The Herald-Sentinel. (Cordell, Okla.), Vol. 24, No. 32, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 19, 1917 Page: 4 of 10
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THE CORDELL HERALD-SENTINEL
OUR FAMILY STORY PAGE
dwSviflldigSakw
9 c 6g IfonMfamslx &
AUTHOR OF "BEYOND THE FRONTIER," "MAID OF THE FOREST,"
"MY LADY OF THE NORTH," ETC
NOVUJUP ntOH THI morOKAY SUIAl or TNI Wit NAM
CflftlMMT, HMMU r
in.
FOURTEENTH EPISODE
Absolute Black.
Ravengar, tn Hie midst of his con-
vernation with Leontine, had seen Se-
baatlan's face at the window of a near-
by tenement house.
He waa exumlnlng Joseph Dexter'*
Journal tn the room of a certain
Whltey Wang, an old friend of Sebas-
tian's.
8ebaat!an aoon perceived that the
dead aclentlat'a journal needed more
than a careless scrutiny. He closed
It and banded It to Wang, together
with the bottle of pellets.
"Take these to the Central Trust
company's otllces and have them put
In my snfe deposlte box," he suld.
Wang took them and went out. But
aa he was closing the door Sebastian
hailed him.
"Come here!" he said. "Do you see
that man over there?"
Wang nodded.
"Watch him carefully. That'a the
man I'm after."
Now Mr. Wang was a man of sudden
Impulses.
Why should Sebastian wish to place
an old book and a bottle of black pel
lets In his safety deposit box?
They must he worth something.
JHe went downstairs all right, but he
|went further than his Instructions. He
Ipent Into the cellar. The old tene-
ment building was honeycombed with
jrat holes, and human rut holes In the
jbaaement Prom the cellar Wang
squeezed his way into a back street,
Icarrytng the pellets and the manu
iscrtpt with him, with the Idea of dou
Ible-crosslng Sebastian later.
8ebastlan, meanwhile, remained at
the window, watching Ravengar. lie
knew he had been seen, but ho trusted
In the Invisible mantle, of which he
bad had ample demonstration.
Kavengar, having satisfied himself
pa to Sebastian's location, came up the
•talra at a ruu. Sebastian went to the
door of his room and, looking down
over the banisters, watched him
When Itavengar was two flights be-
neuth him he slipped along the pas-
sage Into a room at the farther end.
Sebastian crouched down In the mid
die of the room, the mantle drawn over
him. Through the filmy cloth he could
soe Itavengar reach the top of the
flight, stop, and look Into the empty
Chamber.
Itavengar hesitated, and then en-
tered the room. He looked out of the
window Into the street beneath,
turned, and walked back within a foot
of Sebastian. He reached the door,
quietly locked It, and went away with
the key In hla pocket.
Sebastian had had Implicit faith In
the mantle. He took It from about his
shoulders and looked at It. It was now
visible. He turned It Inside out; It
waa atlll visible. The mantle had
ceaaed to work.
Sebastian felt that his last chance
bad gone.
1 From the window he saw Ravengar
below, In conversation with two po-
licemen. They were looking and point-
ing upward. Panic seized him. He
rushed back to the door and struggled
furiously to break It down, but In
vain. He ran back to the window. He
saw Ravengar and the policemen en-
tering the_ hall
P"lt %as Impossible to leap to safety
But outside the window ran a water-
pipe. He climbed out of the window
and began to make the perilous ascent
He was half-way up to the roof
when a shout beneath htm apprised
htm that he was discovered.
One of the policemen had entered
the race with Ravengar.
"Come back!" shouted the police-
man.
Sebastian climbed the harder. The
roof was alinowt within his grnsp. The
policeman hesitated, uncertain wheth-
er to shoot, and then, .followed by Rav-
engar, ran from the room and up the
Btalrs.
It was an even race, but the cover
of the scuttle stuck, and Sebastian had
the advantage. He waa crossing the
roof when the scuttle at lust came
loose. As the policeman's head ap-
peared Sebastian stopped and kicked
oat viciously with his foot.
The policeman groaned and fell
backward. Ravengar was a few feet
behind him, near, but not near enough
to Intercept his quarry, now running
again with all his speed toward the
tire escape at the opposite end. Se-
bastian flung himself down and began
to worm hi nsy duwa the rickety,
fusty ladder
He heard a shout beneath htm.
Looking down, he saw the second po-
liceman coming up the fire escape.
The man was on the flight Immediate-
ly beneath him; in hla hand waa a re-
volver.
"Haiti Hands up!" he yelled.
Sebastian flung up hla hands lo to-
ken of surrender.
The policeman shinned up the tire
escape like a monkey, the revolver In
hla mouth. Sebastian waited for blm
at the top.
