18 6YNOPSIS. The story opens at Monte Carlo with Col. Terence O'Rourke, a military lance and something of a gambler, in nis hotel. Leaning on the balcony ne sees a beautiful girl who suddenly ejiters the elevator and passes from sight. At ine gaming table O'Rourke notices two men watching him. One is the Hon. Bertie Glynn, while his companion is Viscount Dos Trebes, a duelist. The viscount tells him the French government has directed him to O'Rourke as a man who would undertake a secret mission. At his apart ment, O'Rourke. who had agreed to ' U ndertake the mission, finds a mysterious letter. The viscount arrives, hands a wnaled package to O'Rourke, who is noi to open it until on the ocean. A pair or drxinty slippers are seen protruding from under a doorway curtain. The Irishman Snds the owner of the mysterious feet to his wife, Beatrix, from whom he haa *un awav a year previous. They are reconciled, and opening the letter he finds that a Rangoon law firm oilers nun 100.000 pounds for a Jewel known as tne Pool of Flame and left to him by a dy ins friend, but now In keeping of one named Chambret In Algeria. tol ' r worsts the nobleman In a duel. The wife bids O'Rourke farewell and he P™ m ;f 3 to soon return with the reward. He dis covers both Glynn and the board the ship. As he finds chambret th«re 1s an attack by bandits and his friend dies telling O'Rourke that he has left the Pool of Flame with the governor general, who at sight of a B *£net ring vriven the colonel will deliver jv e r Jewel. Arriving at Algeria the Irishman finds the governor general a way. Dee Trebes makes a mysterious appointment, and tells O'Rourke that he has gained possession of the Jewel by stealing it. In a duel O'Rourke masters the viscount, secures possession of the Pool of Flame and starts by ship for Rangoon. He finds the captain to be a smuggler who tries to steal the Jewel. It is finally secured by the captain and O'Rourke escapes to land. With the aid of one Danny and his sweetheart. O'Rourke recovers the Pool of Flame. On board ship once more, bound for Rangoon, a mysterious lady appears. O'Rourke comes upon a lascar about to attack the lady, who is a Mrs. Prvnne. and kicks the man into the hold. Mrs. Prynne claims she is en route for Indiana "on a mission for the king. O'Rourke is attacked by the lascar. who secures the Pool of Flame, the captain Is shot and the lascar Jumps into the sea. The ship arrives in port. Danny hands O'Rourke the Pool of Flame which he lias stolen from Mrs. Prynne. It is the real Jewel, the one lost at sea being a counterfeit. O'Rourke goes, to Calcutta and discovers Des Trebes disguised. He now knows that Mrs. Prynne was an ac complice. Finally he gets to the lawyer who has offered the reward, delivers the Jewel and gets the money. CHAPTER XXX.— (Continued.) Sypher had very explicitly named his dinner hour, after the formal Eng lish fashion, nowhere and by nobody more rigidly observed than by the Englishman in the Orient; "eight for eight-thirty," he had said. And as O'Kourke, a very dignified and impos ing O'Rourke in his evening dress, waited for a sampan on the lower grating of the Poonali's passenger gangplank he had a round three-quar ters for an hour for leeway—ample leis ure for an interested inspection of that part of Rangoon lying between the floating jetty and Sypher's' resi dence in a suburb near Dalhousle Park. Danny remained aboard ship only temporarily, being instructed to follow with O'Rourke's belongings to suitable accommodations already engaged at a hotel on the Strand, overlooking the roadstead; from whose windows O'Rourke was promising himself the pleasure of watching the arrival of the steamship bearing his v.'lfe to his arms. "Bless her dear race!" said he soft ly. " 'Tis meself will be desolated If she's not aboard that Messagerles boat due tomorrow — now that I can go back to her, a man of property, no longer a pauper ne'er-do-well! Think of that, ye lucky dog!" " A sampan slid noiselessly in beside the grating. O'Rourke let himself cau tiously into it and Incontinently col lapsed upon the rear seat as the boat slid away toward the shore lights, yielding to the vigorous sweeps of tho single long oar wielded by the Bur man In the bows. Ashore, a tikkagharry caught him up and bore him down the silent road that winds between the Strand and the river's edge, then whipped into Mogul street, where the fluent tide of life ran broad and deep beneath a glare of light. Al too quickly the tlkka whisked out of the main channel of the city's life, out beyond the Mohammedan mosque and the Chetti's hall and tne Christian chapel, and into the soft, dense night of the countryside—a world of darkness sparsely studded with dim, glowing windows; and all too soon, again. It swung off from the highway into a private drive, crunched over gravel and stopped before the Illuminated veranda of a native bun galow. O'Rourke got down, discharged the driver and ascended