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About The Red Cloud chief. (Red Cloud, Webster Co., Neb.) 1873-1923 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 29, 1905)
V1 r WMWnwiwiueuvtfjj 'IVJ VfUMJWTTtmtm l$$ M"w H" . ar i . " tii i. Rwi. . . $' re K .f !;?& bk !. f '.IS i tf Holla day fflthj9fifitfh'i'rJll ((' )NTINI'i:i).) Yos, I 'uli1 doubt ih : aiger that there was n plot, whoso depths I Inul jiot before oven suspected, aiiil 1 mow back from tho thought with n little ahlrer. Wlmt wiih the plot? Wlint In tricate, dreadful crime was this which lie was planning? The murder of the father, then, had been only the first Hton. The abduction of Frances Hoi laday wan the .second. What Would the third be? How could we pro vent Ida taking It? Suppose we should he unsuccessful? And, candidly, what chance of hiiccc.sk could we have, fight ing in the dark against this accom plished scoundrel? He had the threads All lu his fingers; he controlled tho Kltuation; we were struggling blindly, Mnarled In a net of mystery front which there seemed no escaping. My Imagination clothed him with super human attributes. L'or a moment a wild dealro possessed me to turn upon Mm, to confront him, to accuse him, to confound him with the very cer 1a4nty of my knowledge, to surprise his Hocrct, to trample him down! But the frenzy passed. No, he inuab Jiot discover that I suspected hhn. I must not yield up that advantage. I might yet surprise him, mislead him, set a trap for him, get him to say moru hau he wished to say. That battle oC wits would come later on tills very night perhaps but for the moment C could no nothing better than carry out my first plan, yet he must not suspect the direction of my search. I must throw him off the track. Why, tlds was for -sill the world Just like the penny dread fuls of my boyhood. And I smiled at the thought that I had become an actor in a drama fitted for a red and yellow 4Kver! My plan was soon made. I crossed Broadway and turned Into Oortlandt II fi Hlnnijered diul seemed to full. street, sauntering along it until the ele vated loomed ahead; I heard the roar of an approaching train and stopped to purchase some fruit at the corner .stand. My pursuer was some distance behind, closely inspecting the brlo-n-brae In a peddler's cart. The train rumbled Into the station, and, starting 4is though 1 had just perceived It, 1 bounded up tho stair, slammed my ticket Into the chopper and dashed across the platform. The guard at tho rear of the train held the gato open for me for an instant and then clanged It abut. We wero off with a jerk. As I looked back I saw Martlgny rush out upon the platform. He stood staring After me for an Instant; then, with a sudden grasping at his breast, stag gored and seemed to fall. A crowd closed about him, the train whisked Around a corner, and 1 could see no more. Hut at any rate I was well free of him, and I got off at Hleecker street, walked on to the square and began my search. My plan was very simple. Jloglnniug on the east side of West Hroadwuy, it was my Intention to stop at every house and inquire whether lodgers were kept. My experience at the first place was a pretty fair sample of all the rest. A frowsy headed woman answered my knock. "You have rooms to lot?" I nuked. "Oh, yes, inour.htJTrti ulie answered, with au expansive grin. "Step sis yny." We mounted a dirty stair, and she threw open a door with a flourish meant to be Impressivo. !Zego are zo rooms, monalour; sej MiWm ill' I J m A Mystery Of Two Continents By BURTON E. STEVENSON Copjrriibt. 1905, by Uuaty Halt ind Coiup.ny are ver' fine." I looked around thorn with simu lated interest, smothering my disgust as well as 1 could. "How long have they been vacant?" I asked. "Since only two days, monsieur. Ah you see, zey are ver fine rooms." That settled 1L If they had been va cant only two days, 1 had no further Interest in them, and with some excuse I made my way out, glad to escape from that fetid atmosphere of garlic and onions. So I went from house to house, stumbling over dirty children, climbing grimy stairs, on tolling glimpses of crowded sweatshops, peering into nil sorts of holcu called rooms by cour tesy, Inhaling a hundred stenches In an many minutes, gaining un Insight that sickened me into the squalid life of tho quarter. Sometimes I began to hope that at last I wan on the right track, but further Inquiry would prove my mistake. So the morning passed, and the afternoon. 