REPUBLICAN NEWS-ITEM Published by C. S. DAUBEKMAN, Lessee LAPORTE PA. Life In Cuba is Just one roughhouse after another. Chicago's birth rate is decreasing, but Its population liars are not. Aviators who carry the mails will have no chance to read the postcards. All genuine Mocha and Java coffee comes from Brazil, and the valoriza tion mill. * A few drops of oil, properly admin istered, will soften your lawnmower's raucous voice. New Jersey is discussing whether dead mosquitoes should be paid for by weight or by the pint. Speaking of unsolved mysteries, •what has become of the bearded lady and the dog-faced boy? Some men live for years in indus try and righteousness and then spoil It all by going into politics. Today's short story deals with a man who poured gawaline into his mo- ; tor car while smoking a pipe. Every time we read of an aeroplane j accident we are reminded of the fact | that there is one born every minute, j "Massaging with warm cocoa but- j ter," says a beauty expert, "develops j the arms." So does massaging dishes, j "Bathing," says a German scientist, | "multiplies bacteria," but few men i have died from excessive cleanliness. Chicago boasts of the year's first heat prostration. Evidently trying to live up to its reputation as a hot old j town. Once In a while the weather man j causes us to forget the straw hat ques- j tion and cast longing eyes at some- j body's umbrella. Chicago man was given a divorce be- J cause his wife persisted ingoing j through his pockets. The Judge, we take it, is a married man. In France eagles are being trained to attack airships. The day may come when we shall have city ordinances requiring the muzzling of our eagles. Now a scientist says that a big nose | 1s a sign of nerve. True, and often Its j bigness is due to the fact that its | owner insisted on putting it in other j people's affairs. Nearly 4,200 American books were listed by publishers this spring, ant', few of them, indeed, will provide money to those who wrote them for i summer vacations. Cincinnati women have voted to set an example in simplicity. But it Is said sometimes that there is nothing else so expensive as simplicity, that is, fashionable simplicity. Trinity Church. New York, has an j Income of $1,000,000 a year. How j cheap a man who can't afford to put I more than a nickel upon the contribu tion plate must feel there. A Pennsylvania court rules that "a voter's home is where his wife lives." ! Which leaves the bachelors to find their own homes, a feat sometimes difficult for some of them late at night. The New York Medical Journal j makes the announcement that card | playing is injurious to the mind. It j does not explain how it found the ma- I terial that was necessary for experi- j mentlng. The new French aeroplane line over ! the English channel has adopted a 15- i minute schedule. An Indian woman wants a divorce ! because her husband tried to compel her to wear his old false teeth. When the case comes to trial her lawyer j ought to be able to work in a few bits of biting sarcasm. Ten bull fighters killed and ICG in jured in 872 bull fights in Spain dur ing 1911 Is a statistical testimonial that Spain's bullfighting game is de- | terrr.lncd to keep ahead of our nation al pastime of football. An English writer tells us that wo tnf-n would make successful explorers j When it comes to exploring the fast- j nesfces of friend husband's trousers in j the dead of night they certainly are there, as the lowbrows say. Baseball magnates threaten to short- j en the playing season, but they gen- ; erously refrain from taking any action - which might prevent the fans from talking about or thinking of the j game the whole year round. A Chicago woman advertised for a maid and promised an auto ride once a week as an inducement. Her only • applicant wanted to see a picture of the chauffeur. Certainly; there could be no Joy in a Joy ride if the element of Joyousness were missing. In San Francisco, the defendant in a divorce suit Ignored his child, but asked that the custody of a pet span iel be iiwarded to him. The dog with the child was awarded by tha court to the more human-minded of the con lugal partners In the case. SY>T>POOLI / JH FIAMEJN® by LOUIS JOSEPH COPYRIGHTI9O9 By 6 SYNOPSIS. The story opens nt Monte Carlo with Col. Terence O'Rourke, a military free lance and something of a Rambler, In his hotel. Leaning on the balcony he sees a beautiful girl who suddenly enters the elevator and passes