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Show IMnsst au-aissMs The Case and The Qirl J Bt Randall Parrish. J jl 1 Copqrtqht 1551 bq Aljrod A. Knopf, Inc. I kf L -UH.I I Ill I !.. I II I .... II III ll -11 1 1 1 11 niai 1 ni 11 wmmmmmmmmmmmnAwnmmmtmmmummmaimtmmtmmmmmmmmmmmmmmumm " II ii v ' il ; ADVENTUnE CALLS 1 : 1 "So glad to learn you could . '. I be out, Judge," she said, the J 1 least perceptible hesitancy in I M er voice, "Permit me to pre- 1 j sent Judge Cable of the 8u- ' prcme Court; Captain West, I my fiance!" ! Surprising to Captain West? Well, rather, inasmuch as It was I the first he had heard of It. A young engineer, he had returned from tho war with his thirst for adventure still otrong. Answer ' ing an advertisement for a young man willing to engage In a service serv-ice of danger he lo employed by a handsome young woman, Natalie Na-talie Conlldge, who takes him to a dinner party and announces her engagement. And thereafter thrills follow fast, It appears I that Natalie fears an uncle Is plotting to secure her property. Anyway, this uncle Is murdered In a day or two which adds to the mysteries which quickly accumulate. ac-cumulate. And not the least mysterious Is the behavior of the heroine, who seems to have a dual personality. It's not necessary to go farther with the plot. For this Is one of Randall Parrlsh's action stories action, action, action! That's alt that need be said. His first novel was published In 1004 and '- he's been writing two a year over since. And they sell as fast ns he can write them. The author au-thor was born In 1058 In Illinois, and practiced law in Wichita, Kan., 1870-83. Then 'ho prospected pros-pected for' two yeara In Arizona and New Mexico. Later he got Into the newspaper business In Denver, Omaha, Chicago and other cities. Then he found him-1 him-1 self as a writer of stirring tales. CHAPTER I The Laay In the Limousine. West, still nttlroil In khaki uniform, lmt wvnrliiR the roil chevon of lion- C ornhlo (HucliniKo on his left sleeve, I nut In tho club writing room, his feet 1 comfortably olovnlcd, endeavoring to 1 extract Bomo entertainment from the j evening piiper. The uowh was not particularly Interesting, howover, and finally, obsessed with the feeling that 111 tt would soon be time for him to sorl- IouBly coiitempliito tho procuring of (ttiltnhlo employment, tho young man turned tho sheet about rather Idly, anil ran tils yeu down the columns devoted to cluKslflinl ndvorllRlng. Half way down tho (Irst column, under un-der tho head of "miscellaneous," ho panned and read u paragraph with sontu Interest; then read It over again, emitting n soft whlutlu between his "Well, by Jove I" ho snld to himself Blowly, "That doesn't sound so liad, cither: out of the ordinary, nt lenHt. Say, Thompson," and ho tnrnoU'to 11 tall young fpftow busily writing nt Uie adjoining desk, nnd shoved tho paper under his eyes, pointing nt tho paragraph which Imd attracted utteii-tlon, utteii-tlon, with ono finger, "What do you make out of that, old ninn?" Tho other, rather sober-faced, nnd Blutv of speech, read tho advertisement won, by word, with no clinngo of ox prcGMloa. "Hot," ho Bald solemnly. "Either n Jotso, or some scheme on. Why? Interested In-terested In It?" "In n inensur-), yes. I'vo n good mind to nuswer, nnd toko a chnncc." "You're n fool If you do, Matt," decisively, de-cisively, and turning hack to his writing. "That Is some game being putted o(r. Likely ni not tt means blackmail, Itcsldes there Is no address." ad-dress." "That's ono thing I like about It." retorted the other; "They are In earnest, earn-est, nnd taking no chances of having their purpose guessed nt. IJy Jove, I don't see how nny ono can get In bad, merely by finding out what tt all means." "Well, do ns you plenso; you would nn. how. Only you linvo my advice." West rend tho Item again. Ho Imd been eighteen months In France, nud Ills discharge from tho anay laid loft lilm bored and dissatisfied with the Jail routine of civil life. Ho dronded tti got hark Into tho harness of n piosnlc e.x'Htcnci", even his profession ns n civil engineer had someway lost Its I'lmrin. Ho had tasted tho Joy of adventure, tho thrill of danger, and It was still alluring. This advertisement promised a mystery which strangely nttrarted his Imngluntlon. "Wanted Young man of cilti-ration cilti-ration nud (taring for