Shirley walked up to the Hotel California, at the door of which he met
Warren and Taylor just leaving. They looked somewhat embarrassed but his
manner was cordiality itself.
“Sorry you are going. I was just stepping up to see Miss Marigold. Won't
you come back?”
His invitation was refused. Then Shirley urged Warren to be his guest
at the club for dinner that evening. This was accepted with a surprising
alacrity. So, he left them, and was soon talking with Helene.
“You missed a curious little sociable party,” she assured him. “They
tried to quiz me, and I confess that I worked for the same purpose--no
results on either side. But, Warren had an unusual telephone call, which
disturbed him so much that he hurried away, sooner than he had planned.”
Shirley recounted his explorations of the afternoon, with the
explanation of Reginald's disturbance. It was certain now that the
leader of the assassins had something to cause uneasiness,--enough to
take his mind off the campaign of murder and blackmail.
“But he will try to get you out of the way,” was her anxious answer.
“You are multiplying needless dangers. Why don't you have him arrested
now--the phonograph records will identify his voice, will they not? The
diary will show his career, and everything seems complete in the case.”
Shirley sat down in the window-seat, before replying.
“It is just my own vanity, then, perhaps. I am foolish enough to believe
that I can trap him on some crime which will give him the complete
punishment he deserves without dragging in the names of these
unfortunate old society men. All our trouble would be for nothing, just
now, if the story came out. The phonograph records helped me--but
I prefer to keep that method to myself, as a matter of interest and
selfishness. Somewhere, in that beautiful apartment of his there must be
clues which will send him to the electric chair on former crimes: Warren
is an artist who has handled other brushes than the ones he used on this
masterpiece. He is not a beginner. So, I must ransack his apartment.”
“That is impossible, with all the care he takes with bolts and locks.”
“We shall see. Meanwhile, I'll spin the yarn of the last thirty-six
hours. I'm sure your curiosity is whetted: my own is by no means
satisfied.”
So he gave her a survey of the progress he had made. Helene brought
forth a number of typewritten pages which she had transcribed from the
diary, proudly exhibiting a machine which she had ordered sent up from
the hotel office.
“There, sir, we are unwinding the ravelings of his past life to an
extent. I have found a mysterious reference to a Montfluery case in
Paris, during August of last year. What can you do to investigate that
lead?”
Shirley jotted down the name, and answered: “A cable to the prefecture
of Police of the city of Paris from Captain Cronin will bring details.
That should be an added link in the chain, within the next twenty-four
hours. I am going to leave you for the while, as I wish to investigate a
certain yacht which is moored in the East River. That yacht is there for
a purpose--you remember his reference to the payment of supplies for
a two-month cruise. My amateurish vanity leads me to a hope that I can
capture him just at the crucial moment when he thinks he is successful
in his escape from pursuit.”
“That is the childishness of the masculine mind,” retorted Helene. “You
say we women are illogical, but we are essentially practical in the
small things. I would advise closing the doors before the horse escapes,
rather than a chase from behind!”
“Perhaps,” answered Monty, “but the uncertainty does allure me. I always
enjoyed skating on thin ice, from the days of college when I loved to
get through a course of lectures on as little work as possible. The
satisfaction of 'getting away with it' against odds was so exhilarating.
I will return after my little dinner with Warren at the Club. Where will
you dine?”
“Your friend Dick Holloway is taking me to some restaurant where singing
and music may alter my refusal to him.”
“Your refusal?” and Shirley shot a quick glance at the girl. Her dimples
appeared as she added: “Yes--he wants me to star in a little play for
the coming spring, but I have had such fun playing in real-life drama
that I said him nay.”
“Oh,” was all the criminologist said, but as he left, Helene's laugh
interpretated a little feminine satisfaction. Monty's mind was just
disturbed enough about the attitude of Dick Holloway to keep him from
worrying over the Warren case until he had reached the East River, near
the yacht club mooring.
There was the white yacht which had been mentioned in the purloined
book. It was a trim, speedy craft. The criminologist walked down a few
blocks to the office of a boat contractor with whom he had dealt on
bygone occasions.
