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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 5, 1911)
r L0LouiS JOSEPH WCE AUTHOR OF "THE BRASS BOWI." ETC. 'DODJfflSTraUSDtKiWS bY DMSST TOKMHTHaiS i SYNOPSIS, . David Amber, starting for a duck-ihoot-Inir visit with h(u rrloml, Qualn, corned up on a younK lady cqueatrlan who una boon BlRtnountod by her hftrnA boonrnlntr nd nt the nuddnn nppearanco in the road do ur ni Pi a liurly Hindu, He declares no is Unhari Ut Chatter), "tho nppointod mouthpiece of the Hell." addreniies Amber m a man of high runic and preatlnir a piynterioua little bronze box, "Tho To ken," Into liU hand, dliappeare In the wood. The frlrl call Ambr by name, lie In turn nridroaacn her an MIM Hophle Karrell, daughter of Col. Knrrell ,of the llrltlsh (Ilplomatla aervlce In India and vitltlnff the Qualn. Several nlht later ino uuain noma m mirgiarixpu ana tne bronxa box stolen. Amber and Qualn go hunting on An Island and beoomo lost and Amber Is left marooned, Ho wanders about, finally rcaohos a cabin and reo- Eignlsee as It ocoupant an old friend lamml Rutton, whom ho last mot In En and, and who apseara to bo In hiding. iTvnsn miss f arreu is mentioned Rutton T strangely asltated. Chatterjl appears and summons Rutton to a mcotlnir of a foyaleiiaus body, Rutton selzcM a ruvol vr and duhes after Chatterjl. He re turns wildly excited, Bays ho tiiui killed the Hindu, taKaa poison, and when dying asks Amber to bo to India on a mysteri ous errand, Amber decides to loavo at pneo ror mam. CHAPTER Vlf. Masks and Faces. i Llko many a, wlsor and a bottor man, Amber was ablo uiion occasion lo change hi mind without entertain ing serious mUglvIngu as to hla sta bility of purpoM. Therefore, on soc ond thought, lis eleoted to journey Indlawnrda vta Ui Sues canal rath or than by the western route. nutton's lnntructlons had been explicit upon one points Amber was to eater India only by the port of Calcutta. In de forcing to tlila the Virginian lost sot rsl days waiting In London for tho fortnightly P. Sc O, boat for Calcutta! a delay whlok might have been ob viated by taking the overland route o Brlndlol, connoctlng there with tho weekly P. ft 0. boat for Dombay, jfrom which latter point Calcutta could Ibave been quickly reached by rail (across the Indian peninsula. Now Qualn'a letter to Labertonche went by this Quicker roulo and so an ticipated Aaiber's arrival at the capi tal of, India by about a week; during all of which time It languished un read. A nice young Kngllsh boy, in Mr. Labertouea's employ received and Atamped it with the-date of delivery and put It away with the rest of tho il&ooaTftW correspondence la a aub BtantlaMoekU safe. After which he returned to bis desk la the ante-room and resumed his study of the law; which he pursued comfortably enough with a cigarette la his mouth, his chair tilted back, and his feet geBtly but firmly Implanted upon the fair printed pages ot an opes volsuae of niackttone. Ills oAclal duties, other wise, seemed to. consist solely In Im parting to all and sundry tho informa tion that Mr, Labertouclm was "some where tip In tho Mofussll, hunting bugs I don't know exactly whore." Precisely why Mr, LubortoUche maintained his office was a matter for casual conjecture to his wldo clrclo of acquaintances; although It's not tin likely that, were he the Bubject of dis cussion, the bulk of tho wonder ex pressed wohW be Inspired by his un reasonable preferenco for Calcutta as a place ot residence. Now upon the morning or the day that found the steamship Poonah nuz zling up the Hooghly'a dirty yellow flood, Mr, Lab&rtouehe's clerk arrived at the Dhurrumtollah street office at the usual hour; which, In tho absence. of his employer, was generally bo-. tween 11 o'clock and noon. Having assorted and disposed ot tho morn. Ing's mall, he donned Ills office coat, at dOWll. thutnbeil thrnuirli TllaMr. stone until he found two perfectly clean pages, opened the volume nt that plKoe, tipped back his ohalr, and with very indication or an untroubled con science imposed his feet upon the book and began the day's labor.s with a cigarette. presently he became aware that