University of South Carolina Libraries
The Million Di By HAROLD Illustrated from Scenes it Same Name by the Thai (Copyright, 1914, by I SYNOPSI8. Stanley Hargreave, millionaire, after a miraculous escape from the den of the gang of brilliant thieves known as the Black Hundred, lives the life of a recluse for eighteen years. Hargreave accidental ly meets Braine, leader of the Black Hun dred. Knowing Braine will try to get , him. he escapes from his own home by a balloon. Before escaping he writes a letter to the girls* school, where eighteen years before he mysteriously left on the doorstep his baby daughter, Florence Gray. That day Hargreave also draws one million dollars from the bank, but it is reported that this dropped into the sea, when the baboon he escaped in was punc tured. Florence arrives from the girls' school. Countess Olga, Braine's compan ion, visits her jnd claims to be a rela tive. Two bogus detectives call, but their plot is foiled by Norton, a newspaper man. After failing In their first attempt the Black Hundred trap Florence. They ask her for money, but she escapes. Nor ton and the countess call on Florence the next day. onpe rtiore safe at home. The visitors having gone. Jones removes a section of flooring, and from a cavity *"1- Kv mtrnKfirc r?f til A ittftrs a uva. ruiauTu wj uiv*mw.? Black Hundred, he rushes to the water front and succeeds in dropping the box Into the sea. Jones and Norton save Florence from being imprisoned in a country house to which she is lured. Flor ence goes horseback riding and is cap tured by one of Braine's men along the roadside. Norton rescues her. Countess Olga. scheming to break the engagement now existing between Florence Hargreave and Norton, invites them both to her apartments and pretends to faint in the reporter's arms. Florence appears in the doorway just at the planned moment, and as a result gives Norton back his ring. CHAPTER IX?Continued. "Hello! Where's Ford? He gave me a ticket to the theater tonight, and T VilO VlDQ/1 Whflt'S drama coming to, anyhow? Cigarettes and booze and mismated couples. Can't they find good enough things out of doors? Oh, I know. They cater to a lot of fools who believe that what they see is an expression of high life in New York and London. And it's rot, plain rot. It's merely the scum on the boiling pot. And any old house wife would skim it off and chuck it into the slops. Life? PifBe!" "What's the grouch?" "Looking for the dramatic job?" "No. I've just been wondering how far these theatrical managers can go without slitting the golden goose." Norton sought his desk and began rnmmfl^ina the drawers. He was not hunting for anything; he was merely pacing away the time. By and by, wh*n ihe pastime no longer served, he pulled his chair over to the window , an 1 sat down, staring at stars such as CoiAernicus never dreamed of. Ships going down to sea, ferries swooping diagoiiitlly hither and thither, the clockwork signs; but he took no note of thes? marvels of light. "Not at home!" he muttered. , He had called, written, telephoned. No u&<* The door remained shut, Jones auswered the telephone, and the letters came back. He began to think very d'*eply concerning the Perigoff woman. Had she played a trick? Had that fall ting spell been buncombe for his bene3t as well as Florence's? But "> he had i?ot a shadow of a proof. The thing that puzzled him. equally with this waw that all attempts against his life had rjiraculously ceased; no safes , thundered down in front of him, and J no autos tried to carve him in two. j The only thing that kept him active was the daily call of Jones by wire. ! Miss Florence was well ;that was all Jones was permitted to say. Restlessly Norton spurned his chair and walked over to the telephone booth. It vas midnight. He might or might not be able to get Jones. But almost instantly a voice said, "What is it?" ' "Jones?" -Yes. Who is it?" "Norton." "Why, you called me up not ten minutes ago." "Not I!" "It was your voice, as plain as day." "What did I want?" keen all at once. The reply did not come immediately. "You are certain it was not you?' "Wait a moment and I'll call the editor. He will prove to you that I've been here for an hour, and that this is the first call I've made. Some one has been imposing on you. What did they ask you to do?" "You asked me to come down to the office at once, and I requested you tt> come to the house, and you said you coald not. 1 declined to stir." "What did you