servlco Involving In-volving some personal peril; Good pny. and unusual roward If successful. suc-cessful. Mny hnve to leavo city. Purpose disclosed only In personal Interview," As TJimnpson had pointed out, this was not signed, nor tiny address given, West croersd over to an unoccupied desk, and wroto a reply, ehnnglng tho wording several times, nnd Anally making mak-ing a clean copy. The answer read; T,o Advertiser: Am 20; late cn-tnln cn-tnln of Knglncers; university graduate, ndventurous disposition. Would be glad to consider your proposition. Address, Hox 57, University club." He pi need this In an envelope, called n club mcKH-nger, nnd, handing the hoy n sum of money, sent him over to the newspaper ofllce. Two days elapsed boforo nn ttniwcr appeared in his box; u smnll envelope, addressed In n lady's handwriting apparently, ap-parently, and mnllcd from ntio of the sub-postofllces. The brief noto read: "Hox G7, University club. "Your nnswei to ndvertlscmenl makes a good Impression, and I am willing to put you to the further to-t of 11 personal meeting. If you are In earnest In thW matter, and quite prepared pre-pared to ussuiue the necessary risk, you will he ht tho northwest corner of Hpituldlug park at C:.'!0 tomorrow afternoon. Do not conio In uniform, but It will bo well to bring evening not lies In 11 bug. Ue sure of yourself, nnd be prompt. "Very truly yours, "The Advertiser." West rend this over, again and ngalu, smoking furiously, and endeavoring endeav-oring to weigh each Word. Tho letter sounded honest and sincere; the writer evidently hud a purposo (11 vlow, nnd was selecting an agent with great care nnd secrecy. Ho hint ns to what that object was would bo revealed re-vealed blindly ho must bo tried In every way first ; thoroughly tested ns to both character and courage. Undoubtedly Un-doubtedly steps! had already been tak-oil tak-oil to do this. Tho delay In reply would linvo afforded opportunity for some Investigation, ns his nddress would give tho necessary clue to his Identity, Tho request for evening clothes, howover, rather reassured him; evidently his first pluugo Into this mystery wns not to occur In any stratum of low society; no vnst amount of personal danger could he Involved In-volved In such preliminaries. Tho advertiser ad-vertiser was n woman I This fact ul-so ul-so stimulated bis Imagination, and rendered ren-dered him tho moro eager. Hy Jovo! ho would sec the thing through I Ills decision wns reached. Ho would go, but would malto every effort ef-fort to protect himself against any possible treachery. Ho had a room nt the club, and wrote u letter or two before be-fore proceeding to dress, arranging for their personal delivery In case ho fulled to return nt 11 designated time; carefully examined his service revolver, revolv-er, nnd deposited It In tho pocket of the business suit ho decided to wear. Satisfied with theso arrangements, he dressed rapidly, and then pneked Ids hag, bearing It .In his hand as ho departed de-parted In ample time for tho point of rendezvous. A cab took lilm to tho placo dcslgnntcd, and ho found himself him-self nlono In n rather dcsolnto spot, with which ho wns In no way funill-tar. funill-tar. Ho had no knowledgo of how ho wns to bo nppronched, or Identified, but his being requested' to bring n hag containing evening clothes, somehow some-how suggested riding, rather thiin walking, nnd consequently his eyes followed moro or less Intently tho constant con-stant stream of uutomolilloi. Ho grew restless nnd doubtful ns tho moments slipped past. Then suddenly, without tho slightest warning, 11 black llmouslno whirled In alongside the curb, nnd came to a stop Immediately In front of where ho waited. The chauffeur, dressed In plain dark livery, stepped out, nnd threw open tho rear door, without asking so much ns n question. Kxcept Hint the fellow stood there, looking directly toward him, his lingers on iho latch, expectantly, West would not hnve known that ho was wonted. Yet It was all so obvious he could not question. Silently he picked up his bag. nnd stepped for-ward. for-ward. He saw no one within, hut firm In tho belief that the chauffeur must have his orders, lie entered blindly, tho door closing Instantly behind him. Tho curtains were drawn. Iho Interior gloomy nnd Indistinct, nud the driver had resumed his seat, and started the motor, before West