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Vaxe Fif(J v y' " TIIE KINSTON FREE PRESS - ' ' i I" SYNOPSIS. Tudor a left an orphan at an early . tier father la killed in a gotd wine. Kudora and the fortune from the mine. wMch grows to be worth taxoalOOOi are left In the guardianship of Frank Keen kijtora's mother's fcrotber. Zudora, aiv h,3 promise of fnot beauty, reach the aaa of eighteen. The uncle, who baa aet himself tie aa a Hindu myetlo and la known as Hassam All. decides that Zu dora must die before she can have a chance to eome Into possession of ber money, se thst It may be left to him, the neat of kin. Haasam All aeea an obstacle to his scheme In the , person of John Storm, a you on lawyer, for whom Zu- dore haa taken a fancy, and he com mands the girl to put the man out of ber mind. Zudora Insists that If she cannot marry Btorm aha will marry no one. ' "Well, well," eays Hassam All, "If yoo take such a stand I'll compromise. Solve my neit twenty cases and you can marry 1 him; fall In a single case and you must renounce hlra." . - -, . Zudora, using the knowledge gained from years of association with ber uncle, unravels a baffling mystery and wins ber , first case a case in which John Storm la r saved from being convicted of a murder Instigated by Hsssara All himself. ' ' Zudora and Hassam All visit Nabok Shan's house, where sleep overcomes ev - ery one whenever Nabok attempts to mar ry a princess. Btorm, seeking Zudora, Is made a prisoner,. Zudora foils . Nabok Bhan, restores the princess to her original ;"5 lover and saves Storm from death. A maker of diamonds tells Hassam All ill secret. Storm informs Zudora .that hls life Is being attempted frequently. Stores surpects Hassam All. Btorm is arrested for stealing the diamond maker's ems. DU( auubh - thieves a pair of mica . The 'negro help employed on Storm's ' father's farm are fleeing because a great . skeleton hand appears at nlgbt upon a bill near by. Storm la baffled in his In ,1' vestlgatlon, but Zudora learns that her . unole has employed Jimmy Bolton, a half wltted man, thus to annoy Storm's par- ' ents. Zudora finds Bolton operating a big magic lantern and Is attacked by ' ' him.' Storm opportunely appears and saves v . per from 3ol ton. - r ( " Hassam All asks Zudora to find a gem ) vloet by two mysterious old men. Zudora gets a photograph of the gem and It burns In ber hand. An old house Is mined by J. jLsHasaam AU and the old men. Storm and Zudora' are lured there and narrowly es ape destruction when the house blows up. - John McWlnter. endeavoring to trap and kill George Smith, la killed himself, and Smith is charged with murder. Hassam All conspires to nave John Storm meet the same fate as McWlnter, and be and Storm are overcome by powerful fumes. Zudora savea them, proves that McWln ter'a own dog trapped and killed him and saves Smith from a band of lynchers. An inventor blows up a submarine with a powerful heat ray which he sends. .1 ..,1. n.Dm all ,mi Pu.lAmJ to a photographer directly beneath the In ventora laboratory and orders the in-l ventor to kill ber. Zudora gets a warning, and ber life la saved. The heat ray ma chine Is destroyed, and the photographer, iftnr a. ouarrel with Haasam AIL is found dead In the river., !..". : Wa Chang prevents Zudora's elopement with John Storm by hypnotizing her, and be and Hassam All attempt to smuggle her out of the country. This plot Is frus-J trated by Storm. ' ''': .' ; ;A; v I Balrd. .Hassam Alls double, falls In1 love with Zudora. Bttlrd and Mma. Du' Val kidnap . Zudora and the Van Wick child. Storm rescues them, and Hassam All die. ;ir-V:."'i; :-.;:: With Hassam All dead Zudora la releas ed of her pledge to solve twenty cases. She confronts, however, the greatest mys tery of all, which is the mystery of her own life, and the ambition to secure the vast fortune of $20,000,000 left to her. Her; remarkable adventures will be portrayed by Harold Macdrath In the succeeding ' chapters. This photo serial la being shown1 in the leading moving picture theaters byj the Thanbouaer Film Corporation. Among thna nnrtl1rnMnd lln.n..,lt. onA, t Mary Elizabeth Forbes, James Cruse, in the new role of reporter-hero, Sidney, urscey ana VranK Farringtun, H 1 CHAPTER X. . - Gentlemen Crooks and the Lady. r ASSAM ALI. Or, to give blni his real name, Frank Keene,1 died suddenly. Balrd. bis dou- Die, appreciating that the end was at hand, left tbe house by a secret exit taking with him only such things as belonged to him. When the Hindu servnnt notifled Zudora thatber uncle was dead she could not believe It, and one look at tbe dead man was enough to convince her that there was some thing . extremely mysterious in th ,rt. '-""V-'' 1 v.'