tnink?" "Exactly what you're thinking?that they have cooie to life again." "Jones, Is Miss Florence awake?" "No." "Do you thiuk there is any hope of having her understand what really happened?" "I am here only to guard her. I can not undertake to read her thoughts." "You're i\ot quite in favor of u rec onciliation?" "Oh, yes. if it went no further. Young people are young. peopl<? the world over." "What does that mean?" "That they would not create imagi native heartaches if thsy were not , young. Better let things remain ex actly as they are. When all these troubles are settled finally, the lesser trouble may be talked over sensibly. But this is not the time. There is no news. Good-night." Norton returned to his chair, gloom OWES HIS LIFE TO MEASLES Man Afflicted With Tuberculosis and Given Up to Die Has the Laugh on the Doctors. i If the doctors have given you up to die of tuberculosis, don't do it, but go and get a dose ofJthe measles, and when you have recovered from the combination you will not have any tuberculosis, and will be as likely to outlive the doctor as he will be to outlive you. This may seem like ? .? . . a-j MAC GRATH i the Photo Drama of the ihouser Film Company Harold MacGrath) ier than ever. With his feet upon th< window sill he stared and stare^anc dreamed and dreamed till a ha|id fel upon his shoulder. It belonged to on< or me oxiice uujs. "Note f'r you, sir." Norton read it and tore it into little pieces. Then lie rose and distributee the pieces in the several yawninj waste baskets which strewed the aish leading to the city desk. "I'm not wanted for anything?" h< asked. "No. Clear out!" laughed the nigh city editor. "The sight of you is put ting everybody in the gloom ward.' Norton went down to the street. A: the left of the entrance he was quietl] joined by a man whose arm was car ried in a sling. He motioned Nortor to get into the taxicab. They wen dropped in a deserted spot in River dale. On foot they went forward t< their destination, which proved to b< the deserted hangar of the aviator William Orts. "I want you to tell Jones that a tu{ and several divers are at work on th< spot wlere he threw the chest. That'i all. Now, doctor, rewind this arm o mine." The amateur surgeon made a ven good job of it; not for nothing had h< followed fighting armies to the front "Did they find anything?" "Not up to date. But we might i we cared to. They have left a buo] over the spot they're exploring. Bu just now it floats a quarter of t mile to the east of the spot." "Who were the men in the motoi boat that chased Jones." "Only Jones can tell you. Queer olc codger, eh?" "A bit stubborn. He wants to handli it without police assistance." "And he's right. We are not aiminj to arrest anyone," sinisterly. "Then can't be any draw to this game. Here no smoking. Too much gas afloat." Norton put the cigarettes back int< his pocket. "What's the real news?" he demanded. "You would not brinj me out here just to rebandage tha arm. It really did not need it. Come out with it." "You're sharp." "I'm paid to be sharp." "I've found where the Black Hun dred holds its sessions." "By George, that's news!" "The room above is vacant. A littlf hole in the ceiling, and who knowi what might happen?" "What do you want me to do?" "Tell Jones. When the next meet ing come around I'll advise you. I'vi stumbled upon a dissatisfied member So, buck up, as they say. We've go two ends of the net down, and wit! a little care we'll have them all. Nov let me have a hundred." Norton drew out a packet of billi and counted off five twenties. "Why don't you draw the cash your 6elf?" "It happens to be in your name son." "I forgot," said Norton. "But wha a chance for me! Nearly five thou sand, all mine for a ticket to Algiers!' A grunt was the only reply. "I want you to tell me about thi Perigoff woman." "I know only one thing?that Brain< is there every night." "No!" "The orders are for you to play thi game just as you are playing it. Whei we strike, it must be the last blow All this hide-and-seek business ma: look foolish to you. It's like that Jap anese gamev called 'jo.' It looks sim pie, but chess is a tyro's game be side it. Can you find your way ba.'jl all right?" "I can." ' .veil, you'd better be going. That'i all tht light I have, in this torch here ' Got a lot to do tomorrow and nee< sleep." Norton stole away with great cau tion. His first intention was to pro ceed straight to the city, but d spite his resolution he found himsel within