THE S.'XEM CAPITA!, JOURNAL, SALEM, OltEOCW SATURDAY, FEBEUAHY 27, 1915.
the Twentw Million :.
H AKOJxD MAC GRATH
Dollat Mssstetv
'With'Haisw AH dead ZUDORA it
IttUased of her pUdge to solve twenty SO)
tases? Shi confronts, however, the treat
lit mystery of all which ii the mystery of
her own lije, and the qmbition to secure
the tasl fortune of tlO.000,000 left to her.
Her remarkable adventures will he por
trayed by Harold MacGrath in the suc
ceeding chaptef). This photo seridl if
beinf shown in the leading moving picture
theaters by the Thahhoitsef Film Corpor
ation, Among' those pcjrlicipatint art
Marguerite Snow, Mary Eliiabith"
Forbes, James Cruu, in the ntv role of
reporter hero, Sidney Bracey and .Frank" K
Farrinttonf
Coprrla-ht: 1014: Br H.ro'.J UaoOreth.
CHAPTF.K X.
QK.NTLEMBN OR0OK8 AND TUB LADY.
H ASM AM AM, or, to give him his real
nume, Frauk Keene, died suddeuly.
llnlrd, his double, appreciating that
the end wns at hand, left the house
by a
secret exit, taking with him only
inch
things as belonged to him. When
Hindu servant uolilled Zudora that her
' ancle was doad she could not believe It;
and one look at the dead mnn was enough
to convince her that there was something
extremely mysterious lu the change. The
Hassnm All she had seen a few duys past
had not looked 111; but this corpso was mute
evidence of a long and desperate Illness. But
he never solved this puzzle; she was never
given the time to. That night the house
caught lire aud very few things were saved.
One day shortly after the Are she dragged
the buttered old trunk out Into tho center of
pie room and proceeded to explore Its con
tents. The first things alia came across
were her mother's old circus costumes, and
the sat dreaming about them for some time,
A. knock upon Ihe door aroused ber.
"Coins In!"
Blorro. entered with a bouquet.
"O, how pretty! Walt until I put them
Into a vase. There! Flowers always make
I room look cozier."
"And what's going on here?" asked John,
pointing to the trunk.
' "Why, John, that trunk la about the only
thlug they rescued from the bouse. Do you
know, I'm happier lu thle room than I have
been In years. Uncle Frank was alwaya
cold and repellent; he Just wouldn't let me
love hlin."
" Oood riddance of bed rubbish !"
" Why, John Storm!"
" I don't care. I'm positive of the fact
that ho attempted to make way with both
of us half a dusou tliuea. And I'm equally .
again positive that he was hand lu glove
with some of the most dangerous criminals
In the country. Well, as you ay, he's dead;
but as for me, I feel a deal easier In walk
ing about these days. And yet that man
was your uncle, flesh and Mood. Have you
gone through the trunk yet?"
' No."
"Well, then', let's take an Inventory."
The two of them kuelt down together and
dug out the ancient olrcua trapping. Far
down In a corner they vamo upon a little
box, and Zudora opened It curiously.
"A diamond!" exclaimed Sturm, "And a
mighty good one, too, If I don't miss my
guess. Look, there le a part of a letter
under It. U'l's see what It says."
The contents or the half coulenls-of that
burned sheet of paper affected them slinnge
ly. It had originally been a letter to Zudoru's
mother from her father, nnd brokenly It
stated that be had struck It rich lu Brnxll.
He, or his psrlner, had stumbled upon nil
ejoeedlugly rich deposit of diamonds, mid
nine day they would have plenty. To Zu
dora It nils evident that this had been writ
ten a few days before the father's death,
after ho had made the strike lu gold,
" And Hnssnin All kept this a secret from
you!"
"Never mind now; It Is no longer a so
rrel," replied Zudora, She put tho little
box aside and once more gave her attention
to the Interior of tho trunk. She next resur
rected a locket. This contained the likeness
of her rnrents. "My father and mother,"
eh aald, her eyes tilling.
