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Show " CUAPTEtt II. Tho Last Resort. At Just nine o'clock that same night cab came to a halt In front of a .sombre pile of masonry known to Parisians Pa-risians as a Capuchlan monastery. This vehlclo contained our two ad-Tenturers. ad-Tenturers. Jones gavo tho heavy old-otylo old-otylo knocker a fow bangs that resounded re-sounded harshly among tho lofty corridors cor-ridors within. This summons brought a lay brother at onco to tho door, for no appeal can over bo slighted by thoso whoso vows havo made them brothers to tho poor of their faith. Jones announced that ho had a most important communication for tho roverond father which could not possibly pos-sibly bo postponed until another day that ho had como over land and sea for this one purpose, and gravo results might follow further delay. Tho doorkeeper's hesitation seemed quito swept away by such logical rca-V rca-V sonlng, and ho asked tho two gcntlo- " men to enter, which they did. with con siderable readiness. Tho brother led them into aa apartment and begged them to bo patient, pa-tient, as tho head of tho order was engaged at tho tlmo with other visitors who had, Btrango to say, also como upon very Important business. When they wcro alone Merrick suggested sug-gested tho possibility of the good father's fa-ther's other callers bolng thoso persons per-sons whom they least desired to meet tat such a critical time, and somehow this Idea gavo Jones so much uneasiness uneasi-ness that ho Jumped to his feet. Just as Jones gained his feet ho heard a sneeze twice repeated, a Bneeze that seemed to possess an individuality, individual-ity, as Is frequently tho case. Tho effect upon Jones was magical, for his companion saw him givo a sud-1 sud-1 den start, whllo his Jaws canio together with a snap. "That is tho tlmo you struck tho nail squarely upon tho head, my boy. Tho count Is hero in this building after nil, ho has gained a point on us, slnco ho oven now talks with the holy fathor, seeking to present enough influence in-fluence to securo possession of tho secret dossier. You can hoar tho murmur of their voices in yonder library," li-brary," was what Jones said, Impressively. Impres-sively. "Come, my friend, wo must shy our castors Into tho ring, and 10-inembcr, 10-inembcr, Jones, ho pays tho freight." Merrick was closo upon tho heels of v tho redoubtable Jones when tho latter pushed tho door wldo open am' thus unceremoniously entered tho acolnlng apartment. Neither Jones nor his companion gavo more than a passing glanco at tho room, their whole attention being takon up with tho llttlo paity gather-id gather-id near tho center at tho moment .hen they so suddenly forced an entrance. en-trance. Theso wero three In number, tho patrlarchlal good father, a tall, bronzed bronz-ed man In tho fatlguo dress of a . Trench infantry captain, and a yellow- bearded giant Just back of him. In theso two Merrick recognized tho count and his faithful Russian colleague col-league Jones should havo been called to tho bar, for ho had all tho clover attributes attri-butes of a successful advocate and could present so plauslblo a caso that fow men might hold out against his specious plea. As ho advanced In tho direction of tho trio ho raised his hand In a dramatic dra-matic as well as supplicating manner, nnd first of all sincerely begged pardon par-don for disturbing tho peace and sanc-'l sanc-'l tlty of so sacred a place 1 Then ho told how ho had como to 1 seo Father Ansoimo upon vory Import ant business, and hearing tho voice of if his rival In the adjoining room,ho had oven dared profano It with his prcs- I ijjj enco, for which ho would always b3 y profoundly sorry, hoping to havo tho good and gracious father hear his sldo . , of tho caso beforo delivering up the documents, which, scaled in a packot, ho had held long in trust, waiting for somo ono to como bearing a message from Father Jean. "Good father," said tho suave American, Am-erican, producing a paper from his , pocket, "there Is tho claim I make. SUpon your Judgment I stand ready to take my all. Thoro you will find sub-i sub-i - stantlal evldcnco to also prove my J Identity." And whllo tho vcncrablo prolato was reading, the four men surveyed each other as mortal enemies might do-Jones do-Jones