The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Fifth Ace, by Douglas Grant, Illustrated
by George W. Gage

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

Title: The Fifth Ace

Author: Douglas Grant

Release Date: December 17, 2007 [eBook #23885]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FIFTH ACE***

E-text prepared by Al Haines

Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
file which includes the original illustration.
See 23885-h.htm or 23885-h.zip:
(http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/2/3/8/8/23885/23885-h/23885-h.htm)
or
(http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/2/3/8/8/23885/23885-h.zip)

THE FIFTH ACE

by

DOUGLAS GRANT

Frontispiece by George W. Gage

[Frontispiece: "Peach of a town," he repeated with added conviction]

Grosset & Dunlap
Publishers
New York

Copyright, 1918, by
W. J. Watt & Company

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I. GENTLEMAN GEOFF'S BILLIE
II. A SUPERFLUOUS KNIGHT-ERRANT
III. THE COMING OF EL NEGRITO
IV. GENTLEMAN GEOFF PASSES THE DEAL
V. A GRINGO CINDERELLA
VI. TIA JUANA'S CAULDRON COOLS
VII. ALIEN KIN
VIII. WILLA SITS IN
IX. BIRDS OF A FEATHER
X. AN ACE IN THE HOLE
XI. A CHANGE OF FRONT
XII. COALS OF FIRE
XIII. THE CHALLENGE
XIV. THE KNIGHT-ERRANT ONCE MORE
XV. GONE
XVI. THE POOL OF THE LOST SOULS
XVII. ANGIE SCORES
XVIII. MIDNIGHT FOR CINDERELLA
XIX. THE VENDER OF TOMALES
XX. WINNIE MASON STANDS BY
XXI. THE RETURN OF TIA JUANA
XXII. WHERE TRAILS MEET
XXIII. THE SLIPPER OF CINDERELLA
XXIV. THE LOST SOULS' TREASURE
XXV. INTO HER OWN

THE FIFTH ACE

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 pict