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Show A WARRIOR BOLD. By ST. ar.ouur. (.ii;ii..vf, Jv-Ssrrt 'IMtit ytit IfOfeoi,." -rt eirfr Wtt.-' hr Jart t II l.lov, II I ns-lo." lt OsprTlgBl 1V01. ftlreelsa.l rallb, Nse York. I II ATT Ml I. Captain llrnml of the llesp.isl. Tbe young girl heard her companion mak this declaration with an Interest ehe did nut attempt (" conceal. "Many times tli.it thought has come to mo, but I diml II aa imwurtliy. lie brnuitht aevi ml things my falh' r had with him wh n he wriit away, ami ha resembled tlic only li tnr- I hud ot my father -that la. In u general way. You could nut expect very much oiler hta cruel years nf hatdshlp in the desert. Ilcsldc. ho knew all alin.it our family matter. Hie quiricl with n-.arr.tiin'a people on account nf her marriage, nn.l many little thingj run-nccted run-nccted with the past." "I hall di vnte myself to the task of discovering the truth. Ileuven alone knowa w ho ho I, or how lie came Into possesion nf the faeta he has used to aurh advantage; but 1 Intend to satisfy sat-isfy my rurloHity In that respect, at any coat." "Houicthlng tells me you will succeed." suc-ceed." she said eagerly, 10 that Char-lis Char-lis flushed with pleasure. "Thanks for your faith In m. It will ko a great way toward assisting ma. Of course, you would be (ratified should I find the means to expos talm a an Impostor?" "So long aa I still believe him ro ba what he claims, I cannot find It In my heart to turn against him. lie has told me ao many awful stories of the cruelties practiced upon them that I aometlmr feel as though possibly his mind had been" a little affected, nnd thnt he could hardly be held accountable account-able for his actions." Charlie seized upon a slender cue. quick an a (lash to utHtotcr A vulner able point. "Ah!" ho mid, eagerly; "you iipeak of their suITorlng anions; the Arabs! Then ho had a companion In exile, I Imagine." "Oh. yes three nt first; but later on there was only one left." "And the name do you remember "Yes. It was hla mate, lien Hurn." "Ah! thnt Is a substantial point from which to work. Our friend. If nil Impostcr, may ho very cunning; but I doubt If he hna been able to rover Ma tracka ao that we may not learn eoincthlng of Hen Hazen's pant: Shipping Ship-ping books and shipping; musters may tell the atory of Identification If all else falls. Dy the way, what doca he amy became of Hen Har.rn?" S "lie waa ahot while rtefenrtlna a I wretched woman alave against bar In- I human master, and died ot hla Wounds." "Well, tha Incident may be true j enough; but tho chaneea are thnt It was your own father who gave, up hla , ,, life In this chivalrous fashion, anil that what papera be had hidden on hla person he confided to hla fellow prisoner In tho hope that at some, day he might escape and carry the news to those he loved In old England." Arllne heard him with botb wonder and delight. Her confidence lind apparently gone -out to him In the start, and now she felt It growing ho was so earncfit, ao ponltlve that bla logic seemed to have tha faculty of convincing others. "Tbcrt Ik one thing I meant to auk; you gave ma the wrong curd by a Ingulnr accident, but at tho same time Intimated that you were known by another an-other nam than Arllne Iirand at the hotel." "Yea; I ahould have explained. ; When my aunt adopted me .I assumed . her name of Walllr; and as her title ' Was hereditary, and could descend to ) the next of kin after her demise, I be- j cam Lady Arllne Wallls. Aa such I kav teen sometimes known." Charlie cringed somehow, at this. ' It seemed to raise a wall between ! them wealth and title. What few or- l 0 1 nary young Englishmen dare aspire to win a brld from behind such ram- ! parts T I Never before had Charlie Stuart wished for fame and fortune as now; fiothlng could be too grand to lay at the feet of such a royal princess. And while he was thus battling with hla thought, she suddenly caught his arm. "tie la out yonder! I heard hla laugh! Now, come to the door, Mr. Htuart. and take your first look at ! Captain Hrand of the Ilespaala, be fore you meet him face to fnce." Nothing loth Charlie followed her to the door, whence they could look Into the office of the hotel. Bevaral men were In sight; but almost al-most Instinctively his gnze Buttled Upon one who seemed to command general attention; and no aooner bad Charlie clapped his eyes on this re- , tnarkable Individual than he uttered a little ejaculation of surprise und pleasure. Possibly be had seen this sumo hi- , j quaotoua Captain Ilrund of the Ilespa- r Bin under