aa especially dirty and travel-worn Attlt mendicant had squatted down across the way, la the full idare of sunlight, and was composing hlrnnolf lor one ot those apparently Durnose- lees and Interminable vigils peculiar to his vooatloa. Beneath their droop ing lashes the eye of tho clork brightened. Dut he did not move. Neither did the Attlt raondlcant la the course of the next half-hour the clerk consumed two cigarettes tad entertained a visitor in the per son oc a dnppor little Greek curio Sealer from tho Lai baiar, who left ehlnd him an Invitation to Mr. La bertoucho to call and Inapoct some scarabs la which bo had professed an interest, it was, qulto a fresh !nv portatlon, avarrod tho Qrook: tho elerk was to bo careful to remomber that Woe he had Rone tho clerk mado a note of It. Then, glancing out of tho window, he became nwaro that the AttH mendicant, for some roason Ahwatlttfied, was preparing to move ma. Yawning, the clerk resumed his stmt coat, and went out to lunch, eareleealy leaving the door unlockod aud tne memorandum of the QrouVa Invitation expo! upon his blotter, When he returned at three .o'clock, the door ot Mr, Labertouche's private M was ajar aad thM gntletaanj ws aw m utHtK. itie memoranuuw tm,. however, gone. t Ut. Labertoueae waa lit the pro- 3 cess of opening and reading a ten- days' accumulation of correspondence, an occupation which ho suspended temporarily to call his clerk In and rocolvo his roport. This proved to bo tolerably lengthy session, for tho clork, whoso namo appcarod to bo Frank", demonstrated )a command of surprising memory. Without notoo ho enumerated tho callers at tho of fico day by day from tho tlmo whon Labcrtoucho had left for tho Mofussll with bis spoclmen box and tho rest of his bug-hunting paraphernalia; nam ing thoso known to his employer, mlnutoly describing all others, even repeating their words with almost phonographic fidelity, Lauertouche llstonod Intently, with out Interrupting, abstractedly tapping his desk with a paper-cutter. At tbo ond he said "Thank you," with a dry, prcoccuplod air; and resumed consid eration of his letters, Theso seomod to Intorcst him little; ono after the other ho gavo to his clork, saying: Fllo that," or "AnBwor teat Bo-nnd- thUBly." Two ho sot asido for his poraonal disposition, and theso ho took up naln after tho clork hnd boon dismissed, Tho first ho rend and reconsidered for a long time; thon crumpled It up and, drawing to him a email tray of hnmmored brass, dropped tho wadded paper upon It and touched a match to it, thoughtful ly poking the blazing sheets with hla paper-cutter until thoy wore altogeth er reduced to ashos. Qualn's was tho second letter. Hav ing mqrely glanced at the heading and Ignaturo, Labcrtoucho had renewed the rather formidable document for Qualn had wrltton fully ns probably of scant Importance, to bo dealt with his nbsoltito leisure, Dut as ho read his expression grow moro and moro Barlous and porturbed. Finish ing tho last pago ho turned back to the first and wont ovor It a second tlmo with much deliberation and fre quent pauses, apparently memorizing portions cf its contonts. Finally ho said, "Ilum-m!" Inscrutably and rang for Frank. "He left Now York by theLusitanla, eh?" said Mr, Labortouche aloud. Tho clerk entering interrupted his solilo quy. "Bring me, please," he said, Bradshaw, the News and the latest & O, schedule."' And when Frank hud returned with tho articles, ho desired him to go at onco and enqulro at Government bouao the whereabouts of Col. Dorainlck jatnea Farroll, and further to search the hotels ot Cal cutta for a Miss Farrell, or for Infor mation concerning her. "Havo this for me tonight come to tho bunga low at seven," ho said, "And . , . shall probably not be at the ofllco again for several days.!' "Insects?" enquired tho clerk. "Insocta' affirmed Mr. Labertoucho gravely, "In the Mofussll t" "Thoro or thoroabouto, Frank." "Yoo, sir. I prosuma you don't fool tho nocd ot a capablo assistant yet?" "Not yet, Frank." said Labcrtoucho wndly. "Be patient. Your time will como; you're doing famously now." "Thank you." "Good afternoon. Lock the door as you leave," .. Immediately