Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, October 15, 1916, Page 27

j . Four’eenth Episode- / Humanity Triumphant CIIAPTER XXVIL The Appeal. The fuse was a slow one. Evidently it had been selected in order to pro- long the agony. Bill Reilly's nerves, less’ under control than Burton's, vielded to the strain and he seemed to find relief in upbraiding the wretches with whom he once had frat- ernized, but who now hated him with « deadlier malice than the man they regarded as chiefly responsible for lhf sang's threatened disruption. But, like all criminals, they were cowards at heart, and fled the danger one long before the hissing serpent :tween the chairs could release its frue venom. Burton felt quite resigned to this last. stroke of an outrageous fortune. Within a few seconds, or minutes— he never afterwards knew how long 2 time elapsed while he was pinioned in that place of torture—the events of a crowded life passed swiftly be- fure his mind's eye. He saw himsel! a tiny outcast, playing with other children of his kind among the ref use heaps of a m'n‘ng camp. a sturd) littie animal whose body throv the rougn char.y i we poor, while| his mind was cramped in a narrow environment, and he was driven 1 work for a living as soon as he was able. to use a shovel and swing a pick, The panorama of years rolled on. He passed through the mill, was taught by love that he had a soul evolved for himself a sort of crude philosophy of life, to be pitchforked nltimately into wealth and social sta- fion only to find that those things which seemed so fair and desirable when viewed from the swamp of pov- erty «een and never attained by the wan- lerer in the desert. Was he reay to die? Did he really resent being thus reft from life in the plentitude of his physical and in- tellectual powers? He did not know. He weighed the tremendous problem quite altruistically, and was at a loss to find a satisfactory answer. whom the gods love die youn, did .that mean? -‘Many men inter— preted it as signifying the latent jeal- ousy of the mighty ones throned on Olympus for those who in mortal vouth ‘showed signs of possessing the | divine fire. On the other hand, some hold that Jove is kind when his light- ning strikes a man or a maid while the red blood still courses in ecstasy. And who shall say which school of thought is right? John Burton, tenth marquis of Castleton, a born aristocrat if ever there was one, a man reared among common people who never- theless. bore linaage of a hundred earls, could not decide, though each fiery sputter of the fuse at his feet brought him mo- mentarily nearer those awful gates which, once opened, would engulf him forever. Bill Reilly felt some regret that he had not succeeded in accomplishing what he ‘set out to do—rescue John Burton frem the hands of the Hell Cats, ‘He wished to free Burton, not for himself alone, although he had great'\admiration for the titled mil- lionaire, who treated all men as hi equal, but he did desire in a measure to pay, in the only way he, could Grace Coe for the kindness she had shown 'him. He regretted he had ventured alone into the hands of the Hell Cats anc wasted a few precious seconds think ing how he might have let Blanche Griffin be more.of a help in the work he had eut out for himself. He won- dered whether Grace Coe, when she heard of his rejoining the gang, woylc believe Blanche's story, that he hac done it to aid Bdrtcn or would think that he ~had suffered a change: ol heart. He went back in retrospect over the Jife he had led as a member of the gang and then smiled as he though of the different and sweeter life he had lived since he became a protege of Grace Coe. He thought of Blanche Griffin, and wondered what life would have held for both of them could he have gone on. Then at the thought o! letting' the Hell Cats wreak their ven- geance on him another feeling came into his heart and he resolved that while he lived he would not give up | the struggle to defeat his old com- rades. While Burton remained in deep thought Reilly, made of coarser clay, dismissed the tender feelings frcm his mind and bent his acute wits and steellike muscles to a more immediate and.vital matter. After thc manner of his class, in his unregen- crate days he had'sought relaxation in tending circus performances and deville shows, and many a time had 'looked on with professional envy while some “hand-cuff”’ king or “‘man- acle’ manipulator” extricated himself frcm fetters which, to the uninitiated, seemed to render their victim helpless. Iaoke most people who have given thought to such displays he had evolved a crude theory that muscu- lar expansion and contraction form- ed the secret of the expert's ultimate escape. True, the notion had never served him when held in duress vile by the police, but he did now try tc stiffen his limbs against tHe bombs placed on him by the Hell Cats, and vie!ded to frenzied hope on finding that by relaxing arms, legs and bodv he had certainly loosened the ropes. No