WgWTTfi'' "'-"'t BtfiSi'Tyy"'
HOME AND FARM MAfiAKmi SECTION
li
he Secret of the Night
" TIIIMM,I.XniHTi:il S'l'OltV 01."
HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION SERIAL.
01" IIUSMAST I.VritMIVU l.V M,TBH 1 UKXCI
: By Gaston Leroux
AUTIIOIt.
t '
. .-
.TI-IIS
,ornKV!X;;.
'f.".i?i cf ,srnttl2' ho llfo j1
? v' M W. . . .,'r roocloroyltch)
tHI'
B5.M'5 ,..c"tR "
. fVr" u" l" '' .ft.
"'. F.. .r fi""'" .'5.T.S h
,rtrl b Mni; V"lo.l5iT. Tho
v8, .'!'' .,h.il I," cry ' friendly, to-
nif , ul li. imrni llio secret i
U at'1"''..,! bio nUhtmere Ihnt nro
S,v,ib l"r'b..,d iieiicral. Natacha
"reriioranHWir
iLUl'lV'-ih i ereat arnlii
lMIT. i. A hour, Hi" detective K
,4l"A i?v the ceo. unattended.
. wdS.rlf durln tho lrum-
-ffisr..-
--- .
.---
t i.i.i.MIe Who linn noi -in-in
,,S 2 Ulnlng the General's
IM'""' 1,1., m bn certain that
wmber, ,'""." nh,n .. ,onk
Lt tell on iii - ' -
... -,. lm Ait n tin r
.-..a that now in"j --
I . !urur of an hour of ferreting In
l,H Mi Hmo sho explored nor
I1?'".!.. una even Inadequately rc-
I-.. I auetlon. If that dear horpio
Ttbeeri with hlin during mis in-
,rllon" she would nave recmvcu
K .I wl confidence gone.
uk.vn pent for Kouprnlno Immo-
i' f'.Wu. Bnl. reinforced by
' r,l eftho Ohrona (Bccrot l'ollco).
ffite .1 once rejoined the General.
r Feeder ami Krmolal woro deop
'!:..?. .i.nut tho Orel country. Tho
'"I a,a not dliturb them. Then, booh,
. iPMre,l. Ho nnw her como in
aunt, llo handed back, hor keys.
vthem mechanically. Sho wan
t, ml dll not try " "
I lmelf noticed It, ami naked what
r hipplnf'" oVcr "r flr"1 Prom
,, we arrlxed nt tho Uatolm des
hpllnil. "And now you mint
... . .. I..I I.Vnilnr. YOU Will liaSS
iiri iw " ,,
tight, I am ""re.
i ilep only If you deep, Matrcna."
trnlM you. It In quite posslblo now
i hit our dear little domovol. You
inxlor. that he smokes his pipe Just
' . ii. .1. ....M.fnlii il.i.nnvj.l
ijuriiHiiivi"i --...-.-..
.... ...mMr h in. he certainly
nld Feodor. "That makca ua feci
tut I wlli I'"" ,0 l"en ''
us," iralled Itoulotnhllle, "ovory
111 ileep httc. That la tho countor
ITihe watched enoiiRh. Slnco tho
... . w run nil Hlnen. bflluva mo.
C Vl " .... --- - w
, lbtlleve sou, on my word, onally
lBre were oniy iney in mu nuuau
of atttmptlnfr thut affair of tho
l lure thought thnt all out. and
im t we. And anywuy, whatever
, It l ntceisary lo set aiccp. lant
thmtes of warl Nlclievol" llo
noulctiMlle'a hand, and Matrcim
, took, nn her liaiut, teouor
:itt on her hack and hiKL'cd him
khimbtr. In that nlno nhe rcfuacil
binrone. The (leneral cluntr to his
kttk durlne tho nxcent nnd InuRhed
thlli Ilouletabllle remained In tho
I wiUhlnir thn Knrden nttoiitlvtly.