. She Dragged the Old Trunk Out Into -the Center of the Room. change.' The n.nssam AU she had seen few days Past had not looked til bat this corpse was mute evidence of a long and desperate illness. But she never solved this puzzle; she was nev er given the toe to. That night the bouse caught Ore, and very few things were saved. One dtiy shortly after the tire she drag-swj the battered old trunk out into the center of t!ie room and proceeded M explore its contents. The first things sue (sine across were her mother's old t-Irctis cosrtimes. and she sat dreimlnp about them for some time. A knock tbe dor aroused ber. "Com in." Btorm entered with a bouquet -vu, now pretty: w.it nutil I nut' them into a vase. , There! Flowers aU ways make a room look coiler." . I "And what's eohig on herer asked John, pointing to the trunk. : .. "Why. John, that trunk la about the , only thing they rescued from the bouse. Do yon fcnow. I'm happier In this room than 1 have been In years, Unci? FTauk was always cold and repellents no gusi wouiun c let me love him." . "Good riddance of bad rubbish! "Why. Jobn Storm!" I don't care. I'm positive of the ract mat he attempted to make way with both of us half a dosen times. ' And I'm equally again positive that be was band in glove with some of the most dangerous criminals In the coun try. well, as you aay, he's dead. But , . . ' "Good riddance of bad rubbish." as for me, I feet a deal easier in walk , Ing about these days. And yet that . man was your uncle, flesh and blood. Hare you gone through the trunk yet!" ; "No.1 "Well, then, let's take an Inventory." ' -The two of them knelt down together and dug out the ancient circus trap pings. Far down in a corner they camo ' upon a little box, and Zudora opened It curiously. "A diamond!" exclaimed Storm. "And : a mighty good one, too, if I don't miss - my guess. Look, there is a part of a letter under It! Let's see what it says." The contents or the half contents ' of that burned sheet of paper affected tbem strangely. It had originally been a letter to Zudora's mother from bet father, and brokenly it stated that he had struck it rich in Brasll. He, ori - his partner, bad stumbled upon an ex - ,4.ceedlngly rich deposit ot diamonds and , some- day they would have plenty. To Zudora it was evident that this had; been written a few days before bet father's death, after be had made tho , strike io gold. .."And Hassam AU kept this a secret from you!" . , , "Never mind now; it Is no longer a . secret," .replied Zudora. She put the little box aside and once more gave, her attention to the Interior of the trunkl : She next resurrected a locket. This contained the likeness of her par ents. . "My v father and mother." sh . said, ner eyes tilling. i "Tou poor Httle chicken r He put his arms around her. "We'd better see wbat can be done about this dla mond mine. ; I'm sure there must be a lot of gems somewhere. But you - don't need a diamond mine so far aa I'm concerned, sweetheart; you're pre- clous enough gem for any man." " "Thank you, John." Almost at this same moment a great f liner plowed Its way westward acrosa the Atlantic. And' on board this liner was a handful of diamonds which right- - fully belonged to Zudora Keene. There was a passenger who went by the name of Bruce. He was a smug, suave individual, but was far deeper, far more cunning, than he appeared outwardly. He was in his stateroom. The door was locked. The bed waa pulled from tbe wall The man him self was between the bed and the - ship's side, sawing a hole in the wain , scotlng. From time to time he paused to listen for sounds in the adjacent staterooms, but he was quite satisfied that the occupants were all on deck in their chairs. When the Job was com pleted he lifted out tbe square piece of board and laid it aside. Then he drew a bamboo cane toward him. Ho ." swiftly uuscrewed the top and dumped something into the palm of his hand. Minute flashes of red and blue flame darted up into his eyes. These flashes , came ; from diamonds of the purest!. ' white. He chuckled inaudibly, - Nextj ' he poured the gems