Fame And Fortune Weekly (no. 774) (1920 07 30)

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pete JULY 30, 1920. ING A LONE HAND: a “PE HE NG G A Lone OT THE OLD iis orate by A SELF MADE MAN lf Ad y el An hatin ‘a al Ve — == — “Go for him, Tige! Sic him, Major!” cried the man with the stick. The dogs dashed forward, and Tige made a spring at Joe. The boy swung his spade in the air and brought it down on the animal's head

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HAROLD 6G. LORANG ta ter, New York fe A M ac Rag ines and Novels N E E E K L V. Bought, Sold and Exchanged. WV hy t eae ee ad Ete ‘Write for Liste pan ae as th 2 Publisher, a08 Pr th. - 2 Sen ae evew xurK, IN. Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879. Xi Wi, 2 he- - Nom ___ NEW YORK, JULY 30 1920. Price 7 Cents’ = + LN PLAYING A LONE HAND eee : Bh =a > yy Or, THE BOY WHO GOT THE GOLD as = ; § BY A SELF-MADE MAN ; CHAPTER Ia nautical flavor, from being = * constantly thrown in with sailors and others con- -- meeted with the sea. _ “Oh, you. don’t?” EE his father, hes did not seem to be in sympathy with his.son at that - moment. “No, I don’t,” said Sam flatly. “It’s my opin- “A blind!—for what?” Ps kmows but he’s a revenue officer in dis- n “Stuff and nonsense! He ain’t nothin’ but a AS _ peddler. Ain’t he/ got a wagon full of notions at __ the inn, and doe he go ‘round among the wom- _ en folks sellin’ em’ every day?” oneWhy wouldn’t he if~he’s pretendin’ to be a ? I’ve watched him, and I’ve noticed “No, it ain’t no nonsense, I say he ain’t to be . ee and you’re a fool to be so familiar with “Confound you——” ~ “Here comes that peddler now. Why don’t you ask him: why he’s stayin’ so lo —— takin diggin’s? Ask him if he’s t With those words Sam backed off into the aes made his way to the rear, and resumed his in- terrupted task of Ps age old. bits of rope = pieces to make o The peddler came up! 43 with a large, narrow row box covered with water- a proof cloth in each “Hello,” he said to an | marine store dealer. as Sie =e ait ae e put down his n os face with red bandanna h — < Me Pac ST Gam: friend Marks,” pat Sane Smith. “Come inside rest yourself, I ~ some prime en. ina sigan oy ae You've tasted if anager a you ever Sg ander yo your west Se ES

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2 PLAYING A “Jt does. Tastes as if there was a dash of brandy jin it.” Peter Marks picked up his boxes and followed him. CHAPTER II.—Jacob Smith and the Peddler. As they disappeared, the head and shoulders of a boy popped up out of the chain cable like a jack-in-the-box. He was a seedy-looking lad, with a shabby cap on his’ curly loeks. His face wasn’t over clean, like his hands, but it was- ’ bright and intelligent. His name was Joe Sar- gent, an orphan and w T; and, we may as well say, he is the hero of this story. He look- ed around to see if his eee appearance out of such a peculiar hiding- had been ob- ‘served. by anybody in the immediate vicinity. Apparently it had not been, theugh several men of seafaring appearance were ng around near the wharf at the foot of the street, and two boys were playing mumblety-peg on the opposite side of the thoroughfare. Taking advantage of the change, Joe Sargent sprang out of the chain coil, and, going up to the nearest window, flattened his nose against one of the panes. Within a few feet of the win- dow he saw Jacob Smith and the peddler, seated on common weoden chairs, drinking and talking. he. 3 on stone jug stood on the cheap desk in front of them. It contained the applejack the marine store dealer had referred *% It was a refreshing drink at most any time, but particu- ~ jarly so on a hot summer day the one on “which our story opens. e ow was par- _ tially down from the top, and also up a couple of inches from the bottom. The voices of the two men, whose’ backs were turned toe him, easily reached. Joe’s ears. at “The flavor of good brandy js unmistakable,” *. said the peddler, as he took the glass from his barrels of y ; ; a) ed miles from here by the chaps who ee. to carry on the trade.” Sis ti a Behe in a tone tae t. “You're lucky. suppose you sampled one ts oe and I am tasting it now in this ap- _ plejack 7. . a - “More remarkable things than that have hap- pened in this world,” said Smith, with a solemn could but it’s ag'in the jaw, you Joe came to be in Seaport on that warm sum-— LONE HAND’ “Ho, as I rémarked before, what’s the law to do with you and me?” “There’s’ only six kegs,” ventured Smith, at length, watching the peddler’s face out of the- corner of his eye. “Six kegs are something,” replied Marks. “And I ain’t got no idea what they’re worth— I mean what I ought to charge you for ’em if we made a trade. I never had nothin’ to do with the liquor trade, seein’ as I’m a ship chandler.” “] think if I’d been im your shoes I’d have brought them to your shop and stowed them away out of sight. You don’t know but somebody else might find them, and then you’d be out your dis- covery.” “T never thought of that,” said Smith, appar- ently not worried over the suggestion. -“Of course you didn’t, or you wouldn’t have left them there. Suppose you found a chest of gold dollars on the shore somewhere, would you leave it there any longer than you could get it away?” “I would not,” replied the ship chandler, em- phatically. “But that’s different. There ain’t no law ap’in takin’ possession of money if you find it. And that reminds me that there is a chest of ‘money buried somewhere along the shore between here and the coastguard station.” “How do you know there is?” “I heard about it when I. was a boy. My dad Ei the stery from his old man, who heard it rom somebody else.” “How came it to be there?” “Durin’ the War of 1812, a British warship went ashore on the coast and became a total loss, Every soul aboard was lost. The wreck lay there for a long time till] the winter storms broke it up, and nothin’ remained but the hull, which sunk out of sight in the sand. Years afterward the news leaked out that the vessel was carryin’ a chest of gold sovereigns to pay off the soldiers in Jamaica and the other islands where the Brit- — ish had their redcoats, and then folks ‘round here got treasure-struck and started diggin’ for the- money, but it. never mounted to nothin’, and they finally gave it up, and it’s laid there ever “And you believe it’s there yet?” . “Yes, but I ain’t got no more idea of the spot Well Ts ” said oiiene = ell, I must be goin’,” said Marks, up. “I'll drop in and see you this evening, may- be. If not, some time to-morrow. I’m about ready to go on to Rockville, and I should like to e those six kegs of cognac away with me. — I'll give you as much for them as I can afford, ~ but Fg must understand that I’m not in the peddling business for my health, as you seemed to think a while ago.” . : 3 The peddler gapped Smith familiarly on the ~ or his hospitality, and, ee: ae e “ = CHAPTER [1L—Something About the Hero, The reader would, pérhaps ike to know how Zs 7 es

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sequel w will show. the co his bright countenance we engaging ways nee grip there, started out to-hunt up a 4 Mie was not particular as to what it was so ; sie sacune as enou; b meas Se © pe y hs ng more d, sae be ane chal Wout oo t, and e d+ to . he and the $2 bill parted company in some mys- Sy terious way during his morning’s search fot - work, and when he reached the village water- - front, and took refuge from the sun inside the oil of heavy chain in front of Jacob Smith’s ___ ship chandlery shop, he ‘had only sixty cents left ea between him and v cy. He had only inten to rest a short time in- = side his iron bower to ease his tired limbs after "eS his long tramp from Rockville, but the sultry - atmosphere, acting on his weariness,*sent him into a doze from which he was aroused by the conversation between Sam Smith and his father. The topic under discussion aroused his interest, for from what he gathe from it the ship chandler and his precious heir uppestee to be _ engaged in the surreptitious business of liquor smuggling, and Joe had seen a poster in Rock- ville ge F reward by the imspector of the - district fo: ormation leading to the detection and conviction of any on or Fg ramet implicat- ed in receiving and disposing of French brandy, -or other papers liquor, on which the duty had Joe nee strict notions as to what There was no doubt in his rightful dues. + While Joe sat in the be faeces over in his m vD a he had lately learned on the outitide of the Smith : *t one wonder if that ae = a Government agent disguise, as p chan ‘3 Son i what he represents himself eves he be?” tae soe. “tf he is the former [I information that would give him some a him, for by their own admission ee interested in the smuggling of Eee into = State. In order to con- about Sam Smith. LONE HAND | 2 that reduced his total capital to thirty-five cents. Clearly it was necessary for him to raise funds somehow or he was likely to go hungry. Under the circumstances he did not Feel that he would: afford the time to.look for the buried liquor, for the chances were against his finding it. When he stepped out of the restaurant he looked toward the ship chandlery enon. Neither Jacob Sn.ith nor his son was in While he stood irreso- © lutely at the door the eating-house, the -e ture of a lad who seemed to have nothing to do, a wagon came leisurely down the street. It was em and was driven b oF oy low of about own in ov the wagon saw him him and hailed him. ora” seblied Toor starting eseety Seemed ure,” age Orw: “Jump in, then,” en starting reining in the horse. Joe sprang up on the seat and the wagon con- tinued on its way to the water front. CHAPTER IV.—Joe Meets Tom Baker. “What do you want me to do?” asked Joe. “Help me fill ae the wagon with a load of sand,” was the rep: “Aly right, Pm villing to do anything to earn a little money.” “Glad to hear it, for I ain’t stuck on shoveling sand myself. What’s your name?” *Joe gent.” “My name is Tom Baker and I’m glad to make your acquaintance,” “Baker,” said Joe. week of a Mrs. Baker.” “Is that so?” said bn nd - atone of aes “That must be m eae a ee es Bakers in the vi e It was a smal] tna on Jessamine street?” ae of the street. I didn’t “I don’t know the pay any attention to but I ain’t afraid but I a dove-cote in can find the cottage for ‘it ha the back yard.” ; cphat's. ¢ our place. My mother had a back room to rent.” “I saw the sign out and applied for lodgings.” ; 7% kind of thought you was a stranger in these pa “Where are you going for the. sand?” “Out to the Point.” Joe’s heart gave a jump. Here might hidden barrels of liquor. we “Say, Baker, what do you know about that man Smith who keeps the ship, chandlery shop we passed a few minutes “What do 1 know’ about tim? He’s one of the oldest inhabitants.” ; a ebante-ta dig around 100 eae a:

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4 PLAYING A believe he’s got many friends jn the village. ise of that stamp don’t have.” “Say, I heard that an English warship was wrecked around here somewhere during the War of 1812,” said Joe. “That’s = ag She went ashore near the Point and everybody was lost.” “They say she carried a box of money intended to pay off the soldiers in the West Indies.” So I’ve heard. My father told me that when he was a boy he heard that, years before, a lot of people went treasure hunting at the Point to find that money.” “Did anyone find it?” “There is no record that anyone did.” “Then the box of treasure must still be buried in the sand.” “J suppose so, if it was on the warship at the time she went ashore.” By this time they were approaching the Point along the hard, white beach. The tide was high and covered a good part of the shore. High tide did not occur at the same time every day, but varied about an hour later each day, so that about every six days the tides were reversed. fom halted the wagon within a hundred yards of the Point, turned it around and then tossed out a couple of shovels. “Now then, Sargent, get busy, and show me how fast you can work,” he said. Joe looked around and wondered whereabouts the kegs of liquor were buried, but he couldn’t see anything that offered a clue to their presence. “T guess they must be nearer the Point, or aa perhaps behind that line of scrub-bushes,” he .. thought. S. Then he began to shovel the sand into the ‘wagon from one side while Tom worked away os on the other. In due time they got the wagon loaded as full as Tom judged necessary and stuck their shovels into the heap. Joe was about to get up on the seat when suddenly came the scream of a young girl from some point beyond _ the line of bushes. - ; _ CHAPTER V.—Joe Saves Damsel in Distress. _ “Hello, some girl is in trouble,” exclaimed Joe, dashing toward the bushes, as the screams were repeated somewhat nearer. as followed after him. When Joe pushed ; the bushes he saw a pretty-looking, fair- Be ee cece rodgriait- oa Bam Smith.” whom he y i as Sam : ares what’s the matter?” asked Joe, as he “Save me—save me!” cried the girl. - Sam was taken aback by the coming of Joe and he let go of the girl, who at once ran up to the _ meweomer. : ; _ “What’s the excitement?” asked Tom, coming ie ave me from that boy,” exclaimed the girl, Joe by the arm. ; t was he doing to you?” asked Joe. kiss me.” y want him to?” LONE HAND Sam stood ata little distance glowering at the newcomers. He was mad at their coming on the scene, because he lost a chance he hada been coveting for some time. Ever since he had known Suzette Castle at school he had been soft on her, and though she had repulsed his attentions whenever they came together, he persisted in following her up when the chance offered. She had come out that afternoon to the Point to cull some flowers that grew in profusion along the edge of a marshy spot behind the line of serub-bushes. Sam Smith had gone out to the Point after his talk with his father and had seen the two boys loading the wagon with sand. Before the wagon was half loaded he spied out Suzette Castle pick- ing flowers. The sight of the girl drove other matters out of his mind, and he approached her cautiously so as to catch her unawares. Her pretty sun-burned face never had attracted him quite so much as now, and he made up his mind 2 kiss her, now that he felt she couldn’t escape im, Suzette, however, caught sight of him in time to beat a hurried retreat, but he was too quick for j her to wholly avoid contact with him, and when ; he grabbed her and demanded a kiss, meaning to take half a dozen while he was about it, she tried to fight him off, and finding she could not do that she began to scream, with the result we have already described. = “You ought to know better than annoy a young lady who doesn’t want anything to do with you,” said Joe, looking at young Smith. “Rats!” returned Sam, savagely. “You'd better clear out if you don’t want to get a trimming,” replied Joe. “Who'll give it to me?” sneered Sam. “T might do it if you get too gay.” “You! Who are you, anyway? You don’t be- long in this place.” . “How do you know I don’t?” * “Aw, shut up.” ; _ Sam turned on his heel and walked toward a 1S shanty a short distance off. ‘ “I’m very much obliged to you for coming te * my aid,” said the girl, regarding Joe, in spite P of his shabby appearance, with a favorable eye. a “You’re welcome, miss,” he replied, much im-. pressed by her charming appearance. ts “I’m much obliged to you, too,.Tom Baker,” —__ she added, turning to Joe’s companion. = “Don’t mention it, Suzette. Happy to be of service to you,” said Tom. “This is my friend, ~~ Joe Sargent. Sargent, let me introduce you te = Suzette Castle.” as; The young people bewed and Suzette offered Joe her hand. ‘3 ~ “J am pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss — Castle,” said Joe. : ; = “What brought you out here, Suzette?” asked _ ‘om. The girl told him what her errand was, adding _ that she had dropped all her flowers when she fied from Sam. Re. go back with you and help you ‘ih ” 4 OW 0 ial, u My “We'll them or pick others,” said Joe. - oo Than 3 are ever so kind, 5 eae “Tf ik you , with a a the village I should to go with i

