Show I 1 r my st y by HAROLD MAC GRATH illustrated from sceney ascenci its in ana photo phot 7 drama of the fairse narna nama ly ity the hilris company copyright 1914 by unroll SYNOPSIS stanley millionaire after a miraculous from tho ilen den of tho the ang of brilliant brillant 1 thieves known ni am the tha f fan lack alund hundred red lives liven the file life of a n re rouse for eighteen years Hars reavo 0 f tally meets aralue ural leader or of the me mack knowing will try tr to ret get ham lie he escapes front from his own borne a by a balloon defore emo ila ha writes a letter to the tha girls farls school eighteen n ylara yearn before lie ho ae alst ft on the doorstep lits him baby daughter 1 lorence gray that day Itar 1 greave albu draws from froin the bank but it II li is reported that wit dropped into the lie se SPI TL when th the balloon he ha d in yam wag punctured florence arrives froin the girls school c hool countess Count 0 1 g it Unil noa a comien I 1 lon on visits her and c claims ims to be tt a relative two bogun electives call but their plot pint la Is foiled by norton a newspaper paper mon man 13 hy y bribing tho the captain of tho the orlen orient norton 1 on lays a trap for draine und and his kann gang C countess autem olga also almo visits the orients Or lenla captain and she easily fall alii a into the file torr porto rH snare rho plan proves abortive abort lva hr brough ugh Ural noa good luck and only hire langi rail fall into tho the hands of the tha police after falling in fit their first attempt the hundred trap florence the flioy y a alt sk her glicr for money but title ea capen aga n folling them norton and ami tho the countess roun tosi call on an Flore florence the next day once moro more ante at horns home the visitors having kono gone J removes a section of flooring and from it ft cavity takes A box pursued by mem vera lera of tho the alock Il hundred undred lie he rushes to tho water front and succeeds in dropping iho he box into the ahe seal ben count countess olga sue BUC coeds in breaking tho the engage existing between florence and norton accomplices of braille in fix 1 lorenca florence sho she is in shop shopping pinc and hurry her off to bon she leaps into tho the sen sea and la Is picked up in a dazed kaied condition b by a party of fishermen hermon la the llund ren 1 lucata locate tier her anti and bragne na an her f father a ther succeeds in taking her back to lo sea bea with him 11 arence sets sats fire to the boat and Is in rescued by a ship on oil which F norton r 0 ahas hai ha i been shanghaied shanghai ed norton an anil florence I 1 0 n c P safely and with no I 1 lonh ong or r any between them take the train for home the train it is wrecked and waiting ni members of the tha mack If hundred undred carry the injured Injure il florenca Flore ncr to a deserted hut norton who irle irlas t tn her I 1 Is s tied i to the lie railroad macus florence orence savea PL v e it 1 him 1 in and finally jones jonea bornea to the rescue of 0 both CHAPTER XII continued in the morning ho he found his opportunity for half an hour the forecastle ore castlo was waa empty ot of all save himself feverishly he pried back the boards found tho the brace beam and gently laid the tha box there it was a mighty curious looking box once lie he had stoked up the chinese coast from tho philip pines and he be judged it to bo be chinese in origin tie ile tried to pry 0 open lien tho cover and feast his eyes upon tho the treasure but under tinder the leather and ivory and mother of pearl w waa a I 1 impervious steel it would take an ax or EL a crowbar to stir that lid lie he sighed ile he replaced tho the boards and became to all appearances ills his stolid self again but nil all the way down to the bahamas ho he was vaa moody and when he nn an any questions it was with words spoken testily and jerkily 1 11 I know shuts th ill matter said bald bunkers iles hes in love shut your mouth I 1 tell yuh laughed the tantalizer ta lizer dancing toward the com pan bonway steves stovers in love r he git drunk enough on shore t satisfy ills his whales belly A boot thudded spitefully against thedoor the door jamb you fellars fellahs let ran mo alono alone r ill bash in a couple 0 hendal 0 yuh will will yuh cried dunki ore lers from the tha deck it if yuh want a little exercise yuh can begin on me yuh moon alck swab shuts th ti matter with yuh anyhow where cherod d yuh git ois grouch wo we done t yuh mutt you keep out 0 my way all ata tn vat watches ches an dont ask ino no odds of you duffers what if I 1 have in grouch Is it any 0 your business aall all right when we step ashore nt at th mister jim hikers lu lt ill tear the ropes out a 0 pulley blocks but till we gat gl t there you ion t tb bunk an me ma t mine 7 lave ave th ol of grouch alone jim jim th mate wont stand for no sc rappin aboard well have fit thing done right in th custom she sheds oll havo have a fight rules nn art may th ill best man win im willin said eald jim som I 1 agreed steve but his intentions tent ions were not honorable lie he pro posed cosed to desert before any ight fight took place not that lie ho was phy alcaly afraid no lie ha wanted to dig his stands fiands dopp deep into those doubloons doub loons arid and of eight so the tour four days das down passed otherwise