CHAPTER XII
THE CONFESSION
Before the conversation could be continued, the desk telephone rang andMr. Pauling instantly answered.
"Hello!" the boys heard him say. "Hello! Good! Right away. CallHenderson. Yes, have everything ready. He'll live perhaps? Yes,Henderson will bring Ivan. Keep a record of everything. Good-by!"
As he ceased speaking, Mr. Pauling sprang up. "It's Doctor Hewlett," heannounced as he started for the door, "The man's regainingconsciousness. He may talk at any moment and I must rush there. IfMurphy calls, send him over."
An instant later, Mr. Pauling was hurrying to his car and the boys, Mrs.Pauling and Rawlins commenced discussing the events which had followedone another so rapidly during the past few hours.
Rawlins had to tell the story all over again to Tom's mother and Frankgave his version. Then all speculated on what the mystery surroundingthe submarine and the raid on the garage might be.
"It's rather too bad that Fred can't tell us anything yet," said Mrs.Pauling, "but I realize, in his position, secrecy must be maintained.However, after it's all over I suppose we shall know--that is, if thenewspapers don't tell us first. They usually manage to find out suchsecrets somehow."
"Well, I admit I can't see head nor tail to it," declared Rawlins. "Ofcourse, as long as Mr. Pauling says those chaps are Russians and weretalking Bolshevik I suppose they are and were; but I _know_ that sub wasa Hun boat--not one of the big, latest U-boats, but the kind that wasover on our coast here once or twice. I've done a lot of work studyingsubmarines and they can't fool me. Now, of course there's no reason whya Russian should not use a German sub if he could get hold of it, butwhat were they doing over here in the East River is what gets me. Idon't believe they were just rum-runners, even if Murphy and his crowddid find a lot of booze over there, and what was that cigar-shapedsub-sea gadget they were pulling along with 'em?"
"Why, I think that's all simple," declared Tom. "They probably broughtliquor in here with the submarine and carried it to the garage in thattorpedolike thing."
Rawlins shook his head. "No, old man," he replied. "A sub would never dofor a rum-runner. Why, every port in the West Indies is watched and thewhole world would hear if a sub poked her nose into a harbor and tied upto a dock to load rum. It's too bad we didn't tackle those chaps outthere before they got to the sub. We might have brought in that torpedoarrangement, too."
"Gee, I'd forgotten all about that!" exclaimed Tom. "What became of it?"
"Why, didn't I tell you?" replied Rawlins. "They shoved it into thesubmarine. I was watching 'em do that when they spotted me. If they'dhad sense they'd have gone in after it and cleared out, but instead,they had to try rough-house stuff and got left. I expect they thoughtwe'd seen too much and didn't know I was armed. Then, when their matesin the sub heard you yelling for help and heard Frank's replies, theythought the game was up and pulled stakes without stopping for the twochaps below."
"I wonder if they'll get her--the destroyers, I mean," said Frank.
"I doubt it," replied Rawlins. "The sea's a mighty big place and theLord knows where she'll emerge. No knowing which way she headed either.For all any one knows she may have scooted over to some hangout on LongIsland or swung around up the Hudson or slipped into the sound or stoodout to sea. But I doubt if she'll try getting out of the harborsubmerged. Too risky. She might bump into a liner or a ship any minuteand she'd have to go blind--no periscope out, you see, because she'llknow we'd have chasers, looking for her. No, I expect they'll submerge,rest on the bottom in shallow water somewhere and wait until night. Thenshe could sneak out to sea with just her conning tower out. There'sabout one chance in a million of finding her and that's the only way weslipped up. Just as soon as I saw her I knew something crooked was goingon--knew it soon as ever I put eyes on those fellows in self-containedsuits--infringing my patents, darn 'em--and I planned to get back andnotify the authorities. Then we could have nabbed her and her wholecrew. Slipped up by letting those Bolshevik birds spot me. And Tom--didyou notice those fellows didn't have those gadgets on their helmets? Howdo you suppose they worked their radio without 'em?"
"Gosh!" exclaimed Tom. "I didn't think of it at the time, but it's so.Say, what became of their suits? We can examine their outfits and findout all about it."
"Suits are safe enough down at the dock," Rawlins assured him. "You'llhave some fun examining them, I'll say."
"Why didn't you ask Mr. Murphy all about what it meant?" inquired Frank,who had been pondering on the mystery.
