THE COPPER HOUSE
A Detective Story
BY
JULIUS REGIS
AUTHOR OF "NO 13 TORONI"
23
No, so it seems, mut
tered Leo j "but which way did
he go?”
"That doesn’t matter we
needn’t bother about him," she
returned impatiently. Don't
you remember that the tele
phone is here? We must tele
phone for help."
"Yes, you are right, let us
do so at once."
They skirted the wall, and
approached the door, Izeo
turned the handle, found the
door unfastened, arid entered.
Something whizzed past him
with an ominous sound, and
struck the door-post with a
crack; it was a knife.
"Ha!" cried the young man,
"is that your game, you
sneaking brutel"
The burly form of the gate
keeper loomed dimly just in
side the door, and Leo flung
himself unhesitatingly upon
him, for he knew that it was a
matter of life or death. His
enemy seized him in a bear’s
hug, hut he wriggled out of it,
and planted his l'i.st squarely in
the center of the brutal face.
JTlie fellow reeled backwards,
slipped his right hand behind
him, and raised the butt of his
gun over his head, with a
furious bellow.
"Oh no, 1 have had enough
of that gun of yours," said
Leo; "I owe you something for
yesterday. Tit for tat, you
know. Now then, conn; on and
get it! And there’s- another;
and just one more!"
Tugan had counted too much
on his brute strength; the
young man’s powerful onrush
gave him no chance of in
flicting his intended death
blow with the clubbed rifle; a
smashing blow on the point of
me emu Knocked him off his
feet, ho fell backwards over
chairs and table with a crash,
and lay motionless.
Leo groped for the matches,
and a tiny, flickering flame
lighted up the room. Tugan
was stunned, and lay like a
pole-axed steer on the floor;
Sonia stared at him in alarm.
"Is he dead?’’ she whis
pered.
"No, he will soon come to.”
"With a certain satisfaction,
Leo reflected that he must now
have regained the prestige
which lie had lost in her eyes
by his sham fight with the
Austrian. The match went out,
but he struck another, and
lighted a candle which stood
on the table. The telephone
became visible on the wall near
the door, and ji thrill of tri
umph went through him, as lie
picked up the receiver. At
last he had succeeded! In an
other minute their plight
would be known to the outside
world, and help would be
forthcoming.
"Hallo!” he shouted im
patiently; "hallo! Now then.
Exchange! Can’t you answer?
Are you all asleep there? Hal
lo, hallo!”
Sonia gave a ery and pointed
to the wall.
"Look! the wires are cut!
The telephone is useless l”
"Leo saw that she was right;
the cut wires were dangling
down. With an exclamation
of dismay, he flung away the
receiver.
"It is dreadful,” faltered
Sonia; "it shows that they
lyave no further need of it;
they just want to secure them
selves against being surprised.
We are lost!”
"Not yet,” muttered Leo,
‘^lot yet.”
He extinguished the candle,
and they hurried out again
into the rain, which had come
on more heavily. They looked
around them, and Leo said:
“"We must get out through
the gates.”
"It’s the only way,” she
agreed, but broke off. "Oh,
Science Lends Hand
To Industrial Life
PITTSBURG — (AP)— Note wort h>
accomplishments in applied science
by Mellon institute are mentioned
In the annual report of Dr. Edward
R. Weidlein. director.
These are in fertilizers, organic
•olvents and resins molded paper
articles, insecticides, foods, chrome
plating, ceramics, insulation, kiln
itudies and vitreous enamel.
“Science and industry are work
ing hand in hand,” he says, “for the
Intimate benefit of humanity. If a
look, look! lney re coming!
she whispered.
Leo glanced instinctively up
the avenue. Far back amongst
the great trees, lights began to
be reflected in the puddles,
and to throw fantastic, leaping
shadows on the path. There
seemed to be four or five lan
terns, and their rapid move
ments showed that the men
who carried them were cun
ning.
Without a word, Leo made
for the gates; they were just
ajar, and creaked horribly as
they were pushed open to let
the fugitives through. Out on
the high-road they could hear
voices inside the park, giving
the alarm. In the middle of
the road, eight or ten steps
away, stood a large ear, quiv
ering with the throbbing of its
engine. Two fugitives in wet
coats were crouching under the
hood, but they sprang out, and
their black shadows were clear
ly defined against the beams of
the headlights.
