Show v cju ca T arfst r j aar an francis CIO J BY ay ALUE ALLIE LOWE M ib copyright 1927 bro ric turen inc dolores costello in OLD SAN FRANCISCO is s a warnor warner bros broa of 0 this novel chapter XII continued both arm aims around the sword pie siny sing it cloae to her breast deloies deloi her check against the hilt she wondered Non dered what Buc buckell kvell intended to tc do about the rancho in tile the face oi of new but that paled pale I 1 into insignificance beside her hei new grief oli oil Gran granddaddy daddy she cued and with heart alnio almost t breaking bie aking knelt on oil the ground be beside ade iii his body and lever antly placed the sword between them then she beed her held head and ill tl v said lid a prater which ended with a vow to avenge his death an owl took up his night stand in the big biff tree overhead and still dolores mourned n beside her grandfather giand gland father tern had not let umed CHAPTER XIII dolores plots vengeance the file fast horses that buckwell lad had engaged for the trip to the rancho carried him back to town in lecoin tinie time without hesitating in the lutei chambers chamber lie hurried t to 0 his andel cound quarters have jimmie upstairs within the hour he be commanded of san toy who waited with willing and eager hands to believe him of hat and cane ye Q it is done she nodded dundei stan bandin ON but in her heart won feied what new scheme her master wa ava plotting that lie needed his hi favorite spy sar sap toy was truly an botic flower of the orient a beautiful little bit of humanity to look upon and as clever ani and cunning mean tally a as the master slie she served so loyally loyall and for whom she had given up everything buckwell had a mysterious poyer that lie he could ebelt at will nill and although lie he had long since ceased truing tring to exert it over san toy she was wa always his willing slave and happy to reflect his goodes do liis his bidding and be leady when it pleased him to want ant her she had seen little of buckwell lately and would like to have sat at his feet white while lie he smoked and perhaps played with her ear while lie he laid plans for foi some campaign Hoi however ever his hi woul woid was law and avith only a le ie backward glance that lie lid did not trouble to notice san toy darted away through h a maze of underground passageways eways t to 0 a notorious gambling ambling hall where jimmie jimmi ef could usually ba found v divesting himself of frock coat buckwell slipped into the handsome mandalin creation and knelt at his own on chinese shrine before the god of his real fathers rocking lacking to and fro lie he prayed in a frenzy to the budday on oil the altar before hirn him the beddall whom he had cheated cheated and whom lie he feared would some day conspire with the christian god to work his ruin forgive Foi give me forche me ii e lie he endell ended hi prayer aloud then continued 1 muttering lutt ering in in an undertone S so 0 you hae sinned again my bi birther other shouted the dwarf gleefully pressing his hideous grinning face against the window as lie clung to the bais and held himself up after the fashion of a ion long aimed monkey and now nonn you seek solace of a god whose feet even you aie not worthy to touch A wild ild peal of laughter filled the room and bucknell Buc kuell shuddered many times he had cursed cured himself for lacking the courage to kill the deformed brother birther whose discerning mind always detected his faults and taunted him with his transgression it would have beep been a I 1 relief to sent send him away but even that was impossible because lie he would talk and reveal their nationality tiona lity tile the only thing that buckwell Buc lnell took every precaution to conceal nto no the only safe place for his birther bi other was locked up in the wall cage that had been made especially for him in ill buck wells private underground sanctuary the i ecret loom that could be reached only through hidden doors and a strange bewildering passageway ag again ain shrieking I 1 laughter filled the room the dwarf knew that it maddened Buc buckwell kuell and it was his only I 1 means of torment he delighted to employ it lonz long and often shut up you scum of liell hell yelled buckwell buckell you curse my brother eliat is one I 1 sin morel more he stopped laughing and continued grimly 1 I 1 it any conff comfort foit to me that some inner sense always tells tell me v hen h you sin and I 1 must inua wait patiently to witness the sight of your cringing lipo hypocritical critical penitence talk to me I 1 inive have no nile ne with whom to exchange I 1 ideas but I 1 know oh yc yes 1 I 1110 1 know w and again lie he lau laughed and added to tile the din by cattlin battling latt lin ling the bar of hi his cage keep quiet qui et you vou flan damned ined imbecile angered beyond control buckwell rose j broin ironi ni knees and strode tr otle to tile the barred w aindow his face distorted with rage rae kill me f am ready I 1 wait nvart patiently for death to relea release se ms me from this inferno the dwarf laughing and looked expect expectantly ta antly at his brother buckwell halted lie he wanted to crush the life out of that gnarled little littie body but feared the wrath of his kadi god too strongly with bowed heild head ile he turned back to the altar fell on oil his sacrilegious knees and swayed in the unfortunate brother smiled knowingly and took malicious deliget in taunting chuckles with his brothers brother chanted prayer after a half hours hour deot devotions ions buckwell cast aside tile the influence of chiq hi alood lood inheritance ond and again assuming lie he artir antiro and facial e expresion epresi on of a wealthy ve althy leader of the western went above to his sumptuous living zoom room and found jimmie awaiting his orders until further furta r notice they were simply thib dont let dolores vasquez get out of your sight I 1 want nant to know she say or doe or plans to do if you fail me ine its your last cal