The San Francisco call. [volume], February 28, 1909, Page 11, Image 11

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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The San Francisco Sunday Call
THE BLACK BAG
,'...;: \u25a0 CHAPTER XIII
' • A .-.Prlmrr of Progressive Crime
%"•"%/ t-ITHOUT warning or presage
V V /the still evening air was smit
\u25a0\jfY/- • ten and -made softly musical
•* \u25a0 • - b : y the pealing of a distant
chinj^. .calling vespers to Its brothers
in- Antwerp's hundred belfries; and one
by. ci- t 6,' far and near, the responses
Jjrokecnt. until it seamed as If the
world .must be vibrant with silver and
ibrazep/ melody; until at the last the
4&ea£<' T>elis in the cathedral spire
fUrftA .and grumbled drowsily, then
wo&e: to such ringing resonance es
all the rest and made them
see:'m..-as nothing.
//Sik o'clock! Kirkwood roused out of
i&s'-dottr brooding. The Amsterdam ex
\u25a0prcss would leavt> at 6:32, and lie knew
npt' from what station.
.*«• Striding swiftly across the prome
nade, ho enu-rcd a small tobacco shop
and' made inquiry of the proprietress.
; Hls. 'command of French' was tolerable;
lie- experienced no diCieulty in compre
hending tbe good woman's instructions.
: VTrajhs for Amsterdam, she said, left '
from, the Gare Centra!?, a mile or so
\u25a0across the city. M'ceur had plenty of
!tlnie 7 • ar.d to spare. There was the
tram line, if m'seur did not care to take
fthacre.. lr he would go by way of the
;Vielle Bourse he would discover the
'.trjarpcars of the R\v? Kipdorp. M'seur
Was.- most welcome.
\u25a0 jlensieur \u25a0 departed with the more
fcast/?- .sj'nce he was unable to repay
thla". courtesy with the most trifling
\u25a0\u25a0pxrrc-liase;- such slight matters annoyed
.Klrttyood intensely. * Perhaps it was
Vgli. 'for him that he had the long
walk '.to help him work off a bit of
•nervous exasperation into which he
w.as. plunged every time his thoughts
harked back to that jovial blackguard,
Strvker. ... He was quite calm
wh.eni 'after a brisk walk of some 13
minutes, he reached the station.
.'A 'public clock reassured him with
th-e. information that he had the quar
ter of an hour's leeway; it was only
17: minutes past IS o'clock (Belgian
railway time, always confusing). In
quiring his way to the Amsterdam
train, which was already waiting at the
platform, he paced its length, peer
ing brazenly in at the coach win
dows,, now warm with hope, now
shivering with disappointment, realiz
ing .as he could not but realize that,
all \u25a0 erse \u25a0 aside, his only chance of
rehabilitation lay in meeting Calendar.
Buf'ij none of the coaches or carriages
did he discover any one even remotely
resembling the fat adventurer, his
daughter, or Mulready.
. Satisfied that they had not yet
boarded the train, he stood aside, tor
tured with forebodings, while anxious
ly scrutinizing each Individual of the
throng of Intending travelers. . . .
Perhaps they had been delayed — by
"the A'lcthea's lateness in making port
.Very, likely; perhaps they purposed tak
ing not this but a later train; perhaps
th^y had already left the city by an
earlier, or had returned to England.
-. Ort time, the bell clanged its warn
ing; the guards bawled theirs; doors
were hastily opened and slammed; the
.trucks bogan to groan, couplings jolt
lr>g as the engine chafed In constraint.
fThe train and Kirkwood moved simul
taneously out of opposite ends of the
etstion, the one to rattle and hammer
ro^nd the eastern boundaries of the
city and straighten out at top speed
.on- the northern route for the Belgian
line* the other to stroll moodily away,
idle hands in empty pockets, bound
aimlessly anywhere — it didn't matter!
'\u25a0 ; . Nothing whatever mattered in the
srsalrcst degree, lire now the out
-look. had been dark; but this he felt
to-be the absolute nadir of his misfor
tunes. Presently — after a while — as
soon as he could bring himself to it — he
would ask the way and go to the
Ajherlcan consulate. But just now,
lnV - iS tho tide of chance had ebbed,
leaving- him stranded on the flats of
vagabondage, low as showed the meas
ure of his solf-estoem. he could not
:t-oleratp the prof-p^ct of begging for as
sistance — help which would in all like
lihood iie refused, since his story was
quit** \nn preposterous to gain credence
in .official cars that daily are filled with
tiie lamentations of those whose mo
tives: do riot bear investigation. And
.If -he- chore to eliminate the strange
chain of events which had landed him
Jn Antwerp, to base his pica solely on
'tire, fact that he was a victim of the
Fsh Francisco disaster . . „ he him
•felf was able to smile. If sourly, an
ticipating the incredulous consular
En:i!c with which he would be shown
•the door.
No;' that he would reserve as a last
resort.. True, l;e had already come to
the jumping off place; to the court of
: the last resort alone could he now ap
peal. But . . . not yet! after a
.while lie could make his petition, after
he had made a familiar of the thought
"that «he must armor himself with cal
lous indifference to rebuff, to say
naught' of the waves of burning shame
that would overwhelm him when he
came to tho point of asking charity, f.
He found himself, neither knowing
nor caring hoivj hchad won thither,
K ,n the Place Verte, . the vast ven
erable pi!e of the cathedral rising
en- lUs right, hotels and quaint old
world dwellings with peaked roofs
end gables and dormer windows, in
closing the other sides of the square.
-The chimes (he could hear none but
those of the cathedral) were heralding
the- hour of 7. Listless and preoccu-
XJied In contemplation of his wretched
case he wandered purposelessly half
\u25a0round the square, then dropped into. a
'bench on Its outskirts.
