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MHESRY P L A I N DEALER, MHENBY, ILL. The Exploits of Elaine |4 Detecttoo Novi and a Motion Pictoro Drama f & By ARTHUR B. REEVE T|wiWrl Ynmin Novelist and the Creatorot the "G«glCenne(]]rMSlariei rrMMiInd inr«fliliiiritinn IVitli Thr Prfr *""1 H • the Edectic Film Company Cunhf. 1914. br tbe Star Comj«n> AH Fomtn hwm - m •fi&v . #?* : •' M.zi. P % l$$v ' Mj'o •Ht •*r f"Q? y^p I LL &'; 'k • I '|\^ f$. rft tMfe r?ti£ u'.fy<..- ;. *""«-• ft; "IV,-.| • "•*<•',V; • V.V" . :#$V- %V' :*H • v-ijir'-;': - ' ' *C it.- "' .'-Av ; .'>•4: • . •• »*V-r-s III. *"" i? ****"%•' '• -'. Mfr"; >> "« V s* V ".'. •'-.•» •, Vf,> / # • • ; '* SV'.: P" ' |p '̂ [•v/fc ' TF G*» I a lift SYNOPSIS. m New York police are mystified by a series of murders and other crimes. The f>rlncipal clue to the criminal Is the warn-ng letter which is sent to the victims, signed with a "clutching hand." The latest victim of the mysterious assassin 1s Taylor Dodge, the insurance president. His daughter. Elaine, employs Craig Kennedy, the famous scientific detective, to try to unravel the mystery. What Ken­ nedy accomplishes is told by his friend, Jameson, a newspaper man. After many fruitless attempt* to put Elaine and Craig Kennedy out of the way, the Clutching Hand is at last found to be none other than Perry Bennett, Elaine's lawyer and the. man she is en-, ffaged to marry. Bennett fiees to the den of one of his Chinese criminals. The Chinaman forces from Bennett the secret of the whereabouta of $7,000,000. Then he gives the lawyer a potion which will sus­ pend animation for months. Kennedy reaches Bennett's side Just after he has lost consciousness and supposes him dead. SEVENTEENTH EPISODE THE WATCHING EYE. Not a clue had been left by the kid­ napers when they had so mysterious­ ly spirited Elaine away from the apartment of Wu Fang. She had dis­ appeared as completely as if she had vanished into thin air. Kennedy was frantic. Wu and Long Sin themselves seemed to have van­ ished, too. Where they held her, what had happened to her, was a sealed book. And yet no move of ours was made, no matter how secret, that it did not seem to be known to them. It was as though a weird, uncanny eye glared at us, watching everything. Crsig seglectcd nc possibility in his eager search. He even visited the little house in the country which Elaine had given to Aunt Tabby, and 'spent several hours examining the collapsed subterranean chamber in the vain hope that it might yield a cine. But it had not. Unescapably, he was forced to the conclusion that not only Elaine's amazing disappearance, but the tragic •accession of events which had pre­ ceded it had been caused, in some way, by the curiously engraved ring which Aunt Josephine had taken from her. Craig bad taken possession ot the mystic ring himself, and now, forced back on this sole clue, it had occurred to him that if the ring were so valu­ able, other attempts would, without doAbt, be made to get possesskwTof it. I came Into the laboratory,'one aft­ ernoon, to find Kennedy surrounded by jeweler's tools, bard at work mak­ ing an exact copy of the ring. "What do you think of it, Walter?" ho asked, holding up the replica. "Perfect," I replied, admiringly. "What are you going to do with it?" "I can't say--yet," answered Ken­ nedy, forlornly, "but if I understand these Chinese criminals at all, I know that the only way we can ever track them is through some trick. Perhaps the replica will Buggest something to vm later." "'Let's see if Aunt Josephine has re­ ceived any word," he remarked ab­ ruptly, putting on his hat and coat, and nodding to me to follow. • • • • • • • Kennedy and I were not the only visitors to the subterranean chamber where it had seemed that the clue to the Clutching Hand's millions night be found. It was as though that hidden, watch­ ing eye followed us. The night after our own unsuccessful search, Wu Fang, accompanied by Long Sin, made his way into the cavern. Wu examined the safe which had been broken into, Long Sin was now going over the walls of the cavern minutely, his close- set, beady black eyes examining every square inch of It. A sudden low guttural exclamation caused Wu to turn to him quickly. Long Sin had discovered, back of the debris, a long oblong slot, cut into the rock. Above it were some peculiar marks. ^ Wu hurried over to his henchman, and together they tried to decipher what had been