8 THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAND, DECEMBER lO, 1916. .- : . r- ""V- r..-. "- 1 " ' " " ' ' ' ... ... - . . ; I Dramatlied and produced by the Vltagraph Company from the popular novel of the same name by C. N. and A. M. Williamson. Everything you read here today you can Bee this week at leading motion-picture theaters In vivid motion pictures with Earle Will lams as Christopher Race and Miss Zena Keefe as Sidney Chester. Next week another story and new pictures. (Copyright. 1916, by" the Star Company. AH foreign rights re served.) CHAPTER IX. The Gold Cigarette Case. CHRISTOPHER RACE, Motorist. London," was scrawled In pencil, and In an uneducated hand, on -a common envelope; that, andt nothing more: yet the powers that "be In the postoffice Viad sent It to him without delay. Tliis was a tribute to hia fame, but it was not enlightening. In the common envelope was a half fiheet of thick andn creamy parchment paper, with a monogram In pale blue nd silver; a pretty monogram, but so intricate, consisting, as it did, of three letters, as to be almost impossible for itti uninitiated person to decipher. On this half-sheet, written In. a firm, and romewhat original hand. wMch might be that of a man or a woman, were two sentences and part of another. "Dear. Sir: I have heard of you and your car, and saw photograpjs of both. 1 know that you are a gentleman, and ran be. trusted. I hope very much that you are free and can come here by Thursday, if possible, early in the morning, as it is a matter of life and death to me, to get away " Here the letter broke off. giving no clue to the nature or t:ie errand, or to the whereabouts of the nameless writer. But Christopher was able to make out the postmark. The scrawled envelope bad been sent out from Stoke d'Est court. in Warwickshire. The handbook told him that Stoke id'Estcourt waa a small but interesting hamlet, situated about three miles from a railway station. The church was celebrated for its brasses and a Norman font. The 16th century inn, still un spoiled, attracted artists. There were several fine old houses in the village and on the outskirts, also a number of picturesque cottages; and tourists were advised to visit the ruins of a castle in the neighborhood. This description encouraged Chris topher in th somewhite wild idea that, by going to Stoke d'Estcourt and mak ing inquiries, he might be able to find out who had sent him the unfinished letter. His journey was smooth and unevent ful, and it was still early in the murky evening when the blazing rays of his lamps illuminated the quaint front of the old inn. of which he had read, in the guide book. The first thing he did was' to teuf teuf conspicuously to the postoffice, where he inquired if there were any letters for Mr. Christopher Race. But nothing of interest was forwarded; and nobody at Stoke d'Estcourt had taken this means of communicating for the second time with the owner of Scar let Runner. "Do you ever get letters here for anyone with the initiate V. L. H.?" he ventured to ask of the postmistress. who was too pretty and coquettish to- nub such a polite and good-looking man, even if he put eccentric questions. No, so far as the young woman could remember, none of her "regular people" had such Initials. As for the transient folk, she could not pretend to say. Baffled, as if he had been the villain of the piece. Christopher went out of the postoffice with only one card left In the game to play. He determined to drive Scarlet Runner slowly, tempting ly, through every street of the village, end past the gates of the great houses and even farms of the surrounding country, weaving the car through from road to road as his map made possible. Here and there he caused his siren to discourse snatches from the opera of "La Traviata"; but when he came in sight of the castle he forgot to play his own accompaniment, even forgot for a few moments the business which had brought him to Stoke d'Estcourt. It really was a very fine and striking ruin. . Christopher drove very slowly to take in its full magnificence, and final ly stopped Scarlet Runner in the shad ow of the dark, towering walls, though he did not stop her engine. Looking up from his seat in the gently purring car, the huge Norman keep loomed above him. From this point of view the massive shape of the castle showed no appearance of decay; and a Christopher's lively imagination pictured moving figures in quaint cofc tumes and gleaming armor, suddenly there was framed in a small, ivy-draped window a face as lovely as any for which a knight of old ever did battle. A girl was gazing down at him a jrirl whose yellow-brown hair was bright- gold against a background of darkness. Christopher had Just time to catch an impression of. a beautiful face, white and large eyed with terror or some other emotion