1 had covered two blocks to no purpose, and I turned eastward to Hroadwuy and took a car downtown to the otllce. My assistant!! had reported again- they had met with no better success thun I. Mr. (Jraham noticed my dejected appearance and spoke a word of comfort. "I think you're on the right track, Lester," he said. "Hut you can't hop to do much by yourself It's too big a job. Wouldn't It be better to employ half a dozen private detectives and put them under your supervision? You could save yourself this nerve trying work and at the same time gel over the ground much more rapidly. Hesldes, experienced men may be able to sug gest something that you've overlooked." l h.ni i.t.iiight of that I hud -wondered If I were making the best pos sible uo of my opportunities and the suggestion tempted me. Hut some thing rose within me pride, ambition, stubbornness, what you will and I shook my head, determined to hang on. Hesldes, I had still before me that bat tle of wits with Martlgny, and 1 wus reolved to make the most of It. "Let me keep on by myself a day or two longer, sir," 1 said. "1 believe I'll succeed yet. If I don't there will still be time to call In outside help. 1 fancy I've made a beginning, and I want to see what comes of it." He shook me kindly by the hand. "I like jour grit," he said approv ingly, "and I've every confidence In you. It wasn't lack of confidence that prompted the suggestion. Only don't overdo the thing and break down as Itoyce has. He's bettor, by the way, but the doctor says that ho must take a long vacation a thorough rest." "I'm glad he's better. I'll be care ful," I assented, and left the office. While 1 waited for a car I bought a copy of the hist edition of my paper, from force of habit more than any thing, then, settling myself in a seat still from force of habit I turned to the financial column and looked It over. There was nothing of special Interest there and I turned back to the general news, glancing carelessly from Item to Item. Suddenly one caught my eye which brought me up with a shock. The item read: Shortly aftor 10 o'clock thin morning a in. in ran up the steps of the Cortl.mdt Htti-pt station of the Sixth avenue cle vateil In tho effort to catch an uptown train Just pulling out and dropped over on the pl.itfoun with heait disease. An am bulance was called from the Hudson Hire (t hoHpltal and the man taken there. At noon It was said he would recover. He was still too weak to talk, but ntnong other thhiRS a card of tho Cafe Jourdaln, Tit West Houston street, was found In IiIh pockelboolj. An Inquiry there developed the f.wt that his name Is Pierre Hethune, that he Is recently from France and has no relatives lu this count y. Ill a moment I was out of the car and running westward to the elevated. 1 felt that 1 held In my hand the ad dress 1 needed. CHAI'Tiait XI I. rIFTY-FOUH West Houston street, Just three blocks south of Wash- I Ington square, was a narrow four story and basement build Ing of gray brick with battered brown stone trimmings, at one time perhaps n fashionable residence, but with Its last vestige of glory long since depart ed. In the basement was a squalid cobbler's shop, and the restaurant oc cupied the first floor. Dirty lace cur tains hung ut the windows, screening tho Interior from the street, but when. I mounted the step to tho door nlid en tered I found the place typlcnl of Its class. I sat down at one of the little Bquarc tables and ordered a bottle' of wine. It was M. Jourdaln himself who brought It a little fat man, with trou sers very tight and n waistcoat very dazzling. The night trade had not yet begun lu euruest, ho be was for the mo ment at leisure, and he consented to drink a glass of wine with me. 1 had ordonsl the "superletir." "You have lodgings to let, 1 suppose, on the floors above?" 