3
of the
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TITK OMAHA SUXOAY TH'.K: JANUARY 27. 10O7.
CBONY MUS
Box-
C
saw
&yAl Bv G
(Copyright, Vfn, by George Barton
fpr"VK morning names was handed
I J I a lnn official looking envelope
I miiiI containing the Imprint of the
fc.l.Cj 8,"te ,pPrtmentr' It was not un
usual for him to receive eorre
"ponrlenre from the a. at of government,
but this waa the flrat time he had been
honored with a communication direct from
the. cabinet officer who rontrola the foreign
relations of the nation. He tore the loiter
open culckly and read it from beginning
to end with avidity. It waa Ions and im
portant and held several enclosures. Tha
rcvelntlona wore unusual enough to make
even such a seasoned veteran blink with
a.-ionishment. lie read the letter very
carefully a aecond time and aa be con
eluded glanced nt the big calendar on the
wall beside his desk.
"Clancy, we've got to be In Fall River
before 7 o'clock tomorrow night."
The young man, nccustomed to sudden
calls, saluted and said:
"All right, air: 111 go home, pack my
grip and mectf yoh In an hour."
Being expeditious, they made their con-'
nectlons and wore In Kail rtlver an hour
bore the appointed time. As they lounged
on the wharf watching the boat get up
team preparatory to its all-night trip to
New York, the chief turned to his assistant
with his most official mnnncr:
"We are here to Identify and shadow a
man and a woman. The man Is short and
thick set, with a smooth face and a
swarthy complexion. He carries a little
ebony music box. which has a lid decorated
with a royal crown. The woman is tall,
thin and angular, with aharp features and
has a big Maltese cat, which la her in
separable companion."
"That's a bully description!" exclaimed
Clancy, enthusiasm getting tha better of
respectful demeanor. "A fellow would have
to be near-sighted to miss a couple like
that."
While they were talking a stranger came
along the pier, warbling a French song.
The watchers were all attention. The new
comer tallied with the description given
by the chief Inspector. Around him hung
the heavy aroma of musk. In his right
hand he carried an ebony music box, with
a gilt crown on Its lid. He walked on to
the boat and, poking his head Into the
window of the purser's room, handed In a
check and In return received the key of i
reserved stateroom. He marched away,
singing blithely.
Hurries rushed up to the little cubby hole.
"Who was tnat man?" he demanded.
"Count Velasquez," replied the purser,
' efora he had time to consider the pro-
iieiy oi me question.
The chief returned to his assistant, sat
isfied. "It s our man all right." he said. "He's
traveling under the name of a Spanish
nobleman. We mustn't lose sight of him."
"Why?" asked Clancy, with full knowl
edge of the fact that ha had no right to
ask questions.
"You'll know before we reach New York.
actions. And for the love of heaven,
watch this count to see the effect of what
I do or say to him."
"I suppose." ventured Clancy, with what
was Intended for withering sarcasm, "that
It wouldn't be a bad Idea to get acquainted
with him."
"You must get acquainted with him!"
came like a shot.
The two men procured a stateroom,
merely as a matter of form, because neither
had any Intention of sleeping that night.
Presently the count's wife, with her Mal
tese cat. came aboard and was ushered Into
her room. The count- himself strolled
about the boat, leaving elouda of clgarrette
moke In his wake. Everywhere he went
he carried the little ebony music box with
him. Clancy, who was naturally of a
sociable disposition, soon managed to get
Into conversation with the titled foreigner.
In ten minutes they were chatting awe,y
like lifelong friends. The count noticed
that Clancy waa looking at the box he car
ried, and tie remarked in a nonchalant man
ner, with a shrug of the shoulder:
"Ah. my music box. I adore music, and
so I carry this little Instrument with me
everywhere."
Clancy, with glittering eyes, replied:
"I'm with you there, count; I love muslo
too. Give us a tune."
The count was disconcerted; but he re
covered quickly:
"I have not the key," he said, shrugging
his shoulder. Then as an after thought,
"the Instrument Is out of order, and I must
not touch It until It la fully repaired."
