THE WEEKLY CAP;TAI JOURNAL. 8ALEM, ORF.OOrT. SATUUTJAT. .taNTTABY 30. 1B11. synopsis. Sudor If left, an orphan at an early am. Her father U killed In a fold m!r ha hu discovered. Half an hour after learning of th death of her husband Zu aora'a mother-a tight rope walker with a circus la aolaed with vertigo, falls, and la killed. Kudor and th fortune from tha mm, which later grows to be worth I20.000.0IX), ar left to the fuardlanihlp of Franlc Keena, a olrcus man and the brother of Zudora' mother. Zudora, giving prom ise of great beauty. reaches the age of 18. J'he uncle, who haa aet himself up a a Hindu mystic and 1 known as Hassam All, decides In his greed that Zudora must die before the comes Into possession of her great fortune, so that It may be left to him, the next of kin. and he prevails upon the girl to leave her money In his hand three years longer and to say nothing to uny one about the fortune. Hassam All aees an obstacle to his scheme In the per son of John Btorm, a young lawyer, for whom Zudora has taken a fancy, and ha commands the girl to put the man out of hr mind. Storm oomes to ask Hassam All for the hand of his nicre. At first the crystal gaier will not listen to the pro posal, but Zudora Insists that If she can not marry Storm shewlllmarryrroone. " Well, well." said Hassam All, " If you take such a stand Iiloompromlse. Solve) my next twenty cases and you can marry him; fall In a single caae and you must renounce htm." Zudora, using the knowledge gained from years of association with her uncle, unravels a aeries of baffling mysteries, the first of which being a case In which John Storm Is saved from conviction of a murder which was Instigated by Haa ui m All himself. Copyright! 1014: By Harold MatOrath.) CHAPTER VI. - THE '.'ASS OF TUB llVlNTKR KAMI'.r. J X a room III un ordinary dwelling a worn B un mil before a sewing machine. The low hum (if It till"! tl" room with a mur mur like lhal of ninny bees. The wom an's husband, seated ut a table near by, in rending u ml smoking, and. he looked up llisenlly each t i i u tlit humming ceased turn sorurily. Mo scowled, unified and resliifted H pipe. " Are you crying ag.iai?" tin mH lay lug down tin- paper. " I'm getting -tiled of' pur constant snivel-snivel." He lose and walked ovir toward her tlireiitenlnisly. Ha I hook a linger under her now. "That man I its got to get out of this house, or I'll know t .ic roil sun why. He bothers nte every tlma I I xik at him. I tell you lie's got to seek i uolher boarding house. I don't want hi Mug-dog face around any longer." "Hangdog!" she protested. "That's what I said. There'll hu a ruiu Kin If he doesn't hike." " Von are wrung: you am wickedly wrong," twld I lie wife, Shu wiied Iter eyes on her ii jiai in. "Just heciiusn he speulu kindly to me and pets the cltild you act 1 1 U au iu Mine man. I've slaved for you: I've dou everything a woman could. What do you iu'l You sit and rend nil day." "That's a lie! " the nutn roared, " I'm uot n iirillnnry workman, ami there's very little (leniuiid for my work." " So I've noticed," dryly. " I don't want any back talk, All I sny I. Hint urn il Smith has got lo get oul. I wou't kite hint oo Hie preniltes afler his week la up." The tear began to run down, the woman's .'hecks ngulsi, " You were a different sort if a man before you took to drink." "Your wblulug 'd send any man to drink, rjut yo two are alwuys whimpering, aud When I stioir up yon break apart aud begin K,o talk of tlia weather. Maybe you think I'ui a fool?" "John McWIuter!" she cried, wllh paa jimmta Indignation. "That's right; work up the Injured look. Hut the martyr stuff doesn't go with me, Sully. I've gut eyes aud I've been using them. He goes at the end of his week, and Hint's all there Is to It. Ha's got the child funning around after hlui as If he aud uot I wna the father." 1 "Thet'g because he Is always kind to bar ml uever strikes her unjustly, as you do," "Hasn't a man got a right to correct his own offspring. I'd Ilka to kuuwj" " If aha gets In your way you hoi her ears. 