It ilkcd out of tho villa nnd croaKod
fJit, jolnsr to meet a peraoniiKO In
l hom the vounir man reconlxod
tltljr li the grand-marfihal of tho
tho hid Introdurcd him to tho Tanr.
informed hi m that Madaina Matronu
li((d In htlplnir her huahand letlre,
lilirihil remained nt the end of thn
lhtre he had found Mlrhael nnd
llkloi In tho klomiuc. All tliroo ro-
Ititre for tome tlmo In convcraatlon,
I if a table whoro Uenornl nnd
i Trtbuiof tonietlmca dined when
4 to Kutstv. Aa they tntked the
I slaved with, a box of wlilto card-
N with a Mnk fltrliiir. At thin
kMtlreno, who hud not been nblo to
ledrlr to talk for u moment with
pie and tell lilin how happy oho
rsmea me jo.'iic limn.
i csmoroi," tiiii alio, laylnir hor
tlj ihoulder. "you hnvo not wntched
ilder
lttei In her turn to tho dining-
I Ttt nave ccn madamo, and
BiKiinuy iniormetl."
ktlr TherA In nntlilnt- Vi aha l.no
jel No ono haa touched tho
i Hew It, i am miro of II. it ih
we navo thought about III
I CO not knnu bntv fAllAtfAft .l
IIBL Ah. N'atnrlin Vntnnl,. t .,.....
4 roa In aln. (hho pronounced
rw aai-ceni or great beauty and
--" mien i aaw ner leave ua,
fyeBa ank under mo. When
It 1 hln fnrcnlt.it. u...A.i.l
frr bai k,' I felt I had not tho
o a emeio Mcp. Hut now I
I tin hflnni ll,n. ...,..!.. . .
y,..i ".'.' ' " ""-ikiii i icaai m
k'A.0". n,y licnrt- lear little
nk..,.i i )0U, "vwo of you."
'.ICed lllnv nml !,.,., ...
,,., --"-., .... mull inn uwuv,
Wned, to resjmo her post near
rk1.,.ffu,'rab"k.'" memorandum.
r rni i... . iiiviiy wilder
S?i,..hi,nB ltc touched again
'c rh .k..r 0l' ,l""n Natacha
. .!".xci,''nt Matrona Ho-
,.,.:, T ,a'na cull very well
l k n, l.ll:." too great caro
.-.ui jiai.ena watched tho
floor. My opinion, nlnco I saw Matrcna lift
tho carpet tho firm tlmo without any real
precaution, h that Uicj. Imvo definitely
abandoned tho p.epnrntlon of that attack
uml nro trying to account for ho "ecret
becoming known. What Mntrenn feels so
iiurei i of la that tho trap I i, by tha prom"
cnado to tho 1-olnt wa ognlnat Nntacha
particularly I knew heforol.nnd thut Na
tncha would absent heiHclf .lmlViK tho
promonnde. I'm not looking for nnj thing
now from KHtaclui. but what I did need "
to ho .tiro that Matrcna didn't .lolcit Nnta"
elm. and that sho had not faked the prcpa
latlons for un attack tinder the floor I such
a .way as to throw nlmont certain susplcloi
on her stepdaughter, l nm slll-0 about that
now. Matrcna Is Innocent ,f ,.,, 7h K
tho poor dear soul. If Mntiena had been a
monster tho occasion was tpo good. Nn.
