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®MIIUON DDLLAI? MYSTCPY^IkoHMacGkh
SIO,OOO FOR ONE HUNDRED WORDS
“The Million Dollar Mystery 9 * story
vill run for luenty-hro consecutive ve in
in this paper. Hy an arrangement ruth
the Thanhouscr Film company it ha* h*en
made po**ihle not only to read the *tory
in thin paper hut al*« to see it rarh neck
in the various mating picture theater*,
For the solution of thi « myntrry *iory
F 10,000 vill oe given by the Thanhouser
Film corporation.
CONDITIONH aoVFRNtSQ Tim
COX TEXT.
The prise of SIO,OOO will he won by the
man, woman, or chili who write* the mo*t
acceptable solution of the my*tery, from
v hirh the la*t two reel* of motion picture
drama vill be inadi and the lout two
chapter* of the, story xwritten by Harold
AiarOrath.
Flotation* may be *ent to the Thnn
hou*er Film corporation at 0 South Wa
bash arenuc, Chicago , 111., or Thanhouter
Film corporation, 71 West Twenty-third
street, \cw York City, X. ) , any time up
to midnight, Jan. llt, 1915. This allows
several verb* after the last chapter has
been published.
A hoard of three judges will determine
vhieh Ilf the many solutions received is the
most acceptable. The judges are to he
llorold MacOrath, / loyd Lonrrgan, and
Miss Mac Tinee The judgment of this
Ptnnley llurgrfnvp, mlllSonitlre, nfier
N nttriiiMiloiif fucnpr from the d«*n of
fit? Knott of Itrllllnuf IhlfVf* known on
the Illnrk II it o tire if, lh<*i fit? life of n
rfHtiar for plrlil**i*ii yemrrn, llnrKren%e
accident filly nirPlN llrnlnr, trader of the
Illness Hundred. Kiiouliik llrnlnr will
frj to Rrf lil mi, hr rn«'M|M*«i from hi* own
hofttr n hnllo<>n. Ilrforr eacH|*lnK hr
wrlfrn at letter so Ihr «lrl*’ nrhool
where rlnlilfrn year* before hr niyu
frriouwlj Irff on fhr doomfrp hln hnhy
itiiuuhter, Florence taruy. That day
IliirK'i Hvr nlaio driiwn , 9 1 ,000,000 from
fhr honk, hut It Im reported that thin
dropped Info flir men when tlir Itnlloou
hr rnrnprd lu wan punctured.
Flo rear? iirrlvpa from fhr
school. 4 «>nnfran Olan, llraliir’n com
panion, vlklU hrr and claim* hrr an a
relative. The Illnrk Hundred thea men
a inraitM of inaklttK Florence a tarart
f«»r flirlr atfncka. They are after fhr
d1.4NN1.000, and llrnlnr, fhrlr lender, aria
frapn for Florence. The lllnek Hun
dred. after a number of utfrmpla, fall,
due so the wlndnun of Jour*, the liar-
Krcit vp butler, and Norton, a newapaper
man,
Concealed at the reudeatotia of the
(Copyright; 19H: B> tUroKI MactirsAli.)
I I'iIAiTKK XIX
A BLANK Kill'El OE l*A I’FR.
FLORENCE was n forttiiicbt In recov
ering from th" shook of uer experience
nl th* masked lin 11 of the Princess
I'arlova, who, by tin* way, disappeared
from Now- lurk snortly after the lire, no
doubt because of her fear of the Mark
Hundred. The lire did not destroy the houae,
but moat of the furnishings wore ao thor
oughly drenched by water tlnit they were
practically ruined. Her coining and going
were a nine daya' wonder, and then the pub
lic found aomething elae to talk about.
Norton was a constant Tlaitor at the llur
greave place. There waa to him a uew inter
cut in that mysterious houae, with It* hidden
panel*, it* falae floor*, It* secret tunnels; but
he treated Jones upon the basi* aa
hitherto. One tning, however; lie felt a
aenae of security in regard to Florence such
as he had not felt before. So, between as
signments, he rati out to Itiverdale and did
what be could to amuse Ida sweetheart
I.a ter, they took abort ride* iu the runabout,
and at length the became aa lively a* ahe
be ' ever been.
But often ahe would catch Norton hr od
lug.
“What make* you frown like that?"
“Was I fpowniug?" innocently enough.
“ I find you thia way n doaen time* in au
afternoon Wnat is (lie matter? Are they
after you agaiu? "
“ Heaven*, no! I’m only a vague taaue.
