26 chapters
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26 chapters
WITH FRONTISPIECE
WITH FRONTISPIECE
I. The Stolen Motor II. The Murder Car III. The Mystery of the Thicket IV. The Liquid Bullet V. The Blackmailer VI. The Gambling Den VII. The Motor Bandit VIII. The Explanation IX. The Raid X. The Gambling Debt XI. The Gangster's Garage XII. The Detectaphone XIII. The Incendiary XIV. The Escape XV. The Plot XVI. The Poisoned Needle XVII. The Newspaper Fake XVIII. The Vocaphone XIX. The Eavesdropper Again XX. The Speaking Arc XXI. The Siege of the Bandits XXII. The Man Hunt XXIII. The Police Dog
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CHAPTER I
CHAPTER I
"You are aware, I suppose, Marshall, that there have been considerably over a million dollars' worth of automobiles stolen in this city during the past few months?" asked Guy Garrick one night when I had dropped into his office. "I wasn't aware of the exact extent of the thefts, though of course I knew of their existence," I replied. "What's the matter?" "If you can wait a few moments," he went on, "I think I can promise you a most interesting case—the first big case I've had to test my new know
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CHAPTER II
CHAPTER II
Garrick looked from one to the other of his visitors intently. Here was an entirely unexpected development in the case which stamped it as set apart from the ordinary. "How did the driver manage to explain it and get away?" he asked quickly. McBirney shook his head in evident disgust at the affair. "He must be a clever one," he pursued thoughtfully. "When he came into the garage they say he was in a rather jovial mood. He said that he had run into a cow a few miles back on the road, and then beg
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CHAPTER III
CHAPTER III
"You know my ideas on modern detective work," Garrick remarked to me, reflectively, when they had gone. I nodded assent, for we had often discussed the subject. "There must be something new in order to catch criminals, nowadays," he pursued. "The old methods are all right—as far as they go. But while we have been using them, criminals have kept pace with modern science." I had met Garrick several months before on the return trip from abroad, and had found in him a companion spirit. For some year
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CHAPTER IV
CHAPTER IV
On our return to the city, I was not surprised after our conversation over in New Jersey to find that Garrick had decided on visiting police headquarters. It was, of course, Commissioner Dillon, one of the deputies, whom he wanted to see. I had met Dillon myself some time before in connection with my study of the finger print system, and consequently needed no second introduction. In his office on the second floor, the Commissioner greeted us cordially in his bluff and honest voice which both of
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CHAPTER V
CHAPTER V
It was late in the afternoon, while Garrick was still busy with a high-powered microscope, making innumerable micro-photographs, when the door of the office opened softly and a young lady entered. As she advanced timidly to us, we could see that she was tall and gave promise of developing with years into a stately woman—a pronounced brunette, with sparkling black eyes. I had not met her before, yet somehow I could not escape the feeling that she was familiar to me. It was not until she spoke tha
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CHAPTER VI
CHAPTER VI
In spite of the agitation that was going on at the time in the city against gambling, we had no trouble in being admitted to the place in Forty-eighth Street. They seemed to recognise Warrington, for no sooner had the lookout at the door peered through a little grating and seen him than the light woodwork affair was opened. To me, with even my slender knowledge of such matters, it had seemed rather remarkable that only such a door should guard a place that was so notorious. Once inside, however,
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CHAPTER VII
CHAPTER VII
Early the next morning, the telephone bell began to ring violently. The message must have been short, for I could not gather from Garrick's reply what it was about, although I could tell by the startled look on his face that something unexpected had happened. "Hurry and finish dressing, Tom," he called, as he hung up the receiver. "What's the matter?" I asked, from my room, still struggling with my tie. "Warrington was severely injured in a motor-car accident late last night, or rather early thi
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CHAPTER VIII
CHAPTER VIII
We had not noticed a car which had stopped just past us and Garrick was surprised at hearing his own name called. We looked up from contemplating the discovery he had made in the road, to see Miss Winslow waving to us. She had motored down from Tuxedo immediately after receiving the message over the telephone, and with her keen eye had picked out both the place of the accident and ourselves studying it. As we approached, I could see that she was much more pale than usual. Evidently her anxiety f
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CHAPTER IX
CHAPTER IX
Garrick was evidently turning over and over in his mind some plan of action. "This thing has gone just about far enough," he remarked meditatively, looking at his watch. It was now well along in the afternoon. "But what do you intend doing?" I asked, regarding the whole affair so far as a hopeless mystery from which I could not see that we had extracted so much as a promising clew. "Doing?" he echoed. "Why, there is only one thing to do, and that is to take the bull by the horns, to play the gam
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CHAPTER X
CHAPTER X
There was no time to be lost now. Down the steps again dashed Garrick, after our expected failure both to get in peaceably and to pass the ice-box door by force. This time Dillon emerged from the cab with him. Together they were carrying the heavy apparatus up the steps. They set it down close to the door and I scrutinized it carefully. It looked, at first sight, like a short stubby piece of iron, about eighteen inches high. It must have weighed fifty or sixty pounds. Along one side was a handle
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CHAPTER XI
CHAPTER XI
"I have it," exclaimed Garrick, as we were retracing our steps upstairs from the dank darkness of the cellar. "I would be willing to wager that that tunnel runs back from this house to that pool-room for women which we visited on Forty-seventh Street, Marshall. That must be the secret exit. Don't you see, it could be used in either direction." We climbed the stairs and stood again in the wreck of things, taking a hasty inventory of what was left, in hope of uncovering some new clew, even by chan
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CHAPTER XII
CHAPTER XII
I found it difficult to share Garrick's optimism, however. It seemed to me that again the best laid plans of one that I had come to consider among the cleverest of men had been defeated, and it is not pleasant to be defeated, even temporarily. But Garrick was certainly not discouraged. As he had said at the start, it was no ordinary criminal with whom we had to deal. That was clear. There had been gunmen and gangmen in New York for years, we knew, but this fellow seemed to be the last word, with
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Chapter XIII
Chapter XIII
"The Warrington estate owns another large apartment house, besides the one where Warrington has his quarters, on the next street," remarked Garrick, half an hour later, after we had met the boy from his office. "I have arranged that we can get in there and use one of the empty suites." Garrick had secured two rather good-sized boxes from the boy, and was carrying them rather carefully, as if they contained some very delicate mechanism. Warrington, we found, occupied a suite in a large apartment
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CHAPTER XIV
CHAPTER XIV
He had dropped the telephone receiver without waiting to replace it on the hook and was now dashing madly out of the empty apartment and down the street. The hall-boy at Warrington's had done exactly as I had ordered him. There was the elevator waiting as Garrick gave the five short rings at the nightbell and the outside door was unlocked. No one had yet discovered the fire which we knew was now raging on the top floor of the apartment. We were whirled up there swiftly, just as we heard echoing
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CHAPTER XV
CHAPTER XV
We had been able to secure a key to the hotel entrance of the Old Tavern, so that we felt free to come and go at any hour of the day or night. We let ourselves in and mounted the stairs cautiously to our room. "At least they haven't discovered anything, yet," Garrick congratulated himself, looking about, as I struck a light, and finding everything as we had left it. Late as it was, he picked up the detective receiver of the mechanical eavesdropper and held it to his ears, listening intently seve
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CHAPTER XVI
CHAPTER XVI
Over a still untasted grapefruit Garrick was considering what his next move should be. As for me, even this temporary return to a normal life caused me to view things in a different light. There had been, as the Chief and the Boss had hinted at in their conversation, a wave of hysteria which had swept over the city only a short time before regarding what had come to be called the "poisoned needle" cases. Personally I had doubted them and I had known many doctors and scientists as well as vice an
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CHAPTER XVII
CHAPTER XVII
Within a few minutes we were sauntering with enforced leisure along Ninth Street, in a rather sordid part, inhabited largely, I made out, by a slightly better class of foreigners than some other sections of the West Side. As we walked along, I felt Garrick tugging at my arm. "Slow up a bit," he whispered under his breath. "There's the house which was mentioned in the maid's note." It was an old three-story brownstone building with an entrance two or three steps up from the sidewalk level. Once,
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CHAPTER XVIII
CHAPTER XVIII
Promptly to the dot I met Garrick at the appointed place. Not a word so far had been heard, either from Violet Winslow or Mrs. de Lancey. There was one thing encouraging about it, however. If they had become separated while shopping, as sometimes happens, we should have been likely to hear of it, at least from her aunt. Garrick was tugging the heavy suitcase which I had seen standing ready down in his office during the afternoon, as well as a small package wrapped up in paper. "Let me carry that
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CHAPTER XIX
CHAPTER XIX
It took our combined efforts now to take care not only of Violet Winslow but Warrington himself, who was on the verge of collapse after his heroic rescue of her. I found the cab and in perhaps half an hour Miss Winslow was so far recovered that she could be taken to the hotel where she and her aunt had engaged rooms for the night. We drew up at an unfrequented side carriage entrance of the hotel in order to avoid the eyes of the curious and Warrington jumped out to assist Violet. The strain had
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CHAPTER XX
CHAPTER XX
"Looks pretty deserted here," remarked Garrick to Dillon's man, who had accompanied us from the door into the now deserted gambling den. "Yes," he grinned, "there's not much use in keeping me here since they took all the stuff to headquarters. Now and then one of the old rounders who has been out of town and hasn't heard of the raid comes in. You should see their faces change when they catch sight of my uniform. They never stop to ask questions," he chuckled. "They just beat it." I was wondering
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CHAPTER XXI
CHAPTER XXI
As we watched from the top of the hill, I wondered what Garrick's next move was to be. Surely he would not attempt to investigate the place yet. In fact, there seemed to be nothing that could be done now, as long as it was day-light, for any movement in this half-open country would have been viewed with suspicion by the occupants of the little house in the valley, whoever they might be. We could not help viewing the place with a sort of awe. What secrets did the cottage hide, nestled down there
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CHAPTER XXII
CHAPTER XXII
Here we were, locked in a little room on the top floor of the mysterious house. I looked out of both windows. There was no way to climb down and it was too far to jump, especially in the uncertain darkness. I threw myself at the door. It had been effectually braced by our captors. Garrick, in the meantime, had lighted the light again, and placed it by the window. Forbes, now partly recovered, was rambling along, and Garrick, with one eye on him and the other on something which he was working ove
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CHAPTER XXIII
CHAPTER XXIII
Dillon pulled a whistle from his pocket and blew a short blast sharply. Far down the road, we could hear faintly an answering bark. It came nearer. "They're taught to obey a police whistle and nothing else," remarked Dillon, with satisfaction. "I wonder which one of the dogs that was. By the way, just keep out of sight as much as you can—get back up in our car. They are trained to worry anyone who hasn't a uniform. I'll take this dog in charge. I hope it's Cherry. She ought to be around here, if
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CHAPTER XXIV
CHAPTER XXIV
Although I felt discouraged on our return to the city, the morning following our exciting adventure at the mysterious house in the Ramapo valley, Garrick, who never let anything ruffle him long, seemed quite cheerful. "Cheer up, Tom," he encouraged. "We are on the home stretch now." "Perhaps—if they don't beat us to the tape," I answered disconsolately. "What are you going to do next?" "While you were snatching a little sleep, I was rummaging around and found a number of letters in a table drawe
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CHAPTER XXV
CHAPTER XXV
Our little audience arrived one by one, and, as master of ceremonies, it fell to me to greet them and place them as much at ease as the natural tension of the occasion would permit. Garrick spoke a word or two to each, but was still busy putting the finishing touches on the preparations for the "entertainment," as he called it facetiously, which he had arranged. "Before I put to the test a rather novel combination which I have arranged," began Garrick, when they had all been seated, "I want to s
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