,.I!,C,,.IJH n,'sc"ce; hcr Hilary presence for a
nimrtcr of an hour In the empty villa, all
voiiId hnvo urged Matienu, whom I sent
n ono lo search under the carpet In tho
dining-room, to 1.nw tho last nails from
the board If sho was really guilty of having
drawn tho others. Nntaeha would 1 i "o
been lost thenl Mntrcna roturncd sincerely,
traglcnlly happy at not liiivlng found any
thing now. und now I hnvo tho material
proof that I needed. Morally and physically
Matrcna Is removed from It. Ho I nm trolnj
tp speak to hcr about the hatpin. I hcllovo
Hint tho matter Ih nigont on that sldo
lather than on the side of tho nnlls In tho
VI
The .M)Ntrrlou. Ilnml,
After the departuro of Matrcna, Itoulcla.
blllo turned his attention to tho garden
Neither tho mnrnhnl of tho court nor tho
officers woro there nny longer. Tho threo
men hnd disappeared, ltoulctablllo wished
to know at onco wheio they hnd gone. Ho
went rapidly to tho Bate, nnmed tho officers
und tho marHhul to Kimolnl, and Krmolal
mudo a Blgn that they had passed out.
Kvon as ho spoke ho raw tho marshal's
carriage disappear around a corner of tho
road. As to tho two officers, they wcro
nowhero on tho roadway. Ho was Biirprlscd
that the marshal should huvo gone without
seeing Matrcna, or tho general or himself,
and, above all, he was disquieted by tho
disappearance of thn orderlies. Ho gath
i cd from tho gestuics of JZnnolnl that they
had passed beforo tho lodgo only a few
minutes after tho marshal's departure.
Thoy had gone togcthor. ltoulctablllo set
liinisolf to follow them, traced their steps
In tho soft earth of th roudway and soon
they crossed onto thu grass. At this point
tho tracks through thu mussed ferns beenroo
very difficult to follow. Ho hurried along,
bending close to tho ground over such
traces as ho could i.er, which continually
led lilm astray, but which conducted him
finally to tho thing that ho sought. A noise
of voices mudo him raise his head and then
throw himself behind n tree. Not twenty
tops from him Natacha and Horls wero
liuvlng an animated cinvei nation. The
young officer held himself erect directly
In front of hcr. frowning and Impntlent.
Under the uniform cloak that he had
wrapped about him without having both
ered to uso tho slcrvi'S, which were tossed
up over his chost, liorls had his arms
crossed. His eutlro uttltudo Indicated
hauteur, coldness and disdain for what ho
wim hearing. Hho talked to him rapidly nnd
mostly In a low voice. Kometlmes a word
In Russian sounded, und then sho resumed
hor caro to spiak low. Finally she ceased,
and Horls, lifter u short silence. In which
hu had seemed to reflect deeply, pronounced
distinctly theso words In French, pronounc
ing them syllnblo by syllable, us though to
glvo them additional foico;
'You ask a frlghtrul thing of me.",
"It Is necessary to grant It to me," snld
the young girl with singular energy. "You
understand, Horls Aloxaudrovltcht It li
necessary."
Her guxo, after she hnd glanced penetrat
ingly all around hcr nnd discovered nothing
suspicious, rested tendorly nn tho young
officer, whllo sho murmured, "My Horls!"
Tho young man could not nslst either the
xwoatness of that voice, nor the captivating
charm of that glanco. He took tho hand
sho oxtonded toward him and kissed It pns
slnnntoly. Ills eyup, fixed on Nntaeha, pro
(lalmed that tin granted everything that sho
wished nnd admitted hlniclt vanquished.
Then shn said, always with that ndorablo
gaxo upon him, "This evening!" Ho replied.
"Yes, yes. This evening' This evening!"
upon which Natacha withdrew her hand
nnd imido a sign to tho officer to leave,
which ho promptly obeyed. Nntaeha re
mained there still n long time, plunged In
thought. Houlotnblllb had already taken
thu road back to tho villa. Matrena To
tiovna wag watching for his return, seated
on tho first step of tho lauding on tho
great staircase which tan up from tho
oiaudn. When sho saw him sho ran to
lil i n. Ho hnd nlrcudy rtachtd tho dining
room. "Anyone In the house?" he asked.
"No one. Nutncha has not returned,
and . . ."
"Your Htcpdaughtor la coming In now.
Ask hcr where sho has been, If she has
keen tho ordorlles, and if thoy said they
would leturn this evening, In case sho
answers that sho bun seen them."
