Fame And Fortune Weekly (no. 987) (1924 08 29)

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BOYS, READ THE RADIO ARTICLES IN THIS NUMBER No. 987 AUGUST..29, 1924 mye Price 8 Cents “Hurry up, Tom,” cried Jack, “we've barely time to “finish this job.” The two o boys got an extra hustle on, and Jack was giving the final tap to the last spike when the locomotive came in sight around the curve.

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‘Are Vou A Radio Fan? 234 aie an New York, N. the P No. 987 Entered NEW YORK, AUGUST 29, OUT FOR HIMSELF OR, PAVING HIS WAY TO FORTUNE * Read Pages 24 and 25 FAME AND FORTUNE WEEKLY 3 + wee i rice, 00 r ae Canada, $4.50; Foreign, $5.00. Harry E. Wolff, Publisher, Ine... 160 = a ae oan, tn Rg NN as Second-Class Matter, October 4, 1911, at #Y ‘ost-Office at Now York, N. Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879. 1924 Price 8 Cents. ~~ CHAPTER I.—An Ambitious Boy. <é “Jack,” said Mrs. Street, to her son at the “ supper-table, the Trent property, rent free, if we will go and _ live on it until he can find a purchaser for it. ae Mr. Shuttleworth | is getting uncommonly "liberal in his old age,” said the lad. “This is the first time I ever heard of him giving something _ for nothing.” “Some bad’ boys set the barn on fire the other ht and it burned fo the ground. He’s afraid x house, a fairly good one, might share the me fate unless he has some one on the prem- ‘to look out for it. If we go there, Jessie ~ eould look after things wheh I.am out sewing.” -~ “Do you think of accepting Mr. Shuttleworth’s - offer, mother?” . _- “Jessie and I have been talieil the matter ‘over, and, she is rather in favor of it. We are ‘paying $6 a month for this cottage. _ save that if we went to live on the Trent farm, and $6 is a large sum of money to us.” -*That’s right, mother, $6 looks as big as a - mountain these days.” - *Jt doeS. indeed. If your poor father had lived ‘things would be different. We got along very omfortably before the Lord? in His wisdom, took him from us,” said the little widow, wiping a tear from her eye. “Now I have to calculate very oy to make ends meet. The $6 that you and earn would hardly see us through, for Willie i is dreadfully hard on his shoes and clothes. be wasn’t that Mrs: Shuttleworth, and some of a? friends, employed me to make their dresses, don’t know how we should be able to tr ae is Smenieake?. and she gets you csiant -aiear than She could hire any other good one in ‘true I go to Mrs. Shuttleworth for 75 ts a day, when I ought to get a dollar, but it was through her I got Mrs. Smith’s also Mrs. Brown’s.” -mo perce but i Shuttleworth is a: e could well afford ito pay rth. He’s , By A SELF-MADEeMAN “Mr. Shuttleworth has offered me- We could: . His sister did work at home for a small manu- ou Jack met a boss carpenter named Wells, who had ’ by the hand. been trying to rent or sell that property ever since x3 he got -possession of it, but no one seems to Rs want it. People say he was unnecessarily hard on the Trents for foreclose such a small mortgage as $500, though it is true they were three years. */ * © in arrears with their interest. At any rate, he doesn’t seem to have made anything by it.” x “Have you any objection to my moying out ie there, Jack? . You will not have much further . to walk to the office than you do now, as itis only a short distance outside the town limits.” “T have no objection, mother. Do just as you think ‘proper. Jessie can do her work there just as well as here. You will save rent money, at any rate, and if we are allowed to remain there eight or ten months we ought to make a few extra dollars off the land. On the whole,” said the boy, thoughtfully, “I think it’s worth taking : a chance.” ie ee And so it was decided to accept Hiram Shut- tleworth’s offer, and move to the Trent farm be- fore the first of the next month. Jack Street was one of the brightest and most wide-awake boys i7- the thriving little town -of Brentwood. He was employed as general assistant in a sma‘ real estate and insurance agency office on Main Street. . He had recently received a dollar raise in his : wages, which now amounted to $3. 50, and as his employer had promised him a commission in ad- 4 dition for any business he might turn into the 4 office, he was on the alert to earn this reward. ‘3 facturing concern in the’town, and earned on the average only $2.50 per week. - 33 Mrs. Street earned from $2 to $4 a week at — dressmaking, when employed, though often she had no work at all. On the morning following the conversation with which this chapter opens, been a friend of his father’s. “Hello, Jack!” he exclaimed, seizing the boy “How, are you getting on?” “Pretty good, sir; but I could stand a little ~ additional prosperity without losing my head.” _ “I believe most of us think the same | way. What are you doing?” ag Jack told him. 7 Sa “Well, now, I was ber a of taking 0 insurance ee on. my life for a

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: OUT FOR _door of the meeting room, and Homer Balfe took < thousand. I guess I'll drop around and see your “ boss about it.” ¥ * “I can give you all the information you need, Mr. Wells,” said Jack, eagerly. “If you’re not = engaged this evening I’ll call at your house and = show you the different propositions we have to . offer, and point out which I think will be the _-best for you to take.” “That will be a good deal of trouble for you, won't it, Jack?” i “Not at all, sir. You see, if I insure you my- nag self I'll get a commission, and I can do as well : by you as though you went to the office.” = “Oh, I see! Well, Vd be glad to put something a -in your way, my lad. Your father and I were old friends. Come around to-night, then, and = bring your documents... I live'at 28 Hazel Street.” “Thank you, sir; I'll be there at eight o’clock.” As Jack moved off he ran against his particular friend, Tom Harper, who was a surveyor’s assis- tant. f “Hello, Tom, where have you been for the last week?” asked Jack. “I’ve been looking for you to call at the house, but you didn’t show up.” “Been out of town. The M. & N. Railroad that’s going to build a branch line to this place - from Bridgewater, hired. my boss to assist in aking the survey of the right of way, and I’ve helping him as usual.” ; “Where is the depot going to be?” ; “On the south side of Washington Street. The company has bought up the whole block of ground on the quiet. The line will cut the Parsons’ farm “ ” “That’s not in é “You don’t say!” exclaimed Jack. far from the Trent farm.” ole, “About half a mile, I should think.” ES property until Mr. Shuttleworth sells or rents + 7. ~ *Good enough! You’ll be close by our house, then.” « “That’s right. It would be fine if we could only afford to ecome a fixture there. Perhaps we will, after all, if I can make a little money on the outside. If you hear of any one who wants his life or house insured just steer me on to him, will you, and I'll consider it a favor?” _ “Sure I will. Do you get a, commission ?” “Yes. And T’ll-whack up with you on any business you put me on to.” : _ “Now you’re talking! My old man has been doing well lately. I'll see if I can talk him into getting another $1,000 policy on his life,” grinned ‘Tom. ~ * “Thanks. So the railroad is going through the ‘Parsons’ farm, is it? From what I know of the ‘property I should think there would have to be me heavy embankment built across the farm ~ to bring the road up to a level.” __- “T heard my boss say that at least two culverts _built—one across the creek, and ‘rate, I begin to-night. “By the way, we’re going to live on the Trent . - Springing up the steps he stretched out his hand ; poets over his eyes could 3 a move “man struck truck it : HIMSELF we'd be our own besses instead of working for cther people at low pay.” : » “The trouble is to get a start!” replied Tom. “T shall try to make one for myself. At any I’m going to call on an old friend of my father’s to talk him into insur- ing his life. I hope to get my first commission out of him.” “Well, I wish you luck, old man: So long!” and the boys parted. CHAPTER II.—Kidnapped. Jack called on Mr. Wells that evening and suc- © ceeded in talking that gentleman into signing an ~ application for a $3,000 endowment policy. If it — went through without a hitch, the boy figured that he would be entitled to about $100, and con- — sequently he went home feeling like a bird. In about a week they moved all their belongings to the house on the Trent property, as it still continued to be known, although it had become — the property of Hiram Shuttleworth, one of the legal luminaries of Brentwood. A board sign standing near the front gate announced that the place was for rent or sale, terms to be had on application at the owner’s office on Main Street. An advertisement to the same effect’ was oeca- sionally inserted in the local morning daily. 3 A few days after the Streets went to livé on the ten-acre farm, Jack met with another piece of good -luck—he insured* the new Brentwood _ Hotel against loss by fire, and earned his second commission, though not a very large one, it is — true. Nearly every evening after he had had his supper, Jack returned to town to interview different people on the subject of life or fire insurance... : Pee On one of these occasions he was returning — heme about ten o’clock when, as he was passing — the residence of Willard Davenport, president of the Brentwood National Bank, he heard a woman — scream for help. : t : “What can be the matter in there?” he asked — himself, coming to a dead stop in front of the — gate which opened on the walk leadimg to the front door. There was a big red touring auto- — mobile standing alongside of the curb, and the _ boy noticed that its bull’seye lamps were not — lighted as the law required. = : Mr. Davenport’s home was quite a pretentious one, as befitted a gentleman of considerable — means, and being situated in the suburbs, the tree-lined street was deserted and lonely at that hour of’ the. night. As Jack stood irresolutely at the gate, undecided whether to proceed on his way or not, the cry was repeated with greater shrillness. - : . “Ym afraid there’s something wrong in that — house. A woman doesn’t scream like that for nothing. I’m going to investigate, anyway.” — He opened the wate and started for the piazza. aS: to push the electric bell, when the front door was opened almost in his face and a man, with came out. Before J:

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OUT FOR ‘the same moment another man, also masked, ap- peared at the door with the form of a girl, whose _ head was enveloped in a shawl, in his arms. _ 2 “What's up?” demanded the second man, in a hoarse voice, pausing on the threshold and looking down at his companion, who had thrown himse!f ~ upon Jack and held him pinned to the boards. “J eaught this young monkey standing just ___ beside the door here as I came out,” was the reply. “What shall we do with him?” : _ “Gag him at once to prevent his alarming the neighborhood. Then tie his hands with your handkerchief and bundle him into the auto. He ~- must not be allowed to spread the news of what he has seen at this stage of the game. It might _ ruin everything. get the boy over on his face so that he could ring his wrists together behind his back and tie = He had to wait until his gompanion came - back; and then the pair comple the capture of c Between them they bore’the now helpless to the automobile and thrust him under the back seat, upon which the unconscious bundled- up girl lay huddled in a heap. Jack’s sensations, ~* as he lay squeezed into the narrow space under the seat, were not the pleasantest. The whole affair had taken place so suddenly that he was only just beginning to realize that he was a prisoner in the power of two men who were ras- cals, past any doubt. ; _ Mile after mile, however, was reeled off along the lonesome highway, which threaded the sparse- / + settled and mountainous district to the south f Brentwood, and no stop was made to dispense with the prisoner under the seat. After an hour the machine turned off the highway into the hills, its progress became slower. Winding in and out among the boulders and other obstruc- tions it ascended by easy stages to an opening ‘between two of the hills, and then descended by an equally tortuous course into a little land- valley, covered with thick green grass ‘and comparatively level. At the far end of the ; ley stood a rude two-story, unpainted dwelling under the shadow of the highest hill of the chain. In front of this house the automobile stopped : the man who fad acted as the chauffeur ismounted from his seat and pounded on the A tall, bony and unprepossessing woman ed after an interval, with a lamp in her - 2 we are, Mrs. Meiggs,” said the man, you brought——” began the woman. Of course we have. We are ready ng care. See remains here. on’t fear that I'll give her half a chance out of her cage,” replied the woman, with : “= him up. I want to see him, First tit si Curley, with the girl, er pilot ¢ re ee a @ world for ‘HIMSELF _ the leader of the enterprise spoke. _ there’s only a handkerchief around his wrists.” — house. 8 : hours ‘yet.’ When she comes to, you can make her understand that her detention all depends Rp upon her father. If he stumps up the reward a quick, without raising any fuss or notifying the — — police, she’ll be returned soon. If he starts in to make trouble for us, then things won’t be quite- so pleasant for her. That’s all, I guess, for the present. Curley will remain to help the good work along at this end, while I will attend to the other branch of the business.” = The speaker made a sign to his companion, whom he had referred to as Curley, and that in-. > dividual got out of the auto with the insensible - girl in his arms. Jack, in his close quarters 1 under the rear seat, had easily heard every word Its purport rather astonished him. “This looks like a case of kidnapping,” he mused. “Evidently these rascals have abducted _ Cassie Davenport, the banker’s only child. They oS intend to squeeze him out of a wad of money ‘ unless he refuses to treat with them. It’s pretty tough on Mr. Davenport, and on Cassie, too. But I wonder why they have brought me out here — also? They can’t expect to make anything out 2 of me. Maybe they were afraid I could furnish bs 4 description of them and their auto. Perhaps . they think I saw more than I really did. -I may be kept a prisoner here until this scheme has been brought to a head. That will be hard on me, as well as on mother and sis.” i The man who appeared to be engineering the scheme did not enter the house, but, paced up and down before the door until Curley came back, accompanied by the husband of Mrs. Meiggs. ; “Here I am, Mulbrook,” said Meiggs, stepping = outside. “My wife said you wanted to see me.” i “So I do. The girl is upstairs, as I suppose you know.” - = “T know it,” replied Meiggs. i eg “Have vou a safe place for another prisoner I want you to hold on to until this job has been disposed of to our satisfaction?” « : “Another prisoner?” exclaimed Meiggs, look- ing at the auto and not seeing any one in it. % “Yes. A boy, whose mouth we must.close for the present. He almost interrup the game, but we nabbed him in time to prevent complica- 3 tions. He must be kept here until further no- tice. Now, have you a place to put him where he can’t give you the slip?” ; : “Yes, We can lock him up in the cellar, He'll be safe enough there.” ~ : ie “Very ‘good. . Il] hold you and Curley re- — sponsible for his keeping.” 2 oe “Where have you got him?” asked Meiggzs, in-a puzzled tone. ca ie “Under the rear seat of the auto,” replied Curley. “You'd better get a stout piece of rope and we'll tie his arms in good shape. At ; Piney) 5 6 bat Curley and Mulbrook talked together ina lo : tone while Meiggs was absént. hunting up the piece of rope. When he came back with it they . yanked Jack fxom the auto, bound his arms in ship-shape fashion, and marched him through a — dork. talirse into the kitchen Aen back of tl eiggs raised a trap in the floor the Ianto $e his Hand: ed his prison: down

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OUT FOR ice excavation dug out of we earth, which answered 5 for a small cellar. “T think it would be a good idea te tie him +: to one of these posts, then it would not be ; necessary to put any weight upon the trap,” . said Curley. z : 3 ~“That’s what we’ll do,” replied Meiggs. “He '_— . -won’t need so much watchin’ then.” ~— a So, without more ado, they’ tied him to. the _ he could breathe freely, and without addressing a word to the boy they took up the lamp and S departed for the regions above, leaving Jack alone ~*~. Im the dark. CHAPTER Tll.—Inm the Hands of the Enemy. == Jack passed a mighty unpleasant night in that - eellar: When his eyes got accustomed to the ‘ gloom of the place he saw that, with the ex- me ception of a few boxes and a half-breken flour : barrel, the cellar was quite bare. The beams a svpporting. the kitchen floor were within a couple of feet of his head, and for some time after he had been left alone he heard the heavy foot- falls of the two men and the lighter ones of Mrs. Meiggs, passing and repassing above. Finally - he heard them no more, and rightly concluded _ * that the occupants of the house had retired for the night. He dozed off to sleep at last, to wake up a dozen times, owing to the uncomfortable posi- tion he was in. Finally tired nature asserted her- -seif and he slept through until something fall- ing onthe floor over his head awoke him to a full realization of his surroundings. It was still as - dark as pitch in his“prison, but the footsteps above gave him the idea that morning had come. In the course of an hour the trap was lifted and Meiggs, carrying a battered tray with dishes “on it, and Curley the lemp, descended into the lar. - - Meiges told Curley to get a box from another - part of the cellar and bring it over to him. 2 Curley got one and placed it on the spot in- dicated by Meiggs with his foot. The tray was eae as it and the lamp on the floor. 2s .” said Curley, with a grin, Sho “tit Se apend: the night in your shaniier luxe ? Be a How. would you have spent it if you’d been tied to a post like I am now?” replied Jack. “Well, that’s what you get for-buttin’ in where ‘you were not wanted. What did you do it for?” “Because I heard that girl you’ve kidnapped omen age heard ab did you? You've got How could you hear her ’way ES Bo on, = sidewalk? Are you sure you didn’t “gee us: ‘come up in oe auto and then try to follow it out,” Preised Smee “and ie “an- him and give him a chance to eat some- As Jong as she's ey we've sot to » Seed _ post, removed the gag from across his mouth so HIMSELF . and eat your breakfast so we can tie you up again.” “Are you going to tie me again?” $3 “You bet we are!” replied Meiggs. = | “Well, it’s a mean thing to do. You’ve got me safe enough here without making matters un- — necessarily hard for me. for me to craw! out of it.” “We might as well let him stay loose,” inter- posed Curley. “We -can put a weight on the trap to hold it down.” : Meiggs offered no objection to this suggestion, | and as-soon as Jack had finished the coffce they There’s no windows departed with the tray and lamp, the boy free to amuse himself as best he could. The first — thing he did was to examine his prison closely with the aid of some matches he had in his pocket. I'll bet a dollar I could dig myself “out of this place with the help of one of those barrel staves if I had time enough. The earth is not so hard,” This idea occurred to Jack the moment he saw the real character of the cellar. He picked up one of the staves and started in at the rear end of the cellar as being the most likely spot where he could burrow his way out in the shortest space of time. After working steadily for half an hour, and making quite a hole in the wall of earth, he stopped to rest. He had planned, after getting free, to hurry back to town and notify Mr. Davenport where his daughter was held a prisoner; but it now occurred to him that his escape would be discovered long before he would probably be able to reach Brentwood and find the banker, and that the people in the house, — fearing the inevitable result that must follow, would hasten to remove Cassie Davenport to some ether place, and the effort to rescue the girl would be frustrated. <= “If anything is going to be done to save her “Tl have to do it myself while I’m on the spot,” he said to himself. “The question is how Shall” I manage it?” Jack resumed his digging before he thought of any definite plan that promised results. He en- larged the hole to a considerable extent during the next hour, taking the precaution to deposit the loose earth in a box as he removed it, and — afterward drag the box to the opposite end of the cellar and scatter the’ dirt® about. He had dug a hole four feet into the rear wall of the calles = : when, from certain sounds he heard above, he “9 thought he was going to have'a visit from 5 two rascals. He hastily stood one of the boxe against the excavation and going to the bax which had served him for a‘ breakfast-table he sat down upon it in a dejected attitude. He was _ not mistaken. The trap was lifted and the lamp — was thrust down for the person who held it to — see that the steps were clear, and the prisoner not waiting to make a rush for f om. It was Curly who held the lamp, and he caught a Ss5 cs of Jack on the box. : a “All right,” he said to Meigs, over his” shoul- der. “Come on Baa 2 followed ae down with Sie fray Ps J

