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Show ! . . r-RDm rx e5v r? A Story and Scenario by &Sa IQ) M HP ICS f M LOUIS JOSEPH VANCE And a cast of exceptional merit. Nt B 1 1 3 .Ja 4 Read This Storv Now Then See " " international film skrvicic; inc. Aeuu 1 ma u' y Alien oee Under the direction of Wharton, Inc. It All in Motion Pictures. A ROMANCE OF PREPAREDNESS cOTv& i ! INTRODUCTION. On the eve of inheriting sole control con-trol of the Channings, Inc., America's largest aims and ammunition industry, indus-try, Patria Channing is mysteriously summoned from Newport to New York by Peter Ripley, trustee for her estate. Earon Huroki, chief of the Japanese secret service, busies himself him-self to hinder her response to this summons; but Patria overrides his opposition with the aid of Captain Parr, U. S. secret service, who suspects Jai.an of intriguing to embroil em-broil the United States with Mexico. EPISODE TWO. "TKEASTOE." SO youns was the June morning that, though cross-town streets already glowed with sunlight well nigh as bright, if not so warm, as that of noonday, wide areas of shadow lingered athwart Fifth avenue's silent reaches like still broad banners of translucent trans-lucent violet. The thoroughfare was as lifeless as Main street in any village at church hour of a Sunday; a. few policemen blinked indifference at the taxicab flying southward at such lawless speed; a scattering scat-tering of early workers accepted it as yet another manifestation of the decadence deca-dence peculiar to the idle rich; a long, low, rakish cat, slinking homeward from a shameful night, narrowly escaped extinction ex-tinction beneath its Juggemautish wheels. And that -was all.- A few blocks south of Fourteenth street the vehicle (driven with a recklessness reck-lessness arguing the prospect of a substantial sub-stantial tip as reward for haste) took a corner ontwo wheels and came to an abrupt pause before a residence of the vintage caste; in dwellings such as this witli its facade of pressed brick, its high "stoop." its white front door with knob and knocker of gleaming brass was wealth and social prestige wont to bide in the early sixties and earlier. The moment It stopped, out of the cab hopped a brisk young man and, on his heels, an anxious young woman who ran impatiently up the steps to the white front door while her companion tarried at til curb to settle with the chauf.-feur. chauf.-feur. By the time he was free to join the young woman on the doorstep, she was ringing the 'bell with a sort of semi-hysteric semi-hysteric persistence which was shadowed in the countenance she turned to him. "I can't understand why no one answers." an-swers." she faltered -with a little shiver of apprehension. "I've rung and rung. You don't really think anything can have happened do you. Captain Parr?" "I hope not. Miss Cha.nnins: but T mean to find out pretty pronto." delared the young man grimly. "Of course, we've got to allow that this is a tolerably early hour to expect a prompt answer to a doorbell. Still let me have a try, please." She stepped back, and Parr planted a firm thumb on the bell-push. From the interior nf the house came a. remote buzzing buzz-ing nothing more. At a venture the young man released the button and laid hold of the doorknob. To the surprise and somewhat to the consternation of both it yielded readily; the door swung in. disclosing a glimpse of dusky hallway. hall-way. For a moment neither moved; only the eyes of each sought the other's, mutely eloquent with apprehensive inquirv. Then with a quick gesture, which might have been interpreted as bidding the girl to wait outside, the young man crossed the threshold. Quietly the girl followed to be greeted by her name, spoken in accents of wonder. won-der. "Miss Fatty fo' the lan's sake!" An aged negro servant, clothed simply fn pajamas, stood transfixed in recognition recogni-tion half way down the flight, of stairs to the upper stories. His hands were uplifted in amaze, palms out. As the girl greeted him by name- ho dropped them and shuffled hastily down to the tiles of (he entrance hall. "That you, Martin? . Where is Mr. Ripley?" Rip-ley?" "Mlstuh Ripley? Ah reckon he mus" he into his bed. Miss Patty: he gin'rly sleep purty late when he done work late the night befo " "Did he work late last night, Martin?" "Tie sho' did, Miss Patty leastways he done say he gwinetuh when he send me off to