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Show STRAIGHT Milium MzcZeoc?I?3zize H COPYRIC3HT, I3V 3 .W. DILLiTMG HJ COMFAITaT H Part Hj CHAPTER J.-After an nll-nlK1it tn. H slon at the Houmlup club, In which Colli H won lias lost licavlly, tliero Is nn exchange H or fharp words botweon Luck and n H nhcrpman, Cftn I'endrlck. with whom H Culllson has n feud. H CITAPTKIt II.-Bnsunche Is electrified H by tho news of tlio holdup of cxnreni H met.iongors, tlio hatulltn necurlnR 120.00). 1 Ciilllpoti pays his poUer debts, nnd shortly 1 aftcrwnrd Mackenzie and Alox Flnndrau. 1 Ills closest frlenda, learn he Is suspoctcu H of tlio express robbery, his hat having H been found on tho scene nnd he bolfijf H missing. B CHAPTER III.-Knte goes to SnRuncha H for n consultation with Mackenzie Alex H Flandrau nnd Curly, All are convinced H of Luck's Innocence. Tho sheriff loveals H that besides tho finding of Culllson's lint, H and hlii payment of his dobts, Cass Ken- 1 drlck lind seen tho robber and Is almost H certain It was Luck. Culllson Is about to 1 enter a homestead claim which will prnc H tlcally put Fondrlck out of buslnesn. H CHAPTER IV.-Kate's shrewdness ro- H veals how Culllson had taken Fcndrlck's H hat when he left tho Roundup club, and H suspicion points strongly to a frnmeup on H Fendrlck's part and to his being resnon H nlMo for Luck's disappearance, The Blior- H Iff receives a sorles of notes turning on H the "Jnck of Ilcnrts." Curly finds n cl- H gar store by that name nnd secures cvl- H dence Hint tho proprietress, Mrs. Wylle, H knows whtjt happened to Luck H CHAPTER III. H "Ain't She the Qamest Little Thor. M ,Kn(o galloped Into tho ranch plnzn M nround which the buildings wero sot, H flllnpinl from her pony, nnd rnn nt onco M to the telephone. Hob wns on n sldo M porch mending n bridle. H "Have you heard anything from H dnd?" sho cried through tho open M "Nope," he ntisworod, hammering fl down n rivet. M Kntc called up tho hotel where Ma- 1 loney wns staying nt Snguachc, but H could not get him. She asked In turn M for Mackenzie, for Yesler, for Alec 1 Flnndrau. M While she waited for nn answer, the m girl moved nervously about tho room. M She could not sit down or scttlo her B self nt anything. For some Instinct M told her that Fendrlck's taunt wns not M a He cut out of wliolo cloth. H Tlio hV mug. Instantly she wns nt B tho telephone. Mnckenzlo wns nt the B other, end of thu Hue. ' H " "Oh', Undo Mac." Sho had called H him uncle ever elucu sho could romem- 1 ber. "What Is It they nro saying H about dnd? Tell me It Isn't true," sho H begged. H "A pack of lees, lassie." Ills Scotcli H Idiom and accent had succumbed to H thirty years on tho plains, but when H he beenmo excited It rose triumphant B through the acquired speech of tho H Southwest. H 'Then Is he there In Saguache, I H H "No-o. lie's not In town." H "Where Is he?" H "Hoots I He'll Just have gono some M where on business." H Ho did not bluff well. Through the m hearly assurance sho pierced to tho H note of trouble In his voice. H "You're hiding something from me, H Uncle Mac. I won't have It. You tell H me the truth the whole truth.". H In three sentences ho sketched It for i H her, nnd when he had finished ho H knew by tho sound of her voice that H bhe'was greatly frightened. H "Something has happened to him. H I'm coming to town. I'll bring Dob. H Save us two rooms nt the hotel." H She turned to her cousin, who was Ht standing big-eyed nt her elbow. "What Is It, Kate? Has anything B happened to Uncle Luck?" H She fiwallowed a lump In her throat. H , "Dad's gone, Hob. Nobody knows H t'v-i'' where. They say tho llnrs that ho H -4f robbed the V. & S. Express company." Hj! .' Suddenly her face went down Into H' her forearm on tho table and sobs be H! Knn to rack her body. The boy, stag H gored at this preposterous charge, Hj could only lay his hand on her shoul H dcr and beg her not to cry. M "It'll be all right, ICate. Walt till H Undo Luck comes back. He'll mako B 'em Mck for talking about him." H His cousin nodded, choking down H her sobs. "Of course. It It'll como H ont all right as soon as ho llnds out H what they're saying, Saddle two H horses right awuy, Dob." H "Suro. We'll soon find whero ho Is, K I hot you." H! Tho setting sun found their journey H less than half done. Knto was tor H lured with anxiety. Deep within her H; something dented that her father could H: bo gono out of n world so good. And H if ho wore nllve, Curly Flundrau H yould tlntl him Curly nnd Dick bo Hj tween them. Luck Culllson had plenty Hi of good friends who would not stand H, by and seo him wronged. H Any theory of his disappearance H that accepted his guilt did not occur HL to her mind for nn lnstunt. Tho two JHf had been very close to each other. H; Luck had been In tho habit of saying Hf smilingly that sho was his major domo, H his right bower. Soma shnro of his H m lawless temperament sho Inherited, H jf . enough to feel suro that this partlcu H jjn lar kind of wrongdoing was Impossible H " $ tor him, Ho was reckless, sometimes H . " BBB" BBB' ! sBBBBBt r passionate, but ho did not need to ro nssuro herself that ho was scrupulously scrupulous-ly honest. This brought her back to tho only other tenable hypothesis foul piny. And from this she shrank with n quaking quak-ing heart. For surely If his cncmlei wished to harm him they would destroy de-stroy him, nnd this was n conclusion against whldi sho fought desperately. The plaza clod: boomed ten strokes as they rode Into Sagunche. Mackenzie Macken-zie was waiting for them on tho steps of tho hotel. "Ilavo they has anything been?" Tho owner of tho Fiddlebnck shook his grizzled head. "Not yet. Didn't you meet Curly?" "No." "Ho rodo out to como In with you, but If ho didn't meet you by ten ho Svns to come bnck. You took tho north rond, I reckon?" "Yes." Ho put nn nrm around' her shoulders shoul-ders nnd drew her Into tho hotel with cheerful talk. "Come along, Hob. We're going to tuck away n good supper first off. Whllo you're eating, I'll toll you all there Is to bo told." Kate opened her lips to sny that she was not hungry nnd could not possibly cat n bite, but sho thought bettor of it Dob had tasted nothing slnco noon, nnd of courso ho must bo fed. Curly caino Into tho room, and tho girl rose to meet him. Ho took her little hand In his tnnncd musculnr one, and somehow from his grip sho gathered gath-ered strength. "I'm so glad you'vo come," she said simply. "I'm glad you're glad," he smiled cheerfully. IIo knew sho had been crying, that sho wns suffering cruelly, but ho of-'fered of-'fered ber courage rather than maudlin sympathy. Hopo seemed to How through her veins nt tho meeting of the oyes. Whatever a, mnn could do for her would bo dono by Cufly. They talked tho situation over together. to-gether. "As It looks to mo, wo'vo got to find out two things llrst, whrtt has be-coino be-coino of your father and, second, who did steal that money. I don't seo it yet, but thero's soino link between tho two things. I mean between tho robbery rob-bery and his disappearance." "How do you menu?" Knto asked. "We'll say tho robbers wero his enemies ene-mies somo of the Sonpy Stono outfit, maybe. They linvo got him out of tho way to satisfy their grudgo and to make people think he did It. Unfortunately Unfortu-nately tliero Is evidence that makes It look as If ho inlglit have dono It whnt they call corroborating testimony." testi-mony." "What does Sheriff Holt think?" Curly waved tho sheriff aside. "It don't Hinder what he thinks, Miss Kute. Ho says he thinks Luck was mixed up In the holdup. Mnybo that's what ho thinks, but wo don't want to forget that Cass Fondrlck mndo him sheriff nnd your father fought him to n fnre-you-woll." "I'd like to talk with Iiolt," tho young woinnn nnnounced. "All right," Mackenzie assented. "Tomorrow mo'nlng " "No, tonight, Uncle Mac." Tho cattleman looked nt ber In surprise. sur-prise. Her voice rang with decision. Her slight figure seemed compact with energy nnd resolution. Was this tho girl who had been In helpless tears not ten minutes before? "I'll sec If ho's ut his ofllcc. Maybe he'll come tip." Curly said. "No. I'll go down to tho courthouse If he's there." At tho olllcc of the sheriff Kate cut to essentials ns soon ns the Introductions Introduc-tions wero over. "Do you think my fnthor robbed the W. & S. Express company, Mr. Holt?" sho asked. Her