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‘
- V .
(iUAI)Y rOUNTY PltOtatESS. r.,\/KO.
h0p ° yo " ,m ^o* - 8tarul now why 1 you’re really the best frlomt t
y ° U '™„ nover , «ot yo«r Laughing t!,o host f lend I C0U ld K” ‘
Mash! was tin, trate officer’,, n,v as .’ But friendship don’t you boo, Is
y
Mask!" was tin, Irato officer's cry us • uut mendsliln Han’t am, „ i
lie swung the girl about so as to faco hardly enough ” P hn itnrinr°a B60 ’ «,* 8
nor equally .rate father. turned qu.etfyaway, * “ 8 8h °
AUTHOR OF “THE OCCASIONAL OFFENDER,”
“THE WIRE TAPPERS," “GUN RUNNERS," ETC
novelized from the pathe photo play.of the same name
_torraicnT. 1013, »v A.IHU. .t.i™..
SYNOPSIS.
M?s" nrlea'^r’. Island Pa »dorl Intrigues
Wlifoh appearance of evil
lure thn ti„n °°, tle , n t0 rapture and tor-
.'.V," 0 Italian by branding bis face and
land „V,?i 1.1, r*auuori noous Ibo Is-
M racrv t, aold en's little daughter
aSrVn!' years Inter In New York
gai ami' ,,,?," 0 reeeues Margery from I.e-
5,1,r and takes her to her father’s home,
er fruhiesSil? . re eaptured. Margery’smoth-
dausht, - 3l rn. lmpl , ore8 Qo| den to (hid their
take, Tlle laughing Mask a—-
sen “ r w;y away from Logur. I.,
for n 1 Uoklen a warning and a den
for n Vi,. 1,aeu a warn! ng and a demand
island P °l ° f Windward
churl I ¥‘"T,'ory meets her mother. The
a “ one r? S 5 JS„ 1 1 s,lt ,between Manley
covered 5 !. r f, Kar , s bqncbmen, but is re-
fS r.lf 1 ‘ 10 Laughing Mask. Count
lo un(rnn r T S 1 t? ul< ' s In a dubious attempt
■I “"' f 1 T-egur anil claims to have killed
a n,a?k«d‘ l jS„ h0 V SB 19 dynamited during
P.n!lr. i bnl, f Legar escapes but Da
Espaics Is crushed in the ruins.
NINTH EPISODE
Arrows of Hate.
Doctor Anstett stared down at the
bundle of delicately carved arrows,
they were as slender as u bistoury
blado and scarcely longer than a darn
ing needle. Then ho looked up at his
visitor.
‘So you really object to telling me
your name,” lie said ns ha carefully
restored the fragile darts to their re
ceptacle of capped bamboo.
“Unless It’s essential, I’d prefer not
to," was the stranger’s quiet-toned re
ply
"Then why did you bring these
things to ine?” asked the doctor.
Pocauso I understood you were the
most eminent toxicologist in America.
And I was anxious to know whether
or not Llioso Innocent-looking arrows
In your hand wore really poisoned."
The doctor’s smile was a grim one.
"Well, they were poisoned, all right!
It Is difficult, of course, to say just
what the nature of this venom is. Cut
thnt doc3 not interest mo ns much as
tho question of where you obtained
possession of such remarkably deadly
liftlft mlqallna "
little missiles,
Dor a moment or two tho stranger
remained silent.
“To be quite candid, doctor, these
arrows wero stolen.”
"Cut from whom?”
“From the foreign valet of a man
who has unmistakably proved aims;,If
an enemy to society."
“And is that why you have asked
me to clean and neutralize them with
such scientific exactitude?"
“It is."
"And now that tholr fnngs have
been drawn, so to speak, what do you
propose to do with them?”
"Return them to their owner.”
"To what end?”
"To tho end that any nefarious plan
which he may bo about to execute will
not bring death where that criminal
desires to bring it!”
The abstracted-eyed doctor watched
Ills visitor as the latter prepared to
tahe his departure.