that he found himself alone, Labortouche mado of Qualn'a letter a second burnt offering to pro uaice upon the tray ot hammered brass. This matter attended to. ho lost himself in Bradshaw and the Penin sular ft Oriental Steamship coniDanv'a list ot sailings: from which ha de rived onllghtonment. "He waa to come dlroct," mused Labertoucho. "In that case he'll havo wriltod over In Lon don for the Poonah." He turned to tho copy of tho Indian Dally Nowa which lay at his elbow, somewhat anx lotjajy consulting its shipping news. under tne heading of "Due this Day no aiscovoroa the words: "Poonah. London Calcutta Straits Settle- montB." And his face lengthened with concern. "That's abort notice." ho a!d. "Lucky I got back today uncommon lucky I . . . still I may bo mis iBKon, uui mo surmlso fa! ed to comfort him. Ho drow a sheot ot paper on which thero wbb no letter head to him and negan to wrlto, composing dollboratO' ly ana with groat caro. Tho building in which his offices woro located Btood upon a corner; nt ouner ona 01 me long corridor on the uppor floor, upon which tho various omcoB oponod, woro stairways, one descending to Dhurrumtollah street, tho othor to a side ptreot llttlo better than an alloy. It may bo considered significant that, whereas Labertoucho hlmsolf was not soon olthor to enter or to leave tho building at any tlmo mat qay, on Attn raondlcant did enter from Dhurrumtollah Btrcet Bhortly after Frank had gono to lunch and disappeared forthwith: while. In thn dusk of evening, n slim Eurasian boy wuu n ciuruiy nir mi oy tho stairs to tne auoy. CHAPTER VIII. i First Steps. forward oa the nromonndn dack ot the Poonah. In thn nhn.i J bridge, Amber steed with both elbows on tho rail, dividing his somowhat perturbed nltontlon betwoon n noisy lot ot loscar stewards, deckhands, and nntlvo third-class passengers In tho bows bolow, and tho long lltios of Saugor Island, Just then slipping past on tho starboard boam, Up to tho day that the Poonah had sailed from Tilbury dock, London, from tho tlmo ho had left Qualn among tho sand dunes of Long Island, ho had not been conscious of any sort of esplonago upon his movements. But from tho hour that tho Poonnh with its miscellaneous ship's com pany, whtto, yellow, brown, and black, had warped out Into tho Thames, he had felt ho was being watched had roallzcd It Instinctively, having noth ing deflnito whereon to base his fool ing. Ho was neither timorous nor given to conjuring up shapes of ter ror from tho depths of a nervous im- agination? tho sensation of being un der tho surveillance of unseen, prying eyes Is untnlstaknblo. Yet ho had tried to reason hlmoelf out of tho bollof after taking all sensible precautions, such as nevor lotting tho photograph of Sophia Farrell out of his possession and keeping tho Token next his skin, In a chamois bng that nostlcd beneath bis arm, swinging from a leather cord round his nook. It was qulto con colvnhlo that that Jawol, Intrinsically Invaluable, was badly wanted by its formor possessors, whether for the aimplo worth of It or bocauso It play ed nn Important part In the intrigue, or whatovor It was, that had resulted in Rutton's sulcldo, For his own part, Amber cared nothing for It. Such, In short, had been his frame of mind up to olght o'clock of tho provlous evening. At thnt hour ho had mndo a discovery which bad dlvorted tho entlro trend of his thoughts. Doggott, over a poor sailor, had boon feollng 111 and Ambor had oxcunod him oarly in the afternoon. About six o'clock ho had gono to bis stateroom Like a Flash the nnd dressed for dinner, unattended. Absorbed In anticipations of the mor row, when first he ahould set root in Calcutta and take tho flrat Btep in pursuit of Sophia Farroll, he had absent-mindedly neglected to empty tho pockets of his discarded clothing. At seven ho had gono to dinner, leav ing his ntaleroom door open, as was UIb habit a not unusual ono with flrst-cabln naasenKerB on long voyngoa nnd his flannels swinging from hookB In tho wall. About eight, ais rovorlne his oversight through tho absence of his cigarette case, he had hurrlod back to the stateroom to aia- covor that he had boen curiously