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THE WILMINCTO
.PAGE FIFTEEN
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THIRTEENTH EPISODE TTlan do otherwise? .They enjoyed the run amazing-
j John Burton, a worker In a steel mill, suddenly Inherit
Vv English title and $10,000,000. He decides he will spend
fills life, if necessary, In an attempt to solve the Question
;-ts Humanity in the Grip of Evil?" Each episode of
'this series forms a distinct story In itself depictlne his
jrxperiences in his search for the truth.
Circumstantial Evidence.
Temptation.
' No one who knew Grace Coe could doubt that she
was really and truly In earnest, so it was all the
imore singular that ber father, though not misjudg
ing ber character, should be a confirmed skeptic as
to the succe33of her philanthropic schemes. Per
haps the caution necessary In handling and safe
guarding large sums of money belonging to other
people tends to weaken a banker's faith in human
nature.
Nor was the girl helped by the actions of her
brother, George, whose folly, even more than his
-willful extravagance, plagued his father sorely.
I The Spint of Evil usually carries a full quiver,
and more than, one vicious shaft lacerated Mr. Henry
Goe s skin the unhappy day which commenced in
auspiciously when he was visited by his son soon
after the bank opened its doors.
The young man entered his father's private room
with a cheerful personal inquiry which fell alto
gether short of its object. ' ,
"Well, dad," he cried, affecting an air of boisterous
good-humor, "I hope you're feeling fine an' dandy
this morning? You ought to. Stocks seem to be
join' strong." ; t
"How much?" inquired the banker dryly.
Hp suspected the motive of this unusual solicitude
iox his well-being.
However, seeing there was no help for it, George
tackled the situation with some show of bravado.
"If youimtnt that w$y, dad," he said jauntily, "I
may as well own up at once. I'm in a bit of a hole
this time, andvant quite a stack. If only you will
see me clear today I'll promise "
"I shall never again trust any promise of yours !"
bioke in his father. "You need not trouble to give
;;:e details!" he went on, seeing that George was
r.ervously fingering a thick pile of accounts. "I have
.'-;ade up my mind how to treat you in the future.
You will receive a monthly allowance. Since you
;vc under no living expenses while you remain un-C.i-r
my roof, and are worse than useless in this office,
1 have decided to pay yoTroTjO a month to clear out
oi the business. This sum is more than sufficient
to enable you to mix in the society which I approve
of. It will be credited to your account on the first
cf each month. Today, as a final concession, I will
s'ake you with a month's allowance in advance.
. No! Protests are of no avail, and If you look
00 sulky I warn you that the payments may be re
duced by one-half."
Young Coe was flabbergasted, but had the sense
io realize that his father was talking in deadly earn
est, for the time being, at any rate.
That same morning Grace Coe was trying to per
suade Burton thatjiumanity was not in the Grip of
Evil never had been and never would be. Her
fine eyes lit with enthusiasm as she spoke, and the
tenth marquis of Castleton despite some years of
disillusionment-found it hard to resist the girl's
pleading.
In view of subsequent events, It should be conced
ed to both that they had not the slightest reason to
suspect the campaign of vengeance inaugurated by
the "Hell-cats." The police believed that that crim
5nal organization had been thoroughly disrupted by
the raid. It was true that neither its leader a
wretched hag known as "Mother Flannigan," nor its
most noted member, "Two-Gun Jake," had been cap
ered. But the gang was broken up and its mem
bers scattered. Mother Flannigan's whereabouts
were not even known, and Jake's accustomed haunts
were no longer enlivened by his swaggering pres
ence. The authorities were woefully mistaken, however.
The "Hell-cats" were not minded to take defeat so
easily, and their -murderous plans, though foiled
once, were" soon renewed.
Grace Coa was hardly to blame if she was blind
to the shadow of impending disaster. v
"I am sure you are mistaken, Mr. Burton," she'
said sweetly. "You must learn to think right. Im
plicit trust in mankind is the first onward step along
the road to Redemption.