Presently Clancy contrived to Introduce
Barnes. The Count, who waa loquacious,
was delighted to meet such an amiable per
son. He said he was traveling for his
health, and Barnes, much to his amuse
ment, said he was traveling for the health
of the community.
At this stage of the game Clancy no
ticed that the Chief carried a package
under his right arm. He was about to
ask him what that neiint when F.arnes
whispered huskily:
"The minute the Count lays down his
music box. grab Iti and put It In our
room."
The opportunity came almost Immedi
ately. They were at the cigar stand. The
Count lay down his box In order to pay
for a box of cigarettes. Barnes simul
taneously attracted his attention to some
thing on the other side of the boat.
Clancy stooped, picked up the box and
darted off In the direction of his cabin.
At the same Instant Barnes whisked off
the package under his arm and deposited
a duplicate box on the floor In place of the
stolen one. It was Identical with the first
one in every detail, and when the Count
raq pocavtcd tils ehang and lighted his
rlgarette lie picked up the substituted box
and. with a slrh of satisfaction, placljly
walked away.
The count was a companlonuble mm.
After the boat- had left Fatl River and
started on Its n!ght run to New York h
lnvlte.t Barnes and Clancy to Join him In
a "nUhtcap" In ti e 1'Mle stttlnr room' at
tached to h" cabin. They readily assented.
It was the finest room on the boat, with
rtuhlooed sells on boih sides. Th- Count
ess wa ti er with her est. After the pre
sentations had be.-n ".arte -n t. "nlght
can" dlnw-e t of allf . xclainted:
"My dosr F.i,oiiH-r you are the most
thouehful nf men!"
"Ah! yon are leasing m." criel the
Cni-nt. shnVog h's feminine fingers at th-
wr.-sn. "Vo tidies you ladies, you ar
all alike. Floating like light clouds 'tulxt
our gsse and heaven. I nuote from mem.
ory, b'tt triv poet expresses 'he thouxM
somewhere."
Hvjn- delivered hlwlf of these mo
tl.BHl sentiments the count sank Into the
eat omosl" hit w'fe and fr;ixe,1 at ner
with dreamy even, rurled ur n the plush
cushions he Instlnrllvvlr sucgested the
wiliest of the four-f.vi'evt fsmtlv, the for
He sat there with his less crossed and his
arms folded, blinking and chuckling In tha
most disconcerting way. All of his fea
tures lent themselves In a startling man
ner to this resemblance to the moat cun
ning and sagacious of animals. It could
be seen In the erect, pointed ears; In the
long nose, which seemed to be perpetually
on the scent of something; In the sharp
eyes, at once observant and suspicious; In
the shrewd countenance, which Indicated
not only Intellectual capacity, but Ingenuity
and a fondness for strategy. A reader bf
character would have said that this was a
man naturally of a timorous disposition,
yet who, If driven Into a corner, equld ex
hibit a boldness bordering on courage. The
soft, white hand with the pinkish finger
nails suggested erlemlnacy, as did the gen
eral makeup nf this gentle, soft spoken,
perfumed and bejeweled person.
The talk waa of travels, and Clancy
listened With open-eared astonishment
while Barnes represented himself to the
others as the great American trnveler. He
aid there was no part of the civilised
globe he had not visited, and spoke glibly
of tiOndon. Paris, Madrid and St. Feters
hiirg. Clancy was lost In admiration at the
t-leverneaa with which the chief plaved hla
part. Presently the countess begged leave
to retire for a while. Her scot was taken
by Jerome Harvey, a fellow passenger who
had become acquainted with the count a
short time before and who seemed fas
cinated by the oily tongue bf the nobleman.
Count Velasquez voiced the general desire
to hear more of Barnes' travels.
"Tell us about Madrid," he said. "Surely
something out of the ordinary must have
occurred to you while there."
"There was nothing personal to me," re
plied Barnes, looking at the other nut of
half closed eyes. "Incidentally, though, I
heard many queer stories"
"Toll us one of them," said Harvey.
