Casper Daily Tribune Newspaper, March 13, 1923, Page 10

y he he “THE SECRET TOLL” By Paul and Mabel Thorne, Authors of “The Sheridan Road Mystery” INSTALLMENT NO. ELEVEN. CHARACTERS IN THE STORY | her after Forrester departs for the} The Friends of the Poor, is an or-| tree at 10 o'clock. sees her come out t the} of the Prentice drawing room and ganization which preyed on Those who| m rtain man. 10.30 urday night) Robert puts the dummy package in the hole then hides nearby. Sud-| miy shouts and sounds of a struggle; are followed by a blinding flash of ght. then darkness and shots. hill and O'Connor had seized two Ital-| i d just then Humphrey had} ishlight powder. The y in the excitement | y package d'sappeared. y's photograph led to the} st and they confessed to| the Friends of the| y." The photogtaph | 1s standing near the tree the| whom Green had seen talking to Miss Sturtevant. A city detective watching Humphr Italians t to ‘bent | the tree} is asphyxiated and Robert himself ts/ rub- y a man, who flings a a): Charles Nevins tempt at asphyx Josephine ¥ rtevant 4 m the blackmailer njamine F f and Forrester ten days to de-; te t b money or die. During a a the home of k e For-| Mr. Melville, nis son, 1s asphyx- r s t n th fated. Miss Sturtevant's actions and ? e a le she tells concernng young Mel- Me's death ter. Forrester is worried by Mary's ap: parent connection with the c puzzled when Prentice suddenly ap: Humphreys, « are a shock to Forres- pears ir house, as Gr was supposed to be on watch. Green is }later found under the influence of | gas, but re He abandons the emembers Hum-! ea of applying the [ engineer: of “triangula- | to’ the problem and produces a | diagram involving Lucy's cottage andj home. A hint from | ‘world-wide con- involved led For- possibly that Bol-] | | e packag aturday n'ght tion” *s temorary S at the root of the mat- ter—that revolutionists were ironi- cally forcing the rich to contri to their own down-fall 5 of a be which rose The way to a solution unquestion- Joshua, ¢ ably led through Lucy and Mary r Sturtevant, if there were anything at all to Humphrey's idea. haunt the Green had pointed at the girl, manifesta-| Forrester's inclinations led him to tions to tho spirit of the husband of |the negress, and the odd working Lucy, a “bad Ja an,” wh red ht Forre: the guise of a reporter. little information but is ica niggah wom- out of the triangle theory seemed to} confirm him in his impress | r decided to iny at once astounded to pocket lamp and a muffier,| r left his house and walked south on Sheridan Road , but fortu- ately for his plans, large clouds be-| shortly to drift over the moon Lucy's door he paused to con Was the woman away? C she ed for the nigh if Back and forth they tugged an? pulled, neither man seemingly galin- Ing any advantage.” a letter fro Sew Yor the latter, then he would probably Fanaa 1 be able to surprise her while she Sixe: er >t and frighten her into confes hat hi sion He was gratified, though Sikite 06°‘ i astonished, to find that the door very much attracted by } | opened. “With intermittent flashes of hte” Pate ai as | his pocket lamp he found that the ee caine front room was unoccupied and the " bedroom was also deserted. These were but two rooms in the house Lucy was not at home! It was a rful opportunity that might be pur ted at any moment, so For. nig worked fast. He tore the 1 the bed and scattered s of drawers on the floor. as unrewarded. There of writing anywhere; arms, Bolshevik tera to the comes ter @ wor ture or suspicious bottles; absolutely "| nothing to form the slightest clue.| ¢ ur) In the sitting room. Forrester shud-| ordan t ed saw the slimy snakes I t writhe asily in aquarium under a ter t the glare of his light a s n th The sight of the snakes started s. Af t aves, Rob-| Forrester's mind to working in his} t was the real purpose of these nny, loathsome bodies} t to the strongest man. | was illumina:| FoR THe BIG MATC DON'T Like THAT ON YOUR FACE - (T DISCOURAGES BARNEY GOOGLE.- SPARKY, WE'VE ONLY Gor THREE DAYS More Che Casper Daily Cridune Ne Gops ! IN ADDITION To H ANO LooK STAKE I MIGHT LOSE, Do T HAVE TS PUT OP WITH That UNDERTAKER'S MUG OF YOURS GET A SMILE ON FOR a THE LOVE OF SEHOSAPHAT _, TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 192 f Bv Billey De Beck ALL MY WORRY ABOUT THE BIG — OW PElEY DEAR 1 SAW THE LovtresT.HAT Topsy, PAPER SAYS THEN Re GonnerR, i ete Sm ——PEIrY DEAR—_— EASTER tS HEAR— _ANo— ER— Nov KNow New HATS ARE IN SEASON~— — So ARE HARD - Boirep oe ae (HATS ME 7 Robert fixed the button on his pocket lamp to keep the light steady, and laid :t on the center table to illumine his work. Lifting the stand on which the acquarium rested he placed it near the middle of the room and pulled aside the heavy rug. Directly beneath the spot where the acquarium stood was a square trapdoor in the floor! Forrester lifted the section of care. fully fitted flocring and set it to one side. A ladder lef into a cellar bi neath the cottage. Swiftly he dropped his legs through the hole and descended. | The underground room in which he found himself was smaller than the space covered by the cottage. | Along the front walls was piled lit ter of a varied nature—old barrels, boxes, broken furniture. Against the front wall stcod a dilapidated sideboard. He could not conceive how such a large object had been brought into the cellar through the small trap. It was the only thing in the cellar that could be readily moved, and Forrester had an inspira-| tion to look behind it. Moving the sideboard disclosed a small rough-board door in the wall This Forrester opened and flashed his light into the space beyond. It seemed to be a narrow passage, the floor a little below the level of the cellar. Forrester dropped into the passage and started along it, throw ing his light about him and study-| ing its formation. The floor was sandy, the walls of solid rock, and the roof appeared to have been | formed by a multitude of interlacing | tree and plant roots. It was the work of Nature, not of man. At some remote period a cleft had beert | riven in the solid rock and the in- tertwined roots above prevented the | caving in of the surface soil. A moment sparkle on ing caught Forrester's eye. lights were hung from the regular intervals. There was no switch in sight and he concluded that the lights could be operated only from some point inside the cottage. Presently Forrester came to an tn- (entation tn the wall on his right. form a sort of shelf. On this rested | two bright steel cylinders about tho| size of the small fire extinguisher he carried in his car. To one of the cylinders was attached a five foot| length of a slender rubber tubing which connected it with one of the rubber death masks he knew only too well Here at dalspute. Continuing along the rester finally came to this point it widened into a small chamber. At one side a ladder led up into a mass of| tangled tree roots, He climbed the ladder, ascending into a space that| had been hollowed out of the heart of | the ceil- Electric roof at last was evidence beyond passage For the end. At out slightly a tree. Above his head was a small slide or bolt. Releasing the bolt allowed the door to drop silently downwar on hinges formed of stiff leather. package fell into his hands, follo by a draft of air laden with the scent of summer woods. Pushing up his light Forrester recognized the ho! low in the oak tree, He saw al that the upper side of the trapdoc Was 60 pre] ed that it would seem ke part of the tree to anyone in vestigating from above. At last the most vital sec Friends of the Poor" was hands. i He examined the small, flat pack age in his hand. Someone had placed et of the in his a contribution in the tree that very night. i Then Forrester shivered The scoudrels would come to collect any moment! He was shut in at the far end of escape leading back through the cottage where they would enter. If they met him here his end would be ire and his disappearance a mys ry forever ‘ Hastily he climbed down 1 der, noting that t x GASOLINE ALLEY--SKEEZIX MAKES A CALL HE JEST INTO SOMETHIN' Evi MINUTE. 1 GOT TO KEEP MY EYE ON HIM ALL THE TIME. YOU LEMME TAKE HIM & WHILE. 1 WATCH HIM FOR You, RACHEL. HAROLD Herorp 15 So Busy CHASIN’ THAT SCHOOL MAN\, GUESS HLL STEP IN AND Cop OFF LILLUMS - mR DATILE uy yr wy MR RATZLE L' JUS BUSINESS Mal HEARD YOUR PARTNER BOOSTING You TO A MAN 4 THAT IN THE OUTER OFFICE If PARTNER OF MINE 1S ALWAYS KNOCKING NOU COME ALONG WITH MANDY. WE HAVE A BIG TIME. LO HIM YOU WERE A SMART , WORTH LOTS OF MONEY, OWNED Four CARS HAVE SEVERAL BANK ACCOUNTS ANOTHAT YOU ARE A CAPTAIN OF INDUSTRY !t SKEEZIX! I'M AWFULLY GLAD TO TELL UNCA WALT ALL ABOUT You. BUT FOR NOW YOU ANDI if SOME DAY [M<cOING || _| Zilaa\ i ie TEEN—ROSES FAIL TO SOOTHE AN ACHING HEART OH, SHEIK -ONE MAITHERED DANDELION FROM You WoULD OF PLEASED ME Feom BEEZIE — AND OH!) THevRe BeaunFUL! — HE ALSO TOLD HIM THAT You HAD MONEY INVESTED IN SEVERAL BiG BUSINESS ENTERPRISES THAT AOERE MAKING HUGE PROFITS <3 {THE INCOME > ir ISNT TRUE OF COURSE oT AHEM - 175 A DARN FINE BQOST, ISN'T IT? ©rgr -cmenge Tmavit ff) TAX INSPECTOR! / weer wei! Tue HAVE To SEE WHO My PARTNER 15 BOOSTING ME To! a of chains, a small) the cleft must the group megaphone r throwing volee serve as a drain, which accounted for the pecullar tn- activity of the “Friends of the Poor’ force his way out. Even if he could get through the door, which he doubted, there was no telling how and shouted to attract their attention | With these ¢ but brought no response. | Would it not be Suddenly the cave was ylinders In his hands possible to hold his brilliantly | ven and an old locomotive bell. In one} a tror the winter rains and sngw fell,| many of the band were in the cottage. | inuminated by the turning on of the | ed a a “the see corner stood a tin phosphorescent) “5 + sefore he reached the end ct] Forrester was unarmed. He had| electric lights. ge to reach the cyl nders before. hib paint and wnear ‘4 RS ep bhi the passage Forrester was startled to| expected to deal only with Lucy. To| mean’ng of this was clear, | enemie that had tgpeitiod. Gickentci'thet greit hear a grating sound, followed by 2 pls Seca L dat Mg es 1 jamp| The time ‘had come when he must] It was too late! As he rounded a that ned ieee cee Ge vent che area eaepeenn suddenly now | fight for his life and Forrester looked | § curve”in ¢ 7 cleft: He eriscope. By pushing it up into the} Like a flash the truth came to| He felt his way back toward the| about for a weapon. {s of of a man reach the : k ; be | it Someones had discovered the| tree. Ho reasoned that as a pack-| ‘There was nothing that would| spot and stop ng in the oak treo it wan prob-| Him 4 sideboard and open door and|age had been placed in tho tree it| serve his purpose. ‘Then he recol-| Forreste bly possible for r one eae ce vaising that the visitor wae still| was more than probable that detec-| lected the cylinders. Who knew| the too ny ‘ rt 2 SO eee eee abut hin tives were concealed neart He] better than these men t ‘ veyed eact