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Show MILLION BDIIM mWk l! I $10,000 FOR ONE HUNDRED WORDS. I ! " Tke Million Dollar Mystery " tcry ! qMI run for twenty-two consecutive tceeU in this paper. By arrangement icith the Thanhouser Film company it hat been made potuble not only to read the story in this paper hut els to tee it each week in the various moving picture theater$. For the solution of this myttery story SJO.000 tain be given by the Thanhouter Film corporation. CONDITIONS GOVERNING THE CONTEST. I Tke prie of $10,000 wiTl be won by the wnsn, fcoman, or child who write the moti teceptable solution if TAe myttery, from which the lt two reel of motion picture dram will be made and the last two chapter of the ttory written by Harold M aoQrath. Solution may he tent to th Tkan-houer Tkan-houer Film corporation at 5 South TFa-paih TFa-paih avenue, Cnicego. III. or Thanhouser Film corporation, 71 Wett Twenty-third 1 1 ttreeU New York City N. Y., any time up to midnight, Jan. tf, 1915. Thit allows aeveral week after the lat chapter ha l teen publihed. i board of three judges will determine which of the many tolutiont received is the I mott acceptable. The judges am to be I Harold MacGrath, Lloyd Loncrgan, and I Mis Mae Tinee. The judgment of this i SYNOPSIS OF PR f Stamler Harsrreave, millionaire, after v Mlrtcolou rifapa from the den of the fl (nf of brllllaat talevea known as the 'j Black Hatrrd, Urea the life of a re y eluec for elgratee year. ItaraTeave ac- 'Jjh eUeatally meett Bralne, leader of the ' Black Hsmdred. Knvwtnc Bralne win H try et klm. ke capes from hia own kome 7 a balloon. Before eaeaplna ke write a letter to the girls' achool wbere 'k eighteen rear" before ke mysterloualy J9 left an tke dooratep ale balir daucbter, W Floreaee Gray. That day Hrgrfavc 31 aao drarra fl.000,000 from the bank, bat 'If It la imported that thin dropped Into the ij( IM when the balloon he escaped 1 rrax .M pajaetnred. 'M Florence arrives from the slrls' achool. Conateaa OUfh Bralnr'a companion, vls- j' fa he- and elalma her aa a relatlre. Two hoaraa detccrlvea call, but their plot A la failed by Norton, a newspaper man. J After fnlllaa; In tbelr flrat attempt, the 4 Black Haadred trap Florence. Tary ask ker far moner. eacapee, again I feilla them. :M orfoi and the eoonleaa call on Flor- X eace tke next day. oace more anfe at A home. Tke xlaltora having none. Jonea Jfli remove a aectton of flooring nud from M! a fl(T takea a box. Pursued by mem- ' herm of the Black Hundred, he rualira to .. J9 the water front and aucceeda In drop-pint drop-pint the box Into the. aea. 'J Aceompllcea of Bralne kidnap Florence anj harry ker off to aca. She leapa over- ' board, aad la picked np In a dazed con- 1l aitlon by flekermen. Brnlne. dlajrnlaed fl mn ker fntker. takea ker back to aen irltk V him. Floreaee acta fire to the boat and i OopytHtrt. 1914. By Harold MacGrath ) j CHArTER XVII. jM SETTING THArB FOR 'NORTON . ' Ti HE Blck Hundred possessed thr?o scp- J I arate council chambers, always in prep- nration. Hence, when the one in use jfl was burned down they transferred I their conferences to tLe second council cbain- ; 3 ber appointed identically the same as the first, d Ab inferred, the organisation owned con- 3 iiderable weah, and they leafcd the build- 9 inge in which they had their council cham- w bers, leased them for a number of year", and I refurniabed them socretly with trap floora, doors, and panels, and all that apparatus so ' ' keceaiary to men who are aometimes con I ': 1 pelled to make a Qaick getaway. I Wk When the Atlantic City att mpt waa ,X turned into n fiasco by Norton's timely ar- : rival, Brain determined once more to rid VjH himself of this meddling reporter He knew iVJ too much. In the first place, and in the aec- JU ond place. Braine wanted to learn whether y.JBj the reporter bore a charmed life or was jtit j ordinarily lucky, ne would attempt nothing fl delicate, rxjuirinc finesse. He would almply S waylay Norton and make a commonplace end si of Lim- He would disappear, this reporter, k j that would be all ; and when they found him - J he might or might not be recognizable. So Braine called a conference, and he and - i fellow rogues went over a number of expediencies, and finaMy agreed that the best 'ff thing to do would be to send a man to the if.'