'If she does not coma distantly alien you call her you use tlx whip. Cau you blame tha I'hlld for not luting you as you expel! " for herself she did not care, she had no llluslona left; but where her child was con cerned ih was something of a lloueis. Sh slid not want the fairy tela beliefs knocked nl of the Utile one's head before her (line. "Slop sniveling. The tnau't coming, tl'd be Just Ilka you to play the bealen wife when he (Mines la. Perhaps It wouldn't be Ud Idea ti) give you a whack one in a whiln. Then maybe you'd have something In snivel about." The man who waa the Inuuceut causa of this conjugal arraignment came lu, his labor ing man's louch basket uuder hit ana. Hit eueslon was lint of a man who lad dune Ms work that Jay faithfully aud welcomed the coming of evening. He nodded ple.is autly. He aaw the red eyes of the woman, , squared hla eliouUers (or tnouieut and Hauled J- " Humph! I notice that you dou't snivel while he's looking at you." "How can you talk to me like that?" ' I'll talk to you aa I please! " "You are always in the house. You ar watching every move I make, as if I wasn't a good woman. When I married you I loved you. You were an aualyticnl chemist who every one said would make a mark In the world. But driuk has thrown you ou the reefs, And sometimes I hate you! " He caught her by the shoulder aud swung tier out of the chair aud raised his arm. "Here, here, McWIuter!" .cried a voice from the doorway. " None of that while I am In the house. You ought to be ashamed of yourself!" "This It my woman. I'll strike her If I want to." " Oh, will you?" The boarder sprang forward aud caught the upraised arm, giving It no gentle wrench -as he bore down upon It. That was enough for McWlnter, With a snarl like a wolf he closed In. Almost instantly his buck met the floor with a resounding thump. " Dont, don't! " pleaded the wife. " It will only make matters worse. You can't help me, Mr. Smith. Please go!" "All right, Mrs. McWlnter. But I haven't any use for a wife heater," " You'U leave) this house Saturday," said McWlnter, picking himself up slowly. " Sat urday night, and then you and your truck for the sidewalk. I've slood all I'm going to aland. Maybe you think I'm a fool, hut I know what I know." The beaten man slunk out of the house, curalug under his breath. He realised that he would never get any satisfaction out of Smitk lu a game of fisti cuffs; the latter was too strong or him; he'd get III in where he wanted him some duy. And that day wiihu'I going lo be far off, either. He did not come home until mid night, He grinned ilriinkeiily In tha mirror as he yauked off Ms lie and collar, He wasn't a chemist for nolhiug; Smith would nee. McWiuter was a unidiiiun, and uobody suspected this fact, Tlit next inoruiuK hu remained In bed rltli a splitting headache. As Smith started out fr his day's work l,e ciiuiiht up the clTilil aud swung her aloft. She gurgled with happiness. Then he kissed her Htnl set her down. "I'm g.ilnn to bring you that stick of candy tunlght." " Gundy, goody! I'uu 1 enl II, uuuiiuaV" " Yes, dear." To Ilia niuu she said; " How long! How luug! " " Keep a sliff upper Hp, Sully. We'll straighten out this muddle In time. It looks to me like McWIuter Isn't quite right In his upper story, If we could gel him away from his whisky there might be a chance. But he's au ludlau when he's boor.ed up. They u y ut the laboratory thai they'd he glad to give him steady work If they could trust him." " Sometimes I've beeu wicked euolnitt to wish that ha waa dead!" "None of that kind of talk, little wotuau." "You've been no good lo us!" " Who wouldn't be? Itememher, now, mum's Ihe word. Keep hliu In good humor aa much as you cau and when the lime comus we'll light out aud lot tha fool shift for him self." McWIuter crawled' out of bed about 10 o'clock, ugly and laclluru. When till wife puke to him lie did uot aunwnr. She sighed and relumed to her sewing machine. But fur the child aha knew that she must have given up llto struggle long ago, She did not want auy shadow lo