His first sensation was impotent fury against Jones, who had permitted them to play with fire. He flung out of the mansion unceremoniously, commandeered a cab, and flew out to Riverdale. And when Jones came to the door he was staggering with sleep.
"What's the matter with you?" demanded Jim roughly. "Where's Florence?"
"Isn't she with you?" cried Jones, making an effort to dispel the drowsiness. "What time is it?" suddenly.
"Midnight! Where is she?"
"Midnight? I've been drugged!"
Without a word Jones staggered off to the kitchens, Jim at his heels.
There was always hot water, and within five minutes Jones had drunk two cups of raw strong coffee.
"Drugged!" he murmured. "Some one in the house! I'll attend to that later. Now, the chauffeur."
But the chauffeur swore on his oath that he had left Jim and Florence on the steps of the porte-cochère.
"Get in!" said Jones to Norton, now fully alive. He could not get it out of his head that some one in the house had drugged him.
The events which followed were to both Jones and Norton something like a series of nightmares. In the new home of the Princess Parlova a bomb had exploded and fire followed the explosion. From pleasure to terror is only a step. The wildest confusion imaginable ensued. Most of the guests were of the opinion that some anarchist had attempted to blow up the house of the rich Pole. Jones and Norton arrived just as the smoke began to pour out from the windows. A crowd had already collected.
Then Jim overheard a woman masquerader say: "The fool made the bomb too strong. She is in the room on the second floor. The game is up if she suffocates——" The voice trailed off and the woman became lost in the crowd. But it was enough for the reporter, who pushed his way roughly through the excited masqueraders and entered the house. The rescue was one of the most exciting to be found in the newspaper files of the day.
So Braine in his effort to scare everybody from the house had overreached himself once more.
Florence was a fortnight in recovering from the shock of her experience at the masked ball of the Princess Parlova, who, by the way, disappeared from New York shortly after the fire, no doubt because of her fear of the Black Hundred. The fire did not destroy the house, but most of the furnishings were so thoroughly drenched by water that they were practically ruined. Her coming and going were a nine-days' wonder, and then the public found something else to talk about.
Norton was a constant visitor at the Hargreave place. There was to him a new interest in that mysterious house, with its hidden panels, its false floors, its secret tunnels; but he treated Jones upon the same basis as hitherto. One thing, however: He felt a sense of security in regard to Florence such as he had not felt before. So, between assignments, he ran out to Riverdale and did what he could to amuse his sweetheart. Later they took short rides in the runabout, and at length she became as lively as she had ever been.
But often she would catch Norton brooding.
"What makes you frown like that?"
"Was I frowning?" innocently enough.
"I find you this way a dozen times in an afternoon. What is the matter? Are they after you again?"
"Heavens, no! I'm only a vague issue. They will not bother me so long as I do not bother them. It has dwindled into a game of truce."
"Do you think so?" eying him curiously.
"Why, yes."
"What's the use of trying to fool me, Jim? If they haven't been after you, you are sensing a presage of evil. I'm not a child any longer. Haven't I been through enough to make me a woman? Sometimes I feel very old."
"To me you are the most charming in all this wide world. No, you're not a child any longer. You are a woman, brave and patient; and I know that I could trust you with any secret I have or own. But sometimes a person may have a secret which is not his and which he hasn't any right to disclose."
She became silent for a while. "I hate money," she said. "I hate it, hate it!"
"It's mighty comfortable to have it around sometimes," he countered.
"As in my case, for instance. If I were poor and had to work no one would bother me."
"I would!" he declared, laughing. "Come; let's throw off moods and go into town for tea at the Rose Garden; and if you feel strong enough we'll trip the light fantastic."
They had been gone from the house less than an hour when a man ran up the steps of the veranda and rang the bell. Jones being busy at the rear of the house, the maid came to the door.
"Is Miss Hargreave in?" the stranger asked.
"No," abruptly. The door began to close ever so slowly
"Do you know where I can find her?"
The maid eyed him with covert keenness; then, remembering that the reporter was with Florence, said: "I believe she is at the Rose Garden this afternoon."
"That is in town?"
"Yes."
"Thanks." The man turned abruptly and ran down the steps.
The maid ran back to Jones.
"Why didn't you call me?" he demanded impatiently.
"There wasn't time."
"Did you tell him where she was?"
"Yes. But I shouldn't have told him if Mr. Norton had not been with Miss Florence."
Jones ran to the front, dashed out, eyed the back of the man hastening down the street, smiled, and returned to his work, or, rather, to the maid. He took her by the shoulder, whirled her about, and shot a look into her eyes that quailed her.
"Always call me hereafter, no matter what I'm doing. That man has never laid eyes on Florence and has no idea what she looks like. Why did you drug my coffee the night of that ball?"
She stepped back.
"And how much did they pay you for letting that doctor send Florence to Atlantic City? I know everything. Hereafter, walk straight. If you play another trick I'll kill you with these two hands. And listen and tell this to your confederates: I always know every move they make; that is why no one is missing from this house. There is a traitor. Let them find him if they can. Will you walk straight, or will you leave?"
"I—I will walk straight," she faltered. "The money was too big a temptation."
"Did they give it to you?"
"Yes. And more to stay here. But this is the first bit of dishonest work I ever did."
"Well, remember what I have said. Another misstep and I'll make an end to you. Don't think I'm trying to scare you. You have witnessed enough to know that it's life and death in this house. Now run along."
At the garden Jim and Florence sauntered among the crowd, not having any particular objective point in view.
"Sh!" whispered Jim.
"What is it?"
"Olga Perigoff is yonder in a box."
"Very well; let us go and sit with her. Is she alone?"
"Apparently. But don't you think we'd better go elsewhere?"
"My dear young man," said Florence with mock loftiness, "Olga Perigoff has written me down as a simple young fool, and that is why, sooner or later, I'm going to put the shoe on the other foot. You and Jones have coddled me long enough. Inasmuch as I am the stake they are playing for, I intend to have something more than a speaking part in the play."
"All right; you're the admiral," he said with pretended lightness.
So the two of them joined their subtle enemy, conscious of a tingle of zest as they did so. On her part, the countess was always suspicious of this sleepy-eyed reporter. She never could tell how much he knew. But of Florence she was reasonably certain; and so long as she could fool the pretty infant the suspicions of the reporter were a negligible quantity. She greeted them effusively and offered them chairs. For half an hour they sat there, chatting inanities, all the while each mind was busy with deeper concerns.
