Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 13, Number 73, Decatur, Adams County, 26 March 1915 — Page 3

THE MASTER key. CHAPTER XV. The New Plot. ‘55-JTnE morning brought John I ] Dorr, Ruth Gallon and Thom- •"» K >ne together to discuss KBmV the problems before them. The papers so necessary for the con summation of the deal' that Everett bad proposed were again lost. Where they were gone, whether they bad indeed fallen Into Wilkerson’s bauds none could tell. But more Immediate yet was tho need of extricating John J wo plain clothes men already sat near by, ready to take him to prison on a jpharge of killing Henry Pell. "It’s really only a formality." said the manager of the hotel. ’The man .was a robber and Mr. Doit tried to capture him. as he had every right to do, and the man was killed." This failed to comfort Huth. To her mind the presence of the burly officers, the fact that John Dorr was under ar rest in a strange city, made her feel that her burdens were too great to bear. She sat holding the old cook's hand till Everett should come. He had already telephoned, nnd she tried to be brave till he should come. Everett arrived, and the moment she saw him she heaved a sigh of relief He was so capable looking, so cool, so genuinely cordial to John that even Tom Kane softened his grim visage a little. “I’m under arrest,” John told him ’"The officers were good enough to let me stay here till you came. Now 1 must be off. Let me Introduce you all around.” This done, John Dorr went on, “They can tell you all about things, and when you’ve learned the worst come down and get me out if you can." Everett agreed, and Dorr rose, and .with a smile said goodhy to his com panions. As he left the hotel with an officer on either side of him Ruth broke down and cried. Tom Kane comforted her as best he could till Everett suggested that they bad best go to some more private place and discuss matters. In Ruth's room she and the cook ex plained affairs briefly. Everett follow Ing their narrative carefully up to the incidents of the night before. When Ruth had finished and the cook was silent Everett thought a moment, then he laughed. “I don’t mean to make fun of all this," he apologized, “but I’ve known John Dorr for years and this is precisely the kind of trouble he revels in.’ “But he’s tn jail!” Ruth protested tearfully. “True enough,” was the reply. "That is the first thing I must do. get hitn out I’ll be off now and see the dis trict attorney and bail him out" “Please hurry!” Ruth pleaded. “Don’t worry.” was the cheerful re Spouse. A moment later he was gone, promising to bring John back with him. “What do you think of Mr. Everett?' Ruth demanded of Tom Kane. The old man lit his pipe and scru tlnlzed the celling. “Well,” be said Judicially, “considering the looks of them on Wilkerson's side and them on John’s side. I should think that this Everett was on the right side.” With this judgment she had to be content But she insisted that he tell her all about the conditions at the “Master Key” mine. "1 know you have not told me all the truth," she said. "Well,” be answered her. "there's not much to tell one way and a heap in another. The mine's practically shut down. You know first you went away, then John and then Wilkerson Pretty much all was left was me and Bill Tubbs. Bill, he kind of represent ed Wilkerson, and I stuck np for John

loft 11 II&-X ' 1 - ■ JEiAI a/J i * j•■ ■ jW.W 1 fli / m ill jSSsl* yy \ wJm l//wli •IVz fIKIK. I "'?/ ’“-i- ' * I JI '"‘^illt a t II £ * 1 J ju.. ;:ii iu Wfl Fwarara I kiim •■ tx ▼ 1 ' “Please hurry!" Ruth pleaded. The result was that things went to the bad. and the boys they come to me and want to know how long they’ve got to lay off. ‘“I suppose ye mean how long before a pay day.' I says to ’em. 'So far as 1 know nobody has laid you off.' “They agreed with me. but said they couldn't feed their folks without mon ey. and If they got no money for it why work?" “They haven't been paid, then?" "No. And Wilkerson cut off all cred It at tbe store. I guess I got tn bad with Tubbs when I divided up a lot of flour and spuds that was in the cook shanty among the worst off ones. There was some ugly talk, and before I could kind of settle the boys’ minds they treated Bill pretty roughly. So 1 just told myself that I would come to San Francisco and explain things—bow Wilkerson deserted the camp and the mine was closed down and your people Were starving.” “Ob!** mourhed Ruth, aghast at the blunt story. "And I seem to have been

