Jennie Baxter, Journalist

by Robert Barr

  CHAPTER XIV. JENNIE BECOMES A SPECIAL POLICE OFFICER.

  When Jennie returned to Vienna, and was once more installed in herluxurious rooms at the Palace Steinheimer, she received in due timea copy of the _Daily Bugle_, sent to her under cover as a registeredletter. The girl could not complain that the editor had failed to makethe most of the news she had sent him. As she opened out the paper shesaw the great black headlines that extended across two columns, and thenews itself dated not from Venice, but from Vienna, was in type muchlarger than that ordinarily used in the paper, and was double-leaded.The headings were startling enough:--

  PHANTOM GOLD.

  THE MOST GIGANTIC ROBBERY OF MODERN TIMES.

  THE AUSTRIAN WAR CHEST DYNAMITED.

  TWENTY MILLION POUNDS IN COIN LOOTED.

  APPALLING DISASTER AT THE TREASURY IN VIENNA.

  FOUR MEN KILLED, AND SIXTEEN OTHERS MORE OR LESS SERIOUSLY INJURED.

  "Dear me!" the Princess cried, peering over Jennie's shoulder at theseamazing headings, "how like home that looks. The _Bugle_ doesn't at allresemble a London journal; it reminds me of a Chicago paper's account ofa baseball match; a baseball match when Chicago was winning, of course,and when Anson had lined out the ball from the plate to the lake front,and brought three men in on a home run at a critical point in the game."

  "Good gracious!" cried Jennie, "what language are you speaking? Is itslang, or some foreign tongue?"

  "It is pure Chicagoese, Jennie, into which I occasionally lapse evenhere in prim Vienna. I would like to see a good baseball match, with theChicago nine going strong. Let us abandon this effete monarchy, Jennie,and pay a visit to America."

  "I'll go with pleasure if you will tell me first who robbed the warchest. If you can place your dainty forefinger on the spot that concealstwo hundred million florins in gold, I'll go anywhere with you."

  "Oh, yes, that reminds me. I spoke to my husband this morning, and askedhim if he could get you enrolled as a special detective, and he saidthere would be some difficulty in obtaining such an appointment for awoman. Would you have any objection to dressing up as a nice young man,Jennie?"

  "I would very much rather not; I hope you didn't suggest that to thePrince."

  The Princess laughed merrily and shook her head.

  "No, I told him that I believed that you would solve the mystery ifanyone could, and, remembering what you had done in that affair ofmy diamonds, my husband has the greatest faith in your powers as aninvestigator; but he fears the authorities here will be reluctantto allow a woman to have any part in the search. They have veryold-fashioned ideas about women in Austria, and think her proper placeis presiding over a tea-table."

  "Well, if they only knew it," said Jennie archly, "some things have beendiscovered over a teacup within our own memories."

  "That is quite true," replied the Princess, "but we can hardly give theincident as a recommendation to the Austrian authorities. By the way,have you noticed that no paper in Vienna has said a single word aboutthe robbery of the war chest?"

  "It must have been telegraphed here very promptly from London, and yetthey do not even deny it, which is the usual way of meeting the truth."

  While they were talking, a message came from his Highness, asking ifhe might take the liberty of breaking in upon their conference. A fewmoments after, the Prince himself entered the apartment and bowed withcourtly deference to the two ladies.

  "I have succeeded," he said, "beyond my expectations. It seems that anewspaper in London has published an account of the whole affair, andthe police, who were at their wits end before, are even more flusterednow that the account of the robbery has been made public. By the way,how did you learn anything about this robbery? It did not strike me atthe time you spoke about Miss Baxter's commission this morning, but Ihave been wondering ever since."

  "Jennie received a paper from London," said the Princess hurriedly,"which said the war chest of Austria had been robbed of two hundredmillion florins, but there is nothing about it in the Vienna Press."

  "No," replied the Prince; "nor is there likely to be. The robbery is nowknown to all the world except Austria, and I imagine nothing will besaid about it here."

  "Is there, then, any truth in the report?" asked the Princessinnocently.

