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Show "ZfaeBest fiic I magazine section I cJhe Latest (greatest Story I 3v Arthur SomersRocle. H JttltflOV OJ J E Copyright. 1919, by International j Feature Service, Inc. 'lnd who is she?" demanded Mr. Mage, crouching in the shadow at the big car with a fatcinat-ingly fatcinat-ingly beautiful young woman at the wheel rolled by. "The girl you're 8'n to marry!" was the strong J rPIy. CHAPTER I. The Mysterious Envelope. MR. GERALD MAO EE awoke, conscious of a burning sensation on the soles of his feet and the gibings of an urchin of tender years, but hard heart He curled his feet beneath him. away from the policeman's club that assailed him. "I am a distant relative of the Mayor." he announced with what dignity he might, "and I'll have him rip the buttons off your uniform" Tbe urchin, who delighted in tho torture applied to the Bleeping tramp, was sophisticated. He kaew what "ripping the button off meant. His gibings were directed toward the policeman. The officer's grin of enjoyment became a grih of wrath at this double assailing of his dignity. He swung the club swiahingly. He advanced upon the tramp whom he had roused from sleep In tho alley. "G'wan. ye vag!" he roared. "Mayor is it? Rip the buttons off me, is it? Begorra. I'll run ye in and it'll be thirty days on the rook pile, you unwashed loafer! G'wan!" The point of the club found an interstice in the ribs of Mr. Magee. Incontinently the tramp turned and ran. The officer permitted him- (Continued on Page. 111 1 I (Continued from Page 1) self another grin of enjoyment. Thcrrhts I eye alighted upon the urchin who had rlsi- ; bly applauded the Insulting speech of tho 'ramp. He started menacingly toward the I urchin. The latter darted down the alley I which had been the nocturnal couch of Mr. I Magee. He disappeared. Officer Mulcahy looked about the quiet residential street. He sighed; there were I io more worlds to conquer: he resumed the ' measured pacing of his beat. Around the first corner Mr Magee re taxed his speed. A backward glanco assured as-sured him that Officer Mulcahy did not meditate pursuit. The rockpile that had loomed large before him dwindled to the size of a pebble Work hard manual labor was pleasantlv aloof once more. A man might think of breakfast. He fumbled in the pocket? of his tattered tat-tered coat with pleasurable anticipation. Last night there had been three silver 1 quorlers therein; and none of them had been wasted on lodging, for the night had H 1 been one of September's Jewels Three quarters! Seventy-five sweot cents! "Scoffln" for a whole day, though never a handout passed from cooking housewife to begging errant of the road! But that was last night. This morning Mr. Magee Invoked the Fates. He cried ; aloud to the spirit of Justice that his long- j past schooldays' had told him hovered ever over the land of the free and the home of i the brave. ! "Rolled"' he cried. "Nicked! So help me Joseph, a gentleman can't close his eyes in blissful slumber 'neath the tender moon without some city dick frisking him as he dreams. Seventy-five cents gone!" He looked about him. He remembered v. hat he had heard of Rockport; that it was a place to be shunned by knights of the road, for that its citizens were cold to those who toiled not. Only the fact that Mr. Magee had been ignorant of the final I destination of a freight which he had I boarded, coupled with the devotion to duty 1iich had made a freight handler padlock the door of the "empty" in which he rode, had brought Mr. Magee to Rockport. i He had intended to detour around the I city Once in it, he had planned leaving 1 the next day. But to the east, whither he had purposed going, lay the river. One must have the price of a ferry ticket to :ross it, to gain the access to Dima Dag-?age" Dag-?age" beloved of tramps, j West, south and north Mr. Magee could '.iope to go. The "rods" of many a train In the T'nlon Station awaited hi? presence. But Mr Magee wished to go east. For no other reason than the all-sufficient one that he wanted to. He would not go to the j railroad yards and undertake the long de- j tour to south or north. He would cross the ! ferry and resume his eastward way. Down the street loomed the blue figure of another policeman Mr Magee shivered though the morn was warm. Judging from what he'd heard, his late police antagonist was an exception; any other policeman would be likely to lack the kindness of heart though not of hand that had so far ! saved Mr Magee from arreBt as a vagrant. There was a cross street before Mr. Magee. It led to the Union Station and train sheds. He could dodge down the cross street, gain the Btation and forego , his eastward trip. Or he could dodge j through a yard, come out upon another ! street, thus avoiding the approaching po liceman, and look for work! i Mr. Magee's lip curled at the alternative, but he wished to go east. And before so ; doiDg he must raise the three cents which mi uvwpuB ifriy company oeraanaea oi us i would-be passengers strictly in advance. I Mr, Magee was too proud to beg for money; he had never accepted a cent of charity in his life. Food scoffin that was different But money some hellhound, hell-hound, 60me vile, debased crawler of the j