“We must have this,” said
Leo, and he rushed forward
ready to throw the two figures
into the mud. lie immediately
recognized one of them to be
Marcus Tassler; the other was,
presumably, the chauffeur. The
young man “saw red,” and he
cried:
“Ah, here is our excellent
friend, our benefactor, the hon
est merchant! Ho you persist
in hanging about here, sir l I
suppose you carry about the
mortgages in your pocket, to
make quite sure that 1 am not
running off with the securi
ties for your cash. Come
along, old boy!—you fat little
Nebuchadnezzar!—just come
along, and I’ll reckon up what
I owe you!”
lie advanced threateningly,
and, with a bound, Tassler
placed himself in safety on the
other side of the car.
“The fellow is mad!” he
yelled. “Shoot him l Knock
him down!”
The chauffeur threw himself
between them, with a spanner
in his gloved hand. He was a
little bit of a man, and Leo
put both arms around his
waist, lifted him up, in spite of
his frantic struggles, and flung
him across the road, where he
.disappeared with a splash.
Tassler continued to shout and
threaten from the further side
of the ear.
“Easy there, old boy!” said
Leo. “I haven’t time. . .”
Sonia had already clam
bered into the car, and he fol
lowed her. He threw himself
down behind the wheel, and i
grasped it as eagerly as j
though it had been a life-buoy.
Ft was a pleasant surprise to
find that the car was a “Mer
cedes,” such as he had fre
quently driven in California.
He east one more look through
the gates, towards the avenue;
the dancing lights had almost
caught them up. lie touched
the starting gear with a light
and practiced hand, and the
ear began to purr gently, gave
a slight jerk, and rolled for
ward, as the tires took a grip
of the wet surface of the road.
Tassler tore open his co,at,
snatched out a little nickelled
revolver, and—piff, piff!—a
couple of bullets whizzed past
them. “Bang!” a rifle replied
from the avenue. The young
man laughed aloud. Sonia
looked at him with surprise,
and with renewed interest; he
seemed transformed. The fight
ing blood of the Graths had
for a few short moments wak
ened into life in this last ef
feminate scion of the race. At
that minute he would have
marched up to a battery of
machine guns; his eyes spar
kled, and his long, “artistic”
hair seemed to stand out round
his head like a halo. The car
shot away, its fifty horse-power
scientist Is productive in his inves
tigations. it follows that he will re
ceive the necessary financial sup
port to carry on his work, and when
the results are applied in industry
humanity receives the benefit.
“A study of economic history
hows that happy ideas and chance
discovery have not made materia,
contributions to technology.”
____
Twain Hated Despotism.
From Mid-West Review.
With his feet firmly planted up
on this radical pessimism, Mark
1 Twain achieved political disillusion:
1 he achieved contempt for “Christian
! civilization": he achieved disgust for
| obedient to the touch of rus
hand; they were off on the
road to freedom. The dazzling
headlights illuminated the
darkness for ten yards ahead
of them, and made the wet road
shine like polished marble. The
trees bordering the road stood
motionless, their boughs heavy
with moisture. And still the
rain streamed and splashed
down on them, in a tepid, un
ceasing shower-bath; it gurgled
in the ditches, and drummed
on the glass wind-screen of the
car.
“Au revoir, Marcus l” Leo
shouted over his shoulder. Ilis
voice was drowned in a peal of
thunder, but the girl clapped
her hands.
“That’s splendid!” she ex
claimed delightedly. “They
can’t catch us! Where will
you drive to!”
“First of all to the nearest
usable telephone,” he replied.
“And then—well, I hope there
may be some sort of police
station in this neighborhood,
otherwise we must make
straight to Stockholm; it’s all
plain sailing now.”
“Do you know the way?’”
“Don't I just! Like the in
side of my pocket!”
Ilia self-confidence had gone
up a hundred per cent., since
he got his hands on the steer
ing wheel. He let out the car
to its fullest extent, murmur
ing:
“(lood old Mercedes!—it’s
up to you now! Show what you
can do!”
And almost at the same in
stant, as the car obeyed him,
and shot out at full speed, with
the dizzying rush of a torpedo
—at that instant the catastro
phe was upon them ! Their tri
umph was changed into bitter
disappointment, and now they
understood why so few shots
had been sent after them; it
was not freedom, but a mur
derous trap that awaited
them.
‘‘The wretches!” cried Leo.
“They mean to murder us!”
Across the road in fi*>nt of
them, they caught sight of a
network of slender, gleaming,
sharp-edged threads, they were
steel wires, stretched like a
barbed-wire entanglement from
side to side. At the speed at
which they were going, every
one of the wires must meet
them like a sword-blade; it was
impossible to evade them, they
were everywhere.