"Tou must not imagine that no progress is made
in the work of regeneration merely because you have
met with failures on the way," she urged, laying an
impulsive hand on his arm. "Time and again have I
been saddened by relapses among my own people in
the settlement. Yet you would be surprised if you
realized what patient faith can accomplish. Those
who have stumbled have come back again.
"Look at Bill Reilly's case! And Blanche Grif
fins ! The man was a daring burglar, yet he resist
ed temptation whenhis former associates could have
extracted a fortune from you. And picture what it
means to the girl to abandon forever the glare and
glitter of the night clubs.
"Come with me, Mr. Burton. I will submit two of
my waifs to a severe test. It may be cruel, but if
they survive it they will benefit, while your cynicism
will sustain a heavy shock."
' John protested that he was by no means cynical,
but Grace laughingly held to her purpose. She un
locked a drawer in the desk at which she was sit
ting, and took out a roll of currency notes. She
counted the money, which amounted to quite a large
sum. Then, halving it, she placed one-half on the
desk and pocketed the remainder.
Crooking a finger at John, she led him into the
outer hall, where Bill Reilly and Blanche happened
to be seated at the moment.
"Sir. Burton and I are going out," she said to her
proteges. "We shall be away a couple of hours, or
longer. If you two have nothing better to do, you
might take care of the office until I return."
Blanche and her companion rose at once. In such
a matter Miss Coe's request was practically equiva
lent to a command.
"Where are we going?" inquired John, when Grace
and he were out of earshot.
"For a spin in your car," she answered gayly.
"But is it wise to leave so much money on your
table? There must have been nearly two thousand
dollars in the pile. Is it even fair to tempt those
people in that way?"
"If I am wrong," came the earnest answer, "1 shall
suffer the loss with resignation, and you will be
strongly intrenched in the position of the superior
male who can say 'I told you so.' Meanwhile, let us
forget these problems for at least forty miles."
John fell in with her mood. How might any young
aj, nuu some miracle, contrived to talk lightly
of that great world which both had seen through
such very different-spectacles. They were-absent
a good deal longer than the two hours stipulated for,
but, when they came back, found Bill Reilly and
Blanche Griffin seated in the office. Each' was ap
parently absorbed in a book, and the pile of bills
lay untouched on the table.
Grace chatted with herhumble friends for some '
time before she affected to discover the money with
astonishment.
"How careless of me to leave those notes on the
table!" she cried. "Why, if you two hadn't been
here someone might have crept in and walked off
with the lot !"
John, of course, gave her all the credit she de
manded, but, in his heart of hearts, he knew full well
that Evil was still rampant. Not,without good cause
was it written that "many are called, but few are
chosen."
It was peculiar, almost an unfortunate coincidence
that the girl's artless maneuver should have suc
ceeded in the very hour when the forces of mischief
were gathering within a short half-mile of the set
tlement building. "Mother" Flannigan and her chief,
henchman were even then perfecting a plot which
would place Burton in greater peril than he had ever
before encountered during his adventurous life,
while George Coe was unconsciously assisting In its
development.
( The young.man had gone straight from his father's
office to the flat in- which he had installed Virginia
Griffin, Blanche's sister. This girl was primarily
responsible for his financial embarrassment. She .
was somewhat prettier and younger than Blanche,
and her demands for money, jewelry, clothing, and
all the varied fripperies of a fashionable existence
were quite merciless in their frequency and extent.
Moreover, she did riot possess the saving quality of
a genuine affection for the man whom she was help
ing to ruin. In her own phrase, George Coe was a
"dub."
At the instant his familiar ring was heard on the
electric bell she was describing him to Two-Gun
Jake as "that poor boob who has gone to try and
skin a few more notes off his father's wad."
"Huh !" she cried, when the two were startled by
the sound of the bell. "Here he comes now I He
mustn't find you on the mat, Jake !"
"Don't care if he does," growled the gangster. "If
0
1 Virginia at First Sneered at Her Sister.
2 Burton Had His Hand on the Doorknob.
3 "I Closed With Him and Tried to Get the Pistol
Away."
