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EVENING LEDaEK-PnTLADMPIIK, BATimD'AY, MABOU T3, TOIS:
PH
FHE BLUE BUCKLE
A BAFFLING MYSTERY AND BREATHLESS TALE OF ADVENTURE
By WILLIAM HAMILTON OSBORNE
Author of "Tho Kcd Mouse," "The Running Fight," "Cutspaw," Etc.
(CowrUht. 1M4. Mcllrlitf. Natt ft Co)
On boiml
from I'tiroB
love nun
SNOPSI9
Iranmltlnnllr liner rftutnlns
frail Itutherfnnl fnlliln
........ . i..ij(, H n
i,,. n nUlllBlli U 1.1B 1IIK llll u..w
efems lo h. trntihlci liv anntMhltiff 1 Ht ro-
"! hl help nail upemln mwl of llio ilni
with hr invalid huflmnd Alirn on liwril
l .1 ,Hron Hellcrnmn nn unncrupuloin
nnftnclfr ro make n bualnmt nroiKwHlon
lo ituthcrftml nml lit a conversation Mm
that ht up;t llio ralcotts of mmrthln
Ho rtlrcrtt attention lo n lluo dticklo worn
or Mr Talcott latcr llrtilermnn lirlbet
the ntreluu operator to let him lako a
Tho metmKf ho tnkn la that n nluaMn
pearl nccHaie la being rnnunN Into ihl
country ah tlderlj man anl a oim
woman nre luuiy Mtain auaiiirion It ill-
mo
rested aaalnit
Mr.
M.flltIB, (tin 'TntMHa tntnt.
'laieott Is attacked l,v a ruffian, who nt-
irinna to match the l.luo huoklo from lir
cralu nuthcrfonl resetted her following
ine woman ho lovea ho rntches a nllmwi'
" "wrJ.n "elilei man's aulto with her nrma
aliout hj neck.
At ,h. docl, Nw York. Slra. Talcott
forcey her nay Into CmlK a cab nml aka
K? iiu ,lrlve "" 1",n', Aa thev examlno
iJL l5S!,.S. l "" '"itempta to ileclaro hl
inevut JJr. Talcotl a olce la hcnnl. nam
ing mm of his presence
chahtijii vitt-(Coiitiiiupii)
Tho moment n, sound came from tho
dodr. he opened It.
Uusk was loftcnlnu tlio rich colors of
his rooms; and hIic t,MId In like another
or tho shadows Slio uoro n more club
oralo (,'own than he had evoi seen on her
JJIack and cIIiirIiik, It revealed llaohoa of
Vivid jet beuutlful pink wheto tho cilgo
of tho fabric fell back A Inrso 'picture"
hat, covered ltli ostrich plumes mid
lined under tho brim with a similar pink,
completed :i strlkitiKlj handfomo lusIuiiic
Without a Moid, ciiKcr to feast his oci
upon her, ho ilostd the iloor nml HunIiliI
on the light Tho Klrl who stood before
lilm wis not Miss Hnllnntync
"You are surprised, Monlctir," she
aid, smilhiK nt his iimiuient dlscomlltiiic
"I am pleaapil, ' he replied Knllantly
"I! en thiiiiRh you must hnvo expected
someone cite1" she thldcil, with tho In
tuition of u woman
"Thru should not mnke our welcome
anv the less Bcniilne " he Insisted, with
tho natural Instinct of mankind to Hatter
R pretty womnn
"You sec, I have not forgotten your
kindness," sho said, bc-unlnc upon him In
the conscious power of her beauty
"It was nothing," he mid.
"You are wroiiK," she contradicted, 'It
was much It wns a I'nquln court' '
Tho Ind) was his passim? mqunlntnncc
on shlpboaid, whom he 'iad rescued from
tho clutches of the steamer clmlr bhe
InuRhed exquisitely, eyes and teeth flash
ing, as sht letneil back at case In the
chair die had taken upon Ills scsture of
Invitation The cilucs of her Ioiib, filmy
wrap ono of those chnimln nffahs
which Paris nlone knows how to create,
enhancing the beuun f the lines with i
pretense of concenlmrnt fell back, and
tho sinuous prnce of her llsure was dis
played as unconsciously nnd picturesque
ly as If nn nrtlst had posed her
'Then I nm clad to have flaed It."
