It could not be Kauffman. While she hesitated whether to steal closer or maintain her position, the two advanced almost to her corner and paused there--in the blackest spot they could find.
"I tell you I won"t do it!" said Tom, in a hard, dogged tone that was tense with excitement. "I"m through, and that"s all there is to it."
"That"s a mistaken notion," was the quiet reply. "You"re too deep in the plot to draw back, and the pay is well worth while."
"I don"t want any more money," growled Tom.
"You"ll get two thousand for this night"s work. Cash. And there is no risk; you know that."
"Risk? G.o.d, man! Can"t you guess how I dream of those poor devils I sent to their death in the airplane job? I hate the money I got!
I--I--"
"See here," said the other voice impatiently, "that was a mistake, and you know it. We didn"t intend murder, but the explosion was delayed. No one will get hurt to-night."
"Not through me," declared Tom.
"If you fail us, you"ll come to grief."
"If I come to grief, so will you. Peach on me, and I"ll blow the whole deal." There was a moment"s silence.
"Would three thousand satisfy you?" demanded the tempter.
"No," a.s.serted Tom stoutly; "I"m goin" to quit. What"s done can"t be undone, but I"m through with you. It--it"s too blamed terrible, that"s what it is! Leave me alone an" let me turn honest. Why don"t you do the job yourself?"
"I think I will," said the other calmly. "If you intend to turn down a good thing, I"ll do my own work and save the money. But remember, Linnet, silence is your only salvation. Don"t talk at all; if you do, you"re liable to say the wrong thing--and you can"t afford to do that."
"I"m no fool," responded the night clerk, a shade of relief in his tone. "But don"t come to me again, Professor. I"m done with you."
Professor! Josie felt a distinct shock. She had to flatten herself against the wall, too, and remain rigid, for the man abruptly turned the corner and marched down the driveway. Half way to the brilliantly lighted street he dodged behind the building opposite the hotel, threading his way through narrow back yards. Josie followed, swift and silent. Finally they reached a place where the man was forced to pa.s.s beneath the rays of a lamp and Josie was near enough to see his face.
It was, in reality, Professor John Dyer.
That a.s.surance was all the girl wanted, just now. She let him go his way and turned to regain the hotel. It was not quite eight o"clock, yet she felt it important to keep an eye on Kauffman and the bomb. The bomb, especially, for until Dyer took possession of the infernal contrivance he could do no mischief.
In the hotel lobby she entered a public telephone booth and called up Jim Crissey; then she went straight to her room. She could hear a low whistling in 45, which informed her that Kauffman had not yet gone out and that he was in a cheerful mood.
"I"m beginning to understand their method of work," Josie reflected.
"Kauffman prepares the bombs, or brings them here under the guise of a suspender salesman; Dyer arranges for their being placed, having secured information as to where an explosion will do the most damage to the government, and Tom Linnet is used as the tool to do the actual work. Mrs. Charleworth probably a.s.sists Dyer in getting special information, and advises the gang, but doesn"t take an active part in the perpetration of the crimes. Her brains and position would naturally place her at the head of the conspirators in Dorfield, although I"m pretty sure Kauffman, as the agent of the Master Spy, can dictate what they must do."
Kauffman slammed his door and locked it. He was going out. Josie opened her own door a crack to look after him. He was walking deliberately down the corridor, openly carrying in his left hand the black satchel.
To Josie this seemed the essence of effrontery. He had no intention of using the fire-escape, after all. He trusted in bravado, as so many careless criminals do. As she stealthily followed him, she observed the man stop in the office and exchange commonplaces with one or two guests whom he knew.
In reality, this was his safest plan. The black bag did not look suspicious. Presently the bomb would be turned over to Dyer and Kauffman"s responsibility would then end. His very boldness was calculated to prevent suspicion.
Leaving the hotel, Kauffman walked leisurely up the lighted street.
Only when he turned a corner did Josie momentarily lose sight of him.
There were many pedestrians at this hour and they masked the girl"s form and for a while enabled her to keep near to the man she was shadowing. The only thing that puzzled Josie was the fact that Kauffman was proceeding in a direction exactly opposite that taken by Dyer a short time before. Dyer went south and Kauffman was going north.
