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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (June 4, 1912)
-! ngjrtuf,- r-T t I I ;ii If lli H1 It !l I I .--..'ffkMUdUg-'C 4 ifePOOLif L y LOUIS JOSEPH YANC ILLUSTRATIONSBY ELLSWOMH-YOTmG COPYRICHTI909 Bt OUIOSEPH VANCE. viv---. --v - ,-.. , va, a.- 1 udlo&, wpar. jea synopsis. The ntory opens nt Monte Carlo with Col. Terence O'ltourWo, a military free lance and BomethlnK of a Rambler, 'n hln liolel. Loaning on the balcony he sees a beautiful Blrl who suddenly enters tho elevator and pauses from bIkIU. At the Bainliift table O'Hourlio notices two men wntchinB him. One Ib tho Hon. Hertle Olynn. while his companion Is Viscount Des Trebes, n duelist. Tho viscount tclM lilm tho Kronen government has directed him to O'Rourko as a man who would undertake a secret mission. At his apart ment O'Rourke. whrf" had agreed to un dertake tho mission, finds a mysterious letter. Tho viscount arrives, hands a sealed package to O'ftourkc, who Is not to open It until on the ocean. A pair or dainty slippers are seen protruding from under a doorway curtain. Tho Irishman finds the owner of tho mysterious feet to be his wlfo, Beatrix, from whom he had run away a year prevloun. I CHAPTER IV. (Continued.) Sho shook her head sadly, wistful Jjr. "How do I know? How can I tell? Surely, dear, no two pooplo wero over tiapplor than wo yet within a year from our wedding you . . . you left mo, ran away from me. . . . Why?" "Well ye know why, dearest, and -well yo know 'twas, lovo of yo alono that drovo me from ye. Could I let Jt be said yo had n husband who was icapable of supporting yo? Could I fit It be said that your husband lived liko a leech upon your fortunes? hilth, didn't I havo to go for your eako?" "No," she dissented with a second wenry shako of her pretty head; "1 think It wns lovo of yourself, a little, Terence that and your pride. . . . Why should any of our world havo guessed you wero not the rich man you fancied yourself when we wore married? Who would, havo told them that your landod heritage In Ireland had turned out profitless? Not I, my dear." "I know -that," ho contonded stub bornly, "but 1 know, too, sooner or later It would havo como .out, and they would havo said: 'Thero sho goes with her fortuno-huntor, tho ad vonturer who married her for her monoy ' ' "And If so? What oarthly differ enco could it mako to us, sweetheart? What can gossip matter to us If you lovo mo?" "If-" ho cried, almost angrily. "If! . . . Ah, hut no, darling! 'tis your Belt knows there Is no 'If about It, that I'm sick with lovo of yo this very nlnuto sick and mad for yo . . ." "Then," Bho pleaded, with a desper ate little break In her Incomparable volco; and again bold out her arms to him "then havo pity on mo, oh, my dearest ono have pity on mo If only for n Mttlo while." And suddenly ho had caught hor to him, and she lay In his arms, her young strong body molded to his, her lips to his, hor eyes lialf-vellcd, tho sweet fragranco of hor too well re momborod Intoxicating him; lay su pluo In his embraco, yol held him strongly to her, and trembled in sym pathy with tho deep, hurried pounding , or his heart . . . In tho Bouth the horizon flatnod livid to tho zonlth, rovoallng a grout, black wall of cloud that had stolon up out of Africa; beneath It tho sea jshono momentarily with n sickly silk en luBter, Then tho dense blackness of tho night rolgucd again, as pro found as though Impenetrable, eternal. Later a dull growl of thunder rolled .In across tho wasto. With It came tho first (ltful warnings of the Impending wind storm. "Read, monsieur," she Insisted, per emptorily. "I'vo better things to do, me dear," he retorted with composure. "You'll And it interesting." "I find me wlfo moro Interesting than How d'yo know 1 will?" "Pcrhnps I have read It." O'Rourko turned tho letter over In his hand and noted what had thereto fore escaped his attention tho fact that tho envelope, badly frayed on tho edges through much handling, was open at tho top. "So yo may," he admitted. "It was that why when I rocolvcd it. And I have read it. How could I holp It?" "Then yo'vo Bavcd mo tho bother." Ho prepared to rlso and capturo her. Sho rotreated briskly. "Read I" sho commanded. "Read about the Pool of Flame !" He stopped short, thunderstruck. "Tho Pool of Flame?" ho reltoratod slowly. "What d'yo know .about that?" "What tho letter tells me no moro. What has become of It?" But ho had already withdrawn tho cncloBuro and tossed tho