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MILLION BDUAI? MYSTII?Y^IkddMacQkK SIO,OOO FOR ONE HUNDRED WORDS. “ The Million Dollar Mystery ” itory will run lor twenty-two consecutive weeks in Ihii paper. Hy an arrangement with the Thanhovtrr Film company it hat bren made possible not only to read the itory tn thin paper but alto to tee It each week in the variant moving picture theaiert. For the tolution of thit myttery etory SIO.OOO trill be given by the 'J’hanhouter Film corporation. CONDITIONS GOVERNING THE CONTEST. The prire of SIO,OOO will be won by iha man, woman, or chiid who writei the mott acceptable tolution nl the myttery, from which the latt two reelt of motion picture drama will be made and the latt two chaptert of the itory written by Harold Mactirath. Soluiiont may be tent to the Than houtitr Film corporation at 5 South Wa bath avenur, Cnirago, 111., or Thanhouter Film corporation, 71 Weit Twenty-third itreet, New York City N. Y„ any time up to midnight. Jan. Vt, 1915. Thit allow * eeveral weeks after the latt chapter hat bren published. A board of there juigrt will determini which of the many tolutiont received it the mott acceptable. The judget are to be Harold MacOrath, Lloyd lonsrgan, and Mitt Mae Tinee. The judgment of thit Nargrrave, millionaire, after m ml ram I oil* r»«*ap« from Ike dm of tko gang of brilliant thieve* known nn the Blnck Hundred, Uvea the life of n re rliiar for eighteen jrmrm. Ilargrenve nc eldrntaily mrela Bralne, leader of Ike Black Hundred. Knonlag Bralne will try to set him, be earapea from kla own home by n balloon. Before eneaplns he writes a letter to the ftrle’ aehnol where eighteen year a before he nya terloualy left or the dooratep hla hahy daughter, Florence (iray. That day Har. greavr alao draw* $1,000,000 from the bank, but It la reported that tbla dropped Into the oea when the balloon he escaped la waa punctured. Florence arrive* from the glrla* aehool. f'ounteaa Olga. Hralne'a companion, vtalta her and claim* her mm a relative. Tho Black Hundred thea aee a means of mak ing Florence a target for their attaeks. They are after the $1,000,000. and Bralne, their leader, nets trap* for Floremee. The Black Hundred, after a number of attempts, fall, dne to the wisdom as Jones, the llargreave butler, and Norton, m newspaper man. Concealed at the readeavaas of tho ■lack Hundred, a man learns of the re (OWrlght: 1»1«: *>' MacOrmtli.l CHAPTER XXII. A NIQHT Or ADVBNTI'n»a. THE federal government agreed to say nothing, to put no obstacle* In tho way of tho Ruaaian agent, provided ho could abduct hi* trio without ae fiously clashing with tho Now York police lUthorlUoa. It wa» a recognized fact that local police foroo wanted tho newspa per glory which would attend th# croahlng *f th* Black Hundred. It would bo an am yloit. But their glory wa* nil; nor did Bar ren take hi* trio hack with him to Ruaala Many atrango thing* happened that night, the night of the final adventure. Florence aat in her room reading. Th* look wa* "Oliver Twist,” not the pleaaant tat aort of hook to read under th* existing ilrcumatancea. Hoveral time*—ah* had cached th* place where Fagln overheard S’anry’a confession ah* fancied eh* heard loor* cloning aoftly, but credited It to hat pagination. Poor Nancy, who wanted to ba ood but did not find time to bo! Florence >osteered a habit familiar to moat of na; ho need of apple* or candy when w* are ending. So the rang the bell for her maid, Pending to aak her to bring np aom* sp rite. She turned to her reading, pretently ® break off and ttrike the belt again. Whom rat that maid? She waited perhaps firs oinutea, then laid down the bo..k and be tan to Investigate. There wa* not a aervant to be found la ho entire houao! What In tho world conld hat mean? Va*d a* *h* was to heartrend ng auapenaea, the waa none the let* torri led. Something had taken th* aervwntn Irom the house. From whence wa* th# laitgcr to come thla time. Wher* wa* one*? Why did he not return *■ ha had iremisedT It waa long paat the hour whea i* said he would he hack. She went into the library and picked np he telephone. She waa told that Mr. Nor rn waa out on an assignment, hut that te would be notified the moment he re timed. She opened a drawer In the deak. the touched th* automatic hut did not take t up. Bh# left the drawer opan. however. Earlier, at the newspaper office that night, flm went into the managing editor's offlea ,nd laid a bulky manuacript on that gen lonian's deak. “1* this It?" "It is." said Jiaa. “You have captured them?" “ No; but there I* a net about them from ehlch not one ahall escape. There'* tho tory of ray adventure*, of th* adventure* t Mia* Hargroave and the butler, Jones fou'll find it exciting reading. Ton might Mat as well tend it up to th* composing nem. At midnight I’U telephone th# Intvo luctlon. It’* a acoop. Don’t worry about bat” The editor riffled the page*. “A hundred and twelve