The Sign at Six

by Stewart Edward White

  CHAPTER XIV

  THE FEAR OF DANGER

  Before leaving the house, Darrow summoned Jack Warford.

  "Come on, old bulldog," said he. "You're to live with me a while now. Thegame is closing down."

  "Bully," said Jack. "I'll pack a suit case."

  "Have it done for you, and sent down to my place. We must hustle for theAtlas Building now."

  "What's doing?" asked Jack, as they boarded a surface car.

  "Absolutely nothing--for some time perhaps. But we must be ready. And thewaiting will be amusing, I promise you that."

  When they arrived at the Atlas Building, Darrow was surprised to findSimmons already in charge of the office.

  "Thought you were on night duty," said he.

  "I am," replied Simmons curtly. "But judging by what you said thismorning, I considered I'd better be on the job myself."

  "Good boy," approved Darrow. "I see I've made no mistake in you. Juststick it out twelve hours more, and we'll have it settled. Anything more?"

  Simmons thrust a message across the table.

  Darrow took it quite calmly. At this moment Hallowell entered.

  "What time did this come?" asked Darrow, nodding to the reporter.

  "At twelve thirty."

  Darrow nodded twice with great satisfaction.

  Then quite deliberately he unfolded the paper and perused its contents.Without change of expression he handed it to Hallowell. The latter readaloud:

  "TO THE PEOPLE: A traitor is among you--one who has betrayed you, one and all, but whom you cherish to your bosoms as a viper. I, who am greater than you all, have laid my commands upon him, and he has seen fit to disobey. He is now in hiding among you. This man must be produced. I would not willingly harass you, but this, my will, must be carried out. If he is not found by six to-morrow a sign will be sent to you that you may believe. I am patient, but I must be obeyed."

  "Now, what do you think of that!" cried Hallowell. "He doesn't evenmention the name of his friend to the dear people who are to hunt himdown! Fine dope!"

  Darrow's face expressed a sleepy satisfaction. He stretched his arms andyawned.

  "You might supply the deficiency," he suggested. "Well," he remarked toJack, "that settles it. Everything's running like a catboat in a fairwind. He's in communication with us; he is gaining confidence in hisinflated imaginary importance; we are to have a continuance of hispeculiar activities; and we can put our hands on him at a moment'snotice."

  "What!" shouted Hallowell and Jack Warford, leaping to their feet.

  "Where is he?" demanded the reporter.

  "How do you know?" cried Jack.

  Simmons, his head-piece laid aside, looked up at him in silent curiosity.

  "It is sufficient for now that I do know," smiled Darrow. "As for how Iknow, that last wireless proved it to me."

  All three men immediately bent over the message for a detailed perusal.After a minute's scrutiny, Hallowell looked up in disappointment.

  "Too many for me," he confessed. "What is there in that?"

  But Darrow shook his head.

  "I play my own game," was all the explanation he would vouchsafe.

  "You may as well knock off, old man," he told Simmons. "I don't thinkthere'll be anything more doing to-night; and it doesn't matter if thereis. Tell your other man to jot down anything from that sending, if anycomes. Now," he turned to Hallowell, "I want to see your managing editor."

  The three took the subway to City Hall Square. The managing editorreceived Darrow with much favor as the vehicle of a big scoop brought infar enough ahead of going to press to permit of ample time for itsdevelopment.

  "Now, Mr. Curtis," said Darrow to this man, "this is going to be aninteresting week for you. Here's your last exclusive despatch. Fromto-morrow morning every paper in town will naturally get every wirelessthat comes in."

  "H'm," observed Curtis, reading the despatch. "What next?"

  "He'll fulfil his threat. To-morrow evening at six o'clock he will stopthe vibrations either of light, of electricity, or of sound--probably ofelectricity, as he has appointed the rush hour."

  "Most likely," Curtis agreed.

  "Warn the people to keep out of the subways, and not to get scared. Takeit easy. There's no danger. Explain why in words of one syllable."

  "Sure."

  "Now, this is what I'm here for. Up to now these manifestations have beenharmless in their direct effects. But follow the hypothesis to its logicalconclusion. Suppose this man can arrest the vibrations not only of lightand sound, but also of the third member of the vibratory trinity. Supposehe should go one step farther; and, even for the barest fraction of time,should be able to stop the vibrations of heat!"

  The managing editor half rose. As the idea in its full significance gainedhold on their imaginations the three men turned to stare blankly at oneanother.

  "That is annihilation!" Curtis whispered.

  "On a wholesale scale," agreed Darrow calmly. "It means the death of everyliving thing from the smallest insect to the largest animal, from themicrobe to the very lichens on the stones of Trinity. I agree with the wayyou look." He laughed a little. "But the case isn't so bad as it sounds,"he went on. "If the crust of the earth were to collapse, that would beannihilation, too. But it isn't likely to happen. There are several thingsto think of."

  "What, for the love of Pete!" gasped Curtis. "Any small efforts atmuck-racking this refrigerator trust would be thankfully received."

  "In the first place, as you know," explained Darrow, "his power seems tobe limited in certain directions. He apparently can stop vibrations onlyof certain defined wave-lengths at one time. It may be that he is unableto stop heat vibrations at all."

  "You'll have to do better than that," growled Curtis.

  "The rest is faith--on your part," replied Darrow. "For I'll guaranteethat even if Monsieur X has this power, I'll stop him before he exercisesit."

  "Guarantee?" inquired Curtis.

  "There's nothing to prevent my moving to California or Mombassa if Ithought myself in any danger here," Darrow pointed out. "It would be veryeasy for me quietly to warn my friends and quietly do the grand sneak."

  "True," muttered Curtis, rummaging on his desk for a pipe.

  "The danger isn't the point--_it's the fear of danger_," said Darrow.

  Curtis looked up, arresting the operation of crowding the tobacco into thepipe bowl.

  "Suppose that throughout the length and breadth of this city the ideashould be spread broadcast that at any given moment it might be destroyed.Can you imagine the effect?"

  "Immediate exodus," grinned Curtis. "Immediate is a nice dignified word,"he added.

  "Quite so, and then?"

  "Eh?"

  "What in blazes would four million city people without homes oroccupations do? Where would they go? What would happen?"

  "You see what I mean," went on Darrow, after the slight pause necessary tolet this sink in. "The fear would bring about a general catastrophe onlyless serious than the fact itself. It's up to you newspaper men to seethat they don't catch this fear. There'll be a hundred letters from foxyboys with just enough logic or imagination to see the possibility ofcutting off the furnace; but without imagination enough to get the finaleffect of telling people about it. Suppress it. Unless I'm mistaken, theaffair will be over in a week."

  Curtis drummed thoughtfully on his desk.

  "It's got to be done, and it will be done," he said at last. "I'll get toevery paper in the city to-night--if it costs us our scoop."

  "But won't the people who write the letters tell about it, anyway?" askedJack. "And won't the outside papers have the same stuff?"

  "Sure," agreed Curtis promptly, "but what isn't in the city pressdoesn't get to the mass of the public; that's a cinch. There will besome thousands or even tens of thousands who will leave; there'll berumors a-plenty; there'll be the damnedest row since the Crusades--butthe people will stick. I'm taking your word for the danger."


  "Well, I'm the hostage," Darrow reminded him.

  "Correct," said Curtis, reaching for the desk telephone.

  Hallowell followed the visitors to the narrow hall.

  "Now," said Darrow in parting, "remember what I have said. Don't mentionmy name nor indicate that there is anywhere an idea that the identity orwhereabouts of Monsieur X is by anybody suspected."