Newspaper Page Text
■®MEION DOLLAP MYSTCPY By Harold fee Gath
SIO,OOO FOR 100 WORDS.
u The Million Dollar Mystery” itorv
will run for twenty-two consecutive loec,ks
in thin paper. Ry an arrangement with
tht Thanhouser Film company it hai hern
made possible not only to Tfad the story
in this paper hut also to see it each week
in the various moving picture theaters.
For the solution of t/iis mystery story
SIO,OOO toill he given by the Thanhouser
Film corporation.
CONDITIONS GOVERNING THE
COS TES T.
The price of 110,000 usill he von hy the
man, tfoman, or child who writes the most
acceptable solution of the mystery, from
which the last tiro reels of motion picture
drama mill he made and the last turn
chapters of the story vritlen by llarold
MaoGrath.
Solutions may he sent to the Than
hottsar Film corporation, either at Chicago
or Sew York, any time up to midnight,
Jan. 14. This allows several weeks after
the lasi chapter has hern published.
A hoard of three fudges will determine
which of the many srdutions rtecti ed is the
most acceptable. The judges are to he
Harold MaoGrath, Lloyd Louergan, and
Miss Maa Tince. The judgment of this
board will be absolute and final. Nothing
of a literary nature unit he considered in
the decision, nor given any preference in
the selection of the scanner of the $ Id,ooo
prise. The last two reels, svhieh trill give
the most acceptable solution to the mys
tery. will be presented in the theaters
having this feature as soon as it is pos
sible to produce the same. The story corre
sponding to these motion pictures will ap
pear in the newspapers coincidentally, or
as soon after the appearance of the pic
tures as practicable. li ith the last two
reels will he shown the pictures of the win
ner, hi* or her home, and other interesting
features. It is understood that the news
papers, so far as practicable, in printing
the last two chapters of the story by llar
old MaoGrath, will also show a picture of
the successful contestant.
Solutions to the myst-my must not be
more than 100 words long. Ih-re are some
questions to he kept in mind in connection
with the mystery as an aid to a solution :
No. I What becomes of the millionaire?
Na. t What becomes of the $1,000,000?
No. A Whom does Florence marry f
No. 4 —What becomes of the Russian
countess?
Nobody connected either directly or in
dirertty with ‘‘The Million Dollar Mys
tery” will be considered as o contestant.
*
BYXOPM* OK PIIKVIOV CHAPTICII*.
Minnie.* llnrftr«*nve, ntilllonfilre. after a
■ Irit’iilnufi c«u’*|»r from she den of the
(■■g of brilliant Ihlrvr* known aa the
Mlaek Hundred, llvra the life of n re
el naa for eighteen yenra. Iltirgrrio* nc
elilentally meeta limine, lender of the
Black Hundred. Knowing llritlne will
try to grt him. he eaeapra from hia own
kome hy a balloon. Before raonplng he
writes a letter so the atria* arhool where
elahfeea yearn before h«* mj aterloualy
left on the dooratep hia baby daughter,
liorenm l«ray. That day llnrgreate
• lao drawn sl,«N>o.<*oo from the hank, hut
It la reported that thia dropped Into the
sen when the balloon ho escaped lu waa
punctured.
Florence arrtrea from the atria' school.
Countess Olga. Hralnc'a companion, vis
its her and claims to he a relative. Two
fcogua detectives call, hut their plot la
failed by Norton, a newspaper man.
By bribing the captain of the Orient
Norton lay* n trap for Brnlne nnd hts
pang. C ouafeaa Olga also vlalta the Ori
ent’s captain, and ahe easily falls Into
tho reporter's snare. The plan proves
uhortlvo through Bralne'a good luck nnd
only hirelings fall Into the hands of tho
police.
After falling lu their first attempt the
Black Hundred trap I'lorence. They aak
h»r for money, hut ohe escapes, again
felling them.
Norton and the countess call oa Flor
ence the aevt day, once more safe at
home. The visitors having gone, Jones
removes n section of flooring and from
• cavity takes a ho&. Puraaed by me ra
kers of the Black Hundred, he rushes to
the water front nnd succeeds la drop
ping the t»o« Into the aca.
t ouateas Olga succeeds la breaking
the engagement ealaflng between liar
race Hargreave and Norton.
Aceompllcoa of Braise aucceed la kid
naping Florence while ahe la ahtipplag
and hurry her off to sea. Ahe leaps Into
the sea and la picked up la a daacd con
dition hy a party of fishermen. Tho I
Black llaadred locate her and llralne,
disguised as her father, succeeds In tak
tog her hack fa sea with kins. Florence
seta fire so the host and Is rescued hy a
•hip on which Norton has boon shang
haied.
Norton and Florence, safely ashore
and with no longer any misunderstand
ing between them, tako the train for
home. Tho train Is wrecked and waiting
members of tho Black Hundred carry
tho lajurod Florence to a deserted hut.
Norton* who tries to roacuo her* Is tied
to tho railroad tracks. Florence sate*
him and finally Janes comes to the res
cue of both.
fCtop}right 1A14: By Harold MacC.mth.]
CHAPTER XU.
A DIPBY CHANTY, if you please; *f
sailorinen In jerteys ami tarry rapt, of
rollini (tits, strou, tobMoo suit ill
verse profanity; of cutters, aud blunt
noee erboonrra, nnd tramps, canvas aud
stram, soma of them honest, some of them
shady, and tome of them pirates of the first
water who did not find it necessary to hoist
aloft the akull nnd hones. The seas are doited
with them. Tb«y remind you of the once pros
perous merchant, run down nt th* heel, who
•links alon, the aide streets, ashamed to meet
those he knew in the past You never hear
them mentioned in the maritime news, which
is the society column of the ships i you know
of their existence only by the bleached bonea
es them, strewn along th* coast.
An honest ship, but run down at the heel,
rode nt anchor in the sound, a fourth rater of
the hooker breed l that U, her principal line
of buarncM was hauling barges up and down
the mast. When she could not pick up enough
barges to rank# It pay, why, she'd go galavnnt
ing dpwn to Cuba for bales of tobacco or over
to the Bermudas for t.’ia heaven smelling 1
onion. Today she was sn onion ship ; which
precludes any idea of adventure. Hhe was
about. 4,0 fJO tons, and her engines were stern
ward and not arnirtshlp. She carried two
iinsts and a half dozen hoist booms, and the
only visible eign of anything new on her was
her bowsprit. This was new doubtless because
she bad poked her nose too far into her last
alip.
Iler crew was orderly and tractable. There
were shore drunks, to he sure, because they
were sailors; hut they were a peaceful lot
withal. At this moment they were at work.
There was a sailor among thia crew, and
he went by the name of Steve lilossom ; and
he was one of his kind. A grimy dime novel
protruded rakishly from Ills hip pocket, and
hit, right cheek was swollen as with the tooth
si lie, due, probably, to a generous “ chaw ” of
Henman’* I b light. lie was a real tobacco
chewer, for lie rarely spat. He wa* as peace
ful as a backwater hay in summer; non
argumentative and passive, he stood his watch
in fair weather and foul.
No one strive the anchor any more atten
tlon after it catne to rest. The great city
over the way was fairy-like in its haziness
nod transparlty. It was the poetry of angles,
of shafts nnd spars of stone; and Steve
lilossom, haying a moment to himself, leaned
against the rail and stared regretfully. He
bad been generously drunk the night before,
and it was a pleasant recollection. Chance
led Ida glance to trail down the cutwater. Ilis
neck stretched from his collar like si turtle’s
from its shell.
“Well, I’ll he hornswngglrd I ” he mur
mured, shifting his cud from starboard to port
Caught on the fluke of the anchor was the
strangest looking box he lied ever laid eyes on.
There wen leather and steel bands aud dia
mond shaped ivory and mother of pearl, and it
bung jauntily on the point of the rusty fluke.
Treasure I
Ami Steve wai destined nertr to be passive
again. Hie first impulse was to call bis com
panions; bis second Impulse was to say noth
i ig at all, and wait for an opportunity to get
the bo* to bis bunk without being detected.
'l’riasuiel Diamonds and rubies and pearls
and old Spanish gold; all hanging to the fluke
of the anchor. i
" Ilornawoggled 1 ” In a kind of nwesome
whisper this time. “ An’ we a headin’ for th’
1 alumina! ’’ For under hit feet he could hear
tin* rhythm of the engines. “ Wl.at’ll I do? If
I leave it. some one else'll see it." He scratched
bis chin perplexedly ; and the cud went back
to atarlasird. “I got it!"
He took off bis coat ami carefully dropped
it down over the mysterious bo*. It was
grow lug darker and darker nl) the time, and
shortly neither coat nor anchor would be ris
ible without close scrutiny. Treasure: greed,
cupidity, crime. SteT* saw only the treasure
and not its camp followers. What did they
call them? doubloons and pieecs-of eight?
He ate his supper with his messmates, and
l.u ate heartily as usual. It would have taken
something more vital than mere treasure to
disturb Steve Blossom's appetite. He was
one of those enviable individuals whose imagi
nation and gastric juices work at the same
time. And while he ate he planned. In the
fust place, he would buy that home at Bed
ford ; then he would take over the Gilson
house and live like a lord. If he wanted a
drink, all he would have to do would bi to
turn the spigot or tip a bottle: and more
than that, he’d have a tmrti%ler to do It.
Online! He swore he would not have an
onion within a mile of the Gilson house.
“Onion*!'" Quite unconsciously he spoke
this w’ord aloud.
“lluh? Well, if ye don’t like onions, find
a hooker that packs vlolrts in her hold," was
the cheerful edvlce of the man at Steve's
elbow.
“Who’s talkin’ t’ you?” grunted Steve.
" Wha’ did 1 any?"
“ Onions, ye lubber! lkm’t we know whut
onions Is? Alu’t we smelt ’em so long that
y* could stick ,ver nose in th’ starboard light
au’ never smell no kerosene? Onion* 1 l’uas
th’ cawffy,"
Steve helped himself first The man who
spoke bunked over him, end they were not on
th* beet of term*. There wa* no real reason
for thia frank antagonism; sitnpiy, they did
net splice any more effectually thau cotton
rope and hemp splice. Sailor* tire moody and
superstitious | at least they generally are on
hookers of the “Captain Manners” breed.
Steve was superstitious and Jim Hunkers was
moody and bed no thumb on hit left hand.
Spanish doubloons and pearls and diamonds
and rubies! It wrai mighty hard not to say
these words out loud, toot blar* them into
the sullen farm grouped about the table. ll*
was off watch till midnight: and he was won
dering if he could get th* boi without attract
ing the attention of the lookout, who had a
devilish keen eye for everything that •tim'd
on deck or on water. Well, he would have to
risk it| but he would wait till full darkneu
had fallen over the eea aud the lookout would
be compelled to keep hia eye* off the deck.
The boys wanted him to pliy cards.
" Not for ms. Busted. How long d’ y’
think MO 11 last in New York, anyhow?"
And be stalked out of the foreraetle and went
down into the wnlet to enjoy hi* evening pipe,
all the while keeping w weather eye forward,
at tho ratty old pilot house.
It was 10 o’olock, land time, when he
rammed hi* cutty Into a pocket and resolute
ly walked forward. If tny one watched him
they would think he wae oaly looking down
0 ’’igfijjgp X \ y<-- ( '.|
the cutwater. The thought of money and tho
pleasures it will buy makes cunning the stu
pidest of dolts; and Steve was ordinarily a
dolt. But tonight his brain was keen enough
for all purposes. It was a hazardous job to
get the box off the fluke without letting it slip
back into the sea. Steve, however, accom
plished the feat, climbed back on the rail and
sat down, waiting. A quarter of an hour
passed. No one had seen him. With his coat
securely wrapped about hi* precious find ha
made for the forecastle. His mates, save those
who were doing their watch, were all In their
hunks. An oil lamp dimly illuminated the
forward partition. Steve's hunk was almost
in darkness. Very deftly he rolled back the
bedding and secreted the boi under his pil
lows, and then stretched himself out with th*
pretense of snoozing till the bell called him to
duty.
He wwa rich; and Ilia moment a man has
money he has troubles: there is always some
one who wants to take it away from you.
His bunk Was on the port side, and there was
plenty of hiding space between the iron plates
and the wooden partition, lie intended to
loosen three or four planks, and then when
the time came, slip the bo* behind them.
Nome time during the morning the foreimstle
would be empty, and then would be his time.
But be suffered the agonies of damnation
during his four hours’ watch. Supposing some
fool should go rummaging about his bunk and
discover the bo*? Suppose . . . Bit be
dared not suppose. There wae nothing to do
but wait. If he created any curiosity on th*
part of his mates he was lost. He would invve
to divide with them all, from the captain down
to the cook's boy. It was a heart-rending
thought. From being the moat open and frank
man aboard, he became the most cunning.
From being a man without enemies, he saw
an enemy even In his shadow.
At 4 o'clock he turned In and slept ilk* a
log.
Ir the morning he found his opportunity.
For half an hour the forecastle was empty of
all save himself. Feverishly he pried back the
boards, found the brace beam, and gently kil l
the bo* there. It was a mighty curious look
ing box. Once lie had stoked up the Chinese
coast from the I’hilippiues, and he judged it
to be Chinese In origin. He tried to pry open
the cover and feast his eyes upon the trrasure ;
but under the leather and ivory and mother
of pearl wag impervious steel. It would take
an m or a crowbar to stir that lid. He sighed,
lie replaced the boards, and became to «U
appearances bis stolid self again.
But all the way down to the Bahamas he
was moody, and when he answered any ques
tion it waa with words spoken testily and
jerkily.
' ” l know whnt's th’ matter," said Hunkers.
" He's In love.”
” Shut your mouth I "
" Didn’t I tell yuh?” laughed the tantaliser,
dancing toward the eompanlonway. “ Steve s
In love, *r he didn’t git drunk enough on ehore
t' satisfy his Whale's belly ! ”
A boot thudded spitefully against the door
jamb.
’’ You Mlaha let m* alone, ’r I'll bash in a
couple o’ beads! ”
”O, yuh will, will yuh?" cried Hunkers
from the deck. "If yuh want a little exer
cise, yuh can begin on me, yuh moonatek
swab! Wbut’a th' matter with yub, anyhow ?
Where'll yuh git this grouch? Whut’v* w*
don# t’yuh? Huh?"
" You keep out o’ my wny, thnt’i nil. Fm
mindin’ my watches, an’ don’t aak no odds of
you duffers. What If I have a grouch? la It
any o’ your Mama business? All right. Whan
we step ashore at th’ Bahama, Mister Jim
Dunksrs, 111 tear th* ro]>en out o’ your pulley
blocks. But till we git there, you t* th’ upper
hunk an’ me t’ mine.”
" I .ear* th* ol* grouch alone, Jim. Th’
mate won’t ataud for no acrappin’ aboard.
We’l! bar* th* thing done right in th’ custom
sheds. We’ll have a finish fight, Quecusberry
lule*. an’ may th’ best man vrin.”
” I’m willin',” an id Jim.
’’ No*m t.” agreed Steve. But hi# intentions
were not honorable, U* proposed to de**rt
•YOU IEMME BY I’ BREATHED STEVE,
JgfetCTW
jjtrfr £ 4- x
AND.THST 4S WHY TWE ORIGINAL BOX M/AS ABLE TO BE HIDDEN ONCE ASfVbLi
before any fight took place. Not that he wae
physically afraid; no; he wanted to dig his
hands deep into those doubloons and pieces-of
eight.
So the four days down passed otherwise un
eventfully, amid paint pots and Iron rust and
three meals w day of pork, onion soup, pota
toes. and strong, bitter coffee. The winds be
came light and balmy and the sea blue and
gentle. The men went about in their under
shirts aud dungaree*, barefooted. Of course
the coming fight was the main topic of conver
sation. It promised to be a rattling good
scrap, for both men were evenly matched, and
both had a “ kick ” in either hand. Even the
captain took a mild intercut in the affair. He
was an old sailor. He knew that there was no
such word as arbitration in n sailor’s vocab
ulary ; hi* disputes could be settled only In
one manner, by hia calloused fists.
When the aid mudhook land some day Steve
was going to buy it and hang it over the en
trance of the Gilson house) slithered down
into th# smiling water* of the hay, Steve con
cluded that discretion wa* the better part of
Talor. He would stiml ashore on the quaran
tine tug which lay alongside. He was willing
to fight under ordinary circumstance*, bnt be
must get hi* treasure in safety first. They
could call him a welcher if they wanted to|
devil a bit did he care. So he pried back the
boards of his hunk wall, took out the box,
eyed It fondly, and noted for the firat time
the lettering on it:
STANLEY HARGREAVB.
He wrinkl*d hia brow in the effort to rerall
a pirate by thia name, but wae unsuccessful.
No matter. He bugged the box under his coat
and made for the gangway, and inadvertently
ran Into his enemy.
Dunkers caught a bit of the box peeping
out from under the coat.
"What yuh got there?” he demanded
truculently.
“ Non# o' your damn business! You lemme
by; hear me? "
“ Ain’t none o’ my business, huh? Where'd
yuh git n box like that? Steal it? By cripea.
I’m goln' t* have n took at that box, my
hearty. It don't smell lik* honest onions."
“Yon lemme by Iff breathed Steve, with
murder in his heart.
Suddenly th* two men clo*ed, surged l>ack
and forth, on* determined to take and the
other to hold this mysterious box. l>unkr.rs
struggled to uphold his word: not that he
really wanted the box but to prove that he
was strung enough to take it U he wanted Us
The name on the box flashed and disappeared.
It waa a kind of shock to him. He and Blos
som went battering against the rail. Dunk
ers' grip slipped and so did Blossom's. The
result was that the box was catapulted into
the sea. With an agonizing cry, Blossom
leaned far over. He saw the box oscillate for
* moment, then sink gracefully in a zigzag
course, down through the blue waters. Fainter
and fainter it grew, and at last vanished.
“ I’m sorry, Steve: but yuh wouldn’t let
me look at it,” said Dunkers, contritely.
’’ Damn you; I’m goin’t' kill y’ for that! ”
It became a real fight this time, fist and
foot, tooth and nail; one mad with the lust
to kill and the other desperately intent on liv
ing. It was one of those contests in which
honor and fair play have no part. But for
the timely arrival of the captain and some of
the crew Dunkers would have been badly in
jured, perhaps fatally. They hauled back
Blossom, roaring out his oath* at the top of
his lungs. It took half an hour’s arguing to
calm him down. Then the captain demanded
to know what it wa* all about. And blubber
ing, Steve told him.
“ Six hundred feet of water, if I’ve got my
reckoning right. The anchor lie* in sixty feet,
but the etarboard side drops sheer six hun
dred. You *wab! Why didn’t you bring the
box to me? A man bus a right to what he
finds. I’d have taken care of It for you till
we got back to port. 1 know; you were
greedy; yon thought I might want to etick my
fist into yonr treasure. And you'll never find
it In 600 feet of water and tangled, porous
coral. That's what you get for being a blamed
hog. A* for you." and the captain turned to
Dunkers, “ get your dunnage and your pay
and hunt for another boat back. I won't hav#
no murder om board * Captain Manner*.' And
the sooner you go, the better."
“ I'll so. air," *aid Dunkers. readily enough.
Had the misfortune happened to him and had
Blossom been the aggressor, he would want
bL life. He understood. Like the valet In
“ Olivette,” it wae the time for disappearing.
“ An' keep emt o’ my way. I’ll git y’ yet,”
growled Blossom.
“ Keep your mouth shut," said the mate,
“or I'll have you put In irons, you pig! "
“AU right, *ir. I’ve said all I’m goin' t‘
•ay t'day ” ; and Blossom strode off.
“What wa* the box like?" asked the cap
tain of Dunkers.
“Chines* contraption, sir; leastwise it
locked that way to me. Didn't look as if it'd
been In th’ vrater long, air. Somethin' lost
overboard by some private yacht, t’ my
thlnkin’. I’ll keep out o’ Steve’s way. I’ll
lay low on shore, sir.”
And though Steve made a perfect range of
the spot, he never came back to find the mys
terious box, never saw the Gilson house back
home, nor did he »ver see Dunkers again. On
the voyage home he brooded continually, and
was frequently found blubbering; and on#
night he skipped his watch and went to Davy,
Jones’ locker.
Dunkers had not told alout the name he had
seen on the box; and Blossom had not thought
to. The name Hargreave had Instantly
brought back to Dunkers’ mind the newspaper
stories he had recently read. There was no
doubt in the world that thia box belonged to
the missing millionaire, who had drawn a mil
lion from his banks and vanished; and, more
over, there was no doubt in Dunkers’ mind
that this million lay in the Bahaman waters.
It had been drawn up from the bottom of the
sound, under the path of the balloon. He
proceeded, then, to take a most minute range.
It would require money and partners ; but half
a loaf would be far better than no loaf at all;
and he was determined to return to New York
to find backing. Finding is keeping, on land
or sea.
Now it happened that his favorite grog shop,
was a cheap saloon across the way from the
headquarters of The Black Hundred; and
Vroon occasionally dropped In, for he often
picked up a valuable bit of maritime news.
Dunkers was sn old friend of the barkeeper,
and be proceeded to pour and guzzle down his
throat a very poor substitute for whisky. He
become communicative. He bragged. He knew
where there was a million, and all he needed
was a first class diving bell. A year from
now he would not be drinking cheap whisky ;
he'd be steering a course up and down Broad
way and buying wine when he was thirsty.
He was no miser. But he had to have a div
ing bell; and where the blue devil could he
get one with sl2 and an Ingersoll watch in
his pocket?
From his table Vroon made a sign which
the bartender understood. Then he rose and
approached Dunkers.
“ I own a pretty good diving apparatus."
he said. “If you’ve got the goods. I’ll take
a chance on a fifty-fifty basis." Vroon did not
believe there was anything back of this talk;
but it always paid to dig deep enough to find
out. “ Have a drink; and, Bill, give us a real
whisky and none of your soap-lye. Now, let’s
hear your yarn.”
“ I don’t know yuh,” said Dunkers, with
drunken caution. ‘‘How is it, Bill?” turning
to the bartender.
“He’s the goods, Jim. You’ve heard of
Wyant & Co.?” t)
“Sure I’ve heard o’ them. Best divin’
app’ratus they is.”
“ Well, this gent here is Mr. Brooks, gen
eral manager for Wyant & Co. I can O. K.
him.”
Vroon threw an appreciative glance at the
bartender. He was not affiliated with The
Black Hundred, but be had often aided Vroon
in minor affairs.
“ All right, if yuh say so, BUL Well, here’s
th’ yarn.”
And when he had done, Vroon smoked quiet
ly without speaking.
“Don’t yuh believe It?" demanded Dunk
ers. truculently.
“But 600 feet of water, In a coral bottom,
and no way of telling just where It fell over
board. That’s a tough proposition."
“O, it is, is it? I’m a sailor. I can lay
my hand right over th’ spot. Do yuh think
I’d be fool enough t’ hunt fbr it without a
perfect range?” Dunkers tapped his coat
pocket suggestively.
And Vroon knew' that the one thing h«
wanted was there, a plan or a drawing of the
range. So there was another man shanghaied
that night, and his destination was Cap*
Town, twenty-two days’ voyage by the calen
dar.
1 roon carried his information to the organ
ization that same night. They would start
the expedition at once, and till this waa ac
complished, Hargreave’* daughter .was to b*
immune from attacks. Besides, it would glvs
Hargreave (wherever he was) and th# others
the idea that The Black Hundred had con
cluded to give up the chase.
Above, with his ear to a small hole, skil
fully bored through the ceiling without per
mitting the plaster to fall, knelt a man with
a bandaged arm. He conld never see any
faces; no on* ever took off a mask in this
sinister chamber. But Ihere were voices, and
he waa never going to forget some of them.
After the meeting came to an end, he waited
an hour after, and then stole down into tb*
street by the aid of the fire escape. Later, hs
entered a telephone booth and called up Jon*#.
Then, one leathern nnd steel box, dotted
with bits of ivory and mother-of-pearl, became
two; and the second one waa soaked In mud
and salt water for two weeks till you could
not have told it from the original. And that
is why Jones waa able,* some weeks later, to
hide once more the original box. As for tb*
substitute, just as Bmine waa about to use •
mallet and chisel upon it, the lights went out
There wae a wild scramble, a chair or tw#
was overturned.
’’ The door, the door! ” shouted Brainet fo
riou*.
It slammed the moment the words left his
lips. And as suddenly a* they had gone out
the lighta sprang up. The box era* gone.
There were evidently traitors among Th*
Black Hundred.
. MHmtokln.l I TO U COSTI.VVHS.]