CHAPTER XXV
RUN TO COVER
A dull, cheerless day in the early part of December was merginginto a stormy night as the west-bound express over one of thetranscontinental railways, swiftly winding its way along thetortuous course of a Rocky Mountain canyon, suddenly paused beforethe long, low depot of a typical western mining city. The arclights swinging to and fro shed only a ghastly radiance through thedense fog, and grotesque shadows, dancing hither and thither to thevibratory motion of the lights, seemed trying to contest supremacywith the feeble rays.
The train had not come to a full stop when a man sprang lightlyfrom one of the car platforms, and, passing swiftly through thewaiting crowd, concealed himself in the friendly shelter of theshadows, where he remained oblivious to the rain falling inspiteful dashes, while he scanned the hurrying crowd surging invarious directions. Not one of the crowd observed him; not oneescaped his observation. Soon his attention was riveted upon atall man, closely muffled in fur coat and cap, who descended fromone of the rear coaches, and, after a quick, cautious glance abouthim, passed the silent, motionless figure in the shadow and hastilyentered a carriage standing near. The other, listening intentlyfor the instructions given the driver, caught the words, "545Jefferson Street."
As the carriage rolled away, he emerged from the shadow and jotteddown the address in a small note-book, soliloquizing as he did so,--
"I have tracked him to his lair at last, and now, unless thatinfernal hoodoo looms upon the scene, I can get in my work in goodshape. I would have had my game weeks ago, but for his appearance,confound him!"
He looked at his watch. "Dinner first," he muttered, "the nextthing in order is to find the alias under which my gentleman is atpresent travelling. No one seems to know much about him in theseparts."
The dim light revealed a man below medium height, his form envelopedin a heavy English mackintosh thrown carelessly about his shoulders,which, as he made his notes, blew partially open, revealing animmaculate shirt front and a brilliant diamond which scintillatedand sparkled in open defiance of the surrounding gloom. A soft felthat well pulled down concealed his eyes and the upper part of hisface, leaving visible only a slightly aquiline nose and heavy, blackmustache, which gave his face something of a Jewish cast. Replacinghis note-book in his pocket, he called a belated carriage, andhastily gave orders to be taken to the Clifton House.
Arriving at the hotel, the stranger registered as "A. Rosenbaum,Berlin," and, having secured one of the best rooms the house afforded,repaired to the dining-room. Dinner over, Mr. Rosenbaum betookhimself to a quiet corner of the office, which served also as areading-room, and soon was apparently absorbed in a number of Easternpapers, both English and German, though a keen observer would havenoted that the papers were occasionally lowered sufficiently to givethe eyes--again concealed beneath the hat-brim--an opportunity forreconnoitering the situation. He was attired in a black suit offaultless fit, and a superb ruby on his left hand gleamed and glowedlike living fire, rivalling in beauty the flashing diamond. Hespeedily became the subject of considerable speculation among thevarious classes of men congregating in the hotel office, most ofthem for an evening of social enjoyment, though a few seemed to havegathered there for the purpose of conducting business negotiations.Among the latter, after a time, was the tall man in fur coat andcap, who appeared to be waiting for some one with whom he had anappointment, as he shunned the crowd, selecting a seat near Mr.Rosenbaum as the most quiet place available. Having removed hiscap and thrown back the high collar of his fur coat, he appeared tobe a man of about fifty years of age, with iron-gray hair and a full,heavy beard of the same shade. He wore dark glasses, and, havingseated himself with his back towards the light, drew forth from hispocket a number of voluminous type-written documents, and becameabsorbed in a perusal of their contents.
Meanwhile, the proprietor of the Clifton House, feeling considerablecuriosity regarding his new guest, sauntered over in his direction.
"Well, Mr. Rosenbaum," he remarked, genially, "you have hit onrather a stormy night for your introduction to our city, for I takeit you are a stranger here, are you not?"
The soft hat was raised slightly, revealing a rather stolid,expressionless face, with dark eyes nearly concealed by long lashes.
"Not the most agreeable, certainly," he answered, with an expressiveshrug and a marked German accent, at the same time ignoring theother's question.
"Your first impressions are not likely to be very pleasant, but ifyou stop over a few days you will see we have a fine city. Do youremain here long?"
