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The Exploits of Elaine A Detective Novel and a Motion Picture Drama By ARTHUR B. REEVE S The Well-Knowon Novelist and the rator of theA. ''Cmaig Kennedy "' Stories Preeated is Coaaboratl With the Pa laers and the Edectic Film CompW Coprlght, 1914. by the Stat Company. All Foreign Rights Resrveod. SYNOPSIS. The formation of a partnership as pro fessor and aide in crime science between 4'raia Kennedy. university ch,emistry pro fessor, and Walter Jameson, n.rwspaper man. Is at on(ce followerd by th.eir tecom ing interest",,i in a series of murders by a master rimlnnal who (leaves no other clue to his identity than the signl manual of a "c1litecing l:and." '' aine Dodge, wh',,qs father is one of the latetst victims 4of the myrterlos mur, l rr. witn, ases 'th, , fL'nnri')t of K' nr ll y'Jv: in, in- tific in \v' stlg tlulo of !Its nur,, r . SECOND EPISODE The "Twilight Sleep." Kennedy had thrown himself whole heartedly into the solution of the mys terious Dodge case. Far into the night, after the chal lenge of the, forgetd finger print, he continued at work, endeavoring to ex tract a clue from the meager evi Sdence--a bit of cloth and trace of poi son already obtained from other cases. WVe dropped around at the Dodge house the next morning. Early though it was, we found Elaine p trifle paler, but more lovely than ever, and Perry Bennett, themselves vainly endeavor ing to solve the mystery of the Clutch P ing Hand. They were at Dodge's desk, she in the big desk chair, he standing beside her looking over some papers. "There's nothing there," Bennett was saying as we entered. I could not help feeling that he was gazing down at Elaine a bit more ten derly than mere business warranted. "Have you-found anything?" que rled Elaine anxiously, turning eagerly to Kennedy. "Nothing-yet," he answered, shak ing his head, but conveying a quiet idea of confidence in his tone. Just then Jennings, the butler, en tered, bringing the morning papers. Elaine seized the Star and hastily opened It. On the first page was the story I had telephoned down very late in the hope of catching a last city edition. We all bent over and Craig read aloud: "CLUTCHING HAND" STILL AT LARGE New York's Master Criminal Remains Undetected-Perpetrates New Dar iag Murder and Robbery on Mil ionaire Dodge. He had scarcely finished reading the brief but alarming news story that followed and laid the paper on the desk when a stone came smashing through the window from the street. Startled, we all Jumped to our feet. Craig. hurried to the window. Not a soul was in sight! He stooped and picked up the stone. To it was attached a piece of pa per. Quickly he unfolded it and read: "Craig Kennedy will give up his search for the 'Clutching Hand'-or die!" Later I recalled that there seemed to be a slight noise downstairs, as if at the cellar window, through which the masked man had entered the night before. In point of fact, one who had been outside at the time might actually have seen a sinister face at that cel lar window, but to us upstairs it was invisible. The face was that of the servant, Michael. Without another word Kennedy passed into the drawing room and took his hat and cot. Both Elaine and Bennett followed "I'm afraid I must ask you to x ease me-otr the preamt" Craig apoloised alas e looked at him axdosl. "Thon-yg will not let that letter ntimidate you?" she pleaded, laying her soft white hband on his arm. "Oh. Mr. eKsedy," she added -bravely Tkeepio bck the teirs, "asegae him! All tho moe in the world woeld be too ttle to es --t o '--" At the mere menatio of money Kea nody'e taee semed to eleod, bet ove for a moment. "Ill try," he todd simply. Elalne did not withdraw her hand a she ooatianued to look rup at him. "Mia Dod," he aet on, his voice wteady, w thoukh he were repressing sbmething, "I will never take sother cae until the 'Clntching Had' Is capture." The look of Irttuade she gave him weold have been a princely reward initelf. It gs m time aitar them events that Kgeas, rn, streths what had hapest mr sats is a strepe try wa I see st ar the Ids by t·1 4 Ia an, h. d sm t .: a*erlw a d 8itgn-, -ing Go ml~~k 4 esting Lase, when an attendant came in with a card and handed it to me. It read simply, "Dr. Ludwig Reinstrom, Coblenz." "Here's that Doctor Reinstrom, Thompson, about whom my friend in Germany wrote the other day," I re marked, nodding to the attendant to admit Doctor lteinstrom. I might explain that l hile I was abrtoad stome tilme ago I madtiae a par ticular study of the "1-i,. nimerschlaf" -otherwise, the "twilight sleep"--at Frei burg here -it was developed, and att other ptlnces in Germany where the sbi bi)t had attratcted great attention. I :as uni'Ich1 inmpressied and had imu SIt,ted the' treatment to Ili!lijle. \While we waitted I reached into my dtlsk and drew out the letter to which ! I referred. which ended. I