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EVENING LEDGEE PHILADELPHIA, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1915.
19
T- "
I
!'
FUMANCIIll&GOMPANY
V THE COUGHING HORROR
By SAX
..i.n4 Kmlih Is mSBttrlously ntWchfil
-Miii ilccplnir Althoush the window or
E. wim wf nrcn only n. few Inche.
i?j ??wrt. immotnblo, In thnt poMtton.
IJh Si ji uion which he whs "rllnlns
i. tour Sit y. !' being rt ,hrV,J
EI ?n Into the room nn.l Mrnnglfd
smith .Mtlv to "loath. The timely r
rtTil ol Wtor Tctrlo mM Bmlih'ii lire.
Kih men are entirely inyatllle.l. ....
H l?.JP i. r..i-elvod from Scotland Yard
kit IlnrfcA hfl escaped from hu Mnneltu,
".ViS : the former police I cutrnnnt Is In
SwrUI fetr of the Chinese doctor-friend.
ITTE HAS good reasons!" replied Nny
II land Smith frrlmlyj "If thnt mnn
really possesses Information lnlmlcnt to
th Mfety of Fu-Mnnchu, ho enn only
J,,..,, doom by menus of n miracle slml
l.f to that which hitherto has protected
'"Sufkc heists," .-mid Weymouth nt this
point, "thnt nomellilnB conies almost
,,.. night after dusk nllnhlnp nbout tho
house - "It's an old fnrmhouse, I under
stand! and on two or three occasions ho
has been awakened (fortunately for him
he Is a Hftlit sleeper) by sounds ot emmh
Ine Immediately outside his window. Ho
Is a man who sleept with a pistol under
1.1. ntiiniv. nnd more tlmn once, on run
ning to the window, ho has had a vnRtio
Ellmuso of some creature lcaplnt? down
from the tiles of the roor, which slopes
up to his room, Into tho flower beds
below. "
Creature'" sild Smith, his pray eyes
bfcue now "J on said creature I"
"I used the word deliberately," replied
Weymouth, "because Uurlcosoomn to hnvo
the Idea that It Roes on alt fours."
Thero was a short nnd rather strained
Hence. Then.
"In descending a slopltii; roof," I bub
jiestcd, "a humnti belnc would probably
employ his hands ns well as his feet."
"Quite so, ' agreed tho Inspector, "I
m merely lepentlUK tho Impression of
Burke." . .
"Has he heard no other sound?" rapped
Bmlth; "one like the cracking of dry
tranches, for lnstanco?"
"He did not mention ot It," replied IVoy
mouth, staring.
"And what Is the plnn?"
"One of his cousin's vans," snld Wey
mouth, with his slight smile, "hnH re
mained behind at Covent Oarden nnd will
return late this afternoon, I propose that
you and I. Mr. Smith, Imitate Burko nnd
ride down to Upmlnlstcr under tho empty
boxes."
Nayland Smith stood up, leaving lih
breakfast half llnlshcd, and began to
wander up and down the room, reflect
ively tugging at his oar. Then he began
to fumble In the pockets of his dressing
gown and finally piodtieed tho inevltnblo
pipe, dilapidated pouch nnd box of safety
matches. Ho beunn to load tho inuch
charred agent of reflection.
"Do I understand that lturlco Is actu
ally too afraid to ro out openly even In
daylight" he asked suddenly.
"He has not hitherto left his cousin's
plantations nt all," replied Weymouth.
"He seems to think that openly Uo com
municate with the authorities, or with
j on, would bo to seal his death warrant."
"He's right," snapped Smith.
"Therefore, ho came and returned se
cretly," continued the Inspector: "nnd It
we aro to do any good, obviously wo must
adopt similar precautions. The market
wagon, loaded In such n way ns to leave,
ample spneo in the interior for tis, -will
be drawn up nutsldo tho olllce of .Messrs.
Tike and Pike, In Covcitt Garden, until
about 5 o'clock this afternoon. At, say.
halt past tour, I propose that wo meet
there and embark upon tho Journey."
The speaker glanced In my direction In
tcrrosatlvely. "Don't fall to Includo mo
In the program," I said. "Will thero bo
room In the wagon?"
"Certainly," was the reply; " it Is moat
commodious, but I cannot guarantee Its
comfort."
Nayland Smith promenaded tho room
unceasingly, nnd presently he walked out
altogether, only to return ere the Inspect
or und I had time to exchange more than
a eiancc of surprise. He carried n brass
ah tray, and thls.ho placed with Its con
tents on a corner of the breakfast tablo
before Weymouth.
