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CHAPTER I.
The Threshold of Adventure.
1 The roar of State street filled the
ears of Robert Orme not unpleasantly.
He liked Chicago, felt towards the
western city something more than the
tolerant, patronizing Interest which
so often characterizes the eastern
man. To him It was the hub of gen
uine Americanism young:, aggressive,
perhaps a bit too cocksure, but ever
bounding along with eyes toward the
future. Here was the city of great
beginnings, the city of experiment
experiment with life; hence Its incom
pleteness an Incompleteness not dis
similar to that of life Itself. Chi
cago lived; It was the pulse of the
great middle west
; Orme watched the procession with '
clear eyes. He had been strolling
southward from the Masonic Temple,
Into the shopping district The
clangor, the smoke and dust the hur
rying crowds, all worked into his
mood. The expectation of adventure
was far from him. Nor was be a man
who Bought Impressions for amuse
ment; whatever came to him he weigh
ed, and accepted or rejected according
as it was valueless or useful. Whole
some he was; any one might infer
that from his face. Doubtless, his
fault lay in his overemphasis on the
purely practical; but that, after all,
was a lawyer's fault and It was
counterbalanced by a sweet kindliness
toward all the world a loveableness
which made for him a friend of every
chance acquaintance. I
I It was well along In the afternoon, '
and shoppers were hurrying home
ward. Orme noted the fresh beauty j
c-f the women and girls Chicago has
reason to be proud of her daughters
and his heart beat a little faster.
Not that he was a man to be caught '
by every pretty stranger; but scarce
ly recognized by himself, there was a
hidden spring of romance in his prac-,
tlcal nature. HearMree, he never met
a woman without wondering whether
she was the one. He had never found
her; he did not know that he was
looking for her; yet always there was
the unconscious question.
1 A distant whistle, the clanging of
gongs, the rapid beat of galloping
hoofs fire engines were racing down
the street Cars stopped, vehicles of
all kinds crowded in toward the curbs.
Orme paused and watched the fire
horses go thundering by, their smo-1
king chariots swaying behind them '
and dropping long trails of sparks. 1
Small boys were running, men and
women were stopping to gaze after
the passing engines, but Orme's at
tention was taken by something that
was happening near by, and as the
gongs and the hoof-beats grew fainter
he looked with Interest to the street
beside him. -
He had got as far as the corner of
Madison street The scramble to get
out of the" way of the engines had
here resulted in a traffic jam. Two
policemen were moving about shout
ing orders for the disentanglement of
the street cars and vehicles which
seemed to be inextricably wedged to
gether. A burly Irish teamster was bellow
ing at his horse. The hind wheel of
a smart barouche was caught in the
fore wheel of a delivery wagon, and ;
the driver of the delivery wagon was
expressing his opinion of the situation
in terms which seemed to embarrass
the elderly gentleman who sat In the
barouche. Orme's eye traveled
through the outer edge of the dls-.
turbance, and sought its center.
There in the midst of the tangle
was a big black touring car. Its one
occupant was a girl and such a girl!
Her fawn-colored cloak was thrown
open; her face was unveiled. Orme I
was thrilled when he caught the
glory of her face the clear skin,
browned by outdoor living; the de-
mure but regular features; the eyes
that seemed to transmute and reflect
roftly all Impressions from without
Orme had never seen any one like
her so nobly unconscious of self, so
appealing and yet so calm.
She was waiting patiently, Inter
ested In the clamor about her, but
seemingly undisturbed by her own I
rart in it Orme's eyes did not leave
her face. lie was merely one of a
crowd at the curb, unnoted by her,
but when after a time, he became
aware that he was staring, he felt the
blood rush to his cheeks, and be mut
tered: "What a boor I am!" And
then, "But who can she be? Who can
the be?"
I A policeman made his way to the
,black car. Orme saw him speak to
the girl; saw her brows knit; and he
quickly threaded his way into the
'street His action was barely con
scious, but nothing could have stopped
ihim at that moment.
