"Ah, but you don"t understand, Mr. Ackerman. It"s a machine, and you can"t run against it; you gotta understand it, you gotta handle it right. I"d like to help you, and I know I can help you, but you gotta let me explain it, and you gotta understand some things."
"All right," said the old man. "Go ahead, what is it?"
"Now," said Peter, "it"s like this. These police and all these fellows mean well, but they don"t understand; it"s too complicated, they ain"t been in this movement long enough. They"re used to dealing with criminals; but these Reds, you see, are cranks.
Criminals ain"t organized, at least they don"t stand together; but these Reds do, and if you fight "em, they fight back, and they make what they call "propaganda." And that propaganda is dangerous--if you make a wrong move, you may find you"ve made "em stronger than they were before."
"Yes, I see that," said the old man. "Well?"
"Then again, the police dunno how dangerous they are. You try to tell them things, they won"t really believe you. I"ve known for a long time there was a group of these people getting together to kill off all the rich men, the big men all over the country. They"ve been spying on these rich men, getting ready to kill them. They know a lot about them that you can"t explain their knowing. That"s how I got the idea they had somebody in your house, Mr. Ackerman."
"Tell me what you mean. Tell me at once."
"Well, sir, every once in a while I pick up sc.r.a.ps of conversation.
One day I heard Mac--"
"Mac?"
"That"s McCormick, the one who"s in jail. He"s an I. W. W. leader, and I think the most dangerous of all. I heard him whispering to another fellow, and it scared me, because it had to do with killing a rich man. He"d been watching this rich man, and said he was going to shoot him down right in his own house! I didn"t hear the name of the man--I walked away, because I didn"t want him to think I was trying to listen in. They"re awful suspicious, these fellows; if you watch Mac you see him looking around over his shoulder every minute or two. So I strolled off, and then I strolled back again, and he was laughing about something, and I heard him say these words; I heard him say, "I was hiding behind the curtain, and there was a Spanish fellow painted on the wall, and every time I peeked out that b.u.g.g.e.r was looking at me, and I wondered if he wasn"t going to give me away.""
And Peter stopped. His eyes had got used to the twilight now, and he could see the old banker"s eyes starting out from the crescents of dark, puffy flesh underneath. "My G.o.d!" whispered Nelse Ackerman.
"Now, that was all I heard," said Peter. "And I didn"t know what it meant. But when I learned about that drawing that Mac had made of your house, I thought to myself, Jesus, I bet that was Mr. Ackerman he was waiting to shoot!"
"Good G.o.d! Good G.o.d!" whispered the old man; and his trembling fingers pulled at the embroidery on the coverlet. The telephone rang, and he took up the receiver, and told somebody he was too busy now to talk; they would have to call him later. He had another coughing spell, so that Peter thought he was going to choke, and had to help him get some medicine down his throat. Peter was a little bit shocked to see such obvious and abject fear in one of the G.o.ds.
After all, they were just men, these Olympians, as much subject to pain and death as Peter Gudge himself!
Also Peter was surprised to find how "easy" Mr. Ackerman was. He made no lofty pretence of being indifferent to the Reds. He put himself at Peter"s mercy, to be milked at Peter"s convenience. And Peter would make the most of this opportunity.
"Now, Mr. Ackerman," he began, "You can see it wouldn"t be any use to tell things like that to the police. They dunno how to handle such a situation; the honest truth is, they don"t take these Reds serious. They"ll spend ten times as much money to catch a plain burglar as they will to watch a whole gang like this."
"How can they have got into my home?" cried the old man.
"They get in by ways you"d never dream of, Mr. Ackerman. They have people who agree with them. Why, you got no idea, there"s some preachers that are Reds, and some college teachers, and some rich men like yourself."
"I know, I know," said Ackerman. "But surely--"
"How can you tell? You may have a traitor right in your own family."
So Peter went on, spreading the Red Terror in the soul of this old millionaire who did not want to be killed. He said again that he did not want to be killed, and explained his reluctance in some detail.
So many people were dependent upon him for their livings, Peter could have no conception of it! There were probably a hundred thousand men with their families right here in American City, whose jobs depended upon plans which Ackerman was carrying, and which n.o.body but Ackerman could possibly carry. Widows and orphans looked to him for protection of their funds; a vast net-work of responsibilities required his daily, even his hourly decisions. And sure enough, the telephone rang, and Peter heard Nelse Ackerman declare that the Amalgamated Securities Company would have to put off a decision about its dividends until tomorrow, because he was too busy to sign certain papers just then. He hung up the receiver and said: "You see, you see! I tell you, Gudge, we must not let them get me!"
