f
He thought be bad beard a woman*« down the
stu.lease when h*
voice—a voice he knew. Perbapa that ,--------------- —
**<ui.
was only a dream. He must have
"Murder!
Stop tci^i!
Stop that
been asleep some time, because the man! Stop that maul"
lights were out and, seemingly, every-
There was a rush of feet and hum
body had gone to bed. He wondered of voices, which made Howard run
what the noise which started him all the faster He leaped down four ^
could have been. Suddenly he beard steps at a time In his anx.ety to get
When in need of GROCERIES don t forget
a groan. He listened Intently, but all away But It was no easy matter de- j
that we carry a full line of both Staple and
was still. The silence was uncanny. scendlng so many flights oi stairs. It j
Fancy.
Now thoroughly frightened, How took him several minutes to reach the i
ard cautiously groped his way about, mulu floor.
TH E RIGHT PRICE AN D Q U A L IT Y
By this time the w hole hotel was j
trying to And the electric button. He
had no Idea what time It was. It aroused. Telephone calls had quick
must be very late. What an ass he ly warned the attendants, who had
was to drink so much! He wondered promptly sent for the police. By the I
what Annie would say when he didn't time How ard reached the main en- j
return. He was a hound to let her trance he was Intercepted by a mob
Main Stree#
Phone 701
sit up and worry like that. Well, this too numerous to resist.
Things certainly looked black for
would be a lesson to him—It was the
last time he'd ever touch a drop. Of ^ him. As he sat, white and trembling, J
course, he had promised her the same . uDder guard In a corner of the en- j
thing a hundred times before, but this trance hall, waiting for the arrival of j
time he meant it. His drinking was the police, the valet breathlessly gave
always getting him Into some fool \ the sensational particulars to the rap-
scrape or other.
j idly growing crowd of curious on-
He was gradually working his way lookers. He had taken his usual Sun-
J. C. LATTA
along the room, when suddenly he - day out and on returning home at
C. W. MERTZ
stumbled over somt thing on the floor midnight, as was his custom, he had
It was a man lying prostrate. Stoop let himself in with his latchkey. To
ing, he recognized the figure.
his astonishment he had found this
■•Why—It’s Underwood!" he ex man, the prisoner, about to leave the
claimed.
premises. His manner and remarks
At first he believed his classmate were so peculiar that they at once
was asleep, yet considered It strange ! aroused his suspicion. He hurried Into
that he should have selected so un the apartment and found his master
comfortable a place. Then it occurred lying dead on the floor in a pool of
to him that he might be 111. Shaking blood. In his hurry the assassin had
him by the shoulder, he cried:
dropped his revolver,
which was lying
"Hey, Underwood, what's the
mat- | near the corpse.
As far as he could
Corner Fifth Avenue and Second Street
£e r 7 .»
see, nothing had been taken from the Both Phones
*
-
___c apartment. Evidently the man was
No response came from the pros
f
„ . „
, . „
lnuor disturbed at his work and, when sud-
trate figure. Howard stooped lower,
, . .
.
Z ^
»„..„I. denly surprised, had made the Dlun
to see better, and accidentally touch-
/
TTnH„ r
I Ing Underwoods
,r j
.. , face,
„ . found
... <
he was calling “ .. on Mr.
it » ohm
clam- that
.
. under-
ii held
i ii his
ii hand %
,r\ in
got
the right man,
my and wet. He
up
In i wood. They had
.
f.
i i* and i saw , that
*u„* it
<* i,-.,,
the moonlight
was that was certain. He . .. was , caught
. . „ red-
..
■*, blood.
»
a
otrirviy^n handed, and In . proof
hat
covered a with
Horror-stricken,
, * oi « w _
_ he said.
! the valet pointed to Howard s rlgn
W h a t W as th e Good of Re gre ts?
he cried:
hand, which was still covered with
He's bleeding—he’s
“ My God
blood.
hurt! ”
"How terrible!" exclaimed a woman
Me Namer & Wirtz, Proprietors
What had happened? An accidenti byStander, averting her face. "So
—or worse? Quickly he felt the man's young, too!”
a H a B O B A U W I I CDU
pulse. It had ceased to beat. Under
“ It's all a mistake, I tell you. It's
wood was dead.
all a mistake," cried Howard, almost
and Tiilamook Stage Lines.
For a moment Howard was too panic-stricken. "I'm a friend of Mr.
much overcome by bis discovery to Underwood's.”
know what to think or do. What
"Nice friend!” sneered an onlooker.
dreadful tragedy could have hap
"Tell that to the police," laughed
pened? Carefully groping along the another.
mantelpiece, he at last found the elec
"Or to the marines!” cried a third.
tric button and turned on the light.