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Bes PLAYING A LONE I'm | afraid that odious Sam Smith might follow : me.” z: “If you don’t mind ridimg on a wagon filled with sand you may take my place on the seat : with Baker,” said Joe. oa “T might ride up the beach, though Vd just = as soon walk behind the wagon,” said Suzette, “a with a little laugh. = “You walk with her, Sargent, pee Ill drive on ahead and wait for you at the foot of Main street,” said Tom. "All right, if Miss Castle will accept my com- pany,” said Joe, pleased at the idea of walking with the fair girl. “Why, of course I will,” she said, with a sly look in his face. “Pm afraid I don’t look very presentable,” he aie dhe sai “Oh, I don’t mind your looks,” she said, “You’re in working clothes and are not expected to look spruced up.” Joe wondered what she would think if he told her that the suit he had on was the only one he owned in the world. The boys accompanied her back to the edge of the pes spot where she recovered the oie she had dropped, and then the three started for the shore. They did not notice that Sam Smith and a hard-looking man was standing at the door of the shanty watching them. Tom mounted to his seat on the wagon and drove Te off while Joe and the girl fol- lowed afte: “You are a stranger in Seaport, aren’t you?” asked Suzette, “Yes. I only reached here this morning,” swered Joe. MT ek eee eee “iN t ‘ a, aN ber) 4 eS ie uh hs an ja) hem ‘ . “Dear me! Are you working for Tom Baker’s ~ employer?” “No, But I am stopping at Baker’s house.” _ “Are you indeed? Are you a relative of the 2 “No. I’ve only known Tom Baker about an i is it possible!” hs exclaimed in some sur- “Do you expect to stay in the village?” ie Lats t work I will, otherwise I ghall | go on : een I hope you'll get work so I’ll have the ‘pleasure of seeing you aeaeere so, too, so I’ mee uu “Oh, gs I’m not of $y great importance,” laughed Suzette, stealin unk te look at him. _ “Why do say tha ae “Because. 1’don't. think the earth would stop revolving if an wearing. happened to me.” P “Tt certainly would not stop on my accoun Joe. the time they reached the foot of Main Bak on gt cate eo er S uzette come A iene footing. She invited him to call ‘and be oe 6 ee doubtful, se oh he have _ pleasure of no = As” eae te Sena inaege 2 would b HAND 5 He and Tom bade her goodby in front of .the ship chandlery store, and then he got on the seat and Tom drove on. wir CHAPTER ViI.—What Joe uncovers on the Beach When they reached the place where Tom’s boss was putting up a frame building, Joe gota quarter from the builder to pay Joe for his ser- vices. Then he asked his employer if he could give Joe anything to do. He shook his head, but said that his friend Captain Gosport, who lived in one of the best houses in the village, wanted a boy to work around his place, attend to the chores, keep the lawn in shape, look after the plants, and so forth. Tom called Joe over and asked him if he would like that ob. “[’'m willing to go to work at anything,” re- “ plied Joe. “I’m playing a lone hand, and have ; got to take whatever is offered to me, as long as it’s honest labor.” “Very well,” said the builder, whose name was Jones. “I’ll take you over to the Captain’s house. If he hasn’t already got a. boy he’ll give you a trial on my recommendation.” “[’m much obliged to you,” said Joe. In a few minutes the builder was ready to go and Joe went off with him, after telling Tom : he would see him at his home that evening. : They found Captain Gosport seated on his porch, the village newspaper, which was published that R day, in his hands. S “Have you got a boy, captain?” asked Jones. 2 “Not yet,” replied the middle-aged skipper, aa whd, besides his own schooner, owned threa = — sloops that were continuously employed, in ear- rying shingles to Boston. “Well, here is'a boy I can recommend to you. Give him a trial. I think you'll find him a good worker.” ° The captain rather liked the appearance of ‘ Joe, notwithstanding that he was looking his~ worst at that moment. He questioned him as to his capabilities, and then told him what would be expected of him. é “Pll do the best I can to satisfy you, sir,” said oe. “Very well, my lad, I can’t expect any more . than that. rll give you $10 a month with board and a room over the stable and carriage-house.”. “That was satisfactory to Joe, and he was told to report in the ett at eight o’clock and bring his traps with him. He went back to the Unfinished building with Mr, Jones and told Tom that he had got “Good.for you,” said his ad friend. “ you're all right.” : es. I’m going to get $10 a month and and amy en eee me carriage- sar said Tom. “Then you won't be able to stop at our house ?” “Not after

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6 PLAYING A ean come to your house and caji on you, and you = come over te my place and visit me,” said oe, “Sure we can do that. We'll go off somewhere and have a good time next Sunday if you say se 50,” said Tom. ‘Well, I won’t bother you any more now. Ill take a walk around and see you this evening at your house.” “We have supper about six. there around that hour. ing that quarter you made at a restaurant when ‘ou ean eat with us just as well as not,” said ‘om. “All right,” said Joe. “I'll accept your invita- tion and you may loook for me te be on hand.” ~Thén Joe walked off and put in the next hour strolling around the Sin ae There wasn’t much to interest him particularly about the place. He had seen a dozen of villages oe like it. Having still a couple of hours at disposal he de- cided to go. out to the Point and see if he could er any clue to the hidden of smug- b - It would be a great Be sure and get ing for him he found them, for he would surely he enough out of the discovery to buy all the clothes and other things he needed, and leave a surplus to spend in having a good time. Heretofore’ lack of money had not greatly bothered him. Nobody in Rockville paid any attention to his e4¢ shabby clothes, for he had made few aequaint- din ances outside of Suzette Castle. He wanted to fol- low up a friendship that the girl seemed to en- courage, but he felt he could not do that while his apparel was in such bad shape. He certainly equlin't call on her until he looked presentable, and she expected him to lock a bit spruced w after fis hours of labor. As matters stood -wi _ him he saw no chance to get-a new suit for a p month, for he didn’t feel that, stranger as he ga, was in the place, he could ask Captain Gosport ; to advance him any money worth speaking of on a ‘account. Such was the tenor of his thoughts as he walk- ed over to the Point across tha meadows that attentions Sam Smith. sight and he made straight md which lay the mouth scrub- beyo: the near distance. with the Fd h that caught his foot } face. Picking himself up a long handle. He dig this would come in . “Well, the only I can do is to look around carefully and re isn’t some mark that Smith left to where the kegs are buried.” ging the age <t the sand he kept on e ore it been there a long time, s were white ana de- No need. of you spend- . low by LONE HAND cayed. He walked down to the water’s edge and looked at them, wondering what kind of vessel ‘ had gone ashore there. The sandy space between two of the ribs seemed to show that the craft had been a large one. Joe carefully stuck the point of the spade into the sand where he stood _to lean on it when he felt it strike an obstruction. Curiosity induced him to dig into the sand to see what was there. After turning up a number of shovelfuls he saw a dark object. Getting down on his hands and knees he scraped the sand - away from it and to his astonishment expased Phe butt of an. old-fashioned pistol. He seon had it in his hand. It had a long rusty barrel, of very ‘tion. It was certainly a kind of weapon that had not been in use for more than fifty years. The sight of it recalled Joe’s thoughts to the British cruiser which had been ed in that vicinity all of eighty years since. He at. once began to wonder if the ribs of the wreck before him were those of the warship in question. It did not seem to him that a wreck could remain exposed as long as that. Besides, from what he had, heard old man Smith tell the peddler about » the cruiser the storms of a few years had swept the beach clear of all traces of her. At any rate when the treasure hunters came te look for the chest of sovercigns some years later they had been unable to locate the exact place where the wreck took place. “I guess those whitened ribs belong to some later day craft,” thought Joe. “This pistol deubt- less was once on board the cruiser, and was thrown up here by the sea and hidden bythe sand before anyone coming this way noticed it. It is quite a curiosity and I mean to keep it.” Tt was too me to go into his ket 60 he laid it on the sand beside him while he sat with his knees hunched up looking over the =. = ne oc rvs ~ oa lost cruiser, an ream Ww a fine thing it would be for him rf he was enough to get a line on that chest of English gold. And while he thought he began to eo gprs point of his spade into the sand in an aimless way, just as if he was some fish. Suc-_ denly the iron point of the pon ni met with another ob: else was in ging once more. At every point for the s a couple of feet his spade hit some conc ject. “Gee!” he exclaimed in some excitement. “May- be that is one of those brandy kegs. Lerd! f hope it is, I’d be in great luck.” He started to dig with great energy, some minutes the sand flew in an almost contin- d the of shape from a keg. force one hand He resumed his digging and at the large smooth bore, which was attached to a pe- —% culiar shaped, wooden stock. He tried to pull —~ ' back the trigger but that was out of the gues- ~~ ed ob, ‘ f Mie Aw ha PhCH VSO Oe ‘ Gil, \ tea eRe

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5 5g, Somers. = ~ chest. The reader may well = man vith the stick. - PLAYING A LONE HAND 7 fifteen minutes he had made an opening suffi- ciently wide and deep enough to enable him to clear the sand away from the top of the object. He made out that the thing was an iron box. That incited him to renewed efforts and he presently had the whole top of the box exposed. It was thick with rust, and had eight thick knobs sticking above the surface. “My gracious!” exclaimed Joe. “I’ll bet this is the box of sovereigns. It’s an old-fashioned look- ~; See How in thunder am I going to move He scraped a part of the rust away. It came off in great flakes. Then he saw that the top of the box was reinforced by diamond-shaped jieces of iron, and the knobs were simply the . huge heads of rivets that held those pieces tight ito the flat top, thus greatly strengthening the a mighty excited boy now. Already he saw him- self the possessor of the gold that had baffled the efforts of the many treasure hunters who had eagerly sought for it. Why they had failed to find an object so near the surface of the beach, and in a spot covered less than half the time by the tide, he did not bother about. What worried him was how he was going to get the box, single- handed, out of the hole, and afterwards to Tom’s house in the village. He dug the sand away from its sides with feverish energy, and two- of it exposed when an interruption. oc- It was the bark of a dog. Joe stopped and a. in baer alge’ ar re = forgo = savage-looki og thrust roug the niet acie e and glared at him. He barked again, several times, as he stood with his fore feet braced forward in the sand, and his thick head thrown up, while the rest of his body was screened behind the bushes. An answering bark came from a short distance, and soon a second dog of the same breed dashed out on the beach, i stopped on seeing Joe. He growled menacingly, and the other growled in greets, but neither offered to attack the boy. us matters remained for a few minutes, dur- ing which Joe did not resume his work, but stood watching the wicked-looking animals. Then he heard men’s yoices and presently two trampish -vaseals made their appearance at the back of the observed that he was They saw Joe ether or not they saw bushes. digging in the beach. the dark object in the hole he had made it is certain that they resented his presence on the spot. : “Here, get away from this place,” said:one of maine a stout stick he had in his hand. _ Under the circumstances Joe didn’t care to budge. and was satisfied he had found the box of gold and was prepared to defend his prize against all “What will I get away for?” the boy asked. “Because we don’t want you around,” replied the man. \ ; isht lieve that Joe was. The dogs dashed forward, and Tige made a spring at Joe. The boy swung his spade in the air and brought it down on the animal’s head. The brute, with a snarling howl, rolled over and lay still. Then Joe swung the spade on a line and hit the other dog’s jaws. CHAPTER Yil.—What Happened to the Box. A howl of rage came from the men and they rushed forward. “Get him, Major!” roared the man with the stick. “We'll fix you for layin’ out that dog. If you've killed him we'll kill you,” added the fei- ow, savagely. The wounded animal seemed loath to rush in and chance a second swing of the spade. He snarled and yelped with pain and rage. Joe threw-half a spade full of sand into his face. Blinded for the time being, he whirled around and dashed for the bushes. The two rascals, wild with anger, rushed at Joe. The boy hesitated to treat them as he had handled the dogs, lest. he kill one of them with the edge of the spade, and his indecision worked his downfall. While Joe jabbed out at-one of the men the fellow with the stick dashed in and felled him with a blow from his cudgel. sand. “Blame his hide, I hope I’ve finished him,” said tempts “Go and look at Tige and see if he’s ead.” At that moment the dog showed signs of life, bot - looked pretty groggy as he scrambled on s legs. “He's all right,” Said the other chap. “We ought to toss—hello! What’s this? A box in the sand! So that is what the bo was digging out,” said the man with the stick. The two ruffians got down on their knees and ex- amined the chest. They tried to move it but found they could not. ‘ “T wonder what’s in it?” said the last speaker, who answered to the box with his stick. It gave out a dull, heavy sound, just as if it was a solid mass of iron. “I should say it was full of something hefty,” replied his com: whose name was Gridley. “I wonder how the boy came to find it?” said Grimes. “He must have known it was here for he brought a spade with him.” “T reckon there’s somethin’ valuable in it.” “I wouldn’t be surprised if there was.” “We must get it out and take it over to our shack.” “That’s goin’ to be somethin’ of a job.” . “If the boy tackled it all by himself I guess we kin get away with it.” “Why couldn’t have got it out of the sand.” “Whether he could or not, he was tryin’ to.” — “Shove the kid one side and I’ll see what I can do with the spade.” : Gridley up the implement and to dig the box. Tige, now full walked over to the Joe a sm his clothes. Then he trotted over to the — spot w some of Major’s blood flecked sand. He.uttered a yelp and darting toward th The boy fell unconscious on the the name of Grimes, as he hit — max a

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8 “ PLAYING A 3 . buses disappeared. Both of the rascals were very much interested in the box, and their in- Sta terest grew as Gridley exposed the rest of it. =f “There was a handle at each end, and after a Sr 3 strenuous. effort they succeeded in dragging it ee out of the hole, something that Joe, unaided, =F ~ could never have accomplished. ce “It’s blamed heavy,” said Grimes. = “That’s what it is. We'll have a nice job haul- * in’ it to the shack, and another job openin’ it, for “it’s as solid as a rock,” replied Gridley. “We'll open it, all right, do’t you worry,” said = - Grimes. “Come on, get hold and we'll run it up ek to the bushes.” s “We'll do a lot of runnin’ with it,”\said Grid- ~ __ Jey, seowling at the box. “Don’t go to sleep. Somebody is liable to come along. we don’t want anybody to see us with the or that boy lyin’ there with a broken . héad while we're around.” 3 “What are we goin; to do with him?” “Nothin’. Let him lie there till he gets his senses back.” —“He mightn’t get ’em back before the tide came up and drowned him,” The tide is goin’ fut, you fool. Anyway he’s nothin’ to us. If he’s drowned that’s his funeral.” _ “And it might be our funeral, too: We'll take him up near bushes,” said Gridley. _ Grimes yielded to the argument of his com- nion and Joe was removed some distance above igh-tide mark. ; _ The two rascals then got hold of the box, and half carrying and half dragging it up the = __ pushed it through the bushes, and hauled it over the ground to their shanty. As soon as they got it inside they sat down to rest for they felt tired afier so much exertion. They lighted their pipes and took a smoke. -- . ““T@&t box must have come ashore on someves- _ sel broke up on the beach,” said Gridley. Grimes agreed with his associate, for there was no better way of accounting for the box be- {ng buried in the sand. _. “Maybe ‘there’s_a lot of silverware, or some- _ thin’ of that sort, in the box,” said Gridley. “That - would make it heavy.” _ _ “The box is heavy enough without anythin’ in = “Yes, it's solid-lockin’. I ain’t never _ seen a box that before. It’s a mighty curi- ‘eus one, and it looks as if it had been im the sand for mere years than you and me have lived.” - _ Grimes examined the keyhole and saw that it not only covered with rust, but filled with that had caked in it. “I wonder if Smith has a sledge-hammer?” he We don’t want to let him of us kin go to blacksmith re tak made very. yy with a longing eye. Goi } LONE HAND The two dogs, which he found outside, accom- panied him, Tige was all right, with the excep- } tion of a lump on his head, but Major had a nasty-locking cut from his mouth to ear.” In the meanwhile Joe came to his senses and E gat up. He was alone on the beach. He remem- bered all that had happened. The men and the dogs had disappeared, and he feared that the iron box had gone, too. He got up and-walked tothe = hole. The box: was'no longer in it, and the. tracks on the beach showed how, and in what di- rection, it had vanished. : : “J don’t believe they’ve carried it very far,” he said to himself. “I’m fem Dy ar gel and see what they are doing with it. Unless they’ve got the right kind of tools I doubt if they will be able to open it, for it looked pretty solid.” r It was an easy matter to track the box and the heavy footprints of the two men into and through the bushes, and then along the ground toward the shanty. Joe was satisfied they had taken it to the shack. -In fact, the trail was too clear to ad- mit of any doubt. The boy picked up the cudgel that Grimes hed abandoned along. the route, and - thus armed he was prepared to e a good fight when matters came to an issue. He approached the gee with caution, fer he particularly feared another encounter with the dogs. The dogs failed to appear, however, and creeping up to the open door he looked inside. The box stogd © jn the middle of the floor, and in front of it, on his kmees, was Grimes, picking the sand out of the lock. = Joe saw no signs of his companion. The boy immediately concluded that he-was away after implements with which to break the box open. If anything was to be done looking to his regain- — ing possession of the-box now was the timesto do it. It would be easy to dash into the lay the man out with a blow from the stick. It would be only treating the fellow to a dose of the same medicine he himself had handed ruffian who ie es. ¥ - i ~~. POY EN Nae ees . for Joe recognized him as the lmocked him down and out. As there was no time to lose, the boy acted on tke spur of the moment, and before Grimes knew what was going to happen he was lying stunned on the — cor. Dropping the club, Joe seized the box one handle, and with a srodligions effort d it outside. To carry if any distance was feyond his stren But he did his best to it a8 far from the shack as he could. Unfo ag nately in its slow progress over the ground it — left a clear track, and Joe was much discon: : the. to open it with,” said Grid- tle in and a plate of sliced ham. His exections a z and he viewed the food ing tothe door, he look- Pe es nee ene sy *;

