"FIND THE AMERICAN"
As Orme let the table-cover fall back to its normal position and turned
to get himself into a comfortable attitude, his hand touched something
soft and yielding. For a moment he was startled, but the sound of a
throaty purr, and the realization that his hand was resting on fur soon
told him that his companion in hiding was a cat.
He wondered whether the Japanese liked pets. From what little he knew of
Japanese character it did not seem to him consistent that they should
care for animals. Yet here was a peaceful tabby.
In order to accommodate himself to his close quarters, Orme had to double
his legs back, resting on his thigh and supporting the upper part of his
body with one hand. The cat settled down against his knee.
The light filtered redly through the table-cover. To his satisfaction he
found a small hole, evidently a burn made by some careless smoker.
Through this aperture he could look out. His range of vision included the
greater part of the room, excepting the side on which the table stood. He
could see the window and several chairs, as well as the door into the
adjoining room, but the door into the hall was out of view, at his right.
While he was looking about, a man came from the next room. Doubtless it
was Arima; at least Orme recognized the Japanese who had overcome him in
the porter's office at the Pere Marquette the night before. He stepped
into the room with a little smile on his brown face. Seating himself in a
chair, he fixed his heels in the rungs and clasped his hands about his
knees. He was waiting.
The black eyes rested on the table. To Orme they seemed to be boring
through the cover that concealed him, and he hardly dared to breathe, but
the Asiatic appeared to observe nothing unusual. Orme wondered at the
unfathomable intelligence of those eyes. He had often said of the Chinese
and Japanese that he did not trust them for the reason that a Caucasian
could never tell what they were thinking about. The racial difference in
thought processes he found disconcerting.
A bell rang. Arima went to the door, out of view, and opened it. Orme
could hear persons mounting the stairs, and presently the voice of Arima
said, "Come in," and the visitors entered the room.
Pausing near the door for a moment, they exchanged a few whispered
sentences. Then one of them walked over toward the window. Orme repressed
an exclamation, for the figure that came into view was the figure of
Poritol--dapper, assertive.
He was dressed as on the night before, and his precious high hat was
hugged close to his shoulder.
His eyes roved with an exaggerated assumption of important cunning.
Presently he threw over his shoulder a rapid sentence in a foreign
tongue. It sounded like Spanish, and Orme inferred that it was a dialect
of Portuguese.
The answer came from an oily tongue; the voice was Alcatrante's.
What were the South Americans doing here? It was only a few hours since
the Japanese had set on Alcatrante, yet here he was in a stronghold of
the enemy--and expected! Had the astute diplomat fallen into a trap?
Arima was standing, not far from Poritol. His face was expressionless.
Looking from Alcatrante to Poritol and back again, he said in English:
"The mos' honorable gentleman will soon be here."
"That is right," said Alcatrante suavely. "Mention no names."
Arima nodded slightly.
The silence grew intense. Orme was relieved when it was broken by another
ring of the bell, and Arima slipped to the door. Alcatrante moved over
beside Poritol and whispered a few words, scarcely moving his lips. His
face looked yellow by daylight, and the eyes behind the gold spectacles
were heavy-lidded and almost closed. Orme inferred that the night had
been sleepless for Alcatrante.
These observations were interrupted by the entrance of the newcomer. He
paused at the threshold, evidently to salute, for Poritol and Alcatrante
bowed low. Then quick steps crossed the floor and into view came a
nervous but assured-looking little figure--a Japanese, but undoubtedly a
man of great dignity. His manner of sharp authority would be hard to
dispute, for it was supported by a personality that seemed to be stronger
than Alcatrante's. Who he was Orme could not guess, but that he was
somebody of importance it was easy to see.
The stranger bowed again and addressed himself to Alcatrante. The
conversation was carried on in French.
"It is well that you communicated with me, sir," he said, "we were
working at cross-purposes when, in reality, our interests were
identical."
Alcatrante bowed. "I came to that conclusion late last night," he said.
"I do not deny that it would have pleased me to carry the affair through
by myself."
"Yes, your position would then have been stronger." The Japanese smiled
faintly.
"But," continued Alcatrante, with a slight grimace, "the activity of your
men made that impossible. I have no lieutenants such as yours." He shot
an ugly gleam at Poritol, whose sudden assumption of fearsome humility
was in strange contrast to his usual self-assurance.
