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Burton and Reilly in the Gangsters* Power.
IKGRIP,^..
lOF EYIL^
AUTHOR OF “THE WGS OFTHE MORNING,"
-THE PILLAR OF LIGHT." “THE TERMS
OF SURRENDER." “NUMBER ir."
ETC.
NOVELIZED non The saics or moropuYj op the same name acLEASES
lY PATHE
comiMt. ifK. n ioui&ri*^>
—“• worker in a at®el mill,
an Enallsh title and |10,-
w.wo. He deifides he will spend his life,
II lUHt'ssary, in an attempt to solve the
Humanity in the Grip of
* ■ ®-*^h episode of this series forms
• distinct story in itself depicting his ex-
©enrnes in his search for the truth.
FOURTEENTH EPISODE
Humanity Triumphant.
The Appeal.
The fuse was a >:low one. Kvidently
It Imd been selected iu order to pro-
luny the agony. Bill Reilly’s nerves.
Jess under control than Burton’s. yieUl-
ti* the strain and he .seemed to find
^relief In upbraiding the wretches with
rhoiu he once had fraternized but who
«w hated him with a deadlier malice
tlian the man they regarded as chiefly
responsible for the gang’s threatened
disruption.
But. like all criminals, they were
cowards at heart, and fled the danger
cone long before the hissing serpent
between the chairs could release its
true venom.
Burton felt quite resigned to this
last stroke of an outrageous fortune.
Was he ready to die? Did he really
resent being thus reft from life in the
plentitude of his phjiscal and intel
lectual powers? He did not know.
Bill Keilly felt some regret that he
had not succeeded in accomplisliiti^
whnt he set out to do—rescue .fuhii
Fnrton from the hands of the Hell
cats. He wished to free Burton, not
for himself alone, although he had
great admiration for the titled luillion-
«ire who treated all men as his equal,
l)ut he did desire in a measure to pay.
In the one way he could, Grace Toe
for the kindness she had shown him.
lie regretted he had ventured alone
into the hands of the Hell-cats and
wasted a few precious seconds think
ing how he might have let Bluuche
Ciriftin be more of a help to him in
the work he had cut out for himself.
He wondered whether Grace Coe,
wheu she heard of his rejolniug the
Can£, would believe Blanche's story,
that he had done it to aid Burton or *
would think that he had suffered a
change of heart.
No sooner was the room emptied 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 doorway,
than he made a deteVmined effort to
tree himself. He succeeded almost at
once, and with a whoop of triumph
wriggled out of the chair.
By this time nearly three-quarters of
the fuse was consumed, so this daring
fellow, without the slightest hesitation,
picked up the bomb and hurled it
through the porch far out into a dis
heveled garden. Banging the door, so
obviate any risk of injury by fly-
I^Pmetal, he raced back to Burton’s
aide and began untying him.
The Hell-cats had gone about«their
business more leisurely with the mil
lionaire, and the knots defied Reilly’s
oinible fingers at first. He had only
nartiaily extricated the man whose life
be had risked everything to save, when
tbe infernal machine exploded with
• deafening detonation.
Bat Reilly never ceased his efforts.
fSre it was possible to distinguish the
light of day again John Burton stood
at liberty by his side. The respite
tbvs gained did not endure long. The
ell-cats understood how they had
foiled, and swarmed back like
5ees returning to a disturbed
hi^.' The almost defenseless pair car-
rled no effective weapons, but seised
the chairs which bad formed their sac
rificial altar, and defended themselves
valiantly against ^ comers.
Such httman rifl’raff as composed
tbl9 gang of gwuiifB. however, wtr«
not luinded to risk broken heads and
sore bones in a fair har'd-to-hand tight.
One of them whipped out a revolver
and tired point-blaak at Reilly. The
bullet struck him iu the breast and
he staggered and fell. Burton, giving;
his faithful companion one agoni/.ed
glance, was moineutarily taken utia-
wares and soou yielded to an attack
in f«*rce.