They will not bother uie ao long aa 1 do not
bother them. It has dwindled into a game
df truce."
"Do you th'.uk ao?" eying liifn curiously.
" Why, ye* '
" What * the use of trying to fool me, Jiui?
If they haveu't been after you, you are
seuaiug a presage of evil. I’m uot a child
auy louger. Haven't I l>een through euough
to make me a woman? Sometimes I fed
eery old."
"To me you ate the moat charming .u all
thia wide world. No, you’re not a child auy
longer. You ere a woman, brave and patient;
and I know that 1 could trust you with any
aecret 1 have or ow n. Rut sometimes a per
son may have a secret whicn is not hi* and
which he hasn't any right to disclose."
•She became silent for awhile. " I hate
money." she eaid "1 hate it, hate It!"
•• It's mighty comfortable to have it around
sometimes,” he countered,
"As in my case, for instance. If Igwer*
poor and had to work no on# would bother
me."
“ I would!" he dedared. laughing. "Come;
let’s throw off mood* and go into town for
tea at the Rose Harden: aud if you feel
strong enough we’ll trip fne light fantastic."
They had been gone from the house less
than an hour when a man ran up the steps
of the veranda and rang th* bell. Jones
being busy at the rear of toe bouse, the maid
came to the door.
"|# Mia* Hargreave in?” the atranger
asked
“ No.” abruptly. The door hegsn to cloae
ever ao slowly.
nYinorai* of pkbviowi chaptbiis.
board vill be absolute and final. Nothing
* / a literary nature will he considered in
the derision, nor given any preference in
the selection of the u inner of the SIO,OOO
prize. The last two reel*, v hich will give
the most, acceptable solution to the mys
tery, v ill he presented in the theaters
haring 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. With the last two
reels will he shown the pictures of the win
ner, his or her home, and other interesting
features, ft is understood that the news
papers, so far as practicable, in printing
the last two chapters of the story by Har
old Macfjrath, will also show a picture of
the successful contestant.
Solutions to the mystery must not he
more than 100 words long. Here are some
question* to be kept in mind in connection
vith the mystery as an aid to a solution:
No. 1 What becomes of the millionaire?
No. 2 W hat become* of the •* 1,000,000?
No. B—Whom does Florence marry?
No. i—What becomes of tho Russian
countess?
Nobody connected cither directly or In
directly with “ The Million Dollar Mys
tery” will be'considered as a contestant.
Illark Hundred, a man lenrna of she re
covery of the box from the new Ity a
rmIl«»r and of Ita auhaeqtirnt return to
the bottom of (he nea. nod lie quickly
enuiniunlcnfea the fact to Jonea. A du
plicate box la planted and later aeeured
Ity fhr hand, hut before Ita contents are
examined the box. myaterloualy disap
pears.
Find In it himself checkmated at every
turn, llrnlnr end?avora to enmesh the
Kara reave household In the law In
order to iculn free access to the houne.
The timely discovery of the plot by
Norton sets the police the heels of
the pack and results In' a raid on the
annit'a rendezvous. which. however,
proves to be barren of results.
The lllack Hundred bcffln so fear Nor
ton and plan to dispose of him. Again
the unnoticed butler shows his hand by
rescuing Norton and defeating llralne.
llrnlnr and Countess Olga plan a dnr-
Intf attempt to capture Florence and
Norton at a masked hull given by I*rln
•' ■» I’arlova. They defeat their own
plan by overanxiety.
Aud still the golden tinted hank notes
repose tranquilly In their hiding place!
"I>o you know where I can find her?"
Ihe maid eyed him with covert keeuness;
then, remembering tnnt the reporter was with
Florence, said: “l believe she is at the
Uoaa Harden this afternoon."
“That is iu town?”
“ Yes."
“Thanks" The man turned abruptly and
ran down the steps.
Tli* maid ran hack to Jones.
“Why didn't you call me?" he demanded
Impatiently.
“ There wasn't time."
“Did you tell him where she was?”
“ Yes. But I shouldn't have told him if
Mr. Norton had uot been with Miss Flor
ence.”
Jones ran to the front, daahed out, eyed
the back of the man hastening down th*
street, smiled, and returned to his work, or,
rather, (o the maid. He took her by the
shoulder, w hirled her about, and shot a look
into her eyes that quailed her.
“ Always call me hereafter, no matter
■what I'm doing. That man has uever laid
eyes on Florence and has no bleu what she
looks like. Why did you drug my coffee the
night of that ball?"
She stepped back.