"Perhaps," continued Barnes, as If the
other had not spoken, "the most Interest
ing of these was the adventure of the dis
tinguished foreigner and the consignment
of Italian books."
"That sounds Interesting," cried Clancy.
"Give us that."
"Well," began Barnes, punting away at a
perfeeto, "one day the society of Madrid
was Increased by the arrival of a stranger,
a foreigner of distinguished appearance.
He was cultured, agreeable and made
many friends. He spoke Italian fluently,
although that was not his native tongue.
Not many weeks had passed before he un
dertook to form a little class for Instruc
tion." "That sounds all right," commented
Harvey, as Barnes paused to puff at hl
cigar.
"It was all right," smiled Barnes, "for
a while, and then, as sometimes happens
In Spain, it turned out to be all wrong.
There was an agitation going on tn the
provinces outside of Madrid. The peas
antry, goaded to desperation by proverty.
were holding secret meetings with a view
of rising against the authorities. The mili
tary and the police were constantly on tha
alert, so that the movement did not make
much progress. About that time an Eng
lish vessel arrived at one of the outlying
ports. It had been passed by the proper
officials and seamed perfectly regular.
Still, precaution Is always considered Im
portant In Spain, and two Inspectors were
sent to make a scrutiny of the newly ar
rived' vessel.
"They found nothing out of the ordi
nary. The master of the Teasel having
declared clean papers, the. officials retired
and made a report of their Investigation.
But on the following day. after part of
the cargo had been transferred to a lighter.
It was discovered that several cases
marked Italian books' had been smuggled
Into the hold of the vessel. The cases were
unusually heavy. They were Invoiced to
the distinguished foreigner whom I have
already mentioned, but whose name I can
n,t recall. They were landed on the
wharf and the Inspectors, whose suspi
cions had been aroused, made immediate
report to their superiors. Their first act
was to hunt up the history of the foreigner.
It was found, among other things, that
he had organised a class In the capital for
the study of Italian. So that made a ship
ment of Italian books In his name quite
reasonable."
The count, who had been listening In
tently, moistened h lips with his tongue.
"But," continued Barnea, "once suspicion
has been aroused, reasonableness does not
count with the Spanish police. They said
In their minds, 'Why does this man smug
gle In his shipment? Why does he need
several cases of books.? Why do those
books appear so weighty?' Contrary to
custom, the boxes were not seised on the
wharf. The officers resolved to use a little
strategy. They would permit the consign
ment to go to the house of the distinguished
foreigner and then be present when the
boxes were opened. Aa soon as the boxes
had been delivered, two members of the
police force. In plain clothea, pushed their
way Into the house and Informed the af
fable resident that they desired to purchase
some Italian books. He glanced at the In
truders and then at the boxes In the hall
way, and a knowing look came Into his
face."
The count pulled out- his handkerchief
and mopped tne perspiration from his
brow.
"It was about dusk," said Barnes, con
tinuing his story, "the distinguished for
eigner was Ir. evening dress. Before an
swering, he took his hat off the rack, and
throwing his outer coat over his arm, i Id
with easy assurance:
" 'Gentlemen, I have an engagement for
a dinner party. I am already late; but
mv man will open these boxes and you can
look over the books and talk to me about
them in the morning unless you care to
await try return tonight which will be in
about two hours.'
"Could anything be more polite or oblig
ing? Tha polio thought not. The man,
however, was not so pleasant as his
master. He growled terribly at being
called upon to open these heavily bound
boxes at auch an unseasonable hour. It
took him about twenty minutes to find the
Implements with which to open the Buses.
When the boards were taken off the first
box nearly an hour had elapsed. A mass
of straw was on the top; then came a
coating of heavy cardboard, end tneatu
ill's, In war'lke array, was layer after layer
of magasines for repeating rifles. The sec
ond box was filled to the brim with am
munition. -
"Horrified at the discovery, the officers
Immediately placed the man under arrest,
and awaited the return of the matter.
They may be waiting there yet fur all I
know. Anyhow, he never returned. H
must have proceeded to the railway station
on leaving the house and taken the first
train out of Madrid. Telegrams were
sent to the frortier and to all of the sta
tions, but the amiable teacher of Italian
was not apprehended.