the steps, a little puzzled to find no one waiting to wel come him, whether Sypher, Miss Pyn sent, or at worst a servant. Surely he was expected. . . . But nobody appeared. The grating tires of the departing tikkagharry had made noise enough to apprise the household of the arrival of a guest, one would think. Nevertheless O'Rourke remained un greeted He stroked his chin, perplexed, won- ®?POOL JH FLAMEI^ I by LOUIS dering if by mischance the native driver had brought him to the wrong bungalow. But It was now too late to call him back and make sure. And this verandah, still and empty as It was. softly lighted by lanterns depend ent from Its roof, was to him a small oasis in a world of darkness. With out advice he was lost, could find his way no other where. He would have simply to wait until the house hold came to life, or until by his own efforts he succeeded in quickening It. He tried to do this latter to the best of his ability by tapping a sum mons on the door-jamb. Through the wire insect-screens a broad hallway and a staircase rising to the upper floor were visible. Limp, cool-looking rugs conceived in pleasing color schemes protected the hardwood floor ing. To the right a door stood ajar and permitted a broad shaft of light to escape from the room beyond. On the other hand a similar door, like wise open, showed a dimmer glow. Two other doors were closed; O'Rourke assumed that they led to the kitchen offices. Having waited a few moments with out event, the Irishman knocked a sec ond time, and would have knocked a third when he thought better of It and glanced at his watch. It was only a matter of ten minutes after eight; strictly interpreting the intent of Sypher's invitation, he was a trifle early. Presumably the servants were all out of earshot, preoccupied with preparations for the meal; while Sypher and his niece were most prob ably still dressing. With an Impatient air O'Rourke turned back to the veranda. A ham mock in one corner was swinging idly in the breeze. A number of wicker armchairs stood about. Invitingly fur nished with cushions. O'Rourke se lected one and disposed himself to wait. After five minutes he frowned thoughtfully and lit a cigarette. "Faith, 'tis a fine surprise he's giv en me," he said, irresolute. "But it can't be premeditated Insult. Why should it be? And they can't all be out 'Tis sorry I am I let that driver go; more than likely this will be the wrong house entirely. That must be the trouble. I'll just go, quietly fold uv me tent and decamp before the in habitants, if any there be, discover me and run me off the premises." But a.t the head of the steps, with foot poised to descend, something re strained him; it would be difficult to say unless it were the unbroken, steadfast, uncanny quiet. "I'll have a look." he determined suddenly; "per haps . . ." He turned to the right and stopped before a long, open window, looking into what seemed to be a music room ana library combined. Brilliantly il luminated by hanging lamps of un usual brilliancy, the interior was clear ly revealed. And with an abrupt ex clamation the adventurer entered, feel ing for the revolver, to carry which had of late become habitual with him. The room was simply furnished, if tastefully. There was a grand piano near the veranda windows with a mu sic rack and cabinet near by. Dis persed about the floor were a few com fortable chairs, a rug of rare Orien tal texture, two consoles adorned with valuable porcelains. In the middle of the room stood a draped center-table littered with books and magazines; to ward the back a long, flat-topped desk. And against the rear wall, ordinarily hidden by a folding screen of Japan ese manufacture, now swept aside, was a small steel safe. Upon this O'Rourke's attention was centered. He remarked that it looked new and very strong; it was open, disclosing a variety of pigeonholes more or less occupied by docketed documents, and a smaller interior strong-box. Between the desk and the safe a man lay prone and quite motionless. He was dressed for a ceremonious dinner, and apparently had been struck down in the act of stepping from his desk to the safe. For beyond all doubt he had been murdered. The haft of a knife protruded front his back, buried to its hilt just beneath his left shoul der-blade. O'Rourke moved over to the body and lifted it by the shoulders, turn ing the face to the light. Then, with a low oath, he dropped it. A small sound, so flight as to be all but indistinguishable, penetrated O'Rourke's stupefaction. He stood erect, looking about, telling himself that the noise resembled as much as anything the hushed cry of a child sobbing in sleep, soft and Infinitely pathetic. Unable to assign its source elsewhere, he attributed it to the stricken man at his feet; and in a des perate hope that the pulse of life might still linger lb Sypher's body, he knelt, withdrew the knife, turned the corpse upon its back, and laid bis ear to Its breast, above