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Show jf",mTWM III i; The Exploits of Elaine j A Detective Novel and a Motion Picture Drama I! " I By ARTHUR B. REEVE " i ' J The Weil-Known Novelist and the I -o Creator of the "Craig Kennedy" Stories I ' ' ' Presented io Collaboration With the Pathe Players and the Eclectic Film Company T Copyright, 1914. by the Star Company All Foreign Rights Reserved X last. "Where nave you been? I've been off on a little job myself, and got back." Slim apologized profusely. "Yes, sir," he replied hastily, "well I went over to the Dodge house, and I saw them finally. 1 followed then: Into a jewelry shop. That lawyei bought a wrist watch. So I bought one just like it. 1 thought perhaps we could " "Give it to me," growled Clutching Hand, seizing it the moment Slim dls played it. "And don't butt in see?' From the capacious- desk the mas ter criminal pulled a set of smal drills, vises, and other Jeweler's tool! and placed them on the table. "All right," he relented. "Now, dc you see what I have just thought of no? This is just the chance. Look al me." Carefully he plied his hands to the job, regardless of time. "There," he exclaimed at last, hold ing the watch where they could all see it. "See!" He pulled out the stem to set the hands and slowly twisted It between his thumb and finger. He turned the hands until they were almost at the point of three o'clock. Then he held the watch out where all could see. As the minute hand touched three, from the back of the case, as if from the chasing itself, a little needle, per haps a quarter of an Inch, jumped out. It seemed to come from what looked like merely a small insect in the decoration. deco-ration. "You see what will happen at the hour of three?" he asked. No one said a word, as he held up a vial which he had drawn from his pocket On It they could read the label, la-bel, "Ricinus." "One of the most powerful poisons in the world," he exclaimed. "Enough to kill a regiment!" They fairly gasped and looked at it with horror, exchanging glances Opening the vial carefully, he dipped in a thin piece of glass and placed a tiny drop in a receptacle back of the needle and on the needle itself. "I've sat my invention to go off al three o'clock," he concluded. "To morrow forenoon, it will have to be delivered early and I don't believe we shall be troubled any longer bj Miss Elaine Dodge," he added, ven omously. Calmly he wrapped up the appar ently innocent engine of destruction and handed it to Slim. "See that she gets it in time," he said merely. "I will, sir," answered Slim, taklni It gingerly. Flirty Florrie had returned that aft ernoon, late, from some expeditlor on which she had been sent. Rankling in her heart yet was the death of her lover, Dan the Dude. Thus, when she arrived home, she went to the telephone to report anc called a number, 4494 Greenwich. "Hello, chief," she repeated. "This is Flirty. Have you done anything ! by Flirty, recovered the telegraphorue Together we carried It !o the laboratory. labora-tory. I There he set up a little instrument , ! that looked like a wedge sitting up on I end. in the face of which was a dial, i Through it he began to run the wire from the spools, and, taking an ear-t ear-t piece, put another on my head over ! my ears. He turned a switch and we listened ; eagerly. First came several calls from peo-' peo-' pie with bills, and she put them off most adroitly. I Then we heard a call that caused i Kennedy to look at me quickly, stop the machine and start at that point i over again. "That's what I wanted," he said, as ; we listened in: "Give me 4494 Greenwich." "Hello." "Hello, chief. This Is Flirty. Have . you done anything yet in the little I matter we talked about?" "Say be careful of names over i the wire." "You know what I mean." ! "Yes, the trick will be pulled off at i three o'clock." "Good! Good-by, and thank you!" i "Goed-by." Craig paused and considered a minute, min-ute, then moved to the telephone. "There's only one thing to do, and . that's t6 follow . out my original scheme," he said energetically. "Information, "In-formation, please." "Where is Greenwich 4494?" he asked a moment later. : The minutes passed. "Thank you, sir," he cried, writing down on a pad an address on the West side, near . the river front. Then turning to me, he exclaimed, "Walter, we've got him at last!" i Craig rose and put on his hat and coat thrusting a pair of opera glasses into his pocket, in case we should