eV ere FS oe at . he - ee ; ¢ nicer tone ™~ Jige that the ‘ * ATice Thurston,” repeated Agnew. ‘Have you any relations * Not that I know of. Mother told me before her death that 7 me 4 brotlier somewhere in the world, but I suppose he is ae i? ‘Yes, he ¢s dead. Alice, and he has left you a large fortune.” Oh, captain,” cried Alice, “you are jesting!” _. mm not, Alice,” he replied; “and I will tell you how I know ey dan telling you that Iwill relate many other things that ‘* i surprise you.” ; ~ Oh, Mr. Agnew, do tell me!” the little prisoner cried. _“ Well, about a year ago,” said Agnew, “a man named Roland Garner, by profession a gambler, lived in the city of N—, in © This man_ sneceeded in winning the consent, but not the DAN. ea ae a young girl and marrying her, for her supposed wealth. _Ashort time after this marriage he learned through some secret source that the rich old bachelor, Oscar rn, had died, leaving a will bequeathing all -his wealth to one Alice Thurston, the child of an only sister. The will tained a proviso that if Alice were dead it was to go to her children, if she were married and hud children born to her, But 1f she-were dead and had had no chil- dren it was to go to her husi d, survived her, ” “The will was placed in the hands of Dorii’s life-long old secre- tary, Peter Murdy, who promised his-d ‘triend that he would hunt Alice up. Dorn knew not where? “@vas, but he knew that she, or T will say you, had been adopted by one George and ~@lige Ashbury, who resided at T——. This was all he knew of you, and if at the end of five years Peter Murdy did not find you, or your husband, or children, the estate was to be sold for the benefit of the poor, Now, this very Roland Garner knew exactly where you and the Asl:burys were, and when Murdy came to N— to make inquiry in regard to you, he—Garner—managed to put im upon the wrong track—sent him to Europe, where he said Ash- “pury had gone to live in the full possessiun of a grand inher- itance.” “Why, what was his object in this? questioned Alice. “Til come to that in a moment,” he continued, toying with his _long beard. ‘‘As soon as Garner got Murdy on the wrong track, reso'ved to hunt you up and marry you, and thereby obtain ~porsession of your inheritance.” “Marry me!” exclaimed Alice; ‘‘and he with a wife!” » "So he had: but when the villain fourd out that his lawful wife Would not aid or abet ra teh!” cried Alice. the Licking River, in’ Litking county, Ohio, S gray head several hundred teet above the surface of the w ater. Upon the face of this rock. jutting out over _ * the river, was the impression ot a human hand of huge dimen- ‘gions. How it came there no one ever knew since the white man ) first trod the wilderness of Ohio. Geologists gave it as their opin- hand was the work of som» extinct race. But be that as it may, th ck Hand, as it was called, had become the curi- osity of the country, and attracted many sightseers; and one day Garner persuaded his wife to go with Lim to the Black Hand, and while they were walking upon its summit, near the edge over- looking the river, he suddenly pushed her over the precipice down into the waters below; then, like the coward he was, he ran away into the woods. But, thank Heaven! a negro, fishing under the projecting rock, wiere Garner could not see him, rescued the wo- man and saved her life.” “Thank Heaven!” cried Alice, clapping her hands joyfully. “Efforts were made to arrest the villain,” continued Agnew, “but he was gone. He came to this territory, and it was not long before he became connected with a hand robbers. He dared _not place himself within the jurisdiction.of honest men for fear Lat the vengeance of the deed at the Bi Hand would follow him His wife could have set them upo right track at once, for he had @ld her enough of his secret, opes of securing her assistance, to make all clear to her. But she reselved upon thwarting his nefarious plans, and bringing vengeance upon lim; and so, with the negro who had rescued her, her mother and brother, under an assumed name, they followed him. Alice, you are now in the den of that villain. You know him as Captain Winegarner.” “Great Heaven! Is it possible?” exclaimed Alice. “Yes. As I have said, he knew where George Ashbury was with his adopted daughter, and that is what brought him here—to win your love, and marry you for your wealth, But if he could not win your love, he resolved to abduct you and force you to marry him. In the mean time, his lawful wife and friends had taken up oe residence 1n Pleasant Prairie, under the name of Os- monc¢ ‘ “Osmond! eried Alice. Winegarner’s witel” “She is. The first time she saw her husband, after he had at- tempted her murder, was bout three or four months ago in “Then you—then Bertha Osmond is \Pleasant Prairie, in disgpi ' “In Pleasant Pra ri exclaimed Alice. 1e came there, purporting to come by direction of ites authorities, as a detective. to search out the fidden Ranch. I said he came in disguise. This is not exactiy the case, for he appeared as his real self—as the real Roland Garner—disguised only in name; but then none in Pleas- ant Prairie knew ought of him—supposed him to be just whom he represented himself to be—Derlan, the detective,” “Great Heaven! Dorian, the detective!” cried Alice. * “Yes. Alice; and you see now how near youcame marrying him,” returned Agnew. “Oh, Heaven, yes! I know now why Bertha warned me not to marry him. Butif I ever had, it would have been for a home— nothing else—for I could never love any one but Chris Watter- son.’ “Yes; the vilain saw that Captain Watterson etood between you and him, and so he resolv; dto put the captain out of the way. To accomplish this, he took one of his robbers into his con- fidence and service. This manwasas consummate a vi‘ain as himself, and, by his skillful expedients, he won the friendship of Old Tronsides, and a reputation of a good scout and hunter. This villain yon know as Paul Boniface. I know this seems like an imaginary tale to you, Alice, but it is nevertheless true. Bertha’s brother kept aconstant watch upon the robber chief’s move- ments. He knew where the Hidden Ranch was,and assisted Bertha to disguise herself in male attire, with a wig of grizzly hair and false, bushy whiskers, in which she managed to get into the robbers’ band under the name of Morthier. In this manner she soon learned all the plans of her wicked husband, and succeeded in making herself one of the most prominent of the band, though she always managed to take no part in anything that was wrong. Still you may think she did wrong in not revealing the place of the Hidden Ranch to. the settlers, but then she wished to weave herself the toils of vengeance around him. “When the settlers went off up the river ona bee-hunting ex- cursion, Paul Boniface, the tool of Garner, went along; but, irom. the time that they left the village, Bertha Osmond never lost Sight of them. Then there was a secret understanding between her and her brother, who accompanied the expedition. They had aetermined that no harm should come to Captain Watterson, in ae m=ach_as Garner had instructed Boniface to shoot him the first opportunity he had, and had employed Inkpaducah and his In- dians to capture him if Boniface failed. “It was Bertha’s boat which the hunters had pursued before * reaching the Bars. It was Paul Boniface who attéfopted to shoot Watterson shortly after,and Bertha who, by means of a white flaw and her hand, had tried to warn him of thedanger. She knew a jot of savages had amb a rof their party on the island at the Bars, but she did not know their intentions until it was too late to warn the settlers of the danger that threatened them. However, she did all she could. With some phosphorus, which she had taken with her to signal to her brother in the darkness, she traced the word ‘Death’ upon the side of her canoe. But at the time her brother was asleep, and so its import was not known until it was. toolate. Bertha’s brother was among the slain, as you well know, so all depended upon her. People may hold her responsible for this massacre for not divulging the secret of the Hidden Ranch, but.she was only obeying the prompt- ings of her own heart—fate had so decreed it.” “Ah! IT know now why Dorlan started so at the sight of the ring that Bertha gave me.” said Alice. “Ves, 16 was a ring that Garner had given her, and it was to try his remembrance ihat she put it upon your finger. And now, having abducted you, he hopes to secure your inheritance through my marnage with you. His plans are well laid. But then he does no! know that bis wife ean wear as many disguises as he. That his messenger, Morthier, whom he sent to ‘Platte Lodge for Captain Otto Agnew to assist him, was his wife,Bertha Osmond, or rath vr Annette Garner, And little does he ‘dream that (Mor- thier, hav ng changed his disguise) Captain Otto Agnew, of Platte 7 »” Captain Winegarner in Pleasant Prai- is Tie did not finish the last of the sentence, but -tearing a wig from his head, and the mass of false whiskers from the tace, the fretty, fair features, and dark, radient eyes of Bertha Osmond were revealed, Although Alice had known that it was her female friend person- ating Otto Agnew, she could not restrain a ery of delight at sight of those dark eyes and pretty features, and in an instant she had encircled her arms about her neck and kissed her joyfully. “Sh!” exclaimed Bertha, gently putting tle maiden away and replacing ber clever disguise. “I was sure I heard footsteps in the passage! It would ke the death of us both for Winegarner to discover who I am, for he already suspects an enemy in camp.” The two women now discussed the chances of their escape, and also that of Alice’s lover, Captain Chris Watterson, who, ever since ns supposed death had been held a prisoner by the robbers, and whom Bertha had liberated that night, with instructions as to how he should proceed to escape from the Hidden Ranch. Suddenly a wild shout rolled through the chambers of the rocky vault, and caused Alice and Bertha to start up with a sud- den fear. “Up! up! every one of you, there’s an enemy in the ranch!” The females recognized tle voice that uttered this excited com- mand, as that of Captain Winegarner. A feeling of despair, for a moment, took possession of them. But Bertha soon rallied her undaunted spirit to action. There was no time to lose in idle speculation, now that victory was almost within her grasp. “Wait herea moment, Alice,” she said, “and I will try and ascertain who the enemy is. Great Heaven! some of them may have seen my face when I[ took off my disguise just now!” As she concluded, she moved away into the dark passage through which she had come. In a moment she returned, “Come, Alice,” she said, ‘the robbers are all leaving the ranch in pursuit of the African scout, Midnight, who has gained an entrance to the place.” Not a moment passed ere Alice announced her readiness to de- rt. ; mathen follow me,” said Bertha, turning toward the mouth of ea. “Not much, my fine ladies,”’ said a gruff voice; and at the same instant a robber appeared in the opening, and disputed their e. CHAPTER XVII. THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN RANCH. The sun bad just gone down behind the forest trees, when three men appeared trom a clump of dense undergrowth, and directed their steps toward the Devil’s Gorge. They were TIronsides, the Scout, Captain Chris Watterson, and the Afriean, Midnight. ~The captain looked pale, but his face wore a hopeful look and his step waselastic. Coming as he did, like one from the grave, his sud- an appearance filled the heart of Ironsides with surprise and joy. Stil the old scout had never believed that the skeleton which he and Harry Pomroy had buried in the forest was that of Captain Watterson, noreven that of a white man. The writing upon the stone, thecaptain. knew nothing abont. The villain, Paul Boniface, who, in company with an Indian—the same whom the captain shot, and whose skeleton Ironsides and Harry had burned for that of Watterson’s—had decoyed him away, and then knocked him down. When he again awoke to consciousness, be found himself a prisoner in the Hidden Ranch. While there, he was treated with great care yy oneot the robbers named Morthier,and whom the reader already knows was Ber- tha Osmond, and so be soon recovered from his wounds. To Bertha his es¢ape was also owing, and when once beyond the dangers of the place Fortune threw him into the company of idnight... But.as the latter was then being pursued by the rob- rs, they concealed themselves in the woods where they remain- ed until they ventured forth to meet Ironsides. On parting with Captain Otto Agnew—whom the reader knows was Bertha, also—at'The Hidden Raneh, she had promised to meet him—Captain Chms—at a certuin place by noon the next day’with Alice. Butin care they did not come, he might know that they had failed in making their escape and uc according. The woman had failed in meeting him at the appointed place, and 80, in company with Irousides and Midnight, he ‘was on his way to The Hidden Ranch to ascertaim the cause of their non-ap- ranee, The expedition ppon which they were now going was one attend- ed with great peril. They had passed the day quietly expect- ing Bertha Osmond and Alice Ashbury to join them at any mo- ment. Consequently, they did nut send to Pleasant Prairie to inform the settlers that The Hidden Ranch was found; and when the time for action had come, and the females had not, they at once resolved tu go to, or as near the ranch as was consistent with oe own safety, and learn; if possible, the cause of their not ing. ’ In one respect they would be favored. The night promised to be exceedingly dark and still. A deuse fog had risen and spread itself like a white, fleeey vail over the great torest, rendering the atmosphere heavy and damp. It was an hour after dark when the three reache€ the Devil’s Gorge about a mile below the Crystal Falls. There was no moon, and the darkness was almost impenetrable, But Ironsides was perfectly familiar with the topograpliy at the gorze (but not its secret, and the darkness proved no barrier to their expedition, He took the lead, and his companions following, they moved si- lJentiy up the gorge, keeping close to the edge oi the stream. . A few ninutes’ rapid ada cal ht them to the foot of the Crystal Fijls, Here they halted and listened, an was silent as the tomb, save the monotonous roar of the alls, ‘ The trio now spokein whispers and glanced uneasily around them. It was strange that they should take this precaution and use 80 much silence. But it was through a consciousness of the fact that they positively stood within twenty paces of the mouth of the Robbers’ Hidden Ranch ! Aftera tew minutes’ conversation the three crept down the bank and waded into the stream. When they had gained