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Show fTT! ; 1 1 1 1 1 ; t t i 1 1 1 1 1 : 1 1 1 1 ; : 1 1 1 1 1 1 : 1 1 m . 1 1 1 1 m 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 i 1 1 i i f 1 1 r ; m 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 n 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 i 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 m 1 1 n 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ; minium iiimiiiiininiii iiiiiiiiiiiijiiiiiiiiHiiiiiniiiiTlEi j 1 IT3""3 IT T By George Brrr 1 toirtJbJ&JM McCUTCHEON f r iiii'iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii:;!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiii!niiiiii;iiiiiiiniiiiii ItTT 1T Y r J Author of CRAUSTARK," "THE hollow 1 I W B OF HER HAND." "THE PRINCE OF GRAU- .2L ZL A JUL V5sas2 eL STARK," "FROM THE HOUSETOPS," ETC. iii! miiiiii iiimniim mmiiiiiii iiiimi iiiiiiiiniiiiiiin! nu iimiinmmmi iiiiiiiiiii)iiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!ii:iiiiii!iiifa UupyriKlit by Dodd, Mead and Cumpnny, Iuc. rope have been suitors for her hand, nml the oilier half would be if they didn't happen to lie of Hie same sex. Good-by. I must be on my way." lie arose and lipid out bis hand, "(.iood-liy and good luck forever." "Von are a brick, O'Dowd. I want lo see you again. You will always find me " "Thanks. Don't issue any rash invitations. invi-tations. I might take you up." Hanies stained upstairs as soon as O'Dowd was off, urged by an eagerness eager-ness that put wings on bis feet and a thrill of excitement in his blood. Halfway Half-way up he stopped short. A new condition con-dition confronted him. What was the proper way to approach a person of royal blood? lie would have to think. Pausing at her door, he was at once aware of voices inside the room. lie rapped on the door, but so timorously tim-orously that nothing came of it. His second effort was productive, lie CHAPTER XV Continued. 13 His uneasiness increased to consternation conster-nation when he discovered that Sprouse bad not yet put In an appearance. appear-ance. What had become of the man.? He could not help feeling, however, that somehow the little agent would suddenly pop out of the chimney in his room, or sneak In through a crack ' under the door and laugh at his fears. Shortly before the noon hour, Peter Ames halted the old automobile from Green Fancy in front of the Tavern and out stepped O'Dowd, followed by no less a personage than the pseudo Mr. Loeb. There were a number of traveling bags in the tonneau of the car. Catching sight of Barnes, the Irishman Irish-man shouted a genial greeting. "The top of the morning to ye. You remember Mr. Loeb, don't you? Mr. urtis' secretary. Sir. Loeb Is leaving ns for a few days on business. Good morning, Mr. Boneface," he called out. to Putnam Jones who approached at that juncture. "We are sadly in want of gasoline." Barnes caught the look that the Irishman shot at him out of the corner cor-ner of his ye. "Perhaps you'd better see that the scoundrels don't give us short measure, meas-ure, Mr. Loeb," said O'Dowd. Loeb hesitated for a second, and then, evidently evi-dently in obedience to a command from the speaker's eye, moved off to wliere Peter was opening the intake. j'Dowd lowered his voice, "Barnes, 1 let you off last night, and I let her off as well. In return, I ask you to hold your tongue until the 'man down there gets a fair start. A day's start and "Are you in danger, too, O'Dowd?" "To be sure but I love it. I can always squirm out of tight places." "I would not deliberately put you in jeopardy, O'Dowd." "See here, I am going back to that house up yonder. There is still work for me there. What I'm after now is to get him on the train at Hornville. I'll be here again at four o'clock, on me word of honor. Trust me, Barnes." "Do you mean to say that you are coming back here to run the risk of being " "We've had word that the government govern-ment has men on the way. Why, hang it all, Barnes, don't you know who it was that engineered that whole business last night?" Barnes smiled. "I Jo. He is a secret se-cret agent from the embassy " "Secret .granny!" almost shouted O'Dowd. "He is the slickest, cleverest crook that ever drew the breath of life. And he's got away with the jewels, for which you can whistle in Tain, I'm thinking." "For heaven's sake, O'Dowd " began be-gan Barnes, his blood like ice in his veins. "But don't take ray word for it. Ask her upstairs there, God bless her! ask her if she knows Chester mm fore. In the name of God, Barnes, how did you happen to fall in with the villain?" vil-lain?" Barnes passed his hand over his brow, dazed.- "lie be represented himself as a hook agent," he mumbled, striving to collect himself. "Jones knew him. Said he had been around here for weeks. I 1 " "That's the man," said O'Dowd, scowling. "He trotted all over the county, selling books. For the love of it. do ye think? Not much. He had other lisli to fry, you may be sure. Barnes, if we ever lay hands on that friend of yours well, he won't have to fry in hell. He'll be burnt alive. Thank God, my mind's at rest on one score. She didn't skip out with him. They all think he did. Not one of them suspects that she came away Willi you. There is plenty of evidence that she let him in through her window win-dow " "All ready, O'Dowd," called Loeb. "Come along, please." "Coming," said the Irishman. "Don't blame yourself, old man. See you later, Barnes. So long!" CHAPTER XVI. The First Wayfarer Visits a Shrine, Confesses, and Takes an Oath. How was he to find the courage to impart the appalling news to her? He was now convinced beyond all doubt that the so-called Sprouse had