he observed, ndmlrlns the plcturo she
made, but wonderlnsr whnt could possibly
brine; her to him, nnd how sho knew
Where to locale him
"Monsieur, u have forsottcn some
thlnirl" she exclaimed
"Indeed?" he puzzled
"Tea my nnim 1 can tell'" ho cried,
clnpplnc her hands with the prolty
abandon of n child who Ins dlscoercd n
flnw In th fancied perfection of n
grown-up person
"I nm nfrnld I have," he acknowledged;
"thoiiBh I should scarcely forget the Indy
herself "
"Now you nif trylns to-whnt do jou
Ameneans enll If mnke Rood'" nho snld
caly "Well, it Is Arnnv Irene Arnny "
A morp Imprpsslcnnblo man than was
Itutherford Just at this time mlsht hne
fallen a willing victim to the indubitable
charm of this rIH He knew that her
self-possession tindei circumstances that
would hnvo made a more conventional
woman uncomfortable argued a broader
freedom than the women of his own cir
cle were Inclined to take lie felt that,
despite her sepmlns nrtlcfcsncss, she was
not so frank and genuine as sho pre-
i tended It would be best for him lo como
to Hip noltil of this Interview.
"Mndcmolscllo Ainnj, It there Is any
way ill which 1 tun be of service"
She Inlciiuplcd him, tho look i( bright
Intei est in her ejes changing to ono of
shy entientj
Indeed, It Is because I do, wish jour
nsslnlance Hint 1 am hole, Monsieur t
have soiirIiI ou cer since yoti left the
ship, mt nr generous nnd kind I am
suio that It Is ho. And I have said, Mon
sieur Iliitheiford will help me!"
lUttherfoid bowed for her to mo-eed
"Monsieur. I have reason to bellevo Hint
you havo In out possession'
"A diamond necklace?" Itutherford In
tenuptcd In Hun At her worls, and nlfio
heonusc his mind was saturated with the
subject, he hnd Jumped to the conclush n
that here wns tho womin concerned In
tho smugilltig unme He would surprise
her, nnd thus perhaps Ictrn something of
advantage Hut tlu surprise lelroactcd
upon him, when she replied simply nnd
with cvMmi' candor
'Xa, Alonsleui, I know of no m cklace "
She paused with tho llrst trace of cm
bnrrassincnt she hid shown durliu the
lnt(tlew As he said nothing, she con
tinued slowh
"I lmc reason to believe that you
hae In our pnsssslnn a blue buckle."
Itutherford slnrted In spltn of himself.
The womanV -.epn eves Inld hei Ihnt her
nhalice shot had struck home nisemhle
n h mlitht. Cialg knew Hint he could
not itrnpr his Inst ground Hut Hip hluo
buckle nirnln' Who under the blue canopy
of hoax en routd hae suvpeeted this'
"A blue bucklp " he lepcatod mcdlta
tlvelv, gaining time to fathom her leason
for Inquiring nhout the ornnmenl
"Ah, Monsieur If ou on'v knew how
much It mentis to me'" "Iip pxclnlmcd,
with no effort to conceal hoi ra-rerno's
She laid her hand Impulse elv upon his
coat lpep. look nnd gpsturo plainly tPll
lug him in her deslip to obtain the buc
kle, nnd her lendlness to empl. .ill her
feminine wiles foi this purpose But
again he steelod himself to hpr dinrms
"Mademoiselle there are blue buckles'
nnd blue buckles," he parrlrd "Granted
Hint I had one In mv pospsslon, wlilch
would not he the most surprising thing
In the world how should I know It to bo
the one nt sppI.?"
"Will you not Just lei me see It," she
pleidcd her face drawing clo--oi to his,
ns she looked up Into his mes
'Can vni not give me some description
of it, so that I nm know what jou have
in mlntl7 lie replied cautiously
An cnvelopp from wlilch he hnd lntil
Attracted a iPtter ln upnn tho table
near her Shp seized It nnd he-ran. with
a gold pencil, to sketch an outline
npldlv upon tho white revcise side
Itutherford follow pd hoi with absorbed
attention The buckle their buckle be
gan to appear undti the deft sttokes of
tho nitlst, and finally stood complete.
ono Important omission, before Ills
nppcarliig to turn, that she had stepped
s'lentlv in line with the door, nnd was
Kn7ing curiously into this loom. Tho
light shone through the door, revealing
tho safe plainly
Craig opened Its heavy door, and
sremed to examine something within It,
untcrlnlhly Ho picked tip n small ob
ject and returned to tho front room with
It In his closed hand
Mndomolsclle Arnny had retreated to
her former place, nnd now looked up
with nn appearance of languid Interest;
but tho quick dilation of her nostrils
rhowed him how keenly she was Inter
ested In his next move.
