Bemidji Daily Pioneer Newspaper, August 21, 1922, Page 2

p SYNOPSIS “ ; = CHAPTER L.—During the height of the ' New Orleans carnival season Jachin Fell, ‘wealthy though somewhat mysterious cit- d Dr. Ansley, are discussing a as idnight Masquer, who, jpvariably attired as an aviator, has lon; fied the Lflllc.. Joseph Maillard, wealthy banker, giving a ball that night, at which the Masquer: has threatened to appear and rob &a guests. Fell and Ansley, on their way to the affair, meet a girl dressed as Columbine, seemingly known to Fell, but m:!mked. who accompanies them ta the s CHAPTER II.—Lucie Ledanois, recent- the ward of her uncle, Joseph Mail- rd, is the Columbine. CHAPTER IIL—In his library Joseph Maillard and a group of friends are held wup and robbed by the Midnight Masquer. CHAPTER IV.—Lucie Ledanois, the last of an old family, is in straitened clrcum- stances. Joseph Maillard’s handling of her funds has been unfortunate. Fell is an old friend of her parents and deeply interested in the girl. Henry Gramont, really the prince de Gramont, son of a French father and an American mother, but who spurns the title of prince, 1S enamored of Lucle and believes himself a not unfavored suitor. CHAPTER V.—Gramont's chauffeur, Hammond, sergeant in the American a¥my. in France, and there known to Gramont. lives with him. He was the original Midnight Masquer, and Gramont, for. a -particular purpose, after discover- ing Hammond's activities, assumes the role.” Where Hammond had _been a rob- ! ber for financial gain, Gramont, of course, 18 not. He arranges to return | -¥| the “loot” to those whom he has robbed. The jewels and money, in individual pack- ages, are got ready for delivery next day to their original owners. That night they dre stolen from Gramont's auto. (Continned from last issue) CHAPTER V The Masquer Unmasks. In New Orleans one may find pen- stons in the old quarter—the quarter which i still instinct with the pulse of old-world life. These pensions do uot advertise. The average tourist koows hothing of them. Even if he knew, indeed, he might have some difficulty, in obtaining accommodations, [ for 1t 1S not nearly enough to have | the money; one must also have the in- troductions, come well recommended, | and be under the tongue of good re- | vute. : ! Gramont had obtained a small apart- ! ment en pension—a quiet and severely | retired house in Burgundy street,; maintained by a very proud old lady whose .ancestors had come out of | Conada . with the Sieur d'Iberville. Here Gramont lived with.- Hammond, | quite on a basis of equality, and they | were very comfortable. i The two men sat smoking their pipes | before the fireplace, in which blazed a | small fire—more for good cheer than | through necessity. It was Sunday ' evening. | Gramont stared Into the flickering | fire and sucked at his pipe. Suddenly | he roused himself and shot a glance | at Hammond. “Sergeant! You seem to have n| pretty good recollection of that night | at the Lavergne house, when I found you entering and jumped on you.” ' “You bet I have!” Hammond | chuckled. “When you'd knocked the | goggles off me and we recognized each | other—h—I1! I felt like a boob.” | Gramont smiled. “How many places had you robbed up to then? Three, wasn't it?” “Three is right cap’n,” was the un- ashamed response. “We haven't referred to it very of- | ten, but now things have happened.” | Gramont's face took on harsh lines of | determination. “Do you know, it was | a'lucky thing that you had no chance | to dispose of the jewels and money ! you obtained?” “No chance?” snorted the other. “No ' chance is right, cap'n! And I was | sore, too. Say, they got a ring of | crooks around this town you couldn't bust into with grenades! Listen here, and I'll tell you something big.” Hammond leaned forward, lowered his voice, and tamped at his pipe. “When I was a young fellow I lived i in a little town up north—I ain’t say- in’ where. My old man had a livery stable there, see? Well, one night a | guy come along and got the old man | out of bed, and slips him fifteen hun- | dred foria rig and a team, see? drdve