C. S. Montanye

“ When Glendale opened the door of the booth and stepped out it was to find the blond youth of the grill circling the telephone switchboard like a wolf, drawing closer to bend a head in conference with the operator.
With a shrug Glendale sought his room. He collected hat and stick and wondered if it would be wise to arm himself. His shoulders moved once more. This was New York in an age of enlightenment, not some Western mining camp where it was dangerous to prowl at night without a weapon. He recalled the threats of the stoop-shouldered Winter and suppressed a laugh. ”

“ Keeping a wary eye glued to Winter's accomplice, Glendale allowed his imagination to paint mental pictures of Marion North. Once more she was in the lobby of the Hotel King William, giving him the package. Once more she was radiant and beautiful against the shaded table lights and sconces of Au Printemps. Once more her little white hand rested in his in the blackness of the passage of the empty house. He felt himself strangely drawn to her, with heart and pulses quickening their beat. ”

“ Once he heard the pant of a ghostly motor boat passing on the starboard beam; once the sucking gurgle of a whirlpool; the unceasing toll of a bell buoy, and, far away, the grind of the propellers of some night-prowling Sound steamer.
Glendale continued to row. He stopped only to consult his watch in the light of the flash, judging his distance by the elapsing minutes more than by anything else. His strenuous efforts at the oars brought no fatigue to weigh heavily upon him.
He seemed as fresh and vigorous as an athlete ready for some grueling, crucial test of strength. ”

“ How was Glendale to know that some malignant fate had not overtaken the girl with the wistful brown eyes and the lustrous brown hair? Try as he might, he could not put from him the recollection of what she had termed Winter. “The most dangerous man in the world,” she had called him. And secretly, though he would not admit it, he felt that it was the hand of the round-shouldered man that had drawn the taxicab away from the entrance of Au Printemps. ”

“ The glow of a lamp grew until the room was completely illumined again. Glendale blinked at the shadowy figures filling the room.
Near the door Ranscome, the hawk-eyed man in green flannels, stood guard over the battered Pinkie whose wrists wore steel handcuffs. A pace distant three men with drawn guns hedged in the round-shouldered Winter.
Back and away from them Fosdick stood with an arm about Marion North. “Ah, Archer, safe and sound, I see!” the detective said. “Sorry I was late, and so unable to meet you at Bailey's, as you and I arranged to-day. ”

“ Will you go in and tell Jimmy Hope that I would like to speak to him a minute?”
As Glendale nodded, the cab came to a stop before the dazzling face of the café. He alighted and made his way inside, seeing nothing of the rotund manager—which led him to ask a pompous captain of waiters for information.
“Is Mr. Hope about?”
The head of the serving brigade turned. “No, sir. Mr. Hope left about ten minutes ago. He won't return here until to-morrow morning.”
With the syncopated beat of music, following him like a horde of goblins, Glendale picked his way back to Broadway. ”

“ The gangster left the room; Winter, as harmless and inoffensive appearing as ever, blinked his mild, blue eyes and turned back to Glendale.
“So it's you,” he said unconcernedly. “Frankly, your perseverance and stubbornness astound me. Will you never learn to stop butting in on what does not concern you? You're almost as annoying as some of these stupid detectives I occasionally jest with. What brought you here? What do you want? ”

“ It would be better, Glendale decided, to let events shape their own course. Patience always had its own reward. If the package was so badly wanted, it was possible to believe that something would turn up before the evening merged with midnight.
He seemed to know that what had happened was only a prelude to the drama itself, and that there lay in store for him a rush of happenings that would solve to his complete satisfaction the identity of the rightful owner of the box, who the girl was, what part Winter played, and in what manner Green Flannels of the sharp eyes fitted into the picture. ”

“ A man's voice, easily recognizable as that belonging to the round-shouldered little Winter, broke out complainingly: “Well, here we are, Pinkie. A minute now and we can shake a farewell day-day to this town. Once we secure the valise, at least half of our task is done. Then for the charming young lady who is responsible for all this trouble! You're positive, are you, that Glendale hasn't the box?” ”