from sight. At the gaining table O'Rourke notices two men watching him. One Is the Hon. Bertie Glynn, while his companion is Viscount Pes Trebes, a duelist. The viscount tells I him the French government has directed i him to O'Rourke as a man who would undertake a secret mission. At his apart ment. O'Rourke. who had agreed to un dertake the mission, finds a mysterious letter. The viscount arrives, hands a sealed package to O'Rourke, who Is not |to open It until on the ocean. A pair of J dainty slippers are seen protruding from i under a doorway curtain. The Irishman find" the owner of the mysterious feet to j be his wife, Beatrix, from whom he had j run away a year previous. They are ! reconciled, and opening the letter he finds I that a Rangoon law firm offers him I 100.000 pounds for a jewel known as the Pool of Flame and left to him by a dy | Ing friend, but now in keeping of one ! named Chambret in Algeria. . CHAPTER IV.—(Continued.l "That the man will never consent to weapons worthy the name. He values his precious hide too highly, and he's not going to put himself in the way of being injured when he has | the Pool of Flame to steal. Be easy j on that score, darling—and have faith In me a little. I'll not let him harm i me by so much as a scratch." "Ah, but how can I tell? . . . Dearest, my dearest, why not give It I up—not the duel alone, but all this life j of roaming and adventure that keeps jus apart? Am 1 not worth a little j sacrifice? Is my love not recom- I pense enough for the loss of your ab -1 solute independence? Listen, dear. I have thought of something; I will j make you Independent. I will settle I upon you all that I possess. I—" "Faith, and I know y r e don't for an | Instant think I'd dream of accepting that!" "But give it up. What is the world's j esteem when you have me to love and i honor you? . . . Come to me, Ter ence. I need you—l need you desper ately. I need the protection of your | arm as well as your name. 1 need my husband!" ] "I will," he said gently; "sweetheart, I I promise ye I will —in ninety days, j Give me that respite, give me that time in which to make or break my | fortunes. Give me a chante to take j the Pool of Flame to Rangoon—nay, | meet me there in ninety days. I will i come to you as one who has the right j to claim his wife; but if I have lost, j still will I come to you. a broken man I but your faithful lover—come to you to be healed and comforted. . . . Dear heart of me, give me this last ] chance!" With an eldritch shriek and a mighty rushing wind the storm broke ; over the mainland and a roaring rain I came down. Impulsively the Irishman turned off I the lights, and, lifting his wife in his , arms bore her to an armchair by the ] window. 1 The storm waned in fury, passed. died in dull distant mutterings. Still j she rested In his embrace, her flushed | face, wet with tears, pillowed to his i cheek, her mouth seeking his. Vague murmurlngs sounded in the j stillness, sighs. . . . CHAPTER V. At five in the morning a heavy mo tor car of the most advanced type stole in sinister silence out of the j courtyard of the Hotel d'Orient, at the i same sedate pace and with the same ' surreptitious air skulked through the town, and finally swung eastwards upon the Route de la Corniche, sud denly discarding all pretense of docil ity and swooping onward with a windy I roar, its powerful motor purring like some gigantic tiger-cat. It carried four; at the wheel a gog gled and ennuied operator in shape less and hideous garments; in the tonneau its owner, a middle-aged | French manufacturer with pouched j eyes, a liver, lank Jaws clean-scraped. and an expression of high-minded de j votion to duty; Captain von Einem in j uniform; and Colonel O'Rourke. At the end of an hour's run. dls- I turbed by one or two absurdly grave | conferences between the seconds, in j appropriate monotones, the mechani | clan put on the brakes and slowed j down the car, then deftly swung it j into a narrow lane, a leafy tunnel through which it crawled for a min ute or two ere debouching into a broad end sunlit meadow, walled in by woodland, conspicuously secluded. To one side and at a little distance a second motor-car stood at rest; its operator had removed the hood and was tinkering with the motor in a most matter-of-fact manner. In the body of the machine Monsieur le Vi comte des Trebes, ontentatiously una ware of the advent. of the second party, sat twisting rapier-points to tils moustaches and concentrating bis cuze «>n infinity. O'Rourke observed with malicious delight the nose of the ] duelist, much inflamed. 