MORE CLUES
Notwithstanding Mr. Crowninshield's comforting words, however, Walter
could not shake off the consciousness that take it all in all he had
blundered desperately throughout the entire train of events connected
with Lola and his vanity was sadly hurt. If any good had come out of
what he had done it was more by chance than as a result of wise
calculation. He had meant well, that was all that could be said, and
the patronage these words implied was by no means flattering to one
anxious to make himself valuable to his employer.
What a boob he was; what a blunderer! The name Mr. Crowninshield had
so wrathfully bestowed on him was unquestionably deserved. It fitted
him like a glove. The fact that the great man had afterward sought to
palliate the sting of the term did not actually help matters any. What
he had thought in the beginning and so spontaneously declared was what
he really believed, and as his dispirited retainer observed to
himself, who could blame him?
He couldn't have made a worse start at a job had he tried. In his
depression he almost wished he had never seen Surfside, the
Crowninshields, or anything belonging to them.
Nor was his melancholy lightened when he found on entering the house
that the telephone line was busy and that some one was calling Mr.
Crowninshield. Goodness only knew how long it might be now before the
wire would be free for the master to reach and warn Bob to keep secret
the tidings his brother had tattled to him. Wasn't it infernal luck to
encounter this delay? If he had only held his tongue in the first
place! Well, it had taught him a lesson. The next time he got mixed up
in somebody else's affairs he would keep them to himself.
Meandering aimlessly outdoors he sat down on the steps to wait until
the owner of the house should finish his conversation.
For a time he remained quite quiet; but when the minutes lengthened
into a quarter of an hour he began to fidget. Would the talkers never
stop? Why, their chattering seemed to be endless? Even through the
door he could hear Mr. Crowninshield's curt tones and the eager rise
and fall of his voice. Once he laughed as if pleased, and twice Walter
heard a cry of "_Good!_" When he did appear on the piazza his face was
wreathed in smiles.
"That brother of yours is a Jim Dandy!" he exclaimed, rubbing his
hands. "You did a mighty clever thing, young one, to get him on the
job. We never can thank you enough."
"Me?"
"Certainly you! Why didn't you tell me more about this family paragon
of yours? I didn't take in he was a radio operator."
"I--I--I don't know," replied Walter, bewildered.
"Well, his quick action has helped us no end--that is all I can say,"
announced the owner of Surfside triumphantly. "The instant he got your
message he went to work with his wireless outfit. He flashed messages
to all the stations in the outlying cities or else telephoned, and
inside of half an hour every road to Boston and to New York was
watched. You see a man with a little dog had stopped at his station
for water. The wood road skirting our shore goes right by Seaver Bay
and probably the thief reasoned that no one would be on the lookout
for him on such an out-of-the-way thoroughfare. At any rate he had to
have water for his engine and he took a chance. He told your brother
he was touring the Cape, and had you not called Bob up he would have
thought no more of the happening. But when you told him about Lola
immediately he pricked up his ears. The dog tallied perfectly with
what you had previously told him and the fact that it was a Pekingese
made him suspicious. Leaping at the possibility that his visitor was
in reality the man wanted, he sent out a broadcast describing the
culprit.
"With an accurate description of the man, car, and dog we cannot fail
to get tidings soon. And at any rate we have something definite to
work on. We know what the thief looks like, what he had on, the make
of his car and all about him. Unquestionably he will be stopped either
between here and Boston or between here and New York,--for he is
probably aiming for one of those cities. I myself rather think he will
go straight through to Boston. He would not venture to try New York
until later because he would be well aware that the authorities there
would be waiting for him. He isn't going to be trapped. So he will try
to do the thing he figures I will not calculate upon." Mr.
Crowninshield rubbed his hands and laughed. "Little does he know we
have him down cold already! And it has all been so quietly and
promptly done. That is the beauty of it. You must have got home from
your walk very soon after the wretch had left. Therefore the loss was
discovered sooner than he had planned. Doubtless he was delayed by
Jerry's being about and had to wait until his accomplice up in
Brockton called him off. I presume they had agreed upon some hour when
they would summon the unsuspecting caretaker to the telephone." As the
scheme of the robbery began to unfold, Walter mirrored his employer's
smile.
