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wmmKmammmmmmmmmmmmmaBaBOEamsM SYNOPSIS. Mary Pa.'^e. actress. is accused of the e^.urder of James Poilock and is defended t*v her lover. Philip Langdon Pollock W..9 intoxicated. Sli.'.lo, a crook and tool cf Pollock, was 0:1 the lire escape watchi?>i: for Lansrdon. ? THE ? RAMA OF THE LAW \ 7 IT1I Uit' en t ranee of the juduc I S / the turmoil of the vast I/\l crowd that filled the court ? * room almost to suffocation subsided into a tense whisper of expectancy. The atmosphere was vibrant with it?taut as a violin string which snapped and brought thethronir surging wildly to its feet when some one shrilled: "Here she comes!" At the back of the room men and women fought in a fre:i;:y fur foothold upon the seats of chairs, drowning the thunder of the judge's gavel with *heir clamorous hysteria, while those nearer the front were flung bodily against tln> steady wall of police beyond which stood Mary Page, framed by the grim shadow of the prisoner's door. Mary was waiting, breath loss. terrified, for "some one" to couie. The judge looked at his watch and then at! ^ Mary Stretched Out One Slim Hand. I the door, and another whispering wave of sound too intangible to be called words swept over the room. Almost before it died, however. Philip Langdon. the brilliant young lawyer who was defending Mary Page from the j charge of murder and who in his bat- ; tie for her life was also battling for ( his own happiness, came in. V At sight of him Mary rose to her feet! with a little childlike sob of relief and 1 ?4. ? i 1 ?:? v, ? streurutru uui out* sum uuuu ? uli a quivering smile that was more poignant; than teare and more pitifiO thau an i R outburst of grief. ; "Poor little thing.'" said some one j Jg and was instantly hushed by a burly ! policeman whose own eyes were sus- i piciously damp as Langdon. with a! smile as brave as Mary's own, took j her hand and bent over her with aj whispered word of hope and greeting, j The judge rapped for order, and; Langdon put back his shoulders with j the gesture of one ready for the battle. Another day in the great trial of j Mary Page had bbguu! ? It was a trial which was engrossing, the whole country. The victories and; defeats of the great war and the flue-1 J tuations of Wall street were uncere- j ' moniuwoly thrust into inside pages of! the daily j*apers that the whole front! sheet might be devoted to photograph after photograph and story after story ( of the lovely young actress, who was either a tragic victim of the law or?a { murderess. Column after column had already been printed about this young girl, who on the very edge of triumph as a star hnrf hp#?n ftiiricod into the malestrom ft of law beneath the shadow of the gallows. The story of her youth amkl poverty and suffering, of her first stage success and her wonderful ability, had been told over and over, while woven through it, like a shimmering thread of gold, was the story, half hinted, half "boldly detailed, of the love of Philip M Langdon for Mary, whom he was new defending in the face of overwhelming evidence and inexplicable mystery. There were stories, too?more guard- i Efr ed?of James Pollock, who had been F found dead with Mary's unconscious ft form on the floor beside him?stories p that hinted of a dissolute life and of other girls whom he bad led to trage The Siran, M A DV riaivi The Great McClure My FREDERICK LEWIS JOHN T. M'INTYRE, Kirk Detective Storie: and See the Effam riv: stories of his wenlth. his snvniue ! ambitious and his life of sil<lc<l <> :.se, : bur at best in the eyes of the w Id j he was only a lay lijrmv?a bit of <1 -ad J flesli upon which bung the vibrant liv- j ing tragedy of Mary herself. The formal routine of the openin- of ' court was hurriedly gone through, " he | district attorney and Laiigdnn he i a subdued and secret colloquy wi !i ho judge, and then the lirst witnes of j the day was called. .*> r ., r>.. .?:;iry i ave. , At the sound ( f hor name Mary r >se 1 unsteadily to her feet. her eyes tn:- \ed i appealin'.ly to I.anirdon. one tr< hand er'shin:* back the little <"v < at | rose involuntaril" to her !ip?. But!! 