THE 0!LA1TA SUNDAY BEE: JANUARY 17, 1915.
A Detective Noyel and a Motion Picture Drama
Presented by The Omaha Bee In Collaboration with the Famous Pathe
Players and the Eclectic Film Co.
SESi Miss Pearl White,
Arnold jUaly and Craig Kenncuy
The Famous jtclrntlflc Detective of Fiction.
A1 J1S&JJ
Written by Arthur B. Reeve
The Well-Known Novelet and the Creator of the "Craig- Kennedy" Storid
Dramatized into a Photo-Play by Charles Goddard
1 Author of "The Perils of Pauline"
Cast of Leading Character! in the Motion Picture Reproduction by the Famous Pathe Players
ELAINE DODGE Miss Pearl White
CRAIG KENNEDY ........ Mr. Arnold Daly
HARRY DENNETT Mr. Sheldon Lewis
Everything you read here today you can
see in the fascinating Pathe Motion Pic
tures at the Motion Picture Theaters this
week. Next Sunday another chapter of
'The Exploits of Elaine" and new Pathe
reels.
yaopels of Previous Chapters.
The New York folic, ere myKtlf let by a seilea of
Tniirdera of prominent men. The principal clue to th
fnurderer la the warnlna: letter which In eent the vlc
tlma, alurned with a "clutchlnc: hand." Th. latent vlo
ttm of the myaterloua Hxanxuln In Taylor IkrIk, the
lnaurance preeldent. Hla dauirhter, Elaine, employs
Oral Kennedy, lit a famoua eclenttflo detective, to trr
to unravel the tnyatery. What Kennedy accompllahee
ia told by hts friend Jameaon, a newapaper man.
CHAPTER III.
The Vanishing Jewels
(Copyright, 1915, by th Star Company. AU For
. elgn lUght Reserved.) i
BANGING away at my typewriter the nex
day. In Kennedy'! laboratory, I wti star
tled by the audden, Insistent ringing of the
telephone near me.
"Hello," I answered, for Craig was at
work at hla table, trying still to extract some clue
from the slender evident thus far elicited in the
Dodge mystery. .
"Oh, Mr. Kennedy," I heard an molted volo
orer the wire rVply, "my friend, Susie Martin, to
here. Her father has Just received a message from
thai Clutching Hand and "
"Just a moment, Miss Dodge," I Interrupted.
"Thla Is Mr. Jameson."
"Oh!" came back the voice, breathless and die
appointed. "Let me have Mr. Kennedy qulok."
I had already passed the telephone to Craig
and was watching him keenly aa he listened over
It. The anticipation of a message from Elaine did
not fade, yet his face grew grave aa he listened.
He motioned to me for pad and pencil that
lay near me. S
"Please read the fetter again, tiover,' Mlaa
, Dodge," he asked, adding, "there Isn't time for
me to see tt Just yet. But I want It exactly. Ton
say it is mad up of separate words and typ cut
from newspapers and pasted on not paperT"
I handed him paper and pencil.
"All right now. Miss Dodge, go ahead.'
As he wrote he Indicated to me by hla ayes that
he wanted me to read. I did so:
Sturtevant Martin, Jeweler. No. 71 H Fifth
Avenue, New York City: Sir Aa you have failed
to deliver the $10,000, I eh all rob your mala dia
mond case at exactly noon today,
"Thank you, Mlaa Dodge," continued Kennedy;
laying 'down the pencil. "Tea, I understand per
fectly signed by that aame Clutching Hand. Let
me see," he pondered, looking at hla watch, fit la
now Just about half-past eleven. Very well. I eh all
meet you and Mlaa Martin at Mr. Martin's store
directly."
It lacked five minute of noon when Kennedy
and I dashed up before Martin's and dismissed our
taxlrab.
A remarkable scene greeted us as we entered
the famous Jewelery shop. Involuntarily I drew
back. Squarely In front of us a man had suddenly
raised a revolver and leveled It at us.
"Don't!" cried a familiar voice. "That is Mr.
Kennody."
Just then, from a little knot of people, Elaine
Dodge sprang forward with a- cry and seised
the gun. .
Kennedy turned to her, apparently not half so
much concerned about the automatic that yawned
at him as about the anxiety of the pretty girl who
had Intervened. The too eager plalnclotheshian
lowyted the gun sheepishly.
sturtevant Martin wa typical society business
man, quietly but richly dressed. He was Inclined
1o be pompous and effected a pair of rather dls
ttnguibhed looking side bickers.
In the excitement I glanced about hurriedly.
There were two or three policemen In the shop and
several plalnclothesmen, some armed with form
idable looking sawed-off shot guus.
