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Show W (sccirleI'R Dramatized and Produced by the Vitagraph Company From the Popular Novel of the same name by C. N. and A. M. Williamson Everything You Read Here Today You Can See This Week At Leading Motion Picture Theatres in Vivid Motion Pictures with MR. EARLE WILLIAMS as CHRISTOPHER RACE MISS LOUISZITA VALENTINE as MARGARET PLANTAGENET Next Week Another Story and New Pictures Copyright. 1916. by tho Star Company. All Foreign Rights resorved. ( I! PTBR X. THE LOST GIRL. CHRISTOPHER was scorching. He had engaged en-gaged to do an Impossible thing, or impossible im-possible with a cor less sympathetic than Scarlet Runner, but he believed that he was going to do it. i He had had a tingling rush down a long, straight stretch of road when, slowing as littlo as might bo for a turning, ho shot through a wooded common and ran upon something interesting. Mechanically he came to a stop, bo suddenly sud-denly that Scarlet Runner her armour off for "speed waltzed In yesterday's mud, and put her bonnet where her driving-wheels should have been Abovo her head and Christopher's a charming charm-ing balloon was poised, its anchor attaching it to earth In an adjacent Held, while leaning over the edgo of Its basket-car, at a height of thirty feet In air. a young man drank a cup of tea and looked down upon tnc approaching ap-proaching mtor. 'Halloa!'' said he in the sky. "Halloa"' replied he on the earth. "That's what you call side-slip, isn't it?" "Or Ms first cousin." grumbled Christopher, angry with himself and ruffled with tho Stranger. "Side-slip's something we never got, said the young man in tho balloon, watching the motorist right his car- "Or tire troublo; or " "We don't have to say our prayers every time we want to stop,' said Christopher. "Good-bye. Hope you'll get somewhere." "I'm in no hurry to get anywhere." answered the other. "I'm out for fun; aren't you T' "No; for business. Good-bye again." "Don't go," urged tho balloonist. "Nice red assassin you've got only a bit old-fashioned." old-fashioned." , , , "Old-fashioned!" echoed Christopher. "Why. she's the latest thing out. She's" "Excuse me, I only meant old-fashioned In comparison with my Little Stranger. An automobile's the vehicle of yesterday, a balloon bal-loon the carriage of to-morrow." "Well, they'll both bo out of date the day after. " said Christopher, and smiled, for. after I all. there was something engaging about the young man in the sky. i "I don't know where you want to go. but J I bet I could get you thcro quicker than you can get yourself" ' " What1 Could you go from London to Torquay Tor-quay in seven hours? That's what I'm try- 10 "Shouldn't have to try. Shall I take your' "Car and all'" "Come. I'm serious. Put your red crab up at the village, which I can see not far off, though in vour worm-like position on earth you can't "get a glimpse of it. Shouldn't wonder If there's a garage of sorts." There was a microbe In Christopher Raco's blood which went mad when It came In contact con-tact with the microbe of suggested adventure. adven-ture. His errand from London to Torquay was an errand of business, as he had hinted; and though he had "personally conducted" two short tours and made a littlo money since he had set up as a gentleman chauffeur, he could not afford to miss any promising chance. An advertisement of his had been answered yesterday by a Mr Flnnlngton Brown, of Flnnington Hall, near Torquay. Inviting him to bring his car on a visit of inspection and be engaged for a month's trip if satisfactory. It would surprise Mr. Flnnington Brown If the advertising chauffeur dropped in on him In a balloon, say an hour earlier than expected in a motor-car. and explained that that but bother explanations! say that. VWIIlfc bU UUIUHOIVII , - Runner would appear later. "I accept with pleasure your kind invitation invita-tion for lea and a canter." Christopher said aloud "Will you call for me or do I call for you?" "We'll make a rendezvous." replied the other, "a little lower down or what you're still accustomed to considering 'down.' When you've put up your crawler, you might Just bring along an able-bodied yokel or two to help unhitch me from the stars, eh? I don't want to let myself down, a3 I can't spare gas." The news of the "free show" provided for the neighborhood spread mysteriously, and by the time Christopher and his attendants were out of tho village half the able-bodied Inhabitants were at their heels 'A growing crowd watched the slow hauling down of the balloon, and listened, open-mouthed, to the Instructions delivered by the aeronaut. As ffcr him, despite the surging audience, he was as calm as the weather, which. In the lull after storm, enabled his directions to be cbeved without hitch His basket-car touched earth, light as a swallow dropping from , flight. Each of Christopher's assistants got half a crown for the