Nebraska Newspapers

    DAKOTA COUNTY HERALD
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BULL-DOG DRUMMOND
The Adventures of a Demobilized
Officer Who Found Peace bull
GASSED!
Synopsis. In December, 101S, four
men gathered In a hotel In Borne
and heard one of the quartol, Carl
Petcraon, outllno a plan to paralyze
Great Britain and at the saino titno
seize world power. The other three,
Hocking; American, and Stclneman
and Von Gratz, Germans, all mil
lionaires, agree to the scheme, pro
viding another man, Hiram Potts,
un American, Is taken In. Capt.
IIiiRh (Hull-Dog) Dnimmond, a re
tired olllcer, udvortlses for work
that will give him oxcltement, sign
Ins "X10." As a result he meets
Phyllis Benton, a young woman
who answered his nd. She tells
him of strange murders and rob
borles by a band headed by Carl
Teterson and Henry Laklngton.
She fears her father Is Involved.
Drummond goes to Tho LnrcheB,
Miss Benton's home, next door to
Tho Elms, Peterson's place. During
the night Drummond leaves Tho
Inarches and explores Tho Elms.
He discovers Laklngton and Peter
son using a thumbscrew on Potts,
who stgnB a paper. Drummond
rescues Potts and takes him to his
own home. He also gets half of
the paper torn In tho light. Peter
son visits Drummond, departing
with a threat to return and recover
Potts and tho torn paper. Hugh
substitutes Mulllngs for Potts. The
band carry off Mulllngs and Hugh
to Tho Elms. "When Peterson dis
covers tho hoax Drummond Is
mudo to stay all night Irma, Pe
terson's handsome daughter, warns
Hugh he will bo killed. He goes
exploring during the night, runs
Into a cobra, escapes mysterious
death and rofralns from breaking
Peterson's neck. Drummond enlists
tho aid of Algy Longworth, Toby
Sinclair, Ted Jernlngham and Jorry
Seymour, tho latter an aviator.
Drummond discovers a man Imper
sonating Potts.
I:
CHAPTER V Continued.
9
"Such is your rule. And I think
ou hrtve failed, haven't you, you un
pleasant; specimen of humanity? How
will thoy kill you, I wonder?"
It was at that moment that the man
made his mlstuke. He looked away;
only for a moment but he looked
nway. Just as a cat's nerves give
after a while and it looks round for
an avenue of escape, so did the crouch
ing man take his eyes from Hugh.
And quick as any dog, Hugh sprang.
With his left hand ho seized the
man's right wrist, with his right he
fccized ids throat. Then he forced
him upright against the door and held
him. there. Even when Inch by Inch
he shifted his grip on the man's knife
hand he never took his eyes from his
opponent's face; even when with a
sudden gasp of agony tho man
dropped ills knife from fingers which,
of a sudden, had become numb, the
6teady, merciless glare still bored
into his brain.
"You're not very clever at It, are
you?" said Hugh softly. "It would
be so easy to kill you now, and except
for the Inconvenience I should un
doubtedly suffer, It mightn't bo a bad
idea. But they know me downstairs,
and It would make It so awkward
when I wanted to diuo here again.
... So, taking everything into
account, I think "
There was a sudden lightning move
ment, a henve and a quick Jerk. The
impersonator of Pott.v was dimly con-
With His Left Hand He Seized the
Man's Right Wrist, With His Right
He 8clzed His Throat.
scious of Hying through tho air, and
of hitting the floor some ynrds from
the door.. He made a frantic effort
to rise, bnt the pain was too great,
and ho rolled over cursing, while the
soldier, Ids hand on the door-knob,
laughed gently.
"I'll keep the toothpick," he re
marked, "as a memento."