pages, 900 word* a the page; man, it*a a novel!" " It’ll read like on#.'' “Bit down for a moment and let me akim trough the flrat atory.” At the end of tea minute* the editor laid board wiU be abtoluie and final. Nothing of a literary nature will be contidered in the deration, nor given any preference in the telection of the winner of the 910,005 priee. The latt two teelt, whioh will give the mott acceptable tolution to the myt tery, will be pretented in the theateri having thit feature at toon at it it pot lible to produce the tame. The itory corre tponding to thete motion picturei will ap pear in the new.tpapert coincidentally, or at toon after the appearance of the pio turn at practicable. With the latt two teelt wilt be shown the picturei of the win ner, hit or her home, and other interesting features. It it understood that the news papers, to far at practicable, in printing the latt two chapter t of the itory by Har old MacOrath, will alto thaw a picture of the tuccettful contestant. Solutions to the mystery mutt not be more than 100 wordt long. Here are tome gvettioni to be kept in mind in connection with the myttery as an aid to a tolution: No. I —TFAaf becomet of the millionaireT No.t- WAat becomes of tA« t1,000,000t No. 9—Whom does Florence marry f No. -What becomes of the Russian count cut Nobody eonneetsd either directly or in directly with “ The Million Dollar Mys tery" will be considered as a contestant. SYNOPSIS OF FRKVIOU9 CRAPTIUU. orrery ot the hon from the mem hy • ■•liar and of Its aobar*urat return ta the bottom as the a.a, aad be aulckly roaaulrat.a (be fact to Jomem. A du plicate bom la ,lanted aad later aecured by the baad, but befere Its contents are cmaaalned the bom asynterloualy dl.a,- peara. Madina himself checkmated at tnrj turn, Bralne endeavor, ta eameak the llargreave household la the law la ardar to gala free aeceaa ta the hauae. 1%. timely <ll.cover, of tho plot by Norton acta the police at the herla of the pack aad re.ulla la a raid oa tke gang's rea dervovia, which, however, proven ta ba barren as results. The Blark Hundred begin to fear !tar t.a and plan to dlapoaa as him. Afata the unnoticed butler shewn hla hand bp reaming .Norton and defeating Bralne. Florence .ecure. a mysterious paper which la of vital Importance te her father'* aafetr* Bralne loses hope as ■ecuring tho gI.OOtgOOO aad turns to ra veage. Heart Servan la gtvea documentary evidence against tho Black Haadred. They try to get It from him hy a clever ruse, hut again Janea heats them ta It. down tbn copy. He opened a drawer and look out two envelopes. The blue one he lore up and dropped Into the waste basket. Norton understood and amile-1. They had meant to discharge him If he fell down. The other envelope was a fat one. “ Open it," said the editor, smiling a lit tle himself. Tills envelope contained a check for $3,(100, two round trip drat class tickets ta ,i - Aw?JMninßwß|k|i/ <. & fii TwßSHirii * wk*** *<Jp IBM— ms ' mV' V tiff ' ~I~TIII 111 111 I■BiBBBiMBMIMBBBI^—BBIIBBIiBiiiIM^^^^^ I together with Innumerable con tinental tickets such as are issued to tsar ist#. ” Why two? ” asked Jim Innocently. “ Forget It, my boy, forget It. You ought to know that In this office we don't employ blind men. The whole staff is on. There yon are, a fat check and three months' va cation. Go and get married; and if you return before the three months are up I’ll fire you myself on general principle*.” Jim laughed happily and the two men shook hands. Then Jim went forth to com plete th# big assignment. Five minute* later Florence called hiss up te learn that he had gone. What should the do? Joaet had told her to stay ia the boute and not to leave it But whore was he? Why did he not come? What wa* the meaning of this desertion by th# servant*? She wandered about sim- lessly, looking out of windows, Imagining forms in the shadows. Her imagination had not deeelveJ her; she had heard doors clos, softly. “Susan, Susan!” she murmured; but Susan was in the hospital. Oliver Twiat! What had possessed her to start reading that old tale again? She should have read something of a light and Joyous character. After half an hour's wandering about the lonely house ahe re turned to the library, feeling that she would be safer where both telephone and revolver were. And while ahe sat waiting for she knew not what, her swiftly beating heart send ing the blood into her throat so that it al most suffocated her, a man turned into the street and walked resolutely toward the Har greavo place. He passed a man leaning against a lamp post, but he never turned to look at him. '’ap"' j otiEu.