the heart. Be yond dispute, Sypher was dead. "Poor divvle!" muttered the Irish man. . . . "The Pool of Flame! M CHAPTER XXXII. For several minutes O'Rourke re mained beside the body, making two notable discoveries. For he was quick to note the fact that one of the dead man's hands was tightly clenched, while the other lay half-open and limp. The former was closed upon a leather thong so stout as to resist any attempt to break It by main strength, so firmly held that the murderer had found it necessary to sever it with a knife. The knife itself was there, for proof of this; the sheen of light upon its mother-of-pearl handle caught the Irishman's eye. Picking it up, he subjected It to a close examination that, however, gleaned no information. It was sim ply a small pocket penknife, little worn, with blades of German steel, it carried no identifying marks and told him but one thing—that the assassin had been a European; a native would never have bothered with so ineffec tual a thing when a sturdy weapon, serviceable alike for offense and de fense, would have served its purpose equally well. From this he turned to the dagger which he had taken from the body; a stiletto with a plain ebony handle, unmarked, unscratched, apparently fresh from the dealer's showcase. It meant nothing, save that it Indicated |!J- ' in Beyond All Doubt, He Had Been Murdered. still more strongly that the murderer < was most probably not a native. A Greek or an Italian, a Genoese sailor or a native of Southern France—say a seafaring man out of Marseilles — might have carried it. "Oho!" said O'Rourke, speculative. "A Frenchman, mayhap!" He got up. satisfied that he would 1 learn nothing more by continuing his : search of the solicitor's body. The mental link between the fact of the crime and its perpetrator was inevita ble; O'Rourke believed implicitly that Syrher had been murdered by Des i Trebes masquerading as "De Hyeres." And he could have done himself an injury in the impotent fury aroused by 1 realization that he had permitted him- i self to be so childishly hoodwinked, despite the suspicions he had enter tained of the soi-disant "De Hyeres." ] He felt himself responsible, since he i had neglected to warn Sypher. It bad been on his tongue's tip that after- t noon, when Sypher himself had dived- ! ed the warning by his request that the O'Rourke could more comfortably si>ln his yarn after they Bad dined. "Poor divvle!" said the adventurer < again. He stooped to spread his I handkerchief over the staring, pitiful! face. "And poor, poor young woman!" He was startled by the thought of her; for the first time It entered Into his comprehension, until then bounded by the hard and fast fact of the mur der. Now Instantly his concern about the crime was resolved into solicitude for the girl. What could have hap pened to her? What had become of the servants, whose sudden desertion had left the house so sinisterly quiet? Swept on by a fervor of anxiety on the girl's behalf, O'Rourke glanced quickly about the study to assure him self that he had overlooked nothing of importance, then passed out into the main hall or reception-room. Here the most searching inspection revealed nothing amiss. He moved onto the other room on the main floor and found himself in the dining-room; here again all was in perrect order. The kitchen offices in the rear of the house next received his attention; he found them completely untenanted, having apparently been abandoned in desperate haste. Everything was In disorder; the meal he had been in vited to partake of was cooking to cin ders in pots and ovens; a heavy of fense of burning food thickened the atmosphere. Half-stifled, he left the place as quickly as possible, returned to the main hall and ascended to the upper story. Here he found three bed-chambers and a bath. He first entered Sypher's, then the room evidently occupied by Miss Pynsent, finally what was un questionably a guest-chamber, discov ering nothing noteworthy until he reached the latter. And here here celved a shock. Thrown carelessly across the foot of the bed was a wom an's evening wrap, while on the bureau were gloves, long, white and fresh, but wrinkled from recent wear, and a silk en veil. Plainly these were the prop erty of the fourth guest, whose place had been set at the table below, but of whose Identity he had not been ap prised. Presumably, he reflected, she (whoever she was) had been Intended as the fulfillment of Svpher's hinted surprise. A guess formed vaguely in his brain, and suddenly curdled into a suspicion. He took the gloves in his hand, ex amining them for marks of identifica tion, but found none. But In one «or ner of the veil he discovered an em broidered Initial—the letter B. "Beatrix?" he guessed huskily. "Is It possible? . . . He promised me a surprise. . . . 