CHAPTER XXX--MUGGS IN ACTION
For fifteen minutes they ran in silence, and then the Black Star wentforward and stood beside the engineer.
"Put in at the alley between National and Washington Streets," heordered. "Out with your lights, and make as little noise as possible.The two taxicabs should be waiting at the end of the alley. Get ready,men, and pick up Verbeck and Muggs. We don't want to lose any moretime--we've lost enough already."
He was not chuckling now; he spoke in a stern voice, and his men knewthat the Black Star was thinking only of the big-planned crime now, ofgetting the money and securities from the vault of the National TrustCompany and removing the fortune to his headquarters. Then the bandwould scatter as usual, and in the morning the police would discoverthat the lodge hall of the Knights of Certainty had been a crooks'workshop and the robbery made possible because of it--but they wouldmake the discovery too late, as usual.
They would find little black stars pasted in the lodge hall and on thevaults, and none of the members of the Knights of Certainty would beseen again. The Black Star and his men would leave behind a couple ofhundred dollars' worth of furniture--and take away between two andthree hundred thousand in coin and negotiable securities. And the nextblow perhaps would be struck in a different section of the city and atan unexpected moment, as usual.
The lights of the launch went out, and her speed was cut down untilshe scarcely crept through the water. Closer and closer she slipped tothe shore, inside the shadows of large warehouses. She passed the endof a street, went in closer, and came finally to the alley. Silentlythe men lashed her to piling there.
The two taxicabs were waiting, and the transfer to them took but a fewminutes. With curtains up, they crept to the mouth of the alley,turned into a street, and sped along it toward the business district.There was nothing unusual in the appearance of the taxicabs. A scoreof police officers would have glanced at them once, and then turnedaway. Repeatedly they were held up at crossings by the theater andcafe crowds passing. They were caught in traffic jams, but theirchauffeurs puffed at cigarettes and waited nonchalantly until theycould go ahead.
They reached the front of the building where the Knights of Certaintyhad their hall, but did not stop there. They went into the alley andpulled up at a little side door. One of the men got out, rapped on thedoor, and gave a password when a slot in it was opened. The Black Starand his men got out, glanced around, carried their prisoners from thecabs, and went into the building. The door was closed again; the twotaxicabs drove away.
An elevator made two trips to the third floor, and the Black Star andhis men entered the lodge hall. Guards took up the positions that hadbeen assigned to them. The doors were bolted securely; the windows hadbeen fitted with opaque glass and heavy curtains.
"Well, here we are," the Black Star said. "Mask, gentlemen! Now bringour prisoners back to life, and we'll let them see how easy it is totake money."
While his orders were being obeyed the master criminal went to one ofthe walls and pressed against a certain spot there. A section of thewall swung out, and in the aperture a masked man stood.
"Everything all right?" the Black Star asked.
"All safe, sir," came the reply.
"The watchmen----"
"Not a hitch there, sir; they are all unconscious and our men in theirplaces. We have reported regular for four hours, and not a suspicionat headquarters or they'd have investigated before this. The patrolmanon the beat even looked in at a window once and waved at our man onthe first floor."
"Excellent!" the Black Star said, rubbing his hands in satisfaction.
He walked back to the end of the room. His prisoners were revived nowand had been placed side by side in chairs before one of the curtainedwindows in the rear of the hall.
"Ah, Mr. Verbeck and Mr. Muggs!" the master criminal smirked. "You areconscious again, then? 'Twas a pity you didn't see the little fight wehad with the police. I'd tell you all about it, but we haven't thetime to spare, and you can read about it in to-morrow's papers. Well,here you are in the hall of the Knights of Certainty. You see theaperture in the wall? My mechanics have arranged a passageway betweenthe walls of the two buildings. We have a sort of glorifieddumb-waiter, and by its use can descend to the first floor of theNational Trust Company's building. Simple, eh? I regret I cannotexplain the method we are going to use to get into the burglar-proofvaults. Did it become public property, the manufacturers might inventsome means of counteracting it. Kindly sit still, gentlemen, while Ihave my men prepare the way."
He deliberately turned his back and walked to the center of the hallagain and called his men to him, all except the guards near the doors.He issued instructions, and two men hurried to the aperture in thewall and disappeared. The Black Star was the commanding general now,and his followers were eager to obey.
For fifteen minutes perhaps he paced the floor, glancing at hisprisoners now and then, and often stopping to issue some whisperedinstruction. Then one of the men he had sent below returned.