"You poor little chicken I" He put bla
nua ronud her. " We'd better see what
Van be done about this dlnmoud mine.
J'm aura there must be a lot of gems some
where. Dot you don't need a dmmoud mine
jeo far as I'm concerned, twexlheart; you're
tireclous enough gem for any man,"
"Thank you, John,"
"Almost at this same momeut a great lluer
plowed Ha way westward across the At
lantic. And on board thle liner waa a hand
ful of diamonds which rightfully belonged
to Zudora Keene.
There was a passenger who went by the
tarn of Urave, lie wat a smug, sutve lu.ll-
vidua, but wns fur deeper, far more cun
ning, than be appeared outwardly. He wa
in his stateroom. The door was locked. The
bed was pulled from the wall. Tlie man
himself ns between the bid aud the ship's
side, sawing a small hole In the wainscot
ing. From time to time lie paused to listen
for sounds in the adjacent staterooms, but
lie was quite satisfied that the occupants
.were all on deck in their chairs. When
the Job wn completed he lifted out the
square piece of board and laid It aside.
Then he drew a bamboo cane toward hlni.
He swiftly unscrewed the top and dumped
something Into the pulin of his hand. Miunte
JT .i i r t ;."".. A
I ' 'I ! r ' i i
St s' ) i ( r s 3
i . , ic . s
I ' M ' , i v g Ai
r f Mir . '
1 - " ' -4 Si xu-r V I
1 - 1 f F 1 ' " I
If- , ( i As, ' i
It. .nv.i.uv. 1
AFTER A RATTLING
flashes of red and blue llama darted up Into
his eyes. These Hashes came from dia
monds of the purest white. He chuckled
Inaiidllily. Next he poured the gems Into
n little chamois bag nnd thrust the bag Into
the hole In the wall. With extraordinary
deftness be replaced the square of wain
scoting, and only the closest scrutiny would
liuve.lold any one what had taken place.
After that Mr". Bruce went up to the
nioko room and Indulged In a stiff whisky
and soda. Then he played bridge until the
second bugle call for dinner, and lu that
pertsd of time more than made his ex
penses for the trip. Mr. llruce enjoyed his
dinner, enjoyed his wine, the coffee, and
partlga. The secret ngeuts could hoar what
they pleased and they could search him
and all his belongings, and he would sub
mit with the utmost comphicctiey. Only
fools were caught these days by the ngents
of the United Slates customs. He bad made
some twenty voyages, and what bad they
ever found upon him that was contraband?
Nothing, absolutely nothing. Tomorrow
they would dock, the old formulas would be
gone through, and that ulght he would be
able to confide another success to his con
federates. It all depended upon nerve and
foresight. Itut there was one man with
whom he had yet to reckon,
His name was Thomas Hunt, nnd one of
his specialties was putting his stout hand
upon the shoulders of malefactors and ask
ing them politely which they preferred, steel
cuffs or docility? The day before Hruco
landed Hunt received a cable lu which he
waa Informed that their old enemy wna
folug to attempt to run the blockade again,
with diamonds as usiinl, And one of the
remarkable phases of these exploits of
Bruce's was the fact that he Invariably sold
gems In Holland aa a starter, but brought
the bulk of them Into the United States.
The olllclala knew that he had confeder
ates, some nbnre him In power nnd some
below. Chief among those of tho first order
wero Mine. Du Yal and Capt. Itadcllffe, n
null) without a country. ltiohllfTo was
patently In love with Mine. Du Vnl, but
alio could not put from her thoughts the niau
Hnit'd, Tho fact that he hud gone over to
the other side In an attempt to rehabilitate,
himself did not lessen Ihe woman's admira
tion. As the pseudo Tliissnin she had had
somo power over him, but as a reporter on
one of tho big newspapers be had passed
beyond the reach of her arm,
Somewhere she hod seen a painting by the
late Alma Tademn, and she had, under the
Inspiration, fixed up what she called a Greek
ealuii. She really possessed excellent tnslo.