Tiie whole dramatic scene ended al
most as quickly as it had begun, liur-
ton was now u prisoner aK:iit>, and
poor Ueilly lay ^ntuiiin^ on the tloir,
little curing what further sulTering a
vicious fate migiit have in store for
him.
For a few seconds it looked as
though the brains of botli men would
have been shot out then and there.
But, as Burton ascertained subse
quently, Motlier Flannigan had been
an interested spectator not only of the
flght but of Keilly's unexpected re
lease, with its .sequel in the explosion
of the bomb «mtside the house. The
old hag herself, aided by Two-Gun
.fake, Imd experimented witli fuses of
various lengths, and meant making a
last attempt t»> extort ransom fro’U
the principal victim before it was too
late.
Knowing that the gang did m»t pos
sess a sei'ond honili. she tleternilnel to
change her tactics, and intervened
shrilly at the very instant one of her
henclimen was drawing a pistol with
intent to tire poiut-ltlank in iiurtou’s
lace,
“You wait for oi>I«“rs. y»»u booli,” she
screamed. “Who told you to butt in?
I’ut away tliat gun. and lie him up in
tlie chair again.”
Her command was obeyed wiih dif-
liiulty, since both chairs had been
broken in the struggle. While J»*hn
was being lashed to a rickety .seat, he
hmked calmly into tlie scowling faces
of his persecutors.
“What good will it do any of you
to kill me?” he said. “You are oniy
committing a stupid crime, which will
surely be discovered, and lead to a
hue and cry of the most determined
kind."
Mother Flatxiigan thrust herself for
ward. Her evil eyes blazed into liis.
“Now you’re talkin’.” she croaked.
“Do us a bit of good, au’ save younself.
W’ili you give us fifty tliousund dollars,
an* keep mum wheu we turn you
loose?”
John shook his head.
“That Is not my meaning at all,” he
said quietly. “To buy my life on those
terms simply implies tlie triumph of
evil. I will repay you by ' elp and
kindneijs. I will promise you the fair
treatment which many of you have
never yet received from society, but
I absolutely refuse to bargain in terms
of money.”
“You do, eh?" screamed tlie virago.
“We’il see about that. You are in our
hands here, Mr. Marquis, and don’t
you forget it. If it weren’t for the
carelessness of .some of these blunder
in’ idiots you and your pal would have
gone up a minnit since in smoke an’
tire. You think, perhaps, that the
cops are after us. an’ if you can only
waste time they’ll rescue you. Don’t
you believe it. To prove my words.
I’ll give you one hour. If, however, at
the end of that time you don’t promise
to pay down fifty thousand plunks Just
when and where we want ’em, I my
self 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 John met her malignant gaze
unflincliingiy. almost with compassion.
“Very well,” he said, “I accept your
respite of aa hour. Bind Reilly’s
wounds, and give him some water.
. . . Now. meo,** ho added, sweep*
ing the grim circle of Hell-cats with
a comprehensive glance, “carry out
your terms fairly and squarely.”
“D’ye mean that you’re willin’ to
pay?” broke in nn eager voice.
“That is to be settled at the expira
tion of an hour,” was the calm an
swer.
“He thinks he’s playin’ with us,”
sneered Mother Flannigan, “but I’ll
teach hliu. See \£ I don’t!”
Meanwhile some stirring events had
happened in the city. It will be re-
memben'd that Burton liad employed a
Japanese valet during the absence on
vacation of the smooth-spoken English
servant who usually tilled that oflice.
He had come to like the little brown
man, and retained him in his service,
so that the two valets alternately i)er-
formed the sanie duties.
When (he gunmen made their at
tack on Burton’s house, choosing the
hours of broad daylight as the safest
for their purpose, and d(>pending for
success wholly on rapidity of move
ment, the Japanese happened to be
in a dressing room adjoining the li
brary where his master was at the
moment attending to some belated cor-
respondenct».