When the man in search of Florence eventually arrived and asked the manager of the garden if he knew Miss Hargreave by sight the manager pointed toward the box. The man wound his way in and out of the idlers and by the time he reached the box Jim and Florence had made their departure. The man bowed, approached, and asked the countess if she was Miss Hargreave. For a moment Olga suspected a trap. Then it appealed to her mind that if there was no trap it might be well to pose as Florence, if only to learn what the outcome might be.
"Yes. What is wanted?" she asked.
The man took a letter from his pocket and handed it to Olga, saying: "Give this to your father. He knows how to read it."
"GIVE THIS TO YOUR FATHER. HE KNOWS HOW TO READ IT""GIVE THIS TO YOUR FATHER. HE KNOWS HOW TO READ IT"
Before she could reply the man had turned and was hurrying away.
Olga opened the note, her heart beating furiously. It was utterly blank. At first she thought it was a hoax. Then she happened to remember that there was such a thing as invisible ink. At last! Hargreave was alive; this letter settled all doubt in her mind on this question. Alive! And not only that, but the girl and Jones were evidently in communication with him. She summoned a waiter, made a secret sign, and he bowed and approached. She slipped the letter into his hand and whispered: "Show that at the cave to-morrow. It is in invisible ink and meant for Hargreave."
"He's alive?"
"Positively."
"Very well." The waiter bowed and strolled away nonchalantly.
Braine was in Boston over night, otherwise the countess would have taken the mysterious note at once to him. She remained for perhaps a quarter of an hour longer and then left the garden. She would have taken the letter to her own apartment but for the fact that the chemicals needed were hidden in the cave.
Now it happened that Florence went out for her early ride the next morning, and crossing a field she saw a man with a bundle under his arm. The sun struck his profile and limned it plainly, and Florence uttered a low cry. The man had not observed her. So, very quietly, she slipped from the horse, tethered it to a tree, and started after the man to learn what he was doing so far from the city. She would never forget that face. She had seen it that dreadful night when the note had lured her into the hands of her enemies. The face belonged to the man who had impersonated her father.
It occurred to her that she might just as well do a little detective work on her own hook. She had passed through so many terrifying episodes that she was beginning to crave for the excitement, strange as this may seem. Like a gambler who has once played for high stakes, she no longer found pleasure in thimbles and needles and pins. She followed the man with no little skill and at length she saw him approach a knoll, stoop, apparently press a spring, and a hole suddenly yawned. The man vanished quickly, and the spot took on again its virginal appearance. A cave. Florence had the patience to wait. By and by the man appeared again and slunk away.
When she was sure that he was beyond range, she came out from the place of concealment, crept up the knoll, and searched about for the magic handle of this strange door. Diligence rewarded her, and she soon found herself in a large, musty, earth-smelling cave. Loot was scattered about, and there were boxes and chairs and a large chest. Men evidently met here, possibly after some desperate adventure against society. She found nothing to reward her hardihood, and as she was in the act of moving toward the cave's door she beheld with terror that it was moving!
FLORENCE DISCOVERS THE CAVEFLORENCE DISCOVERS THE CAVE
She was near the chest at that moment. The cave was not a deep one. There was no tunnel, only a wall. Resolutely she raised the lid of the chest, stepped inside, and drew the lid down. She was just in time. The door opened and three men entered, talking volubly. They felt perfectly secure in talking as loudly as they pleased. To Florence it seemed almost impossible that they did not hear the thunder of her heart? Strain her ears as she might, she could gather but little of what they said, except:
"If Hargreave had this paper we might all be put on the defensive. To an outsider it is a blank paper. But the boss will be able to read it...." The speaker moved away from the vicinity of the chest and she heard no more.
Very deftly Florence raised the lid just enough to peep out. The man who had been talking was putting the note in his hip pocket. As he turned toward the chest he sat down on the soap-box immediately in front of the chest. An inspiration came to the girl, an exceedingly daring one. She took her liberty in her hands as she executed the deed. But the dimness of the cave aided her. When she crouched down again the magic paper was hers.
It seemed hours to her before the men left the cave. As she heard the hidden door jar in closing she raised the lid and stepped out, breathing deeply. The paper she had purloined was indeed blank, but Jones or Jim would know what to do with it. And wouldn't they be surprised when she told them what she had accomplished all alone? Her exultation was of short duration. She heard the whine of the door on its hinges. The men were returning. Why?
They were returning because they had discovered a woman's shoeprint outside. It pointed toward the cave, freshly, and there was none coming away. To re-enter the chest would be foolhardy. It would be the first place the men would look. She glanced about desperately. She saw but one chance, the well. And even while the door was swinging inward, letting the brilliant sunshine enter, she summoned up the courage and let herself down into the well, which proved to be nothing more nor less than an underground river!
The men came in with a rush. They upset boxes, looked into the chest, and the man who was evidently in command, gazed down the well, shaking his head. Their search was thorough, but they found no one. And at length they began to reason that perhaps a woman had got as far as the door and then turned away, walking on the turf.
Meantime Florence was borne along by the swift current of the river, which gained in swiftness every moment. From time to time she bumped along the rocky walls, but she clung to life valiantly. In ten minutes she was swept to the other side of the hill, into the rapids; but the blue sky was overhead, she was out in the familiar world again. On, on she was carried. Even though she was half dead, she could hear the roar of a falls somewhere in advance.
Braine thought he really had a clue to the treasure, and with his usual promptness he set about to learn if it was worth anything. He procured a launch and began to prowl about, using a pole as a feeler. All the while he was being closely watched by Norton, who had concluded to hang on to Braine's trail till he found something worthy of note. Braine was disguised, but this time Jim was not to be fooled. But what was he looking for, wondered the reporter? Braine continued to pole along, sometimes pausing to look over the gunwale down into the water. In raising his head after the last investigation, he discerned something struggling in the water, about three hundred yards away. The current leisurely brought the object into full view. It was a young woman with just power enough to keep herself afloat. The golden head roused something in him stronger than curiosity. It might be!
Braine proceeded to move the launch in the direction of the girl. It was this movement that turned the reporter's gaze. He, too, now saw the woman in the water and wondered how she had come there. When Braine reached the girl and pulled her into the launch Jim saw her face plainly.
FLORENCE STEALS THE PAPERS FROM BRAINE'S POCKETFLORENCE STEALS THE PAPERS FROM BRAINE'S POCKET
He flew from his vantage point, found a skiff and started after Braine.