recall: "As Doctor ltIinstrom is in Amer Ica, he will probuably call on you. I am sure yotu will be gl:ad to know him. "With kindest regards, I am, "Fraternally yours, EMIL SC('II\WAItZ. M. D., "Director, Leipsic Institute of Medi cine." "Most happy to meet you, Doctor Reinstrom." I greeted the new arrival, as he entered our office. For several minutes we sat and chatted of things medical h,'re and abroad. "'What is it, doctor," I asked finally. "that interests you most in America?" "Oh," he replied quickly with an ex pressive gesture, "it is the broadmind edness with which you adopt the best from all over the world, regardless of prejudice. For instance, I am very 1 much interested in the new 'twilight sleep.' Of course, you have borrowed it largely from us, but it interests me to see whether you have modified it with practice. In fact, I have come to Hillside sanitarium particularly to see it used. Perhaps we may learn some thing from you." It was most gracious, and both Doc tor Thompson and myself were charmed by our visitor. I reached over and touched a call button and our head nurse entered from a rear room. "Are there any operations going on now?" I asked. She looked mechanically at her watch. "Yes, there are two cases, now, I think," she answered. "Would you like to follow our tech. nique?" I asked, turning to Doctor Reinstrom. "I should be delighted," he acqul esced. A moment later we passed down the corridor of the sanitarium, still chat ting. At the door of a ward I spoke to the attendant, who indicated that a patient was about to be anesthetized, and Doctor Relnstrom and I entered the room. There, in perfect quiet, which is an essential part of the treatment, were several woman patients lying in bed in the ward. Before us two nurses and a doctor were in attendance on one. I spoke to the doctor, Doctor Holmes, by the way, who bowed polite ly to the distinguished Doctor Rein strom, then turned quickly to his work. "Miss Sears," he asked of one of the nurses, "will you bring me that hypo dermic needle?" "You will see, Doctor Reinstrom," I injected in a low tone. "that we follow in the main your Freiburg treatment. We use scopolamin and narkophin." I held up the bottle, as I said it, a rather peculiar shaped bottle, too. "And the pain?"' he asked. "Practically the same as in your ex perience abroad. We do not render the patient unconscious, but prevent her from remembering anything that goes on." Doctor Holmes, the attending physi cian, was just starting the treatment. Flling his hypodermic, he selected a spot on the patient's arm where it had been scrubbed and sterilized, ahd Injected the narcotic. "And you say they have no recol lection of anything that happens?" asked Reinstrom. "Absolutely none-lf the treatment is given properly," I replied, con fldently. "Wonderful!" ejaculated Reinstrom as we left the room. Now comes the strange part of my story. After Reinstrom had gone, Doe tor Holmes, the attending physician of the woman whom he had seen anres thetized, missed his syringe and the bottle of scopolamin. Holmes, Miss Sears and Miss Stern I all hunted, but it could not be found. Others had to be procured. I thought little of it at the time, but sinee then it has occurred to me that it might interest you, Professor Ken- I nody, and I give it to you for what it me; be worth. It was esrly the next morning that I swoke to lad Kennedy already up and peaoo frlm ear apartment. I knew he mut be at the laborator, and, gather hig the mail, which the postman had I ut dipped througb the ltter slot. I < wett ever to the university to se him I As I aketd over the letters to cllI wat me va oee In a womaa's hand- I relin en attractive. aot paper ad 5ie 'C rrLlpJ oa iir As I came up the path to the chem istry building I saw through the win dow that, in spite of his getting there early, he was finding it difficult to keep his mind on his work. It was the first time I had ever known anything to interfere with science in his life. "Well," I exclaimed as I entered, "yoa are the early bird. Did you have any breakfast?" I tossed down the letters. HIe did not reply. So I became absorbed in the morning paper. Still, I did not neglect to watch him covertly out of the corner of my eye. Quickly he ran over the letters, instead of taking them, one by one, in his usual method ical way. I quite complimented my superior acumen. He selected the dainty note. A moment Craig looked at it in an ticipation, then tore it open eagerly. I was still watching his face over the top of the paper and was surprised to see that it showed, first, amazement, then pain, as though something had hurt him. lie read it again-then looked straight ahead, as if in a daze. Suddenly he jumped up. bringing his tightly clenched fist down with a loud clap into the palm of his hand. "Ity heaven!" he exclaimed, "I-I will!" lie strode hastily to the telephone. Almost. angrily he seized