The Haunted Mine

by Harry Castlemon

  CHAPTER VIII.

  CLAUS CALLS AGAIN.

  When the stout man reached the sidewalk he saw the German a shortdistance in advance of him, still hurrying along as though he had notime to waste. He turned several corners, and at last disappeared upthe stairs that led to the pool-room. The detective, for that was whathe was, did not seem to notice what had become of the German, but hemarked the place where he had gone up and kept on to thestation-house. There he changed his coat and hat, and picked up a hugewalking-stick which stood in one corner. When he came out on thestreets again, everybody noticed that he walked with difficulty, andthere was an expression on his face which only those who were intimatewith the detective would have thought belonged to him. It was verydifferent from his ordinary appearance. Instead of the frank, openlook with which he regarded everybody, it was drawn up as though hewas suffering intense pain, from which he could not get a moment'srelief.

  The detective speedily found the place where the German haddisappeared, walked wearily up the stairs, opened the door, and sankinto the nearest chair. Then he pulled a pair of eye-glasses from hispocket and became interested in a paper. But he used his eyes to someadvantage, and quickly discovered the man he wanted seated off byhimself, with his legs outstretched before him and his chin resting onhis breast.

  "I guess he found some difficulty in getting that box," said thedetective, who knew what Mr. Wiggins wanted of him before he came tothe office. "You want to go easy, my friend, or I'll have you up forvagrancy again."

  There were not so many in the pool-room as there were the nightbefore, and nobody seemed to bother the German; but presently, whilehe was thinking about it, another party came in. He took off his coat,seized a cue, and looked all around the room for an antagonist, untilhe discovered the German sitting there doing nothing.

  "Halloo, Claus!" he shouted, "come on, and let us have a game ofbilliards."

  "No, you must excuse me," was the reply; "I don't feel in the humorfor billiards or anything else."

  "Have you anybody on a string that you are trying to make some moneyout of?" asked his friend. "Come on, and perhaps a game will brightenyou up."

  "'Claus,'" muttered the detective. "I know you now. I was told to findout what his name was, so I will go back. So this is where you hangout. I will remember you."

  The detective hobbled out the door and down the stairs; but by thetime he got down to the street his lameness had all disappeared, andhe walked as briskly as anybody. He went to the Western UnionTelegraph office, told Mr. Wiggins he had discovered that the man'sname was Claus, and not Haberstro, and then went back to the station.Casper Nevins was called into the back room a moment afterward, buthe was not there more than long enough to receive his discharge.

  "I have never done anything like this before," said Casper, trying tobeg off. "If you will overlook this----"

  "I can't do it," said Mr. Wiggins. "You are a boy that I can't trust.Why, Casper, do you know what will become of you if you do not mendyour ways? You will get into the State's prison before you are fiveyears older. I paid you up yesterday, and you have not done anythingto-day, and so you can go."

  "It would not be of any use for me to ask for a letter ofrecommendation, would it?" asked Casper. He always had a good deal ofaudacity about him, but this made Mr. Wiggins open his eyes insurprise.

  "Not from me, you can't," he answered. "You will have to go somewhereelse to get it."

  Casper put on his cap and left the office, and on the way to thepool-room, where he expected to find Claus, he blamed everybody buthimself for the disgrace he had got into. He blamed Claus, althoughit is hard to see what that man had done, for he worked as hard asanybody could to get that box; but he reproached Julian Gray more thanall for his interference in the matter.

  "Come to think of it, I don't know but I am to blame a little myself,"said he, after he had thought the affair all over. "Why did I not digout the moment I got that box? I would have been in Denver by thistime, and enjoying my wealth. It beats the world what luck some peopledo have."

  But Claus was not in the pool-room. He wanted to be alone, so that hecould think over the matter, and he had gone out where he would be byhimself. The barkeeper did not know where he had gone, and Casper wenthome to change his clothes. As he pulled his uniform off he toldhimself that it would be a long time before he ever wore it again.Then he threw himself into a chair and tried to determine what heshould do next.

  "I have just ten dollars," he mused, taking the bill from his pocket,"and what I shall do when that is gone is another and a deeperquestion. I'll bet that Claus don't get any cigars out of meto-night."

  Meanwhile Julian Gray came in from delivering his message. His facewas flushed, and he acted as though he had been running. He made hisreport, and then went into the back room in obedience to a sign fromMr. Wiggins.

  "Well, Julian, your box is still safe," said the latter.

  "Has that Dutchman been around here?" asked Julian.

  Mr. Wiggins said he had, and then went on to give the boy a completehistory of what Claus had done to secure the box.

  "I got rid of him very easily," said Mr. Wiggins. "I told him that itwould be well for him to write to some German friends in Chicago,where he said he lived, and he said he was going up there on businessand would bring the letters back with him. I found out that his nameis Claus, and that he hangs out in a pool-room. You don't know him, doyou?"

  No, Julian could not say that he had ever heard of him before.

  "Well, don't you let the box go without seeing me about it."

  "Nobody shall have it. Mr. Wiggins, I don't know how to thank you forwhat you have done."

  "You are a good boy, Julian, and the only thing I have against you isthat you will hang around that express office so much. Some day I amgoing to give you a good scolding for that."

  "You will never hear of my being there again. I am done going thereforever."

  "I don't think you will have to do it any more. You have your fortune,easy enough."

  "Oh, Mr. Wiggins! Do you think it is ours sure enough?"

  "Well, perhaps I ought not to speak so positively; it is hard to tellat this stage of the game. I _hope_ you have."

  Julian was delighted to hear Mr. Wiggins talk in this way, but beforehe could ask him any more questions that gentleman had gone back intothe office. He then went out and looked around for Casper. One of theboys told him he believed Casper had got the "sack," for he put on hiscap and left the office.

  "I don't know what he has been doing," said the boy; "do you?"

  "Mr. Wiggins knows, and he will not tell," replied Julian. "I wonderwhat the poor fellow will do now?"

  Julian was impatient for night to come, so that he could go home andsee Jack about it. It came at last, and Julian never broke a trotuntil he ran up the stairs and burst into his room.

  "Well?" said Jack. "You look happy. Tell us all about that Dutchman."

  "There is not much to tell. His name is Claus, and he lives in apool-room."

  "I knew I was not mistaken in him," said Jack, taking his usual seatby throwing his leg over the table. "That man had better go somewhereelse."

  But that he did not feel inclined to go somewhere else just then wasevident, for just as Jack pronounced his name the boys heard his stepcoming up the stairs. He had a peculiar step, which, once heard, couldnot be forgotten.

  "Well, he is coming again," said Julian. "Now, what are you going tosay to him?"

  "That depends upon what he has to say to me," said Jack. "Go to thedoor, let him in, and put out a chair for him."

  He rapped on the door the minute he got there, and Julian opened itfor him. He looked closely from one to the other of the boys, but didnot see anything in their faces to make him hide what he had on hismind. He had a new plan, but it did not promise as well as the onewhich had been defeated by Mr. Wiggins. He wanted to induce one ofthem to get the box for him and let him read the papers that were init. If he could prevail upon them to bring the b
ox out of the bank, hewas certain that in some way he could get an opportunity to steal it.He did not intend to go about it slyly; he intended to take it, openand above-board, and let Jack and Julian help themselves if theycould. He was certain that a revolver, presented at their heads andcocked, would surely keep them quiet until he had locked the door andgot into the street. Where he would go after that he neither knew norcared. What he wanted was to get possession of the box.

  "Ah! Good-evening," said Claus, bowing very politely. "I came back tosee you about that box."

  "Take a chair," said Jack. "What about the box?"

  "Mr. Wiggins said it was in the bank," said Claus, "and I want to knowif you could get it out of there and let me read the letter and thepapers. You see, the thing may not be for me, and I don't want to gohome and bother my friends about it until I know what the boxcontains."

  "Oh! your friends won't care anything about that," said Jack. "Youtell them that the box is for you, and they will give you all theletters you want. Besides, I don't think Mr. Wiggins would agree towhat you ask."

  The German did not like the way Julian was acting. He had kept hiseyes roaming from one to the other; but, although the boy occupiedhis favorite position, with his hands buried in his pockets and hisfeet spread out, his expression was different from what it had beenthe night before. There was a smile on his face, and it would not havetaken very much to set him to laughing outright. Claus began to thinkthere was something up.

  "Why, the box is your own, ain't it?" asked Claus. "You can do whatyou please with it."

  "Not now, we can't. We have told Mr. Wiggins that we wanted him towatch over it for us, and he will have to be present when you read thepapers."

  "Then you can't get it for me?"

  "No, I don't believe I could, Mr. Claus. You don't need anybody togive you a recommend. Go to some of your friends here----"

  "Claus! Claus! That is not my name. My name is Haberstro."

  Julian grinned broadly, and even Jack did not appear to be abovemerriment.

  "What do you mean by applying that name to me?" exclaimed Claus."There is my card."

  "I don't want to see it. I have one already. Your name is Claus, youlive in a billiard saloon, and you got a full history of this box fromCasper Nevins."

  "Young man, I will have you arrested before you are an hour older!"said Claus, getting upon his feet. "I come here and ask a civilquestion of you, and you insult me!"

  "Do so, and we will have Casper arrested for burglary and you fortrying to obtain money under false pretenses. The sooner you get aboutit the better it will suit us."

  "Very well--I will have a policeman here in less than ten minutes!"

  Mr. Claus went out, and this time he did not bow himself through thedoor as he had done the night before. The boys heard him goingdownstairs, and then turned and looked at each other.

  "Somebody has been posting those fellows," said Claus, as he hurriedaway toward Casper's room. "I wonder if there was a detective in therewhile I was at the office? Two attempts have failed, but the third isalways successful."

  Claus was almost beside himself with fury, but he retained his witssufficiently to guide him on the road to Casper's room. He found theboy in, seated in a chair, with his elbows on his knees, trying hisbest to make up his mind what he was going to do, now that he had beendischarged from the telegraph office. He had sat that way ever sinceeleven o'clock in the forenoon, and had not been able to determineupon anything. The first intimation he had that anybody was coming waswhen the door was thrown open and Claus came in, muttering somethingunder his breath that sounded a good deal like oaths.

  "There is no need that you should say anything," said Casper. "Youhave failed."

  "Yes, sir, I have; failed utterly and plump," said Claus.

  "And I have been discharged."

  "Whew!" whistled Claus. "You are in a fix, aren't you?"

  "Yes, and I don't know what I shall do now. Tell me your story, and Iwill tell you mine."

  "Have you a cigar handy?"

  "No; and I have no money."

  "How long before you will be paid?"

  "Oh, it will be two weeks yet."

  "Then I will have to go down and get some cigars myself. I can thinkmore clearly while my jaws are puffing than I can without."

  "You got your last cigar out of me, old fellow," said Casper tohimself, when Claus had left the room. "I have but little money, and Iam going to keep it."