sconer was the room ernptied of the cut-throat gang, not one of whom dared even the slight risk of watching the actual explosion of the bomb through an open window or locrway, than he made a deternmined effort to free himself. He succecded almest at once, and with a whoop of triumph “wriggled out of the chair. By this time nearly three-quarters of the fuse was ccnsumed, so this ing fellow, without the slightest hesitation, picked up the bomb and hurled it through the porch far out nto a disheveled garden. Banging the door, 8o as to obviate any risk of iry of flying metal, he raced 1wk to Burton's side and began un- ying him. The Hell Cats had gone aboui their viness more leisurely with the mil- lionaire, and the knots defied Reilly's nimble fingers at first. partiplly extricated the man whose life he had risked everything to save, when the infernal machine expluded vith a deafeaning detonation. The )l house shook, many of its w ndows were broken, laths and plaster vielded o air pressure, and a cornice fell with o tremendous crash. The atmosphere too, was noiscme with the ftaies of yicric acid and the dust of agos. But Reilly never ceased his efforts @ro it was possible to distinguish the ight of the day again Jchn Lurten itocd at liberty by his sidel 'The espite thus gained did not enduore « The Hell Cats understood huw hey hid been foiled, and swirmed hack like angry bees returning to o listurbed hive. The almost defence- palr carried no effective weapons, it seized the chairs which had forir- d their sacrificial altar, and defend- d themselves valiantly against ail cmers. Such human riff-raff as ~omps his' gang of gunmen, howa~ver, W 1wt minaed to risk broken heads sore bones in a fair hand-to-hand | fight One of them whipped out u revolver and fired point blank at | Reilly. The bullet struck him in the breast and he staggered and fell. Bur- ton, giving his faithful companion cne | agonized glance, was momentarily taken unawares and soon yielded to |an attack in force. The whole dramatic scene ended al- most as quickly as it had bea . Bur- ton was now a prisoner again, and poor Reilly lay groaning on the floor, little caring what further suffering a vicious fate might have in store for him, For a few seconds it looked though the brains of both men w: have been shot out then and tv But, as Burton ascertained subsc- quently, Mother Flannigan had beer an interested spectator not only of the fight, but of Reilly’s unexpecten | release, with its sequel in the explo- |sion of the bomb outside, the house | The old hag herseir, aiced by Tw: Gun Jake, had experimented w.t | fuses of various lengths, and mean. | making a last attempt to extort ran- scm from the principal victim be | it was too late. Knowing that the gang did not pos- | sess a second bomb, she determined to change her tactics, and intervened shrilly at the very instant one of her henchmen was drawing a pistol with | tered. tually took him boldy out «i n. house, and have rushed him in a car !ln some place which the police have | nct been able to locate. 1 think you | can hel Those people at the Set-| | tlement. The words died away on his lips for his very heart was chilled by the sight of the wan misery in the / face. Bul she rose steadily cnough and her vpice was extraordinarily un der control. “I half expected this,” she 'es, 1 must do what 1 can come with me, George. 1 shall g alone. You do not know the ways « my poor friends. If you are there they will be dumb, but to me they will tell the truth!". On reaching the Settlement she found Blanche Griffin there. Hel cwn despair was equaled by that of the girl whom she had dragged out o! the gutter, for the newspaper reports made it clear that Bill Reilly, the ex- convict ‘who had found redemption was missing as well as the million- aire. Poor Blanche was already har-| bering a dream' of her cwn wherein a quiet cottage home. children, and the happiness which comes alone fren love and honest work, m.ght one day be hers. That visicn wus rudely shat- | It was replaced by a grim and | tragic reality. | CHAPTER XXVIIL { Wherein John Burton Solves the blem. | | captured by the Hell Cats! They ac-) | | | said Don't THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: | that Jake | the millicnaire, she was convineed that ““The Grip of Evil”’ was in waiting, and the aken swiftly to the hospial. Blan he | was the frst to alight, and was con sequently Just in time to see Jake b ng helped into an automobile drawn up by the curb at some distance from the main butlding. | She recognized the man with him w8 a particularly brutal and dangerous member of the Hell Cats gan:, and ere she could frame a startied ex- planation which would convey the truth to Grace's ears, while concenl mg it from the hapless mother, thek other vehicle was vanishing down the road in a swirl of dust “Follow that car,” she said instantly to the chauffeur. | Leaping inside, she tried to make clear a distictly perplexing situation. | It should be horne in mnd that