-a.
RED CLOUD, NEBRASKA, CHIEF
Jfl?
If
ii
i
iff
I SI
I
il
e Mystery of
Hartley House
Caprrlfht by George II. Darin Co.
woooooooooooooooceoooooooooooooooooooooooooooeooooooooootioeeoooooooeooooc
ALCOTT'S STORY.
BynopBln. Vr. John Mlclielnon,
Junt Ix-Klnnlnp Ills CHroer, brcomcH
rcHldcnt iiliynliM.iii unil I'oinp.uiloii
of Homer Sidney at Iliirttny Iioumo,
Mr. Sidney Is nn Amurli-un, n noml
InvuUJ, old find rich nnil very do
nlroia to live. Mrs. Shinny In n
Spanish woman, illKiilfli'd and roll
cent. Juil, tho butler, acts like a
privileged memhor of the futnlly.
Hartley liouno In a tine old Isolated
country plavv, with n murder Htory,
a "haunted pool," and many watch
doss, anil an atmoaphcra of nyn
tory. Tho "haunted pool" la whom
Ulclinnl Dolmon, nun of u former
owner of Hurtley Iiouhu, had killed
liln brother, Arthur DoIihoii. Jed
bcKlns operations by locking tho
doctor In IiIh room tho very llrnt
ulHht. Doctor John llxes-lila door
ho he can't bo locked In. He meetH
Innbul, tlaUKhter of tho Iiouhc, und
fullH In love ut llrHt hrM. In tho
nlKhl ho finds Ilia butler drunk and
holding Mrs. Sidney by the wrist.
Ho Interferes. MrH. Sidney makes
IlKht of It. John Imys a revolver.
John overhears Jed telling. MrH.
Kidney hu will have lih way. In
, rily xho nayn hIic will not liunltute
to kill him, Mih. Sidney usIh John
to cotiHcnt to tho announcement of
his engagement to 1hoIm1. The
young people ronxeut to the iimku
bejlevo engngctnent. Later they
llml It Ih to head off Jed, who
would marry Isohol, Jed tries to
kill John, but the matter Is
Htuoothed over, John, though "en
gaged" to Isobel, conceals his love.
Mr. Sidney vlfllU a neurby prison
und Iiiih DoIihoii, tho murderer,
pointed out. Jed tells the Htory of
the Dobson murder. The family go
Houth for tho winter und John Is
lonesome.
CHAPTER Vl-Contlnued.
1 7
Dr. Hrmvncll HUKKostcd the winter
trip lo the South. Mr. Sidney's vital
ity needed careful nursing. It wiih im
portant to protect him from winter
rlKors, oven ns they could he uiodllled
In u sickroom. The doctor sultl he
himself felt tlie need of a change. He
prescrlhed one for both his patient
and himself. He and .Mr. Sidney made
tli arrangements. Mrs. Sidney and
Isobel were to go.
I" Arrangements went ahead rapidly,
nnd a .sense of desolation increased
within me. Itmminttc folly came to Its
accounting. Tho fairy story was to he
ended without youth's necessary "They
lived happily ever after."
The yacht came tip to Its mooring
nnd lay by tho lauding for a week
while tho provisioning was being cared
for. Hundreds of bottles of Mr. Sid
ney's fine wines were put on board
for the unspeakable Jed.
Isobel was eagerly anticipatory. Mrs.
Sidney, I thought, seemed merely to
be resigned, with trepidation.
Doctor llrownell said lie was depriv
ing mc of nn Interesting voyage. If he
Aid not go, I should have been needed,
butlie thought It Important for Ills
elllclency that he conserve his strength
over tho wlntor, nntl he asked mo to
net as one of bis assistants.
That was flattery. If was Intended
to be so.
Mrs. Sidney was the one who of
fered me the real balm.
"John," she said, "we shall want
yon wait us. We shall miss you."
"Don't you think, Mrs. Sidney." I
suggested, "that now we can consider
this Action tormlnat'ed?"
"You mean your engagement to Iso
bel?" "Surely."
"No. please," she said. "On the
boat iliero will he no problem. The
coiumtiMty Is too compact and must
bo considerate. Hut when we coino
back. I'll need you Just as before."
Isobel said:
"flood-by, John., He at
when wo return. You'll
the lauding
lie the first
person I want to see."
