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 •—-<i»t 1
For me own part I've no mind to be
kissed. Let's hurry away before he
celebrates further by Imprinting a
chaste salute upon the cheek of our
chauffeur. . . . Besides, I've a train
to catch."
CHAPTER Vf.
Events marched to schedule; what
O'Rourke planned came serenely to
pass. He experienced a day as re
plete with emotions as the night that
preceded It and more marked by ac
tivity. Nothing hindering, he left the
battle-scarred Vicomte des Trebes
upon the field of honor at half-past
six; nt seven forty-five he settled him
self in a coach of the Cote d'Azur
Rapide, en route for Marseilles—a
happy man.for he was alone. . . .
At a quarter to one In the afternoon
of the same day he boarded the little
steamer Tabarka of the Mediter
ranean ferry service; and half an hour
later stood by the after-rail of Its
promenade deck, watching the dis
tances widen between him and all that
he held beloved.
"In ninety days, dear boy," she had
said. . . . "Ah, Terence. Terence,
if you should fail me ... !"
"I shall not fail. . . . Rangoon
in ninety days. Dear heart, 1 will be
there. . . ."
As If to feed the hunger of his
heart he strained his vision to see
the last of the land that held her.
At length it disappeared, and then for
the first time he consciously moved —
drew a hand across his eyes, sighed
and turned away.
Picking his way through the cos
mopolitan throng of passengers, he
went below, found his stateroom, and
subsided into the berth for a sorely
needed nap; instead of Indulging in
which, however, he lay staring wide
eyed at his problem. He had much to
accomplish, much to guard against.
Des Trebes bulked large in the back
ground of perils he must anticipate;
O'Rourke was by no means disposed
to flatter himself that he had scotched
the schemes of the vicomte.
He made his second public appear
ance on the Tabarka at the hoi»r of
sunset; and in the act of making it.
turned a corner and ran plump into
the arms of a young person in tweeds
and a steamer cap—a stoutlsh young
So This Wat What Had Been Set to Spy Upon Him.
Englishman with a vivid complexion
and a bulldog pipe, nervousness tem
pering his native home-brewed inso
lence, the blank vacuity of his eyes
hopelessly betraying the caliber of his
intellect.
A sudden gust of anger swept
O'Rourke off his figurative feet. He
stopped short, blocking the gangway
and the young man's progress. So this
was what bad been set to apy upon
him!
"Good evening to ye." he said cold
ly uxmg the Honorable Hi. Uiy>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)