- - 1
' I
?A Life For Sale
BY SYDNEY HURLER
_. ————
“The police?” echoed the
dwarf.
Margery felt a trifle more
hopeful. Zoab at last was
evincing interest.
“Yes. I could not under
«tand myself why a man who
Was undoubtedly a criminal
should talk of the police. But
he assured me that any in
formation he sent to Scot
land Yard would receive very
careful attention. Preposterous
as it sounded, his manner was
so impressive that I was con
vinced against my common
sense. I was terrified for my
father, as you may imagine.”
She paused again, but this
time her listener kept silent.
Zoab had become abstracted
and apparently indifferent
again.
‘ That night,” she went or.
nervously, “whilst I was In
Lord Belshaven’s study, the
young man Creighton ran a
great risk for me. How he had
learned of my danger I do
not know, but in order to save
me he took suspicion upon
himself. Fortunately, he es
caped . . . and that is whv
I do not want any harm to
come to him.” She looked at
the dwarf pleadingly as she
concluded, but was not able
to gain reassurance.
Instead the answer Zoab
made caused her to give a
terrified cry.
“Creighton is a criminal
himself—he Is wanted by the
police for the murder of a
man named Sir Simon Baste.”
Margery was unable to stop
the scream that rose to her
liDS.
-He didn’t do it! He couldn’t
have done it”! she protested
vehemently.
Zoab did not take his eyes
from her face.
“I am afraid you were not
telling me the entire truth.
Miss Steers, when you implie
that you had no particular
affection for this young man.
It is not on a dangerous mur
derer that I would like you to
waste so much thought.”
With a fresh fear Margery
realized that she had al
lowed her senses to overcome
her. Irretrievably, perhaps,
she had blundered.
Before she could frame
any words Zoab had gone on.
His voice, previously so gentle
when addressing her, was
now harsh and jarring.
“So that you may forget
this foolishness. Miss Steers,
I am going to make a state
ment to you,” he said. “By
profession I am a bacteriolo
gist. At this moment I am on
the eve of making a tremen
dous discovery. It is neces
sary for this work that a hu
man being should be inocu
lated with my new disease
germ. In certain countries—
England, unfortunately, lags
behind in this respect—the
suggestion is being seriously
considered of condemned
criminals being handed over
to such men as myself, in the
interests of medical science.
In any case, the lives of such
wretches are already forfeit
on account of their crimes,
and In the last few weeks of
their existence they may be
able to pay back in generous
measure the debt they owe to
humanity. Now with regard to
this young man Creighton—”
Margery Steers screamed
for the second time.
“He is here. I knew it! And
you, you fiend, you would do
this awful thing! O God. help
me!”
“Miss steers—
What the dwarf was about
to say she did not wait to
hear. In that moment of ter
rible vision an idea had been
born in her half crazed brain.
“Listen! I will make a bar
gain with you. devil though
you arc. If you will give me
/our solemn assurance that
Martin Creighton can leave
Public Land* Yield
4 Million for Year
Washington —(UP)— Total re
ceipts from sales, leases and other
disposition of public lands during
the fiscal year 1932 were $4065,
*10.76, C. C. Moore, Commissioner
of the General Land Office, said
in his report for that year to Sec
retary of the Interior Wilbur.
Original public land entries for
the year embraced 4.551,774 acres.
«r 50,000 in excess of the annual
average for the past 10 years,
tlaorc said. Homestead laws ac
I
the castle to-night unharmed,
I will—marry yon. . . .To
night., if vou wish.”
For several moments the
man to whom ;Jhe had made
the offer stood silent.
•You must love this young
man very much. Miss Steers,” l
Zoab said.
‘‘Yes. I didn’t realize it be
fore, but I do.”
•‘And you hate me?”
“Don’t ask me! Don’t ask
n\e! But I will marry
you. ...”
The dwarf stepped back.
“To you, Miss Steers, I am
the meanest man, most con
1 tempttble creature living,” ,
he said, “but even Zoab— !