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PLAYING A = ed around. There was no sign yet of the man’s > companion or the dogs. 4 = “T'll take the chances,” muttered the boy. 3 He found a knife, cut four slices of the bread, made two sandwiches with the ham, and devoured “one of them before making another move, There Was a jug of water near by and he took a long ~ . drink. Then he Biya up the pri, and took another look out. The coast was_still’clear. He made a third sandwich and stiifed it in his pocket against an emergency and left the shanty. He S returned to the place where he had left the box, and looking at it wondered where he could hide it from the men. He decided that he could not do pbetter than to shove it into the clump of bushes, though it was not a very secure hiding place. He made some further effort to hide the tracks from the house, and was then figuring = making a dash for the village for the purpo - of telling Tom Baker about his prize, and arrang- dng with him some plan looking to the getting of - the bex to his house right away, when he heard = the yelping of the dogs close by. “Those brutes will spot me. What shall I do?” _ he asked himself. _. He remembéred there was a ladder in the shack which led to a loft above where he ju the two rascals slept. He concluded that the best _ thing he could do was to«hide up there until he could get away in safety. Acting on this plan he dashed into the shanty, ran*up the lad- der, and stretched himself: out at full on 2 . - {m some consternation when he saw his associate . stretched out senseless on the floor and the box A Then he dropped the sledge-hammer and gone. rushed over to G + “What in thunder has hap to Grimes, and where is the box?” Joé heard him mutter. “Why, | the man is knocked out. Who could have done this? Thera must have been more one, for == ugh Sees ie. And they must * OHAPTER VIIL—On the Wrong Scent. “At that moment Grimes sat up and stared “So you've come to,” said Gridley. “What hap- wile I was away? Who was it that at- and carried off the box?” “What's that? Carried off the box! Who d off the box?” asked Grimes, staring at wr ~ where the box had ieored ox tepewelion, He scrambled “They dragged it ‘ ceived by the heavy on. LONE HAND 9 it’s funny if you,don’t know anythin’ about the matter. . You. saw the chaps who laid you out, didn’t =you?” “No, I didn’t see anybody.” “Oh, come now,.tell that. to the marines. You must have seen ’em.” “¥ tell you I didn’t. All [I know is that some- thin’ hit me on the head. That’s all I remem- bered till now.” “J don’t see how anybody could steal a march on you. What were you doin’ at the time?” “What was I doin’?” Grimes tried to think while he rubbed the big lump on his head. Then he remémbered he had been picking the sand out of the lock of the box, and he told his companion. Then you had your. back to the door?” “Tt did,” admitted Grimes. “That accounts for it. The chaps rushed in on you and hit you on the head. I wonder if it could _have been Smith-and his son? Nobody else comes Ain’t . around here.” “Why should Smith do such a thing? we all pards?” “Yes, we’re in together, but for all that I wouldn’t trust Smith any further than J could sea him. He’d do anythin’ for the mighty dollar, that’s why he’s in on this smugglin’ game. They say he’s as well fixed as anybody in the village, and yet he’s got the poorest mouth of anybody t ever ran across. Look at him and his family liv- in’ over the shop, like tenement people ina city, when they might have a fine house and grou like Captain Gosport, who ain’t got half Smith’s money, I'll bet, and put on some style in their old age. What’s the use of him hoardin’ up his money? he ae to the cemetery.” “T don’t believe it was Smith and his son who attacked me. It must have been somebody else, ‘said Grimes. x “Whoever it was has taken the box. We must follow them and get it back. They couldn’t take it away without leavin’ tracks d. Come out and we'll take a look.” | They went outside and Gridley imm nmediately _ noticed the track made by the pot which led over. off this way,” he said, de- imprint of the into the bushes. pot. Come The two men, calling the dogs, followed the bogus trail. It led them only a short di to the big stone om the beach. There it Gridley saw the pile of stones. < at these stones. They weren’t here ear on’t see dn’t have He can’t take it along’ with him when _

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40 PLAYING A “Came to his senses and took a sneak,” said Gridley. “Maybe it was him who sneaked into the shanty, laid me out from behind, and then got away with the box?” “Get out! He might have knocked you out, but how could he have dragged that heavy box here all by himself? It was as much as both of us could do to get it to the shanty.” Grimes couldn’t answer the question, and did not attempt to. “TI ’spose the box is buried here and we'll have to dig it up and lug it back to the house,” he said, not relishing the labor involved. “J guess it’s here all right. Ill go to the shanty for the shovel.” # there’s the spade the boy used, lying be- side the hole the box came out of,” said Grimes, poin at it. Gridley went over and got it. They were about to begin operations when they saw two persons ing from the direction of the village. Hold on,” said Grimes. “Here come Smith and his son.” Gridley threw the spade behind the rock and the pair advanced to meet the newcomers. “Hello, Smith, what’s new?” asked Grimes. “l’ve arranged the sale of six kegs of liquor,” said the ship chandler. “Six, eh? That’s quite a bunch. Who's goin’ to take ’em? A dealer?” : “A peddler, who’s goin’ to retail the stuff ground the country.” “You ain’t goin’ to bring him out here after "em, are you?” “Yes, but not te the shanty. JI told him that I discovered them hidden in the sand near the P’int, =a fiuid left-*em there as I didn’t consider it safe to a ’em to my store.” 73 ePold him you discovered ’em, eh?” grinned es. “Yes. Told him they must have been some kegs that were landed a few years ago when smugglin’ was goin’ on at different p’ints along the coast, buried in the sand ~ lay there un- touched ever since,” said Smith. : Good idea, and you want us to roll six k - from the cellar of the shanty and leave ’em ot = bushes _one you kin find ’em when you bring Mente “must not be left in the bushes. “The kegs > a: Red a a be buried in the beach so that the me can dig ’em up. That will avoid th nodded. ms have to get right. to work for the tide is _ beginnin’ to com: Make the hole well up so_ that the place uncovered just before sun- _ rise, when I intend | am Ege peddler out here with his wagon,” said Smi : tide at one. We'll bury ’em so 1 be uncovered about four. We'll that rock yonder in the di- the water,” said Grimes. ar shovels now and start in _s have the hole. ready be- e the ‘ a @ you start to mo LONE HAND “There’s a spade behind the rock that we found on the beach,” said Grimes. “What brought it on the beach?” asked Smith. “Say, dad,” said Sam, “somebody has been makin’ a hole in the shore.” “Oh, a boy was diggin’ there, and Gridley and me chased him away,” said Grimes. “A boy! -What-boy?” “I don’t know who lookin’ for somethin’, left it behind him.” As Gridley moved off towards the shanty Sam walked over to the hole that Joe dug and picked up the old rusty pistol. He brought it over and showed it to his father and Grimes. Suddenly is. He seemed to be brought the spade and the two aoe who had been running about set - up a loud barking and dashed into the bushes near the spot where the foregoing conversation had taken place. Then came the sound of a Blow and one of the dogs gave a howl of pain. Another blow and another howl. Grimes, followed by the ship chandler and his son, rushed to the aot to see what was going on, and beheld Joe argent, who had left the loft of the shanty as soon as the coast was clear, and had since been concealed in the bushes watching the movements of Grimes and Gridley, and listening te all that was said before and after the coming of the Smiths, doing his best to stand the two dogs off with his eudgel. CHAPTER IX.—A Prisoner. *That’s the boy we caught diggin’ the hole on the beach,” said Grimes. “I saw this boy hanging around back of the store this morning,” said Sam. “Perhaps he heard us talkin’.” “He was, eh?” roared Smith. “Then we'll at- tend to him. Come on and help me nab him.” The three precipitated themselves on Joe and bore him to the ground. : “Run to the shanty, Sam, and get some rope so we can tie him,” said Grimes, as he knelt on Joe’s chest and held him down, while Jacob Smith caught the prisoner’s arms and held them. Sam darted off to get the rope. = “So, you're still hangin’ around this Bare, cried Grimes, with a furious look at Joe. “What’s our object? Why didn’t you go home after we t pa go?” The boy had nothing to say. “Won't answer, eh, you young squab? It’s my opinion you’re a spy. Tryin’ to find out some- thin’ that it ain’t your business to know. I reckon it was you who laid me out in the shanty a while “What’s that?” asked Smith. “Was he in the shanty?” “I didn’t see him there, but somebody came be- hind me while I was doin’ somethin’ in the room and hit me a clip on the head that knocked me unconscious.” “The deuce you say!” cried Smith. “Where were Gridley and ‘the do at the time? thought you had things ed so that c come near the house without you knew - “Oh, Gridley and the dogs happened to 7 away at that moment,” said Grimes, who did not iy tal ebay iia A! ee ee a

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PLAYING. A LONE: HAND -_ to make any explanation about .the box to mi “Tf he went away he shouldn’t have taken the dogs,” said Smith. “They were brought here sole- ly to watch around the house. You know that as _ well as-I do, for it was your own scheme.” “f know,” growled Grimes. “Gridley had no business to e ‘em with him.” “What’s the matter with Major’ 's mouth? He’s got a bad cut almost to his ear.” “This chap hit him with the spade when I set the dogs on him to chase him off at the tims “ Gridley and me caught him diggin’ that hole on the shore.” “Why were you diggin’ man?” Smith asked Joe. down -here anyway?” = “Tt was digging in the beach because I felt like it, and-I came down here because the shore is public property, and anybody has a right to go anywhere on it,” answered the boy, doggedly. “My son says you were hangin’ around the back of my store and listenin’ to what he and his - mother were sayin’. Why were you spyin’ around my ?” said the ship chandler. “l’'m a stranger in this neighborhood and I just ze happened to pats beblnd your stor.” wasn’t listenin’ on purpose, eh?” Befon Tos | a in the beach, young “What brought you could make an evasive reply, Sam with the rope and Gridley was with “Hello, that boy again?” asked the man. ~~ “Kee. er I ie we'll keep him a while _ this time till we learn somethin’ more about him. _ It’s my opinion he’s learned too much for our = sor ‘and must be dealt with accordin’ly,” replied _ Grimes. “Help me tie him up.” ~~ Joe made no resistance, for he saw it would avail him nothing. Four to one, not mentioning ee dou, are = comthie tnd to contend with. - “Where se you goin’ to stow him?” asked _ _ That ak: _ problem which had not occurred to : Grimes and he scratched his ear. _ “We can’t take him into the shanty for various ze reasons, ” he “We'll have to tie him to that cx. as? at the back of the house.” Accordingly Joe was. ‘marched to ‘the tree and Jacob ge as fear on) a bite, , ‘for it’s gettin’ (Biting ie sh a the: siiala abt é ther shovel the w:! uni re- aa shore coal got busy there. As soon dered esp enough they re- Grimes and Gridley went — potchod out six = kegs of cog- never ey. were the beach, Tall i 3 Bywg by side mF the The surface was then retty big odds. for tha - “You'll Fae to work fast at that hole,” said 11. “Come, Sam, it is time for us to get back home,” he said. “Have ; drink before you go,” said Grimes, Smith did not object, so the three men, with Sam —. on, drank success to the sale of the six Sgae i has the idea in his head that the peddler, whp’s been around the village for nearly a week sellin’ notions, is a Government inspector in dis- guise,” said the old man, “but that’s all hie sense.” “What gave you the idea, Sam?” asked Gries, Tegpr ting - youth closely. “"Cause he was selling’ his goods so cheap, for one thing. I couldn’t see where he was mak- in’ any money,” replied Sam. “He was sellin’ ’em cheap because Ire told ma he bought ’em for next to nothin’ at an auction sale in Boston,” explained Smith, senior. “And because he’s been hangin’ around the vil-. lage so long,” went on Sam. “There ain’t nothin’ in that,” said his father. “And also because he’s taken a shine to dad and comes ’round every day to chin with him,” coneluded. the youth. “Why shouldn’t he come around if he felt like it?” said the ship chandler. “You ought to have told me about him before,” said Grimes. “He might be a revenue man in disguise for, all we know, and if he is, he’s dan- gerous.” “Is he the man you’ve arranged to sell the six kegs to?” asked Gridley. “Yes,” said Smith. “I think you’re takin’ chances, don’t you, Grimes?” “I ain’t takin’ no chances at all. I told him I accidentally discovered them kegs in the sand, and that I left ’em there because I guessed belonged to the people who page smugglt licker into this State, and who are now servin' their time in om I argued that they bel of ‘In any case I reckoned that I was entitled to make w! I could out of “em, and he agreed where they are now,”- said a that you didn’t find ’em in the. sand, so mn if the peddler is a revenue officer in aia he couldn’t use them ag'n a ight arouse his sasbhaiona kegs we haven’t sold yet are safe marsh, and the revenue Fonte, nothin’ suspicious in the reasons for livin’ here gute overlooking gees was open i and not th The ”, and were too baer. with “said 2,7" ~~ Well, th in’ de z “We ere ain’t no evidence _ ve ay Soe ody. ‘ Ls | OR ae. 4 7” dy A iy a aes Soa aii tp RET: i

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12 doubt about it. Although a prisoner in their hands, he felt sanguine of making his escape. And then he meant to communicate with the in- gpector of the district and earn the advertised re- ward. That of itself would be a big lift for him without figuring on the box which ne confidently believed contained the gold of the British cruiser. Under such circumstances he was not worrying much about the job he was expected to connect with in the morning at Captain Gosport’s house. He intended to stick to his present line of action until he had won the reward and found out what was in the iron box. Jacob Smith, having said all he wanted to, walked home with his son, and the two men in the hut set about preparing a belated supper. It was then they discovered that somebody Thad made free with the loaf of bread and plate of cooked ham, and they judged that their prisoner was*>the guilty one. However, they had plenty to eat jn the house, so after cussing the boy for helping himself to their prop- erty, they proceeded to fry some bacon and eggs, and cook <a of coffee. As soon as the nieal was ready they placed it on the table, drew up their chairs and began to eat, after which they got out their pipes and took a smoke, talking to- PLAYING A ateged on one subject or another, while the dogs” y outside of the door and kept watch against the approach of intruders. CHAPTER X.—Joe Makes His Escape, But——. Joe guessed the time pretty accurately, and he = wondered how long Tom and his mother had ; waited for him to come to supper, and what Tom ught of his failure to be on hand as he had The : of sleeping that night n the room he paid for did not look very peongiaing. at that moment. If he slept at all it probably be in his standing position against the tree unless he could manage to free himself. = He had a view of the interior of the shanty, and s could see the heads of the two men as they sat ae and talking together. As for the dogs, 5a [ had no idea where they were, but guessed ey were around the door restin emselves, The box, which he had hidden in the patch of bushes he was safe for the night at least, and s calculated that a a of satisfaction to him. Joe ght about the peddler more than once, and he won whether Sam Smith’s suspicions pA aaa bout the ke f led ao 0 a e kegs of smu brandy and men Fe -as to what part of the marsh they were concealed in. Doubtless the - revenue people would find them without much + trouble i d tag ag Fags for — With oH ie to help Ss present emergency Joe é fg Ge 5 was nig playing a lone — against a com on that for the present ap- -, ed to hold all the trumps. sared to hold all th “Well, that’s nothing new for me,” he thought. “Pye been going it alone ever since I had to - ‘hustle on my own account, I think it’s about time that ‘gave mea lift. | could only away from these Sa“ I'd be all right.” unsuccesstul efforts Joe succeed- in gett cia ge arm free. That loosened rope so much that he easily shook his left Se ee LONE HAND loose.. The only obstacle to freedom that re- mained was the rope which held him to the tree. By degrees he worked this down below his hips and then the rest was easy. “Now for the village,” he said to himself. Unfortunately at that moment he saw the shadowy form of one of the dogs coming toward him, and he concluded that jt would be the part of wisdom to remain where he was till the do went away. The animal came up and smelled o his trousers. Apparently the animal, who was Major, recognized him as the person who had cut his face with the spade, for he growled ominous- ly as if he would like to take revenge for his in- juries. The dog’s growl attracted the attention of Grimes, who got up, lighted a lantern and came outside to see if anything was wrong. He saw the dog standing close to Joe and ordered him away; then he flashed the light over the boy. He saw at once that there was something wrong, though Joe held his hands behind him as if he was still a prisoner. Grimes, however, was not deceived. He missed the rope that had held the boy to the tree, and flashing the light on the ground saw it lying there. “How in thunder did you get free of that rope, you young sculpin?” he cried, seizing Joe by the shoulder. Then he experienced his second surprise. The boy swung one arm around and :mashed him in the jaw with his fist. He followed the blow up with a second from the other fist, which sent the rascal reeling backward. The lantern fell to the ground and the light went out. Taking advan- tage of his chance, Joe made a break fer the beach. Grimes yelled for his associate and Grid- ley came rushing out of the shanty. “What’s the matter?” asked Gridley. © “He’s got away,” roared Grimes, “What, the boy?” “Yes, the boy. He’ll make for the village. We must cut him. off. Put the dogs on his trail.” Gridley lost no time in doing that, and Joe had hardly got as far as the rock near which the men had buried the six kegs of gam | than he heard the animals dashing through the bushes after him. He knew that he couldn’t escape them on the open beach so he hastily scrambled to the top of the rock and crouched down. The animals lost the scent and began running here and there in their efforts to recover it. The men came on beach further on and called to the dogs. The als responded and the bunch rushed off in the direction ofthe village; Joe descended from ‘his perch and rushed back through the bushes took the upper a for Seaport. He had gone perhaps an eig of a mile when he heard one of the dogs coming toward him. He stopped and shinned up a convenient tree. The noise he attracted the animal’s attention, and he rg tae at the foot of the tree and began to bark furi- ously. “ee! This is hard duck,” muttered Joe. aon brute will bring the men down on me and I be captured again just when I thought things were coming out all right.” - continued to bark and presently he do was joined by the other animal and he added his voice to the concert. : “That settles it. The mer ~vili be bevt pree ently,” said Joe te biraself. Wa