Tho next moment he was striding
nlong tho "orrldor townrd the ele
vator. As a fight it had been a poor
one, but his brain was busy with the
Mmmi
iwiuivJiYP?d$$Jtfjruf mwiffW
WWWM. mm
information he had heard. True, It
had been scrappy In the extreme, and,
In part, had only confirmed whnt he
had suspected all along. The wretched
Granger had been foully done to death,
for no other reason than thnt he was
the millionaire's secretary- Hugh's
Jaw tightened ; it revolted his sense of
sport. It wasn't as If the poor blight
er hn4 done anything ; merely becnuse
he existed and might ask Inconvenient
questions he had .been removed. And
as the elevator shot downwards, and
the remembrance of the grim struggle
ho had had In the darkness of Tho
Elms the night before came back to
Ids mind, he wondered once again If
he had done wisely In not breaking
Peterson's neck while he had the
chance.
He was still debating the question
In his mind ns he crossed the tea
lounge. "Why, Captain Drummond, you look
pensive." A well-known voice from n
table at his side made him look down,
and ho bowed a little grimly. Irma
Peterson was regarding him with n
mocking smile.
He glanced at her companion, a
young man whoso face seemed vaguely
familiar to him, and then his eyes
rested once more on the girl. Even
his masculine Intelligence could ap
preciate the perfection In n slightly
foreign style of her clothes; nnd, ns
to her beauty, he had never been tin
der any delusions.
"The Carlton' seems rather a favor
ite resort of yours," she continued,
watching him through half closed eyes.
"I think you're very wise to make
the most of it while you can."
"While I can?" said Hugh. "That
sounds rather depressing.''
"I've done my best," continued the
girl, "but matters have passed out of
my hands, I'm afraid."
Again Hugh glanced at her compan
ion, but he had risen and was talking
to some people who had Just come In.
"Is he one of the firm?" he re
marked. "Ills face seems familiar."
"Oh, no I" said the girl. "He Is
Just a friend." She leaned forward
suddenly. "Why don't you Join us
instead of so foolishly trying to light
us? Believe me, Monsieur Hugh, it Is
the only thing that can possibly save
you. You know too much."
"Is the Invitation to amalgamate
official, or from your own charming
brain?" murmured Hugh.
"Mnde on the spur of the moment,"
she said lightly. "But U may be re
garded as official." '
"I'm afraid It must be declined on
the spur of the moment," he an
swered In the same tone. "And equal
ly to be regarded as official. Well,
nil revolr. Please tell Mr. Peterson
how sorry I am to have missed him."
"I will most certainly," nnswered
the girl. "But then, mon nml, you
will be seeing him again .soon, without
doubt. ..."
She waved a charming hand In fare
well, and turned to her conipaulon.
But Drummond, though he went Into
the hall outside, did not immediately
leave the hotel. Instead, he button
holed nn exquisite being arrayed In
gorgeous apparel, and led him to n
point of vantage.
"You see that girl," he remarked,
"having tea with a man at the -third
table from the .ilg palm? Now, can
you tell me who the man Is? I .seem
to know his face, but I can't put a
name to It."
"That, sir," murmured the exquisite
being, with the faintest perceptible
scorn at such Ignorance, "Is the mar
quis of Laldley. Ills lordship Is fre
quently here."
"Laldley I" cried Hugh, in sudden ex
citement. "I.aldleyl The duke of
Lampshlre's son! You priceless old
stuffed tomato the plot thickens."
Completely regardless of the scan
dalized horror on the exquisite being's
face, he smote him heavily In the
stomach and stepped into Pall Mall.
For clear before his memory had come
three lines on the scrap of paper he
had torn from the table at The Elms
that first night, when he had grabbed
the dazed millionaire from under
Peterson's nose.
carl uecklnce nnd the
are at present
chess of Lnmp-
The duchess of LnmpMiIroVi poarls
were world-famous; the mnrquN of
Laldley wa apparently enjoying his
tea. And between the two there
seemed to be a connection rather too
obvious to be missed.
THREE.
"I'm glatl you two fellows came
down," said Hugh thoughtfully, as he
entered the sitting-room of his bunga
low at Goring. Dinner was over, and
stretched In threo chairs were Peter
Dnrrell, Algy Longworth, nnd Toby
Sinclair. "Did you know that a man
came here this afternoon, Peter?"
"I did not. Who was It?"