“ It’s the chair for hls'n!" opined a
There, stretched out on the floor, lay fourth.
Underwood, with a bullet hole in his
liy this time the main entrance hall
left temple, from which blood had was crowded with people, tenants
flowed freely down on his full-dress and passersby attracted by the un
shirt. It was a ghastly sight. The wonted commotion. A scandal In high
ILLUSTRATIONS BY RAY WALTERS
eoptwcHr, 1909, or c.w. D illingham company
man's white, set face, covered with life is always caviare to the sensa
(Bellinger’s Old Stand)
a crimson stream, made a repulsive tlon seeker. Everybody excitedly in
“
It’s
no
use
battling
against
the
tide.
SY NO PS IS .
The strongest swimmer must go under spectacle. On the floor near the body quired of his neighbor:
BICYCLES, NEW AND SECOND HAND. REPAIRING OF ALL KINDS
I've played my last card was a highly polished revolver, still
“ What is it? What's the matter?"
Tl»w»r<1 Jeffrli-H. banker'» »on, under some time.
Bie evil In flu en ce of Hubert Underwood. and I've lost.
Death Is better than smoking.
Presently the rattle of wheels was
• fellow-Mtmlent a t Yale, lend» a lift- of
SAW
FILING
Local Agent gor Oregonian
SIGN PAINTING
Howard’s first supposition was that heard and a heavy vehicle driven furl
What good Is life any
dlnalpatlon. m arries the daughter of a going to jail.
n t i ih le r who died In prison, and I» <11*- way without money? Just a moment's burglars^ had entered the place hjid j ously, drew up at the sidewalk with
own.-il by his father. Ile Irle» to get work
that Underwood had been killed while a jerk. It was the police patrol
• jm I fall»
A former eolh-ge rhino make» nerve and It will all be over."
• business proposition to H ow ard which
First Avenue West o f Main Street. Phone 624
Opening the drawer In the desk, he defending his property. He remem wagon, and in it were the captain ol
rMpilres e.000 cash, and Howard Is broke.
bered now that In his drunken sleep the precinct and a half dozen police
R o b e r t Underwood, who had been re took out the revolver again. He turned
pulsed by Howard's wife, Annie, In his it over In his hand and regarded fear he had heard voices In angry alterca men
and detectives. The crowd
college tin y », and Imd onee been engaged
tion. Yet why hadn't he called for pushed forward to get a better view
to
A lid a .
Howard's
etepmothrr.
has fully the polished surface of the In
Perhaps he had and he of the burly representatives of tl.a
• p é rim a n t* at the Astrurla. and Is ap- strument that bridged life and death. assistance?
m acvntly
In
prosperous circum stances.
hadn't heard him.
law as, full of authority, they elbowed
I l , iva in ! recalls a $*2.r»0 loan to Underwood, Ho had completely forgotten Howard’s
t h a t rem a in s unpaid, and decides to asK| presence In the room. On the thresh
lie looked at the clock, and was their way unceremoniously through
E n fo r the $2.nw he needs.__ |U nderwood.
Pointing to the leader, a
takinv; advantnK« o f his Intimacy wlthl old of a terrible -Weed, his thoughts surprised to find it was not yet mid- tbe throng.
m Jeffries, 8r.. becomes a sort
social were leagues away. Like a man who night.
He believed It was at least t,ig man in plain clothes, with a
■hwmyinan. Discovering hi» true char-
Is Id drowning,
and close to death, he five o'clork In the morning. It was aq u ar e, determined jaw and a bulldog
J
a r h 'r sf»e denies him the house. AI
a
m rrtvcK a note from Underwood, threat
saw with surprising distinctness a evident that I’ nderwood had never lace they whispered one to another:
etitnft suicide
Kim decides to go and see
kaleidoscopic view of his past life. He gone to bed. The shooting had oc
'That's Capt. Clinton, chief of the
kirn
li e Is In d«-»p»*rute financial straits
A r t dealers for whom he has been acting saw himself an Innocent, impulsive curred cither while the angry dispute precinct. He's a terror. It’ll go hard
mn com missioner, demand an accounting. |
in h i t
H e cannot make good.
Howard Jeffries school boy, the pride of a devoted was going on or after the unknown vvith any prisoner he gets
exIlH In an Intoxicated condition He asks mother, the happy home where he visitor had departed.
