CHAPTER XX
ON THE TRAIL
Having received Muggs' startling telephone message that he was trailingLanders, the master crook's trusted lieutenant, Roger Verbeck left hisfiancee, hurried from the apartment house, engaged a taxicab, and hadthe chauffeur drive him to the New Nortonia Hotel as quickly aspossible.
He got out of the cab half a block away from the hotel entrance, andlooked around for the roadster and Muggs, but failed to find them.Verbeck's enthusiasm began to die instantly. He had hoped to find Muggsstill there, to join him, possibly to follow Landers until he met moreof the gang.
For half an hour Verbeck loitered around the corner, and then he decidedthat Muggs had been forced to go on alone, that Landers had left thehotel and Muggs had been afraid to remain behind, lest he lose his man.So Verbeck went home to await another telephone message, as he had toldMuggs he would do.
At the end of an hour, he had received no message. He paced the floor,consumed several cigarettes, and began worrying a bit about it. ThatMuggs was the sort of man to rush into trouble, Verbeck knew well. Muggswas inclined to fight first and think about things afterward. If Muggshad located Landers, and Landers did not know it, there were severalpossibilities.
Muggs might have followed the Black Star's lieutenant to the mastercrook's headquarters, or been decoyed to some other place and madeprisoner. It was the silence of Muggs that bothered Roger Verbeck.Surely he could have managed to get to a telephone within an hour,Verbeck thought.
Verbeck waited for another hour, and still had received no message fromMuggs. He called a certain number himself, and spoke at length to theman who answered him, and who would relay the message to the chief ofpolice by word of mouth.
"Muggs spotted one of the Black Star's men and started to follow him,"Verbeck said. "He hasn't reported to me since. Tell the chief to haveall the men on the force look for my roadster, as Muggs was driving it.Muggs may need help. And wherever that roadster is found, some of theBlack Star's men may be in the neighborhood. Understand? Possibly Muggshas not had a chance to communicate with me. He may be a prisoner."
Roger Verbeck continued to pace the floor of his living room and wait.Half an hour afterward his telephone bell rang, and he hastened toanswer, hoping that the call was from Muggs, and that it would lead tothe apprehension of the Black Star or some of his people.
"Mr. Verbeck?" asked a voice.
"Yes."
"Good afternoon. I trust that you are in excellent health. This is theBlack Star speaking!"
"Well, what do you want?" Verbeck growled.
"Aren't you rather discourteous this afternoon? I have important newsfor you, too. Your man, Muggs is making me an extended visit at myheadquarters. That is what I wished to let you know. He followed amember of my band, and stumbled upon the place. Some more of my mensubdued him. I must keep him here now, of course, but I shall take goodcare of him, I assure you."
"You'd better!" Verbeck said.
"And your splendid roadster, Mr. Verbeck--Muggs was driving it, as youknow. I have had one of my men take it downtown and leave it in front ofthe public library. You'd better hurry there and get it, or you'll befined for leaving it standing in the street so long. I couldn't leave itwhere Muggs deserted it, you know; that might have given a clew to mywhereabouts."
Then the Black Star terminated the conversation abruptly, and RogerVerbeck slammed the receiver into its hook. Verbeck had hoped that thediscovery of his roadster would put the police and himself on the righttrail.
Once more Verbeck called the go-between, and had the chief of policeinformed of his conversation with the Black Star. Then he called theoffice of the sheriff.
"That you, Kowen?" he asked. "This is Roger Verbeck. It has been givenout, as you know, that I am no longer working with the police, and I amnot certain whether the Black Star believes it, or not, though Iscarcely think that he does. So I don't want to call on the police forhelp just now. I wish you'd hurry right up here to my place, Kowen. I'vegot an important clew. And have one of your men go to the corner by theNew Nortonia Hotel and wait there for us, will you? We may need him."
"I'll send a good man there, and I'll be with you in fifteen minutes!"Kowen declared.
The sheriff was as good as his word. A quarter of an hour later he wassitting before the table in Verbeck's living room, puffing at a cigarVerbeck had given him.
"Well, Verbeck, what's the idea?" he wanted to know. "If you've got aclew to that crook's whereabouts, for Heaven's sake let's get busy onit. If we don't land him pretty quick, the dear public will be runningus out of town."
"I visited my fiancee this afternoon," Verbeck said, "and left Muggssitting in the roadster. A few minutes later, the clerk in the apartmenthouse telephoned up to me that Muggs had said to tell me he had seen aman, and would call me later.
"I knew what that meant, of course. We had been watching continually forsome of the Black Star's old people. So I waited eagerly for hismessage, and finally it came. The man he had been trailing was Landers,one of the Black Star's trusted lieutenants. Muggs said he had gone tothe New Nortonia Hotel, and was visiting a couple of women named Whaley,who had room 256 there."
"Some clew!" said the sheriff.
"Wait! I told Muggs I'd be right over, but that if Landers left thehotel to follow him and call me at home later. When I got over there,Muggs was gone. I came home, and waited a couple of hours, but got nomessage from him. Finally the Black Star called me up. He said he hadMuggs at his headquarters and would keep him a prisoner for a time.Muggs stumbled into some sort of a trap, it seems. We don't know wherethe crook's headquarters are, of course. But I'm inclined toinvestigate room 256, at the New Nortonia Hotel, sheriff. What do youthink about it?"
"I should say we will investigate it!" Kowen declared. "If the BlackStar's lieutenant visits the people in that room, I want to know whothose people are."