As the first man set foot upon the
roof Sebastiud leaped at him like a
tiger. A furious struggle followed,
the policeman trying in vain to get
the drop on the hunted man whese
arms were about bis own, while the
hunds clutched nt his throat. Stag-
gering on the edge of the dizzy height,
the policeman let the revolver fall and
caught at the rail of the escape to
save himself. As he did so Sebastian
stooped and picked up the weapon.
He saw that Ravengar and the first
policeman were within a few feet of
him. He thrust the revolver against
his antagonist's body and fired.
Then, as Ravengar leaped forward,
Sebastian struck him a vicious blow
with the revolver butt which sent him
reeling backward. The next Instant
Sebastian was half way down the first
flight of the fire escape.
He ran through o back yard, down an
alley, crossed a street, went through a
garden, and finally emerged breath-
less in a main thoroughfare of traffic.
ltavengar's sudden disappearance
frightened Leontine. She saw him
dart across the street toward the tene-
ment building. Then he was swal-
lowed up in the crowd that still lin-
gered about the burned-out ruins of
the building In which bad been the
laboratory.
As she stood In Mrs. SplelburgePs
yard, with Pat McOuIre, trying to com-
pose hfftc'.i, she heard a distant re-
volver shot ring out. She caught at
Pat'a arm In an agony of apprehen-
slon.
"It's nothing, lady," said the ever-
ready Irishman. "Sure he'll be back.
Them rats In that district Is always
shooting nt each other. Maybe It's a
tire blown out," he added hopefully.
But when a second crowd began to
run around the corner of the adja-
cent block Pat volunteered to go and
find out what the trouble was. And
Leontine waited In terror which she
could no longer concenl. What If the
shot bad been fired at Ravengar?
It was, of course, Sebastian's shot
which killed the pollcerann.
Aa Leontine clung, trembling, to the
fence, Ravengar stood before her. She
gave a happy little cry and ran to
him; then, remembering how ahort a
time had passed since she had ac-
knowledged her love, she drew back,
suffused with blushes.
Ravengar dropped upon one knee be-
fore her.
"Be brave, Leontine," he said. "And
be assured that I shall stand between
you afid any further danger all your
life.
"I saw Sebastian and went to find
him," he continued. "But he escaped
nW'
''That shot—" she faltered.
"It was not fired at me," answered
Ravengar, and he said no more.
"Leontine," he continued, "If It
should prove impossible to catch Se-
bastian and compel him to free the
memory of your dead lover, how long
will you pursue a hopeless quest?"
"1 cannot give thut up," she an-
swered gently.
"But you love me, dearest?" '
"Yes. And «lo you not love me
enough to bear with me a little long-
er?"
Ravengar hesitated. Then he bowed
his head In assent He turned as if
to leave her; then, returning, he took
her In his arms, and their lips met in
their first kiss.
"1 shall never give up the quest,"
he said, as be released her.
Mr. Whltey Wang was decidedly dis-
posed to consider his charge a treas-
ure. Nobody but a madman would put
an old book and bottle of pellets in
a safety vault unless there were some-
thing more In the action than met the
immediate understanding.
And Sebastlnn was not crazy.
Putting the book under his coat,
and still holding the bottle of pellets.
Wang began to make his way toward
auother rookery, where he also had
lodgiugs. in virtue of a certain alias
into which it Is not necessary to go.
However, on the way Mr. Wang re-
ceived another Impulse, and hastened
to obey It He would find out what
waa In the book.
Stepping Into a doorway, he opened
the book and began to read It Whltey
snorted with disgust It seemed to be
a book of travel. Mixed with It how-
ever, were the figure* of a cypher.
Whltey closed the book with a snap.
Whltey waa not particularly Inter-
ested In the Bight of a pretty Ameri-
can girl who waa apparently aaylng
good-bye to an ojd Irishman and a
German woman lo a back yard. He
had seen such sights before. How-
ever, Whltey had a decided Interest
for Leontine, because she recognised
the book under tils arm, and the pel
lets in his hand.
She rushed back to Pat
'Vo you see that man?" she cried,
indicating the unconscious Whltey
Wang. "Get that book from him. And
the bottle of pellets. That's the bottle
you lost In the river I"
Pat needed no second orders. He
rushed from the back yur<^ and
grabbed Whitney by both shoulders^
"Ulmme that book and the bottle,
or III knock your blamed head ofl"
he shouted.
Whltey was taken by surprise,
thing that seldom happened to him.
"Letniue go 1" he yelled. "Lemuie go,
d'you hear?"
Pat twisted the bottle of pellets out
of his hand and put It In his pocket
in doing this he had perforce to re-
lease his hold of Whltey for a mo-
ment. It was only a moment, but
Whltey took full advantage of the sit
uatlon. He twisted out of Pat's grasp
like an eel and ron—
Into the ample form of Mrs. Spiel-
burger, who promptly boxed his ears,
knocked him down with a blow of tier
brawny fist, and screamed for help.
Pat got the journal from Whltey be-
fore he had found his feet again.- As
the two men struggled a crowd began
to collect A policeman came running
up.
Whltey, freed by Pat, started off
again, but this time he fell Into the
policeman's arms. The policeman rec-
ognized him as an old friend, and stuck
to him as such. Pat thrust his pellets
and the Journal Into Leontlne's hands,
"You'd better beat It, Miss," he said,
"I'll trust you for that five hundred.
Leontine darted out of the yard,
pushed through the crowd, and found
a taxlcab. A moment later she was
being whirled away from the scene.
Leoutine's new address was In
fnshlonable part of the city. She had
decided that the best security lay In
publicity. She had a small house, with
a gardener, a chauffeur, and a couple
of maid servants. Thus aided, she
felt a match for any schemes of Se-
bastian.
She was seated in her study waiting
for Ravengar when she heard the door
opening. She looked up In surprise.
She had not heard the bell ring. It
sounded like Ravengar'* step. Then
she found herself looking Into the face
of—Jerry 11
She stared at him in amazement
which robbed her of speech. Yet she
felt no fei^r. And as she watched him
Jerry addressed her.
'1 come to yon In behalf of Raven-
gar," he said. "You are all In the world
to hlin, and the life of the living Is
more than the memory of the dead.'
He turned and left the room, leav-
ing Leontine staring after him. And,
though she had no doubt that Jerry's
appearance was that of a spectre, even
then she remembered that she had
heard his footstep.
A spirit's footstep I Suddenly she re-
gained control over her limbs. She
sprang forward and opened the door.
Jerry was nowhere to be seen, but
Ravengar was coining along the hall.
"Who was that?" cried Leontine, tn
the reaction of deadly terror.
"Who, dear?"
'You saw somebody come out of this
door?"
"No, 1 saw no one come out of this
door," answered Ravengar. "Whom did
you think you saw?"
"Jerry," she answered, and burst
into tears.
Ravengar put his arm about her and
led her back into the study.
"It was his spirit," Leontine sobbed.
"He came back to me from the grave,
to tell me that I must give up my en-
deavor to free his memory, lie said
that the love of the living wus more
than the memory of the dead."
Ravengar took her In his arms. "Le-
ontine—" he begnn.
"But I want to clear his name," con-
tinued the girl eagerly.
Raveugar took her hands In his and
kissed them. "Let us sit down. Leon-
tine," he said, "and perhaps when I
have shown you the secret of the pel-
lets we shall see a clearer way toward
that purpose."
secure the pellets and book, make an
end of his enemy Ravengar, and the
wife whom he hated, and make a
quick, clean getaway.
At that moment Whltey Wang emme
The three had been waiting for
blm.
"We can get her now, boss," be said
Sebastian. "1 aeen ber through
ber study window. She's setting there
alone. She looks as If she was waiting
for somebody."
Sebastian understo~" * —- -
engar, and be would
what he needed, an
venge, In one dramat
"We'll go along," t
The three left the ti
ly, and rejoined eacl
tance away. They i
toward Leontlne's t
the pair Indicated It
It was beginning t
bastlan spoke a few
panions and one of
to the back of the he
him time to post h
and the two other* st
among the trees until
lug In front of the
bastlan'* heart leap
his wife and Ravengi
each other at the tat
He watched them
and listened with e
little—not much, bu
Inspire the keenest I
Sebastian and his
round to the side oi
crook Inserted a
sash and bad the w
back in a moment.
In, and Sebastian fol
Clutching their r<
crept to the entrai
study. The door wa
bastlan motioned to
halt and, his ear cl
listened to Ravengai
But he had not bee
a half minute before
Ravengar turned ti
taneously and saw h
They sprang to th
screamed, and Ra
short command;
'The journal and
tine—destroy them I"
Whltey Wang, was not partRmlartj
adept at rough and tumble fighting, un-
less he had a revolver in bis hand and
a clear aim; the first condition wai
fulfilled, but not the second. The com-
batants were so mixed that It was Im-
possible to lire.
Ravengar, winning free for a mo-
ment burled Sebastian from blm wltl
all bis force. That was Wang's op-
portunity. He sprang forward and
fired. The bullet hissed past Raven-
WHAT IS
LAX-FOS
UX-MS It AM I
A Digestive Laxative
CMWUmC MB INER TOM
Lax-Fos ia not a Secret or Patent Medi-
cine bat is composed of the following
old-fashioned roots and herbs:
oasoara bark
blue flaq root
rhubarb root
blaok root
may apple root
8enna leaves
and pepsin
ents making h better lhmno*dinaryC as-
CUMadtonthe combination acts not
tic bnt also as a digestive and liver tonic.
8yrup laxatives sre weak, bat Lax-Pot
combines strength with palatable, arj
ti. i~ —
"And so we've found her.*
Sebastian listened eagerly to the
story of the two crooks, confederates
of Whitey's, whom he had hired. They
had discovered Leontlne's new abode,
and had learned the details of its lo-
cation.
Sebastian knew that whnt he
had to do must be done speedily, for
already every police station was
posted with circulars descriptive of
hhn and offering a reword. He mast
"Until now," said ]
tine, as they sat dow;
been such a thing i
Our blacks are not i
they were, they wou
and would be Invlslb
bj the light they reli
"Now let us beg
statement of the dl;
'"The black pelle
resent, then, 'this abi
-1 have discovered a:
tlons of many yeai
these, made In pure
upon any object, cot
Invlsl—"
That was the mom
engar and Leontine I
ence of Sebastian
turned their heads
"The journal am
tine — destroy
shouted.
As he spoke he 4
and struck Sebastlt
face that sent him
Taking advantage >
slipped past him ai
passage. The two <
bastlan started aftei
gar barred the way.
With an oath of
drew his revolver. J
engar, with almost in
snatched it out of i
point blank. The crook, shot through
the brain, fell over backward, dead
before his head struck the floor. The
two others, maddened with fear and
rage, threw themselves upon Ravengar.
He bad no time to fire again. It was
an Inextricable medley; but somehow
Ravengar managed to hold the pas-
sage.
Leontine ran for the back door, with
the Intention of gaining the garden and
alarming the chauffeur and gardener.
But as she did so she saw the third
crook on guard there. She stepped
back hurriedly. It was a difficult situa-
tion. Ravengar had ordered her to de-
stroy the Journal and pellets; but
Ravengar was fighting for his life and
all her Impulse toas to help him. On
the other hand she was too weak to be
of assistance, and might even hamper
him. She decided therefore to obey.
She ran Into the card room, adjoining
her study, and flung the bottle of pel-
lets and the book Into the grate of the
open fireplace.
It was summer time and there was
no fire, but a box of matches hung by
the mantel, and there was the day's
newspaper upon a chair beside the
fireplace.
Leontine heard the crook in the pas-
sage outside. She turned and locked
the door. She heard Ravengar strug-
gling desperately with his assailants,
and her one thought was to destroy
the journal and pellets and then go to
his aid. She struck a match, lit the
newspaper, and flung the journal and
pellets upon it tearing out page after
page to ensure complete combustion.
In the passage outside Ravengar was
still engaged In his furious struggle
with Sebustlan. The latter's surviving
companion, who waa oone other than
Casting a glance backward, he dis-
covered that he was alone. His com-
panions had fled, leaving their dead
comrade upon the floor. Sebastian bad
struck his last blow and failed.
And outside he beard the excited
voices of the chauffeur and gardener.
Upstairs the maids were screaming.
Somebody was shouting for the police.
He turned with a curse, flung up the
window, and leaped out to the ground.
It was a light drop, he rose uninjured
and made his way toward the street In
the rear, among the stables, while the
chauffeur and gardener burst through
the hall, to find Leontine, the blood
streaming from her lip, bending over
the body of Ravengar.
As she crouched there, trying to re-
call him to consciousness, she made a
singular discovery, ltavengar's mous-
tuche had been half torn from his face.
But it was a false one. Underneath It
the skin was white and freshly shaven.
The other half came away at a touch.
And Ravengar wore a wig. His gray-
ing hair, at which the girl had often
wondered in so young a man—for ha
seemed little more than 30—was false
too. Beneath It was a crop of close-
cut flaxen hair.
The wig was awry, and as Leontine
removed It and looked Into Ravengar*a
face she uttered a great cry, rose to
her feet and stared at him breathless-
ly-
Ravengar was beginning to regain
consciousness. He stirred, mattered,
and opened his eyes. He tried to sit
up; and In s moment Leontine waa
back upon her knees beside him, ca-
ressing him, and then taking his bead
upon her lap and bandaging It
END OF FOURTEENTH til'iSODH,
n
v
•Midnight oil.
Scientific (acts prove
the drug, caffeine, in
coffee is _ harmful to
many, while the pure
food-drink—
POSTUM
is not only free from
drags, but ia economical,
delicious andnourishing.
Made of wheat and a
bit of wholesome mo-
lasses, Postum is highly
recommended by phy-
sicians for those with
whom coffee disagrees.
Postum is especially
suitable for children.
"Ttav's • Season"
Sold by Grocers.
i
t
■HBM
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Gunsenhouser, M. H. The Herald-Sentinel. (Cordell, Okla.), Vol. 24, No. 32, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 19, 1917, newspaper, April 19, 1917; (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc169590/m1/4/: accessed April 23, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.