"Ever seen anything liko that?" ho In
quired. The Inspector examined tho gruc
ome relic with obvious curiosity, turning
It over with the tip ot his little finger nnd
manifesting considerable repugnance in
touching li at all. Smith and I watched
mm in silence, and, finally, placing tho
tray again upon tho table, lie looked up
In a puzzled way
"It's something like the skin of a. water
rat," he said.
A NEW DEPARTMENT FOR
FARMER SMITH'S RAINBOW CLUB
Dear Everybody Do you ever forget? There are two kinds of Rcttinp;
rbr-setting and getting. Getting means that sonic tilings which you have
worked for come to you for your very own. For-getting means that you
have lost something.
Once upon a time there was a little girl and her father asked her to put
tome coal on the fire and she FORGOT.
Now this young person was very fond of reading, so her father told
her she must stop reading books for a whole week. I"or a whole day her
eyes looked as though she had been peeling onions. Then her father told
her to go down cellar and get a nice big piece of coal and wash it. He told
her to tie a ribbon around the piece of coal and put it on her bureau.
This she did.
Afterwards her father let her read once more and she seldom says those
wful words: "I FORGOT."
DO NOT FORGET TO SIGN OUR PLEDGE.
FARMER SMITH,
FARMER SMITH, The Children's Editor,
The Evening Ledger, Philadelphia, Pa.
I wish to become a member of your Rainbow Club and agree to
DO A LITTLE KINDNESS EACH AND EVERY DAY.
SPREAD A LITTLE SUNSHINE ALL ALONG THE WAY.
NAME
Address ,...,,,
Age ., ,,,
School I attend
GREAT DOINGS
"Oh, Miss B. Fuddlel" shouted San
J' Claus one mnrnlnrr. "T vnt tn
dictate some letters tn vnn
j Soon Miss B. Fuddle, Santa Claus'
.icnographer, came and he said to
pher: "i Want to dictate some letters
to my children this mornintr and vou
eLS"gar Plum to fill the rvnewrlrer
'th words so that we can get to
JPrk right away."
Miss B, Fuddle found Sugar Plum
tie garage trying to thaw out the
automobile.
E Get some words for my typewriter
d be quick," said the young lady.
Rijugar Plum ran as fast as he could
i? me room where the words were
Pt for the typewriter and soon
gne back with an armful, which he
g'efully put ; the typewriter, one
time
f Pretty soon. Miss B Fuddle came
;ni sat down at the machine and
5nta Clans inf hoJH ,..- .,.,,) a;
M what he wanted to say When i
ROHMER
Nayland Smith stared nt him fixedly.
"A water rat? Now that you come to
mention It, I percclvo n certain tesom
bianco yes. Duf-he had been wearing
n silk scirf nbout his throat nnd now ho
unwrapped It "did you ever see n water
rat that could mnko marks like these?"
Weymouth started to his feet with somo
muttered exclamation.
"What is this?" ho ctled. "When did
It hnppon, and how?"
Tn his own terse fashion, Nayland Smith
related the hnppciilngs of tho night. At
the conclusion of the story:
"Uy heaven!" whispered Weymouth,
"the thliiR on tho roof the couglilnp; thing
thai goes on all fours, seen by Hurkc.
. ii
"My own Idea cxnclly!" cried Smith.
"Fu-Mnnrlitt," 1 snld excitedly, "has
brought some new, some dreadful crca
lure from Ilurm.i "
"No, Petrlo," snapped Smith, turning
upon me suddenly. "Not from Hurmn
from Abyssinia."
Within my view, from tho corner of
tho room where 1 snt In deepest shudow,
through the partly opened window (It
was screwed, like our own) wcro rows
of glass houses gleaming In tho moon
light, and, beyond them, orderly ranks
of (lower beds extending Into n blue hnzo
ot distance. Uy reason of tho moon's
Position, no light entered tho room, but
my eyes, from long watching, wero grown
familiar with tho darkness, nnd I could
seo Iiurko qulto clearly ns ho lay In tho
bed between my post nnd tho window. I
seemed to bo back again In Uioso days
of tho troubled past when first Nayland
Smith nnd I had cotno to grips with tho
servants of Dr. Fu-Mnnchu. A more
peaceful sceno than this llower-plantcd
corner of Essex It would be dllllcult to
Imagine; but, either becauso of my knowl
edgo that Its peace was chlincilenl, or
because of that outllung consciousness ot
danger which, actually, or In my Imagi
nation, preceded the coming of tho
Chinaman's ngents, to my seeming the
sllcnco throbbed clectrlcnlly and tho night
was laden with stilly omens.
Already cramped by my Journey In tho
market enrt, I found It dllllcult to ic
mnin very long In nny one position.