'Al ' ajritati? n wrs u > more than an o'-h of | the excitement that swept through :!iOj crowded room. Somewhere a we:r 'n i c.".uirht Iv.t'1 reath in a-stif'ed so'., and j at the back the spectators clambered upon their chairs. crowding forw.rd i in spite of anzry whispers of ;it j down!" and the sharp rap of the j judge's iravel augmented by tbe official. ! "Order in the court!" To Lan.cdon alone the eallinir of Mary j came as no surprise, and he was at her ! side in a moment, whispering reassurance and urging her to answer as s'.ap!y anil clearly as possible t!:e (lU'-'St'ons she was aske!. li s c:;!ni ir:;ve her back some measure of her own serenity, and her voice was low but clear as she took the oath and, stepping up into the witness stand, looked down j upon that sea of faces. For a moment , they swam before her eyes, and with a ' catch in her throat she remembered i the last time she had looked down upon j crowded faces: looked down across the i footlights upon thousands of smiling i lips and friendly eyes above a snow- J storm of applauding white gloves. How j long ago it seemed, and yet how short , a time! And now the faces that stared I up at bar were avid with curiosity, some hostile, some sympathetic, but all pallid with the voracity of the sensation seeker. Then her eyes, traveling beyond ; them, met the tear dimmed ones of her | mother leaning forward yearningly from the witness bench, and because of the suffering on that face Mary smiled. Her first answers to the questions of the District Attorney were spoken with quiet dignity. * U ^ 4- T iui?s i a^;t% imi t, ii u ut' iiiiti .iaiue> Pollock wished to marry you?" "Yes." The answer was lower now. and a hot flush crept for a moment into Mary's pale cheeks. "And you found his attentions unwelcome?" Something in the tone brought her head up sharply. "I had told Mr. Pollock that I could not marry him," she said firmly, and with a hauteur that wrung a little whisper of admiration from the spec tators. Abruptly the prosecutor" changed his train of questioning. "Xow, Miss Page," he said harshly, "please tell the court exactly what happened just previous to the time when the revolver-shot was heard and Mr. Langdon found you unconscious beside the murdered man. Begin with the moment you left the banquet." With a shiver K>f aversion Mary closed her eyes for a second; then, grip ping the edge of the witness-stand, she began speaking slowly and with an ol> vious effort. "When the boy brought me the message?I?was glad to go. They were drinking and were very noisy at the banquet?and I was tired. The boy showed me the door of the suite, and I went in." v She paused and covered her eyes as if to shut out something terrible that she saw. ur. jronocK was in ine room, sue said at last. "He?he had been drinking?he wasn't himself?he could hard ly stand. He?he said lie wanted to talk to me alone for live minutes?and he wouldn't let me out, though I was afraid and begged him to." "Did you try to get out? Was there a struggle between you and Mr. Fol lock?" She shook her head. "Not then," she said, with a little sob. "But?I was very angry?I told him he had tricked me?and I wouldn't listen to him. . We j ?we quarreled over his being drunk, i and?he tried to make me take a drink ! of the whiskey myself." A shudder of reDU?rnancf? swenf- nvor ! her, and her eyes grew wide and staring, and she swayed for a moment like a flower in a storm; then, with a tremendous effort, as one called back from the borderland to consciousness, she added hoarsely: "I remember striking at him?and I knocking the glass out of his hand. I i heard it break?and then?I must have fainted!" "Miss rage," came still another quest?aii horl rnfnca/1 Tn T^/aI iit/jLi, ii. jvu uuu iciuocu oaujco i. v/i- i lock?if you feared him?why did you i grant him an interview late at night j in a private room at the hotel?" "Grant him an interview!" her voice j rose in startled protest. "I didn't. That was why I was so angry?I had t ge Case of I PAUL j stery Story, Written by In Collaboration With Author of the Ashton s. Head the Story iy Moving Pictures - - ?- i opyright, 1915, by McClure Publication j expected to find Mr. Langdon in that i room!" | "Oh! You had made arrangements J then t<> meet Mr. Langdon there?" ! Again tlx' satiric note crept into the j harsh voice, and a crimson tide rushed ! to Mnrv's naie cheeks. "Tin* I??>v told me." she said with di^r- ' ' nif.y. "that Mr. baugdon was waiting j to speak t<> 1:10. I thought he had eomc i to take me home." "Tlu' boy wlujt buy?" The question leapt sharply now. "Why. the bellboy who brought the j message." sir* said in surprise. and. i turning, po'nted toward the group of, witnesses where the small bellhop ! cowered. half covering his face with, I his shaking hands. For the moment ;'.t 1 ast every eye j was upon him. and some of the host;! j ity vanished from those watching faces i as a wave of surprised comment slip- j ped from lip to lip. For after all. if j Mary Page had indeed gone into that j room expect Inv: Langdon and not Pollock. it robbed the murder of the in ; famy of co? l deliberation. At.