RED CLOUD, NEBRASKA, CHIEF
fi
The Broken Coin
By EMERSON HOUGH
From the Scenario by
Grace Cunard
a
A Story of Mystery and Adventure
(Copyright, 1915, by Wright A. Patterson)
Novelized From tlio Million t'lcluro Drnnni of Hut mini- N'nnio. Produced by tlio
UiiIvlthuI Film Mutiiiriiiturltii: Compiiny
SYNOPSIS.
Kitty Orny, npn-qiupur womnn, Dndn In
n euilo xliop luiir of a broken colli, (In)
mutilated Inscription on which uron'iea
her curiosity and IciuN licr, lit tint order
of hor tlillliiiKlliK editor, to Ko to til" prltl
clpiillty of llieUliofTcii to tilccu out ilio
xtory mntKcMcd by the Inscription. HIim Ih
followed, mid on nrrlviil In (Iretirliorfeii
lier ndvrnlurcB wlilln cIiiihIiik the mcrvt
of tlio lirokon coin ImglM.
EIGHTEENTH INSTALLMENT
CHAPTER LXIV.
Gachlo nnd Michael.
Tlio two rival r-npltultt of theso
mooted lands Htlll faced one (mother
In u conflict nn yet undecided. Which
wero deeper In duplicity It luul boon
dllUctilt to way, lint tin to which nur
passed In active measures no doulit
tit nil rutniilnod. Count Sachlo, rest
loss nnd energetic, nlreudy wau Inking
further steps to cnfnrru lilt) own will
nnd that of his sovereign upon tlio
wonkor mind which purported to gov
oni nt Urctzhnffon,
It was iib Snr.hlo liml prophesied
tho sloth of Michael loft hliu opun to
any proportion which cnnin couched
In fair words nnd which offorud no
disturbing changes In IiIb own per
Honal plana. Ho acceded rcndlly
enough (o tho proposnls of tho Gra
hoffen courtlor to lengthen tho nrmls
tlco hotwoen tho two warring couu
trloR with ft vlow to a formal nnd Until
ponco. Kendlly enough iiIho ho admit
ted Into his own household tho arch
plotter of tho forcoa of his heredttnry
onomy.
Unopposed, Indood Invited, Sachlo
mado IiIb way much nn ho liked
throughout tho Grctzhoffcn palacn,
with wIioho Intorlor ho nlrcndy wan
moro or less familiar. It wub IiIb plan
In enmt of nny challeiiKO to refer to
tho royal ruler who wan IiIb host.
Ho pnld npeclal attention to that
apartment where ho hnd found tho
partially destroyed original Hcrlpt
whose missing half ho sought. Hero,
minutely, patiently, llko n hound run
nlng n dlfllcult trail, ho went over tho
plnco Inch by Inch, seeking to llnd
Btimn trace which would lead liltu to
Ills quarry.
Hut biiccoss did not nttend his ef
forts, though theso ho prosecuted oven
in those portions of tho pnlaco whoro
so roccntly ho nnd IiIb troops hnd
fncod death whon tho levels wero flood
ed by waters turned In from tho eantla
moats. Ho was willing to donpnlr, and
In fact had turned awny with tho In
tontlon of giving up tho search, when
ho met a suholllcor of tho guard who
proved dilllcult to liaiulla In his usual
easy fashion.
"Halt! Who goes thoro?" dial
lengetl this guard as ho saw Sachlo
omorgo from otto of tho lowor cham
bers. "A frlond!" rejoined Sachlo prompt
ly, In military formula.
"Advance, friend, and glvo tho coun
tersign!" camo tho gruff command.
"Tho countersign?" said Sachlo.
"Ah, well, my friend, now that I think
of it, I have not hnd it given to mo.
'Twos my own neglect. Hut I am n
frlond of tho king 'twas ho who gavo
mo permission to oxploro theso por
tions of tho palace. 1 was curious to
soe tho operations of this system of
dofonso by water It was aomethlng
now to mo."
"That is nil very well," rojolned tho
sold lor, "but explanations of that sort
aro scarcely good enough."
