Bemidji Daily Pioneer Newspaper, August 28, 1922, Page 2

. | I | i bE n ih .,*,,»‘ - 2 [ 1 I L 1 £ }d « & |E& (B I i1 1 ! i T syNopsis ‘ CHAPTER 1.—During the helght of the New Orleans carnival season Jachin Fell, Wealthy though somewhat mysterious cit- izen, and Dr. Ansley, are discussing a seriés of robberies by an individual known as the Midnight Masquer, who, iavariably attired as an aviator, has long defied the police. Joseph Maillard, wealthy banker, is giving a ball that night, at which the Masquer has threatened to appear and rob al& guests. Fell and Analey, on their way. to. the affair, meet a girl dressed as Columbine, seemingly known to Fell, but Mfll. ed, who accompanles them to the b: e CHAPTER IL—Lucie Ledanois, recent- ly the ward of her uncle, Joseph Mail- lara, is the Columbine. CHAPTER Tll—In’his library Joseph Maillard and & group of friends are held Up and robbed by the Midnight Masquer. CHAPTER IV.—Lucie Ledanols, the last of an old family, is in straitened circum- 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 oOf & French father and an American mother, dut who spurns the title of prince, 18 enamored of ‘Lucie and belleves himselt a not unfavored suitor. CHAPTER V.—Gramont's chauffeur, ‘Hammond, sergeant in the American army in France, and there known to Gramont, lives with him: He was the original Midnight Masquer, and Gramont, fot 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, is 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 are stolen from Gramont's auto. CHAPTER VI—Ben Cacherre, an in- dividual of unsavory character, appears to be-associated with Jachin Fell. He has a_peculiar interview with one Mem- phis Iziy Gumberts, notorious influential ‘crook."in which there is significant refer- ence to a mysterious “bosa.” CHAPTER VII.—Lucie summons Gra- mont to her home and shows him the packages from his auto. He admits he is the Midnight Masquer, but convinces her that-he had no thought of robbery. He refuses, however, to explain his pur- pose. . The packages are returned to thelr owners. e VIIL.-fRat evening Fell, ‘Gramont, and Dr. Ansley, at the Krewe of Comus ball, are accosted by an_ i ‘toxicated masked individual whom - the recognize as Bob Malllard. He invites them:to_a convivial® party in'a private They refuse, and- Gramont leaves | Joseph Maillard seeks his | room. the building. #on, fearing public_scandal as a result of Bob's condition. With Fell and Ansley. they, find ;the room where the révels are | golng on. Entering they discover an ins dividugl. attired as an aviator, in the act of robbing tho intoxicated Youths. T» & struggle that ensues Malllard is shot and killed. The “Masquer” escapes. CHAPTER IX.—Gramont, with Ham- ‘mond, visits Terrebonne, a wild section of the country, to inspect Lucle Ledanols’ Jand, which he believes contains oil. He finds Indicatlons of apparently almost un- believable quantities.of the stuff. While stooping over a pool of water which clearly shows traces of oil on its sur- face, Gramont hears his name spoken. CHAPTER X.—He cannot see the speakers, but the conversation ends singu- llflly abruptly. Gramont does not investi- Rate. some woods and is charged by Ben Ca. cherrs and two other men with murder. Gramont can do nothing. The men take | Hammond to the town of Houma. Later Gramont finds a bloodstained knife where he had heard the voices. He then realizes that Cacherre was one of the men talk- ing, and is the murderer. CHAPTER XI—Believing himsel¢ alone, Gramont investigates bulldings on the adjoining farm. which he knows belongs to Memphis Izzy Gumberts. He finds | evidence of aputomobile stealing on a stupendous scale and learns from a man who discovers him and whom he outwits, | that the place is also the headquarters | of the underground lottery game and that Jachin Fell is the mysterious “boss;" | — (Continued from lass issue) ~ “Books be d—a!” snorted the chief. nad leaned forward earnestly. “Look | ryzes “Look Here, Fell! Do You Believe I Your Heart That Maillard Killed His Father?” here, Fell! Do you believe in your heart that Maillard killed his father?” Fell was silent a moment under that intent scrutiny. “From the evidence, I am forced against my will to belleve it,” he sald af Jagt, “Qf course, helll he.gble to — Hammond finds a dead man in | T /LA prow: that he was not the Masquer on previcus occaslons; his alibis will take | care of that. Up to the point of ‘the nrurder, his story is all right. Angd, my friend, there is a chance—a wvery slim, tenitous chance—that his entire story is true. In that case, another perscn ‘'must have appeared as the Masquer, which seems unlikely—" «Qr \else” put in Ben Chacherre, smoothly, “the real original Masquer showed up™ There was an instant silence. Ja- steady gray eyes. Ben Chacherre met the Jook With almost a trace of defi- ance. Thet chief frowned darkly. wYes” s:lid the chief. “That's the size of it, Fell. You're keepin’ qulet | about the name of the real Masquer; why?” “Because,” said Eell, calmly, “I hap- pen to know that hé was in the audl- torium at the time of the murder.” Again silence. Ben Chacherre stared at Fell, with umazement and admira- tion In his gaze. ““When the master lies, he lies magnificently 1" he mur- mured in French. “Well,” and the chief gestured de- spairingly, “I guess that lets out the real Masquer, ehi” “Exactly,” assemted Fell. “No use dragging his name. into it. I keep at work on this, chief, and if any- thing turns up to' clear young Mail- lard, I'll be very glad.” “All right,” grun%ed the chief, and rose. “I'll be on my}way.” He departed. N r Fell nor Cha- cherre moved or spoke for & space. | When at length the clang of the ele- vator door resounded’through the de- i serted corridors Ben Chacherre slipped from his chair and weat to the outer door. He glanced out! into the hall, closed the ‘door, and”With a nod re- turned to his chair. “Well?” Jachin ‘Fell regarded him with intent. Searching eyes. “Have you any light to throw on the occa- | ston? ‘e Chacherre's usual airof cool impu- dence was never in evidence when he talked with Mr. Fell' “No,” he said, shaking his head. “Hgmmond worked on.'the car until | about nine' ‘o'clock, then beat it to i bed, T guess. I quit' the job at ten, | and his light had been dut some time. Well, master;;this is g'queer affair! There's no doubt that Gramont pulled |1t} en?”. : | “You think so?" asked Fell. 4 “Chacherre made a gesture of assent. | “When the tree falls, the kid can climb it! Any fool can see that Gramont | was the man. Don't you think so | yourself, master?” i Jachin Fell nodded. “Yes. But we've no evidence—ev- erything lles against young Maillard. Early In the morning Gramont goes to Paradls to examine that land of Miss Ledanols' along the bayou. He'll | probably say nothing of this murder to Hammond, and the ‘chauffeur may not find out about it until a day or two—they get few newspapers down there. { “Drive down to Paradls in the morn- ing, Ben; get into touch with Ham- mond, and discover what time Gra- mont got home tonight. Write me what you find out. Then take charge of things at the Gumberts place. Make sure that every car fs handled right. i 2 3 = | “Here we are! those are the build- Ings off to the right. Whew! I should say it had been abandoned! Nothing much left but ruins. Go ahead!” | Before them, as they drove in from {the road by a grass«covered drive, | showed a house, shed, and barn amid a cluster of towering trees.’ Indeed, trees were everywhere about the farm, which had grown up in a regular sap- | ling forest, The buildings were in a ruinous state—clapboards hanging | loosely, roofs dotted by gaping holes, | doors and windows long since gone. J Leaving the car, Gramont, followed | by the chauffeur, went to the front: | doorway and surveyed the wre . | Inside. “What ‘do you say, *nmmund‘l | we can stop here, o back |hotel? It's not much’' of a rugs town—" Hammond pointed ‘to a wide | place facing them. | anyhow. Wlen we get a fire goin' in | there, and board up the windows and doors, we ought to be comfortable enough. Baut suit yourself, capn! It's | your funeral.” Gramont laughed. “Al right. Go | ahead and clean up, then, and if raln | | comes down we can camp here. Be sure and look for snakes and vermin. | | The floor seems sound, and if there's plenty of moss on the trees, we can | make up comfortable beds. Too bad ! you're not a fisherman, or we might get a fresh fish out of the bayou—" “] got some tackle in.town,” and Hamgon;l crinped widely,. B e — | chin Fell regarded his henchman with g g At length he stirred into action | | “I can get this shack cleaned out'in | | about half an hour—this one room, ; THE BEMIDJI DAILY PIONEER “Think We Can Stop Here, or Go Back to, the Hotel?” ~w“Good work! “Then make yourself at home and go to it. We’'ve most of the afternoon before us.” Gramont left the house, and headed ' down toward the bayou shore. He took a letter from his pocket, opened it, and glanced over it anew. It | was an old letter, one written him | | mearly two years previously by Lucie | Ledanois. It had been written mere- ly in the endeavor to distract the thoughts of a wounded soldier, to | bring his mind to Louisiana, away | | from the stricken fields of France. In the letter Lucle had described some of the more interesting features of Bayou Terrebonne—the oyster and shrimp | fleets, the Chinese and Filipino vil- lages alsng the gulf, the far-spread cypress swamps; the bubbling foun- tains, natural curiosities, that broke | up through the streams and bayous of the whole wide parish—fountains that s e ntio St utrttees | | Carrying On With the H American Legion ° | L»-o “Maln'street” has been lifted out of | the mud by the American Legion post | | of Bristow, Neb, The post assembled | 80 men and 30 teams and graveled | the well-known thoroughfare in two | days, | o e e o It is the ‘aim of the Legion to carry the news to all ex:soldiers’that| they can still reinstate’ their war-risk:| insurance policies with all wartime advantages. This can be done up to March 8, 1926. LRI Minn,, have endowed a bed in theit local hospital and in the Legion hos- pltal at Rochester to provide emer gency treatment for their sick and wounded comrades. P Payment of old debts takes the lead in the spending of the state compens sation allowance received by the ex- soldiers of Ohlo, according to a poll _taken by the American Legion. Sav- fngs deposits make the second larges’ item Benefits of Good Roads. Fresh food is made avallable for | the city children, better schools and | wider social -opportunities are pro- ! vided for the country boys and girls, | through improved highways and imo- tor transpr © ! e e e 7?luxgbbing | Heating Robert J. Russell ¥ 31X Fourth Street were caused by gas seeping up from the earth’s interfor, and breaking i theough. | Gramont knew that plans were al- | ready afoot to tap this field of natural gas and pipe it to New Orleans. Oil | had been found, too, and all the state | was now oil-mad. Fortunes were be- | ing made dally, and other fortunes | were being lost dally by those who | dealt with ofl stocks instead of with ofl. “Those gas fountains did the work reflected Gramont. “And according to | this letter there's one of those foun- | tains here in the.bayou, close to her property. ‘Just opposite the dock,’ she says. The first thing {8 to find the dock, then the fountain. After that, we'll decide if it's true mineral gas. If it Is, then the work's done—for I'll sure take a chance on finding oil near ji3id Gramont came to the bayou and be- gan searching his way along the thick and high fringe of bushes and saplings. that girded the water’s‘edge. Present- 1y he came upon the ruined evidences of what had once been a small boat shed. Not far from this he found the dock referred to in the letter; nothing ‘was left of it except a few spiles pro- truding from the surface of the water. But he had no need to look farther. Directly before him,” he saw that which he was seeking. A dozen feet out from shore the wa- ter was rising and falling in a continu- ous dome or fountain of highly charged bubbles that rose a foot above the surface. Gramont stared at it, motionless. He watched it for a space —then, abruptly, he started. It was a violent start, a start of sheer amaze- ment and Incredulity. He leaned forward, staring no longer at the gas dome, but at the water closer inshore. For a moment he thought that his.senses had deceived him, then he saw that the thing was there indeed, there beyond any doubt —a very faint trace of iridescent light that played over the surface of the ‘water. ., s “It can't be possiblel™ he muttered; bending farther over. happens too rarely—" His heart pounded violently; ex- citement sent the blood rushing to his brain in blinding swirls. He was gripped by the gold fever that comes upon a man when he makes the as-l tounding discovery of untold wealth 1ying at his feet, passed over and dis- regarded by other and less-discerning men for days and years! It was oil, no question about it. An extremely slight quantity, true; so slight a quantity that there was no filnt on the water, no’discernible taste | to the water. Gramont brought it to | bis mouth and rose,shakipg-his, head. -~ Where did it come’ conpection with ‘th 3 leagt; it did not ol ¥ dome | of Water and gas. How long he stood | 'er!},’s(armg Gramont did not know. 3 rain was afire with the possibili- | sstarted up the bayou bank. from tme to time halting to search the wa-! ter below him, to make sure that he | could still discern the faint irides- cence. i He followed it rod by rod, and found that it rapidly increased in | strength. It must come from some very tiny surface seepage close at hand, that was lost in the bayou almost as rapidly as it came from the earth- i depths. Only " accidentally would a! man see {t—not unless he were search- i ing the water close to the bank, and ! even then only by the grace of chance. Suddenly Gramont saw that he had lost the sign. Fe Lalted. No. not lost, either! Just ahead of nateh,.of reeds, and.a re- (Continued in Next Iss=e) i i |8 “Such a thing | Phenes 620-W—620-R R S DRS. Larson & Larson | SPECIALISTS | EXAMINING EYES i FITTING GLASSES Office, First Floor Factory Representative for . 213 Third St. Office Phone 131 Res. 310 Planos and e——————————————— i i Phonographs . THE MILK WITH A PURPOSE Its purpose is to bring _you food- cheer, " Koors Pas- teurized milk is the milk you should use in the kitchen, in the dining room and for a beverage when you have a thirst. § ~lle |2 BEMIDJI. MINN.* McKee Furniture and Undertaking Company 5 H. N. 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It believes that this expansion of activity is an essential part of the service which it is expected to perferm. Standard Oil Company (Indiana) 910 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago "They’ll be on : HIS year put up more canned blackberries and : blackberry jam. * biscuits, bread and rolls—for every“meal. Take a jar on your next picnic. the market only for a short time. “Have plénty of thisdelicious spread for muffins, Now is the time to put.up blackberries at home—in Ball Mason jars. They make a de- lightful dessert and wonderful pies. “The plump, richflavored blackberries from Puyallup and Sumner, Washington, are now gn the market at reasonable prices. Factory-prepared fruits are extravagant. By putting up your own fruit you save one- third to one-half. - N. W. Growers & Jobbers Ass’'n General Offices, Minneapolis, Minn. Heré’s a good vacipe for Canned Blackberries. Select all firm _fruit. .(Uleal;fi;fn ',)km.) 11‘1‘6# in sterilized pint glass. Cover with syrup made. *%1 cup granulated sugar P'cific . cup water i Place top- loose. Place 'in with cold water, do not: o water to be above top jars. Allow water to come- per jar. Cover and place again in hot: - water and_boil 10 i Tighten