XVIII
THE ANTIDOTE
Early the following morning Kennedy left me alone in the laboratory andmade a trip downtown, where he visited a South American tobacco dealerand placed a rush order for a couple of hundred cigarettes exactlysimilar in shape and quality to those which Mendoza had smoked andwhich the others seemed also to prefer, except, however, that thedeadly drug was left out.
While he was gone, it occurred to me to take up again the hunt forAlfonso. Norton was not in his little office, nor could I find Alfonsoanywhere about the campus. In fact he seemed to have almost dropped outof his University work for the time. Accordingly, I turned my stepstoward the Prince Edward Albert Hotel, in the hope that he might bethere.
Inquiries of the clerk at the desk told me that he had been there, butwas out just at that moment. I did not see Whitney around, nor theSenora, so I sat down to wait, having nothing better to do untilKennedy's return.
I was about to give it up and go, when I heard a cab drive up to thedoor and, looking up, I saw Alfonso get out. He saw me about the sametime and we bowed. I do not think he even tried to avoid me.
"I haven't seen you for some time," I remarked, searching his face,which seemed to me to be paler than it had been.
"No," he replied. "I haven't been feeling very well lately and I'vebeen running up into the country now and then to a quiet hotel--a sortof rest cure, I suppose you would call it. How are you? How is SenoritaInez?"
"Very well," I replied, wondering whether he had said what he did inthe hope of establishing a complete alibi for the events of the nightbefore.
Briefly I told him what had happened, omitting reference to thevocaphone and our real part in it.
"That is terrible," he exclaimed. "Oh, if she would only allow me totake care of her--I would take her back to our own country, where shewould be safe, far away from these people who seek to prey on all ofus."
He paced up and down nervously, and I could see that my information hadadded nothing to his peace of mind, though, at the same time, he hadbetrayed nothing on his part.
"I was just passing through," I said finally, looking at my watch, "andhappened to see you. I hope your mother is well?"
"As well as is to be expected, surrounded by people who watch everyact," he replied, I thought with a rap at us for having Norton aboutand so active, though I could not be sure.
We separated, and I hastened back to the laboratory to report to Craigthat Alfonso was rusticating for his health.
Kennedy, on his part, had had an experience, though it was no moreconclusive than my own. After he had left the tobacco district, he hadwalked up Wall Street to the subway. In the crowd he had seen Senora deMoche, although she had not seen him. He had turned and followed heruntil she entered the building in which Whitney and his associates hadtheir offices. Whether it indicated that she was still leading them achase, or they her, was impossible to determine, but it at least showedthat they were still on friendly terms with each other.
In the laboratory he could always find something to do on the case,either in perfecting his chemical tests of the various drugs we haddiscovered, or in trying to decipher some similarities in the roughprinting of the four warnings and the anonymous letter with the knownhandwriting of those connected with the case, many specimens of whichhe bad been quietly collecting. That in itself was a tremendouslyminute job, entailing not only a vast amount of expert knowledge suchas he had collected in his years of studying crime scientifically, butthe most exact measurements and careful weighing and balancing oftrifles, which to the unscientific conveyed no meanings at all. Still,he seemed to be forging ahead, though he never betrayed what directionthe evidence seemed to be taking.
The package of cigarettes which he had ordered downtown was deliveredabout an hour after his return and seemed to be the signal for him todrop work, for the meeting with Lockwood and Whitney had been setearly. He stowed the package in his pockets and then went over to acabinet in which he kept a number of rather uncommon drugs. From it hetook a little vial which he shoved into his waistcoat pocket.
"Are you ready, Walter?" he asked.
"Whenever you are," I said, laying aside my writing.
Together we made our way down to the Mendoza apartment which had beenthe scene of the near-tragedy the night before. Outside, he paused forseveral moments to make inquiries about any suspicious persons thatmight have been seen lurking about the neighbourhood. None of theattendants in the apartment remembered having seen any, and they werenow very alert after the two events, the murder and the attemptedabduction. Not a clue seemed to have been left by the villain who hadbeen called "Doc."
"How do you feel after your thrilling experience?" greeted Craigpleasantly, as Juanita admitted us and Inez came forward.
