DRUCE SIGNS A SIGNIFICANT DOCUMENT
Mary Randall realized that she was playing a dangerous game. She had
placed herself in Druce's power because taking that risk had seemed to
her the best way to gather evidence against the Cafe Sinister. She had
not acted without laying her plans carefully. Her whole campaign for the
week that she was to be in Druce's dive had been mapped out before she
set foot so unexpectedly inside his door.
The girl depended upon two things for protection. First was Druce's fear
of the power of John Boland. She believed that the man would not dare to
use physical violence against her if he thought she was what she had
represented herself to be--John Boland's agent. Second was his desire for
a renewal of the lease to the cafe. Mary was confident that Druce would
plot against her but she was equally sure he would not move until after
the lease had been signed. If both these protections failed, she still
had her magazine pistol. And she knew how to use it.
In coming into Druce's place she had deliberately counted on the
ascendancy which she knew her beauty and her air of mystery had obtained
over him. She was playing the pander at his own game. It was an extremely
dangerous game but she believed she could beat him. And the results would
be worth the risk.
Meanwhile her greatest anxiety was to prevent Druce from communicating in
any way with John Boland. If Druce should learn through Boland that he
had not delegated her to negotiate the lease, that she was in fact Mary
Randall, then she would be face to face with a fight for her life. But
she was quite sure that Druce would not communicate with Boland. She knew
the workings of Boland's office well enough to understand how difficult
it was for Druce to get a word with the master of the Electric Trust and
as a special precaution she had put an inhibition upon him not to call at
or telephone to the office. Finally, before she had quite finished with
Boland, she had arranged with his telephone operator that no calls from
Druce should be put on John Boland's wire.
Mary's first move after she had been shown to her suite was to telephone
to Anna, her maid, whom she had left nearby before making her visit to
the cafe. Anna arrived in a short time with a porter carrying a couple of
heavy suit cases.
When the two girls were at last alone in their rooms they began preparing
for their week's stay by making a thorough examination of the locks on
the doors. They found them secure. Then, closing the keyholes, they
proceeded to unpack the suit cases. Out of them they took, besides
various articles of apparel, a complete dictagraph apparatus. The
transmitter was hidden under a mat on a table in the reception room that
formed part of the suite. The wires were carried down the leg of the
table and under the carpets to a small closet; there Anna installed a
small table, a pocket electric light and her stenographer's notebook. A
small camera was hidden in one of the window curtains. It was focused so
as to take in the space surrounding the table in the reception room. When
one of the curtains was raised the plate was automatically exposed and
the raising of the curtain at the same time let enough light into the
room to take an excellent picture.
With these arrangements completed, Mary began a tour of the cafe
building. She found Druce eager to serve her. By him she was guided to
every part of the place, meeting the people she wanted to know and
learning all of the details of the infamous business in which Druce,
Anson and Boland were jointly embarked. For three days she went about
these tours of inspection undisturbed. In the evenings she had the women
habitues of the place in her rooms, talking to them as if she were one of
their own kind and learning from them the squalid stories of their
downfall and the part Druce and Anson had played in it. Anna was not in
sight during any of these interviews. She was seated at the little table
with the dictagraph at her ear, her fountain pen in her hand and her
stenographer's notebook before her. Nothing that was said escaped her.
Meanwhile Druce was having an unpleasant time with Anson. He had tried at
first to keep from him the fact of Miss Masters' residence in their
"hotel." "The mastiff," however, was not long deceived. When he
confronted Druce with what he had learned, Druce with an assumption of
frankness told him of his interview with Miss Masters and attempted to
reassure him.
Anson, however, was by nature suspicious. "I don't like it," he snarled.
"You've let a spy into the house."
Druce tried at first to argue with him. Then he grew angry. Finally he
turned on his partner.
"You mind your own business," he advised him, white with rage. "I'll
manage this thing. The girl's mine. I'm going to have her. Keep away from
her. By God, if you interfere with my schemes I'll kill you."
Anson was not terrified by this threat. He knew that in any physical
encounter he was more than a match for the slender Druce. But he feared
to quarrel with his partner. He was too appreciative of Druce's value to
him and their enterprise to want to lose him. He growled a smothered
string of curses, but Druce had his way.
Druce had become so much infatuated with Miss Masters that he had thrown
caution to the winds. Never before in his life had he been under the
influence of any woman. Now that such an influence had seized him he was
overwhelmed by it. He had arrived perilously close to the point where, if
he had known the true character of the woman he was sheltering, his
infatuation would have led him to risk the danger merely to have her near
him. His thoughts were on her constantly, his mind busy during every
waking hour on schemes for, entrapping her.
