The Ogden standard-examiner. [volume], September 05, 1920, LAST EDITION, COMIC SECTION, Page 7, Image 31

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SRI SUNDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 5, 1920. THE QGDEN STANDARD-EXAiViiNER 7 H
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I Synopsis of Preceding Chapters.
1 mivtaW RENTON and Eddie Haverton. modern soldiers of fortune, have been
I gambling with Hubert. Barentor. a prosperous attorney, In his London apart-
1 V ments. After their departure late at night Renton returns to the bouse,
I murders Baxenter and hides the body on the roof. While waiting for night to come
I in order to make his escape, he finds in a desk a curious old yellowed document
I telling of a mysterious chest left in the care of one of Baxenters ancestors by a
.I French nobleman, the Marquis de Dartigny, of the Chateau Chauville. The chest
kl I nas been handed down from one generation o! Baxenters to another and carefully
I J guarded in the hope thai some day its rightful owner will be found. Ronton de-
f L cidts to pose as the missin-r heir and claim the chest. He goes t Franco to mako
V -K some needful inquiries about the Dartigny family
1 The storv of the mysterious chest goes back to the troubled days of the French
Wr Revolution, when the Marquis was staying in the fancied security of his chateau.
Af His --on Gaspard, who was active arainsl the Paris Terrorists learned bis f a V :
1 lifo was threatened, and sent a friend, Remv Pcrancourt, to convey him and Gas-
jij pard's little daughter Sylvia to a place of safety in England In their flight they
I were pursued by an evil-looking revolutionist. After vainly trying to dodge this
v f pursuer, Remv finally attacked him and trussed him up. Later Remv shot him
. ll The next morning the Marquis and little Sylvia sailed for England, where the chest
J ! and the document concerning It were turned over to the Baxenters for safe keep-
ing. Now. more than one hundred years later, Hubert Baxonter's murdered body
UjB Is found, but Dip police have no flue 10 the man who killed him In c.rd'r to learn
HI what he needs to know about the Dartigny familv history, Vivian Renton changes
iHJ his name to Baptiste Dartln grows a beard and passes himself off as a French-
' - man He visits Canada, whither he learns that one member of the Dartigny family
has rone
Dartln presents his fictitious claims to Robert Baxenter, the new head of the
firm o:' Baxenter & Co. They arc accepted as satisfactory and he is given the
fiWV treasure chest Robert Baxenter is in love with Stella Benham a charming Kill.
fi Hr whose heart is set on making a groat success on the stage She has just secured
h 1 what she thinks her big chance and tells Robert he must wait a year for her
answer to his proposal. Taking her at her word he goes on a long yachtln,; trip,
much to Stella s dlsm.a
it Dartln is at first greatly disappointed to find only a paltry thousand pounds in
the chest He is relieved to discover later a lai-ge kev and a parchment tolling
where the real treasure is hidden Giving Baxenter a quaint locket and chain which
he found In the chest. Dartin goes to France By posing as an artist he gains id
mlttance to the Chateau Chauville, and in a secret vault finds an immense fortune
I in Reins, gold and rare pictures.
I 7 With his new wealth Dartin establishes himself on a fine estate
1n England. His aristocratic neighbors will not receive him and he
7 vgfl is forced to rely for soclotv on visiting theatrical troupes. While en-
i tertalnlnu- S'oiia Henham her manager Eddie Haertop. appears D;ir-
jfjEf 'in BUCCumba to Haverton's demand for blackmail and agrees to pay
V him a large sum every six months for not revealing his real identity.
1 On Stella's twentieth birthday Robert Baxenter gives her the Dar-
I tignv locket and chain Stella s mother recognizes the crest ther hear
M "1P same as rhat 00 8 rlnp handed down to Stella from her great
grandmother, the long Inst Sylvia Dartigny. Confident that Stella Is the
jmjm rightful heir, Baxenter grows suspicious of Dartin. In order to watch
TjjBi lnni more carefully he ac-
cepta a week-end invitation
Am
-iMW (Continued from Last Week.)
I CHAPTER XVI (Cont'd).
The Eat rxdi oppr r
LEEP seemed more than ever
out of the question, now that
the van was fully up and
sending his golden shafts into
the cosey apartments. Robert
could hear Jowett in the tiny
dressing room preparing the bath,
and a thrill of anticipation ran
through him a6 he thought of tho
refreshing coolness of the limpid
water. That, together with fresh
linen, breakfast and a cigarette,
was all that he needed.
At nine o'clock Mr Robert Bax
enter. after dispatching hi6 cable
gram, entered his office reeling a,s
fit as though ho had retired to bed
et ten the evening before.
