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The Black Menace
By ARTHUR B. REEVE
“Who was the fellow? What
did ho look like ? ’ ’
“Tall, narrow-chested, one of
those fellows that the newspa
pers call lounge lizards,” re
turned Kennedy.
The policeman walked around,
examining all the cars.
“How did you happen to get
away so quickly?” asked Speed
gratefully of Kennedy, now that
he wjaa sure Clare was safe and
rapidly recovering.
Not at Her Home.
"When I left the laboratory,”
replied Craig, “I could not find
Miss Clamiont at home. I made
inquiries elsewhere but no one
■eemed to know where she was.
Finally I went back there again.
Her maid told me that she had
eome in and had gone out, that
there had been a telephone call
to her. Someone had used your
name. Speed, and had said that
wo were all to dine at the Crystal
palace, but in private dining
room No. 6. 1 knew something
was wrong, jumped into a cab,
and I guoss 1 got there just in
time.
. "Well,” interrupted the traf
fie policeman, coming with his
notebook, “I guess I’ve got a
taxicab on my hands. There
doesn’t seem to be anybody here
to claim it. I guess it’s a clue—
license No. 987654,”
Kennedy noted the number
and together we looked over the
eab. There did not seem to be
anything unusual about it. It
was merely like hundreds of oth
ers. However, the traffic man
was right. There must be some
due in the license number.
"We can’t stay here all
night," cut in Ra venal. “I think
a good plan would be to get back
to the Crystal palace as quick as
We can. Perhaps we cap find out
Something .more there. ’ ’
Kennedy nodded, and we di
vided ourselves into two parties
and returned to the other two
calm, leaving the deserted cab in
the charge of the traffic man for
future use.
Back at the Crystal palace
Kennedy and Ravenal began a
hasty inquiry, commencing with
ths taxicab starter at the door.
"Who was the fellow who went
amt with her!” demanded Ken
nedy.
"I don’t know,” replied the
starter. “I’ve seen him around
here—they say his name is Wer
ner. I guess you’ve seen a good
many of them on Broadway.”
Not much advanced by this ip
quiry, we entered the restaurant,
and a few moments later were
talking to the manager.
jrvrvmenx intruding.
“Who lured private dining
room No. 6!” we asked.
44No. .A” repeated the mana
ger. “That’s on the third floor.
It has been hired by Mademoi
selle Celia Dreshkaya, the Rus
sian dancer. She is there now.”
With him we rode up in the
•levator and paused at the door
before we knocked. Inside we
could hear the voices of several
people gaily chatting. The.man
ager tapped on the door and it
opened.
Celia Breshkaya was indeed a
pretty woman off the stage as
well as on it, but it was a style
of beauty for which I did not
particularly care. Her features
had that heavy European look
which compare very unfavorably
with the delicacy of the Ameri
can type.
The party inside looked at us
in surprise as they saw us stand
ing in the doorway. At first I
think they must have thought
that a new delegation had ar
rived to jt»in m their festivities.
4<mk_ sr. m % % t
low do you
voice, as
Mademoiselle Celia bowed ro
guishly at -lack.
Speed colored. It was evident
that he did not relish the situ
ation. Clare said nothing but
there was not an inflection of the
eoice or an acti<*o which she
missed.
Kennedy, noticed the embar
rassment of the young man out
of the corner of his eyes, and did
nothing to cover it. In Craig’s
scheme of things almost any
thing might be evidence.
“I beg your pardon,” apolo
gised the manager, “but a very
unfortunate thing has happened.
Perhaps you can explain it.”
Qttiekly he repeated what we had
told him.
A Pretty Shrug.
441 telephoned ? ’ ’ repeated
Bewjdtkaya, with her best baby
store, which did not neglect to
toko Clare’s measure. “Why, I
4
was to entertain a party of
friends, but not until 7 o’clock.
Yes, the waiter told me some one
had been here before early. This
is a shame. It took 10 minutes to
fix up our tables here again. This
fellow whoever he was—must
have come here and used my
name. Who he is—I do not know
-him.”
She finished with a pretty lit
tle shrug of her shoulders, as
though she would say, “Who can
doubt the.word of a lady?”
And indeed, who could ? Who
was this “Werner?” Was he
part of the Black Menace gang?
What of Breshkaya herself?