scratched on the rock. As Long Sin's slender and sinister forefinger traced over the inscription Wn suddenly caught him by the el­ bow. "The ring!" he cried, as at last he in­ terpreted the meaning of the cryptic Characters. But what about the ring? for a mo­ ment Wu looked at the slot in deep thought. /Then he reached down and withdrew a ring from his own finger and dropped it through the slot. They listened a moment. They could hear the ring tinkle as though it were ranning dowh some sort of tracklike declivity inBlde the rock. Then, faint ly, they could hear it drop. It had fallen into a little cup of a compart­ ment below at their feet. Nothing happened. Wu recovered bis ring. But he had hit at last upon the Clutching Hand's secretV Bennett had devised a ring lock Which would open the treasure vault! No other ring except the one which he had so carefully hidden was of the •tee or weight that would move the lever which would set the machinery working to open the treasure house. Again Wu tried another of his own Tings, and a third time; Long Sin dropped in a ring from his finger. Still there was no result. "The ring which we lost Is the key to the puzzle--the only key!" ex­ claimed Wu Fang finally. "We must recover it at all hazards." To his subtle mind a plan of action seemed to unfold almost instantly. "There is no good remaining here," he added.- "And we have gained nothing by the capture of the girl, unless We can use her to recover the ring." Long Sin followed his master with a sort of intuition. "If we have to steal it," he suggested deferentially, "It can be accomplished best by making use, of the Chong Wah Tong." The tong was the criminal band which they had offended, which had in fact stolen the ring from Long Sin and sold it to Elaine. Yet in a game such as this enmity could not last when it was mutually disadvantageous. Wu took the suggestion. He decided instantly to make peace with his ene­ mies--and use them. Later that night, in his car, Wu stopped near the little curio shop kept by the new tong leader. Wu, followed by his slave in crime, entered the curio shop and passed through with great dignity into the room in the rear. As the two entered, the tong men bowed with great respect. "Let us be enemies no more," began Wu briefly. "Let us rather help each other as brothers." He extended his right hand, palm down, as he spoke. For a moment the tong leader parleyed with the others, then stepped forward and laid his own hand, palm down, over that of Wu. One of the others did the same, Including Long Sin, the ag­ grieved. Peace was restored. Wu had arisen to go, and the tong men were bowing a respectful fare­ well. He turned and saw a large vase. For a moment he paused before it. It was an enormous affair and was apparently composed of a mosaic of rare Chinese enamels, cunningly put together by the deft and patient fin­ gers of the Oriental craftsmen. Ex­ tending from the widely curving bowl below was an extremely long, narrow, tapering neck. Wu looked at it intently; then an idea seemed to strike him. He called the tong leader and the others about i&im. Quickly he outlined the details of a plap. • , • • • • • • "Have you received any word yet?" asked Aunt Josephine, anxiously, when Jennings had ushered us Into the Dodge library. Kennedy shook his head sadly. A few minutes later Jennings en­ tered the room softly again. "The expressmen are outside, ma'am, with a large package," he said. Aunt Josephine followed him out In­ to the hall. There, already, the delivery men had set down a huge Oriental vase with a remarkably long and narrow neck. It was, as befitted such a really beautiful object of art, most carefully crated. But to Aunt Josephine it came as a complete surprise. "I can't imagine who could have sent it," she temporized. "Are you quite sure It Is for me?" The expressman, with a book, looked up from the list of names, down which he was running his fin­ ger. "This is Mrs. Dodge, isn't it?" he asked, pointing with his pencil to the entry with the address following it. There seemed to be no name of a shipper. "Yes," she replied, dubiously, "but I don't understand it. Wait just a moment" She went to the library door. "Mr. Kennedy," she said, "may I trouble you and Mr. Jameson a moment?" We followed her into the hall, and there stood gazing at the mysterious gift, while she related its recent his­ tory. "Why not set It up In the library?" I suggested, seeing