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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 13, 1918)
EPISODE XO. IX CToprrlxtX. 11S. Paramount rictam Car- GRAHAM HA Li: listened with rMiC Bmtloa to his loni tory of the " robberr in the private car. by iceaoi of which The Twisted Thread. th orsaniution which, .after threat-enlrva- him fur years, had of late been trikitig opa olows at him. had se cured certain papers so Important that he had taken every Possible means to a'D them safe. "They cam through from the other sr. lad. said Tommy. Almea and I ir snttlns; there, talking and then omethint; hit me on the head and I went down and out! That's all 1 can remember until I woks up "And then T "I ws In the road, beside the rail way track, and the chap you saw. the one wno oroucht me home, was wash ier my forehead and trvlnr to siraiarht- a me out. l asked him about Almee he was the first thine I thought about, of course! And I told you. He said abe d son off with his friend. Mr. Car ter1 he's the Trillin Carter we know. Oad. the on who's vice-president of the railway chaslnr the train! Of course, she's probably ail right, if she's with ilr. Carter "Of course I'm all rlrht!" cried Alme herself, appearins; In the door. "And so are the papers! Her they are. Tommy!" "For heaven's sake!" cried Tommy. "Almee you really aot them!" Now It was Aimee's turn to tell her story, and she did describing the wild chase along" the rails after the speed- Ins" train. iu the stranre episode she bad been Just In time to see the rob bery of the orla-tnal robbers by another et of thuca. "I don't understand that." she said. But. after all. as Ions; as we've Rot inem back, it doesu i matter much. does Itr "Of coarse not." said Graham Hale. He was up his Improvement In the last two days had been rapid, although Ir. O'Connor was still concerned about his condition. "Almee. my dear It was a lucky day for us when you came to live with us! But It was rather bard oa you you've been plunged Into the very midt of ail our troubles. The Twisted Thread hasn't been content to make war on me and my own family -It has dracred you In. as welL" I m ;!ad to be one of you." said Almee. Sh flashed a tender, meanins; look at Tommy, who flushed, delicbt- fuLy. W hen my father died I had no veopt left and you took me In and treated me as If I'd always belonged to you! Wky shouldn't 1 share your trou- b!eT- "Go and rest, now." said Graham Hal. "You're; tired out. Almee and there are limits to your endurance, even though you may not reaJtse that your- e'r. "I am t ! re d." s h e confessed. "Tommy your lurt you feel all right?" "Tee I'm perfectly all rlshl!" he aid. "Oo and rest, dear." There was. as yet. no definite etv- srageraent between Tommy and Almee. bat they understood on another very welL And the look la Tommy' eyes as they followed Aim from tn room W as iouent of his feeling. Hello her comes Mr. Kayn. h aid to bis fathsr. He had gone to the window, and could s bis father's old friend approaching. "I'll tell them to end him In." Thornton Kayn cam tn. and Tommy. after a moment, left the two older men together. Kayn was Graham Hal' Ideal friend: he alone. Tommy knew, was acquainted with the contents of the paper Uraham Hal guarded so Jealously. Tommy left them to talk. But la a moment he was called to the door, lie rev-ognlsed the man who had asked for hlra: he was a detective, em ployed by the Ionovan agency, which was Uraham Hs'e's chief reliance In his Strug; with Th Twisted Thread and th search, which had proved unavail ing so far. for th mysterious and for midable "Number On under whose order th gang of criminals operated. "WelL Simpeon? swld Tommy. "I'm the operative who was on th trail of th man who fired that shot tsHo the telephone In Philadelphia the Cher Bight with th Idea or shock ing yoir father by a sudden nois in bis ear." said Simpson, "iv been trailing him ever since. I'v reason to believ h's In th house her now." "Wbatr Tommy started. "la the .bouse? Impossible!" "Nothing's Impossible you get to iearn that In my business." said rUmp son. sen tenuously. "Can I com In? I'd like to make ra pinch" "Cora In of cours!" said Tommy. "Put I can't lroaatn who It is your after" Just then Thornton Rayn cam down th sxalrs. And f impson. with a cry of tyiomph. leaped toward him. "Her my man!" b cried. But Rayn was too swift for what r action SlmpsAn meant to tak. "VWih. a sjiaU biov b tUd htm; he Mil1 !