Zoab the dwarf—has his
pride. 1 cannot accept youi
offer.”
When Margery lifted her
head the room was empty.
CHAPTER XXXII
Once again Creighton was
back in the room with the
white tiles. His wrists and
ankles were still bound. And
watching him with what
seemed a morbid interest
was the man who had threat
ened him with such a dread
j ful death.
£oaD now spuKc.
‘‘The greatest poet who ever
lived, my young friend, once
said:
‘‘All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and wo
men merely players.
I Probably there never has
been a stranger last act than
that in this little play of
ours.”
"Cut out the talk, Zoab,”
curtly answered Creighton.
The dwarf lifted those
beautifully shaped hands of
his in a little gesture of hope
i lessness
"Talk!" he echoed. "Talk!”
He took one look at the
instruments strewn about the
glass bench at which he was
seated, and then turned to
j Creighton with fresh energy.
| "Before I submit you to a
' small operation,” he said. "I
have a story to tell. Because
not only you, but Miss
Steers—”
"Leave Miss Steers out of
it, you dog!”
Zoab accepted the epithet
with resignation.
"That is impossible,” he
said; "but you need have no
fear, Mr. Creighton, that I j
, shall be disrespectful. Miss
j Steers is the only living per
son for whom I have ever felt
affection.”
In spite of himself, Creigh
ton was hushed into silence.
The strange note in the
speaker’s voice commanded
attention.
“I must represent a gro
tesque rival to you,” went on
the dwarf, “but, like you, I
fell in love with Miss Steers.
It is not necessary for me to
tell you about my early life;
I need only say that in a
world which has always
! openly showed its contempt
and hatred of me, Miss Steers
appeared as an angel of
beauty and graciousness.
“It was madness for a per
son like myself to have any
thought about her, I know,
but this madness overcame
me. So I took her out of the
house of Juhl and brought
her here. Incautiously, per
haps. I mentioned your name
' to her. Almost immediately I
knew that she loved you. She
loves you to such extent that
she offered to make, for your
sake the greatest possible
sacrifice: if I consented to
let you escape trom tne casue
unharmed she promised to
marry me—to-night, if I
, wished.”
! Creighton was so shaken
; that he could not speak when
the dwarf paused.
“I know what you are
thinking." Zoab continued:
"you are shuddering at the
counted for almost 90 per cent of
the areas in new segregations and
more than 75 per cent of those
patented.
A total of 6,049.905 acres of
public lands were placed in a state
of reservation, and 3,619,457 re
stored to entry or other disposi
tion. The remaining public do
main was reported as 173,318,246
acres, of which 123,984,529 were
surveyed.
MAY CLEAR NILE
Uganda. Africa, now is formu
lating extensive plans to complete
ly rid the Ni'e of its sudd, large
possibility of ft beautiful hu
man flower like Margery
Steers bring married to such
as 1. But that once cherished
dream is now dispelled. I re
fused her offer."
"Thank God!” Creighton
could now speak.
Zoab did not show that he
had heard, but continued in
that grave, even-toned voice,
which was so peculiarly im
pressive.
"Once I realized the truth
— the truth bPiriR that I re
mained the most repulsive
thing on earth to Miss Steers
— I had to refuse her offer.
That is not to say.” lie went
on, "that I considered myself
obliged to let you leave this
place unharmed.”
"I don’t care a damn about
myself,” declared Creighton;
"and, look here, you can’t do
things like you talk about in
England. Miss Steers is the
private secretary of Lord
P.clshaven. one of the most
influential politicians in the
country. He will be moving
heaven and earth to find out
where she has gone.
The dwarf waver his hand
In a half contemptuous move
ment.
‘ We will come oacK to you,
ho rejoined, with a note of
finality.
“When you were last in
this room,” the speaker added,
“I gave you the information
that I intended to inoculate
you with my new disease
germ. I still Intend
to do so. Although the only
chance of happiness I have
ever dreamt of has been com
pletely shattered, I remain,
I trust, an honorable man. I
promised to perfect this new
disease germ, and in fairness
to my employers I must do so.
