The Ruby Ray Mystery

by John Blaine

  Several showed water skiing, swimming, and just plain lolling around atLakeComo .

  Rick moved to the left, too, and looked around to see if anyone was within earshot. No one was. He didn’t want to take the Megabuck unit out of his pocket, because that might attract attention. So he simply lowered his head and spoke at the unit in his breast pocket.

  “Scotty, where are you?”

  “Outside on the street.”The answer came instantly. “I’m in an areaway outside some kind of shipping room. There’s a taxi stand with three taxis waiting if we need one.”

  “Keller and Felt Hat are on the way. They picked up a companion in a black Homburg, carrying a walking stick. He just left them. They also picked up a tail, a husky type in denim pants, tan cotton jacket, and leather cap. You know, the kind with a visor, like sports-car buffs wear. He’s trailing them now.”

  “Okay. I’ve got my eye on the main door. Don’t let them spot you.”

  “I won’t.”

  Keller and Felt Hat reached the main doors and went through. Rick saw them through the glass. They paused for a moment, then turned right.

  “Got ‘em,” Scotty said. “They just came out.”

  “Okay.”

  Leather Cap waited until Keller and friend were out of sight, then hurried to the door.

  Rick was about to follow when he saw Walking Stick step from the doorway into the ticket room and follow.

  Rick looked around again, then spoke to the Mega-buck unit. “Walking Stick has spotted Leather Cap. He just got into line.”

  “Roger. Keller and friend just passed me. They’re walking down the street as though they ownedBerne .”

  “Maybe they do,” Rick said. “Can you be spotted?”

  “Not without a flashlight.”

  “Okay. Walking Stick just went through the doors. I’m coming.”

  Rick walked to the main doors and stepped through, taking a cautious look around.

  Keller and Felt Hat were just turning a corner, a block away. Leather Cap and Walking Stick were not in sight. Rick waited. Presently Leather Cap appeared from some nook into which he had ducked, and followed Keller and friend around the corner. Leather Cap was no sooner out of sight, when Walking Stick stepped out of a shadow and followed. Walking Stick was no longer holding the stick at the top like a cane; he was carrying it like a club, knobby end upright.

  Rick followed as soon as it was safe to do so, and Scotty stepped out of a deep entryway and joined him.

  “Wonder if those guys have a permit for a parade?” Scotty asked whimsically.

  “We don’t, and we’re in the parade, too. Let’s go.”

  They reached the corner, but instead of turning it, they crossed to the corner directly opposite and glanced down the street. It was a short street, with three-story wooden buildings on each side. Keller and Felt Hat had crossed diagonally and were nearing the next corner; they turned it and disappeared. Leather Cap hurried directly across the street and vanished into an alley. Walking Stick hurried after him.

  The boys melted into the shadow of a doorway.“The alley or down to the corner?”

  Scotty asked in a whisper.

  “The corner.We don’t know the alleys here.”

  “Okay.” Scotty started to step out of the doorway, then pushed Rick back. “Hold it.”

  Rick waited. The men must have reappeared. Scotty was peering around the corner with extreme caution. Rick let his glance roam over what he could see ofBerne . One thing was certain: night life in the Swiss capital was at a minimum, and so were lights.Berne had gone to bed hours ago.

  “Come on.” Scotty led the way. “Walking Stick came out of the alley again. No sign of Leather Cap. Walking Stick was, polishing the head of his stick with a handkerchief as he turned the corner.”

  The boys hurried down the short block and reached the mouth of the alley. They were about to pass when Rick heard what sounded like a groan.

  The two looked at each other, then by tacit consent hurried into the alley. It was dark.

  Scotty struck a match and they saw the form of Leather Cap huddled on the ground.

  They made a swift examination, then stood up.

  “He’s bleeding from the ear,” Scotty said grimly.

  Rick knew what that meant-a high probability of a fractured skull. “We can’t let him stay here until morning,” the boy stated flatly. “Get on the trail again. I’ll go back to the station and find a phone. At least we can call a hospital.”

