Read Agent Nine Solves His First Case: A Story of the Daring Exploits of the G Men Page 3

  Chapter III BOB HAS A VISITOR *

  Bob turned off the top lights and returned to his desk, which was one ofhalf a dozen in the long and rather narrow room at one corner of thebuilding.

  As he sat down he could hear the beat of the rain against the window andlooking out could see, through the curtain of water, the dimmed lights ofthe sprawling city. On a clear night the view was awe-inspiring, but onthis night his only thought was to complete his work and to return to thewarmth and comfort of his own room.

  Bob delved into the pile of papers which had accumulated in the wirebasket on his desk. They must be filed and the proper notations made.There was nothing of especial importance, or he would not have beenworking alone for it was a rule of the division that when documents ofgreat importance were to be filed, at least two clerks and usually thechief of the division must be on hand. Sometimes even armed guards camein while the filing was taking place for some of the secrets in the greatvaults across the corridor were worth millions to unscrupulous men and toother powers.

  But until tonight, until his uncle's words had aroused him, Bob had felthis own work was rather commonplace. There was nothing in his life whichcompared with the excitement and the almost daily daring of the men inthe bureau of investigation of the Department of Justice.

  The hours were rather long, the work was routine and his companions,though pleasant, were satisfied with their own careers. They were notlooking ahead and dreaming of the day when they might wear one of thelittle badges which identified a Department of Justice agent.

  Then Bob realized that he must stop his day dreaming. Or was it daydreaming after all? His uncle had said that there was now a possibilitythat he might join the department. But this was no time to ponder aboutthat. He could think of his future when he returned to his room.

  Bob went to a filing case which was along the inside wall of the room andextracted a folder. Taking it back to his desk he started making entriesof the papers which were on his desk. He worked slowly but thoroughly,and his handwriting was clear and definite.

  Others might be faster than Bob in the filing work in the division, butthere were none more accurate and when his work was done the chief of thedivision always knew that the task was well cared for.

  Bob worked for more than an hour, stopping only once or twice tostraighten up in his chair, for it was tiring work going back to the deskafter a full day of the same type of work.

  When the file was complete, he returned it to the case along the wall andsorted the papers which remained on his desk. They belonged in fourdifferent files and he drew these from the cases and placed them in a rowatop his desk.

  The air in the room seemed stuffy and Bob walked to one of the windowsand opened it several inches--just enough to let in fresh air, yet notfar enough for the sharp wind to blow rain into the room. Far below him acar horn shrieked as an unwary pedestrian tried to beat a stop light.

  Bob went back to his desk. Another hour and his work would be done. Hepicked up his pen and resumed the task.

  Bob later recalled that he had heard a clock boom out the hour of nineand it must have been nearly half an hour later when the door which ledto the corridor opened quietly and a man stepped inside.

  The young clerk, at his desk, was so intent upon his work that he did notsense there was a newcomer in the room until the visitor was almostbehind him.

  Then Bob swung around with a jerk and recognized Tully Ross. There was amomentary flare of anger in Bob's face.

  "Next time you come in, make a little noise," he snapped. "I thought aghost was creeping up on me."

  "I'm not much of a ghost," retorted Tully, taking off his topcoat andshaking it vigorously to get the water off. "I didn't know you would beworking tonight."

  "Couldn't get through this afternoon," replied Bob, "and so much materialhas been coming in lately I was afraid that if I let it go another dayI'd be swamped."

  "Next time that happens let me know and I'll give you a hand,"volunteered Tully as he sat down at his own desk, which was two down fromBob.

  Bob nearly laughed aloud for the thought of Tully volunteering to helpanyone else was almost fantastic. Each clerk had a special type of filingand each was not supposed to exchange work with the other. In this waythere was little chance for the others to know what documents were goingthrough for permanent filing.

  "Thanks, Tully, that's nice of you," said Bob, "but I don't know what thechief would say."

  "He'd never need to know," said Tully swinging around in his chair.

  "But if he did find out that we were helping each other, we'd both be outof a job and I can't afford to take that kind of a risk."

  "Neither can I right now," conceded Tully, "but I hope to get intosomething better soon. This doesn't pay enough for a fellow with mybrains and ability."

  "I'll admit that it doesn't pay a whole lot," replied Bob, "but a fellowhas to eat these days."

  "Some day I'm going to be over in the Department of Justice," said Tullydefinitely. "It may not be tomorrow or next week, but I'm going to getthere."

  "I think you will," agreed Bob. "You've got the determination to keep atit until you do." What he failed to add was that Tully's uncle would doeverything in his power to see that Tully got the promotion and it was nosecret that Condon Adams had powerful political connections that might behelpful in getting Tully into the bureau of investigation.