_Mystery Stories for Boys_
Triple Spies
By ROY J. SNELL
The Reilly & Lee Co.
Chicago
1920
[Illustration: Roy J. Snell, and his sledge-team of Alaskan Huskies.]
CONTENTS
I THE DEN OF DISGUISES
II THE MYSTERIOUS RUSSIAN
III TREACHERY OUT OF THE NIGHT
IV A NARROW ESCAPE
V "FRIEND? ENEMY?"
VI "NOW I SHALL KILL YOU"
VII SAVED FROM THE MOB
VIII WHEN AN ESKIMO BECOMES A JAP
IX JOHNNY'S FREE-FOR-ALL
X THE JAP GIRL IN PERIL
XI A FACE IN THE NIGHT
XII "GET THAT MAN"
XIII BACK TO OLD CHICAGO
XIV THE MYSTERY OF THE CHICAGO RIVER
XV THE CAT CRY OF THE UNDERWORLD
XVI CIO-CIO-SAN BETRAYED
XVII A THREE-CORNERED BATTLE
XVIII HANADA'S SECRET
XIX "I SEEN IT--A SUBMARINE!"
XX AT THE BOTTOM OF THE RIVER
XXI THE OWNER OF THE DIAMONDS
TRIPLE SPIES
CHAPTER I
THE DEN OF DISGUISES
As Johnny Thompson stood in the dark doorway of the gray stone
court-yard he shivered. He was not cold, though this was
Siberia--Vladivostok--and a late winter night. But he was excited.
Before him, slipping, sliding, rolling over and over on the hard packed
snow of the narrow street, two men were gripped in a life and death
struggle. They had been struggling thus for five minutes, each striving
for the upper hand. The clock in the Greek Catholic church across the
way told Johnny how long they had fought.
He had been an accidental and entirely disinterested witness. He knew
neither of the men; he had merely happened along just when the row
began, and had lingered in the shadows to see it through. Twelve, yes,
even six months before, he would have mixed in at once; that had always
been his way in the States. Not that he was a quarrelsome fellow; on the
contrary he was fond of peace, was Johnny, in spite of the fact that he
carried on his person various medals for rather more-than-good
feather-weight fighting. He loved peace so much that he was willing to
lick almost anyone in order to make them stop fighting. That was why he
had joined the American army, and allowed himself to be made part of the
Expeditionary force that went to the Pacific coast side of Siberia.
But twelve months in Siberia had taught him many things. He had learned
that he could not get these Russians to stop quarreling by merely
whipping them. Therefore, since these men were both Russians, he had let
them fight.
The tall, slender man had started it. He had rushed at the short, square
shouldered one from the dark. The square shouldered one had flashed a
knife. This had been instantly knocked from his grasp. By some chance,
the knife had dropped only an arm's length from the doorway into which
Johnny had dodged. Johnny now held the knife discreetly behind his
back.
Yes, Johnny trembled. There was a reason for that. The tall, slender man
had gained the upper hand. He was stretched across the prone form of his
antagonist, his slim, horny hands even now gliding toward the other's
throat. And, right there, Johnny had decided to draw the line. He was
not going to allow himself to witness the strangling of a man. That
wasn't his idea of fighting. He would end the fight, even at the expense
of being mussed up a bit himself, or having certain of his cherished
plans interfered with by being dragged before a "Provo" as witness or
participant.
He was counting in a half-audible whisper, "Forty-one, forty-two,
forty-three." It was a way he had when something big was about to
happen. The hand of the slender man was at the second button on the
other's rough coat when Johnny reached fifty. At sixty it had come to
the top button. At sixty-five his long finger-tips were doubling in for
the fatal, vice-like grip. Noiselessly, Johnny laid the knife on a cross
bar of the door. Knives were too deadly. Johnny's "wallop" was quite
enough; more than enough, as the slender one might learn to his sorrow.
But before Johnny could move a convulsion shot through the prostrate
fighter. He was again struggling wildly. At the same instant, Johnny
heard shuffling footsteps approaching around the corner. He was sure he
did not mistake the tread of Japanese military police who were guarding
that section of the city. For a moment he studied the probabilities of
the short one's power of endurance, then, deciding it sufficient to last
until the police arrived, he gripped the knife behind his back and
darted toward an opposite corner where was an alley offering safety.
There were very definite reasons why Johnny did not wish to figure even
as a witness in any case in Vladivostok that night.
In a doorway off the alley, he paused, listening for sounds of increased
tumult. They came quickly enough. There was a renewed struggle, a grunt,
a groan; then the scuffling ceased.
Suddenly, a figure darted down the alley. Johnny caught a clear view of
the man's face. The fugitive was the shorter man with broad shoulders
and sharp chin; the man who the moment before had been the under dog.
He was followed closely by another runner, but not his antagonist in the
street fight. This man was a Japanese; and Johnny saw to his surprise
that the Jap did not wear the uniform of the military police; in fact,
not any uniform at all.
