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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 23, 1914)
Tirr: omaha sitxdav m:v.: .rc,nsT 23, inn. TREY Q LOUIS JOSEPH VANCE FOURTH INSTALLMENT. The refo-o'rjru eetrrervcncirg to the mstanmmtn of "The Trey O' Hearts" may ncrv be teen at the Ittdlr.g rnrring picture theaters. By this unique arrangement tvrth the Universal Film Mfg. Co. it ts therefore not only Fcsntle to rend "The Trey 0' He arts" m this paper, tut a.'so to see each installment of it at the moving picture theaters. (Copyright, 1J14. by fouls Jngeph Vsnrn.) TVnrrifl -Tha .1 of itntrtf i tha "ilxlh-iliil" n.-il . i -l- In trrtmt war of ,fnin;i lyhlrh. thtnuitli h'a Sauclnar Jortlih. momait of vloln( an. a. rrlmlnal tamp.r nl t,u.a lonabl Mnl'y. b waara iiImi Alan l.a-r, whiH fathar nrw ria1 Trtna liaid rraponalbin lor lha rrdfnl avhlrh mil. hlrn a halplaaa citjipla. Itnao, Judith (win and alo-jhia. laarnlnc af hr alatara ram api efnfnat Alaa, iavaa h homa t aid tha nan alio Un4r Sramatlc elreumatanca Alan ava Jntllth'a :l'a anrt m wine hr lira: but failure to ahaka hla run a'anoy .0 Knaa aatllaa Judith In VW hrmlriaai purpnaa: aha -oM-'a to b-.irn a-hooner In whlih Alan la making a eoaatwiaa nrulaa tn Xaw York, maroont.it him tnaethT "lih Daia-va, onar at lha arhoenr, on an ialand aouth af Cara C?a DEAD RECKONING. Naus?t Beach, In the shank of a midsummer ?ht, two men sprawled on the sands, some dis tance back from the water, and listened to the hsvj thumping of their overtaxed hearts, and panted Now and agota one would lift b!a head and "tar oiit over the black face of the waters at a little line of reddish flames about a mile oft shore, all that remained to witness to the fact that, an hour Ince, these two had been In command of ai trim a email acbooner aa ever ventured the cosstwlse trip from Portland to New Tork. As far out again, shone the starboard light of a beeslmed acbooner whose people had been directly responsible for the disaster which had overtaken the smaller vessel. In the course of time, beginning to breathe with more ease, one of the two marooned gentlemen said: "Yell me. Barcus, what's the nearest symptom of civilization?" "Chatham Tillage." said Mr. Barcus. "six mllee to the no'th'arda. and cut off by an Inlet a mile or ao wide at that." Mr. Law groaned soulfully. "Then there's the lighthouse on Monomoy Point." Mr. Barcus pursued, "three miles to the south." A silence commented eloquently on this asser tlon, broken only when Mr. Law voiced a thought bred of long and malignant observation of the schooner's green eye: "I'd give a deal to know who'e aboard that vea ael." "You don't mean you think your regular young woman ?" "It'a possible.. Judith kidnaped Hose In Port land. That'a not ao far from Gloucester; a motor car could have caught that schooner before she sailed to waylay us. this morning. And what better way to take care of an able-bodied, full-tempered girl you've kidnaped, than to ship her somewhere by sea. In the care of trustworthy hellions?" "Don't aak me: I've done very little kidnaping for one of my years." "For tuppence." said Mr. Law, "I'd risk a awlm elf to that boat and see for myself." Tor two million dollars I would not!" Barcua affirmed with great decision. . A moment or so 'later the line of little flames went out altogether and unexpectedly; and the owner of the late Seaventure fancied he could hear, even at that distsnce, the hiss of charred and smoldering timbers sucked under and drowned out. "Exit." he announced plaintively, "exit Seaven ture. with heroic gesture. R. I. P. a good little ship!". "Oh, let up. can't you!" Mr. Law exclaimed peev ishly. "I'm aorrler than you are and after all, It'a my loss: I've' got to buy you another boat. All you've lost la your temper." "And my susceptibility to the rharme of the well known sex." Mr. Barcue corrjeted. "Nothing can ever restore my lost faith In gentle woman's gen tleness. When you brought that young woman aboard I thought butter wouldn't melt In her mouth, and for a while I actually contemplated doing her the kindness of tipping you over Into the drink, so'a she could lavish her tender affections on a reg ular guy. someone able to appreciate her meaning me. of course. And first thing I know, she ups and polnte a gun at my head and tips me over board, and then makes a pretty bonfire out of my sailboat. And all the excuse you can produce la that she'a crary In the head! Well, who said she wasn't? Any woman who would consent to elope with you Is a fit subject for a commission de lunaUco lnqulrendo, all right." For a moment the two maintained attentive al