2 The Exploits of Elaine A Detective Novel and a Motion Picture Drama " HBy ARTHUR B. REEVE I " I The Well-Know* NocdM mnd tkt II *** II Cnator of th* "Craig Kennedy" Storia || Presented in GoDsbqnrtiaa With the Pstke Pliyers sad the Eclectic Film Coabpsay Copyright, 19U. by the Bt»r Company. AH Foreign Blghta Raaeryd. I/UNXUTUED SYNOPSIS. The New York police are mystified by a Mrtea of murder* and other crimes. The principal clue to the criminal la the warn ing latter which la aent the victims, signed With a "clutching hand." The latest vlc tlm of the mysterious assaialn Is Taylor Dodge, the Insurance president. His daughter Elaine, employs Craig Kennedy, the famous scientific detective, to try to Unravel the myßtery. What Kennedy ac compllshoa Is told by his friend Jameson, a newspaper man. Enraged at the deter mined effort which Elaine and Craig Ken tißdy are making to put an end to his •ertmea. the Clutching Hand, as this •trange criminal la known, resorts to all sorts of'the most diabolical schemea to put them out of the way. Each chapter of the story telle of a new plot against their lives and of the way the groat de tective uses all his skill to save this pret ty girl and himself from death. THIRTEENTH EPISODE THE DEVIL WORSHIPERS. . Elaine was seated in the drawing P'oora with Aunt Josephine one after noon, when her lawyer, Perry Ben toett, dropped in unexpectedly. He had hardly greeted them when ithe butler, Jennings, In his usual im jjpaislve manner announced that Aunt (Josephine was wanted on the tele- PIMHM. I No sooner were Blaine and Bennett flone than Elaine, turning to him, ex laimed: ■ "Last night I dreamed that father (came to me and told me that if I iwould give up Kennedy and put my krust In you, I would find the Clutch dng Hand. I don't know what to think icf it." Bennett, who had. been listening In jtently, moved over nearer to Elaine |MDd bent over her. "Elaine," he said in a low tone, his fe«markable eyes looking straight Into |ber own, "you must know that I love prou. Then give me the right to pro rtect you. It was your father's dearest jwish, I believe, that we should marry. {Let me share your dangers and J iewear that sooner or later there will fbe an end to the Clutching Hand. iOive me your answer, Elaine," he lorged, "and make me the happiest Bnan in all the world." Elaine listened, and not unsvmpa (thetically, as Bennett continued to {plead for her answer. "Wait a little while —until tomor row," she replied finally. "Let It be as you wish, then," •greed Bennett quietly. He took her hand and kissed it pas sionately. j An instant later Aunt Josephine re turned. Elaine, unstrung by what had happened, excused herself and •went into the library. Involuntarily, her mind traveled back over the rapid succession ol events of the past few weeks and :the part that she had thought, at ;least, Kennedy had come to play in her life. Then she thought of their recent misunderstanding. Might there not be some simple explanation of It, aft er all, which she had missed? What ■should she do? She solved the problem by taking Tip the telephone and asking for Ken •nedy's number. • *••••• I was chatting with Craig in his 'laboratory, and, at the same time, |was watching him in his experimental iwork. Just as a call came on the tele phone, he was pouring some nltro hydrochloric acid Into a test tube to 'complete a reaction. The telephone tinkled and he laid down the bottle of acid on his desk, "while he moved a few steps to answer ithe call. Whoever the speaker was, Cratg i seemed deeply interested, and, not (knowing who was talking on the wire, !I was eager to learn whether it was •anyone connected with the case of the Clutching Hand. "Yes, this is Mr. Kennedy," I heard ;Craig say. I moved over toward him and whis pered eagerly, "Is there anything inew?" A little impatient at being interrupt' ed, Kennedy waved me off. It oc 'curred to me that he might need a pad and pencil to make a note of tome information, and I reached over 'the desk for them. As I did so my arm Inadvertently iatriick the bottle of acid, knocking it over on the top of the desk. Its con sents streamed out saturating the tele phone wires before I could prevent It In trying to right the bottle my hand came in contact with the acid which burned like liquid fire, and I cried out In pain. Craig hastily laid down the re . ceiver, seized me and rushed me to the back of the laboratory, where he drenched my hand with a neutraliz ing liquid. He t>ound up the wounds caused by - the acid, which proved to be slight, after all, and then returned to the tele phone. To his evident