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m^EArron.V' <f<~LQUI5 JC Xoi t /rzri?:on of the M< Sc 'V? .Wir/. C Pro.Stucd ^^ j flirt St/'td, JSJC., L I //-'/utttoty ln(. r= THE CAST. MRS. VERNON CASTLE as 1 Patria Channing. MILTON SILLS as Donald Parr. WARNER OLAND as Baron Huroki. DOROTHY GREEN as Fanny Adair. SYNOPSIS. Baron Hurnhi, chief of the Japanese soeift service in America, conspiring to embroil the United States with Mexico, licit, res control of the prcat Channing munition plants iiwiiiil 1 ?> ! atria. last of "The 1-iKhtitiK t'liaiu inns." ami sole executrix ?>f a $k'0,<K>o,(K,t? trust secretly created by pntriotn progenitors to eombat tiie national petals inherent in "unpreparelm ss." His schemes fail, thanks to I'atria and her tiance. ? 'apt. Honahl I'air, whose determined oj-p< siti a at length Urivea 13aurn lluioki into li <l;nvr. TENTH EPISODE War in the Dooryard. IN TIME OF PEACE. The banishment of Huron Ilurokl proved to be as complete an affair as licart conld wish, a mystery as profound. as finished, as thoroughgoing us could reasonably have been exI looted even of Oriental subtlety, cunning and forehundness. leaving no room for doubt but that the head of the Japanese secret service in the United Stales had long anticipated and planned against precisely such contingency ns had at last driven hint out of public life. Without the slightest considerable lend into that blunt labyrinth of underground life wherein the Japanese hail taken refuse, ltitria's private bureau of investigation, under the direction of Ihtnald I'arr, worked tirelessly for weeks upon the problem, leaving no istone unturned in its efforts to track down the fugitives. AJ last l'arr, innately incredulous, auspicious and solicitous for Pat rinks welfare, wus drawn to admit that Haron Huroki witi*l huve tied the country. He was ai once glad and reluctant to believe this?reluctant because he feared lest some disaster impossible to foresee develop through overconttdence; glad because with Uurokl eliminated from the land, Patriu was free T.nre more from that persecution and peril pf assassination which hat] lieen her dally portion ever 'ii coining of age, she had been so unfortunate as mo attract the attention of tlie Japanese-Mexican junta. - -I ~ r - 4 **111 U mull I >? !i:tI<1 mihI l'atria l'renthcd iuure freely as day followed day without overt attack upon the lattir any oj her ju-i^crth'*, Uiey Jjd not Ticrmlt tlo-uiselyes to he deceived. Hoiieath lids truce both divined an un. y *<* VT" - f ** * -nr**+>- .. jf; 'CcosiiiK ebb ailti now 01 intrigue. Impossible a.s it was to surmise In vlmt (juarter or manner that malign v^utbreak should be apprehended, l'atria and her aides neglected no iinagl-' ? .;f t- ? V*' n. # 4 ** v i. * liable precaution . '.'lie small arms and munitions facto. . <*, the ordnance foundries, arsenals and shipyards owned bv fhunnlng, Inc., were reorganized to a degree of the highest etliclency, each Working three shifts <?t employees every twenty-four hours. Kxisting contracts with the aWies for war material were filled, renewals and further oriters were refused. (treat stores ot arms and ammunition began to uecu liiulate, and wore hold against that da\ wheli, plunged unoxpoctodly into war this nation should find itsolf in urgoni need of equipment for the hordes o untrained volunteers who wouh spring u|? to its defense. And whereas nothing could pcrsuadi a purblind people t?i prepare physicalI; lor the trials and strains of warfare nothing could prevent l'atria. or an; other patriot, from putting the met on the pay roll in shape to light 1<> their homos. \ crv ouirtlv the 1'latlsburg schein was put into effect at I'owder Town in accordance with the proiuiso Petri; loui made hot* employees at tin* time o the strike. Under tlie supervision o Captain I'arr the employees were or Kanized into <'ompanies. put through course of setting-up drills, and it strueted in the use of arms?all on ful l??y for tlie time demanded for tlies exercises. Almost immediately the su< eess of the experiment was assured h tlie response of the men, their euge Interest and willingness. With this encouragement, Petri caused the experllnent to he put int effect at all the Uhannlngs plants. It success was uniform. In a space t time incredibly brief the half-millle men employed by Channlngs in var ??us capacities were organized and r?i| idly approaching a state of militai efficiency. In short, all that couhl he necori (dished toward the preparation of th country for war by private ti'iim whose eflorts were unsanctioned by tl government was done by 1'atria wit ihe assistance of Donald Purr and the staff of Aides. Despite their most determined ? forts to cloud these matters in secret' ^owever, the new* leaked out. Khar RIArj >Ct?f PREPAREDNESS )&ZPn VANCE n w Puture /V.iy of the ' for the lutcrnational Kj?