work he would have been enchanted to do for nothing, and while all three village youths clung grinning to the basket's edge the invited guest climbed over it into a1 luxurious nest stored with rugs, books, maps, food, a tea-basket, and a few bottles of wine. "When I say "Let go!' do it all together." ordered the balloon's owner, as he pulled in his anchor and deftly festooned tho rope round the car. "Anyone who hangs on may get translated to another sphere. Farewell for ever. Now let go'." And they did let go with scared precision. "Let's bo happy as birds, telling each other our names and Impressions of things in general gen-eral I'm Paul Western " "I might have guessed that.'" cut in Christopher. Chris-topher. "You're the Western, of course winner of tho big balloon race last week. Delighted to meet you. As for me, the only race I have to my credit is my name Christopher Chris-topher Race 'Ace' they used to call me at my college. Would it had been tho Ace of Diamonds S" "I suppose Ace of Hearts would have lulted tho case better?" "Never was In love In my life." said Christopher. Chris-topher. "Though one has fancies, of course" "We're bobbing about," said Western, "but I'll run her up higher, and see if wo can't catch that breeze." He began emptying sand out of a bag; but so far as Christopher could tell, nothing happened except thac tho mountain-range same out of sight and others, even wilder, ramo into view. Also, the air seemed fresher though not intensely cold. The sun had 6t behind leaden clouds. Already, Al-ready, as on sayo across tho Channel, It 1 I in I 1 made night; and far below thoy saw clustering cluster-ing lights, shining liko Jewels on purple velvet cushions. Though they could feel no wind, as they bent over the edge of tho basket the lights In the world beneath appeared ap-peared to float rapidly past, as If borne by an enrushing tide. Sometimes they were hidden by black rags of cloud; but at last these rags wore fringed with gleaming silver. The moon was coming up. clear and full, and, as if in obedience to her command, the wind was still; tho lights In the purplo depths no longer moved on a dark tide, but a river of Silver swallowed up the yellow sparks and flooded the purple valleys. "OoodL" said Western. "Now we can descend. de-scend. We shall have an Illumination for our landing, and though wo're coming down Into a mist a sea mist, I should Judge by the salt tang of It It's so thin that we shall know whether we're dropping on earth or water." "Have you any Idea where we are?" asked Christopher, who had long ago abandoned hope of Torquay or Its neighborhood if he had ever really had any but, like a true sportsman, was revelling In tho adventure. "Might be Hampshire," suggested Western vaguely. "Or well, might bo anywhere r.ear tho coast. It's hard to say to thirty miles or so. the way we have been racing." Ho had pulled the valve-cord and they steadily descended. Now they swam In a sea of creamy mist, laced with the moon's Ellver. They knew that they must be near earth, but the gleaming sea-fog shrouded all detail. de-tail. Suddenly, however, they became conscious con-scious of a luminous gilding of tho mist close to tho falling balloon-, and at the same Instant the car bumped and swayed, hounding hound-ing like sorro wild creature oaughj by the foot In a trap. There was a swishing of foliage or pine-needles, and a crackling of small branches. They were entangled In a tree. "Why. we're close to a house." he said to Western, whoso back was turned towards him as he worked. By this time Western had stopped chopping chop-ping branches to glance over his shoulder "P.y Jove, wo are close!" he exclaimed. "I can touch the stone lodge. Just round the corner of tho house wall," said Christopher. Chris-topher. "It's wet there's a pool of " "Water" was the xvord on his tongue; but, as he pulled back his hand and looked at It In tho yellow haze of lamplight which mingled with tho moon's rays, he drew In his breath quickly. "What's the matter?" asked Western "Look!" Christopher answered. In an odd voice, holding out his hand. Fingers and palm were dyed red, a wet red that glistened. glis-tened. Their lively tones were hushed now. Involuntarily In-voluntarily they whispered "Pooh! I know what you mean, but It can't be, A window-sill. Why should such things don't happen." "All the same, I'm going to hang out from tho car and try to twist round the corner far enough to see " "Wait till I hang on to you. or you'll get a tumble." Christopher leaned out, with one knee on tho edge of the trapped car. one hand plunged into and grasping the thick-stemmed Ivy Hanging thuB. he could seo the window whence came the light; and as he looked peering through the mist, a slight breeze-sprang breeze-sprang up and blew a fold of tho white veil away. Ho could see round the corner and Into the lighted window, but only a faint Impression of what he saw there