It was some time later that he no
ticed, with a casual, indifferent eye, a
porter running out of the Hotel de
Fla'ndre, directly opposite, and calling
a fiacre in to the carriage block.
As languidly "he watched a woman,
"very becomingly dressed, follow the
porter down to the curb.
Tbe llacre swung in, and the woman
dismissed the porter before entering
\u25a0ihc vehicle, a pxoceeding so unusual
that It fixed the onlooker's interest.
He' sat rigid with attention. The woman
seemed to be giving explicit and
lengthy directions to the driver, who
nodded and gesticulated his comprehen
blon'.'
' The woman was Mrs. Hallara.
' The first blush of recognition passed,
leaving; Kirkwood without any amaze-.
\u25a0ment. # It .was an r-asy matter to'ac
count* for her being where she was.
Thrown off the scent by Kirkwood at
Bheernesß, the previous morning, she
had missed the day boat, the same
which had ferried over those whom
she pursued. Returning from Sheer
ness to Queensborough, however, she
liitd taken the night boat for Flushing
and Antwerp — and not without her
plan, who \u25a0was not- a \voman to waste
her strength aimlessly. Kirkwood be
lieved that she had had from the first
a very definite campaign In .view. In
that campaign Queensborough pier had
been the first strategic move; the jour
\u25a0 r.ey to Antwerp, apparently, the sec
ond; and the American was impressed
tfcat he was witnessing the inception
'of the third decided step. . . .. The
Conclusion of this process of reasoning
ff.vas inevitable: Madam would bear
"watching-
Thus -was a magical transformation
brought about- Instantaneously lassi-^
• tude and vain replnings were replaced
by.- . hopefulness and energy. In.;a
twinkling the young man was on. his,
feet, every nerve a-thrill with excite
ment. .
Mrs. Hallam, blissfully ignorant of
this surveillance over her movements,
tJok her place in the fiacre. The driver
clucked to his horse, cracked his whip,
and started off at a slow trot, a pace
which Kirkwood Imitated, keeping him
self at a discreet distance to the rear
of the cab, but prepared to break Into
a run whenever it should prove neces
sary.
Such exertion, however, was not re
quired of him. Evidently" Mrs. Hallam
was in no great haste to reach her
destination; the speed of the fiacre re
mained extremely moderate. Kirkwood
found a long, brisk stride fast enough
to keep it well in sight.
Round the green square, under the
beautiful walls of Kotre Dame d'An
vers, through Grande 1 I*lace and past
the Hotel de Ville, the cab proceeded,
dogged by what migfit plausibly be
asserted the most persistent and infat
uated soul that ever crossed tho water;
and so on into the Quai Van Dyck,
turning to the left at the old Steen
dungeon and, slowing to a walk, mov
ing soberly up the drive.
Beyorid the lip of the' embankment,
. the Scheldt flowed, its broad shining
surface oily, smooth and dark, a mirror
for the incandescent glory of the skies.
Over on the western bank old Tete de
Flandre, lifted up its grim curtains and
bastions, sable against the crimson,
rampart and parapet edged with fire.
Busy little side wheeled ferry steam
ers spanked the Vaters' noisily and
smudged the sunset with dark drifting
trails of smoke; and ever and anon a
rowboat would slip out of shadow to
glide languidly with the current. Oth
erwise the life of the river was gone;
and at their moorings the ships swung
in great quietness, riding lights glim
mering like low wan stars.
In the company of the latter the
young man marked down the Alethea;
a sight which made him unconsciously
clench both fists and teeth, reminding
him of that rare wag. Stryker. . ...
To his way of thinking the behavior
of the fiacre was quite unaccountable.
Hardly had the horse paced off the
length of two blocks on the Qua! ere
it was guided to the edge of the prom
enade and brought to a stop. "And the
driver twisted the. reins round his
whip, thrust the latter in its socket, \u25a0
turned sidewise on the box, and began
to smoke and swing his heels, survey
ing the panaroma of river and sunset
with complacency — a cabby, one would
venture, without a care In the world
and serene in the assurance of a gen
erous pour-bolre when he lost his fare.
But as for the latter, she made ho
move; the door of the cab remained
closed, — like its occupant's mind, a '
mystery to the watcher.
Twilight shadows lengthened, dark
ling, over the land; street lights
flashed up in long, radiant ranks.
Across the promenade hotels and shops
were lighted up; people began to gather
round the tables beneath the awnings
of an op*en air cafe. In 'the distance,
somewhere, a band swung Into the
dreamy rhythm of a haunting waltz.
Scattered couples moved slowly, arm
in arm along the riverside walk,
drinking in the fragrance of the night.
Overhead stars popped out in brilliance
and dropped their reflections to swim
lazily on spellbound waters. . . .
And still the fiacre lingered in inaction,
still the driver lorded it aloft, in care-
free abandon.
In^ the course' of time _ this Inertia,
where it had looked for action, this
dull suspense when he had forecast in
teresting developments, wore upon
the watcher's nerves and made, him
at once impatient and suspicious.
Now that he , had begun to doubt, he
conceived, it as quite possible that
Mrs. Hallam (who was capable of any
thlns) should have stolen out of the cab
by the other and; to him, invisible door.
To resolve the matter finally he took
advantage of the darkness, turned up
his coat collar, hunched up his shoul
ders, hid his hands in his pockets,
pulleJ the visor of his cap well forward
over his eyes and slouched past the
fiacre. r \u25a0
Mrs. Hallam sat within. He could see
h«»r profile clearly silhouetted against
the light. She was bending forward
and staring fixedly out of the window
across the driveway. Mentally he cal
culated the direction of her gaze, then
moved away and followed it with his
own eyes, and found himself staring at
the facade of a third rate hotel. Above
Its roof the glided letters of a sign,
catching the illumination from- below,
spelled lout the title of "Hotel dv Com
merce."
