{ title: 'Silver Springs signal. (Silver Springs, N.Y. ;) 1892-19??, September 14, 1916, Page 6, Image 6', download_links: [ { link: 'http://www.loc.gov/rss/ndnp/ndnp.xml', label: 'application/rss+xml', meta: 'News about NYS Historic Newspapers - RSS Feed', }, { link: '/lccn/sn88074193/1916-09-14/ed-1/seq-6/png/', label: 'image/png', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn88074193/1916-09-14/ed-1/seq-6.pdf', label: 'application/pdf', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn88074193/1916-09-14/ed-1/seq-6/ocr.xml', label: 'application/xml', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn88074193/1916-09-14/ed-1/seq-6/ocr.txt', label: 'text/plain', meta: '', }, ] }
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THE SILVER SPRINGS SIGNAL PDJAIE.DINS WALTER JCtmJg. cstW JODgAMDT Novelized from the Motion Picture Play of the Same Name by the Universal Film Manufacturing Co. SYNOPSIS. La Belle Lo Sleur, animal queen, fatally injured by tigers,\ dies after giving birth to a baby Doctor Lund, owner of tbo circus, and La Belle's husband, refuses to recognize the child. La Belle Intrusts baby tc Flip, a clown. Flip rears Peg as a circus rider. Later, Doctor Lund's sec ond wife determines Peg Bhall not share Lund's millions and sends Hindu servant to dispose of her Doctor Lund eend3 thugs to get from Flip letter that proves Peg's parentage. Lund, Jr, follows tho show determined to marry Peg:. After being at the mercy of Hons on three occa sions, Peg, whllo In hor drosslng tent, la locked In a wardrobe chest by tho Hindu, who has stolen the letter from Flip. Peg Is carried to tho den of a band of coun terfeiters of which Mrs. Lund Is the head. Peg releases herself from the chest when It Is carelessly left unlocked, but before she can escape from the house she drops through an opening In the floor, created when a secret elevator Is dropped from under her feet. She manages to grasp with her hands the edge of the openlnu In the floor and hangs there. Young Doct^or Lund, who has como to the res cue of Peg, Is overpowered by tho Hindu and the counterfeiters carry him bodily from tho house SIXTH EPISODE Peg dangled In tho air for a tew sec onds, her frail hold upon tho floor sur rounding the opening through which the trap had just descended giving her a perilous grip on temporary safety. But tho girl's strength in forearm and hands was not sufficient to sustain her weight for very long. She felt her hold Blipping and de spite every effort she was finally com pelled to drop, precipitately, down to the room below She landed with her feet on a chair upon which she had been sitting when the trap fell. Be fore she could recover her bewildered senses Bhe was grabbed from behind by Btrong arms that rendered her helpless. In a twinkling she was thrown to the floor of the trap, the chair was sent Bpinnlng by a kick from the foot of her new captor, and with a sudden Jolt the trap again started downward with Peg pinioned by strong bands to its fast-descending floor. Her cries fell upon deaf ears She was at the mercy of Chockro's burly henchman. The elevator trap quickly descended to a eubcellar, dark and musty. Be fore Peg could realize what was hap pening, tho floor of the elevator was mechanically tilted, and the girl rolled helplessly on to the damp, soggy ground. She knew that her descent had finally ended—and as the elevator was drawn up, she realized that she was alone and defenseless. The damp subcellar was still as death When she cried out her voice gave forth a strango sound. Not a sound of the struggles and commotion in other parts of \The House of Mystery\ reached the glrl 'B ears She -was utterly alone, prisoner in unknown confines and \helpless utterly helpless Meanwhile young Doctor Lund was fighting bravely to free himself from tbo grasp of his opponents, the thugs Chockro bad set upon him in the room through which Lund had first entered the counterfeiters' den. Chockro had She Was at tho Mercy of Chockro'* Henchman. given orders to his men that Lund should be carried into the yard. But a new idea had struck tho Hindu and he told his henchmen to carry Lund into another room in \The House of Mystery \ The thugs were numerous enough, with their combined strength, to hold Lund under control until they had car ried him to the room Chockro had designated. Then they freed him, un tying his bonds. He took advantage of a brief respite, to get his breath— and to gather his strength for a new resistance. The gang was after him In a twin kling, and in the larger room the scrap was renewed. Lund dropped to the floor and the Sang of counterfeiters fell upon him as one man. They well-nigh knocked him breathless. This time CUoctro took pains to do the tying himself, and in short order had young Lund bound hand and foot, and with strong cord fastened a gag over the mouth of his prisoner. Then tie gang threw Lund into a corner. The four thugs left the scene while Chockro remained to taunt and bully the victim be had caused to be ren dered utterly helpless. Peg was in the, subcellar beneath the room where Lund was detained, help less. As she looked upward the leer- j ing face and snakelike eyes of the Hindu glared tauntingly upon her. She knew there was no mercy there. She cried in the bitterness of her helpless ness. Her sobs reached Lund's ears •faintly, but sufficiently audible to lot him know that someone was in dis» tress. j Lund felt, intuitively, that it was • Peg; and as he strained at the lash- i ings which bound him, the Hindu smiled tauntingly and increased Lund's agony by Jeering remarks. The open trap through which the elevator ran was less than a yard from where Lund's manacled feet rested upon the floor. On the wall above him ho noticed an electric switch. Chockro stood where he could look down into the open trap, reach out his hand and touch the BWitch, or face about and address his taunts to young Lund without further effort than to turn his body by a slight movement of his feet upon the floor. \I've got your girl In a trap, and I'll pay you both off at once,\ Chockro fairly shouted. \I'll turn the water in and let you listen while she drowns.