calm and scornful, filled with tho keen pleasure of coming triumph, tho Kt others frowning. j Ahl Father Ansoimo had finished ?, reading, and looked from ono to an- " other of tho rival claimants oro ron- ' dering his decision. "Father, I havo your word to do-liver do-liver tho packet to mo, your solomn promlso," said tho count, In a hoarse volco, reading his defeat In tho face of the Ycncrablo recluso, and holding desperately des-perately to this last chance, as a drowning man will cling to a straw, irt "That was given beforo I had looked '. "- upon this documont hearing tho signa ture of ono I onco know well. It Is my ioUmn duty to deliver this trust to tke one who has the stronger claim, otherwise I would bo false to my vow." "You havo decided, then, against me?" asked tho count, between his teeth, his eyes blazing as when lie faced tho lion upon African deserts. "I cannot resist overwhelming forco of circumstances, and his claim comw first," steadily replied tho aged father, handing over tho packet. "Then there is but one resource left us, StrombololT, nnd that Is to tako by forco from this rascally American what wo nro refused peaceably. Draw and stand by mo, comrade," snarled tho count, as ho noisily rattled his sword from Its steel scabbard and prepared pre-pared for war. Evidently tho big Russian attache had been half expecting somo such appeal ap-peal to arms, If one might Judge from the celerity with which ho, too, whip-pod whip-pod out a shining blade, which ho was privileged to carry on account of his connection, unworthily enough, with tho legation. Jones, seeing what lay In tho wind, was not Blow to reach back to tho pocket where ho carried a scven-ahootcr, scven-ahootcr, and Merrick followed suit with a swing, proving that If tho fracas fra-cas actually canio to a crisis ho would not bo found wanting. Eyo looked Into eye, nnd tho count saw a lurking devil In tho skybluo orbs of tho Yankee that somehow ho did not fancy Jones was ono of thoso peculiar pe-culiar men who could smllo exaspcrat-lniy exaspcrat-lniy even when committing harl karl. So tho count, having mentally computed com-puted his chances of surviving nn encounter, en-counter, nnd finding them next to nil, decided to defer tho reckoning until a moro opportuno time, when ho would bo able to bring moro powerful pow-erful factors to bear. Father Anselmo touched a bell. Almost Immediately half a dozen strapping big monks entered tho apartment, proving that this bodyguard body-guard could not havo been far away at any time. Tho count had thrust his sword back In Its sheath with an angry movement, move-ment, and stood there with his arms folded, looking defiance "Beforo wo quit theso walls, reverend rever-end father, I demand once moro that you placo In my hands tho packet you solemnly promised to deliver, If I could prove my position. This I havo done, and you havo It on the honor of a name Frenchmen nro at present pleased to particularly honor." Thoro was no change In tho old monk's demeanor; ho had weighed his chances and decided upon his plan of nctlon, nor could threats or cajoleries cajoler-ies havo any further Inllucnce upon him. "I as positively refuse, Count Leon, and In order that you may have no doubts as to what my action In the premises might be, I havo hero In your presenco solemnly delivered to tho accredited ngont of M. Darragh tho packet that was committed to my caro when Fathor Jean passed to Immortality." Immortal-ity." Jones smiled broadly as his hands eagerly fondled tho llttlo scaled package, pack-age, whllo tho count glared his un-spcakablo un-spcakablo rage "Now, depart from under this roof, ungodly men, and pray you como hero no more. But for tho honor In which all true Frenchmen hold your name, Count Vlllebols, I would bo tempted to complain of your desperate action to thoso high In authority, who know how to punish as well as reward. With tho passing of this legacy into tho hands of this worthy man my interest In tho matter entirely ceases." "And miuo only takes a renewed leaso of life," roared tho baffled African Afri-can explorer, as ho turned and accompanied accom-panied tho doorkeeper out of tho room. Neither of our friends had any desire de-sire to linger within thoso gloomy walls, and lost ho time in saying faro-well faro-well to the