  “Don’t get trapped,” Scotty warned. “Make the call, then get out. Let me know when you’re ready and I’ll direct you to where I am.”

  “Okay.” Rick turned and ran out of the alley and back the way he had come. Whoever these pals of Keller’s were, they played rough. The walking stick had been an effective weapon. Leather Cap wouldn’t be interested in further trailing for some time. It was a grim warning that the Spindrift kids had better watch their step.

  Back in the railroad station, he was faced with a problem. He had French francs, but no Swiss francs. Before making a phone call he would need change. The station was deserted now except for a charwoman who was swabbing the floor with a mop the size of a tabletop. He pushed through the doors into the room where the ticket windows were located. They were closed. Sowas the bank window and the newspaper kiosk.

  Rick debated, then decided to take a different approach. There was certainly a policeman on the beat, and he must pass the railroad station, at least once an hour. Or, other trains might come in at intervals. Anyway, there had to be some kind of traffic either through or by the main doors.

  He went to the ticket counter and used it as a desk. His notebook provided paper. He printed in big letters, “HELP.” Underneath he printed, “Injured man in alley. Over” On the other side he drew a map. Finally, he took out his handkerchief and wiped the paper carefully to erase or smudge any fingerprints.

  He spoke softly. “Scotty, where are you?”

  His pal’s voice sounded faint. “Turn right as you did before, but don’t turn down the street where the alley is. Go straight for two blocks, then turn right. Go two more blocks and turn right. You’ll see a high board fence. I’m behind it.”

  “Okay.Coming.”

  Rick walked to the main entrance and looked around. He was alone. Even the

  charwoman had disappeared, mop and all. He looked for a prominent place to put his notice and found a bulletin board with nothing on it. But there were two thumbtacks with shreds of paper under them where a notice had been torn down. He took the thumbtacks, then with a quick look around to make sure he was unobserved, he used them to tack up the notice right over the crack where the main doors came together. The doors could not be opened from either side without disturbing the paper. It was the best he could do.

  CHAPTER IX

  From Behind a Fence

  Rick reached Scotty’s side without seeing anyone, and without being seen so far as he knew. Scotty was seated comfortably behind a fence, using a convenient knothole as a vantage point.

  “They came to the apartment house across the street,” Scotty reported briefly. “It was dark. They went upstairs, then a light came on. You can see it now, on die third floor. It’s the only lighted window in the building. Nothing has happened since.”

  The street was dimly lighted. There were three-story apartment houses of wood on the opposite side. On the side where the boys sat was a vacant lot surrounded on three sides by the board fence. The fourth side of the lot was the rear of a series of warehouses or loft buildings of some kind, none of which showed a light.

  Only three cars were parked on the street. Two were Italian Fiats, but the third had caught Rick’s eye at once. It was a Mercedes-Benz sedan, parked in front of the apartment house that Keller had entered.

  The boys waited in silence. There was nothing else they could do. If Keller and friends came out, they would follow-unless, Rick thought, they took a car.In which case the

  boys would be stuck. By
the time they could find a taxi, probably impossible at this time of night, the Keller car could be halfway to the Austrian border.Or the French border.

  A faraway sound made Rick sit upright. It was the distinctive whistle of an ambulance or a fire truck. He had learned that the Europeans did not commonly use sirens. Their signal was a variable tone whistle of penetrating qualities.

  The sound was coming nearer. It began to die down, but now they could hear the vehicle’s motor in the quiet night. Then the motor stopped, too.

  “Sounds as though it stopped about at the alley,” Scotty said softly.

  Rick nodded. He thought so, too, and felt relief that Leather Cap was being cared for.

  In about five minutes the motor started again, followed by the whistle, diminishing in sound as the ambulance increased the distance from the boys. Finally the silence flooded in again.

  Scotty, who was watching through the knothole, suddenly tensed. He squeezed Rick’s arm.

  Rick found a gap between the boards and watched. Walking Stick, without his Homburg hat or his stick, had come through the front door of the apartment house, closely followed by Felt Hat, also hatless. Walking Stick surveyed the quiet street, then went to the Mercedes-Benz and unlocked the door. Felt Hat slipped into the driver’s seat, took the key, turned on the dashboard light and inspected the instruments. He started the motor, sat listening to it for a moment, gunned it briefly,then shut it off. He turned off the dashboard light, slid out, and relocked the car. The two men went back into the apartment house.

  “What did that mean?” Scotty asked.

  “Just what you think it did,” Rick retorted. “Felt Hat is a suspicious type who trusts no one. He wanted to check the car himself, to see if the gas tank was full and if it ran smoothly. Wouldn’t take Walking Stick’s word for it, I guess.”

  “Uh-uh. That’s the way I figure it. Felt Hat is the man in charge, since he’s traveling with Keller. Walking Stick is the local representative. Local rep supplies car, boss checks.Which means they’re going to use the car, probably to take Keller somewhere. ”

  “But when?”Rick asked. “If they take off now, we’re sunk. I don’t think they will, though-“

  “Because they came down without Keller, and without hats or luggage,” Scotty finished. “Looks like a trip in the morning. So we have to get a car sometime between now and then . . .”

  “. . . and we have to plant the Megabuck unit on the Mercedes-Benz,” Rick finished.

  Scotty chuckled. “Once a gag is working,keep it going as long as possible, I always say.” He applied his eye to the hole again. “Hey, they’ve turned out the lights!”

  “Probably snug in bed,” Rick said.

  “Probably,” Scotty agreed. “But we’d better watch for a while until we’re sure they’re not coming out.”

  “Then what?”Rick asked.

  “We start hunting for an automobile.”

  “Uh-uh.” Rick had checked his watch against the railroad-station clock. “Athalf past three in the morning.”

  Scotty swung his pack around and rummaged inside. He brought out two sandwiches and a bottle of spring water. “I’ve been saving these for an emergency. Is this an emergency?”

  “It’s the only kind where we’ll have time to eat.” Rick reached for a sandwich. “Thanks, pal. I’ll do as much for you someday.”

  The boys ate and drank. The minutes passed, with no sign of the men from the apartment across the way. Rick thought enviously that they probably were asleep in comfortable beds under a warm blanket. He took a pullover sweater from his knapsack, slipped off his jacket, and put it on. The sweater helped. Scotty followed suit.

  “Time for the Megabuck unit,” Scotty said. “Let’s go-“

  They walked the length of the fence and slipped out through the gate to the street. It was barely possible someone was watching from the darkened window of the apartment, Rick thought. So far, they had been out of sight of the apartment. He took Scotty’s arm.

  “Let’s cross the street to the apartment side and stay close to the buildings while we get to the car. Then anyone sitting at the window can’t see us. When we get to the car, I’ll go underneath and put the unit on, then we’ll retreat the same way. You keep a watch, and

  cover me if necessary.”

  Scotty nodded. “Got something to tie it on with?”

  “You packed a good supply of handkerchiefs. I’ll use one.”

  “Fine.Come on.”

  They were far enough down the block, so anyone in the apartment would have to lean out to see them. Scotty led the way across the street, then, hugging the buildings, they made their way back to the Mercedes-Benz. Rick had the Megabuck unit and the handkerchief ready.

  He dropped to hands and knees, still close to the building, and crawled across the sidewalk, into the gutter and under the car. It was dark, and he could see nothing. His groping hands found the chassis, but there were no convenient holes as there had been in the Citroen. His fingers traced a cable, either a hydraulic brake line, or the rear light wire. He couldn’t tell which. Anyway, it would do. He touched the exhaust to locate it, then tied the Megabuck unit as close to it as possible. They would get maximum noise now, but there wouldn’t be enough heat to harm the little transceiver. He crawled back out and joined Scotty against the building.

  Without a word Scotty turned and they retraced their steps to the corner, then headed back toward the center of town.

  “We might bump into a policeman,” Scotty ventured. “He’d stop us at this time of night.

  What’s our story?”

  Rick thought it over. “We’ve been waiting in the railroad station since our train arrived.

  Now we’re hoping to find a restaurant that opens early.”

  Scotty grinned. “Better keep your hands in your pockets. I can’t see clearly, but I think you picked up some grease under the car.”

  After getting under the Citroen, Rick had gotten away with only a smudge of dirt. This time he hadn’t been so lucky. “Maybe we’d better head back to the station so I can wash up.”

  “Good idea. Only let’s go easy and be ready to duck out of sight if we see a gendarme.”

  “Uh-uh. Lead on.”

  Berneobviously closed up tight for the night. They were alone on the streets, not even a sign of traffic. They saw no police, nor any other pedestrians. Rick had the feeling that they were alone in the world.

  Lights burned in the station, but there was no sign of life. Undoubtedly there must be some station employees on duty, but they were probably taking a nap somewhere out of sight.

  They found the men’s room, identified as such in German, French, and English. Rick washed up, then sponged dirt from his trousers and jacket. Scotty cleaned up, too, and both had a long drink of water.

  “And now, my friend?”Rick asked. “It’s ten minutes past four. How do we find a car?”

  Scotty grinned.“The hard way.With the classified section of the telephone book.”

  Rick sighed. “And you expect a rental agency to be open this time of morning?”

  “Nope.But we can be ready. A town that goes to bed as early asBerne must get up early in the morning. Just say a silent prayer that the rental agencies open before our buddies in the Mercedes-Benz take off.”

  They walked out of the rest room and into the station proper. A police officer was just coming through the door. He eyed them with interest. “ GutenMor-gen , jungeHerren .”

  “Good morning.” Rick said. “Do you speak English?”

  “Some. I ask what you do here soearly? ”

  “We came in on a late train,” Rick explained. “We’ve been waiting around for things to open.”

  “But we have hotels open all the night. You did not want a room?” There was a hint of suspicion in the question.

  Scotty gave him an apologetic grin. “We will be leaving as soon as we can. It did not seem thrifty to spend money for a room for such a few hours.”

  “We slept some
on the train,” Rick added. “Sir, we want to rent a car and have some breakfast. Can you tell us when a rental agency opens, and where there is a restaurant?”

  The officer smiled. “You are students, nicht? Ah, to be young and not to need a bed to

  sleep in! You will show me your passports, please.A formality.”

  The boys obediently produced passports. The officer inspected them, compared the pictures with the faces before him, located the entry stamp received at the border, then handed them back.

  “The Swiss Motor Service opens atsix o’clock . If you have driver’s licenses fromAmerica , they will rent you a car. You have them?”

  Rick answered. “Yes, both of us have licenses. We won’t need an international license or anything like that?”

  “Nein. Many countries inEurope allow driving on a national license. InAmerica I understand you do not have Federal licenses, so we accept those of your states. There is no problem. Now, you wish to eat. The rental agency is only three blocks away. You turn to the left as you go out the front door, walk two blocks, then turn right one block,There is a restaurant in the same block, and sometimes it is open even earlier than the agency.

  Perhaps you will be lucky. Until then, I think you wait here. It is better not to walk the streets at night.”

  The boys thanked him and retired to one of the back benches in the waiting room. Rick was surprised the officer hadn’t asked if they had seen anyone put a sign on the door.

  Probably the police assumed the sign maker wasfaraway by this time. They stretched out, and alternately dozed and turned restlessly until it wasfive thirty by Rick’s watch.Time to look for an open restaurant.

  Rick had no fear that they might have slept through the departure of the Mercedes-Benz sedan. The first roar of the exhaust in the Megaphone earphones would have been an effective alarm clock. “Time to go prowling,” he said. “Hungry?”