"Tako mo, thon, to tho king him
eolf," said Sachlo.
"Why Bhould I?" rojolned tho other.
"What business Is It of yours to know
about tho lowor IovoIb of our pnlaco?
Theso aro ticklish times, and there
havo been such things as spies."
"SpleB!" exclaimed Sachlo, virtuous
ly. "I, a spy Is that what you mean,
follow? If so, I command you to car
ry mo forthwith to tho presence of tho
king himself. Ho knows mo woll, and
you Bhould have a euro not to offend
ono who is under tho klng'B protec
tion." Tho Bhoor audacity of this Intruder
had Its effect, oven upon tho blunt ol
dler who hod accosted him. Snuilo
was Indcod taken to tho prosonce of
Mlchaol, and thoro IiIb bold prediction
proved truo Michael roprlmnnded
publicly tho oulcor who had dono his
duty, and showed his public favor to
tho man who was Indeed a spy, al
though not suspected of boing ono,
"What, follow?" exclaimed tho king
to tho soldier, when Sachlo hnd mado
his explanations "what do you mean
by offering Indignity to our friend nnd
futuro ally In this fashion? Away
with you, and do you report nt tho
guardhouso undor arrest. Your trlnl
shall come later."
"My dear Sachlo," resumed Michael,
'you 8co how prompt wo aro with our
protection of our frlonds? Do not tako
it ill of us that ono of our underlings
has dono what his superior ofllcers
or his sovereign would never think of
countenancing. Wo trust you will ac
cept this disclaimer."
"It wna nothing, your majesty," re
plied tho wily statesman, "and I ob
aro youi majesty the incident shall
not linger In my memory. May wo
perhaps venture to drown In a bumper
to your majesty's good health all
thought of this misunderstanding? I
will drink to tho health of Michael
and tho prosperity of his kingdom."
"Quito ngru;ablo!" exclaimed Mi
chael; "and let us follow that with an
other to tlio' Until and peaceful conclu
sion of that unhappy misunderstand
ing which has heretofore divided
these two kingdoms."
They drank. Tho befuddled friends
of Michael Joined them in hilarity it
not Intelligent, nt least voclfctouB.
"Hut, my good Sachlo," resumod
Michael nftcr a time, "lot mo nsk you
n question. Yours was over u keen
eyo for beauty, and n good scent on
tho trail or beauty Itseir. Tell me,
then, what became of that beautiful
young American who so Intoly was
with us and who, If you will allow mo
to say It, had so much to do with tho
Into repulse of your forces? I have
not Roon her since that time nor, now
that I recall it, have I seen her friend,
Count Frodotlck. They havo been
gone some days or hours. 1 cannot
tell which measures their absence,
whether clock or calendar, but 1
know she Is not here, for every room
of tho palace has been searched for
her, and sho Is not found."
"Your majesty," rojolned Sachlo, "it
Is astonishing how a keen brain like
your own can guess unother's secrets!
I also make a claim to humble Intelli
gence enough to havo guessed your
wishes In this matter, but, alas, I can
bo of no service to your raajosty. I
grlevo to add, neither can auyouo else
bo of service."
"What? Sho Is dead!"
"Oh, not so bad as that. Dut sho Is
gone."
"Oono whero?"
"To her own country back to that
Aniorlca of which your majesty has
hoard her boast so freely."
"How do you know this, my friend?"
demanded Michael.
Sachlo smiled. "Who should know
bettor?" said ho. "Let mo confess. Wo
took yonder young lady a prisoner and
carried her away with us; but we
could not hold her as such. Indeed,
wo no longer hold any quarrel with
OrctzhofTcn and thoro was no longer
a question of prisoners as between
tho two kingdoms. This young lady
was seen to tnko ship."
"At what port?"
"At ours, your majesty. Her aston
ishing Ingenuity enabled nor to escape
from nur guards. Like Catiline of old,
sho has escaped, sho has evaded, sho
has broken forth! And a good rid
dnnco of her, so say wo all!"