ienee. A silken whisper troubled the silence, a little flutter of sound from far across the waters. Grad ually It gathered volume, became recognisable aa the lisp of cautious oars. "I'm going away from here." Mr. Barcus an nounced guardedly, and gathered his legs under him preparatory to rising. "Half a aecond." Alan Law Insisted, rising In turn and grasping the other by his arm. "They've got to land haven't they? and leave the boat while they look for us. Well, then, what's to pre vent our hiding In the dunes and ?" In the next breath, "Look out!" he shrieked. With no warning whatever, and within fifty feet of them, a ghastly flare broke out In full blare on the surface of the water, revealing the shape of a dory which had drawn In unseen under cover of the profound darkness, and at the same time dis covering to its occupants the two startled figurea on the beach. Before they could atir the weird light gtlmmered on a polished weapon In the bow of the boat, a spiteful tongue of reddish flame spat out. a bullet sang between Messrs. Law and Barcus. and with a aad thud of. disappointment burled Itself In the sands of wave-eaten bluff behind them. Like twin automatons stirred to action by the report, the two turned and pelted off down the beach, to escape that deadly area of Illumination. Other shots aped after them, but none was so well aimed; and presently, finding a break In the bluff, they swung off Into the grateful shelter of the night-wrapped dune. Meantime the dory had grounded on the beach, and Its several ooeupante four or five of them, alt men, apparently jumping out, set off In purault of the fugitives, following the tracks la the ssnd. The blackneae of the night, however, conspired with the savage labyrinth of the dunes to save lan and his companion. Within another five minutes while still the pur suit floundered and blasphemed at random a round quarter-mile to the south Mr. Uw and Mr. Bar cus were noiselessly squirming on their bellies, like two great snakes in the brachgrass, up tbe back of a ten-foot bluff. And presently from Its brow they lnokeil down on the spot where the dory lay, only Its bow out of water, its stern afloat, under armed guard. Very slowly and stealthily Alan got to his feet and swim back over his shoulder a heavy club of driftwood. A match spluttered hstde the dory, and fUji'd In the still air. relieving with Its reddish glow a bronzed and evil visage. The guard puffed fast end had the tobscco well sglow when the sky took advantage of his trust fulness and fell upon him like an avalanche. Simultaneously, Alan and Barcus descended the faro of the bluff !n two miniature landslides, dug themselves out and by the time the dazed and dis armed guard had sufficiently recovered to cry out for help, the dory was a hundred yards off the beach end making excellent time in the direction of that lonely green light. The commonest precaution, however, made them pause and rest upon their oars while yet a little) way from their goal. Only an ominous silence rewsrded the utmost efforts of their straining senses: no sound was audible other than the gentle whine of an un- .hi hi. . i m an . -ewv'''.'":sTV'i ain a ii 1 i I i ,.vS?,- ' It. .- - .. ,.4. : x. - av . . vpM,. f ,r , a ' y (.'' ; , : v ' .'.:; ... V . . aaTaTaTa W-' aSv mm-JBi& . -z4 "3 "V . Va greased block; nothing was visible beyond th sinister glare of that almost stationary green lan tern. "What think?" Barcus inquired In a dubious un dertone. "No telling." Alan replied in the same manner. "All a chance." "You've got that gun handy?" -with reference) to the rifle of which they had despoiled the vic tim of the sky'a 111-falth. "Here." "Then let's go to It! Give way!" "A doxen lusty strokes brought them alongside the schooner, and as the dory scraped the waist of the larger vessel, the two young men dropped oare. rose, and seising the low gunwales, lifted them selves to the deck. Nothing opposed them: the deck was Ignorant of other footsteps than their own. the schooner aa silent as only a becalmed ship can be. Without further consultation. Alan led quickly aft and down the companlonway to the cabin, where a dim light burned a smoky lamp swing ing In gimbals above a cluttered table. . tr the two stateroom doors, one disclosed empty cabin, the other was locked. an Trying the handle roughly, Alan fancied ha heard a sound within. Tauslng, he called, with a thrill or fearful hope: "Hello in there!" The response was a cry of Incredulous delight: "Alan!" By way of answer Alan hurled himself bodily against the door. At the second Impact of shoul ders backed by a hundred and eighty pounds of solid flesh and determination, the lock splintered away from Us socket, the door flew open with a bang and Alan Into the room with a cry: ' "Rose I" His sweetheart met him half-way. her arms up lifted, her countenance transfigured. And Mr. Barcus turned and slowly ascended the eorapanloBway. his nose wrinkled with misgivings. Some ten minutes later a hail from the deck broke the embrace of the lovers: "Below there! 