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Show t Hi s'f. mHb HF HI 1 IBB 1 1 H LOUI8 JOSEPH ai i mi B VANCE ii""s""iiM'MMSBBHBBi H Each Episode Suggested by a Prominent Author B Serializaiion by HUGH WEIR and JOE BRANDT Jb Produced by the Universal Film Manufacturing Company J Copyright. 1015, by the Universal Film Manufacturing Company. m H SECOND EPISODE H The Tenement House Evil SuMeiledby LOUIS JOSEPH VANCE HJ Author of "The Lono Wolf " HH And "Nobody" H SYNOPSIS. HJ Dudley Larnlgan, district attornoy HJ of Now York, attacks tlio liquor and HH vlco trusts. Ho is klllod by an agont HH of a soorot sooloty, tho oommittoo of HJ flftoon. His Don, Bruco Larnlgan, Is J aleotod distriot attornoy and takos Hj up tho fight. Bruoo is In lovo with H Dorothy Maxwoll, whoso father is HH head of tho insuranoo trust. H , nuCH LAItNIOAN hnd wonthe H M first battle in Ills light against HH MJLw tho fifteen, a mysterious graft HH syndlcnto which, composed not HH jf chenp politicians, but of great bust- HHl ncss men, had strangled New York in HH Its nefarious grip and was planning to HH spread Us activities to cover tlio whole HH country, lint Bruco had no Illusions. HHl A final and despairing attempt to bent HH hltu on election day Itself by attempting HJ to provo that he hud accepted a bribe HH front tho liquor Interests to secure lax HH enforcement of tho law had fulled, HH thanks partly to his own cleverness ami HH partly to tho help of Dorothy Maxwell, HH his fiancee. HH Hut llruco knew thnt the real fight HJ was only Just beginning. Tho giaft HJ. Byndlcate was Intrenched In power. It HH had warned his father, Dudley I.nnil HH Ran, that death wotijd bo his reward If HJ ho did not desist from his efforts f ox- HJ poso Its corruption. It had tmuln good HJ tho wnrnlug, and llruco hnd sworn not HH only to finish his fathor's tincouiplcted H work, but to avenge his death as well. PIVl TtrilPA KtnilfllP.1 Ut.it... nlilihn..,l HJ to ho a great capltnllst. a distinguished HH financier, a man justly honored by tho HJ comniuulty and worthy of respect and J confidence. Vet Stnnfoul Stone was HJ the head of the graft syndicate. It HJ was Stanford Stone who hud decreed J Dudley Lurnlgun's death uml Stuuford HJ Stone who hud led the assault upon HJ IJrnce himself. .Moreover nnd this HJ llruco did not suspect, either a per- HJ Bonnl motive luy liehliid Stone's enmity HJ for lilin, for Stone was In love with HJ Dorothy Mu.uvoll. HH llruco hml determined thnt his first HH inove must be to strike at tnc evils of HH the tenement house district, which his HH father had been planning to ttilco up. HJ "I "nut the man higher up." he told HH his mother. "I know there Is one, ami I kPChhIhI H "ifeitfrilfHilBBBBSfflBHwHB HH "Look at this," iald Bruca, ahowina HH Stono the totter. HH It Is ho that 1 must get. I don't know HJ I yet who ho Is, hut I'm going to tlud J HJ Ho was at home when ho snld that. HJ leaning over his mother's chair. And HJ even us he spoke a tiny dint whistled HH by his ear and wus burled In the back HH of his mother's chair. So faint wus thu HH Round, so tiny the missile, thnt his HJ,j mother know nothing of It. ltruce got HJJ It out nnd found that around the dnrt Hi was wrapid n note. Ho read it. It Hi HHJ "Warning: Stop Investigating the HH tenements. The Fifteen." HJH llruco smiled rather grimly; theru Hi was a drawing of u skull on the note. HHJj Ho stcpjK'd to the window, hoping thnt HHW whoever hnd thrown tho dart might be HHV within sight. Hut no suspicious chnr- HHb ncter of any sort ruwnrdcd his search- HJ Ing glanco lustend he saw Dorothj HHr, Muxwell and Stanford Stone upproneh H-': Ing tho house. They looked up nnd HHlu waved to him. H ft "I certainly didn't expect to seo cither HHlV, of youl" snld Ilruce, Inughlngly. "Ilnvo HHM J',m seen any suspicious looking char-HHyij char-HHyij . aetcr around?" BLlaHHHHa "No 00 0Iccr'' you-you look pretty JHJHJHJV "usptcluusr toughed Stone. "Why?" HHHHHHHLyiil.i'' m t "Nothing-no mnttcr," snld llruco. "Come In and seo my mother, won't you?" "I'll tell you why I asked you (lint question, Sir. Stone," snld llruco when they were alone. "Look ut this." Ho handed him tho note, first drawing draw-ing n lino through "Tho Fifteen." "Only fourteen now," he said. "I got rid of Murphy! I'll run them down nnd get even with my father's