\ Young Lund desperately tugged at his bonds. He dreaded tbo Hindu's threat and as Chockro reached over and threw down the handle of the electric switch, the sound of rushing water came to Lund's ears. Peg screamed in terror, Chockro looked down upon her and laughed with fiendish derision. Lund writhed upon the floor, and to Chockro his ef forts seemed purposeless. But Lund's brain was at work, even if his body was made temporarily useless by hia relentless bonds. The girl in the trap below saw the waters rushing in to overcome her, A groat pipe in the wall was emptying a flood into the cement-walled pit, and the rising tide bid fair soon to sub merge the hapless Peg. The higher the tide rose in the pit the more fiendish were Chockro's heartless taunts. Past her knees, soon waist-high the water rose, until it lifted Peg from her feet. Then she noticed a peculiar fact—there seemed to be a slight current in one main direction as the water eddied around her When Peg permitted herself to float upon the water she realized that she was being carried slowly across the surface of the pit toward the side of the wall opposite the intake. Peg moved in the direction the cur rent took her, and when she had ar rived against the wall there was a noticeable undertow that drew her legs and feet against the side of the well-like pit. Instinctively Peg kicked with her feet against the wall, and made an unexpected discovery Through the cracks in a sluice gate the water was running out of the pit. Lund had worked his body across a few feet of the floor until by raising his feet, bound together as they were, he could reach the electric switch. He shoved the handle up and as Chockro, attracted by the lessening of the rush of water, leaned far over the edge of tho traphole in the floor, Lund con tinued his maneuver. Working fast Lund was able to cov er enough floor space to make up suf ficient distance to give him a leg- length chance to reach the Hindu as ho bent low over the edge of the open trap. In a final effort Lund kicked straight out with his bound feet, and landed in the middle of the Hindu's back. The unexpected impact threw Chockro off his balance, sent him through the opening and splashing down into the water below. And at that instant Peg kicked loose the sluice gate that she had discovered near the floor in the wall and on a rushing flood of water she was carried into an adjoining room. His utterly unexpected drop into the pit found the Hindu unprepared for the involuntary plunge. He went un der, came to the surface and floun dered around just long enough to give Peg a brief breathing spell before he followed her through the sluice gate. Peg's wet and bedraggled clothing retarded her movements and she was slow in gaining the foot of a steep flight of ladderlike stops that led from the room Into which she had been fair ly catapulted by tho sudden rush of water. Chockro followed her. Peg continued her flight upstairs, and slammed the door behind her. Then she hurried on, seeking an out let at the end of a long corridor which she had suddenly entered. Good for tune was with her—the door was open, and Peg was soon running through the yard-toward shelter and t safety in the piles of lumber. | The Hindu roused, by lusty shouts, I his gang of confederates, as soon as ' he had made his way out of the flood- j ed cellar. The thugs werd quickly ad- j vised of Peg's escape and Chockro led them Into the yard and scattered them into individual searching parties. While the counterfeiters were beat ing back and forth among the piles of lumber, Peg was making her way swiftly, but cautiously, out of the maze of timbers which served her so well as shelter and also effectively to baffle her pursuers. She soon found herself at the end of the lumber yard and near a network of railroad tracks, upon which freight cars stood in long rows. On she ran, out Into, the railroad yard, and made her way among the cars. She fled without purpose other than to escape her pursuers, but kind ly fate was guiding her steps. As she rounded the end of a long row of carB her delighted gaze suddenly fell upon the circus train, lying on the opposite side of the main line of tracks. When Peg dashed into the sleeper where she hoped to find Flip, the car was crowded with performers. Old Flip was seated on the edge of his berth. He had been out all night searching around the lot, inquiring about Peg from everyone he met, and had just returned to the show train, utterly discouraged. The other per formers were trying to comfort the disconsolate old clown when Peg dashed through the door of the car and with a wild cry of joy threw her self into the arms of Jj^r daddy.