robbed. His watch, hla keys, his small piiancn and hla Bovcrolen purse, his silver cigarette case all the articles, In fact, that ho was, accustomeo to stuff Into hla pockets with one ex onniinn wra where he had left them. But the leather envolopo containing tho portrait of Sophia Farrell waa missing from the breast-pocket of his coat From tho hour In which he had ob tained It ho had never but this onco lot it out ot his poraonal possession. Tho envelopo ho had caused to be con structed for its safe-keeping during hla enforced Inaction in London, Ho had never onco looked at It savo in strict privacy, socuro oven from tne nvnn nf Doecott: and tho latter did not know what tho loathor case con tained. Thus hla preconceived and. aelf-con-Btructod theory aa to the oxtoat of Tho Enemy's knowlodgo, was In an In stant overthrown. "Thoy" had solzod tho vory first relaxation of his vlgl lnnco to rob him of that which he valued most. And In hla heart ho foarod and boltovod that tho lncldont Indicated "their" InUmncy not alone with his secret but with that which he shnrnd with Colonel Farrell. Since thon hla cvory move toward rogalnlng tho photograph nao. uoen fruitless. In the end, and In dospaHS Amber posted a aotloe oa the saipa ouue tin board, ottering BO guineas reward tar tliA rot urn nf the nhotoffranh to him either before landing or at the t!i F Groat Castorn hotel, Calcutta, and having theroby established his reputa tion ed A mild lunatic, sat down to twirl his thumbs nnd await tho out come, confidently anticipating thoro would bo none. "They" had outwit ted him nnd not 500 guineas would tompt "them," ho believed. It re mained only to contrive a triumph In despito of this Bctback. Tho Poonah slipped in to her dock under cover of darkness. Amber, dis embarking with Doggott, climbed into an open gharl on the landing Btngo aud was driven swiftly to his hotel. As ho alighted and, leaving Doggott to scttlo with tho gharlwallah, crossed tho sldowalk to tho hotel entrance, a beggar slipped through tho throng of wayfarers, whining at his elbow. "Glvo, O give, Protector of tho Poor I" Preoccupied, Amber hardly heard, and passod on; but tho native stuck leach-llko to his sldo. "Glvo, hazoor and the mercy of God shall bo upon tho hoaven-born for ton thousand years 1" Now "heaven-born" Is flattery prop erly resorvod for thoso who sit In high places. Ambor turned and oyed tho man curiously, at tho samo time dropping Into tho filthy, importunate palm a fow annas. "May tho shadow of tho heiven born bo long upon tho land, when ho shnll havo passed through the Gate way ot SwordBl" And llko a flash tho man waa gono dodging nimbly round tho gharl nnd across Old Court Houso street, losing himself almost Instantly In tbo press of early evonlng traffic. "Tho devil!" said Ambor thought fully. "Why should it bo assumed that I have any shadow ot nn Inten tion of entering that damnable Gate way of Swords?" An incident at tho desk, whllo he was arranging for his room, further Man Was Gone. mystified him. , He , had given his name to tho clerk, who looked up, smiling. "Mr. David AmberT" ho said. "Why. yes" , "Wo wero expecting you, sir. You came by the Poonah?" Tea. but" "There's a note for you." Thfe man turned to a rack, sorting out a small square envolopo from others pigeon holed under "A," Could It be possible that Sophia Farroll had been advised of hla com lng7 Amber's hand trembled slightly with eagerness and excitement as he took the missive. "An Eurasian boy left It for you halt an hour ago," said the clerk. "Thank you," returned Amber, con trolling hlmsolf sufficiently to wait until he ahould bo conducted to his room beforo opening tho note. It wbb not, he observed later, super scribed In a feminine hand. Could it be from Qualn's friend Labertoucho? Who else? . . . Amber lifted his shoulders resignedly. "I wish Qualn hod mtndod his own business," ho said ungratotully; "I can tako caro ot mysolf, Thts Labortoucho'U proba bly mako Ufo a misery for me," Thero was a quality In tho note however, to make him forget his re sentment ot Qualn'a well-meant Inter- foronco. "My Dear Sir," it began formally "Qualn'a letter did