annoyance, he dis covered that the acid had burned through the wires and cut off all con nection. , At the other end of the line, Elaine was listening impatiently for a re ' sponqe to her first eager words of in quiry. She was astonished to find, See "Exploits of Elaine," In Motion Pictures, Victoria Theatre, Saturday, May 15 READ THE STORY IN THE STAR-INDEPENDENT EVERY WEEK- at last, that Kennedy had apparently left the telephone without any expla nation or apology. "Why—he rang ofT," she exclaimed angrily to herself, as she hung up the receiver and left the room. In the center of a devious and wind ing way, quite unknown to all except those who knew the Innermost secrets of the Chinese quarter, and even un known to the police, there was a dingy tenement house, apparently inhabited by hard-working Chinamen, but in re ality the headquarters of the notori ous devil worshipers, a sect of satan lsts, banned even in the Celestial em pire. The followers of the cult comprised some of the most dangerous Chinese criminals, thugs and assassins, be sidea a number of dangerous charac ters who belonged to various Chinese secret societies. At the head of this formidable organization was Long Sin, the high priest of the devil god, and Long Sin had, as we know, already joined forces with the notorious Clutching Hand. The room in which the uncanny rites of the devil worshipers were conduct ed was a large apartment decorated In Chinese style, with highly colored por traits of some of the devil deities and costly silken hangings. Beside a large dais depended a huge Chinese gong. On the dais Itself stood, or rather sat, an ugly figure covered with some sort of metallic plating. It almost seemed to be the mummy of a China man covered with gold leaf. Into this room came Long Sin at tired in an elaborate silken robe. He advanced and kotowed before the dais with its strange figure, and laid down an offering before it. This performance was witnessed by twenty or thirty Chinamen who knelt in the rear of the room. At the same time an aged Chinaman carrying a prayer wheel entered the place and, after prostrating himself devoutly, placed the machine on a sort of low stool or tabourette and began turning it slowly, muttering. A few moments later Long Sin, who had been bowing before the metallic figure in deepest reverence, suddenly sprang to his feet. His glazed eye and excited manner indicated that he had received a message from the lips of the strange god. The worshipers who had prostrated themselves, in awe at the sight of their high priest in the unholy frenzy, all rose to their feet and crowded for ward. Long Sin struck several blows on the resounding gong and then raised his voice in solemn tones. "Ksing Chau, the Terrible, demands a consort. She is to be foreign—fair of face and with golden hair." •••, • * • • At the same time, in a room of the adjoining house, the Clutching Hand himself was busily engaged in mak ing the most elaborate preparations for some nefarious scheme which his fertile mind had evolved. The room had been fitted up as a medium's seance parlor. Two of the Clutching Hand's most trusted confederates and a hard-faced woman of middle age, dressed in plain black, were putting the finishing touches to this apartment, when their chief entered. Clutching Hand gazed about the room, now and then giving an order or two to make more effective the setting for the purpose which he had in mind. Finally he nodded In approval and stepped over to the fireplace where logs were burning brightly in a grate. Pressing a spring in the mantelpiece, the master criminal effected an Instant transformation. The logs in the fire place, still burning, disappeared imme diately through the bottom of the brick tiling and a metal sheet covered them. An aperture opened at the back, as If by magic. Through this opening Clutching Hand made his way quickly and dis appeared. Emerging on the other side of the peculiar fireplace, Clutching Hand pushed aside a curtain which barred ,the way and looked into the Chinese temple, taking up a position behind the metallic figure on the dais. The Chinamen had by this time fin ished their devotions, if such they might be called, and the last one was leaving, while Long Sin stood alone on the dais. The noise of the departing satanlsta had scarcely died away when Clutch ing Hand stepped out. "Follow me," he ordered hoarsely, seizing Long Sin by the arm and lead ing him away. They passed through the passage way of the fireplace and, having en tered ihe seance room, Clutching Hand began briefly explaining the purpose of the preparations that had