" And how much did they pay you for
letting that doctor seuil Florence to Atlantic
City? 1 know everything. Hereafte., walk
straight, if you play anofuer trick I’ll kill
you with these two bauds. And listen and
tell this to your confederates; I always
kuow every move they make; that is why no
one ia aliasing from this house. Ther* is a
traitor, I,et them find him if they can. Will
you walk straight, or will you lenve?”
"1- I will walk straight,” she faltered.
" The money was too big a temptation."
" Did they give it to you?"
*' Yes. And more to stay here. But this
is the first bit of dishonest work I ever did."
" Well, remember wnat l have said. An
other misstep and I'll make an end to you.
Don't think I’m trying to acaro you. You've
witnessed enough to know that It's life aud
death iu this houae. Now run along."
At the Harden Jim and Florence sauntered
am.wig the crowd, not having any particular
objective point in view.
"Sh!" whispered Jim.
" Wnat U it? ”
" Olga I'erigoff ia yonder In a box."
" ' cry well; let u* go and ait with her.
1* ahe alone?’
" Apparently. But don't yon think we'd
better go elsewhere? "
" My dear young man." said Florence with
mock loftiness, " Olga I’erigoff has written
m* down a* a simple young fool, and that Is
why, sooner or later, I’m going to pnt the
shoe on tha other foot Yon and Jones have
coddled me long enough. Inasmuch aa 1 am
th* stake they are playing for, I intend to
have aomething more than a speaking part
In th# play."
" All right; you've th# admiral," he said
with pretended lightness
So th# two of them Joined their anhtle
enemy, conscience of a tingle of test aa they
did so. On her part, the counjess waa always
Kmmww—mvmmxmxmiMW.Avv'^vm^mttmuwumwwi^xwWxtmnuvvwnvnnuvtuuunwnMnuumvnmxnnxnuvuunwnuukmnmu^
FLORENCE. RISKS HER. LIBERTY TO OBTAIN THE MAGIC PAPERS.
auspicious of thia aleepy-eyed reporter. She
never could tell 'now much he knew. But of
Florence she was reasonably certain; and so
lemg as she could fool the pretty infant the
suspicions of the reporter were of a neg
ligible qnantity. She greeted them effusively
and offered them chairs. For half an hour
they sat there, chatting inanities, all the
while each mind busy with deeper concerns.
When the man in search of Florence even
tually arrived and aeAed the manager of the
garden if he knew Miss Hargreave by sight
the manager pointed toward tne box. The
man wound his way In and out of the idlers
and liy the time he reached the box Jim and
Florence lend made their departure. The
man bowed, approached, and asked if she
was Miss Hargreave. For a moment the
countess suspected n trap. Then it appealed
to her mind that if there was no trap it might
be well to pose as Florence, if only to learn
what the outcome might be.
“Yes. What is wanted?" she asked.
The man took a letter from his pocket and
’sanded it to Olga, saying: “Hive this to
your father. He knows how to read it."
Before she could reply the man had turned
and was hurrying away.
Olga opened the note, her heart besting
furiously. It was utterly blank. .tl first
all* thought it was s hoax. Then she hap
pened to remember that there was snch a
thing &a Invisible ink. At last! Hargreave
was alive; this letter settled all doubt in her
mind on this question. Alive! And not only
that, but th* girl and Jones were evidently
iu communication w-it’a him. She summoned
a waiter, made a secret sigu, and he bowed
and approached. She slipped the letter into
bis hand end whispered: “Show that at
th# cave tomorrow. It is in invisible ink and
meant for Hargreave."
" Ho’a alive?”
" Positively.”
“Very well." The waiter bowed and
strolled away nonchalantly.
Hralne waa in Boston over nigut, other
wise the countess would have taken the mys
terious note at once to him. She remained
for perhaps a quarter of an hour longer and
then left the garden. She would have taken
the letter to her own apartment but for the
fact that the chemicals needed were hidden
In the cave.
Now it happened that Florence went ont
for her early ride the next morning, aud
crossing a field ahe saw a man with a bundle
under his arm. The sun struck his profile
and limned it plainly, and Florence uttered a
low cry. The man had not observed her.
So. very quietly, she slipped from the horse,
tethered it to a tree, and started after the
man to learu what he was doing to far from
th# city. She would never forget tnat face.
She had seen it that dreadful night when the
n 't# had lured her into the hands of her
enemies. The face belonged to the man who
had impersonated bar father.
