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The Exploits of JL Drtactiv Afoot/ and a Motion Actor* Drama t-1 ' By ARTHUR B. REEVE TWWll*KDowa Novelist and the Cieatorof tbe"OaigK«aaedbr'*Slqpn :"-i ' - . * • £ f Presented faaCoBsbonatk"* Wkk the PfednPlirin a«i ' the Edcctic Film Coopuy Oqfllrtt WI4. fer the tar Compear All Kmti Kiifrtt town . j?X msmmsssmmmmssmsmmmsssmsmmmmsmmmsmmiismm C^-v *4.^ . "**Sk teu S' gP§£^ SYNOPSIS. The New York police are mystified by a mtIm murder* 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 vie- 11m of the mysterious assassin is Taylor Dodge, the insurance president. His daughter, Elaine, employs Craig Ken­ nedy, the famous scientific detective, to try to unravel the mystery. What Ken­ nedy accomplishes is told by his friend, Jameson, a newspaper man. Enraged at the determined effort which Elaine and Craig Kennedy are making to put an end lo his crimes, the Clutching Hand, as this strange criminal ts known, resorts to all eorts of the most diabolical schemes to put them out of the way. Each chapter of the story tells of a new plot against theiv lives and of the way the great de­ tective uses all his sk'll to save this pret- and himself from death. FIFTEENTH EPISODE THE SERPENT SIGN. Rescued by Kennedy at last from the terrible incubus of Bennett's per­ secution in his double life of lawyer and master criminal, Elaine had, for the first time in many weeks, a feel­ ing of security. Now that the strain was off, how­ ever, she felt that she needed rest and a chance to recover herself, and It had occurred to her that a few quiet days with "Aunt" Tabitha, who had been her nurse when she was a little girl, would do her a world of good. She had sent for Aunt Tabby, yet the fascination of the experiences through which she had just gone still hung over her. She could not resist thinking and reading about them as she sat one morning with the faithful Rusty in the conservatory of the Dodge house. I had told the story at length in the Star, and the heading over it had caught her eye. It read: r THE CLUTCHING HAND DEAD. Double Life Exposed by Craig Ken­ nedy. f \ perry Bennett, the Famous Young Lawyer, Takes Poison -- Kennedy Now on Trail of Master Criminal's Hidden Millions. % ^M JSlaine glanced down the column Jennings announced that Aunt Tabby, as she loved to call her old friend, had arrived and was now in the 11- •„ • torary with Aunt Josephine. y- With' an exclamation of delight P-;' : Elaine dropped the paper and, fol- lowed by Rusty, almost ran into the |ljT V library. " i pfe "Oh. I'm so glad to see you," half- laughed Elaine, as she literally flung , herself into her nurse's arms. "I feel j|fc % ; ao unstrung--and I thought that if I % civ. v- could just run off for a few days with .. ; r . ~ •- you and Joshua in the country, where • . &„•„ no one would know. It might make me , \-£. ** feel better. You have always been so good to me. Marie! Are my things ~ packed? Very well; then get my I Her maid left the room. ^ ....... "Bless yoHr soul," mothered Aant . Tabby, stroking her soft, golden' hai^, ^ y "I'm always glad to have you in that fine house you bought me. And, faith, ; Miss Elaine, the house Is a splendid Place to rest In, but I don't know £ what's the matter with It lately. Joshua says It's haunts." "Haunts?" repeated Elaine y fa f amused surprise. "Why, what do you mean?" Marie entered with the wraps befofe Aunt Tabby could reply, and Jennings ' followed with the baggage. "Nonsense," continued Elaine gayly, , as she put on her coat and turned to bid Aunt Josephine good-bye. Elaine went out, followed by Rusty and Jennings with the luggage. "Now for a long ride in the good fresh air," sighed Elaine, as sh<? leaned back on the cushions of the Dodge limousine and patted Rtpty, while the butler stowed away the bags, y • The air certainly did, if anything, heighten the beauty of Elaine, and at last they arrived at Aunt Tabby's, tired and hungry. The" car stopped apd Elaine, Aunt Tabby and the dog got out. There, waiting for them, was "Uncle" Joshua, as Elaine playfully called him, a for­ mer gardeneryof the Dodges, now a plain, honest countryman on whom the city was fast encroaching; a Jolly old fellow, unharmed by the world. Aunt Tabby's was an attractive small