In the center there was a foiiuliilu sur
rounded by plants. The water tinkled mer
rily at nil t linos. Itut sometimes the stream
suddenly fell aslant, which Indicated that
some one was behind the secret panel.
On tho night before the arrival of Bruce
with his ill gotten gems, madam was In the
salon, plnylug Idly with sn Angora kitten.
It Is fact that these tiger women always
have kittens about. Suddenly she noted the
slant ct the jet of water. She summoned
sn attendant and nodded menulugly toward
tlie wall. The footman went over swiftly,
touched a knob, and the sectet panel went
up, revealing e, small elevator. Out of this
slipped Capt, ltadrlllTe, something of a
dsudy In appearance, but at heart shady
See "Zudora " Every Thursday at the Bligh Theatre
rogue, lie crossed the room swlftb, making
so effort to conceal his sentiments. But she
adroitly evaded lilni.
"Take care, captain; no sentiment, if you
please. Home day, I do not snyi but for the
present we hare business."
"I wander if that suae day will ever
come?" The cuptnln shrugged.
" I will be ready," she said, " In about
twenty minutes."
" What!" taking a step forward.
"No, no, simpleton! I mean I'll be ready
to go out with you. Now, let me add this:
I'lensn do not use that secret panel again
just because you want to surprise me.
GOOD FIGHT HUNT SUCCEEDS? IN
5ME 5AT DREAMING ABOUTMER
After midnight, if you have anything really
important on band, enter by the panel; but
In ordinary times, the front door, my dear
captalu."
" Your Word Is law," he replied, bowing.
She left the salon aud he Idled away the
ffcnty minutes playing with the kitten.
When she returned she was ready for the
street. She curried a kind of velvet purse.
"Do you know what's In this'" htie ashed.
" l'owder pull's?"
"She did not reply, but took out a folded
square of white tissue paper und opened It,
Several tine diamonds sparkled before his
eyes,
" All ! Are, they to be disposed of, enchan
tress?" "Certainly; and the sooner the better.
Bruce will be In port shortly, nnd we do not
want too many on our bauds."
"I'll take enro of them." This done ho
added rather Impatiently: '" It's high time
we made off for that luncheon."
To return to Thomas Hunt, detective and
secret eervlce man. Hunt divided his lime
between personal cases and the more dilli
cult problems, which frequently confronted
the government agents, They generally earns
to him when they win's In trouble. He was
sitting at ids desk. Before him, spread nut
fan-wlsii, were numerous newspaper clip
pings, and In all of them there was some
reference to a man named Bruce. Unlike
his kind, the mini was always getting into
tlie papers, for a long time this fouled the
secret service. They had looked upon him
its a harmless crank.
Hunt looked up suddenly, lie swept the
clippings Into drawer,
" Come lu," he said.
Tilt clerk struck his head Into his chlrft
otllee. "I.ady suj gentleman wish to sea
you,"
k , f w Mi" k ;L ,
' 'mimimsmmmtW
" Name!"
" Storm."
"John Storm?"
" Yes, sir."
" Show them in at onoe." He hailed
(Storm jovially, for he had known this young
lawyer for several years. " Come in, come
In! I'm glad to see you. What's on that
legal mind of yours?"
" I wnnt you to meet Miss Keene, Hunt;
Miss Zudorn Keene."
"0! I believe I've heard about you, Miss
Keene. Tou're Ilussam All's niece. He
was a very shrewd man. I was sorry to
lieur of Ills deuth."
DRAWING HIS AUTOMATICS
MOTHER'S OLD CIRCUS C05TUMF5
" Hunt, you make n study of diamonds,
don't you?" asked Storm.
" Legally, legally."
" I want you to And a diamond mine In
Briuil, belonging to the father of Miss
Keene here. He's been dead fur a good
many years."
Hunt whistled. " That's a big order, Any
papers?"
" Nothing that would give a hlut to the
locution of the mine."