bed 'bout 'leven o'clock." Again the eyes of Miss Chsnnlng filled with foreboding, consulted the eves of Captain Parr. It was the latter who pursued pur-sued the inquiry. "Mr. Ripley sent you to bed at eleven, Martin? Did you hear any unusual noises in the house before you fell asleep?" The negro scratched his head. "Tn the house, suh? No, sun: not into the house. Ah didn't hear nuffln'." "Did you hear any uncommon noises whatever?" "Seems like Ah did, suh yes, suh; jus' when Ah was 'bout droppin' off I hear sumpin' what sound like an automobile what done have two or three blow-outs, one right 'pon top the other, a good ways up the street, like." This time Captain Parr evaded the eyes of Patria Channing. "Is that the library?" he asked, with a, nod Indicating a door toward the rear of the hall; and. receding an affirmative response, motioned the servant to it with an Imperative hand. "There's a light burning in there still." he said; "you can see it beneath the door. Better see if perhaps Mr. Ripley hasn't fallen asleep over h!s work. Martin. Mo go ahead; I'll answer this." I The doorbell had .lust rung. As the aged negro scuffled off toward the librarv. Parr turned, opened the front door, and admitted an urchin wearing the liverv of the Western T'nlon Telegraph company. This laPt delivered an envelope ad-dreF51 ad-dreF51 to Miss Fatria Channing. pocketed pocket-ed a tip, and returned to the street. Captain Cap-tain Parr cocked an attentive ear toward the library while the girl hastily scanned her telegram. He heard nothing informing inform-ing him. however, before Fatria. startled him with a little cry of indignation. "What nonsense! Captain Parr will you please look at this?" He took the telegram from her qulver-ing qulver-ing hand and knitted annoyed brows over it : "Newport. June in, "Miss Fatria Channing. Fast Tenth street. X. Y. City. Distracted. Why did you run away tonizht wit hour explanation? explana-tion? Rodney follows by first morning train. Please wire prompt denial rumors current here vou eloned with Cant a in Parr. AMELIA WREX.V." A ?mile. half rueful, half of amusement, replaced Parr's frown. He returned the message. The girl impatientlv tore it up and committed Hp offensive fragments to I the floor. Then, reluctantly, she responded respond-ed to Parr's jmtle. "Oh. denr! I do wish people wouldn't he such sillies' And the worst of it all i. Aunt Amelia's sure to make a bad matter mat-ter " She was Interrupted hy r cry throa v with terror. Martin tottered net of th lihrnry door. his limb? trembling, his fa'p sshp.n beneath Us bronze. "Mi5s patty; o Lawd. mv ; Lawd!" Parr's finsrers Hosed imperative! v ;:por i th servant's wrist. : "What is it? What's hanprne-i? S'.op that howlinc and tell us!" TTie sounds of lamentation rpased abruptly, ab-ruptly, though the npcr-Ve mouih remained re-mained ajar. "With an effort h regained coherne. "U s Mistuh Rij-v did in th Vm.rr.on inpir'se movd ;h rvo yoi;-tr , ronle toward tho rear of th halir.nv.' ?-.nt ; lin;f w.iy to the librarv door P;irr chekd the clrl. 'p:ire yourself, Miss ( T.-inring. T,rt .mo iz i firt yr.d ha e a :o--k i r,;:rvi pne "' ' Inclined to d-.rv his r'a. s'-.o H r. I her mind mid ioVid. ra''ir. Mrn to , fc'l m, P.irr 1 :-- vy, ( U w as a fcauions cha.;r.L-ef. solxriv if richly furnished in an outaged mode and dominated by a massive chimney-piece of marble elaborately carved. Parr, however, how-ever, only subconsciously registered an impression of its character. His interest centered upon the body of a gentleman of advanced years that occupied an armchair arm-chair at one end of the table. And it needed need-ed no more than a glace to assure him tha t the man was dead beyond dispute : white the chill of his flesh proved that he had been dead for many hours not less than six at least. His head and arms rested upon the table. ta-ble. One hand still gripped an automatic pistol. Near his head rested an overturned over-turned telephone instrument, the receiver dislodged. He had been murdered shot down whiU telephoning. But he had not died so quickly as to let his assassin escape; he had lived long enough to discharge dis-charge his own weapon with deadly effect. ef-fect. Half a dozen feet away from the corpse the assassin lay asprawl fallen forward fjroni a window recess under cover of whose heavy draperies he had skulked prior to committing his crime. An automatic auto-matic of heavy