"Very well, little domoxol doukh. Tho
orderlies left without my seeing when they
wont."
"Ah," Interrupted noulotabllle, "before
sho arrives, glvo mo all hcr hatpins."
"What!"
"I say, nil her hatpins. Quickly!"
Mutrenn ran to Nntiu-ha's chamber and
rotdrned with threo enormous hatpins witn
beautifully-cut stones In them.
"Theso ore all?"
"They are all I have found. I know she
has two others. Bho ha"b one on her head,
or two, perhaps; I rnn't find them."
"Tako these back where you found Iher.i."
said tho lepoiter. after glunclng at them.
irr!...C!ia rcl,urc'1 Immediately, not un
derstanding what ho was doing.
PlnsV,Ul n"'' y0"r UaWnt- Y J'0"1- hdf--
..'m 'I. l h?ve ?nlj' two; nnJ hprc 'hoy ',
?m, i LC ,lrawl'"f them from tho tonuo she
Infn r " warlK nnd had thrown on tho
ora when sho ru-cnteud the house.
Jtoulctnbillo guve hers tho same liidpcc
"Thanks. Hero Is your stepdaughter."
.Natncha entered, flushed and smiling.
, ' ' 'nV' "he, quite luenthlcsH,
ou may boast that I had to search for
joii. I made the entire round, clear pnst
goodrr''U,!' th ,"'0",el'n,' l"o PnP"
..iI-!0' 1,e '" ""Iccp." replied Malienn.
ilao jou met Horls und Michael?"
Hho nppcaied to hesitate a second, then
replied:
"Yes, for nn Instant."
'Did they say whether thoy would return
this evening?'
.u?'" i. Ifj" rc",let'- slightly troubled.
hy all these questions?"
Sho flushed still more.
"Uecauso I thought It strange," parried
Matrcna, "thnt they went nwny as thry did,
w thout saying good-by, without a word,
without Inquiring If the general needed
them. There Is something stranger et.
Did you see Kaltsof with them, tho grand
inarshnl of the couit,"
"No."
"Kaltfof enme for a moment, entered (ho
gnrden nnd went nwny ngaln without see
Ing us. without saying ovtn a word to tho
general,"
"Ah," said Natacha.
With apparent Indtffeience, she inlsed
her arms and drew out her hatpins, ltoulc
tablllo watched the pin without n word.
Tho young girl hardly sceniod awnio of
their presence. Hntlrely nhsorbed in stiango
tlioughts, she replaced tho pin In her hat
nnd went to hnng It In tho veranda, which
served nlno nn vestibule, llouletahllln tiover
quitted hcr eyes. Matrena watched the
leporter with a stupid g!anct Natacha
crossed the drawing-room and entered hor
chamber by pusslng thiough her llltln sitting-room,
through which all entrance to
her chamber had to be made. Thut little
room. thoiiKh, had three doors. One opened
Into Natncha's chamber, ono Into tho drawing-room,
und the third Into the llttlo pass
age In a corner of the house whero was the
stairway by which the servants passed fiom
tho kitchens to tho ground floor nnd tho
upper floor. This passage had also it door
giving directly upon the drawing-room. It
wus certainly a poor urrangement for serv
ing the dining! oom, which was on the other
sldo of tho drawing-room nnd behind the
veranda, such n chance laying-out of n
house nn ono often ices In tho offhand
planning of many places In the country.
Alone ugaln with Houletabllle. Mutrenn
noticed tlinf tin Im.l i.ni in.i ui.i. . .....
corner of tho veranda where Natacha had
hung hcr hat. Hcslde this hat then waa
ft toquo that Hrmolal hud brought In. Tim
old servant hnd found it In soma comer of
tho gnrden or tho conservatory whero he
hnd been. A hntpln stuck out of that tooun
also.
. ',Who .,oquo "' that?" asked Houlrtn
bllle. 'I haven't seen It on tho head of
anyone, here."