"I cannot say at present; depends entirely upon business, youunderstand."
"I see. What's your line?"
For reply the stranger handed the other a small card, on which wasengraved, "Rosenbaum Brothers, Diamond Brokers, Berlin," and bearingon one corner his own name, "A. Rosenbaum."
"Diamond brokers, eh? You don't say!" exclaimed the proprietor,regarding the bit of pasteboard with visible respect. "Must be quitea business. You represent this firm, I suppose; you are theirsalesman?"
The stranger shook his head with a smile. "We have no salesmen," heanswered, quietly. "We have branch houses in Paris, London, and NewYork, but we employ no travelling salesmen. Any one can selldiamonds; my business is to buy them," with marked emphasis on thelast words.
"Well," said his interlocutor, "you're not looking for 'em out here,are you?"
"Why not here as well as anywhere? So far as my experience goes,it is nothing uncommon in this part of the country to run acrossowners of fine stones who, for one reason or another, are very gladto exchange the same for cash."
"Yes, I suppose so. When a fellow gets down to bedrock, he'll putup most anything to make a raise."
"There are many besides those who are down to bedrock, as you callit, who are glad to make an exchange of that kind," said Mr.Rosenbaum, speaking with deliberation and keeping an eye upon hisneighbor in the fur coat; "but their reasons, whatever they may be,do not concern us; our business is simply to buy the gems whereverwe can find them and ask no questions."
By this time a fourth man was approaching in their direction,evidently the individual for whom the man in the fur coat waswaiting, and Mr. Rosenbaum, thinking it time to put an end to theconversation, rose and began to don his mackintosh.
"Surely you are not going out to-night!" said the proprietor; "betterstay indoors, and I'll make you acquainted with some of the boys."
"Much obliged, but an important engagement compels me to forego thatpleasure," said Mr. Rosenbaum, and, bidding his host good-evening, hesallied forth, well aware that every word of their conversation hadbeen overheard by their silent neighbor, notwithstanding thevoluminous documents which seemed to engross his attention.
Passing out into the night, he found the storm fast abating.Stopping at a news-stand, he inquired for a directory, which hecarefully studied for a few moments, then walked down the principalthoroughfare until, coming to a side street, he turned and for anumber of blocks passed up one street and down another, plunging atlast into a dark alley.
Upon emerging therefrom a block away, the soft felt hat had givenplace to a jaunty cap, while a pair of gold-rimmed eye-glassesperched upon the aquiline nose gave the wearer a decidedly youthfuland debonnaire appearance. Approaching a secluded house in a dimlylighted location, he glanced sharply at the number, as though toreassure himself, then running swiftly up the front steps, hepulled the door-bell vigorously and awaited developments. Afterconsiderable delay the door was unlocked and partially opened by ahatchet-faced woman, who peered cautiously out, her features lightedby the uncertain rays of a candle which the draught momentarilythreatened to extinguish.
"Good-evening, madam," said the stranger, airily. "Pardon such anunseasonable call, but I wish to see Mr. Lovering, who, I understand,has rooms here."
"There's no such person rooming here," she replied, sharply, hermanner indicating that this bit of information ended the interview,but her inter
locutor was not to be so easily dismissed.
"No such person!" he exclaimed, at the same time scrutinizing inapparent perplexity a small card which he had produced. "J. D.Lovering, 545 Jefferson Street; isn't this 545, madam?"
"Yes," she answered, testily, "this is 545; but there's nobody hereby the name of Lovering."
The young man turned as if to go. "Have you any roomers at present?"he inquired, doubtfully.
"I have one, but his name is Mannering."
"Mannering," he repeated, thoughtfully, once more facing her; "Iwonder if I am not mistaken in the name? Will you kindly describeMr. Mannering?"
The woman hesitated, eying him suspiciously. "He ain't likely tobe the man you want," she said, slowly, "for he don't have nocallers, and he never goes anywhere, except out of the city once ina while on business. He's an oldish man, with dark hair and beardstreaked with gray, and he wears dark glasses."