understand buckwell glared menacingly jimmie understood and lost no time tim e in getting on the job it was a pitifully small gathering of frie friends rids who paid the last final tribute to tie de vasquez quez and dolnics was nas the only lela tive the last male member of tile the vas adez family famil wa was laid a at t r rubt in t ile buical gro ground und of his ance ancestors close by tile the wall of the famous old mission during the sad pad grief stricken lays days that immediately preceded the ceremony terry hall had been dolores mainstay lie he was as the only one on whom she could now depend of don luis juis the so attentive young spaniard aid of but a few weeks previous nothing was headid except a belated letter of condolence to be sure lure one or two of her grandfathers old mends friend offered aid but their suggestion was given in buch a halfhearted half hearted manner that dolores felt slie she could do nothing but ictus as is gracefully as possible slip wa a giuly alone the old peon w was is helpful in a feeble sort of way iut but ile he had loved his master deeply and was s so bicken up that lie he was of very little value c except capt to do the leg ular household choice terrys daily visits visit s wele eagerly e a garly anticipated and as regretfully ended but more and more moie dolnics came to icaline how utterly alone she was and that the heavy burden of saving tile the iras vasquez quez heritage had been itans fians posed to her ber shoulders deis dels she was determined terni ter mined hied however to avenge lier her grandfather gland father and bring brin his slayer slaver to justice for she felt that buckwell had truly killed him but she was waa NN weak eak and buckwell ell was so power powei powerful ful that hat she despaired of being able to do it and fearful to even meet him had she die known that every move she made v as watched by one of his spies s i es and that eveia visit of teries ea had d been reported leport cd back to san francisco she would have been even more terrified immediately after her grandfathers burial as she and terry sat by the patio fountain discussing the best way to meet the situation her hands clenched convulse convulsively ely and she turned to him saying oh oh I 1 know I 1 should not have trusted him I 1 should never have let him enter our home 1 I know my dear but when lie he came you vou did not know who lie he was and buckwell is clever he would not have such power and influence in san francisco unless lie he had the ability to bend other to his will dont take it to heart you were not to blame consoled terr terry y cradling her hand in his perhaps not but if I 1 had only ki known lown then that he a white man I 1 would have suspected something continued dolores terry started perceptibly not a white man what do you mean he hult hint her land hand without realizing his clasp had tightened oil oh teny ten y I 1 folget to tell you senor But buckwell kwell is an oriental a half caste chinaman I 1 am suie of it 1 teny leaned forward intently as slie she continued the lay day that grandfather died when senor buckwell bucknell was hele heie and I 1 accused him of being responsible for death and even elen threatened him with the savoid he underwent a complete transition he was as terrified tei rifled and kept looking at rne me and into the chapel and then such a queer change came over him he looked exactly like a chinaman lie he even mumbled muni 1 bled something about christian bells and then lie he guined and fled as if someone was chasing him oil if I 1 could only avenge grandfather a vasquez vasque avenges a vasquez and I 1 am the last of the family to do it dolores paused slie she was overcome I 1 with emotion and terry silently looked at her with ith a far away expresion suddenly lie he said grimly deloies Do loies weve got buckwell at last he has been delivered into your hands dont you voil see sec it deal As a white man buckwell lias bas been persecuting the chinese e they late hate and despise him even though they fear him but if lie he is revealed aled a as s one of their own race they will stop at nothing to effect his I 1 uin buin dolores smiled slowly as the possibility became clearer to her terry continued the tiling thing to do is to see lu im fong the leader of the six si tongs that rule chinatown I 1 will see sec him for you and tell him what hat ou cu have discovered dolores shook her lend head piously no teny a vasquez avenges a V vasquez as I 1 N will ill go with you to lu fong and tell him myself tonight you cant do that dear you must not it is impossible and risky no gill should venture into such lucli a 1 place I 1 can do it for foi you juat as well dont think of it please but dolores was insistent the rhe chance to fulfill her obligation to her lineage thrilled her with eager anticipation ci ri and quickly pulling teny meliv by 1 the land hand she led lihn him into the living room As soon as they disappeared from view a skulking figure arose from behind a busily near the fountain where dolores and teny had been sitting and made off towards the gateway to tile the load that led into san francisco it wis was jimma 11 if lie ever had any other name it had long since been forgotten not that it mattered either cither to him or to those with whom lie he mingled for one namo was about as good as another and as easy to aci quire jimmy was a typical alley rat and with hiis his hat pulled down don oer his beyes and a cigarette stuck in one corner of his lips lie he was no one with avith whom to become better acquainted but more than that jimmy was a stool pigeon for the czar of the tenderloin chris buckwell no one knew it but jimmy and buckwell and that made him all the more useful to the leader of the underworld all the gossip that was rife in the haunt of those who lived without the law found its way into jimmys ears all and sooner or later reached buckwell much to jimmys profit and Buck wells satisfaction buckwell was a hard master but he be paid well when plop eily served |