a quarter of an hour gazini up at the windows of the Hargreav< house. "Not at home!" Quite unconscious of the fact, hi was as close to death as any morta man might care to be. The police man suddenly looming up under th< arc lamp proved to be his savior. ******* The lull made Jones doubly alert He was positive that they were pre paring to striKe again. r?ui irom wna. direction and in what manner? H< had not met the gift of clairvoyance so he had to wait; and waiting is i terrible game when perhaps death ii j balancing the scales. It is alway: | easier to make an assault than t< await it; and it is a good general wh< always finds himself prepared. But it made his heart ache to watcl the child. She went about cheerfull; ?when any one was In the room witl her. Many a time, however, he ha< stolen to the door of her bedroom an< heard the heart-rending sobs, a vail attempt being made to stifle then among the pillows. She was onl; eighteen; it was first love; and firs loves are pale, evanescent attach ments. It hurt now; but she wouli peculiar remedy, but a man namei Trotter, who was given up to die b] his physician, has outlived the doctor Trotter was of a jolly disposition and kept on his feet and out of door! a large part of his time, but it finally became only a question of days, an< was so recognized by the sick mai and all his friends. About this tim< an epidemic of measles broke out ii the neighborhood, and as Trotter ha( never had the disease the doctor ad vised him to leave the locality, as t( contract it would surely kill him get over It presently. Youth forgetg. n Time, like water, smooths away the h ragged places. s The countess called regularly. She n was, of course, dreadfully sorry over *t what had happened. She had heard t something about his character; news- a paper men weren't always the best, f This one was a mere fortune hunter; t a two faced one, at that. She was never more surprised in her life when t he threw his arms around her. And fc so on, and so forth, half lies and half c truths, till the patient Jones felt like s wringing her neck. o From his vantage point the butler t smiled ironically. He could read the t ' heart of this Perigoff woman as he s could read the page of a book. The i ; effrontery! And all the while he v 1 must gravely admit her and pretend 1 when the blood rioted in his veins at a 11? 1 ? ? U a / !nrorl nnf I _ 3 lilt? mglll IH lit? I* DUt HO uaiwu W L swerve a single inch from the plans r laid down. It was a cup of bitter gall, 3 and there was no way of avoiding the t i putting of it to his lips. She ema- f 5 nated poison as nightshade emanates c 3 it, the upas tree. And he must bow when she entered and bow when she s > left! Still, she had done him an in- e direct favor in breaking up this love ^ t business. One afternoon Braine summoned his f ' runabout and called up two physicians, t When he was ushered into the desert- j, j ed office of the first he sent his card g . in. The doctor replied in person. His i face \vas pale and his hands shook. 3 "Good afternoon," said Braine, smil w ing affably. I j The doctor eyed him like a man"' ; hypnotized. "You . . . you wished , to see me on some, particular busi ness?" I "Very particular," dryly. "My car 3 is outside. Will you be so good as 3 to accompany me?" f The doctor slowly went into the hall for his hat and coat. He left the 7 house and got into the car with never 3 a word of protest. "Thinking?" said Braine. "I am always thinking whenever I f see your evil face. What devilment r do you require of me this time?" t "A mere stroke of the pen." i "Where are we going?" "To call on another physician of r your standing," significantly. "It is a great thing to haVe friends like you 1 A-?? * '"" > /-? eorvA n a fnP i LWU. nittttjo icauj IU o?? ?w UH| w* the mere love of it." 3 "There's no need of using that kind of talk to me. You have me in the I hollow of your hand. Why should i 3 bother to deny it? I have broken the i, law. I broke it because I was starv ing." ) "It is better to starve in freedom * than to eat fat joints up the river. I Today it is a question of sanity." t "And you want me to assist in sign i, ing away the liberty of some person who is perfectly sane?" "TJhe nail on the head," urbanely. "You're a fine scoundrel!" "Not so loud!" warningly. "As loud as I please. I am not for getting that you need me. I'm no 3 coward. I recognize that you hold the 3 whip hand. But you can send me to the chair before I'll crawl to you. Now, leave me alone for a while." * The other physician had no such $ qualms of conscience. He was ready * at all times for the generous emolu t<,ments which accrued from his dealings 1 with the man Braine. 