Show sellme isdo c IM E c charl LOCK L 0 K wah aruthor of cc ine the sier blade ahe kub m etc gorvad js AC ca SYNOPSIS alph van vechten a young man isu aure re I 1 ss 0 o to see a man enter 0 se a hobia h use across the street from 0 powhatan club lone long unoccupied and of a as the th ito of mystery Uyi tery bevil beval groon a at regular interval intervals enter i 1312 3 van vechten expresses concern his friend tom regarding rc the tile hereabouts of nis nl cousin couran and fiancee life its carew A man I 1 Is forcibly elected ejected m the hou house van an vechten and tom low now the MR man n and rid find him dead in the reet va van n vechten N la Is attracted by the 00 e of a in the i rowil of onlooker onlookers ag the boj bod detect detective ve flint II 11 on van an Vech tei to 0 o ret get hia his version the tragedy trai dy tom phinney goes alo alone a is yachting ach tIng trip ie recognizes among me renon in a passing motor boat two tn n whom he h had ien seen enter the house IV M matery tory il he e ss one ot of them a mr III on Is hore ho r d later and role follow lows him in la Is aelred blindfolded and taken to a use A sweet voiced girl later protests pro ainest the roughness of his hi captor captors in vechten Voc liten call calls on hi his uncle theodore in vechten bin big man in wall wan treet street d known an a the I 1 man of iron 11 in reh of information regarding the lere erea abour boute of paige 1 carew detective int nt shown how van vechten a gold old mesh ra vve found in the houe house of mystery in n recognizes it as a belo an K to paige 1 row rew the the sweet iriri rl help elps tom anney escape A meare menace from lonn that two ladle ladies resembling la an carew carew and her comp companion anlo n mr Ms ve verea reaux ui tailed for new now tork some ir no previously it develop develops that the its 11 iii visited the english home horn of tom terni bonner owner of t the house of my mys y it la in recalled that temple B bonner onner i a in love with a daughter of compton hayls huyler who married max willard the per daughter married a man named evereaux bo bonner n berand and wallard Wll k lard were in ute tr Ir tenda londs A search la Is started for illard ilard van vechten enter enters the house matery My steve b by aune the back door in time timo to r joh john cahl s threaten a girl cirl lie in fere leres and help helps the firl girl but to I 1 livered unconscious in the struggle h tom phinney ireta gets a job jou mamer of brownlow yacht ich ha has I 1 ten chartered for acme anya lou ous mirton mission the ch artere r some max ac wit wll and hi his friend friends board the tb a yacht a e ht at ht and tom hear bears the yet voice a 9 oath of the e un wn girl arl van vechten recovering m injuries received in his hi fl ht with III lie I 1 is visited by b 7 jeacle willard wallard in om he h recognizes the gari who waa was the ie so of the fight he its de decla clars rw his hi love her she ten tells him that if his hi fee feelings feell lints nr ve io not changed chanced one week from that y she h will marry him BOOK III CHAPTER VIII continued he ja WM was not to be rallied however d the me mea waa was a long drawn out dr for him its brain waa was the battle ground of flicking doubts and misgivings that to A most irritating condition of ir clutton duteau on big hi part parl if it he be had been emed by any policy thai than far it been one on of passive 9 t matter master of the Koht nur hie his an began and ended with the dobli ona ons adherent thereto and le had her communicated to van i fact facts that had come to hta his knowli s nor had bad he e informed max wll wit that the police were desirous deil rou of ing ng him va ut now it waa was being forced force dupon upon that such a cound brownlowe Brown lowa and willards Wll larda a that everything waa was fair aud sud hea jle Is waa was only a shirking of at response reap onal ly y and that th time waa wa dilly wing near if it had not already ved red credwhen when he must make an laiva move one arts way or anomer la in meeting with flint hadi been lie to with reference thae that had bad ight hi his relegated re legat d misgivings ind in I 1 lewittes lex ittes to a position lon where they I 1 aided that rome some deposition disposition be 9 of them and the crowning cro ning dim rot straightway arose how waa was he 3 ao go a 1 max willard a fanatic planning stupendous tupen dou catastrophe with his explosive and holding the kohl such a box as a la to ud used as a con bainor for a coffin n for his ard were ate hie laughter daughter and per por another daughter or his wife no hit wife waa was dead at any thia his entire family and tom aa as in waa was lending himself to thy the it a crime was being projected where did delia della come into the f and who waa was ehe she anyway ime bad had come for him to know e 6 meant to get some sort of ex lion out ot of her willy diffly juat just ion an aa an in presented 14 i party returned the yacht and by and by tra began to fear be to talk to delta della I 1 not occur in troth truth bad had be been beez more discerning la in the persist ath which delia della kept jee ale wll will loe lose to her be he moat most bare have acius ua a definite purpose however about mid afternoon the two girls excused themselves and retired and tom was