"What waa he like?" asked the court,
with sudden Interest.
"Well, tha curious part of the sUiry Is
the fait that I never set eyes on him. I
heard of hU arrival, conversed with those
who bad arranged to taken lessens from
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FOR GOD'5 SAKE D0NTU1L BE KILLOrSHRlEKED TH WRETTH UrOTrtZR BUZZIN6 30UKD CATTCFROM
THE BOX- AJ1D THCN-IT.BROK6 OUT WITH THE FAMILIAH STRMM5 'jY-''ySPfiQr- WORKS BUT ZWr&ZfJl?
him, and was even in the house he had
leased for his stay In Madrid, but never
came face to face with the man himself."
The count breathed easier. He turned
to Barnes:
"And your distinguished foreigner, your
professor of Italian?'
he queried taunt-
Ingly, " was a"
"Yes," Interrupted Barnes, "was a revo-
lutlonist or the backer of a fllllbustering
exnedltlon. or an anarchlHt. nr hntvr
title yau choose to give hiin. I call him
my man of mystery."
"Didn't the government have a descrip
tion of him?" asked Harvey.
"Oh, yee," replied Barnes. "They Issued
a circular offering a reward for his appre
henaion. I have one here now," and reac'i-
ng Into his Inside pocket, he pulled out a
long rea sneei oi paper prinreu in Hpanisn
with heavy black type.
The count's eyes fairly danced in his
.ml,' .
Z ... , . 1 oroug.it
leae hnp' nalcerl Tfnrvev
these boxes?" asked Harvey
Barnes laid the circular on the cushioned
eat by his side before answering.
'That waa another remarkable thing."
he said. "When they went to find the
.master of the vessel early the next morn
ing the craft had disappeared dlaappea-ed
aa completely as If It had dropped to the
bottom of the sea. You can Imagine how
chagrined the officials felt. It was. per
haps, the boldness of the thing that made
It even a possibility. Of course the papers
were permitted to print little or nothing
about It; but the facts leaked out. as auch
facts will, despite the rigor of Madrid
censorship, and It was the talk nf the city
for many weeks."
"What became of the servant who was
left In the house?"
"He Is still In prison, and will prcb-ibly
remain there for a long while, although no
one not even the Spanish police bellve
him guilty of anything unlawful. They
believe he was merely the dupe of a de
signing man."
"Let Barnes read his description." Inter
rupted Harvey. "That may give us some
Ides of the man."
The chief reach-d for his elrcuHr and
It was gone. He bent over and looked on
the floor, but thero was no trace of It. All
were puzzled at the queer dla'.ppeurpnce of
the bit rf paper.
"That's certainly strange," exclaimed
Clancy.
"Yea." said Barnes, dryly, "stranger thin
the rtory Itself."
"See here." excliimed Harvey to the
customs rfficer. "wasn't there any sequel
to your story? It seemed so romantic."
"I can't say .there was any sequel," re
marked Barnes, with his eyes glued cn the
count, "but there is a little entsod- that is
collateral to.lt. and It mlirht be called the
story of the Woman in Red "
"Tell It." chorused the others.
"Well, about the time the dlstlnmilshed
foreigner was organizing hla r1-ses In
Italian and preparing for his consignment
of bock a very talented and, I mlcht add.
a very dangerous woman appeared In the
dl-affwted section of the country and In
stituted a propaganda of revolution among
the people. Now. I want vpu to know that
this Spanish government, which Is usually
severe, at times has lapses frorox this se
verity and becomes what shall I call IO
lax. That la to say. there are periods
when the government feels like permitting
socialists and anarcl lets to go to the end
of their rope before pouncing upon them
with the strong arm of the law."
"I've heard of such things." said the
count, nodding bis head knowingly.
"This seemed to be one of the occasions."
continued Barnes, watching Velusquei nar.
rowlv "The VnmL. t 1... ,, . .. n. ..
r u ;
.....
lleved that this was her reul name. She
affected an eccentricity In dress which at
tracted universal attention, wearing a
blood-red dress snd a straw hat, with a
red rose ou each side. Ia her arms she
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Invariable carried a bis-, overfed Maltese
cat."
