Show h C M I 1 I 1 I 1 ian ti oil n dollar bynter all y by HAROLD MAC GRATH illustrated from scenes in the photo drama of tho the same namo name by the film company Com panty 11 copyright 1814 by aarold SYNOPSIS stanley hargreave Harg millionaire after ft a miraculous escape from botn tile th den ot of the gang of brilliant thieves thieve known as the black hundred lives tile th life or of a recluse for eighteen years nar Itar greave accidentally meets bragne leader of tile the mack hundred knowing bragne will try to get balloon tal alm im he escapes from hla his own leonle b by a iet balloon loon cetora bebur ef leapIng he writes a letter to the gir garla 1 a SO sili 1 ool ol 01 where eighteen years before lie he left on the doorstep his baby daughter florence gray that day hargreave Flar greave also also draws one million dollars dollar from roni the bank but it Is reported that this dropped into the sea when the balloon he escaped in was punctured florenco florence arrives from roni tile the girls school countess olga dragnes Dr Br alnes ailles companion visits her and claims to bo ba a relative two bogus detectives call but their plot li ii foiled by norton a newspaper man uy bribing the captain of tho the orlen orient t norton laya a a a trap for or bragne and hl his katiff garig countess Counte aa olga also visits tho orients orient captain and she mile easily falls alls into the ilia reporters snare the plan proves abortive through throng brainen nr Bral alnea nen good luck and only hirelings hari langa fall all into the hands liandi of 0 the lie police after failing in their first attempt the black hundred trap florence they ask her he for or money lut but she escapes again telling oiling them norton and tile the countess call all on florence tile tha next day once moro more baft at homo home the visitors having gone jones removes a se section alon of flooring and ana from a cavity takes a box pursued by members of the black hundred he rushes to the water front and succeeds in dropping the box into tile the sea braine con celver the idea of giving a coaching party to which florence la is invited jones anti anil norton both go along and are fortunately on land hand to save sava florence from being imprisoned in the country house to which sha Is lured hired florence goes horseback riding and li Is captured by one of braines Br alnes men along tie the 1 roadside norton resau rescues her they are pursued however and ties the pair make their complete escape only after norton has exploded it a tire lira on the fast approaching anat machine hine with a bullet countess olga scheming to break the en an pa a g gement e e now ow existing between florence fr re anve rand hargreave a r t and norton invites them both t to 0 tier her apartments anil and pro portends tends to faint in n the reporters arras arms florence appears in n tile the doorway just at the planned moment ent and as an ft a result gevea norton orton back al h his Is ring accomplices of brains succeed in florence while slie she Is shopping and hurry tier her orr off to sea ea norton receives a wireless elest later informing him thattie that the girl had leaped into the sea and been drowned CHAPTER X continued the man told the story of florences leap into the sea and her subsequent arrival at the cape funny said the stranger 1 I 1 dont recollect reading about any young woman oman being lost at sea but those big liners are always keeping beeping such things under cover voodoos hoodoos the ship hip they and turns prospective passengers to other lines it hurts business the young girl look like florence was described minutely the stranger teetered teet ered la in his chair and smoked finally he spoke she probably was insane thata the way generally with insane people they cant see water or look off a tall building wit without hout wanting to jump my ty business Is insurance and weve got the thing figured pretty close to the ground they used to get the best beat of us on the game A man would take out a large policy today and tomorrow hed blow his head off and wed have to pay his wife but nowadays a policy Is not borth the paper its written on it if a man commits suicide under two years you aint bryin to insure anybody in town are youl you oh no no work for me when im on my vacation well im going to bed and tomorrow morning ill go out to captain barnes beach and have a good swim im no sailor but I 1 like water lie he honestly enjoyed swimming carly the next morning ho he was in the water irater frolicking about as playfully as a boy ile he hod had all the time in the world over ills his shoulder he saw two women ruren wandering down toward the beach deeper he went farther out he Is was a bold swimmer hut but that did aut ot prevent a sudden and violent attack of cramps and it was a rare piece ct 0 irony that the poor girl should save the lite life of that scoundrel who was without pity or mercy As she saw hla his face a startled frown marred her brow but she could not figure out the puzzle had she ever seen the man mail before she did not know she could not tell why could not she kemem oer why must her poor head ache so when she ebo tried to pierce the wall of darkness which surrounded her mentally tho the man thanked her feebly but not in his heart when he be had sufficiently recovered he returned to the village and sought the railway station where the western union had its office 1 I want to send bend a code message to my firm do yoa think you can follow it 1 I can tn in sald fald the operator the code was vaa really slav and when the long met sage was signed it was signed by the name iba day after tile news came that florence had jumped overboard off the banks with a dozen other men hud had started out to comb all the fishing villages along the abe now england coast somewhere along the way he felt confident that lie he would learn lier the girl was dead or alive it 1 site she was dead then the game was a draw but if she was waa aliv alive e there was wil it a lighting chance for the black fl undred lie he had had bad so some me idea of re I 1 41 lulng in the village and accomplishing g vork it upsal 1 but alvic ellb aeration he concluded that it was waa important enough for brains himself to take a hand in so the following night he departed tor for boston from there to new york lie ile proceeded at once onca to the apartment of at the princess where brains declared that he himself would go to the obscure village and claim florence as his own child but to to insure absolute absolu to success they would charter morses yacht and steam right up into the primitive harbor when lett left the apartment norton saw him lie ile was a man of impulses and he be had found by experience that first impulses are generally the best lie ile did not know who was any roan man who called on the Prin princess cees Pe while brains was with tier her would be worth following on the other hand recognized the reporter instantly and wi elih that ever ready and alert mind of hla his bet act about to lure tile the young man into a trap out of which he might not easily come norton decided to follow his man ile he might be going on a wild goose chase he reasoned still his first impulses had hitherto served him well lie ho looked careworn ile he was convinced that florence was dead despite t the he assertions of jones to the contrary ile he had gone over all the mishaps which had taken place and he was now absolutely convinced that his friend brains and the princess Pe Perl goff were directly concerned florence had either been going to or coming from the apartment and that memorable day of the abduction the princess had bad been in the dry goods shop vrola ccok a downtown surface car and norton took the same ile he sai sat huddled in a corner never suspecting that wa was s witt watching ching him from a corner of his eye norton was not keen today the thought of vlorence florence kept running through hla his head the car stopped and got oft off lie he led norton a winding course which at length ended at the door of a tenement building entered norton ton La paused used wondering what next to do now that his man had reached his destination well since he had followed him all this distance he must make an effort to find out who he was and what he was going to do cautiously ho he entered the hallway As aa he was about to lay his bis hand on the newel post of the dilapidated stairs the floor dropped from under his feet and he be was precipitated into the collar this tenement belonged to the black hundred it concealed a thousand doors doom and a hundred traps its history was as dark so PS its hallways when and hla his companion who had bad been waiting for him descended into the cellar they found the reporter insensible they bound blindfolded anil and gagged him quickly saunders said you tell corrigan that ive a sailor tor for him tonight and that I 1 want this sailor booked tor for somewhere south couth of the equator tell him to say to the master that this fellow Is ugly and disobedient bed lent A tramp freighter whose captain la Is a bully do you understand me 1 I get you but theres no need to lo go to corrigan this trip bannock Is in port and salla sails tonight for norway tar far enough bannock the very man well mr norton reporter and amateur detective tec tive I 1 guess weve got you fast enough this time you may or may not como come back alive go and bring around a taxi some one you can trust ill dope the reporter while youre gone long hours afterward norton opened his aching eyes ile he could hardly move and his head buzzed abominably what had happened what was the meaning of this slow rise and fall of his bed shanghaied Shanghai ed come out cut a 0 that now ye erl roared a voice down the earn corn shanghaied Shanghai ed 1 tho the reports reporter r murmured lie he sat oat up and ran abr through ug his pockets not a sou markee not a match even and a second glance told him that the clothes ho he wore were not his own landed me this time shanghaied Shanghai ed what the devil am I 1 going to do dye hear bear me bawled the atri dent voice asian norton looked about desperately for some weapon of defense lie saw rn an engineers spanner of on the floor door by the bunk across the way and with no siri sir I physical effort hf he succeeded in a ou ining it ile he stood up his bis hand behind his back all AH right me bucko ill como come down an git yell yel A pair of enormous boot boats began to appear down tho the companionway and there gradually rose up from them a man as aa as aa a church door and as deep as a well vell walt wait a moment said norton