"Ah, no," the young man interrupted hastily, "that is not the man atall; the man I am looking for is rather young and a decided blond.I am sorry to have troubled you, madam; I beg a thousand pardons,"and with profuse apologies he bowed himself down the steps, to theevident relief of the landlady.
As the door closed behind him, Mr. Rosenbaum paused a moment toreconnoitre. The house he had just left was the only habitablebuilding visible in the immediate vicinity, but a few rods fartherdown the street was a small cabin, whose dilapidated appearanceindicated that it was unoccupied. Approaching the cabin cautiously,Mr. Rosenbaum tried the door; it offered but slight resistance, and,entering, he found it, as he had surmised, empty and deserted.Stationing himself near a window which overlooked No. 545, heregarded the isolated dwelling with considerable interest. It wasa two-story structure with a long extension in the rear, only onestory in height. With the exception of a dim light in this rearportion, the house was entirely dark, which led Mr. Rosenbaum tothe conclusion that the landlady's private apartments were in thispart of the building and remote from the room occupied by her lodger,which he surmised to be the front room on the second floor, a sidewindow of which faced the cabin.
For more than an hour Mr. Rosenbaum remained at his post, and atlast had the satisfaction of seeing the tall figure in the fur coatapproaching down the dimly lighted street. He ascended the stepsof 545, let himself in with a night-key, and a moment later the gasin the upper front room was turned on, showing Mr. Rosenbaum'ssurmise to be correct. For an instant the flaring flame revealeda pale face without the dark glasses, and with a full, dark beardtinged with gray; then it was lowered and the window blinds wereclosely drawn, precluding the possibility of further observation.The face was like and yet unlike what Mr. Rosenbaum had expectedto see; he determined upon a nearer and better view, without thedark glasses, before making any decisive move.
The following evening, as soon as it was dusk, found Mr. Rosenbaumagain at the window of the deserted cabin, keenly observant of No.545. A faint light burned in the rear of the lower floor, while inthe front room upstairs a fire was evidently burning in an opengrate, the rest of the house being in darkness. Presently a man'sfigure, tall and well formed, could be seen pacing up and down theroom, appearing, vanishing, and reappearing in the waveringfirelight. For nearly an hour he continued his perambulation, hishands clasped behind him as though absorbed in deep thought. Atlast, arousing himself from his revery, the man looked at his watchand vanished, reappearing ten minutes later at the front door, inthe usual fur coat and cap, and, descending the steps, turnedtowards town and proceeded leisurely down the street, Mr. Rosenbaumfollowing at some distance, but always keeping him in view andgradually diminishing the distance between them as the thoroughfarebecame more crowded, till they were nearly opposite each other.
Finally, the man paused before a restaurant and, turning, lookedcarefully up and down the street. For the first time he observedMr. Rosenbaum and seemed to regard him with close attention, butthe latter gentleman was absorbed in the contemplation of anassortment of diamonds and various gems displayed in a jeweller'swindow, directly opposite the restaurant. In the mirrored back ofthe show-case the restaurant was plainly visible, and Mr. Rosenbaumnoted with satisfaction the other's evident interest in himself,and continued to study the contents of the show-case till the manhad entered the restaurant, seating himself at one of theunoccupied tables. Having observed his man well started on thefirst course of dinner, Mr. Rosenbaum crossed the street slowly,entered the restaurant and with a pre-occupied air seated himselfat the same table with Mr. Mannering. After giving his order, heproceeded to unfold the evening paper laid beside his plate, withouteven a glance at his vis-a-vis. His thoughts, however, were noton the printed page, but upon the man opposite, whom he had followedfrom city to city, hearing of him by various names and under variousguises; hitherto unable to obtain more than a fleeting glimpse ofhim, but now brought face to face.
"Alias Henry J. Mannering at last!" he commented mentally, as herefolded his paper; "you have led me a long chase, my man, but youand I will now have our little game, and I will force you to showyour hand before it is over!"
Glancing casually across at his neighbor, he found the dark glassesfocused upon himself with such fixity that he responded with afriendly nod, and, making some trivial remark, found Mr. Manneringnot at all averse to conversation. A few commonplaces were exchangeduntil the arrival of Mr. Rosenbaum's order, when the other remarked,--
"Evidently you do not find the cuisine of the Clifton House entirelysatisfactory."