"By the Lord Harry!" murmured the rogue. "Well, they can talk of manna from heaven, but this is what I call luck. Florence Hargreave, out of nowhere, into my arms! The god of luck has cast another horseshoe and it's mine."
He had a flask in his pocket, and he forced some of the biting spirits down the girl's throat. She opened her eyes.
"Well, my beauty?"
Florence eyed him wildly, not quite understanding where he had come from.
"I don't know how you got here," he said, "and I don't care. But here we are together at last. Where is your father?"
"I—I don't know," dazedly.
"Better think quickly," he warned; "I want lucid answers to my questions or back you go into the water. I'm about at the end of my rope. I've been beaten too many times, my girl, to have any particular love for you. Now, where is your father?"
"I don't know; I have never seen him."
Braine laughed.
And Jim's boat ran afoul some rocks and into the water he went. He had not attracted Braine's attention, fortunately. He began to swim toward the drifting launch.
"Where have they hidden that money?"
"I don't know."
"Well, well; I've given you your chance. You'll have to try your luck with the water again."
Florence, weak as she was, set her lips.
"You don't ask for mercy?" he said banteringly.
"I should be wasting my breath to ask for mercy from such a monster as you are," she answered quickly.
"That damned Hargreave nerve!" he snarled.
He rolled up his sleeves and stepped toward her. She braced herself but did not turn her eyes from his. Suddenly, from nowhere at all, came a pair of hands. One clutched the gunwale and the other laid hold of Braine. A quick pull followed, and Braine began to topple. But even as he fell he managed to fling himself atop his assailant; and it was only when the struggle began in the water that he recognized the reporter. All the devil in him came to the surface and he fought with the fierceness of a tiger to kill, kill, kill. In nearly every instance this meddling reporter had checkmated him. This time one or the other of them should stay in the water.
Norton recognized that he had a large order before him to disable Braine. The recognition between them was now frank and absolute; there could never again be any diplomatic sidestepping.
"You're a dead man, Norton!" panted Braine, as he reached for the reporter's throat.
Norton said nothing, but struck the hand aside. For a moment they both went under. They came up sputtering, each trying for a hold. It was a terribly enervating struggle.
Florence could do nothing. The boat in which she sat continued to drift away from the fighting men. Once she tried to reach Braine with the pole he had been using, but failed.
BRAINE PROCURED A LAUNCH AND BEGAN TO PROWL ABOUTBRAINE PROCURED A LAUNCH AND BEGAN TO PROWL ABOUT
From the shore came another boat. For a while she could not tell whether it contained friends or enemies. It was terrible to be forced to wait, absolutely helpless. When she heard the newcomers call encouragingly to Braine she knew then that the brave fight of her sweetheart was going to come to naught. She knew a little about motors. She threw on the power and headed straight toward the rowboat. The men shouted at her, but she did not alter her course. The rowboat had its sides crushed in and the men went piling into the water.
"Jim," she cried.
Norton suddenly flung off Braine and began to swim madly for the motor boat, which Florence had brought about. Even then it was only by the barest luck in the world that Norton managed to catch the gunwale. The rest of it was simple. When they finally reached a haven, Florence, oddly enough, thought of the horse she had left tethered nine miles from the stables. She laughed hysterically.
"I guess he won't die. We can send some one out for him. Now, for heaven's sake, how did you get into this? Where were you? What have you been up to?" with tender bruskness.
"I wanted to do a little detective work of my own," she faltered.
"It looks as if you had done it. You infant! Will you never learn to keep outside this muddle? It's a man's work."
Florence, thoroughly weakened by her long immersion in the water, began to weep silently.
"You poor child. I'm a brute!" And he comforted her.
Later that day, at home, she remembered the blank paper.
"I stole this from one of the men in the cave. He said this blank paper would probably save father."'
Jim took it. "H'm! Invisible ink, and it's had a fine washing."
"But maybe it is waterproof."
"Maybe it is. Anyhow, Miss Sherlock, we'll show it to Jones and see what he says."
"What I want now," said Braine, as he paced the living-room of the apartment of the countess, "is revenge. I've been checkmated enough, Olga; they're playing with us."
"That is nothing new," she replied, shrugging. "At the beginning I warned you. I never liked this affair after the first two or three failures. But you would have your way. You wanted revenge at that early date; but I can not see that you've gone forward. Has it ever occurred to you that the organization may be getting tired, too? They depend solely upon your invention, and each time your invention has resulted in touching nothing but zero."
"Thanks!"
"Oh, I'm not chiding you. I've failed, too."
"Are you turning against me?" he demanded bitterly.
"Do my actions point that way?" she countered. "No. But the more I view what has passed, the more disheartened I grow. It has been a series of blind alleys, and all we have succeeded in doing is knocking our heads. I can see now that all our failures are due to one mistake."
"And what the devil is that?" he asked irritably.
"We were in too much of a hurry at the beginning. Hargreave prepared himself for quick action on your part."
BRAINE REACHED THE GIRL AND PULLED HER INTO THE BOATBRAINE REACHED THE GIRL AND PULLED HER INTO THE BOAT
"And if I had not acted quickly he would have started successfully on one of his world tours again, and that would have been the last of him, and we should never have learned of the girl's existence. So there's your argument."
"Perhaps you are right. But for all that we have not played the game with any degree of finesse."
"Bah!" Braine lit a cigarette and smoked nervously. "I can't even get rid of that meddling reporter. He has been as much to blame for our failures as either Jones or Hargreave. I admit that in his case I judged hastily. I believed him to be just an ordinary newspaper man, and he was clever enough to lull my suspicions. But I'm going to get him, Olga, even if I have to resort to ordinary gunman tricks. If there's any final reckoning, by the Lord Harry, he shan't get a chance in the witness stand."
"And I begin to think that that little chit of a girl has been hoodwinking me all along. By the way, did you find out what that letter said?" she asked after a pause.
"Letter? What letter?"
She sprang from her chair. "Do you mean to say that they have not told you about that?" Olga became greatly excited.
"Explain," he said.
"Why, I was at the garden day before yesterday, and a man approached and asked if I was Miss Hargreave. Becoming at once suspicious that something very important was about to happen I signified that I was Miss Hargreave. The man slipped a paper into my hand and hurried off. I took a quick glance at it and was dumfounded to find it utterly blank of writing. At first I thought some joke had been played on me, then I chanced to remember the invisible ink letters you always wrote me. Understanding that you were to visit the cave in the morning, I had one man at the garden take the note. And you never got it!"
