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Show " . .. ' llTheTrey O' Hearts I A Nolixea Vofonctu D, th. m. . Br LOUIS JOSEPH VANCE t AdUr W "Tkt Warn lhr," "T- Bm i W.""n. Bt g,." . I IHaftrataa with Mratefrspk frees Fitters fretVtWa I Co7rtkt,Uli,b7ajMliTc """ 8YN0P3IS. Th t O Hearts Is the "death elm" employed by Seneca Trine In the private war of ventfeanp which, through the incr of hla daughter, Judith, a woman of violent pasalona Ilka his own, he wjjm . nil nit AUn LaJW,aon of the man (now dead) who wm unintentionally responst-tile responst-tile for the accident which rendered Trine a hilploiw cripple. Alan la In love with and H In turn loved by Iloso. Judith's twin and double, but n all else, her OPPO-site. OPPO-site. Judith vowa to compass Alan a death, but under dramatic circumstance Iia lares her life and ao. unwillingly wtna her lore. Thereafter Judith la by turns actual! by the old hatred, tfce new love, and Jealousy of her alater, lloso. The latter Is kidnaped by her father's ordera and conveyed to a low dive In the slums of New Joraey, from which Alan rescuna her after aocldentully Betting the tenc-mrtit tenc-mrtit on flro. CHAPTER XXIX. Jailbird. The period of restraint in duranco Tile Buffered by ono Thomas Barcus In consequonco of conduct riotous, unseemly, un-seemly, and In general prejudiced to tho public poaco of tho Now Bedford -waterfront at half-pnst four In the morning, proved In tho upshot far moro brlof than had hoen fondly hoped, not only by his Just Judge, but, singularly" enough, by tho misdemeanant misdemean-ant himself. Taking everything gravely Into consideration, con-sideration, Including a person anything any-thing but prepossessing, tho Judgo reckoned that, In default of n flno of ono hundred dollars, a ton-day layup for repairs and repontance was not too much to mote out to tho prlsonor nt the bar. Ho was Bcntcnce'd at 10 a. m. and it nas llttlo short of 10 p. m. whon his post-prandlal roposo was disturbed by the rattle of n key In tho lock of the door to his cell. Conducted with every evidence of dlscstrem on tho part of hlB Jailors to tho office of the warden, ho was nc-qunlntod nc-qunlntod with tho fact that his fine had boon paid by no one Icbh than tho judge htmsolf: then present in portly and solicitous person. "If only you hnd told mo you were a friend of Mr. Dlgby's," tho Judge hastened to say as soon na tho two were onsconsed In tho privacy of tho Judicial llmouslno. "I would havo known hotter how to guide myself In this unfortunate affair. "And if you will bo good enough to lndlcato how clso I may sorvo you . . .?" "Dlgby didn't offor any suggestions Id his wire, I gather?" "Ono rnomont: I have It hero." "Naturally I'd llko a bath and a chango of clothes," Barcus pursued whllo tho Judicial breast-pocket was being explored; "and I could do with transportation to New York by, tho first train out of this God-forsaken holo, nnd " "This Is what Mr. Dlgby says," tho Judgo Interrupted, laboriously deciphering de-ciphering tho messago by the light of "ME jBvHFKH"KHeii V MWe3m'' 8 -Hrn i if ii VJTQ EH&lfc'rW3 M Li UUHBfMBHEjMraaMMMa li rTVa flVfiBH HH v VnfT'T-rj ,rK kjl?"W lE9lSrfl The Hydroaeroplane la Forced to Land. a match- "Plcnao boo to Immodlato rclcaso of ono Thomas IlurcuB, prob-ihl prob-ihl In Jail In your Jurisdiction for rioting riot-ing on waterfront this morning. Pay ha Mm) nnd Instruct him to report to mo In Now York nt earliest fcnslbla liour cslvo him till tho money ho wants nnd look to mo for remuneration remunera-tion -'" "Eh?" Barcus Interrupted, Bitting up Miinrtly; "whnt'H that InBt again?" Patiently tho Judgo repented the , iontfiice from tho moBsngo. "I'linnkH. Plenso don't rend further . l()u might como to Bomothlng thnt would spoil It. It'H nlmost too beautl-'"I beautl-'"I as It stands," Ilnrcus obsorved. Law owes mo llvo thousund or so liquidated damngos but I'll bo ran-oiiablo ran-oiiablo Frisk this burg for u flftli of ' Hum before