La Grande evening observer., October 01, 1917, Image 3

MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1917,
PAGE THKEH
LA GRANDE EVENING OBSERVER.
AUTHOR OF -THE OCCASIONAL OFFENDER'
r "THE WIRE TAPPERS, GUN RUNNERS, H ETC
NOVELIZED FROM THE PATHE PHOTO PLAY OF THE SAME NAME
corvfcicwT, tftf, AMHIHI HKIWCl
' SYNOPSIS.
' On Windward Island Palhlorl Intrigues
(Mrs, Golden Into an appearance of evil
hich causes Golden to capture and tor
ture the Italian by branding bis face and
crushing hla hand. Palidorl floods the Is
land and kidnaps Golden's little daughter
Mantery. Twelve years later In New York
a Masked One rescues Margery from Le
srar and takes her to her father's home.
Xegar sends Golden a demand for the
ichart. The coveted chart Is lost In a
fight between Manley and one of Letrar a
henchmen, but is recovered by the Laugh
ing Mask. Margery rescues the Laughing
Mask from the police. Manley finds Mar
gery not Indifferent to Ids love. He saves
fier from Mai kl's poisoned arrows. Man
ley plans a mock funeral which falls to
accomplish the desired purpose, the cap
ture of the Iron Claw and his gang. Mar
gery Is saved from death at the hands of
the Iron Claw by the Laughing Mask. An
attempt by the Iron Claw to blow up the
O'Mara cottage Is frustrated In the nick
of time. The Laughing Mask discloses
hla Identity to Margery. Margery over
hears the police's plan to take the Laugh
ing Mask prisoner and hastens to warn
tilv i They escape both the police and
4. ron Claw. Later the Laughing Mask
1s nost taken while with Margery at
tie ome. He eludes capture; Margery's
-fat. tells her that the Mask has met
Iea A mysterious woman frightens
Keg& ' henchman Into a promise of con
fess! o to clear the laughing Mask. She
imeetg . targery and discloses herself to
that ng lady an David Manley. Le
ar anft his gang get possession of some
loot anA .escape, toklng Margery with
them. 1 v Laughing Mask adds to his
tnyBterlousness by once more saving her
trom death. Margery rescues the chart
of the Van Horn loot. The police attempt
to arrest David as the Laughing Mask.
The Mask appears on the scene. David
saves Margery and her friends from I-e-gar's
henchmen, one of whom loses his
life trying to escape. The police captain
teacHes Margorv th heliograph. In an
effort to save Duvid she Is almost trapped
"by Lcgar. The Laughing Mask coiiu'h to
her aid. The code stives them. David
discovers a dtognim which is the means
of averting the deaths of the Ooldens and
their guests at a lawn banquet.
EIGHTEENTH EPISODE
The Green-Eyed God
"I thought you hnd discarded that
theory. Captain Brackett," Margery
Ooldon said In surprised tones. "I i
know you discovered some strongly tlp other end made fast to a big
convincing evidence, but when, with trp0 fpno wheels was buzziu' round,
our own eyes, we saw both David ut they WUKn't gottin' nowhere. An'
Manley and the Laughing Mask In the ti,e mnn wno riKKOd up the corttrnp
same room at the same tlmef it stands ton fnr gtoppln' those crooks must
to reason they must be different per- llnve b(!cn t)lllt i.nnghln' Mask ye're
sons." Then she added softly to her- nftel. ye found those Jailbirds had
self, "And I am sorry it turned out prottv bd records nil' the commlsh
that way." said I wns likely to get some good
Just then one of tho captain's men news In n- couple of days. I'erhaps
entered the room with news of a star- tills feller with the mask ain't as bad
fling character written large on his as you think, chief."
face. "Why doesn't he come out into the
"Well. Jenkins what Is It?" tersely' open, then, and explain these charges
demanded Ills superior, and then as ! standln' against him, Instead of
the self-important sleuth glanced at j sneakln' around like a masked safe
Margery, he added, "Miss Golden Is In blower?" he demanded with consld
ou tlils as much as any of us." erablo heat.
