Evening Star Newspaper, September 17, 1898, Page 18

THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1898-24 PAGES. es err —— — : = rd arouse suspicion’ if the pigeons were inva- | and the detective propised himself an in- | find out who I am, for you've got my trade- | placed in her hands. She leaped up, staring | patents, etc., to remain vested In Mr. Van- { riably consigned to Paris. So they were | teresting hunt “th: fugh the maz; of | mark on you.” & moment with scared and blanched face | sittart personally we met at the other places and taken to the | phrases. On the title page was the sig- Francois returned with a rope. about her, Then the instinct of woman for Just for one instant. at these tremendous capital. . nificant legend, “Strictly confidential. For | “Schwartz,” said Folllet, “it’s my turn | the help and sympathy of man in the hour | figures, Armand's face paled. “Then ha wee WNOMOIO “Your name, postman?” state purposes only. row. Place your hands behind your back | of her extremity arose at once within her. | himself again. Francois Noir.” Francois Noir broke in upon Folliet’s | until Noir ties them. Don't hesitate. I |She ran from the room, making her way to- 1 say, Marie!” he called through a door . ee that post office of yours is | tumultuous thoughts. have no time to lose, and I will blow your | Ward her brother's apartments near. “come here, will you? Her super wilt. Proceed.” THE LOST A III CHAPTER XVIII. The Cottage of Hans Schwartz. mes of Netherby never mounted steeds with greater alacrity played by the aid: was ¢ » duty it was to carry to gene | Vansittart’s orders for a general ,owerful opponents had been sbandon an impregnable p not in vain. While the French and without fatigue, taken up of country for rapid ma- quick concentration, the uffering from precisely con- as. 1 bold man who decried the and ivaders. about to move to a slight ft of the Metz road when his chanced upen Folliet. aght a regiment of police, a moment to spare. event has drag- d into our of Hans by the side spect that | farm tte k we will help you to 400,000 Germans in the w: sured of it m, 1 get the best of t nans; but they have the | et m. I know him well. ror on parade. He will see his mi mmary."” meet you chmen ret of the ry combat ¢ into noth- under of the giant en- between the ch had the cue ground. long | nd it most. distant in view of the y and effect of the mis- ns labored under a draw- ndered the it was Vansit- | ple r ailants. with ad- saddle The su so. rb. Viola la guer- heard him and answered not. | ked at his wat t Dau- | n vod. Five time le a vast dif- | ideal of war and the French ug for the f the he im- tered no stood one patent er had launched ghty thunderbolt n infantry had b ground not Germans were They could die, could not br barrier that resist rned the t body of Tear of the ts of a vi thered in with triumph arations in “Tell Le 3 raced off, swept away and the 1 with mane “you deal xlety of this supre ext ten mi ed colonels e M extent of rst upon them. brig iM, riding i on over a rs were i ame How Vansittart Came Back to France. sosrnet t WRITTEN FOR THE EVENING STAR BY LOUIS TRACY. (Copyright, 1898, by Louis Tracy.) PROVINCES, ‘ CEES ALES LAS WS Kise long before the majority of the French army were aware of it. Thus far throughout the day he had been rigid, inscrutable, Napoleonic. But now he abandoned himself to white rage. He knew that he had failed, that his theatrical blow would recoil upon himself, that a quicker intelligence than his had read his plans and simply awaited his move to checkmate him with conscious ease. It was now too late for any human inter- mediary to stop the magnificent cavalry combat that forthwith took place. By common consent artillery and infantry alike were silent, and the two great bodies of horse closed together with a great thud that was distinctly audible above the cries of men, the neighing of animals and the clash of weapons. It was not soon ended. Sixty thousand troops cannot get at one another so quick- ly. Charge after charge took place, and ning melee revealed a gigantic and disorganized mob, The Germans at first withstood the French, but it absolutely imposs.ole to p headway, and a time came when sittart could discern a definite move- backward into the dip between the ment hills Instantly he launched forth two big cav- brigades, Montsaloy in comr y rode and av 2 the valley. they went, and in a few erman gunners. fter regiment followed, until > of the French mount- It value of Von bt for a mo- center was k the village of Mars d and the Fre e frantically cheering at the » that looks so and were only withheld pline from pursuing he very walls of Metz. with the central ani left w znd the Grand Duke driven off toward Diedenhofen r into the Vosges. at was complete and ut If the mobilization of France man my there was a splendid opportun- ity for the investment of Metz and an ad- ance to the left bank of the Rhine ome enthusiasts did urge Van: ess forward beyond Metz with two strong bus Jerome quietly repr | them. In the moment of victory the born | tactitian knows the value of restraint. otwithstanding her boasted number of ° s practically fighting with arm: the frontier, ermany could place eight such co- hoits in the field as