Haa Doctor Anstett been loss Inter
ested In remarkable poisons and moro
Interested in remarkable persons, bo
might liavo kept on the trail of this
mysterious stranger, and, in doing so
he might have discovered that llioso
envenomed arrows of mystery wero
the rightful property of onc| unright
eous Maulti, the personal servant of
thnt elusivo master criminal known as
Jules Legar.
Logar’s campaign to discredit tho
Laughing Mask wa3 a characteris-
a similar fate. The complex machin
ery of the law was set In motion and
far-roaching efforts were made for tho
rounding up of this somewhat too au
tocratic Laughing Mask.
One of these efforts Included a visit
on Enoch Golden by Lieutenant Klbby
and three of his men from the detec
tive bureau. Golden, the lieutenant
pointed out, was in a position to help
tho authorities .out of a predicament
by telling all ho know about this same
mysterious stranger.
"But I don’t know any more about
tilts Laughing Mask (ban you do!’
protested the old financier,
"Surely you have at least some the
ory as to the identity of the man.”
“I thought I had, once or twice. And
my daughter thought she had. But wo
were oft the track, each time.”
“One moment, please," cut in the
lieutenant as ho suddenly rose to Ills
feet and strode across the room. Me
stepped out through the portierod
doorway, stared down the hallway, and
returned to the room again. “Are you
aware of tho fact that a young woman
has been standing there listening to
every word wo said?”
Tho deep-lined faco of the aged finan
cier showed no perceptible change.
“My daughter, undoubtedly," retort
ed Golden. “For the girl’s about aB
Interested in this case, you see, as wo
are ourselves!”
Margery's Interest fn the mysterious
case of the Laughing Mask, indeod,
would have been brought promptly
home to that somewhat puzzled police
lieutenant had he been ablo to give
loss attention to Enoch Golden and
more to the puzzled-eyed girl who had
stood momentarily arrested at the en
trance to her father’s library. For
ns she moved on down the shadowy
hallway she found horsolf confronted
by that interruptlve tut all too fa
miliar figure of tho Laughing Mask
himself. He made a gesture for si
lence as she started back In alarm.
Then he nodded his dominoed head in
the direction of the library door.
“Now, perhaps, you will understand
why it has not been easy for mo to'
explain just who I am!”
"But you must explain," gasped the
bewildered girl. “They are saying
terrible things about you, things which
I know to be untrue.”
“Do you trust me?"
“I want to,” was the whispered an
swer.
"Then will you continue to trust
me?” asked tho man in tho mask.
“I don’t think I can," was the girl's
hesitating answer, “until you can trust
mo!"
“You mean that I must unmask?”
But Margery Golden’s reply to that
question was nover uttered. For as
slie was about to speak, lior volatile
maid, Celostine, stepped^lnto tho hall
behind her, beheld the mysteriously
masked figure, and promptly filled the
house with a ringing Gallic scream.
“Mon Dieu, it Is tho Laughing
Mask!" she shrilled as she ran down
the hall, giving tho alarm.
And her alarm, unreasoning as It
seemed, was fully shared by the
Laughing Mask himself. He swung
about, darted through a doorway, and
Well, well get hint," thundorod
I tno glint-willed old millionaire, "or
i ho ll never walk out of this houso
, alive !'•
Even ns ho spoke tho renewed sound
of shouts come to thpra from above.
R was Wilson tho butlor who called
to Golden and tho group at Ills hools
t he went floundering up tho stairs.
Ho’r gone Into Munley's room, sir!”
cried that vastly disturbed old sorv-
ont "And he locked the door as ho
went!”
‘Well, Manley himselfs In there,'
"Then some day, perhaps, It may
even be something ntoro,” she called
soltly back to him before slipping out
through the open door.
The Deadly Decoy.