plainness embarrassed tho ofll- "Lot's look nt tho facts, Miss Culllson," Cul-llson," ho begun amiably. "Then you tell mo what you would think In my place. Your father needed money mighty bad. There's no doubt at all about that. IIoiV an envolopo which ho had written n list of his debts. You'll notlco they run to Just a llttlo moro than twenty thousand. I found this In his bellroom the day ho disappeared. Turn that envelope over, Miss Culllson. Notlco how ho has written there half a dozen times In a row, 'ILUOOO,' and Just below It twice, W. & a. Ex. Co.' Finally, the ono word, 'Tonight.' " She rend It all, rend It with a heart heavy as lead, and kuew that there ho hud left In his own strong, bold handwriting hand-writing convincing ovldcnco against himself. Still, sho did uot doubt him In the least, but there could bo no question now that ho know of tho Intended In-tended shipment, that absent-mindedly ho had Jotted down this data while ho wns thinking about It In connection with his own debts. Tho sheriff went on tightening the (Continued on pago seven.) (Continued from previous page) "ft- i Crooked I !i Trails lj 1i: and f I Straight 1 : ,. . fly :: ' ; ; William MacLeod Raine X it. $ ,, 0oj;r1ibt.t, Q W Dllllnhm Ootnpnt X . ciiutu or evidence in n voice Hint, for all Its kindness, seemed to her remorseless re-morseless ns fate. "It turns but tlint Mr. Jordan of tho Cnttlemnu's Notional Notion-al bank mentioned tills shipment to , your father thnt morning. Mr. Cul-llson Cul-llson wns trying to ralso money from him, but ho couldn't let him hnvo It. Every bank In the city refused him n loan. Yet next morning ho paid off two thousand dollars he owed from n poker game." "Ho must have borrowed tho jnoney from eome one," sho said weakly. "That money he paid In twenty-dol- Inr bills. Tho stolen express packugo . was In twenties. You know yourself thnt this Is n gold country. Hills nlu't go plentiful." Tho girl's bond went to her heart. Fnlth In her father was a rock not to bo wnBhcd nwny by any amount of evidence. What made her wlnco was tho amount of circumstantial testimony testi-mony falling Into place so Inexorably against him. "Is thnt all?" sho asked despairingly. "I wish It were, Miss Culllson. Hut It's not. A man enmo round tho corner And shot at tho robbor as ho was escaping. es-caping. Ills Hat fell off. Hero It Is." As Kato took the hat something Bccmcd to tighten around her heart. It T T hnvo done this. There is such n thing ns character. Luck Culllson simply couldn't bo n thief." Mackenzie's faith hnd been strength-cned strength-cned by tho Insistent loyalty of the girl. "That's right. Nick. Let mo tell you something olsV. Fendrlck knew Luck was going to provo up Thursday. Ho heard htm tell us nt Uio Hound-j Up club Tuesday morning." The sheriff summed up. "You've J proved Cass had Interests that would , be helped If Mr. Culllson were ro-1 moved. Hut you hnven't sunken the evidence against Luck." "We've proved Cnss Fendrlck had ; to get father out of tho wny on the . very day ho disappeared. Ono day later would have been too Into. We've shown his enmity. Any cvldonco that tests on his word Is no good. Tho truth Isn't In tho man." I "Maybo not, but ho didn't mnko this evidence." Kate had another Inspirational flash. "Ho did some of It. Somehow he got hold of father's hat, nnd he mnnu-factured mnnu-factured a story about shooting It from tho robber's hend. But to make his story stick ho must ndmlt ho was on tho ground nt the tlmo of the holdup. hold-up. So ho must have known tho robbery rob-bery was-going to tnko place." Holt's shrewd eyes narrowed to a smile.. "You prove to mo Hint Cnss had your father's hat before tho holdup, hold-up, nnd I'll toko some stock In the story." "And In the meantime," suggested Curly. "I'll keep right on looking for Luck Culllson, but I'll keep nn eye on Cass Fendrlck, too." Knto took up tho challenge confidently. confi-dently. "I'll prove ho bad the hat at least I'll try to pretty hard. It's the truth, and It must come out somehow." some-how." After ho hnd left her nt the hotel, Curly walked the streets with a sharp excitement tingling his blood. He hnd lived his life among men, nnd he knew little about