train time and 1 promise to nsk nothing moro!" I'm prlvato communt wiib: "I've sua-J'i'd sua-J'i'd Hint thlH was u fulry-tulo. aU lla"K Now I know It Is!" And this phaso of Incredulity pur-"'ted pur-"'ted m coloring tho comploxlou of ni mind until tho moment, some laUr, vhea the trnlu coanoctlng at Providence, with the Midnight Ex-J"" Ex-J"" for New York pulled out of New Hedford bearing a transformed Barcus. Not until a' sound night's sloop had K0ft th b8tanlng of hi. rest In jail did Darcus come down to earth. He demonstrated his return to common com-mon sense by making a round breakfast break-fast In Grand Central Btatlon beforo f un ie residence of Dlgby In the telophono directory, The Information ho gathered from the voice that answorod tho name of Mr Dlgby over tho tolcphono shook only momentarily Barcus innate con-vlctlon con-vlctlon that intimate acquaintance with battle, murder and sudden death was tho Inevitable roward of association associa-tion with this friend of his hoart "Alan being married to Rose Trine in Jorsoy City at this vory mlnuto!" ne breathed skeptically as ho emerged from tho booth momorlzlng tho address ad-dress of tho alleged officiating clergyman. clergy-man. "1 don't bollevo it; It's too sudden." sud-den." Forthwith ho engaged a taxlcab to convoy him to Jersoy City, at top speed, for an exorbitant roward. And when, from tho forward deck of a ferryboat, he behold a dense volume of smoko advertising a conflagration on tho Jersoy shoro, not far from the watorfront, ho shook a moodily sagacious sa-gacious head. "If Alan isn't mixed up In that, somehow," ho declared, "ho'a missing a bet for once and I'm a sorry falluro as n prophot of woo and disaster!" Thoro was as much Intultlvo apprehension appre-hension as humor responsible for this remark; witness tho fact that, on landing, land-ing, ho rlBked tho delay required to turn aeldo and havo n look at tho flro. It proved to bo sltuatod In tho heart of a squalid slum a wretched tenement tene-ment of tho poorest class, whoso roof had already fallen in and whoso walls were momentarily threatening to go by tho time Barcus arrived on tho scene. At a considerable distance from him a small disturbance had broken out a clamor of protesting voices lifting about tho rumor of tho mob as a number of men, case-hardened roughs ono and nil, began to forco their way In a V-shaped wedgo through tho throng, making toward ite vory heart, tho point on tho flro-IInos nearest the burning building. What this moant, Mr. Barcus had not tho slightest Idon. But his attention atten-tion wafl first dlstractod by tho maneuver, maneu-ver, then llxed by tho face of a man who was following in the hollow of tho V an evil whltb faco that Boomod somewhat vaguely familiar, somehow romlnlscent of something strange that had happened in tho history of Mr. Barcus. At tho samo time, nt tho point whoro tho V hnd paused, n wild uproar lifted up nnd, colncldentnlly, a wilder confusion confu-sion bocamo noticeable. A cry was audible "Firebug! Lynch him! Lynch him! Lynch the llrobug!" and at this tho mob turned as ono man and streamed away In pursuit of an invisible in-visible quarry, who choso to attempt his cscnpo by n routo dlroctly oppo-slto oppo-slto to that which would havo led him within vlow of Mr. Hnrcus. Startled, and of a suddon porsunded that thoro might havo been mora In his "hunch" than was sandy to bo credited, BarcuB started up and won on tho point of stepping out of his cab, If with n rather aimless purpose, whon ho wus stayed by sight of that evil whlto faco returning the way It had como still In tho hollow of tho flying V, which now m'ntlq fastor progress, prog-ress, thanks to tho disorganization of the mob by tho chnso of the nlleged Incendiary. In-cendiary. And now, Barcus saw, tho man of tho whlto fnco was not nlono. There wns 8omoono with him somcono whoso head was bent and fnco con-ccnled, con-ccnled, but who scorned to bo feminine. femi-nine. And so, Bnrcus