fAGE TEN
MTTFORP MATT- THTBUTTK, MEDFOTiD,- OREGON, THtTRSDAY; OCTOBER 20. 1938.
By MAX SALTMARSH.Swwc&ygp'
Chapter 44
Into The Fiery Furnace
IinS CARRIED Noah More out
and laid him on the scorched
(ran under the orange trees, and
be lay there like r dead thing, eyei
closet breathing hardly percept
ible. Fleuriot dropped on one knee
beside him. struck a match, and
raised an eyelid.
Be turned to Dunning. "Go then
to the house, my friend, and see U
you can find some brandy."
"See here, man!" said Hugo
harshly. "Why all the anxiety
about bringing this vermin round?
Don't you realize that Miss Wills
Is in deadly peril, and a minute's
delay may mean life or death to
her?"
The man from Marseille looked
up at him. "My friend," he an
swered gently. This Auberge des
AllouPttes is Drobabiv some small
unknown inn and without the help
of this wretched clod we may never
And it"
' Dunning had been fumbling in
the pocket of his white coat and
now proaucea a serviceaoie-iooK-tag
flask.
I 1 PI.. .hni.ln.
-A UCIH UICI ICU11U, IIIUUIUUi
hold'ng my breath, as 1 watched
the still putty-colored face on the
(round and gradually it seemed to
me that a faint tinge of color spread
over it The eyes opened, staring
straight upwards at the night sky
and the riding moon, and suddenly
there came a cough, a choking con
vulsion, and Noah More sat uo and
stared about him. He pushed the
dank hair from his forehead ana
then suddenly gave a hoarse cry
"Thej shan't get mel" he gasped
"I won I be caughtl"
"Steady friend." 1 said. "Get a
crip on yourself. No one's going to
nun you. oui a gesture irom
Fleuriot silenced me.
"There is more here than fear of
the police, he murmured, and then
to tne vagrant: wno is it, tnen,
tha you fear?"
The tattered object gave him a
swift, sideways glance. His eyes
were wild, his Angers plucked and
twisted at his tattered snirt
"I don't know." he said, scarcely
above e whisper. "I can't think.
My brain there's something the
matter witn my Drain. And tnen,
with a swift crafty look: "And
why should 1 tell you? If you
are the police, you have nothing
against me.
"You're perfectly right Mr
Noah More," i retorted. 7The po
lice have nothing against you, but
I wouldn't say as much for the
Club des Sans Clubs."
He gaDed at me, his jaw dropped,
and his face contorted, and then
suddenly he threw back his head
and screamed.
"You see," I said, while Fleuriot
awore softly to himself, "we know
all about it, but if you help us, 1
guarantee that the police will look
after vou until all danger Is past
You saw something last night In
the villa of Monsieur Geiss, didn't
you
He stared up at me with wild,
terrified eyes. "I did not sec, but
I heard and I guessed, he mut
tered.
"Just so," said 1, "you guessed
that Geiss had killed Miss Adams,
and ' think you taxed him with
it, to et money from him before
ne tied.
To Grips With The Fire
HE PASSED a long, bony hand
across his eyes. "1 knew that
It was the end of everything," he
aid. 'The Club des Sans Clubs
was Hnished: Geiss was on the
run. When I asked nim to settle
up, he laughed at me and told me
U was cheaper and saler tor mm
to report me to the club as a
traitor wno must be extermi
nated." He smiled, a wry. drawn
mile, and tor a moment 1 saw
shadow of the man he must once
have been. I cannot blame him,
he admitted, "for it was his life
against mine. He knew I could
testify that he had Killed thai
woman, but he knew too that the
club would kill llrst and ask aues
tions afterwards, if once he said
the word. That club he shud
der d. "You do not know what II
Ul"
"Listen, man, you know where
this Auberge des Alloucttcs is?"
t asked
He nodded. "But you will never
get there," he said. "Geiss might
nave got through this morning,
but now the place must be a red
hell."
"Not half as ruddy as we'll make
It when we get there," i retorted
"Come on. vou've got to show us
the way. With Hugo gripping
him by the other arm, we half
dragged half-carried him up the
steps and across the terrace, and
in another minute we were pack
ing ourselves into the Hispano.