\ Their fond embrace was of short du ration, for Peg made haste to tell, in brief and excited sentences, ^f her adventures in \The House of Myfcery.\ She begged the show people to follow her back to the counterfeiters' den and rescue the person, whoever he mlghti be, that was being held prisoner there.!] Flip insisted that Peg stay close to him as the party dashed across the freight yards in the early morning. They ran through the lumber yard, Peg retracing her steps as best she cpuld, without, of course, climbing among the rows of up-ended timbers. Chockro and his gang Had given up hope of finding Peg and had assem bled in front of tho den to discuss Im mediate plans, when the sharp-eyed Hindu discovered Peg and her res cuing party rapidly approaching. \Quick into the house, and lay low,\ cried the Hindu. And he led his gang into \The House of Mystery.\ The advance guard of circus folk saw the door through which Chockro had entered, and were not surprised when they found it locked. Two of turned to the show cars, young Lund hid decided upon bis immediate plans. He told Peg and Flip that he would go home, for a few days, as his father would probably want to advise with him about the future of the show. * * • • • . • • When Mrs. Lund returned home from her hurried automobile trip to the counterfeiting den she owned -and controlled, she was greatly surprised to be Informed by the butler that Chockro had returned during her ab sence, and left word that he had an important letter to give her. This information came to her early In the morning following the fire at the circus, and only a few hours after she had reached home from her all- nlght ride. She was passing through the entrance hall, on her way to make preparations again to go to \The House of Mystery,\ when' she heard Doctor Lund In conversation with someone in the -library, Mrs. Lund stealthily approached the door and listened while her husband talked \with Jack Boygne, the man he had sent to the circus for the letter Flip possessed—the very letter that Mrs. Lund had reason to believe was right then safe in the possession of Chockro, her Hindu servant. \How could I get the letter,\ she •heard Jack Boygne exclaim, \when the circus burnt up? There was so much excitement that I couldn't do a thing on the letter Job.\ \I don't care if the show did burn, the letter means more to me than the circus does,\ said Doctor Lund. \You've got to get that letter, I tell you—and just to give you another chance I'll newly outfit the show and open it again right away.\ Mrs. Lund indulged in a smile of quiet satisfaction as she passed on upstairs to her room. When she was leaving the house to take her automo bile. Doctor Lund and Jack Boygne departed through another door and took the train for the disabled circus. With all speed Mrs. Lund proceeded again to \The House of Mystery.\ When, Mrs. Lund reached tho parlor she intuitively felt that she was being followed. When she closed the door, after entering, she sensed that some one had observed her. She Immediately suspected that her counterfeiting operations had been traced to headquarters. There was but one way out—the \A. •X < >, j K - \ >•> f * \There Is Your Man! He Is the Leader of tho Counterfeiters!\ the athletic showmen threw them selves against the panels and burst the door from its hinges. Then the rescuers* crowded into the house and followed close to Peg as she cautiously directed progross to ward the room where young Lund was still lying, bound helpless, on the floor. Thus the rescuing party found the object of their search, and quick prog ress was made in loosening the rope that bound Lund so securely. When the show folks were about to retrace their steps, Chockro and his gang burst in upon them, running pell mell down a short flight of stairs, and on- gaging the rescuers in a rough-and- tumble flght. The counterfeiters were matched in strength by the athletic circus performers, and the battle was proceeding recklessly when matters suddenly took an utterly unlooked-for turn. Four men with drawn revolvers ap peared at the head of the stairs, down which the counterfeiters had Just rushed to pounce upon the showmen, and the leader of the now arrivals sharply commanded the combatants to hold up their hands. \We are members of the secret service,\ declared the leader of the new arrivals. \Nobody leaves this room until they stand a search.\ Then the officers proceeded to make all hands identify themselves. The circus crowd easily explained their presence. Chockro had sent his gang into the fray and then, without risking his own skin, had made his getaway. Taking the counterfeiters with them, the secret service men left the house, and permitted the circus people to return to their train. « When young Lund and^Peg emerged, with the show folks, from \The House of Mystery.