1 questioned. He squinted at me through his glasn, trying with Kretich shrewdness to road me before answering. "Why, yes, we have lodgings. Still, a man of monsieur's habit would scarce ly wish" "The hnblt does not always gauge the'purse," I pointed out. "Thut Is true," he smiled, sipping his wine. "Monsieur then wishes a lodg ing?" "1 should like to look at yours." "You understand, monsieur," he ex plained, "that this Is a good quarter, and our rooms lire not ut all the ordi nal1' rooms. Oh, no; they are quite su perior to that. They are in great de mand. We hnve only one vacant at this moment. In fact, 1 am not certain that It Is yet at liberty. I will call my wife." She was summoned from behind the counter, where she presided at tho money drawer, and presented to me as Mine. Jourdaln. I filled a glass for her. "Monsieur, here, Is seeking u lodg ing," ho began. "Is the one on the second fioor back at our disposal yet, Celle?" His wife pondered the question a moment, looking at me with sharp lit tle eyes. "I do not know," she said at last. "We shall have to ask M. Hethune. He said ho might again have need of It. Ho has pnld for It until the loth." My heart leaped at the name. 1 saw that I must take tho bull by the bonis assume a bold front for If they waited to consult my pursuer I should never gain the Information,! was seeking. "It was through M. Hethune that I secured your address," I said boldly. "He was taken 111 this morning. Ills heart, you know," and I tapped my chest. They nodded, looking nt me, never theless, with eyes narrow with sus picion. "Yes, monsieur, we know," fluid Jourdaln. "The authorities at the hos pital at once notified us." "It is not the first attack," I assert ed, with a temerity born of necessity. "He has had others, but none so seri ous as this." They nodded sympathetically. Plain ly they had been considerably Impress ed by their lodger. "So," 1 continued brazenly, "he knows at last that his condition Is very bad, and he wishes to remain at tho hospital for some days until he has quite recovered. In the meantime I am to have the second fioor back, which was occupied by the ladles." I spoke the last word with seeming nonchalance, without the quiver of n lash, though 1 was luwardl.v a-qu.ikc, for I was risking everything upon It. Then In an Instant I breath?! more frvely. I saw that 1 had hit the mark aud that their suspicious were gradual ly growing less. "They, of course, are not coming hack," I added, "at least not for a lung time. So he has no further use for the room. This is the fourteenth. 1 can take possession tomorrow." They exchanged a glance, and Mine. Jourdaln arose. "Very well, monsieur," she said. "Will you have the kindness to eomo and look nt the room?" 1 followed her up the stair, giddy nt my good fortune. She opened a door and lighted a gas Jet against the wall. "I am sure you will like the apart ment, monsiuor," she said. "You see, It Is a very largo one and most com fortable." It was Indeed of good size and well furnished. The bed was in a kind of alcove, and beyond it was a bath un looked for luxury! One thing, however, struck me us peculiar. The windows were closed by heavy abutters, which wero barred upon the inside, and tho bars wero secured In place by pad locks. "I shall want to open the windows," I remarked. "Do you always keep them barred?" She hesitated u moment, looking a little embarrassed. "You see, monsieur, It Is this way," she explained at last. "M. Hethuno himself had the locks put on, for ho feared that his poor sister would throw herself down Into the courtyard, which Is paved with stone and where she would certainly have been killed. She was very bad some days, poor dear. I was most glad when they took her away, for the thought of her made mo nervous. I will In tho morning open the windows and air the room well for you." "That will do nicely," I assented as carelessly as I could. I knew that I had chanced upon a new development, though I could not in the least guess Its bearing. "What do you ask for the, npartment?" "Ten dollars the week, monsieur," Bhe answered, eying me narrowly. I knew It was not worth so much and, remembering my character, re pressed my first inclination to close tho bargain. "Thnt 1b a good deal," I said hesitat ingly. "Haven't you a cheaper room, Mine. Jourdaln?" "This Is the only one we have now vacant, monsieur," she assured mo. I turned back toward the door with a UtUejBlgk- "1 fear "l can't take it," I said. "Monsieur does not understand," she protested. "That price, of course, In cludes breakfast." "And dinner?" She hesitated, eying me again. "For $1 additional It shall include dinner." "Done, inadaine!" I cried, you for a week lu advance." suited the action to the word. "I pay And 1 "Only,',' 1 added, "he sun- to air the room well tomorrow. It seems very close. Still, Hethune was right to make sure that his sister could not harm herself." "Yes," she nodded, placing the money carefully in an old purse, with