! "Tou'll have to come to the station,
salsa," the policeman was saying.
1 mgfsmi
"But what have I done?" Her voice
was broken music.
"You've violated the traffic regula
tions, and made all this trouble, that's
what you've done."
"I'm on a very Important errand,"
she began, "and"
"I can't help that miss, you ought
to have had some one with you that
knew the rules."
Her eyes were perplexed, and she
looked about her as if for help. For
a moment her gaze fell on Orme, who
was close to the policeman's elbow.
Now, Orme had a winning and dis
arming smile. Without hesitation, he
touched the policeman on the shoul
der, beamed pleasantly, and said:
"Pardon me, officer, but this car was
forced over by that dray."
sne was on tne wrong side, re
turned the policeman, after a glance
which modified his first intention to
take offence. "She had no business
over here."
"It was either that or a collision.
My wheel was scraped, as It was."
She, too, was smiling now.
The policeman pondered. He liked
to be called "officer;" he liked to be
smiled upon; and the girl, to judge
from her manner and appearance,
might well be the daughter of a man
of position. "Well," he said after a
moment "be more careful another
time." He turned and went back to
his work among the other vehicles,
covering the weakness of his sur
render by a fresh display of angry au
thority. The girl gave a little sigh of relief
and looked at Orme. "Thank you,"
she said.
: Then he remembered that he did
not know this girl. "Can I be of
further service?" he asked.
"No" she answered, "I think not
But thank you just the same." She
gave him a friendly little nod and
turned to the steering gear.
There was nothing for It but to go,
and Orme returned to the curb. A
moment later he saw the black car
move slowly away, and he felt as
though something sweet and fine
were going out of his life. If only
there had been some way to prolong
the incident! He knew Intuitively
that this girl belonged to his own
class. Any insignificant acquaintance
might Introduce them to each other.
And yet convention now thrust them
apart
Sometime he might meet her. In
deed, he determined to find out who
she was and make that sometime a
certainty. He would prolong his stay
in Chicago and search society until
he found her. No one had ever before
sent such a thrill through his heart
He must find her, become her friend,
perhaps But again he laughed to
himself, "What a boor I am!"
After all she was but a passing
stranger, and the pleasant reverie into
which his glimpse of her had led him
was only a reverie. The memory of
her beauty and elusive charm would
disappear; his vivid impression of her
would be effaced. But even while he
thought this he found himself again
wondering who she was and how he
could find her. He could not drive
her from his mind.
Meantime he had proceeded slowly
on his way. Suddenly a benevolent,
white-bearded man halted him, with
a deprecating gesture. "Excuse me,
sir," he began, "but your hat "
Orme lifted his straw hat from his
head. A glance showed him that It
was disfigured by a great blotch of
black grease. He had held his hat in
his hand while talking to the girl,
and it must have touched her car at
a point where the axle of the dray
had rubbed. So this was his one me
mento of the Incident
He thanked the stranger, and walked
to a near-by hatter's, where a ready
clerk set before him hats of all styles.
He selected one quickly and left his
soiled hat to be cleaned and sent
home later.
Offering a ten-dollar bill In payment
he received In change a five-dollar bill
and a silver dollar. He gave the coin
a second glance. It was the first sil
ver dollar that he had handled for
some time, for he seldom visited the
west
"There's no charge for the clean
ing," said the clerk, noting down
Orme's name and address, and hand
ing the soiled hat to the cash boy.
Orme, meantime, was on the point
of folding the five-dollar bill to put It
Into his pocket book. Suddenly he
looked at It intently. Written In Ink
across the face of It, were the words:
"Remember Person You Pay This To."
The writing was apparently a hur
ried scrawl, but the letters were large
and quite legible. They appeared to
have been written on an uneven sur
face, for there were several jogs and
breaks In the writing, as If the pen
bad slipped.
"This is curious," remarked Orme.
