OCR Text |
Show "rT O .lOM GEORGi ilPORAi' COMlLfidTf BY ROBERT W. CHAMBERS. '1922, Oeorge. H. Porsn Compon'. i BK(.I HFTHK TODAY In somo manner. MIKE CLINCH, proprietor of a die-reputable die-reputable i:imp In the Adlrond.icks v hers he lives with hit beautiful step-daughter. BVB STUAVEIt, Is concerned In tha mystery of the prlcolss FlamlnS Jewel. The Flaming Jewel was first stolen from B refugee countess of Esthonla by jt'INT 1l Xa. the great Internal loml thief. Mo loses possession "f It and writes to his New York agent. SARD, that It is now held bv Mike Clinch. .IAMKS DARRAG-H, who has vwortl to recover the jevrel for the countess, rohn Sard, takes tho letter and ffOQJ to Clinch's cabin where he works under the name of HAL SMITH He la trailed by State Troopers, but Evo, who know- hlx arrest will cause, more trouble for her step-father, warns him t hide while she deceives STATE TROOPER STORMONT r On VltI the Stor. CHA1TER I When State Trooper Storniont came out on the edge of owl Marsh, th'! girl tras kneeling b the water wash-In;- doer tdood from her slender, Miin-i Miin-i tanned fingers. "What uro vou dedng here?' fche Inquired, looking up over her should i with a slight smile "Just having a look around.'' he said pleasantly. "That's a nice f;it buck you have there." "Yes, he's nice." OU :-hot him?" aked Storrnont. "Who else do you suppose shot him?" she Inquired, smilingly She rinsed her lingers again and stood up. swinging her arms to dry her hands l!the. grav-shlrted figure In her uoyisn garmi nis, uraigni. supple, uiti st rong Storrnont smiled too, then became grave, "Who else was here wjUi you?" he askcii quietly. She seemed surprised Did you see anybody else?" He hesitated, flushed, pointed downj St the wet sphagnum. Smith's foot-i prints were there In damning contrast! to her own. "orete than that Smith's pipe lay on an embedded log. and a rubber tobacco pouch beside it She said with a slight catch In her I breath "It seems that somebody has been here. . . Some hunter, per- j haps -or a game warden. ".ir Hal Smith." said Storrnont. A painful color swept the girlV face and throat. The man. sorry forj her looked away. After a silence "I know something about you.'" he said gently. 'And now that I've seen you -heard you speak met your eyes I know enough about you to form an opinion. . . So I don't ask you to turn informer. But the law won't stand for what Cllm h ll doing whatever provocation he h i -had. And h- must not aid or abet any criminal, or harbor any malefactor " The girl's features were expressionless. expression-less. The passive, sullen beauty of her troubled the trooper. "Trouble for Clinch means sorrow for you " he said. "I don't want you 'to be unhappy. I bear l!nch no ill will. For this reason I aak him, and 1 ask vou too. to stand clear of this : affair. ; "Hal Smith is wanted I'm here to itake him." As she said nothing, he looked down at the foot-print in the sphagnum sphag-num Then his eyes moved to the next Imprint; to the next. Tlion ho moved slowly along the water's edge, tracking the course of the man he was following. I The girl watched him In silence ; until the plain trail led him to the ispruce thicket. "Don't go in there!" she said sharply, sharp-ly, with an odd tremor In her voice. I He turned and looked at her. then 'stepped calmly Into the thicket And the next Instant she was among the 'spruces, too. confronting him with her rifle. I ';:t out of thfiif woods!" he Mid, Ho looked Into the girl's deathly white face "Evo." he Maid. 'It will go hard 'With you If you kill me. I don't want you to live out your life in prison." "I can't help it. if you send my father to prltnri t.o'll die. I'd rathar die myself. Ia-i us slone. I tell you'' jTho man you're after Is nothing to jus. We didn't know he had Htuck up anybody!" If hc nothing to you. why do you point tint rifle at me?" " I tall you he In nothing to ua. But my father wouldn't betray a dog. And II won't. Th.it'n all. Now get out of ithi-wc woodfl and come hack tomorrow. Nobody'll Interfere with you then." Storrnont smiled: Eve." he paid, "do you reallv think me ni yellow as .that?" Her blue iyp3 flashed a terrible learning, dot. In the sama Instant, he 'had caught her rifla, twlntlng It out r! he: gra.ip as It exploded. I The dotonatlon dazed her. thou as h' flung the rifle Into the water "dv Icaught him h nock and belt