THE TRAP
Joyous was the crowd of Yale players as they trooped off the field. The
freshmen had opened their season well by defeating Princeton, and the
wearers of the orange and black gave their victors a hearty cheer, which
was repaid in kind.
"It's good to be on the winning side," exulted Andy, as he walked along
with Dunk.
"It sure is, old man."
Someone touched Andy on the shoulder. He looked around to see Ikey
holding out a package. One in the other hand was offered to Dunk.
"The socks," spoke the student salesman, simply.
"Say, give us time to get into our clothes!" demanded Andy. "Do you
think we carry cash in our uniforms?"
"I didn't want you to forget," said Ikey, with a grin. "There is another
fellow taking up my business now, and I've got to hustle if I want the
trade. Going to your room?"
"Sure."
"I'll go on ahead and wait for you," said Ikey. "I need the money."
"Say, you're the limit! You're as bad as a sheriff with an attachment,"
complained Dunk. But he could not help laughing at the other's
persistence.
Andy and Dunk were a little late getting back to Wright Hill, and when
they entered their room they found a note on the table. It was from
Ikey, and read:
"I found your door open, and waited a while, but I just heard of a
bargain lot of suspenders I can buy, so I went off to see about them. I
will be back with the socks in a little while."
"He found our door open!" exclaimed Dunk. "Didn't we lock it?"
"We sure did!" declared Andy. "I wonder----" He paused, and looked at
his chum wonderingly. Then they both began a hasty search among their
possessions. The same thought had come to each.
"Did you have my amethyst cuff buttons?" asked Andy of Dunk, who was
rummaging among his effects.
"I did not. Why?"
"They're gone!"
"Another robbery! Say, we've got to report this right away, and let
Link's lawyer know!" Dunk cried. "This may clear him!"
They paused, trying to map out a line of procedure, when a messenger
came in to say that either Dunk or Andy was wanted on the telephone in a
hurry.
"You go," suggested Andy. "As long as either of us will answer I'll stay
here and take another look for my buttons. But I'm sure I left them in
my collar box, and they aren't there now."
Dunk hurried off, while Andy conducted a careful but ineffectual search.
"It was Link's lawyer," Dunk reported when he came back. "His case comes
up to-morrow, and he wants to know if we have any evidence that will
help to prove Link innocent."
"Not an awful lot," said Andy, ruefully, "unless this latest robbery is.
We'd better go see that lawyer. Did he say anything about the mysterious
hundred dollars Link got by mail?"
"He mentioned it. There's no explanation of it yet, and he says it will
look queer if it comes out, and if that's the only explanation Link can
give."
"Why need it come out?"
"Oh, it seems that Link showed the bills to several helpers around
college, and some of them have been subpoenaed to testify. The detective
will be sure to bring it out. Then there's that story about the book
found in Link's room."
"Hello!--" exclaimed Andy, looking around the apartment in order to
collect his thoughts. "There's another note someone left for us. It must
have been knocked off the table." He picked it up off the floor. It was
addressed to him, and proved to be from Charley Taylor. It read:
"DEAR ANDY. I watched you play to-day. You did well. I've got a
peach of a mushroom bat that I don't want, for I'm going in for
rowing instead of baseball this season. I left the bat in the
storeroom on your corridor when I moved out of Wright Hall. You can
have it if you like. I gave it to Mortimer Gaffington once, but he
said he never could find it. I don't believe he cared much about
it, anyhow. Take it and good luck."
"By jinks!" cried Andy, as he read the missive and passed it to Dunk.
"Do you remember that time Mortimer was hunting for Charley's bat in the
closet?"
"I should say I did! That was the time we were looking for the thief who
took Frank Carr's silver cup and his book."
"Sure. Well, I'm just going to have a look for that bat now. Maybe I'll
have better luck than Mortimer did."
"Go ahead. I'll stay here in case Ikey comes in with the socks. No use
having him bother us. Might as well pay him so he'll quit running in."
"Sure. Well, I'm going to rummage for the bat," and Andy, thinking of
many things, went down the corridor to the large closet that was used as
a store room by the students.
It was more filled than before with many things, and Andy had some
difficulty in locating the bat. Finally he found it away down in a
corner, under an old football suit, and drew it out. As he did so
something fell to the closet floor with a clang of metal.
"I wonder what that was?" mused Andy. "It sounded like----" He did not
finish the thought, but made his way to the far end of the closet. It
was dark there, but, groping around, his fingers touched something hard,
round, smooth and cold. With trembling hand Andy drew it out, and when
the single electric light in the center of the storeroom fell upon it
Andy uttered a cry of surprise.
"Frank's silver cup!" he cried. "The thief hid it in there! I wonder if
the book's here, too?"