-''. ' J! newspaper, oatenaibly as a reporter looking tltoation. With thin excuse he would iSfii to around the city room for sdl three or fonr dart. The idea back of this SreaSgw was to waylay Norton on his way to some Jj&jl assignment which took him to the suburb, fcffc&gffi All thia was arranged down to the small-eat small-eat detail ; and a man whom they were quite arrtain Norton had not yet aeen was selected KjiHgH to play the part. He had been a reporter Bfe iliHi once, more's the pity ; no tLere was no donbt his being able to handle his end of the lftaa W happen h was firen a aituatlon. '-'ywyM want Norton. I want him badly," do- M dared Bralne, " and woe to you if you let LrnfulSaW boose play, in between yon and the objecl Wl of, this mw," ;rtr36aM The man selected to act the reporter htmi rfH Mi head. Whisky Lad been the origin a fMvM his fill from honest liring, and be waa no' nfl so callonaed as not to feel the sting of re mamtj at timet. Often he longed to 1ean riSa9 Hnw York, to start anew elsewhere ; but thii oaaa B raise was like a terrier ontarde a ra ' VjNH cam 014 with rodent. None ever reall; jH aaeapfld. nflH " More," went an Braine, " I want Norton g&-flHM hsonfht to 49. It'a a little off the beat aw !yH w can handle him as we please. When w i&mSH get rid of thia newspaper ferret, there'll b flnSSH another to eliminate. Bnt he's a fox, and ESSES fax mutt be set to trail him." jfflfijfB " Ajid who is that?" ffi9g9H ' ' Joaea, Jonea, Jonea ! " thundered Brain HHSI " He's the live wire. Bnt the reporter firs H Jenea depends a let on him Take awa BHH this prop and Jonea will not be so sure c HHfl hlmaalf. There's a man outside all thia cii board wiH be abnolut and final. Nothing of a literary nature wxll be considered in ihe decision, nor given any preference in the selection of the tanner of the $10 000 prue Thn last two irels, which will give ihe most acceptable solution to the mystery, mys-tery, will be presented in the theater having this feature M loon as it is possible pos-sible to produce the some. The story corresponding corre-sponding to thase motion pictures will appear ap-pear in the nctmpape it comcidcntally, or ms soon af'er the appearance of the pio-tures pio-tures as praetireihle. With the last two tcel will be shown 'he pictures of the winner, win-ner, his or her home and other interesting features. It is understood that the newspapers, news-papers, so far m practicable, in printing the last two chapters of the story by Har-cld Har-cld MacGrath, will aho show a picture of the successful contestant. Solutions to the mystery must not be more than 100 words long. Here are some questions to he kept m mind in connection xolth the mystery as an aid to a solution: No. 1 W?ia becomes of the millionaire? No 2 Yhat becomes of the $1,000,000? No. 3 TrAom does Florence marry? No. What becomes of th Russian eountcss? Nobody connected either directly or in tiree'tly with " The Million Dollar Mystery Mys-tery " mil be considered as a contestant. EVIOUS CnAPTKRS. la reacned by a ahtp en which ortoa hajs been ahanahaled. Concealed above the rendearroua of the Black Hundred, a man learna af the recovery re-covery of the box from the aea by a aallor and of Km aubaeqnrnt return to the bottom of the aea, and he onlckly communicates the fnct tn Jonea. A duplicate dupli-cate box la planted nnd Inter aecured by the bnnd, but before It contenta are examined ex-amined the box myaterloualy dlaappeo.ru. Finding; blmaclf checkmated at cTery turn, Brntne endenvora to enraeah the Hnrcreave household in the law In order or-der to kbIii free acceaa to the honae. The timely dlacovery of the plot by Norton Nor-ton aetn the police at the hcela of the pack nnd rennlta in a raid on the grang'M rend-avouir, which, however, proves ta be barren of reaulta. Following a telephone nacaaORe Jonea received from a myaterloua pcraon "horn be addrcHacd aa air," Florence la nr:nln lured from her home nnd tnken out to aea. Through Vorton'a dnrlncr and aklll ns nn aviator ahc la reaoued nnd relurna co her home in time to confront nn agent of the Rlnck Hundred. Through trenchery In the Harcrenve hnnaehold Florence la delivered Into the hnnda of an unscrupnloua doctor, who la tn the pnv of the Black Hundred. lora the faithful uaan Norton lenrna that the doctor haa declared that Florence la atrlcken with amallpox nnd that he la prepartngT to aplrlt her away. By acting; qntckly tke reporter, with the aid of Solan, aucceeda In extrlcatlncr the younjr woman from the dancer nfter an encounter en-counter with members of the gang. cle, and all these weeks of warfare hare