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OUT FOR “Here’s a plate of stew, with some bread and coffee,” said Meiggs. “You're livin’ high for a prisoner,” he grinned, “for you're gettin’ the - game fodder we eat ourselves. Be thankful we’re treatin’ you so well. If you behave yourself everythin’ will go on all right, and when the time comes we’ll let you go. If you try to escape we'll put you on bread and“ water as a punish- ment, see?” Jack heard him, but made no reply. 5 -_-- *Get busy, young fellow,” put in’ Curley. “Don’t = you see we’re waitin’?” 5 __ * So Jack turned to and cleaned up the dinner they had brought him, and as soon as he had -fimished they left him alone once more. Half an hour later Jack resumed work on the hole, and - kept at it steadily until he had enlarged it to a depth of six feet. After taking a rest he began ~ _ to _loosen the earth from above the end of the excavation, as he considered he ought to be well - beyond the line of the house. When he had dug about a yard upward he stopped. i 4 “J guess it won’t be-safe to do any more until night. The earth might ¢ave in before I want eet.” : So he sat down on the box that answered for @ table and awaited the coming of his jailers ~ with his supper. CHAPTER IV.—Cassie Davenport. - It was two hours before Meiggs and Curley came down the cellar steps, the former bearing the tray and the latter the lantp, as before, and: Jack; now that he had nothing to do, felt the time hang upon his hands. Meiggs placed the supper before him and the two rascals watched him eat it up. Then a disagreeable surprise was sprung upon him. Curley brought down a couple of sacks. t : “Here’s your bed,” he said. “Now we’ll have to tie your hand and feet for the night, so that / we tan be sure of you.” ; 5 Jack put up a kick against it, but it didn’t do m any good. The men bound his arms behind m and then tied his ankles together. Satisfied that he was safe for the night, they left him once more in the gloom of the cellar. *k fumed and fretted ovér his helpless con- in fraying it so much that he would ble to snap it apart. It seemed a fire-class idea, id he adopted it at once. While he worked way he could hear the movements of the people in th e kitchen over his head. ; . s ceased and complete A It was about . time that in exerting his strength on the : for about the twentieth time one of them : mapped. This loosened the other and out came Jack’s hands, free at last.— as the steps “How do you know. 4 toe oe Pim Sr: HIMSELF » ally opened up until he thrust his head and shoul- ders into the dark kitchen. A moment later he stood up in the room and looked about him. His eyes being accustomed to the darkness of the cellar, every object in the kitchen was easily apparent to him. He saw a door ahead of him. Going to it he cautiously opened it a trifle, and finding darkness beyond he struck a match on his trousers to deaden the sound, and saw that he was looking into a small entry with a flight of stairs leading to the story above. He decided to ascend the steps, and removed his shoes for - that purpose. Then it occurred to him that it would be the act of a wise general to provide an avenue of safe retreat in case of surprise or mishap. So he looked around f the door opening upon the outer air. That walpot difficult to find. It was locked and doubly bo , but it was an easy matter to turn the key and draw the heavy bolts. _Then leaving the door slightly ajar, with his shoes beside it, he started up the stairs.as softly as he could, so as to avoid making any suspicious sound. He believed and hoped the two men and the woman were abed and asleep, but he was by no means sure of the fact. “I was a fool not to look in the front room .- before I came up here,” he thought, as he struck = the landing above. Then he noticed a light shining under the crevice of a door, and presently heard the voices of a_man and woman. He tiptoed over to the door,- and, holding his breath, listened atten- tively. He recognized the voice of Meiggs. The female, therefore, must be Mrs. Meiggs. ; “William,” the woman was saying, “I hope we'll get rid of that girl soon. She is a spunky thing and has given me a lot of trouble since she came to her senses.” “We can’t get rid of her till Jim (meaning Mulbrook) comes to terms with her old man. = Then we'll be well paid.” 3 “Well, I want half of what you get, remem-. ber,” she said, in a decided tone. “If you hold any back, and I find it out, you'll have cause — to regret it.” - > “Tll deal square with you, don’t you fret, — Now s’pose we. have a hot whisky before we turn in?” Pt pha “I’m not goin’ downstairs to light no fire to heat = water at this time of the night. We'll take the ~~ whisky cold to-night.” . 4 : Jack heard Meiggs growl about his wife’s lazi- me ness, but she shut him up in # tart way, and soon ; the boy heard the rattle of glasses and present!y eiggs said: Soa ’ “Here’s lookin’ at you, old woman.” Sent “My regards, William,” she answered. : Then followed the clinking of glasses-and a short silence. - “Are you sure that boy is all right in the cellar?” asked Mrs. Meiggs, suddenly. ws “All right? _ Why, of course he’s_all right. Me and Curley-tied him hand and foot. He might as well think of fiyin’ as to get out of that to-night.” oe tana : ‘3 ” } = But he might get loose,” persisted Se MORES: «ain't no’@hanss of dis ere no ch “4 ‘’ eee

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’ OUT FOR “You go right aoieneteles and 32 woman, tartly. = put that rock on that trap.” = ~- “But I’ve got my clothes off,” objected her hus- “Shut up and do as I tell you. I ain’t takin’ 53 no chances in this thing even if you are, William = Meiggs.” | Jack saw that Meiggs would have to go down- S stairs and do the job, and therefore it behooved + him to get down first. As the quickest way re, of aceomplishing this without noise he slid down _ «the rail, rebolted the kitchen door for fear Meiggs might examine ‘it, and then taking his shoes in his hand he hid under the stairs. Pretty soon down came Meiggs, with a lamp in his’ hand, in his shirt and pants. He went into the kitchen and rolled the rock on top of the trap. “T hope the old woman’ll be satisfied now,” Jack, from his place of concealment, heard him say. ; Then he remounted the stairs again; a door banged and all was quiet once more. Returning _ to the kitchen Jack again withdrew the bolts that secured the door. 2 “Now for business,” he said, rising to his feet. “T’ve got to find out the room in which Miss Cassie is confined, and set her free. And I must do it without alarming the occupants of the house or there’s likely to be something doing.” _. Jack returned to the entry and made his way up to the landing once more. He struck a match and looked, around. ~ ; “That’s the door of the Meiggses room, and this - door is—ah, there’s a key on the outside, and a - bolt also shot into its socket. IM bet this is where Miss Cassie is held a prisoner. The third - door I guess opens“into Curley’s. room. I’ve a delicate job before me. If Miss Cassie takes me for one of her enemies and makes, an outéry, _ the fat will all be in PS. fire. Well, I’ve got _ to risk it.” He softly turned the = in the lock and then tackled the bolt. It did not move easily, as the - tongué was wide and flat, and, moreover, some- been affixed to the door. Finally he succeeded in i shooting it without making much noise. Then _ he opened the door slowly and cautiously peered the room. It was almost as dark as the ; cellar, for the windows had been boarded up so apeet _eenter of the room he petted and raaeey At first he could hear nothin, then the soft breathing of a sleeper fell upon his ears. He struck a match and glanced around as it flared up. a bed lay Cassie Davenport, fully dressed, as she had been spirited away from her > night before. Jack lit a second aoe “cara he ‘father pay a large sum-of money. what rusted from long disuse before it had ; thrust in. Mrs. Meiggs, he darted back ‘into his door. _ @ companion, whom, in the om: J sy Roa: 2 ay 4 ‘ 3 . HIMSELF \ CHAPTER V.—The Escape. - The girl was clearly startled by the presence of an unknown person beside her in the dark- ness. “Don’t be frightened, Miss Cassie,” said Jack, reassuringly. your home. If you make a noise you'll alarm the house and spoil everything.” His words seemed to make an impression on the girl, for she ceased to struggle. Finding that she was beginning to “inderstand the situation, — Jack stepped back and lit another match. As the light flared up Cassie gazed eagerly into his . face. She had never seen him before, but- some- how she felt that she could trust him. “Are you from Brentwood?” she asked, earn- estly. : “Yes. I live in Brentwood, and my name is .— Jack Street.” ; be wes rose from the bed and put her hand is “T believe. you are my friend,” she said. “I am sure I can trust- you. These people have carried me away from home in order to make my The woman that watches me and brings me food is a bad woman, and I hate her. I do want to go home at once. I know my mother and father are wor- ried to death about me.” On reaching the door, Jack looked out, but all was still. « : “Go softly and carefully,” he said. “Thatll ~~ save you taking off your shoes.” : , She allowed him to lead her, and he took her .— to the foot of the flight. Then he led her into | the kitchen and closed the door behind them. __ “The worst is over now,” he said, as he picked up his shoes and put them on. ““All that stands between us and freedom is this door, which is unlocked and unbolted. We have only to step outside.” As Jack spoke the entry door behind them. opened slowly and cautiously and a head was — It was Cyrley, who was a light sean and had been awakened by the creaking of the stairs as they bent under the weight of Jack his fair companion. The softness of the creak- _ ing was what aroused Curley’s suspicions. 2 He had not the least idea that Jacek ewas.out of the cellar, but he thought perhaps Mrs, Meiggs had forgotten to lock and bolt the door of the girl’s room; that the prisoner had discovered . the fact and was trying to take advantage of it Of course this was only a suspicion. He hard iS a : “I am here to take you back to ~ , in ly believed there was anything in it, but still he — determined to make sure everything was all right. — So he leaped out of bed, lit a candle and went > out on the landing to take a look at the fasten- = ings on the prisoner’s door. He discovered the _ door ajar. With a muttered curse at the carelessness of - oye and drew on his trousers and coat. Then he ane down the stairs and opened the kitehios: pct only to find the girl yr ‘ trying to undo the Sonera sot He was staggered to’ find see eee? as ae. sce

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OUT FOR - had-left bound hand and foot in the cellar. But as Jack opened the’ door and the~clear night gir partially revealed his features, Curley recog- nized him and gave a gasp of surprise. He sprang forward with a roar, of anger and seized _ Cassie just as she was passing through the door. _ $he uttered a stifled scream of terror as she a felt the heavy, detaining hand on her shoulder. Jack turned to see what was the matter, and - he came face to face with Curley. - “Thought you’d get away, did you?” snarled the _ man, maliciously, reaching out out his disengaged hand to grasp the boy. as _ But Jack wasn’t caught as easily as he thought. Recovering himself instantly, and rendered des- _ perate by the imminent danger of recapture and its attendant consequences, he suddenly struck at Curley’s face with all his might. The blow took effect right between the man’s eyes and he fell _ back, releasing his grip on Cassie. mae -. “Run, Miss Cassie, run!” cried Jack, .jabbing - Curley in the stomach and then slamming the ‘door in his face. He followed the girl, who was fleeing across the grass-covered valley as fast as _ she could go, and soof overtook her. Knowing that they would *be~ pursued at once, and that Cassie wéuld not be able to maintain a pace swift enough to throw off their pursuers, Jack looked ~+ around for some spot where they could hide until the men had passed them. The clearness of the ‘night was against them, but by lying low in the ‘ the boy hoped they might avoid discovery. ~ “Drop down, Miss Cassie, on your hands and knees. We must work a bit of strategy on those ‘haps. It’s our only chance to elude them.” He pulled her down, after him, afid not a ~ moment too soon to avoid the sharp eyes of ~ Curley as he dashed from the house in pursuit. They lay silent and motionless close to the ground _ while he passed at full speed within a couple of "yards of them. ; “Now we'll crawl over to the rocks and see if “we can get out of the valley that way,” said : lack, as soon as Curley got some distance in idvance. ‘ Before they had accomplished half the dis- tance, for that kind of locomotion was slow, -Meiggs came running out of the house, while Mrs. - Meiggs’s head might have been seen thrust from he upper window following with her eyes the efforts of Curley_and her husband to recapture their prisoners. Curley did not stop till he reach- the ascending path that led out of the valley. He confidently expected to see the fugitives se at hand. and was ready to make a dash for em, but he was puzzled and disappointed when e way ahead showed up perfectly clear, Then it was apparent to him that the runaways had some way eluded him in the valley by hiding ehind a rock in the tall grass. He vented his and started back the way he had come, keep- s eyes warily on the lookout for some sign em. He soon saw Meiggs hastening toward hy are you coming back?” asked Meiggs. Ecouldn't have got away already, could y've given me the slip in the grass. ll in the valley somewhere.” as Judas; we'll root ‘em out!” cried lin ~ - “would overtake them before they could reach t HIMSELF 7 While this conversation had been going on the two men were slowly retracing their steps, with ~ their eyes cast to the right and left in search of some sign to indicate where the fugitives were. At that moment they heard Mrs. Meiggs scream out: “There they go. up the rocks.” She waved her hands across the narrow valley to the left, and sure enough the men saw Jack’ and Cassie climbing over the stones and bushes- along the side of the steep hill. Meiggs and Curley started at once to overtake them. There’s the two of ‘em goin’ CHAPTER VI.—Back in Brentwood. “Those chaps are some distance away now, ~ Miss Cassie,” said Jack, when they reached the feot of the rocky hillside. “Now is our chance to creep up this narrow path. If the night wasn’t so confounded bright our chances of escape would be first-class. Gee whiz! There’s that woman looking out of one of the windows,” he added, “I’m afraid she'll pipe us off before we can get. very far.” : : They started up the incline as fast as they could go, and had got half way to a certain point Jack was aiming at when Mrs. Meiggs detected them and, as. we have seen, called the men’s attention to them. Z “That old woman has eyes as sharp as needle,” said Jack, helping Cassie forward. was afraid she’d see us. Now the men are after us full swing.” ; b zee “Oh, dear! I hope they won’t catch us,” replied the girl, in a shiver of apprehension. “It would be just dreadful to be taken back to that house again.” “They shan’t take us back if I can help it,” said Jack, resolutely. -“They’d make it specially =a hot for me if they got their hands on me, for — I am doing them up by helping you to escape.” 2 While hiding in the grass, h@had given Cassie a brief statement of how he had been captured by the kidnappers at the door of her home and brought along with her in the automobile. He. explained how he had been held a prisoner in the e cellar, and how he managed to make his escape and go to her rescue. - | It was soon apparent to them that the men a a any place where they could hope for a chance to — give their pursuers the slip, unless something was done to stop their advance. Cassie was grow- ing exhausted under the severe exertion to which she was unused, and Jack was in despair when his eyes lighted on a pile of loose stones. He grabbed a handful and commenced to bombard their enemies.. His aim was so true, and the stones whizzed so unpleasantly near to the heads of the rascals, that they were disconcerted and came to a halt in order to dodge missiles with _ more success. realized that a knock on = the head from one of the stones was no s thing, and_consequentl to. “Now, Cassie, while T hold these, chaps make . that brea k hill. I'll join you as soon as you have r i PES

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, the spot, and then maybe we'll find some way © of throwing the men off our track.” She started to obey his directions, while Jack continued to take aim at the rascals below and to pelt them at a rapid rate. One of the stones struck Curley on the shoulder ‘and lamed his arm, causing him to swear frightfully and threaten the boy with a severe retaliation. Jack was not intimidated in the least by his threats. At-~length Cassie reached the spot to which she had been directed by Jack. Then he grabbed an armful of stones and ran towards her. The two rascals resumed their chase the moment the bombardment stopped. As soon as Jack joined the girl at the break in the hillside he saw that a path ran down through the hills, ‘and that - there appeared to be dozens of spots where they = could hide. After pelting the pursuers to a stop -eneeé more, Jack and Cassie disappeared from 2 their sight down the path. ms “They've gone down the hill,” growled Meiggs, when the two men reached the break themselves. They started rapidly down the path, confident - overtaking the fugitives, -both swearing to ll kinds of things to Jack when they got oe wer him. But catching Jack and Cassie now was not such an easy matter as before. There were trees and rocks and brushwood on every x hand, behind which they could hide in compara- ‘tive safety. Meiggs and Curley lost their best - chance of recapturing the fugitives when Jack stood them off with his stone bombardment until ; Cassie had climbed the hill as far as they in- g tended to go up. Half way down the hill two pair of eager eyes watched Meiggs and Curley go by, and after they were out of sight, out from behind a thick mass of brushwood stepped Jack and Cassie. __ They retraced their steps to the. opening in the ‘hitfG they ran down the hillside in full view of the excited Mrs. Meiggs, who looked in vain for her husband and Curley at their heels; they ran across the grassy. valley, and finally disappeared up the road by which the automobile had brought them both on the preceding night to the house in the valley. After that they walked rapidly along until in the course of two hourgthey came eut on the county road, which led straight to Brentwood, twenty miles away. It was about four o’clock in the morning, and so far as the fugi- tives could see there was not a house in sight. Both oil weary after their night’s exertions, \ especially Cassie. “Tt doesn’t seem as if I could go another step,” she said, in a tired. voice. “Do you think we oe - are ‘safe from those men now?” ; , ay rg we aren’t we're next door to it,” replied » Here’s x * We'll sit down ia ty dash “Where were your ail and father and the - pa father were away in Bridgewater oat of an old friend,” she answered. sot eaha Serene: but’ singular to ts at the time those Paeeals carried you | OUT FOR HIMSELF > . relate each of them received a letter that after- noon calling them to their homes on account of - illness in their families.” “They did, eh?” ’ J es.— “A put-up job to ket away from the house. It’s a wonder you were not afraid to remain home.” “T did not expect to stay home. Miss Styles, my Sunday-school teacher, had promised to come ever after a church meeting and stay all night with me. I was reading in the sitting-room, wait- ing to hear her ring the bell, when those two men came suddenly upon me. At first I was speechless from fright, then-as one advanced upon me I screamed for help. As he grabbed me I screamed a second time, but he stifled it by pressing a handkerchief over my mouth and nose. I smelled a sweet, sickening kind of odor, my senses whirl- ed, and I remembered no more until I came to myself in that room where you found me. That hateful woman was bending over me, with such a horrid smile on her wicked features that I thought I had the nightmare. When I found I was really awake I was so frightened at first I did not know what to do. I asked her what was the meaning of it all, and she told me I had been carried away from my home because my father was believed to be rich and could well afford to pay a big sum of money to save me from coming to any harm.” “Well,” said Jack, “I guess they’ have to go without that money they calculated on getting from your father.” “They would have got it but for you, Jack Street. Kk shall never forget how bravely you have acted, and how good you have been to,me— never, never!” At that moment, just as the eastern sky began to show faint indications of the coming dawn, their ears caught the sound of a team approaching up the road. It proved to be a big wagon loaded with country produce for market. ~ “Here’s a chance for us_to get a lift on to ~ ite perhaps,” remarked Jack, jumping to his eet. He walked out into the road and hailed the driver, who reined in his horses. “Will you give us a ride toward town, sir?” he asked, politely. “We’re pretty well fagged. a and in no shape to walk there.” “Walk to Brentwood?” ejaculated the man, re- garding first the speaker and then the hatless, well-dressed girl with some surprise. “Do vou know how far it is to that town?” “I have no idea-of the exact distance,” replied — Jack; “but I guess it’s a good way.” “It’s every foot of eighteen miles, young Tan. Do you two live at Brentwood ? | Aes “We do.” ot “How come you to be away ont here at be ‘SA hour of the morning?” = “We were brought here against our wills.” “Brought here against your. wills!” esclatnee the driver of -the team, in some wonder. “How is that?” = “Tl tell you our story if you will be so good : as to help us on to. town. I. suppose ela are nae going to Brentw “You suppose right. I’m Roing ners as as this road will carry me.” . ert