There was only one thing to
do. We must accept the explana
tion for what it was worth. Only
time could show whether it was
worth anything.
me manager nowea an
apology, as Kennedy and the rest
of us backed out of the room and
we rode down in the elevator
considerably at a loss to know
what would be the next step.
Down in the lobby again Ken
nedy paused a moment and
glanced at his watch. It had
been some time since we left the
deserted taxicab up in the park
nnd he decided to call up the po
lice station to see whether they
had found out anything yet.
For some moments he was in
the telephone booth while we
waited outside.
“Have you got a car that we
can use tonight?” he asked
Speed as he rejoined us. “That
taxicab was not one from the
city. They have looked up the
license number 7876054, and they
find that it is held by a man
named Ransom and teh car was
kept at a little garage in Heaton
Hills, in Nassau County.”
Speed glanced up swiftly at
the mention of the fashionable
North Shore town. It was only
another evidence of the wide con
nections of the Black Menace in
the smart set.
“We have only to go a few
blocks to my garage,” he re
plied, “I suppose it is the big car
that we will want?”
We lost no time in getting into
the car and were soon across the
city and over the bridge looping
along the hilly roads of the North
Shore. Ordinarily it might have
taken us an hour or more to
make the journey, but as Speed
shoved his car along, it seemed
almost no time before we were
approaching the village which
was the center of the many mil
lionaire estates at Heaton Hills.
Finding the Oarage.
We had no troxible in locating
the garage, which was on a back
street in the village.
“It doesn’t look as though any
body was here,” remarked Speed
as he pulled up 'before it.
We jumped out and began a
hasty examination. The door was
locked and the place was appar
ently empty and dark. Finally
Kennedy managed to turn the
lock of a back window and we
entered. As he flashed a pocket
light about the place ,it was evi
dent that if there had been any
other car or cars, they had been
removed. A search of the garage
seemed to reveal nothing. There
was a desk in a little office, but
it was empty. A few tools and
some worn out tires that were
nothing but scrap were the only
things of value in the place.
“Double crossed t” concluded
Ravenal, as he looked about.
Suddenly there was a jangle
from the wall telephone just in
side the office, I was standing
nearest to it, and I took a step
toward it to answer, when I felt
a hand on my shoulder. It was
Kennedy.
“Don’t, Walter,” he cautioned
in a whisper. “There is a hoxxse
just across the street. Run over
there and get on the wire there.
Find out from central the origin
of this call before I answer it.”
I turned and hurried oxit of the
garage and across the street. The
people were very obliging, and I
was soon able to find out that the
number that was calling was
“700 Main.” As I thanked them
and left the house I inqxiired
about the garage across the
street, bxxt the people did not
seem to know much aboxxt it, ex
cept that a couple of strangers
had rented it recently and were
very quiet, which was all that
seemed to interest them.
Back in the garage I foxmd
that Kennedy had answered the
call, but that it had led to noth
ing. It seemed that whoever was
at the cither end ef the wire had
for some reason become suspi
tmmammtmmmmmmammmmmmmmrnmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmitm
cious and, not recognizing the
voice which answered, had re
fused to talk and hung up.
The Number Traced.
“Central told me that the
number was ‘700 Main’,” I
whispered to him outside in the
darkened garage.
“Good!” he exclaimed.
“Now the next thing to do will
be to go to the telephone office
and persuade them to tell us
what ‘700 Main’ really is.
A hasty conference with
Speed followed ,and again we
were in his car, picking our way
by a short cut to the telephone
building.
It was now quite late when we
arrived at the telephone build
ing, and after considerable par
leying Kennedy persuaded the
girl in charge that it was all
right to tell us the address.
“It’s the big colonial man
sion on the Rocky Hill road, she
said at length. “I don’t know
anything about it and if I did,
I don’t think that I would dare
to say anything.”
There was something, how
ever, in the tone and manner of
the girl that confirmed Ken
nedy in his suspicion that the
telephone girl might well prove
to be worth tracing. What it
might lead us to, he could not
say, but I could see by his man
ner that he much preferred to
make this investigation by him
self.
Outside Kennedy appeared to
be very much concerned about
the way in which Miss Clare
mont might feel after her ex
citing experience of the eve
ning.