*..,, iiufcie w;w hotli surmised and i *?1 U l t\ 11V i o . II ???... ^ t confused by the sudden turn of events ! and. dismissa l from the witness-box. I returned to her own seat bewildered i at the seeming importance attached to ; what had heretofore appeared so smali ; a detail. Buf; it was anything but small in th > eyes of the i)istriet Attorney and Langdon. and there was a gleam of triumph in the latters eyes as the whimpering boy from the hotel tool: the oath. Before he went into the witness-box. however, the judge leaned forward and frowned down at him. "T),i von understand. .Joe." he said harshly, "that what you have just taken is an oath? And that the law can put you into prison for perjury if you do not toll the exact truth after taking that oath?" "V?yes. sir!" stammered the boy "I'll tell the truth, s'lie-p mo Gawd!" j Light laughter ran through the room, j but the court attendant immediately j called for order. "Tell us exactly what message you carried to Miss Page in the banquet j room." s:iid the District Attorney, when ' quiet reigned. "It was Miss Page you | took the message to, wasn't it?" "Yes. sir. it was her. And the gent ; in the gray suit lie says. 'Tell Miss ' Page Mr. Langdon wants to see her i here at once.'" "And you delivered tlie message just that way to Miss Page?" i "Yes, sir." "Why didn't you testify to this at the ! Coroner's inquest?'*" It was the judge! this time, s-ern and implacable, and the boy in the witness-box cringed and burst into tears. "They?they?n-never asked me wot! the message was I was takin' to her. j I?I didn't think it mattered." With an exclamation of exasperation 1 the prosecutor sat down, turning the small witness over to Langdon, into whose tired face fresh hope had now come. His voice, a ? he spoke to the boy,1 was gentle mid friendly, and the snuffling lad wipin? his eves with the back i _ . . . . . ? - , I "Do you understar,J, Joe, that what! you hav just taken is at oath?" of his hand answered him eagerly. He ! seemed glad to find someone who didn'r \ frighten him. i "Joe," said Langdon, his voice full of kindness, "that night wasn't the first! time you had seen Mr. Follock, was it?" ; "No, sir," said the boy in his shrill j-oung voice. "Everybody knew James Pollock :it the Republic. He came there a lot?him and Mr. Slade." "And he was pretty generous in his rips, wasn't he?" The question was ?;uiet. and the District Attorney, who I had made a move to interrupt, sank back without speaking as the boy an- i swered: "Oh. so-so! lie could afford to be." , "And so. on the night when he asked Fou to take'tfoat message to Miss Page. , ne gave you a good big tip, didn't he?" j "Yes." >::: ! t!:: i.-v. 1 i:u.l:._r !o ' whimper :!? i :i. "I i!i 1 didn't di? i! l'??r that. ! didn't think there \va- :my i harm i:i the UM'ssauf. lie says to inc. : says he. 'I;*s .i:;-! ;i j<>ke i'm playin' <>u her. .1' I:; >u\s. i want i > .?>'! her.' ! And lie .uii.unc live doliars ami lauuh ed?and f;?l I i;i" in l?e-;t ii and I did." > "Th::t is :: 11. i tsaid Langd<>n J with > ti-;a -ri !!. nr.d the* I?<>y erejt' ! lmrk to tht' witness-bench. striving in ; Vain for some <>f the jaunty assurance , that had marked him in the earlier hours <?f the day. He h:ul thought I2 would be a little hero after his testi 1 rnony ami that he would ?\ tIn* fleeting pu!'Mcity; hut he was ashamed 1 of the laimh i:e had made. The ]?n?:cr:;t<?r himself was almost | equally diseomlited. for it hail been his, plan to huild tip stone by stone a tow- j ering tetui?!e of evidence to prove that j Mary I'ajre had in cold blood plotted i and carried out the murder of James | Pollock, and now the boy's testimony j had in a minute undermined the whole! structure. It forced him to play his j trump card at what he feared was the j r~~ 1 i "Have you ever seen this reve'ver be-; fore, Miss Page?" Trrnno- mnmn:if lnif ovc(>i>t 'nr :i l?:ir- ! assed frown lie showed little signs 01 bis disappointment as lie again called Mary to the witness-stand. She came more willingly this time: it seemed somehow less of an ordeal for she sensed that things had gone in her favor lor a moment, and she did not even flinch when, with a flourish, the District Attorney took up the revolver (lying with the other exhibits of the case before the jury) and. thrusting it toward her. asked sharply: "Have you ever seen this revolver before. Miss Page?" "Yes. It belonged to Mr. Pollock." j "Was it in his possession on the night when lie was murdered?" "No." Iler voice broke now and fell. "It was in my possession then." "And you had it at the Hotel Republic." "Yes." "And was it your habit," the prose- j cutor's voice was satirically mocking, "was it your habit. Miss Page, to at-1 tend banquets with a revolver in your handbag?" Mary flushed angrily. ."The revolver was lying on my dressing-table at the theater." she said, "and! I put it into mv bag, intending to give} it to Mr. Langdon, but?1 forgot it." "It was an unfortunate loss of mem-; ory for Mr. Pollock." said the attorney; dryly, with a glance at the jury. Then ' he abruptly waved the witness away.! as though it would be a waste of time; to question her further. Langdon halt j ed her. "Will 3*ou explain to the court.