Tangled Trails: A Western Detective Story

  CHAPTER XXVI

  CUTTING TRAIL

  Kirby's efforts to find James Cunningham after dinner were notsuccessful. He was not at his rooms, at the Country Club, or at hisoffice. Nor was he at a dinner dance where he was among the invitedguests, a bit of information Rose had gathered from the society columnsof the previous Sunday's "News." His cousin reached him at last nextmorning by means of his business telephone. An appointment wasarranged in five sentences.

  If James felt any surprise at the delegation of three which filed in tosee him he gave no sign of it. He bowed, sent for more chairs from theouter office, and seated his visitors, all with a dry, close smilehovering on the edge of irony.

  Kirby cut short preliminaries. "You know why we're here and what wewant," he said abruptly.

  "I confess I don't, unless to report on your trip to Golden," Jamescountered suavely. "Was it successful, may I ask?"

  "If it wasn't, you know why it wasn't."

  The eyes of the two men met. Neither of them dodged in the least orgave to the rigor of the other's gaze.

  "Referring to Jack's expedition, I presume."

  "You don't deny it, then."

  "My dear Kirby, I never waste breath in useless denials. You saw Jack.Therefore he must have been there."

  "He was. He brought away with him a page cut from the marriage-licenseregistry."

  James lifted a hand of protest. "Ah! There we come to the parting ofthe ways. I can't concede that."

  "No, but you know it's true," said Kirby bluntly.

  "Not at all. He surely would not mutilate a public record."

  "We needn't go into that. He did. But that didn't keep us fromgetting the information we wanted."

  "No?" James murmured the monosyllable with polite indifference. Buthe watched, lynx-eyed, the strong, brown face of his cousin.

  "We know now the secret you wanted to keep hidden in the court-house atGolden."

  "I grant you energy in ferreting out other people's business, dearcousin. If you 're always so--so altruistic, let us say--I wonder howyou have time to devote to your own affairs."

  "We intend to see justice done Miss Esther McLean--Mrs. JamesCunningham, I should say. You can't move us from that intention or--"

  The expression on the oil broker's face was either astonishment or thebest counterfeit of it Kirby had ever seen.

  "I beg pardon. _What_ did you say?"

  "I told you, what you already know, that Esther McLean was married toUncle James at Golden on the twenty-first of last month."

  "Miss McLean and Uncle James married--at Golden--on the twenty-first oflast month? Are you sure?"

  "Aren't you? What did you think we found out?"

  Cunningham's eyes narrowed. A film of caution spread over them. "Oh,I don't know. You're so enterprising you might discover almostanything. It's really a pity with your imagination that you don't gointo fiction."

  "Or oil promotin'," suggested Cole with a grin. "Or is that the samething?"

  "Let's table our cards, James," his cousin said. "You know now whywe're here."

  "On the contrary, I'm more in the dark than ever."

  Kirby was never given to useless movements of his limbs or body. Hehad the gift of repose, of wonderful poise. Now not even his eyelashesflickered.

  "We want to know what you've done with Esther McLean."

  "But, my dear fellow, why should I do anything with her?"

  "You know why as well as I do. Somehow you've persuaded her to gosomewhere and hide herself. You want her in your power, to force orcajole her into a compromise of her right to Uncle James's estate. Wewon't have it."

  A satiric smile touched the face of Cunningham without warming it,"That active imagination of yours again. You _do_ let it run away withyou."

  "You were seen getting into a car with Miss McLean."

  "Did she step in of her own free will?"

  "We don't claim an abduction."

  "On your own statement of the case, then, you have no ground ofcomplaint whatever."

  "Do you refuse to tell us where she is?" Kirby asked.

  "I refuse to admit that I know where the young lady is."

  "We'll find her. Don't make any mistake about that."

  Kirby rose. The interview was at an end. Cole Sanborn strode forward.He leaned over the desk toward the oil broker, his blue eyes drillinginto those of the broker.

  "We sure will, an' if you've hurt our li'l' friend--if she's got anygrievance against you an' the way you treat her--I'll certainly wreckyou proper, Mr. Cunningham."

  James flushed angrily. "Get out of here--all of you! Or I'll send forthe police and have you swept out. I'm fed up on your interference."

  "Is it interference for Miss McLean here to want to know where hersister is?" asked Kirby quietly.

  "Why should you all assume I know?"

