The Wailing Octopus: A Rick Brant Science-Adventure Story

  CHAPTER IV

  Visitors by Night

  Rick and Scotty stood on the pier and watched their erstwhile shadow rowslowly toward another pier some distance away.

  "We probably should have tied him up and called the police," Rickremarked.

  "It wouldn't have gotten us anything," Scotty disagreed. "He couldalways claim he didn't see us in the water. After all, it wouldn't bethe first time divers had been run over by motorboats."

  "It's too late now, anyway. Let's dress, then go to the hotel and tellZircon and Tony about this."

  As they dressed in the small cabin of the _Water Witch_, Rick spokealoud the question that had been bothering him. "What did he have togain by running us down? That's what puzzles me. It was a stupid thingto try, because he didn't really have much chance of getting both of us,or even one, once he failed to catch us by surprise."

  "He wasn't very well prepared for murder, either," Scotty added. "Noweapons except a switch knife."

  Rick nodded agreement. "He was desperate," he concluded. "Suddenly hehad to take a chance on getting us. He must have known it wasn't much ofa chance. Either he lost his head, or he wasn't very bright. What couldhave made him try?"

  Scotty had no answer, nor could Rick even hazard a reasonable guess.

  They locked the cabin of the _Water Witch_, walked into town, and founda taxi. Their shadow did not show up again, and if a new tail hadreplaced him, the new one was too good to be spotted. However, the boysdoubted that they were being followed.

  "I just don't get it," Rick said for the twentieth time. "Our friendmust have lost his head. Otherwise he'd have waited on shore andcontinued to follow us when we came out of the water."

  "We'll probably never know," Scotty returned. "After all, we'll be gonein the morning."

  "I know. But meanwhile, we'd better have eyes in the back of our heads."

  The taxi discharged them in front of Alexander's Rest and they climbedout and surveyed the hotel with interest.

  Scotty spoke first. "Alexander's Rest? Which Alexander? The Great, orHamilton? If it was Hamilton, as Dr. Ernst said, he must have built itpersonally."

  It was a two-story frame structure that had definitely seen better days.On closer inspection Rick decided that the second story had been addedas an afterthought. It looked like the second layer of a poorlyconstructed cake.

  Inside, however, the hotel proved to be very comfortable. It was cool,and the rooms were large and clean. The boys learned that they had beenregistered in a twin bedroom on the second floor, while Zircon andBriotti were on the first floor.

  The boys found the scientists attired only in shorts, cooling off overlong, cold drinks. They accepted glasses of iced ginger ale and told thescientists of their adventure.

  "It's amazing." Tony Briotti shook his head. "Do you realize that youtwo are a phenomenon? I should write you up for one of the scientificjournals."

  "You mean because we turned the tables on the shadow?" Scotty asked.

  "No. Because you're adventure-prone. Did you ever hear of people who areaccident-prone?"

  Zircon chuckled. "A good observation of these two. I agree absolutely,Tony. They are adventure-prone."

  Rick sighed. "All right. What's the joke?"

  "None. I'm quite serious." Tony found more ice for his glass. "Insurancestatistics show that certain people are accident-prone. Accidents happento them. They're going along minding their own business and bang! Astreetcar jumps the tracks and hits them. Or they step into openmanholes. They're the kind of people who always manage to be walkingunder things when workmen drop tools."

  "And you," Zircon concluded, "are adventure-prone in the same way.Consider this. Had you walked down the street either a minute earlier orlater this morning you would not have seen Steve Ames. It's quite likelythat you would never have known of his presence in town. But whathappens? You walk right into an adventure. One thing leads to another,and suddenly a stranger is trying to run you down with a motorboat."

  "That's what bothers me," Rick replied. "There's no pattern. It justmakes no sense."

  "It doesn't have to," Tony Briotti said with a grin. "The Golden Skullpattern makes no sense, either. But you got us into more excitement thanI knew was possible. You're just adventure-prone."