*' hej cried, "how that revolver came into your possession. Miss Page?" Gaining courage at his tone, and th^' smile that accompanied his words, Mary turned toward the jury and in that beautiful modulated voice that, had held so many audiences spell ! bound, she told rapidly, but in detail, the story of Pollock's visit to her dress-1 ing-room on the afternoon of that fa- j tal day. She faltered a little over the i recital of his abrupt proposal and, wo- j man-like, put in the world-old apology; for his brutalitv bv the simple state 1 1 ment: UTT~ A 1. " Tit; Mils uiuuu., % uu uuv>?. Then, vividly..her slender hands ges- j turing and her voice rising with poign-1 ant memories and pride of Langdon. she told of the latter's entry in response to her screams and of his bat-' tie with Pollock. Tensely silent, but with every nerve alert, the crowt1 listened as she described how Pohock had pulled the revolver out of his pock- j et only to drop it "He tried to pick it up again." she said, unconsciously visualizing for them the picture of the struggling men. "but I crawled close and snatched it up before he could reach it." She paused, and when she would have taken up the thread of her story again, Langdon's hand stopped her. j "That is all. thank you. Miss Page." i he said, and the District Attorney, sur-! prise on his face, but with a new glint in his eyes, got quickly to his feet. "I crave the court's permission to ask the witness one more question," he .said, and as the Judge waved as- 1 sent he asked slowly, knowing the sen sation his question would create: "Miss Page, was there anyone else in the room at the time this struggle was going on?" "Not?not exactly in the room." said Mary, after an instant's hesitation "There were people outside the door, and?and my maid, who had been out. ran in d urine the excitement." "Is your maul Janet or Joannette Beauchamp?" "Yes." Mary's voice was uneasy now. i I f and ii<T ey??s mer the frightened ones of llie nuii.l. win. had risen with the apparent intention of leaving the room. But before she had readied the door I he prosecutor had waved Mary from the stand and the clerk called loudly: "Janet IScain-hamn!" There was a startled cry of "Oh. men Dieu!" and flu* Frenchwoman paused, wringing her hands, llie center of attention. She made a half movement as ! if determined to escape anyway and ' defy the law. but the sight of the po-1 lice that guarded the exits and the stern repetition of her name brought her reluctantly back. She murmured a i little prayer and crossed herself as she took the oath, but the cvol friendliness of the prosecutor's voice reassured her "Janet, how long have you been in the employ of Miss Page?" "Two?no, tree years zis season." "And was it usual for you to leave ! the dressing-room when your mistress was getting ready for the street?" "No. monsieur?sir:" nut you naci neon roia 10 leave ner , on this particular dav?" i "Told to leave!" Janet's voice rose ; in Gallic excitement. "Mais non! I had but gone to ze petite milliner, for ze ; new fiowaires for ze blue gown." ''Who told you to go?" ."Monsieur Daniels, he come in, and ; he and mademoiselle, thev talk, and he say pourquoi could I not go to get i ze new liowaircs?ze orchids, since ze' shops would not be close for one half j hour yet. And Miss Page she say. cer- j tainment that I should go then, for j she could finish to dress by herself for j once." "How Ion? were you out?" '"Oh. je ne sais pas?I moan, I do not | know. Maybe fifteen, maybe twenty minutes. I come back quick parceque there are two kinds of orchid at ze shop, and I want mademoiselle to see zem both." % ''And isn't it true." shouted the Dis-! trict Attorney, suddenly leaning: forward and fairly hurling his words at the witness, "isn't it true tl&t when you came in you saw Miss Page threaten Mr. rollock with this revolver?"' lie caught up the weapon as he spoke and thrust it under her eyes, j The maid, with ;i quivering little j scream of horror, shrank back amid a j murmur of sympathy from the crowd, j She could not speak." /'Isn't it true?" persisted the prose-; cutor harshly. "Answer my question? ! or tell us just what you did see when ! you came into the theater upon your: return from the errand." Bursting into a storm of tears, Janet i tlun.cc out lier arms in a wild gesture, j "It is true." she sobbed. "Mees Page, ' my mademoiselle, she was standing? ! and she had '/ e revolver?pointed at ! .