“ Winter's wrinkled face assumed an owlish expression. “Do? Leave him to cool his head and heels and to ponder what it means to be rash. Ah, Chick. Coast clear?”
The burky gangster, returning, closed the door behind him. “He's alone, boss. He come out in Bailey's dory. There's no one else around.”
Winter nodded. “I thought so. Get the girl, Pinkie. We can't afford to waste all night on this interfering gentleman, as much as we love his company.”
As the blond youth left the room, Glendale's heart leaped and hammered. Marion North was a prisoner in the island rookery! ”

“ But to hope to retain it any length of time is only the fatuous idea of a very unsophisticated young person. By the way, did you happen to tell Mr. Glendale what the box contained?”
“No; I did not,” she replied in a low voice.
Winter exchanged a glance with his confederates. They smiled broadly.
“This is deliciously amusing,” the little man said cryptically. “But to get down to business, I'm going to ask you a frank question and I want a like answer. Was it your charming employer who removed my brown valise from the house on Seventy-fifth Street last night?” ”

“ Glendale saw the girl give him the package and heard her request that he lock it up in his safe. He patted her arm and disappeared into a room the door of which opened out on the alcove.
The girl returned to Glendale, her head high. “There! A load is off my shoulders because the package is safe enough now. You might not think so, but Jimmy Hope is one of the squarest men in the world. If every crook in creation stormed the safe he'd defend my package and guard it!”
A silence fell over them. The girl looked at her wrist watch and then at Glendale. ”

“ Turning into West End Avenue, Glendale discovered their taxicab driver dutifully awaiting them.
“Au Printemps,” he said to the chauffeur, helping the girl to enter the cab and seating himself beside her.
They moved off, retracing their way toward the Rialto.
“I had such hopes,” she began, “such hopes that everything was moving for the best. But now I am not so sure of it. If the man who calls himself Winter has failed to get the valise, it is not unreasonable to believe it has got into other wrong hands. ”

“ They turned twice and then struck a down grade that led to some sort of a shelving beach, back from which bulked a huge, ramshackle wooden building, dark except for the shine of a kerosene lamp in one window that overlooked a rickety porch with a sagging railing.
“That's Bailey's,” Tremaine announced. “Looks like the Ritz, don't it? Lot of folks mistake it.”
The car stopped. Staring, Glendale stroked his chin. To the east, in the night, the north shore of Long Island loomed vaguely, like a low-drifted bank of cloud. ”

“ Fosdick had already made the brown valise with the heirlooms his,” Marion North explained. “He had the same orders I had and a duplicate set of the skeleton keys to get in with.”
They were on the Pelham Parkway. To the southwest the island metropolis lay supine, still lifting its garish reflection to the clouds. Glendale glimpsed it before looking down again at the girl whose brown head drooped wearily to his shoulder.
“Is this the end?” Glendale asked in a low voice. “Does the termination of our riddle intricate mean that we are never to see each other again? When may I come for you?” ”

“ The crooks, supposed by Fosdick to have been headed by an archrogue known internationally as Hugo March, had gained entry in the small hours of the morning.
The ancient safe had melted before their attack like snow beneath fire. The first servant down in the morning had discovered the outrage and had immediately telegraphed his master.
Thereafter, Martin Fosdick had been summoned from New York by telephone. Glendale had firm faith in the powers of his friend. Fosdick had been a classmate at college. ”

“ Fosdick said at last. “I'll supply you with a car so you can follow the Packard. I'll send it up to the hotel at half past nine. Drop a gun in your pocket before you start out.” He stood and offered his hand.
“Do you believe there's something big in it?” Glendale asked.
The detective donned his mask again and shrugged. “Perhaps. It won't hurt to look into it. It's an interesting story. You can never tell what's going to result until you probe things.” ”

“ He looked keenly at the girl. “My dear, you and I will journey forthwith to Broadway. It's scarcely one o'clock, and we can reach the café in an hour if we hurry. I dislike rushing you, but you must get me that box to-night. Mr. Glendale will remain here as a hostage.
“You, Pinkie, and you, Chick, will endeavor to entertain him to the best of your ability,” Winter continued. “If for any reason Miss North should change her mind and refuse to give me what I want, I will telephone old man Bailey and have him row out and tell you. ”