4 A Note of Terror Crept Into Her Voice.
that sister of his keeps on reformin' the crowd,
there'll be none of us left soon. First Bill has gone,
then Blanche. You'll be the next, I suppose?"
"Sometimes you get me that mad, Jake, I want to
shake you!" muttered the girl, seizing him and
thrusting him forcibly into a closet, which she
locked. Then she ran to the door and opened it.
George Coe, however, was not quite such a fool
as Blanche deemed him. He noticed instantly that
there were two liquor glasses on-the table.
"Hello!" he said, glancing around suspiciously;
"who's your friend? Is he here with you now?"
"Oh ! chuck that jealousy stuff," cried Blanche.
"I'm fed up with it. I'm too worried this morning
to argue. Have you brought the money? that's the
only thing I want to hear about."
"Guess that's so," came the sullen comment. "You
don't care a cent for me." ,
But'I do, George, really," she protested, flinging
her arms around him in mock abandon. "You know
I do. All the same, bills have got to be paid, and I
can't find money growing on trees."
""Neither can I," muttered Coe, extricating himself
from her embrace none too graciously. "The old
man has turned rusty at last. Goin' to allow me
five hundred a month. What do you know about
that?"
"What do I know about it, indeed?" shrilled the
girl. "Five hundred ! And if I don't pay up five
thousand before the end of the week those devils at
the stores an' the garage will .clean out every stick
in the place an' sell the car. Now just listen to me,
George Coe. No matter what happens afterward,
you've got to find this little lot right away."
"I tell you I can't do it," said' George doggedly.
"My father Won't give it to me, and no one will lend
me a dime, and I can't even steal it,' because I am
turned out of the bank." -
Virginia began railing at him through a storm of
tears. She would soon have , been in .hysterics, but
an unforeseen diversion came from Jake, who un
ceremoniously burst the frail lock of the" closet arid
bounced into the room.
George Coe, who was no coward, would have
tackled him then and there, but the gunman leveled
a wicked-looking automatic pistol at his breast.
"You stand just where you are, Mr. Coe," scowled
Jake, "or I'll drill a hole through you. When you've
got your breath back, an' your heart stops jumpin',
pick up that telephone an' tell your sister t;o bring
the money here. She's got it, and you've got to have
it, and so have we, and that's all there is to it."
George C6es normally red face grew sallow. He
was well aware "of Jake's bad reputation.
;p J L j V ,rr 1 )h' a:r copyright,"! 9 1 6,"jy" iwis tracy' iTj
Author of "The Wings of the Morning," "The Pillar of Light," "The Terms? of Surrender." aNurnber"17?Etc.;
"What if I refuse to comply?" he murmured thickly.
"Refuse, you mutt ! Beat it to the 'phone before
I count-four. One ! Two! Three ! "
A Useless Sacrifice.
Still chattering aimlessly about matters of no im
port her object being to dissipate any notion in the
minds of her assistants that she had purposely put
a strain on .their loyalty Grace Coe was replacing
the bundle of notes in a drawer of the roll-top desk
when a telephone on, the table clanged insistently.
Blanche happened to be nearest the instrument, and
answered the "call. She handed the receiver to
Grace.
"Your brother wants a word with you, Miss Coe,"
she announced.
Silence reigned in the room while Grace listened.
Graces eyes were dilated with fear, and a note of
terror crept into her voice as she turned from the
instrument.
"My brother, is. in some trouble. He says he has
been Injured. He asks me to come at once."
Now, in the quick turmoil of the moment, Burton
might have: hurried the distraught girl to the wait
ing automobile without another spoken word, but
his downright temperament called for full knowledge
before he acted.
"Is your brother at your home, Miss Coe?" he
asked.
"No, no; he gave me a strange address. He is
in someone's apartment at 425 Olive street."
Blanche Griffin, who had started to her feet at
the first mention of George Coe's name, seemed to
shrink at hearing the address.
"425 Olive street!" she repeated in a dazed way.