not served to bring him into the circle." " Hargreave is dead," aald Vroon sto'idly. "As dead as I am," snarled Brmnt'. "Two men went awny in that balloon ; and I'll wiirer roy liad that one man came back I em beginning to put a few tilings together, that I have not thought of before. Who knors? That balloon may have b,en earned ear-ned out to sea purposely. The captain on that tramp steamer may have lied from be- act. He'll never summon tbe police unless we make, a brnad daylight Attempt to get possession of his daughter. And even thro, he would make it out a plain curp of kidnaping. kid-naping. Elimination, that's the word. All right. We'll play at that game ourselveg. No. 1 shall be Mr. Norton. And if you fall I'll break jou," Braine added to the ex-reporter. "I'll get him," said tbe man sullenly. Later, when h applied for a situation on the Blade, It happened that thre were two strikes on hand, and two or three extra men were needed on the city staff. The man from the Black Hundred was gien a temporary Job and went by the name of Gregg. A his first copy showed experience, he was promised a permanent place as soon as there was a vacancy Hrgg smiled inwardly It would be a fine thing to do away with Norton Nor-ton and step into his reportorial shoes For three days he worked faithfully, abstaining ab-staining from his faorite tipple He had never worked in New York, so bis record was unknown He had told the citj editor that he had worked on a Chicago paper, now defunct. de-funct. He paid no attention whatsoever to Norton, Nor-ton, a sign of no little acumen On the other hand Norton never went forth on an assignment tbat Oregg difl not know exactly where he was going. But all these stories kept Norton in town ; and it would be altogether al-together too risky to attempt to handle Lim anywhere bnt outside of town. So Gregg had to abide his time. It came soon enou;h Norton tvas idlln? at his desk when the citv editor called him up to the wicket. " Gen. Henderson has just returned to America. Get his opinion on the latest Balkan Bal-kan rumpus. He s out at his suburban home-Here's home-Here's tl.e address." "How long will you bold open for me?" asked Norton, meaning how long would the city editor wait for the story. " Till one-thirty. Yon ought to be back by midnight. It's only 8 now." "All right: Henderson's approachable. I may get a good atory out of him " " Maybe," thought Greic. who had lost nothing of this conversation. It was his opportunity. He immediately left the zone of the city d -sk for a telephone booth But as he passed the line of desks nnd busy reporters he did not note the keen scrutiny of a smooth tacod, gray haired nia'i who stood at the side of Norton's desk awaiting await-ing the reporter's return " Why, Jones." cried the surprised Norton. Nor-ton. ' What ore you doing all this way from homo? " "Orders," said Jones, smiling faintly as he delivered a note to the reporter. " Anything serious? " " Not that I am aware of. Miss Florence was rather particular. She wanted to be 6urc that the note reached your hands safely" "And do you mean to sav that you came away and left her alone in that house?" Again Jones smiled. " I left her well guarded, you may be sure of that. She will never run away again." He waited for Norton Nor-ton to read the note It waa nothing more than one of those ' NORTON SAVES HIS OWN. LIFE. BY THE USE OF HIS WATCH . CASE t ginning to end I tell yon, Hargreave is t alive, and wLerever he is he has his hand oa all the wires He baa agents, too, of whom 9 we know nothing about- Hang tbe million! I want to put my hands on Hargreave jut t to prove that I am the better man. He com-f com-f municates with Jones, perhaps through the reporter; he hae had me followed; it waa a he who changed the boxes, bored the hole in 4 the celling of the other quarters, and learned o Heaven knows what." e " If that's tbe case," said Vroon, " why a hasn't he had us apprehended?" Braine laughed heartily. " naven't you been able to sec by this time what hia game k. Is? Bevenge. He doe not want the police L to meddle only in the smaller affairs. He y wants to do away with us one by one ; he f wants to put terror into the hearts of all of r- us. Keep this point in your mind when you iove oracva to come and call at once. And she bad made Jonea venture into town with it! The reporter smiled and put the note away tenderly. And then he caught Jones smiling, too. " I'm going to marry her, Jones." " Tbat remains