"Some one shall certainly pay for this carelessness. I'll call up Vroon and Jackson at once. Wait just a moment."
He went to the telephone. A low muttering conversation took place. Olga could hear little or none of it. When Braine put the receiver back on the hook his face was not pleasant to see.
"That girl!"
"What now?"
"It seems she had been out horseback riding that morning. She had seen one of the boys cross the field and suddenly disappear; and she was curious to learn what had become of him. With her usual luck she stumbled on the method of opening the door of the cave and went in. She must have been nosing about. She didn't have much time, though, as the boys came up to await me. Evidently she crawled into that old chest and in some inexplicable manner purloined the letter from Jackson's pocket. They left to reconnoiter; and it was then that Jackson discovered his loss. When Florence heard them returning she jumped into the well. And lived through that tunnel! The devil is in it!"
"Or out of it, since we consider him our friend."
"And I had her in my hands, note and all!"
"But with all that water there will not be any writing left on the letter."
"Invisible ink is generally indelible and impervious to the action of water; at least the kind I use is. I'd give a thousand for a sight of that letter."
FROM THE SHORE CAME ANOTHER DOATFROM THE SHORE CAME ANOTHER DOAT
"And it might be worth a million," Olga suggested.
"Not the least doubt of it in my mind. Olga, old girl, it does look as if my star was growing dim. We'll never get our hands on that million. I feel it in my bones. So let's settle down to a campaign of revenge, without any furbelows. I want to twist Hargreave's heart before the game winds up."
"You wish really to injure her?"
"I do not wish to injure her. Far from it," he replied, smiling evilly.
"You want her ... dead?" whispered Olga, paling.
"Exactly. I want her dead. And so if all my efforts here come to nothing, so shall Hargreave's. His millions will become waste paper to him. That's revenge. The Persian peach method."
"Poison? You shall not! You shall not kill her!" vehemently.
"Tender-hearted?"
"No. If I must in the end go to prison, so be it; but I refuse to die in the chair."
"Very well, then. We shan't kill her, but we'll make her wish she was dead. I was only trying to see how far you would go. The basket of peaches is in the hallway. Every peach is poisoned. No man in the country knows more about subtle poisons than I do. Have I not written books on that subject?" ironically.
"And they will trace it back to you in a straight line," she warned. "I will not have it!"
"I can go elsewhere," he replied coldly.
"You would leave me?"
"The moment you cross my will," emphatically.
It became her turn to pace. Torn between her love of the man and the danger which stared her in the face, she was for the time being distracted. All the time he watched her with malevolent curiosity, knowing that in the end she would concur with his evil plans.
"Very well," she said finally. "But listen; we shall be found out. Never doubt that. Your revenge will cost us both our lives. I feel it."
"Bah! The law will have no hand in my end. I always carry a pellet; and that ring of yours would suffice a regiment. She will not die. She will merely become a kind of paralytic; the kind that can move a little but not enough; always wheeled about in a chair. I'll bring in the peaches; rosy and downy. One bite, after a given time, will do the trick. If they suspect and throw them out we have lost nothing but the peaches. A trusted messenger will carry them to the Hargreave house. And then we'll sit down and wait."
Meantime, in the library of the Hargreave house, Florence and Jim were puzzling over the blank sheet of paper.
"I'll wager," said Jim, "the water washed all the writing away. The fire does not seem to do any good. We'll turn it over to Jones. Jones'll find a way to solve it. Trust him."
"What are you two chattering about?" asked Susan, who was arranging some flowers on the table.
"Secrets," said Jim, smiling.
"Humph!"
Susan puttered about for a few minutes longer, then crossed to the reception room, intending to go up-stairs. At that moment the maid was admitting a messenger with a basket of fruit.
"For Miss Hargreave," said he. He gave the basket to the maid, touched his cap awkwardly, and swung on his heel, closing the door behind him. He was in a hurry to deliver another message.
"Oh, what lovely fruit!" cried Susan, pausing. "I'm going to steal one," she laughed. She selected a peach and began eating it on the way up to her room.
The maid passed on into the library.
"What's this?" inquired Florence, as the maid held out the basket. She selected a peach and was about to set her white teeth into it when Jim interposed.
"Wait a moment, dear." Florence lowered the peach. Jim turned to the maid. "Who sent it?"
"I don't know, sir. A messenger brought it, saying it was for Miss Hargreave."
"Let me see if there is a card." But Jim searched in vain for the card of the donor. All at once his suspicions arose. "Don't touch them. Better let the maid throw them out. Fruit from unknown persons might not be the healthiest thing in the world."
"What do you think?"
"That in all probability they are poisoned. But there's no need trying to prove my theory right or wrong. Ask Jones. He'll tell you to throw them away."
"Horrible!" Florence shuddered. "But they do not want to poison me. I'm too valuable. They want me alive."
"Who can say?" returned Jim gloomily. "They may have learned that they can not beat us, no matter what card they turn up. I may be wrong, but take my advice and throw them away.... Good lord, what's that?" startled.
"Some one cried!"
"Oh, Miss Florence!" exclaimed the maid, terror-stricken as she recalled Susan's act. "Miss Susan took a peach from the basket and was eating it on the way to her room!"
"Good heavens!" gasped Jim. "I was right. The fruit was poisoned."
Jim had heard enough to send for a specialist he knew. The specialist arrived about twenty minutes after Susan's first cry. To his keen eye it looked like a certain poison which had for its basis the venom of the cobra.
"Will she live?"
"Oh, yes. But she'll be a wreck for some months. Send her to the hospital where I can visit her frequently. And I'll take that peach along for analysis. No police affair?"
"No. We dare not call them in," said Jim.
"That's your affair. I'll send down the ambulance. Keep her quiet. She'll have a species of paralysis; but that'll work off under treatment. A strange business."
"So it is," agreed Jim grimly.
Florence knelt beside her friend's bed and cried softly.
"You called me just in time. An hour later, nothing would have saved her. She would have been paralyzed for life."
Jim accompanied the doctor to the door and went in search of Jones. He found the taciturn butler eying the fruit basket, his face gray and drawn, though his eyes blazed with fury.
"Poison!"