night, had frisked him of his three 3ilver '! quarters, that meant food and the contin uance of his journey to the rising sun. The food, that was nothing; the money, that was seventy-five cents, j Mr. Magee would last the day without I food, he would not attempt the Rockport I housewives; their lack of hospitality, their affection for large and hungry dogs, had keen bruited about trampdom. Their ignoble ig-noble habit of communication with a po-liceman po-liceman whenever a knight of the road asked for the humble biscuit or the homely I pie had been impressed upon Mr. Magee by fellow tourists. Food that was nothing; he tightened his belt. Three cents that was three cents! He must find a Job of some sort i and hold It long enough to gain the price of ferriage. Distasteful, indeed, but "I worked three hours the day before yesterday," said Mr. Magee, "thus copping Ik my late 'lamented quarters. For filthy lucre I forgot all my principles Facllls I decensus laborl, to paraphrase a wise old i guy. If I'm not careful I'll get the work t habit " He shuddered. "However three rents" j He hastily crossed a lawn, passed be- I neath a wash-hung line odorous of suds and j betokening an alert and early housewife, vaulted a picket fence, dodged behind a jtable, crossed another lawn and was upon a street that led he judged so from higher i buildings In the distance toward tho busi- noss district. Mr. Magee walked hastily down its length. He passed butcher shop, grocer, druggist, dry goods and stationery tores, before coming to a place that I seemed to hold promise. Finally he paused before a huge build" I ing from whose yawning portals men were loading bales, cases and huge rolls upon trucks. Mr. Magee sidled up to a man who stood upon the curb and with a loud voice delivered mandate and countermand. "Got a job for a man9" demanded Mr. Magee The boss of the operations wheeled and stared at Mr. Magee. ' We don't hire bums," he said curtly, his s-wift glance taking In Mr Magee and his appurtenances of apparel "A most laudable principle," said Mr. Magee cordially. "Only It doesn't apply Just now True, my garb isn't all that" "Where did you work last?" demanded the boss "Reelton," said Mr. Magee. "Got a reference?" Mr. Magee looked from the boss to the packing cases Then he flexed his arm. 'Til promise not to put a piano In my pocket," he said "And feel that arm! Isn't that reference enough for the sort of job you'll give me?" But a clumsy porter dropped a roll of carpet to the sidewalk and tho boss forgot Mr. Magee and his Interesting manner of speaking the while he painted, with a vividness viv-idness that was not too Impressionistic to lack detail, the ancestry, present social position and probable spiritual future of the hapless workman. Then, still stirred by magnificent wrath, his eye lighted upon Mr Magee. "Get, you panhandler, or 1 11 hang one on your ear," he promised. The boss was surrounded by men who depended upon his favor for their employ-ment. employ-ment. They would not side with Mr. Magee in the event of hostilities. Mr Magee turned away, yet pausing long enough to announce blatantly: "All right, my courteous friend. Just for that I'm going to stick around this alleged al-leged Imitation of a town long enough to buy this store and hand you a blue envelope, en-velope, you replica of a Bhame-faced-swine!" The absurdity of the feeble boast overshadowed over-shadowed the insult that accompanied it. The boss burst Into laughter. "I suppose you'll buy it with part of your quarterly dividends from old man Blake, eh?" "Is that the name of the owner of this establishment?" inquired Mr. Magee. "Silas J. Blake. Esquire, that's the name," laughed the boss. "This wholesale whole-sale furniture store is only worth about two million dollars, but ' Mr. Magee bowed. I thank you, my urbane and jocund friend. I shall communicate commu-nicate with Mr Blake and shortly have the felicity of attaching a can to you. Good morning! " The latter was delivered a trifle hastily,-for hastily,-for the boss, forgetful of the first law of debate, that physical force is not argument, argu-ment, had picked up from the 3idewalk a loose cobblestone, and the action was indicative indi-cative to the acute Mr. Magee of the boss' weariness of speech. Incontinently Mr. Magee turned upon his heel and departed. At other buildings, wholesale and retail stores, Mr. Magee stopped and asked for an opportunity to earn money by manual labor; but the citizenry of Rockport were as hard as their city's name. They did not care to hire men whose shabbiness was an affront to the whole garment trade. They distrusted the freelance of labor. They wanted family men. "Do you suppose," asked Mr. Magee politely po-litely of one man, "that quarrelling with a wife develops a man's muscles and makes him more capable of tossing stoves ui uuuu . "Beat It!" was the answer. This was the seventh place whereat Mr Magee had applied for work. The day was waning, hiB fast had not been broken Westward, whence he had come, folks were not particular They did not demand a belted earl or a descendant of John Alden to cut the grass. Mr. Magee was no moral weakling, nor yet did he err upon the side of stubbornness. stubborn-ness. "I want to go east," he said to