to be seen," replied tL butler, not unkindly. " Well, anyhow, thanks for bringing tbe note. But I've got to disappoint her tonight. to-night. I'm off in a deuce of a hurry to interview in-terview Gen. Henderson- I'll be out to tea tomorrow. You can find your way out of this old fire trap. By-by ! " The moment he turned away the smile faded from Jones face, and with the quickness quick-ness and noiselessness of t oat he reached tbe side of the booth in which Gregg believed himself to be secure from ea esdropping The half dozen words Jonea beard convinced him that Norton was again the object of the Black Hundred's attention He had seen the man's face that memorable night when the balloou stopped for its passenger. Before Gregg came out of the booth Jones decided to overtake him and forewarn him, but unfortunately un-fortunately the reporter was nowhere in eight. There was left for Jones nothing else but to return home or follow Gregg when he came out. As this night he knew Florence to be exceptionally well guarded., both within and without the house, he decided to wait and follow the spy. When Braine received the message he was pleased. Norton's assignment fitted his purpose pur-pose like a glove. Before midnight h would have Mr. Meddling Beporter where he would bother no one for some time if he proved tractable If not, be would never bother any one fvpnln. Braine pnve h's r-rAr terev The two men eyed each other steadily. And In his heart Bralne sighed. For he saw in this young man's eyes Incorruptibility " It Is yours on one condition," said Bralne, reaching out bis foot stealthily toward the button which would summon Samson. "And that is," interpolated Norton, "that I Join the Black Hundred." " Or the great beyond, my lad," took np Braine, his voice crisp and cold. Norton could not rvpress a shiver. Where had he heard this voice before . . . Bralne! He stiffened. "Murder in cold blood?" he managed to say. " Indefinite imprisonment Choose." " I have chosen." " H'm ! " Braine rose and went over to tbe sideboard for the brandy. " I'm goinr to offer vou a drink to stun ' I'JMWWU ,r K JONES AFTER DISPOSING OF BRAINE, HELPS NORTON UP Fr?OM THE" PUNISHMENT ROOM" fnless Norton met with unforeseen delay, nothing could prevent his capture When Norton arrived at the Henderson place, a footnian informed him from the veranda that Gen. Henderson was at 49 Elm street for the evening, and it would be wise to call there. Jim nodded his thanks and set off in haste for 49 Elm street. The footman foot-man did not enter the honse, but hurried down the steps and slunk off among the adjacent ad-jacent shrubbery. His mission was over with. Tbe house in Elm street was Bralne's suburban sub-urban establishment. He wont there occasionally occa-sionally to hibernate, as it were, to grow a new skin when close pressed The caretaker waa a man rightly called Samaon. He was a bruiser of the bouncer type. It was fast work for Braine to get out there If the man disguised as a footman played his cards badly, Braine would have n'.l bis troubl.' for nothing He disguise. 1 himself him-self with that infernal cleverness which had long since made him a terror to the police, who were looking for ten different men instead in-stead of one. He knew tbat Norton would understand instantly that he was not the general gen-eral , but on the other band, he would not know tbat he was addressing Braine. So the arch conspirator waited ; and so Norton arrived and was ushered into tLe room. A single glance was enough to satisfy the reporter, always keen eyed and observant. " I wish to see Gen. Henderson," he said politely. " Gen. Henderson is doubtless at his own house." " Ah ! " " Don't be alarmed yet," said Brain smoothly. " I am not alarmed," replied Norton. " I am only chagrined. Since Gen. Henderson is not to be found here, T must be excused " " I will excuse you, presently." " Ah ! I begin to see." m Indeed ! " mocked Braine. u I have tumbled or walked into a trap." " A keen mind like yours must have recognized recog-nized that fact the moment you discovered I was not tLe generaL" "I am indebted to the Black Hundred?" coolly. " Precisely. We do not wish you ill, Mr. Norton." " To be sure, no ! " Ironically " What with falling safes, poisoned cigarets, and so forth, I can readily aee that you have my welfare at heart. What puzzled me was the suddenness with which these affectionate affection-ate signs ceased." "You're a man of heart," said Braine with genuine