'Twould have been like her to plan it with him—and 'tis quite possible she reached Rangoon before I. . . . My wife! . . ." Hastily he returned to the evening wrap, a fascinating contrivance of lace and satin unquestionably the last cry of the Parisian mode, such a wrap as his wife might well have worn. But beyond Pa aula's label stitched iaalde I Mi dainty pocket It boasted BO dt» , tinguishing mark. ' He stumbled hurriedly from the room and down the stairs, returning ' to the study where Sypher's body lay; tortured by mounting fears, he stood and looked blankly about him, at a loss where next to turn, If almost preternaturally alive to every sound or sight that might afford him a clue. 1 . . . He fought against a suspicion that crawled like a viper in his brain. 1 Had he, after all, t>een deceived in ' Sypher's niece, Miss Pynsent? Had that Innocent charm of hers been a \ thing assumed, a cloak for criminal du- | plicity? Had she in reality been Des : Trebes' accomplice? Had those clear i and limpid eyes of youth, all through that voyage been looking forward to such a scene, to such a tragic ending as this? Could she have afforded the Frenchman the aid he needed to con summate his chosen crime? For he was now ready to believe Des Trebes prime mover in this terri ble affair; he no longer entertained a shred of doubt that his enemy had traveled with him from Calcutta un der the disguise of"De Hyeres." And he believed the man had planned this thing far ahead; else would he have surely taken some overt step to pre vent O'Rourke from delivering the ruby to Sypher. He divined acutely that, despairfng of any further at tempt to win the jewel from him, Des Trebes had turned his wits to the task of stealing It from Bypher; somebody naturally much less to be feared than the adventurer. But on the other hand, if the girl had not been Des Trebes' assistant — what had become of her? And what of her guest—the lady one of whose Initials was B? It was not Inconsistent with Des Trebes' whole-hearted villainy that he should employ a gang of thugs suffi ciently large to overpower and make away with bodily and in a body Miss Pynsent, her guest and the servants. . . . "Great God!" cried O'Rourke. "If it be in truth my wife —!" Without presage a thin but impera tive tintinnabulation broke upon the silence of the house of death. O'Rourke ; jumped as if shot. Somewhere in one of the other rooms a telephone bell was ringing. It ceased, leaving a strident stillness; but before he could move to find the instrument and an swer the call, there rose a second time that moaning sob which first he had attributed to an impossible source, then, in the turmoil of his thoughts, > had forgotten. He waited, listening intently. The i telephone called again and again sub sided. Then a third time he heard the groan, more faint than before, but suf ficiently loud to suggest its source. He moved warily toward the windows and out upon the veranda —hounded by the telephone. Rut that would have to wait; hero was a more ur- ! gent matter to his hand. Between th<? 1 long, insistent rings the moaning wae again audible; and this time he lo cated it acurately. It came from the lawn, near the edge of the veranda. ! He stepped off carefully, but almost \ stumbled over the body of a man who lay there, huddled and moaning. "And another!" whispered the ad- ' venturer, awed. "Faith, this Pool of Flame . . .!" He was at once completely horrified and utterly dumbfounded. Nothing he had come upon within the bungalow seemed to indicate that there had been anything in the nature of a struggle prior to the assassination of Sypher. He had up to this moment considered it nothing but a cold blooded and cow ardly murder; the man had apparent ly been struck down from behind in to tal ignorance of his danger. O'Rourke had deduced that Sypher had risen from the desk to put the jewel In his safe; and that while he was so en gaged the assassin, till then skulking outside the long windows and waiting for a moment when his victim's back should be turned, had entered and struck. . . But how could he recon cile that hypothesis with this man who lay weltering and at the point of death at the veranda edge? Indeed, he could not do so. But this victim, at least, was not yet dead; if he had strength to moan, he might yet be revived, at least temporarily. Without delay, then, the Irishman grasped the man beneath the armpits, and. lifting him bodily to the veranda, dragged him Into the library. Not un til he placed him in the middle of the floor, beneath the blare of the lamp light, did O'Rourke have an oppor tunity to observe his features. But now as he dropped to his knees beside the body, his wondering cry testified to immediate recognition. The latest name to be Inscribed on \ the long and blood-stained death-roll of the Pool of Flame was that of Paul Maurice, Vicomte des Trebes; or. If , there were life enough left in the ; man to enable him to insist upon his nom de guerre (the wanderer reflected , grimly) Raoul de Hyeres. "What next?" wondered O'Rourke. j "What can the meaning of it