  "And for the sake of my gray hair, stay out of trouble," Zircon pleaded."Stay close to us until we get to Clipper Cay."

  "It will be a pleasure," Rick assured him. "Only let us out of yoursight long enough to shower, please. I'm sticky."

  "We'll stay in the hotel," Scotty promised.

  "Fine. I'll feel better about it if I know where you are. Suppose youcome by in an hour and we'll have a quiet dinner at the Ernsts'."

  Dinner was quiet but interesting. The Ernsts were excellent hosts, andboth Dr. and Mrs. Ernst had many tales of the islands to tell. As thegood doctor had promised, the boys enjoyed the wonderful variety of sealife Mrs. Ernst had collected to keep in salt-water tanks. Sheidentified for them a number of the smaller reef fishes, includingclowns, demoiselles, and even the deadly scorpion fish.

  The party broke up early, since the start for Clipper Cay was to be madeat dawn by the scientists. The plan was for Zircon and Tony to make thetrip in the _Water Witch_, with the boys flying over in the Sky Wagon.That way, both the plane and boat would be available. Zircon thoughtthat fast trips to St. Thomas might be necessary to replenish supplies,and he added that he would be happier if the plane were available incase of accident. That way, the patient could be in Charlotte Amalie ina short time.

  As the boys bade good night to the scientists and started up the stairsto their room, Rick asked, "Any sign of a shadow tonight?"

  "Nope. Guess Steve's friends--or enemies--must have lost interest."

  "I hope that you're right. As long as Steve ordered us to stay out ofthe case, I'll be glad when we get to the cay and get underwater. Wehave to find that precious gadget even if it takes two solid weeks ofdiving. If we don't, Barby will never let us forget it."

  This last was uttered as Rick turned the key in the lock and pushed thedoor open. He flicked on the light, then gave a sudden gasp.

  The shadow and a stranger--in their room!

  The boys looked into the muzzles of .38-caliber pistols.

  "Come on in quietly," the stranger said. "Put your hands on the tops ofyour heads and sit down on the bed over there."

  The boys did so. They had no alternative. Rick's mind raced. Somehowthey had to warn the scientists, and they had to get out from under themuzzles of the guns! What could these men want of them?

  The stranger sat down on the other bed. His pistol muzzle was centeredprecisely on Rick's belt buckle. "We want information. Give it to uswithout any trouble and we'll go away. Give us a hard time and you'llregret it."

  Rick studied the stranger. He was of medium height, dressed in tanslacks and sport shirt with a darker jacket. His face was ordinary. Hemight have been a store clerk, or streetcar conductor, or nearlyanything. But Rick saw from the way his jacket fitted that he waspowerfully built for his size, and his hands were lean andstrong-looking. He had a heavy tan, as though he had spent many monthsin the sun.

  "What do you want to know?" Scotty asked.

  "Let's start with what you were saying when you walked in. Who isBarby?"

  "My sister," Rick said. "She's at home, in New Jersey."

  The stranger sighed. "I was afraid of this. Give us straight answers oryou'll buy plenty of grief. Now, who is Barby? Who does he represent?"

  "He told you," Scotty answered. "She's his sister."

  The stranger tried a different tack. "How did you know where to swimtoday? Did Ames tell you?"

  "No," Rick replied. "We just swam straight out from the pier looking forcoral heads."

  "Come on! You must have had some source of information. Who gave it toyou?"

  "We didn't have any source of information," Scotty protested. "We justwent for a swim!"

  The stranger lifted the pistol menacingly. "You'd be
tter sing, and itbetter be straight. I'm warning you!"

  "Warn all you like," Rick said angrily. "What do you want us to say?"

  The shadow walked over and pulled back his fist.

  "Lay off!" the stranger growled. "You've pulled enough stupid stunts forone day. You'll be lucky if the boss doesn't rip the hide off you."