"Mrs. Denny has Just told me." Hugh
renched out a hand for hln pipe, and
proceeded to stuff It with tobacco.
"He came about the water. And he
told her that I had told him to come.
Unfortunately, I'd done nothing of the
sort."
A
"Whnt do on .'iionn, Hugh?" asked
Toby Sinclair.
"It's pretty obvious, old boy," said
Hugh grimly. "I should say that
about live hours ago Peterson found
out that our one nnd only Hiram C.
Potts was upstairs."
"Good Lord!" spluttered Dnrrell,
by now very wide awnke, "whnt do
wo do, sergeant-major?"
"We take It In turn.v-two at a
time to sit up with Potts." Hugh
glnnccd at the other three. "D n It
you blighters wake up!"
"I don't know whnt it Is," Dnrrell
said, rubbing his eyes, "I feel most In
fernally sleepy."
"Well, listen to me confound you
. . . Toby!"
"Sorry, old man." With n start Sin
clair sat up In his chair and blinked
nt Hugh.
"They're almost certain to try and
get him tonight." went on Hugh.
"Having given the show away by
leaving a clue on the wretched secre
tary, they must get the real man ns
soon as possible. It's far too danger
ous to leave the lenvc the " Ills
head dropped forward on his chest:
n short, half-strangled snore came
from his lips. It hnd the effect of
waking him for tho mome'ut, and he
staggered to his feet.
Tho other three, sprawling In their
chairs, were openly nnd unashamedly
asleep; even the dogs lny In fantastic
attitudes, breathing heavily, Inert like
logs.
"Wake up!" shouted Hup,h wildly.
'Tor God's sake wake up! Wo've
been drugged 1"
An Iron weight seemed to be press
ing down on ids eyelids: the desire
for sleep grew stronger and stronger.
For a few moments more he fought
against It, hopelessly, despairingly;
while his legs seemed not to belong
to him, nnd there was n roaring noise
In his ears. And then, Just before
unconsciousness overcame lilm, there
enme to his bemused brain the sound
of a whistle thrice repeated from out
side the window. With a Inst stu
pendous effort he fought his way to
ward It, and for a moment he stared
Into the darkness. There were dim
figures moving through the shrubs,,
and suddenly one seemed to detach
itsvlf. It came nearer, and the light
fell on the man's face. His nose and
mouth were covered with u sort of
pnd, but the cold, sneering eyes were
unmistakable.
"Lnklngtonl" gasped Hugh, and
then the roaring noise Increased In
his head; his legs struck work alto
gether. He collapsed on the floor and
lay sprawling, while Laklngton, his
face pressed against the glass outside,
watched In silence.
"Drnw tho curtains." Lnklngton
was speaking, his voice muffled be
hind the pnd, and one of the men did
as ho said. There were four in all,
each with a similar pad over Ills
mouth and nose. "Where did you put
the generator, Brownlow?"
"In tho coal-scuttle." A man whom
Mrs. Denny would have had no diffi
culty lu recognizing, even with the
mask on his fuce, carefully lifted a
small black box out of the scuttle from
behind some coal, and shook It gent
ly, holding it to his ear. "It's fin
ished," he remarked, nnd Laklngton
nodded.
"An Ingenious Invention Is gas,"
ho said, addressing another of the
men. "We owe your nation quite a
debtof gratitude for the idea."
A guttural grunt left no doubt as
to what that nation was, and Laklng
ton dropped the box Into his pocket.
1 "Go get him," ho ordered briefly,
nnd the others left the room.
Contemptuously Laklngton kicked
one of the dogs; It rolled over and
lay motionless lu Its new position.
Then he went In turn to each of the
threo men sprawling In the chairs.
With no attempt at gentleness he
turned their faces up to the light, and
studied them deliberately; then la; let
their heads roll back again with a
thud. Finally, he went to the window
and stared down at Dnimmond. In
his eyes was a look of cold fury, and
he kicked the unconscious man sav
agely In the ribs.
"You young swine," he muttered.
"Do you think I'll forget that blow
on the Juw?"
He took another box out of his
pocket and looked at It lovingly.
