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About Ashland tidings. (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 4, 1915)
PAGE SIX ASHLAND TIDINGS Monday, February 4, 1015 A Great Mystic Story by Harold McGrath Copyright, 1914, by Harold McGrath. SYNOPSIS. ' Zudora Is left an orphan at an early age. Her father Is killed in a gold mine. Kudora and the fortune from the mine, which . grows to be worth fro.COO.OOO, are left in the guardianship of Frank Kecne, Zudora's mother's brother. Zudora, giv ing promise of great beauty, renchts the age of eighteen. The uncle, who has set himself up as a llindj mystic and is known as llu.ssam Ali, derides that Zu dorn must die before she can have a chance to come Into possession of her money, so that It may be left to him, the next of kin. llassam Ali sees an obstacle to his scheme In the person of John Storm, a young lawyer, for whom Zu dora has taken a fancy, and he com mands the girl to put the man out of her mind Zudora insists that If she cannot marry Storm she will marry no one. "Well, well,'- says llassam Ali, "if you take such a stand I'll compromise. Solve my next twenty cases and you can murry lilm; fail In a single case and you must renounce him." Kudora, using the knowledge gained from years of association with her uncle, unravels a baflling mystery and wins her llrst case a case In which John Storm is eaved from being convicted of a murder Instigated by llassam Ali himself Zudura and llassam All visit Nabok Shan's house, where sleep overcomes ev ery one whenever Nabok attempts to mar ry a princess. Storm, seekiiiK Zudora, Is made a prisoner. Kudora foils Nabok Shan, restores the princess to her original lover and eaves Storm from death. CHAPTER III. The Mystery of ths Cheesemaker. IN u kind of collar, under a wludow, a man sat, bent over a peculiarly constructed machine of suiall wheels that spun with lightning rapidity Every now and then he paus ed and scrutinized the minute object lie held in his lingers. At length he seemed satisfied, rose, stopped the ma chine and shuttled over to a. cupboard. Then he sat down on n cot and began to tlgtire in a small notebook. The re sult of his mathematics evidently pleased him. la a corner brffdnd curtains stood a furnace, a crucible, with powerful bel lows and chimney. It looked adapta ble to tremendous heat pressure. The machine previously referred to was an unfamiliar one to any but the eyes of those who have watched similar ma chines In Amsterdam and Kotterdam, lu Holland. It was a diamond cutting and polishing machine. What the un usual crucible brought forth remained to be seen. The diamond cutter rose again and once more approached the cupboard nnd gloated over his treasure, which consisted of half a dozen perfect gems perfectly cut and polished, but small. "1 shall be rich some day." Then came sudden transition from Joy to gloom, lie dared not go forth openly to sell these gems, for he feared thai he would be looked upon as a thief. The Tact that these diamonds were not registered would act against lilm. The least they would do would be to hale lilm before the customs olll chils as a smuggler. And If he told the truth his wonderful discovery would become public property, and he would be ruined. "1 am unlucky," he groaned. "1 see how it Is 1 must divide with some one In order to get anything. 1 will Bound llassam Ali." He had disposed of several gems among pawnbrokers who were known not to ask questions, but lu these trans actions he had received but a fourth of what the gems were worth. These things contributed to his sudden rise and fall of spirits. lie was also some thing of a madman. Presently he sniffed. There was a faint odor of curds lu the air. Beyond the wall was a cheesemaker's shop, and there oue could buy anything from a Ciimemhcrt to what U known os a Dutch cheese. The diamond cutter dis covered that he was hungry. So he left his den, bought some cheese and rye bread and returned, soon to begin Ids labors again. During certain In tervals of silence he heard without ap parent notice alight scratching sounds. The furnace began to glow, throwing weird lights upon his lined and ecstat ic countenance. When night came he went again to Ills treasure and gave a cry of anguish. A ueni was gone! He searched thor wurhly. but could not and It It could mil be possible that he had made a ndf:il;e lu the original counting. He would go and have his friend llassam All