remained with him a vaguo picture of an old-fashioned, oak-panelled room, with a great many books, and a long mirror opposite the window, win-dow, for it was something In the window Itself which caught and held hi3 gaze. He saw it, and saw it repeated In the mirror, or, rather, saw there what ho could see In no other way. A man's body hung over the wlndow-slll. Inert and lifeless. He had fallen backward and lay half out. his head and shoulders protruding pro-truding over tho stone ledge which Christopher Chris-topher had touched, the face upturned and white In tho mingling light of lamp and moon. There was a red stain on the forehead, and the hair, which was dark and long, clung wet and matted over tho brows. Tho lips were twisted into a terrible, three-cornered smile, and Christopher started back from It with a cry. "What did you see?" asked Western Christopher told him. "For Heaven's sake, let's get out of this." Western stammered. As he exclaimed, something moved near by and a figure which had been hiding among the battlements sprang up and ran towards the swaying balloon. Highly wrought as they were, at first tho two young men were struck with horror, as if beholding a spirit; but as the clear moonlight moon-light fell upon the form, common sense came back, and they knew that this was no ghostly vision. A girl in a white dress wns hurrying along the (lat roof, her arms outstretched In a. detaining gesture. "Save me!" she faltered, fal-tered, her voice broken by fear or pain. Whether or no It was partly the effect of tho moonlight, tho girl seemed to Christopher Chris-topher and Western the most beautiful creature crea-ture they had ever seen. She had hair which tho moon burnished to copper, and it fell in two long, thick ropes or braids over slim shoulders and young bosom. The white radiance which had pierced tho blowing mist shone Into her eyes, making them large and dark, and wonderful as wells that mirror stars in black depths "Oh, sae me take me with you whoever you are wherever you go anywhere away from this awful house'" she begged of the strangers, as she came flying across the dark, flat expanse behind the battlements Anel eagerly Christopher Race and Paul We.sicrn put out their arms to reach and draw her Into the car. But fate came between them and tho girl. A new pufT of wind caught tho balloon again, bumping tho basket ngalnst tho battlements! fo that both men staggered and foil upon their knees So great and so sudden was the strain that tho branch which for a moment mo-ment had arrested them fcroke with a sharp snap, and the balloon, already lightened of ballast, was whirled away like a soap-bubble before they had time to spenk In a second tho white girl and tho dark battlements had been swept out of sight. Wcatern Jtot to his iect and Moiled tho vaive.- cord. hut Christopher, still on his knees, cried out a warning Stop!" "Listen." h said, "what s that sound?' Western paused with his hand on tho cord, his ears alert. The hnlloon wns in a boiling surf of snowy 'loud, lit by tho moon. They could see nothing noth-ing save this glittering froth, but there was a sound louder and more ominous than tho harp-like sinking of the cordage. From below be-low . ;mie at short, regular Intervals a deep, reverberating boom. In his excitement Western had not heard. until Christopher compelled his attention "The sea!" he exclaimed. "We're over the cea." "Another moment and we should have been In It." added Christopher "Then that heuse must stand close to the shore," Western said. "We're being blown out to sea, aren't we?" finished Christopher. "I'm afraid wo are." tho other admitted. "Great Scot! I wouldn't havo had this happen hap-pen for anything" "Is It ho dangerous?" 'Hang danger! I wasn't thinking of my-aolf my-aolf or you either. I was thinking of the girl that beautiful that dlvino girl. Wo'vo lost her deserted her, left her abandoned do you understand? Wo can't get back to hor. We don't know where she is. We can nover find her again " "Wo must," saifl Christopher. "She begged beg-ged us to save her. From what, I wonder' What had happened? What was she afraid would still happen? What can bo tho secret of that terrible house7" Western tilted out another bag of sand The clouds fell frm under them aft they shot up Into more rarefied air. "Tho best thing we can hopo for now, I suppose." he went on, "Is to get to France, and then back again, to find her ami the house, or to spend all we have and aro in trying to do it. If we're to make this passage without shipwreck, ship-wreck, wo must travel high." They were racing over a sea of steel which they could see sometimes through a great hole In a torn carpet of cloud. Western did not say anything to discourage his guest; but, though Christopher was a novice, he had heard ballooning men talk slnco the sport came Into fashion, and he knew that the English Eng-lish Channel was wide, that they might never