Mrs. Hallam was interested in the
Hotel dv .Commerce?
Thoughtfully Kirkwood fell back to
his former point of -observation, how the
richer by another object of suspicion,
the hostelry. Mrs. Hallam was waiting
and watching for some one to enter. or
to leave that establishment. It seemed
a reasonable Inference to draw. \u25a0'Well,
then, so was Kirkwood. no less than
the lady; he deemed it quite conceivable
that their objects were Identical.
He started to beguile the time by
wondering what she would do if . . .
Of a sudden he abandoned this line of
speculation, and catching his breath,
held it, almost afraid to credit the truth
that for once his anticipations were be
ing realized under, his s very eyes.
Against the lighted doorway of the
Hotel dv Commerce the figures of two
men were momentarily sketched as they
came hurriedly forth,_ and. of the two,
one ehort and stout, and even at a dis
tance seemed to bear himself with an
accent of assertlveness, while the other
was tall and heavy of shoulder. .
Side by side they marched in \u25a0 step
across the embankment to the head of
the Quai gangway, . descending without
pause to the landing stage. Kirkwood,
hanging breathlessly over the guard
rail, could hear their footfalls ringing
In a hollow rhythm on the planks of
the inclined way— could even discern
Calendar's unlovely profile in dim relief
beneath' one of the waterside" lights;
and he. recognized unmistakably Mul
ready's 4eep voice! grumbling inarticu
lately. " '
At the outset he had set after them,
with intent to accost Calendar, but
their pace had been swift and hisrir
resolute. He hung fire on the issue,
dreading to reveal himself, unable to de
cide which were the better course,. to
pursue the men or to await and "dis-
cover what Mrs. Hallam was about. , In
the . end he ; waited, - and had his disap
pointment for recompense.' '
'For. Mrs; Hallam did nothing intelli
gible. Had she driven over to the
hotel, hard, upon the departure of; the
men. he would 1 have believed" that she
was seeking Dorothy,* and would, fur
thermore, have elected to crowd"; their
interview, ; if she^succeeded In * obtain
ing one with the; girl.: . But' she did
nothing of • the sort. For " a . tlm» '\u25a0\u25a0 the
fiacre remained '\u25a0\u25a0;. as i it had been »ever
since stopping; then,, evidently, admon
ished *by • his • fare, ' the -driver I straight
ened up, knocked out* his ''pipe, disen
tangled reins: and» whip, and wheeled
the • equipage back -\u25a0 on the way it had
come, disappearing In al-"dark,a 1 - "dark, side
street leading * eastward - from" the "em
bankmerit. ' 4 - '
: Kirkwood was, . then, to believe that
Mrs."- Hallam, havings taken all that
trouble and^ having: waited for; the"; two
adventurers: to, appear,;- had .been con
tent with' sight of them? He 'could
hardly believe that of the woman; jit
wasn't like berJ%j£SBjBf&&SBBA
:: He. started across the driveway," after,
the ? flacre.\bu t.it * was ', lost : in a - tangle
of side streets " before* he . could .- make
up his mind* whether!; .- it _ "was" worth
while* chasing "or "not; and,' pondering
the woman's singular ~actlon, he -re
traced his "steps" to the promenade rail.
Presently he told himself he under
stood. Dorothy was no longer of. her
father's party; -he had a suspicion that
Mulready's attitude had made it seem
advisable to Calendar either to leave
the girl behind, Ui. England, or to 'seg
regate her from his associates in Ant
werp. If. not lodged in another quar
ter of the city, or. left behind, she was .
probably traveling on . ahead to '. a des
tination which he could -by no means
guess. And Mrs." Hallam was looking
for the girl; if . ; there were really jewels
in that gladstone bag, Calendar would
naturally have had no hesitation about
intrusting them to .his daughter's care;
and Mrs. Hallam avowedly sought noth
*ing else. How the woman had found'
out that such was the case, Kirkwood
did not stop to reckon; unless, he ex
plained It on the proposition -that she
was a: person of remarkable , address.
It made no matter.one way of the oth
er; he had. lost Mrs. Hallam; but Cal
endar and Mulready he could put his
finger on; they had undoubtedly- gone
off to the Aletheato confer again .with-
Stryker — that was, unless -they 'pro
posed sailing on thei brigantine, possi
bly at turn of tide, that night.
Panic gripped his soul and shook it,
as a terrier shakes a rat, when he con
ceived this frightful proposition.
In his confusion of mind he evolved
spontaneously an 'entirely new hypo
thesis: Dorothy had already, been spir
ited aboard the vessel; Calendar and
his- confederate, delaying .to join her
from enigmatic motives, were now
aboard; and presently the word would
be, up-anchor and away!
Were they again to elude him? Not,
he swore, if he -had. to swim for it.
And. he had no wish to "swim. The
clothes he stood in,' with what was left
of his self-respect, were all that he
could call his own on that side of the
Xorth sea. Not a boatman on the
Scheldt would so much as consider ac
cepting three -English pennies :in ex
change for. boat hire. In brief, it be
gan to look: as if he were either to
. swim' or .... to steal'. a' boat.' '
Upon' such slender threads of circum- .
stance depends our boasted : moral
health. In one fleeting minute Kirk
wood's conception of the law "of meum
et.tuum,'- its foundations' already' insid
iously undermined by a series of cumu- '
latlve misfortunes, toppled crashing to
its-fall; and was-not. : >
He, was wholly, 'unconscious of the
change. V Beneath him,* in -a /space be
tween the quays bridged by ' the gang
way, a number of rowboats, a putative:
score, lay moored for the night x and
gently rubbing against each other with
the soundless lift and fall of the: river.