women nnd their ways. But his Imagination seized vividly upon this slim, dnrk girl with tho lino eyes that could be both tender ten-der nnd ferocious, with tho look of combined delicacy and strength In every line of her. "Ain't she tho gnmest little thoroughbred thor-oughbred ever?" he chuckled to himself. him-self. "Stnnds the ncld every crack. Think of her stnndlng pat so game Just like sho did for mo that night out nt the rnnch. Sho's the best argument argu-ment Luck has got." CHAPTER IV. Two Hats on a Rack. One casual remark of Mackenzie had given Knto n clew. Even before sho liad explained it, Curly cnught tho point and begun to dig for the truth. For though ho wns nlmost n. boy, tho others leaned on him with tho expectation ex-pectation thnt In tho absenco of. Moloney Mo-loney ho would tnko tho lend. In tho morning ho nnd Kate had a talk with his uncle on tho subject. Not content with this, he made tho whole party adjourn to the club rooms so thnt ho might see exactly where Luck had sat and tho different plnccs tho sheepman hnd stood from the tlmo ho entered until tho poker plnyers left. Together BIUlo Mackenzlo nnd Alec Flnndrau dramatized tho scene for tho young people. Mac personated the sheepman, came into the room, hung up his lint, lounged over to the poker table, said Ills little piece as well ns ho could remember It, nnd pnsscd Into tho next room. Flundrnu, Senior, tnk- j Ing the role of Culllson, presently got , np, lifted his hot from tho rack, and went to the door. With excitement trembling In her voice, tho girl asked nn eager question. ques-tion. "Wcro their hats sldo by sldo like that on ndjoinlng pegs?" "Thnt's how I remember It." "Both grny hats?" Curly cut In. "Can't be sure of thnt. Luck's wns grny nil right." Curly looked nt Knto nnd nodded. "I reckon wo know how Cnss got Mr. Culllson's hat. It was left on the rack." "How do you mean?" his uncle nsked. "Don't you see?'' tho girl explained, her eyes shining with excitement. "Fnther took the wrong hat. You know how absent-minded ho Is sometimes." some-times." Mackenzlo slnpped his knee. "I'll bet n stack of blues you've guessed It." , "There's a wny to mnko sure," Curly snld. "Fendrlck couldn't wenr Mr. Culllson's lint around without tho risk of someono remembering it inter. What would ho do then?" Knto beamed. "Buy nnotlicr nt the nenrcst store." "That would be my guess. And the nearest storo Is the New York emporium. em-porium. We've got to And out whether ho did buy one there on Tuesday somo time nfter nlno o'clock in tho morning." morn-ing." Tho girl's eyes were sparkling. She bustled with Jbuslnessllko energy. "I'll go nnd nsk right nwny." "Don't you think wo'd better let Undo Alec And out? ne's not so likely to stir up curiosity," Curly suggested. sug-gested. Within n qunrter of.nn hour Alec Flnndrau joined tho others nt tho hotel. "You kids are right nt tho hend of tho class In the detectivo game. Cnss bought n brown lint, about 0:80 In tho mo'nlng. Paid Ave dollars for It. Wouldn't let them deliver tho old one but took it with hlra In n pnper sack." With her lieutenants flanking her Koto went strnlght to tho ofllco of tho sheriff. Bolt heard tho story out und considered It thoughtfully. "You win, Miss Culllson. You haven't proved Fendrlck caused your father's disappearance by foul piny, and you haven't proved ho committed tho robbery. Point of fnct I don't think he did cither ono. But it certainly cer-tainly looks like lie tuny possibly hnvo manufactured evidence." Curly snorted sinfully, "You're letting your friend down easy, Mr. Holt. By his own story he was on the ground n minute nfter the robbery tool: place. How do wo know lie wnsn't there n mlnuto before? For If ho didn't know the holdup was go Ing to occur why did ho bring Mr. Culllson's hat with him punctured so neatly with bullet holes?" "Hold your hawses n while, Flnndrau, Flnn-drau, and look at this thing reasonable. reason-able. You're all prejudiced for Culllson Cul-llson niul ngnlnst Fendrlck. Talk about evidence I There's ten times n much ngnlnst your friend ns there l ngnlnst Cnss." "Then you'll not arrest Fendrlck?" "When you glvo mo good rcu;oii to do It," Holt returned doggedly. I Tho four ndjourucd tt meet nt the i Del Mnr for n discussion of wnys nnd menus. "Wo'll keep n watch on Fendrlck see where ho goes, who ho talks to. I what he does. Maybe he'll nuiku u break and glvo himself nwny," Curlj said hopefully. "But my father wo must rescue him first." "As soon ns wo find whoro he Is. Killing him wouldn't help Cnss any. because you nnd Sum would prove up on the claim, lint If ho could hold your father a prisoner nnd get him to sign a relinquishment to him ho would bo In n lino position." "If we could only hnvo Fendrlck nr ' rested " "What good would Hint do? If he's guilty ho wouldn't talk. And If he Is holding your father somewhere In Hip hills It would only ho serving no Hco that wo were getting warm. No. I'm for a still hunt. Let Cass ride around and meet his partners In this denl. We'll keep nn eye on him, nil right." "Maybe you're right," Kato admitted with n sigh. . Sheriff Bolt, though n politician, was nn honest mnn. It troubled him that Culllson's friends believed- him to bo a partisan In n matter of tills sort. For which reason he met more than hnlf way Curly's overtures. Young Flnndrau was In the olllce of tho sheriff sher-iff n good deal, because ho wanted to keep Informed of nny new develop- , ments In the W. & S. robbery case. I It was on one of those occasions Hint Bolt tossed ncross to him n let- ; ter he hnd Just opened. I "I've been getting letters from the vlllngc cutup or from some crank, I don't know which. Hore's n snmple." ; The envelope, addressed evidently In ! n disguised hand, contained one sheet of paper. Upon this was lettered ' roughly, I "PLAY THE JACK OF IIEAHTS." Flundrnu looked up with n sugges- ! Hon of eagerness In his eyes. I "What do you reckon it menus?" lie nsked. ' "Search me. Like ns not It don't 1 menu n thing. ( The others had Just as much se;ise ns that one. I chucked them Into the waste-paper basket Ono cumo by tho morning mall yestcrdny Tlnd ono by tho afternoon. I'm no mind reader, and I've got no tlmo to j guess fool puzzles." ' Curly emptied the bosket on the floor ond went over Its contents carefully. care-fully. Ho found three communications t J Went Over Its Contents Carefully. ! from the unknown writer, Each of them was printed by hand on u sheet ' of cheap lined paper torn from n' scratch pad. IIo smoothed them out nnd put them sldo by side on the table. 1 Tills wns whnt ho read : ' I , "HEARTS ARE THUMPS." 1 "WHEN IN DOUBT PLAY THUMPS." , "PLAY THUMPS NOW." j There was only tho ono line to each, message, and nil of them wero plainly In the snmo hnnd. Ho could mnko oufi only ono thing, that someone wns trying try-ing to glvo Hie sheriff Information In I n guarded wny. I Ho wns still puzzling over tho thing1 when n boy enmo with n speclnl dellv-I dellv-I ery letter for tho Bherlff. .Bolt glanced I nt it and handed tho noto to Curly. "Another billy doo from my nnxlous friend." This time the sender hnd been In too much of a hurry to print the words. They wero written In a stiff hand by some uneducated person. "THE JACK OF TRUMPS, TODAY." "Mind if I kMf theso?" Curly nsked. "Tnko 'em nlong." Flnndrau strolled bnck to town nlong El Molluo street nnd down Main. Ho hnd Just crossed the old Spanish plaza when his absorbed gaze fell on n sign thai brought him up short. In front of a cigar store stretched across the side- walk a painted picture of a Jack of hearts. The same nnmo was on the ! window. t Fifty yards behind him wns the Sll-' ver Dollar saloon, where Luck Culllson hod last been seen on his way to the : Del Mar one hundred nnd fifty yards ! in front of him. Somewhere within , thnt distance of two hundred yards tho owner of the Circle 0 hnd vnn-! Ishcd from tho sight of men. Tho j evidence showed ho hud uot reached j the hotel, for a cattle buyer hnd been waiting there to talk with him. His ' testimony, as well us that of tho hotel clerk, wns positive. ! Could this llttlu store, tho Jack of Hearts, ho the central point of tho i mystery? in his search for lnforma- j Hon Curly had already been In It, had , bought n cigar, and had stopped to j talk with Mrs. Wylle, tho proprietor. j She was u washed-out little woman j who, had r.jye been pretty. Sho had protested with absurd