"A pretty bad poison, too," said Jim. "We can't do anything. We've just got to sit still. But in the end we'll get them. That she devil...."
"No, my friend; that he devil. The woman is mad over him and would commit any crime at his bidding. But this is his work. We want him. He wasn't without courage to send this fruit, knowing that I would instantly suspect the sender. Yet, I have no definite proof. I could not hold him in court in law. He will have bought the fruit piece by piece, the basket in a basket shop. He will have injected the poison himself when alone. Poor Susan! That messenger was without doubt some one over whom he holds the threat of the death chair. That's the way he works."
Jim tramped the room while Jones carried the fruit to the kitchen. The butler returned after a while.
"What about that blank sheet of paper?"
"It has to be dipped into a solution; after that you can read it by heating. I have already dipped it into the solution. The moment the heat leaves the sheet the writing disappears again. The ink is waterproof. I'll show you."
Jones got a candle from the mantel, lit it, and held the sheet of paper very close to the flame. Gradually, almost imperceptibly, letters began to form on the blank sheet. At length the message was complete.
"Dear Hargreave—The Russian minister of police is at the Blank Hotel under the name of Henri Servan. He is investigating the work of the Black Hundred in this country and can free you from their vengeance if you supply the evidence needed."
"Now, what evidence can he want?" asked Jim.
"Such as will prove Braine an undesirable citizen."
"And then?"
"Quietly pack him off to Russia, where he is badly wanted."
"Who sent this message?"
"One of our mysterious friends. We have a few, as you already know. But I'll go and make this man Servan a visit. I have seen the real minister, and if this man is the same one, something of importance may turn up. I shall want you somewhere about. Here, I'll let you have this letter. Remember, heat brings it out and cold air makes it vanish. Now I'll go up for a moment to see how that poor girl is getting along. We are lucky; there's no gainsaying that."
"You're a clever man, Jones," said Jim.
Jones turned upon him, his face grave. The two men looked steadily into each other's eyes. Jones was first to turn aside his glance, as he had something to conceal and Jim had nothing.
When the ambulance took the tortured Susan away, Jones addressed Florence gravely.
"I am going out, and so is Mr. Norton. Do not leave the house; not even if you have a telephone call from me or Norton. Both of us will return; so don't let anything bother or confuse you."
"I promise," said Florence, struggling with a sob.
Jones went down-stairs again, paused by a window as if cogitating, and suddenly threw it up and looked abroad. A rustle among the lilacs caused a smile to flit across his face. So they had sent some one to learn the effect of the poison? Or to follow him should he leave the house? He retired to the kitchen and gave some explicit orders to the chef, orders which did not in any way refer to cooking. Then Jones and the reporter left the house, each quite aware that they were being followed. Near the Blank Hotel they separated in order to confuse the stalker. He might dodder and follow the wrong man. But it was evident that this time he had been directed to follow Jones; for he entered the hotel a minute after Jones.
Meantime a second spy, whom Jones had not seen, had observed the transfer of the invisible writing and had immediately informed Braine, who was not far away. That his poisoned fruit had stricken down an outsider troubled him none at all. But that mysterious message he meant to have; it might be a life and death affair, it might be a clue to the treasure, or the whereabouts of Hargreave.
Thus, while only one man followed Jones, several kept a far eye on Jim.
Jones scribbled his name on a blank card and had it taken to the Russian's room. The page eyed that card curiously. It was different from anything he had ever seen before. In one corner were written three or four words which resembled a cross between Hebrew and Greek.
"Humph!" muttered the boy. "Whadda y' know about that? Chicken scratches; but I guess the bell rings Roosian. On your way, Hortense," he cried to the hall maid, who wanted a look at the card. "Up t' th' room, sir. He'll see yuh!" The boy kept the silver salver extended expectantly, but Jones went past without apparently noticing the hint.
The Russian was standing by a window when Jones knocked and was bidden to enter.
"You are not Hargreave."
"Neither are you the Russian minister of police," urbanely.
"Who are you?"
"I am Hargreave's confidential man, sir."
The two men eyed each other cautiously.
"You speak Russian?"
"No. I am able to scribble a few words; that is all."
The Russian lit a cigarette and smoked leisurely. He was in no hurry.
"No, I am not the minister; but I am his accredited agent. I am empowered to bring back to Russia a man who is known here by the name of Braine, another by the name of Vroon, and a woman who calls herself a countess and unfortunately is one. All I desire is some damaging proof against them that they are outlaws in this country. The rest will be simple."
"They have all three taken out naturalization papers."
THEY HAVE ALL THREE TAKEN OUT NATURALIZATION PAPERSTHEY HAVE ALL THREE TAKEN OUT NATURALIZATION PAPERS
The Russian waved his hand airily. "Once they are in Russia those documents will never come to light. This man Braine, it has been learned, has long been in the pay of Prussia, and has given the general staff of that country many plans of our frontier fortifications. I do not know what any one of the three looks like. That is why I sought Hargreave."
"I will gladly point them out to you," said Jones, rubbing his hands together, a sign that he was greatly pleased.
"That will be very good of you, I'm sure," in a rumbling but perfectly intelligible English.
"And suddenly they all three will disappear."
"Suddenly; and you may believe me that from that time on they'll be heard of never more."
"All this sounds extremely agreeable to me. Mr. Hargreave will be happy to hear that his long enforced hiding will soon come to an end."
"All you have to do, sir, is to point them out to me."
"It may take a week or ten days."
"My government has waited for ten years to gather in this delectable trio. A month, if you like."
"The sooner the better. I shall call this evening after dinner. We shall begin with Mr. Braine; and generally where he is is the woman. Vroon will be the most difficult."
"After dinner, then, since you know some of his haunts. There is a reward."
Jones laughed shortly. "Keep it yourself, sir. Mr. Hargreave would willingly double whatever this reward is to eliminate these despicable creatures from his affairs."
"Thanks."
While this conversation was taking place Norton idled about; and feeling the cravings for a cigarette, prepared to roll one, only to find that he hadn't the "makings." So fate urged him to step into the nearest tobacconist's. He asked for his favorite brand and passed over the silver.
Braine and his companions saw Norton enter the shop. It agreed with their plans perfectly. The tobacconist happened to be affiliated with the order. So they hurried into the shop. Jim instantly realized that he was in a trap.
"How can I get out of here?" he whispered to the tobacconist.
The latter smiled. "I have to obey these gentlemen. I don't know what they want you for; but if I made a move to help you I should find my own throat cut without saving yours."