argued, why might It not bo Hoso Trlno, sufforlng now persecution nt tho hands of her unnut-urnl unnut-urnl father's creatures? Ho wna too far away to mako sure and nttompt nny lutorforoncoj but ho polntod Whlto Fnco out to his chauf-four chauf-four as tho V reached a touring cur on tho edgu of thu ninh and tho woman was lifted In (unresisting and apparently appar-ently In n dead fnlnt), and when tho touring car swung round nnd picked up Its heels, tho tuxlcab of Mr. Barcus trailed It ns unostentatiously as If It u'iih ii ncrtlnaclous shndow. Ton minutes Inter, from tho rear dock of a forryboat In midstream a boat bonrlng back to Now York not only tho touring car of Whlto Faco, but thu cab of Mr. Bnrcus tho latter geutleinnn formed ono of a amnll but Interested nudlenco witnessing an Incident In-cident of uncommon character. Ho saw u young man, hatloss, coat-Jess, coat-Jess, almost shirtless, tear down to the edge of ono of tho Jorsoy wlmrvos, his heels Biiappod at by n ravening rabble, Jump aboard a squnro-rlggod vessel which lay moored thoru, and exoctita a maneuver of despair by climbing up tho rigging lu a hopeless attempt to escape- his persecutors. Thoy were too many for him, and what was worse they wero headed by a - squad of police apparently as grimly bent on compassing the destruction of their quarry as was tho mob. And they swarmed up tho rigging after him without" moment' hesitation. hesita-tion. Hotly pressed, tho fugitive climbed 'higher and still higher, until at length ho gained the topmost yard; with three policemen not halt a doxen foot below him and popping away for dear life, if happily with tho notoriously poor marksmanship of policemen generally. gen-erally. None tho leas, there was no telling when soma accident might wing a bullet bul-let Into the young man; and it wa evident that he ao decided. For, inching out to the end of the yard, ho waved his hand toward his persecutor. with a feature of light-hearted light-hearted derision that unmistakably Identified him aa Alan Law to Mr. Barcus, Bar-cus, and forthwith dropped to th water, wa-ter, feet foremost Alan, later .took the water neatly, came up uninjured and clearheadod, and without an1 instant's hesitation struck away toward tho middle of the Hudson. As this happened the police ran to the stern of tho equnro-rlggor, unmoored un-moored a dory that was riding thero, and threw themsolves Into it. During tho (to Barcus, at least) breathless suspense of that chose, the ferryboat drew stolidly farther and still farther away from the sccno. Barcus Bar-cus could not tell whotlior, as it seemod, tho police-laden dory was really real-ly overhauling Alan, or whether the Illusion of perspective docolvod him. At all events, it seemed a frightfully near thing when the Interruption bo-foil bo-foil which alono could have Bayed Alan. Out of tho very sky dropped a hydroaeroplane, hydro-aeroplane, cutting tho water with a long, graceful curve that brought it, almost at a standstill, directly to the head of, the swimmer, and at tho samo tlmo, forced the pollco boat to sheer wldoly off In order to cscapo collision. Immediately the swimmer caught was busy being a bold, bad kidnaper; Hose was in his power, ns wo say In men cases. His Intentions, however, were nothing more blameworthy thnn to return her to tho arms of her doting Parent. I know, because 1 sleuthed after 'em, oven to the house of Seneca Trine. Later I sleuthed some moro, following a furtive young man from the house of Trlno to tho office of tho genoral manager of tho New York Central, Cen-tral, where he made arrangements for a special to convey the said Trlno and retinue to Chicago and point West. It leaves at throe this afternoon. I was unable to ascertain whether or not Itoae Is to participate in this heglra, but I know I ahall. On the off-chance off-chance of being useful, I have bribed the train crew to 1st mo Impersonate the porter. So, should you be moved to follow and succeed in catching