"Muggs said they were two sisters named Whaley. That means nothing, ofcourse. They probably belong to the Black Star's gang. They may beimportant, or they may be merely mediums through whom members of theband receive messages and orders from one another. Now, we want to goabout this thing carefully, sheriff. We ought to investigate, but wedon't care to have them know of it until we learn all there is to belearned."
"I get the idea," the sheriff agreed. "Let's go!"
"We'll wait until after dark--which will not be more than a couple ofhours," Verbeck said. "I'll have some dinner sent up here, and that willhelp kill the time. I visit that hotel now and then myself--have abachelor friend who lives there. So the clerk and elevator boy willthink nothing of it if we go right up without being announced. You leavethe little details for me, Kowen. All I want is your officialsupport--and your good right arm, of course, in case we get into a bitof trouble."
"You can have 'em both!" the sheriff said.
Verbeck ordered the dinner, and the sheriff indulged in a moment ofluxury. Never before had he smoked such cigars or eaten such food. Beinga young man of fortune was a good thing, Kowen decided. He didn't seewhy Roger Verbeck should go around trying to round up a master crookwhen he was so comfortable at home.
Night descended, and they left the apartment and the building by meansof a rear stairs. Verbeck explained that it was probable that the BlackStar had somebody watching the place.
"We don't want them to think we know anything about that hotel," hesaid. "We may lose our chance to nab some of them if they get an idea weare on the right trail."
They walked through back streets, keeping in the shadows as much aspossible, and finally reached the hostelry. There, of course, they hadto enter boldly. Verbeck nodded to the clerk and hurried to the elevatorwith the sheriff at his heels. They ascended to the fourth floor, whereVerbeck's friend, Lawrence, lived.
"We're here on business connected with a gentleman known to fame as theBlack Star, Lawrence," Verbeck said, finding his friend in his suite.
"Good Lord! Think I'm a member of his gang?" Lawrence asked.
"Scarcely, or we'd not be taking you into our confidence," Verbeckreplied. "Be a good boy, now, and help us, will you?"
"Surely! That big crook nipped my aunt's diamonds the last time he wason a rampage, and she never got them back. Just give me a chance at him.Those stones were to have been mine some day."
"In that case, you probably want revenge," said Verbeck, laughing. "Now,answer a few questions. You've lived here for three or four years andshould know something about the place."
"I know all about it," Lawrence said.
"Where is room 256?"
"Ah! I had that room when I first came here, before I could get a suite.It's on the second floor, directly beneath us a couple of stories, witha fire escape running past its principal window."
"Of course there would be a fire escape," said Verbeck. "There are timeswhen fire escapes are handy things. Lawrence, do you know the people whohave that room now? I understand a couple of sisters live there--Whaleyby name."
"I've seen one of them many times--sour-looking old girl about forty.Freeze you with a glance, and all that sort of thing--one of those womena man always dodges."
"Sure she is about forty?"
"Great Scott, don't I know the sex? Can't I guess a woman's age ninetimes out of ten? Aren't half the girls in town mad at me now because Ialways insist on doing it, and telling the truth about my guesses? She'sforty, and she's fat--not plump, but fat--and she always looks as if shewas ready to bite."
"Well, that description doesn't mean anything in my young life," Verbecksaid. "I had hoped for something different. How about the other sister?"
"I've glanced at her a couple of times, but I haven't seen her at allrecently. Maybe she's ill."
"What does she look like--that's what I want to know."
"Um!" said Lawrence. "Grace of a gazelle, my boy. Would have madeadvances, my boy, if the other hadn't frozen me with a glance."
"Hair?"
"Auburn--distinct auburn, the shade I most prefer--and plenty of it.Eyes, a sort of gray--don't know exactly what you'd call 'em. And thegirl can wear clothes. There's a subtle perfume about her, my boy----"
"And you only glanced at her a couple of times, eh? How old do you sayshe is?" Verbeck asked.
"Thirty," Lawrence replied. "Five feet six; weighs about a hundred andtwenty-five, has magnificent shoulders----"
"I knew it!" Verbeck cried.
"Can you place her?" Kowen asked.
"It is only a guess, of course," said Verbeck. "But I think I know whoshe is. And I'm sure you'd be interested in meeting her, Kowen. You'lltake such a fancy to her that you'll probably want to take her to jailand put her into a cage. Kowen, is that man of yours at the corner, doyou suppose?"
"If he isn't, he'll be fired pretty quick!"
"Go out and find him, and plant him beneath that fire escape. Tell himto nab anybody, man or woman, who tries to go down it. A person can godown that escape to the parlor on the first floor, you know, stepthrough a window there, and walk out the front door of the hotel. Thenyou hurry right back here, Kowen."
The sheriff grasped his hat and hurried from the suite. Verbeck lighteda cigarette, looking toward the ceiling and smiled.
"I say, what is this all about?" Lawrence demanded. "Let me in on it,will you? I haven't had a bit of excitement for ages. I'm getting stale,man."
"Callow youths such as yourself should not run into danger," Verbeckexplained.
"Confound it, I'm no callow youth. I'm only three years younger thanyou."
"But I have had experience, Lawrence. Restrain yourself for a fewminutes, and you may see some excitement. But don't ask questions at thepresent time. I hate answering questions. We must wait until the sheriffcomes back."
Black Star's Campaign: A Detective Story Page 20