THE MISSING MODEL
Two notes were quickly written. One was left on the table in the
girls' apartment, telling their father that they were going out for a
little while, to try to locate Russ on a matter of some importance
connected with the moving pictures.
"There's no use telling daddy what has happened," said Alice. "He
would only worry, and really there's no danger. We are merely going
to warn Russ. He'll have to look after the men himself. But daddy
would be sure to think we would get into some trouble. So we may as
well not bother him."
"All right!" agreed Ruth. She was entering into the spirit of the
affair now. Her eyes were shining and her cheeks vied in hue with
those of Alice.
The other note, marked "Urgent!" was thrust under the kitchen door of
the Dalwood flat.
"They'll be sure to see that," remarked Alice. "And, no matter if
only Billy comes home first, he'll know what to do," for the story of
the men's talk in the restaurant had been briefly set down on the
paper.
Then, but not without many misgivings, the girls set out to try to
find Russ.
"We can call up the studio on the telephone," suggested Alice, as she
and her sister reached the street. "That will be the quickest way. If
Russ isn't there they may be able to tell us where he is, or Mr.
Pertell may know where the model is--I mean the machine shop where
the apparatus is being turned out."
"That's so," agreed Ruth. "Why, we could have used one of the
telephones in the apartment!"
"No, some of the neighbors would overhear us, and we don't want
that."
"Why not?" Ruth wanted to know.
"Because you can't tell but one of those men may be watching this
place, and some of the neighbors may be in league with them. Besides,
all the telephones here are on party wires, and when you talk over
one, some of the other subscribers on the same circuit may listen,
for all we can tell. It isn't safe."
"My! You think of everything!" exclaimed Ruth, admiringly. "How do
you manage it?"
"Oh, it just seems to come to me," replied Alice, with a laugh. "Come
on," she added, after they had walked a little way. "There's a drug
store and there's a telephone booth in it. Do you want to talk to
Russ, in case he's there?"
"Oh, no, you'd better," responded Ruth, blushing.
"I will not. I'll call up the studio, but if he's there I want you to
be the one to tell him. He'll appreciate it."
"All right," agreed Ruth, and the blush grew deeper.
Alice quickly got the number of the moving picture studio. There was
a private branch exchange there, and Alice knew the girl operator.
"I want to get Russ Dalwood in a hurry," Alice explained to Miss
Miller, who ran the switchboard. "You try the different departments
until you find him. I'll be here, holding the wire."
"All right!" returned Miss Miller, in crisp, business-like tones.
Perhaps she suspected that something was wrong.
Then ensued a nervous waiting. Alice opened the door of the booth and
told Ruth what she had done.
"I'll let you talk to Russ as soon as he answers," she said.
Ruth nodded understandingly. But it seemed that Russ was not to be so
easily found. Through her receiver Alice could hear Miss Miller
ringing the telephones in the different departments of the big studio
building. One after the other was tried, from the office to the dark
developing rooms, and then the printing rooms. Most of the employees
had gone for the day, but such as were present evidently made answer
that the young moving picture operator was not there.
"I can't locate him," said Miss Miller to Alice, finally. "They say
he was here about a half-hour ago, but has gone out."
"Don't they know where he went?" asked Alice. "It's very important
that we find him."
"I'll see if anyone knows," came back the answer. Then ensued more
waiting, but at the end came a gleam of hope.
"Mr. Blackson, in the camera room, says he heard Russ say he was
going to the Odeon Theater," Miss Miller stated. "He is trying to get
one of his attachments tried there."
"Where is the Odeon?" asked Alice, nervously drumming with her
fingers on the telephone shelf.
"It's on Eightieth Street somewhere. Wait, I'll look up the telephone
number for you. They take our service, you know."
In a few seconds Miss Miller had given the desired information, and
then Alice said "good-bye" to her, frantically working the receiver
hook of her instrument up and down to call the attention of the main
central operator.
"And give them a good, long ring!" Alice added, as she gave the
number. "It's very important."
"Very well," answered central.
There came more waiting. It was a bad time to get anyone, for it was
now shortly after six o'clock, just when most persons were leaving
for home or supper.
"Can't you get them?" asked Ruth, as Alice opened the 'phone booth
door for a breath of air.