£nJCaix or coutojnT olqa This man, however, threw away his cigar and hot looted It to the nearest pay station. He knew in hi* sout that he had just aeen the man for whom they had been hunting all these weary bnt strenuous week* Stan ley Hargreave in the flesh! Half an hour after hi* terephon# message the chief of the Black Hundred and many lesser lights were on their way to the house of mystery. Had they but known! Now, the man who had created thia tre tnendoua agitation went serenely on. He proceeded directly and fearlessly to the front door, produced a latch key and entered. Ho passed through the hall and reception room to the lihfary and paused on the threshold dramatically. Florence atepped back with a aharp cry of alarm. She had heard the hall door open and close and had taken 't for granted that Jones had returned. There was s tableau of abort duration. “Don’t yon know me?” asked the stranger In a singularly pleasant voice. Florence had been imposed upon too many times. She shook her head defiantly, though her knees shook so that she was certain that the least touch would send her over. "I am your father, child!” Florence slipped unsteadily behind the desk and seized the revolver which lay in ♦he drawer. The man by the curtain* smiled sadly. It was a smile that caused Florence to waver a bit. Still, ahe extended her arm. “You do not believe me?” said the man, advancing slowly. “ No. I have l»een deceived too irony times, sir. Stay where you are. Yon will wait here till my butler returns. 0, if I were only sure!” she burst out suddenly and passionately. “ What proof have you that you are what you say?” IQ ELQORe OT© ile came toward her, holding out hi* hands “This, tha tyou cannot shoot me. Ah, the damnable wretches! What have they done to yon, my child, to make you auaplrioug of every one? How I have watched over you in secret! I will tell you what only Jone* and the reporter know, that the aviator died, that I alone wat res cued. that I gava Norton the five thousand, that 1 watched the windows of the Rus sian woman, and overheard nearly every plot that was hatched in the council cham ber of the Black Hundred; that I was shot in the arm while croaeing the lawn one night. And now we have the scoundrel! Juat where we want them. They will be in tlii* house for tue within half an hour, and not one of them will leave it In freedom. 1 am your father, Florence; 1 am the lonely father who ha* spent the heat years of his life away from you in order to secure your safety. Can’t you feel the troth of all this?’ “ No, no! Please do not approach any nearer; stay where you are!” At that moment the telephone rang. With the revolver still leveled she picked up the receiver. “Hello, hello! Who Is It? . . . O, Jim, Jim, come at once! I am holding at bay a man who says he is my father. Hold him where he Is, you say? All right, I will. Come quick!” “Jim!" murmured the man, still advan cing. He must have that revolver. The poor child might spoil the whole affair. “So what Jones tells me is true: that you are going to marry this reporter chap?" She did not answer. “With or without my consent?” If only he would drop that fearless smile! she thought. “ With or without anybody’s consent,” ahe said. “ What In the world can I eay to you to convince you? ”he cried. “ The trap is set; but If Braine and his men come and find us like this, good heaven, child, we are both lost! Come, come!” “Stay where you as#!’’ At that moment she heard a sound at the door. Her gaze roved; and it was enough for the man. He reached out and caught her arm. She tried to tear herself loose. “My child, In God’s name, listen to rea son! They sre entering the hall and they will have us both.” Suddenly Florence knew. She could not have told you why; but there was an ap peal in the man’s voice that went to her heart “ You are my father! ” “ Yes, yes! But you’ve found It out Just n trifle too late, my dear. Quick; this side of the desk!” Braine and hla men dashed Into the library. Olga entered leisurely. “Both of them!” yelled Bmlne exult antly. “ Both of them together; what luck! ” There was a sharp, fierce struggle; and when It came to an end Hargreav© was trussed to a chair. “Ah, so we meet again, Hargreave! ” said Braine. Hargreave ahrugged. What he wanted was Time. “ A million! We have you. Where Is It, *r I’ll twlat your heart before your eyes.’’ “ Father, forgive me! ” “ I understand, my child.” “Where is It?” Braine seized Florence tty the wrist and swung her toward him. ” Don’t tell him. father; don't mind me,” said the girl bravely. Braine, ensiling hi# old evil smile, drew the girl close. It was the last time he ever touched her. "Look!" screamed Olga. Every one turned, to see Jones’ face peer ing between the curtains. There was an ironic smile on the butler's lips. The face vanished. “After him!” cried Braine, releasing Florence. “After him!" mimicked a voice from the hall. The curtains were thrown back suddenly. Jones appeared, and Jim and the Russian agent and a dozen policemen. Tableau! Braine was tha only man who kept his head. He floored Norton, smashed a win dow. and leaped out. The blow dazed Nor ton, but be was on his feet almost instantly „od followed Braine through the window. Across