" Well, I can make a stab at It, anyhow.
But It looks on the face of It like that old
needle In the haystack stun. We have some
iiuents down there; they might be able to
help us out."
" It .will be very good of you," said Zu
dora. She nnd Storm rose, nnd na they did so a
young innu entered unannounced. Zudorn
recognlteil him Instantly as the young man
she had met nt lliulani I)u Vul's. As for
Storm, he bowed sllitlitly. Careless jreet
lngs passed between them, anil Balrd nnd
Hunt were left alone.
"Well," snld the detective grimly, "how
are you behaving yourself?"
"Straight," said Balrd soberly. "It was
mighty fine of you to help me when I needed
help. The life of a reporter Is fascinating.
But Just now I need s story, (lot one?"
"Maybe. lid you ever hear of a man
mimed Bruce?"
"Yes." Balrd stured at the rug. Yes,
he had known Bruce In the days when he
was Hassam All.
" Well." begau Hunt, " I think the rogue
is going to bent tbe customs again. I'll
wager that up to date he baa smuggled In
something over a million In gem's. They'll
land at the pier lu about two'bonrs, Sup
pose we hike right away?"
" Nothing would cult me any better. I
want rjjBjke god Jp this JjUfJrijsa, Hunt.
The oil qjiaps iiy jtjck' a jfo'f in nie one
of these days, but fjl go out houast,"
" That's the f$ to talk! Come $n, then,"
At the piers on cases like this Hunt gen
erally donned the regulation uniform and
the regular Inspectors did not lntere,re wih
bis work. So when Bruce came down the
.gangplank the detective greeted him,
" I'll take care of you, Mr. Bruce. You
will not have to bother with the usual for
malities." " Anything Is ngreeable so loug as I get
out of this bnru In reasonable time. Here's
my luggage coming down. All suitcases and
one steamer trunk,"
" We may have to search you personally,
Mr. Bruce."
"Same old Idea, huh? )o as far as you
like. You boys will get tired some day hunt
ing for diamonds In my grips."
" We often dlo on the Job, Mr. Bmco, but
we never get tired."
The only diamond found on Mr. Bruce was
set In his fob. Hunt ijhrugged.
"Give it up?" said Bruce, grinning.
" For today, Mr. Bruce. Hood day."
Bruce started for the exit, looking about
for a taxi. Hunt waved his hand toward the
spot where Balrd 'jay in wait. The latter
understood this gesture to Indicate that ho
I wan ussi-iied to follow the man. Bruce found
' his tn.ft, but Baird's was only half a block
behind when the race began.
Mine. Du Vnl nnd Cnpt. Kodcliffe returned
to tho former's house immediate.' ufter lunch
Sud they both appeared rather 'otcbed over
something. It seems that the two bad met
Storm and Zudorn at the restnurnut nnd had
naked them to sit nt their table, with no pur
pose In mind save that of friendliness. Dur
ing tho luncheon madam noticed the quaint
locket around Zudorn's throat nnd inspected
it. The two faces she saw Inside the locket
made her heart jump, hut the mildly curious
expression on her face did not change.
She and tlie captain inine into the salon
hurriedly. They went directly to n tnhlo upon
which tlie cut was sleeping. The feline dreams
Were rudely shuttered, however, for tho mis
tress pushed Ihe animal to the floor. Madam
pressed certain hits of inlay n mt n secret
drawer was revealed. 1'Yoiii this drawer she
took two old daguerreotypes,
"The same!" whispered tlie captain.
"The very same! O, we are in luck, cap
tain, to find this out in lime. That mine Is
this girl Zudora's; and we'll have to watch
our cards.'' . '
" Tut her out of tlie way?"
" There's been a little too much of that.
We'll try all other methods flrst. But what
luck!"
"Telephone!" he said. "Shall I answer
it?"
" better let me." She returned to him
after a moment. " Bruce; he's slipped through
ns usual."
" Clever chap !"
" And the gems are still on board the boat!"