"And if the other chap is in Brockton doesn't that indicate that this
fellow who was here will most likely expect to pass through there and
pick him up?" he ventured, feeling very much of a personage to be thus
taken into Mr. Crowninshield's confidence.
"Exactly!"
His Highness glowed with satisfaction. Some of his self-esteem was
returning.
"Fortunately your brother had the good sense to warn his allies to act
carefully and not alarm the thief, so that the life of the dog might
not be jeopardized. He seems to have thought of everything, this
brother Bob of yours. If we get Lola back it will be largely his
doing--and yours. I sha'n't forget the fact, either."
Walter flushed under the great man's praise.
"It was just a happen," murmured he. "I thought I had blundered."
He saw Mr. Crowninshield color at having his own word hurled back at
him.
"Some of the most fortunate strokes in our lives are achieved by
chance," replied he, laughing. "See how capable I am of shifting my
philosophy," he added with good humor. "Nevertheless, although this
indiscretion of yours has turned out well I still maintain that,
generally speaking, a silent tongue is a great asset. In nine cases
out of ten keeping still does far less harm than talking. Jerry is a
shining example of my creed. In all the years he has been here he has
never let his tongue outrun his solid judgment. And yet," concluded he
with a twinkle, "had we trusted to Jerry, we should never have heard
of his Brockton telephone communication. So there you are! Which is
the better way? It seems to be a toss up in this case."
"I guess the better way is never to make a mistake," smiled Walter.
"Do you know the infallible person who can boast such a record?" came
whimsically from Mr. Crowninshield.
"N--o, sir."
"Nor I."
A pause fell between them and Walter rose to go.
"Do you suppose you will hear anything more to-night?" questioned he
shyly.
"There is no telling. We may have news at any moment; or again we may
hear nothing until into the night or till morning."
"I'm crazy to get tidings, aren't you?" In his earnestness the lad had
forgotten that they were not of an age or quite of the same station.
The master smiled indulgently.
"I'm every bit as crazy to hear as you are," said he, quite as if Lola
were their joint possession.
"Do you think you'll get any message before I go to bed?"
Once more Mr. Crowninshield regarded him with friendly comradeship.
"That depends on what time you turn in."
"At home Ma makes me go at nine o'clock. I've done it pretty much,
too, since I've been here. She wanted I should."
"You are a sensible fellow. Nine o'clock is late enough for anybody to
sit up, although I will admit," the man chuckled mischievously, "that
in New York we occasionally sit up later than that."
But Walter ignored the jest.
"Do you think you will hear by nine?" persisted he.
"There is no way of knowing, sonny," was the kind answer. "The best
thing for you to do, however, is to go to bed as you usually do. You
are tired out with excitement. I can see that."
"No I'm not," contradicted the boy, his eyes very wide open.
"But you are--a deal more fagged than you realize. I am myself. Now
I'll tell you what we'll do. I'll go to bed and you go to bed; and if
any message comes I'll tell them to waken me and then I'll waken you.
I can call you on the wire that goes from the house down to your
quarters. How will that do?"
"But suppose I shouldn't hear it?" objected the lad.
"Somebody will. The chauffeurs do not go to sleep as early as you do,
I rather fancy. I will give orders for one of them to tell you if a
call comes."
"I'd much prefer to sit up, sir. Why couldn't I just sit here on the
piazza? It wouldn't disturb anybody and I should be on the spot."
"You might sit here all night and catch your death of cold, and no
tidings come until morning, sonny. No, my plan is much the better one.
You trot along to bed. I'll fulfill my part of the contract and go
also. And if there is anything to tell before morning you shall hear
it."
Reluctantly the lad moved away.
