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hy SYNOPSIS. Mary Page, actress, is accused of the; murder of Jtmes Pollock and is defended [? by her lover. Philip Kangrion kouock i W was intoxicated Shale, a crook and tool j of Pollock, was on the fire escape watch-! ing for Langdon. At Mary's trial shej admits she h ul i tie r vo ver Her maid testiiies that Mary threatened Pollock j "with it previously, and Mary's leading! man Implicates Langdon A zzzi ,i ( *MY TIME WILL COME!" ??T f EEr jour eye ou this mau 1/ Langdon! He was either in |\ the room or at the door when A V James Pollock was murdered!" The words of tne witness were like a stone flung into a pool of subtle in '' * ?>* TT-?/?Qnirsor rinnl^s IXGrCU^."tJ lliUl l c > Cl " of possibilities to lap the very shores Of suspicion itself. Every eye was 011 Langdon now, but except for a tightening of the muscles about his jaw he gave no sign of perturbation or anger. The actor himself was uneasy now, however, and cast apologetic glances at both Mary and Langdon, moving nervously in the witness-stand as the pros Ieeutor iook up uis quesiiuuiug u^au. j "You say you overheard only a part of what was said before the police came. Will you tell us where you stood and why you heard only a part?" "Yes, sir. The door opens out?as is always the case in hotel rooms?and whon t stnrtpd to ooen it I was behind (it and therefore not visible from the room. But I could hear what was said when Mr. Langdon and detective Farley came out from the inner room of, tbe suite where they had gone to look for Miss Page." "And when the police came, did you remain in the room-or did you join in the search for Miss Page?" "I joined in the search, and went "with the police down the fire-escape and through the back street." '*What had become of Miss Page?" "I don't know." "Do von mean that the police did not find where she had gone?" i "Yes." "What did you do?" "I returned to the hotel, got my hat and coat and went home." "That is all." said the prosecutor. I- But the Judge leaned forward and I "voiced the question that everybody in the coum-iw.pj was mutely asking. "Do - mean to say that a young lady in an evening gown and with ?o cloak walked through that street back of the hotel and that no one saw her! That you and the police got no clue in your search?" "Yes. your Honor. Mary Page had disappeared absolutely, and no one knows where she went." Langdon smiled, ami the Judge sat back with a little exclamation that was not complimentary to the police: but I when the name of the next witness rang through the room he leaned forward again and spoke with some irritation to the prosecutor. "Is it your intention, sir, to develop through the testimony of THIS witness the whereabouts of Miss Page after the murder? It seems to me that that is the testimony that should be brought forward now." "Your Honor, the movements of XfJcc Poora fha timo cho YC$IQ i JXLIOO 4 WV?? VVU WUV VAAJLtV V*?V " . left unconscious in the room at the | Republic until the following morning will have to be told by Miss Page herself. They are not known to me and 3 have no witnesses to testify to her whereabouts or actions. I have, in fact been unable td get anyone who actually saw the prisoner during her flight The truth must come out of course, and I have in the meantime called the sister of James Pollock to develop an important line in the case for the State." Again Langdon smiled, and the juage sat DacK with a little snrug, as, i amid a murmurous wave of comment! and curiosity the name of the new witness was repeated: "Ruth Pollock!" The sister of the dead man who throughout the earlier testimony had sat unnoticed among the throng, was a tragic figure in her trailing black garments as she went to the stand. "Miss Pollock, you have known the prisoner. Mary Page, for some years, have you not?" "Yes, we were at school together and remained intimate friends afterw8-3V "Was your brother also a friend of i hers?" "He was." "Was there ever any closer relationship than that of mere friendship between your brother and Mary Page?' "Yes. They were engaged to be mar ried." Even the Judge sat forward in his chair at the words, so simply uttered and yet so sharply changing the aspect of things. The prosecutor's next question came quickly. "Was your brother happy in his engagement?" he said. "I don't know how to answer that the atranj The Great McClure Mys FREDERICK LEWIS JOHN T. M'INTYRE, Kirk Detective Stories and See the Essanc