Show II A GHOST BY PROXY I I I U BY DY FRANK P. I When hen Enor went eIt up with wih th the malt mall mal she found his hit I in 11 disorder an and Vaughn himself in a fever fO of haste hasie his hla I rt ri lISI vs lIS I 1 1 must etch CAtch the 1 1130 30 train mm 1 II I onnel ho said to her o to go so goto goto soto I to Gasconade ina 13 may be a wook I Th Then n you ou cans can's stop slop for luncheon CUt JUL Ju Just t got sot this telegram tele Isle gram And to sae e words ho tossed upon tho the table the slip eUp of yellow clow paper papel and out resumed packing pacIng while she ahe studied It li So there's theres been another of nr those thole washouts she an Id replacing tho the me- me Kige in it Its Is tn envelope and lending n a 1 hand at th the packing I do 10 hope Mr r. r Vaughn 1 you Ol wont won't let anything h hp- hp l- l pen rh That's ts t's such a H treacherous country coun coui- tr try down there during the r flood od e i- i son Vaughn aughn mumbled led a 1 reassurance and nd and seizing the package of mail she ho ho had brought thrust t It IL I Into his pocket with witha wih a N remark that lie he would road it I on th the train Ten ren minutes later la as h he ht Wi bolting A sandwich at the th railroad station eatIng Oat eat Ing In houte a sho lAI rushing to toward toward toward to- to ward him shouting an a All Ail Al about the hanging o of H ute ute- led Thou Though h all aH al aboard hah had been callot I I from rom tho tue platform outside he ho I to buy a R paper Vaughn who was ns employed em em- b by u a railroad company as a and Inspector 1 of bridges WH thoroughly wrapped up in iii hi his wor work worl ambitious fo for or promotion and keenly alert to the Int of or hi lil hll Ito seldom took tonic In anything 10 that was not In direct line Hue lne of duty am anI was wae often oren overheard to n. n rny that hi his Ils vocation was Ws a n Jealous mistress do ll- voc hi his whole attention Yet i et h he had hall reason for being Interested ted In the han hanging ln of As the train rumbled out of or Kansa Knas Cl City he adjusted hi his limbs comfortably In tho smoking car seat scat seat and unfolded tin the extra There Thele was wan wa waa a n lavish e expenditure o of r blade black Ink In the headlines wh h e- e tended fended acrO across B three columns or front pal page page- I Expiates HI His Crime on the tho Scaffold Trap l Is IR Sprung at High Noon WIth Noon oon With III ills Life Ho lie Pay 1 th for or the Ude o J. J M M. lIls His Last Words Aie i a Protes- Protes tattoo of Stays Will tUi Pronounced Dead Him to o the tho 1 did 11 Two After Drop FalI Thus ran the headlines them us f wore were one hundred words In leaded t typo pe giving I nh a somewhat hyt hysterical hys hys- t account of ot the execution followed fol rol- of or two column lowed h by 13 a the tit erimo and trial Va Vaughn s skimmed the lines hastily upon tho cushIon a I moment In meditation and then in lii response to to- tc toa a K don Jud-don udon Impulse to tossed sed the pl paper p t out outfit fit it the window To a hook book left Ir by b tho the news agent he deigned cur cursory cursor ol notice Op Opening It I ui li t random h ho read a u paragraph para para- graph then read it I again without no emot st Idea t of or I Its meaning Ho lie 10 tried to o C fasten ten his Ils attention upon the but With the fl f flying ing panorama tale of or telegraph poles fields felds and farm fann houses like lile Jle the dissolving views of f the stereopticon were cro the thc s scenes of or ora ofa a court room of a prisoner in tho the dock ock and Inal of or a I scaffold and a black blackI ea Cal Alt He was conscious of or a shudder I that could scarcely have been boon caused t by a draft yet et he closed the window After all al he lie asked himself had he ho done dono right Reclining again upon the up plush holstered seat h he lie resigned himself to the reminiscent mood and mentally re reviewed reviewed re- re viewed te ed the incidents of the trial U It T had been eon his fIrst and only ej us is a juror Ho lIe 10 had been regularly regular drawn a wn on the I panel anel b by tho the mer merest st chance his hla name had conic come from tho the wheel with some hundred of of- others I he lie ha had bad stood the challenges of tho the counsel on 01 both oth sides and had qualified I for fOl for no better beter reason than that he ho knew nothing nothinG of or tho the crime of or which the prisoner was accused Then followed the statement ta t of or the cate cac b by the prosecuting attorney which had given i him liin his Inkling of 91 1 what the state hoped to prove e. To Vaughns Vaughn's mind it I was a vcr very commonPlace commonplace common common- pl place ce crime featureless and without notable incident Robbery nobber ha had been the motive A str stationary engineer named lamed Samuel T. T no ute ledge whose duties were to tire a furnace and ald operate an electric l lighting plant In Inthe Inthe inthe the basement of a building In the older part part of f town had murdered one of ot the tenants a hunchback dwarf named Tobin robin conducted a a. abool book bool stall stal and sold stationery sleepIng sleeping sleep- sleep In Ing nl nights on a hunk bunk in his shop hop It I had been current currently reported that the dwarf was a miser and