CHAPTER VI
The Object-Compass at Work
Prescott, after a sleepless night, joined Seaton and Crane at breakfast.
"What do you make of it, Mr. Prescott?" asked Crane. "Seaton here thinksit was DuQuesne, possibly acting for some foreign power, after ourflying-machine to use in war. I think it was some big industrial concernafter our power-plant. What is your opinion?"
"I haven't any," replied the great detective after a moment. "Eitherguess may be true, although I am almost positive that Dr. DuQuesne hadnothing to do with it, either way. It was no ordinary burglary, that iscertain from Shiro's story. It was done by someone who had exactinformation of your movements and habits. He chose a time when you wereaway, probably not so much from fear of you as because it was only inyour absence that he could succeed as he did in getting all the guardsout at once where he could handle them. He was a man with one accompliceor who worked alone, and who was almost exactly Seaton's size and build.He was undoubtedly an expert, as he blew the safe and searched the wholehouse without leaving a finger-print or any other clue, however slight,that I can find--a thing I have never before seen done in all myexperience."
"His size should help in locating him," declared Crane. "While there areundoubtedly thousands of men of Dick's six-feet-one and two-fifths, theyare fairly well scattered, are they not?"
"Yes, they are, but his very size only makes it worse. I have gone overall the records I could, in the short time I have had, and can't find anexpert of that class with anywhere near that description."
"How about the third guard, the one who escaped?" asked Seaton.
"He wasn't here. It was his afternoon off, you know, and he said that hewouldn't come back into this job on a bet--that he wasn't afraid ofanything ordinary, but he didn't like the looks of things out here. Thatsounded fishy to me, and I fired him. He may have been the leak, ofcourse, though I have always found him reliable before. If he did leak,he must have got a whale of a slice for it. He is under constant watch,and if we can ever get anything on him, I will nail him to the cross.But that doesn't help get this affair straightened out. I haven't givenup, of course, there are lots of things not tried yet, but I must admitthat temporarily, at least, I am up a stump."
"Well," remarked Seaton, "that million-dollar reward will bring him in,sure. No honor that ever existed among thieves, or even amongfree-lances of diplomacy, could stand that strain."
"I'm not so sure of that, Dick," said Crane. "If either one of our ideasis the right one, very few men would know enough about the affair togive pertinent information, and they probably would not live long enoughto enjoy the reward very thoroughly. Even a million dollars fails inthat case."
"I rather agree with Mr. Crane, Seaton. If it were an ordinaryaffair--and I am as sure it is not as the police are that it is--areward of that size would get us our man within two days. As it is, Idoubt very much that the reward will do us any good. I'm afraid that itwill never be claimed."
"Wonder if the Secret Service could help us out? They'd be interested ifit should turn out to be some foreign power."
"I took it up with the Chief himself, just after it happened last night.He doesn't think that it can be a foreign country. He has their agentspretty well spotted, and the only one that could fill the bill--you knowa man with that description and with the cold nerve to do the job wouldbe apt to be known--was in San Francisco, the time this job was pulledoff."
* * * * *
"The more you talk, the more I am convinced that it was DuQuesnehimself," declared Seaton, positively. "He is almost exactly my size andbuild, is the only man I know of who could do anything with the solutionafter he got it, and he has nerve enough to do anything."
"I would like to think it was DuQuesne," replied the detective,thoughtfully, "but I'm afraid we'll have to count him out of itentirely. He has been under the constant surveillance of my best menever since you mentioned him. We have detectaphones in his rooms, wireson his telephone, and are watching him night and day. He never goes outexcept to work, never has any except unimportant telephone calls, andthe instruments register only the occasional scratching of a match, therustle of papers, and other noises of a man studying. He's innocent."
"That may be true," assented Seaton doubtfully, "but you want toremember that he knows more about electricity than the guy that inventedit, and I'm not sure that he can't talk to a detectaphone and make itsay anything he wants it to. Anyway, we can soon settle it. Yesterday Imade a special trip down to the Bureau, with some notes as an excuse, toset this object-compass on him," taking one of the small instrumentsfrom his pocket as he spoke. "I watched him a while last night, thenfixed an alarm to wake me if the needle moved much, but it pointedsteady all night. See! It's moving now. That means that he is going towork early, as usual. Now I'm morally certain that he's mixed up in thisthing somewhere, and I'm not convinced that he isn't slipping one overon your men some way--he's a clever devil. I wonder if you wouldn't takethis compass and watch him yourself tonight, just on general principles?Or let me do it. I'd be glad to. I say 'tonight' because if he did getthe stuff here he didn't deliver it anywhere last night. It's just achance, of course, but he may do it tonight."
