"It works--yet!" he cried excitedly to me. "Elaine!"
"Yes, Craig," came back over the faithful little instrument.
"Are you all right?"
"Yes--all right."
"Thank heaven!" breathed Craig, pushing me aside.
Literally he kissed that vocaphone as if it had been human!
CHAPTER IX
THE DEATH RAY
Kennedy was reading a scientific treatise one morning, while I was
banging on the typewriter, when a knock at the laboratory door
disturbed us.
By some intuition, Craig seemed to know who it was. He sprang to
open the door, and there stood Elaine Dodge and her lawyer, Perry
Bennett.
Instantly, Craig read from the startled look on Elaine's face that
something dreadful had happened.
"Why--what's the matter?" he asked, solicitously.
"A--another letter--from the Clutching Hand!" she exclaimed
breathlessly. "Mr. Bennett was calling on me, when this note was
brought in. We both thought we'd better see you at once about it
and he was kind enough to drive me here right away in his car."
Craig took the letter and we both read, with amazement:
"Are you an enemy of society? If not, order Craig Kennedy to leave
the country by nine o'clock to-morrow morning. Otherwise, a
pedestrian will drop dead outside his laboratory every hour until
he leaves."
The note was signed by the now familiar sinister hand, and had,
added, a postcript, which read:
"As a token of his leaving, have him place a vase of flowers on
his laboratory window to-day.
Pages:
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185