1 Advancing from his antagonist's po- 1 sition three preternaturally serious < gentlemen of France in black frock 1 coats and straight-brimmed silk hats I waded ankle deep In dripping grass to meet O'Rourke's representatives. The two parties met, saluted one an other with immense reserve, and re tired to a suitable distance to con- < fer; something which they did word- ] ily, with enthusiasm and many pic- 1 turesque gestures. At first strangely 1 amicable, the proceedings soon struck I a snag. A serious difference of opin- I lon arose. O'Rourke divined that the ; 1 conference had gone into executive ! session upon the question of weapons 1 lie treated himself to a secret grin, 1 having anticipated this trouble. 1 The choice of weapons being his, . as the challenged, he had modestly se- 1 lected revolvers and had brought with 1 him a brace of Webleys, burly pieces 1 of pocket ordnance with short barrels and cylinders chambered to hold half ] a dozen .45 cartridges. They were not ' pretty, for they had seen service in 1 their owner's hands for a number of years, but they were undeniably built '■ for business. And at sight of them i the friends of the vicomte recoiled in horror. 1 Eventually a compromise was ar- 1 rived at. Monsieur Juilliard stepped back, saluted, and with Von Einem re- 1 turned to his principal, his face a 1 mask of disappointment. As for him self, he told O'Rourke, he was deso- 1 lated, but the seconds of Monsieur des 1 Trebes had, positively refused to con- : sent to turning a meeting of honor into a massacre. They proposed to 1 substitute regulation French dueling ' pistols as sanctioned by the Code. '■ Such as that which Monsieur le Col- 1 onel O'Rourke might observe in Mon sieur Jullllard's band. < O'Rourke blinked and sniffed at it.i "Sure," he contended, " 'tis a magnify ing glass I need to make It visible to j 1 me undressed eye. What the divvle 1 does it carry—a dried pea? What 1 d'they think we're here for. if not to slay one another with due ceremony? Ask them that. Am I to salve the 1 vicomte's wounded honor by smiting him with a spitball? I grant ye, 'tis magnificent, but 'tis not a pistol." Grumbling, he allowed himself to be persuaded. As he had foreseen and prophesied, so had It come to pass. Yet he had to grumble, partly because he was the O'Rourke, partly for ef fect. None the less, he consented, and in the highest spirits left the car and plowed through the lush wet grass to the spot selected for the encounter, in the shadow of the trees near the eastern border of the meadow. Here, the seconds having tossed for sides, he took a stand at one end of a sixty-, foot stretch and, still tndecorously amused, received a loaded pistol from Von Einem. Des Trebes confronted him, white with rage, regretting already i (O'Rourke made no doubt) that he had not accepted the Webleys. The Irish > man's open contempt maddened the man. The seconds retired to a perfect}/ safe distance. Von Einem holding the watch, one of Des Tribes' seconds a ■ handkerchief. The chauffeurs threw ' away their cigarettes and sat up, for ! the first time roused out of their pro ! fesslonal air of blase indifference. ! "One." cried the German clearly. '■ Des Trebes raised his arm nnd lev ' eled his pistol at O'Rourke'3 head. A faint flush colored his face, but his eye was cold and hard behind the ' sight and the hand that held the ! weapon was as steady as if supported by an Invisible rest. "Two," said Von Einem. O'Rourke measured the distance ! with his eye and raised his arm from I the elbow only, holding the pistol with I a loose grip. "Three." said Von Einem. The handkerchief fell. 1 The Irishman fired without moving. Des Trebes' weapon was discharged ■ almost simultaneously, but with a ru ' ined aim; Its bullet went nowhere In 1 particular. The Frenchman dropped the weapon and, wincing, examined so- I licltously a knuckle from which 1 O'Rourke's shot had struck a tiny par -1 tide of skin. His seconds rushed to • him with cries, preceded by the sur -1 geon with bandages. O'Rourke grace ' fully surrendered his artillery to Jull lard, laughed at the vicomte again, ? and strolled back to the motor-car. 5 Julllard nnd Von Einem presently 1 Joined him, the former insistently anx -1 ious to have O'Rourke descend and - clasp the hand of fraternal friendship with the vicomte. But