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PLAYING A He heard them coming up on the run. “Ha! The dogs have treed him,” he heard Grimes say. They came up and looked into the tree. Owing to the leaves and the darkness they could not make the boy out, but they were fairly satisfied that he was there. “Come down, you young swab!” cried Grimes. “We’ ve got you cornered and you ‘can’t get away.” Joe didn’t intend to come down if he could help himself. The dogs couldn’t climb up, and the men would have to in order to reach him. “Are you coming down? 2” shouted Grimes again. Joe gave no indication that he heard the order, the men consulted. The result of the con- fab® was that Gridley, the lighter of the two, started to climb up. Joe heard him coming and moved further up. That, however, would not avail him, for Gridley was bound to reach him. “I hear you,” shouted Grimes. A crash drowned his voice as the branch on which Joe was roosting broke under his weight. The boy fell on Grimes and bore him to the ground. The startled dogs drew back as Grimes Riteren a howl and a flow of invectives. Fortu- nately Joe was not injured, as the man had brok- his fall. Both came to the earth in a heap. , hn sprang to his feet and darted off in the dar ness. ‘Gan = a oe and ment he did not no- os gerag: Fe, his yr 2 a he ae geen of inside, Jo door and bolted ih He vet ded c) ee ht a se fe shutting the door ve of them. When the atten = for minutes, ay found they: ata eir priso i Sesion Nee way an cooked sane ts, how are you feeling?” he asked, d Gee —_, bu’ Vera — no wt Joe. the deny = afd make you sweat _ for the costs you’re givin “Go on and force it. Til cna a nice little sur- prise waiting for you.” “You'd better oT dont agree with von, T I intend to sta here and keep you and your friend on the ou! de.” The men shook the door, but ro was too them to make any impression on it. a0 caper erg tter of the boy. Joe shut ‘ront on er turned out ae: : “ Fm eo ke, LONE HAND 13 window and sat down on the lowest rung of the ladder to wait the next move on the part of the men. CHAPTER XI.—Besieged. Presently he saw the face of one of the men, he couldn’t tell which, at the rear window. He was looking for Joe, but as the room was d a. couldn’t make out where the boy was. He with- drew his head. “I wonder what they th in TH a gee — imse f. “If he looks aad ; e boy crawled over to the table on which sort ee plates and yi Bae b men at their meal. In a a at the window and ha h hes relighted. Joe fly of a 8 t ae an on ee a the | nemre Ber Snail a ee the second cup. The pond a8 ap upright 1 posi- tion and did not take po- on of it. As he crawied Ee io wi he saw &@ club standing in a co he it with a view to a TS 5 - out of the ndow near the corner of andkerchief to his face, for - man to bear guishing the lantern he | and saw the two men stan the shanty. Grimes was holdin: Joe thought it wasn all the trouble of the = rew the ond cup at ae h took effect on ear, and he a stuck pig and gan “Yo 0 a spe of what’s co ee ip nt San saw me on the alone? I wasn’t inter- mite t to be the beach, "7 a on I Beh Bicge + did wil, that boo? said I ~1 ae a bl know where it is yourself,” yee in here haven't now i” said sn ere al ow it,” in a wrathful tone. a “1 Sea “You've hidden it, “Oh, shut up, and don’t be tryin’ to throw dust in our eyes. You've so you know ere it’s gone to,” A A eaeri cea ces said something that sounded and the man retired out oa ht. to eo front, or me sipremstiaky

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\up to the loft and looking out the window that overlooked the door.« As his head got above the level of the open trap he saw that the window was blocked by the body of one of the rascals who was trying to get into the house that way. He was already half way through. “Get out of there!” cried Joe, rushing up as ’ fast as he could and jabbing the fellow in the ribs with his club. He could easily have broken his head, but did not care to injure him. “Stop that!” howled Grimes, for it was he. “Then go back or I’ll knock you on the head.” Grimes felt that he was at the wideawake boy’s mercy, so he reluctantly backed out and dropped to the und. Joe saw that his com- panion was holdmg the trunk cf a small tree against the outside wall, and it was by this means Grimes had made his way to the window. “You chaps den’t seem to be making much progress,” said Joe. “It’s a wonder you woyldn’t give it up: : ~ They shook their fists at him’ and said hard things. “Joe watched them and made no further remark. Gridley threw the tree-trunk on the ground, and the men retired to a home-made ? beng under a spreading tree and sat down to try : gure out some other scheme for getting the ' best of the boy. Finally Gridley got up and _~ walked off toward the shore. The moments went Sa by and he didn’t come back. --. “Pd like to know where he’s gone, and what “a _-new plan they have in view,” Joe asked himself. - The sky grew lighter in the east and then the moon rose in her full glory and shed her radiance = act the landscape. The front of the shanty was in the shade as it faced to the west. Grimes con- _ tinued to sit and smoke under the tree, and Joe ould see his figure now quite distinctly. One of the dogs lay stretched out in front of the door, 4. Aphis eae 0 was sleeping with one eye open at the back. Apparently there wasn’t the ghost of a chanee for Joe to escape from the house. The ras had him cornered even if they couldn’t enter his place of refuge. Joe realized that he was hungry again, and as he knew there was LATO ea a MN .] 4 in plenty down stairs, he left the loft and lighted the lantern, He cut up the rest of the = ham*in making sand- water with him, red ) iia -a7¢ on Grimes, an hour elapsed and then Gridley returned Sam Smith. They carried a short ladder be- ‘tween them. That seemed to indicate that an- ther-attempt was going to be made by the -ras- used up all -an ing the front, and let him catch the hard knocks, as they have had quite enough Gremasives™ thonght am and the two men held a consultation and ‘they proceeded. to business. e ladder was p under held there by 14 PLAYING A i afraid to open the window lest a missile might be — thrown at . The sounds continued and seemed to be higher up. He bethought himself of going LONE HAND was sent up the ladder to hold the besieged lad in the left. As soon as the raseal got the door open he and probably Grimes, too, intended to rush up the ladder. Doubtless the enemy figured that Joe would leave the window to try and pre- vent Gridley coming up, then Sam would dash in through the window and take him on the flank, which would enable Gridley te force his way up, and the besieged would once more be a prisoner. Joe saw that it would be impossible for him to hold out once the two rascals effected their en- trance below, and he started to think if there was any way by which he. ceuld eucher them He could jump through tie back window and have it out with the dog. He had noticed that both ani- mals showed a certain ameunt of respect for him when he faced them with a weapon in his hands. He felt that the club would keep either orgboth dogs at bay, but the moment he started to run they would for him. Well, he saw he must take the ris Having screwed up his courage to make the at- tempt he went softly downstairs. When he reached the room below he ‘saw that the bolt was iving way under the muscular efforts of Grid- ey. Any moment might see its finish. If he was going to get out by the back window he had no time to lose. Then another plan flashed across the boy’s mind. That was to stand against the wall where the door would hide him when it was pushed in. He calculated that both of the men would rush in and start up the ladder. They - would never suspect that he was downstairs, and he would take advantage of the fact to dash onzt- side and pass the dog before anyone was the wiser. It struck Joe as being a bang-up idea and he adopted it at once. A moment later the bolt gave way and the door was ed in by Grid- ley, who made a break at once for the ladder. To ~ Joe’s disappointment the other man did not fol- low. Gridley, finding his way unopposed, kept on up into the loft. .. It was now or never with Joe and he came from behind the door and glanced out. Sam was near the to ladder and Grimes was be- hind him. f Major, was over near the seat under the oe. Joe rushed out and made He ‘or Sam pened to look down came out — as he gave-a yell. -“There he goes out of the door. He wasn’t “in the loft at all,” he shouted. : Grimes caught a fleeting pipe of Joe and hustled down the ladder as fast.as he could go, followed by Sam, shouting at the same time to Sees, © had thrust his head out of the wine ow. Z ‘ _ CHAPTER XII,—The Wreck in the Marsh. Joe secured a good start before the under way, with the dogs im the le He. out of sieht alonz the path which bordered the marsh. His enemies knew he had a long run of it to skirt the ec gang and they expected the | dogs would overhaul him before he got very far. if he hoped te make his escape. ~ ursuit got was) le Se

Page 17

PLAYING A LONE HAND They also calculated that the inflowing_ tide, which entered the marsh on that side, would cut off his escape anyway. Joe, being a stranger in that vicinity, knew nothing about the tide’s con- nection with the swampy ground. The dogs out- stripped the two men and Sam and finally came up with the fugitive. Joe stepped back into the bushes and banged Tige, who was in the lead, on the head. The stick landed on the lump Joe had reviously handed out to the animal on the eek; and Tige uttered a terrible howl and t sprang back. e boy waited for Major, but that ’ brute, remembering how he had been treated be- ie fore, stopped and held back. Joe then backed . away, the dogs following in a sullen way, Tige “ uttering a howl every once in a while. Knowing that Sam and the two men were hot on his track, Joe turned and made off again at a run. The dogs followed fast enough to keep close to him, but they made no effort to overtake him. Sud- denly Joe found himself splashing through water, : which deepened each moment, and he stopped to : investigate. The dogs stopped, and eyed him ._ vengefully. He made a step toward them and wt swung his club in the moonlight. They jumped -- back out of reach of the weapon. Finding that they were partly cowed he looked about him and : found that he had run into a kind of cul-de-sac = in the marsh. To proceed was to go straight : into the deepening water of the swamp, Both E: sides were lined with tall grass and rushes, ex- ES tending how far Joe could not guess, and there was no stable footing—nothing but thick, oozy * mud. The only safe way of getting out of his predicament was to retrace his steps, and that . would be to run into the arms of his pursuers. . - Joe decided to keep on into the marsh as far as . he felt it would be safe to go and see if his enemies would follow him through the water. At any rate he was sure the dogs wouldn’t. The latter fact was soon proved by the animals. giv- ing up further pursuit when the water rose to their bellies. ith the water above his knees, Joe stopped and waited for his pursuers to come on. 7 He wanted to see what they would do before going further. While he stood there, with the rising tide whirling around his legs, he saw a =e pectiflar-looki ob - where the water was pretty.deep. It looked Tike the skeleton of some huge animal, glistening in the moenlight. He could see the great white yibs rising out of the water, lost in the maze of rushes. While he was looking at it Grimes, _ Gridley and Sam came as far as the edge of the - tide-water, where the dogs awaited them. It was clear to them that the boy had gone right ahead into the water, for they knew he couldn’t do otherwise without penetrating the ines reeds and grass, and that meant sure death. The dogs showed how far they had been in, which indicated - that the fugitive must be in up to his knees at ~ 23 : ws ~ “He can’t get out till the tide goes down hours from now,” Said Grimes. “We had better keep -and force him back to a point where he’ll ve to wim, if he knows how, or give in and come out.” ee ; “Where can he swim to?” said Sam, who knew the swamp better than his companions. “His only _ show will | be to make for SS soe ees aL af further out in the marsh, wreck, for the — 15 other way is blocked by rushes through which he 4 ~ Abed could make his way, and would drown try- S , to.” - x “Let’s hope that he can't swim and will give a up,” said Gridley, : . “You fellows can go ahead, I won't,” said Sam. “Tf he starts to swim for the wreck you'd better : t it’s covered at high tide.” : as warn him c° “Is it?” asked Grimes. = “It is. There isn’t an inch of it above water = when the tide is up.” “Supposin’ jt is, he can stand on it, can’t he?” < “There’s nothin’ to stand on that I know of. 3 He might cling to the end of one of the ribs, bub ; how long could he do that? I tell you he’s got = give in and come out or see his finish,” said am. = “You said a moment ago that his only show : would be for the wreck,” said Grimes. “I know I did, but I didn’t say how much of a show it was. I wouldn’t take the chance of try- é ing to hold on to that wreck threugh high-tide es for all the kegs in the marsh, if they were filled is gold dollars instead of brandy,” said Sam. i Sam loved the dollars about as much as hie : father, his declaration indicated that to swim out to the wreck was a kind of involuntary suicide. “Well, come on, Gridley,” said Grimes. “Let’s go ahead. We.can stand a wetting. It won’t be the first time we've had one.” + “What’s the matter with going back a little way, sending the dogs on with Sam, who is no = more use to us at present, and waiting for the “2B tide to drive the boy out?” Grimes thought the idea was not bad and fell in with it. The party retraced their steps to a point where the tide wouldn’t come, then Sam called the dogs to follow, which they did, while Grimes, and Gridley awaited developments. Joe — in the meanwhile began to realize that the water was steadily rising about him where he stood, from which fact he woke up to the knowledge that he was caught in the tide as well as in the marsh itself. That wasn’t a cheerful reflection, particularly as he could not guess how high the water would go. He knew by this time that the ursuit had stepped, but he doubted that it had en given up. b : : He guessed the men didn’t care to follow him into the marsh, and were camped on his trai waiting for him to come out, when they wouk nab him. Joe didn’t feel like giving them the satisfaction of catching hini, for many reasons. He had made out that what looked like a gigan- tie skeleton was the ribs of a wrecked vessel - driven up into the marsh by the action of a tre-~ mendous storm, probably years since, before the marsh was so thick with rushes as it was now. At that moment a large log came floating within his reach. When he saw it he decided to make use of it in swimming out to the wreck, where ha felt he would be quite safe from his pursuers t morning, when he did not doubt but he would be able to make his escape without much trouble. As Joe was a very fair swimmer he did net doubt _ that he could get to the wreck without the but he —— that it might come in he got there. a hy ae, grabbed and poshivg. 1 before him began making to the wreck. In a short time he guided |} and the log between the submerged ribs, | on

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4 16 PLAYING A LONE HAND _ found that a part of the stern of the craft was would begin to recede, and it would be long after still intact and above the present water-line. On daylight before it reached its lowest point. It this he tock refuge, and lifted the log upon it. ‘would not be necessary for Joe to remain on the | As it was quite a warm night, he removed his wreck ay longer than he cauculated that the clothes and after wringing out the water laid coast would be clear for him to make his escape. { them on the time-scarred planks to dry out. He- He did not think the men would lie in wait for Sas did not find it unpleasant to sit around in the him all night, but nevertheless he did not intend "garb that nature had provided him with—the air to make a move till morning came. He stretched being much warmer than the water. He chuckled himself out, with his feet within a few inches of = as he thought of his enemies, whom he pictured the water, and before many minutes had passed he = as waiting somewhere on the edge of the marsh was asleep. When he opened his eyes it was z for him to turn up. broad daylight. The water had ‘receded to ‘a con- oo; “They'll have a long wait, I’m thinking,” he siderable extent and he was able to look down - sajd. “They would have to walk out up to their into the muddy interior of the wreck. x waist in water before they would be able to dis- The eatly rays of the sun, shining between the cover where I have .gone, and it’s not at all hoary-looking ribs of live oak, sparkled upon a certain they would learn then unless they have bit of dull brass sticking out of the mud. uncommonly good eyesight, for with my clothes “I suppose that is a piece of the vessel’s brass- off I-might easily be taken in the moonlight for wotk down there,” thought Joe, as he looked at ‘apart of this‘old wessel. I woudex how, long this © it. : - wreck has been here? From the looks of it I The longer he looked at it the more his curios- should say anywhere from twénty to fifty years. ity was excited. concerning it. He dumped the ~* : In a place like this marsh a wreck will hold to- log down, and stepping on it, bent down and ~~ “gether ten times longer than out on the beach—: pushed some of the mud away. To his surprise ‘yes, twenty times longer, for it is sheltered from it proved to be the end of a brass-bound box. He z rough handling by wind and tide.” uncovered the top wholly, and found that. it was ¢ Then Joe’s thoughts returned te the box which but a small box, about eight inches by “twelve. : he believed contained the British cruiser’s gold. He felt around the ends and discovered two metal ) “He hoped the rascals whe were 50 anxious to get handles. When he tried to lift it he learned that ~ hola of him would not discover its hiding-place. it was mighty heavy. The bed of mud in which Zi _“Y}Lceme out to-morrow with a couple of men it was encased made it still more difficult te . and take pessession of it,” he thought. “If it con- move., Stepping on it he started to dig the mud tains the gold I'l] be a rich young fellow, and away fronfone of the sides with his fingers when - ean have all the good clothes and good times I he uncovered-the end of another box just like it. want. Instead of working at any old job I'll _ “Gee! There’s two of them,” he breathed. “I eall on Miss Suzette like a gentleman, and who wonder if there are any more, and I'd give somé- a knows but in time we might get married and live thing to know what’s in them, E _ together in a fine house on the’ fat of the land.” His subsequent investigations disclosed four : was quite an interesting air-castle that he more, or six in all, every one identical in shape, ‘built around the supposed box of ‘treasure and size and weight. Leg ai covers fas- _ Suzette Castle, with whom he was already more tened with padlocks of br ; ; _ than half in love, but then he had nothing else to “This is certainly a, tee he muttered. ~ do out in the middle of the marsh in the silence keep on finding in this neighbor- -_ and moonlight of a summer's night, and persons hood I’ll have quite a. collection of stuff which ~~ much older than he would probably have passed may prove very valuable. There is little danger ; the hours in the same kind of mental occupation. that anybody will come out here to rob me of And while he sat there and dreamed dreams that this kind. What I’m worried about is the safety ¥ might not come true, the water continued to rise of the box I found on the shore. There may be ; . fifty to a hundred thousand dollars worth of han half as British gold in it. .If those rascals get their his toes, and its hooks on it before I can regain possession of it i there will be no chance for me to get it. I past take Po ae at all risk of the spot where I t it to e sure it is still there, _ e. The re- Joe now began to think about leaving the wreck. _His clo were dry and he hated to t wet then: again. decided to roll them upina — bundle, straddle the log and paddle-his way back op yey of its exist- of the wate 1 SS ee pe t was £ rance of i yater. plan he carried ow i Bes oe polled’ to" Hie toes and looked at the the into the water, and wading to it rrecae 4 ee eS ee the mud, in which he sank up to his knees. _ -it would cover the bit of | en . The mud came off his legs during his passage to ms 3 the point where he embarked for the wreck the | ; ght before, and which was now covered b aE a of water. Abandoning the log he folio = the path of the ter rose another inch and then stop 2 was at its highest point and would re-— way for an hour or longer ‘when it