caliber remained in his grasp. On the carpet near it were two ejected shells of brass. Parr made a slight noncommittal noise in his throat. The assassin had been a man of less than average stature. His clothing was mean, nondescript, the cent tents of his pockets uninforming; so much Parr determined without delay. He was not, however, disappointed by the negative nega-tive outcome of his search; in the cast of those dead features he read irrefutable confirmation of his grimmest suspicions; the assassin was-had been a Japanese. Turning on the servant sharply. Parr stilled his lamentations witli a brusque command. "Stop that horrible noise, Martin! Do you wish Miss Channing to hear you? Now tell me: Where can we put these bodies out of her sight?" The negro designated the drawing-room which communicated with the library by sliding doors; thither they bore and there left the bodies. Then returning, Parr, ordered the communicating doors closed, and for a moment hesitated, dubiously examining a fat sealed envelope which he I had found in the pocket of the dressing j gown worn by the ill-starred Mr. Ripley, j It was superscribed in the firm, minute! writing of a strong old hand: "For Miss Patria Channing-PHvate & Confidential." Had Parr yielded to primal impulse he would have destroyed envelope and cop-tents cop-tents then and there. True, he lacked the slightest inkling as to the tenor of the communication; but considering it in association as-sociation with the strange and terrible circumstances under which it had come into his hands, his mind was preyed upon by darkest apprehensions. Better far, perhaps, per-haps, to do away with it utterly, lest its i Import enmesh the girl to whom it was addressed in that web of murderous intrigue in-trigue which had been the death of its writer. Parr mastered the temptation only with effort, reminding himself that he had no i right to withhold the letter, whatever he j might fear. He returned to the hallway, i At sight of his gravely troubled counte- nance, Patria rose quickly from a chair! and- came to him with an imploring ges- ture. j "Prepare yourself," he- said, "your; guardian has been assassinated by a Japanese. He left you this: perhaps it explains. " He could not but admire her self-command. self-command. Profundly distressed, shocked to the depths of her gentle and sympathtic, being, be-ing, she merely swayed a little, momentarily, momen-tarily, with closed eyes, then recovered and "offered a steady hand for the envelope. en-velope. "The light is better in the library," : Parr suggested A moment later Patria sat beneath the reading lamp on the library table, the several sheets of closely inscribed noto paper that made up the last letter of Pe- , ter Ripley unfolded to the light. ; As she read, she passed the page3, one by one, to -Captain Parr. ' i PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL, j "My dear Ward Tomorrow, your twenty -first birthday, will find you the last of 'The Fighting Channings.' On that day you will legally become your own mistress and I will be relieved of the guardianship of yourself and your fortune for-tune which is is one of the greatest fortunes for-tunes in the United Slates, if not in all the world. "Under ordinary circumstances, I presume, pre-sume, I, as your guardian, should, on surrendering sur-rendering my trust, preach tediously upon the cares and responsibilities, the duties toward less fortunate humanity, which you are about to assume as a steward of great riches. I shall not; it. were a work of supererogation; you yourself relieve me of the necessity of such a sermon by being be-ing what you are. your sweet, sane, unspoiled un-spoiled self. With the extremes t gratification grati-fication I have seen .vou attain maturity, a woman of common sense, intelligence and fortitude, without loss of womanliness. womanli-ness. I may, then, write to you tonight as I should have written or spoken to your brother, had you ever had one. "I write, rather than wait to communicate communi-cate what I have to say, because I live in the shadow of death. I mav not live to see you, personally to account to you for my stewardship' I may not live to see tomorrow's to-morrow's dawn. My life is strangely menaced men-aced even as your life may be when you have taken over the sole control of your inheritance, your lands and estates. Qhannings. Inc. that greatest of arms and ammunitions industries outside Germanyand Ger-manyand the Channing Secret Defense fund. "You do not know what that last means. It is to enlighten you lest I perish per-ish with my secret undivulged that I am writing tonight. I have to inform you concerning that, sacred trust, that bequest be-quest of your pa.triotlc forefathers "One hundred years ago. almost to a day, the first John Channing died. He was a Virginian, a friend of Washington's, Washing-ton's, a soldier, a patriot, a gentleman of fortune, character, intelligence and of almost al-most prophetic foresight. He had served through the War of Independence. When the War of 1? 