question. He was happy because he j wanted to marry Mary, but be knew she didn't love him." "If IFiss Page did not love your brother, why was she willing to be his wife?" The girl flushed and answered less readily: "Well, you see?there were reasons? and she had promised." "Will you please tell us tbose rea- j sons?" A little gasping sod wrencnea iruiui a woman's overburdened beart broke the stillness at that question, and Mrs. Page suddenly drooped forward, hiding her face in her bands. She knew only too well what was coming, and the courage that bad kept her erect ant! smiling during the torture of the trial, gave way suddenly at this tearing open of old wounds. All her agony found vent in that one piercing cry of grief. XT7?4-Vk Krtt> nnrrv orou tofl r.dimiTtPd MsfT stretched out her hands yearningly. I half whispering, "Mother! Mother!" and Langdon was at her side in a moment. She waved him back, and,.draw ing her veil across her distorted face. "Do you mean that the check was forged?" smothered the sobs that shook her thin shoulders like a storm, as the prosecutor repeated his question. "It all happened several years ago? five?maybe six. Mary and I were very good friends at that time, and I was at her home a great deal. So I knew that?that?they were greatly in ueed of monej'. I overheard Mr. Page say that there would be ruin for all of them, and that they'd be turned out on the streets unless he 'got the money' before morning. Mary overheard him, too. and when he went out she and I sat tryiug to think of some way by which we could raise money It was while we were still talking that Mr. Page came back. He?he?bad been drinking, and he was waving a check around his head and cried. 'I've done a good turn for a friend and I've been well paid for it The Lord helps those who help themselves.' He seemed terribly excited, and went out again almost immediately saying that he wanted to cash the check before the banks closed." "Whose check was it?" ; "My brother's." "Was be interested in Miss Page at that tiir.^?" < He ha(T always been, I think, t e vas not at all in love with h -1 had told ine that.". . gave her father a check for a larg ^ sum?" "No." She flushed hotly now, and cast a timid glance at Mary, as if half deDrecatins: the necessity of the testi mony. "That was just it. My brother had not?signed that check." "Do you mean." broke in the Judge, "that the check was forged?" "Yes. A detective sent by the bank came to the Page home wnfle I was there ana tola Mrs. rage ana Mary and me. Mary didn't believe it at first but at any rate she said she didn't know where her father was, though we both guessed he?he?was in the bar of the hotel. He was mostly there. James was horrified when he found out that it was Mary's father who had cashed the check because, not knowing, he had already told the police to 'prosecute the man to the limit' Mary /rrncir? on/1 Knororck/l Mm tA r> fifvmAthinC to save her father, and James said, TU save him for your sake, Mary, if you will promise to do something for me in return.'" "Did he say what that something was?" "No. She didn't even ask. She just said she would do anything in the world he wanted if he would save her father. So he went with us to the hotel and we got there just in time to save Mr. Page from arrest" Jteftn.fi. m k??3&*ElTS?T&5L1' * ^ " -.-<v--r*-r- . nvPN-r. ?^ ?7 ge tase ot itery Story, Written by In Collaboration With Author of the Ashton Head the Story xy Moving Pictures >pyright, 1915. by McClure Publication J gHnMBBHBJfnannMBRKT" i i "How did you save him.' as you j catt it?" "James told the detective tbat be bad forgotten about giving tlie ciicck to i Mr. Page and tbat it was perfectly \ good." "And Miss Page was naturally grate- j ful to your brother for his having j saved lier father?" prompted the Dis trict Attorney, as Ruth broke off. not knowing how to go on." "GratefulV Yes. She?she promised ; ? ? ? -i I.... ..II Mm ! to marry uiui. i ueam uei ic-m ??n > Langdon." "Was Mr. Langdon at the house at that time?" "Xo. he came while I was sitting talking to Mrs. Page. Mary and James were in the next room, so I went to let Mr. Langdon in. He stopped at i the gate, looking at my brother's auto- J mobile, and 1 walked down the path to j meet him. While we were coming back toward the porch the others came to the door. Suddenly James caught Mary nn in his? arms and kissed her. She seemed to struggle against him and. slipping away, ran into the house. Mr Langdon, thinking