that the express­ men were getting restive at the delay. "If there is any mistake they will send for it soon. No one ever gets anything for nothing." Aunt Josephine turned to the ex­ pressmen and nodded. With the aid of Jennings they carried the vase into the library, and there it was uncrated, Craig walked around the vase, look­ ing at it critically. I had a feeling of being watched, one of those sensations which psychologists tell us are utterly baseless and unfounded. I was glad I had not said anything about it when he tapped the vase with his cane, then stuck the cane down the long, narrow neck, working it around as well as he could. The neck was so long and so narrow, however, that his stick could not fully explore the inside of the vase, but it seemed to me to be quite empty. "Well, there's nothing In it, any­ how," I ventured. I had spoken too soon. Kennedy withdrew his cane, and on the ferrule, adhering as though by some sticky substance, was a note. We read: Dear Aunt Josephine-- This fs a ton.en that I am unharmed. Have Mr. Kennedy give the ring to the man at the corner of Williams and Brown lee avenue* at midnight tonight and they will surrender me to him. ELAINE. P. 8.--Have him come alone or my life will be in danger. "I thought something like this would happen," remarked Craig at length. "Oh," cried Aunt Josephine, "it's ioo good to be true." "We'll do it," exclaimed Kennedy quickly, "only this Is the ring that we'll give them." He drew from his pocket the replica of the ring which he had made and showed it to Aunt Josephine. Then he drew from another pocket the real ring, replacing the replica. "Here's the real one," he said in a low tone. "Guard It as you would your life." Aunt Josephine was worn out with tbe sleepless nights of worry since Elaine's disappearance. After we bad gone, she tried to eat dinner, but found that she had no appetite. Although she had intended to sit up until she received some word from Kennedy that night, the long strain had told on her, and in spite of her worry about Elaine, she decided, at length, to retire. Aunt Josephine, clasping the jewel case tightly, mounted the stairs and entered her room. She locked the door carefully and put the jewelry case un­ der her pillow. Then she switched off the light. A moment later a small piece of the vase seemed to break away from the rest of the mosaic, as though it were knocked out from the inside. Then a large piece fell out, and another. At last from the strange hiding place a lithe figure, as shiny as though bathed in oil, naked except for a loin­ cloth, seemed to squirm forth like a serpent. Jt was Wu Fang--the watch­ ful eye which, literally as well as figu­ ratively, had been leveled at us in one form or another ever Bince the kidnaping of Elaine. Silently he tiptoed to the doorway and listened. There was not a sound. Just as noiselessly then he went back to the library tabie and, muming the telephone bell, took down the receiver. He whispered a number, waited, then whispered sotae directions. A moment later he wormed his way out of the library and into the drawing- room. On he went cautiously, snake- like, up the stairs, until he came to the door of Aunt Josephine's room. He bent down and listened. There was no sound except Aunt Josephine's Chinaman mace Mi way to an old barn. In the dim light of a lantern hang­ ing from a rafter could be seen sev­ eral barrels In a corner. Without a moment's hesitation Long Sin seized a bucket and placed it under the spig­ ot of one of the barrels. The liquid poured forth into the bucket, and he emptied the contents on the floor, fill­ ing the bucket again and again and swluglug it right and left In every direction, until the barrel had finally run dry. Then he moved over to the window, which he examined carefully. Satisfied with what he had done, he drew a slip of paper from his pocket and hastily wrote a note, resting the paper on an ,old box. When he had finished writ­ ing he folded up the note and thrust it Into a little hollow-carved Chinese figure, which he took also from his pocket. With a final hasty glance about he extinguished the lantern, letting the moonlight stream fitfully through the single window. Then he left the barn,: with both front and rear doors open. Taking advantage of every bit of shelter, be made his way across the field in the direction of the crossroads, finally dropping down behind a huge rock some yards from the finger post that pointed each way to.