7 The Countess Perigoff was indis posed; so it was quite in the order ox things that she should summon phy sicians. There is a law in the state of New York?just or unjust, whichever you please?that reads' that any person may be adjudged insane if the signa - Florence and Susan Went Shopping. . tures of two registered physicians are j affixed to the document. It does not j say that these physicians shall have < been proved reputable. There were, besides the physicians, a motherly looking woman and a man t of benign countenance. Their faces 3 were valuable assets. To gain an other person's confidence is, perhaps, i among the greatest human achieve 3 ments. A confidence man and woman s in the real sense of the word. In your d mind's eye you could see this man 3 carrying the contribution plate down the aisle on Sunday mornings, and his i wife Kate putting her mite on the plato for the benefit of some poor, un i tidy Hottentot. i On Tuesday of the following week 3 Florence and Susan went shopping, a The chauffeur was a strong young fel a low whom Jones relied upon. If you Y pay a man well and hold out fine t promises, you generally can trust him. i- As their car left the coiner another I followed leisurely. This second auto i Trotter replied: "Well, Doc, you say jc ir I'6e gwine to die anyhow; I reckon' c . I'll jes stay to hum with the ole wo- v , man an' die with a good taste in my r 3 mouth." He got the measles and had a f it from the crown of his head to the t 1 soles of Ills feet. The disease re- c l mained with him as long proportion- t i ately as he was physically (he was d l six feet and four Inches tall), but p 1 despite the doctor's prognosis he got - well and when he was well of the ) measles he was well of the tubercu . losis, and though the doctor told him I aoblle contained Thomas Wendt and is wife Kate. The two young women topped at the great dry goods shop tear the public library, and for the ime being naturally forgot everything iut the marvels which had come from 11 parts of the world. It is as natural or a woman to buy as it is for a man o sell. In some manner or other Florence lecame separated from Susan. She lunted through aisle after aisle, but ould not find her;, for the simple rea on that Susan was hunting for her. It occurred to the girl that Susan might lave wisely concluded the best place o wait would be in the taxicab. And o Florence hurried out into the street, nto the arms of the Wendt family, i'ho were patiently awaiting her. The trusted chauffeur had been sent iround to the side entrance by the najor domo. The young lady had so equested, so he said. Florence struggled and called for ha nnlir>omnn whn ramp runnine UD. ollowed by the usual idle, curious xowd. "The poor young woman Insane," aid the motherly Kate, tears in her iyes. The benign Thomas looked at leaven. 'We are her keepers." "It is not true!" cried Florence des >?rately. "She ha^ the hallucination that she 3 the daughter of the millionaire Stanley Hargreave." And Thomas ex Bralne and the Countess. libited his document, which was per 'ectly legal, so far as appearances vent. "Hurry up and get her off the walk. can't have the crowd growing any arger," said the policeman, convinced. So, despite her cries and protesta ;ions, Florence was hustled into the tutomobile, even the policeman lend ng a hand. "Poor young thing!" he said to the :rowd. "Come, now, move on. I can't lave the walk blocked up. Get a gait )n you!" He was congratulating himself upon :he orderliness of the affair when a ieen-eyed young man in the garb of a chauffeur touched his shoulder. "What's this I hear about an insane woman?" he demanded. "She was Insane, all right. They had papers to prove it. She kept crying .hat she was Stanley Hargreave's laughter." "My God!" The young man struck lis forehead in despair. "You ass, she ivas Stanley Hargreave's daughter, ind they've kidnaped her right under pour nose! What was the number of hat car?" * "Cat out that line of talk, young fel ah; I know my business. They had :he proper dcyumeats." * "But yqp hadn't brains enough to in luire whether they were genuine or lot! You wait!" shrilled the chauf !eur. JTU have you broken for this ivork." He wheeled and ran back to lis car, to And Susan and the countess n a great state of agitation. "They ?ot her, they got her! And I swore >n the book that' they never should, so ong as I drove the car." Suaan wept, and the countess tried n vain to console her. And when Jones was informed he 'rlghtened even the countess with the marl of rage which burned across his !ips. He tore into the hall, seized his lat, and was gone. Not a word of re proach did he offer to the chauffeur, ie understood that no one is infallible. 