Into the bills to some quiet hotel. You can catch the night train.” "Nonsense!" Everett said quickly. "AH of you go with her. I’ll look after matters here for a week, if need be I’ll go down to the mine myself.” With the papers safely in her possession at last Jean Darnell became once more the guiding spirit and told Wilkerson that there was only one thing for them to do—get out of town Imme diately. “Drake is in jail, and we’ll have to bail him out through some third party We daren’t trust ourselves in the hands / • r y ' “We must save ourselves first.” of the police. You can trust Dorr to be looking for those papers right this minute." “I promised Drake by a messenger that we would have him out before night,” he responded. "We must save ourselves first," she said angrily. “And we must be disguised.” After some argument Wilkerson agreed, and they decided to go south. “It wil] give us time to plan things out, and you can work things out at your leisure,” Jean told him. "But how shall I disguise myself?” he demanded. Mrs. Darnell’s eyes gleamed maliciously. "You must go as an old man,” she told him—“my father, you see.” He rebelled, but finally acquiesced, and within a short time Jean and the maid bad transformed him into a very presentable old man. "Now, go and buy our tickets," she ordered. “Estelle and I will pack up while you are gone.” "Tickets to where?” "Tickets to Los Angeles,” she snaplied. So he departed, to return in an hour with the tickets and an expressman. When the trunks were gone Mrs. Darnell sat down with Wilkerson, and they went over the situation again, with the result that she took his advice and disguised herself and made Estelle also do the same. After a hasty supper they then called a taxi and went to the station. Mrs. Daniell and her maid immediately entered the drawing room reserved for them, and Wilkerson feed the porter to make up his berth tn the body of the car immediately. “Safe!” he muttered to himself as the wheels began to turn and lie saw the faces of several plain clothes men on the platform. Neither he nor Mrs. Darnell was aware that in another car Ruth and her maid and John Dorr and Tom Kane were also heading for the south.

Queer Cases of Jilt. A well known novelist was once jilted by a girl who took exception to the inadequate punishment meted out to one of his fictitious villains. She declared that as he regarded vice with so lenient nn eye be must himself be at heart a reprobate and unworthy of true love and that she must request that their acquaintance cease. An eminent lawyer in his younger days met with a similar mishap. The lady to whom he was engaged, chancing to hear that he had delivered a most skillful though futile speech In defense of an arrant rogue, wrote, saying that she must decline to know one who could thus strive speciously to excuse crime. In return he pleaded the exigencies of the profession, but in vain. The lady was obdurate and soon nfterward, by the strange irony of fate, married a man who was ultimately convicted of gross fraud, mainly through the forensic eloquence of her former lover. Paper Lifeboats. Rear Admiral Yokoyama of the Japanese navy has invented a collapsible lifeboat, or, rather, raft, made of paper. Having found a very tough paper known as hashikirazu, made from mulberry tree fiber, be sought for and discovered a chemical treatment to rnake ft waterproof. After experiment he found that the best device wns to take several pipelike bags and place them side by side as in a raft. As finally given forth it is a life raft quite immune from wreck and so collapsible that it could be stowed in a submarine and always be ready for use. Not Much Room For Argument. . “You owe everything to your wife," snid the severe maternal relative. “Maybe 1 do.” replied Mr. Meekton. "Anyhow, she gets around regularly every pay dav and collects.”—Washington Star.