For all that Kirkwood could, determine
to the contrary, the lot- lay at", the
mercy of the public; nowhere about
was he able to discern a '- figure in any-
\u25a0 f thing resembling a.\ watchman. • r "', ~C.\
Without a quiver of hesitation—mo
ments" were Invaluable,' if what ' he :
feared were true-^-he strode to:the
gangway, passed down, and. with ab
solute nonchalance' dropped .into, the
nearest boat, stepping from one to an
other until he had gained the; outer-"
most. •'„ To his joy,- ho 'found a pair of
oars stowed beneath, the thwarts. ;;•
'.If he had ; paused "to moralize— which
he didn't — upon the dlscovery.'he would
have laldlt.all at the door'of hisilucky
.\u25a0star; and: would- have -been •wrong.'*' "We :
who have .never , stooped * to ; petty ..." lar
ceny know that" the "oars 1 \u25a0 had, -been,
.placed there at .the directlon'of v hls evil
genlua be*.t upon hl3 de
scent^into the avernus. of \ crime. r.-Let
'us, then, 'pity, the .poor, young man
without/condoning his- offense. ' :v
/ Unhitching the painter /he *set'7one
oar»against- the • gunwale- of the :next
\u25a0boat, and with a :p'owerfulithrust" sent
"his own: (let us so 'call it?for 'conven-.
ience) stern first .out' upon* tho:rlvor;:
then sat him composedly '"down, ;,fltted<
th e - oars to , their locks, / andt began -to
pull straight across stream, ', trusting • to '",
"the 'current 'to^carry»,"hlm?d6wn.« to i the:
Alethea. JHe'had already; marked 'down
that vessersTrldlng," light; "and! that'noC',
without . a i glow/of ? gratitude? to see 'it ;
stlll\"aloft-and : in ; proper
?to,the river bank; proof that it; had -not :
moved.';":", \u25a0 \u25a0 :\u25a0 ''"/,".,"-.:•-.\u25a0"
',: .He: pulled a -good -oar, his
distance 'prettily,' rand*' shipping, '.the
blades' jat' Justr \>the' /. right *\u25a0- moment,*,
the .' little , boat !' ln jurider c ; the •
brigantine'S; counter. Avith^scarcela. jar.
s Ant element iof-surpriseshe^held'.essen
i tial: to Athe' successiof Chis^plan,^ what- >
ever 'that might : turn"out; to '\u25a0-\u25a0 be." '
! .'Standing ; up?heTcaughti:tho^brigan
itlne's^after rail v wlth. both jhands; onej of.
whlch : held *the : painter of the/puflolned ;
boat, andUiftedj his" headFabove, the fdeck
line. ' - A - short^suryey j: of .\theTdeserted '
; ' af terdeck t hlrn^ further^ assurance^ ]
,'iThe; anchor ;watch\was Jriot "ins sight; ; he
': may. have , been ' keeplng^well'f orward' by.
i Stryker's j 1 instructions, ;, or Ihe \u25a0;. may, ;ha ye
: crept Toff -for winks. the*
•r reason : for. his absence "from'jthe ; post! 6t
> duty.- Klrk\yood; 'wasVVrelieve'dV not Uo (
\u25a0 hayeihlm".'to;;deal.!,wlth,"^an"d"-j*dfawlnj;;
himself \u25a0' gently,. 1 ; in *; over ?.tho">-rail}jmade
the; painter rfast''arid''stepp*cd;ripis"elessly
overVtoward the- lighted oblong 'of the
comnanionway.- A murmur of * voices
from below comforted him = with i the
knowledge that ;" he had- not."miscalcu
lated this time.' At last he stood within'
striking' distance of his quarry.: '
I ;Tho, syllables of .his; surname ringing,
clearly In \u25a0 his ears fj| arid- followed :. by
Stryker.'s fleering, laugh ;brought hhmto
a pause. "He flushed. hotly in the dark
ness. 'The y was -.retailing- with
relish some of his mostrsuccessfulwit- i
ticlsms-at-Kirkwood's: expense. 1 - ;.:.-..
"You'd;"o'ught to; !ve seed the wye; 'c
looked" at 'me!" concluded the raconteur
in,a gale : of, mirth. ',;'\u25a0 , . . '
• Mulready. laughed with him.'.if - a littlA '-
uncertainly. Calendar's chuckle wa&, not \u25a0
audible,, but he broke: the pause that;'
followed. '. ' ;'•-""': \u25a0
• "I don't know," he said with doubting
emphasis. ; "You - say.% you landed *hlm
without; a ; penny. In his pocket?, I don't;
call that 1 a good plan at all. Of course,'
he; aln'tja'factor.^but^ I .; .Well, it*
might' ve been -as well; to. give": him \u25a0 his .
fare home.. He might make trouble- for'
us .'somehow. .; \u25a0 .' ;I \u25a0 don'tu mind , :
tellin'sr l-you,' Cap'ni that' you're ; ah ass.' 1 *
; ' The-. j tensity of ; -certain- situations
numbs; the' sensibilities. ; Kirkwood ; had
never ; in- his' weirdest" dreams "thought '
of "himself as;an*;eavesdropper; l heJdi'J ;
not think ( of r himself >: as •'- such *rin ithe
present | instance.: | He,:merely : listened,
edging ) nedrc-r,\ the skylight, iof .which
the ; wings ' were \u25a0 slightly raised,' and ;
keeplng'as far" as possible In shadow, g
•,i'i,''Ow;'.:'l.y-sye!'!V, i 'i,''Ow;'. : 'l.y-sye!' ! V' L ,the:v captain; was. re-. s
monstrating, : aggrJeved. f '.;" r 'Ow,was;i to*
know 'c' didn't, 'aye •' If. In V for ; you?