Dunning, by virtue of his
weight took the place beside
Hugo, while Fleuriot and I set
tled oursel es In the tonneau with
the bony form of Noah More
wedged between us. and as we
iwun; out of the lane and whizzed
off along the highroad, I turned
curiously to the vagrant
"One thing," 1 said, "before life
gets tor full for words do you
happen to know lust how Geiss
got hold of Miss Wills?"
He turned soulless, lack-luster
eyes towards mr. "It was easy," he
answered in his toneless voice.
There is a chambermaid to tne
Carlton who is a member of the
club. Gens knew that Miss Wilis
had been absent from the hotel ail
night and he instructed this wo
man to wait in the corridor until
she returned and tell her that by
her uncle s orders, her room had
been changed to one at the back.
She accepted this without ques
tion, and once she was inside
the room, we seized her, gagged
her, and led her down the fire
escape at the back to the lane
where Geiss's car was waiting.
She fought" he added, with a wan
grimace, "but Geiss threatened her
with a revolver and forced her to
do what we wanted."
We had been running straight
tovards the cape, with the sea on
one hand, redly illumined by the
reflection trom the naming cape.
and on the other quiet dusky
slopes ol woodland, but now we
had come into the main street oi
a village. Here, for the firti time.
we came to grips with the tire, tor
though the place itself was un
touched it was brightly lit: every
inhabitant was out in the street
talking gesticulating, or standing
in frightened, silent groups, watch
ing the rim of flame that danced
along the crest of the ridge above,
threatened every moment to sweep
over and come crackling down
through the pine trees towards us.
"Death To Venture Farther'
THERl were troops too. infantry
of the line and Chasseurs Al
pins, shirt-sleeved and tin-hatted,
grimed to the eyes; some lying
prostrate by the roadside, sleeping
the sleep of utter exhaustion,
othtr refreshed, piling into lor
ries to return once more to the
fruitless struggle. Fleuriot called
to a young lieutenant, whose red
rimmed eyes looked glazed with
weariness, and after a minute's
whispered conversation the lad
scribbled something on a card and
handed it to him. Our passport"
he explained, as we crawled for
ward at snail's pace, hooting our
way through a mob of people. "The
cape is In the hand: of the military,
and after Le Trayas the road will
be closed even to me. unless we
ha permission."
We came to Le Trayas, where the
thoroughfare was a milling mob
of frightened, hysterical people
and where bayoneted sentries at
the further end barred all egress.
But the lieutenant's card was
a magic token and we sailed
through.
The Are might have been a hun
dred miles away, for the brows of
the hills shut off the fiery glow,
but suddenly, rounding the bend,
we camp full into an inferno of
blinding, glaring heat A wind like
the opening of an oven door struck
at our faces; glowing sparks bit at
our naked arms and faces, and our
eyes were blinded by the fierce
glare of light from a valley of
sheer flame, lying directly below
us. Troops were hacking away the
undergrowth, felling trees.
Straight ahead a tall fellow that
1 took to be an officer raised a
warning hand, checking our prog
ress. "Out of the question," he said
sharply as Fleuriot bent and whis
pered to him. "The valley is im
passable. I can let no one through."
Fleuriot turned quickly to Noah
More. "Is there any other way to
the Inn?" he demanded, and the
scarecrow shook his head.
"There is no other way," he mut
tered. "It is the right-hand fork
at he bottom of the valley that
runs up to the hills."
Again the detective leanec' out
whispering, and this time 1 fan
cied that he told something of out
errand for the officer gave us a
curious, commiserating look as he
slowly shook his head.
"It would be death to venture
farther." he said. "I feel for you.
messieurs, but one can only hope
that the fire has not vet reached
the inn If it escapes during the
night by tomorrow it may be pos
sible to get through."
Fleuriot looked at me. "You
hear?" he said, but there was more
inquiry than resignation in his
tone, and even ar he spoke, Hugo
swung round: his face, illumined
by the ruddy glow, showed hard
and drawn and his iaw was set
"You others must do as you
please, ' said he, "but for myself.
I'm going through."
Fleuriot gave a short cackle oi
satisfaction. "You see," he mur
mured regretfully. "We are will
ing to take the risk, and the re
sponsibility is not yours, for 1 am
an olllcer of the law, in pursuit ol
a dangerous madman who is else
a murderer, and these gentlemen
are, for the moment my assistants.