“I want to engage a fast motor-boat, Mr. Manby,” was his request. “The
speediest thing you've got. Keep it down at your dock, at Twenty-first
Street, with plenty of gasoline and a man on duty all the time, starting
with six o'clock to-night. I may need it at a minute's notice.”
“I've got a hydroplane which I'll sell this spring to some yachtsman,”
said Manby. “It's a bargain--you can do forty miles an hour in it,
without getting a drop of spray. Shall I show it to you?”
“Yes, and the two men who you will have alternating on duty, so they
will know me when I come for it. I'll pay for every minute it is
reserved.”
They soon came to terms; the men were introduced and Shirley was well
satisfied with the racing craft, which was moored according to his
directions, handy for a quick embarkation.
Then he went up to the Holland Agency. Cronin was disappointed in
his results with the telephone confederate. All of Warren's men were
close-mouthed, as though through some biting fear of swift and unerring
vengeance for “squealing.” Even the prisoners in the station-house had
not volunteered to communicate with friends, as they were allowed to
do by law. They were “standing pat,” as the old detective declared in
disgust.
“That proves one thing,” remarked the criminologist. “They are not local
products, or they would have friends other than their chief on whom to
call for bail or aid. Their whole work centers on him. I think I will
send a code message to this man Phil this afternoon or evening. He may
be able to read it, and if he does, it may assist us. I wish you would
have a man call on Miss Marigold at the California Hotel, so that she
may know his face. Then keep him covering her for they are apt to get
suspicious of her and try to quiet her. She is a game and fearless girl,
but she is no match for this gang.”
Cronin assigned one of the men immediately, and the sleuth took up a
note of introduction to Helene, in which Monty explained the need for
his watch.
Shirley then repaired to the club house to await his dinner guest. He
was thoughtful about the alacrity of Warren to dine with him. There was
more to this assumed friendliness than the mere desire to talk to him.
“I wonder if he wants to keep me occupied for some certain reason?”
pondered the club man. “Helene is protected now by a silent watcher. The
members of the Lobster Club are all out of the city. Van Cleft is safe
on the ocean. They must be laying a trap. I wonder where that trap would
be?”
As he looked about his rooms he realized that many important pieces of
evidence were locked up in his chests and the small safe. His bedroom,
in the uppermost floor of the club building, was in a quiet and less
frequented part of the house. Shirley summoned one of the shrewd
Japanese valets who worked on the dormitory floors of the building.
“Chen,” he began. “Are you a good fighter?”
The Mongolian grinned characteristically. Shirley took out a bill, and
handed it to the little fellow.
“I have reason to think some one may come into my rooms to-night, while
I am busy downstairs. How would you like to lock yourself on the inside
of my clothes closet, and wait? The air is not very good, but with this
ten dollars you could take a nice ride in the country to-morrow, and get
lots of good oxygen in your lungs to make up for it.”
Chen was a willing little self-jailer. Shirley handed him his own
revolver, and the slant eyes sparkled with glee at the opportunity for
some excitement. Americans may carp at the curious manners and alleged
shortcomings of the Oriental, but personal fear does not seem to be in
the category of their faults. So, with this little valet, who improved
his time, as Shirley had discovered, by taking special courses in
Columbia University's scientific department. The criminologist had used
him on more than one occasion when Eastern subtlety and apparent lack of
guile had accomplished the impossible!
The closet door was closed, and Shirley went downstairs. At the desk of
the, club clerk he sent a cablegram to the police authorities of Paris.
The message was simple
“Cable collect to Holland Detective Agency name and record of man in
Montfleury case, August, 1914. Do you want him?................. Cronin,
Captain.”
Shirley smiled as he handed the envelope to the little messenger who had
been summoned, and made his exit through the front doorway just as the
affable Reginald Warren entered it: another instance of “ships that pass
in the night,” was the thought of the host who advanced courteously.
“You are on time to the minute: German training, I see. Let the boy have
your hat and coat, Mr. Warren.”