"Evidently, that stubby Russian with the queer chin is wanted for
something," Johnny muttered. "I wonder what. Anyway, I've got his
knife."
At that he tucked the weapon beneath his squirrel-lined coat and,
dropping out of his corner, went cautiously on his way.
So eager was he to attend to other matters that the episode of the
street fight was soon forgotten. Dodging around this corner, then that,
giving a wide berth to a group of American non-coms, dashing off a hasty
salute to three Japanese officers, he at last turned up a narrow alley,
and, with a sigh of relief, gave three sharp raps, then a muffled one,
at a door half hidden in the gloom.
The door opened a crack, and a pair of squint eyes studied him
cautiously.
"Ow!" said the yellow man, opening the door wider, and then closing it
almost before Johnny could crowd himself inside.
To one coming from the outer air, the reeking atmosphere within this low
ceilinged, narrow room was stifling. There was a blend of vile odors;
opium smoke, not too ancient in origin, mixed with smells of cooking,
while an ill-defined but all-pervading odor permeated the place; such an
odor as one finds in a tailor's repair shop, or in the place of a dealer
in second-hand clothing.
Second-hand clothing, that was Wo Cheng's line. But it was a rather
unusual shop he kept. Being a Chinaman, he could adapt himself to
circumstances, at least within his own realm, which was clothes. His
establishment had grown up out of the grim necessity and dire pressure
of war. Not that the pressure was on his own person; far from that.
Somewhere back in China this crafty fellow was accumulating a fortune.
He was making it in this dim, taper-lighted, secret shop, opening off an
alley in Vladivostok.
In these times of shifting scenes, when the rich of to-day were the poor
of to-morrow, or at least were under the necessity of feigning poverty,
there were many people who wished to change their station in life, and
that very quickly. It was Wo Cheng's business to help them make this
change. Many a Russian noble had sought this noisome shop to exchange
his "purple and fine linen" for very humble garb, and just what he took
from the pockets of one and put in the pockets of the other suit, Wo
Cheng had a way of guessing, though he appeared not to see at all.
Johnny had known Wo Cheng for some time. He had discovered his shop by
accident when out scouting for billets for American soldiers. He had
later assisted in protecting the place from a raid by Japanese military
police.
"You wanchee somsling?" The Oriental grinned, as Johnny seated himself
cross-legged on a grass mat.
"Yep," Johnny grinned in return, "wanchee change." He gripped the lapel
of his blouse, as if he would remove it and exchange for another.
"You wanchee clange?" The Chinaman squinted at him with an air of
incredulity.
Then a light of understanding seemed to over-spread his face. "Ow!" he
exclaimed, "no can do, Mellican officer, not any. No can do."
"Wo Cheng, you no savvy," answered Johnny, glancing about at the tiers
of costumes which hung on either side of the wall.
"Savvy! Savvy!" exclaimed Wo Cheng, bounding away to return with the
uniform of an American private. "Officer, all same," he exclaimed. "No
can do."
"No good," said Johnny, starting up. "You no savvy. Mebby you no wanchee
savvy. No wanchee uniform. Wanchee clothes, fur, fur, plenty warm, you
savvy? Go north, north, cold, savvy?"
"Ow!" exclaimed the Chinaman, scratching his head.
"Wo Cheng!" said Johnny solemnly, "long time my see you. Allatime, my
see you. Not speak American Major; not speak Japanese police."
Wo Cheng shivered.
"Now," said Johnny, "my come buy."
"Ow!" grunted Wo Cheng, ducking from sight and reappearing quickly with
a great coat of real seal, trimmed with sea otter, a trifle which had
cost some noble of other days a king's ransom.
"No wanchee," Johnny shook his head.
"Ow!" Wo Cheng shook his head incredulously. This was his rarest
offering. "You no got cumshaw, money?" he grinned. "All wite, my say."
"No wanchee my," Johnny repeated.
The Chinaman took the garment away, and returned with a similar one,
less pretentious. This, too, was waved aside.
By this time Johnny had become impatient. Time was passing. A special
train was to go north at four o'clock. It was going for reindeer meat,
rations for the regiment that was Johnny's, or, at least, had been
Johnny's. He could catch a ride on that train. A five hundred mile lift
on a three thousand mile jaunt was not to be missed just because this
Chink was something of a blockhead.
Pushing the proprietor gently to one side, Johnny made his way toward
the back of the room. Scrutinizing the hangers as he went, and giving
them an occasional fling here and there, as some garment caught his eye,
he came presently upon a solid square yard of fur. With a grunt of
satisfaction, he dragged one of the garments from its place and held it
before the flickering yellow taper.
The thing was shaped like a middy-blouse, only a little longer and it
had a hood attached. It was made of the gray squirrel skins of Siberia,
and was trimmed with wolf's skin. As Johnny held it against his body, it
reached to his knees. It was, in fact, a parka, such as is worn by the
Eskimos of Alaska and the Chukches, aborigines of North Siberia.