3e found the blundering policeman, tfho now realized that he stood in for i whiff of the commissioner's carpet. \11 he could do was to give a good de ;cription of the man and woman. Word ,vas sent broadcast through the city, rhe police had to be informed this :ime. Late in the day an officer whose beat ncluded the ferry landing at Hoboken said he had seen the three. Everything lad looked all right to him. It was :he motherly face of the one and the iftnien countenance of the other that lad blinded him. At midnight Jones, haggard and ivith the air of one beaten, returned lome. "No wireless yet?" asked Norton. "The George Washington of the s'orth German Lloyd does not answer. Something has happened to her wires; ampered wit"h, possibly." "So long as we know they are at sea, ye can remedy the-evil. They will not ae able to land at a single port. I have *ent ten cables. They can't get away rom the wire. If I could only get hold )f the names of those damnable doc ,ors who signed that document! Twen :y years." Jones bent his head in his hands, md Norton tramped the floor till the sound of his footsteps threatened to ine lung was gone and half of the ither one, he persisted in remaining a veil man, and outlived the doctor and learly all his neighbors. It would be . heroic remedy for a man given up o die to seek, but Trotter's philos ophy proved to have a better founda ion than that of the doctor who had lone all that his education and ex lerience enabled him to do. Got the. Best of Jeffries. A story is told of an old Puritan and Lis encounter with Judge Jeffries In a#' a - drive the meaning Susan Into hys terics. "It Ib only a matter of a few days." "But can the child stand the ter rors?" questioned Jones. "Who knows that they may not really drive her in sane?" On board the George Washington every one felt extremely sorry for this beautiful girl. It was a frightful mis fortune to be so stricken at her age. "She is certainly insane," said one of the passengers, who had known Hargreave slightly through some bank ing business. "Hargreave wasn't mar ried. He lived alone." After the second day out Florence was permitted to wander about the ship as she pleased. A good many of the passengers were mightily worried when they learned that the wireless had in some mysteri ous way been tampered with after the boat had made the open sea. It was impossible to put about. The appara tus must be fixed at sea. And when finally Norton's wireless caught the wires of the George Wash ington he was gravely informed that the young lady referred to had leaped the rail off the Banks at night and had been drowned. She had 'not been missed till the following morning. CHAPTER X. Thje Paat a Blank. It was perfectly thie that Florence had cast herself into the. sea. It had not been an act of despair, however. On the contrary, hope and courage had prompted he& to leap. The night was clear, with only a moderate sea run ning. At the time the great ship was passing the banks, and almost within hail she saw a fishing schooner riding gracefully at anchor. She quite read ily believed that if she remained on board the George Washington she was lost. She naturally forgot the marvel of wireless telegraphy. No longer may a man hide at sea. So, with that quictc thought which wae a part of her inheritance, she seized the life buoy, climbed the rail and leaped far out. As the great, dark, tossing sea swooped up to meet her she noted a block of wood bobbing up and down. She tried to avoid it, but I could not. and struck it head on; De spite the blow and the shock of the chill water she instinctively clung to the buoy. The wash from the mighty propellers tossed her about, hither and yon, from one swirl to another, like a chip of wood. Then everything grew blank. Fortunately for her the master of the fishing, schooner wae at the time standing on his quarterdeck by the wheel, squinting through his glass at the liner and envying the eafee and comfort of those on board her. The mate, sitting on the steps and