“Humph!" said Kane. "That sounds funny to me." Ruth nodded, looking at the note. Then she said, more cheerfully: ”I’ll dress anyway. Maybe be needs me. Now, you old dear, leave me awhile.” Kane departed, and Ruth quickly changed into street dress. While she was doing this the bellboy returned to say that a machine was waiting for her. “The one that brought the note," he said. “He says be was told to wait" “Oh!” she exclaimed. "Tell him I'll be right down.” When the boy had gone she called Tom Kane on the telephone and told him that she was going. “John sent a car for me," she added. “All right.” came buck the answer. "I’ll Just travel along. Maybe I might help John myself." So It was agreed, and they met in the lolffiy, where Ruth showed the note to the clerk in her Impulsive way. Something in that official’s expression made the old cook unobtrusively take out his revolver and see that it was in good condition. He followed Ruth to the street and into the waiting machine. This mote disconcerted Drake. He had not intended to have two passengers, but he saw no help for it and merely nodded when Ruth ordered him to take her to the city prison. He started his engine and they sped off up the hill. They rode for some time and as neither of them was acquainted with the city it did not occur to them that they were being rapidly conveyed into a part of town only partly built up and now veiled In dense clouds of swirling fog. “It's a long way,” Ruth remarked several times, tut Kane merely grunted. He was busily pondering over some method of extricating John Dorr. Suddenly the car swerved around a corner, dived down a steep bill and came to a stop before a big gray building—the boarded up residence of an absentee. Reaching back, Drake opened the door, and Rutb sprang out A figure darted across the sidewalk, and she felt herself clutched by the arm. She looked into the gleaming, cruel eyes of Wilkerson. “I’ve got you now!” he said triumphantly. “Oh!” moaned Ruth, shrinking back in terror. “Yes. indeed,” Wilkerson taunted her. But at that moment he heard another voice, stern, commanding and familiar. He looked around into the muzzle of Tom Kane’s revolver. For the moment they faced each other, while Ruth shrank back still farther. The old man’s eyes gleamed, and his trigger finger seemed to rest on the trigger with a precise and deli cate touch. “You here!” said Wilkerson with an oath. Suddenly the old man’s temper flared up. The other saw death in his eyes.’ turned on his heel and ran as fast as he could up the street Without a second’s hesitation Kane swung his weapon round till it cover ed Drake, cowering at his wheel. “Now you drive us back to the hotel.” he thundered. “And If you make a false move I'll drill ye as sure as God gave me good shooting eyes." Drake saw that he was helpless and sulkily waited till they were in and then turned his car back toward the center of the city. Tom Kane sat grimly just behind him with his gun ready. And his mind was piecing things together. Suddenly he saw a policeman on his beat and realized that luck was playing his cards for him. He ordered Drake to halt and bailed the officer. To that somewhat astonished individual the cook explained briefly that he had just foiled an abduction plot and that the chauffeur wns in it. Though Drake strenuously denied the charge the policeman decided that it was a case for the captain. “I’ll just ride in front here, and we ll go to headquarters,” he remarked “You can put np that gun, old fellow, for I’ll see that young fellow doesn't cut up any monkey shines.” In the meantime Everett had successfully managed Dorr’s business, and he had been released ojj nominal bail for a hearing. “And I guess yon won't find us very anxious to make it hard for you,” said the prosecuting attor ney. Free again, John insisted on taking the quickest route back to the hotel Everett, sympathetic in this, agreed, and in a few minutes they were at the hotel inquiring for Ruth. “Why, she left only a little while ago to see you in the prison.” said the clerk. “She had a note from you.” “I wrote no note,” said John. “Here it is,” was the response. “She left it on the desk in her hurry.” Eagerly John snatched the sheet of paper, but the Instant his eyes lit on it he turned a furious face to Everett. “It’s a forgery, a trick,” be said. 'T never wrote it!” CHAPTER XVI. Too Late! T" "TOGETHER John and Everett went outside, and from the BjsgEjl starter they learned that a MsMpwl car had driven up. that the chauffeur had delivered a note and that later Ruth Gallon had come down and been driven off. “There was an old gentleman with her, Mr. Kane, I believe," the starter added. John heaved a sigh of relief. “At any rate, Tom will see that she doesn’t come to harm," he said. After a few more questions, which showed them the futility of trying to find Ruth, they re-entered the hotel and settled down to a discussion of business. Tt»?y were interrupted by

