The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1920-04-08
Iron Hand, .Potsdam.and.threen,of 81.

LIE aaT6sf0rCedi Mtoet1f tour
ing car by Sharpe ana the soldier.
after capturing them in the attempt to
rob the ranchman, Bledson Of his Jew
els on the train. Anne, who has dis
guised herself and is posing as the
chauffeur of the machine moves away
from the drivers seat. AS Captain
West and his troopers start around the
rear of the car, and Sharpe and a
trooper stand on the running board,
Black Flag releases the emergency
brake and the auto, being IN. an incline,
rolls forward and down the hill. Sharp
is dragged into the tonneau and over
powered and made prisoner.
When West and the troopers o
from the sudden and treacherous move
Of the gangsters they find themselves
unable to follow. West orders the men
to draw their revolvers and shoot to
kill. Iron Hand has anticipated this
and orders his men to hold Sharpe up
on the real Of the auto as a shield
against the bullets of the soldiers. A
living buffer of bullets, the detective
is held there while the gang crouch
behind him. Captain West discovers
the devilish plot in time to prevent
his men from firing at the runaway
machine. The gangsters escape.
At the bottom of the hill, one of
the gangsters takes charge of the
machine and gets it under control.
They run thru some desert territory
on their way to the nearest rendez-
vous and Sharpe is thrown out Of the
machine. The fall loosens his bonds
somewhat. He is able to get a patent
cigar lighter from his pocket and burn
the ropes around his hands and feet
with it.
Iron Hand and the others head, to-
ward San Francisco to make another
try for the jewels. Sharpe has fallen
in a .gulch and is unable to get out.
The high sandy sides gives way as he
tries to climb them. He shouts and
whistles in vain and then hits upon
an ingenious method of attracting at
tention if anyone is about at that de-
serted spot.
He fashions his shirt into a sort Of
a balloon, makes a fire of some twigs
with his. cigar lighter and initiates the
improvised balloon with hot air. Sew
eral times he does this and finally the
persistence and courage is rewarded
when West and the troopers, having
secured horses, ride by in pursuit of
the runaway auto and see the queer
looking balloon bobbing above the hole
in the desert. They rescue him.
In the meantime, Bledson and his
jewels have arrived at San Francisco
and the jewels are placed in a safe
with cowboys placed on guard duty
over them. Iron Hand is hot on the
trail Of the gems by this time and he
solicits the aid Of Wong Ii, head of
the Highbinders in Chinatown. Wong
Ii prepares a subtle drug and enlists
the aid of Bledson's Chinese office
boy. The cowboys are tricked and at
tempt to partake Of some doctored
chop suey when they are overcome.
Wong Ii steals the jewels from the
safe. He takes them to the Highbind-
er's headquarters and turns them ov-
er to Iron Hand. Sharpe and Bledson,
upon discovering the theft. work out
clues that point to Wong Ii as being
guilty. The detective hides in a pack
ing box and thus gains ntrance to the
den. He has several narrof escapes
from being caught by prowling Chin
csc while he is hiding in the cellar and
once from behind some packing cases
he sees Anne and Wong Ii go by on
their way to the secret hiding place of
the jewels. These have been placed in
a casket and are hidden in a little
closet in the altar of one of the heath
en- Buddha gods. Anne is given a room
in the Chinese den and makes a friend
of Lee Chow, a Chinese boy.
Sharpe in providing about the den,
manages to overpower one of the Chi,
nese outside the temple door. He
changs costume with the Celestial and
watches the hiding place Of the Jewels
and plans to recover them. While he
is watching the jewels he e e that
the statue Of the god is so arranged
that it is a veritable death trap. With
levers set by Wong Ii, attached to
electrical connections, anyone touch
ing the altar beneath the god car be
caught in the mechanically moved
arms Of the brazen image and held a
prisoner or crushed to death.
One of the Chinese helpers of Wong
Lii turns traitor to the H~ighb'nders
and makes an attempt to steal the
Jewels while the temple is deserted
He is caught in the arrns Of the idle
and crushed to death. Sharpe, seeing
that the da-ger is thus removed of
his being killed, tries to get away with
+he Jewels. He narages to get the
caeket containing the gems out of ite