After the compass had been explained to the detective he gladlyconsented to the plan, declaring that he would willingly spend the timejust to watch such an unheard-of instrument work. After another hour offruitless discussion Prescott took his leave, saying that he would mountan impregnable guard from that time on.
Late that evening Prescott joined the two men who were watchingDuQuesne's house. They reported that all was perfectly quiet, as usual.The scientist was in his library, the instruments registering only theusual occasional faint sounds of a man absorbed in study. But after anhour of waiting, and while the microphones made a noise as of rustlingpapers, the needle of the compass moved. It dipped slowly toward theearth as though DuQuesne were descending into the cellar, but at thesame time the shadow of his unmistakable profile was thrown upon thewindow shade as he apparently crossed the room.
"Can't you hear him walk?" demanded Prescott.
"No. He has heavy Turkish rugs all over the library, and he always walksvery lightly, besides."
* * * * *
Prescott watched the needle in amazement as it dipped deeper and deeper,pointing down into the earth almost under his feet and then behind him,as though DuQuesne had walked beneath him. He did not, could not,believe it. He was certain that something had gone wrong with thestrange instrument in his hand, nevertheless he followed the pointingneedle. It led him beside Park Road, down the hill, straight toward thelong bridge which forms one entrance to Rock Creek Park. Thoughskeptical, Prescott took no chances, and as he approached the bridge heleft the road and concealed himself behind a clump of trees, from whichpoint of vantage he could see the ground beneath the bridge as well asthe roadway. Soon the bridge trembled under the weight of a heavyautomobile going toward the city at a high rate of speed. He sawDuQuesne, with a roll of papers under his arm, emerge from under thebridge just in time to leap aboard the automobile, which slowed downonly enough to enable him to board it in safety. The detective noticedthat the car was a Pierce-Arrow limousine--a car not common, even inWashington--and rushed out to get its number, but the license plateswere so smeared with oil and dust that the numbers could not be read bythe light of the tail lamp. Glancing at the compass in his hand he sawthat the delicate needle was now pointing steadily at the fleeing car,and all doubts as to the power of the instrument were dispelled. Herejoined his men, informed them that DuQuesne had eluded them, and tookone of them up the hill to a nearby garage. There he engaged a fast carand set out in pursuit, choosing the path for the chauffeur by means ofthe compass. His search ended at the residence of Brookings, the GeneralManager of the great World Steel Corporation. Here he dismissed the carand watched the house while his assistant went to bring out the fastmotorcycle used by Prescott when high speed was desir
able.
After four hours a small car bearing the license number of a distantstate--which was found, by subsequent telegraphing, to be unknown to theauthorities of that state--drove under the porte-cochere, and the hiddenwatcher saw DuQuesne, without the papers, step into it. Knowing now whatto expect, Prescott drove his racing motorcycle at full speed out to thePark Road Bridge and concealed himself beneath the structure, in aposition commanding a view of the concrete abutment through which thescientist must have come. Soon he heard a car slow down overhead, hearda few rapid footfalls, and saw the dark form of a large man outlinedagainst the gray face of the abutment. He saw the man lift his hand highabove his head, and saw a black rectangle appear in the gray, engulf theman, and disappear. After a few minutes he approached the abutment andsearched its face with the help of his flash-light. He finally succeededin tracing the almost imperceptible crack which outlined the door, andthe concealed button which DuQuesne had pressed to open it. He did notpress the button, as it might be connected to an alarm. Deep in thought,he mounted his motorcycle and made his way to his home to get a fewhours of sleep before reporting to Crane whom he was scheduled to see atbreakfast next morning.
* * * * *
Both men were waiting for him when he appeared, and he noticed withpleasure that Shiro, with a heavily-bandaged head, was insisting that hewas perfectly able to wait on the table instead of breakfasting in bed.He calmly proceeded to serve breakfast in spite of Crane'sremonstrances, having ceremoniously ordered out of the kitchen thecolored man who had been secured to take his place.
"Well, gentlemen," the detective began, "part of the mystery isstraightened out. I was entirely wrong, and each of you were partlyright. It was DuQuesne, in all probability. It is equally probable thata great company--in this case the World Steel Corporation--is backinghim, though I don't believe there is a ghost of a show of ever beingable to prove it in law. Your 'object-compass' did the trick."