Directly la front of me was a algn, tacked up '
on a pillar, mulch road: "This store will be closed
at neon to-day. Martin & Co."
, All the customers were gone. In fact, th
clerks had had some trouble in clearing th shop,
as many of them expressed not only surprise but
exasperation at the proceeding. , Nevertheless the
clerks had politely but insistently ushered them
out-
Martin himself was evidently very nervous and
very much alarmed. Indeed, no one could blame
blm for that. Merely to have been singled out by
thla amaslng master criminal was enough to cause
panto. Already he had engaged detective, pre
pared for whatever tuUht happen, and they had
advised him to leav the diamond in the counter,
clear the store and let the crooks try anything, if
they dared.
I fancied that be was somewhat exasperated at
bis daughter's presence, too, but could see that .her
explanation of Elaine's and Perry Bennetfa inter,
em in th Cluchlng Hand had considerably molli
fied him. He had been talking with Benaett'aa
me ram la and evidently had a high respect for th
young lawyer, y
Just back of us, and around th comer, aa we
came in. w had noticed a limousln which had
driven up. Three faultlessly attired dandles had
entered a doorway down the street, as w learned
afterward, apparently going to a fashionable tall
or'R which occupied the second floor of the old
fashioned building, the first floor having been
renovated and made ready for renting. Had we
been there a moment sooner we might have seen,
I suppose, that one of them sodded to a taxicab
driver, who was standing at a public hack stand a
few feet up the block, The driver nodded unosten
tatiously back at the man.
In spite of the excitement, Kennedy quietly
examined the showcase which was. Indeed, a vertla
ble treasure store of brilliants. Then with a keen
scrutinizing glance he looked over the police and
drawn revolvers and were firing up through the
hole In the floor desperately.
Martin, his detectives and the rest of us fell
back from the edge of the chasm hastily, to keep
out of range of the hall of bullets.
"Look out!" cried someone behind us, before
we could recover out first surprise and return the
fire.
Oae of the desperadoes had taken a bomb from
under hts smock, lighted It and thrown it up through
the hole in the floor.
It sailed up over our heads and landed near our
little group, on tbe floor, the fuse sputtering
ominously.
Quickly we divided and backed away, even
further.
1 heard an exclamation of fear from Elaine.
Kennedy had pushed his way past us and picked
up the deadly Infernal machine in his bare hands.
I watched him, fascinated. As near as be dared;
he approached the hole in the floor, still holding the
thing off at arm's length. Would he never
throw 4tT
He was cooly holding It, allowing the fuse to
burn down closer to the explosion point.
It was now within less than an inch of sure
death.
Suddenly he raised It and hurled the deadly
thing down through the hole.
We could hear tbe imprecations of the crooks
as it struck the cellar floor, near them. They had
, evidently been still cramming jewelry into the osv-
to the door Into the coal cellar and opened it.
From the other side Martin, followed by the
police and the detectives, buret In.
"Fire!" cried one of tbe policemen, leaping back
to turn in an alarm from the special apparatus
upstairs.
All except Martin began beating out the flames,
using such weapons as they already held In their'
hands to batter down the door.
To Martin there was one thing paramount the
Jewels.
In the midst of' the confusion, Elaine, closely
followed by her friend, Susie, made her way fear
lessly into the stifle of smoke down the stairs.
"There are your Jewels, Mr. Martin," cried Ken
nedy, kicking the precious burlap bag with his foot
as If it had been so much ordinary merchandise,
and turning toward what was in his mind the most
important thing at stake the direction taken by
the agents of the Clutching Hand.
"Thank heaven!" ejaculated Martin, fairly
pouncing on tbe bag and tearing it open. "They
didn't get away with them-iftpr all," he ex
claimed, examining the contents with satisfaction
"See you must have frightened them oft at just
the right moment when you sent the bomb back at
them."
Elaine and Susie pressed forward eagerly as he
poured forth the sparkling stream of gems, Intact.
"Wasn't he Just simply wonderful," I heard
SubI whisper to Elaine.
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Kennedy Quietly Examined the Showcase, with Its Glittering- Store of Wealth,
TUa la from theKotloa Motnr rlln of "The Xapiotta of KlaUe" bt the Tamoma Pathe PUyers.
detectives gathered around. There was nothing to
do now hut wait, as the detectives had advised.
I looked at a large antique grandfather's clock
which was standing near by. It now lacked scarcely
a minute of twelve.
Blowly the hands of the clock came nearer to
gether at noon.
We all gathered about the showcase, with Its
glittering hoard of. wealth, forming a circle at a
respectful distance.
Martin pointed nervously at the clock.