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OUT FOR --“That’s straight enough for us,” said Jack. “I “may say that this young lady’s father will pay you well for any inconvenience we may put you to. She is the daughter of Mr. Davenport, the president of the Brentwood National. Bank.” © The man gave utterance to a low whistle, for he knew that Willard Davenport was one of _ Brentwood’s lesting citizens. , - “Jump up,” he said; “there’s room enough on - this seat for both of you.” Sy AORN at: ‘Jack assisted Cassie to mount to the driver's = perch, and then squeezed alongside of her him- - “Git up, there!” cried the driver, snapping his long whip, and the team went on. As they jogged along toward town Jack told the driver how both he and Miss Davenport had been carried off into the hills in a red automobile y a couple of kidnappers who counted on squeez- ing Mr. Davenport out of a round sum of money. Tt was about eight o’clock when the wagon tered the town limits, and ten minutes after- ward Jack and Cassie alighted before the elegant residence of Banker Davenport. PTER VIi.—Jack Receives Tokes of the ae Davenports’ Gratitude. _ We will not dwell upon the surprise and de- ght of Mr. and Mrs. Davenport when their aughter burst into the breakfast-room and g into her mother’s arms. more than mention the heartfelt gratitude the banker and his wife showered upon Jack Street 3 vhen the story of the young people’s adventures in and out of the hands of the kidnappers had been told. Jack declined to remain to breakfast, though pressed to do so, as he was in a great nurry to go home and relieve the anxious suspense of his mother and sister. Cassie accompanied ae im to the door. : “But you will call to-night, won’t you?” she said, eagerly. 4 Saas tna poasible to resist the pleading request o lovely a girl as Cassie Davenport, and so promised to call that evening. As he ex- ed, he found his mother and sister worried eath over his unexplained absence, and, a se, he to long story to tell-them in ex- ati ) > : ; was pretty well “bunged up,” to use own expression, he did not go to business day, but turned in for a good sleep after ad had something to eat. During the morn- the banker, after furnishing the police with rmation about the location of the house in ley among the distant hills, together with tolerably accurate description of the three d by Jack, gave the whole story to the wood Daily Mercury, and it appeared under ‘scare head in the afternoon editions. course, Tom Harper saw the story, and he Nor will we... plices of Jim Bulbrook, the chief kidnapper, . HIMSELF 9 “If you'll tell me what you've seen about me 5 in the paper maybe I'll be able to answer your question,” laughed Jack: Tom gave him the gist of the story. a “Well, I guess that’s true enough,” admitted _ his friend. Mrs. Street called her son to supper and Tom was invited to stay and have.some. ? “Well, seeing it’s you, I'll stay,” said Tom, : “but I told mother I'd be right back.” : . “She’ll never miss you, old man,” chuckled Jack. m “There are six more of you to occupy her atten- d tion.” « “That’s right. And they'll eat up my share you can bet.” : a After supper Tom took his departure and then = Jack went to his room to spruce up for his promised visit on Miss Cassie. He was a.mighty good-looking boy when he was dress@@ in his best, with his curly hair well brushed up and_- his shoes polished up to the queen’s taste. He re- ceived a warm welcome at the Davenport home, 2 and was pleased to find that the banker made no - suggestion of paying him for the service he had a rendered his child. e spent a pleasant evening and left at ten o’clock, fully persuaded that Cassie was the nicest girl he had ever met. A few days afterward a small package, ad- dressed to him, was delivered at the farm. On opening it he>found an elegant gold watch and chain, suitably inscribed with his name; also a diamond studded horseshoe ‘ornament. A letter accompanied the gifts, stating that the wretch and chain was the joint offering of Mr. and Mrs. ee Davenport, while the horseshoe was Cassie’s pres- ; ent. They hope he would accept the tokens as a slight evidence of their regard and life-long erati- ; tude. Jack had no objection to accepting the ‘presents; in fact, he was delighted with them, a that hour he wore them wherever he went. . “ sD A Se _ CHAPTER YIIlL—A Granite Discovery. Ses: The next time Jack called at the Davenport home the banker asked him into his library. = “T guess I can put you in the way of making —__ a few dollars, Master Jack,” he said, with a smile. - : aS “T’m much obliged to.you, sir. I’m trying to % earn something over and above my ‘wages the days, for I’m not receivi a princely sum for ~ my services, though I have no fault to find in that respect, .I’ve only been in business a little over _ a year, and I can’t expect to -earn much until I get older and more experienced.” 3 : “You told me that vou are canvassing for in- ~ surance, and that you’ve made quite a little sum ~ during the last month in commissions.” - : “T’ve made about $165 all toldS€ir.” “I’m going to take out another $5,000 life policy in the Phalanx Co. i plication paper and I'll fill it vice- ? . ‘He told me at po

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10 @8 a personal favor to put his application in through you, and he said he would do so. Call on him to-morrow evening at his home, with the nécessary papers, and he’ll fill them out. That will add $350 more to your outside income.” _ On the following evening Jack called with his letter of introduction on Mr. Harker. That gen- tleman received him cordially, and after an hour’s interview the boy left with Mr. Harker’s $10,000 application, duly signed, in his pocket. His em- ployer congratulated him when he turned it into the office next day. “Oh, I've got another, for $5,000 coming to- morrow,” said Jack. “Indeed! Whose is it?” “Mr. Davenport's.” “You'll soon have a fat bank account if you ‘keep on. -I guess I'll have to raise you to $4. You are easily worth it.” “Thank you. sir. You'll find I'll try to earn it.” : Through Mr. .Davenport’s influence, Jack se- - eared quite a bit of insurance business, so that three months from the date of his adventure with the kidnappers he had about $650 to his credit in-a savings bank. The kidnappers in question had not been captured by the police, as they took time by the forelock when their scheme against - Banker Davenport failed through Jack’s exertions, and disappeared from the neighborhood. - One Sunday morning Jack and Tom were stroll- ing about. the Trent farm, which still rem&ined - unsold or unrented, much to Mr. Shutileworth’s ' dissatisfaction, when they sat down on the bank of the creek branch, which ran along one edge of the property. '. “How about the railroad, Tom?” asked Jack. “Isn’t it almost time they started to build it?” “Tt will be commenced soon. ‘that John Owens, of Bridgewater, has secured the contract for buiiding it. He’s the man that in a bid for the new road taroarh the ills to Taylorville.” “Ts that_so?” “Yes. He’s had an engineer tapping’ the hills _ for building stone; but my boss says he’ll never ~ ge aad he wants anywhere near a hundred ies of : Bellen Jack noticed that the waters of the creek had washed the soil away from a portion of the bank near where they sat, uncovering a g short stretch of hard rock, which glistened in a peculiar way in the"morning sunshine. | _“There’s a patch of stone now right on this ,” said Jack, pointing it out to his companion. wonder how much there is of it, and what kind mF. $5: of a me it is? Just see how it glistens.” we got up and went to take a look at it. 5 “Why, that looks like granite,” said Tom. ~ “Did es ever hear of any having been found - 4n this locality?”. "Ne. I would haye known of it if such was the preapt cate. for my. boss has surveyed a good part of unty.” poy it ets like good stone. I Id like an opinion on it. he pro- ac cap stone I guess it would pay me OUT FOR HIMSELF heard yesterday ee name. ; dhattemasth looked as if he was “I will. Ill call on Mr. Davenport and aoe a talk with him on the subject.” Jack had a talk with Mr. Davenport that even: ing, and that gentleman recommended a to con- sult.a certain Bridgewater engineer. In fact, he promised to write to the engineer himself and ask him to come to Brentwod and pass his opinion on the stone in question. A few days afterward the engineer came. Jack met him by appoint- took hinf out to the farm, and then went over it together. The engineer examined the uncovered rock and pronounced it an excellent quality of granite. He probed the ground and ascertained that the ledge ran right through the center, of. the farm, and presumably out under the coun- try road. 3 “Would you advise me to buy this property on the strength of your estimate?” asked Jack, eagerly. sie “By all means. You'll have a fortune in this — ground, you can take my word for it.” a Jack was greatly excited. When his mother ; came home from where she had been working all — that day he told her of the engineer’s verdict. “l’ve got over $600" in the bank, mother. I want you to take it and buy this farm for me in your own name. I can’t do it, for I’m under age.” Mrs. Street, impressed by her son’s statement of the future that lay in the granite ledge under the farm, agreed to do it. 7a “We must do it at once before Mr. Shuttle- worth hears of this discovery. I'll call on him to-night and make kim an offer.” Jack did so. Mr. Shuttleworth was greatly surprised when: the boy disclosed the object of kis visit. “T thought your mother was poor,” he said, beginning to repent of his generosity in permit-— ting the Street family to occupy the Trent farm™ rent free for the last four months. “If she can afford to buy property she can afford to pay rent | for the farm.” “She has no money,” replied Jack. “I have got a few hundred dollars I made lately in commis- sions. I want to invest it in that farm if you’ll sell it at a reasonable figure.” “My price is’ $1,100,” replied Mr. Shuttleworth. “I’m aware you've been asking that for it, but | it is more than it is worth.” “How do you know that?” grunted Mr. Shuttle- worth. “My employer isa real estate man and anaes the real value of every foot of ground about this _ neighborhood. He told me that $900 was a fair — price for the Trent property. “I don’t care what he said. Tl take $1 000, and not a cent less. e é : “You’ve had it in the market for nearly a year Be. without getting a purchaser.” s “That’s my business. If you want that prop- erty you must pay me $1,000.” - “How much cash to you require?” asked Jack, =m anxiously. 2 “T'll take half cash. The ‘balance on a_ three- year mortgage “Very well,” replied Jack. “Well buy it. ne is $100 on account. Make out the receipt in ba taken off the nee the original

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= ever, he gave his receipt for the’ money, and _. Mrs. Street signed the contract in duplicate two days later at his office. The deed was turned - over to a lawyer to examine the title, and while this was in progress Jack got a day off and visited - “the contfactor who was going to build the rail- « road, and told him he had granite on his prop- _ erty for sale, and would like him to have it examined with the view of making .a deal with him for stone for the railroad. The contractor 5 could hardly believe his ears, but he agreed to * send an engineer to look into it. Jack referred 2 him to the engineer in Bridgewater who had gone over the land. - -“Go and see him,” said the boy. “His report e ought to satisfy you. He’s the best engineer ~ in the State.” __ The contractor did go and see him, with the ae result that he made an offer to Jack in a day or two, which the boy submitted to Mr. Daven- port. The banker looked into the matter and * ~ teld Jack the offer was too low. He told him to what figure to submit himself, and. Jack did so. By the time the final arrangements were com- + pleted the preperty passed into Mrs. Street’s hands. _ Then the news of the discovery of a fine ledge of granite onthe Trent farm was printed in the Brentwood paper. Mr. Shuttleworth read the ac- : count and was staggered. He couldn’t believe it; Wat investigation proved to him that he had let > =F a fortune slip through his fingers, and perhaps = he wasn’t the maddest man in Brentwood! ~ f 5 ‘ . CHAPTER IX.—Plotting against Jack Street. or Jack Street saw substantial success before = himself at last. He had made a contract with ‘John Owens, the railroad contractor, to furnish hrm with building stone for the bridge work and a culverts all along the line of the M. & N. new branch from Bridgewater to Brentwood at a cer- _ tain figure, and also to supply him with as much _- Yoose, broken rock as he could at one dollar a Under these circumstances, and as he was-truly ~ out for himself in every sense the words implied, he resigned his situation at the real estate and _. insurance office, much to the regret of his em- ployer, who feared that never again would he ‘get such a smart and ¢apable lad in his office. ~ Mr. Davenport helped him with his advice and - personal influence, and Jack found him a moun- - tain of strength to rely upon in starting out in his new line of business. It wasn’t long before the back of the farm, down by the branch of the creek, beg I before known in that neighborhood. A gang of ~ eee. under the direction of an experienced foreman, were at work getting out the stone for finishers tO tackle and put into shape. The loose rock, which accumulated from the blasting ati was heaped up at one side, in ever- mounds, to await the expected’ orders its shipment as soon as Contractor Owens got to use it in his work upon the line which already under way from Brentwood as a Davenport had expressed a wish to poe ee ES ) er ae OUT FOR HIMSELF an to wear an air of activity never 1 see the budding quarry~in operation, Jack called for her one afternoon in his modest buggy. and took her out to the scene of his new business enterprise. Before going to the quarry, Jack intrduced her to his mother and sister, who had been quite anxious to meet his new friend. Cassie took an immediate liking for Jessie Street, and invited her to call upon her at her home and take — some day, which Jack’s sister promised 0 do. Miss Davenport found much to interest and amuse her at the new granite quarry, and she ie 1aied some time talking to Jack, and asking questions which he could not always answer satis- factorily, owing to his inexperience in the busi- ness which he was trying to conduct in a way to do himself credit. : After taking Cassie home, Jack met Tom. “Come out and have supper with us, old man,” said Jack. “I want you to see how. well we're getting on at the quarry.” “All right,” replied his friend, jumping into the buggy. “I'd like to see how things are progress- ing. After supper Jack took Tom out to see what had been done at the quarry. “This looks like business all right,” remarked Tom, as he looked the place over in the gather- ing dusk. “No one would have thought the small patch of stone we saw uncovered by the action of the water that Sunday morning would have developed into a real quarry. It looked more like a solitary builder than anything else.” “You're right—it did. If it wasn’t for the fact that the building of this branch railroad put the idea of stone into my head I should never have thought of investigating the underpinning of this farm.” : : The boys went into the open shed where the stone, in all stages of preparation and in its finished state, lay about, and sat down on a bench in the darkness and talked about the future of the quarry which promised such splendid re- sults. During a pause in the conversation Tom saw a figure come out of the gloom and stand near the far corner of the shed. “Who can that be?” he said to Jack, pointi the object out. eo “Give it up,” replied his friend. “Might be cne of the men come back for something he for- got to take away.” Presently two other figures joined the first and the three advanced cautiously into the shed. Their movements seemed to take on such a sus- Picious aspect that the boys remained silent ob- servers of their actions. : “They are coming over this way,” whispéred Tom. “You don’t recognize them, do you?” “No,” replied Jack, wondering who the intruders - were. The three meh finally stopped within a yard of where the boys sat, concealed from their ob- servation by a pile of dressed stone. “You are sure the young cub lives in yonder _ house?” spoke a voice that had a familiar ring | in it to Jack. “Certain of it, I’ve been watching the place all day,” replied one of his companions. — “How shall we entice him outside?” asked the third ey