12 broke out. he resigned ):is ease and took the field as a colonel of militia. He. served as such throughout that fa.rrica.1 war. in which the United States triumphed not because it .deserved victory though right was on its side as through England's preoccupation with graver issues on the continent. "In his military capacity John Channing the First was an intimate observer of the lack of organization, militarv spirit, training, ability to fight, that cracarer-ized cracarer-ized the American forces. Often and again he saw them break and run before the advance of British troops numerically inferior, in-ferior, but properly equipped and trained. He witnessed their futile attempt to wjth-prand wjth-prand the British advance upon Washington. Wash-ington. He saw from a far hilltop the nurnine of that city a '-alamity that had never been possible had his countrvmen been trained to fighi. in defense of 'their land. What he had experienced made a profound pro-found impression upon him. He neve.i ceapt-d to plan to protect his country against its greatest weakness and its g'-eatest enemy itself. jn The fatuous blindness of a peopie who then, as today, beheved a sncred and jn.-t ause the equivalent of resistless weapon of de-frnse. de-frnse. who thoneht Thy had no need to train themselves for war so lone as ir.ey warred only Tor the right, the first. Jo nr. Channing foresaw an intrinsic, inbred wrakness of the people, prolif-,- 'of 7M-ri:s Tlii'-n he conceived it to be his duty to combat. SoT.e time prior to his death, therefor, he '-or.p';!teil it h t he f;rs; Peter Ri pf-y, my forebear and The fo-;r-i-r of r-.rjt line of Ircal advisers to th.- -j ;.n; c family w il i h must parish w r. p 1 1 I j, ,- s ; j t 'en thorn, i ' two p, -: ip n, ,.,- ni;i a scheme for ;i fund for national def'-nso wi lini" of nanjti- through wit t .-f IaTi-ly ienrv-'.! :o term " . r nrpa (.-; n' s. " ! O-.-i'-- of 4,-n th'--i. ,,"-:- rons:d- r-' r a ':-'- '.''''n::n; ;V,:-;--i.- -n-n? a to; l.'Lfom-c. K-j to b'j rlra.n u:-m or r - ' pended wholly only in gravest national emergency. The secret and the custody of the fund was handed down from father to son as long as the Channings and the Ripleys had male children. That time is now passed: My boy died before attaining maturity; ma-turity; you are your father's only child-When child-When T am gone, you alone will be the steward of your country's salvation. K I go soon, you will assume your stewardship steward-ship at a period of peril through "unpre-pa "unpre-pa redness" unprecedented In your country's coun-try's history. T have every confidence that you will discharge it wisely. The fund today has grown, through careful Investment and unremitting vigilance, vigi-lance, to the appreciable total sum of approximately $100.0(10,000. The whole is stored in the secret vault beneath this room to w hi ch t h e password i s your name. Three-fourths of it is comprehended comprehend-ed in gilt-edged securities, immediately negotiable: the balance of $25,000,000 is in gold thus accumulated ror immediate resource re-source in emergency. Wiselv employed, this treasure may prove the salvation of your country in this, as it seems, its hour of direst need. Europe is aflame with war; when peace is declared, Europe's foreordained way to recoup will be by means of preying upon some great and wealthy but defenseless country, such as the United States of America. On the other hand, to the west of us, we have a great nation without room to grow Japan. Its natural course of growth, following the line of least resistance, re-sistance, must be in and through our western states. To the south of us lies Mexico, a hotbed of revolution, intrigue and racial hatred. The craven policy of our present administration has encouraged encour-aged the "de