smok ing his turning-in pipe, saw the mas ter lean forward suddenly, lower the glass, then raise it again. "Lord.a'mighty!" "What's the matter, cap'n?" "Jake, in God's name, come 'ere an' take a peek through this glass. I'm dreamin'!" The mate jumped and took the glass. waere away, sir: "A p'Int off th' sta'board bow. See somethin' white bobbin* up,?" "Yessir! Looks like some one dropped a bolster 'r a piller over board. . . . Cod's whiskers!" he broke off. "Then I ain't really eeein* things," cried the master. "Hi, y' lubbers!" he yelled to the crew; ''lower th' dory: They's a woman In th' water out there. I seen her leap th' rail. Look alive! Sharp's th' word! Mate, you go "long." The crew dropped their tasks and sprang for the davits, and the star board dory was lowered in shipshape style. It takes ? good bit of seamanship to haul a body out of the sea, into a flnnHnc hnhf-niled riorv. when one moment it is climbing frantically heav enward and the next heading for the bottomle6s pit. They were very ten der with her. They laid her out in the bottom of the boat, wjith the life buoy as a pillow, and pulled energetically for the schooner. She was alive, be cause she breathed; but she did not stir so much as an eyelid. It was a stiff bit of work, too, to land her aboard without adding to her injuries. The master ordered the men to put her in his own bunk, where he nearly stran gled her by forcing raw brandy down her throat. "Well, she's alive, anyhow." When Florence finally opened \ her eyes the gray, of dawn lay on the sea, dotted here and there by the schooners of the fleet, which seemed to be hang ing in midair, as at the moment there was visible to the eye no horizon. "Don't seem t' recognize nothin'." "Mebbe she's got a fever," suggested the mate, rubbing his bristly chin. "Fever nothin'! Not after bein' in th' water half an hour. Mebbe she hit one o* them wooden floats we left. Them dinged liners keep on crowdin* us," growled Barnes, with a fisher man's hate for the floating hotels. "Went by without a toot. See 'er, jes' liko th' banker's wife goin* t' church on Sunday? A mile a minute; fog or no fog, it's all the 6ame t' them. They run us down an' never stop. What th' tarnation we goin' to do? She'll haff t' stay aboard till th' run is over. I can't afford t' yank up my mudhook this time o' day." "Guess she can stand three 'r four days .in our company, smellin' oil cloths, fish, kerosene, an' punk t'bac co." "If y* don't like th' kind o' t'bacco I buy buy your own. I ain't objectin' none." The mate stepped over to the bunk and gingerly ran his hand over the girl's head. "Cod's whiekers, cap'n, they's a bump as big's a cork on th' the seventeenth century. Jeffries, hearing the case against the Puritan, was trying to make fun of the old man, as was his habit. "I honor you, sir," said the judge, sneeringly, "from your head to your feet.' "And I honor you, sir," said the old Puritan, "from the crown of your head to the soles of your feet." "I honor you," went on on the judge, "from Land's End to John O'Groat's." "And I honor you from the Equator to the Antipodes." "I honor you," said the judge irasci bly "to the gates of Hell." The Purl back o' her head! She's struck one o' them floats all right. Where's th' arnica?" Barnes turned to his locker and rum maged about, finally producing an an cient bottle and some passably clean cloth used frequently for bandages. Sometimes a man grew careless with his knife or got in the way of a pulley block. With blundering kindness the two men bound up the girl's head, and then went about their duties. For three days Florence evinced not the slightest inclination to leave the bunk. She lay-on her back either asleep or with her eyes staring at the beams above her head. She ate just enough to keep her alive; and the strong black cofTee did nothing more than to make her rrakeful. No cne knew wha? the matt^- was. There was the bump, now diminished; but that it should leave her in this comatose state vastly puzzled the men. The truth is she had suffered a slight con cussion of the brain, and this, atop of all the worry she had had for the last few weeks, was sufficient to cause this blankness of the mind. The final cod was cleaned and packed away in salt, the mudhook raised, and the schooner Betty set her sails for the southwest Barnes real ized that to save the girl she must have a doctor who knew his business. Mrs. Barnes would know how to care for the girl, once she knew