"Well, you see It happened like j
this." he began In a meditative voice,
"I had been doln' a four-hour stretch
down at the four corners. It wns
the blackest kind of a night and there
wasn't even n stray rabbit for com
pany. I hadn't seen anything that
looked suspicious, so when Donovan
comes along to spell me off, I thought
I'd stop In a minute for a chat with
Parker, the head gardener down nt
Wllken's plnce. I found the old man
mid his son, Joe, in the kitchen and
they gave me n little somethln' to
take the dust out of my throat. Wo
was settln' there quiet and peaceable,
when all of a sudden I seen old Par
ker sturln' nt tho open winder with
the eyes bulgln' out of his hend. I
took n squint myself and I'll bo
Mumed if Hint slippery customer with
the comic musk wasn't lookln' right
into my eyes.
"'.Tonkins,' he says, quite cnlnrllke,
'you're a good man In your way, so
I thought I'd tip you off that a couple
of the Iron Clnw's-second-story workers
are pullln' off a Job right in this house
while you're guzzling your beer. If
you nnb those two porch-climbers, ne
says, 'it ought to help that promotion
ye're lookln' for.'"
"Then he gives n little laugh an'
with that he was gone. I thought ho
was klddtn' me along and I wns pretty
"Miss Wilkens Was Sleeping Like a
Baby."
I
sore by that time. I makes a dive
through the winder with Joe close
behind me, but that masked Jerry
hud disiippenwtl like he always does.
', "We did the. best we could, chief,
.im' y"u atiffht to know It ain't no
cinch to round up the Lnughln' Mnsk.
i Well as I was sjtyln', he made a
clean getawny and me and Joe decid
ed to tnfce a look through the house
to make sure be was only strlugin'
us. We went up them front stairs
like a couple of gum-shoe artists an'
then we seen somethln' waa wrong.
The door of the room whore Miss
Wllkens sleeps stood open a little way
and I cuught the glim of n flashlight
near where she keeps her jewel case.
I shoved my hand Just Inside the door
and pushed the light button. And
there we was face to face with a
couple of the most surprised and
toughest looklu' crooks that I ever
met up with. Miss Wllkens was lyln
there In the bed sleepin' like a baby."
"Them two housebrenkln' ngents of
Legar's was as full of Aunt as a cou
ple of Kilkenny cots. They whipped
out their guns, and one of them fleshed
me In the shoulder, while the other
fetched Joe a crack over the head
Suit put him to sleep for a minute. By
the time Miss Wllkens had got her
eyes open an' let out a scared screech
they wns through the winder and
cllmbin' down the latticework."
'JWalt a minute, Jenkins," Captain
Brackett Interrupted. "Your story
may be very Interesting, but what has
this part of It got to do with the
Laughing Mask?"
"I wns Just comln" to that," his sub
ordinate replied in a somewhat ag
grieved tone. "We got out the front
door Just as the thugs was makln"
tracks for a racln' car they had hid
den off to one side of the road. Old
man Parker tried to stop 'cm, but he
got a wallop on the Jaw that knocked
him stiff. They Jumps into the car
and sends her oft with the self-starter.
We thought they was gone all right,
when that automobile stops up with a
Jerk that pretty near put them motor
bandits over the glass front. We was
; Johnny on the spot then, an' wo col
lared our men m a nurry. An say,
what do yon think put the kibosh on
that Joy ride getaway?"
"The thing that brought them
crooks to a standstill was a rope as
thick as my arm, with one end tied
to ji10 roar nxi0 of the automobile
"i didn't know you wanted me to
begin backwards," he said In milled
tones. "I've got somethln worth
tnlkln' about all right, if you'll give
me a chance to tell It."