facto government of Mexico" Mexi-co" whatever that may happen to be-to be-to regard us and treat us with thinly-veiled thinly-veiled contempt. Now, Japan has made herself diplomatically Mexico's closest friend; she has established colonies In Mexico, with Mexico's consent she secret-lv secret-lv maintains naval bases on Mexico's Pacific Pa-cific coast; she lends Mexico officers to train her armies; she has gone even fur-ther-she has secretly transported great bodies of troops to Mexico and maintains them there in immediate preparedness for war to be allies of Mexico in event of war with the United States. And secretly secret-ly Japan conspires to embroil this coun-trv coun-trv with her ally. She has everything to gain bv su(h a war, nothing to lose- Let our insignificant regular army be preoccupied pre-occupied with war on the Mexican border bor-der no matter whether reinforced by our half-trained and less than half-equipped militia, and our Pacific coast will be defenseless de-fenseless against the hordes which Japan holds readv to launch against us. Once these have gained a foothold there, with the natural barrier of the Rocky mountains moun-tains to shield them. Japan will hold the Pacific slope in fief forever and a day. Evidence in support of Japan's designs de-signs against our peace is not lacking. The presence of her armies in Mexico, the fact that Japanese officers have been detailed to drill Mexican troops. Is known to the administration at Washington if not to the people; that Japan maintains naval bases, with Mexican consent, at Magdalena bay and elsewhere, is a matter mat-ter of common knowledge. In my personal per-sonal experience ft is true that, following follow-ing my refusal as a loyal and patriotic citizen to make contracts In the name of Channings. Tnc for delivery of arms and ammunition in Mexico, Japan has left no stone unturned to induce me- to revoke inv refusal, and even now threatens my life because I abide by ft. For myself, my dear ward, I do not fear; when a man has passed a certain age, death has few terrors for him; but for vou I do fear, when you shall have set your hand to the task which mine must yield. T know your breed well enough to know you will not falter In the. "discharge of this sacred trust. I know Japan well enough to know she will stop at nothing to discourage you. I charge you above all things to beware be-ware the man who calls himself Parorr Huroki who poses as a cosmopolite of Japanese birth who is in reality secret chief of the Japanese secret service In this country. More than this I hope to tell you in de- ; tail if I live to see you again. Otherwise Other-wise I shall die content in the knowl- -edge tltat I have, at least, done my best to warn you against the chiefest dangers you must apprehend as executrix of the Clianning secret defense fund. Your affectionate guardian, PETER RIPLEY. GOLD! When Parr had finished reading the I last page of Peter Ripley's letter he j looked down to encounter Patria's di-! di-! rect, uncompromising 'gaze. To her un-i un-i uttered enquiry he nodded slightly. ! "He was sane," said Parr. "He feared Japan and a Japanese assassinated him. That much confirmation of what he wrote we possess. beyond refit tatlorj. There remains only to be determined the actual existence of this "defense fund' a hundred millions twenty-five twenty-five millions in gold! It sta ggers my imagination. In a 'secret vault beneath this room to which the pass word Is vour name 1' What do you make of that?" Patria shook her head. "It's all too strange. I never had any suspicion of anything of the sort. I'm afraid I don't quite grasp it yet:" "Perhaps Martin can help us out." Parr called the servitor : Patria. Interrogated Inter-rogated htm; he responded with blank avowals f unmitigated Ignorance. And i t was plai n that he t old the t ru t h : lie had not been private to Ripley's confidence. confi-dence. Patria gave up as hopeless the task of eliciting illumination from Martin, Mar-tin, and turned again to Parr with an attitude at-titude of trust in him which he would have found exhilarating had he felt less helpless. He wagged a head at her in hopeless negative, and turned away. His gaze idly reviewed the room. Its sobriety offered of-fered him no aid in elucidating the' riddle; rid-dle; he found it difficult to associate the idea of a secret vault harboring an almost al-most incalculable treasure