that my brother had kissed Mary against her will, rushed at him and threatened to strike him.'' "Your Honor!" It was Langdon's voice, suddenly harsh and strained. "I protest against this evidence as entirely irrelevant and leading up to nothing that has a bearing upon the case at present." "The court cannot sustain your objection," said the .Judge, curtly. "It is very unfortunate for you. Mr. Lang tion, out wuaiever uriugs uui iue uc- i tails of the relationship between Mary Piige and James Pollock is decidedly relevant." The District Attorney smiled in triumph. lie turned to Iiuth, who look ed startled at the interruption, and said, gently: "You were saying, Miss Pollock, that j Mr. Langdon threatened your brother. { n-? ? K ? "t? US lllLTf it "No. Mary ran between tliem and! said that James bad a right to kiss her. ( that?that?they"wore epgaged." "What did Mr. Langdon say then?" "He didn't say anything. He just, turned around and walked away, and; Mary began to cry." "Was the engagement of your brother and Miss Page made public?" "Yes. At a dance." "Did your brother and his fiancee seem happy on that occasion?" "No. 1?In fact. I know they were not." "Did they tell you so?" "No, but I overheard. I?was hiding j in the conservatory." With a smothered gasp of surprise Mary's head came up suddenly and for the first time the eyes of the two girls met; but now it was Mary's that were accusatory and Ruth's that were troubled and it was in answer to that reproach, rather than the startled look on the prosecutor's face, that made Ruth add shyly: "It was all just in fun! I had promised a dance to MiBrandon, but I had told him that if he could find me before the music was nail over, i wouiu give uiiij two more, for I had discovered a nook behind the palms which I was sure no one else could find." She stammered over the girlish confession, a tide of crimson dyeing her pale cheeks. "While I was hidden there. Mary and Mr. Langdon. who had been dancing together, came into the conservatory. I?I?didn't move because I felt I should look so silly, hiding like a kid behind the palms, and I thought they! would soon go away. But ? they didn't." "Did .Miss rage say anytning auoui] her engagement?" "They were talking about it as they I came in, and the first thing I heard j was. 'I haw given my word, Philip, and I must go through with it?even if it kills me.' She was half crying. Then Mr. Langdon said quietly, 'Mary, you don't love him, do you?' And Mary said, 'You know I don't. Philip. There is only one man in ttie world tnat 1 j love.' Then he took her in his arms and she broke down and sobbed; but when he tried to make her say she would break her engagement she wouldn't, and she wouldn't tell him why she had promised to marry James. She only said that she could never be free unless James gave her back her promise." "Do you mean to say," interrupted the judge, "that Mr. Langdon knew nothincr of the episode of the forged check?" "Nc. Mary told me she couldn't bear to tel! him about her father. Besides, James had made her promise to keep that part of their engagement a secret from everyone." "It seems incredible!" said His Honor, settling back, and the prosecutor oclrori ?<s If smriflonlv swinf a r?PW I viewpoint: "Did your brother know of Miss Page's love for Mr. Langdon?" "I don't know whether he knew then or not, but he knew later because Mr. Langdon told him. While I was still ! : tM* fhr? minis .Tacit ^ T > hniit j\>r y\;ivy. and she didn't want hint to sci' >he had been crying. so went out ai. i Mr. Lanxdon st .'? <! v.";iiIii:for James. Ho told my brother that Mary was very unhappy in her ein:/-ement. l>ut felt that sli?' was in honor boifnd t-^Vo through with it', and lie urged ; James to sot her free." "What did your brother say?" "Well, ho was?verv amrry." she an-! - . ..i swered. depre-atingly. "1-i-kuow tie : tboutrbt it was just interference. and j he said. "I suppose you want ber set 1 free so YOU can marry ber.' And Mr I Langdon said. "I want ber set free l?e { cause she doesn't love you aud is J breaking her heart over her promise to marry you.' 