Page 19

PLAYING A toward the shanty, keeping his eyes on the alert lest he run foul of his enemies, who might still be on the lookout for him at some — He saw no signs of them, however, but all that he did not relax his caution. The ; most prudent thing he could have done would have been to work around to the shore and start for the village without going near the shack, but he was anxious about the iron chest, and wanted to see if it was where he had left it. The clump bushes into which he had dragged it was close the shanty, and so it was necessary for him ts to take chances in order to reach it. The one. t in his favor was that it lay at the back of house. When the shanty hove in sight he examined the cl around it carefully before leaving the shelter of the marsh. Neither the men nor the dogs were in sight. Smoke was issuing from the chimney, and rising lazily into the morning air, indicating that the rascals were preparing their breakfast. Taking the risk of one of them looking out through the back window, Joe started for the — = bushes. He reached it without attracting atten- tion, and parting the branches looked in. The as w me. “Gee! That’s fierce!” he’ exclaimed. “They’ve possession of it and may have opened it by s time. What can I do? Nothing, I guess. I wish I had a gun. I’d make a big fight to re- cover it.” it was an awful disappointment to Joe. Al- . though he had no assurance that the box eon- - tained the gold of the British cruiser, yet the old- fashioned look of the chest, and the spot where had unearthed it on the shore gave him the ief that it must be the treasure receptacle. Having calculated that the money must amount te a considerable sum—a fortune for one person it wag almost exasperating to reflect that after - fin it by accident it should be taken away Yrom him by a couple of rascals who would doubt- ~?- — Jess sqtiaeaien it in one Way or another. Joe could- n’t — the eens oo 1 2 - whether the men ant e box or not. _ oe succeeded i ™ BEE on Vel aa it CTS? NG ee A DAT er He cautiously ap- the house and reached it without any- appening. The window was half way up. saw Grimes outside the door i ed in. He e Gridley was coo ba} ee ye es le a wi when he the iron box standing against i, The som in a badly condi- of a of yellow a, stood : cutta: . I } hardly believe his eyes, so sure had he bee #5 _, LONE HAND 17 that the chest contained treasure. While he was ¥ staring at it Gridley walked to the window and “> looked out. ; Barely six inches separated their faces as their eyes met. The surprise on both sides was so complete that for a moment they stood quite motionless, Then with a fierce imprecation Grid- ley thrust his arm through the window and tried to seize the boy. Joe eluded the clutch and made a dash for the bushes that lined the shore, CHAPTER XIV.—Joe Meets the Peddler. The fleeing lad heard Gridley shout to his com- pion outside, and h ew that would immediate. He club with him, which he had carried over to the wreck and brought back, and he determined to — up a desperate resistance against capture. He felt confident that he could out-run the men, but the dogs were cer- tain to embarrass his flight so much that his enemies would be able to overtake him before he could get very far from the shanty. However, he was resolved to do his best to get away. He sped along the hard beach eng So vill as fast as he could run. He soon heard thé p othe of the men and the yelping of the dogs behind’ _ On he flew at top speed, but closer came the dogs each moment. They were almost up to him, and #he was about to stop and give them battle, when around the turn of the shore came a horse and 2 ‘ covered wagon. Joe reco ed the man on the = = seat as the peddler he seen talking with the ship chandler. The boy made a sweeping ~ lurch at the foremost dog with his club and then ran up to the wagon which the peddier had u reined in, OL 3 “What’s the trouble, my lad?” asked the ped- dler. , “Those rascals behind are trying to captureme = with the help of their dogs,” replied Joe. “The = & couple of liquor™smugglers who know [ve learned too much about them and their business. and they want to keep me prisoner so I won’t geB- the chance to inform on them.” me: : “Say you so,” said the peddler, in a brisk tone = Jump_up and J’ll see that they don’t touch you.” Joe made another swoop with his club at Maj eo: who had attempted to sp at him, and lande Z a heavy blow on his fore shoulder, causing the - : animal to fall on the sand, He then sprang up on hag oe and was safe. Grimes — Gridley, seeing how matters were, stopped whist] to the dogs. The peddler started on toward them The two rascals looked the picture of disappoint- ment as the wagon passed them at a jog trot, and Joe could not help giving them a grin of tr- umph. The peddler said nothing to A toa but he eyed them both sharply. “se on is\your name, my lad?” asked the pe er, } = “Joe Sargent.” ; “You live in the village, I suppose?” ; “J landed in Seaport yesterday morning x4 ieee toe time a wiles nas eee - ‘suppose I live there.” x SS SN ? Where did ~ “Only arrived there yesterday, eh you come from?” “Dockville.” ies mg

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_ gway. and intend to'do the 18 PLAYING A “Do your parents live in that place?” “No, sir; I’m an orphan, with not a relative that I know of in the world.” “Perhaps you'll tell me about those two men ‘who you say are liquor smugglers, and how you discovered that fact?” “I'd rather say nothing about them, sir.” “Why not?” asked the peddler, sharply. “Beause I want to turn the information oyer to the Government and get the reward. I’m down -on my luck and need money badly.” “You can tell me without fear of losing your - reward,” said the man. “Well, being as you’ve helped me out of a bad scrape |’ll pao Te a deal with you. I’m willing to divide the reward with you if you'll agree to treat me fair,” said Joe. “No, my lad; I promise you that you shall have the whole of the reward if you can furnish evidence against those men that will connect them with the smuggling of liquor on this shore,” said the peddler. “Say, are you a idler or are you a revenue officer in disguise?”-asked the boy suddenly. “’'m a peddler, of course. What made you think I was an officer in disguise,” asked the man, looking keenly at Joe. “JT heard Sam Smith, the ship chandler’s son, warn his father to be careful about what he said to you, as he believed you were an officer in the service of the Government, and pretended to be a peddler in order to pick up information without suspicion,” replied Joe. “Why should young Smith consider it necesSary to warn his father against me? Is the old man mixed up with the liquor crowd?” “Did you buy five kegs of brandy. from him and help dig them out of the sand early this mornigg ?” “I He told me that he accidentally found those kegs there one day, and has been keeping the knowledge quiet with the view of profiting by it. But how did you learn that I bought the kegs of brandy from him?” “Because I heard him tell the two men back yonder that he had sold them to you. The kegs were not hidden in the sand then, but somewhere else with a lot more. Those five kegs that you bought were buried just about dark in the place -where you found them with Smith’s help.” “Indeed! You can prove that, I suppose?” “No, I can’t, but I can swear it’s the truth.” “Do you intend to ca: your information to e inspector of the ict at Belfast?” “I do, if nothing happens to prevent me. May- “be you'll object as you have those five kegs and want to ize on them without inter- ference. You ni ’t fear that I will e you I won’t say fedora, Soa the five ke at all, as I can furnish » Government wi _ plenty of information aside from them.” ~ “Look here, my lad, I believe you are honest right thing, so I think I ean trust you.. I am not a peddler but a revenue offi- cer in disguise. _ “That’s a fact, is it?” said Joe. “Jt is. Now that I have confided my secret to I want you to make a clean breast of every- connected with these men.” — d like to be sure that you really are a rev- LONE HAND The bogus peddler put his hand in one of his hip pockets and pulled out his official shield or ~badge which bore a number and the Government emblem. “Are you satisfied?” he said. “I am,” replied Joe. “I will tell you my story.” He began with his arrival in Seaport and his hunt for work, and then told him he had taken refuge inside the coiled chain cable in front of the ship chandlery shop and had been awakened by the voices of old man Smith and his son. He repeated all that had passed between the two just before the bogus peddler came that way on foot with his boxes. “T heard Smith invite you inside to take a drink of his applejack, and when you went in with him I jumped out of the chain cable and listened at the window to all you and he said te each other.” “You did, eh?” said the revenue man, grimly. “Yes, sir. When you started to go I sneaked around to the rear of the building to wait till you got out of the way,” went on Joe. “I found an open window there and saw Sam Smith and his mother talking together. As they were speaking about the smuggling business, too, I deemed it my duty, as well as to my interest, to listen. I heard enough to confirm my previous suspicions that old man Smith was connected with the busi- ness.” Joe then told the man how he made the ac- uaintance of Tom Baker, and how he went to the beach with him for a load of sand. Inciden- tally he spoke about how he got a job to work for Captain Gosport, and that the ex- pected him to start in that morning, but he essed his employer would be disappointed un- er the circumstances that had since transpired. Then he went on to tell how interested he was in the statement he had heard Smith make about the box of treasure that was supposed to have been on board the British cruiser that was wrecl- ed near the point in the year.1814. He told tie officer how he walked down to the shore to kill time till supper would be house, and how that led to the os had happened to him duri night, which he described in de to his interested listener, and which included the talk he over- heard between the ship chandl the two rascals from’ whose clutches the 's fortunate 7 wm 429 ty maa had “Well, m you have @ strenuous time of it,” smiled the officer; “but will be the gainer by it if the rascals don’t take alarm in the meanwhile and remove those kegs of liquor the swamp. Did you notice pretty near! ~ what part of the they are concealed in“ ’ “T know it was close to the shanty for it did»’t oe them long to wine out the five keys pics suppose you have your wagon, i Tee “Good. J dare say we will have li troubl : in finding them. I am on my way now to ti: life-saving station a I shall press some of vice to save time, as I judge I We will start back right away. a chance to get some breakfast before we set out,” said the officer. =

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‘ y ’ jqlettt 2A - men were; but he pis F he soon accomplished ; PLAYING A and requested the loan of four of his men to make the seizure of the oj and capture the two smugglers at the shanty if they were there. While the arrangements were un way, Joe was provided with breakfast, and by the he aaa eaten all he wanted, the expedition was ready set out. CHAPTER XV.—The Finding of the Kegs. The peddler’s stock in trade, what remained of it, and the five kegs of brandy, were Jeft behind at the station, and the four coastguardsmen took their — inside of the vehicle, which proceeded back se Saag asap pd? gindigh eign officer and Joe on the front séat. It was close on to eleven when the wagon was driven up to the shanty and all hands got out. Grimes and Grid- ley, as well as the two dogs, were conspicuous See en cain, hasty breakfast, and without ; d eaten a a disturbing anything in the house had taken their departure, whether to return or not later on no one could say but themselves. “They are y” said officer. “Well, it isn’t more I , but I hope have- n't removed the brandy kegs-to a new hiding- Joe cae officer iron box he * be on the bea over rhteh he hed | > s0 much physical, - 2 * en ss “Ni ioe wethilen and old-fechiomea pistols” “You has Se offer.” “Now out the direction you believe they ga f a i s : a i ae Bs zt ge g: Fe 4 p eg : EB a Fi &$ 22 i cteetide a hs ty B He 5 , Z if had ing some move on Sam’s Sen Th cotaled Sa aa te ag onceale ; i peomcaies made for the ES > LONE HAND point where the ship chandler’s son was on the watch. The gand gave out no sound and so Sam 19 had no on that anybody was about to take - him from until Joe located and pounced upon him. the og: youth by the , Joe hauled out of the es on the rf marsh side, “Here, what are you doin’?” protested Sam, —- the best resistance he knew how. At this point the revnue officer came up. “I believe your name is Sam Smith?” he said. “Well, what of it?” replied Sam, sullenly. “You know the two men who live in that shanty, don’t you?” “Don’t know nothin’ about them.” “Look here, young man, I arrest you as an as- sociate and accomplice of the gang of liquor smugglers who have been carrying their business on in this neighborhood.” “J don’t know nothin’,” almost blubbered the boy, who was frightened out of his shoes at the premnrce ahead of him. “All right, When we get you into court we'll find out whether you know anything or not,” said the- o , BU snapping a pair of hand- cuffs on Sam’s wrists. The touch of the bracelets gave Sam heart failure, Sam was fo to seat himself on the bench under the tree, was tied to it. “Tl get square with you,” he said to Joe. “How?” grinned t. Fig you mind how, but I will, if I die for At that interesting the coastguards- each lugging a men appeared smuggled randy. keg of the ! you’ve found them,” said the officer, in a of satisf: sald th = sir,” the foremost man, touching his to be quite a bunch of them —two dozen, Tela judge.” “Good. Be careful t you miss none,” said the officer. : , 3 brought from the marsh, in all. juncture 8 The kegs were quickly and they counted up thirty The officer then gaye orders to load the kegs on the- wagon. en that was accomplished, Sam ith was put in the vehicle, too. coastguardsmen followed, and with the officer anél Joe on the front seat again the wagon started for the village. CHAPTER XVI,—Conelusion. When they reached the : chandlery store they came to a halt and the officer went in and placed Jacob Smith, to his consternation, under He was ordered to get into the wagon, “Now, my lad, we are going back to the coast- nard station,” said the officer to Joe, “and from ere I shall go on to Rockville, and thence to Belfast. There is no need for you to accompany us; but I want to know where to find you, for at roper time you will be required to come to Belfast and appear against the Smiths, and — the other men if we catch them in the meantime, - All your expenses will be paid, ‘and when the liquor shall have been sold you will get yout prize-money. You had better take up that jok re toe

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20 PLAYING A with Captain Gosport, for that will keep you em- ployed until the Government wants you.” “Yes, sir, I shall report at the captain’s place at once, and explain why I was unable to show up sooner,” said Joe. “Very well. And now goodby till I see you again.” E They shook hands and parted, Joe starting for Captain Gosport’s house. The captain frowned when he saw Joe, for it was then nearly one o'clock, and he had expected his new helper at seven that morning, according to arrangement. Joe’s explanation rather astonished the captain. He accepted it as a matter of-course, and finding the boy had had no dinner he took him into the kitchen and had the cook prepare something for him, after which he put Joe at work cutting the on his extensive lawn. At half-past five Tom Baker called at the captain’s house to find out whether his new friend had turned up there or not. Joe was at work in one of the garden beds helping the captain fix some of the flowers when Tom appeared. “Where in creation have you been, Joe?” Tom asked. “We kept supper waiting some time last evening, expecting you to appear. I was around here about ten to-day, but Captain Gos- port said he had seen nothing of you. Give an account of yourself, old man.” = _- “Let it go: till this evening. I am too busy now. I’ve got to call at your house for my Fraps. and then Ill tell you all about my adven- res since I parted from you yesterday after- noon,” said Joe. : Tom went home, and Joe kept on with his a work until it was finished and the captain gave Fa him something else to do. Finally the cook $ called him to do some chores for her, then he had his supper in the kitchen, and shortly after- ward : sens i. the Baker —— tions was 7 erly awaiting his appearance, an e story % $2; Joe told him made his eyes bulge with as- _ tonishment. Then the boys began talking about the fron box that Joe found on the shore. --- _ *So you thought that contained the gold of the bic British cruiser?” chuckled Tom. ss *F -wag sure of it, and when you see the box SA he ay it was a natural mistake for me to ~ tnake. E : - “And all it held was a lot of old pistols and - cutlasses?” : - Joe nodded. 5 . _.“Ym going after it to-morrow in the captain’s you to go along and help > = in force his : the inlet. Next day when Joe appeared with he captain’s wagon at the place where Mr. Jones carrying on his building operations he found ready to go with him foe en fg 9 iron box full of obsolete weapons. Eas Gxtew tp LONE HAND reached the house in due time and found it still untenanted. The box was too heavy for them to put on the wagon as it stood, so a. took the arms out of it and then got it into the wagon. The weapons were then put back in it, and as there was nothing more to detain them they drove back to the village. Joe carried his prize to the captain’s house, and that personage was very much interested in its contents. He offered to buy a pair of the signs and a couple of the cutlasses and Joe said e could have them for the use of his wagon. The captain refused to acquire them sq cheaply and handed Joe a couple of dollars. When Sun- day came around Joe used the money to hire a smaj]l sailboat, in which he and Tom started for the marsh. They found some difficulty in getting through the rushes that filled up the entrance to the more open water where the wreck lay, but they got porovah in the end Pe reached the old wreck. The tide was well up at the time, and they had to wait some time for it to go down be- fore they could get at the boxes. They had brought a small shovel along and with it Joe removed the mud and with ‘fom’s help got the boxes into = boat. Then they started to re- turn to the village. n they arrived at the wharf Tom remained in the boat while Joe went. to the captain’s house to get a horse and n to carry the boxes, which were finally landed-in the carriage house. “Let’s break one open and see what’s in it,” said Tom. Joe was quite willing to satisfy his curiosity as to what was in . boxes, so with a heavy tern t attac eed the ‘ ock on one, When ey ge open they were not pre- pared for the waht ra greeted their astonished eyes. The box was full of English sovereigns, laid in even piles. Roughly valued at $5 apiece, which was about fifteen cents in excess of their ~ actual value, the contents of the box footed up $15,000. There seemed little doubt that the other boxes each held a similar sum of gold, so Joe eatiieeee his entire find as worth about $90,000, The discovery was imparted to the cap- tain, who was gontetnty astonished at the amazing luck of his new boy. ugh the cap- tain’s ee offices the English gold was-turni into American money and Joe found hims worth about $85,000, He subsequently received $275 as his share of the sale of the smuggled brandy, and $25 more from the sale of the arms — in the iron box. Jacob Smith was find $1,500 and — got two years in prison, while Sam was allowed to go free under suspended sentence. Grimes and Gridley were never cap ~Joe’s good luck did not prevent him from working for the captain for several n cnet: during which time he _ saw a good deal of Suzette Castle. Then he went to d, bought out a business that suited him and Tom, and the two boys went into part- neeahip together. : In the end qos married Suzette Castle, and thus his aircastle came out true, and so we draw _ the curtain on boy who played a lone hand — and got the gold of the wrecked English cruiser. OF WALL STREMT: OX, THE SUCCESS OF A : ; TE J SOFA | YOUNG BROKER.” Sy ro # “ =i ‘ es.