"Please tell us everything thnt hap
pened, Jenkins," Margery Interposed
"Well, it certainly was some scrap,
Miss Golden," answered the thief
catcher, addressing himself exclusive
ly to the diplomatic girl, "an' the
strangest part of the whole thing hap
pened after I got the bracelets on
them crooks and left Joe to watch
them, while I went up to the house to
sue If anything wns mlssln'."
"Just as I reached tho house," ho
quickly resumed, "the moon broke
through the clouds nn' I stood lookln'
Into the garden, for I had n hunch
that one-armed desperado might he
mll(,ltl. nniuml to superintend
that
job his men tried to pull off. Then,
nil at once, 1 seen Miss Wllkens,
drowsed in a kind of lace wrapper,
standln' like a ghost down nt the fur
ther end of the garden. An' she
wasn't alone by a long shot. Tnlkln'
to her, free and easy as If he'd known
,, .... iif timt daredevil.
I-nl,in' Mnsk. I felt sort of obliged
t0 ,lm for tlppin' me ol'C about Lu-
Kal..g second-story workers, but 1
;npw yfm was anxious to have a little
(1ut m, ;,lm, so I commences to
nrms an' conimences to kiss her like a
happy bridegroom. An' she keeps
comln' right back for more. I wns
thnt surprised I must have let my
foot down heavy, for they broke apart
and he goes through the hedge like a
shot. When I comes up on the run
v. x.na AnW Aft ca Wlllona on whan
I told hnr sho was hnrhorin a rutin
wanted by tho Inw, she froze me up j
Willi H IIHUKULJ ntuic.
You must have been drlnkln'. of -
fleer,' sho says. 'I Just came out for a
minute to calm my nerves after all
that excitement nn' the only person
I've seen Is an extremely rude police
mnn.'
"I don't believe a word of tlie last
part of your story," Margery cried In
a voice perilously close to tears. i
.n..t. nn ttw.m nlr.li! nrntt'lfrs Mki
i-uiuii . p,--- i - 0 , , , , H .. tin-null her litier
. an oni io, ,.. ,. , . iM(.e ,,, ,, un() wh . rnnd linn snorny nirerwnni eane io a
of sparrows. I had covered abou , , llv, 'Ulmle her way toward . "1' " "t"" "ay back of the steep
; half the distance when hat masked ; whlu..nire.l mansion. Nothing I walled granite quarry. As Legar
Itmneo grabs Miss Wllkens In his, , . ....... I neered over the eilee of the nernen-
don't believe the Laughing Mnsk wos (,mt .lookm' doll for a minute,
promenading about that garden with , ,l011Kh he thinks you are In ter
a strange young woman nt midnight." i Wc ,,,,,, M.,.n his argument,
"We'll settle that when the time i . , . ,, rarrM ,i, ,inv. Fear.
right now young Munley Is the one
thnt needs watchln'. I thought may
be you'd feel like tnkln' me down
where he's stayln' In your car."
Anxious to do anything which might
tend to clear up the harassing doubts
preying upon her mind, Margery Wil
li ugly acquiesced In this plan. A lit
tle later the speedy, gray roadster
containlug the determined police cap
tain and the trouhled-fuced girl-drew
up Just around the bend of the road
beyond the Kicks hoiuesteud, where
David Manley had taken up his abode
since his abrupt departure from the
manor house of his former employer.
Suddenly Margery felt her heurt
quicken as she saw a fuinlllnr figure.
with dejectedly drooping shoulders,
cuttiug across the tielda In the dlrec-
Uou or heven Ouks Hill. The keen-!
eyed officer caught sight of his quarry
at almost the same moment
"There's our mun now," he suld
quickly, "and It's up to us to keep
him In sight every niluute."
Stealthily the slender girl and the ,
burly captain, slipping from cover to '
cover, shadowed the abstracted Man-
ley, who was apparently too occupied
with his thoughts to be at all on his
guard, Ue fluullv reached the sum
mit of the hill and mude straight for
the lone bowlder, where on a previous
occasion the Laughing Mask hud mys
teriously eluded the hotly pursuing
police captain. Ills trailers dodged
Into a neur-by thicket and breathless
ly waited the outcome of this struugo
procedure.