into a little chamois nag ana tnrusc tue img iuiv iu uum In the wall. With extraordinary deft nesa he replaced tbe square of wain scoting, and only the closest scrutiny would have told any one what had taken place. . .',;'-.cv,-J After that Mr. Bruce went up to the, smoke room and indulged in a stlfl whisky and soda. - Then he played bridge until the second bugle call for! dinner and in that period of time more! than made his expenses for the trlp Mr. Bruce enjoyed his dinner, enjoyed his wine, the coffee and partJga. Th secret agents could hear what they pleased, and they could search him and all bis belongings, and he would sub-j mlt with the utmost complacency.; Only fools were caught these days by, the agents of the United States cusj toms. He had made some twenty Toyj ages, and what had they eTer founlj noon bim that was contraband? Noth-( tug, absolutely nothing. Tomorrow, tney would dock, and that night lw would be able to confide another suc cess to his confederates. It all de pended upon nerve and foresight But there was one man with whom he had yet to reckon. -His name was Thomas Hirst and one of bis specialties was putting bis stout band upon tbe shoulders of male factors and asking tbem politely which they preferred, steel cuffs or docility? The day befora Bruce landed Hunt rr , celved a cable In which be was In . formed that their old enemy was go ing to attempt to run the blockade gain, with diamonds as usual. And . one of tho remarkable phases ot theeo exploits of Bruce'a was the fact that he invariably sold gems In Holland as a starter, bat brought the bulk of them into the United States. The officials knew that he had con federates, some above him In power and some below.. Chief among those of the first order were Mme. Pu Val and Captain Radcliffe, a man without a country. Radcliffe was patently in love with Mme. Du Val, but she could - not put from ber thoughts the man Balrd. The fact that he bad gone over to the other side in an attempt to re habilitate himself did not lessen the' woman's admiration. Aa the pseudo Hassam she had bad some power over him, but as a porter on one of tbe big newspapers be had passed beyond the reach of ber arm. Somewhere she had seen ft painting! by tbe late Alma-Tadema, and she had ouder tbe inspiration fixed up what she called a Greek salon. She really possessed excellent taste. In tho cen ter there was a fountain surrounded by plants. Tbe water tinkled merrily at all times, but sometimes the stream suddenly fell aslant, which indicated that some one was behind the secret panel. On tbe nlgbt before the arrival of Bruce with his ill gotten gems madarao was In the salon, playing idly with an Angora kitten. It is a fact that these tiger women always have kit tens about. Suddenly sbe noted tbe slant of the Jet of water. She sum moned an attendant and nodded mean ingly toward the wall. The footman went over swiftly, touched, a knob, and tbe secret panel went up, reveal ing a small elevator. Out ot this step ped Captain Radcliffe, something of a dandy In appearance, but at heart a shady rogue. He crossed the room! swiftly, making no effort to conceal; his sentiments. But sbe adroitly evad ed him. . ;" "Take care, captain. No sentiment, if you please. Some day possibly, bud for the present we have business. "I wonder If that some day will even come?" Tbe captain shrugged. "I will be rendy," sbe said, "In abou twenty minutes.1 "What!" taking a step forward. "No, no, simpleton! I mean I'll be ready to go out with you. Mow, let me add this: Please do not use that secret panel again just because, you ' want to surprise me. After midnight,4 if you have anything really important on hand, enter by the panel, but In ordinary times the front door, my dear captain." "Your word is law," he replied, bow- Ing. -'J She left the salon, and he idled away the twenty minutes playing with' tbe kitten. When she returned she was ready for the street " She carried a kind of velvet purse. i "Do you know what's in this f she asked. " . , I "Powder puffs?' I "She did not reply, but took out a folded square of white tissue papef i about i.1 PS 4- 4 n.i'jp It v 5 s ' them- He Thrust the Bag Into the Hole In the Wall. and opened it Several fine diamonds sparkled before his eyes. 