The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1916-08-31
The Iron Claw

lRead this story In the Palladium
and see II at the PaIaee.]
I'm other words. monsieur. what we
propose to do IL to set trap. and
when this Iron Claw il about to gather
In his prey. he himself will be gath
cred in"
You propose to set trap" repeat
ed the incredulous Man!ey. and you
also calmly propose to take this IN
protected young girl and use her as
the bait for that trap"
"On the contrary. monsieur, she will
not be unprotected. Many duly ap-
pointed officers of the law will be
there. And. - I have already ex-
planned to her, also will be there.
And Miss Golden. think. knows that
! would readily give up my life for the
sake Of keeping her from harmi"
rs that the way you feel about Il? p
demanded Manley. swinging about to
the slightly frowning girl.
Count Da Espares and l will carry
out this plan, and we will carry it
out, l hope, quite as successfully as
we may carry out still other plans.
And in the counts hands shall al
ways feel that l am fully protected"
David Marley, thus dismissed, had
the dubious satisfaction Of knowing
that he had once more made a mess
Of things.
Yet he did not remain altogether in
active. He watched his chance and
quietly installed a dictaphone in the
room, attaching the transmitter-disk
to the underside Of the desk ledge
where Da Espares did most Of his talk
ing, and running his well-hidden wires
down through the floor to linen
closet. which the ever-dependable Will
son threw open for him. There Man.
ley made the discovery that police
headquarters had actually been COM
municated with and that the feint for
Legar's capture. however its end, was
intended to carry every sign of sim
certify.
Before another hour slipped by, how.
ever, Marley made two further dis.
coveries. The first was that the ap-
pointed time for the coup had been
suddenly changed to an hour earlier.
The second was that the trap for LIE.
gar was not to be set along the wood
ed road leading up to the clubhouse Of
the Greenoch golf links, as first decid-
ed upon. But Margery Golden was to
motor alone to the west end of the
turnpike bridge and there encounter
her old-time enemy Of the Iron Claw.
And the police, Da Espares assured
her, had been duly warned as to the
change Of location.
Manley, on overhearing that declara-
ton, promptly called up headquarters
and made the startling discovery that
no such message had gone In to the
authorities there.
In five minutes he was in his own
car, Fastening to conference with
central ONCE itself. In another five
minutes. on learning from Wilson
over the wire that Da Espares and
Margery had already left the house in
the limousine, Marley had his car
hlled with armed plain-clothes men
from the central Office and was speed
ing out through the city as fast as a
motor could carry him. AS they swept
up the dusty approach to the bridge
they even saw that they were mono
too soon.
For already, in the bright afternoon
sunlight, they could make out a glim-
mering limousine as it came to a stop
at the end Of the bridge. They could
see a somewhat hesitating and white
faced girl step from this limousine at
the same moment that they caught
sight of group of men emerge quick.
ly from the shrubbery at the end of
the bridge itself
These men, spreading out fanlike,
swept past the limousine in which Da
Espares and the chauffeur were still
seated. Four of them, rounding the
car, cut off the girls avenue Of retreat.
Another four advanced on her from
the bridge-end. at the same time that
fifth man leaped to the running
board and started to struggle with the
chauffeur.
Even as he stared at that quickly
shifting scene Manley could make out
the figure Of Legar himself. He could
see the Iron Claw reach out for the
startled figure Of the girl, crouched
back against the bridge railing. even
as his own car-wheels leaped from the
approach to the bridge timbers them
selves. He could also make out Da
Espares' sudden leap from the waiting
limousine. Marley. on beholding this.
gave a cry Of warning to the plain
clothes men about him. for he could
plainly see the CLINT of a revolver in
Da Espares' hand But Da Espares,
as that car Of deliverance Numbered
on across the bridge. did not turn to
face 1t. Instead. he fought his way
through tho circle OF burly figures sur
rounding Margery Golden. He fought
and shouldered his way through to
the side Of the girl even as Legar
reached for her shrinking body. He
struck blindly at that outstretched
arm, struck still again at Legar's face,
at the same moment that Manley's car
shuddered to stop and the armed
men from its tonneau leaped into the
fight.
It was a brief fight, but bitter one,
and much Of it escaped Manley's at
tention. The one thing that held him