It occurred to her that rfu* might just as
well do a little defective work on her own
hook. Sh* had passed through so many terri
fy lug episode* that aha was beginning tty
crave for the excitement, strauge as this may
aeero. Like a gambler who has once played
for high stakes, sh# no longer found pleasure
In thimble* and needle* and pin*. She fol
lowed the roan with no little skill and at
length saw him approach a knoll, stoop,
apparently press a spring, and a hole sud
denly yawned. Th* man vanished quickly,
and the spot took on again Its virginal ap
pearance. A cave! Florence had the patience
to wait. By and by the man appeared again
aud slunk away.
When ahe was snre that he ws* beyond
range, ahe came out from the place of con
cealment, crept tip tit# knoll, and searched
about for th# magic Taudle of this strange
• ‘ '• T * '\ 1
...
*
.
■ '->* ,■ w . • V'v VTv ' , : -T:
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Mt/HERE HAVE THEY HIDDEN THAT MONEY.
door. Diligence rewarded her, and she soon
found herself in a large, musty earth-smelling
cave. Loot was scattered about, and there
were boxes and chairs and a large chest.
Men evidently met here, possibly after some
desperate adventure against society. She
found nothing to reward her hardihood, and
as she was in the act of moving toward the
cave's door she beheld with terror that it was
moving!
She was near the chest at that moment.
The cave was not a deep one. There was no
tunnel, only a wall. Resolutely she raise!
the lid of the chest, stepped inside, and drew
the lid down. She was just in time. The
door opened and three men entered, talking
volubly. They felt perfectly secure in talk
ing as loudly as they pleased. To Florence it
seemed almost Impossible that they did not
hear the thunder of her heart? Strain her
ears as she might, she could gather but little
of what they said, except:
“ If Hargreave had this paper we might all
be put on the defensive. To an outsider it
I* a blank paper. But the boss will he able
to read it . . ." The speaker moved
away from the vicinity of the chest and she
heard no more.
Very deftly Florence raised the lid just
enough to peep out. The man who had been
talking was putting the note in hi* hip pocket.
Aa he turned toward the chest lie sat down
on tne soapbox immediately in front of the
chest. An inspiration came to the girl, an
exceedingly daring one. She took her liberty
In her hands as she executed the deed. But
the dimness of the cave aided her. When she
crouched down again the magic paper was
hers.
It seemed hours to her before the men left
the cave. A* the neard the hidden door jar
In closing slse raised the lid and stepped out.
breathing deeply. The paper she hall pur
loined was indeed blank, but ‘Jones or Jim
would know wnat to do with it And
wouldn't they be surprised when she told
them what ahe had accomplished nil alone?
Her exultation was of short duration She
heard tne whin* of the door on its hinge*.
The men were returning. Why?
They were returning because they had dis
covered a woman's shoeprint outside. It
pointed toward the cave, freshly, and there
was none coming away. To reenter the
cnest would be foolhardy. It would be the
first place the men would look. She glanced
about desperately. She saw but one chance,
the well. And even while the door was
swinging inward, letting the brilliant sun
shine enter, she summoned up the courage
and let herself down into the well, which
proved to be nothing more nor less than an
underground river!
The men came in with a rush. They upset
boxes, looked into the chest, and the man who
was evidently in command gazed down the
well, snaking his head. TheiT search was
thorough, but tney found no one. And at
length they began to reason that perhaps a
woman had got as far as the door and then
turned away, walking on the turf.
Meantime Florence was borne along by the
swift current of the river, which gained in
swiftness every moment. From time to time
•he bumped along the rocky walls, but she
clung to life valiantly. In ten minutes she
was swept to the other side of the hill, into
the rapids; but the blue sky was overhead,
she waa out in the familiar world again. On,
on she was carried. Even though she wffb
half dead, she could hear the roar of a falls
somewhere in advance.
Braine tuought he really had a clue to the
treasure, and with his usual promptness he
set about to learn if it waa worth anything.
11* procured a launch and began to prowl
about, using a pole as a feeler. All the while
he was being closely watched hy Norton, who
had concluded to hang onto Braine's trail till
he found something worthy of note. Braine
was disguised, hut this time Jim was not to
be fooled. But what was he, looking for,
wondered the reporter? Braine continued
to pole along, sometimes pansing to look over
the gunwale down into the water. In rain
ing hia head after the last investigation he
discerned something struggling in the water,
abou* three hundred ynrds away. The cur
rent leisurely brought the object into full
view. It was a young woman with jnat
power enough to keep herself afloat. The
golden head roused somethin’- in him stronger
than curiosity. It might he!