all be now?" (TO BE CONTINUE D.J Masterpiece of Advertising. A physician of Montpeller, France, i was In the habit of employing a very ! ingenious arttflee. When he came to a town where he was not known, he pretended to have lost his dog, and ordered the public crier to offer, with beat of drum, a reward of 25 louis to whomsoever should bring It to him The crier took care to mention all the titles and academic honors of the doo tor, as well as his place of residence. He soon became the talk of the town. "Do you know,"says one, "that a fa mous physician has come here, a very clever fellow? He must be very rich, for he OSCTB 26 louis for finding his dog." The dog was not found, btt pa- I tlents wars, NO TROUBLE IN COLLECTING Lawyer Probably Was Willing to Pav More Than $lO Under th» Circumstance*. A noted lawyer of Tennessee, whu labored under the defects of having a high temper and of being deaf, walked Into a court room presided over by a younger man, of whom tha older practitioner had a small opin ion. Presently, In the hearing of a mo tion, there was a clash between tha lawyer and the judge. The judge or dered the lawyer to sit down, and as the lawyer, being deaf, didn't hear him and went on talking, the judge find him $lO for contempt. The lawyer leaned toward the clerk and cupped his hand behind his ear. "What did he say?" he inquired. "He fined you $10," explained th» clerk. "For what?" • "For contempt of this court," salfl the clerk. ♦ The lawyer shot a poisonous look toward the bench and reached a hand Into his pocket. "I'll pay It,"he said. "It's a Just debt."—Saturday Evening Post. PIMPLES IN BLOTCHES 816 57th St.. Brooklyn, N. Y.—"About a year ago I noticed a pimple on ths back of my hand. I picked It, and the next day my hand became full of pim ples. They came In blotches, about a half dozen together. When they first appeared they were red and Inflamed and Itched very much. I scratched them so they bled and then they de veloped into sores. The disease , spread to my other hand, and face. At ; one time my face got so full of pim : pies and they Itched so much I was ashamed togo out on the street. "When I bathed they became In flamed. I treated for them but instead of getting better I became 'worse, and by this time my disease became so bad that I could not sleep or eat. Finally ! when I began to despair of getting j better a friend told me to try Cutl , cura Soap and Ointment I sent for j samples and used them. I took a hot . bath, using Cuticura Soap, and then , applied the Cuticura Ointment to the I affected parts before going to bed. When I woke up the next morning the itching had stopped. Within three weeks I had no sign of a pimple. I was i entirely cured." (Signed) E. Marks, | Dec. 16, 1911. Cuticura Soap and Ointment sold throughout the world. Sample of each ! free, with 32-p. Skin Book. Address post-card "Cuticura, Dept. L, Boston." Adv. We seldom take a deep and vital j Interest in the affairs of our neigh j bors—unless they owe us money. SUFFERED EVERYTHING j ______ For Fourteen Years. Restored To Health by Lydia ET. Pink ham's Vegetable Compound. Elgin, 111. —"After fourteen years ot Buffering everything from female com p. . .« plaints, I am at last restored to health. 1 '"I employed the best doctors and aP even went t* lo hospital for treat \l ] H;,;, ment and was told ■ \ T* 112;.).... there was no help for '•!= me * But while tak ing Lydia E. Pink ham's Vegetable MBMKgg!!Ba Compound I began to improve and I continued its use until I was made well." —Mrs. HENRY LEISEBERG,743 Adams St. Kearneysville, W. Va. "I feel it my duty to write and say what Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound haa done for me. I suffered from female weakness and at times felt so miserable I could hardly endure being on my feet. "After taking Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound and following your special directions, my trouble is gone. Words fail to express my thankfulness. I recommend your medicine to all my friends."—Mrs. G. B. WHITTINGTON. The above are only two of the thon sands of grateful letters which are con stantly being received by the Pinkham Medicine Company of Lynn,Mass.,which show clearly what great things Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound does for those who suffer from woman's ills. If yon want special advice write to Lydia E. Piukham Medicine Co. (confi dential) Lynn, Mass. Tour letter will be opened, read and answered by a woman and held in strict confidence. The Wretchedness of Constipation Can quickly be overcome by CARTER'S LITTLE Jk Efe. LIVER PILLS. Purely vegetable p —act surely and gently on the liver. Cure Biliousness, alQflV ■I» trj. Head- gPILLS. ache, Dizzi- ness, and Indigestion. They do their duty. SMALL PILL, SMALL DOSE, SMALL PRICE. Genuine must bear Signature DEFIANCE Gold WaterStarcli makes lauoilr; work a pleasure. Id oz. ik*. 10a.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers