PAGE TWELVE. : : THE DAILY BRITISH WHIG, TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 1915. THE MASTER K id CHAPTER XXV. The Escape of Ruth. FTER his experience in. res cuing John Dorr from the! hands of the outraged priests | kd Of Bhala, Sir Donald 'Faver- sham prepared to start the new day. | He could sot well realize just what had happened in the twenty-four hours that had just. ended - It- needed .the | commonplace details of a merning's tollet to make things. seem actual. And what facts they were that changed his whole future! Ruth had promised to marry him! Faversham belonged to that great class of Englishmen who unite the virtues of careful training with an adaptability to circumstince which bas made Great Britain the colonizer of the world. He was as formal ih many ways as a clock. In otaers be could amaze the most impulsive and impressionable ad- wventurer. When he first met Ruth hé had had not the faintest notion of wooing ber. His admisation had been frank and | unreserved, but without any underly- fog depth of feeling. His volunteering to join John Dorr and Ruth in this wild search for the missing idol had been what he called a lark. It was only long association with her, the constant view of her pretty inno- cence and an occasional glimpse of ber profounder and womanly nature that had touched bis heart and wakened in him feelings that he had refrained from confessing to himself. Then came the moment when she had turned to him 'for help and he bad been the single person in the world who could save Joha Dorr. Sharp and brief as bad been the struggle In his own mind, it had brought him to an acknowledgment of the fact that she was the only woman he waated for his wife, On the very tick of ber hour of trou- ble he had ventured to ask his reward for service. She had promised, and now he, baro- net and retired officer of the British army, shook ike a boy at the thought of the happiness that awaited him. They met at breakfast, Dorr still showing the effects of his night's ad- ventures, Ruth bright eyed from want of sleep and Sir Donald alone present- ing the appearance of one who had be- gun the day aright after a sound night's rest. Their natural topic of conversation was of Dorr's attempt to capture the idol and Sir Donald's rescue of him. John could give little satisfaction to Ruth's minute inquiries, and the Bug: lishman confessed that he bimself, though much more familiar with the native ways and native temples, had not much notion of exactly how it had all come about nor how he had found Dorr and extricated him. "The only thing | gather from it all is this," he sald amiably. "You had better take my advice In this country and not try to perform any of your Western feats. India is a very old country, and they resent here anything that doesn't follow the good old lines." "I suppose 1 was very foolish," John confessed ruefully. "But when | saw that image right within reach | simply couldn't resist the temptation to grab it and try to escape." Sir Donald looked at Ruth meaning: iy. "I can't say that I'm a bit sorry, old chap," he told Dorr. "After all, as * you say, it's an fll wind that blows no one any good." Instantly Ruth caught his meaning, and her eyes fell. Yes, she had prom- ised, and this brave gentleman who bad risked his life for ber sake should not be without his reward. But--she stared miserably at her Plate until Jobn rallied her and swore that he would yet get the plans. "Aud here comes the fellow who will tell us what really did bappen," Sir but you certainly stirred op the priests, ! Dorr." "Well, what db they Intend to do?" inquired John. undisturbed, except that be did not understand a glance ex- ) changed by Ruth and Sir Donald. "It seems they bave started a kind of holy war against us" the baroupet answered grimly. "You desecrated their idols and tHiey"ve excited a lot of | the people against you and"-- "And what?" demanded John impa- tiently. With 2 meaning look toward Ruth, 8ir Donald faced Dorr. "This is not a place for Miss Gallon," be said formal TERETE She impulsively Turnsa to John. ly. , "The truth of the matter is, we are known to be stopping here and the mob will undoubtedly visit us shértly." "But the police!" Sir Donald looked very uncomforta- ble indeed. "My dear fellow, don't you realize that what you and 1 did last night was purely and simply indefensi- ble? We tried to rob a temple, to be frank about it." "1 tried to recover some papers be longing to. us," he protested. "We