The count blinked at this, as If the re-
t. i v. i -
cltal affected his eyesight.
In the beginning," said Barnes, "she
delivered lectures to her followers, in which
she did not hesitate to suggeat assasslna-
tlon as a remedy for Dolltlcal InenuallMcs.
indeed. l wn !.! that aha hi from
her very youth devoted herself to the cause
. - . . . . i. , .. , .. i. .
tunlty had prevented her from putting her
doctrlnes Into practical effect. Her theorlos
were so dangerous that many who" had
gone with her at first gradually withdrew
She never lacked money, and one of her
receptions was attended by the distin
guished foreigner who was so singularly
connected with the strange shipment of the
foreign books Indeed, all the odd people
of .(, iPn. nri,elnt m the offair
They deluded believers in socialism, poets.
novelists whose books were frowned upon
h the g0ve,nmpnt, men of genius who
... ....
never appeared to utilize their gifts, and,
finally, some rich and Influential Spaniards
who thought the kingdom was misgoverned
and who had the courage to proclaim th
wotrian and was as Ignorant of what she
actually looked like us I was of the per
sonal appearance of the curious man who
figured in the Italian book 'l lsode.
"One night, at a largely attended meet-
lng, she worked her hearers up to a per
feet frenzy. IS ho said there was always
work for pure hearty and willing hands,
and as an Illustration of this told In a
melodramatic mani.fr the story of the
Paris commune. Jfter that meeting the
woman In red was carried about the
crowded parts of the city amid the shouts
and the cheers of the multitude. Imagine
this person-tall, thin. wiry, with coal black
halr carefully parted In the middle; the
straw hat with its red rose on either side
and the big Maltese cat under her arm.
All that night she harangued the mob; but,
aa It proved, she bad gone a step too far.
The police learned of It, and before mld-
night a warrant for her arrest was out.
'Early next morning tour members of
the police force with loaded musketa pro-
ceeded to lier residence for the purpose cif
escorting her to the nearest magistrate,
who wis waiting to go through the for-
mallty of consigning her to jail. The door
was locked. They pounded on it. but re-
eelved no reply. They burst It open, and
found-an empty house.
"The bird had flown. But the pe?ullir
part of It. to my mind, was the fuct thai
her escape was coincident with the dlnap-
pearance of the distinguished looking for-
elgner. They were evidently working to-
gether for the accomplishment of a com-
nion purpose. The government must have
had the same thought, for the fugitives
were described In the same circular."
"No; pot In the same circular. It na
In separate circulars."
Eveiyone turned around at this remark.
which had come so unexpectedly from
Count Vale3quez-
"No." rejoined Barnes, delighted at this
Interruption. "1 recall it quite se'l. it
was In the same circular."
"Ail," 8a:d the count, with a flourish of
the hand, "the gentleman means well, but
he is mistaken. "
"What do you know about it. count?"
asked the chlet. with brutil abruptness;
"were you there.?"
For a moment it looked as If the count,
r!"""' y " e.con a,neu- w." 5" r
u. merwneimea witn contusion. But lie
quickly recovered himself.
"I-I-read about It In the French papers
at the time." he ae.ld. with that famoue
smile which always displayed those re-
markable loetiw
belief by their presence at thla odd func- Z ' . .V Z, "P" " ""hd down ar"' fo,lnd he r'p- And so on to the Insane end. While the
tlon. But the lion and the lioness of the ,th hia nnger tips on the sill of the cabin cittr , a bUIP. ,o ,et ;t fl, fr()m h). gm lrembng from ,h. r,.