Hearing a sudden hubbub pf rushing
feet and muttered oaths, the little man
ran in, only to be blackjacked forth
with. He fell like a pole-axed ox. and
the Hell-cats did not care w’hether or
not he was actually dead. The fate of
a valet was of no account. What they
wanted was a bound and gagged mil
lionaire safe in the limousine of a fast
car, and this achievement they carried
out with a daring and efliciency worthy
of a better cause.
So the Jap recovered his senses, and
was able to give the police a fairly lu
cid account of the attack.
• ••••••
Grace Coe was sitting down to a be
lated luncheon when her brother ran
in w'ith an evening newspaper in his
hand.
“I am sorry to be the bearer of bad
news, Grace, but feel that you ought
to know the worst. Burton has been
captured by the Hell-cats! They actu
ally took him bodily out of his house,
and have rushed him in a car to some
place which the police have not been
able to locate. I think you can help.
'J'hose people at the Settlement—”
The words died away on his lip.s,
for his very lu*art was chilled by the
sight of the wan misery in the girl's
face. But she rose stea«lily enough,
and her voice was extraordinarily un
der contri>l.
“I half expected this,” she sai«l.
“Yes, 1 must do what I can. Don’t
come with me, (Jeorge. I shall go
alone. You do not know the ways of
iny poor frienjls. If you are there,
they will be dumb, but to me they will
tell the truth!”
On reaching the Settlement she
found Blanche Griflin there. Her own
despair was equaled by that of the girl
whom she had dragged out of the gut
ter. for the newspaper reports nmde
it clear that Bill Reilly, the ex-convict
who had found redemption, was miss
ing as well as the millionaire. Poor
i>lan-he was already harboring a
dream of her >wn wherein a quiet cot
tage home, children, and the happiness
which -»)ines alone from love and hon
est work, might «»ne day be hers. That
vision was rudely shattered. It was
replaced by a grim and tragic reality.
you happen to know a young man wbo
looks like this?”
The policeman gazed down at the
questioner. Slightly amused, he took
from her trenibling hands a photo
graph of t^he carte-de-visite order, yel
low with expfisure, and much stained,
it might be, wit ft tears.
“No, ma'am,” lie said after careful
scrutiny. “Wlio is it?”
“My son,” came the answ'er. “I
haven’t seen him for ten years, but a
man told me he believed he was in this
city.”
“What’s his trade?” inquired tlie of
ficer of the law kindly.
The wrinkled and tired faoe, already
pallid with fatigue, blanched a little
more.
“He used to be a l«)cksmith,” she fal
tered, “but—but—the nmn said—that
my boy wasn't workin’ just now.”
Then the policeman understood.
“No,” he said, “I haven’t seen liim.
He can’t be much of a tough, mother,
or I’d b«‘ sure to Know' him. So cheer
up! Sometimes things ain’t so bad as
pe«)ple make ’em out. They’re always
ready to say the v/orst, you know.
Tell you what—there's a sort of Set
tlement bureau in this town where
young folk who have gone wrong are
given a helpin’ hand. You may find
out something about him there. Even
if Miss Grace C'oe 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 Ev
ans,” so the policeman w^as hardly to
blame If he failed to detect in the line
aments of a fairly handsome and intel
ligent looking youth the scowiing fea
tures of Two-Gun Juke. Nevertheless,
liis counsel was good, since It led tlie
searcher’s faltering steps to Grace Coe
at the very moment when the girl was
nearly distracted with terror and fore
boding as to the uncer.ain fate of the
mau she loved.
Even in that hour of storm and
feur—saw nothing alarming when they
looked around before entering the
house.
Without the slightest hesitation the
tw^o younger w’onien led Mrs. Evans to
wards the building, screening their
advance as best they might by taking
cover behind a ragged hedge.
At that time more than lialf of the
allotted hour had passed, and John
Kurton, whose thoughts were centered
now in the great purpose which had
dominated his whole life, was inclined
rather to spend himself in a last ef
fort towards regenerating hutnanity
than in a seemingly futile attempt at
self-preservation.