made off with the priceless treasure and that only a miracle could bring about its recovery. lie realized to what extent ex-tent he had been shaped into a tool to be used by the master craftsman. He saw through the whole Machiavellian scheme, and he was also now morally mor-ally certain that Sprouse would have sacrificed him without the slightest hesitation. In the event that anything went wrong with their enterprise, the man would have shot him dead and earned the gratitude and commendation of his associates! He would, have been glorified and not crucified by his friends. With a heavy heart he mounted the stairs. At the top he paused to deliberate. delib-erate. Would It not be better to keep her in Ignorance? What was to be gained by revealing to her the But Miss Thackeray was luring him on to ' destruction. She stood outside the door and beckoned. Then she closed the door from the outside, and Barnes was alone with the cousin of kings and queens and princes. "I feared you had deserted me," she said, holding out her hand to him as lie strode across the room. "I saw no occasion to disturb your rest," he mumbled. "I have been peeping," she said, looking at him searchingly. "Where is Mr. Loeb going, Mr. Barnes?" "O'Dowd says he is to be gone for a few days on business," he equivocated. "He will not return," she said quietly. quiet-ly. "He is a coward at heart. Oh. I know him well," she Went on, scorn In her voice. "Was I wrong in not trying to stop him?" he asked. She pondered this for a moment. "No," she said, but he caught the dubious dubi-ous note In her voice. "It is just as well, perhaps, that he should disap- ! pear. His flight today spares but we are more interested in the man Sprouse. Has he returned?" "No, Miss Cameron," said he ruefully. rue-fully. And then, without a single reservation, res-ervation, he laid bare the story of Sprouse's defection. When he inquired if she had heard of the man known as Chester Naismith, she confirmed bis worst fear by describing him as the guard who watched beneath her window. win-dow. He was known to her as a thief of International fame. "You were no match for Chester Naismith. Do not look so glum. The shrewdest police oflicers in Europe have never been able to cope with him. Why should you despair?" He sprang to his feet. "By gad. be hasn't got away with it yet," he grated. "I will run this scoundrel down if I have to devote the remainder of my life to the task." She sighed. "Alas, I fear that 1 ball have to tell you a little more ibout this wonderful man you know i is Sprouse. Six months ago the friends and supporters of the legiti-uate legiti-uate successor to my country's throne onsumniated a plan whereby the ' crown jewels and certain documents j of state were surreptitiously removed ! from t ho palace vaults. Instead of de-; de-; positing the treasure In Paris, it was I se:t to this country in charge of a gioup of men whose fealty could not be questioned. The man you know as Loeb is in reality my cousin. I have known him all my life. He Is the youngest brother of the pretender to the throne, and a cousin of the prince who is held prisoner by the Austrians. Tills prince lias a brother also, and it wus to him that I was supposed to deliver de-liver the jewels. I traveled from New-York, New-York, but not alone as you may suspect. sus-pect. I was carefully protected from the time I left my hotel there until well, until I arrived in Boston. "While there I received a secret message from friends' ii unada di- reeling me to go to Spanish Falls, wliere I would be met and conducted con-ducted by Prince Sebastian himself to the place called Green Fancy, which was near the Canadian border. A sa'l'e escort would be provided for us, and we would be on British soil within a few hours after our meeting. It is only necessary to add that when I arrived at Green Fancy I met Prince 1'go and understood! I had carefully careful-ly covered my tracks after leaving Boston. My real friends were, and still are, completely in the dark as to my movements, so skilfully was the trick managed. "And now for Chestei Naismith. It was he who, acting for the misguided loyalists and recommended by certain young aristocrats who by virtue of their own dissipations had come to know him as a man of Infinite resourcefulness re-sourcefulness and daring, planned and carried out the pillaging of the palace vaults. Almost under t lie noses of the foreign guards he succeeded In obtaining ob-taining the jewels. No doubt he could have made off with them at that time, but lie shrewdly preferred to have them brought to America by some one else. .It would have been impossible for him to dispose of them In Europe. You see how cunning lie is? "He was no doubt thwarted in his design to waylay me on the rotid from Spanish Falls by a singular occurrence in this tavern. He was attacked in his room here, overpowered, bound and gagged by two men. He knew the men. They were thieves as clever and as merciless as himself. They too were watching for me. I do not know how these men learned of my intention inten-tion to come to Green Fancy." "They came to the Tavern four or five days before your arrival at Green Fancy." Barnes interrupted. "Sprouse told ir.e that they were secret se-cret service men from abroad and that he was working with them. My theory is this, and I think It is justified by events: The men were really secret agents, sent here to watch the movements move-ments of the gang up there. They came upon Sprouse and recognized him. On the day mentioned they overpowered over-powered him and forced him to reveal certain facts connected with affairs at Green Fancy. Possibly he led them to believe that you were one