Washington County news., July 07, 1904, Page 4, Image 4

I
«► ■
£«•'
GRAUSTARK
”
. . . By . . .
GEORGE BARR McCUTCHEON
;«< ►
Copurioht , tool, try Herbert 8. Stone
spired. “ W e’ll ta k e chances and nope
for th e best. I f w e see w e a re going to
fall, we can th e n call for th e gunrds.
T he grounds a re d o u b tless full of sol­
diers. T he only p a rt I’m w orried ab o u t
is th e groping th ro u g h th a t s tra n g e
d a rk c a stle.”
"W e m u st do som e calcu latin g , and
w e m ust stick close to g eth er. * By
w a tc h in g w h ere th ey sta tio n th e tw o
V iennese w e can figure a b o u t w h a t d i­
rection w e m u st ta k e to get to th e p rin ­
cess’ room. Sh! Isn ’t th u t som e one
app ro ach in g ?"
T hey s tra in e d tlie lr e a rs for a mo­
m ent and th en in v o lu n tarily , sp asm o d ­
ically shook hands, each heav in g th e
deep b re a th of ex citem en t. T h e s te a lth y
ru stle of m oving bodies w as heard,
fain t, b u t positive. It w as u m om ent
of suspense th a t w ould h av e stra in e d
th e nerve o f a stone im age. W here
w ere th e a b d u c to rs? On w hich side of
th e rood and from w h a t directio n did
C H A P T E R IX .
th ey com e? Oh. fo r th e eyes of a cut!
T H E E X P L O IT O F LO RH Y A N D A N O U I8 B .
T h e re w as a slig h t shuttling of feet
U R IN G tb e h a lf hour sp e n t in
n
e
a r th e g ate, a su p p ressed "S h!’' an d
th e g rassy ditch o r g u tte r they (
th
en
d eu th ly silence. T he g a te opened,
spoke n o t m ore th a n h a lf a
dozen tim es a n d In tb e falu tesl u fa in t c re a k in g a tte s tin g th e fact, fol
of w hispers.
They could heur the lowed by th e heavy b re a th in g of men.
g u ard pacing th e d riv e w a y inside the th e noise of subdued a c tiv ity , th e scent
ponderous gate, b u t aside from his of chloroform , som e w h isp erin g and
footsteps no sound w as d istinguishable. th e n th e cre a k in g of th e g ate.
" T h e y 'v e gone.” w hispered A nguish.
A sense o f oppression cam e o v er the
tw o w a tc h ers as th e m in u tes grew L o rry ’s form arose to a crouching pos
longer and m ore d e a th lik e in th e ir still­ tu re, an d a m om ent la te r he w as cross­
ing th e road w ith th e tre a d of a cat.
ness.
They knew n o th in g of the su rro u n d ­ his cane gripped firm ly in his hand.
ings. If they failed, th e re w as the d a n ­ A nguish follow ed w ith d ro w n revolver.
ger o f being shot by th e g u a rd s before So still w as th e ir ap proach th a t they
uu e x p la n a tio n could be m ade. If they w ere upon tb e figure o f a m an before
succeeded, it m u st be th ro u g h sheer they w ere a w a re of th e fact. In the
good fo rtu n e and not th ro u g h prow ess d a rk n e ss th e forem ost A m erican -sa w
of m ind or m uscle. Both knew the th e o u tlin e o f a hum an figure l»ending
sensible, Judicious act would be to over a long object on th e ground. He
alurm th e g u a rd s a n d th u s avoid all could sm ell chloroform strongly and
possible chance of a fiasco. W ith m is­ g rasp ed tb e situ a tio n . T h e V iennese
giv in g s and d o u b ts In th e ir h e a rts the w as a d m in iste rin g th e drug, his com ­
tw o self appointed g u a rd ia n s of the p anions having left th a t d u ty for him
p rin cess lay th e n 1 upon the g rass, to p erform . No d o u b t th e tre a ch e ro u s
a fra itl to give up the project, y e t fe a r­ g u a rd sm a n w as lying calm ly on his
back, bound and gagged, w elcom ing
ing th e outcom e.
