7i 9U ' i __ + p -me nm” ms ras cHA1u,o'r'rs'rowN cosnnnin ms, 0, M.. mes C9n '9,,,,-ggi. im. In th IM' Tift Still B“~¢-»¢sm»’i¢'s»svii¢.~ N the course of these narratives it has been often rg. muud that Valentine _8tone's unusual adventures “ms to him in unusual ways. Some minor incident he would, with seeming mystery, choose from a host of major ones, and from it would seem to come, with the ease of some magic tree growing beneath the “ve of sn lndian’s hand, the thrilling adveatukes ,ith whpgli his name has come to be associated. In- ' deed this sixth sense, which seemed with such unenf- mg accuracy to sense the potentiality of the smallest ci,-wmference, seemed seldom to fail, and some pass- ing phase which would have passed by all men but the mam, ,mg of his uncertain visits, during which the, ,p-i, prcsidential _business had been Joyfl-lily tl1l`“3§ "|50 iiiid the vice presidential mind and heart given that an-niigo mixture of observation, philosophy and, ms). pulmor with which in unprofessional inomeutq 3,, .tiivt-iiture lIunter‘s .conversation wus BD|<‘°¢- Ciogiiig iiiiic. indeed, only interrupted Valentine stones flow of soul, and at its juncture the two friends me, After a few instructions which Ohillingvrorth found iweceggery to leave they slowly strolled throllt the building toward the entrance. Ii wiis at this juncture that Stone. always 0hS9¥""\ 1 looked about him. The great interior oi’-uhe bank IW' iiti-il that peculiar impression between feverish Pxisulrv and listlessness which is always |1PD11!""'f lm' gypdlntoly iiftcr the closing of the doors. The officials, iiei-ii to conclude the duties of the day, worked eagerly: me pil-f depositors that had arrived prior to the C105-» im, hy the floors, stood with the pence of their exact m,,.,,,-.,,.“i upon them. waiting the ending of their. _ it ‘ - “_ H S,,,nL»‘ii eyes roved about the great tiled and niixril =p-iccs of the place, the habit of his observation 5 _ _ . _ _ ,. » r slicht detail of the scene. He noticed_ ;ll1i|i\"ll-'t-i_::li°i{i:,.ieii)i'iiciil`ls given to their hasty rgcordlilk. ii.-t-ii nil- niiiii-i~iii:: of ri never that =- ri-11° SP" "F gil ci-iiiiipli-tl unti cast down. And then, behind the g||,|,l.| ii-.iii grill of the casliier's window a scene camo’ U, hp, ,ip-.~i iiiul struck liim smartly us zi blogv. ll`i':iiiir-rl iii tho slight' mist which seeme to come iii-in-i-i~ii tliii writing cashiers form and itself a face stiioii out, clcui' as paper upon black: a face wrung at 0m~._- hy piilii and sacrifice and charged with what Stiiiic iiiit-oiist-ioiisly analyzed as u noble s`ui'fefrlng. Ill wil; ii \vouiuii's flick. DU,” *md Selina- 'U19 `°rm be' iienili It thc Aiivciitiire Hunter did not even see, with ,nl-ii ii gliiistly tragedy did the expression seeni to strike iiiiii. The cashier, at the woman s front, bent ii woiiii iind voluptuary face upon the llgnres upon ‘ which lic was engaged. The contrast between the two lnipn-.ssioiis was startling, the nobility of the onc. the wt-iii; .sclf-iiidiiigcncti of the other. and Stvne fllrlled. qui.-lily to his fi-icnd to bring the picture before him. Thi-_v both iooltcd round iigaiii. The fiice and the form bi-iii-iiili it of the woman had disappeared. - i _-it xiii- suiidou disappearance of the face Stone ut- tercil :iii exclamation of disappointment. Trivial ' enough ns iiiu incident would have been to the ordi-_ niiry iiiiiid, it liiul made an impression upon the Ad- , veiiiliri- lluiilcr. lu the contrast und thc position of thrisl- tivo fiiccs lic read some tale ot' the drunin of lift-, pniasilily of complication and of mystery. and thci~e~ forc ilizit wliivh promised to feud tlio liunger for the `unusuiil wlilcli wus his inost ongcr instinct. The wr-iiinii'.