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Show The Pool of Flame i By I Louis joseth vancc I DIulnllMa r El.w.rtk Tmi I Gonrrlshl IWft b Loula ifJUSTZ Tlavo your Intentions ever been aught else toward any woman ye over won a smile from, spalpeen?" "Aw, now, yer honor" "Get on with your story. What about hire. Prynno?" demanded O'Rourke, eyeing his servant curiously and trying to fathom his but half-die-gulscd and wholly nwkward air of self-esteem. self-esteem. Plainly the boy thought highly of himself because of something some-thing ho had accomplished, somo exploit ex-ploit of prowess or stroko of diplomacy diplo-macy as yet undisclosed. "Ylssor. ... I was tellln' ye It seemed to mo the height of maneness she was displayln, ma'nln' this samo Mrs. Prynne, whin 'twns racsllf knew, none betther, how much ye've laid out on her account and hersllf not waltln' to settle up wid ye" "What business was that of yours?" "'Twas none, sor. But yersllf had keeled over and was did to Ivrythlng, and what am I for If not to look out for ye at such times? .... So I'm afther sthoppln' thlm two Just M they would b lavIhT their staterooms, and. sa'I, 'Missus Prynne,' n'l, 'me masther's compliments and he'd like a worrd wld yees before ye'n gone entirely.' en-tirely.' And 'What's this?' sz'she wld A fine show of surprlso the dayceyt-ful dayceyt-ful huxxy I though I'm watchln' her and thlnktn' she was frightened about omethln', from tho white turn ar the faco av her. Sz'she: "Tis In the dlvvle's own hurry I am the minute,' or worrds to the same Iff let. Sz'she: 'And phwat will he bo wantln' av me?' 'A momlnt's conversation wld ye,' sz'I. And sz'she: 'I've no time. Let me pass.' Til be doing,' sz'I, 'nawthln llke.thot,' for be now I'm thlnkin' there's somethln' deeper behlnt her fluster and flurry thin a mere desire to bilk ye p'rhaps 'twas this thing in-too-lshum I'vo heard ye mlntlon. And the next mlnlt I'm sure av ut, for she goes white as snow In the face and the eyes of her begins to burn like cold grane Are nnd she screams to Ce-die Ce-die for help and Is afther whipping out a gun to blow mo out av her way wld; but 'tis mesllf thofs be way Av belli' too quick for her and takln' the pistol away; and bo the mercy av tho Saints Mlsther Drnvos hears tho shindy and hops down Just In tlmo to Bnatch another gun out of tho hand av that samo Cccllc, and ho grabs tho gurl and turns her into a stateroom anil shuts tho dure on her and " "And," Interrupted O'ltourke In a black rage, rising nnd turning back his sleeves "And now I'm going to give jo tho father and mother of all thrashings, yo Insolent puppy! How daro yo lay hands on a lady " "0v, murtherl" chattered tho boy, leaping away. "Do alsy, )er honor, and hear mo out, for 'tis thin yo'll not ho blamln' me, but If yo do I'll take tho batln' widout a worrd, sor." "Very well," assented O'ltourke ominously. om-inously. "Hut bo quick about it, for I'm mistnibtful of yo altogether. Get on, yo whelp!'-' Danny placed tho tablo between thoin with considerable expedition. "Aw, llsthen now," ho pleaded. "While Mtstbor Drnvos was 'tendln' to Cecile, this, Missis Prynno was scrsppJu' like ft wildcat, scratching and bltln', and 'tis all I can do to kapo her by wrap-nln' wrap-nln' mo nnns tlshjt about her and hold-In' hold-In' her so, and I'm makln' a grab at hor waist whin be accident like what do I catch hold av but something un-dornatho un-dornatho as big as a bin's egg u stone 8ho'B carryln' round her neck, tho samo as yer honor did wld the Pool as Flame; and bo tho feel av ut ut's the samo entirely; and thin I'm sure 'tis the same and thot Borne scul-duggery's scul-duggery's bo way av haVin' been put upon yo." "Whnt the dlvvloP' "Wan niomfht more. . . . Now in flghtln' wld me tho collar av her waist has come unfastened nnd me-self me-self can see the string av ribbon that's holding the thing there. So I sez to mesllf, tz'I, "Tls strange