the receiver and asked for a nunmber. "Vhh-~whats the matter, Craig!" I blurted out ea:aerlv. As he waited for the number, he threw the letter over to me. I took it and road: Professor C'rai" Kennedly, "Tlh I'niver.aity, The Heights, City. "De'ar Sir: "I have come to the conclusion that your work is a hindrance rather than an assistance in clearing up my father's death, and I hereby beg to state that your services are no longer required. This is a final decision, a:nd I beg that you will not try to see me again regarding the matter. "Very truly yours, "ELAINE DOTDGE." If it had boen a !bomb I could not have been mere surprised. I could not make it out. Kennedy impatiently worked the re ceiver up and down, repeating the number. "Hello-hello," he repeated. "Yes-hello. Is Miss-oh-good morn ing, Miss Dodge." lie was hurrying along as if to give her no chance to cut him off. "I have just received a letter, Miss Dodge, tell ',$ 'V Th.r Were Marke ef a Jimmy en the Window. ing me that you don't want me to con tinue investigating your father's death, and not to try to see you again about-" He stopped. I could hear the reply. "Why-no--Mr. Kennedy, I have written you no letter." The look of mingled relief and sur prfse that crossed Craig's face spoke volumes. "Miss Dodge," he almost shouted, "this is a new trick of the 'Clutching Hand.' I-I'll be right over." Craig hung up the reeciver and turned from the telephone. Evidently he was thinking deeply. Suddenly his face seemed to light up. He made up his mind to something, and a moment later he opened the cabinet-that in exhaustible storehouse from which he seemed to draw weird and curious in struments that met the ever new prob lems which his strange profession brought to him. I watched curiously. He took out a bottle and what looked like a little hypodermic syringe, thrust them into his pocket and, for once, oblivious to my very existence, deliberately walked out of the laboratory. I did not propose to be thus cava lierly dismissed. I suppose it would have looked ridiculous to a third par ty, but I followed him as hastily as if he had tried to shut the door on his own shadow. We arrived at the corner above the Dodge house Just in time to see anoth er visitor-Beanett-enter. "And, Perry." we heard Elaine ay, as we were ushered la, "someone has even forged my name-the handwrit ing and everything-telling Mr. Ken nedy to drop the case-and I never knew." She stopped as we entered. "That's the limit!" exclaimed Ben-" nert. "Miss I~d,.- has just been tell ing me--" "Yes," iI/terrupted Craig. "Lrook. Miss Dodge, this is it." lie handed her the letter. She al most seized it, examining it carefully, her large eyes opening wider in won der. "This is certainly my writing and my note paper," she murmured, "but I never wrote the letter''" Craig looked from the letter to her keenly. No one said a word. For a moment Kennedy hesitated, think ing. "Might I--er--see your room, Miss Dodger' he asked at length. "Why, certainly," nodded Elaine, as she lead the way upstairs: It was a dainty little room, breath ing the spirit of its mistress. In fact, it seemed a sort of profanity as we all followed in after her. For a mo ment Kennedy stood still, then he carefully looked about. At the side of the bed, near the head, he stooped and picked up something which he held in the palm of his hand. I bent over. Something gleamed in the morning sunshine-some little thin pieces of glass. As he tried deftly to fit the tiny little bits together he seemed absorbed in thought. Quick ly he raised it to his nose, as if to smn-ll it. "Ethyl chloride!" he muttered. wrapping the lices carefully in a paper and putting them inside his pocket. An instant later he crossesd :the room to the window and examined it. "Look!" he exclaimed. There. pilainly. were marks of a jimmy which had been inserted near the lock to pry it olpen. "Miss Dodge." he asked. "might I might I trouble you to let me see your arm?" \Voonderin;ly she did so. and Ken nidy bent almost re:, rently over her plump arm examining it. On it was a small dark discolora tic n, around whic.h was a vlight red ness and tenderness. "That," ihe said slowly. "is the mark of a hypodermic n(.,d!o." As he hnislhd examining Elaine's arm he drew the letter from nip pock et. Still facine her he said in a low tone. "Miss I)odge-you did write this letter-but under the influence of the new 'twilight sleep.' " "Why, Craig." 1 exclaimed excited ly, "what do you mean?" "Exactly what I say. With Miss Dodge's.permission I shall show you. By a small administration of the drug, which will Injure you in no way, Miss Dodge, I think I can bring back the memory of all that occurred to you last night. Will you allow me?" "Mercy, no!" protested her Aunt Jo sephine, who had entered the room. "I want the experiment to be tried," Elaine said quietly. A moment later Kennedy had placed her on a couch in the corner of the rrom. "Now, Mrs. Dodge.' he said, "please bring me a basin and a toweL" Aunt Josephine, reconciled, brought them. Kennedy dropped an antisep tic tablet into the water and care fully sterilized Elaine's arm Just above the spot where the red mark showed. Then he drew the hypodermic from his pocket-carefully sterilized it, also, and filling it with scopolamin frcm the bottle. 'Jut a moment, Miss Dodge," he encouraged, as he jabbed the needle into her arm. She did not f ince. "Please lie back on the couch,' he directed. Then turning to us he add ed, "It takes some time for this to work. Our criminal got over this fact and prevented an outcry by using ethyl chloride first. Let me recon struct the scene." As we watched Elaine going under jsowly Craig talked. "That night," he said, "warily, the masked criminal ptf the 'Clutehlng Hand.' bent over, his arm crooked, might have been seen down below us in the ally. Up here, Miss Dodge. worn out by the strain of her father'q death, let us say, was nervously try ing to read, to do anything that would take her mind of the tragedy. Pera haps she fell asleep .lust then the 'Clutching Hland' ap peredrl. ilHe caime te ,alth:ly through that Window, u hih he had opened A mlloinent he hesit :eteo. ','eirig Elaine asl,-eep Then h,, tIpl(c(l over to the bed. let us say, anid flr a mRc:llent looked at her, sleeiping. A second later he had thrust his hand into hii? pocket anti had taken out a small glass bulb with a long thin neck. That was ethyl chloride-a drug which produces a quick anesthe sia. But it lasts only a minute or two. That was enough. As he broke the glass neck of the bulb-letting the pieces fall on the floor near the bed he shoved the thing under Elaine's face, turning his own head away and holding a handkerchief over his own nose. The mere heat of his hand is enough to cause the ethyl chloride to spray out and overcome her instantly. He steps away from her a moment and replaces the now empty vial in his pocket. "Then he took a box from his pocket, opened it. There must have been a syringe and a bottle of scopolamnin. \Vhere they came from I do nlot know, but perhaps from somnie hospital. I shall have to find that out later. lie ve(nt to Elaine, quickly jabbing the Leedle, with no resistancel from her niow. Slowly he repllaced the bottle and the needle in his pocket. l ie could not have been' in any hurry now. for it takes time for the drug to work " Kennedy paused. nad we known at thei time, Mlichael--lhe of a sinister face,--must have been in the hallway that nighit, careful that no one saw hint. A tap at the door and the "('lutching Hand" must have beckoned him. A mnomintt s iparltey and thety se(p arated--"(lutching lland" going back to Elaine, who was now under the in fluence of the second drug. 'Our criminal." resumed Kennedy thoughtfully, "may have shaken Elaine. She did not answer. Then he may have partly revived her. She rmust have been startled. 'Clutching ,land,' perhaips, was half crouching, with a big ugly blue steel revolver leveled full in her lace'. "'One word and I shoot!' he prob ably cried. 'Get up!' "Trembling, she mtust have done so. 'Your slippelrs and a kimono,' he would naturally have ordered. She put them on mechanically. Then he must have ordered her to go out of the door and down the stairs. '('lutch ing Hland' must have followed, and as he did so he would have cautiously put out the lights." We were following, spellbound, Ken nedy's graphic reconstruction of what must have happened. Evidently he had struck close to the truth. Elaine's eyes were closed. Gently Kennedy led her along. "Now, Miss Dodge," he en couraged, "try-try hard to recollect just what it was that happened last night-everything." As Kennedy paused after his quick recital, she seemed to tremble all over. Slowly she began to speak. We stood awestruck. Kennedy had been right! The girl was now living over again those minutes that had been forgot ten-blotted out by the drug. And it was all real to her, too-ter ribly real. She was speaking, plainly in terror. "I see a man-oh, such a figure- with a mask. He holds a gun in my face-he threatens me. I put on my kimono and slippers, as he tells me. I am in a daze. I know what I am doing-and I don't know. I go out with him, downstairs, into the library." Elaine shuddered again at the recol lection. "('gh! The room is dark, the room where he killed my father. Moonlight outside streams In. This masked man and I come in. He switches on the lights. ."'Go to the safe,' he says, and I do it-the new safe, you know. 'Do you know the combination?' he asks me. 