himself him-self plaintively, "but three cents; no job; and I hate this feeling that I'm a nut and every cop's a squirrel I hate to do it, but" Toward the Union Station, despising his failure to adhere to his determination to visit the rising sun, yet well aware that ferry hands are coarse, uncultured bouIb, who have been known to find mirth In pitching a ride grafter Into the river, and having become so hopeless of attaining the three cents needful to propitiate those rlvermen, Mr Magee wended his distrusted way. The east wan not for him. He gained the purlieu of the station An eye out for a wearer of the city's blue, he sidled along the high blank walls of the station toward the freight sheds In the gathering twilight he stood by a broad, half-opened gate, peering into the train yards, watching for opportunity to gain a car while no eyes were upon him. He felt a touch upon his shoulder and turned with dread of arrest in his heart. But he looked not into tho yes of a policeman, police-man, but into shifty eyes, set in a face over-fat over-fat and swollen veined. "Say, your make-up's so good that I was leery of you," said the stranger. "Hol-berg "Hol-berg said you were one swell actor, but blowed if he's hep to how good you really are! If they pinched you for a vag and found this wad on you" As he spoke he thrust into Mr. Magee's limp hand an envelope whose crisp contents crackled with pleasant reminiscence of days ere Mr. Magee had taken to the road "why tho bulls would drop dead. Better shed the make-up as soon as you can Here, don't hang onto it like it was a rattlesnake. Stow it way, you boob!" He pushed the hand of Mr. Magee that limply held the envelope. "Stow it away?" echoed Mr. Magee dazedly. daz-edly. "You mean this Is for rao?l' "Wake up, bo! D'you think it's for the King of Spain? This Is no time fer klddln'. Sink It and blow. My cripes, I won't rest easy till we hear from you. Sonio bull is liable to pinch you, and beat It bo beat it!" "This Is the stuff you were told to hand me?" queried Mr Magee, slightly emphasizing empha-sizing the objective pronoun. "Man alive this ain't no frame-up," snarled the shifty-eyed gentleman " ain't got a cop around the corner; the money ain't marked. It's your6 to do what you see fit with. That's how Hoi-berg Hoi-berg put It You know Slong'" His Shiftiness turned on a tan-leather shod heel, exhibiting to the dared gaze of Mr. Magee a broad back, caparisoned In a check that shrieked aloud. Throo steps His Shiftiness took. Then he wheeled suddenly sud-denly and was before Mr. Magee "Duck behind me duck behind me!" he whispered hoarsely. "Don't look, stick behind me!" In the shadow of the gateway, aided by the bulk of hl3 strange friend and further assisted by the coming darkness, Mr. Magee Ma-gee was undoubtedly invisible to the persons per-sons who passed by In an auto, even had they tried to see him. which evidently they did not. "Good I'm fat and you ain't,"" said the be-checked be-checked gentleman. "Even though It's dark and you're made up, she'd know you." "And who is she?" demanded Mr. Magee, crouching in the shadow as the big car with a fascinatingly beautiful young woman at tho wheel rolled by. "The girl you're going to marry," was the strange reply. "It was old Sile Blake's auto. Yes, sir. Mayor Blake and she were in It. They m'lght be coming back this way any minute, too. Better duck across the street and do a sneak. S'long!" This time he did not turn back. He passed hastily up by the station and turned a corner. If he had turned back ho would have seen Mr. Magee, unmindful of warning, standing by the train yard gate, staring after the mayoralty auto For from underneath under-neath the checked one's arm Mr. Magee had glimpsed, with eyes that were keen enough to enable him to swing beneath, a moving train in the darkness., a vision of golden hair, of a flying motor veil that revealed the perfect face beneath. "The Mayor the owner of the big store his daughter! The girl I'm to marry? I I, the panhandler, the outcast, the vagabond' vaga-bond' So help me, Joseph. I've a mind to stay In this town until until I do I" He drew out the envolope from beneath his rags. He opened the flap and peered within. "My God!" he said solemnly. He looked swiftly up and down the street; no one seemed to be watching him. For the third time he had declared his intention of remaining in Rockport, and they tell us that the third time never falls. One of the trinity, power, gold or woman, awakens us to Ambition. And all three had spoken to him to-day Power, to punish pun-ish Mulcahy; Money, to rebuke the Insolent Inso-lent foreman. Woman "Why. the insolent dog, whoever he Is." said Mr Magee. "Ho must be a crook to have a date with His Checkeredness in a dark eorner tr receive the kale! Think nf a guy like that aspiring to her! The nerve of him' The gall of him' No gentleman gen-tleman would allow such a thing! Certainly Cer-tainly not' " He shot swiftly across the street and was lost in the tortuous byways of the Rockport slums. CHAPTER II. A Man Transformed HAVING first by many a backward glance and shifting turn of convenient conve-nient corner assured his palpitating palpitat-ing heart that the fiance of the mayor's daughter, whom unwittingly he had