Braine proceeded to move the lattnch in
the direction of the girl. It was this move-
ment that turned the reporter's (rare. Hs,
too, now saw the woman in the water and
wondered how Rhe had come there. When
Braine reached the girl and pnlled her into
the launch Jim Raw her face plainly.
He flew from his vantage point, found •
Hkiff, and started after Braine.
“By the Lord Harry!” murmured the
rogue. “ Well, they can talk of manna from
heaven, but this is what I call luck. Flor
ence Hargreave, out of nowhere. Into my
arms! The god of luck has cast another
horseshoe and it's mine.”
He had a flask in his pocket, and he forced
some of the biting spirits down the girl’s
throat. She opened her eyes.
“Well, my beauty?”
Florence eyed him wildly, not quite under
standing where he had come from.
“ I don’t know how you got here,” he said;
“and I don’t care. But here we are to
gether at last. Where is your father?”
“ I—l don’t know,” dazedly.
“ Better think quickly,” he warned. “ I
want lucid answers to my questions, or back
you go into the water. I’m about at the en 4
of my rope. I’ve been beaten too many
times, my girl, to have any particular love
for you. Now. where is your father?”
“I don’t.know; I have never seen him.”'
Braine laughed.
And Jim’s boat ran afoul some rocks and
into the water he went. He had not nit
tracted Braine’s attention, fortunately. He
began to swim toward the drifting launch. <
“Where have they hidden that money?”
“ I don’t know.”
“ Well, well; I’ve given you your chance.
You’ll have to try your luck with the water
again.”
Florence, weak as she was, set her lips.
“ You don’t ask for mercy I ” he said
Ibanteringly.
“ I should be wasting my breath to ask
for mercy from such a monster as you are,”
she answered quickly.
“That damned Hargreave nerve!” he
snarled.
He rolled up his sleeves and stepped
toward her. She braced herself but did not
turn her eyes from his. Suddenly, from
nowhere at all, came a pair of hands. One
clutched the gunwale and the other laid
hold of Braine. A quick pull followed, and
Braine began to topple. But even as he fell
he managed to fling himself atop his assail
ant: and it was only when the struggle began
In the water that he recognized the reporter.
All the devil in him came to the surface and
he fought with the fierceness of a tiger
kill, kill, kill. In nearly every inetance
meddling reporter had checkmated him. This
time one or the other of them should stay In
the watei. t
Norton recognized that he had a large order
before him to disable Braine. The recogni
tion between them was now frank and abso
lute; there could never again be any diplo-i
matic sidestepping. *
“ You’re a dead man, Norton! ” pant'd
Braine, as he reached for the reporter's
throat
Norton said nothing, but struck ths hand
aside. For a moment they both went under.
They came up sputtering, each trying for a
hold. ' It was a terribly enervating struggle.
Florence could do nothing. The boat in
which she sat continued to drift away from
the fighting men. Once she tried to reach
Braine with the pole he had been using, but
failed.
From the shore came another boat For
awhile she could not tell whether it con»
tained friends or enemies. It was terrible to
be forced to wait, absolutely helpless. When
she heard the newcomers call encouragingly
to Braine she knew then that the brave fight
of her sweetheart was going to come to
naught. She knew a little about motors.
She threw on the power and headed straight
toward the rowboat. The men shouted at
her, but she did not alter her course. The
rowboat had ita sides crushed in and the
men went piling into the water.
” Jim,” she cried.
Norton suddenly flung off Braine and began
to swim madly for the motorboat, which
Florence had brought about. Even then i if
was only by the barest luek in the world that
Norton managed to catch the gunwale. The
rest of it was simple. When they finally
reached a haven, Florence, oddly enough,
thought of the horse she had left tethered
nine miles from the stables. She laughed
hysterically.
“ I gueßH he won’t die. We can send some
one out for him. Now. for heaven's sake,
how did you get into this? Where were you?
What have you been up to?” with tender
brnsqueness.
” I wanted to do a little detective work of
my own,” she faltered.
“It looks as if you had done it. You
infant! Will you never learn to keep out
aide thi* muddle? It’s a man's work.”
Florence, thoroughly weakened by her long
immersion in the water, began to weep si
lently.
“You poor child. I'm a brute!” And ha
comforted her.
Later that day. at home, she remembered
the blank paper.
“ I stole this from one of the men In tha
cave. He said this blank paper would
probably save father.”
Jim took it. “ Hm! Invisible ink. aid
had a tine washing.”
“ But maybe it is waterproof.” * <
” Maybe It is. Anyhow. Miss Sherlock,
we'll show it to Jones and see what he say*.”
[to be cosnsntD.]