what the trouble was. There would be some news in the papers. A young and beautiful woman did not jump from a big Atlantic liner without the newspa pers getting hold of the facts. A fair wind carried the Betty inter her haven, and Bhortly after Florence was sleeping peacefully in a feather bed, ancient, it is true, but none the less soft and inviting. In all this time shevhad not spoken a single word. "The poor young thing!" murmured the motherly Mrs. Barnes. "What beautiful hair! O, John, I wish you would give up the sea. I hate it. It is terrible. I am always watching you in my mind's eye, in calm weath er, in storms. Pieces of wrecks come ashore, and I always wonder over the death and terror bapk of them." "Don't y' worry none about me Betty. I never takd no chances. Now I'm goin' int' th' village an' bring back th' sawbones. He'll tell us what t* do." The village doctor shook his grlzzl-?d head gravely. "She's been hurt and shocked at the same time. It will be many days be fore she comes around to hers4^f. JuBt' let her do as she pleases. Only keep an eye on her so that she doesn't wan der off and get lost. I'll watch the newspapers and if I come across any thing which bears upon the case I'll notify you." But he searched the newspapers In vain, for the simple fact that he did not think to glance over the old ones. The villaee took a'good deal of in terest in the affair. They gossiped about it and strolled out to the Barnes' cottage to satisfy their curiosity. One thing was certain to their simple minds: some day Barnes would get a great sum of money for his kindness. They had read about such things in the family story paper. She was a rich man's daughter; the ring on the un known's finger would have fitted but a fleet. Florence was soon able to walk about. Ordinary conversation she seemed to understand; but whenever the past was broached she wojild r "The Poor Young Thing," Mi/rmured Mrs. Barnes. shake her head with frowning eyes. Her main diversion consisted of sitting on the sand dunes and gazing out at sea. One day a stranger came to town. He said he represented a life insur ance company and was up here from Boston to take a little vacation. He sat on the hotel porch that evening, surrounded by an admiring audience. ? Tfte stranger naa Deen an over uie world, so it seemed. He spoke famil iarly of St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Shanghai, as the villagers?some of them?might have spoken of Boston. There were one or two old tlmera among the audience. They had been to all these parts. The stranger knew what he was telling about. After tell ing of his many voyages he asked if there was a good bathing beach near by. He was told that he would find t-he most suitable spot near Captain Barnes' cottage just outside the vil lage. "An' say, Mister, seen anythin' in th' papers about a missin' young wom an?" asked some one. "Missing young woman? What's that?" (TO BE CONTINUED.) tan didn't reply at once. Then he said, "Sir, there i<* a passage in Holy Writ that says, 'Answer a fool accord ing to his folly.' I have done so. But there is another passage that says, 'An.twer not a fool according to his foil;/ Sir, I decline to follow you to Hell!" Surer. It Is to be regretted that the man who counts on his fingers is not apt to be so disappointed as the ma* who counts on his friends. jgj ' .. Lesson (By E. O. SELLERS, Director Sunday School Course, Moody Bible Institute, . Chicago.) * LESSON FOR OCTOBER 25 JE8U8 AND JUDAS. LESSON TEXT?ilatt. 26:14-25, 47-50 ; 27: 3-10. 1 ' GOLDEN TEXT?Woe unto that man through whom the Son of Man is be trayed- Matt 26:42 R. V. ? ' H; No literature has a more terrible story than that of Judas. Matthew gives us perhaps the fullest account of his last acts and the part he had in those final hours of the suffering and death of Jesus. Mary's act of anointing, by Jesua commended, and by Judas condemned, caused the latter to fare forth for hia *f flnal act of faithless infamy. Con trasted with the odor of her good deed, we here have the stench of an evil deed. * ( I. The Bargain, w. 14-25. (1) The Price, vv. 14-16. Disappointed in his ';>j hopes that Jesus would establish an earthly kingdom wherein he should M hold a high position, stung by the rer ' buke of vv. 10-13 (cf. John 12:4-8) and - v* moved by cupidity, Judas hurries to the enemies of Jesus (see John 1$: v 27). He saw no further opportunity to profit through "Mriding the bag," ' ' :''jS John 13:29, and so got