Mary had taken up her abode in the Cafe Sinister on Monday. On Thursday
she sent for Druce. He came to her suite eagerly.
He found Miss Masters sitting at the table in the reception room. He sat
down opposite her and facing the window at her invitation.
"Druce," said the girl, "I've sent for you because I want to close that
deal for the girls I spoke to you about."
"The girls you're going to take back to St. Louis?"
"Yes, I'll want five or six."
"You've been looking over my stock?" said Druce with a leer.
"Yes," replied Miss Masters, concealing her repulsion.
"Well, I guess we can come to terms. Who do you want?"
"I only care for four of the girls I have seen," replied Miss Masters. "I
want that little girl, Maida, the blonde girl you call Luella, Clara, and
that young brunette, Esther."
"Gee," said Druce, "you don't want much, do you? Why those are the
youngest and prettiest girls we've got in the place. That Luella has only
been in the district three weeks. All the rest of them are new ones."
"I know it. That's why I want them."
"They'll cost you money."
"I expect to pay money for them."
"I want $200 apiece for those four girls." The price was high. Druce
thought Miss Masters would reject it.
"Very well," returned Miss Masters. "That will be $800."
"You're willing to pay it?"
"Yes. I'm going to spend $1,000 with you."
"Four ain't enough?"
"No, I'm going to take two more, if I can get them. You say you expect to
have these Welcome sisters?"
"Sure, I'll have them."
"Well, you told me you didn't want to run the risk of keeping them around
Chicago. I'll take them off your hands."
"You expect to get them for $200?"
"Certainly. You don't know yet that you can deliver. Has the one you
married come back?"
"Oh, I'll deliver."
"I'm not as sure of that as you are, but I'm willing to speculate on it.
I'll make you this proposition. I'll write you a check for $1,000 and
take my chance on you delivering the six girls I name."
"No checks go," said Druce.
"You'll have to take a check if you do business with me."
Druce considered. He wanted the $1,000. He did not want to quarrel with
Miss Masters. He capitulated.
"Write the check," he said.
Miss Masters took a check-book from a drawer and drew a check, payable to
Druce. She handed it to him. He looked at the paper doubtfully.
"I'll have to indorse that," he said.
Miss Masters laughed.
"Certainly," she said, "you'll have to indorse it unless you want to keep
it as a souvenir." She smiled at him. "Druce," she said, "you'll never
get along in this business if you're a coward."
"It's direct evidence against me."
"You don't trust me?"
"All right, girlie. I'll trust you." He folded the check and put it in
his pocket.
"Now, we'll have to have a bit of writing."
"No writing for mine," retorted Druce. "This check is plenty."
"Oh, Mr. Druce," Miss Masters spoke appealingly. "You don't think that's
fair, do you? You've got my check."
"I guess it's you that's not trusting me now," said Druce.
"But you admit yourself that you may not deliver."
"No I don't. I will deliver."
"But this isn't business."
"It's the way we do this kind of business in Chi."
Miss Masters got up from the table, as if exasperated.
"Look here, Mr. Druce," she said. "How can signing an agreement covering
this sale hurt you? Oh, what a lot of cowards you 'live stock dealers'
are! Can't you see that if you sign this agreement with me I'm
incriminated as well as you are? The Mann act gets the buyer as well as
the seller."
"Well, what's the agreement?"
"It says simply this: 'In consideration of $1,000 I agree to deliver two
days from date the following girls'--I'll write in their names--'to Miss
Masters.'"
"You're not trying to put anything over?"
"Did it ever strike you that by selling these girls to me you'd have John
Boland where you wanted him?"
"Boland?"
"I'm his agent."
"All right." Druce snatched up the paper and read it. "Write in the
names." Miss Masters wrote the names of six girls into the document. She
handed it back to Druce and picked up a pen.
"Just a moment," she said, giving him the pen. "It's dark here. I'll
raise the curtain."
She stepped quickly across the room and adjusted the curtain so that the
sunlight fell full across Druce as he signed his name to the agreement.
As he finished the last stroke he heard a faint "click."
"What was that?" he demanded anxiously.
"The curtain caught on the window latch," replied Miss Masters. She
picked up the agreement and blotted the signature. "Thank you," she said,
"now I've got something for my $1,000."
Druce laughed uneasily. The maid, Anna, entered from an adjoining
apartment. Druce realized uncomfortably that the interview was over.
"Well," he said, going to the door and smiling sentimentally at Miss
Masters, "so long. See you later."
"Yes," replied Miss Masters in a tone he didn't just like, "I'll see you
later."