The barrel of 1 du tch es!"
b n drrw ood for I'i.notl and Is told by the
spent his childhood. Then came the the revolver was still warm, showing
Followed by his uniformed myr
la tl.-, that hr Is 111 <l"ht up to his <■»«»
H o w a r d d r i n k s hlm srlf Into a maudlin association with bad companions, the that It could
only have been dis midons. the police official pushed his
•oatdltlon, a nd go*-» to slrrp on a divan.
charged
a
few
moments
before.
Sud
way to the corner where sat Howard,
A callrr Is announrrd and Ulldrrwood first step In wrongdoing, stealing out
• r a w . a srrrrn around Ihr drunken of a comrade's pocket In school, the denly It flashed upon him that Under dazed and trembling, and still guard
•I*,.... r
Alicia enters,
Hhr drnmnds a
death of his mother, leaving borne— wood might have committed suicide. ed by the valet and elevator boys.
p ro m lir from him that hr will not takr
Kla life, pointing tn thr diagram that
But It was useless to stand there
with downward progress until he grad
"What's the matter here?" demand
wonhl attach to hrrsclf
Underwood r<--
theorizing. Something must be done, ed the captain gruffly, and looking
fn srs tn promise unless she will renew "ally drifted Into his present dlshon
& a r patronage
est way of living. What was the good lie must alarm the hotel people or from Ferris to the white-faced How
of regrets? He could not recall his call tho police. He felt himself turn ard. The valet eagerly told his story:
C H A P T E R V I I . — C o n tin ue d .
mother to life. He could never rehab hot and cold by turn as he realized
"I came home at midnight, sir, and
ilitate himself among decent men and the serious predicament In which he found my master, Mr. Robert Under
•I don't believe you intend to carry women. The world had suddenly be himself was placed. If he aroused
«a t your threat. I should have known come too small for him. He must go, the hotel people they would find him wood, lying dead in the apartment,
shot through the head.” Pointing to
(roni the first that your object was to and quickly.
here alone with a dead man. Suspi Howard, he added: "This man was
frtxhten mo. Tho pistol display was
Fingering the pistol nervously, he cion would at once be directed at him, in the apartment trying to get away.
highly theatrical, but It was only a
sat before the mirror and placed It and It might be very difficult for him You see his hand is still covered with
Muff You've no more Idea of taking
against his temple. The cold steel to establish his Innocence. Who would
fou r life than I have of taking mine. gave him a sudden shock. He won believe that he could have fallen blood.”
Capt. Clinton chuckled, and expand
I waa foolish to come here. I might
dered if it would hurt, nnd If there asleep in a bed while a man killed ing his mighty chest to its fullest,
ftave spared myself tho humiliation of
himself
In
the
same
room?
It
sounded
would be Instant oblivion. The glare
licked his chops with satisfaction.
(his clandestine interview.
Good
of the electric light In the room dts preposterous. The wisest course for This was the opportunity he had been
night 1"
concerted him. It occurred to him him would be to get away before any looking for—a sensational murder In
. She went toward the door Under- that It would be easier In the dark. body came.
a big apartment hotel, right in the
Rood made no attempt to follow her. Reaching out his arm, he turned the
Quickly he picked up his hat and very heart of his precinct!
Nothing
In a hard, strange voice, which he electric button, and the room was im made for the door. Just as he was
could be more to hts liking. It was a
nearer I y recognized as his own, he mediately plunged into darkness, ex about to lay hand on the handle there
rich man's murder, the best kind
Merely said:
cept for the moonlight which entered was the click of a latchkey. Thus to attract attention to himself. The
“ la that all you have to say?"
through the windows, imparting a headed off, and not knowing what to gensational newspapers would be full
“ Yea," replied Alicia, as she turned ghostly aspect to the scene. On the do. he halted in painful suspense of , he case
They would print col-
at the door "i.et It he thoroughly un other side of tho room, behind the The door opened and a man entered umns 0f stuff every day, together with
•arstood that your presence at my screen, a red glow from the open Are
He looked ns surprised to see How h,g p0rtra|t. That was Just the kind
house Is not desired. If you force
fell on tho sleeping form of Howard ard as the latter was to see him. He q( pubUclty he needed now that he
E are in a better position than ever to
yourself upon me In any way, you loffrtes.
was cleanshaven and neatly dressed.! wag wirepulling for an Inspectorship,
Bust take the consequences."
Slowly,
deliberately,
Underwood yet did not look the gentleman
His They had caught the man "with the
do all kinds of Fine Commercial Print
Underwood bowed, and was silent raised the pistol to his temple and appearance was rnther that of a serv good9- —that was very clear
He
Vhn did not see the deathly pallor of tired.
ant. All these details flashed before promiaed himself to attend to the
ing on short notice, having just recently
tin face. Opening the door of the
Howard's mind before he blurted out: r,,g(
Conviction was what he was
ipartment which led to the hall, she
C H A P T E R VIII.