with the fact of a room as staid and unromantlc, ss this. It was Patria who stumbled upon the solution haphazard or, as woman would claim, intuitively. t "The password my name Patria! That sounds as though there must be a safe door somewhere with a letter combination combina-tion or else. "Or else ?" Farr prompted as phe hesitated. "Look there!" Her outflun? hand indicated the massive mas-sive marble chimney piece. Parr knitted .is brows, staring. The thing was interesting in-teresting if only as a riic of the curious artistic taste of a bye-one day: none but a mid- ir. torian intelligence could have tolerated The thoucht of such a monstrous monument to homeliness. .nd yet the oarvlnsr was exquisitelv done. He "crowd to it, with Patria by his side, for a dor Inspection. In whatever brain tJi design had originated, orig-inated, it -wTp a patriot's: the American e;:gle s'-rnrr.ed in srulpt ured ston- the flacr flaunted Mat.antlv movr-h- f-,,-js tne rm of Virginia flanked the rmi of the 1 nited States. 1 m "iediatl v fl W-.v t he ":rer:a.-e the 'banning arms ttk rmbipzone-'j upon a shield, beneath this a STOj bore t lie motto of the house "PRO PATRIA NOBIS." "To whi-h the password is rrv name!" Patria put forth f jncr whkh Touched lichtly the initial of t he word Pa t ria on t.'.e scroll. S'no withdrew i.f-r hand with an ei-'I.i ma t jori ; the lrttor she hd to-;r-i-d h.-sd taih-ri in fh;s-' with t' e ..:rfa of th scroji. Parr nodded p itedly. "Try the II' i. let ;rr !" To lu-r pressure (lie Jpt "A" i,..;,; as the- li t'T "P" ; tne r'-rm-i n ; r r i-t tts of t ,io Wf ird fo'.jo-p, f-d ."-;!( h. r-'-ad , ! ; ,rj wi-.f-i tLf lai Yr.-n b-en c -j-.rf-ss-d tl -y I :he-ird a '-i;r;.i'; i::Vr.z no:s-' -c n ,-t t ' , tl i j v,;.r;el. a-i-l. i'klr-c d..wu. saw th :,:.:.ar-e::!v :,:.:.ar-e::!v sirt '.!." Y.H-W.uc of i f ; rr-j olose the mouth of a narrow passageway. passage-way. "Let me go first!" Parr's tone was imperative. Wondering Wonder-ing a little at the instinctive docility with which she obeyed him. Patria stood aside. He ducked beneath the mantel, disappeared. disap-peared. The passageway proved short, upon that level. Parr advanced three paces in utter darkness. Then it turned aside at a right angle. Following Its course blindly, blind-ly, he stepped upon nothing and stumbled stum-bled down three steps of a staircase so confined between walls that there was just room enough for one to pass, no more. At the foot of some twelve steps he found another level, advanced gingerly ginger-ly a pace into tlie densest imaginable murk and stumbled over something soft and yielding that obstructed the floor. In stumbling he threw out a hand which encountered an electric light bracket. Steadying himself by this he felt for and turned the switch: the brilliance of a single bulb dazzltngly exorcised darkness. He stood in a small, airless, wlndowless chamber, furnished simply with a square mahogany table and four chairs on a rug. Otherwise it was featurless but for a huge safe door built into the wall close by the foot of the staircase. This door stood ajar. A black void was beyond it. At Parr's feet lay the obstacle which had so nearly proved his downfall: the body of a little Japanese clad in the uniform uni-form of a Western Lnion messenger In his dead hand an automatic pistol. Turning. Parr called to Martin to come down to him. The negro's answers to his questions enabled him rapidly to reconstruct the prelude to a brutal crime. It seemed that, shortly before Patria's guardian had dismissed him for the night, Martin had answered the door bell to admit ad-mit a Western Union boy with a telegram tele-gram for Peter Ripley. Signing for the message, Martin had told the boy to wait for a possible answer, and had taken the envelope to his employer in the library. But when Mr. Ripley had opened it, he had found nothing within the envelope; and when he and Martin had gone back to the hall to Interrogate the messenger, this last had vanished. By this ruse (Parr reckoned") obtaining admittance to the house when Martin's back was turned, the pseudo-messenger had secreted himself and waited till, finishing fin-ishing his letter to Patria, Ripley had found reason to descend to the treasure vault. Then, following, the messenger had tried to shoot Ripley down, but had met death himself in the attempt. Meantime Mean-time a confederate had entered the house gaining admittance through