The clerk blinked his watery eyes
end looked at the Mil in Orme's hard.
"Oh, yes, sir," he explained. "1 re
member that. The gentleman who
paid it iu this morning called our at
tention to it"
"If he's the man who wrote this, he
rrobably doesn't know that there's a
law against defacing money."
"But it's perfectly good, isn't It?"
inquired the clerk. "If you want an
other instead "
"Oh, no," laughed Orme. " The
banks would take It"
"But. sir" began the clerk.
"I should like to keep It If I can't
get rid of it, I'll bring it back. It's a
hoax or an endless chain device or
something of the sort I'd like to
find out."
He looked again at the writing.
Puzzles and problems always inter
ested blm, especially If they seemed
to Involve some human story.
"Very well," said the clerk, "I'll re
member that you have it Mr " he
peered at the name he bad set down
"Mr. Orme."
Leaving the hatters's, Orme turned
back on State street, retracing his
steps. It was close to the dinner
hour, and the character of the street
crowds had changed. The shoppers
had disappeared. Suburbanites were
by this time aboard their trains and
homeward bound. The street was
thronged with hurrying clerks and
shop girls, and the cars were jammed
with thousands more, all of them
thinking, no doubt of the same two
things something to eat and relaxa
tion. x
What a hive it was, this great
street! And how scant the lives of
the great majority I Working, eating,
sleeping, marrying and given In mar
riage, bearing children and dying-
was that all? "But growing, too," said
Orme to himself. "Growing, too."
Would this be the sum of his own
life that of a worker in the hive?
It came to him with something of an
inner pang that thus far his scheme
of things had Included little more.
He wondered why be was now recog
nizing this scantiness, this lack In his
life.
He came out of his reverie to find
himself again at the Madison street
corner. Again he Bcemed to see that
beautiful girl in the car, and to hear
the music of her voice.
How could he best set about to find
her? She might be, like himself, a
visitor in the city. But there was the
touring car. v Well, she might have
run in from one of the suburbs. He
could think of no better plan than to
call that evening on the Walllnghams
and describe the unknown to Bessie
and try to get her assistance. Bessie
would divine the situation, and she
would guy him unmercifully, he knew;
but he would face even that for an
other glimpse of the girl of the car.
And at that moment he was start
led by a sharp explosion. He looked
to the street There was the black
car, bumping along with one flat tire.
The girl threw on the brakes and
came to a stop.
In an Instant Orme was In the
street. If he thought that she would
not remember hlra, her first glance al-
D
Orme Lifted His Straw Ht From Hit
Head.
tered the assumption, for she looked
down at him with a ready smile and
said: "You see, I do need you again,
after all."
As for Orme, he could think of
notblng better to say than simply: "I
am glad." With that he began to un
fasten the spare tire.
"I shall watch you with interest"
she went on. "I know how to run a
car though you might not think It
oui i aon c unow how to repair one."
"That's a man's Job, anyway," said
Orme, busy now with the Jack, which
was slowly raising the wheel from
the pavement
"Shall I get out?" she asked. "Does
my weight make any difference?"
"Not at all," said Orme; but never
theless, she descended to the street
and stood beside him while he worked.
"I didn't know there were all those
funny things Inside," she mused.
Orme laughed. Her comment was
vague, but to him it was enough Just
to hear her voice. He had got the
wheel clear of the street and was
taking off the burst tire.
"We seem fated to meet," she said.
Orme looked up at her. "I hope you
won't think me a cad," he said, "if I
say that I hope we may meet many
times."
Her little frown warned him that
she had misunderstood.
"Do you happen to know the Tom
Walllnghams?" he asked.
Her smile returned. "I know a
Tom Walllngham and a Bessie Wall
Ingham." "They're good friends of mine.
Don't you think that they might intro
duce us?"
"They might" she vouchsafed, "if
they happened to see as both at Ue
same time."
