Beatrice Fairfax Episode 15: Wristwatches

Summary

In the labyrinthine coastal enclave of Smith Harbor, Clinton Harding, an agent of the U.S. Revenue Service, finds himself ensnared in a perilous romantic entanglement. While meticulously pursuing a network of elusive smugglers, Harding succumbs to the charms of Dorothy Dane, blissfully unaware that her uncle, Donald Dane, orchestrates the very illicit trade he seeks to dismantle. A tender farewell at Dorothy's cottage inadvertently leaves Harding's firearm behind, a seemingly minor oversight that precipitates his descent into the smuggling operation's hidden depths. Returning for his weapon, he witnesses Dane and his accomplices vanish into the murky abyss of an old well, leading him to a cavernous subterranean lair extending to the sea, where clandestine cargo exchanges unfold. Harding's intrepid reconnaissance is short-lived, however, as he is swiftly overpowered and bound by the nefarious crew. Two days hence, a desperate plea from Dorothy reaches the renowned investigator Beatrice Fairfax, lamenting her sweetheart's inexplicable vanishing act. Concurrently, the tenacious reporter Jimmy Barton, already on the scent of the Smith Harbor smuggling ring, discovers Harding's uncharacteristic silence, prompting him to ingeniously link the disappearances. Barton, adopting the guise of an itinerant peddler, covertly descends upon Smith Harbor, while advising Fairfax to visit Dorothy. His shrewd ruse involves a display of wristwatches, culminating in Donald Dane's unwitting donning of a 'symograph' – a deceptive device designed to expose secrets. The instrument's tell-tale dial, rising to 'high,' confirms Dane's culpability. A fortuitous stumble reveals Harding's distinctive shotgun near the well, solidifying Barton's suspicions. Swiftly dispatching a coded message to Fairfax, urging the immediate deployment of revenue officers, Barton bravely descends into the well. He discovers Harding, captive, and orchestrates a daring liberation. A cacophony of shouts and a desperate scramble ensues, with Barton scaling the well rope and Harding plunging into the liberating embrace of the sea, just as the revenue officers converge, apprehending the smugglers and orchestrating a joyous, hard-won reunion for the star-crossed lovers.

Synopsis

Clinton Harding of the U.S. Revenue Service, sleuthing for smugglers at Smith Harbor, falls in love with Dorothy Dane, the niece of Donald Dane, of whose occupation as a smuggler Harding is unaware. He tells Dorothy of his love and when he bids her good night at her cottage inadvertently leaves his gun. he is stopping at the village hotel and late that night goes to the cottage for his gun which he finds against a tree near the old well, just where he left it. He is about to return when he sees Dane and two fishermen slide down the well rope. Harding hides his gun in the bushes and follows them. At the bottom he comes upon a large cave which extends through the cliff to the sea. He sees Dane and his helpers taking cargo from a small boat at the cave's opening but before he can get away with his information he is discovered by the smugglers and overpowered. Two days later Beatrice Fairfax received a letter from Dorothy saying that her sweetheart has mysteriously disappeared. At the same time Jimmy Barton, a reporter on the same paper with Beatrice, who has been on the trail of the smuggling story, learns that Harding has not been heard from by his chief in two days. The fact that both disappearances occurred at Smith Harbor leads the reporter to connect the two. He advises Beatrice to pay a visit to Dorothy and without taking Beatrice into the secret goes down to Smith Harbor himself disguised as a peddler. While Beatrice is talking to Dorothy, Jimmy as the peddler appears and arouses Dorothy's interests by a display of wristwatches. Dane coming up is induced to put on what he thinks is a watch, but which is in reality a symograph. "That won't tell," he says. "No," Jimmy replies. "It tells secrets. I can sell it cheap because I buy from smugglers." The hand on the dial of the instrument attached to Dane's wrist rises to "high" and Jimmy is elated. As he is going away he stumbles over Harding's shotgun and observes the initials G.H. carved on the stock. He looks down the well and mentally connects it with Harding's disappearance. Quickly hiding his pack Jimmy writes a note telling Beatrice to summon the revenue officers and creeping to the edge of the cliff drops it at Beatrice's feet as she is returning to the village from her visit to Dorothy. Jimmy then returns to the well and lowers himself by means of the rope. He finds the cave at the bottom and sees Harding bound in one corner. He crawls to him unobserved by the smugglers and cuts his bonds, returning to the well opening, where he shouts, "Didn't I tell you that watch told secrets?" As the smugglers rush for him Jimmy climbs up the rope, and Harding running the other way escapes by diving into the sea. The revenue officers arrive in time to arrest the smugglers and the lovers are made happy in their reunion.