“T h e dickens will be to pay, Ixirry, unconsciousness w ith a sm ile o f 8€>curl-
If they dls|M>se of th is g u ard on th e In­ ty.
As soon ns L orry gained his b earin g s
side und look the gate. T hen how are
fully he prepured to fell th e w re tc h
we to follow ?” w hispered A nguish.
Iiorry w as th o u g h tfu l for aw hile. H e w ho w as to stan d w atch. A nguish
felt th e chill of d lscourugem eut in his heard his frie n d ’s figure suddenly shoot
to a n e re c t position. T h e re w as a w h ir­
h eart.
“ In th a t case we m u st He o u tside aud rin g sound as of d istu rb ed a ir and then
w a it till th ey come o u t w ith th e p rin ­ a d ull th u d . S om ething rolled o v er ou
cess; th en m ake a sudden a s sa u lt aud file ground, an d all w as still, l i e w as
rescue her. In th e d a rk n e ss w e can ut L o rry ’s side in an In sta n t.
“ I hope 1 hav en ’t killed him !” whis*
m ak e them th iu k th e re a re a dozen res­
cuer»,“ he w hispered a t length. A fter pered lsirry . “Quick 1 H e re is his b o t­
aw h ile A nguish asked a n o th e r a p p a l­ tle of ether. Hold It b e n e ath his nose.
ling question, the o u tg ro w th o f bruin I am going to pile th e body of th is
guard crossw ise on top of him. H e w ill
rack in g stu d y i
“ Huppose these fellow s, who w ill bo not be ab le to a rise If he should recov-
in g u a rd s ’ uniform , should tu rn about rr consciousness.”
All th is w as done In a m om ent’s tim e,
a n d c a p tu re us. W h at th en ? W e a re
stra n g e rs , an d o u r story w ould not be and th e tw o tru c k e rs w ere b eaded for
believed. They could slip aw ay lu th e the e n tra n ce . T he g a te w as a ja r tw o
e x citem en t e n d leave us lu a very aw k- •r th re e feet. W ith tu rb u le n t h e a rts
I hoy stole thro u g h .
w n rd position.”
“ K eep along th e w all.” «whispered
“ H a rry . If w e a re going to h a tc h up
all so rts of possibilities, let’s give up L orry, “and tru s t to luck. T h e c a stle
th e th in g rig h t now. I h a re th o u g h t of is to th e le ft.”
a th o u sa n d contingencies, and I realize
W ith o u t hesitatio n they c re p t over
how d e s p e ra te th e Job is to tie. W e the noiseless g rass close- beside th e
m u st e ith e r c a st d iscretion to th e w inds w all. D irectly they b eard sounds n e a r
o r we m ust re tre a t. W hich sh a ll w e at band. T h e ab d u c to rs w ere binding
do?”
and ch loroform ing th e g u ard a t th e ar-
“O ast a sid e discretion and hang o u r !>or. A fte r w aitin g for som e m om ents
fe a rs.” said th e o th er, once m ore in­ thev h eard th e p a rty glide a w a y In the
CHAPTER 1.—G renfall L orry, a wealthy Am erican
globe trotter, itumblca Into acquaintance with a charm ­
ing foreign girl on the train from Denver to W aahlngtoo.
The pair ii left behind when the flier stopa for repair* in
W eft V irginia. II.—Lorry wires ahead to hold the train.
He and the unknown g irl ride twenty m iles at a tearing
pace in a m ountain conch. T here is no love-m aking,
but a near approach to It as the rolling stage tumble* the
paisenger* about. III.—L orry dine* with the foreign
party, com liting of Ml** O uggenslocker, Uncle Caspar
and Aunt Yvonne. T hey are natives of G raustark, a
country Lorry had never heard of before. IV .—Lorry
shows the foreigner* the sights of W ashington. They
leave for New York to sail on the Kaiser W ilhelm .
Miss O uggenslocker naively calls Lorry her “ ideal
Am erican” and invites him to come and see her at Edel­
weiss. V. W ildly infatuated, Lorry hurries to New
York. The name O uggenslocker Is not on the steam er
list. He sees the steam er off. Miss O. waves him a kiss
from the deck. VI.—Lorry loins his old friend, H arry
Anguish, an American artist, In Paris. G raustark and
Its capital, Edelweiss, are located by a guide hook. The
Am ericans get no trace of the Guggenslocker* there.