personated, per-sonated, had not yet discovered the impersonation imper-sonation or, at any rate, was not in pursuit pur-suit Mr. Magee paused before a saloon whose shabby exterior no less than the hard-vlsaged patrons glimpsed within, seemed to promise that here were portals beyond which questions wero not asked, save, possibly, that one of doubt as to one's ability to pay for the assuaging of one's thirst, Mr. Magee pushed through the swinging doors. The loungers at the bar glanced with furtive swiftness at him, then turned back to thoir liquor. This tramp was no pigeon to be plucked; no money roisterer led to slumdom by drink-directed feet. Only the bartender paid any attention to Mr. Magee. That worthy, his heavy chest and ponderous pon-derous paunch modestly secluded behind an apron that might once have been white, slithered easily down the length of the bar, rubbing a grimy cloth along its moist top. He paused before Mr. Magee, his cold, small eyes taking In Mr. Magee's apparel suspiciously. "Well?" said the bartender, his intona Uon an intimation that things would not 1 Desperately His Shiftiness struggled in the grasp ot Holberg. His red face grew more crimson; his eyes were Y popping from his head; the fear of death stood large'on his j, countenance. It was Mr. Magee undoubtedly who saved Holberg from murder and Tarson nPm I the room swiftty. "Let him gol" he snapped. "This is getting you nothing I" ho well with any one who dared purchase without means of liquidation. Mr. Magee dropped across the bar. "Slip us a tell, feller," he said in a whisper. "I got somethin' and It ain't doln' mo no good. I'm in a yard with walls around me; put me jerry to an Isaac at a gate." The bartender's cold eyes showed a gleam of Interest "Cracked somethin'?" "Split it in little pieces," said Mr. Magee with modest pride "But I ain't wise to the burg I dodged tho bulls, but they was close behind and I hadda take a ride to here. Steer me. feller, steer me. I'll not forget it " "Oh. that's all right," said the bartender, suddenly amiable "Always glad to oblige a pal, Hope you'll look us up after you're fixed. Know Benton street?" Mr. Magee shook his head "Second street to the right after you leave here," said the bartender. "The three balls In the middle of the block. He's as close as his skin. His bit's large, hut" He shrugged his shoulders. "Sure," said Mr. Magee. "He's takin' his risks, too. Well, feller, I'm certainly obliged to you. I didn't know where to look for a fence, and" "'S all right," said the affable bartender. "Have a little somethin'?" "Later, thanks," said Mr. Magee, and drifted into the night and in the direction of Benton street. He turned a corner and just beyond the glare of the arc light thoro inserted his hand Inside his garments. His fingers fumbled at the envelope and deftly separated sep-arated one of the bills within from the others. He withdrew his hand, crumpled the singlo bill into a ball and entered the pawnbroker's shop, casting first a glanco at the name below the three balls suspended sus-pended over the entrance. "I want to see the main stem," he said to the pimply young clerk who stared from behind a counter. "Tell Rosenbaum tho bartender in Henlon's saloon steered me." The pimply youth looked doubtful for a moment, then knocked upon a door behind him. A moment later a spectacled, ourly-bearded ourly-bearded man of greasy countenance and shining bald pate emerged from a rear room.- Ho looked at Mr. Magee. . "Veil?" "I got somethin'," said Mr. Magee. "To pawn?" "To sell at a price! Take me Inside." The pawnbroker hesitated but a moment. Such a tramp as Mr. Magee would undoubtedly un-doubtedly accept a small percentage of the value of whatever illicitly acquired goods he might possess Or, if the deal looked dangerous well, it did no harm to look "Come in," said Rosenbaum. He lifted up a hinged section of the counter and pointed to the door from which he had come. Unhesitatingly Mr Mageo entered the inner room. The pawnbroker followed him, leaving the door open. Mr. Magee pointed to it. "Shut it," he commanded. "I didn't come to rob the place." Unwillingly Rosenbaum closed tho door. Thon he turned impatiently to his imperative impera-tive client. "Veil? What have you got?" Mr. Magee opened his hand. He smoothed the bill and held it close to the eos of tho pawnbroker. "How much?" ho asked. Tho pawnbroker mado a move toward the door. "I don't monkey with the queer," he said disgustedly. "Get oud!" "Queer? Feel It! Look at it! Taste it, you son of usury!" cried Mr. Magee. The pawnbroker took tho Mil ctngcrlT Bu 1 from Mr. Magee's extended fingers, tie nm ran his sensitive finger onds over it Sur- M prised, ho held tho bill to the light; then from a desk ho brought forth a magnifying J glass and studied the paper. Finally b full looked at Mr. Magee. laniB "Vhere did you get It?" MiJ "Never you mind about that," said Mr jj2B Magee. "How much will you giv me seM for it?" ?,:iM "Vhy don't you go to a bank?" 3m Mr. Magee laughed contemptuously dolfl "Lamp me, friend," he said. How far past (0Bj the door porter of any bank would I get in ynM these rags ? And if I did I'm not anxious at W to explain to the police how I happen to iofm own a thousand-dollar bill. Use yo J bean. How