Show THAfiLON CHAWTORB AUTHOR Or lIACltlfclfAJ lRETflUJIlElrEl lJTRATOfic 1o s 7 WEL ajGHT 907 BY MARoft CftfiWFORD SYNOPSIS kn n Tartar rfrl became enamored olden bearded stronger who was Mln and studying herbs In tho cling her homo In central Asia nnd y or him the locution of a mine 11 tn that tli HtraiiKcr would hS i hoping return for her disclosure er 111 followed to the cave the the r blockedcup eft nlnthtiowlto blocked up tho en water supply drew off the and cnuplo to die Harakas cousin the to climb betrothed attempted l hr attempted mine hut oxerlooHInK tlO Eii Pier dirt shot him Tho estranger was R a water gourd Sand l car from tunnel and hi out of the his way 11 t Jsei this the girl and carrying I all tho gathered r Uaraka or rubles Imild carry anti started In pur lie 1rlta da PMrKnri Donna Margarita bccnmo in prima donnu famous a a mVt I In i nniloii to Konatantln Tier l1 nwnUy Greek llnancler Her t1 was Countess Ieven frlind Ie ii all laud whoso husband as hinted I by a bomb In St Peter ell ad Jiauds most Intimate anti L iiiifiiq Van Torp nn Amerl I1H hind hcomo one of the richest Tin world Van Toip was In love th totlrmdo naafi tuart nnd rushed to London asH I i I Win He t he heard of her betrothal H lid Maud 15010000 for her pet m IIY id1liiiintIn Itasleouldt wlnnltiu In i if sho would old him g Knr othetl HaniUa np 1 ruin hoBOthetl Jer hetlat Versailles with fft ut mil I Locothetl t I to hill Ho picsented u ruby to ire Van for > bought l a yacht and r to Venire He was visited ly I Sho IlVO him u 1 k In mal alilre gave 1 Ift r the American had told lieI oft of-t In the tnlted States a man soon line the description of tho one slue It I The merlcan followed Margaret lvreut Parsifal festival Mar look a liking to Van Torp who pre i tier with the ruby UarnUa had n him aunt Krnllnsliy a Husslan Ie I lit lliyrruth Van Top believed I 11 l tin ono Haraka was pursultiB i l wall arrested In London on the of stealing from Pinney a jew Qtr he rutty she had sold to Logothetl i rinceis were the thieves Lady t MleuHl that IoB thetls nssnchi nlth Haraka wero open to suspl hr nll so Informed Margaret I m HAPTER VIM IContinued ion tW Jiout further consulting Marga cat jfho had seated herself before essing table Potts proceeded to a broad brlmmed black straw i the thick brown hair she then rhir J an immense white veil over Itt Tf it-t under her mistress chin and art Id it in a way that would have re d a seaman st In Margaret was putting on her aye I Mrs Rushmore herself came e i door knocked and opened dis bbeq before there was uny answer the dear child she asked what e s world is the matter Nothing next JB I trust nothing Margaret answered forward to meet her and finder 1r find-er natural voice Im sorry If fept you waiting t s j so unlike you my dear Mrs lore said with emphasis and ry k looked quite grave when shot ore sho-t me your message half an hour see would have been more sur I If she had burst out laughing et said viciously rs dear Mrs Ilushmoro an vayf Im astonished at you I something has happened I lit You are not yourself this bahj fig gwas was a statement so evidently that it could not be answered abet by a flat contradiction so ig it ret said nothing and went on hg her hand Into a perfectly tg love deep ee that you havo not even your letters Mrs Rushmore p hi lued severely Except that on Ct flded noticing tho loose sheets ily Mauds letter on tho toilet tateei Foss Karet gathered them up hastily uiy a them into a crumpled package mIst them into tho empty onus on-us U For once sho had forgotten later kulion but sho retrieved herself m Islilng tho thick letter Into her glove much to Potts distress trlr ir n It b made an ugly lump Sho made jc 10 and nO 1ft rse by forcing In tho second pc which contained the news mil J cutting ster ready now she said Hushinore turned and led the it1l 7 l Ith stately steps sho was al i Uiv t imposing but when she was of c she was monumental Tho two arch a M In silence and wand slowly inks jthe straight dull street side by I Mrs Ilushmoro spoke first aft y had gorse borne distance ow she said that something ppened it was in that letter Cant deny it Margaret It was letter you folded in that hur Banner news Was answered tho prIma still vicious L Id you so My dear child ItH the slightest use to try to doe do-e f > Ive known you since you i child j not trying to deceive you i ien I asked what had happened swered Nothing I do not call W frank do you I Is Was there to begin ex I Maigaret crossly Mrs Hiislunoro no longer heard t P ad was up her parasol lay back her shoulder I her faded eyes I rIghter than before and tho be I g oC a social smile wreathed flhiipris llh fto grave lips res Mr Van Id Torp my dear mrihwd ja in quite another tono and lld isnl o w rrlu l and unless Im much mis or Yes I know ill Hoa with Krallnsky I saw tho count he I window yesterday when ho i I hope lm I opo our friend will pro irefiay Margaret answered In differently but surveying the two men through the white mist of her thick veil Yes said Mrs Rushmore with de light and almost whispering In her excitement He has seen us und now hes telling the count who wo are Margaret was used to hur excellent old friends ways on such occasions and