"Shall I?" With a short laugh ho
replaced It. "It's too good a death
for you, Captain Drummoml, D. S. O.,
M. C. Just to snuff out in your sleep.
No, my friend, I think I can devise
something better thai that; some
thing really artistic."
Two other men came In as he
turned away, and Laklngton looked
nt them.
"Weil," he asked, "have you got the
old woman?"
"Bound and gagged In tho kitchen,"
unswered one of them laconically.
"Arc you going to do this crowd In?"
Tho speaker looked at the uncon
scious men with hatred In Ills eyes.
"They encumber thu earth this
breed of puppy."
"They will not incumber It for
long," said Laklngton softly. "But
the one In the window there la not
By CYRIL
"SAPPER"
going to die so easily. I have a small
unsettled scoro with him. . . ."
"All right; he's In tho car." A
voice came from outsldo the window,
nnd with a Inst look at Hugh Drum
mond, Lnklngton turned away.
"Then we'll go," he retnnrked. "An
revolr, my blundering young bull. Be
fore I've finished with you, you'll
scream for mercy. And you won't
get It. . . ."
Through tho still night air there
came the thrumming of the engine of
n powerful car. Gradually It died
away and there was silence. And
then, with n sudden crack, Poter Dar
ren's head rolled over and hit the arm
of his chair.
CHAPTER VI.
In Which a Very Old Game Takes
Place on the Hog's Back.
ONE.
A thick grey mist lay 'over the
Thames. It covered the water and the
low fields to tho west like n thick
white enrpet; It drifted sluggishly
under the old bridge which spans the
river between Goring nnd Strcatley.
It was the hour before dawn, and
In His Eyes Was a Look of Cold Fury,
and He Kicked the Unconscious Man
Savagely.
sleepy passengers, rubbing tho win
dpws of their carriages as tho Ply
mouth boat express rushed on toward
London, shivered and drew their rugs
closer around them. It' looked cold
. . . cold and dead.
Slowly, aunost Imperceptibly, tho
vapor rose, and spread outwards up
(he wooded hills by Basildon, it
drifted through tho shrubs and rose
bushes of a little garden, which
stretched from a bungalow down to
tho water's edge, until at length wisps
of It lirushcjl gently round thu bunga
low Itself. Suddenly the window Of
one of tho downstnlr rooms was Hung
open, and a man with n white hag
gard face leaned out drawing great
gulps of fresh air into his lungs.
Three other men lay sprawling uu
couthly In chairs, and two dogs lay
motionless on the hearthrug.
After a moment or two the man
withdrew, only to appear again with
one of the others lu his nrnis. And
then, having dropped his burden
through tho window on to the lawn
outside, he repeated his performance
with the remaining two. Finally he
pitched tho two dogs after them, mid
then, with his hand to his forehead,
he staggered down to the water's
edge.
"Holy smoke!" he muttered to him
self, ns ho plunged his head Into the
cold water, "talk about tho morning
after!"
After a while, with the water still
dripping down his face, he returned
to the bungalow and found the other
three In various stages of partial In
sensibility. "Wnko up, my heroes," he remarked,
"anil go and put your great fat heads
In tin river. We were all of us
drugged or doped somehow. And
now," ho added bitterly, "we've all
got heads, and we have not got Potts."
"I don't remember anything," said
Toby Sinclair, "except falling asleep.
Have they taken him?"
"Of course they have," said Hugh,
"Just before 1 went off I saw 'em
all in the garden, and thnt swlno
Laklngton was with them, However,
while you go and put your nuta In the
river, I'll go up and make certain,"
With a grim smile ho watched the
three men lurch down to the water;
then he turned and went upstairs to
the room which hnd been occupied
by the American millionaire. It was
empty, as he had known It would bo,
and with a smothered curse he undo
his way downstairs again
McNEILE
Copjrlgh. bj deo. II. Dornn Co.
TWO.
"Has It struck you fellows," re
marked Hugh, at the conclusion ot
lunch, "that seated around this tnblo
are four officers who fought with some
distinction nnd much discomfort In
the recent historic struggle?"
