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Show I A WARRIOR BOLD. ir By ST. GEORGE R.ATIIBORNE, & V; Author 6t "Little Miss Millions," "The Spider's Web," "Miss '!? ?t Caprice," "Dr. Jack's Widow," Etc., Etc. ij? , (Cop-rlght, 1001. by Street nnd Smith, Now York. ; .7 1 ' Xiii' ! vt" W v v- t t ) v- l . t V fix KKK K OK ?? t? ? K CI1APTJ5K II. (Conllnund.) aturally, Charllo Stuart was JuBtl-nca JuBtl-nca In believing tho girl to bo the child ofjoomo Flemish citizen. True, sho J8 not dressed In tho usual Dutch ftmlon, but her golden tresses and bins eyes, that shono llko twin stars, nudo him tako tho fact for granted. IJtle was, therefore, considerably sur-IjtlBed sur-IjtlBed when, springing to hor feet, sho advanced a Btop or two toward thom, holding out her hands, a look of great Joy Illuminating her face, and In a volco which tho echoes of hor recent eobs still haunted, addressed them In purest English: fi "Oh, sirs! Heaven has heard xa aypr and sent you to my rescue!" Stuart mado up his mind then and Inere, strange as such a proceeding flight be, that there was a deeper mys-iry mys-iry about tho presence of this young jjlrl In theso torrlfylng burroundlnga than had at first occurred to him. ll Many things united to mako him be-filevo be-filevo this-the fact of her not being glased by her party, her manner In if voiding any reference to tho friends uvho should bo so anxious yes, then x.nd there ho becamo convinced that a $tory lay back of it as startling as any m'roduct of an opium smoker's dream, fcharllo know it would bo well for him Ino divert tho girl's mind as much as impossible from the horrors sho had so recently been forced to face. Thus aB they walked along, ho even grew somewhat merry, and his object was accomplished, slnco tho girl's tempor ary trembling fit had passed away and sho was now calm enough to ask questions ques-tions regarding their opportune presence pres-ence In tho dismal place. I Several times Charllo knew she was looking at him Intently. He believed that ho could guess tho .reason that sho had a story to tell, a otory far out of -the ordinary run, and I was studying him whon she thought herself unobserved, studying him to determine whether sho dared entrust him with its astonishing details. cnATTim hi. 1 Charlie Makes an Engagement Who was sho? This question came Into C hallo's ' mind many times whllo they walked ,. through those ghostly passages, ceck-1 ceck-1 ng the worn stone stairs at the top 'fit which etood the roughly hewn oak ) At ino looi!orttIlo"V?irjS"atoR?tr3 tho girl camo to' a Budden stop. "Sir," she Bald, addressing Charllo as though he were tho only party in sight, "unless I am mistaken these steps lead up to the museum of tho Btoon, and wo havo reached tho exit of this horrlblo underground tomb," "We can bo in tho light as soon as I unlock tho door up yondor," ho said quietly. "Ono moment, before wo ascend. I want to catch my breath to tell you how grateful I am for your timely assistance as-sistance " "Please don't mention It," said Charlie. Char-lie. "Indeed, it was a great pleasure, fair lady," chirruped Artemus, eagerly. "You overwhelm mo with confusion. I havo, as you may well suppose, re ceived sometmng 01 a shock, and hardly feel equal to tho task of explaining ex-plaining to you Just now what strange circumstances brought me into the desperato predlcamont from which I have been rescued by your assistance. But I trust I may sco you again soon, when the explanation that Is due will bo gladly given. Forglvo mo if I say I have been studying you all this time, and something tells mo I may surely trust you with my life. God knows I neod friends." Her words thrilled Charllo. "Pardon me, miss I should havo told you before my name Is Charllo Stuart I am at present an exile from old London, in search of a mission. Porhaps I have found one," he said, with an amused smile. A faint flush chased across her countenance. coun-tenance. "And I am Arllno Brand." . She had a small reticule attached ij her girdle, as was tho custom. Opting Opt-ing this, sho took out a quaint llttto inlaid cardcase and handed him a bit of pasteboard. "When you call, ask for mo under that namo, by which I am known. But let mo say again aB a duty I owo you, Mr. Stuart let ine glvo you full warning warn-ing that, whllo I appreciate tho groat favor you havo done mo, I must toll you I havo enemies, and that If you should Beck to continue the acquaintance acquaint-ance bo strangely begun, it might possibly pos-sibly bring you into trouble." "I never yet have allowed fear of mortal man to influence my actions," Stuart said, proudly. "But