the guy ten miles through the hills, and set him on a road he wanted to find. i “Now, that guy was the biggest | crook- in the country in them days— | sthl is, I guess. He was on the dead | run that night, to keep out o’ Leaven- | worth. He kep’ out, all right, and he’s gettin’ in the game to this minute. No- body never pinched him yet, and never | will” | “Why?" . “Because his gang runs back to politicians and rich guys all over the country. You ask anybody on the in- | "side if they ever heard of Memphis | ) e izen, an series of robberies by an individual known |, the Mi | then I began to feel better about it.” . THE BEMIDJ1 went out on that first Job of ou d’you know it Hi broke me up? It did. Only, when we got home that night and yov said it was all a joke, and you'd send back the loot later on, Gramont nodded in comprehension of the other’s feelng. “It's not been altogether a joke, ser- geant,” he said, gravely. “To tell the truth,’I did start it as a joke, but soon afterward I learned something that led me to keep it up. I kept it up until I could hit the Maillard house. It was my intention to turn. up at the Comus ball, on - Tuesday mnight, and there make,pyblic restitutfon of the, stuff— but that's Impossible now. I daré not risk 1t! That man Fell is too smart.” “You're ‘not goin’ to pull the trick | again, then?” queried Hammond, ea- .gerly.’ 1 “No. Fm through. I've got what I wanted. Still, I don’'t wish to return the stuff before Wednesday— Ash Wednesday, the end of the carnival season. Suppose you get out the: loot | Tzzy Gumberts!™ Well, cap'n, I seen | that very identical guy, on the street | the other day—I never could forget his | ugly mug! And where he is, no out- 1 | “Hm! Memphis Izzy Gumberts, Eh? What Kind of a Crook Is He, Ser- geant?” side - crooks can get in, you' belieye wme!” “Hm! Memphis Izzy Gumberts, eh? ‘What kind of a crook is he, sergeant?” | “The big kind. You remember them Chicago lotteries? But you don’t, 0 course. Well, that’s his game—lot- teries and such like.” Gramont’s lips clenched for a min- ute, then he spoke with slow distinct- “Sergeant, I'd “flave given five hun- | dred dollars for that information a week ago!” . “Why?". Gramont shook his head. | “Never mind. Forget it! Now, this | stunt of yours was-€lver.’You showed brains when you got yourself up as an aviator _and pulled that stuff, ser- geant. But you handled it brutally— terribly brutally.” “It was a little raw, T guess,” con- ceded Hammond. “I was up against 1t, that’s all. When you took over the | costume and began to get across wlmi the Raffles stuff—why, it was a pipe for you, cap’'n! Look what we’ve done | in a month. Six jobs, every one run- | uing off smooth as glass! Your no- | tion of going to parties ready dressed | with some kind of loose robe over the | fiyin’ duds was a scream! And then | me running that motor with the cut- out on—all them birds that neveri teard an airplane think you come and | go by air, for certain! Nobody will] ever find us out.” | Gramont nodded thoughtfully. | “Yes? But, sergeant, how about the | quiet little man who came along last | night at the Maillard house and asked | about the car? Perhaps he had dis-| covered you had been running the| engine.’ “Him?” Hammond sniffed in scorn. | “He wasn't no dick.” “Well, I was followed today; at least, I think I was. And let me tell| you something about that same quiet| little man! His name is Jachin Fell." “Heluva name,” commented Ham-| wmond, and wrinkled up his brow. “Jachin, huh? Seems like I've heard the name before. Out o' the Bible, ain't it? Something about Jachin and Boaz?" “I fmagine so.” Gramont smiled as | he replied. “This chap Fell is sharp, | confoundedly sharp!” he went on,| while the chauffeur listened with frowning intentness. I think that he is on to me, and is trying to get the goods on me.” “Oh!” sald Hammond. “And some- one was trailin- you? Think he’s put the bulls wise?” Gramont 'shrugged his shoulders. *T don’t know. ' He almost caught me last | night.. We'll have to get rid of thag | aviator’s suit at once, and of the loof | also. I 