occasion were the Italian book man and the wln'10. ,Jnce or "e hummed Bcorehd Angers onto the flpor btwen action, Barnes brought In the real box
woman with the red dress. Of course I na",'r'!' from ms ravonte r". Du himself and the count. The count, too. that had been taken from him on the boat
epeak from tiearsay-from what has been V""" "i.m.m. Jl ..ntMnef!,! -r?i. ,nk'd down wlth a ,1x,d Ur- f'luncy'a and carefully opened It for the benefit of
told me-for I never n.et this remarkable oe .a 11 '"alcrou" r"1. uniuneiui. i ins ,.rHt UuruUe van , ,,.(m ou h . ilce. . It was an infornal machine of
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Barnes and Clancv made some excuse
for leaving the room for a moment. Aa
they moved Harvey Innocently noticed
V. .1 i .. . i ..i. i
the missing circular sticking out of the
count's pocket. He reached over and
drew It toward hiin.
'Count! he exclaimed, "here's the clr-
cular we thought was lost."
The nobleman betrayed extreme aarlta-
Hon-
"Of course vnn'PA a frlnnH nf min nr,
'"' not?'
-.--.. - . . . .
"Well. then, destroy that circular."
"Why?"
"Because 'It will only implicate um
poor fellow."
l-flrfii nlv waa in. rtiivalori 11.1: rui ?. ma
As If hearing he had overdone his part,
" ehmged his tone.
...V . t .. . ...
narvey. ne exciatmeo. wi.n
(treat nffabllltv, "there Is the circular; of
u""- BS V5" "d' V" ar " to
"Toy li.
"Ver. yes." said the other. Irritably. "I
prcmlsed you. and my word is good; but
I want to take another look at It."
While Harvey was trying to read the
circular, printed In a language he scarcely
men were startled by the appearance of
a newcomer. Harvey made as If to con-
cea
ne held It down defiantly while he a-a
u at Ciancyfor t was the customs op
erative in (in Indolent manner.
Well?" nsked Harvey.
,.0n
gn.r,lv
nothing," replied Clancy. "I was
walking around the biat for want
0f something better to do.
,.0r)i j.ou wer., were you?" was
the
sneering comment.
-Yes." reerded the other, deie-mlncd
to k,e hB terrcr and schlng to get his
hands on the circular.
"Count Velasquez and I." sold Harvey.
w 1 1 li nn attempt st dignity, "were having
a rrlvate discussion."
"Ob!" exclaimed Clarcy. "I beg yrur
pr"dn. I won't lntruc. I'll leave ycu "
He turned on his bee to go aav, I ut
nlrrost In the s-ime Ins'an' resilvd that
I'e wou'd rot be dlsmlrd In thit wiy.
If h- could net g-t possession of th i-cu-
lar h would at least slve thes two men
a bid qinrter of an hour. Harvev had
ruised his hsnd-l'ie hand cmtalnlnt th"
H'cuit Clancy lu'nd rn him like - fl ih
"Hello!" be rxr'nlm-tl. "there's the o r-
culr Bnrnes lost In the cabin. I re
you've found ' It How lucky. If you'll
8lve 't t-i me I II see that he gets It."
He extended hls'arm In the direction of
the circular. Harvey drew bck nnl held
the precious hit of paper toward the floir.
"You're impertinent." he said hoirse'y.
whv den't ycu mind your own businras?"
"Mv eVa sir," sa'd Clancy, deterni'iied
not to ln-e ary advant-cge. "I don't lee
"ny occaton for anger. You have in voiir
P'sses lon a bit of property b-longlng to
mv friend B ernes. I presumed thH you
n,d found it. I didn't suppose It hid e.'.me
'n,o Vrur rossevs'on In any other wav. In
Bnv event I ask you to let me return It to
Barnes. You refuse?"
"Why! Why!" he spluttered "Bimp'y
because l 'cause I Intend to hund It to
him myself."
"Then." shouted Clancy, with triumph in
his voice, "you'll have the opportunity at
t nee. for B irnes Is coming here now.''
Harvey was aghast. He wondered, wildly
what ,ie couI), do or av ,,e )0jkel
ouestionlnrlv toward tha count V.l.
tn. hi. f.-e
wa. k. whi,- a. ..,.., ,h ,
H1, ey na(1 a dull- K,aTO. ai,F,a-ance.