What information hnd Uurko to sell? Ho
had refused, for somo icnson, to discuss
tho matter ot that evening, nnd now, en
nctlng the part nllotted him uy Nayland
Smith, ho feigned sleep consistently, al
though at Intervals ho would whisper to
mo his doubts and fears.
All tho chances wero In our favor to
night; for while I could not doubt thnt
Dr. Fu-Mnnchu was set upon the removal
of tho ox-ofllcor of Now York police,
neither could I doubt that our presence
at tho farm was unknown to tho ngents
of tho Chinaman. According to llurko,
constant nttempts had been inndo to
achieve Fu-Mnnchu's purpose, nnd hud
only been frustrated by his (Hurko's)
wakefulness. Thero was every piob
nbility that another attempt would bo
made tonight.
Any one who has been forced by cir
cumstance to undertake such a vigil as
this will bo familiar with tho marked
changes (corresponding with phn&cs of
the earth's movement) which take place
In the ntmosphcro at midnight, at two
o ciook. and ngain nt four o'clock. Dur
ing thoso four hours falls a period
wherein nil life Is at Its lowest ebb, and
every physician is aware that thero Is
a greater likelihood of a patient's pass
ing between midnight nnd four a. m. than
at any other period during tho cycle of
me uours.
Tonight I beenmo specially nwnro of
this lowering ot vitality, and now, with
tho night nt thnt dnrkest phaso which
precedes tho dawn, an indcscribablo
drend. such as I had known before In my
dealings with tho Chinaman, assailed me,
when I was least prepared to combat It.
Tho stillness was Intense. Then: "Hero
it Is!" whispered Huiko from tho bed.
Tho chill at tho very centre of my
being, which but corresponded with tho
chill of all surrounding nnturo at that
hour, becamo intensified, keener, at tho
whispered words.
I roso stealthily out of my chair, nnd
from my nest of shadows watched
watched intently, tho bright oblong of
the window.
Without tho slightest heralding bound
a black sllhouctto crept up against tho
pnno tho silhouette of a small,
malformed head, a dollkc head, deep set
in square shoulders. Malignant oyes
peered Intently In. Higher it rose that
wicked head against tho window, then
crouched down on the sill and became less
sharply dollned ns the creaturo stooped
The Children's Editor, The Evening Ledger.
IN TOYLAND
he was all through, Miss B. Fuddle
took the letter from the typewriter
and handed it to Santa Claus. This is
what he read:
Claus Santa, friend Your, am I,
Kisses cherry 2000 and love of oceans
With. letters my for Ledger Evening
The in look to you want I time to
time from you to write will I.
Christmas on you see to be surely
Pcy
MISS B. FUDDLE
shall and love my
you
send I
Philadelphia of Children
Dear The To,
"Why,"' exclaimed Santa
Claus,
to tho opening below. Thero was a fnlnt
sound of snlfllng
Judging from the stnrk horror which
I experienced myself, I doubted now It
llurko ponid sustain tho rolo allotted him.
In beneath the slightly raised window
enmo a hand, rierrnnMlito tn mo ttpqnltn
tho darkness of tho roof. It seemed to
project from the black sllhouetto outsldo
the pane to be thrust fornnrd and for-wnrd-nnd
forward thnt small
hand with the outstretched lingers.
Tho unknown possesses unique terrors:
and slnco I was unable to conceive- what
manner of thing this could be, which,
externum; Us Incredibly long arms, now
sought tho throat of tho man upon tho
bed, 1 tnsted of thnt sort of terror which
ordinarily ono knows only In dreams.
"Quick, sir quick!" screamed Hurke,
starting up from tho pillow. Tho quest
ing hands had reached his thtont!
Choking down an urgent ill end thnt I
had of touching tho thing which had
reached through tho window to kill the
sleeper, I sprang ncross tho room nnd
grasped tho rigid, hairy forearms.
Hcnvcnsl Never have I felt such mus
cles, such tendons, ns thooo beneath tho
hlrsuto skin! They seemed to bo ot steel
wire, and with n. Riiden frlahtriil urna.i.
tlon of Impotence. I realized that I wns ns
powerless ns a child to relax that strangle.
now. isurko was mnklng tho most fright
ful sounds and qulto obviously was being
asphyxiated beforo my eyes! ".Smith!" I
cried, "Smith! Help! help! for Clod's
H.1KC! '
Despite tho confusion of my mind T be
enmo nwnro of sounds outside and below
mo. Twice tho thing at tho window
coughed; thero was an Incessant, lashllko
cracking, then somo shouted words which
I was unablo to mako out; nnd Dually tho
staccato repprt of a pistol.