BBS
' H ljasrsssBUBPiiMkrf
urnie returned to his task. The
crowd that always gathers was now
close about them, and there was little
opportunity for talk. He finished his
Job neatly, and stowed away the old
lire.
She was In the car before he could
offer to help her. "Thank you again,"
she said.
"If only you will let me arrange it
with the Wallinghams," he faltered.
"I will think about it" She smiled.
He felt that she was slipping away.
"Give me some clue," he begged.
"Where is your spirit of romance?"
she railed at him; then apparently re
lenting: "Perhaps the next time we
meet
Orme groaned. With a little nod
like that which had dismissed him at
the time of his first service to her,
she pulled the lever and the car
moved away.
Tumult In his breast Orme walked
on. He watched the black car thread
its way down the street and disappear
around a corner. Then he gave him
self over to his own bewildering re
flections, and he was still busy with
them when he found himself at the
entrance of the Pere Marquette. He
had crossed the Rush street bridge
and found his way up to the Lake
Shore drive almost without realizing
whither he was going.
Orme had come to Chicago at the
request of eastern clients to meet half
way the owners of a western mining
property. When he registered at the
Annex he found awaiting him a tele
gram saying that they had been de
tained at Denver and must necessari
ly be two days late. Besides the tele
gram, there had been a letter for him
a letter from his friend. Jack Bax
ter, to whom he had written of his
coming. Jack had left the city on
business, it appeared, but he urged
Orme to make free of his North side
apartment. So Orme left the Annex
and went to the rather too gorgeous,
but very luxurious. Pere Marquette,
where he found that the staff had
been instructed to keep a close eye
on his comfort AH this bad hap
pened but three short hours ago.
After getting back to the apartment
Orme's first thought was to telephone
to Bessie Walllngham. He decided,
however, to wait till after dinner. He
did not like to appear too eager. So
he went down to the public dining
room and ate what was placed before
him, and returned to his apartment
Just at dusk.
In a few moments he got Bessie
Walllngham on the wire.
"Why, Robert Orme!" she ex
claimed. "Wherever did you come
from?"
"The usual place. Are you and
Tom at home this evening?"
"I'm so sorry. We're going out with
some new friends. Wish I knew them
well enough to ask you along. Can
you have some golf with us at Arra
dale tomorrow afternoon?"
"Delighted! Say, Bessie, do you
know a girl who runs a black touring
car?"
"What?"
"Do you know a tall, dark girl who
has a black touring car?"
"I know lots of tall, dark girls, and
several of them have black touring
cars. Why?"
"Who are they?"
There was a pause and a little
chuckle; then: "Now, Bob, that won't
do. You must tell me all about it to
morrow. Call for us In time to catch
the one-four."
That was all that Orme could get
out of her; and after a little banter
and a brief exchange of greetings
with Tom, who was called to the tele
phone by his wife, the wire was per
mltted to rest.
Orme pushed a chair to the window
of the sitting room and smoked lazily,
looking out over the beautiful expanse
of Lake Michigan, which reflected
from Its glassy surface the wonderful
opalescence of early evening. He
seemed to have set forth on a new and
adventurous road. How strangely the
girl of the car had come into his life!
Then he thought of the five-dollar
bill, with the curious inscription. He
took it from his pocketbook and ex
amined it by the fading light. The
words ran the full length of the face.
Orme noticed that the writing had a
foreign look. There were flourishes
which seemed distinctly un-American.
He turned the bill over. Apparent
ly there was no writing on the back,
but as he looked more closely he saw
a dark blur in the upper left hand
corner. Even In the dusk he could
make out that this was not a spot of
dirt; the edges were defined too dis
tinctly for a smudge; and It was not
black enough for an ink-blot
Moving to the center table, he
switched on the electric lamp, and
looked at the blur again. It stood out
plainly now, a series of letters and
numbers:
"Evans, S. It Chi. A. 100 N. 210 E.