He narrated all the events of the previous night.
"I'd like to send him to the chair for this job," said Seaton withrising anger. "We ought to shoot him anyway, damn him--I'm sorry duelshave gone out of fashion, for I can't shoot him off-hand, the way thingsare now--I sure wish I could."
"No, you cannot shoot him," said Crane, thoughtfully, "and neither canI, worse luck. We are not in his class there. And you must not fightwith him, either"--noting that Seaton's powerful hands had doubled intofists, the knuckles showing white through the tanned skin--"though thatwould be a fight worth watching and I would like to see you give him thebeating of his life. A little thing like a beating is not a fraction ofwhat he deserves and it would show him that we have found him out. No,we must do it legally or let him entirely alone. You think there is nohope of proving it, Prescott?"
"Frankly, I see very little chance of it. There is always hope, ofcourse, and if that bunch of pirates ever makes a slip, we'll be rightthere waiting to catch 'em. While I don't believe in holding out falseencouragement, they've never slipped yet. I'll take my men off DuQuesne,now that we've linked him up with Steel. It doesn't make any difference,does it, whether he goes to them every night or only once a week?
"No."
"Then about all I can do is to get everything I can on that Steel crowd,and that is very much like trying to get blood out of a turnip. I intendto keep after them, of course, for I owe them something for killing twoof my men here, as well as for other favors they have done me in thepast, but don't expect too much. I have tackled them before, and so havepolice headquarters and even the Secret Service itself, under cover, andall that any of us has been able to get is an occasional small fish. Wecould never land the big fellows. In fact, we have never found theslightest material proof of what we are morally certain is the truth,that World Steel is back of a lot of deviltry all over the country. Thelittle fellows who do the work either don't know anything or are afraidto tell. I'll see if I can find out what they are doing with the stuffthey stole, but I'm not even sure of doing that. You can't plantinstruments on that bunch--it would be like trying to stick a pin into asleeping cat without waking him up. They undoubtedly have one of thebest corps of detectives in the world. You haven't perfected aninstrument which enables you to see into a closed room and hear what isgoing on there, have you?" And upon being assured that they had not, hetook his leave.
"Optimistic cuss, ain't he?" remarked Seaton.
"He has cause to be, Dick. World Steel is a soulless corporation ifthere ever was one. They have the shrewdest lawyers in the country, andthey get away legally with things that are flagrantly illegal, such asfreezing out competitors, stealing patents, and the like. Report has itthat they do not stop at arson, treason, or murder to attain their ends,but as Prescott said, they never leave any legal proof behind them."
"Well, _we_ should fret, anyway. Of course, a monopoly is what they'reafter, but they can't form one because they can't possibly get the restof our solution. Even if they should get it, we can get more. It won'tbe as easy as this last batch was, since the X was undoubtedly presentin some particular lot of platinum in extraordinary quantities, but nowthat I know exactly what to look for, I can find more. So they can't gettheir monopoly unless they kill us off...."
"Exactly. Go on, I see you are getting the idea. If we should bothconveniently die, they could get the solution from the company, and havethe monopoly, since no one else can handle it."
"But they couldn't get away with it, Mart--never in a thousand years,even if they wanted to. Of course I am small fry, but you are too big aman for even Steel to do away with. It can't be done."
"I am not so sure of that. Airplane accidents are numerous, and I am anaviator. Also, has it ever occurred to you that the heavy forging forthe Skylark, ordered a while ago, are of steel?"
Seaton paused, dumbfounded, in the act of lighting his pipe.
"But thanks to your object-compass, we are warned." Crane continued,evenly. "Those forgings are going through the most complete set of testsknown to the industry, and if they go into the Skylark at all it will beafter I am thoroughly convinced that they will not give way on our firsttrip into space. But we can do nothing until the steel arrives, and withthe guard Prescott has here now we are safe enough. Luckily, the enemyknows nothing of the object-compass or the X-plosive, and we must keepthem in ignorance. Hereinafter, not even the guards get a look atanything we do."
"They sure don't. Let's get busy!"
* * * * *
DuQuesne and Brookings met in conference in a private room of thePerkins Cafe.
"What's the good word, Doctor?"
