"You told him I had sent for you, Ernie. Don"t lie. I know you did.
It"s all right. So, you see, my little strategy worked out beautifully.
I want to see d.i.c.k quite as much as I do you. We"ll wait until he comes up to see what"s happened to you."
Ernie hesitated, then broke out with an uneasy note in his voice. "You said it would be worth a thousand and maybe more to me. Well, I"m square with d.i.c.k. He divides with me. I want to let him in on anything good that comes my way."
"I see. You are willing to divide with him, so you are going to let him in on condition that he will do _all_ the dirty work while you sit back and boss the job. I see. You are a great financier, Ernie."
"You ought to see my new flat over in Eighth Street," said Ernie proudly, quite taken in by the Colonel"s none too gentle sarcasm.
"You don"t share that with d.i.c.k, I imagine."
"Well, hardly!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed d.i.c.k"s brother. Suddenly his uneasiness developed into a sort of whining protest. "Say, if you got anything to say to me, say it. I got to be moving along. If I can make a thousand honestly, I"m on the job. What"s--"
"We"ll wait for d.i.c.k," observed the Colonel coolly. He took his time to light a long cigar, the hunchback looking on with curiosity and doubt in his shifty eyes. Then he handed a cigar to his guest. "Have a cigar.
I"d offer you a drink, only I don"t believe in drinking between friends. Only enemies drink to each other, Ernie. Bear that in mind.
Unconscious enemies."
"I don"t drink," was the surly rejoinder.
Precisely ten minutes later Colonel Grand got up from his chair. In three strides he was at the door; he turned the key and--
There was d.i.c.k Cronk leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the hallway, his hands in his pockets, his long legs crossed, his "dicer" on the back of his head. There was no evidence of surprise or confusion in his face; he was as composed, as serene, as if the expected had occurred. A bland smile greeted the triumphant Colonel.
"Evening, Colonel. Have you seen anything of a lost boy around here?"
The other stood aside, giving him a fair view of the room. "Come in, d.i.c.k. I"ve been expecting you," he said quietly.
d.i.c.k stared for a second or two longer than he might have done under less trying conditions.
"No, thanks. I"ll wait out here," he said dryly. He did not change his att.i.tude in the least.
"We"ve been waiting for you," said the Colonel. "We can"t proceed without you. Do me the honor to step into my parlor." He bowed very deeply.
""Said the spider to the fly,"" quoth d.i.c.k, shifting his foot.
Ernie appeared behind Colonel Grand. He indicated by a significant motion of his head that d.i.c.k was to enter, and without delay. Slowly the long pickpocket unwound his legs. He then removed his hands from his pockets, after which he coolly strode into the room. The door was closed quickly after him. There was an inscrutable smile on his face, even before the sharp exclamation of concern fell from the lips of Colonel Grand.
"I"ve got the key here in my hand, Colonel," he observed, with his gentlest smile. The older man glared for a moment and then broke into a short, even admiring laugh.
"You are a wonder, d.i.c.k. You must have wished it out of the door. I"ll swear my hand hasn"t been off the k.n.o.b since I opened it a minute ago.
How do you do it?"
"Simple twist of the wrist--_presto visto_, as the feller"d say. Don"t worry. I"ll leave it in the door when I depart. And say, while we"re exchanging compliments, allow me to hand you one. You"re something of a wizard, too. I don"t wonder you always win at poker if you can see through an oak door as easy as all that."
"We"d better lock the door," urged the other, paying no heed to the remark.
"All right. But, if you don"t mind, I"ll keep the key." He locked the door and then turned toward Ernie, sudden comprehension in his face.
"Oh, you told him I came over with you. That explains it." Ernie protested. He would have repeated the entire conversation that had taken place if the Colonel had not stopped him with considerable acerbity.
"You can talk that over afterwards," he said sharply. Ernie winced.
Grand did not observe the ugly gleam that flickered for an instant in d.i.c.k Cronk"s eyes. "I"ve got a proposition to make to you fellows."
"What has it got to do with Tom Braddock?" demanded d.i.c.k bluntly. He sat on the edge of the table, one foot touching the floor.
The Colonel came to the point without delay.
"There"s no sense in beating about the bush with you, I see," he remarked. "I want to get this man Braddock out of the way for good and all. He"s a menace to me and I"m willing to pay to have him completely blotted out. You fellows are out for the coin of the realm. You, d.i.c.k, get it in dribs by plundering the unwary. It"s slow work and dangerous.
