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Show l FOURTEENTH EPISODE A The Sky Monsters. The mounted patrol, guarding the outskirts of the city In Its thinly populated popu-lated sections, had begun their nightly vigil without prospect of unusual adventure. ad-venture. It was a warm summer evening, with very little moonlight. Far to the south, the busy night life of New York, was moving in joyous streams under tho bright lights of the theatrical theat-rical district. Usually O'Donovan, the mounted policeman, who had patroled the same section for years, might as well have been riding through the open country for all the excitement that came his way. But tonight the Irishman searched the sky, trying to discover the cause of tho strange Intrusion upon tho customary custom-ary stillness of the night. Suddenly there appeared a str'ng of lights, high In tho heavens, at first faintly discernible discern-ible but growing rapidly brighter. Then came a louder "hum," increasing increas-ing in volumn, until, as it approached high abovo the ground, the policeman nt last concluded that some strnngo ship of tho air was cruising south, in the quiet night, bound for the city still several miles away. O'Donovan forgot the sweetness of his pipe, as he suddenly wheeled his horse and dashed away for the nearest near-est patrol box. The airship was now directly overhead, humming along toward to-ward Now York nt nn rron cno.irl tlmf might send it to the heart of town within an hour. "It's O'Donovan," said the patrolman patrol-man over the police 'phone. "Look nbove you nt the airship. It's a big one, going south." The deck sergeant in O'Donovan's precinct sent an ofilcer to watch for tho dirigible, and passed tho word along to the other station houses farther far-ther south. In this way tho approach of the airship, manned by anarchists and bent on a mission of destruction, was made known to every police station sta-tion in tho city. And as a precautionary measure tho department headquarters had called up Governor's island and the forts down the bay, warning the ofllccrs In commnnd that New York was having a visitor in tho sky, who looked suspicious, sus-picious, but not, of necessity, dangerous danger-ous to tho welfare of tho city. With tho speed that generally attends at-tends the spread of sensational news, the approaching dirigible was heralded herald-ed by means of tho mouth-to-mouth telegraph. Citizens began thronging tho public squares and thoroughfares long before the airship arrived at n point In tho sky nbove the center of the city. The cafes and restaurants wero aflamo with excitement. Eagerly the crowds waited nnd """-"l " w.wuuuuv.. vf.. tjto OI.UUUCU the sky while necks grew distressingly stiff from tho unaccustomed strain of bending backward. Wild rumors flashed through tho streets, passing from man to man, growing In circumstantial circum-stantial detail with every repetition. As tho giant skyshlp passed over block after block of tho northern district dis-trict of New York, without crentlug anything more than intense excite-' ment, the residents who felt that they had escaped some dire calamity, grew Joyous in celebrating their good fortune. for-tune. The "Great White Way" had never experienced such thrills. Just as excitement In tho heart of tho city was at its most intense pitch, nnd thousands stood in terror of somo unnccountable disaster, an unprecedented unprece-dented thing happened every light in street or building was snuffed out. The "Tenderloin," for the first time in tho history of New York, was in utter darkness. Police headquarters, acting upon advice ad-vice from the commandant nt Governor's Gover-nor's island, had ordered the power company to shut off every electric light, from Columbus Circle to thq Battery wall. In a twinkling tho or1 dor had been obeyed. The hours of terror that followed the blinking out of. New York's "whlto lights" will be a topic of conversation conversa-tion and sensational comment as long as one soul shall live, who experienced tho unprecedented scnsntlon and conditions. con-ditions. Whllo tho panic-stricken crowds In the street watched the sky for tho threatened peril that might come, Pn-trlcla Pn-trlcla Montez, in her biplane, was speeding toward New York from the aviation field on Long Islund. As tho airship, freighted with destructive de-structive bombs sailed down toward the bay, piercing tho sky abovo the center of Manhattan Island, tho watchers watch-ers found relief in the fact that nothing noth-ing any moro serious thnn giving fright to the multitudes had marked tho journey jour-ney of the nlr-rnlders thus far. But the satisfaction that came to the crowds in tho theater district, was not shared by men who owned property further downtown. When tho crowds in Union squnro saw tho great airship approaching from the north, tliero was a cry of alarm when someone discovered still another air monster heading toward New York from Long Island. One brilliant bril-liant light flashed from Pat's biplane; the