Chapter III
THE SLEEPWALKER
"Mr. Sanborn," said Dorothy, "when you're tired of fathoming mysteriesfor people, come out to New Canaan and help me order meals. That was themost scrumptious lunch I've had in a month of Sundays." She dropped alump of sugar in her demitasse and threw her host a bright smile acrossthe table.
"Thank you, my dear," the detective smiled back. "I may take you up onthat one of these days. But speaking of mysteries reminds me that nowthe waiter is gone, it's high time we busied ourselves again with theaffairs of Janet Jordan. Now that I understand something of the younglady's background and her family, I want to hear all there is to tellabout her present position." He pulled a briar pipe and tobacco pouchout of his pocket and commenced to fill the one with the contents of theother. "All ready, Howard. Start at the beginning and don't skimp ondetails--they may be and they generally are important."
"Very well, sir. I'll begin with a week ago today." Howard pushed hischair away from the table, thrust his hands into trouser pockets andjumped into his story. "Janet had a date to meet me last Thursday attwo p. m. at the Strand. We intended to take in a movie--but she nevershowed up."
"Then you aren't a business man--?" This from the detective.
"Oh, but I am--a mining engineer, Mr. Sanborn. With the TuthillCorporation. But I am free on Thursday afternoons, instead of Saturday.It is more convenient for the office staff."
"Hasn't your concern large mining concessions in Peru?"
"It has, sir--silver mines. To make matters worse--but no--I'll tell itthis way. I particularly wanted to meet Janet last Thursday, because Ihad been told the day before by the head of our New York office that Iwas to be transferred to Lima, Peru. The boat that I'm scheduled to sailon, leaves this coming Saturday. I was fearfully pepped up about it. I'mgoing down there as assistant manager of our Lima office, the jobcarries a considerable increase in salary, and, if I make good, a finefuture with the firm. My plan was to get Janet to marry me, with orwithout her father's consent, and to take her to Lima with me. Icouldn't bear to think of leaving her to the kind of existence she'd hadbefore I'd known her--and with no way of correspondence--Well, I waitedfor over an hour in the lobby of the theatre but she didn't come. Atlast I went up to my apartment."
"Why didn't you phone her?" asked Dorothy, who was nothing if notdirect.
"Because Janet had asked me never to do that. She said if her fatherknew she had a boy friend, he'd pack her off somewhere, and we'd neverbe able to meet again."
"Nice papa--I don't think!" observed Bill Bolton.
"No comments now, please," said Sanborn. "Go on, Howard. If you couldn'ttalk to Janet, how did you find out that she was a prisoner?"
Howard smiled. "But we _were_ able to talk to each other, Mr. Sanborn.About the time we became engaged, I fixed that. My small flat is on theninth floor of the building, the Jordans' on the seventh. My three roomshave windows on an air shaft. The Jordans' back bedroom and bathoverlook the same airshaft and are directly opposite my sitting room,two flights below. The shaft is only twenty feet wide, so I bought oneof those headphone sets that are used in airplanes for conversationbetween the cockpits of a plane while it is being flown. I lengthenedthe wires of course, and got a long, collapsible pole. After dark, Janetwould come to her window, I'd pass her headphone set down to her, hookedon to the end of the pole, and we would hold long conversations acrossthe court without anybody being the wiser. When we were through talking,I'd pass the pole over to her and draw it back when she'd attached herheadset."
"By Jingoes!" cried Bill. "I'll say that's clever!"
"It sure is, Howard!" Dorothy was quite as enthusiastic. "You certainlydeserve to get Janet after that."
Howard shook his head. "We'll have to do something really clever to gether away from the bunch who are holding her prisoner. Well,--as I say,when I got to my flat, I sat down by my sitting room window, andpretended to read a book. In reality, of course, I was watching Janet'swindow. Presently she appeared. Even at that distance, I could see thatshe had been crying. She held up a slate, for we never dared to use theheadphones in the day time, and slates are a good medium for shortmessages. On it she had written, '_After dark._' Well, that was one ofthe longest afternoons I'd ever put in. About five-thirty, she came backto her window and I passed over the headgear. When I heard her story, Iwent half crazy, and I guess I've been pretty much that way ever since.