iiM.k into his crystal. There were v . Ml Trm revelations made there, and H--UM. mi reassured him that the v '-..mi,j if. found. ' '.! n. xt day. after Zudorn hnd gone rr'ii i- meet her lover. Hassan) All wan iitinred Hasstun All retired to the mystic room. He was curious to nee how long his sister's face would keep lormlug lu the heart of the crys tal He wa Intensely superstitious without reullr.lug the fact Vet again he saw Hie face, the same appeal In It His heart swelled with fury and hate He was beginning to hate bis niece, for we Invariably bate those we have wrouged or Intend to wrong. Whenever he saw her slender white throat a horrible, almost Irresistible, desire laid bold of hltn to take that white throat within his Augers and crush the life out of It At the same time he became vaguely alarmed lest at some time or other be should sur render to this mad desire. ' No, uo! i I'M: if -rnfim. y 1 TV ! w. 's P Hassam Ali Was an Adept at Disguis ing Himself. A thousand times no! He must fol low without deviation the plans he had mapped out Sooner or later he would gain his ends without incrimi naiing himself. She suspected noth ing. One side of her was all keenness nnd Insight, but the other side of her was as guileless as n child, and to this side he always played. He must wait, tedious as waiting might be. Gold, gold, yellow gold, the most beautiful thing In the world; millions of shining disks, all his. He suddenly shook him self. He must smother these thoughts, this rampant desire, or he might over step. Misers are full of strange cun ning. Zudorn had given her word to say nothing about her great Inheritance, and her loyalty to her word was as strong as hoops of steel. nassam All was nu adept nt dis guising himself, making himself un recognizable. A half dozen touches of the brush, a mutller about his chin, and even Zudorn would fail to recog nize him at llrst glance. He sallied forth He was eager to learn what J Storm was doing. For the present Storm was the main obstacle in his way. If he became Zudora's husband, goodby to the Tralnor millions, wheth er Zudorn lived or not. If Zudora married Storm clandestinely he was determined upon that knowledge to kill them both. Once a week he made Inquiries at the burenu of licenses. Zudora met Storm In the park, and they Idled nv.'ny an hour or two build Ing castles In Spain, The will of Ja son Olds having been probated. Storm was the recipient of a hundred thou snnd, which he Immediately divided between several hospitals. He wanted It known that, aside from his business relations, be wanted nothing of Olds, living or dead. His gift reacted fa vorably. Storm became suddenly serious. "My denr." he said, "I want to ask you some really vital questions." "Go ahead." "Do you love your uncle?" She did not answer at once because the question was totally unexpected. She began to think. "Why. John, that's an odd question." "I know It, but I Just simply had to ask It." "I respect him." she snld. "for he Is a man of extraordinary nttnioments. r Wt v . ft' . ) ii-;vt.i Zudora Mat 8torm In th Park. for all that you sometimes smile at bis occupations." "It Is precisely because be plnys at this mummery and is nt the same lime an extraordinary man that 1 ask you If you love him." "Love Is a strange thing," she re plied evasively. She felt strangely stirred over the trend of conversation. MYou don't answer me directly." He was an ottorney nud hnd something of the bulldos'a grip. There rere ninny unhappy witnesses who would testify to that "Well, no; I can't say honestly that I love him." frowning. "Nor can you say honestly that he loves you. My dear girl, I might as well ndmit to you that some oue Is in terested lu putting me out of the way. I've been shot at lu the dark on three different occasions. 