up with ua, and obaervo anybody who looks rather off-color in the party don't shoot: tho said party will bo me. "Yours for tho quiet Ufo, 'TOM BAItCUS." The second note yielded a communication communi-cation written on noUpaier of the simplest sim-plest eleganco in a woman's hand a hurried scrawl; 'They are taking mo West by special spe-cial train I don't know whero or why. A servant has promised to sco thnt this reaches you. Snve met" Over this Alan wrinkled nn Incredulous Incred-ulous noso. Tho hand wns tho hand of Hose, but tho phraseology was not In her spirit. Ho examined it moro closely close-ly and thought to detect beneath Its semblance of hasto a deliberate and carefully guided pen. Ha picked up tho envelope to compare tho handwriting handwrit-ing of tho address with that of the on-cloBuro on-cloBuro and shook out a troy of hearts. This last was covered, as to Its face, with a plainly-written message. "With tho compliments of Soneca Trlno to Alan Law. We oro due In Chicago at eleven tomorrow morning and leave immediately for the Pacific coast via Santa Fo routo." Comparison between this and tho iirrMHl rJBRHBB7"sV t.J"BU i-pwK'lpfi'sBSlH B2s.lV' lBSa-ai ------HHaa--HtrV-. Hr1HIV lrwIi !-sVj1CilaclaraiSlIH nRNiHaVaHiaHlHHESl a. ! f x lTBBMiHBT ViaW,JHMfijMHHMMr a r4HV & HKSiE? ' i t''-MHr ''-- T v KwH Utttiu? 4ffiHVi jIhhl2 BHrnirHBia envTBsa F JCir::K3L '' TJfllvH" Tl "::WlstiV V'iM- sl sVRlrT Jf 1Ie J bbVkt!!'&.. mb!IbbV HBjwvj vaa. sHnMjiA ? sk snaH BvflBl "..'-' fla'flHfc'k''f' ' .flHHHHHHHHi "- :''?v PE W4c i H '-jf i' i , fH. -x t ii v ?& '.'' .'"V-?vl as Mi H4lBssr'':v -irVli Pf'PiiTfS!v Vvf ...H a?BitX-sHK!' ilth'W'n s aH i5h&'v ii't ?-' tSt H llKff iiKpX'Y5WjVj '- u ! 4 VF'V 4 fk fcVjKa. VaWaMIBBMBaWMaMBMBKt 'bpbjBMP' ' -ofcfax Shook Out a Trey of Hearts. tho pontoon of tho hydroaeroplane, pulled himself up out of tho water, nnd clambered to tho seat bosldo tho aviator. Beforo ho was fairly seated tho piano was swinging back into its fastest paco. With tho eaBO of a wild gooso it loft tho wutor, mounted tho long grado of an nlr lane, described a wldo circle nbovo tho bluffs of Woohawken, and swopt away southward. CHAPTER XXX. Blrdman. About eight o'clock In tho evening of tho samo day a motorcar deposited nt tho Hotol Monolith a gontlomnn whoso weathor-beaton and oll-stnlnod motoring-cap and duster covered llttlo clothing cloth-ing moro than shirt and trousers and assortod oddly In tho oyos of tho desk-clerk desk-clerk with tho rather meticulously turnodout guest known to him as Mr. Arthur Lawronco and to thu management manage-ment of tho hotel as Mr. Alan Law Incognito. In-cognito. Eventually persuaded, tho clerk ylolded up tho key to Mr. Lawrenco's Biilto of rooms, togothor with two notes BuporBcrlbed with tho samo nom do guerro. Ainu's Impatlenco was bo great that ho could hardly wait to examine these communications until ho was quit ot tho public oyo. Tho first proved to bo a chnrnctor-uilo chnrnctor-uilo communication: "Dear Ulysses Thanks for tho Jail delivery. I Kot In this morning Just In tlmo to motor over to Jersey In hopes of seeing your finish as a bachelor; Instead, I was favored by being mado an Involuutnry witness to your spectacular spec-tacular ascont. following your almost equally spectacular hlgh-dlvo. "But to business: my tlmo Is limited lim-ited In half an hour moro I am to doublo In black-faco for tho purposes of tho author of this melodrnmaUc farco which you, no doubt, call tho history of your grandu passion. "I moan to say well, sovoral thlngB, to-wlt: Whon I saw you snatched out of the North river 1 was engagod In trailing a pnlofncod villain In a motorcar motor-car concorntng whom you probably know far moro than I; ho on hla part moesngo purporting to bo from Itoso distilled tho conviction that tho Bamo hand was responsible for both. Alan shrugged. So he was to bo lured away from Now York nnd lloso by this transparent trick, was ho? No foarl With plenty of tlmo oi. his