The steering-wheel spun
round between the young
man’s convulsively-working
fingers; the car leaped from
the track, swung round on two
wheels, gave a terrific lurch,
and ran in under the trees to a
distance of several feet. The
whole dead-weight of the pon
derous machine was flung
crashing into the ditch. Leo
was shot through the air, and
fell with outspread arms, and
a sickening thud, deep into a
solt, water-logged swamp. He
rolled over, felt the water spurt
up under his arms, and strmr
gmd to his knees. Both the
lamps of the car had been
smashed, and impenetrable
darkness surrounded him. Diz
zy with the shock, he felt as I
though he were still falling,
and. laint with terror, he man
aged to catch hold of a branch.
At length his head cleared, and
lie remembered his companion;
what had become of her!
“Sonia! ' he called anxious
ly: “Sonia!”
He scrambled to his feet. A
sharp pain in his left shoulder
showed him that he had not
escaped unhurt, hut for the
minute that seemed of little
consequence.
“Sonia, Sonia, where are
you!”
“Here!” answered a faint
voice.
He took a few steps, and ran
into her; she was on her feet,
leaning against the trunk of a
tree, and trying to bandage her
right hand with her handker
chief.
“Are you hurt!” he asked.
“Can you walk!”
“Yes,” she replied; “it’s
only a scratch. What about
you!”
“Nothing to speak of.”
“Let’s go on,” she mur
military grandeur; he achieved ha
tred for every despotic power; he
achieved loathing for every form of
cruelty—from the husky ejection of
a lady from Theodore Roosevelt’s
White House, at the hands of sec
retaries apparently inspired from
above to “treat ’em rough,” to the
massacre of some six hundred
j Moros, men. women and children.
I in the bowl of an extinct volcano
! in Theodore Roosevelt’s Philippines
at the hands of General Wood in
I a fierce and splendid battle, in
which fifteen of our soldiers
perished.
Because his heart was melancholv
a sense of the natiros and the
mured, but tottered as sne
spoke, and fell into his arms.
“My head is a little giddy—
never mind me—go... ”
lie saw that she was on the
point of fainting, lifted her up
and carried her down to the
road.
“Put me down,” she said in
a weak voice: “I can walk; we
must hurry.”
The lights from the gates
were already quite near; they
came on like a swarm of flying
gnats, and running footsteps
splashed along the road. At the
sight of the wrecked car, a
great shout of savage laughtei
was raised, and a voice called
out:
“Stay there, you two, or 1
shall shoot!”
They were surrounded, and
rough hands caught hold of
them. Marcus Tangier's breath
less voice panted In the back
ground :
“Keep a sharp lookout on
them, and take them with you
to the Copper House. That was
a very short drive, wasn’t it
my young friends; You haven’t
much fight left in you, have
you?”
lie came up, laughing arid
rubbing his hands. Leo’s ex
citement had died away, his
muscles relaxed, and he real
ized that he was beaten. Fate
was against them. Without a
word, he and the young girl
wralked back side by side to the
gates, surrounded by eight or
ten men who hustled them
along with coarse jests. They
were prisoners once more. As
Leo took a last glance in the
direction where their lost free
dom awaited them, he saw a
little bright light shine out and
twinkle, a long way off. It
seemed to come from one of the
hills to the left of the road,
about a mile or so away, and
was probably a signal. He
wondered idly what it meant
and took it for granted that it
was exchanged between some
of Rastakov’g men, but turned
listlessly into the avenue, toe
worn out to think. He didn’t
care what happened now: he
had done his best—and failed! I
Yet when he remembered
Gabriel Ortiz, whose face he
had already seen for one terri
fying moment, he shuddered j
The girl murmured softly:
“Ortiz is waiting for us!’’
- I
CHAPTER XVIII.
Tarraschin’s Memorandum
Changes Owners
Inside the Copper House, the
atmosphere of suspense became
more and more heavily
charged; nobody quite knew
the cause of the sounds which
now readier them from the ave
nue. It was impossible to guess
what Ortiz was thinking;, for
ho had spread out a map on the
table, and was studying it
carefully. Wallion could see
(hat it was a map of the en
' icons of the Copper House
Suddenly Ortiz looked up intc
the journalist’s eyes, with a
frown; at that moment he real
ly looked uncommonly like the
“Little Gray Corporal.” Witt
his sparse, straggling hair, his
keen, rather preoccupied
glance, his small mouth, and
round but determined chin, he
was an exact copy of Napoleor
and the gray coat enveloping
his( thick-set figure increased
the realistic effect.
Although he was evidently
aware of this, and took pleas
lire in maintaining the pose, he
1 did not lay himself open to ridi
cule: there was a threatening
expression in his eyes, and his
remarks were emphasized by
the presence of the carbines at
the door.
“Do you hear that?” he said
slowly; “there goes your last
chance.”