“Speed,” he said at length, “I
think it would be much better if
you took Miss Claremont home
and when you do, make arrange
ments with the police so that
there will be somebody near her
home, within call all night.
There’s a little bit of work that
Jameson and I must do out here
and I think we can do it better
by ourselves.
An Order to Wait.
As Speed’s car whisked away
down the turnpike, Kennedy
and I started along the main
street of the town, until at last
we came to the station, where a
lone “flivver” was waiting for
a possible passenger. Kennedy
engaged it and we were soon on
our way out from the town and
along a good, but poorly light
ed, country road.
Our chauffeur pulled up af
ter he had gone perhaps a mile
and leaned back, speaking
through the door. “There’s the
house down there,” he nodded.
“All right,” returned Ken
nedy, brusquely. ‘ ‘ There’s a light
there. You wait here.”
The driver ran his car close
to the side of the road and Craig
and I got out. Without a word
he turned up a gravel driveway,
which led through a heavy
hedge of lilac up to the front
door of a long low-lying colon
ial house. As we approached it
in the shadows I fancied that
the quietness of 'he grounds
was merely a concealment for
something. A coach house lamp
shone on at least a half a dozen
cars to the side of the house,
and we slipped across the drive
way for concealment, approach
ing from the other side.
What was this mansion of
mystery ?
CHAPTER 5.
The Mansion of Mystery.
Huge trees shaded the house,
mostly evergreens, making it a
very picturesque building as the
moonlight streamed down on it
through the branches.
As we made our way up the
lawn we, beside the driveway,
could see the entrance to the
! place, a wide door, underneath
i the four great white colonial pil
lars. Through the fanlight over
the door could be seen streaming
the light from the hall, but the
rest of the door was dark as were
the sidelights.
Suddenly there was the purr
of a many-cylindered motor be
hind us, on the road, and Ken
nedy dragged me back on a
clump of rhododendrons just as
the lights from the car swung in
like long fingers up, the drive
way, pointing almost directly at
us. The shelter of the shrubs
was, however, sufficient to pro
tect us, and the car swung up
swiftly past us, turned and
stopped at the door.
The front door was opened and
in the shaft of light that shot
1 out from it was revealed the car
’and the party in it,
Through the door we could
catch a glimpse of a splendidly
furnished reception hall. There
seemed to be a great many peo
ple in the house. Although it
was late, *he gaiety here seemed
*
increasing rather than diminish
ing
A butler in most correct uni
form ran out from the hall across
the wide porch and opened the
doors of the touring car. A
couple of men jumped out and
began assisting two ladies to
alight.
Seen Before.
“Breshkaya!” exclaimed Ken
nedy.
I looked again more sharply.
It was indeed Breshkaya and
some of the party whom I had
seen at the Crystal palace earlier
in the evening. They had mo
tored out here after the gay din
ner.
As they disappeared into the
mansion of mystery, the car slid
around the side of the house and
joined the others waiting under
the dim coach lamp at the other
side.
What did it meant What man
ner of establishment was thist
It had all the evidence of being
a private mansion on a private
estate, yet in everything else it
seemed to be almost like a social
club.
We stole around the side of the
house. There was a bay win
dow just off a wide back porch
that overlooked the slope of the
hill with a beautiful view down
across the valley.
Back of this bay window we
stood a moment listening. The
window was raised for ventila
tion and through it we could
hear sounds. As I listened I
could hear a sort of regular,
rhvthmie click.
Kennedy whispered to me,
clasping his hands, downward
palms up, to illustrate. “Give
me a lift, Walter. I think I can
just about make it to look
through the window.”
I clasped my hands and Ken
nedy placed his foot in them,
raising himself just far enough
to be able to look through the
window overhead. Craig was
heavy, but I held him as long as
he looked in. However, I'was
glad when he let himself down.
“What’s that shirr and
click?” I asked.
“A roulette wheel,” he re
turned, in a whisper, ‘ * Here, you
take a look.”
As I peered over the window
ledge I could see in the bright
light a party of handsomely
gowned ladies and men in eve
ning clothes gathered about the
roulette wheel. There was no
need for anyone at the window
to be very cautious. Their atten
tion was too soundly riveted on
the wheel to be distracted except
by a loud noise.