He was not in the least sleepy. Nevertheless because he had given his
word he dragged himself across the lawn, mounted the stairs to his
room, and began to undress. His spirits were very high. Within an hour
or two--three hours at the very most--the telephone would ring and
Mr. Crowninshield would announce to him the glad tidings that the
thief had been caught. Then some one would motor to Barnstable,
Brockton, or wherever it was, recapture Lola, and bring her back, and
the events of the past few hours would be only a nightmare. And it
would be Bob--he and Bob--who brought about this glorious climax to a
day of catastrophes. And if such a result was accomplished had not the
owner of Surfside promised that he would never forget the service?
For his own part Walter wanted nothing. If Lola could only be found
his happiness would be complete. But if only Mr. Crowninshield would
do something wonderful for Bob! Perhaps he might give him a big sum of
money; he could well afford to. Or maybe he would put him in the way
of earning it. There was no telling what Aladdin-like feats he might
perform. Such a man was all powerful. Why, he could send Bob to Europe
if he chose! Or pay the mortgage on the house. He could make Bob's
fortune.
The younger boy thrilled at the thought.
With these optimistic and intriguing fancies in mind he slipped into
bed and soon dozed off into dreams wilder and even more extravagant.
He slept soundly and awoke with a bewildered cry when a knock came at
the door.
"It's I--Wheeler, shaver! The boss wants you on the telephone."
Up scrambled Walter, his stupor banished by the agitation of the
moment.
He did not wait to don his clothes but in his pajamas took the stairs
two at a time and soon had his ear to the receiver.
"Walter?"
"Yes, sir."
"Well, we have some news, such as it is." Mr. Crowninshield's voice
sounded dubious and discouraged. "They tracked the car we were after
to Buzzard's Bay and found it there empty; its occupants had
disappeared."
"Disappeared!" repeated the astounded boy.
"Yes, they're gone! Vanished in thin air! Not a trace of them is to be
found. The abandoned automobile with its number removed, was
discovered on a side road."
"The man must be hiding somewhere in the vicinity then."
"That does not follow, son; I wish it did."
"What else could he do?"
"His accomplice from Brockton could meet him with another car, for one
thing."
"A different car, and throw us off the scent!"
"Precisely."
For a second neither of them spoke. Walter was too nonplussed and his
employer too disheartened.
"Isn't that the limit!" the lad presently gathered indignation enough
to ejaculate.
"I expected something of the sort," was the reply. "We are up against
professionals, you see, and not amateurs. This gang is being paid big
money and does not intend either to fail in what it has undertaken or
be trapped. We had it too easy at the beginning and were too much
elated by our initial success."
"What are you going to do now?"
"I've wired New York for detectives. I ought to have followed my first
impulse and done it immediately, and I should have had we not seemed
on the high road to success without help. The plain-clothes men will
probably be miffed at being called in now that we have meddled with
the case and messed it all up."
"But I don't see how we have done any harm," retorted His Highness,
feeling it a little ungrateful of Mr. Crowninshield to veer so quickly
from commendation to censure.
"Oh, untrained people never can compete with skilled ones in any
line," was the sharp answer. "I ought to have remembered it. Doubtless
in our zeal we betrayed ourselves somehow and our man became
suspicious and adopted other tactics in consequence."
"I don't believe so," Walter maintained stoutly. "I'll bet this is
just what he had arranged to do anyway."
"Well, perhaps it was. We cannot tell about that," yawned the man at
the other end of the wire. "The result, however, is the same. Instead
of netting our catch we have allowed it to slip through our fingers."
There was an edge of exasperation in the tone.
"Maybe we'll have better luck than you think," ventured the lad, not
knowing what else to say, and unwilling to betray his chagrin.
"We'll have neither good luck nor bad in future," responded the master
curtly. "After this we keep our hands off and the detectives manage
the affair. There have been blunders enough."
With this ungracious comment the great man hung up the receiver and
stumbling through the darkness His Highness felt his way upstairs and
dropped into bed.
Like a house of cards his roseate dreams for the future had suddenly
collapsed. There would be now no wonderful career for Bob, no bag of
gold, no fairy fortune! Instead of being a hero he had again become a
mere duffer, a blunderer, had played the fool.
Since failure had come in place of the coveted success Mr.
Crowninshield would most likely blame it all to him.
Fleeting, indeed, was the favor and gratitude of princes!