that overthrown at Mars la Tour. that the battle was won the million- There was little the vicinity of ast, but it was a how best to fol- already gained. St the great fron- 3 with the troops at his disposal, nd at the same time tive rally days at ion to de ours, He hought. In a multitude of selors might be found wisdom. So he 1 an assembly of divisional com- nd the general staff at the small enter of pleon the on the ra ‘elotte, the house ‘Third and the prince ight before the bat- imperiz tle of Vionville. Meanwhile where was Folliet? Weak from the fierce exhaustion of the figh hoarse with the involuntary cries he ut- tered as he followed up the French advan-e, yet professional zeal came to his aid. The he conqueror yielded to y of the sleuth hound. Even ook of some slight refreshment quest among the dazed villag- could not get them to collect their pred wits until a postman, an old sol- t appearance. On him the pagerly. e of Franz Schwartz, Schwartz, the s des Ognons. the place farmer! Why, close 1 know it too well, and Hans Schwartz, a long alk, then?” from village, and he e letters than ever man needed who z for the weekly market came these letter: but most from Paris ou long served in this district, And not a_postm; , ha, postmaster! That’: er yet?" good. Who To Collect Their Scattered Wits. am 1 to be made a postmaster? Not that 1 am unable for the work, but I have no in- ent his piercing eyes upon the ace that smiled so broadly at pesterous suggestion. n, postman,’’ said the prefect of police. “Answer me fully and carefully and you become a postmaster within a week. ‘ake this as earnest of my words. Men do away 100-franc notes for a jest. simple-minded villager gazed with wonder upon the crumpled piece of paper gaps in them, hundreds fell the showers of bullets, but the glit- S$ Swept on and the earth thun- the myriad beats of iron-shod were still quarter of a mile ced lines of French skirm- were running r when a great roar of delight went up from the French army Le BE: leading the 18th Cha: the cut: ers of the other crack cavalry corps, te grandly across the ridge and onward t the German onslaught. Owing to Vansittart’s foresight, “rench troops were fully equal in strength to their opponents, and they now had the inestimable aid of the down gradient in their favor. The kaiser saw the advance of Le Breton the in his hand. “Bonne vierge!” he murmured. “No Wonder men oft say that a war does good.” Take time to reply.” went on Folliet, motioning the man closer and dropping his voice. “How long has Hans Schwartz lived in the farm near the wood?" ‘ot long. Eighteen months, perhaps.” Whence came he?’ “From Strassbourg, they sald. He was no farmer, as any man could see. How he e a living F cannot tell, as he only scratched his land. Perhaps he sold some of his birds.” Birds! What birds?’ “Pigeons. He was a great pigeon-fiyer, was Schwartz. He was constantly pending them off in crates, and they told me at the station they were addressed to Chalons or Verdun or Nancy, sometimes to Paris.” Folliet knitted his brows for a moment. Then he laughed dryly. Of course it would “Well, let_me see. It was only of late that he had so many letters. They came in different handwriting from Paris, but always the same writing from Berlin—a square hand, official I called it.” “I call you a gem. Were there any printed addresses or seals on the envel- ones?” “Only orce, a lorg time ago, four months at least. Some crack-jaw German on a Berlin letter. Schwartz frowned and swore when he saw it. I was sure it was a pub- Mc summons.” Folliet laughed again. He scribbled in his note-book the German for “police head- quarters,” and showed it to Noir, saying: “Anything like that?” “De Dieu en Dieu! The very words. You are a wizard.” “Nay, Francois. I but conjure with thy wits. Were you friendly with Hans Schwartz?” “Not I. He was a surly brute, and I hated the hill to his house.” “Where is he now “Well, his place was terribly damaged by Col. Montsaloy during the great ride, but he still lives there, unless he was driven out by the battle today. For two hours some German guns were posted mear the Bois des Ognons.” “Will you guide me thither The oddly assorted pair walked off down the street. They passed the village inn as A TONGUE OF FLAME HISSED THROUGH “That little machine of yours only lights up one spot, and this room is getting con- foundedly dim. Shall I put a match to my pestman’s lamp, Which I always carry?” “By all m2ans.'The more light the bet- ter.” a , Noir ignited the wick of a smail globular lantern he brought from his coat pocket, and when the oll burnt up it cast a dull gleam upon the bare walls and blackened rafters overhead. Folliet examined the grat2—the substitute for a waste paper basket in many house- holds. Some charred bits of paper were rescued, but they bore no writing. A larger piece of wholly consum2d paper lay near the lowest bar, and Folliet stooped low with his electric ray to look at it minutely. If he touched it the black tissue would surely crumble to atoms. Neverthel2ss he could see quite plainly, showing in the scratches of a pen, the single letter “R”. “Now, who the deuce is ‘R?'” cried Fol- liet, aloud, and Francois Noir b2nt down, that he also might see. : “You had better ask those who know,” came in a deep voice from behind them. Both men sprang up, and turned. A tall, rough-looking man, carrying a double-bar- reled gun, was standing within the doorway, astride of th> German officer's body. His eyes blazed at them with malignant pleas- ure, and he lovingly clutched his weapon THE WINDOW. Vansittart stood at the open window to draw a quiet breath of alr before the cou.- cil of war set to its deliberations. An ab- surd rumor had traveled from the rear that he had been wounded toward the close of the day’s operations, and he was now pur- posely showing himself to all who Something in Folliet’s manner impre: him, and he sent hurriedly for Arizona Jim. “Jim,” he said, pointing to the fast walk- Ing couple, “Folliet 1s on the trail. This lo- cality is dangerous just now, and I cannot spare him. Follow him unobtrusively and take care of him. CHAPTER XIX. Pigeons, Some Hawks and a Telegram The house to which Francois Noir led the prefect stood near the crest of a hill crown- ed by a thick clump of trees. They followed the bridle path from Graveiotte to Arsur-Moselle for a short dis- tance, and then turned off through some pioughed land. Bates kept them well in sight. iow long is it since you saw Schwartz, Francois?” “Oh it may have been last evening, in the village, drinking with the estaminat of the Black Dog.” “Alone?” “Oh, dear, no. He was talking quite a long | while with two men, one an officer other an older chap in plain cloth oy was he like, the man in clothe “Well, now, I don't know. Just a sharp- looking fellow like yourself, if you will pardon me.” “Francois, plain you must leave the post yw I have offended you. Believe me, “No offense to the point B But any one who can come s you do di tion than that of a vill Niet naturally puzzled the ward letter carrier. The dismantled farm house covertly glan ing what was the ‘ds and actions. © was dreary enough in ordinary and now looked positively woebegone. French shells had torn gzps in the roof and walls. ‘T place looke: ted and for- bidding, whilst several dark objects huddled up near the verge of the wood gave ghast- ly evidence of the loss sustained by the xon battery which had temporarily held tmaster."” traightfor- »proached the silence, Noir in ing at the other and wonder- hidden meaning of his the position, Folliet ¥ When the soft cooing of pigeons fell upon his ear. Following the sound he reached a sheltered loft in the rear of the premises, climbed to a small window by means of a ladder and found three birds pecking at the remains of the last supply of grain given by their attendant. He quickly examined them. One bore a small quill securely fastened. With this treasure trove he descended the ladder and opened the rolled-up scroll. It read: “P. 18, 6, 2 p. Soon, perhaps tonight. No fear of failure. R. If, as he believed, the opening letter and figures meant, “Paris, June 18, 2 p.m.,” the fleet messenger had but recently arrived. Further, it had not come from No. 11 Rue Pigalle, as this was impossible, the house being in possession of Pigot and the other police agents. Here was proof positive that there were ethers in Paris who communicated with Schwartz. Who were they? Who was R.? What would happen soon—or tonight— which could not fail? Folliet was viciously vituperative for a moment. Why could he not drive from Gravelotte to the prefecture of the Seine? If only some inventor could equal the pigeon as a flying machine! Francois Noir watched him. “This rascal Schwartz gives information to the Prus- sians, then?” he said. “Yes, and to me, also.”” “But, monsieur—” Folliet cut him short by darting toward the house. The interior was dark, and the prefect stumbled over a corpse at the threshold. Producing a small electric lantern he switched on the battery and examined the prostrate body, thinking that it might be the proprietor of the farm. But it was a German infantry officer, who had been shot through the forehead with a shrapnel bul- let and now lay on his back in the smiling Se uaTose of one who dreams pleas- antly. The chamber was long and low. It had @ fireplace in the further wall opposite the door, two windows, the panes shattered to atoms, on the left, and an open door, com- municating with another room, on the right. A long table ran down the center of the apartment, Folliet made the tour of the house, but the dead soldier was its only occupant, The place was so bare that a rapid scru- tiny revealed the poor chance there was of finding aught likely to prove valuable. Re- turning to the large room the prefect ex- amined the table. In the table drawer near the fireplacs were a bulky volume and some loose sheets of thin paper. Folliet could not resist a cry of surprise when he discovered that the book was a telegraph code in German, The ussr was a careful man. To make sure of the code words exactly conveying his meaning, he had ticked off cach one, as he poised it in the manner of one on the alert for a covey. “Hans Schwartz!” “Good evening, Hans hed to see you, so IL “Are you Folliet, the prefect of police at Paris?” said the newcomer, paying no hecd to Noir’s stuttered >xplanation. “That is my name.” “I thought so. I was told you fad left Paris, and I partly expected you." “Well, Iam here, Hans Schwartz. Your