"W ho the devil are you?"
after. He'd see that no tricky lawyer
installed new machinery and a com
(gain turned.
The man looked astonished at the gDt lhe begt 0f bim. Concealing, as
“Tell me, before 1 go -you didn't
"llello! What'a that?"
question and eyed his interlocutor ®el, as be COuld. his satisfaction, he
plete line of the latest styles of type faces
nean what you said In your letter, did
Startled out of his Gargantuan closely, as If in doubt as 'o his Identi drew himself up and. with blustering
rou?"
slumber by the revolver's loud report, ty.
In a cockney accent he said show of authority, immediately took
“I’ll tell you nothing." replied Un Howard sat up with a jump ami loftily:
command of the situation. Turning
larwood doggedly.
rubbed his eyea. On the other aide
"1 am Ferris. Mr Underwood's man to a police sergeant at his side, he
(the tossed her head scornfully.
oi the screen, concealed from his ob sir."
Suspiciously, he added: "Are satj
“ I don't believe that a man who 1» servation, there was a heavy crash of you a friend of Mr Underwood's, sir?"
BILL HEADS, LETTER HEADS, STATEM ENTS,
Maloney, this fellow may have had
«ward enough to write a letter like a body falling with a chair—then all
He might well ask the question, for an accomplice. Take four officers and
LEG
AL BLANKS, POSTERS, BRIEFS, E N V EL
kla has the courage to carry out his was quiet.
Howard’s disheveled appearance and watch every exit from the hotel. Ar
hreat " Stuffing the letter back into
Seared, not knowing where he was, ghastly face, still distorted by terror, j re‘st gnJbody attempting to leave the
OPES, CALLING CARDS, ETC.
Up-to-date work
•er bag. she added: "1 should have Howard jumped to his feet For a was anything but reassuring. Taken bulullng
p ut two officers to watch
on
short
notice.
brown It In the waste-paper basket moment he stood still, trying to col by surprise, Howard did not know ,ho flre escapes. Send one man on
art on aecond thoughts, 1 think I'll lect his senses. It was too dark to what to say, and like most people
TOOf
q 0 ;-’
m y it
Goodnight."
discern anything plainly, but he could questioned at a disadvantage, he an
• Yes, sir," replied the sergeant, as
“Goodnight," echoed Underwood dimly make out outline« of aesthetic swered foolishly:
,
he turned away to execute the order.
MCbtnlcally.
furniture and bibelots. Ah, he re
"Matter? No.
What makes you
Capt. Clinton gave two strides for
He watched her go down the long membered now! He waa in Under think anything is the matter?"
ward, and catching Howard by the col-
allway and disappear In the elevntor wood's apartment
Brush tug past the man. he added:
j€rkod Mra to his feet.
-ken, abutting the door, he came
Rubbing hla eye«, he tried to recall It 8 late. I m going.
|
. « Now,
vnw
vnuns
young feller
feller, vou
you i come with
lowly back into the room and sat how he came there, and slowly his be
"Stop a minute!" cried the man me! We'll go upstairs and have a
own at hla desk. For ten minutes he fuddled brain began to work. He re servant.
There was something in
a( «here Motionless, his head bent membered that he needed *2.000. and Howard's manner that he did not like. 1 look at the dead man."
(T O P K C O N T I N U E D .)
jrward. over» limb relaxed
There that he had called on Robert Under Passing quickly Into the sitting room,
too deep silence, broken only by How- wood to try and borrow the money he called out: "Stop a minute!" But
Thrust Upon Them.
irt'a regular breathing and the loud Yea, he recalled that perfectly well. Howard did not stop. Terror gave
Some men are born rich, some
taking of the clock
Then he and Underwood got drinking him wings and, without waiting f o r , achieve riches and some enter the pw-
THE Q U A L IT Y SHOP
*1t'a
up," be muttered to hlmeelt and talking, and he bad fallen asleep. ' the elevator, he waa already half way liticaJ arena.—Harvard Lam poon.
W h en in Need of Groceries
H . T . G1LTNER
M ERTZ &
LATTA
Forest Grove Steam Laundry
Ice, Cold Storage, Wood and Coal
Central Livery Barns
Jb d
TMPD DEGREE
General Livery
KflEirm(DIM)D,DFAK3 LOUE I
C H A R L E S K L E IN
Y
A R T H U R “ HORNBLOW
w
Y
CLYDE’S BICYCLE SHOP
B
i
1
i
r
|
t
1
I
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1
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Commercial
Printing
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