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FAME AND FORTUNE WEEKLY CURRENT NEWS "s BROTHER’S ne FALLS, INJURES Louis Roth, fifty-one, of Brooklyn, N. Y., was the victim of a peculiar accident while visiting his brother’s grave in the United Hebrew Ceme- tery on Arthur Kil] Road, Richmond, S. L, the ~. other afternoon. When Roth knelt on the mound -- the tombstone, weighing about 800 pounds, fell upon his left leg and fractured it. ‘ His wife screamed and other women in the cemetery joined her cries. The stone was lifted from Roth's leg by four men and a call was sent for Dr. A. 8. Gibson re ines ane eevee ering from shoc a robo y bab. He was removed to the Staten fractu . ' Island Hospital. JACK JOHNSON IN U. S. FOR A ran gre ampion hea eight o: e Jack Johnson, ex-champ Ne aber} genta mute on the soil of his native 0. Johnson is doing consider- in connection with his forthcom- - ia Juana, and this eee ran gross NY which separates old Tia Juana from the United States. ; % s he reached the international] line he noticed : none of the American customs officers was He placed one foot on this side of the the other. He stood this way a min- lookirig longingly toward the flag the customs house. An alarm. cloc’ in the custom house and scared the He jumped quickly into Mexico and ran loon. BAS ag ats PLATINUM VALUABLE the most precious Sa - stimate given then by Se acteraledick Kunz, author of “The Book of Sag ” and who is widely known as a connois- a ti nu ar gf are gems ee egise in the. Ural se Russia, and weighed 9,622.88 grains, ee te eagatve pounds, and was valued at es $83,672. this nugget to-day is worth at least a : -- poubtless = ble if not far more than the figures quoted cers, ‘ that the principal 8 Sa af pecs aig platinum is Russia, but as ~ the value of metal has increased. cularly fod the war, the search has en many €x- plorers and new fields are reported from various ie BS - al supply of fornia, and aon it among the newer treasures of the land. It is recovered by dredging and separated by gravity methods. The principal source of’ the world’s platinum was, prior te the war, the lacer deposits of the Ural Mountains in Russia, Tn addition to the Russian and California de posits, smaller quantities of platinum come from simalar deposits in New South Wales. The platinum production of the United Stateg in 1918 amounted to 59,753 troy ounces, valued at $6,417,980. It is known that traces of platinum have been located in Australia and South Africa, and neam er to the United States in Mexico. BUTCHER PURCHASES GOLD BRICK Beware of a rugged miner arrayed in a wide sombrero, red flannel shirt, corduroy breeches, heavy boots and with a pick slung over his shoula der, That was the warning sent out by the Philadelphia Detective Bureau after Eugene Not; a butcher, of Manayunk, unfolded his talg of woe. Sabo reported that as a result of his encoun with the moving picture miner and several his friends the profits of his butcher shop hav been curtailed to the tune of $2,400. Two weeks he told the sleuths, a man who announced himself as a Mr. Barlock and a vender of re« fri eer entered his shop and attempted to c a sale. Although the butcher stoutly maintained he was well supplied with refrigerators, the salesq continued to make daily calls. The other ry another rebuke from the meat cute miner then reported at the butcher a From of “ore” lock. “The real stuff, fresh from the Arizona m tains,” he remarked as he pointed out the shite ing icles of “ de $ abo. expressed his doubts, but Barlock was the job with a “jeweller,” who just happened be around the corner. And to the delight of butcher the jeweller said the stuff was genui Whereupon Sabo handed over $2,400 and recei in return a suitcase filled with clay besp with brass fillings. = 5555 Not until later in the day when he carted thi suitcase to the central city to have its conte examined did he discover he bought a nice array of brass particles and clay that was no mes x than the stuff in his own back yard. Then rushed to the police. According to the butcher he bore no, this. blance to Grover Cleveland Bergdoll, hero of the melodrama “Hunting Gold in the Maryland Hills.” +

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22 FAME AND FORTUNE WEEKLY Lost On Mt. Erebus =o A Boy Explorer At the South Pole By GAsSI'ON GARNE — } (A Serial Story) CHAPTER IX. (continued.) The latitude was then considerably over eighty degrees. Further than had hitherto been reached by any one elge. Even Norwegian Borchgrevink had not a so far. The magnetic pole lay somewhere to southward in a latitude of sev- degrees less than where they now were. “I am going to tackle = bus,” said Haw- . “We have time for that, and still reach the at ninety ees, providing the grub does you go with me, doctor?” you would leave me out,” pouted Madge from beneath her Arctic hood. _ “You can remain here with the —s party, for we must leave the others in rge our most precious possession.” ; “What is that, pray?” This sneeringly from Rucker. 54 “Our provisions, as you well know. But haps you would like to go along, Mr. Rucker?” I shall save myself for the final struggle for the “ {yen I will go up Mt. Rrebus if Joe and Da undertake the PS was Madge’s conclu- m, nor could she be shaken from this resolution ing all the argument that followed, The seal meat had long given out. The main i can, pre= pared by an n improved process, by which a large rtion of was condensed within a A large amount of cared and than ‘once when her ravenous caused her to relish her daily ra’ é than a ge eagerness for food. ‘¥ loathe the stuff at home, and I i e “It was determined that a sort of interior head- quarters should be established here; for, after the yolchno’s ascent, it looked as if the further prog- ress toward the geographical pole would be ' through a desolate on of high altitudes, void pen 4 ah life, and storm swept more or less even in summer. A part of the expedition might rest here, while the more hardy ones pushed on with but one sled toward the pole, - coe pulldine Carr, “ie Pe Bil i r. awley, oy an Lapse Bo tokune ba oalt Massey from wl | HEE day or two of climbing. ee ‘ tor, ed,’ was a level pintensi. shoul H aa SOY alae rep took with, the lightest sled and the ° ‘for the first All that day they toiled upward, some of them ee the sled to aid the dogs at the steepest places. pane Aisha os cok sete pie scenghectaeeen we have i us save your or the last days of climbing,” said Joe more than once, but the girl refused, “T believe I can stand as much as any of you,” she asserted. “If = rides, let it be the doc- He is not rT ng. : But Carr would hot, and Madge acquitted her- self so well that her relative could not but ad- mire her persistence. That ~¥ they camped in a snow blizzard at a height of more than eight thousand feet. The dogs buried themselves in the snow after being f Joy and Hawley took one sleeping bag, and the girl and her relative, the doctor, the other. All night the wind increased, until the gale became a hurricane about two hours before daybreak. The temperature sank to about ten below zero. Day came, but travel was impracticable. In tha afternoon Madge emerged from her bag to stretch her limbs, as she said. Instantly the wind whirled away one of her wolfskin gloves. She plunged after it and was swept out of sight down the ravine. “Good heavens!” cried Joe, springing out of his own snug quarters. “What did she do that for? Move up to Dr. Carr, Bill; and both of you hold down these bags. I’m going after —. s 4 e Fea hen A composedly. “But don’t you and Miss ge allow yourselves to be blown clean off the earth.” Hawley found the girl lying flat behind a boul- der and quietly putting on her glove. “You dear boy,” she cried, attempting to rise, “Y’m all right——” Here the wind caught her, turned her around and blew her backward to the very edge of a large crack in the volcanic lava, which showed here and there all about where the gale had swept the snow away. Hawley, seeing her danger, threw himself for- ward and down flat, clutching Madge by one ankle and drawing her from a very rea! danger. “Another foot, and I would have gone over,” she acknowledged, as together they crawled back to the sleeping bags. About midnight the second night the wind sud- | denly ceased, and rose. In the morning all was made mete for the final ascent, Bill Joy was to return with the sled and dogs to headquarters, after making a cache for the surplus provisions. “Doctor, you ought not to go any farther,” re- monstrated Madge, seeing that the severe expe- riences they had undergone since leaving camp had told on him heavily. “Joe and I Fae 3 climb to the summit. and return here, The food you are leaving will answer us to retum to headquarters, and more too.”" - : awley added his ———— Dr. Carr . Leg eetne oy go wi young people in the temperature as suddenly (To be continued) — ee

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FAME AND FORTUNE WEEKLY = rs 4 BRIEF BUT POINTED 1,350,000 GERMANS WERE KILLED IN WAR, Recent statistics published in Germany on that country’s war losses, state that 1,350,000 men There are to-day 520,000-war widows, accord- ~ ing to the statistics, 1,130,000 war orphans, and 600,000 maimed or consumptives supported most- . ly by charity. ss. BOY HERO DIES WITH CHUM. _ William Riddell, seventeen, of No. 35 )Wool - street, Elmhurst, L. L, lost his life in trying to ~ save that of his chum, Walter V..Schempp, also seventeen, of Thomas avenue, Baldwin, L. L - This was surmised when the bodies of both youths, drowned in a pond at Baldwin were recov- - ered the following day. Schempp’s bedy was clothed in 2a bathing suit, while young Riddell _ Was fully dressed. “The double drowning was not - seen by any one, for the pond is jn a lonely sec- tion. Young Riddell was spending the week-end - at his friend’s home. They went out on Sunday, - and when they failed to reappear a search was - instituted, and Captain Frand Carman found Schempp’s clothes on the bank of the pond. The bottom was dragged with nets. Soe FOWLS GOT DRUNK Pu Kern whiskey captured in an automobile, said _ te e been driven by two Chattanoogans and ; : into the gutters at Dalten, Ga., the other _ day, has created havoc among, chickens, geese - and members of the bird family which imbibed ~ the concoction and went on a drunken carousal. = . t. _ According to the some of the fowls butted Steir rains <cet walls and trees and y hitherto cowardly roosters were turned into x ame cocks and fought everything that came in way. _ f pr f liquor was captured in an unusual ‘ — cay were patrolling the streets ooking for two negroes who had committed a minor offense and when the drivers of the car "were sto they jumped out and ran away, _ levine e liquor laden machine standing on the ‘ LOST FRANCE z 2 RETURNED TO OWNER Joseph E. Cushman of Stonington, Conn., will tell you that his confidence in humanity is re- ered, There has just come back to him one of most treasured possessions, lost in April, 1918. hen the Germans broke through the British Army at Chemin des Dames, Cushman was the Yankee troops rushed forward to stem tide. sghegers The in their e, S which he held‘ headquarters, — » spiders evinced the same wariness, al ’ coon they cling together for about a week. not return to Grande, he gave them up as lost, His eyes opened when after two years the lon lost bag trailed him to his home in the boroug and not a single article which it contained ig missing. x TOOK TOE FOR TARANTULA. The most lurid of the Mexican war correspond- ents cannot hold a searchlight to the man who tells this one in the Potter Kansan: “Some one had told him-about the tarantulas and centipedes, and ever thereafter he was great- ly worried. Awakening one bright moonlight night and noticing what he supposed was a bunch of terrible tarantulas perched on the footboard of his bed, he grabbed his gun, took deliberate aim,and fired. - “A shriek, a leap from the bed, and blood trick- ling from his foot teld-what had happened. He had mistaken his own toes for a tarantula family and had blown one of them to atoms. “The worst part of it was, it did not happen to. be the one that had the corn on it.” - owe - HARD TO TAME. a A spider is one of the hardest creatures in the | © world to tame, according to scientists who have : made the attempt. They say the insect hasn’t any idea of time, and to seek its confidence one must have unlimited patience. a5 One scientist, after gaining the confidence of a , spider by feeding it flies, sought f0 test its senses by fooling it with a piece of meat the size of-a € fly rigged up with a fly’s head and wings. x The spider stopped in its web, about an inch from the camouflage and [ater couldn’t be | from. its nest to even look at the ming 0 ough it is not known whether jt was their sense of sight or smell that was keenest. ; ; One scientist destroyed a Ee web and stayed up all night to watch it make another, _ believing it worked at night. At 6 A. M. it ran. out of a window without attempting to work be- fore his gaze. : Spinning webs is second nature with spiders. After they are hatched from the eggs in a co- _ en ee they Fa but their legs do not carry as Fe very ¥ , oe Facing the wind, and standing on the tips of their legs, the baby spiders raise their abdom and emit a silken thread. The faintest wafts the gossamer in the air, and when is let out to permit of aerial flight, the i . drifts away. ; OE When it wishes to land it hauls in the thr Wherever it lands it can spin webs without slightest instructions from older spiders. male spiders seem to lese this gift. _There ; about 550 species of spiders in America, bu Lh the house and garden spiders, are mown, B= ons p<

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24 FAME AND FORTUNE WEEKLY ’ “Well, to tell you the truth,” he answered, “I ag A MOTIVELESS CRIME. don’t like to tell you upon whom my suspicions rest, for in so doing I may be wrongiig a person for whom I have always had the greatest re- spect.” : Assuring him that all confidence reposed in me Living with me in the small village of Temple- would be as inviolable as the grave, he at length , Ohio, where I first began my career as @ decided to tell me his suspicions. ‘* : tective, was a wealthy f y named Forrest. “T have had,” he said, “in my employ for the My first acquaintance with Mr. Forrest was past six years@ governess, the daughter of a dead made shortly after the announcement of the sud- brother of whom I was very fond. She has al- ; den death of his wife, a lady widely known and ways been looked upon as one of the family, not S, esteemed all over that section of country. as a menial; of late she has appeared sullen and Her death, which occurred very suddenly, and morose, and occasionally a little eccentric. Now,” pnder peculiar circumstances, created a great deal he continued, “I have thought it just possible that of gossip, anu gave rise to many conjectures she may have had something to do with the death which reflected very seriously on her husband’s of the members of my family, that she may have sharacter. : poisoned them.” : . So pointed were some of the opinions regard- “What motive do you imagine she could have ing the cause of her death, that Mr. Forrest was for so doing?” J asked. / By Horace Appleton. , ob for his own vindication to institute an in- “That’s what baffles me,” he answered. “I can’t 4 vestigation, which he did by employing og pa of for the life of me —- any reason to account well-known detectives from Chicage: , after for her crimes, if she is guilty. She has always a short time on the case ae it up, a r, professed the greatest love for my wife and - Forrest that they believed all suspicions of foul ee and they the same for her, and why she play Were groundless. Mr. Fo: was forced to should want to do them an injury is more than = e content with their conclusions, his own con- I can divine.” 2 _ peience being clear of any guilt in connection with “But she is undoubtedly the criminal all the the matter. "nate lied, with professional intuition. Hardly had the excitement concerning his wife’s ‘Do you think so?” he asked, eagerly. “And death pabatded in the vi , when the tongues.of why?” — : the gossips were in set a-wagging by the in- I replied that I could give no substantial rea- _ telligence that his aidest daughter, a lovely young s0n for my opinion, but as: him that if he lady of about eighteen years, had been cas would give me the libe his home for a few taken oR org the same symptoms as her mother, days I would undoubtedly prove the truth of and, like her, had pubsed a quickly away. my belief. er funeral was hardly over when a son of Mr, _ “I hate—Heaven knows I do,” he replied, “to Deavast ea giciteoe doe 2 RE ake, Wey) ane think that Fanny hee mg Sy fee RE = oe: pugcumbed as to the mysterious malady wrong; yet, if proved that is, I would want Shel bis sevens and civ. ~ Y to see her puni as the next one. Matters were in this state, when Mr. Forrest é d yet,” vos a can —— she : : . th so called at my: office, and asked me to clear up the gall g that it don't been hie ps mystery. : Z gest questioni part fai d be transformed into such a fiend, and for elicit’ anything so ogo me asin ~~ shar ap Po . aio. rane —— with “ene ieve she is the te that Mr. Forrest was otherwise than truthful in rei,” T replied, “with all ste a about the catises which had stricken down the YOHr,o%p"e it tien tg se’ pete e said 55 Oot ne aoe cogen ao Ake house for a few days, I think ei prove myse ip y he as me wi eves, right in this matter. You m in mi S there wasn’t a happier family in Templeton that your.own character is at e in this affai : mine, I loved my wife and two dead children a8 that “some very hard things have been A. fondly as Pes is 5 possible for a eS tigate ~ again a remarks ve been cau eir : cruel. Great Heaven!” be wes ee ies down his This reference to his own position awakened shim to the necessity for some action, even though his niece was injured by it.. “Very well, then,” he said. “I want you to go iS seas & got Be aeons and pub at of the way the better.” pa UN ot lh Ase, oe OY tp ah iD NOL AR aa ubke gil GC ANN Was Ay *] Me 4 afi et A ae ie yy wae: ol od y wae. ; q) gay found Se Mr. Forrest’s : as if just off a long journey, S