The sweat stood out In little btadw ou his
forehead. He did not return Harvey s
glance. Hla llpa were dumb,
in the meantime Harvey, glued to ha
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seat fceM th on-rnt
clinched finger of hla l-iuht hand. Clincv
stood over him in a threatening attitude
, , . , . ...
like
avenging ungel, while Barnes
came along the corridor toward the cabin
wllh the rapidity of fate. Once again Har-
vey locked toward the count in helpless
pantomime. Why did the man not sneak?
Whv did he not ntier one mr,i nr in.
structlon? The seconds ticked by with the
waIitM . . 1. . . u MM.,... 1 1 .1
the count moved his bulky form. Harvey
l.r.n , a 1 'I-1 . ........ . . .. .. : . t . 1 ..
u . 1 u . 1 1 ..- j . I lltj l.'UMI. V.UB -11,111111,3 l) llll
relief. Velasquez put his hand In his
pocket and produced a cigarette. Harvey
could have screamed with angry disap-
polntment. But the count magnificently
ignored all of this, and, stooping down with
deliberation, struck n match on the sole
. . . ' . .. " . .. " ' . '
o, nis snoe ana men calmly lit his cigar
ette and leaned back on the cushion of
h" v" mile on hla face.
wnat ooes ne mean? ' groaned TT.irvey
to himself. But he looked admiringly at
the man fio could be so calm In such a
crisis.
suddenly 1,1s attention was distracted
from ,he ,.ount by , burm-,(f , n),
burned nnner hut j.tmu (, r. i.i. ,11.1
hM hlm iv.ck T .V """"""r
5 " "1 It? 0 thw.
" i,mze u s ir rascinaieci vertzed burnt clay. A aoncaie ciocawora
by the eye of some terrible snake. As arrangement was so adjusted as to set the
Barnes came up and looked over Clancy's thing off at a given signal,
shoulders the last scrap was burned and "He's the fellow." said the chief, point
nothing remained on the floor but a little lug to the culrrlt with his foot, "who threw
pile of chsrred paper. tlie bomb In the royal procession In Mad
Harvey breathed a deep sigh expressive rid."
at once of pain and relief. Clancy looked "i thousht this was a free country."
ini .. ,ruiiiuy rnigni relieve
his anger and disgust at the manner In
wn,cn "e nan nPen tricked, while Barnes
PnzeJ on a" cf thom wonderlnjlv. The
count alone was calm and oerfeclly at
eo e' 1 nc co'or , aa re,urr','d to his face
He moistened his pa!e lit s with his red
tongue. He was again the lmierturbali!o
Velasquez. He made a rapid movement
and produced his cigarette case.
"dentli men." he said with a smile, "do
me the honor of smoking one of my
c!surettes." r
An1 they each dumbly accepted one
without having the power to mumble a
woid of thanks to this person of infinite
t!""t and never falling courtesy.
Arier tne party tiau dispersed for ths
night Clancy turned to Barnes.
"For a bright n.an you take all kinds of
chances Why did you let him get his
hands on that circular?"
"I wanted to see what effect It would
have on Mm."
"Well, you've fojnd out all light."
Some Illustrated Proverbs
jj-C?
r s s5. kr
.bii.-Mcil Clancy, "and lost the circular In
the Kircatn."
Barnes luughed softly and with real en
joyment. The assistant turned on him like a flash,
"You ilon I men"-he began.
Uames nodded his head and laughed
attain-
Clancy was explosive.
"That that," he stuttered; "the circular
was a fake?"
Just so." grinned the chief.
Where did you get It?" I" subdued,
1 earnest tones.
"Oh, I picked it up before we started for
Fall Hlver. It was a Spanish proclamation
of iom sort. But the color of the paper
waa Just right, and It tilted In here as nice
and easy as an old shoe."
Clnncy didn't go to bed; he rested on a
cushioned bench In the main saloon. In a
corner that gave him a full view of the
door of the count's cabin. Barnes, In his
state room, with wide open eyes, clung
closer than a brother to the little black
music box, with Its gilt crown on the lid.
