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CKAWTOHB
AUTHWOf
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VQPYRJGHT BY f.MAfUOrt CRAWFORD
SYNOPSIS.
Baraka , a Tnrtar girl , became enamored
a i golden bearded stranger who was
pitjspoctlng and studying herbs In tlio
vicinity ot tier homo In central Asia , anil
revealed to htm the location of a mine
of rubles hoping thut the stranger would
love her In return for her disclosure.
They were followed to the cave by the
glrl'B relatives , who blocked up the en
trance , and drew oft the water supply ,
leaving the couple to die. Baraka's cousin
Saod , her betrothed , attempted to climb
down u ell ft overlooking the mine ; but
the traveler Bhot him. The stranger was
revived from a water gourd Baud car
ried , ( lug his way out of the tunnel , and
departed , deserting the girl and carrying
ft bo"g ot rubles. Baraka gathered nil the
gems she could curry , and started In pur
suit. Margaret Donno ( Margarita tla
Cordova ) , a famous jirltna donna , became
engaged In London to KonHtantln Lo-
gothctl , a wealthy Greek financier. Her
Inttmato friend was Countess Leven ,
known as Lady Maud , whose husband
had been killed by a bomb In St. Peters
burg ; and Lady Maud's most Intimate
friend wan Rufus Van Torp , an Ameri
can , who had bccomo ono of the richest
men In the world. Van Torp was In love
with Margaret , and rushed to London as
eoon aa ho heard of her betrothal. Ho
offered Lady Maud J5.000.000 for her pet
charity 1C she would aid him In winning
the singer from Logothotl. Baraka np-
proachcd Logothctl at Versailles with
rubles ta self. Ho presented a ruby to
Margaret. Van Torp bought a yacht and
sent It to Venice. Ho was visited by
Baraka In trmlo attire. She gave him a
ruby after the American had told her of
having scon In the United States a man
answering Uio description of the ono she
loved. The American followed Margaret
to the Bayrouth "Parsifal" festival. Mar
garet took a liking to Van Torp , who pre
sented her with the ruby Baraka had
given him. Count Krallnsky. a Russian ,
arrived at Bnyreuth. Van Torp believed
him to bo the ono Baraka was pursuing.
Baraka was arrested In London on the
charge of Btcallng from Plnnoy , a jew
eler , the ruby she had sold to Logothotl.
Two strangers wcro the thlovcs.
) CHAPTER VII Continued.
But after ho was gone , Splro was
heard calling loudly , though not rude
ly or violently , from his place of con
flnement.
"Mr. Policeman ! Mr. Policeman !
Please come speak ! "
The man on duty went to the door
Logothcti by telephone. They'll bo
likely to know something about him
nt the bank if he's not nt homo , and
ho may come to find out what's the
matter. If Mrs. Foxwell ohould look
in and want to see the girl , lot her
in , , of course , without asking me. If
she's in town , she'll bo hero before
long , for 1'vo telephoned to her house ,
as usual when there's a girl in trou
ble. "
There was a sort of standing , un
official order that In any case of n
girl or a young woman being locked
up , Mrs. Foxwell was to know of it ,
and she had a way of remembering a
great many sergeants' names , and do
ing kind things for their wives at
Christmas time , which further dis
posed them to help her In her work.
But the London police are by nature
the kindliest sot of men who keep
order anywhere in the world , and
they will readily help a man or wom
an who tries to do good in n sensible ,
practical way ; and if they are some
times n little prejudiced in favor of
their own perspicuity in getting up a
case , let that policeman , of any other
country , who is quito without fault ,
throw the first stone at their brave ,
good-natured heads.
Logothcti was not at his lodgings
in St. James' place , and from each
of two clubs to which the officer tele
phoned rather at random , the only an
swer was that he was a member but
not in the house. The officer wrote
a line to his rooms and sent it by a
messenger , to be given to him as soon
as he came in.
It was late in the hot afternoon
when Mrs. Foxwell answered the mes
sage by coming to the police station
herself. She was at once admitted
to Baraka's cell and the door was
closed after her.