'suppose you've reconciled | yourself to returning the stuff?” Hammond stirred uneasily, and laid down his pipe. “Look here, cap'n,” he said, earnest- ly. “I wasn’t runnin’ a holdup game | because I liked it, and I wasn't do- ing it for the fun of the thing, like you are. I was dead broke, I hadn’t any hope left, and I didn’t care a d—n whether I lived or died—that’s on the dead! Right there, you come along and picked me up. “You give me a job. What's more, you've treated me white, cap’'n. You've given me something decent to live and find me some boxes. And be sure they have no name on them ‘or any store labels.” Hammond leaped up and vanished In the room adjoining. Presently he re- turned, bearing several cardboard boxes, which he dumped on the center table. “I'm blamed glad you're done, | believe me!” he uttered, fervently, glancing up at Gramont. “Far’s I'm concerned I don’t care much, but I'd | sure hate to see the bulls turn in a guy llke you, cap'n. Here we are. ‘Want me to keep each bunch separate, don’t you?” “Sure, I'll be writing some notes to go Inside.” DAILY PIONEER “Miss Ledanols; the lady who was driving with us this afternoon, is an old friend of mine. I've known for | some time that somebody was fleecing | her. I suspected that it was Maillard | the elder, for he has had the handling | of her affairs for some time past. | Now, however, those papers have given me the truth. He was straight enough | with her; his son was the man. “He worked on his father, made his father sell land owned by Miss Leda- nois, and he himself reaped the prof- its. There are notes and stock issues among those papers that give his | whole game away, to my eyes. By the way, get that tin box out of my.trunk, certificates with me in the morning, and must not forget them.” “ Hammond disappeared into.the ad., Joining room. ; Grarhont sat gazing at the boxes be- fore him. He shook his head gloomily, | 'and his eyes clouded. 4 | “All wasted—the whole effort!” he murmured. “I thought it might lead will you? I want to take my stock | | off several sheets, and from his pocket | Gramont went to a buhl writing | desk n the corner of the room, and sat | down. He took out his notebook, tore | | produced a pencil having an extremely | bard lead. He wrote a' number of notes, which, except for the addresses, were identical in conteut: “Dear Sir: . “I inclose herewith certain jewelry | {and articles, also curreacy, recently obtained by me under your kind aus- pices. “I trust that you will assume the ' returning these | things to the various guests who lost | them while under your roof. I regret | responsibility of any dlscomfort occasioned by my tak- ing them as a loan, which I now re- ! turn. Please convey to the several | owners my profound esteem and my | [ assurance that I shall not in future appear to trouble anyone, the carni- val season having come to an end, and with it my little jest. “THE MIDNIGHT MASQUER.” Gathering up these notes in his | hand, Gramont went to the fireplace. He tossed the pencil into the fire, fol- lowing it with the notebook. “Can’t take chances with that man Fell,” he explained. “All ready, ser- geant. Let's go down the list one by one.” From the trunk Hammond produced | ticketed packages, which he placed on the table. Gramont selected one, opened . it, carefully packed the-con- | tents in one of the boxes, placed the proper addressed note on top, and handed it to the chauffeur. “Wrap it up and address it. Give the return address of John -Smith, Bayou Teche.” One by one they went through the packages of loot in the same manner. Before them on the table, as they worked, glittered little heaps uf rings, brooches, watches, currency; jewels that flashed garishly with colored fires, historic and -famous jewels plucked from the aristocratic heart of the southland, heirlooms of a past gen- eration side by side with platinum crudities of the present fashion. There had been heartburnings in the loss of these things, Gramont knew. He could picture to himself something of what had followed his robberies: family quarrels, new pur- chases in the gem