fall upou that pretty child hood. Her own bad been unhappy enough, and she waa determined that the Utile on should uot he disillusioned before her lime, Sometimes the machine stopped ami th woman gsred Into th blue arch uf heaved, To wish any oue dead, no mntter how cruel they might be, wus a ilu, Ollcklly-clli klty, cllcklty-cllcklly! nang the machine, Kroui another part uf the house came th happy laughter of th child, McWIuler left lb bout after drluklug a cup of strong coffee aud stole aluug the road toward Ih woods, where he Dually cam upon I shack. It waa rather peculiarly con tructed, There war no window aud th door whs abnormally thick. Tha mau went Inside aud remained there for half au hour. When he cam out lie appeared lo h lu good humor. Au alleuUt might hav beeu dis turbed by Hi expression lu lli oiau't eye. McWIuler raised his Ht toward town, ink ing It aud muttering. "Spoon annul my house, will you? Inter fere in uiy affairs, huh? You wall, Mr. Smith; you Just wait. Maybe you won't have to leave Saturday night. You'll go be fore," Then lit trudged back horn, tilt wife was greatly surprised to Hod him lu an amia ble mood. It waa ao unlike him afler a de bauch. Hut ah waa glad (Hough I accept See "Zudora " Every Thursday at the Bligh Theatre it at face value, being an honeat and slmpl Diiuded woman. McWiuter did odd jobs at the chemical laboratory In the village. He waa an expert in certain departments, aud occasionally th cblef chemist risked the chance of (ending for him. It waa noticeable that th derelict worked faithfully on these daya, with th hope of continuous employment. When aft ernoon came a telephone call arrived with It and McWlnter hurried off to the laboratory, rather pleased, too, to find himself tempo rarily placed over the man h hated lo hear tily. The same amiability he had shown to ' his wife he now exhibited In a lesser degree 4-wxtMcw c ' ' 1 5 11: Fumes! hassam ali and john storm both caught in the ' death teap iilljiliieaaaimiHlliajH HIIIIIIIWMIIalllllllHlllltWIIIIIHWIIIIIIillWIIWIi "" iKivU..'k;'.i!W'.i,li'JW.l'r1.,u' jftUfc'.'-l i .V.'.' ..' VAW,U. .'.-1:. ij M THE MAUPENED TH120NQ CHEttdE 0 toward Smith, who was rather astonished at (lie sudden turn of nffiilr.-' "I'm aorrjr I lost my temper, Sinllh," said McWIuter, rather solemnly. " Bui my nerve bav gone to amssh, and I'm Imagining all surls of things." " Pon't let that worry you," replied Smllh, ouly too glad to bury th hatchet, " We all lose our tempers once In t while. ' But you ought to be a little more careful of that wife of yours," " I know It," humbly, all the while black murder lu his heart, " We'll let bygnuea b ibygoues, and go out some day for a huut Ilk we used to. There's nothing better than a good rabbit atew, and Sally know how to cook It." " I'd Ilk nolhiug tielter," ald th other mau, believing In bis heart that this near friendly attitude would aid In making on poor woman a little happier, " I said something about you golug oo Saturday ulght. You Just forget It." " All right," said Smith. i 8 oMock McWIuler left th laboratory and wended hla way lo Ihe mysterious aback In In woods. Fur an hour he experimented wllh a peculiar soil of a contrivance and from time lo time gave vent to a diabolical chuckle. The man may have beeu a mono, tnanlac, but that was never lo he proved, 111 thick dour aeeuird (o please his fuuey Immensely. Au enormous spring was adroit ly hidden by Hi hlugca, such aa would close th door vliileully and make It difficult lo opeu without physical exertion. The cue elusion waa bound lo shake viirylhlng In the hack. Near the celling was a amnll plat form about all Indies eu.uie, He propped opeu Ih door, took an empty bottle from his pocket, aud placed It upou this platform. Wbeu h liberated Ih door the slam of It toppled the bottle from l( perch aud It broke Into a thousand pieces ou lb stou lab below. " I gue-a that'll Ox you; I guess that'll how you who sous you're hoarding In, you suakeP McWlnter loosened the spring ao aa to open th door and passed out Tli following morning th clerk In th laboratory whose buainee It was to account for all th deadlier concoction, In making his dally Inventory found a bottle missing, aud this bottle contained on of th deadliest fumes In existence. He waa greatly per turbed. He aaked Smith, but Smith denied that he had touched the bottle. That seemed to be tha end uf th affair. On Sunday Mrs. McWIuter' fac wae brighter than It had been In weeks. Her huabaud seemed to be au entirely different ninn, He had softened so far aa to teH a I A, - i, i'in'-i'WKfA i ' IT - mmmmmmf :-;X :.'