If David Manloy was blindly and un
reasonably happy, all that day and tho
next, ho succeeded In keeping his hap
piness to himself. It was not a
propitious time, he know, for the air-
ot emotions so essentially per
sonal. There was still a shadow over
the house of Goldon, a shadow which
panted the owner of tho house as ho gave Zln^ZTeot ™g away
!*"« « 10 hl * SBcretary's door, until fate or accident ended the activ
Ho a typing my International direc- lt ,es of one Jules Legar There was,
tor’s reports "
Diit Mm ,, , „ * no - a shadow In Manloy’B heart, a
1 10 aoun ‘> 3 lllat came from shadow of doubt
"Thpv’rn „ . J them. So ns ho talked with her the
Wilson with bis 1 P ‘ °f? d , out following day ho was conscious of a
to tha docr panel V ," eU ° co,lstralllt which reminded him
thov’ro at It ’ot an 1 Vnvv""' 8 '' bUt 111010 ' vero Btl11 reservations to bp re-
tney re at , ot and envy!" | 8pect(Hl and confldoncea t0 ba y , th .
D> tho time one of Klbby’s dotcc* hold,
lives had caught up a chair nnrl hnf. ! m.’i
tored In thnt door dll sounds ofcom- 1 Mat ev'as” w!T Tl! 7 , home , t0
hat had ceased. And tho astonished I, I, W ,,son cnrrlod In to the
group, crowding Into the dismantled 1 ,1oto which Mio ‘“a h,m rt B 8e . a ‘t d
chamber, saw only an open window,I ! and read ln
an overturned table and a room emntv ‘ " n ,‘ . r , hat thls ,lot0 brought a
of all life P y I oomowhat disturbing message to her
Jirassi?SKs r,=iH~
jswb Sts was!
1 ~ «• «►
certain betraying tremors and agita
tions.
„ Leveled Straight at the Heart of the Detectlvo.
tile delusion that those warnings were
aiisfsss
U.nl.-I asa,n - —roll ot some avenue of.
Hum bo«ll, through Vho ‘.«id“,!5 » «W » » « mS.
It took him but a moment to push
the "high boy" to one side. Then,
flinging open the door, ho had tho
satisfaction of beholding the recum
bent figure of David Manloy, bound
and gagged on tho closet floor.
Helping hands soon released tho un
happy prisoner.
“I tried to stop him,” he said, a lit
tle thickly. “And this Is what I got
for It!”
But Lieutenant Klbby was no longer
Interested In Manley.
"Two of you men go out through
this window.” ho commanded, “and
round up that man before ho gets
Margery Golden smiled a little as
sho folded up the note. She was still
smiling ns sho tore the paper In two,
again and still again. One small piece
of that paper fluttered from her fingers
and fell half way between her and tho
still frowning young secretary. He
stared down at It captiously, almost
sullenly. Then his eyes slowly
widened, for clearly Inscribed on that
scrap or paper ho saw one-half ot the
sign of tho Laughing Mask.
She then walked slowly across to
tho open lire and tossed Into it tho
note which sho had already torn into
fragments.
Manley stood watching her as sho
ordered Train and tho limousine and
ova 1.. TS S3 JStEE s ”3 “
STMS ■ |
wary. He knew it, even boforo ho
caught sight of Legar htmsolf and
Margery Golden shrinking close to the
wull at his side.
It was on Legar that he fixed his
eye as lie whipped out his firearm and
steadied himself with one hand
against tho broken wull.
Legar saw that revolver leveled at
his body. He saw the look on Man
ley's colorless face. He knew what
was coming.
He did not stop to argue; ho did
not even turn to lleo. But ns ho stood
there, with his deep-sot eyes r.xed on
Manley’s faco, his long light arm that
terminated ln it3 claw of iron shot
out and caught at the arm of tho girl
still crouching so closo to tho wall be
side him. But oven quicker wa3 Man-
loy’s discovery of Logar’s intentions
to swing the body of the girl about
long-haired artist hard at work on a,
canvas.
That artist, after speechlessly con
templating the deluge, ran shouting to
tho hallway, where he was Joined by
his model and by fellow artists from
neighboring studios.
When they found their Investiga
tions barred by a locked door, they
broke It ln. While they were sniffing
suspiciously about the outer room,
however, their efforts to reach tho
source of that deluge were being an
ticipated by a more stealthy figure,
which, clambering monkeyllke up the
narrow iron fire escape, climbed still
higher to tho small window and
promptly broke It In.
Manloy, rousing himself at tho
sharp sound of tho breaking glass,
turned about to behold the face of a
narrow-eyed and dark-skinned stranger
In front of ' “■—. In the square of light about him. Even
shield ami it , , u , Luima " aa 110 “tared up at this exotio faco
. ’,„ A ™ M , lluy : ' vll . il0 1,10 Path with its uncanny fringe of Jet black
He Knew Even Before She Spoke That It Was Margery Golden,
disappeared from sight as Golden and j sway! The rest of you people get a then called for her hat and coat He
his retainers and his official visitors cordon round this block before It’s too nad much to say but for once he saw
came flocking out to tho scene of late!" I that silence was’golden
that disturbance. | They were off again like a pack of
Two minutes later Margery Golden, j beagles striking a new scent, leaving
hearing a shout from Klbby’s men \ the dilapidated and somewhat discou-
abovo stairs, followed that officer to solate Manley to his own thoughts and
The Huge Slatternly Figure Hurled It
self Upon Him.
tically audacious one. It even em
braced a number of artfully forged let
ters, duly signed by the Laughing
tho scene of the sudden tumult. There,
i to her alarm, sho saw three men strug
gling with a figure which sho prompt
ly recognized as the Laughing M£sk
himself.
j “We’ve got him!” gasped one of his
; captors as Lieutenant Klbby confront
ed him.
I “What’ll we do with him?” asked his
other captor.
“First thing, tear that fool mask
off!” commanded the lieutenant.
But that command was not carried
into execution. For Margery Golden,
catching sight of tho Laughing Mask’s
fallen revolver, ran to where it lay
and took possession ot It. The next
moment it was leveled straight at tho
heart of the detective whose hand had
been lifted to the yellow domino cov
ering his prisoner’s face.
“Stop!" commanded tho girl.
"Put down that gun, you!" prompt
ly commanded Klbby, purple with In
dignation.
"Not until your men release that
prisoner,” yzas her deliberate response.
"Yes, you, both of you," she continued,
menacing the officers of tho law with
the revolver. “Stand back from
him! Still further back! Now you,”
she added, turning to tho Laughing
Mask, “walk out through that door!
Go out, and go at onoe!”
So Intently did she watch that dts-
devlces. As he sat there, feeling about
The moment he was alone, however,
To quickly crossed to tho fireplace,
dropped down on Ills hands and knees,
end there peered closely at the
charred remnants of the note which
his bruised body with a gently inter- had been tossed on tho coals
rogativo finger Margery Golden Three or four of the fragments he
stepped timidly ln through his still even rescued with the help of a brass
op ?" „?° r ‘ . , „ ' fl re shovel. Ho turned them about
Dont get up, she said quietly as delicately and studied them patiently,
she crossed to Ills side. But before On one he deciphered tho words “you
she could speak again the two detec- will come.” On another ho managed
lives came clambering and puffing in to make out “am ill.” The only re-
tnrough the open window. Their mis- mainlng portion of uncurled carbon on
slon It was plain to see, had been a which lie could discover any trace of
fruitless one. I writing liad lost its center. But on
\ ou can be thanked for this,” cried what remained of It he could read
the heavier of the two men. “You, i “g$ Wash! re ”
c la ,'"' " C3 Washington Squire!” he an-
when they re tryin to do tholr duty, .announced. And fivo minutes later
“And you'ro goin’ to pay for goltln’ found him seated ln a taxicab,
free with fire arms, young woman or - He had just crossed Fourteenth
111 oat my hat! avowed his equally Bt ,. e et, sweeping south, when he caught
indignant companion. ! sight of the Golden limousine, empty
EUt » a Manley suddenly with the exception of Train at the
staunched that flow of accusatory doc- wheel, sweeping northwest.
Mask and left In surroundings which appearing figure that tho movements
caused both perplexity and alarm to 0 j tj )e adroit and much-exporlenced
the city police. Lieutenant Klbby. sidling stealthily
; One note, found beside the body of along tho wall beside her, entirely es-
a murdered misor, briefly explained ca ped her attention. When he leaped
that crime by the declaration that the f 0 r Margery Golden’s tense figure, he
dead man had always robbed the poor made sure of his distance and sure of
jnnd so earned the end which overtook htg mark in doing ao. He promptly
:nim—even though this Included the and none too gently wrested the re-
| carrying away of a not Inconsiderable volver from her grasp, at the samo
I portion ot his worldly wealth. A gam- moment that Enoch Golden himself
[blor and a government Inspector met came panting through the open door,
lamatlon.
“You get out of here,” commanded
that Irate and somewhat dilapidated
youth, “and get out quick!"
“What: have you got to do with that
girl?” demanded the heavier of tho
threatened officers.
“I’ve got a lot to do with that girl—
as I’ll show you If you don't get where
you belong Inside of threo seconds!”
"Aw, leave the gink to his ravin’s!”
said the shorter man, wearily, as the
two left the room.
“I guess I was wrong there, when I
started to crow about having so much
to do with -you and your affairs,” Man-
ley said as he looked a little wistfully
Into her Blightly smiling face.
“Why do you say you were wrong?”
she asked.
"Because every time I do try to holp
you out I only seem to make a mess
of things, ’ was hiB disconsolate an
swer.
"Ycu’ve succeeded In proving that
was still clear, leveled Ills gun and
nred.
Thero was a shout, half of horror
and half of rage, as Legar went down
in a heap, his wooden arm-end thump
ing ou tho rough flooring like a mul
lot as he fell. And at tho samo mo
ment that the brawny-armed amazon
boldly struck Manley’s right arm up
towards tho ceiling, that startled band
of Legar's followers united In a rush
for tho assailant of their leader and
chief.
In tho first two mlnut°s of that al
together hopeless struggle Manloy lmd
lost both his gun and his coat- In the
next minute ho had lost Ills breath.
In tho next his liberty itself was gone,
Cor those worthies lost no time In tying
and trussing him up as neatly as
a French chef trusses a capon. As
he was rudely backed away to where
Margery Golden, equally cordod and
tied, already stood, ho fionrd one of
the men behind him speak.
"Did ho croak tho chief?"
"Naw, lie’s still breathin’!”
“Then we gotta get him outa here.
. . . Pip, you call a taxi. \Yo gottn
get him back to Ills own ’Mallna’, or
thcro’ll bo hell to pay!"
How nbout this gun boob and tho
rib?"
“Gag ’em and throw ,'cm into that
bathroom there! And If youse turn
on the gas by accident, I guess It’s go
in’ to Bave us all a lot o’ trouble!"
The Creeping Message.
David Manloy, for all tlio predica
ment confronting him, tried to school
himself to calmness.
Closo beside him, bound and gagged
like himself, ho could feel the inert
body of Margery Golden.
But what most disturbed him was
the gas Jet that stood out from the
green-papored wall high above his
head. That had been the finishing
toUch at the hands of Ills enemies.
Ho looked carefully about tho room,
point by point. It was nothing but a
commonplace bathroom, with a door
uncanny fringe of Jet black
hair ho saw the unknown Intruder
draw a alendor tube from under hla
coat. To this tube the stranger fitted
a small arrow scarcely longer than a
darning needle. Then, placing the tube
to his mouth, ho sent the Blender dart
whistling down through tho air, where
It fixed itself In the wooden flooring
not threo inches from Margery Gold
en’s head.
Instinctively, as Manley witnessed
that incomprehensible , attack, as he
vaguely awoke to the meaning of the
strange performance, he crawled to
the girl’s side. There ho tried to
shield her helpless body with his own.
But after that he remembered Ilttlo.
He awakened later to the sound of
a woman’s soft sobB close beside his
aching head. And he knew, oven be
fore sho spoke, that it was Margery
Goldon.
