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Show A Great Mystic Story by Harold McGrath I Copyrijht, 1914, by Harold McGrath I , SYNOPSIS. HiW Zudora Is left an orphan at an early Q A ace. Her father U killed In a gold mine. IftV Zudora and the fortune from tho mine. Hfr which grows to be worth $10,000,000. are iK left In the guardianship of Frank Keene, Zudora's mother's brother. Zudorn, giving giv-ing promise of great beauty, reaches the age of eighteen. The uncle, who haa set himself up as a Hindu mystic and Is known as Hassam All, decides that Zudora Zu-dora must die before 'ho can have a chance to come Into possession of her money, so that It may be left to him, tho next of kin. Hassam All soes an obstaclo to his scheme In the person of John Storm, a young lawyer, for whom Zudora Zu-dora has taken a fancy, and he commands com-mands the girl to put the man out of her mind. Zudora Insists that If she cannot marry Storm she will marry no ore "Well, well," aays Hassam All, "If you take such a stand I'll compromise. Solve my next twonty coses and you can marry him: fall In a single case and you must renounce him." Zudora, using the knowledge gained from years of association with ber uncle, Unravels a baffling mystery and wins her first case case In which John Storm Is Saved from being convicted of a murder instigated by Hassam All himself. Zudora and Hassam All TlsU Nabok sThan's bouse, where sleep overcomes ev- art oos) whoever Nabok attempts to mar- iy a princess. Btorra, seeking Zadora, Is .made a prisoner. Zudora folia Nabok Vhan, restores ths princess to her original H lover and saves Storm from death. H 'A maker "of "diamonds tells Hassam All his seers. Storm Informs Zudora that his Ufa ,ta being attempted frequently. H Storm, suspects Hassam AIL Storm Is arreeved for stealing the diamond maker's ,gems, but Zudora discovers the real thieves a pair of mice. I CHAPTER IV. I The 8ecret of ths Haunted Hills. I T-XUUUArs a moutli elapsed with- H yJ out any puzzling case coming under Uassatn All's notice. Zu-H Zu-H dorn nnd Storm bud their meet-H meet-H logs, always previously arranged by H tho carrier pigeons, about wlilcli Has-H Has-H sam Alt pretended to know nothing. H besides, he was busy with numerous clients who wanted to know about their biiHlncss Investments, their own HJ futures and Homebody else's past. HJ And be continued to build bis pyrn-HJ pyrn-HJ mlds of phantom gold. H The one mlstako he bad made was to H acquaint Zudora with the knowledge Hft of ber Immense fortune. HS The trustees had alwnys addressed HH their letters to blm, and It would have HH been an easy matter to have kept her HfJ In Ignorance, nut. evil as he was (P himself, he natl n profound respect for A Zudorn'a word. She had given it, and SgsW t',cre wn three J'fars' grace. jlflJ If In that period of time he could HHj not rid himself of that meddling nt- HH torncy he would tear down the black HH velvet curtains with his own bands HV and make a bonfire of them. HV Storm had urged Zudora n dozen HV times to marry lilm secretly, but she HI steadfastly refused to accede to his jHJ wishes. Hi Of what use to marry If they could HJ not have a home of their own? Ht Of what use to burden themselves H? with n secret which would Interfere Hj with their pursuits nnd hang threaten H lugly over their heads? More than that, she reasoned, ber .friends would nlwnys look askance nt her If.' ilftor same months. It beenmo known that she was innrrled nnd was not living openly with her husband. ' No; she bad given ber word, and she would not break It Bo John surren- SSigSPsjiBKgSgSgSgSgSgSBBMU's'tblr Zudora. tiered gracefully. But he was always feeling that mysterious cloud which bung lowering over em both. .Many a night whll. alone he tried to llguru out tho basic use for nussnni All's attitude 8otne uoy, when work casled up n bit, he determined to go back over Ilniisom All's past with all the searching Inquiry of a tlrst class There was something more than liiuit; physical intiigotilm He never ttmfesM-tl tills belief u Zltilnru. how It did. (Hit loij't tpltjrt t.ili in ttei to Ypin!rorfiouiu'aatTitQi ii.i.v. w nothing Duck of these donbts but In Btlnct Hut there wns no getting nronnd the plain fact Hint he feared Unssutu All-fen All-fen red til id for Zudora 's sake. One day Storm received n letter from his mother, and the contents tlrst tunu'ed. then nlnrmed him. UN par cnts were well to do country folk