murderers!" Outsldo they separated, Uruco nnd Dorothy to go downtown, Stono to hurry to his olllce, his face set In lines of grim determination. Ho strodo rap-Idly rap-Idly toward his ofllce. And thero ho called a meeting of tho fifteen. Anton Dow, hend of tho tenement houso trust, appeared, angry becauso of newspaper stories nbout Uruce's determination to get tho man higher up In tho tenement evils. Dow know, as llruco did not. thnt he himself wns tho mnti higher up. nnd his nervousness wus unconcealed. uncon-cealed. "We've got to strlko at him before he enn hit us!" said Stone angrily. "Our whole position Is menaced by this one man. Dow. you nre the one chiefly Interested. In-terested. 'ou own some property In the tenement dlstilct of n well, n questionable sort?" "I suppose I do " stld Dow. "I'm not responsible for my tenants." "Well, trap I.urnlgau with n womnn In one of your houses." "Yees-that can bo done." agreed Dow. after a moment's thought. "We'll plan the detnlls Inter, Stone." ' There wns more talk, nnd then Dow had to hurry home to lunch. Dow was a model father nnd husband. Ho wns devoted to his wife, uml his love for his two children. Harold and Lillian, knew no bounds. And meanwhile, even while Dow played with his own children In his luxurious home, Ilruce nnd Dorothy were .seeing other children In n house thnt uas also owned by Dow. IJutthls house wns a tenement thnt disregarded disregard-ed law and decency alike. There were no lire escapes; tho heating system wns out of order, and there wus running water from only ono tup on each lloor. 'Dorothy and tho woman's two children chil-dren weut to look over the building. Ilruce. sickened, went to the street. Other children came to talk with him, nnd he sat down on tho stoop and plnyed with them. Across tho street was a saloon and from this emerged a burly, 111 favored man, nt the sight of whom tho children shuddered. "Hey, youset Ilent It! Wo don't wnnt no dndo reformers down this way -seo?" said tho fellow, whom Ilruce recognized us a cheap ward politician named Hlack. Ilruce smiled, took out a pad and mndo a note. Hlack shook his list In his face nnd. turning, made a slgnnl that set several roughs across tho street In motion. Ilruce started to rise; Hlack knocked him down, nnd tho gung enmo touring over. "Kick him till bo's n stiff!" yelled Hlack. Hut u sudden and remarkable Intervention Inter-vention came to Hruce's aid. As If by Instinct tho children Hung themselves upon him, covering him with their soft bodies. The gang stopped; even their brutality shrunk from attacking the children. Bruco hnd time to draw his revolver nnd rose, the weapon In his hand Hlack tinned nnd inn; the gang-steis gang-steis drew guns nnd looked for sheltur. Hut tho children's screams had brought the police, nnd llruco wns safe for the time. From that moment Hruce went to work with redoubled energy. And Dorothy, Dor-othy, pulnfully Impressed by what she hud seen, hud helped by trying to do what sho could for tho tenement children. chil-dren. Sho know sho could not do much for tho whole city, but In thut one house sho Improved conditions vastly, tlno night she wus visiting tho Don's, old friends of her family, and described describ-ed tho class sho had established for thu children of tho tenement house. "And tonight." snld Dorothy "tonight "to-night we're going to have n Clnlstmns tree for them down there. I'm going down now to glvo out tho little presents." pres-ents." ".Mother, can't we go nnd seo?" cried Lillian. "Oh. yes pleaso!" echoed Harold. Mrs. Dow hesitated. Hut they pleaded plead-ed so eagerly that sho gavo In ut lust, nnd Dorothy took them with her. Ou tho way she stopped nnd telephoned to tell Hruco and nsk him to Join her. Ills voice us ho answered was excited. "I'll come If I can us soon as I can." he snld. "Dorothy, I'm on the trail ut last, I do believe! Tonight I've got a chance to get the evidence I need." What hnd happened wns Pint ttu nfteruoon a woman limt nim, t iir,. In his ollltftj. i minum wIm.m. piute slon no onu eouu wiwku. "Say," sho buhl, when she wns will. I him alone. "You went to get the good on til this teaeuitnt stuff, don't in t Well, you como down to my placo tonight, to-night, and I'll seo thnt you get It You've got to como to tho house." Uruco laughed nt her. "Do I look ns easy ns nil that?" ho