“It may be help coming,” re
torted Wallion imperturbably’
“Do you really think that?”
“You yourself need to study
a map; you would be powerless
against a well-planned sur
prise.”
Ortiz raised his eyebrows
but his immediate reply virtu
ally admitted the truth of the
insinuation.
(TO B*. CONTINUED)
futility of life, Mark Twain was be
coming desperately enamored of pit\
and courage, peace and truth, an;
he was attaining a fresh vision o:
he perilous service which may bi
endered to them in a servile work
iy a free spirit.
He himself was not wholly free
He chafed in his chains, but h(
;ad broken many of them; and ii
he shape in which he came amor,
is then we must regard him a
Iangerous—like all free spirits.
Smallpox is responsible for mor
isaths In France than in Englan
the rare per million over a perk
of nine years being 2.9 for Frar
and .46 for England
Clerks and Bosses
Mingle in Classes
CHICAGO— —Stock brokers
bankers and big business men be
come classmates of their office
clerks when business hours are
over end school begins on the Chi
cago stock exchange.
Purposing to educate both old
and new heads in the science of
modern business finance, members
of the Chicago stock exchange or
ganized the exchange school, known
as the Stock Exchange Educational
Institute. While it is meant chiefly
for members of the exchange, their
employes snd employes of the ex
change, anybody desiring to learn
brokerage practices is eligible to
enroll.
Here experts in all lines of busi
ness serve as instructors, the stu
dents being required to attend
classes regularly and pass a final
examination. Later the school,
founded only last October, intends
to issue diplomas to those passing
tne courses.
Among the courses offered are
brokerage practices and exchange
technique, brokerage accounting
business economics, corporation
finance, analysis of financial state
ments, law for securities, under
writing, brokers loans and business
English.
A tuition fee of $10 is charged for
each course.
Puts $56,000 Value
On College Degree
BIRMINGHAM, ALA.- —A
college degree is worth $56,000 more
than a high school diploma, accord
ing to statistics gathered by Dr. C.
{5. Glenn, superintendent ol Bir
mingham schools.
His figures are based on the Al
pha Kappa P3i fraternity’s survey
on occupational incomes from all
types of occupation and grades of
education.
The statistics were compiled from
7,369 reports received by the frater
nity from all states in the union.
The survey was conducted to show
whether a college education ac
tually paid In dollars and cents.
“The untrained man,” Dr. Glenn
found, “with only an elementary
education, goes to work at 14 years
of age. He reaches a maximum in
come at 45. earning on the average
less than $1,700 a year. His total
earnings from 14 to 60 are about
$64,000.
“The high school graduate goes
to work at 18, four years later, and
passes the maximum of the ele
mentary trained man in 10 years.
“He rises steadily to his cwn
maximum of $2,800 at 50 and then
falls off to about his 40-year aver
age. His earnings from 13 to 60
total about $88,000, just $24,000 more
than that earned by the elementary
trained boy. This indicates that
each of the four years of a high
school boy’s life is worth $6,000 to
him.
“Tire college graduate goes to work
at 22. By the time he is 31 his in
come equals that of the high school
graduate at 40 and continues stead
ily to rise. Total earnings from 22
to 60 is approximately $144,000. The
$56,900 above the high school grad
uate figure represents the cash val
ue of a college education, making
$14,000 for each of his four-year
;erm.”
Delve for Forum Under
Streets in Turkish City
CONSTANTINOPLE— -With
the facilities granted by the new
regime in Turkey, an increasing
number of foreign archaeological
expeditions are seeking the buried
marvels of ancient Byzantium which
lie beneath the busy streets of mod
em Constantinople.
The last two years have seen the
British expedition’s excavations cf
the hippodrome, and this year a Da
nish group is to dig for the famed
forum of the Emperor Constantine,
'ounder of the sity.
Rising at the comer of one of
Stamboul’s most crowded streets,
and almost enmeshed by telephone
and trolley wires, is the “Burned
Column,” the only mark now above
ground of the great forum. Using
this column as a point of depar
ture, the Danes will delve for mas
terpieces of sculpture which are be
lieved to be lying many feet beneath
the modem city’s level.
The “Burned Column” is one of
the chief sights of Stamboul be
cause of its antiquity, having stood
here more than 1,500 years, and be
fore that having adorned the Tem
ple of Apollo at Rome whence it
was wrested by Constantine to em
bellish his new eastern empire capi
tal. Struck by lightning In the 11th
century, and scorched by the great
lire which laid Stamboul in ruins
in the 16th century, the shattered
shaft of marble remains a reflec
tion of a great city’s great past.
Walking Stick Grows
To Become Huge Tree
FAIRFIELD. ME. — — Sixty
five years ago Increase Kendall
thrust a willow stick he had cut for
a cane into the ground and forgot
It.
That was back in the days when
this town was known as Kendall’s
Mills and saw mills were its chief
industry. The willow stick took
root and today has grown to a tree
which is 24 feet in circumference
near its base.
Q. Of what fraternal orders is
President Hoover a member? S. H.
A. President Hoover belongs to no
fraternal organizations.
Q. Under British law, does an eld
est son inherit the entire estate of
his father’s? N. McL.
A. The British law of primogeni
ture Is still in force. Under this law
all real estate goes to the eldest
son except for the dower right of the
wife which expeires at her death. In
the case of money, a man may leave
his money where ne wishes with the
exception that he can not divert
from the estate any money proceed
ing from that source. In the event
•>f a man's dying without will leav
ig money alone, it would be divid
d among the children, subject to the
>wer richt of the wife
Acidity
The common cause of digestive diffi
culties Is excess acid. Soda cannot
alter this condition, and it burns the
stomach. Something that will neu
tralize the acidity is the sensible
thing to take. That is why physicians
tell the public to use Phillips Milk of
Magnesia.
One spoonful of this delightful prep
aration can neutralize many times its
volume in acid. It acts instantly; re
lief is quick, and very apparent. All
gas is dispelled; &U sourness is soon
gone; the whole system is sweetened.
Do try this perfect anti-acid, and re
member it is just ns good for children,
too, and pleasant for them to take.
Any drug store tas the genuine,pre
scriptional product
PHILLIPS
r Miik .
of Magnesia
Fins Arts Encouraged
The School of Fine Arts in Paris
was founded ns a government school
during the reign of Louis XIV and
through a series of competitive ex
aminations, picks one man each year
from each of the four arts, architec
ture, painting, sculpture and engrav
ing, to go to Rome to study for four
years at the expense of the French
government.
John’s Mother
Praises Doctor
There isn’t a moth
er living who won’t
agree that no half
siek chilli should be
the subject for an ex
periment with medi
cines of uncertain
merit. When your
child is bilious, head
achy, half-sick, feverish, restless, with
coated tongue, bad breath, no appe
tite or energy, you know that nine
times out of ten It’s a sign his little
stomach and bowels need purging.
And when you know that for over
fifty years leading physicians have
endorsed one preparation for this con
dition, there doesn’t seem to be any
reason for “trying” things.
Rich, fruity California Fig Syrup
clears the little stomach and bowels
gently, harmlessly and in a hurry. It
regulates the bowels, gives tone and
strength to them and to the stomach;
and helps to give your child new
strength, energy and vitality. Thou
sands of Western mothers praise it.
Sirs. Joseph W. Hill, 430G Bedford
Ave., Omaha, Nebraska, says: “I’ll
never forget the doctor who got me
to give my baby boy, John, California
Fig Syrup. Nothing else seemed to
help Ids weak bowels. That was
when he was just a baby. lie suf
fered a good deal before I gave him
Fig Syrup, but it stopped his trouble
quick. I have used it with him for
••olds and little upset spells ever since,
consider him a Fig Syrup boy.”
Insist on the genuine article. See
at the carton bears the word “Oali
rnia." Over four million bottles
ed a year.
« Kill Hats
Without Poison
41 IVew Exterminator that
Won't Kilt Livestock, Poultry,
Dogs, Cats, or even Baby Chicks
K-R-O can be used about the home,bam or poultry
yard with absolui esafety asitcontains no deadly
nelson. K-R-O is made of Squill, as recom
mended by U. S. Dept, of Agriculture, under
the Conaable process which insures maximum
strength. Two cana killed 578 rats at Arkansas
Stute Farm. Hundreds of other testimonials.
Sold on a Money* Back Guarantee.
Insist upon K-R-O, the original Squill exter
minator. All druggists, 75c. Largesixe (four time*
as much) $2.00. Direct if dealer cannot supply
you. K-R-O Co.. Springfield. O.
K-H*
KILLS-RATS-ONLY
“Industry nttrncls good things.
HLGOQD?,
Moat ailments start frompoerelim- B
inatlonfconatipation or semi-consti- C
potion). Intestinal poisons sap vital- C
ity, undermino your health and make Jg*
life miserable. Tonight try tR — JnL
, NATURE’S riZJCDT—all-verretnhlo gg
corrective—not an ordinary laxative.
See how Ml will aid in restoring your
appetite and rid you of that heavy,
leggy, peplees feeling.
Hi Id. salt, psrely rentable — al dr ssrUU, ealy 25c
FEEL LIKE A MILLION. TAKE
4