-^rilliaina and Brownlee avenues. • * • * • «i;- .• • ; -:.J Late that night Kennedy 'left his apartment prepared to follow the in­ structions in the note which had been so strangely delivered In the vase. As he climbed into a roadster he tucked the robe most carefully into a corner under the leather seat. "For heaven's sake, Craig," I gasped from under the robe, "let me have a little air." I had taken my place under the robe before the car was driven up in front of the apartment lest some emissary of Wu Fang might be watching to see that there was such a trick. "You'll get air enough when we get started, Walter," he laughed back un­ der his breath, apparently addressing the engine. We had reached a point in the sub­ urbs which was desenea, ana I did not recognize a thing when he pulled up by the side of the road with a jerk. A moment later he pulled the robe partly off me, and bent down as though examining the batteries on the side of the car. "Get out on the other side in the shadow of the car, Walter," he whis­ pered hoarsely. "Go down the road a bit--only cut In and keep under cov- L 4 ' mm KG** zJ!Z "Let Us Be Enemies No More," 8aya Wu. breathing. Silently he drew from a fold in the loin-cloth a screwdriver and removed the screws from the hinges of the door. Quietly he pushed the bed­ room door open, pivoting it on the lock, just far enough open so that he could slip through. Creeping along the floor, like the reptile whose sign he had assumed, he came nearer and nearer Aunt Jo­ sephine's bed. As he paused for a moment his quick eye seemed to catch sight of the bulging lump under her pillow. His long, thin hand reached out and quietly removed the jewel case from under her pillow. • • • • • • » • In a country roadhouse Long Sin was waiting patiently. Ttate telephone rang, and the proprietor answered. Long Sin was at his side almost before he could hand over the receiver. It was Long Sin's master, Wu. "Beware," came the whispered mes­ sage over the wire. "Kennedy has made a false ring. I'll get the real one. By the great Devil of Gobi, you must cut him off." "It is done," returned Long Sin, hanging up the receiver in great ex­ citement. £: He hurried out of the room and left the roadhouse. Down the road in an automobile, bound between two China­ men, one at her head and the other at her feet, was Elaine, wrapped around in blankets, not even her face vis­ ible. The guards .looked up startled as Long Sin streaked out of the shadow to the car. "Quick!" he ordered. "The master will get the ring himself! I will take care of Kennedy." An instant and they were gone, while Long Sin slunk back into the shadows from which he had come. Through the underbrush the wily BLRE RESULT OF EARTHQUAKE •t here Is Nothing Left" Well Describes Conditions of Country After Such a Disaster. •['An eyewitness, who escaped - de­ struction at Avezzano that morning only because he had not quite reached the town at the instant of the catastro­ phe, described in simple words what be saw. The e$rth all of a sudden shook violently beneath his feet; there mm» m great roar .aiu! crash and the town before him in the morning light, as his eyes rested on It, sank to the ground in a cloud of dust. Presently a wounded man staggered out from a pile of ruins and sat down, bleeding and dazed, and here and there an­ other followed and sank down; but be­ neath the ruins were some nine thou­ sand persons of whom nine-tenths are still there.. When tt wounded refugee on the way to Rome that evening was questioned he gave a fairly rational account of himself, apd wjien asked as t» .Avezzano bis refcly was" simply: "Non e'e niente." It was quite exact, and what was said of the town was true of many others--there is nothing left. Throughout that entire section covering the valleys mentioned, with their surrounding foothills, the earth­ quake, even where it did not destroy, shook every house to its foundations. A list of over forty stricken towns lies before me. At Sar. Benedetto the per­ centage of those who perished is al­ most equal to that of Avezzano. All is er. This 1s Williams avenue. You*Il see a big rock. Hide behind it. Ahead you'll Bee Brownlee avenue. Be prepared for anything. I shall have to trust the rest to you. I don't know myself what's going to happen." I slid out and went along the edge of the road, as Craig had directed, and finally crouched behind a huge rock. After