1 have received anonymous letters purporting to come from some disgruntled politician. I think the best thing you can do is to marry me." "Not until every letter of my agree ment Is complete." "I suppose you've made up your mind?" "Yes. Just as firmly as I have made up my mind that you're my man and that I wouldn't exchange you for the greatest kiugdom on earth." He laughed and pressed hir hand. He hnd been on the point of telling her his Innermost suspicions. He saw now thtit she was going to have trouble enough without his adding to It Brave little girl! Because she loved him she had assumed almost three times the tasks of Hercules. He became more nud more determined to follow her nnd stand guard over her in everv case sh bad-tuat Is. If they left him alone. From the bottom of his soul he dis trusted Keene. llassam All. so called. It did not require an unusually sharp Intuition to feel the sense of hatred di rected against him whenever he came Into the presence of the mystic. Uut he possessed no defined theory as to what had caused this activity of mis sion. It was born of no tender Rent! meut for the niece. Nor could it be due to the fact that he. Storm,-looked with contempt upon Keene's work. He knew Keene to be absolutely Indiffer ent to what the public thought of his affairs. In this Storm was compelled to admit of a secret admiration for the man. Think deeply and constantly as he might, however, he could not bring to the surface any legitimate cause for Keene's hitter antagonism. Storm's mistake was that he did not reveal to Zudora what his real susnl clous were that It was Hassam All who wanted bim out of the way. They both In that event would have escaned a good deal of trouble, being mutually prepared for It When they at last separated Storm went downtown, oulte aware of the fact that he was being shndowed. But ho did not recognize his shndower. Storm tisunlly worked late at nleht In his study, and he generally felt the need of a bite before turning In. Tills midnight lunch consisted of cheese nnd crackers and a pint of ale. He was seldom troubled with Insomnia. Every other day he would drop Into Alt mnnn's cheese shop, chat awhile with the cheesemaker. his wife and daugh at r wKs u r $ rr til "Aik ell 1 1 He Would Drop Into Altmann's Cheeas Shop. ter, nnd then leuve with bis regular purchase. Now it -happened that Flnssnm All's midnight appetite wns similar to that of Storm's, except that Hassam All never touched alcoholic beverages of any sort Moreover, he was friend to both cheesemaker and diamond cut ter. There was more to the latter than most people suspected. When the mystic saw Storm cuter the cheese maker's his first Inspiration was to learn what sort of cheese he generally purchased and eventunlly substitute a poisoned one. It was Immaterial to hlin whether Alumina paid for the deed or not t As Storm entered one door the din mond cutter came out or the other. Hassam All made n sign, which the latter answered. Together they re entered the building. Hnssam All bad uo desire to run Into Storm. "I did not recognize you, master,'' said the diamond cutter. "And never recognize me unless you see me make the slgu. Well, have you made up your mind?" "I nm going to trust you." "Why not? I may be able to help you a great deal." said llassam All. secretly pleased Hint he had wo his point "1 am like h physician or a priest Whatever yon may tell me will be burled lu my breast." his strong, magnetic eyes boring Into the other's The diamond cutter was always In such a mental state as to lend himself readily to hypnotism, nnd without be ing aware of It he fell under the spell Immediately Hassam All spoke to him. "Lend on." The diamond cutter led the way to his cell-like shop nnd threw back the curtains, revealing the furnace and crucible- Deftly he placed a piece of carbon In the receptuclo nnd turned a witch. There cauio a blinding dash and the beat of it drove Hassam All backward toward the wall. "We must wait a few momenta. Sometimes the heat Is too small, some times too hot The secret Is the me dium heat" The speaker threw off the power, stood Immovable for the space of four minutes, then delicately picked out a black lump. This he skillfully broke with a small hammer. Presently he held out his palm. A crystal a little larger than a plnhead lay upon It "What Is It?" asked Hassam All. "A diamond of the purest water," was the exultant answer. "The main obstacle In producing diamonds arti ficially hns been the great expense for each experiment It was not practl cal diamond making. There was no compensation in the result It sum med up. Just a man of science striving to wrest from nature one of her great est secrets. It costs me about one fourth of what each diamond Is worth But I must have a bigger furnace, more power. I have figured out the relative degrees of bent" "Will you let me take this crystal to a Jeweler?" asked llassam All," tre mendously interested. "Certainly. I have sold muny to pawnbrokers, but I have been afraid to come out Into the open." "Trust me," said Hassam AIL So he took the diamond away, ne was