BRAVE OR CURIOUS? h
If you received information
that a mysterious murderer
threatened you, would you call
the bluff by staying where you
were and defying the Mystery
or would you hurry Into hiding?
Whitaker, thinking he was
soon to die, married . young
Mary Ladlslas to protect her
good name, and sailed for parts
unknown at once. Supposedly
long dead, he turns up In New
York several years later, healthy
and wealthy, and finds his wife.
"Sara Law," noted actress, In
the midst of a performance. The
play stops abruptly. She refuses
to see him. Orummond, Whit
aker's former law partner, en.
gaged to marry the supposed
widow, is reported a suicide.
Whitaker's friend, Martin Em
ber, former detective, doubts
the report.
Read "low Whitaker acted
when warned of violence in
this installment It's thrilling
and puzzling!
CHAPTER VIII.
9
Entr'acte.
Dawn of Sunday found Whltnker
still awake. Aloue In his uiicheerful
bedchamber, his chair tilted back
against the wall, lie sat smoking and
thinking, reviewing again and again
every consideration growing out of his
matrimonial entanglement. He turned
in at length to the dreamless slumbers
of mental, exhaustiop. ,
The morning Introduced him to a
world of newspapers gone mad and
garrulous with accounts of the sensa
tion of the preceding night. What they
told him only confirmed the history of
his wife's career as detailed by the
gratuitous Mr. Ember. There was.
however, no suggestion in any report
that Drummond had not In fact com
mitted suicide. There had been, ap
parently, but n single witness of the
felo de se, who in the subsequent con
fusion had vanished. No one dreamed
of questioning the authenticity of the
report. Several sensational sheets ran
exhsustive resumes, elaborately Illus
trated, of the public life of "The De
stroying Angel." It seemed to be an
unanimous assumption that the news
of Drummond's suicide hail In some
manner been conveyed to the woman
while on the stage.
In the course of the forenoon n note
for Whitaker was delivered at the ho
tel. The heavy sheet of white paper,
stamped with the address In Fifty-seventh
street, bore the message In a
strong but nervous hand:
I rely upon the ccneroslty you promise
me. This marriage of ours, that u no
marriage, must be dissolved. I'lease let
my attorneys Landers, Grlmihaw &
Clark, 143 Hroadway know when and
where you will accept Sf-rvlce Forgive
me If I seem unBrat'-ful and unfeeling. I
am hardly myself. And please do not try
to see me now. Some day J hope to sea
and thank you; today It's Impossible. I
am going away to forset. If I can.
Mary Ladlslas Whitaker.
Before nightfall Whitaker had sat
isfied himself that his wife had, In
truth, left her town house. The serv
ants there Informed all who Inquired
that they had been told to report and
to forward all letters to Messrs. Lan
ders, Grlmshaw & Clark.
Whitaker promptly notified those at
torneys that he was ready to be
served at their convenience. Hut be
yond their brief and businesslike ac
knowledgment, he heard nothing more
of the action for divorce.
He sought Max several times with
out success. When at length run to
ground In the roulette room of a Forty
fourth street gambling house, the man
ager was grimly reticent. Warned by
the rannnger's truculent and suspicious
tone that his secret was, after nil,
burled no more than skin deep, Whita
ker dissembled artfully his anxiety,
and abandoned Max to his pet vices.
The newspapers reported Sara Law
as being In retirement In several wide
ly separated sections of the country.
She was also said to have gone nbrond,
sailing Incognito by a second-class
steamship from Philadelphia.
The nine-days' wonder disintegrated
naturally. The sobriquet of "Tho Do-
-'tiUiK Angel" disaj.pi .....I trutn the
newspaper scaro-luviK So also tho
......... l-i...... ........ I lii-f.itt
IIUIUI' l l 'I lilllllll'llll. HMhH .
Whitaker. tho dead man come to life, i
occupied public Interest for n brief
half-day. Hy the time that the execu
tors of Carter Druuunond and tho at
torneys representing Ids clients began
to make sense of his estate and In
terests, their discoveries failed to com
mand uowsjiaier space.