'What is that to you: asked James. "Do you think she is in love with youV* And Mr. Lansrdon said%angrily, '1 know she is. but that j has nothing to do with tlie manor | Can't you he decent for once an.l sot \ a girl free when she doesn't want to marry youV That made .lames even more furious, and he fairly shouted. Mary will learn to love me fast enough, once we're married, and I shall never set her free. She has promised and I'm going to see that she keeps that promise. Besides, do you think I'm going to lot everybody say she jilted me. after we've announced our engage ment this way? I should say not'" "Did Mr. Langdon reply?" "No. He just turned round with a shrug and walked away, and I came out and joined my brother." "Did he ask if you had overheard?" "Yes." "Did you tell him of the conversation between Miss Page and Mr. Langdon?" "Yes. 1 felt that he ought to know You?you see. he was my brother, even though Mary was my friend." "Did your brother make any com ment7 "No. he just flushed up a little; then be laughed and said they'd have to get over it, and he was going to marry Mary anyway." "Did Mr. Langdon ever make any other plea to your brother, or see Miss Page again?" "Not then, but Mr. Brandon told me?" "Your Honor!" broke in Langdon. leaping to his feet. "1 object!" "The court will sustain that objection." said the Judge, promptly. "Miss Pollock, you must not repeat what you have simply heard from others, only what you saw and heard yourself." "May it please the court." cried the prosecutor, quickly, "I shall be glad to have all of the answer of the witness with the exception of the words 'not then' stricken out. for what Mr. Bran don said he will teil the court him self." Brandon! Langdon winced at the name, and Mary, lifting her head, turned a pair of despairing eyes upon hi::i that seemed to ask if all their friends were to Tx? leagued against them in this* fight for life and liberty. lie could object?could fight to have . the witness kept our or me stanu?uui in the end he knew that he would lose and perhaps lend added weight to the testimony. He fancied he knew what THAT would be. and his teeth clenched in an agony of longing and a rage against the futility of that desire to spare Mary the raking up o. these old memories?memories that brought a throbbing ache to his own heart that was only balanced by the bitter exultation of the thought that at least Pollock was DEAD now. And lie vow- j ed to himself that Mary should soon i be free of the law as well as of James; but he-did not face the fleeting thought of the price that might have to be paid for that freedom of Mary Page. As for Mary herself, after that one fleeting glance at Langdon she drooped> again like a flower cut off from rain j ana sunngnt ana air. She would not look at Brandon when he took the stand, though his eyes as he glanced from her to Langdon were full of mute appeal as if he wanted somehow to explain that it was not by choice that he stood there; and there was an aggressive, almost a hostile note In his voice, as he an v \ \'?$$!&&i)t<~- .;.&$?.S Jeiv'x mm J ? D?:? Hocnairinn ! Mary i urnco <* r ? w. j Eyes Upon Him. swered the prosecutor's first incisive question: "Mr. Brandon, you were present, were you not, on the night of the dance given to announce the engagement of T>o rrr\ fn TnmAO PnllnpJv 7" iuioo x agg tv ?-?"I was." "You were well acquainted with both of them?" "We all grew up together. I was not particularly intimate with Mr. Pollock," said Brandon drily. "Did anything occur to lead you to believe that Miss Page was not happy in her engagement?" "Yes." "Will you teU us what that occur? rence was?" I -I fcad ;i v/Uh Miss PoHocfe, liiit? .. i i :: ... .C was not tiniil ialer t.lilt ! i.;t i:: t!i<' conservatory. ^ :?o v::s er/i::-z and t?>!<l me tliat Mary ri-in't want t.. marry James a;ui tii'f i "i' l?roi!ier ami Mr. T 1. .. I..,.! ...... vr,,',. I Jit if" Lfelil^UUU U.;Ai J ..?nuvu uwinu ic. "What <.'i(i yu:i (!<)";" "I wont in s<?a:v!i of I^angdon." "Where did vou find him?" * Bran Jon flushed. and a train li is eye*' turned apiealingly toward Lanation as if begging forgiveness as be said in a low voice: . "lie was in cue our, unnsiug wuu :i j group of workmen." "Did you join him?" "Yes. Or. rather, I urged him to j join me at one of the tables. I was ! surprised to see him take anything to drink, but when I said so he answered that he was drinking to forget that he had lost a girl who still loved him. i though she was going to marry anoth ' er man. I asked him if he meant Mary J Page, and he said yes." "Did you remain with him long?" "No. i tried to persuade him to j 1 ^ K/vm/v > UK mo ort/? trlion h/^ ! C'l/UiC iiUUUC ilii iii \_? c* i.ava I wouldn't, I left him. In the hall, how-; ever. I met Miss Page. I wanted her, to see Mr. Langdon at that bar. I led her to the door. 1 remember