much?" erJ Once more, this time evidently to ascer lain if the bill were marked, the pawn "m broker studied it Attain he looked at Mr c0M ' I'll give you five hundred," he offered- cl "Aren't you the generous lltt!? ma- n'.lM' sneered Mr. Magee. "Here, gimme ra? " -flB money. You ain't the only three-bal? IK "SoH In Rockport, you know." M'Mb He reached for the bill, but Mr. Rosen- jM baum evaded him. "Six hundred." saM jjm Mr. Rosenbaum. ara4l Mr. Magee shook his head. stim. "Seven," said the pawnbroker. MrJf This time Mr. Magee laughed noisily. "Seven hundred," said Rosenbaum, "ana qjMM eo help me. Jacob, I couldn't make it a other cent. You yeggs vant too much al V vays. You never think of the ri3k 1 run gM Supposing this bilV is marked?" T,mk "It isn't," Raid Mr. Magee. . doK "But suppose the number is known. tbsflj try to exchange it and I'm out what I & jotdK you. Have a heart, ray fri r ::d ' 1 llKe you and I vlll do the best I can for JO ' M LrsRoche-A Surprisinlale Love I mt I f A I except this I V carry are some where on tho Then as tho 2 1 : i 5 aBMBBffi clerk's suave po- I i t e n e s s con- W-M I' ' WF ' sealed slightly, Mr. Magee drew BV- I - JB from a POCLct BtY S JrPv? - ft " f1', oone-hur.drcd- B rTfe - P - dollar bills. "Put ErflfflH B . these in tho safe, E -"M-, 'm. will you please?" Bh. eo hplp cad Seven ad tot anoth- r cent ' " W Mr Megec, "and W tors hU hair, he In- Jel. he told In mourn yw! it would bo if his Fto W4Dt ar)d how Mr. J, vhen his conscience sl would hate him J driven all the little ,f-J out plght hundred left tho shop, doaf PJJW as ht bagged that aI!l bind him back Jojng fortune passed JJ1 the pawnbro- BBzf'1 n1 rank against mtoute later his strong and fathered the J M the pimply-faced tan follow me, eh?" 1 H M ''.rough for tho Tttl!l 1 could go. and Mfc ,vr:' " Policeman's toe had Ht o did the toe of 7outh of plmplos. tt direction," cald rfflfc1? orriiupt5 a howl Kee. and the lat-K. lat-K. "7 might bring Wnoua member of Vv ,iileT an brok Cr many block?. "W"1, in his heart He was not followed, he had much wealth on his person and tho trail of a great adventure ad-venture wound before his careless feet. "But," said Mr. Magee to himself, "when knights of old went forth, fair-lady'p-rescue bent, they were caparisoned as befitted their noble task. It is befitting that I doll myself up. A -noble heart may beat beneath be-neath a tattered coat, but all its owner gets is 'Beat It" Clothes may not make a man. but they help a whole lot." A second-hand clothing shop was before him Mr Magee entered For fifteen dollars dol-lars he became attired in a respectable suit, such a suit as a business man might have worn on a travelling trip; a trifle time-worn, time-worn, but looking as though a tailor's iron might restore it to its pristine beauty. For another five dollars Mr Magee became possessed pos-sessed of a pair of shoes, bran new and soothing to feet that long had worn tattered tat-tered footgear. Mr Magee paid his bill and strutted forth from the shop He was now respectably enough attired to venture higher sartorial flights without awaking suspicion. To Rockport's main business street he now made his way. There he entered a clothing store of apparent fashion, which was open evenings To have gone there first, in his rags, would have been to Invite arrest. Mr Magee was no fool To the bowing clerk Mr. Magee made known his wants. Within an hour he had been fitted to a most fashionable, albeit ready-to-wear, suit of clothes. His battered hat his own, ho explained laughingly, had blown beneath an automobile, and he had found his present pres-ent headgear was exchanged for an attractive at-tractive soft hat Toilet accessories, freeh linen and underwear were placed within a new handbag, and a ulim malac.a Btlck swung from hl8 gloved fist. Mr. Mageo smiled at his own cheerful reflection as he went through tho mirrored doors. "There should be more." ho said, "but the morrow waits my pleasure. In tho meantime" mean-time" His lifted stick detaiued a taxlcab. "Tho Belnord." said Mr Magee. Swiftly he was whisked to the most fashionable fash-ionable of Rockport's hotels. "Denced awkward," confided Mr. Magee to tho suavo clerk of tho Belnord. "Tho baggage transfer at Clearview" he named a city some fifty mile west of Rockport "is certainly abominable. All my bags The clerk beamed upon him. The lack of baggage mattered nothing uow. "Bedroom with bath, sir?" he queried. Mr. Magee raised his eyebrows a trifle. "Dear me, no," he aaid languidly. "I'd need more than that, I think. Let ub say bedroom, drawing room, dining room I don't think I'll want more than that" "At about twenty dollars a day, sir?" "Very well," said Mr. Magee. The manner in which the clerk summoned sum-moned the bellboy to carry Mr. Magee's handbag proved conclusively thai Mr. Magee's social, moral and financial standing stand-ing in the Belnord was not matter of future judgment, but was already fixed. The bellboy bell-boy bent almost to the ground as he stepped aside for Mr. Magee to enter tho elevator, and the flourish with which he opened tho door of Mr. Magee's suite was a guerdon of aristocracy bestowed upon the Bolnord's new guest. "Are the rooms all right, sir?" queried the bellboy anxiously. "They'll