6
!The Man on j
the Box J
By HAROLD MacGRATH A
Author of " The Gray Cloak," "The
Puppet Crowu." |
9 «
Ccpyright, 1904, Tho Bobb-».Ai»*"nll Company.
CHAPTER XXII.— CONTINUED.
■ rihe knew! That was why she asked
me all these questions; that is why
she exacted those promises! Mrs.
Chadwick knew and dared not tell me!
And I trusted you as a friend, as a
gentleman, as a man of honor!" Her
laughter rang out wildly. "And for
these favors you bring dishonor!
Shame! Shame! Your wife? Have you
thought well of what you are about to
do?"
"So well," he declared, "that I shall
proceed (0 the end, to the very end."
How beautiful she was! And a mad
•desire urged him to spring to her,
crush her in his arms, and force upon
ker lips a thousand mad kisses!
"Have you weighed well tho conse
quences?"
"Upon love's most delicate scales."
' Have you calculated what manner
of woman I am?" —with subdued flerce
aess.
"To me you are the woman of all
women." •
"Do you think that I am a faint
hearted girl? You are making a mis
take. I am a woman with a woman's
mind, and a thousand years would
not alter my utter contempt of you.
Force me to marry you, and as there Is
» God above us to witness, every
[
DROPPED IT INTO THE FIRE,
moment of suffering you now inflict
'U>on me and mine, I shall give back
a day, a long, bitter, galling Cay. Do
you think that it will be wise to call
me countess?" Her scorn was superb.
I am waiting for your answer. Will
you be my wife, or shall I be forced
r> make my villainy definitive?"
"Permit me to take upon these shoul
•rs the burden of answering that
luestion," said a voice from the win
dow.
Warburton, dressed in his stable
' lothes and leggi»gs, liatless and
Ircnched with rain, stepped into tho
room from the veranda and quickly
Mjssed the intervening space. Before
«ny one of the tragic group could re
• over from the surprise caused by his
< appearance, he had picked
> the packet of plans and had dropped
I into the fire. Then he leaned with
back against the mantel and faced
' -' m, or rather Karloff, of whom he
• not Quite sure.
CHAPTER XXIII.
SOMETHING ABOUT HEROES,
l-'rom Warburton's dramatic entrance
Upon the scene to Karloff's first move
ment, scarce a minute has passed.
Hunigh to the girl and her father an
rnit.y seemed to come and go. Kar
' was a brave man. Upon the ln
mt of his recovery he sprang to
*.rd Warburton, silently and with pre
meditation; he must regain some frag
">'rnt of those plans. He would not,
oild not, suffer total defeat before
■ s girl's eyes; his blood rebelled
U ainst the thought. He expected the
' x»m to strike him, but James simply
.ight him by the arms and thurst him
?3c.k.
'No, Count; no, no; they shall burn
the veriest crisp!"
"Stand aside, lackey!" cried Karloff,
• s>ob of rage strangling him. Again
1 rushed upon Warburton, his
•nched hand uplifted. Warburton did
•>t even raise his hands this time.
'•< l they stood, their faces within a
ad's span of each other, the one smil
? coldly, the other in the attitude of
'iking a blow. Karloff's hand fell
expectrdly, but not on the man in.
>nt of him. "Good God, no! a gen
man does not strike a lackey! Stand.
*-> de. stand aside!"
They shall burn, Count," —quietly;
ley shall burn, because I am physic
iy the stronger." Warburton turned
ickly and with the toe of his boot
fted the glowing packet and renewed
>« flames. "I never realized till to
;ht that I loved my country half
• well. Lackey? Yes, for the pres
ie hail not looked at the girl.
Aly!Karloff cried, intelligence
ilt.ipg tila face. "You are uo Hckey!"
'ibdiuug liis voice.
'•'fcU'o 30L'?Ip<i are.-ftuUe -re
rfrab'o." ■' ' :
"W'lio are you? I demand to know!" '
"First ami foremost. I am a citi
zen of the United States; I have been
a soldier besides. It was my common
right to destroy these plans, which
indirectly menaced my country's safe-j
ty. These," —pointing to the bank- ;
notes, "are yours, I believe. Nothing
further requires your presence here."
"Yes, yes; I remember now! Fool j
that I have been!" Karloff struck his
forehead in helpless rage. "I never j
observed you closely till now. I re
call. The secret service: Europe, j
New York, Washington; you have
known it all along. Spy!"