First off ,. when \'e ; comes on ; hoard .' (I'll v
sye this* forA'lnv. 'c's, as \u25a0 plucky^asithey
myke ;,'em)^l thought 'c was fromjthe
Yard. /jThen, when Jlf see'-wbt^a; bally ; '
hlnndcent •e';was,:l<roykes : up'my;mlnd;
'c's I just ' some - one -'you've^ been « plyln*-.
one' of v your i little , gymes *dn, r ; and . 'oo
:was looking'- to": square i 'is; account. :"• So ,
li dl*d.yim, proper."; j'.;/ ; -' « %l . '\u25a0..; ',,.-.- vr V
... VEvldentlj',".; assented? Calendar dryly.
"You're' a bitVof^alheavy;* handed brute", :^
Stryker/; ; Personally,rrmi klnd(bf ;sorry. :
forjftie' : ,boy:;he wasn't fa, bad ?sqrt,*' as
kind^runs.^andVhe i'iwasino' fool,;; from,
little; I; "sawjof 'him. .; . . I
what the wanted.".'; "
; ''Possibly," '^Mulready r;chimed?:j ln
suavely.y "you-Jcan^explain-/ what \ you ]
wanted":;ofi-^him,v;lri' the r; first V; placed
How, i'dtd 3 you fcome , to' "drag J him "into
this :business?" ! ; '\u25a0\u25a0• ' • "
'\u25a0"Oh/thati'V Calendar tlaughed* shortly.";
"That i. was : partly it accident,^ partly v In- :
spiratlon.v I,; happened* to • see i.his'i name.
on 'the.* 1 Ples3jreKistefr;ne*dJ;putf himself ?
downVas \u25a0from';Friscd.-}l?flgured 7 it^outf
,tliatvhe^w9Uld^be^next|>door;.tocbfoke :
and \u25a0 getting .'desperate,- ready.' tqjdq any- ; :
thlng.Cto i get^horne;*; arid % thought
might "utilize^ him (to ." smuggle? some s *6f i
t'h'e/Jstuff ;.lntoVthe*states>C; Once
if TyquUl^ remember-^no; ifthat :iwa"s!cbe- J
f ore /; i we "•: ?go t , r i together, v- Mulready-^-I \
picked' up ja, fellow; countryman. ton f,.-,the";;
Strarid. t t 4 Helwasfd6"wnTand':out*. jumped;
a't?thojjob. : vand.' r we! : made"'a'jrieatvlittle "\u25a0\u25a0.
,w^d^on^it:"j r^t -/,>, :; v ;;,'^^r .V:f>.-.;^' ; i*;; i ;
<\u25a0 "The m6rejfool?ydy, ; ,to"take ; dutsidersl
Louis Joseph Vance
,into. your -confidence," f grumbled Mul
ready.' •\u25a0; . - -
"Ow?".'>lnterrogated Calendar, mim
icking '.;'\u25a0": Stryker's 'accent Inimitably.
"Well, > you've "' got a heap to learn
about -this game, ; Mul; about the first
thing, is that you must trust Old ; Man
Know-it-all, which, is me. I've run
more7;diamonds ' into the -states in one
wayfrori another,,. ln* my. time, than you
ever , pinched 'out -of the \shirt front
of a toff .on the: Empire prom., before
they, 'made the graft too hot "for; you
and | you . \u25a0 came .• to take lessons - from
me InUhe gentle \are 'of Hying easy.".
""Oh, cut that.cawn^tyou?"
' "Delighted.'dear boy. . . V One of
th'e.ftrst'prlnciples, nextto profiting by
admirable ;example I set you, is: to
fnakethe fellows Inybur own line;trust
you. - Now, -'If this .boy had taken "oh
with-me. I could -have; got; a»bunch"6f
the. sparklers .on'rayjmere sayso,' from
; old j Morganthau up | on i Flnsbury l pave
ment. , He " does a | steady business -hood
winking 'customs: for the^*benefit of
his American 'clients— and himself. And
I'd/.ve made. a" neat little iprofit beside;
something," to; fallback. on,^-if this, fell
through, f• I rdbn't !; mind^' having two
Btrlng3'to ! my bow." \u25a0 "!>'.'. . •
ir.j'Yes,"-;' argued Mulready ; \u25a0 "but sup
pose - this - Kirkwood had taken on with
you and' then "peached?" ..
.."That's .another secret;, .you've got
to , know your '\u25a0 man.'.be able . to' size him
up. v I -."called ',:- ori'f this t chap \u25a0? for » that
veryj purpose;, but I; saw. at ]a- glance -he
wasn't 'our man. lie smelt a 1a 1 nigger; In
the most .politely told
me to^.go, to: the devil." ; But if he had
come; in,"" he'd 'ye died ;be.fore" he squeal
\u25a0 cdi 1% know : ,the, 'breed; L honor
among ''gentlemen; -'.Uhat'! knocks '.the
honor of thieves Vhlgher'n-a^klte, the
old ; saw v '.j to :.;the nothing
"doing. ". . .'„ ' . You ' understand .' me,
.rmfsure, ; Mulready?"/ : he concluded with
envenomed ; sweetness. ,"' \u25a0-
\u0084 "I i don't ; see • yet; how ' Kirkwood - got
anything to do^wlth Dorothy." ..' >
. "Miss Calendar J. to you, , Mister '/Mul
ready!" * Vsnapped " Calendar." ;i "There,
there, - now ! ;: Don;t^'get % excited. "\u25a0 ..-.* * . .