.v-;:'-fs:si-V;' ! ' j THE WOWk. OF Z.UDORA, comic story, Hinl you may he sure that Smith and MrB. McWintcr laughed heartily over It. The two men shouldered their guns, whis tled for the dog, and set off on their hunt Itih trip. And only one of them returned alive. Smith cam back alone and was rather surprised to find neither McWIuler nor the dog. They had acpnrated lu the woods near the shock, of which Smith ap parently knew nothing. McWlnter was miss ing all th next day, Tuesday morning they found hliu lu th shack, strangely dead. A very peculiar caae confronted the local authorities. There was one thing quite plain lo them, however, Bud that was, McWlnter had keen murdered In a moat cunning and diabolical manuer.Naturally the coroner' Inquest drew the net about Smith's feet. H had fun out hunting with McWIuter aud was the last man to ae him alive. Then cam tha clerk, who snore that th bottle found In the shack waa Identical to that stolen from tha laboratory, wher both men worked. Smith, despite all protests, waa held fur :he grand Jury on the charge of niunfer 'u th first degree, Other facts begun to circulate, oome on had heard McWlnter accuse his wife of being too friendly with Smith, and out of this cal umny raised it ugly head. Here and there men beau to uiuttcr about Judge I.yuch. Aud Mr. McWIuter was slimmed by all those who had posed aa her friends. A few days lief ere the trial began Hassam All was poring over his crystal. Xear by sat udiira, rending and reflecting. The two had beeu Inlklng about Mestner and Cagllostm, and Zudora wna gathering her argument from the book she held. The bell was heard to ring. A few momenta later a visitor was ushered ' lu h) the Hindu servant. To Hassam All'a cold cy tills client did not suggest any fiitur pmrll, hut Mrs, McWIuler' talc caught th sympathy of Zulora. "I will tnk tills ens, nncle," h volun teered. " It Interests me, It Is purely rlr cuiiistnntlal evlileui- aud that la usually the moat puxtllng t aolv. If, I (iwcMd It will add another step toward my twenty cases." Suit yourself," carelessly. " But remem ber, If It turn out to be an ordinary cast, it will not count." - " I accept that risk,1 Zudora, In accordance with ber agreement with ber lover, John Storm, wrote him ex plaining about th case, and aaked him to meet her at th McWlnter house the follow ing afternoon. When tha two arrived In the village they found th suburb In tur moil. There had been, they found, a puni tive expedition against the Jail that held Smith, but it had been frustrated. "This I going to be Interesting, John," aid Zudora. "I've an Idea I'd like to plead for th poor devil. I never realised how many kioka there were In life until you entered this de tective business." " The unexpected Is alway happening. On th face of It this man Smith looks guilty. Tha very fact that the woman la eager to ave him haa a suspicious angle. But for all this,, we may find him Innocent as a child." Meantime Hassam All had not been Idle. He was going to lose no chance to further his schemes. To be sure, he had signified his utter lack of Interest lu th case, but that had been to hoodwink his niece. So quietly and unobserved he made a secret In vestigation of the shack. It did not take hla remarkably keen eyes long to discover what had taken 'place. Clever, abominably clever! Here was a criminal who had fantas tic. Ideas. If this infernal contrivance had served one man's purpose it might readily serve another's. So he coutrlvod to