a4 moment to give me a chance, Craig himself left the car pulled up close by the side of the road and went ahead on foot. At last he came to the crossroads just around the bend, where, in the moonlight, he could read the signs: "Williams ave­ nue" and "Brownlee avenue." He stood there a moment. Suddenly, at his feet in the dust of the road something heavy seemed to drop. He looked about quickly. No one was in cftght. He reached down and picked up a little Chinese figure; Tapping it with his knuckles he examined It curiously. It was hollow. From the inBide he drew out a piece of paper. He strained his eyes in the moonlight and managed to make out: "The Serpent is all-wise and his fang Is fatal. You have signed the white girl's death warrant." • * • • * • • Meanwhile I had made my .way stealthily, peering into the bushes and careful not even to step on anything that would make a noise and was now, as I have said, crouched behind the big rock to which Craig had directed me. I had begun to wonder whether Ken­ nedy might not have made a mistake when, suddenly, from behind the I shadow cf another rock ahead of me, \>ut toward Brownlee avenue, I saw I a tall, gaunt figure of a man stealthily streets. At Gloia del Marsl, whoso name told the story of its charm, all is gone. Of five thousand inhabitants over four thousand have perished. It was a town with, a palazzo and sump­ tuous villas. In anpient times the old Romans fought for It; in medieval times, first the Saracen and then the medieval Romans, COlonnas and Picco- !omini. The uarthquake has accom­ plished what neither Roman nor Sar­ acen could do.--From "The Earthquake reduced to a waste of refuse. It is dif- in the Abruzzl," by... ^honiaa, ]£glson [flcult to tell in places where lay the [ Page, In Bcrlbner. rise up into tha moon Ughv My heart gave a leap as he quickly raised hiB right arm and hurled some­ thing as far as he could in the direc­ tion that Kennedy b*d taken. I stole out from my own hiding place in the shadow of my rock and darted quickly to the shelter of a bush, nearer the figure. It turned to steal away. * I leaped at him and be went down; rolling over and over In the under­ brush and stubble. ' % He was powerful and Stronger than I and after a tough tussle he broke loose. But I had succeeded, never­ theless. I had delayed him just long enough. Kennedy heard the sound of the struggle and was now crashing through the hedge at the crossroads in our direction. I managed to pick myself up, just as Kennedy reached my side, and, to­ gether, we followed the retreating figure as It made its way among the shadows. Across the open space be­ fore us we followed him and at last saw him dive Into an old barn. A moment later we followed hot­ foot into the barn. As we entered, we could hear a peculiar grating noise, as though a door was swung open. Evidently the man had gone through and closed the back door. We threw ourselves against the back door. But It did not yield. There w&3 no time to waste and we turned to rush out again by the way we came, just as the front door was slammed shut The man had trapped us. We could hear his feet crunching the dry leaves and twigs as he went around the side of the barn again. Suddenly the pale silver of the moonlight on the floor reddened. The man had struck a match and thrown it into a mass of oil-soaked straw and gunpowder which protruded through one of the weather-beaten boards, near the floor. For a second I looked dismayed at the rapidly mounting flames. "A very pretty situation," I forced with a laugh. "But I hope he doesn't think we'll stay here and burn, with a perfectly good window in full view." I took a step toward ths windev?, but before I could take another, Kennedy yanked me back. "Don't think for a moment that he overlooked that,"' he shouted. Craig looked around hastily.' In a corner, just back of us, was a long pole. He snatched It up and moved cautiously toward the window. "Keep back, Walter," he muttered, "Just as far as you can." He had scarcely raised the window a fraction of an inch when an old, rusty, heavy anvil and a bent, worn plowshare crashed down to the floor directly over the spot where I should have been if he had not dragged me away. "I think you may try It safely now, all right," smiled Kennedy coolly. We climbed out of the window, not an instant too soon. Having gained the clump of woods, the gaunt figure had paused long enough to gloat over