still a bit skeptical. It might be that this diamond cutter was not such a fool as he looked. In some scientific manner the crystal might have been previously confined In the carbon. If the man offered to sell his Invention Hassam Ali would feel assured that there was bamboozlement somewhere ft - s..j.::v. 1. .vj ..". f, -1 J! 1 Si r.t'i'l, i,-- "A diamond of the purest water." in the background, ne was himself too old a bird to be caught at such a game. But If this was honestly done! He was Informed at the Jeweler's that the crystal was an uncut diamond, perfectly white, and worth about $40 So far so good. Hassam All returned to the luveutor. "It's a white diamond, worth nbnut $40. Now. before we go any further, let me see a piece of carbon." The inventor exhibited his stock and Invited Hassam All to make his selec tion. To Hassam's mind, had each piece contained a diamond the Inven tor already possessed a small fortune He was beginning to feel reassured. Soon another diamond came to life, as It were. Hassam Ali was convinced There wns no charlatanism in him. The man hnd discovered oue of the greatest secrets in the world. "Ob, I have failures. Sometimes the carbon is not right Agnln, the power Is not strong enough. But I will show you some of the gems I have already made." He went to the cupboard and pro duccd his little board. He poured them into nassam All's bands. Tbe gems were all exquisitely cut and pol Ished, Tbe largest was about the size of an ordinnry parlor match head. "How many here?" luqulred tbe vis itor, now genuinely astoulshed. "Ten." nassam All counted them. He shook bis head. "Only eight" "Impossible!" ' "Count them yourself.' The Inventor did so. He ran to the cupboard and searched every nook. "1 have been robbed!" "Sh; not so loud!" warned Hnssam All. "You say you nut ten stones In .-..v.!.,pf; The Crytur Was an Uncut Diamond. there. Here nre but eight In other words, some one ban been rifling the cupboard. My advice Is to cntt-u the thief without drawing the police ..n Put seals on the door nnd tbe lock. I notice tbnt tbe wall la very thin." "Bah! Altmann Is an old fool. He thinks 1 am a locksmith," contemptu ously. "You never can tell. 1 will come to morrow, and together we'll examine tbe seals." "But what do you think?" "About what?" "The stones." "Oh, I am quite certain that in the event of your being able to make the stones In carat sizes you will not only be famous, but rich. Still, you know what a sensitive tiling a diamond is. it would be wise to keep your secret until you have made your fortune." "I'm no fool. If it got about that 1 made diamonds at a profit, however The Trap Was Neatly Arranged and Laid. small, the diamond market would go to smash." Seals were applied to the cupboard, and Hassam All went away. The moment he was gum the dia mond cutter berated himself furiously. What had possessed him to take Has sam Alt so utterly into his confidence? And there was a thief about: How could any oue have known that be had diamonds? And more puzzling than all else, why hadn't tbe thief taken them all? He did not sleep well that night When he nnd nnssnm All broke the seals lu the morning there were but six stones left "Altmann:" cried the diamond cut ter. "He hns some hole lu the wall. I'll kill him!" "Be still!" said nassam All sternly, seizing the man and shaking him vio lently. "If he Is guilty and hears you, goodby to your gems. We'll put a dic tograph in and find out what the cheesemaker and hi family talk about You needn't wonrabout the excuse. J'll see to that And we'll go to work at once. A dictograph down the wall egely. Then be picked it up and broke ; It.- It was a good cheese, and it would I be Rhamcful to waste It "lyjok!" he cried suddenly. From ; the cheese be plucked a small diu-; QJUtKl "I knew it!" exclaimed the unhnppy ; diamond cutter. "It's Altmann, after ; all!" .Meantime Storm, having lost hla; cheese in the small riot and learning that the cry had tieen a practical Joke or the clever scheme of a petty thief, returned to t lie shop, somewhat milled In spirit to purchase another cheese. He had scarcely taken It into his hand when the diamond cutter, folluwed by two policemen, came rushing In and demanded the arrest of every one tu tbe shop that Is to say. Storm, the1 cheesemaker and bis wife. They did i not take his daughter, who remained behind weeping. Storm was permitted to telephone Zudora. "What Is the matter?" she de manded. "It