The first thought that came to Orme
was that this could be no hoax. A
Joker would have made the curious
cryptogram more conspicuous. But
what did It mean? Was it a secret
formula? Did It give the location of
a burled treasure? And why In the
name of common senBO had It been
written on a five-dollar bill?
More likely, Orme reasoned, it con
coaled information for or about
some person "S. R. Evans," probably.
And who wes this S. R. Evans?
The better to study the mystery,
Orme copied the Inscription on a sheet
of note paper, which he found in the
table drawer. From the first be de
cided that there was no cipher. The
letters undoubtedly were abbrevia
tions. 'Evans" must be, as he had al
ready determined, a man's name.
"Chi" might be, probably was, "Chl
cage." "100 N. 110 E." looked like
"100 (feet? paces?) north, 110 (feet?
paces?) east"
Tat "A." tat tie "T.- botaer4 kin.
"A." nnput bo the place to which "S.
R. Evans" was directed, or at which
ho was to be found a place sufficient
ly indicated by the letter. Now as to
the "T." was it "treasure?" Or was
It "time?" Or "true?" Orme had no
way of telling. It might even be the
Initial of the person who had penned
the instructions.
Without knowing where "A" was,
Orme could make nothing of the
tryptogram. For that matter, he
realized that uuless the secret were
criminal It was not his affair. But he
knew that legitimate business in
formation is seldom transmitted by
such mysterious means.
Again and again he went over the
abbreviations, but the mors closely he
studied them, the more baffling h
found them. The real meaning ap
peared to hinge on the "A." and the
"T." Eventually he was driven to the
conclusion that those two letters
could not be understood by anyono
who was not already partly In the
Could Make
Nothing of
gram.
the Crypto-
lecret if secret it was. It occurred to
him to have the city directory sent
up to him. He might then find the
address of "8. R. Evans," if that per
son happened to be a Chlcagoan. But
It was quite likely that the "Chi."
might mean something other than
that "Evans" lived In Chicago. Per
haps, in the morning he would satisfy
his curiosity about "8. R. Evans," but
for the present he lacked the Inclina
tion to press the matter that far.
In the midst of his puzzling, the
telephone bell rang. He crossed the
room and put the receiver to his ear.
"Yes?" he questioned.
The clerk's voice answered. "So
nor Porltol to see Mr. Orme."
"Who?"
"8-e-n-o-r P-o-r-l-t-o-1," spelled the
clerk.
"I don't know him," said Orme.
"There must be some mistake. Art
you sure that he asked for me?"
There was a pause. Orme heard a
few scattering words which indicated
that the clerk was questioning the
stranger. Then came the informa
tion: "He says he wishes to see you
about a five-dollar bill."
"Oh!" Orme realized that he had
no reason to be surprised. "Well, send
him up."
He bung up the receiver and, re
turning to the table, put the marked
bill back into his pocketbook and
slipped into a drawer the paper on
which he had copied the Inscription.
To be continued.
BUSINESS IN THE
COUNTY COURT BRISK
Judge Becson's calendar for yester
day was quite full, some of the hear
ings being postponed until today.
There was a hearing yesterday in
the W. L. Pickett estate, when pre
ferred claims were considered.
In the M. Bintner estate a final settlement-was
had, this estate having
run the usual course of administra
tion.
Final settlement was made by the
administrator of the Rebecca Cogs
well estate, which has been In the
court for about a year.
In the estate of John Welchel, de
ceased, final settlement was post
poned until today, when the executor
of the estate appeared and testified
in support of his final report. The
estate, consisting of something over
$20,000 worth of property, was by
the will devised to the four children,
two sona and two daughters, with a
bequest of $200 to Mrs. Lydla Hurl
but, who had resided In the family
for a number of years. The will also
made provision for Mrs. Welchel, the
widow of the deceased.
In Judge Archer's Court.
