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Show 1 Grem Fslbicy sss Q2f Giaustark, 'The I I By GEORGE BARR McCUTCHEON tl Copyright by Dodd, Mead and Company, Inc. machine when It conies, nn' if I keer to stny on as washer In his place she'll hp glad -to have me. I says I'd like to have a word with Mr. Curtis, if she don't mind, an' she says Mr. Curtis ain't ahle to see no one. So I guess I'm goin' to be let out." An idea was taking root in Barnes' brain, but it was too soon to consider it fixed. "You say Mr. Loeb is new at his job?" "Well, he's new up here. Mr. Curtis Cur-tis was down to New York all last winter bein' treated, you see. He didn't come up here till about rive weeks ago. Loeb was workin' fer him most of the winter, gittin' up a book er something, I hear. Mr. Curtis' mind is all right, I guess, even If his body ain't." "I see. Mr. Loeb came up with him from New York." "Kerect Him and Mr. O'Dowd and Mr. De Soto brought him up 'bout the last o' March. They was up here vis-itin' vis-itin' last spring an' the fall before. Mr. Curtis is very fond of both of 'em." "It seems to me that I have heard that his son married O'Dowd's sister." "That's right. She's a widder now. Her husband was killed in the war between Turkey an' them other countries coun-tries four er five years ago." "Really?" "Yep. Him and Mr. O'Dowd his own brother-in-law, y' know was fightin' on the side of the Boolgarians and young Ashley Curtis was killed." "Was this son Mr. Curtis' only child?" "So fer as I know. He left three little lit-tle kids. They was all here with their mother jest after the house was finished." fin-ished." "They will probably come into this property when Mr. Curtis dies," said of carrying out some dark and sinister project. "I suppose Mrs. Collier has spent a grent deal of time up here with her brother." "First time she was ever here, so far us I know," said Peter, and Barnes promptly took up his weaving once more. With one exception, he decided, the entire company nt Green Fancy was involved in the conspiracy. The exception ex-ception was Miss Cameron. It was quite clear to him that she had been misled or betrayed Into her present position; that a trap had been set for her and she had walked into it blindly, blind-ly, trustingly. This would seem to establish, es-tablish, beyond question, that her capture cap-ture and detention was vital to the interests in-terests of the plotters; otherwise she would not have been lured to Green Fancy under the impression that she was to find herself among friends and supporters. Supporters! That word started a new train of thought. lie could hardly wait for the story that was to fall from her lips. "P.y the way, Peter, it has just occurred oc-curred to me that I may be able to give you a job In case you are let out by Mr. Curtis. I can't say definitely until I have communicated with my sister, who has a summer home in the Berk shires." "I'll be much obliged, sir. Course I won't say a word. Will I find you at the tavern if I get my walkin' papers soon ?" "Yes. Stop in to see pie tomorrow If you happen to be passing." Barnes said good night to the man and entered the tavern a few minutes later. Putnam Jones was behind the desk and facing him was the little book agent. "Hello, stranger," greeted the landlord. land-lord. "Been sashaying in society, hey? Meet my friend Mr. Sprouse, Mr. Barnes. Sic-em, Sprouse ! Give him the Dickens !" Mr. Jones laughed loudly loud-ly at his own jest. Sprouse shook hands with his victim. vic-tim. "I was just . saying to our friend Jones here, Mr. Barnes, that you look like a more than ordinarily intelligent man and that if I had a chance to buzz with you for a quarter of an hour I could present a proposition " "Sorry, Mr. Sprouse, but it is half-past half-past eleven o'clock, and I am dog-tired. You will have to excuse me." "Tomorrow morning will suit me," said Sprouse cheerfully, "If It suits you." CHAPTER XI. Mr. Sprouse Abandons Literature at an Early Hour in the Morning. After thrashing about in his bed for seven sleepless hours, Barnes arose and gloomily breakfasted alone. He was not discouraged over his failure to arrive at anything tangible in the shape of a plan of action. It was