nol other course was reasonab.y poss.ble Blanche was Jjustified in assuming | had been liberated from the | hospital on the urgent representations | of his friends, and, bad character| though he was, he could not be de-| tained, since no charge had been odged against him. The quick-w tted irl decided at once that Mcther| wnnigan and the gang needed hm. | Vhere they were, it was qguitg certain | that Burton could nct be far d stant, ind, although there was absolutely no proof that Reilly had accompanied three were | no other cause would account for his strange disappearance. in such a small warnine message —even thing as leaving a OCTOBER In looking back through the history with the hospital Janitor——-would have it | meant the vanishing of the flying car, emulated the mirage so often| intent to fire point-blank in Burton's| of an individual, as of a nation, Lace, | would seem as though idle chance| “You wait for orders, vou boob,” played the most important part in hu- she screamed. *‘Who tole you to butt| man affairs. It is .ot so, of course. | lin? Put away that gun, and tie him | The apparently aimless currents of 1 | up in the chair again.” | mingle at last and unite in one mighty | | ~Her command was obeyed with dif-| and {rresistible stream of progress. | ficulty, since, both chairs had been | Tennyson expresses this philosophy of | While John | hope' finely in the lines: broken in the struggle. was being lashed to a rickety seat, e | v 1 qoubt not through the nges one in- creasing purpose runs, looked calmly into the scowling faces of his persecutors. | And the thoughts of men aro widened with ! the process of the suns. “What good will it do any of yovu to kill me?" he sald. “You are unly | The gbserver of current events may committing a stupid crime, which will | well be pardcned, however, if he re- *“Thos: WhnN his. in every attribute the: | surely be discovered, and lead to a hue and cry of the most determined kind.” Mother forward. Flannigan thrust herself Her evil eyes blazed into “Now you're talkin,” she croaked “Do us a bit of good, an’' save your- self. Will you give ns 350,099, an’ keep mum when we turn you loose?" John shook his head. “That is not my mean‘ng at all,” he said quietly. “To nuy my life «n those terms simply implies the tr.- umph of evil. 1 will repay you by ihelp and kindness. 1 will promise you the fair treatment which many of you have never received from society, but I absolutely refuse to bargain in terms of money.” ‘“You do, eh?’" screamed the virago. ““We'll see about that. You are In our hands here, Mr. Marquis, and dont you forget it. If it wasn't for the carelessness of these blunderin’ idiots you and your pal would have gone up a minnit since in smoke an’ fire. You think, perhaps, that the cops are after us, an’-if you can only waste | time they’!l rescue you. Don't you be- lieve it. To prove my words I'll give you one hour. If, however, at thk end of that time you uon't promise to pay down 50,000 plunks just when and where we want ‘em, I myself will drive a knife through your ribs, an’ let the boys here finish the job as they like afterwards.” It was only too evident that the dreadful old creature meant. what she said, but Jobn met her maliznant vize :nflinchingly, almost with compa: ‘“Very well,” he said, “I accent y respite of one hour. Bind his wounds, therefore, and give him some water, straight away. Let him have his hour, | loo. ***Now, men,”” he added, sweep- |«ng the grim circle of the MHell Cats wilh a comprehensive glance, “carry ut yeir terms fairly and soquarciv.’ ‘Dyc meaa raat you're wikin' to | pay®" broke in .n eager vice. | "Tiat is to oo cottled ac th2 ex) ra | von of an houe,” was the calin W “He thinks he's playin' with us,”| sneered Mother Flannigan, “but I'li teach him. See if I dont? "’ Nevertheless, moved by some linger- ing sense of fair dealing, she wet a | handkerchief, made it into a pad and | bcund it tightly over the bullet wouna |in Reilly's breast. And thus began an ,hour of mental and phyiscal agony It would be hard to say which of th. | two endured the worse ills, the man who knew that his deepest convictions { would strely be put to the final test or he who groaned and shuddered in | biting, burning pain. Meanwhile some stirring events had | happened in the city. It will be re- | membered that Burton had employec {a Japanese valet during the absencc 'on vacation of the smooth-spoken | English servant who usually filfed that office. He had come to lLike the lit- tle brown man and retained him ir his service, so that the two valets al ternately performed the same duties. When the gunmen made their at- tack on Burton's house, choosing th hours of broad daylight as the safes. for their purpose, and depending for success wholly on rapidity of move ment, the Japanese happened to be | a dressing room adjoining the library | where his master was at the momen attending to some belated correspond- ence. Hearing a sudden hubbub of rush- ing feet and muttered oaths, the