"As we hold the documents"--the Japanese spoke with great distinctness--
"you will necessarily admit our advantage. That means, you will
understand, a smaller commission on the next contract."
Alcatrante twisted his face into the semblance of a smile. "Not too
small, or we cannot undertake the work," he said.
"No, not too small," the stranger agreed calmly, "but smaller than the
last. You must not forget that there are others who would gladly do the
same work."
"Yes, but at best they cannot get the terms we get."
"Possibly. That is a matter still to be determined. Meantime we have
assumed that our interests in this document are identical. Let us test
it."
"One word first," said Alcatrante. "I take it that, if our interests are
sympathetic with yours, we may count on your protection?"
"Most assuredly."
"Then----?"
"Then we shall see. My fairness is clear in that I give you a sight of
the document with myself. I might have denied all knowledge of it."
Alcatrante smiled as if to say: "I already knew so much that you could
not risk that."
The stranger turned to Arima and said something in Japanese. Arima
replied, and the stranger explained to Alcatrante: "I asked about my man
Maku. The American struck him on the head last night, and injured him.
But he is recovering. He is troublesome--that American."
Orme started. His head bumped against the table.
"What's that?" exclaimed Poritol, advancing. "There's something under
that table!" He stooped to lift the cover.
One chance flashed into Orme's mind. Quickly he seized the cat, which was
still sleeping against his knee, and pushed it under the table-cover. It
walked out into the room, mewing plaintively.
"A cat," said Poritol, drawing back.
Arima explained in English: "It belongs to lady upstairs. Comes down
fire-escape. Shoo! Shoo!" He clapped his hands and the animal bounded to
the window-sill and disappeared up the iron steps.
"And now," began the stranger, "shall we examine the documents?"
"One moment," said Alcatrante. "I should first like a clear understanding
with you--some words in private." He moved to a corner, and there the
stranger joined him. They talked in an undertone for several minutes,
Alcatrante gesturing volubly, the stranger nodding now and then, and
interjecting a few brief words.
What was going on was more than ever a mystery to Orme. The stranger's
reference to "the next contract" strengthened the surmise that the
documents in the envelope were connected with a South American trade
concession. Alcatrante had plainly concluded that his interests and those
of the Japanese were identical. He must have communicated with the
strange Japanese the first thing in the morning. That would account for
his failure to call at the Pere Marquette at ten o'clock. Learning that
the bill had been taken from Orme, and that the coveted documents were in
the possession of the Japanese, he had no object in keeping his
appointment. As for Poritol, he had become a figure of minor importance.
But Orme did not let these questions long engage him, for he had made a
discovery. Where his head bumped against the table, the board above
him--solid, as he had supposed--rattled strangely. At the moment he could
not investigate, but as soon as the cat had satisfied the suspicions of
Poritol, and Alcatrante and the stranger had retired to their corner, he
twisted his head back and examined the wood above him.
The table had a drawer. From the room outside this drawer was concealed
by the cloth cover, and Orme had not suspected its existence.
Now, the table was cheaply made. The drawer was shallow and narrow, and
it was held in position, under the table, by an open framework of wood.
When it was pushed in, it was stopped at the right place by two cleats;
there was no solid strip to prevent its being pushed in too far.
Orme put his hand to the back of the drawer. There was a space between it
and the table-top.
Cautiously he pushed his hand through the opening. His fingers touched a
flat object--a pad of paper, or--the thought made his heart beat--a
large, thick envelope. Could Arima have used the drawer as a
hiding-place?
Slowly he got the edge of the object between his first and second fingers
and drew it a little way toward the back of the drawer. A moment later he
had it under his eyes.
Yes, it was a long envelope of heavy linen, and there were bulky papers
within. The gummed flap was toward him. He was interested to note that,
important though the documents seemed to be, the envelope was not sealed
with wax.
He remembered what the girl had said: her father's name was written on
the address side. He had only to turn it over to learn who she was. In
the circumstances such an act might be justified. But she had not wished
him to know--and he would even now respect her wish and keep his own
promise to her.