In 'deop-lunged tones the clock played tbe
chords written, I believe, by Handel. Then It be
gan striking.
As it did so, Martin involuntarily counted oft
the strokes, while one of tbe plainclothes men
waved bis shotgun in unison.
Martin finished counting.
Nothing had happened.
We all breathed a algh of relief.
"Well, it -Is still there!" exclaimed Martin,
pointing at the showcase with a forced laugh.
Suddenly came a rending and crushing sound.
It seemed aa if the Very floor on which w stood
was giving way,
Th showcase, with all its priceless contents,
went smashing down Into the cellar below.
The flooring beneath th -case had been cut
through!
Alt crowded forward, gasing at th black yawn
ing cavern. A moment we hesitated, then gingerly
craned ouf necks over the edge
Down below, three men, covered with smock
and their faces hidden by masks, had knocked th
prop away from the celling of the cellar, which
they had sawed almost through at their leisure, and
th showcao had landed eight or ten feet below,
shivered into a thousand bits.
A volley of shots whUxed past us, and another.
While one crook was hastily stuffing the untold
' wealth of Jewels Into a burlap bag the others had
paclous maw of the bag. One of them, discovering
the bomb, muBt have advanced toward it, then re
treated when he saw bow Imminent was, the ex
plosion. "Leave tbe store quick!" rang out Kennedy's
voice. a .
We backed away as fast as those behind us
would permit. Kennedy and Bennett were the last
to leave, in fact, paused at the door.
Down below the crooks were beating a hasty
retreat through a secret entrance which they had
effected.
"The bag! The bag!" we could hear one of
them below.
"The bomb run!" cried another voice sruffly.
A second later came an ominous silence. The
last if the three must have fled.
The explosion that followed lifted up fairly off
off our feet. A great putt of smoke came belching
up through the hole, followed by the crashing ot
hundreds of dollars' worth of glassware in the
Jewelry shop as fragments , ot stone, brick and
mortar and huge splinters of wood were flung with
treptendous force In every direction from the
mlnlaturo volcano.
As the smoke from the explosion cleared away,
Kennedy could be aeen, the first to run forward.
Meanwhile Martin's detectives had rushed down
a flight of, back stairs that led into a coal cellar.
With coal shovels and bars, anything they could lay
hands on, they attacked th door that opened for
ward from th coal cellar into th front basement
her th robbers had been.
A moment Kennedy and Bennett paused on the
brink of the abyss which the bomb had made, wait
ing for th smoke to decrease. Then they began
to , climb down cautiously over th piled up
wreckage.
The explosion had set the basement afire, but
th fir had not gained much headway by the tlm
they reached tbe basement. Quickly Kennedy ran
Etalne did not answer. She had eyes or
for nothing now In the melee but Kennedy.
rs
Events were moving rapidly.
The limousine had been standing innocently
enough at the curb near the corner, with th taxi
cab close behind It.
Less thui ten minutes after they had entered,
three well-dressed men came out of the vacant
shop, apparently from the tailor's above, and
climbed leisurely into their car.
As the last one entered, he half turned to the
taxicab driver, hiding from passers-by the sign of
the Clutching Hand, which the taxicab driver re
turned In the same manner. Then the big car
whirled up the avenue.
All this we learned later from a street sweeper
who was at work near by.
Down below, while the police and detectives
were putting out the fire, Kennedy was examining'
the wall of the cellar, looking for the spot where
the crooks had escaped.
"A secret door!" he exclaimed, as he paused
after tapping along th wall to determine its char-,
acter. "You can see how the fore ot the explosion
has loosened it."
Sure enough, when he pointed it out to us, it
was plainly visible. One ot th detectives picked
up a crowbar and others, still with th hastily se
lected implements they had seized to fight th fire,
started in to pry it open.
As it yielded Kennedy pushed his way through.
Elaine, always utterly tearless, followed. Then
th rest of us went through.
Ther seemed to h nothing, however, that
would help us In th cellar next door, and Ken
nedy mounted the steps of a stairway In the rear.
The stairway led to a sort of storeroom, full ot
barrels and boxes, but otherwise characterless.
When I arrived Kennedy was gingerly holding up
the smocks which the crcok had worn.
"We're on the right trail," commented Elaln
as he showed then to her, "but where do you sup
pose the owners are?"
Craig shrugged his shoulders and gave a quick
look about. "Evidently they came In from and
went away by the street," he observed, hurrying to
the door, followed by Elaine.
On the sidewalk he gaied up the avenue, then
catching sight of the street cleaner, called to him.
"Yes, sor," replied the man, stolidly, looking
up from his work. "I see three gentlemen come
out and get into an automobile."