Tho suits entitled William Holly
against William Volk, and A. Cclse
against the same defendant, were set
for hearing beforo Judge Archer this
morning, but no service of the order
of attachment could bo obtained, In
consequence tho cases were Continued
for forty days for service by publica
tion. The properly taken, being a
team of horses, were left In the pos
session of Mr. Coffman, to be pro
duced on the day of hearing, or at
some subsequent time when demand
ed by the constable.
Mr. and Mrs. Jot Warga, of Den
ver, arrived yesterday and will visit
Plattsmouth relatives tor a week. ;
CATARRH
j
'"ATFEVER Vlty-
HPT)
HAYFEVER
ELY'S CREAM DA LCI
Applkd lnt h noatrlls
U nlkly ebsorkMU
CIVES RELIEF AT ONCE.
It cleanses, soothes, heals and protects th
disensod membrane resulting from Catarrh
and drives sway a Cold iu the Head quickly.
Iluittore the Heuses of Ta-ste and SmU.
It is euy to usa. Coutuius no injurious
drugs. No mercury, no cocaine, no moiv
pliiue. The household remedy. (
Price, 60 couU at Drui;gita or by mail.
ELY BROTHERS, 50 Warrtn St., Ntw York,
Chief Game Warden Recomenda
Several Changes in Open
Season.
Changes In the open season on,
various kinds of game birds are rec
ommended by Chief Game Warden,
Gellus in Ills olennlal summary pre
pared for the guidance of the govern
or and the legislature. At the same
time he does not want the bars let
down on any of the protective stat
utes now in force. As to the seining
of fish in public waters, he thinks this
practice should be entirely forbidden,
except where streams overflow and
leave pools In which the flab, are like
ly to die through the freezing or dry
ing up of the water.
The maximum number of blrda
that can legally be killed by one per
son in a single day should be cut
down to ten, the warden believes. As
a compensation for this restriction
the present limit being twenty-five ln
most cases, he would have the seaBoa
open for prairie chickens, wild ducka
and other water fowl September 1, In
stead of two weeks to a month later.
He favors a short open season on
quail and turtle doves, which are pro
tected from killing all the year round
at the present time.
It is recommended by Warden
Cellup that a .hunting and fishing
license of $1 be assessed upon all
persona In the state who pursue
those sports and that non-residents
be charged $10, aa now. This plan,
would tax sportsmen In their owa
counties, which is not done under the.
present law. A fee of 10 cents to be
paid by the applicant to the county
clerk for Issuing the license Is ap
proved in Tills report
The fish hatcheries at South Bend
and the work done there for the prop-.
ogatlon of fish In Nebraska waters,
come in for a large amount of favor
able comment. The report shcw
that over 10,000,000 fish have been
distributed during the blenlum.
The money collected for licenses,
and the sale of fish, which waa
turned over to the state treasurer
within the two-year period reached a
total of $17,584.50.
Kcval nation In 1012.
County assessors have asked Secre
tary Henry Seymour of the state,
board of assessment whether or not
real estate is to be revalued for as
sessment In 1911. He has replied as
follows:
"Section 105 of the revenue law,
which provides for the assessment of
real estate, has not been changed
since it was passed in 1903. It reads,
aa follows: 'All real property in this
state subject to taxation shall be as
sessed every fourth year thereafter,
which assessment shall be used as a
basis of valuation for taxation until
tho next quadrlennlal assessment, ex
cept as hereinafter provided.'
"You will notice by the above
quoted law that this class of property
will not be reassessed until 1912, un
less some change Is made by the ses
sion of the legislature which Is about
to convene. A change In the time of
equalizing real estate valuations by
tho county boards was made by the
session of 1909, but as the dates fixed
for this equalization were made to
come on the year before and the
years after the assessment is made,
this error will very likely be cor
rected by the coming legislature."
Card of Thanks.
The relatives of Grandma Brantner
desire to extend their most slncer
thanks to neighbors and friends for
their kind assistance during their re
cent bereavement and the members,
of the Ladles' Aid society and Social
Workors of the M. E. church for thcta
beautiful floral tributes.
r
HUB ASKED
III CHE LAW