admiration. u Those affectionate signs, aa you call them, ceased because for the time being you ceased to be a menace. Ton have become that once more, and here you are ! " "And what are you going to do with me acw that you have got me?" " There will be two coursos," Brain reached into a drawer and drew out a tLick roll of bills. "There are here something like 15,000." " Quite a tidy sum ; enough for a chap to get married on." BnanSBBBSBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB sonally there are no bard feelings. You are in the way. After you, our friend, Jonea-"ihis Jonea-"ihis brandy is not poisoned, neither are thu glasses 'hoose either and I'll drink first. We are all desperate men. Norton , and we stop at nothing. Your life hangs by a l air. Do you know where Hargreave is? M Norton eyed his liquor thoughtfully. "Do you know where the money is?" Norton smelt of the brandy. " I am sorry," said Bralne. " I should have liked to win over a head like yours." Norton nonchalantly took out his watch, and that bit of bravado perhaps saved his life. In the case of his watch be saw a brutal face behind him Without a tremor, Norton took up his glasa " I am sorry to disappoint you " he said ; " but I shall neither join you nor go to by-by by-by ' Quick as a bird shadow above grass, he flung the brandy over his shoulder into the face of the man behind. Sampson yelled w ith pain. Almost at the same Instant Norton pushed over the table, upsetting Braine with it. Next he dashed through the curtains, slammed the door, and fled to the street, very shaky about the knees, if the truth is to be told. Gen. Henderson's views upon the latest Balkan muddle were missing from the B'ade the following morning. Norton, instead of returning to the general's . and fulfilling bin assignment like a dutiful reporter, hurried out to Blverdale to acquaint Jones with what had happened Jones was glad to see him safe and sound. " Tbat new reporter started the game." he said. " I overheard a word or two while he was talking in the booth All your telephone booths are ramshackle affairs, you use them so constantly. I tried to find you, but you were out of sight. Now, tell me what happened." hap-pened." " Sh ' " warned Norton as he spied Florence coming down the stairs. " I thought you couldn't come ! " sh cried. " But 10 o'clock ! " " I changed my mind." be replied, laughing. He caught ber arm in his and drew her toward the library. Jones smiled after them with that enigmatical smile of Lis, which might have signified irony or affection. After half an hour's chat, Florence, quite aware that the two men wished to talk, retired. At the door Norton told Jones what had taken place at 49 Elm street. " Ah ! we must not forget that number," mused Jones. " My advice is. keep an eye on this Gregg chap. We may get somewhere by watching him." "Do you know where Hargreave is?' Jones scratched his chin reflectively, j Norton laughed. " I can't get anything out of you." " Much leas any one else. I'm growing fond of you, my boy. You're a man." "Thanks; and good-night." When Olga Perigoff called the next dav Jonea divested himself of his livery, donned a plain coat and hat, and left tbe house stealthily. stealth-ily. Todsy he was determined to learn something some-thing definite in regard to this suave, hand- some Russian. When she left tbe house Jones rose from his hiding place and proceeded to follow her. The result of this espionage ou the part of Jones will be seen presently. Meantime Jim went down to the office and lied cheerfully about his missing the genera!. Whether the city editor believed him or not is oi no matter. Jim went over to his deak. From the corner of his eye, he could see Gregg scribbling away. He never raised his head as Jim sat down to read his mall. After awhile Gregg rose and loft the office ; and, of course, Jim left shortly afterward. WLen the newcomer new-comer saw that he was being followed, he . 