Show A u A fIR a BOID by BV ST gutter of btttle M 88 H 11 ons a tl TI s sp der wt web dr r jack 8 11 II adow af 88 caprice eed ia 1901 street and amm now I 1 ork X the game of fox and geese events crowding upon each other s heels charlie while abroad had seen something that gave him quite a start this was nothing more nor less than A lovely woman with golden hair and blue eyes in a carriage tak ng an air ing while at her side stiff and stern looking the baron sat charlie boded bo ved politely the coun less tess gave him a look of curiosity and ite it of her ravish ng smiles so she passed out of h a life lucky man the sight of charlie recalled to the baron s mind the prom se he had made with regard to capt brand accordingly he took advantage a of bis his first hour off to set the wires in motion and learn certain facts regard ing the worthy captain charlie relying on the aaion bai on to cor ral tal the captain had made arrange ments for sa ling upon the next trans atlantic steamer he had engaged passage tor for arline her companion artemus and himself the captain having paid a man to keep upon stuart s track found out what was in the wind he learned that the crisis had ar rived whatever he proposed doing must be put through with all poss possible ible speed since ere many hours elapsed those against ni v horn hom his schemes were directed would be upon the sea and mayhap may nap beyond his reach artemus had heard enough to know the three schemers were planning to do his friend an evil turn but strain his ears as he would be he had not been able cable to catch the particulars of the game owing to certain sounds in the hotel that muffled even the bold voices of captain brand brands s champagne bibbing friends all he could do was to warn stuart on general prine pies ples and it can be set iown down as an assured fact that he car i ned ried out this dramatic little episode quite to the queen s taste it would not have been artemus oth berwise charlie promised to kee his er eye open for squalls he hoped his early depasture depa iture from antwerp would sene serie to entirely dis concert the beggarly plans of his ene mies and leave the fellow in the lurch I 1 about this time there was consider able hustling being done among the various forces circling around arline brand aist j as the planets whirl about their central sun the baron tried to drive from his mind the startling phantoms that had i been conjured into being by the mys if t cerious power of isolde countess of brabant and as this could only be ione done by means of work he gave him self up to the mission of the hour with redo idled zeal it was really a question what the scramble would result in whether charlie oi 01 the redoubtable captain would come out of it in cred table shape and how artemus might tare fare in the shuffle lady arline had an am interview with her alleged papa during which she an bounced her determination of crossing the atlantic on business and that she had provided liberally for him during her absence as he wo id find upon ap plying in person to I 1 er banker in lon don the interview was possibly not de void of dramatic features artemus was on guard near by b and heard the old sea dog blustering more or less in his usual way but he had evidently lost mud of the power he formerly possessed over lady arline he ile came forth from the rooms looking like an enraged hyena because diplomacy had forced h in to bottle up his wrath to artemus charl e delegated the task of seeing lady allire and her maid mald aboard the ocean greyhound where he would join them later it was night again time and tide wait for no man ind nd ocean steamers have to put out very frequently at unica unseasonable hours in order to cross the bar on the flood the baron and captain brand played a game of cross purposes as it were tor for while the ex sailor shadowed char lie with intentions that were both dark and desperate he was at the same time under the s of peter hoff s emissary the baron himself be ing too busily employed catering to the comfort of his far fa r prisoner in reality his captor to personally inject his mality into the game captain brand knew he was fol lowed and perhaps could give a rough guess as to the why and wherefore but it was not his nature to be de spon dent he believed in utilizing whatever came in his way ay as one of the fo es that might bring success when a man can thus twist threat ening disasters into favoring factors he is indeed hard to beat in the game of life charlie was feeling unusually bold and light hearted on this night which he supposed would be his last on eu soil presently he expected to be on board a stanch german liner viewing the low shores of the old world with corn com ency for at his side would be lady arline and left behind as a memory of the dead past such persons as the professor and his wife baren baron isolde countess brabant and captain brand of the He spasia he ile intended r virg capt brand tae tile full lull v orth of hia his money and then by a fluke hopping h in in some section of old antwerp while he himself took a fly and drone e to the land ng stage in time to catch the i tamer tam perhaps th s in hav hai e beebi car ned ried out had circumstances not I 1 i tilted to arrange events in the captain captains s favor charlie had his fin fi n he lie dragged h s p p issuer ever a good part ot of antwerp now they were on foot ai I 1 anon chasing in vehicles at a pace to set the staid old burghers agog with sur and con on outs de a desire to have a little sport with h s friend the calta n his sole purpose in lead ng brand this wild goose chase was to I 1 beep his at ui ill on h myself while lady ar line and artemus left the hotel for somehow charlie had a vague fear lest the resourceful ex sa lor or might use force to prevent his supposed daugh ter from departing advance ng some dading plea that her in nd was affected and having hired exp arts who would perhaps decree that she should be in cai in an asylum these tl rigs in appear rid cu lo 10 la is but such happenings have come to pass ere now and he chanced to have personal knowledge of at least one s milar case whether or not charlie were fool sh in thus conjuring up phantoms that could not exist was a question that should not be decided hastily he believed baand to be a desperate man against whom he could as yet hardly appeal to the law s nee rice arline wo ild not gh e her consent he was convinced that brand did not desire the heiress to get beyond his reach and would hardly hesitate at any end in order to hold her until his sinister plans could be worl ed out hence it m a as after all in a spirit of self sacrifice that charlie undertook to have a I 1 atle fun with capt brand and led him this fine chase up and down