  "Truth! It's all truth; that is just where the trouble is. There islittle use of our denying it, because this London paper is evidentlywell informed, and to deny it we should have to publish something aboutthe robbery itself, which we are not inclined to do. It is known,however, who the two correspondents of this London paper are, and Ibelieve the police are going to make it so interesting for those twogentlemen that they will be glad to leave Vienna, for a time at least.Of course, nothing can be done openly, because Englishmen make such afuss when their liberties are encroached upon. One of the young men hasbeen lured across the frontier by a bogus telegram, and I think theauthorities will see that he does not get back in a hurry; the other weexpect to be rid of before long. Of course, we could expel him, but ifwe did, it would be thought that we had done so because he had found outthe truth about the explosion."

  "How did you learn of the explosion?" asked the Princess.

  "Oh, I have known all about the affair ever since it happened."

  The Princess gave Jennie a quick look, which said as plainly as words,"Here was the news that we wanted in our household, and we neversuspected it." "Why didn't you tell me?" cried the Princess indignantly.

  "Well, you see, my dear, you never took much interest in politics, and Idid not think the news would have any attraction for you; besides," headded, with a smile, "we were all cautioned to keep the matter as secretas possible."

  "And wonderfully well you have managed it!" exclaimed the Princess."That shows what comes of trusting a secret to a lot of men; here it is,published to all the world."

  "Not quite all the world my dear. As I have said, Austria will knownothing regarding it."

  "The Princess tells me," said Jennie, "that you were kind enough toendeavour to get me permission to make some investigation into thismystery. Have you succeeded?"

  "Yes, Miss Baxter, as I said, I have succeeded quite beyond myexpectations, for the lady detective is comparatively an innovation inVienna. However, the truth is, the police are completely in a fog, andthey are ready to welcome help from whatever quarter it comes. Here is awritten permit from the very highest authority, which you do not need touse except in a case of emergency. Here is also an order from the Chiefof Police, which will open for you every door in Vienna; and finally,here is a badge which you can pin on some not too conspicuous portionof your clothing. This badge, I understand, is rarely given out. It ispartly civil and partly military. You can show it to any guard, whowill, on seeing it, give you the right-of-way. In case he does not,appeal to his superior officer, and allow him to read your policepermit. Should that fail, then play your trump card, which is thishighly important document. The Director of the Police, who is a veryshrewd man, seemed anxious to make your acquaintance before you beganyour investigation. He asked me if you would call upon him, but seemedtaken aback when I told him you were my wife's friend and a guest at ourhouse, so he suggested that you would in all probability wish first tosee the scene of the explosion, and proposed that he should call herewith his carriage and accompany you to the Treasury. He wished to knowif four o'clock in the afternoon would suit your convenience!"

  "Oh, yes!" replied Jennie. "I am eager to begin at once, and, of course,I shall be much obliged to him if he will act as my guide in the vaultsof the Treasury, and tell me how much they have already discovered."

  "You must not expect much information from the police--in fact, I doubtif they have discovered anything. Still, if they have, they are morethan likely to keep it to themselves; and I imagine they will holda pretty close watch on you, being more anxious to learn what youdiscover, and thus take the credit if they can, than to furnish you withany knowledge of the affair they may happen to possess."

  "That
is quite natural, and only what one has a right to expect. I don'twish to rob the police of whatever repute there is to be gained fromthis investigation, and I am quite willing to turn over to them anyclues I may happen to chance upon."

  "Well, if you can convince the Director of that, you will have all theassistance he can give you. It wouldn't be bad tactics to let him knowthat you are acting merely in an amateur way, and that you have nodesire to rob the police of their glory when it comes to the solving ofthe problem." Promptly at four o'clock the Director of the Police putin an appearance at the Palace Steinheimer. He appeared to be a mostobsequious, highly decorated old gentleman, in a very resplendentuniform, and he could hardly conceal his surprise at learning that thelady detective was a woman so young and so pretty. Charmed as he wasto find himself in the company of one so engaging, it was neverthelessevident to Jennie that he placed no very high estimate on the assistanceshe might be able to give in solving the mystery of the Treasury. Thistrend of mind, she thought, had its advantages, for the Director wouldbe less loth to give her full particulars of what had already beenaccomplished by the police.