the front door, left unlocked, as Parr and Patria had found it, by the first Japanese. And when Ripley, emerging from the secret passage no doubt even then fatally fatal-ly wounded had called Patria in Newport New-port by long distance the second Japanese Japa-nese had shot to kilj and had succeeded, if at cost of his own life. Asking Patria to turn aside while fie with Martin's aid carried up the dead Japanese and placed him with the others in the drawing room. Parr left Martin on guard, and conducted the girl below to the treasure vault. If any traces of incredulity had thus far colored his thoughts, they were promptly dissipated. The vault was not large perhaps twice the size of its ante-chamber and was so well filled with boxes, bales and bundles that it afforded scant space In which to move about. Aside from the entrance, three walls' were hidden by solid piles of small but solidly constructed wooden packing cases. The fourth, the farthest from the entrance, boasted racks of pigeonholes pig-eonholes in which were filed and docketed docket-ed packet upon packet of papers, and. In addition, a richly-framed oil portrait of a gentleman in continental uniform, boasting a brass plate with this legend: JOHN CHANNING, Esq. (R. 1757 D. 1S16.) Patriot. Statesman, Soldier. Founder of the Channing Secret Defense Fund. Ignoring all else in the vault, the girl Patria. lingered for many minutes before this portrait of the ancestor whose clear foresight and love of country had created that I rust whose burden had now fallen upon her slender, pretty shoulders. And Parr respected her mood, forbearing in any way to disturb her before she chose to turn back to him. She showed htm then a fa-ce as rapt and exalted with patriotism, innocent of thought of self, as ever Jeanne d'Arc wore after listening to the voices of angels in the fields of Brittany. Rapt, beyond utterance, she signified her wish to confirm her deceased guardian's report as to the treasure. Parr selected one from the nearest stack of wooden boxes, and essayed to transfer it to the table. But it proved heavier , tha0. he had anticipated, and slipped through fingers unprepared for its weight. There was a crash: the box lay shattered at their feet, its contents spilled stack upon sta-k of golden double-eagles ecat-tered ecat-tered upon the floor. There wa s a pa use. Pa tria sank into a chair and rented forearms upon t he table, in her hands she held Peter Ripley s letter. After a little, shuffling the sheets, she brought that one uppermost which showed the words: "Wisely employed, this treasure may prove the salvation of your country in this ' Us hour of direst need." P-he looked up with adorable pincerit v. Her a events were perceptibly tremulous but unmistakably voiced the emotion that surcharged her being. "God make me wise," she Mid and faltered "f'iod make m wise to administer admin-ister this sa cred trust !" Without wholly appreciating wha t h did. transported beyond himself, Tarr closed his fingers over herp. "Amen to that!" said he. On the echo of his words a dull grating note sounded above their heads. HOLOCAVST. Tn the twinkling of an eyelash both appreciated ap-preciated what had happened; the door to the secret passage had swunk shut; for whatever reason, Martin presumably had seen fit to close it. ' i Without hesitation Parr swung about, out of the vault, up the constricted stair-wa stair-wa y. At the top he found only the smooth surface of the closed door. His finger groped vainly over it and round its edges if any means there were of opening i from the inside, it was too cunningly con cealed for his ingenuity. But if closed, the door was not alto get her tight. Lights from the librsr gleamed round thiee of its edges. Par could not contrive to get an eye to ; crack, but he could not avoid hearing What he heard was, however, difficult t interpret. x Several voices were audibl. from beyond the barrier, all chattering rapidly; and though Parr had a fair work ing knowledge of the Japanese tongue h lacked as yet the ability to translate tin vernacular when quickly spoken. But the language was" Japanese beyonc shadow of doubt. After a time he crept noiselessly dowr the stairs. Patria on tip-toe with anxiety was watting in the antechamber. Pan cautioned cau-tioned her with a finger sealing his lips, then urged her to precede him into the treasure vault, and closed its doors. "There are Japanese