Rawlins gave a hearty laugh. "You don't know friend Murphy," heanswered. "I'll say I asked him, but you might as well ask a lamp-post.I know why they call potatoes Murphys now--all eyes and no mouth. That'shim, too. Nice and pleasant and everything, but not a mite ofinformation. When I asked him first time he just looked me all over asif I was some kind of a rare specimen. 'Mr. Pauling says youse is on thelevel,' he said, 'and I'll take his word if he says the devil himselfhas turned saint. But my orders is to say nothing to nobody till Ireports to Mr. Pauling and my orders stays orders till he gives me newones. He's told me to let youse in here and to look after youse and thatI'm doin', but never a word did he say about tellin' of youse anything,an' that I won't. What youse can see youse can see and welcome and whatyouse may overhear youse can hear, but I'd advise youse to not repeatit, and now draw your own conclusions.'"
The boys laughed. "He looked like that," said Frank. "I can just imaginehim saying it."
"And what did you say?" inquired Mrs. Pauling. "I have met that manMurphy--he's one of Fred's right-hand men."
"Oh, I knew he was right and just slapped him on the back and told himhe was a good skate and I'd put in a good word for him at any time. Toldhim I didn't want to butt in and wouldn't bother him with any morequestions."
"Didn't you see anything?" asked Tom.
"About as much as you could see when we were in the crowd in the car,"laughed Rawlins. "The garage wasn't packed full, but there were about amillion plain-clothes men and police there and Lord knows how manytrucks, and everything that was going on was in the center. But I didsee them piling a lot of boxes and papers and a lot of radio stuff intoa truck and I heard a policeman smack his lips and say: 'Glory be, butit's a burnin' shame to think of all the good booze that's goin' towaste nowadays. Sure it makes me throat feel dry as a load of hay tothink of it.'"
"Perhaps," suggested Mrs. Pauling. "These men you found have someconnection with the Bolshevist threats and crimes that the papers sayare taking place. Fred never lets us know much of what is going on, ashe thinks I'll worry. But whatever it is, I feel sure it has somethingto do with the troubles and worries Fred has had recently. Both he andMr. Henderson have been working hard both day and night on something andFred has looked as if he had some great problem on his mind."
"Well, I hope it's that," declared Tom. "Say, wouldn't it be great if wereally _had_ helped Dad and the government on something more importantthan smuggling liquor."
"There's the bell again," exclaimed Frank. "Perhaps that's Mr. Murphy."
Frank's surmise proved correct and Mrs. Pauling repeated her husband'sorders to him. Scarcely waiting to hear, the detective turned andhurried off.
"I suppose we might as well have dinner," said Mrs. Pauling, afterMurphy had gone. "There's no use waiting for Fred, he may be away allnight. You'll have dinner with us, won't you, Mr. Rawlins?"
Dinner over, the four returned to the library and hour after hourdragged on with no word from Mr. Pauling.
Finally, Rawlins rose to go and was saying good night when the frontdoor opened and Mr. Pauling, Mr. Henderson and the detective Murphyarrived.
"Didn't wait dinner for me, did you?" cried Tom's father, a note in hisvoice that his wife knew meant relief and elation. "Glad you didn't.Sorry we were so late, but couldn't get away a minute sooner. Didn'teven have a chance to telephone to you. But we're as hungry as bears. Isuppose there's a bite to eat."
Then, seeing Rawlins, hat in hand, he
continued, "Don't go, Rawlins.Soon as we've eaten we'll try to satisfy your curiosity and the boys'and," he added mischievously, "the wife's, even if she does say shehasn't any."
"They're in mighty good spirits," declared Rawlins when the three menhad disappeared in the direction of the dining room. "So I guesseverything's come out O. K."
"Yes, Fred's had a great load lifted from his mind, I know," agreed Mrs.Pauling, "and I'm very glad. I've really been worried about him lately."
"Well, we'll soon know what 'tis," said Tom. "Gosh! I can scarcelywait."
At last they heard the voices of the three men, laughing and chatting,as they left the dining room, and an instant later they entered thelibrary.