other and more exciting clr- I cumstnncea. ' ij "Tell mo," he said quietly, to the i girl who was hovering over his I1011I- dor, "have you given hlni any partleu- lura as to how you chanced to escape from the Stren dungeons?" i "Only that Just In the nick of time it J was discovered hy some lourlHis who had come down to Bis' the uwful place for theninolvcn." My nnme wa not mentioned?" "To the bent of my r collection, not at all." "flood: Then, If I meet tho our, you can Introduce 11111 as one of your friends." "1 tru.: u It In only the liiith," shyly shy-ly "An ol.K M lilend. h i -is say. for vh.iiii )m ! we n.va- it.. I tallied feeling of "piotD, Hid rc-lcit." "It sball he H you say I am snr ' you ln.ve pou.e motile In this action." "I cetlainly have. Truth to tell. I believe I linve Keen this gentleman he-fore, he-fore, under other evuiditlotiH. I shnlt know to a ceitalnty after I nave been In his society a while. At any rate, there In rcu.-nn to hope for the best." "Shall we go out and meet him?" asked Arllne. "Yes, Indeed The Kate have decided decid-ed that Cupi.ilii llrnml anil I shall come together for a trial of strength, and It might Ju t ns well take plure now ns later. I am ready." So they went out. The ex-siilor quickly sighted them nnd "bore down with nil satis set," as ho would l.ave mutually expressed it. Charlie piny, d Mb part well. lk mid II," cuptu'.n In u hlulT. friendly manner, j-et ns a young tuan nilulit wish to fe i ive the f .it lie r of r. lovely girl he admired. n.iluly Captain lliuml found no es-pei es-pei In I reason for nlai m. He Ket out to lie eictl more Jovial anil debonair than iimnl, with Die Idea of creating a good lmprcHion on hla daughters old friend, whom he wished to study nt close range. When be s t out to entertain. Captain Cap-tain Hrand of the Hespaflu was a bowling biiicvh. relating the most astonishing as-tonishing Incidents connected with his long captivity In the desert, hla perils on the sea. and the deep fountain ot lovo for wife nnd child that had sustained sus-tained him through all hla trials. Charlie was no mean actor himself, thanks to the splendid control which he was able to exercise over hla facial muscles. Although he now had not the least doubt as to the fellow being a fraud of tho III st water. Charlie felt that he owed It to Arliue's respect for filial affection af-fection to prove this fact. Tli lb was the tank ho cut out for blniteir. lie laid his II i tin tiap. Captain lii.-iud wus ho much engaged engag-ed with his ll-iw of oratory and the charming of tliln fill ml of tho family that bo did not notice the pit so deftly dug. Thus, nltno-it without an effort. Chnrlle hnd him admit that be knew considerable nbout Valparaiso, In Chill, und had been there. In the courtio ot his wanderings, many years In Charlie's mind this settled tho matter. He was confident ho knew with whom ho bad to deal, and when the time rame hu would be ready to dare all In defying the adventurer. Whllo they sut thus, speaking of the slghta of Antwerp, thoro came a mc Fetn;er from the hotel office Itniulr- InK for Mr. C'litrllo Htuart. whom a gentleman ootid. !e dcAtrcil to aee. As ho went, directed by the clock, to the spot where he would find the gentleman who had asked for an Immediate Im-mediate Interview on eerloua business, bo was making up his mind to tell IVterhoft the whole story und enlist his favorable consideration for Arllne. so that when thu deiioiituent came the doughty captain could be taken euro of. Jiidc.a of hi surprise, then, when, upon coming upon the party who whdied to see him, he found It was no other than Arteinus H.irnnhy, with bis honest fnco clouded with an air of tho durkeat mystery. It did not rctulro much prophetic rklll on Churlle's part to lull that his erratic friend had news ot some Importance Im-portance for him. He pressed a forefinger on his Hps to Indicate dead silence, when be found that Charlie had recognized him. Chnrllu stood there waiting while the other crept on hla tiptoea to the corner. In the regular orthodox stage fashion, and looked this way and that, to assure himself that there could be no eavesdroppers ne r. Then he approached hi friend, hla warning finger still on his lips. teaching tha other, be placed his Hps close to Charlie's ear, and solemnly solemn-ly Bald: I I "Th enaat la clear!" "1 see It la," said Charlie, aloud. "What I am about to disclose to you, will give you a cruel shock, my boy." "Hhock away then, only make haatc." "I am about to make a disclosure that will. I regret to Bay, knock away the foundations