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< e SE aA that to me, Meiggs,” ee z pons pesker at 4 OUT FOR HIMSELF said the first whistle, grab him quick, then we'll rush out and complete the work in short order.” At the mezition of the man’s name Jack re- Curley had no objection to playing the part alized at once that these were the three men assigned to him, and so the three rascals walked who had been concerned in the abduction of off toward the Trent farmhouse to put their Cassie Davenport. It was clear, from their words plant into practice. end their presence on the farm, that they were on some errand of mischief towards the boy Stores ~ who had spoiled their kidnapping scheme. squeezed Tom’s arm; and that signal gave Harper Jack -* te understand that his friend seemed to recog- CHAPTER X.—Trapping the Kidnappers. ize the men. - “When we get him back to the house we’ll put “My gracious!” exclaimed Tom, when the ras- ~ him through a course of sprouts that will teach cals had passed out of sight and hearing. “Those him not to meddle again with matters that do are the three chaps who carried off Miss Daven- _ not concern him,” said the second speaker, evi- port.” Curley gets through with him.” for, dye understand?” of the Davenport house.” have queered us the way he did?” dently Curley, savagely. “He disabled my shoul- “Two of them carried her off, while the third, Ger for nearly a week with one of the rocks he a chap by the name of Meiggs, and a woman, threw at Meiges and me, and I’m goin’ te pay Who called herself Mrs. Meiggs, were in the plot _him back for it goéd and hard.” “One of them stones cut my héad, too,” _ Meiggs, “and I’m goin’ to have my innih’s, after feet. to hold her a prisoner in the house among the put in hills for ransom,” replied Jack, rising to his “It’s a good thing we happened to be out here “Pshaw!” grated Mulbrook, impatiently, “what and heard them. They’ve got it in for you and are little things like that compared with the Mean to get square with you if they can. It important fact that he did us out of a cold $20,- would be a great thing if we could capture them. 2 Only for him we'd have got that money. now. There is a reward of $5,000 offered bY Mr, Tnstead of which we’ve had to keep on the move Davenport for their arrest and conviction.” ever since to avoid falling into the hands of the “We must go over to the house and see what police.) That’s what we've got to pickle him they’re doing.” said Jack. “Curley is going to ~ knock at the front door and ask for me. Mothed= “Who'd ever thought that little monkey would won't suspect anything wrong, and will tell him growled I’m down at the quarry with you.” ~ Meiggs. “You two put your foot in it by not “Too bad you haven’t a telephone connéction _ leavin’ him bound and gazged on the veranda station and let the department know the kidnap- “I don’t know about that.” replied Mulbrook, pers are hanging about the farm, trying to do ieakty: “How could we tell how much or. how you up.” little he’d seen? He must have. noticed the “I have no particular use for a telephone. It shape and color of the auto we left drawn up would cost something to string a wire out here, before the curb. He could not help, if he was In this particular instance it would come in sharp-eyed, making some note of our general ap- handy, of course.” =a pearance. Those of themselves would have prov- They approached the house with great caution ” replied Meiggs. ed sa clues in the hands of detectives. and saw Mulbrook and Meiggs hide around the Qh, Curley and I know what we were about, front corner of th ebuilding, while Curley went _ ’t you fret. The trouble came about. py you and knocked at the door, Mrs. Street answered ot being more strict in guardine the boy.” “We had him tied up hand and foot. I can’t ger hear what passed between her and Curley, but through my head how he managed to free they easily guessed its purport. Curley rs jom the summons. The boys were too far hy to turned away, and as the door closed was “Wh ie uu can get it through your head or by his associates, who held-a consultation. The ‘not the f. fact retnaina that he did get free, and three presently started back for the quarry. $es5 bag sage our game in the head by his nerve “They’re doing just what I supposed bea. in going | up to the room and setting the girl would,” said Tom. “Now I’ve got an idea.” = a free. He’s a smart rooster, and he needs to have “What is it?” : Songs cut to teach him a lesson he won’t soon “If there was any way by which you oale= ” replied Mulbrook, savagely. ener ‘the use talkin’ about it all night,” attract and hold their attention for half.an ee “I would like to know with some degree of over, course, they w t if T can help oom ee ariete int kick if we ncn ms , With the town, then you could ring up the police = without actually putting yourself in their clutches, Meiggs, sulkily. “You’ve got the auto I’d run down the road and look for their auto. — down road. All that remains for us to do . When I discovered it I’d start for the police sta- re fe ket him outside the house, grab him and _ tion at a hot pace and fetch the officers out here. s =. to the pea: daca = —— Then maybe we’d catch them.” ~~, int meee where no o' interfere, “That’s all right. Su we do that?” — serve. him out to the ae: taste.” bis = a4 7 you're pretty well disguised, Curley, with tainty that they are going ~ to that ce suit and mutton-chop side te-night, even if they don’t ca’ ae a roo Ps better. 4 yay oem 4

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OUT FOR and let them decide whether the scheme is a good one. That would let us out if it proved a failure. “Weill, that’s true enough. I’d prefer, though, if we could manage to capture them ourselves. Then we’d get all the honor as well as the whole of the reward. You see, $5,000 is wérth con- sidering.” j : “There’s no use standing here doing nothing. Those fellows are at the quarry by this time, looking around for us. If we’re going to do something we've got to do it quick,” said Tom. = They walked slowly toward the quarry, keep- ¥ ing their eyes wide open for a sight of _the ras- als, and trying to think up some feasible plan the side opposite the shed in the shadow of a line of shrubbery. ; : . = Finally they made out the kidnappers standing at the top of the quarry, talking together. Sud- _ denly, as they started to leave the spot, two of -__ them disappeared downward, with loud cries. *“They’ye fallen into the quarry,” whispered Jack, in great excitement. “They stood too near ae edge and the ground gave way under them -. where the men made the last blast late this after- Ae sabes vee noon. : i - As they drew near the edge of the quarry, near where the two rascals had gone down, they heard rroanings rising from the depths of the pit. _ Fortunately for the villains the quarry was not yet very deep, but it was full of jagged rock, and it was quite possible that they might have hurt themselves severely on the debris. : _ *T believe my leg is broken,” they heard Meiggs % + os “And my arm is twisted out of shape,” howled Curley, dismally. _~-“Where are you?” asked Mulbrook, coming to “Help me out, will you, Mulford?” whined Meiggs. “If my leg isn’t broken it’s’next door “ aring the rock away from where his compan- ons reclined, half imbedded in the earth and 4] should say it was—for us,” replied Curley. st the luck!” : te Ethos chaps got it in the neck for fair, whispered Tom to Jack. *Mulbrook assisted Curley out first and then ‘be the worst off of the two. He groaned and swore alternately as Mulbrook lifted him out of _ the debris. _ “St = Ene he said. badly sprained.” — ubrook helped him ‘over to the shed, where ‘ ‘down on a block of stone. : “We - a match for those fellows now,” said Tom. -_ “Not if they’re armed,’as they’re likely to be,” replied Jack. ; : Rene : : ny rope around here?” asked Tom. 1 What do ron.) dishes it ae a thought we might make a couple of slip awl a toward Mulbrook and the chap badly injured, throw them over their prisoners before “Tf my leg’ isn’t broken that would result in their capture. They kept on’ rave his attention to Meiggs, who appeared to» a hundred feet, th HIMSELF 13 “Your head is chock full of ideas, isn’t it? Tom? we Do you really think it would work ?” , “I think it would if we were quick enough about it, and caught them by surprise.” : “The rope'happens to be in the shed, and is hardly suitable for your plan,” replied Jack. ~ “That knocks my scheme on the head,” said_ Tom, disappointedly. “We could run up to the house and get a couple of pieces of clothes line,” suggested Jack. “Als» two pieces of iron pipe that we could use for clubs in case of necessity.” . “All right. I’m with you.” Accordingly, they hurried to the house, got the clothes lines, made running nooses in the end of each, and then, armed with the iron pipes, re- turned to the vicinity of the shed. As well as they could make out in the gloom, Mulbrook ap- peared to be examining Meiggs’s injured lez, while Curley, with his sleeve rolled up, was rub- bing his arm. : “Your leg isn’t broken,” they heard Mulbrook says “It is probably sprained. We’ll have to give up our project for a day or two. until you get on your pins once more.” =. “That boy is a hoodoo for us,” growled Curley. “We'll hoodoo him when we eatch him,” retorted Mulbrook, ominously. ; “Got your noose in working order?” asked Yom: . “Yes,” answered Jack. “Now is our chance to creep up on them. They are off their guard.” The nervy boys crept forward until close behind the men. “Now let them have it,” whispered Tom, darting at Curley and throwing the noose over his head. >, It dropped around the astonished rascal’s arms, and then Tom pulled it tight and began to drag him away from the group. Jack succeeded in =e treating Mulbrook in the same way, and pulled him off his feet. The two kidnappers made ater- rible racket on finding themsleves quite helpless. : They struggled to release themselves, but the : 28 nooses held tight. a With a little dexterity the boys wound the line around their victims’.arms half a dozen times and _ tied it. They cut off the remainder and used it to secure the men’s feet. When they went back : for Meiggs they found he had disappeared. They hunted around and found him hiding under the ae bushes. A groan or two he couldn't suppress ete betrayed the spot to them. 3 Seat He roared when they laid hold of him, but he ~ could do nothing to save himself. They used a bit of heavy rope from the shed to tie him. a: “You watch them while I go and hunt up that. auto of theirs,” said Jack. _ Ress “All right,” replied Tom, picking up one of the pieces of iron pipe and mounting guard over the ~discomfited scoundrels. aie a, Jack found the auto a little way up the read, and ran it up in front of the farm gate. -He then — returned to Tom. They consulted as to the best way of moving the kidnappers to the road, 1 was at the other end of the ten-acre farm. It was decided not to carr then — for ano hind ma were away. They 28

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a 14 and finally the third. a and over again they got them to the road. “2 fter that it was easy to lift them into the «auto, placmg two between the seats and the other in the space before the front seat. The boys got in themselves, Jack acting as chauffeur, and away they started for the police station in town. OUT FOR Repeating. this method VON alte toe Ji Lod ‘ Pi Ad ‘ Pe CHAPTER XI.—The Eseaped Convicts. A crowd gathered around the red auto when ? | Jack brought it to a stop before the police sta- the witnesses at the examination in the after- noon, and in their testimony the rascals were held for trial. Mr. Davenport considered that : the boys had fairly earned the reward, and he handed each of them his cheek for $2,500. : “I’m rich at last,” almost shouted Tom, when - he and Jack cashed the checks at the paying- . teller’s window of the bank. admitted _ “You’re pretty well off for a boy,” = ~ Jack. “What are you going to do with your 4 $2,500?” ae aa | don’t know what I'll lo with it, except to put it in the savings bank.” _ “That’s the best place for it. That’s where some of mine goes for the present, after I pay Mr. Davenport the $1 000 he loaned me to start work _at the quarry.” Three weeks later the kidnappers were tried, st -eonvicted- -and sent to the penitentiary for ten _ years each. ~ “That'll keep them out of mischief for a good while to come,” Jack remarked to his mother and “sister when he got home after the trial. The next nine months were busy ones for the boy. He had a big gang of men at work at the quarry, for he secured many contracts beside the ‘railroad one to supply stone for buildings. At end of the nine. months the railroad was com- _ pleted and in operation. It gave a boom to Brent- a abe ‘industries. Several new factories were es- tablished within the town limits, and others were to be‘built there. Jack called regularly once a week on Cassie, d no other young man of her acquaintance had the ghost of a pai in her estimation with our hero. One morning Tom Harper rushed over to the ‘Trent farm with the morning paper in -his : d the news, Jack?” he asked, in some excitement. ‘ _ “What news?” inquired his chum. _ haven’t read the morning paper, then?” _ I’m almost too busy to read the paper. out 2 Another eos meine He then ran inside and told the officer in - yr on the. HIMSELF “No. ‘They had trouble in the State peniten- tiary yesterday and three prisoners escaped.” __ “You don’t say. How did it occur?” “You'd better read it for yourself,” said Tom, handing him the paper and pointing out the story. Jack read it. ; “Gee whiz!” he exclaimed. “Mulbrook, Curley and Meiggs are the chaps who got away.” “That’s what the paper says.” “I’m sorry those were the ones who escaped.” “So am I, for they’ve got it in for both of us.” “They won’t dare come to this locality. It would be too risky for them.” “You can’t tell what such chaps might do.” “That’s “quite true, but I: don’t think theyll take the chances of recognition in this locality.” “They could disguise themselves, couldn’ they ?” ’ “Yes, they could do that, I suppose.” “Well, I think we’d better keep our eyes peeled z for possible trouble. Forewarned is forearmed.” : . Jack agreed that it was -well for them both to keep on their guard. It. was about this time that Tom’s boss was employed by: the Govern- ment to take part in an extensive surveying ex- pedition in the far west, and Tom was told that he would have to look out for another situation. - “So you’re out of a job, eh?” said Jack, when his friend came over to the farm and told him — the news. —— “J will be at the end of this week,” replied Tom, gloomily. ae “Well, you’ve got $2,500 in bank, so you’re not q so badly off.” oe “That’s all right, but I don’t want to be out of work just the same.” “How would you like to work for me, Tom?” Z “First: rate. Can you give me something to 0? “Yes, I can make you timekeeper and general elerk at the quarry.” “That will suit me all right.” “Your wages will be $9 a week.” “That’s satisfactory, It’s two dollars than I’ve been getting.” ; ‘ “Then you can come to work on Monday morn- ing.” : “Tl be on hand, bet your life!” So Tom went to work fon Jack Street, and, thenceforth the boys saw more of each other” than they formerly did. Tom was not a boy to take any advantage of his chum’s friendship, but | worked as faithfully for him as he would have done for a perfect stranger. One morning about © a week or ten days after Tom entered Jack's employ, a heavily bearded man, clad in rough garments, applied to the foreman of the quarry — for a job. It happened a man had left the day before, and the foreman took the stranger on. Jack noticed the new man, and once or twice © it occurred to him that he had seen this individual before, but still he could not place him, nor did he try very hard to do so, as he had no interest in the identity of his quarrymen, for he was not brought -inte direct communication with them. | The new mah, who went down in the time-be as Luke Bradley, worked steadily all day. whole attention seemed to be absorbed i a work, yet had he been closely watehed it might have been noticed that his eyes and ears— alert, particularly when vii . oy PPO Le ee ye ee: EPO Nee we eS eet Ni Aa | more Caer a BIA Cdn STEIN, AM) et any TY Hab fi "S OI = 4 5 a 4% sh

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OUT FOR HIMSELF and Tom were around’ the quarry. When the foreman sent a couple of hands for sticks of - dynamite to load a blast, he managed to slip away and find out where the explosive was stored. ; No one, however, appeared to notice anything suspicious about his actions, and when the gang knocked off for the day, he put on his eoat and | quietly departed. He went down the road a short distance to a shanty that had not been occupied : for any purpose for a long time, and marching up to the closed door he gave a peculiar rap on the wood. “In a few minutes the door was opened and he was admitted. ‘The entrance was then bolted, a wooden bar put across it, and the person who had let him in fol- lowed him into the room to the right of the squalid entry. There was a small, flat stove in one corner of the room with a fire in it, and : another man was superintending the preparation of a meal. The plain deal table that stood in the middle of the apartnient was covered with - -@ newspaper in lieu of a tablecloth, and on it were spread three plates, with a cup and saucer, and a knife, a fork and spoon beside each. _ A paper bag full of sugar stood in the center of the table, and there was a small, cracked jug containing milk beside it. The other two men --wore beards somewhat similar to Bradley’s though ‘not quite as thick nor as black. A close observer - might have had his suspicions aroused as to the genuineness of these hairy appendages, for they -* gid not appear as natural as they ought to. _. hat they actually were false was soon demon- strated when the meal was put on the table, for then each man deftly removed his beard in order to eat with more freedom, and then it appeared that the man who had given his name as Bradley at the quarry was none other than Jim Mulbrook, -gnd his companions were Dave Curley and Wil- aw Meiggs—escaped convicts all. CHAPTER XII.—Two Diabolical Schemes. When Tom Harper took down the name of the new man at the quarry that morning, something warned him against the fellow. Just why his suspicions were aroused he could not say. Two or three times he was on the point of calling Jack’s attention to the new employee, but as he could not give any real reason for his, feelings * on the subject he was ashamed to bring the matter up: s F Nevertheless he felt uneasy all the afternoon, and took occasion to go into the quarry a number _ of times and look at Bradley in a careless way. The man always seemed to be working as indus- triously as the rest of the gang, and Tom retired without having obtained any further light on the subject that bothered him. k “J don’t see anything the matter with the fel- 7,” he muttered to himself, after looking in at quarry for the sixth time. “Yet I can’t get idea out of my mind that he isn’t penn what he seems. I wonder where he came from The ‘foreman doesn’t know nor seem to care. He’s satisfied as long as the chap does his work all I'd like to tell Jack, but I’m afraid he’d at me. He’d say I’m not acc to strange faces, and that my suspicions are sate ~ = bree) z A Se! ‘% 15 When the men knocked off ‘at half-past five, Tom was standing at the door of the little office, close to the quarry, as Bradley went by on his way to the road. Something aboyt the man’s walk and manner aroused Tom’s suspicions anew. “By Jingo!” muttered the boy. “I can’t stand this. I’m going to find out something for myself about that chap before I go to supper. I'll just — see where he’s stopping in the neighborhood, to begin with.” ete Tom got his hat and coat, locked up the office, and started after the new man. “It won't do to let him know that he is being followed. I’ll get behind the hedge.” When Bradley reached the road he looked around in a way that struck the boy as sus- picious and then passed along up the highway. The hedge that bordered the road was quite thick, and Tom had no difficulty in keeping out of sight. Finally he saw Bradley enter the yard of the shanty that Tom knew to be unoccupied by a regular tenant. = “What the dickens does he want there?” the lad asked himself. “Why, he’s knocking at the door, There must be somebody in the shanty at that rate. There he goes in. This looks mighty funny to me. There’s smoke coming out of the chim- ney. Maybe the man has a wife and family and moved in this morning, and that he’s all right after all. I'll make sure. It’s almost dark.~ I can slip up to the back window and look in.” Tom hastened forward, and as he reached the fence on that side of the shanty he saw a wagon in the back yard. He also heard the stamp of a horse’s hoofs in a shed close by. The rear win- dow was boarded up at the bottom where two panes. of glass were missing. A light shone through the chinks and above the top board. Tom got over the tumble-down fence and glided across the yard to the window. He found a knot- hole that gave him a good view of the interior of the room. The sight he saw inside fairly staggered him. There were the three kidnappers that he and Jack had helped send to the peniten- tiary seated at a table in the middle of the room, eating their supper just as if they were honest rei gg of the county and not three escaped con- victs. “Well, if that doesn’t beat the Dutch!” gasped the boy. “That man Bradley is Jim Mulbrook for a fact. _He went to»work at the quarry for some purpose, that’s evident, and whatever his _ object is it doesn’t mean any good to Jack and — me. That beard he wore as a disguise is lying. on the table beside him. And the others have beards, too, which they’ve laid aside while they are eating. It was.a providential thing I followed — that fellow down here, or I should nayer have made this startling d u they are talking abo It may give me a line on the game they are up to.” % He put his ear to the knot-hole and listened attentively to the conversation going on within. — “Well, Mulbrook,” Curley was saying, “what 2 did you find out to-day?” “I found out that that young monkey, Jack _ Street, is the actual owner of the granite quarry _ on the Trent farm.” . . “He is, eh?” exclaimed Curley. “Well, I’m blamed! We su it, and that fe eS a. very. I must hear what