gave no more heed to them than sho would have given to a kitten scampering after a ball of string Tho kitten would certainly catch the ball In the end and Mrs Rushmore would as surely capture the lion Mr Van Torp raised his hat when ho was within four or five paces of tho ladles and his companion who was a head and shoulders taller than he slackened his pace and stopped a little way behind him as Mrs Rush more shook hands and Margaret nodded pleasantly May 1 present Count Krallnsky asked the American Ive mot him before and weve just renewed our acquaintance Mr Van Torp looked from Mrs Rushmore to Margaret and tried to see her expression through her veil She answered his look by a very slight Inclination of the head We shall be delighted said the I elder lady speaking for both Mr Van Carp introduced the count to Mrs Rushmore and then to Margaret Mar-garet calling her Miss Donne and she saw that tho man was handsome as well as tall and strong He had a magnificent golden beard a clear complexion and rather uncertain blue eyes In one of which ho wore a single sin-gle eyeglass without a string He was quietly dressed and wore no Jew ring In which elry excepting one blazed a large tallowtopped ruby He had the unmistakable air of a man his of the world and was perfectly at case When he wised his straw hat ho disclosed a very wand forehead w-and short thick fair hair There was middle age In sign of approaching no but Margaret felt hIs face or IJgure 1 > or guessed that ho was older than ho looked correct French Mrs In her sillily sho was enchanted said that Rushmore acquaintance chanted to make his murmured sweetly but and Margaret unintelligibly The count speaks English perfectly observed Mr Van Torp ly ranged himself beside Margaret Ho to Mrs Rush leaving the foreigner more much to her gratification to walk she said We were going And sho moved on Will you Join us pleasure to meet you Is a great It the of opening Krallnsky saId by war conversation I have often heard in Paris Your friends from of you Versailles f nro Ca little dinners at Vers mire wo I am suro mous nil over Europe mutual friends though have many have heard my name you may never pleased 0M Rushmore was visibly p Mrs wide not very the way was and as dropped behind Margaret and Van TortI hind They soon heard the other two enumerating theIr acquaintances Krn Husky was surprised nt the number of Mrs Hush mores friends but tho count seemed to know everybody from all the grand dukes and archdukes arch-dukes In Russia Germany and Austria Aus-tria to the author of the latest successful suc-cessful play In Paris and tho man of science who had discovered how to cure gout by radium Krallnsky had done the cure seen the play and dined with the royalties within tho last few weeks Mrs Rushmore thought him ono of tho most charming men sho had ever met In tho rear Mr Van Torp and the prIma donna were not talking but ho looked at her she looked at him they both looked at Krallnskyo back and then they once more looked at each other and nodded which meant that Van Torp had recognized tho man he had met selling rubles In New York and that Margaret understood this Ill tell you something else thats quite funny It you dont mind dropping drop-ping a little further behind he said Margaret walked still more slowly till a dozen paces separated them from the other two What is It she asked in a low tone I belle o hes my old friend from whom I learned to whistle Parsifal answered the American Im pretty sure of It In spite of a good many years and a beard two things that change a man Sec his walk See how ho turns his tops in Most cowboys cow-boys walk like that How very odd that you should meet again Margaret was surprised I I m rt 7 j 7 f 7r t Q L9iI III I J I ff1 1 t r She Watched Him Intently While He Read the Printed Report but not deeply Interested by this new development Well said Van Torp thoughtfully thoughtful-ly If Id known I was going to meet him Fomiwhcre Id havo said this was as likely a place as any to find him in now that I know what It was IIP whistled But I admit that the other matter has more In It I wonder won-der what would happen If I asked him about Miss Barrack Nothing Margaret answered confidently con-fidently Nothing would happen lie has never heard of her Van Torps sharp eyes tried In vain to penetrate the veil Thats not quite clear he observed ob-served Or else this Isnt my good day dayThe The girl fooled you said Margaret Marga-ret In a low voice Did she mention his name to you Well no She nover saw him In her life or if she ever did it was she who robbed him of rubles and It was not the other oth-er way as you supposed Men are generally inclined to believe what a nicelooking girl tells them Thats true Van Torp admitted Hut all the same I dont quite understand under-stand you Theres a meaning In your voice thats not In the words Excuso me If Im not quick enough this morning morn-ing please Im doing my best Your friend Baraka has been arrested ar-rested and sent to prison In London for stealing a very valuable ruby from the counter in PInneys Margaret Marga-ret explained Tho stone had Just been taken there by dons Logothetl to be cut Tho girl must have followed fol-lowed him without his