"How beautifully you put It, old
filckl" said Darrell.
"Has It further struck you fellows,"
continued Hugh, "that last night wo
were done down, trampled on, had
for mugs by a crowd of dirty black
guards composed largely of tho dregs
of the universe?"
"A veritable Solomon," said Algy,
gazing at him admiringly through Ida
eyeglass. "I told you this morning 1
detested your friends."
"Has it still further struck you,"
went on Hugh, a trlllo grimly, "thnt
we aren't stnndlng for It? I propose
thnt wo should tackle the blighters
tonight."
"Tonight I" echoed Dnrrell. "Where ?H
"At Tho Elms, of course. That's
where tho wretched Potts Is for a
certainty."
"And how do you propose thnt w
should set about It?" demanded Sin
clair. Drummond drained his port and
grinned gently.
"By stealth, dear old beans by
stealth. You and I thought wo
might rako In Ted Jernlngham, and
perhaps Jerry Seymour, to Join tho
happy throng will make n demonstra
tion In force, with the Iden of draw
ing off the enemy, thereby leaving tho
const clear for me to explore tho
house for the unfortunnto Potls. An
accident. ... A car....
Whnt Is tho connecting-link. . . .
Why, drink. Write It down, Algy, or
wo might forget. Now, can you bont
that?"
"Wo might have some .chance," said
Darrell kindly, "If wo had tho slight
est Idea what you were talking about."
"Pay attention, all of you," snld
Hugh. "Tonight somu time about ten
of the clock, Algy's motor will pro
ceed nlong the Uodnlmlng-Gulldford
road. It will contain you threo nlso
Ted nnd Jerry Seymotu, If we enn
get 'em. On approaching the gato of
The Elms, you will render tho night
hideous with your vocnl efforts. Stray
passers-by will think that you aro all
tight. Then will como tho dramatic
moment, when, with a heavy crash,
you ram the gate. Horrified at lhls
wanton damage to property, you will
leave tho car and proceed In mass
formntlon up the drive."
"Still giving tongue?" queried Dar-i
roll,
"Still giving tongue. Either Tod
or Jerry or both of 'em will approach
the house and Inform tho owner In
heartbroken accents that they hnva
damaged his gato post. You threo will
remain In tho garden you might bo
recognized, Then It will bo up to
you. You'll luive several men all
round you. Keep 'em occupied some
how. They won't hurt you; they'll
only be concerned with seeing thnt
you don't go where you're not wanted.
The last thing they want to do Is to
draw any suspicion on themselves
nnd, on the face of It, you are merely
five convlvlnl wanderers who liavo
looked on the wine when It was rod.
I think," he added thoughtfully, "that
ten minutes will bo enough for me,"
"What will you be doing?" said
Toby.
"I shall'bo looking for Potts. Don'!
worry about me. I'll look after my
self. Now, Is that clear?'-
"Perfectly," said Darrell, after a
short silence. "But I don't know that
I like It, Hugh. It seems to me, old
son, that you're running nn unneces
sary lot of risk."
"Got any alternative?" demanded
Drummond.
"If we're all going down," snld Dar
rell, "why not stick together nnd rush
the house In a gang?"
"No go, old bean," said Hugh, de
cisively. "Too many of 'em to hope
to pull It off. No, low cunning Is tho
only thing that's got an earthly of
succeeding." With :i grin ho rose, and
then strolled toward tho door. "Now
go and rope In Tod nnd Jerry, and
for th lovo of Heaven don't ram tho
wrong gate."
"What are you going to do your
self?" demanded Peter suspiciously.
"I'm going to look at hr-r from close
to. Go away, all of you, and don't
listen outside the telephone box."
I lovo you, Phyllis."
(TO 1113 CONTINUED.)
Cloth Upholstery.
Cloth upholstery may be best
cleaned by beating curtains and backs
lightly with a stick or carpet beater,
after which tho accumulated dust la
whisked off with u brush. Grease or
oil may be removed by nn applica
tion of lukewarm wnter and mild
flonp, applied with a woolen cloth.