I ought not t'o have been so discon
solate. These were fair portents, but
n portent does little to console n loss.
I stood on the little dock and watched
the yacht' go down the river. And
when ft bad disappeared below the
point of land south of thn pool, all the
world was sad and life had no pros
pects to give it value.
Charles drove me to the city. I was
n bit of human driftwood for a week.
It did not matter that they were com
ing bade. They were gone; that was
tho disaster. It wius in the present;
the future is too ninblguoiiM for conso
lation or comfort.
I went through a winter of ecstatic
distress, trying to be ofllclent In my
discharge of professional duties for
Doctor llrownell and to be profession
ally composed In mmect nnd mind. I
liad nn anguished delight in my experi
ences. My lonoliness was my most
acute pain und my most cherished
comfort. I did not want to profane
the emotional solemnity' of so much
litihapplnesb by subjecting it frequent
Jy to tho baniil touch of sociable life
In tho ordinary. It was a Joy to lie
profoundly unhappy.
- I had IcttMH from the enchanted
party In the South. Mm. Sidney wrote
'twice a we-jk with great affection. Mr.
ftldnoy onto n week dictated to Jed a
'letter, cordial and Jocular, for me. Oc
carlonally Jed ndded n sheet for him
ecir, kindly or rasping ns ilio mood
had him at tho time.
Isobel nlso wrote, buf with the great
e.t eccentricity. While thoy wero at
ittlta Ucach 1 hnd abetter a day from
her for four days. Then I hnd none
for two weeks, although they remained
at I'iiIiii lieacli. She made the post
tnnti a tragedian for me.
In one letter tills virginal Imp wrote
ns If I were her lover, and that letter
was as the song of the meadow lark
from a snow-covered Held In March,
as (he odor of lilacs on a warm night
in May.
The Sidneys went to the Ilaliamas,
hut did not remain there. They wrote
me that Mr. Sidney was well. Doctor
llrownell was convinced that all were
tho better, himself Included, for their
experiment and that Mr. Sidney's con
dition would permit a longer voyage In
his pleasant circumstances. Conse
quently they were going on to South
America. Mr. Sidney wanted to' revisit
Montevideo.
From Montevideo I had a letter from
Jed In n different tone from his sarcas
tic hunter and taunting. I thought It
was the letter of a man who had suf
fered a shock. I could not say why I
thought so, but I thought something
had disturbed him. I gathered the
Idea that something had changed Jed's
view of life.
Karly in March came letters saying
that my folks shortly would he on their
way home, to arrive after our uncer
tain .spring bad resolved Itself securely
Into weather safe for a feeble man who
had accustomed himself to luxurious
temperatures. I then felt Invogorated,
as by n promise In March of hcpatlcg.
My winter was breaking up.
I met an old-time acquaintance, it
dentist who had been several years In
South America. Ills name was Alcott,
Henry Alcott.
Alcott and I never had been Intimate
or affectionate, but we greeted cHeh
other with ardor. I was lonesome. Al
cott may have been. There Is a lone
Minieness associated with a. return to
a place which has forgotten you and
receives you as an alien.
We had dinner together nnd enjoyed
our meeting. There was furtively, nt
dinner, a reminiscent amatlveuess In
his conversation, It suggested that hf
was smirking over exploits which h
might relate If his restraints wero
broken down.
Ho had a talent for merely carnnl
stories. They gained additional car
nality In his telling of them. I must
have been given the record of half the
amatory experiences of South America
for two years. Alcott told them with
gusto. The one that fascinated mc he 1
did not emphasize more than the oth
ers. As he told these stories he was
trying to convey the charm of sex-adventure
In Latin America. I think he
wanted, by other Instances, to suggest
his own adventures.
A man named Sinclair that wns us
Alcott remembered the name, hut It
might, he said, have been St. John or
Southgrove or Sergeant or anything
else beginning with S ; It was lone be
fore Alcott's time In South America,
and he merely told the story because
It was a standardized eplsodt this
man Sinclair, an ICugllshmnn or a man
from the States, a fairly young man,
anyway, and attractive, had fallen In
love with a most charming young wom
an of excellent family.
Alcott could not remember whether
this little episode had been staged in
Hlo or Valparaiso or Kucnos Aires or
where.