The girl was lying on the pallet bed ,
dressed in a poor calico skirt and a
She Grasped Lady Maud's Arm.
and asked what ho wanted. In his
broken English ho explained very
clearly that Baraka had a friend in
London who was ono of the great of
the earth , and who would certainly
prove her Innocence , vouch for her
character , and cause her to be set at
large witliout delay , if he knew of her
trouble.
"What is the gentleman's name ? "
Inquired the policeman.
The name Baraka's friend was
Konstantin Logotheti , and Spire know
the address of the lodgings he always
kept in St. James * place.
"Very well , " said the policeman.
"I'll speak to the officer at once. "
"I tlmnk very much , sir , " Spire an-
Bwercd , and ho made no moro noise.
The sergeant looked surprised when
the message was given to him.
"Queer case this , " ho observed.
"Hero's the thief appealing to the
owner of the stolen property for help ;
and the owner is ono of those million
aire financiers ; and the thief is a love
ly girl In man's clothes. By the by ,
Sampson , tell Mrs. Mowlo to get out
corno women's slops and dress her
decently , while I see if I can llnd Mr.
V
loose white cotton jacket , which Mrs.
Mowle had brought and had insisted
that she must put on ; and her man's
clothes had been taken from her with
all her other belongings. She sat up ,
forlorn , pale and lovely , as the kind
visitor entered and stood beside her.
"Poor child ! " exclaimed the lady ,
touched by her sad eyes. "What can
I do to help you ? "
Baraka shook her head , for she did
not understand. Then she looked up
into eyes almost as beautiful as her
own , and pronounced a name , slowly
and so distinctly that it was Impos
sible not to hoar each syllable.
"Konstnntln Logothotl. "
The lady started , as well she might ;
for she was no other than Lady
Maud , who called herself by her own
family name , "Mrs. Foxwell , " in her
work amongst the poor women of
London.
Baraka saw the quick movement
and understood that Logotheti was
well known to her visitor. She
grasped Lady Maud's arm with both
her small hands , and looked up to her
face with a beseeching look thatcomd
not bo misunderstood. She wished
Logothotl to bo informed of her cap
tivity , and was absolutely confident
that ho would help her out of her
trouble. Lady Maud was less sure
of that , however , and said so , but It
was soon clear that Baraka did not
speak a word of any language known
to Lady Maud , who was no great
linguist at best. Under these circum
stances it looked as if there wcro
nothing to bo done for the poor girl ,
who made all sorts of signs of dis
tress , when she saw that the English
woman was about to leave her , in
sheer despair of being of any use.
Just then , however , the sergeant came
to the door , and Informed the visitor
that the girl had an accomplice who
spoke her language and knew some
English , and that by stretching a point
ho would bring the man , if Mrs. Fox-
well wished to talk with him.
The result was that in less than
half an hour , Lady Maud heard from
Spire a most extraordinary tale , of
which she did not believe n single
word. To her plain English mind it
all seemed perfectly mad at first , and
on reflection she thought it nn out
rageous attempt to play upon her
credulity ; whereas she was thorough
ly convinced that the girl had come
to grief In some way through Logo
theti and had followed him from Con
stantinople , probably supporting her
self and her companion by stealing
ou the way. Lady Maud's husband
had been a brute , but ho know the
east tolerably well , having done come
military duty In the Caucasus before
ho entered the diplomatic service ; his
stories had chiefly illustrated the pro
found duplicity of all Asiatics , and
she had not seen any reason to dis
believe them.
When Splro had nothing more to
say , therefore , she rose from the only
seat there was and ohook her head
with an air of utter incredulity , min
gled with the sort of pitying contempt
she felt for all lying in general. She
could easily follow the case , by the
help of the sergeant and the police
court reports , and she might be able
to help Baraka hereafter when the
girl had served the sentence she
would certainly get for such an im
portant and cleverly managed theft.
The poor girl implored and wept In
vain ; Lady Maud could do nothing ,
and would not stay to bo told anymore
moro Insane stories about ruby mines
In Tartary. She called the sergeant ,
freed herself from Baraka's despairIng -
Ing hold on her hand and went out.
