OCR Text |
Show - rS By ROIT ,,JM2 CARDBLL Copyright. 191 3. by Hoy L. McCardetl -" A novllxatlon of th photo pty teUctod tha bait in over 13,000 ubmlttd to th eniirlo dtpurtment of "-' Chicaoo Tribune In a $10,000 prizt eontait during December and January. Tha manuacripta In thia competi tion came from many aactlona In tha Unitad Stataa and Canada. Authora of note aa wall aa thouaanda of imi-taura imi-taura took part. CHAPTER XXXVI. In "Peto'o Palaeo." MEANWHILE iit the south portal por-tal of the I,ady Vcroutcn mines tlicro nro excitement nml alarm. Some ranchers from the valley below have borne back the wounded nnd half unconscious young miner who hud driven Ksthci and Quabba, when they were attacked by Kliilr and Luko on the lonely niouii tain road, while being taken fri tin nearest railroad station, thirty miles away. "I do not know what became of the young lady and the little Italian man with her," murium s the young miner, and tears of weakness and vexation welled to his eyes. "I would have died gladly to save her! I did the best 1 eould for her." "Some of the boys nocii the tracks of tho buckboard turn off on tho old road that nln't used no more," said one of the ranchmen. "Tom here rode back and found u camp, but tho buck-board buck-board and bosses nnd everybody wns gone. Them two fellers stole bosses from Ban Mnrcos ranch, and they must have caught the girl ami the little Italian Ital-ian feller!" Tho beauty and charm of Esther, the strange secrecy of her quest fur the man she, too, called John Powell. In his hearing, had Impressed the mine foreman. Tho cost of tho long dls tance telephoning to Los Angeles was to his mind n prodigious thing, but well was his desperate extravagance .though charged to the company re warded by tho broken, excited thanks which poured from tho mouth of his millionaire employer. "Yes, yes; you did right. McKenzle, to call me up and tell inc. Oh, hang the expense, man! I'll give you $10,-00O $10,-00O If tho young lady Is nil right! Stop all work, arm all tho men and search everywhere till the girl Is found! Don't stop to ask questions, and If the men arc caught who molested her string them up or shoot them down or both! I'm taking tho fastest ear, nnd I'm making dead straight for the mines!" J" J At his oillco In Los Angeles Arthur "- dashed like n mailman from tho tele- Sllu' " , Tho Wounded Miner Telia His Story. phono, crying excitedly to his secretary as ho went that u most urgent mutter called him to tho mines, and ran from tho building to his waiting auto, followed fol-lowed by tho bewildered otlleo porter with the auto cap and coat, which were donned In hot haste. Ho had hardly left before Esther's message from Santa Hnrbara arrived, nml within tho hour Esther received the following answer: Los AnBcles, 11 n. m. To Miss Esther Harding, Santa Uarbara, Cnl.: ltcplylng to your wire, Sir. Powell left for mines seeking you. No wny of communicating com-municating with him, as he Is en route In auto. n. artAY, Secretary. Since Ilngar's sudden mental nllllc- tlon, of which only Illalr Stanley know tho cause, and guiltily, tho wealth Es- Tf ther's gypsy mother was supposed to possess seemed to havo utterly dlsap- pea red, and Esther had been dependent on tho generosity a generosity as sud-ffi sud-ffi den as It wns strange of Hlnlr's moth-Hj moth-Hj er and tho moro friendly kindness of Mrs. Ilandolph In Itichmond until she had received tlio 51,000 that camo so I mysteriously. J With this money, which trim correct- 1 ly surmised wns from Arthur, Esther, 1 ftlth Quabba. had como to California 1 lu search of him, llluko, tho Kiohmond i D detective, having thought it ndvlsablo M to hint to her that John Powell, tho II new mllilonnlro oil nnd mining mag- H nato, ami Arthur were ono nnd the snme. Esther was still In sufficient K funds thejefpre to continue her auost I .rnieu was now" like a game o'f hide nnd eok, for Arthur. It was her ono purpose In life, and no other Interest held her except that she worried as to Ilngar's condition and had wired to Detective Illoko In Itichmond. receiving receiv-ing the comforting reply that there was rvery Indication of complete recovery In duo time and that she wns not to worry. Esther and Quabba took n train to the nearest station to tho mountain mine and. hiring horses, proceeded on ward. Hlulr found time lying heavily upon his hands aboard the yacht, and, deeming deem-ing from his telegrams that he was In n ehnstened frame of mind, Vivian thought the time propitious to hato ninlr come to Los Angeles ond meet with Durnnd, tho king of diamonds, nnd his accomplice, the dapper Count de Vnux, who had so strangely projected pro-jected themselves out from Vivian's past, lured by the strange rumors that had readied the upiur tendom of the crook world regarding the fabulous value of the diamond from the sky nnd Its last appearance among n.u In the last train robbery. If "nvcrjbody has n past" It behooves be-hooves no ono to nslc awkward ques (.... Durand and Count da Vaux. tlons. Illalr, biillenly ut times nnd again with some show of fellowship, accepted association with thodebouairo nnd polished Durnnd and the dapper and cunning Count do A'nux. Hut alone witli Vivian, Illalr made his muttered protests. "These old friends of yours havo their nerve," he growled. "To hear them talk you would think that once they gut their hands upon tho diamond It would be booty of tho 'diamond pack,' to bo bold abroad and tho money divided. divid-ed. I like their Impudence. Ulnst them, don't they know the diamond belongs be-longs to me lawfully, If Arthur Stanley dies, nnd that it will belong to me, aud I will glvo it to you If I can ever get my hands upon It, whether ho lives or dies'" "Now, do keep your temper, my dear