It was 7 o'clock In the morning when
the Fall River boat docked In New York.
The count and his wife were early rlsera
and were the first to go down the gang
plank, he clutching the black box, she em
bracing her Maltese cat.
"We've got to act quickly and decisively, '
whispered Barnea to Clancy, as they fol
lowed at the very luels of the couple.
At the foot of the wharf the count
.tooped down to adjust his shoe lace, and
a racket of letters dropped from his pocket
to the ground. Barnes picked them up In
ktantly. and, glancing hastily at the super
crlptlons, turned to the swarthy faced
tne:
"Mr. Jean I.eskus, I'll trouble you to
.:omc with me."
The man paled at the mention of tha
name of the notorious European enarchlit.
"Tills Is a Joke." he said, feebly.
"It's deudly earnest," retorted Barnea.
"That's not my name," protested tha
erstwhile count.
"Then you shouldn't have letters ad
dressed In that name," said the chief,
handing him the papers.
The look on the man's face was that of
a fox In a corner.
Clancy was on the other side of tskug
as they marched toward the nearest po
lice station. The countess, with the Mal
tese cat in her arms, followed, weeping.
As they nrared the doorway of the houae
of detention the prisoner suddenly Jerked
away from Ills captors, and. reaching lnt
his pocket, pulled out an ugly looking
knirc. Instantly Clancy put out his right
foot, and the murderous one tripped and
fell heavily on the sidewalk. It took but
a second to disarm him. and then for se
curity his wrlits were slipped between A
pair of Rhlning handcuffs.
A few words of explanation to the ser-
ant In charge of the police station and
the party was escorted Into a small room
at the end of a corridor.
"I'll make the final test here," whispered
Barnes to Clancy, a they passed Into tha
apartment. The prisoner was placed on a
wooden bench and his feet fastened to
gether. The ebony music box was laid care
fully on the floor a few yards away. Tha
was cleared of all but tne anarcmsi. .
Iron barred dcor closed Flth a
ana 1
OA"-
" W I '
What's the meaning of this?" ha
"-hrleked
Nothlna: only that you can go to sleep
with your ndored Infernal machine," re
plied the chief.
"What are you going to do?" walled tha
no",,n-
"I'm
"I'm going to give ycu some of your own
niediclne. or,n " ,T
Let m out! Let me out: won you
L-l III 11 ' 1 1 " '
let me out?" begged the malefactor.
"I'm going to make the punishment fit
the crime." was the calm retort.
"For God's sake don't; 111 be killed:"
-hrle''ed the wretch
His face worked convulsively; the onld
l..lz.rf Mm forehead. A whirring
"' i" ,h. i ,1. hlaelc box Th
wund came from the little black oog Tn
7BVen, ""l., ? rem lia ball Of
" ' , ,, ,.iiT,i
humanity prepared for the frlgntrui x-
P,0lon. Another buzzing sound came
frcm the box, and then It broke out with
th, fam,,,Br tra,n" '
Everybody works but father,
lie sit" rouna an aay
.. . T-1, t.Mn wumm.
i n'"1 appru, .
P"'k'd n.tro-glyeerlne and finely pul-
snivelled the prisoner.
"Not for such as you," retorted Barnea
hotly. "We haven't got much time for
monarchy In the I'uited Ststes. but we
have a great deal of consideration for hu-
manity-wherever It may happen to b.
vi, .rinrv of slate has siven a lot of
attention to your case. He has already
furnished the extradition papers, and you
nlj your W1fc aail Immediately for Spain;
whe re you will b turned over to the mln-
ister cf foreign affairs."
"V!,t made you play that awful trick
on the roor devil?" asked Clancy as they
started home.
1 "That's an Invention of my own for the
punishment of bomb throwers." smiled
Barnes. "If It was adopted by all nations
we'd soon stamp out anarchists."
Barnes Is a modest man, but occasionally
lie shows his Intimate friends the insignia
0f the Order of the Hoyal Fleece, which,
as the Inscription states, was bestowed upon
lil rrs for ' "distinguished services to tha
crown of Spain."
T-
t t