Nor hud they long to wait. A few
tenso moments elapsed after David
Manley disappeared from view behind
the bowlder und then another figure
emerged from In buck of that stone
concealment. The features of the new
comer were shrouded by a yellow and
grotesquely laughing mask.
Through that opening the two shad
owers of the Laughing Musk saw him
advancing toward u rose-mantled suiu
nicrhouse at the end of a shaded
walk. They saw a graceful girl, her
flowerlike face aglow with eager ex
pectation, suddenly emerge from the
suinmeiliou.se uud run to meet him '
wlth outstretched arms. Then as the
two figures met for a moment In n
closo embrace a sharp cry of pent-up
anguish burst from the white Hps of
Margery Golden.
As that soul-racked cry reached his I
ears, the perfidious masker broke from
' -
"They Were as Full or Frgnt as
the embrace of Ids companion and
stood gazln.j In startled surprise In
the direction from which It came. At
that moment n thick-set figure cume
catapulting through the hedge and
bore down upon the Laughing Mask
like a human cannon bull. The exus-
perilled police captain, realizing he
could no longer hope to take his ene-
my by surprise, had staked everything
on this sudden rush. Hut the nimble-
footed fugitive was off like a sprinter
, , , . . , ,. . I ,i, .
trvlng to beat a record, and by the
. i. ., ni n, ,.,i i. hnd
gained a wide leap over his lumbering
pursuer, who shortly gave up the
chase and slowly retraced his steps,
blowing like a winded truck horse.
"This is the second time you've har
bored that criminal," he barked at the
proudly erect young woman who stood
facing Margery Golden, "an' ns an of
ficer of the law 1 give you warning
It will bo worse for you If you don't
tell us where he keeps himself under
cover."
"I shall tell you nothing," answered
the openly delimit girl, "your bully
ing threats do not frighten me In tho
least, und I shall see that your In
sulting conduct Is reported to the
proper authorities."
With this purling shot the unrnf-
of the law but to withdraw from tlie
field of this disastrous verbal battle
,i... ,.r,.en !. c,.iit,i .i.m,.r
hut nlreiiilv. In his somewhat limited
...., ,.f mental activity, he had de-
vised a new scheme for trapping tho
, ni!1squerader, whose Imincdl-
1 '
ate capture he was more grimly de
termined upon than ever.
To his surprise Margery Golden
, I11,if,.i hf,ll, iif
, '.,,,,.1, ne chosen for her
the part
to play In the consummation of this
scheme, which savored to a certain
degree of unscrupulous trickery. It
wns only by fanning the smoldering
Jealousy of the sorely tried girl that
he was at last able to wring from her
a reluctunt consent to w no ihoouik.
. .hnn(.BM -,. i, ,vn't leave
Ing that his hesitating confederate
might exercise her woman's prerogn-
tivc of suddenly changing her mind,
the w!v strategist Immediately put
Mi
the first part of his plan Into execu
tion. He went to the small mahogany
writing desk standing In one corner
of the gunroom uud busied himself
In clumsily guiding the pen held In
his thick fingers over a half-sheet of
notepnper.
"This ought to do the trick If any
thing will," he complacently an
nounced, swinging about In his chair
after a few moments of laborious ef
fort, "now let's get this thing straight.
I've signed Legar's name to this here
Mllydoo, and it's Just about the way
he'd have written It himself. It's ad'
dressed to Dutch Frank in New York,
and It says Lcgar has rigged up a
plant to decoy you down to Whnrton'i
Quarry at four o'clock this after
noon, an' he wants a couplo of his
strong-arm men sent right out to help
pull off the ubdtictln' Job, and carry
you back to the city. Now we'll take
this fake messago out to that hlg rock
where we've seen the Laughing Mask
hangln' aroun' an' drop It In plain
sight, kind of careless like, as though
It hud slipped out of Legar's pocket.
Then' If our man comes along an' he
ain't too much taken up with his new
lady friend, he's pretty likely to swal
low this bait, hook an' sinker, an' If
he goes down to Wharton's quurry at
four o'clock this afternoon to give you
a hand like he used to do he's goln'
to get the biggest surprise party of
his life."
When the stocky captain of police
having "planted" his forged decoy In
a conspicuous spot nenr the lone
bowlder, returned to the waiting
girl In the low-slung car, his fuce
was unmistakably stumped with self
satisfaction. The jubilant police officer might
have lost some of his confidence In
the success of his plan hnd he known
that from behind a sheltering thicket
two pairs of evil eyes had watched
his every movement from the time I
the gray car had stopped by the road-
side.
Now that the coast was clear
there : emerged from that thicket a
man with a wolfish, scar-marked face,
who stood waiting while his blond
lieutenant retrieved the white slip of
paper Intended to entrap the Laugh-
Ing Mask. Hut scarcely had these
5 i L&Ji
SUV -ym. 3,
4 i
0
" isajt's '":i'V'vr.'wirWf wv'
i- Vi -fc f, M) V
a Coupie or miKenny Cats.-
repellent lnwhrenkcrs left their cover,
wiK,n the thicket wns again occupied
uy n stenlthily moving figure,
j rj.10 newcomer, straining to over-:
, lem. the conversation between Jules
j L(1),Mr un(i iintch Frank, wore that
, fnnllir nlvj derisive musk of yellow,
t .. n jrp t0 g(,t our nms,MI
, fri(,m, ()mvn to Wharton's quarry,
, wlR,1.0 UlH ,.,, ,s vMUng to gther
; n)m ll( sal(1 jCgiir
,,,'., , ., . ,
I haven't got any love for that med-
I t ,
1 dUng masker, but this Is too good u
ehnnee to miss. I've got some heav
ier scores than Ills to settle, and right
now is tlie time to do It."
Willi a cold chill of apprehension
the Laughing Musk remembered lie
had no method of reaching the dis
tnnt quarry except Jiy foot, and long
before lie could hope to reach his
destination I.egnr would have had
ample time to curry out Ills fiendish
purpose. But anything was better
than this maddening Inaction, and
although realizing the futility of his
course he raced frantically along the
road through the dust clouds raised
by the black automobile, fast disap
pearing In the distance.
That swiftly moving conveyance
beiii'lug Lenr und his vicious follow
er iiii'iu'tl o!T Into n seldom used wood
j dlcular cliff, from which great blocks
I "'" u.iu ..... , "-',
powerful explosives, nn evil smile of '
triumph distorted his scar-furrowed
I face. For Just beneath him were the
i "B11""1 o( I,,,r"y P,,,lc! captain and
two of his men crouching behind
1 i . t .. i
pondernus upright slab of granite.
Standing n little apart from the others
wns tlie sober-fneed daughter of his
long-liated enemy.
De saw the authoritative oftlccr mo
tion the dejected girl Into the hiding
place, nnd as with apparent reluct-
nce she obeyed this mute signal tlie
Iron-clawed spy drew back from the foreigner advanced a few steps be-cliff-edge
and rejoined his companion, I yond tlie shelter of his doorway In
who was waiting by the nutomoblle. 1 order to point out the proper dlrec
"Tliey're down there, all right." "nn ln';h ""n ,hp,r0 "e,t vp ',0
Legur savagely exulted, In response , vngo-fuced gangster,
to the questioning look of Dutch nl" s"'! '"".T ? a , ,
Frank, "and when wo blow out the murdcrous-looklng black jack. Ridden
.hie of that cliff thev are mint to bludgeon descended with ter-
get rrnshed like rats In a trap."
"Then we can croak that bunch
whenever you're rendy, gov'nor." an
saercil the blond gunman, with the
red lust of murder lu his eyes. "I had
ucscenaea witn terrmc impact
a look aroun', an' the switch cxplod
In' the big blast is In that shanty Just'
up the way. I seen it wbeu I took a;
peek In the winder. That dago watch-
man Is slttln' right over It, but I've:
got somethlu' here that ought to put
him to sleep for a while."
He produced from one of his pock-,
ets a heavy bluckjack, and this ef
fective method of disposing of the
quurry guard meeting with Legar's
upproval, the two conspirators moved
In the direction of the nearby shanty.
But even at that moment fate or-
. ' ... ' ' , i , ,.. .
uul'ui ...lieu i.-n.ieu i. .ii.o
proposed victims, crouching at tho
foot of that great wall of granite, a
barely possible chance for their lives.
And In that unexpected Incident tho
Laughing Mask took the lending part.
As, completely exhausted from his
first burst of speed, ho stumbled fnl
teringly nlong tho dust-choking road
townrd Wharton's qunrry, he had al
most relinquished hope of being In
time to warn flio Imperiled girl, whoso
snlf-nppolnted protector he hud been.
Then Laughing Mask In his despair
heard the bourse end repented cough
ing of nn nutoniobllo horn ns the im
patient driver of a car rapidly ap
proaching from behind signaled for
a cleiir road. But instead of heed
ing Ihose raucous notes of warning
Hie Laughing .Mask swung about nnd,
planting himself In the middle of tho
highway, resolutely faced the oncom
ing automobile. With n sudden grind
ing of brakes (he surprised and
highly Incensed driver of that car
brought It to a Jarring stop within
a few scant feet of the determined
figure disputing Us passage. As the
mini at tlie steering wheel caught
sight of the yellow musk covering tho
fu"e of that flguro ho quickly fished
under the sent and produced n heavy
wrench.
"You con't pull this hold-up stuff
on me and get away with It," he
growled angrily.
"I'm not holding you up," came the
quick answer, "but I've got to get to
the stone quarry down the road and
get there In a hurry. It's a mutter of
life and death I"
"I don't fall for that hunk," the
driver retorted sharply; "get there
If you want to, hut not In this car."
The Laughing Mask realized every
second wus precious and that the
other obstinately believed him n high
way robber.
"Perhaps this will help persundo
you to change your mind." he cried
us he drew a black automatic and
sprang upon tlie running bonrd of the
automobile. Thrusting Die muzzle of
tlie revolver against the startled man.
ho rapped out In tones that precluded
further argument, "Now drive like the
devil for Wharton's quarry or I'll emp
ty this gun Into you I"
There wns no disputing that Insist
ently prodding revolver, nnd the car
shot forward as the overawed driver
realized tho desperate man in the
mnsk meant business. It would be
but n matter of a few moments be
fore that speeding, swaying car cov
ered the remaining distance, but even
In that brief lapse of time Jules Legar
might succeed In currying out his ter
rible plan of revenue, For nt that
Instant the scarred outlaw knocked
shnrply on the sagging door of the
watchman s shanty with his iron hook
, ,, nill(,h Knink slipped out of
. ... 1 '.,
U1 ..i..t.i ,., ol,1 P H. 1,1 it.
; " . "'' ' " ' , ' T1, ' J ,
sound of shuffling feet nnd then the
Italian pushed open tho door and
stood Interrogatively blinking nt his
sinister caller.
"I'm on my wny back to town,"
Legar said In n smooth voice, "nnd
somehow I got swltchwl off the main
rond. I thought maybe you could set
me straight."
As the obliging and unsuspecting
rifle Inipnct on the wntchmnn's skull,
sending him heavily to the ground, swer nn reiinqtusneo mnt snit, wmte
where he Iny Inert nnd motionless. hand and ran up the road In the op
As Dutch Frank stood with a cruel poslte direction from that tnken by
smile surveying the result of his his pursuers,
handiwork Legur Hepped over the (TO BIS CONTINUED.)
on tne watchman's skull. i i
still form as Indifferently as though.