In the south. Their forbears had been southerners of wealth nnd position up to wartimes. I'lece by piece the line double Inherl tnnce had vanished, nnd at the time of John's birth they had sunk from nf-Cnence nf-Cnence to the ordinary comforts of life. There had been enough money to send the lad ,to college. f fit blm for bis own battle In life. n was a good son. writing home once a month and making holiday vis-Its vis-Its whenever there was opportunity. Often be had sent checks borne, but invariably these had been returned They did not need the money; they bud enough for their simple wants, and when they died all they had would be bis. His mother bad written tbnt nn alarming mystery bad confronted them, one that promised to decimate the negro servitors on the vnrloew farms and estates. And Just now, when all the crops were rlo, It meant- ruin for a great many whoso solo Income was derived from their crops. The negroes wero not dying; they were fleeing. This mystery was no Idle fancy, no Idle rumor. It whs a living fact, visible to the eye. She and ber husband had seen the thing themselves, nnd they were, normal minded people. Something must be done soon or there would not be a servant left In tho county. The hill bark of the Storm place wns haunted Night nf tcr night, against the side of the hill, there appeared the heroic skeleton of n human hand with n black spot In the center of the palm, ns If It bad beeu made by an enormous enor-mous bullet No one could get close to It In-variably In-variably It vanished nt the approach of any living being. This ghastly Hassam All and Jimmy Bolton. thing wnxed nnd waned, something after the manner of tho coal of a man's pipe. Of conrne It was plain trickery, but one could not Impress the excitable negro mtud with this fact, and, more than this, there vrere many white people peo-ple wbo were quite assured that this skeleton hand presaged Uo coming of the end of the world. Something must be done at once. Would her dear son come Immediately nnd see If be could put this mystery where It belonged? Uo wired back that ho would. Of course there Was no doubt In Ills mind that some one was playing n prnctlcal Joke of n grewsome sort, but he also realized that It might turn Into a serious nfTiilr If It was permitted to continue. IIo luughed at one moment nnd sworo nt tho next Why the perpetrn-tors perpetrn-tors of the Joke had selected tho hill back of tho Storm place set him think lB Cfepiy. IIo decided to go home nnd lay the ghost, as the saying goes IIo packed up, Rent n letter to Zudora and left town. When Zudora received tho letter she was greatly perturbed. It somed to her that what appeared as bit of coarse foolery might hnvo ns Its Imso something serious regarding the welfare wel-fare of her lovn aud his people Rather diffidently she sought Hassam All's ad vice. Her uncle shrugged. "Some country .bumpkin Is playing a Joke on the more simple minded. Uo nnd solve It If you wish, only you'll have your trouble for your pains." "Hut how do )ou nccount for the hand?" "Trickery, pure nnd simple; phosphorescence phos-phorescence mayhap The negro mind nt least the Miiitheni negro Is full or UmUs, l!(e his h.tlr. He will take Jt as a sign that the world Is coming to nn end." "Some negroes have already deserted. desert-ed. It looks to me something more tlinn an Idle Jest" Hassam All gave her n quick, shrewd glance. He wondered what wns going on In the girl's mind Had she nn suspicious? It was Inherent for her to speak the truth. "Hnvo you Intimated to Storm of tin-gold?" tin-gold?" he nskisl. "No." rnther scornfully "I have given my wont. Vou ought to know that 1 never brent It" "Hut often regret glvjng Jt?" "Perhaps." "Well, my ndvlce is. stay home There is no rennu why you should take any risks on account of Storm's people." "Vou said It wns probably a bump kin's Joke," "Yes. but the uegroes cannot be trusted In n enm when- their tmngtnn tion may get the better of their com mon sense Better watt until you bear from tnts foul of a lover of yours. M "1 am better aM to Judge John Storm thnd you." coldly. "lie Is not a fool." "Holty-totty! Hasn't Jt rver occurred to you that Storm in young, alone and built like mot young men?" 