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»**!* plaindealer, McHENBT, I The Blind Man's Eyes &&•-•-- - . . - --- - i - -~~--1--HE % jBLflP *" ' ' '* •!***$& s *.? t ^1:Y .. . -, &.•' -t. . . • ' . . \ * Nit.1: • r^7 T(. . *•••'. :,->•• f 1 !i'.' •'*"":"!'" to'. CHAPTWI XVt-«ontli.ued. _ •- M_ M 5 ... "By whoever ft Is that ha* been mi- WILLIAM MAC HAUG Eaton knelt on one knee behind his table; now he was wildly, exultantly #rclted; his blood leaped hotly to his hand pointing his pfstol; he panted, Almost audibly, for breath, but though Ills pulse throbbed through his head tpo. his mind was clear and cool as •be reckoned his situation and his Chances. , He had crossed the Pacific, the continent, fie had schemed and ffcked verythlng with the mere hope «T getting Into this room to discover evidence with which to demand from the world righting of the wrong whlth had driven him as a fugitive for fl've years; and here he found the man who was the cause of It all, before him In the same room a few paces >*way In the dark! V For It was Impossible that this was uet that man; and Eaton knew now that this was he who must have been behind and arranging and- directing • the attacks upon him. Eaton had not only seen him and heard his voice, but be had felt his grasp; that sudden, instinctive crouch before a; charge, and the savage lunge and tackle were the Instant, natural acts of an old linesman on a championship team In the game of football as It was played twenty years before. That lift of the opponent ofT his feet and the heavy lunge hurling him back to fall on his bead was what one man--In the rougher, more cruel days of the college game--had been famous for. On the football field that throw sufficed to knock a helmeted opponent unconscious ; here it was meant, beyond doubt, to do more. Cpon so much, at least, Eaton's mind at once was clear; here was his enemy whom he must destroy If he himself were not first destroyed. Other thoughts, recasting of other relations altered or overturned In their bearing by the discovery of this man here--everything else conld and must wait upon the mighty demand of that moment upon1 Eaton to destroy this enemy now or be himself destroyed. Eaton shook In his passion; yet coolly he now realized that his left \ shoulder, which had taken the shock of his fall, was numb. He shifted his pistol over to cover a vague form Which had seemed to move; but. If it had stirred, it was still again now. Baton strained to listen. It seemed certain that the noise of the shot, If not the sound of the Struggle which preceded it, must have ' raised an alarm. Basil Santoine, as Eaton knew, slept above; a nurse must be waiting on duty somewhere Hear. Eaton had seen the row of buttons which the blind man had within arm's length with which he must be able to summon every servant In the house. So It could not last much -longer now--this deadlock In the dark. \And one of the two, at least, seemed to have recognized that. Eaton had moved, warily and carefully, but he had moved; a revolver flashed before him. Instantly and Without consciousness that his finger pulled the trigger, Eaton's pistol flashed back. In front of Jiim. the (feme flashed again, and another spurt Of fire spat at one side. Eaton fired back at this--he was prostrate on the floor now, and whether he had been hit or not he did not yet know, or whether * the blood flowing down his face was only from a splinter sprayed from the^jable behind which he Lad hid. He fired •gain, holding his pistol far out to one side to confuse the aim of the others; he thought that they too were doing the same and allowed for it In his aim. He puUed his trigger a ninth time-- he had oot counted his shots, but he knew he had had seven cartridges In the magazine and one in the barrel-- and the pistol clicked without discharging. He rolled over farther away from the spot where he had last llred and pulled an extra clip of cartridges from his pocket. 