the return of Ruth and the cook, who recounted their adventures. ’T'll get Wilkerson," John Dorr said quietly when they had finished. Meanwhile we must get ahead with our fixing up of the affairs of the ’Master Key’ mine." Wilkerson's last failure had driven him furious. He did not know what to do, and lie especially dreaded returning to Jean Darnell with the news He walked the streets for a long time, lunched in a cheap house and then doggedly started downtown. On the way be bought an evening paper and read of Drake's arrest With scowling brows be perused this minutely until tie was sure that bls tool bad not betrayed him so far. But he knew that minutes were precious. He must get Into communication with the young man and assure his silence. He could not do this without Mrs. Darnell's help. As be expected, she flew Into a towering rage, but her keen mind saw that Drake must be pacified, and she managed to control herself at last. She read the account carefully and then looked through the rest of the paper for some Item about John Dorr. Her eye lit upon an advertisement, which she read twice before speaking; then she pointed it out to Wilkerson. He. too, read it: FOUND.—Deeds to certain mining property. On proof ot ownership same will bs returned Reward expected. S J. C.. 201 Hill street. “They must be the papers," he acknowledged. ‘Tell probably threw them away for fear of their being used as evidence against him, and some one picked them up.” “This time I shall sec to the matter,” Jean said sharply. “Whether they are the papers or not, we must be sure.” “Other people will see that ad.,” be suggested. “All the more reason for hurry,” she snapped. Then she called her maid. “Estelle,” she said, “I want yon to dress for the street and go on on er rand for me. It is very important, and you must hurry.” “Yes, madame.” “And if you show good Judgment you shan't be sorry. You know how

/ j| W-. Hf ****"*\ A Glance Told Her That They Belonged to Ruth. Miss Gallon dresses and acts, I want you to impersonate her for a little while.” “But. madame”— “There Is no danger nt all," Mrs. Darnell went on. “All you have to do is to go to this address and get those pa pers.” The maid looked at the advertisement and finally consented to go to the Hill street address nnd see if they were really Ruth’s deeds nnd if so recover them. In a few moments she had departed on her errand, and Wilkerson and Jean once more resigned themselves to waiting. Estelle tripped along the street to a car line and took the first car that came along, which, the conductor in formed her. crossed the street she sought. Arriving at her street, she got off and found herself in a neighborhood inhabited by very poor people. She looked with disgust at the tumbledown shanties and dirty shacks that littered the rubbish heaped yards. Two blocks up from the car line she found het number, a house slightly better kept than most. But she noticed in the yard nn uptilted ash man s cart. Ju the rear was a rickety stable. She entered the gate and rang the bell. A very large, ill dressed Italian woman opened the door, letting out a tremendous odor of garlic nnd cheese She surveyed her caller with suspicion nnd then beamed. "Ob, you come looks de papes?" she demanded. Estelle merely showed a copy of the advertisement “Yes, my husband he put that in de pape.” the woman said, losing her smile. For some moments Estelle tried to get a glimpse of the documents The Italian himself came on the scene and demanded n full description. When Estelle snid that they had been lost from the .Manx hotel he nodded nnd explained that he had been removing the ashes therefrom when his eye had been caught by the folded papers, hut he still Insisted on an accurate description. which the maid could nor give. At last she said quietly. "The papers are of no value to you. nnd I am authorized to pay n good reward for them.”