do," admitted Mr Magee, bestowing be-stowing a bill upon the boy. Then after the boy had left Mr Magee divested himself him-self of his garments, luxuriated in a tub, ahaved himself with care, and finally descended de-scended to the lobby There ho was directed di-rected to tho cafe, where he ordered with a discrimination that appealed to the waiter. Not having eaten heretofore this day, Mr. Magee'e appetite was sharp He dawdled an hour over his meal, so that It was close onto 10 o'clock when he had finished. fin-ished. He paid his check and seuntered out to the desk. Of the clerk he inquired the nearest newspaper office, and shortly entered a cab called for him. A few mln-titCB mln-titCB later he had bribed the office boy and was admitted into the city room of tho Rockport Planet. "Hanged if I know my way around here yet," said Mr Mageo to a man pounding a typewriter. "Where's the morgue?" The busy reporter hardly gave Mr Mageo a glance. "Second door to the right," he snapped. The bent and whiBkered old man who guarded the '.'morgue." that room of every newspaper office devoted to clippings of newspapers, had been too long in tho newspaper news-paper business to be surprised at sight of a new face. "You want Sllae J. Blake, tho whole family, fam-ily, and all the H's? That last Is a big order Can't you be more definite?" "Well, the name is Holstein, or Holway. or Holgate hanged if I can remember." Bald Mr. Mageo. "But I'll know it when I sen it." "I'll give you the 'Hols, " said the ancient an-cient relic. "What sort of a story you writing anyway?" "Oh, I'm Just going to verify some data, eald Mr. Magee easily. The old man grunted, then shuffled on. Ten minutes later he was back with a bunch of envelopes, and Mr. Magee retlrod to a flat desk and began opening the envelopes en-velopes devoted to the career of Silas J. Blake In one of the later envelopes ho found what he wanted He read the an- nouncement of tho engagement of Eleanor Blake to Henry J. Madison, district attorney attor-ney of Rockport. Mr. Magee whistled ecftly; his hands shook as he reached for the envelopes labelled la-belled "Hoi." In the aecond of these he came across the name of Holborg. Avidly he read, and as ho read his amazement grew more profound. For Aaron Hoiberg had figured much In the newspapers Aaron Hoiberg was a gambler; Aaron Hol-berg's Hol-berg's building devoted to the Goddess of Chance had been raided but two months before by Henry J. Madison, who had gone over the heads of the police department In so doing And this very evening an emissary of Hoiberg and It must be the same Hoiberg had delivered over to a man whom he took to be tho district attorney an envelope containing twenty one thousand-dollar bills. The conclusion was obvious. But Mr. Magee wan never hasty. From the guardian of the "morgue" he obtained an envelope devoted to the district attorney. attor-ney. In a few minutes Mr Magee was possessed pos-sessed of the Information that Henry J. Madison, as well as being a legal light and rising politician, was aleo prominent In society's theatricals. Tho chain was complete. ?.Ir. Magee took one last look at the clipping which contained a picture of Miss Eleanor Blake He noted the tender curls, the wide, bread forehead, the wonderful eyes, the roguish nose, the kissable mouth. Then he looked carefully at the picture of the district attorney at-torney who was to wed all tno beauty and grace that was Eleanor Blake Mr. Mageo could easily see how His Shiftiness had made the mistake, expecting, expect-ing, as he evidently had, that Madison would be in disguise For the district attorney had the same high forehead, tho same nose and a chin very like that of Mr. Magee. Mr. Magee sighed. iiv . . U ,.111-, , ... V. ... aAM A cousins." he said "I I'm glad I know tho style of beauty that appeals to Miss Blake. Forewarned, in this case, is forearmed. fore-armed. It makes my task easier. I'd hate to rob a lady of her fiance without offering her some-thing Just as good. And I I hope I'm Just as good." Wherewith he tenderly replaced tho Eleanor Blake clippings in their envelopes, thanked tho guardian of the "morgue" and slipped deftly out of the Planet office. His cab was still waiting, and In a fow minutes be was back at the Belnord. leaning lean-ing gracefully over the desk, transfixing the clerk with that affable eye of his. "Your town." said Mr Magee. "i3 deadly dull." The clerk bristled "There are plenty of live spots. Mr. Mageo. "What sort of dullness do you most object to?" "Routine." said Mr. Mageo. "I hate tho sort of place where every one believes that two and two make four, I like to take my two and two and run 'em into a thousand" thou-sand" The clerk surveyed Mr. Mageo closely, doubffully. "I'm not sure," he began. Mr. Mngee twirled his stick. "I'd heard that Holbein's place was running," he said, "and if so I'd like to try a whirl with him." The clerk hesitated no longer. Mr. Magee was most certainly no detective Also, he had money. And the clerk, as in all well-regulated hotels, got hl3 "bit" of the money that might be removed from the person of any guest ho dirocted to the palaces of chance That Mr Mageo knew of Holberg's place, knew that it etlll kept open and wanted to go there was proof