SYNOPSIS. The story opens nt Monte Carlo with pol. Terence O'Rourke, a military free ■ance and something of a gambler, In his hotel. Leaning on the balcony he sees a Beautiful girl who suddenly enterß the •levator and passes from sight. At the fuming table O'Rourke notices two men watching hltn. One Is the Hon. Bertie J4ynn. while his companion Is Viscount Des 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 un dertake the mission, finds » mysterious letter. The viscount hands a sealed package to O'Rourke. who Is not to open It u*"tll on the ocean. A pair of dalntv slippers are seen protruding from u* er a doorway curtain. The Irishman finds the owner ofo»he mysterious feet to be his wife, Beatrix, from whom lie had run away a year previous. They are reconciled, and opening the letter he finds that a Rangoon law firm offers him 'OO,OOO pounds for a Jewel known as the Pool of Flame and left to him by a dy ing frlerd, but now In keeping of one named Chambret in Algeria. O'Rourke worsts the nobleman In a duel. The wife bids O'Rourke farewell and he promises to soon return with the reward. He dis covers both Glynn and the viscount on tiocrd the ship. As he finds Chambret there Is an attack by bandits and Ills friend dies telling O'Rourke that lie has left the Pool of Flame with the governor general, who at sight of a signet ring the colonel will deliver over the Jewel. Arriving at Algeria the Irishman finds the governor general away. Des Trebes makes a mysterious appointment. «nd tells O'Rourke that he lias gained possession of the Jewel by stealing it. In a duel O'Rourke masters the viscount, ■secures possession of the Pool of Flame tind start* by ship for Rangoon. He finds the captain to be a smuggler who tries to wteal the Jewel. It Is finally secured by the captain and O'Rourke escapes to 'nnd. With the aid of one Danny and his sweetheart, O'Rourke recovers the P.*ol of Flame. On board ship once more, hound for Rangoon, a mysterious lady appears. O'Rourke comes upon a lascar about to attack the lady, who Is a Mrs. Prynne, 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'Hourke the Pool of Flame which he tias 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 i nmpllce. Finally he gets to the lawyer who has ottered the reward, delivers the Jewel and gets the money. Going to the residence of the lawyer on Invitation, O'Rourke finds him murdered and Des Trebes la found dying. CHAPTER XXXll.—(Continued.) With each development the mystery ■was assuming more fantastic propor tions, becoming still more Impene trable and unsolvable. But he had no leisure In which to ponder It now, if Des Trebes were to be restored. And O'Rourke worked over the man as tenderly as though they had been life long friends, with skillful fingers es timating the nature ana extent of his wounds, with sound knowledge of rough and ready Burgery doing nil that could be done to bring him back to consciousness. At last Des Trebes sighed feebly; a •spot of color, febrile, fickle, evanes cent, dyed his cheeks; his breath rat tled harshly in his gullet; his eyelids twitched and opened wide. He glared blankly at the face above. "Des Trebes!" cried O'Rourke. "Des Trebes!" His voice quickened the Intelligence of that moribund brain. A flash of recognition lighted the staring eyes. The lips moved without sound. "Des Trebes!" "Ah, yes . . . the Irish man . . ." The whisper was barely articulate. O'Rourke put to his lips a cup of brandy diluted with a little water. "Drink," he pleaded, "and try to tell me what's happened to ye. Who gave ye these wounds? Try to speak." "But ... DO ... 1 shall not tell." "But —good God, man! ye've been <6urdered!" The white Hps moved again; the adventurer bent his ear low to them. "We . . . have both . . . lost . . . but you . . . your wife . "My wife!" In a frenzy O'Rourke resumed his efforts to strengthen the dying man with spirits and water, but Des Tre bes, with a final effort, obstinately shut his teeth, moving his head im perceptibly from side to side in token of his stubborn refusal. So he died, implacable. In death the chiselled features remained set In a smile sardonic Bnd triumphant. Dying, he gave no comfort to his foe. . . . For a little time longer O'Rourke knelt at Des Trebes' side, watching and wondering. Eventually he sighed heavily, shook his head, shrugged his shoulders and