cnvelopo aside, and was reading absorbed, ex cited, oblivious to all savo that con voyed to his intelligence by the writ ing beneath his eyes. It was a singularly curt, dry and buslnoss-llko document for one that was destined to mold tho romanco of his llfo strangely torso and tritely phrased for ono that was to exert so far-reaching nn influence over the lives of so many men nnd women. Upon a single sheet of paper bearing their let terhead, Messrs. Secretan and Sypher, solicitors, of Rangoon, Durmah, had caused to bo typed a communication to Colonel Toronco O'Rourko, inform ing him that on behalf of a client who preferred to preservo his Incognito thoy wore prepared to offer a reward of ono hundred thousand pounds ster ling for tho return, Intact and un marred, of tho ruby known as the Pool of Flamo. Tho said ruby was, when ast hoard of, In tho possession of tho said Colonel O'Rourko, who would receive tho reward upon tho delivery of tho said stono to tho un dersigned at their ofllcos In Rangoon thousand pounds," "Treble Its worth, O'Mahoney expect- "Ono hundred ho said. . . . doublo what tho cd. . . ." "Who la tho O'Mahonoy, dear?" Ho roused. "An old friend, Beatrix an old comrade. Ho died some years back, on tho banks of tho Tugola, lighting with a Doer commando, lie was a lonely man, without kith or kin or many friends beside mesclf. That, 1 presume, Is how he camo-o leave tho Pool of Flamo with mo-" Ho wound an arm round her and held her close. "Hearken, dear, and I'll be telling yo tho story of It." Behind them tho Infernal glare lit up tho portentous skies. Thunder echoed between clouds and sea like heavy cannoning. Tho wlfo shrank cIobo to her beloved. "I am not at all afraid," sho declared, when her voice could bo heard "with you. . . . Tell me about tho Pool of Flamo." "Tho O'Mahoney left It with me when ho went to South Africa," ex plained O'Rourke. " 'Twas a paste board box tho Blze of mo fist, wrapped In brown paper and tied with a bit of string, that he brought mo ono even ing, saying he was about to leave, and would I caro for It in his absence. 1 knew no moro of It than that 'twas something he valued highly, but I put It away In a safe-deposit vault which be mlght'vo done If ho hadn't been a scatterbraln an Irishman "Then he wrote mo a letter 1 got It weeks after his doath saying he felt he was about to go out, and that tho Pool of Flame was mine. Ho wnnt nn in nYnlnln thnt Hia linr rnn. talncd a monstrous big ruby and gave I en, and tho Pool of Flamo had vanished. . . . For several yetrs It stayed quiet, so far as Is known. Then the curse of tho thing began to work, and It came to tho surface In a drunken brawl In tho slums of Port Said. The police, breaking Into some dlvo to stop a row, found nobody In tho place but a dead Greek; they say 'twas a shambles. One of tho police found tho big ruby In tho dead man's flat and before his companions guessed what was up slipped away with the stone. . . .Ho was murdered some months later In a Genoese bagnio, by a French girl, who got away with It somehow. . . . Tho O'Mahoney came across tho thing In Algeria, when he was serving with tho Foreign Legion. He was In SIdl Bel Abbas ono night, off duty, and wandering about, when ho heard a mau cry out for help In on of the narrow black alleys of the placo. Ho thought he recognized a comrade's volco, and Burely enough, when he ran down to old him, ho found a Dutchman, a man of his own regiment, fighting with half a dozen natives Ho was about dono for, the Dutchman, when tho O'Mahoney came up, and so were three of tho Arabs. Tho O'Mahoney took care of the rest of them, and left seven dead men be hind him when ho went away tho six natives and the Dutchman, who had died in his arms and given him the Pool of Flamo with his last whis per. . . . "That's how it came to me." said O'Rourko. "And where Is It now?" "Back in Algeria. If I'm not mlstak- . . Ye remember Chambret mo Its history, as far as ho knew It "It secm3 that thero's a certain highly respectable temple In ono of tho Shan States of Burmah ('tis me sclf forgets tho namo of It) and In that temple there's an Idol, a Buddha of puro gold, 'tis said. It would be a perfectly good Buddha, only that It lacks an oyo; thero's an empty socket In Its forehead, and 'tis thero (he Pool of Flamo belongs or come from. In tho old days the natives called this stono the Luck of tho State, and mnybo thoy wero right; foV when It " Twaa ye who Bang to mo, dear est'" 1 "Who else,' you great silly