"The devil!"
Jim made a dash for the rear door, to find it locked. Even as he fumbled with the key Braine and his companions flung themselves upon the reporter and overpowered him.
"Ah, my friend Braine!" he said.
"My friend Norton!" jeered the victor.
"And what do you want; some peaches?"
"A paper, my friend, a little secret of paper with invisible writing on it. We promise to give you something in exchange for it."
"What?" asked Jim with as much nonchalance as he could assume.
"Life."
"Search," said Jim. "You won't object to my smoking?" He began to roll a cigarette while they passed over him. He struck a match; the pleasant aroma of tobacco floated about his head.
"He's got it on him somewhere. I saw him take it. He's got his nerve with him."
The cigarette glowed. Jim smoked hurriedly.
Through every pocket they went. The contents of his wallet lay scattered at his feet; his watch dangled from the chain. The cigarette grew shorter and shorter. Suddenly one of the men stretched out a hand and whisked the cigarette from Jim's lips. He threw it to the floor and stamped out the coal.
"I thought so!" he exclaimed, holding out the scrap of burnt paper toward Braine.
The words "Dear Hargreave" were all that remained of the message. With a snarl of rage Braine whipped out his revolver.
"I will give you one minute to tell me what that paper contained."
"And after that minute is up?"
"A bullet in your stomach."
Quick as a flash Jim's hand shot out, caught the loosely held revolver, gave it a wrench, and brought it down savagely upon Braine's head. Then he reversed it and backed toward the front entrance.
"Au revoir, till we meet again, gentlemen!"
Jim said nothing at first about his adventure to Jones, whom he met half an hour later.
"Was it necessary to keep that invisible letter?" he asked.
"No," said Jones.
"Would it have given our affairs a serious turn if it had fallen into alien hands?"
"Decidedly," answered Jones. "It would mean flight for the Black Hundred or a long time under cover, if our friend Braine learned that Russia was now taking an active interest in the doings of the Black Hundred. And eventually all our work would have to be done over again."
"Ah!"
"You look a bit mussed up. Anything happened?" asked the keen-eyed butler.
"Nothing much. I made a cigarette out of the letter and smoked it."
Jones chuckled. "I see that you have had an adventure of some sort; but it can wait."
"It can."
"Because I want you to pack off to Washington."
"Washington?"
"Yes. I want you to interview those officials who are most familiar with the extradition laws."
"A new kink?"
"What I wish to learn is this: Can a man, formerly undesirable, take out naturalization papers and hold to the protection of the United States government? That is to say, a poisoner, menaced by Siberia, becomes an American citizen. He is abducted and carried back to Russia. Could he look to this government for protection? That is what I want you to find out?"
"That will be easy. When shall I start?"
"As soon as you can pack your grip."
"That's always packed," replied the reporter. "You see, I'm eternally shunted hither and yon, at a moment's notice, so I always have an extra grip packed for quick travel."
"The Russian agent wants Braine, Vroon, and the countess; and to-night I'm going to try to point them out to him. It would satisfy me more than anything I know to eliminate this precious trio in Russian fashion. It's thorough; and once accomplished, good day to the Black Hundred in America. The organization in Russia has still some political significance, but on this side of the water it is merely an aggregation of merciless thugs."
"I'll take the first train out. But you will tell Florence?"
"Surely."
"And take care of your own heels. You were watched at the hotel."
"I know it; but the watcher could learn nothing. Henri Servan as a name will suggest nothing to the fool who followed me. Besides we both knew that he was trying to peek through the keyhole. That hotel, you know, still retains the old-fashioned keyholes."
"To keep the maids in good humor, I suppose," laughed Jim. "Well, I must be on my way to make that flyer."
The two shook hands and Jim hurried off. The butler watched him till he disappeared down the subway.
"He's a good lad," he murmured, "and a brave lad; and money is only an incident in human affairs after all. I'll be a good angel and let the two be happy, since they love each other and have proved it in a thousand ways."
Meanwhile the Russian agent settled down before his writing portfolio; and once or twice as he wrote he thought he heard a sound outside the door. No doubt this butler of Hargreave's had been watched and followed. By and by he rose, drew his revolver, and tiptoed to the door obliquely so that the watcher outside might not become aware of his approach. Swiftly he swung back the door and the member of the Black Hundred stumbled into the room. Almost instantly the Russian caught him by the collar and held him up.
"What were you doing outside my door?"
The man, trying to collect his thoughts, did not answer.
"A spy of some sort, eh?"
"I'm a detective," said the man finally, thinking he saw his way clear.
"And what did you expect to learn by looking through the keyhole of my door?"
Servan laughed. "Show me your badge of authority."
The man fumbled in his upper pocket, hoping against hope that the muzzle of the revolver would waver.
"You're an ordinary thief," declared the Russian; "and as such I shall instantly hand you over to the hotel authorities unless you tell me exactly who and what you are."
The man remained dumb. He hung between the devil and the deep sea. If he told the truth the organization would soon learn the truth; if he kept still he would be lodged in jail, perhaps indefinitely, for he hadn't a savory police record. Presently his nerve gave way in face of the steady eye and hand, and he confessed the why and wherefore he had sought the keyhole of Servan's room.
"We are after this butler. Wherever he goes we follow."
"Well, you've wasted your time, my man. All I am here for is to take over some property Mr. Hargreave left in France for sale. I know nothing about your private feuds. Now, get out. But keep out of my way; I am not a peaceful man."
The spy tumbled out as he had tumbled in, by an act of gravity; and Servan was alone. He spent two days in comparative idleness. Then things began to wake up.
For a long time the leather box across which was inscribed "Stanley Hargreave" lay in peace undisturbed. A busy spider had woven a trap across the handle to the quaint lock. The box was still badly stained from its immersion in the salt water. At a certain time it was quietly withdrawn from its hiding place. It was stealthily opened. A hand reached in and when it withdrew a packet of papers was also withdrawn. The box was again locked and lowered; and presently the spider returned to find that his cunning trap had been totally destroyed. With the infinite patience of his kind he began the weaving of another trap. Perhaps this would be more successful than its predecessor.
Later Henri Servan received a telephone call. He was informed that his purpose in America would be realized by his presence at such and such a box that night at the opera. Further information could not be given over the telephone. Servan seemed well satisfied. He dressed carefully that evening, called up the office clerk and inquired if his box tickets for the opera had arrived. He was informed that they had. Instantly the spy, who had dared to linger about the hotel, overhearing this conversation, determined to notify Braine at once. And at the same time, Norton, in disguise, determined not to lose sight of this man whom he had set himself to watch.