VII. Lorry secs his charm er driving in a carriage with
a beautiful companion of her own sex. He gets a glance
of recognition, but the carriage rolls on, leaving the
m ystery unsolved. L ater he receives a note a t his hotel
slgnen Sophia O uggenalockrr, Inviting him to visit her
next day. VIII. In the evening Lorry and Anguish
ramble about the ground* of the castle where dwells the
court of the Princess of G raustark. T hey overhear a
plot to abducts the princess and reaolve to capture the
plotters red handed.
D
a a ra n e s s and follow ed. T he Dody or
th e g u a rd w a s lying ju s t o u tside th e
m outh o f th e arbor, a n d th e odor of
chloroform w as alm o st overpow ering.
Once inside th e long arb o r, th e A m eri­
can s m oved slow ly a n d w ith g re a te r
caution. T h e re w as a dim lig h t in a
b asem en t w indow ahead. T o w ard th e
fro n t o f th e c a stle an d in th e second
I story a fa in t glow cam e from a n o th e r
w indow . T hey guessed it to be from
th e p rin c e ss’ room o r from t h a t o f th e
countess.
At la st they saw fo u r figures steal
p a st th e dim b asem en t light. One of
them linlted n e a r th e w indow a n d th re e
crept a w a y in th e d a rk n e ss. P re se n tly
one o f them re tu rn e d , an d all a c tiv ity
w as a t an end fo r th e tim e b^ing. H ow
a e a r it w ns to 2 o’clock th e w a te h e rs
could not tell. T hey only knew th a t
they w ere w ith in tw enty-five feet of
Geddos an d O strom a n d th a t they
w ould not h a v e long to w ait.
Soon a b rig h t little blaze of light
crossed th e b asem en t opening. Then
it re tu rn e d , crossing a second tim e and
a th ird . All w a s still ag ain . T he soft
shuttle of a foot, th e ru stle of a rb o r
vines, and th e form of a m nn craw led
up to th e w indow . W ith inconceivable
s te a lth an d c a re fu ln e ss it glided
th rough th e a p e rtu re , follow ed by a
com panion.
Lorry a n d A nguish w ere a t th e open­
ing a second o r tw o later, ly in g flat on
th e ir stom achs an d listening fo r sounds
from w ithin. T he dim light w as still
lliere. the w indow w ns open und th e re
w as a sound of w hispering.
L orry
raised his head an d peered thro u g h ,
tak in g c a lc u la tio n s w hile th e light
m ade it possible. H e saw an open door
ou th e opposite side of th e low room,
w ith step s beyond leading u pw ard.
B etw een th e w indow and th e door th e re
w ere no obstacles.
Up those steps
he saw th re e men creep, th e leader
carry in g the dim light. T h e door w as
left open, do u b tless to afford u n im ­
peded ex it from th e building In caHe
of em ergency. H a rry A nguish touched
L o rry ’s arm .
“ 1 took th e tw o p istols from th a t
V ienna m an o u t there. W e m ay need
them . H e re is one fo r y o u rself. Go
first. L orry.’’ he w hispered.
Lorry stu ck th e rev o lv er In his coat
(iccket and gently slid th ro u g h th e w in­
dow to tb e floor below. H is frien d fol­
lowed. an d they paused to listen. Tnk-
spacious nail. T h e A m ericans n ad n o
tim e a n d no d esire to inspect th e ir s u r­
roundings. T h e w ide doors a t th e fa r
side of tb e room opened softly, a n d
h ere th e trio paused. D ow n a g re a t
m arble h a llw a y a dim red light shed
Its so ft glow . It cam e from th e lam p
a t th e foot o f th e b road sta irc a se.
T h e cook pointed to th e ste p s and
th en g a v e h is th u m b a je rk to w a rd th e
l e f t W ith o u t th e le a st sign of fe a r
G eddos a n d O strom glided into th e
hall a n d m ade fo r th e staircase. T h e
w a tc h e rs could not b u t feel a th rill o f
a d m ira tio n fo r th e se d a rin g w retches.
