"He presents credentials signed by General Kitchener," says Old Hickory.
"He"s looking up munition contracts. Not the financial end. Nor is he an artillery expert. Just exactly what he is here for I"ve failed to discover, and I am too busy to bother with him."
"I get you," says I. "You want him shunted."
Old Hickory nods.
"Quite delicately, however," he goes on.
"The Lieutenant seems to have something on his mind--something heavy. I infer that he wishes to do a little inspecting."
"Oh!" says I.
You see, along late in the summer, one of our Wall Street men had copped out a whalin" big sh.e.l.l-case contract for us, gayly ignorin" the fact that this was clean out of our line.
How Old Hickory did roast him for it at the time! But when he come to figure out the profits, Mr. Ellins don"t do a thing but rustle around, lease all the stray factories in the market, from a canned gas plant in Bayonne to a radiator foundry in Yonkers, fit "em up with the proper machinery, and set "em to turnin" out battle pills by the trainload.
"I gather," says Mr. Ellins, "that the Lieutenant suspects we are not taking elaborate precautions to safeguard our munition plants from--well, Heaven knows what. So if you could show him around and ease his mind any it would be helpful. At least, it would be a relief to me just now.
Come in and meet him."
My idea was to chirk him up at the start.
"Howdy, Lieutenant," says I, extendin" the cordial palm.
But both the Lieutenant"s eyes must have been wandering for he don"t seem to notice my friendly play.
"Ha-ar-r-r yuh," he rumbles from somewhere below his collar-b.u.t.ton, and with great effort he manages to focus on me with his good lamp. For a single-barreled look-over, it"s a keen one, too--like bein" stabbed with a cheese-tester. But it"s soon over, and the next minute he"s listenin"
thoughtful while Old Hickory is explainin" how I"m the one who can tow him around the munition shops.
"Torchy," Mr. Ellins winds up with, shootin" me a meanin" look from under his bushy eyebrows, "I want you to show the Lieutenant our main works."
"Eh?" says I, gawpin". For he knew very well there wasn"t any such thing.
His left eyelid does a slow flutter.
"The main works, you understand," he repeats. "And see that Lieutenant Fothergill is well taken care of. You will find the limousine waiting."
"Yes, sir," says I. "I"m right behind you."
Course, if Mr. Robert had been there instead of off honeymoonin", this would have been his job. He"d have towed Cecil to his club, fed him Martinis and vintage stuff until he couldn"t have told a 32-inch sh.e.l.l from an ashcan; handed him a smooth spiel about capacity, strain tests, shipping facilities, and so on, and dumped him at his hotel entirely satisfied that all was well, without having been off Fifth Avenue.
The best I can do, though, is to steer him into a flossy Broadway grill, shove him the wine-card with the menu, and tell him to go the limit.
He orders a pot of tea and a combination chop.
"Oh, say, have another guess," says I. "What"s the matter with that squab caserole and something in a silver ice-bucket?"
"Thank you, no," says he. "I--er--my nerves, you know."
I couldn"t deny that he looked it, either. Such a high-strung, jumpy party he is, always glancin" around suspicious. And that wanderin" store eye of his, scoutin" about on its own hook independent of the other, sort of adds to the general sleuthy effect. Kind of weird, too.
But I tries to forget that and get down to business.
"Surprisin" ain"t it," says I, "how many of them sh.e.l.ls can be turned out by--"
"S-s-s-sh!" says he, glancin" cautious at the omnibus-boy comin" to set up our table.
"Eh?" says I, after we"ve been supplied with rolls and sweet b.u.t.ter and ice water. "Why the panic?"
"Spies!" he whispers husky.
"What, him?" says I, starin" after the innocent-lookin" party in the white ap.r.o.n.
"There"s no telling," says Cecil. "One can"t be too careful. And it will be best, I think, for you to address me simply as Mr. Fothergill.
As for the--er--goods you are producing, you might speak of them as--er--hams, you know."
I expect I gawped at him some foolish. Think of springin" all that mystery dope right on Broadway! And, as I"m none too anxious to talk about sh.e.l.ls anyway, we don"t have such a chatty luncheon. I"m just as satisfied. I wanted time to think what I should exhibit as the main works.
That Bayonne plant wa"n"t much to look at, just a few sheds and a spur track. I hadn"t been to the Yonkers foundry, but I had an idea it wa"n"t much more impressive. Course, there was the joint on East 153d Street.
I knew that well enough, for I"d helped negotiate the lease.
It had been run by a firm that was buildin" some new kind of marine motors, but had gone broke. Used to be a stove works, I believe.
Anyway, it"s only a two-story cement-block affair, jammed in between some car-barns on one side and a brewery on the other. Hot proposition to trot out as the big end of a six-million-dollar contract! But it was the best I had to offer, and after the Lieutenant had finished his Oolong and lighted a cigarette I loads him into the limousine again and we shoots uptown.
"Here we are," says I, as we turns into a cross street just before it ends in the East River. "The main works," and I waves my band around casual.
"Ah, yes," says he, gettin" his eye on the tall brick stack of the brewery and then lettin" his gaze roam across to the car-barns.
"Temporary quarters," says I. "Kind of miscellaneous, ain"t they?
Here"s the main entrance. Let"s go in here first." And I steers him through the office door of the middle buildin". Then I hunts up the superintendent.
"Just takin" a ramble through the works," says I. "Don"t bother. We"ll find our way."
Some busy little scene it is, too, with all them lathes and things goin", belts whirrin" overhead, and workmen in undershirts about as thick as they could be placed.
I towed Cecil in and out of rooms, up and down stairs, until he must have been dizzy, and ends by leadin" him into the yard.
"Storage sheds," says I, pointin" to the neat rows of sh.e.l.l-cases piled from the ground to the roof. "And a dozen motor-trucks haulin" "em away all the time."
The Lieutenant he inspects some of "em, lookin" wise; and then he walks to the back, where there"s a high board fence with barbed wire on top.
"What"s over there?" says he.
"Blamed if I know," says I.
"It"s rather important," says he. "Let"s have a look."
I didn"t get the connection, but I helped him shove a packin"-case up against the fence, so he could climb up. For a minute or so he stares, then he ducks down and beckons to me.
"I say," he whispers. "Come up here. Don"t show your head. There!