{ //v I) rati on of Ctf\r:^ht Stjr Comf-.:ry. nosod ropornts. tloni od adinittaneo to j tho grounds <if tin* various ChanninKsj works, hukod in tho oiling with oars u-prick for ovory hint and ovory sylhddo of hu-autiotis gossip. Inovitahly thoro liiiwwd a (hiy wIioti the news was bruit t <1 to t ho world.. it was tho day proooding that on { n\ 11;"-?j Pntrin purposed starting. in hot* I private car 1'<>r the border ranches, to j -ee f..r hriNclf w hat was the truth about the situation in tho Soulhwest, \v? II as to inspoct her living corps, take personal instruction in aviation,; and supervise such proparations j against aniit't) invasion as might, in i la r judgment and Donald's, he deemed w i<c. Y\ bat was really going on along the I liorder and south of it was masked in rumor, misinformation and ollicial ccnrsliip. The country's half-trained and ill-equipped militia had boon mobilized arid transported to the Soiftlvwest ; fol1 owing \ hi< h it had ncisuuplishod?by all reports- precisely nothing. To look into those conditio?]*., then, to liud out for herself how grave the j danger was <>f invasion following the ( prospective witlulrawttl of the Ameriean troops from Mexican territory, mi to make due provision to protect her own properties?since slie would I n all probability he prevented hy ad- ( minis! r.-.tive ukase from extending J MHMt pr?>(ccUO|l (<l (MIHM'S WHS till' I mi:.in lujrjMix* *.f iatria's contemplated 'uiiniry, Ami localise she had become ono of' tin* widely advertised personalities in :.<* I'nit* <i Sia.tes. sije'e her accession I to sole control of Ohaniiings. Inc., site had caused lu-r plftns to In* made with .dl possihh* seeree.v. None tin- 1? ss they had heroine pubic prop< fty. While slu* dressed for her last trip to l'owder Town, to review her employees there, a newspaper dory advised her that she could hope to make few moves without the knowledge of the people. Beneath a portrait of herself, ill display headlines, she read: Miss Patria Channing America's Bertha Krupp, who Is rapidly converting her extensive arms and ammunition factories into armed camps, forsakes society to safeguard her vast properties in the Southwest?is reported to have said she will spend $100,000,000 to protect this country against peril of Japaneea influences In Mexico. i | ???? ' J- . -M ? Over this the girl shook an exasper- 1 at^vl , She made no doubj hut that Baron liuroki?presuming that lie were still in hiding somewhere within tlie radius of metropolitan newspaper circulation U.,.. a. ( " 41 I rjmiN^ >>1111 I\CCI1 UlltMCMl 111211 Ami she was right. i Many miles away, In a dead little house in a dead little side street in ?Teis i - ? It *23 ^V4 ' 1 , sey <_ity. seated on tlte floor or an apartment euiimngly transformed by moans of screens into the semblance of a room lu a Japanese house?a room ' from which every ray of daylight was jealously excluded?II u role I was curling his lip over the headlines which ' made I'atria's secrets his, and all the world's to boot. 1 P.ut when lie had finished rending, the sneer had faded from his face, u cu>_t of t hough t f if I n ess replacing it. 1 For many" minutes he sat pondering, as still ami immobile as one of the graven gods which, secretly, he wor . shipped. When at length he moved, it was merely to clap his palms together thrice; this done, he relapsed into j. t no v el ess n ess. Nor did he stir so iinieh I as to turn his head when his summons was answered. , 1 A cringing, servile creature in Jnp^ atmse robes slipped noiselessly into the room and stood at attention, announv cing himself hy one word in his native { tongue: ,. ".Master . . . ?" HuroUi thought for another moment before he spoke. , "What are today's reports, Kuto?" ;l "They