boy," coaxed Vivian. "We nro In no Misltlon to let Durand and Do Vnux suspect anything. Especially must they never suspect that tho man they know or have heard of as John Towell Is Arthur Stanley. They would blackmail black-mail him all fur themselves. As it Is now, wo need tho help of such u cupa-bio cupa-bio pair In getting all we can of the Towell millions, on a share and share nllko arrangement. Hut the diamond -wo'Il light for Hint when It Is found. I fancy, Illalr, my dear, you ond I will bo a mntch for our clever friends, Du rnnd nnd Do Vnux, when It comes to tho question of who will get tho diamond." dia-mond." Illalr grinned ids appreciation of Vlv Inn's subtle plan, nnd seemingly he worked hand lu glovo with "tho pack" from that on. It was pay day at .Mammoth. Mammoth, Mam-moth, as Teler Huff would say, was "somo burg." Mr. Huff should hnve known; ho was the proprietor of Tote's Palace, tho ono amusement and public accommodation enterprise at Mammoth. Mam-moth. It was ti dnneo hall nnd u bar- room and a restaurant combined. Money Mon-ey Slowed like water ut Mammoth, which wns in tho center of the newly opened mines In tho mountaius where John Towell nnd other magnates were puttlug in more money than perhaps they ever would get out, as Is so often tho enso with mines. Hut things were at a lull when Frank Durand nrrived. He had received word from somo underground source that several of tho train robbers who had In "Pete's Palace" escaped after tho holdup In which the diamond from tho sky was takeu from n woman passenger Vivian consorted at Pete's Public nt Mammoth. A few signs lu the underwoild fraternal code iind Pete nnd Durand wero In conference. confer-ence. A few words ovirhcard by n hulking gypsy fellow nt thu bar nnd a third person was party to tho conversation. con-versation. This person n Luko Lov-ell, Lov-ell, who, retracing his steps In search of work, had encountered ut Mammoth tho wandering desert Indian. In him Luko had pioof to substantiate to Durand Du-rand his story of the diamond from tho sky. "It's nt the bottom of the sen!" concluded con-cluded Lukegiullly. .Mammoth would seem u magnet that draws together many concerned lu this strange story. Prom two worn hoi-h nllght Esther nnd Quabba, tired uiul hungry. Pete's Palace Is getting crowded crowd-ed now, but it Is the only place In miles that olVeis refreshments for man and beast, nnd some of tho men nro beasts. One of these leans against the lunch counter nnd leers ut the worn aud exhausted girl who has cutucd with tho foreign looking little hunchback. hunch-back. Arthur, speeding through the wilderness wilder-ness lu his high powcicd car, that goes direct and leaves train systems far behind, be-hind, has picked up a strungo wanderer In tho wllils an exhausted English lawyer, carrying u deer head by a strap handle nnd too tired to talk, Pete's Pnlaco tills up; the dance Is nt its height. Arthur, who us John Powell Pow-ell has furnished, as an employer, most of the money thnt Is being spent lu Pete's Palace, nrrhos with tho tired lawyer for lefreshments ero speeding on lit his feverish search for Esther, Do has not raised his eyes nt tho door when there Is nu outbreak by the counter coun-ter that attracts the attention of nil. A man hns grasped tho shrinking Esther, Es-ther, saying, "Come on, kid, and dance!'' As he clutches her tho neck of Esther's blouse Is loosened, aud the diamond from the sky dangles, blaz- Pandemonium Brok Looto In the "Palace." . - - i . Ing In fp Uerce Ilslit of the great lamps oc iie.nl. Durnnd sees It. Luke I.i'M'H. who lia's stepped aside nt seeing Esther and Quabb.i, sees It. Theie Is uild uproar, aud Peter, with his rtimaiily help, sides with Durand lu the bold claim the latter makes for the diamond. It Is torn from tho neck of Esther, and lu the grasp of Peter Huff some seeiet spring is touched, nnd the back of the locket opens, nnd n created paper falls. It is n woman known ns Kansas Em who seizes nnd rends the paper, calling for silence, which falls lu a great dramatic hush on all the company. com-pany. She reads: "Oh. child of my heart! Not u dh-iiioud, dh-iiioud, but a loving mother's prnjer, Is the true Yhunn against harm.' " Even a life of shame cannot stamp out the feminine desire for decency nnd tho womanly obsession to protect the Innocent nnd the motherless. A quiver shakes Kansas Em. Two great tears streak the paint upon her sallow cheeks. Sho tm in In fury upon her boss unit mnstor "Till U u mother's prayer this lock et Is lli.il poor girl's." As though this were a signal at which all deiiiniiiile passions were to break loose, the dance hall viragos. In a psy chologlinl outburst of emotion nnd fren rled nii-'er, sprang upon the pioprlctnr of the pi ico nnd all his bullies, si-rateli lug, biting like valkyrles. Tor one brief moment Arthur mid Esther g-izcd into em h other's eyes and for the llrst and, nliix, for the last time for mniiv bitter ilijs were clasped lu each other's oth-er's urins. And then, as the chronicles of the (oinliat that followed will tell you. "trouble ically broke loose." Instinctively all took sides, tho good element against the bad and even the better element of the bad against the worst. Esther and Arthur were torn apart: un-u and women fought like maniacs with bunds and leet nnd teeth: every article thnt could be lifted and smashed was thrown or struck with Tho lunch counter went oxer with u crash, the bar toppled and fell, and then the surge of the ciowd. as n wave of the combat drove It to one side, tore out the e-t wall of the ile!t"ly frame building, and down smashed the roof crushing all beneath it, and beneath p wns Aithur Stanley, shuttered to In sensibility Hut where was the dl.i nioiid from the sky? (to nn rnvritfnrn. |