1 Bay Law! wind a-comlng!" "Rlght-o! Half a minute!" But that stipulated delay was several times mul tiplied before Alan showed up on deck, to find Barcus bending a laborious back to the capstan. "Lend a hand, can't you?" Barcus complained, blowing heavily. "I didn't Interrupt your amours Just to get an audience. The sooner we get tela anchor In " Alan cheeked him with a hand on his arm. "What's that?" he demanded In a ton tense with apprehension. The muffled ramming of a heavy duty marine motor drifted down on the wings of tho sluggish wind. "Don't ask me: I'm afraid to gueesl" "But they couldn't possibly 1" "Blnee when did you set up to be a Judge ef pes alblllUes? Nothing probable aver happened to ' V V: TjkV-S. rw" ' you In all your young life 's fars I can make out. As for me I know there are at least two life-sav-Ing stations on Naunet, both with raodrn equip mentmotor Ufeboata and all; and nothing will ever persuade me that pack of wolves would stick at breaking lu and confiscating one of the same. It's as likely as not only more eo. Our present business Is to get the hell out of here and not advertise our exit, either. Take that port light In and dowse it. while I do the same by the star board. Then duck below, warn your Dulclnea. anrl put out the cabin lamp. That way If this black ness and our bull-luck only holds ue may manage an evasion!" There followed an exceedingly busy quarter of an hour for two constrained in pitch darkness to grcpe their way about the decks and familiarise themselves with tho idiosyncrasies of a Strang two-master. Nevertheless, the end of that peiici found the schooner with canvas full and sheets taut, a good easterly breeze abeam, swiftly weav ing a wake southwards the ll?ht on Monomoy Point watching her curiously from over the star board beam. "Hear anything more of that power boat?" Alan asked. Joining Barcu3 by the wheel. "Nothing wind too fresh. Make yourself easy on the soft side of a plank here. I'll land you a kick In the slats when so minded or when It'a your trick at the wheel." 1 l - at,w:. f- is Two Men Lay TUth a chuckle. Alan obediently stretched him aelf out on the deck. "I say Uw!" "Well?" "You seem pretty easy In your mind about this young woman below. To me, she's the same that tried to send me to Davy Jones' locker. How does she explain her presence aboard?" "Much as 1 surmised." Alan replied. "I fancy they chloroformed her whilo she slept in that hotel lu Portland. Whether or no, Rose woke up In a closed motor-car bound and gagged, of course and wae brought aboard at Gloucester about midnight." "Simple when you know how." Barcus comment ed. "Of course. I always did say that truth was a stranger to Action. Cuddle down, now, and I'll talk you Insensible." Ills accents already merging In with the swish of tho longside waves, the bubbling of the wake, and the many-toned composite voice of the ship in being, unconsciousness like a cloud descended upon Alan's overwearied faculties. He woke mutinously, with a yawn and a shiver. In the gray of a tarnished daybreak, to find that fog pressed heavily upon the face of the waters, a mist so thick that from the stern th waist of the vessel was almost Invisible.-the bows complete ly so. . Barcus stood over him, at the wheel, fairly reel lag with weariness, his eyes blood-shot, swollen, and half-closed In a face like a mask of fatigue. "Can't keep up much longer." he apologlred thickly; "stood It about as long as I can. Take jour trick and give me forty winks." Grateful solicitude brought Alan Instantly to his side, though he himself wsi sluggish and stiff and sore In all his limbs. "You're a brick!" he protested. "Why didn't you call me sooner? "No good: I knew the war vn iiMn'i That Is, I did until this accursed fog closed down couple of hours ago. Now Ood knows where w ar by my reckoning somewhere in Nantucket Sound west of Monomoy," Orasplng a small brass handle affiled to tho wheel box, bo Jerked It sharply three times; and the automatic horn blared raucously a threefold response up forward. "Keep that going." he begged, "threa blasts In a row and a minute Interval and It the devil takes a enre of his own we may possibly escape being run down." With a tlgh. relinquishing the