the true miserly light In her eyes, "Yes; sho broke down most sudden, departure of her mother, monsieur.'' I nodded thoughtfully. "When they first came, ago, she wa'n quite well. It was tho you know, six weeks Then her mother a position of some sort se cured and went away. She never left her room after that, Just sat there and cried or rattled at the doors and win dows. Her brother was heartbroken about her. No one else would he penult to attend her. Hut 1 hope that she Is well now, poor child, for sho Is again with her mother." I "Her mother came after her?" I asked. "Oil, yes; ten days ago, and together they drove away. Hy this time they are again In tho good France." I I pretended to be inspecting a ward robe, for 1 felt sure my face would be- j tray me. At a nnsii i saw tne wnoio story. There was nothing more Mine. Jourdaln could tell me. ""os," 1 repented, steadying my voice, "the good France." "M. Hethune has himself been absent for a week," she added, "on affairs of business. He was not certain that he wouki return, oui lie pain uh iu iiiu Mill." I nodded. "Yes tomorrow 1 will take possession then." "Very well, monsieur," she assented. "I will have It In readiness." For au Instant 1 hesitated. Should I Tise the photograph? Was It necessary? How explain my possession of It? Did ---' "Do you alwius Uccjt tlicm barred t" I not already know all that Mine. Jour dain could tell me? I turned to the stair. "Then I must be going," I said. "I have some business affairs to arrange," and we wont down together. The place was filling with a motley crowd of diners, but I paused only to exchange a nod with M. Jourdaln and then hurried away. The fugitives had taken the French Hue, of course, and I hastened on to the foot of Morton street, where the French line pier Is. A ship was being loaded for the voy age out, and the pier was still open. A clerk directed me to the sailing sched ule, and a glance at It confirmed my guess. At 10 o'clock on the morning of Thursday, April 3, La Snvolo had sail ed for Havre. "May I see La Savole's passenger list?" I asked. "Certainly, sir," and he produced It. I did not, of course, expect to find Miss HoIInday entered upon It; yet T felt that a study of It might be repaid, and I was not mistaken. A Mrs. G. It. Folsom and two daughters had occu pied the cablno do luxe, -130, -138, -110. On the company's list which had been given me I saw bracketed after tho name of the youngest daughter the sin gle word "Invallde." "La Lorraine sails day after tomor row, I believe?" 1 asked. "Yes, sir." "And Is she full?" "No, sir; It Is a little early in the sea son yet." And he got down the llBt of staterooms, showing me which wero vacant. I selected an outside double one and deposited half the faro in order to reserve It There wns nofli'ug more to bo dono tli i night, for n glance ut my wntch showed me the lateness of the hour. As I emerged from the pier h suddenly found myself very weary and very hungry, so I caIed a cab and was driv en direct to nij rooms. A bath and din ner set me up again, and finally I set tled down with wy P'po to arrange the Ml I 23W JP 1 events of the day. Certainly I had progressed. I had undoubtedly got on the track of tho fuglthes; i had found out all that I could reasonably have hoped to find out. And yet my exultation was fihort lived. Admitted thnt I was on their track, how much nearer success had I got? 1 knew that they had sailed for Franco, but for what part of France? They would disembark at Havre. How was I, reaching Havre two weeks Inter, to discover which direction they had taken? Suppose they had gone to Furls, as seemed most probable, how could I ever hope to find them there? Even If 1 did find them, would 1 bo In time to checkmate Martlgny? For a time I paused, appalled at the magnitude of tho task that lay boforo me lu all Franco to find three peoplcl Hut, ufter nil, It might not be so great. Most probably these women wero from one of tho towns Holladay and his wife had visited during their stay lu Franco. Which towns they were 1, of course, had no means of knowing, yet I felt certain that some means of dis covering them would present Itself. That must bo my work for the morrow. A half hour passed, and I snt lost In speculation, watching the blue smoko curling upward, striving vainly to pen etrate the mystery. For I wns ns far as ever from a solution of It. Who were these people? What wan their