Drummond had appropriated to his
own uses every dollar of the small
fortune l-ft In his care by his erstwhllo
partner. No other client of his had
suffered, however. Ills ju'culatlons had
been confined wholly to the one quar
ter whence he had had every reason to
anticipate neither protest nor ex
jiosure. In Whitaker's too-maguanl-mous
opinion, the man had not been
o much n thief as one who vlcldcd to
the temptation to convert to his own
needs and uses a property against
which. It npjenred. no other living be
ing cared to enter a claim. The mon
etary loss was an 'n'onsldornhlo thing
to n man with an interest in mines In
the Owen Stanley country, lie sulci
nothing. Drummond's name remained
untarnished, save In the knowledge of
u few.
Of these. Martin Kmbor was one.
Whitaker made a point of hunting him
up. The retired detective received con
firmation of his surmise without any
amazement.
"You still believe that he's alive?"
"Implicitly," Ember asserted with
conviction.
"Could you find him, If necessary?"
"Within a clay, I think. Do you wish
me to?"
Ember permitted Whltnker to con
sider the matter In silence for some
moments. Then. "Do you want ad
vice?" he Inquired.
"Well?"
"Hunt him down and put hltn behind
the bars," said Ember Instantly.
"What's the good of that?"
"Your jersonal safety."
"How?"
"With you out of the way. he could
come back without fear."
Ember permitted another jmuse to
lengthen, unbroken by Whitaker.
"Shall I try to find him for you?" he
said quietly, in the end.
"No." Whitaker decided. "No. Let
him alone poor devil I"
Ember disclaimed further responsi
bility with a movement of bis shoul
ders. "Hut my wife? Could you find her
as readily?"
"Possibly," the detective admitted
cautiously. "Hut I don't mean to."
"Why not?"
"Principally because she doesn't want
me to. Otherwise she'd let you know
where to look for her."
"True."
These fragments of dialogue are
from a conversation that took place In
the month of June, nenrly seven weeks
after the farewell performance at the
Theatre Max. Interim, Whitaker had
quietly resumed his place In the life
of the town, regaining old friendships,
renewing old associations. The mild
excitement occasioned by his reappear
ance had alreudy subsided; he was
again an accepted and substantial fac
tor In the society of his kind.
Gradually he began to know more
hours of loneliness than suited his
tastes. His rooms the old rooms over
looking Hryant park regained and re
furnished much us they had been six
years before knew his solitary pres
ence through many n long evening.
July came with blistering breath and
he took to the Adlrondacks, meaning
to be gone a month. Within ten days
he was home again, drawn back Irre
sistibly by a strange, Insatiable crav
ing of unformulated desire. Town
bored him, yet he could not seem to
rest away from II.
He wandered In and out, up and
down, an unquiet, Irresolute soul, tre
mendously perplexed. . . .
There came one dark and sultry
night, heavy beneath skies overcast, In
August. Whitaker left u roof-garden
In the middle of a stupid performance,
and walked the streets till long after
midnight, courting tho fatigue that
alone could bestow untroubled sleep.
On his return a sleepy hall-hoy with
a wilted collar ran tho elevator up to
bis tenth-floor landing und, leaving him
fumbling at the lock of Ids door,
dropped clanklngly out of sight. Whit
aker entered and shut himself In with
the pitch-blackness of his private hall.
lie groped along tho wall for tho
electric switch, ami found only tho
shank of It, the hard rubber button
having disappeared. Ami then, while
still ito was trjlng to think how this
could lutvo happened, ho sustained a
murderous assault.
A miscalculation on tho part of tho
marauder nloue saved him. Tho black
jack (or vhutoor the weapon wu0
missing his head by tho narrowest
shave, descended upon his left shoul
der with numbing force. Notwith
standing his pain and surprise, Whit
iiker rallied and grappled, thus escap
ing a second and jirobably more deadly
blow.