'The blood was flowing "aot over his fece. He made no effort to staunch tt or even to feel with his fingers to And exactly where or how badly be had been hit He Jerked the empty cartridge clip from his pistol butt and anapped In the other. He swept his aleeve over his face to clear the blood • from his brows and eyes and stared .through the dark with pistol at arm's length loaded , and ready. Blood spurted over his face again; another aweep of his sleeve cleared It; and he moved his pistol-point back and forth in the dark. Surely now the sound of firing in that room must have reached the man in the room above; surely he must be summoning his servants. Eaton listened; there was still no sound from the rest of the house. But overhead now, he heard an almost Imperceptible pattering--the sound of,a •Barefooted man crossing the floor; and he knew that the blind man In the bedroom above was getting up. CHAPTER XVII EDWIN BALMEtt might enter that room below. And those articles-- Santolne pressed all the bells again and then got up. He had heard absolutely no sound outside, as must be made by anyone escaping from the room below; but the battle seemed over. One side must have destroyed the other. The blind man stood barefooted on the floor, his hands clasping In one of the bitterest moments of his rebellion against, and defiance of, his helplessness of blindness. Below him--as he believed--his servants had been sacrificing life for him; there In that room he held In trust that which affected the security, the faith, the honor of others; his guarding that trust Involved his honor no less. And particularly, now, he knew he was bound, at whatever cost, to act; for he did not doubt n6w but that his half-prisoned giiest. whom Santolne had not sufficiently guarded,' was at the bottom of the attacki The blind man believed, therefore, that It was because of his own retention here of Eaton Eaton's. Pistol Flashed Back. r pi7. Pj;: Under Cover of Darkness. 'Basil Santolne was oversensitive to sound, as are most of the blind; in the world of darkness in which* he lived, sounds were by far the most significant--and almost the only means he had of telling what went on around him; he passed his life listening for or determining the nature of Sounds. So the struggle which ended in Eaton s crash to the floor would have waked him without the pistolshots Immediately following. That roused him wide-awake Immediately and brought him sitting up In bed. forgetful of his own condition. His hand went at once to the bellboard, and he rang at the same time for^ the nurse outride his door and for* the steward. Santolne did not consider the possibility of robbery of plate or jewelry Jong enough to havt been said to consider It at all; what he felt was that the threat which had been hanging vaguely over himself ever since Warjden's murder was being fulfilled. But It was not Santolne hLmself that was Jbelng attacked; it was.something Sail •tolne possessed. Theie was only one •urt of valuable article for which one that the attack had been made, his servants had been killed, the private secrets of his associates were in danger. Undoubtedly there Av'a^- danger below; but that was why! he did not call again at the other door for some one else to run aVisk for him. He put his hand on the rail and started to descend the stairs. He was almost steady In step and he had firm grasp on the rail; he noticed that now to wonder at It. When he had -aroused at the sound of firing, his dindness. as always when something was happening about him. jvas obtruded upon him. He felt helpless because he was blind, not because he had been injured. He had forgotten entirely that for almost two weeks he had not stirred from bed; he had risen and stood and walked, without staggering, to the door and to the top of the stairs before, now. he remembered. So what he already had done showed him that he had merely again to put his Injury from bis mind and he could go on. He went down the stairs almost steadily^ The Dlind count stairs, and he had gone down twenty-one--and realized fully his futility; but now he would not retreat or merely call for help. "Who Is here?" he asked distinctly. "Is anyone here? Who te here?" No one answered. And now Santolne knew by the sense which let him feel whether It was night or day. that the room was really dark--dark for others as well as for himself; the lights were not burning. So an exaltation, a sense of physical capability, came to Santolne; In the dark he was as fit, as capable as any other man. He stepped down on the floor, and In his uncertainty as to the„ position of the furniture, felt along the wall. There were bookcases there, but he felt and passed along them swiftly, until he came to the case which concealed the safe at the left side of the-doors. The books were gone from that case; his bare toes struck against them where they had been thrown down on the floor. Tne blind man. his pulse beating tnmultuously, put his hand through the case and fe|f the panel behind. That was slid back, exposing the safe; and the door of the safe stood open. Santoine's hands felt within the safe swiftly. The safe was empty. He recoiled from it. choking back an ejaculation. The entry to this room had been made for the purpose which he supposed; and the thieves must have succeeded in their errand. The blind man. in his uselessness for pursuit, could delay calling others to act for him no longer. He started toward the bell, when some scrape on the floor--not of the sort to be accounted for by an object moved by the wind--sounded behind him. Santolne swung toward the sound and stood listening again; and then, groping with his hands stretched out before him, he left the wall and stepped toward the center of the room. He took two steps--three, four--with no result; then his foot trod Into some fluid, thick and sticky and not cold. Santolne stooped and put a fingertip Into the fluid and brought It near his nose. It was what he supposed must be--blood. He could hear now someone . breathing--more than one person. From the house, still shut off by Ita^ double, sound-proof doors he could hear nothing; but someone outside the house was hurrying up to the open window at the south end of the room. That one came to, or Just fturtde the window, parting the curtains. He was breathing hard from exertion or from exci "Who Is It?" Santolne challenged clearly. "Basil!" Blatchford's voice exclaimed his recognition In amazement. "Basil; that Is you 1 What are you doing down here?" Blatchford started forward. "What brought you here?" Santolne demanded Instead of reply. "You were running outside; why? What was out there? What did you see?" "See? I didn't see anything--except the window here open when I came up. But I heard shots, Basil. What has happened here?" Santolne felt again the stickiness at his feet. "Three or four persons fought In this room, Wallace. Some-- or one was hurt. There's blood on the floor. There are two here I can hear breathing; I suppose they're hurt. Probably the rest are gone. Get help I think those who aren't hurt are gone. They must be gone. But--get help first, Wallace." And leave you here?" Blatchford rejoined. He had not halted again; the blind man heard his cousin still moving along the wall. The electric switch clicked, and Santolne knew that the room was flooded with light. Santolne straightened, stralnefd, turning his head a little better to listen. With the flashing on of the light, he had heard the sharp, involuntary start of Blatchford as he saw the room; and, besides ~ that, Santolne heard movement now elsewhere In the room. Then the blind man heard his friend's cry. "Good God!" "What is it?" Santolne cried. "Good God I Basil!" "Who Is It, Wallace?" the blind man knew now that his friend's Incoherence came from recognition of someone, not alone from some sight of horror. "Basil! It Is--it must be--I know him! It Is--" A shot rtiared In front of Santolne. The blind man, starting back at the shock of It, drew In the powder-gas with his breath; but the bullet was not for him. Instead, he heard his friend scream and choke and half call, half cough. "Wallace!" Santoine cried out; but his voice was lost In the roar of another shot. This was not fired by the same one who had just fired; at least. It was not from the same part of the room; and Instantly, from mother side, a third shot came. Then. In the midst of rush and confusion, another shot roared; the light was out again; then all was gone; the nolsi was outside; the room was still except for a cough and choke as Blatchford-- somewhere on the floor In front of the blind man--tried agnln to speak. Basil Santolne, groping with his hands, found him. He was still conscious. Santoine knew * that he was trying his best to speak, to say just one word- -a name--to tell whom he had seen and who had shot him; but he could not. Santoine put his hand over a hand of his cousin. Blatchford's fingers closed tightly on Santoine's; they did not relax but now remained closed, though without strength. The blind man bowed and then lifted his head. His friend was dead, and others were rushing Into the room--the -butler, one of the chauffeurs, Avery, more menservants; the light was on again, and amid the tumult and alarms of the discoveries shown by the light, some rushed to the windows to the south In pursuit of those who had escaped from the room. Avery and one or two others ^rushed up to Santolne; now the blind man heard, above their cries and alarms, the voice of his daughter. She was beside him, where he knelt next the body of Blatchford, and she put back others who crowded about. "Father! What has happened? Why are you here? Oh, Father, Cousin Wallace!" "He Is dead," Santolne said. "They shot him! They were three, at least. One was not with the others. They fired at each other I believe, after one shot him." Santoine's hand was still In Blatchford's. "I heard them below." He told shortly how he had gone down, how Blatchford had entered and been shot. The blind man, still kneeling, heard the ordering and ot-gnnlztng of others for the pursuit; n~w women servants from the other part of the house were taking charge of affairs in the room. There had been no signal heard. Santolne was told, upon any of the bells which he had tried to ring from his room. Eaton' was the only person from the house who was missing. "They came, at least some of them came"--Santoine had risen, fighting down his grief over his cousin's death --"for what was in your safe, Harriet." i "I know j I saw it open." "What la goner' Santolne de-. manded. He heard her picking np the contents of the safe from the floor and carrying them to the table and examining them. ,fWhy--nearly all the formal papers seem to be gone; lists and agreements relating to a dozen different things." "None of thi correspondence?" "No; that all seems to be here." Santolne was breathing quickly; the trust for which he had been ready to die--for which Blatchford lisd died-- seemed safe. "We don't know whether he got It. then, or uot!" It was Avery's voice which broke In upqo him; Santoine It has following him. I don't attempt to explain who they were, Mr. Santolne; for I don't know. But--whoever they were--'P doing this, he laid himself open to attack by them. They were watching--saw him enter here. They attacked him here. Wallace switched on the light and recognized him; so he shot Wallace and. ran with whatever he could grab up of the contents of the safe, hoping that by luck he'd get what he was after." "It Isn't So--it Isn't so!" Harriet denied. Her father checked her; he stood an instant thoughtful. "Who Is directing the pursuit, Donald?" Avery went out at once. "Now, Harriet," he commanded. She understood that her father would not move till l£he had seen the room for him. "There was some sort of a struggle near my safe," she said. "Chairs-- everything there is knocked about."* "Yes." "There Is also blood there--a big spot of it on the floor." "I found that," said Santolne. "There are bullet marks everywhere-- above the mantel, all about." "How was the safe opened?" ""The combination has been cut completely away; .there is an--an Instrument connected with the electriclight fixture which seems to have done the cutting. There is a hand-drill, too--I think it is a hand-drill. The Inner door has been drilled through, and the catches drawn bad:." "Who Is this?" The valet, who had been sent tb Baton's room, had returned with his report. "Mr. Eaton went from his room fully dressed, sir," he said to Santoine, "except for his shoes. .1 found all his shoes in his room." - , During the report the blind man felt his daughter's grasp on his arm become tense and relax and tighten again. Then, as though she realized she was adding to his comprehension of what she had already betrayed, she suddenly took her hand from her father's arm. Santolne let the servants, at his daughter's direction, help him to his room. His daughter stood beside him while the nurse washed the blood-splotches from his hands bM feet. "Father?" she questioned. "Yes." "You don't agree with Donald, do you?--that Mr. Eaton went to the study to--to get something, and that whoever has been following him found him there and--and Interrupted him ahd he killed Cousin Wallace?" Santolne was silent an Instant "That seems the correct explanation, Harriet," he evaded. "It does not fully explain; but It seehis correct as far as It goes. If Donald asks you what my orlnlon is, tell "•im It is that." He felt his daughter shrink away from him. The blind man made no move to draw her back to him ; he lay perfectly still; his head rested flat upon the pillows; his hands were-clasped tightly together above the coverlet. He had accused Himself, In the room below, because, by the manner he had chosen to treat Eaton, he had slain t^ie man he loved best and had forced a friendship with Eaton on his daughter which, he saw, had gone further than TOTSLOCKED IN .CLOSET 43 HOURS Youngsters Discovered Exhausted and Asleep in Apartment ,r Where They Played. 8* heard his daughmerely listened. "He? Vhor ter's challenge. "Why. Eaton. It Is plain enough what happened .here, Isn't" It?" Avery answered. "He <.ame here to this room for what he was after--for what he has been after from the first whatever that may have been! He came prepared to< force the safe and get It! But he was surprised--" "By whom!" tb* Mind man aiked. At Shot Roared in Front of 8antoin* mere friendship; It had gone, he knew now, even to the Irretrievable between man und woman--had brought her, that is, to the state where, no matter what Eaton was or did. she must suffer with him! But Santolne was not accusing himself now; he was feeling only the fulfillment of that .threat against those who had trusted him with their secrets, which he had felt vaguely after the murder of Gabriel Warden and, more plainly with the events of each succeeding day, ever since. For that threat. Just now, had culmln!«ted In his presence In purposeful, violent action; but Santoine in his blindness had been unable--and was still untible--to tell what thet action meant. ' . •» (TO BBS CONTINUED.) Inspiration of Talking Machine. Claiming the human throat , as the Inspiration of his Invention, n Colorado man has Introduced a new type of talking machine. The exterior Is similar to others of the cabinet form, but the Interior contains numerous departures from the usual make of Instruments. The essential part of the Innovation, described and Illustrated In the Popular Mechanics Magazine, Is a metal appliance fashioned after the throat and. inclosed In the tpex of a wooden horn of heavy construction. The tone Is also Increased by means of various ottwr Sound-absorbittg «ad magnifying arrangements.. Index to Character. Never does a man portray his own character more vividly than in his manner of portraying another.--Ilicb tar. RESCUE DUE TO HUNCH i • - Warren, Ohio.--A little wooden door leading from an unoccupied room cm the second floor of a downtown business block to a tiny cubby hole of a back-stairs closet swung open the other day and furnished an unexpected solution to a mystery that began when three small children disappeared two days before. The children, for whom more than 200 searchers had been dragging the Mahoning river, combing by-ways and searching woods and fields near Warren, were found asleep in the closet. They had been there for 43 hours, alone in the dark, and without food or water. They had been made prisoners when, selecting the closet as a likely spot to play, they entered and shut the door behind them. Its spring lock snapped shot and they were helpless. /• Gets Lucky Inspiration; Their rescue was the result of a lucky inspiration that came to M. Y. Buzard, manager of a Warren freight service bureau, and president of the ? Searchers Find Children in a Closet. Warren Lions club. Mr. Buzard was standing on Main street, discussing the mysterious disappearance of the children with another citizen. IJe was In front of the three-story brick bull^ Ing of the city market house. Suddenly it occurred to him that the upper floors of the building were nnoccupled and tenantiess. "Why not take a look around upstairs?" he suggested. The two men climbed the stairs and began looking through the empty rooms. They came to the door to the little closet, opened It and found tha youngsters. Exhausted and Grimy. The children are Margaret and John Williams, five and three, respectively, and Teresa Sandford, three. A physician was summoned at once tos give medical treatment to them. All were exhausted from M.eir long confinement, and little Teresa was the only one able to give any connected account of the accident that had Imprisoned them. All of the children were covered with grime from head to foot. The closet where they had been made prisoners, a tiny box of a place measuring approximately six by three feet, had not been swept for years, and Its walls and floior were coated with dust which adhered to their faces, bands and clothing. FAMILY ROW FATAL TO MAN Husband Sleeps in Garage to Spite His Young Wife; Gaa Kills Him. Duluth, Minn. -- Alphonse Pllsson was angry with his wife following a quarrel. He went to sleep In the garage of his home to spite her. The next morning Alphonse was found dead. He was a victim of monoxide gas, which was generated by an automobile engine he had left run* nlng. Bottle Floats 8,400 Miles. New York.--Seven hundred and fifty-three days after It had been thrown from an American steamer, a bottle containing a note -marked with Its starting point was found at Mlsool Island, near New Guinea. The bottle had traveled 8,400 miles. Crippled, Unlicensed Motorist Fined. Providence, R. I.--Having only one arm and refused a license to operate an automobile, Henry Barney, who has driven a car for two years, was arrested and fined $150, after his car struck a man. Followed Friend in Death. Cleveland.--Driving to the city to buy flowers for his friend's funeral, G. L. FItzsimmons was killed when his automobile was struck by a street car- Bull Wins Bloody Battle. Mexlcali, Lower Cal.--Francisco Rivera, matador, was seriously gored by a ball In a fight. Rivera, according to an old custom, tried to kill himself in the ring when he was defeated, btfl was rescued by attendants. Toronto Forbids "Human Fly" 8tunta. Toronto, Can.--Toronto will tolerate no "human fly" stunts, according to an order which has been Issued by police. There are too many chances of death in sucb a performance, J&e police decided. " 'V, t: B Pass. Sedan f-,'*860 I & o. b. flint; Mm. , The All-Year Car for Every Family Itwu^nhUsi Chevrolet Is leading In the great shift of pubUe demand to closed cars because this company has the world's largest facilities for manufacturing high-grade closed bodies and is therefore able to offer sedans, coupes and sedanettcs at prices within easy reach of the average American family. Six large body plants adjoining Chevrolet assembly plants enable us to make prompt deliveries of the much wanted closed cara. Aa soon as you realise that your transportation requirements demand the year 'round, all-weather closed ear. aee Chevrolet first and learn how fully we can meet your requirements at the lowest cost obtainable in a modern, high-grade closed automobile. Price* f.o.b. Flint, Mich. - \ J Two-P*m. Roadatar . . $51T flve-huw. Touring . . 525 Two-Pus. Utility Coupe MS Vour-Pua. Stdaautt* . MS s«4aa Commercial ihaaaia ! " Utility Expraa* Track Qkaari* 87S Light Delivery. lal Ch Dealers and Service Stations Everywhere Chevrolet Motor Company Dtvistom of General Motor* Corporation , Detroit, Mich. The Difficulty, "Does the doctor hold out any hope of your Uncle Dob's getting well?" asked an acquaintance. "Oh, yes!" replied Zeke Sawney of Straddle Ridge. "He says that In a month olr so Uncle Dob will be ready to whip his weight In wildcats? The dickens of It is, when he gets well whur are we going to get the wildcats?"-- Kansas City Star. Mailing Coina. • To send a small coin through the mail, use a narrow strip of adhesive plaster to fasten It to the paper. It will arrive at its destination safely^"* Designer Magazine. Overheard by W. M. Madge--"See that man? He's a phtt* nologist." Mame--"Heavens!11 What II lot of religions there are!" Tfeast Foam The favorita of fUtyy< The knowledge of how to make good bread gives a girl con* fidence in master* ing other baking and cooking. \ Send for free booklet **The Art of Baking Bread" Northwestern Yeast Co. 1730 North Ashland Ave. Chicago, I1L •Vflhtly Misquoted. "Mother!" ilessie rushed breathlessly Into the parlor, where mother was entertaining. "Mother! I learned such a pretty poem In school today." / "What Is It, dear?" asked toer mother, in spite of her embarragsWerft. "Well, It goes like this: 'Tna Lord Is my shepherd, I shall not want; He maketh me to lie down in green plaster--'" The rest was lost In the burst ef laughter that followed. Perils of Social Life. Customer--Seems to me that Is rather dull. ^fJarber--Mought be, sah. It was to' a pahpj las' n|ght, sah. -- Cornell Widow. If a man of great reserve has "mystery," it Isn't long before oqe It invented. What Is worth doing Is worth the trouble of asking someone to do. I Aluminum is easily and quickly cleaned and looks like new when you use SAPOLIO. The name SAPOLIO is on the package. Blue Band- Silver Wrapper. CLEAN SCOUR POUSH with Pots and Pans of aluminum, tin, copper, brass, agateware, are all easily kept sweet and clean by SAPOLIO. Large Cake- No Waste, ^^NOCH SAPOLIO His Interest. First Stude--Are you interested in Pater's essays? Second Ditto--Not so much as la pater's cuecks.--Boston Transcript. A boy can usually And plenty to set In the woods--such as it la. So It Goes. "Yes, we went to a party there were some artists' models. "Anybody shocked?" "Only the models." Economy Is the road to wealth** and it'a a hard road to travel. SHINQUA AMERICA'S HOME 3H0EP0LISH M. 9L Black • Tan • White • Ox-Blood > Brown SHMMA pr< * Odck aad ea»r to urn 6HINOLA HOME SET Makei Shining Eujr Cwiuine Brittle Duke dean* ern--J tha Ktia mi •pplie* «U peWl (Us. •ughljr. A fat Mine ShmmA preserves leather a» paint preserves ~ ShiM p e ksvy. Laab't Wesl Mis jort farlh* bawl. wih a lew Srnhw,