reallred that he was not alone. In ono corner of the wide bnck seat, drawn hack from nny possible observation from without, sat 11 woman. At (lrtt glnnco he could only barely distinguish tho outlines of her figure, dimly discernible against the dark background of tho upholstery, but, as his eyes accustomed themselves to the faint light, her features also became be-came dimly visible enough so, nt least, to convince him Hint sho was young. Neither spoke for sotno moments, mo-ments, whllo tho nutomohllo gathered speed, and West Imd un uncomfortable feeling that tho lady was watching lilm with grent lutcutness. Ho could only quietly await her explanation of thin strange situation. The delay was not a long one. Sho laughed, nervously nervous-ly pei haps, yet with n sense of humor nt the nwkwnrd position. "Q'ulje melodramatic, Is It not, Cop-tain Cop-tain West?" she asked, In a docldedly pleasant voice. "I trust It uppcnls thoroughly to that disposition for nd-enture nd-enture of which you wroto." "Nothing moro could be desired, I am sure," he confessed, surprised nt her tone, nnd glancing toward her. "I certainly nm left completely In tho durk, unable oven to clearly distinguish distin-guish my mysterious compnulon In adventure." "And there really Is no longer any occasion for such concealment." She lifted the heavy curtain bcsldo her, permitting the grey light to rest upon her face. "I preferred not to be seen nt the park for obvious reasons; hut here, nlono with you, such precaution Is qulto unnecessary. Wo arc to be cither friends or enemies, so frankness Is tho best course." He saw tho face of a young woman of twenty-four, or five, with dark eyes unil hnlr, her cheeks Hushed with health nud excitement, her lips smiling. smil-ing. It wns n faco of unusual attractiveness, attrac-tiveness, not regulnr, perhaps, In any of Us features, yet filled with character, charac-ter, and glowing with life. He liked tho girl, and believed In her. "I enn only thank you," ho said, rather lumoly. "Although - do not understand now how wo could ever become enemies, Surely, thnt Is not a threat?" "Oh, no, It Is fur too true. You hnvo yet to learn what I require. Yet that was very nicely said. I tnke It to mean your first Impression of me Is not unfavorable?" ''Very far from It. I am already deeply Interested In my tnsk. 1 I lacked an Incentive boforo, you hnve furnished It." Sho laughed again softly, her eyes still on Ids face. "Ileally, I had not anticipated such n sincere compliment. No doubt you leurned theso delightful speeches In Prance," sho answered, a very fnlnt tinge of sarcasm In tho words. "However, "How-ever, this Is a very serious matter, CnptalnWcst, nnd really has nothing to do with my pcrsonnl appearance. I am seeking neither flirtation nor com- w'f ul. , "We Are to Bs Either Friends or Enemies." Ene-mies." pitmen t; merely n trustworthy ngent. First of nil, It Is necessary that you coinpiehend this." He bowed, Imprcucd by her man-tier, man-tier, nnd somewhat ashnined of his Impetuosity. Im-petuosity. "1 accept the reproof," he said quietly, "and will endeavor henceforth not to offend In nny way. I nm entirely en-tirely nt your hervlce." "There Is 110 offense; I merely thought It best there should he 110 misunderstanding. mis-understanding. Now, I nm sure, wo can proceed Intelligently. Indeed, I nm going to frankly confess, I also like your appearance. This mutual liking ought to he half the battle. We hnve qulto n ride before us yet; you may quostlou mo If you wish." "You mean I am to question you freely." "Assuredly; while I nm to remain qulto us free In my answers. Thnt In perfectly fair. Is It not?" "At least, It sounds so. Where urn I being transported, then? And vhy tljo dress suit?" Ills questions evidently amused, for her eyes sparkled. "Naturally that query emos first; nud especially the Urcs suit. You have the prejudices of yoiir sox, 1 see, and without regret. 