seo tho other side, because the balloon might not havo buoyancy enough to carry her passengers pas-sengers across. So tho night went on, and as the balloon held her own the arlvonturo would have begun be-gun to seem commonplace, bad It not been for the dark picture of the tragic house by the sea. There was nothing to do but to eat when they were hungry, to throw out ballast when tho Little Stranger showed signs of faltering, to light their lamps and consult the compass or the anemometer. After midnight the gale grew weary. They still hung over the sea. but far away shone a lamp liko a fallen star. It was a lighthouse, f Western said; and, though they lost tho welcome wel-come gleam, it was not long after when they heard once more the thunderous booming of surf. "Land!"' shouted Western. "She's brought us safely across, after all. P.elow lies France Normandy, perhaps. Now's our chance, and we must take it or fare worse." He pulled the valve-cord and they fell, thrilled with the wild Joy of danger and uncertainty as they peered over the edge of were a group of farm buildings, with a largo their frail car Into tho gulf of moonlight and shadow. The earth flew up at them, and not far off were a group of farm buildings, with a large pond beyond. Delay of a moment might moan disaster, for here was the place to alight not on those pointed gables or In the shining shin-ing sheet of water. Western opened wide tho valve, tho car came quietly to earth, and before she could bump or drag he tugged the red ripping-cord- and tore the Little Stranger Stran-ger from foot to crown. Tho gas gushed out, and folds of silk enveloped the two young men as the balloon lost shape and collapsed col-lapsed "Let her lie as sho Is," said Western coolly, cool-ly, as he scrambled out and extricated his companion "Our business is to get back to that girl " A square of light flashed yellow in a dark wall, and a voice hailed them In French. Both young men could speak the language, Race better than Western, and between them they explained that they were not burglars but balloonlsts: that they had crossed the M.anche, anel had found a resting-place op. the land of monsieur, of whom thoy begged assistance. Could he give them a cart to the nearest railway-station? If ho could, thoy would give him money, much money, in return re-turn In five minutes more the mayor and the mayor's sons were all out of tho house, and some went to gaze curiously at the deflated balloon, while others helped their father get ready the white-covered cart Succor and protection for the Little Stranger Stran-ger were promised and tho Englishmen were Informed that they had alighted within twelve kilometres of Havre. Thoy dashed on to the quay as the last whistle blew for the departure of the night boat, and Hung themselves across tho gangway Just as it was being hauled ashore. The journey bark to England across a turbulent and noisy sea was a vulgar experience experi-ence compared to their flight with the wind among the stars. But an neither felt in tho mood for rest, it gave them time to discuss detal'.s of their premeditated quest. It was eight In tho morning when they touched English soil, and their first thought was to buy a newspaper, of which they scarcely let a paragraph go unregarded. But they learned nothing. So far. the battle-mented battle-mented house kept its j-ecrct; nevertheless, Lt f...iuu4 dXd not tu-ar jjbcxn in one way, It did In another, for they discovered a train leaving Southampton almost immediately after af-ter their arrival, which would take them across country to Scarlet Runner. All night the expert balloonist had puzzled over the problem of distances and speed, trying try-ing to determine from the map of England how far and in what direction the Little Stranger had drifted after taking Race on board, before the sudden gale had subsided and dropped him. In a rising sea-fog. at the lost house. Now. In obedience to Western's calculations, Scarlet Runner's bonnet was pointed upon a south-easterly course, slanting slant-ing always toward tho sea. When, well on In the afternoon, they came to Weymouth, they told each other that their systematic search was only beginning. Eastward Christopher drove Scarlet Runner Run-ner after WeymcfUh, taking the coast road when there was one, and, when they wandered wan-dered irrelevantly elsewhere, exploring each side-track which might lead to a house by tho shore. So darkness fell, and all tho searching and all the questionings had been vain. It was useless to go on after nightfall, and In the sequestered hollow of Lulworth Covo they stopped till dawn beckoned them on. It seemed to Christopher thst It would bo a delicious romance to find and save her from the horror she had feared, to win her love and eventually marry her about the time that his rich relative should decide to leave him everything, thus making himself forever safe against a wife of his