"You see, Mr. Sanborn, Janet has told me that occasionally she walks inher sleep, especially when she isn't feeling very well. The eveningbefore, that was a week ago Wednesday night, she had a headache and wentto bed early. When she awoke, she was terrified to find herself seatedon the floor of their living room, behind a large Chinese screen. Thereseemed to be seven or eight men in the room, including her father. Ofcourse, she could not see them, but she could hear every word they said.By the clock on the wall above her head, she saw that it was one in themorning. She soon realized that this was a meeting of the heads of somelarge society or organization and that these men had come there from allparts of the world. There was an air of mystery about them and theirtalk. No names were mentioned but they addressed each other by number.Mr. Jordan was Number 5; Number 2, who spoke with a foreign accent, wasevidently conducting the meeting, in place of the absent Number 1, whomthey all seemed to hold in great awe. Janet realized that she must haveentered the room before the meeting started, while she was still asleep.She saw that so long as the meeting lasted, there would be no way ofescape. Gradually she became terrified at her predicament, and--"
"Just a moment," interrupted Ashton Sanborn. "Has Janet ever told youanything of her father's business?"
"She really knows nothing about it, Mr. Sanborn. I asked her myself sometime ago, and she said then, except that he seemed to travel a lot, shehadn't the slightest idea what he did for a living. Once when she askedhim outright what is was, Mr. Jordan flew into a rage. He said it washis own affair, and that so long as it brought them in enough money tolive comfortably, he did not wish her to bring up the matter again. Theone thing she does know is that he doesn't go regularly to an office.Men frequently come to see him at the apartment, but their conversationsare invariably held behind locked doors."
"I see. Go on now, with Janet and the meeting."
"Well, sir, as I've said, she was behind that screen, listening to whatthe men said--and in fact, she couldn't help listening. Not that sheunderstood much of what they were saying. Number 2 made a long speechand the gist of it was that now they were agreed upon the use of FormulaX, the demonstration (whatever that was) must be made in theirrespective sectors at the same time on the same day. He also proposedthat Number 5 (Janet's father) interview Number 1 and learn from himwhen the demonstrations should be made. This motion was carriedunanimously. Then Number 3 asked the chairman if they could not infuture hold their meeting in some safer place than the Jordans'apartment. 'For all we know,' he said, 'someone may be secreted behindthat screen!' Mr. Jordan laughed at this, and told Number 3 to close upthe screen if it made him nervous. So the first thing Janet knew, thescreen was dragged aside and she was staring into the face of aChinaman. Seated in a circle behind him were the others, her fatheramong them."
"Gosh!" exclaimed Dorothy. "I'll bet that scared the poor kid silly."
"It did," admitted Howard. "She was absolutely petrified. And then therewas the dickens to pay. All the men started talking at once. TheChinaman pulled a revolver and pointed it straight at her, yelling thatshe had heard their secrets and must be immediately executed!"
"'She has heard nothing!' her father told them. 'She frequently walks inher sleep. She was asleep when she wandered in here before the meeting,and she is sleeping now--look!' Then he lit a match and held the flamebefore Janet's eyes. 'You see,' he said, 'she doesn't even blink. Janethas heard nothing, gentlemen.'"
"Of course Janet had taken her father's hint, and followed it. She knewthat he was doing the only thi
ng he could to save her life, so she keptright on staring in front of her without moving, while the Chinaman heldthe automatic within a foot of her head. But the strain she was undernearly broke her nerve. She knew that the slightest sign on her partthat she was conscious would mean a bullet through her brain. A furiousargument followed. Most of the men--there were eight of them includingMr. Jordan--wanted her put out of the way at once. But at last, herfather and Number 2, a big man with a long beard who seemed to be morehumane than the rest, prevailed upon them to let him lead her back toher bed. Her father was forbidden to hold any intercourse with herwhatsoever. She was locked in her bedroom, afraid even to cry, for fearshe would be heard, and not knowing what moment the door would open andthey would drag her to her death."
"Horrible!" Mr. Sanborn's pipe had gone out but he didn't seem to noticeit. "That experience was enough to unhinge a person's mind. Janet may beshy and retiring, but she evidently doesn't lack grit. By the way, didshe say she recognized any of the men at the meeting?"
"No. She said that without exception she was sure she'd never seen anyof them before, although they were all on good terms with her father.Each one seemed to be of a different nationality. One was a black manwho wore a turban--an East Indian, probably. Another, also pretty dark,wore a red fez. The others were apparently Europeans, but as they allspoke English together she had no way of guessing what they were. Number2, the man with the long brown beard, she thought might be aScandinavian. She was sure, though, that her father was the onlyAmerican or Anglo-Saxon in the group."
"Tell us what happened next morning," proposed Dorothy. Her coffee, nowcold, remained untasted in the cup.
"I'm getting to that. At eight o'clock her door was unlocked and awoman, a stranger to her, came into her bedroom with a breakfast tray.She put the tray on a table and went into the bathroom and turned on thewater for Janet's bath, then left the room and locked the door afterher. At nine this same woman came back, brought some books and magazinesto her, made up the bed and put the room straight. Whenever Janet spoketo her, she shook her head and put her finger to her lips. But Janetsaid that even now she doesn't know whether the woman is actually dumbor only acting under orders. She has brought and taken away her mealsever since, but she has never been able to get her to speak."
"But how did she find out about going to Dr. Winn's house?" asked BillBolton, who had shown an interest quite as keen as Dorothy's orSanborn's.
Howard Bright drank a glass of water. "I'm getting to that part now," heexplained. "I'm not much of a story teller and I seem to be taking anawful time to get through this one--but I'm doing my best just thesame."
"Of course you are!" Dorothy motioned Bill to keep quiet. "You're doingnoble, Howard! Pay no attention to that goof over there."
"O.K., Dorothy." Howard replaced his empty glass on the table. "At aboutnoon of the first day of Janet's imprisonment in her room, the door wasunlocked and Mr. Lawson came in. She knew him as a friend of herfather's who had dined with them two or three times. She had alwaysthought him quite a jolly sort of chap and knew that he was privatesecretary to Dr. Winn, the celebrated chemist. Naturally, she feltrather relieved to see him, and she opened up on him at once. She stillfelt that her only hope for life and freedom was to pretend absoluteignorance of the happenings of the night before. And she managed to keepup that pretense before Lawson, though what he had to do with the affairshe hadn't any idea, nor does she yet know where he comes into thepicture. Anyway, he wasn't at the meeting. She let him know, though,that she was very indignant and astonished to find herself kept aprisoner, and demanded to see her father. Lawson, she told me, was mostaffable and kind to her. He said that she of course did not realize thatshe had been very ill during the night and that she was now underdoctor's orders. He also told her that her father had been called awayon business, so he had come to her as an old friend of the family, to beof any help that he could. Janet said that his sympathy almostundermined her suspicion--she almost confided in him. But luckily, shedidn't. He has been to see her every day since, and she is now convincedthat his part in this devilish scheme is to gain her confidence, and tofind out whether she actually did hear or see anything at the meeting.Yesterday he told her that it had been decided she should visit him andhis wife at Dr. Winn's house while her father is away, and that in orderto occupy her mind, she should act as secretary to Mrs. Lawson, whoassists Dr. Winn in his work."
"Maybe they don't really mean to harm her after all," said Dorothyhopefully.
"Janet is certain," said Howard, "that they want her at the Doctor's forclose observation. She took a secretarial course at school, so that partof it is all right, but I believe with her that one slip, one sign thatshe is deceiving them, will mean that she will simply vanish and neverbe heard of again. She knows that Lawson lied about one thing: herfather is still living in their flat. She has heard his voice severaltimes."
"But what I can't understand," said Dorothy, "is why, just as soon asyou knew all this, you didn't go to the nearest police station and havethat flat raided!"
"Because, Janet won't hear of it." Howard's tone was thoroughlywretched. "I worked out some other plans to release her, but she refusesto budge."
"Is the girl crazy?" This from Bill.
"No--she's as sane as any of us--maybe saner. She says that if thepolice are called in or I help her to escape, that crew will believe herfather knew all the time that she was faking--as of course he does. Andshe says she is sure they will have him killed out of hand, once theydiscover that. To make matters worse, if possible, my firm thinks I'mgoing to sail for Lima the day after tomorrow! If I turn them down, I'lllose my job here and ruin my future. I've been hoping against hope thatsomething would turn up so Janet could sail with me. I certainly shallnot sail without her. I was buying some clothes for the trip when I raninto you this morning--" Howard's voice trailed off hopelessly.
"Gee!" It was evident that Dorothy was not far from tears. "You poordears are in an awful fix! I do wish I could help you. Do_something_--so that you two could get married and sail for Peru!"
"Perhaps you can." Ashton Sanborn knocked the ashes from his pipe intoan ash tray.
"_How?_" shouted three voices simultaneously.