"All, my good Sachlo? I uiu not so
sure. How shall 1 rid my memory of
her eyes so beautiful, her hair so lov
able, her figure her so charming and
dollento llgure? Fortuno docs not
often repeat such favors. Wo may
not oxpoct to boo her llko again nt any
early dato."
"That Is as It Is," said Sachlo, pro
tending to heavo n vast sigh of sym
pathy. "Hut what can wo do? Sho
took it nil Into her own hands, and
by this tlmo Is woll on her wny to
Aniorlca. Thoro Is not tho slightest
doubt regarding either hor departure
or hor destination sho wns rather
bold about It, In fact, nnd mndo no
secret of her plans."
"Was sho a spy, think you, Sachlo?"
"Without doubt, your majesty, and I
woll ruo It that sho did not receive
tho punishment tit for a spy. True(
sho was beautiful "
"Yes, yes!" assented Michael. "Such
eyes, such a figure think you that
she will return?"
"I truly hopo not, your majesty,"
returned Snclilo fervently, nnd for
once ho spoko tho truth, evon on tho
chnnco of offending this amorous king.
CHAPTER LXV.
The Unknown Countries.
What now of thoso to whom Count
Sachlo had so lightly given carto
blancho to oblivion? Ccrtulnly thoro
was loft behind them no traco or cluo
which could glvo a hint of tho ex
traordinary circumstances now en
meshing them. They might all of
them, Kitty, Count Frederick. Roleau,
as woll havo been dead Indeed nnd
sunk nt sea, so far as any hint of their
fato was concorned. They had van
ished from tho earth. Tho ship that
bote them had vaulshcd from tho wa
ter ns woll.
It was a strango and unreal coun
try which faced Count Frederick when
ho found solid laud under foot onco
moro. Ho turned to life nnd its Imp
plno8s only with a dull apathy, a lag
ging interest.
Frederick did not noto that tho
faithful Kolonu hail becomo separated
from him In tho confusion following
tho landing of tho boat. In truth,
Holonu, oxluuisted ns ho was, himself
had noted but little of what had gone
on. Finding hlmsolf finally left prac
tically alono, ho mado off down tho
beach in search of food and water,
whllo mcantlmo Frodorlck wns accom
panied by a party of natives up the
beach nnd fnto the village which
served us headquarters for that por
tion of the Island. Hero ho wns
brought before tho chief. From tho
look of him and his subjects, Count
Frederick funded himself to bo on
an Island sontowhero off thu African
const.
Whether these people wero friends
or foes ho could not tell nt first, for
ho understood neither their Innguago
nor their gesticulations, but It oc
curred to him that whichever they
might bo It would not bo nmlss for
him to impress them with a feeling
of his own power Ho could not tell
whether or not they wero familiar
with tho effect of flreurms, but re
called all he had read of tho terror
inspired in snvugo minds by tho use
of such weapons. Ho drow from his
pocket tho pistol which ho had car
ried, and looked about him for Bomo
object nt which to aim.
A wild duck was floating In tho la
goon not far away, and nt this Count
Frederick took careful nlm, und llred
with tho extraordinary good luck to
kill it outright. This feat brought out
u most ludicrous activity amongst tho
natives. In consternation they flung
themselves beforo him, clasped his
knees, and laid their foreheads upon
tho earth oven as Man Friday had In
tho prcsonco of Crusoo of old. Obvi
ously thoy wero not disposed to curry
favor with him now, nnd not to attack
him. As for hlniRolf, possessed only
of bucIi ammunition nB remained In
his single cartridge clip, ho assumed
such an attitudo as ho fancied would
best display him as a conqueror al
though In truth ho felt himself far
from such.
Thoy led him through tho vlllngo to
a placo whero ho was offered food and
water both now Imperatively craved
by IiIb aturved body.
Unablo to understand what was de
sired of him, and indifferent ns to tho
meaning of tho colloquy going on
about him, for some tlmo his interest
In Hfo and its affairs was so lax that
ho paid no attention to anything that
wa3 happening. At length, however,
ho noticed something which caused
him to tako n sudden and eager Inter
est in his surroundings.