"Which way did they go?" asked Kennedy.
For answer the man Jerked his thumb over his
shoulder in the general direction uptown.
"Did you notice the number on the car?" asked
' Craig, eagerly.
The man shrugged his Bhoulders blankly.
With keen glance, Kennedy strained his eyes.
Far up the avenue he could descry the car thread
ing its way In and out among the others, Just about
disappearing.
A moment later Craig caught sight of the va
cant taxicab and crooked his finger at the driver,
who answered promptly by cranking his engine.
"You saw that limousine standing here?" asked
Craig.
"Yes," nodded the chauffeur, with a show of
alertness.. 1
"Well, follow it," ordered Kennedy, Jumping
into .be cab.
"Yes. sir."
Craig was Just about to close the door when a
slight figure flashed past us and a dainty foot-was
placed on the step.
"Please, Mr. Kennedy," pleaded Elaine, "let me
go. They may lead to my father's slayer."
She said It so earnestly that Craig could
scarcely have resisted if he had wanted to do so.
Just as Elaine and Kennedy were moving off
' I came out of the vacant store, with Bennett and
the detectives.
"Craig!" I called. "Where are you going?"
Kennedy stuck his head out of the window, and
I am quite sure that he was not altogether dis
pleased that I was not with him.
"Chasing that limousine," he shouted back.
"Follow us in another car."
A moment later he and Elaine were gone.
Bennett' and I looked about.
"There are a couple of cal down there." I
pointed out at the other end of the block. "I ll t
take one. yon, take the other."
Followed by""a couple of the detectives, I Jumped
Into the first one I came to, excitedly telling the
driver to follow Kennedy's taxi, directing him with
my head out ot the window
"Mr. Jameson, please can't I go with you?"
I turned. It was Susie Martin. "One of you
fellows go In the other car." I asked tbe detective.
Before the man could move, Mr. Martin him
self appeared!
"No, Susan, I I won't allow it," he ordered.
"But Elaine went," she pouted.
"Well Elaine is ah I wont have It," stormed
Martin.' .
There was no time to waste. With a hast
apology, I drove oft.
Who, besides Bennett, went In the other car I
don't know, but it made no difference, for we soon,
lost them. Our driver, however, was a really
clever fellow. Far ahead now w could see the
limousine drive around a corner, making a danger
ous swerve. Kennedy's cab followed, Bklddlug
dangerously near a pole.
But the taxicab was no match for the power-
AU .iuiwuojmi, uu uyiuna luojr Weill, IQQ OUiy
thing preventing the limousine from escaping be
ing the fear of pursuit by traffic police if the driver
'let out speed. They were content to manage to
keep Just far enough ahead to be out of danger
of having Kennedy overhaul them. As for us, we
. foUowed as best we could, on uptown, past the
city line, and out into the country.
There Kennedy lost Bight altogether of the car
lie was trailing. Worse than that, we lost sight of
Kennedy. Still we kept on blindly, trusting to '
luck and common sense in picking tbe road.
I was peering ahead over the driver's shoulder,
the window down, trying to direct him, when we
approached a fork in the road. Here was a
dilemma which must be decided at once, rightly or
wrongly.
As we neared the crossroad I gave an lnvolun'
tary exclamation. Beside the road, almost on it,
lay the figure of a man. Our driver pulled up with
a jerk and I was out of the car In an instant.
There lay Kennedy! Someone had blackjacked
him. He was groaning and Just beginning to show
signs of consciousness aa I bent over.
"What's the matter, old man?"
ing him to his feet.
He looked about dazed a moment, then .see
ing me- and comprehending, he pointed excitedly,
but aguely. '
"Elaine!" he cried. "They've kidnapped
Elaine! s
e e
X What bad- really happened, as we learned later
from Elaine and others, was that when the cross
roads was reached the three crooks in the limou
sine had stopped long enough to speak to an accom
plice stationed there, according to their plan ,for a
getaway. He was a tough-looking Individual who
might have been hoboing it to the city.
When, a few minutes later. Kennedy and Elaine
had approached the fork, their driver had slowed
up, as if in doubt which way to go. . Craig had
stuck his head out of tbe window, as I bad done,
and, seeing the crocsroads, bad told the chauffeur
to stop. 4 There stood the hobo.
"Did a car pass here. Just now a big car?"
called Craig.
The man put his hand to his ear, as it only halt
comprehending.
"Which way did the big car go?" repeated
Kennedy.
Th hobo approached th taxicab sullenly, aa If
he had a grudge against cars in general.
(Continued on Fag Nine Column Pter)
I ask ed. help-