Sinclair Gluck

“ So, with a little electric torch in one hand and the other held out blindly before me, I crept into the darkness that was, presumably, Vining’s entrance hall.
After a moment I heard the front door close softly behind me, and then I ventured to use the torch.
Have you ever gone into a strange house and tried to make out the lay of the land with a pocket torch? The torch shows up only one tiny spot at a time, and when you have swept it all over one article of furniture and made out its general dimensions, you have forgotten everything else! ”

“ Some one had found the switch and the lights in the main hall were on full. The place was a shambles. Dead men, in queer, contorted attitudes, their faces pale, sunken and ghastly in the bright light, lay scattered about the walls. The walls themselves were seamed with bright slashes from flying bullets and the naked nymphs still simpered down on us, though their bodies were tattered and torn. The hardwood floor was a welter of blood in streaks and half-congealed pools. ”

“ After a few moments of general conversation, Mrs. Fawcette rose to her feet, smiling. “Droga,” she called to him—he was talking to Natalie—“I have brought something to show you. I am sure that the young people will excuse us for a moment!”
Before I had recovered from my amused surprise at the somewhat crude method of classifying me with Natalie, Ivanovitch, our host, had risen to his feet with a smile and a bow and followed Mrs. Fawcette through a pair of heavy curtains into a room beyond. ”

“ I stationed myself in the window of a corner drug-store, across the street from the car, and waited, keeping a sharp eye on Moore’s house.
It was a long wait. Seven o’clock came and passed, with the driver of the Bengal kicking his heels on the opposite curb and I lounging about the drug-store and staring down the inquiring glances of an anemic-looking drug clerk. At seven-ten I bought some cigars that I did not want. At seven-thirty I bought and drank one of the most horrible soft drinks that I have ever encountered. And at seven-forty-five I began to get desperate. ”

“ The real event of the day began when I met Larry at nine o’clock. He was at the appointed place promptly on time, and I could see by his slightly increased girth that he had brought the kit of tools with him. I myself was dressed in my oldest clothes and looked as much like a burglar as possible, so that if Vining saw me he would not connect me with Moore or think it more than a coincidence. With nothing more than a nod and a smile, Larry jumped into the car and we proceeded to Vining’s home, parking the car down the street a little way. ”

“ There is an entertainment, which we might call a play, although it differs from any stage production that you have seen in the West. There is a banquet, with viands and wines which I think you will find strikingly unusual, and there are—the gardens.”
I stared at him. “Man, how can I tell?” I demanded. For so many entertainments meant a greatly decreased chance of finding Natalie or Margaret. “Won’t you be my guide? I am sure that anything which you recommend will be well worth seeing.”
“Seeing?” laughed Ivanovitch. “We appeal to all the senses, my friend.” ”

“ The veneer of civilization is thin, I found, for after what he had done to Margaret I could contemplate killing him in cold blood quite calmly.
And it was Ivanovitch who came!
The first hint I had of the presence of any one besides myself was the sudden glare of electric lights in the room beyond the cell in which I stood. I went softly to the barred door and looked through it. Two men had just entered through a door at the other side of the larger room. As they came from behind the glass cylinder I saw that one of them was Ivanovitch. ”

“ I felt the car stop and heard some one open the door. “This way,” said Ivanovitch, and I stepped out. Judging by the freshness of the air we were well out into the country and somewhere quite close to the sea, for the tang of it was strong.
Some one took my arm on either side, and I stumbled forward for perhaps a hundred yards over what I took to be a dirt road. But in a little our footsteps began to echo and I knew that we were under cover. There was a strong smell of gasoline and oil now—so strong that I would have been willing to swear that we were in a garage. ”

“ Ivanovitch was losing patience. He strode over to me. “If you do not choose the manner of your death and choose now, into that cylinder you will go by force. The Emperor has promised you the choice of your death, and it is his whim to keep his promises. If you do not choose, why——” He shrugged his shoulders. “But if you choose now, you can die in any way you please: drugs, shooting, this machine, drowning, suffocation, what you will. ”

“ Then Larry gave me a fright. He chuckled and then whistled very gently. And before I could even tell him to shut up, there was a soft footfall behind us and some one blundered into us in the darkness. I grabbed the newcomer at once and felt for his throat, but Larry pulled my hands away. “Tis all right, sor. ’Tis a friend of mine,” he chuckled. “Well, Tim, phwat’s the news?”
“Call off your friend first,” came a hoarse whisper. “Sure, ’tis a grip like a bear he has. But there’s no news at all, lad. Not a soul has gone in or come out since ye left this afternoon. ”