"It is very good," Mr. Rosenbaum answered, indifferently, "but anoccasional change is agreeable. By the way, sir, have I met you atthe Clifton? I do not remember to have had that pleasure."
"We have not met," replied the other. "I saw you there last evening,however, as I happened in soon after your arrival."
"Ah, so? I am very deficient in remembering faces."
Mr. Mannering hesitated a moment, then remarked with a smile, "I,on the contrary, am quite observant of faces, and yours seemssomewhat familiar; have I not seen you elsewhere than here?"
Mr. Rosenbaum raised his eyebrows in amusement. "It is very possibleyou have, my dear sir; I travel constantly, and for aught that Iknow you may have seen me in nearly every city on the globe. May Iinquire your business, sir? Do you also travel?"
"No," said Mr. Mannering, slowly, but apparently relieved by Mr.Rosenbaum's answer, "I am not engaged in any particular line ofbusiness at present. I am interested in mining to a considerableextent, and am out here just now looking after my properties. Howdo you find business in your line?"
Mr. Rosenbaum shook his head with a slight shrug.
"Nothing so far to make it worth my while to stay. You see, sir,for such a trade as ours we want only the finest gems that can bebought; we have no use for ordinary stones, and that is all I haveseen here so far;" and, having thrown out his bait, he awaitedresults.
A long pause followed, while Mr. Mannering toyed with his fork,drawing numerous diagrams on the table-cloth.
"I think," he said at last, slowly, "that I could get you one or twofine diamonds if you cared to buy and would give anything like theirtrue valuation."
"That would depend, of course, upon the quality of the diamonds;really fine gems we are always ready to buy and to pay a good pricefor."
"If I am any judge of diamonds, these are valuable stones," said Mr.Mannering, "and the owner of them, who is a friend of mine, beinghimself a connoisseur in that line, would not be likely to entertainany false ideas regarding their value."
"And your friend wishes to sell them?"
"I am inclined to think that he might dispose of one or two for asufficient consideration, subject, however, to one condition,--thatno questions will be asked."
"That goes without saying, my dear sir; asking questions is not ourbusiness. We are simply looking for the finest stones that moneycan buy, without regard to anything else. Perhaps," added Mr.Rosenbaum, tentatively, "we might arrange with your friend for ameeting between the three
of us."
"That would be impracticable," Mr. Mannering replied; "he is out ofthe city; and furthermore I know he would not care to appear in thetransaction, but would prefer to have me conduct the negotiations.I was going to suggest that if you were to remain here a few days,I shall see my friend in a day or so, as I am going out to lookover some mining properties in which we are both interested, and Icould bring in some of the gems with me, and we might then see whatterms we could make."
"I can remain over, sir, if you can make it an object for me, andif the stones prove satisfactory I have no doubt we can make terms.Why, sir," Mr. Rosenbaum leaned across the table and his voiceassumed a confidential tone, "money would be no object with me if Icould get one or two particular gems that I want. For instance, Ihave one diamond that I would go to the ends of the earth and paya small fortune when I got there, if I could only find a perfectmatch for it!" and he launched forth upon an enthusiastic descriptionof the stone, expatiating upon its enormous size, its wonderfulbrilliancy and perfection, adding in conclusion, "and its workmanshipshows it to be at least two hundred years old! Think of that, sir!What would I not give to be able to match it!"
A peculiar expression flitted over his listener's face, notunobserved by Mr. Rosenbaum. He made no immediate response, however,but when at last the two men separated, it was with the agreementthat they should dine together at the same cafe three days later,when Mr. Mannering would have returned from his conference with hisfriend, at which time, if the latter cared to dispose of his jewels,they would be submitted for inspection.
Upon retiring to his room that night, Mr. Rosenbaum sat for sometime in deep abstraction, and when he finally turned off the gas,he murmured,--
"He will produce the jewels all right, and may heaven preserve usboth from the hoodoo!"