rose. And, rising, he perceived for the first time that he was no longer alone with the dead in that place. Kneeling In silence by the vlcomte's side he had till then been hidden from the Inner doorway to the room by the drapery of the center table. And evi dently it was this circumstance which bad emboldened a man to slip In from tbe main hall and approach Syphor's deak the back of the roots. JM FLAM^^S fey LOUIS JOSEPH As O'Rourke appeared he was con scious first of something moving in the room—a movement caught vaguely from the corner of his eyes. Then he heard a stifled cry of fright. He had already his revolver In his hand, so In stant had been the obedience of ills brain and body to the admonition of instinct He swung about with the weapon poised, crying: "Stop!" The other man was apparently trying to escape by the door to the hall, but was much too far from It to escape the threat ened bullet A Jet of fire spurted from his hand. O'Rourke heard a crash and clatter of broken window-glass be hind him. Without delay or conscious aim he fired and saw, still Indistinctly though pungent wreaths of smoke, the figure reel and collapse upon itself. The man had hardly fallen ere O'Rourke stood over him, with a foot firm upon one arm, while he bent and wrenched a revolver from relaxing fin gers. Then, stepping back, he took stock of the murderous-minded in truder, and saw at his feet, writhing, coughing and spitting, a Chinese coolie —a type of the lowest class, his face a set yellow mask, stolid, un emotional, brutalized. Even then it betrayed little feeling; only the slant set black eyes burned with unquench able hatred as they glared up at the conqueror. . . . O'Rourke's bullet had penetrated the man's chest; and as he squirmed and groaned through his sharpened teeth of a rat, a crim son stain spread on the bosom of his coarse white blouse. Wholly confounded, O'Rourke shook an amazed head. A third element had been added to the mystery with no effect other than to render It more opaque and dense than before. The telephone, its raucous voice now long since stilled, came Into his mind, and he was minded to leave the room and find it, to summon aid. Before he could move, how<ever, a footfall on the veranda startled htm, and his ears were ringing with a com mand couched in terse, curt English: "Hands up!" CHAPTER XXXIII. A man stood In one of the windows, his figure conspicuous against the night in cool white linen of a semi military cut, his extended right hand training a revolver on the Irishman's head. "Faith!" cried O'Rourke with genu ine relief, "you're more welcome than a snowfall In Hades. Good evening to ye, and many of them." "Hands up!" "With all the pleasure In the world." O'Rourke elevated his hands. "I've two revolvers on me person," he vol unteered amiably; "before ye go any further ye'll be wanting to take 'em away from me, I'm not doubting." "From what 1 see, I quite believe 1 shall," agreed the Englishman, with out relaxing his unprejudiced attitude. "At all events, keep your hands where they are, for the time being. . . . What the deuce does this mean?" "Tell me yourself and I'll make ye a handsome present," returned the O'Rourke composedly. "I've been ad dling me wits over It for the last thirty minutes, but neither rhyme nor reason can I read into It But, see now: would ye mind relieving me of the arsenal I've been telling ye about that I may rest me arms without fear of being punctured?" The other laughed shortly and en tered the room —a clean-limbed, sturdy, well set-up boy of four or flve and-twenty, or thereabouts. He pos sessed, aside from an emphatic and capable manner, good looks enhanced by a wide good-humored mouth. "You might help me out a bit, you know," said the boy briskly. "You've been so free with your information that 1 don't doubt you will place me still further under obligation to you by turning your back and depositing your weapons on that table. Of course. I needn't bore you by remarks upon the folly of false moves." " 'Twould be quite superfluous," re plied O'Rourke, obeying with a Tair and easy grace. "There now. What else may be your pleasure?" "Move back three paces and stand still." "Right-O, me lord." O'Rourke executed the prescribed evolution and, at rest, beard footsteps behind him; a thought later be felt the Englishman's hands rapidly going through his pockets. Then, with