BLOSSOM'S REPORT
Greg heard a new voice in the kitchen. De Silva was now in a heavy
sleep, and he went down to investigate. Blossom's failure to turn up
had made him very anxious.
This was the boy from the drug-store to say that Greg was wanted on the
telephone. Greg went back with him.
Over the wire he heard Pa Simmons' old voice:
"Say, Greg, I'm sorry, but I lost his nibs, the Spanish bloke. On the
level I couldn't help it. He took after Blossom and a girl, and I took
after him, but they all got in the subway, and I couldn't leave me old
boat in the street while I traveled all over town in the subway, could
I?"
"Hold on! Hold on! Begin at the beginning!"
"Well, I was on'y waiting a few minutes in Eighty-third Street when his
nibs come out of that house, you know, 311. He got in his cab and went
back home; through Eighty-third to Broadway, up Broadway to
Ninety-fourth and down to the Drive, me following. Well, while we was
going through Ninety-fourth, I see Blossom and a good-looking girl
coming along on the sidewalk. His nibs in front, he musta seen 'em
too, for he stops his cab and slips out and takes after them on foot.
They didn't see him. Well, I went on a little way, turned around, and
followed the whole bunch around to the Ninety-sixth Street subway
station.
"Blossom and the girl went down, his nibs follows them, and I follows
his nibs. We goes to the down-town platform. On the platform Blossom
gets wise to me, see? And when his nibs ain't looking I gives him a
little sign that that is his nibs, see? Blossom gets it all right.
Well, a train come along then and they all got in. But I couldn't
leave my cab. I went back to Stickney Arms, but his nibs ain't come
home yet. You told me to call you at nine. What do you want me to do
now?"
Greg considered a moment. "If his wife is alone in the apartment he's
pretty sure to be back soon. Better stay on watch where you are. Call
me up again in an hour."
Greg returned home in no little anxiety. It seemed like a gratuitous
stroke of ill luck that de Socotra should just have happened to run
into Blossom. Blossom was a good fellow and loyal without a doubt, but
he could scarcely be expected to prove a match for the astute de
Socotra. And almost two hours had passed. Greg would have given
something to know what had happened. But all he could do was wait.
A few minutes later Blossom walked in the kitchen door. Nina was with
him. One look in the man's face told Greg that nothing serious had
happened; on the contrary the morose and jejune Blossom looked fairly
rejuvenated.
"The little black book?" cried Greg. "Have you got it?"
By way of answer Blossom held it aloft. A cheer went up in the kitchen.
"Thank God!" cried Greg. "Now we're all right!"
Bessie was standing, arms akimbo, taking it all in like a comical
solemn child. The temptation was too much for Greg. Before she knew
what he was doing, Greg had seized her round the waist and waltzed
her--or rather swayed her, for it was impossible to move her from her
firmly planted stand. The men roared.
"Bessie! Bessie!" cried Greg. "Did you hear that, you dear little
thing. We have it!"
"Go along with you!" said Bessie, giving him a little push--and he went
along, flat against the wall.
He snatched the little black book out of Blossom's hands and hastily
turned the pages. It was all in Spanish, of course. He could not read
it.
"Hold your horses," said Blossom warningly. "There's maybe something
funny about that. Wait till I tell you."
"What happened?" asked Greg sobered. "It looks all right; letters,
affidavits, just what Estuban said."
"In the beginning everything went off all right," Blossom began. "Miss
Nina, she went up to the apartment, and after giving her a minute I
followed her to the service entrance. She let me in and told me she'd
squared herself with the old lady all right. She went and told the old
lady the piano man had come and I got off my song and dance about Mr.
Fairweather and the christening and all."
"Merriweather was the name," put in Greg.
"Oh well, any kind of weather was the same to her, being Spanish," said
Blossom. "Miss Nina, she translated it to her. At first the old lady
looked doubtful. She said I'd have to wait till Mr. Soakoater come
home. But when I told her I had three more calls to make up in the
Bronx, she said she guessed it was all right. She was a nice old lady,
not naturally suspicious like. She was all broke up about the little
Miss being took away.
