B
TTTE OMATTA SUNT) AY BEE: SEPTEMBER f, 1914.
LOUIS
VANCE
0' HFA
JOSEPH
SIXTH INSTALLMENT
The photo-drama corrtsponairg to the mstaUments of
"The TreyCHearts" may novo be teen at the leading
moving picture theaters. By this unique arrangement
m-tth the Universal Film Mfg. Co. it it therefore not only
pctstbl to read "The Trey O' He arts" in this paper,
bvt alto to tee each installment of U ot the moving
picture theaters.
(Copyright. 1514. by Louis Joieph Vine.)
CRACK V DOOM
STNOrsiS Tha t af llaarta la the "iluth alan" am
flnvrd by Hrmrrm Trlaa In lha prtvata war of vanaaaiira
ahlrh. through hi daughtar Judith, a woman of Molrnt
passions Ilka hla own. ha against Alan I .aw, aon of
lha man (now daadl whom Trlna haid rasponalhla for tha
arritlant whlrh mad him a halplaaa rrlppla. Row, Jntlllli'a
twin and doiiMa, lovaa Alaa, and laarnlnc of hr alaiar a
rampaian aaalnat him. laavaa homa and loins hr fnriunae
to hla I'ndar dramatic rlrrumstaneaa Alaa aavaa Jtidlth'a
Ufa and an wlna har lova; htit fallura In ahaka bla consisnry
)n Rnaa klndlaa Judith's Jaalonay and aattlas hr In hr
hamlridal purpoaa. Fha la larly raapnnalbla for a alilp
wrark In Nanturkst aniind, from whlrh Kosa and Alan firtp
with thalr frland Harms, Jndlth pursuing In a chartarad
arhoonar with a craw of cut-throats.
I STRANDED.
Mr. Thomas Barcus picked himself up from the
bottom of the lifeboat, where he hart been violent
ly precipitated by the Impact of grounding, blinked
and wiped tears of pain from hla eyes, solicitously
tested bis nose and seemed to derive little If any
comfort from the discovery that It was not broken,
opened bis mouth . . . and remembered the pres
ence of a lady.
"Poor Mr. Barcus!" she said gently. "I'm so
orry. ' Do forget I'm here and say It out loud!"
Mr. Barcus dropped his hands and drooped his
head at the same time.
"It can't be did," he complained in embittered
resignation: "the words have never been Invent
ed ..."
In the bows. Mr. Law (who had barely saved
himself a headlong plunge overboard when the
shoal took fast hold of the keel) felt tenderly of
bis excoriated shins, then, rising, compassed the
tea, sky and shore with an anxious gaze.
In the offing there was nothing but the flat, lim
itless expanse of the night-bound tide, near at
hand vaguely allvered with the moonlight, In the
dlatances blending Into shadows: never a light or
shadowy, stealing aall In that quarter to Indicate
purault.
"Where are we?" he wondered aloud.
"Ask me an easy one," Barcua replied: "some
where on the south shore of the cape unless
somebody's been tampering with the lay of thla
land. That's a lighthouse over yonder."
, Alan took soundings from the bows.
"Barely two feet," he announced, withdrawing
the oar from tha water, "and eel grass no end."
"Oh!" Barcua ejaculated with the accent of en
lightenment; and leaving the motor, turned to the
stern, over which be draped himself In highly un
decorative fashion while groping under water for
the propeller.
"That's the answer," he reported; "there's a
young bale of the said eel-grass wrapped round
the wheel. Which, I suppose, means I've got to go
overboard and clear It away."
Like Mr. Law, he wore neither shoes nor other
garments that could be more damaged by salt
water than they had been but only shirt, trousers
and a belt. ,
"If you've nothing better to do, my critical
friend," he observed as he stooped to hack and
tear at the mass of weed embarrassing the pro
peller, "you might step out and give us a trial
shove. Don't strain yourself Just see If you can
move her."
The boat budged not an Inch but Mr. Law's
feet did, slipping on the treacherous mud bottom
with the upshot of his downfall: with a mighty
splash he disappeared momentarily beneath the
surface and left hla temper behind when he
emerged.
As for Mr. Barcus, he suffered like loss within
Ave minutes; w hen, with much pains' and patience
having freed the wheel, be climbed aboard and
sought to restart the motor. After a few affecting
coughs It relapaed Into stubborn silence.