knowing It and watched her chance though how old Ilnney can have left such a thing 1 lying on the counter where any one could take It Is simply Incomprehensible Incomprehen-sible Flints what you heard In my voice when I said that men are credulous credu-lous lousMr Mr Van Torp thought ho had heard even more In her accent when she had pronounced Logothotls name He sides she generally called him Logo as all his friends did The American said nothing for a moment but ho glanced repeatedly at the whlto veil through which he saw her handsome features without their expression Well he said nt last nlnumt to himself for he hardly expected her to understand tho language of his surprise sur-prise that beats the bandIt I band-It really Is rather odd you know responded Margaret who understood perfectly If you think Ive adorned the truth Ill give you the police court report 1 have It In my glove Lady Maud sent It to me with a lolterI Sho added after an Instants hesitation hesita-tion Im not suro that I shall not give you that to read too for theres something about you In It and sho Is I your best friend Isnt sho Out and out I daro say youd smile If I told you that I asked her to help mo to get you to change your mind No Margaret answered turning slowly to look at him Sho tells ino so In this letter Does she really Van Torp had guessed as much and had wished to undermine tho surprise ho supposed that Margaret had In store for him Thats Just like her straightforward way of doing things Sho told mo frankly that she wouldnt lift a finger to influence you However it cant be helped I suppose The conclusion of tho speech seemed to be out of tho logical sequence se-quence quenceShe She has done moro than lift a finger fin-ger now Margaret said Has she offended you Van Torp ventured to ask for he did not understand under-stand the constant subtono of anger he heard In her voice I know sho would not mean to do that No You dont understand Ive telegraphed to ask her to Join us here Van Torp was really surprised now and his face showed It I wish we were somewhere alone Margaret continued I mean out of I i I II quietly on without turning her head being absorbed and charmed by Kra Huskys conversation You may as well read tho news nuner cutting now Margaret snJd when they had begun to walk again That cannot attract attention oven If sho does look round and It explains a good many things Its In Jho thinner thin-ner envelope of course Van Torp fumbled In tho pocket of his jacket and brought out tho slip of newspaper without thc envelope n precaution which Margaret noticed tuul approved She watched him Intently while ho rend the printed report but his face did not change In tho least At that short distance sho could see every shade of his expression through the whlto veiling though ho could not see hers at all He finished reading folded tho sill carefully and put In Into his pocketbook Instead of returnIng return-Ing It to tho envelope It does look queer ho said slowly Now lot mo nsk you one thing but dont answer mo unless you like Its not mere InquIsitiveness on my part As Margaret said nothing though hu waited a moment for her answer ho went on That ruby nowI suppose its to bo cut for you Isnt It Yes lie gave It to me in Versailles Versail-les and I kept It some days Then ho asked mo to lot him have it to take to London when I came hero Just so Thank you Ono moro question If I nmy That stone I gave you I swear I dont know that Its not glassanyhow that stono does It look nt all like tho ono that was stolen Oh nol Ho qulto another shapo and size Why do you ask I dont qulto see1 i What I mean Is If these people are around selling rubles thero maybe may-be two very much alike thats all Well If there wero What of It1 Suppose Im only supposing in I ml that tho girl really had another stone about her a good deal like tho LXL I 1 Wj = 1 Vi v I I Took a Sort of Interest In I That Tartar Girl tho way of Mrs Rushmore Sho knows nothing about all this but she saw me cramming the letters Into my glove and I cannot possibly let her see mo giving them to you Oh well let me think said the millionaire I guess I want to buy some photographs of Dayreuth and tho Parsifal characters In that shop there on the right Suppose you watt outside the door so that Mrs Rushmore Rush-more can see you If she turns around Shell understand that Im inside It you drop your parasol towards her you can get the letters out cant you 1 Then as I como out you can Just pass them to mo behind tho parasol and well go on Hows that It wont take one second anyhow You can make believe your gloves uncomfortable uncomfor-table and youre fitting It It anybody you know comes out of tho shop Will that do Here wo are Shall I go In Yes Dont bo long Ill cough when Im ready The operation succeeded and the more easily as Mrs Rushmore went r wt t = a k mw one that was stolen and that somebody some-body else was the thief Queer things like that have happened before Yes But old PInnoy Is one of tho first experts in tho world and ho swore to tho ruby Thats so said Van Torp thoughtfully thought-fully I forgot that I And if she had tho other stone I I she had stolen It from Mons Logo thetl I have not tho least doubt I daresay replied