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- ‘ : ; 4 . Pr 16 OUT FOR “That other cub, Tom Harper, who helped him - do us up that night you two fell into the quarry, is timekeeper and general clerk there, too.” “He is, eh 2 So much the better. Are you sure neither of them recognized you?” “Quite sure of it.” “Good!” “T discovered the little hut where the dynamite is stored. They have a watchman,at night now. He is only a boy, and we'll have no difficulty get- ting away with him.” Curley nodded in a satisfied way. : “What’s your plan for getting square with > those cubs?” he asked. : “My seheme is this: Those two boys come to _ * the little office near the quarry nearly every eve- * ning to work on the books and attend to other details of the business, which is booming just now. Although Street is the sole boss, the other = chap pulls right in with him as if he was an equal =e partner. The three of us must go there to-night Pes, and first of all capture that young-cub who acts as watchman. As soon as we have put him out of harm’s way we’ll go into the office and surprise Street and Harper. They haven’t the least sus- _ picion we're in this vicinity. Infact, I dount if they have heard that we escaped from the jug up the State. We'll bind, gage and carry them to the hut where the dynamite is stored. After tying them so they can’t escape, we'll lay a slow match -for some little distance from the hut and light thy end of it. We'll time the fuse so as to give us time enough to get about half a mile away from the spot before the dynamite settles our -seore with them. How does that strike you, eh?” This villainous scheme was proposed with a eallousness that showed what:a consummate scoundrel Jim Mulbreck was, and Tom, outside _ the window, fairly shivered at the fiendishness of the plot. Curley and Meiggs immediately ex- _ pressed their approval of the contemplated crime. “They hated the two boys as bitterly as Mulbrook did, and to their fancy no fate was too horrible- to hand out to the plucky lads who had captured _ them, and assisted in their conviction and incar- _ceration fora long term in the penitentiary, from ‘which they had just escaped through one of those iar circumstances that. occasionally crop “up te prisons. ee > We're with you, Mulbrook,” said Curley. “It om ~ will be some satisfaction to gloat over them when oh, they see that their minutes on this earth are al “You bet your life,” nodded Meiggs, with a sardonic grin. “I ain’t forgotten how Street dragged me about that night on my twisted leg.” = falbeeoks all-of- one mind, are we?” asked F900) _ “Aye, aye,” replied his associates unanimously. “Now that we’ve disposed of that matter let us figure on the one ‘scheme we have in view,” r Mulbrook, drawing a pipe from his with tobacco and lighting it from the wick of the candle which furnished the illu- mination of the room. “You mean the railroad job, don’t you?” asked Meiggs, Retting out his pipe and going through ' Jack and me to land HIMSELF — “Well,” continued Mulbrook, “the best place to do the trick is close to the cut, about two miles south of Parsons’ farm. It’s a lonesome spot, with not a house in sight. If the lecomotive was to leave the track there it would dump the train, or the front part of it at least if a coupling broke, down into the valley sixty feet below. The ears would be smashed into kindling wood and the engine would go to,the junk pile.” “I guess that’s right,” nodded Curley, blowing a cloud of smoke from his lips. “The train due at Brentwood at 11.10 every night carries a couple of strong boxes filled with money and coin sent through from Bridgewater to the’ Brentwood National Bank and the Trust Company. Those boxes we want to get hold of.” “Bet your life we do,” interjected Meiggs. “After we’ve disposed of the young jiggers. at the quarry we'll drive down to the cut in our team, draw the spikes out of the fish-plates that hold down a couple of the rails, leaving the rails in their place so the engineer won’t notice that there is. anything the matter with the track. ~ We've got the tools to-do it with in the wagon. — When the engine strikes the loosened rails they ll spread at once, the locomotive will jump the track, and the train will sail over into the valley.” “Correct,” agreed Meiggs. “We'll be on hand at a convenient spot in the valley, ready to drive up in the wagon when the _ erash comes. We'll make a dash for the remains = of the baggage car, yank out the strong boxes ~ and load them on to the team, fér they're not ~ too heavy to be easily handled. Then we'll come back here as fast as we can, break open the boxes, divide the swag and light out for St. Louis or | some other point west.” or Mulbrook paused and looked at his. associates. 5 “That scheme is all right,” said Curley. “I'm with\you in it.” ‘ “And you can count on me, too,” ‘put in Meiggs. -- “Then there’s nothing more to be said on the subject,” remarked Mulbrook, knocking the ashes from his pipe and returning it to his pocket. . - “Now, let’s get ready for our night's work, You hitch up the. team, Meiggs. When you’ve dome — that and fetched it around to the road in front just let us know and we'll be ready to\start Seed ro: the quarry.” © 5 The three men arose from the table, which was) a sign mae Tom Harper to take his ear from the 4 knot-hole and get on the other side of the fence as fast as his legs could carry him. * 5 “Well, talk about desperate scoundrels,” _ breathed the boy as he hurried along toward the ¥ z Trent farm to communicate the startling news to Jack, “I guess those three chaps take the medal. _ So they mean to blow Jack and me up with dyna-_ mite to-night, do they? I’m thinking theyll — meet with a surprise of their lives in trying to carry off that little scheme. How lucky it was that my suspicions were aroused about that Bradley. And to think he was so well disguised that neither Jack nor I weer able to recognize _ his real identity. Those villains think nothing of hes human cgghetan if they succeeded eir design upon e railroad probably “atte people would ‘be killed and maimed. ‘It's up t - son, and I reckon were able-te deve sll In- nie: Bae ants naar eee however, To

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OUT FOR who was taking a short cut across the fields, didn’t notice in the darkness a deep gully that - lay in his path until he suddenly pitched forward - jmto the hole. He struck his head against a hard root, rolled over and lay unconsciops. CHAPTER XIII—In the Dynamite Hut. At half-past seven Jack left the house for the little office near the quarry. He had waited half an hour for Tom to call and accompany him, -- but when his chum failed to show up he went - to the office alone. It was a cloudy night and -_ eonsequently a dark one. A cool breeze swept * through the branches of the trees, and they _ ‘nodded at him in the gloom as if they recognized - his importance as thé smartest boy in the county. As he approached the office door he looked around a for the bright rays of the lantern which always . hung after dark at the entrance to the quarry, _ Jack was greatly surprised to find it absent -_ 0n. this oceasion. The first thing that Harry Bas- ' _ gett, the sixteen-year-old. lad who filled the post of night watchman, did when he came on duty | every evening was to light that lantern and hang it im its aceustomed place. He had never been _ known to fail in this before. The ‘circumstance ~ was all the stranger from the fact that before Jack went to supper he visited the quarry and saw Bassett lighting the lamp in the shed. So instead of entering the office Jack continued on to the quarry to see if he could find out why - the lantern was not in its place. The quarry "was as dark and silent as the grave. There was no sign of Harry Bassett anywhere. Jack then __awent on to the hut where the dynamite was - stored, thinking the watcher ‘might be going his ‘round in that neighborhood. As he walked that _ way three shadows dogged his steps in the gloom, stealthily closing in on him, until they were close behind him when he reached the hut. Harry, Bassett was nowhere in sight here either. ~ “Tt’s strange where he can be,” mused Jack. ~ “This isn’t like Harry at all. The absence of that lantern is the funniest part of it. He has " strict orders to keep it burning at the entrance the quarry from dusk to dawn. Now it is not y not hanging in its place, but Harry himself is missing, too. What can it maen “yes _ As he turned about to retrace his steps, he was ‘seized behind by a powerful grip and a leathery hand. elosed upon his mouth. A pair of “hands seized his legs and he was thrown roughly upon the ground with a force sufficient to jar his whole Then from out the darkness loomed a third dow which proceeded to bind the struggling hand and foot, and finally to gag him. ' He was yanked around behind the hut and the > ektern which belonged at the quarry entrance “was produced from under the folds of a#coat ‘which had effectually hidden ‘its light until this moment. It was flashed in Jack’s face, but at the & time it revealed to the prisoner three faces gathered close around him, * we've at last,” said Jim ant satisfaction. — fs boy ‘ahead of_us, and the train won’t wait for us. HIMSELF pid who we are. For fear you might entertain any doubt on the subject I will tell you that my name is Jim Mulbrook and that these are my pals, Dave Curley and Bill Meiggs. You thought you were rid of us for a matter of ten years or so, ~ didn’t you? You thought that once the doors of the penitentiary had closed upon us we were dead to the world until we had served our time. Well, you see you were mistaken. Only nine months have passed and we are back again at our old stamping ground—back again to repay you and your friend Harper the debt we owe you. How do you like the prospect that’s before you, eh? Perhaps you’re thinking that kid watchman of yeurs will discover how things are and give the alarm? Don’t you believe it. We made it our business to catch him first of all. He’s lying bound and gagged behind tHe shed, and he knows if he turns over he’ll fall into the creek. _ We’ve got you where the hair is short, and we’re only waiting for that cub Harper to turn up to hand you both out your quietus.” “Your name is mud this time, all right,” jeered -Curley, thrusting his ugly mug closer to the helpless boy. “I ain’t forgotten how you lamed my shoulder that night you fired the rocks at me and Meiggs.” “Nor I ain’t forgotten the two punches you gave me in the dorway of the house when you | cut your lucky with the girl; nor the ent in the head I got from one of them stones; nor the rough handling you and Harper gave me after I sprained my leg in the quarry. I ain’t forgot nothin’,” and the speaker, William Meiggs, grinned malevolently in Jack’s face. That'll do,” said Mulbrook, impatiently. “You’ve said enough to him for the present. Go back and watch near the office for the other chap. He ought to be along by this time. Maybe you'll find him inside at his desk. When you get him hustle him out here. We can’t waste any time over this job, for we’ve got the railroad aig | t will take us a little time to doctor the rails and get back into the valley. I'll stay here and wate this kid. If Harper doesn’t turn up in fifteer minutes, as near as you can guess, we'll have to let him go and make this chap pay the grudg¢ > we owe both.” So Curley and Meiggs departed on their er- rand, and Jim Mulbrook, lighting his pipe, set down beside his prisoner and smoked in silence. As for Jack he was fairly staggered by the situ- ation in which so unexpectedly found himself. While he knew that these men had escaped prison, he did not dream they would dare 2 back to the scene of their kidnapping exploit. They had come, however, and he was in their hands. : . What the¥ were going to do with him he equld mot guess; but he was afraid their intentions were pretty serious. The minutes went by slowly as he lay helpless on the ground, while Mulbrook smoked his pipe and looked out over the dark landscape. At length Curley and Meiggs returned without Tom Harper. “I guess he isn’t goin’ to turn out to-night,” said Curley. “We waited a good fifteen minutes « and didn’t see no sign of him.” “All right,” pipe. “He’s a lucky boy. He'll ” answered Mulbrook, putting up his _ a

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pened him the boy never knew. He -came to s a) - ~ Bight 18 OUT FOR he missea by staying away. We can’t wait for him any longer.” He walked around to the front of the hut, took a steel jimmy from his pocket and broke the lock on the door. Pushing it open’ he called for the lantern. Curley brought it to him. “Don’t follow me in, but hold it up’so I can see what I’m doing.” : He entered the hut and hunted around till he found a pile of fuse. He unrolled a long piece of the stuff, attached one end of it to the short fuse of a dynamite cartridge which he laid care- fully on the ground, and then came out of the hut and walked away to a distance with the other end of the fuse. “Now fetch the kid around and tie him to that box of dynamite in the hut,” he said when he came back. - Meiggs and Curley picked Jack up and bore him mto the small structure. “Young man,” said Mulbrook, after his com- panions had carried out his directions, “I s’pose you know where you are—in the dynamite hut. Do you see that cartridge attached to that fuse? Of course you do. I’m going to place that right -among the rest of the dynamite in that box. After we leave the hut one of us selected by lot is going to light the other end of that fuse. It will take fifteen to twenty minutes to burn its way into this place. You'll have that long to live, and then there won't be enough of you left to make a decent funeral. This is our revenge. How do you like it, eh? Think it over while the fuse is eating its way toward you an—say your prayers. Come, pals, we’ve wasted all the time we can afford on this job. The dynamite must do the rest. Good night, you confounded young cub, and a rapid journey for you into the next world.” Curley and Meiggs laughed derisively, then the door was slammed shut, a rock rolled against it, and Jack Street was left face to face with a horrible fate. . CHAPTER XIV.—Saved from a Terrible Fate. ~. How long Tom Harper lay unconscious in the- marrow gully into which his reckless feet had mself after a while and his first impression was that of wonder at finding himself in such a situation. He picked himself up as soon as he could and crawled out of the hole. By the time his feet touched the level ground above he remembered that hé had stumbled into the gully in his hurry to reach Jack and tell _ him what he had seen and heard in the deserted ‘3 shanty up the road. --*The more haste they say is the worst speed,” he muttered, as he continued on his way much - more cautiously than before, for the gloom of the and the severe pain in his head from the he had received on his skull, bothered him tly. “I hope I didn’t lie long in that gully. want to way oack of our danger and help him rep to capture those rascals off I wonder what before. I hope I'll find nae HIMSELF’ Jessie answered his impatient knock on the kitchen door. “Is Jack in?” he inquired. “Why no. He waited until half-past seven for you and then went to the office. You'll find him there. Why, what’s the matter with you, Tom? You’ve got a cut on your forehead, and there’s blood on your ear. Then your clothes look as if you’d been rolling in the dirt. Have you met with an accident?” “T fell into a gully on the other side of your boundary fence. It don’t amount to anything.” _“Come in and let me brush you off and put a piece of courtplaster on your forehead,” said Jessie. . “Can’t wait for that now. What time is it?” “It’s nearly half-past eight.” . : “Half-past eight!” gasped Tom. “Good gra- cious!” 2 “ Without another word he turned around and started for the office as fast as he could run, while Jessie looked after him not a little astonished. “There -isn’t any light in the office,” he breathed, when he came in sight of the window of the little frame building. “I guess Jack didn’t ges here after all. Or if he did, he didn’t stay ong.” He kept on, however, and when he reached the office he tried the door.- It was locked as he expected. “Why, where’s the quarry lantern? It isn’t hanging in its'place. That’s funny. Everything is dark and silent as a graveyard down here. I don’t like the looks of this. Those rascals must have been here. Maybe they’re skulking around here now.” = The very idea of meeting the scoundrels in that lonesome spot in the dark made him shiver. “Where can Harry Bassett be? There’s some- thing wrong as sure as I’m alive., Half-past eight o’clock. My goodness! I must have been nearly two hours and a half in that gully, for it wasn’t. ~ more than six o’clock when I was listening to those men under the shanty window. That would give them loads of time to come here and cap- ture both Jack and Bassett. Maybe they did that and are now looking for me. I must be cautious. I’ll sneak around the back of the shed toward the dynamite hut and see if they’re hang- ing around in that neighborhood.” He followed out this plan, and was part of the way round when he almost tripped over Some- thing soft lying in his path. His heart gave a great bound, for he thought at first he had stum- bled upon one of the rascals hiding there, and-he expected the fellow to jump up and make a grab at him. Nothing of the kind happened, but stead ot ger a Eanes xroen.- : What’s +? e said, stooping down feeling of the object. x His hand came into contact with a human leg. - “Great Scott! Who can this be? Yack-dcen and gagged? I hardly think so.” z He ventured to strike a match. ae: “Why, it’s Harry Bassett!” 1 He got out his knife in a twinkling and ine

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OUT: FOR “Those eevonaaets have been here, I see. Seen ything of Jack, Harry? aes, “No. "ie hadn't come when those men jumped me and put me out here.” - -“Come; we must look Jack up. They may have caught him. You’ve got your revolver, haven’t ? Or did they take it from you?” ; No, I’ve got it. They didn’t bother searching That's good. Get it out. If we meet those villains don’t, hesitate to fire at them. . If you’re fraid to do it let me have your gun.” i “I’m not afraid to shoot, for they have no busi- ess around here.” 2 - “Follow me, then, and keep your eyes skinned ] rs " They emerged from around. the other end ‘ the shed and advanced toward the dynamite- shed with great caution. No one seemed to be | sight, but they were taking no chances. Gradu- y they circled around the shed where the ter- Yible explosive was stored. Finally they came out in front of. aca “What's that?” exclaimed Tom, gazing in open- _ eyed. wonder at a bright ‘spot on the ground near the door of the shed, that was spitting out tiny sparks as it crawled along in the darkness. _ “Looks like a glowworm, doesn’t it?” : The astonished lads gazed at it for a few min- , then Tom walked up close to it so as to amine it better. I never saw anything like that before,” he + putting “his foot in front of it. e stepped on something that felt like a soft a Stooping down his fingers came in contact with the substance. He picked it up and the glowing object came up with it. Great heaven!” he cried. “This is a lighted , and making straight for the door of the = . rspiration oozed out on his forehead, so ? Soe Pas he. His fingers relaxed and the dropped to the ground.’ Farry Bassett on the sputtering light and began to it out with his feet. While he was thus red Tom recovered his self-possession, pulled s knife and cut the fuse in two to make n it would do no harm. e rascals intended to blow up the shed the looks of things. Look at that stone inst the door. They broke the lock to * * ~ had run to the.quarry entrance and get the lan- ‘said Bassett. : -won’t find it there.” ; not?” the boy asked in surprise. shed. ose villains have probabiy : ano ites it will be safe for you to ture over there and get it. Don’t light it till Db here.” y Bassett walked away into the darkness, Tom to await his returh with the lantern. rolled the rock away from the door of the > chaps had caught Jack and me they ied-what’s that?’ 2 =. > rustling sound on the floor at. the the hut. Just then Bassett ran up. — ut a use it’s been taken away. There’s a spare ~_ us will go. Get your revolver from the house; t HIMSELF 19 had been blown out and it was lying on its side.” “Well, light it quick. There’s some live thing inside of the hut.” i “What makes you think there is?” asked Bas- sett, as he struck a match and lit the wick. - “T heard a rustling noise in. the corner.” “Maybe a rabbit got in there.” : The boys entered the hut and Bassett flashed the light around. They were both staggered to see Jack bound and gagged alongside of the case of dynamite. “Great Seott!” gasped Tom. “Good gracious!” ejaculated Bassett. They rushed forward, and while the young watchman held the lantern aloft, Tom eut his chum’s lashings and relieved his mouth of the ‘gag. Then he helped Jack to his feet. “So those rascals caught you and were going to blow you up!” cried Tom. “How did you guess that?” “Because. 1 overheard their whole. plot, and if I hadn’t tumbled irtto a gully in the adjoining field this never would have happened, but we prob- ably would have captured the villains between us as we did before.” is Tom then told his story—how he had suspected the new man, Bradley, who came to work at the quarry that morning; how he had shadowed him, ‘when he went off at half-past five, to the vacant shanty up the road; what .he had seen and heard through the knot-hole, and lastly, his ‘own misad- venture as he was hurrying across the fields té get the news to Jack as soon as he could. — “When I came to my senses I hastened to your heuse. Your sister told me you had gone to the office an hour before. I was staggered to think I had lost more than two hours’ time in that gully. I feared the rascals had been here, espe- cially when I found the lantern missing from the mouth of the quarry. ‘The fact that the office was dark and locked made me believe that you had changed your mind and gone off somewhere, and thus escaped the scoundrels. In my effort to see if those men were hiding near this nut, and at the same time to avoid possible discovery by them, I ‘walked around the back of the shed. I found Harry lying on the ground there, bound and gagged, and I hurriedly released him. After , that we both came here and discovered a lighted fuse crawling along the ground toward the shed: We soon put it out, and then we came in here and discovered you.” - , : Jack then told his story, from the moment : he left the house until the rascals left him help- —~ - less in the hut with the vision of a terrible death before his eyes. t “And now,” said Jack, “we must notify the police at once’ that these convicts are hanging around this neighborhood intent on doing you and I bodily harm,” % * “We haven’t the time to do that now,” replied Tom. “We must hustle down to the cut near Parsons’, farm and save the 11.10 train from. being wrecked by those scoundrels. The three of mine is in the office, and Harry has his in his pocket. Bassett and I will harness the to the light wagon whil you are after your gun. +e) ie