Studious examination at length brought out tha
fact that the gasoline tank was empty.
"Not so much as a smell left." Barcus reported.
"It's no use," he conceded at length. "We're
here for keeps."
"Why not wade ashore?" Rose Trine suggested
mildly from the place she had taken In the stem
In order to lighten the bows. "It Isn't so tar and
what's one more wetting?"
"That's the only sensible remark that's been
ottered by any party to this lunatic enterprise
since you hove within earshot of me. Mr. I.w,"
said Mr. Barcus. "Respectfully submitted."
"The verdict of the lower court stands ap
proved," Alan responded gravely.
"But there's no sense In Miss Trine wading."
Barcus suggested. "We're web-footed as It is;
and she's too tired."
"Well, what then?"
"We can carry her, can't we?"
II THE ROCKET.
"Gee!" he grunted frankly, when after a toll
ome progress from the boat. Rosa at length
slipped from the seat formed by the clasped hands
of the two men. "And It waa me who suggested
thla!"
The girl responded with a quiet laugh of the
tnoat natural effect Imaginable until It ended in
a algh, and without the least wsrnlng she crumpled
upon herself, and would have fallen heavily, In a
dead faint, but for Alan's quickness.
"Good Lord!" Barcus exclaimed, as Alan gently
lowered the inert body of the girl to the sands.
"And to think I didn't understand she waa so
nearly all in chaffing her like that! I'd like to
kick myself!"
"Don't be Impatient." Alan advised grimly; "I'm
busy Just at present, but . . . Meantime, you
might fetch some water to revive her."
It was an order by no means easy to fill: Barcus
had only hla cupped handa for a vessel, and little
water remained In them by the time he had dashed
from the shallowa back to the spot where Rose lay
unconscious, while the few drops he did manage
to sprinkle Into her face availed nothing toward
rousing ber from the trance-like slumbers of ex
haustion Into which she paaaed from her fainting
tU. . . .
In the end Alan gave up the effort "She's all
r:gbt," he reported, releasing the wrist whose pulse
he bad been timing. "She fainted, right enough,
but now she's Just asleep and needs It, Ood
knows! It would be kinder to let her rest, at least
until I sea what sort of a reception that light
bouso Is Inclined to oflr us."
"You'll go, then?'' Barcus Inquired. "I'd Just as
lief, myself . . ."
"No; let me," Alan Insisted. "It's not far not
more than a quarter of a mile. And she'll be safe
enouph here, In your care, the little time I'm
gone."
'Barcus nodded. His face was drawn and gray
in the moon glare. "Thank Ood!" he breathed
brokenly, "you're able. I'm not."
He ant down suddenly and rented his head on
hla knees. ' Don't be longer than you can holp,"
lie muttered thickly.
He had come to the headland of the lighthouse
Itself before the ground began to shelve more
gently to the beach; and was on the point of
addressing himpplf to the dark and silent cottage.
I f ;.ii :. ' Two Men Shadowed Him.
lis if- 1 A
WV A
They Carried Her Ashore.
of the llghtkeepcr when he paused, struck by sight
of what till then had been hidden from hlra.
The promontory, ho found, formed the eastern
extremity of a wide-arniod if shallow harbor where
rods at moorings a considerablo number of small
craft pleasure vcRaels assorted about equally with
tuning boats. And barely an eighth of a mile on,
long-legged wharfs stood knee-deep In the water,
like tentacles Rung out from the sleepy little fish
ing village that dotted the rising ground a com
munity of perhaps two hundred dwellings.
Nor was this all: even as Alan hove lu view of
the village, he heard a series of staccato snorts,
the harsh tolling of a braien bell, the rumble of
a train pulling out from a station. And then he
paw its Jewel-string of lights flash athwart the
landscape and vanish as Its noise died away
diminuendo.
Where one train ran, another must. . He need
only now secure something to revive Rose, help
her somehow up the beach, and in another hour
or two, of a rertalnty, they would be speeding
northwards, up the cape, toward Boston and the
land of law and order.
A surly cltiren. thla agent, ill-pleased to have
his plans disordered by chance-flung strangers.
Ho greeted Alan'a breathless query with a grunt
of ingrained churlishness.
"Nah." he averred, "they ain't no more trains
till mornln". ("an t y' see I'm. ahuttin' up?"
