Show 0 BY AM bund 42 U M ain hy edwin 9 balmer copyright by little lbrown ant and company AN ACCIDENT gabriel warden seattle capitalist tells tella his bis butler butlar he la in expecting a caller calle to be b admitted without question lie he informs hit him wife of 0 danker danger th that at threatens him blin if he ha pursues a R course ho he considers cons the only honorable ono one warden leaves leavea the house in hla his car anil and meets a man whom he takes into the he machino machine when the car returns home warden in I 1 found doad dead murdered and alone the caller a young n man tin has haa bem at wardens warden house home b but ut leaves unobserved bob C con on nory nary conductor receives orders to hold train for or A party five men and a girl board the train tin the eastern express tho the fattier father ot of the girl mr hir dorne Is in the person tor for whom the train was held philip D union eaton a young man also alfo boarded tile the train dorne tells life hla daughter and ills hla secretary don avery to find out what they can concerning him the two make batons acquaintance dorne dorna Is II 11 found nearly dead froni from a murderous assault as ns sault ault A surgeon burgeon operates oper alaa dorne dome la Is revealed BB as basil san ban blind and a power in the fat world as aa the adviser of big In teresta eaton la in suspected bad d questioned lie he refuses refuges information about himself and admits he ha wan wag the caller at wardens house eaton pleads with harriet rantoine Bint olna to withhold judgment telling her he la Is in serious ser loui danger dai isor though innocent of 0 the th crime against her fattier father ile he feels the girl believes him Sant olne cf s to question quent lon eaton baton who refuses hla his identity the financier requires eaton to accompany him to the Sant olne home as a semi prisoner eaton baton meets a resident of the house wallice blatchford find and Mil mildred dreI ravis a stenographer with whom lie ha la in acquainted quain quat ted though they conceal the fact Ita tona tons mission la Is to secure certain documents which are vital to hta his interests CHAPTER XI continued fl 0 katon eaton drew further back into the alcove na as some one ne pasted through tho liall hall above tho the footsteps ceased overhead enton assured no one wits waa coming down tile stairs spoke sw swiftly to tell tier her as much na its lie might inight in their moment llo Sau San tolue taken ill ou on the train idith lie he was attacked attacked Attack edt t iler her lips burely moved ile he was waa killed but they conc conceals ealM it edith pretended lio lie was ony only 1 I was on tho train you know of course I 1 got your win and they suspected roo me of the attack you but they ond find out abut you II 11 ugh v no a they are investigating san tolne colne would not let them thein anything public lie ile brought me here while lie ho Is trying to find out about nie me so im hore here edith herel beret Is it biere bere iere too again steps sounded lu in the lie halt hall above tho the girl busied herself with gloves and hat raton stood blood tark stark in suspense tile alie servant above it 41 was a servant they had heard Tie before fore lie he recognized now merely crossed from one room to another overhead now the girls lips moved again it slie she formed the question noiselessly the drat dra t of the new ng agreement rement it either has ban been sent bent to him or ar it will be sent to ulin him very soon liere here where will it be when it ts Is hero here where oh oft I 1 tho the girls eye 4 went to the wall close to where haton estton tood stood she seemed to measure with thein a definite distance from the door and a point shoulder high and to I 1 resist the impulse to conic come over and put her hand upon the spot As katon followed her look lie heard a slight alight end and click as it if from the study but no cound could rench reach thein through the study doors and what he heard came from the wall itself A safe gate he whispered yes yea miss San toltie in there lant she bhe closed it just juat now there are two of thein hidden behind tile the books one on each side of the he door eaton topped tapped gently on the wall wail the wall was brick the safe edly was backed with steel the best way Is in from inside the toom lie he concluded she filie nodded yes yea if you look out I 1 someone now waa coming down the girl had time only to whisper swiftly it we ve dont get a hance chance to speak again watch that vate vase she pointed to a bronze antique which stood on a table near abent wien via rm sure the agreement la Is in tho the house ill drop a glove but ton in that a black one if I 1 think ile be in the on the right white on tile tho left now pr go eaton moved quietly on and into tho drawing room averys voltie volie immediately sued lately afterward was heard he was speaking to miss davis whom lie he had found to in the hallway eaton was certain thero wes no suspicion that itie die bad talked with her there indeed very avery seemed tu u suppose that eaton as still in the study with fl arrIet antohne ant olne it was her lapse then aich had let him film out and had given ulm that chance dut but it was n lapse he ahe discovered which was not likely to favor hirn spin from that ahat time while never held beld strictly in restraint he found himself always in the sight eight lt lot someone Bot neona Ha baton let himself think idly about harriet how strange tier her life had been that part of it tit at least which was spent as he had gathered most of her waking hours of recent years had been spent with tier her fattier father strange almost as hla his own and what a wonderful girl it had tin aride of her clevea sweet lovable with more than a womans comans ordinary capacity for devotion and self sacrifice a dut but if tier her service to tier father was not only on ills his personal side hut if also she was intimate in his business affairs must she not therefore have shared tile tho cruel code which had terrorized eaton for the last four years yearn and kept him an exile la asia and which at uny any hour yet threatened to take his life A grim set came to batons lips his mind went again to his fits own affairs 11 CHAPTER XII 11 th man from the train in the supposition that lie he was to have less lesi liberty eaton proved correct harriet Sant olne to whose whoa lm impulses had been due hla his first privileges showed toward him film a more constrained attitude the following morning she lid did not suggest hostility as aa avory A very i constantly did nor indeed was vaa there any evidence of retrogression lit in tier her attitude toward him sho blip seemed merely to ba maintaining till same position and since tills if they were often together she avoided him hnton understood that Sant olne sten steadily filly improving but not yet ablo able to leave his bed fill had taken up tip ills hla work again propped up by pillows one of the nurses had been dismissed the other was only upon day duty but katon enton lid did not see Sant olne at all and though tie lie learned that silas davis or another stenographer whose nanie name was west came dally daily to tho the house he never wits was lit in a position again to encounter tiny outsider either cither coming or going there was no longer room for E haton it to doubt that harriet had the confidence of her fattier father to almost a coin complete extent now that Sant olne was ill slie site worked with litin him dally daily for hours and enton eaton learned that she did the same when lie he was well hut but avery worked with tile tha blind man inan too he too was certainly in a confidential capacity was it not probable then that avery and not harriet was entrusted with the secrets of dangerous and ugly matters or was it possible that this girl worshiping tier her father as slie site did could know and he be sure that because tier her father approved these matters they were right A hundred times a duy as eaton saw or spoke with the girl or thought of tier her presence near by this obsessed him film A score of times during their casual talk upon meeting at meets meals or elsewhere he found himself turned toward some question which would old aid him in determining what must bo the fact but each time tic ho checked himself until one roo nang it was the fifth after his arrival a at t san 5 tin house harriet was taking him for his walk in the garden before the ii house ouse she had lust just told him at hla fits inquiry that her fattier father wits was very much stronger that morning anti anil tier her manner mow more than ever evidenced her pride in him they walked on slowly 1 I wish you could tell roe me more about yourself sir mr haton eaton 1 I wish so too lie he said sald then why hh can you not slie she turned to him film frankly he gazed tit nt her a moment and then looked away and shook life his head did she know khow all of what was known even under her fathers roof anil and if sho she knew all would she aha then loathe or defend it A motor sped near halted and then speeded on again eaton lookin looking 9 up tip saw it was a runabout with mery aery stone in it evidently seeing them in the cad foad a avery aery hart tin halted to protest then thought better of it and gone on rut but other motors passed now with people who spoke to ilar harriet and who stopped to inquire for her fattier father and wish him well your father does docs not sm seem to ile be one of the great men without honor bonor in his fits own neighborhood kuton eaton said to her after one of these had hulled and gone on everyone who I 1 nowa father likes anti and admires mint him I 1 she rejoiced 1 I 1 dont mean exactly that r caton titon went on must trust him too in tin an extraordinary way ills ilia associates must place most complete confidence in him film when they leave to him the adjustment of matters such is I 1 understand they do da lie ile tells telli them a what la Is just and they abide by ills his der decision islon 11 harriet arriet shook her head wo no it autte that she said what then you are correct in saying that men of tho most mort opposite sorts find and most to each other constantly place their fate in fathers hand and when wian he tells them thein what they roust must do they abide by ills decision but he decide for them what i just 1 I dont understand stand what does he tell them then lie ile tells them what ahat would ie be the outcome it if they fought who would win and who would lose and by how flow much and they bellave him and abide by his fits decision without fighting for he knows and they know