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"Did Mr.. Coe mention the number of the apart
ment?" . v
"Yes thirty-four," said Grace.
"Why, tha is where my sister lires!" quavered
the other.
"Your sister !" broke in Reilly, and there was that
in his voice which, drew a critical look from Bur
ton. "Look here, miss," went on the ex-convict, grave
ly, "it's --an unpleasant tiling, and I'm sorry for
Blanche, but you've got to know the facts before you
stir out of this house. - Your own brother has rented
'and furnished . that apartment for Virginia Griffin,
and she is in with the Hell-cats hand and glove."
"But he spoke to me himself," wailed the girl
frantically. "Surely I know my brother's voice?
Arid I am certain he is hurt. The way, he spoke
convinces me of that."
Then Burton took the lead in. his masterful way.
,"0f course you must go," he said; "but there is.
no reason on earth why we should not accompany
you."
Olive street lay in the immediate neighborhood,
and the swift automobile brought them thither in
a couple of minuted. Blanche knew that her sister's
apartment was on the third floor.
She sped swiftly up tfte stairs and herself rang
the electric bell. Without waiting for the door to
be opened she rapped loudly on the panel.
A pistol shofTbarked from the interior. The omi
nous report might almost have been an answer to
her summons. Burton and Reilly how stepped in
front of the two women and the former again
knocked loudly. Burton had his hand on the doorknob
and his shoulder against the stout frame, meaning
to force the lock, when the door opened in his face
and Virginia Grifiin, pallid and tear-stained, and evi-
dently on the verge of collapse,' appeared only to re
coil immediately when she saw so many unexpected
.visitors. j . .
"Oh, for God's sake," she whimpered, "don't make
a fuss, or send-for the police! Mr. Coe has shot
Two-Gun Jake !"
The men rushed in, followedby the others, and
' the first sight that met their eyes was the gunman
lying on his back on the floor, white George Coe,
wild-eyed and excitedrwas bending over him. The
young man still flourished an automatic pistol in" his
right hand, and Bill Reilly.i inured to such scenes
of violence, fancied he meant administering the coup
de grace to his fallen adversary. Without further
ado, therefore, he caught Coe's wrist and took the
weapon from him. .
But the victor in the struggle did not resist at all.
His fingers were absolutely nerveless, arid his whole
body shook as though he had been stricken by a
palsy,
"Don't you make any mistake about this affair,
you folk," he said, speaking with a passionate ve
hemence that carried conviction. "This fellow held
me up. He forced me to 'phone you, Grace. Black
mail or murder that's what he was after. Played
me for a poor sucker, too, who couldn't do a thing.
But I fooled him. Taking a chance, I closed with
him and tried to get the pistol away. It went off
accidentally. I swear to God it wasn't my fault!"
Burton, who had missed no word of Coe's heated
explanation, had meanwhile lifted the injured man
to a couch and was searching for the wound. He
quickly determined that the missile was still
lodged in the man's body, and every indication
pointed to the reasonable hypothesis that it ,had
probably struck and fractured the shoulderblade.
If that were so, Jake was in no immediate danger
and a skilled surgeon would soon perform a satis
factory operation.
The chance, however, that an overt scancTal might
be avoided was dispelled by the appearance of a
policeman, over whose shoulder peered the anxious
faces of many other residents In the block of apart
ments. The sharp snarl of the automatic had
reached many ears and the affair had now passed
into the hands of the law. A second policeman ar
rived quick on the heels of his brother officer, and
the two promptly" took charge of those whom they
found in the room, barring out gapers behind the
locked and bolted door.
"Now, what's all this about?" demanded the senior
of the two officers, eyeing the mixed group and the
injured man in a comprehensive glance which told
mm
very plainly that he would tolerate no nonsense.
George Coe was breaking into a stunrtrting speech,
when Virginia Griffin essayed an explanation in his
stead.
"There was a row," she wept. "Nobody meant any
real mischief., It was just "
Bill Reilly thrust her aside almost roughly.
"What's the use o' tryin' to humbug a cop who
knows his business?" he said, with a species of grim
humor which was grewsome in face of this tragedy.