uncle's choosing Therefore, There-fore, when Western began to make some such remark, apropos to his own state of Ch.la,,nhar frfinllv r T" C C 1 U I HI O fl hlSOWtl intentions "But I tell you tho girl Is mine." argued the. other, surprised and disgusted; for he had taken Christopher's helpfulness for disinterested dis-interested sympathy. "Why is sho yours more than mine?" argued ar-gued Race. "Because I saw her first," said Western. "That would be dlfllcult to prove," said Christopher. "Anyhow. It was my balloon." "I was your honored guest. Besides. If you hadn't thrown out sand, we could have stopped stop-ped and taken her away." "I laid first claim. You can't deny that. You should have spoken when I first told you how much I admired her. Oh. by every rule, she's mine." "First catch your hare." said Christopher "What a simile! If only for that, you don't deserve her" "So far as that's concerned, I don t suppose there's much to choose between us." "I wish I thought you were chaffing, said the American. "I'm not " "Then how's this thing to bo decided?" "By the girl when wo And her." "Yes, But one of us the one who gets ahead Is bound to have the beat chance. Look here, I'm obliged to stick to your company, com-pany, for I can't get on without your car; It and then I heard two nhotx." exclnlmed the girl excitedly. would mean too much delay now to wire somewhere and try to hire an equally good one." 'There isn't such a thing,'" said Christopher. Christo-pher. "Well, one half as good. then. I'm at your mercy. You wouldn't have seen the girl II It hadn't been for me. You might stane aside and lot mo propose Americans think nothing of asking a girl to marry us the first time we see her. If we really want her anel some other fellow's likely to snatch her out of our possession But an Englishman could never do tho thing offhand like that. He " "Nonsense." cut In Christopher. "I'll come to an agreement with vou. If we find tho girl " "When we find her. Don't say 'If.' " 'When we find her, the one who does most towards saving her shall have the right to speak first Do you agree?" "Yes," said Western, after a moment's hesitation. hesi-tation. Scarlet Runner had sped under the shadow of a ruined castle, and was nearing Ard-wanage, Ard-wanage, when a train which had nol yet gathered full speed after 'caving the station ran towards them along the line, that here lay parallel with the road. Race had slowed down for a frightened horse, and ho was In the act of putting on speed again when v , -tern sprang up in the seat beside him. "Turn as quick as you can." ho stammered. "Catch that train. She's in it!" She?" echoed Christopher, bewildered, but obeying. "She tho girl my lost girl. I saw her." "Our lost girl." Christopher amended, and slipped in his ourth speed. "If Scarh I Hun-ner Hun-ner can catch that train, and she's really in it, tho first chance Is mine eh?" "Yes yes, nything, if you'll only bring me to her," gasped Western. "She was there you may take my word. There's no one like her. Her face was at the open window, with the same expression on it as when she begged us to save her. Whatever the mystery mys-tery is Whatever has happened since that night she's horribly unhappy and frightened. frighten-ed. It may be it isn't too late to save her yet " The smoke of the locomotive trailed its dark flag along the sky, and Scarlet Runner hurled herself in pursuit. The heavy engine drawing its huge load could do fortv miles an hour on an even track; the light car. clean and springy as a trained athlete, could sprint at least twenty miles faster on the road, but that road must bo clear, anel there came In tho skill of tho driver. Christopher Race was a driver born, not made His eve saw and understood with the oulcknes of "light His hand and foot moved with automatic precision, his norvo was un- win m 1 " shaken. We.-.tcrn admired him, and for the moment compared the sport of ballooning unfavorably un-favorably with that of motoring. "We shall do It'" cried Western; and then, round a turn, showed a railway-crossing. A moment earlier, and the car would havo shot through like an arrow: but Raco had to Jam the brake on with sudden force, or Scarlet Runner's bonnet would have crashed Into the gates as they swung shut The ( ar was ahead of the train at the crossing, cross-ing, and Western shouted an offer of ton pounds to tho gate-keeper If he would open for a second and let them rush by, but tho man shook his head, and they had to wait, not only to see the train go past, but to sll Chafing while the huge caterpillar length of S luggage train followed, crawling along tho other line. Later It was shunted on to a nldlng. and blocked tho way for five of the longest minutes either young man had ever known. The race was over, and they had lost. Tt was easy enough to learn from the gatekeeper gate-keeper that the train they had chased was bound for London, but. as It would stop