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Show V f BULL-DOG I SKDBUMMOND B iHMlk The Adventures of A LOB KS Demobilized Officer vJB gjKWho Found Peace Dull RK138k CYRIL MC-NEILE KSnT V"'JflN SAPPER" d WfffLmW7 Vm Illustrations by W VVlSS- inWIH MYERS tW'lliial ot Copyright by Geo H Doran Co Wherefore to the soldier's Instlne-tlve Instlne-tlve fcecoud nnture, trained In the war and sharpened by hi, Krm duel wlUi the gnng, must be given the credit of preventing the ringing of the wedding, bells being postponed for g(K)d. Tliu sudden snap of n twig close by, the sharp IiIxh of a compresed-iilr rillc, seemed slinultuiiewuH with Hugh burling burl-ing himself lint on his face behind a sheltering bush. In reality there was that fraction of a second between the actions which allowed the bullet to pnss harmlessly oer his body Instead of finishing his uireer there and then. He heard It go zipping through the undergrowth ns he lay motionless on the ground; then very cautiously )P turned his head ami iwored about. A shrub whs (.linking u few yards awny. and on It Hugh fixed his half, closed eyes. If he lny Quite Mill the man, whoever he was, would probably assume the shot hail taken effect, and come and Investigate. Then things would be easier, ns two or three Unehci bad discovered to their cost In days gone by. For two minutes be saw no ono; then very slowly the branches parted and tho white face of n man peered through. It wut tLc chauffeur who usually drove the ltolls Itoycc, and be seemed unduly anxious to satisfy blinself that all was well before coining coin-ing nearer. The fame of Hugh Drum-inoud Drum-inoud had spreud abroad amongst the satellites of I'etersou. At last be seemed to make up his mind, and cntne out Into the open. Step by step he advanced toward the motionless figure, his vveaiion held In readiness to shoot at the faintest movement. Hut the soldier lay sprawling and Inert, and by the time the chauffeur had reached blra there vvns no douht ln that worthy's mind that, nt Inst, this wretched meddler with things that concerned him not had been laid by the heels. Which was as unfortunate for the chauffeur ns It had been fur unwary Huns In the past. Contemptuously ,he rolled Uruiu-iuoiicI Uruiu-iuoiicI over; then, noting the relaxed muscles ii ml Inert limbs, be laid his gun on the ground preparatory to running run-ning through his victim's pockets. And the fact that such an action was a little more foolish than offering a man-eating man-eating tiger n peppermint lozenge did not trouble the chauffeur. In fact, nothing troubled him again. He got out one gasping cry of ter-tor ter-tor us he realized his mlstuke; then he bad u blurred consciousness of the world upside down, and everything vvns over. It vvns Olukl's most dangerous danger-ous throw, curried out by gripping the victim's wrists nnd burling his body over by a heave of the legs, Aud nine time out of ten the reMilt vvus a broken neck. Tills vvns one of the nine. For a while the soldier stared at the body, frowning thoughtfully. To have killed the chauffeur whs Inconvenient, but since It bad happened It necessitated neces-sitated a little rearrangement of his nluns. Thu moon was betting aud the night would become darker, so there vvns a good chance that Lakington would not recognize that tho driver of his ear had changed. And If he did well, It would be ueces-sury to forego the somewhat theatrical enter-tnlnment enter-tnlnment he hnd staged for his benefit nt The Kims. Hendlng over the dead mnn, he temoved bis long grey drlv-lug-rout and cup; then, without a sound, he threaded his way through the bushes In search of the car. He found It nhut u hundred jards nearer the house, so well hidden In a small space ofT the rond Hint be was almost on top of It before he real- ! Ized the fuct. To his relief It was ' empty, and placing bis own nip In u I pocket under the -.i" be put on lb- ' drlvlug-coiit of his pivleii--or Then. 1 with a quick glnnre round to ensure ll.nl everything was In rc.ull.ic for . immediate and rapid departure 1 hucI, as he imuglned Lakington would I desire, ho turned and crept stealthily i toward the house. TWO I.aldley Towers was en fete. Th duchess, determined that every conceivable con-ceivable stunt should be carried out which would make for the entertainment entertain-ment of her guests, bad spared no pains to make the evening a success. The duke, bored to extinction, had been live times routed out of hla study bj his Indefatigable spouse, and was now. nt the moment Hugh first cntne In sight of the bouse, enguged U shaking shak-ing blinds with a tall, aristocratic-looking aristocratic-looking India! "How d'y do," he murmured va-cuntly. va-cuntly. "What did you sny the dam' fellah's name was, my dear?" he whispered whis-pered In a bourse undertone to tho duchess, who stood beside him welcoming wel-coming the distinguished foreigner. "VeVf so glad you could come, Mr. Raul 1 r." remarked the duchess affably. af-fably. "Everyone Is so looking forward for-ward to your wonderful entertainment." entertain-ment." Hound her neck were the historic his-toric pearls, and as the Indian bowed low over