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> “All right,” agreed Jack, and the three started at once for the farm-yard. CHAPTER XV.—Averting a Railroad Disaster. = Fifteen minutes later the three boys drove out through the front gate and started the colt at her best speed for the railway cut beyond Par- sons’ farm. It took three-quarters of an hour for them to reach a point in the valley within a quarter of a mile of the track, which ran along the hillside, sixty feet or so above. They reined in, jumped out and tied the colt to a convient tree. As they crossed the valley road they saw a horse and wagon tied to the rail fence. There was no one near it. Z = “That’s ther team,” said Tom, who recognized the wagon. “They’re up on the line now attending to their dastardly work.” : “We must advance with caution, then,” replied Jack, drawing his revolver, an example followed ty his companions. ; “As. they are desperate ruffians, we must not hesitate to fire upon them if they refuse to yield or try to get away. We must capture them at _ any hazard, Jack, for our lives are in danger as : long as they are at large.” ; “That’s right,” answered Jack. “We are up against a tough proposition and we can’t afford to take any chances. I shall shoot to kill, if 2 necessary—you two must do the same. These scoundrels deserve no consideration at all after rE their villainous attempt on my life, which would Fone have succeeded had you not reached me in time f to put out that fuse.” : They began to climb the hillside near the en- trance to the cut. When they reached the track they saw no signs of the rascals. Presently they heard the sounds on the rails ahead. “They’re working at the track,” whispered Jack, coming to a pause. “I should think they are about fifty feet away.” The boys advanced with greater caution than before until they made out the indistinct forms three men ahead, doing something to the . “There they are,” said Jack. “Get down and --- ereep upon them.” : : : - They were within a dozen feet of- the. train- < wreakers. — “Halt!” cried Jack, rising to his feet in front = of them. “Surrender, or we'll fire!” Mulbrook, who was in advance, uttered a - eurse and raised something he carried under his arm. Jack’s sharp eyes saw it was a gun, and, . quick as lightning, to save his own life, he fired point-blank at the villain. Mulbrook threw up his hands with a cry, the gun, fell from his hands, and, staggering backward, he toppled over the embankment and went rolling down to the valley. The others, paralyzed by their leader’s fate, started to run up the track, but two revolvers, in the hands of Tom and Harry, cracked sharply on the night air, and two bullets hummed so close to the heads of the villains that they stop- = os sameeren Permere Phe 5.5. es = = Sn ae a! OUT FOR HIMSELF train for Brentwood was almost due now at the cut. They ran to the spot where the rascals had loosened the rails, and found that three — rails had been tampered with. Fortunately, the — spikes which had been drawn out of the fish- — plates lay close by. 7 “Grab a hammer and we'll drive them back F again,” said Jack. ; They worked with feverish eagerness, for a mile away came a long, shrill whistle,as the train passed a railroad crossing. But the boys | finished their work on the rail just as the train swept into sight. The engineer saw them and slowed up after they had passed the danger point, and the conductor walked back, and the matter was explained to him. He waved his lantern and the train backed down. The prisoners were turned over to him and hoisted into the baggage car, whence, on the arrival of the train in Brentwood, they were transferred to the station-house. The boys re- turned to the valley and hunted for the body of Jim Mulbrook. He was unconscious, but not dead. They carried him to the wagon that had brought the rascals to the scene of their at- tempted crime, and Jack and Tom mounted to the seat, after Bassett had been instructed to drive their own wagon to the farm and put the colt in the stable. Jack drove on into town to the station-house, — where tthe dangerously wounded convict was _ turned over to the authorities, and the boys gave their statement of the attempted wrecking of the 11.10 train. Mulbrook subsequently died of his _ injuries, and the other rascals were returned to the penitentiary. As a reward of $500 each had been offered by the State for their recapture, this sum was paid over to and divided among Jack, — Tom and Harry Bassett. The Board of Direc- tors of the M. & N. Railroad swarded $5,000 to — the boys also for saving the train. at the cut, — of which Jack and Tom each got $2,000, while — Bassett received $1,000. . Some time during the following year, Jack, throurh his mother, purchased a fine cottage within half a mile of the quarry, and the Street family went there to live. The quarry proved to be a winner, and when Jack reached ‘his twenty-first year he was earning ashandsome — income out of it, and Tom was earning a good _ salary from his generous chum. : ae” Soon afterward the following item appeared _ in the new morning Record newspaper:, ee Married.—At the residence of the bride’s — parents, No. — Brentwood avenue, on Wednes- — day evening, Cassie, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Willard Davenport, to John Spencer Street. The bride is the only child and heiress of the presi-_ dent of the Brentwood National. Bank. Tho — bridegroom is one of Brentwood's rising younz — citizens. He is the owner of the Trent Granite Quarry on the county road. <4 After a three mionths’ wedding tour Jack and his charming wife returned to- Brentwood and *_ = go os 4 Vee Fes took up their home with Mr. and Mrs. Dayen- — port until such time as he should build a brand- — new house of his own. ee 2 ‘Next week’s issue will contain “DIAMOND CUT DIAMOND; or, WALL STREET.” " Pee ag

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2 oe ewe eg SS ee ae A ee SOS ee eet = een 22 =. hee et ey) FAME AND FORTUNE WEEKLY CURRENT NEWS Charles Cleento; a, well-known resident of photograph him. Hammonton, N. J., is in the Hammonton Hospital fering from severe burns, the result of a pe- ~ While in a barber’s chair getting a hair treat- ROYAL s used, he struc stands. ween Confederate and Union forces is the plan which the ostriches were confined was splinte es he wanted to ship the gun to Watsontown, quelling the riot. He never went back, but he is confident he can never was defeated. Take Special Notice! We own “MYSTERY MAGAZINE.” It contains exciting detective, crook, and mystery stories. All of them are fine. You ought to read them. Why don’t you get a copy? _ The latest number costehea ; A good detective story called “THE LOCK AND KEY” Written by HAMILTON CRAIGIE A splendid two-part serial entitled “A TEST OF CONSCIENCE” J. B. WARRENTON, Author A department of hanowriting in which LOUISE® RICE gives free readings of your char- acter, if you send her a sample of your writing. ~ SIX (6) DANDY SHORT STORIES “CLUE: ONE HAIRPIN,” by H. P. Rhodes “A DEVILISH CONTRIVANCE,” by Maurice Coons “BETRAYED BY WORDS,” by D. E. Kramer : “CHANCE,” by Dorothy, Shea _ “ON THE TRAIL OF DOPE,” Ly Leslie Barreaux SMOKER SETS HIS HAIR AFIRE SITTING locate ic. Moving picture men have asked that~ IN A BARBER’S CHAIR he indicate the day that he will dig so they can culiar accident. RACING OSTRICH DIES IN A BATTLE ment, in which a gene containing alcohol “Black Diamond,” famous ostrich, is dead. The Ww a match to light a cigarette. passing of the noted bird recalls the memorable moment later his hair was on fire. Both hands, events at Greenville, O., seventeen years ago, ‘eyes and forehead were*burned before the fite when “Black Diamond” sprinted a half-mile in Was put out with wet towels, 1.05, setting an American record which still te “Black Diamond” was killed recently in a fight PLANS TO DIG UP A CANNON with six other birds-at the farm of Tom J. Cock- ‘To go to Petersburg, Va., and dig up a cannon’ burn, Hot Springs, Ark. So fierce was the strug- ‘ buried fifty-nine years ago after a battle be- gle that the heavy fence about the inclosure in ‘Henry C. Diehl of Hinton, Okla. Diehl says in several places. Attendants had difficulty in t the expressman wanted charges paid in ad- “Black Diamond” was fifty-nine years old. He es and, as he was -without funds, he buried raced on many tracks 2 gpa California to New intending to get it later. England during a period of fifteen years and called "og it contains an interesting article by TOM FOX (Scotland Yard De- gus Money,” oe: a large collection of shorter items that will ore = a Wis > -

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z : ©: = _ Rob and the Reporters : oe 7 On Hustling for War News by \/ireless 4 By GASTON GARNE > (A Serial Story.) CHAPTER XII.—(Continued). 2 _ So Rob tackled the tree and managed to get, far ; up among the branches. : “I can see the battle!” he shouted. “There is a plain about a quarter of a mile wide. A lot of Germans have made a stand. The allies are press- : down on them. I*can see fine.” _— “J believe ll come up,” declared Brown. “I used to be good on the climb in my younger days.” He quickly joined Rob, but the others did not mpt it. 5: a They have the Deutschers on the run,” called Brown presently. “They are retreating this way, boys. If they take to the woods, and it looks as if they were likely to, they will capture us sure.” “Look! Look!” called Rob. “I see the flag of : the Fifth Army Corps. It must be General Tay- lor’s men who are doing the driving.” “Come right down. We want to shin out of here as quick as ever we can,” Thompson shouted. - Rob and Brown hurriedly descended -and they took to their heels, steering south, that being the direction in which it seemed the most likely they -. gould avoid the fleeing Germans. ree But it was no use. Po From the sounds they heard they soon knew that the stampede was right upon them. a “Whatever shall we do?” gasped Dewey. “I don’t want to be sent to Berlin as a prisoner of war, hanged if I do.” : mitest 5 - “berlin ag oF replied Thompson. “They'll spit you on a ‘are, and the rest of us along with you. Rob may ssibly escape and be put to work on some wire- s station, but the rest of us stand no chance.” “There seems to be a house on ahead,” cried Rob, catching sight of it among the trees. “If it has a cellar perhaps we can hide in it.” _ They pushed on, coming to a small house stand- ing in the midst of a clearing. : _ Apparently it was deserted. old. It seemed very “© They ran in and found it, as they supposed, aninhabited. ; : pak _ Rob pylled up a trap-door in the kitchen floor, revealing a cellar and a ladder leading down into It?s our only chance,” declared Thompson. “Hear theni: holler! They are right upon us. Down with you, boys! They may pass this old shack by.” - They aiekele concealed themselves, elosing the ap, and scarcely had they done so when thi ra “hurrying feet were heard outside. 7) yonet when they find who you _ fairly FAME AND FORTUNE WEEKLY - For ten minutes this continued, the sounds be- — ing mingled with a steady firing, which at length seemed to be taking another direction. Still the stampede continued, but less hurried- ly, judging from the sounds; indeed, some of the ~ soldiers appeared to have halted around the house. Presently, to their dismay,-they could hear men walking about overhead. “They are in at last,” breathed Thompson. “We better crowd into the corner in case they open the trap-door.” : They had scarcely taken this position when the trap actually was raised, but it was immediately shut down again. - ; A moment or two later the soldiers were heard to. leave the house and then they began to smell smoke. . “Great Seott!” fired the house, in a trap.” The smoke rapidly filled the whole cellar. It - became evident to Rob and the reporters that they should have to vacate. é “No help for it. We've got to beat it,” de = clared Thompson. Rob ran_up the ladder and threw un the trap- door to find ‘that a lot of brushwood had been thrown into the kitchen and fired. : They lost no time in getting out of the house which, being only an old frame structure, was j doomed. wi To their relief there was no soldiers to be seen, but there was evidence enough of their passing. Dozens of knapsacks lay scatterred about as — other things abandoned in the hasty re- reat, Sharp firing could still be heard in the dis- tance to the north. Rec “Let’s get back to the tower,” said Thompson. — “T expect the Germans are after Ghent. Proba- bly this is only a skirmish. It is doubtful if they trouble these woods again.” : ; But it proved one thing to talk of getting back — to the tower and another thing to accomplish it. They soon found that they had lost their bear- gs. Rob hadn’t, however. He once worked as telegraph operator on Reid’s Newfoundland railroad, being stationed in the midst of a trackless forest, and knew wood- craft well. ; . <2 He told Thompson, who seemed to be the leader in everything, 4t the very start that they were go- ing wrong, but the reporter refused to heed him. He had to come to it, however. ; : 8 “Say, kid, if you know anything, out with it,” — he exclaimed at last: : ae “We've been going wrong from the start,” de clared Rob. “We want to strike southeast. took my bearings as we came. Of course I’m bit turned around now, but if you will leave it me I’m sure I can find the tower.” RO = (To be continued.) * a _ Radio Fans, tune in WJZ and hear us is My fi: 7 Mag azine stories SR Rob, “‘they must have nd here we are caught like rats ; ant Va Ara a hi teh Are AAD 4) or “8

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¢ RABBIS BAN BARE ARMS = Galician rabbis have issued a joint ban against the appearance of Jewish girls and wom- en in sleeveless and low-cut dresses. The ban _ was proclaimed in all the synagogues of Galicia. _ The rabbis declared in their statement that “this Jack of morals. in dress is responsible for all the misfortunes that have befallen Jewry.” The Jewish press strongly condemns the ac- ~ “tion of the rabbis, calling their statement a slan- ‘der upon Jewish womanhood. Sey TWO.FISH STORIES A chronicler at Edmonton, Alberta, reports Mystery Magazine” - By > Semi-Monthly 155 LATGHING DEATH'S TRAIL, by Nels LeRoy Jora ‘ensen. 156 THI MEDICINE DROPPER, by G. P. Wilson 157 A QUESTION OF KKICK, by Eugene Jones. 158 THE MYSTERY OF ROARING WATERS, by Site a . 159 THR ER PIRATES, bv Hamilton Craigie 100. THE SHADOW OF A NOOSR, by Jack Beendolt. 161 AT 2 A.M. by Beulah ynter. 162 THE INTRIGUERS, by Grover Kidwell, — THE LOCK AND KEY __, By HAMILTON CRAIGIE Out Today in No. 163 ; KA = = HARRY E. WOLFF, Publisher, Inc. 166 West 23d Street “Moving : Picture Stories” A Weekly Magazine Devoted to Photoplays and Players iH Ment 15 Cents a Copy New York City o

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24 : _ A CONDENSER KINK Dust or dirt caught between the plates of a variable condenser can be cleaned out very quick- ly with the aid of ordinary pipe cleaners. INTERFERENCES X-ray and violet-ray machines used by phy- Sicians cause considerable interference in radio reception when their high-frequency waves are in use. They should be shielded to reduce this interference. Any kind of metal would do to enclose them and cut down interference to a minimum—alum- inum, tin, sheet iron, copper or -lead. ~ Generators and transformers also cause inter- ference and should be shielded. 7 : RECEIVING SET RANGE ’ Because at one time or another radio fans have received stations 1,500 miles away they think that this is the receiving range of their sets, and if asked what the range is they will give this mileage. This is the wrong way to estimate the ae range of a set. The proper method is to see how af - far the set can receive signals in the daytime, be- : tween 11 o’clock in the morning and 4 o’clock in -* the afternoon. Stations that can be picked up re regularly between these hours are the ones upon a which the receiving range should be based. a FILE FOR REAMING HOLES ? The largest drill most small hand drills can * take is a quarter of an inch in diameter. Now, ¥ a quarter-inch hole will just pass the shafts of - instruments like variable condensers, vario- couplers, variometers and so forth, but as often . as not the mounting screw holes are a little off, ee and the shafts will then bind. a To ream out the hole, there is nothing as cheap or as rapid as an ordinary flat file. By inserting the tang in the opening, and giving the file a few strong twists, even the most upyielding bakelite will give way. The reaming should be done from both sides of the panel in order to insure a uni- _.. form hole. = ' + -ABOUT FREQUENCIES | - --—s«s#Frequencies above 10,000 cycles are called radio frequencies and are inaudible to the human ear. y hy tector they are, rectified to audio frequencies, and the radio frequency amplifiers and the of the detector, * noying conflagration. fall on the ir X FAME AND FORTUNE WEEKLY ee = INTERESTING RADIO NEWS AND HINTS: ; HEED THIS . “7 Handle a radio very carefully; it is not re- lated to a football in any way. Don’t forget to throw the aerial switch after you have put away the radio. A storm may come up during the night and the lightning will have a straight path into your home. Don’t tear apart a manufactured set and try and build a set of your own design. The parts from a manufactured set are usually unsuited ; for any other use than which they were primarily | intended for. 2 __As an added safety measure it is always a good -idea, after you have put your set away for the summer, to connect the aerial and ground wires together. ,. Don’t buy a cheaply constructed radio. better to have a goo set. ye el ae It is crystal set than a bad tube “C” BATTERY FOR REFLEX Concerning the use of a C battery with the Harkness two-tube reflex, proceed as follows: _ The wire connecting the A minus binding post with the ground is broken and the C battery sub- stituted, the plus terminal of the little battery going to the A plus binding post. The other terminal of the C battery is then connected to the __ ground. The use of the C battery will result in a much longer life for the B batteries and it will also tend toward clearer reception. The value of the C battery will depend upon the tubes used and upon the plate voltage used. The values are given in the instryction sheet ‘which accompanies _ each standard tube. A 414-volt C battery will usually be satisfactory. The C battery’s "ite in service is long, as it,is not delivering current and _ its end usually comes from old age. For this~ reason it can be placed inside the set. It will need no attention for many months and the is an advantage in keeping the leads as short as — possible. <2 s . HANDY IN SOLDERING , A hot soldering iron is always a problem. When a radio constructor is wiring a set.he usually is — so engrossed in keeping track of the wiring that when he finishes one joint he just. blindly pushes the iron away from him and lets ft rest wherever — it happens to fall. That “wherever” may be an inflammable piece of paper or a meltable piece of — apparatus, and the result may be a small but an- - It is a simple matter to prevent such an oc- currence. Complicated wire stands and support are not necessary; a plain, flat sheet of scrap iron, about a foot square and at least a sixteenth — of an inch thick, will turn the trick very nicely. — It is left. on the table within an arm’s length of the set being wired. When a joint has been co pleted and the solderer wants to get the iron o1 of the way quickly, all he has to do-is to plate, and he can then | Se -