a' "very good," the latter stepped be tween the table and O'Rourke and raced him. "You've apparently told the truth thus far," he said. "Now what'dyou knew about this?" He waved a hand round room. "Be careful what TOO uy. I may as well inform you I'm Couch, lieutenant sub-chief of police for this district." "Saint Patrick would be no more welcome," declared O'Rourke. "I was on the point of trying to get ye by telephone when ye saved me the trou ble. How the divvle did ye happen to drop in so opportunely?" "I was coming up-stream In the po> lice launch, on the night tour of in spection, and stopped at the landing just below this—the grounds here run down to the river, you know —to tele phone back to headquarters on busi ness. The exchange operator suggest ed I look In here and see If everything was all right—said he'd been unable to get any response since nightfall. . . . Now?" Carefully and concisely O'Rourke wove the events of the day Into a straight narrative, starting with the delivery to Sypher of the Pool of Flame, touching briefly upon Des Tre bes' part—so far as he understood it —and concluding with the death of the coolie. The sub-chief of police eyed him throughout with gravely concentrated Interest, nodding his understanding. "I see," he said slowly. "You make it clear enough. Moreover, you've convinced me. I didn't really believe from the first you'd had any hand In this ghastly mess, but I couldn't take chances, of course. You're at liberty to take up these pistolß as soon as you please; In fact, I advise you to do so immediately. From what's taken place already, you may have need of 'em within the next ten seconds. . . . Now for this coolie. If he's able to speak, I'll get some Information out of him." " 'Tls too far gone he is. I'm fear ing." - "We'll soon find out." The English man bent over tho man, who was now very quiet, but, by the constant flick er of his cunning eyes, still conscious. A hasty examination told the investi gator all he needed to know about the nature of the wound. "He'll not last long," said Lieutenant Couch, nnd be gan to converse with the local ver nacular of Pidgin-English, about one word In ten of which was intelligible A Man Stood In One of the Windows. to O'Rourke. As he continued to speak the coolie's scowl darkened and he in terrupted with a negative motion of his head. The sub-chief repeated his remarks with emphasis. For reply he got a monosyllable that sounded, as much as anything else, like an oath. Couch looked up. "He says he wants water, and I suspect he won't speak untH he gets It. Can you—?" O'Rourke fetched the hah-empty carafe and Couch put tt to the coolie's lips, permitting him to drink as much as he liked. But as soon as the bottle was removed the fellow shut bis mouth like a trap and refused a word in answer to the lleutenant'B demands and oarauaalon*. "Stubborn brute," growled Couch. "Most of these animals here belong to some devllsh tong or other, and they'd rather die than Bay anything touching on the business of the society or af fecting the Interests of a brother member. But I think I know a way to bring him to reason. Hand me that knife, please." Wondering, O'Rourke tendered him the weapon that had brought death to Sypher. The lieutenant wiped it cal lously on a corner of the coolie's blouse and held the keen shining blade before his eyes, accompanying the action with a few emphatic phrases. A curious expression, com pounded of sullen fury and abject pan ic fright, showed In the Chinaman's eyes, and his Hps were as If by magic unsealed. However reluctant, he be gan to chatter and spoke at length, delivering himself of a long state ment which Couch punctured now and again with pertinent, leading ques tions. At length, throwing aside the knife, he jumped up, strong excitement burn ing in his eyes. "I've got enough from him," he said rapidly. "I'll explain later. You'll help—of course; your wife's Involved as well as Miss Pyn sent. But I don't think you need fear; we'll be In time. Are you ready? . . . Half a minute; I've got to use that telephone." He ran out Into the hall, rang up and shouted a number Into the re ceiver, and for a few moments spoke rapidly In a Burmese dialect. O'Rourke gathered that he was speak ing with a native sub /dinate at the police headquarters In Rangoon. Couch swung back Into the study. "Got those