Idaho Springs siftings., August 09, 1902, TOURIST EDITION, Image 15

About Idaho Springs siftings. (Idaho Springs, Colo.) 1900-1905

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A WARRIOR BOLD.
By ST. GEORGE RATHBORNE,
► >♦*
Author of “Little Miss Millions,” * f The Spider's Web,” “Miss 4?
Caprice,” “Dr. Jack's Widow,” Etc., Etc.
[Copyright. 1901. by Street and Smith. New York.]
CHAPTER Y.
I Th« Game Grows Warmer.
lOut of fi\t> frying pan into the fire.
[Charlie h.vt just taken leave of the
[ofessor’s wife, and had not made
lo turns from the little parlor ere
I ran directly up against the enemy.
■There stood the professor, glaring
I him like a wild beast.
■‘Will you again deny the truth, vil-
In?” he said, endeavoring to calm
Inself lest he lose his voice.
Charlie surveyed him with amuse-
Bnt
■‘Yes; this time, I confess, it was
Bir charming wife whom I have just
It. Do you know that two women,
Lr wife and her cousin, Hildegarde,
le played a very neat little game
l)n you?”
■What? She and Hildegarde—upon
I? Pray, with what object?”
■To arouse your jealousy; to make
■ realize how dear to your heart
m same wife is; to take you out of
&r musty books and induce you to
■ote a fair part of your time to the
■nan who has given up her life to
Ihe professor seemed stunned. “Man,
I this be true?” he gasped.
■As heaven itself. She is in yonder,
land learn for yourself. You will
Rive a warm welcome. Forgive as
I wish to be forgiven, professor.”
Kir, a thousand pardons. I shall
R your kind advice. Our duel, then,
Iff. Oh, what an ass I have been:”
Ind Charlie quite agreed with him.
Bo ends the scene in the drama. Now
■another which may not have quite
Rleasant a finis,” muttered Stuart.
R;ain he bore down upon the func-
Rary who kept watch and ward
R the books. When he had cor-
Rd the clerk he made his request
Rwn, and a messenger was sent to
Rthe countess and request her pres-
I in a nearby bijou parlor.
Rnutes passed. Still no one came
Rmmon him.
Rred of waiting he walked direct
■> the door of the little parlor and
■led inside.
■voluntarily a groan welled up
H his heart. He had entered this
Hi to meet the countess, that
Hmer of men. who played with
Hissadors and princes as though
were pawns upon a chessboard,
Riow he had found —Arline Brand!
she stood before him, more
than even his ardent recol-
had painted her. a smile of
Rmc dimpling her cheeks, the
eyes glowing with pleasure.
it wa- Arline Brand,
gods! if she and the countess
[■indeed one, he could readly com-
how men were ready to give
and fortune for the hope of
and favor.
a minute they stood thus,
busy with a train of
Hht.
was the first to recover.
■ dropped the curtains and ad-
toward him. “Ah! you have
■ Mr. Stuart,” she said.
took her hand and pressed it.
was returning it seemed,
I promised, you know; and.
I daresay I have legions of
H, ' X t least my word is as good as
Pray, be seated,” offering
■ was quite himself now', and that
■ a wide-awake, ingenious young
to meet and wrestle with
as they arose.
opposite to her he sat down,
at least, a rare pleasure to
near her in this confidential
H The delicate, violet odor that
her rustling garments was
H. breath of spring, and the
of her presence almost in-
him.
R have been wondering what as-
chain of circumstances
a girl like me into such a
place as that underground
turning toward the door
glance that did not escape the
Charlie Stuart.
Hu, yes, to some extent; but it
|H>t alone the desire to hear your
slory that brought me here.
of warnings from the baron.”
but by no telltale pal
■H start did she betray the fact
knew to whom he referred by
other reason could influence
asked, a little eagerly.
natural desire to meet you
HI That wasn't wrong—you don't
■ me, do you?”