And when she thought of what must
have gone before , and of the part Lo
gotheti had almost certainly played
in the girl's life , her anger was
roused , and she sat down and wrote
to Margaret on the impulse of the mo
ment. She gave a detailed account of
her experience at the police station ,
including especially a description of
the way Baraka had behaved in trying
to send a message to Logotheti.
"I tell you quite frankly , " Lady
Maud wrote in conclusion , "that my
friend Mr. Van Torp has begged mo
very urgently to use any friendly In
fluence I may possess , to induce you
to reconsider your engagement , because -
cause he hopes that you will accept
him Instead. You will not think any
less well of him for that. A man may
ask his best friend to help him to
marry the girl ho is in love with , I
am sure ! I told him that I would not
do anything to make trouble between
you and Logo. If I am making trou
ble now , by writing all this , it is there
fore not to help Mr. Van Torp , but be
cause the impression I have had
about Logo has really frightened me ,
for you. I made such a wretched fail
ure of my own married life that I
have some right to warn a friend who
seems to bo on the point of doing just
the same thing. You have a right to
be sure that the man you marry Is
qulto free , and that you won't sud
denly meet a lovely eastern girl of 20
who claims him after you think lie is
yours ; and your friend has a right to
warn you , if she feels sure that ho is
mixed up in some affair that Isn't
over yet
"I don't know where Logo Is , but If
he were near enough I should go to
him and tell him what I think. Of
course ho is not in town now no
body is , and I've only stayed on to
clear everything out of my house ,
now that I'm giving It up. I suppose
he is with you , though you said you
did not want him at Bayrouth ! Show
him this letter if you like , for I'm
quite ready to face him if he's angry
at my interference. I would even
Join you in Paris , if you wanted me ,
for I have nothing to do and strange
to say I have a little money ! I've
sold almost all ray furniture , you
know , so I'm not such a total pauper
as usual. But in any case answer
this , please , and tell mo that I have
done right , or wrong , just as you feel
about it and then wo will go on being -
ing friends , or say good-by , whichever
you decide. "
Lady Maud signed this long letter
and addressed it to Miss Margaret
Donno , at Bayreuth , feeling sure that
It would bs delivered , oven without
the name of the hotel , which she did
not know But the Bayreuth post-
office wae overworked during the lim
ited time of the performances , and It
happened that the extra assistant
through whoso hands the letter passed
for distribution either did not know
that Miss Donno was the famous Cor
dova , or did not happen to remember
the hotel at which she was stopping ,
or both , and it got pigeon-holed under
D , to bo called for. The consequence
was that Margaret did not receive it
until the morning after the perform-
anco ot "Parsifal" to which she had
taken Van Torp , though it had left
London only six hours after him ; for
such things will happen oven in ex
tremely well-managed countries when
people send letters insufficiently ad
dressed.
Furthermore , it also happened that
Logothotl was cooling himself on the
dock of his yatch In the neighborhood
of Ponzance , while poor Baraka was
half-stifled in the police station. For
the yacht , which was a very comfortable
table- ono , though no longer now , and
not very fast according to modern
Ideas. vas at Cowcs , waiting to be
wanted , and when her qwner parted
from Van Torp after promising to
dine on the next day but ono , it oc
curred to htm that the smell of the
wood pavements was particularly
nasty , that it would make no real dif
ference whether ho returned to Pin-
noy's at once or in two days , or two
weeks , since the ruby hu had left
must be cut before It was mounted ,
and that hn might just as well take
the fast train to Southampton and get
to sea for 3G hours. This ho did , after
telegraphing his Bailing-master to
Imvo steam as soon as possible ; and
as ho had only just time to reach the
Waterloo station ho did not oven take
the trouble to stop at his lodgings.
Ho needed no luggage , for ho had
everything he wanted on board , and
his man was far too well used to his
ways to be surprised at his absence.
The consequence of this was that
when Baraka's case came up the nest
morning there was no ono to say a
word for her and Splro. Mr. Plnno'y
UlunUflud the ruby "to the boat of his
belief" as the ono stolen from his
counter , the fact that Baraka had
been disguised In man's clothing was
treated as additional evidence , and
she and Splro were sent to Brlxton
Jail accordingly , Spire protesting
their innocence all the while In elo
quent but disjointed English , until he
was told to hold his tongue.
Further , Lady Maud read the po
lice court report in an evening paper ,
cut It out and sent It to Margaret as a
document confirming the letter she
had posted on the previous evening ;
and owing to the same insufficiency
in the address , the two missives were
delivered together.
Lastly , Mr. Pinncy took the big
ruby back to his shop and locked it
up in his safe with a satisfaction and
a sense of profound relief such as ho
had rarely felt In a long and honorable
life ; and ho would have been horri
fied and distressed beyond words if ho
could have even guessed that ho had
been the means of sending an inno
cent and helpless girl to prison.
One thing moro which concerns this
talc happened on that same day. Two
well-dressed men drove up to tlio door
of a quiet and very respectable hotel
in the West end ; and they asked for
their bill , and packed Iholr belong
ings , which were sufficient though not
numerous ; and when they had paid
what they owed and given the usual
tips , they told the porter to call two
hansomn , and each had his things put
on one of them ; and they nodded to
each other and parted ; and on han
som drove to Huston and the other
to Charing Cross ; and whether they
ever met again , I do not know , and
it docs not matter ; but In order to
clear Baraka's character at once and
to avoid a useless and perfectly trans
parent mystery , it Is ns well to say
directly that it was the young man
who drove to Euston , on his way to
Liverpool and Now York , who had
Logothctl's ruby sewn up In his waist
coat pocket ; and that the ruby really
belonged to Margaret , since Ixjgothctl
had already given it to her , before he
had brought it to Mr. Plnney to bo
cut and set. But the knowledge of
what is here imparted to the reader ,
who has already guessed this much of
the truth , would not help Uaraka out
of Brlxton jail , where the poor girl
found herself in very bad company
Indeed ; even worse , perhaps , than
that in which Splro was obliged to
spend his time.
CHAPTER VIII.
Margaret received her friend's let
ter and the account of Baraka's trial
by the same post on the morning aft
er she and Mr. Van Torp had been to
hear "Parsifal" together , and she
opened the two envelopes before read
ing her other letters , though after as
suring herself that there was nothing
from Logotheti.
She read the newspaper cutting
first , supposing that it contained
something flattering about herself , for
she had been a little short of public
admiration for nearly a fortnight. Ba
raka's case was reported with the
rather brutal simplicity which charac
terizes such accounts In the English
paper's , and Logothotl's name ap
peared in Mr. Pinnoy's evidence.
There had been the usual "laughter , "
duly noted by the stenographer , when
the poor girl's smart man's clothes
were produced before the magistrate
by the policeman who had arrested
her. The magistrate had made a few
stern remarks when ordering the de
linquents to prison , and had called
Baraka "hardened" because she did
not burst into tears. That was all ,
and there were barely flvo-and-twenty
lines of small print.
But the prlnm donna bit her hand
some lip and her eyes sparkled with
anger , as she put the cutting back
Into the first envelope , and took the
folded letter out of the other. The
girl had not only stolen a ruby , but
It was Margaret's ruby , her very own ,
the ono Logothotl had given her for
her engagement , and which she had
insisted upon having set as u ring ,
though it would cover moro than half
the space between her knuckle and
the Joint of her third finger. Further ,
It had been stolen by the vcgy girl
from whom Logotheti had pretended
that ho had bought It , n fact which
cast the high light of absurdity on hla
unlikely story ! It was natural enough
that Hho should Imvo seen it , and
should have known that ho was tak
ing it to Plnncy's , and that she should
have been nblo to prepare a llttlo
screw of paper with n bit of glass
inside , to substitute for it. The im
probabilities of mich an explanation
did not occur to Margaret , who naw
only the glaring fact that the hand
some Tartar girl had accompanied
Logothotl , between London and Paris ,
dlsgulshcd as n man , and had ulti
mately robbed him , as he richly de
served. She had imposed upon Van
Torp , lee , and had probably tried to
soil him tlio very utono she had stolen
from Logotheti , and the ono she had
made him take as a gift was nothing
but n bit of glass , as ho said it might
be , for all ho know ,
She devoured Lady Maud's latter in
a few moments , and then read it
twice again , which took so long that
Mrs. Jlushmoro sent Justlno to tell
Potts to ask if Miss Donno did not
mean to go out that morning , though
the weather was so fine.