"But surely there must be a telegraph station "
"You bt your life they is right here In this
depot. An' I'm shuttln' it up, too."
"But I must send a telegram." Alan protested.
"I tell you, I must It's a matter of life and
death."
"Sure, young feller. It always is after busi
ness hours."
"Won't you open up again "
"I tell you. no!"
In desperation Alan rammed a hand Into his
trousers pocket. "Will a dollar Influence your
better Judgment?" he suggested shrewdly.
"Let's see your dollar." the other returned with
no less craft open incredulity luforming his
countenance.
And. surely enough. Alan brought forth an empty
hand.
"Make a light." he laid sharply. "My money'i
In a belt round my waist. Open up your office.
You'll get your dollar, all right"
"All right." he grumbled, rttopenlng the door of
the telegraph booth and making a second light
inside. "There's blanks and a penclL Write your
message. It ain't often I do this but I'll make an
exception for you."
it
Alan delayed long enough only to make a few
Inquiries, drawing out the information that, for
one who had not patience to wait tl" morning
train northbound, the quickest way to any city of
importance was by boat across Buzzard's bay to
New Bedford.
Boats, It was Implied, were plentiful, readily to
be chartered.
A time-table supplied all other needful advice.
Alan wrote his message swiftly.
Addressed to Dlgby, his man of business in New
Tork, It required that gentleman to arrange for a
motor-car to be held In waiting on the 'waterfront
of New Bedford from three a. m. until called for
In the name o? Mr. Law, as well as for a special
train at Providence, on similar provisions.
He found his sweetheart and his friend much
as he had left them, with this difference: that
Mr. Barcus now lay flat on bis back and snoring
lustily.
He was placated quickly enough, however, by
Alan'a news.
But when it was the turn of Rose they faltered.
None the less. It had to be done. Alan hardened
his heart with the reminder of their urgent ne
cessity, and eventually brought her to with the
aid of a few drops of brandy.
Between them, they helped her up the beach,
past the point, and at length to the door of the
hotel, where reanimated by the mere promise of
food Rose disengaged their arma and entered
without more assistance; while Barcus was de
terred from treading her heels In his own fam
ished eagerness, by the hand of Alan falling heavily
upon his arm.
"Walt!" the latter admonished In a half-whisper.
"Look there!"
Barcus followed the direction of his gesture
and was transfixed by the sight of a rocket spear
ing Into the night-draped sky from a point Invis
ible beyond the headland of the lighthouse.
The two consulted one another with startled and
fearful eyes. t t
As with one voice they murmured one word:
"Judlthl" To this Alan added gravely: "Or some
spy of hers!"
Then rousing, Alan released his friend, with a
smart shove urging him across the threshold of
the hotel.
"Go on." he Insisted, "Join Rose and get your
supper. I'll be with you aa soon as I can arrange
for a boat. Tell her nothing more than that that
I thought It unwise to wait until everybody was
abed before looking round."
He turned to find hla landlord approaching from
the direction of the hotel barroom. And for the
time It seemed that the wind of their luck must
have veered to a favoring quarter; for the question
was barely uttered before the landlord lifted a
willing voice and hailed a fellow townsman Idling
nearby.
"Hey. Jake come here!"
,' Introduced as Mr. Breod. Jake pleaded guilty to
ownership of the fastest and stanchest power
cruiser In the adjacent waters, which ha was
avariciously keen to charter.
.J They observed It religiously: within ten minutes
they stood upon a float at tha foot of a flight of
wooden steps down the side of the town wharf,
while the promised row boat of Mr. Breed drew in,
at most leisurely pace, to meet them.
i If the boat-owner's Indifference to Alan's clearly
expressed wishes In this respect exasperated. It
was forgotten In the relief of at length getting
aboard and away from the wharf. The burden of
Alan's aollcltude seemed to grow lighter with
every squeal of the greaseless oar-locks, with
every dip and splash of the blades which, wielded
by a crew of villainous countenance, brought them
nearer the handsome motorboat which Mr. Breed
, designated as his own. It was not until Alan
looked up suddenly to find Mr. Breed covering
him with a revolver of moat vicious character that
he had the least apprehension of any danger near
er than the offing, where Judith's schooner might
be lurking, waiting for Its prey to come out and
be devoured.
'Til take that money-belt of yours, yonng feller."