You are necessary to my
further research work. Being
already a criminal wanted
for murder, perhaps you will
reconcile yourself to dying
in my laboratory instead of
c.i the scaffold.”
“Why not get on with it?”
Creighton endeavored to be
sardonic, but his body felt
eld. The story which the
dwarf had just told him, bi
zarre and incredible as it had
sounded, he had been bound
to believe owing to the simple
sincerity of the speaker.
But that Margery Steers
should love him! . . . An^
that he should know it just
before being condemned to a
foul death!
“You ask me to commence,”
said Zoab, stretching an arm
over the glass bench. “Very
well; I will. ...”
Martin Creighton watched
what followed as though he
were dreaming this horror
instead of living it. Zoab ap
proached him and removed
his collar and necktie. Then
he unfastened his shirt at the
neck. . . .
Going back to his glass
bench, he picked up a hypo
dermic syringe which he had
previously filled from a test
tube containing a vivid green
fluid.
"We will start with a
moderately powerful dose,”
he heard Zoab say; and then,
with the dwarf standing so
near him that he could feel
his breath upon his cheek,
Martin Creighton did the one
unpardonable thing for a self
respecting man.
He fainted.
CHAPTER XXXIII
Juhl frowned.
“You will stay here,” he
said in an authorative voice.
The strikingly beautiful
girl, who had been his com
panion in crime for the last
two years, showed dazzling
white teeth in a defiant
smile.
“On the contrary,” she re
plied. “I intend to go with
you. You talk of danger, but
have I ever shown you any
sign of fear?”
“No. But this Is no affair
for a girl.” Juhl stopped in
his walk, to look at her close
ly. “Are you hoping that that
fool Creighton will be at Wild
wood?” he asked, with an
angry snarl.
“Well?" The girl stamped
a foot, whilst the color flamed
Into her cheeks.
The Colossus did not reply
floating islands of vegetation that
have seriously obstructed tratfic
in this river for many centuries.
.— ■" » ♦ -
Veteran Keeps House;
And Earns Own Living
Carden City, Kan. — (UP) —
Toper. 103-year-old veteran of five
wars, keeps house for himself here
and earns a living selling souvenir
pictures.
He was born in Russia and
fought in the Russian army dur
ing the Crimean war 78 years ago
and four other conflicts. He came
for some moments. When he
;.poke his words cut the air
j.ke the vicious swish of a
sword.
"You are the only woman 1
have ever really wanted in
my life,” he said, ’‘and do you
think that I am going to al
low you to throw yourself
away on this stupid youth?
You seem to forget, more
over, that the Hangman has
an appointment with him.”
The girl snapped the lingers
of her right hand. In that
moment she might have been
a tigress at bay.
“For so big a man, my
friend Juhl, you are surpris
ingly foolish,” she told him
m turn. “Do you think that
I do not know who killed Sir
Simon Baste? And do you
think that I am so afraid of
The King that I will not tell
the truth? Even if the rope
I were already round Martin
Creighton’s neck I would
save him.”
Her companion looked
round, as though afraid of an
unseen listener.
•You don’t realize what you
are saying, Xavia ” he replied
in an undertone that carried
fear; “if The King had the
least suspicion about you, he
would—"
“Psst!” She snapped her
white fingers again. “Have 1
not already told you I do not
care that for The King? He
may terrify you, Juhl, but he
cannot frighten me. I go now
to rest for an hour. At the
end of that time I shall pre
pare to accompany you to
Wildwod Castle. You say the
girl Steers is there—I want
to have another talk with
her.”
Before Juhl could reply she
had left the room. The Co
lossus, lighting a cigar, flung
his huge frame into an enor
mous leather chair and blew
cloud after cloud of smoke
His nerves badly wanted
soothing.