house, not many miles from New York, yet not in the general line of suburban travel. ¥0' x 2 i 4i"-j Kennedy and I had decided to bring Bennett's papers and documents over to the laboratory to examine them We were now engaged in going over the great mass of material which he had collected in the hope of finding some clue to the stolen millions which he must have amassed as a re­ sult of his villainy. The table was stacked high. A knock at the dOor told us that the V expressman had arrived and a mo­ ment later he entered, delivering a heavy box. Kennedy signed for it and started tp unpack it. I was hard at work when I7 came across a large manila envelope, care­ fully sealed, on which were written the figures "$7,000>000." Too excited even to exclaim, I tore the envelope open and examined the contents. Inside was another envelope. I opened that. It contained merely a blank piece of paper! With characteristic skill at cover­ ing his tracks Bennett had also cov­ ered his money. "Huh!" I snorted to myself "con­ found him." I threw the paper into a wire bas­ ket on the deck and went on sorting the other stuff. Kennedy had by this time finished unpacking the box and was examining a bottle which he had taken from it. "Come here, Walter," he called at length. "Ever see anything like that?" "I can't say," I confessed, getting up to go to him. "What is it?" "Bring a piece of paper," he added. I went back to the desk where I bad been working and looked about hasti­ ly. My eye fell on the blank sheet of paper which I had taken from Ben­ nett's envelope, and I picked it up from the basket. "Here's one," I said, handing it to him. "What are you doing?" Kennedy did not answer directly, but began to treat the paper with the liquid from the bottle. Then he light­ ed a Bunsen burner and thrust the paper into the flame. The paper did not burn! "A new system of flreprooflng," laughed Craig, enjoying my astonish­ ment. He continued to hold the pe|>er in the flame. Still it did not burn. "See," he went on, withdrawing it and starting to explain^ the proper­ ties of the new fireproofer. He had scarcely begun when he stopped in surprise. He had happened to glance at the paper again, bent over to examine it more intently and was now looking at it in surprise. I looked also. There, clearly dis­ cernible on the paper, was a small part of what looked like an architect's drawing of a fireplace. Craig looked up at me, nonplused. •Where did you say yon got that?" he asked. It was a blank piece of paper among Bennett's effects," I returned, as mystified as he. Kennedy said nothing, but thrust the paper back again into the flame. Slowly the heat of the burner seemed to bring out the complete drawing of the fireplace. We looked at it, even more mysti­ fied. "What is it, do you suppose?" I queried. "I think," he replied slowly, "that it was drawn with sympathetic ink. The heat of the burner brought It out into sight." What about it? • • • • • • • Elaine had gone to bed that night at Aunt Tabby's in the room which her old nurse had fixed up especially for her. Downstairs, in the living room, Rusty also was asleep, his nose be­ tween hi a paws. The living room .was in keeping with everything at Aunt Tabby's, plain, neat, homelike. On one side was a large fireplace that gave to it an afr of hospitality. Suddenly Rusty woke up, his ears pointed at this fireplace. He stood a moment listening, then, with a bark of alarm he sped swiftly from the living room up the stairs at a bound until he came to Elaine's room. Elaine felt his cold nose at her hand and stirred, then awoke. "What is it, Rusty?" she asked, mindful of the former days when Rusty gave warning of the Clutching Hand and his emissaries. Rusty wagged his tail. Something was wrong. Elaine followed him down to the liv­ ing room. She went over and lighted the electric lamp'on the table, then turned to Rusty. "Well, Rusty?" she repeated, almost as if he waB human. She had no need to repeat the ques­ tion. Rusty was looking straight at the fireplace. Elaine listened. Sure enough, she heard strange noises. Was that Aunt Tabby's "Haunt?" Whatever it was, it sounded as if It came up from the very depths of the earth. She continued to listen In wonder, then ran to Aunt Tabby's bedroom door, on the first