hnnds, ho gave tho nmttor serious consideration considera-tion and concluded to tako no chances: it was just possible that Trlno had taken rtoso with him on his western trip, after all. In such cnBo tho only possible way of ovortaklng tho special would bo by nlr lino. Promptly Alan called up tho aviation avia-tion fields at Hempstead Plains and got Into communication with a gontlomnn gontlo-mnn answering to tho surname of Coast: tho sumo blrdman who hnd como to AInn'b rescue with his hydro-aeroplane. hydro-aeroplane. Their arrangements were quickly consummated, CoaBt ngreelng to wait for Alan with Ills biplane In Van Cort-landt Cort-landt park from midnight till daybroak, prepared If need bo to undortuku a transcontinental flight. Thoreaftor Mr. Law proceeded to rehabilitate re-habilitate himself In decent clothing nnd his own esteem; after bathing, he dined alono in IiIb rooms, from a tray; aftor dining he slept soundly for three hours and may bo thought to havo earned at least that much rest through having been for four hours n pneson-gor pneson-gor In a hydronoroplano lost lu fogs thnt wrapped Long Island und all tho adjacent torrltory In nn Impenetrable shroud. Nor hnd this bcon nil. Lenvlng asldo nil that had led up to Ainu's rescue by Coast: tho forced landing of tho hjdro-noroplano hjdro-noroplano for lack of fuel had tuken plnco on tho south shoro of tho (ireat South bay; n search of hours had fol-lowod fol-lowod beforo a boat was found to convoy con-voy Alan nnd tho aviator to tho mainland; main-land; and a motor run of sovoral hours had followed that, conveying Coast to hlfl Iempstend hniigars and Alan on to hlB hotol In Now York. At midnight ho committed an act of burglary, calmly and with determination determina-tion breaking his way Into tho house of Soneca Trlno through the nrea windows win-dows and basement. In this nofarlous business nothing hindered and none opposed him. But . -. for a single lighted window in tho upper up-per tier (but not, h noted, the window to ixf bedchaj ner) and one or two lift' " he found burning dim In the kitchen ofilccs and other servants' quarter on the lower noor ho would have thought the houso empty. lie negotiated that last night ot step which led to tho topmost floor with extraordinary stealth, advised thereto by a sound, or rather a serlea of sustained sounds, which had the-totore the-totore ben Inaudible to him. Possibly they had not till then exlsutd; possibly the man servant whom he found snoring snor-ing in a chair outstdo n cloaed door had not fallen aslop and begun to snore until the moment when Alan Bet foot upon the lower step of that final ascent. No sound warned him ot the door that opened at his back as he stood watching the sleeping guard. A piercing pierc-ing shriek was the first Intimation he received that his presence had been discovered. It served as well to move him Instantly Into action: a slnglo glance overshoulder showed him the figure ot a matd-servant tn cap and gown, her mouth still wldo and full of sound and Alan fell upon the guard llko a thunderbolt. The man had barely time to Jump up and recognUo tho nlarm: then a fist caught him on the point of his Jaw, and he rolurnod promptly to deep unconsciousness. No tlmo now for qualms of compunction com-punction on account ot tho Bnvngo ruthlcesnoss of that blow: no tlmo evon to search tho follow for a key to tho closed door: already tho maid was taking the stairs In full flight nnd cry, four steps and a howl llko a warlock's to every Jump. Baaklng off, Alan took a short run, cleared tho prostrato body of tho guard with a leap, and flung himself full forco against tho door, his shoulder striking a point nearest tho lock. With a splintering crash It broko Inward. Without dignity or docorum ho sprawled on all fours into the proBcnco of Judith Trine. "Poor Mr. Law!" sho cried, with a mocking nod, "always disappointed 1 I'm bo sorry truly I ami" "Oh, sparo mo your sarcasm," ho bogged resentfully. "It's ridiculous enough, this wholo mad business" "But I am not sarcastic," sho Insisted Insist-ed with bucIi slncorlty that ho oponcd his eyos In wonder. "Bellovo mo, I am sorry for once It Is I and not lloso whom you find locked up hurol For, you oo, I am locked up, by way of punishment thanks to my having hnd pity on you onco too ofton while my father docampa myaterlously for parts unknown " "You don't know whoro he's gono, then?" "Do you?" sho asked sharply. "In a general way. By special train to tho West" "Taking Iloso?" "So I'm told." Tho woman choked upon her nngor, but quickly mastered it. "Ho shall pay for this!" sho nssovor-atod. nssovor-atod. "Your father? I wish him nothing moro nor loss than your enmity," Alan assured her civilly. "But alnco It Booms thnt ho has gono, and Iloso with him, It you'll forglvo mo, I think I'll bo going" "Alono?" "Why yoB." "You wouldn't enro for a companion du voyngo?" sho suggested. "Oh really!" ho protested. Sho hold up an arresting hand. "Listen "Lis-ten !" sho begged. From tho stroot below enmo tho un-mlstakablo un-mlstakablo rattlo of a pollcamnn's locust lo-cust on tho sidewalk. "That damned maid;" Alan divined. "Tho Bnmo," Judith ngreed with ominous cnlm. "Has It struck you that you may havo somo trouble getting nwny without my permission?" "I'm not bo stupid ns not to have thought of that," ho countered. "Then bo advlsod and tnko mo with you." "In what capacity, please? As enemy or ally?" "Ab ally you're right: wo can't bo friends until wo ovortako that! apodal apo-dal train. Aftor that, by your leavo, I'll shift for myself." "It's not such a bad notion," ho reflected re-flected : "with you under my oyo, you can't do much to Intorforo " "If I promise " alio suggested. "I'll tnko your word," ho agreed simply. sim-ply. "But you're In for a lot of hardship, hard-ship, I'm afraid. Tho ono way to catch up with your father la by aeroplane and 1'vo got one waiting." Sho nodded Intently. "Don't consider con-sider mo na a woman whon It comos to hnrdshlp," sho hinted obliquely. "I'vo no reneon to, going on what I know of you." "Give mo ono mlnuto to And my coat nnd hat." In leas thnn thnt tlmo sho was at bis aldo In tho hallway. Tho pollco entered by tho front door ib tho two crept out of tho nrea window. CHAPTER XXXI. Via Air Line. Not onco In tho courso of the next sixteen hours but a thousand times Alan questioned (nnd, It will readily bo allowed, with all uxcunes) his Ban-Ity Ban-Ity In permitting himself to bo Influenced In-fluenced to humor Judith's Insistence and mako hor a party to title wild aorlal crosscountry dash. Botwoon whiles tho piano flow fast nnd high, cutting n direct lino, ns tho crow Hies, athwart tho onstorn and western statos, Chicago thoy raised na a smudge on tho northorn horizon about ono o'clock In tho afternoon; thoreaftor somo little lit-tle tlmo was lost In descents to ascertain ascer-tain tho Identity of tho many railroad )m that orfss-crc-sMd the swimming landscape. Only at the third cast dli H they succeed in picking up the lln erf BH the Santa Fo. And It was some hour H later, though still daylight, when thoy H picked up tho special train, flying Ilka BB a bunting across the levots. Hi There was scant room for doubt bH that It was the train thoy sought. Spo- ', H clals aro not common. Moreover Alan hi j contrived wlUi considerable dtmcuttr ijflfl to focus binoculars upon the roar plat- ! form of tho car, and caught a fugitive) glimpse of a whltc-coatcd figure with a ffi black 'face that woe watching tho bl 8si plane In the simo manner, that I. AH with glasses. j The man In the white coat, Alan as- 9! aured himself, was positively Barcus. flHj And hardly had ho comforted him R self with this Assurance whon his Bar- H doulc destiny struck the motor dumb. H In response to his look of dashed flfl Inquiry the aviator merely shoek KH weary head and muttered tho words t asi "Rngtno troublo." JB Swiftly tho earth rose to receive the H volplaning mechanism. Under Coast's) iH admirable handling It settled down at- (sB 2c!ePaF ' T 'Wfl-Hsl ' '! !.1 H1 H Mb CTsT VI ! iNRa I Jkw ' H pSHEhhh I iiBPvl Hnivl ' ! 