of your belief In humanity." hu-manity." "Ah! thnt'a a aerloua thing Indeed. Does this disclosure concern the world at large or one Individual specimen of mankind?" "One shining light." "Then fire away, and be hanged to you." Artnmtis assumed a look of extreme gravity, although Cburlte was sure be heard a chuckle. "You have met the father of the young lady of the Stoen dungeons. The hotel clerk has been entertaining me with a wonderful Btory nf his return to life and civilization, it reads like a roiuaace, and would find a worthy niche In my notebook, only, my dear boy. It Is ho very ancient, a verltuble ttngo cheat nut, as It w e. e. "Hut let that pass. I Imagino Ihla Captain ilrund Is 11 character worth knowing, eotneililnir tuil(tic. I could hear him out yonder, and the dulcet 1'iuca of bin voice were soothing enough to conjure, with." "Yes," remarked Charlie, "ho 1 a wondeifiil man, nnd could charm most people by the (juulnt manner of LU speech."' Arteinus n-nln bent forward. "IJ, ware of Captain Hrand!" he wli'spcK il. flt.d thru npiang haek to noto ttm stunning 1M1 ct of hla an-uounceiMCiit. Hut Charlie, though Interested, retired re-tired to he stunned. "Why. wh.ii litis be done?' "He i n I, .M. had man!" C'. irlie inc'liied to say "Amen!" io ti nt. Ii :t he kept bis own counsel h yd, seeking more I'ght. "See here! You he known this wonderful modi rn Huron Munchausen at some past date?" ho said. Actemus nodded. "It would lie Impossible that two such men could ever exist. Yes, I knew him " ' Where?" "Ill New York." "When?" "I't me see." scratching his head, an a rotnediun must always do when deidroos of mousing memory. "Ah! yes. Just a little more than two years "Htu nt that time he swears he was in the heart of Africa, a prisoner at Dahomey." "Well- he lies." coolly. Charlie liked Hint. It was so fresh nnd original; at the same time so very emphatic. "Who was he when you knew hlmT" he nsked. determined to get down to the facts now. "A fourth-rate actor, on his upper half of the time. One if these bowling bowl-ing barnstormers, a heavy villain of the piece, at home in Tncle Tom' Cabin' or 'Ten Nights In a Hnrrooni.' He wns the joko of the season on th Hlalto, In tiotham. I even thought ae-rlously ae-rlously nf utilising him In my great play aa the seedy actor who Carrie the mysterious si-cret with him through five acta, but when he found there was a chance of him being Immortalized, Im-mortalized, his prlco for sittings wont away up. and I discovered something better than llnmfutter.'" "(Iimd Heavens! was that bla "Certainly not. That's what they call all heavy trngedluns ot the bnrn-stormliig bnrn-stormliig variety. I.et me ace," placing plac-ing n linger alongside his nose, a la lrvlnir. "now I have It bind your bead lower, for that fellow bus keen earn It w.m Frederick Davenport Ms-cnuley." Ms-cnuley." "Indeed! Very suggestive, considering consider-ing bis occupation in life. What a man be In, to be sure; capable of having hav-ing rn many nauien. and tilling such various stations In life. Why, when I knew him, four or five years ago, b was called Captain Nathaniel Hedge." "Wltnt! you knew him, then?" "I saw I1I111 that Is, I atu almost dead certain It la tho same man; and I expect to prove It presently," "Whero was this?" "In South America." "In Vriparalso?" "Come, what make you aslc that?" In surprise. "I remember him talking of being conecrti'd In a ll'tle w.irarne that - rnrrod duwn ll..r 1. h. r. been the same hou.-ter, you know." "Well, that aeema to prove the Identity. Iden-tity. I never In all my life hoard of o atupcndotis a rascal." "Say what wan he doing down la Santiago, or wns It Valparaiso?" "Thn latter, on the roast, the most enterprising city along the Pacific, south of Kun Francisco. What wo he doing? Well, about the lust I saw of him. bo wua dancing a Scottish hornpipe." horn-pipe." "Yes, he ban his merry momenta when the liquor la In." "Hut tills was a unique affair before nn audlenro that must have numbered thousands." "Ood! that would spur even o poor an actor to do bla best." "And Captain Niilliunlel did hla very best. It, as you any, he ha been an actor, as well aa a miner, sea captain, co flee planter, speculator, and Heaven knows what not, he certainly bad the chance of hla life to bring out bravo. However, I don't think be took bait aa much Interest In the affair as. some of the rest of us did." "He didn't, en? I never knew he wa acquainted with modesty. How waa that?" aaked Artemua, eagerly. "Well." aald Charlie, dryly, "you see, ha wa being hung!" (To be continued.) |