game is up, so you had better save your own In by making’a clean bre: of the shady business you are engag>d 1 Folliet spok= cbolly enough, but he knew that he was in a desperate position. He felt certain that Schwartz would murder him and the unfortunate Francois in cold blood. For this man, with his excellont French, and his calm, self-contained man- ner, was no bungling clodhopper, but an experierced and able member of ‘the Ger- man secret police. “The game is up, is it?” Schwartz showed his teeth in a ghastly smile. “Well, Folliet, you are right. It is end- ed, and the loser pays. No. Keep your hands quite still. Otherwise I must shoot you at once. Perhaps—I say perhaps—if you answer my questions I may spare your life and conduct you to Metz as a prisoner. After all, you are a professional, like my- self—a devilish clever one, too, and I should be scrry to be compelled to injure you.” Francois. Noir, after the first shock of sur- erizd the postman. this gentleman | prise, regained his nerve; the ex-soldier was no coward. “Look here, Schwartz——" he began. “Peace, fool. Another word from you and you die.” The German spoke to Noir, but his eyes never quitted Folliet. “Don’t interfere, my poor friend,” said Folliet sadly. “This quarrel does not ef- fect you, and, however it ends, I hope Mon- sieur Schwartz will let you go unharmed.” Schwartz scowled in another smile. “We shall see. Now, Folliet, tell me what was the message you took’ from my pigeon? Please don’t move. You can remember quite well.” oon, perhaps tonight, eh?” repeated the man. “Good. If our arms cannot pre- vail against your mighty Vansittart we will see what our wits can accomplish dur- ing his absence. Indeed, I may say during yeur absence, colleague. It would be most awkward for certain people were you in Paris just now.” “Something is géing to happen then?” “Oh, yes. Somethirg far better for us than a mere battle, even if we had been victorious today.” “Really, you interest me.”” “I am sure of it. I have for weeks, confound you.” “It is true. You are a clever man. I hope you are a wise one. M. Vansittart is rich. He will reward you beyond your dreams if you help us insteid of plotting against us.” “Ah, you would bribe me. I have taken care of that for myself. Your millionaire will pay me more in a werk to tell him something he wants to know than he would now give me to rescue Franve.”” It was a new role for Follict to be played with in this fashion. His prde was wrest- ling with his reason. Seon he would rush at this taunting spy and spend his life in the effort to reach him, for he was un- armed, though Schwartz thought otherwise. In the madness of the battle he had wildly and uselessly emptied his revolver. But he bottled up his wrath for a mo- ment. é “You take eyery. trick, monsieur. But epee as a mere matter of curiosity. Who is ‘R'?” The other hesitated a moment. Then he laughed scornfully. “There is no reason why you should not know. Your old friend, Ribou, aided by arother old friend, Lacontel, is leading the new commune. Paris is about denuded of troops. Tonight or within twenty-four hours the revolution breaks out and your king and queen be captured if they are unable to «fly. It is going on’ now, Folliet. Whilst Paris rejoices at the down- fall of the kaiser’s troops, her own down- fall is being arfanged. You yourself have told me, and You, the prefect of police, are here, in my powér, wholly at my mercy. Strange, isn’t it?” Folllet was a small man physically, but he could have swollen with rage to gigan- tic proportions. His burning thoughts must have leaped from his eyes, for Schwartz half raised his gun. Steady, Folliet, steady. You must keep still, else—” A tongue of flame hissed through the ‘wh:dow, accompanied by a sharp report. Schwartz dropped his gun and faced round with a roar of pain, for a bullet had smashed the thumb joint of his right hand, just where it closed round the stock. In turning he stumbled and fell over the corpse. : Arizona Jim, bringing revolver and head into sight between the shattered frame- work of the first window, said: “The confab was gittin’ warm, Folliet, so I just thought I'd chip in.” Even as he spoke, Folliet darted forward to selze the gun, which had fallen on the table, shouting the while: * “Quick, Francois, a rope Schwartz rose to his knees and gazed at Bates with the glare of a wounded tiger. “Herr Hebe Gott!" he cried. “Whois this?” Though the words were German, Jim grasped their meaning. “You talk too much, mister. You'll soon there, nterested you And brains out to avoid delay. me all I wish to know.” The German obeyed. His swarthy face was pallid with pain and desperation, but he managed to screw his features into one of his terrible smiles. “Not all, Folliet, not all. I still have my revenge left.” “Pooh! A telegram to Paris will slap your precious fellow conspirators in prison.” “Ah, yes: Ribou and Lacontel. They will be shot. But ask Vansittart tomorrow. He will explain. The man perplexed Folliet, but the ur- gent need of haste prevented further ques- tioning. With a warm word of thanks to Jim, ke asked him to help Notr in_escort- ing the prisoner to the village. Then he tore off rapidly to Gravelotte, for it was 10:30 p.m. and the Paris authorities must be