theso men aro cruel and unscrupulous. un-scrupulous. You can realize that after seeing to what a dreadful fato thoy would havo condemned mo becauBo I refused to carry out their will." "They aro a sot of precious scoundrels scoun-drels and cowards!" ho declared. "Ah! but perhaps they aro all-powerful at court mon in touch with a dynasty that can shako tho earth If nrouned, to whom ono poor human llfo is as a fallen leaf," sho said, as If testing test-ing his loyftUy, "It Is tho Bame I see no reason why I should draw bagk." Taking out a watch, .he continued, in the moat deliberate de-liberate fashion: "It Is uow almost JK yt " T1 VK $?' jjc yt K Jf ! Jt? ? high noon. At eight, then, this oven-lng, oven-lng, to tho minute, I shall do myself tho honor of calling upon you at your hotol, and until I am convinced that it Is unlawful for mo so to do, all tho pollco of Antwerp shall not stop mo In my rights of a British citizen traveling travel-ing under tho protection of his flag." Arllno Impulsively held out her hand. "I thank you. God bless you, Mr. Stuart!" sho said, In broken tones. And Charlie, as ho felt tho little hand quiver and throb in his, found a strong Indignation arising within his breast, Jllrected against thoso un-t un-t known parties who had so mercilessly condomncd so charming a young woman wom-an to a cruel fato. It was Artemus who unlocked tho heavy door and UHhcqid them Into tho garish light of day, fcvho gravely relieved re-lieved Charlie of his rass candlostlck and plnced it, together with tho rusty keys, whero thoy belonged. Charity saw that his companion glanced hastily to the right and left through li)r veil. Onco ho was almost suro sho gavo a start, but by no word did she signify discovery. "Could you got a cab for mo?" sho asked with a percoptlblo tremor In her Nyolce. , V'Easily, no doubt There aro usually usual-ly vehicles waiting outsldo tho Steon. This Vny, please." Beforo tho vohlclo started, Arllno Brand threw back tho veil, and again Charlie was glvon tho privilege of looking Into thoso honest bluo orbs, rivaling tho heavens in their hue. "1 will release you from your promlso prom-lso If you regret making it, Mr. Stuart," Stu-art," sho said, softly. "Thanks; but I am a singularly obstinate ob-stinate man, I fear. At eight to-night, I said. Besides, I confess to much curiosity curi-osity to hear what you promised to toll." Thoso wondrous eyes beamed upon him; a llttlo hand crept out to allow of a parting pressure; then tho ve-hlclo ve-hlclo lumbered away, leaving him there in front of tho historic Steen, watching its progress down tho crooked crook-ed thoroughfare, and wondering at tho change that had brokon Into his quiet life. When Charlie Stuart reiterated his rash promise with regard to seeing the owner of thoso marvelous cerulean orba htJ1samo-ovonlne, ho had but a ifr'nMeoiecptlontfBtUhe .mapnltudo ot the task he nnir"t'lT,rtnr-"t"t-- - ' ..it-i , Ho was dimly conscious of a flguro hanging from the rear window of a second old vehicle! a flguro that made nil manner of pantomimo gestures, nnd In which ho recognized his friend Arto-mus. Arto-mus. Remembering tho quaint methods by which Artemus invoked tho dramatic dra-matic muse, ho ended with a laugh. "No harm done, I Imagine," ho said, aloud. To his surprlso some one added: "That remains to bo seen, young sir." Turning indignantly to see who had dared to thus address him without invitation, in-vitation, Charllo faced a middle-aged gontleman of military aspect, who was regarding him with much urbanity. "I am quite ready to explain tho meaning of thoso words I uttered, young sir, on condition that you favor me with your name." Charlie's first hasty inclination waB to refuse point-blank, but he had up to this point of his existence never known the time whon he found reason to bo ashamed of his name. It bo-longed bo-longed to one of the best families in Scotland, and his ancestry dated back to tho days of Bruce and Wallace. "That Is a condition easily complied with, as I havo never yet refused it to any man who felt enough Interest In me to ask. It is Charllo Stuart" Tho othor bowed. "Good! I soo wo shall got on together to-gether amazingly woll. Thoro need bo no troublo whatever, since we agree bo charmingly," he said. "Ah! about what, now?" asked Charlie, Char-lie, onco moro keonly on his guard. "H'm! Say, tho pretty frauloln." "But perhnps we do not ngreo on that subject; in fact, our views may bo diametrically opposite. Toll mo, why do you waylay me? I am a complete stranger; I never saw you beforo." "Quito true, qulto true, young Blr," chuckled tho other; "but I have