the Irishman " refused. ' "Faith, no!" he laughed. "Niver! s I'm too timorous a man to dare it. 5 j Sure and hasn't he hugged both hia 1 i .seconds and the vurgeao •—-r> with an Interrogative eye that ww< | e to deepen his embarrassment and con- t sternation. "I trust I didn't hurt ye, t Mr. Glynn." t "Oh, no—not at all." stammered the Englishman. "Not In the least. No." t He looked right and left of 5 O'Rourke for a way round him, found himself with no choice but to retreat, ( and lost his presence of mind com- r ple-tely. "I—l say," he continued des- t perately, "I say, have you a match?" c "Possibly," conceded O'Rourke. I "But I've yet to meet him. Of this t ye may feel sure, however: if I have, i 'tis neither yourself nor Des Trebes. Now run along and figure it out tor i yourself—what I'm meaning. Good- i night." i He brushed past the man, leaving him astare in sudden pallor, and went ' his way, more than a little disgusted '<■ with himself for his lack of discre tion. As matters turned out, however, ! he had little to reproach himself with; for his outbreak served to keep young ! Glynn at a respectful distance throughout the remainder of the voy age. They met but once more, and < on that occasion the Englishman be haved himself admirably according to | the tenets of his caste —met O'Rourke's challenging gaze without a flicker of l recognition, looked him up and down | calmly with the deadly enriuied air peculiar to the underdone British youth of family and social position, i and wandered calmly away. i O'Rourke watched him out of sight, \ a smile of appreciation curving his lips and tempering the perturbed and ' dangerous light in his eyes. "There's stuff In the lad. after all," he con- i ceded without a grudge, "if he can carry a situation off like that. I'm doubting not at all that something might be whipped out of him, If he weren't what he's made himself—a , slave to whisky." For all of which appreciation, how ever, he soon wearied of Mr. Glynn. During the first day ashore it was not so bad; there was something amusing in being so openly dogged by a well set-up young Englishman who had quite ceased to disguise his interest. But after that his shadowy surveillance i proved somewhat distracting to a man busy with important affairs. And to- , ward evening of the second day < O'Rourke lost patience. All day long in the sun. without respite he had knocked about from pil lar to post of Algiers, seeking news of Chambret; and not until the eleventh hour had he secured the Information he needed. Then, hurrying back to his hotel, he made arrangements to have his luggage cared for during an absence of indeterminate duration, hastily crammed a few indispensables into a kit box. and having dispatched that to the railway terminal, sought the restaurant for an early meal. In the act of consuming his soup he became aware that the Honorable Bertie, In a dinner coat and a state of fidgets, had wandered down the outer corridor, passed at the restaurant door and espied his quarry. The fact that O'Rourke was dining with one eye on the clock and in a dust-proof, dust colored suit of drill, was enough to disturb seriously the poise of the Eng lishman. Exasperation stirred In O'Rourke. He eyed the young man rather morose ly throughout the balance of his ineal, a purpose forming in his mind and attaining the stature of a definite plan of action without opposition from the dictates of prudence. And at length swallowing his coffee and feeing his servitor, he rose, crossed the room with a firm tread, and came to a full stop at the Honorable Mr. Glynn's ta ble. Momentarily he held his tongue, staring down at the young man while j drumming on the marble with the fln- i gers o* ore hand. Then Glynn, glanc- | I um nu «u a slate ol somewhat panic- I stricken Inquiry which «troT« mtnty to seem Insouciant, met the level stare of the adventurer and noticed the tense lines of his lips. "I—l say," he floundered, "what'ii the matter with you, anyway? Cant you leave me a—lone?" "I've been thinking;," said O'Rourke crisply, disregarding the other's re mark entirely, "that it might be of in terest to ye to save ye a bit of bother ation to know that I'm going up to Biskra by tonight's train. It leaves in ten minutes, so I'll have to forego the pleasure of your society on the trip." Glynn got a grip on himself and pulled together the elements of his manhood. He managed to Infuse blank insolence into his stare, and said "Ow?" with that