And then for three days he vent
on in the even routine of the work
of the law. Each evening found
him at the little dingy suburban
stage door, but after that first
night he was able to time his ar
rival more precisely, thus avoiding
the weary wait In the sordid sur
roundings, and a taxi 60on ran them
out into streets where it seemed
possible to breathe Each evening,
too. a dainty little supper would be
awaiting them at the flat, and Rob
ert tried to, and In part succeeded
in, driving the problem of Mr Dar
tln and the Chauville inheritance
from his mind, giving hlmee' up
unreservedly to his reunion with
Stella and to taking up again the
threads of his Interrupted love af
fair. The girl, too, feeling as though a
weight had been suddenly lifted
from her ueart, became again the
radiant creature she had been when
the young solicitor first met her
and loved her at the river party.
For her lifo was now all sun
shine on which there was no
shadow, and it seemed as though
her cup of happiness was fully
charged.
Her stage career was to her now
a thing of no moment and hor
evening work was as distasteful as
It formerly had been fascinating.
Her contract with Haverton had
but another two months to run and
by Its wording could not well be
set aside without a large monetary
sacrifice, after its con luslon
Stella hoped she would never see
the inside of a theatre again ex
cept from the other side of the
'lmW footlights
MM It was on Friday morning that
I Robert found the reply to his
J cablegram awaiting him when he
I entered his office. His Canadian
I correspondent stated that he was
j 6till pursuing his Inquiries aud wan
I writing at length b the next mail
j The cable stated simply that a
gentleman of the name of Baptiste
Dartin arrived on the S S. Tou
1 raine from Havre in February of
j last year, and had left for Ixmdon
I by tho Anconia, which sailed from
Quebec on June 4 As far as "Mr.
Le Page was aware, he was pre
I viously unknown in the Dominion
Ho was said at the hotel to be a
man of rather dlssoluto habits and
one who possessed but few friends
Robert sat with the slip of paper
hanging limply In his hands From
the wall old Adam Baxenter looked
down ipon him, and now the other
fancied that he had read reproach
"The voices of Dartin and Haverton, their
game ended, rose distinctly to the ears
of the jistener on the little balcony." jrfifc'& '
in the painted eve? Ho left his
chair and nervously fell to pacing
up and down the carpeted room.
His suspicious took on a more
definite shape as he read and re
read the message Dartin bad not
mentioned to him that he knew
Paris: more, Robert seemed to re
member the man had distinctly
said he had never been in France
Why, too, should he spend the time
between February and June in
Quebec'' He must have had some
reason for putting off the claiming
of the inheritance
Whatever game It was that the1
owner of Adderbury Towers was
playing. It was certainly not alto
gether a straight one Robert
thought of, and bitterly resented,
the manv ways in which Dartln
had deceived him, and he regis
tered a vow in his mind, then and
thero, that nothing should bo al
lowed to stand in his way of prob
ing the secret to the bottom
It might not altogether be play
ing the game, on bis part, to
spy upon the man whose hospitality
he was about to accept, but for
Stella's sake, and for the sake of
right, he could not afford to be nice
in choosing the weapons with which
to fight Mr. Baptiste Dartin. If
there was any fraud, then it should
be met with fraud If need be. By
7 o'clock that evening ho would
be at Adderbury Towers, he would
enler the enemy's camp as an hon
ored guest, but with the firm r
solso to miss no siDgle chance that
promised a solution of tho matter
In hand.
On tho journey northward Rob
ert leant back and gazed steadily
out over the flying landscape, let
ting his mind run at random among
the facts and suspicions he had ac
cumulated, aud steeling his heart
to the task before him. It was well.
perhaps, for his purpose that Stella
had driven down to the station to
see him off; for he told himself
that it was for that dainty little
figure In muslin, which had waved
to him until the bend of tho pla'
form had hidden her from view,
fi ho was working. If over ends
titled means, surely they did so
now. All the same, the young so
licitor wished that it had been any
one but his host that he was acting
against.
The Journey was not a long one,
a coach being attached to the mall
:.nd slipped at Barchester, and at
hulf-past six Robert was standing
on the platform of the station of
the cathedral town A sleepy sta
tion was that of Barchester, 6ave
at the arrival and departure of the
London trains It lay some half
mile outside the town, the roofs of
the houses of which Robert could
see in the valley and straggling up
the lower slopes of the downs.
Dartln was there to greet him,
and Robert felt a curious catch at
his heart as he received the hand
lasp and looked Into tho laughing
eyes. Surely this man was not one
to weave :;ijeh a web of conspiracy,
the outlines of which wore already
taking shape in the solicitor's brain
a scheme even in which murder
played a part'
And then he found himself in a
eomfortable "jingle." bowling mer
rily down the winding road that
led to aud became the High Street
of Barchester. Tho little town
looked very peaceful In the calm of
tho early evening. The High Street,
with its irregular buildings and
quaint bow-vs indovs jutting out at
unexpected angles, dipped steeply
to the marketplace in the center of
Mi. town. Above the red roofs the
square tower of the cathedral rose
up, gray and 6entlnel-llke. It was
market day. and Dartin lfad to
thread his little vehicle In and out
among the carts of carriers and
farmers as ho crossed the cobbled
souare and drove through tin' wide
c 100 International
ofik-tlmbered gateway of the Crown
Hotel.
"Mr Haverton returned''" Dartln
asked the hostler who came running
out from the stable to attend the
horse.
"Alnf scon 'lm, eir. Going to
shut out, sir?"
Dartin bonded the reins to the
man and alighted
"No put her on the pillar rein
Come in, Baxenter; you'll be dry
afto- the Journey Haverton bad u
little chopping to do. By-the-by,
you'll like Haverton he'll Join us
here."
Eddie came to them a few min
utes later In the low-celllnged
apartment, panelled In mellow ouk,
which was tho pride of the "Crown,"
and Indeed of all Barcastrians
There was many a visitor to the
cathedral who, much against his
principles, was persuaded within
tho precincts of a hotel for tho first
time In his life by that mellow oak
panelling and tho great cellars of
the "Crown" cellars built like the
crypt of tho cathedral itself and
from which, rumor hud It, secret
passages ran out undor tho market
square to tho old Priory opposite.
A great aasel to the owner of the
"Crown" were its antiquities, for
more often than not tho visitors,
being once inside, folt it incumbcut
upon them to partake of a glas
of sherry wine.. a very' small one,
please and a biscuit.
In spite of Dartln's prophecy.
Robert did not like Eddie Haver
ton Perhaps, without knowing it,
he placed him among the ranks of
the enemy aud approached him
with something of a bias But it
was not part of his scheme to show
his true feeliugs. and It was a
merry parly of three which sat be-
paiAufi - a. -y 37;
FmIhi- S T-iet hi. Great Hr
hind the sturdy little mare as sni
took the road to Adderbury Tower.
In the art of entertaining Dartin
possessed few equals. It had been
his fond hope, when he engaged the
chef of a high class London restau
rant, that the advent of a wealthy
owner to the Towers would bring
around him tho elite of the country'
side to eat his dinners and praise
his wines, that, In fact, Barchester
society would take him up and
make him and themselves very
happy. It did not take him very
long, however, to understand the
social conditions which hem in the
residents of a cathedral town, and
beyond a few bachelors and a col
onel of Intemperate habits, men
who washed down their pride with
the excellent vintage of tho cellar
of the Towers. Dartln possessed 10
friends.
Perhaps there were a few huf
pay officers with which Barchester
abounded, who, could thoy have
taken a poop at. tho dinner-table
where Dartin sat with his two
guests, would have regretted in
secret tho restrictions which pre
vented them showing more cordial
ity to tho new-comer. The colonel
of Intemperate habits had been
ed to moot Haverton and Bax
enter, but his chair was vacant,
doubtless the fact that It was market-da
v, when many members of
tho County Club came in from out
lying districts, being accountable
for the non appearance.
The light from the candles in
their scarlet shades shone on spot
less damask and glittered In tiny
points of ruby flrp on the silver and
cut glass. Beyond the oval table
the room was shrouded In deeo
shadow, in which figures of the
Italn Rlsht KcC-rT.-U
r
I
i
three men who had pushed back
their chairs loomed indistinctly.
Being alone, they had not bothered
to dress, and their easy-fitting
tweeds added a note of solid com
fort to the luxurious whole.
They had been long over the
meal and now the smoke from their
: ,rs hung In thin wreaths above
the table, on which the tiny coffee
cups and liqueur glasses showed
among the litter of the dessert
Conversation had become desul
tory. and Dartln. as he oxtin
gulshed his cigar end in the dregs
of his coffee cup, stifled a yawn
"I'm afraid you fellows will find
It deadly dull here. It's in the
evenings that things seem to hang
a bit We've been nearly three
hours over dinner that's all there
Is to do in the country after dusk
When the last post has come and
gono at night I feel cut off from the
world until the morning "
Haverton took a sip at his Bene
dictine 'There's always billiards, Dar
tin "
"True, Eddie, as you say. there s
always billiards, that's not a bad
Idea We'll get along now and
knock up a few hundreds a three
handed game "
But Robert excused himself He
was no hand with the cue, he said;
besides, he had had a hard day In
town clearing up his work If his
host didn't mind, ho would watch
(In- play while he finished his cigar;
ifter that he'd turn in.
When, half an hour later, the so
li' itor was shown to his room, he
left Dartln and Haverton warming
up to their game. He was feeling
very Bleepy; but, onco In his room,
he lit a fresh cigar and sat In the
dark by the open window, thinking
ner and piecing together what he
had seen and heard siuce Dartin
mot him at Barchester station. He
had added nothing tangible to his
BtOCK Of facts: but. now that he was
watching for them, he noticed cer
tain manners of speech, little
idioms, which pointed to Dartin be
ing rather a native of London than
a Colonial Robert called to mind
tin Canadians he had come In con
tact with, and decided that they
had little In common with the mas
ter of Adderbury Towers. The
Colonial manner ho had noticed
when Dartln first called upon him
seemed now to be eitlrely absent.
Truly, the master of Adderbury
Towers had quickly adapted himself
1. in changed conditions
If only Rol'ert could find a scrap
Of evidence that would allow of his
taking action' One little look
through the drawers of that bureau
In Dartln's study one letter one
sente-nce from his Hps
The man' by thp window broke
his meditations and leant suddenly j
forward in his chair, staring out j
into the night, listening. Below
him, and a little to the left, a win
dow was unhasped and there was a
sound as though someone were
leaning out to breathe in the fresh
"That's better." he heard Haver
ton say. "1 had no idea it waa I
shut."
Then to the man above, the click
of tho Ivory balls came distinctly
and the murmur of the laughter
and talk of the players.
Robert felt his heart fall him'
as he came, as last, face to face
with the thing he had set himself j
to do The little stone coping l
which ran along outside his win
dow called to him to avail himself
Of its friendly shelter and crawl
along and listen to the conversation I
of the men In the billiard room It
was absurdly oa'.y and the risk of
deteC(ion practically did not exist.
Hero to his hand was tho chance he
had been hoping for.
Eavesdropper it was a hateful
word, but Robert was not going to
light that battle with himself all
over again He stepped out on to
the little balcony and leaned over
the low stone parapet.
It had rained a little while they
had been at dinner, and the scented
airs of the garden came np to him
now delightfully fresh and cool.
There was no moon; from th 1
wood across the lawn, which
loomed up dimlv against the star lit I
sky. an owl hooted dismally In
me uistance do could make out the
lights of tho town. Directly be-
neath him, Robert could distinguish
the wide gravel path which circled
the house; on it the light from the
billiard room windows cut three i
squares of radiance.
The solicitor slipped off bis
shoes, and, keeping well in the
shadows of the eaves and gables,
made his way alongside the little ;
gutter to the spot below which he
had heard the unhasplng of the
window. He had to pass two other
windows on his way. but these bad
their blinds clocph- drawn and were
in darkness they belonged, doubt
less, to rooms in tho large house
which were not used by the present
owner.
And now he had reached the posi
tion he desired and could see th
top of the frames of the wide-open
French windows, and, leaning as
far forward as he dared, he braced
himself to listen.
At first he could make out noth
ing definite the click of the balls,
a word here and there evidently
relating to the game that was In I
progress, sometimes a laugh Ho
could smell the smoke from tho
men's cigars, and now and again he
I" ai'l 'II" lll.-H III M 5 IU11HI
As his ear became bettor attuned,
however, ho began to make out
sentences, but It was not until he
heard the cues being placed In the
rack that he was awarded with any
thing that helped the matter whiih
was filling his mind 1
Dartin and Haverton, their game
ended, had evidently drawn their
chairs near to the air of the opr
windows, and now that the srMSjJB
of the play had ceased, their voices
rose distinctly to the oars of tho
listener on the little balcony He
heard one of the men step out on J,
to the gravelled path, the shadow
giving him warning and enabling
him to dip down behind the stone
coping. The man Robert did not
know which of them it was !
walked up and down for a moment,
possibly to Bee that tho solicitor
was in bed. How fortunate It was
that he had not switched on the
light In his room.
"Gone off a lot, Vivian. You
used to do those long cannon shots
up the table oven time Do you
remember that game at tho 'Asi
atic' with Lieutenant Fenton?"
The men laughed at the recollec
tion "I'm afraid. Eddie, that I don't
take much Interest in the game now
don't need to. I'd rather have a
hand at poker and. by the way,
don't call me Vivian."
"All right, old man. 1 didn't think
of playing cards, somehow."
Dartln laughed shortly.
"I did Eddie." ho said; "but it
seemed too weird altogether you
and I and n Baxenter'" the speak
er seemed to shudder as he spoke.
There was silence for a few mo
mentS before Haverton answered.
"1 told you your nerve had got
rusty." he said at last. 'Why can't
you forget unpleasant things?
Ugh!" a little shiver "it's me for
mv downy couch what1"
Robert remained motionless till
he heard tho windows being closed
and saw the patches on the path
disappear as the lights were switch
ed off; then in a moment he re
gained his room. He heard tho
others come un the stairs and sep- j
a rate with mutual wishes for good
repose, then quietude settled down
over the big house.
(Continued on Next Page)