Hut Ids shoulder was almost useless,
and tho pain of It began to sicken him.
while tho man In his grip fought like
a devil unchulneil.
For some minutes tho night was ren
dered wild and lolont with tho crashes
of overthrown furniture and the thud
an I thump of struggling bodies. Then
Whitaker broke free and plunged In
what he Imagined to bo tho direction
of a dresser In which ho kept a revolv
er. Ills foot slipped on the hardwood
Uoor. the ankle twisted, and ho Tell
awkwardly, striking his head against
a table leg with such force that ho lay
half stunned. An Instant later his as
sailant emptied five chambers of a re
volver Into the darkness about him,
and then, alarmed by a racket of
pounding on the hall door, lied success
fully by way of the lire escape to ad
joining roofs and neighboring back
yards. Hv the time Whitaker was nbln to
pull himself together and hobble to tho !
door, u brace of Intelligent policemen,
who had been summoned by the hall
hnv. wore tliri'iir,nlni? to tiriMilr If ilmvn
Admitted, they took his safety Into I
their care and. simultaneously, the re j
volver which he Incautiously admitted
ossosslug. Later they departed, ob
viously disgruntled by tho unprofes
sional conduct of the "crook" who had
left no "clues." with a warning to the
householder that he might expect to be
summoned to court, as soon as he was
able to move, to answer for the crime
of keeping a wenion of defense.
Whitaker took to his bed In company
with a black temper and the aroma of
arnica.
lie eutertnlneil. the next clay, several
persons: rojvorters; a physician: a fu
tile, superfluous, unoruameutal crea
ture mlsleadltuly designated n plain
clothes man; finally his friend (by now
their acquaintance had wanned to real
friendship) Ember.
The? retired Investigator found Whit
aker getting Into his clothes a cere
mony distinguished by some profanity
and numerous grunts.
"Afternoon," he said, taking n chair
and surveying the sufferer with slight
ly masked amusement. "Having a
good time?"
"You go to thunder I" said Whitaker
In disgust.
"Glad to see you're not hurt much,'
pursued the other, unabashed.
Whitaker wltlieref. him with a glare.
"You're lucky to be alive." observed
Ember, exasperatlngly philosophic.
"A lot you know about It I I sup
pose you could lay this thug by the
heels In a brace of shakes?"
"Just about," Ember admitted plac
idly. HAVE A FAD OF YOUR OWN
Everyone Needs Something to Bring
Thoughts Different From Those
of the Work-a-Day World.
Have some sort of fad for the sake
of recreation, even If It Is nothing more
than making a collection of moths and
butterllles.
You need something to relieve your
mind, something which will bring
thoughts different from those you must
have In the work-a-day struggle.
However, do not become so Interest
ed In outside things that you en
croach on tho tlmo necessary for suc
ceeding In your business.
In adopting a fnd, select something
light and restful, not so deep as to give
you brain fag; for choice, something
which will take you out Into the opeu
air and give you exercise.
There Is nothing more beneficial to
most people than walking. Tnke hikes
Into the country. This Is better dono
with definite purpose. Go and get
back within n given time; havo a defi
nite destination. Walk faBt Don't
lag.
Study (he birds In your locality
their names, haunts, nnd modes of liv
ing. Perhaps you get enough exercise
with your dally grind of work. If
so, take up the study of some sub
ject which will Improve your mind.
Drain work Is Just as necessary to
health as physical exercise.
Follow the Gary system In your dally
life. It works out well.
Human Nature Phase.
"Human nature," suys Col. Paul Gra
blel, "Is subject to strange fralltJes, and
every now and then you meet a man of
great natural ability who would un
doubtedly make a success n life If tho
Lord had given him half the persist
ence ho gave the lowly mosquito." At
lunta Constitution.
I'uro water will corrodo glass.
Whltnker stared aggressively. "You
mean . . . Drummond?"
Tho answer was a nod.
"I don't bellovo It."