"That is an epithet which easily re
bounds. Spy? Why, yes; Ido for my
country what you do for yours."
"The name, the name! I can not
recollect the name! The beard is gone,
but that does not matter," —excitedly.
Warburton breathed easier. While
he did not want the girl to know who
he was just then, he was glad that
Karloff's memory had taken his
thought away from the grate and its
valuable but rapidly disappearing fuel.
"Father! Father, what is it?" cried
the girl, her voice keyed to agony.
"Father!"
The two men turned about. An
nesley had fainted in his chair. Both
Warburton and Karloff mechanically
started forward to offer aid, but she re
pelled their approach.
"Do not come near me; you have
done enough. Father, dear!" She
slapped the colonel's wrists and un
loosed his collar.
The antagonists, forgetting their
own battle, stood silently watching
hers. Warburton's mind was first to
clear and without a moment's hesita
tion he darted from the room and im
mediately returned with a glass of
water. He held it out to the girl. Their
glances clashed; a thousand mute, an
gry questions in her eyes, a thousand
mute, humble answers in his. She ac
cepted the glass, and her hand trem
bled as she dipped her fingers into the
cool depths and flecked the drops into
the unconscious man's face.
Meanwhile Karloff stood with folded
arms, staring melancholically into the
grate, where his dreams had disap
peared in smoke.
By and by the colonel sighed and
opened his eyes. For a time he did
not know where he was, and his gaze
wandered mistily from face to face.
Then recollection came back to him.
recollection bristling with thorns. He
struggled to his feet and faced Warbur
ton. The girl put her arms around
him to steady him, but he gently dis
engaged himself.
"Are" you from the secret service,
sir? If so, I am ready to accompany
you wherever you say. I, who have
left my blood on many a battle-ground,
was about to commit a treasonable act.
Allow me first to straighten up my
affairs, then you may do with me as
you please. I am guilty of a crime; I
have the courage to pay the penalty."
His calm was extraordinary, and even
Karloff looked at him with a sparkle
of admiration.
As a plummet plunges into the sea,
so the girl's look plunged into Warbur
ton's soul; and had he been an of
ficer of the law, he knew that he would
have utterly disregarded his duty.
"I am not a secret service man, sir,"
he replied unevenly. "If I were," —
pointing to the grate, "your plans
would not have fed the fire."
"Who are you, then, and what do
you in my house in this guise?"—
proudly.
"I am your head stable-man—for
the present. It was all by chance. I
came into this room yesterday to get
a book on veterinary surgery. I ac
cidently saw a plan. I have been a
soldier. I knew that such a thing had
no rightful place in this house. . . .
I was coming across the lawn, when I
looked into the window. ... It is
not for me to judge you, sir. My duty
lay in destroying those plans before
they harmed any one."
"No, it is not for you to judge me,"
said the colonel. "I have gambled
away my daughter's fortune. To keep
her in ignorance of the fact and to re
turn to her the amount I had wrong
fully used, I consented to sell to Rus
sia the coast fortification plans of my
country, such as I could draw from
memory. No, it is not for you to
judge me; only God has the right to
do that."
"I am only a groom," said Warbur
ton, simply. "What I have heard I
shall forget."
Ah, had he but looked at the girl's
face then!
A change came over Karloff's coun
tenance; his shoulders drooped; the
melancholy fire died out of his face
and eyes. With an air of resignation
and a clear sense of the proportion of
things, he reached out and took up the
note upon which Annesley had scrawled
his signature.
Warburton, always alert, seized the
count's wrist. He saw the name of a
bank and the sum of five figures.
"What is this?" he demanded.
"It is mine," replied the count,
haughtily.
Warburton released him.
"He speaks truly," said the colonel.
"It is his."
"The hour of madness is past," the
Russian began, slowly and musically.
The tone was musing. He seemed ob
livious of his surroundings and that
three pairs of curious eyes were leveled
•in his direction. He studied the note,
creased it, drew it through his fingers,
smoothed it and caressed it."And I
should have done exactly as I threat
ened. There is, then, a Providence j
which watches jealously over the inno
cent? And I was a skeptic! . . .