enough to bear Investigating sz'I, 'an' I'll be takln' a chanst at this If the masther do be afther flayln' me alive. So 1 calls Mlsther Dravos and gets him to hould her fast while I takes out me knife and cuts thot ribbon and pulls the thing out widout any Immodesty whatever; and there on thot ribbon Is a chamois-case, all sewed up, and I'm rlppln' It open an' finding this I" "Ood In Heaven!" cried O'Rourke, stupefied nnd agape; for Danny, having hav-ing worked up to his climax, had dramatically dra-matically whipped from his pocket and cast upon the table between them the Pool of Flamo. Ho looked up, blind to the gleo and triumph In Danny's face. "How did ye como be this?" he demanded, de-manded, speaking slowly and steadily, as one who, having drunk moro than enough, listens to his own enunciation to detect in It tho slur that liquor brings. "I mean I mean how could ye have taken this from tho woman when It lay all the tlmo at the bottom of tho sen six hundred miles and moro behind us?" "Ask Mlsther Dravos If yo do not belavc me, sor. How would I bo hav-In' hav-In' It at all, widout I got It llko I've told yo? . . . 'TIb the real Pool of Flame yo'ro handlln'; that's sure. T'other one tho stono the serang flung into the say, sor, waB a counterfeit." counter-feit." "How do yo know that?" 'Alsly enough, yer honor; bo puttln' the maid Cecile on tho witness stand. 'Twas this way: I tuk the stone from Missus Prynno and Mlsther Dravos and mesllf locked her In her cnbln. Thin afther talkln' things over we let Cecile out and be dint av threats and cersuashlons, got her to tell what she knew," "do on." "She sez thot Frlnchman ye kilt back there in Algiers, sor, Is at the bottom av It all, only he's not did because be-cause ye didn't make a clano Job av ut, but lift him wld tho laste suspicion suspic-ion av the breath av life In the body av him." "I was afraid of that," nodded O'ltourke. "Tho next time we meet, Des Trcbes and I, there'll bo no mistake mis-take about It." "She sez thot befure he fought wld ye he'd taken measuremlnts av the stono and made a wax mould av ut, "God In Heaven!" Cried O'Rourke. so thot whin ho fnllcd to kill yersllf and had got his strength back, ho wlnt to Paris and had an Imltnshun av ut "made there somehow bo fusing chapo stones togothor and all thot, I belavo. 'Twas Ixplnslvo an' hlra tight up for money, so ho takes Missus Prynno Into In-to partnership and sho puts up tho cash. Thin they've been watchln' yersllf all tho time, sor they sets Cap'n Hole onto ye, to get tho ptono away, and! ho does it ike yo know. Afther yo escaped from tho Pelican, ho goes ashore and mates the lady at her hotel and dayllvcrs tho stone to her, getting his pay and tho Imltnshun Imltn-shun Into tho bargain, hejnslstln' on thot because he knows ye'U bo coraln' back for tho Pool av Flamo, and he's afraid av yo afraid ye'U kill him If he can't turn over a ruby to yo llko the wan he stole. So 'twas tho faked stone we tuk from him, thot samo night and tbo samo wo brought aboard tho Rauee nnd the same tho serang sthole from ye." "I begin to see. nut how about the serang? What did Cecile have to say In explanation of him?" "Sho couldn't account for hlra nt all, sor, save thot mebbo tho natives In Rangoon had somehow got wind av tho fact that the .stono was comln' back and a gang av thlm set out to stale ut. She Eez Missus Prynne nh-er nh-er cud account for the way they discovered dis-covered sho had ut, but they seemed to know pretty certain sure, Bor, for ye'U recall they niver bothered ye at all at first, and 'twas only bo chanst, like, thot tbo eerang got the Imltashun from ye." "Hut what about Dos Trcbes? Did tho maid say?" "No moro than he'd been lift In Paris, sor." "And what ev ye done with tho two of them, Mrs. Prynne nnd the mald? Aro they still locked up safoly?" "Dlvvle a bit, yer honor. 