that concealed in his hie dingy cell cel was treasure of ot untold un- un 1 t told he value alue though though the only foundation I for Cor this seemed to lie le In the tact fact that ho rarely left lef his store even for or his mc meals ls that he was reticent and arid that those who sought his confidence were Invariably repulsed repulsed Vaughn Vaugh n rem remembered ered having ln seen soen I Tobin once or 01 l twice lec and ant recalled him hini now no as 39 a singularly favored ill favored il-favored Individual Indi vidual In additon addition to congenital de deformities do- do e- e his hla hit face was rendered the themore themore more forbidding bv by a hideous white sc sear scar r which ran obliquely across his forehead cleft his sunken nose noso skipped the hollow of ot his hio cheek cheel and lc fl ended ed in a sharp accentuation In tho the middle of or his lower lowar jaw It I seem to suggest that robin had not always followed followed fol fol- fol- fol lowed tho the peaceful calling 0 o of a t book book- yot ot yet so far as known his ac accomplishments accomplishments ac- ac did Ud not nol include e the tho use UI of or the broadsword this grim brim portrait au Vaughns Vaughn's hns hn's re er drifted to tho the points o or of evidence a adduced cc b by the tho state Many lany witnesses had testified to the tho wild wid disorder of oC the hO book Look stall on ni tho the morning after I I the murder murder- a Co few told toM of ge's I Disappearance Disappearance- of or his profligate display of or wealth and of ot his hit arrest in u. u I distant state while two uncouth fellows had hai detailed tho the revolting scene of or the on eli 01 the night of 01 tho tragedy I the they said sahl had dismembered the tue bod body of or the dwarf dwarT with wih an ana anax anax ax a and burned it I In tn n tho the furnace furnace furnace-an ai atrocity at they thoy professed to have have t soon oen loon from rota the ale alloy alley through the grating o oan or of I an There TherE was a jarring of wheels as ag tho the train tram stopped at a a. a little hamlet and a abU bU bustle to in the aisle With lan languid uld at at- at Yau Vaughn lm read rea the tho name Beaver Bea vet ver vel Dam on the frame S structure structure ture outside an and then as the journey was resumed his fane fancy reverted to tho the Incidents of or the Inquisition and again aall he tic himself U if he lie had ind don dono right light Had ho lie done lone rl right hl in pitting his MH n against that Mint of or eleven en elc men He lit was 08 confident that hi lila mind had hadl hadlon l lon been n free and ull unbiased Wua Ui It U IlnI firm firm- I X or 8 th then n thai that hi md hd d prompted him to withhold his niico nICI in their motion moton that the theer er lN bo ho in tome sonic of tho the lesser degrees of JI homicide Pot For the thc first tnt time th 11 was waa lI presented t to him in I tiis light Years of or Jf experience In quasi quasi- c. th positions tons where ho hat halt been I Supreme In n his department had luul a ac- ac itus i- i cu lomed tomed him to seeing bla jis word Orl ad- ad ac- ac without tol lt ant and t nl now rc he to tok tOi k of sinister pride in lii II main maln- taming tho thu precedent Beyond doubt IJ his was wits the strongest ter personality In int t th th hI j jury L ry box a t tact of which ho was wan full CuU till aW awai r He ltd had har held out against them for two days a arguing und and plead plead- Ins ing by turl turns turn bringing to bear all al his hi persuasive e powers resorting to volt cn to Implied throats threats now no noa a t 1 im Ur would woul be e won o nr and ard arll 1 the tho seem am all al but tut hl his hil Own lion by ly Homo subtle telepathy would coir cOllo o u a L revulsion tiLson of or sentiment the pendulum would woul swing awing the oth other r way lC leaving I lilt him alone tho ho sole cole advocate ud octo of or capital c decree In tho the cn end ho lie had triumphed tri tn- I but bul whether hl his hiM co arbiters o lt lad had 1 been moved mo b by or 01 fatigue aUgue he ho could coul not nut bo be sureh sure Wh Why aft after all 11 ho hu a asked himself had ha he taken such Much a a. L determined stan Perhaps because he believed death alone could appease outraged justice nothing I less t being commensurate with witha wih a a crimo so 80 o diabolical perhaps b h o of a churlish desire to see his will wil prevail prevail pre pre- 0 vail al There There- little comfort In th the knowledge that his attitude had hd been th tho ho popular one The 16 newspapers ha hac had haj c congratulated d him hint It I Is true true for for k nt as often happens happen the thc secrets of or 01 the jur Jury Jury- morn ro lind I leaked leaked- k d- d but In his present mOl mood it 1 seemed emd such Huch a n contemptible thing for tor a n great reat state to crush th If out Iut of a poor Cowering human humaI C And m In il-i this instance ho bad hat impersonated th the tho 8 state at w Foi For nearly ten days little attempt had bad been ma made o on the Minden brand to observe schedule time as tho the tracks In many places had been een inundated b bj th the rains the tho trains heavy hru rop rope their way vay cautiously from elation ti t. tl c station nJ construction ian angs 1 wen I or working Ie In in III three