“ New York in August is anything but a prepossessing or desirable spot, especially for one who has left the cool greenery and the deep blue of the Sound off Connecticut shores. The metropolis, since Glendale's arrival three days previous, had scorched in what was unpopularly known as a “heat wave.” ”

“ Glendale turned his gaze from his watch to the open doors of the garage. “We shouldn't have to wait long now,” he remarked. “The man we're to follow said ten o'clock. When the Packard appears I don't want you to crowd it too closely; neither do I want you to lose sight of it. A happy medium between far and near will be the right thing, I think.“
“He won't get away,” Tremaine promised.
Ten more minutes elapsed without sign of the dapper Pinkie or the hired car. Glendale trained his glance on the garage. A night-hawking taxicab was having its tank filled from the gasoline pump on the sidewalk. ”

“ When you learn what I mean you will be astonished, I know. It isn't at all kind to keep you in the dark, but it can't be helped. Another directs my moves and to this person I have pledged my silence. You didn't tell me,” she added after a pause, “that you had been held up and searched.”
Glendale explained in a few words, and she nodded. Then Miss North went on:
“You have been awfully kind and brave. I'm sure I don't know what I ever could have done without you. First, this afternoon—Winter knew I had the box, because, you see, by a stroke of luck I was able to take it from his apartment. ”

“ Should he call up his friend and ask advice? Glendale shook his head. Fosdick had his hands full with the Port Royal affair; and his friend would think him a spineless sort of being, unable to care or look out for himself in any sort of predicament. ”

“ It was almost a half hour later before his quick ears caught the sibilant sigh of the Sound along a sandy shore, the beat of it against rocks. Backing water, he stared narrowly over the bow of the dory, detected the dim outlines of the island, and began sculling cautiously in. ”

“ I'll shoot the first one who makes a false move!”
Glendale's order was complied with at once. The burly gangster placed his shoulders to the wall and lifted grimy hands. Winter, less rapid in his movements, allowed the fingers of his right hand to stray toward his jacket pocket.
Glendale took up a position back of the desk. “Up with your hands, Winter! Don't make the mistake of reaching for a revolver! Miss North will attend to getting the artillery out!” ”

“ If gangster-land was to be invaded, Fosdick sent a slinking roughneck into its jungle and not a flat-footed detective who would have been recognized for what he was before he had gone a pace.
“Martin will recover the heirlooms,” Glendale told himself. “If he can't no one else on earth can!”
He discarded his cigarette and considered what his friend had told him regarding Hugo March. March was a person who dwelt behind a curtain of mystery. ”

“ Chick found out she had a date with Ranscome. When she saw me she got rattled and lost her head. Ten to one Glendale handed her the package back fifteen minutes or so after she gave it to him. She's entirely too clever to let a thing like that be out of her sight for more time than she can help.”
“I don't think so,” the blond one said. “I think Glendale had it, but smuggled it back to her after I frisked him in the alley. I'll tell you why I think so. When he came out of the grill he had a phone call and I was just in time to tip the moll on the board to trace it. It was from Au Printemps. ”

“ If there were gifts to be guarded at a society wedding, it was some man who looked the part who mingled with the guests and not an unintelligent, cigar-chewing, fat individual whose position was recognized at a glance. ”

“ Glendale thought. “He looks like a tough customer. Not the kind of a person you'd like to meet alone on a dark and stormy night.”
The man examined his watch again and peered across the lobby. Presently he stood with what might have been a shrug and fitted his straw hat to his head. He walked leisurely toward the switchboard and public telephone booths of the hotel. Here he gave the girl on duty a number and after a short wait was assigned to the end booth in line, one that was only a few feet distant from Glendale's lounge. ”

“ Do sit down and compose yourself. There are several matters which I must talk over with you. I presume you can imagine what they are.”
Glendale, working at the rope at his wrists, saw Pinkie jauntily light a cigarette and wink at the burly gangster. Both took up a station on either side of the chair that the girl occupied, obviously interested to learn what Winter would say.
The little man dropped into the swivel chair and faced Marion North across the desk. He clipped the end from a symmetrical cigar, lighted it, and sat back with the same languid ease he might have used in a club lounge. ”