aim? How had they managed to win Miss Holladay over to their side, to persuade her to accompany them, to lice from her friends above all, from our Junior partner? Haw had they caused her change of attitude toward him? Or had they really abducted her? Was there really danger of foul play; danger that sho would fall u victim ua well as her father? Who was Mar tlgny? And, above all, what was tho plot? What did he hope to gain? What was he striving for? What was thh great stake for which ho risked jo much? To these questions I could find no reasonable answer. I was still groplpg aimlessly lu tho dark, and at last In sheer confusion I put down my pipe, turned out the llgjit aud went to bed. (To be Continued ) NOTICE OF SPECIAL ELECTION. Electric Llftht Bond Proposition, Notice Ik hereby kI von to the eli'etors of the city of lied Cloud, lu Webster county, Nebras kit, pursuant to n UMohuloii adopted hy tho Mavornnd Council of mild city, nt an adjourn ed regular meeting thereof, December 7, 1005, and based upon the petition of more than ten rcsldt ut freeholders from eiicli ward of said city, that au election In called and will be held lu Mild city, at the usual votliiK plaecH therein, to wit: lu the (I'M ward, at tho F. & M. Itnnk building and lu thu second ward at the fire iiicuV hall, on Min'Mh day of .lauuarv, llXKJ, be tween the hours or H o'clock A. M.. and 7 o'clock I. M . of Mild day, at which the following prop osition Ik submitted to lie voted upon: .Shall the Mayor and t'lly Council of the city of Ited cloud, Nebraska, be authorized to Ihsiib the coupon bond) to bu denominated electric llKht bondHofsald City of Ked Cloud. In thw amount of Ten Thousand DuIIiuk, In the de nomination of live bundled dollars each, pay able to bearer and to become (luu twenty jearn ii'lor the date thereof, but pajable anytime after the expiration of live jcars, at tho option of said city, and bcarhiK not to exceed live per cent annual Interest, un.l to bo dated the day of Ihclr Issuance. Interest and principal of mild tioiulst to be piijablcat thw fiscal iiKOucy of tho stHioof Nebraska, lu New York City. Said bonds to bu sold for not less than par value, rt'lth accrned Interest, and the proceeds thereof to be used b) said city for the, construction and ostab.lshliiK of a nnlem of electric IIkIUn lu and for said city, and shall the major ami council of said city annually levy the necessary tax upon all the taxalilu property within said city, lu addition to all other tuxes to pay tho Interest on said bonds as: the same becomes1 due and to furnish a HlukliiK fund for the pigment of the principal of said IioiiiIh, and an annual tax of not to exceed two mills on the dollar of thu assessed valuation of said city, for the purpose of malutaluhiK, operatlui; aud extending said Hbten: of electrJu lliditN. The form of the billot to be used ut said elec tion shall be un follows: (Vote for One) FOR electric light bonds and taxes AGAINST electric light bonds and taxes And to be voted and marked by makliiK a cross In tho spuce provided lu the iisuhI manner as provided by law. hhould a majority of the ballots cast at such election b lu favor of said proposition, then tb Major and Council of said thy will te authorized to Issue and negotiate said bond according t ) the conditions anil for tho purpose speclllcd lu the furcKohiK proposition, and all as contemplated by the provisions of sections tr. il to KM 8, Inclusive, of Cobbey's Annotated statutes of 1WM, and It shall bo tho duty of the Mayor and Clerk of said City when bo author ized, mid by order of tho City Council, to sign and attest said bonds, and alllx thereto the seal of said city. The proceeds of tho sale of ald bonds shall be paid to thu treasurer of Eald city of Hid Cloud and kept by liliu In a separato fund apart from other mouejs, to be known hi the lighting fund, and paid out only upon tho order of the Council and warrant drawn against the same for the said purpose speclll jd and no other. hated this December lllth, 1903. Attest: Hy tho Mayor. L. II. I'oivr, C. T. Dickenson. (Seal) City Clerk. JaniS RHEUMATISM CORED IN A' DAY. ' Mystic Curo for Rhenmattsm and Neuralgia radically cures lu 1 to 3 days. Its action upon the systom Is remarkable and mysterious. It removes at once thu cause and the dUeast Im mediately disappears, Tho first dose greatly, benefits. 76 cents andll.00. Held by U Ms Once Druggist, lied Cloud, '