Graham M. Dean

“ There was a real feeling of hope in Bob’s heart as he stepped out of the Department of Justice building with Lieutenant Gibbons at his side.
“Things are going to move fast from now on,” predicted the lieutenant. “By the way, Bob, aren’t you a little young to be a federal agent?”
“I’m not a full-fledged agent,” explained Bob. “When my uncle was assigned to this case and it looked like some valuable information might be gained by an inside man in our office, I was delegated to help him and given papers as a provisional agent. ”

“ Just to be on the safe side, Bob edged away from the door and sought shelter behind a nearby desk. To make sure that he would move noiselessly he slipped off his shoes and placed them beside a filing cabinet where he wouldn’t fall over them if it was necessary for him to make a sudden move.
Strangely enough Bob felt very calm. His heart beat rapidly and his breath came shorter and faster, but his mind was remarkably clear, his hands steady. He was glad now that he did not have the flashlight, for using it would only have made him a target for the marauder. ”

“ Bob started to speak, but his uncle waved the words aside and went on.
“We could plant an agent here, but that might be too obvious. What we need is someone on the inside whom we can trust fully.”
Bob, teetering on the edge of his chair, breathlessly waited for the next words.
“I’m counting on you to be the key in the intrigue that’s going on right now in this building,” said Merritt Hughes. “What about it?”
“You know you can rely on me,” said Bob. “Why, I’d do almost anything, take almost any risk to get into the bureau of investigation of the Department of Justice.” ”

“ Watch every document that comes into your hands and let me know at the slightest unusual happening in this division.”
“I’ll even put eyes in the back of my head,” grinned Bob as his uncle stood up and donned his topcoat.
“How long will you work tonight?” asked Merritt Hughes as he opened the door which gave access to the hallway.
“Probably two hours; maybe even three.”
“Watch yourself. Goodnight.”
Then he was gone and Bob was alone in the high-vaulted room where the rays from the light on his desk failed to penetrate into the deep shadows and a strange feeling of premonition crept over him. ”

“ Bob, watching for some sign of his uncle, thought he saw a form flit toward the side of the street, but he couldn’t be sure.
The car bounced in and out of a ditch, the wheels spinning frantically and finally gaining enough traction to send it ahead once more.
The windshield, which had been struck four times, was a maze of shattered glass, and Bob could see only dimly the light which marked the end of the street. It was impossible to discern anything ahead of him and he turned on the headlights. It didn’t matter much now, for the car was too large a target to miss. ”

“ Fighting in the dark was dangerous business. A wild blow might send his hand crashing into a steel case or against a desk and his knuckles might be broken but it was a chance Bob had to take and he slammed away with a will.
Suddenly the man went limp. Bob caught him, fearing a ruse, and shot home one more hard right. Then he knew that the other was out—out cold, and he suddenly went weak himself.
Fists were beating against the door.
“Open up, open up!” It was Merritt Hughes’ voice. ”

“ It’s a good thing you put in an appearance when you did.”
“I knew speed was essential and I corralled a few of the local police to help me out,” chuckled Merritt Hughes. “Still think you’d like to be a real federal agent?”
“And how!” said Bob sincerely. “It’s got the thrilling kind of a life I’d like to follow.”
[98]
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking it is all thrills and fun. There are months upon months when the cases are the merest of routines and the work is real drudgery. But every so often something bobs up that does add a zest to living. ”

“ Sometimes we have a pretty good idea what’s going through even though it is all under seal and in a special code.”
Bob nodded, for Tully was right. In spite of the secrecy which usually surrounded the filing of important documents, the clerks often knew what was going through their hands, for even the walls in Washington seemed to have eyes and ears and whispers flitted from one department to another in a mysterious underground manner which was impossible to stop. Sometimes the conjecture of the clerks was right; again they might all be wrong. ”

“ Bob didn’t relish seeing Arthur Jacobs, his filing chief, under the barrage of questions he knew Condon Adams would hurl at the little man, but he steeled his nerves for he knew that in his new work he must be willing and prepared to face many an ordeal. ”

“ Bob and Lieutenant Gibbons left the other federal agents at the apartment building to help the superintendent clean up the litter of paper they had strewn about the basement while they hastened back to the Department of Justice building.
Waldo Edgar himself was waiting for their report and he smiled contentedly when he heard it.
“You’re on the right track, Bob. Follow it hard and don’t let a single trick get away from you. How are you going to Rubio?” ”

“ The beam from a flashlight shot through the night and focused on the taxi driver.
“Snap off that light!” came a tense command. “That’s only the driver. Let him go.”
“He’ll bring the cops on us,” came a sharp protest, but the first voice came back tartly.
“Let him. We’ll be out of here long before he can get his nerve back and talk to the police. Spread out, I tell you. We’ve got to move fast. If they break for the far end of the street we’ll see them under the street lights. There’s no place they can hide at each side.”
The last words confirmed Bob’s fears. ”

“ He is a new man.”
Merritt Hughes chuckled grimly.
“Well, he’s going to a lot different place. Maybe he’ll be able to remember his name and tell us a few things when he wakes up. Now just what happened here?”
“It’s a long story,” began Bob.
“Then save it until we’re alone later. Was anyone else running around up here tonight except yourself and the guard?”
Bob thought instantly of Tully Ross, then decided to wait and tell his uncle about that when they were alone.
“This fellow was the only intruder,” replied Bob, which was true enough, for Tully belonged to the office staff. ”