For the two days next ensuing, Mr. Rosenbaum watched closely thearrivals in the city, but, notwithstanding his vigilance, thereslipped in unaware, on the evening of the second day, a quiet,unassuming man, who went to the Windsor Hotel, registering thereas "A. J. Johnson, Chicago." At a late hour, while Mr. Rosenbaum,in the solitude of his own room, was perfecting his plans for thefollowing day, Mr. Johnson, who was making a tour of inspectionamong the leading hotels, sauntered carelessly into the office ofthe Clifton. He seemed rather socially inclined, and soon wasengaged in conversation with the proprietor and a dozen of the"boys," all of whom were informed that he was travelling throughthe West on the lookout for "snaps" in the way of mining investments.This announcement produced general good feeling, and there were notwanting plenty who offered to take Mr. Johnson around the city onthe following day and introduce him to the leading mining men andpromoters.
"Much obliged, boys," said Mr. Johnson, "but there's no rush. Iexpect to meet some friends here in a few days, and till they comeI shall simply look around on the q. t., you understand, and makesome observations for myself. And that reminds me, gentlemen," headded, "do any of you happen to know a man by the name of Mannering,who is interested in mines out here?"
"Mannering?" answered one of the group; "there's a man by that namehas been around here off and on for the last two or three months;but I didn't know he was interested in mines to any extent, thoughhe seems to have plenty of money."
"I think that is the man I have in mind; will you describe him?"
"Well, he's tall, about middle age, rather gray, wears blue glasses,and never has anything to say to anybody; a queer sort of fellow."
Mr. Johnson nodded, but before he could reply, another in the groupremarked, "Oh, that's the fellow you mean, is it? I've seen him atthe Royal Cafe for the last six weeks, and in all that time he'snever exchanged a dozen words with anybody, till here, the othernight, that diamond Dutchman of yours," addressing the proprietorof the Clifton, "came waltzing in there, and I'll be hanged if thetwo didn't get as confidential over their dinner as two old womenover a cup of tea."
Mr. Johnson turned towards the proprietor with a quiet smile. "The'diamond Dutchman!' Is he a guest of your house?"
"Mr. Rosenbaum?"
"Yes; do you know him?"
"Not by name, but I think I have seen the gentleman on my travels;engaged in the jewelry business, isn't he, and carries hisadvertisements on his shirt-front and fingers?"
"That's the man," the proprietor replied, amid a general laugh."Why? He's all right, isn't he?"
"All right for aught that I know, sir; I haven't the pleasure ofthe gentleman's acquaintance, though possibly I may have if we bothremain here long enough," and he carelessly turned the subject ofconversation.
A little later, as Mr. Johnson left the Clifton, he soliloquized,"Well, if I haven't exactly killed two birds with one stone, I thinkI've snared two birds in one trap. Since coming West I haven'tlocated one without seeing or hearing of the other; it's my beliefthey're 'pals,' and if I can pull in the pair, so much the better."
The following evening found Mr. Johnson in the vicinity of the RoyalCafe; having discovered a small newsstand opposite, he strolled inthither, and, buying a couple of papers, seated himself in a quietcorner, prepared to take observations. He had not waited long whenMr. Mannering made his appearance, and, after pausing a moment tolook up and down the street, entered the restaurant. He had beenseated but a moment when Mr. Rosenbaum appeared, crossing the street,having evidently left the jeweller's store, and also entered thecafe. The two men shook hands and immediately withdrew to one ofthe private boxes. Mr. Johnson had visited the Royal Cafe earlierin the day and made himself familiar with its interior arrangement.Knowing the box just taken to be No. 3, and that No. 4 directlyopposite was unoccupied, he at once proceeded across the street tothe restaurant. Stopping at the cashier's desk, he said in a lowtone, "I expect some friends later, and don't wish to be disturbedtill they come; understand?"
The man nodded, and Mr. Johnson passed on noiselessly into No. 4.Meanwhile, the occupants of No. 3 having received their orders,dismissed the waiter, with the information that when they neededhis services they would ring for him. Mr. Mannering was visiblyexcited, so much so that his dinner remained almost untasted, andthe other, observing his evident agitation, pushed aside his ownplate and, folding his arms upon the table, inquired indifferently,--
"Well, my dear sir, what was your friend's decision?"
For reply, the other drew from his pocket a small case, which hesilently handed across the table. Mr. Rosenbaum opened it,disclosing, as he did so, a pair of diamonds of moderate size, butof unusual brilliancy and perfectly matched. He examined themsilently, scrutinizing them closely, while his face indicatedconsiderable dissatisfaction.