floor, and knocked. Aunt Tabby woke up and shook Joshua. "Aunt Tabby! Aunt Tabby!" called Elaine. "Yes, my dear." answered the old nurse, now fully awake and straight­ ening her cap. "Joshua! Together the old couple came out into the living room, still in their nightolothes, Joshua yawning sleep­ ily Around and around the room they walked, still trying to locate the strange sounds. Finally. Joshua went' to a table drawer and opened it. He took out huge, murderous-looking revolver. *'H$re, Miss Elaine," he urged press •e lag ft otj near you!" • The noises ceased at length, as strangely as they had begun. Half an hour later they had all gone back to bed and were asleep. But Elaine's sleep now was fitful, a con­ stant procession of faces flitting be­ fore her closed eyes. Suddenly she woke with a start and stared into the seml-darkhess. Was thnt face real, or a dream face? Was it the hideous helmeted face that had dragged her down into the sewer once? That man was dead. Who was this? She gazed at the bedroom window, holding the huge revolver tightly. There, vague in the night light, ap­ peared a figure. Surely that was no dream face of the oxygen helmet* Be­ sides, It was not the same helmet. She sat bold upright and fired point- blank at the window, shivering the glass. A second later she had leaped from the bed, switched on the lights and was running to the sill. Downstairs Aunt Tabby and Uncle Joshua had heard the shot. Joshua was now wide awake. "Wh-what was it?" he asked, puff­ ing at the exertion of running up­ stairs. "I saw--a face--at the window--, with some kind of thing over it!" gasped Elaine. "It was like one I saw once before." Uncle Joshua did not wait to hear any more. He ran out of the room and into the garden beneath Elaine's window. He looked about for signs of an in* truder. There Was not a sound. He happened to look down at the ground. Before him was a small box. He picked it up. "Here's something, though," he said. Joshua went back to the house. "What's in it?' asked Elaine as he rejoined the woman. She took the curious little box and unfastened the cover. As She opened it she drew back. There in the box was a little ivory figure of a man, all hunched up and shrunken, a hid­ eous figure. • c • * * • •' It was the afternoon following the day of our strange discovery of the fireplace done in sympathetic ink on the apparently blank sheet of paper Kennedy said nothing for a moment. Then he seized his hat and coat. "If you don't mind." he aaid»,"weH go back there with yw* • • * • * *7jf ',v Wu Fang, the Chinese master-mind, had arrived in New York. Besides Wu, the inscrutable Long Sin, astute though he was, was a mere pigmy--his slave, his advance agent, as It were. New York did not know of the ar­ rival of Wu Fang, the mysterious, yet But down in the secret recesses of Chinatown, in the ways that are devi­ ous and dark, the oriental crooks knew and trembled. Thus it happened that Long Sin w4s not permitted to enjoy even the fore­ taste of Bennett's spoils which he had forced from him after his weird "ransform&tion into his real self, the Clutching Hand, when the Chinaman had given him the poisoned draft that had put him into his long sleep. He had obtained the paper showing where the treasure amassed by the Clutching Hand was hidden, hut Wu Fang, his master, had come. The night following his arrival, Wu Fang was reclining on a divan, when his servant announced that Long Sin was at the door. f ^ ; "Have you brought themkp with you?" asked Wu. - Long Sin bowed low again, and drew from under his coat the paper which he had obtained from Bennett. For a moment the two, master and slave in guile, bent over, closely studying it. At one point of the map Long Sin's bony finger paused over a note which Bennett had made: "Beware of poisoned gas upon open* ing compartment." "And you think you can trace it out?" asked Wu. "Without a doubt," bowed Long Sin. He went over to a bag near by, which he had already sent up by an­ other servant, and opened it. Inside was an oxygen helmet. He replaced it, after showing it to Wu. "With the aid of the science of the white devil," purred Long Sin subtly. Outside, Wu had. already ordered a car to wait, and together the two drove off rapidly. Into the country they sped, until