Snarling llko thnt of a wild beast came
from tho creaturo with tho hnlry arms,
and lenewcd coughing. Hut tho steel
grip relaxed not one iota. 1 realized two
things tho llrst, Hint in my terror nt the
suddenness of tho attack X had omitted
to act as prearranged: the second, thnt I
had discredited tho strength of tho visi
tant, whllo Smith had foreseen It.
Desisting in my vnln endeavor to pit
my strength ngnlnst that of tho name
less thing, I sprang back ncross the loom
and took up tho weapon which hnd been
leu m my ennrgo eailler in the night,
hut which I hnd been unablo to believe It
would bo necessary to employ. This was
a sharp nnd heavy ax, which Nayland
Smith, when I hnd mot him in Covent
Garden, had specially brought with lilni,
to tho great amazement of Weymouth
and myself.
As I leaped back to the window and
uplifted this primltlvo weapon, a second
shot sounded from below, and moid llerco
snarling, coughing, nnd guttural mtitter
lngs nssniled my enis from beyond tho
pane.
Lifting tho heavy blade, X brought It
down with all my strength upon tho
nenrer or thoso hairy nuns wh.-ro It
ciosscd tho window ledge, severing
muscle, tendon nnd bono ns easily as a
knife might cut cheese.
A shriek a shriek neither human nor
nnlinnl, but gruesoinely compounded of
both followed nnd meiged Into a
choking cough. I.Ike n Hash the other
shaggy arm was withdrawn, and some
vaguely seen body went rolling down
tho sloping red tiles nnd crashed on to
the ground beneath.
With a second pleiclug shriek, louder
than that recently utteicd by Hurke, wall
ing through tho night from somewhere
below, I turned desperately to tho mnn
on tho bed, who now was become slg
nlllcnntly silent. A cnndlo with matches
stood upon a tablo hnrd by, and, my
fingers far from steady, X set about ob
taining n light. This accomplished, I
stood tho cnndlo upon the llttlo chest of
drawers nnd loturucd to Ilmkc's side.
"Meieiful God!" I cried.
l)f all tho plctuies which remain In
my memory, somo of them dark enough,
I can find nono more horrible than that
which now confronted me In tho dim
candlelight. Iiurko lay crosswise on tho
bed, his head thrown back and sagging:
ono ilghl baud ho held In tho till- ami
with tho other grasped tho hairy forearm
which X had covered with tho ax; for, In
n death gilp, tho dead lingers woro still
fastened, vHellkc- nt his throat.
(CONCLUDED TOMOIUtOW.)
"The Bluebottle Dividends," by
Earl Dcrr Riggers, author of
"The Seven Keys to Bald
pate," will begin in tomor
row's Evening Ledger.
CHILDREN
"that rascal Sugar Plum has put the
words in backwards!"
"Yes," replied Miss II. Fuddle.
"I guess I'll have to make that ras
cal cat another cake of ice," answered
Santa Clans.
"Why, he has eaten three already
this week," said Miss 15. Fuddle.
"I know, I know," answered the
jolly fellow, "but he must stop for
getting!" For the Wee Wees
Froggie. Froggie,
Standing on your
head,
Get up, get up,
Do please go to
bed.
Good boy, good
hoy,
Little Johnnie Plankcr,
Thank you, thank you,
How do you like my blanket?
Johnnie wrote me a letter; won't
you?
DO YOU KNOW THIS?
Questions for Dec, 1st: (1) I had
a word on my desk and Willie, the
office hoy, took the paper it was on
and tore it up. I picked the letters
out of the waste basket and all I
could find were the two words "RED
LEG." The first word I had was a
Philadelphia newspaper, but I can't
think of the name. Will you help me
to find one word out of "RED LEG?"
(10 credits). (2) What two Holidays
in 1915 fall on the 25th of the month?
(1 credit). (3) What is the widest
street in Philadelphia? (3 credits).
(4) What is the tallest building in
Philadelphia? (5 credits),
Answers to our questions must be
in by Saturday, Dec. Jl, and the an
swers, with list of the 10 children
sending in the best answers and get
ting the highest credit marks, will be
published in our club news on Dec
18, on our ROLL OF HONOR. By
that time we will have something of
special interest to tell you. Address
all letters to Farmer Smith, Chil
dren's Editor, The Evening Ledger,
'
S
b.
I (AT
XT
FORCE OF
afe3
V.
"Oh, John, denr! Itescuo me. llko
Isn't It Truc7
IVnn Pun h Howl,
Fashion Is n sly old dnine.
foon ns I.eap Year's trend she hears.
Does sho veil ench maiden's faco
So the lads can't guess her yea.n?
