The Germ of Mystery

• 1916
• Other, Drama

Dr. Comstock shows Letitia and Mrs. Bennington, an old friend of the Daniels family, his exhibit of a Karakut spider from Mongolia, whose poison is sure death. Clifford Ainsley, Daniels' partner, is in love with Letitia, and proposes to the girl with the consent of her father. Letitia rejects Ainsley. She says, "You know that the formula for making 'dynite' rests with father and myself. I suspect you want to marry me in the hope of getting the secret." Daniels dies suddenly in the night, and a scientific detective is summoned. He discovers that Daniels died from poison of a Karakut spider, and suspects Dr. Comstock. Letitia discovers that there are tons of unprepared materials in the mixing room of her father's factory. Fearing spontaneous combustion if the materials are not mixed at once, she repairs to the laboratory to prepare the secret formula. There she is bound and gagged by a mysterious assailant, who attaches wires to the time clock used by the watchman, so that when he registers his time, an electric spark will enter the laboratory and cause an explosion. The detective and Dr. Comstock arrive at the factory just a minute before the watchman will register his time. They search for Letitia and finally come upon her lying helpless on the floor. The wires are broken just in time to prevent a terrific explosion. Mrs. Berrington had discovered a paper which she had given to the detective, who arrests the butler. The detective informs Mrs. Berrington that the paper she had found was the butler's undoing; that he was the chief plotter representing interests anxious to secure the secret formula. Dr. Comstock is thus exonerated.