o day and I night Vaughns Vaughn's train finally arrived at at Mindo the southern terminus of i the stub t two hours late Into Leaving I I an order at tim til hotel for an tn early cally supper V. he ai ranged arranged for Cor a saddle horse I I the the heist best accommodation available available- a and anti planned to 10 resume his trip tnt tIp to toI I Gasconade in oO u minutes 8 It I was t then thon I o o'clock t by good fortune fortuno he hoped to accomplish the remaining 1 12 miles I overland b by I I I Vaughn uhl tied ted his hla to a u I and climbed to the thc summit 8 of or a knoll I to reconnoiter For three hours he lie had traveled through h a ru rugged pd Inhospitable f pit able country buffeted and drenched drench drench- i ed b by th the tho tangled undergrowth IH bc- bc I without sense of direction J I hot hop lost Ills His lUl skill of woodcraft wood wood- craft craf avaIled u him nothing oven th moon an and tars stars hidden b by a IL of o Inky cloud withheld their kindly beacons lie IIo Ie swore softly as aa he etro to pierce the gloom QI and I cursed hi his hll stupidity for Cot turning from tho the hl high hiti- hw h- h w way f T T should have hac forded the thc eUp stream m mi i as 8 I found It It I. I h ho grumbled Instead or of orI I looking for a a. place where hero I 1 could cross cros dry lie le struck a n match and consulted d hit hit- hll watch it v waa wal j Il 11 I 1 G A And 11 I 1 was gnIng gobig go- go 0 big Ing In to ho he In tn Gasconade h by 80 Humph Well 1 I nm as ns wr PI ll camp hero here for a n while white Perhaps the tho win wil come COI put Olt between now antI and nd mornIng morning morn- morn Ing and give mo me bearings 8 00 m my berin To 0 kill 11 time an and divert hie his thoughts 1 from ul themes he bi tl hgan gan an a quest for tOl dr dry fagots with wih which to kindle a u lire and a moment later sat t down a little con shaped cone heap of or twigs n and bark barlt from arose a crackling flame This Tho l Ill Illumination na t hn Intensified the thc blackness about nim and yo yet 01 gave ave him hll a n sense CUl of I If comfort H I. I leaned against a n log hog determined to lo face the situation philo 20 th lea 1 I y I Io So o far fal as he could judae he Ito was WIS in iii ini a i i coppice of or a scrub oak oik though hero horo and there a giant tree the genus enus of which ho could not guess ue s. s towered far into nto the opaque 1 night Ight Its foliage lit lt by a wan phosphorescence that seemed d to from the leaves themselves HP Ip assured himself that hit hla surrounding were majestic rich majestic rich richIn In lii II a a. somber kind ot It t poetic suggestion hut but somehow eO the aesthetic sJ e of ot his nature never Ol highly developed was Thele was little need to toas as ael I wh why t Vaughn was accredited with wih being a Q bravo brave man man as questions of or bra or bravery arc aro determined In tho tim world ho knew but his valor 10 was It u moral rat rather than thana a physical thing It I is probable he never ne experienced a superstitious Ireful dread The he dul dully routine of his lila life 1 like that that of or his ancestors as fur tar back backas backa a riK as ho had a arty any knowledge e. e h luaU had Inclined to comm commercial Iclal pursuits there had hadeen been een neither soldiers nor sailors among thorn thom tile the they were vere the pampered products pro pro- ducts of chil civilisation llon Training and heredity th then n. n had done ton little enough to equip Vaughn Co for his or- or 01 I deal leal Fresh from Crom the lie clamor of af a faIrs raire he was disarmed in this por- por conspiracy of or night and soIl soll- sol sol- lu ude tude and for tor once he know leow Fear that Fear that human attribute which Is So the stronger for or being boing Ills HIs Ima imagination peopled the black environment with lh a a legion of unfamiliar un- un familiar famUla quality there were half half- heard hear whispers and movements ot of 01 things immovable grotesque forms form grow glOW out of the intangible Intangible darkness hun lung hung a n moment in space and whisked themselves aWa away to bo be to replaced h by others He shifted uneasily upon the damp damp amp hummock and fanned funne upon ute the blaze with his hat then felt fel through his is pockets for a scrap of or paper with wih which to nurse the flame ame Ah Ali This is fortunate he ox- ox and antI drew forth tho the package ot of f mail mal his housekeeper pcr had given him himas as Ig he was lea Ir leaving the tue cf city This will wile vile wie away assay wa a a dreary half hai hour Several printed circulars were added to the heap before him ilm then he hc drew froth flOm Its envelope a a sheet 6 f note paper and bent down to r read ad An Instant later the tho page I crumpled crumple in his Ills clenched hand Vaughn was upon his feet his head thrust forward Isle Ills tree tee hand shading hl his hia eyes eos as an It if to to rb ro their powers of penetration A A. moment he foo stood thus thUR then theil sinking back upon the mound relaxed his tenso muscles I smoothed the crumpled sheet and rea read it I a again aln It I ran thus Friday a May Ia 24 24 IS IS- IS Mr Emory nory Vaughn Sir SI Tt It I is customary I J believe for fora a defendant to tItanIc thank a jUT jury who acquit him of |