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Of course, this is aj] assuming that an electric is used, as by far the majority of radio fans : ic irons. If a gas-heated iron is em- Ployed, then the fan simply must go to the trou- ble of carefully woes. it back over the gas e so that it will be ready for further solder- Bi =o 1-TUBE REFLEX : reflex circuit which is buildin - a reputa- nh as a distance getter is the Tri-Coil circuit. his circuit makes use of a special transformer, signed for use in reflex circuits and made in fferent designs to fit the characteristics of the ferent tubes. The outstanding advantage of a well designed ae constructed reflex set is the economy in tubes _and battery consumption that is*possible. A re-* flex set, using one tube and a crystal- rectifier, Should give results véry nearly as satisfactory, ‘point of volume and distance, as those obtain- @ with a tube used as a radio frequency am- er, a rectifier of some sort and a tube used as audio frequency amplifier. A one-tube reflex made with parts of good design and prop- -assembled, B ines be expected to rival a good erative set in the matter of distance and it d be expected to operate a loud-speaker on @ local stations. To accomplish this requires antenna (although a reflex, like most other ivers, will work after a fashion on almost antenna that is any good at ali) and intelli- gent operation. ‘The Tri-Coil reflex is tuned by means of a ometer and a condenser which are in series. ariablé condenser of .b005 mfd. capacity will te satisfactorily. The variometer should be a —s oe a the ae are : possible. sét will tune very sharp- n t the amateur will find it advantageous to ‘some means of getting micrometer adjust- ts of both the condenser and the variometer A good (and it should be good and not y fairly good) vernier ‘condenser can be | to advantage. 3 : set will pick up Stations without difficulty, the user will find that there is a best point th dials for each of the local stations. When “best points are found there will be the num selectivity and the maximum volume. . radio frequen transformer is the Tri- “This is made especially for the circuit. If er transformer is used it should be one in- fer use in a circuit of this character and “require different values of condensers. , frequency transformer may be any : odern transformers are usually ac- with the Tri-Coil transformers in this . A ratio as high as 1 to 10 may be used amateur will probably be willing to sac- little volume to gain increased clarity Pi FAME AND FORTUNE WEEKLY MEANING OR SQUEALS AND HUMS There is one defect in a receiver that produces a distinctly characteristic noise. This is an open connection in the grid circuit. The sound it pro- duces is very much like the one that you hear when using a toll line on the regular telephone. It is a ringing hum. Such an open circuit often occurs at the switch contacts in a single circuit receiver or when the pig-tail connections on the grid variometer break, due to long service. What makes this particular difficulty perplexing is the fact that local broadcast ining can be heard faintly and regardless of the setting of the tun- ing control. When this happens in the new sin- le circuit receiver that the experimenter has just completed, it is usually because he has every- thing connected properly but has forgotten to ground one side of the A battery. With the regenerative set, the inquisitive fan usually discovers that if he turns the regenera- tion contro] to a certain position he is greeted with an ear-splitting squeal. In most cases this is normal operation and is to be expected. What causes it is the fact that regeneration has been - pushed to the extent that grid-blocking action takes place. The tube is momentarily stopped from oscillating by this action and must wait until the excessive negative charge can leak off the grid before resuming oscillations. The re- sultant starting and stopping takes place at the audio frequency of the squeal. The squealing “point should be somewhat beyond the position on the regeneration control that produces gentle oscillation which is indicated by hissing phones. On the other hand, if the squeal and the point at which oscillations occur are so close together as. to be troublesomé, it is necessary to spread them apart. Fewer turns on the tickler or a lowes ~vresistance grid leak will do this. In the single circuit set. with all the inductance,in and the tuning condenser at‘the low capacity setting the set is very apt to squeal. In this case it is neces- sary to remove a few turns from the tickler coil. Except for this cause little trouble is ex- perjeneed when using the UV-199 and 201-A. ut with the UV-200 and the WD-11 and 12, the set sometimes tends to squeal or plop at a slow rate when the oscillating point is approached, & :" a In this case a lower resistance grid leak will rem- edy the trouble. & Most anybody can succeed in building a one- stage audio amplifier and have it behave, but it is when they try the second stage that they some- times produce a much better howler than an em- plifier. What happens in this case is. the am- plifying transformer forms a circuit that is re- sonant to about 800 cycles and tube capacity, to- gether -with electrostatic coupling, due to the manner in which: tye circut is arranged, start this audio circuit to oscillating. The remedy is sim- ple. Be sure that waft og leads come near the grid leads. And see that the grid leads are as ‘short as possible. If after attending to these two points the howl persists, reverse the leads to the primary of the second audio transformer and also those of the first, if necessary: — boys, do you know that some stery Magazine” are broad-

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26 - FAME AND FORTUNE WEEKLY Fame and Fortune Weekly NEW YORK, AUGUST 29, 1924 TERMS TO SUBSCRIBERS Single Copietss ssn een es Postage Free 8 Cents One Copy Three Months...... “y ty $1.00 One Copy Six Months......... ¥: “7 2.00 One Copy One Year........... - * 4.00 Canada, $4.50; Foreign, $5.00. HOW TO SEND MONEY — At our risk send P.O. Money Order, Check or Registered Letter; remitiances in any other way are at your risk. We rege A Puss. oe ee the same as cash. When sending silver wrap the Coin in a separate piece of paper to avoid cutting the envelope. Write your name and address plainly. HARRY E. WOLFF, ) uarry ®. Wolff, Pres. Publisher, Inc., Charles E. Nylander, Sec. 166 W. 23d St., N. Y.J u. ¥. Wilzin, Treas. _, ITEMS OF INTEREST + - DOG POISONING STIRS BAVARIA Great excitement has been caused in Bavaria b the Y ates: of General Ludendorff’s pac hounds. Nationalists were so enraged when they heard of the deaths of the dogs that they charged various politicians with having inspired the qut- zee against Ludendorff. ; yen the chief magistrate of Munich was ac- cused of knowledge of the plot, but he issued an dignant statement,-saying he was too busy with portant affairs to pay any attention to such an absurd accusation growing out of petty politics. ¢ JAILED AFTER EATING A_ CIGAR ; ' SANDWICH A man walked into a cafe on the Place de la Station at Antwerp recently and indicated by . signs to the proprietor that he was dumb and also that he was hungry. He was served with - a ham sandwich. More gesticulations showed he wanted to smoke, and he was handed two cigars. He placed the cigars on top of the ham, care- fully replied the top piece of bread and ate the ham and Havana sandwich swith evident relish. His meal finished he attempted to leave without paying and the police were called in. The man was placed in jail and now refuses even to make _ signs. i = NETS A SEA MONSTER _A monster from the seas off Africa, its native habitat, visited the rich fishing grounds off the Florida coast to get a change of diet and prompt- r became entangled in fishermen’s nets, ‘he is known as the gigantic ox ray or two- horned manta (manta biroseris being the. scien- tific name). ¢ * * -you’re taken in. . of the group was drowned in the RADIO TO LIGHTEN VIGIL OF HUDSON - LIFE SAVERS Up at Fort Washington Point, where hundreds of bathers splash and canoeists get into difficul- ties with cross currents in the Hudson River, thirty life-guards volunteers from the 102d Regi- ment of Engineers will be on duty, but the look- outs, perched where they may see what goes on around them, will not hear.what the wild waves Say, nor will they listen -to the oral «bouquets tossed at them by feminine admirers. : For Sergeant. Brennan has prepared an experi- ment with Walker Bossard, captain of the corps, and if all goes well the earpieces of a radio set will be glued to the lookout’s ears. So they will keep their vigil and at the same time be entertained. LAUGHS Kicker—A judge has ruled that a woman shouldn’t spend more on clothes than on rent. © Mrs. Kicker—Well, then, we shall have to pay bigger rent. “And how often do you go to church, Mrs. ~ Smith?” Mrs. Smith (working it out)—Well, sir, me an Bill’s been married five years, an” there's the four children, so I gets there about once a ~ year. : cu“ +> Saidee—Why did you break your engagement with Larry so suddenly? Haidee—He insulted me. Why, when I finally said yes to him and he _ took me in his arms, his heart was beating per- fectly normal. : . “What makes you think that flashy widow has _ so much money? “She surely is the best dressed woman at Palm Beach!” “All right, but don’t forget that some of the most brilliant flowers * haven’t got a scent.” ae Youngly—Did you ever notice that the matri- monial process is like that of making a call? You go to adore, you ring a belle and you give your name to a maid. Cynicus—Yes, and then _ “What do you think of the new gas’ stove, Bridget?” “Sure, mum, it’s a great invention. _ I’ve had it burning right along ever since you - got it and it hasn’t gone out of gas yet.” ae She—Gambling is wrong, because, as some one says, it is a means of getting money for nothing. _ He—Not with me it isn’t—it’s a means of getting nothing for my money. e SS hin set ete 5S Jimmy (tearfully)—Father, the d-donkey kick- ed me! Father—have you annoying it? Jimmy—No. I was only t-trying to c-carye my ~ rn wt < _name on it. ? x * - = If you have a radio, listen in on WJZ- _ They are broadcasting stories from “Mys- tery Magazine.”

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BRIEF BUT i ADDS'TO BIG LONG ISLAND ESTATE - Mrs. Evelyn Field, wife of Marshall Field, of New York and Chicago, who is having developed _ what will be-one of the finest country estates in America near Huntington, L..I., has added to her vast holdings through the purchases of three additional tracts of land from Mr. J. E. Barney and others. - The Field estate comprises more than two thousand acres at Lloyds Neck, with more than mile of Long Island Sound shore front, and it as been under development for the past three with two more years needed to complete with farm buildings, simi- BEES SEIZE A FARM A swarm of bees has played havoc with har- ing operations at the farm of C. K. Paxson, Eg west of Coatesville, Pa., near Sads- ville. ds started to haul in hay. Two wagons were loaded when a swarm of bees idenly appeared, about half of the bees alight- ‘on one load and the.other half on the other. xson and his helpers gave way before the on- ught and devoted their energies to a neighbor- wheat field. : ; few nights later Paxson decided to take one of hay to the barn. In the morning, when opened the barn, he found the honey-makers taken possession of that structure and re- ed all efforts to make them vacate. Every man and woman on the place has felt stings of the bees, and at noon operations on farm were at a complete standstill while ef- “were being made to hive the swarm. , id A NGE LIGHT SEEN WHILE EARTH = SINKS ; e Hollow, a little settlement nestling among ain of Rattlesnake Hills, west of Warner, ange disturbance that alec eruption and ‘eet .while of the hill the earth was raised to a made by a gigantic mole two feet wide. The | makes a bend like a horseshoe. At one end ‘horseshoe the ground drops more than six id takes in a square of more than seventy- fing to a negro preacher known as “Par- Aer have 5 tea uprooted and large nd displaced. Along the wake of the trees have been literally huge crack. All vegetation sunk FAME AND FORTUNE WEEKLY POINTED 2 The other day Paxson and his farm - OHIO SCHOOL HAS SNAKE FOR “PET” Children of the Antioch school, Yellow Springs, Ohio, are losing their fear of harmiess reptiles. For they have a “pet” snake. : : _ Miss Hazi_ Gifford, teacher of .the primary grades, sought to make her swell charges under- stand that non-poisonous snakes are friends of man and should not be killed on sight. So she formed a “snake club.” Only those who handle the “pet” in such a manner as to indicate all lack of fear can join. Many of- Miss Cifford’s pupils fondle the “pet” as if it were a kitten. Each club member has the privilege of taking the snake home with him over- night. The girls and boys have grown jealous of this privilege and often are heard to warn the fortunate one of dire calamity should anything happen to the “pet” as the result of carelessness. One boy, granted the privilege of taking the reptile home, was afraid his parents would ob- ject. So he left it at a shop here. The next morning the boy, not over six, came swaggering to school with his treasure coiled about his neck. UTAH SILVER FOX FARM ‘Raising of foxes on a wholesale scale is the plan for which a_four acre wire inclosed fox farm is being built on the A. M. Miller ranch in the Uintah Valley, seven miles from Ogden. The Ogden fox farm is declared to be the “last ~ word” in construction, with model pens and guard areas, as well as combined home, Within the wire inclosure is a guard area and then in the center of the field are the fifty-three pens, each of them forty feet by twelve feet in ground dimensions and eight feet high, with a two foot overhang. This ten feet, as well as the entire carpet of the fox pen, is entirely of fine mésh stee] wire of great strength. The gates pad also of wire; the posts are of steel construc- ion. 7 The United States biological survey estimates that there are 12,000 to 15,000 silver foxes in the United States, found on fox farms in the prime fur belt. Utah is considered as being in that belt, its climatic conditions being excellent for fur bearing animals. While the Ogden fox farm will have $85,000 worth of foxes when it is started, the owners say there is little possibility of any one attempfing to steal any of the ani- mals. The guard fences will be an initial protec- tion against loss. Besides these there will be the protection from the- guarded fox keeper’s house and watch tower—together with the de- fense that the foxes would make for themselves. No successful robbery of a fox farm has ever been recorded though ;special precaution is : to prevent them in every instance. j _The detective stories in “Mystery Bo cape n rahe Cae - E ra “ ox kitchen and ~ watch tower for the fox farm superintendent. — ? < = re es =a Paces — oH a

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28 FAME AND FORTUNE WEEKLY - | ITEMS OF INTEREST HER STRAWBERRY CROP GIVES GIRL A PRIZE Elsie Artz, thirteen years old, of Pottsville, Pa., has broken the State record in strawberry wing. Elsie entered in the competition of the ys’ and girls’ club and was awarded first prize, . the contest béing under the auspices of Schuyl- kill County Farm Bureau. _ Her record was 814 quarts of berries grown on one-twentieth of an acre, which is equa] to 16,- 0 quarts per acre. Joseph Lutz of Summit Station, who grew 473 quarts on a similar plot, was second. The aver- age in the contest was 3,960 quarts per acre. The Schuylkill Haven Trust Company and Valley View Bank paid prizes to the winners: MATCHES BLAMED FOR MOST FIRES Fire losses in the United States are high as rompared with those in most European countries. e@ great number of wooden buildings in this land helps to swell the total. Matches used by smokers head the list of causes. Spontaneous combustion ranks. second, and defective flues and chimneys are third. Fires from stoves, boilers and pipes do about half as much harm as the carelessly dropped match or cigarette. Electricity is listed as fifth among causes, Lightning is sixth. Almost as dangerous are sparks that fall on roofs. Petroleum lamps and carelessly handled gasoline were once a prolific source of fire alarms, but fires due to these causes are now comparatively few. Hot ashes give the - firemen many a run. The entire loss from incendiary fires is scarce- ly one-tenth as great as that traceable to matches. ther fire causes that stand high in official sta- tistics are illuminating gas, hot grease, tar, wax and asphalt, and the incineration of rubbish. Fireworks are supposed to cause immense fire losses, but they are only twentieth on the list. NATIQNAL PARK FOR SOUTH AFRICA South Africa ‘s to have a great’ national park similar to those which exist in America, Canada and Australia. ' Montaux-Sources, It lies in a wondrous country, in Drakensberg, a land of peaks and Sa forests unequaled in splendor throughout South Africa. Here are the caves containing the Bushman paintings, subject of profoundly interesting historical controversy. It is here too that the lordly Tugela takes its source in a water-cut tunnel through which struction of bush by natives has been prohibited, and the Nata! Adnmnistration is confident that all these species will increase and the bush and grass soon be restored. In the Mont-aux-Sources area a park superintendent is now in residence with a staff of rangers. Certain parts of the National Park are especially fitted for the purpose of afforestation, and exotic timber trees are to he ; introduced. The Natal Administration is considering the erection of a larger hotel for the accommodation of visitors than the single buildings at present existing. The idea is that the new hotel sheuld be on a site about 4,000 feet above sea level, with the mountains. several thousand feet above, and within easy access to bushes, streams and water- falls, so that picnic parties can have a wide «hoice of beauty spots and bathing pools. LOOK, BOYS! TRAPEZEE — The Acrobatic Wonder Toy ALMOST HUMAN IN ITS ACTIONS! _ It consists of a handsome parallel iron frame on which the little yellow = accurately performs like an ath- ete. Five Different Stunts — THE FLYING TRAPEZE — Release the trigger-pin and the figure swings for- ward, gripping the brass trapeze-bar, turns a somersault in the air and catches a cross-bar by his heels. THROUGH THE LOOP—A swift swing and he goes through a wire loop, makes a turn and, catching by his heels, swings head downward from a bar. r THE GIANT SWING — He goes forward with a rush, releases the trapeze, catches a horizontal-bar with his heels, makes two swift. somersaults in the air and. catches by his heels again. . He performs two more horizontal- acts with the grace and agility of a cir- a Par and many new ones can be in- vented. The Most Wonderful Toy in the World! PRICE $1.50 The collapsible stand and the little mani- kin are neatly packed in a handsome box. Delivered anywhere in the United States on receipt of price. Address . a : WOLFF NOVELTY CO., d's 166 W. 23d St. New York City, N.Y. |