separato Zudora and Storm and bring the latter to th aback. . He wrote frankly, slRiiing his own name, and declaring thnt It would not be safe for Zu dora to go deeply Into this case, as there was more lo It than could be seen on th surface. So Storm concluded to meet Has nam All at the shack and find out what he had to any. He promised himself that h would be cautious and watch every mov of his enemy. Everything waa ready for him, but again. HuHsain All was overanxious. He set one of the bottles he had fouud lu a cabinet ou the little platform near tho celling. Wel come, Mr. Storm, welcome! Ho laughed and his laughter might well have been au echo to that made by the man who had built this winilowlosg shRck. By and by ho heard hurrying footsteps. Slyly he looked out and oliserveu the unsus pecting attorney. Good! But something slipped; tho spring moved too soon, or Has sam All hml not pulled it back fur enough. The door slammed violently. There enmo a I inkle of breaking glass ond HnHsnm All striiKcied desperately to pull the door open, lie was ulrendy too weak. Slorm heard tho door. Ho concluded his Journey nt a run. It took all his strength to force the door, which immediately closed nunin when he was inside. He saw dimly Ills enemy sinking helplessly to the floor ant almost Instantly It aoemed that the walls of the ahnck had begun to revolve. Fumes! He stumbled desperately toward tho door, but could not reach It. Doubtless the only thing thnt saved Hassnra All, or Storm for that mntter, was the second opening of th door, which let In a gnat of pure nlr and ' carried out a certalu volume of the polsou. Fortunately for both of them Zudora and Mrs. McWlnter were both starting out for the shack at the very moment the door closed upon Hassam All. Mrs. McWlnter dreaded to ace the fatal shack agnln, but Zudora Insisted. She must ae the shack and every thing In It, If ah wa to aid Smith In the lightest degree. After Mrs. McWlnter hml fully explained th conditions Zudora was quite confident that the man Smith was In nocent, no matter bow deeply circumstantial evidence had Involved him, 8h also felt Instinctively that tin widow waa holding something hack. "Tlier It Is," announced Mrs. McWIuter, with a slinkier, "Why, ther are no window In It!" "I know It. My husband built It. Tor what purpose I cannot sny, unless It wns to experiment lu." Mrs. McWlnter began to cry. " There, there! " said Zudora. " From what you have told me I don't think that husband of youra wa worth tears." "nut I have not told you all!" " Well, what more is there to tell? " "Tho man accused of my husband's death was never my lover. H was my brother!" " Good heavens; why didn't yon tell that to th coroner?" "I dnrml not . dored not tell even my husband that." "Why?" "My brother Is an escaped convict. Again It was circumstantial cvlnence. He suffered (n another man's place For two year he has lived quietly here, and the police hav lust all track of hlui. He was sentenced fur five years and escaped during the first year of his term, If I had taken my husband Into my coiilldcnce he would have enjoyed nothing greater than exposing George." " You can trust tut with the secret. n would he totally lost If th people knew tills. Well, tbr'a th shack. What a thick door! " Reaching it ah tried to open -It. It re fused to budge. She colled to Mr. McWin. ter and the two of them succeeded in pressing It back. "Hold It," cried Zudora, reaching for a log near at hand. With this ah waa abl to hold th door. ' ' Then she aaw Storm and 'Hassam All lying senseless on the floor. She miffed and for a moment felt diizy. The fresh air, however, cam In strongly, and after a few, momenta the two men dazedly opened thelf eyes. Zudora helped them both outside, shaking them roughly. It took a quarter ot an hour to bring them around to anything . Ilka normality. Whatever Storm thought of the affair he kept to himself. Zudora, believing it wise to close the doog again, was about to caat aside th log, whe.a her eye was attracted by a tuft of coara haig caught