"I'm trying, dear. He'd left the studio, but may be at a moving
picture theater. There, they've answered at last!"
Alice pulled the door shut with her disengaged hand, and spoke
eagerly into the transmitter.
"Is Mr. Russ Dalwood there? It's very important!"
Ruth saw the look of dismay that came over her sister's face. Then
through the double glass door she heard Alice say:
"He's gone! And you don't know where? Left ten minutes ago? Oh
dear!"
Slowly she hung up the receiver. There seemed nothing else to do. She
came out of the booth, her face showing her disappointment.
"He's gone, Ruth," she said. "What had we better do?"
"I think the only thing to do is to go back home and wait for him. He
may be there now. Or his mother or Billy may. Come on home."
It was Ruth who was directing now, and Alice, after a moment of
thought, saw that this was the only thing to do. Quickly they
retraced their steps to the apartment house. Without stopping to
enter their own flat they knocked on the Dalwood door. A few seconds
of anxious waiting brought no answer.
"Not home yet!" exclaimed Alice. "Oh, what a shame."
Ruth turned to their own flat. Entering with a pass-key she saw at a
glance that their father had not come home. The note for him was
still on the table.
Then, as puzzled and disappointed, the two girls stood in the center
of the room, they heard someone coming up the stairs that led to
their flat. A second later and a merry whistle broke out.
"There he is--that's Russ!" cried Alice, joyfully. "I'll tell him;
no--you go!" she added hastily, thrusting her sister before her into
the hallway.
The whistle broke off into a discord as Russ saw Ruth standing
waiting for him. Something in her face must have told him something
was the matter, for he came up the remaining steps three at a time.
"What is it? What has happened?" he asked. "Is someone hurt?"
"No, it's your patent--the model. Some men--Alice and I overheard
them in the restaurant--we've been trying to get you on the
'phone--I--we----"
Then Alice broke in.
"They're after your moving picture machine patent, Russ! They're
going to get it to-night--Simp Wolley! You've got to hurry!"
Between them the girls quickly told what they had overheard.
Russ's eyes snapped.
"So that's the game; is it?" he cried. "Well, I'll stop them! I'm
mighty glad you told me. My patent model, the drawings and everything
are at Burton's machine shop. It isn't far from here. I'll go right
away--in a taxicab. Do you----" he hesitated a moment. "Do you want
to come?"
"We might be able to help," suggested Alice to Ruth. "At any rate,
we'll have to give evidence against those men if they get them. Shall
we go, Ruth?"
"I--I think so--yes."
"Bravo!" whispered Alice in her ear. "That note to daddy will answer.
You'd better leave another in place of the one we wrote to you,
Russ."
"I will," he exclaimed as he entered his own flat. "But mother and
Billy won't be home until late, anyhow. They're going to stay to
supper with relatives. Still, I'll explain in case I should be
delayed."
Quickly he dashed off another note for his mother, and then, with the
two girls, he hurried down to the street. There was a taxicab stand
just around the corner, and the three were quickly on their way to
the machine shop, while Ruth and Alice took turns giving more details
of the scene in the restaurant.
"Here we are!" announced Russ, a little later, as the cab drew up,
with a screeching of brakes, in front of a rather dingy building. "I
only hope we're in time, and that Burton hasn't gone yet."
He jumped out of the cab, leaving Ruth and Alice sitting there.
Frantically he threw open the door and rushed up the shop stairs.
"Oh, I do hope he is in time," breathed Ruth, softly.
"So do I," spoke Alice. "I wonder how men can be so mean as to want
to take what isn't theirs?"
"I don't know, dear. Oh, hasn't this been an exciting day?"
"I should say it had. If ever--there's Russ now!" she interrupted
herself to exclaim. "Oh, Ruth. It looks as though we were too late!"
For Russ, with a dejected look on his face, was crossing the pavement
toward the cab.
"It--it's gone," he said brokenly. "Simp Wolley was here a half-hour
ago and got it!"
"But how could he?" asked Alice in surprise. "Who gave it to him?"
"Mr. Burton. There was a forged order, supposed to be from me, and
the machinist handed over the model," and Russ extended a crumpled
and grimy bit of paper.