Photoplay (Jul - Dec 1919)

II B' affect masiiucrau Synopsis iC)li CILMORE, the most popular •^—j. ij young athlete in Washington, d.scov ^■K^. ^"^ ers to his dismay, that he is only an ^^^HP ^^|d^ a'loptcd son. His "fatlicr" is a worthless dis^^^r Sf^^^ >ulutc, but his "mother," Martha, gives him ^^^^HHK^ a curious ring which she says was sewn W ^^tm^^^ i"'o 'lis baby dress, and is the only clue to his parentage. The ring has a jade top, I arvcd in a queer oriental dcs gn. On the iii^ide of the ring is the inscription, ".MOK."' Martha believes they represent the opening letters of his parents name, who are wealthy New Yorkers. Reported dead in a railroad wreck. Hob takes advantage of the misconception to ade. He goes to New York, assumes tlic name of jam'cs Stevens, and makes many friends, one of whom is Henry Morpan, a jeweler by day and at night head of a treacherous band called the White Circle Gang. Kvery niglit at the stroke of twelve Bob eiilcis some home whose owner's name begins with the letters "'MOR." .All his searches for papers concerning his birth are fruitless. I'ut he succeeds in terrorizing the town and setting all the police after "The Midnight Man." One niuht he enters Henry ^lorgan■s home and is discovered by Nell, the beautiful daughter. Bob's escape piques her and she vows to get the Midnight Man herself. In spite of that. Bob gains considerable amusement out of meeting her socially, as James Stevens. .She grows very attached to him, and even discu.sses the .Midnight Man. Also on Bob's trail is an Oriental, Raniah Dliin, in pursuit of the mysterious ring Bob wears, as it holds the secret to a vast fortune. Bvit Bob repeatedly eludes him. Henry Morgan wants him as head of his (lang. Bob declines with emphasis and although he knows the character of Henry Morgan keeps still for the girl's sake. However, Henry feels unsafe, and orders his gangsters to "get" Cob. Ramah Dhin is killed and the secret of the ring goes to John Ciilmore. . One night Bob is trapped by gangsters dtn-nig a Red Cross bazaar, bound and thrown into a cellar of water to .Irown. r' Henry Morgan and Spike Gavin had been in any frame of mind for thinking after throwing "Jim Stevens," unconscious and bound, into the secret pool under Morgan's house they might have taken certain important precautions. These plotting villains had seen quite enough of the charmed life and miraculous escapes of the remarkable "Stevens" to have made them pluperfectly cautious in their desperations. But they were not. Morgan and Gavinn turned and ran upstairs again to the scene of the recent conflict and excitement of the "Midnight Man's" appearance at Nell Morgan's charity fete. They did not pause even to restore the flooring over the murliy waters of the pool. And so the impossible happened again. The shock of the cold water swirling about him brought consciousness back into Bob's hmp body. He was confounded wi:h the heaviness which seemed to pull him down. Then he tried to swallow and gulped water. He discovered that his hands were tied to his sides, that his feet were fastened together and that instead of rising to the surface as he naturally should after the first plunge he was going down and dov;n in the watery darkness. It was a matter of seconds that all this went through his mind, like a dream which, flashing for but a moment, reviews the course of years. The events of the evening went through his consciousness — Nell's disappointment in the unresponsiveness of her guests to her pet charity, his appearance as the "Midnight Man," Spike Gavin's attempt to shoot him, the note which summoned him to the smoking room, his bending before the mirror to straighten his hair, then the sudden crackling stars and blackness that snuffed out consciousness until this desperate moment. Morgan's doing — this predicament, trussed up and thrown to drown like a cat, Bob reflected. But water held no terror for Bob Gilmore, the athlete. Once he measured the odds and conditions any struggle was half won. And he was trained to stay under water for record time. Bob's assailants in their fevered haste had tied him most insecurely. He slipped the knots with little difliculty and let himself be buoyed to the surface. Clutching a slimy beam, he peered about. No one was in sight, and he clambered out. shaking the waler off. The Mid Coi^cluding chapters of a gre; as "The Midnight Man," learn i rious gang, and — gains tb , The door to the gloomy stairway leading back to the house stood ajar. Bob found it and groped his way up, straining every nerve in preparation for an attack by some unseen enemy. He reached the top in safety. Light showed through the cracks in the wall,outlining the door. Bob pushed it open easily and found himself again in the room to which he had been summoned. It was deserted. Bob found his hat and coat, scribbled a note on one of his cards, and as he went out left it with the butler for his hostess. "I got so badly mussed up in that Httle tussle with our bandit friend that I'm going to leave you," it read. "This is 'good night.' You will forgive me, won't you?" "I hope he wasn't hurt," said Nell, solicitously, as she read the note to her father. The fragile frappe glass in Henry Morgan's hand crashed to the floor. It was a voice from the dead! BOB GILMORE rose next morning with the air of a man who has determined on an important step. He put the paper which proved John Gilmore's guilt of the forgery — for which he himself had assumed responsibiUty, to save the feelings of his foster-mother — into his pocket. Then he started down town. As he approached the curb in front of Henry Morgan's jewelry establishment, he sr.w his foster-father leave, look about, him nervously, then hurry on down the street. Bob paid his taxi driver, ran up the steps to the front door, and pushed his way, without the usual formalities of being announce 1, into Morgan's private office. Morgan sat at his desk, his face furrowed and his eyes narrowed in very disturbing thought. He did not know what to expect of "Tim Stevens" after that deal of last night. "Stevens," of course, would suspect that he was responsible. Morgan knew that he m.ust act — and act first. Then another consideration had come in to upset his peace of mind. Vistas of great wealth controlled by the jade ring which "Jim Stevens" always wore on his finger had been brought him not half an hour ago by John Gilmore. "There's a secret under the seal," Gilmore had said. "This fellow h.is been too slick for me. If you can help me get the ring, we'll split the money." Morgan was combing his mind for a last diabolical plot v/hich would get the ring and silence "Jim Stevens" forever. Since John Gilmore's call, he was glad that he and "Spike" had J