Section 53
They came down to the question of practical plans, and Peter was ready with suggestions. In the first place, Mr. Ackerman must give no hint either to the police authorities or to Guffey that he was dissatisfied with their efforts. He must simply provide for an interview with Peter now and then, and he and Peter, quite privately, must take certain steps to get Mr. Ackerman that protection which his importance to the community made necessary. The first thing was to find out whether or not there was a traitor in Mr. Ackerman"s home, and for that purpose there must be a spy, a first-cla.s.s detective working in some capacity or other. The only trouble was, there were so few detectives you could trust; they were nearly all scoundrels, and if they weren"t scoundrels, it was because they didn"t have sense enough to be--they were b.o.o.bs, and any Red could see thru them in five minutes.
"But I tell you," said Peter, "what I"ve thought. I"ve got a wife that"s a wonder, and just now while we were talking about it, I thought, if I could only get Edythe in here for a few days, I"d find out everything about all the people in your home, your relatives as well as your servants."
"Is she a professional detective?" asked the banker.
"Why no, sir," said Peter. "She was an actress, her name was Edythe Eustace; perhaps you might have heard of her on the stage."
"No, I"m too busy for the theatre," said Mr. Ackerman.
"Of course," said Peter. "Well, I dunno whether she"d be willing to do it; she don"t like having me mix up with these Reds, and she"s been begging me to quit for a long time, and I"d just about promised her I would. But if I tell her about your trouble maybe she might, just as a favor."
But how could Peter"s wife be introduced into the Ackerman household without attracting suspicion? Peter raised this question, pointing out that his wife was a person of too high a social cla.s.s to come as a servant. Mr. Ackerman added that he had nothing to do with engaging his servants, any more than with engaging the bookkeepers in his bank. It would look suspicious for him to make a suggestion to his housekeeper. But finally he remarked that he had a niece who sometimes came to visit him, and would come at once if requested, and would bring Edythe Eustace as her maid. Peter was sure that Edythe would be able to learn this part quickly, she had acted it many times on the stage, in fact, it had been her favorite role. Mr.
Ackerman promised to get word to his niece, and have her meet Edythe at the Hotel de Soto that same afternoon.
Then the old banker pledged his word most solemnly that he would not whisper a hint about this matter except to his niece. Peter was most urgent and emphatic; he specified that the police were not to be told, that no member of the household was to be told, not even Mr.
Ackerman"s private secretary. After Mr. Ackerman had had this duly impressed upon him, he proceeded in turn to impress upon Peter the idea which he considered of most importance in the world: "I don"t want to be killed, Gudge, I tell you I don"t want to be killed!" And Peter solemnly promised to make it his business to listen to all conversations of the Reds in so far as they might bear upon Mr.
Ackerman.
When he rose to take his departure, Mr. Ackerman slipped his trembling fingers into the pocket of his jacket, and pulled out a crisp and shiny note. He unfolded it, and Peter saw that it was a five hundred dollar bill, fresh from the First National Bank of American City, of which Mr. Ackerman was chairman of the board of directors. "Here"s a little present for you, Gudge," he said. "I want you to understand that if you protect me from these villains, I"ll see that you are well taken care of. From now on I want you to be my man."
"Yes, sir," said Peter, "I"ll be it, sir. I thank you very much, sir." And he thrust the bill into his pocket, and bowed himself step by step backwards toward the door. "You"re forgetting your hat,"
said the banker.
"Why, yes," said the trembling Peter, and he came forward again, and got his hat from under the chair, and bowed himself backward again.
"And remember, Gudge," said the old man, "I don"t want to be killed!
I don"t want them to get me!"
Section 54
Peter"s first care when he got back into the city was to go to Mr.
Ackerman"s bank and change that five hundred dollar bill. The cashier gazed at him sternly, and scrutinized the bill carefully, but he gave Peter five one hundred dollar bills without comment.
Peter tucked three of them away in a safe hiding-place, and put the other two in his pocketbook, and went to keep his appointment with Nell.
He told her all that had happened, and where she was to meet Mr.
Ackerman"s niece. "What did he give you?" Nell demanded, at once, and when Peter produced the two bills, she exclaimed, "My G.o.d! the old skint-flint!" "He said there"d be more," remarked Peter.
"It didn"t cost him anything to say that," was Nell"s answer. "We"ll have to put the screws on him." Then she added, "You"d better let me take care of this money for you, Peter."
"Well," said Peter, "I have to have some for my own expenses, you know."
"You"ve got your salary, haven"t you?"
"Yes, that"s true, but--"
"I can keep it safe for you," said Nell, "and some day when you need it you"ll be glad to have it. You"ve never saved anything yourself; that"s a woman"s job."