He made a hasty but unsuccessful search and then, with the bat and cup,
he hurried to the room where Dunk awaited him.
"What's up?" demanded Dunk, as Andy fairly burst into the room.
"Lots! Look here!"
"Frank Carr's silver cup! Where'd you get it?"
"In the closet where Mortimer Gaffington hid it!"
"Mortimer Gaffington?" gasped Dunk. "You mean----"
"I mean that I'm sure now of what I've suspected for some time--that
Mortimer is the quadrangle thief!"
"You don't say so! How do you figure it out?"
"Just think and you'll see it for yourself," went on Andy. "When we had
the chase after the thief down this corridor that time, the trail seemed
to lead right to this closet, didn't it?"
"Sure," agreed Dunk.
"And who did we find in there?"
"Why, Mort, of course. But he said he was looking for Charley Taylor's
bat."
"Well, he may have been, but that was only an excuse. Mortimer didn't
want that bat, but he was almost caught and he did want a place to hide
the stuff. The book he could slip in his pocket, but he couldn't do that
with the cup. So he threw it back in a corner, and it's been there ever
since. Probably he was afraid to come for it."
"Andy, I believe you're right!" cried Dunk. "But one thing more--did you
find a pair of rubber shoes? You know Frank said the fellow that went
out of his room in such a hurry wore rubber shoes."
"I forgot about that. I'll have another look."
"I'll go with you. Ikey was here and I paid him for your socks and mine.
So we can lock up."
"And be sure you do lock," warned Andy. "I don't want to lose any more
stuff. Say, Mortimer must have my sleeve links, all right."
"All wrong, you mean. And my watch, too! I wonder if we're on the verge
of a discovery?"
"It looks so," said Andy, grimly.
Quickly and silently they went to the storeroom. They were not
disturbed, for there were several class dinners on that night, and most
of the occupants of Wright Hall were out. Andy and Dunk intended going
later.
They rummaged in the closet and, when about to give up, not having found
what they sought, Andy unearthed a pair of rubbers.
"These might be what the fellow wore," said Dunk, as he looked at them.
"He could easily have slipped them off. See if there are any marks
inside."
Andy looked and uttered a startled cry. For there, on the inner canvas
of the rubber, printed in ink, were the initials "M. G."
"They're his, all right!" spoke Andy, in a low tone.
"Then he's the quadrangle thief," went on Dunk. "Come on back to our
room, and we'll talk this over. Something's has got to be done."
"That's right," agreed Andy. "But what?"
"We must set a trap," suggested Dunk.
"A trap?"
"Yes, do something to catch this mean thief--Mortimer or whoever he
is--in the act."
"Hadn't we better tell the Dean--or someone."
"No," said Dunk, after thinking over the matter. "Let's see if we can't
do this on our own hook. Then if we make a mistake we won't be laughed
at."
"But when can we do it?" Andy asked.
"This very night. It couldn't happen better. Nearly all the fellows will
be out of Wright Hall in a little while. We're booked to go, and
Mortimer knows it, for I was making arrangements with Bert Foley about
our seats, and Mortimer was standing near me. He came to borrow ten
dollars, but I didn't let him have it. So he will be sure to figure that
we'll be out to-night."
"But how do you know he'll come to our room?"
"I don't know it. I've got to take a chance there. But we can hide down
in the lower corridor, and watch to see if he comes in this dormitory.
If he does, knowing that 'most all the fellows are out, it will look
suspicious. We can watch for him to go out and then tackle him. If he
has the goods on him the jig is up."
"Well, I guess that is a good plan," agreed Andy. "I hate to have to do
it, but we owe it to ourselves, to the college and to poor Link to
discover this thief. I only hope it doesn't prove to be Mortimer, but it
looks very bad for him."
"We can go farther than that," went on Dunk. "We can leave some marked
money on our table, leave our door open and see what happens."
"It sounds sort of mean," spoke Andy, doubtfully; "but I suppose if we
have to have a trap that would be the best way to do it."
"Then let's get busy," suggested Dunk. "He may not come to-night after
all. We may have to watch for several nights. Meanwhile we'd better
telephone the lawyer that we're on a new lead."
This was done, and the man in charge of Link's case agreed to see Andy
and Dunk early the next day to learn what success they had.
Then the trap was laid. The two who were doing this, not so much to
prove Mortimer guilty as to free Link and others upon whom suspicion had
fallen, went about their work.
As Dunk had surmised, Wright Hall was almost deserted. They found a
hiding place in the lower corridor where they could see whoever came in.
Their own door they left ajar, with a light burning. On the table where
they had been put, as if dropped by accident, were a couple of marked
bills.
"If he takes those, we'll have him with the goods," said Dunk, grimly.
Then he and Andy began their vigil.