He had made up his ndnd firmly not
to yield to the Hell-cats’ demand.
“Say. hoys,” he exclaimed, attract
ing the attention of the Hell-cats with
in hearing, “w«mid you mind asking
Mother Flannigan and the rest of the
bunch to gather round? I want to sa^
a few w«)rds which should be of inter
est to all of you.
“I could talk more easily if you
would kindly free my hands,” went on
John quietly. “There is no fear of my
escaping,” he added, smiling so gcni-
Even you," and he turned « tumliioas
glance on the withered and shaking
hag, “must recall those early years
when you were a chr.i at your moth
er’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 liring a child
into the w«)rld. Ym mu.st have been
prepared to sacrifice that same life
over and over again for the sake of
your offspring while it was* still a w^ee
mite hxiking jit you, and you only, for
help and sustenance. I beseech you
then, woman and men, when you go
away from this house, to search Into
your own hearts and inquire whether
the .selfishness which now inspires you
is really worth while. If my example
can assist ym in finding the better
way I 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, wan
dering in the unseen, encounters even
one .soul which 1 may have lifted out
of the pit. I am not mouthing vain
things. A man who has little more
than a minute to live can, at least, af
ford to be candid with hitn.self and
ally that his captors grinned in uuisuu. I others. I repeat that I shall not pur-
“There’s nothiu’ to make a speech ! chase my freedom. Do with me as you
about,” broke in that fierce old harri-! will, but, with my last breath, I Im-
dan. Mother Flannigan. [ ph»re you to pay t«ed to what I have
“That is where you and I differ,! said.”
ma’am,” came the placid answer. “My • Two-Gun Jake strode forw’ard, and
time Is nearly up. I guess I have, stood in front of the prisoners.
twenty-five minutes, or thereabouts.
We are not giving each otlier many fa
vors, nor demanding them, but It is
not a great deal that a man condemned
to death should ask to be allowed to
utter his last few words in compara
tive comfort.”
John's bonds w'ere untied; he
stretched his stiff arms, and permitted
his bruised body to relax.
“I hope you won’t Interrupt me,” he
began. “I shall endeavor not to tres
pass beyond the allotted time, but it
will not be my fault if what I have to
Though one arm was out of action, the
other wa.s as efilcient as ever, and his
right hand twisted In a businesslike
way towards a hip pocket.
“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 mean-
in’ clear. We’re quits with this guy
here an’ now. Is any of you-all par-
tic’lar anxious to argy the point?”
No one will ever know Just what
might have happened but for the Inter-
stress her sweet disposition and splen-1 say does not command a sympathetic ruption which came from a totally un-
id self-control permitted her to listen 1 heating. i quarter. Mrs. Evans could
to the elderly woman’s story. She ' Then, to their intense surprise, in-1 5^ restrained no longer. She rushed
bent over the photograph, but could stead of outlining a basis of agree- •„ scattering the startled HelliratB
only returu i, suaiy. , meat ta terms of money and life, he Hght anTTett, andT^^^^ her arm*
“No,” she said. “I have never seen I sketched briefly, but with winged j,er son
•'o'lr son. Mr«. Kvans." the story of his rareer. He de-,
plcted his chiidho^s days, passed in •
surroundings with which everyone
Wherein John Burton Solves the Prob
lem.
In lo«*king back through the history
of sin individual, as of a nation, it
Would stem as though idle chance
played the m«>st important part in hu
man afl'airs. it is not so, of course.
The :ipparently aimless currents tif
life mingle at last and unite in one
migiiiy and irrisistible stream of prog-
r*‘ss.
Who. for instance, could possibly
have imagined any active connection
between the arrival that day of a
worn, frayed, elderly woman at the
city’s central depot with the deadly
menace thr»»atening John Burton and
his faithful friend. Bill Reilly? Sure
ly m>t the poor cnature herself! On
lea\1ug the train, she stepped into a
crowled street, and the bewildered,
half-frightened, half-despairing expres
sion betokened by drooping lips and
laciv-luster eyes showed that she, at
least, was irresolute t)f mind and sad
ly nware of her own unimportaut place
in the general scheme of things.