"It might hnve been in Montevideo,"
he said. He did not emphasize the re
mark, but the remark subsequently em
phasized the story for me.
Sinclair Alcott thought wo might as
well agree upon Sinclair ns a niiuiL
had come out of somewhere or no
where and had made a great dtuil of
money. When he fell In love, he was
an advantageous match. The parents
accepted him gladly.
Sinclair and the young lady were
married, hut he did not have the Latin
genius for Isolating and guarding a
woman, Neither did he have the
genius for completely Interesting and
absorbing a woman. He was In the
shipping business. He was a very prac
tical and buslness.rulotl man, but, Al
cott had heard, u genial and Jovial man
nevertheless.
Lovers came, as lovers will. The
lady was too charming and had too
..much freedom. She was Innocent and
guileless, but her husband was not the
barrier needed. Alcott said he thought
she wns of noble sort and was betrayed
by her Idea that human beings bad
character.
He was not precise as to the dilem
ma she had entered, how or why she
entered It. A man of reputation for
discreet gallantry, a handsome man of
attractive culture, was encouraged by
her frank and uuchllled attitude to
ward him to try a desperate measure.
There was a designing hervant In the
house. The lover corrupted the serv
ant nud was Introduced Into the house.
The husband was supposed to be away
on a business trip. He came back
ahead of time, as husbands sometimes
do, and stopped at his club before he
went home.
A friend of the lover saw him and,
knowing what was being essayed at
the man's home, was aghast. He In
duced oilier friends of the lover to try
to detain the husband on one Jovial
pretext or another while ho communi
cated with tho house. He was unsuc
cessful In his attempt to use the tele
"By
CLIFFORD S.
RAYMOND
Illustrated by
IRWIN MYERS
phone. The other men were unsuccess
ful in their attempt to detain the hus
band. The friend began a race with
the husband to reach the house. Un
luckily for him. tli cab he look not
only was pulled by the faster horse,
hut, he being conscious Unit It was a
race and the husband being uncon
scious of it, his driver had reasons
given him for speed.
It was unfortunate for the friend,
because there was a tragedy later, and
lie was its victim. He arrived In time
to warn the lover. The lady, appalled
by the appearance of the lover, aghast
to consider that she hud been thought
so unworthy as to attract these atten
tions, and suffering from a confusion
which blunted her Judgmcnt.Jiud Hot
called her servants, but had endeav
ored with a dignity consciously self
compromised lo assert her self-respect
and recall her lover's reason,
In a turmoil of abasing emotions she
was engaged In this effort of self-con.
trol and assertion of dignity when the
friend destroyed all composure by his
announcement. Tho lover went In
stantly out of a window. The friend,
having bis own dignity of Innocence,
would not compromise bis self-respect
In tills fashloti. The husband arrived
upon a scene which could not lie v
plained. His wife, in spite of her ef
forts at control, was In hysteria The
friend's presence was Inexplicable
Arrangements were made to satisfy
honor. The friend was killed In a fash
ion satisfactory to the police and whol
ly satisfactory to the outraged hus
band. There was the situation; an innocent
man dead, a wronged husband satis
lied, the wife absolved by the romantic,
lying statement of the man who sacri
tlced himself, that In the transaction he
As He Drank More He Made Them
Personal. ?
i
hnd been presumptuous nnd the wife
entirely guiltless and the guilty lover
gone scot-free. Hut the servant knew.
Tremendous possibilities In this, Alcott
thought.
Then Alcott went to other stories. As
be'drank more, he made them personal.
I felt sick. It was outrageous for my
rccolfcctiou to emphasize Ills merely
Incidental remark :
"It might have been Montevideo."
' CHAPTER VII.
It may seem unreasonable that a
story by a man incidentally met, an In
different acquaintance, had started a
solvent nt work on my mysteries. I
am discussing, now, matters I had
tried to keep out of my consciousness
Things at Hartley bad Insisted upon
an explanation which I did not want to
Had or give.
I could not kill a curiosity, although
I was shamed by. It. I felt Indecent In
my almost Involuntary conjectures re
garding Mrs. Sidney. Circumstances
did dcuinud an explanation. No one
could perceive the strange facts of the
house and not speculate as to their
cause. It ml;ht he unpleasant to ilu
so, but It was Impossible not to do so.