lttie man ran in only to be blackjacked forthwith. He fell like a pole-axed 0x, and the Hell Cats did not care Wwhether or not he was actually dead | The fate of a valet was of no account. What they wanted was a bound and gagged mullicnaire safe in the limou- sine of a fast car, and this achieve- ment they carried out with a daring and efficiency worthy of a better cause, | So the Jap recovered his senses anc | was able to give the police a fairly lucid account of the attack. A couple of gardeners, mowing a distant lawn, had seen the car drive up and hurry away again, but paid no heed to that ordinary circumstance until the t's startling narrative showed that viale gards mere chance as the warp and and that consequence must be avoided, no matter what the cost Poor Mrs. Evans, of course, existed like one in a drum. She could neither understand why these two young women ghould be so disconsolate, yet so flercely determined on some mys- terious undertaking, nor why she her- self should be suddenly whisked along suburban roads in a fast-travellng au- tomobile, a car so luxuriously ap- pointed that she had never even imagined such moving splendor was attainable. Grace and her adviser acted with fixed design as the weft in the ever-| discretion. It would have been fatal | working loom which fashions the cere- | to thelr design if they were detected, | cloths of humanity. | so Grace gave the chauffeur general Who, for instance, could possibly ['instructions, and allowed him to con- have imagined any active connection|duct the chase as he listed. The man between the arrival that day of a|soon took the measure of the car in worn, frayed, elderly woman at the|front, and knew that he could over- ‘ity’s central depot with the deadly|haul it when he chcse, so, by running menace threatening John Burton anc | past cross-roads, and turning agin 1 his faithful fr.end, Bill Reilly? Surely | speedily, he succetded in keeping the | not the poor creature herself! On leav- | line unbroken while giving impressicn ling the train she emerged into a|to anyone who might be looking back rowded street, and the bewilderec | casually aleng the road that he was| half-frightened, half-despairing ex- | speeding in a different direction, lpre.glcn betokened by drooping lips Thus the pursuit continued until and lack-luster eyes showed that she |the gunmen's automcbile turned int at least, was irresolute of mind and an almost disused track leading tu sadly aware of her own unimportant the house which held the prisoners, place in the general scheme of things: | Luckily, Grace Coe's driver detected But. being a woman, and a God- the maneuver and contrived to pull | tearing one, she was endowed with two (UP his own car behind a clump of splendid attributes which might have! trees. Hence Jake's companions— been wanting in many a prominent| there were two of them, together with | member of that same community—her | the chauffeur—saw nothing alarm ng heart overflowed with maternal love. and her brain was governed by that | simple faith in Providence which | moves mountains. | Amid the noisy chnos of the pass- | ing multitude she picked out a police- | man. and approached him timidly. | Fumbling in a recticule which she carried, together with a dilapidated suitcase, she produced a photo- graph. “Pardon me, mister,” she said in a quavering, apologetic voice, “but do, you happen to know a young man who looks like this?"” The policeman gazed down at the auestioner. Slightly amused, he took | from her trembling hands a photo- | graph of the cart-de-visite order, yel- low with exposure and much stained, it m'ght be, with tears. “No, ma’am,” he said after careful scrutiny. “Who is it?" “My son,” came the answer. “J | haven't seer him for ten years, but M man tole .e he believed he was in " this eity.” | “What is his trade?” inquired the | officer of the law kindly. ! The wrinkled and tired face, already | pallid with fatigue, blanched A little | more. | “He used to be a locksmith" she {('\Iterod. but—" but-—the man sald— that my boy wasn’'t workin’ just now."” Then the policeman understood. “Gone to the bad, eh?” he com- mented, trying to help the poor crea- | ture In a difficult confession. T suppose 80,” she almost sobbed | He looked again at the picture, and shock his head. . “No,” he said, “T haven't seen him. | He can’'t be much of a tough, mother, {or I'd be sure to know him. So cheer up! Sometimes thines ain't so bad as people make 'em out. They're always ready to say the worst, you know. Tell you what—there's a sort of Set- tlement bureau in this town where young folk who have gcne wrong are given a helpin’ hand. You may find | out something about him there. Even | it Miss Grace Coe doesn’t know him | someone in the Settlement may be | | able to assist you.” | - The woman had named the subject | of the photograph, “John William | Fvans,” 8o the policeman was hardly to blame if he failed to detect in the ;Iineaments of a fairly handsome and | 'ntelligent looking youth