"Oh, Mr. Kennedy," she answered, with a note of sadness in her tone."It makes me feel so alone in the world. If it were not for 'Nita--andyou, I don't know what I should do."
"Doesn't Mr. Lockwood count?" asked Kennedy observantly.
"Of course--everything," she answered hastily. "But he has to be awayso much on business, and--"
She paused and sighed. I could not help wondering whether, after all,his explanation of the dagger episode had been enough to satisfy her.Had she really accepted it?
Neither Lockwood nor Whitney had arrived, and Kennedy improved theopportunity to have a quiet talk aside with her, at which, I imagine,he was arranging a programme of what was to happen at this meeting andher part in it to co-operate with him.
She had left the room for a moment and we were alone. It was evidentlya part of his plan, for no sooner was she gone than he opened thepackage of cigarettes which he had ordered and took out from the box inwhich Mendoza had kept his cigarettes those that were there,substituting those he had brought.
We had not long to wait, now. Lockwood and Whitney came together. I wasinterested to see the greeting of Inez and her lover. Was it purefancy, or did I detect a trace of coldness as though there had sprungup something between them? As far as Lockwood was concerned, I feltsure that he was eager to break down any barrier that kept them frombeing as they had been.
Whitney took her hand and held it, in a playful sort of way. "I wish Iwere a young buck," he smiled. "No one would dare look at you--muchless try to carry you off. Yes, we must be more careful of our littlebeauty, or we shall lose her."
They turned to greet us. I felt, as we shook hands, that it was muchthe same sort of handshake that one sees in the prize ring--to befollowed by the clang of a bell, then all going to it, in battle royal,with the devil after the hindmost.
There was scarcely a chance for a preliminary bout before luncheon wasannounced, and we entered the cozy little dining-room to seat ourselvesat the daintiest of tables. One could feel the hostess radiatinghospitality, even on such a cross-current set of guests as we were, andfor the time, I almost felt that it had been Kennedy's purpose topromote a love-feast instead of an armed truce.
Nothing was said about the main cause of our being together for sometime, and the small talk almost lifted for a time the incubus that hadsettled down on all our lives since the tragedy in the den at the otherend of the suite. But the fact could not be blinked.
Tacitly every one seemed to wait on Kennedy to sound the gong. Finallyhe did so.
"Of course," he began, clearing his throat, "there is no use makingbelieve about anything. I think we all understand each other better nowthan we have ever done before. As for me, I am in this case under apromise to stick to it and fight it to the end. I suppose the rest ofyou are, also. But that need not prevent us agreeing on one thing. Wecan work together to protect Senorita Mendoza, at least, from suchdanger as threatened her last night."
"It's a dastardly shame," Lockwood exclaimed angrily, "that a man whowould attempt a thing like that should go unpunished."
"Show me how to trace him and I'll guarantee the punishment," rejoinedCraig drily.
"I am not a detective," replied Lockwood.
Kennedy
forebore to reply in kind, though I knew there was a readyanswer on his tongue for the lover.
Ever since they had arrived, the Senorita had seen that they were wellsupplied with cigarettes from the case in which she and they supposedwere the genuine South American brand of her father. Kennedy and Ismoked them, too, although neither of us liked them very much. Theothers were smoking furiously.
"However," resumed Kennedy, "I do not feel that I want to intrudemyself in this matter without being perfectly frank and having theapproval of Senorita Mendoza. She has known both of you longer and moreintimately than she has known me, although she has seen fit to placecertain of her affairs in my hands, for which I trust I shall render agood account of my stewardship. It seems to me, though, that if thereis, as we now know there is, some one whom we do not know"--hepaused--"who has sunk so low as to wish to carry her off, apparentlywhere she shall be out of the influence of her friends, it is onlyright that precautions should be taken to prevent it."
"What is your suggestion?" demanded Whitney, rather contentiously.
"Would there be any objection," asked Kennedy, "if I should ask my oldfriend,--or any of you may do it,--Deputy Commissioner O'Connor todetail a plainclothesman to watch this house and neighbourhood,especially at night?"
We watched the faces of the others. But it was really of no use.
"I think that is an excellent plan," decided Inez herself. "I shallfeel much safer and surely none of you can be jealous of the citydetectives."
Kennedy smiled. She had cut the Gordian knot with a blow. NeitherLockwood nor Whitney could object. The purpose of the luncheon wasaccomplished.