41 smiled and continued on his way. This Norton Nor-ton chap was suspicious. All the better , bis suspicions should be made the hook to land him with. By and by the man turned into a drug store and Jim loitered about till he r- nnaared. Gregg - - v i i, , r u .i, rr-. hour or so, :uu . . . idine time to arrange a wol-axme wol-axme at another house. Norton kept pvrhaps half a block in the rear of his man all tLe while. Bat for this caution he would have witnessed a little pantomime pan-tomime that would have put him wholly upon his guard. Turning a corner, Gregg all but bumped into the countess. He was quick enough to place a finger on his Hps and motion his head toward a taxicab. Olga hadn't the least Idea who was coming around the corner, but she hailed the cab and was off In it before Jim swung around the corner. Jones, who had followed the countess for Something over an hour and a half, hugged a doorway What now? he wondered. The countess knew the man That was evidence enough for the astute butler. But what meant the pantomime and tho subsequent hurry ! He soon learned. The man Gregg went his way, and hen Jim turned the corner. cor-ner. Jones cast a wistful glance at the vanishing van-ishing cab of the Russian, and decided to M shadow the shadower in other words, follow the reporter, to see that nothing serious befell be-fell him. Sometimes Norton was overeeger ; several times during his tilts with the Black Hundred he had gone outside the boundary of caution and paid for it. He did this very thing today, and but for Jones he might have fared extremely ex-tremely ill Braine swore that this time Norton should suffer He would wring the truth out of the reporter, tbe truth as far as be knew it. Braine was positive that Norton knew one or the other of two things: Hargreave's whereabouts where-abouts and whether or not the mysterious box contained the million. The lurer finally paused at a door, opened it with a key, and swung it behind him, very careful, however, not to spring the latch. Naturally Jim was mightily pleased when he found the door could b- opened. When Jones, not far behind, saw him open the door, he started to call out a warning, but thought the better of it. If Norton was walking into a trap it was far better that he, Jones, should remain outside of it. If Jim did not appear after a certain length of time, he would start an investigation on his own account. No sooner was Jim in the hallway than he waa set upon and overpowered. They had in this house what was known as " the punishment punish-ment room " Here traitors paid the reckon- I lng and were never more heard of. Into this room Jim was unceremoniously dropped when Bralne found tbat he could get no information informa-tion from the resolute reporter. The room did not look sinister, but for all that It possessed the faculty of growing smaller and smaller, slowly or swiftly, as the man above at the lever wilied. When Jim was apprised of this fact, he ran madly about in search of some mode of escape, knowing full well in Lis heart tbat he should not find one. Presently the machinery began to work, and Norton's tongue grew dry with terror. They had him this time; ther was not the least doubt of it And they had led him there by the nose into tLe bargain Twenty minutes passed, and Jones concluded con-cluded it was time for him to act He went forward to try the dcor, but this time It was locked. Jones, however, was not without resource. re-source. The house next door was vacant, and he found a way into this, finally reaching the roof From this he jumped to the other roof, found the Seattle open, and crept down the stairs, flight after flight, till the whir of a motor arrested him f ' Conspirators are often overeager. too. So intent were the rascals upon the business at band tbat they did not notice the door opeu slowly. It did not take the butler more than a moment to realize that his friend and ally was near certsin death. With an oath hj sprang into the room, gave Braine a push which sent him down to join the victim, and pitched into the other two. It was a battle royal while it lasted Jones knocked down one of them, yelled to Norton, and kicked the rope he saw down into the pit One end cf this rope wss attached to a ring in tbe wall. And np this rope Norton swarmed after he had disposed of Bralne. The tide of battle then swung about In favor of the botler, and shortly the fake reporter and bis companion were made to join their chief. Jones stopped tbe machinery- He could not bring himself to let hia enemies die so horribly. hor-ribly. Later he knew he would regret this sentiment. When the polica came, summoned by som oatslder who had beard the racket of the conflict, con-flict, there was no one to be found in the pit. Nor was there any visible sign of an exjt. There was one, however, built against such aa hour and known only to the chiefs of the Black Hundred. 1 And still the golden tinted bank notes ra- fl posed tranquilly in their hiding place! to be coimrrcro.) |