the scowl'ng | features of Two-Gun Jake. Neverthe- less, his counsel was good. since it led | | the searcher’'s steps to Grace Coe at the very moment when the girl was| nearly distracted with terror and fore- | | boding as to the uncertain fate of | the man shg loved. | Even in that hour of storm and | stress her sweet disposition and splen- did self-ccntrol permitted her to listen to the elderly woman's story. She bent over the photograph, but could | | only return it sadly. | “No,” she said, “I have never seen | your son, Mrs. Evans.” It happened that Blanche Griffin was standing near and heard what! | passed. Though she, too, was racked | with misery, she almost unconsciously | | scrutinized the simpering youth in the | print, and a doubting half-recognition flitted across her eyes “May I look at that?" she nsked.| his master must have been Kidnaped Taking the little square of pasteboard in that identical vehicle. v when they looked around before en- tering the house. Without the slightest hesitation the two younger women led Mrs. Evans towards the building, screening ther advance as best they might by taking cover behind a ragged hedge. The chauffeur was very unwilling to let his mistress go unattended, but Grace wiser than he, pointed out that if he remained at the distance and kept his engine in motion no one could pre- vent him from racing off to summon assistance should any suspiclous cir- Nuxated 15 1916. cumstance or definite signal warrant| him in so doing. At that time more than half of the| Wlotted hour had pissed, and Join surten, whose thoughts were centered now in the great purpose which had | dominated his whale life, was inclined | rather to spend .himself in a last ef- t towards regenerating humanity W in a4 seemingly futile attempt at f-proservation, He had muade up his mind firmly not to yield to the Hell Cits' demond. ! Not ¢ne penny of (anscm would he pay. If they murdered him, he would it least die a martyr, clinging to the| conviction which had sustaned him| throughont o varied and not aitogether ! iseless existence, Bill Rei.y, . course, was incapable alike of thought or action. Mother Flannigan's rough tendence had| stanched the flow of blood, but the; pogr fellow was very weak and fn| great pain. Already it would seem he !l was nearing the Great Barrier which| Rurtcn hi If would socn be called | upen to pass John windered if these half hours| really mattered. Were they not merel S0 many units even in the life of entenarian? A day less or mere | At sca cr on shere— We die—dces it matter when? | A Jumincus thought plerced his brain as lightning darts through back | stormelc at night. What would Christ do in like circumstances, he asked himself. What did he do, when | writhing in agony on the Cross of Cal vary? There could be no doubt as to the answer: He besought his Father in heaven to forgive his enemies, “for they know not what they do." Straightway John Burton saw the open road, and took it “Say, boys,” he exclaimed, attract- ing the attention of the Hell Cats within hearing, “would you mind ask- ing Mother Flannigan and the rest of the bunch to gather round? I want to say a few words which should be of interest to all of you." He used the simple phrases which alone these men could understand, and, not without some of the orator's skill, began by enlisting their curiosity, since they jumped to the conclusicn that he menmt yielding, and wished to have the bargain ratified by every member of the band. Socn they were Ul collected, and, by good fortune, the group of interested listeners was; swelled by Jake and the others who had brought him from the hospital. “l could talk more easily {f you would kindly free my hands,” went on John quietly. “There is no fear of my escaping,” he added, smiling so geni- ally that his captors grinned in unison “There's nothin' to make a speech about,” broke in that flerce old harri- dan. Mother Flannigan. “That is where you and I differ, ma'am,” came the placid answer. “My time is nearly up. I gdess 1 have twenty-five minutes, or thereabouts, We' are not giving each other many favors, nor demanding them, but it is not a great deal that a man con- demned to death should ask to be al- lowed to utter his last few words in: comparative comfort. John's bonds were untied; he stretched his st'ff arms, and per- mitted his bruise | body to relax. “I hope you wcn't interrupt,” he be- gan. “I shall endeavor not to tres- pass beyond the allotted time, but it will not be my fault if what I have to say does not command a sympathe- tic hearing."” Then, to their intense surprise, in- stead of outlining a basis of agree- fout ment in terms of money and life, he sketched briefly, but with winge words, the story of his career. I depicted his childhood's days, passc - surroundings with which everyon present was familiar, and thus, at th outset, placed himself on a par w.t the limited intelligence and dismal ex iences of his audience. He tol how he hnd risen to ne a foreman i the iren