  Jennie accompanied the Director to that extensive mass of buildings ofwhich the Treasury forms a part. The carriage drew up at a doorway, andhere the Director and his companion got out. He led the way into theedifice, then, descending a stair, entered an arched corridor, at thedoor of which two soldiers stood on guard, who saluted as the Chiefpassed them.

  "Does this lead to the room where the explosion took place?" askedJennie. "Yes." "And is this the only entrance?" "The only entrance,madame." "Were the men on guard in this doorway injured by theexplosion?" "Yes. They were not seriously injured, but were renderedincapable for a time of attending to their duties." "Then a person couldhave escaped without their seeing him?" "A whole regiment of personsmight have escaped. You will understand the situation exactly if Icompare this corridor to a long cannon, the room at the end being thebreech-loading chamber. Two guards were inside the room, and two othersstood outside the door that communicated with this corridor. These fourmen were killed instantly. Of the guards inside the room not a vestigehas been found. The door, one of the strongest that can be made,somewhat similar to the door of a safe, was flung outward and crushed tothe floor the two guards who stood outside it in the corridor. Betweenthe chamber in which the chest lay and the outside entrance were sixteenmen on guard. Every one of these was flung down, for the blast, if I maycall it so, travelled through this straight corridor like the chargealong the inside of the muzzle of a gun. The guards nearest the treasurechamber were, of course, the more seriously injured, but those furtherout did not escape the shock, and the door by which we entered thiscorridor, while not blown from its hinges, was nevertheless forcedopen, its strong bolts snapping like matches. So when you see the greatdistance that intervened between the chamber and that door, you willhave some idea of the force of the explosion."

  "There is no exit, then, from the treasure chamber except along thiscorridor?"

  "No, madame. The walls at the outside of the chamber are of enormousstrength, because, of course, it was expected that if an attempt atrobbery were ever made, it would be made from the outside, and it isscarcely possible that even the most expert of thieves could succeed inpassing two guards at the door, sixteen officers and soldiers along thecorridor, two outside the Treasury door, and two in the chamber itself.Such a large number of soldiers were kept here so that any attempt atbribery would be impossible. Among such a number one or two were sureto be incorruptible, and the guards were constantly changed. Seldom waseither officer or man twice on duty here during the month. With such alarge amount at stake every precaution was taken."

  "Are there any rooms at the right or left of this corridor in which thethieves could have concealed themselves while they fired the mine?"

  "No, the corridor leads to the treasure chamber alone."

  "Then," said Jennie, "I can't see how it was possible for a number ofmen to have made away with the treasure in such circumstances as existhere."

  "Nevertheless, my dear young lady, the treasure is gone. We think thatthe mine was laid with the connivance of one or more officers on dutyhere. You see the amount at stake was so large that a share of it wouldtempt any nine human beings out of any ten. Our theory is that the trainwas laid, possibly electric wires being used, which would be unnoticedalong the edge of the corridor, and that the bribed officer exploded thedynamite by bringing the ends of the wires into contact. We think theexplosion was a great deal more severe than was anticipated. Probably,it was expected that the shock would break a hole from the treasurechamber to the street, but so strong were the walls that no impressionwas made upon them, and a cabman who was driving past at the time heardnothing of the sound of the explosion, though he felt a trembling of theground, and thought for a moment there had been a shock of earthquake."

  "You think, then, that the thieves were outside?"

  "That seems the only possible opinion to hold."

  "The outside doors were locked and bolted, of course?"

  "Oh, certainly; but if they had a confederate or two in the largehallway upstairs, these traitors would see to it that there was notrouble about getting in. Once inside the large hallway, with guardsstunned by the shock, the way to the treasure chamber was absolutelyclear."

  "There were sentries outside the building, I suppose?"

  "Yes."

  "Did they see any vehicle driving near the Treasury?"

  "No, except the cab I spoke of, and the driver has accountedsatisfactorily for his time that night. The absence of any conveyanceis the strange part of it; and, moreover, the sentries, although pacingoutside the walls of this building, heard nothing of the concussionbeyond a low rumble, and those who thought of the matter at all imaginedan explosion had occurred in some distant part of the city."

  "Then the outside doors in the large hall above were not blown open?"

  "No; the officer reports that they were locked and bolted when heexamined them, which was some minutes, of course, after the disaster hadtaken place; for he, the officer in charge, had been thrown down andstunned, seemingly by the concussion of air which took place."

  As Jennie walked down the corridor, she saw more and more of theevidences of the convulsion. The thick iron-bound door lay where it hadfallen, and it had not been moved since it was lifted to get the two menfrom under it. Its ponderous hinges were twisted as if they had beenmade of glue, and its massive bolts were snapped across like bits ofglass. All along the corridor on the floor was a thick coating of dustand _debris_, finely powdered, growing deeper and deeper until they cameto the entrance of the room. There was no window either in corridor orchamber, and the way was lit by candles held by soldiers who accompaniedthem. The scoria crunched under foot as they walked, and in the chamberitself great heaps of dust, sand and plaster, all pulverized into minuteparticles, lay in the corners of the room, piled up on one side higherthan a man's head. There seemed to be tons of this _debris_, and, asJennie looked up at the arched ceiling, resembling the roof of a vaulteddungeon, she saw that the stone itself had been ground to fine dust withthe tremendous force of the blast.

  "Where are the remnants of the treasure chest?" she asked.

  The Director shook his head. "There are no remnants; not a vestige of itis to be found."

  "Of what was it made?"

  "We used to have an old treasure chest here made of oak, bound withiron; but some years ago, a new receptacle being needed, one wasespecially built of hardened steel, constructed on the modern principlesof those burglar-proof and fire-proof safes."

  "And do you mean to say that there is nothing left of this?"

  "Nothing that we have been able to discover."

  "Well, I have seen places where dynamite explosions have occurred, butI know of nothing to compare with this. I am sure that if dynamite hasbeen used, or any explosive now generally obtainable, there would havebeen left, at least, some remnant of the safe. Hasn't this pile ofrubbish been dist
urbed since the explosion?"

  "Yes, it has been turned over; we made a search for the two men, but wefound no trace of them."

  "And you found no particles of iron or steel?"

  "The heap throughout is just as you see it on the surface--a fine,almost impalpable dust. We had to exercise the greatest care insearching through it, for the moment it was disturbed with a shovelit filled the air with suffocating clouds. Of course we shall have itremoved by-and-by, and carted away, but I considered it better to allowit to remain here until we had penetrated somewhat further into themystery than we have already done."

  Jennie stooped and picked up a handful from the heap, her action causeda mist to rise in the air that made them both choke and cough, andyet she was instantly struck by the fact that her handful seemedinordinately heavy for its bulk.

  "May I take some of this with me?" she asked.

  "Of course," replied the Director. "I will have a packet of it put upfor you."

  "I would like to take it with me now," said Jennie. "I have curiosity toknow exactly of what it is composed. Who is the Government analyst? orhave you such an official?"

  "Herr Feltz, in the Graubenstrasse, is a famous analytical chemist; youcannot do better than go to him."

  "Do you think he knows anything about explosives?"

  "I should suppose so, but if not, he will certainly be able to tell youwho the best man is in that line."

  The Director ordered one of the soldiers who accompanied him to find asmall paper bag, and fill it with some dust from the treasure chamber.When this was done, he handed the package to Jennie, who said, "Ishall go at once and see Herr Feltz."

  "My carriage is at your disposal, madame."

  "Oh, no, thank you, I do not wish to trouble you further. I am very muchobliged to you for devoting so much time to me already. I shall take afiacre."

  "My carriage is at the door," persisted the Director, "and I willinstruct the driver to take you directly to the shop of Herr Feltz; thenno time will be lost, and I think if I am with you, you will be moresure of attention from the chemist, who is a very busy man."

  Jennie saw the Director did not wish to let her out of his sight, andalthough she smiled at his suspicion, she answered politely,--

  "It is very kind of you to take so much trouble and devote so muchof your time to me. I shall be glad of your company if you are quitecertain I am not keeping you from something more important."

  "There is nothing more important than the investigation we have onhand," replied the Chief grimly.