his clever scheme. Instead, he saw us making good our escape. With a gesture of intense fury he turned. There was nothing more for him to do but to zigzag his way to safety across coun­ try. Kennedy did not pause an instant longer, but In the light of the burn­ ing barn, as best he could, started to follow the trail In a desperate en­ deavor either to overtake Long Sin, or at least to find the final direction in which he would go. • • • • • • • At the entrance of the passageway which led to the little underground chamber In which we had sought the treasure hidden by the Clutching Hand, Wu Fang was seated on a rock waiting impatiently, though now and then indulging in a sinister smile at the subtle trick by which he had re­ covered the ring. The sound of approaching foot­ steps disturbed him. He was far too clever to leave anything to chance and like a serpent, he wriggled behind another rock and waited. It was only a glance, however, that he needed to allay his suspicions. It was Long Sin, breathless. Wu stepped out beside him so qulet- . ly that even the acute Long Sin did not hear. "Well?" he said In a gut­ tural tone. Long Sin drew back in fear. "I have failed, oh, master," he replied in an imploring tone. "Even now they are following my tracks." Wu frowned. "We must work quick­ ly, then," he muttered. He picked up a dark lantern near by, indicating another to Long Sin. They entered the cave, flashing the lights ahead of them. "Be careful," ordered Wu, proceed­ ing gingerly from one stepping stone to another. "We shall be followed no further than this." He paused a moment and pointed his finger at the earth. Everywhere, ex­ cept here and there where a stone projected, was a sticky, slimy sub­ stance. It was an old trick of primi­ tive races. They passed on from stone to stone until they came to the subterranean chamber itself. Long Sin watched his master In si­ lent admiration as, at last, he drew forth the mystic ring for which they had dared all. Without a word Wu dropped it in the slot, a protuberance hit a. trigger and pushed it a hair's breadth. On the other side of the chamber, a great rock in the ground slowly turned, as though on a pivot. They watched, fascinated. Even then Wu did not forget the precious ring, but as the rock turned, reached down quickly andvipcovered it from the cup at the floor. Humorous Misunderstanding. One day last week, writes the Paris correspondent of the Daily Express, the retired proprietor of a. boxing booth was standing at the door of his butcher's shop in which he had invest­ ed his savingB, when a BritlBh sol­ dier came along and asked him for a match. The Frenchman did not un­ derstand. "Match, match," said Tom­ my, "a box of matches." The word "box" struck a chord of memory. The butcher ru sheil intp the house and brougHt <mCtwo-pairs ot' %oxins ibvii by tnch the piloted lock moved on Its axis. They flashed their lan­ terns full on It and, as it moved, they could see disclosed huge piles of gold and silver coins and bars and orna­ ments, a chest literally filled with brilliants, set and unset, rubieB, em­ eralds, precious stones of every con­ ceivable variety, a cave that would have staggered even Aladdin. For a moment they could merely stand In avaricious exultation. - - •, • *• • m e:.' Painfully and slowly we managed to trail Long Sin's footprints, until we came to a road where they were lost In the hard macadam. Kennedy chose the most likely direc­ tion, for the trail had been at an angle to the road and Long Sin was not like­ ly to double back. We had not gone many rods before Kennedy paused a minute and looked about in the moon­ light. 'It's right, Walter," he cried. "Do you recognize it?" I looked about. Then It flashed dVer me. This was the back road that led past the entrance to the treasure vault at Aunt Tabby's. We went on now more quickly, lis­ tening carefully to catch any sounds, but heard nothing. At last Kennedy stopped, then plunged among the rocks and bushes beside the road. W® were at the cave. "YQU GO this way, Walter," be di­ rected. "I'll go around and down where it caved in." I had gone only a yard or two when It seemed as though something had grasped my foot. With a great wrench I managed to pull It loose. But the weight on my other foot had imbedded it deeper in something. I struggled to free this foot and got the other caught. My re­ volver which I had drawn, was jarred from my hand, and in the effort