Through the door I could just
make out in another room across
the wide hall a number of green
baize covered tables and at least
one party seated about one table
deep in what I took to be a
game of bridge.
Now and then I could make
out servants passing rapidly and
silently about, bearing drinks on
trays.
There could be no doubt about
what the place was. Gaming
having been practically closed
up in New York, had taken ref -
uge in this de luxe establish
ment in the suburbs.
“What do you suppose it
means?” I asked as I hopped
lightly to the ground again be
side Kennedy. “Can this be the
origin of the blackmailing by the
Black Menace?”
At least we had an explana
tion of the nature of this mansion
of mystery.
Kennedy cautioned silence. In
an instant I realized why. Some
one had passed out through the
long French doors to the porch
above us.
From where we were crouch
ing we could not see the faces
and, indeed, even if we could
have seen, I doubt whether we
should have been able to make
them out in the darkness. But
at least we could hear the voices,
and very distinctly.
.No More Like That.
There were two of them, a man
and a woman.
“I don’t want any more jobs
like that,” continued the man,
as though he were carrying on a
conversation that had started in
side.
“What did you have to do!”
asked the woman,
Both Kennedy and I strained
our ears to recognize the voices.
I had hoped that the woman
might be Breshkaya, but it did
not seem to be, unless she were
able to disguise her voice.
“I had to be very careful,”
returned the man, “smeared the
stuff all over the paper—wore
gloves and a mask to do it—
then I sealed the thing in a let
ter and directed it. When she
opens that—well, it’ll be all
over.”_
(To Be Continued Next Week.)
Lees than 10 amateur transmitting
licenses for radio operator* have Ken*
Issued In Australia.
IRRIGATION
AREA FARMS
PROSPERING
Crops on Government Projects
Good and Farmers Cheered
by Prospects of Better
Prices, Work Reports.
Universal Service.
Washington, May 28.— Reports from
the irrigation projects of the depart
ment of the interior Indicate that
better crops and better prices for farm
products are expected by farmers
and that a much more optimistic out
look prevails than last year, Secre
tary of the Interior Work declared
Monday. He added:
"On the southwestern projects ex
cellent stands of cotton are being ob
tained and the first and in some cases
the second crop of alfalfa has already
been harvested. On the more north
ern projects orchards have bloomed
heavily and little damage to fruit has
resulted from frost. A large area is
being planted to sugar beets on those
projects where this is one of the
standard cash crops, and test
plots have been planted to this crop
on several other projects to deter
mine its practicability.
"The increase in the price of po
tatoes has resulted in the shipment
of large quantities which had been
stored during the recent price slump.
On a number of the projects the set
tlers are showing increased
interest in dairying, with 'the result
that new creameries and cheese fac
tories are being erected as fast as
conditions permit.
"A feature of this development
work which should not be overlooked
is the fact that these products of
western irrigation agricutture seldom
if ever enter into competition with
the agricultural products of the east
and south. The cotton, for example,
is in general the long staple variety
which competes with the Egyptian
but not with the cotton of the south.
Alfalfa is very largely consumed
locally and will be more and more so
as the dairying industry Increases.
"With the vast quantities of sugar
being imported yearly there is no
competition between the sugar beet
growers of the west and the cane
planters of the south. There is al
ways a local demand for the truck
crops.
“On the other hand, the develop
ment of these projects is a distinct
advantage to the east because of the
large quantities of manufactured
goods in the shape of furniture,
agricultural implements and the like
which are purchased by the settlers
on the projects and the residents of
neighboring towns and cities whose
existence is due to the irrigation
work of the department of the in
leriur,
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
l HERE’S BOY USED IN *
♦ BILL HART AFFAIR ♦
f♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
I
This .“phantom baby”—phantom
not so far as his fxistence is con
cerned, but because he was not as
represented—was used by Miss
Elizabeth MacCaulley, Brookline,
Mass., school teacher in an endeavor
to win “Bill” Hart, movie star. She
swore the boy was her son and
Hart’s, but has confessed and ex
onerated the actor.
ATTEMPT OF ROBBERS
AT MITCHELL FAILURE
Mitchell, S. D„ May 28 (Special.)—
Yeggs Sunday night undertook to
blow off the safe of the vault door
in the Mitchell Abstract company's
office. The charge of nitroglycerine
was not heavy enough to break the
| door.