enough that Mr. Mageo was a "wise one." The other kind always believed that when the police Closed a place It remained closed. The other kind, knowing Hoiberg at all, knew that he ran no piker's place, and never dared to go there. The clerk Bcrlbbled something on a card and passed the pasteboard to Mr. Magee. He rang the bell and a hoy came running. "Get Jerry's taxi." ordered the clerk. Then he turned to Mr. Mage.e. "I guess that'll fix you up O. K ." ho said. "Hope you make a killing " "I thank you," said Mr. Magoe. "If there's any number that wins your fancy let me know and I'll play something on It for you." "Much obliged." said the clerk, "but I'd rather put mine In the bank." Mr. Magee slid a twenty-dollar bill across the desk The clerk beamed upon him. The bellboy touched Mr. Magee'B elbow. Ten minutes later his taxi had drawn up before a quiet-seeming building on a quiet-seeming street. Mr. Magoe dismissed his chauffeur and mounted the short flight of steps that led to the vestl-buled vestl-buled door. "The end," said Mr Mageo to himself. "Jnstlfleo tho means. I emphatically do not approvo of gambling, but I can't go to Miss Blake with a yarn that sounds foolish. I must have the goods on Madison, Madi-son, and then well, I needn't go to her at all about him. I can mako him pull out, and a poor fool will rush la where a scoundrel dared to tread. Helgh-ho, it's a great world." s He rang the belL CHAPTER DX In the Gambling Houce JT 'EN in New York, In days gone by. Mr. Magee had never seen a finer equipped gambling place rnau the houce of Hoiberg, Into which, aftor careful examination of the clerk'a card, he waa admitted One needed to be no expert In tho ways of gamblers to know that thlo was no fly-by-night affair. The costly paintings on the walls, the handsome statuary, tho thick Eastern ruga no one but a fool would equip a place thus without assurance assur-ance positive assurance that ho would not be disturbed. Somewhere between fifty and a hundred thousand dollars had it co6t to furnish this home, and men do not make that outlay If there is dangor that tho axes of raiding squads will destroy de-stroy it in hclf an hour. In fact. Mr. Magee had a quick mind, and cou'.d seo through a grindstone, provided a hole were bored through it. In the clippings which he had resd earlier in the ovening he had noticed that the address raided by the district attorney was entirely different from this place. Mr. Magee guessed the answer to tho riddle. Hoiberg had opened up a place as a blind. The district attorney had raided it to make good on his Job. But this place this was" never meant to be raided. And Mr. Magee smiled in congratulatory fashion fash-ion upon the man who rpprouched him as he entered the largo room on the Becond floor and whose face was extremely like the printed pictures of Hoiberg. "Nice place you have here," aa'.d Mr. Magee. "Can't Bay that I've ever been In a finer In this country, at any rate." Mr. Hoiberg beamed upon hl3 new pa- IIL11. 1UUUH JUU, UJ BCLiU. VttiU 1U. o. little bite? Something to drink?" Mr. Magee smiled dissent. "I'd rather take a fling at tho wheel. If you don't mind." he said. "Later perhapB" Hoiberg waved a fat band graciously, and Mr. Magee made his way to the nearest near-est roulette wheel. For a few minutes he watched the progress of the play, no Dg that the stakes were always high, that the lowest check represented twenty dollars, and that a thousand-dollar bet was not at all unusual. He observed the patrons; they wero of that wealthy-financler-sort, who, Mr. Magoe knew, would never risk playing in a public gambling house unless they were pretty certain that discovery was not at all probablo How these patrons had been assured of Immunity from raids Mr. Magee did not know, but Mr. Mageo knew what wao behind be-hind the assurances. The bribes from Hoiberg to Madison were behind them, and Mr. Magee smiled as he placed one of Holberg's taouand-dollar bilU on tho table and asked for checks. "Fifty-dollar ones, please," said Mr. Magee, and curious stares wero bent upon him by the other players. Twenty ivory chips were placed before Mr. Magee. The croupier's voice droned admonition to make the bets, and the little ball began its fateful tumbling about the wheel. Mr. Magee quartered four squares. One of them won; eight to one were his odds, and he was $250 to the good right at the start ' For half an hour, with varying luck, he played the wheel, and then arose, cashing cash-ing in tha stacks of checks before him He vas a hundred ahead, and when he tnrned away from the table Hoiberg was at his elbow, beaming upon hlra. "Lucky, sir?" asked tho gambler. Mr. Magee yawned. "A hundred," he said. "Not through, sir? You ought to press your luck." "It's late," said Mr. Magee. "Almost one o'clock, and I'm tired " "All right, sir," said Hoiberg graciously. "Hope you'll drop In again soon." "I will," promised Mr. Magee. And he meant the promise. He had found out absolutely nothing in his half hour. Most certainly he would come again to-morrow night! "Have a bite now?" asked Hoiberg. "Delighted," acquiesced Mr Magee. Having made good by the exhibition of a decent sized sum of money, having exhibited ex-hibited likewise the headwork of an experienced ex-perienced player. Hoiberg might possibly relax that caution which the gambler must maintain toward new acquaintances. Mr. Magee followed hl3 host toward an inner room, where glimpses of whlte.jack-eted whlte.jack-eted colored waiters promised tempting delicacies. They were partaking of some pate and had opened a quart of champugne and Mr. Magee was endeavoring to feel Hoiberg out. while tho latter was deftly attempting attempt-ing the same thing toward Mr. Magee. with the view of discovering Just how rong, financially, his now patron was, when a hoarse voice called to Hoiberg from the door. The voice was not unfamiliar, and Mr Magee, looking up, recognized His Shiftiness Shifti-ness of the -twenty thousand-dollar bills. 