"All ready, sir," he reported.
"The vaults are opened?" the Black Star asked.
"Yes, sir, and every strong box. All you have to do is take out theswag, sir."
"The suit cases are there and ready?"
"Yes, sir."
"Two of you carry Mr. Verbeck to the dumb-waiter, and we'll descendwith him," the master criminal commanded. "Sorry I cannot take you atthe same time, my dear Muggs, but the capacity of our dumb-waiter islimited. I'll have you taken below before we are through, though. Inthe meantime, sit calmly on your chair."
He laughed as he turned toward the aperture in the wall, laughed againas two of his men carried the bound and gagged prisoner as if he hadbeen a log of wood, and chuckled as he saw the anger flashing inMuggs' eyes. The Black Star, his helpless prisoner, and his two mendisappeared, and the aperture in the wall was closed.
Those who remained glanced at Muggs, but did not approach him, andmade no offer to taunt him. They left that to the Black Star. Allexcept the guards at the two doors and one who peered through a slitin the curtain at a front window, gathered in the middle of the roomand spoke in whispers.
Muggs tugged at his bonds for the hundredth time, and realized that hehad been bound well. There was no hope of slipping from these ropes.Here was no broken glass upon which he could saw the ropes, as RogerVerbeck had done once. Nor could he manage to get his fingers into ahip pocket and extract a knife that opened with a touch of the thumband cut his bonds with that as he had done once before when in theBlack Star's hands. Back at the master criminal's headquarters he hadbeen searched and his knife taken from him.
He racked his brain for an idea that would lead to release, and couldthink of none. On the first floor of the adjoining building, heguessed, the Black Star and his men were filling suit cases with thewealth of the National Trust Company, and a helpless and ragingprisoner was being forced to watch the crime and endure the taunts ofthe Black Star at the same time. If only he could be free and have agood automatic in his hand----
He glanced at the Black Star's men again; they were not even lookingin his direction; they knew well, he supposed, that he could not makea move. He could only sit in the chair against the curtained rearwindow and look straight ahead, absolutely helpless.
He imagined that he could hear a slight noise outside the window, butit was not repeated. If he could have seen, he would have noticed thatthe point of a sharp knife pierced the heavy curtain directly behindhim, and where none in the room could see. Working slowly, cutting aninch at a time, that knife made a slit half a foot long.
Then Muggs heard the slightest suggestion of a whisper.
"Muggs! We're here to help, but must move carefully. I'm going to cutyour ropes and slip you a gun. Hold your arms tight so the ropes won'tfall away until you're ready. Steady now!"
Muggs might have shrieked his happiness had not the gag prevented. Hedidn't pretend to know the owner of the voice, and he didn't caremuch, so that it was a frie
nd. One thing he did know--it was not thevoice of Roger Verbeck. And it was not the voice of old DetectiveRiley, who had helped Muggs and Verbeck several times in their effortto take the Black Star. It was a strange voice, but welcome for allthat.
Muggs felt a knife sawing at the ropes that bound his wrists togetherbehind him. He caught the ends as the ropes were severed, and heldthem so that they would not drop away and alarm the Black Star's menbefore his feet were free.
The knife was working on the ropes that bound his feet now. It wasslow and tedious work, and at times the knife was still. Finally Muggsfelt the last rope give, and he heard the whisper again.
"I'm going to slip you an automatic. Stick 'em all up and hold 'emwhile we break in behind you. If we make a false move we'll lose. Isthe Black Star still below? Wiggle your fingers if he is."
Muggs wiggled his fingers by way of answer, and almost immediately hefelt the butt of an automatic pressed against his palm.
"Now!" the voice whispered.
None of the criminals were facing Muggs. He stretched his arms andlegs once to restore circulation, and then sprang from his chair.
"Hands up!" he shrieked, and leveled the automatic.
Every man in the room whirled to face him at that command. One reachedfor a weapon, and Muggs shot over his head. Behind him the window wasshattered, and there was a sudden commotion as half a dozen uniformedpolicemen, a lieutenant at their head, tumbled into the lodge hallwith guns held ready.
"Keep 'em up!" the lieutenant warned.
Another of the Black Star's men reached for a gun, and the sergeantdropped him. Another darted quickly across the room, and the bulletthat went in his direction missed its mark. He reached the wall--andthe light switch.
The lights went out.