Amid the nds.v chaos of the passing
multitude she pi’ked out a |>ollceman,
and approached him timidl.v. Fumbling
in a reticule whicli she carried, togeth
er with a dilapidated suitcase, she pro
duced a photograpli.
“Pardon me, mister,” she said in a
quavering, apologetic voice, “but do
It happened that Blanche Griffin was
standing near and heard what passed.
'Phough she, too, was racked with mi.s-
ery, she almost unconsciously scrutin
ized the simpering youth in the print.
“May I look at that?” she asked.
Taking the little square of pasteboard
to a window she examined it intently,
and a ha If-repressed cr.v of amaze
ment brought (Jrace to her side.
“it is—it must be—Two-flun Jake,”
she whispered ex-itedly. “Of course,
Mi.ss Coe, you don’t know him as well
as 1 do. but unfortunately I have seen
a good deal of him during the past
four years, atid sometimes, when in
repose, he would look Just like that.
Oh, if this sliouid be his mother, how
fortunate for us!”
“But how?” demanded Grace, intui
tively realizing that Blanche would not
j be so disturbed witlnmt go«*d cjiuse.
' “Don't .you s«‘e, miss, he is wounded
and in the hospital, and he. if anyone,
would km»w where those wretched men
hav»» tak(*n Mr. Burton and Bill Reilly.
Perhaps, if we bring his mother to him, ,
she n»ay arouse his better nature,
and—”
Gra‘e caught the drift of the girl’s
I notion at once.
I “Oh, .ves. yes!” s!*e cried iniptilsively.
e njtisi not los** a st‘cond. Let us
a«‘t aloiit*. Three weak women may
sucived where the police have failed.”
Mrs. Kvans was easily jiersuaded.
Indeed, she was ready to put the ut
most confidence in (Jrace from tlie
tirst instatit of tln‘ir meeting. A car
was in waiting, and the three were
takiMi swiftly to the hospital. Blanche
I was the tirst to alight, and was conse-
iuenlly just in time to see Jake be
ing iielped into au automobile drawu
up by I hi* curb at smie distance from
tlie nmin buildlug.
1 She recognized the man with him as
[ a particularly brutal and langerous
^ member of the Hell-cats’ gang, and ere
she c»rrfld frame a startled explana
tion which could convey the truth to
Grace’s ears while concealing it from
the hapless mother, the other vehicle
was vanishing down the road In a
swirl of dust.
“Follow that car,” she said instantly
to the chauffeur.
The pursuit continued until the gun
men's autmiobile turned into an al
most dlsu.sed track leading to the
present was familiar, and thus, at the
outset, placed him.self on a par with
the limited intelligence and dismal ex-
peri em*es of his audience. He toM >
how he had risen to be a foreman iu
the iron works, how he led the strike,
and was befooled like another Samson
t)y a Delilah in fine raimeut and
anointed with sweet-.smelling .spices.
By a wave of a magician's wand he
led them from the dirt and squalor of
a working-class quarter to the palaces
and well-tended lands of au English
noblenuin. He even held them spell
bound by describing the unhappy quest
which had dominated his manho«>d's
years—that unending and uever-suc-
’t*ssfui search for an answer to the
far-reaching question—Is Humanity
in the Grip of Evil?
Burton, of course, remained in blank
ignorance of the astounding fact that
his audience was increased, for the
three wt»men had crept up unheard,
and followed every word through the
oi»en window. It was well that this
was so.
Seldom, indeed, in the history of this
gray old world has any man spoken t.»
sucK a group of cut-throats under such
conditions!. By an Inexplicable miracle
—probably by the unknown action of
that subtle force vaguely described as
telepathy—Burton broke *ff abruptly
at an itistant when his hearers wer^*
keyeI up to the highest pitch.