At the word reward there was a change, and the woman demanded to know how much it would be. Estelle thought rapidly, it had been impressed on her that baste was necessary. She decided on offering n good- , ly sum, yet not enough to make the , ash man and his wife think they were j in possession of papers ot extraordl- ! nary value. She pulled out her purse ' and held out $5. The man was taking It Ills wife intervened. “Twenty dolla,” she said cunningly. Estelle bargained for some moments and then said In a tone that wns decisive, "If you show me the papers and they aro the ones 1 want I'll give you sls and no more.” The deeds were produced, nnd a glance told her that they belonged to Ruth. She paid the money and hurried away. Everett and Dorr bad gone over the situation thoroughly together, and the broker agreed that he would help out in putting the "Master Key” mine on its feet again. “1 think 1 can do it tomorrow," he said. "Just let me have all the papers. and I’ll go over them tonight” “Ruth has them.” John replied “We'd best go up and get them now." Ruth received them cheerfully nnd promptly went to her trunk for the deeds. Her first search was not re- ' warded, and she lifted a puzzled face to John. Then she once more went through all her belongings. It was fruitless. She then remembered the desk and searched it with the same result. “They’re gone!" she stammered. “impossible!” said Dorr. "They must be somewhere here." “No,” she mourned, “I've looked everywhere.” Everett was the first to suggest that no time should be lost in locating the missing property. He sent for the evening papers and delved into the “Lost and Found” columns, with the result that he very soon handed a paper to Dorr and pointed out the adver tisement which had attracted Wilkerson’s attention. Half an hour later John Dorr turned away from the ash man’s door and said to Everett: "I’ll bet that was one of Wilkerson’s crowd. We must notify the police before he can get away.” They had soon told their difficulties to the sympathetic ear at hendquar ters and started back for the hotel John was in the dumps. “It seems as if everything goes wrong when I try to do something for that little woman,” he growled. “I begin to think myself that you are playing in hard luck,” was the reply. “But 1 always did like a good tight, and this promises to be one. I’ll stick, John." They shook hands. They found Ruth and Tom Kane anxiously awaiting them. John sim ply stated the case and then turned to comfort Ruth. He was startled to see how white she was. “Ruth, Ruth," be cried in alarm, “what is the matter?" There was no answer. She had fainted away. All else was forgotten for the time being. A maid and a doctor were quickly summoned, and presently Ruth revived. Old Tom Kane was seated beside her patting her band. “The papers!” she moaned. "Don’t you worry about the papers.” he said promptly. “We’ll look after them.” “But the folks at the mine—who will look after them?” she pleaded. The old cook swore that he would do so himself with John's help. At

\ V\ A ■ Z Z A /V - ! / » T "L CTAf El ♦. z . He Was Startled to See How White She Was. this point the doctor interfered with orders that she was to be perfectly quiet. in the other room they held a consultation. The physician listened to their explanation of what the girl had been through and then said gravely: “She must have an absolute change of scene for a time. Get her away from here instantly." “But where?” Dorr demanded. “Why nut take her to the southern part of the state for a little while?" he suggested. “But whatever you do. du it quickly. Her nerves won’t stand much more." “1 Know just the place," Kane snid. "Take her to Los Angeles and then out

j unfortunate all around, but I know that John will tlx things." Tom Kane fixed his honest old eyes on the girl and shook his bend. "1 don't want to discourage you, Ruthle,” he snid quietly, "but until that man Wilkerson is out of the mine for good you can’t do more than patch matters up temporarily." Meanwhile Wilkerson and Jenn Darnell were anxiously awaiting news from Henry Pell. It was getting along In the forenoon, nnd the woman Insisted that if he ha<i succeeded in getting the papers he should have been on the ground long before. Her compnn--45? ut X. Aft Ml “I don’t want to discourage you, Ruth io.” ion wns worried, but laid the delay to Pell’s tin bits nnd the necessity possibly of avoiding the police. But when Drake arrived with the morning papers and said nothing articulate and only pointed to the headlines on the first page both Wilkerson nnd Mrs. Darnell knew that something had happened again to spoil their plans It was Wilkerson who snatched up the paper and read the news: HOTEL THIEF HURLED TO DEATH. Guests of the Manx Hotel Have Fierce Struggle With Hotel Robber. Shortly before midnight last night Miss Ruth Gallon, a guest at the Hotel Manx, entered her room to find a masked man looting her desk. Her cry tor help frightened the thief, and he made for the tire escape, followed by Mr. John Dorr, another guest, who heard Miss Gallon's call. Mr. Dorr pursued the man to the roof, and tn the ensuing struggle the desperado was either flung or fell to the street below. He was instantly killed. Shortly afterward the body was identified by the police as that of Samuel Price, alias Henry Pell, an ex-convict and drug fiend. Wilkerson read no further. He turned his ghastly face on Mrs. Darnell nnd said huskily, “He's dead!” “Well, he won’t tell any tales,” was the cold response. “The question is, did he get the papers?" To this question there was no satisfactory answer until Wilkerson read down further and learned that nothing of value bad been found on Pell’s body. “So he didn’t get the deeds, and Ruth still has them,” Mrs. Darnell said bitterly. “That is the way all your plans succeed.” Wilkerson flushed. "There is one comfort,” he said in an ugly tone. “Dorr is to be held for killing him.” “For how long?” sneered Jean. “Until his friends get him out. And meanwhile you do nothing!” She continued in this strain for some time. Drake and Wilkerson moodily listening. They knew that if she once threw the affair up they would be helpless and all their time and work and money would have gone for naught Wilkerson was thinking quickly. Suddenly he interrupted Jean to ask for pen and ink. She got them, and he sat down at the table to write. Drake and Mrs. Darnell kept up a desultory conversation until he had finished. There was a queer look in Jean’s eyes as she took the sheet he handed her and glanced at the writing. "I see you still can do it,” she murmured. “Read it!” he growled. Mrs. Darnell read it through silently and then aloud: Dear Ruth—l hate to ask you to come down and see me in the jail, but I have something very Important to tell you. Bring the papers too. JOHN DORR. “Are you sure he is in Jail?” demanded the woman when she had finished. “And what is the idea of getting the papers into his hands?” “He'll Just turn them over to Everett.” muttered Drake. Wilkerson smiled slyly. “The idea is that Drake here will disguise himself as a chauffeur, take this note to the hotel, see that it reaches Ruth nnd then drive her supposedly to the jail, but really to where I'll meet him.” They discussed the plan and at last agreed that It wns feasible. Drake himself saw nothing dangerous in it so long as Wilkerson was to meet him and take Ruth off his hands. He promptly proceeded to dress himself as a chauffeur and went whistling away to a garage after receiving explicit Instructions as to what streets he wns to take and where he was to meet Wilkerson. It was an hour later that Drake drove his rented car up before the hotel and delivered his note. It found Ruth still deep in conversation with Tom Kane nnd yet anxious for the return to Dorr and Everett. On the presentation of the note which Wilkerson had forged she instantly took j alarm. "John must be in trouble and Mr. Everett can’t get him out." she said. “He’s written for me to come down to the jail and see him and bring the papers." (Continued next week)