Insultinp;
?
Jlmmlc I catcher tills ting to be en
gaged to me.
Tillle Wh.it! Mo wear that ring
after ycr former fennoc has won- tlin
gold nil off? Nev-er!
'""
Z?r -"'' 3" r . . MWJZM&y r, a.
r rzyvr,-) w--' r - , jS-frj-. -" ' 1 . ii JJT-J7AT AIIKjT ... .. ...7..
4
fefeJfrej'fflAJ- rv3 iLo H V )
liZ-T'j-LM Vif& T-Z -iV I VXJ ..-!
k, : w m m Mimm &a
- , i. n-- hR '? (task -. !&' w (fn ifiEr
r-LrzW'ii o' - Arw f9Snr StW sg$)lP, Stan- K:Qmxr v I i WsmBa
Wtm i ill I 1 rah
HVb:(- ll'21 j Spoiled the Scene ' SOLICITOUS
1 &-.-. mA xm.
"If this confounded unr Iiihih inuvli nPTIi TlH MKkvV.S&V-;P :
lontrer. ,t meann nnother enlto ot ll WJ UJl afe5r8Sffi
pi,,. 'r:ii..u 'iv..,oii,.,i fy.Wr3a JcrI,i J III , AftrAvwKJi?-?(il;t t.
"'""" -" mm, mmw mmmmttmm&f&msm&vz&vy - a :
urr-i iis: i r. i asBBS$w ' w mmmsitrmsMyvL.rCf.'- v,:-' &
'j5 MiTpylr Gertrude-Vcs. jinpn'a ulster. vMio is ' iKw$rVvv.1 i EW ISllliaKv'J'' ,''''
lsltIiiK us, enmo in Ju6t as Hill us ' fe W'VmPA . WJuSJ " ift'VlilFP &&&''' - '
AND THE WORST IS YET TO COME IfSMl St- siosV-i$$t'rtf
hmn-nr- -n-rrffl rn n aH(aKHiHBiS!iwsAw.y&,w, .
sun -shade i i r w2Ll iiLi !; id! : : J
M fc nPSs V irst Tom," '"ailing to iiiek off u Un nan putiol) to liis ;al They'd ought
t r&lGni ' ce" erc afure now. iiill I do 'ope as nothln's 'avuientd to thtt!'
Air k OC.p3i&. erny An ISxamplo
MMHMM hWU rl nttf?" A--- W I '"1 jgfK-.
Jk flSM M r- L Je- -U$i
VTaKil "1-. s Z j y tyf
WW && -r AW 'Z1X P2fMKlk- . A
"'lj L.l m ?RW V frit y$fftlC hlltf cMHx
SCRAPPLE
EXAMPLE
The. Passing fihow.
they do nt the movies
Some Question
S
r
- -n
Tommle Say, dad, what
Father For grannus1 sake, let mo
have peace from your silly qucstlonsl
Tommle Hut It Isn't silly! X Just
want to know If the earth wero de
stroyed while a mnn was up In an
aeroplane, where would ho land?
,, . '
-
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HhW TIME DoEi
IT REACH CORrl
MM.K dOflCTlOtl'
DCE3 IT 6T0P
VvEOIUYP,FE.W
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m -7Tt :i-' A.Tr JPCVlrVLVr. . 1 V T.
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THE PADDED CELL
Jgxcutc etc W V
I" Git. exited?' 'ft I
fl - -" -vN g " -- -A
mp1 eveu 'happen to you?
?---&?5&G?SZ4Vj to
nic5.
ICAniMflltEf?CNNfcrr
-
HOl'JLOCICDOESTHftTTRAlll
Kn rOR F1HE HtSLXi
LAT OVECAT
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APert'TTHETcARRV
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lMEmiMTINETOCATcrt
TO CAlfiO ftMTftORE I
VTH'nftKKtlSL-Oof
First Roadster Somo dliwgs has
more intelUgenca than tbeir mauiera.
Second Roadster Sure the; hve. X
sot on hk that wesdt
A
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ViElL.I J
MfSOElT i
ftLLRlCHTEE
WMTSTH'rARETO
cwrit ovtri f non
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I
IF THAT C0Y5 Y1I5E.
lOOKJHlUil
HE'LL 60 TO COKE
1 Y0OP.I
iTRrMlS
rr)S.)0ST
GOflfl
OVED 6EF0RE I
CETOVERTOHlMl
TJ
ti j.".,-t r i i
Sne -I truuJt yrcmca aro tor cleverer
thau oeo.
He Bow Jo ycu -make thiit a At
fan.'--tit i. ue jou a iuisr e-
fttapie'
ii-