want to observe the place at a distance. dis-tance. I followed him excitedly. The , trail was hot. , Kennedy and I came at last to the , place on the West side where tha crooked streets curved off. Instead of keeping on until he came . to the place we sought, he turned off i and quickly slipped behind the shelter i of a fence. There was a broken board - in the fence and he bent down, gaz-. gaz-. ing through with the opera glasses. Across the lot was the new hang-. hang-. out, a somewhat dilapidated, old-fash-i ioned brick house of several generations genera-tions back. Through the glass we could see an evil-countenanced crook slinking along. He mounted the steps ; and rang the bell, turning as he waited. From a .small aperture In the door- - way looked out another face, equally i evil. Under cover, the crook made the sign of the Clutching Hand twice i and w-as admitted. "That's the place, all right." whts- pered Kennedy with satisfaction He 1 hurried to a telephone booth, where he called several numbers. Then we i returned to the laboratory. ; From the table he picked up a I return with (wo wires.. Attmrh ,nem . to the bell which I win leave- V ere j When It rings, raid the house. Ja,e" j son will lead you to it. Come, Wa,'-. Wa,'-. ter," fie added, picking up the bags. Ten minutes later, outside the ue-w ' headquarters, a crouefied-up figure, carrying a small package, his face hidden under his soft hat and upturned up-turned collar, could have been 6een slinking along until he came to the steps. He went up and peered through the aperture of the doorway. Then he rajig the bell. Twice he raised his hand and clenched it in the noiv familiar fa-miliar clutch. A crook inside saw it through the aperture and opened the door. The figure entered and almost before the door was shut tied the masking handkerchief hand-kerchief over his face, which hid his identity from even the most trusted lieutenants. The crook bowed to the chief, who, with a growl as though of recognition, moved down the hall. As he came to the room from which Slim had been sent on his mission, the same group was seated in the thicjt tobacco smoke. "You fellows clear out," he growled. "I want to be alone." "The old man is peeved." muttered one, outside, as they left. The weird figure gazed about the room to be sure that he was alone. - When Craig and I left the police he had given me most minute instructions instruc-tions which I was now following out to the letter. "I want you to hide there," he said, indicating a barrel back of the house next to the hangout. "When you see a wire come down from the headquarters, headquar-ters, take it and carry it across the lot ts the old house. Attach it to the bell; then wait. When it rings, raid the Clutching Hand joint." I waited what seemed to be an Interminable In-terminable time back of the barrel. Finally, however, I saw a coll of fine wire drop rapidly to the ground from a window somewhere above. I made a dash for it, as though I were trying to rush the trenches, seized my prize and, without looking back to see where it came from, beat a hasty retreat. Around the lot I skirted, until at last I reached the place where the police were waiting. Quickly we fastened the wire to the bell. We waited. Not a sound from the bell. Up in the room In the joint the hunched-up figure stood by the table. He had taken his hat off and placed it carefully on the table and was now waiting. Suddenly a noise at the door startled him. He listened. Then he backed away from the door and drew a revolver. revol-ver. As the door slowly opened there entered en-tered another figure, hat over his eyes, collar up, a handkerchief over his face, the exact counterpart of the first! For a moment each glared at the other. "Hands up!" shouted the first figure, fig-ure, hoarsely, moving the gun and closing the door with his foot. The newcomer slowly raised his crooked hand over his head, as the blue steel revolver gaped menacingly. With a quick movement of the other hand the first sinister figure removed the handkerchief from his face and straightened up. I It was Kennedy! 