Two hundred thousand dollars," —
picking up the packet, of bank-notes
and balancing it on his hand. "Well
it is a sum large enough to tempt any
man. How the plans and schemes of
men crumble to the touch! Ambition
is but the pursuit of . . . .
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1906
Mademoiselle, you will never know
whit the ignominy of this moment
has cost me—nor how well I love you.
I come of a race of men who pursue
their heart's desire through fire and
water. Obstacles are nothing; the
end is everything. In Europe I should
have won, in honor or in dishonor.
But this American people, I do not
quite understand them; and that is
why I have played the villain to no
purpose."
He paused, and a sad, bitter smile
played over his face.
"Mademoiselle," lie continued,
"henceforth, wherever 1 may go, your
face and the sound of your voice shnll
abide wi'h me. I do not ask you to
forget, but I nsk you to forgive"
Again he paused.
She uttered no sound.
"Well, one does not forget nor for
give these things in so short a time.
And, after all, it was your father's
folly. Fate threw him across my path
at a critical moment —but I had reck
oned without you. Your father is a
brave man, for he has the courage to
offer himself to the law; I have the
courage to give you up. I, too, am a
soldier; I recognize the value of re
treat." To Warburton he said: "A
groom, a hostler, to upset such plans
as these! Ido not know who you are,
sir, nor how to account for your time
ly and peculiar appearance. But I
fully recognize the falseness of your
presence here. Eh, well, this Is what
comes of race prejudice, the senseless
battle which has always been and al
ways will be waged between the noble
and the peasant. Had I observed you
at the proper time, our positions might
relatively have been changed. Useless
retrospection!" To Annesley; "Sir,
we are equally culpable. Here is this
note of yours. I might, as a small
contribution toward righting the com
parative wrong which I have done you,
I might cast it into the fire. But be
tween gentlemen, situated as we are,
the act would be as useless as it would
be impossible. I might destroy the
note, but you would refuse to accept
such generosity at my hands, —which
!s well."
"What you say is perfectly true."
The colonel drew his daughter closer
to him.
"So," went on the count, putting
the note in his pocket, "tomorrow 1
shall have my ducats."
"My bank will discount the note,"
said the colonel, with a proud look;
"my indebtedness shall be paid in full."
"As I have not the slightest doubt.
Mademoiselle, fortune ignores you but
temporarily; misfortune has brushed
only the hem of your garment, as
it were. Do not let the fear of
poverty alarm you,"—lightly. "I
prophesy a great public future for
you. And when you play that
Largo of Handel's, to a breathless
audience, who knows that I may not
be hidden behind the curtain of some
stall, drinking in the heavenly sound
made by that loving bow? . . . Ro
mance enters every human being's
life; like love, and hate, it is primitive.
But to every book fate writes finis."
He thrust the bank carelessly
ittto his coat pocket, and walked slowly
toward the hallway. At the threshold
he stopped and looked back. The girl
could not resist the magnetism of his
dark eyes. She was momentarily fasci
nated, and her heart beat painfully.
"If only I might go with the memory
of your forgiveness," he said.
* "I forgive you."
"Thank you." Then Karloff reso
lutely proceeded; the portiere fell
behind him. Shortly after she heard
the sound of closing doors, the rattle of
a carriage and then all became still.
Thus the handsome barbarian passed
from the scene.
The colonel resumed his chair, his
arm propped on a knee and his head
bowed in his hand. Quickly the girl
fell to her knees, hid her face on his
breast, and regardless of the groom's
presence, silently wept.
"My poor child!" faltered the col
onel. "God could not have intended
to give you so wretched a father. Pov
erty and dishonor, poverty and dis
honor; I who love you so well have
brought you these!"
Warburton, biting his tiembling lips,
tiptoed cautiously to the window, op
ened it and stepped outside. He raised
his fevered face gratefully to the icy
rain. A great and noble plan had come
to him.
As Mrs. Chadwiek said, love is mag
nificent only when it gives all witlicut
question.
CHAPTER XXIV.
A FINE LOVER.
Karloff remained in seclusion till
following Tuesday; after that day
he was seen no more in Washington.
From time to time some news of him
filters through the diplomatic circles
of half a dozen capitals to Washington.
The latest I heard of him, he was at
Port Arthur. It was evident that Rus
sia valued his personal address too
highly to exile him because of his fail
ure in Washington. Had he threat
ened or gone about noisily, we should
all have forgotten him completely. As
it is, the memory of him to-day is as
vivid as his actual presence: Thus, I
give him what dramatists call an
agreeable exit.
I was in the Baltimore and Potomac
station the morning after that unfor
getable night at Senator Blank's house.
I had gone there to see about the cje
parture of night trains, preparatory to
making a flying trip to New York, and
was leaving the station when a gloved
hand touched me on the arm. Tho
hand belonged to Mrs. Cliadwick. She
was dressed in the conventional travel
ing gray, and but for the dark lin?s
under her eyes she would have made a
picture Jor any man to admire. She
looked tired, very tired, as women look
who have not slept well.
"Good morning, _Mr. .Oratoi," she ,
said, saluting me with a smile.
"You are going away?" I ask«d,
shaking her hand cordially.
" Way, 'way away! I ai» leaving
for Nice, where I Intend to spend the
winter. I had intended to remain in
Washington till the holidays; but I
plead guilty to a roving disposition,
and I frequently change my mind."
"Woman's most charming preroga
tive." said I gallantly.
What a mask the human countenance
is! How little I dreamed that I was
jesting with a woman whose heart
was breaking, and numbed with a ter
rible pain!
Her maid came up to announce that
everything was ready for her reception
in the state-room, and that the train
was about to draw out of the station.
Mrs. Chadwlclc and I bade each other
good-by. Two years passed before I
saw her again.
At eleven o'clock I returned to my
rooms to pack a case and have the
thing off my mind. Tramping restless
ly up and down before my bachelor
apartment house I discerned M'sieu
Zhames. His face was pale and trou
bled, but the angle of his jaw told
me that he had determined upon
something or other.
"Ha!" I said railingly. He wore a
decently respectable suit of ready-made
clothes: "Lost your job and want me
to give you a recommendation?"
"I want a few words with you,
Chuck, and no fooling. Don't say that
you can't spare the time. You've sim
ply got to."
"With whom am I to talk, James,
the groom, or Warburton, the gentle
man?"
"You are to talk with the man whose
sister you are to marry."
I became curious, naturally. "No
police affair?"
"No, its not the police. I can very
well goto a lawyer, but I desire ab
solute secrecy. Let us go up to your
rooms at once."
I led the way. I was beginning to
desire to know what all this meant.
[To Be Continued.]
An Eminent Citizen.
The colone*l was getting ready to
start a land boom in a certain dis
trict in North Dakota and one day he
drove over to the town of Oakes to
enlist the services of a citizen. At
a grocery, where he halted to get
his bearings, he said to the man be
hind the counter:
"Can you tell me the name of the
leading man of your town?"
"Oh, yes," was the ready reply.
"His name is Bates."
"He's at the top, is he?"
"Clear to the top."
"And what he says goes?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then I may take it that people
have confidence in him?"
"You can, sir."
"Uum! Does Mr. Bates hold any
public office?" continued the colonel.
"No, sir, not exactly a public office,
but you can set it down that he's an
eminent citizen just the same. In fact,
he's the only one we've got."
"What Is his business?"
"Why, he carries the mail between
the depot and the poslofflce."—Balti
more Sun.
Hokkluk tiic nog.
Cummings Martin of Rochester, Vt.,
had a serious impediment in his speech
and had much difficulty in getting his
vowal organs into a condition to say
anything without first going through
such facial contortions as to cause
amusement among the lookers on.
When a boy he had a dog that he
prized highly, and which, like Cum
mings, was always ready for fun. This
dog was his inseparable companion
about the farm. Captain Eb Martin,
the father of Cummings, was a thrifty
farmer, who felt a laudable pride in his
fine horses, cattle, and hogs and other
products of his farm. One day he dis
covered Cummings, the dog and a fine
porker in suspicious juxtaposition,
amid furious yellings, barkings, and
squealing: and the farmer roared out:
"Cummings! Cummings! Stop dogging
that hog!" And Cummings yelled
back: "I a-a-aln't d-d-dog-doggin' t-th
the h-ho-hog. I'm h-ho-hog-hoggin'
t-th-the d-do-dog."
Bloned Hp.
The late Bishop Eastburn, of Massa
chusetts, was a man of very imposing
appearance, and when robed in his
big sleeved canonicals gave the im
pression of sailing under full canvass.