"Pardon me do ou smoke, Mademoi
selle' ' ho asked, opening his hand.
It contained a packago of cigarettes.
'I he woman sptang up "You are
trininff with mol" she exclaimed in
dlguatitli. "Not nt all," ho answered with nn np
ppni alien of candor. 'MJtit I did not find
Just nnctlv the buckle otl seek"
Thin vott havo tho other buckle'" sho
exclaimed
It wns again his turn to bo surprised
but ho innsked It under a show of In
dlfiorence '"Thero nro two buckles?" ho asked
"I believe so," sho answered, biting
her lip "If I might sec jours nnd com
pare" "What Is tho Inscilptlon on the other
ono?"
She saw Hint sho was beaten, nnd as
sho swept out af the room, oies flashing
sroin and entlon, sho snapped out
' If 1 know Hint, I shouldn't hae
called!"
Craig stood, pondeilng, nftcr she had
gone Something In her tones stlrted
memories within him Where had ho
heard Just tluu tone of olce before
and when''
Suddenly It enme to him n woman n
oIcp, wafted down the wind at mld
nUht, on the flothlc "Vow bet o
nre the safe nowhere, do oil
understand? "
Who were "thej" win were "the ' not
"safe"'
Cinlg sighed nnd gae It up It was
Just n mystery along with other mjs-terles
sho asked, watch-
wlth
ces
"There Is that If
Ing him
Ho knit his brows, but gaio no sign of
lecognltion
''ho plnced a slender, gloicd flngei
along the upper and lowei edgo of the
ski teh
'"Was thero anything a pattern, or
letters, along here-"' sho persisted
The woman must bo a wizard to
dlvlno so much' How she could know, In
tho first place, that ho had tho buckle
,u all, amazed him
"If theto Is I shnll see, ' he replied
slowh.
Modomolselle Alans took hei pcndl
again, and carefully sketched In the
letters
o x n t v t i: s a f i p a l
inais a queer Jargon'" ho com
mented, .is though It were quite new to
him
Following a pMn he had conceived, he
Olose. and went Into a smaller room nd
Jolnlng his sltting-ioom n soit of den,
lu whieh stood n small doMv and n safe
Just beside it He could see. without
CHILDREN'S CORNER
TIMMY GRAYTAIL
NOW all the time that Tlnimy Grnytall
and DU1 Robin were talking about
spring and wcio rolling and frisking on
the soft ground, somebody was right close
up tc them so close that, If ho hud been
awake, this somebody could have heard
every word they said! Yes sir every
wordl And he wouldn't hae liked what
they said veither!
Tor thls same somebody who was so
close to Silly Itobln and to Thnmy Gi ay
tail wns a very Jealous person a, person
who liked to belleu that he was the
most feared and lespectcd person In the
whale world He wouldn't havo liked to
hear how anxious they were for spring!
But, of course, Dllly nnd Tlmmy knew
nothing about his being near, so they
were very caielesti as to what they said
Who was this person? Haven't you
guessed? Well, wait a minute and you
will.
"Just to think," gloated Thnmy Gray
tall In delight, 'winter Is all oer! Now
we can have fresh, soft, green grass tips
to eat! No more winter stored nuts for
me!"
"And I can build me a new nest and
get ready for summer," chirped Billy
Itobln ad he pecked at the soft earth.
"Jack Frost has gone for good, and I
can get to work! HurraJi!"
"Jack Frost has gone for good?" mut
tered a sleepy voice close bj, "what's
that they are saying about me?" (Yes,
the nearby person was old Jack Frost
just as you inuat have suspected') "I
guess I'd better wake up from my nap
nnd see what this talk Is all about'" So
HAS A SURPRISE
lury Jack Trost sti etched and tinned
undei tho bushes where he hud hidden
foi a bit of rest, nnd pricked his ears
to see whnt wns going on in lbs world
Out on the grass, in front of the bush
where he was hidden Jack Fiost aw
Billy rtobln. heard him talking to Tlmmy
Grnytall and suw Just how happy thoy
ooiu were with ttm thought of spring.