revolvers, sir? Then come along; we'll have to run for it For tunately our launch 1B handy; other wise . . ." He sprang across the veranda nnd down to the lawn. O'Rourke pelting alter him. CHAPTER XXXIV. A night of velvet blackness, softly opaque, lay upon land and water. Tho police launch, shuddering with the vi- bratlons of a motor running at high tension, sped down the silent reaches of Rangoon River like a bunted ghost. She ran without lights, these having been extinguished by Couch s direc tions, regardless of harbor regulations or danger. Happily the hour was late enough to relieve them of much fear of trouble with other craft; the upper reaches of the river were practically deserted. In the bow Couch was handling the wheel with the nonchalano* of one from whom the river had no secrets by night or day. To O'Rourke it seemed no light task to pilot ao slight a craft at such high speed through that Stygian darkness; jr«t to* Bub-cblet wt.s accomplishing the feat without a discernable trace of fear or tremor of uncertainty. O'Rourke sat beside him. In the stern a police orderly acted as me chanic, attending to the motor. These three, no more, made up the rescue party. Though devoured by impatience and anxiety, O'Rourke forbore to question Couch, hesitating to divert his atten tion from his task and knowing that as soon as he could the young lieu tenant would speak. From the time when the coolie had yielded, there had been not a second's rest for eith er; neither had had time to confer save on questions of the most imme diate moment; and control of these Couch had voluntarily and naturally assumed, deciding, acting and direct ing in the same thought, apparently. "Your wife, with Miss Pynsent," said Couch abruptly, without looking round —"at least I presume it's Mrs. O'Rourke, from what you say—have been kidnaped by a gang of highbind ers and are now aboard a junk in the lower river, which will sail for God knows-where at the turn of the tide. That's the only thing that saves 'em. We'll be on 'em before they're able to force a way down the river." O'Rourke groaned, holding his head with both hands. "My wife . . .!" he said brokenly. "I know," Couch interrupted grim ly; "I know how you feel. Miss Pyn sent is there, too, you see." "Oh," said O'Rourke, "I didn't un derstand that . . . I'm sorry." He dropped a hand on the younger man's shoulder and let it rest there briefly. "Please God," he said reverently, "there'll be many another polluted yellow soul yammering at the gatea of hell this night!" "Amen!" said Couch. . . .We sha'n't be long now." Silently O'Rourke removed hli coat and waist-coat, his collar and lawn tie, and turned back his cuffs. "Even ing clothes are hardly the thing to fight in,"he said; "but I'm thinking 'twon't make a deal of difference to me. Got any cartridges for a Webley mark IV?" "Wheeler has. Give Colonel O'Rourke a few. Wheeler, 1 * <tt!d Couch, addressing the orderly. The latter rummaged in a locker and pressed into O'Rourke's hand half a dozen cartridges, with which the adventurer proceeded to replenish the empty chamber in his revolver. "I'd only discharged one," he ob served, "but 'tis likely we'll need that, even, with only the three of us against a Junk-load." "Oh, I telephoned for reinforce ments, of course," returned Couch. "They ought to be there ahead of us." "What did the coolie tell ye, if ye've time to talk?" Couch laughed. "I daresay you're wondering how I made him speak at all." "That's the true word for ye." "I threatened to cut off his silly pig tail and send him naked and dishonor ed to the ghostly halls of his ances tors. It's wonderful how much those callous brutes dote on that decora tion. I told him further, that if he lied, when I found it out I'd return and shave him bald as an egg, even If he were dead by that time. So I per suaded the truth from him, the whole story—from his side of it." "I'm listening. . . ." (TO BE CONTINUED.) Mr. J. B. Duke's Ploughing. In spite of the distractions of the Tobacco company's reorganization, Mr. James B. Duke bestows much atten tion upon the work of developing and beautifying his three thousand acre es tate, Duke's Park, near Somerville. N. J. Not Infrequently on his tours of inspection he personally directs the laborers. One day be took the plough from the hands of a slow, awkward foreigner, saying: "Here, let me show