Tho predominating fact, however, was
that my folks were coming home, am!
I knew that my affection for Mrs, sid
ney had become a sacrament and ni
affection for Isobel a tragedy,
The yacht brought these dear people
to the landing In the river at Ilarlle
house. I, in the city, was called on
the telephone by Isobel. There was n
dynamic value In the Inspiration of hei
voice. She was, In her greeting, cheen
and wholesome. It was a glad, clean
"Hullo!" crisp and Jovial.
My people came home In May, uni
the day after their arrival 1 went !
Hartley bouse with my belongings, n
Jolclng, In an ecstasy, to take the we
known ride Into the wonderful wort I
of fancy nnd endeared companionship
by the haunted pool and into the Jovial
household.
Jed, 1 knew as soon us I saw him
was changed not violently but In
some fashion and perceptibly. Mr. Sid
ney was not. His geniality could not
change. He made me feel that be bad
missed mo nnd was rejoiced to see me
again. Mrs. Sidney seemed, spiritually
to continue to lean on mc for support,
a thing that I perceived In nbasement
and with a sense of ttnworthlness nnd
unreliability. Isobel was as whole
some as the nlr. In the most pleasant
clrctimstifnces life was resumed at
Hartley house.
Jed had not wholly lost his tructi
lence and his occasional Hushes of
malevolence, but he wns subdued. I
thought he seemed furtive.
I asked Mrs. Sidney If she had ob
served a change. She said It had not
occurred to her to think of It ns a
change, hut there bad been n differ
ence for which she was grateful. She
remembered that when they were mak
ing their visit to Montevideo Jed had
gone down to the docks iMid had come
back obviously disturbed. She had ob
served tlie fact without giving milch
thought to It. She was not sure but
that there had been nn amelioration of
Jed since then. She had regarded the
event as Insignificant. It might I. live
hud a meaning, but If so, It was 'oh
seined. v
Our days were nf plensant routine,
but nevertheless, for reasons which
I have tried to make perceptible If
tint explicit, the expectation wa.
touched by dread. We had, for sev
eral months, no outstanjlng Incident
or disturbing happening Mr. Sid
ney's health remained exceptionally
good He created n new Interest In
his life; he hud not forgotten Ids visit
to the penitentiary, and he was eager
to do what lie could for (lit- convicts.
Kvldently be thought of Ills restrict
eil life as something not wholly alien
except for Its comforts, to theirs. Tin--most
that he could do was to send
hooks and occasionally to pif.parc a
Sunday afternoon program of music
to he given by a small orchestra which
he had brought out from the city. Hf
never went back to the penitentiary,
hut once a week Jed or I drove over
and he was Interested In our accounts
Jed was beginning to wear off the
line aspects of bis good behavior.
Some restless ambition tnttuiod this
num. and some pijwer lie had not com
pletely-uoed Invited him to make full
use of It.
I had Implored Mrs. Sidney to In
form me Instantly If lie became oh
no!ous again. I understood bow Im.
porlant It was to protect Mr. Sidney'
pence of mind, but I thought I had the
upper hand of Jed although not un
derstanding Ids case at all and could
uitiiKige him.
Isobel, knowing that she was pur
sued by the ridiculous ambitions of
tap man, found amusement In It. I
found only moral nausea. I could
see Jed's arrogance arising ngnln, and
twice a week I was awakened by bis
sliming in tlie hallway as became from
drinking in Mr. Sidney's room. ,1 was
expecting something to happen; nnd
something did, but It was certainly
ant what I expected. It opened up
a new phase of the mystery.
One morning I was waiting for Jed
to brine my coffee to the pleasant
room which be early In our acquaint
ance had recommended. Not the lens!
curious thing about Jed was the fact
that he seldom In his sober momenta
was anything but a perfect servant
when service xvns demanded. It did
not mntter bow serlo'is and deadly tin!
issue might be between Jed nnd me nx
men; when the matter lay between
JeiLnnd me ns servant and served, Jed
was the servant. Therefore, no mat
ter how things might stand with tu
when, in tlie morning at an early hour.
I went to the room Jed originally sug
gested, I expected him to come with
my coffee, and he always did.