Now you would think that when he s
now mucn tncj wanted spring.
saw
hniV linnnv
.. . " "....' " ""-" ""l','
ine-y ero oer tuiiiKing tt was coin
ing that Jack Fiost would say to himself,
'Theie now' Those nice little creatures
want the spring so III Just slip quletlj
off to my North Pole home and let the
spi1nf come! I don't want to disappoint
them' Not for one minute'"
That is, you might think he'd sav thnr
If you didn't know Jack Frost' But,
knowing Jack Trost, jou d know perfect
ly well that ho wouldn t een think of do
Ing or saying any such thing as that. You
would know that he would Immediately
wnko up and make a cold storm at once.
Yes, that is exactly whnt he did
He raised himself out of the bushes
whero lip had been sleeplni,, blew a cold
breath across the grass, and then sent
for his helpers, the wind nnd the snow
It wasn't an hour till tho soft ground was
fiozen stiff, till the olr was cold nnd
frosty nnd a film of fresh snow lay on
the ground.
Tlmmy Grajtall and Billy Itobln were
so nmazed and disappointed they couldn't
say a word; they just ran for shelter and
hid away as tight as they could till tho
storm would be over
Copyright, toil Clara Ingram Judson
CIIAPTIlIt IX.
thi: iionsn on itivnusinr: dihvb
IUitherford was amused nt the nngry
exit of his visitor She was too wnimlv
beautiful In her lnge to bo regarded with
sternness
'She wants Hint buckle." he reflected,
"now I wonder whs' And the fact Hint
theio urn two of them makes It inthei
luti resting Two women two burklcs'
The wnui'ii of the sune gencial tipe to
outward appeal. ance Hip buckles el
dentlv Identical. ie foi a bit of Jaion
scrawled upon tlipm' '
llntheifoid shrugged his shoulders mil
gave oor trjlng to iiui.ael tills double
tnngle wlilch hnd spuing up lo tnko the
plnce of the complicated single one He
had other affairs to concern him, and ono
was dinner
"If she Imdn't been In such n hurrv
I might hno asked hei to dine'" he snld
to himself, whlmslenll she doesn't
seem to care about smoking"
IIo put on his hat and went out nnd
enjojed n good dinner, ns If lie hadn't
another Interest In tho woild Then he
came back to his room, lighted a cignr
nnd prepared lo finish his letters Again
this task was doomed to Interruption
The telephone called him again
"A gentleman has called jou up. two
or threo times in tho Inst lioiu, ' the
operator's lolce said
"Did jou get his numbei ""
"Vcs, sir It was !W03, HKer-dde Dile
and he asked jou klndli to call him up "
"Hum," pondered Iluthei foul "1 don't
remember anv such number I guess,
If ho wants me bndlj, he'll ring again "
Which he did In less than ten minutes
Craig was summoned to the wdie b a
voice that made him start sllghth It
was that of Helderman Could Mr rtuth
ciford be so good as to call this evening''
Ruthei fold's llrst Impulse wns to decline,
but a second thought -honed him the
wisdom of ucccptinrf
"Glad, to come III he theie in half
an hour," he said.
Ituthciford was already dressed for the
evening, nnd It was the woik of onh a
fov minutes to get coat, hat nnd gloics
At the dooi of the Sandrlngham he found
n wnmng t.ixlcab.
"Corner of nipi-side Uriic nnd West
street," he called to the ihauffeiii.