been made. Long Sin wagged his head in voluble approval. • •••••• Elaine was standing in the library gazing sadly at Kennedy's portrait, thinking over recent events and above all the rebuff over-tie telephone which she supposed she had received. ' < HARRISBTTRG STAR-INDEPENDENT, WEDNESDAY EVENING, MAY 12, 191§. Jennings entered with a'card on a salver. Blaine took It and. saw with surprise the name of her caller: MADAME BAVETBKY, Medium. Beneath engraved name were the words written In Ink: "I have a message from the spirit of your fa ther." r "Yes, I will see her," cried Elaine eagerly, in response to the butler's In quiry. She followed Jennings into the ad joining room and there found herself face to face with the hard-featured woman who had only a few moments before left the Clutching Hand. Blaine looked rather than spoke her inquiry. "Your father, my dear£ purred the medium, with a great pretence of sup pressed excitement, "appeared to me the other night from the spirit world. I was in a trance and he asked me to deliver a message to you." "What was the message?" asked Blaine breathlessly, now aroused to intense interest. "I must go into a trance again to get it," replied the Insinuating Savetsky, "and If you like I can try It at once, provided we can be left alone long enough." Seated in her chair, the medium muttered wildly for a few moments, rolled her eyes and with some con vulsive movement* pretended to go in to a trance. Suddenly the curtains were pulled aside and Aunt Josephine and Ben nett, who had just come in, entered. "I can do nothing here," exclaimed Savetsky, starting up and looking about severely. "You must come to my seance chamber where we shall cot be Interrupted." "I will," said Elaine, vexed at the intrusion at that moment. "I must have that message—l must." "What's all this, Elaine?" demanded Aurit Josephine. Hurriedly, Elaine poured forth to her aunt and Bennett the story of the medium's visit and the promised mes eage from her father in the other world. Aunt Josephine, who was not one easily to be imposed on, strongly ob jected to Elaine's proposal to accom pany Savetsky to the seance chamber, but Elaine would not be denied. "It might be safe for Elaine to go," Bennett finally suggested to Aunt Jo sephine, "if you and I accompanied her." A few moments later, in the Dodge car, Elaine, the medium and hef two escorts started for the Chinese quar ters. At the house the medium opened the door with her key and ushered in her three visitors. Entering the room, the medium at once prepared for the seance by pull ing down the window shades. Suddenly an indistinct face was seen to be peering through the black cur tains. A voice, deep, sepulchral, was heard in slow and solemn tones. "I am Eeko—the spirit of Taylor Dodge. I will give no message until one named Josephine leaves the room." No sooner had the words been ut tered than the medium came writhing out of her trance. "What happened?" she asked, look ing at Elaine. Elaine reported the spirit's words. "We can get nothing if your aunt stays here," Savetsky added, insisting Elaine la Hurried Through the Hid den Passage In the Fireplace. that Aunt Josephine must go. "Your father cannot speak while she is pres ent." Aunt Josephine, annoyed by what had heard, indignantly refused to go and was deaf to all Elaine's plead ing*. "I think it will be all right," finally acquiesced Bennett, seeing how bent Elaine was on securing the message. "I'll stay and protect her." Aunt Josephine finally agreed. "Very well, then," she protested, marching out of the room In a high state of indignation. She had scarcely left the house, however, when she began to suspect that all was not as it ought to be. In fact, the idea had no sooner occurred to her than she decided to call on Kennedy and she ordered' the chauf feur to take her as quickly as possible to the laboratory. • •*•••• Kennedy had not been in the labo ratory all the day after my experi ence with the acid, and I was impa tiently awaiting his arrival At last 50? ADVANCE ON THIS OIL STOCK MONDAY, MAY 24. To Investors? There are only a few proposition* that offer the moderate investor a real chance, and to {five all good citizens an equal opportunity to secure a part of this valuable stock before it is advanced nearly double, the date of the advance will be Monday, May 24th. Through reliable newspapers this notice will reach about Ten Million people. If even Two Thousand remit promptly the Com pany will at once push its refineries at increased capacities and drive ahead the drills on at least ten different proper ties, any one of which may develop into a rich oil field and soon force this stock to a very high price. You should not wait too long, but act now when you can make yourself a useful member in a giant organization to accomplish real results in a worthy cause. Another big advance within thirty to sixty days after May 24th can be expected. A real crisis in the oil fields causes this stock to be offered to the American people at a real invest ment bargain, and the future will prove that it is now or never if you ever se cure a part of this stock under an ad vance of three to five times. The Uncle Bam Oil Company is the ONLY BONA FIDE, independent, pro ducing, refining and marketing Com pany in the Middle West. It has been organized and built up as a practical protest against the Oil and Gas Monop oly that raised the black flag against the Kansas Oil Fields in the memorable Oil War in Kansas about ten years ago. It built the first two refineries in Okla homa and Kansas. It built the first in dependent pipe line west of the Ap palachian mountains. It was the first competitor of the Oil Monopoly to build distributing stations and establish mar keting agents, AND MAINTAIN THEM, over the States of Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas. The powerful in fluence of the Oil and Gas Monopoly tried to kill this Company a few years ago, but its wolves were beaten. Like every cause of Bight, The Uncle Sam Oil Company has met with vicious per secutions until it has won victory after victory, and the chances now are about a thousand to one that its great Osage Oil and Gas Lease of about Four Hun dred and Thirty-six Thousand acres will yet be protected. The Uncle Sam Oil Company now has three refineries located in the proper trade distributing centers where, with the best marketing facilities it can reach the people of the Middle West. It now has 122 Oil and Gas Wells in op eration. It has at least ten different properties in the big oil districts, where it is determined to start additional test wells. The authorized capitalization of The Uncle Sam Oil Company is three hun dred million shares. About two hundred and fifty million shares of this stock is owned by over 14,000 red-blooded Americans who believe that an inde pendent oil company has a right to pro duce and market oil products to the American people in competition with the Oil and Gas Monopoly regardless of the dictates of a foreign thieving combine. There is in the Treasury of the Company about one-sixth of the capital stock. At the last meeting of the Board of Director the President of the Company was authorized to offer this stock fW sale to the independent public. Over 500 new stockholders have joined the Company in the last ninety days. Several thousand investors are now figuring on purchasing a part of this stock. there came a knock at the door and I opened It hurriedly. There was a mes senger boy who handed me a note. I tore it open. It was from Kennedy and read: "I shall probably be away for two or three days. Call up Elaine and tell her to beware of a certain Madame Savetsky." I was still puzzling over the note and was just about to call up Elaine when the speaking tube was blown and to my surprise I found that it was Aunt Josephine who had called. "Where is Mr. Kennedy?" she asked, greatly agitated. "He has gone away for a few days," I "spiled blankly. "Is there anything I'can do?" She was very excited and hastily re lated what had happened at the parlor of the medium. "What was her name?" I cried anx iously. "Madame Savetaky," she replied, to my surprise. Astounded, I picked up Craig's note from the desk and handed It to hei without a word. 8h« read it with breathless eagerness. "Come back there with me, please," she begged, almost frantic with fear now. "Something terrible may have happened." • • • * • « To Be Continued Thousands Visit Revivalist Lancaster, Pa., May 12.—Nearly 2,000 members of the choir of the re cent Stough evangelistic campaign here, and trail hitters, occupying two spe cial Reading Railroad trains, left early last evening to attend the Stough meeting at Reading last night. They took to Evangelist Stough a purse of money and a wreath of flower*. The pipe lines of the Uncle Sam Oil Company havtj been exempted from common carrier liability bv the Su preme Court of the United States in a recent decision. All along our exempt ed pipe lines arfe scores of oil producing properties that can now be purchased for about 25 cents on the dollar of their actual value to us. In an effort to steal control of the rich Osage oil and gas fields, the great eat oil and gas field uuder one owner ship in the world, the Oil and Gas Monopoly has brought about a crisis in the Oklahoma-Kansas oil fields. It has done this to try and secure a Monopoly on the bidding- for this great area of oil and gas lands. The Uncle Sam Oil Company, backed by its independent a.rmv ot ! investors, and its already big properties and splendjd business, is winning out in spite of everything nud everybody. People, especially in Kan sas and neighboring states, where the Red, White and Blue tank wagons and automobile trucks can be seen daily delivering to the people good oil at rea sonable prices, in competition with the rich Oil Monopoly, are among the citi zens who are buying up the stock still left in the Treasury for sale. The Uncle Sam Oil Company during the past five months has completed eighty miles of additional pipe lino con necting nearly all of its big properties with two of its refineries in two States and has added ono substantial block of leases on Ranch Creek in Pawnee County, Oklahoma, and has just drilled a very important test well thereon. It. now has a completed pipe line through the oil fields for 151 MILES. The Company has three big leases in Pawnee County, a part of which are right in line with the great Boston Oil Pool in Osage County on the north and the big Cushing gushers in Creek Coun ty on the south. A part of one of our great leases is only seven miles from a 4,500-barrel well drilled in a few days ago in the north end of the Cushing field. It is the determination of the organ izers and stockholders of The Uncle Sam Oil Company to get control of at least one million acres of oil and gas leases in the rich Oklahoma oil fields, and it is demanding that this great Osage lease, that has been proven in the Federal Court was honorably se cured, shall bo validated either by the Secretary of the Interior or by Con gress, with a provision written in the lease that shall authorize the Utility or Corporation Commissioners to fix the price for which tho oil and gas from this big Government Indian Lease shall be sold to the people. The Oil Trust Crowd seeks through their corrupt and secret methods to donate large sums to Presidential Cam paigns and then control Cabinet offi cers and other high-up officials and then secure this great Osage Lease (the richest Plum in the entire Oil 'World), delivered to the Oil and Gas Monopoly without this provision to protect the general public written in the lease. Then the Oil and Gas Monopoly can make back many, many millions off the people of the Missouri Valloy. But the fight of The Uncle Sam Oil Company has educated the voters in the 150,000 domestic gas consuming houses in Okla homa, Missouri and Knnsas, and the people are watching the secret, silent Oil Trust monster that still seeks to control the Government and then steiil from the Indian tribes and also rob the public by extortionate prices. There is a new day dawning and The Uncle Sam Oil Company is winning, and the Oil Trust gang is on the run from its Ludlow murderers in Colorado to its Interior Department thieves in the Osage and its big banker-schemers in Washington. The stock of The Uncle Sam Oil Com pany would be sure to advance fifty times in a few years by securing JUS TICE in its Osage Lease fight. The Company is driving ahead all along the line. You hav# read the advertisements of this Company in this paper-during the past ninety days and this is to notify you that this is your last chance to secure the stock at the old price. Every remittance not started to the UNCLE SAM WANTB HELP Civil Service Examinations to Be Held In This City The U. S. Civil Service Commission announces the following open competi tive examinations to be held "in this city. Persons who meet the require ments and desire any of the examina tions should apply to the secretary, Third civil service district, Philadel phia, or the local secretary: Organic chemist, male, $ 1,800- $2,500, June 8; technologist in sugar beet seed investigations, male, SI,BOO, June 8; junior zoologist, male, $1,400, Jnue 9; junior pharmacologist, male, $1,200-$1,500, June 9; assistant, men; teacher, men and women; industrial teacher, men, $1,200 to $3,000, An gust 18-19. RAT POISON IN CORNMEAL Marietta Family Becomes Violently 111 After Eating Cakes Marietta, May 12. —The family of Samuel Albright, residing near this place, were poisoned yesterday and nar rowly escaped death. The family had been troubled with rats and mice and poison was placed in the cupboard in some cornmeal. Catherine, tho 10-year old daughter, cleaned the cupboard and, not knowing that tho poison was in the cornmeal, emptied into the large sack. Mrs. Albright made some cakes for supper, of which all ate heartily, and in a short time the family became vio lently ill. The only thing that saved their lives, it is said, was that they got an overdose of the poison. Some are still confined to bed as a result. 