that lie ho knows and la Is absolutely honest eaton was silent for or a 0 moment as they walked along how flow can he come to ills his decision he ha ask asked ed at dinst flow 7 1 I mean much of the material presented to him must be documentary much bluch of it Is then someone meone fco must read tt it to him film of course eaton started to speak then refrained fra ined tined what want were you going to say she questioned that the person or persons who rends reads the documents to him must occupy an extremely delicate position ile he does docs in fact I 1 think that po 10 Is rat Fat liers tiers one nightmare nightmare the person lie he trusts must not only ile be absolutely discreet but absolutely sol li honest onest 1 I should think so if anyone in that position wanted to use the in formation brought to your our fattier father lie he could ninke make himself millions overnight undoubtedly und and ruin other nien men 11 and kill father too the girl added quietly yes she said as E caton aton looked at her rather puts nothing above aboe ills trust trust wore were betrayed whether or not father wuie ere in tiny any way to blame for it I 1 think it would kill him film so you ou are the ono one who Is iq in that posit position lom yes that lint Is I 1 have been you wean there la Is another now eliat Is of course couise mr air A avery very yest yes here at tills house mr air avery and 1 I and mr air avery tit at the office before mr air avery came I 1 wits tile alip only one who helped hero here at the house whon was that when sir mr avery aery came caine about five years ago li Lither lind had tin an immense amount of work tit at that time business conditions were very muni fill A T every one who knows know father likes and admires himl she rejoiced unsettled there wits trouble at that time between some of the MR big eastern and big western men and at the earns came time lime tie the government was prosecuting prosecute 11 g tile the trusts nobody knew what tile the outcome of it nil all would be many of the biggest men who consulted futher were like men groping in the lark dark I 1 dont suppose you would her tile time by what I 1 say hut but you ion would remember it as nearly everybody else does docs fly by this it haq r the time of the murder of mr latron yes I 1 remember that said katon anti mr air avery carne came to you ou tit at that time yes just nt at that time I 1 wits thrown froni from my horse and could ni nn to do as much as aa I 1 had been doltie doln so sir mr avery was sent to I aar then mr avery was reading tn tit him film tit at the time you spoke of time of the latron murder no sir air avery nine came just I 1 was reading to alia aitu nt at that time lime the papers must lieve ben a good deall deal for a girl of eighteen at that time you mean they the w were ere but rather father dared truba no otte osie else mr avery handles those matters now for your father the continuation of what was go ing on then yes lie fie too thern them up at the time thue I 1 was hurt and so has kept on Im looking kIng after them thein for has been plenty for roe to do without that and those things have all ben been more or less settled now tit they have tin worked themselves out as things do d though they seemed almost unsolvable at the time one thing that helped in their solution was that father wi aide able that time lime to urge what w waa s just as well ell as ae what hat was adv ad viable hable you mean that in the final settle ment of them no one milT cred no one I 1 think except of courso coume poor mr latron and that was waa a vate ate matter not connected in any ill 11 way with the quest question lun at laue why do you ask ak all this mr matts r 1 I was wa merely interested in you in what hat your work hi has been alth your fw father her and what it Is he be answered quietly they tied had been following the edge ede of the road she along alone a path worn in the turf be on the edge of the road itself and nearer to the of tho the motors suddenly she cried out find and clutched at him As A they had stopped she had find heard beard the sound of a motor approaching them rapidly from behind except that this car seemed speeding g faster than the others stia she liuch ad paid no attention and had not turned instantaneously as ai she had cried and pulled upon him she had realized that this thin car was not passing it was directly behind and almost upon him she felt him spring to tile tha side ns as quickly as he could but tier her cry and pull upon litin him were almost too late us as he leaped the car struck tin blow was glancing not direct and lie ha was oft off his feet and in motion when the wheel struck but the car hurled him aside and rolled him over and over As she rushed to bentlin the two men lit in the rear seat of the car turned their heads and looked hack back but without checking its ita speed or swerving the car dashed on and disappeared app oared flown down the roadway she bent over haton eaton all and took hold of him ile he struggled to till feet and dazed ila eil tottered so go that she supported him As she realized that he not greatly hurt burt slie she stared with hor at tile the turn in the road whore the tha car hud bud disappeared why lie he tried to run you down I 1 he fie meant tot to I 1 lie ile tried to hurt youl |