'Twbb Impossible Im-possible to kape them so, Dravos said, wld Missus Prynne threatening to yell bloody murtuer out av the poort and kick up such a row thot the authorities authori-ties wud bo down on us If wo didn't lot her go. Desldes, we'd got what wo wanted out av her, aud pwhat was tho ut av holdln' her anny longer?" "8o yo let them go?" "Ylssor." I "I could kill ye for It," said O'ltourke, "and Dravos, too; for ; thero's a deal of matters I'd like to bo Inquiring Into with tho lady this blessed minute. Rut, Danny boy, there's nothing In the wprld I enn't forgive ye now, for what ye'vo done for me, and 'twill be a strange thing if I don't servo ye handsomely when I come Into a fortune. . , Now don't be standln' there like a ninny, but bo off with ye and pack me things before I lift me hand to ye. 'Tis in haste wo are with Des Trebcs alive and Mrs. Prynne on the loose; and I there'll be no such thing as rest for either of us until we reach Rangoon." CHAPTER XXVII. "Danny ..." said O'Rourke without looking up from the occupa-tlon occupa-tlon which had engrossed his attention atten-tion for tho laBt three hours; nnd for the first tlmo In that period he spoko audibly, making an end to tho mumbled mum-bled confabulation bo bod been holding hold-ing with himself, a Murray's Guide, a Rradshaw, an Indian railway guide, several steamship foldors and n largo colored map of tho Indian empire. "What day's this day, Danny?" Danny thought laboriously. " 'Twns this morn' we lift th' Rnnce, sor? . . . Thin yestlddy was Wednesday." Wednes-day." "And today Thursday, be logical progress of reasoning, ch?" "Aw, ylss, eor." "And what's the time?" Danny consulted O'Rourko'a watch on the bureau. "A quarter av twllvo." "Then bcBtlr yourself, yo lazy good-for-nothing, and pack up me things," "Aw!" cried Danny, expostulnnt. "Our train leaves at two. Yo have an hour and a half." "Aw, but yer honor, Is ut no rlst at all we'll iver be havln'?" "Ye can rest on the train," said O'Rourke. "I've Just ten days left In which to reach Rangoon, where I've an appointment to keep with a lady, Danny, Dan-ny, to wit, Madame O'Rourke. D'ye mind her, and do ye blame me, Danny?" Dan-ny?" ' Danny became suddenly extraordinarily extraordin-arily busy. "Why did ye not say as much to begin with, yer honor?" he complained. "As If I wouldn't work mo hands to the stumps av thlm. . . ." "'Tis now Thursday noon," continued con-tinued O'Rourke thoughtfully. "Tho two o'clock train's scheduled to land us In Calcutta at ten Saturday night. At eight Sunday morning a steiuner leaves Diamond Harbor for Rangoon, scheduled for a fair-weather passage of three days. That'll leave us a little lit-tle leeway, barring accidents. But we've lo tlmo to waste." "Dut how'll wo bo catching thot steamer at Dl'mlnd Hnrbor, sor? How far's that from Calcutta, now, an' will there bo thralns at that hour av the night?" "That's to bo dealt with as It turns up, "Ddnny.'Thpre's only forty" mlleH between tho two places, and If there's no train, we'll charter a motor-car or a boat down tho Hughli. . . ." The latter expedient O'ltourke. dually dual-ly adopted, although he could have afforded af-forded a comfortable night in a hotel ho-tel at Calcutta, had ho deemed It wise. I Dut In the flfty-slx hours of unmitigated unmitigat-ed sweltering that ho nnd Danny endured en-dured In their, lllght ncross India ho had leisure to think matterB over very cnrefully, with tho result that, all things considered, he felt Justified In assuming tho world to bo In leaguo against him and in shaping his courso i accordingly. Thercforo It were un-' un-' wise to permit himself to bo seen and recognized In Calcutta, or even to linger lin-ger on tho soil of India an inbtaut longer than absolutely necessary, j Within an hour, then, of his arrival at Howrah, ho had, by dint of er- Blstenco and rupees, succeeded In hlr-, hlr-, Ing a launch to take him from the terminus ter-minus by water to tho steamer at Dla- moud hnrbor I To Do Continued. |