as enabled once more to contemplate the more aa as a vessel of which he wan was master and less an an art isolated corner 0 of arcady one of the first things he observed was the presence of a stranger for some rai minutes underneath his hit troubled meditations bad had stirred a vague un um easy sense that he was being watched and happening to look in a certain direction dir r on his glance encountered a man whom he be bad had not before seen he lie promptly walked up to the stranger and demanded to know what be he was doing on board winnard the second mate was a witness to the episode and he took it upon himself to explain hes iles all right sir air mr willard brought him aboard last lost night with the moral certainty that the newcomer bad had been watching him all afternoon tom went to his cabin j alone he took up again the burden I 1 of hie doubts and uncertainties should he be not warn willard that flint was dor close upon bis his trail traill what would willara think of the man of irons t rolls interference his position volition strongly trolls IT urged him to go 20 to the this char and lay the matter him then his vacillating will would take a pendulum swing to the other ex he ought to go to over to the claremont and phona flint where wll wit lard was to be found if the latter were really engaged in DO no dishonor able employment then no harm ham could come to him but then them if he was to be believed tom would thus thug be lending himself to the defeat of justice justies jul and right and so on round and round in a circle went his thoughts with no to hope of arriving at a solution sol atlon of the many difficulties if be he could only talk to delia alone tor for halt hall an hour perhaps she could help him but he did not see her bar spin that day friday arett evening las brought a change the male element of willards a party became animated by an unusual activity there waa was much going and coming between the and sad the lending landing and the girls retired before nine as it to be out of the way and then some somo time close to midnight max willard and two tie of bis his young men boarded the lat la tuch but now instead of going over to the claremont landing the little craft fluttered a aay downstream downe tream and was eoon soon lost in the night tom retired to his cabin but could not lot sifley he Us was oppress oppre ascA cil by a sense of anticipation a conviction cOnvict iOD that something was about to happen when he heard r the ahe launch returning after two in the morning he was curious enough to go to above to see if it anything would transpire to account for the secret midnight excursion willard came first up the ladder issuing aing low voiced directions to the two ion man then they came with considerable difficulty by reason of their unwieldy burden aa As well ag as tom could make out in the darkness in shape and size what they carried was just such a box as an ie Is used ae as a container for a coffin the three went quickly below with their ii and quiet regnal over the Kohl nur in point of at fact from that time on an until the final terrible hoar hour when de patr and horror laid their icy ley clutch upon tom heart ao an unnatural calm beamed seemed to prevail it waa was an if it the yacht and all on board were subdued by an apprehensive dread of Impe tiding tragedy and aad till still tom could oot not make up his hi mind a an to what hat he ought to do but tak intolerable high tension mental atress was ae in a measure relieved by two occurrence occurrences of saturday afternoon oon about three max willard in strutted ted him to a team steam at outset and be in during the night to drop down the river are we to clear tt aiki tom with conald emble eagerness eager new I dont know rely yova yet wll wil lard replied in a lifeless tone when the signal comee comes to get got under way it will come in a burr and from then on until we are well out at sea peed speed will be a matter of considerable importance you will know before morn mom iny ing everything la in in readiness atom tom advised him that is I 1 very gratifying th mag neffo eye eyes retted rested searchingly upon the skipper for a moment captain phloney willard asked after the pause do I 1 appear corn com posed I 1 returned lom in au r prise 1 I 1 hould nt hare have thought jtb erwine indeed are save for the buning bril hance of his eyes max willards Wll lard mien wae was if it anything dja and fA well then he ald it will ill be 40 floist to makhou make you believe that no man ever labored under a greater cental mental and nervous strain train than I 1 do at this moment god leip us aul with which cryptic and disquieting utterance he abruptly walked away toa tom had not at eared pondering ponder lag the incident when delia de approached she met him with a charming 0 f v M friendly smile which aich in his estimation full compensated for all his hours of loneliness lonell nees and her first words made him forget his cares captain phinney she began do you know kno it Is downright selfish of you not to grant me at least a peep at that cozy room up forward whre wh re you spend so much of your time the chart housell he exclaimed by you can have it for a boudoir it you want tt it come on once ludde In Bide tom instantly lecog mixed what no doubt bad had been in the girl girls