of the conspirators. con-spirators. They waited for your arrival ar-rival and then risked the hazardous trip to Green Fancy. They were discovered dis-covered and shot." "I believe you are right," she cried. "Then we have accounted for Mr. Sprouse, and I am no longer interested in the unraveling of the mystery surrounding sur-rounding the deaths of Boon and Paul," said Barnes. "There is nothing to keep me here any longer, Miss Cameron. Cam-eron. I suggest that you allow me to escort you at once to your friends, wherever they " She was opposed to this plan. While there was still a chance that Sprouse might be apprehended in the neighborhood, neighbor-hood, or the possibility of his being caught by the relentless pursuers, she declined to leave. - "Then, I shall also stay," said he promptly, and was repaid by the tremulous smile she gave him. He was helplessly in love with this beautiful cousin of kings and queens. And when he thought of kings and queens he realized that beyond all question his love was hopeless. v CHAPTER XVII. The Second Wayfarer Is Transformed. O'Dowd returned late In the afternoon. after-noon. He was in a hurry to get back to Green Fancy; there was no mistaking mis-taking his uneasiness. "For 1 lie love of heaven, Barnes, get her away from here as soon as possible, pos-sible, and do it as secretly . as you can," he said. "I may as well tell you that she Is in more danger from the government secret service than from anyone up yonder." "She may prefer to face t lie music, O'Dowd. If I know her at all, she will refuse to run away." "Then ye'll have to kidnap her," said the Irishman earnestly. "There will be men swarming here from both sides of the border by tomorrow night or next day. It's the gospel truth, and it's going to be bad for all of us if we're here when they come." "Who is she, O'Dowd? Man to man, tell me the truth. I want to know just where I stand." O'Dowd hesitated, looked around the taproom, and then leaned across the table. "Miss Cameron is In reality the Countess Therese Mara-Dafanda familiarly fa-miliarly and lovingly known in her own land as the Countess Ted. She was visiting in this country when the war broke out. If It is of any use to you. I'll add that she would be rich if Aladdin could only come to life and restore the splendors of the demolished demol-ished castle, refill the chests of gold that have been emptied by the conquerors, con-querors, and restock the farms that have been pillaged and devastated. In the absence of Aladdin, however, she Is almost as poor as the ancient church mouse. So there you are, me man. Half 'Jie royal progeny of En llilSfill .. "Miss Cameron Is Lovingly Known In Her Own Land as the Countess Ted." heard Miss Thackeray say "good gracious," gra-cious," and, after a moment, Miss Cameron's subdued: "What Is it?" "May I come in?" he inquired, rather ashamed of his vigor. "It's only Barnes." "Come in," was her lively response. "It was awfully good of you, Miss Thackeray, to let me hear your lines. I think you will be a great success in the part." "Thanks," said Miss Thackeray dryly. "I'll come in again and let you hear me in the third act." She went out, mumbling her lines as she passed Barnes without seeing him. "I hope you will feel able to leave this place tomorrow, countess. We must get away almost Immediately." "Ah, you have been listening to O'Dowd, I see." "Yes. He tells me it will be dangerous danger-ous to -" "He is right. It would be difficult for me to clear myself. No one would believe that I did not deliberately make off with the jewels. They would say that I oh, it Is too dreadful !" "Don't worry about that," he exclaimed. ex-claimed. "Y'ou have me to testify that" "How little you know of intrigue," she cried. "They would laugh at you and say that you were merely another fool who had lost his head over a woman. They would say that I duped you " "No !" he cried vehemently. "Your people know better than you think. You are disheartened, discouraged. Tilings will look brighter tomorrow." "I don't know what I should do without with-out you," she said. CHAPTER XVI II. Mr. Sprouse Continues to Be Perplexing, Perplex-ing, but Puts His Nose to the Ground. Barnes was abroad early. He was at breakfast when Peter Ames called up. An Inspiration seized him when the chauffeur mentioned the wholesale exodus: lie hired Peter forthwith and ordered him to report immediately with the car. He was going up to Green Fancy for Miss Cameron's wardrobe. j Two minutes after Peter drove f.ji to the Tavern he was on the way back j lo Green Fancy again, and seated beside be-side him was Thomas Kingsbury Barnes, Ids new master. There was not a sign of human life about the place. Peter accompanied him upstairs to the room recently occupied oc-cupied by Miss Cameron. They found two small leather trunks, thickly belabeled. in the room upstairs. Both were locked. (TO BE CONTINUED.) He Was Known to Her as a Thief of International Fame. Naismith. She'll tell ye. my hucki He's been standing guard outside In window for the past three nights He's" "Now I know you are mistaken.' cried Barnes, a nave of relief surging over him. "He has been In this tav em every night " "Sure he has. But answer me, did ye ever see him here after eleven in the evening? You did not not until last night, anyhow. In the struggle he ms had with Nicholas last night he was recognized. That's why poor old Nicholas is lying dead up there at the house now and will have a decent burial unbeknownst to anybody but his friends." ''Good God, O'Dowd, you can't mean that he he killed" "lie stuck a knife in his neck. The ', dirty snake1 And the chief trusted him as no crook ever itiis trussed be- o |