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I THE GREAT SECRET
Novelized From the Metro Wonderpley
Serial of the Same Name, in Which Francis
. X. Bushman and Beverly Barn are Co-Stars
I BY J. M. LOUGHBOROUGH ,
i Author of tho NovUliotto (I Clj
- Roawsco." u
k-rt' i .' iim 1 ir.imiii'iiHi'it'iiii'iiiiti'i!iimt
CHAPTER I.
The Secret Seven.
"Good morning, Jane. How is the
patient?"
Jane Warren, the middle-aged, care
worn housekeeper for Multimillion
aire Thomas Clarke, trembled at the
question. Giving waj to a sudden
burst of emotion, she clinched her
lists and glared reproachfully st Dr.
Zlllnh
"You ought to know. You are the
ohvsician. she exclaimed. .
"Come, come," said Zulph, gazing
coldly yet earnestly at her with his
fishy eyes, "no anger. 1 know how to
, cure such a symptom in you, my good
woman. Understand right now tnat
you must obey my orders implicitly.
Jf you do not "
"You will expose something in my
life I have been trying to hide," in
terrupted Jane in a weary, faraway
tone "you and your Great Master
and your Secret Seven." Zulph re
coiled in amazement
"The less you say about the Great
Master and The Secret Seven the bet
ter off you will be," he thundered.
"Why shouldn't I speak of them to
you? replied Jane. "Haven't 1 been
in Mr. Clarke's home for years?
Haven't I seen you and the other vile
members of your organization come
and go? Don't 'I know that Mr.
Clarke is one of the brainiest of The
Secret Seven ; that most of his money
was piled up through crime "
"Ah," broke in Dr. Zulph, smiling
outwardly, but raging inwardly, and
resolving that Jane Warren should
follow Clarke on a journey to eternity.
"You know Clarke for what he really
is. He is now a very sick man."
"Yes," said Jane, "he is a sick man,
and you are a physician attending
him. Heaven help Thomas Clarke."
"And heaveri help Jane Warren,"
whispered Zulph, his face close to
hers, "Heaven help Jane Warren if
she doesn't do as I say. I have
brought a will here with me. I want
you to see that Thomas Clarke signs
, it Since you know so much about
' Iris affairs you probably know sick
oca always tell their troubles that,
by grace of what The Secret Seven
j In done for him, he has pledged
' JriraseU to leave all of his wealth to
' Tie Secret Seven."
' "I do," said Jane. "Better far if he
weald leave his money to poor Bev
erly Clarke, his niece, whose father
' his own brother he swindled. And
the girl is now living in poverty with
her mother."
"Thomas Clarke is going to keep
' his promise," sneered Zulph, fum
bling in his pockets and finally draw
ing forth a small bottle filled with a
dark liquid. "He will keep his prom
iseand he dies today. Jane, .you
have one of two things to do either
obey me and you will be rewarded
handsomely, or refuse to obey and
be punished. Refusal means ruin;
obedience means opulence. I want
you, as soon as I have departed, to
see that Mr. Clarke signs his will.
Then offer a toast to his health.
"In one of your glasses of wine
place two drops from this bottle. One
drop produces a prolonged sleep, two
drops kill. Let him drink of the
glass with two drops in it. I am
, going to a meeting of The Secret
Seven. You have my telephone
number. As soon as Thomas Clarke
has signed the will telephone me.
Then when he is dead poor man
telephone again."
Let alone, Jane pondered over her
frightful plight. Zulph was a pow
erful man in New York. He was of
that modem Jekyll and Hyde type
that grasps money and crushes all
opposition by fair means or foul in
one phase of life and is a smug, re
spected citizen in another. She
thought of going to the police and
exposing him. If she did he would
only bring about her undoing, for
Zulph had it in his power to blast her
whole life. And she had tried to live
down what she had done years ago.
Well, she was weak.. She knew it.
She took the will to ailing Thomasj
Clarke.
"A oen and ink," he said when he
saw it. "Quick! My heart I do
not believe I will live much longer.
Call Frederick!" Jane summoned
Frederick, the butler, and then de
livered the pen and ink. As she
reached the door of the room she
tamed and saw Clarke writing. He
was signing the will. She hurried to
the telephone.
Zulph at a meeting of the most ras
cally band of brainy criminals the
world ever saw received her message
and smilingly delivered it to The
Great Master. Tikis individual, keen
eyed, alert, well groomed, bore all the
outward marks of a prosperous busi
ness man.- For years he had directed
the operations of The Secret Seven,
a band that garnerd gold from every
avenue of crime.