at four stations before reaching Its destination, it was impossible to guess at which the girl was most likely to get out. "Ready to go on." said Christopher. "Wo won't go on. Wo stop here." answered the American excitedly. "Read this." He pointed to a half column of startling headlines: "Murder or Suicide of a Baronet. Master of Abbey Court. Dorsetshire. Beautiful Young '.Irl Accused, and Arrested by Police while Trying to Escape " Christopher read on, eagerly absorbing the sensational version of tho mystery which to him and his companion had seemed Impenetrable. Impene-trable. Sir Digby Plantagenet was an eccentric middle-aged baronet, claiming descent from kings. He was a childless widower, living alono sao for two old servants, In a desolate deso-late but beautiful house, dating 0rom the days of Honry VJI. Though rich enough to keep a generous household, he lived almost as a miser, and saw no one until a year ago. when ho sent for a daughter of his dead brother, a young girl, Margaret Plantagenet, whom he had been educating in a French convent school. Tho girl had come to live with her uncle, and eight or nine months after her arrival both servants husband and wife had left. The gossip of the countryside country-side was that Sir Digby's growing eccentricity eccen-tricity had been too much for them; but others said that, having hoped that their master's fortune might becomo theirs by his will. Jealousy of the beautiful niece had finally compelled them to givo notice. For several months tho young girl had acted as her uncle's housekeeper, without assistance. as-sistance. No servants were engaged, no visitors visi-tors received; no one ever came to the house except two or three privileged tradesmen from Marne. tho country town, ten miles "distant. "dis-tant. The day before the publication of the report a .uarne grocer nau called at Abbey I Court with his cart, as ho was In the habit of doing twice a week, to bring milk and other stores which Miss Plantagenet used in her housekeeping. His knocking re-malncd re-malncd unanswered, and at last he discovered that a side-door was unlocked. Fearing some I tragedy In the strange household, he entered, t, cried Miss Plantagenct's name, but had no I answer. He then ventured on an explora-I explora-I tlon, and finally made a dreadful discovery: S the body of Sir Digby hung half out of a I window invisible from tho back of the house I where the grocer entered. The unfortunate I baronet had been shot in the breast and in y, the head, though no weapon was to be seen; and Miss Plantagenet. the only other oeou-3 oeou-3 pant of the house, had disappeared. The I grocer at onco notified tho police at Marne. j.; and search was made for the missing girl. I Late in the evening she was found at Wey-I Wey-I mouth, In a state of collapse, at a small I hotel near the railway station, where she. had arrived that morning. She was arrested on suspicion of murdering her eccentric I uncle, whoso heiress she was believed to be; ; but her weakness and hysterical condition ' had prevented her from making a statement. 'A A doctor had, however, been eallcrl in, and I announced that Miss Plantagenet would probably prob-ably be well enough next elay to bo taken I back by train as far as Marne, where she would have to appear at the coroner's inquest. in-quest. 'She's here now," said Western. "By this time tho inquest has probably begun. Those men I saw must have been policemen in charge cf the poor child the brutes! Wo must go to the inquest ourselves, as ejuick as we can get there. Only think; if I hadn't bought ihat paper we'd have been off to tho next place This time I am the Ace of Trumps." "You wouldn't have got to Marne If It hadn't been for me." replied Christopher, and Western harl to admit that this was true. "So far It's a tie," he said, "and tho grand test is still to come.' The people of the garage where Christopher Christo-pher had bought his petrol know all about ': the "murder" (as they prematurely termeel I It), and were enchanted to point out the way to the inn where tho coroner's inquest was st that moment being held. Ac, ordlntr to rmVilIc oninion Mies Pin nt&. genet had hatl motive enough to kill her uncle He was a man of vindictive temper, an expert In the art of irritating and tortur-. tortur-. ing those dependent upon him. Some said that he was mad. and for the last year or two he had boen feared by everyone forced , to come In contact with him. Ever since a fall from a horse In hunting six or seven years ago ho had been peculiar, and had grown more so every car . Little was known In Marne about Mrss Plantagenet; but she had been seen, and was considered heautlful. As for the servants. Mr and Mrs. Honey, they had never bad a good word to say for the young girl since they left Abbey Court to live at Marne. They described de-scribed her as an ambitious, designing creature, crea-ture, whose one idea had been to