to. re­ cover it, I lost my balance. Unable to move a foot in time to catch myself I fell forward. My hands were now covered by the slimy, sticky stuff, and the more I straggled, tbe worse I seemed to get entangled. * * « * • • • Wu and Long Sin paused only a minute in astonishment. Then they literally fell upon the wealth that lay before them. Suddenly they paused There was the slight tinkler of a Chinese bell. Kennedy had reached Aunt Tabby's garden, outside the roof of the subter­ ranean chamber where it fad given way, had gone down careful.T over the earth and rock, and in doInP «o had broken a string stretched across the passageway. The tinkle of a bell at­ tached to It arouqed his attention and he stopped short, a second, to look about. Wu Fang had arranged a primitive alarm. Quickly, Wu and Long Sin blew out their lanterns while Wu gave the rock a push. Slowly, as it had opened, it now closed and they stood there listen­ ing.. I was still struggling In the bird lime, getting myself more and more covered with it, when the reverbera­ tion of revolve^ shots reached me. Wu and Long Sin had opened fire on Kennedy, and Kennedy iwas replying in kind. In the cavern it sounded like a Veritable bombardment As they re­ treated, they came nearer and nearer to me and I could see the revolvers spitting fire in the darkness. I watched them fearfully as they hopped deftly from one stone to an­ other to avoid the lime--and were gone. "Craig! Craig!" I managed to cry feebly. "Be careful. * Keep to the stones." Stepping from stone to stone, he fol­ lowed the retreating Chinamen. But they had already reached the mouth of the cave and were making their way rapidly down the road to a bend, in the opposite direction from which we had come. There Wu's auto­ mobile was waiting. A moment later Kennedy appeared, but they had made their getaway. Baffled, he turned and retraced his steps to the cave. "They got away, Walter," he said, lighting a lantern they had dropped. "By George," he added, I think a lit­ tle vexed that I had not been able to intercept them, "you are a sight!" He was about to laugh, when I faint­ ed. I can remember nothing until I woke up over by the wall of the cham­ ber where he dragged me. Kennedy had been working hard to revive me, and, as I opened my eyes, he straightened up. His eye suddenly caught something on the rock beside him. There was ^ little slot carved in it, and above the slot was a peculiar inscription. For several minutes Kennedy puz­ zled over it, as Wu had done. Then he discovered the little cup near the ground. "The ring!" he suddenly cried out I was too muddled to appreciate at once what he mean|, but I saw him reach into his fob pocket and draw forth the trinket which had caused so much disaster, as if it had been cursed by the Clutching Hand himself. He dropped it into the slot. Struggling to my feet, I saw across from me the very rock Itself moving. "Look, Craig!"" I cried, involunta* ily pointing. He turned. No, it was not a vision. It actually moved. Together we watched. Slowly the rock turned on a pivot. There were disclosed to our astonished eyes the hidden millions of the Clutching Hand. I looked from the gold and jewels to Kennedy, In speechless amazement. "We have beaten them anyhow," 1 cried. Slowly Craig shook his head sadly. "No," he murmured, "we have found the Clutching Hand's millions, but we have lost Elaine." (TO BE CONTINUED.) gloves. Tommy squared up to th* Frenchman and a good set-to was only spoiled by the advent of a British officer, by whom mattvs were. •» plained. ,n§- 8ure Proof. /' j . .. "Belle's husband is sucht fl toold. reserved man I wonder how she cat tell If he really loves her." .t "Belle has no doubts on that score He asked her the other day If sh< wouldn't like to have some mo re pir HELD IIP. THREE BANDITS ROB BIQ PART#' OF 8IGHT6EER8 IN YELLOW- U. S. SENATOR BRADY A VICTIM IWU*; New York Man Flees to Warn Other > ? Passengers In Coaches Following, ' and Robbers Fire at Him--Soldier* Arriest Two 8uspects. Livingston, Mont, July 12.