Clutching Hand obeyed, eyeing his captor closely.
"Now lay your weapons on the table."
He tossed down a revolver.
The two still faced each other.
"Take off that handkerchief!"
It was a tense moment. Slowly Clutching Hand started to obey. Then
he stopped. Kennedy was just about to thunder, "Go on," when the
criminal calmly remarked, "You've got ME all right, Kennedy, but
in twenty minutes Elaine Dodge will be dead!"
He said it with a nonchalance that might have deceived anyone less
astute than Kennedy. Suddenly there flashed over Craig the words:
"THE TRICK WILL BE PULLED OFF AT THREE O'CLOCK!"
There was no fake about that. Kennedy frowned. If he killed
Clutching Hand, Elaine would die. If he fought, he must either
kill or be killed. If he handed Clutching Hand over, all he had to
do was to keep quiet. He looked at his watch. It was twenty-five
minutes of three.
What a situation!
He had caught a prisoner he dared not molest--yet.
"What do you mean--tell me?" demanded Kennedy with forced calm.
"Yesterday Mr. Bennett bought a wrist watch for Elaine," the
Clutching Hand said quietly. "They left it to be regulated. One of
my men bought one just like it. Mine was delivered to her today."
"A likely story!" doubted Kennedy.
For answer, the Clutching Hand pointed to the telephone.
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