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Show i Tm Gelett Bugess and Will Irwin. !5' li (Copyright, KOI, bv McClufe, Phillips & V. . Co.) f irEN' CENTS!" Adhich Drako mut-; mut-; " I tered to himself us h8 felt the I Jj first shock of ' the cool breeze on il Kearny street. "What In J i-ri ft' tio can a man do with a dime, any way? I It won't even buy a decent bed; It won't , W the price of a drink at the Hoffman j tir. CofTec John Is full of prunes!", t He walked up the cheap ldc of the 7 itrttt, looking aimlessly at tho shop wln-l.'J wln-l.'J foifi, '-I figure It out about this way." TWl,! hthro-jghL "I nin't going to earn a mil-VI' mil-VI' ll,,th two nickels; If I mako a raise, jfr UsL by durn luck" So 11 don t Jkl, natter how I begin nor what I do at alL I . I Just irot to cn It blind, and trust to 9:Wj tirlkJns a trail that'll lead to water. I'll up with the nrst idea 1 get, and ride wr Ha- far as It goes." Ho turned Into Market street at Lotta s i fociibln and had drifted a block north-i north-i S when the brilliant letters of an elec-mS elec-mS Kl?e'8n across the way caught his eye" Elograph theater Admittance 10 cents." Jr, ,' Tte hint was patent nnd alluring; there tntd to bo no gainsaying such a tip IF. . rom Fate. Over he went, with never a ' ttought as to where ho would spend tho tight without money, and In two minutes : Opnea John's dlmo slid under tho window : .wlha little ticket ofllco in front. "Hurry jttpl eald tho man in the box. "Tho per-; per-; lonnanco is Just about to begin." .As he Kit down, tho curtain rose and ' 10 comedians entered, to go through a Si?1? specialty turn of tho coarsest ij0cJtabout" description. ' Wmeh was gloomily disappointed. Ho (Runed. his head to inspect tho audienco ;9re closely, hoping for some livelier ! 'KPting of his destiny, when with a uiu and a one two three accompaniment . jpon tho wheezy piano at the aldo of the "'frfl' a 1111,0 soubretlc. ran down to tho ..jootllghta, and with a mighty fetching ' Mnousnc-SB, rolling her eyea to the ccll-'El.r,roclalmccJ' ccll-'El.r,roclalmccJ' "Ladles and gcntlcmon, with your kind permission, I will now cn-,avorto cn-,avorto entertain you with a few tricks W M i!elght-of-hand " '1 ' J$ 6" WGnt tlirough her foolish little ' i rvJrmQrico, audlblv coached by Homeono m "S .l?0 w'ngs. Admeh's eyes followed her I 'aneagcr Interest: Ho wondered how much older, sho was than she looked, and what she Would1 be like off tho stnge. Sho had a- piquant rather than a pretty face. In fnrm thn' fel)n trKnclo depleted bv Sir Joshua Reynolds. In -hor movements, she was as graceful and as swiftly accurate accu-rate as a kitten, and she had all a kitten's kit-ten's c-iiueaniig itiiu aiiunlig cnuiin. Adnifh made a sudden resolve If he were to meet with an adventure that night, what could possibly be more entertaining enter-taining than to have for hl heroine this HtUe puss of a magician? Ho made it rapid study of the situation to discover Its possibilities. It took but a few minutes for his wishes to work out a plan of action, ac-tion, and ho was soon at the door urbanely ur-banely addressing tho tlcket-tuker. "See here." said Admch. "I'm a reporter on tho "Wave you know tho paper, weekly Illustrated and I want an Inlervlow with Miss Morrow. I'll give her a good wrllo up If you'll let mo go behind and talk to Tho Blogrnph theater did not often figure fig-ure In tho dramatic columns of the city papers, and such a free advertisement was not to be refuged. Tho doorkeeper became nn the Instant effusively polite nnd. bustling with Imnortunce, took tho young man down a aide aisle to a door im to-.- stairs through a pussago leading behind tho wings. Admeh was uhowr Into a tlnv dre.3lng-room whoso scrawled plaster walls wcro half covered with skirts, waists and properties of all kinds. The little magician was In front of her make-up table, dabbling at tho rougo pot The doorkeepor Introduced tho visitor, thon discreetly withdrew, closing the door aftor him. At hor discovery by this audacious representative repre-sentative of tho prc6s 'Maxle wns all smiles and blushes. She was still but llttlo llt-tlo more than a girl, although not qulto so'voung as sho had appeared In front of the" footlights, and moro nalvo and cm-barrussed cm-barrussed than ono would hnvo expected of sur-h a determined llttlo actress Sho offered Admeh her own chair, tho only ono In the room, but ho seated himself upon a trunk and began the conversation. All his tact was necessary to put her at ease and Induco her to talk. The Hero of Pago Bridge was by no means too ready with his tonuue, usually. In tho presence of women, but there was. something In tho touching admiration she betrayed for him as a newspaper man that prevented him from being bashful. Ho thought the brotherly allltudo to bo tho proper pose, under the circumstances, and ho led her on. talking or tho theater, tho weather, her costume nnd himself, while sho sal awkwardly conscious of her violet tights, which she slapped norvously with a Ilt-tlewhip. Ilt-tlewhip. His careless, friendly way at i.isl gao hor contidence, for he asked hor few; .fiue?itlons and did not seem to expect clovei replies. Before long she had 'thrown off all reserve and chatted freely to him. 1 ' The Blograph theater kept open, as a rule, as long us It could' secure patronage. This night straggler kept coming In, so that tho four "artists" and th'e picture machlna. In tho room below still went through tholr weary-routine. As the conversation con-versation proceeded Maxlo left at times, wqpt through hor act and returned, finding find-ing Admeh always ready to put her upon tho thread of her story. So. by bits and snatches, by repetitions and parcnthcccs. In an Incident horo and a confession there, this Is about tho way Admch Drako heard, that night, in MuSio Morrow'a dressing-room- 1 'can't really remember when I wasn't acting, and I have no Idea who my parents pa-rents were, or whero 1 was born, or when, or anything. I think, though, I must be about 19 years old. though I don't look it, and I have decided on tho 1st of July for my birthday, because that's Just about tho middle of the year and It can't possibly pos-sibly be more than six month wrong I uod to go on In child's purls In London when I couldn't have been more than t. Then tho next thing I remember I was with a company of Swiss bell ringers, nnd wo traveled all through tho English provinces, prov-inces, I used to sing and dance In between be-tween their turns. n,nd I tell you It was hard work, practicing all day and dancing danc-ing all night almost Wo were all fearfully fear-fully poor, for we weren't very much of an attraction. I had only ono frOck bo-side bo-side my stage costume, and that ono was so patched I was ashamed to go to the pork shop, oven, with It on I was a regular regu-lar llttlo slave to old Max, who ran the company, and had to help cook and wash tho dishes in tho lodgings we look In the llttltj towns. Woll, tho business fell off In England, so wo took passage In a sailing ship for California, around the Horn. That voy-age voy-age wns tho happiest time of my life, for I had nothing to do but practice my steps-ono steps-ono or two hours a day. when the sen was calm enough. There wns a very nice old lndy aboard who taught mc how to aew and gave me some flannel to make myself my-self some underwear, for 1 had never worn anything but what showed before, and I didn't oven know that anyone else ever did She taught mo to read too, nnd tried to help me with arithmetic, but mcrcv! 1 never could got figures Into my h0tu3' , ,, Well, wo got to San Francisco, finally that was about ten years ago. Bell-rlng-Ing didn't seem to lake very woll. it was out of date, or other pooplo did It better, because you know specialty people have-to have-to keep Improving their act. and play on their ho?xls, or whllo they're tumbling through the air, or some novelty, nowa-dnvs, nowa-dnvs, or It doesn't go and It's hard to got bebked But my act drew well, and 11 always al-ways saved our turn. I made up new steps all tho time and Invented pretty costumes, cos-tumes, and. of course, old Max watched mo liko grim death to see that T didn't get awav from him. Wo traveled all over the West, and all tho time 1 was a drudge, did most of tho work nnd got nonJ of the money. Thoy used to lock mo Into tho houso when they went out. and old Max's wiro would givo mo so much work to do that she'd know whether I'd been Idle a moment. You wouldn't