It had been a fallen tree-trunk. Then,
as he was about to enter the shanty,
he paused for a moment on the thresh
old und flung a quick look over hl
shoulder. What ho saw brought aj
suurling execration to his lips, fori
tearing down tho precipitous hill-!
side townrd the quarry came an auto-,
mobile driven nt a denth-courtlngpnco.
On tho runniug-bnard of that madly
lurching cur precurlously clung a man
weurlng a yellow mask. As In a
swirling cloud of dust the enr struck
the foot of the hill that masked fig
ure leaped wide to the side of Hie
road aud, miraculously retaining hla
footing, dashed Into tho quarry, shout
ing frantic warnings us he came, !
Then It was thnt Lognr realized hla
prey would escape him unless ho act
ed without the loss of n second. He
swung about and darted through the
j door of tho shanty townrd the pump-
like electrical contrivance from which
creeping wire tendrils extended to the
mined cliff. But before his lean
fingers could Jam down tho handle
and niako the connection which would
produco tlie Jumping bluo spnrk of
deadly power Margery Golden and
the astounded detectives had leaped
from their plnce of concealment nnd
hastily advanced to meet the masked
fugitive for whom they had been
lying In wait.
"Legar I" ho panted brokenly.
"Legar Is here he's firing n blast
half (lie cliff will fall hurry hurry
In God's name; hurry I"
Ifls words and manner cnrrled In
stant and fearsome conviction, nnd
that startled group about him, madly
plunging for safety, barely reached
tho highway when a denfenlng, rever
berating rnnr split the air and rocked
the very ground under their feet
For a moment the little group stood
In spellbound silence, gripped by the
suddenness of that mighty convul
sion, and shaken by their own nenr
approach to death. Then ns the fine
dust clouds accompanying the chaotic
upheaval gradually settled It came to
the scattered sense of tho ungrateful
police captain that the much-wanted
Laughing Mask was standing close be
side him. With a quick movement he
clutched the wrist of that elusive fugi
tive In bis Rtronir stllbhv fingers.
"I've got you this lime," he yelled
out In triumphant tones.
But Instead of replying to thin
somewhat premature statement the
masked prisoner mnilo a quick nnd
dexterous tripping movement with his
foot, nt the same time giving hla
red-faced captor a violent shove thnt
sent him ludicrously sprawling nn his
back. Then he darted Into the quarry,
threading his way amid the great piles
of rock, with the police captain, who
had now recovered his equilibrium,
nnd the two detectives In full cry at
his heels.
Margery Golden breathlessly await
ed the outcome of that chase, for sho
realized that If this man, who hnd
Just saved her from a terrible death,
was captured she would ho respon
sible In large measure. The running
figure's were lost to sight, but pres
ently the Lnnghlng Mask broke from
the cover of n great rectangular rock
and, dashing past her to the opposite
side of the road, threw himself face
downwnrd among the sheltering
bushes. The next moment his pursuers
emerged from behind tho rock nnd
I -A x.
,., ,n.inr1lnrr inu'tirrl ITiircrorv
i r ' '
"Which wny did he go?" the gasp
ing police officer demanded of fhe girl
who held the fate of the Laughing
Musk In her hands. After an almost
Imperceptible hesitation, she pointed
silently townrd tho bend of the rond.
Hardly hnd the detectives, trolling
this fake scent nt top speed, disap
peared around the turn than there
slipped out of the bushes a masked
figure bearing evident traces of ex
haustion. Slowly he approached the
girl. Into whose eyes crept a look of
stern reproach. Taking her hand he
raised It tenderly to his lips.
"Won't you try to believe In me
Just a little while longer?" he asked
P n low. nleading tone.
Then without waiting for her an-