"It Is Natncha's." replied Matrena.
She moved toward It, but the young man
held her bnek. went Into the vernndu hlin
self, and, without touching It. standing on
tiptoe, ho examined tho pin. He sank buck
on his heels and turned toward Matronn.
Pho caught a glimpse of fleeting emotion
on tho face of her llttlo friend.
"Kxplnln to me," she said.
Hut ho gave hor a glanco Hint frightened
hcr, and said low:
"Oo nnd kIvo orders right nwny that din
ner be served in the veranda. All through
dinner It Is absolutely necessary that tho
door of Natncha's sitting-room, and thnt
of tho stairway passage, and that of tho
veranda, giving on the drawing-room re
main opun all the time. Do you understand
mo 7 As soon as you have given your ordora
Bo to the general's chamber and do not quit
tho general's bedside, keep It In view. Como
down to dinner when It is announced, and
futther." r younvXt ubollt "' thing
So saying, ho filled his pipe, lighted It
with a son of sigh of relief, and, after n
final order to Matrcna. "do," ho went Into
the gaidcn, puffing great clouds. Anyone
would have said ho hodn't smoked In a
week. He appeared not to bo thinking but
J"1 m eJoylng himself. In fnct, ho
Played like a child with Mlllnkl. Matrcnn's
pet cnt, which he pursued behind the
sin ubs, up Into the llttlo klosquo which,
raised on piles, lifted Its steep thntchrd
roof above tho panorama of tho Isles that
Houletablllo settled down to contemplate
lUe nn artist with nmplo leisure.
(To lie Continued.)
Tho UnlvcBton News In nn editorial
commenting upon Sudan grass snyti: "It
Bcoms to ho conceded Imth by tho Nit
llonal Department of Agriculture, tho
Agricultural nnd Mechanical Collego nml
Btudents of Biuh things that this new hay .
grass Is proving to bo one of tho most
profitable of rroim."
WWa J Ike p!try prefili jo? Have you'
ever tlcnirrrl thU mil? Wl..... -.1. -'
-- ---- ...- ww.. i,v...,wiUtlUBU
cx.iausuvc Etuuy oi mis im- rx. i
portant problem and tho aniwer
Is innur iex PmtltTvlw.tr !..-
eff therire&a.Srrul HVAi-n-nnv
to-dty, and we will enclose our
..sn vaiuc-oupon. ineDooK.s hp vii
worth seveinldolIantnihf.ru.iti. r R II
rrvmrnfr. .. -fliri' r murrvra jp91
. " l0l aM..M VV.l-w.4 V
rA
Hi
flrmt
TtJreMtrflia fafflaW-
-MWtitf-tl-'
At tho rfrv ltrrtnntnif of the irjtnlln nrn
hmlneoji In Amerlcn. 1 mmdn niv fine atiirin.
vriui my awn nanus, i nen. ns cvr ainta tiin.
Ittirureil tno kerosono or eaaollna car.-thn
cost and raso of dolrur I ha work datermlnea
renalnoquallty moro than th coat of tho Iron plla
li mum ao naru to ma.e my angina or tha
hlaheit quality llut it waa hard to set the
com oi manuiactunnr- uown wncia i could
lead In low orlcea as well as In hleh enplno
au.Utr. A natural caa well which f urnlilics f rro
power. hrAt and llsht. effectlns' a bin savins' In
manufacturing cost, helped solve the problem, My
experience as a practical mechanic and enslnode
abrnerhu enabled ma to dealtm. build and couln
my factory with tho latcat Improved 'abor-savinir. cMt-rcdutlnrt machinery- another
but aavlns which I elva to my customers My plant, today, la the largeritexclu-lvatu
etoo factory In the world, the entire output of which Is sold only direct to en.lne iun,
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WITTF IRONWORKS COMPANY
1HS9 Oakland Arenut, a
rtan-.i kiif
Mo, r7ir5K5i
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Ill
i
mssEissz&smmm
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