tho millionaire Im not her attorney Im not trying to defend her I was only thinking Sho was at his house In Paris Margaret said qulto unable to keep her own counsel now It was when I was at Versailles You dont say so Aro you suro of thatHo Ho admitted It when I was talking to him through tho telephone and I heard her speaking to him in a language lan-guage I did not understand Did you really Well well Mr Van Torp was beginning to bo puzzled puz-zled again Nice voice hasnt sho 1 < oq 10 tI 1t J Yes Ho tried l to make mo think ho wasnt sure whether the creature was a boy or n girl t Maybe ho wasnt suro himself sty i ir suggested tho American but the tono t In which she had spoken the word i creature had not escaped him J lie was really trying to put tho caseIn case-In n 1 fair light and was not at all maneuvering to ascertain her stato ot mind That was clear enough now tr jt how far sho might go ho could l not 1 it tell but what she had Just said tI coupled with tho way In which aha i VI spoke of the man to whom she was1 1 > 4 engaged as Mons Logothetl made It quito evident that sho was pro k oundly Incensed against him and Van J Torp becamo moro than ever nnxlouu i not to do anything underhand 1 Ixiok here ho said Im going to toll you something I took a sort ot 1w Interest In that Tartar girl tho only time I saw her I dont know why I daro say I was taken In by her Just ordinary taken In like a tender i foot 1 gave her that fellows address ad-dress In Now York Ho nodded towards to-wards Krallnsky When I found ho was here I wired Logothotl to tell lit her slnco shes after him I suppose I thought Logothotl would go right away nnd find her and got moro mixed up with her than over It was mean of mo wasnt It Thats why a Ive told you You see I didnt know anything about all this and that makes It meaner still doesnt It Possibly If ho had told her thcso facts 48 hours earlier sho might havo been annoyed but at present they i seemed to bo rather In his favor At E nil events ho was frank sho thought Ho declared war on his rival and meant to fight according to tho law ot nations Lady Maud would not bo his friend If ho woro playing any double i game but sho had stuck to him throughout his trouble In tho spring lie had emerged victorious and reinstated rein-stated In public opinion and oho had been right Lady Maud knew him better than any one else and sho was a good woman It there over was oneYet Yet ho had accused himself of having hav-ing acted meanly Margaret did not like tho word and threw up her head as a horse does when a beginner holds on by tho curb r You need not make yourself out worse than you are she answered I want to start fair said tho millionaire mil-lionaire and Id rather your Impression Impres-sion should Improve than get worse The only real trouble with Lucifer s was ho started too high up This singular statement was mado with perfect gravity and without the lightest humorous Intention but Margaret Mar-garet laughed for tho first time that day In spite of tho storm that was still raging In tho near distance of her thoughts Why do you laugh asked Van Torp Its qulto true I dont want to start too high up In your estimation estima-tion and then bo turned down as unfit for thQ position I at tho end of thc first week Put mo where belong and l I wont disappoint ypu Say I was doing somothluK that wasnt exactly ex-actly lowdown considering tho object ob-ject hut tit mightnt pass muster at nil honor parade anyhow And then Bay that Ive admitted tho fact If you like und that tho better I Know you the lesA I want to do anything mean It wont bo hard for you to look at It In that light will It And Itll give mo time position of starting from tho line Is that right Yes Margaret answered smiling t Slang right and Kngllsh right You ask for a fair field and no favor and you shall have It Ill go straight Van Torp answered an-swered I suppose Lady Maud will como wont sho ho asked suddenly after a short silence I hope so Margaret said If not she will meet mo In Paris for sho offers of-fers to do that In her letter Im staying on In this place because be-cause you said you didnt mind observed ob-served Van Torj Do you want mo 1 to go away If she arrives 1 Why should I Why shouldnt you stayOh Oh I dont know I was only thinking h think-ing Much obliged anyway and Ill certainly stay If you dont object Wo S shall bo quite n party shant w01 I What with us three and Lady Maud and Krallnsky there Mrs Hushmorc and Krallnsky had stopped In their walk and were waiting wait-ing for them They quickened their pace paceI I thought perhaps this was far enough said Mrs Rushmore Of 9 course I could go on further and Its hot your usual walk my dear but unless un-less you mind i Margaret did not mind and said so readily whereupon Mrs Rushmoro deliberately took Van Torp for her companion on the way back Im sure you wont object to walkIng walk-Ing slowly sho said to him and Miss Donne and the count can go as fast as they like for they are both good walkers I am sure you must bo a great walker sho added turning to tho Russian Ho smiled blandly and bent his head a little as If ho wero acknowledging acknowl-edging a compliment Van TorD i looked at him quietly r l I TO BR CONTINUED t |