wheel, he col lapsed upon the deck, and was almost Instantly alpep. The wind had fallen until barely enough air stirred to keep way on the vessel; she moved in silence, a spectral ship upon a spectral sea of long, oily swells and the complexion of lead. Hith er and yon In the obscurity, fogslgnals of other shipping sounded a concert of discordance the man pow er horn of a cat-boat crying the warning back tc the deep-throated whistle of a coastwise steamship and the Impertinent drumming of a motor-boat's exhaust with the muffler cut out. This last boxed the compass, sounding now near, now far; though the complaints of other shipping diminished In volume and died away In the distance, giving place to others still, the plut-ter-plutter of that motor was never altogether lost; If, at times it faded, It seemed certain al ways to return In even louder volume. Vainly straining his vision against the blank pallor of the encompassing fog, Alan wondered, worried, dreaded! At Irregular Intervals, starting from preoccupa tlon. ho would manipulate the brass pull on the wheel-box. provoking the horn's stuttering blasts of protest. But the need for unremitting vigilance and exercise of the fog-slgnal, failed none the less r . -e, , a A t r m. . Sprawled on the Sand. to reconcile Alan to that blatant clamor which so widely and so hideously advertised their where abouts. If there were anything still to be feared from Judith and her crew If, for instance, as Barcus had suggeBted. they had sought out one of the llfe- aing Biauons on auset Beach, appropriated Its yower-anvea lire-boat and renewed the pursuit, if c,cr lnev aeard that horn there would beyond wumiiun 00 ins aevu to pay! The loneliness of his vigil was eventually re lieved by the appearance on deck of tho woman Alan loved. Tho tableau that greeted her vision as she emerged from tho companlonway, of the haggard unshaven wretch at tho wheel and the other who' lay at his feet, where he had fallen, in stopor of fatigue. Instantly wrung from Rose a little cry of solicitude. And she was quick to do what little ehe could to alleviate their discomfort For Bar cus she fetched a pillow and blanket from the cabin; and this one suffored her mlnistrationa without once rousing from his slumbers. Then hastening forward, she got the galley Are going and prepared a makeshift breakfast for her balf famlshcd lover. Warm food and hot coffee such as they were lending a little tone to Alan's spirits, he waa pres ently able to discuss their situation with some optimism. Yet nothing, could gloss the fact that the problem confronting them was one whose so lution baffled their utmost Ingenuity one the simple contemplation of which taxed their courage and Intelligence to the extreme. He summed up: "I can't see anything for It but father and Judith are determined to have my scalp, and I'm hanged If I can see how to protect myself without taking a leaf out of their books. What I'm most afraid of Is that some time I may forget It's a woman I'm defending myself against. When a fallow's fighting for his very life he ean't always stop to calculate the weight of his blows." The young man sighed, shook his head, laoghed uncertainly, and held her closer to hlra: "Don't fear: 111 find some way out without Injuring either of them. I promise you that!" He sealed the pledge upon her Hps. And In that moment of their oblivion to the world, from some point forward a muffled erash sounded simultaneously with the dull shook of a collision with a smaller v easel; and a strange voice cried out with an accent of high exultation. Before either Alan or the girl could disengage, the decks rang loud with a rush of booted feet pounding aft. The figurea of the boarding party were already taking shape through the fog as Alan spranf toward the companlonway to fetch the rifle. And in this action, his feet slipped on planks greasy with moisture deposited by the surcharged atmos phere. He went down with a stunning thump, and an Instant later two men fell bodily upon him active, strong fellows In the dress of fishermen. He was suffered to rise only as a prisoner, helpless In the grasp of two pair of powerful hands. He saw Barcus. rudely roused and still dumb with sleepy confusion. In no better case Jerked to his feet and held captive by two more fisher men. A fifth had taken charge of Rose, clamping her wrists In the vise of one big hand. The sixth and sole other member of the board ing party, likewise In the rough-and-ready garb of a fisherman, was Judith Trine. Down the side a heavy life-boat grousd its way astern, the loose end or Its painter slipping over the rail even as Alan caught