& f ) 7 'Vr "T I II: . - ' I ; J l-'. iCx p-.v . --. shook off th feeble effort which Tom my. too amazed to be vigorous, mad to detain him. and rushed through the door. By th tint eimpson was on his feet and at th door Rayne'a cab was speeding away. "But look her there's soma mis take!" cried Tommy. "Mr. Rayn is my father's best friend. He couldn't have don a horrid thing Ilk that " "I'v got th proof." said Simpson. rather wearily. "W don't go off half cock it doesn't pay. Here are the photographs I took in Philadelphia- Tommy, aghast. Incredulous, was convinced. There could be no doubt that the roan was right, incredible though it seemed. And yet after all was It so incredible? Did not this fastening of suspicion upon Thornton Rayn clear up much that waa mys terious. Inexplicable ? If Thornton Rayn wer "Number One" ! He was almost afraid to tell his father the truth yet be knew that It must b done, and at once. "Thornton Rayne! Wy God!" said Graham Hale. "After all these years: And yet I might have guessed a dos- en times "Ksd!" cried Tommy. "Isn't It time you told me everything?" "I think It Is." said his father, with a sudden decision. "Tea, I shall tell you th whole story." He paused lor a moment, then went on. "Thornton Ram and I were boys to getherwe grew up. and were always bosom friends. Even when we fell In love with the same woman our friend ship endured or I believed it did. She was Camilla Arnot. who was. in those days, the most famous, the most beauti ful and th most popular woman on th stage th true queen, of th comic opera. "I never knew why. but her choice fell upon me. Thornton took his de feat hard. but. after a little, ilk a man. My father, when I told him of my contemplated marriage, threatened to disown me. He had an old-fash loned prejudice against th Idea of mar riage with an- actress h would not meet Camilla, who would have banish it. nut I would not glv her up. With Rayne'a help a secret marriage was arranged. For nearly a year was the hsppiest man on earth. And then. Just as I hoped and expected my happiness to be crowned by th delight of fatherhood, there cam black dla aster th blow that ruined my life. "In som amaslng fashion Camlll was led t believe that I had tricked her that our marriage had been fraud. I went home on day to be me by ber denunciation. I denied the charge wor to find th proofs. went to seek th minister who had married us. and from him I got a cer tlftcate, 1 returned to find myself barred from th house In which w lived by firemen and police! Th house was utterly destroyed I could not ge through th lines Camilla was one of those who wer killed! "I was for a tlm It was believed that my reason would never be restored But on goes on somehow. I emerged from the shadow of madness. I picked up th threads of life. But nothing could be th same. My wife my love th child she would hav given m all gone " "But my mother?" Th question was torn from Tommy. He had wondered. often, at the utter absence of any memory of th mothar h bad never seen who had died, as h had always supposed, at his birth. Not now don't ask m anything mora now. Tommy." said Oraham Hal. desperately. "But oh you can under stand." "I can understand thax It was prob ably Thornton Rayn who deceived your wife!" said Tommy. "He was a false friend then as be hsvs been ever since. Hut. are you sure she died In the flre?" "I must hav known It. Jn all these years. If she wer alive." gnid Uraham Haie. "Thornton Rayne! Ah. yes. he would have. known that to show me the wax figure of Camilla would be th keenest torture he could have inflicted upon me!" . "Poor dad!" said Tommy. "But. at least, we know who Is our enemy now we know Number One! II Is un masked." Alme Villon. Graham Hale's ward, and th object of th love of Tommy Hal, which she returned, desplt her- seir. naa not gone to bed. as ah had said ah would, when ah left Tommy and his father. From her window she saw th flight of Thornton Rayn from th house and understood. Gripped with a sudden terror, eh followed him from th house a few minute later. Had a detertlv shadowed her h would hav learned something Infinitely trior startling even than th revelation of th duplicity of Thornton Rayne. For It was to th new meeting place of Th Twisted Thread that Alme went. When sh arrived sh knocked tn a peculiar manner and wa admitted by th automatic opening of th door. Re fer an uu aw bar ah auni th THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN. PORTLAND, JANUARY 13,. 1918. ,1k hood and rownspf The Twisted Thread, and. thus arrayed and disguised, passed Into the meeting room. As she came In all the cloaked figures rose. "Number One!" said one of them. All bowed and she returned the bow. Ko all this time it was Almee, herself often In peril at its hands, who had been Number One of the Twisted Thread Almee, who had, indeed, herself thwart ed Its most dangerous plots against Uraham Hale and his son. The figures were without disguise, of those who sat about the table, built In the triple T of Th Twisted Thread. One was Thornton Rayne, flushed from his flight the other a woman whose face, though showing- the marks of time, was still lovely. She was Camilla Arnot, whom Graham Hale thought dead these many years! 'You are late. Number One," said Ca- mllle. speaking in a voice cold with anger. And you are required to ex plain why it is that you have, fur from doing your duty and helping in the campaign against Uraham Hale, ac tually conspired to defeat our alms! Thanks to Thornton Rayne you have been unmasked at last we know, now. that you have enlisted with our ene mies, even while you have pretended (a be the leader, acting in my place, of these avengers!" "That Is true!" said Almee, after a moment, defiantly. "You have lied to me both of you. That la why I have acted as I have " Camlllb rose. and. with a sudden. STORIES THE QUARRELSOME CHILDREN DID you ever Hear of a sister and one of their tempers. Certainly some brother quarreling with each oth-lthing must be done, and done quickly, er mo often and so much that thev I Grandma sighed as she thought that grew to believe they didn't really love vny iivuifi m mil : Carrie and Billy were like that. Morning, noon and night found them on bad terms. They didn't behave at all as brother and sister should. Their "fights" were foolish to listen to and they sounded something like this: "Ulster, what did you do with my ball?" "I haven't seen your old ball!" "Yes, you have, mean-ee, you've hid it on purpose. Now, you give it to me." "Like to see you make me. If I did have It. And I wouldn't tell you if I did." "I'll show you how I can make you leave my things alone!" Ustually at such aa outburst grandmother would come along and try to make peace. Carrie would . whimper that Billy "hurt her feelings." and Billy would say that Carrie "picked a fight" when ever sh had a chance. Somehow, however, the" "scrap" was always patched up for the present and things went well until the next time. Carrie's and Billy's mother was dead and their father traveled on business the year round. He left his children with their grandmother becauae he knew that she would love them. He didn't expect ber to spoil them as she did. And the dear old lady herself was beginning to worry about It. Soon their father would come horn for a visit and she could imagine how shocked he would be to see them in Carrl Wl Wklsisrr That Billy Hrt Her Krellair" Billy Weald hay That Csurri) "flc-Lxd a fUhW Al30. 0 authoritative gesture, ordered the other members to leave the room. When the three of them were alone she spoke. "Do. you know who you are? My daughter!" she said. "Yes." said Almee. steadily. "But you lied to me. You told me Graham Hale had killed my father " "There was a purpose," said Camille, "Now you shall know the truth. I thought he was my husband. He tricked me by a false marriafre of which you are the child. So he ruined my life and cast you, nameless, upon the world! Thornton Rayne, my Rood friend, who loved me who has always loved me, and has sought, these many years, to give me his own name, told me the truth. 1 swore venpeance I determined that you should execute it. So, while you were growing up, I waited. Thornton Rayne and 1 organ ised The Twisted Thread, that an in strument might be ready to our hands when the time of vengeance came. And you you, whom I trusted, implicitly, have been the one to defeat our pur poses! At every turn It has been you who stood in our way who betrayed us!" "And rra glad!" cried Almee. "I don't believe that Graham Hale ever de ceived you! I think It's Mr. Rayne who is the traitor and the liar because he wanted you for himself! I know Mr. Hale and Tommy I don't believe Mr. Hale ever did a. mean or unworthy thing " "You see," said Rayne, viciously, I "there's a reason. Camille. The girl's 1 FOR THE YOUNG I hr,r well-meant indulgence had a bad As she eat knitting In her rockln chair, she heard the familiar voices .of the children, raised in anger at each other, cine arose and went softly to the room where they were "squab Dling." "Children," she said In firm . tones, cease this dreadful fussing." Aston ished. the children shut up like clamo. I'sually, Grandma pleaded and begged them to be quiet and nice." The dldn t exactly know what to say to this new form of reproach. Then Grandma spoke again: "Your father is coming next , week, He has a surprise for you but if h ever hears you speak to one anothe as I have heard you, he will never le you know what the surprise Is! and can tell you the surprise im a mighty fine one. "What is ltr asked both children at once. Dear children.' said Grandma, In her old loving voice, "I cannot tell you, but you must really try to be good In the future to deserve the sur prise." Grandma was very solemn. The children were awed. They looked at one another shamefacedly. Then they ran off to lunch with more good grace than they had displayed for many weeks. When the morning of the great ar rival came. Grandmother took Carrie and Billy to the depot- The fussy old train rAjlled Into the station, crowds of people came through the gates, and It was with difficulty that they rec ognized their father. They saw hin at a distance and before he reached them, they were able to see that he had a little boy with him. "Who's that?" asked Carrie, in whisper to Billy. "I dunno." he replied. Soon after they were In their father's arms. After Grandma had been fondly embraced. Father put his arm around the shoulder of the little stranger and said. "Children, here Is a new friend for you. This little boy is French: his name ia Francois. And I want you to be very nice to him. This will be quite hard, for he doesn't understand Knglish: but if you treat him kindly, he will be happy and know that he is with friends." . After they arrived home Father took the children on his lap and told them a story. "You ve heard about the war, haven't you, dears? I have Just come from France where the war is going on. and 1 chanced to be in one of the small towns that was destroyed by the Germans. I found little Francois be ing carried to an ambulance by a French ooldier, and I stopped to ask where he was being taken. "Then the soldier told me the sad news that the little chap's father and mother were killed when the town was shelled, and that he was left all alone In the world. He is what people call a war orphan. "I thought of you two. my dear lit tle cuiUlrcu, and haw your luviof kind S sy Anna Katharine Green. in love with Tommy I've caught them kissing and hugging one another -" "Ah !" said Camille. "You've fallen In love with him! With a man whose father and yours are one and the same man " Almee cried out at that. Her face grew deadly white. "Oh!" she said. "There is a score for you to settle;" said Camille. "Girl can't you see that he has wronged you, too?" "It doesn't matter!" cried Almee, desperately. "I won't work against them. There's some explanation he ought to have a chance to make It!" She pointed td Rayne. "He he's the one who is responsible for all the trag edy and misery! He's used you as his cat's paw! You trust him you take his word to condemn my father the man you loved love still, perhaps " "Love still! Ha!" cried Camille. "I hate the very thought and sight of him! The day we landed from the steamer when Thornton Rayne, here, imperson ated that stupid detective it was all I could do to keep myself from killing him! Bit I don't want him killed! I want him Impoverished despoiled driven mad to linger on insane wretched " Her fury rose and mastered her. She was like a madwoman herself. Sud denly she cried out to the waiting members. "Tike this girl Number One!" she cried. "Lock her up in Long Kang's restaurant the Chinese will guard her! they are faithful they can be trusted!" ness might make this little fellow happy once more; so I asked permis sion to bring him to America with me. I have adopted him now. and here after he will be your little brother. I hope you will treat him as kindly as you do each other, for he has lived through the fearful war and has had enough trouble in his little life to make even a grown-up miserable for all time. Will you promise to always be kind to him?" . The children nodded their heads their eyes were full of tears; they couldn't speak. They were ashamed of themselves and sorry for the little Father Pat HI Arm Arouid the Shoul der ml he Little StraagTer aad Said. C'hlldrea, Here la a New Friend tor Vos," French chap: and they didn't know which feeling hurt most. "Now we will go Into the other room and begin Francois' first lesson in Kng lish," said father. Carrie and Billy claspea hands ana followed him. "Say. Billy." whispered Carrie, "I'm awful sorry we've had so many fights'; but we will never have any more, will wer1 No?" answered Billy. "Gee. I'm glad hat father don't know How bad we've been, or we might not have had Fran cois with us." No-o," mused Carrie. Then she smiled and gave her brother a loud kiss oil his ear the- nrst one lor months, but the beginning of many others to both him and their little comrade, Francois. LITTL.K BESSY'S NOTEBOOK. Testidday us' fellows was tawking about Sid Hunts berthday which we all knew he wood be 10 yeers old prity soon, but noboddy knew wen, on ac count of Sid -lot having told enyhpdy on account of not wunting everybody to give him 10 puntches, which way vy we wunted to know. Sids quiet little uzzin Joe wus standing there without say ins - enything all the time we was rTR A There was no chance for Almee to resist. She knew better, indeed, than to make such an attempt. She was not badlv treated. Though she had been deposed as Number One, she was still the daughter of tne supreme -eaaer, and as such entitled to respect. Only Thornton Rayne regarded her with un veiled hate in his eyes so that Almee shuddered. For It seemed to her that she understood his secret and sinister purpose, hidden even from her mother, only too welL It was Thornton Rayne, she guessed who had arranged the second theft of the papers she had recovered on the train. His last wish would be to have Camille see them since they would establish Graham Hale's Innocence and his own duplicity, which had lasted so many years. He wished to kill Hale, to get him finally out of the way. And Almee was sure, as his baleful glance rested upon her, that he wanted, now that she had accused him openly, to kill her, too. She knew the Chinese restaurant to which' she was being taken it was In Brooklyn, and one of the valued haunts of The Twisted Thread. It contained j all manner of secret exits and en trances, and there was a garden, sur rounded by high walls. A restaurant a laundry an opiam (ten conuuvieu for the benefit of .sight-seeing parties half a dozen different enterprises were centered In the one big, rambling structure. And here Almee became a prisoner. PEOPLE tawking, and after a wile Puds Sim- kins Bed. G. Joe. you awt to know wen Slds berthday is, youre his cuzzin, alnt you? Y. , sed Joe. Well, do you know? sed Puds. Yes. Red Jne. Wich all us fellows yelled. Wen IS it. wen is it. tell us .wen it is. Sid told me not to" tell, sed Joe. Aw, come on. Tell us, he won't care, we won't puntch him hard, we all sed, and Joe sed, wat will you give me? Lets take up a collection, sed Leroy Shooster. And he passed his cap erround and we all put sumthing in it. me putting 4 marbils, and my cuzzin Artie putting a little ball made out of rubber bands, and Puds Simkins put ting a top without eny peg to it, and Leroy Shooster putting 2 stumps of pencils, one with a rubber on. Will you tell us his berthday for all these? sed Leroy Shooster. Yes, sed Sid Hunts quiet little cuzzin Joe. And he took all the things out of the cap and put them in his pockets and started to run like the dickins. yelling back. His berthday was yes tidday. . Aw, heck, sed us fellows. On account of you cant puntch a fellow for his berthday after its over. Lee Pape in Chicago Dally News. Governor Forced to Make Own .Toys uovernor erns, of Michigan, is a strong believer in active play which shall call forth Initiative and skill. 'At the age of 6 or 7 years, like all healthy boys, I asked father for toys. On one occasion I said: T want a top.' 'He said: 'Make it. Mother will give you a spool and here is my pocketknife. Go ahead.' I whittled for a few minutes and found the cutting difficult. I returned the knife to father and he asked: 'Where is the top?" "I said: 'I do not want a top.' "He replied: 'You do not want a ton? Make it, or I shall be obliged to punish you." 'I was so well acquainted with my father that I made the top. On my-re turning the knife he commended me by spinning It and remarking: 'That is a fine top.' My father built better than be knew. He put lime in my spine by insisting that I make my own carts, wagons, sleds, kites, boats, windmills and that finish every task I voluntarily began. Modern fathers and mothers have forgotten the fine art of demanding tnat tneir Doys help themselves. The toyshop, t!-.rough thoughtless fathers and mothers, hae dissipated the ener gies of our boys and placed a premium on helplessness." "He's a Brick." Tracing the origin of things Is an Interesting study. We use words and expressions without having any idea of their first and original meaning. For instance, "He's a Brick," used so frequently by you to designate one of your friends as being a "fine fellow," has been traced by some learned phil ologist to a King of Sparta, who lived four centuries B. C. A visitor to Lacedaemon, the Spartan capital, be ing greatly surprised to find that the city had no walls asked the King what he would do in the event of an inva sion. The King replied: "Sparta has 50,000 soldiers and each . man is a "Brick." 9 a prey to fear and horror as she .thought of the new plots that might even now be being carried into effect against those whom she could no long er help as the result of her knowledge of the plans of their enemies. She went nearly mad with nervous ness. The forced Inactivity, the silent waiting, the indifference of her Chi nese jailers, all preyed upon her nerves. At last, in desperation, she made her way to the workroom of the laundry and begged to be allowed to do some ironing, simply to help to pass the time. The good-natured Chinaman in charge consented. Soon an amusing thing happened. A dirunken man came in. He needed a shirt he was going to a party, with . his wife, he explained. His laundry was ready but he had no money. He tried to snatch the package, but the Chinaman hurled it back into the room where Aimee was, over a partition. On the instSTnt she conceived a plan. She tore open the bundle, and wrote across the front of a stiff-bosomed shirt an appeal to Tommy Hale to rescue her. Then she threw the shirt out. "Catch and run quick!" she called. He had wit enough to seize the shirt and obey. The Chinaman came back, furious. But Almee mollified him by paying him the laundry bill and he knew nothing of the message she had sent out. Now there was more waiting. Aimee stayed as much as she could in the garden, surrounded by its high walls. Along the top of the walls ran two or three strands of wire escape there looked hopeless. Yet it was over the wall that she expected help' to come fmm Tommy, if and when it came. Strange things were going on. mean- . while, beyond those walls. Not Tommy, but Thornton Rayne, was there, watch ing every movement Aimee made, and laying a dark plan of his own a plan that required time for Its execution, and skill, and a great patience. Her instinct had been right. He feared her now; he was determined to eliminate her from the list of his obstacles, if he could. A trolley line ran in the street on to which the walled garden backed. It was a street little used; few cars used the tracks. And that played into Rayne's hand and fitted into his ne farious scheme. With one man, whom he could trust, since he had enough information con cerning him to send him to the electric chair, should he choose to use it. Rayne went about his task. He connected a small feeder wire with the heavily charged feed wire of the trolley line, carrying enough electricity to ensure the death of anyone who came in con tact with it. And this small wire, in turn, he connected with the wire fence that ran around the wall. A switch waa cunningly arranged below, at the street level, so that, at will, Rayne could electrify the wire fence. Then anyone who touched its wires would be killed instantly. His next problem was to induce Almee to reach the top of the wall and to make it possible for her to do so. But as to that he anticipated no great difficulty. He procured a long rope ladder. To it he attached a note, ... forging the writing of Tommy Hale, and bidding Almee to use it to reach the top of the wall. He had no doubt of the result of that appeal. And he watched, with a malicious de- . . light, the discovery of the ladder and ' the note by his unsuspecting victim. Almee caught her breath as she saw the ladder dangling. Eagerly she rushed to it, tore open the note, and read it. She pressed it to her iips. And then. suddenly, she remembered, and a spasm of pain crossed her features. Still even in spite of what she knew, she loved Tommy! That was not could not be wrong! Somewhere, near by, he was waiting for her, ready to save her, eager to - help her. She looked up the high wall. and the swaying ladder, and trembled slightly. Still she could make it. And - she trusted Tommy. There was some way, in his mind, to get her down, on the -other side. She could count upon him! So she began to climb. As she climbed she became conscious of a great uproar inside the Chinese house. There was a sound of fighting; voices rose; one of them was strangely familiar. And then she heard her own name from behind in Tommy's voice! "Aimee!" he called. "Aimee!" She reached the top of the ladder, gained a precarious foothold on the wall, and turned to look. back. Tommy was in the garden. "You wrote to me to climb up you threw down the ladder!" she cried. "I didn't!" he called. "There's soma trick! Stay there till I can reach you!" There was a new rush from the house. Aimee clung to her perch and looked on, desperately afraid. And all the time death surged through the innocent-looking wires that were within a foot of her toward which, at any mo- ' ' ment, .she might reach out her hand for support! (Another installment next Sunday.)