get Sir Dlgrby into her power; hut, then, they were prejudiced, as she had accused them of pilfering, pil-fering, and it was through her that they. had lost their soft berth, or so everyone supposed. Their evidence would certainly go against Miss Plantagenet at tho Inquest. Mrs. Honey had told a friend last night, after the news came, that an old-fashioned pist-d kept by Sir Digby had disappeared from its place soon after his nleco came to Abbey Court anel probably the oung lady knew where it was. Besides, if she were not guiltv, why had she run away to Weymouth, instead of letting the police know what had happened'' Christopher Race and Paul Western listened to these scraps of Information, for they wished to know something about the case before going to the coroner's Inquest The more they knew, the more clearly would they understand how to go to work, they said to each other. But flc minutes of such gossip sufficed, and then ' 1 1 1 y were off In Scarlet Runner for tho Bell Buoy Inn. A crowd stood before the door; the bar was thronged, and men packed shoulder to shoulder, talking In low. eager tones, blocked the dim hall; but Christopher and Western contrived to squeeze through as far as a door kept by a big policeman They knew that behind that closed Sloor the coroner's Inquest was in full swing. "We mhst be allowed to pass." Western said imperatively. This would not have been Race's way; but Western had taken the Initiative. "Impossible, sir," replied the representative of the law. "Iloom's crammed. There isn't space for one more, let alone two." "But we're important witnesses," urged Christopher. The big mam grinned. "Tf I'd let in every man Jack and every woman T1U, for the matte- o' that who said they were Important Import-ant witnesses. T shov.ld have let !n half th towt.," he returned calmly. "They've got witnesses enough In there, and too many, maybe, for that poor girL" , "If you mean Miss Plantagenet" paia Western quickly, "I Intend to marry her" As ho opoke he looked ''cfiantly at Christopher, Chris-topher, who, though audacious himself, waj astonished at this audacity. Tho manner of tho policeman changed. 1 "Oh, very well. sir. If you aro Miss Planta- I gent t's intended husband, that alters ts I case You had better write that on a card, and I'll send It In. Then you and your friend I will probably be admitted." Thus Western had In an Instant becomo, I of the pair, the person of paramount Import.! nnce. Triumphant, he elrcw out a visiting- I .1 rd and Bcrlbbled something upon m. Th sS policeman opened the door wide enough to II pass this to a comrade, and a f v. minute later the coroner's officer was ushering the two young men Into tho crowded coffee-ror,m They were led to a position near the lonp; fable heaeled by the coroner, and their pulses quickened as they saw the girl, found again, and more beautiful than on the night when they had lost her. She had asked to make a statement, and, though advised by the coroner to keep silence, si-lence, had persisted, pleading that sho had E nothing to conceal. Sho was speaking aa Christopher and Western took their places; and, seeing them, so bright a color sprang to her white face that the young men knew they had been recognized. The girl did not falter for an Instant, however, how-ever, but went on nervously, excitedly, denying deny-ing that sho knew anything of the old fashioned pistol kept In her uncle's study beyond hearing from Honey that It had eils- appeared from its place. She did not take It; she had been very unhappy In her uncle's house; they had not had a quarrel on the night of his death, but there had been a distressing dis-tressing scene. r He called me Into his study," she went on, "and said cruel things; that I was careless care-less of his interests, that I was altogether a failure, and that I didn't eleserve a penny of his money. I told him If he thought I was staying for that I would go; if I hadn't hated to leave him alone In his gloomy house I would havo gone long ago. Then ho flew into one of his rages terrible rages tney Were, mad rages, which always frlghtoned me dreadfully, and made mo believe that h J really was a lunatic, as Honey anel his wife 1 I used to say. This was the worst I had seen. Often he had struck now ho threatened to kill me. He said rather than I should leavo his house and carry evil reports, ho would shoot me. I rushed out of the room, screaming, scream-ing, for I believed ho meant to keep his word, and I believe it still. I didn't know where to hide from him. for tho lock on my door, as on most of tho doors, was broken Then I thought of tho roof a flat roof, with bat-t bat-t ! incuts; and I ran through many passages till I came td the ladder-like stairway that leads to It. I climbed up, trembling, for I could hear my uncle calling my name and I slamming doors. At the top I pushed back the rusty bolt and slipped out. I expected I him to find