Do You Want Varnish That Will Wear, Wear, Wear? Will it retain its brilliancy? How long will it wear? These are the important things to know about varnish. Little Blue Flag” VARNISHES are famous among the best architects and painters for their great brilliancy, depth of rich lustre and long wearing qualities. They assure the most beautiful effects—in either gloss or rubbed finish. There is a “Little Blue Flag” varnish made for each specific purpose—one for your every need. We are the local agents, ilclthouse Drug Co. o

CRACKED EGGS. Cracked eggs for sale at the Ber,ling Packing house. 71tf o : FOR SALE —Bay horse, sound, weight 1100 pounds. Is absolutely city broke. Inquire E. A. Beavers at Beavers & Atz furniture store. 72t3 Parties wishing to purchase “Fornis Alpon Krau|er Blutbeleber,” the great Gt rmjtff. biped purifier, may do so by calling at 1010 West .Monroe street, or telephoning No. 560. 72t3 WANTED —Two hustling salesmen to cover this territory with complete line of oils, greases and paints. Experience unnecessary. Write us today. Industrial Relining Co , Cleveland, O. FOR SALE —70 white oak trees. Inquire of Samuel Helm, Decatur, R. R. No. 9. 'phone 12-E. 72t6 ROOMS FOR RENT—Five furnished rooms with bath in connection. Everything complete and furnished, except linens and silverware. Inquire of Mrs. Dick Townsend. 515 Madison St., phone 151. 72t3 FOR RENT —House on North Tenth St. Inquire Frank Johnston. 72t.l FOR SALE—A Seneca folding camera. postal card size, carrying case. 6 plate holders, tripod, focusing cloth, 6 extra lenses. Camera alone cost sl6. .Will sell entire outfit for less titan cost of camera. Inquire at this office. 70tf When you order from us your measure is taken by an expert, a man who can cut and make a complete suit.— Elwood Tailoring Co., rear of People’s Loan & Trust Co. J. C. RODGERS CHAS. K. CUTLIP Rogers & Cutlip Real Esstate Co. We have a full line of farms for sale from $40.00 to $60.00 per acre. Railroad Station EAST ORWELL,OHIO Postoffice. COLEBROOK,OHIO Write Us For Descriptive Lift The METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE CO. For High Class Insurance and LOWEST RATES Annual Dividends on all Contracts. J. M. KELLY, Agent.