nnarchlsts' airship was ablaze with rows of glaring shafts. Pat directed tho passage of her biplane, bi-plane, so that she kept far abovo tho anarchists' craft as it moyed down the Island. Coming close to tho financial district, Pat had maneuvered her plane so that she was directly above the airship air-ship and then she decided to act. Very deliberately sho hoisted an explosive ex-plosive bomb over the side of her biplane, bi-plane, having guided her craft until it ia uuuciiv nuuvo tne nirsnip. wncn sho dropped tho bomb she scored a hit, first off. Tho airship lurched and swung from Its course. Another bomb dropped from Pat's biplane, likewise registered, and with Joy the girl observed tho giant aircraft change Its course and head for the Brooklyn side of East river. Too busy In saving their own bacon, the anarchists had not eveu attempted to bomb the city below them. They were just arriving at tho point in their flight when they expected to begin destructive work, but Pat's attack completely upset their plans. ! With their own lives at stake, the anarchists centered nil their efTorf? in j the hope of making n safe landing. From Its great height the airship began to descend In zig-zag fashion, sailing over Brooklyn, toward the open ' fields in the suburbs. As Pat was skimming above Wll- Hamsburg, on hor, "way back to the I hangar whence she had started, j she had tho satisfaction of watching the anarchists' airship as It slowly descended. de-scended. When tho helpless craft neared the ground, Pat observed tho wreck, as It hung momentarily In flames, nnd then crumpled up falling in n burning mass to the ground. Satisfied In having accomplished her purpose In saving the city from an attack, at-tack, Pat sped through the air to the aviation field and safely descended. Her adventure had taken her less than an hour, nnd her mission had I been fulfilled with marvelous sue-' cess. In great "scare-heads" she read In the papers, next morning, of her exploits. ex-ploits. The sensational events that followed the airship's passage down tho length of Manhattan Island, occupied occu-pied the front pages of the papers but it had been found impossible, by tho newspaper men, to Identify the pilot of the attacking aircraft. Later Issues of the afternoon papers carried stories of tho biplane that had left the aviation field on Long Island at about the time to account for the attack, but the strictest investigation had not uncovered the name of the pilot. There was only one Item that led to the slightest hopo of identifying identify-ing the aeronaut a purple mask had been found tied to the framework of the biplane that had been used at the time. To Phil Kelly the identity of tho pilot was clear. She had "put ono over" on him again, and the great detective de-tective felt keenly humiliated, even though he rejoiced In the success that had attended the daring girl's adventure. adven-ture. "She's n wonder, for sure," Kelly said to his assistant, when he had finished reading the newspaper account ac-count of New York's evening of terror. Very naturally the sensational affair af-fair attracted the attention of government govern-ment officials and orders came from wnsnington mac tne matter must bo thoroughly Investigated. When Kelly heard that the subject of the air raid had been taken up through secret serv-Ico serv-Ico agencies, ho hastened to the headquarters head-quarters and volunteered what little Information he had on tho subject. He felt In duty bound to do so. His Information amounted to nothing noth-ing moro than suspicion, but when his report had been transmitted to Washington Wash-ington the orders came back that the Purplo Mask, must bo apprehended at all hnzards. Tho authorities, of course, hod not understood Pat's 'exploits 'ex-ploits in foiling the anarchists, nnd ,what Kelly had told them simply served to center their suspicions of wrongdoing around tho Queen of the Underworld. Several of the best secret service operatives op-eratives directed by tho Sphinx, be-gnn be-gnn shadowing The Housa of Mystery, Mys-tery, at once. Their presence on tho ground was Immediately transmitted to Pat, and her craving for adventuro led her into a daring experiment, Beforo the secret service men had ,been on tho Job an hour, Pat ventured ) Iforth in her Apache coatumo for the I porposo of testing, for herself, their ' - i abilities. When she appeared among the tree3 her presence was observed ; by the government operatives, and they at once began to surround her. Gradunlly they closed In upon tho Purple Mask, until she halted at every turn she made. Finally, tho leader of the secret service band ' placed his hand upon her shoulder, as ; she emerged from tho shrubbery nnd said: "You aro my prisoner, Purple Mask. Wo have been sent to nrrest you for endangering the lives of thousands In the air raid on New York." Pat took her arrest good natUredly enough, smilingly remarking: - "I came out for a stroll just to mako your job easier." "Much obliged for yonr thoughtful-ncss," thoughtful-ncss," said