\u25a0It * was ; when * the ; Hallam -passed I ;, me
.word -. that fa." man rom ] the yard was
Jwai ting ; on- the i altar steps for me, T> that
K.irkwo6d vrcame 'in: l.. -He '.'.was I dining
'i close* by rjl :,went lover ' and Vworked \' on'
his^j feelings. .until- he \ agreed <to;- take
" Dorothy •'off X my| hands. y/ If \I i had at
tempted*Uo> leave 'Uhevplace^.wlth^ her
i they^d'i've; spotted: me;, for : sure., ":' r '-'."•• .
My, : compliments I to " you; * Dick " Mul
\u25a0.ready.'"' ,:\u25a0'\u25a0.":;;/",:;." ..,.;'\u25a0 •.". :', ' : l-~ ;'y- ; , \u0084
"2?.iTheres, carried the i noise *\of / chair, legs
•- scraped- harshly, on* the "cabin*deck.^Ap
jpareritly« Mulrea'dyl had "' leaped - to 7- his*
feet lint a; rage. V-, :
\u25a0/11-.'l' ve told. : you— ".• he ' began - 1 n' ; a voice
thlck",with? passion. I . '.- '-' \u25a0' : ' ' "'- * : *'
;1: ' down i !" '. Calendar jcu t ; In , con
stemptudusly.{i?"Sits down 'ftd'you? hear?
tThat'sjallfoverjand f done^withfjriiWejuns
\u25a0; der stand ' each ! other; now.- and* you .won' t
itry, "any, •moreymonkej'.i shines. l^) It's ; a
i square^deal and» r a* square,i r divide^ > so'
.^far;s^3i;mi concerned; r If Xwe- stick :,tb-;
Jge th e'r Ith e"r 6' 1 1! b^"| profit fe nou ghT f o" rS&U
-....\u25a0.-: <^;-.i»> J i:r*s-.V'V:' <I .i-'.' t 3i#*fc-k«j?:i*a^l>'- J '-. ."> ;\u25a0 •,-.:- I- -i--* \u25a0-, ::.
concerned. Sit down, Mul, and have
another slug of the captaln'3 burn
rum.". - r •-
Although Mulready consented to be
pacified. Kirkwood got the Impression
that the- man was ; far gone in flrlnic
A moment later he heard him growl
"Chlnchln!" antiphonal to the captain's
"Cheer-o!" j
"Now, then." Calendar proposed, "Mr.
Kirkwood aside — peace be with him!—
let's get down to cases.'! ...
; -'Wot's : tho rdw?". asked the captain.
; "The row, cap'n,; is the Hallam fe
male,-who has unexpectedly shown up
In Antwerp, we have reason to believe
with malicious intent and a private
detective to add to the gaiety of na
tions."
""Wot's the .odds? She, carn't 'urt us
without lyin' up trouble for 'erself."
"D— — -n little. consolation to us when
we're working it out in Dartmoor."
"Speak; for yourself,", grunted Mul
ready; surlily. \u25a0-' ;
? VI do," returned Calendar easily;
"we're both in the shadow of Dartmoor.
\u25a0Mul, v my. boy; since you choose'to take
the reference as personal. . Sing Singv
howeycr, yawns for me alone; it's go- .
ing to keep 'on yawning", too. unless I
miss my. guess. I love my native 'land
most to death, but . • ,•"\u25a0
"Owv blow -that!". Interrupted the cap
tain " Irritably. "Let's 'car about the
'Allam. Wot "re you .afryd/of?"
- " 'Frald she'll set up a yell when she
finds out we're planting the loot, Cap'n.
She's; just that vindictive: you'd think
she'd be satisfied with, her end of the
stick, but you don't know the Hallam.
That milk and water' offspring of hers
Is the apple of her eye. and Freddie's
going to collar the whole shooting
match or madam will kick 'over the
traces."
"Weli?" , ........ z^.i^y, :: x
"Well, she's/ queered us here. We
.can't do anything if my lady Is going
to camp on our trail and tell everybody
we're shady customers,* can we? The
question before the board Is: Where
now— and how?"
Mulready chimed in.' "l
told you that in the Beginning."
"But how?" argued Calendar. "The
Lord. knows I'm willing, but ... we
can't go by rail, thanks to the Hallam.
We've got to lose her first of all."
"But wot I'm askln* is, wot's the mat
ter with — " -
"The Alethea, cap'n? Nothing, so far
as Dick and I are concerned. But my
-dutiful daughter Is prejudiced; she's
been so long without propec paternal
discipline." Calendar laughed, "that
sho's rather high spirited. Of .course I
might overcome her. objections, but the
girl's no fool, and every ounce of pres
sure I bring to bear just now only helps
make her more restless and suspicious."
"You leave her to me." Mulready In
terposed. wi|ha brutal laugh. "I'll
guarantee to get her aboard, or. . . ."
"Drop it. Dick!" Calendar advised
quietly. "And go a bit easy with that
bottle for five minutes, can't you?"
"Well, then," Stryker resumed,, ap
parently concurring in Calendar's atti
tude "wy don't one of you tyke the
stuff, go off quiet and dispose of it to a
proper fence, and come back to divide.
I don't see w'y that — *'
you wouldn't." chuckled
Calendar. "Few people besides the two
of us understand the depth of affection
existing between Dick, here, and me.
\\e just can't bear to get out of sight
of each other. We're sure Inseparable
—since night before h\st. Odd. Isn't it?"