vcnerablo father who had proved so good a friend In tlmo of need. It had ceased raining, but gloom hung heavy all around them, a gloom nnd fog better suited to old London than tho gay French capital. Perhaps It was an accident, but nolthor of them wero of a mind to believe be-lieve so. Rather wero our friends ready to suspect that the count and his Muscovlto ally had something to do with tho cab's disappearance, slnco such men never loso an opportunity to harass an cnomy when tho opportunity oppor-tunity arises. Nor did their suspicions ariso in vain. Without the least warning tho two friends suddenly found themsolves set upon by a squad of roughs, such as may bo recruited at small oxponno from tho slums of any great city. When Jones saw tho naturo of the gang thus brought so rudely to their attontlon, ho scorned to avail himself of tho potent weapon of his outer coat. Tho vermin wcro not worth such exalted ex-alted treatment Each of our frlonds had gono forth with a stout cano, and In tb hands of determined men theso could bo made exceedingly serviceable. Thus thoy turned to meet the onslaught on-slaught with an eagerness that perhaps surprised the footpads, no doubt nc- 1 1 customed to having such rlctlmi M thoy chose to honor with their attention at-tention throw up their hands In Inglorious In-glorious surrender. CIIAI'TRtl ur. Velvet Claws. Jones and Merrick wcro fun ut i.n-., so that the opportunity to do a llttla vork in tho service of tho community camo to them not without Its advantages. advan-tages. And tho way thoy badgered thoso castaways from society was really a caution not n head escaped punishment, punish-ment, and somo received such a double doso that they grow rattled. Tho result was a forcgono conclusion, conclu-sion, since heads never could be In tho Bamo class with clubs. And In less than a minute tho friends had their enemies on the run, utterly demoralized de-moralized by the vigorous treatment given. Without attempting pursuit, tho two friends mado the best of their way to their hotel. Naturally both of them wcro eager to see what manner of document had fallen Into their possession, but It wns too public a place to servo as a council chamber, so Jones proposed retiring to his den on nn upper floor, whero no one would bo npt to disturb them. They wero In tho net of ascending when an nttache of tho establishment touched Mark upon tho shoulder, spoko a fow words and handed him a card. Jones saw his frlond stand lrroso-luto, lrroso-luto, ns though hardly knowing what to do. At tho samo tlmo ho could not hut notlco that the card was such as ladles uso for calling. "I'll como up presently, my dear fellowthird fel-lowthird stage, number elghty-tevon. Good glvo mo Ave minutes or po." And as Jones climbed tho stairs In prefcrenco to using tho lift, ho chanced chanc-ed to glanco through tho open door of tho hotel parlors, nnd beheld n vision in white, seated on a divan; a woman so entranclngly beautiful that any man might bo pardoned for bowlni? at her shrlno upon tho slightest encouragement. encour-agement. Jones merely gavo ono of his llttlo whistles that seemed to express his feelings so completely. For tho charm-or charm-or was tho Princess Olgavltch, whom n wretched fato had that day thrown across Mark Merrick's path under most peculiar circumstances, which wero of n naturo to arouso within her coitaln feelings sho had laughed at In others. Jones did not enjoy tho sight of It a bit. Ho know tho character of tho Continental Lur-llne. Lur-llne. and how unscrupulous sho had always been In playing with tho holiest of human passions. Mcanwhllo Merrick entered tho parlor. par-lor. Ho had reasons of his own for granting tho lady's request for nn Interview In-terview as soon ns sho came in. . His curiosity had been aroused by a fow words written in French upon her card. "A matter of great Importance" Sho began by thanking him over again for his generous and manly succor suc-cor of tho morning. Merrick raised his hand in protest, shaking his curly Lend ab though declaring ho had dono nothing that deserved such hlsa praise "Ah, you talk as though you were n member of tho czar's court, so studied, stud-ied, so diplomatic. But I must not find fault. Then, monslour, listen, you and your friend nro in dangor." (To bo continued.) |