at last they came to a lonely turn in a lonely road. Long Sin alighted and disappeared, 1 * Elaine Points Her Huge Revolver at the Helmeted Face Wnich Appears At the Window. fn Bennett's effects, when the speak­ ing tube sounded and I answered it. "Why--it's Elaine," I exclaimed. Kennedy's face showed the keenest pleasure at the unexpected visit. "Tell her to come right up," he said Quickly. I opened the door for her. "Why--Elaine--I'm awfully glad to see you," he greeted, "but I thought you were rusticating." "I was, but, Craig, it seems to me that wherever I go something hap­ pens," she returned. "You know, Aunt Tabby said there were haunts. I thought it was an old woman's fear --but last night I heard the strangest noises out there, and I thought I saw a face at the window--a face in a hel­ met. And when Joshua went out, this is what he found on the ground under my window." She handed Kennedy a box, a pe­ culiar affair which she touched ginger­ ly, and only with signs of the greatest aversion. Kennedy opened it. There in the bottom of the box was a curious lit­ tle ivory devil-god. He looked at it curiously a moment. "Let me see," he ruminated, still regarding the sign. "The house you bought for Aunt Tabby once belonged to Bennett, didn't it?" ' Elaine nodded her head. "Yes, but I don't see what that can have to do With it," she agreed, adding with a shudder. "Bennett is dead." Kennedy had taken a piece of pa­ per from the desk where he had put it away carefully. "Have you ever seen anything that looks like this?" he asked, handing her the paper. Elaine looked at the plan carefully, as Kennedy and I scanned her face. She glanced up, her expression show­ ing plainly the wonder she felt. "Why, yes," she answered. "That looks like Aunt Tabby's fireplace in the living room." with a parting vord of Instruction from Wu, who remained in the car. The Chinaman carried with him the heavy bag with the oxygen helmet. Long Sin hurried down the road until he came to a trolley pole, then he looked hastily at his watch. It was twenty minutes at least before the next car would pass. Quickly, almost monkey like, he climbed up the pole, carrying with him the end of a wire which he had taken from the bag. Having thrown this over the feed wire, he slid quickly to the ground again, then, carrying the other end of the wire in his rubber-gloved hand through the underbrush until he came to a passageway in the rough and un­ cleared hillside--a small opening formed by the rocks. It was dark inside, but he did not hesitate to enter, carrying tha wire and the bag with him. • * * • • • s It was nightfall before we arrived with Elaine at Aunt Tabby's. Kennedy lost no time in examining the fireplace. At one point in the drawing a pe­ culiar protuberance was marked. Ken­ nedy was evidently hunting for that He found It at last and pressed the sort of lever. A small section at the side of the fireplace opened up, dis­ closing an iron ladder, leading down into one of those characteristic hiding places in which the Clutching Hand used to delight. "Let's go down and explore It," suggested, taking a step toward the ladder. c- Kennedy reached out and pulled me back. Then without a word he pressed the little lever and the door closed. "I think we'd better wait a while Walter," he declared. "1 would rather hear Aunt Tabby's haunts myself." We were sitting about the room t when suddenly the most weird and un canny rappings begin to be heard. We listened a moment, then Ken­ nedy walked over to the fireplace. "You can explore it .with me now, Walter," he said guietiy, touching the lever and "opening the panel which disclosed the ladder. Together, Craig and I descended in­ to the darkness about eight or ten feet There we found a passageway, excavated through the earth and rock, along which we crept It was crooked and uneven, and we stumbled, but kept going slowly ahead. Kennedy, who was a few feet, in front of me, stopped suddenly and 1 almost fell over him. "What is itr I whispered. A "JO • • • • • *4^# Long Sin had made his way from the opening of the cave to the point on the plan which was marked by a cross, and there he had set up his elec­ tric drill which was connected to the trolley wire. He was working furious­ ly to take advantage of the .fifteen minutes or so before the next car would pass. % It was evident thart Long Sin had already been at work, digging lahd drilling through the earth and rock. He had gone so far now that hie had disclosed what looked like the face, of a small safe set directly into the rock. As he worked he would stop from time to time and consult the map. Then he would take up drilling again. He had now come to the point on which Bennett had written his warn­ ing. Quickly he opened the bag and took the oxygen helmet, which he ad- lusted carefully over his head. Then he set to work with redoubled energy. The man must have heard us ap­ proaching down the tunnel, for he paused In his work and the noise of the drill ceased. From our vantage point around the bend in the passageway we could see this strange and uncouth figure. . "Who la It, do you think?" I whis­ pered, crouching back against the wall for fear that he might look even around a corner or through the earth and discover us. As I spoke my hand loosened a piece of rock that Jutted out and be­ fofe I knew it there was a crash. "Confound it, Walter," exclaimed Kennedy. Down the passageway the figure was now thoroughly on the alert, star­ ing with his goggle-like eyes into the blackness in our direction. He waB watched, and he did not hesitate a minute to act. He seized the bag and picked his way quickly through the passage as if thoroughly familiar with every turn of the walls and roughness of the floor. Kennedy dashed forward- and I -fol­ lowed close after him. We were making much better time than our strange visitor and were gain­ ing on him rapidly. Suddenly he turned, raised his arm and dashed something to the earth, much as a child explodes a toy torpe­ do. I fully expected •that, it was a bomb* but, as a moment later, I found that Kennedy and I were still un­ harmed, I knew that it must be some other product of this devilish genius. 'A Chinese smoke bomb!" sputtered and coughed Kennedy, as he retreated a minute, then with renewed vigor en­ deavored to penetrate the dense and opaque fumes. We managed to go ahead still, but the Intruder had exploded one after another of his peculiar bombs, always keeping ahead of the smoke which he created, and we found that under Its cover he had made good his escape. , At the other end of the passageway, up in the living room of the cottage, the draft had cairied large quantities of the smdke. Long Sin, meanwhile, had started to work his way through the bushes to reach the waiting car, with Wu, then paused and listened. Hearing no sound, he replaced the helmet which he had taken off. Pursuit was now useless for us. With revolvers drawn, we crept back along the passageway until we came again .to the chamber itself. There, on the floor, lay a bag of tools, opened, aB though somebody had been working with them. "Caught red-handed!" exclaimed Kennedy with great satisfaction. He looked at the tools a minute find then at the electric drill, and finally an idea seemed to strike him. He took up a drill and advanced to­ ward the safe. Then he turned on the current and applied the drill. The drill was of the very latest de­ sign and it went quickly through the steel. But beyond that there was an­ other thin steei partition. This Ken­ nedy tackled next. The drill went through and he with­ drew it. Instantly the most penetrating and nauseous odor seemed to pervade everything. Kennedy cried out. We staggered back, overcome by the es­ caping gas, and fell to the ground. Long Sin with his oxygen helmet on again, had returned to the pas­ sageway and was now stealthily creep­ ing back. He came to the chamber and there discovered us lying on the ground overcome. He bent down and, to his great satisfaction, saw that we were really unconscious. Quickly he moved over to the safe and pried open the last thin steel plate. Inside was a small box. He picked it up and tried to open it hut it was locked. He paused for a moment to look at us, then took out a piece of paper and a pencil and on the paper wrote: "Thanks for your trouble." Beneath it was signed by bis special* ctamp--the serpent's head, mouth open and fangs showing. •A4 ACCEPTED GIFT OF COFFIN ,v-v- :;r: •: : Admiral Nelson Laid to Rest in Re- { >jVoeptacle Presented Him by Oqs , . «f His Captains... ^ A gruesome gift was made to Lord 3fo!scn by one of his captains, a mem­ ber of the illustrious "band of broth­ ers/' as he himeelf termed them, who fought under- in the Battle the NUe. ' . "*• <•'. ; It will be ̂ remembered that the flag»Uip i»'Orient, l30 guns, oxxe of the largest ships then afloat, was blown up in the action shortly .after the French admiral, BrueyB, had been killed. Among the English ships con­ centrating their fire on her was the Swiftsure, commanded by Capt Ben Hallowell, anchored astern of the doomed Frenchman. The battle was begun late in the afternoon and con­ tinued well into the night. Soon after nine o'clock flames Q,ut pi tKe win­ dows of the admiral's «ab£n • aboard L'Orlent. . .Captain Hallowell salved a partof >v- L'Orient's mainmast, from which he had a coflln made. Less than a year later he sent the coffin to Nelson, with the following letter: ' ' "Right Hon. Lord Nelson, K. B» "My Lord: Herewith I send you a coffin made of part of L'Orient's main­ mast, that, when you are tired of life, you may be burled in one of your own trophies--but may thsit period be far distant, is the sincere wish <of your obedient.and mu/sb-obliged servant, "BEN HALLOWELL. .. fSwiftsw* j£sy p, m".. As to the motive, it Is recorded: "The praises showered upon Nelson were so extravagant that," in the opin­ ion of Captain Hallowell, "he needed a reminder lest he should think hiih- self immortal." Perhaps the most extraordinary part of the affair was that Nelson, instead of being offended, was evident­ ly pleased with the gift. He had it placed behind his chair in the din­ ing salon.. When he afterward .changed his flag to the Foudroyant it was placed on the qu&rterdeok. He observed his officers one day looking at It, when he came out upon deck, and said: "You may look at it, gentlemen, as long as you please, but, depend upon It, none of you shall have It." He seems to have carried it with him again when he transferred his flag to the Victory, for he was finally buried in It under the dome of St Paul's. Nuremberg Hop Market. Nuremberg is the world's greatest hop F^>r .s^yv^ jeiujjuciai Long Sin looked at us a moment then a subtle smile seemed to spread over his face. At last he had us in his power. He drew a long, wicked-looking Chi­ nese knife and carefully tested its edge. It was keen. * * • • N In the sitting room Elaine, Aunt Tabby and Joshua had been listening intently at the fireplace, bi^t hearing nothing. • They were now getting decidedly worried. Finally the fumes which we had released made their way to the room. , "I can't stand it any longer," cried Xlalne. "I'm going down there to see what has become of them." Aunt Tabby and Joshua tried to stop her, but she broke away from them and went down the ladders Rusty leaped down after her. Joshua tried to follow, but Aunt Tabby held him back. Ho would have gone, too, if she had not managed to strike the spring and shut the door, closing up the passageway. Joshua got angry then. "You are making a coward of me," he cried, beating on the panel with the butt of his gun and struggling to open it Elaine was now making her way as rapidly as she could through the tun­ nel, with Rusty beside her. It was just as Long Sin had raised his knife that the sound of footsteps alarmed him. He paused and leaped to his feet There was no time for either to retreat. He started toward Elaine and seized her roughly. Back and forth over the rocky floor they struggled. As they fought, she with frantic strength, he craftily, he backed her slowly up against fifop that upheld the roof. - *j: He raised his keen knife. She recoiled. The prop, none too strong, suddenly gave way under her weight. The whole roof of the chamber fell with a crash,'earth and stone over­ whelming Elaine and her assailant. By this time Joshua had left the house and had gone out Into the gar­ den to get something to pry open the fireplace door. Of a sudden, to his utter amazement, a few feet from him, it seemed as if the very earth sank in his garden, leav­ ing a yawning chaBm. He looked, unable to make it out. Before his very eyes a strange fig­ ure, the figure of Long Sin in his oxy­ gen helmet, appeared, struggling up, as if by magic, from the very earth, shaking the debris off himself, as a dog would shake off the water after a plunge in a pond. Long Sin was goue In a moment Then again the earth began to move. A paw appeared, then a sharp hlack nose, and a moment later Rusty, too, dug himself out. Joshua had run into the house to get a spade, when RuBty, like a shot, bolt­ ed for the house, took the window at a leap and, all covered with earth, land­ ed before Joshua and Aunt Tabby. See!--he went down there--now he's here!" cried Aunt Tabby, point­ ing at the fireplace, then looking at the window. Rusty was running back and forth from Joshua to the window. "Follow him!" cried Aunt Tabby. Rusty led the way back again to the garden, to the cave-in. j. "Elaine!" gasped Aunt Tabjby. By this time Joshua was digging fu­ riously. Aunt Tabby rushed up as Joshua laid down the spade Aid lifted out Elaine. They were about to carry her into the house, when she cried weakly, tout with all her remaining strength: "No--no-- Dig! Craig--Walter!" she managed to gasp. Rusty, too, was still at it Joshua fell to again. Man and dog worked with a will. There they are!" cried Elaine, as all three pulled us out, unconscious but still alive. Though we did not know it, they carried us into the house, While Elaine and Aunt Tabby bustled about to get something to revive us. At last I opened my eyes and saw the motherly Aunt Tabby bending over me. Craig was already revived, weak, but ready now to do anything Elaine ordered, as .she held his hand and stroked his forehead softly. Meanwhila Long Sin had made his way to the automobile, where his mas­ ter, Wu, watted impatiently, "Did you get it?" asked Wu eagerly. Long Sin shewed him the box. "Hurry, master!" he cried breath­ lessly, leaping into the car and strug­ gling to take off the helmet as they drove away. "They may be here at any moment." The machine was off like a shot and even if we had been free, we could not now have caught it Back in Wu's sumptuous apartment later, Wu and his slave, Long Sin, after their hurried ride, dismissed all the servants and placed the little box on the table. Wu rose and locked the door. Then, together, they, took a sharp Instrument and tried to pry off the lid of the box. The lid flew off. They taxed in eagerly. InBtde was a smaller box, which Wtt seized and opened. There, on the plush cushion, lay merely a round knobbed ring! Was this the end of their great ex­ pectations? Were Bennett's millions •merely mythical? • The two slareiVvil each - otnw w chagrin. Wu was the first to speak. _ ^ "Where there should - have been seven million dollars." he muttered to himself, "why is there only a mystw ring?" (TO BB CONTINUED.) this district and the northern portion of Bohemia were the only consider­ able hop regions. Although Nurem­ berg is favorably situated, it was not until railroad transportation became general about 186Q that other towns in the vicinity lost their Importance as hop markets and Nuremberg took the lead. Since that t?n?e municipal authorities have encouragad the trade and converted the oh! citj warehouse and arsenal on the Kprumarkt inU» commodious quarters - lor hop mefr- rhnnti Average Increase of Acreage I# Wheat Over 22 Per Cent -Wheat Aereag* ' \- IWtn<*--rv ,v '> . increase. Saskatchewan ..........25 per cen|$ Alberta 12^4 per cent£;4'/ J Manitoba ......^'.......16 ppr cen||^i Average tor prairies....22% per cent 8askstchewan. . 1: The growth of the crop during thdp>/f":y past week was very satisfactory. Raia V * fell In many places during the earlyf^^j part of the week, followed by warmeCbiL-1. weather, which has been most benef ficlal to the grain. Breaking and sum*4"' K mer-fallowlng were well under way and conditions generally were most; promising. 1% * «<*+!> .'I ww icea on use quaneraen*. ,T , * v ' ^ ifc . ^ t v' i ' it, ? «*.