These little amenities completed, they sauntered about the beautiful
building, Shirley pointing out the many interesting photographs of
athletic teams, trophies, club posters, portraits of famous graduates,
and the like, which seem part and parcel of collegiate atmosphere.
Warren was profoundly interested, yet there was an abstraction in his
conversation which was not unobserved by his entertainer. As they passed
a tall, colonial clock in the broad hallway, Shirley caught him glancing
uneasily at it. This was the second time he had looked at its silvered
face since they came into the range of it. Purposely the club man took
him down the length of the big dining-hall, to exhibit the trophies of
the hunt, from jungles and polar regions, contributed by the sportsmen
members of past classes. Here Shirley chatted about this and that boar's
head, yonder elephant hide, the other tiger skin, until he had consumed
additional time. As they passed into the lounging room Shirley led his
guest past another small mahogany clock. Again the sharp, anxious
glance at the progress of the minutes. He was convinced by now that some
deviltry was being perfected on schedule time. He began to worry over
his little assistant on the floor high above: perhaps he would not be
able to cope with the plotters, after all. Yet, Chen was wiry, cunning,
and needed no diagrams as to the purpose for which he was to guard the
rooms.
At last Shirley led Warren to the grill-room where they ordered their
dinner: the supreme test of a gentleman is his taste in the menu for a
discriminating guest. Warren sensed this, as the delicious viands and
rare old wines were brought out in a combination which would have warmed
the heart cockles of the fussiest old gourmon from Goutville!
“Ah, a feast fit for the gods,” were his admiring words, as the two men
smiled across this strange board of hospitality. In the midst of
the meal, their chat of student days was interrupted by a page who
approached Shirley.
“Begging your pardon, sir, but I have a note which was left here by
messenger for a gentleman named Mr. R. Warren; your guest, I believe,
sir?”
Warren's face flushed, and his surprise was indubitable. He snatched
the envelope from the boy, who had reached it toward Shirley. The
criminologist was no less in the dark. Warren, with a scant apology,
tore open the missive. It was typewritten! He read it, and his brows
came together with an angry scowl.
He arose from his seat swiftly, turning toward Shirley with a nervous
twitching of the erstwhile firm lips.
“Would you pardon me if I ran? A Wall Street client of mine has suddenly
been stricken with apoplexy. We have deals together, dependent upon
gentlemen's agreements, without a word of writing. It may mean a fortune
to get to him before he loses all power of speech. It is a shame to
spoil, at this time, such a wonderful dinner as I had promised myself
with you. Can you forgive me?”
The man was visibly panic-stricken, although his superb nerve was
fighting hard to cover his terror. Shirley wondered what news could have
fallen into his hand this way. He watched the envelope, hoping that he
would inadvertently drop it. But no such luck! Warren carefully folded
it and put it with the letter into the breast pocket of his coat.
“My dear fellow, business before indigestion, always! I am sorry to have
you go, but we will try again. I will go upstairs with you. Shall I call
a taxicab for you?”
Warren expostulated, but the host followed him to the check room. Unseen
by Warren, Shirley inserted a handkerchief from his own pocket into the
overcoat pocket of the other with a sleight-of-hand substitution, in the
withdrawal of the guest's small linen square!
Warren rushed to the door. He sprang into the first taxicab that came
along, and disappeared. Shirley watched the car as it raced away and
noticed its number. He turned to the door man.
“Whose machine was that? On the regular club stand here?”
“Yes, sir. A man named Perkins drives it, sir.”
“Will it return here as soon as the fare is taken to the end of the
trip?”
“Yes, sir, they have orders for that. They belong to a gent who supplies
cars for our club exclusively, sir. They are not allowed to take outside
passengers.”
“Very good! You send for me, in my rooms, as soon as the driver of the
car shows up. I want to find out where he went.”
Shirley hurried up in the lift to his own floor. He went to the door of
his room, and tried to open it with his key. It was bolted from inside!
There came a muffled report from within. Then he heard a cry, which
he recognized as the voice of Chen, the Jap. He dropped to the floor,
listening at the crack--a scuffle was in progress within!