Summary
The intricate gears of international espionage grind into motion as Lieutenant Vane, a brilliant military innovator, nears completion of his revolutionary sub-sea ordnance. This technological marvel, a potential game-changer in naval warfare, becomes the insidious focus of Koral, an enigmatic operative dispatched by a shadowy foreign power. Koral's meticulously crafted scheme to purloin the device is unwittingly unveiled to Charlotte, whose fortuitous eavesdropping ignites the narrative's central conflict. A seemingly innocuous skating-rink soirée becomes the backdrop for Charlotte's urgent, yet futile, attempts to alert Vane, who, blinded by either naiveté or overconfidence, shrugs off her dire premonitions. Undeterred, Charlotte becomes the silent sentinel, disrupting Koral's critical wireless communication with Fredericks, an accomplice awaiting instructions aboard his opulent yacht. Her audacious act of sabotage, severing the aerial link, casts Fredericks adrift in uncertainty, prompting his premature departure and a later discovery of his own vessel's compromised communication systems. Meanwhile, Vane awakens to the stark reality of his stolen invention, a loss underscored by Charlotte's cryptic summons to the pier. The authorities, now privy to the unfolding treachery, lie in wait. The net tightens as Fredericks, returning to shore, walks directly into the arms of the law, soon followed by Koral and his conspirators, their grand design unraveling in a cascade of thwarted ambition and vigilant intervention.
Synopsis
The sub-sea gun which is being perfected by Lieutenant Vane is coveted by Koral, a secret agent of a foreign government, who plots to secure it. Charlotte hears of the conspiracy and, at a skating-rink party, warns Vane, but he takes the matter lightly. From a secret wireless plant Koral is to send a message to Fredericks aboard his yacht. Charlotte cuts the antennae of the wireless apparatus on the boat, thereby preventing the receipt of the message. Fredericks, believing that something has gone wrong with Koral for his failure to communicate, sails, but at sea discovers that his wireless machine has been damaged. Meanwhile Vane finds that his gun has been stolen, and later he receives a note from Charlotte to be at the pier. The authorities are informed, and when Fredericks returns he runs into the arms of the law. Koral and his confederates are also taken prisoners.