how horrified she seemed, and how she struggled to control herself. I tried to steady her; but suddenly she went right over to Langdon's table, and several loafers gathered around them. She seemed not to see them at all. Her mind was apparently on Langdon alone. Langdon was just sober enough to realize that Miss Page ought not to be in such a place. He tried to push her away; but she cried out, 'Don't drink any more, Phil!' " "Did Mr. Langdon make any reply?" "Yes: He said, 'Why should I stop riHnkfnir? Whnfc have I to live for?' Then she put her artns around his | neck, and it was while they sat thus : that James Pollock came in. This | seemed to sober Langdon completely, j I rushed forward, fearing there .would. be a horrible scene, and urged Pollock to go away. He pushed all of us back. 'I want to get at him!' he kept calling. 'Just let me get my hands on him!' Langdon was trying to get Miss Page j out of the place. He did succeed, while! several of us held Pollock back by I main force, in getting Mary into a lit-, tie anteroom, a sort of parlor next to j the cafe." "Yes, go on. Mr. Brandon," urged the| prosecutor, who seemed pleased with his witness. "W/all Pnllnpb vvn<a rlptprminpd to fftl-i ,, >? - , low them, and we couldn't prevent him. I found myself dragged into the little room with him, and I slammed *hej door. But James, for some reason, was calmer now. 'What does this mean,' Mary?' he said. "'It means,' Miss Page answered,! 'that I can't marry anyone but Mr. Langdon,' and Langdon went on. 'Now,: James, what are you going to do1 about it?'" . T'Krt nrnc/iAntAr intofrnntod ' "Difl Mr i JL iiU VOtV U bVi AAA CVi. ? Uj/ivv*. .v. . . , Langdon know at that time that Mary's father bad forged Mr. Pollock's check?" "No, sir, he did not, for Pollock produced it at that moment, and Langdon didn't know what it was. He looked at Miss Page, who seemed overcome! with emotion. 'What does this mean,! Marj'?' he asked. But she didn't an-j swer. Then Pollock told him?the straight truth. 'Her father did it,' I remember he said, 'and she's going to marry me. Now do you understand?' "Langdon thought he was bluffing.) 'You skunk!' he shouted; and Pollock waved the check in bis face. Langdouj grabbed it, and there was a struggle j The check tore in two, and when Lang-j don looked at the piece he held, be saw I that it bore the forged signature, as.' Dan Page had written it. 1 saw himj turn white as a sheet But suddenly ! he smiled, and tl^en he went calmly j over to a lamp on the mantelpiece and j burned it I remember, as though it; had been yesterday, how happy Missj Page looked when she thought this evi- j dence against her father was de-1 stroyed." The people in the courtroom gasped with relief. They could almost share; Mary's sense of relief. But they were! soon brought back with a shock as the witness went on: "Pollock had fallen down; but he re-! covered himself, and began to sneer at! ?- ?- .1. i Langdon. "mat isn i me cuei-n, uujhow, you fool! That's only a copy? for just such occasions as this!' " "Was Miss Page disconcerted?" the prosecutor wanted to know. "Oh, yes. sir. She said, 'What shall 11 do, Phil? I'll do whatever you say.' j And he said, '1 won't influence you now. Do as your conscience dictates.' or something like that. I can't remember every word, of course. There was something about his not being weak asaln, and then he turned as if to go. He looked pretty downhearted." "What did Pollock do all this time?" j "He jumped up then, when he saw i that Langdon's back was turned, and j tried to put his arms around Miss Page. She leaped back, as if she hated | him. I remember she said something like 'Don't touch me, James Pollock! I'll keep my word with you?I'll go through with this, but you'll regret this night to the end of your life! Yes, you'll regret it, I tell you!'" The prosecutor beamed satisfaction. He rubbed bis bands at tbese last words and asked: "Miss Page threatened him, didn't she, Mr. Brandon?" "Yes, I suppose you might call it that," answered the witness readily, with aDoarentlv no thought that his testimony might be sealing the prisoner's doom. "That is all," said the prosecutor, looking at the jury with a triumphant expression. '<*Avy?/in+ >' coM T.ttD^An "Vll WHe lilUUiCU L, oaiu take the witness, if you please." By adroit questioning the young attorney brought out the fact that Bran ?:m. ;:c> ;imo :;f r :: > i ! s !:? L ul i?ai rated. has; t.? N?*w \ >r!c aiK? servtvl <>:i il.e i;-:/'// Y<s a p >lire reporter. The L?Lstri?