Mr. Breed announced, "and be quick about It not
forgetting what's In your trousers pocket!"
la the passion of his indignation, Alaa neglectedturtilsi his eye Jlghted on a four-foot leagth ot
entirely to play the" game by the rules. The In
difference he displayed toward the weapon was
positively unprofessional for he knocked It aside
as If it had been nothing more dangerous than a
straw. And In the same flutter of an eyelash, he
launched himself like a wildcat at the throat of
Mr. Breed.
Before that one knew what was happening Me
had gone over the stern and bad Involuntarily dis
armed himself as well.
"And Just for this." he added before getting out
of earshot "I'm going to treat my party to a
Joy-ride in your pretty powerboat"
He concluded this speech abruptly as Barcus
brought them up under the quarter of the power
cruiser.
Within two minutes the motor was spinning
contentedly, the mooring had been slipped, and the
motorboat was heading out of the harbor.
Within five she had left it well astern and
was shooting rapidly westwards, making nothing
of the buffets of a very tolerable sea kicked up
by the freshening southwesterly wind.
"My friend," he observed languidly, "as our ac
quaintance ripens I am more and more Impressed
that neither of us was born to die a natural death,
whether abed or at the hands of those who mlsllke
us; but rather to be hanged as common pirates."
"You have the courage of Ignorance," Barcus
replied coolly; "if you'll take the trouble to glance
astern, I promise you a sight that will move you
to suspend Judgment for the time being."
At this Alan sat up with a start.
Black against the loom of the Elizabeth islands,
through which they had navigated while he nodded,
shone the milk-white sails of an able schooner.
Sheets all taut and every Inch of canvas fat with
the beam wind, she footed it merrily in their wake
a silver Jet spouting from her cutwater.
Ill HELL-FIRE.
But by this stage in his history, Mr. Law had
arrived at a state of mind Immune to surprise at
the discovery that he had once more failed to
elude the vigilance and pertinacity of the woman
who sought his life.
He viewed the schooner with no more display of
emotion that resided In narrowing eyelids and a
tightening of the muscles about his mouth.
"Much farther to go?" he inquired presently, In
a colorless voice.
"At our present pace say, two hours."
"And will that enable us to hold our own?"
"Just about," Barcua allowed, squinting critically
at the chase; "she's some footer, that schooner;
and this Is Just the wind she likes best."
"How much lead have we got?"
"A mile or so none too much."
"Anything to be done to mend matters?"
"Nothing but pray, if you remember how."
In the end, they made it by a narrow margin.
The face of Judith Trine was distinctly revealed
by the chill gray light of early dawn to those
aboard the power cruiser aa she swept up through
the reaches of New Bedford harbor and aimed for
the first wharf that promised a fair landing on
the main waterfront of the city.
There was neither a policeman nor a watchman
of any sort in sight.
Nor was there, for all his hopes and prayers,
based on the telegram to Digby, a sign of a motor
car. Still, not much of the street was revealed. The
docks on either hand were walled and roofed, cut
ting off the view.
If they ran for It, they must surely be over
hauled. Something must be done to hinder the
crew of the schooner from landing.
"Here!" he cried sharply to Barcus. "You take
Rose and hurry to the street and find that motor
car. I know she's there. Digby never failed me
yet!"
"But you"
"Don't waste time worrying about me. I'll be
with you In three shakes. I'm only going to put a
spoke In Judith's wheel. I've got a scheme!"
As for his scheme he had none other than to
give them battle, to sacrifice himself If need be,
to make sure the escape of Rose.
Sheer luck smiled on htm to thla extent that In
stout, three-inch scanning: an excellently formid
able club.
But soon, disarmed, his case was desperste
and there were two already safe upon the dock and
others madly scrambling up to re-enforce them.
Wildly cast about for some substitute weapon,
be leaped toward a smsll pyramid of little but
heavy kegs, and seizing one, swung it overhead
and cast it full force Into the midriff of his near
est enemy; so that this one doubled up convulsive
ly, with a sicklsh grunt, and vanished In turn over
the end of the wharf.
His fellow followed with less Injury. But Alan
had no time to wonder whether the man had
tripped and thrown himself. In his effort to escape
a second hurtling keg, or bad turned coward and
fled. It was enough that he had returned, pre
cipitately and heavily, to the schooner.
The keg, meeting with no resistance, pursued
him even to the deck, where the force of Its 1m-
part split Its seams.
