expect to pick up the trail In this strange city Where then would it lead to There was obviously no answer to any of these questions and and I must have dropped off to sleep when the tl h telephone bell in the startled me one into consciousness I snatched up the receiver Its me Clarke Are you dressed That good Pack Park everything and slip sUp out through the kitchen Give GIre the night nl ht porter a dollar and he will guide you ou Dont w worry orrs about the bill Its paid find a boy boJ waiting at the kitchen door Follow hint He will ulde you Watch Vatch that you are not fol followed followed followed lowed Now hurry He have added that r I found round the kitchen door as he lie directed I and discovered there puffing nonchalantly nonchalantly antly at a cigarette one of those bea beagles of oC the city a messenger boy He grabbed one of or the suit cases that 1 i carried ant an and we were away I followed i him blindly through alleys and courts turning hither and thither after a fash fashion fashion fashion ion so devious that I would have de defied defied fied fled the most expert shadow to have followed us At last we emerged onto a street where the boy hailed a car Takes us right to where de udder chap Is govner he said By this time it was dawn and could see that our way led in the di dl direction direction re of or the levee the streets were tilled filled with cotton carts cart guided by sleepy s1 epy negroes We left the car and my guide dodged in tn and out among the long wharf houses until he came to a small boat landing where a number of oC small craft were tied up One of oC these I had marked from afar It was a graceful launch of about water line a perfect peri ct beauty trim and stanch One Une might with a fair break of weather sail her herout herout herout out into the surf gurt around the keys kes righton right on up the coast and smack into New York harbor Clarke was pacing restlessly to and fro on the landing puffing putting at a cigar cigarette cigarette cigarette ette and keeping his weather eye upon the opening between the wharf houses I r thought you were never never coming Here Into the launch quick and hE hEd designated d the beauty which I had ad admired admired admired mired I Jumped aboard Clarke threw a bill to the boy threw off ot the line followed me and started the th engine Gee I wisht I was goin along the boy shouted as we swung into r the broad Mississippi and headed down the miles that separated New Orleans from the delta Clarke was busy with the engine and wheel and I took advantage of the op opportunity opportunity opportunity to look about me We Ve were provisioned for a cruise Within the cabin in a little cooks coops galley aft was the most complete miniature cuisine J i had even seen A tiny oil stove a cup cupboard cupboard I board stocked with all manner of pro provisions provisions provisions visions Had it been a pleasure trip 1 I could have asked nothing better Now we were dancing along merrily over the rippling surface of the mighty river dodging d in and out of the craft of or all nations which owing to the genius of American engineering ng are able to make port Clarke steered by the side wheel and a grim smile of satisfaction stole over mer his face At last he said now I lean can tell you whither we are bound and what we probably have before us but this work of steering is getting tiresome Come and take the wheel and I will get my pilot to work I took the wheel and watched Clarke curiously while he lie lifted the cushions and removed the scat seat upon which I had been sitting Almost with horror I saw extended in the locker the therl rigid rl ld form of a man You may get up now said Clarke and the body rose to a sitting posture climbed painfully out of its narrow quarters and stretched Its damped limbs The fixed expression and the thc glassy lassy eyes eye told me the secret secreta a per perfect perfect perfect state of oc o hypnosis It was the man manof manof manof of t the cab time the watcher at the hotel And then the full import of Clarkes devilish lc cunning his mastery masten of the minds of men by the use of forces which bordered on op the supernatural dawned upon me Here was the pilot which would guide us u to the lair of the wolf and to Thalda Thaida the spy turned to account against his own employer The path lay by water this evidently Clarke Clark had bad discovered I Yes It was absurdly simple simple re remarked remarked marked Clarke quietly divining as he heso heso so 0 often seemed to do lo my mJ train of thought As soon as I found u we e were watched I knew I had the master key fo o the situation It was easy to turn from the shadowed to the shadow I slipped out of oC the hotel through the kitchens prepared the way for you OU and while our pilot watching the front entrance of or the hotel I was within a astep astep astep step of him and watching him You know my m method and It was not long Before I had him in my power and knew all that he knows It is not much except that de Loup has some sort of rendezvous on an obscure Island about thirty miles up the coast from the delta It is called the lie Ile des Ser Serpents Serpents and we are going to find out what goes on there God send we do donot donot donot not get there too late Clarkes eyes took a faraway loot look and I knew he was thinking of Thalda Thaida Meanwhile the stoical figure held the wheel and guided us in and out among the thinning craft Clarkes eyes eJes ever upon him Clarkes brain ever directing the hand at the tiller It was far from a pleasure trip that ride to the delta which we reached about 3 in the afternoon The presence of that silent stoical figure at Lt the wheel lay like a load on the weary eye It tried my nerves and I believe that even the Iron nerve of Clarke was not Immune to the Influence influence ence for In an hour or two he arose and motioning me to take the wheel with a few passes and a snapping of the fingers he brought our unwilling guest back to a normal state At first he sat dazed and awed but as his senses returned his ire rose and he poured forth in mingled French and English a perfect torrent of ot abuse Clarke watched him ready to forestall any attempt at violence I You have seen what may happen I Ito to you said my confrere quietly when there was at last a lull Now you can make your Jour choice of three things Either you will guide us willingly to des Serpents or you will return to toa toa toa a state of and guide us or else you Jou will be taken there in irons and if Ie your master should chance to get the better of us the last living act of mine will be to turn you over to him and brand you as a traitor look as eef I was what you say sa opp against It anyway Say no more I vill will guide you But I viii die You all vill will die De Loup he iss one devil I haf been there once tonce twice three times In ze launch Dere Iss many men dere De Dc Loup he tell me he cut my eyes s out eef I eveY ev r tell de way tray ay I haf hat hatnot not been on ze island but I hat haf seen enough Dere iss no good goes on dere But zat iss not my business I am pay pa pato to watch wat h I till ill go but we all vIII vill die and dose what dies first will vIII be de luck luckiest luckIest I iest lest No o well not die replied Clarke Not if I can help It and If there Is a possible way to do It I will wll see that you run no risk It may be you can land landus us and then stand off ot until we signal you Jou If you are arc true to us we will take care of you Youve only changed em employers employers employers my good fellow tellow and got the best of oC the bargain Clarkes generous tone and the sparkle of his eye seemed emed s to inspire a sudden confidence in Bloc as we learned his name to be A look such as might have hae mantled the face of oC a ser sergeant sergeant sergeant geant of the Old Guard when the Little Corporal pinched his ear car stole over his features He arose and look looking lookIng looking ing Clarke squarely In the eye grasped his hand From the moment of that action he was one of us and we had no fear but that he would play his I part and play it well weH At last we were out on the blue dancing waters of the gulf beyond the thelow thelow thelow low mud lumps of the delta The wind has now freshened and was blowing almost a gale With it the sea searose searoSe searose rose and looking through the green grcen sheets of oC |