Great singers generally develop a
capacity for Hying into rages , oven
if they have not been born with hot
tempers. It la very bad for the voice ,
but it seems to bo a part of the life.
Margaret was very angry , and Potts
became as meek and mild as a llttlo
lamb when she saw the storm signals
In her mistress * face. She delivered
her message In a pathetic and op
that she was qulto white and that her
eyes wcro bloodshot.
But fiho was really a sensible Eng
lish girl , although she was so very
angry.
"This'In ridiculous ! " she said aloud ,
with emphasis. "I won't bono * silly ! "
And she sat down to try and think
quietly.
It was not no easy. A Tartar girl
indeed ! Moro probably n handsome
Greek.
U was no wonder that tlioy had suc
ceeded in deceiving her for a while ,
the two orientals together ! They had
actually made llufun Van Torp bo-
llovo their story , which must have
boon a very different matter from ly-
H'ug to a credulous young woman who
had let horsclf fall in love ! But for
her friend Lady Maud she would still
bo their victim. Her heart went out
to the woman who had saved her
from her fate , and with the thought
came the impulse to send n message
of gratitude ; and the first fury of her
anger subsided with the impulse to do
so. By and by it would cool and hnr-
don to n lasting resentment that would
not soften again.
Her hand still shook so that oho
could hardly hold the pen steady
while she wrote the telegram.
"Unspeakably grateful. If can Join ,
mo hero will gladly wait for you.
Must BOO you at once. Do como. "
She felt bettor as she rose from the
table , and when she looked at hcrsolC
in the mirror she saw that her face-
had changed again and that her
natural color was returning. Sh'o
rang for Potts , remembering that the
half-hour must bo almost up.
"Potts , " Margaret said , "I've been
in a rage , but I'm only angry now. Do
I look like n human being again ? "
"Yes , ma'am , " answered the maid.
Inspecting her gravely. "You are still
She Saw That She Was Quite White , and That Her Eyes Were Blood
shot.
pressed tone , like a child reciting the
collect for the day at a Sunday
school.
The prlnm donna , imposing as a
young lioness , walked slowly back
wards and forwards between her win
dow and the foot of the Iron bed
stead. There was an angry light In
her eyes and instead of flushing , as
her cheeks did for any ordinary lit of
temper , they were as white as wax.
Potts , who was a small woman ,
seemed to shrink and bccomo visibly
smaller us she stood waiting for an
answer. Suddenly the lioness stood
still and surveyed the poor llttlo jack
al that served her.
"Auk Mrs. Uushmore if she can
wait half an hour , " she said. "I'm very
angry , Potts , and it's not your fault ,
so keep out of the way. "
Margaret's wrath did not subside
quickly , and as it could not spend
itself on any Immediate object , it
made her feel as if she were In a
raging fever. Her temples throbbed ,
her hands trembled and were as hot
aa fire , her lips were drawn and
pnrchcd , and when she caught sight
of ucruulf In the looking-glass she saw
a bit pale.ma'am , and your eye Is a
trifle wild , I may say. A motor veil ,
perhaps , if you are thinking of going
out , ma'am. "
"I haven't got such a thing , have
I ? I never motor now. "
Potts smiled the smile of the very
superior maid , and moved towards a
perfectly now leather hat-box that
stood in the corner.
"I always put in two for sea ,
ma'am , " she said. "You wore ona
when wo crossed the channel the last
time , if you remember. "
"Potts , you'ro n treasure ! "
"Yes , ma'am , " Potts answered
vaguely in her meek voice , as she
dived into ono of the curious secret
pockets of the hat-box. "That Is ,
ma'am , " she said , correcting herself ,
"I mean , it's very kind of you to
say so. "
( TO BE CONTINUED. )
English Jew In High Position.
Herbert Samuel , who was rocontl >
named as chancellor of Lancaster ,
with a scat In the cabinet , is the first
Jew to attain to that distinction lu
England.