'"You drop It!" snarled Mulready. In
accents so ugly that the listener was
startled. "Enough's enough and "
"There, there, Dick! All right; I'll
behave." Calendar soothed him. "We'll
forget and say no more about It."
"Well, see you dpn'L"
"But 'as either of you a plan'" Der
s"isted; Stryker.
"I have," replied Mulready;- "and It's
the simplest and best, if you could only
make this long lost parent here see it"
"Wot is it?" ;
Mulready seemed to ignore Calendar
and address himself to the captain. He
articulated with some difficulty, slur
ring his words to" the point of* Indis
tinctness at times.
_:, "Simple enough,", he propounded
solemnly. "We've got the gladstone
bag here; Miss Dolly's at t the hotel—
that's her papa's -bright notion: he
thinks she's to be trusted' . . . Now
then, what's the matter with weighing
anchor and slipping quietly out to sear*
!! Leavln * the dootiful darter?"
"Cert'n'y. She's only a drag anyway.
Better off without her. .... Then
we. can wait our time and get highest
market prices" — ' ..
"You forget. Dick,". Calendar put It.
•that there's a thousand In It for each
of us if she's kept out of England for
six weeks. A thousand's five thousand
in the land I hall from; lean use five
thousand in my business."
"Why can't you be content with what
you'vo got?" demanded Mulready,
.wrathfully.
"Because I'm a seventh son of a sev
enth son; I can see an inch or two be
yond my nose. If Dorothy ever flnd3
her- way back to England she'll spo'l
one ;Of the finest fields of legitimate
graft I ever licked my lips to look at.
The trouble with you.'Mul, Is you're too
\u25a0 high toned. You want to play, the swell
mobsman from. post to finish.. A quick
touch and a clean getaway for yours.
Now. that's all right; that has its good
points,' but you, don't want to. underes
timate the advantages of a good black
mailing, connection. . \u0084 . if I can
keep Dorothy quiet long 1 enough, I look
to the Hallam and precious Freddie to
be a great comfort to me in my old
age."
- "Then,; for God's sake," cried Mul
ready, "go to the hotel, get your brat
by the scruff of her pretty neck.and
drag her aboard. Let's get out of this."
"I won't," returned Calendar Inflex
ibly.^ "\u25a0_• :\ ; '... • : . -— ,:..- ,T
•The dispute continued, but the lis
tener.; had heard enough. He had to
get away and think, T could .no longer
listen; Indeed, the- voices "of : the three
; ; blackguards below , came., but Indis
tinctly; to his ears, as if from a dis
tance. : He was sick at heart and ablazo
wlth> indignation by turns. Uncon
sciously - he was trembling; violently
:In every, limb; swept . by alternate
waves;. of heat and' cold, feverish one
\u25a0 minute, shivering the next. - All . of
which phenomena r were -due : solely to
the rage that welled inside his heart.
- 1 Stealthily he crept away to the rail,
to stand grasplng;lt and staring across
the Awater ."with '-unseeing I , eyes at" the
gay old city twinkling back with. her
thousand byes;of light. ; The cool 'night
breeze,', sweeping down unhindered over
. the i level ..Netherlands i from the ; bleak
North sea, .was comforting to -his throb
<blng:: temples. By; degrees his head
;cleared,\hls rioting, pulses subsided, he
.could ;thlnk;.and .he did.. \u0084 "/•-.
Over . there, across the water, in , the
dingy, and , disreputable : HotefSlu Com
merce." ' Dorothy > waited In her. "room,
doubtless \u0084•t he rprey-'of .unnumbered
nameless- terrors.' -^while aboard the
>brlganttne her fate was -being.; decided
,by;.' a:-" council of .three .unspeakable
scoundrels,' ' One of "whom, professing
1 himself .her. father, 'openly, declared "his
iiritentiori, of using-; hereto : further /hia
!eelflsh ? and 'criminal : , ends. , •
r :Hisy- first v and: natural ; thought^
•to; steal away to her- and* induce
"her/tolaccompany hlmiback:to' England
,; Kirkwood, perforceldlscarded. i He could
:\u25a0 have^wept^overVthe* realization* of .his
•\u25a0 tmpotencj'/ '; He ' ' had "*. no
1 money— not; even; "cab {fare /from, the
- hoteU* to ? the |. railway v station:- iSpine-
Ithing.' subtler, .niore ''- crafty, had to be
to meetitheyernergency.** And
there 'was -"one way,)one only;; he could
see none other. . Temporarily he must
make himself one of the company ot
her enemies, force himself upon them,
ingratiate himself- Into their good
graces, gain their confidence. th««n.
when opportunity offered! betray thsrr..
"And .the power to make them tolerate
him.. lf not receive him as a fellow, the
knowledge of them and their plans
-that they had .unwittingly siren him.
was his.
And Dorothy was waltlns- . - .
He swung round and without ct
temptlng to muffte his footfalls 3fr«u«
toward the companionway. He must
pretend he had just come aboard.
Subconsciously he had been aware,
during his time of- pondering, that the
voices In the cabin had been steadily
gaining In volume, rising inuder and
yet more loud, Mulready's ominous,
drink blurred accents dominating the
others. There- was a quarrel afoot:
as soon as he gave it heed. KirkwocC
understood that Mulready. in the mad
ness of his inflamed brain, was forcing
the issue while Calendar sought vainly
to calm and soothe him.