\Ir. Pollock?and he? he?ran out of ze ' room." j At the words, Mary, whose hands had ( ueen cwircuinir uervousjy im-ougijoui i the maid's testimony, rose to her feet j with a little gasping cry as if she I would speak: but before the words, came she swung suddenly about and crumpled into a little heap on the'floor. In an instant the whole room was 011 its feet, surging forward toward the dock, and the sobs of the maid were 1 echoed by more than one woman, among the spectators, where sympa-: thy for the time ran high, though the , pendulum swayed back when someone said shrilly with a derisive laugh: "She's a ?ooil actress, is .Mary rage: ; Rut the judge's gavel quelled the ex- ! citement and the dire threat back of 111 l%f :: 1 ;';:j; . i "Was there any one else in the room?" r j his curt words that unless there was order in the court he would clear the room, was like oil upon the trouble:! waters of the sea of onlooker's, and 1 they sat in hushed silence as Mrs. I Page and Langdon knelt beside the. unconscious form of the slim young prisoner, bathing her temples and chafing her wrists until the momentary j ^ ^ C K/?t? n cjKa respite U1 iiuiiiijr iuiawn. uci duu ouc opened her eyes to the suffering of j reality. At the sight of the fear on both ^ | Langdon's and her mother's face, how-! ever, she struggled bravely to* regain ! her self-control and when the cleric j callcd the next witness she was again j in her chair Very white and wan. but! erect, her pallid lips set firmly to hold back the threatening tides of emotion ' and weariness that were sweeping over her. The drumming in ber ears and the little waves of nausea that are the aft- < ermath of a fainting fit made events blurred to her for a little time, and it j was with a start of surprise that she recognized in the new witness her erstwhile leading man. The mere sight of his graceful figure and his boyish face: that handsome juvenile expression that was his stock in trade brought a Hood of memories surging over her. and the shocked pity in his eyes made her realize keenly the difference that lay between Mary Page the prisoner?and Mary Page the shir. Ilis testimony was to a great extent a repetition of what had gone before, lie had been at the banquet; had seen the boy bring the message to Miss Page and bad bidden her good night when she left. A few minutes later the sound of the shot had taken him down the hall with the others and into the room where Pollock and Mary lay ?the one dead?the other unconscious. "It was I who first urged that some one call the police." he said in his welltrained, youthful voice. "I would have gone myself but 1 wanted to be sure first whether I could be of service to Miss Paire." "Was that the reason you refused to leave the room when ordered to do so ... -. .w.. eWf.^.w^WM Langdorvs Lips Grow Grave Again at + I10 IVIoYt Onoctiorv by Detective Farley?" The prosecutor's voice was dry. "I resented his tone, sir." answered the young actor. And besides," flushing, "I was her leading man and I felt that it?it was my place to be wftn her rather than that a lot of strangers should hang about" An involuntary smile crossed Langdon's lips, but they grew grave again at the next question. "After your ejection by Detective Farley and Mr. Langdon did you leave the hotel:" "Xo. sir. I waited in'the hallway in case 1 was wanted." "Did you re-enter the room?" "Yes, sir?not immediately, out waen 1 beard a coiifusion of voices following the re-entry of the house detective and Mr. Langdon." "Could you hear what was said?" The nctor flushed and hesitated, and then answered slowly: "Yes. sir?in part.'' "Will you please rei>eat what part you heard?" "I heard .Mr. Langdon say, 'But good God. there's only one door, she must be some place in here.' and the detective said. 'Well, she's uot?you can see Cunt.' Then Mr. Langdon said. 'There's the window?perhaps she's nni- fhnra? ril spp.' And his voice sounded queer and excited as if he were frightened, and the detective said, 'No. nothing doing on that, sirjust remember, Mr. Langdon. that as yet I've 110 way of knowing whether that shot was tired before or after you entered this room!' "Did Mr. Langdon replyT ".Yes; he said. 'You d fool, what do you meanV But just then the police came up and ran in. and 1 went on in with them, and the detective shouted. 'Some of you go down that fire-es J L i r* O n AVAninff CUpO HI1UL liUUt iUi 21 i lLi au t?vu gown without either cloak, or hat?and one of you keep your eye on this man Langdon?he was either in this room or at the door when James Pollock was murdered!' " [Next installment, "My Time Will Come!"] The Strange Case of Marv * j ? I The Great McClure Mystery Story, Written by FRED ERICK LEWIS, in Collab oration With JOHN T. M1NTYRE, Author of the Ashton Kirk Detective Stories Read the Story and See the Fcvimv Mrtvind Pictures "uuu,,u; -"' o Copyright, 1915, by McClure Publications