"You'll at all events do mo the credit
to recall that I warned you two mouths
ago."
"All the same, I don't bellovo It was
Piuiumnnd."
"You haven't missed any property.
I believe?"
"No."
"So presumably tho fellow had some
motive other than a desire to thieve.
Itesldes. If he'd been on tho loot ho
might much more easily have tried one
of tho lower, floors and more sen
sibly." "Well . . ." Whitaker temporized.
"And I'd like to know what you
mean to do."
"About what?"
"Fnloss you're hell-bent on sticking
around here to get your head mashed
mmw
Su....n
He Sustained a Murderoui Assault.
in I venture respectfully to suggest
that you consign yourself to my com
petent care."
"Meaning"
"I've got n bungalow down on Long
Island a onc-hnrse sort of a bachelor
affair and I'm going to run clown this
evening and stay awhile. There's quiet,
no society and good swimming. Will
you come along and be my guest until
you grow tired of It 7"
"Done with you I" declared Whita
ker with a strong sense of relief.
As a matter of fact, he was far lesi
Incredulous of Ember's theory than ho
chose to admit.
Do you believe that Drum
mond la dead? Who assaulted
Whltakcr7 What was the mo
tlve? CTU III; c ONTINU.U.J
Peru's Wisdom.
In granting a water-power conces
sion on the Santa river to an electric
power company, the government of
Peru has reserved tho right to
take over the plant. If ever such a
course seems advisable, reimbursing
those who have put their money Into
It. As the situation Is explained, the
water power represents public wealth
which some day the state may need;
but meantime, In order that It may
not be wasted, the use of It by a prlv
ato company Is permitted. The Pe
ruvians might doubtless hasten the In
dustrialization of their country If they
adopted a free concession policy; but
they have learned from Mexico. And
they might win quick prosperity If
they heeded the ohectlons of finan
ciers to tho Idea of government Inter
ference; but they have learned from
the United Slate!!. .So they are build
ing, and plainly with success, on tho
doctrine of expropriation. Chilntlati
Science Monitor.
Earthquake Caused Channel.
An effect of the Nevada carthquakn
of the last quarter of 1015 has been
an Increase to three or four times the.
former amount In tho I'.cnv of streams
and springs throughout the northern
jiurt of the .date. Obneivers have pro
nounced thl'i curlliqunko more violent
than the one that caused such disaster
In San FruiHsco In 1D0(, hut In tlin
thinly settled region the damago was
small. Heglnnlng October 2, thero
were moio than 500 shocks within
three mouths. The most notablo mark
of the dlstuibi'iice has been left on the
east side of Pleasant valley, where tho
alluvial detritus at tho base of tho
Sonoma range bus settled away for a
vertical height of 5 to 12 feet and a
horizontal width of 8 feet over u dis
tance of nearly 25 miles.
E Plurlhus Unum.
Uazcl lie Inherited u lot of dol
lars. Almco Yes ; but he Is shy of sentt,
SALTS IS FINE FOR
KIDNEYS, QUIT MEAT
Flush thi Kidneys tit once when
Uncle hurls or Bladder
bothers.
No matt -or wonmn who oats meat
regularly can make a mistake by
flushing tho UlduoyH occasionally, nnyn
a well known authority. Meal forms
uric acid which clogs tho kidney poroK
so they sIukkIhIiI)' filler or strain only
part of tho waste and poisons from
tho blood, thou you gel nlclc. Nearly
all rheumatism, headaches, liver trou
ble, nervousness, constipation, dull
ness, sleeplessness, bladder disorders
come from iluggluh kidneys.
Tho moment you feel a dull nchu In
tho kidneys or your back hurts, or If
tho urluo Is cloudy, offensive, full of
sediment, Irregular of passage or at
tended by a sensation of scalding, gut
about four ounces of Jad Halts from
any reliable pharmacy and (alto a
tabtespoouful In n glass of water be
fore) breakfast for u few clays nnd
your kidneys will then act flue. This
famous salts Is mndo from the add of
grapes and lemon Juice, combined
with lllhln and has been used for
r.oneratlous to flush clogged kidneys
and stlmulato them to activity, also
to neutralize) the acids in urine so it
no longer causes Irritation, thus end
ing bladder disorders.