and I flung him bodily Into the spruce Bui she fell with him; he held her twisting and struggling with all hor. uperb and yuppie strength, staggered to his feet, still mastering her; and. it" she struggled. Mobblnic, locked hot 'and panting in hl arms, he snapped a pair of handcuffs on her wrists and , fl Ulig her a-ddc. She iei) on both knees, got up shoulder deep in spruce, tdood running jfrom her Up over her chin The trooper took her by the arm-j Bhe was trembling all oxer. He took a thin steel chain and padlock from his pockel paaaed the nnki around her steel -bound wrists, and fastened, her to a jroung birch tree. Th n dr&Wh Ing his plntol from lt holster. h. , ont swiftly forward) .through the spruces. When he saw the cleft In the rockvi Clank Of Star Peak. h walked straight ti the Mack hole which confronted1 him. "t'omc out of there." he said distinctly. dis-tinctly. After a few aeci ndl Smith came out , ''Good Ood!" vald Storrnont In a low vol) e, "What arc you doing here : 1 larragh ?" Darragh came close and rested one 1 hand on Stormont's shoulder- I "Pon't rai. my game Storrnont. I 1 never dreamed you were In the i.'nn-l tabulary or I'd have let you know." 1 "Are you 1-lal Smith?" 1 sure am. Where's that girl'" "Handcuffed out yonder" "Then for Gods sake go back and act as If you hadn't found me Tell ; Mayor Chandler that I'm after bigger j game than he Is." I "Clinch T" Storrnont I'm here to protect Mike Clinch. Ttll th.- Mayor not to touch 1 him. The men I'm after are going to try to rob him. I don't want them I to because well. I'm going to robi him myself." I Storrnont stared. "You must stand i me. said Darragh "So must the mayor. He knows me through and through Tell! him to forget that hold-up. I stopped I that man Sard. I frisked hlrn. Tell' the Mayor. I'll keep In touch with I Ihlm." "Of course' said Storrnont. "that settle It." I I '"Thanks, old chap Now go back j to that girl and let her believe that j !you never found me." A slight smile touched '.heir eyes. Both instinctively saluted. Then they, shook hands; fjarragh, alias Hal Smith, went hack Into the hemlOOhH Bhaded hole In the rocks; Trooper Storrnont walked slowly down through the spruces. When Eve saw him returning empty handed, something flashed In her pallid face like sunlight across snow Storrnont paMed her, went to the water's edge, soaked a spicy handful of. sphagnum moss In the Icy water, came back and wiped the blood from her face Tho girl seemed astounded: her face' surged In vivid color as he unlocked un-locked the handcuffs and pocketed them and tho little steel cnaln Her Hp was bleeding again II" Washed It with wet moss, took a clean handkerchief from the breast of his tunic and laid It against her mouth. "Hold It there." he said Mechanically she raised her hand to support the compress. Storrnont went back to the shore, recovered her rlfl from the shallow water, and returned with it. Aa Bhe made no motion to take It. he stood it against the tree to which he had tied her. Then he came close to her where she stOOd holding his handkerchief agalnnt In r mouth and looking at him out of steady eyes as deeply blue us gentian blossoms. "Eve," he said, "you win. But you won't forgive me I wish wo could be friends, some day We never can. now. . . Good-byv' Neither spoke again Then, of a sudden the girl's eyes flllod, ani Trooper btormont caught her free hand and kissed It kissed it again and again dropped It and went striding strid-ing away through the underbrush which was now all rosy with the rajs of sunset. After he had disappeared, the girl. Evo, went to the cleft In the rocks above. ' Come out ' hsi- said contem ptyous-ly ptyous-ly "It's a good thing you hid. because be-cause there was s real ma.n after you. and God help you If he ever finds you!" 1 1 it. I Smith came out. "Pack In your meat," said ih girl I curtly, and flung Ills rifle across her , shoulder. Through tho ruddy afterglow she led the way homeward, a man's handkerchief pressed to her wounded mouth her eyes preoccupied with the strangeHt thoughts that ever had 1 stirred her virgin mind Behind her walked Iarragh with I bis loaded venison and his alias and' his tongue In Ills cheek. Thtfs legan the preliminaries toward1 th-- ultimate undoing of Mike Clinch, j Fate, Chancp. and Destiny had undertaken under-taken the Job In earnest. (Continued In Our Next Issue 00 |