"What does your friend expect for these?" he asked at length.
"What will you give for them?" was the counter-question.
"I do not care to set a price on them, for I do not want them," hereplied, rather shortly.
"I think," said Mr. Mannering, "that my friend would dispose ofthem at a reasonable figure, as he is at present in need of readycash with which to consummate an important mining negotiation."
After considerable fencing and parrying, Mr. Rosenbaum made an offerfor the gems, to which Mr. Mannering demurred.
"Show me a higher class of gems and I will offer you a better price,"said Mr. Rosenbaum, finally seeming to grow impatient. "Show me onelike this, for instance, and I will offer you a small fortune," andopening a case which he had quickly drawn from his pocket, he tookfrom it an enormous diamond, beside whose dazzling brilliancy thepair of gems under consideration seemed suddenly to grow dim andlustreless. He held it up and a thousand rays of prismatic lightflashed in as many different directions.
"What do you think of that, my dear sir? When I can find a matchfor that magnificent stone, we can fill an order which we have heldfor more than twelve months from the royal house in Germany. Butwhere will I find it?"
Twirling the gem carelessly between his thumb and finger, he watchedthe face of his companion and saw it change to a deathly pallor.
"May I see that
for one moment?" he asked, and his voice soundedunnatural and constrained, while the hand which he extended acrossthe table trembled visibly.
"Most certainly, sir," Mr. Rosenbaum replied, and, in compliancewith the request, handed to Mr. Mannering the gem which the latterhad himself disposed of less than three months before in one of thelarge Western cities. Nothing could escape the piercing eyes nowfastened upon that face with its strange pallor, its swiftlychanging expression. Unconscious of this scrutiny, Mr. Manneringregarded the gem silently, then removed his glasses for a closerinspection. Having satisfied his curiosity, he returned the stoneto Mr. Rosenbaum, and as he did so, found the eyes of the latterfixed not upon the gem, but upon his own face. Something in theirglance seemed to disconcert him for an instant, but he quicklyrecovered himself, and, replacing the colored glasses, remarkedwith a forced composure,--
"That is a magnificent stone. May I ask when and where you foundit?"
"I picked it up in one of your cities some three months ago, maybe,more or less."
"You bought it in this country, then? Why may you not expect tomatch it here?"
"Simply on the theory, my dear sir, that the lightning never strikestwice in the same place."
"Well, sir," said Mr. Mannering, calmly, "I will show you a stone soperfect a match for that, you yourself could not distinguish betweenthe two."
"You have such a diamond!" Mr. Rosenbaum exclaimed; "why then areyou wasting time with these?" and he pushed the smaller diamondsfrom him with a gesture of contempt. "Why did you not produce itin the first place?"
"Because," replied Mr. Mannering, his composure now fully restored,"I do not propose to produce it until I know somewhere near whatyou will give for it."
"My dear sir," Mr. Rosenbaum's tones became eager, "as I have alreadytold you, if I can match this stone," placing it on the table betweenthem, "I will pay you a small fortune; money would be no object; youcould have your own price."
Without further words, Mr. Mannering drew forth a small package,which he carefully opened, and, taking therefrom an exact duplicateof the wonderful gem, placed it upon the table beside the latter.
With a smile which the other did not see, Mr. Rosenbaum bent hishead to examine the stones; he had recognized his man in the briefinstant that their eyes had met, and now, within his grasp, lay, ashe well knew from the description which he carried, two of the finestdiamonds in the famous Mainwaring collection of jewels, stolen lessthan six months before; his triumph was almost complete.
Meanwhile, Mr. Johnson, who had overheard much of their conversation,was congratulating himself upon the near success of his own schemes,when the officiousness of a waiter overthrew the plans of all partiesand produced the greatest confusion. Catching sight of the gentlemanwaiting in No. 4, he ignored the cashier's instructions and enteredthe box to take his order. Mr. Johnson's reply, low and brief thoughit was, caught the quick ear of Mr. Rosenbaum, who muttered under hisbreath,--
"The hoodoo! confound him!"