I fear that. In this case, mv au
thority overrides yours.
The other hesitated for a mo
ment and then his hard, smoke
grimed face broke Into a smile. "1
compliment your courage, mes
sieurs," said he. "and I wish vou
luck!"
At a word of command from him
men came running with wet clothi
which we wrapped round out
faces, leaving only the eyes and
nostrils free, and at tne last
moment some Inventive genlui
dashed up from the cottage with
a water-soaked sheet which we
bound shout the radiator of the
car. In an instant we were off.
shooting down the long, curvlnj
slope, straight Into the fiery fur
nace below.
rCopiHaM iSJS. Mas SilfmarM
Tomorrow! Th Inn.
FILM STAR PARTIES
JUST LIKE OTHERS
HOLLYWOOD UP I Mntt people
mnlne that the parties held in Hol
lywood Are Uvbth fflrt that would
do credit to ft Roman empror What
diMppolntmcnt It would be if the;
Attended film colony prty and
fotind the nima parlor games being
played that are played In the aver
age American city.
The lada and IiumIm of movledMn
gather at parties to chat, talk ahop
and have a Rood time. Someone us
ually playa the piano, ami n.-tneone
1st alnga and everybody eata,
Occaalonally an Impromptu quar
tet or chorus atarta a aong. and they
hit Just as many wronir notes aa
any similar party group. But every
one has a good time.
An outsider, of course, would oe
Interested In the film celebrltlea and
how they hare a good time tc-ther.
But to the celebrltlea. the party is
not any different from a party In
Hoboken or Aprlmtf leld.
Jut tinnlm tlhttftelf
TOPRKA. Km. (AP There Is this
notation In the police blotter:
"Drunk reported on sidewalk at Sec
ond ftnd Kansas avenue," In the col
umn headed "Disposal of Case" Is
this remark - "It wasn't a drunk. Just
an Indian reAtlru on the sidewalk
Rhrplt:g under the sunny sky Is Just
an old Indian custom,
STRANGE AS IT SEEMS By JOHN HIX
Tot further proof address the author, Inclosing a stamped envelope for reply. Bee TJ. S. Fat. Oft.
S. I -I "-
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o0f- P0D6& STORE rj
o? cHfcRtee R. corbett, ltanhoeA c
& 60 CROWDlD WITH MERCHMPftB, 7MAT
CH9TOMSR9 CANNOT ENTER
WITHOUT fYSTSMt
. m fcL&NP oHli MINIONS
Wte TB6 FIRST lfNP fipphp To THB ZA 5.
0JT5IPE AMERICAN SHORES... (IftttfJ
(THE IftRSER Of THE PACIFIC MIDWAY ISlANDg
The Country Store
Keeping things In order Is Just a
wate of time" to Charles R. Cor
bett, who runs a auccesful general
store In Ivanhoe, N. C.
Strange as It eoems. such a Jum
ble of miscellany la the Corbett store
that customers cannot even enter
the placol In five years, he boasts,
not one customer has set foot Inside
his store, yet his business flourishes
on a "system" that would make a
more up-to-date department store
manager gasp In astonishment.
Aa new shipments of goods come
In, they are tossed unconcernedly on
top of the pile of foodstuffs, plow
points and dry goods that fill the
Corbett atore to overflowing. When a
customer calla for anything Corbett
worms his way Inside, paws around
the pile with an Instinctive know
ledge of where everything Is.
His filing system Is equally Im
pressive. New mall he thrusts on the
Inside of a stack of unanswered cor
respondence In a coat pocket; when
he gets around to it. the outside
letters are answered first.
Island Conquest
Only one and three-quarters mllea
long, the larger of the two Midway
Islands, northwest of Honolulu, was
the first of the domains of the
United States of America beyond the
American shores.
Discovered In 1850 - by Captain
Brooks, an American shipmaster on
an Hawaiian vessel, the Island was
claimed by the United States eight
years later, on September 30. 1867,
by Captain William Reynolds of the
U. S. S. Lackawanna.
SwIMies Uncovered
WICHITA. Kas. (AP) Razing the
old Lincoln school building, work
men, discovered a bundle of thlrty
flvo switches hidden under a stair
way that had been walled In when
an addition was constructed 33 years
ago. Miss Hazel Watklns, principal,
said they were relics of the day when
"llckln and larnln' went together.
lojt Hlte Cows
ELYRIA, O. (APt Biting cows
about the head la the latest depre
dation of stray dogs In Lorain county
which gives farmers many anxious
moments and the sheriff's office
much extra work. The cows have
been bitten at night whlje tethered
In pastures.