“How is time going?” he inquired,
and the words fell from his lips so
nonchalantly that for a few secoads
none stirred.
Two-(Jun Jake was the first to re
cover him.self. He fumbled at a watch
with his uninjured hand.
done. John. It’s nothin’ to me how
wicke«i you have been. I’m your moth
er. and I’d believe in you if they was
o S'"
ft
house which held the prisoners. Luck-1imminent cry with an em-
ily, Grace Coe’s driver detected the
maneuver and contrived to pull up his
own car behind a clump of trees.
Hence Juke’s companions—there were
He Could Have Found No More Beau*
tiful and Gracious Partner.
to take you to tlie chair this minute,
though I’ve sought for j"ou an’ wept
for you through ten long years. You’re
“Guess from what I’ve been told.' co«>dn’t be
you’ve still got five minutes, ” he :aut- father’s, an’ be a real
j bad man. Oh, my boy, my boy. I’m a
A white-faced old woman crouched woman, but I’m ready to die
now with a smile tn my Ups!”
And thus. In the most effective way
conceivable, did John Burton, tenth
marquis of Castleton, find the answ’er
to his question. He would scoff today
at the conceit that Humanity is in the
Grip of Evil. Conviction came through
love. Had he searched the wide world
he could have found no more beautiful
and gracious partner than the girl
whom he met a«nidst surroundings
which might w’ell li ave added one more
to the many disi iuslonments of an
eventful career.
Grace would not be a w^oman If she
beneath the windowsill gasped wheu
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 could not really be
bettered by a skilled writer: “It was
Just u movie in words.”
Happily, Blanche Griffin w’as able
two of them, together with the chauf-
phatic hand over Mrs. Evans’ mouth,
for the mother had found her lost
.soq!
Then John made his big hit.
“I want to use those five minutes to j appn.clate the fact that
good advantage,” he said, looking
around with a benignant expression this new dignity only add
\
Asks Qmco Coo to Holp Find Hor ton.
which utterly baffled and nonplused
the womun and the men who a little
while before had been thirsting for his
money or his life.
“My own personal record now ceases
; to interest either you or me very
I greatly,” he continued. “I shall not
' buy my life at your hands. Soon I
myself shall be with yesterday’s seven
' thousand years, w'hile you will go back
into the world, not enriched at my ex-
■ pense, but vastly poorer, because you
: will carry to the grave the memory of
i one more crime -.dded to the many
w'hlch have sullied and discredited the
I great trust which God gave when his
j Spirit breathed an immortal essence
into your mortal bodies. I want to
give you one final message—I want
you to accept the one great truth com
mon to mankind. The 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 strong In the Jungle as in
the most ciTlliaed of communities.
Every man among you must have
known It In greater or less degroiw
ed to the sweetness of her disposition.
It enlarged her sphere of usefulness.
The elegancies of a new life rendered
her even more noteworthy, while her
knowledge of real difficulties of the
poor guided her philanthropic efforts
into the one true t*nd abiding channel,
uatuely, that of «h1u cation and self*
help.
i At this very day her most trusted as*
‘ sistauts are Mr. and Mrs. William Reil
ly. while in the on:e-dreaded Hell-cats
she has a band of willing and enthusi
astic helpers, chlei among them being
a somewhat truculent-looking and en
ergetic person who wins instant noto
riety on the platform when introduced
to expectant audiences as the famous
terror, “Two-Gun Jake.”
Why, even Mother Flannigan earns
a respectable living in a laundry!
And this is the end. The allegory Is
plain for all men to read. Even In
these days of horrible war, with ItS
outrageous crimes .jid sangnlnaiy hiiv
ocausts, it Is true* low
Ood Is In heav
And all's w^
SB TS18 mSTALLMIMT HI MOVIHO PIOTUEIS AT THE AUDITOBIUll JMXT THUMDAT MICIHT.