'Ah, are they to be disposed of, en chantress? " "Certainly, and the sooner the bet ter. Bruce will be in port shortly, and we do not want too many on our hands." - "I'll take care of them." This done, he added rather impatiently, "It's high time we made off for that luncheon.' To return to Thomas Hunt detective and secret service man.? Hunt divided bis time between personal cases and the more diScult problems which fre- qnently confronted the government agents. C They generally came to htm when they , were in trouble. He was sitting at his desk. Before him, spread out fanwise. were numerous newspa per clippings, and in all of them there was some reference to S men named Brace. Unlike bis kind, tbe man was always getting Into tbe papers. For a long time this fooled the secret serr Ice. They bad looked upon him as a harmless crank. . '.' Hunt looked up suddenly. He swept the clippings into a drawer. . , . - . "Come In." he said. - The clerk stuck his bead Into hla chiefs office. "Lady and gentleman wish to see yon." "NameT" a . : "Storm.".'""' -: ',, , . "John Storm 7 . . "Yea, air." "Show them in at once." II hailed Storm Jovially, for he had known this young lawyer for several years, "Com In, come in! I'm glad to sea yoo. What's on that legal mind of yours T" ' "I want yoo to .meet Miss Keen, nunt Miss Zudora Keene." . "Oh. I believe I've herd about yoo. Mum Keene. You're Hassam All's I - o 1 "It's high time we 'made off for that luncheon." niece. He was a very shrewd man. I was sorry to hear of bis death." . "Hunt" you make a stud of dia monds, don't your asked Storm, , "Legally, legally." r' "I want yon to find a diamond mine in Brasil belonging to the father oi Miss Keene here. He's been dead fot a good many years." Hunt whistled. "That a a big order. Any papers?" . - "Nothing that wonld give a hint te the location of the mine." "Well, I can make a stab at It any how. Jiut It looks on the face of U like that old needle in the haystack stuff. We have some agents down there. They might be able to help us . out" . :.; : ;a,.'.a "It will be very good of yon," said Zudora. She and Storm rose and as they did so a young man entered unannounced. Zudora recognized him instantly as the young man she bad met at Mme. Du Val's. As for Storm, be bowed slight ly. Careless greetings passed between tbem, and Balrd and Hunt wjre left alone. "Well," said the detective grimly, . "how are you behaving yourself V "Straight" said Balrd soberly. "It was mighty fine of you to help me when I needed help. The life of a re porter Is fascinating. But Just now I need a story. Got oner "Maybe. Did yon ever hear of a man named Bruce?' "Yes." Balrd stared at the rug. Yes, he bad known Bruce in tbe days when he was Hassam AIL "Well," began Hunt "I think the rogue is going to beat the customs again. I'll wager that up to date he has smuggled In something over a mil lion In gems. They'll land at the pier in about two hours. Suppose we bike right owayT ; "Nothing would suit me any better. I want to make good in this business. Hunt The old chap may stick a knife in me one of these days, but I'll go out honest." "That's the way to talk! Come on, then." At the piers on cases like this Hunt generally donned the regulation uni form and the regular Inspectors did not interfere with bis work. So when Bruce came down the gangplank the detective greeted him. . - "I'll , take care of you, Mr. Bruce. You will not have to bother with tho usual formalities." ; a "Anything is agreeable so long as I get out of this bam In reasonable time. Here's my luggage coming down. All suit cases and one steamer trunk." "We may have to search yoo person ally, Mr. Bruce." 4 "Same old Idea, bob? Go as far as you like. Yon boys will get tired some day hunting for diamonds in my grips." , "We of ten die on tbe Job, Mr. Bruce, but we never get tired." :' Tbe onty diamond found on Mr, Bruce was set in bis fob. Hunt shrugged. "Give it upr said Bruce, grinning. "For today, Mr. Bruce. Good day." Bruce started for the exit looking about, for a taxi Hnnt wared his hand toward the spot where Balrd lay In wait Tbe latter understood this . gesture to Indicate that be waa assign ed to follow tbe man. Brnce found his taxi, but Batrd's was only half a block behind when the race began. ,.. Mme. Da Val and Captain. Radcliffe returned to tbe former's house Imme diately after lunch and they both ap peared rather excited over something. It seems that tbe two bad met Storm and Zudora at tbe restaurant and had asked tbem to sit at their table, with. . no purpose in mind save that ot friendr reo-. in. 3 3 llness. During tho luncheon madams ,. noticed tbe quaint locket around Zn dortt's throat and Inspected It Tbe two faces she saw Inside tho locket made her heart Jump, but the mildly curious expression on ber face did not ; .change.. a; ' J; .' f -,- . I She and the captain cam Into tho . salon hurriedly. They went directly, . to a table upon which the cat was , sleeping. The feline dreams were rode-) ly shattered, however, for the mistress pushed the animal to the noor. Madams pressed certain bits of Inlay and a se- ' cret drawer was revealed. From this - drawer sbe took two old daguerreo-! types. .,' "The same!" whispered the captain. - "The very same! Oh, we art) In indrq captain, to And this out In time. That mine Is this girl Zudora's, and wU have to watch our cards." "Put her out of Abe wayr "There'a been a little too much of. that We'll try all other methods first But wbat luck 1. . i "Telephone!" ho said. "Shall 1 an- awer Itr A : :';;.. "Better lot me." She returned to htm after a moment "Bruce; he's all ped through aa usual." . "Clever chap!" "And the genu an still on boa tbeboatr ., "; a.' In tbe meantime Balrd had no area difficulty in banging to tho heela ot Bruce'a cab, Ho had an Idea that the cab would seek a deserted spot possi bly near tbe water front where there is a good deal of abandoned property. While his eye followed tho cab In front his mind was elsewhere. A year ago he bad been a crook, not a dangerous one, to be sure, but Infernally clever. : And here he was, striving honestly to Uvo decently, all because he bad fallen : In love with tho girl that rj-uld bare been bis victim. Lota of kLlus In this old world; lots of startling twists and windings. .But of what use to love her? Sbe loved another, and a clean, decent man too. He wondered If tho day would come when be could tell ber the truth, that for months be had play ed at being her uncle and had boldly attempted to do away with ber. ' What a contemptible scoundrel ht had been and what a singular lack ot perception be had had ot this tact un til love awoke him! Come, now; he must not fall to dreaming. Hla busi ness was to watch yonder cab. Brace' cab began to leave a trail through the warehouse district and eventually cam to a stop befora a ' disused factory. Balrd dismissed bis cab and waited to see what the smuggler did. He, too, dismissed the cab, glanced swiftly vet his shoulder and entered the factory door, evidently by meana of a key. Balrd waited a reasonable length ot time, then made for the factory. Hi know that ho would And the door lock ed,' but nevertheless be tried It Hi wasn't at all disturbed to And It lock ed. In a ruined old building like this there were many rickety windows. He had no difficulty In getting Inside. It was not intended that he should haVe any real difficulty In gaining en trance. Bruce, knowing the trick's oi detectives, had been quite certain that he would be followed from the boat pier. He had merely led Balrd Into s trap. Bruce had gone In by one en trance and out tbe other. Tho cab met him two blocks away, and he was driven to another part of tbe town In fact to a semioccupled apartment bouse where there was a tunnel which led to the secret elevator in the house of Mme. Du Val on the next street He received a royal welcome from Mme. Du Val and Captain Radcliffe. , He had brought to port something like $20,000 worth of purest Brazilians. "Oh, I was followed," he boasted, "and I led tbe follower by bis nose t the old trap, and by this time he la doubtless out of the running. But this man Hunt is getting on my nerves. He knows, but be can't prove any thing. Now, what'a your newer Tbey told Mm briefly. "You have found the real hetrr he cried. "Yes, And we have Just arrived at the conclusion of a conference. This girl Zudora must bo put away nnUI we've milked that mine of Its last peb ble. Her father's partnerold crook that he is must be pushed off the board completely. There's a million In that pocket yet believe me. ; I tblnk by quick action we can get what wa want within six months. We'll keep Zudora under cover for that period of time. Aa we understand it ahe'a en gaged to a lawyer named Storm. We can fake np an accident to Storm and draw the girl Into tbe net" "Action's the word. And there's no better place to bide her until the coast is clear than In the old Junk hut That's where the boys will be taking Hunt's understudy by this time." "But the . diamonds r Interjected Mme. Do VaL ' "My dear lady, I return to Liverpool on the same boat I arrived on. Yon will come and so me off. And when yon bid me a tearful farewell the . I . -1-, W- . I M - ' prei-iuua iwuuicb win ue loauiv your, muff. In fact I return in the same! cabin, and the gems are still In that! same cabin. It'a a new stunt and ought to hold off the inspectors for at least a doaen voyages." "You've got a bead on yon. Brace,' admitted Captain Radcliffe admiringly. Balrd was able to find Sis way In side tbe deserted factory. A trap to the cellar caught his eye. He raised It and went down and stepped plump Into the arms of a hulk of a man who bad been . awaiting his arriv al. Balrd was no weakling, bnt It seemed to blm thst bo had run Into a bunch of lire wire cables. Only a chance blow saved him . It saved him only temporarily. Another dock wal loper camo to his companion's aid. Balrd was no superman, and a blow n the side of the head laid bun out The two rogues bound and gagged their victim and blindfolded him too. Balrd was half conscious of being cars tied out of tho building and dumpedi Into a wagon, A moment later a totl f evil smelling junk was thrown in apon him. Then they went rumbUngi over tho rough cobble pavement it seemed to Balrd that tbe Journey must have lasted fully an hour. Then the. wagon stopped, the Junk was hauled' away, and be waa dragged Into a hot ft v.. . Into This Middle Room Balrd Was Car ried and Bound te a Post. tho middle room of which wag used .. aa a prison, . a' a. ; Into this middle room Balrd waa car ried and bound to a post - a e a-a e ... ; ;.-;Afiyi A: ' When Zudora learned that her loverl waa Injured she aet out posthaste.! And, as luck would have It Storm and Hnnt arrived Just after she bad left In the taxk-ab Storm was supposed to have sent her. "Keep your balr on," said tbe detec tive. ; "We can keep track of that cab. Don't you worry. I'm glad I cams along with you. I'll bet a dollar that this has something to do with those diamonds. There's nothing like add ing fwo and two to get four. . Now ; we're off." : av.- ! .a Meaner and meaner grew the streets. "That's one fault of the crooked mind," was the detective's comment. "They alwaya seek low places to hide their victims in. Not one detective In a thousand would think of hunting a missing person In a good neighborhood. He's Blowing up. I think we'd, better finish this on foot Come along, Mr. Lawyer, and don't get in a aweat" . As for Zudora, her evil star shone , cold and brilliant as any of the "gems she was seeking as ber own. When she discerned the - character of the neighborhood ; her suspicions became aroused. She called to the chauffeur, but his answer was a fresh burst of speed. He whirled up In front of the Junk hut gave three blasts of the born and Jumped down from' the car. . . . " The two - men , who were guarding Balrd rushed out at this Blgnal. (; 'The captain!" one of them cried. ' "Silence, you fool!" warned the pseu do chauffeur. "Here, help a band with this bundle of petticoats, and It she gets away from you I'll cut your thoats! Lively!" Zudora, while she could not under stand the reason ot this abduction, per fectly comprehended that It would be useless to struggle against three men. She allowed them to take her Inside tbe hut. i The chauffeur Jumped back to his seat and whirled away at top speed. ' . Hunt and Btorm were quite willing that he should go. It meant one less v. 4? Then Hunt Buooeeded In Drawing Automatics. - Hla to handle. ' It waa hard for Storm to wait, for Hunt'a signal. When it did come be was first at tbe door ot the but But the door was a stout one, and it took sundry smashing blows f both men's shoulders to make the lock give. There was a rattling good fight for a moment Then nunt succeeded in drawing bis automatics. , "Hands np!" , - The two thugs saw business in t!3 cold blue eye and raised their hands. "You poor gtrir cried Storm. - "Never mind me," she said. "There's some one in the next room caU'r f r help." And there they found Ba!rd. (to fs corriTcrro. Till SLNSTAtLJIEXT OF "ZIDO RA" WILL EE SHOWN AT THE GRAND THEATER NEXT THURSDAY, MATINEE AND NIGHT.
The Kinston Free Press (Kinston, N.C.)
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March 6, 1915, edition 1
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