  "Because the evidence points to you."

  "Absurd. You come down here from Wyoming and do nothing but maketrouble for me and Jack even though we try to stand your friend. I'vehad about enough of you."

  "Sorry you look at it that way." Kirby's smile was friendly. It waseven wistful. "I appreciate what you did for me, but I've got to gothrough with what I've started. I can't quit on the job because I'munder an obligation to you. By the way, I've arranged the matter ofthe bond. We're to take it up at the district attorney's office ateleven this morning."

  "Glad to hear it. I want to be quit of you," snapped Cunningham tartly.

  Outside, Kirby gave directions to his lieutenants. "It's up to you twoto dig up some facts. I'm gonna be busy all mornin' with this bondbusiness so's I can keep outa jail. Rose, you go up to the Secretaryof State's office and find the number of the license of my cousin's carand the kind of machine it is. Then you'd better come back an' take alook at all the cars parked within three or four blocks of here. Hemay have driven it down when he came to work this mornin'. Look at thespeedometer an' see what the mileage record is of the last trip taken.Cole, you go to this address. That's where my cousin lives. Find outat what garage he keeps his car. If they don't know, go to all thegarages within several blocks of the place. See if it's a closed car.Get the make an' the number an' the last trip mileage. Meet me here attwelve o'clock, say. Both of you."

  "Suits me," said Cole. "But wise me up. What's the idea in themileage?"

  "Just this. James was outa town last night probably. We couldn't findhim anywhere. My notion is that he's taken Esther somewhere into themountains. If we can get the mileage of the last trip, all we have todo is to divide it by two to know how far away Esther is. Then we'lldraw a circle round Denver at that distance an'--"

  Cole slapped his thigh with his hat. "Bully! You're sure thewhite-haired lad in this deteckative game."

  "Maybe he didn't set the speedometer for the trip," suggested Rose.

  "Possible. Then again more likely he did. James is a methodical chap.Another thing, while you're at the private hotel where he lives, Cole.Find out if you can where James goes when he fishes or drives into themountains. Perhaps he's got a cottage of his own or some favoritespot."

  "I'm on my way, old-timer!" Cole announced with enthusiasm.

  At luncheon the committee reported progress. Cole had seen JamesCunningham's car. It was a sedan. He had had it out of the garage allafternoon and evening and had brought it back just before midnight.The trip record on the speedometer registered ninety-two miles.

  From his pocket Kirby drew an automobile map and a pencil. He notchedon the pencil a mark to represent forty-six miles from the point, basedon the scale of miles shown at the foot of the map. With the pencil asa radius he drew a semicircle from Denver as the center. The curvedline passed through Loveland, Long's Peak, and across the Snow Range toTabernash. It included Georgetown, Gray's Peak, Mount Evans, andCassell's. From there it swept on to Palmer Lake.

  "I'm not includin' the plains country to the east," Kirby explained."You'll have enough
territory to cover as it is, Cole. By the way, didyou find anything about where James goes into the hills?"

  "No."

  "Well, we'll make some more inquiries. Perhaps the best thing for youto do would be to go out to the small towns around Denver an' find outif any of the garage people noticed a car of that description passin'through. That would help a lot. It would give us a line on whether hewent up Bear Canon, Platte Canon, into Northern Colorado, or southtoward the Palmer Lake country."

  "You've allowed forty-six miles by an air line," Rose pointed out. "Hecouldn't have gone as far as Long's Peak or Evans--nowhere nearly asfar, because the roads are so winding when you get in the hills. Hecould hardly have reached Estes Park."

  "Right. You'll have to check up the road distances from Denver, Cole.Your job's like lookin' for a needle in a haystack. I'll put adetective agency on James. He might take a notion to run out to thecache any fine evenin'. He likely will, to make sure Esther iscontented."

  "Or he'll send Jack," Rose added.

  "We'll try to keep an eye on him, too."

  "This is my job, is it?" Cole asked, rising.

  "You an' Rose can work together on it. My job's here in town on themurder mystery."

  "If we work both of them out---finding Esther and proving who killedyour uncle--I think we'll learn that it's all the same mystery,anyhow," Rose said, drawing on her gloves.

  Cole nodded sagely. "You've said somethin', Rose."

  "Say _when_, not _if_, we work 'em out. We'll be cuttin' hot trail_poco tempo_," Kirby prophesied, smiling up at them.