boy? . . . And when you followed mo to the door, making as much noise as a young elephant, Terence 1 was mind ed to punish you a little, a very little, ray dear. So I merely oponed mlno and closed It sharply." "There was a woman In tho hall " "1 saw her, dear, and laughed, think tug lipw puzzled you would bo. , . . Was 1 cruel, my heart? But I did not mean to be. I'd planned this surprise, you know, from tho minute 1 round our rooms adjoined." "And this lottor" O'Rourko fumbled In his pockot and got it out "yo brought It to me?" "It como to me In London, dear, two weeks ugo; we wero together Clara Pllnllintnon and I at tho Carlton, waiting for her yacht to bo put Into commission. Meanwhllo oho was mak ing up the party for this Mediter ranean trip. ... I had nq 'Idea where to Bond you the letter. Have you read It?" "Have I had time, sweetheart of mine?" There was an Interlude. Iii J the distance tho thunder rolled and rumbled. JleeoluYM the young woman dis engaged herself and withdrew to a lit tle distance." IF- " (TH J A1'A " llr he was with us In the desert nnd wanted ye to marry him afterwards? Ho has It tho dear man; I love him liko a brother. ... He sickened of Europe when ho found his caso with you was hopeless, and wont to Al giers, Joining tho Foreign Legion." "But how?" "Well, wo were fond of each other, Chambret and I. I helped him out of somo tight corners and ho helped me along when mo money ran short as It always did, nnd will, I'm thinking. Aftor a while I got to won dering how much I owed the man and figured It up; the sum total frightened tho life out of me, and I made him take the ruby by way of se curity and never was able to redeem It, for 'twas only a little after that that t came Into me enormous patri mony and squandered It riotously get ting married to tho most beautiful woman living. "He warned me to hold tho stone, the "O'Mahoney did, saying that tho tlmo would como when somo native prince would offer to redeem the Luck of tho State aB an act of piety aud pa triotism. He prophesied a reword of at least fifty thousand pounds. And now It's come twice over!" "And now what can you do?" "Do?" cried O'Rourko. "Faith, what would 1 be doing? D'yo realize what this means to me, dear heart? It means you Independence, a llttlo fortune, the right to claim my wlfo!" He drew her to him. "Do? Sure, and by the first train nnd boat I'll go to Algeria, find Chambret, get him to, glvo me tho stone, tako It to Rangoon, claim tho reward, lepay Chambret and" "And what, my paladin?" "Dare yo ask mo that, madame? . . Say, will ye wait for me?" Sho laughed softly. "Have I not watted, Ulysses?" "Bccauso . . ." O'Rourko paaused, vnguo suspicions taking shnpo In his mind. "Why did he ask about Cham bret?" ho demanded. "How could he have learned that tho Jowel was with him?" He Jumped up and began to paco the floor. Ills wife rose, grave with conster nation. "What." sho faltered "what makes you think, suspect ?" "Bccauso the fellow lied to me about you this very night. Yo were with Lady Pllnllmmon In tho Casino, were ye not? Faith, and didn't I see yo7 I was in chnse of yo when tho man stopped me with bis rigmarole about representing tho French government and having a secret commission tor mo. Ye heard him Just now. . . . And when I asked him was ho of your party, ho denied knowing Lady Plln llmmon. ... Ho made a later ap pointment with mo hero, to talk things over. I'm thinking ho only wanted time to think up a scheme for getting me out of the way. Also, ho wanted to find out where Chambret was. D'yo not see through his llttlo game? To get me away from Mdnte Carlo by the first morning train, that we might not meet; to get mo on the first Atlantic liner, that I might not interfere with his plot against Cham bret. For what, other reason would he give me sealed ordera? Sealed or ders!" O'Rourke laughed curtly, tak ing the long envelope from his pocket and tearing It open. "Behold bis Ecaled orders, If ye please!" Ho shuffled rapidly through bis fin gers six sheets of folded lotter paper, guiltless of a single pen-scratch, crumpled them Into a wad and threw It from him. "What moro do I need to prove that he's conspiring to steal the Pool of Flame and claim for himself tho re ward? ... A bankrupt, discred ited, with nothing but his title and his famo as a duelist to glvo him standing; is It wonderful that he's grasping at any chance to recoup his fortunes?" He took a swift stride to ward the door, halted, turned. "And young Glynn?" ho