the ofilcer, "but wo would havo nabbed you anyhow, sooner or later." While the officers and their prisoner ' were exchanging this badinage, they had been walking, among the trees toward the path that led out of the grounds of the Houso of Mystery, Into the street. ' Suddenly, from behind a denso growth of shrubbery, a half dozen of j Pat's men pounced upon the officers ': nnd engaged them In n vicious fight. ' In the first rush Pat slipped out of her cape, leaving It in tho hands of her j would-be captor and fled speedily from the scene. Her men kept the officers engaged until Pat was safely away, and then they, likewise, jolted over their opponents oppo-nents and ran nway. The officials shook themselves, brushed the dust from their clothes and started again to Investigate the House of Mystery, Pat had ffed to a room on the ground J$ floor of the house and called several ) 01: ner men into nasty council. She J told them that tho government was seeking her nrrest, and warned them that they must be alert in their own defense and her protection. While the conference was under way, tho Apaches were surprised by tho secret service men who suddenly appeared at the open window and cov- p ered the occupants of the room with J their revolvers. J" "Hold up your hands," was the stern g commnnd that gave notice to the Apaches that they were arrested. L "We'll come in and get you, nnd drop F tho first person that makes n move." Wliile two of the officers covered tho Apaches with their revolvers, the other l climbed in through the window, and F then opened the door to admit moro N secret service agents who had been f waiting in the hall. r There was nearly an even number of Pj Apaches and officers crowded Into tile room when Pat unexpectedly got into action. Hurling two large vases at j the heads of the secret service men, l tho momentary distraction gave oppor- r tunlty for the Apaches to engage In L hand-to-hand scuffles with the officers e nearest to each man. And In the ex- Ap clteraent Pat cleared the sill of the j open window and disappeared. Sf The alarm had secretly sounded through tho House of Mystery and In a few moments there were re-en- r' forcements at hand to stand off the nt- , W tacks of the officers, and eventually Pei turn the battle against the Intruders. JJl In the meanwhile, Pat was set free Jqj to go her way without interference. She had purposely vaulted throueh the L-. window to test the further cleverness of tho secret service men, nnd In her 1 desire to continue the excitement she j was not disappointed. Two men had ( SDi remained outside on watch, and when j 243 Pat appeared they took up the chase . L, as sho dashed away from the window. ' IP While It would have been easy for ill Pat to find shelter In one of the many OK. secret passages that opened to tho 27tl Houso of Mystery, the girl In her , iTZ eagerness for adventure, decided tok I give the secret service men a touch of Vr excitement. She ran to the lower end TH1 of the grounds, where a wooden struc- &?7th turo served as a garage and sleeping pq7 quarters for somo of her men, and Jstre climbed to the roof. 1 She rnn along the weatherboard tAS above the eves, crossed the top of the nue' roof and scrambled Into the upper jrani branches of a tree, that promised an j easy means of escape to the grounds, I jTHE When she made for the roof, one of ( car 1 her pursuers followed her, while the j other man rnn around to the other side ! fontr of the building. ?Iarse Closely watching Pat's movements, , t the officer discovered her Intention to ! brr; escape by climbing down the tree and (mJ was waiting for her when she slid to f-the f-the ground. Taking no chances with FTVE his slippery antagonist, the officer ' jditior clamped one of his handcuffs around f HarrJ Pat's wrist and, when his fellow officer pT Joined him, tho two men led Pat to a ,' jkltchi side street where nn automobile was fao. waiting their arrival. At that moment a group of Pat's "ffE? men arrived to contest possession of Wed their leader. To make their capturd - Utah secure, tho secret service men clamped L the loose-hanging handcuff to the P10 framework of tho automobile, and then !. plunged Into a fight with the Apaches, THRE Pat encouraged her men by her f f shouts nnd advice. Securely fastened j ? to the automobllo she could do nothing rw more In tho way of helping decide the ' battle. ) i The struggle was fierce, and this I time tho secret service men won out, 0 yo for the Apaches wero outnumbered by ' 0 to the officers nnd could not prevent their 1 Jdinj victory. One by one the officers flung : St W off their antagonists, and then scram- 1 Ky c bled for tho running-board of their Eer motor. pnee The chauffeur had his engine run- ilj alng, and when all the officers had fc . either tumbled Into the machine or j were hanging onto the running-board, , the auto started and dashed away with ' g. Pat securely a prisoner in tho clutches ' I K ' of her adversaries. 4 H 1 (END OF FOURTEENTH EPISODE.) H |