There are a number of woolen clean
ers which will work very well on .cloth
upholstery, but gasoline and benzine
hnve a tendency to pnmd lustvad of
to remove dJ"-
HOME
TOWN
rlELPSb
STRONG PLEA FOR GARDENS
United States Commissioner of Educa
tlon Urges That Last Year's Good
Work Continue.
Last year more than 2,000,000 boyi
nnd girls In cities, large towns and In
dustrlal villages In the United Stntei
cultivated gardens under rcIiooI dlrec
Hon nnd supervision nnd produce)
many millions of dollars' worth of veg
ctablcs and small fruits to bo cou
sumed where produced without cost
for transportation nnd handling and
without Kiss from deterioration on the
markets. There were many thousands
of hoys and girls who produced more
than $50 each In whnt would other
wise hnvo. been Idlo time, nnd thou
sands of acres of laud that would hnve
lulu Idle If It had not been cultivated
by tho boys and girls yielded more than
?.1O0 un acre.
The educational value t the chil
dren was far grenter than the value
of the food products. That value In
cluded health, physical vigor, habits of
industry, knowledge of plant life and
of tho phenomenn nnd forces of tin
turo, nnd the beginning of tho untler
stnndlug of the fundamental moral
principle thnt every one should gladly
contribute to his own support by
tils own labor.
"The United States bureau of edu
cation will not be nblo to follow up
this work this year as fully as It has
for several years past," writes P. 1.
Claxton, United States commissioner
of education, "hut 1 hope the Interest
of children, teachers, superintendents
and school boards will not lug and that
Hie time will soon como when this
f-chool-dlrcclcd home gnrden work will
be recognized ns a necessity nnd an
Dssentlnl part of tho education of chil
dren In all cities, towns and Industrial
villages."
FOR BOYCOTT OF BILLBOARD
Speaker Advocates Strenuous Action
Against What Is Generally Recog
nized as a Nuisance. . t
Declaring tho automobile has made
tho .billboard a countrywide problem,
E. T. llartmnn of Boston, member f
tho Massachusetts Civic league, ad
dressing a meeting of tho American
Civic association, said that there is
no best law or method for dealing
with thu problem presented by tho de
facement of both the city nnd the
rbuntry by outdoor advertising.
The public, he said, can bring reme
dies to bear when It chooses to make
tho effort. He suggested that one ef
fective method would be to withhold
patroiinge from persons and firms cm
ploying this method of publicity, a
said this would settle the whole prob
lem In n. year. , jj, j
MAKE FENCE ATTRACTIVE "'
A few morning glories or cardinal
climber vines will cover thnt Imro r
unsightly fence and make It attractive.
Memorial for Heroic Dead,
Thu prince of Wales lias brought
back with him from the Antipodes a
ery beautiful conception of a fom
of memorial for the soldiers who Iiuth
fallen In tho great war.
Ho approached Ballarat, tho great
gold uliitng city in the Australian
colony of Victoria by means of u broad
avenue, some fifteen miles long, lined
on either side by trees, which are
Hum-lulling, and that bid ere long t
form a sort of foliage domed rooj:
for the entire thoroughfare,
Each tree, planted within thu last
three or four years, and there are
about five thousand of them, com
memorates u Ballarat boy who gave
his life for tho empire at the front
In France, on the peninsula of Gal
lipot! and lu Palestine. Each of the
trees bears thu name of the soldier
lad whose mlprcmo snciillcu It Is de
signed to recall to his kith and kUt
at Iwillarnt London Mall.
Fight Well Worth Waging.
It pays the community to make a
battle for tre treasures. It is a
fight which should employ many differ
ent tactics and arms. First, iHjrhups,
should bo thu tjolectlon for city plant
ing of trees that aro most nearly
Immune to thu more dnugerous pests.
Next Is good care, and the foster
ing of birds which do so much to
check Insect plagues. Finally comet
scraping ami spraying to get rid of the
enemies which, like tho oyster shell
scale, have broken through tho othec
linos of defense.
A (,'ood tree U worth lighting tor.