say that we are apparently f safe. All efforts At pursuit have been C abandoned. The (.'banning girl is at .. her hot el in New York. Captain I'arr a spends most of his time in the Channing factories near Powder Town. It II is certain that no sort of watch is be^ ing kept upon this house; not orici .. since we took cover here litis one ol v the ('banning investigators approached this neighhorliood." I The ha run nodded approvingly. a "order my roadster to the door () Feted dusters, caps and goggle mask? 1H for yourself and inc." ,f "It is an order." ,n ! Kato said no more, and his tone win .p eolorJess; yet in the barely pereeptibh p. I hesitation tie evidenced about puttln; y these orders into effect, Iluroki senstM j muttered criticism; Was tlds wis* n. j on Ms part ? ' In response he touched the new spa ?w.r ?> ? (I,,, a,?,,r him In | " * " le ! "Vou have read tlds story, Kato?" Ih J "KxeeMency?yes." ir "J)o >'?u believe It is true that thli ?:ir! is converting tier factories int< >f. armed camps'/" . yt "Our reports show that the ('nan iiiogs employees evcryw here urc heir; . . JJL 11 drilled persistently unci nmdo familiar with ride practice." "In other words, they si? ?? hein?r made Into a private army of trained men. ready to ho offoroil to the country's service in event of war." "KxecHeney?yes." | "! must see for myself. A dangerous , business, a dangerous precedent ; should many American captains of industry adopt this scheme, the United States will have a standing army too soon, far too soon. We must find some way to discourage this young woman ?some way to sterilize her efforts toward preparedness before she can prove them practicable." Kato bowed assent. After another moment lluroki dismissed him upon | his errand. Within ten minutes the two, thoroughly masked against recognition in i their motoring garments, 1 < t" t the house and took tln?ir places?Knto ait the wheel?in a high-powered motorcar of the roadster type. Tooling the ear along In discreet recognition of trntlic regulations as long as they traveled city streets, once they hud gained open country Knto drove at a pace which would have been foolhardy in a driver less adept. For a time, en route, their way ran | parallel wilh railroad tracks. For as | much as a mile the roadster raced a light special train. Then, admonished by iluroki's touch on his sleeve, Kato modilied the speed and permitted the special to draw ahead. As it did so, lluroki identified unmist aknhly the slight, girlish figure that sat alone oil the observation platform. So l'atria ('banning was likewise bound for l'owder Town! Even had he been without a mask, the face of the Japanese would have betrayed no trace of emotion. Yet the fight of the girl had set astir in him passions which had for some time lain dormant?dark passions bred of hatred and chagrin. For, alone among the many men and women with whom he bad come in e aitact In the course of n long and active and varied career, l'atria had proved a stumbling-block to his ambition, stubbornly opposing her puny strength to his?and overcoming ldm, persistently thwarting his shrewd osi scnemes?uiKl i?:?\ iiiK no penalty. His arrangements were now all made for a furtive, unostentatious exit from the country which 1'atria laid made too hot to harbor him longer. He vjis, iu effect, being driven out by this Insignificant wisp of womanhood?outlawed. a failure, disgraced, in ill favor with his emperor. And he had been prepared to go without further attempt to bahmce his score with 1'atria. But lids accidental encounter?of which the girl had remained so serenely unconscious?made him change his mind. Secretly he determined, before the special had rounded a bend ahead and vanished from his view, upon one thiol essay to avenge his wrongs ere he tied. An hour later it stood empty with engine idle on a by-road near the sum% . | mit of a hill overlooking the little valley in which lay 1'owder Town. Twenty feet above it. in the cover of a group of trees on the hilltop, Iluroki and Kato were looking down Into the valley, with the aid of binoculars, the Japanese reading plain confirmation of all the newspaper alleged concerning l'atria's activities iu the cause of preOn the open sluice thai lay between the group of factory buildings and the tffo'n. upwards of five