a mind from the beginning that while they might talk with absolute assurance against being overheard the numerous nume rou ports rendered them risible visible to adv of the men forward who cared to look that way and those of the watch who had occasion occa alon to pass on one side or the other ob oh bow how comfy I 1 she exclaimed in a low voice as an soon moon as an they had entered if I 1 was the Koht Kohin nurs urs skipper you would always find me right here and III spend a food part of my time here once were out at sea tom responded and I 1 hope want to find me often but it youre wax by these comfortable quarters that my jobs q a sinecure why you you have another guess coming comin gr she finished for him he nodded dejectedly mistaken Ul staken was wits what I 1 was trying to think of though then with an abrupt change of manner and tone tons he went on delia no doubt yuu hare have noticed the past two or three daya days that I 1 bare have been aa as worried ae the dickens it Is bad enough to have charge of this boat and know that something secret Is going on without having an inkling inklin 9 of what that secret Is a fellow Is 1 bound to make all sorts of conjectures and be suspicious auspicious of willard Wll lard you know the certainty that you be mixed up with anything crooked ta Is the one thing made me rather ashamed of my own suspicions I 1 but I 1 have readous aside asme from all atla for being worried reasons you rj the slightest idea of that make my position about as an de del illah a one as a fellow ever got into until this week I 1 never knew I 1 had any nerves now im nearly a wreck perhaps said the girl slowly 11 1 I know more about the real came cause of your perturbation thai you suspect no returned tom confidently you remember the chum I 1 told you about whose whoso cousin disappeared well some way involved in whatever it Is old willard a plotting the matter mattert his hearer bearer bad uttered a little cry and was now looking at him with a shocked and puzzled expression how in the world she demanded did you reach such a conclusion T 1 1 I truthfully explained tom but a detective and ruddy my chum did because the missing girls purse was found in th that t old house where willard hung ON out it 0 do o long there was a silent allent pause while the girl seemed to consider nd tom watched her bey earnestly nar nestly and fondly at last the fine had hati hat I eyes met his with a sober look what is in it you want to know knowl she gravely asked delia della toms voice lowered perceptibly und a serious note crept into itsou you ought to know you ought to see chero my chief interest lies ilea it alit I 1 wish I 1 could express better but if it you cant see 0 my first concern Is for you a its it going to be dashed bard hard for me to ex plain captain phinney returned the girl after a moment I 1 I 1 bought sought this inter view deliberately I 1 anted to tell you that I 1 have seen just how harassed with anxiety you have been and that I 1 have a deep appreciation of our fidel ity fly to a project about which yiu know to little and which at best ou fear Is irregular dishonest perhaps but please god by this time tomorrow all cause for orry will have been removed and if it my word bear bears any you have nothing to cause you any concern or misgivings that tom tam interjected re the last doubt youre a brickl out but she was not through ehe tile continued haltingly now and with slowly heightening color 1 I am telling you these things because it Is to not right that my influence ludu ence should govern you as it seemed to be doing and you ignorant of my very identity in this alen the girl was so to utter ably sweet and charming that tom could scarcely contain himself he ile darted a scowling look it at the ports at which her color all at bince dee 44 still more and she dropped her daxe with a nervous little laugh it was just that easy to follow bis his train of thought something soon remedied be he urged her bar eagerly and now the beautiful face took oo 00 a expression the lashes drooped and she regarded him equils captain hiney even the tiniest suspicion entered your head at as to who I 1 am she asked why should there he returned and why Is it captain phoney ili today night before last I 1 was tom easy enough ellOu gIL well then tom I 1 bare have no especial reluctance to calling you toa tom I 1 have known you for years he stared at her tn in openmouthed open mouthed astonishment and she watched him smiling mocking altogether bewitch ing gradually tom recovered himself COO a now he protested 1 I eliy illy thought you were in to earnest of a sudden she dropped upon a locker teat seat and motioned him to do likewise slowly and da sedly he h oba 17 litigen Li she pursued 1 I know a girl who has lived nearly all her life abroad she has a man cousin of whom she sho has always been awfully fond whom as a very young girl lf L looked up to and nd regarded as quit ehe personification of wisdom lom and every manly virtue f now that cousin had bad a chum of whom he thought so much that he be nev liar or r tired of singing bis big praises to the girl g I 1 rl cousin I 1 n bb she was fourteen years old I 1 believe and very impression able anyway sh sho became so interest ed in her cou cousins bins 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