her outstretched hand, his ejes gleamed for u second. It had been the marquis of Laldley himself who hud suggested getting hold of this most celebrated performer, perform-er, who hud uppurcntly never been In England before. And since the marquis of I.nldley's comlng-of-sge was the cause of the whole evening's entertainment, his suggestion had been hnlled with acclamation. How he had heard uboul the Indian, and from whom, were points about which he vvus very vugue; but stneo he was u very vague young man, the fact elicited no comment. The main thing wan that here, In the flesh, was durk, mysterious performer of the occult, oc-cult, aud vvhut more could a house party require? And In thu general excitement Hugh Drummond crept closer to the open window. Suddenly his Juw tightened; Irma Peterson had entered the room with young Laldley. "Do you want anvthfng done, Mr. Hum Dur?" asked the duchess "the lights down or tho window shut?" "No, I thank you," returned the Indian. In-dian. 1 am ready. Who llrst will learn of the things that are written on the scroll of Fatu?" Aud It was at that moment that tu Intent watcher outside the window begun to rtliake with silent mirth. For the face was the face of Uio Indian, lEiiui Dnr, but the voice was the voice of Lnklngtou. It struck him that the next ten minutes or so might be well worth while. The problem of removing re-moving the pearls from the duchess' neck before such nn assembly seemed lo present a certain utuouut of dllll-cull) dllll-cull) even to such un expert um Henry. And Hugh crept a little nearer the. window', so us- to miss nothing. Evidently tho scene was now seethe see-the uecessury props were in position ami Hugh waited with growing Impatience Im-patience for the principal event. But I the principal performer seemed In no hurry. . In fuct. In his dry way Lak ington was thoroughly enjojlug himself. him-self. An Intimate Inside knowledge of the skeletons that rattled their bones In the clipboards of nyist of those present enabled the gods to speak with disconcerting accuracy; and us each victim Insisted on somebody some-body new facing the sunds that cu.ue from beyond the mountains, the performance per-formance seemed llsely to Inst Indefinitely Indefi-nitely At last a sudden delighted burst of applause cume from the group, announcing an-nouncing the dlsTomllture of jet another an-other guest, and with It Luklngton seemed to tiro of the uniusement Engrossed En-grossed though be wns In thu uullclpa-tlon uullclpa-tlon of the main Item which was still to be staged, Drummond could not hut uilmlro the extraordinary uccuracy of the character study. Not a detail bad been overlooked; not a single flaw In Lnklngton'H acting could hu not It e. It vvus an Indian who stood then, and when u few days later Hugh returned her pearls to the duchess, for u long time neither she nor her husband would believe that Untn Dnr had been nn I.'iigllslininn disguised. . . . Aud this wns what hm- wnei' is ieep e tho fascinated nl -offlilng nenr the w'liiiow i inside Snperbl disdainful. Uie Indian nftei b short, meaningless patter, to hold the intention e.f the audience, stalked to the open window. With arms outstretched he stared Into the darkness, secmlnc to gather strength from the gods- whom he served. "Do our enrs not l.enr the whtsjwr-lugs whtsjwr-lugs of the night 7" he demanded. "Life rustling In the lenves; death moaning through the grasses." And suddenly he threw buck his bend nnd laughed, n fierce, mocking laugh ; then he swung round and faced the room. For a while he stood motionless, nnd Hugh, from the shelter of the hushes, wondered whether the two quick Hushes tliut hnd come from his tobe ns he spoke Hashes such us a smnll electric torch will give, n.ul which were unseen by anyone else were a signal to the defunct de-funct chauffeur. Then n peculiar look came over the Indian's fnce, as his ejes fell on a Chinese cabinet. "Where did the Protector or tho Poor obtain the sacred cabinet of the Chow kings?" He peered nt It reverently, rever-ently, and the duke coughed, "One of my ancestors picked It up somewhere," he answered apologetically. apologeti-cally. 'Tnshloucd with the blood of men, guarded with their lives, and one of jour ancestors picked It up I" The duke withered completely under the biting scorn of the words, nnd seemed about to sny something, but the Imlini bad turned away, ami his long, dellcato lingers were hovering over the box. (Wlth gleaming eyes he stared In front of him, and a woman shuddered audibly. "What Is It supposed to do?" she ventured timidly. "For centuries that box contained the Jewels precious beyond words of the reigning queens of the Chow dynasty. They were wrapped In silver sil-ver and gold tissue of which thin Is a feeble, modern substitute." From a cummerbund under his robe lie drew a piece of shining mnterlnl, the appearance of which was greeted with cries of feminine delight. "You would not ask me to commit sucrllegc?" Quietly he replaced the muterlal ln his belt and turned awny, lakWl JKBBWF "Where Did the Protector of the Poor Obtain the Sacred Cabinet of the Chow Kings?" and Hugh's e.ves glistened ut