In fact he did not wait for further consideration, but excused himselffrom the table for a moment to call up our old friend O'Connor and tellhim how gravely his man was needed. It was a matter of only a fewminutes when he returned from the other room.
"He will detail Burke for this special service as long as we want him,"reported Craig, sitting down again.
Inez was delighted, naturally, for the affair had been a terrific shockto her. I could see how relieved she felt, for I was sitting directlynext to her.
The maid had, meanwhile brought in the coffee and Inez had been waitingto pour until Kennedy returned. She did not do so, now, either,however. It seemed as if she were waiting for some kind of signal fromKennedy.
"What a splendid view of the park you get here," remarked Kennedyturning toward the long, low windows that opened on a balustradedbalcony. "Just look at that stream of automobiles passing on the westdrive."
Common politeness dictated that all should turn and look, althoughthere was no novelty in the sight for any of us.
As I have said, I was sitting next to Inez. To me she was a far moreattractive sight than any view of the park. I barely looked out of thewindow. Imagine my surprise, then, at seeing her take advantage of thediversion to draw from the folds of her dress a little vial and pour abit of yellowish, syrupy liquid into the cup of coffee which she waspreparing for Whitney.
I could not help looking at her quickly. She saw that I had seen herand raised her other hand with a finger to her lips and an explanatoryglance at Kennedy who was keeping the others interested. Instantly, Irecognized the little vial which Craig had shoved into his waistcoatpocket. That had been the purpose of his whispered conference with herwhen we arrived. I said nothing, but determined to observe more closely.
More coffee and more cigarettes followed, always from the same boxwhich was now on the table. The luncheon developed almost a realconversation. For the time, under the spell of our hostess, we nearlyforgot that we were in reality bitter enemies.
My real interest, as time passed, centred in Whitney and I could nothelp watching him closely. Was it a fact, or was it merely myimagination? He seemed quite different. The pupils of his eyes did notseem to be quite so dilated as they had been at other times, or evenwhen he arrived. Even his heart action appeared to be more normal. Ithink Inez noticed it, too. There was none of the wildness in hisconversation, such as there often had been at other times.
Our party was prolonged beyond the time we had expected, but, althoughhe had much on his mind, Kennedy made no move to break it up. In facthe did everything to encourage it.
At last, however, the others did notice the time, and I think it waswith sincere regret that the truce was broken. Even then, no partingshots were indulged in.
As we left, Inez thanked Kennedy for his consideration, and I am surethat that in itself was reward enough. We parted from Lockwood, whowished to remain a little while, and rode down in the elevator withWhitney, a changed man.
"I'll walk over to the elevated with you," he said. "I was going to myhotel, but I think I'll go down to the office instead."
Evidently he had got Senora de Moche out of his mind, at leasttemporarily, I thought. Then for the first time I recalled that duringthe whole luncheon there had been no reference to either the Senora orAlfonso, though both must have been in our minds often.
"What was it you had Inez drop into Whitney's coffee?" I asked Craig aswe parted from him and rode uptown.
"You saw that?" he smiled. "It was pilocarpine, jaborandi, a plantfound largely in Brazil, one of the antidotes for stramonium poisoning.It doesn't work with every one. But it seems to have done so with him.Besides, the caffeine in the coffee probably aided the pilocarpine.Then, too, I made them smoke cigarettes without the dope that is beingfed them. Lockwood's case, for some reason, hasn't gone far. But didyou notice how the treatment contracted the pupils of Whitney's eyesalmost back to normal again?"
I had and said so, adding, "But what was your idea?"
"I think I've got at the case from a brand-new angle," he replied."Unless I am greatly mistaken, when the person who is doing the dopingsees that Whitney is getting better--why, I think you all noticed it,Inez and Lockwood as well as you--it will mean another attempt tosubstitute more cigarettes doped with that drug. I think it's bysubstitution that it's being done. We'll see."
At the laboratory, Kennedy called Norton and described briefly what hadhappened, especially to Whitney.
"Now is your chance, Norton," he added, "to do some real good work. Iwant some one to watch the Senora, see if she, too, notes thedifference in him. Understand?"
"Perfectly," returned Norton. "That is something I think I can do."