hundred men in semiiiniform and bearing arms were In i i'?i 111111^ c\iiniuniis wiui ti snap una u precisian that spoke well for Donald I'm it's system of training, liurokl's face darkened. Down the road from the railway station came a motor-car. In It sat I'atrla Charming. As it appeared the men in training responded quickly to snapped orders and arrayed themselves in long ranks for review, presenting arms as the < ar came to a pause at a little distance hctore them. Alighting, Patria was welcomed by Captain I'arr and a group of officers. After walking the length of the front ranks, Patria returned to tiie motorcar and took from the tonueau an object resemlding, at a distance a pole, ' j \ x Hurckr's Followers Lc ???????????? half of whose length was sheathed In ! black wrappings. With this In hand. she addressed briefly the nucleus of her private forces. Having spoken, she offered the pole to the ofllcer commanding under Captain 1'arr. I'nsheathing the flag, the commandiitg ollieer held it high, its hriliiant colors radiant in the autumnal sunlight, before delivering it to the color guard. A great roar of cheering broke out In the ranks and was carried eleari.v to the ears of the watchers on the hilltop. With an angry gesture Uurokl turned and strode buck to his roadster. "Drive home," he ordered; "follow j the railroad tracks as closely as you ( can. I must find some way. TUP TDCCTI IT A mile or so beyond the rUlge-pole of the hills walling in the little valley, the road dipped down into another valley, rather more shallow, which the railroad spanned hy means of a long high trestle. Through this valley meandered a river, broad but not deep, some two hundred feet below the trestle at this, its highest point. Well watered though it was, this valley ottered little temptation to the agriculturist. Its soil was somewhat sterile and thickly sewn with outcroppings of rock. Nevertheless, one fanner had thought well enough of it to i.wt.il.licl. .1 - ' " < ?? iiwuiv 11v*iii "lie run (M lilt' trest le. This optimist was a Japanese. His utmost efforts, aided by those of liis family and one or two helpers of bis own race, wrung bill the barest livelihood from the soil. Yet he persisted, year in and year out, patient and uncomplaining. It is a singular fact, to be interpreted at the whim of the reader, that any great railroad work in the United Slates seldom lacks a Japanese neighbor, swell as this toiling liule farmer. It Is not known that these hardy tillers of the soil have stores of dynamite or oilier high explosive cached conveniently; but if they had, they could readily at an hour's notice cripple t lie transportation facilities of this country and render efforts to rush troops to the western seaboard futile. At the dwelling of the Japanese fanner in question, Huron lluroki alighted from his motorcar and engaged his countryman in a conversation which engrossed both till well past noon; at which time I'atria C'lianning's speciul train was observed crossing the trestle, homeward hound. When it hail passed from sight, liuroki's course of action was mapped out to the last detail. Summoning Kate, lie delivered to him certain instructions, some by word of mouth, others written on scraps of paper in Japanese characters, and dismissed him with un injunction to make all possible haste upon his vurious errands. lluroki himself retired to an afternoon of inaction in the house of his compatriot. Hut Kato put in one of lite busiest ( afternoons in ids experience, in person, by telephone and through aides, , he communicated the orders of Baron Iluroki to half a hundred industrious Japanese gentlemen jnnlnhiy j#ii<J lncomspicuoUsly engaged in smnil ways' of business throughout tin area bound ? <! on the north by Harleuj, on the I'ast by the remotest fastnesses of Brooklyn, on the soiitli and west by the city of Philadelphia. ( He likewise fouiftl time to visit a small hut seaworthy private yaeltt which lay at anchor off Paulus Hook. It was dusk wh<*ti. " :ny hut ludomitable, he reappeared al the .Japanese farm beneath the trestle, delivered his report to Baron Huroki, and drove on Into tTie darkness, Hy that time nearly a hundred motorcars were converging from every point of tin* compass upon the little valley occupied by the Chunnings' po_wder mills. Kach of these cars was occupied hy I at least five impassive Japanese, all reservists of the Japanese army, many ; of them veterans of the war with Kus- ! sin. whose topcoats covered a complete infantry equipment for light marching. . ' > .;v' * . -- /j >' 's . < , i .y . /. <-, ixi' se No Time in Attacking. - % l'? ; v **" ' > : < * >' huioki's Men Set Fit Tn tlie bottom of each ?11* lay at least live m???