sight of it. (So it seemed Barcus had guessed shrewdly!) Observing this, one of the men In charge of Alan made as if to leave him to the other, ad dressing Judith for permission to prevent the lose of the hfe-boat. 8he stopped him with a peremp tory gesture. Hold that man fa8t tI j fetch a rope We1, ure of them both, this time!" Straining forward in the grasp of her guard Rose implored her sister: "Judith. In pity's name. t.ilnk what you are doing!" "Hold your tongue!" Judith snapped viciously. Another whimper out of you, and I'll have you hvT1hbaiaMM,?f her threatt thouh accompanied by the exhibition of an automatic pistol, was ?nn)?nn.0Ut b'I tbe gudden rap of steamship to .. ; "? I ,board ,hat ft 8eemed toemanate from the forepart of the schooner her- nArUoW"J,n?'ered bv 8hrl)I Md no He. S ", blm8e;!; hta captors leaping for their lives to the taffrall. Hecaught an Instantaneous glimpse of the knife, like bow of a great steamer towering above the two-master-sweeping toward It at a speed which raised a smart Jet of white under the cutwater. Someone aboard the schooner, with the voice of a stentor, bellowed a terrified appeal: "Stop your engines! Shut off your propeller! otop your" Then. like the wrath of God, the steamship over whelmed the lesser ship: its bow seemed to slice through the echooner as a knife through cheese. And the two halves were fairly driven under water by the frightful force of the blow. Thundera deafening him. Alan was hurled bodily through the air fully twenty feet When he came up he struck out at random, blindly tormented by the vision of Rose caught in the suck of that gigantic wheel, drawn under, crushed and mangled by the propeller of the vast black hulk whoee flank was sliding past. like the face of a cliff, ten yards behind his shoulders. Aware of several dark objects dotting the ear. face within a radius of several yards, he swam for the nearest: the head was a woman's, the face turned toward him the face of Rose He gasped wildly: "Keep cool! Don't struggle! Put one hand on my shoulder and " What happened then was never quite clear to h m: he only knew that he waa forced to fight for his very life-that the woman, as soon as he came within reach, flung herself upon him like some maddened animal, clutching his throat, wind ing her limbs round his, dragging him down and down. Primitive Instinct alone saved him. He remem- bered later, most vaguely, the culmination of that duel beneath the waters remembered freeing an arm, drawing It back, delivering a blow from his shoulder, with all his strength, finding hlmeelf free, struggling back to the air. Then a boathook caught the back of his shirt and dragged him for some distance, until two strong hands caught him beneath the armpits and held his head above the water. He looked up wltlessly into the face of Barcus. and still bewildered, struggled feebly. The other's voice brought him back to his senses: "Easy, old top! Take It easy! You're all right now rest a minute, then help me get you aboard." He obeyed, controlling his panic as best he might; and presently, with considerable assistance ' from Barcus. contrived to scramble In over the gunwales of a boat which proved to be the stolen life-boat. Aside from Barcus and himself It held one other person only the woman he loved, crumpled no and unconaclous In the bow. He strove to rise and go to her. to make sure that still she lived. Barcus restrains and quieted him. lTlrer...ES5r' 1 8ay! She'B aI1 rlght-falnted that, all! She and I took the water in prac tically the same spot, and luck threw this blessed boat my way within half a dozen strokes. No trouble at all In a manner of speaking'" "But the steamer" "Why fret about her? At" the pace she waa making she couldn't have stopped within half a mile. -We'll be all right now with power to fetch us to land." "But the others Judith!" Alan sat up and leaned over the gunwalae, eearchlng an oily leaden expanse spotted only with a few splinters' and bits of wreckage. "I left her out there un ccnsclous she'll drown, I tell you!" "And I'll ten you something!" said Mr. Barcus severely. 'Toull He quiet and shut up or 1 11 dent your dome with the shaft of an oar. Let her drown-and a good Job. I say! Don't you know the meaning of 'enough'? Merciful heavens man. evel" tn"tUb,a lutt0 Punishment ,!,tanJn- His face waa aa IghUess as the waters that swam beneath his ack-luster gaae. There was a horror In his heart that numbed even the sense of relief, of delrver ance. that penetrated his being like a shock of mortal pain. Dsadl Judith e-esdl Back there. In the fee n) the cold . . . dead by Ma hand I (TobeconUausaJ.