singularly maddening inflection of which the Englishman alone Is master; as who should say: "Why the dooce d'you annoy me with your bally plans?" "Don't believe I know you, do I?" he drawled. "I don't believe ye do, me lad." "Can't say I wish to very badly, either." "I believe that," O'Rourke chuckled grimly. The meaning In his tone sent the blood Into the young man's face, a fiery flood of resentment. "Oh. I'm not afraid of you, y'know," he said, bristling. "Of course you're not going to Biskra, or you wouldn't tell me so. But if you do, I shall make it my business to find out and follow by the next train —bringing Des Trebes with me." "Oh, will ye so? Ye mean to warn me he's in Algeria, too?" "His boat's due now; I'm expecting him at any moment, if you wish to know." O'Rourke's smiling contempt was angering the young man and ren dering him reckless. "You'll be glad to know you've made a dem' ass of yourself—if you really are going to Uiskra." "Praise from Sir Hubert—" "Oh, don't you think I mind giving you a twelve-hour start; you won't gain anything by it. Y'see I know where you're going, and 1 know it's not there. If you'll take a fool's ad vice, you'll turn back now. You'll come back empty-handed anyway. 1 don't mind telling you that we mean to have that ruby, Des Trebes and I. and we know where it is. You're only taking needless trouble by interfer ing." Truth was speaking from the bottom of the absinthe tumbler. O'Rourke's brows went up and he whistled noise lessly, for he realized that at least Glynn believed what he was admit ting. "So that's the way of It, eh? I admire your candor, me boy; but be careful and not go too far with It. 'Twill likely prove disastrous to ye, I'm fearing. . . . But tit-for-tat; ye've made me a handsome present according to your lights, of what ye most aptly term a fool's advice, and 'tis meself who'll not be outdone at that game. For yourself, then, take warning from the experience of one who's seen a bit more of this side of the earth than most men have, and —don't let Des Trebes know ye've talked so freely. He's a bad-tempered sort and . . . But I'm obliged to ye and I bid ye a good evening." CHAPTER VII. South of Biskra there Is alwayß trouble to be had for the seeking; south of Briska there is never peace. A guerilla warfare is waged peren nially between the lords of the desert, the Touaregg on the one hand, and the advance agents of civilization, as personified by the reckless French Condemned Corps and the Foreign Le gion on the other. Year after year military expeditions set out from the oasis of Biskra to penetrate the wil derness, either by caravan route to Timbuctoo or along the proposed route of the Trans-Saharan Railway to Lake Tchad; and their lines of march are traced In red upon the land. Toward this debatable land O'Rourke set his face with a will, gladly; for he loved it. He had fought over it of old; In his memory its sands were sanctified with the blood of comrades, men by whose side he had been proud to fight, men of his own stamp whose friendship he had been proud to own. Mentally serene, if physically there. verse of comfortable, O'Rourke dozed through the Interminable twelve hours of the journey to El-Guerrah; arriving at which place after eight the following morning, he transferred him self and his hand-bags (for now he was traveling light) fo the connecting train on the Biskra branch. The lat ter. scheduled to reach the oasis at four-thirty in the afternoon, loafed cas ually up the line, arriving at the term inus after dark. The Irishman, thoroughly fagged but complacent in the knowledge that he had left both vicomte and honor able a day behind him, kept himself from bed by main •will-power for half the night, while he made the rounds of cafes and dance halls, in search of a trustworthy and competent guide— no easy thing to find. The French force by then was three days out from the oasis, and no doubt since It was technically a "flying col umn," calculated to move briskly from point to point In imitation of Touar egg tactics, hourly putting a greater distance between itself and its start ing point. Moreover, the pursuit con templated by the adventurer was one attended by no inconsiderable perils By dint of indomitable persistence unflagging goodnature and fluence as he could bring V^ ODa! ' } to bear upon the got what he desired-**.,,., or i guide and two racing canu 1 hern, with a pack animal tha. | serve their purpose. I iTO BE CUNTLNUEO)