|?ti? maeazlno ri 11? s. l'itnlnu their progress ro reach a certain point at a certain moment, they moved sedately through the twilight and the darkness, attracting no attcntion. lielween seven and cljdtt these ears came together in a lonely stretch of countryside adjoining the valley of 1'owder Town. The driver of each re p#rted to Kato personally, then parked his cur in the fields hy the roadside. Checking off each arrival on n compact tally sheet, Kato at length extinguished the pocket Hash-lamp hy which he had worked, and?having consulted iiis watcli?gave the word to inarch. At precisely twenty minutes to eight o'clock tin* last tile of armed Japanese trotted past him and disappeared in the gloom. He delayed before following only long enough to plant a small rocket in tlu* earth and touch a match to its fuse. Spearing up infti the night on a course which kept It invisible to the inhabitants of Powder Town, the rocket broke at an elevation which permitted it to be seen from the valley of the trest le. At sight of it, Karon lluroki, standing on the porch of the Japanese farmhouse, uttered an inarticulate sound of satisfaction, pocketed his binocular, and, going into the house, took up the telephone and gave the number of tin*! Kit/Carlton in New York. At eighteen minutes to eight l'atria Charming paused in the act of completing her toilette for dinner to answer the telephone. "Yes!" site called. "This is Miss Clumning. Who are you7" Out of the mystery of the night h voice responded in aceents oddly fa-! lui'm r yet oddly unreeogni/.ahle: a , J. . . "Your men hive mutinied In Powri^r! Town. They are rioting and shooting up the town. Captain Parr and others are besieged in the office building of Mill Number Five, in momentary danger of being blown up." The voire ceased abruptly. There was the click of a receiver hung up. The girl's distracted efforts to get tin connection renewed failed utterly. In panic she threw the instrument from lief and began to tear off her froek. ( "Ketch me a traveling suit," she or-1 deled iter maid. "Then call up the' railroad and t?-ll them to have my train ready for immediate service. I'm go- i ing out to l'owder Town as quickly as I can." # ? i .. Twenty-three minutes later she boarded her special at Jersey City. As the train pulled out of the yard a furtive little Japanese dodged away between tiie tracks, left Hie yard, and seeking tlie first saloon addressed himself to the telephone. Having received definite word that I'utrbi was on tiie way, Huron Huroki hung up, loft the Japanese farmhouse, and superintended the setting off of a great rocket. Tills last, rising to a great height at high speed, was plainly visible in 1 l'owder Town when it exploded. Kato saw it?-he hud been waiting for precisely that signal?and scrambled to ills feet. Applying a whistle to his lips, he blew a single blast. Immediately the field in which he had I boon lying at length became peopled with the shadowy shapes of ids countrymen. A second blast set them in motion. In \?tter silence hut for the rattle of 1 accoutrements and the thudding of | their feet, they bore down at double; quick on the unsuspicious little town ' which they had surrounded in the darkness. ( In three minutes more the vanguard i of the raiders debouched in the main street of Powder Town and charged up it, shooting and bayonetting all in their path. Taken completely off their guard? who had, for that matter, no reason to anticipate anything of the sort, tin terrorized inhabitants fled before this general assault like leaves before ? great wind. In five minutes the Japanese wer< in complete and undisputed possessioi of the town ami were firing its houses The glare of those flames agalns the sky was synchronous with the call ing of a bugle in the main yard of tlx ('banning factories. The first refugees had Just arrived and begun to gasj . ::.v ? . .. . .* . & :, ..:< .,. x , ,. sg.,,_ :: .,..:Mt\ 1 e to Powder Town. out their talus of horror. Purr, sutuIii?>ii -?I trout what laid hoop intended us his tiual council with I ho otheerw voimiiam<: u?; I'atrla's private army, prior to his departure for the Southwest , 11:m 1 iieede<l t?? hear no more than half a dozen words before Ihe l.'ave the order to sound a general *nll to arms. Thanks to their lohK and faithful ('rilling, the men of the ni^lit shift, VP dropping whatever work they had in hand at the moment, assembled under arms in the yard in record time. The Jinnies of the second house to be fired in the town were Just lie^inniiiK to leap nl?o\e ibe rising ground that separated tbe factories from tbe settlement /it'll l'atrias 111<*11 Mutinied out of the "lain gateway, l>oimhl at their head. Halfway to the town they got their llrst taste 4 ?f warfare, encountering there In the darkness a very conslderahle htuly of Japanese, outnumbering them two to one. They responded nohly, dt ploying in open skirmish order at the words of command and throwing lhetnse!\es flat upon the ground before attempting 10 return the fire of th? raiders. Though hi re and there a mail fell, dead or wounded, not one looked hack. Their casualties, if anything, 'seemed the one tiling ni'fded to stiflTn their determination to drive back ;l?e enemy. Ami the accuracy <if their lire proved so galling that the llrst line of Japanese was qui<k to give ground und retreat upon the burning town. There, in the scorching, llarne-lllu- ' mined streets, the combat became a #hand-to-hand affair, the raiders, although limy suffered heavily, giving. 1 <> begin with, almost as much punishment as they received, but inch by Inch yielding. The main street was littered with f \ dead and wounded when at length the/ broke and fled, hotly pursued by l>onald and his men. UilVI.K.I tl.n - ? * 1 * ' jjvti iMiii in*- iiiwn iin* pursuit [icrninfl mute or loss a minting skirmish, the raiders endeavoring desperately to stein the pursuit long enough to enable them to regain their motorcars. Ibtth sides had suffered heavily. In the ejtd It was with hut a handful of his original command that Donald pressed the pursuit across the ridg??pole of the hills and down Into the _ , open fields where the motorcars of the raiders had been parked. There a filial stand was made, n desperate resistance opposed to Purr's men till the last Japanese had found a place in the car which he ianped would hear him to safety. Thetn. h? the final car swept out of the field and down the rami, spitting fire from half a dozen rifles, the pursuers swarmed upon the field and took possession of the abandoned cars. Commandeering the first that t ame to hand, I'arr jumped in with four of j his men and resumed the pursuit. Other cars, laden to the rnniiinir In.aids with employees of f'hannings, followed. f A running battle of racing ours swept cut through the sleeping countrysido and, In'due course, down into the valley of the trestle. As his ear took the down grade at j the top of its speed, the nearest of the fugitives, leading it hy a hurt^two hundred yards, Donald saw the headlight of a locomotive sweep through tin; cut at Ihe far end of the trestle, like a sword of light slashing the night. j Then, traveling at a fast clip, the y I train ran out on the trestle?u light. j train, he remarked, consisting of a slit- ^ gle coaclHn addition to the locomotive and tender; in short, a special, such .] as I'ntria was accustomed to ttse. Hy this time his motorcar had tie- i scended to the bottom of the valley ] ; mid crossed the bridge that spanned the river. Ten seconds Inter n sudden premonition drew his attention to the i train; he looked up Just in time to see i the locomotive shoot out at a sharp 4 j angle from the trestle, twist and fall,' 1 drawing its tender and eoach \vflUi it. i j The crash of the wreck fllle?i the ' valley like a thunderclap, followed by ? a hissing of escaping steam and the i groans and screams of the injured train erew. i Instinctively Ponnld shut off the i gasoline and Jammed in the emergency . brake, bringing his ear to a halt within t thrice its own length. As it stopped, (u lie Jumped out and began to run across s fields toward the wreck, his compau Ions at n!s heels. ) j (END OF TENTH KPISOPK.) I - - ?'