~i suddcn disappearance, whllc nuturnl enough, seoiiicii io ciiiphasize the vivldness of the picture and set li i‘oi~lli. _ "\\'ii:ii! ii woman? You must be dreaming, Viilcn- ilni-," i'i-iiiiirketl thc banker. laughing. “I've never lecii ii ivoiiiziii in the cushter's cage yet." V “Ai;iiliist the rules?" asked the Adventure Hunter. y "_\‘i»_ not criictly-after lioui's,_thar is."_ returned the vice piw-.~irli-lil, “but its unusual. It'ii probably be his wlft~~tlii-sc lltilo domestic dlfiiiiultlt-s, you know. He proiiiilily (lot-sii't want to go wiierc she wishes this evciiiiiii. l'vt- expci'lenccd thcsc expressloiis of the doiiii-.-iii' ilriiiiin myself." ` lli- iiiiiiglii-tl and drugged the half rcslstlng Stone to the ciiiriiiicc. "But, my boy," said he, “I refuse to allow _von io liecoiiic interested in some udventuvo with my i-nsliier iiiiw~-really. l'm going up to tlic club, and ln-:iiit you tu come too. We'il have just an hour for bliiiiii~flnw. The glass glowed with s tint of ' ' as the in-liiiant lights trom the table gleamed upon Q _ Stone ,limited ut the miter in it curiously for a mo- ment. ' . - _iiii i _..-___ 3?. “Uglgl it feels greasy to my fingers,” “rg M, "Wl.is§ is the matter with that water?" Theiwiiiter, solicitous, failed to sec anything fha mattsir, but Stone i_nsisted on ii fresh bowl. 'lt was brotghnbut Stone still seemed dissatisfied. "It' feels greiisy, I tell you," said be llnpadtlflpi He turned to the waiter. "Bring me a little lemon,- said he. "That will sharpen it np." The waitin bowed and departed. And then it was that Stone showed hh real MQ, ,V ianco. "Come, gentlemen, for ri night of it,” ssfdhe gnyyy, *N Hedaslied tothe piano and coinmencedto play - 'g showed a spirit-at which the two captors opened ibm Wide eyes of won/:si1nieii_t_ At three ofclock he craved m“rk"'! """"“"|"°5 °“t"“ weak and 5°|t`i"d“|g"`"t Valentine Stone was ci-rtuln that lic was ilii- write.-r of his whole plan oi’ procei.l\ii'e :is lic gazcd out oi' his win- ture lluntcr. must watch himself if he would carry! . _ mmwul’ ""`- “ "ruined “nd ten" temmlne 'me' tht- iiiissivc. Muster of iii’i‘ulrs uiitl iiiilliiiiis its the ' ` ` mm" l ""‘P"`dY- ABM" 'md come “lm” mm' as If tiiizinrler wus. it had comc to Sioiiu tliruugli i'liiliiiig- ""`°"*4f‘ ` "-=‘ -*`U"1l\lZ9 IIIKIIUIBUBIII lhill |10 Possessed- worth that Ilcwiii wus reiiclilii;_f out to iiiill the <‘oii~ mos" 'm““`* ill "W bank- iliicntal Surety lliiiik iii i_ii:it ciiiiiii of llmiiicliil liisiitu~ This “’""- h"‘V¢V°l`» U10 “C9 °f the “Ulmer Wa” 'wt thins which he air(-ntl) coiiirulli.-ti. lf this were so, the nncoiiscioiis of the presence of the other. It nodded ,,,L.,,,,mg of H". WU,-.1 --,,l,y|ify" was ,,\,\-loud . iii one '°"°h"° "¢‘l¥"UVil (0 501119 0|>\'l0US Plea- The ‘~`°"¥"|'~` oi' those thousuiitl \v:i_\'s iii wlilcli thc ;;i'i-iiit.-.st sccrt-is him Sf‘l1=ll'Litt-fi fhgmgeiveg from the P05! Of U19 13901118 nf iiiaiiuycd iiislituiiozis lcuk to those that iiro iii- Dibiseiigl-rs und stood a little apart, and Stone \vutL‘ll0d tcrestcd. in itiio\viii',: ilii-iii, the nssis_t:iiit. t::lslilci~‘s mis- um Mm" ‘|"""ll'i 9050555 b@f0l'° |1|m'“fl1° W°m°~n Pm” take iind'thr- ciishit-i"s linowlcdge of it liutl como to the uilng with her every energy the quest for something n,,,,,,.,-1,-r_. Tm- iiiliimliie he iiiteiidiid lo iiisko llic lever tliiii tiii- ni.-in denied. oi' his desi-cnt upon ilii- biiiii;_ Hel. Husband in Troublm The iissistiiiit c:isiiii~i~ liiid been the appointment of The _“_ - the ld r i lliod niid, ircseiitly ciintiwillliiy <-lenient of the ( ‘°"“"`° Hunter wmbed “um th” “mt trans' liisi(i)iiii(.;i¢iii,, und llic'lnii<¢iultc, properly :_\'pIi»i|t-ti ui ilic “""'" °V°"' 'hen with 5 much 5° "Wm: and Hymn* proper tlnn.-, could bt- iiintlo to scciii :i culpulii'liiy oii ilic of I " mm it might “lm°5t hlwe bee" th” much "f "ne p.'|rt of the present iiiiiiiiigi-inciit ut the in-xi iiicctlm; "ff UWH scx he attracted her attention, mid Sh” of the stocltlioldsrs \\'ltlihoklIiig tlic infoririiiuoii till rslst-Ll li fare s t d 5' seemed to have gone from it. h beam _ ` -9 “WH by 49517311' thu an "5 mice” °t tlicu anti tlicii sud(-li-iily uncovcriiig it could, with :iii .ly i c preparations wlilcli his crafty mliid could dc\'isc., ml ou are I" “°0Ume»" Ulm |10- "YOU d@5"`e som* swing the stockliolrlcrs i’i'i»iii thi- old iunntitroinciit iiiiil MUS f0l‘ liuother. Will Nil |10! ¢0llBt‘|9l-ll me? I 'mn clcct the ticket which lit-ivlit rv/iiild nbsoluiifly control. D y°u'" ` This plan ot’ ncllon (li,-pciirlefl :iloiiv upon the tliscrt-lliiii Stone then li ` mon ld °U° °f M3 UUUUKG Bud lnillilll Ulm- of lliti caislilcr. If iii- woulil u_:_ii‘i-c to ivltliholil his wh s‘ He knew U10 Plea was not for helzelf. For knowlcdgc till the viiiii inoiiiciil' lit-wiii`s lilflli ""i\l'| 'mom 7-hell c0uld it be? "Your husband?" he V011- undoiilitcdly go tlii~oui;ii. So ilic word "clglii_v" obvi- td. with tho shi ..Mm_ H ue ut her wedding ring in his eye. ously lint-time a bribe. 3 l ll if miles to lievgsellf. d?§;:gu:“z;‘;;f.'°fl';_" agnehyuzot Dependent Upon a Letter. mth A sh! turned more directly to Stone, and spoke Nom- know hotter tliiiii iiio rliiinclt-r thi- Achllies' __ certain note of the acceptanc of her sorrow. heel of the dlssoluic iiiipwirliig ciishit-r irliiiiic vicc-z YQS. ll 18 my hu b n _ qi _ muh G llpd. said she Heis the subor were stanipotluiprin his fut-ti. Sui-li faces iiiiil .such been of the man to whom I spoke. My husband has vices iiirvilalily ilml. say. olgiiiy rliot-.wiinfl iiiiliaizs to It w "h“|"°\||J' Weak. but is not of criminal intent. lie a t'-oiiifoi-table amount to iurii to thi-lr uses. Stone ruq'°'n;l\li; mkistaite of aihousand dollars on u check saw all torso things in ii lliisli ,,, I im. aaa he tonne that mistake out wo Y¢~s,"'iié iiiiid sioviii iiiiii `nim¢»=i inmisiin i ` . ' .' 7 ' fi 5'. "lt . Hs lttemptud to cover it in th h k b t ll ti pe-ads upon tho lciir-it If we ~.u‘d coini- bi' that raluiinerioi-tlia man who has that isttemelfdlscoe-~ lotta: i tiihik 1 could ,promise that your hiisiinmrs §"‘&°_°‘l°\f lui filled Ill! llllbhnd with s dafslaa- troubles would *:` --vcr. ' tiuw ii. Llit- iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-il Iiglils which twlnklcd :ill about liliii i`iiiiii the |iri~:it <.°il_v. Suildculy il slight noise coni- liig friiin iii:-hind him in the room attracted his atten- tioii. lfiiiriliy had lit-_ time to t.urn his bead wlieu he fell. iiiiiiscli' si-lzi-rl iiiid his sciisos swiim. 'i`lieri- camo, lio\vo\'i-r. to hliii tht- blur of tivo faces ere coiiscioiisiit-.ss we-iii froiii iiiiii. \\'ii»:n lie ciiuie io himself ugiiin be was l_i'iu;,; iipiiii his .soiii ;::ii_ur;etl and tied. The oil-t:ti'l<~s were lighted and tliii suiiill clock on thc muniel indi- cuicil i”-ildiilglii. l‘lillogoplil\‘:illy but with iniinltc cure, lieiiiziiiagcil iii roll from tlic .i-into. 'The uieiiiis, lioweve-r. we-ro tili\'li,-us oiioiigli. ‘»l’liiite`\'r\i"iiicri had come upon him had pri-bably w:ill:i~tl up the sinirwuy. They were ob~ vlously ui.-qiinliitt-il with rlic number of lil.~: room and cxpvi'l,~ iii .~