\ tho young doctor. Peg and Flip walked slowly along in a little group by themselves. As they proceeded toward the show train, Lund and Peg briefly compared and gave Flip the benefit of their comblaeTI experiences. By the time the circus folk had to- chance that men were still In the op erating room to work the secret ele vator. Tho chair stood In Its accus tomed place in the middle of the room. Mrs. Lund seated herself and pressed the signal. Luck was with her, for the trap began to slowly descend Once she had disappeared through the par lor floor, the opening to the trap was mechanically closed, by the trick sub stitution of another chair and section of the floor. Mrs. Lund descended to the lower level, passed through the secret en trance and was safely out of the den when the secret service operatives, who thought they had her trapped, en tered the parlor and found the room deserted. They left the bouse, assembled the prisoners they had under guard among the lumber piles and departed. And as the officers and their prison ers walked down the street, Mtb . Lund passed them In her swift automobile. That afternoon Doctor Lund arrived to discuss with his manager the ar rangements for reopening his circus. Doctor Lund commissioned his man ager to work out the details of reju venating the circus. AU of the stock and trained animals were safe, and much of the regular equipment of the show had been rescued from the flames. It was decided to haul the circus train to Doctor Lund's home town and there equip the circus anew. Tele grams were sent to the tentmakers for a new equipment of canvas. Or ders were wired to replace the seats, lights and miscellaneous property that the Are had destroyed. The owner of the show loft on the first train for home, and the next day the circus carB arrived at winter quar ters soon to be sent upon tho road for a new start Notification was given to the advance forcos to change tho exhibition dates in various towns, and to route the show for tho rest of the season, taking the new opening date as the basis of calculation*. The three Lunds resumed their usu al method of individual life at home. Just as though nothing had happened. Mr. and Mrs. Lund either knew or sua-, pected the game the other was play ing. Neither of them ventured even a word to their son regarding Ms brief absence from home. There was an open truce of three-cornered -dimen sions in the Lund mansion. Young Lund resumed his athletic training under his instructor, Jack Boygne and exercised his accustomed freedom of action in his daily life. With a desire to avoid scandal of gos sip in his home town, young Lund denied himself the pleasure of Peg's society. He made one trip to winter quarters, where everybody was busy with the new equipment and although he made no special effort to find or communi cate with Peg, there was eagerness in his gaze aB he watched for the girl he loved. Young Lund did not know that, for the purpose of avoiding complica tions, Flip had prevailed upon Peg to go with him to a quiet resort in the country and rest the few days that they would be at liberty. Peg consented rather reluctantly— and Flip understood why. He soothed her with his fatherly caresses and told her that the days would quickly pass and insisted that rest, after her ex citing experiences, would be vastly beneficial. And, accordingly, they re paired to a quiet resort in the vicinity where Peg immensely enjoyed her restful vacation and once more be came her natural, buoyant and ingenu ous self. The opening performance of the re habilitated show was little more than a tryout of the equipment. The new canvas was raised and \rehearsed.\ The big working organization was re assembled and the places of those who had wandered away during the layoff were filled. For it was coming har vest time in the surrounding country and higher wages than the circus paid were attractive to some of the \razor- backs\ and workingmen in minor po sitions. Doctor Lund ordered that there should be only one performance and that the show should begin earlier than customary in the evening—for he had planned to give another party to celebrate the reopening of his show. The \towners\ (as circus folk call people who are not connected with the show) decided that Doctor Lund was \becoming eccentric' The • stirring events that marked the lawn party he had just previously given were fresh in memory. Flip, among all the performers in the show, took the announcement of the festivities seriously. To the oth ers It meant another jolly night—for they were all too sympathetic to refer to Pox's unhappy affliction and the dis tressing Incident occasioned by her at tack of convulsions at the first Lund party. But Flip had been too keenly affected by the circumstances to look upon the coming event with anything short of apprehonslve dread. Peg, light-hearted and gay, heard the announcement with real delight. Completely restored In health, nervea and spirit by her brief rest, the girl could see nothing but an evening of pleasure in prospect. And then, too, \he\ would be there! This last confession of her Inmost thoughts Peg made to no one but herself. She had even avoided diB- cusslng young Doctor Lund with FTlp save only when the old clown Insisted But Flip understood, and realized with out his little girl telling him that she dearly loved the handsome young physician—and Flip wondered how it would all end. The reopening of the show passed off without unusual Incident, so well are such organizations usually man aged and equipped. Everything worked smoothly and as far as the actual per formance \was concerned there was nothing to indicate that the tour had been interrupted. The performers were glad to be in harness again, and there was an atmosphere of happiness and satisfaction on every hand. The Lund mansion was again bril liantly lighted and the grounds deco rated for the celebration. Most of the guests who had been in attendance up on Doctor Lund's previous party were again assembled. The circus people arrived