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Mr. Forrest received me cordially, and bring- me in, introduced me to his niece, Miss Fan- ny Wentworth, whom I found to be a very modest and withal exceedingly prepossessing young lady. When in the course of my ‘conversation with her I referred to the sad bereavements Mr. For- _ rest had recently undergone, she appeared deep- ~ ly affected, and expressed her sorrow in the most pathetic manner. g _. However, these manifestations of grief had no _ effect.onm me in altering my belief as to her guilt, for I had learned how true was the saying that _ “appearances are very deceptive,” and accord- ingly did not relax. for one moment my watch upon all her actions. while in the house. She went about the house in the discharge of her duties as cheerily as if the shadow of death had not so recently fallen upon it, and in every ‘Way comported herself like one who was incapa- _ ble of doing a wrong action. On the second day of my stay at the Forrest mansion I noticed that she appeared less viva- _» ¢ious in her manner than was her wont. 2 aa She seemed gloomy and depressed in ‘spirits, Pi and anxious to avoid conversation with her uncle _. or myself. -_ “She’s got one of her fits on now,” said_the latter to me, as he was showing me to my bed- room on the night of the day in question. a _ I bade him good-night, and sat«dewn in the state : - reom to meditate. . _ “So far,” I thought, “I have discovered _noth- ing which warrants me in believing Fanny Went- worth guilty of any crime.” : I sat there for a long time pondering over the _ mystericus affair, and was at last aroused from - my reflection’ by hearing Mr. Forrest at the foot of the stairs which led down from my room to the sitting-room bidding Fanny “good-night, ‘with the remark that she had better not stay up much longer. a : ~ I waited until I heard Mr. Forrest enter his -yoom—next to mine—and retire, and then stole eatery out of my room down the stairs, with the faint hope that I might discover Fanny Ft in some action that would justify my be- rudely disturb the one thus en- still and listened attentively. the voice as that of Fanny forward beyond the p stairs from the sittix ing leaning Unwilling to 7 i ent- : attitude but devotional, and .¢ mi Be nther forward to see if could ‘something of what she was aomns, observed on the stand be- Piece Sh white ttle pile of white her, on which — Ti intently at this preparation, Rots ve it, and then she burst forth FAME AND FORTUNE WEEKLY Went-, Seale in jail. before the window. : 25 daughter from my path, and with thy aid,” and she looked at the mysterious powder rapturously, “J will send Mr. Forrest, strong and healthy as he is, to his last account.” My first impulse was to bound into the room and confront her with her guilt, but on a second thought I determined to wait until morning, and see what would transpire- then. ; I had heard enough to convince me that she meditated foul play with Mr: Forrest, and I de- termined to balk her in her plans, and at the same time obtain proof of her guilt. In a few moments she started back to. the kitehen, and taking advantage of her absence I made my way back to my room. The following morning I awoke, and shortly afterward, in company with Mr. Forrest, sat down to breakfast. Fanny P be in excellent spirits. She poured out Mr. Forrest and myself each a cup of coffee. As the former raised the cup to his lips to drink I sprang to my feet, and in the most per- bee om d manner forbade him to do so: And why not, pray?” he asked, in astonish- ment. ; “Because,” I said, looking Fanny Wentworth square in the face, “that woman there has put poison in it! And if you drink, like your wife and- children, you die!” rs As I finished speaking Fanny Wentworth sank back into her chair, the coffee-pot falling from her nerveless grasp to the floor. , “Is it, uncley’ she replied, with trembling voice. “Have mercy on me!” she pleaded piteously. “God forgive.me! I know not what I do!” : = _Mr. Forrest arose calmly from his chair and picked up the coffee-pot. ] “Come, Mr. ,” he said, addressing me. “E> will take this down to Dr. Winters, and have him analyze it, and if he finds poison in it, that wo- a will im = batons isht = 7. answer she only returned a scornful lau a= and defied him to do his worst. 3 Dr. Winters anal ee and found arsenic in ‘sufficient quantity to ll a re nt; and Mr. Forrest made his word in having his niece at once arrested and _ When brought to trial she. was pronounced insane by the court physicians. The only plausible theory ever offered in ex- tenuation of her crimes was that they were in- ~ fluenced by a brute love of power. ay She learned the power of arsenic—the little white powders that she could buy for a few’ _— pennies. ; : ; With them she could throw people into tor: ments, and send them to their last socom the poor, weak, little governess. 2 = It mond = great powers <= ‘its use fascina‘’ er weak brain un e it, a : and too fatally. YO ES In consideration of her insanity, on . found guilty of the murder of Mrs. Forrest as er two children, Fanny Wentworth. was sent — an insane asylum for Tite. ae And there she is up to the present time;-shorn’ of all opportunity to invoke the fatal ay sete which she wrought so much unhappiness. pee» \ fe a ar aaa . —= ; iar the contents of the coffee- - — y -_ ches Mel ‘ resided at the table, and appeared to é < a ee AY ae Se as Thee 0 aaa

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26 FAME AND FORTUNE WEEKLY FAME AND FORTUNE WEEKLY NEW YORK, JULY 30, 1920. ——————————————————————————————— TERMS TO SUBSCRIBERS Bingle Copies.............. -.Postage Free.... .07 Cents @ne Copy Three Months... bse See .90 Gents One Copy Six Months...... 2 ey res One Copy One Year....... = are ee HOW TO SEND MONEY—At our risk send P. O. Money Order, Check or Registered Letter; remittances in y other way are at your risk. We accept Postage itamps the same as cash. When sending silver wrap the ‘oin in a separate piece of paper to avoid cutting the envelope. Write your name and address plainly. Ad- dress letters to HARRY E. WOLFF, Publisher 166 West 28d St., New York ITEMS OF INTEREST KRASSIN LEARNS ENGLISH IN MONTH Leonid Krassin, business envoy of Lenine, has won a $125 bet by learning to speak English in one month. When he arrived in London, Krassin was told the manager of his hotel that English was cult to learn. The wager was then made. assin won when at the end of thirty days he discussed English sports with the manager for fifteen minutes. WOULD REPAY OLD LOAN Sixty-seven years ago while in Shreveport, La., C. F. Rogers, an engineer of Columbus, Ga., bor- rowed enough money from E. O. Snow, stage ine agent, to return home. For various reasons cluding the civil war, the money was not re- paid, and now Rogers is trying to locate heirs of his benefactor in order to repay the loan. The story is related in a letter received by Dr. George S. Sexton, pastor of the First Metho- st Church here, whose assistance in secking now’s heirs is enlisted by the borrower, writing his home in Lotohatchee, Ala. THREE WOMEN SAW THROUGH OHIO JAIL BARS AND ESCAPE Three women prisoners sawed their way to om at the county jail Akron, Ohio, June 380. are: Carrie Childs, negress, charged with ket picking; Marie Hamilton, 8, cha’ with cutting to kill, and Pear! te, charged with Bock picking. The women occupied the same . cell. The escape was made the more daring by rea- gon of the location of the cell directly over the The women, after sawing the bars, : il office. Seopa to the ground directly in front of the ice window. PUTS LIFE INTO MARSH LAND IN FRASER VALLEY : icultural College known as st, but he is also a ogist to sick soil, Adept in the chemical remedies that will work a cure. Twenty thousand acres of bog land have lain ‘ uncultivated for years at Pitt Meadow, on the Canadian Nationa! Railway, in the heart of one of the richest fruit and orchard regions of the Fraser Valley, B. C. Many a farmer ivoking across the marshy desolation has thought what wealth would be his if only its rank reeds and rushes were replaced with apple and plum trees and fields of strawberries. : “Dr.” Tice recently made a professional call on the marsh and studied it with a scientific eye. He was half inclined to think at first it was a case of dementia praecox. For land that might be producing rich fruit crops to remain in such condition suggested insanity. But he decided finally the land was merely sour. “All it needs,” he said, “is sweetening.” This verdict made the farmers of the region laugh. Sweetening 20,000 acres, they thought, would cost more than the land was worth, with sugar around 30 cents a paund. ut the British Columbia Department of Agri- culture had faith in “Dr.” Tice’s diagnosis and set aside a fund to enable the physicion to ap- ply his nostrums. Tice has just begun his min- istrations. Much to the surprise of the farmers he did not order a few trainloads of sugar. He first drained ten acres. After the soil had dried out, he broke the surface with a cultivator. Later on he will plough it. His purpose is, as he ex- plains, to warm and etertins t. “Sunshine is the sugar I will use to sweeten the land,” he said. - LAUGHS Man with wooden leg—Your charge for crema- tion is exorbitant. Porter at cemetery—Well, we will throw off ten per cent. in your case, on ac- count of your wooden leg. A little girl joyfully assured her mother the other day that she had found out where they made horses; she had seen a-man finishing one, “He was nailing on his last foot.” A young man, searching for his father’s pig, accosted an Irishman as follows: “Have you seen a stray pig about here?” +Fajth, how could I tell a stray pig from any other?” “Why, Tommy,” exclaimed the Sunday-school teacher, “don’t you say your prayers every t before you go to bed?” “Not any more,” replied Tommy. “I uster when I slept in a folding bed, though.” “What does your father questions?” asked one sm: says, ‘I’m ang don’t bother me,” replied the other. “Then when I go out of the room he looks in the encyclopedia.” “Uncle John,” queried the pretty girl who was seeking information, “would I be justified in writ- ing to a young-man who has never written to me?” “Only on very important business, my dear,” answered the old man. “Well, this is im- portant business,” she explained. “I want him to marry me.” ‘ o when you ask him boy. “He erally .

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= = FAME AND FORTUNE WEEKLY A FEW GOOD ITEMS z, Fk i” io FINDS RING LOST YEARS AGO John Hunter the other day excavated from the soil in the rear of his Holland street home near Eddystone, Pa., a diamond ring, which he ~ had lost there more than twelve years ago. 1t was while spading that Hunter lest the ring From a hole im his pocket. He had no idea where had dropped it, and in-time forgot all about it. He was turning over the soil again with a Bpade, and to his surprise the long-lost ring came up on a spadeful of dirt. A little washing and A i restored it to its original beauty, The ing is valued at $200. was rns Al Pret eat ad . ae. — —- = Ors a A CACTUS WHITEWASH _ At some of our Western Aza as where the common cactus in . try a use for it deseribed by mS Consul Frederic W. Goding, of Montevideo. the Con- and Trade Reports he says ; Pat sare. g through the rural districts of Uruguay, o Po rei is attracted to the f fine white-color of the buildings, even during the wet season, To obtain this neat effect a whitewash is used which i with the sliced leaves of te common macerated in water for twenty-four hours, a solution of creamy consistency; to is added and well mixed. When applied be it of wood, brick, iron, or other pearly white appearance 1S will endure through sterms and cu BY INDIAN RUNNERS CUPID AIDED Se e Indian girl, the x of Wisconsin, lay a hed chen’ the vanners found the girl and hur- her to her semstnnaxe bedside. _ slightly ill, so I drove for a while. _ SEMI-MONTHLY “ A Weekly Magazine Devoted to Photeplsys and Players on the Se Elegant Half-tone Scenes f, the Piaye—Interesting rticles About Sreninont Peop “a. was e taken ~ 8 Miss Gauthier, a dark eyed, slender slip of a girl, is. 23, Her father is a full blooded Keshena Indian. Her mother is Irish. She came to the home of Mr. and Mrs. William J. Kershaw in Milwaukee about eight years ago and wai: brought, up and educated as their daughtey, at- tending Holy Angels Academy. “T was to spend- my vacation with my real father and mother on Menominees reservation, and Mr. Rogers was to drive me up there,” said Miss Gauthier, while carpenters. were busily working on the bungalow which she is to enter as a bride. “When we left Milwaukee he was E By the time we arrived in Sheboygan Mr. Rogers believed he had influenza and went to the hospital.” Miss Gauthier left Sheboygan, continuing -her trip north to the reservation and reaching her father’s home. Then Mr. Rogers became .worse, and messages were sent by runners to three parts of the Indian reservation to find Miss Gauthier. She drove nine miles in a motor car and then proceeded by train to Sheboygan. f Mr. Rogers’s chances for recovery are goad, according to his physicians, two of whom went to Sheboygan from Milwaukee. “THE WAY TO BECOME A MOVING PIC. TURE ACTRESS” is in “Moving Picture Stories,” No. 326. Get a copy. Price 7 cents; postage free. HARRY E. WOLFF, 166 W. 23rd St., N. Y. ee “MYSTERY MAGAZINE” : 10 CENTS A COPY — LATEST ISSUES —— as 66 THE SECRET OF THE SEALED. BOOK, by Ethe ; Rosemon. = &? THE CLUE OF STEEL, by Willis Lathrop. aan 88 ALIAS LOUIS VARDON, by William Homiten Be 59 MYgront OF THE OLD TIME CLUB, by Caroline 60 cavenir WITH THE EVIDENCE, by Ethel Rowe. ™m 3 at 61 A LITTLE GOLD SPIDER. “by Cectl Burleigh. z 62 THE VELVE! TOUCH, by Jullan Darrow. 63 THE CLUE OF THE RED LAMP, by Charles Ful- . Oursler. . ¢4 THE SCHEME OF SOLOMON SNARE, b iNiam ' Hamilton Osborne. _ = “ bf The Famous Detective Story Out To-day in No. 65 fs - “QUICKER THAN THE EYE,” . = By Ralph Cummins. ‘oe a FRANK ‘TOUSEY, Pub., 168 W. 23d SEN. Ke 4 Ee = “MOVING PICTURE STORIES” __ 4 PRICE SEVEN CENTS PER COPY ~ - Each number contains Four Stories of the Best Films the Films—Doings of Actors an Studios and Lessons in Scenario W HAKRY E. WOLFF, Pub., 166 riting. W. 23d Sty nN