When the business section of Dorfield was pa.s.sed, the streets became more deserted. They were not well lighted either, which favored Josie the more.
Kauffman kept steadily on, and as the houses along the way thinned, Josie decided he was headed directly for the steel works. That upset her calculations a bit, for she knew he had not seen Dyer since the latter"s interview with Tom Linnet, nor had he seen Linnet; therefore he could not know that any arrangements he had previously made with them had fallen through. The German"s present actions, however, indicated that he had decided to place the bomb himself, without the a.s.sistance of his fellow conspirators. Had he been warned of Linnet"s defection? Had he means of communicating with Dyer unknown to Josie?
Dyer was a mystery; even his wife believed he was now on his way to Washington.
Surprises, in Josie"s line of work were not uncommon, and this was no time to consider whys and wherefores. The one thing she was sure of was that the bomb was in the black satchel and the black satchel in Kauffman"s hand. No matter where the other conspirators might be or how they were implicated in tonight"s plot, as long as she kept her eye on the bomb, she would be able to control the situation.
CHAPTER XXII A SLIGHT MISTAKE
From the edge of the town to the steel works the road led through a common, overgrown with brush and weeds. There was no moon and although the distance was not great it was a lonely, dark and "creepy" place. As soon as the girl saw Kauffman take the road to the works she decided to get there before he could do so. Knowing well she could not be seen, she branched off through the brush, and finding her way by instinct rather than sight, ran swiftly in a half circle over the fields and struck the road again considerably in advance of the more deliberate Kauffman.
She now set off at her swiftest run and on reaching the manager"s office, in the front of the main building, perceived that it was lighted.
Josie rapped upon the door and it was opened by one-armed Joe Langley, the night watchman.
"Quick!" she said, "let me in and hide me somewhere, where I can"t be seen."
Joe pulled her in, closed the outer door and locked it, and then faced her.
"What"s up?" he demanded.
"There"s a man coming here with a bomb in a black satchel," she panted.
"He intends to blow up this building, in which all the sh.e.l.ls axe stored. I want to catch him in the act, Joe, and you must hide me somewhere."
Joe glanced around with a puzzled look.
"Where?" he asked helplessly.
So Josie looked around her, too. This end of the long building was part.i.tioned off for offices, as it fronted the town. The central section was a big s.p.a.ce containing a table, benches, etc., while on either side were little gla.s.s rooms with part.i.tions between them reaching about seven feet in height, the ceiling being some twelve feet from the floor. The first room to the left of the entrance was marked "Manager" on its gla.s.s door; the next office "Purchasing Agent," and the third "Chief Engineer." On the right hand side, the corresponding offices were marked "Secretary," "Examiner," and "Superintendent." All the office doors were locked except that of the Purchasing Agent, which stood ajar. Josie sprang into that office and cast a hurried glance around. The gla.s.s division between that and the manager"s office was "frosted" with white paint, but so carelessly done that she found places where she could see through into the office of the manager. Also she could see into the main, or reception room, even with her door closed.
While she examined this place a knock came on the outer door--a loud, imperative knock.
"This will do," whispered Josie to Joe. "Go an let him in, but don"t let him suspect I"m here."
Joe was not quick-witted, but on the battlefields of France he had learned prompt obedience to orders. Josie, as a government agent, was now his commander, so he merely nodded to her as he walked over to unlock the outer door.
Kauffman stepped in, satchel in hand.
"You"re the watchman, I suppose," he said cheerfully. "Is Mr. Colton here?"
"No," answered Joe.
"I was to meet him here at this time," said Kauffman.
"He said he"d be back this evening," returned Joe, just recalling that fact, "but he isn"t here yet."
"All right," said the man, "I"ll wait."
He carefully placed the satchel on the table and sat down on a bench.
Joe regarded him suspiciously, remembering the girl"s warning, but said nothing more. Josie was watching Kauffman from her retreat, but as her little office was dark and the German sat under a bright light it was impossible for him to know that his every movement was under observation.