uneventfully amid paint pots and iron rust and three juals a day ot of pork onion soup potatoes and strong bl itter bitter coffee the winds became light and balmy and the sea blue blua and gen tic the men went about in their under erts and dun duri garceo garces barefooted of churne lite coming fight was thu the main topic of conversation tt it promised ba rattling good scrap for both motT vere evenly matched and loth both bad a kick in either hand even tho the captain took a mild interest in tho the ile he was an old sailor lie he knew that there was no such word as aa arbitration la in a sailors vocabulary icca bular big disputes could be settled only in ono manner by lite his calloused fists when tho the old arid and some borne day steve was going to buy it t and hang it over the entrance of the gilson house slithered down into the smiling waters of the bay steve cou con chudd that discretion was the better uett of a wor valor ho would steal on oil tho the quarantine tug which lay alongside ile he was waa willing to fight under ordinary circumstances but ile ho must get its his treasure in fit safety first llast they could call him a Nel delcher cher it if they wanted to devil it ik vt did lie ho care so lie ho pried lack back the boards of 0 ills his bunk wall took out the box eyed it fondly and noted for the first time tho the lettering on it STANLEY 1 ile ho wrinkled rin kled ills hla brow in the effort to recall a pirate by this oils name but was unsuccessful no matter ile he hugged the box under tinder hla his coat and made for the gangway and inadvertently ran into ills enemy Duri kers caught a bit of the box peeping from under the coat what a yuh got there ho he demanded truculently none 0 your damn busi you lemcio by hear me aint none 0 my business hut huh yuh git a box like ilke that steal it by crapes im coln t havo have a look nt at that box my hearty it dont smell like honest onions you lemme by breathed steve with murder in his heart suddenly tho the two men closed surged back and forth ono one determined to tako take and the other to hold this mysterious box junkere struggled ea to uphold ito his word not that ho really wanted the box but to prove that lie he was strong enough to tako take it if f ile he wanted to the name on oil the box fla flashed Blied and disappeared it was a kind of shock to him lie he and blossom went battering against tho the rail dughera bunkers Dun hera kers grip slipped and so did blossoms Dlos the rhe result was that the box was catapulted into tho the sea with an agonizing cry blossom loaned leaned far over ile he saw the box oscillate for a moment then sink gracefully in a zigzag course down through tho the blue waters fainter and fainter it grew and at last vanished im sorry stove steve but y ib let nio me look at it said eald deuil era contritely damn you im goin t kill y tor for that it a real fight this time list flat and foot tooth and nail one mad with the lust to kill 1111 and the other desperately intent on ail living it was aa one of those contests in atch abich honor and fair play have no part pait but for the timely arrival of the captain and somo some 0 of the crew dankers hould have b acen C en badly injured perhaps fatally they hauled back blossom roaring out his oaths at the tha top of his lungs lunga it took halt hall nn all hours arguing to calra calm him hil down then the captain demanded to know what it was vas all about and blubbering steve told him six hundred feet of water it 1 ive got my reckoning right tho the anchor lies in CO 00 foot feet but the starboard aldo drops sheer you swab why you ou bring the box to me A man mail has haa a right to what he finds id have taken care of it for you till wo vo got back to port I 1 know you were vero greedy you thought I 1 might ant to stick my list into your treasure and never find it in foot feet of water and tangled porous coral w what bat you got get tor for being a blamed hog As for you and tho the captain turned to dunders bunkers Dun hers kers get your dunnage and your pay and hunt for another boat back I 1 wont have no murder on oil board captain manners and the sooner you go the tha better ill go sir air said bunkers Dun kers readily enough had the misfortune happened to him and hud had blossom been the aggressor gres sor he would want his life lie understood uko like the volet valet la in alft etto ette it was the time tor for disappearing an keep out ol 01 0 my way ill git y yet growled blossom Uloa soro keep your mouth shut said bald the mate or ill have you put in IB irons you pig alt all right sir air ive said all tm im coln t say aay aday and blossom strode olt off what was the box like asked the captain of 0 bunkers Dun kers ChI chinese bese contraption sir air leastwise it looked that way to me look as a it if been in th water long sir air lost overboard by some private yacht t my th chinkin inkin F ill I 1 keep out 0 steves way ill lay low on shore sir air and though steve made a perfect range of tho the spot he never came back to find the mysterious box never saw the gilson house back home nor did lie he ever seo see bunkers again on the voyage homo home he brooded blooded continually and was frequently found blubbering and one night might ho he skipped ills his watch arid and went to davy jones locker