"It’s no use, doctor," she was for
lornly crying out to the figure nearer
the foot of the bed. ”1 saw that man,
and I know It was Maukl. And as
soon as I saw him I knew Legar had
sent him, had sent bfm with the same
poisoned arrows thnt onco killed an
Informer ln the Owl’s Nest!”
"But this man Isn't dead,” protest
ed the doctor.
“No, but ho wilt"die.”
"Now, young lady, this won’t do. yon
know,” the man of medicine tried to
reassure tho quietly weeping girl.
"And if you leave me with him for a
few minutes I’ll make another exam
ination. And then we’ll know the
worst!”
“I’d rather stay with him—to the
last,” said the white-faced girl.
“But if you’ll come back, ln ten min
utes!" quietly announced the man who
was not used to having his sugges
tions crossed. And he held the door
for the unhappy girl as she passed un
steadily out.
Manley, the next minute, lifted hit
head from the pillow,
“Say, doctor, what's this about me
dying?” he demanded.
“That all depends on one point,'
This disturbing discovery, once ho
had reached tho square, -took him up
the stone steps of a ruinous mansion
long given over to artists' studios and
workshops of a moaner order.
He had climbed throe flights of
stairs, and climbed them with all tho
stealthiness of a flat looter, when he
came to a door which hel!l out more
promise than the others. For behind
this door ho could distinctly hoar the
sound of voices. As he squatted down
and peered through the keyhole ho
heard a girl’s muffied scream followed
by a throaty laugh of triumph. And
the moment he heard that laugh he
knew It to be Legar’s.
Yet at the samo moment he made a
second and even moro diverting d!s- (
covery. This was that a ponderous
and brawny-armed woman, advancing
with elephantine lurches along the
half-lighted hallway, was shouting out
thrill calls of warning as sho came.
Manley for ono brief s-'ccnd nursed
on ono aide and a small window high was the doctor’s reply as he gtngerli
up in the wall on the opposite sido. took up one of the slender arrows, no
He found nothlngjn that methodic longer than a darning needle. “And
Inventory of his surroundings, to re- the point Is whether or not we can
vlve the slowly dying embers of hope, find an antidote for the poison that
Ho could neither move nor call out. was smeared on those outlandish blow-
But there was still a w-y of sending gun darts. But the next point Is, how
a message out to the world. do you feel?"
He worked and floundered about un-! ' ”1 might feel worse!"
til ho was in a sitting position. Then 1 The man of medicine looked pus-
he worked his way closer to tho sled.
enamel bathtub, leaning, panting and! “Well, that seems to be the strange
helpless over its edge, for a moment part of this case. The infection must
or two, as a drunken man leans over a bo a very insidious ono. Even the
cell cot. Then enorgy again revived - wounds themselves show no signs of
In him. He slowly a:id painfully edged toxicatlon. So you wait hero a min-
further and further over Into the bath-; ut> until I get my Instrument bag!”
tub, like a cut worm rounding a leaf | When that somewhat bewildered
edge, until with bis forehead he was i man of medicine returned with his bag
able to push and bunt tho loose drain ! he found David Manley sitting up In
plug into its socket. Then, once more j bed, poring frowningly 'over a sheet
withdrawing from the bathtub, he dl- of paper which ho held ln his hand,
rected his attention to the neaver of "Who threw this note on my bed?”
the two taps that stood at its head.
Ho had tho use of neither hand nor
foot, to turn that tap- Biit by the
pressure of his own skull against the
tarnished brass tap handle he was
finally able to throw tho faucet open
Then he sank wearily back to the
floor, for his head was swimming diz
zily and bands of stool seemed con
stricting his chest.
demanded his patient, with a vigor
that was unlooked for in the dying.
It was the doctor’s turn to frown as
he took- the sheet of paper from the
other’s hand.
"I drew tho fangs from Maukl's
blow gun,” read the message there In
scribed, "his arrows held no poison,
and you aro safe. . . . The Laugh
ing Mask." J
(TO BE CONTINUED.)