marts, bitter-re- proaches, fresh mortgages on old her- itages, vexations of wealthy dowagers, shrugs of unconcern by the nouveaxx riches; perchance lives altered — divorces— ) “There's a lot of human life behind these baubles, sergeant,” he reflected aloud, a cold smile upon his lips as he worked. “When they come back to their owners, I'd like to be hovering around in an fnvisible mantle to watch results! Could we only know it, we're probably affecting the lives of a great ' many people—for good and ill. These | things stand for money; and there’s nothing like money, or the lack of it, to guide the destinles of people.” “You sald it” and Hammond grinned. “I'm here to prove it, ain’t I? 1 ain't pulling no more gunplay, now I got me a steady job.” “And a steady friend, old man,” added Gramont. “Did it occur to you that maybe I was as much in need of a friend as you were?’ He had come to the last box, now, that which must go to Joseph Mall- lard. On top of the money and scur!-. pins which he placed in the box he. lald a thin packet of papers. He tapped them with his finger. - “Those papers, sergeant! ' To ‘get them, I've been playing the whole game. To get ‘theny'and not to let their owner suspect th‘fl I was Z{ter thpm! Now they're going.hack: to their owner.” “Who's he?” demanded Hammand. “Young Maillard—son of the banker. He roped me into an oil company; caught me, like a sucker, almost the first week I was here. I put pretty near my whole wad'into that company of his.” “You mean he stung you?” “Not yet.” Gramont smiled coldly, harshly, “I fell right enough—but.I'll come out on top of the heap.” The other frowned. “I don't get you, cap'n. Some kind o’ sto¢k deal?” “Yes, and no.” Gramont paused, and for—to make good because you got some faith in me!’ Why, when yon seemed;$0.choose. his words. with cate, | | “All Wasted—the Whole Effort!” He Murmured. to something, but all it has given me | is the ‘reward of saving myself and possibly retrieving Lucie. As for the larger game, the bigger quarry—it's | all wasted. I haven't unraveled a single thread; the first real clue came | to me tonight, purely by accident. Memphis Izzy Gumberts! That’s the lead to follow! Il get rid of this Midnight Masquer foolishness and go | | after the real game.” Gramont- was to discover that it is not nearly so easy to be rid of folly | as it is to don the jester’s cap and bells; a fact which one Simplicissimus had discovered:to his sorrow three | | hundred years earlier. But, as Gra- | | mont was not versed in the line of | literature, he yet had the discovery ahead of him: - Z Hammen the tin: bo: m- which:Gramont took | his stock certificates issued by Bob | Maillard’s oil cwpnw He pocketed ‘ | the shares. 3 s }e"rn go to Malllard the banker—Jo- ph Maillard+~first thing in the morn- | ing, and offer him my -stock. He'll be mighty glad to get'it at a discount, knowing that it is in his son’s com- | ! pany. You'see, the son'doesn’t confide | in the old man particularly. I'll let | i 1 the father win a little money on the deal ‘with me, and by doing this I'll manage to save the greater part of my investmerit—" “Holy mackerel!” Hammond ex- | ploded in a burst of laughter as he i caught the jdea. *“Say, if this ain’t the.richest thing ever pulled! When | the crash comes, the fancy kid will be | | stinging his dad good and hard, eh?” I “Exactly; and I think his dad can | | afford to be stung much better than I | | can,” agreed Grakont, cheerfully. | | “Now let's take those packages and | { stow them away in the luggage com- i partment of the car. I'm getting nervons at the thought of having them around here, and they’ll be per- tectly safe there overnight— safer | there than here, in fact. Tomorrow | 'vou can take the car out of town and | send the packages by parcels post | (rom some small town. | ““In that way they ought to be' de- livered here on Wednesday. You'd | better wear one of my suits, leaving | your chauffeur’soutfit: here, and don’t halt the car in front of the pest office where you mail the packages—" “I get you,” assented Hammond, sagely. “But what about them avia- tor’s clothes?” “Take them with you—better get them wrapped up here and now. You can toss them into a ditch anywhere.” Hammond obeyed. Ten minutes afterwhrd the two men teft the room, carrying the packages of loot and the bundle containing the aviator's uniform. They descended to the courtyard in the rear of the a fountain in its center.