Meantime Frederick, the butler, was
hastening to Beverly Clarke's home
on the outskirts of the city with the
note that meant millions to her. And
trailing the unsuspecting servant wa
a band of the most' villainous thugs
in New York. They were led by two
gun men who had taken a postgradu
ate course in the College of Crime
and who were familiarlv known as
- The Rat and the Spider. When Fred
erick entered the Clarke home the
two leaders posted their men around
it.
"Let's phone the Big Chief," sug
gested The Rat.
They did. The Great Master received
their' message and swore aloud at
Dr. Zulph.
' "What was it?" the physician asked.
"It was a report from The Spider,"
he replied. "You yourself should have
put Clarke out of the way. He 'lias
sent for Beverly. It is plain to me
that when Jane Warren thought he
was signing that will he was writing
a note to Bcverlv'Clarke." j
"What of our two squads?" asked
Zulph in alarm.
"They will kidnap the girl," replied
NivnmmiiMiuiHaiiiHiflM.
FftcVi phgp, Hr Stotor,"
oOmt okort ttaria.
"Hi. Backdoor -
the leader, now regaining control of
himself and smoothing his closely
cropped mustache with his long, wiry
Angers. "Now let's proceed with the
regular reports.
And o while the reports were be
ing ncara, wmiam Montgomery
Strong, handsome, stylish, wealthy,
was driving his tandem on the out
skirts of the eity straight into one of
the greatest secrets of The Secret
Seven.
Strong was a youth who had lived
for innocent pleasure and let the rest
of the world take care of itself. On
this particular day the sun caressed
him from a cloudlets sky, and the
great out of doors sang nature's
sweetest song to him. Straightway
he became a child of the singer. Turn
ing the reins over to his flunky, he
told him to drive back to the club,
while he set out for a cross country
run.
He had covered half a mile when
a flash of something strange caused
him to halt abruptly. He saw three
men dart from1" a roadway into a
stretch of woods, and he was sure
that he glimpsed a woman's skirt be
tween them. Inclination told him to
mind bis own business, but instinct
said that something was wrong. He
gazed intently toward the woods,
every sense alert, until, he heard a
muffled cry of distress.
He ran toward a ramshackle house
in the woods and tried the door. It
yielded. He Stepped inside to find
The Spider, The Rat and a third
gangster holding Beverly Clarke.
Strong felt that he was one good
man against three. One shot his
right, and down fell one man. Next
The Rat crumpled up under a blow
from his left, and he gathered The
Spider in his arms and tossed him
thiough a window. Then he turned
to the hysterical girl.
"Run!" he urged. "Follow me!" She
did. Thev fled to the woods. In the
distance they saw an abandoned
barn. They made for it entered and
barred the door. The three kidnaners.
now reinforced by their entire band,
surrounded it Unable to batter their
way in, they pot dynamite under the I
structure and scurried for safety.
strong saw tne smoke trom the sout-
terine fuse. Lifting the girt in his
arms, he swung through the window,
and both reached the shelter of a
huge tree just as a tremendous ex
plosion shook the nlaee.
The gangsters came forward and
dug through the wreckage, expecting
to find two bodies. Soon they, real
ised that their victim and her rescuer
had escaped, and they began another
hunt through the woods. One of
them, pistol in hand, ran full upon
Strong and the girl. The clubman dis
armed him and, seeing the other gang
sters approaching, called to .her to
flee. As she ran toward a roadway
The Rat scampered after her.
"Now," yelled Strong, "it's a bunch
against one! And I've got the drop
on you. What are you going to do
about it?"
(End Chapter I.)
Movie Notes
Jake Mitchell, local Btanagwr etf tin Uni
versal Film rompany, ibti many ntmor
have Immi hear l&twly about Carl Tjaemmle
and Pat Powora toa'tnt thia company and
formlnr a company of (heir m, He nays
h I no in receipt of Information to the.
offer t that Carl LA-mtnln to atill president
of th Universal Film company and ei
ppcta to be tor many year to rome.
W. O. Jtnaen, owner of t.he Ixtthrop thea
ter, thousht that by Roioc to Florida thla
winter and ralaiog oabbace ha would have,
the Laugh on the poopla who vera In cold
Nebraska- A port card haa juat baerh re
ceived from htra aaylnc that they have Jimt
had the hardoat treeae. there hi twenty
year-. Proving that "he who laughs last.
It ugh bout."