seen you beforo. I know when you came to Antwerp, and Just how you havo employed em-ployed your tlmo since." "Tho deuco you do! Then you must havo known my name. Why did you ask for It?" with tho light of Busplclon and unbelief in his eyes. "To ascertain how far you would havo confidence in mo, I soo you aro incredulous; but, young man, it is my especial business to know every strnngor who comes to Antwerp, whether ho bo French, English, Russian, Rus-sian, American or Turkish; also to discover dis-cover an much with relation to his business bus-iness hero as Is necessary to understand under-stand his status in society. Although you havo novor mot mo boforo, I doubt not you would recognize ray namo. Permit mo." A card was thrust into Charlio'a hand. Mechanically ho glanced at it. Tho result was peculiarly unpleasant unpleas-ant It simply bora a namo, but that namo was as famous at St, Petorsburg and Paris as in Antwerp Baron Do- H metrlufl Poterhoff. H This wonderful man had been at tha , head of tho famouB Third Section in .flH Russia; ho had been tho terror of H Nihilists for years; an argus-eyed head . l of pollco; until, unfortunately, n cog H slipped with fatal result, since tho Czar Alexander was murdered through H the instrumentality of a bomb, nnd , from that hour Bnron Petcrhoft's use- fulness In Russia was at an cud. H "Ah!" Charllo said, very calmly; "I ; 1 have heard of you very oftcu, baron; H but, really, I confess the prospect of v-. meeting so renowned a character novor j H entered my mind. To what am I In- I H dobtcd for tho honor?" 1 H Again tho distinguished gentleman ) H uttered the word that had startled J H Charllo before. iill "To the pretty fraulcln." liH Charllo frowned. iH "Sco here, baron I know this lady f il as Mile. Arllno Brand. Surely there fel must bo a mistake." rl "Sho has golden hair?" -ll "And eyes bo blue" holding up his lil hands In a dramatic manner that ll would havo delighted Artemus "that IH thoy shame the lovely skies of tho IH Riviera." Charllo groaned nn assent A crush- IJI lng weight seemed to press upon his BP brain nnd he folt as though tottering Q on tho vergo of a precipice. H "As to tho nnino," continued tho H baron, coolly, "what doea It mattor? Mile. Arllno Brand Is as good as an- other Indeed, when you como to ox- H amino It, there Is something of tho ad- H venturers strlpo about eodellghtful a N cognomen, don't you thlnlcSk'QUflgXstr? H To my knowledge that Is only ono oLH- .V7-B score of different names tho lady has -h(B adopted within tho last fow years." H "Adventuress!" H How llko tho shock of a rattlesnake's H stroko tho mention ot that word fell H upon Charllo's hearing. H "Since you havo been so kind as to H give me warning, suppose you tell mo H who this wonderful lady of many H names Is?" he asked, coldly. H "You must havo heard of tho Count- H ess Isolde Brabant." H It was a name ho had often Been H mentioned In London and continental H papers, a namo belonging to a beautiful H Russian young woman, given over H heart and soul to the causo of Nihil- t-H ism, connected with high families in Jl tho Land of tho Whito Czar, banished H through royal decree, and now turned H adventuress In Vienna, Paris and othor capitals of Europe H Ho shuddered at the picture. H "At least I am under favors to you, "H baron, for your kindness; and If I mako a fool of mysolf It will not be for H lack of warning." H "Well, young sir, I owo my llfo to ,M your father, Beforo Sebastopol, when a fierce engagement was In progress, I H had been cut down and lay thcro help- "M less, whon a squadron otBrltl8hdra-----------B goons charged. . JBarrT '5557 c:,r.. H wnuftafegjyHfaaMttaMJftMMflBflBH lug prrrUiTeraH raising hlmsoin)v!rmMQQmH tartan in the air, at whltkkthe dra-B goons separated, swooping it to the j )H loft nnd to tho right. TlMbravo j Highlander was your noble father. M H For years we corresponded; but In my ' fl eventful life tho memory of tho dobt I M owed him moro phamo to mo becamo "ll obscured by other Issues. Young sir, H for his sake I havo sought to savo you H from f o snaro of tho fowler. B M warned in time." 'H A cab, doubtless previously signaled, H dashed up, the busy baron Jumped In, M waved his hand to Charlie, and was jM He left a very puzzled and deeply M 'worried young man in front ot tho . H Steon. TX4 Charlie seemed wrestling with the (l problem, and drawn first this way, ! then that; but his natural obstinacy finally won out. H "Well," ho muttered through his lH teeth, "I said eight o'clock, to-night; j Jll and, como weal or come woe, I shall jM keop tho appointment." H (To bo continued.) H |