Burglar by Proxy

Jack Robin, plagued by an agonising toothache, halts his motorcar before the modest residence of Dorothy Mason, whose melodic voice drifts from an open window. The moment he notices a deflated tire, he secures his automatic pump, then, entranced by Dorothy’s aria, forgets the task entirely. The tire’s sudden rupture sends Dorothy sprinting to the roadside, where Jack, feigning a limp, solicits her compassionate care. Their brief, intimate exchange is shattered when Dorothy’s father discovers that a set of crucial invention schematics has vanished. Harlan Graves, the family’s ambitious suitor, insinuates that Jack is the thief, prompting the protagonist to infiltrate Graves’ domicile in a desperate bid to exonerate himself. Inside, he encounters the notorious cat‑ burglar “Spider” Kelly, who, amused by Jack’s naiveté, adopts him as an unwitting apprentice. Together they storm a lavish house party, detonating a safe that they suspect houses the missing plans. The explosion yields the documents; Graves is apprehended, and Spider, disillusioned by Jack’s reckless demolition, departs, leaving Jack and Dorothy to contemplate a future unburdened by deception.