--A party of 125 tourists, Including United States Senator Brady of Idaho, was held up in Yellowstone park by three highwaymen. One of the tourists, a New Yorker ramed Rice, was fired at when he jumped down from e stage coach and ran back to warn other members of the -party following in other coaches. . The bullet fired at Rice flattened ft- self against a rock near by. Rice sped on, and the bandits, realizing that the Ji.. 1 J as *a < sound of tbe shot would act alarm, fled into tha woods. Col. L. M. Brett, superintendent of the park, said it was impossible at that hour to estimate the amount ,.. taken from the tourists. Names of * the victims had not been obtained. . Soldiers from all parts of the paSrlt were ordered by telephone to the scene £ of the robbery and two suspects *vere put unde.' guard. The bandits, after $ holding up the stage, went into the ^ voods and are believed to be heading for the Jackson Hole country on southern boundary. ^ : Imperial Potentate Frederick II r Smith of Rochester, N. Y., and other > members of the imperial divan, nobles of the Mystic Shrine, are seeing the sights in the Yellowstone park[ and some of them are supposed to be^ among, the victims of th& hi^wn^^ ' men. f. TWO WARSHIPS TORPEDOES . London Announces British 8ubmarli|pVH^ Attacked German Vessel In Bay of '***">'3 Danzig--Italian Cruiser 8unk. . v- -V London, July 10.--The first tatlm* tion that British submarines are op» ^ eratlng in the Baltic sea came with the official announcement of (he admiralty that it was. a British boat which suo> cessfully torpedoe'd a German warship in the Bay of Danzig. The Italian armored cruiser Amalfi has beem torpedoed and sunk by an Austrian submarine in the Adriatic., Official announcement of the destroo> tion of the warship was made by the ' ministry of marine at Rome. Almott all the crew\were saved. It is semiofficially reported that.4k. French warship has sunk a GermiUI submarine in the channel. v~ The Grimsby trawler Cheshire was blown up by a mine in the North sea. All the crew with the exception chief engineer were killed. y ,• * • GERMANS GIVE UP TO BOTHA Victory in Southwest Af-ica Will Fl#?4" lease Many British Soldiers for Service on Western Front. Pretoria, South Africa. July 11.--- Tlie British campaign for the conquest »9f German Southwest Africa has end­ ed in complete victory. All the forces defending the kaiser's colony have sur­ rendered to General Botha, premier of the Union of South Africa, and com-' mander of its military forces. Hostili­ ties have ceased after operations last­ ing nine months. Official announce* ment to this effect was made here. German Southwest Africa, which will probably be made a part of the Union of South Africa, has an area of about 422,450 square miles. Its population is estimated at more than 22&.000. A contingent will be dispatched to France, while additional forces w«tt continue the campaign in East Africa. L6ST TREASURE IS FOUND $43,000 of Cash Stolen From Murdered Man 47 Years Ago Recov­ ered In Iowa. Bedford. *Ia., July 10.--With four men under arrest for alleged com­ plicity in the murder of a wealthy stockman and his son at Siam, la., ia September. 1868, and arrangements -x\ made for the protection of the state's,. * chief witness, representatives of At­ torney General Cosson's office said they were prepared for the next phase of Taylor county's double murder and . buried treasure. Mrs. Porter is the woman who. as % k" fourteen-year-old girl. iWmits she w1t« nessed the killing of the cattleman, believed to have been Nathaniel Smith' of St. Joseph, Mo., and bis son, and the ; subsequent burial of $90,000 on' the old Collins farm near Siam. Samuel Scrlvner, the wealthiest man among the defendants, <n an interview here characterized the whole, iMrOCee^- < Ing as a "huge Joke." • "f1"- ., -jf Big Chicago Strike Is Over.' Chicago. July 13.--The strike of 1«>!. 000 carpenters, which had tied ap mlfe-. lions of dollars' worth of building op? crations in Chicago Bince last April, has been called off The carpenters^ , < won their demand for 70 cents an bot§& " -- , . , v r Sight Steamship Bottom Up. New York, July 13--The RussifcB steamship Cfcar, whiffr? arrived here . . from Archangel, said they had sight­ ed in the White sea a wrecked steam- jship floating bottom up in the sea,. Identity of the ship was not leanieJL-f.^: -#•? Record Cotton Crop. Washington. July 10.--The Amef$*: can cotton crop'of 1914 was the larg­ est ever produced, exceeding by near- \ ly two million bales, or about 15 per cent, the crop of 1913 The 19.11 u totaled 16.134,920 bales, g. , Detain Two Ships Fihom'tfl'%. A»K«no July 10 -- Tbe Grc^k ^ ere Thessalonlki and Janina, from the' ^ ̂ United States, were stopped at Gibral- * j*; tar on Thursday and were subsequent^ iy convoyed Jjamia^M ' ~ ; ̂ -• '