would bave a stiff time trying to prove that to the officials here" was the reply. "As a matter of fact. I can't afford to bring this up. I'm still practically an officer and 1 should bave a deuce of a time clearing my- self. You can't afford to call in the police because you're an American, and you broke British law, and } very much fear killed a British subject or two." "I see," Dorr assented thoughtfully. "But what sre we to do? "Precisely, precisely the question," sald Sir Donald. "You and 1 could slip away, but there is the young lady to consider." "And the " sald John doggedly. Sir Dona bed angrily. "i am considering the yvung lady in this matter." "And 1, as ber guardian, have to think of per best interests," was the retort. Faversham tugged at bis mustache in perplexity. Then he sald quietly, "I think Miss Gallon bas really put ber intereSts in my charge." "What--what do you mean?" stam- mered Dorr. At this moment there came from the street outside the sound of cries and yells and trampling feet. The two men looked at each other. With one accord they withdrew inside the ball way. That's the mob coming!" Sir Donald sald hoarsely. "Now for itI® - "We must save Ruth at all events!® "Certainly," sald Faversham coldly. "But 1 must plan quickly. Ah, here comes my faithful Achmet!" ~ The servant spoke rapidly in the EY "We shan't Interfere with Roth's getting away, shall we?" John re sponded ' There was a glimmer of admiration in Faversham's eyes as lie shook his bead. "No. Achmet will take ber his own way. We go an entirely different one ~if we escape the mob." He had hardly spoken when the out er gate swung inward and there was 8 wild crush of struggling bodies be- tween the high pillars. A stone.struck the flodf between the two Europeans. "Come with me" sald Fave..bam and drew Dorr around a cornér and then inside a small entry. Another entry giving -off this offered escape and they darted down it. An instant later they were in an empty courtyard. "I know where I am now," Faver- sham sald coolly and opened a gate in the opposite wall which led into a gnr- den. Five minutes later the two men were strolling along a quiet lane out of sight and sound of the mob. "They will destroy all our things," Dorr suggested. "No. The hotelkeeper and the -po- lice will see to it that they don't. All they wanted was you and me. Full hig to catch us, they will disperse." "But where shall we find. Ruth?" Joba went on eagerly. "Achmet will take her to a camp of beggars' outside thé eclty," he an- swered. "But how? She won't be safe with only a native" "Safer than with a regiment of sol diers," was the respomse. "I know where the place is. Let's go to it. 1 guarantee that we shall find Miss Gal- lon safe and sound. "| know Achmet of old. He is specially trustworthy because he is a Mohammedan and he doesn't respect idols any more than you and 1 do." They finally reached the camp up the bank of the river and Achmet sa- { laamed before them. "Wheré Is the maiden?' demanded Faversham. The servant rose and took the cover- ing off a large basket. Ruth smiled up at them, "l beard your voices" she sald, laughing. "Achmet thought I ought to get out right away, but 1 wanted to surprise you." "And that is the way you got out of the hotel?' demanded John. "Yes, Achmet tucked me into this basket and carried me right through all those terrible people." "What is to be done now?" John de manded presently. "I'll bave Achmet get our belong ings," said Faversham. "This gang here is his, he says. We can't do bet ter than stick with them for awhile. I believe they are going up into the hills anyway. So much the better for us. Bhala is no spot for you and me Just now." "But the idol and the plans!" protest. ed John. "We know where it is today. Tomorrow it may be a hundred miles away or hidden past our ever finding itr "That is true," said Sir Donald. "But the safety of Miss Gallon is paramount. I will do what 1 can. Possibly I'll be able to do more than you think." With this Dorr bad to be content. but later when he and Ruth were alone he brought the subject up again. To his amazement, Ruth seemed lit tle interested and her manner was an odd mixture of reserve and timidity. Gone was the old frankness and in- timacy. > At last John sald quietly, "I hope you don't think 1 was wholly careless of your safety last night. My only ob- Ject was to get back your papers." And Ruth, with Sir Donald's flushed face before her eyes and his voice in her ears, remembered her promise and was silent. 3 CHAPTER XXVL Wilkerson Again on the Trail. had not been dificult for Harry Wilkerson 'and Mrs. Darnell to trace Faversham and his party from the time they landed to their arrival in Bbala. But the {dol itself, the object of their vernacular, and 8ir Donald answered | "Bring Miss Galion here quickly." be JH it ii tg on his own hook. [le was once more eompletely under the woman's domination. and he dreamed of finding the precious papers bimselt and so put- ing Wilkerson out of ronning. Strangely enough, the man, weakly vicious as he was, was possessed by #n honest and whole souled love for Jean She 'kpew this, and at times her tawny eyes rested on him with unmis- takable affection, but she knew per- fectly well that she would choose Wilkerson provided he made good by gaining the master key and uncover- ing the wealth of the great mother lode. It was Drake who brought the news of the riot in the temple and the out- come of Dorr's attempt to steal the idol. "He was disguised and thought he could get away with it," he went on. "But the priests were too quick for him." Wilkerson's shifty eyes narrowed. "I'll get that idol!" he boasted. "l forgot to tell you that the idol isn't there any longer," Drake con- tinued. "From what I could learn the temple wasn't considered a safe place for it, and it's disappeared." "Where to?" demanded Wilkerson. "That 1 couldn't find out. It was rather risky asking too much anyway, "The idol isn't there any longer," Drake continued. but a white man who lives with the natives hinted that they had taken it up the river into the hills." With this slight clew both Drake and Wilkerson tolled unweariedly un- til they had established the fact that the idol had indeed been sent into an- other part of the country for safe keep- ing. Then they prepared to follow, have ing found out that Dorr and Faver sham had vanished and were suppos- ed also to bave gone hillward Mrs. Darnell most unwillingly con. sented to stay behind, but yielded when Drake set before her the difi- culties and perils of the road they must take. Both men promised to be'gone only so-long as would be needful to recover the idol, and to both separately she made it plain that she bad gone as far as she would in helping them. "The two men found a couple of half- bloods to their liking and by judicious expenditure of money managed to get together a small band to accompany them into the hills, It was impressed upon them that the trip was dangerous and that the hill- men frequently dropped what small pretense they offered of peaceableness and warred on friend and foe alike, learned more specifically the route taken by the priests in charge of the ol. sidct EYaiafpacts il fi I: : Is j i i i ; i i 8 fi i i § ! i : it if ] : j i i 8 fi LER i : i a See The Motoin Pictures-of This Story At The IDEAL THEATRE, on Wednesdays and [Thursdays Ing a large extra sum in compensa. don for his risks and intimated with extreme plainness that in case his ex. orbitant blackmail! was not. paid he would not only not accompany them, Sut put it out of their power to go alone. Fer an hour Wilkerson bargained and haggled, but all to no purpose. At last he gave in and practically strip- Jed himself of coin, which the other pocketed without a thank you. The three of them started forth un- der a glimmering moon toward the priests' camp, a wile or so away by a spring. Half an hour's steady tramping brought them within eyeshot of the place, and Wilkerson went ahead to spy out the Jay of things. When he came back he roughly told Drake, in reply to his question, that the idol must be in one of the pack sacks lying about. "It's a case of sneak up and get a sack each of us and then look for the idol in it," he said. "Al right!" Drake growled. "But it's risky business. In case of a muss where'll we. meet again?" "At our own camp," Wilkerson whis- pered and led the way, When they came close to the spot where the natives were asleep the three of them paused and listened. Presently Wilkerson gave a silent signal that no one was awake, and they crept up among. the baggage. The first two sacks ylelded nothing and Wilkerson was redching out for one that seemed bulkier than the rest when their guide coughed and instant. ly a couple of the priests wakened. Seeing strangers, they gave an alarm, and one, apparently a soldier, fired off an ancient musket so close to Drake that he incontinently dropped his bur den and fled. He heard Wilkerson cursing behind him, a couple of more shots and then took to his heels in good earnest as he beard rapid footsteps. A moment later Wilkerson had caught up to him, panting and drag- ging the sack, which he had refused to surrender. - Between them they carried it pn fur- ther and then rested in a slight hollow till their guide came up. "If the idol isn't in this sack," Wil kerson said with a snarl, "I'll go back and shoot up the whole outfit and get it" When. the thongs were cut and the great bag opened the first object that met their eyes was the image they sought, glimmering in the half Nght. The moment be saw it and knew that his quest was ended Wilkerson flung the rest ofthe stuff away and boldly got to his feet. "Now for our own camp. We'll just see where those plans are," he growled. Drake and the guide bot®protested in vain Safely away from pursuit, they lit a light and examined thelr Yind. "It's the same one," kerson sald triumphantly. "Made of metal, too," sald Drake slowly. "Now, where are the plans?" "Insidé' of it!" announced his com- panion, beating on the idol with his knuckles. "Now. to find out the open- ing." ; It did not take long for him to dis- cover the movable eye, and when he bad pulled that out he thrust his fin- ger in and withdrew it with a folded paper. "Safe and sound," he exulted, drop- ping the image to the ground, where 3 i i |i i i § I i i | i | | i fi 4 gif ; i il i ji Bs fH | ! E i g i i | F i : q ¥ \ on account of them? They're mined All that gold is mine! Mine! Hine, I tell you!" This last he almost shouted into the still air, and Drake drew back. The man was mad, "At least let them have thelr idol™® he muttered, picking it up. Wilkerson snatched it away Hom him with a gesture at. once childish and murderous. "I think I'll keep this for & me: mento," he cried, careless of wha might hear him. ) He stood up, the image In his grasp, and before the sound of his blasphemy "Give you a copy!" he snarled. Drake and the guide crept away in sl lent horror. And not for distant Faversham sat vigilant by the side of his camp watch. ing over the sleep of Ruth Gallon. Possibly it was an echo of Wilken son's savage cry of triumph that stise red her in her dreams. She sighed and reached out one slen- der hand. It touched that of John Dorr and rested there as If she had found safety. Sir Donald saw that movement, and his eyes burned with jealousy. But he did not move. keeping his ears open for the slightest 'sonud, Lis eyes for the faintest shadow between hig charges and the horizon. (To Be Continued Next Tuesday.) Animal Actors. The impression is created by an occas sional moving picture of wild animal life that the beasts, in order to force them into poses for the camera, are | cruelly treated. Nothing, however, it Is suid, is further from the truth. Careful investigation has sbown that force Is seldom employed. and wherever it has been used the film resulting has been unsatisfactory. Mr. Ernest A. Dench, a London naturalist, who bas made an extensive investigation of this phase of the movie industry, declares that the' dumb actors are given every considera- tion. The thrills experienced by the spectators are the resuit, In a majority of instances, of the very innocent ex- pedient of placing a piece of meat at a strategic point. The animal leaps for it, and the clnematograph records every motion of the leap. The spectator, of course, sees nothing of the meat and concludes that cruelty alone could pro- duce the picture thrown on the screen. "The animals," he concludes, "really have a much easier time than those that appear in trick acts on' the stage" ~Detroit Free Press. Round About Dorking. : The neighborhood of Dorking, where George Meredith lived, has many lter- ary associations independent of its connection with that famous novelist It was at Burford Bridge, near Dor king, that Keats completed "Endyme fon" in November, 1817;. close by, at does not separate in the bottle -- it is the same all through--the last drop is as deli cious as the first. AUTO LIVERY Bibby's Garage A-1 Auto Mechanics Agents, Dodge Bros. Phones: 201, Garage; 917, Residence. H. MILNE Electric Carpet and Vacuum Cleaning, Sewing and La ying. Cleveland, Standard and Faleon Bieyeles, Phone 542." 272 Bagot St. KINGSTON CEMENT PRODUCTS Can supply Cement Blocks, Sills, Lintles, Bricks, Flower. Vases, Tile, Caps, Per Blocks, ete. We also manufacture Cement Grave Vaults, Estimates given for altvkinds of Ce | ment Work, 5 Kingston Cament Products. H. F. NORMAN, MANAGER, Office, 177° Wellington 7