bunkers had bad not told about the name lie ho had seen on oil the box and blossom Illo asom had riot not thought to the name Ilar hargreave greave had instantly brought back to bunkers Dun kors kers mind the newspaper tortes ho he had recen recently tl rind reid there was no doubt in fix the world that this box belonged to the million a alro fro who had drawn a ali million 11 dif from ills his banks and vanished and moreover there was no doubt in bunkers Dun kers mind that this million lay in tl the As lla ila liaman haman waters naters it had heon boon drawn up from the bottom of tho the sound under tinder the path of the balloon ile he proceeded then to take a most minute range it would require money and partners but halt half a loaf would be far better than no loaf itt at all and he was determined to return to new york to find backing finding Is keeping on land or sen now it happened that his favorite grog shop was a cheap saloon across the way from the headquarters of 0 the black hundred and occasionally dropped in for or he often picked up a valuable bit of maritime news bunkers was an old friend of the barkeeper and he proceeded to pour and guzzle down his throat a very poor substitute for whisky ile he became lie he bragged ile he knew where there was a million find and all he needed was wag a first class clasa diving be bell 1 A year from now lie he would not be drinking cheap whisky hed be ete steering ering a course up and down broadway Dro adway and buying wine when he was thirsty lie he was no miser but he had to have a diving bell and where the blue devil cou could ld he be got get one with 12 and nn an ingersoll watch la in his pocket from hlo his table made a sign which the bartender understood then he ha roso rose and approached dunke bunkers rs 1 I own a pretty good diving ap apparatus par he said it youve got the 0 2 al N A M the master villain and hla his AI adviser goods ill take a chance on a fifty fifty basis did not believe there was anything back of his talk but it always paid to dig deep enough to fand out havo have a drink and dili bill gi give V e u us 8 a r real a whisky and none of 0 your soap lye now lets hear your yarn 1 I dont know yuh said bunkers Dun kers w with lt drunken runk C n C caution auti 0 n how Is it mil bill turning to I 1 bo bartender hos hes the goods jim youve heard of wyant co suro sure ive heard 0 them beat div I 1 n ap apar pratus a tu 3 they la Is well this gent here la is mr brooks general nia manager for wyant co I 1 can 0 K him threw an appreciative glanco glance at af the b bartender ar tender ile ho was not affiliated with the dlack black hundred but he had often aided in minor affairs all right it if yuh say so dill bill well heros heres th yant yam and when lie ho hwi ione done smoked quietly without speaking dont yuh believe it demanded bunkers Dun kers liers truculently but bul feet of water lu ft a coral bottom and no way of ii ailing just where it fell overboard a tough proposition 0 it Is is it im a sailor bailor I 1 can lay my hand right over tb pot do yuh yub think id be foot fool enough f V hunt bunt for or tt without a perfect range ranlet dunk tra era tapped his coat pocket suggestively and vrola knew kii ew that the one thing thine ho he wanted was there hero a plan or a draw i ing of 0 the range so thero there was aa another man shanghaied shanghai ed that night and his destination was cape town 23 22 days voyage by the calendar carried his information to the organization that same baroo night they would start the expedition at once and till this was accomplished har gre greavis grea voa avos daughter wili ans to bo be immune from attacks besides it would gire wherever reve r he was and the others the idea that the dlack black hundred dred had concluded to give up the chase above with his car to a small hole skillfully bored through the ceiling without permitting the plaster to fall knelt a man with a bandaged arm ile he could never see any faces no one ever took off a mask in this sinister 1 1 and that Is why jones jone was wa able some weeks week later to hide once more the original box chamber but thero there were and ho he was aas going to forget some 0 of them atter after tho the meeting camo came to nn an end he waited till nn hour after and then down into the street by the aid of the tire lire escape later he entered a telephone booth and called up jones then one leathern and steel box dotted with bits of ivory and mother ot of pearl became two and the second one was soaked in mud and salt water for two weeks till you could not have told it from the original and that Is why jones was able some weeks later to bids once more the original box As for tho the substitute just as braille was about to use a mallet and chisel upon it the lights went out thero there was a wild scramble a chair or two was overturned the door the door I 1 shouted bragne 13 balne furious it slammed tho the moment the words left his lips and as suddenly as they had gone out the lights sprang up the T he box was gone there were evidently dent ly traitors among the black hundred CHAPTER XIII an agent from russia rula the he dlack black hundred not as individuals al but as an an organization began to worry powerful and often reckless and daring because it was powerful it began to look about |