Summers has a checkered past. He started out as a street tough in New York and was forced to join the Army to avoid jail. In the Great War, he proved to be an expert at setting explosives and was transferred to the Corps of Engineers. It was here he met Bonner, and the two men became friends. Back in the US, it didn't take Solly long to run afoul of the law again and he was arrested for blowing the door off of a bank vault. He escaped prosecution on a technicality and left town in a hurry. He took the train down to Philadelphia and bunked with his old Army pal, Bonner, who got him a job at the University teaching miners how to safely handle explosives. He still has many underworld connections.

Hutchins wears stylish suits, though not always well made. He carries a German Luger pistol in his trench coat pocket and a switch blade in back pants pocket.

•      Small scale for weighing grams and ounces of material
  
•      Cigarettes and Zippo lighter
  
•      Deck of cards (marked)
  
•      Set of common dice (loaded)

In his luggage, he has in addition

•      Demolition kit: 12 sticks dynamite, 24 fuses, 2 timers
  
•      Shotgun