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28 FAME AND. FORTUNE WEEKLY GOOD READING FISH CAUGHT BY HAND. John Ridelbach pleaded guilty before Judge Diidine and paid a fine of $25 and costs fer violat- ing the State law by catching fish with his hands in the Sandusky River, Tiffin, Ohio, He said he didn’t know he had to use a hook. He thought he wouldn’t hurt the fish so much if he used his fin- gers to catch them, he said. LEADS JAIL ORCHESTRA. = An orchestra has been formed by prisoners in the County Jail, Oregon City, Ore. The orches- tra consists of three pieces—a violin, guitar, and mandolin, and is led by Glavich, bootlegger of Portland. Although these young men are con- fined in the County Jail, they are a happy bunch and have made many friends who have called on them and donated magazines and music. The boys are practising diligently and will soon be ready for “outside” engagements. $100 A MONTH ON FARM Demand for farm laborers is heavy throughout western Canada. Wages of $75 and $100 are now being offered in the mixed farming country along the Canadian National Railways in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. These are the high- est wages ever offered for farm help in the his- tory of the Canadian West. ousands of soldiers, who formerly were farm hands, have taken land under the soldier settle- ment act and have become farmers on their own account. When harvest begins in the latter pat of July, it is believed the demand for farm laborers will be more and wages even higher than at present. : HE KEPT A RECORD. A peculiar old man has died at Vienna in his 73rd year, says the London Express. He died with the reputation of being the most exact man on record. From his 27th year he kept accurate account of all he bought and what he paid for it. In the 27 years of his convivial life he consumed 28,786 glasses of beer. He gave up d ng in his 54th year, but he continued to. smoke con- stantly, even during his last sickness, raising the number of his cigars to 628,713, or an average 0 18,667 a year. Of the whole number some 43,500 STATUS OF ARMY PERSONNEL. Strength of the Army. strength of the Army on June 17 was 213,135, not includ- Resignations of Regular Army Officers.—From Nov. 11, 1918, to June 1, 1920, there were 2,549 officers who resigned their commissions in the Regular Army. RELIC OF AZTEC DAYS. After lying undisturbed for hundreds and per- haps thousands of years, the grave of some old Indian chieftain was rudely disturbed by city workmen employed in digging a sanitary sewer lying in Brownsville, Tex. The burial place of the old Aztec warrior was located in what is now one of the most popular sections of the city, but what was formerly the banks of an old resaca and at one time probably the bank of the Rio Grande, at the northeastern city limits. e bones were paenres in almost their nat- ural shape throug trification and their size indicated that before his death, perhaps long be- fore the white man ever heard of the Rio Grande, the warrior had been an enormously big man. That his wife was an active one was demonstrat- ed by the fact that one of his arms had been fractured and the arm failed to knit smoothly. The most perfectly preserved portions of the body were teeth, which are worn smooth, and indicated that the man was not young. They bore no signs of decay or break. COFFEE CAME FIRST FROM ABYSSINIA. Abyssinia is the original home of the coffée- tree, and in the southern and western highlands of that country there are still immense forests of it that have never been touched. In a report to the Department of Commerce, Addison E. Southard, United States Consul at Aden, says; “Tt is from the name ‘Kaffa’ that the word ‘coffee’ is said to have come. All accounts as to the introduction of coffee to the world do not. a , but weight of the evidence is to the effect hat the Agabs Pa E ot Png a cen- | ury_ brow, coffee fro yssi ing it the fruit of the tree of alfa, trom the Abys- sinian province in which y got it. Seeds were | lanted‘in Arabia an eloped the fine coffee own to-day as Mocha. Dye to cultivation and the change of soil and climate, the Mocha coffee were given to him; he bought the rest for $12,- vie 600, or about two cents eS reer res orn he - over the Kaffa stock “When, acco to history, the Arabs over- — ran Abyssinia in ‘ing nurses and Army field clerks. Of this num- p x | ber 15,689 were officers. agricul crop in that us we have — Enlistments. — received to the two kinds of Abyss wn coffee: the — - June 12 show 210,446 enlistments since recruiting indigenous and uncultivated plant in southern and 28, 1919. Of this number, western Abyssinia, and the cultivated Harrar — Was D _ 172,301 are _ Furloughs plant, which ori from the same indigenous __ 8 » but Bye gy rpek much superior, owing, — presumably, to cultivation and to its having cove into the eastern part of the country via Araya, instead of direct, as might well have been the — “ease. 2 : * Seer

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A FLOATING CHURCH Of the nine- teen counties of Western Wash- ington, eighteen are accessible to seagoing vessels, hence the Robert G. Seymour, a floating church, operated on Pu- t Sound by the . Wilbert R. Howell and his wife. During the four years that the Robert Sey- Mour has been in operation, it has traveled on an average of 3,000 miles a year, Carrying religion to Island County and up Hood Ca- nal. It regularly Visits sixteen ports and as many logging as f The boat is fone often for a month at a time, and has weather- Shanon of : he est gales ever experienced on the Sound. Not infrequent- _ ty, after a sermon : ivered aboard _ the Gospel ship, - r on shore, some _ Woman will come - forward with a _ Question on at - dips regarding ‘what lies near her ; relative to the latest style in 4 or hats, * 8ndalways an an- _ Bwer is forthcom- _ 4Ing—for the good : never omits to include fashion GET THIN REDUCE WEIGHT EASILY No more worry about your over-stoutness. Take Oil of Korein, follow the simple, health-improving Korein system and it is positively guaranteed you will lose 10 to 60 pounds or even more—whatever amount of superfluous fat you need to be rid of—or this self treatment will cost you nothing. We offer $100.00 Cash Guarantee! It is in every box. Measure and weigh yourself now; watch the delightful steady reduction. Become healthier, younger in appearance, more active and attractive; gain real beauty. This method is also guaranteed to be perfectly harmless. Oil of Korein is not a laxative; contains no thyroid—but is a vege- talized oil containing genuine fucus vesiculosus, an ingredient obtained from certain seaweeds. Those who follow Korein system are astonished at the reduction —after all else fails. Recommended by physicians. |Oil of Korein} A prominent Philadelphian, George Reynolds, Walton Av- enue, lost 20 lbs. the first month and continued using Oil of Korein, massaging himself daily, until he reduced 64 Ibs. Mrs. J. B. Hansen, Plattsville, reduced 20 Ibs. in less than 2 months. Mrs. L. C. Patrick Niland, wanted to reduce 8 lbs. and did so in two weeks. Miss Ray lost 69 Ibs. An Albany business man, F. G. Drew, lost 86 Ibs. in 3 months. Many say ‘‘fat seems to melt ty Se or ‘‘ measurements decrease like magic,’’ etc. Legions of voluntary testimonials. Den’t carry the tedious burden of unhealthy fat. Become slender and attractive by this superior easy method. Amaze yourself and friends. Increase your efficiency! Oil of Korein comes in capsules, easy to take. Buy a small box at any busy pharmacy; or the druggist will get it for you. Or, write us and we will mail you 5 in plain wrapper, whigh you may pay for when it comes to you. Begin reducing now! Become thin and stay so! N : Weigh ent i acer eee BOOK ou a to improve w fat Fiend marvelously. ee (Gh KOREIN CO, NL-103, Sta. F, New York LLGME SORENESS HEALED scram hated Wiig you work. write fu : A. C. Liepe, 1457 Green Bay Av., Milwaukee, Wis, | Or SNUFF HABIT) “A Quart for A Quarter” Pooks among his | Cured or No PAY IN K one ee * “One woman ! No matter whether used in pipe, cigarette, violet or green. She was the G2 eine Meee tccnes enc nothing. Write for full remedy today. | powders,. $1.00 Postpaid. Big oppor A Be ae sit beer Boy Winfree SHELTON CHEMICAL CO. children, and had |WagD PUB, CO. TILTON, N. #. hep hissr we To accelerate the growth of a Moustache use KOTALEQ, A small box will had no opportu- 555 MOUSTACHE.

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A CROWING H EN Gates, William H. Professor 2 of Zoology in the ~ Louisiana State University, sends _to the Journal of Heredity an ac- count of a- hen \ that seemed to be turning rooster. into a She was a white Wyan- dotte, hatched on ha March 24, — of good She proved tai be an extra good~ Twice in = layer. the season of 4914 and three times in went to In all 1915 she setting. ways she was a nice, lady- like, motherly hen, never guilty of the slighest impropriety. naalt of 1915 came, and the of th changed e hen with it. She lost all her feminine charac- teristics and as- sumed those of the opposite .sex. Her comb and wattles the size of grew to those of average fancy stock roosters; both “the hackle and. saddled fea- thers took on the narrow poin le affected by yandotte roost- ers. ye She started ae R : mit poems on any subject. Broadway Studios, 1650, . Fitzgerald Teuilding, New York. WhEtS; A SONQ—Lore, 7” gp 0g Bie ee ELECTRICAL Tattooing Machine, ae Be and $7, Cata- pola Tueeton Be words to-day, Thomas ee Pee ie tn. TORN JOEY EM; Be Cle Sen tel Rarer Bote Chlage oe kd as easier seston ths - WRITE THE SENOS FAW A Sone We revive DogTaa SWEETHEARTS FISH LURE— Bite Like ite music and guarantes to secure publicet : Hungry Wolves. Bor, 25 cts.; Five, $1.00, Hamllion| mit seane on any eS pean 1050, mit nbiject. Fitngerald Butlding, New York. ou € THE WORDS.FOR age Rdg wel YoU wRiT Payne pti % come the melody The Lenox ares 125th Be en and 3 3h Ayai, by teed Bide., New Yor! Waite nae one pubtieatio’. Studios, Dept. Mfg.. Barnes City, Towa, 5 BOOKS AND vt oe es FREE. United Sales Company, Springfield. . es pa wone-ane — for 25 cts. to introduces’ (00 FOREIGN ‘STAMPS ONE DIME. Navarith Stamp ae. 158. a Feae 3 Co., 135 Norwell 8t., Dorchester, 21 ae ) aly Ngee INTERESTING VIEWS, post- cards; - Sc; twe: s A 1 oe 250; Sa oa wis wonder ickates, they're t: 2° prokeges 0 cen’ 39 now Fak ch a yo avery Bee |

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sebees tune Tall STAMMERING ST-STU-T-T-TERING and stammering cured at home. Instructive booklet free. Walter McDonnell, 15 Potomac Bank Bldy., Washington, D. C. STRONG, CLEAR VOICE FOR YOU by this new in- expensive Anti-Stammering and Voice Perfecting Method. Send 50 cts. for complete instructions by which you = succeed. E. M. Jarvis, Box 1381, t Lake City, Utah. TOBACCO HABIT TOBACCO or Snuff Habit cured or no pay. $1 if cured. Remedy sent on trial. Superba Co, PO, Baltimore. Md. TOBACCO KILLS MANLY VIGOR. Quit habit easily. Any form, chewing, smoking or snuff, cured or no charge. If cured, $1. Stops eraving, harmless. Full on trial. Perkins Co., B-51 Hastings, Nebr. QUICK HAIR GROWTH? Box Free To You! > eel sean ce ee Koskott 5 ae KA 103, Station F, “Hew York. t. Be ce Voice Thrower w yeur voles, le, k of ® into saeeahey of V5 sy Tr eke, ail ai sent for 1es i TRICK co., Dept.S New Haven, Conn. WARNING in keeping your oun regular do oe a become addicted yy reat ives or mine : KOROLAX: sate, ite. lexan: Ta a Bast and goes ts, every- Kerolax is relief te many ailments, constipation, headaches, dizzy Spells, belching, gas, heartburn, torpid liver, bresth, nervousness, dyspepsia, indiges- tion, obesity, mental and physical duliness. BIg VALUE for. 10 Gis. 6 Songs, words and music; 25 Pic- rae Girls; 40 Waysto Make 1 Joke Hooks; Book on gic Books; 1 J Bos Letter Dream Beok and For- 71 Cook Book 1 rust Ball Book, gives Sage r i a Toy M r; Book: ngoage of Flowers; Fo Fel ant _—_ 1 e reat North Pole Step! e; =? — peticte: 30 DAYS BE TRIAL, * a went’? and ; ee big money taking orders : fox ie aavelen, aud supplies. Get eur tefmson a sample to intre- @ duce the new “ € dries Bate srripetts bicycle ie line — rite today. | CYCLE COMPANY | Dew W- 188 \Chicage | & pea ies i ever and over again. tchange f. fee ody pera ei (Bend Fosey To Pome tern money aaat bis wonderke fae fle me Apalpomacoey We trust yeu, ys, ifyou wantrealsportgot this dsahip.” BINGOCO., DEPT. 47 iB ON, B, ¥. asda ener Seg Orscrtan a S Tao renanee *aibicaavs ae Send 6 dents po: a FREDERIC LADELLE. Sis, 243, oe meee MICH. ‘shite Flute-Piccolo. wired tnstantly. 2c’ AGENTS WANTED STEWART CO., 321K W. 48th 8t., N. ¥. & OLD COINS WANTED $2 to $500 HACH paid for Hundreds ef Coins dated before 1895, Keep ALL eld Money. Yeu may have Coins werth a Large Premium. Send 10c. for new Illustrated Coin Value Book, size 4x@ Get Posted at Once, CLARKE COIN CO.,, Bex 35, Le Rey, N. ¥. NEW SCIENTIFIC WONDER Cc sy EG Pi cecee toes rh an ees MARVEL MFG. CO.. Dept.13. NEW HAVEN, CONN. id) Tells bow to G ye’ Widow; towin an Heiress; how to catch | Rich Backelor; how to manage your | au te ake him ropese;how tomake | fore and after the other things necessary for Lev: oon” oa BOTAL BOOK CO, Tshacco™ Blind saael Although tobacco doés not seem to do any} harm to some, many are injured by smok- ing or chewing. One serious form is amau- rosis, a nervous blindness. Heart failure, eancer, nervous breakdown, ete., are at- tributed to tobacco. or snuff using, easily and quickly, will be mailed free by the author, Edward J. Woods, TE-103. Station F, New_York, N. Y. nee } ae Ho to Coutea Bass ful irl; to Woo a | our fellow or gir? lowe you; what ode | Sih wedding. | % moll 16 goatee piss ss A book telling how to overcome the addiction of smoking, chewing GLASS BUL- LETS CANNOT BREAK. A demonstra- 'tion in the effis caey of bullet- tproef glass for cashiers’ cages as ia means of thwarting hold- up men was held jin the shooting gallery of Police ead q uarters, | New York, the |other day under | the supervision }of Deputy Com- | missioner Fau- | rot. The demon- | stration, which | was attended _ by } r p RESBTE STAGE in. as success. Experts of the Police Depart- ment, standing three feet from the new glass, fired ten shots from a 38-calibre automatic pistol at it without one bullet going through the pane. Later a full clip from a 45-calibre automatic failed to penetrate the glass. All the leaden bullets were flattened while the steel | shells either were imbedded in the pane or fell to the floor. The glass was dented and cracked into fine hair lines, but did not fiy. glass is Tr HOWTOMABRROVE 3°: en the market by the Bankers’ Protec- tive Appliance Corporation. It of two So pieces of plate between ; Which is placed a sheet of pyralin. | The glass is then welded together }under high tem- | | perature and tre- . {a mendous pres- sure. It is being used also for j automobile wind shieldg

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«7s BAN ON REFILLING CIGAR BOXES. More than 140,000,000 cigar boxes are destroyed in the United States every year. These cedar cigar con- tainers now cost from twenty-seven to thirty cents apiece. If all cigars were packed fifty to the box (and they’re not) the cigar manufacturers | 755 ‘Prince of the Curb; | 756 Wrecked in the Gulf; or, The Gold of the Old Buccaneers. of this country alone would be spend- ing $35,000,000 a year for receptacles; but as nearly one-half of cigar pro- FAME AND FORTUNE WEEKLY — LATEST ISSUES — 749 A Wali Street Hero; or, A Winning Tip On the Market, 750 Winning a Fortune; or, The Boy Hero of the Mili. 751 en al Dick; or, The Boy Who Broke the Wall Street 752 On the Job; or, Tom Taylor's Lucky Venture. 753 The be in any ba or, The Boys Who Won the Money. 754 Will, the Waif; or, From Bootblack to Merchant. or, A College Boy in’ Wall Street. 757 The Rival Boy Brokers; or, Out for Every Deal in Sight, 758 Under the Big Tent; 6r, From Acrobat to Manager. 759 A Pair of Jacks; or, The Smartest Messengers in Wall Street. duction goes into forticths, or in boxes} 760 Brave Billy Bland; or, Hustling Up a Business. of twenty-five, the cigar manufac- turers are spending 'a great deal more than $35,000,000; a conservative—es- timate is $55,000,000. Thirteen years ago cedar cigar boxes cost from ten to eleven and a half cents. Every cigar box which has con- tained’ cigars is immedigtely smashed after being emptied by the retailer to comply with the rules and regulations of Department of Internal Rev- enue of the United States. Mean- time, millions upon millions of cigars are lying loose on the shelves of man- ufacturers of them because! of an acute scarcity of cigar boxes. If only half of the total amount of cigar boxes could be used over again, not indefinitely, but only for the sec- ond packing, the innovation would en- tirely correct the shortage in cigar boxes and:thus an actual saving of $17,000,000 per annum would accrue to the cigar manufacturers, who could reduce the price of their cigars some- what. . ae more than —— co ae gar boxes are in perfect condition and could be reclaimed not only for one refilling but for several. It is not so much the great monetary saving, though; it is the desire to get a suf- ficient. number of boxes so that cigar distribution may not be longer ar- rested because of the box The object of the Government in re- quiring that 140,000,000 cigar boxes be junked every year is not one of wanton waste. In prescribing that shall be packed in boxes never having been used before for that pur- pose, the Government’s object is ‘to minimize the temptation to reuse the internal revenue stamp. In other words, the Government, af- ter exacting a tribute of $50,000,000 - a year from the tobacco trade, in the form of internal revenue taxation,| the cigar manufacturers to _ compels : X dump more than $35,000,000 of their property into the junk pile, the sole purpose of making it easier for the Government to collect its $50,000,000 in taxes. But the solution of the box supply not far off. Recent eal ~devices will 761-Taking a Risk; or, The Dime That Led To Rich 762 Clear Grit; of, The Office Boy Who Made Good, 763 Dealing in Stocks; or, Saved by a Wall Street Ticker. 764 The Sailor’s Secret; or, The Treasure of Dead Man’s Rock. = Saptering a or, R34 neg a Boy Broker. ook; or, Making a Losing Busin Price 35 Cents Per Copy book contains all the most recent chan in method of construction and submission of scenaiios. Sixty Lessons, covering every phase of scenario writing, from the most ele- | mental to the most advanced prinetples. This treatise covers | every a@ person must know in order to make money as successful scen writer. For sale by all News-dealers Te cetsa te os ieee ons aed camps “and e tad 94 Y or 8 / mail one, Postage free. adaceas : — ge ? L, SENABENS, 219 Seventh Ave, New York, HOW TO_ mM. ¥.