-t Attorney <>i>. isi.'.fjwl t.K (!,;?. ill,/, i , r' i :w !li<r l-.llt JVVK.--.1 .?> 11.1- .H.V "l . the .Judze icnniit.d ir t<> no 0:1. Finally the witness v.as brought down to the ni?lit when he took Mary Page to the door of the cafe so that she might see him. Lanzdon. within. "Did you notice anything peculiar; about Miss Pa .ire's appea ranee at that time? And if so. tell the jury what yon saw." Brandon hesitated. He acted like a man who did not care to answer tms question. "Proceed." prompted Lanjrdon. "Well, yes. I did notice that?" He paused. "Go on." prodded Lanjxdon. "I noticed that Miss Pajre seemed terribly excited, and when we got to the door that led to the cafe, there was pos mmm >4^7 ... :.'..... "Miss Page threatened him, didn't she* Mr. Brandon?" itively an expression of horror on her face. I never saw any one so unstrung. She had on an evening gown, or course, and I saw?" Brandon paused again. "Yes? What did you see?" cried Langdon. "I saw a strange mark on her shoulder-finger-prints that came and went in the most uncanny way. I was quite unnerved myself. Miss Page was t>y this time looking through the door at you, Mr. Langdon." ^ i oujeti. miuuicu iuc attorney. "This story has no bearing?'* "Overruled." his Honor calmly said. "This testimony," cried Langdon, & triumphant note in his voice, "will have an important bearing on the lineof defense I shall later adopt" . "I object again." fairly yelled thenrospoutor. "Such talk tends to preju dice the jury?" "Overruled."again the Judge drawled. "Is that the first time you ever saw these marks?" Langdon asked. "Yes, sir.""And the last time?" "No. Six years later?" "Tell the jury." The witness coughed, as if preparing for an ordeal. "It was rhe night of the opening of Miss Page in New York. I couldn't get a seat, so I stood in the rear of the / m theater, near the side. I was a police reporter then, and it was almost time for me ro be on duty at the station. So I hurried away. Things were whpn I irot thpre. so 1 sat in a cor ner near the stove and must have-become a little drowsy. Pretty soon?I can't tell what time it was. but it must have been a couple of hours later? Langdon came rushing in. He was lookfng for Mary l'age. We recognized each other, and 1 was surprised to find him in such a place on such an errand. Then he told me of the murder of PolInplv. "Somehow the night wore on. 1 had to stay on duty. In the morning, very eariy, the prisoners were brought out from the pen. 1 hadn't slept much. A paper was brought in. and I saw the staring headlines, telling all about the murder. That woke me up. 1 can tell you! What was my surprise, an lusiam. later, to see Mary Page enter the room from a side door, in full evening clothes, but with no hat or coat! I could scarcely believe my eyes, I thought I'd gone mad. or something Why. I'd just been reading about and there she stood, pale and beautiful., but bewildered and frightened- A po lice officer took hold of her "'Who is this woman?' the sergeant*, said. ] " 'We don't know who she is.' the-officer answered. 'She wouldn't talk.. She was pulled last night with a couple of"Just fhen I was close to her. She didn't recognize me: she seemed strangely dazed, almost hypnotized. Then she caught sight of the paper m my hand, with its big type running across the whole front page?'Sensational Murder.' She grabbed, and read it, horrified, and we all just stooa tnere looking at her, without saying a word. ' Even the sergeant was silent She seemed' to devour the story. And then ?some vision must have come before her eyes, for she whispered something about 'a bottle,' 'whiskey.' and her face and arms became tense. I looked at her bare shoulder, and that's when 3 saw those strange finger-prints again. They came and went as before! "Then the outer door opened, and you, Mr. Langdon, came in. You looked tired, haggard, bedraggled.; You still had on evening clothes. I remember,'* turning directly to the jury, "what a sensation Mr. Langdon's presence ereo+iwl hie noma hflrlnc hppn in eVftTT j headline too. Miss Page saw him. He went up to her without a word, and they embraced each other. And then Miss Page stepped forward to the sergeant's desk and whispered, so low that I could hardly hear her, 4I give myself up.' ""Evprvhodv was astonished, as yoo might realize. Then she turned, and 'burled her head on Langdon's shod- M der." rm.1 ?a. Ua? Maih/ip't fl [nCAl I ri?i?Niiivii^ ?? w Story.] I