Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (May 10, 1923)
The Black Menace i I By ARTHUR B. REEVE . I I CHAPTER 1. “You recall the sudden death of my uncle, Martin Dale, a fortnight ago?” It was a very anxious and wor ried young lady who had come to Kennedy’s laboratory and in troduced herself as Clare Clare mont. Her nlear gray eyes looked out serchingly beneath the rakish hat that tilted over a mass of the softest Titian-tinseled hair. Al together, Clare Claremont, from the nervously nodding tip of feather above her head to the dainty toe of her modish little boot, was a fascinating creature, trebly so in her appealing dis tress. “I recall it perfectly,” en couraged Kennedy. “Is there something 1 can do to help you?” Craig shot a sidewise glance at me. Indeed, we did remember the case, for we had discussed it several times. Two weeks before, the highly respected president of the One Hundredth National bank had passed out of life most mysteri ously ami most dramatically, and we- had wished, that we might have an excuse for becoming con nected with the case. It had happened on the eve ning of a birthday party, which had been arranged for his niece and ward, Clare Claremont, to celebrate the arrival of her 18th birthday. The party was already assembling at the Dale mansion. A shot was heard up stairs, and, according to the newspaper re ports, Clare herself, followed by a young man well known in so ciety, Jack Speed, had rushed up. There they had found Dale in his room, lying on the floor, an ugly wound in his forehead and clutched in his hand a revolver. There had been the usual at tempt to hush the matter up—-the conflicting stories of an intruder and of his “cleaning a gun,” but it was generally understood that, although the coroner’s jury brought a non-committal verdict, Dale had committed suicide. a' it ~_n.* 1 a yvua vui, Clare leaned nervously for ward, watching Kennedy’s face intently. “Professor Kennedy,” she went on, in a very tremulous tone, “when my uncle’s safe at the office was opened, it was found that my entire estate of over $1,000,000 was dissipated. There was not a cent left—nor a cent of his own. She leaned over even closer in her excitement, talking rapidly, though without hysterics. “But I did find in some of his papers, which he overlooked or forgot to destroy with the rest of his books, a number of strange letters. Someone had black mailed him. Every dollar was gone. I was penniless. 1 set out with a detective trying to make something out of the letters, for they seemed to point to a gang of blackmailers. I determined to get back what I could.” She paused thoughtfully and added. “Somehow I believe that the money, or at least a large part of it, is somewhere, if I could only find it.” She laid down on the labora tory table a piece of paper on which was some writing, in a pe culiar disguised scrawl. The pa per was dirty and crumpled. “Today, I received this,” she explained. I bent over with Kennedy and read: You will call off your detec tive Ravenal as well as that young man, Speed—ore we will alt o *T The Black Menace. Jack Speed, I happened to know, was at the time a news paper man on the Star. His fath er, a broker, had become tired of Jade's wild and notorious socie ty career and had told him that he would have to do some serious work. Steed had come down to the Star with the rather novel proposal that, owing to his close society connections, he could write a great deal of stuff that no one else cold get. The novelty of the thing had appealed to the,Star and they had given him a job. To the amaze ment of everybody on the paper, Steed was actually making good. He had. never done anything se rious before, but now seemed to see his chance and take it. I w*a glad of it for he was a most like able fellow and the experience was making a man of him. A Young: Detective. More than that, it was easy to aee from the way in which Clare | spoke of Jack Steed, that she thought a great deal of him, and I felt sure that if he came through on the Star it would be the best thing for both of them. Ravenal we already knew as a young detective who h-ad, like so many others, come to New York apparently from nowhere «nd by some process ‘arrived’. I did not recall that he had had any very remarkable cases, and yet he scmed to have done pretty well. Some of the cases were given to him by people very well known. He did not call himself a detec tive, but simply an “investiga tor.” It sounded better with his society clientele. “What have you and Mr. Rav enal discovered, so far?” asked Kennedy. Very little. It seems as though every.time we get a clue that leads anywhere, this gang must get ahead of us and spoil it. Now comes the note. I had heard of you and I thought' that the best thing I could