gripping the spanner let us have a perfect understanding right off the bat were going V t have it matey dont ye worry none norton raised the F pinner find and dizzy as he was faced abla seafaring hercules courageous courageously ir ive iva neen and you yon know it where are we bound I 1 copenhagen well for a month or more beat me up whenever tile the opportunity offers hut but I 1 merely wish to warn you that it you do find a heap of trouble waiting for or you the next time you drop your in north america ica Is that so BOT said the giant eying the spanner and the shaking hand that held it aloft it Is ill take your orders order and do th the e best beat I 1 can because youve got cot the th upp upper r hand hut but god la in witness YOU 11 pay for every needless blow you strike now what do you yen want me to do doa lay down that spanner nn an come coma on deck ill tell ye what t do I 1 was gain V t whale th daylights out a 0 ye I 1 I 1 yore so methin av a man drop the spanner first norton hesitated As lithe oa an a tiger the bulk of a man sprang at him and crushed him to the floor wrenching away the spanner then the giant took norton by the scruff of 0 his neck and banged him up tho the steps to the tha dock deck 1 I aint coln V t hurt ye I 1 had t show yo ye that no spanner ever bothered alike bannock Uan nock now d know what a c oaks cooks galley Is 1 I 1 do said norton breath breathing ng hard well hike thero there an start in with spuds an dont waste tem em neith neither cr bo be all ter fer th ill present ye were due for a wall wallop opla ln but I 1 kinda like yer spunk so jim stumbled down to tho the cooks gallery and grimly set to work at the potatoes it might have been far worse but here ho he was likely to bo be on the high seas for months and no way of notifying jones what had happened the outlook was anything but cheerful but a vague hope awoke in his heart it if they were still after him might it not signify that florence lived meantime brains had bad not been idle according to the girls memory was waa in bad shape so BO he had not the least doubt of bringing her back to now new york without mishap once ho he had her there tho the game would begin in ill earnest he played his cards exceedingly cee well steaming up into the little fishing harbor with a handsome yacht in itself would allay any distrust and he wore a capital disguise too everything went well till he laid his hand band on florences shoulder she gave a startled cry and ran over to darnes barnes clinging to him wildly no not no I 1 she cried now what try my child asked the sailor she shook her head her aversion was inexplicable come my deur dear carit cant you see that it is ia your fa father therl brains turned to the captain she has baa been like this tor for a year heaven knows it shell ever be la in her right mind again sadly 1 I was waa giving her an ocean voyage with the kindest nurses possible and yet she jumped overboard come florence the girl wrapped lier her arras arms all the tighter around dames barnes neck an idea came into the old sailors Bai lors head of course air yve got proof thet ashes your daughter proof bragne was waa taken abeck yes so something methin t prove that youre her father I 1 got skinned out of a sloop loop once because I 1 took a mans I 1 4 4 bragne took aboard the chartered yacht word at its face value black an white an on paper says 1 I hereafter but I 1 never thought of such a thing protested braine beginning to lose his patience 1 I cant risk sending to new york tor for documents she la is my daughter and you will find it will not pay to take this peculiar stand in blace an white r y cant have her braine thereupon rushed forward to seize florence darnea barnes swung flor 1 ence behind him I 1 1 I guess shell stay here a beetle longer sir time was vital and this obstinacy made brains fut fous tous lie reached again for florence I 1 clear out a 0 here ir r show allow your tu tho dhority thorl rity ty growled barnes bho goes with me ino or regret it all right but I 1 guess th law wont hurt me none im in in ray my rights theres therea the floor ra lster 1 I refuse to go without lierl herl hames barnes sighed ile I 1 to was on land a man mail of pence but there was van a limit to his patience lie seized braille by tho the shoulders and hustled him out of 0 tho the house bring your proofs mister an n bothin morell bo be said bald but till y bring em cm keep away from this cottage and simpleminded simple minded sailor bailor that he was he thought this settled the matter that night he ha kept his hl ears earo open for unusual sounds but ho he merely wasted his nights rest quite naturally he reckoned that tho the stranger would make his attempt at night indeed lie ho made it in broad daylight with barnes not a hundred yards away calking a dury whose seams beams had bad sprung aleak brains had bad florence upon the chartered yacht before tile tho old man realized what had happened ile ho never saw BOW florence again but ono one day months later he read all about her in a newspaper florence fought but she was weak and so the conquest was easy aralue was kind enough now that thai he had liar her safe bate lie ho talked to her but she merely stared at the receding coast all right dont talk it you dont want to ilore here to one of the men |