5Vlth great presenco of mind Mr. Magee :oughed. Alr.o he sneezed and found H necessary to place his handkerchlof before his ' H "Excuso me." said Holhorg, and ad- j vanced upon His Shiftiness. The latter was plainly excited; so overwrought, In fact, that ho forgot the first law of Rambling Ram-bling houso etiquc'.te; he raided his rotca "Madison double-crossed us." he cried. j" B "I Just got the tip from Carney! Madi son's goln' over the pollce'i heads and v. j he'll be here in a minute. For the love o u Mike, rush tho gang out and hide the ta j J H bls. He's after us, and" I J With a snarl Hoiberg pushed His Shift! ness away from the door that led to the B roulette room and slammed it shut. i "What the devil's the matter with you, ' Tarson?" he snapped. "Want to let the whole town got hep that Madison 11 do . business?" l "But he wont! Curse him!" snarled ! Tarson. "He's on his way here now, i, and" "Didn't you slip him his bit to-day?" "Solt'nly I did," almost walled- Tarson, "and a few minutes ago I got him on the wire and asked him what the devil he meant by starting this thing after we'd done him square, and he bawled me out. Ho said I lied' He said ho'd waited for mo an hour by tho station, and that no cheap gambler could give him a corner stand! The blasted liar' He's taken our coin; he's going to pull us, too. I hope to heaven he" The fat hand of Hoiberg wound about the throat of Tarson. The gambler's eyen blazed and his voice shook with rage. "Curse you. Tarson, It's you that's cross Ing mel Madison wouldn't raid this place if he'd got his. Ho needs the coin too bad. You lying whelp' You copped it, and now you think to etall me this wayl By I've a mind to cut your heart out!" ,, I Desperately His Shiftiness struggled la tho grasp of Hoiberg. His red face greva more crimson; his eyes were popping from his head; tho fear of death stood large on his countenance. It was Mr Magee undoubtedly who saved Hoiberg from murder and Tarson from death. The negro servants, almost white faced In their terror as they stared at the scene, were afraid to interfere Mr. Mageo crossed the room swiftly. His fln gers bit the arm of Hoiberg. "Let him go," he snapped. "This is getting get-ting you nothing." Holberg's eyes were bestial in his In sane anger, but the fingers of Mr. Magee were iron Slowly the grip of Hoiberg upon upon the throat of his hendhman relaxed. Tarson slid, choking and gasping, to the floor Hoiberg turned upon the rescuer. "He's crossed me," he cried. "The dog! Where do you get off to butt In? Who the devil are you anyway? I've a mind to how do I know but you're a bull yourself? Who are you? You're a stranger to me, you" h "You know how I got In here," said Mr Magee easily. "Can the rough stuff' II you're going to make a getaway you'd bet ter tip the people inside that what's the best way out. anyway?" The question awoke Hoiberg to his senses. He flung open tho door and ran into the roulette room. Mr. Magee was clo?e behind him. and their wild rush was emulated by the players at tho tables, who sensed danger In their speed. But before Hoiberg had reached the door that led to the flight of stairs tnere camo a craBh against the street door. Hoiberg turned aDd faced the now panic-stricken crowd that were scrambling for exit ' Back, curse you, back'" he cried. "You can't get out this way! The bulls are at the door! Back!" They gave way for a decond before his fury. The second was enough. Assisted by an employe at the open door, Hoiberg Hlamraed it shut, and tho ringing sound it gave forth was proof enough that its panels were of steel and that the Jamb was also of metal. A huge key was In the lock. Hoiberg turned it. withdrew it and placed it in his pocket. "There, blast them, that'll hold 'em awhile," he snarled. ( A white-bearded man, banker wrltter all over him, approached the gambler. "But my dear Hoiberg. you must letug go! This will ruin me, this will" "Go to the devil!" cried Hoiberg. He rushed toward the roulette tables, already being folded by busy croupiers. "To tho roof with 'cm," he ordered. "Got 'em up there and onto the next building! By , they'vo got to have evidence to convict, curse 'cm. and they won't And a thing in the house. Hustle!" He turned again toward the clamoring mob of players. "Shut up, you fools," he raged. "And keep away from those stairs to the roof, or I'll drill some of you! You stay right here and face the music with me." (To be Continued Wert Qundoi CoprrlJtht. 1810. 7 International Feature Service. lac. i nfla IeSS HhsSi H A'K iflti MUH |