Evidently fearing to risk another
charge, the robbers fled, and when the
police, who had been notified by
postoffice employes across the street,
arrived the robbers had disappeared.
DIVORCE SUIT
ALLEGATIONS
RULED FALSE
Miss Larrimore Hints at Crim
inal Proceedings as Possible
Outgrowth of Opera Star’s
Aspersions on Character.
Universal Service.
New York, May 28— On the heels
of a complete vindication given Miss
Stella Larrimore, actress, in the di
vorce case of Geraldine Farrar
against Lou Tellegen, and the assess
ment against the opera* star of all
costs in the case, came the an
nouncement Monday night that Miss
Larrimore would sue Miss Farrar for
$1,000,000.
Monday Supreme Court Justice
Lehman ruled that the charges
against Miss Larrimore were un
founded. He based his decision large
ly on a letter written by Miss Far
rar’s lawyer to the attorney for Miss
Larrimore, acknowledging that the
charges Were unfounded, and offering
to strike them from the record.
Miss Larrimore also intimated that
In addition to her damage suit she
would institute criminal proceedings
through the district attorney’s office
to trace the aspersions cast on her
good name in the Farrar-Tellegea
divorce suit.
U. S. TRANSPORT
Wireless Report Says Dispute
Aboard Ship Loaded With
Russian Refugees
Adjusted.
Universal Service.
Manila, P. I., May 29 (Tuesday)—
"All trouble aboard the Merritt has
been adjir * jd and the transport is
proceeding at a speed oi about 11
knots an hour }und for Nagasaki.”
This message was brought here
early today by the mine sweeper
Henderson, which was rushed to the
assistance of the United States
transport Merritt Monday, following
a report that the Russia' crew
aboard the transport ha gone on a
strike 600 '^iles north of .'longapo.
The Merritt, with 685 Russians
aboard, left Olongapo four days ago
for the United States, her passengers
being the remnants of Admiral
Stark’s 'White fleet” which fled
Vladivostok more than a year ago.
SUES TO RECOVER BONO
OF FORMER BANK HEAD
Mitchell, S. D., May 28 (Special.)
—John Hirning, state bank exam
iner, has instiuted suit here, to re
cover the $5,000 bond given by Wal
demar Wenzlaff, former president of
the State Bank at Tripp. S. D.
The state bank examining depart
ment holds that Wepzlaff embezzled
funds belonging to the Tripp bank
and the bank failed because of
Wenzlaff’s theft. The surety com
pany should be required to pay the
bond they say.
Hirning contends the amount of
the bond should be turned over to the
state banking department to be used
in helping pay depositors in the de
funct bank. William Wallace, of
Aberdeen, S. D., has been appointed
referee in the case as the result of
the hearing here and will present
his findings to the federal court in
Sioux Falls.
REDS HALT WORK
IN RUHR MINES
Berlin, May 28 (A. > .0—Two mil
lion miners and tens of thousands of
metal workers are on strike in the
Ruhr. Although these figures are
probably grossly overestimated, it is
believed that undoubtedly every mine
center in the Ruhr is idle as a result
of the tactics of the communists who
. are visiting the pits and forcibly
ejecting the workers.
A vote taken in the Bochum dis
trict showed that a majority of the
miners favored resumption of work,
but communist pickets are stationed
at some of the pits with fixed bayo
nets to prevent the miners from de
scending.
No further disorders since yester
day are reported and the casualties
for the weekend stand at seven per
sons killed and 93 wounded. The
food shortage is beginning to be felt
in the disturbed area, especially at
Gelsenkirchen.
MILWAUKEE TO ISSUE.
Washington, May 28 ( P.)—The
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul rail
road was authorized by the Interstate
Commerce Commission to issue $13,
500,000 in equipment trust certilicates
today.
CLOSE TWO HOSPITALS
FOR INVALID SOLDIERS
Washington, May 28.—In order to
effect further economies in the op
eration of the United States vet
erans’ bureau. Director Frank T.
Hines has ordered two bureau hos
pitals in California closed, it was
learned here Monday.
Arrowhead Springs and Camp
Kearney are the two institutions af
fected by the director’s decision. Re
fusal of the bureau to continue pay
ing the high rentals now charged, is
given as the reason for the order,
which will go into eitect June 30.