'InSI 1 vM Pl i ! r1l Escape or Alan and Judith. H Y most without a Jar, on tho outskirts o( flH n city whoso nnmo Alan novor learned. ' H For the blplano wna barely nt a H standstill beforo ho wna out nnd, reel- HJ lug with tho giddiness that afreets men after long flights, mnklntrhta way as best ho might toward tho manager's olllco connected with n tralnyard lm- ImH mediately ndjacont to tho apot where laB thoy hnd como to earth. I Lavish disbursements of money won el him his way against official protests H that what ho demanded was an lmpos- , fi slblllty. Within twenty minutes, loav- lng Coast to follow on whon and aa tVS bcBt ho might, Alan and Judith wore kI spinning through open country In the Bl cab ot an engluo running light, with 'Kfl only clear track botwoon it and the iSfl Bpoctal. iBi Tho sovcral hours that onsued be- fore tho rear lights of tho special wero HI brought to vlow wore nouo too many for tho task Imposed upon Alan of 8 overcoming tho scruples ot tho en- j glnoer and flroman. Another mlnuto, and loss than fifty jl foot soparatod tho two tho special !N train and tho light onglno, both hur- H Ming through tho light at top speed. H With a word to tho engineer Alan H crept out along tho sldo of tho boiler, H with only a groaay handrail and a nar- lfi row foothold between himself nnd i what meant death, or something close- H ly resembling It, should ho bo shaken ''9 off by tho tearing wind and tho away- 1 lng ot tho locomotlvo. SSI It seomed nn hour bofore he worked l htmsolf up to tho cowcatcher now jHflfl within four feet of the rear platform 9 of tho epoclal. M On this Inst ho could boo n woman's Xfl figure Indistinctly silhouetted against H tho light through tho door, nnd boslda iPH her a man tn a whlto coat, clinging for fH dear Ufo to tho knob ot thu door - jHH holding it ngalnst tho frantic efforts ot K somo porsonB tnsldo to tear it opon. Anothor hour of susponso dragged ' 9Bi out or such was the effect whllo tho ''Us- light cnglno with intolerable slowness 1 bridged those four scant feat. 1 At longth It wiib feaslbla to attempt sMl tho thing. Itoso (ho could soo her ,! strained white faco qulto plainly now) ) Hjf: was half over tho rail of tho car ahead, ' ready to Jump. , 3K Hla heart failed him. It was too ''"IQifli hazardous a risk. Ho dared not lot hor flR take It. ami Somotlilng vory llko a shot aoundod t iflW from tho train and soraothlng vory like V fjMl a bullet whistled past his chook, and j IH proved tho slgnnl for sovoral moro. j BSfi Strangely, thnt knowledgo stendled g hla nerves. Straining forward nnd KiiJ holding on to a bar so hot that it Pr scorched hla palm, ho offored n hand fMJj' to tho girl on tho rail. JS1 Her hand foil confidently Into It. Sho 'wlllr Jumped. Ills arm wound round her aa Pfff- sho landed on tho platform of tho cow- iP& catcher. Ho heard hor breatho his fB nnmo, then hurriedly passod her bo- .$if? tween himself and tho boiler to the (& footway at tho sido. Jhe flroman wnH 'f waiting thoro to help her. Alan turnod W$fc his attention to Barcus. ftiF? To hla dismay ho found that tho en- ffc glno wns losing ground. Tho space w??!? wns widening rapidly as Barcus re- 9$lM loaned tho knob and throw himself I 'ml over tho rail. Ji2J By a miraculous, Hying leap, tho IfKs man accomplished that Incredible feat 'iwk and gained the plntform. Tw An tnstant lator ten foot separated f 'Wj tho englno from tho special, aa tho on Kifl glneor applied the brakcB. ffiw And this ho did nono too soon: for kVJ at the samo tlmo Marroptmt and an- fffp other appeared on tho rear platform Sfi and opened n hot, but, thanks to the UWm widening distance, Ineffectual flro. & The onglno ground slowly to a halt " 'H as the rear lights of the special truUe : swept from sight round a bond. ' jH (TO BIS CONTINUED. JH |