"She stayed in the parlor and watched while I worked. I had to take
the whole back off the piano. There was sixteen screws in it, four to
a side, and every blame one of them stuck. I was sweating with
nervousness before I got the last one out, expecting to hear his nibs
in the hall any moment.
"When the little book dropped out on the floor, 'What's that?' says the
old lady. 'There it is!' says I, real quick and glad-like. 'My list
of customers that I lost the last time I was here! I been looking
everywhere for it.' 'Let me see it,' says she. 'Sorry, ma'am!' says
I, 'it's confidential; we ain't allowed to show our lists to anybody.'
Say, she was easy. It was a shame to lie to her. She let me get away
with it.
"Well, say, I put on that piano-back quicker than I took it off--only
one screw to a side. Then I beat it for the basement. I breathed
easier when I got out.
"I waited down-stairs for Miss Nina, and the two of us made tracks for
the subway at Ninety-sixth Street. Somewhere on the way back the
Spanish gent must have picked us up, though I didn't notice him at the
time. Miss Nina and me was talking. I first got on to it that there
was something funny when we was waiting on the platform. All of a
sudden I see Pa Simmons there looking like a lost dog offen his cab.
"I recollected that Pa's job was to trail the Spaniard, so I looked
cautious-like around for him. There wasn't many on the platform and
the only one that could be him was a tall guy with his head behind a
newspaper. All I could see was his elegant creased pants and his fancy
shoes. You had said he was a swell dresser, so I guessed this was him.
And afterwards I caught Pa's eye, and he gave me a sign that it was him.
"Well, a train come in and Miss and I got in one door, and the Spanish
gent in another. Don't know where Pa went. Miss Nina had not got on
to it that we was being trailed, and I didn't tell her because I
thought she'd be scared and let on. He was at the other end of the
same car.
"Well, all the way down town I was thinking how I could shake him. I
remembered the crowd along Houston Street, but I didn't want to risk
bringing him so clost home. I remembered there was a gang of Christmas
shoppers on Fourteenth Street too, so we got out there and walked west.
There's a big nickelodion on Fourteenth Street--you know, a long hall
with penny-in-the-slot phonographs and move-em-pitchers that's supposed
to be naughty but they ain't. It runs right through to Thirteenth. I
steered Miss Nina in there. She didn't like it, thought I was trying
to put something over on her, so I had to tell her the Spaniard was
after us. Say, it made her a little weak in the knees.
"I was hoping the Spaniard would wait outside for us, and we could
sneak out the back way, but not on your life! He followed us right
through. So we went on down Thirteenth, and I cut into the back
entrance of a big store, hoping to lose him in the crowd. But he stuck
closer than a brother--up-stairs, down in the basement, out on
Fourteenth Street again. By this time he must have guessed of course
that we were on to him.
"Next I went back to the subway again. I took him up to Times Square,
but I couldn't shake him in the crowds there, neither. Well, I tried
the subway once more and this time I had a bit of luck. There was a
big crowd coming and going, and as we got down to the down-town
platform there was a train on each side, express and local. The local
was just opening her doors.
"I steered Miss Nina aboard the local, and the Spaniard got on by
another door. I watched my chance, and just as they were ready to
close the doors of the express I grabbed the girl, hustled her acrost
the platform and into the other train, and the door closed behind us.
It took the Spanish gent by surprise. He run too, for the next door,
but it closed in his face."
"Good work!" said Greg.
"Wait a minute! I ain't told you the funny part yet. The train
started and we was carried right past the Spaniard close enough to
touch him only the other side of the glass. Well, I couldn't help
having a bit of sport with him. I knew anyway he knew what I'd been up
to as soon as he went home and the old lady told him. So as we passed
by I held up the little black book; like that, right before his nose."
"The deuce you did!" cried Greg delightedly.
"Wait a bit! It didn't get acrost like I expected. He give me the
laugh first. Yes, sir, threw back his head, and laughed fit to die.
What do you know about that?"
"Just a bluff," said Greg.
Blossom shook his head positively. "No, sir, I know a real laugh when
I see it!"
"But here is the book," said Greg.
"Just the same, he thinks he has us, somehow."
Blossom's words carried conviction, and Greg's feeling of triumph was
considerably dashed. "I wish Estuban was here," he said.