His mind was fully occupied
with Xavia. A man who knew
the entire civilized world, a
man who had tasted life to
the full, Juhl found himself
possessed of an almost insane
jealousy. What he had told
Xavia was true: compared
with his desire for her every
other feeling he had had for
a woman was significant. He
had waited so long, had waited
with a patience which, to
i such a man was marvelous.
I For two years he had thought
continuously of his reward.
I and now Xavia calmly told
him that the man she wanted
was not himself but that fel
low Creighton. . . .
Juhl’s mind went back to
a night in Paris two years
before. He had been supping
I at Maxim’s, in that noble
thoroughfare the Rue Royals,
when Flossie Covinger, the
American blackmail specialist,
had come excitedly to his
I table.
“Oscar,” she said breath
lessly, “would you like to meet
a very beautiful girl? From
what I can make out she may
be useful to you.”
Oscar Juhl had always been
a master of beautiful women
and not a slave, but the words
naturally enough aroused his
interest.
“Of course, Flossie,” he re
plied; “bring her along.”
Directly he saw the girl he
knew her to be a personality.
Although only twenty years
of age, she had the composed
assurance and perfect poise
of a cosmopolitan woman of
the world. After Flossie Covin
ger had made the introduc
tion, Xavia had turned to
him and said: “I want five
minutes with you alone.”
Flossie had taken the hint
in characteristic good humor
—when not working on one
of her blackmail schemes she
was a generous soul—and had
taken her departure.
The opening words of his
companion caused Juhl to
stare. _
—-♦♦-- ■ -—
Not the Eggs.
From Tit-Bits.
A waiter was having a trying
time with a facetious customer.
“Waiter” shouted the customer.
“What on earth is wrong with these
p°^s?M
“I don't know.” retorted the
waiter. “I only laid the table.’
\ to the United States with his wife
in 1S82. She is now dead.
He smokes many cigarettes
I every day and is as active as most
! men half his age. He has car
ried a cane, however, and limped
a bit since he was struck by an
automobile two years ago.
His friends and neighbors make
a gala day of his birthday every
May 2«. presenting him fruit,
cakes, candy and cigarettes in
genetous quantities.
There are approximately 1,000
! establishments in the Netherlands
I making wooden shoes.
HOMING
Cy Ijtlw U feVrVw
s "THEY who know adventure,
Green stars, ships, wine seas,
Have they been heart-hungry.
For such things as these:
ONE house, small and laughing.
Halfway down a hill,
Fire-bright in the gloaming—
Women always will
W/ANT a twilight shelter.
And one man who comes
Homeward, never heeding
Ckaiara akka rln . Tit
I've been up a sp rig road
When the world was new.
A ND I've lea ted that gipsies,
Whose pr /hs go astray
Under flame ,ed slippers
Through the vagrant day,
MEVER .troll in darkness—
• ’ AJwo/s with the night
They go seeking shelter,
1 ove ard a J t
[The End of an Ill-Starred Adventure}
V/
From The St. Louis Post Dispatch.
When the armed forces cf the United States leave
Nicaragua at the close of this year, it will be the end
of an ill-starred adventure. Not more so, perhaps, than
the similar adventure we have had in Haiti but cer
tainly; sorry enough to warrant hope that nothing of
•he sort shall happen again in American history.
The extravagance of government and the plight
tc which taxpayers have been reduced by public waste
have no better example than the case of Nicaragua. The
American investment in that country, as of January 1,
1932, was $15,648,700. The cost of maintaining American
marines there from 1927 to the end of this year, when
they will be withdrawn, is estimated at Marine Corps
Headquarters in Washington at $6,076,034. This esti
mate, rendered in response to a request from Congressman
Cochrane, is over and above what it would have cost to
maintain the marines in this country.
Thus, to safeguard a $15,000,000 investment, we have
spent in five years some $6,000,000, or two-fifths of the
whole investment. If we did all our foreign financing
at that ratio, the more than 15 billion dollars which
America has invested abroad would cost the taxpayers in
excess of a billion a year.
