25 chapters
7 hour read
Selected Chapters
25 chapters
CHAPTER I GENTLEMAN GEOFF'S BILLIE
CHAPTER I GENTLEMAN GEOFF'S BILLIE
Kearn Thode mounted his pinto and rode out of the courtyard of the Baggott Hotel and down the Calle Rivera under a seething tropic sun. Limasito's principal street was well-nigh deserted in the lethargy of the noon-day siesta, but the flower-market was a riotous blaze of color in the glistening white plaza, from which radiated broad vistas of fantastically painted adobe and soberer concrete, ending in a soft green blur. The young petroleum engineer had pictured a ten-year-old boom town in the Me
15 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER II A SUPERFLUOUS KNIGHT-ERRANT
CHAPTER II A SUPERFLUOUS KNIGHT-ERRANT
Kearn Thode rode back to his hotel with his brain in a whirl. That girl with the sweet, steady eyes and naïve, fearless manner, the product of a gambling-house and associate of its habitués? The thought filled him with repugnance akin to horror. He was in no sense a prig, but although this was his first venture below the Rio Grande, he had spent three years in the roughest corners of the West and he knew the type of women who infested the dance-halls and gambling-joints; unclean camp-followers o
18 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER III THE COMING OF EL NEGRITO
CHAPTER III THE COMING OF EL NEGRITO
When he entered the Blue Chip that night, Thode found play already in full blast. The tables were crowded, smoke hung in low-banked clouds below the flaring oil lamps, and the glittering bar at the far end of the room was phalanxed three deep by a jostling, good-natured throng. Soft-footed, wooden-faced Chinese mozos glided about, and the whining monotone of the croupier came from a distant corner. The scene was not an unfamiliar one to the young engineer, but he glanced about him with quickened
17 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER IV GENTLEMAN GEOFF PASSES THE DEAL
CHAPTER IV GENTLEMAN GEOFF PASSES THE DEAL
With the departure of Kearn Thode on his mission Gentleman Geoff sank into a stupor from which all Billie's efforts failed to arouse him. She glanced at the little watch on her wrist. Twenty minutes past four! One hour for the massive door to hold against those crashing blows which seemed beating upon her brain. One hour for the young engineer to ride ten miles on an already jaded horse, provided he had succeeded in making his perilous start, and bring the Carranzistas to the rescue! The din of
18 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER V A GRINGO CINDERELLA
CHAPTER V A GRINGO CINDERELLA
"Whether you're here for health, pleasure, or business there ain't a more up-and-comin' town this side o' the Rio than Limasito," Jim Baggott remarked with the air of publicity-promoter as he "set 'em up" for a plump, white-mustached stranger, who had drawn up to the hotel an hour before in an impressive car, and whose equally impressive array of luggage was even then distributed about the best suite the establishment afforded. "I'm here on business, Mr. Baggott," the stranger replied promptly t
16 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VI TIA JUANA'S CAULDRON COOLS
CHAPTER VI TIA JUANA'S CAULDRON COOLS
Limasito received the tidings of the amazing turn in the affairs of Gentleman Geoff's Billie with mingled emotions in which pride and respectful awe predominated, but to Kearn Thode it came as an uncomprehended disaster. In vain he told himself that he should rejoice at her change of fortune; that he had divined from the moment of their first meeting the subtle shade of difference in caste between the young girl and those who surrounded her, and strove to exult that she had indeed come into her
15 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VII ALIEN KIN
CHAPTER VII ALIEN KIN
Mr. Mason North's elation at the culmination of his protracted search gave way to vague but undeniable misgiving before the end of the return journey. Miss Murdaugh was utterly unlike anything he could have preconceived. His trained legal mind, unburdened with imagination, had nevertheless presented possibilities, during the two years of his previous investigation, from which his fastidious soul shrank. What could a creature brought up by a wandering card-sharp in mining-camps and frontier towns
14 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VIII WILLA SITS IN
CHAPTER VIII WILLA SITS IN
"Well, what do you think of her?" Mason North's eyes twinkled as he put the question to the Ripley Halsteads in solemn conference on the following evening. "A very interesting young woman," Halstead replied emphatically. "She's refreshingly genuine and original, in this artificial, cut-and-dried age." Mrs. Halstead shuddered. "Aboriginal, I should say," she murmured. "And quite astonishingly impervious to the social amenities." "I gathered that, myself," Mason North nodded. "I talked to her till
17 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER IX BIRDS OF A FEATHER
CHAPTER IX BIRDS OF A FEATHER
"What in the world are you doing, Vernie?" Angie paused in the library door, stifling a yawn daintily as she slipped her evening cloak from her shoulders. Vernon looked up from his book with raised eyebrows. "I should think that was self-evident," he observed. "What brings you home so early?" "The dance was insufferably stupid." She dropped into a chair and began stripping off her gloves. "The music was awful and you know what the Erskine's ball-room floor is like; domestic champagne, too, with
16 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER X AN ACE IN THE HOLE
CHAPTER X AN ACE IN THE HOLE
November was well advanced, and the first snow of the season was falling when Starr Wiley reappeared in New York. His coming was unheralded, but Harrington Chase was on hand when the train crawled into the station at midnight and the two partners repaired to the room of the returned wanderer, where they held an absorbing conference until the small hours. Nevertheless, Wiley was stirring bright and early. He appeared thinner than a month or two previous, and he was tanned as with much roughing it
13 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XI A CHANGE OF FRONT
CHAPTER XI A CHANGE OF FRONT
The following morning, Willa and Dan Morrissey went motor shopping. The latter was still slightly bewildered by his sudden change of fortune, but it was plain to be seen that he regarded his new employer with worshipful admiration and respect, and she in turn was satisfied, from his discussion of technical details with the several automobile salesmen, that he was sufficiently expert for her purposes. His loyalty remained to be proven, but she had learned to read faces swiftly and surely, and she
18 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XII COALS OF FIRE
CHAPTER XII COALS OF FIRE
Willa paused in the vestibule of the shabby apartment-house and looked carefully up and down the street before venturing forth. The early dusk had fallen and the lamps were not yet alight, but the passers-by were still clearly discernible in the gloom. The girl studied their movements for a time, and noting that none loitered or retraced their steps, she descended and made her way around the corner to where her car was waiting. Dan Morrissey touched his cap with alacrity. "One guy in a taxicab d
17 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XIII THE CHALLENGE
CHAPTER XIII THE CHALLENGE
"What do you think about this?" Harrington Chase growled as his partner entered the private office the next morning. "Somebody's getting after us good and plenty!" "Let them come!" Starr Wiley shrugged. "We're on the right side of the fence now, nobody can touch us. Anything from Cranmore?" "Yes. Whoever it is that is trying to get a line on us isn't overlooking any bets. Our men have been keeping me posted on the inquiries up here, and they've got the dope so straight that it's my opinion they
16 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XIV THE KNIGHT ERRANT ONCE MORE
CHAPTER XIV THE KNIGHT ERRANT ONCE MORE
"We'll be late," Angie observed as she and Willa waited in the drawing-room for the rest of the family. It was the first remark she had voluntarily addressed to her cousin since she had come upon the tête-à-tête in the library. "Not that I care, of course, these dinners are always stupid, but the Erskines are so horribly particular. I've heard that the Bishop was late once and they went in without him." Willa smiled. "I wonder who will be there?" "The same old crowd, I suppose," Angie shrugged.
17 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XV GONE
CHAPTER XV GONE
A metamorphosis had taken place in Vernon Halstead. He was distrait and mooned about the house, getting in people's way and apologizing with an air of such profound abstraction that the family were moved to comment. "I think Vernon must be ill." This from his mother. "The poor dear boy seems very pale and hollow-eyed. Haven't you noticed it, Ripley?" "I've noticed that he looks as if someone had given him a jolt that he hadn't yet recovered from," her husband retorted. "Maybe he's waking up and
17 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XVI THE POOL OF THE LOST SOULS
CHAPTER XVI THE POOL OF THE LOST SOULS
Willa went home at last in a daze of consternation which took no note of the heightened storm. The unexpected catastrophe was a death-blow to her long-cherished plan, but even that faded for the moment before the stern anxiety for Tia Juana's safety. The story which Willa succeeded in dragging from the Rodriguez woman and José was simple on the face of it, yet many possible complexities presented themselves to the girl's vivid imagining. Tia Juana had seemed contented enough in her new abode for
15 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XVII ANGIE SCORES
CHAPTER XVII ANGIE SCORES
"I was sorry to have missed you at my sister's, although I do not think you would have welcomed my appearance!" laughed Kearn Thode. "I was striped with plaster like a savage in war paint." "I had the pleasure of seeing the other victim of that motor accident," Willa remarked demurely. "He was even less prepossessing than usual. I—I knew something of what occurred as I think you could understand from my note. I think that I have again to thank you for your championship." They were sitting out a
15 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XVIII MIDNIGHT FOR CINDERELLA
CHAPTER XVIII MIDNIGHT FOR CINDERELLA
When the late lowering dawn seeped in at the windows, Willa raised herself wearily and crept to her desk. Her face with the tears dried upon it was ghastly in the morning light, but her eyes held a look of grim determination. Seating herself, she took up her pen and wrote without hesitation: "My Dear Mr. Thode: "I beg that you will not call this evening, that I may be spared the painful necessity of having you shown the door. In the light of my present full comprehension of your motives, I no lo
14 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XIX THE VENDER OF TOMALES
CHAPTER XIX THE VENDER OF TOMALES
After Starr Wiley's departure Mason North placed the documents in Willa's hands, explaining each in turn and she forced herself to a stern concentration on them that she might master every detail. Already she was gathering her forces, although no definite purpose outlined itself in the chaos of her thoughts. Only a blind, as yet unreasoning, repudiation of the story to which she had just listened sprang full-grown to life within her and the very strength of her conviction urged her to examine we
14 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XX WINNIE MASON STANDS BY
CHAPTER XX WINNIE MASON STANDS BY
"I say, hello there! Wait a minute, Kearn!" Winnie Mason called as he brought his roadster to a halt with a sudden grinding of brakes. It was two days later and a cutting east wind skirled about the driveway of the Park, rattling the naked branches of the trees like the fleshless arms of a legion of skeletons. The tall figure on the path waited, but his face was averted and there was a listless, dispirited droop to his whole form which was not lost upon the quick, sympathetic gaze of his friend.
17 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XXI THE RETURN OF TIA JUANA
CHAPTER XXI THE RETURN OF TIA JUANA
"I tell you, Starr, it's all very well to play a waiting game, but we've got to start something and start it soon, or we'll be up against the worst fix we've ever struck in our lives, and that will be going some!" Harrington Chase paused in his restless pacing of the private office to regard his partner with troubled eyes. "We've got to make a big killing or we're due to go under, and you know what that'll mean." Wiley flung himself around in his chair to face the other. "I've moved heaven and e
15 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XXII WHERE TRAILS MEET
CHAPTER XXII WHERE TRAILS MEET
A long, narrow valley between snow-capped mountains glistening under the January sun; a cluster of ramshackle, weather-beaten wooden houses elbowing each other on either side of a single straggling street, with here and there a newer concrete building planted firmly like respectable citizens in a disreputable mob. Stray dogs sniffing at heaps of refuse, a group of tethered horses shivering under thin blankets in the hotel shed, a battered jitney or two stalled before shop and saloon. A Chinaman
19 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XXIII THE SLIPPER OF CINDERELLA
CHAPTER XXIII THE SLIPPER OF CINDERELLA
Forgetting for a moment all else but the joy of his presence, she held out both hands with a glad little cry. "Kearn!" He took her hands in his, but released them after the merest touch, and in the hungry wistfulness of his gaze there was no answering gladness. "Miss Murdaugh, I have an explanation to make for my disobedience of your injunction," he said stiffly. "I have deliberately followed you here, but it is only that I may put you in possession of certain facts which are of moment to you. W
16 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XXIV THE LOST SOULS' TREASURE
CHAPTER XXIV THE LOST SOULS' TREASURE
On a certain bright February morning Ben Hallock puffed up the Calle Rivera and across the plaza of Limasito as fast as his battered jitney could carry him and rushed into Baggott's hotel with an anticipatory gleam in his heavy eyes. "Hey, Jim! I got your message and I come a-hummin'!" he announced. "What is it? Vigilance Committee?" "Sort of!" Jim Baggott fairly pranced from behind the bar, his round face shining with excitement. "Here's a gentleman from New York, old friend of yours." Ben Hall
16 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XXV INTO HER OWN
CHAPTER XXV INTO HER OWN
Spring was well advanced and the Casa de Limas was a veritable paradise of tender virginal green and delicate mystically perfumed blossoms, when Willa, a frail shadow of herself, ventured for the first time to the veranda, on Sallie Bailey's sturdy arm. The protracted strain and final tragedy of her triumph had proved too much for even her robust vitality, and when the news came that Starr Wiley had killed himself in his garrison prison rather than face the firing squad, the inevitable collapse
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter