"I am not alarmed," replied Norton. "I am only chagrined. Since General Henderson is not to be found here I must be excused."
"I will excuse you presently."
"Ah! I begin to see."
"Indeed!" mocked Braine.
"I have tumbled or walked into a trap."
"A keen mind like yours must have recognized that fact the moment you discovered that I was not the general."
"I am indebted to the Black Hundred?" coolly.
"Precisely. We do not wish you ill, Mr. Norton."
"To be sure, no!" ironically. "What with falling safes, poisoned cigarettes, and so forth, I can readily see that you have my welfare at heart. What puzzled me was the suddenness with which these affectionate signs ceased."
"You"re a man of heart," said Braine with genuine admiration. "These affectionate signs, as you call them, ceased because for the time being you ceased to be a menace. You have become that once more, and here you are!"
"And what are you going to do with me now that you have got me?"
"There will be two courses." Braine reached into a drawer and drew out a thick roll of bills. "There are here something like $5,000."
"Quite a tidy sum; enough for a chap to get married on."
The two eyed each other steadily. And in his heart Braine sighed. For he saw in this young man"s eyes incorruptibility.
"It is yours on one condition," said Braine, reaching out his foot stealthily toward the b.u.t.ton which would summon Samson.
"And that is," interpolated Norton, "that I join the Black Hundred."
"Or the great beyond, my lad," took up Braine, his voice crisp and cold.
Norton could not repress a shiver. Where had he heard this voice before? ... Braine! He stiffened.
"Murder in cold blood?" he managed to say.
"Indefinite imprisonment. Choose."
"I have chosen."
"H"m!" Braine rose and went over to the sideboard for the brandy.
"I"m going to offer you a drink to show you that personally there are no hard feelings. You are in the way. After you, our friend, Jones.
This brandy is not poisoned, neither are the gla.s.ses. Choose either and I"ll drink first. We are all desperate men, Norton; and we stop at nothing. Your life hangs by a hair. Do you know where Hargreave is?"
Norton eyed his liquor thoughtfully.
"Do you know where the money is?"
Norton smelt of the brandy.
"I am sorry," said Braine. "I should have liked to win over a head like yours."
Norton nonchalantly took out his watch, and that bit of bravado perhaps saved his life. In the case of his watch he saw a brutal face behind him. Without a tremor, Norton took up his gla.s.s.
"I am sorry to disappoint you," he said, "but I shall neither join you nor go to by-by."
Quick as a bird shadow above gra.s.s, he flung his brandy over his shoulder into the face of the man behind. Samson yelled with pain.
Almost at the same instant Norton pushed over the table, upsetting Braine with it. Next he dashed through the curtains, slammed the door, and fled to the street, very shaky about the knees, if the truth is to be told.
General Henderson"s views upon the latest Balkan muddle were missing from the _Blade_ the following morning. Norton, instead of returning to the general"s and fulfilling his a.s.signment like a dutiful reporter, hurried out to Riverside to acquaint Jones with what had happened.
Jones was glad to see him safe and sound.
"That new reporter started the game," he said. "I overheard a word or two while he was talking in the booth. All your telephone booths are ramshackle affairs, you use them so constantly. I tried to find you, but you were out of sight. Now, tell me what happened."
"Sh!" warned Norton as he spied Florence coming down the stairs.
"I thought you couldn"t come!" she cried. "But ten o"clock!"
"I changed my mind," he replied, laughing.
He caught her arm in his and drew her toward the library. Jones smiled after them with that enigmatical smile of his, which might have signified irony or affection. After half an hour"s chat, Florence, quite unaware that the two men wished to talk, retired.
At the door Norton told Jones what had taken place at 49 Elm Street.
"Ah! we must not forget that number," mused Jones. "My advice is, keep an eye on this Gregg chap. We may get somewhere by watching him."
"Do you know where Hargreave is?"
Jones scratched his chin reflectively.
Norton laughed. "I can"t get anything out of you."
"Much less any one else. I"m growing fond of you, my boy. You"re a man."
"Thanks; and good night."
When Olga Perigoff called the next day Jones divested himself of his livery, donned a plain coat and hat, and left the house stealthily.
To-day he was determined to learn something definite in regard to this suave, handsome Russian. When she left the house Jones rose from his hiding place and proceeded to follow her. The result of this espionage on the part of Jones will be seen presently.
Meantime Jim went down to the office and lied cheerfully about his missing the general. Whether the city editor believed him or not is of no matter. Jim went over to his desk. From the corner of his eye he could see Gregg scribbling away. He never raised his head as Jim sat down to read his mail. After a while Gregg rose and left the office; and, of course, Jim left shortly afterward. When the newcomer saw that he was being followed, he smiled and continued on his way. This Norton chap was suspicious. All the better; his suspicions should be made the hook to land him with. By and by the man turned into a drug store and Jim loitered about till he reappeared. Gregg walked with brisker steps now. It was his intention to lead Norton on a wild goose chase for an hour or so, long enough to give Braine time to arrange a welcome at another house.
Norton kept perhaps half a block in the rear of his man all the while.
But for this caution he would have witnessed a little pantomime that would have put him wholly upon his guard. Turning a corner, Gregg all but b.u.mped into the countess. He was quick enough to place a finger on his lips and motion his head toward a taxicab. Olga hadn"t the least idea who was coming around the corner, but she hailed the cab and was off in it before Jim swung around the corner.
Jones, who had followed the countess for something over an hour and a half, hugged a doorway. What now? he wondered. The countess knew the man. That was evidence enough for the astute butler. But what meant the pantomime and the subsequent hurry? He soon learned. The man Gregg went his way, and then Jim turned the corner. Jones cast a wistful glance at the vanishing cab of the Russian, and decided to shadow the shadower--in other words, to follow the reporter, to see that nothing serious befell him.
The lurer finally paused at a door, opened it with a key and swung it behind him, very careful, however, not to spring the latch. Naturally Jim was mightily pleased when he found the door could be opened. When Jones, not far behind, saw him open the door, he started to call out a warning, but thought the better of it. If Norton was walking into a trap it was far better that he, Jones, should remain outside of it. If Jim did not appear after a certain length of time, he would start an investigation on his own account.