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 )