"Jake an' me settled an old score. I grabbed his
gun, an' shot him. He drew on me first, but I was
a bit quicker'n him at the game. That's all there is
to it."
The three women were literally spellbound by this
amazing statement, but Burton, who had seen & good
deal of Reilly during the preceding fortnight,-and
had come to like the man, realized that some solid
and well-conceived purpose lay behind that plausible
lie. Therefore, he did not interfere, and even re
strained George Coe, who, after the first moment of
stupefied astonishment had passed, was evidently
minded to deny Reilly's version of the shooting. The
police, of course, took the situation literally.
"Which of you people were present while the fight
was on?" inquired the senior patrolman, producing
a notebook.
"Is it necssary that our statements should be
taken down now?" demanded Burton.
"You can please yourself," said the policeman. "If
you don't choose to clear the air by telling the facts,
we'll hold the lot of you. There's such a thing in
law, you know, as being an accessory before the
fact."
. A welcome break was supplied by the coming of
an ambulance and a police surgeon.
"Tliis fellow is only blooded a little," he said,
curtly. .
Burton and Coe, with Grace, were soon accom
panying Bill Reilly to the station house, where he
was promptly liberated on bail, and Blanche' Griffin
was left with her nearly distracted sister.
Blanche tried to comfort Virginia, but the latter
sought solace in whisky. Blanche resolved Lo remain
with her and when opportunity offered emptied the
whisky bottle in the sink. Virginia, deprived of the
stimulant, wandered restlessly about her apartment.
She was afraid to go out, as she feared the police
might arrest her as a witness of the shooting affray.
Mr. Henry Coe was probably surprised during din
ner by the hangdog demeanor of his son and the
somewhat subdued attitude of a distinctly self
willed daughter.
The storm broke next morning at the breakfast
table, when his furious glance dwelt on the scare
heads of a newspaper article describing the shooting
affray.
BILL REILLY, REFORMED CONVICT, CON
FESSES TO SHOOTING GANGSTER GRACE
COE AND JOHN BURTON GO ON
HIS BAIL'
These sensational captions were more than borne
out by the text of the article. Coe's voice was thick
with fury when he sought his daughter.
"You are becoming a disgrace to your family,
he cried, profanely, smashing a clenched fist into
the newspaper crumpled up in the other hand. "This
sort of thing has to stop, and stop now.'
The man was incoherent with wrath, or he would
never have sworn in front of a daughter whom he
loved devotedly. He could not guess, of course, how1
acutely the girl's soul was harrowed by conflicting
emotions. For once she was tongue-tied, and tried
lame'ly to argue that if she would be consistent in
her endeavor to elevate humanity she must help,
those who depended on her.
Naturally, the irate man would not listen. He
insisted on complete and instant submission to his
will, and Grace was at her wits' end to obtain somo
sort of respite, since it was impossible that, she
could accede to his wishes on an utterly false pre
text. At that juncture her brother entered.
"This thing has gone far enough, sis," George said
firmly. "It's up to me to face the music. I did that
shooting, dad. I was several sorts of a fool, and
now I am ready to pay the price. But one thing you
ought to know and believe before I say another
word. I'm a soft-headed Idiot and a-wastrel, but I
am no criminal."
Disregarding Grace's tearful protests, he sur
prised even the angry banker by the quiet lucidity
with which he exposed tire strap laid for him by
Virginia Griffin and Two-Gun Jake. He did not
spare himself in the least degree. He did not so
much as strive to palliate his action In consenting
to wring the money out of his philanthropic sister.
When he had made an end, his father raged at
him so frenzledly that he turned and left the room,
taking literally the command that he should "clear
out forever and never again dare to show his face
in that house or city."
But the infuriated banker counted without his
daughter.
"Father," she said quietly, "Is George entirely at
fault? Did you bring him up in the right way?
Have you taught him to trust his fellowmen and re
vere womanhood? Has not every word and counsel
of yours warned him that humanity was prone to
evil? Can you blame him now if he believes you
and acts on the very principles you inculcated?"
Henry Coe could not have been more surprised
t one of his own office boys had ventured to lecture
him asto the investment of his money, and pointed
out the inherent rottenness of certain great cor
porations which bulk large in the financial world.
At any . rate, he calmed down sufficiently that he was
willing to listen. After a few minutes he even con
descended to send a servant after his son with a
message that he was to come back and await the
banker's return after "office hours.
The next morning when Blanche Griffin was leav
ing her sister to go to the settlement house, which
was under the charge of Grace Coe, Virginia con
fessed to her some of the plans of the Hell-cats.
"They got it in for Burton, and they have made
a plan to kidnap him and either take their vengeance
on him or hold him for ransom," said Virginia.
Blanche, surprised at this Information, ,lost no
time in rushing to the settlement house. She wished
to warn Grace Coe, because she thought Grace was
interested in John Burton, but not finding her there,
imparted her information to Bill- Reilly, who was
waiting the arrival of Miss Coe.
v Reilly was surprised . and decided that the best
way he could serve Burton was to again Join the
gang and find out their detailed plans, so that with
this information he might frustrate them.
He went-to a saloon in which he was certain to
find some members of the Hell-cats. A distortedver
sion of the row in Virginia's apartment had already
reached the gang and its members were not indis
posed to believe the story which Reilly put forwan,
namely, that he was bearing the brunt of the fray to
save Jake from prosecution for levying blackmail
and attempted murder. Incidentally, he tried to
make his one-time companions drunk, and affected
-to become more drunk than they.
"You see, boys," he confided to them, "though Jake
may be kept in the hospital, we can still get that
rich guy Burton, and also I've been laying my lines
to get my hooks on Grace doe's wealth. Take It
from me they both got the dough, and if we can't get
Grace Coe we certainly can get Burton."
"It's all right, Bill," leered one of the Hell-cats;
"while you and Jake were having that rough house
we fixed a plan to get Burton."
"Don't talk rot," snarled Reilly; "the guy was
along too."
"I don't mean that," hiccoughed the other; "it's
a scheme I'm talking about. Old Mother Flannigan
has got a plan whereby we can get him and we'll
let you in on it. Will you come with us?"
"Will a duck swim?" growled Bill.
Reilly and the Hell-cat members started for gang
headquarters.
In the meantime Burton had been to the settle
ment house and, not having seen Grace, decided to
go there again. As he was returning in his automo
bile he saw Reilly in the midst of the Hell-cats.
Holding humanity was in the grip of evil and being
unduly suspicious, Burton decided to see what the
gang was planning. Finding an opportunity he left
the machine and stepped Into a doorway, where he
was out of sight of the members of, the gang. As
fate would have it, as they were passing-the door
way, .they met another one of the Hell-cats, who
greeted Reilly, and Reilly in drunken friendliness ex
plained that his reform was all for the purpose of
finding means to get Grace Coe's wealth.
Burton, sorrowing at Reilly's downfall, and not
wishing to tell Grace of her misplaced confidence in
the man, returned to his home.
Reilly, as soon as he learned the plans of the HelN
cats, which were to go in a body to Burton's house
that night and kidnap him, left the other members
of the gang, telling them' he would show up at the
appointed meeting place and go with them. As soda
as it was safe he sneaked into a telephone booth
and, calling up police headquarters, warned them to
guard Burton's house that night, as the Hell-cats
planned to capture the titled rhultimllllonalre. arid
hold him for ransom.
That night when the Hell-cats sought to enter
Burton's estate they found a strong guard of police
in the grounds and, deeming discretion the better
part of valor, retreated as rapidly as they could arid
scattered in all directions. .
Burton, seated in his library dreaming of Grace
Coe, realized what a supreme disappointment it
would be to her to know that her supposedly re
formed assistant had relapsed into his former crim
inal ways and that all his reform was a sham, de
cided that Humanity is in the Grip of Evil.
(END OF THIRTEENTH EPISODE.) JJi;
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