demanded. "Was ho with you, and was ho thick -with this precious roguo of a vlcomte?" "They wero much together." "Faith, then It's clear as wlndow glaBs that the two of them, both broke, have figured out this thing be tween them. . . . Well and good! I want no more than a hint of warn ing. ..." He was Interrupted by a knocking. With a start and a muttered exclama tion ho remembered Van- Elnera, and stepped to the door and out Into a cor ridor, shutting tho woman In. Sho remained wbero he had left her, her pretty brows knitted with thought, for a tlmo abstractedly con scious of a murmur of voices In the hallway. These presently ceased as the speakers moved away. Sho turned to one of tho windows, leaning against Its frame aud staring nt the ominous flicker and flare of sheet-lightning which lent tho night a ghastly lumin osity. A cool breeze sprang up, bellying the curtains. Tho woman expanded to It, reviving In Its fresh breath from the enorvatlng Influence of the even ing's still heat. Her intuitlvo facul ties began to work more vivaciously; sho began to divine that which had been mysterious to her ere now. CANADA'S PROSPERITY. Tho Now York Times of March 23, 1912, in an artlclo dealing with Cana da's progress, says: "At tho present momont eight ship loads of European immigrants aro afloat for Canada, whllo thoro aro signs that tho outward movement which Is customary with us during labor troubles will bo marked this year. Thero Is no such Btartllng rec ord of our loss to Canada. Our citi zens quietly Blip over tho border lit groups or tralnloads, but their golns Is not advertlsod. "Thoro Is no mystery why Canada Is tho 'good thing' the United States used to bo. It Is because Canada is following In Us neighbor's footsteps that It is repeating tho fortunato ex perience which Its neighbor is envy ing, even while deliberately turning Its back on the teachings of tho past A fortnight ago tho Dominion budget speech reported tho unprecedented Burpltts of ?39,000,000, and on Thurs day tho Government passed through tho Committee on Supply credits of $38,000,000 for railways and canals. With this assistant tho railways themselvcB aro both enabled and com pelled to increase their facilities. Ac cordingly we find a single road allot ting ten millions for work of its own. Naturally tho Canadian newspapers contain announcements calling for fifty thousand men for construction work. This influx Is apart from those) Americans who go with money In their pockotB obtained by cashing In their hlgh-prlcod American lands. "A 8t. Paul dispatch eays that with in a fortnight two thousand carloads of farm nnlmals nnd machinery havo passed toward Canada, tho property of men who expect to pay lor their farms with the first crop." The Sham Battle. The militia was going through Its spring maneuvers and many women had como out to witness tho sham bat tle. "Como out of that hush and surren der," yelled tho captain to a prlvato. "You are technically wounded." Tho private shook his head vigor ously. "I may be technically wounded' said he, "but I can't come out. I've torn my pants on theso pesky thorns." When Caesar Crossed ths Rubicon. Julius Caesar was about to cross tho Rubicon. "In an extreme case like this," he said, blithely, "I wouldn't mind going through the Hudson River Tube, oven if I had to pay seven cents for th privilege." The Paxton Toilet Co. of Boston, Mass., will send a large trial box of Paxtlno Antiseptic, a delightful cleans Ing and germicidal toilet preparation, to any woman, freo, upon request Tho Flat That Failed. Howell How do you like your now home? Powell It Is r flat failure. A woman can romember how a man once mado love to her long after she has forgotten his namo. More Important than the choice oj Presi dent U the seleotlon of Garfield Tea as thi remedy for constipation and biliousness. Perseverance may be tho mother tX success, but tho offspring isn't always. Just what it Bbould be. She Flung Herself Upon Him, Sobbing. within six months from dato. Said dollvory might bo mado elthor In per ton or by proxy. With which Messrs. Secretan and Sypher beggod to ro main icspcctfully his. Tho irishman read It once and again, memorizing Its Import; then deliber ately shrodded it into minute parti cles. "So it's como," ho said heavily, "Just as tho O'Mahonoy forotold It would!" He sank back In his chair, and bis wife went to him and porchod hersolf upon the arm of it, imprisoning his head with hor arms and laying her cheek against his. "What has como, my