"So-so," replied the scientist. "The stuff is all they said it was, butwe haven't enough of it to build much of a power-plant. We can't goahead with it, anyway, as long as Seaton and Crane have nearly all theiroriginal solution."
"No, we can't. We must find a way of getting it. I see now that weshould have done as you suggested, and taken it before they had warningand put it out of our reach."
"There's no use holding post-mortems. We've got to get it, some way, andeverybody that knows anything about that new metal, how to get it or howto handle it, must die. At first, it would have been enough to killSeaton. Now, however, there is no doubt that Crane knows all about it,and he probably has left complete instructions in case he gets killed inan accident--he's the kind that would. We will have to keep our eyesopen and wipe out those instructions and anyone who has seen them. Yousee that, don't you?"
"Yes, I am afraid that is the only way out. We must have the monopoly,and anyone who might be able to interfere with it must be removed. Howhas your search for more X prospered?"
"About as well as I expected. We bought up all the platinum wastes wecould get, and reworked all the metallic platinum and allied metals wecould buy in the open market, and got less than a gram of X out of thewhole lot. It's scarcer than radium. Seaton's finding so much of it atonce was an accident, pure and simple--it couldn't happen once in amillion years."
<
br /> "Well, have you any suggestions as to how we can get that solution?"
"No. I haven't thought of anything but that very thing ever since Ifound that they had hidden it, and I can't yet see any good way ofgetting it. My forte is direct action and that fails in this case, sinceno amount of force or torture could make Crane reveal the hiding-placeof the solution. It's probably in the safest safe-deposit vault in thecountry. He wouldn't carry the key on him, probably wouldn't have it inthe house. Killing Seaton or Crane, or both of them, is easy enough, butit probably wouldn't get us the solution, as I have no doubt that Cranehas provided for everything."
"Probably he has. But if he should disappear the stuff would have tocome to light, or the Seaton-Crane Company might start theirpower-plant. In that case, we probably could get it?"
"_Possibly_, you mean. That method is too slow to suit me, though. Itwould take months, perhaps years, and would be devilishly uncertain, toboot. They'll know something is in the wind, and the stuff will besurrounded by every safeguard they can think of. There must be somebetter way than that, but I haven't been able to think of it."
"Neither have I, but your phrase 'direct action' gives me an idea. Yousay that that method has failed. What do you think of trying indirectaction in the shape of Perkins, who is indirection personified?"
"Bring him in. He may be able to figure out something."
* * * * *
Perkins was called in, and the main phases of the situation laid beforehim. The three men sat in silence for many minutes while the craftystrategist studied the problem. Finally he spoke.
"There's only one way, gentlemen. We must get a handle on either Seatonor Crane strong enough to make them give up their bottle of dope, theirplans, and everything...."
"Handle!" interrupted DuQuesne. "You talk like a fool! You can't getanything on either of them."
"You misunderstand me, Doctor. You can get a handle of some kind on anyliving man. Not necessarily in his past, you understand--I know thatanything like that is out of the question in this case--but in hisfuture. With some men it is money, with others power, with others fame,with others women or some woman, and so on down the list. What can weuse here? Money is out of the question, so are power and fame, as theyalready have both in plain sight. It seems to me that women would be ourbest chance."
"Hah!" snorted the chemist. "Crane has been chased by all the women ofthree continents so long that he's womanproof. Seaton is worse--he'sengaged, and wouldn't realize that a woman was on his trail, even if youcould find a better looking one to work on him than the girl he'sengaged to--which would be a hard job. Cleopatra herself couldn't swingthat order."
"Engaged? That makes it simple as A B C."
"Simple? In the devil's name, how?"
"Easy as falling off a log. You have enough of the dope to build aspace-car from those plans, haven't you?"
"Yes. What has that to do with the case?"
"It has everything to do with it. I would suggest that we build such acar and use it to carry off the girl. After we have her safe we couldtell Seaton that she is marooned on some distant planet, and that shewill be returned to earth only after all the solution, all notes, plans,and everything pertaining to the new metal are surrendered. That willbring him, and Crane will consent. Then, afterward, Dr. Seaton may goaway indefinitely, and if desirable, Mr. Crane may accompany him."
"But suppose they try to fight?" asked Brookings.
Perkins slid down into his chair in deep thought, his pale eyes underhalf-closed lids darting here and there, his stubby fingers worrying hiswatch-chain restlessly.
"Who is the girl?" he asked at last.