not reach mo un til this afternoon; a olrcumstanco which I regret. Otherwise I should bo better prepared to assist you. have, on the othor hand, sot afoot enqutrlos which may shortly result In somo Interesting Information 'bearing upon the mattors which engage you, I oxpect to havo news ot tho Fa. to night, and shall bo glad to communl cato It to you at onco, 1 am prosum lng that you propose losing no tlmo In attending to the affair ot the. gold smith, but I tako the liberty ot ad vising you that to attempt to find him without propor guidance or propara tlon would be an undertaking haz ardoua In the oxtreme. May I offer you my services? If you decide to ac copt them, bo good enough to come before en tonight to the sailors' lodg lng houso known as 'Honest George's,' back ot tho Lai bazar, and nsk for Honest Georgo himself, refraining from mentioning my namo. Dress yoursolf la your oldest and shabbiest clothing; you cannot overdo this slnca the neighborhood Is question able nnd, a woll-dressed man would lmmcaiateiy oocomo an objoct of sus picion. Do not wear tho ring; keop It about you, out of eight. Should this fall to reach you In time, try tomor row night between eight and ton. You would servo us both well by burning this Immediately. Pray bellevo me yours to command In all respects.1' Thoro waa no signature. Amber frowned and whistled over this. "Undoubtedly from Laber toucho," ho considered. "But why this flavor of intrlguo? Does ho know anything moro than I do? I prosumo ho must. It'd bo a groat comfort If . . . Hold on. 'Nows of tho Fs.' That spello tho FarrolB. How In bla7.es docs ho know anything about tho Farrolls? I told Qualn nothing. . . . Can It bo a trap? Is It posslblo that tho chap who took that photograph recognized , . .1" Tho problem hold him in Dornloxlty throughout tho ovoning meal. Ho turned It over this way nnd that with out being ablo to nrrlvo at uny com forting solution. Impuloo In tho end decided him impulse and a glance at his watch which told him that the tlmo grow short "I'll ko." ho de clared, "no mnttor wlwe. it's nearly nino, but tho Lai bazar's not far." In tho faco of Doggott's unbending disapproval ho loft tho hotel somo 20 minutes later, having lovled on. Dog gott's wnrdrobo for sultablo clothing. Onco away from tho Great Eastern ho quietly Insinuated himself Into tho tldo ot tho city's night llfo that tire lossly ebbB and flows north of Dal houslo square tho rcotlcso currents of native lifts that move ceaselessly In obcdlcnco to Impulses so meaningless and strango to tho Occidental under standing. Beforo ho realized It ho had loft civilization behind him and waa breathing tho asmosphore, heady and wolrd, of tho Thousand-and-Ono- Nlghts. Tho Lai bazar soothed round bim noisily, with a roaring not unliko that of a surf in the hearing of him who hnd so long lived separato from sUch scones, At a corner whoro thero was more light ho camo upon a policeman whoso tunic, holmet, and truncheon woro so closely patterned after thoso ot tho London Bobby that tho simple sight ot them waa calculated to rovlvo con fidence In tho security of ono's person. Ho Inspected Ambor Bhrowdly whllo tho latter was asking his way to Hon est Goorgo's, and In response Jerked a white-gloved thumb down tho wide thoroughfare "You carn't mlas It sir B'ylorB boardin' 'ouse, all Ut up and likely a row on at the bar. Mind your eyo, guv'nor. It ayn't a plyco you'd ought to visit on your lono." "Thanks; I'vo business thero. I reckon to tako earn ot myself." Nevertheless It was with a mind preyed upon by forebodlnge that Am' ber stumbled down tho cobbled way, rooking with filth, toward tho estab lishment of Honest Gem-go. Ho iitoppcd In front of a building whoso squat brick facado wan let- torod with tho reassuring sobriquet of Its proprietor. A bench, running tho width of tho structure, waa thick with sprawling loafers, who smoked and spat nnd spoko a Jargon of tho seas, tho chlof part of which was bias' phomy. Within, vlslblo through win dows nover closed, was a crowded bar room ablazo with flaring gan Jets, up roarious with voices thick with drink, Ono needed courago ot no common order to run tho