"Now I suppose you four want the truth, the whole truth and nothing butthe truth," laughed Mr. Pauling, as he motioned the others to seats andsettled himself in his own favorite chair. "I don't think there's muchthat I cannot reveal now--except a few matters which have no directbearing or interest on the part you boys and Mr. Rawlins have played.Well, let's see. I guess I'd better begin at the garage--you know alreadythat Henderson identified the prisoner and how we had a hunch that theaffair centered in that block where the boys' radio compasses locatedthe phantom speaker. I had an idea our men would have to surround theentire block and make a house-to-house search, but the rascals saved usthat trouble. Evidently their friends had warned them that something waswrong and Reilly's men arrived just in time. They found a truck justleaving the garage, and, remembering my orders to hold every one andeverything that looked suspicious, they stopped the truck--when thedriver put on speed as soon as he glimpsed the police. That wassuspicious and when they overhauled it they found it loaded with liquor.Inside the garage, they found four more trucks and a crowd of men andMurphy here tells me they put up a mighty good fight. That, of course,drew a crowd and East Side crowds have no use for the blue coats. Theresult was a free for all until another wagon arrived with reserves andin the fracas several of the men in the garage broke away anddisappeared in the crowd.
"However, they got six and found enough contraband liquor in thetrucks and in a secret room under the floor to stock a dozen saloons.Most of it was in this hidden room or cell under the floor, and verycleverly hidden, too. Had a door formed by a false bottom to a repairpit and all they had to do was to run a truck over the pit as if beingrepaired and pass up the goods from below. There were other things inthat room, too. About twenty-five thousands dollars' worth of furs andjewelry--all stolen here or hereabouts; opium to the value of ahundred thousand or so, to say nothing of morphine, cocaine and otherdrugs. In addition, there were several thousand copies of redpropaganda circulars and pamphlets, a neat little engraving andprinting plant and a second trapdoor that opened into the old sewer.And the radio set was there also. A receiving set--made in Germany bythe way--and the transmission outfit. That was the cleverest thingyet--according to Henderson who knows more about it than I do. Hetells me the what-do-you-call-it--aerial--was a folding affairstretched across the inside of the roof and so arranged that it couldbe drawn back between the girders entirely out of sight. Now I don'tknow any of the technical part of this and I'll let Henderson explainit all to you boys later if you wish. But the main thing, as Iunderstand it, was that they could send several thousand miles withthe outfit on one kind of a wave or could talk to a person a fewblocks away with another sort. At any rate, we never would have foundthat if we hadn't found the secret cell and the machine and a man atit. I'm not surprised Henderson's men never located it.
"That's all about the garage. It was the headquarters and clearing houseof a dangerous gang of international cutthroats and rogues. They hadbeen robbing right and left, carrying their loot in motor cars andtrucks to the garage and hiding it in the secret room. Then from thereit had been carried in watertight containers, like miniaturesubmarines, through the old sewer to the submarine by the divers. Eachtime the submarine came in she brought a cargo of liquor, drugs, cigars,plumes, and other contraband and took away all the valuables andreceipts from sales. The conversations you overheard were between thosein the garage and other members of the gang, and the reason you boys didnot hear the other speaker was because he used a radio telegraphinstrument--that's right, isn't it, Henderson--and a very weak or shortwave--let's see, a 'buzzer set' you called it, wasn't it? Well, you canget all that from Henderson, anyway."
"But how on earth did you find all that out?" asked Rawlins, as Mr.Pauling ceased speaking to light a cigar.
"Well, it took a little urging," replied Mr. Pauling. "Murphy and hismen hinted to their prisoners that they'd been given the tip by the menon the submarine and so, of course, they told all they knew in the hopeof getting lighter sentences and Henderson had the Russian up at hisoffice with Ivan and let _him_ think we knew all about him and thesubmarine through tips given by the other crowd. As a result, we gotpretty complete information from both sides. But"--here Mr. Paulinglowered his voice and signaled for Murphy to stand guard at the door--"wecouldn't get what we wanted from either the Russian or any of the gangat the garage. They'd tell us certain things--give us details and factsabout matters of which we already knew--such as the means ofcommunication, the submarine, etc., but beyond that they would not go.
"Short of torture I don't believe they'd let out a word. And we knew--wewere positive--that back of it all was something deeper--a stupendousplot aimed at the very heart and life--the very existence of the UnitedStates and England. And we felt equally positive that back of this wasan arch criminal or rather arch fiend--a man with a tremendous brain,almost unlimited power and marvelous resources. We could see many thingswhich linked this petty smuggling, the hold-ups and burglaries, therum-running and drug-importing with events of far greater importance.But we had no proof, no evidence to go on.