't.Vhat do you mean by that?" "Uns he told yon everything about his life before he met you?" "Will you kindly explain?" "Let him explain." said Hnssnm All nnd, having plnnted this barb of doubt turned on bis heel and, retired to bis 'leu, rather well sutisiled with himself. Hut Zudorn's love was like a shield. Tho barb bounded off harmlessly. John StTin was a clean man In thought aud In life. She had not passed through thlr peculiar schooling of hers without being able to re.id between the lines She rrns absolutely certain that love could ot blind ber to any defects lu John. All Hassam All accomplished by bis Innuendo wns to cnlnrge that smoldering suspicion which was ever In her heart A good many of us nro ncnrslgbted mentally. It Is ensler to Judge things in the distance than close at hand While the general world knew that Uassatn All wns u miser, Zudorn wns quite lgnornnt of the fact Had she definitely known of his Inordinate love of gold, her subsequent miseries might have been avoided to" some extent Storm went houth Immediately. The home wns Mmplo and comfortable There were two or three bits of nn tlque furniture which hud been saved from the wreck. It was night when he arrived. The country railway station had, with Its usual nondescript crowd of Idlers, witnessed his arrival, and tho news traveled quickly. Uo regret ted that ho had, not come secretly iitnl gone about Jits investigations uuoh tjcryc'd: vT5ut Ihu damage wast done anil "proved conclusively that ho nub not cue tint for n 'detective. He wns giected fondly by his par cuts, and they repeated with elabora tlons what hud been recounted to him In the letter. 'It Was downright serious, no Innghlng matter. Tho-hclp wero declaring de-claring that the mystic hand was the warning of the 'world's end. Not u few of tho poorer claba of white folk wero accepting tho hoax at u serious affair. -Some of the negroes were even going so far as to kneel down to tho baud (from a safe distance) and Intone prayers. "Uumpbr' muttered Storm. "I want a good look at this thing. And soeno one Is going to get n rattling good kicking before I go bnck'to town. Why the dickens should they pick out our hill for their tomfoolery?" "Knt her says It's because some one Has n grudge against the family," said his mother. "PHlIo!" "An Imaginary grievance." sho added. "Who could possibly have a grudgo ugulTfst you two. who have done everything every-thing to make life detently worth while to the help?" "You net or can tell," said old air. Storm, digging Into his pocket for his pipe'. "What time docs It generally op pear?" "Oh. any time between sundown nnd mlilnliJht" "All right. I'll talte n shotgun and go hunting for Mr Ghost this very night," Storm declared wrathfully. Hut he wasted his time. ..Also the utgtit following nothing came of his vigil. Tho third night he wus called to the door In time to see the hand (HrLer for ti moment and then vanish Ho rushed townrd tho hill, but found nothing. He began to grow very angry. He admitted, the little tltno he saw It. that It was grewsome enough. It wns eight or teu feet in height, with n shadow lu the palm like nn embedded embed-ded bullet Subconsciously he seemed to recognize something vfguely fnmll-iar fnmll-iar about the shape of the baud. He did not go Into the village, hut prowled n round In the vicinity where the hnnd appeared most frequently Thrro was no evidence of phosphor ebct-neu, no fuotpi lilts except tluu rondo by the ncgioes sbnie 'two or three hundred yards below the hlffT Jotin was puzzled nnd Irritated nt the same time This Joke wns being perpetrated per-petrated by some one who had brains Meanwhile the crops lay uugathcrcd and were beginning to rot In the Held Something must be done In n hurry, else he would be compelled to send to the city for emigrants, who would doubtless tike to their heels after the s.tme milliner us the liei.-ioes So he telegraphed for Zudorn. And Zudorn eame The Storm ramlly had henrd about her, you niaj be iisxuicd Hut until The 8keleton Hand Appeared on the Side of the Hill. she appeared In the flesh they had en tertnlned stuix doubts nhout this niece of h i ii nn whose business they held In supreme contempt They fell In love with fcer at onec. rather shamefacedly when op to that moment they had been quite positive that she hud laid a siren's trap for their tray Old man 8torm pondt-rtxl n pwid dent It dkl uot win (hikkUiU thnt this slender, slen-der, tmrjdxume. dark eyed girl was a detective. It (lid not tnntcn up with the titles he bad rend In tooks. She wns Just like any ottier girl, nothing mysterious whatever. "It's really serious. Zudora." snld John. "I've tried my hnnd nt