1 shiill endeavor to reply categorically, yet with reservations. reser-vations. We lire going to n country home, where we dine. In company with n few guests." "I see; 1 urn first of all to he projected pro-jected Into society. Are any of theso guostb known to me?" "God forbid; and I may even venture ven-ture to predict thnt joti will never carp to know any of them ngain. You are to bo present as my guest, nnd will so bo welcomed." "1 feu! tha honor; but would it not he well under theso circumstances for me to know moie clenrly whoso gncst I am? Suppose, for Instance, I hud to refer to our long friendship, It would be extremely nwkwnrd not lo even bo utile to mention your name." "My nniuol Why, of course, you do not know whnt It Is. Well, really I am not altogether certain thnt I do, either. Wo will therefore eompromlso on the one I nm known by, which will be safer. Allow me, Captain West, to present to you Miss Natalie Coolldge." Sho held out frankly a neatly gloved hand, which ho ns Instantly took, and retained In his own, tho girl malting no' Immediate effort to withdraw with-draw It. 'This Is very kind of you, Miss Coolldge." ho acknowledged, ndnptlng himself to her present mood, "But It seems there Is no necessity for mo to present myself. Appnrcntly my Identity Is already known." "Otherwise you would not bo among those present," sho admitted frankly. "Then, I Judge you hnve not nc-ceptcd nc-ceptcd mo blindly?" "No, I hnvo not," earnestly, and now releasing her hnnd, "I do not think wo ever rcnlly know nny ouo except through porspnnl Intercourse; hut I do know who you are, and sorao-thlng sorao-thlng of whnt your llfo tints far has been." "Hut how could you? I signed no nnmc." She smiled, again qulto nt her enso. "Tho box number nt tho club was amply sufficient. I hnvo friends there; onco possessed of your nnmo nnd army rank, tho department records nt Washington furnished all further Information. In-formation. So you perceive, Captain, I am not altogether reckless. Aro you Interested In learning whnt I know?" "I urn ; will you tell rao?" "Willingly," and sho checked tho points oft on her gloved flrigcra. "You aro Matthew West, tho onty son of Judge Ilobert Peel West, of Atlanta, Georgia. Your mother, who was of tho well-known Ilullock family, died when you were about fifteen, nnd her widowed sister has since been tho housekeeper. You nre n graduato of tho University of Virginia, being fourth In your class In scholarship. Your engineering course wns completed com-pleted In Massachusetts, and you later became connected with the Wynnt Contracting company, of Chicago. You were here, however, only n very brief time, making but few acquaintances, when tho wnr broko out. You Immediately Im-mediately entered tho first officers' training school at Tort Sheridan, graduating grad-uating with tho rank of first lieutenant, lieuten-ant, nnd were assigned to a regiment of engineers, among tho earliest to call for France. While thcro you wcro wounded twice, nod cited onco for special gnllnntry In the rescue of n seriously Injured prlvntc. Your last wound caused your roturn to tho United States on 11 special mission, nnd also won you tho rank of captain. Since then you have been honorably dlschnrged, but hnve mode no effort to resume professlonnl work. You nre twenty-six, and unmarried. Is there anything elso you euro to know?" t "I think not ; really your agency has been inot-t efficient. And so this review re-view satisfied you that I was really the man you sought?" "No, It did not wholly sntlsfy, but II looked promising. You were evidently courageous, and a gentleman. Theso (nudities wero essential; whether In other respects you measured up to my purpose, could only bo ascertained through n pcrsonnl Interview. There was no other wny." "And now?" he persisted. , "Still encouraging, I must admit, tilthough tho test Is. not yet complete. However, wo aro now npprouchlng tho end of our Journey. Ilcforo we turn In I nm going to ask a favor of you cull mo Natalie." "Natalie; that will bo easy," "And also forglvo mc If I fall In nlwuys addressing you formally ns Captain West. I presumo your friend my Matt, do they not?" "Some have thnt habit." "Then I clnlni nlso the privilege." She bewildered htm, left lilm In wonderment won-derment ns to what sho would do next, but there wns scarcely time In which (n nnswer before tho speeding llmouslno llmou-slno turned abruptly Into a private driveway, curving gracefully to tho front of 11 rather Imposing stone innn-slon, innn-slon, set well hack from tho road. Soon they were at the side entrance, and n servant, In the saint- unobtruslvo livery us tho chauffeur, was qulotly opening the door. Ho turned and helped Ids compnulon to emerge. "It was a woman, she seemed to vanish Into thin air the hall wns empty." (TO ni- CONTINUED.) |