"Dorothy Vaneman, the daughter of the lawyer. She's that auburn-hairedbeauty that the papers were so full of when she came out last year."
"Vaneman is a director in the Seaton-Crane Company. That makes it stillbetter. If they show fight and follow us, that beautiful car we aremaking for them will collapse and they will be out of the way. Vaneman,as Seaton's prospective father-in-law and a member of his company,probably knows something about the secret. Maybe all of it. With hisdaughter in a space-car, supposedly out in space, and Seaton and Craneout of the way, Vaneman would listen to reason and let go of thesolution, particularly as nobody knows much about it except Seaton andCrane."
"That strikes me as a perfectly feasible plan," said Brookings. "But youwouldn't really take her to another planet, would you? Why not use anautomobile or an airplane, and tell Seaton that it was a space-car?"
"I wouldn't advise that. He might not believe it, and they might make alot of trouble. It must be a real space-car even if we don't take herout of the city. To make it more impressive, you should take her inplain sight of Seaton--no, that would be too dangerous, as I have foundout from the police that Seaton has a permit to carry arms, and I knowthat he is one of the fastest men with a pistol in the whole country. Doit in plain sight of her folks, say, or a crowd of people; being masked,of course, or dressed in an aviator's suit, with the hood and goggleson. Take her straight up out of sight, then hide her somewhere untilSeaton listens to reason. I know that he _will_ listen, but if hedoesn't, you might let him see you start out to visit her. He'll be sureto follow you in their rotten car. As soon as he does that, he's ourmeat. But that raises the question of who is going to drive the car?"
"I am," replied DuQuesne. "I will need some help, though, as at leastone man must stay with the girl while I bring the car back."
"We don't want to let anybody else in on this if we can help it,"cautioned Brookings. "You could go along, couldn't you, Perkins?"
"Is it safe?"
"Absolutely," answered DuQuesne. "They have everything worked out to thequeen's taste."
"That's all right, then. I'll take the trip. Also," turning toBrookings, "it will help in another little thing we are doing--theSpencer affair."
"Haven't you got that stuff away from her yet, after having had herlocked up in that hell-hole for two months?" asked Brookings.
"No. She's stubborn as a mule. We've given her the third degree timeafter time, but it's no use."
* * * * *
"What's this?" asked DuQuesne. "Deviltry in the main office?"
"Yes. This Margaret Spencer claims that we swindled her father out of aninvention and indirectly caused his death. She secured a position withus in search of evidence. She is an expert stenographer, and showed suchability that she was promoted until she became my secretary. Ourdetectives must have been asleep, as she made away with some photographsand drawings before they caught her. She has no real evidence, ofcourse, but she might cause trouble with a jury, especially as she isone of the best-looking women in Washington. Perkins is holding heruntil she returns the stolen articles."
"Why can't you kill her off?"
"She cannot be disposed of until after we know where the stuff is,because she says, and Perkins believes, that the evidence will show upin her effects. We must do something about her soon, as the search forher is dying down and she will be given up for dead."
"What's the idea about her and the space-car?"
"If the car proves reliable we might actually take her out into spaceand give her the choice between telling and walking back. She has nerveenough here on earth to die before giving up, but I don't believe anyhuman being would be game to go it alone on a strange world. She'dwilt."
"I believe you're right, Perkins. Your suggestions are the best way out.Don't you think so, Doctor?"
"Yes, I don't see how we can fail--we're sure to win, either way. Youare prepared for trouble afterward, of course?"
"Certainly, but I don't think there will be much trouble. They can'tpossibly link the three of us together. They aren't wise to you, arethey, Doctor?"
"Not a chance!" sneered DuQuesne. "They ran themselves ragged trying toget something on me, but they couldn't do it. They have given me up as abad job. I am still as careful as ever, though--I am merely a purescientist in the B
ureau of Chemistry!"
All three laughed, and Perkins left the room. The talk then turned tothe construction of the space-car. It was decided to rush the work onit, so that DuQuesne could familiarize himself with its operation, butnot to take any steps in the actual abduction until such time as Seatonand Crane were nearly ready to take their first flight, so that theycould pursue the abductors in case Seaton was still obdurate after a fewdays of his fiancee's absence. DuQuesne insisted that the car shouldmount a couple of heavy guns, to destroy the pursuing car if the faultymembers should happen to hold together long enough to carry it out intospace.
After a long discussion, in which every detail of the plan was carefullyconsidered, the two men left the restaurant, by different exits.