the lawn the two sped, with an ex change of shots which emptied both auto- matics but did no damage. Bralne headed for his auto. He jumped in, only to be hauled out again by the furious reporter. A hand to hand fight followed; and the clean life of the reporter told. “There, my angelic friend, T believe that the game Is up. There Is one shot left in this antomatic. If you make any attempt to escape, I’ll let you have it; not to kill but to disable. You and your precious countess will sail tomorrow morning for the Baltic, and from there you will go to the lead mines.” He dragged his prisoner toward the house. "Your troubles are over, my child,” said Hargreave, as he pressed Florence to big heart “And mine have begun,” murmured countess. “ But I have still one shot.” The police stood encircling lier. Calmlv she opened her handbag and took out her handkerchief. It was a thick and heavy ■ilk one. Swiftly she unscrewed the top of her walking stick (it will be seen now that the carrying of it was not an affectation!), extracted a vial and th-~— it violently ta the floor. An overpowering sweet odor filled the room. Jones, knowing how deeply versed Brnine was in oriental poisons and narcotics, made a desperate but futile effort to tear down a curtain to throw over the liquid; but even in the effort he felt hla senses going. The last he was conscious of yvas a mocking laugh. But the entrance of Jim, dragging Bralne after him, shocked all the banter out of the countess. She turned and rushed madly for the stairs, without having the least Idea how she was to manage an escape from the upper stories. She had thought Bralne free. As she flew up the steps all the past re turned, all her warnings to that stubborn man. This was the end . . . Russia I The horrors of the cold and the deadly damps of the mines . . . forever! Jim, still holding the battered conspira tor, watched her flight in amazement. He could not understand —till he pushed Braiue into the library and the vanishing odor as sailed his nostrils. What these fumes were he was never to know, but they proved to be transitory. Five minutes sufficed to bring all back to their senses. For the while they forgot Olga. “ This man is mine,” said Servan, nodding toward Bralne, “He’s yours without charge,” said Jim. “ I am an American citizen,” said Bralne, who, realizing what the future held, readily preferred a long prison term in America to the horrors of Russian exile. “ Your certificate has been destroyed,” said Servan, “ and the state department consid ers your papers void because you obtained them under false oaths. You are an unde sirable citizen; and the republic is happy to learn that you will be taken off its hands.” " And because,” added Norton, “ yon have laid too many mines in the blackmailing business, and the government does not pro pose to have them made known to the pub lic through a. long and useless trial. It was a long run, old top; but right is right. And by the way, I want you to meet Mr. Jed eon, formerly of Scotland Yard. He indicated Jones, who started. "Yes,” went on the reporter, “I recog nized him long ago.” “ It Is true,” said Hargreave, taking Jones’ hand in his own. “ Fifteen years ago I em. ployed him to watch my affairs, and very well has he done so. And to yon, yon wretch,” turning upon the haggard Bralne, "listen: there is a million, and you have been within a foot of it a dozen times. It has been under your very nose. Do yon remember Poe’s ‘Purloined Letter’? Ha! Under your very nose, within touch of your hand! Now, take him away, Mr. Servan. The police will be satisfied with the pris oners they have.” So, presently, Hargreave, Jones, Florence, and Jim were alone. That smile which had revealed to Florence her father’s identity stole over his face again. He put his hand on Jim’s shoulder and beckoned to Flor ence. “ Ar * really anxious to marry this young man?” Florence nodded. Well, then, do so. And go to Europe with him on your honeymoon; and as a wedding present to you both, for every dollar that he has I will add a hundred; and when you get tired of travel you will both come back here to live. The Black Hundred has ceased to exist.” “And now," said Jones, shaking his shoul ders. “Well?" said Hargreave. “My business is done. Still " Jones paused. “Go on.” said Hargreave soberly. " ell, the truth is, sir, I’ve grown used to you. And If you’ll let me play the butler till the end I shall be most happy.” " I was going to suggest It.” Norton took Florence by the hand and drew her away. “Where are you taking me?" she asked. "I'm going to take this pretty hand ot yours and put it flat upon $1,000,000. And if yon don't believe it, follow me.” She followed. [TAi* is the last chapter of " The Million Dollar Myttery” that will appear until after the SIO.OOO prize hat been awarded, when tha concluding chapter!, written by Mr. MacOrath from the best solution offered, will be pub lished.}