It was my habit to arise at seven
o'clock and lie dreed and In this
room by half-past seven. I usually
read a book until Jed brought the cof
fee and the morning paper. It was n
luxurious and restful experience tc
have tills hour each day.
This morning in question I was read
ing placidly when looking out the win
dow, I was startled to see a strange
figure of a man on the lawn. He was
close to the bouse, almost under my
window, and I even could see that' be
wore earrings. He had a handkerchief
around bis neck. He Was swarthy and
black-haired. I thought he was Span
i isli, and I thdught he xvns a sailor
These xvere only Impressions, but tbej,
! Identified him for me later. Ho xvns
passive and xvns looking up at Hip
house In an Intel ested but puzzled
I fashion, harmlessly, one xvould hnve
j said, If the xvbo'.ly unexpected nature
J of his presence laid not been in Itself
I slunlllcnnt. ,
( Men wearing earrings xvere not sc
common of sight as to allow one wear
I lag them to be unnoticed. Strangers
I of any kind seldom came our xvoy
j Strangers of his kind xvere extraordi
nary. He was looKiug up at tne win
dows ns If hi sought ihe answer to
snmcthliu; that bad Interested If not
mystified him. I knew, in every In
stinct, that he had not come In by
c'nance but by design.
( xvns looking, leaulpg forward, at
this strange phenomenon on the lawn
when a crash of metal and hreaklnp
china gave me a shock. Jed whom 1
had not beard entering had seen ovei
my shoulder the stranger on the lawn
and had dropped the coffee tray.
"You knew that man and you
vranted.to kill him."
O'O UK CONTINUED.)
Don't Read When Drowsy.
To read or study when tired nt,
droxvsy Is to strain the eyes to a dan
gerous degree, writes W. M. Carliart
In Public 1 It'll I til. Avoid eveulnc
study xvhenever possible. If you are
using your eyes by artificial light, be
sure the light does not shine directly,
Into tho eyes, ami try to have It ccnie'
from behind und to tlie left'slde so aa
to uvold the harmful glare.
ROAD
BUILDING
PUBLIC ROADS BUREAU WORK
Plans, Specifications and Estimates
Are Examined and Approved
in Short Period.
Over fit) per cent of all applications
forjfederal aid are handled In the dis
trict olllces of the bureau of public
roads, United States department of
agriculture In nn average of five days;
IM) per cent of them pass the chief
engineer's ofllce In Washington to final
approval In four days. The? plans,
specifications nnd estimates which tho
states furnish and which have to be
reviewed, sometimes checked, nnd n'
ways reported on in detail with specific
recommendations, pass the district
engineer's ofllce nt about the same
rate as tlie applications and 1H) per
cent of them pass the district
engineer's olllce In three and a half
days. There are at present over Il.tXK)
active federal aid projects In tlie
United States.
Tlie fiiieral old act Is administered
with three, per cent of the appropria
tions and tills fund Is carefully con
trolled each month on the basis of
actual performance under "tlie law.
As an llltistititloii of elllclcnt adminis
tration, district No. 8, xvltli olllces
located hi Montgomery,. Alabama, cost
the government $7$.ftl7 from Decem
ber, 101(5, to April, lOLM). Inclusive. Tills
Is an average of $1,W) per month.
Heports from the district engineer for
that district show Unit the bureau's
engineering review and technical ad
vice In connection with state projects
submitted have Resulted In large sax--ings
In road, construction. A single,
case In one state was revised by tin
district engineers olllce at a saving
-'s '' ' ,"' '" '.y ' .
Granite Blocks Laid and Rammed
Maintenance Cost of This Kind of J
Pavement Is Less Than That of Any
Other Kind.
of Sl.TOIlS.'-'O. Another project xvns
redesigned to cost $10,000 less ut the
time the plans were reviewed by the
bureau.
EMPLOY CONVICTS ON ROADS
Satisfactory Results Reported From
Twelve States Where Experiment
Has Been Tried.
Twelve states have tried the em
ployment of convict labor for road
building thoroughly, nnd report that
tho results have been satisfactory.
They are Arizona, Oklahoma, Florida,
Maryland, 'Illinois, Louisiana, Rhode
Island, New Jersey, Wyoming, Utah,
Idaho and Nebraska.
Since (lie United States government
has made Its great appropriations for
good road a, which the states are du
plicating as tlie federal law requires
ns fast as their legislatures meet, the
department of agriculture has hecu
making a complete survey of the meth
ods of road building In the states.
Concerning the use of convict labor
the contusion from these reports Is
that where the convicts are well fed
und housed they work xvell, sine the
state In construction costs, and them
selves profit physically and mentally.
Syracuse. Tost Standard.
CASH FOR IMPROVING ROADS
Total Amount for 1919 Placed at $138,.
000,000 in Report by Bureau of j,,
Publlo Roads. '
An Important report, which pos
sesses peculiar Interest for all motor
lst.s, regarding good road progress dur
ing the present year, Hindi) by tlie bu
reau of public roads- of the United
States department of agriculture,
shows that for ,1010 the expenditure
for bard-surfaced highways establish
es a new record, In so .far as the de
partment's road program Is concerned,
the total amount being $1:18.000,000.
Tho Indications are that tho folloxx'
ini; year will exceed this record by a
large margin, us tlie available funds
for road expenditure by tlie bureau
for 11)20 amount to $im,000,000.
Money for Good Roads.
Thirty-seven states In this country
have authorlKfd tlie expenditure of
?d.,i."l(Hl,7'..M) for good roads In the next
five years.
Cash for Lincoln Highway.
An allotment of 111,000,000 has
been made for Improvements to tho
Lincoln highway.
Highways Destroyed by War.
More than Uli.OOO miles of highways
xvere destroyed In Franco during 'the
' world war. liL
HAS NO
PAIN NOW
What Lydia E. Pinkham't
Vegetable Compound Did
for Mrs. Warner.
Onalaska. Wis. "Every month I had
such pains in my back and lower part of
ptomocn i could not
lie in bed. I suf
fered so it seemed
as though I would
die, and I was not
regular either. I
suffered for a ycai
and was unfit to do
my housework,
could only wash
dishes once in a
while. I read an
advertisement of
what Lydia E. Pink-
ham's Vegetable Compound had don
for other women and decided to try it.
It Burely did wonders for me. I have
no pains now and I can do my house
work without any trouble at all. I
will always praise your medicine as I
do not believe there is a doctor that can
do as much good in female weakness,
and you may use these facts as a testi
monial. "Mrs. Lester E. Warner,
R. 1, Box 69, Onalaska, Wis.
The reason wbmen write such letters
to the Lydia E. Pinkham Medicine Co.
and tell their friends how they aro
helped is that Lydia E. Pinknams
Vegetable Compound has brought health
and happiness into their lives. Freed
from their .illness they want to pass the
pod news along to other Buffering
women that they also may be relieved.
VICTIMS
RESCUED
Kidney, liver, bladder and uric add
troubles or most dangerous be
cause of their insidious attacks.
Heed the first warning they giva
that they need attention by taking
GOLD MEDAL
HMtHlllri
The world's standard remedy (or thx
disorder, will often ward off thts dl
s and strengthen the body again
further attacks. Three rlxea, all druggleta,
(Uok fee Ih nana Cold Mdi oa aTwy baa
and aceapt ca baltatkm
Constipation
Vanishes
Forever
Prompt Permanent Relief
CARTER'S LITTLE UVER PILLS
never fail. Purely vege.
table act surely but
gently on tne
liver.
CARTER'S
Stop after- JHBITTt-E
dinner dis-3 H IVER
tress cor
rect indiges
tion: imnrove
PI LI
the complexion brighten the eyes.
Snail Pill Small Dose Small Price
SANITARIUM
ISULPH0 SALINE SPRINGS
Located on our oxvn premises
and used in the
Natural Mineral Water Baths
Unsurpassed in the treatment of
RHEUMATISM
Heart, Stomach, Kidney and
Liver Diseases
Moderate charges. Address
DR. O, W. EVCRETf. Mar.
14th and N Sta. Lincoln, Nab.
If ti mun Is bound to kick, glvo him
room,
MM ' Morning
Keep Your EVes
Clean - Clear Healthy
Writ Tor fr. CVW Cwa Book Murlna Co.CMti to. Ill
W. N. U., LINCOLN, NO. 37-1020,
imimim
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tvItiEMn
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