earnestness thnt she had seen nothing of Mr. Culllson. Cul-llson. A single glance hnd been enough to dismiss her from any possible susi plclun. Now Curly stepped In n second time, i The frightened gnzo of Mrs. Wylle fastened upon him Instantly. Ho observed ob-served thnt her hand moved Instinctively Instinc-tively to her heart. Beyond question she wns In fear. A (lash of light clarl-lied clarl-lied his mind. She wns a conspirator, ' but an unwilling one. Possibly she might ho tho author of the anonymous warnings sent Bolt. Tho young vaquero subscribed for a mhgnzlilc nnd puld her the money. Tremblingly she tilled out, the rpcelpt. Ho glnnced nt the slip and, handed It bnck. "Just write below the signature 'of tho Jock of Hearts,' so that I'll remember re-member whoro I paid the money If tho magazine doesn't come," he suggested. sug-gested. She did so, nnd Curly put the receipt re-ceipt In his pocket carelessly. i He sauntered leisurely to the hotel, but as soon as lie could get Into n telephone tele-phone booth his llstlcssncss vanished. Mnloney hod returned to town and he telephoned him to get Mackenzie at once nnd watch tho Jack of Hearts In front and rear. Before ho left the booth Curly had compared the writing writ-ing of Mrs. Wylle with that on the sheet Hint hnd come by special delivery. de-livery. Beyond question the siime person had written both Certainly Mrs. Wylle wns not worn-Ing worn-Ing the sheriff ngnlnst herself. Then ngnlnst whom? He must know her antecedents, nnd nt once. Calling up n locnl detective agency, ho nsked the manager to let him know within nn hour or two nil that conld ho found out nliout tho woman without alarming alarm-ing her. "Wnlt n moment. I think wo have ) her on file. Hold tho 'phone." Tho ' detectivo presently returned. "Yes. I Wo can give you tho fncts. Will you come to the olllce for them?" I Fifteen minutes later Curly knew 1 that Mrs. Wyllo was the divorced ylfo ' of Lute Blockwell. i He returned to the Del Mar and j sent his mime up to Miss Culllson. ' With Kate and Bob there wns ulso In 1 tho room Alec Flnndrau. I The girl came forward lightly to meet him. "Have you heard some-' some-' thing?" she nsked quickly, 1 "Yes. Tell me, when did your fa-j fa-j titer last meet Lute Blockwell so far ns you know?" 1 The owner of the Map of Texas an-' an-' swered the question of his nephew. i "Ho met him tho other day. Let's 1 see. It was right after the big poker game. We met him downstairs here. Luck had to straighten out some notions no-tions he hnd got." "How?" 1 Flnndrau, Senior, told tho story of i whnt hnd occurred In tho hotel lobby. "And you say ho swore to get even?" "That's what he snld. And ho looked like ho meant It, too." "Whnt Is It? What hnvo you found out?" Knto Implored. The young man told about the letters let-ters and Mrs. Wylle. "We've got to get n move on us," ho concluded. "For If Lute Blackwell did this thing to your father it's mighty serious for hltn." I Knto was white to the lips, but in no danger of breaking down. "Yes, if this man Is in It he would not stop nt less than murder. But I don't bo-live bo-live It. 1 know fnther Is nllve. Cnss Fendrlck Is tho man wo wnnt. I'm sure of It." "First thing Is to senrch the Jnck of Hearts nnd seo what's there. Are you with me, Undo Alec?" "I sure nm, Curly," nnd ho reached ' for his hat. Curly turned ut tho door with Ids warm smile. "By tho wny, I've got ' somo news I forgot. I know where j your fnther got tho monoy to pny his , poker debts. Mr. Jordan of the Cnt-' Demon's National made him n personal per-sonal loan. He figured It would not hurt tho bank becauso the thr.ee men Luck paid It to would deposit It with tho hank ngnln." "By George, Hint's whnt we did, too, every Inst one of us," his undo nd-mltted. nd-mltted. "Every little helps," Knto snld, and her little double nod thanked Curly. Moloney met them In front of tho Jnck of Hearts. "Dick, you go with mo Inside. Uncle Alec, will you keep guurd outside?" "No, bub, I won't. I knew Luck before you wero walking bowlegged," tho old cattleman answered brusquely. Curly grinned. "All right. Don't blnmo mo If you get shot up." Mrs. Wylle's Btartled eyes told talM when she saw tho three mnn. Her