CHAPTER XXVI--A MAN OF MYSTERY
Muggs, crouched down behind the wheel, watched the fine rain beatagainst the wind shield of the roadster, and hoped he would not haveto remain in that position of inaction for long.
He observed a man approaching along the sidewalk, a man who glanced atthe apartment houses as if seeking a certain one. Directly oppositethe roadster this man stopped, looked around for an instant, and thenhurried over to Muggs.
"Know where the Albemarle Apartments might be?" he asked.
"They might be almost any place, but I've got an idea you'll find themin the middle of the next block," Muggs replied. "It's a big, white,brick building."
"Thanks," the other growled.
He turned away--and as quickly turned back again. Reflection from thelight on the corner flashed from something he held in his hand. Asmall cloud of vapor rushed at Muggs' face. Muggs gasped, and his headfell forward.
Instantly the other man sprang into the roadster, lifted theunconscious form of Muggs from the driver's seat, and placed it in therear seat, afterward throwing a robe over it. Then he took Muggs'place behind the wheel, crouched forward, waiting.
The motor cyclist stopped beside the roadster at this moment.
"Got him all right?" he asked.
"Cinch! Muggs is now sleeping peacefully in the rear beneath a heavyrobe. I sure caught him off guard."
"Well, Verbeck is the next job. He may stay in there talkin' to hisgirl half the night, and he may be out in three minutes. It'll be agame of wait, I guess. I'll hang around to give help, if you need it,and be ready to jump in as soon as you get him. You gave Muggs a heavyshot, didn't you?"
"I guess he's good for half an hour in dreamland, all right."
"Verbeck wants to get a heavy shot, too. When we get out on the riverroad we can bind and gag the two of 'em. Careful now. If we miss outon this the big boss'll half kill us."
"I ain't never failed him yet, not the Bl----"
"Cut it!" the motor cyclist exclaimed. "Be gentle with that namearound these parts. This is the home of Verbeck's fiancee, remember,and Heaven knows what sort of cops might be posted around here. I'dbetter duck now."
He left the roadster and walked a short distance down the street,finally coming to a stop against a wall. There he waited in theshadows, as did the driver of the light truck at the mouth of thealley. The truck driver had witnessed the undoing of Muggs, and hadchuckled some at it, but had made no move to interfere. Little caredhe if the Black Star's men rendered Roger Verbeck's chauffeurunconscious and hurled him into the rear of the roadster!
Fifteen minutes passed. The motor cyclist left his retreat and walkedup and down the street now and then. The man in Verbeck's car remainedcrouched behind the wheel of the machine, and the truck driver at thealley's mouth did not change his position.
Then the front door of the apartment house was opened, and a man andwoman stood framed in it for a moment. The woman stepped back, and thedoor was closed again; the man turned up the collar of his raincoatand stepped briskly down the steps and toward the waiting roadster.
The watcher at the mouth of the alley betrayed some interest now. Themotor cyclist left his place of seclusion and walked forward slowly,head bent as if against the force of the storm.
"Home, Muggs!"
The man who had taken Muggs' place reached forward as he heard thewords and found the seat beside him occupied. And for the second timethat evening he turned swiftly and discharged a cloud of vapor fromthe pistol he carried. For the second time also that vapor rendered aman unconscious instantly.
"Great! Walked right into the trap!" It was the motor cyclist whospoke. He got into the car and aided his companion in putting thesecond unconscious man in the rear, under the robe. "Better let herout now!" he went on. "We've got 'em both--Verbeck and Muggs. I reckonwe caught 'em off their guard. They didn't expect to get that vaporstuff right here on the boulevard. Great idea of the boss to alwaysgive a man what he doesn't expect! I guess this'll put a crimp intoyoung and handsome Mr. Verbeck. Nail the boss, will he? Huh!"
The other had turned the roadster, and now it darted up the boulevardat a speed perilously near the limit allowed by city ordinance. Fromthe mouth of the alley darted the light truck, and took up thepursuit. The driver of it was chuckling again, evidently at the easewith which the Black Star's men had made Verbeck and Muggs captives.
The Verbeck roadster led the way up the boulevard, and, after a time,turned into a side street. Down a long hill it dashed, with the lighttruck following less than a block behind. Traffic was passing in bothdirections, but the speed of roadster and truck did not diminish toany great extent.
Now the residence district was left behind, and the two machines werepassing through the dark wholesale district. Here the truck dropped ashort distance behind, and its driver glanced around frequently to seewhether any other machine was following.
And then a railroad crossing was reached, and the roadster was forcedto stop against the gates while a long freight train was pulled slowlyby. The truck drove up and stopped behind it. The driver got down andstepped across the sidewalk and into a cheap saloon on the cornerthere. He came out again almost instantly, puffing at a cigar he hadpurchased. He stood beside his truck, looking at the train, shakingthe raindrops from his coat collar. The two men in the front seats ofthe roadster glanced at him, but apparently he gave them no attention.
The end of the train rattled past; the gates began to lift. Theroadster started slowly forward across the tracks. The man who hadbeen driving the truck gave a quick spring--and landed on the rear ofthe roadster, where there was a broad bulge in the body, with an extrawheel lashed upon it. Top and curtains were up; the men in theroadster could not see him.
They were in the poorer part of the city now, and presently at the endof the paved streets. Here there began a road that curved along theriver, and, after striking this road, the man driving the roadster gotall speed possible out of his machine. The other crept into the rearend, lifted the robe, gave the two prisoners fresh shots from thevapor gun, and then bound and gagged them.