think a girl In a fix like that hnd much chnnco to got married, mar-ried, would you? AVell, I am married, or rather I was I don't know Just how 1 stand now. Ixit inu tell you .about it. Thcro wns a man used to hang nbout tho Star Variety therftor In Los Angeles v-ho did email parts sometimes, when they wanted a policeman In a ."sketch, or things like lhart but he mostly helped with the sccne-shlftevs I never had moro than a few words with him, but ho kind of took a fancv to me und ho used to bring" mo candy and leave It behind the flats where the others wouldn't seo lu I don't believe, now, he ever enred so very much for me, but I was silly and had never had any nl-tc-ntlon, and I thought he wns In love with mc. and I Imagined I was with him. Ho tried to mako up to Max. but tho old man wouldn't have anything to do with him. One day, when all my people were out and had locked me In the house, with a lot of dishes to wash, Harryhls name was Harry Maldslow came down the street and saw mc at the kitchen window. I raised the sash when ho came Into the yard, and without waiting for much talk first for we were both afraid the old man v.'culd be coming bock nnd would catch us, Harry asked me If I didn't want to jleavo tho show, and If 1 would run away .with him. J bellevo I tohl him I'd run away with an orangoutang If I got the chance. Remember. Re-member. I wns only 17, anu I had nover been alone with a man In my life before. In my life if you call such slavery .is that living! So ha told rno not to appear to notlco him, but to be nil ready for him and to watch out, and whenrl heard a certain whlstlo he taught rile, wherever I was, to Jump and run tor him, and he'd do the rcsL You can Imagine If I wasn't excited for the next few days! I would have Jumped oft." tho roof to get to him, if necessary, and I Just waited from hour to hour, expecting ex-pecting to hear his call every minute. I didn't nardly dare to go to sleep at night for fear I'd miss him, and I wa3 listening everywhere for three days. It seemed Impossible Im-possible that he'd be able to got mo away; It was too good to bo true- But I had nothing elso In tho world to look forward to, and I hop.?d and prayed for that whistle whis-tle with all my might. One night at the theater, after my company com-pany had done tho first part of their bell-rlnglng, bell-rlnglng, 1 w?nt on for my song. I remem-bor remem-bor It was that purple silk frock I wore, the one with tho gold fringe, and red stockings with bows at the knees. Well, the orchestra had Just stuck up my air, "Ain't 1 tho cheese? Ain't I the cheesp? Dancing the scrpcntlno under the trees!" end I was just ready to catch the first noto when 1 heard that whistle so loud nnd clear I couldn't mistake It. Heavens! I can almost hear It now. I was half-frightened half-frightened to death, but I Just shut my eyes and Jumped clean over the footlights and landed in the flageolet's lap and then pelted right up tho middle aisle. Harry had a lot of his friends ready by the main entrance, nnd they rushed down to meet mo and whllo half of them held the ushers and tho crowd back, for every ono was getting up to see whnt was tho matter, liko a panic, tho rest of the boys took me by tho elbows and ran me out the front door. The house was simply packed that night, and when they all saw mo jump they set up a yell like the placo wns afire. But I didn't hoar II at all till I got out In tho corridor with my skirt half torn on" and my dancing clogs gone and then the nolso sounded like a lion roaring In a menagerie. Harry was all ready waiting for mc. and ho took mo right up In his arms, as If I was a doll, ran down the stairs, put mc In a carriage walling at tho door, and wo prove off, llckcty-spllL 1'vo often thought since then that 1 took a big risk In trusting a mnn thnt I didn't really know at all, but Harry was square, and took me right down to a Justice of tho Peace. Wo wero married Just as I stood, with no slippers and tho holes In the heels of my stockings showing. What old Max did I don't know, but ho must have been a picture for the audienco when ho saw me My away like a bird out of a cage. By tho tlmo ho found out what had rappened It wns too late to do anything about It. for I was