At the same instant a draught lifted the curtain to NO. 3, revealingto the astonished Mannering a view of Mr. Johnson's profile in theopposite box. His own face grew white as the table-cloth beforehim; he reached wildly for the diamond, but both gems were gone, andRosenbaum confronted him with a most sinister expression.
"My diamond!" he gasped.
"The diamonds are safe," replied the other in a low tone, "and you,"addressing Mannering by his true name, "the more quiet you are justnow the better."
The elder man's face grew livid with rage and fear, and, risingsuddenly to his feet, his tall form towered far above Rosenbaum.
"Wretch!" he hissed, with an oath, "you have betrayed me, curse you!"and, dealing the smaller man a blow which floored him, he rushed fromthe box.
In an instant Rosenbaum staggered to his feet, and, pausing only longenough to make sure of the safety of the jewels, rushed from the cafe,reaching the street just in time to see his man jump into a cab, whichwhirled swiftly and started down the street at break-neck speed. Twocabmen, talking at a short distance, hurried to the scene, and,calling one of them, Mr. Rosenbaum hastily took a second cab andstarted in pursuit of the first, but not before he had caught aglimpse of Mr. Johnson making active preparations to follow themboth.
"Hang that fellow!" he muttered, as he heard wheels behind him."This is the third time he has spoiled the game; but I've got thewinning hand, and he'll not beat me out of it!"
By this time the first cab, having turned a corner a short distanceahead, was out of sight, but Rosenbaum, convinced from the directiontaken of its destination, and knowing a more direct route, shoutedto the driver what streets to follow, and to come out upon the alleynear No. 545 Jefferson Street.
"The old fellow will think I've lost the trail when he finds he'snot followed," he soliloquized, amid the joltings of the vehicle,"and maybe it will throw the hoodoo off the track."
But Mr. Johnson had no intention of being thrown off. He had seencab No. 2 a take a different course, and, having lost sight of No. 1,decided that a bird in the hand would be worth two in the bush, andthat he would follow up the "pal."
As cab No. 2 approached Jefferson Street, Rosenbaum called to thedriver to slacken and drive on the dark side of the alley. He jumpedout to reconnoitre; a cab was just stopping at No. 545, a tall figuregot out and hastily disappeared up the steps, while the cab whirledrapidly away.
"Turn about, drive back quietly, and answer no questions," Rosenbaumsaid, slipping a bill into the driver's hand, and then glided swiftlythrough the shadow to No. 545. His maneuvers were seen, however, byMr. Johnson, who immediately proceeded to follow his example.
Running quickly up the steps to No. 545, Rosenbaum produced a bunchof skeleton keys, which he proceeded to try. The first was useless,the second ditto; he heard steps approaching; the third fitted thelock, but, as it turned, a hand was laid upon his shoulder, a darklantern flashed in his face, and a voice said,--
"Your game is up, my man; you had better come with me as peaceablyas possible!"
For answer, the other turned quickly, and, without a word, liftedthe lapel of his coat, where a star gleamed brightly in the raysof the lantern.
The band holding the lantern dropped suddenly, and its ownerejaculated, "Heavens and earth! what does this mean? Who are you?"
"I am Dan McCabe, at your service," was the cool reply; then, as theother remained speechless with astonishment, McCabe continued: "I'veno time to waste with you, Mr. Merrick; we may have a desperate pieceof work on hand; but if you'll come with me, I give you my word forit that before this job is over you'll meet the biggest surprise ofyour life."
Pushing open the door, McCabe noiselessly climbed the stairs,beckoning Merrick to follow. By the light of the dark lantern heselected the door leading to the room occupied by Mannering, and,after listening a moment, nodded significantly to Merrick.
"Is he there?" the latter whispered.
"He is there," said McCabe, grimly, "but not the man you are lookingfor. I'll tell you who is there," and he whispered in his ear.
Merrick staggered as if from a blow. "Great God!" he exclaimedaloud.
There was a sudden sound within as of some one frightened and movinghastily. McCabe again called the man by name, and demandedadmittance. There was a moment's silence, and then McCabe, withMerrick's aid, forced in the door, and as it yielded there came fromwithin the sharp report of a revolver, followed by a heavy groan.