Pin tits iet Around
BOONE. Iowa (AP) Boone resi
dent are wondering where next they
should look for plants. They found
an ivy vine growing through the
brick wall of a school room and
crawling across the celling. Then they
found a weed patch In a cornice
crack on top of the city hall.
Mumps Stop Boat
MELBOURNE (AP) Because of
outbreaks of childish diseases meas
les, mumps and scarlet fever the
Austrian cruisers Canberra and Syd
ney have cancelled visits to New
Guinea, Papua and New Hebrides.
Mop l'p Ether .
HUNTINGTON. Ind. ( AP) A truck
wreck on route 34 was a headache
to Sheriff A. L. Thompson. The truck
contained 4.000 pounds of canned
ether. Cleaning up the mess gave
the sheriff several woozy hours.
GETTING ASSEMBLED
By GLUT A3 WILLIAMS
IS SMH( FH SCrtDDl.
WHEtJ flCrfMER ASK 1$
HE SURE HE HAS EJfl?r
-rmM6 ?
REMEMBERS HI W6E
crWRrfitN home
Work AND W&HES
UPSTAIRS TOR If
5H6UfSrfWA$ONfo?OF
HIS 'DESK AMD Ifi 60ftt.
FAMILY SEARCH l)KEARr)S
rflH HIS DESK "DRAWER
RRlEH'DDWU.PlK5
If WlTtf BOOKS OM HAUJ
TABLE AND 6DES OUTTO
KlTCrW FOR HIS BA&
OF LUNCH
COMES BACK AHD MM FAMILY J01NIN5 IN"
lf'5 AfeRlH.WHV SEARtH A6Alrl, rf IS
CAN'T REOPIE LEAVE FOUND ID HAVE SLIPPED
HIS r)IN6S ALONE? DOWN BEHIND 1ABLE" .
66ES UP FOR HANDKER
CHIEF, AND ON HIS D
SCENTTiNWftlE TA
PER A&AJH
I0-I?
(Copyright, 1988, by Th, Bull gyailetts, Inc.)
FjMttteHlESEAUCH RE
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B00K.SlART5ToR5dH0Ll
WW CHANCES 50-5D
OF HIS fiEfflNS if THERE
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TAILSPIN TOMMY Mutual Admiration Society I
By HAL FOREES
---YchIEItI A IUY THING MxT AW, SHUCKS! DOrfrtOU BELIEVE Y BUT HEY! WHO'S TEUIrfX PAUL1. YOlRE JUST
-"J&J--- I exotft SHIP JEROT HOME. WE I DIDN'T DO 'IM.TOm! HE I SKEETS THIS STORY? VOU THE MAM I WANT TO I A
. ' OWE TH1 CAPTURE OF- THEM A ANYTHING TRAILED THE GANG POUGHT DIDN'T DO SO BAD 1 SEE' I'VE GOT SOME-kJB-,, ,. ,7hT
'Z' KILLERS TO HIM! IT WAS TO TH' OLD HOUSE 'EM WITH OURSELF, HOLDIM1 HOW THING VERY I -JCR llr
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BEN WEBSTER'S CAREER Not Interested!
By EDWIN ALQF
THE NEBBS Karl
vOT! 7 ''M N0 MAN T0 MCE NOBODY Tl ff COODl I WANT I X IT I'D RATHER NOTl I 'DOCTOR 1 I f ER, YES. I , , iSi.
S4wJ WORDS, DR. K1LEV- I I STOPPING I I TO MAKE AH IfHOW'DYOU M GO INTO THAT LI KILEY W I I DR. K1LEY, OF If I'M NOT A fffij&
LIKE TO GET RIGHT I YOU, IS 1 I EXCLUSIVE DEAL II FIND OUT RIGHT NOW, rJ TO YOU, 1 U COURSE 1 NOW U INTERESTED! f-
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By SOL SESS
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