'tome over to the center of the room," ordered Kennedy. Clutching Hand obeyed, eyeing his captor closely. "Now lay your weapons on the table." ta-ble." He tossed down a revolver. The two still faced each other. "Take off that handkerchief!" It was a tense moment. Slowly Clutching Hand started to obey. Then, he stopped. Kennedy was Just about to thunder, "Go on," when the criminal calmly remarked, "You've got MB all right, Kennedy, but in twenty minutes Elaine Dodge will be dead!" He said it with a nonchalance that might have deceived anyone less astute as-tute than Kennedy. Suddenly there (lashed over Craig the words: "THE TRICK WILL BE PULLED OFF AT THREE O'CLOCK!" There was no fake about that. Kennedy Ken-nedy frowned menacingly. If he killed Clutching Hand, Elaine would die. If he fought he must either kill or be killed. If he handed Clutching Hand over Elaine was lost. He looked at his watch. It was twenty-five minutes min-utes of three. "What do you mean tell me?" demanded de-manded Kennedy with forced calm. "Yesterday Mr. Bennett bought a wrist watch for Elaine." the Clutching Hand said quietly. ."They left it to be regulated. One of rny men bought one just like it. Mine was delivered to her today." "A likely story!" doubted Kennedy. 'For answer the Clutching Hand merely pointed to the telephone. Kennedy reached for it. "One tiling." interrupted the Clutching Clutch-ing Hand.' "You are a man of honor." "Yes yes. Go on." "If I tell you what to do, you must promise to give me a fighting chance." "Yes, yes." "Call up Aunt Josephine, then. Do just as 1 say." Covering Clutching Hand. Kennedy called a number. "This is Mr. Kennedy, Ken-nedy, Mrs. Dodge. Did Elaine receive a present of a wrist watch from Mr. Bennett?" "Yes," slfe replied, "for her birthday. birth-day. It came this forenoon." Kennedy hung up the receiver and faced the Clutching Hand, puszled as the latter saiB: "Call up Martin, the jeweler." Again Kennedy obeyed. "Has the watch purchased for Miss Elaine Dodge been delivered?" he' i asked the clerk. "No," came back the reply, "the watch Mr. Bennett bought is still hers vVing regulated." Kennedy hung up the receiver. He j stunned. TVe watch will cause her death at rlrr?-? o'clock." said the Clutching; Hanci "Swear id leave here without discovering my Identity and I will tell1 you how. You can save her! In that watch," he liissed. "I have set a poW soned needle in a spring that will be released and will plunge it into her arm at exactly three o'clock On the needle is ricinusi" Craig advanced, furious. As he did so Clutching Hand potnted calmly to the clock, it was twenty minutes of three! With a mental struggle Kennedy controlled his loathing of the creaturei before him. "All right but you'll hear from me sooner than you suspect." he shouted, starting for the door. Then he came back and lifted his hat, hiding as much as possible the-selenium the-selenium cell, letting the light falll on It. "Only Elaine's life has saved you. With a last threat he dashed out-He out-He hailed a cab, returning from some-steamship some-steamship wharves not far away. "Quick!" he ordered, giving tha Dodge address on Fifth avenue. Minute after minute the police andi I waited. Was anything wrongf Where was Craig? Just then a tremor grew into . tinkle, then came the strong burr of the bell. Kennedy needed us. With a shout of encouragement to the men I dashed out and over to the old house. Meanwhile Clutching Hand himself had approached the table to recover his weapon and had noticed the queer little selenium cell. "The deuce!"- he cried. "He'si planned to get me anyhow!" Clutching Hand rushed to the door then stopped short. Outside he couldl hear the police and myself. Clutching Hand slammed shut his door and pulled down over it a heavy wooden bar. At the desk he paused and took out a piece of cardboard. Then, with a heavy black-marking pencil, Ee calmlv printed on it, while we battered at the1 barricaded door, a few short feet away.. He laid the sign on the desk, then on another piece of cardboard, drew crudely a hand with the index finger pointing. This he placed on a chair,, indicating the desk. Just as the swaying and .bulginjc door gave way, Clutching Hand gave the desk a pull. It opened up his getaway. get-away. . He closed it with a sardonic smile in our direction, just as the door crashed In. We looked about. There was not a soul In the room, nothing but the Bele-nium Bele-nium cell, the chairs, the desk. "Look!" I cried, catching sight of the index finger, and going over to the desk. We rolled back the top. There on the flat top was a sign: Dear Blockheads: Kennedy and I couldn't wait. Then came that mysterious sign of the Clutching Hand. We hunted over the room3, but could find nothing that showed a clue. ; Where was Clutching Hand? Where was Kennedy? In the next house Clutching Hand