detective work, but I haven't gained nn Inch. I admit that I am totally at sea. I'vo seen the thing once at u great distance, and I don't wonder thnt the untlves aro , hiking for other parts." "Have you any old tlmo enemies?" she nsked. "I come bark once or twice n year for n day or two. 1 beldotn go Into the village I've been In New Vork for nearly fourteen years nnd have quite , forgotten how the neighbors look j How the deuce could 1 have any one rales?" "1 mean your fnthcr. ne may have discharged some one who alms at hav Ing revenge." ahe suggested. "There hasn't been any one dlschnrg ed firm this place since 1 wns n kid. nnd you can tnke It from me that the chap who is playing this gntno has a brain better educated than the run of help hereabouts." "1 mu going to tnnko some Invcstlgn tlons. nnd you must let me go my own wny. No tagging after me when 1 want to go Into the village. Some one lu the village will know what Is going on. No one would come, from tho out . rlrfle to play n game like this." "All right If nny one can get to the bottom of this muddle It will bo yonri lovely self. Good luck, sweetheart!" Three or four days passed. Zudorn went about her work systematically One day she enme tiHin n bit of news , Unit startled her profoundly. It wns of such u character that she dared not Impart this news to John. He must be ' kept lu total Ignorance. The brain that had Instigated tills really criminal Joke was lu New York. It wns the tool of this uumlng brain she must bring to light and confusion. Her uncle! How the man, hated John, to play so despl cable n Jest upon ills people! The old suspicions returned, stronger thnn ever. She was growing a bit nfrald of tills uncle of hers; she was beginning to understand un-derstand tbnt flesh nnd blood did not always count Hut why? Why should he wish to barm John Storm? It was an unanswcrablo question. She realized real-ized that from now on sbs must be on her guard. Her uncle must never learn that she entertained tho least suspicion. sus-picion. Thnt night they nil nvelvcd n shock The hnnd Miildcuty appeared on the bide of tb house, and even us they ruslied out to look at It It slowly faded, Zudora thrw u quick, circling glance. as?, 0m The Old Man Accused Her, but John Intcrvonod. but there uns no spot of light In tho distance to ontlrm her suspicions tli.it a "niaclc liiutcin" win being fouled aitUj ngnJnst the side of the house. The rv" suit of this visitation was the final ex odtts of the help, with the exception o tho housemaid nnd the boy who did chores nhutit the house The matter had been fiillv etplnlned to these two None the less they were luid'j fright ened. When the spectral hand appeared tin next night old man Stu'iti scpcd lit-i lit-i shotgun and stalled mil with blood l'i J his ee The result f Ills r gi. mid i clteiuent uiihii hmll.t uteeraiid aim fm the housemaid. The old tii-m incused her. but John Intel chcd Tin1 pnorglr hntl only Ikm-ii curious to see how neat she could get to the specter She wits fortunate to hnc cxrnpcil with bet life. Ijiter John liesan to show prcoccti patlon, nnd when questioned by Zu dorn he admitted that there had been nn episode of his jotuigcr days that he had all but forgotten The dark spot In the palm of the hand had llimlh brought b.".ek the veene vividly "1 usrd to come home during college days to hunt a little There's quail and partridge galore In November I used to take young .llmmy llolton nlong to carry the game. He was onl a kid Well, to make a long Htiir.i short. I wns careless in bntidllng tin gun. nnd simie of the charge went Into Ilolton's hand The best thing we can do then. Is to locate him He wasn't nlwnys quite right In the upper story Hut how the dickens lie should come to think up such n tioax and spring It nfter nil these years gets me," Zudorn snld nothing. There wns nothing for her to xny "So we'll tnke n look Into Jimmy's at fairs." concluded John. nut Jimmy hud uot been seen by nny one for several weeks. The specter suddenly censed operations. A week passes), nnd both Storm and Zudorn concluded to return to town, but to return secretly the first time the hnnd mnde its nppenrnnco again. Oddly enough Storm nlso had vngue suspicious regarding the brain behind llolton. but. perhnps foolishly, he re trained from confiding to Zudorn. Hi hnd become reasonably sure thnt Hns-eam Hns-eam All was somewhere in the back ground. Jimmy llolton was incapable of perpetrating