  The former tail subsided and glared at the boys.

  The stranger rose. "All right. If you won't talk here, we'll take youwhere you will talk. Get up."

  The boys looked at each other. Scotty raised his eyebrows. Rick grinned.He asked calmly, "Suppose we don't go?"

  "You'll go!" the stranger snapped.

  "I don't think we will," Scotty answered. "Look, mister. You're in ahotel. It's early, and there are people in the lobby. How far do youthink you'd get if you tried to march us downstairs with a gun in yourhand?"

  "We're not going through the lobby," the stranger told them. "We'regoing the way we came--through the window. And you'll go quietly orwe'll take our chances. They might catch us, but you wouldn't care witha couple of slugs in you. Pete, go outside and wait. They'll come downone at a time. Keep them covered, and don't hesitate to shoot if theytry anything."

  The shadow slipped through the window, hung by his hands, and dropped.

  The stranger's gun singled out Rick. "Get going."

  Rick shrugged. There was nothing else to do but obey--at least for themoment. He looked at Scotty, and his pal made a small gesture to theright. Rick's forehead wrinkled. This was no signal he recognized,unless Scotty meant to jump to the right.

  He swung a leg over the sill and looked down. The shadow was waiting,and the light from the window glinted dully off the gun in his hand.Rick went on out, then holding by his hands he gave a swing to the rightand dropped. The gun covered him as he rose to his feet again.

  "Against the wall!" the shadow hissed.

  Rick dutifully moved back against the wall. The shadow was standingabout six feet away.

  Overhead, Scotty was climbing through the window now. Rick watchedcarefully as his pal lowered himself to full length, and swung _to theleft_.

  Instantly Rick divined Scotty's tactics. If the two boys were apart, thegun couldn't cover both of them at the same moment, and there would bean instant while the stranger jumped when only a single gun would be onthem. And the shadow had already shown that he wasn't the smartest manin the world. Rick slipped to the right a step or two while the shadowwas distracted by Scotty's jump. Scotty fell to his knees, and ingetting up he managed to put a few more feet between himself and Rick.

  "Watch 'em!" The stranger's voice floated down. Rick glanced up and sawthe stranger with one leg over the sill. He tensed.

  Scotty said, "Listen, you mug ..."

  The shadow's head turned toward Scotty, and Rick left the ground in awild spring. He struck the shadow, hand clawing for the gun. He found awrist, and twisted, falling backward as he did so. The shadow, theentire weight of his own body on his wrist from the throw, screamed!

  The gun landed on the ground. Rick let go and scrambled for it, butScotty was there before him.

  In the instant of the struggle the stranger had hesitated on the windowsill, hand grabbing for the pistol he had tucked in his belt. He pulledit free and aimed at the struggling figures below, but in the gloomthere was no way to distinguish friend from foe. And in that heartbeat,Scotty picked up the shadow's gun and fired one snap shot.

  The stranger's gun dropped to the ground and he fell backward into theroom.

  Scotty thrust the pistol into the shadow's stomach. "Face the wall," heordered. "Put your hands against it. Now support your weight on yourhands."

  The shadow did as ordered. Rick took the man's legs and pulled thembackward so that the shadow's whole weight was against his hands, hisoutstretched body forming the hypotenuse of a right triangle. The onlyway he could move to regain his balance was to lower himself to theground and then get up.

  Rick picked up the stranger's fallen pistol and hefted it. "Better seeabout the one upstairs," he advised. "I'll watch this one."

  "I fired at his hand, but I was high," Scotty told him. "He got it inthe shoulder. He won't get far."

  Zircon and Briotti charged around the corner of the hotel in pajamas andslippers, followed by other guests and members of the hotel staff.

  "We had a little trouble," Rick explained briefly.

  The scientists took in the situation at a glance.

  "As I said," Tony Briotti muttered. "Adventure-prone. And lucky! How doyou beat a combination like that?"