had literally come out of an upright piano into the room corresponding to that he had left. Hastily he threw off his handkerchief, slouch hat, old coat and trousers. A neat striped pair of trousers replaced the old, frayed and baggy pair. A new shirt, then a sporty vest and a frock coat followed. As he put the finishing touches on he looked for all the world like a bo-whiskered bo-whiskered foreigner. At the door of the new headquarters, a few seconds later, I Btood with the police. "Not a sign of him anywhere," growled one of the officers. Elaine was sitting In the library reading when Aunt Josephine turned to her. "What time is it, dear?" she asked. Elaine glanced at her pretty new-trinket. new-trinket. "Nearly three, Auntie just a couple of minutes," she Bald. Just then there came the sound of feet running madly down the hallway.. They jumped up, startled. Kennedy, his coat flying and hat jammed over his eyes, had almost bowled over poor Jennings in his mad race down the hall. "Well," demanded Elaine haughtily, "what's ". Before she knew what was going on Craig hurried up to her and literally ripped the watch eff her wrist, break- ' ing the beautiful bracelet. He held it up, gingerly. Elaine wan speechless. Was this Kennedy? Was he possessed by such an Inordinate jealousy of Bennett? As he held the w-atch up, the second haid ticked around and the minute , hand passed the meridian of the hour. A viciously sharp needle gleamedi out then sprang back Into the filigree work again. "Well." she gasped again, "what's-the "what's-the meaning of this?" Craig gazed at Elaine In silence. Should he defend his rudeness, IF she did not understand? She stamped her foot, and repeated the question a third time. "What do you mean, sir, d suclc conduct?" Slowly he bowed. "I just don't rike the king of lilrth- day presents yu receive," he said, turning on his heel. "Good afternoosW (TO BE CONTINt'JtBj j 8YNOPS1S. The New York police are mystified by a .erles of murders and other crimes. The principal clue to the criminal is the warn. Ing letter which is sent the victims, signed with a "clutching hand." The latest victim vic-tim of the mysterious assassin Is Taylor Dodge, the Insurance president. His daughter, Elaine, employs Craig Kennedy, the famous scientific detective, to try to unravel the mystery. What Kennedy accomplishes ac-complishes Is told by his friend Jameson, a newspaper man. Enraged at the deter-nined deter-nined effort which Klaine and Craig Ken-nedv Ken-nedv are making to put an end to his crimes, the Clutching Hand, as this strange criminal is known, resorts to all orts of the most diabolical schemes to put them out of the way. Each chapter . of the story tells of a new plot against their lives and of the way the great detective de-tective uses all his skill to save this pretty pret-ty girl and himself from death. ELEVENTH EPISODE THE HOUR OF THREE. With the ominous forefinger of his Clutching Hand extended, the Master Criminal emphasized his instructions to nlfc minions. "Perry Bennett, her lawyer, is in favor again with Elaine Dodge," he was saying. "She and Kennedy are on the outs even" yet. But they may become reconciled. Then she'll have that fellow on our trail again. Before that happen" we must 'get' h -see?" It was In the latest headquarters to which Craig had chased the criminal, crim-inal, in one of the toughest parts of Now York's great river front section. "Now," went on the Clutching Hand. "1 want you, Slim, to follow them. See what they do where they go. It's her birthday. Something's bound to occur that will give you a lead. All you've got to do is to use your head. Get me?" It was, as Clutching Hand had said, Elaine's birthday. She had received many callers and congratulations, innumerable in-numerable costly and beautiful tokens to-kens of remembrance from her countless count-less friends and admirers. In the conservatory of the Dodge house Elaine, Aunt Josephine and Susie Martin Mar-tin were sitting discussing not only the happy occasion, but more, the many strange events of the past few weeks. "Well, said a familiar voice behind them, "what would a certain blonde young lady accept as a birthday present pres-ent from her family lawyer?" All three turned In surprise. "Oh, Mr. Bennett," cried Elaine. "How you startled us!" Elaine hesitated. She was thinking aot so much of his words as of Ken-sedy. Ken-sedy. To them all, however, it seemed that she was unable to make up her mind what, in the wealth of her luxury, what she would like. Susie Martin had been wondering whether, now that Bennett was here, she was not de trop, as she looked, at her wrist watch mechanically. As she did so, an Idea occurred to her. "Why not one of these?" she cried impulsively, indicating the watch. "Father "Fa-ther has some beauties at the shop." "Oh. good," exclaimed Elaine, "how sweet!" "Then let's all go to the shop," said Bennett. "Miss Martin will personally conduct the tour, and we shall have our pick of the finest stock." It was too gay a party to notice a sinister figure following them in a cab. Chatting with animation, the three moved over to the watch counter, while the crook, with a determination not to risk missing anything, entered the shop door, too. "Mr. Thomas," asked Susie as her talher's clerk bowed to them,, "please show Miss Dodge the wrist watches father was telling about." Unobserved, the crook walked over near enough to hear what was going on. At last, with much banter and yet care, Elaine selected one that was in-deed in-deed a beauty and was about to snap it on her dainty wrist when the clerk Interrupted. "I beg your pardon,'; he suggested, "hut I'd advise you to leave it to be regulated, if you please." Reluctantly Elaine handed it over 1o the clerk. A moment later they went out and entered the car again. As they did so. Slim, who had been looking over various things in the next case as if undecided, came up to the watch counter. "I'm making a present," he remarked rontideMally to the clerk. "Mow about those bracelet watches?" The clerk pulled out some of the cheaper ones. "No," he said thoughtfully, pointing out a iray in the showcase, "something like those." He ended by picking out one identically iden-tically l,ke that which Elaine had selected, se-lected, and started to pay for it. "Better have it regulated." repeated the clerk. "No," he objected hastily, shaking nis head and paying the money quickly- "It's a present and I want it tonight. to-night. H took the watch and left the store "Ttedly. . the laboratory, Kennedy was working over an oblong oak box, per-Ps per-Ps sigMeen inches in length and half as high. In the box I could see, besides other apparatus, two good sized spools of fine wire. "What's all that?" I asked inquisitively. inquisi-tively. "Another of the new instruments that scientific detectives use," he responded, re-sponded, scarcely looking up, "a little magnetic wizard, the telegraphone." "Which is?" I prompted. "Something we detectives might use to take down and 'can' telephone conversations con-versations and other such conversations. conversa-tions. When it is attached properly to a telephone. It records everything that is said over the wire. The record is not made mechanically on a cylinder, cylin-der, but electro-magnetically on this wire." Craig continued to tinker tantaliz-ingly tantaliz-ingly with the machine which had been Invented by a Dane, Valdemar Poulsen. He had scarcely finished testing the telegraphone when the laboratory door opened and a clean-cut young man entered. Kennedy, I knew, had found that the routine work of the Clutching Hand case was beyond his limited time and had' retained this young man, Raymond Chase, to attend to that. Just now what worried Craig was the situation with Elaine, and I fancied fan-cied that he had given Chase some commission in connection with that. "I've got it, Mr. Kennedy," greeted Chase with quiet modesty. "Good," responded Craig heartily. "I knew you would." "Got what?" I asked a moment later. Kennedy nodded for Chase to answer. an-swer. "I've located the new residence of Flirty Florrie," he replied. I saw what Kennedy was after at once. Flirty Florrie and Dan the Dude had caused the quarrel between himself him-self and Elaine. Dan the Dude was dead. But Flirty Florrie might be forced to explain it. "That's fine," he added, exultingly. "Now I'll clear that thing up." He took a hasty step to the telephone, tele-phone, put his hand on the receiver and was about to take it off the hook. Then he paused, and I saw his face working. Finally his pride, for Kennedy's was a highly sensitive nature, got the better bet-ter of him. "No," he said, half to himself, "not yet." Elaine had returned home. Alone, her thoughts naturally went .back to what had happened recently to interrupt a friendship which had been the sweetest in her life. "There must be some mistake," she murmured pensively to herself, thinking think-ing of the photograph Flirty had given her. "Oh, why did I send him away? Why didn't I believe him?" Mechanically, she put out her hand to the telephone. She was about to take off the receiver, re-ceiver, when something seemed to stay her hand. She wanted him to come to her. Craig's eye fell on the telegraphone, and an idea seemed to occur to him. "Walter, you and Chase bring that thing along." he said a moment later. At last we came to the apartment house at which Chase had located the woman. "Now, Chase," he directed, "you needn't go in with us. Walter and I can manage this now. But don't get out of touch with me. I shall need you any moment certainly, tomorrow." tomor-row." Kennedy slipped on a badge inscribed: in-scribed: "Telephone inspector." "Walter." he smiled, "you're elected elect-ed my helper." We entered the apartment house hall and found a negro boy in charge of the switchboard. "You look over the switchboard, Kelly," he winked at me, "while I test out the connections back here. There must be something wrong with the wires or there wouldn't be so many complaints." He had gone back to the switchboard switch-board while the negro, still unsuspicious, unsuspi-cious, watched without understanding what it was all about. "I don't know," Craig muttered finally final-ly for the benefit of the boy, "but I think I'll have to leave that tester, after all. Say, if I put it here, you'll have to be careful not to let anyone meddle with it. IT you do there'll be the deuce to pay. See?" Kennedy had already started to fasten fas-ten the telegraphone to the wires he had selected from the tangle. At last he finished and stood up. "Don't-disturb it and don't let anyone any-one else touch It," he ordered. "B'et-I "B'et-I ter not tell anyone that's the best way. I'll be back for it tomorrow, probably. "Yas. sah." nodded the boy, with a bow, as h went out. Back In the new hang-out, the Clutching Hand was laying down the law to bis lieutenants and heelers, when Slim at last entered. "Huh!" growled the master criminal, crim-inal, conveying the fact that he was considerably relieved to sea him at Craig Kennedy Seized Elaine's Arm, Broke the Beautiful Bracelet and Ripped the Watch Off Her Wrist. yet in the little matter we talked about?" "Say be careful of names over the wire," came a growl. "You know what I mean." "Yes. The trick will be pulled off at three o'clock." "Good!" she exclaimed. "Good-by and thank you." With his well-known caution Clutching Hand did not even betray names over the telephone if he could help it. Flirty hung up the receiver with satisfaction. The manes of the departed de-parted Dan might soon rest in peace! The next day, early In the forenoon, a young man with a small package carefully done up came to the Dodge house. "From Martin's, the jeweler's, for Miss Dodge," .he said to Jennings at the door. Elaine and Aunt Josephine were sitting in the library when Jennings announced him. "Oh. it's my watch," cried Elaine. "Show him in." Elaine put the watch on her wrist and admired it; "Is it all right?" asked Slim. "Yes, yes." answered Elaine. "You( may go." ... Early the same morning Kennedy-went Kennedy-went around again to the apartment house and. cautious not to be seen; small coil over which 1 had seen him working and attached it to the bell and some batteries. He replaced it on the table, while I watched curiously. curi-ously. "A selenium cell," he explained. "Only when light falls on it does it become a good conductor of electricity. electrici-ty. Then the bell, will ring." Just before making the connection he placed his hat over the cell. Then he lifted the hat. The light fell on It and the bell rang. He replaced the hat and the bell stopped. Just then there came a knock at the door. I opened it. "Hello, Chase." greeted Kennedy. "Well. I've found the new headquarters headquar-ters all right over on the West side." Kennedy picked up the selenium cell and a long coil of fine wire, which he placed in a bag. Then he took another bag already packed, and, shifting them between us, we hurriei downtown. Near the vacant lot, back of the new headquarters, was an old broken-dow- house. Through the rear of it we entered. I started back in astonishment as we entered and found eight or ten policemen already there. Kennedy had ordered them to be reat for a raid, and they had dropped' in one at a time without attracting attention. "Well, men," he greeted them, -I see you found the place al! right Now, In a little while Jameson will |