The Supreme Pleasure of
Hospitality
await Ihosa who entertain their guentu Henrath
our roof
For what more drltghtfal prtwtwct an thf hot
and hneitMS oontmpIat than that of a well tniind
and efffricnk corn of norvantH who may Off de
pended nnon to fcrapnlotisly attend to all of the
many detail incident to the comfort and con
venienre of their mieaU.
The entire eighth floor of ttti PHirVsfone irith jl
reception, lounging and party rnonift, its roof gar
den and hall rm i adaptable to any variety of
social entertainment
I Anyone eontemplRHng an entertainment in mr- H
dlaliy invited to lotne and fnapect the mnni do- jj
liffhtfoJ of Omaha' indoor play ground, and learn
of the proriatonii we have made to make horipitalily, I
aa diaponaed and received henath our roof, deliahl- U
fully plaaaant and aromable for hoat and boitaaii I
- aod rueata alike. -II
C . . ' D
I THE BLACKSTONE HOTEL n 1
Hirney 945.
Rose Tapley in Novelty
llffiT 'ill BEVERLY VAYNC
jRose TAPZJZY
Movie fans have seen Miss Rose
Tapley, the well-loved "big sister" of
the Vitagraph studios, in ever, so many
big features and comedies, but did
you ever think that you would be
so lucky that some day you would
have the pleasure of seeing her in
person? Well, you will be able to
see her own sweet self in person at
the Mue next Sunday. February 18.
when she will bring with her a one
reel picture entitled "From Script to
Screen," showing the development of
a photoplay from the acceptance of
the manuscriDt to its final exhibition
in the theater. This picture takes the
spectator through every phase of pho
toplay construction. It will also give
a score of. "behind the scenes" views
of Vitagraph favorites at work and
at play, including Anita Stewart, An
tonio Mareno, fcdith Storev. Earle
Williams, Liliian Walker, Alice Joyce,
Peggy Highland, Harry Morey, E, H.
Sothern and others. This picture will
be shown in conjunction with the
talks Miss Tapley will deliver at the
Muse theater.
Japanese Fighting British
Uniform Wins the Medal:
(CerrepoD4eiKo of The AaBoclktad Prtw.)
London, Tan. 20. The British
Unedal has just been awarded to a
Japanese, Private Harry Ohara, who
has worn the British uniform on the
western front since the outbreak of
tile war, and who has seen so much
hard fighting that he has seventy
scars. He has been in the hospital
six times, the last time with twenty
shrapnel wounds.
Ohara entered the army with the
Sikhs, being taken for an Indian by
the recruiting officer. Later he
fought as a member of a Middlesex
regiment, and now, having earned his
discharge, he expects to enlist in the
flying corps. (
More Danger in Britain
For Babies Than Soldiers
(Corrtftpondanet of Th Anoclattd pn.)
London, Jan. 27. "Reckoning
deaths, it is more dangerous in Great
Britain to be a babv at home than it
is to be an infantryman serving a year I
in r ranee, according to a report
on vital statisics. And this is how
he proves it: "Of 100 possible births
ten are lost in advance. Of the re
maining 90. each of which tills a
cradle, fifteen are (lead by the end
of the first year. ' In other words out
of 100 children who ought to be cele
brating their first birthday at this
present date, tweny-five have Itlt us
prematurely or in earliest infancy."
I
i
1 1 -11 .IE
m
Coming Tuesday and
FRANCIS X.
BUSH MAI
re at
m
Written by
Zulph,
Dr
v
Start With Reading the 1st Chapter--"The Secret Seven"--in The Bee Today
See the Pictures Tuesday and Wednesday
A New Chapter of This Wonderful S erial Every Week for Fifteen Weeks
Thit it just the serial Omaha fans have been
looking for. It has the punch. It has the story.
It has the direction. It has the actors.
COULD WE SAY MORE?
I 1 ajjjfl THERE'S A PLACE FOR "U" IN THE priwyja ' j
S . Feature ; 1 H rt ' j
fc" li Concerts'
IGRAND THEATER, 'The Great Secret" SSSSg Feb. 19th
Apollo Theater "The
LOTHROP
Fred de Gressac Adapted and Directed by WChristy Cab&nnc
all motion picture serial drama the most
intense, of all mysteries tht dUijest.
the Arch-Conaptrator,
THEATER, "The Great Secret" 11
DtAiraar.BUSHtwt
Wednesday, Feb. 13-14
BEVERLY
and BAYNE
Strang (Bushman) for the Sicrtt Svi'
For months you have not seen Bushman and
Bayne in a new play. Now they come together
in the greatest screen offering of their careers.
WILL YOU SEE THEM?
Great Secret" JLS
ESS
.- asaj
Troubles