Jad Salts In Inexpensive nnd can
not Injure; makes u delightful effer
vescent llthla water drink which all
regular -meat eaters should take now
nnd then to keep the kidneys clean
and the blood pure, thereby nvobllug
serious kidney coinjillcatlona. Adv.
Qood Training,
"How very fluent your parrot Is."
"Yes; I always hang his cage up In
tho room when my wife's tub meeta
here " llaltlmoru American.
WHEN IT LOOKS DARK to any weak
or tilling woman,
I)r Pierce's Favor
ite Proscription
comes to hor help.
For "feuialo com
plaints," pains, In
ternal Inflamma
tion or ulceration,
bearing down sen
sations, and all
chronic weak
nesses and do
rangemeuts, thin
Is tno proven remedy. It's the only
one so sure Hint It can be guaranteed.
Tavorlto Prescription" will benefit or
cure, In the case of every tired and
afflicted woman.
An easily procured vegcitablo pill Is
made uji of May apple, tho dried JuIcm
of the leaven of aloes', and tho root of
Jalap, made Into a tiny pellet nnd coat
ud with sugar, it was first put Into
ready-to-uso form by Dr. Pierce nearly
CO years ago. Almost every drug store
lit (his country sells these vegetable
pellets In vials for l!Gc simply tisk for
Dr. Pierce's Pleasant Pellets. They
have Dr. It. V. Pierce stamp. Adr.
Pawod Over.
"Are these hats felt?'
"Frequently, mum, but wo don't llko
It, I can loll you." Louisville Courier
Journal. Cutlcura Stops Itching.
The Sonp to cleanse and Ointment to
soothe and heal most forms of Itching,
burning skin and scalp affections.
Ideal for toilet use. For free samples
address, "Cutlcura, Dept. X, Hoston."
.Sold by druggists and by mall. Soap
25, Ointment 25 and 50. Adv.
Dr. Pierce's Pellets aro best for liver,
bowels and stomach. Onu little, Pellet
for a laxativu three for a cathartic.
His Status.
"Tho tenor who sang Inst night re
minded mo of a ptrnto."
"Why so?"
"Hecnuso he did murder on tho high
C's." Ilaltlmoro Amorlcnn.
Whenever thero In n tendency to
constipation, nlck-hcndncho, or bilious
ness, take a cup of Garfield Ton, All
druggists. Adv.
A Dangerous Guest
"That fellow prides himself on bolng
thorough. Whornver ho coos ho goti
to the bottom of things."
"Then please don't Invito him on
our yachting trip." Ilaltlmoro Amorl
cnn. IIAVK YOII A HWKKTIIKAKT
Bon or llrothm- In camp or training fur ilefcimot
If ao, mall him u parkaua of Allen' Knot Kntn,
tlm uritUeptlc I'owilitr for Tiro. I, Achlnir, Hwol-h-n
l-Yat, ml r'Vnl lillatai uml or pul.
Maku walking" raay. Bold uviry whara, 2ic.
A Fine Example.
To koop a smlllng wo aro told
And that Is good advice, I hold.
Tho Jackolnntorn Is In stylo;
You can not bent his cheorful smllo.
Lousvlllo Courlor-Journnl.
Spot Cash we will Pay!
We do Not Charge Commission.
Wn'nriuiaylnic a followa for fat produce:
I)riid pork, 20c.
Hinall drimaul vi-al, 18e.
Ilia- drcanrd val up to S00 Ik., 1 4a
I.lvn chlckrm, 22a
I.lvs roottnra, lHc,
Hmull ilrmxl KaU, 12e.
FRANK L. SMITH MEAT CO.,
"rishtina- the IW Treat."
228 Alder St., PORTLAND, ORE