Mrs. Maldslow. Well. 1 lived with Harry for a few months, and thon ho began to drink and wanted mo to go on tho stage again to support him. The first time he struck mo I ran away and camo up to San Francisco, Francis-co, and wont Into specialty work for myself. my-self. Harry was kind enough when ho vas sober: In fact, ho was too good-nat-urttl to refuse oven a drink; that wns Just what was the matter. Ho had no back-hone, back-hone, and although ho had a sort of ro-momlc ro-momlc way with him that women like ho didn't have tho ncrvo to stay with anything any-thing very long. Now the funny ynrt of the whole thing is this. You'd think that old Max would have been furious, and so ho was at first, but afterward he had a toriible falling out with the others In his company his wife had died nnd I guess lie wanted to spite them moro than he did mo. At any i ate, Just b?foro he died, a year ago, ho Inherited some money from nn undo in Germany, and what did he do but leave a kind of legacv to Harry. That Is, tho old man had a funnv Idea that wills didn't hold very well In this country, and he had a great respect for the honor of the army officers. So he left ?1j.0OO In cash with a Col. Knowlton In trust for Harry Maldslow Malds-low when he could be found. Harry had a way of changing his name when he felt like It, and old Max didn't know him very well, anyway, so the only way no could be sure of Col. Knowlton Identifying him was by well, by a certain mark he had on his bodv that Max hapDened to know about. The Colonel has been invalided homo from tho Philippines, and every time ho sees me ho asks if I've found Hnrry. So. that's all. I don't rcallv know whether I'm a wlfo or a widow, but I do kr.ow that I ought to have a share of that money coming to me, and perhaps If you put the story Into the pnncr, somn of his friends will seo it and givo mo nows of him. Admeh Drake put his pencil Into his pocket feeling a sense of shame al his duplicity du-plicity with this little waif. He would have been clad to help hor. Iu It seemed 'useless to disappoint her credulity by confessing con-fessing that his relations with the press were entirely fictitious. "AVell. 1 hope you get the money," he said, "and If there's anything T can do to help you. I v. ill. But don't you want mo to seo you home. Maxle?" "Sure!" said th girl, frankly, and after pulling on a rather soiled automobile eont and adjusting a top-heavy plumed b'ck hat she descended the stairs of the theater the-ater with Admeh and they found themselves them-selves on Market street. "It's a little lute lo get anvthlng to eat." Admeh suggested, tentatively, trusting to his luck. He was not dlsnppolnted. "Oh. ves. Indeed." replied the girl. "I alwnvs have supper after I got home, nr.y-1 nr.y-1 WPV.' Half the worry was off his mind, but without a cenl In his pocket, the nnestlon of transportation troubled him. If worst came to worst. Admeh decided that ho would take Maxle home In a carriage, sec her safolv Indoors nnd then return and hnvo It out with the driver. Bnt first he ventured another Insinuation. It's a' beautiful beau-tiful night!" he remarked. "Flni-!" sold Maxle. "Let's Walk." She took his arm blithely, happy ut her release from work, and they crossed over, went up Grant avenue lo 1'ost street and there turned toward Union squnre. A short distance ahead of them a nil mnn In a gray mackintosh wns walking with somcwhn pnlnful carefulness up the street. His dovKtlona snomed lo testify to a rather Jovial evening's Indulgence. The two rnpldly approached him, and Admeh hnd scarcelv time to no Ice his yellow beard and hair when the stranger turnd Into a doorwav. The house he op-trred op-trred was gaudily painted In red nnd yellow yel-low wlh "tars and crescents, nnd so fiercely lighted with electric lamps that no wayfarer, however dazed, could fall to notice the sign- "Hammam Baths-Gentleman's Baths-Gentleman's Entrance." When Admelr turned.to Maxle she wns as pnlo as if she. has seen a ghost. Sho looked up at him wrth a glitter In her eves. nil'"eren!" shu exclaimed, opening her hands rtUlnf; n'1oar Into his whn i .Go ,n lJlcro nml If that man tnMJUi,t w?nt ln h" l word 'Dottj" Jw Is. and come to the theater and tell wit' nmwv lh pl,sncd nlm