“ From now on I vowed that my life should be given up to the search; that nothing should interfere with it; that only death or success should put an end to it. The resolve brought me a curious sense of peace. That much I could do—even though it were all I could do. But that much should be done.
With the thought I turned away from the parapet to go to my rooms below and try to lay out some sort of a campaign for the future. As I turned a touch fell upon my arm and I found Larry standing beside me. ”

“ I whispered to the sergeant just before Vining spoke.
“Good! That’s the man! Good-evening, Sergeant!” He took a step or two in our direction. “I want that man with you. I have been after this fellow for a long time for robbing my flat. But he’s as slippery as an eel. However, I’m glad you caught him at last. I have a warrant for his arrest, and I’ll take him with me now if you please.”
I saw the sergeant’s hand steal under the desk and close on the butt of a heavy police revolver. ”

“ I knew that we had taken the toll road through the center of the Island and that we were still on it, but in settling down on the seat again I glanced out of the back window of the limousine, and as I did so a man stepped out from the trees into the road behind us and waved his hands above his head in the direction in which we were going.
I jumped up and snatched open the window in front. “Step on it! Speed up, man, for God’s sake! Hit her up. They’ve seen us and signaled.”
Automatically the driver threw open his cut-out and the big car jumped ahead, leaping under us like a spurred horse. ”

“ Captain Peters slipped his hand under my good arm. “Can you come away with me now? There’s no time to lose.”
I turned quickly. “Right you are, Captain. I had forgotten for a moment. Good-night, Sergeant! Good-night, Doctor.”
And so we left the station-house and went out into the morning, I feeling a little weak and sick, but confident at last that we had the knowledge for which we had been searching so long, and that it was now only a matter of hours before our work would be completed. ”

“ The Secret Service alone knew of the extent of the organization which that strange man, the Emperor, had built up about him. After the smash, the mortality, through suicide, among men and women prominent both socially and politically, was simply appalling. But the Department of Justice kept its own counsel and no one else ever knew how many of these people were connected with the Emperor’s organization, and how many were simply his victims who had become drug addicts and had committed suicide when the supply was cut off. ”

“ One man found a staircase leading up from a small door in the main hall, and started up into the darkness to explore the floor above. But the Chief and I made for the corridor that led to the room of the voices, kicking or jemmying open the doors we passed, and making as sure as we could that we left no enemies behind us to take us in the rear.
Evidently the place was a regular labyrinth. But the most curious feature of it was the fact that we found no windows anywhere. The inhabitants must have lived eternally in an artificial light or in darkness. ”

“ Pride jumped into the driving seat, and a few moments later we were back in front of the Russian’s house. As he opened the car door for me he asked: “You haven’t got a gun on you, have you?”
I told him I hadn’t.
“That’s right. It will only be taken away from you and it would simply confirm their suspicions. Now good luck, old man. The die is cast.”
A horn tooted softly just behind us and we turned. A big limousine was waiting to get in front of the door. The man driving it was Niko, Ivanovitch’s servant. ”

“ Even the water of the tank had the big green leaves and huge white blossoms of hundreds of water-lilies floating on its glinting surface.
While I was still half-enchanted by the real beauty of the scene, the Chief stepped forward to the edge of the tank.
“Hands up and stop where you are!” he shouted, and leveled the two revolvers he held.
The queer music in the air died out in a sudden discord. And at the same moment there came the whine and thud of bullets about us and a man beside me shrieked once and fell, writhing. ”

“ Mrs. Furneau smilingly signed to me to join her, and I was presently shaking hands with Mrs. Fawcette. Her manner was most cordial, but I did not feel that she was particularly glad to see me.
“I hear you have been round the world since last we met,” I told her.
“Oh, no! Just a fairly long stay in Egypt, a little off the beaten track.”
“What enthusiasm!” I remarked. “Life is a poor shabby thing at best, so I don’t see that it matters much where we spend it. But I dare say you enjoyed yourself?”
My manner was languid and my words evoked a glance of surprise from my hostess. ”

“ Moore stirred in his place on the bed beside me and the Chief glanced up at him.
“There’s one other feature to it, sir,” he said. “I’ve been working on the abductions and nothing else. But they had a damned good try at picking me off. Clarke worked on the drug smuggling only—and——”
The Chief nodded. “Neither the one gang—nor the other, if there are two gangs, will hesitate at murder,” he said quietly.
“Good Lord, do you mean to say in this day and age——”
“This day and age is just about the same as any other day and age—because human nature doesn’t vary much,” he interrupted. ”

“ I was desperately worried about Moore and about Natalie also, although she might simply have been delayed in getting home. But somehow Larry’s chuckle had changed the trend of my thoughts, and I faced the prospect of venturing forth into hiding with a good deal of elation. I was free and comparatively undamaged. And if Moore could not be rescued by a man with the whole weight of the Secret Service behind him, then something was wrong. ”

“ Fawcette’s unconventional visit, winding up with the news of the luncheon that day given for Natalie.
Moore was silent for a while after I had finished my yarn, and the gravity of his expression made me vaguely uneasy. “What do you think of it?” I demanded at last.
“Clayton, I think it’s bad,” he answered, finally. “In the first place, I hate the thought of that girl trailing with that bunch, especially after what you have told me about her”—he gave me a fleeting grin—“but the Mrs. Fawcette proposition is worse—I mean, searching your place. It looks as if they know all about us.” ”

“ Fawcette.
After the sound of it had died away in the clammy, silent air of the tunnel, we stood and waited expectantly. But the second load of men arrived in the elevator before anything was visible in the tunnel. Foster was not with this second lot, having remained above to direct the men who were to surround the house.
Again we settled down to silence and then, far off in the tunnel, a little car became visible, gliding steadily towards us. It drew closed and closer until we could see that it had accommodation for about eight passengers, in four parallel seats. ”

“ And with the urge of a growing impatience to have done with our search and be gone, we mounted another well-carpeted flight as silently as before.
As our heads topped this floor level, Larry’s hand gripped my arm suddenly. A thin line of light glowed from beneath a door a little way up the hall, toward the front of the house. Larry brought his lips close to my ear again. “ ’Tis the light we saw from the front, sor!” he whispered, so softly that I only just caught the words. “We’ll creep up and listen, try the handle and then, maybe, fling open the door. You’ll be ready, sor?” ”

“ Larry leaned forward, and the driver started and gave a gasp as he felt a cold muzzle nuzzling into the tenderest part of his neck. “Put in that clutch and step on her,” urged Larry, “or I’ll blow hell out of you and drive her myself.”
Unlike the cop, the driver did not stop to argue. He threw in his clutch and stepped on the accelerator at once, and we whisked round a corner with a patrol wagon manned by excited cops and shrilling whistles so close behind that they could have reached out and touched us. Once in the straight we drew away from them fast, however. ”

“ But, Moore said, no one had been able to find any trace of the man Clark, who had disappeared early in the search, of the young man about town who had given Moore his first clew that night on Riverside Drive, nor, finally, of Pride. Nor has anything ever been learned of these three.
The loss of Pride was a bitter blow to all of us. The man gave up his life, I believe, to trace me that night, probably putting up a fight after his car smashed up and getting killed in the process. None of us will ever forget him. Whatever death he died, I know and we all know that it was a good death. ”

“ Moore shook hands, smiling in a taking way he had. “Glad to meet you, Larry,” he said. “I’ve heard a lot about you and how you’ve stood by Clayton here. Real friends aren’t so easily come by.”
Larry was covered with confusion, “Sure, sor,” he stammered, “I ain’t done much.” Then he turned fiery red.
“Nonsense! And look here, Larry. Clayton has let me in on this search of his, so the three of us are all in it together now. And I’m hoping that you’ll stand by me too, if the occasion arises. From what I’ve heard of you, I can’t think of a man I’d rather have in a pinch!” ”

“ A little reflection convinced me that they had left me behind because Vining’s shot had been heard. Probably the driver of their car had joined them, and the three men had carried out Moore and the dark-visaged victim of my first blow between them, unless the latter had regained consciousness. They might have even had to fight their way out through a crowd. That also probably explained the present commotion in the house, which was steadily drawing nearer. Then my heart leaped with hope. Perhaps Vining had been captured and Moore freed!
The door into the hall was closed but not locked. ”