inconceivable in-conceivable that he should not be able in very short order to bring about the release of the fair guest of Green Fancy. There was not the slightest doubt In his mind that international affairs of considerable importance were involved and that the agents operating op-erating at Green Fancy were under definite orders. Mr. Sprouse came into the dining room as he was taking his last swallow swal-low of coffee. "Ah, good morning," was the bland little man's greeting. "Up with the lark, I see. Mind if I sit down here and have my eggs?" He pulled out a chair opposite Barnes and coolly sat down at the table. "Y'ou can't sell me a set of Dickens at this hour of the day," said Barnes sourly. "Besides, I've finished my breakfast. Keep your seat." He started start-ed to rise. "Sit down," said Sprouse quietly. Something in the man's voice and manner man-ner struck Barnes as oddly compelling. He hesitated a second and then resumed re-sumed his seat. "I've been investigating investi-gating you, Mr. Barnes," said the little man, unsmilingly. "Don't get sore. There are a lot of things that you don't know, and one of them is that I don't sell books for a living. It's something of a side line with me." He leaned forward. "I shall be quite frank with you, sir. I am a secret service man. Yesterday I went through your effects upstairs, and last night I took the liberty lib-erty of spying upon you. so to speak, while you were a guest at Green Fancy." Sprouse plans things quite different from selling books, and takes Barnes into his confidence. (TO BE CONTINUED.) "I AM A PRISONER HERE." Synopsis. Thomas Kv Barnes, a wealthy young New Yorker, on a walking trip in New England Eng-land near the Canadian border, is given a lift in an automobile by a mysterious and attractive girl bound for a house called Green Fancy. At Hart's tavern Barnes finds a stranded troupe of "barn-storming" actors, of which Lyndon Rushcroft is the star and "Miss Thackeray" the - leading lady. He learns Green Fancy is a house of mystery. That night Andrew Roon and his servant, guests at the tavern, are shot near Green Fancy. Barnes comes under suspicion and stays to help clear up the double murder. He gets into the Green Fancy grounds; meets the mysterious girl, who gives him the cut direct, and is politely polite-ly ejected by O'Dowd, an interesting inter-esting adventurer. Enter at the tavern another man of mystery, Sprouse, "book agent." Barnes visits Green Fancy with the sheriff and stays to dinner. Enter En-ter still another mysterious personage, per-sonage, "Loeh," secretary to' Curtis, owner of Green Fancy, who does not appear because of Illness. Barnes again meets "Miss Cameron," the mysterious girl, who is a ravishing beauty in evening dress. CHAPTER X. The Prisoner of Green Fancy, and the Lament of Peter the Chauffeur. He envied Mr. Rushcroft The barnstormer barn-stormer would have risen to the occasion occa-sion without so much as the blinking of an eye. He did his best; however, and, despite his eagerness, managed to come off fairly well. Anyone out of earshot. would have thought that he was uttering some trifling inanity instead in-stead of these words: "Y'ou may trust me. I have suspected suspect-ed that something was wrong here." "It is impossible to explain now," she said. "These people are not my friends. I have no one to turn to in my predicament." "Yes, you have," he broke in, and laughed rather boisterously for him. He felt that they were being watched in turn by every person in the room. "Tonight not an hour ago I began to feel that I could call upon you for help. I begnn to relax. Something whispered to me that I wss no longer utterly alone. Oh, you will never know what It Is to have your heart lighten as mine but I must control myself. We are not to waste words." "You have only to command me, Miss Cameron. No more than a dozen words are necessary. Tell me how I can be of service to you." "I shall try to communicate with you in some way tomorrow. I beg of you.