lnl the door- tnrtiW lhS "tni,1-iom of an amateur detective de-tective Admeh Drake pnid his dollar for rlBSl?n. "ml nasscu "irouKh two . n o roomc into an artificially tropical atmos- on t)ln ,."blcd' ,reased clothes. Pausing vcVcd ttCny w ,.lhi9,lt tnc door- hQ sur-anartmint sur-anartmint inrpClcd' GaUfJ decorated busiest !iL,e,0,w;K U wns mllnlGht. the bath- h ",,f th0 twenty-four In the line nn iVJ0,rnn5cd ovor a Group elt-nv& elt-nv& nPiln t,owcl robcs- chatting drowllv. iimho Arunkcn,sat'r thrusting his heavy 5 .do? T, "ndcr tne covc and l5lng stunor y n v ,OVCur two otl,crs su" 1" stupor Beyond them was a group of &kS,wh0 hnd co,no t0 reduce weight; wns nrnnl0!!"?' srn,!U' each nt at,tho Judgment, their worldly ldij ffhnk to a single bain towel, ho m.F? u nnrd t0 p,ck h,s man' no ono could he see with tho clay-vellow hair nPrLnTd ltat naarkod thVmyerlous p ?r whom ho was searching Jtniri0Vinc.J'lhcVfl wl, llPP0d down tho T? . In the single, leveling garment, through a double glass door and Into an ""u""n ".uusiueraoiy notier, whero men were lolling back, wet and shiny. In canvas chairs. He saw tho rubbers working work-ing ln the room beyond, saw that the men under their hands were black and brown of hair and beard. To tho right another glass door caught his eye. Ho passed in nnd gnGpcd at tho heavy, overpowering temperature. - His g asses, to which ho hnd clung wllh thc Instinct In-stinct of a near-sighted man, burned on his nose Men, glistening hnd dropping sat all along tho wnll, thelrkfcct -In llttlo tubs of water. In tho corner sat tho mysterious stranger strang-er of tho yellow hair and beard. Ho was flinging sentimentally. Admeh, practiced .Pmune,Ioro of Intoxication, watched' him. Tho Jag s growing' he said to himself In fact, the fumds of liquor, heat driven, were mounting steadily. Crossing tho po'n. pp as to command the stranger's right side, he saw round his upper arm a black rubber bandage, liko those used to confino varicose veins. Tho problem resolved re-solved Iteolf Into a question of tearing off that bandage. Tho man of the yellow beard eang. maudlin Orpheum songs and prattled of many, things. Ho cursed San Frnnchjco. He told of his amours He offered to fight or wrestlo with any ono In the room. "A chance." thought Admeh. ns ho took tho challenge. But ln a moment more the drunken man was running ngain on a lovo tack, with the winds of Imagination blowing blow-ing free. Nevertheless, this challengo gave Admeh an Idea. What ho could not encompass by diplomacy ho might seize by force. In that method all must depend upon the Idsuo of a moment. If he could tear away tho bandago In. the first dash ho would win. But let tho struggle ln3t moro than a moment and others would In-torvonc, In-torvonc, then ho would bo thrown out and tho chance would bo gone. Mentally ho measured bodies against tho stranger; mnn for man ho saw that, both being sober, ho himself was badly overmatched. Broader and taller by many Inches, . the -stranger was of thick." knotty limbs, and deep chest; Admeh himself was all cow-hoy cow-hoy ncrvo and wire, but slight and out of condition. It wns bull against coydie. "The question Is," thought Admch, "can I' and his Jag lick him nnd his musclo7" Tho strangor, singing again, lurched along tho hot tiling to another room. Admeh gasped like a hooked trout as ho followed through tho door. It was the extra hot room, where tho mercury registered regis-tered 1C0 degrees. The stranger's bristles began to subside and his . Hps crept together. to-gether. Tho amateur detectlvo drew nearer and languid as ho was with tho terrific heat, gathcrod his forco for the attempt. at-tempt. At that moment an attendant with trays of Ico water slouched in on his felt shoes Admeh slipped back Into his chair. This entrance had a meat surprising effect ef-fect on him of tho yollow beard. Some emotion, which Admeh took to bo either fear or anxloty, struggled to break through the veil of his debauch; he stared with bleary but Intent eyes. In a moment mo-ment ho was. lurching for tho door. Glad of tho relief from that overwhelming heat, Admch followed. Tho trail Jed through tho anteroom, past tho rubbers and their benches, through another double gloss door. A rush of steam