seems that I've been arrested as an accomplice of Altmnnu, the cheese maker, on the charge of stealing dia monds from a diamond cutter living next door. The diamonds were found In a cheese I bought As a matter of fact. 1 think it's a practical Joke of some sort You know where Altmann's Is. Nothing serious can possibly come of It. hut I'll have to do a lot of buy ing when I leave tbe police station. Tlie laugh Is on me somewhere." "I'll have you out before midnight." she declared But she nearly lost her life In the furnace room. The diamond cutter ran amuck when he saw tier enter bis chamber of secrets, and he Hew at her like an enraged tiger. She eluded him ii jid picked up n hammer, with which to defend herself. The hammer was nothing to the madman. He reached out to clutch tier when he gave a weird cry, stumbled and fell headlong m ii mm m 0'! 1 in The Cry Had Been a Practical Joke. and a bear trap In front of the cup board, nnd we'll soon know who the culprit Is." The dictograph wns promptly Install ed, and the trap was neatly arranged and laid. But the conversation record ed was useless, and nobody stepped into tbe bear trap. Two more dia monds were gone! "Listen," wild Hassam All. "I'll rush out yelling 'Fire! Flrel That will clear the cheese shop nnd give me a chance to make un Investigation." "1 leave everything to you," said the half demented Inventor He was punt ing and holding his baud over his heart "It is making nie ill. My heart Is bad." Things fell out us Hnssam All pre dicted. Only be hnd not expected John Storm In the cheese shop. At the cry of fire Storm rau out with the others and accidentally dropped his purchase. Hassam All saw tbo package fall, nud, Instend of entering the shop, bo ran to the package nnd picked It up, on the principle that anything belonging to John Storm might eventunlly prove useful. He thrust It into his pocket and started back to make bis Invest! (rations, but It wan now too Inte. The cbeesemnker, seeing uo signs of fire nnywhere, bad returned to bis shop 8o Onssnm All made his wny back to tbe diamond cutter's. When he open ed the package and found some cheese be swore and flung it from bim sav- He Reached Out to Clutch Her. into the furnace mouth. His heart had given out And so Hassans All would never be able to add diamonds to his pyramids of shining gold. But the death or the diamond cutter complicated matters, and. despite the protestations or Innocence on the part of the victims, they Were held. When the truth did come out finally the whole city laughed quietly. Zu dora discovered the thieves-a pair of bright eyed mice who laid decided to go house building with diamonds as a cornerstone! iTO BE CONTINUED. In the Presence of Death. Some years ago a Swuusea vessel wns cnught In a terrible, gale. The captain hnd his wife on board, and when the wind was still rising he told her to go down below nnd sleep, for all was well. He remained on tho bridge till the mate came up and said: -We've done all we can. Uadu't you better tell the chaps to get out tbo boats?" "Yes, yes. my lad. If you think so" said the captain, who kuew the only choice left was whether to go down with the ship or In a small boat which couldn't live ten seconds lu that sen. The engineers came up with the news tbnt the fires were nil out "Very well, my lads." said the cap tain quietly. "Save yourselves if you can." "Won't you fetch the wife on deck, sir?" usked oue of the men. "No." wns the calm reply. "Let her sleep, poor girl! I am going down to have o smoke." And. smoking by tbe bedside of his sleeping wife, he went down with the Rhlp. Didn't Recognize Her. - She wns of a somewhat haughty na ture nnd. being on a shopping expedi tion with a friend, happened to men. a glimpse of nn acquaintance she did not wish to recognize. "Let us go this way past tbe silt counter. I Just saw some one 1 don't care to meet" "Who Is her asked her friend, who aid not see any one near them. ,' "Oh. some horrid woman with a smirk on her face. Of course have only a bowing acquaintance with bcr and, although her face Is familiar i cannot remember her name." ' They finished their shopping, and the two women found themselves nt the same point where one or them had seen her disn green ble acquaintance "There she Is ngnln. Why. do' De. llcve she's been bere all tbe timer she Sm P K l tbe Pt!r,on ,n ' "Tbnt woman? Goodness sokes thnt's yourself you see In the mirror" tbcro!"-Knnsas city star.