- I Implore you, do not desert me. If I can only be sure that you will-" "Y'ou may depend on me, no matter what happens," said he, and, looking Into her eyes, was bound forever. "I have been thinking," she said. "Yesterday I made the discovery that I that I am actually a prisoner here, Mr. Barnes, I Smile! Say something silly!" Together they laughed over the meaningless remark he made in response re-sponse to her command. "I am constantly watched. If I venture outside the house I am almost Immediately joined by one of these men. You saw what happened yesterday. yes-terday. I am distracted." "I will ask the authorities to step In and " "No! You are to do nothing of the kind. Tlie authorities Would never find me If they came here to search." (It was hard for him to smile at that !) "It must be some other way. If I . - could steal out of the house but that Is Impossible," she broke off with a catch In her voice. "Suppose that I were to steal Into the house," he said, a reckless light in his eyes. "Oh, you could never succeed !" "Well, I could try, couldn't I?" There was nothing funny in the remark, re-mark, but they both leaned back and laughed heartily. ' "Leave It to me. Toll me where " "The place Is guarded day and night. The stonllhiost burglar In the world could not come within a stone's throw of the house." "If it's as had as all that, we cannot afford to make any slips. You think you are in no immediate peril?" "I am in no peril at ail unless I .. bring it upon myself," she said significantly. signifi-cantly. "Then a delay of a day or so will not matter," he said. frowning. "Leave it to me. I will find a way." "He careful !" De Soto came lounging loung-ing up behind (hem. "Forgive me for interrupting, hut I am und"r command from royal headquarters. head-quarters. Peter, the king of chauffeurs, chauf-feurs, sends in word that the car is in an amiable mood and champing to he ; otr. So seldom Is it in good humor that he " "I'll be off at once," exclaimed Barnes, arising. "By Jove, it is half-past half-past ten. I had no idea good night, Miss Cameron." He pressed her hand reassuringly and loft her. She had arisen and was standing, straight and slim by the corner of the fireplace, a confident smile on her lips. "If you are to be long In the neighborhood, neigh-borhood, Mr. Barnes," said his hostess, "you must let us have you again." "My stay Is short, I fear. You have only to reveal the faintest sign that I may come, however, and I'll hop into my seven-league hoots before you can utter Jack Robinson's Christian name. Good night, Mrs. Van Dyke. I have you all to thank for a most delightful evening." The car was waiting at the hack of the house. O'Dowd walked out with Barnes, their arms linked as on a former for-mer occasion, Barnes recalled. "I'll ride out to the gate with you," said the Irishman. "It's a winding, devious route the road' takes through the trees." They came in time, after many "hair pins" and right angles, to the gate opening upon the highway. Peter got down from the seat to release the padlocked pad-locked chain and throw open the gate. O'Dowd leaned closer to Barnes and lowered his voice. "See here. Barnes, I'm no fool, and for that reason I've got sense enough to know that you're not either. I don't know what's in your mind, nor what you're trying to get Into it if It isn't already there. But I'll say this to you, man to man : Don't let your imagination get the better of your common sense. That's all. Take the tip from me." "I am not imagining anything, O'Dowd," said Barnes quietly. "What do you mean?" "I mean just what I say. I'm giving you the tip for selfish reasons. If you make a bally fool of yourself, I'll have to see you through the worst of it and it's a job I don't relish. Fonder that, will ye, on the way home?" Barnes did ponder it on the way home. There was but one construction construc-tion to put upon the remark: it was O'Dowd's way of letting him know that he could be depended upon for support If the worst came to pass. O'Dowd evidently had not been deceived de-ceived by the acting that masked the conversation on the couch. He knew that Miss Cameron had appealed to Barnes, and that the latter had promised prom-ised to do everything in his power to help her. Suspecting that this was the situation, situ-ation, and doubtless sacrificing his own private interests, he had uttered the vague but timely warning to Barnes. The significance of