The San Francisco call and post., 1913-12-20
BEGIN THIS GREAT NEW SERIAL TODAY
4 Thrill in Every ImtaNment a Punch in Every Chaptat

/ NJ
But In moments of greatest tragedy
one may not be alone Suddenly
Aline remembered that Father Shan
non and Chief Dempster were to dine
with them that night. The church.
the secret servfce-and her own
father was district attorney for the
United States. Church and statel
And the girl whose own rGsh deed OF
six years before had made her feel an
outlaw arrayed against both clergy
and the law must don an evening
gown and dine with these powers
when all she longed for was to be
alone. to think how to defeat the
powers of evil that were threatening
her.
THE MASK
She was a fair hostess to her
fathers guests. and they never
dreamed what harvest the poison seed
sown years gone by would bring the
slender, white clad girl that very
] night. The pink flush of fever in her
cheek was matched by two Killarney
roses she had fastened at her belt.
with the great emerald pin her father,
Gordon Graham, had given his girl
wife when their soon to be mother
| less BARN was born
Those Killarney roses had come
from Holbrook. and a smile, half sad.
half mirthful, was born in Aline's
face when she pinned them in place
with her mothers emerald. For when
Holbrook had heard the story of that
great green stone. he had said: THAT
! is prophetic! You were born to marry
an Irishman"
But the girl knew that six years
ago she had put It out of her power
to marry any man-unIess-ah. to-
night must give her light. And Aline
did not guess that tonight might
doom her forever to deepest darkness
Ito prison gloom,
So the fair young hostess was at
heart a trembling and turbulent
woman with world old sorrow turn
ing her veins to ice.
She must think-think what to do
how to flee the danger.
And at last she determined to flee
1t by meeting it-by facing it-by
going into the spiders web and pluck
ing from the inner meshes all they
held OF danger for her.
R.x<
quished. and Aline went deeper into
the black heart OF intrigue, farther
into the veg OF master spiders
weaving than a girl may venture and
come out unsmirched.
At last the interminable dinner was
over. at last the girl was free to seek
her own room. to don cloak OF
shrouding gray velvet and to Creep
like thief in the night from her
fathers home out into danger and
menace she would have died rather
than face.
Down the stairway, OUT upon the
street, skulking in shadow, trembling
at a sound, the daughter OF the dis
trict attorney of the United States
made her way like the most abject of
the criminals her father prosecuted.
Would that father be forced to prose-
cute his own daughter some evil dav?
Aline Graham went trembling In
darkness on the night that marked
her life's great flood tide, and that
darkness might soon be utter dark
ness. utter blackness, because once
a pretty. motherless school girl had
known three days of sunshine by a
summer sea.
Three days of sunshine by a sum-
mer sea."-and tonight Aline was on
her way from sunshine to gloom that
might be eternal-to the home of
Judson Flagg. blackmailer -in-c chief of
Washington society.
In the house to which she was ro-
ing the master spider was weaving.
ceaselessly weaving, webs to enmesh
all unwary human flies who came
near him.
HIS ONE GOOD SIDE
Judson Flagg felt certain that
Aline would answer his threat and
come to him; but while he waited for
one victim he must ever be planning
the undoing of others. With him was
the one human being who loved him
who felt real affection for this moi
some creature who preyed on the
weaknesses OF his fellow humans-ft
was Tommy Gilbert. an orphan boy of
eighteen, who's acted as his uncle.s
secretary and right hand man. Be-
cause there is a chink in the armor
of the hardest heart, Flagg loved
Tommy, tooAand loved him the more
because in world where he dared
trust few he could put absolute faith
in Tommy Gilbert.
Not a single mistake in fourteen
pages. Tommy he said with pride.
You are fine stenographex."