me; and I had not been hiding Innir n'hn T hnnrrl two shots T SlinnoSed h had fired them to terrify me After that all was silent. I decided to wait, if I were not discovered, till dawn, when I would slip down, hoping my uncle might be asleep. I planned to go to Weymouth because it was a big town, and I knew a girl there v.ho used to be at school with me In France. I didn't realize how weak my experience had made mo. I meant to look for her. I never expected ex-pected to feel so 111 that I should have to go to a hotel or faint in the street Oh, that awful railway Journey to Weymouth " This is irrelevant," broke in the coroner. ,'i "You walked to a more distant railway sta- fm tion than Marne, and caught the first train r W i , ". mouth, before Sir fate ivas 'g. known But do you mean the jury to under- . stand that you remained on tho roof all I night without being aware that your uncle I was elead?" l "T do." answered the girl. "I dared not go down Once, though, I hoped to bo taken away." "Whlje I was on the roof," she went on faintly, in her uneasiness giving an air of artificiality to her statement, "soon after dark it must have been, a balloon came close to the house. Two ;. oung men were in it gentlemen and I beggeet them to save me. Their balloon was caught somehow in a tree, and they were so near for a minute that J H hoped they could take mo with them. They Mk must have seen how frightened I was, and 1 think they meant to help, but a wind came and freed the balloon, whirling it out of sight, so they had no time." A titter of incredulous laughter amonff the onlookers interrupted her, and was eiulckly checked But it 'had not died before W -tern, ignoring the formalities of a coro- H r.er's inquest, stepped forward. "They are hero as witnesses'" he exclaimed. "We are the two balloonists, my friend and I, and we can corroborate every word Miss Plantagenet has said. We can prove her innocence, for if she had murdered her uncle she would have known that his dead body was lying half out of his window, that we had probably Been It there, and she would have hidden herself her-self Instead of rushing towards us and begging begg-ing that we would take her away." Twice the coroner strove to stop Western, but tho tide of hie indignant eloquence was Jl nol to be stemmed Margaret Plantagenet, V" flushed and grateful, moved aside, and the American was sworn as a witncss. "You and your friend never saw Miss Plantagenet Plan-tagenet until the night In question?" the coroner asked. "No." "Then" very slowly and distinctly "how comes it that you should have declared, on yo'uv visiting-card which you sent in to me. that you were engaged to marrv that voung V lady?" At this question there was a stir in the room, and tho jury gazed at Westen with narrow eyes of distrust, but he answered, unabashed "J didn't say I was engaged to marry her. f ( If you look again, you'll see that .1 said I Intended to marry her 1 wrote that, so that I might have a cha.nce to come in and give my evidence. But it Is true. I do hopo tc marry Miss Plantagenet hops it beyond everything. I shall propose to her on the first opportunity, and tell her that I fell in love at flrst sight 'with the .sweetest, purest, most innocent girl I ever met That girl a murderess? My friend and I would have been fools even to think of such a thing When we'd seen her face and heard her voice. I can prove every word I am going to say about my balloon, which toejk us over to Normandy before we could descend. The first thing we did was to catch a train back and s our the country in my friend's automobile, looking for the lost girl and tho lost house: wo couldn't locate them exactly. Wo learned hat we wanted to know only by tho paper to-day. We were never nearer the house at Abbey Court than being caught In a tree; we didn't dCM .nd. tho dead body in the " in" Sl don was a mystery to us. But I would wager my dearest possession which is mr balloon that tho pistol you were talking I about dropped out of tho dead man's hand I when he had shot himself in his frenzy, and fell into the bushes under tho window where he lay. I adviso you to send and look for it." So frank, so enthusiastic, and so handsome was Paul Western, the famous balloonist, whoso name nearly everybody knew, that he carried all heforo him Perhaps it was largely large-ly duo to his evidence, and the fact that hl belief in the girl's Innocence was unassailable, unassail-able, that the coroner's Jury brought in their verdict at last: "Suicido whilst temporarily insane." Christopher admired Paul Western more than ever, freely admitted that his was the "flrst right," fairly won. and after all was glad to think that he had helped him win out And Western diel win the girl; it would be strange if he had not. It would also have been strange if Christopher had not been asked to bo best man at the wedding. (A. 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