The Nicaraguan adventure reduced dollar diplomacy
to an absurdity. We first paid $3,000,000 for the right to
build a canal across Nicaragua. When American bankers
moved to finance the country’s development, we offered
this canal right as a reason for sending our armed forces
to protect these investments. At one time we lent the
Nicaraguan government $1,000,000 to put down insur
rection. We were ourselves the cause of insurrection, and
have been ever since, as long ago as 1909, we entered
upon the policy of civilizing Nicaragua “with a Krag.”
The outcome has been farcial. We were never able
to subdue Sandino, who declared that he would fight as
long as our armed forces remained on Nicaraguan soil.
We undertook to give the country fair elections, and the
last one resulted in elevating to the presidency the very
man we had for six years kept out of power by force.
The relations between the United States and Nic
aragua from this time on ought to be those of two civi
lized nations. American investors in that country should
enjoy the protection of Nicaragua, Just as they expect
to enjoy the protection of every other country into which
they venture. To follow our investments with our armed
forces and try to make them good is impracticable. The
story of Nicaragua proves it.
We have not the least doubt that Nicaragua will re
spect our treaty rights, including the right to build a
canal across the country when we get ready to do it. We
have in the end given ourselves the best possible assur
ance that Nicaragua will respect our rights by respecting
hers. _ _
KREUGEK AND ANATO’E
FRANCE !
From the Living Age
Two auctions, one of Ivar Kreu- i
ptr's avt collection and the other j
of Anatole France s, have revealed
that the Swedish match kin? had
a better affair for authentic old
masters Uian for authentic slock
certificates where** the aesthetic
f renchman was more astute hr tire
/ ^cumulation of money than in hie
:>election of masterpieces.
Figures tell the story. The Fjreu
ger collection brought about /112.
000 and the pictures of Anatole
France only about $12,000.
The features of the Krcuger L'ollec
tion included Courbet's “Sch Por
trait with a Violincello,’’ which
commanded the top price of 20 000
crowns, Raeburn’s “Portrait of a
Man,” purchased for Mrs. Morehead
wife of the American ambassador
to Sweden, a Ruysdael landscape.
Tintoretto’s “Papal Ambassador.”
Rodin’s statue of a man walking,
and a Gobelin tapestry of Venus
calling upon Neptune to save Tele
machus.
The Anatole Fiance auction was
the result of a fiasco. During tire
-.
Ex-King Alphonso
Seeking a Job
Paris —(UP)— Ont of a job. the
unseated King Alfonso of Spain
has been spearing around for
something to do, although his pri
vate means are said to be large.
But he told a member of the
Academy of Eeaux-Arts, to which
th® ex-king was elected a foreign
member in 1924. that he planned
hereafter regular attendance at
these meetings of the French In
stitute.
Members of the Academy are
war France had asked to have his.
picture collection, in which he took
great pride, given safe keeping in
Touraine, and when he died he
willed, it, through his wife, to the
city of Paris. But when it was dis
covered that the pictures were al
most all copies the city refused the
collection, which was offered foe
sale at the Hotel Drouot.
— -- ■- ■ ■
Old Cemetery Delays
Road Reconstruction
Jackson, Mich. —<UP1— Recon
struction of Sutton Road east of
here will be held up indefinitely
because the new' excavations re
vealed a forgotten cemetery mote
than 100 years old, located along
the right of way.
Tombstones bearing the date
1831, as well as several skeletons
were found by workmen. Assistant
Prosecutor Owen Dudley said the
road work could not proceed until
formal vacation proceedings have
been carried through the courts.
Pioneer residents said they did
not recall a cemetery at that loca
tion.
paid a small honorarium when
thr.y attend meetings. The humor
ous speculation is on everyone’s
lips as to whether the royal exile
needs the few francs he is en
titled to receive as an active Aca
demician.
“I'm one of the unemployed.’
Alfonso told an associate, “and
alter this I’ll gladly attend the
sessions."
Since his lusty departure from
Madrid, he has been living ixi
Paris and at Fontainebleau.