warned of the communist plot, if it were not already too late. At the council of war discussion waxed hot as to the next move to be made. The advocates of a forward policy were numer- ous, but divided among themselves. One section, headed by General Daubis- son, counseled the immediate investment of Metz, with the possible chance of isolat- ing the kaiser from his people. Another, with Le Breton as spokesman, urged the need of penetrating into Lorraine and thus emphasizing the nature*and extent of that day’s victory. Vansittart, tired and worn after the fear- ful strain of the afternoon, superadded to the physical weariness of continuous riding for nearly fifteen hours, did not at first in- terfere in the argument until, in more than one instance, it threatened to culminate in a duel. Then he quieted Daubisson by a few tact- ful questions. “Have you seen Metz since the war, gen- eral?’ “No; but I am well acquainted with situation of the tow: “Yet you have surely forgotten that the Prussians could not properly invest the French fortress with an army of 200,000 men. How much less can we hope to do so with even twice the number when the Germans have converted {t into a fortified camp ten times the size? The very pos!- tions from which Prince Frederich Charles menaced Bazaine are now important por- tions of the defenses.”” “Exactly.” broke in Le Breton. “That is my contention. March into the interior, I say, leaving a sufficiently large corps of observation to hold the Germans in Metz until our supports arrive and enable us to reduce the place.” “Your plan is bold, Le Breton. but I fear impracticable.” sald Jerome. ‘The enemy will allow us no more surprises. Thouch we have won today, it would be the wild- est folly to underrate their resources, and If we were defeated somewhere neat the Vosges we should meet with irreparable disaster. ‘We right either erled Daublsson. “Hardly.” Vaasittart rose and bent wear- fly over a raap. “What I recommend fs, that while an army corps of 50.090 men re- mains hers, strongly intrenched, the ro- mainder of our force should line the left bank of the Moselle, from Nancy to Bign You have told the advance or retreat,” and thence inland to join the troops of G lotte. Meanwhile p ul columns should immodia dvance from Verdun and Montmody t and complete the seizu Metz will be p: the Freach side. v bile we rorable posit'en for c in any dt- rection when our lires of communication are completed and our supports arrive. As usual carried conviction. More than veyed by his manner to both Dau isson and Le Breton the pleas- ant assurance ttat he had combined both their projec‘s to the best eff Once the inair avestion of tactic s(ttled, the council devoted itself ami to details. Vansittart had, with his hand, drafted a long telegram to the min- Ister of war, urging him to forward another quarter of a million of troons to the front without deiay, when a field telegraph or- derly entered with a message. Jerome had cemmunicated with Evelyn and the king abcut 6 o'clock. Henri V had leng since sent his congratulations, but there was no response from Evelyn. A glance showed him that this messag> was from Evelyn, and his wearied brain did not for a moment grasp its full sig- nificance. Tt ran: “I am more than terrified, yet I rejoice that T shall soon be with you. Bear up for my sake. I come with the utmost speed.” When Va asittart awoke to the actualities of the case he forgot the weariness. To his quick intelligence no protracted thought was needed to extract the terrible meaning of poor Evelyn’s distracted mes- sage. Some one, a bitter and malignant enems, had cleverly managed to send her a bogus message telling her that he was wounded. She had left Paris to seek him. Tt was a @ecoy. Evelyn would be captured, perhaps wounded. in order to shake his set resolve to free France from her open foes. His pale . with its tense expression and wildly staring eyes, alarmed the o: cers pre Then he burst from the room, to encounter Folliet in the passage, jest returned from the farm. Read thet.” The chief of police rapidly devoured the nd, like a lightning flash, came ory of Hans Schwartz's sneer. ” he cried, “I will bring definite other words, 07 nveste will be in He disappeared, to return immediately with Arizona Jim, Francois Noir and their captive Producing a revolver, and speaking with the air of a dignified judge sentencing a soner to death, he said: ‘Hans Schwartz if you fail to answer my questions fully and truthfully I swear that I will in the next moment send you to an- swer your crimes before the last tribunal. Who sent a telegram to Mrs. Vansittart announcing that her husband was wounded and required her presence “Herr Von Ritterburg, the chief of the Berlin secret police.” “At what hour?” ‘When our troops o'clock.” “From where?” “Some place behind the French lines. He managed to get through in the disguise of a French soldier.” “What was in the telegram?” The prisoner, livid with pain and terror, hesitated, aad the revolver clicked. “I am not sure,” he faltered. “I did not see it.” “But you know what was intended to be said?” “Y—yes. The herr told me he would word it so that the lady would tell no one— to avoid panic in Parts." “My poor giri!’ broke in Vansittart. “She would obey too well. It is devilish. You hound—to fight with a woman. “Who devised this infernal plot?” “I cannot tell. It was an order from high quarters—a last attempt to drive him away from the front—to leave the Frencn troops leaderless.” cried Follizt, and “You dog; you dogs he turned from Schwartz. “Take comfort!” he said to Vansittart. “Your authority will clear the wires. She will be traced and pursued within the hour.” Then to Noir: “Lead your prisoner to the guard and let him be taken to the vil lage lockup.” He went out, followed by the postman and Schwartz. Vansittart sat down near the table and buried his face in his arms in utter despair. Arizona Jim picked up the telegram and read it. With this testimony he grasped the meaning of much of what had so rap- idly transpired. Tears sprang to his eyes, and he tenderly placed a hand on his master’s shoulder. “It hurts, guv’nor,” he whimpered. ‘TI krow it hurts. But cheer up. God can fix things when a man feels he wants to quit.” Jerome raised his wistful eyes to those of his faithful follower. “Go, Jim,” he said, “tell Folliet to bring her back to me.” CHAPTER XX. ‘The Stab in the Back. ‘To Evelyn, sitting quietly and alone in a private apartment at the Tuileries, was handed a telegram. It was addressed from Troyon; it implied that Vansittart was giavely wounded, and in urgent need of her care; it purported to come from him, and urged her to ke2p its details a secret to avoid exciting the public. In reality it came from one Carl Gottlieb Ritterburg, a man who was to the secret police of Berlin pretty much what Follict was to the secret police of Paris; the same man whom the pestman of Gravelotte had, as he told Folliet, seen conversing with his pigeon-training associate, Schwartz, But imagine the effect upon Evelyn, sit- ting there, all her thoughts bent upon the perits which lay thick about her other life, retired, about 5 | Vime: Dick had just finished his dejeuner, and lay back luxuriously in armchair. She handed him the telegram. He bent with knit brows over it. Then he said: “It seems a strange thing, too. It is quite possible, you know, that the thing inay be a hoax.’ “No, n “I don't say it is. been. It is quite possible. “I don’t Know, dear. get a special train, I sup) an hour or two, or thre “Poor Evie! Try and bear up, won't you?” “Send a telegram at Then train—" Gathering strength, she raised her head, went to an escritoire and wrote with flut. tering hand the message which Vansittart had showed to Folliet. But such things have w shall have to It may take once, the Dick took the telegram and summoned his valet. Then he dispatched another messenger for Honorine and bore Evelyn to a couch. By the time the queen arrived he had already set out. At 4:30 Dick and Evelyn steamed away from the Gare de I'Est. They continued their journey safely near 9 o'clock. Night was then fallin, they had reached the little station of y a mere village. Here the railway had arranged to change engi land, in order to rest his re her food somewhat m: taining than any they could arry, sett by telegram to break the journey and re an hour in the local inn. The St: sts of a mere 7 without any building. Ten minutes’ from it is the inn, bearing on its ancient sign in faded red letters the words, Le Dragon Dormant It is of large size, rambling and decs In a quarter of a ning from the train ed. a hour a man came run- asking when the trav- elers might b> expected to continue their Journey. The landlord took the message up to the parlor, and, not finding Dick there, proceeded to the bedroom. ‘There his knees he saw him, out over the coverlet. was no sign. Then the alarm was raised and through the village. By the apothecary had arrived, it was other two guests of the steriously disappeared. now to be done? Dick remained unconscious. The apothecary, at his wits th arms sp But of Evelyn there sp! time the overed inn had end, hearing that t leman had come in a special train,adv: at he shouid be put to bed in his saloon carriage 1 taken back to the n large town. So he was carried on a stretcher to the trair The train men, on their s were of opinion that their right destination now was Paris; and when, after a time, Dick opened his eyes, he was asked whether they should not return to their starting point. He moaned a dull and halt-uncon- scious assent; and some time after 2 o'clock in the morning was born. staircase of the Tuileri About # the ne at the Gare de Est. He had telegraphed that his should await him at the station; he some rapid traveling to do that day. leaped from the train he ran to the tele- graph office and sent a message to the Management directing the retention of a special at his disposal; then another to Vansittart, containing this faisehood: “I find already that much is in our favor. Absolutely no ground for despair. Please hope.” Then he pelted himseif into his car- riage and nt at a gallop across the breadth of Paris—toward the Tuilerie In half an hour he was sitting by side of Dick land’s bed, holding patting Dick's hand. But Dick’s hand was not easily held that morning. Hon- orine’s fingers were secking to lull and soothe the flushed forehead, but Dick not like that either. He was tossing with fever, delirious. To Folliet’s estions he answered with mere ray- ‘ot much good to be got out of you.” muttered Folllet. But he got from the queen a good de- scription of Dick's wound, and decided that it had been inflicted ‘with the butt end of a revolver, and he got this further light from Dick himself—the oft-repeated name cf Vimes, Vimes, your majesty,” he said where the event happened, I suppose? “Yes, monsieur. The addresses of the train officials are here, and their detailed | statements also, sent from the prefecture. All that could be done has already been done in the way of telegraphing to the police all over the count But Folliet wished to see the train of- ficlals himself. They were off duty at home. This was his next jourm From them he got no guidance except details as to the length of time they walted and the like. He galloped then to the prefecture, had some hurried interviews, wrote some hurried instructions, re-ente ed his carriage and started back for the Gare de IE: But half way he looked at his watch and pulled the check rein. He was not far from rue Brevet. He told the driver to hasten to the rue Brevet. At the end of the street he got out and walked to Ne. 6 He had there a mes- sage to deliver and some instinct told him that in coming here he was very far from losing time. Of the concierge he inquired if M. Armand Duprez was at home. No—Armand had flown to higher atmos- pheres. Armand had migrated to No. 147 Boulevard Malesherbes. Armand was rich, Armand was luxuriating in the for- tune which Marie derived from her uncle's will. Armand was a grand house, if you please, with a fashionable entourage. Armand had a silk hat, and Armand was wearing a frock coat and patent leather boots and an orcht No. 147 Boulevard Malesherbes! — Folliet hesitated. Could he go? Had he time? He decided quickly. it was not far—he would lose only a few minut Armand occupied a troisieme, of it, with half a dozen unnecessary apart- ments, all splendidly furnished. When Folliet was shown in he could hardly be- Heve his eyes. “Ah, Monsteur Duprez,” he said, holding out his hand. ‘You have seen me, yet, | fancy, you do not know me. I am M. Folliet, the prefect of police. I have only a few minutes before setting out from Paris. Yet, you see, I come to you. I have a message for you from Mr. Vansit- tart.” “Pray be seated, monsieur,” said Arman‘. “No. This 1s what I have to teil you, and it is soon sald. Mr. Vansittart spoke to me of you at a time when he was in a great hurry, and his words were not many. You have invented something?” “Quite so, monsieur.”” “What is it?" “Oh, it is nothing; something for ki! Germans.” “Mr. Vansittart certainly does not think it nothing, sir. Pray tell me what it ts. I have reasons for asking.” z “In its present state,” said Armand, ‘it is a contrivance for expelling from a gener- ator a quantity of hydrogen every five min- utes sufficient to cover the space occupied by about 1,000 men. The hydrogen is mixed with oxygen, and also with carbonic anh: dride, the anhydride adding welghi to flying mixture, so that it travels along the ground. The mixed oxygen and hydrogen, ignited by intense friction with the air, ex- plodes at from 900 to 1,200 yards from th source of expulsion; and you get a w area of flying flame, burning to cinders all it meets in the intensest heat known to man. It is, you see, only an application of the well-known oxy-hydrogen fire. So now, monsieur, you know. Instead of shooting your enemy dead, you burn him dead. A flame darts along the ground, and, in aa instant, he is not. If the sun shoot fortn his flames through the universe, who can resist him? The rain of fire and brimstone from Sodom ani Gomorrah you might es- cape; but he wno is caught by this fury shrivels, and, like a vapor, he passes away.” Folliet smiled at this grandiloquence. He did not yet know that with his high-flown manner Armand united the hard practi- cability of the acutest mathematician. “Ah, but mongieur,” said the detective, “what I specially wished to know on the part of Mr. Vansittart is this: Is your con- trivance simply made—can it be manufac- tured by practical workmen without de- lay?” “Oh, quite so,” answered Armand. “You know that nothing is simpier than the preparation of the gases in question, and as to the expulsion of gases through a narrow aperture at an intense rate, with that meth- od I suppose you ere already familiar. I have, by the way, a model of the thing somewhere about. I make it a present to Mr. Vansittart on the sole eondition that he gives me no more bother in the matter.” jut stay, monsieur,” interposed Folliet; “I am commissioned by Mr. Vansittart to ask you, firstly, if you will undertake to have at least one hundred of your engines of destruction made in Paris so as to be available for the defense of the city tf it be att ed? And, secondly, whether you can do or not, I am commissioned to offer You 8,000,000 franes at once for the inven- the whole ling when this inoffensive-looking message was |tion, the sole rights to all European fuities and the ari Mke-" Marie had been listening behind the hole. She stepped, blushing, into the her eyes alight “Well, you accept, I suppose?” liet, with a smile. “But come—I going. If you will undertake to hundred machines will f cance of we difficulty as to money ngements at sine & Lafitte’s, to which f > mm Do you " Arma 1s “Good. Then I'm off. “Where to, monsieur, ‘To Vimes.”” I thought so. tart?” By this time all Paris was discussine t news of the atrocity at Vi Armand d heard it with a flush of indign tion hen forgotten it if I may ask? To hunt for Mrs. Vansit- 28, monsieur,”” answered Fol just to hunt for Mrs. Vansi > find her 1 I could say yes. The I don't know at all u be at Vimes tonight, mons: r Why do you ask I will not keep y 1 you led me 100 francs? » much obliged ‘Good-bye, monsteur.” A Het’ passed out mand turned to Marie emphasis, with ed brow, he said: This man V pers t ack your trunk nes this afterno is not nd mine t to Vi him. We to find his w (To be continued.) CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR NOTES The topic for discussion by the Christiar The Tri- with Luke 4:16-22 Aver Societies tomorrow is mphs of Christianity,” Seriptur reference. In an article on the topie th Christian Endeavor World, written by Rev. William Hayes Ward, D D., occurs this paragra; “The full trlumph is yet far off, for the re many poor and suffering that have not received the good news. But already the mph is not 1. The chief nations of the world profess Christianity, and hu ireds of millions of the! rn are believers. Th re ¢ pel all over the world. In the chief in r k are thos poor most, amd work harde the higher good which bec foun tain of life in their souls, an: i geod which supplies them physical fort and intellectual instruction. It is only ianity which makes le care for poor, and provides for them educa- and comfort. So the people in our most Christian st tly t off than the poor a of new offic for Mount Tabor ’ hurch last Sunday ¢ int a very ing program was « tied out, a feature being an “Individual Responsibility,” b M nd of Calvary Baptist Ch « new ers of the soc t, ur Blackmon; 2 eron; recordin; m i Conlin; correspe Vess treasurer, uttie Knott M. F. Chureh Si r business meeting jast . ive aders in this large inter- result of tion Crane, a member of the ptist Church Y. P. 8 ing in Ethel, Virginia, r a Christian Endea Menckin Bapt st Church of that place, with Miss Julia Hall as correspond- ing secretary. as the con ested in th reports of the Mr. Charles F. land Avenue while vis or s0- s of the quiet hour now num- ber One comrade voices the ex- perience of many when he says, “I need the pledge to hold me to it until ft become a fixed habit.” The Endeavorers of Ballston, Virginia, had a rally meeting in Mt. Olivet Methodist Protestant Church last Sunday ning which Mr. Leet, president, and Mr. Diet- rich, first vice president, of the District union participat The “Yale Missionary Band,” fi graduates of Yale Coliege and members of the student volunteer movement, is t isit this city next month, and it ts expected that about twenty-five or thirty very i teresting missionary meetings will be hel in as many of our city churches. On Friday evening, September 30, there will be h in the First’ Presby Church @ meeting or conference of members of the various union committ including the correspondence committee and the press correspondents in the various societies. —_>—__ Some Incomprehensible Figures. From La Natu Statisticians sometimes have queer ideas, One of them has amused himself calculat- ing how much en>rgy, water and coal it Would take to move the earth a foot, sup- posing that it was subjected throughout its mass to a force equiva terrestrial Stavitaticn, This is a gratuitous supposi- tion, for in spite of its enormous mass the earth weighs nothing, and it is only by pil ing up hypotheses that we ey of Archimedes’ famous with the fact Unat the earth's mass nt to 6,100 million-milliou-million to: ur tician calculates that we should regu WW) million years for a 10,000-horse-power engine to move our glob2 a foot. that should feed this engine y he er puld va porize a quantity of water that would cov- cr the whole face of the globe with a layer 300 feet dep. The vaporiza this water would require 4,000 millio lion tons of coal. This coal, carried 1 holding 10 tons each, and having a total length of 30 feet, would require 400 million- milion cars, which would reach 30,01),000 times around the earth. This train, moving at the rate of forty mil2s an hour, would take more than 5,000,000 years Lo traverse its own length. It would require for stor- age a shed that would cover a thousand times the area of Europe. If we realize that this fantastically hug: amount of en- ergy is as nothing at compared with What the earth possesses In virtue of its rotation about its axis, its revolution about the sun, and its translation in space wita the solar system, of which the earth is but an infinitesimal part, and which itself is but an infinitesimal part of the universe, we may get some idea of the importance of man in the universe, and estimate his in- ccmmensurable pride at its just value. From the New York World. Hewitt—“I_know a fellow that changed his religion for a girl.” Jewett—“I know a fellow that did more for one—he changed his wheel.” The Brifish Farmer. From Punch. aad “You farmers are in luck’s way this year —magnificent hay crop, grand harvest, good prices, nothing to grumble at now.” “Don't know so much about that. Mair poor year for mushrooms.”