One by one, Johnny dragged similar garments from their hangers. Coming
at last upon one made of the brown summer skins of reindeer, and trimmed
with wolverine, he seemed satisfied, for, tossing the others into a
pile, he had drawn off his blouse and was about to throw the parka over
his head, when something fell with a jangling rattle to the floor.
"O-o-ee!" grunted the Chinaman, as he stared at the thing. It was the
knife which had belonged to the Russian of the broad shoulders and sharp
chin. As Johnny's eyes fell upon it now, he realized that it was an
altogether unusual weapon. The blade was of blue steel, and from its
ring it appeared to be exceptionally well tempered. The handle was of
strangely carved ivory.
Quickly thrusting the knife beneath his belt, Johnny again took up the
parka. This time, as he drew the garment down over his head, he appeared
to experience considerable difficulty in getting his left arm into the
sleeve. This task accomplished, he stretched himself this way and that.
He smoothed down the fur thoughtfully, pulled the hood about his ears,
and back again, twisted himself about to test the fit, then, with a sigh
of content, turned to examine a pile of fur trousers.
At that instant there came a low rap at the door--three raps, to be
accurate--then a muffled thud.
Johnny started. Someone wanted to enter. He was not exactly in a
condition to be seen, especially if the person should prove to be an
American officer. His fur parka, topping those khaki trousers and
puttees of his, would seem at least to tell a tale, and might complicate
matters considerably. Quickly seizing his blouse, he crowded his way
far back into the depths of a furry mass of long coats.
"Wo Cheng!" he whispered, "my wanchee you keep mouth shut. Allatime
shut!"
"O-o-ee," grunted the Chinaman.
The next moment he had opened the door a crack.
The squint eyes of the Chinaman surveyed the person without for a long
time, so long, in fact, that Johnny began to wonder what sort of person
the newcomer could be. Wo Cheng was keen of wit. To many he refused
entrance. But he was also a keen trader. All manner of men and women
came to him; some for a permanent change of costume, some for a night's
exchange only. Peasants, grown suddenly and strangely rich, bearing
passports and tickets for other lands, came to buy the cast-off finery
of the one time nobility. Russian, Japanese, American soldiers and
officers came to Wo Cheng for a change, most of them for a single twelve
hours, that they might revel in places forbidden to men in uniform. But
some came for a permanent change. Wo Cheng never inquired why. He asked
only "Cumshaw, money," and got it.
Was this newcomer Russian, Japanese, Chinaman or American?
The door at last opened half way, then closed quickly. The person who
stood blinking in the light was not a man, but a woman, a short and slim
young woman, with the dark round face of a Japanese.
"You come buy?" solicited Wo Cheng.
For answer, the woman drew off her outer garment of some strange wool
texture and trimmed with ermine. Then, as if it were an everyday
occurrence, she stepped out of her rich silk gown, and stood there in a
suit of deep purple pajamas.
She then stared about the place until her eyes reached the fur garments
which Johnny had recently examined. With a laugh and a spring, lithe as
a panther, she seized upon one of these, then discarding it with a
fling, delved deeper until she came upon some smaller garments, which
might better fit her slight form. Comparing for a moment one of squirrel
skin with one of fawn skin, she finally laid aside the latter. Then she
attacked the pile of fur trousers. At the bottom she came upon some
short bloomers, made also of fawn skin. With another little gurgle of
laughter, she stepped into these. Next she drew the spotted fawn skin
parka over her head, and stood there at last, the picture of a winsome
Eskimo maid.
This done, woman-like, she plumed herself for a time before a murky
mirror. Then, turning briskly, she slipped out of the garments and back
into her own.
"You wanchee cumshaw?" she asked, handing the furs to the Chinaman to be
wrapped.
The Chinaman grinned.
From somewhere on her person she extracted bills, American bills. Johnny
was not surprised at that, for in these uncertain times, American money
had come to be an undisputed medium of exchange. It was always worth as
much to-day as yesterday--very often more. The thing that did surprise
Johnny was the size of the bills she left with the dealer. She was
buying those garments, there could be no question about that. But why?
No one in this region would think of wearing them. They were seldom seen
five hundred miles north. And this woman was a Japanese. There were no
Japanese men at Khabarask, five hundred miles north, let alone Japanese
women; Johnny knew that.
But the door had closed. The American looked at his watch. It was one
o'clock. The train went at four. He must hurry.
He was about to move out from among the furs, when again there came a
rap, this time loud and insistent, as if coming from one who was
accustomed to be obeyed.
"American officer!" Johnny stifled a groan, as he slid back into hiding.
"Wo Cheng!" he cautioned again in a whisper, "my wanchee you keep mouth
shut; you savvy?"
"O-o-ee," mumbled Wo Cheng, his hand on the latch.