strange for a peaceful Engfsh morning, and then an extraordinary thing happened. The large eyes met his In appeal; the lips opened without speaking; a hand and arm were thrust through the aperture. , and something small. that glittered as i it fell was thrown to him. The thing, whatever It was, was ' flung with a woman's aim, and instead of reaching Its intended destination landed noiselessly in a clump of dead i grasses and nettles by the roadside. I Instantly Christopher was out of the ; car. Without minding the nettles : sting, he thrust his hand and arm deep among rough stems and prickly leaves. ' coming almost Immediately upon the object of his search, which his touch told him must be a metal cardcase or cigarette case. Before his eyes had a . chance to inform him further, a low, Inarticulate cry from the window made ! him, still stooping over the bed of net ties, lift his head to look up once more, i The girk silent after the one faint j sound which had drawn his eyes to her again, was signing to him eagerly to J mount and ride away. Astonisnea, out ready to obey a lady's command no matter how strange. Christopher sprang into the quivering car. ana taking off the brakes put on aeed wnlcn sent Scarlet Runner flying eiong me road like a red arrow. It was not until the first turn, when the castle towers were hidden from sight by an intervening hill, that Race slackened the car's pace and looked at the thing which the girl had thrown to him. Then he saw that it was very handsome though small cigarette rase, made rather flat to avoid bulg lng out the pocket which held it, and ornamented with the letters N." in diamonds. There was one peculiarity which caused "Christopher to Jump at the conclusion that the thing had been made by special order and for a lady, The inner part of the case was entirely covered on one side with a mirror set into the gold and surrounded by .frame of tiny brilliants, thus leaving place for cigarettes on the opposite side only. The . fall had cracked the gla.s4 across and the loose bits would have fallen out If Christopher had not closed up the case, fastening It with a snap. He then put the dainty little affair into his pocket and drove along his Intended route in almost hopeless quest or "V. L. H. Christopher was Inclined to believe that her act. whatever Its meaning, bad been one e sheer, desperation that she had chosen a course because she could see no, other. She was so beautiful, so altogether interesting, that Christopher would gladly have seized upon the theory that she was "V. L. H.," because if that were so she imist'have known of him and summoned him. But common sense if common sense had any place here did not support the theory. "V. L. H" who had wished to make use of Scarlet Runner for a "matter of life or death," would hardly have sent Scarlet Runner Instantly away out of her sight. In the circumstances Christopher felt constrained for . the sake of V. L. H. to carry out his original intentions. But he made his round of the roads and returned to the village by a dif- ieient way, as ne had planned; and no one had come forward to claim his services, to say: "It was I who wrote to you. . I am glad that you are here." Nevertheless, Christopher had no thought of leaving the neighborhood. There were two mysteries instead of one to be puzzled into clearness now. He had kept on his room at the inn. and when he had put away Scarlet Runner he shut himself up for another) look at the cigarette case. Opening it. the broken pieces of glass fell out. and he saw what he had not guessed at bp fore. The mirror . concealed a false back to the case. and hidden there he found a photograph of a young man. He was an exceedingly good-looking young man, with a strong, clever face softened by the dreamy arch of the eyebrows, over fine dark eyes. And between the photograph and the thin strip of gold which held it in place was a slip of paper on which were written close together and all in cap itals, the letters TVBXCHTAY. A key to a cipher, perhaps." Chris topher said to himself. Was he in tended to pluck out its secret, and profit by what it taught him? He could not tell. He decided, as the person from whom the girl wished to conceal the cigarette case might have seen a fleeing motor car, that it would be well for her sake to appear on the scene next time In the guise of an ordinary tourist. He therefore exchanged his chauffeur's cap for one of tweed, which matched his clothes, and went out on foot with out nis motor coat. In half an hour he had reached the castle, and was knocking at' the door of a cottage built up against one of the half fallen walls. This was the dwelling of the caretaker whose busi ness in life it was to guard the ruins from vandals and to show visitors about. He was obliged to lift the knocker two or three times before anyone an swered, though there was a faint stir ring inside the house and he fancied that he heard suppressed voices. Pres ently the door opened, and an old woman appeared. She was small and bent, though strong looking, with hard features and singularly bright eyes that glittered piercingly out of a yel low network of wrinkles. Christopher said civilly that he- had come to visit the castle and hoped that ne had not chosen hour when It was not to be seen by the public. The old woman, who seemed somewhat ae-i- tated, though these requests must have punctuated the hours of her daily life for years, replied that the guardian, her husband, had had an accident and was in v. 'Hal. but that she would take the gentleman .round. She then unhooked an enormous key from a nail on the wall, and led the way out-of doors. To enter the ruins one passed under a portcullis, v and so on up a gentle slope between thick, broken walls. At the end of this passage an ugly modern door had replaced the old one long ago destroyed; and following his guide. t-nristopner found himself In the castle. j.ney went irom room to room, many or which were open to the sky, with mere stony suggestions of what tne upper stories had been: but, as Chris topher had been led by his late ad venture to expect, the keep was in better state of preservation than the rest. He asked no questions; but go ing up a steep stone stairway which would lead, he knew, to a certain win dow, his heart began to beat rather more quickly than usual. He hoped, and more than half believed, that he would find a beautiful girl waiting for him at the top of the steps; but lie found stone walls, and emptiness; a silent place where nothing moved save the wandering sprays of ivy wnich peered and beckoned at the window where she had been. Deeply disappointed. " Christopher walked about pretending to be inter ested in the thickness of the walls. The old woman stood still, watching him' as he went to the window and looked out. Turning quickly, he caught. or fancied that he caught, a cynical expression on the dried-apple face. "I saw a young lady looking out of the window this morniiLtf,. wiioaa X took to be an artist," said Christopher, growing impatient. "Very pretty, with yellowish-brown hair and dark eyes might have been brown or violet. - I think she had on a dark blue dr?ss." "You must have been mistaken, sir," replied the old woman. "I didn't bring any such young lady inhls morning." Christopher asked no more leading questions, but meekly allowed himself to be shown the usual things and tojd the usual legends. Then he gave the old woman the usual fee, with the usual extra tip. and took his leave. But, turning to glance back at the guardian's cottage, when the door was shut he saw his late guide at the win dow, peering out. Behind her stood a mant looking over the stooping shoul der; and though, as Christopher's eyes met his he moved away and was gone in an instant. Race caught a clear enough impression to feel that he would recognize the face again. It was that of a man passing beyond middle age. The eyes and skin were singularly dark in contrast to thick white hair, and - there was something peculiar Christopher had not time to see clearly what about the prominent nose. Dissatisfied with the result of his quest, he resolved to return to the cas tle after dark and linger about in the hope that the girl might return under cover of dusk to demand her property and explain her strange manner of dis posing of It. Meanwhile, however, he had half the day to get through, and, pave for such interludes as meals, noth ing to do with it except to make in quiries concerning the girl. Describing her, he questioned the landlord at the inn, and afterward the coquetteish young woman at the post office, but neither the one nor the other could tell him anything, and when after nightfall he groped his way through a thick mist towards the castle ruins, he had still no' clew which might help him to find the lady of the cigar ette case. Sauntering as if aimlessly along the road dominated by the vast ruins. Christopher began softly to whistle the air from "La Travata." which Scarlet Runner's new siren played. It must have been those musical notes, heard from a distance, which had drawn the girl to the keep window before he ar rived beneath in the car. If she remembered and recognized them now she would know what they meant, as they fluted a message out of the night. Again he whistled the same air, while he lighted a cigarette which should also have its special meaning for the girl If she were near, as well as giving her a hint of his where abouts. Perhaps she wanted a reassuring EARLY PIONEERS OF OLD OREGON BRAVELY FACE INNUMERABLE HARDSHIPS AT START Continued From Page 7.) steadily voted the Canadians. . Le Bre ton's quick eye took in the numbers. We can risk it. Let us divide ana count," he said. I second the motion: ' cried vvmiam Cray. Majority Is Only Two. All hesitated when Jo Meek, the mountain man. stepping outside the crowd, swifhg his hat in air and sound ed the war-whoop: "Divide! Divide! Who's for a divide? All in favor of the American flag fol low me!" Every American stepped out behind the stanch Virginian. A few Canadians swayed, hesitated, then .followed the American side. Kirty-two against ou lined up for the Stars and Stripes. "Three cheers for- our side!" cried Jo Meek, and with a will over French Prairie rolled one long, loud shout for America. No bells were Tang, No paeans sung. N'o banners (lung No booming cannon pealed, but Oregon was ours. The opposition, disconcerted, with drew Into the fence corners, watched proceedings for a while, then, mount ing their Indian ponies, cantered slow ly homeward, ruminating on the per formances of these self-guided Amer icans. "And as solemn about it, too, as if it were Judgment day." said one who returned to Fort Vancouver. No buiiets sped. No blood wa shed. No fallen dead Marked that fair battle-field. The committee of 12 reported for or ganization and a provisional Legisla ture. Eight days later the Legisla ture elected on Champoeg sod held its first meeting at Oregon City. The Methodist mission at the falls fltT tin it old rmnarv for thei n.-- cooimodation.. Summoned-by the howl glimpse of his face before speaking. Well, she should have it. He held up the lighted wax match to the cigarette until its flame began to burn down. Then, as it flared up before the end, suddenly there came to his ears a hiss, sharp and wicked as a snake's, and at the same instant he was conscious of a stinging pain In his left arm. Away went match and ' cigarette, their sparks drowned in the wet grass. and Christopher, surprised and pricked io anger, realized mat ne had been shot at with an airgun. Suspecting no lurk ing malice, he had calmly made him self a target for someone to pot at, and with a quick desire for vengeance he started to run in the direction whence the first rustling had pro ceeded. A shadow loomed ahead. Christopher sprang at it, only to seize the beetling branches of a young larch or wew tree, and at the same time to receive a blow on the shoulder from behind a sharp, unexpected blow, which sent him pitch ing forward. Before he could recover his balance, the ground seemed to van ish from under his feet, and he plunged with a reat splash into the stagnant water of the moat. For a few seconds he floundered clumsily, then got to his feet for the water, thouh Ice-cold, was not deep. By groping he came upon a broken place In the moat wall, where he could get foothold and handhold of a pre carious kind. After a slip or two he succeeded in climbing out. and despite the danger of being shot at again, de voted his attention to ridding himself of as many weeds and as much loose mud as possible. The person who had played him these two sorry tricks, one upon the other, had probably exhausted his forces for the moment. In any case, no further attack was made, and after a walk which restored his circu lation, if not - his temper, Christopher regained the inn. The wound in the arm was not seri ous, and Christopher, determined to keep his own counsel, attended to it unaided But he could not help re fleeting that It had perhaps been rather a close, shave for him. That noiseless airgun need only to have been a little better aimed to have reached his heart, instead of inflicting some slight dam age on his left arm. ' Christopher began to see that this affair was of a far more serious and complicated nature than he had sup posed at first, even when Its mystery had most puzzled him. In hia own room at the inn he took out the ciga rette case and considered It with in terest, the while he rid himself of his soaked clothes. Certainly the little gold box waa of great value to someone. of bears and wolves and panthers and the fiercer howl of Indians, they came. Here, in the granary-capltol, beside the sounding falls, beneath the whis pering firs, on the shores of the Far ther Ocean, gravely as of old the Con tinental Congress, Oregon's first Legis lature reared anew the institutions of their sires. The preamble of that pioneer con stitution declared: "That we, the peo ple of Oregon Territory for the pur poses of mutual protection and to se cure peace and prosperity among our selves, agree to adopt the following laws and regulations until such time as the United States of America shall extend their Jurisdiction over us." People Ratify Document. On July 5. 1843. the precious docu ment was presented to the people for ratification. On July 4 they began to gather at old Champoeg. By boat they came, on foot and horseback, from Oregon City and upper Willamette and from far-off Clatsop Plains. Almost all the male population of Oregon came and camped upon the ground to vote upon the charter of their liberties. The French men came, too, so that on July S the largest assembly of white men that had ever gathered In Oregon was called, to order. It was a New England meeting transferred to Pacific shores. A lively discussion followed the reading of the legislative report. "A Governor or no Governor" was the bitch in proceedings. Again Gray came to the rescue with a ringing speech for no Governor. A vote was taken and the constitution adopted. Many of the move independent French settlers Joined in the deliberations on this day and voted for ratification. All classes contributed to the expense of the new Government. And thus, without a Governor, without a treas ury and with but one law booka copy f the Iowa Code that someone had chanced to bring across tlie plain a value far beyond its intrinsic worth, in spite of -Asight and sparkling dia monds. Was it for the concealed pho torgaph. or the slip of paper with the queer cipher, that someone had lain in wait to shoot or drown him? It was after 9 when he waked again, and he was much annoyed with himself for wasting time in bed, when he might have been better employed la. playing detective. During the long, wakeful hours of the night he had planned, when day came, to find out' something about the man wno had peered at mm through the cottage window, over the old caretaker's shoulder. sut wnen. by his request, a London newspaper and breakfast were brouht to ..is room, a paragraph in the personal column of the Daily Recorder turned his atten tion in an instant from people cna events at Stoke d'Estcourt. T V: B." stared at him In large black caDltale at the head of that fa mous column. "Whoever can supply in formation as to these letters and those following will be richly rewarded if communicates Box 2001. Daily Recorder offi-o he read with a keen stab of rifir work!" Christopher said to himself. For he did not doubt that he was the person for whose benefit the paragraph had been put In print. He was in a position to supply the wished for information, but he would not sup-i-u- t untfi h could be Bure that the advertiser was the rightful owner of the cigarette case, with such secrets as it contained. Having dressed hastily, be paid bis bill at the inn and departed with Scar let Runner. v.r rmiti to town he concocted a tele gram, which he would not have thought It wise to send from the Stoke d'Est court postoffice, and got it off from a cmnll town where he stopped to lunch. "Should the advertiser wish to hear more of T. V. B., the only way of doing so will be to call 9 o clock tonignt n day) on Christopher Race, who may be able to give information but will accept no reward." This was all, save for the address of his lodgings, number and street. TTin first .thing he did in the morning was to open the Daily Recorder and-j cast his eyes down tne personal col umn. "T. V. B." was conspicuous only In absence: but towards the end of the column appeared something else which caught Christophers attention at glance. "V. L. H. is earnestly implored to communicate Immediately with one who hoped to -meet on Thursday at ad dress V. L. H. knows, ureal anxiety. Can't bear suspense." 1 So. Christopher Race was not the the first American state slept in its cradle on the Pacific. In a short time even the Hudson's Bay Company became reconciled to the new order and some of its members occupied seats in the Oregon Legisla ture. Officers recommended by the committee were all elected, among them the trapper, Jo Meek, for Sheriff. And yet. all -told, there were not 200 Americans west of the Rocky Moun tains. In place of a Governor an executive committee of three was elected to veto bills and execute laws. ' But they soon tired of this and three years later George Abernethy, who had stood so loyally for the Union, .was elected Ore gon's first Governor. Oregon's first statehouse, the old granary-capltol at Oregon City, had a roof of cedar bark and sides of split timber,, suitable for fence rails. Upon the puncheon platform sat the Presi dent. Legislators occupied seats of slab, bark side down, around the room. The secretary kept, his records on a bench of rough, uncovered plank. Here, one day, a law against dueling was passed in haste, to keep two angry im migrants from blowing each other's brains out. Laws were passed against slavery. Some had left the South to get away from slavery. Prohibition was the law of the land, for, with whisky in the country, no man's house was safe against Indian massacre. By the time Whitman came with the Immigration of 1843 1000 men. women and children, 120 wagons and EO00 head of cattle everything was organized and ready. That turned the tide over whelmingly in favor of the United States. As the old 13 colonies exterminated bears and wolves and panthers under bounty to build up Boston. Providence and Pittsburg, so now the first Pacific colony was preparing the way for the then unnamed Saleui, Corvallia. Eu gene and. Portland, only person who had been given rea son to count upon meeting V. L. H. on Thursday! Christopher wished very ardently that he as well as V. L. H. knew the address of the anxious advertiser; but as he did not, and could think of no means of finding it out, he could do nothing to match the pieces of the puzzle together. A Mr. Warren Lockwood wrote from the Laurels. Pleasant avenue, Barnet. saying that friends had recommended Mr. Race and his car. Would Mr. Race be so excessively kind as to drive his Scarlet Runner out to the Laurels, ar riving as near 8 o'clock as he could make convenient? For & week's trip Mr. Lockwood was prepared to offer the round sum of 100 guineas, he stated In a postscript, which also asked for a wire. Taking everything together Christo pher determined that it would be as well, at least, to call at the Laurels, and sent a wire to that effect. Starting from Scarlet Runner's garage at 7. he found the fog so densely thickened that he doubted If he could find the way. Towards Regent's Par the fog lifted slightly, but in Finchley road it set tled again as densely as ever, and he could go a little more than a walking pace. Suddenly, at what seemed to be a corner of the wide country road not far outside Barnet, a voice cried to him. "Scarlet Runner?" . it shouted; and Race, astonished, answered before he had stopped to think: "Yes." Next instant a black figure was sil houetted strangely in the pale haze of the car lamps, and three short sharp reports barked dryly in the night. Someone had fired a revolver at his driving-wheel tires, and two shots had taken effect, for he could feel the car settling down on the deflated inner tubes. Hot with fury at the outrage, Race leaped from his seat to the road way, peering Into the darkness, ting ling to inflict punishment, and reckless of all danger for himself. There was no sound of running footsteps. The scoundrel must be lurking But the thought was cut short abruptly as the breaking of a thread. As he touched ground, something thick and soft was thrown over his head from behind, and twisted, tightly round his neck. Taken by surprise in the heat of his rage, for an instant Christopher lost his breath. He stumbled under the on- slought. staggered, and nearly lost his balance. Hands deftly, swiftly, tore open the buttons of his overcoat, and he knew Instantly with returning pres ence of mind that he had two men to deal with. A fierce upward swing of his right arm was Just in time to prevent the mnn a t Vi f hrk from twisting the hood too 'tightly round his throat. Step ping back heavily on the feet of this fellow, he shot out a left arm like a battering-ram and caught the would be pickpocket squarely in the face. There waa a grunt of pain, and the prying hands fell away from Christo pher's coat. To attempt pursuit In the fog would be useless. Besides, he had seen the face of neither man. Panting from the struggle, he assured himself with some sense of triumph that the cigarette case was still safe in his waistcoat pocket. By the time the car was ready to go on again, he had made up his mind not to pay the call alone, but to take for a companion a member of the local po lice. - Most policemen within motoring radius of London had heard the name of Christopher Race, and he was re ceived favorably at the police station in Barnet. Without telling the story of the cigarette case, he confided to the inspector in charge of the fact that a piece of Jewelry in hie possession was apparently coveted by an unscrupulous stranger. He showed the letter, wlt'i the address of "The - Laurels," which was written, not embossed, and gave an account of what had occurred to him on hia way to keep the appoint ment. "Whoever this man is." said the po liceman, "he thinks more of his reputa tion than he does or getting what he wants from you. thougn ne's evidently keen on that. You can count on The Laurels being watched; but my opinion Is that the hunt won't come back that way. You'll find the wind blowing from some other quarter, an unexpected one, maybe, and my word to you is. consult Scotland Yard.' With this advice etill echoing in his ears. Christopher at last drove Scarlet Runner rapidly back to London, the fog having lifted with a hint of breeze. He was tired and hungry; and, knowing that he would get nothing to eat at his lodgings, when he had put up t.ie car, he went to his club, where refreshment, liquid and solid, was to be had at any hour. Two men sat at a table in a corner, talking earnestly, ane, nearlng him en ter, they- looked up, as If not too pleased to have the room invaded. Both were young, and strangers to Chris topher.'yet the face of one seemed curi ously familiar to him. "Now, where have I seen that good-looking chap be fore, and lately, too?" Race asked him self. Then, suddenly, the answer sprang into his mind. This was the original of the photograph in the gold cigarette case. He took the gold cigarette case from his pocket and laid it on the table. where its diamonds flashed in the light of a red-shaded candle. Three minutes later Its gleam caught the eye of the young man. and Christopher saw his face go through the changes from as tonishment and incredulity to lntensest eagerness. "What will he do now? T' Nv as the question in Christopher's mind. But it was almost Instantly answered. What the young man did was to Jump up, and, on pretense of going to the fireplace to warm his handss. pass close to the table where Race sat. He paused, and Christopher's eyes and his met. His were honest eyes, as well as handsome ones, and any doubt that might have crept into Race's mind concerning the original of the photograph died in a second.-' "You will think' It very strange." said the young man, "but I must beg you to tell me how you got that cigarette case." , "I don't think it strange," returned Christopher. "When I recognized your face, I put the case there. I hoping you'd ask me that question. - I'll answer it with the greatest pleasure, and there are also some questions I trust you'll answer me." The other man got up and came across the room. "You're Mr. Race, aren't you?" he asked. Christopher assented, and added that he had Just learned that the other was Fergus O'Brien, of Scotland Yard. , "This Is my friend Indeed, my dis tant relative Mr. Maurice Naylor," said O'Brien.- "M. N!" exclaimed Christopher Im pulsively. "Exactly. We were speaking of that cigarette case, when you showed in." "Can you also tell me who is V. L. H.?" She Is Violet Hardeastle. the niece of the man who probably paid this room a visit while you were out. She didn't give you the cigarette case?" "Perhaps, if I tell you how I got the cigarette case, it will help, you both." said Christopher. And then, beginning with the unfinished letter, he gave them the whole history" of the affair, ending with the episode in Barnet. "Certainly it's Hardcastle who has planned it all; if he hasn't done it all!" exclaimed Naylor. Til bet it was he who grabbed you from behind tonight. He's as big a coward as a scoundrel, though O'Brien was saying that I'll have difficulty In proving him a vil lain." "He's his niece's guardian." explained Naylor. "Brother of her dead father, who thought everything of him. But Violet's mother was an American, and she never liked the man never trusted htm. The money was all hers, but he's got a lot of it in his hands somehow against the mother's wish. I fancy and naturally he doesn't want Violet to marry, as by her father's will he has charge of her affairs until she does. He had her at school in Paris till she was 20, to keep her out of the way of men: but I'm attached to the Em bassy there, and we met. I fell in love with her at sight who wouldn't? and when Hardcastle heard what had hap pened, he came and carried her off at at once. He was clever enough, though, to stop me from making a row by saying he'd inquire about me, and If all was well, would allow the engagement to go on. Meanwhile Violet was to stop with him in some country house he was taking. Hardcastle promised to write, and promised that if every thing went as he expected. Violet should, too. He'd let me know the ad dress and all that. Well, I heard nothing. I found out his office ad dress, and wrote several times. No answer. Just then I couldn't get leave, which was a horrid bother; but after a fortnight of worry and suspense, I re ceived a letter from Violet, evidently written in great haste. Here it is. You shall see it. Mr. Race." From an inner pocket Naylor pro duced a half-sheet of paper, at sight of which Race had to restrain- an excla mation, for it exactly matched the one which he himself possessed: and the writing which covered It was the same as that in the letter over which he had so often puzzled. "Dearest Maurice." he read, "this is lr the greatest haste. I've run away from my uncle's house escaped, I might call it; for, since a dreadful cene we had. I've been practically a prisoner. I've been planning this for days, but have only Just succeeded. I ve got to a farmhouse not far from the village, giving a different name, and making up a stupid story about myself, but it answers very well, for they're keeping me as a lodger for a night or two. Really. I'm In hiding here, for I daren't leave the house lest my uncle or that hateful, wicked old valet of his you saw in Paris, pounce down on me like hawks and carry me back, again. I tell you, dearest, I'm afraid of them both. I don't know what they mayn't do. and all because of my money. I'm sure uncle must have done something dishonest with it. Anyway, he came to me one night and said that he knew my mother had left me a great deal which had never come into his hands; that he'd got Informa tion about there being valuable bonds in a bank in New York of which he ought to have known. I admitted that it was true, and that dear mother had given me a letter about the bonds Just before she died, saying that they were never to be put In his charge. He said he must have them, that he was in difficulties, but this extra money would tide him over, and he would make It all right afterwards. He begged and pleaded so that I began to give him the letters of the combination-lock, and had got as far as TVB when it seemed exactly as if mother's voice spoke in my ear and forbade me to go on. There was a miserable scene between us after that. His eyes were awful, and fright ened me. You know, in my little cigarette case, which you gave me with your initials in it. and your photo graph hidden inside. I told you I would keep the thing most valuable . to . me after your picture. That thing Is the combination by which the safe at the bank which contains the bonds can be opened. No one has opened it and cut the bonds since mother was in New York last, not long before she died. Not a soul living except myself knows the combination, not even the manager of the bank. I'm sure mother was right In not trusting uncle, and that this se cret fortune is all I have left. I daren't wait for you to come here, but shall try to get to London by motor, rather than show myself at a railway station, and will go straight to the Savoy. You will get this Just in time to meet me there If you start from Paris Thursday morning. I shall finish this letter and write another arranging about the mo tor; and to do both. I've but one sheet of paper. Your loving VIOLET." "I think," remarked O'Brien gravely, "that we'd better go down at once into Warwickshire and play a surprise visit to Mr. Hardcastle's house, the sooner the better." "We can go In my car." said Christo pher. "And we can start whenever you like in half an hour, if it suits you." "There's Just one thing we must do before we start." said O'Brien, "and that is, get a warrant for Hardcastle's arrest. I can do it. through Mr. Race's evidence about what occurred tonight." It was S o'clock on Sunday morning, and still pitch dark, when they got off in Scarlet Runner; but they had the warrant; and the good car seemed to know that there was stiff work to be done. Mr. Hardcastle, announced a sour faced middle-aged woman who opened the door, was not at home. "We will see Miss Hardcastle. if her uncle is not here," he said authorita tively. And to his surprise and the astonishment of his companions, the servant made no objection- Ushering all three into a handsome if sparsely furnished drawing-room, she said that Miss Hardcastle was not well, but should have the gentlemen's message, and would either come down or send word. "Tell her it's Mr. Naylor." cried the girl's lover. "Mr. Maurice Naylor. who's found her. though she gave him no ad dress, and he couldn't make out the postmark on her letter. "Will she come?" was the question In the minds of the three men. And in two minutes it was answered by the girl herself, pale and lovely, in a tea gown of white, her beautiful hair dis ordered as if she had risen hastily from bed. "Oh. Maurice!" she sobbed, running to him. with eyes for no one else. It was true that Mr. Hardcastle was "not at home." as his servant had said. But he had returned early that morn ing, by motor, as O'Brien had guessed, and by threatening to kill Maurice Nay lor, whom he knew to be in London, he had induced Violet to tell her care fully guarded secret, to save her lover's life. Then with his confidential man. her uncle had gone off again in his car. "But luckily." remarked the detective when he had heard these details from the girl, "he can't sail for New York today." "I wonder?" she said. "I happen to know that he's lately bought or hired a big steam yacht, but I don't know her name." "We'll know it before we're many hours older," O'Brien assured her. . "We'll know whether she's sailed; if so, from what port and for what port. We'll know all there is to know, in fact: and when Mr. Hardcastle steps on shore across the water, he'll find himself under arrest"; which was ex actly what happened. Therefore, Mrs. Maurice Naylor is a rich woman, as well as a happy one. In spite of the enormous speculations of that now fa mous defaulter, the solicitor Hard castle. Thus, after all. Christopher thought that he might fairy say he had won his bet with himself; so he bought the re peater, and Violet Hardcastle made him a present of the gold clcarette css. (A Saw Adventure Next Week, t: J. w 4 . . . H v. ' r -,r 5 .- . ' v tr.' h a 5-