-:Behind this were the stables, which had long been disused as such, and which were now It was with undisguised relief that Gramont.now, saw the stuff actually out of the house. Within the last few | hours he had become intensely afraid | of Jachin Fell. Concentrating himself | upon the man, picking up information guardedly, he had that day assimilated | many small items which increased his' | sense of peril from that quarter. Straws, no more, but quite significant straws. Gramont realized clearly that | it the police ever searched his rooms | and found this loot, he would be lost. There could be no excuse that would | hold water for a minute against such evidence, In the garage Hammond switched Lon mfl:bug“the.car. By the glow tered.the room with |, house. Here was a small garden, with |. occupied only by the|car -of Gramont. {. gage compartment of the tonneau, which held them neatly. The com- partment closed and locked, they re- turned into the house and dismissed the affair as settled. Upon the following morning Gra- mont, who usually breakfasted en pen- sion with his hostess, had barely: seat- ed himself at the table when he per- ceived the figure of Hammond at the rear entrance of the dining room. The chauffeur beckoned him hastily. “Come out here, cap'n!” Hammond was breathing heavily, and seemed to be in some agitation. “Want to show you somethin’!” Gramont rose and followed Ham- mond -out.to the garage; much. to. his amazement. The chauffeur halted be- side, the car and extended him.akey, pointing.to the luggage, compartment. “Here's the key—you 0] her!” “What's the matter, man “The stuff’s gone™ M it Gramont seized the key and open the compartment. It proved empty indeed. He stared up into the face of Hammond, who was watching in dogged silence. “I knew you’d suspect me,” broke out the chauffeur, but Gramont inter- rupted him curtly. “Don’t be a fool; nothing of the sort. Was the garage locked?” o “Yes, and the compartment, too! I came out to look over that cut tire, and thought I'd make sure the stuff was safe—" g “We're up against it, that’s all | Someone must have been watching, us last night, eh?” “The guy that trailed you yester- day, most like,” agreed ‘'Hammond, dourly. “You think they got us, cap'n? What can we do?” kg “Do? ders and laughed. *“Nothing except to wait and see what ‘happens next! Don’t touch that compartment door." I want to examine it later.” Hammond gazed admiringly after him as he crossed the garden. “If you ain’t a cool hand, I'm a Dutchman!” he murmured, and followed his master. (Continued in Next Issue) | THE FLOWERS OF THE LEGION American Daisy and French Poppy Official Posies of Both Branches of the Organization. There has been some confusion in the minds of Americans in general as to the status of the daisy and the poppy in connection with the Ameri- can Legion and the American Legion Auxiliary. The daisy is the Legion’s official flower; the poppy Is the Auxillary's memorial flower. The misunderstand- ing arose in the first place, because in its early days the Legion did adopt the poppy of France as its flower. But at its Kansas City convention the American Legion adopted the daisy as its official flower on the grounds that the daisy is an American-flower and the poppy of Flanders is avail- able for use only in artificlal form. vantage of the very fact that the poppy 1s not avallable as a real flower to buy artificial flowers made by disabled"sol- diers in hospitals. - The Massachu- setts Legion and 'Auxiliary netted something over $46,000 from the sale of artificial poppies, last winter. This money was used to better the condi- tions of sick and needy veterans of the World war. b w The Legion is making every effort to interest the children of America in the cultivation of flowers by appeal- ing to their patriotism and to their natural affection for such a flower as the American Legion’s American daisy. Carrying On With the American Legion Former service men in Pennsylvania received $40,000 in claims from the government in one month through the efforts of the Pennsylvania- American Legion. 5 * 9 S A giant new bridge will span the historic Charles river at Boston, Mass., serving as a memorlal to the. Massa- chusetts dead who lost their lives in the World war._ _ — they disposed their burdens in the lug- Gramont shrugged his shoul-' +The Legion Auxillary has taken'ad-’ T+ +1093' 000'FT 9A0QU ISIL I8} WOZOP 8 v [PA SB ‘v UF GOgT Jo ‘paucl uoaq eAUY Uy USWL 3997 000'ET ]nmu atom sywad uwjBUNOW 18u0pIpP B () SBU BUA0FBO NG £9AINS [N 180100D SIS PANUQ dUI 0} uIpI0d 98 ‘pawBu aq 0} AyI0M3joU ApuopRy N8 PaIAPISU0d JOU B £33 Jeyl DO A puB YO 0§ AIdURdS usiunOW JO qI[edA - B pluit puvIs A9y} Inq ‘PRAIL 8aS 0A0QU 3997 (00'ST UV} dIoW OSK BJUIOFIIUD UJ suBUnQUI 09 ISLIAL IV ‘awmg snoujEIUNON ISOW Aol o3 O ANTED ! FOR WOODS WORK Apply at office, Bem | Minn., or camp, five milés |’ east of Blackduck. - CROOKSTON LUMBER COMPANY Instead of overnight hikes, sea scouts pign overaight cruises in boats loaned for the purpose by the United States navy. Meet Me At THE — West Hotel MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. HERO MEDAL FOR LIFE-SAVING Because of treining in swimming acd life-saving, Robert Bennet of Kalamazoo, Mich., was able in spite of desperate adds, to save Willlam Oud- ing feam deowning in White lake last summer. Hennet succeeded in bring- ing Cuding’s body to the surface, but the drowning boy locked his arms around the rescuer and both went down. At the boitom Bennet broke the ‘other’s hold and returned to the surfyce. Diving..a second time he obtained the proper hold, returned to the surface with Ouding, safely in his arms and swam single-handed to the shore. A hero’s medal, authorized by, the national council, has been pre- gented to Hennet. ——— Everybody seems to be there Good Service—Low Rates Splendid Cafe In Connection Get vready | for Fall—now EST Fall thousands of home-owners who had counted on an Arcora hot-water heating-system to heat their homes, weredisappointed. Theywaited until the last minute and there weren’t enough ARrcoLas to supply the demand. We predict the same thing this Fall. But today, we have plenty of ArcoLas on. hand. and. more time to do the work. Ouradvice is to take no chances. Don’t wait and get caught in the rush. Save money on ARCOLA now (These figures, though rough, will show how reasonably Arcora can be completely installed Tcalesp:;e the fact it pays for itself in the fuel it saves., Arcola with 2 radiators § 186.40 Arcola with 3 radiators $ 238.66 Arcola with 4 radiators § 306.51 Arcola with 5 radiators § 374-95 3-Rooms 4-Rooms 5-Rooms 6-Rooms Phone or call and we'll gladly give you the exact cost of putting ARcoLA in your home—but, for your own good, do it now before the Fall rush. J. J. DORAN Phone 225. PLUMBING W A\ can caQrt can This will keep the skifs ' whole and the skin will re 2 ¢ main- upédi ‘the plum. Pack i into sterilized jars. Fill up the jars with boiling made according to taste, that * is, with the proportion of sugar to water, which is the best way. From one to two cups of sugar to three cups of “water is the usual pro- portion. Place rubbers in position and screw on caps, leaving the covers slightly loose. Sterilize sixteen min- utes by the: Gold:: pack _ method. Add Zest to Your Meals! SOME little surprise at every meal! That’s what pleases husband and the children! “You can make a wide variety of delicious pre- : Serves, jams, jellies, marmalades, pickles, etc., with peaches, pears and plums. Now is the time to put them up at hil i from the Bacihe Rorthest are on the marker, Therrse i best for eating and canning—they have a pleasing flavor. Avoid;the extravagance of factory-cann s, Saip onethird £ onealf on yons b by gflnnin your own at home in Ball {Pacific NQW. Growers & Jobbers on. Offices, Minneapolis, Minn. ° , “heavy needlé. 3 " syrup ca