On and on they rushed through the night, the wheels hurling mud in alldirections, the brilliant headlights cutting a path through thedarkness.
They came to a bridge, and so crossed the river. Here the man who rodeon the rear end of the car was exposed twice as it flashed under thebridge lights, but no bridge tender observed him. It was a badnight--the tenders merely stepped to the doors of their tiny houses,saw that a motor car was passing, and let it go at that.
On the other side of the river, the speed of the car decreased. Aftera time the machine was driven from the main road into a sort of lane.Here the going was slower yet, for the mud was deep and the roadbedcut into deep ruts. The car lurched from side to side in such fashionthat the man who rode behind was almost hurled off.
He could hear the men in the car talking now.
"Nearly there--better dim the headlights," one of them was saying.
Instantly the headlights were dimmed, and in the semidarkness the carplowed on through the mud. Now it approached an old house, from onewindow of which a light flashed. The car was stopped. The man who hadbeen riding behind dropped off into the mud and crept through theblack night toward the fence.
One at a time, the two unconscious prisoners were taken from theroadster, carried through a gate up a walk, and to the front door ofthe old house. A bell would tinkle, the door would be opened, theprisoner handed over. After that had been done, the roadster, with alllights out, was turned around and left in front of the gate. Then themen who had accomplished the abduction entered the house, and the onelight that had shone from a window was extinguished.
Now the man who had been crouching against the fence moved rapidly,yet with extreme caution. He crept past the gate, and where a greattree threw its branches over the fence he vaulted over. Standingagainst the trunk of the tree, he waited for a time in silence,listening intently for some noise that would tell of a human being
near. He heard nothing but the moaning of the wind, the beating of theriver against the shore, the soft patter of the rain on the leaves.
He crept forward again, a few feet at a time, and finally reached theside of the house. He listened near a window, but could hear nothing.He found the window fastened, went on to another, and found thatlocked also.
Now he sensed something near him, but it seemed to be animal ratherthan human. His hand dived into a pocket and came out with one of theBlack Star's vapor guns. With his back against the side of the house,he listened and waited.
He was sure now that he could hear breathing. Then he made out twoeyes glaring at him in the darkness. Those eyes seemed to flicker foran instant, and in that instant the man lurched quickly to one side.
A body fell against him; he heard a snarl. He sank to his knees,grasped a hairy throat, discharged the vapor gun, and felt the bodyrelax. His hands worked swiftly in the darkness on a mission ofexploration. He was chuckling again as he got upon his feet. So theBlack Star did not depend wholly on human beings to guard him--he hadtrained dogs!
Should there be another dog, he might sound an alarm before the vaporgun got in its work. The prowler knew that, and so he hesitated nolonger, but hurried around the end of the house. Here he found acellar window unlocked. A moment later he was inside the house.
He had an electric torch in a pocket, but feared to flash it here.Again he listened for a time, and then felt his way around the wall,and so came to a flight of steps. Up these he crept, to find a lockeddoor at the top.
Once more he listened, and seemed to hear voices coming from adistance. He reached in another pocket, drew forth a key of peculiarshape, and worked at the lock of the door for some time. On the otherside a key fell out with a clatter. He waited fully a minute, scarcelydaring to breathe, but decided at the end of that time that the noisemade by the falling key had not been heard.
Now he turned the knob, and presently opened the door half an inch.Bit by bit he threw it back, and finally stepped into the room. Heclosed the door behind him as carefully as he had opened it, and evensearched and found the key and locked the door again. Hurryingnoiselessly across the room, he entered another, and finally passedinto a narrow hallway. He carried the vapor gun in one hand now andhis electric torch in the other. At any instant, he knew, discoverymight come. Some place in that hall a door might be opened, and lightflood it. He was liable to stumble against one of the Black Star's menin the darkness.
When he reached the other end of the hall he stopped to listen again.Once more he heard voices coming as if from a distance, and decidedthat they came from some room on the second floor. He was bold enoughto flash his torch once now, and discovered a rear staircase. To thishe made his way, and up it, and into a hallway on the second floor.
Now he felt that he was on more dangerous ground. He could hear thevoices plainly, and could locate the room from which they came. Towardthe front of the hall a thin streak of light streamed from beneath adoor.
He managed to slip into the room adjoining that from which the lightcame. After listening for some time there, he flashed his torch again.The room was large, bare, dusty. On one side were two windows, thepanes filmed with dirt. On the opposite side from which he had enteredwas another door, with some old curtains hanging before it.
He crept across to this door, careful that the boards of the floor didnot creak with his steps. He bent and peered through a keyhole intothe room beyond. He did not chuckle now, for a chuckle might havemeant disaster, but he did smile, and the expression on his face wasone of lively satisfaction. He had arrived at an opportune moment.
Caution remained with him, however. He hurried back across the roomand locked the door with the key from his pocket. Then he journeyed toone of the windows and made sure that it was unlocked and that from ita man easily could drop to the ground. That done, he went back to thekeyhole again and bent down to watch.
As he took up his position a deep voice came from the other room, avoice that seemed to be issuing orders in a tone that meant thespeaker generally had his orders obeyed instantly.
"All ready now! Bring those two back to earth, and we'll have theshow!" the voice said. "Number Ten, get out of the house and down tothe river and see that everything is prepared. It is now nine-thirtyo'clock, and we want to leave about eleven."