in a splinter, "Did your husband have a dog?" h asked the frightened woman at her aide. " Yes. But he ran away the day my hu band died and no one has seen him since." Zudora again studied tho bg thoughtfully) The earth about waa soft, and presently sin discovered tha footprints of a dog. Th tuff ' of hair and the tracks aet her thinking deeply, "Was your man quite right?" ah asked, touching her forehead. "How do you mean?" " I mean, did he act qtieerly at times? " "Why, now you come to apeak of It, yea I thought he was just erratic." " Here's a bit of good luck," said Zudora, suddenly. She pointed down the road a bit, where a wagon was visibly approaching, " He'It be able to give us a lift back to th village. I want to see th authorities al once. I've an idea how your husband cauit to die." "How?" "All in good time." Zudora hailed th farmer. He would gladly give them a lift "These two mon," said Zudora, Indicating John and Hassam All, " have met with al accident. Help me get them Into the wagon. " Iu a jiffy, miss!" The exhausted men wsra bundled Into th wagon, and tho farmer toucheS his tear with his whip. At the outskirts of tho tows they came upon a mob. It wna very disor derly. In Ihe midst of this mob was a pali man securely bound. " My brother! They are going to lyU'i him!" cried Hip widow wildly. It lookiil that way to Zudora, too. Ther wns one tiling for her to do. Info this nm she resulutely puhed her way. The exerted men stepped aside gruuihliiigly, "Men, even if this poor man was guilty, you nre acting like n pack of wolvea. Ho is Innocent. I can tell you hmv John McWin tcr ciiiiic to his dcnlh. He died in a trij he bad set for this very man you would hauic His own doir. was the cause of his donth!". " His dog! " "Come, come; this is no time for fatn . stories. String him up, boys, before tli pi lice nose In I " Smith was bucked against a tree. " I warn you that you will be committing murder. Give me one hour, and if I cnunol reasonably prnr-t that Smith is guiltless, whj I engage to stand aside and watch you ban hi m." I This declaration mode the more sober mm pause. "And I'll help you pull the ropel" shouted tho sheriff, quick to recognlr.e tha value of a respite. " Choose six among you to follow me," ') Zudora, " or a many as you wish." "We'll all go; Smith, too!." Thnt settled It. The mob began t itirM along tha mad at a dog trot. If this girl could prove what ah said, why, Smith couuj go; If not, Ihere'd be enough tree near ItU shack to serve their purpose, When Ihe eager girl exhibited the bottle! and explained what was In them, pointed M the little platform and then to tha door wltl Its spring, a calm began to settle npo tin bloodthirsty men. "To hold the door open against the pru auro of the aprlng it was necessary lo pro this log against It. McWIuter and Smith bus gone out hunting. Suddenly Smith missed McWlnter, who was, In fact, arranging tlal details of the trap. McWinler's dog evW denlly got In his way, and he kicked It. Tin dog, In lla endeavor to escape a second kick, jumped against the log, shutting McWInM In the shack and causing the poisonous fumet to he liberated. My uncle has already prove' this fact to his satisfaction." Ilassnrr, All nodded gravely. There wai nothing else for hliu lo do. Storm staras at him Ironically for a moment. " But there Is something else to add," went on Ziidiirn, now satisfied thnt she had wi the Interest of the mob. " McWlnter it i 1 Inid tills trap for Smith himself. He wsf an insane man, and none of you ever ana pleloned this fact. He Imagined all hla tro bles. Smith had absolutely nothing lo Jt with them. Now hang hlin If yon cau!" The mob quietly took Itself off, vastlj ahamed and chastened; and Smith south! his sobbing sister, his eyes full of grstltud "You're a wonderful little person, Zsj dorn," whispered Storm, "Am I? Tnk me back to town. T as! tired. And there's more to do. I've got V free Smith againfrom prison." But Hie death of th ml culprit did that and Smith walked (he earth nsslu, a frig cttlxeu, (W aa CONTINUED )