"Some of our men thought they knew who this head--this nucleus of thewhole affair was but they could not be sure--they would not even daremention his name--and so we were handicapped, working in the dark. Butnow we do know. We know far more than I dare tell any one, than I darethink. The injured man has placed it all in our hands. It was the mostastounding revelation I have ever known or ever expect to hear. I cannottell you all--I did not even permit Murphy or the doctor to be by theman's bedside while he spoke and as soon as I knew he could speak andunderstand English I sent Ivan off, too. Only Henderson and I heard whathe said. This man was--yes, I say 'was,' because he is dead--was one ofthose misguided men who plotted against England and became a tool of theGermans. He betrayed his cause and his leaders, and, despised, huntedfor the traitor and coward that he was, not safe either in England,Ireland or Germany, he became a man without a country, an enemy of allorganized governments, a fanatical 'red' and a trusted emissary of thisarch criminal I referred to.
"When he became conscious he raved and cursed frightfully, swearing hehad been betrayed and in his mad desire for vengeance--knowing he had buta few moments to live--told us as best he could with his scorched andblackened lips and tongue what we longed to know. It was unbelievable,incredible, more marvelous than Jules Verne's stories, but true, weknow, from the way it dovetails in with other facts in our possession.
"Among other things, we learned that many mysteriously missing ships--themany passenger and merchant vessels which never reached port--weredeliberately sunk, torpedoed without warning and all survivors put todeath in cold blood merely to secure the gold and other valuables onboard. All this treasure, all the loot from robberies and crimescommitted in the United States and abroad, all the receipts fromsmuggling and the sales of drugs and liquors were to swell the fund thismaster plotter was accumulating to accomplish his final purpose.
"This he told us towards the last--when each breath was a mighty effort,when each word was wrung from him with torture--and he even tried to tellus where it was hidden, where this vast treasure is concealed, cached,and where we might find the headquarters of this monster in human form.He was telling us and was striving, straining to give us the location.He had mentioned the locality in a
general way, was giving us thelatitude and longitude and had gasped out three figures when he died--thewords unfinished, the secret sealed within his lips and--most importantof all, with the name of that ruthless, relentless master-fiendunspoken."
The boys' eyes had grown round with wonder as Mr. Pauling was speaking.Mrs. Pauling leaned forward, her face flushed, her lips parted. Rawlinshad remained as silent, as immovable as if carved in stone, and even Mr.Henderson and Murphy had been so engrossed, so interested, although theyknew the story as well as Mr. Pauling, that they had allowed theircigars to go out.
"Jehoshaphat!" exclaimed Tom, when his father ceased speaking. "Gosh! We_did_ butt into something worth while!"
"Oh, Gee!" ejaculated Frank in disappointed tones. "Then you don't knowwhere that treasure is after all!"
"No," replied Mr. Pauling, "not within several hundred miles. But thetreasure is not the important thing, it's the man himself we want."
Rawlins rose, his eyes shone with unwonted brilliancy, his face wasflushed.
"I'll say that's some day's work!" he cried. "But I'll bet we _can_ getthat loot--and that whole bunch of crooks, too. I've a scheme, Mr.Pauling, but I want a little time to think it over and get my brainstraightened out. There's been too much crowded into it during the lastten hours."
Mr. Pauling stared at Rawlins as if he thought he might have taken leaveof his senses. Then, realizing that Rawlins was in earnest, he saidquietly, "All right, Rawlins. I don't know what your scheme may be, butI'll be glad to hear it whenever you're ready. Call me up and we'll hearit when you have it worked out. We owe you more than I can express toyou now."
A moment later Rawlins had gone and hardly had his footsteps died awaywhen the telephone tinkled.
"Yes!" exclaimed Mr. Pauling as he listened. "Remarkable! Absolutelydeserted! Well, I guess that chapter's closed. Thanks for letting meknow."
"Sorry Rawlins has gone," declared Mr. Pauling as he hung up thereceiver and wheeled about. "That was the Admiral calling. One of thedestroyers has found the submarine!"
"Gosh! then they've caught more of the gang!" cried Tom.
"That's the astounding part of it," replied his father. "She was founddrifting, her upper works just awash, about one hundred miles out to seaand _not a living soul on board her_!"