Two men camo running, evidently
from n dlBtnntvpnrt of the Island and
evidently benrors of news of some Im
portance, ns could bo proved by tho ro
coptlon given their hurried story. Dut
what was that story?
There Is a certain vlrtuo In neces
sity Itself. Thoro Is n certain common
denominator in human emotions.
Thoro is porhnps a ccrtnin unrecog
nized common denominator In human
oxpresslon of human emotion aomo
universal language, whether of word
Kitty Was Held Suspended
or gesturo, or of tho unspoken telo
pathic quality of tho mind Itsolf. Count
Frederick understood not ono word
of this language which ho heard, yet
ho know becauso ho must know
something of tho subject which theso
persons wero discussing.
Tho men had como far ono could
toll that, their looks proved It. Thoy
hnd seen somothing strango, some
thing extraordinary hnd happened,
some ovont of Interest or Importanco
had occurred, olso thoy would not havo
como so fast and so far. This was
easy enough to ruason out.
What was that event? What could
happen out of tho ordinary on this
desert Island, unless It were some
thing coming from beyond tho narrow
horizon of that Island-say, a ship
wreck, or tho landing on theso shores
of 8omo survivor such as ho himself
had been?
That would explain theso hurried
messengers. Hut If that wero true,
who or what was tho survivor or nd
venturer discovered In a distant pnrt
of this snmo hind? Wns It a man or
men, was it n woman or women?
Whnt was tho meaning of theso ex
cited ejaculations, theso gestures,
theso contortions?
Guessing, rather than knowing,
Count Frodorlck fancied that theso
men wero telling about a woman who
like himself had boon cast up by the
waves.
Tho keen Intentness of tho whlto
man's brain, for countless generations
trained in logic nnd analysis, Inllnltoly
superior to tho mentality of these half
brutes about him, served to forco It
self Into somo comprehension of what
might almost as woll havo boon an
unspoken thought on the pnrt of these
others. The eye of tho white man
kindled, tho llguro of the white man
straightened. Ho know! They wero
trying to tell that they had found n
womnn shipwrecked and cast upon
this Island.
If so, who was It, who could It bo?
Was It sho whom h nought? Was fate
meroly Jesting with him unco more,
or morclfully Intending to teach ltltn
tho one truth ho craved 7
The chief himself somewhat con
finned Count Frederick's surmises.
Ho came now und pointed to one of
tho women of his own tribe, then ap
proaching Frederick, he pulled up his
sleeve and rnn his hand over the
white mnn's skin, pointing again to
tho woman. Plainly, a white woman
hnd been discovered! That itself was
an extraordinary occurrence here. Ad
miration, wonder, in part constema
tlcn, existed umong theso simple-minded
natives.
Hut, obviously, they Intended them
selves to go to see this strango crea
ture. Tho chief called about him some
of his men. Count Frederick saw his
opportunity In this. Ho placed himself
nt the head of tho littlo band, and pat
ting his pistol, held it up, as show
ing that ho himself, owner of this
powerful wenpon, was tho ono leader
fit for this errand of discovery of this
strnugo white woman.
CHAPTER LXVI.
The Caverns.
Whon Kitty Cray awakened to con
sciousness upon the bench of a strango
land whither she hnd been carried by
no purposo of her own, bIio looked
once moro Into tho 'face of peril. The
savages who surrounded hor showed
no sign of pity or kindness. Upon the
contrary, whooping and yelling, thoy
fell upon her nnd dragged her In spite
of herself toward their own village.
This vlllago had a ruler of Its own,
no doubt chief for that, part of tho
country.
Ho was a savago of peculiarly florco
nnd forbidding visage, and Kitty felt
her blood run cold ns sho faced his
evil gazo. Tho natives, yelling In
glee, practically' cast her at his feet.
Evidently thoy wero giving to Cacaar
tho things which thoy thought wore
Caesar's In this caso, woman, tho
spolln oplnm of all wars and all con
quests. Tho ovll fnco of tho savage
monarch relaxed Into a grin which
mado Kitty shudder.
What woman was this now brought
by chanco to the presence of this ogro?