Ernie lives off of you with something of the voracity of a leech--no offense intended, Ernie. Now, why not turn your hand to something big and definite and safe?" He paused to let the idea sink into Ernie"s avaricious soul.
d.i.c.k drew a long breath. "Why don"t you kill him yourself?" he asked, shooting a quick, apprehensive look at his brother"s face. Ernie"s eyes were glistening.
"I didn"t mention a killing, did I?" retorted Grand, momentarily disturbed. "If I had that in mind, d.i.c.k, I daresay I could accomplish it without calling on you for aid. What I want is to see him landed in Sing Sing for a long term of years--the limit, you might say."
"See here, Grand, you"ve called in the wrong stoolpigeon this time. I"m not in that kind of business. Never in all my life have I put up a job on a pal, never have I done a trick as dirt-mean as that. I guess you"ll have to count me and Ernie out."
"Don"t go off half-c.o.c.ked, d.i.c.k," admonished the Colonel easily.
"You"re no fool, nor is Ernie. It"s worth just ten thousand between you if Tom Braddock is landed to-night, with the goods on him, so to speak.
Two thousand down, the balance--"
"You infernal beast!" snarled d.i.c.k, standing squarely in front of him and glaring into his eyes with a scorn so shriveling that the other drew back with an oath. "So that"s what you wanted with Ernie, is it?
Through him you hoped to get me to do the trick, eh? Well, you"ve slipped up good and hard on _me_. I--"
Ernie, his lips twitching, his fingers working, seized his brother"s arm and pulled him back.
"Wait a minute, d.i.c.k,--listen to me," he fairly croaked in his excitement. "Let"s hear what his plan is. Maybe we can see a way to help him. Le" me talk, d.i.c.k. Leave it to me. I"m smart and sensible.
You"re off your nut to-night. Just le" me do the talking."
"That"s right," cried the Colonel quickly. He recognized an a.s.set in Ernie"s despicable greed.
d.i.c.k shook off his brother"s hand. "No! This is no business of yours, Ernie. I"m the one he wants to d.i.c.ker with. You can"t put up a job on Brad and he knows it. He"s just using you to land me. Not for ten million, Grand. Do you get that?"
"Don"t shout so that they can hear you in the street," cried Grand, scowling deeply. "Let me have a few words with Ernie."
"Yes, d.i.c.k, you"d better shut up," added Ernie eagerly. "I"ll just talk it over with the Colonel. If we find we can"t do it, why, we"ll tell him so, that"s all. I tell you ten thousand"s a lot of money. We could open the nicest kind of a cigar stand with that, and live like honest, respectable men ever afterward."
d.i.c.k sank back against the table and studied his brother"s livid face with the darkest despair in his eyes. His shoulders drooped suddenly.
"Honest and respectable?" he said, pa.s.sing his hand over his eyes. "You mean, _you_ could be all of that, but where would I come in? Would you let me stand behind the showcase in your fine store? Would I ever get so much as a pipeful of tobacco out of it? No! Don"t try to argue with me, Ernie; my mind"s made up. I came here to-night just to save you from a game like this. I knowed you"d be for it strong, and I"d just have to do it if I wasn"t here in the beginning to cork it. Look here, Grand, I don"t know just what your plan is, but I"ll tell you this: I"ll blow on you as sure as I"m alive if you try to carry it out. Tom Braddock is an honest man these days. He"s not a whiskey-soaked b.u.m any longer. He cracked me over the head this morning--you can see the plaster there--but I don"t hold it up against him. He considers me his friend because I swore I"d stand by him if he"d hold back on getting you right away. He trusts me and he thinks you"re all right, too, Ernie. Now, once and for all, I"m not in on this dirty work. _And neither is Ernie!"_
Colonel Grand sat motionless before the angry young man, quietly tapping on the table with his long, white fingers, a faint smile on his half-crescent mouth.
"We"ll see," he said deliberately. "Perhaps you"d better let Ernie do the talking. I don"t believe you are as wise and discreet as you might be, d.i.c.k."
d.i.c.k whirled upon Ernie, who stood behind him. The hunchback was staring at him with a strange, unfamiliar expression in his face. It was a look of combined wonder and awe.
"Come on, Ernie. Let"s get out of here."
"Just a moment, Ernie," interposed the Colonel. "Sit down and listen to what I have to say."