Thirteen Steps

When the evil Scorpion discovers that William Holt, owner of the Globe newspaper, is responsible for the death of his blood brother, Sing Toy, he asks his followers if they will aid him in his revenge. At the newspaper, editor Carl Gregg is plotting to take over from Holt. Holt and his wife worry that their daughter Mildred might be in danger because of the Scorpion. When Carl tries to persuade reporter Gerry Kane to cover the Scorpion story, Gerry explains that Holt has given him another story to cover. In pursuing his story, Gerry and photographer Snappy Carter interview a man named Morse in a bar. After coaxing the story from Morse, the two return to Holt's office, where Gerry's old friend Berger offers to help him with the Scorpion problem. Berger tells him to meet a man named Handsome Kelly, who takes them to a club, where Carl has a "vamp" try to distract Gerry from his pursuit of the Scorpion story. She fails, however, and Gerry and Snappy leave. At his office, Holt receives a threat from the Scorpion, and when he calls on Snappy to help him, Snappy is shot and killed. Later that evening at a hotel, Holt holds a meeting disguised as a dinner party. Mildred consoles Gerry, saying that she is worried about her father. Holt calls the meeting to order, but the lights go out and another one of Holt's men is killed. Gerry calls the police, and after several hours of questioning, the women retire for the night. As she prepares for bed, Mildred is kidnapped and taken from the hotel by the Scorpion's men. Holt receives a message from the Scorpion regarding Mildred, and a detective calls the squadron, while Gerry and the others follow an escape route out of the hotel. They raid the Scorpion's lair and arrest his men, but cannot find the Scorpion himself. In the Scorpion's private room, the Scorpion's henchman, Little Flower, explains that Mildred has been kidnapped as the atonement for the death of Sing Toy. As they prepare to kill her, Gerry bursts in, shoots the Scorpion, rescues Mildred, then takes her into his arms.