the cleverness clev-erness with which the man wus acting. act-ing. Whether they believed It or not, there was not u soul In the room by this time who vvns not consumed with eagerness to put the Chinese cabinet to the test. "Supposing you look iny peurls, Mr. ltnm Dur," ubl the duchess diffidently. diffident-ly. "I know (but compared to such historic Jewels they are poor, but perhaps per-haps It would not be sacrilege." Not a muscle on Lnkl.igton's fuco twitched, though It vvus the thing he hud been plnylng for. Instead ho seemed to hu sunk In thought, while the duchess continued pleading, and the rest of the party added their entreaties, en-treaties, Then, as If he hail decided suddenly, he swung round. "I will try," he announced brlelly, and the duchess beaded the chorus of delight. "Will the Presences stand bnck, nnd you. jour Grace, take that?" He handed her the piece of material. "No baud but yours must touch the pearls. Wrap them up Inside the silver sil-ver iiihI gold." Aloofly ho wntrhed the process. "Now advance alone, and open the box. Place the pearls Inside, In-side, Now shut and lock It." Obediently Obedi-ently the duchess did as she was bid; then she stood w tilting for further Instructions. In-structions. ( Put apparently by this time tho Grent llroodlng Spirit vvus beginning to take effect. Singing u monotonous, harsh cbuiit, thu Indian knelt on the floor, mill poured some iwvvder Into a little bruztcr. He vvus still close to the open window', nnd finally he sat down with his elbow's on his knees, and his bend rocking to and fro ln his hands. "Less light less light 1' Tho words seemed to come from u great distance ventriloquism In n mild way was ono of Laklugton's accomplishments;-and accomplishments;-and ns the lights went out a greenish, spluttering fin me rose from the brnzler. A heavy, odorous smoke tilled the room, hut framed and motloulesM ln the eerie light sat tho Indian, staring fixedly lu front of him. After h time the chant began again; It grew aud swelled In volume till the singer grew frenzied and bent Ida bend with hla hands. Theu abruptly It stopped. "Place the box upon thu floor," be entered, "In the light of the Sncred Fire." Hugh snw the duchess kneel down on the opposite aide of the brnzler, nnd place the box on the floor, while the faces of the guests strange. and ghostly lu tho great light peered like specters out of tho heavy smoke. This was undoubtedly a show worth vvntchlng. "Open the box I" Harshly the worda rang through the silent room, ata with fingers that trembled a little th duchess duch-ess turned the key and threw back the lid. , "Why, It's empty I" alio crll In amazement, nnd the guests craned forward for-ward to look. "Put not your hand Inside," cried the Indian In sudden warning, "or perchance per-chance It will remain empty." The duchess rapidly withdrew hor bnud, nnd stnred Incredulously through the smoke nt his Impassive face. "Did 1 not ny that thero waa power lu (he box?" he said dreamily. "The power to render invlslblo the power to render visible. Thus enmo protection pro-tection to the Jewels of tho Chow queens." "Tliat'H all right, Mr. Kam Dur," nld the duchess a little upprehemrr hel.v. "There may be power In the In : I ut my pearls don't seem to be." ' ' e Indian laughed. e toil you has touched the cabinet, cab-inet, jour Grace ; none but you must touch II till the pearls return. They are there now; but not for mortal eyes to see." Which, Incidentally, was no more than the truth. "Look, oh I sahibs, look; but do not touch. Sen that to your vision tbebox la empty. . . ." He waited motionless, motion-less, while the guests thronged round, with expressions of amazement; nnd Hugh, safe from view In the thick, svveet-smelllug smoke, came even nearer near-er lu his excitement. "It Is enough," cried thu Indian suddenly. "Shut the box, your grace, and lock It as before. Now pluco It on the table whence It cume. la it there?" "Yes." The duchess volco came out of the green fog. "Go not too near," he continued wnrnlngly. "The gods must have I .. . . a space the gous must nnvo space. Again thu harsh chant began, ut times swelling to a shout, nt times dying nwny to u vvhlsjicr. And It wns during one of theso latter periods that a low laugh, Instantly checked, disturbed dis-turbed the room. It was plainly audible, audi-ble, nnd someone Irritably suld, "He quiet I" It was not repeated, which afforded Hugh, ut any rate, no surprise. sur-prise. For It had been Irmn Peterson who had laughed, and It might have been hilarity, or It might have been a signal. "Hrlng the box, your grace," he cried harshly, and once more tho duchess knelt lu the clrcle of light, with a row of dimly ecn faces nbove her. "Open; but as you value your pearls touch them not." Excitedly sln threw buck thu lid, and u chorus of cries greeted the uppeuranco of the gold and silver tissue nt the bottom of the box. "They're here, Mr, Ham Dar." In the green light the Indian's somber som-ber eyes stared round the group of dim faces. "Did I not say," be answered, "that there was power In the box? Hut In the nnme of that power unknown to you I wain you; Do not touch those |