“ I’ll have to keep on my toes if I run this radio mystery down before he does.”
[135]
“All of which means that I am the inside man for you while Tully is to serve his uncle in whatever inside capacity he can in our department,” said Bob. “I can see where there is going to be some intense rivalry.”
“Well, either Adams or myself should benefit by it,” smiled the federal agent. “Only don’t kill each other trying to dig out facts and get them to us first. Now we’d better find out what we can about the invasion here. How about your landlords?” ”

“ Now as far as getting things in a mess, it seems to me that you did a perfect job when you let that prisoner, the one man who could have supplied valuable information, take your gun away from you in the police station this afternoon. That makes you out to be quite a chump and I’ve always thought you were.”
Bob was surprised at his own words and his own boldness, but he saw a look something like apprehension in Condon Adams’ eyes.
“You don’t like my uncle; you never have. You’ve always been jealous of his brains and his ability. Your nephew doesn’t like me. ”

“ Tully and his uncle left the office and Bob watched the door close behind them.
“Nice people,” he grinned.
[123]
“I don’t like the looks of this case,” said his uncle. “It isn’t pleasant to think that you’ve got someone else in the same department, who goes out of his way to make it unpleasant for you, working on the same case.”
“Then why is Adams assigned to team up with you?” asked Bob.
“Perhaps because we have a habit of getting results,” admitted Merritt Hughes, with a rueful smile. “We’ve been pretty lucky on a number of cases where we have worked together. ”

“ He must have been a magician. The police are still combing the city, but I doubt if they’ll find him. He belongs to too clever a gang.”
“But where could he hide so securely in Washington?”
“An embassy, possibly,” shrugged the federal agent.
Bob’s eyes widened. It had never occurred to him that a representative of a foreign government would give shelter to a criminal. Yet he knew that any one of half a dozen foreign powers would give a great deal to possess the new radio secrets.
“Don’t take that suggestion too seriously,” warned Merritt Hughes, who guessed the trend of Bob’s thoughts. ”

“ Merritt Hughes walked up to a slender chap busy at a flat-topped desk.
“Look alive, Jimmy,” he said. “There’s business at hand.”
Jimmy Adel, chief of the filing division, looked up.
“Hello, sleuth. Who are you trailing this morning?”
“One red head and one fellow with a scar on his forehead.”
[125]
“Now isn’t that a lot of help! Don’t you know that there are a good many red heads and a whole lot of people with scars on their foreheads? Just be a little more exact, please.” But he grinned as he chided the federal agent.
“Jimmy, this is my nephew, Bob Houston. ”

“ Bob told of the letter from Maryland and of his orders to the building superintendent.
“The postmark on that letter should give us a clue to where the gang took my uncle,” he said. “There isn’t much chance of finding it, but it’s worth the time and effort.”
[223]
Waldo Edgar’s eyes brightened.
“You’re going to do, my boy. It’s things like that that count. You never can tell when even the tiniest slip of paper is going to give you the key to the case you’re working on.”
The chief agent turned to Lieutenant Gibbons. ”

“ The maid cleans my apartment each day.”
“Then where would this type of rubbish go?”
“Down to the janitor, who would burn it in the incinerator.”
Bob reached for the telephone on the other table.
“Give me the number of your apartment house,” he urged, and Jacobs supplied the needed information.
The building superintendent answered and Bob’s words fairly tumbled over the wire.
“This is Bob Houston, a federal agent speaking,” he said. “Get hold of your janitor at once. Don’t allow him to burn any more waste paper or refuse of any type from the floor on which Arthur Jacobs lives. ”

“ Evidently Condon Adams has told him about it. You know Tully wants a position in the bureau of investigation, too.”
“Sure, every youngster in the country would like it,” replied Merritt Hughes. “Better stop for tonight and run along home and get some sleep. I want you on the alert every hour of the day. You’re in the office from now on.”
“I’ll be through in less than half an hour,” promised Bob. “Then I’ll go directly home.”
“It’s a bad night and getting worse. Take a taxi and don’t run the risk of catching cold.” ”

“ The clerk leaped backward, his hands reaching out for the doorway. He collided with someone else; someone wearing a topcoat still damp from the rain outside.
Bob thought quickly. He must find some way to stop the other if for only an instant. He drew back his right foot and swift kick connected with the unknown’s shins with such force that an involuntary cry rang through the room. Bob leaped on and crashed into the half opened door. With anxious fingers he found the key on the inside, slammed the door shut and turned the lock. ”

“ You can’t afford to go rummaging around Washington at night without ample protection while you’re on this case.”
“So far I’ve been able to make pretty good use of my fists,” grinned Bob, “but this may come in handy in a pinch.”
“Any orders for Bob tonight?” asked Edgar, directing his question at Condon Adams.
“I won’t need him,” was the tart reply. “He might as well go home and get some sleep.”
“I may get a little sleep, but I’m not going home,” replied Bob. “That’s too popular with certain unpleasant people. You can find me at a hotel and I’ll probably change my address every night.” ”

“ The federal agent turned quickly. There was no mistake. A car several hundred feet to the rear was making every turn their own machine took.
Merritt Hughes leaned ahead and spoke to the driver.
“We’re being trailed. Step on it. I’ll take care of any officers who try to stop us.”
“Nothing doin’, mister. I’m not getting myself into trouble. We’re stopping right here.”
[168]
The driver slammed on the brakes and swung his car toward the curb, but a curt command from Bob’s uncle stopped him.
“Get this car under way. I’m a federal agent and I’m in no mood to have you playing any tricks. ”

“ Bob knew that both the radio document and the federal agent were in the hands of ruthless and relentless men. From what his uncle had told him before, the radio secret was worth a huge amount to almost every foreign power and he dared not guess what country might be interested in obtaining its possession through such means as had been employed. ”