58 Pipefitters on Strike Marcus Hook, Pa., May 12. —Fifty- eight pipefitters and helpers at the Gen eral Chemical Company's plant went on strike yosterday afternoon for an increase in pay. The fitters ask an in crease from 27 to 35 cents an hour and the helpers frsm 20 to 25 cents an hour. Company on th<* old price on or before MONDAY, May 24th, will be returned. At that time the stock still left in the Treasury will be ADVANCED IN PRICE FIFTY PER CENT. Other ad vances are sure to follow. The Com pany is gaining and it is bound to go ahead and succeed on big dignified baais. If you want to get into a position that has every indication of accom plishing splendid success, and in a few years increase in value from twenty to fifty times, or possibly a hundred times, attach your check or draft pay able to The Uncle Sam Oil Company under the special offer that follows, OR WRITE QUICK FORTHWITH FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, for if you do not get your remittance started bv MONDAY, May 2 4th, this stock will cost you FIFTY PER CENT, more if you are able to get it at all. Time will be money to you in this transaction and let the Company hear from you forthwith. We value our combined properties, including exempt ed pipe line and established trade and trade name at Four Million Dollars. There is a provision in the Charter that protects ths Company from Oil Trust control. Any month a new well may open a great oil pool that by drill ing other wells can soon pour out mil lions and make the largo stockholders rich. On one of our big leases in Paw nee County we have one of the deepest producing wells in that district. It is 2,812 feet deep. In a shut down a few days last fall this well filled up and flowed out over the top. The next location around this deep well (over one-half mile deep) may be a five to ten thousand barrel well. There are very few opportunities left where the moderate investor can invest a few hundred or a few thousand dollars and secure a real bargain investment op portunity. This stock should now sell for FIVE CENTS per share. It is OF FERED at a bargain investment offer to raise now capital quick so our Com pany can take advantage of the many opportunities in the oil fields along our completed pipe line. We can in crease our capacities several times without increasing our general expenses over ten per cent. The winning of the Osage Lease or the striking of a 2,000 to 5,000-barrel well on some "of our many properties should drive this stock up 20 to 25 times this offer to you in a few hours. Your remittance many be small, but combined with a thousand more, will enable The- Uncle Sam Oil Company to push ahead on a big basis. We re fined through two of our refineries over one thousand barrels per day for every working day during the niotith ending April 10. We should reach forty to forty-five thousand barrels per month in a few weeks, and with sufficient capital can in a few months refine and market three thousand barrels daily at. each refinery or a total of nine thousand barrels per day. With the great Osage SPECIAL STOCK OFFER To the. Uncle Sam Oil Company, Kansas City, Kansas. amouS n designated'b e ioX: mittanCe ' tock 88 advertised W X °PP°'ite the (Name of Remitter.) (Street, City and State Address.) Respectfully submitted, THE UNCLE SAM OIL CO. By H. H. TUCKEB, JB., Pre«. (Address all letters to the Company.) KANSAS CITY, KANSAS LIFE HANGS IN THE BALANCE 9, 1910, at their villa here, will be opened earlv in July. Imperiled and Pinioned Man Pushes „ Poised Steel Mass Musician Ends His Life l ork, Pa., May 12. -When a block Reading, Pa., 'May 12.—John D. L. of steel weighing a ton slipped from an t a ' ~ „ , elevation on which it rested Roy f chutt > 4b , years oUI ' 0119 of th< > best " Fauth for a moment faced a terrible known musicians in this locality, -corn death at the shop of the S. Morgan mitted suicide at 'his home here vester- Smith Company here. Before he could day by inhaling gas. Wis wife iliscov escape one foot was pinned, fast, and erod his body on her return from shop with a slide of a fe# inches more his /ping, life would have been crushed out against a wall. Retaining presence of mind, he press- What Is the Best Remedy For ed one hand against the huge block of fnnetinatinn? metal, which was so evenly balanced