In the meantime Balrd had no great diffi
culty In banning to the heels of Bruce's call.
He hud an idea that the cab would seek a
deserted spot, possibly Bear the water front,
where Micro is n good deal of abandoned prop
erty. While his eye followed the cab In front
bis mind was elsewhere. A year ngo he had
been a crook, not a dangerous one, to be sure,
but Infernally clever. And here he was, striv
ing honestly to live decently, all because ho
had fallen in loro wllh the girl that should
have been his victim. Its of kinks iu this
old world; lots of startling twists and wind
lugs. But of what use to love her? She loved
another, and a clean, decent man, too. Ho
wondered If the day would come when he
could tell her the truth, that for months he
had played nt being her uncle and bad boldly
attempted to do away with her. '
What a contemptible scoundrel he bad been
and what a singular lack of perception he
had had of this fact until love awoke him I
Come, now; he must not fall to dreaming; his
bualncs was to watch yonder call. Bruce's
cab began, to leave a trail through the ware
house district and eventually came to a stop
before a disused factory. Balrd dismissed his
cnb nnd wnllrd to see what the smuggler did.
He, too, dismissed the cab, glanced swiftly
, over bis shoulder, and entered the factory
door, evidently by moans of a key. Balrd
walled a reasonable length of lime, then nmde
for the factory. He knew that he would find
the door locked, but. nevertlieleia he tried It.
He wasn't at nil disturbed to flild It loeknl.
In a ruined old bulhllng like this there; w''re
ninny rickety windows.
Iln had do difficulty In gelling Inside. It
was not Intended that he should have any real
difficulty In gaining entrance. Bruce, know
ing the tricks of detectives, had hevn quito
certain that he would bo followed from tho
bent pier. He had merely led Balrd Into a
trnp. Bruce bad gone In by one entrance nnd
cut the other. The cnb met him two blocks
away, and he was driven to another pnrt of
the town. Iu fnct, to a semi occupied apart
ment house where thero wns a tunnel which
led to tlie secret elevator In the house of
Mine. Du Vnl on the next street.
Ho received A mynl welcome from Mine.
Du Val and Cnpt. Itndcllffe, II had brgnsj(t
to port something like tweuty thousand In the
purest Brazilians.
"O, I was followed," be boasted, "nnd, I
led the follower by bis nose to (be old trap,
tod by Ibis time he Is doubtless put of tl'S
miming. Rut this mas Hunt ll fotttuf on mj
nerves. He knows, but he cap t prove any
thing. Now, what's jonr newsll
They tuld Mm brleii.
" You havj found tjjyjres.1 heljj?" Jaj ,cred.
"Yes. Acdv "wj ' iv just 'arrived a the
conclusion Of conference. Ojhiai girl Zudoja
must he put jwny until we've milked that
mine of Its Inst pebble. Her father's partner
old crook that be Is -must be pushed oil thy
board completely. There's a million In that
pocket yet, believe me. I think by quick ac
tion we can get what we wan( within six
months. We'll keep Zudora under cover for
thnt period of time. As we understand It,
she's engaged to a lawyer named Storm. 'We
can fake uft an accident to Storm and draw
the girl Into tho net." :i
" Action's the word. And there's no better
place to hido her until the coast Is clear than
In the old junk but. That's where the boys
will be taking Hunt's understudy by this
time."
"But tlie diamonds!" interjected Mine. Du
Val. t
1 " My dear lndy, I return to Liverpool on
the same boat I arrived on. You will conn
and see me off. And when you bid m ; a-'
tearful farewell tbe precious pebbles will he
luslde your muff. In fact, I return in the
same cabin, and the cms are si 111 in that
sunie cabin. It's a new stunt, nnd ought to
hold off the Inspectors for at least a doxel
voyages."
" You've got a head on you, Bruce"," admit
ted Cnpt. Itadcllffe admiringly.