n hoax of this peculiar order without capital. At nny rnte lib was determined to put the matter bold ly to Ilassmn All. I Amed was net going to admit him nt , first Orders were orders. Hut when Storm declared that he would come back with a policeman Amed conclud ed to nccept the lesser of two evils Storm found himself In the fuuilllar drawing room. Zudorn seemed eeery I where In the arrangement of the llow . ers, tile pictures, the music rack. "Well, sir." said n cold volco from behind, "this Is an 'jonor forced upon E'nUm AN7ssrlgflaV Ha Suddenly Drew Back His Hand, but Storm Was Too Quick For Him. me. I hnvo forbidden you the hospital Ity of this house." "I am well nware of that," returned Storm, quite as coldly us Hnssnm All. "I hnvo not come for hospitality. What I demand to know Is, what the devil do you mean by setting u half wltted boy up to such a beastly game as that spectral hand?" Storm shook his list under Hassam All's nose All the fury against this young man bubbled up In Hiismiiii All's heart iinil Incautiously was permitted to oeer (low the brim lie wanted John Storm dead dead nt his feet. He sudileiii. drew back his hand, but Storm was too quick for hltn Atmsl. seeing hW master In danger, sclrcd a vase mid stole up behind Storm Hut fiom tier liuudolr above Zudnn had heard tho loud eolci's She heal In her hand only a book She Hung u with more accuracy than Is gem r.uu credited to the feminine arm. It let Amed squarely on the shoulder, niul the vase clattered to the Hour John Hung llnssam All from h'lti i faced Zlidoi , "I am suiry, dear, to trive a itinn u like this, but I lost my temper " "And erliiips I lost mine." said Has sum All. recognizing the need of ,i bit of diplomacy. "1 had forbidden him the house, Zudora He- puslud tils way lu wltli thie.its of police'." "You we're wrong. John." said Zu dorn, with no small diplomacy Uerx if "There Is nothing to present im Ing you when and where I will but this Is my uncle's notice. He has n if feet right to eleny you admittance if he so wishes." John swallowed hard. He was n expecting u rebuke from such a p tcr. Uo apologized iitttn mid ivft i i in ' '-- - U mTsSBBBBl house. Af Ins itpartliieiils u lelogmn- o flj awaited blm The spci tcr Nnd return I'jgaVJ ed, and the rnrtueis weie patiolllug the ;Hfl " ssMsssaaa1 'V B i9Bb1 j' S BSSlI i -' 'j&t M 'Hssl M "mmm j Wt $'1L$5 I 'ssssVJ (Hmmm Zudora Vas Suddenly Ora?ged In and Securely bound HHJ etiuiity with stiotguiiH. A nirrler pi flfll geon iie-quainti'd Zudora with the fact HHJ The tie-xt luornllig the two left for the- HHJ south Zudora nor John leferred to HHJ the row with Hassam AIL HHJ "U't me work alone The sight oi HHJ j on may scare away tblc boy," she HHJ HHJ "All right" he agreed, but with the H mental reservation that h would fob H low her nnd remain within call. HHJ Zudorn found Jimmy llolton nnd .Urn- H my Itotton found ner, ini'ch to her dls- H comfort nnd nl.irm Sho had gone rnr H opposite to where the specter nnnd H usunlly appeared, nnd ihe dlseovered HHJ In a window of n shek em the op HHJ poslte hill the- Cyclope'in ee she bail HHJ Hitherto hunted for Ip vain Wlthou HHJ the slightest hesitancy she -ought the. HHJ bliack, knocked Intrepidly and was suit HHJ tlenly dragged lu met bcciircly bound HHJ In the dim light she -ould see that Hoi HHJ ton was not uiitemcl'vd with insanity. HHJ Storm had proinNcil nut to follow. HHJ but bhe nevei went out at night with HHJ out his being somewhere near He too HH had seen the HuhIiIiiu eye A brlet HH tableau of Ziidura strugullu' in the HHJ doorway was enough lie w- ne.irlv Hfl ns mail as "U .1 tin m lloiioii. He Hfl used the fellow inugliie anil lett libe HHJ ehiiuste'd and thoiuiiglil eeiwed in u HHJ corner and then llbeinted Zudora. HHJ In the attic or the' h ick was a glan BH Btereoptlcon. eapahle of thiowlug i HHJ ceincentrate'd ni.e a thoiisauil Minis o HHJ more, l'he piaie projeeieil wa lealle Hfl nn X ray examine ot Heutoii li.imi H John threatenvd and cajoled and e-eci HHJ off ere I luoue) to Koltoit II he' wouil HHJ confers who unit eel ti l sis up to mi I HHJ trick lltlt .Illume refused to itlruit!- , HHJ Ills secret He leu its I the llne'iitn n 'H Uassam All rar inoie- than tile thieut HHJ his HHJ A week inter the I'rops were nelng HHJ liareesiid. and mini a and .lnim re- aH turned to the etn. rmil M-eicth wou- 3Hb deiliiL' wii.it llie in J.'. .irOeai uuuul lleilil I HHJ for Il TI IT (IMIMTII I tl |