gauntlet of that rowdy room and bravo tho moro so- crot dangors ot tho infamous don, "You've got to havo your norvo with you," Ambor put It "But I suppose It's all in tho game. Lot's chanco it1 And ho enterod. Compnred with the ntmosphcro of that publlo room a bloat from hell woro sweet hnd cooling, thought Am ber; tho first whiff he had of It all tout staggered him; and ho found hlmsolf gasping, porsplratlon starting from ovory pore. Faint with disgust ho el bowed h(s way through tho mob to tho bar, thankful tbat thoso about him, absorbed In tho engrossing occu pation ot getting drunk, paid him not tho least heed. Flattening himself against tho roll he cast about for tho proprietor. A blowsy, sweating bar maid caught hla eyo and without a word alapped down upon tho sloppy counter before htm a glass four fin' gers deep with unspcnkablo whisky. And he realized that he would havo to drink It; to rofuso would bo to at tract attention, porhapa with unploaa nnt consequences. "It's mora than I bargained for," ho grumbled, ma king a pretence ot swallowing tho doso, and to his hugo roltot manag ing to spill two-third of It down tho front ot his coat What ho awallow cd bit llko an acid. Tears camo to his eyes, but ho choked down tho cough, and as soon aa ho could apeak paid tho girl. "Where's tbo bess?" ho asked. (TO BIS CONTINUED.) Film Drama for 103,000,000 Russians. Cinematograph theaters aro tre mendously popular In Russia. Almost ovory village baa ono. Moscow and St, Petersburg have about 80 each. For tho empire tho number is osti mated at 1,200, with an aggregate at tendanco last year of 108,000,000, At tho average admission . ot 20 cents, 121,600,000 was taken, in. Admission chargos rango from 8 to 67 cents. Many houses ontortaln 1,000 a night On Sundays and holidays the crowds aro enormous. Tho pictures shown are largely educational and do much good, especially as so large a propor tion of the Russian population la il literate. INFLAM MATION AND PAIN Cured by Lydia E Plnkliam's Vegetable Compound. Creaton. Iowa. " I was troubled for a long time with inflammation, pains in my siuo, sick headaches and ner vousness. I had ta ken so many modi clnca that I was discouraged and thought I would nover got woll. A friend told mo oC LydlaE.Pinkham's Vogotahlo Com pound and it ro otorod mo to health. I havo no moro pain, my nerves aro Btronper and I can do my own work. Lydia E. Pinkham'a Vegotablo Compound cured mo after everything olso had failed, and I rec ommend it to other oufforing women." Mits. War. Seals COS W. Howard St., urcston, lowa. Thousands of unsolicited and tronu- Ino testimonials like tho nbovo provo tho ofllcloncy of lydia E. Pinkham'a Vegotablo Compound, which is mado exclusively irom. roots ana noros. women who suffer from thoso dis tressing ills Bhould not loso night of theso f acts or doubt tho ability of Lydia E. Pinkham'a Vegotablo Compound to' rcstoro their health. If yoatvnnt snccinl ndvlco -wrlto to Mrs. Plnkhnm, at Lynn. Itlass. Bho -will treat your lottor as Strictly confidential. For 20 years suo lias ucon ncipinpr sick women in tliis way, frco of charge. Don't hceltato Avrlto at onco. WAS IT ABSENT-MINDEDNESS? Irs. Nelson My husband Is awfully absent-minded. Mrs. BUson In what way? Mra. Nelson Ho went Ashing yes terday. When ho had finished ho throw away tho fish and brought homo tho bait Could Take Her Choice. Ab tho railroad train was stopping, an old lady not accustomed to travel-' lng hailed the passing conductor and asked: "l "Conductor, what door shall I get ovit by?" "Either door, ma'am," graciously answered tho conductor. "Tho oar stops at both ends." Galesburg Mall. Good Vacation Advice. Bishop Scalding, on a hot summer morning, gnvo ono of tho congrega tions ot Portland, Ore., a timely pleco of advice. "Don't," ho said, "when you go oft on your vacation, leavo all your re ligion behind and tako all your col lection away with you." Why, Willie! Sunday School Teacher Yes, Wil lie, tho Lord loves ovory living croa turo. WHHc I'll bet ho was nover Btung by a waspl Puck. What Bomo lawyers don't know isn't worth lying about . 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