heart?" disappeared tho stato became a Brit ish possession. "In the war of 'elghty-flvo, says the O'Mahoney, a small detachment of British troops out of touch with their command, happened upon this temple we're speaking of and took It, dispos sessing priests nnd populaco without so much as a day's notice Tho officer In command happened to seo this oyo In the Buddha's forehead, pried ll out and put it In his pockot In loss thnn, an hour the natives surrounded tho templo and attacked in forco. Tho British stood thorn off for three days and then were rolloved; but In the meantlmo the oilU'er had been killed "Tell me," ho domanded, "havo ye talked with anyone about this letter?" "Only to Clara Pllnllmmon!" "Oood Lord!" groaned the Irishman. "Only to her! Could ye not havo printed broadsides, the better to make tho matter public?" "Did I do wrong?" "'Twos Indlscreot and that's put ting It mildly, me dear. D'yo know tho woman's n walking nowspaper? How much did yo tell her? Did ye show her the letter?" "No." Sho answered hts last ques tion first "And 1 told her very little only about this reward for a ruby I didn't know you owned. Wo weio wondorlng whoro to find you." "And Eho told no one or who do you think?" The woman lookod a little fright ened. "Sho told she must hovo told that man Monsieur des Trebos." "That blackguard!" "Ho was with us on tho yacht, ono of Clara's guests." "Sho has a pretty tasto for com panymy word! How d'ye know she told him? He asked you about It?" "Tho lottor? Yes. Ho wanted to know tho nnmo of tho solicitors and their nddresB. I wouldn't tell him. I disliked him." "Had o told Lady Pllnllmmon?" "No . . ." "Pralsos be for that!" "Why?" No thoughtful person uses liquid blue. It'i a pinch of blue in a largo bottlo of water. Asb for Red Cross Ball Bluo, the bluo that's all blue. But a man who leads a double life never docs two men's work. WOMEN SHOULD BE PROTECTED Against So Many Surgical Op erations. How Mrs. Bethuno and Mrs. Moore Escaped. The lightning grew moro intense and Incessant, the thunder beating tho long roll of the charge. A heavy gust of air chill as death made her shiver. Sho shrank away from the windows, a llttlo awed, wishing for O'Rourko's return, wondering what had mado him leave her so abruptly. Then suddenly she knew. . . . She could bavo screamed with hor ror. Almost simultaneously the door slammed; her husband had returned. With n llttlo cry Bho flung herself upon him, clinging to him, panting, sobbing. "Tell me," sho demnnded, "what you intend to do? Do you mean to fight him Des Trebes?" "In tho morning," he answered lightly, holding her tight nnd comfort ing her. "Tls unavoidable; I pro voked his challenge. Ho was obllgod to fight But don't let that worry ye-" "Oh, my dear, my dear!" She sobbed convulsively upon his breast " 'Twill be nothing hardly that; an nnnoynnce no moro. Believe mo, dear." "What can you mean?" ITO DK CONTINUED.) Getting Back at Her. Sho I wouldn't marry you If you wero tho only man on earth. He Well, considering that In Buch a enso I would havo a large number of stunners to select from, X doa't think you would. f ered everything. w-.m Jk-cstV wnk MBfl HHHKSi at those ti Sikeston, Mo. "For seven yeare Isuf- I was in bod for four or five days at a timo every month, and so weak I could hardly walk. I cramped and hod backache and headache, and was so nervous and weak that I dreaded to see anyone or have any- I one move in the room. The doctors cave me medicine to ease me mes, and said that 1 ought to have an operation. I would not listen to that, and when a friend of my husband told him about Lydia E. Plnkhnm's Veg etable Compound and what it had dona for his wife, I was willing to take it Now I look the picture of health and feel like it, too. I can do my own housework, hoe my garden, and milk a cow. I can" entertain company and enjoy them. I can visit when I choose, and walk as fax as any ordinary woman, any day In the month. 1 wish I could talk to. every Buffering woman and girl." Mrs. Dejw Bethune, Sikeston, Mo. Murrayville, III." I have taken Ly dia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound for a very bad caso of female trouble and it made mo a well woman. My health was all broken down, tho doctors said I must have nn operation, and I was ready to go to the hospital, but dreaded it bo that I began taking your Compound. I got along so well that I gave up the doctors and was saved from the opera tion." Mrs. Charles Moore, R. R. No. 3, Murrayville, III, 1