Surely ho had nover seen her llko be
foro. Moreover, sho was alono, a pris
oner, helpless. Tho progress of rea
son hereabouts was swift and simple,
Above the Unknown Abyss.
and tho chief hlmsolf did not lack
directness in his methods. Ho gavo
a sign to his men, and tho girl wns
dragged away, struggling us best she
might, and flung Into a hut which she
know was to servo as a prison.
Hero In a cornor of the dark Interior
she cowered In terror beforo the ap
paritions conjured up by her own
Imagination. Sho had not long to
wait. Tho chief hlmsolf came, little
suspecting tho reslstanco ho was to
moot that of an enraged and despair
ing woman. So valiant did Kitty provo
horsolt in repulsing his odious ad
vances, that ho was glad enough to
glvo hor up nnd mako his way back
to his hammock, leaving her to her
own devices.
Outsldo tho hut Kitty could now
hoar loud cries, orders, shouts, ex
clamations, all tho sounds of a crowd
gathering for what purposo sho could
not guess. Tho meaning of this also
wns not long left in doubt for her.
Agnin tho door of hor hut was dark
ened, and again tho natives Intruded
upon her prlvncy. Forceful hands
dragged her onco moro beforo tho
chief.
Tho latter, smiling hl3 hideous pur
poso of vengeance, pointed to a pllo
of firewood burning nt tho brink of a
deop pit in tho ground. Ho rando
signs to Kitty which sho could not
fall to understand.
Yes, sho saw It now sho was to
suffer tho most horrlblo of deaths, that
by flro! Theso peoplo either wero
cannibals or fiends. Perhaps thoy
purposed for her somo rlto of a horri
ble religion.
What could It matter to their vic
tim, slnco tho end would bo tho Earao,
no matter what tho reason for it?
Hut now they added the last touch
of cruelty In their torturo of lit r, that
of delay. They did not carry her, re
signed to the worst, at onco to meet
her fate; but on tho contrary led her
awny and loft her alono for n tlmo, a
prey to her cwn reflections, tho vic
tim of her own imaginations.
Only at times her strong will, her
strong body, rebelled at tho thought
of death. Then she would cry out.
"Holonu! Holonu!" sho would exclaim,
raising her hands; "Help, help' Come
to mo!" Hut moro often than his
name, she Involtl that of another.
Sho heard her own voice, almost with
out her own will, calling aloud for
Count Frederick, the man so lato her
enemy, yet so ready nnd fo powerful
in nny time of stress or danger!
"Frederick!" she moaned, ngaln n.id
again. "Whero tiro yuu? Why do you
not como?"
Hut to nil this, only tho howling
derision of her captors made answer.
She must, then, die!
In tho Inst moment of their enprlec,
or In the full time of their decision,
they hnled her once moro forth from
the hut, up to the brink of tho sacri
ficial pit Itself, whoro now sho saw
tho awakening flnmes.
Facing this culmination of their
heathen rites, whatever were their
purposes, their Innocent victim ngaln
made such battle us she could against
her captors. Shrieking she called
ngaln and again upon thoso names
with which onco she could conjure
called also upon tho Inst nemo
spoken by human hearts in despair.
Who shall tell whether or not there
bo higher powers controlling circum
stances such as these? At least at
this crucial moment there camo a
rescue, If rescue It might bo called.
There burst from the cornor of tho
nearby forest a strange, lll-shnpen,
half-clad figure, whether or not human
Kitty scareo could tell. It was a man,
a white man, clad In tattered frag
ments of what once had been n whlto
man's garment. Hrnwny, hairy, re
pulslvo Indeed, of guttural and Inco
herent speech, ho seemed llko no
whlto man Kitty Gray over had seen.
A swift conviction camo to her that
ho was ucmonted, that he was a luna
tic perhaps preserved from death by
tho very reason of his lunacy.
Whoever or whatever ho was, his
design now seemed not unfriendly to
tho victim of theso savago ceremonies
already in progress. Sweeping aside
with blows of his great arms tho sav
ages who clustered about hor, ho
caught Kitty up In a gorillallko em
brace and with hoarse cries of de
fiance mado his way with hor to the
cover of tho woods.