The spy left by one entrance and Jim by another. Jim had learned what he desired; that the Russian agent would be followed to the opera and that it was going to be difficult to hand the documents to him. The spy entered a drug store and telephoned. Jim waited outside. When the man came out he strolled up the street and entered the nearest saloon. Jim's work was done.
It was Braine's lieutenant, however, who took the news to Braine.
"We have succeeded."
"Good!" said Braine.
"He will go to the opera. He will have a box. Doubtless they have arranged to deliver the papers there."
"And the next thing is to get the number of his box." This Braine had no difficulty in doing. "So that's all fixed. He calls himself Servan and registers from Paris. I'll show the fool that he has no moujik to deal with this time."
"And what are these documents?" asked Olga.
"Ah, that's what we are so anxious to find out. Some papers are going to be exchanged between this Russian spy and Jones or his agents. That these papers concern us vitally I am certain. That is why I am going to get them if there has to be a murder at the opera to-night. Norton has been to Washington. He was seen coming out of the Russian embassy, from the secretaries of state and war and a dozen other offices. I've got to find out just what all this means."
"It means that the time has come for us to fly," said Olga. "We have failed. I have warned you. We have still plenty of money left. It is time we folded our tents and stole away quietly. I tell you I feel it in my bones that there is a pit before us somewhere! and if you force issues we shall all fall into it."
"The white feather, my dear."
"There is altogether some difference between the white feather and common-sense caution."
"I shall never give up. You are free to pack up and go if you wish. As for me, I'm going to fight this out to the bitter end."
"And take my word for it, the end will be bitter."
"Well?"
"Oh, I shall stay. You know that my future is bound up in yours. In the old days my advice generally appealed to you as sound; and when you followed it you were successful. From the first I advised you not to pursue Hargreave. See what has happened!"
"Enough of this chatter. I've got to die some time; it will be with my face toward this man I hate with all my soul. You trust to me; I'll pull out of this all right. You just fix yourself up stunningly for the opera to-night and leave the rest to me."
Olga shrugged. She was something of a fatalist. This man of hers had suddenly gone mad; and one did not reason with mad people.
"What shall I wear?" she asked calmly.
"JUST A MOMENT, GENTLEMEN""JUST A MOMENT, GENTLEMEN"
"Emeralds; they're your good luck stones. You will go to the box before I do. I've got to spend some time at the curb to be sure that this Servan chap arrives. And it is quite possible that our friend Jones will come later. If not Jones, then Norton. I was a fool not to shoot him when I had the chance. We could have covered it up without the least difficulty. But I needed the information about that paper. With Norton going to Washington and Jones conferring with this Servan, I've got to strike quick. It concerns us, that I'm certain. Perk up; we've lots of cards in our sleeves yet. Be at the opera at eight-thirty. Pay no attention to any one; wait for me. Remember, I shan't write or send any phone messages. Be wary of any trap like that to get you outside. Now, I'm off."
Jones approached Florence immediately after dinner.
"I have important business in the city to-night. Under no circumstances leave the house. I shall probably be followed. And our enemies will have need of you far more to-night than at any previous time. I shall not send you phone or written message. You have your revolver. Shoot any strange man who enters. We'll make inquiries after."
"We are near the end?" whispered Florence.
"Very near the end."
"And I shall see my father?"
Jones bent his head. "If we succeed."
"There is danger?" thinking of her lover.
"There is always danger when I leave this house. So be good," the butler added with a smile.
"And Jim?"
"He has proved that he can take care of himself."
"Tell him to be very careful."
"I'll do so, but it will not be necessary;" and with this Jones set forth upon what he considered the culminating adventure.
The usual brilliant crowd began to pour into the opera. Braine took his stand by the entrance. He waited a long time, but his patience was rewarded. A limousine drove up and out of the door came his man, who looked about with casual interest. He dismissed the limousine, which wheeled slowly around the corner where it could be conveniently parked. Then Servan entered the opera.
Braine hurried around to the limousine. The lights, save those demanded by traffic regulations, were out. The chauffeur was huddled in his seat.
"My man," said Braine, "would you like to make some money?"
"How much?" listlessly. The voice was muffled.
"Twenty."
"Good night, sir."
"Fifty."
"Good night and good morning!"
"A hundred!"
"Now you've got me interested. What kind of a joy ride do you want?"
"No joy ride. Listen."
Briefly the conspirator outlined his needs, and finally the chauffeur nodded. Five twenties were pressed into his hand and he curled up in his seat again.
Servan entered his box. In the box next to his sat a handsomely gowned young woman. He threw her an idle glance, which was repaid in kind. Later, Braine came in and sat down beside Olga.
"Everything looks like plain sailing," he whispered.
Olga shrugged slightly.
During the intermission between the first and second acts, Servan took the rear chair of his box, near the curtains. Braine, watching with the eyes of a lynx, suddenly observed the curtains stirring. A hand was thrust through. In that hand was a packet of papers. With seeming indifference Servan reached back and took the papers, stowing them away in a pocket.
Braine rose at the beginning of the second act.
"Where are you going?" asked Olga nervously.
"To see Otto."
A bold attempt was made to rob Servan while in the box, but the timely arrival of Jim frustrated this plan. So Braine was forced to rely on the chauffeur of the limousine.
As Farrar's last thrilling note died away Braine and Olga rose.
"Be careful. And come to the apartments just as soon as you can."
"I'll be careful," Braine declared easily. "You can watch the play if you wish."
When Servan entered the limousine he was quietly but forcibly seized by two men who had been lying in wait for him, due to the apparent treachery of the chauffeur. Servan fought valiantly, for all that he knew what the end of this exploit was going to be. One of the men succeeded in getting the documents from Servan's pocket.
"Done, my boy!" cried the victor. "Give him a crack on the coco and we'll beat it."
"Just a minute, gentlemen!" said a voice from the seat at the side of the chauffeur. "I'll take those papers!" And the owner of the voice, backed by a cold, sinister-looking automatic, reached in and confiscated the spoils of war. "And I shouldn't make any attempt to slip out by the side door."
"Thanks, my friend," said Servan, shaking himself free from his captors.