In the pulpit he had a habit of draw
ing himself up at intervals, with chest
raised and head thrown back, which
gave him a very pompous air. A lit
tle boy of Newburyport, not fully in
ured to long sermons, and wearying
under his heavy periods, mildy sug
gested to his mother that he would
like to "cut the rest of it," but she
tried to beguile him with the assur
ance that the good man was just ready
to stop, when he eagerly replied: "Oh,
no, mamma, he isn't, 'cause he's just
blowed hisself up again."—Boston Her
ald.
She Sold It All.
"You men make me tired!" ex
claimed the wife from across the table.
"What is the matter now, dear?"
said the husband, raising his eyes
from his paper for a moment.
"Why, you men are all the time
abusing women for talking!"
No response from behind the paper.
"Why, you men around election time
do nothing else but talk!"
No response from behind the paper,
"Talk! Why, the men do nothing
else but talk. Talk in the house
talk in the street, talk in the shop!"
No response from behind the paper
"And we poor women get the cred
it for it. That's the way of the World.
Say! Why don't you say something?"
—'Yonker'a Statesman.
| Balcom & Lloyd. 1
1 ===== [
|
M ||
ISA
WE have the best stocked jJ]
general store in the county |j
and if yon are looking for re
liable goods at reasonable J|
prices, we are ready to serve
you with the best to be found.
Our reputation for trust- ij
gj worthy goods and fair dealing
p is too well known to sell any p
if but high grade goods. |
I u
IS | j
I Our stock of Queensware and
Ohinaware is selected with P
great care and we have some
of the most handsome dishes Hi
ever shown in this section, |
both in imported and domestic fl
gj makes. We invite you to visit
y us and look our goods over. Ij
P %
I I
B B
| ======================= I
| Balcom Lloyd, j
112 If IP If** IP wf ity m
fcyifc jfcjllfcallfc JfciMllfcA m S
!! LOOK ELSEWHERE BUT DON'T FORGET |J
|| THESE PRICES AND FACTS AT |J
|| || LaBARW ||
Si We carry in stock » ||
IJ the largest line of Car- . , ./ggBBBBBBSM • 3
|g pets, Linoleums and &/ *i
II Mattings of all kinds I■ +
J2 ever brought to this UMISIDiJw
M town. Also a big line
r * of samples. ||
II A very large line ot FOK THE EESjf !!
PI Lace Curtains that can- _. _ '~rz=!r Pf
fj Xr"e h ;ricc any " COMFORTABLE LODGING m
"t J Art Squares and of fine books in a choice library '
PI Rugs of all sizes and select the Ideal pattern of Globe- PI
P§ kind, from the cheap- Wernicke "Elastic" Bookcase. ||
II est to the best. Furnished with bevel French I M
|| plate or leaded glass doors. ||
M Dining Chairs, I roR •»« "* I & J
II Rockers and GEO. J. LaBAR, £*
|| High Chairs. Bole Agent for Cameron County.
£2 A large and elegant I—J PI
line of Tufted and * |
Drop-head Couches. Beauties and at bargain prices. , 4
|| |J
N|3o Bedroom Suite, ffOP S4O Sideboard, quar- ffOfi £2
solid oak at 4>ZO tered cak )uU P*
P? f2B Bedroom Suits, £Ol $32 Sideboard, quar- <£lC P^
Pi solid oak at 4><£' tered oak 4>ZO ||
P* $25 Bed room Suits, COfl f22 Sideboard, quar- <Mc N
|| solid oak at 4>2U tered oak, H
M A large line of Dressers from I Chiffoniers of all kinds and ||
|| |8 up. all prices. |£
M ||
|j The finest line of Sewing Machines on the market, £2
|| the "DOMESTIC" and "ELDRIEGE.' All drop- Eg
Pg heads and warranted. J *
A fine line of Dishes, common grade and China, in P?
PI sets and by the piece. PI
* As I keep a full line of everything that goes to |«
|| make up a good Furniture store, it is useless to enum- ||
|| erate them all. ||
|| Please call and see for.yourself that lam telling fcg
|| you the truth, and if you don't buy, there is no harm kg
|| done, as it is no trouble to show goods. , I
|i GEO. J .LaBAR. ;;
TJNDERTiLItIIVG. iM
!!igggggggggggggg;:gggggsggjj