Tho natives did not pursue them
Kitty could not toll why. Indeed, sho
scareo had tlmo to reason, in this
new terror at tho formidable appari
tion which now hnd her in chnrge.
Then slowly, finding him not un
friendly, sho found tlmo to ponder and
to plan. Certainly this being wns, or
had been, a whlto man. Certainly he
could or onco could Lave employed In
telligible speech might again bo able
to do so.
Hut speech of Intclllglblo sort sho
did not henr. Only ho bore her away
to snrae distance, until at length safe
In tho cover of tho forest, ho set her
down.
Kitty looked about her. Sho found
herself In a situation which sho could
liken to nothing olso la all hor expe
rience. A stoop trail led down tho '.'ecllvlty
of a cratorllko opening, evidently tho
mouth of n groat cavern reaching
back under tho hill. The opening
would not easily havo been guessed
by a stranger in thoso parts, oven
though passing closo by In tho forest.
It was, In short, tho mouth of ono of
tho vaultllko scries of caverns formed
In tho lava rock of what had onco
boon a volcanic hill.
Holow, within, all soeraed dark, cold,
silent. It was a refuge though what
a rofuge. She was rescued Lut by
what a rescuer!
Ho beckoned to her now, and sho
followed him down tho steop slope.
Camo thon long Btretchos of under
ground passages, how many, how long,
Kitty could not tell.
At least sho lived. In splto of nil
her terrors, In splto of nil theso addi
tional doubts, sho still lived. Sho
might havo been moro disposed to
mako somo effort In her own behalf,
had sho not felt full upon hor that
strango oppression always experi
enced by any human boing finding
hlmsolf doop beneath tho surface of
that earth upon which, and not under
which, ho was born to walk.
So far as sho could seo, her captor
had no plan savo that of Bafoty from
pursuit. And sho still lived sho could
say so much as that, If no morol
CHAPTER LXVII.
In the Bowels of the Earth.
Count Frederick and his littlo band
of warriors did not at onco arrlvo up
on tho solution of tho mystery of tho
strango whlto woman. Tho childlike
cnprlco of tho natives led hlra hither
and thither, to this vlllago and to that;
so that n consldorablo tlmo had
elapsed beforo at length ho found him
self upon tho scono of tho lato fateful
happenings, although hlmsolf at that
tlmo still Ignorant nllko of tho occur
rences and their cause. To him this
was but ono moro savngo vlllago, one
moro sot of difficulties, ono moro
series of disappointments.
Thoy brought him, guarded by his
own warriors, and banco for tho tlmo
sate, into tho presenco of tho same
chief who had dovcted Kitty Gray bo
ruthlessly to tho sacrifice. To Count
Frodorlck ho was only one moro sav
ago with whom hfl cos'd hold flo con
verse. Hut oven ns ho Btood boforo tho hut
of this old ruirinn Count Frederick's
eyo caught sight of something which
caused his heart to leap.
It was a little object, an unimportnnt
Item which might havo escaped any
other 'eye than his. Vet his gazo waB
drawn to it irresistibly.
It was a bit o' cloth, a torn triflo of
soiled and sea encrusted checkered
cloth, a portion of a woman's garb.
Count Frederick recognized It at onco
nB n part of the dress skirt in which
ho had last seen Kitty Gray gat bed.
There was no mistaking it. Ho knew
It ns well as the pattern of his own
upparcl.
Sho hnd been here! Tho mystorlous
whlto woman was Kitty Gray!
Now indeed Count Frederick of
Gretzhoffon became the mnn of notion.
Away now with doubt and despair
and welcome again the fierce resolvo
of n hravo man determined to live nnd
conquer, determined once moro to
uchievo til- dearest purposo of his
Hfo!