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“Tt happened just three years ago. I was __ feeling pretty blue. Pay day had come around # again and the raise I’d hoped for wasn’t there. ~~ It began to look as though I was to spend my = _ life checking orders at a small salary. _. “T picked up a-magazine to read. It fell open at a familiar advertisement, and a-coupon stared me in the face. Month after. month for _years I'd been seeing that coupon, but never -until that moment had I thought of it as meaning anything to me. But this time I read the advertisement twice—yes, every word! ~ “Two million men, it said, had made that a coupon the first stepping stone toward success. In every line of business, men were getting ‘splendid salaries because they had torn out that coupon, Mechanics had become foremen and “superintendents—carpenters had become archi- __ tects and contractors—clerks like me had be- come sales, advertising and business managers cause they had used that coupon. “Suppose that I . . ? What if by studying at home nights I really could learn to do some- _ thing besides check orders? I had a hunch to find out—and then and there I tore out that 1pon, marked it, and mailed it. Schools at Scranton suggested just the LS me every hour I had to spare. ‘ my salary had been doubled. And I’ve = . That was the turn in the road. for me. course of training I needed and they worked six months I was in. charge of my division. Today I was appointed — “The Best Hunch I Ever Had!” - Inanager of our Western office at $5,000 a year Tearing out that coupon three years ago was the best hunch I ever had.” For thirty-two years, the International Correspon- dence Schools have been helping men to win promotion, to earn more money, to have happy, pros- perous homes, to get ahead in business and in life. You, too, can have the position you want in the work you like best. Yes, you can! All we ask is the chance to prove it. Without cost, without obligation, just mark and mail this coupon. Do it right now! SE INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOLS Box 4493-€ Scranton, Penna. Without cost or obligation, please tell how I can for the position er tm tae canine pie She Bees LSet ox: Business Management Industrial Management Personnel Organization = * ters ‘Trafic Management Card Lettering B Law Stenography and Typing Banking aod Banking Law lish Accountaney (including C.P.A.) Nicholson Cost A: Tk keeping I Subjects vate ry jects Spanish O French C Cartooning TECHNICAL AND poke iat COURSES 1 neering tect Electrie Lighting Architects’ Blue Prints Mechanical Engineer Contractor and Builder hanijeal Draftsman Architectural Draftsman p Practice __ Conerete Butider a tread rene ‘ Structural r as Engine rating Pharmacy wil Engineer Automobile Work Surveying and Mapping lane Nurey Navigation Agriculture and Poultry sattasnnane antaseaaseausrsensanestnranseswteaenseshshutieeceneeenssnenstesseecessucanssey

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2 Wher ta Ser == the BOOK for ee oes ants y 4 peckages of Perfumed Sachet =* » Write to-day. SS Guaranteed Time Keep- er. Given for selling only af cards ee Dress rd. Baally cae: aoe , . Send no money. ee We trust you till goods are sold. ~ AMERICAN SPECIALTY CO. Box 127 Z Lancaster, Pa. S **Do It With Muscle!’ BE & man or & mouse. with your head held hi like a #mid little beastie. very or man has got to accept one or the other, success or failure - happiness or misery. Which are YOU going to choose? Stride ahead in the world h or slink into your hole ese are the tokens of physical fitmeas; eae are the rich rewards of scientific muscle mastery . Truth Never Told Before and leaps out of, Se G] hh of my worderful new boo ik, re Witt Brit ech It absolutely proves that every living mortal must stand or fal!, conquer or succumb, rejoice or gee in exact peopoasos to th strength, ‘soundness =" 5 wholesomeness sof his external and ee muscular performance, means “Do It With Muscle!’’ Get Behind a Hohner for Happiness! There’s nothing like good music for me happiness; and there’s nothing like a Sy which the weiter ‘becain Medco explang son fe Spe methods Hohner for good music. Any boy or girl Peet and aiiained orid-wide professional can learn to play real music quickly with the aid of the Free Hohner Instruc- _ tion Book, procurable at allgood dealers. And all good dealers sell Hohner’s Harmonicas— The World’s Best “That Musical Pal of Mine” is a favorite expression among Hohner en- thusiasts everywhere. Hohner enthusi- asm is sweeping the country. Why don’t you get in line for popularity saa enjoyment? Go to your dealer today, geta Hohner Harmonica—50¢ up—and ask for the Free Instruction Book. If your dealer is out of copies, write M. Hohner, Inc., Dept. ig, New Yous City. OHNER | BARMONICAS| oat ms my Sentai thousands of boys, Sater = _— pe achleved tio: id carinest, feat debility nd me wi ' age of constipa’ mt = whole ugly disorders resul rom. iene, ‘hewlect and folly. Lavishly illustrated with scores of heretofore unpu lished superb caméra studies of myself and pupils. Get Your Copy of ‘DO IT WITH MUSCLE!” a away. It will ave you the ne to the mysteries of lifé. No obligatio cha ust send the coupon and one dime (10e. ae an evidence of your genuine interest end to help*defray my mailing costs. LIONEL STRONGFORT “ Physical and Health Specialist for 23 Years Dept. 1484 Newark, N. J., U.S. A. awe wee FREE ROOK COUPON Seana LIONEL STRONGFORT Dept. — ener N. J.. U.S. A. Send m mplimentary copy of "DO IT WITH MUSCLE!" Troe which I een Me dime (10¢) toward mailing expense, assum! new book may explain my failure to attain complete health, strength and happiness. Pree ee ee eee eee eee ee es) Sirah Beis. ean 6s¥ abies esa ay rl ewaneen OF cio cadasess venckbhssccs agra Oe, oe a om a Oo kt Seer eee eee ee sreeecree , eed Strength and Virility, Personality, Romance and | ith . th | main | | lou | the | West Virginia | an BATTLESHIP WEST VIRGINIA HAS NEW PHONE SYSTEM More than 100 speakers, carrying the com- mands of officers to all parts of the vessel, have been installed on battleship as improvement | on the telephone Systems in use on | Other units of the | ed | talking fleet, according to an announcement | from the Western Electric Co. These are grouped on five circuits, and can connected ta receive calls, They are operat- from three stations, on the~ bridge while the ship is cruising, on the deck aft while in port and in. the control room during tar- get practice and battle’ A two- stage vacuum tube amplifier sives cient power for good transmission, The loud speak- er system is in addition to the telephone ginia lines for online use. To handle the ship under — battle "Comdttma ment for this wag also furnished by the phen ed by 3 Electric ny, but because cot its secret no details can ys | made public. _ — =)

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ee eat FREE! Let me send you on Ten Days Free Trial a Fit” Shell Rim air of my famous “True pectacles Hundreds of thousands now in These splendid Glasses will use everywhere. print, the. smallest enable anyone to read thread the finest needle, see far or near and prevent © yestrain or headaches. If after try- ing them for 10 days and nights you are amazed and delighted, and think them equal to glasses sold elsewhere at $15.00, send only $4.98: it you don’t want to keep them, return thenr and there will be no charge. Pay no C. O. D.; simply Send no money; your name, address and age, and state the length of time you have worn glasses, if any. A beautiful velveteen lined, gold-let tered Spectacle Case FREE. U. S. SPECTACLE CO. ms28 W. Adams St., Dept U.S. 889, Chicago, Il, PERSONAL APPEARANCE is now more than ever the key-note of success. Bow- Legged and Knock - Kneed men and wom- en, both young and old, will be glad to hear that Ihave now ready for market my new! appliane nr successfully straighten within bow-leggedness and knock- safely, quickly and perma- nently; without pain, operation or diseom- fort. Will not interfere with your daily work, being worn at night. My new “L im- Straightner,” Model 18, U. 8. Patent, is easy to adjust; its result wi!l save you soon from further humiliation, and improve your per- sonal appearance 100 percent. + Write today for my free copyrighted phys- jological and anatomical book which tells you how to correct bow and knock-kneed legs without any ob ligation on your part. Enclose a dime for postage. M,. TRILETY, SPECIALIST 997 L, Ackerman Building, Binghamton, N. Y. which will a short time kneed legs, yourself against hold-up, rowdies, etc. with this clever cigarette case of light weight metal. Looks fhe tke ike the real thing! Pull the trigger, back flies the lid show! He Le a ful package of your cigarettes. Lots of fun scarin friends, an protector. Sold exclu- i, sively by us. PAY POST- %, MAN $1.79 on de- Pat. Pending i livery plus postage. Money back if not satisfied. PATHFINDER CO Dept. P13. 534 Sixth Ave.. New York TOBACCO Habit Cured or No Pay Any form, cigars,cigarettes, pipe, chewing or snuff Guaranteed. Harmlecs, Complete treatment sent on trial. Costs $1.00 if it cures. Nothinz if it fails. | SUPERBA CO. M-21, Baltimore, Md. | 30025 ays Free Trial Belec’ trom & a4 ‘Ranger bicycien, Delivered free. acura wos op Re ge Factory pert BE $21.5 . ata *S5a Month vee frien a Boys can earn smal) payments. ny = 2 ires fy fies. la. tesapes. bs horns, Sas sTeneeent st at Write tone — marvewees Neos privea and terms. I MAKE THE BEST CHOCOLATE BARS Mints and Chewing Gum. Be my agent. Everybody will buy from you. Write today. Free Samples. MILTON GORDON 189 Jackson S8t., Cincinnati, PIMPLES Your Skin Can Be Quickly Cleared of Pimales, Blackh or ame Acne Eruptions on the face or body, Barbers Eczema, Enlarged Pores and d Oily or tah bg FREE * bie be toves, Se for, mr yee. tem a ROOULES, ecred Ce po om efiicted is pears. E.S.GIVENS,18§ Chemical Bidg., Kansas City, Mo. or ASTHM TREATMENT on THUAL. I it cores,send 31: If not, it’s FREE. Write for it teday. State~ which you want. W.K. STERLINE, 84 MAgnEe ate ee — ——s Ohio sea, as if they were close, FREE re ts TELESCOPE ie end cece miles away, On onder Tele- sope for sho! eve Satisfaction eine erase ORI Bivdy Dept. C946 arpa

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-| This in the. FAME AND FORTUNE WEEKLY — LATEST IssuES —— 946 Fame Before the Footlights; or, The Boy Who Bossed the Theatre. 947 Lucky Lee the Office Boy; or, The Neryiest Lad in New York $48 Sure to Get Rich; or, A Smart Young Mossenger. 949 Pushing It Thronuch: or. The Fate of a Lucky Day. 850 A ee Ree aes or, The Young Sphinx of Wall treet. 951 The Way to Snecess: or, The Boy Who Got There. 952 Struck Oil: or. The Bov Who: Made a Millon. %53 A Golden Risk; or, The Young Miners of Della Cruz. 954 A Snre Winner; or, The Boy Who Went Ott With a Cirens. “4 For sale by all newsdealers, or will be sent to any ad- dress on reeelpt of price, 7c. per copy, in money or pos- tage stamps. THE FOLLOWING NUMBERS PRICE 8 CENTS 955 Golden Fleece; or, The Boy Brokers of Wall Street. 956 A Mad Cap Scheme; or, ‘The Boy Treasure Hunters of Cocos Island. 957 Adrift On the World; or, Working His Way to For- : tune. 958 Playing to Win; or, The Foxiest Boy in Wall Street M9 Tatters; or, a Boy From the Slums. A Young Monte Cristo; or, The Richest Boy in the World. Won by Pluck; or, The Boys Who Rana Rallroad. “ Beating the Brokers; or, The Boy Who Conldn’t Be Done. A Rolling Stone; or, The Brightes: Boy on Record, aes Say Die; or, The Young Su or of Happy alley. = of the Market; or, The Greatest Boy in Wall treet. reet. The Chance of His Life; or, The Young Pilot of Crytal Lake. Z es for Fortune; or, From Bell-Boy to Million- aprons of Fortune; or, Striking It Rich in Wall : -JStreet. 7 Through Thick and Thin; or, The Adventures of a Smart Boy. Doing His el Best; or, Working His Way Up. —_— on Deck; or, The Boy ho Made His ark. - = A Mint of Money; or, The Young Wall Street Broker. The Ladder of Fame; Senator, 960 961 962 963 064 065 966 067 - re. ” os Out for Business: or, The Smartest Boy in Town. 969 om 971 972 973 9T4 or, From Office Boy. to OT % On the Square; or, The Snecess of an Honest Boy. 976 After a Fortune; or, The Plncktest Boy in the West. 977 Winning the dollars; or ,The Young Wonder of Wall, Street. His Mark; or, The Boy’ Who Became 079 Hetr to-a Million; or, The Boy Who Was Born Lucky. ws 9580 last “ the Andes; or, The Treasures of the Buried Cit y. 981 On His Meftle; or, A_ Plucky Boy in Wall Street. 982 A Lueky Chance; or, Taking Fortune on the Wing. 982 The Road to Success; or, The Career of a For- tunate y. 98+ Chasing Pointers; or, The Luckiest Boy in Wall Street. 985 Rising in ‘he World; or, From Fattory Boy to Maneger. 986 From Dark to Dawn; or, A Poor Boy's Chance. HARRY K. WOLFF, Publisher, Inc., 166 West 234 Street New York City \ ‘ Price 85 Cents Per Copy J ins all the most recent changes veerhod et Ppiimatierthos and submission of . 8 hase of , OUR TEN-CENT HAND BOOKS Useful, Instructive, and Amusing. They contain _ Valuable Information on Almost ay v) Subject. “a No. 57. HOW TO MAKE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. —-Full directions how to make a Banjo, Violin, Zither, Aeolian Harp, Xylophone and other musical instru-— ments; together with a brief description of nearly every musical instrument used in ancient or modern times. Profusely “illustrated. By Algernon S. Fitzgerald, for twenty years bandmaster of the Royal Bengal Marines. _No. 58. HOW TO BECOME A DETECTIVE —Ry Old King Brady, the world-known detective. In which he lays | down some valuable and sensible rules for beginn La riences 2m “a i ok tpt ide Feces and also relates some adventures and expe well-known detectives. No. 60. HOW TO BECOME A PHOTOG RAPHER.— | Containing useful information regarding the Camera and how to work it; also how to maxe Photographie Me I. Oe 7) — Magic Lantern Slides and other Transparencies. Hand- . somely illustrated. =a No. 44. HOW TO MAKE ELECTRICAL MACHINES, = -Containing full directions for making electrival ma- chines, inductions’ coils, dynamos, and many novel toys 2 to be worked by electricity. By R. A. R. Bennett. Fully {llustrated. be > No. 65. MULDOON'S JOKES.—The most original joke book ever published, and it is brimful of wit and humor. It contains a large collection of Songs, jokes, conundrums, ete., of Terrence Muldoon, the great. wit, humorist, and practical joker of the day. _ No. 67 HOW TO DO ELECTRICAL TRICKS.—Con- p taining a large collection of instructive and highly amusing electrical tricks, together with illustrations. _ By A. Anderson. ~ No. 68. HOW TO DO CHEMICAL TRICKS.—Con- taining over one hundred highly amusing and instrue- tive tricks with chemicals. By A. Anderson. Hand- somely tllustrated. : No. 69. HOW-TO DO SLEIGHT-OF-HAND.—Con- taining over fifty of the latest and best tricks used by “magicians. Also containing the secret of second sight. Fully illustrated. No. 72. HOW TO DO SIXTY: TRICKS WIT CARDS, Winbracing all of the latest and most, d tive card . tricks, with illustrations. No. 73. HOW TO DO TRICKS WITH NUMBERS.— Showing many curious tricks with figures and the magie of numbers. By A. Anderson. Fully illustrated. No. 74. HOW TOOWRITE LETTERS CORRECTLY. Contafuing full instructions for writing letters on al- most any subject; also rules for punctuation and com- position, with ‘specimen -letters. . ‘No. 76. HOW, TO TELL FORTUNES BY THE HAND.—Containing rules for telling fortunes by the aid of lines of ane hand, or the secret of -palmistry. Also the secret of telling future events by aid of moles, marks, sears, etc. Illustrated, : TRICKS WITH ‘ormed No. 77. HOW TO DO FORTY CARDS.—Containing deceptive Card Tricks as pert by leading conjurers and magicians. Arranged for — home amusement, Fully illustrated, No. 729. HOW TO BECOME AN ACTOR.—Containing — complete instructions how te make up fer various echar- — acters on tle stage; together with the duties of the Stage Manager, Prompter, Scenic Artist and Property — Man. as No. 80. GUS WILLIAMS’ JOKE ae ae ee the latest jokes, anecdotes and funny stories of world-renowned German gomedian. Sixty-four pages handsome colored cover céntaining a half-tone photo p+ the author. ¢ . No. 82. HOWeTO DO PALMISTRY.—C er, 3 a most approved methods of reading the Hnes on the ban: ‘ together with a full explanation of their meaning. Also bed preg opened and the key for telling ch z ES ¥J acter b ¢ bumps on the head. By Leo Hugo Koch A. Ra Fally illustrated. ; F No. 4. HOW TO BECOME AN AUTHOR.—Con ing information regarding choice of subjects, the use words and the manner of preparing and submi i manuscript. Also containing valuable info the neatness, legibility and general composition of m script. For sal all newsdeal or will be sent to any oy tae on receipt ee pelos, 10c. pet copy, — 3 in money or stamps, by 3 HARRY E. WOLFF, Publisher, Inc. 166 West 28d Street == New.

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Leyes _ ‘.