several of them In the house. Martin must have seen them coming and locked us in to prevent their discovering us." Her hands fluttered toward him with a pitifully solicitous effect. "But Martin? What will they do to him?" "I don't know. Let's not think about that. Let's hope for the best. It's all we can do. I can't budge that door up there, and even if I could, I've got no weapon of any sort. " Patria subsided hopelessly Into a chair and buried her face in her hands. Five minutes passed. Throughout the two could hea r faint sounds of hurried footsteps overhead for all the world like the scampering of rats in wainscoting. Then were heavier, duller noises, to boot as though the intruders were moving furniture about. Then all sounds ceased. Of a sudden, simultaneously. Patria and Parr turned startled faces toward the vault door. Round its edges thin veils of smoke were seeping into the chamber. "They've fired the house!" That strained, frightened whisper was Patria's. Mechanically Parr nodded. He was thinking hard and to no purpose; only one way out offered itself 'to his knowledge knowl-edge through the vault door and up the stairs to that closed door which had defied de-fied his efforts to open it. Already the atmosphere in the vault was oppressive so impregnate with smoke it was difficult to breathe, so warm that perspiration beaded brows and hands. Another five minutes: he heard a little choking cough, and turned to patria. She was on her feet, swaying, eyes blank, hands plucking feebly at the throat of her waist. As he turned, the light died out from her face and she slipped slackly forward for-ward upon the table. Half-maddened, Parr put a shoulder with his weight behind it against the vault door. It swung out to admit a stifling cloud of bitter smoke together with a blast of heated air that might have come from a. furnace's maw. Tugging the door shut again, he turned and began rapidly to circle the wallt. hoping against hope to discover somewhere some-where another pxlt. In his haste he tripped over the broken box of coin and fell against the framed portrait of the first John Channing. Its aged cord parted and the portrait fell with a crash, exposing the innT face of ' a Ptout door of steel. Plucking frantically nt its bare and and bolts. Pair succeeded in dislodging them. The door swung out. A gust of damp, cold air invaded the vault. Fe-yond Fe-yond the opening little was visible a slimv brick flooring between arched walls of brick fading into blackness nothing more. Swinging back, Parr gathered the insensible in-sensible girl up In his arms and stumbled stum-bled out into the underground passage. One bevond the threshold he put hi back against the door and swung It into place. Then be blundered blindly on. Twentv paces through inky murk. He stubbed his toes aeainst a step, 1 and. gently putting down his burden, found and struck a. match. The brief-lived flame discovered a short flight of etone step? ascending to a flat roof. At the top wa a no sign of any doorway or fastening. Yet some way of escape "must be there. Ho ran up the steps, crouched on the topmost, placed his shoulder against that flat roof of stone and heaved mightily and heaved and heaved. Grudgingly, hlf Inch by half inch, the stone yielded: then more rapidly; in ihe end one tremendous final effort overturned over-turned it. and Pa it sprawled out of the opening into fresh air and morning sunlight. sun-light. He picked himself up to realize a walled garden In the rear of p. residence whore every window spouted smoke and flame. Then he hurried back to patria. took her up once more In his arms, and bore hr to the upper world. She recovered swiftly. Two minute- more a nd they slood In a quiet, men w on the far Ride of the wnDed garden. And there, for a little. Parr hesltated-Pa hesltated-Pa tria turning instinctively t1 P rr fr counsel. Parr struggling to r?ri n hi?, po ipe. A length, couponing hiP watch, he announced an-nounced : "The first thing to do. of nurpe, is to pee about safeeuarding that treasure p fx fe enough for the time beinc ; and t know where to find the rlnrht men to stand guard over it affr the firemen find pollcp have gone Later, we'll ? about transferring P but there's pln'-of pln'-of time for that; no bank opens Its vaul' before 0 o'clock." Hhe nodded assent, and tucked a con firient arm within his ae they turned towa rd the nearer eoi nr. (To be continued 1 |