Ho caught from the post of the door
which had torn off this fragment of
cloth, and held it before tho gaze of
the chief before the eyes of all IiIb
men. They knew whnt ho meant whon
he demanded to seo tho wearer of this
bit or cloth. They dreaded the sight
of his auger, fell back beforo the men
ace of the littlo steel tubo, unfamiliar'
as It wts to them. They knew that this
mnn would kill unless ho found that
which ho sought thu captlvo but now
rescued from the doom of flro.
Frederick's own men fell In behind
him, and a right lusty contest directly
arose between these two factions or
tribes, whichever thoy mny havo been.
As for Frederick himself, ho had not
tlmo for matters of this sort. He hur
ried to hut after hut, toro asldo roof
after roof, wall after wall, hunting for
tho woman whom above all things he
most desired to sec. Ho did not llnd
her. His questions brought no ro
spouse.
Drawn by a horrlblo suspicion of the
meaning of this flro built at tho brink
of the pit, ho hurried thither to Join
tho group of lingerers there, and now
by moro chanco found confirmation
and found hopo as well.
Ho saw tho print of n small boot
heel In tho snud, other footmarks JuBt
beyond It was a trail. Yes, yes, sho
had been thoro. Hut tho footprints
censed. The trail onded as though tho
maker of it had flown up into tho nlr.
Ueyond, tho imprint of largo and mis
shapen feet still led.
Count Frederick now turned savage
ly upon these gibbering crcntures
about him. and tho meaning of his
demand was perfectly apparent to
thorn. Threatening to throw them
Into the flro which thoy had prepared
for another, ho got from them shrieks
or protest, much shaking or the head
In denial, and much pointing on
toward tho forest which lay ahead.
Somo came to him and showed him
tho two lines of footprints, tho ono
lino continuing on and pointed to tho
fonst, although themselves not ven
turing to follow.
With n new terror In his heart, yot
fooling a conviction that Kitty Gray
still lived, ho did not pause to wreak
a present vengeance upon those crea
tures, but hurried on along tho broken
trail.
Tho dogliko craft of ono or two of
his own band of savages aided him.
Not slacking speed, thoy pointed out
wl-eri tho trail ran. Now and again
Count Frodorlck could seo on tho
enrth tho Imprint of tho woman's foet
whero for n tlmn she had rested or
been put down. At length, nt tho brink
cf the abyss boforo which Kitty Gray
so recently had stood, ho saw tho dou
bio Imprint ngaln whero both cnptlvo
and captor had stood and looked
down.
The trail led on, and down, whither
nona could guess. Frederick of Gretz
notion did not stop to guosB, but
plunged forward ImpulBlvoly. Who
ever or whatever might bo this crea
ture which had carried hor off, hora
at least was his latr.
Tho dusty floors of tho cavorn, lit
by the flaro of audi torches as they
feuni ready for such work, still re
tained tho record. Captor and captlvo
had walked hero. Deeper and deeper
Into tho caverns under tho hill thoy
followed tho trail, until at longth the
distracted eyes of Count Frederick
saw on ahead somothing to glvo him
pause.
Ho saw Kitty Gray Btandlng, allvo,
apparently unhurt, In a vast apart
ment of these subterranean vaults! Be
yond, tho floor soomed to break off
to what depth ho could not guess. No
ogress at either extremity of tho sub
terranean chamber could bo soon from
whero ho stood. Tho trail led thither,
to whoro sho stood to whoro at hor
sldo stood also a strango misshapen
figure of a man, or what had been a
man.
"Mademolsollo!" crlod Count Frod
orlck, high and clear. "Courage!"
and sprang forward..
Now this strango creature that had
brought Kitty Gray hlthor seemed to
fancy himself about to bo rohbod of
his captlvo. For ono moment ho stood
awaiting tho onslaught of Count Fred
erick and his allies, then with a
hoarso cry ho caught Kitty Gray up
In his arms again. A paco or so, and
sho was hold suspended abovo tho un
known abyss which lay bolow, Men
acingly, hor captor turned upon his as
sailant a faco which at least offered
ono conclusion.
Ho mado no coherent speech, but
his attitudo spoko loud.
Count Frederick halted. One step
moro, and tho girl would bo plunged
into eternity.
(TO BE CONTWUCD.)
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