as he climbed Into tho cab
Helderman's, sli " asked the man
"Yon know the pluee-"' Ciaig held the
door open to usk
"I point It out to luhbqr-necUs was
the response
Rutherfoid was not surprised to Ic.i.n
that Hcldermiin's homo was one of tho
sights of tho town It was onlj natural
that he should build something showy
and ostentatious But Ciaig was not quits
preparea roi tno kiiiii or lioue that he
presently drew up beforo
There, on one of tho most commanding
knolls of the stately Drive, stood a great
cube of white marble, simple and stately,
in a wmo expanse of lawn that spoko
with simple eloquence or tho wealth
which could annex so much valuable real
estate Helderman was Indeed a past
master In the art of making himself
noticeable Here ho had gone to the
other extieme of ostentation, bj the para
dox of a simplicity and severity which
must impress every passerby
The house had its Intended effect now,
and Rutherford felt his Interest and apl
preclatlon of lleldci man's cleverness In
creased tenfold
"There's Helderman' That's him, sure'
exclaimed tho chauffeur, as he held the
door open foi his passenger to alight
He was evidently keenly Interested In
the upstart and nil that he did, for this
great palace helped to m.ike the ride
entertaining to his fares
There, Indeed, was Helderman
Visible from tho curb, Rutherford smiled
as ho saw him movo across the room,
with his peculiar, jerky stride Ills
smllo changed to wonder aa he watched
Helderman stood still Ho was ns dis
tinctly vlslblo to tho two watchers on
tho sidewalk as If ho Were, stnndlng In
tho lawn In broad daylight, Instead of In
nn artlflclollv lighted room The effect
was startling Tho next moment, Craig
realised that almost the whole front side
of the room In which the banker moved
about must he n huge, plateglass win
dow
This was rertalnly an extraordinary
freak on tho owner's part Who but
Helderman would have conceived the Idea
of living In a show window! So clear wns
tho plateglass barrier between him and
llio outside, world that It actually seemed
not lo exist at all
Hack nnd forth Ilcldermnn paced ns It
In deep thought He scemid ultcrlj
oblivious of the fact that a largo audience
might have been occupying no,vnnJ,nK1cu0U.8
places along tho sidewalk. Tct Ituther
ford knew that he could not bo forget
ful of the espionage Hint his cnrefullj
nrrnnged window mndo possible it
seemed ns If ho wanted to bo seen
As he watched, Itutherford recalled
shnrply to mind tha queer mannerisms
which ho had noted on tiint wild-goose
chase through tho lower decks of tho
ship for n mystery that was finally lo
cated, whero Helderman knew all the
time that It was, on tho upper deck Tho
chase and this window were equally bat
fling to nuthcrfonl Ho could only ns
slgn them to ono and the same cnuse
that Helderman delighted In doing the
unexplfllnnble
Another of tho financier's extraordinary
whims was the fence If Hie window
Invited the Idte garer the massive barrier
of while marble, surmounted by sharp
pickets, discouraged Intrusion. Oer-
lueer and
inmiy it waa a
arrangement.
Itutherford moved tn
half gambllnc in m. L0"ar Ihn
chances of finding it som. "ini h hi!
affair that would ,??m. fratnTWi
formidable fence Just . ,3 " U t9
at outs with the MneroUYwt,,
A slight sound behind l,!""10 -?'
to stop and turn suddcnlv rau,'iBJ
15 paces back of him alio m lnW
glanced around for the U,??PP4 C
driver might be taking (M, lhFnll' i
to stretch his legs; but th, .0p,Mt5
Ing off deliberately around ' H
irnMiniMMMn .. "" Cft.J
y ,w"" MONDAY) 11
Plainly
ernJ
ermission
EN. VON BERNHARDI,
whose books in the present
war caused a sensation through
out the world and who is now
commander of cavalry at Posen,
has written exclusively for the
PUBLIC LEDGER the most im
portant article since the war
began. He not only discusses
the war, but criticises the mili
tary movements up to date
IN
TOMORROW
PUB.
LIC
DG
He tells why Germany entered the war.
He tells of Germany's grievances against
England, Russia and France.
He says Germany did not enter the conflict for
the sake of material conquest over any
nation.
He puts a new interpretation on the battle of
the Marne.
He analyzes the military operations up to date.
He insists that Belgium was a member of a
hostile conspiracy against Germany.
He insists Germany's advance through Bel
gium foiled a French plan to attack
through the same territory.
Von Bernhardt' s German argument
written exclusively for the Public Ledger,
in Philadelphia, by permission of the
Kaiser far overshadows in importance any
article heretofore published concerning the
present war.
ie
aiser
Facsimile of Gen. von Bernhardi's Letter
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Copy of Gen. von Bernhardi's Letter
Posen 20-11-14.
General Commando.
Dear Sir:
I received yesterday your letter, written on the 30th
Oct., and am personally willing to write the articles you
wish to have, accepting the conditions by you proposed.
But being for the present in active service I must
have the permission from his Majesty the Emperor.
Accordingly I wrote yesterday to headquarters, and as
soon as I will have gotten the asked for permission I
shall send you one or two articles on the present war.
Very truly,
(signed) von Bernhardi,
General of Cavalry.
Kfc!N
W N N NV CVi3
1
To Avoid
ic
issing This Feature in Tomorrow's
er Order Your Copy Today.
Ledg
NO. 65-ASTHMA SIMPSON, THE VILLAGE QUEENLY: IF SIM SIMPSONACCEPTS THIS EXPLANATION, WE SHOULD WQRi
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