this warning grew under reflection. Barnes was not slow to appreciate the position in which O'Dowd voluntarily placed himself. A word or a sign from him would he sufficient suf-ficient to bring disaster upon the Irishman Irish-man who had risked his own safety in a few Irretrievable words. The more he thought of it, the more fully convinced con-vinced was he that there was nothing to fear from O'Dowd. refer drove slowly, carefully over the road down the mountain. Responding Respond-ing to a sudden impulse, Barnes lowered low-ered one of the side seats in the ton-neau ton-neau and moved closer to the driver. "How long have you been driving for Mr. Curtis?" "Ever since he come up here, more'n two years ago. Guess I'm going to get the G. B. 'fore long, though. Seems that he's gettin' a new car an' wants an expert machinist to take hold of it from I he start. I was good enough to fiddle around with this second-hand pile o' junk an' the one he had hist year, but I ain't qualified to handle this here machine he's expectin', so he says. I guess they's been some influence influ-ence used against me, if the truth was known. This new see'etary he's got caln't stuminick me." "Why don't you see Mr. Curtis and demand " "See him?" snorted Peter. "Might as well try to see Napoleon Bonyparte. Didn't you know he was a sick man?" "Certainly. But he isn't so ill that lie can't attend to business, is he?" "He sure is. Parylised, they say." "What lias Mr. Loeb against you. if I may ask?" "Well, it's like this. I ain't in the habit o' bein' ordered anion' its if 1 was .lest nobody at all. so when he starts in to cuss me about sonicihin' a week or so ago, I ups and tells him I'll smash his head if he don't take it back. He takes it hack all right, but the first tiling I know I get a call-down call-down from Mrs. Collier. Course 1 couldn't tell her what I told the sheeny, seein' as site's a female, so 1 look it like a lamb. Then they gits a feller up here to wash the car. Mv gosh, mister, the durned ole rattle-trap ain't, wuth a bucket n' water all told. So I sends word in to Mr. Curtis that !f she has to he washed, I'll wash her. Then's when I hears about the new-car. new-car. Next day Mrs. Collier sends fer me an' I go in. She says she guesses she'll try the new washer on the new "She's a Widder Now. Her Husband Was Killed in the War." Barnes, keeping the excitement out of his voice. "More'n likely." "Was he very feeble when you saw him Inst?" "I ain't seen him in more'n six months. He was fuilin' then. That's why he went to the city." "Oh, I see. Y"ou did not see him when he arrived the hist of March?" "I was visitin' my sister up in Horn-ville'when Horn-ville'when he come back unexpected-like. unexpected-like. This ijiot Loeb says he wrote me to meet 'em at Spanish Falls but I never got the letter. Like as not the durn fool got the address wrong. I didn't know Mr. Curtis was home till I come back from my sister's three days later. I wouldn't 'a' had It happen fer fifty dollars." Peter's tone was convincingly con-vincingly doleful. "And he has been confined to his room ever since? Poor old fellow! It's hard, isn't it?" "It sure is. Seems like he'll never -be able to walk ag'in. 1 was talkin' to his nurse only the other day. He says it's a hopeless case." "Fortunately his sister can be here with him." "By gosh, she ain't notliin' like him." confided Peter. "She's till fuss an' feathers an' he is jest as simple as you er tne. Nothin' fluffy about him. I c'n tell ye." lie sighed deeply. "I'm jest as well pleased to 1:0 as not." he went on. "Mrs. Collier's got ,-i lot o' money of her own. an' she's et liigh-falutin' liigh-falutin' New York ideas that don't Seem to jibe with mine." Long before they eame to the turnpike. turn-pike. Barnes had reduced bis hundred anil one suppositions to the following concrete conclusion: Green Fancy wt'S no longer in the bands of its original orig-inal owner for the good ami sufficient reason that Mr. Curtis was dead. The real master of the house was the man known as Loeh. Through O'Dowd he had leased the property from the widowed wid-owed daughter-in-law, and bad established estab-lished himself there, surrounded by trustworthy henchmen, for pjrpuso |