Bnlrd was able to find his way Inside the
deserted factory. A trap to the cellar caught
his eye. He raised it nnd went down . . .
nnd stepped plump Into the arms of a hulk of
a man who had heVn nwniting his arrienl.
Bnlrd was no weakling, but it seemed to him
that he had run Into a bunch of live wire
cables. Only a chance blow Raved him. It
saved him only temporarily. Another dock '
wolloper came to his companion's aid. Briird
wns no superman, nnd a blow ou the side ol
the hend laid him out flat. c
The two rogues bound and packed their vic
tim nnd blindfolded liiin, too. Ttnird was boll
conscious oi oeiiisi enrnen our or ine mujuins'
nnd dumped Into a wagon. A moment Intel
a lot of evil smelling Junk wns thrown In upon
him. Then they went rumbling over thfl
roiiRli cobble pnvement. 11 seemed to Bitird
that the Journey must have lasted fully an .
hour. Then the wnp,on stopped, the junk was
bniilrd nwny, and he was drugged Into a hut
which to the world at large served the inno
cent purpose of housing junk; but to tlv
crooks 111 charge It. hud ulterior purposes.
Tho lint possessed two rooms beyond that
which was reserved for the better character ol
junk. ' The fore room was used as a habita
tion, the middle room n a prison when needs
said must. . '
Into fills middle room Balrd was carrlefl
and bound to a post. They weren't gentls.
with him either. Presently they left him
alone. Buspense Is sometimes more cruel tlmn
actual physical punishment.
When Zudora learned that her lover wat
Injured she set out post-haste. And, as luck
would have It, Storm and Hunt arrived just
after she had left In the taxicab Storm v.n
supposed to have sent her.
" Keep your hair on," said tfie detective,
" We enn keep track of that cab. Don't yotl
worry. I'm glad I enme along with yon. I'll
bet a dollar that this has something to do
with those rtinmomlt ThatVa n..ili,v Ilk."
adding two and two to get four. Now we're
off."
They followed the other tait for 1hre
quarters of an hour, lost It three times, bn
always managed to bring It back within rnng
again. Meaner and meaner grew the streets. ,
"That's one fault of the crooked inind,"wai
the detective's comment. "They always seidi
low places to It 1 rl 11 their victims In. Not om
detective In a thousand would think of hunt'
Ing a missing person In a good neighborhood.
He's slowing up. I think we'd better finish
this on foot. Come along, Mr. Lawyer, end
don't get In a sweat until you have to,"
As for Zudorn, her evil stnr shone cold and
brilliant as any of the gems she was seeking
Sb her own. When she discerned the charac
ter of the neighborhood her suspicions bees me
aroused. She called to the chauffeur, but his
answer wns a fresh burst of speed. He
whlrlml up In front of the Junk hut, gave
three blasts of the horn, and jumped down
from the rnr. '
The two men who were guarding Balrd
rushed out at this signal.
" The captain !" one of them cried.
" Silence, you fool !" warned the pseudo
chauffeur. "Here, help a band with thle
bundle of petticoats, and If she gets sway
from you I'll cut your throats. Llvelyl''
Zudorn, white she could not understand thd
reason of this abduction, perfectly compre
hended that It Would be useless to strug:lj
tignlnst. threo men. Sh allowed them to take
her Inside the' hut. The chauffeur Jumped
back to his sent and whirled away at top
speed.
Hunt and Storm were quite wllllnt the',
bo should go. It meant one less to handle,
U; was hard for Storm fo wait for Hunt's
signal. When It did come he was first at tin
door of the but. But the door wns a stout
one sud It took sundry swashlug blows of
both men's shoulders to make the lock give.
There wns a rsltllng good (lbt for s moment I
then Hunt succeeded In drawing his auto
matics. "Hands up!"
The two thugs saw business In bis cold blue
T. od raised their hands.
" Sou poor girl 1" cried fitorm.
KeT-er mind me," !) said. " There's som
ottt In the uejt room calling for help."
And ihcre they found Balrd.
I to sa ooMTUtfial