B ut now a new d a n g e r co n fro n ted
them . T h e cook rem ain ed sta n d in g in
th e do o rw ay w a tc h in g his fellow s in
crim e! H ow w ere th ey to pass him ?
T h e re w a s no tim e to be lost. T b e
ab d u c to rs w e re creep in g up th e ste p s
a lre ad y , a n d tb e cook m u st be d is­
posed of. H e h ad blow n out th e lig h t
w hich h e c a rrie d a n d w as now a very
dim sh ad o w .
L o rry glided fo rw a rd
a n d in a n in s ta n t stood b efo re th e
am azed fellow , ja m m in g a pistol in to
his face.
"A sound a n d you die!” he hissed.
"D o n ’t m over* cam e a n o th e r w h is ­
per, a n d a second revolver touched hi-»
ear. T h e cook, p e rh a p s, did n o t know
th e ir lan g u ag e, b u t he c e rta in ly u n d e r­
stood its m eaning. H e tre m b le d a n d
w ould h a v e fa lle n to th e floor h a d n o t
th e s tro n g h a n d o f L orry pinned him
to th e w all. T h e h an d w a s on h is
th ro a t too.
“C hloroform him, H a rry , an d don’t
let him m ak e a sound!” w h isp e re d th e
o w n er of th e hand. A n g u ish ’s tw itc h ­
ing fingers succeeded th o se o f his
frien d on th e cook’s th ro a t, h is pistol
w ns re tu rn e d to h is pocket, a n d th e
little b o ttle cam e a g a in in to use.
" I ’ll go a h ead . Follow m e a s soon
ns you h a v e finished th is fello w . Be
c a re fu l a n d tu rn to th e le ft w h e n you
come to th e top.”
L orry w a s off across th e m arb le floor,
headed fo r th e s ta irw a y , and A nguish
w as left in ch a rg e of th e cook, o f w hom
he w as to m ake sh o rt w ork.
Now
cam e th e d e sp era te , u n c e rtain p a rt of
th e tra n sa c tio n . Suppose he w ere to
m eet th e tw o c o n sp ira to rs a t th e h ead
of the stn lrs, o r in th e hall, o r th a t th e
o th e r trn ito r, D annox, should a p p e a r
to f r u s tra te all. I t w as th e m ost tr y ­
ing m om ent in th e w hole life o f th e
reckless Lorry.
W hen n e a r th e top of th e steps, he
hugged th e high b a lu s tra d e a n d c a u ­
tiously peered ahead. H e found him ­
self looking dow u a long hall, a t th e
f a r end o f w hich, to his rig h t, a dim
light w as b urning, 'lu c r e w as no
sound and th e re w as no sign o f th e
tw o men e ith e r to th e rig h t o r to th e
l e f t I lls h e a rt felt like lead. T hey
ev id en tly had e n te red th e p rin cess’
room. H ow w ns he to find th a t room ?
Slow ly he w riggled across th e broad,
d a rk hall, s tra ig h te n in g up in th e
shadow of a g re a t post. F rom th is
point he edged along th e w all fo r a dis­
tan c e o f ten o r tw elv e feet to th e left.
A sound cam e from f a r th e r dow n th e
hall, an d he Im agined he h e a rd som e
one approaching.
(Continued)
GOOD THINGS AT
“ A etiund a n d i/ou «11«/” he hissed.
!ng A nguish by th e han d th e o th e r led
t* e way s tra ig h t to th e spot w here he
rem em b ered seeing th e door.
Boldly th e tw o m en began th e b re a th ­
less a sce n t o f th e stone steps. T h e top
w as reached, a n d f a r ah ead , dow n a
n a rro w hall, they sa w th e th re e m en
und th e dim light m oving. T w o of
them w ore u n ifo rm s of g u ard s. K eep­
in g close to th e w all, th e ir follow ers
c re p t a f te r them . U p a n o th e r flight of
ste p s th ey w e n t End th en th ro u g h a
Nicholson & Son,
Forest Grove, Oregon
GROCERY STORE