works, how he ed the strike md was befooled like other Sam n by a Delllah in fine rainment and nomted with sweet-smelling spices By a wave of a magician's wund he jled them from the dirt and squalor o) a working class quarter to the palaces and well-tended lands of an English nobleman. He even held them spell- bound by describing the unhappy queet which had dominated his man- hood's years—that unending and never successful search for an answer o the far-reaching question—Is Hu- ma y in the Grip of Evil? In less strenuous circumstances the chief actor In this subdued but ter- ribly realistic drama would have found inspiraticn in the tense hold (n the imaginaticn of his audience which he established from the open- ng sentence and maintained w th evergrowing force. The evil light d ed of many eyes. No one moved There was not a sound in the desolate rocm save the measured accents of the spenker, and an occasicnal grunt of approving recognition when he touched on some phase of life com- mon to all present. Even the wounded man ceased groaning, for Bill Reilly had retained his senses, and found solace for his physical Injuries in the appenl to his emotions made by the thrilling recital, Burton, of course, remalned in blank ignorance of the astounding fact that his audience was Increased, for the three women had crept up un- heard, and followed every word through the open window, It was well that this was so. The presence of Grace Coe could hardly have failed to disconcert him. The sight of her sweet face must have Induced poig- nant thoughts fatal to the even flow of his address. Seldom, indeed, in the history of this gray old world has any man spoken to such a group of cut-throats in such conditions. By an Inexplicable miracle—probably by the unknown action of that subtle force vaguely described as telepathy-—Burten broke off abruptly at an instant when his hearers were keyed up to the highest pitch. “How is time going?" he inquired, and the words fell from his lips so nenchalantly that for a few seconds nene stirred, Two-Gun Jake was the first to re- cover himself. He fumbled at a watch with his uninjured hand. “Guess from what I've been told, you've still got five minutes,” he mut- tered. A white-faced old woman crouched beneath the windowslill gasped when she heard that voice. Mrs. Evans had listened like one in a trance. She un- derstood neither the meaning nor the intent of that strange harangue, but it held her like/the others. As the poor old creature put it afterwards, in a sentence which couid not really be bettered by a skilled writer: "It was Jjust a movie in words." Happily, Blanche Griffin was able to stifle the Imminent cry with an em- phatic hand over Mrs. Evans' mouth, for the mother had found her lost son! Then John made his big hit. “I want to use those five minutes ron to E===ss=usssm=EEETSS Aathor of “The Wings of the Mornin “The Terms of Surrende BJ LOUIS TRACY Novelized from the sfi:ll.:u:‘d l;l;o;o:‘ll::l of the Same Name, G — Copyright, 1016, by Louis Tracy. 7—D B ———— to good advantage,” he said, looking vith a benignant expression which ute rely baffied and nonpiussed the «man and the men who a little while wefore had been thirsting for hia noney or his life. My own personal record now es to Interest either you or me cry greatly,” he continued. “I shall 10t buy my life at your hands. Soon | myself shall be with yesterday's seven thousand years, while you will ;0 back into the world, not enriched it my expense, but vastly poorer, be= ause you will carry to the grave the memory of one more crime added to .he many which have sullied and diss redited the great trust which God save when His Spirit breathed an im« mortal essence into your mortal bedies. 1 want to give you one final message-—1 want you to accept the one ;reat truth common to all mankind. T'he chief, I might almost say the only, real driving force in the world Is love. And love begins and ends, with the maternal instinct, which is as stron n the jungle as in the most civilize of communities. Every man among you must have known it in greater or less degree. Even you,"” and he turned a luminocus glance on the withered ind shaking hag, “must recall those early years when you were a child at your mother's breast. If you have had children of your own, you must have felt the divine Instincts of a mother, You were ready to risk life itself to bring a child into the world. You must have been prepared to sacrifice that same life over and over again for the sake of your offspring, while it was a still wee mite looking to you, and you only, for help and sus- tenance, 1 beesech you, then, woman and men, when you go away from this house, to search into your own hearts and inquire whether the seif- ishness which now inspires you I8 really worth while. If my example can assist you In finding the better way 1 shall regard death as a real blessing. You will deprive me of a few troubled years, but I shall count that loss as a gain if my spirit, wandering in the