'Yes,' I reply, too frightened to say no. "'Open it then,' he says, waving that awful revolver closer. I do so. Hast ily he rummages through it, throwing papers here and there. But he seems not to find what he is after and turns away, swearing fearfullyI "'Hang it!' he cries at me. "Where else did your father keep papers?' I point in desperation at the desk. He takes one last look at the safe, shoves all the papers he has strewn on the floor back again and slams the safe shut. "'Now, come on,' he says, indicating with the gun that he wants me to fol low him away from the safe. At the desk he repeats the search. But he finds nothing. Almost 1 think he is about to kill me. 'Where else did your father keep papers?' he hisses fiercely, still threatening me with the gun. "I am to9 frightened to speak. But at last I am able to say, 'I-I don't know!' Again he threatens me. 'As God is my judge,' I cry, 'I don't know.' It is fearful. Will be shoot me? "Thank heaven! At last he believes me. But such a look of folled fury I have never seen on any human face before. "'Sit down!' he growls, adding, 'at the desk.' I do. "'Take some of your note paper- the best.' I do that, too. "'And a pen,' he goes on. My fin germ can hardly hold it " 'Now-write!' he says, and as he dictates, I wrlte" "Thls?" interjected Kennedy, eager ly holding up the letter that he had received from her. Blatne looked it over with her drug laden eyes. "Yes," she nodded, then laped again to the seems Itself. "'I reads it over, and as he does so says, 'Now, address m envelope. Himself he folds the letter, seals the envelope, stamps it, and drops t into his pocket, hastily straighteninsg the desk. "'Now, go shead of me--esain. = 4< lieave the roomll--ln,. iby the hall door \\, An it in' buck uptairs. I olh v t;irh:. a::d t tlI` door he, swithe~ o th'e i l Vi . I .ta'd it I tie, no' k:,ow. it ulpl t.ilr t.' chan!c.j'0 , : y. . o. ai ri l- I ; and this nI.-k. ..n. pers ' orh er . I d,( that 't;Get into bed:' 1., gro\a Is. I crawl in fat'rfully. For a Ilntllr u' h^ lookrs about-thenI goes out-with a look back as he goes. Oh! )Oh! That hand -which he raises at men-THAT HAND!' The poor girl was sitting bolt up right, staring straight at the hall door, as we watched and liatened. fascinated. Kennedy was bending over, sooth ing her. She gave evidence of com ing out from the effect of the drug. I noticed that Bennett had sud denly moved a step in the direction of the door at which she stared. "Ity heavens!" he muttered, star ing, too "Look!'" W\'i did look. A letter was slowly b;" ', inert'ed under the door. I ,..k a quick step forward. That morn. i. I felt a rough tug at my "I've Got Him, Kennedyl" arm, and a voice whispered: "Walt. you chump!" It was Kennedy. He had whipped out his automatic and had carefully leveled it at the door. Before he could fire, however, Bennett had rushed ahea4., I followed. We looked down the hall. Sure enough, the figure of a man could be seen disappearing around an angle. I followed Ben nett out of the door and down the haiL Words cannot keep pace with what followed. Together we rushed to the back stairs. "Down there, while I go down the front!" cried Bennett. I went down, and he turned and went down the other flight. As he did so Craig followed him. Su4denly, in the drawing room. I bumped into a figure on the other side of the portieres. I seized him. We struggled. Rip! The portieres came down, covering me entirely. Over and over we went, smashing a lamp. It was vicious. Another man attacked me, too. "I've got him-Kennedy!" I heard a voice pant over me. A scream followed from Aunt Jo sephine. Suddenly the portieres were pulled off me. "The deuce!" puffed Kennedy. "It's Jameson." Bennett had rushed plump into me, coming the other way, hidden by the portieres! If we had known at the time, our Michael of the sinister face had gained the library and was standing in the center of the room. He had heard me coming and had fled to the drawing room. As we finished our struggle In the library he rose hastily from behind the divan in the other room, where he had dropped, and had quietly and hastily disappeared through another door. Laughing and breathing hard, they helped me to my feet, It was no joke to me. I was sore In every bone. "Well, where did he 'go?" insisted Bennett "I don't know-perhaps back there," I cried. Bennett and I argued a moment, then started and stopped short. Aunt Josephine had run downstairs and was now shoving the letter into Craig's hands. We gathered about him curiously. He opened it. On it was that awe some Clutching Hand again. Kennedy read it. For a moment he stood and studied it, then slowly crushed it in his hamd. Just then Elaine, pale and shaken from the ordeal she had voluntarily gone through, buret in upon us from upstairs. Without a word she ad vanced to Craig and teook the letter frlom hLm. Inside, as on the envelope, was that same signatUre of the Cintching rlala gased at it, wild-eyed, then at Craig. Craig aamilinly reached for the note, took it. folded it, and un concernedly thrust It into his pocket. "My God!" she eried, clasping her hads eonvulsvoely, and repeatingl the words of the letter. "TOUR LAST WARNING!" CTO - CO~RINUED.)