"Don't mention it," said Norton amiably. "We thought something like this would happen. Keep perfectly quiet, you chaps. Drive on, chauffeur; drive on!"
"Yes, my lord! To what particular police station shall I head this omnibus?"
"The nearest, Jones; the very nearest you can think of! Some day, when I'm rich, I'll hire you for my chauffeur. But for the present I shall expect at least a box of Partagas out of that hundred."
Jones chuckled. "I'll buy you a box out of my own pocket. That hundred goes to charity."
"Here we are! Out with you," said Jim to his prisoners. He shouldered them into the police station, to the captain's desk.
"What's this?" demanded the captain.
"Holdup men," said Jim. "Entered this man's car and tried to rob him."
"Uh-huh! An' who're you?"
Jim showed his badge and card.
"Oho! Hey, there; I mean you!" said the captain, leveling a finger at Otto. "Lift up that hat; lift it up. Sure, it's Fountain Pen Otto! Well, well; an' we've been lookin' for you for ten months on the last forgery case. Mr. Norton, my thanks. Take 'em below, sergeant. You'll be here to make the complaint in th' mornin', sir," he added to Servan.
"If it is necessary."
"It may be against Otto's pal. I don't know him."
"Very well."
THE POLICE CAPTAIN'S DESKTHE POLICE CAPTAIN'S DESK
And Jones and Norton and Servan trooped out of the station.
At last Jones and the reporter entered a cheap restaurant and ordered coffee and toast.
"You're a wonderful man, Jones, even if you are an Englishman," said Jim as he called for the check.
"English? What makes you think I am English?" asked Jones with a curious glitter in his eyes.
"I'll tell you on the night we put the rollers under Braine and company."
Jones stared long and intently at his young partner. What did he really know?
The federal government agreed to say nothing, to put no obstacles in the way of the Russian agent, provided he could abduct his trio without seriously clashing with the New York police authorities. It was a recognized fact that the local police force wanted the newspaper glory which would attend the crushing of the Black Hundred. It would be an exploit. But their glory was nil; nor did Servan take his trio back with him to Russia.
Many strange things happened that night, the night of the final adventure.
Florence sat in her room reading. The book was Oliver Twist, not the pleasantest sort of book to read under the existing circumstances. Several times—she had reached the place where Fagin overheard Nancy's confession—she fancied she heard doors closing softly, but credited it to her imagination. Poor Nancy, who wanted to be good but did not find time to be! Florence possessed a habit familiar to most of us; the need of apples or candy when we are reading. So she rang the bell for her maid, intending to ask her to bring up some apples. She turned to her reading, presently to break off and strike the bell again. Where was that maid? She waited perhaps five minutes, then laid down the book and began to investigate.
There was not a servant to be found in the entire house! What in the world could that mean? Used as she was to heartrending suspense, she was none the less terrified. Something had taken the servants from the house. From whence was the danger to come this time? Where was Jones? Why did he not return as he had promised? It was long past the hour when he said he would be back.
She went into the library and picked up the telephone. She was told that Mr. Norton was out on an assignment, but that he would be notified the moment he returned. She opened the drawer in the desk. She touched the automatic, but did not take it up. She left the drawer open, however.
Earlier, at the newspaper office that night, Jim went into the managing editor's office and laid a bulky manuscript on that gentleman's desk.
"Is this it?"
"It is," said Jim.
"You have captured them?"
"No; but there is a net about them from which not one shall escape. There's the story of my adventures, of the adventures of Miss Hargreave and the butler, Jones. You'll find it exciting enough. You might just as well send it up to the composing room. At midnight I'll telephone the introduction. It's a scoop. Don't worry about that."
The editor riffled the pages.
"A hundred and twelve pages, three hundred words to the page; man, it's a novel!"
"It'll read like one."
"Sit down for a moment and let me skim through the first story."
At the end of ten minutes the editor laid down the copy. He opened a drawer and took out two envelopes. The blue one he tore up and dropped into the waste basket. Norton understood and smiled. They had meant to discharge him if he fell down. The other envelope was a fat one.
"Open it," said the editor, smiling a little to himself.
This envelope contained a check for two thousand five hundred dollars, two round-trip first-class tickets to Liverpool, together with innumerable continental tickets such as are issued to tourists.
"Why two?" asked Jim innocently.
"Forget it, my boy, forget it. You ought to know that in this office we don't employ blind men. The whole staff is on. There you are, a fat check and three months' vacation. Go and get married; and if you return before the three months are up I'll fire you myself on general principles."
Jim laughed happily and the two men shook hands. Then Jim went forth to complete the big assignment. Five minutes later Florence called him up to learn that he had gone.
What should she do? Jones had told her to stay in the house and not to leave it. But where was he? Why did he not come? What was the meaning of this desertion by the servants? She wandered about aimlessly, looking out of windows, imagining forms in the shadows. Her imagination had not deceived her; she had heard doors close softly.
"Susan, Susan!" she murmured, but Susan was in the hospital.
Oliver Twist! What had possessed her to start reading that old tale again? She should have read something of a light and joyous character. After half an hour's wandering about the lonely house she returned to the library, feeling that she would be safer where both telephone and revolver were.
And while she sat waiting for she knew not what, her swiftly beating heart sending the blood into her throat so that it almost suffocated her, a man turned into the street and walked noiselessly toward the Hargreave place. He passed a man leaning against a lamp-post, but he never turned to look at him.
This man, however, threw away his cigar and hot-footed it to the nearest pay station. He knew in his soul that he had just seen the man for whom they had been hunting all these weary but strenuous weeks—Stanley Hargreave in the flesh! Half an hour after his telephone message the chief of the Black Hundred and many lesser lights were on their way to the house of mystery. Had they but known!
Now, the man who had created this tremendous agitation went serenely on. He proceeded directly and fearlessly to the front door, produced a latchkey and entered. He passed through the hall and reception room to the library and paused on the threshold dramatically. Florence stepped back with a sharp cry of alarm. She had heard the hall door open and close and had taken it for granted that Jones had entered.
There was a tableau of short duration.
"Don't you know me?" asked the stranger in a singularly pleasant voice.
Florence had been imposed upon too many times. She shook her head defiantly, though her knees shook so that she was certain that the least touch would send her over.
"I am your father, child!"
Florence slipped unsteadily behind the desk and seized the revolver which lay in the drawer. The man by the curtains smiled sadly. It was a smile that caused Florence to waver a bit. Still she extended her arm.