the crool ed streets of antwerp all would have been well but for two cronies of brand they chanced to be standing at a dark corner where the other had agreed to meet them and hearing his signals sprang upon charlie ere he comprehended his dan ger As a result he was struck senseless by a blow from froni some blunt weapon when capt brand arrived on the scene his first act was to sprinkle a powdery white pigment in the young man mans s hair to give him the appear ance of age and to smear his face with a little street dirt in order to disguise his features then for the benefit of the man whom he knew hovered near by a lit tie tle one act drama was carried out the two men chas ng brand hither and yon then as the baron a spy came in sight two men runn ng away while a form lay on the street it worked like a charm the emis sary of baron hastened up as people began to open the windows of houses to learn what the disturbance might mean there he to fo ind one who appeared to be the old fellow he had been set to watch the man called a vehicle placed the limp figure in its interior entered him self and then started to leport the aston shing result of his espionage to baron himself while capt brand rejoining his confreres down the shady street set off in hot haste to get aboard the steamer which in another hour or so would be moving down tl e river bound for the far off distant of america artem s stood on the hurricane deck of the gi gleat eat red D ocean I 1 ner and 1001 ed back n the morning s to the d stant and fast receding coast of belgium homeward bound there is always a pleasure in th s thought and artemus experienced it with enthusiasm so far as he knew charl e s plans had progressed all r the ogre was left behind lamenting in the land of the beig bell ans and clear sa I 1 ng seemed ahead then h s thoughts ran back to the events of the ous night he chuckled to remember the adroitness with wh ch eh he had seen lady arline her compan on and their luggage on board the waiting steamer while char I 1 e was leading the ogre a wild goose chase around antwerp partly to amuse himself and at the same time keep brand occupied up to near the sailing time by the way where was charlie 7 it was strange that he failed to show up in time to see the last of belgium s shores lady arline and her companion were wall ing the deck with jersey and golf cape to I 1 beep off the sting ng chill go and arouse the sluggard said artemus to himself his little jaunt about town must have worn him out not the first case of its kind I 1 rather guess with a sinister lear at ills his wit so he went below the door of charlie s stateroom was just opposite his own a single step across the little bassage As he approached he heard the sounds of loud noring from within on the spur of the moment he de dp aided to arouse his friend with a sud den shout or by the advent of a con lenient shoe tossed across the little room artemus had never wholly out grown h s college days when he gained the reputation of being the champion practical joker of his class so he quietly opened the door chieh was coni comen en antly unlocked through the bull s eye windows enough of the morning I 1 crept to allow a fair survey of the miniature apartment one of the first things artemus saw was has a shoe that had been tossed aside As he reined upon it eagerly he aj failed to note its generous as contrasted with the neat footgear which C arlie stuart affected such trifles do not empress themselves upon the mind hen nhen weightier things are demand ng dg lecorn tion now for a berter shot he ile turned his on to the lower lover berth which was occupied by a human form just then the rasal aasal sounds came to a sudden stop with a savage snort and the sleeper whirled over on his side rhe act brought his face directly within range of the morning I 1 that struggled through the small ope openings ninga beyond no wonder artemus crouched thera as if frozen talk about the mag c touch of the gem geni when had such a wonderful on ever taken place be fore lor I 1 or one to retire as prince charlie stuart gay handsome and debonair to awaken in the guise of grim and grizzled old captain brand was a mys tery that almost paralyzed the seeker after sensations artemus took tool one last fearsome look at the smooth and red phys of the sleeper passed out and then soft ly closed the door only when safe within his own room did he give vent to his over overwrought wrought feel in a whistle great jupiter that beats every thing flung I 1 ever saw instead of chart charl e the ogre what does it mean meana there is treachery afloat I 1 seem to detect it in the very air around bit it the question arises where is charlie 7 and shall I 1 hai hae e to take his place as her warrior bold and will it be feces sary for me to give up my liberty 9 poor fellow he did not know whether to look on it as a huge joke or a grim reality he thought of warning arline she ought to know her dear papa was on board and that he had refused to break the paternal bonds that had be come so very strong since his return from exile artemus buckled on his armor it if he was to be pitted against the old ogre it would be a capt brand might have succeeded outwitting harlie who was too for deep diplomacy but he would find it quite another thing NN when hen he ran up against the new now knight who had shied his castor into the ring ah ali A gentle tap at the door artemus almont fell over himself in his eagerness to open a satchel and clutch a I 1 atle affair of steel and nickel which he carried there and armed with which he called come the door opened and a figure whisk ed in immediately closing the same again artemus gave a cry the halt half raised arm fell useless at his side there was more witchery he had expected the old ogre armed with a shoe and bent upon turning the tables upon him instead he saw why charlie of course tho agh at first artemus w rak boned it his ghost Ch arliet 4 wl ger pressed mysteriously on his lips a la artemus favorite style of corn com muni cating a secret and his face wreathed in what appeared to be a broad grin at any rate barnaby was delighted to see him in the flesh and as soon as he could get his wits into ing or der he dropped the weapon and held out an eager hand this is a treat my dear boy after seeing that grim old trojan in your bunk what have you done brought him aboard a prisoner I 1 reel on ona 9 ah ali I 1 d t give you enough credit I 1 fear you see my first impression was he had outwitted you and turned the ta bles on you artemus was boiling over with curl osley regarding what had taken place ashore especially when his friend de dared with nith a wiy face that capt brand had indeed come near proving too much for him the story was soon told to be continued |