fuce was ashen. "I'm here to piny trumps, Mrs. Wylle. Wy-lle. Whnt secret hns tho Jack of Hearts got hidden from us?" young Flnndrnu demanded, his hard eyes fastened to her timorous ones. "I I 1 don't know whnt you menu." "No use. We're hero for business. Dick, you stay with her. Don't lei her leave or Bhout n warning." Ho passed Into the bnck room, which wns n kind of combination living liv-ing room, kitchen nnd bedroom. A door led from the rear Into a back yard littered with empty packing cases, garbage cutis nnd wnsto pnper. After taking n look nround tho yard ho locked tho bock door noiselessly. ' There wns no other apparent exit from the kitchen-bedroom except the ono by which he nnd his uncle hnd entered en-tered from the shop. But ho knew tho place must have a cellar, and his Inspection of tho yard hnd showed no entrance- there. Ho drew bnck the Navajo rug thnt covered the floor and found one of the old-fashioned trap doors somo cheap houses have. Into this wns fitted an Iron ring with which to lift It. From the dnrkiuss below enmo no sound, but Curly's Imnglnntlon con- From the Darkness Below Came No Sound. , celved the place as full of shining eyes glaring up at him. Any bad men , down there already had the drop on i them. Therefore neither Curly nor i his uncle made tho mistake of draw-I draw-I Ing n weapon. I "I'm coming down, hoys," young Flnndrnu announced In n quiet coufl-1 coufl-1 dent voice. "The place Is surrounded by our friends and It won m you a H whole lot of good to shoot me up. I'd H advise you not to be too Impulsive." Ho descended the steps, his fnco H like n stonn wall for nil the emotion It H recorded. At his heels enme the older H mnn. Curly struck n match, found nn H electric hull) nbovo his head und jH turned the button. Instantly the dnrk- H ncss wns driven from the cellar. H The two Flandrnits were qutto alone H In the room. For furniture there wns H n tabic, n cot which hnd been slept In H nnd uot made up, and n couple of H rough chairs. Tho place had no win- H dows, no means of ventilation except H through tho trnp door. Yet there wero H evidences to show that It had recently H been Inhabited. Half-smoked cigars H littered the floor. A pack of cards Iny H In disorder on the table. The Sentinel H with date Hue of thnt day lay tossed H In a H "Make anything out of It?" tho H older Flnndrau nsked. H "He's been here, but they've taken H him nwny. Will you cover tho tele- H phoning? Hnvo nil the ranches uotl- H fled that Luck Is being taken Into the H hills, so they can picket tho trails." B "How do you know ho Is being token "1 don't know. 1 guess. Hlnckwoll H Is In It. He knows every nook of tho ,i H hills. The party left here uot two ,:1 H hours since, looks like." M Curly put the newspaper In his pock- M ct nnd led the wuy bock to the store. "The birds hove flown, Dick. Mode M their getaway through tho alloy lato , H this afternoon, probably Just after It ' M got dark." He turned to tho woman. B "Mrs. Wylle, murder is going to bu M done, I shouldn't wonder.. And you're VB liable to be held guilty of It unless 'Ml you tell us nil you know." JBa She hegnn to weep, helplessly, but HB with a sort of stubbornness, too IBa Frightened sho certainly wns, but some HBl grenter fear held her silent ns to tho H secret. ''I don't know anything nbout . M It," sho repeated over and over. H Moloney hud nn Inspiration, no H spt-ko In a low voice to Curly. "Let's 1 take her to the hotel. Miss Knto will H know bow to get It out of her better H than wo cnn." H Mrs. Wyllo went with them quietly iH enough. She wns shaken with fours, M but still resolute not to speak. They M might send her to prison. Sho wouhf ' H tell them nothing nothing at all. For iH somo ono who had made terror tho M habit of her life had put tho fenr of H denth Into her soul. M (This thrilling" story will bo con- V M linucd in tho next issue of Tho Kcc- JJ ord. A good serinl story, selected M from tho works of tho best content- M pornry authors, will henceforth bo n M regular feature of Tho Record, nnd M will nlono bo worth tho subscription M price of tho pnper. Sco thnt your 'H subscription is kept paid in advance, M nnd do not miss n single number.) '-M |