None of the combatants, however, Alan least of
all, noticed that the powder that filtered out was
black and coarse. Alan, indeed, had only the
haziest notion that they were powder-kegs he used
as ammunition. That they were heavy and hurt
when they collided with human flesh and bone was
all that interested him.
In the same breath he heard a friendly voice
shout warning far up the dock, and knew that
Barcus was coming to his aid.
A glance over-shoulder, too, discovered the cause
ef the warning: two men who had thus far es
caped his attentions and who were maneuvering
to fall upon him from hshlnd. The bound required
to evade them brought him face to face with
Judith as she landed on the dock.
"Oh," she cried. "I hate you. I hate you!"
"So, you've said, my dear, but"
His final words were not audible even to him
self. In his confidence (now that Barcus was tak
ing care of the others) and his impatience with
the woman, and in his perhaps unworthy wish to
demonstrate conclusively how cheap he held her,
Alan bad tossed the pistol over the end of the
wharf.
It was an old-fashioned weapon, and the force
with which It struck the deck released the ham
mer. Instantly the .44 cartridge blazed into the open
head of a broken powder keg.
And with a roar like the Trump of Doom and a
mighty gust of flame and smoke, the decks of
the schooner were riven and shattered; her masts
tottered and fell . . .
IV ANTICLIMAX.
Alan came to himself supported by Barcus his
senses still reeling from the concussion of that
thunderbolt which he had so unwittingly loosed
the cloud of sulphurous smoke not yet dissipated
by the wind.
Judith lay at his feet, stunned," and round about
other figures of men insensible, if not, for all he
could say, dead.
And then Barcus was hustling him unceremo
niously down the wharf.
"Come! Come!" he rallied Alan. "Pull your
self together and keep a stiff upper Hp. Rose Is
waiting In the car, and If you don't want to be
arrested, you'll stir your stumps, my son! That
explosion is going to bring the worthy burghers of
New Bedford buzzing round our ears like a swarm
of hornets!"
His prediction was Justified even before It was
made: already the nearby dwellings were vomiting
half-clothed humanity; already a score of people
were galloping down toward the head of the wharf;
and in their number a policeman appeared aa If
by magic.
And while the man hesitated, Alan grabbed him
by the shoulder, threw him bodily from the car,
dropped Into his seat, cried a warning to Rose,
and threw in the clutch. The machine responded
without a Jar: they were a hundred feet distant
from the scene of the accident before Alan waa
fairly settled In his place.
Tet his congratulations were premature: they
were not ten minutes out of the envlrona of the
city when Rose left her seat and knelt behind
his, to communicate the Intelligence that they
were already being pursued.
A heavy touring car, she said It was, driven
by a man, a woman in the seat by his side
Judith the latter, the man an old employe of her
father's by the name of Marrophat
Marrophat!
Alan remembered that one.
He could only trust In his skill as a driver:
and skill Is the lesser factor In such a race.
As they approached at express speed the stretch
where the road paralleled the tracks Alan sought
to hug the left hand side of the road, but In vain.
He heard the far hoot-toot of a freight loco
motive . . .
The sun swung In the heavens like a ball on a
string. There was a crash, a roar . , .There,
was nothing oblivion . . .
The car had turned turtle, pinning Rose and
Alan beneath it. . . .
"Alan!" she gasped. "You are not killed?"
"No not even much hurt, I fancy," he replied.
"And you?"
"Not much"
The deep-throated roar of the locomotive bel
lowing danger silenced him. He closed his eyes.
Then abruptly the weight was lifted from his
chest. He saw a man dragging Rose from under
the machine, and saw that the man was Marro
phat. And almost immediately someone lifted his
head and shoulders, caught him with two hands
beneath his arm pits, and drew him clear of the
machine.
And the face of his rescuer was the face of
Judith Trine.
"Well. If you must know it's true. I can't bring
myself to kill you. I would to God I could. But I
I can t. ... For all that, you shall die I
could not save you If I would! And this I promise
you: you shall never see Rose again before you
die!"
And while he stood gsplng, she swung from
him and ran, quickly covering the little distance
between him and the car.
As she Jumped into this and dropped down upon
the seat beside her half-conscious sister, Marro
phat swung the car away.
It vanished in a dust-cloud as a throng of rail
road employees surrounded and assailed him with
clamorous questions.
END OF CRACK O' DOOSI.
(To be continued.)
t