- The American arrived at the head of
the companionway at a critical junc
ture. : As he' moved to descend some
low, cool toned retort of Calendar's
seemed to enrage his confederate be
yond reason. He yelped aloud with
wrath, sprang to his feet, knocking
over a chair, and leaping back toward
the, foot of the steps, flashed an adroit
hand behind him and found hl3 re
volver. '
" "I've stood enough from you!" h»
screamed, his voice oddly clear In that
moment of insanity. "You've played
with me as long as you will, you hulk-
Ing American hog! And now I'm going
to show—"
As he held his fire to permit his de
nunciation to bite home. Kirkwood. ap
palled to find himself standing on the
threshold of a tragedy, gathered him
self together and launched through the
air, straight for the madman's shoul
ders.
As they went down together, sprawl
ing, Mulready's head struck against a
transom and the revolver fell from his
limp fingers.
CHAPTER 3CIV
Stratasems and Spoils
PREPARED as he had been for the
shock. Kirkwood was able to
pick himself up quickly, unin
jured. Mulready's revolver in his
grasp.
On his feet, straddling Mulready's In
sentient body, he confronted Calendar
and Stryker. The face of the latter vra.a
a sickly green, the gift of his fright.
The former seemed coldly composed, al
ready recovering from his surprise and
bringing his wits to bear upon the new
factor which had been so unceremo
niously injected into the situation.
Standing:, but leaning heavily upon a
hand that rested flat on the table, in
the other he likewise held a revolver,
which he had apparently drawn In self
defense at the crisis of Mulready'a
frenzy. Its muzzle was deflected. He.
looked Kirkwood over with a cool gray
eye. the color gradually returning to
his fat, clean shaven cheek 3, replacing
- the pardonable pallor which had mo
mentarily rested thereon.
As for Kirkwood, he had covered the
, fat adventurer before he knew it.
Stryker. who had been standing Imme
diately In the rear of Calendar. Imme
diately cowered and cringed to find him
self In the line of fire.
Of the three conscious men !n the
. brlgantine's cabin Calendar was prob
ably the least confused or excited.
Stryker was palpably unmanned. Kirk
wtfod was tingling with a sense of mas
tery, but collected and rapidly revolv
ing the combinations for the reversed
conditions which had been brought
about by Mulready's drunken folly. His
elation .was apparent in his shining,
boyish eyes as wejl a3 In the. bright
color that glowed In his cheeks. When
he decided to speak it was with rapid
enunciation, but clearly and concisely.
"Calendar." he b^gan. "If a. single shot
is fired about thl3 vessel the river po
lice,will be buzzing round your ears In
a brace of shakes."
. The fat adventurer nodded assent, his
eyes contracting.
'"Very well," continued Kirkwood
brusquely. "You must know that I have
nothing to personally fear from the po
lice: if arrested I wouldn't be detained
a day. On the other hand, you . . .
Hand me that pistol. Calendar, butt
first, please. Look sharp, my man! If
you don't" . . .
He left the ellipsis to be filled in by
the corpulent blackguard' 3 Intelligence.
The latter. 'gray eye 3 still Intent on the
younger man's face, wavered, plainly
Impressed, but still wondering.
"Quick! I'm not patient tonight."
No longer was Calendar of two
minds. In the face of Kirkwood*s at
titude there was but one course to be
followed, that of obedience. Calendar
surrendered an untenable position, aa
gracefully as could be wished.
"I guess you know what you mean
by this," he said, tendering the wea
pon as per instructions. I'm dog
goned if you do. . . . You'll allow a
certain latitude in consideration of
my relief;! can't say we were antici
pating this — ah — heaven sent visita
tion."
Accepting the revolver with the left
hand and settling his forefinger on
the "trigger, Kirkwood \u25a0 beamed with
pure enjoyment. He found the defer
ence of the older man, tempered
though . it was by his indomitable
swagger, refreshing In the extreme.
"A little appreciation Isn't exactly
out of place, come to think of it." ha
adding, with an eye for
the captain. "Stryker. you bold, bad
\u25a0 butterfly, have you got a gun con
cealed about your unclean person?"
The captain shook visibly with, con
trition. "No. Mr. Kirkwood,',* he man
aged to reply. In a voice singularly
lacking In his wonted bluster.
' , "Say . *slr'l" suggested Kirkwood.
. "No. Mr. Kirkwood, sir," amended
Stryker eagerly.
• "Now come around here and let's
have a look at you. . Please stay whero
you are. Calendar. . . ."Why. cap
tain, you're shivering from head to
foot! Not 111. are you. you wag? Step
over to the table r there, Stryker. and
turn out your pockets; turn "em in
side out^ and let's see what you carry
in the way of offensive artillery.- And
Stryker. don't be rash; don't do any
thing you'd ; be sorry for afterward."
.": "No fear of that." mumbled the cap
tain, meekly shambling toward tha
table, and. In his anxiety to give no
. cause .for unpleasantness, beginning to
empty his pockets on the way.
.'Don't forget the 'sir.* Stryker. And.
Stryker, If you happen to think of any
thing In the line of one of your merry
quips or. jesta, don't strain yourself
holding In; get it right off your. chest,
and you'll feel better."
Kirkwood chuckled, in high conceit
with himself, t watching Calendar out
of the corner ;of his eye. but with hl3
s attention centered on the Infinitely dl
„ verting spectacle afforded by. Stryker.
whose predacious hands were trembling
violently as, one by one, they brought
; to. light the articles of, which he had
' despoiled : his erstwhile victim. .; ;
-''"Come, come/ Stryker! Surely you
can", thinkr of witty — surely
you haven't exhausted the possibilities
of .that; almanac joke!. Couldn't you
.ring 'another, variation on; the lunatic
,wheeze?-?, wheeze?-? Don't hesitate out of con
sideration-for me, captain: I'm Joks
probf-^-perhaps yo«i*ve noticed?"
(To Be Continued Next .Week}