•*. *'4 v ^ . „ jt tit «*&&&. The following reports have been re%. celved by the department from the£jj&-i various centers: Denholm--A little 'y;-: rain needed in the northern part tct;y start late grain; remainder of district. .... plenty of moisture. Davidson--Idear^f%. growing weather; a few farmers harvffy^ rowing grain to conserve moisture b?":^!vi breaking crust, formed since last rata^ North Battleford to Prince Albert-- Good growing weather; crops looktois^Y* well. Slight damage near North Bat*"v • tleford from cutworms; recent rains beneficial. Klndersley--Crops looking fine and prospects good; plenty of moisture, with prospects of more rain. Every slough In this country is full. Prince Albert--Crops in fair condition, though cutworms and light frosts have done damage in some sections. Have had moderate quantity of rain. Owing to prompt marketing of the harvest of 1914, the farmers were en­ abled to devote more time than usual to oultivation in the autumn, under conditions which were decidedly fa- t vorable, and that combined with the opportunities for soil preparation pre­ sented by an early spring this year, has resulted in the seeding of a wheat area estimated at twenty-five per cent greater than last year. Areas sown to oats and flax may be less than last year, because of the concentration upon the cereal in greater demand for export. Wheat seeding was completed eight days earlier than the average, under almost Ideal conditions. Alberta. - "Prospects . excellent Alpmdant moisture throughout the province, fol­ lowing rain. Area thirty to thirty-five p^r cent greater. Crop generally two weeks earlier." Attention is drawn to the fact that the land has not been in such fine con­ dition to work for years; neither has there been as much moisture as there was last autumn. This was protected . during the winter by a little more than the average snowfall, which remained on the land, not being removed by the warm Chinook winds, as is usually the Case. There never has been a more optimistic feeling than exists today, judging by the information received from various parts of the province. We feel justified In saying that the crop never went in under more favorable circumstances; weather splendid and land particularly well worked. While It Is true that the acreage will be greatly Increased, It is pleasing to learn that, despite the high price of feed, the receipts of milk and cream at the dairies continue to keep up. and that the output of the creameries has Increased in quantity. One of the most encouraging things in last year's work was the increase of practically thirty per cent in the outr put of cream and butter south of Cal­ gary. Manitoba. Owing to the exceptionally early har­ vest last year and favorable fall weather, a much larger acreage of land was prepared than usual, and partly for the same reason and the prospests of high prices for all kinds of grain, farmers took more pains in the preparation of land, so that the spring opened up with 1,235,000 acres of fully prepared land above the pre­ vious year. Seeding was general by the 7tb of April, some days in advance of the average. Since that time the weather has been exceptionally favor­ able for the sowing of wheat, and the farmers have taken full advantage of it Much of the crop is now above the / surface. There has been a very gen­ eral and liberal rainfall; this will ^ hasten the germination of the recently sown wheat, and will prevent the soil from drifting off the later sown crop.. The area sown in wheat is fully 15 per cent greater than last year. To sum up the agricultural situation generally, the Department of Agricul­ ture says: "The area is larger thaa usual, the land has been well prepared^ and the wheat has been sown at thf ^ right time; not so early as to run th% risk of being killed off by frost but sufficiently early to insure its ripening in the Advertisement - , Cyttftnee. "i hate reason to belie*® that pio» tore is a genuine Rembrandt" "Have you had it examined by aa expert?- :.f' "No, but I picked it up In a seoon<|» hand store tor a dollar and a hal^Vrv and that's the way most Rembrandtf ^ are acquired." CLEAR YOUR SKIN By Dally Use of Cutlcura Soap •ni.ff Ointment. Trial Free. Ton may rely on theae fragran^. . supercreaxny emollients to care fof |•. your skin, scalp, hair and hands. Noti|>> * Ing better to clear the skin of pimpled | ^ blotches, redness and roughness, th|i:i|iw scalp of dandruff and Itching and thft |1 hands of chapping and soreness. " Sample each free by mail with 32-pk *( , Skin Book. Address postcard, Cuticurs)^ * DttjM- Y, Bostora. Sold everywhere. AdM; /fX Quiet Day. Sergeant--Anything doings i trenches, today? Corporal--Nor It was so quiet yoil sould hear a shell drop. Never hit a man when«he haa yojf >'