what he could from the rulers. He estimated hi* worth at 30 pieces of silver about sev enteen or nineteen dollars, or the value of a slave; see Ex. 21:22 and Phil. 2:7, also the prophecy ofZechar iah 11:12-13. Hate, envy, disappointed ambition, and cupidity drove Judas j with relentlessness In his. final act of ' Infamy. Verily, "Whatsoever, a map . soweth, that shall he also reap." Gal. 6:7. (2) The Penalty, w. 17-26. As we read the various accounts of that tragic last night we note that being warned and singled from among the other disciples in no wise moved Judas to repentence. Th^ conspiracy, see Matt. 26:1-5, 14-16, had been consum mated before that last meeting in the\ J% upper room. We are also struck withi vJs the significance of the fact that Judas did not call Jesus "Lord" (v; 25). Must Be Born Again. Even grace cannot save us in our sins. All of his gifts, his nearness ti>> v.ifl the Son of God, his knowledge, first handed1, of those marvelous teachings v-:'j of Jesus, did not grip his heart Head knowledge alone never Bared anyone. It Is not enough even to be numbered among the disciples. There muat be a new creation, we must be born again, John 3:7. In verse 24 we read the final warning and John'tells us (13:27) that following these words he Is com manded to "go out quickly." 1 II. The Betrayal, w. 47-60. There are four stages In this eplBoder (D in hi V " the house of Simon at the anointing of Jesus by Mary; (2) The one Just con sidered and which took place in the "upper room" in connection with the Pas3over feast; (3) The third is the subject of this paragraph and took place in the Garden following the events of last week's lessop. . This picture has been painted so often as to be familiar to us all. The Son' o? Man, the advancing apostate disciple? is m jm the mob; what an appalling -seine. Judas had probably led first .'to the f house whence he had left Jesus. Flndr ., lng Jesus aud the disciples had. de-,, parted (v. 30) he knew where, in. all., probability, he would find the Master. ,, It was a. familiar resort for Jesus and his disciples, John 18:2, 3. Judas had often sat under these same olive trees and listened to him %ho "taught as , never man taught." It was also a fllace sacred to prayer. How things are changed. Judas had allowed Satan ^ to enter his heart (John 13:27, see also James 4:7) and with eager feet he crosses the brook Kedron, past the disciples and into the presence of; Jesus to betray him with a kiss. This mark of love, this evidence of affec tion, served to take Jesus and the-dis ciples surprise and frustrate any rally on the part of the friends of Jesus. All the evangelists emphasize the fact that Judas was "one of the twelve." . This augments the sorrow of Jesus and intensifies* the. guilt of Judas. This kiss was the last received on earth by our Lord. What a picture this Is. of the depths of degradation and the ruin of the soul-of one that was called an apostle.' Having thua carried out his part of the compact, Judas withdrew. - . . v.t..* t v v LJ^Jr< Th^ Final Stage. . (> III. "Ho Went and Hanged Him self" 27:3-10. The fourth and final . stage is reached when, seeing that - Jesus Is condemned and about to be executed, Judas, filled with remorse,'" carried back the 30 pieces of silver to c the chief priests and the elders. What an exhibition of hypocrisy they evi denced, not to take the price of blood, forsooth!- Judas did not really repent. The word here used far "repent" is rather that he suffered remorse, and that does not necessarily involve re pentance as we all know. Had he truly repented he would not have hanged himself and he would have been saved even as the repentant thief was saved. ' * There is no necessary contradiction between this and the account given in Acts 1:8. "If he hanged himself in tho 'field of blood' and the rope broke the account given in Acts would naturally follow." The Teaching. As we recall these final things in the life of Judas wo must remember that they are not the beginnings of his defection. The de velopment of the lives of Judas and Peter are profoundly different Both looked for a temporal kingdom and both were out of sympathy with the teachings of Jesus as to the necessity of his death. One, for personal gain, betrayed, and the other, for self-pro tection, denied his Lord. When Judas saw Jesus condemned, he too saw tho end of his dreams the same as Peter. In that hour he committed suicide, an act of cowardice of the worst kind.