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■®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.]