soon after the performance had concluded, and with dancing, mu sic and gayety the affair was progress ing splendidly. An observant person would have dis covered a change in the attitude of Doctor and Mrs. Lund toward each other since their last public appear ance. Instead of receiving their com pany together, they kept apart during the entire evening an'd although their attitude was not conspicuous it was clearly apparent that they were not congenial. Flip, in particular, noticed this and he was further perplexed. Young Lund sought Peg's society immediately upon her arrival. She was escorted by her daddy, but Lund soon engaged her attention and, di rectly, the young sweethearts found a secluded spot in the conservatory. For them time passed on fleeting winga thereafter. When the party had been in prog ress for a considerable time, there ap peared at the door of the Lundf man sion three men who demanded admis sion. The butler protested that he must first see Doctor or Mrs. Lund, but the strangers disregarded him and forced their way into the entrance hall. From there they passed to the parlor where the guests were danc ing. While the men stood in the door 1 surveying the crowd, the butler hur ried through the rooms and sought out Doctor Lund. When told of the in truders Lund approached them and de manded what they wanted and why they had entered his house uninvited. One of the men, talking ; 0 r a u three, said in reply to Doctor Und 3 demands tor an explanation \We are secret service op»-atives and our visit here is the result 01 our having received this letter, by special delivery, only a few hours ago. • Taking the letter in hand, Donor Lund read: \If you will be at the ^. cua party at Doctor Lund 'B tonight you will find the ringleader oi the counter, feiters.\ There was no signature Doctor Lund was astounded. Ho protested that there could be no like lihood of truth In the assertion con veyed in the letter But the secret service men were insistent, and their actions and loud talk attracted the at tention of the guestB. In a twinkling there was an atmosphere ot suppressed excitement everywhere. The dancing stopped, the musicians ceaBed playing, and the guests began to gather in groups around the excited men. Young Lund and Peg had left their seclusion In the conservatory and were on the point of indulging in a dance •The Rising Tide Bid Fair to Sub- merge Her. when the music stopped. They noticed the crowd around Doctor Lund and the three strangers, and quickly joined the group of curious and excited guests. From another room Mrs. Lund en tered, and working her way through the group crowding around Doctor Lund and the secret service men, soon caught the drift of the discussion Her face blanched for an instant, and then, by an effort recovering ber self-pos session, Mrs. Lund said in a command ing voice: \Doctor Lund, why don't you have these Intruders bodily ejected from the house. They have no right to come here in this way and disturb oui guests.\ Before Doctor Lund could make re ply the spokesman for the secret serv ice officers responded \We are officers of the law, come here to find the leader of a gang ot counterfeiters, and we are going to stay here until we are ready to leave. The first person to lay a hand upon one of us doeo so at his peril.\ And three revolvers wera whipped from the pockets of the officers In a simultaneous move. Peg screamed, as if in terror at the sight of the revolvers. Old Flip Bprang to her side, his face paling with ap prehension. He looked at his watch- it was close to the midnight hour \Do be careful, Peg dear,\ said Flip, \don't excite yourself. We must hur ry away from here.\ And ho attempt ed to gently draw her aside, with the Intention of leading her from the room. But It was too late. Peg's voice raised to a hysterical scream as she cried: \I sent a letter to the secret serv ice, Doctor Lund. A member of your family is the head of a gang of coun terfeiters.\ Then the circus gW laughed wildly, as Flip struggled to restrain her. The secret service men were'quick to reach Peg's side. Doctor Lund's unfeigned astonishment marie him speechless under the girl's accusation. Mrs. Lund's face was drawn instinc tively into hard, set lines, as she stood within a few feet of the excited girl, rigid as a statue. \Who do you mean?\ the officer shouted, putting his hand on Peg's shoulder with a rough clasp. When the secret service operative grabbed Peg, young Lund got Into ac tion. He struck the forearm of the ofBcer, loosening his hold upon the girl, and shouted: \Keep your hands off that girl, you big bully. I'm able to protect her from your kind.\ Peg's hysteria was now at lt« height. Poor old Flip tried with what strength he had to restrain ber. but ber natural vitality, augmented by the nervous ferocity of her affliction, made the old clown's efforts utterly useless. The girl screamed ogafn and again, striking out with her hands and feet after the manner her attacks usually took effect, and before young L UD d could realize ber purpoRe, she caught him by the hair of the head and vigor ously shook him ba<* and forth, de spite his struggles tt> resist Then she threw him from her gra3p and pointing an accusing finger straight at young Lund tie girl cHer} out: \There is your man.' He Is the lead or of the counterfeitturs.' Then Peg gave one more wild hys terical laugh, and swooned In Flip' (END OF SIXTH flPISOBBJ