fogged his spectacles; spec-tacles; when It cleared a little, he saw dimly through tho hot vapor that he was ln a long, nnrrow clonct. banked on ono side by benches and by pipes which wero vomiting clouds of steam. Groping from ono side to the other, ho found that they were qulto alone. With no further hesitation. Admch rushed on his man and grasped for the right arm. By the fraction of nn Inch he missed his holil. The stranger, with a quickness amazing for one In his condition and whnt was moro surprising, without a word lashed out and caught Admeh a blow under the chest which whirled him back on tho hot benches and fairly Jerked his spectacles from his nose. The lssuo was on, and It was first honors for tho stranger. Unsteady on his legs, but still determined. Admeh, closed again, ducked tinder a ponderous blow and grappled round tho waist. Ho managed to got ono hand on the bandage, hut In no wlso could ho tear it away, for tho stranger held him In a boar-grip, tight about tho nock. So they struggled nnd grunted and swaved through the misty clouds from the hot benches to the slippery lloor and back to the benches again. Their bodies, what with tho exertion nnd th" steam, ran rivulets; rivu-lets; their throata were gasping. Once, twice, they staggered tho room's length. Admch was beginning to feel his breath and hlo senses going together, when tho grasp about his neck slackened In tension. ten-sion. "I and tho Jag win." he thought, with what senso was left In him ITo gathered his strength Into Its last cartridge, and gavu a heave and a fling: thoy went down to the floor with a wet slap. Admeh above. Ho felt his opponent collapse under hlin. For a moment he, too, saw tho universe swing round him. but with a great effort he lore awny the bandago nnd pressed his near-sighted eyes close to tho right arm. There, in faded colors, was a tattooed design on the whlto skin, Admch made out the word "Dotty," framed In a border of twisted anokes, His quest wns done. Faint, weary, languid, he prepared to get away before his nssault was discovered. The door opened, somo one caught Admeh by the arm. With no more fight in him. ho raised himself to one knee and recognized recog-nized the attendant, the sight of whom had beforo no nearly sobered his drunken opponent ''What the dovll " said tho new-comer, and stopped ns his eye cought that mark on the arm. Then ho bent down, passl him finger over tho design, studied It, and peered Into the-whlle, senseless face be-hind be-hind the yellow beard. I "My work It Is the very man!" ho ex- ' claimed, in tones of the greatest Interest, Turning to Admch he asked: j "Now, why did juiu want to know about ) that mark, and whnt wero you scrapping 1 "What do you know about him?" re-tcrtod re-tcrtod Admeh. IH "Story for story." said tho attendant 1 "Story for story, swapped sight unseen," agreed Admeh. "But let's get him out of 1 here first, becauso he'a ln a pretty bad fix between his fight and hl Jag." Together they carried him to a dressing-room, laid . , IH him on a bench, and closed the curtain, j IH Hero Admeh's last spark of strength left i 1 IH nlm; ho collapsed in a h?ap on tho floor. , IH With practiced hands the attendant set I about reviving thorn bollu In ten minutes 1 the man of mystery slept heavily, stupid- , l. on the. bench, and Admeh waa sitting against tho wall breathing cool relief from , i the outer nlr. Briefly he told of his slngu- , lar errand, omitting, from somo hazy idea of pollc. the Horn about the legacy. ' ' "Well." said the rubber, after Admeh Drako had finished his tale, "vonr v.irn 1 IH certainly Is curious, but I can beat It ' h ll What d'you think of this? I tattoed that 1 ll name and mark on this fellow's arm, and I know tho history of It, but ho has no idea to this day how It ever came there. ' . nor who 'Dotty' Is, nor why 1 did It, nor fM anything at all about lu Ho was the hero 1 of as quer a yarn as T ever heard, and ' ho knew no more nbout It all the time I than a babt! unborn!" Ho rang an electric bell; a boy on- i H swerod. ' t t , IH "Tell tho hosx to send for the extra (' man. ho said. "I'm dor.o up for tonight ' nnd I'm (joins to la off for a while." (.Continued in the Story of the Dermo- , graph Artist next wivkt |