said. "Do you supposo I can't recognize recog-nize ns obvious n trap as that?" "Aw, I knew It wasn't any usol" sho said. "I told them you wouldn't come. Hut I'll get tho devil tho main guy's goln' to bo there" "What?" Fnld llruco sharply. "Ho is, eh? Well, thnt might make a difference" differ-ence" lie hesitated, questioned her sharply. sharp-ly. Hut In the end ho decided to go tnklng certain precautions. Tho time came, and Hruce, still hesitating hesi-tating a little but determined to face the risk that he saw could not he avoided, went with tho woman to her house. The wholo thing filled htm with disgust; the woman herself and the girls he saw In her house revolted him. "You see. you enn llnd out whnt's going on here." said the womnn. "It's plnln enough my God, what's that?" There was n thunderous knocking nt tho door. Heavy blows fell against It, nnd it came crashing In. A sound of police followed. "They doublo crossed mo the Joint's pinched!" screamed tho woman. Abruptly Hruco saw what had been I planned and went white. Hut Just ns a policeman stepped up to him another man in plnln clothes appeared. "Olllccr, leave Mr. Lnrnlgnn nlone," ho said. "He's hero to get evidence. Arrest tho woman no ono else." "Yes, Mr. Commissioner." snld the man, saluting. This wus Hruce's counterstroke. Uo had arranged for tho police commls- : I ",)a.ii,iii inii.;i i J"jgj"B VHHBCnM V kWmmmmmmmmmmm "Thore's one of your houses burning upl" he cried. sloner to accompany any raiding party and hud told him his plans In ndvunce. His repututlou wus safe. Hut now u new factor catno Into sight. Anton Dow, furious at the frustration frus-tration of bis plans, suddenly appeared. "Arrest both those men!" ho cried. "I demand it!" "Anton Dow!" cried Hruce. "So you nro 'the main guy' hero! You nre ono of tho Fifteen ono of my father's murderers!" mur-derers!" Dow realized his mistake. But he tried desperately to securo Hruce's arrest ar-rest Only n sudden commotion outsldo out-sldo the houso checked htm. "Fire!" yelled some ono nt a window. win-dow. "In tho houso across tho street!" Uruco toro over to look. Flames were pouring from the door and the lower windows of the house, which had no Uro escapes! Ho understood tho full horror of It In n moment. Dorothy was thero! He turned frantically to Dow. "There's ono of your houses burning up!" ho cried. "No Uro escapes! Dorothy Dor-othy Maxwell Is there, trying to help tho children you oppress! And with her nre your own children!" Dow. stricken, never doubting, col-Inpscd. col-Inpscd. Hruco raced to tho street. The policemen followed. Firemen were nr-riving. nr-riving. Ladders were going up. Hruco knew tho window where Dorothy must be. Ho was up tho first ladder and found her with tho two Dow children. Do brought them to safety and then bellied in tlio work of rescue. Dow. stammering. Incoherent, enmo to Hruce. "I've been wrong I've been n sinful man!" ho snld. "Hut I sec my wickedness. wicked-ness. I will reform every building I own. And tomorrow morning I will glvo you tho evidence ugnln.st tho rest!" "Como to my olllco nt 0 o'clock." said Bruce. Neither saw thnt Hlack, lurking near by, heard. Neither knew that Ulack got word to Stanford Stono. Hruco was up nil night. On Christmas Christ-mas morning, when ho had dono nil ho vuu.y ,u4 iuu ulu outii'iviB, iiu went lu his ofllco to wait for Dow. Ho looked at tho clock S:30. Ills mother called him up. Sho begged him to como to her at once said that she must see him. He hesitated, then scribbled a note. "Dow," it read. "I will be back, at 0:30. Valt." Outsldo his ofllco ho met Dorothy. "I wus afraid," sho said. "I wanted you to como home." "Come with me." ho said with a laugh. "I must hurry back, but I'll hnve breakfast nt homo with you and mother." Dow come, found tho note nud sat down to wait. Ho hnd gono to pieces. Tho escapo of his children had uu-uerved uu-uerved htm. He glanced nt tho clock. Nino o'clock. In his own olllce Stanford Stone, too, 'ooked at his clock. He watched the mlnntes pnBs slowly (111 five had gone. And at the fifth minute, when, as Stono supposed. Dow would Just he beginning his revelations to Ilmce, an explosion shattered Hruco's room. A bomb conuected with the clock was set off, nnd Dow wns lustnntly killed. Only nn accident had saved Hruce from sharing bis fnte. To Bo Contlnuodl j. I |