His first thought was to slip the envelope into his pocket, but it
occurred to him in time that, if it did indeed contain the documents
concerning which Alcatrante and the stranger were disputing, it would be
sought and missed long before he could escape from the room. So, taking a
pencil from his pocket, he inserted it under the corner of the flap and
slowly worked the flap free. The strength of the linen prevented any
tearing.
He removed the contents of the envelope--two folded sheets of parchment
paper, held together by an elastic band--and thrust them into the inside
pocket of his coat. All this was done swiftly and noiselessly.
It now remained to find something to take the place of the abstracted
documents. In his pocket were some printed prospectuses of the mine which
he had come to Chicago to investigate. In shape and thickness they were
not dissimilar to the documents which he had taken. He slipped the
prospectuses into the envelope and, wetting his finger, rubbed it along
the gummed surface of the flap. Enough glue remained to make the flap
adhere, after a little pressure. The job was by no means perfect, but it
was not likely to be detected.
At that moment Alcatrante raised his voice and said, still in French:
"You are sure, then, that this will not only delay the game, but end it."
"Quite sure," said the Japanese. "Unless the documents are signed before
midnight to-night nothing can be done for sometime. We have the Germans
fixed. They will do what they have thus far agreed to do, but if any
technical hitch arises, such as a failure to sign within the time-limit,
they will decline to renew negotiations. That was all we could get from
them, but it is enough--now."
"And for other ships," said Alcatrante, "the commission shall be five
hundred thousand."
"Five hundred thousand. Seven hundred and fifty was too much."
"Five hundred thousand in gold."
"In gold."
Orme slipped the envelope back into the drawer and put his eye to the
hole in the cover. His position was now more and more critical, for to
open the drawer and get the envelope, Arima would have to lift the table
cover.
The stranger turned to Arima. "Give us the envelope," he said.
Arima approached the table. Orme crowded back against the wall as far as
he could, knowing that the chances of escaping discovery were strongly
against him. But he was saved by the very eagerness of the others. They
all crowded about Arima, as he lifted the cover, opened the drawer, and
took out the envelope. So close did they stand that Orme was out of their
angle of vision. The table-cover fell again, and he was safe. He resumed
his position at the peep-hole.
The stranger stepped to the middle of the room, the others gathering
around him. With a quick jerk he tore the envelope open, and taking out
the papers, ran his eye over them rapidly. He uttered an exclamation.
"What is it?" said Alcatrante. The South American's hand was shaking, and
perspiration stood out on his forehead.
The Japanese snarled. "Tricked! They've fooled us. That honorable burglar
of yours got the wrong envelope."
Alcatrante snatched the papers. "'Prospectus,'" he read, "'of the Last
Dare Mining Company.' But I do not understand."
The Japanese glared at him angrily. "If you had kept out of this
business," he snapped, "and let Maku attend to it, everything would have
been right. Now your burglars have spoiled it." He snatched back the
harmless prospectuses and tore them in two, throwing the fragments to the
floor and grinding them under his heel.
Arima spoke. "Pardon, honorable sir, Maku say the right envelope was
taken from the safe. Maku know."
"Ha! Then it was you who were tricked--outwitted. That American reached
the tree before you last evening and substituted these papers. Go back to
Japan, Arima. I don't need you."
Arima bowed submissively. As for the stranger, his rage gave way to
despair.
"What shall I say to the Emperor?" he muttered. "What shall I say to the
Emperor?"
Then his feelings came again under control; he looked calmly at
Alcatrante. "Well," he said, "what would you suggest?"
Alcatrante's face was a puzzle. Every shade of doubt, disappointment,
anger, suspicion, and shrewd deduction passed over it. He was putting
into play that marvelous power of concentration on subtle issues that had
enabled him to play so brilliantly the role of international under-dog.
At last he smiled and spoke.
"Find the American," he said.
Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Arima looked at his master, who
nodded indifferently and said: "Yes, see who it is. It can do no harm
now."
Orme heard the door open. What startled him first was the action of
Poritol, who stepped back to the wall, his jaw dropping, his face a
picture of embarrassment and fright. Alcatrante and the stranger showed
amazement.
For a moment they stood thus in silence, and then from the door came a
clear voice:
"What? You here, Mr. Alcatrante? And the Japanese minister?"
Orme almost sprang from his hiding-place. The voice was the voice of the
girl!