you how to plough a furrow. I've not forgotten how i did that when 1 was a boy In South Carolina." Another day he took the place of the boss or a gang or workmen and before be got through he dismissed live for Ineltlciency. Ladles Object to Profanity. The woman goiters or New York have made objections to swearing on the links and have discussed the mat ter In their clubs. The men wuo piay over the links are all supposed to be gentlemen, but sometimes they are not careful or their language, and ladles have been made very Indignant by some speeches. It has been sug gested that notices be placed in the clubhouses, but the fact that the ladies have discussed the subject will, no doubt, be ail u*l to rsnea sua. BACKACHE A SIGNAL tOr DISTBESS t>a!n In the back In the kidney's signal of distress. If this timet j- warning Is Ig nored,there Is grar« danger of dropsy, gravel, nrlo poison- Inf. or Bright'* dla- When yoa havs reason to snspeot your kidneys, uss a kidney Doan's Kidney Mils relieve weak I congested kidneys— if] I cure backache— // % regulate the urine. M I vt Good proof in the »■ I \ following state- M U | meat. If -CONVINCING ft* Iffy* TESTIMONY Louis Johnson, Main St., Cftrrollton, Xy., says: "My whole body woa bloated from kidney trouble and I was in bed four months, hardly able to move. The kidney secretions were scanty and pain ful. Four doctors failed to help me and I was In despair. Finally I used Doan's Kidney Pills and they made me well. My trouble has never returned." Get Doan's at Any Drug Store, 60c a Box DOAN'S k p? l n L! Y FOSTER-MILBURN CO- Buffalo. New Yorfc The Army of Constipation I« Crowing Smaller Every Day. CARTER'S LITTLE LIVER PILLS are not only give relief they perma- wMK I uK3 nentlvcure COB- JtSSrfilZXr ■jTTLE ■tipation. I IVER lions us IndifMtioo, Sick Headache, Sallow Skin. SMALL PILL, SMALL DOSE, SMALL PRICE. Genuine mu3t bear Signature Egl Beat Cough Byrup Tastes Good. Use E3 in time. Sold by Druggists. Ul His Modest Request. "You handle large suraa of money In this play—millions or more in every fcCt." "I Bee," said Yorlck Hamm. "And you must handle it like you were used to It." "I see. Could you let me have a bill to rehearse with?" Nothing More to Live For. Without question, the Scots curler of whom Lord Lyveden tells in Fry's Magazine, placed the proper value on his sport. During a recent curling-match in Switzerland, the skip of one of the teams, who happened to be a Scots man, was so delighted with the accu rate shot of one of his team, that he was heard to address him in the fol lowing manner: "Lie down and dee, mon; lie down and dee. Ye'li never lay a finer stane nor that if ye live 10 be a hundred." SMILING MARTYRDOM. r o«! w««y I I I Cl/T» l-ITTt* I ATV I P " C6; c 1 — Although the iceman brings to yov A lump exceedingly small. You don't complain, for If you do tie may not come at all. HARD TO BEE. Even When the Facta About Coffee are Plain. It Is curious bow people will refuse t« believe what one can clearly see. Tell the average man or woman that the slow but cumulative poisonous effect of caffeine —the alkaloid in tea and coffee —tends to weaken the heart, upset the nervous system and causa Indigestion, and they may laugh at you if they don't know the facts. Prove It by science or by practical demonstration In the recovery of cof fee drinkers from the above condi tions, and a large per cent of the hu man family will shrug their shoulders, take some drugs and —keep on drink ing coffee or tea. "Coffee never agreed with me nor with several members of our house hold." writes a lady. "It enervates, depresses and creates a feeling of languor and heaviness. It was only by leaving off coffee and using Postum that we discovered the cause and way out of these ills. "The only reason, I am sure, why Postum Is not used altogether to the exclusion of ordinary coffee Is. many persons do not know and do not seem willing to learn the facts and how to prepare this nutritious beverage. There's only one way—according to directions—boll It fully 15 minutes. Then it is delicious." Name given by Postum Co., Battle Creek, Mich. Read the little book, "The Road to Well vllle," in pkgs. "There's a reason." Krer read the ikm Ifttfrt A itw M< appears from Una* to tine. They ■re treaalae. irati aH fall •( kaaus Interest. Air.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers