The Argosy, October 1906 — page 83: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

a 24 your hank grianad ae you . have forgotten you held the Sign.” _ Now, I had held nothing at all in my. hands except a match and—my scarab pin. I was as much in the.dark as ever; -except that I observed the reverent man- her wherewith he referred to that same mysterious Sich I had questioned him far enough to give me a more or less strong belief in- his present sincerity. Who or what he supposed | ‘me to be, or wie he suppose! it, | had no idea. — But I thought I might trust hae to lead me to Doris Todd. If I tried more questions I might ruin everything, and undeceive him. -I was about to order him to take me to where the frightened American girl waited with her two guards, when all at ‘once he darted forward toward me. Instantly I was on guard, the 1 : ready: to stop his rush. But there was no need. away from me he dropped on all fours, picked up something from the stones and, on one knee, offered it to me. It “was my scarab pin that I had dropped when I attacked him in the darkness. “The Sign,” he said, “ ¢ eccelensa let it fall.” -I took it mechanically a put it in my inside coat-pocket. I scarcely heeded the action, for my mind was fairly whirl- ing with the great solution that had burst in upon it. The Sign—the -scarab—the scarab— “the Sign! It was all clear as day; and any one _ but a thickhead mond have understood sone ago. Sze had bought the Scaiab the previous afternoon. Up to that time I had been an unassuming, unnoticed globe-trotter. From the hour I put that pin in my scarf I had received respectful saluta- tions from people who had never before ‘seen me. I had been received by Sebaste- as his ; honored superior. And now this Sicil- ian cutthroat had become my abject - slave. The scarab was a sign or insignia or badge o1 token of some mysterious body =e of men andy women ; the mark of a= Le from Vienna.’ authority as to “ise this Se Mu ~on the wall of this out-of-the- “way. hole ‘Three feet ‘a token of exalted position in some great scribe, fered the organization had no particu. larly exalted aim or purpose. Nor-was it evidently confined to Na-_ : ples. For it contained Amos Todd, an— American, © and the mysterious ‘ Man — Also it had business of — some sort—possibly- had headquarters ase Oe the Austrian capital. xe "odd was a millionaire. Ferata was a es What scheme could be so stu- pendous as to™tempt men of such | vast financial and social pore into oe ing it? rena, cringing to the feet of a complete | stranger who chanced to wear the scarab _ pin? Why, too, was the scarab painted — in the ground? That I had, by a queer freak of fate, become possessed of a pin which bore a close resemblance to one which served as secret society was evident. But would such pins be on sale, to any chance ee in an ordinary curio shop, like Dardo’s, - and at sixty cents apiece? — Again the odd problem as to how I had been able to purchase so undoubt- edly valuable a bit of jewelry for so = paltry a sum recurred perplexingly ~ to me. < I was i amaze. I saw no way out. One thing was certain. This queer — combination of circumstances would en- _ able me to release Doris. Todd. That must be my first and chief duty. Later, I could decide on how to act in ree to this incomprehensible labyrinth into — which I had wandered. = All, these thoughts, conjectures and Te solves, which, through my ignorance of — fine writing, ‘have taken so- Tong to de- flashed across my brain almost — simultaneously. Indeed, hardly had. the ~ worthy Murena regained his feet, after kneeling to offer me the pin, when I had — resolved on my course. = “Take me on your shoulders,” Se or-- dered, “ and wey me at once to. the signorina.” : He picked up - -his torch, lighted” it EComichoo Sat