do would be to come and see you before—”. An evelope suddenly scaled in through the air from the window and dropped on the floor just beside us. Clare jumped up with a little scream. I picked up the envelope as Craig ran to the win dow. He looked up and down, but there was nobody there. Whover had scaled the envelope in had had plenty of time to get around the side of the Chemistry building and disappear on the campus. Pursuit was useless now. He turned and took the en velope from my hand. With his finger he tore it open and pulled out a note. As he did so, from the note there fluttered to the floor a crisp yellow piece of pa per. I stopped to pick it up and as I did so gave a startled gasp. My fingers closed over a thou sand dollar bill 1 Kennedy looked in amazement, first at the note in his own hands and then at the bill in mine. Clare uttered a startled scream. It was evident that she had thought tile letter was another threat from the Black Menace. Together we three crowded about and read the note. It was short and direct: “Miss Clare Claremont: “I know of four attempts to get the Black Menace—the great society blackmailer. I approve of your going to Kennedy final ly. That is all I can say. I know who it is but my lips are sealed. If you knew you would under stand. You must keep this se cret even from your detective and Mr. Speed. “Ripley Granby.” The name at the send of the note was no less of a shock to us than the strange succession of events which had just led up to this mysterious communication. Ripley Granby was perhaps the best known clubman in town, a friend of Dale and of Clare’s own father before his death, clubmate of Speed, and altogether a nota ble figure in New York society. What the note could mean none of us was able even to cream. It was certainly not a forgery, nor was it likely that any one would lightly throw about thousand dollar bills unless there was some great and com pelling reason for it. Kennedy’s mind was working rapidly, endeavoring to piece together some order out of the sudden chaos. Clare looked at him anxiously. Kennedy smiled. At Least One Friend. “Evidently you have one friend,” he encouraged, “even if he insists on remaining un known to every one except our selves.” Clare’s mind seemed to be in a whirl. A moment before she had been penniless. Now at least she had a sizable sum of money, and there seemed to be no reason why one who did things in this way would leave her in the lurch. I handed her the bill. She hesi tated a moment to take it and I could fancy the thoughts that were passing through her mind. Finally, she turned to Craig. “Evidently he has confidence in you,” she said simply. If there had been the slightest doubt before of Kennedy’s inter est in the case, there certainly was none now. There could be no question but that the death of Martin Dale and the looting of his estate involved matters of the utmost interest and import ance. “You may need all that money and much more,” he remarked slowly, “but you ar.? quite right, Miss Claremont V/e must foU low this thing wherever it leads us to the end. Would you mind taking me with you to that I can have a talk with Mr. liavenal and find out just how far he had gone? I should much prefer to work with him than to have him. think that I have «oaift fc». to crowd him out.” Greatly Delighted. Clare was delighted at his acceptance. Though she said nothing about it, it was easy to see that the situation troubled her. One detective who had gone so far and could go no farther might be a serious stumb ling block if another was called in. Kennedy’s attitude promised to smooth over what she had con sidered to be a very rough spot. (To Be Continued Next Week.) SUGAR AND NATURAL LAW. AFTER much shouting and waving of hands and arms for popular effect, politicians admit that they have lost their “desperate” battle to lower the prices of sugar to con sumers. In giving up, they change the sugar men, especially the market operators, with being "gamblers." They "regret” that the operators, have not broken the law, so they< cannot punish them. Government officials threaten publicity of all »© called manipulations, and propose "to let the sugar profiteers know the government knows what they are do ing and how they are doing it.” If anything is more aBinlne than this sort of-rot for public consumption, It, ha? not been discovered. It Is a confession of bad faith to the public and of weakness to the sugar trade. When all Is said and done, this very simple fact remains, that If the demand for sugar keeps up prices will remain firm with a tendency to rise; If the demand decreases ma terially, or the supply Increases, sugar prices will go down accord ingiy. The present indications point to a shortage compared to 1922. Herein lies the honest answer to prices. Pro bono publico politicians and government officials can very quickly reduce prices by nrodMfiing more sugar. Whether tL„£ Sot this from the soil or from warehouses Is immaterial. They also can get a lot 4 of help from the “bear operators,” or ] one class of the so-called “specula-' tors,” who would make money by a decline in prices. Up to the present the bears have done all they could to out-general the “bull operators” but without avail. Between these two forces the market is jretty well stabilized usually. It is an Interesting battle to watch, and the consumers quite naturally hope that the bears will win their fight. It Is well to remember in all of this that politics and politicians have little or nothing to do with prices, except to constantly Increase them through costly interference with business and endeavors to change natural laws. These cannot be altered even for Preeident Hard ing, who might worry to better ad vantage over high prices of more es sential commodities than sugar. There was not much “interfer ence” two years ago when market operators lost millions In sugar by over bidding. The law of supply and demand worked then. Why net now? The Thirteen Feints. From the .Syracuse Post-Standard. Mrs. Gay Goodorson. who Is a repub lican assembly district leader In New York has been advising women what they must do to attain political leader ship. She dares to list them, and to In vite women to make Inventory of their own qualifications whenever they feel disappointment because an Interest In politics does not lead Immediately to a commanding place In politics. To be a successful political leader then, says Mrs. Gooderson, a woman must possess The wisdom of Solomon, The acumen of the queen of Sheba, The charm of Helen of Troy, The patience of Job, The courage of the American doughboy. The guile of a serpent. The untiring energy of the ant. The gentleness o fthe dove. The strength of an ox, The silence of tbe sphinx, The silver tongue of William Jennings Bryan. The humor of George Ade, The ability to rule without letting peo ple know they are ruled. The maniacs of ''Wards” Island havs tried six times within a few weeks to set thslr asylum on Are. “Poor, crasy things," mays every body, “can't they realise that they would be victims of the flames T" Yss, and what about the other maniacs, called statesmen, in Eu rope, that constantly set their places on Are with.war? Can’t they real ise that they must be victims of the war? The young girls of Vassar college are forbidden to go shopping on roller skates. They used to skate two miles to the store, then toddle around the shop ol skates. “Undig nified” the faculty says. “Very cunning,’’ the average man will say. An Italian peasant shoots a priest for refusing him absolution. Five Russian officers executed for spying. A high court decides that a city can not sue a newspaper for libel, no mat ter what the newspaper says about the city. And finally, a witness testh fies that a drugless healer combined much “petting and intimate affection” with healing processes. The “healert replies with “God is Rove” and whs| aan you say to that? The Princess Dehra BY JOHN BEED SOOTT. Cojqrrlcht. IMS. by John Koetf Soott At first even the imperturb able prime minister had been too astonished to act; now he came slowly forward, his old, lean face aglow with the joy of the combat and the music of the steel. Then he stopped and stood, watching, head slightly forward, lips half parted, eyes shining, fingers playing lovingly over his own hilt. Ah! it was a good fight to look upon; a noble fight, indeed; such masterly sword play he had never seen, nor was ever like to sec again; the swift attacks, the fierce rallies, the marvellous agility, the steady eye, the steel wrist. And then, the nerve of him who was losing, and must know it; for Lotzen was losing— surely losing. Twice the arch duke had driven him around the * table; now he forced him slowly back .... back .... back .... to the wall .... against it ... . tight against “Yield, cousin!” he said; “it’s your last chance.” But the duke only smiled mockingly and fought on. With an appealing cry Mad eline Spencer darted toward tkam. “Spare him, Armand!” she pleaded, “spare him!” The archduke stepped out of distance, but with point still ad vanced. “Take him!” he said, “take him* and joy with him!” Ferdinand of Lotzen slowly raised his sword in salute. My thanks, cousin! ” he said, “I can accept from her what I could not from you. You have bested me—the game is over. I shall not be needed at the read ing of the decree.—Your royal highness—messieurs of the coun cil—I bid you farewell.” He held out his hand tto Madeline .Spencer. “Come, my duchess, we will go to your Paris and the Rue Royale.—Monsieur le Comte, the door!”—and with all the stately grace and courteous de ference of a minuet he led her down the room, and bowed her out, and himself after. There was a moment of silence; then the'archduke spoke. “My lords, the book of laws is found, or so much of it as the fire has spared. How we chanced to come upon it here will best be told another time; enough now that but for the daring and quick wit of her royal highness, it would have been forever lost.” He glanced at the clock. “The hour for the council has already passed. Your excellency, the laws are before you, will you do us the favor to read the de creet” me count stepped lorwara and lifted the book from the rug; of the heavy cover little re mained but the brass hinges; the first few pages were scorched and half consumed, and all the edges charred and split and eaten into by the flames ; but otherwise it seemed to be without hurt. Yet Dehra’s hand went to her heart, as slowly and carefully Epping turned the leaves, hold ing them together the while, lest they break apart. Was the de cree there! Might Lotzen have destroyed it—torn it from the book, before they came upon him! Then the count stopped, and bending down read for a mom ent. When he looked up there was a strange expression on his face; he did not speak at once; and when he did his voice was repressed and almost trembling. “It is here," he said; “exe cuted the day before King Fred erick died. I read it: “ ‘Section one houndred thir ty-first.—It is hereby decreed that his royal highness the Arch duke Armand shall be eligible to the crown of Valeria, and he is herewith restored to his proper place in the line of succession, as the right heir male of Hugo, sec ond son of Henry the Third’.’’ For an instant Armand’s brain whirled—then he awoke to Dehra’s hands in his, and her voice in his ear, and the shouts and waving blades of the min isters. “The ritual, Epping! the ritual!’’ the princess cried, and caught up the sword she had tossed aside to rescue the book— then gasped in wandering fear, as the old count raised his hand and shook his head. “Wait!" he said; “there is another decree that comes be fore the ritual. Attend!— “ ‘Section one houndred thir ty-a®eond—<Whereas, for the 32 first time in a thousand years the Dalberg has no son: It is hereby decreed that the succes sion as head of the house of Dal berg, and, ipso facto, to the crown of Valeria, together with all their hereditary titles, pow ers, possessions and privileges, shall be vested in our only child and daughter, Dehra, princess royal of Valeria. And all and every decree conflicting there with is hereby specifically re voked and annulled.’ ” And now the swords were up again, and the archduke’s with them, and the wild huzza roared through the palace and far into the park; and Bernheim and Moore, coming down the corri dor, dashed into the library and stopped, amazed; then joined in, knowing that it must mean vic tory. But Dehra, herself, pale-faced, tear-eyed and trembling, turned and flung her arms around Ar mand‘g neck. “It’s wrong, dear! it’s wrong!” she cried; “you are the king!—you are the Dal berg!” “No, sweetheart, it is right!”' he said, releasing her arms, and bowing over her hand until his lips touched it. “Praise God! it is right.” Then he stepped back and flashed his sword above her head; and all the others sprang to meet it, and locked there, a canopy of steel. “Valeria hails the head of the house of Dalberg as the queen!” he cried. And from every throat came back the answer: “We hail the Dalberg queen!” And now the trembling had passed; she looked up at the swords proudly, and stretching out her hand she touched them one by one; but touching Ar mand’s last—and her eyes sought his, and over her face broke the adorable smile, and she drew down his blade, and kissed it. “Hail, also, to the king!” she said; “your king and mine, my lords!—the king that is to be.” (THE END.) A Slight Mistake. From the Boston Globe. A Manchester firm was doing soma work at a local hospital, and sent up one of Its men. Later In the day the head of the firm phoned the hospital. A nurse answered. “How’s J— getting along?" he asked. The nurse replied. "He Is resting com fortably," thinking the voice inquired after a patient by the same name. "Send him to the phone!" roared the head of the firm. "I didn’t tend him up there to rest, but fb work." Why? Prom the American Legion Weekly. A citiaen who maintained a pawnshop took out a fire insurance policy. The same day a blaze brake out that des troyed the building and Its contents. The Insurance company tried In vain to find sufficient grounds to refuse paj^ ment, and was obliged to content Itself with the following letter appended to the check: "Dear Sir: We note that your policy was Issued at 10 o'clock on Thursday morning and that the fire did not occur until 3:30. Why this unseemly delay?” De Valera will soon be caught. He is hiding in a cave. Free State soldiers are trying to get him out with smoRe bombs. Barring a new Irish party, the Free State will soon have peace, and only Ulster to worry about. "Tell me what you read and I’ll tell you what you are.” Nothing much In that saying. Darwin read fairy stories In the evening to rest his mind from the study of earth worms, or the problem “how did the eye first start?” Fairy stories did not tell what he was. You cannot judge a man by the fact that 99 per cent, of them will read with Interest news appearing under headings such as these: "Jack Johnson, the negro fighter, is asked to fight in Havana, and fined $2 for speeding." Two Pennsylvania railroad trains at Williamsport, Pa. were held up recently In an effort ^.to save the life'of a child, who swallowed a coin. The youngster was rushed to a hospital in Philadelphia. ♦ ♦♦♦ffffff+f-ffffff-;f ♦ FATHER TO SON. if ♦ - ♦ ■f N. G. Taylor to his son Robert, -f f when the latter was elected -f ■f governor of Tennessee. -f -f Learn all your duties, and then -f ■f promptly and fearlessly discharge -f ■f them. In every transaction be ♦ governed: First, by the require- -f f ments of the law; second, by the -f -f demands of an enlightened con- -f •f science; third, by the supreme f f divine code. Let no temptation f -f Induce you to Ignore the re- f -f quirements of your self-respect, f -f Let your promises be few and -f -f strictly performed. Do not forget -f f that the eyes and ears of enemies -f •f are open to all you say or do; -f f therefore, thing much and let f -f your words be well chosen. In f f all questionable cases, say and do f -f those things that are clearly f f right and never doubtful. Place f f your hands in the hands of your -f f Ix>rd and ask His guidance In f f every condition of life. f f -f +iffffffffffff>ffft Why That Bad Back? Does spring find you miserable with an achiBg back? Do yWi feel lame, stiff, tiled, nervous and depressed? Likely your kidneys have weakened. Winter is hard on the kidneys. Colds and chilis and a heavier diet with less exercise tax them heavily. It’s little wonder spring finds you with backache, rheumatic pains, headaches, dizziness and bladder irregularities. But don’t be discouraged. Use Doan's Kidney Pills. Doan's have helped thousands and should help you. Ask your neighbor 1 A South Dakota Case Mrs. T. T. Robin- "F.vrry Pic. son, Tyndall, S. D., ,ure T*U» says: "My kidneys r . *Stmy“ wore a source oi ^ constant distress. My l back was weak and IJ my kidneys didn’tff act regularly. I also = suffered considerably g from headaches and f attacks of dizziness. J Doan's Kidney Pills P gave me almost ln-k< stant relief and I am * now quite well. I am% deeply grateful to ^ Doan’s Kidney . Pills." Get Doan’s at Any Store, SOc a Box DOAN'S “p'fJLV F0STER.M1LBURN CO., BUFFALO, W. V. VICTIMS RESCUED Kidney, liver, bladder and uric add troubles are most dangerous because of their insidious attacks. Heed the first warning they give that they need attention by taking LATHROP’S The world’s standard remedy for these disorders, will often ward off these dis eases and strengthen the body against furtherattacks. Threesizes,alldruggists. Look for th* nama Gold Medal on every box and accapt no imitation Ladies Keep Ypur Skin Clear, Sweet, Healthy With Cuticura Soap and Cuticura Talcum _ _ ___ nlNUbnvUnNS Remora. Oorm, Cal Kraws, Me., atop* all pal a. *n«nre» comfort to tha rcct, make, walking easy. Uo. by mall or at Drw (Ml Blaaoz Chemical Work*, Patobogoa, H. I |r vnilD Uses “Cutter's” If I IIU If Serums ind Vaccines belt ■ * ■ doing his best to conserve yout VCITDIIIADIIN SSsaSrs it I tKINAKIAN jsfertfor The Cutter Laboratory ‘ 44 Th$ Laboratory that Knows How’* Berkeley (U.S. License) California She Is, Is He? It was while the World war was raging In Europe that a woman from the rural districts of a southern Ken tucky county, visiting sonfe new ac quaintances In town, made the follow ing remark: “Yes, my niece Is ‘over there,’ right In the thick of all that flghtin’.” “Is your niece a Red Cross nurse?” asked the young woman hostess very much Interested. ‘J|?o, he’s a soldier.” But Did Hs Buy Several? Bill—Did Dan kill the fatted calf when his prodigal son came home? Sam—He was goln’ to, but the boy wouldn’t let him; he took the animal to the state fair and won a hat full of ribbons, and sold him for enough to buy several fatted calves.—Farm Life. In the Candy Shop. Backward Lover—“Do you like gum drops?” She—“I think kisses much tweeter.” Sure Relief FOR INDIGESTION I INDIGESTION]! II " >-Ccihts J/ 6 Bell-ans Mot water Sure Relief Bell-ans 25* AND 75* PACKAGES EVERYWHERE