I should not—you have al-
so good a friend; but if
with me is to bring dis-
BH>r even danger to you, it might
if you forgot me.”
He detected a plaintive little note In
this, and his chivalrous spirit was up
in arms at once.
“I am not in the habit of deserting
any one who is my friend because, per
haps, it may mean trouble or even
danger to me to continue my acquain
tance.”
She seemed deeply affected by his
words.
“ You overwhelm me with kindness,
Mr. Stuart.”
"Nonsense. The favor is just the
other way. It is a rare pleasure for
me to serve you.”
"And yet I can hardly refuse, for,
Heaven knows, I am in great trouble,
and need a friend, if ever a young
woman did.”
"Compose yourself, I beg; and be
gin, please.”
Charlie believed he was about to
hear some news of more than ordin
ary importance. In imagination he
could picture the remarkable young
widow who created such a furore all
over Europe. She might resemble Ar
line in many ways, but surely such
a charmer of men could not possibly
assume the air of innocence which this
young woman carried with her.
At the same time he felt impelled to
relate the adventure he had experienced
with the professor, and even meption
that he had been solemnly warned by
the baron.
When she heard that Peterhoff be
lieved her to be the celebrated adven
turess, she hung her head.
Charlie was overcome with confu
sion.
"I have distressed you; and yet I
beg you to believe I meant it all kind
ly. It was a silly thing for Peterhoff
to do, but even the shrewdest of men
of his stamp make absurd blunders
sometimes. His last famous one cost
Russia her Czar. Remember, I never
for once took any stock in his ridicu
lous idea. It was all a mistake.”
Then the maid looked up.
Her eyes were sparkling with real
tears, but Charlte’s haste to assure her
of his positive belief in her innocence
of the charge had brought a smile to
her face.
"It is dreadful, even to be taken for
such a notorious woman, don't you
think? But perhaps I should look at
it reasonably, and believe the baron
has made an excusable blunder. Real
ly, some of the garcons here in the ho
tel have addressed me as countess, and
I have been puzzled to account for
it until now, so we must look alike—
I a demure little English lassie, and
she a clever, designing Russian dip
lomat.”
Charlie nodded, eagerly.
What she said seemed so very rea
sonable, and she took it much better
than he expected.
But he could easily discover that
Arline was not wholly at her ease.
Frequently she cast quick glances in
the direction of the door.
This fact had come to his attention
some time back; but Charlie did not
find the least reason to suspect that
the baron had aught to do with it.
She seemed to hesitate, perhaps
hardly knowing just how to begin her
story.
“Allow’ me to remark, in the begin
ning,” said Charlie, "that, while I am
ready and anxious to serve you, and
stand ready to do all that may become
a man—if there is any reason why you
should wish to keep these things se
cret, I will .try to help you, even while
groping in complete ignorance.”
"Oh, no,” she answered quickly; "it
is not that. You are entitled to the
fullest confidence. I was only endeav
oring to collect my thoughts so that
I might know just how to begin. And,
besides, I have a natural feeling of
shame, because the person who has,
I sadly fear, been plotting in secret
against me, is one who should be my
best friend upon earth —my father!”
Young though she w r as, this beauti
ful girl had known what it was to sup
with poverty, to be left alone and
friendless in the world and to meet
with the most unexpected and glorious
fortune.
Her story, even when briefly told,
w r as a series of dramatic surprises, such
as are well fitted for the stage, yet
occur so seldom in real life.
She barely mentioned her earlier
years, save to tell how her father, a
sea captain, had been lost as it was
believed, at sea; and w r ith her mother
she had fought the grim wolf in Don
don, sewing, as such people of refine
ment reduced to poverty must do in
order to earn bread.
Then came her mother’s death, fol
lowed by her bitter fight against the
world, and especially the persecution
of a dashing gentleman, who seemed
determined that she should marry him,
no matter If dislike and disgust took
the part of love in her breast.
Then the wonderful freak of fortune
that brought Arline In contact with
an eccentric old aunt who was exceed
ingly wealthy.
It was the old story—Arline’s mother
had married beneath her, and from
that hour had been as dead to her
relatives; but when a kind Provi
dence threw the forlorn young girl un
der the high-stepping carriage horses
oi the dowager Lady Wallis, and she
later on discovered that this lovely
creature was her own flesh and blood,
a sudden love for the girl sprang up
in her withered old heart, which re
sulted in her adopting this niece as
her sole heiress.
Two years later Arline was bereft
of her eccentric, but kind relative, and
found herself once more alone in the
world, this time possessed of a most
bountiful fortune.
Then it was, with the abruptness of
a cannon shot, Captain Brand ap
peared upon the scene.
He had a thrilling story to tell of
his vessel’s foundering in a gale off
the African coast, his narrow escape
from drowning, of being cast ashore,
found by wandering Arabs, taken into
captivity, sold some years later to a
tribe of the Great Sahara, so that he
finally drifted to Dahomey where,
through the assistance of the faithful
woman he had been forced to marry,
he eventually made a bold and success
ful escape, though his companion gave
up her life in throwing herself in
front of a spear that was meant for
him.
Arline accepted it all as gospel truth,
and would have at the time believed
even a much more miraculous series of
adventures could such have been by
any means invented by this modern
Munchausen.
This was before she knew Captain
Brand so well.
She spent money with a liberal hand.
He was enabled to indulge his love
for fine clothes to its full bent. He
smoked the finest cigars, drank the
most expensive liquors, and she feared!
he frequently indulged in gaming.
Thus a year went by.
Captain Brand had ceased to beg for
money. He demanded it as his right,
and in sums so large that Arline was
growing alarmed.
He had tried to Influence her to
make her will leaving all her wealth
to him; something might happen to
her, though Heaven forbid, and she
would not like to think of the great
property going to strangers while her
poor papa was left unprovided for.
Arline refused to do as he requested,
something within warning her against
it.
Some time after the dreadful sus
picion had flashed into her brain that
Captain Brand was having a will
forged to suit his ideas governing the
case.
Even then she had not realized what
this might portend. How should an
innocent trusting young girl desirous
of bestowing all reasonable benefits
upon the man she had come to believe
was her father —how should she sus
pect that this ungrateful man could
conspire with unprincipled confeder
ates to actually take her life, yet by
such means as would make it seem a
cruel accident?
While in Antwerp he had professed a
keen desire to visit the dungeons of the
Steen, and yet always made it appear
as though she were the one most
interested in the abode of ghostly
memories.
An expedition was accordingly
planned.
Arline never could tell just how it
came about. She remembered Captain
Brand’s enthusiasm in leading her
deeper into the recesses, and how he
suddenly disappeared while she was
examining some object of interest;
how she waited for him to reappear,
until, growing alarmed by the dimin
ishing size of her candle, she had en
deavored to find her way back to the
party; how she tripped and fell, losing
her light. Then she cried out in terror
as the awful darkness closed around
her, but no answer came.
Then she realized that the others had
gone; that this cruel-hearted man she
called father, had deserted her, pre
tending to believe, no doubt, that she
had gone above with a portion of the
party upon whom the horrors of the
dungeon soon palled.
He could also take it for granted
she had gone away with her new-found
friends, and not show any alarm for
hours.
It was a cleverly concocted and dia
bolical scheme, which had for its ulti
mate outcome the dethronement of
her reason.
Doubtless Captain Brand had ar
ranged it so that in such a case he
would be appointed the natural pro
tector and guardian of his afflicted
child, and thus, of course, have the
handling of her fortune.
Charlie was aghast.
He had never heard so terrible a
thing in all his life. He almost
doubted his senses.
“I have made up my mind regarding
one thing, Miss Brand,” he said, posi
tively, ‘‘which is to the effect that I
do not believe this man to be your
father!”
(To Be Continued.)
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