unseen, encounters even one soul which I may have lifted out of the pit. T am not mouthing vain things, A man who has little more than a minute to live can, at least, afford to becandid with himself ‘and others: 'I repeat that ] shall not purchase my freedom. Do with me as you will, but, with my last breath, I implore you to pay heed to what I have safd.” Two-Gun Jake strode forward, and stood In front of the prisoners Though one arm' was out of actio the other was as efficlent as ever, an his right hand twisted in a businesse llke way towards a hip pocke! “Boys,” he snapped, ‘I needn't tell any of you that I'm mighty quick on the draw, an', to that extent, what I have to say must go. I can't talk like Mr. Burton, but I ‘can make my meanin’ clear, We're quits with this guy, here an’ now. Is any of you-all partl'lar anxious to argy the point?”* No one will ever xnow just what might have happened but for the ine terruption which came from a totally unexpected quarter, Mrs. Evans could be restrained no longer. She rushed in, scattering the startled Hell Cats right and left, and threw her arms around her son. ‘“That's spoken like my own boy,” she sobbed. “I don't care what you've done, Jake. It's nothin' to me. how wicked you have been, I'm your mother, and I'd belleve in you even it they was to take you to the chair this minute, though I've sought for (Continued on Page Fight) e New Age of Beautiful Women and_Vigorous Iron Men Say WellKnown Physicians—Quickly Puts Roses Into the checks of Women and Most Astonishing Youthful Power Into the Veins of Men—It Often Increases the Strength and Endurance of Delicate, Nervous, “Run-Down” Folks 200 NEW YORK, N. Y.—Bince the remarkable discovery of organic iron, Nuxited Iron or “Fer Nuxate,” us the French call it, has taken (he country by storm, it is ¢ nserva- tively estimated that over five million per- sons daily are taking it in this country alone. Most astonishing resu'ts are reported rom its use by both physicians and lay- men. 8o much so thit well-known d ctors predict that we shall socn have a new age £ far more beiutiful, rosy-cheeked women and vigorous iron men. Dr. K.ng, a well-known New York physi- cian and author, when interviewed on the subject said: “There can be no vigorous ron men without iron. Pallor means anemia. Anemia means iron deficiency. The skin of anemic men and women is p lo. The flesh tlabby. The muscles lack tone; ‘he brain fags and the memory fails azd of en they become we. k, n.rvous, irritable, despondent and melancholy. When the iron goes from the blood of women, the roses go from their chezke. “In the most common foods of America, the starches, sugars, table ryrun, canlies, polithed rice, white bread, soda crackers, biscuits, macaron., spaghe £, t .ic, ug), farina, degerm.nated cornmeal, no longer is iron to be found. Refining processes have removed the iron of Mothcr E.rth from | these impoveriched foods, and sil y me hads of home cooke:y, by thruw.ng down the wgste pipe the water in which our vere‘ables afe cocked are responsible for another grave iron loss. “Therefore, if you wirh to precerve your youthful v.m and vigor to & ripe old uge, you must supp y the .ron defici.n y in y ur Per Cent in Two Weeks’ Time. He had only ! The police decided that a wide- spread publicity would best serve their and supplied the press with such meager details as they possessed. Of course, the local newspapers publish- ed the news under scare-heads. Grace Coe was sittng down to | belated luncheon when her brother ‘ran in with an evening newspaper | his hand. Though the young man sus- pected that his sister's admiraticn fo John Burten was founded cn a fa deeper sense than the mere wish secure powerful aid in her sett.ement work, he decided thit it would he little short cof idle cruelty to withhold | the terrible ncws. Socner or later | must be known, and there was al- a possibility that scme among the reformed criminals she had gath ered under her wing might wish tc help the authorities if only for the sake of the woman to whom they owed their regeneraticn In th later days Gecrge Coe had come to reverence his sister, and it was with genuine emotion that he now placed a hand on her shoulder and said brokenly: “I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Grace, but feel that you ought to know the &orst. Burton has been | to a window she examined it intently, fiod by us.ng some form of orzanic iron, and a half-repressed cry of amaze-| Just as you would use salt when y.ur food | ment brought Grace to her side, | “It 1s—it must be—Two-Gun Jake," she whispered excitedly. “Of course, Miss Coe, you don't know him as well as I do, but unfortunately I have seen a good deal of him during the last four years, and sometimes, when in repose, he would look just like that, Oh, if this should be his mother, how fortunate for us!" | “But how?" demanded Grace, in- | tuitively realizing that B.anche would not be so disturbed without good cause, “Dcn’t you see, miss, he is wounded and in hospital, and he, if anyone would know where those wretched men have taken Mr. Burton and Billl Reilly. Perhaps, if we bring his| mother to him, she may arouse his| better nature, and—" Grace caught the drift of the girl's| noticn at cnce. “Oh, yes!"” sha cried impulsively.' “We must not lose a second. Let us act alone. Three weak women may | succeed where the police have failed.” Mrs. Evans was easily persuaded. Indeed, she was r to put the ut- most confidence Grace from the in was has not enough salt.’ Dr. S.uer, one of the most wilely known physiciuns in this coun.ry, vwho has studied abroad in great European med.cal institu- tions, said: “As I have said a hundred times over, organic iron is the greatest of all strength bu.lders. If pesple would cnly throw away Latent medicines and nause us con- coctions and take simple nuxated iron, I am convinced that the lives of th us.nds of persons might be suved who now die every | year from pneumonia, gripp: ¢ n um vllun,i kidney, liver, heart tr.uble, ete. ‘the real and true cause which star ed their civeave was nothing more nor less than a weakened condition brought on by a lik the blood. ‘Not long ago a man ecame to me wh> was near.y huf a century od und askcd me to give him a preliminary ex misaton wor life .n urance. I was a toui h d to find hm with a blood pressuze f a by of | twenty and as full of vigor, vim and vitall y as a young man; in fici, a y ung mun he really was, notwithstanding his age. The secret, he said, wis trkng iron Nuxatd Iron had filled him with renewed life. At thirty he was mn b.d heai h; tfry x ne carew.rn and nearly all in. N w at fifty a miracle of vitality .nd his f .ce beam- [ of ieen in | first instant of their meeting. A car|ing with the buoyancy of you.h. lron is ah- solutely necessary to enable ycur bl od to|reduced iron, iron acetate, or tincture of | remarknble change fo d into living ti rue. Wihwut it | 1, matier how much or vha. y u e t, your »d morely passes thr uh y u without doing you any good. You dun't get he irenz‘h out of it, and as a conse uence you | hecome weak, pale and sickly looking, fu t Lke a plant try.ng to grow in a soil de ent in iron. If you nre not strong or we'l, y u owe it to y ursIf t) make he follow- ng test: See how iong you can work cr| how far you ean walk without bec ming tired. Next take tw) five-grain table's of srdnary nuxated iron three tmes per day | after meals for two weekt. Then te t yur 3 much you have | seen dozens of nervour, n-down people who were ailing all t while double their strength and enduran: and entirely rid themelvet of all symp- toms of dyspepsia, liver ar | other troib e to four‘een day:' time simply | iron in the proper form And they had in some cases been doc- | » months without obtain'ng any | But don’t take the old forms of | ron smp'y to save a few cents. The iron demanded by Mother Nature for the red color ng matter in ‘he blood of her children is, alas! not that k'nd of iron You must take iron in a form that can be easily ab- soroed and assimilated to do you any good, | o'herwise it may prove worse than useless. Many an athlete and pr.ze-fighter has w n he day simply because he knew the secret f great strength and endurance and filled his blood w.th iron before he went into the affray; while many ano‘'her has g e wn 1 nglorious defeat simoly for the lack of iron.” Dr, Schuyler C. Jaques, another New York physician, said: “I have never before given out any medical information or advice for publication, as I ordinarily do not believe in it. But in the ease of Nuxated Iron I | feel T would be remiss in my duty not to mention it. I have taken it myself and wiven it to my patients most surpris. ng and satisfactory results, And those who wish quickly to increase their strength, power and endurance will find it & most g ,-Wy A Wonderful Discovery Which Promises to 5 Mark a New Era in Medical Science. [l L L WILOUR e and wonderfully effective remedy. NOT uxat-d Iron, which is prescribed and re nended above by physiclans in sich a g cat varlety of cases is not patent medicine nor secret remedy, but o which 1s well known to druggls.s, and wh fron consiltuents are widely prescribed by eminent physiclans both In Europe and Amerfca. Unllke the older Inorganic iron products, It Is easlly assimilated, doea not injure the tenth, make them blas set the siomach; on the eantra most potent remedy |n nearly al Indigestion as well 48 for nervous, conditions, The manufacturerers have such great confldence in nuxated iron that they o'fer to forfelt $100.00 to any charitable ine stitution If they .cannot take' any man o woman under 50 who lacks iron, and Ine crease thelr strength 200 per cent of over four weeks' time, provided they have no ser, ous organic trouble. They a %0 offer to re~ fund your money If it does mnot at least double your gtrength and. endurance in ten days’ time. It Is dispensed In this city by Sherman-McConnell Drug . Stores and ai] good druggists, e e " “The Pillar of Light,” | v i i i N e 4 i e i W